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Tips
& Tricks
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Sequencer
Timing The
number one issue, in many users minds, is the
timing accuracy of the ASR-X internal Sequencer.
It's true that OS 2.67 for the original ASR-X did
correct some bugs and add features but, the short
and quick of it is, the CPU is not fast enough to
handle everything thrown at it at once. It does not
take more than a couple of turns at using the Mute
buttons on individual tracks during playback to
realize the ASR-X will hiccup during playback. Make
some drastic modifications to an effect setting in
realtime and you can feel the timing go out
momentarily. For my style of working the sequencer
is adequate. Priority is apparently placed on the
sample accuracy during playback - the right choice
IMO - and not on the playback timing. Note: The few
times I have imported an ASR-X .MID file into
VisionDSP I noted that the note on events all
appear to fall correctly in the display. This leads
me to believe that some priority is given to
recording notes accurately in the ASR-X Pro
sequencer and that the 'slow down' may only occur
during playback?! More testing is definitely called
for. I
write short sequences, from one to four measures in
length, with a few sounds at one time - resample -
start a new sequence and trigger the loop I just
cut while laying down more MIDI tracks - resample -
well, you get the idea. Then I save as a .MID file
and export to my sw sequencer. Some users find its
timing questionable. Yet others use it as their
primary sequencer with wonderful results. There is
no way around it - you have to try the sequencer
for yourself and decide first hand if you want to
deal with it or not. If
you're put off already at this point the ASR-X is
not for you. But, before you point & click to
the A3000
or the MPC-2000
website join a couple of mailing lists that support
these other popular models. I think you'll find
each has its own set of idiosyncrasies. Viewed as a
collection of usable tools - the ASR-X succeeds. As
an all-in-one workstation - it comes up a bit short
- but I like it regardless. Problem
number two, or rather, a missing feature: the
Sequencer lacks any form of note event editing.
What this means is you either get the part down in
the first pass or re-record it. A serious drawback
for some and inconsequential for others. My opinion
is somewhere in the middle - it depends on what I'm
trying to achieve at the time. As I mentioned in
the previous paragraph, you can save your sequences
in .MID format and import them to your sw based
sequencer for editing or further development. Step
Entry works well but there is no 'step backwards'
command; One users has confirmed with Ensoniq that
Step Entry does not accept MIDI Note On data from
an external controller, i.e., you have to use the
Pads for Step Entry. |
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