Got a serious problem with my X4 and I need help. I've just left Synthony Music in Phoenix where, for 3 1/2 hours, owner Bill Cone, sales/Solton guru Barry Lifkin, and the on-site service tech tried to diagnose and fix my Solton's problems. No luck. So I left the rig at the store so Bill can try to salvage the sale. Here's the problem:

When I set up the X4 (it's the non-keyboard version of the X1) and connected the Roland PK-5 pedal board (via midi) and the Solton volume/chord tonality/on-off switch pedal (via Solton-specific plugs), things worked great--just like they had with my old MS4 Solton and the MS40 (which I almost bought years ago). Specifically that meant that I could press and hold a key footpedal down and momentarily change its tonality from major to minor (or 7th or dim, etc.) by pressing and releasing the side buttons built into the volume pedal. So I hold the note, press the minor chord switch and get a minor chord until I release the switch, at which time the chord immediately reverts to major.

Then, I connected my Digitech Vocalist (via midi) to the X4 and all hell broke loose--but not all at once. The first and immediate change in operation that happened was that the chord tonality foot switch was no longer momentary. The minor (or whatever) chord would not revert to a major tonality when the switch was released; rather, I would have to lift my foot from the key pedal and restrike it at the precise moment I wanted a major chord. The second gremlin that appeared caused the actual key pedals to send chord information unrelated to what I was requesting, e.g., the C played Cmaj, but the B pedal played Cmaj7, the A pedal played Amin, the G pedal played Cmaj, same with the F, etc. Then, after a few frenzied minutes of trying to figure this out--like powering off and on, resetting, reconfiguring and resaving--the problems persisted in the X4, then moved on to the Vocalist, which first refused to recognize any chord tonality changes, then rejected all key change commands. I even downloaded OS3.2a for the X4 and loaded it (which is a trick in itself) and the unit lost none of its problems--even after reinitialization--which, apparently, is not a hard reset.

I talked with John, the tech at Bell-Solton, several days ago. He wrote down the symptoms and said he'd research them and call me (sure . . . yeah . . .). Today, I loaded everything up in the truck and returned to Synthony today.

Now it gets really weird! Without making any changes in the settings, I connected the components (without the Vocalist) and the thing worked just like it had when I bought it three weeks ago! Eureka! So, I asked Barry if he could hook up a Vocalist to the midi out to make sure it would receive information. He didn't have one, so he just hooked it up to a handy keyboard. The moment the connection was made and the units were powered up, all the old symptoms returned!

Then, anyone in the store who might have an idea gathered 'round. We tried every hookup we could imagine, including using the store's X1 hooked to my pedals and to the store's pedals. Even with my equipment completely out of the loop, when the Solton (X1 or X4) has midied footpedals, the Solton volume pedal, and a midi out signal to another unit (of any kind), it goes berzerk.

That's it, folks. Any ideas? We've discussed chassis vs. AC grounding, brownouts, and have buffered the midi I/O with a midi merger. No luck. (We even tried created a forced midi loop in the Solton itself--and the tonality switches became momentary again, just like they're supposed to be! But the minute the other midi instrument was connected to the Solton's midi out . . . pfffftttt!!!)

I need help, please! No idea or suggestion will be ignored. Bill Cone promised to spend the entire day if necessary tomorrow to figure this out. I'm sure he'd appreciate any suggestions, also.

Dead in the Solton Sea,

Jim Henry

[This message has been edited by Jim Henry (edited 10-18-2000).]

Jim,
first, and I know this won't make you happy, put in the X4 vocalist kit and don't use the midi out to acheive vocal harmony recognition. If this is what you need to do with the midi out conection, this would be a quick fix although not a correct one.
second, and I'm sure you have, check the midi transmit paramaters such as channels, etc. and see what channels you are transmitting on for all parts.
The way I figure things out is to do exactly what Bill is going to do a Synthony Music. Plug it all in and start pushing buttons.
George Kaye

Thanks, George. I will hold the Solton vocalist insert suggestion as a definite option. Also, I'll tell Bill what you said about channel assignments, though he probably would do that anyway.

Also, I might have to replace the Roland PK-5 pedals with the Solton version. I can't imagine why, technically, that would make a difference, but, ever since the notoriously over-engineered Crumar bass pedals of 20+ years ago, I've seen Italian electronics as having a mystique of their own.

Anyone else with an idea? I'm up against a real time/tech wall here and would appreciate your expertise or flat out guesses on this one.

Thanks,

Jim Henry

Jim,
Thanks for the accolades and the moniker "guru".I hope I have earned it. We really need to play some golf. Soon. As to what I have found out so far. And this is a maybe, not yet confirmed with John or Lew from Solton. I have your gear set up the same way as we had it yesterday with one exception....on the "midi out" (to your vocalist) I am using a cable that has only 3 pins wired, not all 5....and suprise - suprise.......so far so good. It seems to be working. Could it be that the "off the shelf cable" with all 5 pins wired is causing a midi ground problem? European standard? American cables?
Film at 11.
(spelling doesn't count, it's been a long day)
Call me.

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Would you rather make a point or make a difference?

Golf? Let's tee it up!
Sounds like your Guru guy is pretty smart Jim. Good luck with the gear.
Don