Yamaha Electone B-20BR User manual

GUIDE TO YOUR
YAMAHA ELECTONE

Introduction ..-
Here is Your Yamaha Electone B-20BR ---
Keyboards ---
The Compass of the Electone B-20BR -
Tone Levers «..-.-........-
Upper Preset Tones -...
Effect Levers ----
Effect Controls and Selector
Sound-in-Motion Tremolo --
Auto Rhythm Section ----
Various Rhythms and Their Usi
Playing The Yamaha Electone
Let's Learn to Read Music
Let's Play Accompaniment -.--
To Fully Enjoy Your Electone -
Care of Your Electone ----
Do Not Be Alarmed If --—
Specifications ---

Intr
oduc
———
—
—
Congratulations
upon
your
selection
of
this
Yamaha
Electone.
It
is
one
of
the
world’s
most
advanced
instruments,
carefully
designed
and
built
to
provide
a
lifetime
of
musical
enjoyment.
To
make
sure
you
derive
the
most
from
its
generous
features
and
durable
IC
&
FET
circuitry,
please
read
this
manual
thoroughly
before
attempting
to
play.
Then
keep
it
handy
for
reference.
Use
it
to
develop
your
own
techniques
and
to
teach
others.
With
a
little
care
your
Electone
will
become
a
creative
center
of
family
enjoyment
for
decades.
aie

Here is your Yamaha Electone B-20BR mmn

Briliance
|) Preset Tone Selectors
@ Peds Sustain
D
Auto
Rhythm
section
Tremolo
Sector
@

Mey;
U
The B-20BR has three keyboards. The upper two are called “manuals” and the other, for the feet, composed
of “pedals.”
Upper Manual 44keys — (3A octaves)
Lower Manual 44keys — (3%'octaves)
Pedals. l3pedals (1 octave)
The Electone is designed to permit playing the melody on the upper manual with the right hand, the chords
on the lower manual with the other, and bass notes on the pedals with either foot.
All keys and pedals are arranged in the traditional keyboard method: two black keys, three black keys. Each
white key has a name (from A to G), and the blacks are sharps or flats, "C" is always the white key just
below the left black key in the two-black-key group. Any complete set of seven white keys is called
an “octave.”
AHCDEFG
Same
pattern
Same
pattern
Manual
1
One
octove
)
1
One
octave
1
“C” is always at the bottom of the group of two black keys.
Both end pedals are “C”.
245
|

The
Compass
of
the
Electone
B-20BR
———
eo e;
sees
Tuned to 440Hz
f n |
FG
AHD
E
EG
A
HC
D
E
F
C|DE|FG|
AH
Lower manual
ricAnic
E
ri
Anc
o
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Tone Levers
To the left of both upper and lower manuals are a series of tone levers which control the voices (instrument
sounds)
which
will
sound
when
the
keys
are
depressed.
They
are
divided
into
groups
for
upper,
lower
and
pedals, so that different registration can be set for each.
Upper Manual Levers B voices
Lower Manual Levers 5 voices
Pedals 2 voices
(i
3)
TUTUTTUT
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TOTTT "TT
moo We cmo woo duo smn oss am
—
-B
quos
Na J
Exclusive Yamaha Tone Lever System ©
Each lever provides two methods of control. One
is by continuously moving the lever from off to
full, to achieve the exact setting for that tone, and
thus balancing the overall tone setting with perfect
Precision. Each lever also has two easy-to-feel click
stops, at 1/3 and 2/3 positions. This lets you
refind any setting with mathematical precision and
no guesswork in a matter of seconds.
Bear in mind that the total tone lever settings for
a particular manual will affect that manual's overall
volume. This will be an expressive aid if used
properly, a drawback if itis forgotten.
(front)
—

Tone Lever Registration
For the best result of your performance, you should always take into consideration the correlative tone
volume balance among the three keyboards i.e., upper manual, lower manual and pedals,
When you wish to emphasize the melody played on the upper manual, for example, the volume of the
lower manual and pedals should be kept under that of the upper manual. On the contrary, if you want to
stress the accompaniment part on the lower manual or pedals the volume of that particular keyboard
should be adjusted relatively larger than the others.
Yamaha's unique variable volume control tone levers enable you to control this correlative tone volume
among three keyboards. Judge by your own ears and adjust the position of tone levers in advance. Each
tone lever slides continuously from off to full volume for sensitive balance control.
Three distinct stops also convenient to click your favorite tonal combinations into place for quick, easy
settings.
(EXAMPLE)
@
LOWER
€
UPPER
@ PEDAL € CONTROLS & SELECTORS

Harmonics
The B-20BR has four different tonal harmonics, icated by the numbers
16”, 8', 4' and 2%". These are standard musical abbreviations showing the
tone's pitch in relation to the fundamental (written note). An 8' tone
will sound just as it has been written. A 16' tone (meaning that the wave
length of the vibrations are twice as long as 8”, or half as fast) will provide
a tone exactly one octave lower than the written note. Similarly, 4' tones
are one octave higher than the written note, 2" tones are one octave and
a fifth higher than the 8' fundamental.
» OCTAVE
Mo à nr
m
In other words, the 16' lever extends the lower manual a full octave as shown by the dotted line in the
illustration.

Upper Preset Tones s
To the left of the lower manual are eight Upper Preset Tone controls (seven tones plus Cancel). These on/off
switches are special tonal blends that most closely resemble the instruments they name (Accordion, Piano,
Banjo, Vibraphone) as well as three special preset combinations.
PRESETS
CANCEL
ACCI
PIANO
BANJO
VIBRAPHONE
These selectors have two characteristics which must be remembered. Since they are factory preset, they
automatically cancel all other upper manual tone lever settings. This lets you switch back and forth.
In addition, precedence is to the right. This means that if two or more buttons are pressed, the one to the
right will take effect. To switch from one button to another it is not necessary to first press the cancel
button.

Effect Levers
These levers control a variety of effects which add a host
of tonal variations to the Electone's voices. Each lever works
in the same way as the tone levers, with both infinitely-variable
continuous control and click-stop settings.
© Upper Percussive: OOO
Changing the beginning of some or all notes can do wonders.
for lively selections. Your Electone's percussive effects provide
subtle but important shading at the moment each note is
heard. The special popping 4' and 224 percussive drive can be
smoothly blended into all upper manual tones with two
variable levers ( @ and @ ), and a separate lever @ regulates
the length of decay for these effects.
With percussive, use a detached fingering. Each note should be
played cleanly; slurred notes will diminish the percussive
impact,
@ Vibrato :®
Vibrato is an emotional wavering applied to a tone most no
ticeable in the trembling left hand of violinists and cellists. It
can add a great deal to the emotional depth of a passage,
especially string voices. The Vibrato lever provides continuous
adjustment of this effect’s depth,
€ Repeat Speed : @
Cuts and repeats each note just like the double-strumming
effect of a mandolin. The lever provides continuous speed
adjustment to create a full variety of different moods.
Affects upper manual notes only.
-10-

Effect Controls and Selectors __ —
€ Brilliance: @
With this single, continuously-variable control you can pin-
point the degree of overall softness or clarity desired for any
mood of music. The Brilliance effect will be heightened when
combined with string voices. With Flute voices, on the other
hand, it will not have any effect.
© Reverb: 9
Reverberation is the quality that makes your playing sound
full and rich, as if you were on the stage of a large hall or
auditorium, This control is continuous, so that the rever-
beratory effect can be set to any degree of strength, as the
music requires,
© Reverb Balance : @
To balance the Reverb effect between the upper and lower
manuals; when used to strengthen the upper manual, it brings
you an effect similar to SUSTAIN on more expensive models.
@ Manual Balance: @
This control governs the relative strength of the upper and
lower manuals. It is normally left in the center position, but
can be shifted to stress the melody or accompaniment in a
selection or passage.
This control can also be used to compensate for a higher
number of total tone lever settings (which would ordinarily
result in higher volume) on one of the two manuals.
© Pedal Sustain : @
This lever works with the 8' and 16° bass voices to provide bass
pizzicato effects. Release the pedal—the sound lingers on for
precisely as long as you want, thanks to the continuous adjust-
ment.
—

apund-in-Motion Tremolo m
The Electone’s special throbbing tremolo is produced by a smaller-size Natural Sound speaker that really
spins just behind the tremolo speaker grille on the side of the cabinet.
On the B-20BR there are three tremolo selectors, located on the right side of the lower manual, each with
an on/off function. They are complemented by a continuous tremolo speed control knob just above them.
D
[3 E
mws
TREMOLO
SPEED
When the speed control is set to its central position,
the
Tremolo
tablet
will
turn
the
speaker
at
seven
revolutions per second, The Chorus tablet will turn it
at one revolution per second,
Once either tablet is switched on, it takes several
seconds for the tremolo speaker to attain the standard TREMOLO
speed, This is also true when switching to a slower
speed (Tremolo to Chorus). If one of the other tre
molo control tablets is switched on during this speed
‘change period, the speed variation will be heard in the
music.
If
you
wish
an
instant
tremolo
or
chorus
souna,
be
sure
to
switch
on
that
tablet
well
in
advance
of
one
of
the
speaker
selectors
@.
For
special
selections
you
can
use
this
speed
variation
by
switching
the
speaker
on
first,
the
Tremolo
or
Chorus
switch
later.
Upper Voice (Main/Rotary) :
Lets you divert upper manual tones from the main
to the tremolo speaker.
Lower Voice (Main/Rotary) :
Does the same for lower manual tones.