The Hardware handles configuration of the input / output.
The audio interface allows you to select the sound card, and adjust the main volume.
The main volume can be adjusted in case of saturation. This main volume can also be adjusted via a Processor
On PC, It is recommended to use a low latency ASIO audio driver (e.g. Asio4All , free of charge).
A VSTe can be plugged to add an effect on the audio output.
It is possible to change dynamically the intonation, changing the scale of chromatic pitches according to a dynamic root pitch.
A standard reverb / chorus is available on the common audio output.
Five MIDI-In ports can be connected (keyboards, pedals, ....). Keyboards can be compensated for each midi channel and each note.
The computer keyboard can be configured to simulate notes with velocity. Keystrokes can also transpose velocity or pitch.
Two joysticks can be configured to generate MIDI messages. The mouse can also be used on the control surface.
On the output, it is possible to connect up to five MIDI ports (expander, digital piano, ...), five VSTi (virtual instrument) and five SF2 synthesizer, one virtual instrument, and an audioinstrument.
The latency of each output is adjustable to guarantee synchronous note-on between synthetisers with different latencies. Latency is the time elapsed between the demand for the note, and the effective start of the note on the audio output.
It is possible to control the Midi Thru ( Midi messages read on Midi-in and forwarded on Midi-out ), using the Midi Processors in the Thru Section..
Equalizers and compressors can be associated with Midi inputs and outputs in a comprehensive manner (eg to adjust the sensitivity of Midi keyboards or dynamic output)
Finally, settings can manage other parameters such as Midi-clock, ...
Other misc features:
Option for non-duplication of synchronous identical pitches on same virtual MIDI channel :
If this option is checked, more than one note with same pitch, requested on the same virtual MIDI channel , at same time, will be reduced to one note only, with velocity equal to the maximum of velocity of requested notes.
This option turns around the issue of "muted" sound, generated when more than one note with same pitch and tone are requested at same time ( independently of the physical MIDI channel ). This symptom appears only with expanders which use static samples ( internal SF2 player, or classical MIDI expander ).
This option can be useless if the external MIDI expander ( or the VST ) generates always different tones ( e.g. using physical modeling ), which is rare.
Details about the symptom. If two notes, A and B, with same frequency F, with exactly the same waveform, are requested at the same time t : the requests arrives sequentially in the MIDI expander, with small different delays, then the generation of the wave sound starts certainly with again two small different delays. So, note A is played on t+dtA, and note B is played on t+dtB. If ( dtB - dtA ) is like 2k(1+1/2F), k integer, the two waveforms A and B are in phase opposition, and cancel each other : no sound on the output ! If ( dtB - dtA ) is between 2k(1+1/2F) and kF, the output generates between no sound to high sound, through "muted" sound.
Note : the dispatch of note A and B on two different physical MIDI channels, with same tone, does not solve the issue.
It's often difficult to solve this issue on the expander itself, which request the use of this option.