Roland MV-8800 Production Studio Instruction manual

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MV-8800 Production Studio
© 2007 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.
MV8800WS12
Using the MV-8800
with an External Sequencer
®ÂØÒňήWorkshop

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About the MV-8800 Workshop Series
Roland’s MV-8800 Production Studio is packed with features for making
music. It’s a heavy-duty sampler that can do all sorts of things with sounds
you sample or import. Its sequencer has 136 tracks for MIDI sequencing and
playing back audio, and its set of editing tools is deep. It’s a great box for
performing—using its pads or an attached MIDI keyboard—and, of course,
it can even burn a CD of your final master mix.
Each MV-8800 Workshop Series booklet focuses on one MV-8800 topic, and
is intended as a companion to your MV-8800 Owner’s Manuals.
About This Booklet
The MV-8800 can act as a powerful sample player when it’s used with a
computer sequencing program, or with a standalone hardware sequencer.
It can play up to 16 patches at a time, or 15 patches along with time-
stretchable audio phrases. This booklet explains how.
The Buttons, the LCD, or a VGA?
On the MV-8800, you can work on the built-in color LCD or on an optional
VGA monitor. You can use the MV-8800’s front-panel controls, or a mouse on
your VGA screen. No matter how you like to work, there’s an easy way to get
things done.
Probably the best idea is to work primarily with a mouse
on a VGA, using the MV-8800’s buttons to quickly get in and out of
MV-8800 screens. The procedures in this booklet typically assume you’ll be
working this way.
If you’re not, don’t worry, because the VGA windows and LCD screens are
essentially the same. There are clickable VGA icons for all of the MV-8800’s
buttons. You can also press an onscreen button by clicking your mouse or
by pressing an F button on the MV-8800. The main difference has to do with
how you deal with settings—or “parameters”—and how you select objects.
If you’re using a mouse: If you’re using the MV-8800’s buttons:
You select parameters and objects with
a left click. You change the selected
parameter’s value by turning the scroll
wheel. You can display an object’s menu by
right-clicking the object.
You select parameters and objects with
the 3, 4, 5, and 6CURSOR buttons.
Change a selected parameter’s value by
turning the VALUE dial or by pressing DEC
and INC.
Left click Right click
Scroll
wheel
Understanding the Symbols in This Booklet
Throughout this booklet, you’ll come across information that deserves
special attention—that’s the reason it’s labeled with one of the following
symbols.
A note is something that adds information about the topic at hand.
A tip offers suggestions for using the feature being discussed.
Warnings contain important information that can help you avoid
possible damage to your equipment, your data, or yourself.

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The MV-8800 as a Multitimbral Sampler
If you use an external sequencer, you can play MV-8800 sounds and control
its MFX processor using Multi Timbre Sampler mode.
In the MV-8800’s Multi Timbre Sampler mode, it acts as a “multitimbral”
sampler. This means that it can play up to 16 sounds independently and at
the same time—it’s as if the MV-8800 contains a bunch of little samplers.
Each of these “little samplers” is called a “part.” Each part has its own settings
and can play its own patch.
If you’ve sequenced on the MV-8800, you’re already familiar with the
MV-8800’s parts.
The INSTRUMENTS window shows you the settings for the
16 parts of the currently loaded project. To see it, press the
INSTRUMENTS button.
Each of the 16 parts receives MIDI data on its own channel. Parts 1-16 receive
data on MIDI Channels 1-16, respectively. In an external sequencer, a track
can record and play back the data for a single MIDI channel, which then plays
the corresponding part’s sound in the MV-8800.
MIDI Channel 16
MIDI Channel 15
MIDI Channel 14
MIDI Channel 13
MIDI Channel 12
MIDI Channel 11
MIDI Channel 10
MIDI Channel 9
MIDI Channel 8
MIDI Channel 7
MIDI Channel 6
MIDI Channel 5
MIDI Channel 4
MIDI Channel 3
MIDI Channel 2
MIDI Channel 1
External Sequencer
Tracks
To learn about MIDI, you can download InFocus: An Introduction to MIDI
from the Support Documents section of the Roland US website.
Playing Audio Phrases via MIDI
Multi Timbre Sampler mode isn’t just about patches—you
can also play any audio phrase in Pad Banks 1 through 8
from an external sequencer. You can even lock an audio
phrase’s timing to the tempo of an external sequencer, just
as you can lock it to the MV-8800’s own built-in sequencer.
To learn about the differences between patches and audio phrases, see
“Two Ways You Can Use Samples” on Page 3 of the MV-8800 Sampling
Workshop booklet.
When you play audio phrases from an external sequencer, the MV-8800
borrows one of the 16 parts, leaving 15 parts for playing patches. We’ll
explain this more later.
You can play audio phrases assigned to Pad Banks 1-8 because MIDI can
play up to 128 different notes, and Pad Banks 1-8 give you 128 pads.

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Turning On Multi Timbre Sampler Mode
To turn on Multi Timbre Sampler mode:
Press SYSTEM to display the SYSTEM menu.
Select MIDI to display the MV-8800 MIDI parameters.
Set the Multi Timbre Sampler Mode parameter to On.
If you’d like to play audio phrases from the external sequencer or
control MV-8800 MFX from it, set Audio Phrase Rx Channel and MFX Rx
Channel to the MIDI channels you’d like to use. If you don’t want to do
either of these things, turn the corresponding parameter off.
When you assign MIDI channels to playing audio phrases or controlling
the MFX processor, their corresponding parts no longer play patches.
(With the settings shown above, those would be Parts 15 and 16.)
Locking Audio Phrases to the Sequencer Tempo
Any audio phrase whose BPM Sync parameter is turned on can be locked to
an external sequencer’s tempo.
To learn about the audio phrase BPM Sync parameter, see “Setting Up
How an Audio Phrase Behaves” on Page 10 of the MV-8800 Sampling
Workshop booklet.
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This is possible because the MV-8800 can be
synchronized—or “slaved”—to the sequencer
using a special type of MIDI timing data called
“MIDI clock.” MIDI clock travels from the external
sequencer into the MV-8800’s MIDI IN jack along
with the rest of the sequencer’s MIDI data.
Any time-based effects you use on the MV-8800—such as delays,
flangers, and so on—can also be synchronized with the external
sequencer tempo by simply turning on the effect’s Sync parameters.
Before setting up the MV-8800 as a MIDI clock slave, make sure your
external sequencer isn’t currently playing.
To slave the MV-8800 to incoming MIDI clock data:
On the MV-8800, press SONG.
Click SONG menu, and then select SYNC to
display the SYNC window.
Set Sync Mode to Slave-MIDI (MIDI).
If your MV-8800’s MIDI OUT A or B jack is connected to the external
sequencer’s MIDI IN—or if you’re using a MIDI patchbay—turn off the
jack’s MIDI Clock Output parameter, as we have here. This will prevent
a MIDI clock loop that can badly confuse your entire MIDI system.
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External
sequencer
MV-8800

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Setting Up the External Sequencer
In the sequencer, create a track for the MIDI channel of:
each MV-8800 part—that plays a patch you want to use.
the Audio Phrase RX Channel—if you’ll be using audio phrases.
the MFX RX Channel—if you’d like to control the MV-8800’s multi-effects
from your sequencer.
To sync audio-phrase playback to the sequencer’s tempo, set the
sequencer to send MIDI clock data during playback.
To learn how to do these things, see your sequencer’s manual. Once you’ve
set up the sequencer, you’re ready to go.
Working in Multi Timbre Sampler Mode
As you play MV-8800 sounds from your sequencer, you’ll operate the
MV-8800 in Multi Timbre Sampler mode.
Multi Timbre Sampler Mode Home Base
Your base of operation in Multi Timbre Sampler mode is
the INSTRUMENTS window—it’s the place where you can
load patches you need, and where you can adjust their part
settings.
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To learn how to load patches, see the MV-8800 Loading Patches
Workshop booklet.
The EFFECTS and MIXER Windows
As you work in Multi Timbre Sampler mode, you can tweak your:
effects—Press the MV-8800’s EFFECTS button to select and edit the
effects your MV-8800 patches and audio phrases use.
mixer settings—Press the MV-8800’s MIXER button to adjust the levels,
panning, effects, and output routings of your patches and audio
phrases.
You can actually control many of the settings we’ve just mentioned
from your sequencer using MIDI Control Change messages. See the
MV-8800 Owner’s Manual for details on these advanced operations.
While your external sequencer is playing, stay in the MV-8800’s
INSTRUMENTS, EFFECTS, and MIXER windows—or on the PATTERN
and SONG screens—to ensure successful Multi Timbre Sampler mode
operation.
Audio Phrase Operations
As you work with an external sequencer, you can edit existing audio
phrases—or assign new ones—whenever the sequencer is stopped. Press
AUDIO PHRASES, as usual, to perform any audio phrase operations you like.
When you’ve finished, press the INSTRUMENTS button before resuming
sequencer playback or recording.
You can sample while an external sequencer is playing MV-8800 sounds.
This lets you sing or play along and capture your performance as a
sample. You can then stop the sequencer and use Quick Assign to send
the sample to a patch, or assign it as an audio phrase. See the MV-8800
Sampling Workshop booklet for more details on sampling.
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Controlling MFX Via MIDI
You can control the MV-8800’s current MFX settings from a sequencer by
sending the MV-8800 MIDI messages:
You can tweak the same MFX parameters that are being controlled by the
MV-8800’s C knobs. You do this by sending the MV-8800 the same MIDI
Control Change messages the knobs are using.
To learn about setting up and using the C knobs, see the MV-8800
Owner’s Manual.
When the MFX is using any of the Analog Modeling Bass effects, you
can play and shape the bass’s sound from an external sequencer. You
can:
play bass notes—using MIDI on/off note messages.
control the way the bass sounds—using MIDI Control Change #1
messages to modulate the sound.
bend bass notes—using MIDI Pitch Bend messages.
The End
We hope you’ve found this workshop helpful. Keep an eye out for
other MV-8800 Workshop booklets, all available for downloading at
www.RolandUS.com.
For the latest MV-8800 updates and support tools, visit the Roland U.S.
Web site at www.RolandUS.com. If you need personal assistance, call
our amazing Product Support team at 323-890-3745.
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