Performance Features; Tune; Sequencer - Korg EX-800 Owner's Manual

5.

PERFORMANCE FEATURES

The EX-800 provides many useful performance features, includ­
ing the Tune control, Polyphonic Sequencer; and Program Up
footswitch.

5.1 TUNE

Adjusts the basic pitch of the EX-800 to match other instruments.
Turning the knob towards " # " raises the pitch; turning it
towards " b" lowers the pitch.
TUNE

5.2 SEQUENCER

The EX-800 has a built-in polyphonic sequencer which can
memorize a sequence of up to 256 " events" from a MIDI
equipped remote keyboard or synth such as the POLY-800. If
a monophonic sequence of notes all the same length is record­
ed, up to 256 notes can be stored and played. If chords and/or
rests are included in the sequence, then each note in the chord
or rest will be one event, reducing somewhat the total step ca­
pacity.
You also have the option of WHOLE or DOUBLE modes for
the DCOs. If you want to include chords of up to eight notes
then set the EX-800 to the WHOLE mode before starting to pro­
gram the EX-800 sequencer. Likewise, set to the DOUBLE mode
beforehand if you want 4-voice operation.
The EX-800 Sequencer is a STEP TIME Sequencer.
• A STEP is a basic time unit, which is usually the same
as the shortest note or rest in the sequence.
• It doesn't matter how long you hold down notes when
you're recording a sequence. All notes will be played back
with the same length. So, if you play a line using quarter
notes, eight notes, etc., it will be played back as all eighth
notes — unless you use the STEP button to make some
notes longer than other ones.
To have notes with different time values, you must TIE two
or more steps together for each of the longer notes, using
the STEP switch.
For example, assume you want to record a song that uses
16th notes, half notes and everything in between.
• A 16th note is the smallest time value, so it only requires
1 " step" (the smallest amount of time the sequencer
recognizes).
• A half note equals eight 16th notes, and therefore lasts for
8 steps.
• Notes in between use smaller amounts. An 8th note = 2
steps; a quarter note = 4 steps, and so on.
• Rests are just "silent notes", so they take up the same num­
ber of steps as notes (8th rest = 2 steps, etc.).
• To work with triplets, you must use a different set of step
values. A triplet 16th note would be 1 step, but an 8th note
would be 3 steps, a quarter note 6 steps, etc. (2 steps would
now be a triplet 8th note).
By doing a little planning before recording your sequence,
you can work with almost any set of timing values.
5.2.2 MEMORY CAPACITY
The Sequencer can record up to 256 "events". If you're
recording a monophonic bass line where all notes are the
same length, you can have up to 256 notes or rests in a
row in your sequence (at 1 event per note or rest).
Each note of a chord is recorded as a separate "event",
so a four note chord requires 4 events (even though it all
happens during 1 " step's" worth of time). A sequence
made up only of 4 note chords could hold up to 64 chords
(256 events/4 events per chord) before you ran out of
memory, and it would last for 64 steps.
TIED NOTES (see above) or chords take up 1 event per
note plus 1 event for each step which extends the length
of the chord. A four note chord TIED to last for 4 steps (i.e.
a quarter note, if a 16th note=1 step), will take up 7 events.
(That breaks down to 4 events for the 4 note chord on the
1st step, plus 1 event each for the extensions to the 2nd,
3rd and 4th steps).
Rests take up 1 event per step — so a quarter rest would
take up 4 events (and 4 steps) with a 16th note = 1 step.
27