Jazz Teddy Bears - Setting up a WX5 rig

Setting up a WX5 rig

This tutorial walks through how I have set up my WX5 rig, which consists of:

a WX5, using wireless MIDI
a VL70‑m synth module, with Patchman's Turbo VL chip
a Lexicon MX400 effects processor for reverb/delay, and other effects
a MOTU Audio Express to mix everything together
a Behringer FCB1010 foot controller
a laptop running Ableton Live

Click here to see the complete layout.

Setting up the VL70-m synth module

We'll start off by setting up the VL70‑m. I use Patchman's Turbo VL chip, which provides a set of new sounds that are significantly better than the ones that come with a stock VL70‑m, but the instructions here apply regardless.

Browse through the sounds in the Pr1 and Pr2 banks, find ones you like, then save them in one of the 64 user slots in the INTERNAL bank.:

press EDIT
use the SELECT buttons to navigate to the STORE option, then press ENTER
use the VALUE buttons to select which slot you want to save to
press ENTER to save the patch

Later, we will set up an FCB-1010 MIDI foot controller to control everything. It has 2 expression pedals, and I've configured them to always use CC#4 (foot controller) and CC#7 (volume). Each patch can be individually configured to respond to CC#4For example, Scream and Growl work well for wind instruments, while Damping and Harmonic Enhancer can produce interesting variations for stringed instruments., so I can use the first expression pedal to subtly change the sound while I'm playing, and the second expression pedal to adjust the volume.

To edit a patch to respond to CC#4:

press EDIT, and choose CONTROL
use the SELECT buttons to choose a parameterThese are documented on p48 of the Owner's Manual.Note that more than one parameter can be configured to respond to CC#4., and VALUE to change themYou'll see a lot of parameters configured to respond to CC#2. This is breath control, and so the sound will change according to your breathing.
when you're done, press EXIT to go back to the menu, and choose STORE to save your changes

There are more options in the OTHER page, notably Vib RateI don't like the vibrato much, so I usually set it really low (-64), and add vibrato by pulsing the airflow and Voice LevelI try to set all my patches to have roughly the same volume.. You can also change the patch's name here.

There are also a few other options in the VOICE PLAY sub-control mode, which can be accessed by simultaneously pressing both PART buttons, and using the SELECT buttons to scroll. The main one of interest is NoteSft, which lets you shift the octave the WX5 plays in.

Again, don't forget to save your changes when you're done!