Yamaha KX88

MIDI master keyboard

Buy one (4 on sale)

1985 (Jan.)
Initially sold for ¥250,000

The KX88 and KX76 MIDI Keyboard Controllers are designed to be "master keyboards" in a synthesizer setup. Although neither the KX88 nor the KX76 produce sound by themselves, they offer a great deal of control over the tone generators to which they are attached.

Both the KX88 and the KX76 are completely assignable MIDI keyboards. The keyboard is only part of the story: both instruments provide a number of other controllers, all of which can be programmed by the user to control any type of MIDI information.

Both keyboards provide inputs for two FC4-type footswitches, two FC7-type foot controllers, and one BC1 breath-controller. In addition, each keyboard provides 4 slider controls, 5 momentary switch controls, 2 toggle switch controls, 2 wheel controllers, and monophonic aftertouch control. Although all of these controls are given preset control assignments when the unit leaves the factory, every one of them may be programmed by the user. In short, the KX88 and KX76 controllers are completely programmable and assignable. Each of the controllers can be assigned to control a specific aspect of sound coming from an FM digital tone generator.

The KX88 and KX76 have three operating modes: Play, Controller Assign (CA), and Parameter Assign (PA).

• The Play Mode is the one which most people are familiar with. It provides three types of keyboard operation: Single, Split, and Dual. In the Split and Dual modes, the KX will transmit on any two MIDI channels, and the split point (in Split mode) is fully programmable.
• The actual programming of the performance controllers is done in the Controller Assign Mode, (and, for more adventurous tasks, the Parameter Assign Mode). The Controller Assign Mode allows the user to take any of the Controller Code preset functions (assigned to hexadecimal numbers 00~3F) as well as any of the user-definable Controller Codes (hexadecimal numbers 40~FF) and assign them to any of the performance controllers.
• The real power of the KX Series lies in the Parameter Assign Mode. In this mode, any of the 192 user-definable Controller Codes may be defined to be any MIDI code. Once defined, these codes are then assigned to performance controllers in the CA Mode.

p Excerpt from "Digital X Book", a Yamaha MIDI system guide by Rittor Music published in 1986 by Amsco Publications. Details of the three main modes available on the Yamaha KX88: click on "show details" to expand the relative section.

• Play Mode

  details

  In the Play mode, voice program numbers for banks A and B are shown. Pressing program select switched 1 ~ 16 enables you to select the preset voices of the MIDI instrument connected to that bank. For example, an initialised KX88 has MIDI channel 1 assigned to sound source A and channel 2 to sound source B. If you press bank A program select switch 1, you will select sound source A's voice program 1; the same applies for bank B and sound source B. When bank switch A is now pressed, an LED on the switch will light and you will be able to select voices 17 ~ 32 of source source A; once again, the same applies to the bank B switch and source source B.

  Thus far, you can select voices 1 ~ 32, but if you change to the 8 bank mode, 1 ~ 128 voices become available.

  The 5 purple switches (MS1 ~ MS5) have been factory preset to enable the selection of various modes: single, dual, split, swap, MIDI channel. Pressing MS1 (single) selects a voice program from A or B. If A is chosen, then only voices from bank A will sound. Also, the program number for this voice only will be displayed.

  When MS2 (dual) is pressed, voices from both banks will osund and be displayed; and when MS3 (split) is pressed, the split mode is activated, and the keyboard split about the note C3 with bank A information output to the left (including C3) and bank B information to the right. If MS3 (split) is now pressed once more, "SP" will appear in the bank A display, while the bank B display will show the current split point, if you now press a note on the keyboard, it becomes the new split point.

  MS4 (swap) interchanges A and B; in the single or dual modes. MIDI channels and voice numbers are interchanged, and in the split mode, right and left keyboard assignment is exchanged.

  Situated above MS1 and MS2 are preset switches TS1, which switches between the mono and poly modes (LED on = mono) and TS2, which switches portamento on and off (LED on = portamento on). Portamento time is controlled by CS4 (continuous slider 4 preset) and when set to "0" there is no portamento effect. However, if the sound source does not respond to MIDI controlled portamento then moving CS4 has no effect. The other 3 continuous sliders are also factory preset. CS1/CS2 control volume levels for banks A and B respectively, and CS3 controls LFO speed. Not however, that LFO speed is a voice parameter changed by system exclusive commands; consequently, this does not apply to other manufacturers' machines.

  When you initialise, the KX88 reverts to this configuration, but one of the special features of the KX88 is its ability to customise controller assignment.

• Controller Assign Mode

  details

  In the CA mode you can assign functions to the 19 controllers available. Each one of the KX88's many functions has its own control code, and you can select any of these functions for each controller, and an added bonus is the fact that they can be set independently for banks A and B. Bank A program select switches serve to select the Functions, and Bank B program select switches set number values 0-F first, with a switch on bank A, you select the function you wish to change, and with the B switches you write in the control codes.

  The names of each function are written above the bank A select switches, and by pressing those switches, you can see the function code to which they are currently preset. Bank select switch A1 is the select Switch for function WHEEL1 and on initialisation, it is assigned to PITCH BEND. When you press this switch U1 (WHEEL 1) appears in A's display and the PITCH BEND function code (10) appears in B's display. To change the setting, you enter the new code using bank B's Select switches which have the numbers written above them. You must, however, remember to set the assignment (TS1/2, MS1-MS5, FS1/2) for any switch before entering the new controller code.

  If you wish to set a function for A or B only you press the bank switch for the bank which is not desired; the LED will go off and you can then enter the controller codes.

  The toggle (TS1 / TS2) switches are different from the other switches because they can be assigned to two functions: one, when ON (LED ON) and the other when Switched to OFF (LED OFF). TS1 is preset to switch between the mono and poly modes (Mono-ON; Poly-OFF).

  The MIDI Channels are set with function switch 11 in the CA mode and they can be set separately for A and B. You choose the desired bank by pressing bank switch A or B and you can set the channel with Bank B program select switches 0-F (1 ~ 16 channels).

  Key transpose can also be set independently for banks A and B, and by pressing a note on the keyboard, you can set the desired transpose point within a range of 2 octaves either side of C3. In bank A's display the transpose point is shown, and in bank B's display that of bank B (＃is indicated by a decimal point).

  In link-ups with a DX7, when you only wish to select internal voices, a range of PROGRAM CHANGE 1 ~ 32 is sufficient, but if you wish to be able to select from the cartridge voices as well, or are using an instrument with more than 32 voices, then you can select between two banks of 16 voices and 8 banks of 16 voices with the BANK 2/8 switch, which gives you access to 128 PROGRAM CHANGE commands (128 voices available in the 8 bank mode).

  You select a program number in the 8 Bank mode by first pressing the appropriate Bank switch, A or B at which the LED will blink. Using bank switches 1 ~ 8, you enter the bank number. You then press bank switches 1 ~ 16 to choose the voice in the same way as in the bank 2 mode. For voice numbers greater than 100, a dot will appear in the lower right corner of the LED.

  All the settings described above are executed in the CA mode：Controller Codes, Transpose, Bank Select 2/8, Split Point, MIDI Channels – may be saved in one of 16 memories and accessed at any time. These settings are written into the memory using the SAVE (Function switch 15) switch. The number of the memory is selected using Bank B Program Select switches 1 ~ 16. The SAVE operation is completed by pressing the switch again. To access the memory, you use LOAD (Function switch 16), selecting the memory number in the same way by using Bank B switches.

  LOAD can also be assigned to any KX88 controller by using Function code 07.

  Most of the names of the Functions listed are self-explanatory, but numbers 31 ~ 34 are MIDI Real Time commands, used for controlling sequences and rhythm machines. For example, by assigning Function 31 MIDI CLOCK to a continuous controller like WHEEL 1, the tempo can easily be controlled because you can send MIDI CLOCK signals in a range of ♩ = 40 ~ 240. Further, the START / CONTINUE / STOP Functions corespond to the same switches on rhythm machines. Other MIDI System Commands available are Function 30 SONG SELECT which can select songs in a range 0-9 (trom a rhythm machine etc.): Function 36 TUNE REQUEST and 37 SYSTEM RESET.

  Functions 38-3F are Yamaha DX Series SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE commands and cannot be used in connection with other manufacturers' machines. However, as Functions 3E and 3F (UNIVERSAL 1/2) are undefined MIDI Commands, other manufacturers' commands can be accommodated.

• Parameter Assign Mode

  details

  Controller codes 00-3F are preset and assigned to particular Functions, and the contents cannot be changed (UNIVERSAL 1/2 however, can be user ~ defined). Controller codes 40 ~ FF can be freely assigned to any Function with any MIDI command. This flexibility is the KX88's most outstanding feature, and to make the most of it requires a good understanding of MIDI itself, but it does ensure that the KX88 will be able to handle all future MIDI developments.

  MIDI messages are transmitted in units of 8 bits (1 byte) and are often expressed using hexadecimal notation, which is also often used in MIDI programming. 0 ~ 15 is expressed in hexadecimal by the numbers 0-F, and 0-255 is expressed as 00-FF.

  Most of the commands detemined by the MIDI standard, are factory preset. However, some commands are not fixed but left up to individual manufacturers to decide, such as the Control Number of certain CONTROL CHANGE commands (Modulation Wheel, Pedals etc.) and SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE commands. The PA mode is used to deal with these ambiguities.

  In the PA mode, parameter switch 11 is used to define CONTROL CHANGE. When you wish to use other controllers than these, you first select the controller code you wish to program, then enter the MIDI Control Number and the data type (for ON / OFF switches, data type = 0). If you assign a programmed controller code to any controller in the CA mode, then a MIDI command is sent with the MIDI Control Number which you have selected.

  Parameter switch 12 is used to define PARAMETER CHANGE: controller codes are assigned (or programmed) to SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE parameter change commands. As each instrument has different voice parameters these commands cannot be standardised. Controller codes should be assigned with regard to each instrument's unique voice parameter format (refer to the MIDI format in the instrument's manual).

  To program the preset Functions UNIVERSAL 1/2 (controller codes 3E, 3F) parameter switch 13 (UNIVERSAL PARAMETER) isused. You can create any MIDI command you require up to a maximum length of 8 bytes, including or course both CONTROL CHANGE and commands. The PA mode of the KX88 is PROGRAM CHANGE commands. There also MANUAL DUMP (parameter switch 16) which can be used to send up to 20 bytes of MIDI data, but which is not stored in any memory.

  To get the most out of the KX88's pro ~ grammable MIDI Command Functions is no easy task, but it is possible to obtain an extremely fine degree of control, over all types of sound source.

  Although the KX88 does not have its own sound source, it does have a MIDI IN teminal. Any data received via this MIDI IN terminal is mixed with the KX88's own MIDI transmissionsand sent out via the MIDI OUT terminal. This can be very useful when, for example, using ashoulder-slungMIDI keyboard, as you do not need to keep changing connections and settings.

  The KX88 is a superb MIDI control keyboard with the most comprehensive range of functions which, if they are to be Used to the full, require a sound source of equal capability. The most suitable would undoubtedly be the TX816.