Generalmusic gk360 User Manual

DIGITAL KEY BOARDS

owners manual

•English

gk360

SPECIAL MESSAGES

ALARM SYMBOLS:

Generalmusic electronics prod ucts

could present la bels sim i lar to that

dis played in this section. Please follow

ac cu rate ly the pre cau tions descripted

in the safety instructions.

The exclamation mark within an equi lat er al triangle is
intended to alert.

The lightning fl ash with arrowhead symbol, within an equilat­eral triangle, is intended to alert the user to the presence of
uninsulated “dangerous voltage” within the product’s enclo­sure that may be of suffi cient magnitude to constitute a risk of
electric shock to persons.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To reduce the risk related to the correct and normal use of the instrument, all Generalmusic products are accuralety tested
in a safety laboratory. DO NOT modify the present unit, the safety standard and the correct instrument operativity could be com pro mised, and as
a further con se quence the warranty will be invalidated.

IMPORTANT SAFETY AND INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

INSTRUCTION PERTAINING TO A RISK OF FIRE, ELECTRIC SHOCK, OR INJURY TO PERSONS.

WARNING!

When using electric products, basic precautions should always be followed, including the following:

1. Read all the Safety and Installation instructions and explanations of Graphic Symbols before using the product.

2. This product must be earthed. If it should malfunction or breakdown, grounding provides a path of least resistance for electric
current to reduce the risk of electric shock. This product is equipped with a cord having an equipment-grounding conductor and a
grounding plug. The plug must be plugged into an appropriate outlet that is properly installed and earthed in accordance with all
local codes and ordinances.
DANGER:Improper connection of the equipment grounding conductor can result in a risk of electric shock. Check with a qualifi ed electrician or serviceman if you are
in doubt as to whether the product is properly grounded. Do not modify the plug provided with the product, if it will not fi t the outlet, have a proper outlet installed by a
qualifi ed electrician.

3. To reduce the risk of injury, close supervision is necessary when this product is used near children.

4. Do not use this product near water for example, near a bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement, or near a swimming
pool or the like.

5. This product should only be used by a stand or cart that is recommended by the manufacturer.

6. This product, either alone or in combination with an amplifi er and headphones or speakers, may be capable of producing sound levels that could
cause permanent hearing loss. Do not operate for a long period of time at a high volume level or at a level that is uncomfortable. If you experience
any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, you should consult an audiologist.

7. This product should be located so that its location or position does not interfere with its proper ventilation.

8. This product should be located away from heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, or other products that produce heat.

9. The product should be connected to a power supply only of the type described in the operating instructions or as marked on the product.

10. This product may be equipped with a polarized line plug (one blade wider than the other). This is a safety feature. If you are unable to insert the plug
into the outlet, contact an electrician to replace your obsolete outlet. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the plug.

11. The power-supply cord of the product should be unplugged from the outlet when left unused for a long period of time. When unplugging the power
supply cord, do not pull on the cord but grasp it by the plug.

12. Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids are not spilled into the enclosure through openings.

13. The product should be serviced by qualifi ed service personnel when:
A. The power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged
B. Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled into the product;or
C. The products has been exposed to rain or moisture
D. The product does not appear to be operating normally or exhibits a marked change in performance
E. The product has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged.

14. Do not attempt to service the product beyond that described in the user-maintenance instructions. All other servicing should be referred to qualifi ed
service personnel.

15. WARNING - Do not place objects on product power cord or place it in a position where anyone could trip over, walk on or roll anything over it. Do
not allow the product, or its bench, or its pedal board to rest on or to be installed over power cords of any type. Improper installations of this type
create the possibility of fi re hazard and/or personal injury.

16. Electromagnetic interference (RFI). This electronic product utilizes digital sampled wave processing technology (S.W.P.) that may adversely affect
radio/tv reception. Read FCC information inside back cover for additional information.

Generalmusic cannot be held responsible for damage caused by improper use or mod i fi ca tions to the

instrument, or data lost or destroyed

Technical specifi cations are subject to change

The information contained in this manual are considered correct at the moment of printing. Generalmusic reserves the
right to change or modify any technical spec i fi ca tion with out prior notice or obbligation to upgrade existing units.

The illustrations and the screens of this manual are for instructional purposes only and may

appear different from those on your instrument.

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

MANUAL INDEX

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sustain jack ........................................................................................................................................................... 2

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

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

Listen to the Demo Song ..............................................................................................................................................3

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

The MEMORY ...............................................................................................................................................................5

Selecting the Memory ...................................................................................................................................................5

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

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

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

Muting the sections ...................................................................................................................................................... 6

Instant Piano Voice ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

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

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

Play with Effects or bypass them .................................................................................................................................... 7

Touch Response ............................................................................................................................................................7

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

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

Styles - Auto-Accompaniment .......................................................................................................................................8

What are the Styles? ....................................................................................................................................................8

Selecting Style Mode .................................................................................................................................................... 8

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

Use the numeric keypad to select a Style ......................................................................................................................9

Selecting the Styles by recalling the Memory ................................................................................................................. 9

Changing the Style Tempo .......................................................................................................................................... 10

Restoring the memorized Tempo ................................................................................................................................. 10

About the Chord Recognition Modes ........................................................................................................................... 10

Using the Style Auto functions ....................................................................................................................................11

Select the Fill In and change Style Variation ................................................................................................................11

Start the Style accompaniments with Key Start ............................................................................................................11

Start the Style with an Intro pattern ............................................................................................................................. 11

Stop the Style with an Ending phrase .......................................................................................................................... 11

Balancing the Style accompaniment tracks with the Mixer ............................................................................................ 12

Muting the Style tracks ...............................................................................................................................................12

Using the Single Touch Play settings in Style mode ......................................................................................................12

Selecting the S.T. Play settings ..................................................................................................................................... 13

Changing the accompaniment Split Point .................................................................................................................... 13

Digital Effects ............................................................................................................................................................. 14

The Reverb and Chorus indicators ............................................................................................................................... 14

The Memory buttons and Store Memory ...................................................................................................................... 14

How to Store a Memory .............................................................................................................................................. 14

The Sequencer ........................................................................................................................................................... 15

Listen to the playback of a recorded Song ...................................................................................................................15

Record a new song .....................................................................................................................................................15

The Metronome .......................................................................................................................................................... 16

The GK360 Utility functions ........................................................................................................................................ 16

Transpose .................................................................................................................................................................. 16

Tune .......................................................................................................................................................................... 16

Pan ............................................................................................................................................................................16

MIDI .......................................................................................................................................................................... 17

Midi channel selection ................................................................................................................................................17

Control Change fi lter ................................................................................................................................................. 17

The Beat function ....................................................................................................................................................... 17

PERCUS function ........................................................................................................................................................17

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 18

APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................................................. 19

GK360

GK360 CONTROL PANEL LAYOUT

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.

• Avoid physical shocks caused by dropping, bumping, or placing heavy objects on the
keyboard.

• Never use cleaners such as alcohol or solvents to clean the keyboard.

• Always turn the power off when making any connections.

The keyboard is provided with a replaceable NON- RECHARGEABLE 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 manufacturer.

NB Danger of explosion or damage of the battery if it is incorrectly replaced (reversed polarities, +,–).

owners manual

gk360

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the new GEM gk360 electronic keyboard. The gk360 offers the
following features:

• 61 note keyboard with Touch Response;

• 178 PCM voices GeneralMidi Compatible

• On-board Digital multi-effects processor with 8 Reverb and 8 Chorus effects.

• 96 Styles (automatic accompaniments) with 2 Variations;

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

• 384 Single Touch Play settings;

• 50 Demo songs;

• On-board Sequencer with Record, Play/Stop.

• MIDI compatibility.

Power supply

This keyboard can be powered by current from a standard household wall outlet (using the
specifi ed 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 specifi ed for this keyboard. The te­chnical specifi cations of the adapter must be: 12V DC output, 1800mA,
centre positive type.

CAUTIONS:

Use only the specifi ed AC adaptor. Use of another type of adaptor creates the danger of fi re 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.

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 com
part ment, being careful to follow the polarity markings on the cabinet.

3. Replace the compartment cover, making sure that it locks fi rmly in pla
ce, 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 diffi cult-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.

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.

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owners 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 Sustain jack

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

gk360

SUSTAIN

SUSTAIN

The Aux. Out jack

Connect the rear-panel AUX. OUT jack to amplifi ed speakers,
amplifi ers or domestic hi-fi units for external amplifi cation. 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 gk360,
plug a jack into the PHONES jack.

The MIDI IN OUT and THRU ports

The gk360 is fi tted 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.

SUSTAIN

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owners manual

gk360

Listen to the Demo Songs

You can listen to the automatic playback of your gk360 to get an idea of what the instrument
is capable of doing.

Turn the power ON by pressing the [POWER] switch. After

1

a short period, the display will appear showing the NOR­MAL playing mode with a piano sound (Piano1) ready to
play across the full keyboard

Turn the power ON by pressing the [POWER] switch. After

2

a short period, the display will appear showing the NOR­MAL playing mode with a piano sound (Piano1) ready to
play across the full keyboard

Press the [DEMO] button to stop the Song at any point

3

of the playback. It is also possible stop the Demo with the
[START/STOP] button.

The playback starts automatically; when the Song reaches the end, it
goes to the next Song until you stop the playback; the 50 Demo songs
can also be selected with the numeric keypad. During the playback, it
is also possible to exclude the melodic line [MELODY OFF] and learn
to play the melody by following the notes shown on the display.

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Note:

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

While the Demo song is playing, the buttons of the control

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 gk360 has 178 PCM voices including 1 percussion kits that you can select and play on the
keyboard. After turning on, the gk360 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

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

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.

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owners manual

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 178. 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 fi rst 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.

gk360

1

2

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

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

2

Keyboard percussion

To play percussive instruments on the keyboard, select the
DrumKit from the DRUMKIT group. The DrumKit is 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). To recall the STANDARD Drum Kit, simply input voice
number 129.

Press the [VOICE]/[+100] button to select the “hun-

1

dreds”

Insert the two remaining digits; “2” then “9”. With the

2

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.

2

1

1

3

<------PERCUSSION Sound ----->

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.

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owners manual

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. You can
check the sound assigned to the lower section . 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 [MODE] button and proceed
as already described to change the voice number.

<-STRINGS->

<-STRINGS->

gk360

Split point (Fa#3)

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

<-SLOW STRINGS-->

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

To cancel Split mode

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

The MEMORY

So far, you have learn how to select single and combined
Voices in Normal, Dual and Split modes using a number of
panel operations. 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 MEMORY­which offers a quick and simple method of recalling a panel
situation at the touch of a single button. A MEMORYis 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 gk360 contains six
Memory which recall factory-set panel confi gurations, but you
can also memorize your own combinations using the STORE
MEMORY feature.

Selecting the Memory

Take a quick look at the display, then press one of MEMORY but-

1

tons (M1 - M6); for example, press the [M1] button. The display
shows the situation recalled by the MEMORY. If you were playing
in NORMAL mode, after selecting the Performance you will fi nd
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 MEMORY, refer to the section
entitled “The Styles” on page 8)

Repeat the selections for all the other Performance buttons, observe

2

the changes in the display and play on the keyboard to listen to
the change of voices.

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