VA-7616-track Sequencer

Saving your song

The 16-track sequencer uses a special portion of the VA-76’s RAM memory where all editing takes place. To ensure that you do not forget to save your song after recording and/or editing it, you are given the opportunity to do so upon leaving the Song Com- poser page (by pressing [EXIT]):

Note: The Song RAM memory is erased when you switch off your VA-76.

1.Press [YES] to save your changes (and the entire song). This will take you to the following display page:

Example 2: Recording a song from scratch

Let us now record a Song from scratch using the 16- track sequencer.

1.Press the [SONG COMPOSER] button and the [16 Tracks Sequencer] field.

Let us suppose that you already played back a Song. That means that the VA-76’s Song RAM memory already contains song data we need to erase. (Even if the VA-76’s Song RAM memory is still empty, using the Initialize function would be a good idea.) Here is how to:

2.Press the [Utility] field.

3.On the display page that appears now, press the [Initialize] field.

The display now looks more or less as follows:

If you don’t want to wait until the above warning (“Song has been changed…”) is displayed automati- cally, proceed as follows. Using this “manual” Save function has the advantage that you can save your song whenever you are happy with your latest record- ing or edits. Bear in mind that a power failure is all it takes to lose your song. Don’t wait until it is too late…

a)Press the [Save] field in the bottom row.

b)Press the [Name] field.

c)On the display page that appears now, press the [Save] field in the bottom line.

2.See page 67 for details about saving your song.

The warning alerts you to the fact that pressing [EXE- CUTE] (see below) may have disastrous conse- quences. See “Saving your song” if you still need to save your previous song.

4.Press the following three fields and enter the desired values using the [TEMPO/DATA] dial or the [DATA] button/Numeric Entry pad.

Time Signature— If your new Song uses the 4/4 time signature, there is no need to change this value. Other- wise, enter the desired time signature (1/2~32/16).

Tempo— Allows you to specify the initial tempo of the new song ( = 20~250). Choose a tempo which is comfortable for recording. You can set the final tempo using the Song Header Edit function (see page 161).

Using two drum tracks (2nd Drum Track)

An additional advantage of the Initialize function is that you can define a second track as drum track. This allows you to use two Drum Sets: the one assigned to track 10 (fixed, in accordance with GM-2/GS), and another one assigned to the track you define here. This allows you to use a “standard” drum kit alongside a “beat box”, or to add orchestral percussion to a song that also requires a “regular” drum kit.

Your song data are saved in the Standard MIDI File (SMF) format. You can therefore play them back using your computer (with suitable software) and any GM/ GS compatible module or synthesizer. Bear in mind though, that not all modules accept two Drum Sets. You cannot define a second drum track for existing songs. This is only possible when you initialize the

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Roland VA-76 Saving your song, Example 2 Recording a song from scratch, Using two drum tracks 2nd Drum Track, 145