Contents
GS & XG Effect Monitors
PXR includes a whole suite of windows that show, in real time, exactly what a Roland GS or Yamaha XG synth's effects are doing as a file plays, and let you reach in and adjust them on the fly. These are advanced tools for people working with GS or XG hardware (or compatible modules); most listeners will happily never need them.
Open them from the Effects menu (GS and XG submenus). New to these effects? Effects & Sound Shaping explains what reverb, chorus, EFX and the rest actually do.
How the controls work#
- Live monitoring: the dials and readouts mirror the synth's current settings as the file plays, so you can watch a song set itself up and tweak its effects as it goes.
- Interactive: when you are connected to compatible hardware and playback has started, you can drag a dial (or a send bar) to send a new value straight to the synth. On the built-in synth, and before playback begins, the windows are display-only.
- Channel send bars: most reverb and chorus windows show a row of vertical bars, one per channel, for how much of each channel is fed into that effect. Drag a bar to change its send.
- Cross-linking: every window has a sidebar of pills. Left-click a pill to switch to that window; right-click to open it alongside the current one, so you can watch two at once.
The controls below are listed with the label as it appears on screen and a plain-English description.
GS effect windows
GS Reverb#
- Type: the reverb algorithm (Room, Hall, Plate, Delay, and so on).
- Level: how loud the reverb return is.
- Time: how long the reverb tail rings out after a sound stops.
- Character: the tone or colour of the reverb, from diffuse to clear.
- Pre-LPF: rolls off the high frequencies going into the reverb (higher is duller).
- Pre-Delay Time: the gap before the reverb starts, like the distance to the first wall in a room.
- Delay Feedback: feedback amount for the delay-style reverb types (ignored by Hall/Room/Plate).
- Channel sends: a bar per channel for how much each one feeds the reverb.
GS Chorus#
- Level: how loud the chorus is.
- Rate: how fast the chorus wobble moves.
- Depth: how deep the wobble is.
- Feedback: feeds the chorus back into itself to thicken it.
- Delay: the base delay of the chorused copy.
- Pre-LPF: rolls off highs going into the chorus.
- Send to Reverb and Send to Delay: how much of the chorus is passed on to those effects.
- Channel sends: a bar per channel for the chorus send level.
GS Delay#
- Level: overall delay output.
- Time C: the main (centre) delay time.
- Time Ratio L / R: the left and right delay times relative to the centre, for stereo echoes.
- Level C / L / R: the volume of the centre, left, and right taps.
- Feedback: how much of the echo repeats (can be inverted for a different character).
- Pre-LPF: rolls off highs in the echoes.
- Send to Reverb: how much delay is passed into the reverb.
GS EFX (insertion effect)#
- Type: the active insertion effect (distortion, overdrive, phaser, tremolo, and many more).
- Routing: which channel the effect is applied to, or whether it is bypassed.
- Parameter grid: a set of controls that changes to match the chosen effect type (the labels follow the synth's manual for that effect).
- Sends to Reverb / Chorus / Delay: how much of the effect output is passed on.
- Send EQ: switches the insertion effect's built-in equaliser on or off.
- Real-time controllers: two assignable controls that let something like the modulation wheel or aftertouch change a chosen parameter live.
GS EQ#
- Low shelf: a frequency choice plus a boost/cut control for the low end.
- High shelf: a frequency choice plus a boost/cut control for the top end.
- Curve: a graph showing the resulting tone shape.
- Per-part grid: a grid of all channels; click a channel to switch the EQ on or off for it.
GS Drum Kit#
A table of every drum sound in the current kit. For each drum note it shows the note, the drum name, and its Pitch, Level, Pan, and Reverb, Chorus, and Delay send levels. A column of LEDs lights up to show which drums are playing.
XG effect windows
XG Reverb#
- Time: the reverb decay length.
- Diffusion: how dense the reflections are.
- Initial Delay: the gap before the reverb starts.
- Reverb Delay: an extra delay stage within the reverb.
- Density: the character of the reflections.
- Er/Rev: the balance between the early reflections and the reverb tail.
- High Damp: how quickly the high frequencies fade in the tail (higher is duller).
- Feedback: adds colour and resonance to the reverb.
- Room geometry (for room-style reverbs): Width, Height, Depth, and Wall Vary shape the simulated space.
- Cutoff curve: draggable high-pass and low-pass shoulders that filter the reverb, with the frequencies shown below.
- Return and Pan: the reverb's overall level and stereo position.
- Channel sends: a bar per channel for the reverb send.
XG Chorus#
- LFO Frequency: how fast the chorus moves.
- LFO Depth: how deep the movement is.
- Feedback: feeds the chorus back into itself.
- Delay Offset: shifts the chorus delay timing.
- Input Mode: processes the input as mono or stereo.
- EQ: a three-band tone control with a draggable curve (frequency, gain, and Q per band).
- Return, Pan, and Send to Reverb: the chorus's level, position, and how much it passes to the reverb.
- Channel sends: a bar per channel for the chorus send.
XG Variation#
- Type: the variation effect in use (delay, phaser, tremolo, rotary speaker, and many more).
- Routing: which channel the effect applies to, or whether it is bypassed.
- Parameters: a set of controls specific to the chosen effect; drag a value to change it.
- Return, Pan, Send to Reverb, Send to Chorus: the effect's level, position, and how much it passes on.
- Controller depths: how strongly the modulation wheel, pitch bend, aftertouch, and two assignable controllers affect the effect.
XG Insertion#
- Slot selector: switches between the dedicated insertion-effect slots (the number available depends on the model).
- Type and Routing: the effect in use and the channel it is applied to (or bypassed).
- Parameters and Extended parameters: the controls for the chosen effect.
- Controller depths: how strongly the modulation wheel, pitch bend, aftertouch, and two assignable controllers affect the effect.
XG Multi-EQ#
- Preset: a starting tone shape (Flat, Jazz, Pops, Rock, Concert, and so on).
- EQ curve: a five-band graph; drag a band up or down to boost or cut it.
- Per-band readouts: each band's Frequency, Gain, and Q (bandwidth). Narrower Q affects a tighter range of frequencies.
XG A/D Part#
The A/D Part is the audio input on MU-series hardware, a microphone or line source plugged into the module and mixed in alongside the MIDI parts. This window mirrors how a file sets that input up. It is a read-only monitor: there is no live audio when you play a MIDI file, so it shows the routing the file configured, or the hardware defaults if the file leaves the input alone.
- Part 1 / Part 2: switches between the two A/D parts (the MU1000 and MU2000 have two).
- Input: whether the input expects a Mic or Line level signal.
- Mixer: Volume, Pan, and Dry Level for the input.
- Effect sends: how much of the input goes to Reverb, Chorus, and Variation.
- Routing: the receive channel that controls the input, plus its Bank and Program.
- Control: the A/D Mode (mono or stereo) and the two assignable-controller numbers (AC1, AC2).
- Receive switches: whether the input responds to Mute, program changes, control changes, volume, pan, expression, and bank select.
XG Drum Kit#
A table of every drum sound in the kit, showing each drum's note, name, Pitch, Level, Pan, and Reverb, Chorus, and Variation send levels, with an activity LED column showing which drums are playing.
The window resizes to the kit. Drag it to any size and the whole kit fits without a scrollbar, even the largest PLG150-DR kits. The rows close up or spread out to fill the space, so a short kit leaves no empty gap at the bottom, and the activity LEDs stay perfectly round at every size.
It reads PLG150-DR and PLG150-PC kits too. All 160 of the board's drum and percussion kits come up by name, and every pad in them names the instrument it actually plays rather than a general-purpose label. Those files often put the kit on an ordinary channel rather than channel 10, and the part buttons along the top will offer it wherever it is. See PLG Daughterboards.
Related pages#
- SysEx Console for the raw messages behind these settings.
- The Mixer for per-channel volume, pan, and sends.
- PLG Daughterboards for the Yamaha expansion boards.
- MT-32 Support for the Roland MT-32.