Akai Ewi4000s manual About Midi, Transmitted Information from the EWI4000s Midi OUT

CHAPTER 4: USING THE EWI4000s AS A MIDI CONTROLLER

Because the EWI4000s has internal sounds and effects, you can play it on its own, but you can also it as MIDI controller for an external MIDI sound module/synth.

ABOUT MIDI

MIDI is a standard for transferring the performance data between electronic instruments regardless of the manufacturer. Devices are connected using a 5-pin MIDI cable. When you connect the EWI4000s’ MIDI OUT to the MIDI IN of a MIDI sound module, the EWI4000s’s performance data will be sent to the module, which plays the sound. MIDI data is not actual sound – just data which tells the module what sound to produce and how to manipulate it.

MIDI data can be sent over 16 MIDI channels in one MIDI cable. If you are using an external module, you must set the same MIDI channels for the both the EWI4000s and the sound module (whether or not you are using the EWI4000s’s sounds or effects). For example, if the EWI4000s’s output channel is set to “1,” the sound module’s input channel should also be “1.”

When sending MIDI data, the EWI4000s transmits the Note Number, Velocity, and some Controller Changes such as Breath Controller, Portamento, Sustain, etc.

1.Connect the MIDI OUT of the EWI4000s to the MIDI IN of your external MIDI sound module using a standard 5-pin MIDI cable.

2.Set the external sound model so that it responds to the incoming MIDI signal.

3.Set the received MIDI channel to “1.” (The EWI4000s is set so that it transfers the MIDI signal with its initial setting.)

4.Select the sound library you wish to play.

Note: Refer to your external MIDI sound module’s manual for more information.

Transmitted Information from the EWI4000s MIDI OUT:

yBreath strength is transmitted as MIDI Control Change (CC) #2 (Breath Controller). If the external sound module accepts this information, you can control the output volume of the sound module with your breath. Depending on the sound module, your breath strength can change not only the output volume but also the character of the sound. For example, if you set the cut-off frequency of the sound module with MIDI CC #2, your breath strength can change the sound character by changing the cut-off frequency of the sound. Refer to your sound module’s manual for more information.

yBEND PLATE information is transmitted as MIDI Pitch Bend data. If the external sound module accepts this information (i.e., if Pitch Bend is a registered parameter), you can control the sound module’s Pitch Bend with the BEND PLATE of the EWI4000s. (The vibrato information is also transmitted as MIDI Pitch Bend data.).

yGLIDE PLATE information is transmitted as MIDI Control Change #65 (Portamento) and #5 (Portamento Time). If the external sound module accepts them, you can control the sound module’s Portamento with the GLIDE PLATE of the EWI4000s.

„MIDI Program Change

You can change the sound program of an external sound module by sending MIDI Program Change information from the EWI4000s. The operation for a Program Change is the same as “Selecting the Internal Sounds (Program Key).” When the Program of the EWI4000s is changed, the MIDI Program Change of the same number is transmitted.

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