Sudden drop in volume

[valiant]

falcon said:

This doesn't sound like a common issue to me. It would be worthwhile to check out whether the volume drop occurs in the headphones as well. If not, it could be a bad connection (assuming that analog out is used). Else, hmm... are the CC# settings standard, or are they perhaps mapped to something that conflicts with filterfreq? Just an idea.

Edit -- which reminds me. By default two of the four performance knobs have CC#s that correspond to effect send levels. I think they were 91 and 93. In the past I've had problems with effect send levels interfering with performance controllers in mix mode, so I've mapped these controllers to something else, on the global -> MIDI page. Perhaps you experience something similar?

Thanks for that suggestion, Falcon! I will try that out.

[valiant]

admin said:

valiant said:

Quite a few times when I have been playing the Fusion, I have experienced a sudden drop in volume, with the sound becoming very muffled as if a lowpass filter has been applied to t he sound.

Is this permanent or such temporary and intermitent (i.e. lasts a second and then reverts)?

Are you maybe 'catching' the filter's front panel knob when using the mod wheel?

And how 'vigorously' are you playing? If you're really whacking the thing, I'm wondering if this is causing something assigned to cutoff to slip through vibration.

I dunno basically (and can't say I've heard of this particular one).

Thanks, Steve for the input. Your suggestions make sense to me. If what you're suggesting is the reason for what I'm experiencing, then my only option (as far as I can work out) is to delete any filter modulations assigned to the mod wheel.

[gwenhwyfaer]

valiant said:

I just hope that these quirks or bugs or whatever they are won't happen to me during a live performance. I take your point about Windows 95. I guess that at some point one may have to trade features and complexity for lack of features (simplicity) and reliability.

You should be OK for a live performance anyway, purely because your Fusion won't get switched on until you set it up at the gig - so any strange behaviour only has the few hours between the roadie bouncing it off the Transit and bouncing it back on to develop.

Sadly, it's the case that in any non-trivial piece of software, there are going to be bugs lurking - and especially bugs that only surface after that software's been left running for much longer, and interacted with in much more complex and unpredictable ways, than it ever can be in a test lab.

On the bright side, at least it's not analogue! Strange behaviours that only materialise after a fortnight turned on are a lot easier to deal with than one oscillator suddenly adopting Wendy Carlos' preferred temperament... from reading the synth-diy mailing list, resistors suddenly changing their value one day isn't an unheard of phenomenon. At least software can be fixed without a soldering iron and an oscilloscope.

(Although I once knew someone who considered their oscope a vital debugging tool, so there we go.)

[valiant]

As mentioned previously, I wrote to Justin Baro at Alesis about my problem and have just received the following reply which, by the way, seems to have identified the real issue with the problem I reported:

"Hi Valiant,

It sounds like a certain component is causing this when the unit heats up and is on for a while. I would recommend this come in for servicing.

Please contact me with the following information: .....

... Once the above details are received, I will contact you with a return authorization number and shipping information.

Best Regards,

Justin Baro"