6-12
Program Mode and the Program Editor
Editing VAST Programs
The Soft Buttons in the Program Editor
The Program EditorÕs soft buttons are labeled by the words that appear in the bottom line of the 
display. These buttons have two important jobs in the Program Editor:  selecting pages, and 
selecting speciÞc functions. If a soft button is labeled in all uppercase letters, pressing it will take 
you to the page it describes. If the button is labeled in mixed uppercase and lowercase letters, 
pressing it will execute the software function described by the label. Pressing the PITCH soft 
button, for example, will select the PITCH page, while pressing the Save soft button will initiate 
the process for saving the currently selected program.
There are more pages and functions in the Program Editor than there are soft buttons. Therefore, 
two of the soft buttons are dedicated to scrolling through the list of pages and functions. If you 
donÕt see the button for the page or function you want to select, press one of the soft buttons 
labeled <more>, and the labels will change. This doesnÕt change the currently selected page, it 
merely changes the selection of available soft buttons.
Five of the soft buttons in the Program Editor are special cases. TheyÕre the soft buttons that 
select the editing pages for the Þve control-input pages for the DSP functions. One of these soft 
buttons is always labeled PITCH, since the Þrst DSP function in every algorithm is the pitch 
control. The remaining four vary somewhat depending on the DSP functions you choose for the 
currently selected algorithm, but they always have the preÞxes F1, F2, F3, and F4, and they 
always take you to the pages for the four DSP functions that follow the pitch control function.
Algorithm Basics
The basic deÞnition:  an algorithm is the ÒwiringÓ (signal path) of a sample to the audio outputs, 
through a series of digital signal processing (DSP) functions that you select. The K2600Õs 
algorithms are the core of Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology. The DSP functions are 
synthesis tools (Þlters, oscillators, etc.) that you assign to the various stages of the algorithm. 
The DSP functions you choose determine the type of synthesis you use.
Each of the 31 available algorithms represents a preset signal path. You canÕt change the path of 
the algorithms, but you can select different algorithms, and assign a wide variety of DSP 
functions to the individual stages of each algorithmÕs signal path. Take a look at Algorithm 1 in 
the diagram below. ItÕs one of the simplest algorithms.
Algorithm|1||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
errR®rrterrR®rrrrrrR®rrrrrrR®rrterrR®rrt|
dPITCH|gkHIFREQ|STIMULATOR|||||gkAMP|||gh
cvvvvvvbcvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvbcvvvvvvb|
The DSP functions are represented by the rectangular blocks. The horizontal arrows indicate the 
ßow of the digital signal from left to right. They represent what we call the ÒwireÓ of the 
algorithm: the actual physical path that the signal follows through the algorithm. Selecting 
different algorithms can be compared to connecting different DSP functions with different 
wiring diagrams.
Think of the left side of each block as its input, and the right side as its output. Depending on the 
algorithm, the signal may split into two wires, enabling part of the signal to bypass certain 
portions of the algorithm. Split wires may rejoin within the algorithm, or they may pass all the 
way through as split signals. If the last block has two wires at its output, we call it a 
double-output algorithm. If it has one wire, itÕs a single-output algorithm, even if there are two 
wires in earlier portions of the algorithm.