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GW-8 ReleaseNote
GW-8 Operating System
Version 2.00
© 2009 Roland Corporation U.S.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the
written permission of Roland Corporation U.S.
GW8RN200
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About ReleaseNote Documents Updating to Version 2 As part of our quest to create the best products possible, from time to Getting Ready to Update Your GW-8 time we provide operating system, or “OS,” software updates that add new features and enhance a product’s features. ReleaseNote documents present important background information to help you get the most from new key The Version 2 update is for the Western Hemisphere’s GW-8 only. If you features. attempt to apply the update you’ve downlo
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4 Press the ENTER button to display the UTILITY screen. Downloading the Version 2 Updater The GW-8 is sold all over the world, and there are a few different versions of its software, each optimized for a specific geographic area. Only the software for the region in which you purchased your GW-8 will work in your unit. If you bought your GW-8 in the Western Hemisphere, you can download 5 Use 3, 4, 5, and/or 6 to select Export if it’s not already selected. the correct updater from RolandUS.com.
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3 Unmount the USB stick from your computer. (To learn how to perform Updating Your GW-8 to Version 2 this important step, consult your computer’s documentation.) 4 Remove the USB stick from your computer’s USB slot. What You Need 5 Turn on your GW-8. To update your GW-8, you’ll need 6 Insert the USB stick into the GW-8’s front-panel USB MEMORY jack. • the GW-8 Updater Version 2.00 updater file—you’ve downloaded from 7 On the GW-8, press the USB IMPORT button in the MODE RolandUS.com. area of
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• Version 2 provides a comprehensive suite of tools for perfecting style tracks What’s New In Version 2? and song tracks. We’ll discuss all of the new GW-8 Version 2 features in • New, dedicated MFX—separate from the keyboard MFX—are available for this booklet, but here’s a quick overview to get started. both style tracks and song tracks. • Version 2 has new style-playing features that make • The new STYLE MAKEUP and SONG MAKEUP screens provide enhanced the GW-8 even more musical and fun. con
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2 Press the ENTER button to reveal the STYLE LIST screen. Note to Arranger 3 Press MENU to display the STYLE FINDER screen. Version 2 introduces a new feature called “Note to Arranger,” or “NTA,” that allows you to trigger styles from an external MIDI controller such as a Roland PK-5A MIDI pedal, GR-20 guitar controller, or a Roland V-Accordion. This can provide a great way for all sorts of instrumentalists to take advantage of the The STYLE FINDER screen makes it easy to find the style
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Selecting Chords Using NTA New Chord Detection Control To select style chords: Version 2 adds a new performance parameter—Chord Zone—that lets you select the note range on the keyboard that the GW-8 uses for chord 1 Set the RX NTA channel parameter to the MIDI channel you’d like to detection. Here’s how it works. use. The default channel is Channel 14. 1 From the Main screen, press the MENU button to display the 2 Turn the Rx NTA Switch parameter on. Top Menu window, and select Perform Edit.
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A style can contain up to 48 accompaniment patterns, each of which is New World Styles called a “division.” Each style section can have four major chord divisions, four Version 2 adds 16 new styles in the World category to the GW-8. minor chord divisions, and four divisions that play dominant 7th chords. • 181—MariachiFies • 189—LatinFolk In this picture, blue divisions are major chords, green divisions are minor chords, and brown divisions are 7th chords. (On the STYLE COMPOSER screen, they
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Style Parts Recording a New Style Each style has eight instruments, called “style parts.” The style tracks When you’ve created your new style, be sure to save it as described on correspond to the eight style parts, with each track using its like-numbered Page 11 of the GW-8 Version 2 Supplementary Manual. Otherwise, the style part’s sound. style will be lost when you select another one, or turn off the GW-8. If you’ve been using the GW-8 for a while, this may ring a bell, since a division’s
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If the Style Rec Standby screen looks different for you, REC TYPE is Version 2 adds an extensive suite of style- and song-track editing tools you can use when you’re done recording. See Page 23 for details. set to STEP REC. Realtime and step recording start the same way—they go their own ways Recording a Style Track in Realtime once you get to the Style Rec Standby screen. After initializing a style, you’ll 1 Set REC TYPE to REALTIME if it’s not already set that way. find yourself on the STY
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12 If you’ve set Length to Typically, you’ll want to set all of the style tracks in a style to the • Off—press START/STOP to halt recording when you’re done same key. playing. • something other than Off—recording stops at the time you’ve 7 Count In sets the number of beats, if any, you’ll hear when you start selected. recording your style track. You can set it to 13 To hear your recording, press the START/STOP button. • OFF—for no count-in. • 1MEAS—for a four-beat count-in. While you’re on t
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Step Recording a Style Track There are 120 ticks in a beat, beginning with Tick 000. Sixteenth notes 1 On the Style Rec Standby screen, set REC TYPE to STEP REC—the step occur every 60 ticks. recording parameters appear onscreen. When you’re recording the first track of a style, Start is set to Measure 001, Beat 01, and Tick 000. You’re now ready to step record. 2 Begin by selecting the part—and corresponding style track—you want to record. We’ve selected the first accompaniment part, but yo
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4 If you’d like EZ Convert to You can change the NOTE, GATE, and VELOCITY parameters at any step • automatically generate the remaining divisions based on the as you record. This lets you enter any kind of note you want. divisions you’ve already created—set SOURCE to Auto. (DESTINATION is automatically set to Auto as well.) 7 Set up NOTE, GATE, and VELOCITY as desired. • generate specific chord-form divisions manually—Set SOURCE 8 Play the desired note or chord on the keyboard, or press to
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• move an event—select it and press GUITAR/BASS•2. This 4 Press ENTER to display the STYLE MICROSCOPE screen. opens the MOVE EVENT window in which you can set the event’s new location. • copy an event—select the event and press STRINGS/SCAT•3. • paste a copied event—press SAX/STRINGS•4 and select the location at which you’d like the copied event placed. This screen shows you a list of all of the MIDI events—including note events—on the track. Press EXIT to leave the STYLE MICROSCOPE screen a
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To the left of this screen are two mixer strips for the lower (LWR) and upper Setting the Behavior of Style Parts (UPR) areas of the GW-8 keyboard. These strips allow you to mix in your live Press the STYLE button, and then press PART VIEW repeatedly until playing with a style’s parts. For the Lower and Upper parts, you have a level you see the STYLE MAKEUP screen. control and a MUTE and SOLO switch. The remainder of the screen holds the mixer strips for the style’s parts, labeled with the p
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Initializing the GW-8 Song Track 1 Part 1 Rich Grand Track 2 Part 2 Sonic AC Bs Track 3 Part 3 Uncle Martin Initializing clears the GW-8’s song memory, erasing the current song. Track 4 Part 4 Marcato If the song hasn’t been saved and you want to preserve it, save it as Track 5 Part 5 Philly Hit described on Page 29 of the GW-8 Owner’s Manual, or Page 30 of the Track 6 Part 6 Horn Chops Track 7 Part 7 R Trance GW-8 Version 2 Supplementary Manual. Track 8 Part 8 Gr Lead Track 9 Part 9 Voco Ri
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To start a new song using a style: Recording a Song Track by Track 1 Press the STYLE button so it lights, and select the style When you start a new song by recording a track—or when you add you want to use. additional tracks to a song you’ve already begun—you can do so using either of two methods. You can record songs It’s easier than ever in Version 2 to locate just the style you want, • in realtime—recording as you play, as you’ve always been able to do on using the new STYLE FINDER scree
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• Rec Mode—sets what happens during recording to anything already on There are lots of other settings on the SONG TRACK screen we’ll the track. You can set it to describe later on. You can adjust these settings now or later, but we • REPLACE—so that new notes replace anything already on the think it’ll all make more sense for you as you learn the SONG TRACK track. screen if we don’t dig into the details right now. • MIX—so that new notes are added to what’s already on the track. This allow
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Once you’ve got the Song Rec Standby parameters set as desired—and the Step Recording a Song Track SONG REC button’s flashing—you’re ready to record. What happens when Step recording is a process that allows you to enter a song’s notes when you proceed to the next step depends on how you’ve set the Count In the song isn’t actually playing. It’s a great way to record impossible-to-play parameter above. If you’ve set it to phrases, or to enter notes from a written score. • OFF—recording will
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• VELOCITY—sets the “velocity” of the step’s note(s). Velocity is the Ticks are subdivisions of a beat. There are 120 ticks in a beat, starting force with which you strike a key, and this typically determines at Tick 000. Sixteenth notes occur every 60 ticks. the volume of the key’s note. If you set this parameter to REAL, notes will play back the way you performed them. Otherwise, you can select a specific velocity value with this parameter, from When you’re recording the first track of a
