Generalmusic GK 330 Owner's Manual

Owner’s manual

ENGLISH

Care of your keyboard

Your keyboard will give you years of playing pleasure if you follow the simple rules outlined
below:

◆ Do not expose the keyboard to high temperature, direct sunlight and excessively dusty

places.

◆ A void physical shocks caused by dropping, bumping , or placing heavy objects on the key-

board.

◆ Never use cleaners such as alcohol or solvents to clean the k e yboard.

◆ Always turn the power of f when making an y connections.

Generalmusic web site: http://www.generalmusic.com

The information in this publication has been carefully prepared and checked. The manufacturers however decline
all liability for eventual errors. All rights are reserved. This publication may not be copied, photocopied or
reproduced in part or in whole without prior written consent from Generalmusic S.p.A. Generalmusic reserves the
right to apply any aesthetic, design or function modifications it considers necessary to any of its products without
prior notice. Generalmusic declines all liability for damage to property or persons resulting from improper use of
the instrument.

Copyright Generalmusic © 2000. All rights reserved.

The keyboard is provided with a replaceable NON CHARCHEABLE LITHIUM BATTERY
(CR2032 3 Volts), to maintain user programmed data intact while the instrument is off. The
battery is internally mounted and has an approximate life-span of 1 year .
When data is no longer retained, contact your authorized technical assistance centre to have the
lithium battery replaced with the same or equivalent type reccommended by the manuf acturer.

NB Danger of explosion or damage of the battery if it is incorrectly replaced (reversed

polarities, +,–).

GK330 Contents A

Contents

Introduction..........................................................................................................1

The GK330 offers the following features: ............................................................1

Power supply .......................................................................................................1

Using the AC adaptor ..........................................................................................1

Using batteries.....................................................................................................1

To insert the batteries ..........................................................................................1

Important battery information...............................................................................1

Connections.........................................................................................................2

The Phones jack..................................................................................................2

The Damper jack .................................................................................................2

The Aux. Out jack ................................................................................................2

The MIDI IN, MIDI OUT and MIDI THRU ports....................................................2

Listen to the Demo Song .....................................................................................2

Basic Operation ...................................................................................................3

Selecting & playing Voices ..................................................................................3

Play a single Voice ..............................................................................................3

Select a Voice with the [–] and [+] buttons ..........................................................3

Select a Voice with the numeric keypad..............................................................4

Dual voice (play two layered voices) ...................................................................4

Keyboard percussion...........................................................................................4

Split keyboard......................................................................................................5

To change the voice of the Lower keyboard........................................................5

Play in Split mode with a Dual option on the Upper keyboard.............................5

To cancel Split mode ...........................................................................................5

The Performances ...............................................................................................6

Selecting the Performances ................................................................................6

Balancing the Lower and Upper sections ............................................................6

Muting the sections..............................................................................................7

Instant Piano Voice..............................................................................................7

Add Pitch Bend to your playing ...........................................................................7

Play with Effects or bypass them.........................................................................8

Touch Response..................................................................................................8

The Octave – transposer .....................................................................................8

Cancelling the Octave Transpose setting............................................................8

Styles - Auto-Accompaniment .............................................................................9

What are the Styles? ...........................................................................................9

Selecting Style Mode...........................................................................................9

Use the [-] and [+] buttons to select a Style.........................................................9

Use the numeric keypad to select a Style .........................................................10

Selecting the Styles by recalling the Performances ..........................................10

B GK330 Contents

Playing the Styles ..............................................................................................10

Jam Track.......................................................................................................... 11

Changing the Style Tempo ................................................................................ 11

Restoring the memorized Tempo....................................................................... 11

About the Chord Recognition Modes................................................................. 11

Using the Style Auto functions...........................................................................12

Select the Fill In and change Style Variation .....................................................12

Start the Style accompaniments with Key Start.................................................12

Start the Style with an Intro pattern ...................................................................12

Stop the Style with an Ending phrase................................................................12

Fade the Style Volume to zero while playing.....................................................12

Harmony ............................................................................................................12

Balancing the Style accompaniment tracks with the Mixer................................13

Muting the Style tracks ......................................................................................14

Using the Single Touch Play settings in Style mode..........................................14

Selecting the S.T. Play settings .........................................................................14

Changing the accompaniment Split Point..........................................................15

Digital Effects.....................................................................................................15

The Reverb and Chorus indicators....................................................................15

Selecting the effect types and Level..................................................................15

The Performance buttons and Store Performance............................................16

How to memorize a Performance ......................................................................16

Panel Reset - Restore Performance..................................................................17

The Sequencer ..................................................................................................17

Listen to the playback of a recorded Song ........................................................18

Record a new song............................................................................................18

Panel Reset - Restore Sequencer.....................................................................18

The Metronome .................................................................................................19

The Beat function ..............................................................................................19

The GK330 Utility functions ...............................................................................20

Transpose..........................................................................................................20

Tune...................................................................................................................20

Pan ....................................................................................................................20

MIDI ...................................................................................................................21

Midi channel selection .......................................................................................21

Control Change filter..........................................................................................21

Specifications ....................................................................................................22

Music Stand.......................................................................................................22

Index..................................................................................................................23

Appendix

GK330 1

CAUTIONS:

Use only the specified AC adaptor. Use of another
type of adaptor creates the danger of fire and electric
shock.
For safety sake, be sure to unplug the AC adaptor from
the wall outlet whenever leaving the keyboard unat­tended for a long time.

CAUTIONS:

Improper handling of the batteries can cause them to
burst and leak, creating the danger of personal injury
or damage of the keyboard. Be sure to take the fol­lowing important precautions when using batteries:

• Never use batteries of different types.

• Never mix old batteries with new ones.

• Replace the batteries as soon as possible after any
sign of discharge.

• Always make sure to remove the batteries from the
keyboard’s battery compartment when the keyboard
is not expected to be used for a long period of time.

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the new GEM GK330 electronic keyboard.

The GK330 offers the following features:

• 61 note keyboard with Touch Response;

• 147 PCM voices including 7 Drumkits;

• On-board Digital multi-effects processor with 8 Reverb and 8 Chorus effects,
each with independent Effect Level control;

• 96 Styles (automatic accompaniments) with 2 Variations;

• Two chord recognition modes for the Styles: Fingered and One Finger;

• 384 Single Touch Play settings;

• 1 Demo song;

• On-board Sequencer with Record, Play/Stop and 3 recordable tracks, (Accomp,
Melody 1, Melody 2);

• MIDI compatibility.

Power supply

This keyboard can be powered by current from a standard household wall outlet
(using the specified AC adaptor) or by batteries.

Using the AC adaptor

Always ensure that the instrument is turned OFF when connecting or disconnecting
the power adaptor. Applying power while the power switch in depressed may dam­age the components inside the unit.

Do not use adapters other than the one specified for this keyboard. The technical
specifications of the adapter must be: 9~12V DC output, 1800MA, centre positive
type.

Using batteries

Always make sure you turn the keyboard off before inserting new batteries or replac­ing old ones.

To insert the batteries

1. Carefully turn the instrument upside-down and remove the battery compartment
cover.

2. Insert six D size (SUM-1 or R-20) batteries into the battery com­partment, being careful to follow the polarity markings on the
cabinet.

3. Replace the compartment cover , making sure that it locks firmly
in place, then turn the instrument the right way up.

Important battery information

Any of the following symptoms indicate low battery power. Replace the batteries as
soon as possible whenever any of the following occurs.

• A dim and difficult-to-read LCD display.

• Abnormally low speaker/headphone volume.

• Distortion of the sound output.

• Sudden power failure when playing at high volume.

• Abnormal playing of the rhythms or demo songs.

• Dimming of the display when playing at high volume.

2 GK330 Owner’s manual

Connections

The Phones jack

If you prefer to play with headphones for high quality personal monitoring, plug a
standard stereo headphone set into the rear panel PHONES jack. The internal
speakers are automatically disconnected.

Use the VOLUME slider to adjust the headphone volume.

The Damper jack

An optional footswitch can be plugged into the DAMPER jack for sustain control.
The footswitch operates like the damper pedal of an acoustic piano. Press for sus­tain, release for normal sound.

The Aux. Out jack

Connect the rear-panel AUX. OUT jack to amplified speakers, amplifiers or domes­tic hi-fi units for external amplification. Use audio cables with standard 1/4" jacks
and plug into the LINE IN or AUX. IN of the external amp. system. To use the
external amp. system only and exclude the internal speakers of the GK330, plug a
jack into the PHONES jack.

The MIDI IN, MIDI OUT and MIDI THRU ports

The GK330 is fitted with a standard MIDI interface consisting of In, Out and Thru
ports for MIDI connections.

The MIDI IN port receives MIDI data from an external MIDI device.
The MIDI OUT port transmits MIDI data to an external MIDI device.
The MIDI THRU port retransmits the same MIDI data received at the MIDI IN port to

another external MIDI device.

Listen to the Demo Song

You can listen to the automatic playback of your GK330 to get an idea of what the
instrument is capable of doing.

1. Turn the power ON by pressing the [POWER] switch.
After a short period, the display will appear showing the NORMAL playing mode

with a piano sound (Piano1) ready to play across the full keyboard.

2. Set the volume of the instrument as a whole by using the [VOLUME] slider. A
comfortable level is around the halfway mark.

This control increases or decreases the volume of the internal speakers, the
headphones and the Aux. Out jack.

3. Press the [DEMO] button to start a Demo song.

GK330 3

<----------------------- PIANO 1 ----------------------->

The Demo display appears as shown below:

Playback starts automatically . When the Song reaches the end, it loops back to
the beginning and repeats continually until you stop the playback.

4. Press the [DEMO] button to stop the Song at any point of the playback.
It is also possible stop the Demo with the [START/STOP] button.
Note: While the Demo song is playing, the buttons of the control panel will be

temporarily deactivated and it will not be possible to play along with the song.

Basic Operation

This section explains all the basic operations that you can carry out when the instru­ment is in NORMAL mode. Every time you turn on your instrument, it sets to NOR­MAL mode.

To return the instrument to NORMAL mode, press the [MODE] button to the left of
the display.

Selecting & playing Voices

The GK330 has 147 PCM voices including 7 percussion kits that you can select and
play on the keyboard.

After turning on, the GK330 sets to NORMAL/VOICE mode with the display showing
a black arrow pointing to the NORMAL mode in the top left hand corner of the display
and the VOICE 1 message at the center.

In VOICE mode, you can select and play voices.

Play a single Voice

If you play on the keyboard after turning the instrument on, you will hear a piano
sound (in this example, Voice 01, “Piano 1”) play across the entire keyboard.

Select a Voice with the [–] and [+] buttons

In VOICE mode, the [–] and [+] buttons of the numeric keypad allow you to step
through the individual Voices one by one. The [+] button selects in increasing nu­merical order while the [–] button selects in reverse order.

Holding either button down scrolls rapidly forwards or backwards through all the
voices. The selected voice number is shown in the bottom right hand corner of the
display.

4 GK330 Owner’s manual

1

2

<----------------------- PIANO 1 ----------------------->

<----------------- SLOW STRINGS ----------------->

<------------ PERCUSSIVE SOUNDS ------------->

Select a Voice with the numeric keypad

Using the numeric keypad is the quickest way to go directly to the Voice you need,
but you must know the exact number of the voice. The name and corresponding
number of all the Voices in memory are silkscreened above the display on the right.
You’ll see that they start from number 01 through to number 147.

Two-digit voice numbers are selected by entering the two digits in sequence.
For example, to select Voice number 17 (Organ 1), press button [1] then button [7].
Three digit voice numbers are entered by first pressing the [VOICE]/[+100] button

to specify the “hundreds”, then pressing the remaining two digits in sequence.

Dual voice (play two layered voices)

To play with the DUAL option (with two layered sounds), press the [DUAL] button.
The message “VOICE 2” appears in the display as well as the voice number as­signed to the layered section.

If you play on the keyboard, you will hear two sounds for every note played. In our
example, you will hear the Piano voice (01) together with Strings (49).

In DUAL mode, whatever voice selection you make will always be assigned to the
second voice.

To return to NORMAL single voice play, press the [DUAL] button again.

Keyboard percussion

To play percussive instruments on the keyboard, select one of the 7 available Drum
Kits from the DRUMKIT group. The DrumKits are recalled using exactly the same
method used to recall a Voice; by inserting the corresponding number on the nu­meric keypad when the instrument is in NORMAL mode (not DUAL or SPLIT).

For example, to recall the STANDARD Drum Kit, simply input voice number 141.

1. Press the [VOICE]/[+100] button to select the “hundreds”.

2. Insert the two remaining digits; “4” then “1”.

With a DRUMKIT selected, the keyboard transform into a device which plays all the
percussive sounds of a real drum kit. You can see what kind of percussive instru­ment each note plays by referring to the silkscreened markings on the rail under the
keyboard.

To return to normal playing, simply recall a Voice from any group except the Drum
Kit group.

Note: To play all the sounds of a Drum Kit, it is important to remember that the
keyboard must not be in Split or Dual mode. Be sure, therefore, that the left
display arrow is pointing to the NORMAL function.

GK330 5

Split Point (F#3)

<-------------- PIANO 1 -------------->
<-------- SLOW STRINGS -------->

<-STRINGS->

Split Point (F#3)

<-------------- PIANO 1 -------------->

<-STRINGS->

Split keyboard

To play on a split keyboard with one or two voices on the right hand side (UPPER
keyboard) and one voice on the left (LOWER keyboard), press the [MODE] button
as many times as necessary until the left display arrowhead points to the SPLIT
function.

The keyboard will be split into a Lower section and an Upper section. If you play on
the keyboard, you will hear one sound (01:Piano 1) on the right hand side of the
keyboard and another sound (49: Strings) on the left.

Y ou can check the sound assigned to the lower section by holding down the [SPLIT/
LOWER] button. The display will show the sound 49 assigned to the LOWER sec­tion as well as the current Split Point (in this case, F#3).

To change the voice of the Lower keyboard

To change the voice of the Lower keyboard while you are still in SPLIT mode, hold
down the [SPLIT/LOWER] button and make your selection (by entering the digits of
the voice on the numeric keypad, or by using the [+] and [–] buttons. For example,
with the [SPLIT/LOWER] button held down, press the [+] button to select voice 50
(Slow Strings) for the Lower section:

It is possible to modify the Split point shown in the display and memorize the new
setting to a Performance. See the section entitled “Changing the accompaniment
Split Point” on page 15.

If you release the [SPLIT/LOWER] button, the display will return to the previous
situation.

Play in Split mode with a Dual option on the Upper keyboard

To play with two layered sounds on the Upper keyboard and one on the Lower,
simply press the [DUAL] button while you are in SPLIT mode.

If you want to change the voices on the Upper keyboard, proceed as already de­scribed on the previous pages for Single and Dual voice selection.

To change the Voice of the Lower section, hold down the [SPLIT]/[LOWER] button
and proceed as already described to change the voice number.

To cancel Split mode

To escape Split mode and return to a full NORMAL keyboard, press the [MODE]
button once.

6 GK330 Owner’s manual

INCREASE VOLUME

DECREASE VOLUME

The Performances

So far, you have learnt how to select single and combined Voices in Normal, Dual
and Split modes using several panel interventions. If, every time you want to create
a preferred sound combination, you have to take several steps to arrive at your goal,
you would ask yourself if there wasn’t a quicker way of selecting what you want. The
answer lies in the PERFORMANCES which offer a quick and simple method of
recalling a panel situation at the touch of a single button.

A PERFORMANCE is simply a combination of voices and other panel settings (Voices,
Track Volumes, Effect type and level, Style, Variation, Chord Recognition mode,
Split Point, etc.). The GK330 contains six Performances which recall factory-set
panel configurations, but you can also memorize your own Íèmbinations using the
STORE PERFORMANCE feature.

Selecting the Performances

1. Take a quick look at the display, then press one of PERFORMANCE buttons (P1

- P6); for example, press the [P1] button.
The display shows the situation recalled by the Performance.

If you were playing in NORMAL mode, after selecting the Performance you will
find that the keyboard will be split and the mode will have changed to either
Fingered, or One Finger, to enable the Styles. You will also see a change of
Style number. For more information about how to recall Styles by selecting the
Performances, refer to the section entitled “The Styles” on page 9).

2. Repeat the selections for all the other Performance buttons, observe the changes
in the display and play on the keyboard to listen to the change of voices.

Balancing the Lower and Upper sections

If you are playing in Normal mode with Voices on a Split keyboard, you may at some
stage want to adjust the volume of one section with respect to the other. Using the
[MIXER] Volume controls, you will be able to balance your Upper and Lower voices
to the levels required very easily.

The MIXER consists of 5 twin buttons organized in two rows. The top row of buttons
are [INCREASE VOLUME] controls while the bottom row are [DECREASE VOL-
UME] controls. When you are playing with voices only, voice balancing tasks re­quire the use of the [UPPER] and [LOWER] controls only . The other three controls,
(Drums, Bass and Accomp), are explained under Styles on page 11.

T o increase the volume of, the Upper section, for example, press the top [INCREASE
VOLUME] button and hold it down until you reach the Volume required. The display
shows the Volume level of the Upper section.

To decrease the volume, press the bottom [DECREASE VOLUME] control.
If the Upper section is playing with the DUAL effect, the [UPPER MIXER] controls

adjust both voices at the same time.

GK330 7

MUTE SECTION

The [PIANO] button always returns you to a single pi­ano voice playing across the full keyboard. You may
use the PIANO button as a “return to start” button
whenever you wish to have only one sound active
across all 61 keys.

<----------------------- PIANO 1 ----------------------->

PITCH DOWN

PITCH UP

Muting the sections

If you want to exclude a section (mute, or turn off), you can use the MIXER control
buttons.

Simply press both [INCREASE VOLUME] and [DECREASE VOLUME] buttons at
the same time to mute the section required. For example, if you press both the top
and bottom buttons of the [UPPER MIXER], the display will show UPPER OFF.

To restore the volume to normal, press both the [INCREASE] and [DECREASE
VOLUME] buttons again at the same time.

Instant Piano Voice

Regardless of the current situation, you can recall the Piano Voice instantly by pressing
the [PIANO] button.

Pressing this button returns the keyboard to NORMAL single voice play with the
PIANO voice active across the entire keyboard.

Press the [PIANO] button again to return to the previously selected situation.

Add Pitch Bend to your playing

While you play, you can add Pitch Bend to your keyboard sounds by using the [PITCH
BEND] buttons located to the left of the control panel. You can obtain a Pitch Bend

excursion of 2 semitones above or below normal pitch with these controls.
Hold down the top [PITCH BEND] button to bend the notes up.
Hold down the bottom [PITCH BEND] button to bend the notes down.
The pitch returns to normal when you release the button.
Pitch Bend is a “glide” (or glissato) effect which simulates the effect heard in certain

instruments (trombone, guitar, violin, etc.).