MUSIC 339

Korg X5 / Performer / Unisyn Troubleshooting Checklist


Questions

Why can't I hear Performer's metronome on the Korg?

Why can't I hear anything when I play the Korg keyboard?

Why do I hear two different sounds when I'm trying to record?

Why does the Korg sound different from usual?

Why doesn't my sequence play back with the right Korg patches?

How do I use Korg Bank A patches in my sequence?

Why can't I see any of the notes I recorded in Performer's windows?

What do I do if Unisyn complains that the Korg is not responding?


Answers


Why can't I hear Performer's metronome on the Korg?

  1. You have your headphones plugged into the Korg and have the volume turned up, right?

  2. Press the MULTI button on the Korg.
    The Korg must be in Multi mode for the Performer metronome to play on it.

  3. In Performer, set up the metronome to play on the Korg:
    1. Double-click the Metronome button to open the Click & Countoff Options window.
    2. Click the MIDI check box in the top left corner of the window.
      (Make sure the Internal Speaker is NOT checked. This way your neighbors don't have to listen to your Mac's speaker, which you can't really hear anyway with your headphones on.)
    3. Choose "X5-10" from both pop-up menus (for Accented and Normal clicks).
    4. For each of the two Pitch boxes:
      - Double-click the box to select the note name.
      - Type "Eb4". This is the clave sound in most drum kits.


Why can't I hear anything when I play the Korg keyboard?

  1. Plug in your headphones; turn up the volume slider on the Korg.

  2. If you are NOT using Performer, turn on the Korg's Local Control:
    1. Press the GLOBAL button on the Korg.
    2. Press the PAGE+ or PAGE- button until you see
      02A MIDI GLOBAL
      on the top line of the display.
    3. Press the right or left arrow button until you see
      LOCAL:OFF
      on the bottom line of the display.
    4. Turn Local Control ON by pressing the YES button.
    5. Press the COMBI, PROG, or MULTI button to return to a sound selection mode.

  3. If you ARE using Performer, turn on Performer's Patch Thru:
    1. In Performer, choose "Patch Thru" from the "Basics" menu.
    2. Click "Auto channelize", then OK.
    3. Record-enable a track. You'll hear the patch used by that track. (If no track is record-enabled, and Local Control is turned off on the Korg, you won't hear anything.)
    4. Make sure the Korg is in Multi mode. (Press MULTI the button.)


Why do I hear two different sounds when I'm trying to record?

  1. You need to turn off the Korg's Local Control.
    (Otherwise, you'll hear both the patch that your track specifies and the patch that's set to play on the Korg's global MIDI channel. Often, the latter will be G01 Piano.)
    Here's how to turn off Local Control:
    1. Press the GLOBAL button on the Korg.
    2. Press the PAGE+ or PAGE- button until you see
      02A MIDI GLOBAL
      on the top line of the display.
    3. Press the right or left arrow button until you see
      LOCAL:OFF
      on the bottom line of the display.
    4. Turn Local Control OFF by pressing the NO button.
    5. Press the COMBI, PROG, or MULTI button to return to a sound selection mode.


Why does the Korg sound different from usual?

  1. If you're using Performer with Patch Thru on, you need to turn off the Korg's Local Control. Otherwise, every note you play will be doubled. This will make the piano, for example, sound less natural than usual. Here's how to turn off Local Control:
    1. Press the GLOBAL button on the Korg.
    2. Press the PAGE+ or PAGE- button until you see
      02A MIDI GLOBAL
      on the top line of the display.
    3. Press the right or left arrow button until you see
      LOCAL:OFF
      on the bottom line of the display.
    4. Turn Local Control OFF by pressing the NO button.
    5. Press the COMBI, PROG, or MULTI button to return to a sound selection mode.

  2. [See next question, about Korg patches.]


Why doesn't my sequence play back with the right Korg patches?

  1. You need to select your patches in the Default Patch column.

  2. If you are trying to use the Korg's Bank A patches, see below.

  3. Make sure the Korg is in Multi mode. (Press the MULTI button.)

  4. The Korg must be set to receive bank select messages:
    1. Press the GLOBAL button on the Korg.
    2. Press the PAGE+ or PAGE- button until you see
      02A MIDI GLOBAL
      on the top line of the display.
    3. Press the right arrow button until you see:
      02D MIDI FILTER
      PRG:NUM AFT:ENA
    4. Press the YES or NO button until PRG is set to ENA.
    5. Press the MULTI button before using Performer.

  5. If you've inserted a patch change event in order to change to a Korg Bank G patch in the middle of your sequence, make sure that you have not altered the bank select fields in the patch change event. Do this only when setting a Bank A patch.

  6. Someone may have loaded into Bank A a different bank than the one you expect to hear. Launch Unisyn, choose Open from the File menu, navigate to the "MUSI 339" folder on the Desktop, open "X5 Factory Bank," and choose Send Bank from the MIDI menu.


How do I use Korg Bank A patches in my sequence?

  1. Make sure the Korg is set up to receive bank select messages. (See above.)

  2. For Bank A patches to work, you have to insert a patch change event into your track.
    (This is because some of the software we use is broken.) Here's how:
    1. Open the Event List window for the track.
      (Double-click its TRACK NAME in the Tracks window.)
    2. Choose "Patch change" from the Insert Menu ( I at the top of the window).
      You'll see something like this:
    3. Type in the time for the patch change event (measure|beat|tick). Leave this at 1|1|000 if you want the track to begin playing with the Bank A patch.
      (Use the tab key to move between fields.)
    4. Press the Return key. This inserts a patch change event into the track at the time you chose. So far, it looks like this:
    5. Click on the patch name to invoke a popup menu of patches. Drag down to "Programs" to see the list of Bank A patches. Choose one of them.
    6. Double-click the two dashes and replace them with zeros. This tells Performer to send out the correct bank select message for the X5 Bank A.
      The completed event should look like this:
    7. Note that a patch change event overrides the default patch for a track.

      For more on inserting patch changes in the event list, see p. 138 of the Performer Reference Manual.

  3. Do not record over your patch change event! To prevent this, use Peformer's Overdub mode while recording. (See p. 41 in the Performer Reference Manual.)

  4. Make sure the Korg is in MULTI mode before you use Performer. Note that Unisyn often changes the Korg's mode. If you switch into Performer after using Unisyn, you'll need to press the MULTI button on the Korg.


Why can't I see any of the notes I recorded in Performer's windows?

  1. Make sure the View Filter is set to show notes.
    (Choose Set View Filter from the Basics menu, and click the Notes checkbox or the Set All button. Then click OK.)


What do I do if Unisyn complains that the Korg is not responding?

  1. Try pressing the PROG button on the Korg and then letting Unisyn try again. (Make sure you press the MULTI button after you switch into Performer.)

  2. Make sure the Korg is set to receive system exclusive messages.

  3. Make sure the Korg's global MIDI channel is set to 1.

  4. Make sure the Korg is not set to protect its program or combi memory banks.

  5. As a last resort, check the MIDI cables connecting the Korg to the computer's MIDI interface. Connect the Korg's MIDI Out to the interface's MIDI In and the interface's MIDI Out to the Korg's MIDI In.


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