Roland XP-80 manual

❚ Intr oduction Thank you for purchasing the Roland XP-80 Music Workstation. The XP-80 effectively combines a synthe- sizer sound source and sequencer whose performance and functions are on a par with the Roland XP-50, along with extended functions for easier operation and a wide scope of music production. From live performance to desk top music [...]

2 ❚ Fr ont panel A. SOUND P ALETTE section Use the four sliders to modify sounds in real time. [FILTER/ENV] Press this button ON when modifying filter and/or envelope settings in real time using the four sliders. [LEVEL] Press this button ON when adjusting volume balance in real time using the four sliders. B. KEY EFFECTS section The buttons in t[...]

[SOUND LIST] / [TEMPO/BEAT] The function of this button changes depending on the selected mode. SOUND LIST: Opens the Sound List window when a sound source mode display is up. TEMPO/BEAT: Press this button for selecting a tempo track or beat track when a Sequencer mode display is up. If you have temporarily modified the tempo and wish to play back [...]

4 [FWD] Use this button to fast-forward the song. Pressing this button while holding down [SHIFT] moves you to the end of the song. If you hold down this button as you press [BWD], the song will fast-forward faster. J. [0]–[9] (Numeric keys) Use these to set a value. They can be used to enter numeric values as well as alphabetical characters and [...]

❚ Rear panel Power switch Press to turn the power on/off. AC inlet Connect the AC power cable (included) to this inlet. ✳ With units rated for 117V operation, the AC cable is already connected to the unit. CONTROL PEDAL 1–4 jacks You can connect optional expression pedals to these jacks. By assigning a desired function to a pedal, you can use[...]

6 The XP-80 does not contain an amp or speakers. In order to hear sound, you will need to con- nect it to a keyboard amp, audio system, or headphones. Refer to the following diagram and connect the XP-80 to the external equipment you are using. <Procedure> ❶ Before you make connections, make sure that power is turned off for all devices. ?[...]

Once the connections have been completed (p.6), turn on power to your various devices in the order specified. By turning on devices in the wrong order, you risk causing malfunction and/or damage to speakers and other devices. <Procedure> ❶ Before you turn the power on, check to make sure that: All external devices are correctly connected to[...]

8 The XP-80 contains a demo song and you use ‘demo play’ to play it. It’s the easiest introduction to the XP-80’s exceptional sounds and effects. ✳ If you play a demo song, the current song existing in internal memory will be lost. To keep the song in the internal memory, save the song to disk (p.32) before executing demo play. Demo song [...]

To modify the volume level of each Part Press [F6] (Info), then [F4] (Volume) to call up the Part Information display for Volume. Press [ l ], [ r ], [ u ] or [ d ] to move the cursor (black box) to the Part whose volume level you want to modify and set the desired volume level. To change panning Press [F6] (Info), then [F5] (Pan) to call up the Pa[...]

10 Reset to default factory settings Before using XP-80 for the first time, reset it to its default factory settings using Factory Preset. Different settings may result in unexpected effects. ✳ Factory Preset operation resets all data in the internal memory and user memory to factory pre- sets. Save any important data to a disk before executing t[...]

❷ Play the keyboard and listen to the sound. ❸ To select a different Patch, turn the VALUE dial or press [INC]/[DEC]. Play per cussion sounds from the ke yboard The XP-80’s Rhythm Sets contain a wide variety of percussion sounds and special effects. Here’s how to select a Rhythm Set and play percussion sounds. <Procedure> ❶ Press [R[...]

12 T ry out performance functions The XP-80 provides various controllers that can modify the sound. While playing patches, try out these controllers and listen to effects they can produce. ✳ The effect that the controllers have will depend on the settings of the selected Patch. If the effects of the controllers are difficult to detect, select ano[...]

Solo You can play using single notes, by pressing [SOLO] (indicator lights). This function is especial- ly effective when playing a sax, flute or other monophonic instrument. Using [PORTAMENTO] with [SOLO] ON allows you to simulate performance techniques like violin glissandos. ✳ For details, refer to “Playing single notes (Solo)” (p.28) in t[...]

14 Play arpeg gios (Arpeggiator) You can play a broken chord (arpeggio) automatically, by simply pressing a chord. For exam- ple, if you press a C major chord, the XP-80 plays an arpeggio such as C → E → G → C → E → G... <Procedure> ❶ Press [PATCH]. ❷ Press [ARPEGGIO] to turn the indicator on. ❸ Play a chord. XP-80 will play a[...]

Listen to the demo songs The disk supplied with XP-80 contains 8 demo songs. Listen to the demo songs to get a better idea of just what the XP-80 can do. No. File Name Song Name Composer 01 DEMO_000.SVQ The AXE Alex Wurman Copyright © 1996 Sonart Productions BMI 02 DEMO_001.SVQ New Age Express Jean-Philippe Rykie l Copyright © 1996 Tactic Music 0[...]

16 Play bac k a pattern by pressing specific ke ys (RPS) The RPS (Realtime Phrase Sequencing) function allows you to assign a Pattern to a key on the keyboard and play it back simply by pressing the assigned key. Since different phrases can be played back by pressing different keys, this function is especially effective for live performance. The de[...]

No. File name Song Name 10 PTNSET01.SVQ Acid Set 11 PTNSET02.SVQ Acid Swing Set 12 PTNSET03.SVQ Dancehall Set 13 PTNSET04.SVQ Euro Beat Set 14 PTNSET05.SVQ Funk Set 15 PTNSET06.SVQ Ground Beat Set 16 PTNSET07.SVQ Hip Hop Set 17 PTNSET08.SVQ House Set 18 PTNSET09.SVQ Jazz Set 19 PTNSET10.SVQ Lovers Set 20 PTNSET11.SVQ Trance Set The produsers of all[...]

18 Add rh ythmic ‘feel’ to the songs The Groove Quantize function allows you to add a rhythmic ‘feel’ to your song by putting in accents and changing timing for a more human or natural feel. You can easily vary the playing ‘feel’ by selecting different templates of different musical styles. Here’s how you can use Groove Quantize with [...]

❹ Press [ENTER] to finalize the song selection. The box surrounding the song number and file name will disappear, and the cursor will be positioned at the song number. ❺ Press [F2] (Quantiz). The message “This Song is not Internal Song. Load anyway?” will be displayed. ❻ Press [F5] (OK) to load the song into the internal memory. ❼ Press[...]

20 Playing songs in sequence (Chain Pla y) Chain Play successively plays back songs on disk in the order you specify. The demo disk con- tains “XP-80.SVC” which is preset to play back song numbers 01–08 successively. Here’s how to perform chain play. <Procedure> ❶ Insert the demo disk into the disk drive. ❷ Press [CHAIN PLAY]. ❸[...]

Here’s how to use the XP-80 to record a simple song. On the XP-80, the musical performance data for one song or composition is called a ‘song.’ As you record the following sample song, you’ll become familiar with basic recording procedures. Multitrack recording allows you to record musical performances consisting of two or more instruments.[...]

22 Clear internal memory A song to be recorded must first be loaded into internal memory. You will need to clear the memory before recording a new song. <Procedure> ❶ Press [UTILITY]. ❷ Press [6], then [ENTER]. The Song Initialize display (UTILITY/SngInit) appears. ❸ Press [F6] (Execute) to clear internal memory. Record the drums using [...]

❼ Select Phrase track for the recording destination. Press TRACK/PART [10] and the indicator will blink. When you select Phrase track 10, the drum sound of the correspondingly numbered Part 10 will automatically be selected for recording. This completes preparations for recording. Now let’s record the following musical passage using percussion [...]

24 ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ <Rehearsal> In recording mode, the Rehearsal function allows you to confirm which percussion instrument is assigned to each key or practice [...]

View the recor ded data The notes you record on the sequencer are recorded as MIDI messages. Let’s use the Microscope display (SEQ/Micro) to check the drum performance data you recorded just now. <Procedure> ❶ While holding down [SHIFT], press [BWD] to move right to the beginning of the first measure of the song. ❷ Press [F4] (Micro). T[...]

26 ❻ Press [REC]. The Step Recording display (SEQ/Micro) will appear. This completes preparations for recording. Now let’s record the notes by following the staff notation. ❼ Select the step time (note length) for the first note. The first note to be input is a quarter note. Move the cursor to “Step Time,” and make sure that “ ” is di[...]

❾ Next, you’ll input an eighth-note rest. Select an eighth note as the step time, by turning the VALUE dial counterclockwise or pressing [DEC], then press [F6] (REST). ❿ Next you’ll enter two sixteenth notes. Select a sixteenth note as the step time, by turning the VALUE dial counterclockwise or pressing [DEC], then press the G2 key twice. [...]

28 ❺ Select Phrase track 1 as the recording destination of the melody, by pressing TRACK/PART [1]. The indicator will blink. By selecting the Phrase track 1, “64voice Piano” assigned to the corre- spondingly numbered Part 1 will be ready for recording. At this time, TRACK 2 and 10 button indicators are on. This indicates that Phrase tracks 2 [...]

The sample song you’ve just recorded uses a preset Performance. However, that Performance’s settings may not be ideal for your song. This section will explain how you can modify the Performance to better suit your song. Different aspects of a Performance can be modified, but as an example, let’s change the Patch “PR-A:001 64voice Piano” t[...]

30 Store the P erformance The Performance settings that you modify are temporary. They will be lost if you turn the power off or select another Performance. If you wish to retain the modified settings, you must store them in user memory. <Procedure> ❶ Press [UTILITY]. ❷ Press the numeric key [1], then [ENTER]. The Perform Write display (U[...]

The song you’ve just recorded will be lost if you turn the power off. If you wish to keep the song, you must save it to disk. Format a disk New disks or disks that have been formatted for use on another device must be formatted by the XP-80 before songs can be saved to them. <Procedure> ❶ Check the disk. The XP-80 uses 2DD or 2HD 3.5 inch[...]

32 Save y our song to disk You can save your song to the disk you just formatted. <Procedure> ❶ Make sure that the Disk Menu display (DISK/Menu) is up. If another display is showing, press [DISK] to call up the Disk Menu display. ❷ Press the numeric key [2], then [ENTER]. The Save display (DISK/Save) will appear. ❸ Make sure that SONG i[...]

The “Dance Kit” disk contains carefully selected sounds and music data geared toward the cur- rent dance music scene. By using this disk, you will be able to hear for yourself how the XP-80 can be used to its full potential. Maybe it will provide some hints which can be used for your own music! In the “Dance Kit” you will find the following[...]

34 Demo Songs File Name Song Name Composer/Arranger DKIT_01.SVQ NEXTGENERATION Music by Masayuki Kurihara *1 DKIT_02.SVQ Echoes of Jungle Arranged by Shun Takai (Ten Factory) *1 DKIT_03.SVQ Trip Hop Bop Arranged by Naoki Matsuura , Noriyuki Nakahashi (Ten Factory) *1 DKIT_04.SVQ Resonance Music by Ryeland Allison *2 DKIT_05.SVQ Jungle Juice Arrange[...]

35 DanceKit P erformance (user) No. Name Key Mode 1 Maze Magic LAYER 2 WhatIsThis? LAYER 3 Pulsey Hamng LAYER 4 Sublimation LAYER 5 Cheesy LAYER 6 Low Pressure LAYER 7 Labyrinth 2 LAYER 8 Childhood LAYER 9 Piper LAYER 10 Sirens Pad LAYER 11 Dual Juno LAYER 12 Power Saw LAYER 13 S&H Pad 5th LAYER 14 Bs+AnaSeq LAYER 15 HyperHit LAYER 16 Fx Split [...]

36 Alex Wurman Born in Chicago, IL 1966 into a family of musicians, Wurman has been playing the piano and composing music since the age of five, With a background in Classical and Jazz compo- sition, Wurman moved to Los Angels in 1991 to score films. After working with Hans Zimmer and Media Ventures on films such as “Younger and Younger”, “I?[...]