Zones

The Zone feature on your Axiom is used to control several different sound devices at the same time.  In doing so, you can create splits, layers, harmony effects and more.  For example, you can split the keyboard on your Axiom so your left hand plays a bass sound and your right hand plays a piano sound.  You can create a setting where you hear a chord by playing a single note, or you can set up a way to quickly switch between different instruments.  The Zone feature on the Axiom allows you to do all of these things and more.

Activating/Deactivating Zones

There are four zones assignable on the 49- and 61-note versions and three zones assignable on the 25-note version. To activate/deactivate zones, first press the Zone/Group button which will light.

To enable/disable any zone:

• Press the Zone/Group button.
• On 49- and 61-note versions use Zone buttons 1, 2, 3 and 4, located beneath faders D9 through D12 to activate/
  deactivate Zones 1-4 respectively.
• On the 25-note version, press the LOOP, RW and FF buttons to activate/deactivate zones 1-3 respectively.
• Press the Zone/Group button again to exit. 

* When you enable a single zone, the other 2 (or 3) zones are automatically disabled. To enable multiple zones, press the respective zone activate/deactivate buttons at the same time.

The active zones will always be shown on the LCD display.  Zones have a number of parameters associated with them and editing these parameters affects all zones that are currently active simultaneously.  Editing the various Zone parameters is described below.  The active/inactive status of each zone can be stored to the 20 memory locations.  You must ensure Group A is activated when storing this data since the Zone settings are stored within this group.  Please see section 3.2.1 in the Axiom User Guide for more information on Groups.


Zone Channel

If you want to use the Zone feature to control a number of different instruments, you need to set each of the zones to transmit on different channels.

To assign the channel of a zone:

   49- and 61-note versions:

• Press Glob Chan and Zone Range together to access the Zone Channel setting. The LED in the Zone/Group button lights to indicate that Zone/Group mode is automatically selected.
• The LCD displays the current transmit channel for the automatically selected zone and flashes its symbol. Use Zone buttons 1 through 4 to select a different zone if necessary. While multiple zones can be active at the same time, only the zone with the flashing symbol will be affected by this change.
• Enter the new channel number (00 to 16) using the numeric keypad. (Please note that assigning the zone to channel 00, will set the zone to transmit on the Global Channel (see section 2.2 in the Axiom User Guide)).
• Once the channel edit is complete, Zone/Group mode exits automatically.
• Repeat to edit the channel settings of the remaining zones.

   25-note version:

• Press the Advanced button.
• Press the Zone Chan key
• The LCD displays the current transmit channel for the automatically selected zone and flashes its symbol. Use Zone buttons 1, 2 or 3 to select a different zone if necessary. While multiple zones can be active at the same time, onlythe zone with the flashing symbol will be affected by this change. Enter the new channel number (00 to 16) usingthe numeric keypad. (Please note that assigning the zone to channel 00, will set the zone to transmit on the GlobalChannel (see section 2.2 in the Axiom User Guide)).
• Press the Enter key to confirm.
• Repeat to edit the channel settings of the remaining zones.
  
  The transmit channel of each zone can be stored to the 20 memory locations. You must ensure that Group A is activated when storing this data since the Zone settings are stored within this group.. Please see section 3.2.1 for more information on Groups.

Zone Range

The Zone Range defines the upper and lower limits of the keys contained in a zone.

To set the range of a zone:

• Press the Zone Range button. The LED in the Zone/Group button lights to indicate that Zone/Group mode is automatically selected.
• The LCD display will flash the symbols representing all zones which are currently active, and will therefore be affected by this range setting. The Range symbol will also appear on the LCD display. Use zone buttons 1 through 4 (1-3 on Axiom 25) to change the selection as necessary.
• Press a key on the keyboard to select the lower limit of the zone. The note number is displayed in small digits on the LCD display.
• Press a second key on the keyboard to select the upper limit of the zone. The note number is displayed in large digits of the LCD display. 
  
  Once two keys have been pressed, the keyboard will automatically return to normal, and the range of the edited zone will be updated.
  
  Note: If multiple zones are selected while altering the zone range setting then they will all be assigned to the same section of the keyboard.  This will cause this section of the keyboard to transmit on multiple MIDI channels—a setting useful to create layered sounds.  If you want to split the keyboard into individual sections controlling one sound at a time, then make sure that only one zone is selected while configuring the zone range and that you assign a section of the keyboard that is not shared with any other zone.  However, it is possible for zones to overlap partially or fully to create the effect of layered sounds.  The range of each zone can be stored to the 20 memory locations. You must ensure that Group A is activated when storing this data since the Zone settings are stored within this group. Please see section 3.2.1 for more information on Groups.

Octave and Transposition of a Zone

Each zone can be octave shifted or transposed independently.

To set the octave or transposition of a zone:

• Press the Zone Range button.
• Select the zone(s) you want to edit using the zone activate/deactivate buttons as described above.
• Use the Octave buttons to select the new octave/transpose value, as described in section 2.1.2 and 2.1.3 of the Axiom User Guide. 
  
  If Zone Range mode is not active when you make an octave/transpose change, the change is global, meaning all active zones will be affected.  If Zone Range mode is active when you make an octave/transpose change, only those zones currently active will be affected.
  
  The Octave and Transpose values for each independent zone, as well as the global octave and transpose values can be stored to the 20 memory locations. You must ensure Group A that is activated when storing this data since the Zone settings are stored within this group. Please see section 3.2.1 for more information on Groups.
  
  Note: There are various creative possibilities for the usage of the Octave/Transpose settings in conjunction with individual zones.  For example, assign three zones to the same section of the keyboard, transpose the second zone two half steps down and the third six half steps down. Make sure all three zones are active, then play a single key on the keyboard—a chord will sound.  Experiment with the Octave/Transpose and Zone settings to discover the full potential of this feature.