Korg AmkII manual

E 1 Thank you purchasing the K org ELECTRIBE·Amk II EA-1mk II . In order to enjo y long and troub le- free use, please read this man ual carefully and use the instr ument correctly .[...]

2 Precautions Location Using the unit in the following locations can result in a malfunction. • In dir ect sunlight • Locations of extreme temperatur e or humidity • Excessively dusty or dirty locations • Locations of excessive vibration • Close to magnetic fields Power supply Please connect the designated AC adapter to an AC outlet of th[...]

3 Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................... 6 Main f eatures ......................................................................................... 6 About the data you create on the EA-1 mk II .................................................................................................... [...]

4 Pla ying a patter n (P atter n Pla y) ............................................................ 22 The timing at which patter ns will change ............................................................ 22 Pla ying from the beginning of a patter n (Reset & Pla y) ...................................... 22 About the tempo when the patter n is[...]

5 Specifying the pitch of each patter n .................................................................... 36 Editing a song ..................................................................................................... 36 Inser ting a patter n at a specified position (INSERT P A TTERN) ............................................... 36 De[...]

6 1.Introduction 1. Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Electribe·A mk II (EA-1 mk II) . The EA-1 mk II is a unique and easy-to-use synthesizer that uses DSP synthesis technology to help anyone from beginners to har d-cor e users to produce truly original sounds and phrases. By using the front panel knobs and keys, you can cr eate analog syn[...]

7 1.Introduction 1.Introduction Make connections and play! Example connections Preparing to play Be sure to turn off the power before making connections. Careless operation may damage y our speaker system or cause malfunctions. 1. Connect the included AC adapter to the DC 9V jack, and plug the adapter into an AC outlet. As shown in the abo ve diagr[...]

8 2.Front and rear panel 1 2 7 9 8 10 3 4 5 6 2. Front and rear panel The contr ols and other par ts of the EA-1 mk II can be br oadl y gr ouped as sho wn in the dia- gram. Common section 1. MASTER VOLUME This knob adjusts the v olume that is output fr om the Part output jacks and the headphone jack. 2. AUDIO IN THRU This key allows the external au[...]

9 2.Front and rear panel 2.Front and rear panel 1 6 2 3 4 5 7 8 Synthesizer section 1. OSCILLA T OR This pr oduces the basic wa vef orm. • POR T AMENT O This smoothly connects changes in pitch. • OSC BALANCE (oscillator balance) When OSC MOD is off and y ou are using RING or SYNC , this knob adjusts the level balance of the tw o oscillator s. W[...]

10 2.Front and rear panel 12 3 4 5 Sequence Control section 1. Rec key Use this ke y to recor d phrases and mo vements of the knobs etc. If you press this ke y during recor ding, re- cor ding will end, and pla ybac k will contin ue . 2. Stop/Cancel key This key stops playback of a pattern or song, or cancels an operation. 3. Play/Pause key This key[...]

11 2.Front and rear panel 2.Front and rear panel 5. SHIFT key This key is used in conjunction with other keys. When held down, it gives an additional function to another ke y . SHIFT + Play/Pause key :Pla ybac k from the beginning of the pattern. SHIFT + Rec key :During pla ybac k, erase trig g er s fr om the pattern. SHIFT + Step keys :Ex ecute th[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 12 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) Conceptual diagram of the EA-1 mk II On the EA-1 mk II , a song consists mainly of Patterns (which consist of Parts and delay settings) and event data (refer to p.37 "Recor ding knob movements or your performance in a song (Event Recording)"). Listening to a Song 1. Pr e[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 13 Listening to Patterns 1. Press the Pattern mode key to enter Pattern mode (the key will light). 2. Use the cursor [ ▲ ][ ▼ ] keys to make the parameter select LEDs indicate P A TTERN (top). 3. Rotate the dial to select the desired pattern ( A01...A64, b01...b64, C01...C64, d01[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 14 Striking keys to play sounds (Keyboard function) 1. T urn on the Keyboard function key (the key will light). 2. Use the step keys as a keyboar d. 3. Y ou can use the P AR T SELECT key to switch the part that you play . The sound of a part will differ depending on the pattern. Rotate the dial to change the pattern[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 15 Playing the sound of a part along with a song or pattern 1. T urn on the Keyboar d function key , and press the step keys to play the sound. 2. In Song mode or Pattern mode, press the Play/Pause key to begin playback. Use the P AR T SELECT key to select the part that you wish to p[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 16 In the following pages we will explain how to perform Realtime Recording and Step Recording. For details on Event Editing, r efer to Event Editing (p.28) in "Pattern mode." • Realtime Recording (using the Keyboard function to create a phrase) If you wish to listen to the metronome as you r ecord, r ef[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 17 7. Use the step keys to input the pitch for each note of the phrase. (The target step will automatically advance by one step each time you do so.) 8. Recording will end when you input the last step or press the Stop/Cancel key (the Rec key will go dark). T o input a r est, press t[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 18 Using a Motion Sequence What is a Motion Sequence? For each part, you can record the changes you make to the synth parameters using the knobs, and loop them for playback. The looped data for the knob movements is called a Motion Sequence (refer to p.29 "Recording a motion sequence"). A "motion sequ[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 19 Connecting various sources to the audio input Let's try connecting various types of audio device (radio, or MD or CD player) or tone generator to the audio input jack. T ry out various types of sounds or music. Depending on the content, you may discover unexpectedly interesti[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 20 Playing with Pattern Set What is Pattern Set? Pattern Set is a function that lets you register a favorite pattern to each of the sixteen step keys, and use the step keys to switch patterns. Y ou can use this function to play a performance simply by selecting patterns one after the other . When you hold down the K[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 21 Synchronized playback with the ER-1 mk II By synchronizing the Electribe EA-1 mk II and ER-1 mk II you can enjoy even gr eater performance pos- sibilities. Here's how you can make the ER-1 mk II playback in synchronization with the tempo of the EA-1 mk II . Use a MIDI cable t[...]

4.Pattern mode 22 4. Pattern mode In this mode you can play patterns, or edit them to make new patterns. Press the Pattern mode key to enter Pattern mode. Selecting a pattern PATTERN A01...d64 Use the cursor keys to make the parameter select LEDs indicate P A TTERN . Rotate the dial to select one of the 256 patterns: A01...A64 , b01...b64 , C01...C[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.P attern mode 23 Selecting a pattern Y ou can use the P AR T SELECT key to switch the part that will be edited or played using the Keyboard function. When you select a Part, the LED for that part will light, and you can edit it in the Synthesizer section, or edit a phrase pattern. At this time if the Keyboard function key is off (d[...]

4.Pattern mode 24 OSC2 PITCH OFS (OSC2 pitch offset) – 1 octav e ... 4 octav es Specify the pitch of OSC2 relative to the pitch of OSC1 . The pitch of OSC2 can be adjusted in the range of – 1 octave to 4 octaves from the pitch of OSC1 . The pitch of OSC1 will be the pitch that sounds when you use the keyboard function or the pitch specified for[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.P attern mode 25 CUT OFF Set the cutoff fr equency of the low-pass filter . Overtones higher than the cutoff fr equency will be cut, making the sound more mellow . If CUT OFF and EG INT are set to 0, you will hear vir tually no sound. RESONANCE This parameter adds character to the sound by boosting the region ar ound the cutoff fr [...]

4.Pattern mode 26 Length, Scale/Beat settings Y ou can set the length (the length of the entire pattern) and the basic beat (time signature).The Length and Scale/Beat you specify here will af fect the correspondence between step keys and note values, and the maximum number of steps as shown in the following diagram. While you hold down the SHIFT ke[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.P attern mode 27 Creating a phrase pattern There ar e three ways to create a phrase pattern. Realtime recording Use the Keyboard function to play the step keys at the exact timing you wish to recor d them. Step recording Use the Keyboard function to specify the pitch of the note for each target step to cr eate the phrase. Event edi[...]

4.Pattern mode 28 Changing the pitch PITCH C-1...G9 1. T urn off the Keyboard function key (the key will go dark). 2. Use the cursor keys to make the parameter select LEDs indi- cate PITCH . 3. Use the P AR T SELECT key to select the part that you wish to edit. 4. The step keys will light to indicate the trigger locations of the pattern for that pa[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.P attern mode 29 Convenient functions for editing patterns If you wish to sa ve the pattern you edit using these func- tions, y ou must perform the Write operation before select- ing a different pattern or turning off the power . Erasing phrase pattern data from a part T o erase the phrase pattern data for the selected part, you ca[...]

4.Pattern mode 30 T o cancel without executing, press the Stop/Cancel key . The Move Data operation applied to all steps of the selected part. Data that is moved beyond the last step of the pattern will "wrap around" to the first step. For example if 64-step data is moved for " 5 " steps, the data that was in steps 60 through 64[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.P attern mode 31 Data Copy within a pattern Phrase pattern data (including motion sequence data) that you create for a pattern of length 1 can be copied to the steps of lengths 2...4. This function is a convenient way to create a pat- tern that uses similar phrases repeatedly . 1. Create a pattern with a length of 1, and W rite it [...]

4.Pattern mode 32 Pattern Set Pattern Set is a function that lets you assign your favorite pat- terns to each of the sixteen step keys, and switch them at the touch of a key . During playback, you can successively switch patterns to per- form a song. By using the SELECT key in conjunction with this to switch pattern set groups, you can r egister an[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.P attern mode 33 Saving a pattern (WRITE) If you wish to keep the pattern data that you create, you must perform this W rite operation. When you perform the W rite op- eration, "Data Copy within a pattern" (p.31) will occur auto- matically , depending on the pattern length. If you intentionally want to discard your edits [...]

5.Song mode 34 5. Song mode A song consists of patterns arranged in the desir ed order of play- back. Y ou can create and save up to sixteen songs in the internal memory of the EA-1 mk II . In addition to pattern playback, songs can also record phrases and knob movements. Press the Song mode key to enter Song mode. Selecting a song SONG S01...S16 U[...]

5.Song mode 5.Song mode 35 Creating a song Creating a song from scratch Here's how to create a song by placing patterns in the desir ed order . If you s witch to a diff erent song while editing a song, y our edited data will be lost. If you wish to k eep the edited song, you m ust perform the Write operation to sav e the song data. Erasing son[...]

5.Song mode 36 Specifying the pitch of each pattern PITCH OFS (Pitch Offset) – 24...24 This function offsets the pitch of the pattern at the specified position within the song. Pitch Offset simply offsets the pitch within the song. It does not aff ect the pitch data of the patter n itself. 1. If the song is playing, press the Stop/Cancel key to s[...]

5.Song mode 5.Song mode 37 Deleting a pattern from a specified position (DELETE PATTERN) Y ou can delete a pattern from a specified position, and subse- quent patterns will be moved forward (toward the beginning of the song). 1. If the song is playing, press the Stop/Cancel key to stop play- back. 2. Hold down the SHIFT key and press step key 14 ( [...]

5.Song mode 38 Recording knob movements or your performance in a song (Event Recording) In addition to placing patterns in a desired playback or der , Song mode also lets you recor d your realtime performance on the step keys using the Keyboard function, and knob movements you perform. Recording this type of performance in Song mode is r eferred to[...]

6.Global mode 6.Global mode 39 6. Global mode In Global mode you can set parameters such as Metronome or Protect. Press the Global mode key to enter Global mode. T o execute Global mode, press a differ ent mode key . The settings you mak e in Global mode will be cancelled if you turn off the power without Writing. If y ou wish to sav e the settings[...]

6.Global mode 40 Synchronizing an external MIDI device to the EA-1 mk II as master (int) 1. Use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI OUT connector of the EA-1mkII to the MIDI IN connector of the external MIDI device (sequencer or synthesizer etc.). 2. Use the cursor keys to make the parameter select LEDs indi- cate CLOCK . 3. Rotate the dial to select [...]

7.MIDI mode 7.MIDI mode 41 7. MIDI mode In MIDI mode you can make MIDI-related settings, and dump exclusive data. T o enter MIDI mode, press the MIDI mode key . T o leave MIDI mode, press a differ ent mode key . If you turn off the power without Writing, the settings you made in MIDI mode will be lost. If y ou wish to keep the modified settings, yo[...]

7.MIDI mode 42 MIDI filter settings Here you can select the types of MIDI message that will be trans- mitted and received. For each character " PCE " in the display , select " O " if you want that type of message to be transmitted and received, or select " - " if you do not want that type of message to be transmitted o[...]

8.Data 8.Data 43 8. Appendices About MIDI 1. MIDI channels Similarly to a television, data can be received when the channel of the receiving device matches the channel on which the data is being transmitted. The transmit/receive channel of the EA-1 mk II is set by the MIDI channel setting in MIDI mode. 2. Note-on/off When you use the Keyboard funct[...]

8.Data 44 on the master device, a Continue message is transmitted, and the song will begin playback from the curr ently selected posi- tion. When the slave device receives the Continue message, it will synchronize to the T iming Clock messages and begin play- back from the curr ent point in the song. In the same way as synchronizing the playback fr[...]

8.Data 8.Data 45 Error messages Data could not be written. When writing a song to a differ ent song number , the maximum number of recor dable events was exceeded. Use the Clear Event operation to erase unwanted events from the song (p.38). Protect was turned " on " for the memory into which you attempted to write data. In Global mode, tu[...]

8.Data 46 Example sounds[...]

8.Data 8.Data 47 Blank Chart When you have created a sound that you like, you can stor e the knob and key locations in this page.[...]

8.Data 48 Index A About the data ------------------- 6 Amp Distor tion ----------------- 9, 25 Le v el ----------------------- 9, 25 A UDIO IN THR U ---------------- 8 A udio input ----------- 11, 19, 39 B Beat -------------------------- 8, 26 Beat LED -------------------------- 8 Bend range --------------------- 42 Blank char t -------------------[...]

8.Data 8.Data 49 P P art ------------------------------- 14 P art select key ------------------- 9 P attern Create ------------------------- 23 Delete ------------------------- 37 Inser t -------------------------- 36 Mode -------------------------- 22 Select -------------------------- 23 P attern mode ------------------- 13 P attern name list ----[...]

8.Data 50 Pattern Name List A B ANK No. Pattern Name T empo A01 Nu Skool Breaks 1 138 A02 Nu Skool Breaks 2 136 A03 Nu Skool Breaks 3 140 A04 Nu Skool Breaks 4 134 A05 Nu Skool Breaks 5 140 A06 Nu Skool Breaks 6 136 A07 Nu Skool Breaks 7 130 A08 Nu Skool Breaks 8 137 A09 Nu Skool Breaks 9 135 A10 Electro 1 134 A11 Electro 2 130 A12 Electro 3 140 A1[...]

51 T ransmitted Recognized Remarks Function ... [Synthesizer] ELECTRIBE A · EA-1 mk II MIDI Implementation Chart Mode 1: OMNI ON, POL Y Mode 2: OMNI ON, MONO O : Y es Mode 3: OMNI OFF , POL Y Mode 4: OMNI OFF , MONO × : No Basic Default 1 – 16 1 – 16 Memorized channel Changed 1 – 16 1 – 16 Default 3 Mode Messages ×× Altered * * * * * * [...]

15 - 12, Shimotakaido 1 - chome , Suginami-ku, T okyo , Japan . ©2003 K ORG INC. Printed in China E 1 IMPORT ANT NO TICE T O CONSUMERS This product has been manuf actured according to strict specifications and v oltage requirements that are applicable in the country in which it is intended that this product should be used. If y ou hav e purchased [...]