Maybe someone knows this or can help me find a solution. I've recently downloaded the version of E-Mu X3 with the registration requirement ripped out (since it's abandonware).

I like it quite a bit, especially the way it loads converted discs of various formats via Translator.

Here's my question, does anyone know how to control the Morph filter knob directly?



That thing called Morph Designer? Or to figure out what the MIDI number of it is? I know on E-Mu hardware with Z-Plane/Morph filters, they routinely allowed them to be controlled by the mod wheel, so there's almost certainly a way to to do it in Emulator X3.

I have an MPE device that I'm using in just normal MIDI mode and I want to be able to modify other parameters by sliding my finger up the key, i.e. along the X-Axis. My K-Board 4 assigns MIDI 74 to the key x-axis by default.

Is there any sort of program that monitors the VST to tell you what MIDI is changing when I turn the knob?

VstHost does display parameters, but they're basically useless:



It seems like there must be a way to do what I want, X3 seems to lack MIDI learn . . .

There's relatively little information on it on the internet, even though it's actually turning out to be quite awesome. Awesomer, in fact, the more I learn it's ways . . .

I know it can be extra awesome if I can control those damn Z-Plane Morph knobs with a touch surface . . .

 

in the hardware you would setup Cords, and assign CC numbers via jog wheel, to each parameter of the effect (in this case, peak shelf) you wish to control and then send your automation data from the sequencer at those 2 or 3 CC's #s. I haven't used the PC sound card creations they made later on.

Do you have any of the original documents for the EMU? But in your sequencer's MIDI Event list, you should see the CC data flowing. I think with some legwork, you should be able to get this functional (to some degree). By having the midi implementation/docs.

On the bottom right of this thing, there are Cords setup options. So the incoming CC data from the Source needs to be routed to the peak Shelf Cutoff,frq, and Frame values? CC#s 22-25 is what I'd normally use (for whatever original reason), iirc.

Some people seemed to have had no problem with the R2R release from 2020.

 

Last edited: Oct 31, 2022

The Advanced Applications guide should get installed when you Install X3, If not, I included a link.

have a look at sections 7-11, There may be something there of use for controlling the filters.

https://manualzz.com/doc/1457393/advanced-applications-guide

 

That's the release I have, it works great, I like the program a lot.

The manual is here:
https://www.deepsonic.ch/deep/docs_manuals/e-mu_emulator_x3_manual.pdf

You'd think it would just have a list of CC numbers with that one listed, but it doesn't. It seems to imply that I have to control it indirectly, but controlling another envelope or something.

I only sort of know about MIDI, one of the advantages of this program being that it forces me to learn it.

I'll definitely look at that, I hadn't thought to check the advanced manual for some reason. It seems like it would be a very basic function. It may also be that some of the MIDI channels are unusual on my device, since the K-Board 4 is designed to be MPE first, which is quite new, and nothing of the sort existed when X3 came out . . .

 

I think the reason there were no static numbers used for CC is because the incoming CC# the parameter expects to receive automation data on is assignable by the user. So if you want the cutoff control to be modulated by your controller wheel/knob you would actually be assigning the CC# of the controller's knob to the parameter in the sampler. Rather than the CC# in the sampler being fixed for that parameter and having to assign that CC# to a particular knob/slider; you use whatever the controller is sending and then assign the CC# to the parameter in the Cords setup page. I'll look at the manual for this thing, I have never used it because there is no Mac port.

On Pg 301 it begins to describe the Cords setup process. So like I mentioned, the #s are what I'd always use. You set your controller to send data from the knob to this CC, and modulating it generates the incoming data to the program. I would guess the "Morph" knob is really just moving 2 or 3 of them at one time resulting in some different interpolation, as it does not exist in the original hw.

 

Last edited: Nov 1, 2022

Hi SirGigantor,
I did some testing on my Windows 10 (V1903 Build 18362.1082) x64, X3 (no compatibility mode), AKAI MPK261 (no ribbon/touch built in) just to make sure I could affect changes with Pedals, Pots and Sliders (PPS) to the Filters-Morph.
I used MIDI-OX 7.0.2 to confirm the MIDI-CC info and updated X3 Controller fields. There were a few KB controls that did not have any effect on X3 even they were set per what KB was sending and MIDI-OX was reporting. Confirmed no conflicts or duplicates. I found reprogramming the MPK261 for these non responsive controls to the unused "Undefined' on X3 (CC 021, 022, etc...)
Once all the PPS were good to go, I set things up (Filter programming, Morph programming) per the Advc. Apps guide.
I tried different PPS for controlling Filters-Morph and I can report everything worked per the manual.
Now that I know the basic PPS I have on my primary controller work and since you are trying to use a Touch/Ribbon via your K-Board, when I get some time, I will break out my Kurzweil ExpressionMate and introduce as input for the MPK261 and test 'Ribbon expression' which should be pretty close to your touch controls. Not sure how much as you said 'MPE' on your end comes into play, but for me it has been fun jumping off my MAC and doing some 'Windows' stuff.

 

wait, MPE? The r2r release of that software is from 2020, but the v3.0.0. software is from something like 2008. Don't the controller and the device receiving the input both need to support MPE? Because you can even disable it in some VST/AU plugins. (serum as example).
This page contains some related info about the sensel morph controller. https://morph.sensel.com/pages/mpe

 

Yeah, he implied that he was using his controller in NON MPE mode, but who knows what that truly means from a CC perspective. I Googled those K-Board 4s and if you can truly put it in NON MPE mode / program it and all you want to due is use X axis (like ribbon controller) then IMO as long as the 'ribbon / x axis control CC is setup properly in X3, then it should work just like any PPS or expression-ribbon controller. When I get time after playing with a Ribbon, I am gonna try my breath controller via the ExpressionMate. He is right, can do some fun stuff with this X3, HOWEVER, Wouldn't trade my E4 Platinum for X3 on even a free 'modern, decent PC'

 

I have a K-Board 4, Roli Seaboard Rise 25. and a set of Roli Lumi Keys, and they can all be set into a standard MIDI mode. Some might not, but those makers opted to include that ability so they could be backward compatible. It's just more work than if the software actually has MPE support.

 

Yeah, I have messed around with various cords settings, and you may be right, it might just be moving all those under the hood via the GUI. I've yet to find something that moves them directly, I can move other stuff just fine with the X-Axis. It just seems like they would have had it directly controllable, but who knows.

 

I'd trade that shit in a second for Falcon2 and Shade on the Mac connected to Hydrasynth as MPE controller. I barely use my E6400 Ultra with 8 channels of ADAT Optical connected to the MOTU 828es and that's a 10x faster workflow than an old NON XT e4 (in 2022 this is a doorstop, useful only for Nostalgia). Remember that Non-Ultra machines cannot be upgraded to EOS 4.7, which is the only way for FAT32 support. Lose the attitude, I'm just trying to help someone. It's already clear that you know less than he does anyway. Toodles.

 

Last edited: Nov 2, 2022

WTF? What attitude? All I have done is taken the time to try and help this person by doing some testing or make suggestions just as you. What does making a comment about taking a fairly stable E-MU piece of hardware (which I have new, old, etc.) over an E-MU piece of software that has some quirks have anything to do with attitude. Has nothing to what YOUR, HIS or ANYONE, rich, poor, MC vs WIN, etc. else's choices are. From what I have seen so far, using this as you said '2008' buggy on a the most tricked out modern PC. Anyway, And, If whatever I posted in this thread somehow shows my ignorance-stupidity-intelligence with MIDI, MPE, or anything and show the superior intelligence SirGiganor or yourself have in this area, oh well, as I said, I was just trying to help and learn something at the same time.

 

The beauty of "internet snark" is that when you imply something and get called on it; you get to play the victim. Kinda like making "funny pictures" when you don 't have the balls to say what you want. Cowardly hearts and straight up shook ones.

 

I did a search for those, it looks like NOBODY would trade theirs . . . Also, if you get control of the morph knob direct, could you post or send me a screen shot of how you did it? I can get some stuff to work fine with the X-Axis, so I know it's working when I assign it to "Cord A".

Hopefully I'll have some time to play around with it later tonight. Part of the problem is probably that the first hardware synth and software I bought was Roli stuff and that does things all automatically with MPE, so I have to learn how to do things properly with X3, which is fine, since I'm sure it's useful to know.

 

This x1000000000000000000

The depth of these two plugins alone can replace 99% of most plugins and can easily accomplish anything a hardware sampler can do. Shade alone can recreate Z-Plane filtering with absolute ease and I'm constantly blown away at how flexible of an eq plugin it is... and I hate calling it an eq plugin because its SO much more than that. And Falcon... fuck, where do you even start... the possibilities of that beast are endless.

 

Last edited: Nov 2, 2022

Yes. When I'm back lin front of that gear this weekend will set things back up and try to better capture what I did, found and some
oddities (maybe bugs) or not as described in docs.

 

I'm really into stacking/layering effects in specific ways, especially in Blue Cat's MB-7, so minimal GUI appeals to me quite a bit, all of those graphics add up into memory/CPU usage when you use a lot of them, particularly with the higher level modern languages).

UVI Falcon is really good, but the packs are huge. They are good, though, but huge . . . Plus I also own Equator 2 since I upgraded cheap because I own the hardware. If you have Equator 2 and X3 you've pretty much got what you need.

 

Also, tons of the stuff for E-Mu/Akai/Roland is just as high quality as UVI and easy to find. Before Omnisphere existed Spectrasonics/Eric Persing worked for those companies either directly or on commission. The E-Mu, for instance, has the same Chapman Stick samples that show up in Trillian, but it's way smaller, plus they're easy to convert, so anything you like you can convert into WAV/SFZ to use in whatever else you so desire.

 

You don't need to add those packs to install Falcon. In fact you don't even need to install the factory library if you don't want it. As a "rompler" its phenomenal but as a sampler, it pretty much shits on anything that's out there. As far as being CPU intensive, its not any more or less than any other sampler running large libraries. But strictly only as a sampler you can run as a many instances as your computer can handle. Ive stress tested well over 60 instances of Falcon with multiple samples assigned to each one on my fairly dated computer and it barely even scratched my cpu.

As far as stacking and layering, you can do that easily in Falcon, in fact that's what it excels at. They even recently added a texture oscillator feature which allows you to stack and blend samples even more creatively.

I get that everyone has their personal preferences, but those aside, its almost unfair to compare Falcon to other samplers. Ive been making music since 90s and have owned and used EMUs, Akai, Roland, Yamaha (still own a maxed out Yamaha A5000). Ive also used Kontakt for years before switching to X3 which came bundled with my EMU 0404 before switching back to Kontakt. I can legitimately say that Falcon is light years ahead of any hardware or software sampler on the market atm. It does every kind of synthesis. Every type of sample editing, scripting, chopping, pitching, stretching (including vintage emulations of hardware samplers). Even stuff other samplers cant do. Falcon literally does everything. Its no joke, they threw everything and the kitchen sink into it... and STILL continue to add things to it in nearly every update.

As far as Im concerned, Benn Jordan pretty much sums it up:

 

Last edited: Nov 3, 2022

I bought Falcon about 4 years ago and agreed, it is a very nice sampler as well as rompler. I don't have any Roli experience. Looks like E-MU Emulator X3 had a lot of great possibilities before Creative let the E-MU brand die on the vine.

For the record, I never, ever said I would take my E-MU E4 Platinum over a modern PC with Falcon or any other modern VST. Never. Where clone or anyone else got that from I have no idea. Regardless, all the stuff about snarky, hiding, victims, make no sense, but, to each their own. My comment was/is, I would never trade in my E4 Platinum for any modern PC with E-MU Emulator X3. Maybe X3 works well on an older OS, but the freezes, GUI not repainting, etc. are a pain. I doubt even the most tricked out modern PC, which I do not have, would change the fact that X3, which I believe just came out around same time as MS Vista, would be a more stable platform than the E4 Plat., RFX-32 panning bug aside.

Interesting old Harmony Central post by one of the coders at E-MU about the X2 version IRT 'real time' control at least over the filter 'gain'. https://www.harmonycentral.com/forums/topic/1883643-e-mu-emulator-x2-software-sampler/page/7/