Using the main panel

All of the controls on the main panel are used for globally modifying certain parameters for all of the samples in a patch, by the same amount.

Movements of the parameters on the main panel can be recorded as automation. However, controls on the remote editor panel (described later) can not!

The following is a description of the controls and parameters on the main panel.

The Pitch and Modulation wheels

Most MIDI keyboards come equipped with Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels. The NN-XT features settings for how incoming MIDI Pitch Bend and Modulation wheel messages should affect the sound. The wheels on the NN-XT will also mirror the movements of the wheels on your MIDI keyboard.

If you don’t have Pitch Bend or Modulation controls on your keyboard, or if you aren’t using a keyboard at all, you can use the two fully functional wheels on the NN-XT to apply real time modulation and pitch bend.

•	The Pitch Bend wheel is used for “bending” the played notes up and down to change their pitch - much like bending the strings on a guitar or other string instrument. The Pitch Bend Range is set on the remote editor panel (see “Pitch Bend Range”).

•	The Modulation wheel can be used for applying modulation to the sound while you’re playing. It can also be used for controlling a number of other parameters, as described in “The Modulation controls”.

The External Control wheel

This section can be used in three ways:

Receiving MIDI controller messages from external sources

NN-XT can receive common MIDI controller messages, and route these to various parameters. You use the “Source” selector switch to determine which type of message should be received:

•	Aftertouch (Channel Pressure)

•	Expression Pedal

•	Breath Control

If your MIDI keyboard is capable of sending aftertouch messages, and/or if you have connected an expression pedal or a breath controller to it, you can use these to modulate NN-XT parameters. Which parameters should be modulated is set in the remote editor panel (see “The Modulation controls”).

Recording MIDI controller messages with the wheel

The wheel in the external control section can be used for recording any or all of the three MIDI controller message types into the Reason sequencer. If your MIDI keyboard isn’t capable of sending aftertouch messages or you don’t have access to an expression pedal or a breath controller, you can use the wheel instead.

This is done just as with any other automation recording, see “Recording performance controller automation”.

High Quality Interpolation

This switch turns High Quality Interpolation on and off. When it is activated, the sample pitch is calculated using a more advanced interpolation algorithm. This results in better audio quality, especially for samples with a lot of high frequency content.

•	High Quality Interpolation uses more computer power - so if you don’t need it, it’s a good idea to turn it off! Listen to the sounds in a context and determine whether you think this setting makes any difference.

Global Controls

All of these knobs change the values of various parameters in the remote editor panel and affect all loaded samples. Thus they can be used for quickly adjusting the overall sound.

The knobs are bi-polar, which means that when they are centered, no parameter change is applied. By turning them to the right you increase the corresponding value, and by turning them to the left, you decrease the value.

Again, the movements of these parameters can be recorded as automation. This is done just as with any other automation recording, see “Recording parameter automation”.

The controls are, from left to right:

Filter

These two knobs each control a parameter of the filter (see “The Filter section”). Note that the filter must be on for these to have any effect.

•

Frequency

This changes the cutoff frequency of the filter.

•

Resonance

This changes the resonance parameter of the filter, meaning - the filter characteristic, or quality.

Amp Envelope

These three knobs control the Amplitude Envelope (see “The Amplitude Envelope”) in the following way:

•

Attack

This changes the Attack value of the Amplitude Envelope. That is, how long it should take for the sound to reach full level after you press a key on your keyboard.

•

Decay

This changes the Decay value of the Amplitude Envelope. Decay determines how long it should take for the sound to go back to the sustain level after it has reached full value (see “The Amplitude Envelope”) and the key that triggered the sound is still being pressed.

•

Release

This changes the Release value of the Amplitude Envelope. Release works just like Decay with the exception that it determines how long it should take for the sound to become silent after the key has been released.

Mod Envelope

This knob controls the Decay value of the Modulation Envelope (see “The Modulation Envelope”). Also see above for a brief description of Decay.

Master Volume

This controls the main volume out from the NN-XT. Turn the knob to the right to increase the volume.