Voice Editing a Roland PMA-5 using a Keystation Pro

As far as controller keyboards go, they dont get much larger than a Keystation Pro. Eighty eight keys, 9 sliders, 24 knobs, 22 buttons, 2 wheels and 3 pedal inputs, should be able to explore most of the PMA's potential.



At this stage I'll be looking at the sound module side of the PMA.







MIDI CONTROLLERS FOR EDITING INDIVIDUAL VOICES FOR A ROLAND PMA5







Standard Midi Control Change Messages that it responds to.

CC1 Modulation



CC5 Portomento time



CC7 Volume



CC10 Panning



CC11 Expression



CC16 Controller 1 (default)



CC17 Controller 2 (default)



CC64 Sustain



CC65 Portomento On/Off



CC66 Sostenuto



CC67 Soft



CC84 Autobend (portomento control)



CC91 Reverb Send



CC93 Chorus send



CC126/CC127 Mono/Poly



CC128 Pitch Bend Sensitivity

CC129 Coarse Tuning



CC130 Fine Tuning



CC131 Aftertouch







NRPN Controllers

M-Audio use a special CC number- 136, which allows NRPN LSB and MSB parameters to be easily allocated to a knob, rather than having to enter CC 98 then CC99 then CC6 sequentially

All of these MRPNs are "offset" parameters with a range of plus or minus 40, centred on 64. It is best to set them up with maximum and minimum values of 24 and 104 respectively.

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 8 =Vibrato Rate

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 9 =Vibrato Depth

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 10 =Vibrato Delay

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 32 =Filter Cutoff

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 33 =Resonance

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 99 =Attack (both filter and amplifier envelopes)

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 100 =Decay (both filter and amplifier enveloopes

CC 134 MSB 1 LSB 102 =Release (both filter and amplifier envelopes).



RPN

As with NRPNs M-Audio uses a special CC- 132, to enter RPNs. This avoids having to use CC 100, CC101 and then CC6.

CC132 MSB 0 LSB 0 Pitch bend sensitivity (channel specific)



M-Audio has also put some further device specific

CC128 Pitch bend sesitivity (not sure if this is channel specific)

CC140 Pitch Bend



Some of the later Sound Canvas models supported GM2 controllers, however the PMA does not appear to be one of these.

Roland PMA-5 Personal Music Assistant

This amazing little box was the first electronic instrument I ever bought. In about 1997 from memory. At the time I played guitar and was looking for something to help me understand music transcriptions and act as a practise tool.

My main memory of when I started using it, was how incredibly powerful and clever the unit was. Like most guitarists in the 90's, I was completley ignorant of electronic instruments. The PMA made me feel like a caveman who suddenly encounters a TV.

Within no time I was turning out the worst "plink plink plink" midi renditions of my favourite guitar epics, you will ever hear. Luckily you won't, because it died about 3 years later, completly worn out.

Anyway last week l won my second PMA on ebay for $100. Its like meeting an old friend after a long time.

I think that whenever someone learns a whole new instrument or technology, the initial tools you use can still strongly shape the way you work, long after they have been replaced by newer methods and equipment.

Thats how I feel about the now ancient PMA5. Over the years I've bought and used several more synths, all of which were far more powerful and more professinal. But many times found my self thinking of the PMA5

Questions I would like to answer.

How useful is the chord track feature as an arpegiator?

Is a sound canvas unit still capable of interesting synthesis?

Can a controller keyboard make the PMA5 a viable live insrument?

How do I acess the sysex perameters?

How can I backlight the screen?