Roland E-4 User manual

E-4 (Version 1.02)
Owner’s Manual

Table of contents
2
Table of contents
Panel Descriptions ....................................................................3
Top Panel.................................................................................. 3
Rear Panel ................................................................................ 5
Configuring the Mic Input (MIC IN) ....................................6
Correcting the Pitch (AUTO PITCH) ....................................8
Adding Harmonies (HARMONY)....................................... 12
Using a Vocoder Voice to Alter the Sound (VOCODER)
.......................................................................................................15
Using the Looper.................................................................... 19
Using the Looper as a Master External Device (Using the
Internal Clock) .......................................................................20
Using the Looper in Sync with External Device Clocks .....24
Setting the Clock Timing ......................................................27
Erasing the Recorded Audio (Clear) ....................................28
Undoing/Reverting an Overdub (Undo/Redo)...................29
Replaying Recorded Audio from the Beginning (Restart) 30
Swapping Inputted Notes by Step (SCATTER).............31
Adding Reverberation (REVERB) .......................................33
Setting the Menu ....................................................................35
Connecting to a Computer or Mobile Device..............37
Restoring the factory default settings (Factory Reset)
........................................................................................................38
Main Specifications ................................................................39
Signal Flow ................................................................................40
MIDI Implementation Chart................................................41

Panel Descriptions
3
Panel Descriptions
Top Panel
1. Jacks
Controller
Explanation
CHARGE indicator
When charging via USB port:
Orange (lit): Charging.
Green (lit): Charging is completed.
Green and orange (blinking): A charging error occurred. Please contact your dealer or a Roland
customer service center.
https://roland.cm/service
When not charging via USB port:
Red (lit):The remaining battery power is low. Charge the battery.
*The unit powers down within 30 minutes.
SYNC IN jack
Use this jack to input synchronization signals from an external device.
SYNC OUT jack
Use this jack to output synchronization signals to an external device.
MIX IN jack
This is the audio input jack.
The sound from connected devices is output from the MIX OUT jack.
MIX OUT/HEADSET
jack
This is the audio output jack.
Connect a pair of headphones or headset here. You can use also this jack as a MIC IN jack if you’ve
connected a headset.
[VOLUME] knob
Adjusts the volume of audio coming from the MIX OUT jack.
*Use cables with monaural mini phone type plugs to connect to/from the SYNC IN/OUT jacks. Do not use cables with stereo
mini phone type plugs, as these cables do not work.
*Do not connect an audio device to the SYNC OUT jack. Doing so may cause a malfunction.

Panel Descriptions
4
*If an external device is connected to the SYNC IN jack, the unit synchronizes with the clocks inputted to the SYNC IN jack,
regardless of the MIDI Clock Sync setting.
*Use cables with stereo miniature phone type plugs to connect to/from the MIX IN/OUT jacks. Do not use cables with
monaural mini phone type plugs, as these cables do not work.
*You can use a headset with a 3.5 mm CTIA-type mini plug (4-pole).
2. Mic operations
Controller
Explanation
[SENS] knob
Adjusts the sensitivity of the mic input.
PEAK indicator
Lights up when the mic’s input level is too high.
Adjust the sensitivity using the [SENS] knob so that the light only illuminates every once in a while.
3. Effect switches
Controller
Explanation
[AUTO PITCH] button
Adjusts (corrects) the pitch of your voice.
[HARMONY] button
Adds a harmony to your voice.
[VOCODER] button
Changes your voice to a vocoder voice.
4. LOOPER section
Controller
Explanation
[ð] (stop) button
Stops playback of the recorded audio. Long-press to delete the recorded audio.
[â/ó] (play/record) button
Press to start recording and play back recorded audio. Long-press to undo or to redo overdubbing.
*Hold down the [ð] (stop) button and press the [â/ó] (play/record) button to play back the audio you recorded from the
beginning.
5. Display
Item
Explanation
Display
Shows the tempo.
This affects the SCATTER and MFX cycles.
6. Sound control
Controller
Explanation
[PITCH] slider
Sets the pitch of the voice. You can change the pitch up and down one octave.
[FORMANT]
slider
Adjusts the formant of the voice. Settings in the negative (–) direction produce a more masculine vocal
character, and settings in the positive (+) direction produce a more feminine vocal character.
[SCATTER] dial
Adjusts the scatter depth and type. The first two digits indicate the type, and the last two digits indicate the
depth.
[REVERB] slider
Adjusts the reverb volume.
7. Jacks and ports
Name of jack or port
Explanation
MIC IN jack
Connect an unbalanced dynamic mic here.

Panel Descriptions
5
Rear Panel
A. [POWER] switch
Turns the power on/off.
B. USB port (USB Type-C®)
Use a commercially available USB 2.0 cable (Type-A to C, or Type-C to C) to connect this port to your computer.
This is used to transfer USB MIDI and USB audio data.
*Do not use a USB cable that is designed only for charging. Cables used for charging only cannot transmit data.
C. MIDI IN/MIDI OUT jacks
Use TRS/TRS connecting cables (BCC-1-3535 or BCC-2-3535, sold separately) or TRS/MIDI connecting cables (BMIDI-5-35, BMIDI-1-
35 or BMIDI-2-35, sold separately) to connect this unit to an external MIDI device.
You can make this unit play in sync with a MIDI device by connecting the devices with a commercially available MIDI cable.
*Do not connect audio devices to these jacks. Doing so may cause a malfunction.

Configuring the Mic Input (MIC IN)
6
Configuring the Mic Input (MIC IN)
Preventing accidental sounds (LOW CUT FILTER)
1. Move the [REVERB] slider while holding down the [AUTO PITCH] button.
Value
Explanation
10
,
25
,
50
,
100
Sets the cutoff frequency of the low cut filter.

Configuring the Mic Input (MIC IN)
7
Reducing feedback (NOISE GATE)
1. Move the [REVERB] slider while holding down the [HARMONY] button.
Value
Explanation
OFF
,
-q
,
-18
,
-Inf
Sets how much floor noise you want to reduce.

Correcting the Pitch (AUTO PITCH)
8
Correcting the Pitch (AUTO PITCH)
This effect adjusts or corrects the pitch of your voice.
1. Press the [AUTO PITCH] button to make it light up.
AUTO PITCH turns on.
This blinks when the “robot” setting is on.

Correcting the Pitch (AUTO PITCH)
9
Setting a fixed pitch for your voice (ROBOT)
This sets how the pitch is corrected when the AUTO PITCH is on.
1. Move the [PITCH] slider while holding down the [AUTO PITCH] button.
When a setting besides “Auto” is selected, your voice changes to an uninflected robotic voice with a fixed pitch.
Value
Explanation
F.-2
Sets the voice at a fixed pitch two octaves lower.
F.-1
Sets the voice at a fixed pitch one octave lower.
Auto
(Auto)
Corrects the pitch of the voice to match the key value.
FIX
(Fix)
Sets the voice at a fixed pitch.
F. 1
Sets the voice at a fixed pitch one octave higher.
* You can also use an external MIDI device to input the key, which sets the fixed pitch.
ØControlling the vocoder from an external device (KEY IN)(P.18)

Correcting the Pitch (AUTO PITCH)
10
Setting the correction depth (AUTO PITCH DEPTH)
This sets how much the pitch is corrected when the [AUTO PITCH] button is pressed thereafter.
*This only works when “Auto” correction method is selected.
1. Move the [FORMANT] slider while holding down the [AUTO PITCH] button.

Correcting the Pitch (AUTO PITCH)
11
Setting the key and scale for pitch correction (KEY, SCALE)
1. Move the [PITCH] slider while holding down the [HARMONY] button.
This sets the key and scale to which the pitch is corrected when the [AUTO PITCH] button is pressed thereafter.
When the method of pitch correction is set to “Auto”, the pitch is adjusted to the scale; and when the method is set to “Fix”,
the pitch is adjusted to the key you selected.
Value
Explanation
A N
(Am)–
AbN
(Abm)
Sets the minor scale of the key you select.
ChrN
(Chromatic)
Sets a chromatic scale.
A(A)–Ab (Ab)
Sets the major scale of the key you select.

Adding Harmonies (HARMONY)
12
Adding Harmonies (HARMONY)
This feature adds a harmony to your voice.
1. Press the [HARMONY] button to make it light.
This turns HARMONY on.

Adding Harmonies (HARMONY)
13
Setting the harmony key and scale (KEY, SCALE)
1. Move the [PITCH] slider while holding down the [HARMONY] button.
Value
Explanation
A N (Am)–
AbN
(Abm)
Sets the minor scale of the key you select.
ChrN (Chromatic)
Creates harmonies based on chromatic scale steps in fixed proportions, which are independent of the key
or scale.
A
(A)–
Ab
(Ab)
Sets the major scale of the key you select.

Adding Harmonies (HARMONY)
14
Setting the harmony type (HARMONY TYPE)
1. Move the [FORMANT] slider while holding down the [HARMONY] button.
The chord structure for each type is shown below.
The values shown in parentheses apply when using minor scale settings.
Value
Voice 2
Voice 3
Voice 4
UdP5
(UpDownP5)
+12
-12
+7
Updn
(UpDown)
+12
-12
-Oct
(-Octave)
-12
Oct
(Octave)
+12
P5
(P5)
+7
3rd
(3rd)
+4 (+3)
5th
(5th)
+4 (+3)
+7
-5th
(-5th)
+4 (+3)
-5
7th
(7th)
+4 (+3)
+7
+11 (+10)
-7th
(-7th)
+4 (+3)
+7
-1 (-2)

Using a Vocoder Voice to Alter the Sound (VOCODER)
15
Using a Vocoder Voice to Alter the Sound
(VOCODER)
This feature changes your voice to a vocoder voice.
A vocoder is an effect that combines the sounds of a built-in synthesizer (carrier) with your voice input (modulator).
1. Press the [VOCODER] button to make it light up.
This activates the vocoder.

Using a Vocoder Voice to Alter the Sound (VOCODER)
16
Setting the carrier waveform (WAVEFORM)
Setting the carrier waveform changes the harmonic structure of the sound.
1. Move the [FORMANT] slider while holding down the [VOCODER] button.
Value
Explanation
Saľ2
(Saw2)–
Sa.49
(Saw49)
Sawtooth wave with only a small amount of the fundamental frequency
Sa.50 (Saw50)–Saľ1 (Saw1)–Sq.49 (Square49)
Sawtooth wave
Sq.50 (Square50)–Sqr (Square)–PI.49 (Pulse49)
Square wave
PI.50
(Pulse50)–
PIs
(Pulse)–
ni49
(Noise49)
Pulse wave
ni50
(Noise50)–
nis
(Noise)
Noise

Using a Vocoder Voice to Alter the Sound (VOCODER)
17
Adding a chord (HARMONY)
1. Press the [HARMONY] button.
You can press the [HARMONY] button to add more carrier voices.
You can also set the pitch of the carrier.
Setting the carrier to a fixed pitch
ØCorrecting the Pitch (AUTO PITCH)(P.8)
Setting the chord type
ØHARMONY_TYPE(P.14)
Setting the chord key and scale
ØKEY_SCALE(P.13)

Using a Vocoder Voice to Alter the Sound (VOCODER)
18
Controlling the vocoder from an external device (KEY IN)
1. Long-press the [AUTO PITCH] button, [HARMONY] button and [VOCODER] button at the same time to
enter the menu.
2. Press the [VOCODER] button to make it light up.
“KEY.I” is displayed.
3. Use the [SCATTER] dial to set the MIDI channel to that of the external device.
4. Long-press the [AUTO PITCH] button, [HARMONY] button and [VOCODER] button at the same time to
exit the menu.
5. Play the vocoder by inputting MIDI notes and pitch bends on an external device or via USB.
6. By pressing the [HARMONY] button to make it light up.
You can play chords with a maximum of four voices.
*The [AUTO PITCH] button blinks when inputting messages from an external MIDI device.

Using the Looper
19
Using the Looper
The looper is a feature that records your performance or what you say/sing into the mic, and plays this back over and over in a
loop while letting you overdub new parts or just play back what you recorded.
“Recording” and “overdubbing”
In this manual, we refer to the act of recording to an empty track for the first time as “recording”. Any subsequent recordings that
you make to add on top of the existing recording, we refer to as “overdubbing”.
You can see how the buttons are lit up or what is on the display to check the looper status.
Status
[ð(stop)] button
[â/ó(play/record)] button
Display
Standby
Unlit
Unlit
Recording or
overdubbing
Unlit
Lit (red)
rEC
Playing
Unlit
Lit (green)
PLAY
Stopped
Unlit
Blinking (green)
STOP
Clear
CLr
(blinking)
Undo
UNdO
(blinking)
Redo
rEdo
(blinking)

Using the Looper
20
Using the Looper as a Master External Device (Using the Internal Clock)
Recording audio input
1. Press the [â/ó] (play/record) button.
Recording starts when you press the button. If recording is already in progress, playback starts.
“rEC” is displayed, and the [â/ó] (play/record) button lights up red (recording/overdubbing).
2. To finish the recording, press the [â/ó] (play/record) button again.
Playback begins as-is.
The internal BPM is determined at the point when recording ends (the SYNC OUT F8 pulse changes).
The SYNC OUT clock returns to the beginning.
“PLAY” is displayed, and the [â/ó] (play/record) button lights up green (playback).