Roland XP-80 Supplemental Notes

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September 20, 2000
The XP-80 incorporates a new sequencer based on Roland's Advanced MRC-Pro. This new sequencer includes
extensive editing features such as Shuffle and Groove Quantize, Linear and Loop recording, Microscope event
editing, and the ability to synchronize beat loops from several of the SR-JV80 series expansion boards to the
sequencers' internal clock. With a basic understanding of the Sequencer functions and architecture, the XP-80
sequencer is very simple to operate. The purpose of this document is to assist you with the basic concepts
needed to successfully record and playback a multi-instrument composition. We will start by defining some terms
that you will need to be familiar with. Then, we will give you a step by step example of the recording process and
show you how to ensure that your song will play back correctly. To complete the applications in this document
you will need a standard 3.5 inch floppy disk.
I. Overview
Before we start sequencing, it is a good idea to become familiar with the basic structure of the XP-80. If you are
unfamiliar with recent Roland synthesizers, you might be confused by some of the terminology such as
Performance, Patch, Tones, Tracks, etc. The following explanation will help you understand how the sounds in
the XP-80 are organized.
Patch: Generally, the individual sounds that you play like piano or strings. A Patch is made of one to
four smaller elements called Tones with associated settings such as TVA, TVF, LFO, etc.
Performance: Think of a Performance as a band with 16 members. It is a combination of 15 Patches and a
Rhythm Set, with their associated settings such as level, panning, tuning, MIDI channel, etc. A
Performance is divided into 16 Parts.
There are two types of Performances: Layer and Single.
Layer: Allows you to play two or more Parts simultaneously, such as a piano and string layer,
Single: Allows you to play one sound (Part) at a time from the XP-80's keyboard. A Single
Part: One of the 16 slots within a Performance. Each Part contains a Patch or a Rhythm Kit (Part 10)
and all the Performance related settings like MIDI channel, key range, level, tuning, etc.
Track: One of the 16 sequencer locations for recording. Each Track may contain information on any or
all of the 16 Parts. It is possible to record an entire song using just one Track. For our purposes
(which will be discussed further in Section III. Recording), we will record each Part and MIDI
channel on its corresponding Track.
© 2000 Roland Corporation U.S.
XP-80
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MUSIC WORKSTATION
Basic Sequencing for the XP-80
or a bass and piano split. A Layer Performance is indicated by Key Mode: LAYER in the
middle of the display. All of the USER Performances in the XP-80 are LAYERs.
Performance is indicated by Key Mode: SINGLE in the middle of the display. This type
of Performance is commonly used for sequencing. Most PRESET Performances in the
XP-80 use SINGLE mode.
Basic Sequencing for the XP-80
Supplemental
Notes
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