Re: slider for a vortex

[Michael Preston <michpres@erols.com>]

> Would anyone bother for this brother of another list?
> 
> >Date: Sat, 18 Jan 1997 12:55:31 -0800 (PST)
> >From: Saul Stokes <n9540283@gonzo.cc.wwu.edu>
> >To: synth-diy@horus.sara.nl
> >Subject: slider with a vortex
> >Mime-Version: 1.0
> >Sender: owner-synth-diy@horus.sara.nl
> >Precedence: bulk
> >
> >Hi, awhile back I decided to build a slider controller for my Lexicon
> >Vortex. Last night I got it together and hooked it up but it doesn't 
>>seem to control any of the Vortex's features.  It does however work on 
>>my other instruments. At first, I wasn't sure of the pinout on the 
>>slider and tried different combinations to see if it would work.  Now 
>>that I have it hooked up the correct way (thanks to Ric) and it still 
>>doesn't work, I'm beginning to think that maybe I fried something due 
>>to my experimenting. I can't imagine this happening since it's just a 
>>slider and a stereo cord. My question is could I have fried something 
>>by hooking the stereo wires up every which way to the slider? Also 
>>does anybody use an expression pedal on their Vortex?  Do you have any 
>>problems with it?
> >
> >Ciao,
> >Saul
> >www.hypnos.com/stokes.htm 

        Saul's fear of having fried some part Vortex is like my own. I 
thought 
I'd use my trusty MuTron volume/wah (on the volume only setting), with a 
carefully constructed stereo ring/tip Y split cable for expressive 
morphing. It didn't work. I thought my problem was in the making of the 
cable, but it turned out to be a well-enough made cable. The MuTron's 
volume pot works great, so I'm not sure why this alternative to the 
standard expression pedal didn't work for me. I dunno; I'm not very 
knowledgeable in the ways of the electron.  
        So, next, I went downtown to my local music store and bought a 
Yamaha 
FC-7 expression pedal. The pedal works for morphing and other parameter 
value changes, but it requires a very light touch. A very short 
arc-piece of the full possible range of the pedal sweeps ya from 1 to 
64. The Vortex manual states that toe-up position = parameter value 1 
and toe-down position =  64. But my pedal seems to be functioning with 
toe-middle = 1, and toe-7mm lower = 64. The expression pedal seems to be 
working fine for other expression pedal purposes (e.g., midi-synth 
parameter changes with a Roland GM-70). Does anyone else have this 
"problem" with another brand of expression pedal? Perhaps there is a way 
to program the Vortex to solve this problem. I haven't learned enough 
about the thing yet. I do enjoy it though. Maybe I'll just have to learn 
to be a bit more light-footed?
        Did I harm (insult?) the Vortex by trying to control it with a 
mid-seventies vintage MuTron? I think I read a Loopers-Delight posting 
from John Pollock which recommended the stereo ring/tip Y split cable 
plus volume pedal in lieu of shelling out the cash for an expression 
pedal. I think he wrote that his own version of this set-up worked well 
for him. I don't know why Saul's and mine didn't. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Preston