Kenton Plugstation ver.2.01 User Manual
Page 72
KENTON PLUGSTATION USERS MANUAL
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The PLG cards as mentioned in many cases do not have effects processing on board. This means that
standard XG effects busses such as Chorus, Reverb and Variation, do not work with PLG card outputs
coming from the PLUGSTATION Y-BOARD outs. The limitation of the PLG standard, and the SW1000XG
interface (being only 2 channels) means that all boards coming back through the SW1000XG will have the
same effects applied to them, with the same amount of effect. They are also all controlled (back through the
SW1000XG) by the same master volume, so if you adjust the volume on one card, the volume on all will
drop. This is why it is far better to upgrade to the Y and Z boards, and treat each PLG card uniquely.
PLG150DX for example is based on a DX7, which had no effects; the PLG150PF has onboard effects,
which will still work on the individual outputs of PLUGSTATION using SYSEX control software to set them
up. The PLG150XG has its own on-board effects processing, which DOES confirm to the XG spec, whilst
the PLG VL series (100 and 150) have no effects, so the best way to treat them is either with an external
mixer and effects, or to isolate this board coming back thru the SW1000XG, and leave the other boards
feeding to the individual outputs.
Q. I connect my ADAT mixer or device to the PLUGSTATION ADAT port, and I hear crackles, what is this?
This is due to lack of wordclock sync, please refer to your ADAT device manual for info on how to sync to
slave your ADAT compatible device
Q. The PLG cards output from the PLUGSTATION sounds very slightly different than passed back through
the SW1000XG, why is this?
A. This is due to the fact that the SW1000XG has a very subtle EQ smile (EQ curve) across the audio
outputs (both digital and analogue) caused by settings made on the flashrom processor on the card. This
can be compensated for by applying EQ settings (master EQ) to the SW1000XG from software. You will
also find that the output from the PLUGSTATION Y board individual outputs sounds much more clear and
defined than the output from the SW1000XG main outputs. This is due to the increased fidelity and
headroom offered by the 24-BIT DA converters found on PLUGSTATION. You will also find that the output
gain is better from PLUGSTATION than from the SW1000XG.
Q. Can I connect a PLG card to PLUGSTATION whilst it is switched on?
A. No, this may cause irreparable damage to your PLG card or to PLUGSTATION. You should turn off
PLUGSTATION before making any connections of any sort.
Q. What version of the SW1000XG flashrom will I need to run with PLUGSTATION?
A. Any version from 1.066 or higher is fine. These can be found on
Q. Will PLUGSTATION work with the SW1000XG under Windows 2000 and Windows XP?
A. Yes, PLUGSTATION is O.S independent. You need to ensure that you have the correct SW1000XG
drivers for it to work properly with the SW1000XG.
Q. I set up a performance on PLUGSTATION using the front Panel controls, why doesn’t XGEDIT or my
editing software know what I have done?
A. The current range of commonly used editing software (as of June 2001) you may be using has no way of
interrogating the status of the PLG cards. The PLUGSTATION can report via SYSEX its current settings, so
in future software (XGPAD being one case) will be able to read back what is going on. If you are working the
PLUGSTATION with the SW1000XG it is best to only do program changes, and voice set-ups from software,
and set the outputs and routings from the front panel, until applications exist that support both options.
Q. Can I use a KENTON Control Freak to setup routings and output levels for the PLUGSTATION?
A. Yes indeed you can, and a full set of profiles exist to allow you to do just this very thing.
or more info.
Q. I have installed several PLG cards of the same type, how can I edit them individually?