VR One Touch

In this article we explain how the MODE buttons can be used to quickly switch between different sounds during a performance (instead of e.g. changing registrations)

  (I) Understanding the “One-Touch” (or “MODE”) buttons
  (II) Using the MODE buttons with VR registrations
  (III) Using the MODE buttons with VR registrations and V-COMBO EDITOR
  (IV) Remarks

(I) Understanding the “One-Touch” (or “MODE”) buttons

 
The common understanding is that the MODE buttons recall ‘fixed factory settings’ for organ, piano, synth.
But this not true! They can be used in a much more versatile way: while pressing a MODE button resets some VR settings to ‘default’ other settings preserve their ‘current values’
Examples: pressing PIANO button does NOT force back to ‘GrandPianoV’ but to the last chosen piano or EP. ORGAN button preserves its current drawbar setting

    VR MODE buttons are ‘a little bit’ comparable to (former) Nord Electro “Live mode”

Advantages of using MODE buttons instead of ‘multiple registrations’ to switch sounds within a song:
  – instead of ‘wasting’ 2 or 3 VR registrations you only need one
  – changing a registration to switch (back) to organ sets the drawbars to inital registation setting – –
    MODE ORGAN button preserves the current (latest) drawbars
Limitations:
  – MODE buttons reset a couple of sound parameters (‘customisations’) to default
  – MODE buttons allways switch to ‘one manual with one sound’
Note: you can overcome the limitations by including the registration button itself in ‘instrument switching’, e.g. for recalling a layer/split or customised sounds. Using EDITOR (see chapter III) to set up the registration allows even more flexibilty for switching sounds (e.g. using PIANO and SYNTH buttons to toggle between 2 synth sounds)

The table shows which VR ‘settings’ (parameters) are reset to ‘factory defaults’ and which preserve the current status:

MODE button
parameters reset to factory default:
parameters preserving “current status”:
all
  • switches VR to ‘one manual’ (destroying split/layer)
  • all EFX (apart Reverb length and wall type): revert to default EFX of corresponding patch
  • Reverb Type: reverts to STAGE
  • Octave shift: reverts to 0
  • Level: reverts to 10
  • Reverb length (knob)
  • Reverb Wall type (VR menu EFX)
  • OD/dry parameter (VR menu EFX)
ORGAN
  • Organ type: reverts to ROCK
  • Rotary type: reverts to TYPE 3
  • Overdrive: reverts to value ’20’ (knob at 9:30 o’clock)
  • MFX : reverts to “Ring Modulator”
  • all Organ Tuning parameters: Gain, leakage, click
  • all Rotary Tuning parameters: ‘ramps’, speed etc
  • all ‘drawbar settings’ (!)
PIANO
  • envelope (ADR), filter (cutoff/resonance): reverts to 0
  • the ‘latest patch’ selected from VR PIANO section
    (PIANO, E.PIANO, CLAV, OTHERS)
SYNTH
  • envelope (ADR), filter (cutoff/resonance): reverts to 0
  • the ‘latest patch’ selected from VR SYNTH section
    (BRASS, STRINGS, etc)

What does this mean? Examples:

  • you change drawbars of your ROCK organ, then switch to MODE PIANO or SYNTH, then back to MODE ORGAN: organ will be at your latest drawbar setting
  • you select a piano, e.g. ‘Honky Tonk’, then switch to MODE ORGAN, then back to MODE PIANO: the piano patch will be ‘Honky Tonk’ (idem for synth sounds)
  • you have selected a piano patch, e.g. ‘FM EP1’, then a synth patch, e.g. ‘Juno Str. 1’ – then you can use the MODE PIANO/SYNTH buttons to toggle between these two patches
  • if you tuned a sound (e.g. synth lead with modified EFX, envelope/filter, etc) using a MODE button would reset these parameters to ‘factory default’: for this use case see chapter II Example 2 ff

It will be shown next, how MODE buttons can be used within a ‘VR registation’ to toggle sounds during a song, e.g.
– switch between Organ and a piano/EP
– switch between a complex (customised) layer and a ‘solo synth’

(II) Using the MODE buttons with VR registrations

 
As explained, the MODE buttons retain some of the current VR setting – and it does not matter whether these settings haven been set on VR panel or by loading a VR registration.

Example 1: using only MODE BUTTONS to toggle sounds in a song

Within a song, you want to toggle between “(Rock) organ”, “piano/EP” and a “synth patch” by only using the MODE buttons:
prepare a ‘VR registration’:

  1. switch to MODE PIANO and select a piano/EP/Clav/Others patch (do not customise the sound)
  2. switch to MODE SYNTH and select a SYNTH patch (do not customise the sound)
  3. switch to MODE ORGAN:
    – set your ‘base drawbar setting’
    – tune rotary (VR menu Rotary) and Organ (VR menu Organ) – do NOT change Organ/Rotary type!(
    – tune overdrive by using Organ Low/High Gain (VR menu Organ) and ‘OD/dry’ (VR menu EFX) – do NOT use OD knob!
    – we repeat: do NOT change ROCK-organ, Rotary Type 3, OD-knob, and organ ‘Level’-fader
  4. tune Reverb with REVERB knob and ‘Wall type’ (VR menu EFX) (do NOT change Reverb type ‘Stage’)
  5. Finally save to a VR Registration

Now when you load the registration it ‘preloads’ VR with its piano/EP patch, synth patch and ‘organ tuning’ – and you can use the MODE buttons to toggle between:
⇒ MODE ORGAN: Rock-Organ with your predefined/current drawbar settings, Rotary customisatons etc
⇒ MODE PIANO: the ‘preselected’ piano patch
⇒ MODE SYNTH: the ‘preselected’ synth patch

Reminder: MODE ORGAN button will retain your ‘active’ drawbar settings – example:
during playing you’ve pulled ‘all stops out’, then switch to MODE PIANO, then switch back to MODE ORGAN, then it’s again ‘all stops out’
To return to the ‘original’ drawbar setting of the registration, press the registration button

Example 2: add the ‘registration button’ to the button-dance:

You want to toggle between a “stock piano/EP” and a “customised synth-lead”:

  1. switch to MODE PIANO and select a piano or EP patch (do not customise the sound)
  2. switch to MODE SYNTH and select a synth-lead : add heavy ‘customisation’ (EFX, cutoff/resonance etc etc etc)
  3. save to registration

⇒ MODE PIANO button switches VR to the ‘preselected’ piano/EP patch (with factory defaults)
⇒ VR Registration button switches VR to the customised synth-lead

Example 3: add the ‘registration button’ to the button-dance:

You want to toggle between a “Electric Piano” and a “split with ‘strings’ in upper manual and Grand in lower manual”:

  1. switch to MODE PIANO and select an EP patch (do not customise the sound)
  2. create a split: set upper manual to a string patch, lower manual to a Grand piano. Eventually customise the strings with EFX/filter etc
  3. save to registration

⇒ MODE PIANO button switches VR to the ‘preselected’ EP patch (with factory defaults)
⇒ VR Registration button switches VR to the (customised) split

You do the same with a layer, and include MODE ORGAN etc.

Example 4: – negative example –

You want to toggle between a “Electric Piano” and a “split with ‘Grand’ piano in upper manual and Strings in lower manual”:

This cannot be set on VR ‘user-panel’: in ‘upper manual’ you cannot programm 2 different patches from ‘PIANO’-section at the same time
Same would be valid for SYNTH patches
For such a configuration you must use the EDITOR !

(III) Using the MODE buttons with VR registrations and V-COMBO EDITOR

 
Registrations ‘for MODE buttons’ can also be prepared with the EDITOR – with much more freedom for selecting/combining sounds.
Let’s go deeper into the ‘understanding’ of “VR voices” and what happens when we use MODE buttons:
When we push:
– MODE PIANO button, VR ALLWAYS switches to voice Upper-VCE
– MODE SYNTH button, VR ALLWAYS switches to voice Upper-SYN1

When working on “VR keyboard”, Upper-VCE is limited to patches from VR ‘PIANO’ section, and Upper-SYN1 is limited to patches from VR ‘SYNTH’ section
EDITOR allows to load ANY sound into those two voices, e.g. two SYNTH patches into both Upper-VCE and Upper-SYN1 – MODE PIANO/SYNTH buttons then toggle between synth A and synth B.

MODE Voice possible sounds using ‘VR keyboard’ possible sounds using EDITOR
PIANO Upper-VCE VR PIANO section VR PIANO and SYNTH section
SYNTH Upper-SYN1 VR SYNTH section VR PIANO and SYNTH section

IMPORTANT: MODE buttons only work with VR ‘factory’ patches from PIANO or SYNTH section – NOT with hidden sounds (eXtra, Atelier, etc). To use hidden sounds, include the registration button into the ‘patch switching workflow’

Example 1: use the MODE button to toggle between 2 synth sounds

 
 

Upper VCE is ‘preloaded’ with ‘Pulse Lead’
Upper SYN1 is ‘preloaded’ with ‘OB Strings’

⇒ MODE PIANO button switches VR to ‘Pulse Lead’
⇒ MODE SYNTH button switches VR to ‘OB Strings’

Example 2: use MODE buttons with VR Registration buttons (1-4)

 
 

Upper VCE is ‘preloaded’ with ‘FM Piano’
Upper SYN1 is ‘preloaded’ with ‘Pulse Lead’.
Solo and SYN2 is a ‘layer’ with ‘ResoSweepBrass’ and ‘OB Strings’, with customised with EFX and envelope/filter

the ‘layer’ is saved as ‘the registration’

⇒ MODE PIANO button switches to FM Piano
⇒ MODE SYNTH button switches to Pulse Lead
⇒ VR-Registration button switches to “OB Strings + ResoSweepBrass” + custom EFX/ADR-CR

Example 3: use MODE buttons and the VR Registration button (1-4) and ‘hidden sounds’

 
While a voice that shall be used for a MODE button must be a VR factory sound, the ‘active voices’ of the registation itself can also be used with patches from eXtra and ATELIER !

 

Upper-SYN1 is preloaded with moogisch ‘Pure Lead’ (VR factory patch)
‘the registration’ – Solo + Upper-VCE + Upper-SYN2 – is a multi-layer of ‘Crystal Pad’ (ATELIER), ‘Halo Pad’ (eXtra) and ‘Juno Str.’ (VR factory)

⇒ MODE SYNTH button switches VR to ‘Pure Lead’
⇒ VR Registration button switches VR to the multi-layer

Of course it’s also possible to combine ‘registrations as multizone’ (splits) with MODE patches.

(IV) Remarks

 

  • MODE buttons preserve VR seemsless transition (the latest sound is not cut off)
  • ‘DRUM’ voice can also be ‘preload’ with a drumkit, e.g. TR-707, and saved to the registration
    So when press the ‘DRUM’ button, VR switches to TR-707