Yamaha EZ-EG Owner's Manual

Owner's Manual
Thank you for choosing a Yamaha Easy Guitar (EZ-EG)! For maximum performance and enjoyment,
please read this owner's manual carefully before using your EZ-EG. When you're done reading the
manual, please store it in a safe place – along with the warranty card – for future reference.
G Supplied Accessories —
Please check to make sure that you have the following accessories:
• Tremolo Arm • Strap • C-Clip x 2 • Pick • AC Power Adaptor • USB-MIDI Interface UX16 • Safety Precautions Document • EZ-EG Song Chord Chart, Warranty Card
Power Supply
You can use either the supplied AC power adaptor or batteries to power your EZ-EG, but we recommend that you use the
AC adaptor whenever possible.
Using the AC Power Adaptor
q Make sure that the EZ-EG power switch is set to the STANDBY position.
w Plug the DC plug of the AC Adaptor into the DC IN 9V jack on the EZ-EG.
e Plug the AC Adaptor into a convenient AC wall outlet.
• When powering the EZ-EG from the AC mains use only the supplied
PA-D09 AC Power Adaptor! The use of other adaptors can result in
overheating and damage, and can pose a fire hazard. Damage
caused by using an AC adaptor other than the one supplied with the
EZ-EG is not covered by the warranty.
• When you're not using the EZ-EG, or when there is danger of a
lightning strike, be sure to unplug the AC adaptor from the AC
mains.
AC Adaptor
PA-D09
(DC IN 9V )
Headphones
PHONES/OUTPUT
Connector
Standard
Phone Plug
Powered Speaker
Stereo
Mini Plug
RCA Pin Plugs
Audio System,
Television, etc.
Playing the EZ-EG
When you're set up and ready, turn on the power and play!
Power On & Play
1
Turn on the power & adjust the volume.
Rotate the [STANDBY/ON] switch to the ON position.
While playing the EZ-EG strings rotate the [VOLUME] control to set an
appropriate volume.
[VOLUME] Control [STANDBY/ON] Switch
• Make sure that the [VOLUME] control is set to the MIN (minimum)
position when turning on the power. Also make sure that external
amplification gear is off when turning the EZ-EG power on.
• Avoid touching the tremolo arm while turning the power on. If the
tremolo arm is not in its neutral position while the power is turned on
the EZ-EG may not play at the correct pitch.
• A very small amount of power is used by the EZ-EG when the
[STANDBY/ON] switch is in the STANDBY position. Be sure to
remove the batteries or unplug the AC Power Adaptor if you will not
be using the EZ-EG for an extended period of time.
• Don't force the STANDBY switch or VOLUME control past their
maximum "stop" positions.
• The "YAMAHA" name will scroll across the EZ-EG frets when the
power is turned on. You can stop this by simply pressing any fret.
2
Play chords.
Form a chord with your left hand (the frets you press will glow red), then
play the strings with your right hand.
• Strings that are sounding can be muted by lightly touching the strings
with the right hand while touching the metal section on the back of the
neck with the left hand.
Selecting Different Sounds
The EZ-EG includes 20 different guitar, bass, and other instrument sounds.
Choose the sound that best suits the song you're playing and your playing style.
1
Press the [SOUND] button.
The number of the cur-
rently selected sound
1
will appear on the dis-
play.
2
Select a sound number.
Use the [+] and [-] buttons to select the sound you want to play.
7
• Press the [+] and [-] buttons simultaneously to instantly recall sound
number 1.
Sound List
No. Sound No. Sound No. Sound
GUITAR 8 Overdrive Guitar 15 Synth Bass
1 Folk Guitar 9 Distortion Guitar 16 Hi-Q Bass
2 Classic Guitar BASS 17 Dance Bass
3 12-string Guitar 10 Acoustic Bass OTHERS
4 Jazz Guitar 11 Finger Bass 18 Banjo
5 Octave Guitar 12 Pick Bass 19 Shamisen
6 Clean Guitar 13 Fretless Bass 20 Piano
7 Mute Guitar 14 Slap Bass
Easy Guitar
Using Batteries
q Place the EZ-EG face-down (string-side down) on a soft surface, and
remove the battery compartment cover.
w Install six 1.5-volt "AA" size, R6P or equivalent batteries in the battery
compartment, making sure the polarities (i.e. the "+" and "-" ends of the
batteries) are arranged as shown in the diagram.
e Close the battery compartment cover.
• If batteries are installed and the AC power adapter is connected to the EZ-EG,
the AC power adaptor supplies power to the EZ-EG rather than the batteries.
• Alkali type batteries are recommended for maximum battery life and performance.
It is a good idea to change the batteries before they run too low to
maintain proper operation. When the batteries run low the output vol-
ume of the EZ-EG will be reduced, the sound may become distorted,
and the displays may not light properly.
Please keep the following points in mind when changing batteries:
• Be sure to observe the +/- polarity markings, and install the batter-
ies with the proper orientation. Improper battery orientation can
result in overheating, fluid leakage, and possibly fire.
• Always replace all six batteries at the same time. Don't mix old bat-
teries with new. All batteries must also be of the same type – never
mix alkaline and manganese batteries, batteries from different man-
ufacturers, or different types of batteries even if they are from the
same manufacturer. Doing so can result in overheating, fluid leak-
age, and possibly fire.
• Remove the batteries from the instrument if you won't be using it for an
extended period of time. If the batteries are left installed they will gradually
run down, and may possibly leak fluid that can damage the instrument.
Connections
• Make sure that power to all external
devices is OFF when connecting the
EZ-EG to avoid possible electric
shock and damage to the equip-
ment. Also, start with all volume con-
EZ-EG
trols turned down to minimum to
prevent possible damage to speak-
ers and other playback equipment.
Computer
USB-MIDI Interface
USB
MIDI OUT Connector
Connector
MIDI IN Connector
DC IN 9V
To AC wall socket
Connector
AC Power
Adaptor
G Using the Tremolo Arm
By raising and lowering the tremolo arm you can raise and lower the pitch of
notes played. Pressing the arm toward the body lowers the pitch, while lifting
the arm away from the body raises the pitch. Use the tremolo arm to add
expressive bends to your playing.
Raise Pitch
Lower Pitch
Using the CAPO Function
The EZ-EG's virtual capo functions in the same way as a normal guitar
capo, "stopping" the strings at the specified fret. Some guitar songbooks
include capo indications that can make setting this function easy.
1
Press the [CAPO] button.
C 0
2
Select the capo position (fret).
Use the [+] and [-] buttons to select the fret at which you want to posi-
tion the capo. You can select frets 1 through 10. All fret buttons at the
selected fret position will glow.
C 3
• The CAPO setting only applies to the played sound (not to the song play-
back sound).
• Some songs, however, do have a preset CAPO setting.
Tuning
After pressing the [TUNING] button you can use the [+] and [-] buttons to
raise or lower the overall pitch of the EZ-EG in semitone steps up to one
octave. For example, a setting of "-1" lowers the pitch by one semitone; a
setting of "+4" raises the pitch by four semitones (an interval of a third); or a
setting of "-12" lowers the pitch by a full octave. This makes it easy to play
the EZ-EG in any key – to match the range of a singer, for example.
The EZ-EG also provides four alternative tunings which can be selected by
pressing the [+] button beyond the "+12" setting: Drop D, Open D, Open G,
and Open E.
drd
Tuning
Key Control Drop D Open D
drd oPd
-12 0 12
- -
Display
1st E E D
2nd B B A
3rd G G F#
4th D D D
5th A A A
6th E D D
Names Of the Parts, Controls, and Connectors
e
t
y
q Frets
The EZ-EG frets glow red when pressed. When the PLAY MODE is set
to CHORD or BOTH, the appropriate frets will glow to indicate the frets
you should press.
• When the CAPO function is used an entire column of frets will glow at the
capo position.
w Control Section
This section includes the controls for the EZ-EG's many features and
functions (details in "Control Section", below).
e Strings
The strings can be played either with a pick or finger style. Strings that are
sounding can be muted by lightly touching the strings with the right hand
while touching the metal section on the back of the neck with the left hand.
r Tremolo Arm
The tremolo arm can be used to raise or lower the pitch of strings that
are sounding. Lift the arm away from the body to raise the pitch, or lower
it toward the body to lower the pitch.
t [VOLUME] Control
Adjusts the overall volume level. Rotate clockwise to increase the vol-
ume, or counterclockwise to decrease the volume.
y [STANDBY/ON] Control
This is the EZ-EG power switch. Rotate to the ON position to turn the
power on, or to the STANDBY position to turn the power off.
Control Section
!0
o
q VALUE [+]/[-] Buttons
Refer to "Connecting To a
Computer" on the other
These buttons are used to select sounds and songs as well as adjust
side for connection
tempo, balance, and other parameters. Press the [+] button once to
details.
increment the value by one, or press the [-] button once to decrement
the value by one. Holding either button causes continuous incrementing
or decrementing in the corresponding direction. Press both the [+] and
[-] buttons simultaneously to reset the initial default value for the
selected parameter.

Playing the Songs

The EZ-EG features a range of internal songs that you can play along with. Song numbers 1 through 18 are pre-programmed into
the EZ-EG. Additional songs can be downloaded from the internet using a computer and loaded into the EZ-EG for playback.
Refer to the "Connecting to MIDI Devices" section for details.
Song List
No. Title No.
FULL CHORUS
1 Day Tripper
Take Me Home
2
Country Roads
3 Stand By Me
INTRO 10
4 A Hard Days Night 11
5 Michelle
Listen To the Songs and Play Along
1
Press the [DEMO] button.
Playback of the currently selected song will begin, then the remaining
songs will play back in sequence.
The current CAPO
position will appear
on the display.
2
Press the [DEMO] button to stop playback.
Listen To a Specified Song and Play Along
1
Press [SONG] and select a song.
After pressing the [SONG] button, use the [+] and [-] buttons to select
the number of the song you want to play.
2
Press the [DEMO] button to start and stop playback.
• After pressing the [DEMO] button to start playback, the [+] and [-] buttons
can be used to select a specific song. All remaining songs will play back
in sequence following the selected song.
• If a play mode is selected – i.e. the [STRUM], [CHORD] or [BOTH] button
The number of semi-
is pressed – the selected song will play repeatedly.
tones tuned or the type
Songs loaded from a computer will be stored in memory numbers "F-1,
of alternative tuning
F-2, etc." following the pre-programmed song data (1 – 18), and can be
selected will appear on
selected using the [+] and [-] buttons in the same way as the pre-pro-
the display.
grammed songs.
Open G Open E
oPG oPE
D E
B B
G G#
D E
G B
D E
w Display
Body
Displays the value of the parameter being edited, as well as the cur-
rently selected tempo.
e [BALANCE] Button
Allows adjustment of the volume balance between the played sound and
the accompaniment song sound.
q
r [TUNING] Button
Allows overall tuning of the EZ-EG in semitone increments, as well as
w selection of one of the EZ-EG's alternative tunings: in addition to stan-
dard guitar tuning the EZ-EG provides drop-D, open-D, open-G, and
open-E tunings.
t [TEMPO] Button
r
Allows the song tempo to be set from q=32 through q=280.
y [CAPO] Button
Allows the position of the EZ-EG's "virtual capo" to be specified.
u [SONG] Button
Allows any of the 18 internal songs to be selected for playback. In addi-
tion to the songs initially provided, songs downloaded from the internet
to a computer can be read into and stored in the EZ-EG.
i [SOUND] Button
Allows selection of any of the EZ-EG's 20 instrument sounds.
o [DEMO] Button
Starts and stops song playback.
!0 [STRUM], [CHORD], [BOTH] Buttons
Starts playback of the selected song using the corresponding playback
method.
Attaching the Tremolo Arm
Screw the threaded end of the
tremolo arm clockwise into the
arm hole on the EZ-EG bridge.
Screw the arm in until it stops,
then rotate it back (counter-
clockwise) to a comfortable play-
ing position.
q MIDI IN/MIDI OUT Connectors
These connectors can be used to connect the EZ-EG to other MIDI gear
or a computer using standard MIDI cables.
w PHONES/OUTPUT Jack
This jack can be used to connect a pair of stereo headphones for private
practice or listening, or to connect the EZ-EG to an audio system, televi-
sion, or instrument amplifier.
e DC IN 9V Jack
The supplied AC Power Adaptor (PA-D09) can be connected here.
q
0. 0 . 0 . w
Attaching the Strap and C-Clip
e
After slipping the ends of the supplied strap over the strap pins on the
r
EZ-EG body, secure the strap by sliding a C-clip under the head of each
i u y t
strap pin – between the strap and the head of the strap pin – as shown
in the illustration.
Attach securely
to ensure that
the strap does
not slip off.
Strap Pin
Title No. Title
Playback tempo of the songs can be adjusted from q=32 through q=280
PATTERN 12 8 Beat Stroke-4
(quarter notes per minute). This can be handy to slow a song down for prac-
6 West Coast 13 16 Beat Stroke
tice.
7 Hillbilly 14 3 Finger-1
8 Mersey Beat 15 3 Finger-2
1
Press the [TEMPO] button.
9 8 Beat Stroke-1 16 Rock'n Roll Riff
8 Beat Stroke-2 17 Bossa Nova
8 Beat Stroke-3 18 Jazz
2
Use the [+] and [-] buttons to set the tempo.
The current song
. 1
number is shown on
the display.
• Press the [+] and [-] buttons simultaneously to reset the default tempo of
By changing the volume of song playback, you can set the optimum balance
between the song and played sounds.
1
Press the [BALANCE] button
The number of the
currently selected
song will appear on
the display.
7
2
Use the [+] and [-] buttons to set the balance.
Adjust the song volume from 0 (minimum) through 127 (maximum) to
achieve the ideal balance with the played sound.
The initial default song volume setting is 64.
• Press the [+] and [-] buttons simultaneously to reset the default song vol-
Connectors
q w e
• Make sure that power to all external devices is OFF when connect-
ing the EZ-EG to avoid possible electric shock and damage to the
equipment. Also, start with all volume controls turned down to mini-
mum to prevent possible damage to speakers and other playback
equipment.
C-clip
attached.
C-clip
Change the Song Tempo
The current tempo
64
will appear on the
display.
130
the song.
Change the Balance
The current balance
value appears on the
display.
80
96
ume.