Program Mode And The Program Editor; Background - Kurzweil K2600 Musician's Manual

Chapter 6

Program Mode and the Program Editor

Programs are the K2600Õs performance-level sound objects. TheyÕre preset sounds equivalent to
the patches, presets, voices, or multis that you Þnd on other synths.
Program mode is the heart of the K2600, where you select programs for performance and
editing. The K2600 is packed with great sounds, but itÕs also a synthesizer of truly amazing
depth and ßexibility. When youÕre ready to start tweaking sounds, the Program Editor is the
place to start. But Þrst thereÕs a bit more general information about Program mode.
In Chapter 2 we brießy discussed the difference between VAST programs and KB3 programs.
YouÕll remember that VAST programs contain up to 32 layers, each of which contains a keymap,
which in turn consists of a number of samples assigned to a particular keyboard rangeÑ
typically Þve or six notes, depending on the samples.
We mentioned drum programs, which are VAST programs with more than three layers. ThereÕs
no real difference between ÒnormalÓ VAST programs and drum programsÑconsequently this
chapter doesnÕt make any further distinctions between them.
OK, one further distinction: thereÕs no keymap information about drum programs in the info
box on the Program-mode pageÑthere simply isnÕt room for information about more than three
layers. If youÕre wondering why we even have the concept of a drum program, itÕs actually a
carryover from the K2000, which had less processing power than the K2600, and required a
special channel to handle more than three layersÑand you need lots of layers, each with a
different sound and keyboard range, to make a convincing drum program. The name stuck.
YouÕll also recall from Chapter 2 that KB3 programs use a much different architecture: no layers
or algorithms, just a bunch of oscillators that start running as soon as you select a KB3 program.
This keeps the K2600Õs sound engine rather busy, and thatÕs why thereÕs a special channel
dedicated to KB3 programs; ÒregularÓ channels donÕt have the processing ability to generate
that many voices on a constant basis. By default, Channel 1 is the KB3 channel, but you can
make any channel the KB3 channel (with the KB3Chan parameter on the Master-mode page).

Background

ThereÕs a lot to digest in this chapter, so it might help to explain how weÕve set it up. The next
two sections give more detailed descriptions of the differences in structure between VAST
programs and KB3 programs. Then, since there are several performance features (and a few
issues) unique to KB3 programs, weÕll talk about those (KB3 Mode on page 6-4). After that, there
are descriptions of the Program-mode features that are common to both types of programs.
Then itÕs on to the Program Editor. When it comes to editing, there are more differences between
the two types of programs than there are similarities, so there are two separate sections: Editing
V AST Programs on page 6-11, and Editing KB3 Programs on page 6-48.
Program Mode and the Program Editor
Background
6-1