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[Chip Roberts]

Over the last year, I have acquired a number of units which I have wanted for quite some time; Roland GP8, Yamaha SPX90II, and Lexicon LXP15.

When changing patches, there is moderate to severe signal cut/lag.  With the GP8, it seems to be only when bringing in the digital section, in particular the delays.  The SPX90 is indiscriminate in its lag and the LXP15 is the worst of all, as it needs to load each individual preset.

Most guys have been telling me to just bypass them when I'm not using them, but I'm afraid that's not an option for me.  I play music which requires varying delay times and different patches throughout a song, so not only do I need to change overall sounds, but sometimes I'll need to change the repeats and other modulation within the same song.  As such, no one has been able to offer me a legitimate fix to this problem.

What I've considered doing is picking up a Decibel 11 Switch Doctor, controlled via MIDI, to loop in and out whatever processor I'm needing to use, in lieu of having everything chained together.  My hypothesis is that this will, at least somewhat, not cut out my signal altogether when looping in delays, but I have no way of testing it without the unit itself.

Any of you guys been able to find fixes to this kind of problem?  I know some of you use an elaborate rackmounted mixer scenario, but I'm not sure if you typically use the same delay times throughout your sessions.

[Harley Hexxe]

Hey Chip,

     There has always been a definite lag with Lexicon effects via MIDI.
   

     My way around that was to use the Voodoo Labs Ground Control. It's a MIDI controller that can also be used for Continuous Control, and Switching system controller as well, (Using the GCX Switchers).

     I have the early version of this controller which they don't make anymore, but they have a current version. The nice thing about this MIDI controller, is that it can broadcast up to 8 independent program change commands on 8 different channels. This is like having 8 MIDI controllers going to 8 different units.

     It won't solve the issue of program change lag with Lexicon, but in a live performance rig, it cuts it down to where you can manage to change programs while you're playing without it being obvious. It worked for me

Harley

[Chip Roberts]

How would you structure that signal path with respect to a live context?

[Harley Hexxe]

Do you mean the MIDI signal path?
  If so, just connect daisy-chain. the program changes are simultaneous on all channels, all you have to do is program each unit to receive on it's corresponding channel.

  If you are talking about the audio path, that's entirely up to you how you want to set up your dry/ wet signal path.
  When I used the LXP-15 with my MP-2, I set the effects in the Lex to 100% wet because the MP-2 allows you to adjust the wet/dry mix in the effects loop so you can set up a ceiling for how much effects you want.
  When I use the Lex for delays and reverbs, I always have that at the end of the effects chain.
    There is also another option with the Lexicon. You can set the effects at 100% wet, and use a passive volume pedal plugged into the back of the LXP-15, to bring your effects into the mix to whatever degree you want them. That would be a parallel setup. I do that with a pair of Rane SM-26 mixers. That lets me split the stereo signal path into three pairs of stereo audio. I route one pair straight through to the second mixer, and the other two can go to different stereo effects. That way, I can bring in the signal with a pedal into the other two paths, and mix them back into a single stereo path again without the effects being too overbearing in the final mix. I can fine tune the mix by adjusting the level on each of the six channels.

    There are a lot of different ways to do these things

Harley