Kenton Plugstation ver.2.01 - Manual (Page 15)

KENTON PLUGSTATION USERS MANUAL
15
Installation and Setup of Yamaha PLG (also known as MSPS)
cards.
Yamaha PLG100 and 150 series cards feature a unique Yamaha interface system. These systems offer
powerful expansion and upgrade capabilities for not only the KENTON PLUGSTATION but also a wide
range of Yamaha synthesizers and tone modules. The Yamaha PLG (also known as Modular Synthesis
Plug in System or MSPS) interface enables you to equip the PLUGSTATION with the latest and most
sophisticated technology, ensuring that you keep pace with the rapid and multi-faceted advances in modern
music production.
Yamaha Tone generators, synthesizers and the KENTON PLUGSTATION, which are all compatible with the
PLG system, feature special connectors for connecting PLG boards. The main reason for the introduction of
PLUGSTATION was to expand on the number of PLG cards that any one unit could work with at any time.
The SW1000XG for example only features one PLG expansion slot, and with several boards available it
seemed logical to build an expansion chassis to allow extra boards to be used. With traditional PLG devices
from Yamaha, the number of connectors available differs depending on which Yamaha synth, tone module
or other product you have. The PLG interface system used by Yamaha is a digital interface, which unlike the
older “Wave Blaster” connector found on some older daughter boards (such as the Yamaha DB50XG),
transmits ultra clean 2 channel digital audio information and MIDI data over its connection. Each PLG 100
and 150 series card from Yamaha features the same connector, and all of them transmit a total of 2
channels of mixed digital audio over the connecting plug. The interface is a proprietary design, and is not
currently used by any other manufacturer.
This digital interface mechanism can be likened to the outputs of a synth, which although it may be
multitimbral and multi-note polyphonic, still only sends its outputs to a stereo pair. High speed and reliable
data buffering for MIDI also means that the PLG cards can accept rapid and fast bulk dumps for setup data
from reliable and good MIDI interfaces over the PLUGSTATION MIDI ports. As the 4 boards are wired in a
parallel array, data can be sent to all four at the same time, so complex multipart setups which may exist in
songs, can be fed to up to 4 PLG cards at once with no data loss.
Yamaha PLG100 and 150 cards installed in PLUGSTATION can support every SYSEX and MIDI offset data
parameter found in the appropriate PLG card manual, however as with the SW1000XG card and PLG cards
fitted to many Yamaha PLG hosting devices, many of the editing parameters that you may send from
software such as XGWORKS or XGPAD to edit the PLG cards is NOT stored on power down.
PLUGSTATION offers a limited amount of offset editing for each PLG card, based on controller data
messages. If you create complex edits from a software application, be sure to save the edits in your
software application, as PLUGSTATION will not store them on power down. (This is also the case with many
Yamaha PLG hosting tone modules) You can then resend your edits from your software when you resume
your session with PLUGSTATION. For live use, a suitable MIDI data filer or Laptop computer would provide
the ideal companion for PLUGSTATION, as you could load entire setups into the unit before each song or
gig.
DIAGRAM 9: THE REAR OF THE PLUGSTATION OPEN, WITH THE CARD SLOTS VISIBLE.
The PLUGSTATION allows you install up to four Plug-in boards and use all of them simultaneously. This
makes it currently the most flexible hosting device for Yamaha PLG cards in existence. It is also at this time