gw-8 quick guidebook

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    Quick Guidebook2008 Copyright Roland Corporation

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    Table of Contents

    Page

    1.Introduction 3

    2.Lets Play the GW-8 4

    Selecting Tones How to select Tones for Upper and Lower 5

    Favorite Function Register your favorite Tones 8

    Numeric Buttons Select Tones and Music Styles quickly 9

    Keyboard Mode Choose Single, Split or Dual mode 10

    Key Touch Adjust the keyboard sensitivity 11

    Key Scale Select Arabian and other scales 12

    Octave Shift How to change octaves 13

    Transpose How to change the key 14

    3.Playing with Music Styles 15

    The Backing Types of the GW-8 16

    Try the Music Styles 17

    Variations of One Music Style 18

    Sync Start/Stop 19

    One Touch 20

    Lock 21

    Inside the Music Styles 22

    Part View 23

    Style Converter and User Style 24

    4.Real-time Playability 26

    Playback with Audio/MIDI Files Play with your favorite MP3 songs 22

    Center Cancel Transform your GW-8 into a karaoke machine 24

    Creating Your Playlist - Play your audio/midi files in order 25

    Playing Your Playlist on GW-8 28

    Performance Saving your favorite settings 30

    Analog Modify Knobs Use the GW-8 like an analog synthesizer 31

    D Beam Move your hands! 32

    Melody Intelligence Play harmony with just one finger 33

    5.FAQs 34

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    1. Introduction

    The keyboard market has two very different categories: synthesizers and arrangers. Roland was the first

    company to develop a keyboard joining both worlds, the GW-7. With the sound engine of their

    entry-level synthesizer JUNO-D and the basic architecture of an arranger keyboard, GW-7 was a great

    success around the world.

    The GW-8 has other incredible features, like an audio player with Center Cancel, controller knobs to

    manipulate the sound in real-time, Performances to save your settings and much more. In this Quick

    Guidebook, you will see most of the main features with explanations, pictures and screenshots. With this

    book, you can quickly start playing the GW-8 when you read this guidebook entirely, but its very

    important to read the Owners Manual for complete and detailed information about the equipment.

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    2. Lets Play the GW-8

    Features: Page

    Selecting Tones How to select Tones for Upper and Lower 5

    Favorite Function Register your favorite Tones 8

    Numeric Buttons Select Tones and Music Styles quickly 9

    Keyboard Mode Choose Single, Split or Dual mode 10

    Key Touch Adjust the keyboard sensitivity 11

    Key Scale Select Arabian and other scales 12

    Octave Shift How to change octaves 13

    Transpose How to change the key 14

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    Selecting Tones How to select Tones for Upper and LowerThe GW-8 has 896 Basic (default) sounds, 256 GM2 sounds plus World Bank (localized) sounds

    (excluding drum kit sounds). All the Basic sounds are divided into 7 banks (0 to 6). To select a tone,

    press the bank sound and turn VALUE dial to choose the tone.

    Lets try some of them:

    PIANO BANK(Acoustic and Electric Piano)

    0001 Rich Grand: Very rich grand piano sound, with a sweet ambience. Play softly

    for mellow sound and hard for bright sound.

    0034 SC Pure EP: Amazing Electric Piano with classic Reverb. Play softly and hard to

    listen to the variations in the sound.

    KBD/ORGAN BANK (Clavinet, Harpsichord, Bell, Mallet, Organ, Accordion and

    Harmonica)

    0135 VKHold4Speed: Great Hammond sound with Leslie speaker. Connect a

    damper pedal (DP series) to the Hold jack to change the Leslie speed: holding the

    damper, you accelerate the speed of Leslie speaker. Without the damper, you have

    slow speed.

    GUITARS/BASS BANK(Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Acoustic, Electric and Synth

    Bass)

    0162 SC Brt Nylon: Very real nylon acoustic guitar. Play hard to listen to the slide

    on the strings.

    0188 Searing COSM: Electric Guitar with wild distortion. Good sound to show the

    power of GW-8s DSP effects.

    Value Dial

    Tone Banks

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    STRINGS/SCAT BANK(Strings, His, Pad and Voice)

    0304 SonicStrings: Rich Strings sound, with all sections (violins, violas, cellos, and

    basses). Play staccato with this sound.

    0778 JP Strings 1: Classic Roland sound from the vintage Roland synth.

    SAX/BRASS BANK(Wind, Sax, Acoustic and Synth Brass)

    0381 SC BrsSect 2: Powerful Acoustic Brass with a mix of trumpet, trombone and

    sax.

    SYNTH BANK(Hard and Soft Lead, Techno Synth, Pulsating and Other Synth)

    0434 DC Triangle: Solo Lead with Delay.

    0432 Juno Lead: Classic lead from JUNO series.

    PERC/SFX BANK(Percussion, Beat&Groove, Plucked, Ethnic and Sound FX)

    0893 80s Combo: Loop with arpeggios. Play the loop with left keys and solo synth

    with right keys.

    0867 Skydiver: A kind of harp and koto, with tap pan delay. Good for lounge music.

    RHYTHM BANK(Drum Kits)

    All drum kits of GW-8, including the GM2 sets.

    WORLD BANK

    The GW-8 has its own WORLD BANK, with localized tones.

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    TIPS: Press the bank button and press [ENTER] button to see the list of sounds and the sound

    categories from this bank. Some banks have two or more categories. To choose it, use

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    Favorite Function - Register your favorite TonesThe Favorite Function allows you to register your favorite tones on each bank. With this feature, you can

    load your favorite sounds very quickly.

    See how to register your favorite sounds:

    1) Select the tone you desire

    2) Hold down the button FAVORITE [ON/OFF] and press one of [0]-[9] buttons to register the

    sound

    You can register up to ten sounds, one for each bank [0] to [9].

    See how to select your favorite sounds:

    1) Press FAVORITE [ON/OFF] so the button is lit

    2) Press one of [0]-[9] in which you registered your sound

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    Numeric buttonsFor greater speed, you can use the numeric buttons of GW-8 to select Tones, Music Styles and

    Performances.

    See how to use the numeric buttons:

    1) Use the CURSOR buttons up to the numerical value of the TONE

    2) Press the button [NUMERIC]. All of the TONE SELECT buttons will light

    3) Use the TONE SELECT/NUMERIC buttons to enter the desired digit 0 (zero), 0 (zero), 1 (one)

    and press [ENTER]

    TIPS:This saves time choosing your desired tone when you already know the Tone number. Please

    refer to the numbers in the Tone List written in the Owners manual.

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    Keyboard Mode- Choose Single, Split or Dual mode

    The GW-8 has three modes to play:

    (1) SINGLE: Plays just one sound at time

    (2) SPLIT: Plays one sound at the right side (Upper) and other sound at the left side (Lower)

    (3) DUAL: Plays two sounds at the same time (simultaneously)

    When the lights in both of [SPLIT] and [DUAL] buttons are turned off, you are in SINGLE mode.

    TIPS:To select Piano Mode, press SPLIT and DUAL buttons at the same time.

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    Key Touch - Adjusting the keyboard sensitivitySometimes, the user may feel that the upper sound is too quiet and that he needs to play very hard to

    hear the sound. With this feature, you can adjust the GW-8s parts to your taste. Lets see how:

    1) Press the [KEY TOUCH] button so it is lit. You will see the Key Touch screen:

    2) With the CURSOR buttons and select one of the options below:

    LIGHT: The best option for the player who doesnt want to play with a lot of force. Even

    when you play softly, you can hear the sound at a good volume.

    MEDIUM: In the middle between Light and Heavy. You dont need to play as hard as when in

    Heavy Mode to reach the maximum volume of the sounds.

    HEAVY: Here you have the maximum expressiveness over the sounds.

    FIXED: All the notes you play have the same volume, even if you change the velocity.

    1-127: You can specify the volume value when you are using the FIXED mode

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    Key Scale - Select Arabian and other scalesThe Key Scale lets you switch the kind of scale, with different temperaments used in Western music.

    See how to use the Key Scale:

    1) Press [KEY SCALE] so the button is lit. The Key Scale window will open:

    2) With the CURSOR buttons, select the item you want to adjust, and use the VALUE dial to

    change the value. Another option is hold down the [KEY SCALE] button and press the note of

    whose pitch you want to adjust.

    3) When youve finished making settings, press [KEY SCALE] button once again to close the

    window.

    Lets see how to choose theArabic Scale:

    1) Press [KEY SCALE] so the button is lit. The Key Scale window will open:

    2) Use to choose the ARABIC option and press the [ENTER] button

    3) Now, you must choose if you want the Arabic Scale on Upper, Lower or Style parts. Use again

    to choose the options and turn the VALUE dial to ON.

    4) Press [EXIT] button to go back to the main screen

    TIPS: By holding down the [KEY SCALE] button and pressing a key, the pitch of the key becomes 50

    cent lower. Its an easy and quick operation.

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    Octave Shift How to change the octaveSometimes you need to play notes that you dont have on a keyboard with 61 keys, like the GW-8. If you

    need to play notes outside of this 5 octave range, you can increase/decrease the octave. You can raise

    or lower the pitch by up to four octaves.

    Heres how to change the octave on GW-8:

    1) First, choose if you want to change the octave for the Lower or Upper parts. Use

    and to select Upper or Lower

    2) To raise the octave, press the OCTAVE [+] button. To lower the octave, press the OCTAVE [-]

    button

    Increasing Upper Octave Decreasing Upper Octave

    Increasing Lower Octave Decreasing Lower Octave

    UpperLower

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    Transpose How to change the keyNow, imagine that you need to play a song with another musician, and each one plays in a different key:

    you play the music in C major and the other musician plays in D major. With the GW-8, you dont need to

    change your key, just transpose the GW-8 to so that it sounds in D major.

    See how to transpose the key, using the example below:

    1) Hold down the [TRANSPOSE] button and press the OCTAVE [+] button twice.

    You will see the next screen:

    Now, you are playing in C major, but the GW-8 sounds in D major, the same as the other musician.

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    3. Playing with Music Styles

    Features Page

    The Backing Types of the GW-8 16

    Try the Music Styles 17

    Variations of One Music Style 18

    Sync Start/Stop 19

    One Touch 20

    Lock 21

    Inside the Music Styles 22

    Part View 23

    Style Converter and User Style 24

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    The Backing Types of the GW-8Before we play with the Music Styles, lets see the three types of backing functions inside the GW-8:(1) STYLE: The Music Style is a kind of live band under your hands. You can control the

    tonality, the length, and many other possibilities to play any kind of music. Its important to

    say that you need to play chords with your left hand, because this live band needs your

    command to know which chords to play.

    (2) SONG: A song can be played back. You can record your own song or play back MIDI files

    (SMF Format). You can use the Song function to sing or play along, muting one or more

    tracks of this Song. GW-8 is able to play songs with up to 16-tracks (instruments).

    (3) USB MEMORY PLAYER: The GW-8 has one exclusive USB connector for USB flash

    memory with SMF or audio files to play on the GW-8. You can load new Music Styles on the

    USB flash memory, too.

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    Try the Music StylesGW-8 has six style selection buttons for Music Styles:

    STANDARD: The GW-8 has 130 standard Music Styles in 4 banks:

    (1) POP/ROCK

    (2) DANCE

    (3) JAZZ/LATIN

    (4) TRADITIONAL

    (5) WORLD: In this bank, each local version of GW-8 has its own Music Styles.

    (6) USER: You can import new Music Styles from USB flash memory into this bank.

    Lets try one of the GW-8s Music Styles, 050Motown:

    1) Press the [STYLE] button2) Press the [POP/ROCK] bank button3) To select the style, press the [NUMERIC] button and digit 0 (zero), 5 (five), 0 (zero) and press

    the [ENTER] button. You will see the Motown style

    4) Now, press the [SYNC START] button5) Press the [VARIATION 1] button and the [INTRO 1] button

    Play one key on the left side of the keyboard to start the style. Now, try other variations by pressing the

    buttons [2], [3] and [4]. Remember if the [AUTO FILL-IN] button is lit, every change of variation will be

    preceded by a FILL-IN.

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    Variations of One Music StyleThe Music Style has a many similar variations that we listen to in music: introduction, soft variations,

    fill-ins, heavy variations and ending. See the differences between all the variations of Music Styles:

    Variation Explanation

    (Here is the typical structure of each Style. Variations depend on the respective style.)

    INTRO 1 Very Short Intro, normally only with drums

    INTRO 2 This Intro was recorded only with one chord. This means that you can play your

    own chord progression during the Intro

    INTRO 3 Intro with most of the instruments of the style

    INTRO 4 The complete instrumentation of the Intro

    MAIN 1 Basic variation of the style

    MAIN 2 Main 1 with a few more instruments

    MAIN 3 Good to prepare for the chorus of the song, or a bridge section

    MAIN 4 Full version of the style. Good to play the chorus of the song

    ENDING 1 Very short Ending of the style

    ENDING 2 Like INTRO 2, you can play your own chord progression, because ENDING 2 was

    recorded only with one chord.

    ENDING 3 Ending with most of the instruments of the style

    ENDING 4 The complete instrumentation of the Ending

    Each style of the GW-8 has six FILL-INS. You can move from one variation to other using the FILL-INS.

    To do it, keep the button [AUTO FILL] lit.

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    Sync Start/StopThe Sync Start/Stop works together the Music Styles. When you select Sync Start, the Music Style is instand by to play: you just need to play a note on the lower part of the keyboard to start the style.

    The Sync Stop is good to use for some kicks when you are playing. With Sync Stop

    selected, you need to keep your hands on lower keys to play the music style. If you take

    your hands off the keys, the Music Style will stop.

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    One TouchFor each Music Style, the GW-8 can suggest an appropriate sound. If you select a Music Style and are

    unsure which tone to select, you just need to press [ONE TOUCH] and a great combination will be

    selected automatically.

    See how to use the One Touch:

    1) Select the Music Style2) Press the [ONE TOUCH] button

    The tones will be selected.

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    LockThe Lock preserves selected settings of your Performances even when you switch Performances. Youcan have dozens of Performances with different Music Styles and Tones saved in each one.

    With Lock, you can change the Performance without changing the tones or the Music Styles.

    See how to use the Lock function:

    1) Press and hold the [LOCK] button for approximately 1 second. You will see the Lock screen:

    2) Use to select the parameter, and turn the VALUE dial to select the value

    3) Press [EXIT] button

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    Inside the Music StylesThe Music Styles in GW-8 are a complete band to play many different musical genres. Using the Music

    Styles, the musician can be a kind of one man band. The GW-8 has a lot of fresh new styles to play any

    type of music. See the structure of one of the GW-8s Music Styles:

    For each Music Style, GW-8 has eight tracks for playing back styles with eight different instruments. This

    means that the GW-8s powerful music styles are like playing with a real band.

    Drum Track Bass Track Accompaniment Tracks 1-6

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    Part ViewWith Part View you can adjust the balance between the Upper, Lower and all the Music Styles parts.

    See how to use the Part View:

    1) With the [STYLE] button turned on, press the [PART VIEW] button. You will see the Perform

    Mixer screen:

    2) Use to select the part whose settings you want change, and use to select

    the item that you want to set

    3) Press the [EXIT] or [PART VIEW] buttons to exit

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    Style Converter and User StyleYou can store your own Music Styles to play on the GW-8. To do it, you need MIDI sequencing software

    (like Cakewalk SONAR, sold separately) to record the SMF file that will be converted to the GW-8s Music

    Style. To convert it, you will use the GW-8 Style Converter.

    First, you need to create the SMF using SONAR (or other software). Its necessary to create three files:

    one for major chords, one for minor chords and the other for seventh chords. The name of these files

    should be:

    (style name)_m.mid for Major Chords

    (style name)_x.mid for Minor Chords

    (style name)_7.mid for Seventh Chords

    When you record the Music Style in your software, please respect the following MIDI track

    configuration:

    After recording all of the MIDI files, you will convert the SMF data into the GW-8s own style format. To

    do it, you need to use the Style Converter software bundled with the GW-8.

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    See how to use the Style Converter:

    You need to fill the empty spaces with information about the measures (bars). You have to provide

    information about all the styles variations: Intro, Main, Fill and Ending.

    SequencingSoftware

    StyleConverter USB

    FlashMemory

    GW-8sUserStyle

    SMF

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    4. Real-time Playability

    Features Page

    Playback with Audio/MIDI Files Play with your favorite MP3 songs 27

    Center Cancel Transform your GW-8 into a karaoke machine 28

    Creating Your Playlist - Play your audio/midi files in order 29

    Playing Your Playlist on the GW-8 32

    Performance Saving your favorite settings 34

    Analog Modify Knobs Use the GW-8 like an analog synthesizer 35

    D Beam Move your hands! 36

    Melody Intelligence Play harmony with just one finger 37

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    Playback with Audio/MIDI Files Play with your favorite MP3 songs

    You can play audio/midi files on the GW-8 using USB flash memory. Here are the formats that the GW-8

    accepts:

    .WAV/.AIFF 8,16,24bits/44.1kHz

    .MP3 32-320kbps/44.1kHz

    .MID SMF format 0 or 1

    See how to play audio/midi files:

    1) Connect the USB flash memory with audio/midi files

    2) Press the [USB MEMORY PLAYER] button. You will see the following screen:

    3) Use to select SONG and press the [ENTER] button. You will see the audio/midi files

    on the screen:

    4) Press [START/STOP] button to play the song

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    Center Cancel Transform your GW-8 into a karaoke machineThe Center Cancel transforms the GW-8 in a karaoke machine. You can cancel the vocals (in the center)

    of the audio file to sing or play along.

    See how to use Center Cancel:

    1) After the Audio file has begun, press the [MINUS ONE/CENTER CANCEL] button

    The mid-range frequencies of the audio will disappear. Remember that all songs have are mixed

    differently and not all songs have vocals that are in the center of the mix. This means that the

    GW-8s Center Cancel is not 100% accurate.

    TIPS 1: With SMFs, you can mute any of the MIDI channels to play the SMF without these parts (Minus

    One).

    TIPS 2: The GW-8 has an external Input Jack (1/8 stereo mini-jack) so that you can also use the

    Center Cancel function with a portable audio player like an iPod.

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    Creating your Playlist- Play your audio/midi files in order

    With Playlist, you can play all your audio files in your favorite order. You can create your list using the

    Playlist Editor software.

    See how to create your list:

    1) On your computer, collect the songs you want to use

    2) Open the Playlist Editor and select FILE and ADD SONG

    3) Select the desired song

    4) Select EDIT and NEW PLAYLIST

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    5) Create a name for your new Playlist

    6) Drag the songs from the PLAYLIST LIBRARY to your NEW LIBRARY

    7) Now, choose the desired order of the songs with the mouse

    8) Connect the USB flash memory to your computer

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    9) Click DRIVE SELECTION to select the USB flash memory from the list of drives

    10) On TOOL, click on TRANSFER TO USB MEMORY and click OK. The files will be transferred

    11) Use the Safely Remove Hardware on your computer to disconnect the USB flash Memory

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    Playing Your Playlist on GW-8Now, see how to play the Playlist on the GW-8:

    1) Connect the USB flash memory with your audio files

    2) Press the [USB MEMORY PLAYER] button. You will see the following screen:

    3) Use to select PLAYLIST and press the [ENTER] button. You will see your Playlist on

    the screen:

    4) Select your Playlist and press the [START/STOP] button to play it back.

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    TIPS 1:You can play all the songs in your Playlist consecutively, without stopping. See how to do it:

    1) On the PLAYLIST SELECT screen, press to select P INFO and press the [ENTER] button

    2) Use to select Chain Play and press the [ENTER] button

    3) Press the [EXIT] button to go back to PLAYLIST SELECT.

    4) Press the [START/STOP] button to play the Playlist.

    TIP 2:See the commands that you have to play, stop, rewind and fast-forward the songs:

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    Performance Saving your favorite settingsA Performance is the best way to save all of your settings. You can save many parameters and load back

    all of these settings instantly. The following parameters can be saved in a performance:

    - Keyboard Mode

    - Upper and Lower Tone settings

    - Style Settings

    - Song Settings

    - Effects Settings

    - Transpose

    - Octave Shift

    - D Beam Settings

    - Keyboard Touch

    - Chord Mode

    - Melody Intelligence

    Performance is very convenient for live situations, because you can change sounds and settings very

    quickly.

    See how to save one performance:

    1) Make all of your adjustments on the GW-8 (Tones, Music Styles, Effects and other parameters)

    2) Press the [WRITE] button

    3) Use to select PERFORMANCE and press the [ENTER] button

    4) Enter a Performance name of up to 16 characters using to move the cursor,

    turning the VALUE dial to change each character and then pressing [ENTER].

    5) Turn the VALUE dial to select the desired destination, and then press [ENTER]. A confirmation

    window will appear

    6) Press the [ENTER] button to save the Performance

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    Analog Modify Knobs Use the GW-8 like an analog synthesizer

    The GW-8 has two knobs to control parameters in real-time. With these two knobs, you can instantly

    control your sounds in a live situation.

    Here the parameters that you can control with these knobs:

    MASTER EQ Equalizer with two bands to control the frequencies of the sound

    LOW GAIN HIGH GAIN

    Adjusts the level of the low-frequency range Adjusts the level of the high-frequency range

    EFFECT You can control the effects in real-time

    REVERB CHORUS

    Adds hall or auditorium reverberation. The knob

    adjusts the amount of Reverb

    Adds depth and spaciousness to the sound. The

    knob adjusts the Chorus level

    FILTER Change the color of the sound

    CUTOFF RESONANCE

    Changes the spectral components of the sound.

    Turn the knob toward the right to brighten the

    sound, or toward the left to darken the sound

    Boosts the high frequency sound in the cutoffs

    region. Turn the knob toward the right to

    strengthen this character, or toward the left to

    decrease it

    ENVELOPE Change the way the sound responds when you play

    ATTACK RELEASE

    Adjust the time from when you press a key until

    the sound reaches its full volume. Turn the knob

    towards the right to lengthen the attack time, or

    towards the left to shorten it

    Adjust the time from when you release a key until

    the sound disappears. Turn the knob towards the

    right to lengthen the release time, or towards the

    left to shorten it

    .

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    D Beam Move your hands!D Beam is Rolands exclusive revolutionary infra-red controller. With your hands, you can apply effects or

    control settings. Its a good way to add an extra dimension to your performance.

    See how to select the options:

    1) Press and hold one of the D Beam buttons:

    2) Use and toselect the options for SOLO SYNTH and ASSIGNABLE 1

    and 2

    Here are some good functions for the D Beam:

    - Solo Synth: plays a monophonic synthesizer sound. Its good for electronic music

    - Drum Roll: its a classic snare drum roll. Move your hand closer to increase the volume

    - Chimes: Theyre very good for ballads and slow songs

    -Applause: its good when you finish the song and the audience forgets to clap!

    - Expression: Allows you to control the volume of sounds. Good for use with brass and

    string sounds

    - Start/Stop: its a very good way to control the Music Style

    - Fade Out: gradually decrease the volume of Tones and Music Styles

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    Melody Intelligence Play harmony with just one fingerWhen beginners are using Music Styles, it can be hard to play more than one note on the upper half of

    the keyboard. But GW-8 can enhance your melodies using Melody Intelligence. You will still be playing

    just single note melodies, but you will hear added harmonies. The Melody Intelligence (harmonies) will

    be based on the chords that you play on the lower half of the keyboard.

    See how to select Melody Intelligence:

    1) Press [MELODY INTELLIGENCE] so that the button is lit

    2) Press and hold [MELODY INTELLIGENCE] and turn the VALUE DIAL to select the Melody

    Intelligence type. Here are some popular options:

    DUET Two part harmony

    ORGAN Good for Organ tones

    STRINGS Good for Strings tones

    BLOCK A cluster of notes to complement your melody

    BIG BAND Good for Brass tones

    OCTAVE TYPE1 Octave notes

    OCTAVE TYPE2 Variation of octave notes

    3) Press [EXIT] to return to the Main screen

    4) To turn the Melody Intelligence off, press [MELODY INTELLIGENCE] so its light goes out

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    5. FAQs

    1. What is the difference between the GW-8 and GW-7?

    There are big differences in the sound quality, Music Style architecture, Audio Player, Display and

    Storage.

    Sound Quality

    The sound quality of GW-8 is derived from the top of line FANTOM-X Workstation. The sound quality of

    the GW-7 comes from the entry-level synthesizer JUNO-D. The Wave Memory of the GW-8 is 256MB

    against 32MB of the GW-7. This means that the sounds of the GW-8 are much more realistic than the

    GW-7. Consequently the Music Styles sound much better too.

    Music Styles

    The Music Style architecture of the GW-7 is very simple: Intro, Original, Fill-In, Variation and Ending.

    The GW-8 has the same architecture as the E-80, Rolands flagship arranger keyboard: 4 Intros, 4 Mains,

    4 Fill-Ins and 4 Endings. With all of these variations, your arrangements will be more realistic.

    Audio Player

    With the GW-7 you can only play SMF files, not audio. The GW-8 is able to play SMF and the following

    audio files: WAV, AIFF and MP3. You can also use the Center Cancel to play along with your favorite

    artists songs.

    Display

    The GW-8 comes with a new large LCD Display for easy visualization of Upper/Lower Tone and Music

    Styles, Perform, Measures Count, BPM and all the information for editing parameters.

    Storage

    The GW-7 doesnt have a floppy disk drive or USB flash memory connection, only internal flash memory

    (2MB) to save your files. The GW-8 has a USB flash memory connection to offer more flexibility when

    saving and loading files. With the USB flash memory you can load audio files, SMF files, new Music

    Styles, Performances and save Songs, Performances, Music Styles, Favorite Tones and System Settings.

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    2. Can I create Music Styles with GW-8?

    Yes. But you need MIDI sequencing software like Cakewalk SONAR (or anything that records midi data)

    and the Style Converter software (bundled) to create your own Music Styles. First, you should record the

    MIDI data of all the variations of your Music Style and save it into SMF format. Afterwards, you can

    convert this SMF file using the GW-8 Style Converter software. When finishing, you must save the

    converted file (.STL file) to USB flash memory and load the Music Style into the GW-8.

    3. Can I load Music Styles created in other Roland keyboard (E series, VA series)?

    No, because the GW-8 has a completely different sound map to other Roland arrangers. Although it has

    the same Music Style structure as the E series, the GW-8 cant recognize the sounds that were used to

    record the Music Styles.