CONTENTS
Introduction
Unpacking the MICRO B II
Quick Start
Front Panel Layout Diagram
Rear Panel Layout Diagram
Set-Up
Using The MICRO B II
MIDI OMNI ON Mode
Multi-timbral Mode
Using More Than On Keyboard Simultaneously
MIDI Controlled Effects
Specifications
Warranty

Introduction

The MICRO B II lets you select three levels of chorus or vibrato which can be used in conjunction with the rotating speaker effect and comes with 36 of the most popular drawbar settings. The first 22 presets are selectable via the front panel: all 36 can be selected through MIDI. In addition, the MICRO B II can operate in three part multi-timbral mode for any three adjacent channels as well as MIDI OMNI ON mode. There are high level stereo audio outputs, CH2 output may be used to drive stereo headphones. All this makes the MICRO B II very easy and intuitive to use.

Unpacking the MICRO B II

1. MICRO B II unit
2. AC adapter
3. user's manual
4. MIDI implementation chart
5. warranty card
6. 4 - rubber feet
7. #8 screw and washer for rack shelf mounting

Below is a list of some of the most important features of the MICRO B II including an HTML link for more information on the particular item.
 

You want to know how to...	Where to find the information
Add the MICRO B II to your MIDI system	See Rear Panel, items 4,6, and 7; Set-Up, items 1,3, and 6;  MIDI OMNI Mode
Access the additional presets not accessible through the front panel control	See Presets
Adjust the amount of key click on both the attack and release of a note	See Key Click and Click Soft/Hard; Key Click
Use Chorus or Vibrato with the Rotary Speaker Effect Simultaneously	See Rotor and Effects
Control the rotor speed through MIDI	See MIDI Controlled effects, Example 3
"Tweak" the Rotor Fast speed and acceleration using a Continuous MIDI Controller	See MIDI Controlled Effects, Example 3
Use MIDI volume control	See Volume
Use the MICRO B II in Multi-timbral Mode	See Multi-timbral Mode
Use more than one keyboard or other MIDI Controller with the MICRO B II	See Using More Than One Keyboard Simultaneously
Set different volume levels on separate multi-timbral channels	See Multi-timbral Mode, and Using More Than One Keyboard Simultaneously
Get the most out of your sound system using the MICRO B II	See Using the MICRO B II, Playing

Front Panel

1. VOLUME - Rotary volume control. Turn clockwise to increase volume level. Volume can also be controlled via MIDI control number 7.

1. OVERDRIVE - Rotary overdrive control. Turn clockwise to increase overdrive (distortion effect) level .

1. KEY CLICK - Rotary key click control. Turn clockwise to adjust the MICRO B II's key click (attack) volume level. Key click is an electrical noise generated in tone wheel organs by the mechanical bounce of nine key contacts. It will be necessary to re-strike a note on the keyboard to hear the change made to the sound. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more information.

1. PERCUSSION VOLUME - Rotary percussion volume control. Turn clockwise to increase percussion volume. It will be necessary to re-strike a note on the keyboard to hear the change made to the sound. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more information.

1. PERCUSSION DECAY - Toggles between slow and fast percussion decay. It will be necessary to re-strike a note on the keyboard to hear the change made to the sound. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more information.

1. PERCUSSION - 2nd/3rd Harmonic - Toggles between two percussion waveforms for the percussion effect (2nd or 3rd harmonic of the fundamental). It will be necessary to re-strike a note on the keyboard to hear the change made to the sound. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more information.

1. CLICK SOFT/HARD - Toggles between soft and hard key click. Soft key click eliminates the release key click transient by allowing notes to quickly decay. The attack key click is also modified but does not affect the key click sound produced by the KEY CLICK control.

1. ROTOR SLOW/FAST - This push-button allows the setting of the rotating speaker speed or "rotor speed". When the LED is lit, the rotating speaker effect is set to fast rotation. When the LED is off, the speaker's rotation is slow. The push-button toggles between the two states, allowing a gradual speed-up or slow-down of rotation to occur. The rotor speed can also be controlled by an external foot switch connected to the foot pedal input on the MICRO B II and via MIDI. See the section on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more information.

1. EFFECTS - Used to select several different combinations of chorus, vibrato, and the rotary speaker effect. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more details.

1. MIDI - LED indicator lights up when MICRO B II is turned on. The LED will flash off briefly when the MICRO B II receives MIDI transmissions from a MIDI controller. This feature provides simple and handy verification that the MICRO B II is receiving MIDI information from a MIDI controller.

1. PRESET - Rotary preset selector. Allows selection of any one of the first 22 presets as indicated by the positions marked 1 - 22. The position marked M selects multi-timbral mode (see page 11). The position marked P allows the MICRO B II to accept program changes from a MIDI controller.

Rear Panel

The MICRO B II rear panel diagram is shown below. A description of each component follows:

1. POWER SWITCH - push on / push off switch

1. POWER JACK - The AC wall adapter connects to the MICRO B II via this jack.

1. TUNING - Rotary tuning control. Center detent is set to A440 standard tuning.

1. MIDI CH - 16 position rotary switch. Selects basic MIDI channel (channel 1 - 15 only) by setting the switch to positions 1 - 15. MIDI OMNI ON mode is selected by setting the switch to position 0.

1. PEDAL - 1/4" phone jack foot switch input. A momentary foot pedal (such as a sustain pedal) may be connected to this input to toggle the rotating speaker effect between a fast or slow speed.

1. MIDI THRU - 5-pin DIN MIDI thru output. This MIDI output may be used to send a "carbon copy" of the MIDI IN data to other modules.

1. MIDI IN - 5-pin DIN MIDI input. This MIDI input accepts MIDI data from a MIDI controller (ie. keyboard or computer).

1. CH1 - Channel 1 audio output

1. CH2/PHONE - Channel 2 audio output. Can also be used to drive stereo headphones.

Set-Up

Refer to the diagram above for setting up the MICRO B II.

To use your MICRO B II, please follow these easy steps:

1. Connect to MIDI device

1. Connect audio outputs to amplifier

A set of stereo headphones may be connected to the CH2 output. Depending on the type of headphones used, it may be necessary to raise the level of the front panel volume control.

1. MIDI THRU Output

1. PEDAL

1. AC Adapter

1. Select the Basic MIDI Channel

1. Tuning

Using the MICRO B II

A built-in demonstration sequencer will demonstrate some of the various sounds and effects the MICRO B II is capable of performing. It may be activated by holding in the fast button and simultaneously turning the preset selector to the M position. Here is a summary of the demonstration performed by John Gatti *:

1. JG ROCKS - uses the rotating speaker effect with 3rd harmonic percussion, presets 1, 2, and 21.

1. ALLELUIA - uses the rotating speaker effect, presets 2, and 22.

1. 96? - uses vibrato effect and preset 36.

* Our thanks to John Gatti for all the time and effort he put into creating this demo. If only we had one hour playing time instead of just two minutes.

Playing

After hooking up the MICRO B II as explained in the Set-Up section, you will be ready to begin playing. The MICRO B II was designed to be very easy and intuitive to use. The following is a brief description of the MICRO B II's controls together with an explanation of their usage.

Volume - Before powering up the MICRO B II, make sure that the volume level is turned all the way down (volume control turned full counter clock-wise). Power up the MICRO B II, the MIDI LED should light up, then play some notes on your keyboard and gradually turn up the volume to a comfortable listening level.

Key Click - Some of the controls which are provided on the MICRO B II set the level of "defects" present in the sound of the original organs the MICRO B II simulates. Key Click is the best example of this type of control. Originally Key Click was thought to be a defect in tone-wheel organs. Gradually people became accustomed to the sound as new musical styles developed around the playing of the electric organ. Many styles of jazz organ depend on some level of Key Click being used in the sound.

The Key Click effect is normally heard on both the attack and on the release of a note being played. However, depending on the type of sound system being used, it is usually most noticeable on the attack. To adjust the amount of Key Click heard on the attack, repeatedly strike some notes and gradually turn the key click knob clockwise. Notice the key-click effect increases as you turn the knob. Adjust to taste. See Click in the following section for more information on controlling the Key Click on the release of the note.

Overdrive - Overdrive may be used to simulate the sound of an amplifier driven into clipping. It realistically simulates the organ sound used by many "R & B" and rock bands.

To adjust the amount of overdrive, simply play some notes and gradually turn the overdrive knob clock wise. Notice how the amount of overdrive increases as you turn the knob. Adjust to taste.

Percussion - The percussion effect is enabled by turning up the percussion volume (PERC VOLUME). You can select between SLOW or FAST percussion decay and between the 2nd and 3rd percussion harmonic by pressing the PERCUSSION DECAY and PERCUSSION HARMONIC (HARM) push buttons.

The percussion effect is very useful for jazz style settings. A standard one would be preset 1 with percussion on 3rd harmonic, PERCUSSION DECAY set to FAST, and the PERCUSSION VOLUME adjusted to taste.

Click - As discussed in the Key Click section above, the type of note release and attack can be controlled. Set the Key Click to HARD by pressing the CLICK push button so that the LED indicator is lit up. Play a few notes in the low range of the keyboard using preset number 1 and notice that attack and release transients can be heard even with the KEY CLICK volume control turned all the way down. This is due the rectangular keying envelope. Set the Key Click to SOFT by pressing the CLICK push button again so that the LED indicator is off. Play a few notes, notice that the release transient click is eliminated by virtue of a quick decay. A difference can also be heard in the note attack as the waveform will always start from zero in the SOFT mode.

Rotor - The rotating speaker effect is simulated by having a horn rotor and drum rotor speed-up or slow-down at different rates. Rotor speed can be set to either SLOW or FAST by pressing the front panel button, using a foot switch, or by MIDI control number 68. Note that the rotating speaker effect is only heard when the EFFECT selector is set to one of the ROTOR settings. Refer to the EFFECTS SELECTION TABLE for more information.

The rotating speaker's rotors' speeds are indicated by the state of the ROTOR LED. When the LED is lit, the rotors speed-up with independent accelerations to the fast rate, when the LED is turned off the rotors slow-down with independent decelerations to the slow rate. Select between the two rotor velocities by pressing the ROTOR push button.

Effects - The MICRO B II comes with built-in chorus and vibrato effects as well as a rotating speaker effect. You can select various combinations of chorus, vibrato, and the rotating speaker effects.

Refer to the EFFECTS SELECTION TABLE for a description of all the effects settings.

decelerate to a complete stop while for the model 122 simulation the rotors decelerate to a slow rotation rather than stopping entirely.

Both rotating speaker effects employ "cabinet simulation" which simulates the sound which would be picked up from microphones placed in front of a speaker cabinet. You'll notice a change in timbre and distortion characteristics when the rotating speaker effect is enabled.

Presets - The MICRO B II comes with 36 drawbar presets. The first 22 presets can be accessed through the preset selector on the front panel; to access all 36 presets you must use a MIDI controller capable of sending least program changes 0 to 35. Set the preset selector to P or M when using your MIDI controller to send program changes. This tells the MICRO B II that all program changes will now be set by your MIDI controller. See the chart on the next page for a list of preset drawbar settings.

Here is a list of all 36 MICRO B II presets and their tone-wheel organ equivalents.
 

Preset #	Drawbar equivalent	Preset #	Drawbar equivalent
1	888000000	19	888220000
2	808808008	20	888000000   split / (505000000 +2 oct.) below middle C
3	888888888	21	888000000  split / 848000000  below middle C
4	888473256	22	888000008   split / 848000000   below middle C
5	832000003	23	848000000
6	800800008	24	878420000
7	888000008	25	888070340
8	888800000	26	808104000
9	800800000	27	887340060
10	800000005	28	864321110
11	880070080	29	800370000
12	800000544	30	880000000
13	088800002	31	888800008
14	888800003	32	800008678
15	008703004	33	505000000
16	888000030	34	888000000   split / 848000000 +3 oct.) below middle C
17	828030001	35	Farfisa Compact
18	831000025	36	Vox Continental

Notice that split presets are provided to make better use of single manual operation. Split presets 21 and 22 provide a typical organ bass setting for the left hand, while presets 20 and 34 provide a suitable sound for left hand accompaniment. The percussion effect will only be triggered for the right-hand part of the split.

Two "combo" organ settings (35, 36) are provided: their sound is very different than the tone-wheel organ settings.

MIDI Omni Mode

When the MICRO B II is in MIDI OMNI ON mode, it will respond to all MIDI channels. Any NOTE ON/NOTE OFF information (within the note range utilized by the MICRO B II) and program changes (if the PRESET selector is set to P or M) will be recognized by the MICRO B II.

To enable MIDI OMNI ON mode set the MIDI Channel (MIDI CHN) selector on the rear panel to the 0 position.

Multi-timbral Mode

To use Multi-timbral mode do the following:

1. Select the three adjacent channels to be enabled by first setting the MIDI channel selector to the basic MIDI channel. The basic MIDI channel and the next two higher channels will be enabled. If channel 15 is selected, channels 16 and 1 will also be enabled. See the chart on the next page.

2. Set the preset selector on the front panel to M . By doing this you are now telling the MICRO B II to accept MIDI data on the three channels selected in step 1 above.

OMNI ON mode and Multi-timbral mode are mutually exclusive. OMNI ON mode takes precedence over Multi-timbral mode. 

Using More Than One Keyboard Simultaneously

MIDI Controlled Effects

Note the MIDI control numbers are fixed, therefore to control the effects mentioned in the table you will need a programmable MIDI controller. The various buttons, wheels, sliders, or pedals of your MIDI controller must be assigned to the control number corresponding to the effect you wish to control.

Because of the wide variety of MIDI controllers (keyboards, computers, or sequencers) available on the market today, you will have to determine which MIDI controller is appropriate for this particular application. For example, you may elect to use the MOD wheel on your MIDI keyboard to control the rotating speaker FAST/SLOW rate or you may decide to use one of the push button controls on your MIDI controller to select the PERC 2nd or 3rd harmonic.

Examples:

1. Controlling the rotating speaker fast/slow speed via a MOD wheel:

Program the MIDI keyboard's MOD wheel to send data on MIDI control number 68 instead of control number 1. Since the MOD wheel is a continuous controller, it will output a control value of 0 through 127 depending on what position it is set to. To select the rotating speaker FAST rate simply flip the MOD wheel all the way up (on most keyboards up means away from you) or all the way down (towards you) for the SLOW rate. The rotating speaker will begin changing speed after the MOD wheel crosses the midway point (when the control value switches between 63 and 64).

2. Using a push button to select the Percussion 2nd or 3rd harmonic:

Let's say your MIDI controller has a push button control that can be assigned any MIDI control number. Set the MIDI control number of the push button control to 72. The MICRO B II will interpret MIDI control number 72 as the Percussion 2nd/3rd control. Most push button MIDI controllers will output a value of 127 when in the "on" position and a value of 0 when in the "off" position. If your MIDI controller allows you to program the control value, then make sure you set it to a value between 0 through 63 for "off" and 64 through 127 for "on". Now you should be able to select the PERC 2nd or 3rd harmonic by pressing the push button.

3. Using a continuos controller to adjust the ROTOR FAST speed:

Determine which controller you'd like to use to set the rotating speaker effects fast speed. Let's use the MOD wheel for this example. Program the MIDI keyboard's MOD wheel to send data on MIDI control number 90 instead of control number 1. Since the MOD wheel is a continuous

controller, it will output a control value of 0 through 127 depending on what position it is set to. Set the MICRO B II to one of the Rotating Speaker effects. Set the MICRO B II's ROTOR speed button to fast (LED on). You'll notice now that the rotor speed will track the position of the MOD wheel. Rotating the MOD wheel away from you will set the rotor speed quite high, moving it closer to you will set the speed to a slow rate. This function is handy for customizing the rotating speaker effect to suit your taste. It also allows for real-time control of the rotor speeds which can be used in place of the built-in acceleration / deceleration function.

SPECIFICATIONS

• CONTROLS 4 - rotary controls: VOLUME, OVERDRIVE, KEY CLICK, and PERCUSSION VOLUME. 2 - rotary selectors: EFFECT (chorus, vibrato, and rotating speaker combinations) and PRESET (22 presets, multi-timbral mode, program change enable). 4 - push-buttons: PERCUSSION DECAY, PERCUSSION HARMONIC, KEY CLICK SOFT/HARD, and ROTOR SLOW/FAST select. Rear: power switch, tuning control, MIDI channel (OMNI ON mode) selector, rotating speaker effect foot switch connector (PEDAL).

• AUDIO 2 - 1/4" audio outputs provide stereo. +4 dBm nominal output level. CH2 output may drive stereo headphones with >600 Ohm impedance (used for test purposes only, not suitable for driving headphones at high output levels).

• MIDI I/O MIDI IN, and MIDI THRU.

• NOTE RANGE 78 notes

• POWER 12 volts AC @ 700 to 850 mA, 2.5mm connector

• CABINET Extruded aluminum chassis, aluminum front and rear panels, steel bottom panel. Can be mounted on standard 19" rack tray by fastening to tapped center hole on bottom panel, #8 screw and washer included.

• WEIGHT 4 lbs excluding AC adapter

HOW LONG IS THE WARRANTY AND WHO IS PROTECTED
Labor (except removal and installation charges) and parts are warranted for one year. This warranty may be enforced only by the first consumer purchaser.

WHAT IS COVERED AND WHAT IS NOT COVERED
Except as specified below, this warranty covers all defects in material or workmanship in this product. The following are not covered by the warranty:

1.  Any product which is not registered via a product registration card.
2.  Any product on which the serial number has been defaced, modified or removed.
3.  Damage, deterioration, or malfunction resulting from:
a. Accident, misuse, abuse, neglect, fire, water (or other liquids), static electricity, lightning, or other acts of nature, or failure to follow instructions supplied with the product.
b. Repair or attempted repair by anyone not authorized by Voce Inc.
c. Any shipment of the product (claims must be presented to the carrier).
d. Any cause which does not relate to a product defect.

EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES
VOCE'S LIABILITY FOR ANY DEFECTIVE PRODUCT IS LIMITED TO THE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF THE PRODUCT AT OUR OPTION. VOCE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

1. DAMAGE TO OTHER PROPERTY CAUSED BY ANY DEFECTS IN THIS PRODUCT, DAMAGES BASED UPON INCONVENIENCE, LOSS OF USE OF THE PRODUCT, LOSS OF TIME, COMMERCIAL LOSS, OR,
2. ANY OTHER DAMAGES, WHETHER INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHERWISE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED WARRANTY LASTS AND/OR DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

HOW YOU CAN GET WARRANTY SERVICE
To obtain warranty service on this product:

1. Take or ship the product to an authorized dealer or Voce Inc.
2. Do not ship the product to Voce Inc. without authorization obtained via a phone call or letter.
3. A dated sales receipt must be included as proof of warranty coverage.