Shift Key - Roland TR-707 Owner's Manual

Outline
of
the
TR-707
The
Rhythm
Composer TR-707
is a
fully
program-
mable
rhythm machine which
allows
you
to pro-
gram 4
Rhythm
Tracks
or
tunes
(altogether
998
bars)
from up
to
64
kinds of user-created
Rhythm
Patterns.
Each
of
the 15
digital
drum
voices
is
extremely
realistic
and
has. a
separate output
jack for
individ-
ual
mixing,
echo
or equalizer.
An
optional
memory
cartridge plugs directly into
the
Composer
for instantaneous loading and
saving,
expanding
the
memory
capacity by three times.
A
Display
window
helps
your operation
to great
extent,
MIDI
Bus on
the rear panel interfaces
with other
MIDI
devices to
allow control of
several
instruments.
Flam
(Grace-note}
and
Shuffle
can be added
for
greater variety
and
realism.
Now
we'll find
our
way around
the
important
controls before creating
and
storing
('writing')
our
own
rhythm
tracks.
With
any computer
keyboard,
the
same
key
may
do
several different jobs
depend-
ing
on
how
it is
used.
The Composer, which
is
a
type of
computer,
does
this also.
When
switched on,
the
Composer
automatically
selects (or 'defaults' to!
Track
I,
"Default"
means
the value
automatically selected
by the
Composer
overriden
by your command.
A
Track
is
a
complete tune
in
rhythm, made
up
of
Patterns strung together (Patterns are
covered
later),
and
there
is
a
demonstration tune
written
on Track
1,11
and
HI.
The
SHIFT
Key
is
used
a lot.
It
enables
many
but-
tons
and keys
to
perform
two
functions
instead of
just
one.
The
distinction
is
clearly
marked
on the
Composer:
all
functions enclosed with
lines
and
highlighted
are selected
while the
SHIFT
Key
is
held
down.
Ail other functions
do
not need the
SHIFT
Key.
The
only exception to
this rule
is
the
ENTER
Key.
The Main
Keys
numbered
1
to
16
are
used
for
several tasks:
(i)
They
produce
the voices
manually
when
tapped.
(ii)
They
divide a
bar of music
into
16
parts,
and
enable
voices to
be
written into
any
of these
pans.
(iii)
They
assign
the instrument
voices
in
turn
when
you
are writing:^-
(iv)
They
take care of
all
the
"housekeeping"
in-
volved
in
editing
Rhythm
Patterns
and
Track,
such
as delete,
insert
and
copy,
(v)
They
set the
Accent on
the
major
voices.
Above
the
Main Keys
is
the
scale of
time values with
a
red
LED
beside
each to
indicate
which
is
in
opera-
tion.
These
indicate -whether,
you
are..operating
in
2/4, 3/4, 4/4,
6/8 or multiples of these times.
Default
value
is
4/4, other times
are
set
with the
SCALE
button.
Special times such
as
5/4, 7/4 or
any
other can
be
set
with the
LAST STEP
button. Mixed
times
which
change each
bar can
also
be
set up.
We
use the
CLEAR
button
to erase
rhythm
patterns
we
want
to write over, the
FLAM
button
for
adding
Flam
or- 'grace
notes'
ahead
of the
main
beat,
and
INSTRUMENT SELECT
for selecting
each
voice
in
turn
when
writing
Patterns,
Finally, don't
worry
if
you
can't get
an immediate
response
from
these
controls;
sometimes they
operate only under
special
circumstances to protect
your
data.
A
full
explanation of
ail
controls follows
in
this
Manual.