Axiom 25 - Need help with terminology please!

[amakarise]

Hello,

This may be a silly question, but I just need clarification on what a few buttons on this midi controller (m-audio axiom 25) mean and what they do...
-Patch
-Zone
-Channel
-Program

I've read the manual and it tells me a little bit about their function, but I am still a bit confused as to what each one exactly means and how it really works. It says there are 4 zones and 20 patch presets. If you could give me a simple explanation as to what these 4 terms mean and how they are useful when using the controller, I'd be forever grateful! Thanks!

 

[bandcoach]

Hello,

This may be a silly question, but I just need clarification on what a few buttons on this midi controller (m-audio axiom 25) mean and what they do...
-Patch
-Zone
-Channel
-Program

I've read the manual and it tells me a little bit about their function, but I am still a bit confused as to what each one exactly means and how it really works. It says there are 4 zones and 20 patch presets. If you could give me a simple explanation as to what these 4 terms mean and how they are useful when using the controller, I'd be forever grateful! Thanks!

patch: individual sounds in most synths have their own patch number
zone: an range of keys allocated to a patch or partial patch
channel: MIDI has 16 channels for communicating on 1-16; 10 is usually reserved for drum machines under the Gm/GS version of the spec but this is not set in concrete
Program: another name for a patch, or the act of creating a patch

 

[amakarise]

Thank you! But, let me make sure I understand using some examples...
patch: is a name for the built in sounds that come with the midi for example a trumpet sound
zone: is saying for example the range of keys I'm playing in the trumpet patch is C4-C6
channel: midi has 16 channels total one of which for example could communicate the decay of the trumpet patch
program: I could connect my midi to a laptop and create a new program (patch) on my midi controller which could for example play a cowbell that was programmed within whichever DAW I'm using

Do I have all this correct?

 

[bandcoach]

Thank you! But, let me make sure I understand using some examples...

patch: is a name for the built in sounds that come with the midi for example a trumpet sound

So reading the somewhat dense manual it turns out that they use patch in the same way any modular synthesist would
- the collection of settings for that patch number
- unlike modular synthesis, the patches referred to on the axiom do not produce sound by themselves
-- they are simply a mapping of the keyboard surface to the control of a sound or group of sounds over a specific set of midi channels

zone: is saying for example the range of keys I'm playing in the trumpet patch is C4-C6

"the axiom has 4 zone buttons for stacking and splitting sounds on up to 4 MIDI channels",

each zone can have a patch allocated and an octave range allocated as well.

you combine the zones to create new layered sounds

channel: midi has 16 channels total one of which for example could communicate the decay of the trumpet patch

no a midi channel is used to send and receive all data related to playing a note or otherwise control some remote device (we have had midi controlled lighting shows for more than two decades).

for your example all data related to playing your trumpet patch would be sent over the 1 channel - you can have 16 different channels active within a MIDI sequencer

program: I could connect my midi to a laptop and create a new program (patch) on my midi controller which could for example play a cowbell that was programmed within whichever DAW I'm using

No - the program button allows you to access a previously created patch (using the up/down patch buttons), either by you or one of the standard program settings within the axiom

having read the manual it would seem that they are using some of the terms with their own twist - this is an observation based on 30+ years of using MIDI and midi devices

 

[amakarise]

Okay, that cleared things up a lot. I appreciate you taking the time to explain and answer my questions. I have a better understanding now and I'm sure I'll be more confident once I use the midi more often. Anyway, thanks again!!