Yamaha Electone EL-17 User manual

Main Features
Your Yamaha Electone is packed with many sophisticated functions. Yet it is
amazingly easy to use. The main features are described here so that you can
quickly understand the capabilities of your Electone.
Included among the main features are:
Astoundingly True-to-life Sounds
ThenewAWM(AdvancedWaveMemory)tonegenerationsystemprovidesauthentic,dynamicvoices,making
theElectoneatrulyexpressivemusicalinstrument.(Seepage13.)
Expressive Touch Tone
TheTouchTonefunctionprovidesyouwithexpressivecontroloverthevolumeandtimbreofavoice,makingit
possibletoperfectlyreproducethesubtledynamaicandtonalchangesofactualinstruments.(Seepage15.)
Dynamic Rhythm Patterns
TheRhythmsectionoftheElectonefeaturesauthenticdrumandpercussionsounds,rangingfromWaltzto16
Beatincludingconvenientmetronomefunction.(Seepage16.)TheKeyboardPercussionfunctionisalsoprovided
foryoutoplaytherealisticpercussionsoundsfromtheLowerkeyboardandpedalboard.(Seepage18.)

Table of Contents
Panel Controls................................................... 2
1. Basic Operation.......................................... 4
Getting Started ......................................................................... 4
Playing Back the Demonstration Songs ................................... 5
Playing Your Electone ................................................................6
BasicRegistrations ............................................................ 6
2. Voice Sections.......................................... 1 3
Selecting Voices from the Panel ............................................. 13
Setting the volume for the voice sections............................... 14
3. Effects........................................................... 1 5
Touch Tone ............................................................................... 15
Reverb ...................................................................................... 15
Sustain...................................................................................... 15
4. Rhythms....................................................... 1 6
Selecting Rhythm Patterns...................................................... 16
Playing Keyboard Percussion ................................................. 18
PercussionAssignments ...................................................19
Appendix.......................................................... 2 0
MIDI ......................................................................................... 20
Troubleshooting ....................................................................... 23
Specifications.......................................................................... 24
MIDI Messages ........................................................................ 25
2. Voice Sections
4. Rhythms
Appendix
3. Effects
1. Basic Operation

2
Panel Controls
Front Panel
7PEDAL VOICE Section (See page 13.)
Selects the Pedal voices and adjusts the volume.
8BASIC REGIST. (Basic Registration)
Buttons (See page 6.)
Select the Basic Registrations.
9MASTER VOLUME Control (See page 4.)
Adjusts the entire volume.
0METRONOME/RHYTHM Section
(See page 16.)
Selectsarhythmormetronomepatternandadjustsitsvolume
level.
! KEYBOARD PERCUSSION Buttons
(See page 18.)
Used to play the percussion sounds with Lower Keyboard or
Pedalboard.
@ BAR/BEAT／TEMPO Display (See page 17.)
Displays the rhythm tempo or bar/beat.
1REVERB Buttons (See page 15.)
Adjust the Reverb effect for the entire sounds.
2SUSTAIN Buttons (See page 15.)
Add the Sustain effects to Upper/Lower Keyboard and
Pedalboard.
3Monitor Speakers
Built-in speakers for your monitoring.
4UPPER KEYBOARD VOICE Section
(See page 13.)
SelectstheUpperKeyboardvoicesandadjuststhevolume.
5LOWER KEYBOARD VOICE Section
(See page 13.)
Selectsthe LowerKeyboardvoices andadjustthevolume.
6LEAD VOICE Section (See page 13.)
Selects the LEAD voices and adjusts the volume.

3
#TEMPO Dial (See page 17.)
Adjusts the rhythm tempo.
$BAR/BEAT Indicator (See page 17.)
Flashes to the first beat of every measure (or every beat).
%SYNCRO START Button (See page 16.)
Putstherhythmpatternin"stand-by"andenablestheLower
keyboard or Pedalboard to start the rhythm.
^START Button (See page 16.)
Used to start or stop the rhythm pattern.
&POWER Switch (See page 4.)
TurnstheEL-17on/off.
*Key Cover/Music Stand
Å@
(Upper Keyboard
)Lower Keyboard
qMIDI Jacks
wExpression Pedal (See page 4.)
Usedtoadjustthe entirevolumelevel duringtheperfor-
mance.
ePedalboard
rAUX. OUT Jack (RCA/Mono)
Thissetofstereooutputs(RCApinjacks)isforconnectionto
externalamplification/speakersystems.Typically,theyare
for directconnectiontoahomeaudiosystemorcassette
deck.
tHEADPHONES Jack
Forconnectionof astereo ormonauralheadphoneset.
Whenheadphonesareconnectedtothisjack,soundtothe
Electone'sbuilt-inspeakersystemisautomaticallycutoff,
allowingyoutoplaywithoutdisturbingothers.
18
19
20
21
22
24 25
23
Other Parts,
Controls and Terminals

4
1. Basic Operation
No matter what your level of playing experience, we rec-
ommend that you take the time to go through this basic
section. It shows you in the simplest possible manner how
to start playing your Electone.
2Set the MASTER VOLUME control.
TheMASTERVOLUMEcontrolisanoverallcontrolwhichaffectsthevolume
oftheentireinstrument.
MASTER VOLUME
MIN MAX
1 9
2 8
3 7
4 6
5
3Press the Expression pedal down with your
foot.
TheExpressionpedalalsocontrolstheentirevolumeoftheElectone.Once
youhavesettheMASTERVOLUMEcontroltoasuitablelevel,youcanusethe
Expressionpedaltochangethevolumewithyourfootasyouplay.
Louder Smaller
Fornow,pressthepedaldownslightlybeyondthehalfwaypoint.
TurningtheElectoneofferasesall
panel settings you have made.
WhentheElectoneisturnedon,BasicReg-
istration1isautomaticallyselected.
Getting Started
Once you've set up your Electone and plugged the power cord into an electrical outlet, you're
ready to get started and play.
1Turn on the Electone by pressing the
POWER switch.
POWER
Yamahaproductsaremanufac-
tured specifically for the supply
voltageintheareawheretheyaretobesold.
If you should move, or if any doubt exists
aboutthesupplyvoltage,pleaseconsultwith
aqualifiedtechnician.

5
Playing Back the Demonstration Songs
The Electone has five demonstration music pieces for your listening enjoyment. Try playing back the demos
before you start to play.
1Press and hold down the PEDAL/DEMO button.
ThefivelampsintheBASICREGIST.sectionwillstartblinking.
2Release the PEDAL/DEMO button.
ThelampsabovetheBasicRegistrationbuttonswillgoonblinking,indicat-
ingtheElectonehasenteredthestand-bymodeforplayingbackademon-
strationsong.
3Press the Basic Registration button you want
to play back.
ThefollowingsarethedemosongsassignedtoeachBasicRegistrationButton:
Basic Registration Button 1: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik W. A. Mozart
Basic Registration Button 2: London Bridge English Folk Song
Basic Registration Button 3: To a Wild Rose E. MacDowell
Basic Registration Button 4: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star French Folk Song
Basic Registration Button 5: Comical Train M. Watanabe
Thedemosongyouhaveselectedwillstart.
Whenplaybackofthedemosongiscompleted,thelampswillstartblinking
again,indicatingthattheElectoneisreadytoplaythedemosongsagain.
4Press the PEDAL/DEMO button again to cancel
the stand-by mode.
Youcanalsocancelthestand-bymodeandstoptheplaybackwhileademo
isbeingplayedback.
Stand-by mode
cancelled.
Stops
During playback
PEDAL
DEMO
Duringdemoplayback,onlythe
Basic Registration buttons and
PEDAL/DEMObuttoncanbeused.Allother
controls,aswellasthekeyboard,aretem-
porarilydisabled.
Thedemofunctiondoesnot
operatewhiletheMDR-4(theop-
tionalMusicDiskRecorder),if installed,
isplayedback.
1
2
3
4
5
BASIC
REGIST.
1
2
3
4
5
These lamps blink in
succession.
PEDAL
DEMO

6
Playing Your Electone
As a performance aid, the Electone includes convenient Basic Registrations that let you instantly change the
voices and other settings for all of the keyboards, even as you play. Each registration is pre-programmed to be
used for a specific music style or instrumental combination.
Basic Registrations
TheBasicRegistrationsectionhasfivefactorypresetregistrations,eachwith
adifferentsetofvoicesfortheUpper/LowerkeyboardsandPedalboard,and
eachofwhichisspeciallysuitedforplayinginadifferentmusicstyle.
Whenyouturnthepoweron,theElectoneautomaticallyselectsBasicRegis-
tration1.Ifanotherregistrationhasbeenselected(thelamponthebutton
willbelit),pressthebuttonforBasicRegistration1.
ThechartbelowliststhevoicesthathavebeensetfortheUpper/Lowerkey-
boardsandPedalboard.
Basic Registration 1 Basic Registration 2 Basic Registration 3 Basic Registration 4 Basic Registration 5
Upper Keyboard Voice Strings Brass Flute Cosmic(1) Synth.Brass
Lower Keyboard Voice Strings Horn Piano Cosmic2 Cosmic3
Pedal Voice Contrabass Tuba Contrabass Cosmic2 Synth.Bass

Basic Registration 1
Basic Registration 2
Basic Registration 3
Basic Registration 4
Basic Registration 5
1
2
3
4
5
BASIC
REGIST.
Now,tryoutallfiveBasicRegistrationswiththefollowingmusicexamples.Presstheappropriatebuttonstoselect
theregistrations.Eachmusicexamplehasbeenchosentobestsuititscompanionregistration.
WhentheElectoneisturnedon,
BasicRegistration1isautomatically
selected.
Thevoices,Cosmic2,Cosmic3,
Synth.BrassandSynth.Bass,usedin
theBasicRegistrationsarenotselectablefrom
thepanelvoicebuttons.
Therhythm(exceptformetronome)
volume and tempo will be reset to
eachdefault value(volume: 0, tempo:120)
whenoneoftheBasicRegistrationsisselected.

7
BasicRegistration1
Symphonie No.9 L. Beethoven
Try playing with
your right hand.
1
Right hand
2345
1133 3 33
44
CG7
CCG7
55 22
111133 3 3
44
55 222
22
D
CCC C
E E E E
F F
GG
C
CDDD
D
D
D
EEEE E FF G
G

8
Next, play the accompaniment parts
with your left hand and foot in
addition to playing the melody line.
BasicRegistration2
When the Saints Go Marchin’ in American Folk Song

9
1
2
3
4
5
Left foot
Accompaniment pattern
Left hand
Pedal
DEFEFEGFE
AGFFED
CEAAA
B
E E E E DC C
CC
D
EB B B B B CBA
A
AA
555 5 3 321 123 555 4
Am
AmDm
AmAm
Dm521 E7521
E7521
Am531
Am531
Am531 Am531
E7
E7
543321 12 2 2 2
33 3
4
1232222123345
BasicRegistration3
Romance de L’amour Spanish Folk Song

10
BasicRegistration4
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star French Folk Song

11
BasicRegistration5
Chopsticks Hilster

12
●Selecting Voices
TryplayingthevoicesnotassignedintheBasicRegistrationsection.
SelectthevoicetoplayontheUpperKeyboardsfromtheUpperKeyboardvoices/Leadvoices.TheLED(s)willbelit
abovetheselectedvoicebutton.
VIOLIN

FLUTE
TRUM-
PET
OBOE TO
LOWER
MAX
MIN
MAX
MIN
UPPER KEYBOARD VOICE
STRINGS BRASS CLARI-
NET SAXO- PHONE CHORUS HARMO- NICA
ORGAN PIANO GUITAR VIBRA-
PHONE COSMIC TUTTI
LEAD VOICE
SelectthevoicestoplayontheLowerKeyboardsfromtheLowerKeyboardvoices.
MAX
MIN
LOWER KEYBOARD VOICE
STRINGS BRASS CLARI-
NET SAXO- PHONE CHORUS HORN
ORGAN PIANO GUITAR VIBRA
PHONE COSMIC TUTTI
SelectthevoicestoplayonthePedalboardsfromthePedalboardvoices.
PEDAL VOICE
CONTRA
BASS ELEC. BASS
TUBAORGAN
BASS TO LOWER
MAX
MIN
YoucanplaytheLead/Pedalvoices
ontheLowerKeyboards.
(Seepage14.)
●Selecting Rhythm Patterns
TryplayingtheElectonetotherhythmormetronome.WhenoneoftheBasicRegistrationisselected,therhythm
volumeisautomaticallysetto“0”.Settherhythmvolumetoanyvaluebut0beforestartingtherhythm.Afterpress-
ingthedesiredrhythmbuttontoselecttherhythm,presstheSTARTbuttonintheRhythmsection.
BOUNCE SLOW
ROCK
METRONOME
MARCH WALTZ SWING
TANGO LATIN
1

LATIN
28 BEAT 16 BEAT
MAX
MIN
RHYTHM
4
4
2
4
3
4
START
Therhythmstartstoplay.PressingtheSTARTbuttonagainstopstherhythm.
Stops
START
YoucanalsoadjusttherhythmtempobyturningtheTEMPOdial,asindicatedintheillustrationbelow.Turningthe
dialclockwisemakesitfasterandturningitcounterclockwiseslower.(Seepage17fordetails.)
Slower Faster
TEMPO
BAR/BEAT

13
2. Voice Sections
The Electone has four voice sections: Upper Keyboard
Voice, Lead Voice, Lower Keyboard Voice, and Pedal
Voice. The Lead voices are playable from the Upper key-
board.
Selecting Voices from the Panel
1
2
3
4
5
TEMPO
BASIC
REGIST.
VIOLIN
VIOLIN

FLUTE
FLUTE
TRUM-
TRUM-
PET
PET
OBOE
OBOE
TO
TO
LOWER
LOWER
MAX
MAX
MIN
MIN
PEDAL VOICE
CONTRA
CONTRA
BASS
BASS
ELEC.
ELEC.
BASS
BASS
TUBA
TUBA
ORGAN
ORGAN
BASS
BASS
TO
TO
LOWER
LOWER
MAX
MAX
MIN
MIN
MAX
MAX
MIN
MIN
UPPER KEYBOARD VOICE
STRINGS
STRINGS
BRASS
BRASS
CLARI-
CLARI-
NET
NET
SAXO-
SAXO-
PHONE
PHONE
CHORUS
CHORUS
HARMO-
HARMO-
NICA
NICA
ORGAN
ORGAN
PIANO
PIANO
GUITAR
GUITAR
VIBRA-
VIBRA-
PHONE
PHONE
COSMIC
COSMIC
TUTTI
TUTTI
MAX
MAX
MIN
MIN
LOWER KEYBOARD VOICE
STRINGS
STRINGS
BRASS
BRASS
CLARI-
CLARI-
NET
NET
SAXO-
SAXO-
PHONE
PHONE
CHORUS
CHORUS
HORN
HORN
ORGAN
ORGAN
PIANO
PIANO
GUITAR
GUITAR
VIBRA
VIBRA
PHONE
PHONE
COSMIC
COSMIC
TUTTI
TUTTI
KEYBOARD
PERCUSSION
LOWER
LOWER
PEDAL
PEDAL
DEMO
DEMO
BAR/BEAT METRONOME/RHYTHM
BAR
BAR
BEAT
BEAT
SYNCHRO
SYNCHRO
START
START
START
START
REVERB
MAX
MAX
MIN
MIN
SUSTAIN
UPPER
UPPER
LOWER
LOWER
PEDAL
PEDAL
BOUNCE
BOUNCE
SLOW
SLOW
ROCK
ROCK
METRONOME
MARCH
MARCH
WALTZ
WALTZ
SWING
SWING
TANGO
TANGO
LATIN
LATIN
1

LATIN
LATIN
28 BEAT
8 BEAT
16 BEAT
16 BEAT
MAX
MAX
MIN
MIN
RHYTHM
LEAD VOICE
4
4
3
4
2
4
1
3
2
1Select a voice from the Upper Keyboard
Voice or the Lead Voice sections for the
Upper Keyboard by pressing one of the
Voice buttons in those sections.
TheLEDabovetheselectedvoicelightsup.
2Select a voice from the Lower Keyboard
Voice section by pressing one of the Voice
buttons in that section.
TheLEDabovetheselectedvoicelightsup.
3Select a voice from the Pedalboard Voice
section by pressing one of the Voice buttons
in that section.
TheLEDabovetheselectedvoicelightsup.
TheLED(s)maynotbelit,whenthe
BasicRegistration3,4or5thatcon-
tainsthevoicesnotselectablefromtheEL-17
panelisselected.
TheLeadvoiceandPedalvoice
soundsonenoteatatime;whenyou
simultaneouslypresstwoormorekeys,only
thehighestnotewillsound.
TurningtheElectoneofferasesall
panelsettingsyouhavemade.When
theElectoneisturnedon,BasicRegistration1
isautomaticallyselected.

14
Setting the volume for the voice sections
Use the VOLUME controls of each voice section on the panel to set the desired level for each voice. The controls
have seven volume settings, from a minimum of 0, or no sound, to a maximum of full volume.
DependingontheBasicRegistration
selected,the twoLEDs maybelit,
indicatingthevolumeissettothemiddleof
thetwopositions.
Thevolumeofthevoiceassignedto
theLowerKeyboardisadjustedbythe
volumecontrolsoftheoriginalvoicesection.
PLAYING LEAD AND PEDAL VOICES FROM THE LOWER KEYBOARD:
The Electone has a special "To Lower" function that lets you assign Lead or Pedal voices to
the Lower keyboard. Simply press the TO LOWER button in the voice section you wish to as-
sign, and that voice will be playable from the Lower keyboard.
VIOLIN

FLUTE
TRUM-
PET
OBOE TO
LOWER
MAX
MIN
PEDAL VOICE
CONTRA
BASS ELEC. BASS
TUBAORGAN
BASS TO LOWER
MAX
MIN
LEAD VOICE
•IfthesustainissettotheoriginalPedalvoices,thevoicesassignedtotheLowerkeyboardsareplayablewith
sustainaswell.
•TheLeadVoice/PedalvoicecannotbeplayedontheUpperkeyboard/Pedalboard,iftheLeadvoiceorPedal
voiceisassignedtotheLowerkeyboard.
Cannot be playable.

15
3. Effects
The effects equipped with your Electone can be applied
to each voice.
Touch Tone
The Touch Tone function gives you expressive control over the volume and timbre of a voice. All voices are
provided with this expressive function, making it possible to perfectly reproduce the subtle dynamic and tonal
changes of actual instruments.
The volume or timbre will change depending on
how hard you press down the keys.
Reverb
Reverb adds an echo-like effect to the sound, giving the impression of a performance in a large room or concert
hall. The effect is applied equally and simultaneously to all voice sections.
To adjust the reverb effect:
PressoneoftheREVERBbuttons,locatedatthefarleftofthepanel.These
controlsdeterminethedepthofthereverbeffect.Therearesevensettings,
fromaminimumof0,ornoreverb,tothemaximum.
Sustain
Sustain is selectable for the Upper, Lower and Pedal voices and makes the sound gradually fade out when the
keys are released. The sustain on/off settings are independent for each keyboard, providing maximum expres-
sive control.
These buttons will be lit,
when selected.
SUSTAIN
UPPER
LOWER PEDAL
To add Sustain to the voices:
PressthedesiredbuttonintheSUSTAINsection.
ThelampofthebuttonlightsuptoindicatethatSustainison.
PressthebuttonagaintoturnSustainoff.
Twotypesofkeyboardtouchaffectthisfunction:Initial
TouchandAfterTouch.TheInitialTouchcontrolsvolume
andtimbreaccordingtothevelocityatwhichyoustrikethekeys.
The harder you strike the keys, the greater the volume and the
brighterthetimbrewillbecome.TheAfterTouchcontrolsvolume
andtimbre accordingto thepressureyouapplyto thekeys after
playingthem.Theharderyoupressdownonthekeys,thegreater
thevolumeandthebrighterthetimbrewillbecome.However,these
arepresettoeachvoiceandcannotbeadjusted.
TheTouchTonecannotbeappliedtothePedalvoices.
ItisalsoineffectivefortheOrganvoice.TheAfterTouch
cannotbeappliedtothePercussivevoicessuchasPianoand
Vibraphone.
REVERB
MAX
MIN
6
0
SustaincannotbeappliedtotheLeadvoices.
TheSustainlengthdependsontheselected voices.

16
4. Rhythms
The Electone features various rhythm patterns and met-
ronomes that can be instantly selected from the panel.
Selecting Rhythm Patterns
12
3
4
TEMPO
KEYBOARD
PERCUSSION
LOWER
PEDAL
DEMO
BAR/BEAT METRONOME/RHYTHM
BAR
BEAT
SYNCHRO
START START
BOUNCE SLOW
ROCK
METRONOME
MARCH WALTZ SWING
TANGO LATIN
1

LATIN
28 BEAT 16 BEAT
MAX
MIN
RHYTHM
4
4
2
4
3
4
1Choose a rhythm pattern by pressing one of
the buttons in the Rhythm section on the
panel.
TheselectedRhythmbutton'sLEDlightsup.
2Set the volume.
UsetheVOLUMEcontrolstotherightoftheRhythmbuttonstosetthedesired
leveloftherhythm.Thecontrolshavesevenvolumesettings,fromamini-
mumof0,ornosound,toamaximumoffullvolume.
3Turn the rhythm on. You can use one of two
buttons to turn on the rhythm:
START:
Thisbuttondoesasitsnameindicates;therhythmbeginsassoonasthe
buttonispressed.Tostoptherhythm,pressthisbuttonagain.
SYNCHROSTART:
Thisbuttonputstherhythmpatternin"stand-by";therhythmwillstartwhen
youpressanoteontheLowerkeyboardorPedalboard.Tostoptherhythm,
pressthisbuttonagain.
Whenturnedon,therhythmvolume
anditstempowillberesetto0and
120,respectively.
MAX
MIN
6
0
METRONOME/RHYTHM
SYNCHRO
START START
SYNCHRO
START START
METRONOME/RHYTHM