Trouble getting SH-101 going with Silent Way :-/

[Jonodog]

Hey,

I have been trying to get my SH-101 working with the demo of Silent Way before I buy it.

So far, I have done my best to follow the instructions on the tutorial video to a T;

I have got to specially made Y cables as per the instructions (1/4" TRS to 2 x mono minijack (one T>T/S>S, the other R/T/S>S) and am using an 828mk1 with Logic Pro 9.

This is what I'm doing, if anyone could tell me where I'm going wrong I'd be really grateful!

1. I connect the Main Outs of 828 to monitors, then output 1 to SH-101 CV IN, output 2 to SH-101 GATE IN (using aforementioned Y cables for both), and the output of the SH-101 to Input 1 of the 828.

Without connecting the CV and GATE, the SH-101 works as normal, when they are both connected, it doesn't make a sound.

2. I create an Audio track and a Software Instrument track in Logic. I monitor the input of the audio track which is set to input 1 and open an instance of Silent Way Voice Controller MultiOutput.

3. I create the two Auxiliary tracks from the button on the SW Voice Controller channel. They show up as 3-4 and 5-6 as specified in the Tuorial. At this point, if I play my MIDI keyboard, I see activity in the meters of the Aux channels, their corresponding output channels, the Right side of the SW Voice Controller channel....nothing from the Left side of that channel and just a constant very low level from the audio channel and on the stereo output.

4. When I hit the Calibrate Button, it doesn't do the glide up the frequency spectrum that it shows in the tutorial....maybe a few clicks....and then the Left channel of the SW Voice Controller has a constantly high level, as does the Left Channel of Output 5.

Can anyone help? I was so excited to see this work, buy it, then get the SH101 running from the DAW and record loads of different parts and play around with all the knobs etc!!!!

Many thanks,

Jono

[os]

Did you see this?



Can you describe the cable wiring again? What you wrote above isn't entirely clear.

Are you using the signal coming from the tip or ring of the TRS jacks?

[Jonodog]

Hi there, thanks for your reply...sorry it's taken me a few days to respond...I thought the forum was going to send replies to me email and I didn't check bach here until now.

Yes, I have seen that video, but I didn't find it helpful - I found the tutorial from Expert Sleepers about how to use Silent Way Voice Controller in Logic easier to follow, but perhaps I am missing something.

Apologies if my explanation wasn't clear. I asked an electronics shop to make up two cables, one for each assigned output of SW Voice Controller.

I asked for TRS to 2 x mono minijack. One minijack is connected TRS Ring to minijack tip, the other is connected TRS Tip to minijack tip. I'm not sure which one of these minijacks is tip or ring, but I have tried the set up with both ends (for both CV and GATE) and have had no success so far....

[os]

My advice in these situations is always the same - ditch the Voice Controller for now. Load up Silent Way DC. Connect its two outputs to the CV and gate inputs on the synth. By wiggling the "Out" knobs on the plug-in, you should be able to a) open and close the gate, and b) vary the pitch. If you can't do that, change the connections and repeat until you can.

For a setup that will work with the Voice Controller, you want that working with pitch on the left channel, with increasing Out values corresponding to increasing pitch, and gate on the left channel, with zero closing the gate and 1.0 opening it.

(Actually, you can just disconnect the gate entirely during calibration and hold down a key on the synth yourself.)

[Jonodog]

Thanks,
Thats great. Following your advice both DC and Voice Controller now work. One more thing before I buy - after calibration, the SH-101 is still out of tune and uneven pitch wise....is this likely to be the unit itself? I am going to get it serviced anyway...

[os]

No, it shouldn't be - the point of the calibration is to deal with the irregularities for you. What does your calibration curve look like in the Voice Controller?

[Jonodog]

I think it's working now...perhaps I had too much of a crazy sound set up on the SH101 for it calibrate well before?.....tried it now with a very basic/pure sound and I get about 2 and a half well tuned octaves,

As for the calibration, from left to right it looks a bit like a sawtooth, then a rising diagonal line, then another sawtooth.....normal?

Thanks again for your help.

[os]

Sounds normal. Yes, a simple sine wave or similar will get you the best calibration.