Kurzweil PC3 User manual

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Kurzweil PC3
SoundEditor
User Guide

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction....................................................................................................................... 5
Acknowledgements................................................................................................................ 5
Support................................................................................................................................... 5
About this Manual................................................................................................................... 6
Installation/Requirements....................................................................................................... 6
Before You Begin................................................................................................................... 6
An Important Note About SoundEditor................................................................................... 6
Overview ................................................................................................................................ 7
2. Starting Up......................................................................................................................... 8
Getting Connected ................................................................................................................. 8
MIDI Setup ............................................................................................................................. 9
3. SoundEditor Menus........................................................................................................ 11
Configuring Preferences....................................................................................................... 14
4. Parameter Selection in SoundEditor............................................................................. 15
Selecting and Adjusting Parameters .................................................................................... 15
5. Program Banks Window................................................................................................. 19
Program Banks Window....................................................................................................... 19
Modes Toolbar ..................................................................................................................... 20
Program Name Display........................................................................................................ 21
Selecting Program Categories.............................................................................................. 21
Program Toolbar (Editing and File Storage)......................................................................... 22
Bank Selection and Sorting Options..................................................................................... 23
Search Options..................................................................................................................... 24
FOUND Button..................................................................................................................... 25
Individual Program Options.................................................................................................. 26
MIDI Channel Display........................................................................................................... 27
MIDI Channel Toolbar.......................................................................................................... 28
Modes Toolbar - MIDI Button ............................................................................................... 28
Modes Toolbar –MASTER Button....................................................................................... 29
Modes Toolbar - EFFECT Button......................................................................................... 30
Modes Toolbar - EQ+COMP Button..................................................................................... 32
6. Editor Organization......................................................................................................... 33

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SoundEditor Editor Structure................................................................................................ 33
7. Program Editing.............................................................................................................. 34
Program Common Window .................................................................................................. 34
Program Common Toolbar (Editing and File Storage) ......................................................... 35
Window Views...................................................................................................................... 35
IMPORT and REMOVE Buttons........................................................................................... 37
IMPORT Button.................................................................................................................... 37
REMOVE Button .................................................................................................................. 38
Selecting Songs in the Common Settings View.................................................................... 39
Selecting FX Chains in the Prog FX (Program Effect) View................................................. 40
Layers Overview Panel ........................................................................................................ 41
Layers Window..................................................................................................................... 44
Layers Toolbar ..................................................................................................................... 45
Layers Name Box................................................................................................................. 46
MUTE and SOLO Buttons.................................................................................................... 46
Keyboard Zone..................................................................................................................... 47
„Views‟ Toolbar ..................................................................................................................... 48
Algorithm Panel.................................................................................................................... 54
Selecting and Configuring Algorithms .................................................................................. 54
Selecting an Alternate Input (Cascade Mode)...................................................................... 56
EDIT ALG WIRING Button ................................................................................................... 57
Editing an Algorithm............................................................................................................. 58
FX Edit Window.................................................................................................................... 60
FX Edit Toolbar .................................................................................................................... 61
FX Overview Panel............................................................................................................... 64
SELECT Button.................................................................................................................... 64
MORE Button....................................................................................................................... 65
FUN Button........................................................................................................................... 65
KB3 Mode Edit Window........................................................................................................ 66
KB3 Mode Toolbar ............................................................................................................... 67
„Views‟ Toolbar ..................................................................................................................... 68
8. Channel Mixer Window................................................................................................... 74
Single Mixer Channel........................................................................................................... 75
Selecting Mixer Programs .................................................................................................... 76

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RECEIVE and SEND Buttons............................................................................................... 76
9. Setup Window ................................................................................................................. 77
Setup Toolbar....................................................................................................................... 78
Individual Setup Options ...................................................................................................... 79
10. Setup Editing................................................................................................................ 80
Setup Window...................................................................................................................... 80
Edit Window ......................................................................................................................... 81
Setup Edit Toolbar................................................................................................................ 82
Zone Parameter Groups....................................................................................................... 84
11. Additional Controls ..................................................................................................... 90
V-Piano ................................................................................................................................ 90
Playing the PC3 from the Computer Keyboard .................................................................... 91
CC Sliders............................................................................................................................ 92
12. Appendix A - File Extensions ..................................................................................... 93
13. Appendix B - MIDI Setup Options............................................................................... 94
MIDI In Controller................................................................................................................. 94
Virtual MIDI Port................................................................................................................... 95

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1. Introduction
Welcome to SoundEditor! SoundEditor is a full-featured Editor/Librarian and Sound
Development tool for the Kurzweil PC3.
While the PC3 is fully editable from its front panel controls, SoundEditor greatly expands the
editing experience by displaying every PC3 parameter in a series of logical, easy-to-use
graphical interfaces. SoundEditor allows you to create, edit, organize, and store PC3
Programs, Setups, Songs and Effects.
Through a standard MIDI connection (DIN or USB), SoundEditor can receive and transmit
individual Programs, Setups or Effects, or entire banks to the PC3. All Program, Setup and
Effect parameters can be displayed and edited. Programs can be assigned to any of 20
Categories to assist in organizing, sorting and creating custom program banks. SoundEditor
can also be used as a teaching tool to learn the inner details of the factory Programs.
This manual, both a user guide and handy reference, is designed to get you up and running
quickly.
We hope you enjoy using SoundEditor for your Kurzweil PC3!
Acknowledgements
SoundTower Software gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following individuals for
their support and assistance during the development of this product:
Hal Chamberlin
Ricardo Garcia
Philip Hartman
Greg Kist
Mark Lanos
Mike Raffa
John Richmond
Francisco J. Rodriguez
Paul Rumberg
Helmut Schiltz
Michael Shonle
Jeff St.Pierre
Tim Thompson
John Teele
Dave Weiser
Support
Online support for this product is available at: http://www.soundtower.com/kurzweil

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About this Manual
Throughout the manual, screen shots of the SoundEditor application are shown for illustrative
purposes. These views are based on SoundEditor for the Macintosh, although similar views
will be observed if you are using SoundEditor on a PC. When any significant variation in the
appearance or operation of SoundEditor occurs between the Mac and PC platforms, the
differences will be described.
Throughout this document you will see icons that provide additional information:
- This icon indicates an important note concerning the operation
- This icon indicates a helpful or productive tip.
Installation/Requirements
No special software installation is required. SoundEditor is a standalone program designed to
run on Windows XP or Vista, or a Macintosh (OSX 10.3 or higher).
The SoundEditor application requires:
- 20 MB Hard Drive space
- 256 MB RAM (min.)
- 1024 x 768 minimum screen resolution (1400 x 900 recommended)
- MIDI interface or USB connection
Before You Begin
To get the most out of this program you should be familiar with the operation of the PC3. The
PC3 is complex musical instrument with an amazing array of programmable features. The PC3
Musician‟s Guide is the principal resource for descriptions of the instrument and its operation;
this document is recommended reading for all PC3 users. Although SoundEditor can be an
invaluable resource to aid in the understanding the PC3, it is not a substitute for reading the
Kurzweil documentation.
An Important Note About SoundEditor
While using SoundEditor, the PC3 must not be in Edit Mode. Failure to observe this precaution
can result in unreliable editing and improper operation, including the possibility of locking up
the PC3 (should this happen, you‟ll need to cycle the power to reset the PC3).

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Overview
This User Guide will take you through the steps to configure SoundEditor to work with your
PC3. The Starting Up section should be followed first to get the hardware properly connected
and running with the SoundEditor application. From there you can freely explore, audition and
edit Programs or Setups, or create new Programs, Setups, or Effects.
The PC3 is an incredibly deep and complex instrument with many programming options.
SoundEditor has been designed to make the programming and editing process as simple and
easy to use as possible while providing all of the functional control needed to adjust every PC3
parameter. A few of SoundEditor‟s editing windows are shown below.

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2. Starting Up
Getting Connected
This chapter describes the steps to connect and configure SoundEditor on your computer.
Set up the PC3 according to the PC3 Musician‟s Guide (Chapter 2). Connect the PC3 to the
computer using either USB or the MIDI IN and MIDI Out DIN connectors, but not both.
SoundEditor will work with either connection.
By default, SoundEditor will check to see if a USB connection is in place when the
program starts. If no connection exists, it will default to the MIDI DIN connectors.
After insuring that the connections between the PC3 and your computer are in place, power up
the PC3, then launch SoundEditor. As the SoundEditor program starts, a splash screen similar
to the one below will appear briefly:
By default, SoundEditor will check to see if a USB connection is in place when the program
starts. If no connection exists, it will default to the MIDI DIN connectors.
You do not have to specify the type of connection in advance.
A few seconds later, the splash screen will be replaced by SoundEditor‟s „PC3 Editor‟ window.
By default, this window will display the Program Bank view as shown below, but you can chose
between „Program Bank‟ or „Setup Bank‟ as the startup view (see Configuring Preferences,
page 19)

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The first time you launch SoundEditor, some of the information fields may be blank.
MIDI Setup
If you are working with SoundEditor for the first time, you‟ll need to configure the program for
MIDI communication with the PC3. Once you do this, SoundEditor will remember the
configuration until you change it.
Click on the MIDI menu and select „MIDI Setup‟:

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The MIDI Setup window will appear, displaying the available MIDI Port connection options on
your computer:
1. Your MIDI Setup window will likely show different MIDI Input and MIDI Output Port
information.
2. The Virtual MIDI Ports‟ tab only appears in the Macintosh version of SoundEditor.
In the MIDI Setup window, select the MIDI IN and OUT ports that the PC3 is connected to, and
set the MIDI Channel to match the MIDI channel on the PC3. Once the proper ports and MIDI
channel are selected, you should see the current PC3 software version at the top of the MIDI
Setup window as shown. This confirms that SoundEditor is communicating with the PC3.
After making the appropriate MIDI connections, click on the DONE button to dismiss the
window. You can safely ignore the MIDI In Controller and Virtual MIDI Ports tabs for now.
Information on the use and configuration of the MIDI In Controller and Virtual Ports is provided
in Appendix B.