Hello everybody,

are you ready for a new exciting workshop?
This time I would like to show you how to create a User Program that allows you to play a Melody and use the Guitar Mode at the same time. Also you will discover nice Pad Sounds for the left hand and a groovy Style. And to complete the story we will adjust the Vocal Harmonist.

We will follow 4 Steps:
1st Step: Selecting the Sounds and adjusting Split Points
2nd Step: Selecting the Style and adjusting Tempo
3rd Step: Adjusting Effects and Balances
4th Step: Adjusting the Vocal Harmonist

Before starting, please let’s make sure that you have already installed Version 2.01 into your G-70.
You will find this information by pressing the Menu button on the G-70,



then the Utility button on the display

and then the Info button on the display.
In case your G-70 is showing Version 02.01 you can continue with the workshop.
In case your instrument shows a lower software version, please proceed to the Update section of http://www.rolandkeyboardclub.com and perform the Update to version 2.01.
 
1st Step: Selecting the Sounds and adjusting Split Points

Before selecting the sounds, please restart your G-70, so that we can be sure that all the settings are at starting position.
As a first step, please switch on the arranger in the Easy Setting field on the G-70 panel.
Then switch on the Guitar Mode by simultaneously pressing Arranger and Piano in the Easy Setting field.

After that please press the Guitar Mode field on the touchscreen, to enter into the Guitar Mode and select the sound 05-V-Steel5 in the upper left side of the display. You can do this by using the Data Entry dial on the G-70 panel.

Then press Options, switch on the Doubling button on the touchscreen and try also the Stereo Width Parameter.

Press Exit.

Now please save the User Program. (I recommend saving the User Program every couple of processes as safety measure).
You can find the instructions for doing this in Tips&Tricks Vol. 1.
I have called the User Program “Roberta’s”, because it is referring to a famous Song of Roberta Flack.
Now we will select the melody sound for the Upper 3 Part and adjust the Upper 3 Split Point.
Please press the green backlit Upper 3 button in the Keyboard Part field.
Then please select a Soprano Saxophone sound. If you are using SR-G01 please select Sop Sax Vib, otherwise you can also select one of the internal Soprano Saxophone sounds.

 

Please activate the red backlit Upper 3 Part button in the Keyboard Part field on the G-70 panel.
For adjusting the Split Points please press Split (Main / UP 3) on the touchscreen and adjust the values in accordance to this picture.



Press Exit

When you play on the keyboard you can now hear the Guitar sound controlled by the Guitar Mode in the middle part of the instrument and the Soprano Sax on the right side. Most likely the Octave of the Soprano Sound is not correct.
So let’s adjust the Octave to a Value of -2. (The green Upper 3 Part button must be switched on).

Save the User Program again. (It is ok to overwrite the old version)

Now it is time to select the sounds for the left hand.
Please press the green Lower 1 button in the Keyboard Part field and select the sound “Warmer Pad”.

Now switch on the red Lower 1 and the red Lower 2 buttons. (We are taking benefit of the default setting for Lower 2 “Pad With”)
When you play on the left side you will hear some beautiful Synthesizer Pad sound.
In this example we can also use the Manual Bass. So let’s select the sound “Jazz Bass 2”  by pressing the green Manual Bass button in the Keyboard Part field and selecting the Bass Sound.
Now we need to switch on the red MBS button in the Keyboard Part field.

Save the User Program again. (It is ok to overwrite the old version)

Now we have basically completed the 1st step of selecting the sounds.

2nd Step: Selecting the Style and adjusting Tempo 

As we want to play the song with kind of a modern feel select the Style “Cool Rap”.

Press Exit.
Personally I like the default Tempo 95 of the Style, however if you prefer another Tempo for playing the song please adjust the Tempo by using the Tempo buttons or the Data Entry dial.
Also, please switch on the Auto Fill In button and the Variation 3 button in the Style Control field.

Save the User Program again. (It is ok to overwrite the old version)

Now you can basically already play the Song.
For sure you will feel that the volume balance and the effect setting will need some attention and that’s why we will proceed to the 3rd Step.

3rd Step: Adjusting Effects and Balances

Creating a nice balance between the sounds and spicing them up with some great effects is absolutely essential for creating User Programs of a good quality.
As the volume of the sounds will change when we use effects it is better to adjust the effects before adjusting the balances.
So let’s start with adding some nice effect to the Guitar by pressing the Effect button on the left side next to the display.

 
Here we will select Multi Effect No 33 EH->Chorus. The Enhancer in the Effect Chain will add some fresh high frequency to the sound and the Chorus will make the sound more wide.

Please also adjust all the Parameters in accordance to this picture. Off course the values might be a matter of personal taste, so any value that you would prefer should be ok.
Press Back on the touchscreen.

Also in the Chorus field, please select No 6: Delay and adjust all the parameters in accordance to the picture.

Now we will have to confirm the Effect Routing. Please press the MFX Part Assign button on the touchscreen and check if your setting is the same as the one on the picture. (Only Upper 1; one of the 2 Guitars you are using, will be routed through the Multi Effects Chain).

Press Exit and save the User Program again. (It is ok to overwrite the old version)

Now we will take care of the Blending between the sounds and the style. First we will thin out the Style a little bit. The easiest way is to simply mute a couple of tracks.
Start the Style and listen to it.
Please press the Style button underneath the display (on the right side of the drawbars) and switch off the tracks like you see it on the following picture.
If you feel that muting the tracks would be too drastic, you can also change the volume of each track by using the drawbars.

Now we will take care of the balance between all the sounds that we have assigned to the keyboard.

Therefore please press the Part button underneath the display (next to the drawbars) and adjust all the parameters in accordance to the following picture.
Again, this might be a matter of personal taste, and therefore you might prefer some other values. Please feel completely free to follow your personal taste.

For spicing up your performance you can also switch on the SFX button of the D Beam Controller and use the Chimes sound.

Save the User Program again. (It is ok to overwrite the old version).

Now you can already play with the User Program.
You can play the Melody in the Upper part of the keyboard and the Guitar in the Middle.
For playing this particular Song you can also refer to the Guitar Groove of the Month – March 2006
There you will find the instructions for playing this Song with the Guitar Mode.

If you not only want to play but you also want to sing the Song please proceed to the 4th Step.

4th Step: Adjusting the Vocal Harmonist

The G-70 incorporates a very fine Vocal Harmonist. This Harmonist contains a Microphone Input, settings for Volume and Effects for your Voice and a 4 Part Harmonist with independent Volume Control and Effects.
Naturally it is not that easy to give some hints and to recommend some parameters for the usage, because every human voice is very different, and requires another setting.
So the parameters I chose, are selected for my voice and might or might not perfectly work with yours. Assuming that you have connected your microphone to the G-70 the first step should be to adjust the Gain of the input.
You should turn down the Volume of the Voice and of the Harmony using the Volume knobs in the Vocal Harmonist field on the panel both to “OFF” and sing at your loudest level into the microphone. The red overload indication light below the Input Gain knob must not light up. The best value is usually obtained by adjusting the knob in the way that the control light is just on the edge of not blinking.
Now you can slowly turn up the volume of the Voice until you can hear your voice clearly. Please be very careful to avoid feedbacks!
As a next step you should adjust general parameters like Compressor and Noise Gate in the microphone Input page. You can reach this page by pressing the Menu button and the Vocal Harmonist button on the touchscreen.

First you can set the Gender of the singer. This will affect the Format of the Backing Vocals that will come from the Harmonist. Then please go to the Vocal Effect page.

Now please adjust all the Parameters in the Mic Input field to the suggested values and switch on the Compressor and the Gate.
Please check the values while speaking and/or singing. If you prefer any other value, please use them.
These adjustments are global, and they are saved together with the User Program Set and not in each individual User Program.
As a next step please press the Singer button in the Vocal Harmonist field on the G-70 panel and adjust Reverb and Delay Send for the Voice to the values in the picture above. You can also already adjust the values for the Harmony.
You should hear some nice Reverb and some Delay (Echo) on your voice.
Now we can adjust the kind of Reverb and kind of Delay as well. Please press the Effect Type button on the touchscreen.

Here you can adjust the parameters for the Reverb that you would like to use and for the Delay.

Save the User Program again. (It is ok to overwrite the old version)

Now please press the Small button in the Vocal Harmonist field and the Harmony button on the touchscreen.

Please adjust the volume of the Harmony using the knob on the Vocal Harmonist field and select the settings according to the picture.
Now you should hear some nice Vocal Harmonies along with your own voice.
Now please press the Edit button on the screen.

Here you can see the 2 Singers of the virtual Backing Choir. You can now change the parameters at random and listen while singing to the changes in the Backings.
Readjust the values to the ones you see in the picture. Press Common on the touchscreen.

Portamento will control the pitch transition time between the notes in the Backing Choir.
RND Tuning will detune the single voices of the Backing Choir in order to achieve a more natural harmony sound.
Press Back on the touchscreen and then Equalizer.

The Equalizer is a quite important tool for adjusting the quality of Backing sound to the needs of your voice.
Please try to use the parameters at random as well, to learn a little about their influence on the sound. And the readjust to the values you see in the picture. Press Back and then Effect Type on the touchscreen. Here you can adjust the settings for the Reverb.

the Chorus

and the Delay.

Press Exit.
Please save the User Program again. (It is ok to overwrite the old version)

Congratulations! You have now created a fantastic User Program including Solo Sound, Guitar Mode, Left Hand Sound and Bass and Voice and Backing Vocals!
As a reference you can download the User Program here:

Roberta's

Download

There are quite many parameters involved in the settings of the Vocal Harmonist.
That’s why you will already find many settings where all those parameters are pre-adjusted, ready to use!Such as Vocoders Settings for Male, Female and Mixed Choirs:

or Settings for Small Backings Male, Female or Mixed Types 

or Ensemble Choir Settings for Male, Female and Mixed Choirs

Please enjoy playing with the Sounds you have created today!