Yamaha DJX-II Owner's Manual page 79

"communicate" with each other. At the most basic level,
MIDI allows you to play one instrument's sounds from the
controls or keyboard of another instrument. More sophisti-
cated uses included synchronizing two or more instruments
together, exchanging data between compatible devices, or
having a whole studio's worth of keyboards, synthesizers,
samplers, and rhythm machines controlled from a single
computer.
Naturally, the DJX-II is MIDI compatible, and can be used
effectively in any of the above scenarios. You can sync two
DJX-IIs together (or the DJX-IIB), and have the bpm's of
both machines lock for synchronized playback. With the
special Pattern Launcher software and a computer, you can
even load new and original Patterns to the DJX-II!
One Shot ....................................................Tips 8, 74
One Shots are audio samples that are meant to be played
back once and then stopped. On the DJX-II, the Activator
and Sampler both have special One Shot keys and pads that
play short chunks of audio — such as sound effects, hits
(like cymbal crashes, orchestra hits, etc.), and voice sound
bites. In sampling, One Shot is the opposite of Loop.
Part .......................... Tips 27 - 38, 63 - 71, 86, 88, 89
The DJX-II Patterns contain up to eight separate instru-
ment Parts — each of which has its own special function
and sound within the rhythm. Specifically the Parts are:
Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Percussion, Bass, and Phrases 1 -3.
Depending on the Pattern, each Part may have a completely
different sound. For example, the Bass Part on one Pattern
might be an soft acoustic upright bass, while on another
Pattern it may be a buzzy synthesizer bass.
The DJX-II gives you enormous flexibility in using, control-
ling, and tweaking the sound of the Parts. Each Part can be
played alone or in virtually any combination with the others
(using the Part Mixer). You can single out a Part (with the
Part Selector), and change the sound of that Part as it plays
by turning the Part Controller knobs.
Pattern........................................... Tips 1 - 6, 45 - 50
Patterns are the basic building blocks of the DJX-II sound.
Each Pattern is a discrete musical/rhythmic passage, that
loops (or repeats) continuously. The Patterns contain dif-
ferent instrumental Parts — such as bass, kick drum, snare
drum, hi-hat, percussion, and (depending on the Pattern)
other pitched instruments such as guitar, organ, strings, etc.
Each main Pattern has ten Variations, which can be used
together for greater variety in performance.
Different Patterns have different lengths, but all are based
on four-beat lengths called "measures." In other words, a
O
P
Pattern may be eight beats long (two measures) or sixteen
beats long ( four measures), but all Patterns cycle around a
basic count of "1-2-3-4." The key to developing good
rhythm and using the Patterns musically involves knowing
this four-beat count and feeling it in your body!
Sampler .................................................. Tips 72 - 75
Sampling is an important music-making technique in
which short recorded audio passages are played back, usu-
ally from a keyboard or from pads. The Sampler on the
DJX-II lets you record any audio source — such as from a
CD, or with a microphone — and play it back as a Loop or
as a One Shot.
scratch, scratching......................................... Tip 41
This comes from turntable playing, in which the DJ rocks
the record back and forth with the needle down, creating a
scratching-like noise. On the DJX-II, scratching is done
with the Ribbon Controller.
Tap ............................................... Tips 78, 79, 81, 93
The DJX-II has a convenient Tap function that allows you to
change or set the bpm of the instrument simply by tapping
out a steady rhythm on the BPM/TAP button. This can be
used to automatically start a Pattern at the tapped speed, or
it can be used to instantly change the bpm of a currently
playing Pattern.
Variation .................................. Tips 2, 45, 46, 50, 89
Each of the 70 Patterns of the DJX-II actually contains ten
separate Patterns, called "Variations." Each Variation, as its
name implies, is a different version of the basic Pattern
rhythm. There are two types of Variations, main and fill-in.
Main Variations are used for the constant rhythm of the
music, while fill-in Variations are usually used as dynamic
breaks and transitions. In general, the higher the Variation
number, the busier or more complex the rhythm becomes.
Voice ........................................................ Tips 25, 26
When the DJX-II is set to the Keyboard mode, the keys can
be used in the conventional way — to play a single instru-
ment sound across the entire keyboard. These instrument
sounds are called "voices." Although only one voice can be
played at one time, the DJX-II is packed with many differ-
ent voices — such as piano, organ, guitar, strings, synthe-
sizer, and many others.
Appendix
Glossary
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