Tempest Distortion (title updated)

[RobH]

Hi, I puchased a Tempest today and already i know that we are going to get along like a house on fire, its phenomenal, seriously!!!

I have a question though.


When I'm not playing and sounds and i pump the compressor i start to hear a air like noise (only using headphones as my monitors are in for service). Is this normal?

Im start to hear this air sound at about just below 50% of the compressor setting,and it just gets to be like a fuzz from there.

Now, im no expert but im guessing that any electricity sound is just getting jacked up to audible levels but, as this is such a expensive purchase (for me) i just want to check thats normal so i can get a replacement.

Do you guys hear the air sound when you pump the compressor with on sound running?

Also, the distortion seems to kick in really hard at about 5% instead of it being a nice smooth transition into the distortion it all of a sudden kicks in, i can record this if u would like, it others are not experiencing the same things?

Thanks!!!!

ps - Tempest is just out of this world!

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

You have your sounds at very low level and you're lifting up the noise floor.Try to use max volume levels (127).As for the distortion clicking i'm afraid is expected.

[RobH]

Hmmm, no im not sure about this at all, I've tried cranking all the levels and the distortion still just kicks in all of a sudden like a muel, literally like its an on/off switch, i changed all the pads to 127, i cranked the volume  on the Tempest to max and lowered the gain on the audio inputs and i'm still getting this.

Is everyones Tempest like this??? let me record some

[RobH]

https://soundcloud.com/robert-tree-hardy/tempest-distotion

Here is the sound when i hit maybe 6 or 7 midi clicks with the distortion dial this is how it kicks in and out, there isn't a smooth transition from no distortion to a little, theres just all of a sudden a whack with a kick, please tell me if this is how it is on your Tempest?

It would be good if Dave or Roger can comment as well.

everything else is so tight on the drumachine why would the distortion be like this, i've tried cranking the volumes, what else can i try a to get smooth transition when adding distortion? thanks again

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

Let me repeat it once again...
The distortion clicking that kicks in is a Tempest flaw,is expected and nothing can't be done cause it's a hardware flaw.It's been there since day one and many of us have criticized it.My comment about noise and volumes has to do with the compressor.

[RobH]

Let me repeat it once again...
The distortion clicking that kicks in is a Tempest flaw,is expected and nothing can't be done cause it's a hardware flaw.It's been there since day one and many of us have criticized it.My comment about noise and volumes has to do with the compressor.

Ok, thankyou, i didn't mean to aggrevate you or anything, i was hoping i could maybe adjust my noise levels like you said in your first post as a workaround, this is not possible, understood. Thanks.

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

No worries I feel you...It's such a shame that we can't use it in a smoother way.

Let me repeat it once again...
The distortion clicking that kicks in is a Tempest flaw,is expected and nothing can't be done cause it's a hardware flaw.It's been there since day one and many of us have criticized it.My comment about noise and volumes has to do with the compressor.

Ok, thankyou, i didn't mean to aggrevate you or anything, i was hoping i could maybe adjust my noise levels like you said in your first post as a workaround, this is not possible, understood. Thanks.

[thisisprisma]

it does happen to me as well, the distortion kicks in around 5% like an on/off switch. it is a bit disappointing for such a expensive machine but i was told by other users that that is normal. and because it analog/hardware issue, there is nothing to do with updates though. I also notice that my bass and kick looses a lot of energy when distortion comes in...