How do
I connect my Korg i30 to an external Sound Module?
The
Korg i30 can transmit and receive MIDI messages through 16 MIDI channels.
Most
external sound modules like the Proteus 1000 can receive MIDI messages
through
16 MIDI channels as well. All that needs to be done is
match
up the Transmitting Channels of the i30 to the Receiving Channels
of the
Proteus 1000 or any other sound module you may be using.
A: Run
a set of initial tests:
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1.
Connect a MIDI Cable
Take a
standard MIDI cable and connect the MIDI OUT port of the
Korg
i30 to the MIDI IN port of your external sound module.
2. Make
the following changes in Global Mode on the i30:
[Global]
[Menu] Filter MIDI
Enable
Program Change: No
Enable
Control Change: Yes
Enable
Aftertouch: Yes
Global
MIDI Channel: 1
Local
Control On: Yes
[Global]
[Menu] Clock, Host, Damper
Clock
Source: Select Internal
Most
sound modules are factory set to receive on MIDI channel 1 by default.
3.
Place the i30 in Program Mode.
[Program]
Turn
the Main Volume on the i30 all the way down.
Connect
a pair of headphones directly to the external sound module.
The i30
will now act as a Controller. As you play on the i30 you will
hear
the sounds emanating from the external sound module.
If you
want to hear another patch, press the cursor keys or alpha dial
on the
sound module to advance to another patch.
4.
Changing the patches on the sound module from the i30
To
trigger patch changes from the i30, you would have to enable Program Change.
[Global]
[Menu] Filter MIDI
Enable
Program Change: Yes
Enable
Bank Change: No
Set the
i30 in [Program Mode] and start playing.
Press
the Program Keys 1~8 to see how they change the patch numbers on the
external
sound module.
Experiment
with the Bank Change option too:
[Global]
[Menu] Filter MIDI
Enable
Program Change: Yes
Enable
Bank Change: Yes
Now see
how your external sound module reacts to bank change buttons A~R in
conjunction
with the program change buttons.
5.
Layering Sounds
Turn up
the volume of the i30. This will let you layer the internal sounds
of the
i30 with the sounds playing off the external sound module.
For
best results connect the audio outs of the i30 and your external
sound
module to an external mixer.
6.
Multitimbral Operation in Arranger Mode
Most
sound modules can respond to 16 MIDI channels and will play 16 different
parts
when set in Multitimbral mode or Performance Mode.
[Arranger
Mode] [Menu] MIDI Channel
You
will see that an Arrangement has several parts like:
Keyboard
Drums
Bass
Acc1
Acc2
We
shall discuss the Arranger Mode in greater details later.
7.
Multitimbral Operation in Backing Sequence Mode
[Backing
Mode] [Menu] MIDI
You can
specify the MIDI channels here and also set whether the sounds will
come
from the i30 or the external sound module or both.
8.
Mutitimbral operation in Song Mode
This is
useful when you want to play back a Standard MIDI File while accessing
a few
sounds from your external sound module.
[Song
Mode] [Menu] Prog 1-8, Prog 9-16
Here
you can specify the programs to be played back on each of the 16 MIDI
Channels.
[Song
Mode] [Menu] Mix 1-8, Mix 9-16
Here
you can set the volume and pan settings for each track.
[Song
Mode] [Menu] MIDI 1-8, MIDI 9-16
Here
you can set whether the track will play the internal sounds of the i30
or the
external sound module or both.
B:
Controlling external sound modules with i30 in Arranger Mode
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Once
you have run the above set of tests, you will find it easy
to
follow how the Korg i30 can be used to control an external sound module
in
Arranger Mode.
The
idea is to have some of the backing tracks play back through
a sound
module or even the lead parts to get a wider selection of sounds.
The
secret to doing this lies in the i30 Parameter Guide. Get it out!
Specifically
study Page 3, 2-3d. External Sound Generator
and
Page 9, 7-3. MIDI channel settings.
A
typical Korg i30 Arrangement has several parts:
Keyboard
Main
Sub
Lower
Harmony
Keyboard Bass
Drums
Perc
Bass
Acc1
Acc2
Acc3
Chord
Each
part can transmit and receive on a unique MIDI channel.
If you
look at Page 9 which describes the Global settings,
you
will find under 7-3 - The default MIDI channel settings.
Keyboard: 1
Main: 4
Sub: 5
Lower: 6
Harmony: 9
Keyboard Bass: 16
Drums: 10
Perc: 11
Bass: 12
Acc1: 13
Acc2: 14
Acc3: 15
Chord: 1
Arrangement Change: 1
Note:
You can change these MIDI channels so long each part is set
to a
unique channel.
The
Main part is set to transmit/receive on MIDI channel 4.
Now
turn to Page 3, where the MIXER settings are defined.
Take a
look at 2-4, ACC Mix and look at 2-3d where you can
define
the External settings.
For the
MAIN part, check the EXTERNAL box.
This
means, all the MIDI data that is generated by you while
playing
the MAIN part will be sent on MIDI Channel 4 to your
external
sound generator.
At this
point, you need to do just two things:
1.
Check to see that the MIDI OUT of your i30 is connected to the MIDI IN
of your
sound module.
2. Set
the global channel of your external sound module to channel 4.
You
should be able to play sounds from your sound module as you play
the
keyboard parts on your i30.
3. If
your external sound module does not respond to channel 4 and
receives
only in Channel 1, then you need to make a switch.
Change
the MIDI channels on your i30 to this:
Keyboard: 4
Main: 1
By
switching the Main part to channel 1, you will match the receiving
channel
of your sound module.
4. If
your sound module supports 16 channels, you can selectively
turn on
EXTERNAL for a few parts on your i30. All these parts
will
now be played by your sound module. For example:
Keyboard: 1
Main: 4
Sub: 5
Lower: 6
Harmony: 9
Keyboard Bass: 16
Drums: 10
Perc: 11
Bass: 12 EXTERNAL
Acc1: 13 EXTERNAL
Acc2: 14 EXTERNAL
Acc3: 15 EXTERNAL
Chord: 1
With
this setting your external module will play the Bass, Acc1, Acc2, Acc3.
If you
have 2 sound modules you can have the first play the drums and perc
while
the second module plays the Bass, Acc1, Acc2, Acc3 tracks.
Korg
i30 Channel Settings
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keyboard: 1
Main: 4
Sub: 5
Lower: 6
Harmony: 9
Keyboard Bass: 16
Drums: 10 EXTERNAL - module #1
Perc: 11 EXTERNAL -
module #1
Bass: 12 EXTERNAL - module #2
Acc1: 13 EXTERNAL - module #2
Acc2: 14 EXTERNAL - module #2
Acc3: 15 EXTERNAL - module #2
Chord: 1
However,
you have to selectively set the MIDI channels on your sound modules:
Look up
MULTI operation on your sound module manual to see how you can set
the
receiving channels on/off.
Sound
Module #1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Receive Channel 1 = off
Receive Channel 2 = off
Receive Channel 3 = off
Receive Channel 4 = off
Receive Channel 5 = off
Receive Channel 6 = off
Receive Channel 7 = off
Receive Channel 8 = off
Receive Channel 9 = off
Receive Channel 10 = ON
Receive Channel 11 = ON
Receive Channel 12 = off
Receive Channel 13 = off
Receive Channel 14 = off
Receive Channel 15 = off
Receive Channel 16 = off
Sound
Module #2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Receive Channel 1 = off
Receive Channel 2 = off
Receive Channel 3 = off
Receive Channel 4 = off
Receive Channel 5 = off
Receive Channel 6 = off
Receive Channel 7 = off
Receive Channel 8 = off
Receive Channel 9 = off
Receive Channel 10 = off
Receive Channel 11 = off
Receive Channel 12 = ON
Receive Channel 13 = ON
Receive Channel 14 = ON
Receive Channel 15 = ON
Receive Channel 16 = off
PART-2
will explain the best way to connect more than
one
sound module to your Korg i30
Tapas.