As soon as you let key A up you will hear key F sound just as if you had played it again - except you have held it down the whole time and let it die out.

Hi @Bill, no, not talking about this one, but I also faced this annoying problem today, exactly as you described it. I wanted to explore it a bit more before call it a problem or post about it.

My problem in other words:
1. Initialize an AWM2
2. Leave the same waveform
3. Change the Part to Mono (there is only a Part 1 with Element 1 Piano)
4. Go to Effect INS A and Select a Delay Effect (I selected LCR/Analog)
5. Increase the Feedback Time to 1s (so that you can hear it).
6. Play a Bass Note (Say C1) then a much Higher Note (Say C4) - just to easily hear it. Release C1 before Playing C4.
7. When C1 is played, a feedback will sound (a bassy C1 feedback). When C1 is released and C4 is played, a Higher Feedback (C4 Feedback) is played while C1 Feedback is still playing (i.e. Poly), while the Part is Mono.
8. In my books, C1 Feedback should stop as soon as I play a new note (i.e. C4 in this case).

If the initial note is mono this doesn't limit the effects from creating simultaneous notes. The effects do not have themselves a limit similar to how if you took a kazoo (which is monophonic) and ran it through a delay - it would perform similarly if the effect itself would be playing tails of previous notes when new notes start.

And by "mono" I mean monophonic - not mono vs stereo.

Delay is an Effect. It does not re-play the piano key. So the synth mono vs poly parameter does not have any affect on the Effects Section (Insert, System or Master). The effects section operates in the audio output of the synth. You would get the same scenario if you fed the main L&R outputs into an external delay unit... fir example, a Boss DD7.

In fact, a "Delay Effect" is making a recording of the note you play, and then playing back that recording some time (delay time) later.

The delay will keep playing back the recording until its "Feedback" volume diminishes (decays) to zero (inaudible).

To set a Delay effect such that it only repeats once (1 Repeat), set Delay Feedback to "0" (or the lowest possible value).

The ability of Delay units (or Echo Units as they were originally known) to "re-harmonise" played passages was used to great effect by some artists.

Example, re-harmonise the major scale, with only a Mono Synth.

Set Feedback to 1- 2 Repeats.
Set Delay Time to Twice the Interval you play notes. So, if you were playing Eighths, set Delay Time to Quarter Notes (use Tempo Delays).

Play the major scale on the eighth notes (use the click)... 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and...

The Delay will play back over the notes you play and harmonise (minor or major third interval).

Brian May of Queen did this a lot.

Another example is using a Delay to rhythmically "Arpeggiate" mono lead lines... riffs, motifs etc.

Set the delay time to a Dotted Eighth and play Eighths. The Delay echoes will sound "in the gaps" between the notes you play, creating an intricate 1/16th note phrase. A classic example of this is the opening guitar Riff to U2's Pride, or Pink Floyd's Run Like Hell.

Thanks Jason & Antony for the answers and clarifications.

My bad when I said the feedback should stop... I thought that's what I learned and that what I was hearing in my other keyboards!

After Jason's answer, I went back to my other keyboards, to few VSTs, as well as to the "training" I used some time ago to learn synthesis, and re-tried this, and of course, feedback kept playing in Mono Mode. So nothing wrong in the MODX, just my ears 🙂

Cheers

Part Delays as Effects have many, many bugs.

This is easily the buggiest part of the MODX/Montage.

When they get buggy, they'll bleed delays like a reverb ongoing or go silent no matter what you do. In either case, remember your Delay settings before you start going crazy trying to hear what should be playing, swap out the Delay Effect for another Effect (I usually use a chorus so I can be sure I hear it), spam a few notes to make sure it's working, add back the Delay Effect, and you should be good to go.

Will have to re-enter your settings, though, because there's no user presets for effects...

Some of the things I can remember that cause the bugs in Part Delay Effects to occur:

- changing AEG or FEG to Time/Vel to below zero
- changing Elements from Random to AssignSwitch 1/2 ON and back to Normal
- changing Elements to KeyOff and then back to Normal
- changing the other Effect to a Phaser
- Soloing and unsoloing Elements a lot whilst sound designing
- heavy usage of the Velocity modifier of Cutoff
- tweaking the Velocity modifier of Resonance, at all (this one is particularly unreliable in and of itself, too)

[quotePost id=116065]

Set Feedback to 1- 2 Repeats.
Set Delay Time to Twice the Interval you play notes. So, if you were playing Eighths, set Delay Time to Quarter Notes (use Tempo Delays).

Play the major scale on the eighth notes (use the click)... 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and...

Can't get the example to work.

Are you using the System effect or the part effect? The part effect doesn't have Feedback or Delay Time.

Can you provide the specific steps for both examples you gave?[/quotePost]

By "Part Fx" I assume you mean Insert FX.

You will need a Tempo delay type, Tempo Delay Mono is probably the most straight-forward.

Choose a Single Part AWM Perf with 1 Element.

Edit Part1 - Common

Set Effect -Routing - InsA to Tempo Delay Mono.
Set InsB to Off.

Set System and Master FX Off (short cut in Utility)

Go to Effect - InsA.

You will notice Delay Time is a drop-down menu. Hit the graph box at the bottom.

Choose "1/4" = 1 Quarter Note (or 1 Beat).

If you play on Beat 1, the Echoes will sound on Beat 2, Beat 3, Beat 4 etc.

Set "Click" to Always in Utility.

Test with various tempos. The echoes will always sound on the Beat (or Click).

So instead of setting the Delay Time as an absolute fixed value (in milliseconds) you are setting Delay Time according to the Tempo or B.P.M.

If you Set a high BPM the Delay Time will be short. Slow BPM will be a longer Delay Time.

The point of having Tempo Delays is that within the band, the band rarely plays at exactly the same Tempo every time. So if your Delay is set to a fixed value "for effect", the Delay will sound wrong if the drummer is playing too fast or too slow.

That's why you see a lot of modern Delay pedals have "Tap Tempo" footswitches. Tapping the footswitch in time with the Band automatically sets your Delay Time to the "right" time.

Exercise 1:-

Set Tempo/BPM = 80

Set Delay Time = 1/4

Set Delay Feedback = 10 (~ 2 Repeats)

Set Dry/Wet to "D=W"

Play ascending C Major Scale in eighths to the Click...

1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and...

If it wasn't already obvious... you must play in perfect time with the Click.

Setting Feedback higher (e.g. 30) gives more Repeats and therefore more layers of harmony.

Exercise 2:-
Now.... Set Feedback = 0 (1 repeat)

Set Dry/Wet to D20>W

Set Delay Time to " 1/8 Dot ".

Play the ascending C Major scale again as Eighths to the Click.
Alternately, just arpeggios a C Major Chord up and down.

This time the Delay plays back "in between" the notes you play, making it sound like you have very nimble piano fingers. You end up with a 1/16th note "riff" vs the 1/8th you are actually playing.

Practice makes perfect. You'll get the hang of it.

Tip: Always play to the "Click"... not the Delays you hear... easier said than done.

Advanced:-

Set Ins Connect to InsA -> B (Series)

Set Ins A ON
Tempo Delay Mono
Time = 1/8 Dot
Feedback = 0 = 1 Repeat
Dry/Wet = D20>W

Set Ins B ON
Tempo Delay Mono
Time = 1/4
Feedback = 30
Dry/Wet = D30>W

Play to the Click.

Welcome to the world of Rhythmic Tempo Delays.