STC-1000 FAQ

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Please visit the STC-1000 Community Pages for a complete and up to date FAQ on the STC, plus online forums, articles and downloads to help you get the most out of your STC-1000!

Will we be able to put template overlays on this product?
Is the STC-1000 available through retailers?
Can you control more than one thing at once? For instance, in drum pad mode, can you tap two zones to trigger two samples simultaneously?
How does this differ from other XYZ touch-pads?
What is the size of the sensitive area?
How fast can you tap on the thing in percussion mode?
What is the output resolution of the STC-1000?
Can I use my sound card's MIDI I/O with the STC-1000?
Can I use the STC-1000 with USB?
Is the STC-1000 able to send relative values?
Can I use the STC-1000 with applications like max/msp?
How many pre programmed templates will the STC-1000 ship with?
Will I be able to exchange templates I create with other users?
Is it possible to move two or more faders simultaneously?
Can I have 4 zones, each with separate XYZ?
It seems additional software is PC only. Any chance of Mac OSX OS9 apps?
I can implement MIDI and sysex in Max, but I can't use it as e.g. graphic tablet.

Q: Will we be able to put template overlays on this product?

Yes you will indeed be able to place overlays over the surface. These can be anything from paper, Mylar, leather, foam or even rubber will work for percussion mode if you want to use sticks.

Q: Is the STC-1000 available through retailers?

The STC will only be available over the internet from us and a few well known authorized web based re-sellers. We will soon have a list of these re-sellers published here and we encourage you to purchase from them. We have chosen a web sales strategy in order to keep costs down and to ensure that STC-1000 users receive a high level of support and software upgrades in a timely manner.

Q: Can you control more than one thing at once? For instance, in drum pad mode, can you tap two zones to trigger two samples simultaneously?

The STC-1000 is a single touch controller which means you can only trigger one sound at a time. You can not hit 2 zones "simultaneously" and trigger two different samples. However, it has very fast response to tap and so is very useful as a percussion device. As well, you can assign 2 or more notes per zone (chord mode) so you could for instance have a snare and tom sounded at the same time with one tap.

Q: How does this differ from other XYZ touch-pads?

The STC-1000 is based on a technology called Kinotex® which is a very different than Force Sensitive Resistors or Capacitive technologies that are used in most other touch pads. Tactex Controls Inc. is the manufacturer of this technology and you can read more about Kinotex® at their site, and in particular, their FAQ at: http://www.tactex.com/faq.htm

In general, Kinotex® offers a greater sensitivity and dynamic range for musical applications and also allows the addition of templates and surface layers like foam or rubber (great if you want to use drum sticks) without any compromise to performance. The STC-1000 is optimized for flexibility and powered by the applications we are developing, will offer you a tremendous range of functionality at a very attractive price point.

Q: What is the size of the sensitive area?

The active pad area is 125mm X 100mm (5 X 4 inches).

Q: How fast can you tap on the thing in percussion mode?

The STC-1000 is very responsive. Currently, the STC-1000 has a 14ms response spec tap to tap. Future releases of the firmware (Q1 2004) will speed this up as follows:

Multi zone (9 zones) response: 6 - 8ms
Single zone mode response: 4ms

Q: What is the output resolution of the STC-1000?

The maximum XY resolution from the STC-1000 in Parameter Control mode is 9 bits (512 counts) and 7 bits for Z contained within the XYZ data SysEx messages. The application software will allow you to enable this higher resolution.

For standard MIDI implementations, the resolution is 7 bits.

Q: Can I use my sound card's MIDI I/O with the STC-1000?

Yes. The STC-1000 will work well with most sound card's MIDI I/O and we recommend that you try this first before buying a MIDI to USB adapter.

Q: Can I use the STC-1000 with USB?

The STC-1000 works great with a standard MIDI to USB adapter like the ones made by Edirol and M-Audio. These will be available on line through our authorized re-sellers.

Q: Is the STC-1000 able to send relative values?

The STC-1000 is fully capable of sending relative values. As we update firmware (Q1 2004) you will see new features like relative or absolute offered as a selection within the software.

Q: Can I use the STC-1000 with applications like max/msp?

The STC-1000 can be recognized as a standard MIDI controller by these types of applications which are designed to interface with standard MIDI devices.

Q: How many pre programmed templates will the STC-1000 ship with?

We will include 16 pre programmed templates with the STC-1000. 6 will be parameter control and 10 will be MIDI triggers ranging from single zone to 9 zone and including percussion and a variety of chord and arpeggio templates. Remember that with the included software, there is no limit to how many templates you can create. The STC-1000 will store 1 - 16 templates depending on how complex you make them. We suspect you will find the creation of templates a very satisfying experience as it will allow you to create new ways of expressing yourself.

Q: Will I be able to exchange templates I create with other users?

Yes. We will have a forum here specifically for STC-1000 users to upload and download templates. We will also have a few experts posting templates in that same forum and offering tips on how to get the most out of the STC-1000 and the software we provide.

Q: Is it possible to move two or more faders simultaneously?

No. The STC-1000 is a single touch device.

Q: Can I have 4 zones, each with separate XYZ?

Yes. The STC-1000 and Control Freak applications handles 4 zones easily and will allow you to have up to 16 XYZ zones!!

Q: It seems additional software is PC only. Any chance of Mac OSX OS9 apps?

Yes. Anticipated date for a Mac version was end of Q1 2004. Unfortunately we are way behind schedule on this and the new date for this is Q2 2005. Please accept our apologies for the delay but understand that we are totally committed to a MAC version. In the meantime, check out the stc1000 community web site (www.stc1000.com) for information on some MAX/MSP code that will be available much sooner and might help Mac users in the interim.

Q: I can implement MIDI and sysex in Max, but I can't use it as e.g. graphic tablet.

The Middle-ware application will allow you to use the STC-1000 as a graphic tablet. However, bear in mind that the STC-1000 will not give you the kind of resolution that a dedicated graphics tablet will, but on the other hand it will offer many control possibilities that a dedicated graphics tablet would not.

For more information please e-mail Gil Namur gil@synapticsystems.com