Novation Xiosynth | Troubleshooting and FAQs – Novation

How do I reset the Xio to its factory settings?

Applies to: Xio

There is no hardware factory reset function on the unit itself since the factory OS, templates, patches and global settings are not stored on a memory chip inside the unit. There are two stages to resetting the unit; reloading the factory templates and reloading the factory patches. Both of these can be done with the Xio Template Editor which is free to download from the Xio downloads page. Follow these steps to reset the Xio:

Reloading the Factory Templates

Download the 'Xio Templates and Resources' from the Xio downloads page.
Connect the Xio to your computer and turn it on, then open the Editor. If the welcome dialogue appears select 'Send bulk dumps to and from your Xio'. After this, you may be prompted to select a MIDI input and output device. Select 'Xio' for both and then click 'OK'. If the welcome dialogue does not appear then select 'Select MIDI input/output device…' from the 'Device' menu, choose 'Xio' in both menus and then click 'OK'. Next, select 'Bulk Dumps…' from the 'Device' menu.
In the Bulk Dumps window click 'Open…' and locate the file 'XIOSYNTH_ALL_FACTORY_TEMPLATES.blk' in the folder downloaded in step 1.
Press the 'global' button on the Xio to enter the global menu and scroll to the 'Memory Protect' page. Set this to OFF then press 'write' to save the setting and 'play/synth' to return to play mode. Make sure the Xio is in template mode using the 'play/synth' button.
Click 'Upload' in the Bulk Dumps window to send the templates to the Xio. Once the patches have finished uploading click 'OK' to exit the Bulk Dumps window.

How do I update my Xio's OS to OS v2.1.07?

To update your Xio's OS to the latest version, please follow these instructions:

Download the latest Xio template editor from here.
Download the latest OS for the Xio. v2.1.07 (attached)
Connect your Xio via USB and run the template editor software.
From the main menu select “Update the operating system on your Xio”.
For input device and output device select “Xio”. 6. Select “Load” and navigate the file browser to the OS file that you downloaded.
Select “Upload OS”. Your Xio's OS will now upgrade. Be sure not to turn off the Xio or interrupt the USB connection during this process.
Once complete, exit the software and switch the Xio off then on again.

Important information about v2.1.07 update:

You will need to recalibrate your pitch/mod stick after the OS update.

Some factory patches of my Xio seem to be corrupted

The signs of corrupted patches are:

No sound
Strange sound
Unreadable/jumbled patch names

If you upload the factory patches again, it will solve the problem. The factory patches can be uploaded to the unit as follows:

Download and install the latest “Novation USB driver”, “Xio template editor” and “Xio Factory Soundbank” from here. Run the installer without the Xio connected.
Connect the Xio to your computer and turn it on. Make sure it is in synth mode and then open the Xio editor software.
If the editor welcome box appears, select 'Nothing Thanks' and click 'OK'. In the editor, select 'Select MIDI Input/Output Device…' from the 'Device' menu and make sure the Xio is set as the MIDI input and output, then click 'OK'.
Select 'Patch Librarian' from the 'Device' menu to open the patch librarian window. The Patch Librarian window will pop up.
Click “Open” and select “Sound Bank1 XIO_1003.syx” from the “Xio Factory Soundbank folder”, then click 'Open'.
On the Xio, press the 'global' button to enter the global menu and scroll to the 'Mem Protect' page. Make sure this is set to 'OFF' then press 'play/synth' to return to play mode.
As we are trying to overwrite bank 1, make sure the current patch on the Xio is patch 1XX. You can scroll through patches using the “Prog Data” knob.
Now press “Upload” in Patch Librarian. You should see it Bank 1 uploading now.
In Patch Librarian, click 'Open' again and select “Sound Bank2 XIO_1003.syx” from the Xio Factory Soundbank folder, then click open.
As we are trying to overwrite bank 2 now, make sure the current patch on the Xio is patch 2XX. You can scroll through patches using the “Prog Data” knob.
Now press “Upload” in Patch Librarian again. You should see Bank 2 uploading now.
Press 'OK' in Patch Librarian to finish.

Recording MIDI and triggering external devices with Xio's arpeggiator

Go into the x-gator/arp menu (bottom row, coloured blue). Press the button twice to access 'arp' (rather than x-gator). You can just scroll up until it says 'ARP Notes'. The arpeggiator will only play internally if this is set to 'INT'. If it is set to 'EXT', it will only send out midi notes externally, which you can then record in your sequencer or use to trigger an external device, but it will not produce sound on the synth. If this is set to 'I+E', it will produce sound on the synth internally and send midi notes externally.

How do I recalibrate the pitch and mod stick on my Xio?

If your pitch/mod stick is not behaving correctly, for example not sending out the correct values, you should try re-calibrating it. You are also required to re-calibrate the pitch/mod wheel after upgrading to OS version 2.1.07.

To calibrate the pitch and mod stick:

Centre the pitch & zero the mod.
Go into Global, ensure that 'Mem Protect' is set to Off.
Scroll up to the 'Cal Pitch/Mod' page. Re-calibrate the pitch and mod wheels by moving them up down left-right.
For Mod, the max value is 127 and the min value is 0.
For Pitch, the value to the left is 0, the centre is 128 and to the right is 255.
Press 'write' to save these settings.

How do I set the Xio up with Reason?

Follow these steps to set the Xio up to work with Reason:

Make sure you have Reason 3 or later installed.
Connect the Xio to your computer, turn it on and launch Reason.
In Reason, go to the 'Control Surfaces & Keyboards' page of Preferences.
Click 'Add' to add a controller.
In the next window, select:
- Manufacturer: Novation
- Model: Xio
- MIDI Input: Xio
- MIDI Output: Xio
Click 'OK'. If you do not see 'Xio' listed under 'Model' then quit Reason and download and run the Reason Codecs installer which is attached to this article (click the link to the right of this text), then start from step 2 again.
A warning will appear telling you that a template is about to be uploaded to the Xio. Before clicking OK, make sure that memory protect is turned off. To do this press the 'global' button to enter the global menu and scroll to the 'Memory Protect:' page. Use the data encoder to set this to 'Off' then press 'write' to save the setting and then 'play/synth' to put the unit into template mode (note: it must NOT be in synth mode).
Click OK in Reason and after a couple of seconds, the Xio display will show 'Reason'. You need to save this template permanently to the unit. To do this press 'write' once and select which template location to save it to, then press 'write' a further 2 times to confirm.
After this, you can exit preferences and start using Reason. The Reason template MUST be selected to control Reason. The Xio will then control whichever device is selected for MIDI control in the Reason sequencer.

How can I load patches into my Xio?

You can use the Patch Librarian feature in the Xio Template Editor to organise the patches stored on the Xio. It allows you to dump one of the two Xio patch banks into the editor and then re-order the sounds, swap some out for different ones, delete them, rename them and back them up. The Xio template editor is free to download from the Xio downloads page. To use the patch librarian, follow these steps:

Connect the Xio to your computer and turn it on. Make sure it is in synth mode.
Open the Xio editor software.
If the editor welcome box appears, select 'Nothing Thanks' and click 'OK'. In the editor, select 'Select MIDI Input/Output Device…' from the 'Device' menu and make sure the Xio is set as the MIDI input and output, then click 'OK'.
Select 'Patch Librarian' from the 'Device' menu to open the patch librarian window. To dump a patch bank into the librarian, click 'Listen'. On the Xio press the 'global' button to enter the global menu, scroll up to the 'Dump:' page, select either 'Sound Bank 1' or 'Sound Bank 2' and then press 'write' to send the bank to the Librarian.
Once the patches have finished sending, you will see them listed in the Patch Librarian window. You can click on a patch and use the 'Move Up' and 'Move' Down' buttons to change their position in the bank. You can also right-click (ctrl-click on Mac) on any patch in the list to select to rename it, save it as an individual SysEx patch file or replace it with a different patch (perhaps a .syx patch file you have got from our site).
You can use the 'save' button in the Patch Librarian to save the whole bank as a single .syx file, or the 'save all' button to save all the patches as individual SysEx files.
To reload the bank into the Xio make sure the unit is in synth mode and then select a patch in the bank you want to overwrite, i.e. if you want to overwrite bank 1 then select patch 1XX or if you want to overwrite bank 2 then select patch 2XX. Then press the 'global' button to enter the global menu and scroll to the 'Mem Protect' page. Make sure this is set to 'OFF' then press 'play/synth' to return to play mode. Click 'upload' in the Patch Librarian to send the bank back to the unit.
If you have downloaded a single patch bank file rather than individual patch files that you want to load into the unit, then select 'open' in the Patch Librarian window and then follow step 6 to load it into the unit. Note that you should back up the existing patches first, as they will be overwritten.

The Xio Editor Patch Librarian is capable of loading sounds from the other following Novation units:
X-Station

K-Station
KS (programs only)

How do I send templates to/from my Xio from/to my computer?

Use the Xio Template Editor to send templates to/from the Xio and also to create your own templates. The Editor can be downloaded from the Xio downloads page.

To upload a template to the Xio follow these steps:

Connect the Xio to your computer and turn it on, then open the Editor.
If the 'Welcome' dialogue appears select 'Nothing thanks!' and click 'OK'.
Choose 'Select MIDI input/output device...' from the 'Devices' menu and make sure the Xio is selected as the input and output device, then click 'OK'.
Choose 'Open...' from the 'File' menu and select the template you want to load into the Xio, then click 'Open'.
Make sure the Xio is in template mode and not synth mode. Then press the 'global' button to enter the global menu and scroll to the 'Mem Protect' page. Set this to 'Off' and press 'write' to save the setting, then press 'play/synth' to return to play mode.
Click 'Upload' in the editor to send the template to the Xio.
Once the template has uploaded to the Xio, press the 'write' button to save the template to the unit. After pressing 'write' once use the data encoder to select the memory location you want to save the template to and then press 'write' a further two times to confirm.

To send a template from the Xio to your computer follow these steps:

Connect the Xio to your computer and turn it on, then open the Editor.
If the 'Welcome' dialog appears select 'Listen for a template from your Xio' and click 'OK'. If the 'Welcome' dialogue does not appear choose 'Listen for template dump' from the 'Device' menu.
Make sure the Xio is in template mode. Use the data encoder to select the template you want to send and then press the 'global' button to enter the global menu. Scroll to the 'Dump' page and select 'Current Template'.
Press 'write' to send the template to the Editor and then press 'play/synth' to return to play mode.
In the editor choose 'Save As...' from the 'File' menu to save the template to your computer.

Xio won't respond to MIDI data in Hybrid mode

In the template edit menu, there is a 'Synth By MIDI' option. This needs to be set to 'On' for any MIDI information from your computer to be sent to the Xio synth engine when a Hybrid mode template is selected. If this is set to 'Off' the synth can only be controlled using the Xio's keyboard when using hybrid mode.

Xio won't sync to external MIDI clock in Hybrid mode

In the template edit menu, there is a 'Synth by MIDI' option. This needs to be set to 'On' for any MIDI information from the computer to be sent to the synth engine in the Hybrid mode template.

If this is set to 'On' then you will also be able to sync the arpeggiator and X-Gator to an external MIDI clock from your sequencer.

Xio "Latch On/Latch Off" Shortcut

The Arpeggiator and X-Gator can be latched “On/Off” by holding down the associated button for 1 second.

How do I perform an Emergency Software Upgrade on my Xio?

If your Xio will not boot up for one reason or another, it is possible to reload the operating system using an Emergency Software Upgrade procedure. To start up the Xio in this mode, hold down the following buttons during startup:

[OCTAVE UP] + [OCTAVE DOWN] + [PLAY/SYNTH]
(Hold down during Xio start up)

Once the Xio starts up in Emergency Software Upgrade Mode, you can follow the usual Software Upgrade procedure described in the Xio User Guide.

My Xio will not power from the USB port of my computer

A few computers may exhibit problems when trying to power the Xio via USB. This will depend on whether or not phantom power is being used on the Xio. Most powered USB ports will not have any problems powering the Xio.

If you are experiencing problems powering the Xio over USB, using the power adapter or batteries will resolve any issues.

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