Korg EA-1 manual

Thank you purchasing the Korg ELECTRIBE·A EA-1. In order to enjoy long and trouble-free use, please read this manual carefully and use the instrument correctly . E 2[...]

2 T o ensure long, trouble-free operation, please read this manual carefully . Precautions Location Using the unit in the following locations can result in a malfunction. • In direct sunlight • Locations of extreme temperatur e or humidity • Excessively dusty or dirty locations • Locations of excessive vibration Power supply Please connect [...]

3 Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................... 6 Main features ......................................................................................... 6 About the data you create on the EA-1 ...................................................................................... 6 Make connections and[...]

4 Playing a pattern (Pattern Play) ........................................................... 22 The timing at which patterns will change ............................................................ 22 Playing from the beginning of a pattern (Reset & Play) ...................................... 22 About the tempo when the pattern is changed ..[...]

5 Specifying the pitch of each pattern .................................................................... 36 Editing a song ..................................................................................................... 36 Inserting a pattern at a specified position (Insert Pattern) ...................................................... 36 [...]

6 1.Introduction 1. Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Electribe·A EA-1 . The Electribe·A EA-1 is a unique and easy-to-use synthesizer that uses DSP synthesis technology to help anyone from beginners to har d-core users to pr oduce truly original sounds and phrases. By using the front panel knobs and keys, you can cr eate analog synthesize[...]

7 1.Introduction 1.Introduction Make connections and play! Example connections Power switch or Adapter cable holder AC Local V oltage Preparing to play Be sure to turn off the power before making connections. Careless operation may damage your speaker system or cause malfunctions. 1. Connect the included AC adapter to the DC 9V jack, and plug the a[...]

8 2.Front and rear panel 2. Front and rear panel The controls and other parts of the EA-1 can be broadly gr ouped as shown in the diagram. Common section 1. MASTER VOLUME This knob adjusts the volume that is output from the Part output jacks and the head- phone jack. 2. AUDIO IN THRU This key allows the external audio input to be out- put directly [...]

9 2.Front and rear panel 2.Front and rear panel Synthesizer section 1. OSCILLA TOR This produces the basic waveform. • Portamento This smoothly connects changes in pitch. • OSC Balance (oscillator balance) Adjust the level balance of the two oscilla- tors. • OSC2 Pitch Of fset (oscillator 2 pitch offset) Adjust the pitch dif ference between O[...]

10 2.Front and rear panel Sequence Control section 1. Rec key Use this key to recor d phrases and movements of the knobs etc. If you press this key during r ecording, recor d- ing will end, and playback will continue. 2. Stop/Cancel key This key stops playback of a pattern or song, or cancels an operation. 3. Play/Pause key This key begins/pauses p[...]

11 2.Front and rear panel 2.Front and rear panel 5. Shift key This key is used in conjunction with other keys. When held down, it gives an additional function to another key . Shift + Play/Pause key :Playback fr om the beginning of the pattern. Shift + Rec key :During playback, erase triggers from the pattern. Shift + Step keys :Execute the functio[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 12 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) Conceptual diagram of the EA-1 On the EA-1 , a song consists mainly of Patterns (which consist of Parts and delay set- tings) and event data (refer to p.37 "Recor ding knob movements or your performance in a song (Event Recording)"). Songs: S01...S16 Pattern order A03 B5[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 13 Listening to Patterns 1. Press the Pattern mode key to enter Pattern mode (the key will light). 2. Use the cursor [ ▲ ][ ▼ ] keys to make the parameter select LEDs indicate Pattern (top). 3. Rotate the dial to select the desired pattern ( A01...A64, b01...b64, C01...C64, d01..[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 14 Striking keys to play sounds (Keyboard function) 1. T urn on the Keyboar d function key (the key will light). 2. Use the step keys as a keyboard. 3. Y ou can use the Part Select key to switch the part that you play . The sound of a part will differ depending on the pattern. Rotate the dial to change the pattern, [...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 15 Playing the sound of a part along with a song or pattern 1. T urn on the Keyboard function key , and press the step keys to play the sound. 2. In Song mode or Pattern mode, press the Play/Pause key to begin playback. Use the Part Select key to select the part that you wish to play[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 16 In the following pages we will explain how to perform Realtime Recording and Step Recording. For details on Event Editing, r efer to Event Editing (p.28) in "Pattern mode." • Realtime recording (using the Keyboard function to create a phrase) If you wish to listen to the metronome as you r ecor d, r e[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 17 6. Pr ess the Rec key to enter recording mode. At this time, press- ing the PLA Y key will not start playback. 7. Use the step keys to input the pitch for each note of the phrase. (The target step will automatically advance by one step each time you do so.) 8. Recording will end w[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 18 Using a Motion Sequence What is a Motion Sequence? For each part, you can record the changes you make to the synth parameters using the knobs, and loop them for playback. The looped data for the knob movements is called a Motion Sequence (refer to p.29 "Recording a motion sequence"). A "motion sequ[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 19 Connecting various sources to the audio input Let's try connecting various types of audio device (radio, or MD or CD player) or tone generator to the audio input jack. T ry out various types of sounds or music. Depending on the content, you may discover unexpectedly interesti[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 20 Playing with Pattern Set What is Pattern Set? Pattern Set is a function that lets you register a favorite pattern to each of the sixteen step keys, and use the step keys to switch patterns. Y ou can use this function to play a performance simply by selecting patterns one after the other . When you hold down the K[...]

3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 3. Basic operation (Quick Start) 21 Synchronized playback with the ER-1 By synchronizing the Electribe EA-1 and ER-1 you can enjoy even greater performance possibilities. Her e's how you can make the ER-1 playback in synchronization with the tempo of the EA-1 . Use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI OUT connector[...]

4.Pattern mode 22 4. Pattern mode In this mode you can play patterns, or edit them to make new patterns. Press the Pattern mode key to enter Pattern mode. Synthesizer 1 (Synth Parameter, Effects, Motion Sequence) Synthesizer 2 (Synth Parameter, Effects, Motion Sequence) Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10 Step 11 [...]

4.Pattern mode 4.Pattern mode 23 Selecting a pattern Y ou can use the Part Select key to switch the part that will be edited or played using the Keyboard function. When you select a Part, the LED for that part will light, and you can edit it in the Synthesizer section, or edit a phrase pattern. At this time if the Keyboard function key is off (dark[...]

4.Pattern mode 24 OSC2 Pitch Ofs (OSC2 pitch offset) – 1 octave ... 4 octaves Specify the pitch of OSC2 relative to the pitch of OSC1 . The pitch of OSC2 can be adjusted in the range of – 1 octave to 4 octaves from the pitch of OSC1 . The pitch of OSC1 will be the pitch that sounds when you use the keyboard function or the pitch specified for a[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.Pattern mode 25 Resonance 0...100 This parameter adds character to the sound by boosting the region ar ound the cutoff fr equency . If you raise the r eso- nance and turn the Cutoff knob (or adjust EG Int and De- cay ), you will hear the typical "meow-ing" sound typical of analog synthesizers. If the resonance is raised, [...]

4.Pattern mode 26 Length, Scale/Beat settings Y ou can set the length (the length of the entire pattern) and the basic beat (time signature).The Length and Scale/Beat you specify here will af fect the correspondence between step keys and note values, and the maximum number of steps as shown in the following diagram. While you hold down the Shift ke[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.Pattern mode 27 Creating a phrase pattern There ar e three ways to create a phrase pattern. Realtime recording Use the Keyboard function to play the step keys at the exact timing you wish to recor d them. Step recording Use the Keyboard function to specify the pitch of the note for each target step to cr eate the phrase. Event edit[...]

4.Pattern mode 28 Changing the pitch Pitch C-1...G9 1. T urn off the Keyboar d function key (the key will go dark). 2. Use the cursor keys to make the parameter select LEDs indi- cate Pitch . 3. Use the Part select key to select the part that you wish to edit. 4. The step keys will light to indicate the trigger locations of the pattern for that par[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.Pattern mode 29 Motion sequence Playing a motion sequence A motion sequence can be played back in one of the following two ways, and you can select the playback method indepen- dently for each part. Smooth : Knob values will be connected smoothly , and the sound will change smoothly . T rig Hold (trigger hold): The value of the mot[...]

4.Pattern mode 30 Transposing a phrase (Transpose) T ranspose – 24...24 This operation lets you transpose a phrase. 1. While you continue pressing the T ranspose key , the display will indicate the current transposition status. 2. While holding down the T ranspose key , rotate the dial to trans- pose the phrase in semitone steps. +/ – 1 transpo[...]

4.Pattern mode 4.Pattern mode 31 3 5 4 2,6 2 Copying a part (Copy Part) Y ou can copy the sound settings and phrase pattern data (in- cluding motion sequence) from a selected part to another part. 1. If the pattern is playing, press the Stop/Cancel key to stop playback. 2. Press the Part key to select the copy destination part (the LED will light).[...]

4.Pattern mode 32 Pattern Set Pattern Set is a function that lets you assign your favorite pat- terns to each of the sixteen step keys, and switch them at the touch of a key . During playback, you can successively switch patterns to per- form a song. By using the Select key in conjunction with this to switch pat- tern set groups, you can r egister [...]

4.Pattern mode 4.Pattern mode 33 Saving a pattern (Write) If you wish to keep the pattern data that you create, you must perform this W rite operation. When you perform the W rite op- eration, "Data Copy within a pattern" (p.31) will occur auto- matically , depending on the pattern length. If you intentionally want to discard your edits a[...]

5.Song mode 34 5. Song mode A song consists of patterns arranged in the desired order of play- back. Y ou can create and save up to sixteen songs in the internal memory of the EA-1 . In addition to pattern playback, songs can also recor d phrases and knob movements. Press the Song mode key to enter Song mode. Song (S01) S01...S16 16 songs + Event d[...]

5.Song mode 5.Song mode 35 Creating a song Creating a song from scratch Here's how to create a song by placing patterns in the desir ed order . If you s witch to a diff erent song while editing a song, your edited data will be lost. If you wish to keep the edited song, you m ust perform the Write operation to save the song data. Erasing song d[...]

5.Song mode 36 Specifying the pitch of each pattern Pitch Offset – 24...24 This function offsets the pitch of the pattern at the specified position within the song. Pitch Offset simply offsets the pitch within the song. It does not affect the pitch data of the pattern itself . 1. If the song is playing, press the Stop/Cancel key to stop play- bac[...]

5.Song mode 5.Song mode 37 Deleting a pattern from a specified position (Delete Pattern) Y ou can delete a pattern from a specified position, and subse- quent patterns will be moved forward (toward the beginning of the song). Position 1 End Pattern A01 (16Steps) Pattern D01 (32Steps) Pattern B01 (36Steps) Position 2 Position 3 Position 4 Position 5[...]

5.Song mode 38 Recording knob movements or your performance in a song (Event Recording) In addition to placing patterns in a desired playback or der , Song mode also lets you recor d your realtime performance on the step keys using the Keyboard function, and knob movements you perform. Recording this type of performance in Song mode is r eferred to[...]

6.Global mode 6.Global mode 39 6. Global mode In Global mode you can set parameters such as Metronome or Protect. Press the Global mode key to enter Global mode. T o execute Global mode, press a dif ferent mode key . The settings you make in Global mode will be cancelled if you turn off the power without Wr iting. If you wish to sav e the settings [...]

6.Global mode 40 Synchronizing an external MIDI device to the EA-1 as master (int) 1. Use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI OUT connector of the EA-1 to the MIDI IN connector of the external MIDI device (sequencer or synthesizer etc.). 2. Use the cursor keys to make the parameter select LEDs indi- cate Clock . 3. Rotate the dial to select " Int[...]

7.MIDI mode 7.MIDI mode 41 7. MIDI mode In MIDI mode you can make MIDI-related settings, and dump exclusive data. T o enter MIDI mode, press the MIDI mode key . T o leave MIDI mode, press a dif ferent mode key . If you turn off the power without Wr iting, the settings you made in MIDI mode will be lost. If you wish to keep the modified settings, y [...]

7.MIDI mode 42 MIDI filter settings Here you can select the types of MIDI message that will be trans- mitted and received. For each character " PCE " in the display , select " O " if you want that type of message to be transmitted and received, or select " - " if you do not want that type of message to be transmitted o[...]

8.Data 8.Data 43 8. Appendices About MIDI 1. MIDI channels Similarly to a television, data can be received when the channel of the receiving device matches the channel on which the data is being transmitted. The transmit/receive channel of the EA-1 is set by the MIDI channel setting in MIDI mode. 2. Note-on/off When you use the Keyboard function an[...]

8.Data 44 the same location. When the Start/Pause key is pressed on the master device, a Continue message is transmitted, and the song will begin playback from the curr ently selected position. When the slave device receives the Continue message, it will synchr o- nize to the T iming Clock messages and begin playback from the current point in the s[...]

8.Data 8.Data 45 Error messages Data could not be written. When writing a song to a different song num- ber , the maximum number of recordable events was exceeded. Use the Clear Event operation to erase unwanted events from the song. Protect was turned " on " for the memory into which you attempted to write data. In Global mode, turn the [...]

8.Data 46 Example sounds Saw Bass Detuned Saw Sync Lead 5th Pad Sub Bass Distortion Lead/Bass Ring Mod Deep Flange Octave Bass Pulse Width Mod Decimator Beam[...]

8.Data 8.Data 47 Blank Chart When you have created a sound that you like, you can stor e the knob and key locations in this page.[...]

8.Data 48 Index A AMP Distortion ------------------ 9, 25 Level ------------------------ 9, 25 Audio In ----------------- 8, 19, 39 A UDIO IN THR U ------ 8, 19, 39 B Beat --------------------------- 8, 26 Beat LED -------------------------- 8 Bend Range -------------------- 42 Blank chart --------------------- 47 C Checking ------------------- 29,[...]

8.Data 8.Data 49 Pitch Offset --------------------- 36 Pitch Shift ----------------------- 30 Play Motion Sequence ------ 18, 29 Pattern ------------------- 13, 22 Pattern set -------------- 20, 32 Song ---------------------- 13, 34 Portamento ------------------ 9, 23 Position --------------------- 34, 35 Protect --------------------------- 40 R Re[...]

8.Data 50 Pattern Name List A Bank No. Pattern Name Style Te m p o A01 Goa T r ance 1 T echno 135 A02 Goa T r ance 2 T echno 135 A03 Enter the T r ibesmen T echno 125 A04 Analog Seq T echno 130 A05 Filter Sweep & A.Seq T echno ‘ A ’ 130 A06 Z Scale 1 T echno 130 A07 Z Scale 2 T echno 130 A08 Z Scale 3 T echno 130 A09 AUDIO in Minimal T echn[...]

51 T ransmitted Recognized Remarks Function ... [Synthesizer] ELECTRIBE A · EA-1 MIDI Implementation Chart Mode 1: OMNI ON, POL Y Mode 2: OMNI ON, MONO O : Y es Mode 3: OMNI OFF , POL Y Mode 4: OMNI OFF , MONO × : No Basic Default 1 – 16 1 – 16 Memorized channel Changed 1 – 16 1 – 16 Default 3 Mode Messages ×× Altered * * * * * * * * * [...]

NO TICE K ORG products are manufactured under strict specif ications and voltages required by each country . These products are warranted by the K ORG distributor only in each country . Any KORG product not sold with a warranty card or carrying a serial number disqualifies the product sold from the manufacturer’ s/distrib utor’ s warranty and l[...]