Korg C-540 Owner's Manual

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C-540

User’s Manual

E F G I 1

User’s Manual

Mode d’emploi

EnglishFrancçaisDeutschItaliano

Bedienungseinleitung

Manuale di istruzioni

Use

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C-540

DIGITAL PIANO

M
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PRECAUTIONS

Location

Using the unit in the following locations can result in a malfunction.

• In direct sunlight

• Locations of extreme temperature or humidity

• Excessively dusty or dirty locations

• Locations of excessive vibration

• Close to magnetic fields

Power supply

Please connect the designated AC adapter to an AC outlet of the correct
voltage. Do not connect it to an AC outlet of voltage other than that for
which your unit is intended.

Interference with other electrical devices

Radios and televisions placed nearby may experience reception inter­ference. Operate this unit at a suitable distance from radios and televi­sions.

Handling

To avoid breakage, do not apply excessive force to the switches or con­trols.

Care

If the exterior becomes dirty, wipe it with a clean, dry cloth. Do not use
liquid cleaners such as benzene or thinner, or cleaning compounds or
flammable polishes.

Keep this manual

After reading this manual, please keep it for later reference.

Keeping foreign matter out of your equipment

Never set any container with liquid in it near this equipment. If liquid
gets into the equipment, it could cause a breakdown, fire, or electrical
shock.

Be careful not to let metal objects get into the equipment. If something does
slip into the equipment, unplug the AC adapter from the wall outlet. Then
contact your nearest Korg dealer or the store where the equipment was pur­chased.

THE FCC REGULATION WARNING (USA ONLY)

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates,
uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interfer­ence to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment
does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the fol­lowing measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that
to which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Notice regarding disposal (for EU)

If this “crossed-out wheeled bin” symbol is shown on the
product or in the operating manual, you must dispose of the
product in an appropriate way. Do not dispose of this product

along with your household trash. By disposing of this product
correctly, you can avoid environmental harm or health risk. The correct
method of disposal will depend on your locality, so please contact the
appropriate local authorities for details.

*Company names, product names, and names of formats etc. are the

trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO CONSUMERS

This product has been manufactured according to strict specifications
and voltage requirements that are applicable in the country in which it
is intended that this product should be used. If you have purchased this
product via the internet, through mail order, and/or via a telephone sale,
you must verify that this product is intended to be used in the country in
which you reside.

WARNING: Use of this product in any country other than that for
which it is intended could be dangerous and could invalidate the manu­facturer’s or distributor’s warranty.

Please also retain your receipt as proof of purchase otherwise your
product may be disqualified from the manufacturer’s or distributor’s
warranty.

Unauthorized changes or modification to this system can void the user’s
authority to operate this equipment.

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this manual has been carefully revised
and checked through. Due to our constant efforts to improve our prod­ucts, the specifications might differ to those in the manual. Korg is not
responsible for any eventual differences found between the specifica­tions and the contents of the instruction manual - the specifications
being subject to change without prior notice

WARRANTY

KORG products are manufactured according to the strictest electrical
and mechanical regulations that exist in various countries of the world.
These products are warranted by the KORG distributor only in each
country. Any KORG product that is not sold with the manufacturer’s or
distributor’s warranty, or without a serial number, cannot benefit from
servicing under the warranty. This regulation is for the consumer’s own
protection.

ASSISTANCE AND SERVICE FOR MUSICIANS

For repairs, contact your nearest Authorized KORG Service Center. For
more information on KORG products, and to find software and acces­sories for your piano, please contact your local Authorized KORG dis­tributor.

KORG ON THE INTERNET

Korg Inc.: “http://www.korg.co.jp”

Korg USA: “http://www.korg.com”

Korg UK: “http://www.korg.co.uk”

Korg Canada: “http://www.korgcanada.com”

DATA RESET

When the instrument is turned off, all parameters are reset.

© 2007 Korg Inc. Printed in Japan.

Contents

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Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Main features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Control panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Connecting to external audio devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Open the key cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Turning the instrument on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Using the music stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Adjusting the volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Using the headphones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Listening to the Demo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Basic functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Playing a single sound (Single mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Playing two sounds at the same time (Layer mode) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Playing different sounds with the left and right hand (Split mode) .15

Using the pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Transposing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Changing the brilliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Turning the effects on/off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Using performances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Choosing performances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Changing the sounds assigned to a performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Editing a performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The metronome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Starting and stopping the metronome, adjusting the tempo . . . . . . . 20

Tempo and time signature display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Adjusting the tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Choosing a time signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Drum patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Adjusting the metronome level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Adjusting the drum pattern’s reverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Selecting the accent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Saving the metronome settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Playing back a song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Accessing the Song Play mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

How to select a song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

How to start playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Starting from a different measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Muting/unmuting a recorder’s part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Changing the song’s tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Play along with the song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Cycle Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Recording a song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Quick recording procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Step 1: Entering the Record mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Step 2: Selecting sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Step 3: Setting the record options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Step 4: Setting the time signature and tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Step 5: Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Step 6: Second-pass recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Changing sounds to a recorded song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Changing tempo to a recorded song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Pedal Punch recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Auto Punch recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Saving the song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Editing a song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Setting Cycle Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Erasing a track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Cutting measures at the end of the song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Quantizing the song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Transposing the song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Deleting the song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Saving the song after editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Editing sounds and performances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Accessing the Sound edit mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Exit from the Sound edit mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Saving a sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Saving a performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Setting the volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Adjusting the panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Adjusting the effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Setting the reverb effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Setting the chorus or modulation effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Setting the insert effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Setting the octave transposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Adjusting the fine tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Programming the pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Selecting a scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Resetting the current sound and performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Global settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Touch settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Turning the internal speakers on or off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Master tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Brilliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Default split point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Assigning functions to the pedals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Quarter Tone (SubScale realtime programming) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Fast Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Mute Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Turning the keyboard on or off (Local Control) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

MIDI Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

MIDI IN Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

MIDI OUT Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

MIDI Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Data transfer via the USB port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Erasing songs from the User Song album . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

General Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

System version number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

What is MIDI? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

What is MIDI Over USB? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

What can you do with MIDI? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

MIDI connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Standard MIDI settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Using the C-540 as a multitimbral tone generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Program Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Control Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Installing the Korg USB MIDI Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Connecting the C-540 to a personal computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

KORG USB-MIDI Driver system requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Please note before use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Windows: Installing the KORG USB-MIDI Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Mac OS X: Installing KORG USB-MIDI Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Assembling the stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Cautions for assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Assembling procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Check after assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Caution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Polyphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Technical specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

MIDI Implementation Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

EnglishEnglish

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Introduction > Main features

Introduction

Main features

Wide range of sounds

Forty different and expressive high-quality sounds, including
a Stereo Concert Grand Piano. You can use the Layer and Split
functions to simultaneously play a combination of two
sounds. Sounds and sound combinations can be freely modi­fied.

Performances

Sound combination can also be saved into performances, giv­ing you an additional set of 30 timbres (3 banks of 10 perfor­mances). Performances also store a custom split point, for
custom combinations of sounds over the keyboard.

Four zones keyboard

The new high-quality, realistic Korg RH3 keyboard features
four zones with different weights. This gives you the same re­alism and feeling as a grand piano keyboard.

Touch control

You can choose from nine different settings to adjust how the
sound will respond to your keyboard playing dynamics.

Pedal effects

The C-540 provides the same three pedals as a grand piano,
controlling the soft, sostenuto, and damper functions respec­tively. The damper pedal simulates the natural string reso­nances and noises of an acoustic piano, by means of the
innovative Korg EPx (Piano eXperience) technology. Both the
damper and soft pedals let you vary the amount of the effect by
how far you press down on them (“half-pedal” function). In
addition, pedals can be freely assigned to other functions, like
starting the recorder or changing the speed of the rotary speak­er.

Piano eXperience (or EPx) effects are particularly evident in
sounds like GrandPiano, BriteGrand and MelloPiano.

One-hundred eighty-five songs

The C-540 includes a huge library of songs, based on famous
pieces and lesson books. These songs are perfectly suitable for
piano lessons, being recorded into two separate parts (left
hand on Part 1, right hand on Part 2) that you can easily turn
off and play on the keyboard. In addition, you can change the
metronome’s tempo and let a defined passage play in cycle.

SongBook included

The SongBook album is also included as a printed music book
– a great resource for practicing and playing along with your
preferred tunes.

Onboard recorder

A multi-track, easy-to-use onboard recorder, lets you record
your own songs, or read Standard MIDI Files that you can
transfer via the integrated USB port from an external comput­er.

Metronome

The built-in metronome allows you to select the time signa­ture, tempo, and volume, and use a bell sound as the accent. It
can even give you a drum accompaniment in a musical style of
your choice (drum patterns).

Data transfer via USB

When connected to a personal computer via the USB port, the
C-540’s internal memory can be seen as a USB disk. This way,
you can backup your data, or transfer files between the C-540
and the personal computer.

Piano eXperience

While existing piano sampling techniques have resembled an
audio snapshot, our new “Piano eXperience” technology is
more of a hologram, accurately reproducing every dimension­al detail of the sound. All piano sampling for the C-540 is done
in stereo to preserve the natural imaging of the sound. Differ­ent dynamic levels are captured to extend the instrument's ex­pressive vocabulary.

Going even further, the C-540 uses the sound of the key being
released and the hammer returning, as well as the sympathetic
damper resonance of the strings to create all of the subtle shad­ings that create a superior instrument sound. This attention to
detail defines the sound of the new C-540, providing an instru­ment that can interpret every nuance of touch into a meaning­ful musical gesture.

4

MIDI capabilities

The C-540 supports the MIDI protocol, the standard that al­lows music data to be transferred between musical instru­ments and computers. MIDI allows two or more devices to
control or be controlled by each other, and also allows you to
use the C-540 as a 16-part multitimbral tone generator.

MIDI over USB

The USB port also carries MIDI data, so that you can connect
the C-540 directly to your personal computer with a single ca­ble and without the need of a dedicated MIDI interface. A ded­icated KORG USB MIDI Driver is freely available for full use
of the C-540’s MIDI features.

Introduction > Main features

Temperaments

In addition to the Equal temperament, the C-540 allows you to
select nine alternative temperaments, for historically accurate
performance of classical music, or experimenting. When se­lecting an acoustic piano sound, the typical Stretched Tuning
is automatically selected.

Adjustable pitch

The Transpose function lets you change the pitch of the piano,
and the Master Tuning function allows you to make fine tune
adjustments.

Effects

The C-540 provides built-in digital effects that can simulate
the natural ambience of a concert hall (reverb) and add rich-

ness to the sound (chorus). In addition, each sound includes
an insert effect (delay, phaser, equalizer, rotary speaker,
etc…), that is specially suited to each particular sound.

Powerful integrated amplification

The C-540 includes a powerful, 2 × 35 Watt amplifier, with
four speakers. This gives the most authentic sound reproduc­tion, together with enough volume deliver the full power of an
acoustic piano.

Two sets of headphones

You can connect two stereo headphones, to play with your
teacher or another musician. Connecting a headphone set au­tomatically disconnects the speakers, so there is no risk to dis­turb others when practicing by night.

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5

Control panel > Main features

Control panel

PERFORMANCE button:

Enters/exits Performance
mode. While in this mode,
the sound selection buttons
are used to choose perfor­mances instead of single
sounds. See page 18.

MASTER VOLUME
knob: Adjusts the vol-

ume for the speakers,
the Output and the
Phones connectors

BANK button: Selects one
of the available banks for
the currently selected
sound, or one of the
three performance
banks.







/



(Scroll) but­tons: Move the cursor
in the display, from
one parameter to the
following or the previ­ous one. The cursor is
indicated by a point-





ing arrow (
a parameter’s name.

) next to

Display: Shows the vari­ous sound names and
parameters.

SPLIT button: Turns Split mode on or off. When in
Split mode, a sound is assigned to your right hand,
and a different one to the left hand. Keep it pressed
and play a note on the keyboard to choose a differ­ent split point. See page 15.

POWER switch: On/Off
switch. When in the
Standbay position, the
piano is turned off.

6

SOUND SELECTION buttons: Press a button to select a sound (Sin­gle mode). You can press two buttons at the same time, to play
two sounds at the same time on the keyboard (Layer mode). Press
SPLIT to play a sound with your right hand, and a different one
with your left hand (Split mode). See page 13.
When the PERFORMANCE indicator is turned on (Performance
mode), these buttons allow for selection of performances. See
page 18.

+/YES / -/NO (Value) but­tons: Change the value

of the parameters
appearing in the display.
The editable parameter
is shown by the cursor





) placed on its left, or

(
(when editing text) with
the character/cipher in
edit flashing. By keeping
them pressed, the values
start changing automati­cally, first slowly, then
slightly faster. By press­ing them together, the
parameter is reset to its
default value.
While in the Main page,
these buttons can be
used to select a different
bank for the current
sound.

EDIT button: Press it
to access the Edit
mode relevant to
the current type of
data selected in the
display. Four Edit
modes are avail­able: Sound (see
page 38), Perfor­mance (see
page 38), Song (see
page 34) and Global
(see page 47). Glo­bal edit mode can
be accessed by
keeping the EDIT
button pressed for
more than one sec­ond).

REVERB but­ton: Turns the

reverb on/off.
This adds
ambience to
the sound.
Keep it
pressed for
more than one
second to
access the
Reverb edit
page (see
page 17).

CHORUS but­ton: Turns the

chorus on/off.
This makes the
sound richer.
Keep it pressed
for more than
one second to
access the Cho­rus edit page
(see page 17).

Control panel > Main features

TEMPO buttons:

Adjust the metro­nome tempo. The +
button makes it
faster, while the –

SONG PLAY
button: Press

this button to
gain access to
the Song Play
mode (see
page 23).

button makes it
slower.

MET.SET buttons:

Pressed together,
they give access to
metronome editing.
See page 20.

METRONOME but­ton: Turns the metro-

nome click on/off. The
tempo and time sig­nature depend on the
chosen values, or the
selected song (see
page 20).

EnglishEnglish

EXIT button: Press it to
exit Edit mode, or to
return to the Main page
from other pages. When
exiting from the Edit
mode, the Save proce­dure will be recalled.
When a drum pattern is
assigned to the Metro­nome, and it is running,
this button doubles as a
Fill In control (see
page 21, page 30).

TRANSPOSE button:

Press this button to open
the Transpose page and
change the master trans­pose value. When the
indicator is turned on,
transposition is active.
Changes made after
pressing this button are
not saved to memory,
and are reset when turn­ing the instrument off.
See page 16.

BRILLIANCE button: Press
this button to open the Bril­liance page and change the
brilliance value. When the
indicator is turned on, a bril­liance variation is active.
Changes made after press­ing this button are not
saved to memory, and are
reset when turning the
instrument off. See page 17.

DEMO buttons: Pressed
together with the CHORUS
button it gains access to the
Demo mode, where you can
listen to the demo songs.
Select the songs with the
sound selection buttons (see
page 11). You can play
along the demo songs.

RECORDER but­tons: Control the

playback or record­ing of the songs.
See page 23,
page 27.

SONG SELECT button:

Press this button to open
the Song Selection page
(see page 23).

NEW SONG buttons:

Pressed together with
the SONG PLAY button
creates a new Song (see
page 27.

7

Connections > Main features

Connections

PHONES connector: Con­nect one or two pairs of
headphones to these jacks.
The integrated speakers
will turn off.

OUTPUT (L/MONO, R) connec­tors: Audio outputs. Connect

these connectors to an external
amplifying system. (With a hi-fi
system use the LINE, AUX, CD or
TAPE connectors, not the
PHONO connector). To amplify
the C-540 in mono, connect the
single L/MONO connector. Use
the MASTER VOLUME knob to
set the output volume.

Pedals connec­tor: Connect the

supplied pedals
to this connector.

INPUT (L/MONO, R) connectors:

Line audio inputs. Connect to
these connectors an external
audio source, such as a CD, MP3
or tape player, or another key­board. To connect a microphone,
you need an external microphone
preamplifier or a mixer.
Warning: Avoid connecting the
output of a power amplifier to
these inputs!

MIDI (IN, OUT) connectors:

Connectors that are used to
connect other MIDI devices
(sequencer, keyboards, etc.).
OUT: Data output (to be
connected to the MIDI IN
connector of another MIDI
device). IN: Data input (to be
connected to the MIDI OUT
connector of another MIDI
device).

USB connector: Type B (slave),
USB 1.1-compliant, standard
connector. Connects to a per­sonal computer (PC or Mac).
Can be used for data transfer
(see page 53), or USB Over
MIDI use (see page 56).

AC ADAPTER
connector:

Connect the
supplied AC/
DC adapter to
this connec­tor.

8

Connecting to external audio devices

Connections > Connecting to external audio devices

Connecting to an external amplification system

Use the OUTPUT connectors, if you like to connect your C­540 to a high-quality mixer, stereo hi-fi, or a couple of active
monitors. When using a stereo hi-fi, connect the OUTPUTs to
the LINE, AUX, CD or TAPE inputs (never use the PHONO
inputs). For mono amplification, connect only the L/MONO
output.

Connecting other audio devices to the C-540

Use the INPUT connectors, to connect a computer, mixer,
drum machine, synthesizer, MP3 or tape player, to your C­540, and hear their sound run through its speakers. For mono

amplification, connect only the L/MONO output. Do not con-

nect the output of a power amplifier!

L/MONO

R

AUX IN

OUTPUT

INPUT

EnglishEnglish

9

Before you begin > Open the key cover

Before you begin

Open the key cover

To open the key cover, use both hands to gently raise its front
edge. To close the key cover, hold the front edge and gently
pull it forward. The cover is designed to close slowly. Do not
force it shut (see Fig.1).

Fig.1

Fig.2

Turning the instrument on

Connect the supplied power cord to the dedicated socket un­der the rear of the instrument. Then, plug it into a wall socket.
You don’t need to worry about the local voltage, since the C­540 uses a universal power adapter.

Using the music stand

Note: The key cover may be damaged if you use excessive force
when opening or closing it (see Fig.2).

Note: Be careful not to pinch your fingers or hand while open­ing or closing the key cover.

Note: Before you open the key cover, make sure that no foreign
objects such as papers or coins are on the top of the key cover
itself. Otherwise, these objects may fall into the instrument.

Note: The speed at which the key cover closes may vary, de­pending on the surrounding temperature and humidity.

After having connected the power cable, press the POWER
switch. When the instrument is turned on, the buttons on the
control panel and the display will light up.

To turn the instrument off, press the POWER switch again.

Opening and closing the music stand

Tilt the music stand up­right, and use the two
stoppers located on the
rear to hold the music
stand in place.

To lower the music stand,
release the stoppers and rest the music stand on the flat top.

Using the score holders

To keep a music book open, use the two score holders in front
of the music stand. Push on the shorter side to make them slide
up. Push on the longer side to make them slide down. Do not

apply excessive strength or weight to the holders, or you will
risk to break them.

10

Adjusting the volume

DEMO:GrandPiano1





Bk1 Press Sound

DEMO:-----------





Bk1 Press Sound

Before you begin > Adjusting the volume

Rotate the MASTER VOLUME knob towards the right to in­crease the volume; towards the left to decrease the volume. The
maximum value is “10”; the minimum (silence) is “0”. This
control adjusts the output level of the headphones, the internal
speakers and of the OUTPUTs.

Using the headphones

For playing or practicing during night hours, or when you
don’t want to be heard by others in the same room, connect
one or two pairs of high-quality headphones (32Ω impedance
suggested) to the appropriate PHONES connectors. These
connectors are standard 1/4” phone jacks. If your headphones

Listening to the Demo

The C-540 contains 20 pre-recorded demo songs. Listen to
them to experience the rich sound and expressive potential of
this instrument. Here is a list of the available demo songs:

Button Bank 1 (1-10) Bank 2 (11-20)

PIANO 1 GrandPiano1 GrandPiano2

PIANO 2 Honky-Tonk Piano Pad

E.PIANO 1 El. Piano 1 El. Piano 2

E.PIANO 2 Digi Piano Vintage EP

HARPSI/CLAV Harpsichord Clav.

VIBES/GUITAR Vibes Ac. Guitar

ORGAN 1 Jazz Organ1 Jazz Organ2

ORGAN 2 Full Pipe Pipe Flute

STRING/CHOIR Strings Choir

BASS Ac. Bass El. Bass

Note: All demo songs are Korg Originals.

During the demo playback you can’t use any other buttons.
However, you can still play the keyboard to play along with the
demo songs.

Listen to all songs at once

You can listen to all demo songs with a single command.

1. Press the DEMO buttons together. The sound selection in-

dicators will blink sequentially from left to right. The
Demo page will appear in the display:

DEMO:-----------





Bk1 Press Sound

It does not control the volume of an audio device connected to
the INPUT connectors. Use the audio device’s own controls to
set its volume.

It is always better to start with a low volume and then increase
gradually.

have a mini-jack adapter, grasp the adapter when plugging in
or out the headphones.

Warning: When using headphones, protect your hearing by
avoiding extended listening at high volumes.

Note: When not using them, you can append your headpho­hones to the dedicated hook under the piano.

2. Wait some seconds, without pressing any button. The first

demo song will begin to play. The indicator corresponding
to the demo song currently in play will turn on. The name
of the song will be shown in the display:

All demo songs will be played back one after the other.
After the last song, the playback will begin again from the
first song.

3. To pause the current song, press the PLAY/PAUSE button.

Press it again to restart playback from the same position.

4. To stop the playback and exit the demo mode, press the

EXIT button.

Listen to a specified song

You can select just one demo song to be played back.

1. First of all, you must select one of the demo song banks.

• To select the first bank (Bk1, songs 1-10), press the DEMO
buttons once. The indicators will blink sequentially, from
left to right. The Demo page will appear in the display:

• To select the second bank (Bk2, songs 11-20), press the +/
YES button.

• To return to the first bank, press the -/NO button.

2. Press one of the sound selection buttons to select the cor-

responding demo song in the selected bank. The demo is
based on the sound associated with the button. The indi-

EnglishEnglish

11

Before you begin > Listening to the Demo

cator on the selected demo button will stay on, while the
other indicators will turn off.

3. After the end of the selected song, all the songs will be

played back in cycle.

4. If you want to select a different song, press one of the

sound selection buttons.

5. To pause the current song, press the PLAY/PAUSE button.

Press it again to restart playback from the same position.

6. To stop the current song without exiting from the Demo

mode, press STOP. Choose a different song and wait for it
to start playing back.

7. To stop the playback and exit the Demo mode, press the

EXIT button.

12

Basic functions





GrandPiano 4/4

120

Main sound





GrandPiano 4/4

120

Sound name

Basic functions > Playing a single sound (Single mode)

Playing a single sound (Single mode)

When you turn the instrument on, it is in Single mode.

Main

The single Grand Piano sound is selected, and plays over the
full keyboard. Its name is shown in the display:

You can replace it with any of the 40 sounds supplied with the
instrument. See the list of sounds in the following table (more
details on each sound are on page 274):

Sound

Button

Bank 1 Bank 2 Bank 3 Bank 4 Bank 5 Bank 6

PIANO 1 GrandPiano* BriteGrand* Rock Piano Piano&Str.

PIANO 2 Honky-Tonk MelloGrand* Piano&Pad Elec.Grand M1 Piano

E.PIANO 1 Tine EP 1 SuitTineEP DynoTineEP Tine EP 2

E.PIANO 2 Dig. EP 1 Dig. EP 2 Reed EP TremReedEP

HARPSI/CLAV Harpsi 8' Harpsi 16' Clav Synth Clav

VIBES/GUITAR Vibes 1 Vibes 2 Nylon Gtr.

ORGAN1 Jazz Organ Perc.Org.1 Perc.Org.2

ORGAN2 Church Org Pipe Flute Pipe Tutti

STRINGS/CHOIR Strings Slow Str. String Pad Choir ScatVoices Vocal Pad

BASS Ac. Bass El. Bass Fretless B Bass&Ride

* Note: The EPx effects are not available when you are in Layer mode.

EnglishEnglish

Selecting a sound

You can use the sound selection buttons to select a different
sound.

1. Press one of the sound selection buttons in order to select

a sound type.

12345

678910

The indicator on the button you pressed will light. The
name of the selected sound will appear in the display:

2. Use the BANK button to select one of the available banks

for the selected sound (see table above). When the last
bank has been selected, press it again to select the base
sound again.

As an alternative, use the +/YES button to scroll the sound
bank list forward; the -/NO button to scroll it backwards.

13

Basic functions > Playing two sounds at the same time (Layer mode)

M:90

    



L:127

     



Main sound’s volume

Layer sound’s volume

Playing two sounds at the same time (Layer mode)

You can play two sounds at the same time on the keyboard. It
is like having two “overlapping” sounds. This is called the Lay­er mode.

Main

Layer

Keep in mind that, when in Layer mode, the total number of
voices that you can play at the same time is reduced, depend­ing on the total number of oscillators used by the selected
sounds.

Entering the Layer mode

To access Layer mode from any other mode, press together
two sound selection buttons. The lowest-numbered sound in
the following diagram will be the Main sound, while the high­est-numbered sound will be the Layer sound:

12345

678910

The name of the two sounds will appear in the display:

Main sound





GrandPiano 4/4

Strings 120

Layer sound

Exit from the Layer mode

To exit Layer mode, press a single sound selection button, or
the SPLIT button. You will return to the Single mode, with a
single sound playing on the keyboard, or to the Split mode,
with a sound on the left and one on the right of the split point.

Selecting a different pair of sounds

To select different sounds, press a different pair of sound selec­tion buttons. The last selected bank of sounds corresponding
to the new buttons will be selected.

Selecting a different bank for the Main sound

You can select a different bank for the Main sound.

1. Be sure the cursor is in the first line of the display. If it isn’t,

use the SCROLL

Cursor





button to move it there:





GrandPiano 4/4

Strings 120

2. Use the BANK button to select a different bank. As an al-

ternative, use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to choose a dif­ferent bank.

Selecting a different bank for the Layer sound

You can select a different bank for the current Layer sound.

1. Use the SCROLL 

er sound.



button to move the cursor to the Lay-





GrandPiano 4/4

Strings 120



Scroll 

GrandPiano 4/4





Strings 120

2. Use the BANK button to select a different bank. As an al-

ternative, use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to choose a dif­ferent bank.

3. If you desire so, use the SCROLL 

cursor back to the Main sound.

Balancing layered sounds

You can adjust the sound’s volume balance.

• Keep the Main sound button pressed, to increase its vol­ume and (after the maximum value has been reached)
decrease the volume of the Layer sound. Release the but­ton when done.

• Keep the Layer sound button pressed, to increase its vol­ume and (after the maximum value has been reached)
decrease the volume of the Main sound. Release the but­ton when done.

While the volume is changing, a meter is shown in the display:



buttons to move the

14

Basic functions > Playing different sounds with your left and right hand (Split mode)

Playing different sounds with your left and right hand (Split mode)

You can play a sound with your right hand (the Main sound),
and a different one with the left hand (the Left sound). This is
called the Split mode.

Split Point

Left

Main

Entering the Split mode

To access Split mode from any other mode, press the SPLIT
button. The Main sound of the Single or Layer mode will be as­signed to the right half of the keyboard (Main area, shown in
the first line of the display), and a Bass sound will be assigned
to the left half of the keyboard (Left area, shown in the second
line of the display).

Main sound





GrandPiano 4/4

Ac.Bass 120

Left sound

While the Ac.Bass sound will be chosen as the Left sound the
first time you enter Split mode, the last selected sound will be
assigned if you return to Split mode later.

Exit from the Split mode

To exit Split mode, press the SPLIT button again to return to
the Single mode, or press two sound selection buttons together
to enter Layer mode.

Choosing a different split point

If the selected split point is too high or too low, you can choose
a different one. Please note that you can set a default split
point, to have it ready each time you turn the instrument on
(see “Default split point” on page 48).

1. Keep the SPLIT button pressed. The current split point is

shown in the display while you keep the button pressed.





SplitPoint: F#3

2. Play a note to set a different split point.

3. Release the SPLIT button.

Selecting a different Main sound

You can select a different Main sound after accessing the Split
mode. Use the sound selection buttons as you would do to se­lect a sound in Single mode.

Selecting a different bank for the Main sound

You can select a different bank for the Main sound after ac­cessing the Split mode.

1. Be sure the cursor is in the first line of the display. If it isn’t,

use the SCROLL





button to move it there:

Cursor





GrandPiano 4/4

Ac.Bass 120

2. Use the BANK button to select a different bank. As an al-

ternative, use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to choose a dif­ferent bank.

Selecting a different Left sound

You can select a different Left sound after accessing the Split
mode.

1. Keep the SPLIT button pressed. The indicator of the Left

sound lights up.

2. Use the sound selection buttons to select a different sound.

3. Release the SPLIT button.

As an alternative, use the display controls:

1. Use the SCROLL 

sound.



buttons to move the cursor to the Left





GrandPiano 4/4

Ac.Bass 120



Scroll 

GrandPiano 4/4





Ac.Bass 12

2. Use the sound selection buttons as you would do to select

a sound in Single mode.

3. Use the 

sound.



buttons to move the cursor back to the Main

Selecting a different bank for the Left sound

You can select a bank for the Left sound after accessing the
Split mode.

1. Keep the SPLIT button pressed. The indicator of the Left

sound lights up.

2. Use the BANK button to select a different bank.

3. Release the SPLIT button.

EnglishEnglish

15

Basic functions > Using the pedals

M:108

    



L:127

     



Main sound’s volume

Left sound’s volume

As an alternative, use the display controls:

1. Use the SCROLL 

sound.



buttons to move the cursor to the Left





GrandPiano 4/4

Ac.Bass 120



Scroll 

GrandPiano 4/4





Ac.Bass 12

2. Use the BANK button to select a different bank. As an al-

ternative, use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to choose a dif­ferent bank.

3. If you want, use the SCROLL 

sor back to the Main sound.



buttons to move the cur-

Using the pedals

Balancing sounds in Split mode

You can adjust the sound’s volume balance.

• Keep the Main sound button (the one whose indicator is
turned on) pressed, to increase its volume and (after the
maximum value has been reached) decrease the volume of
the Left sound. Release the button when done.

• Keep the SPLIT button pressed, or press the SCROLL
button to move the cursor to the second line of the dis­play. The indicator of the Left sound lights up. Then, keep
the Left sound button pressed, to increase its volume and
(after the maximum value has been reached) decrease the
volume of the Main sound. Release the button when done.

While the volume is changing, a meter is shown in the display:





The C-540 has three assignable pedals, usually acting as damp­er, sostenuto, and soft. However, you can assign the pedals dif­ferent functions (see page 44 for sound-level assignment, or
page 49 for global programming).

With the default settings, you can use these pedals to add ex­pression to your playing, as on a traditional piano.

3

2

1

Soft

Sostenuto

Damper

(1) Damper pedal

The damper pedal simulates the natural string resonances of
an acoustic piano. Pressing this pedal will sustain the sound,

Transposing

producing a richly resonant decay. You can control the damp­er’s depth by how far down you press on the pedal (“half-ped­aling”).

Sounds like GrandPiano, BriteGrand and MelloGrand also
trigger EPx effects while in Single and Split mode. However,
these effects are not available when you are in Layer mode.

(2) Sostenuto pedal

Pressing this pedal will apply the damper effect only to the
notes that are already being held down on the keyboard, and
will sustain only those notes. The damper effect will not be ap­plied to any additional notes that you play while holding down
the Sostenuto pedal (apart for the notes already held).

(3) Soft pedal

Pressing this pedal will make the tone softer. You can control
the soft effect depth by how far down you press on the pedal
(“half-pedaling”)

In some cases, a song may be written in a difficult key (e.g.,
many black keys), or you may wish to shift the pitch to match
another instrument or vocalist. In such cases, you can trans­pose (shift the pitch) so that you can use an easier fingering, or
use the same familiar fingering to play at a different pitch. This
is called the Transpose function.

16

For example if you transpose upward by one semitone, playing
the notes shown at the lower left will produce the pitches
shown at the right.

Basic functions > Changing the brilliance

Note: When the instrument is turned on, transposing is reset.

1. Press the TRANSPOSE button to show the Transpose dis-

play:

Transpose





+02 semitones

Transpose value

If you do no changes, just wait some seconds for the page
to automatically disappear. Otherwise, you can exit from
this page by pressing the EXIT button.

Changing the brilliance

Brilliance is the sound’s brightness, that may be affected by the
sound of the room the piano is placed into. For example, a
heavy carpeted room sounds duller than a room containing
less carpeting or furniture. You can set an overall increase or
decrease of brilliance for all sounds.

This is the same parameter you can change in the Brilliance
page of the Global mode (see page 48). However, contrary to
the changes you can make in the Global mode, the changes
made with this button cannot be memorized, and are reset
when turning the instrument off.

Note: When the instrument is turned on, brilliance set in this
page is reset. (Brilliance may have permanently been set in Glo­bal mode, see page 48).

1. Press the BRILLIANCE button to show the Brilliance dis-

play:

2. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to change the transpose

value in steps of one semitone, within a range of ±11 semi­tones. When a transposition is active, the indicator turns
on.

3. Press the EXIT button to exit from this page.

4. Press the TRANSPOSE button again to turn transposition

off. The indicator will turn off.

5. Press the TRANSPOSE button if you want to turn transpo-

sition on again, with the last value selected. The indicator
will turn on again. Wait some seconds for the page to dis­appear, or press the EXIT button to exit immediately.

If you do no changes, just wait some seconds for the page
to automatically disappear. Otherwise, you can exit from
this page by pressing the EXIT button.

2. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to change the brilliance

value. When a brilliance change is active, the indicator
turns on.

3. Press the EXIT button to exit from this page.

4. Press the BRILLIANCE button again to turn brilliance

changes off. The indicator will turn off.

5. Press the BRILLIANCE button if you want to turn bril-

liance on again, with the last value selected. The indicator
will turn on again. Wait some seconds for the page to dis­appear, or press the EXIT button to exit immediately.

EnglishEnglish

Brilliance





Bright

Brilliance setting

Turning the effects on/off

The C-540 has two global effects (reverb and chorus), in addi­tion to an insert effect for each sound (see diagram on
page 41). The reverb simulates the sound reverberation in a
room, while the chorus simulates a modulating effect that
makes the sounds richer.

The insert effect is part of the sound itself, and should remain
on to avoid a dramatic change in timbre. On the contrary, you

can turn the reverb and chorus on/off as you like, by using the
REVERB and CHORUS buttons on the control panel.

However, selecting a different sound will reset the status of the
buttons, since it is saved with the sound itself. To permanently
change the effect’s status, edit the sound by keeping one of
these buttons pressed for a couple seconds. See page 41 for
more details.

17

Using performances > Choosing performances

Using performances

Performances are registrations of sound combinations. In­stead of selecting single sounds, or a combination of sounds,
you simply select a performance. A performance then recalls
one or two sounds, each one with their own settings, plus the
memorized split point (if the sounds are in Split mode).

There are 30 performances (10 groups

× 3 banks each). Each

group corresponds to one of the numbered sound select but­tons (1 ~ 10). You can then choose one of the three banks in­side the selected group by using the BANK button (more
details are on page 280).

Button

Bank 1 Bank 2 Bank 3

1 (PIANO 1) Split&Layr Digital EP* Baroque*

2 (PIANO 2) Grand&Ride PaddedTine* Harpsi-Ch*

3 (E.PIANO 1) Grand&Ebas R&B EPno* Harpsi-Org*

4 (E.PIANO 2) PnoStrings* EP Choir* Church Mix*

Performance

Choosing performances

Button

Performance

Bank 1 Bank 2 Bank 3

5 (HARPSI/CLAV) EGrand Pad* EP&NoFret Guitar Pad*

6 (VIBES/GUITAR) Piano Pad* Scat&Bass GrandPiano

7 (ORGAN1) Pno Choirs* Vibes&Bass BriteGrand

8 (ORGAN2) Pno Guitar* Bass&Guitr MelloGrand

9 (STRINGS/CHOIR) Piano BX3* Org&Bass 1 2 Pianists

10 (BASS) DualManual Org&Bass 2 PnoEXp-

DEMO**

* Note: These performances, with sounds set in Layer mode, do
not use EPx effects.
** Note: Performance 30 (PnoExpDEMO) is designed to demon­strate our “Piano eXperience” technology, by exaggerating the
amount of key-off/hammer return portion of the Grand Piano
sound; it is not intended to be a play-able timbre. Normally,
these additional Piano eXperience sounds are not perceived as
separate elements, but together with the other sample layers,
they are a vital part of the realism and the authentic piano tone.

Here is how to choose a performance.

Note: While in Performance mode, you cannot switch between
Single, Layer and Split modes. However, if you select a perfor­mance with two sounds in Split, the SPLIT indicator will turn on.

1. Press the PERFORMANCE button to enter Performance

mode. The indicator turns on, and the latest selected per­formance is recalled.

Perf.01 4/4
Split&Layr 120

2. Use the sound selection buttons to select a different group

of performance.

12345

678910

3. If needed, use the BANK button to select a different perfor-

mance inside the same group. There are three performanc­es for each group of performances.

As an alternative, use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to
choose a different performance inside the selected group.

4. Press the PERFORMANCE button again to exit Perfor-

mance mode. The previous sound or combination of
sounds will be recalled. The indicator will turn off.

18

Using performances > Changing the sounds assigned to a performance

Changing the sounds assigned to a performance

You can change the sound or sounds assigned to the current
performance, without the need of accessing the Edit mode.

Note: You cannot change performance sounds while in Perfor­mance Edit mode.

Note: The EPx effects are not available when you are in Layer
mode.

1. While you are in the Main page of the Performance mode,

press both SCROLL
(or sounds) assigned to the performance are shown in the
display:





/  buttons together. The sound

Main sound





Piano&Str.

Ac. Bass

Layer/Left sound

2. If there are two sounds, use the SCROLL 

to move the cursor to the sound you want to change.

3. Use the +/YES and -/NO button to choose a different

sound.

4. Press the EXIT button to exit from the above page. If you

chose a different performance, changes are lost.

5. To save the changes use one of the save procedures ex-

plained in “Saving a performance” on page 39.



/  buttons

Editing a performance

You can edit any performance according to your taste. You can also save any combination of sounds over an existing performance.
See “Editing sounds and performances” on page 38.

EnglishEnglish

19

The metronome > Starting and stopping the metronome, adjusting the tempo





GrandPiano 4-4

Strings 120

4/4 drum pattern selected

01-Prelude 1
M: 1 4/4 120

Song’s tempo

Song’s time signature

The metronome

The C-540 incorporates a metronome, with which you can beat the tempo during practice or song recording. The metronome can
beat ordinary times, or drum patterns.

Starting and stopping the metronome, adjusting the tempo

Use the METRONOME button to start and stop the metro­nome.

1. Press the METRONOME button to make the metronome

start (the indicator on the button turns on).

Tempo and time signature display

The metronome’s tempo and time signature are always shown
in the Main page:

Metronome’s time signature





GrandPiano 4/4

Strings 120

Metronome’s tempo

The metronome’s tempo and time signature also appear in
Performance mode:

Metronome’s time signature

Perf 01 4/4
Split&Layr 120

2. Press the METRONOME button again to stop it (the indi-

cator turns off).

hyphen (–) (see page 21 for information o how to select drum
patterns):

When listening to a song, the tempo and time signature are
those of the current song. You can use the TEMPO buttons to
adjust the tempo while the song plays. On the contrary, the
time signature cannot be modified after recording:

When a drum pattern is selected as the time signature, the sep­arator between the fraction’s numerator and denominator is a

Adjusting the tempo

When turning the metronome on for the first time, while in
the Main page, the default tempo of 120 BPM (beats per
minute) is chosen. You can adjust it by using the TEMPO but­tons.

20

Metronome’s tempo

(Please remember you can exit from the Song Play page and
return to the Main page by pressing the EXIT button.)

When turning it on from the Song Play (page 23) or Record
page (see page 27), the tempo is that of the current song. You
can adjust it by using the TEMPO buttons.

The last change is preserved, until you don’t choose a different
song and start playing it back.

Choosing a time signature

The metronome > Choosing a time signature

When turning the metronome on from the Main page, the de­fault time signature of 4/4 is chosen, but you can adjust it by
accessing the Metronome page (as shown below).

Note: If the PLAY/PAUSE button is flashing, you cannot change
the time signature.

Note: If you enter editing later, you might see a different edit
page instead of the first one. Use the SCROLL  button to
reach it.

1. Press the TEMPO + and TEMPO – (or MET.SET) buttons

together. The first Metronome page, Metro TS/Tempo,
will appear, with the Time Signature parameter selected:

Metro TS/Tempo 1





4/4 120

Drum patterns

Instead of an ordinary time signature (4/4, 3/4, etc…), a drum
pattern can be assigned to the metronome. This will give you
the sense you are playing together with a real drum player. You
can also record a drum pattern into a song.

Note: Contrary to ordinary metronome “clicks”, drum pattern
notes can also be recorded by the internal recorder. They can
also be transmitted via MIDI, so you can record them on an ex­ternal sequencer, or make them play with an external instru­ment (see “MIDI” on page 56).

Drum patterns are in the second half of the time signature list.
While the list is selected, either scroll to it, or press both the +/
YES and -/NO buttons together, to quick jump to the drum
patterns. Press these buttons together again to quick jump to
the ordinary time signatures (4/4 selected).

Drum patterns

8 Beat 1 Ballroom 2 Bossa 1 Swing 2

8 Beat 2 Ballroom 3 Bossa 2 Swing 3

8 Beat 3 Slow 6/8 Samba Slow Waltz 1

16 Beat 1 Funk 1 Cha Cha Slow Waltz 2

16 Beat 2 Funk 2 Salsa Waltz

2. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to select a time signature.

Ordinary times are at the beginning, while drum patterns
are at the end. You can quick jump from the one to the
other by pressing the +/YES and -/NO button together.

Ordinary times

1/2 ~ 16/2 1/4 ~ 16/4 1/8 ~ 16/8

3. Press the EXIT button to return to the Main page.

Drum patterns

16 Beat 3 Rock Mambo Foxtrot

Ballad 1 Rock 6/8 Tango March

Ballad 2 Dance Rhumba

Ballad 3 Beguine Gospel

Ballroom 1 Unplugged

Latin

Swing 1

Here is how to use the drum patterns:

1. While in the Main page, press the METRONOME button

to start the metronome. A Count In is heard, then the
drum pattern begins.

2. While in the Main page (either with a sound or a perfor-

mance selected), or in the Record page, press EXIT (or a
pedal with the Fill In function assigned, see page 49). A Fill
In is played, then a variation of the base drum pattern start
playing.

3. Press EXIT (or the pedal) again. A second Fill In is played,

then the base drum pattern returns playing.

4. Press the METRONOME button to stop the metronome.

EnglishEnglish

21

The metronome > Adjusting the metronome level

Metro Lev/Rev 2





Lv:100 Rv:64

Metro Lev/Rev 2
Lv:100





Rv:64

Metro Settings 4





Save? (Yes/No)

Adjusting the metronome level

You can adjust the metronome’s level, in relation to the overall
instrument’s volume.

2. Press the SCROLL 

1. Press the TEMPO/MET.SET buttons together. The first

Metronome page should appear.

3. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to change the metro-

4. Press the EXIT button to return to the Main page.

Adjusting the drum pattern’s reverb

You can add a reverb effect to the drum patterns.

Note: Reverb does not apply to the metronome click (i.e., when
an ordinary time signatures is chosen).

1. Press the TEMPO/MET.SET buttons together.

2. If you are not there, use the SCROLL 

3. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to change the metro-

4. Press the EXIT button to return to the Main page.



button to go to the second Metro­nome page, Metro Lev/Rev. The Lv (Level) parameter will
be selected:

nome’s volume.



/  buttons to se-

lect the Rv (Reverb) parameter:

nome’s reverb.

Selecting the accent

The accented beat of the ordinary times signatures can be
changed to a marcato or bell sound.

Note: The accent does not apply to drum patterns.

1. Press the TEMPO/MET.SET buttons together.

2. If you are not there, use the SCROLL 

to the Metro Accent page:

Metro Accent 3





Bell



/  buttons to go

Saving the metronome settings

Metronome settings can be saved, so that they are not reset to
the default values when turning the instrument off. This pro­cedure saves time signature, volume setting, reverb setting, ac­cent. On the contrary, tempo settings are always reset.

1. Press the TEMPO/MET.SET buttons together. The first

Metronome page appears.

3. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to turn the bell on or off,

and choose one of the available accent options.

Option Meaning

Off No accent

Marcato The first beat is played louder

Bell The first beat is played by a bell sound

4. Press the EXIT button to return to the Main page.

2. Press the SCROLL 

fourth Metronome page. The Metro Settings Save param­eter will be selected:



button four times, to go to the

22

3. Press +/YES to confirm saving, or -/NO to cancel saving.

You are automatically kept back to the Main page.

Playing back a song

Playing back a song > Accessing the Song Play mode

The C-540 incorporates a multitrack recorder, with which you
can record and play back songs. Since you can turn off a single
part (say, the left hand), and leave another part playing (say,
the right hand), this can be very useful for practicing.

Together with the C-540 come a huge number of classical
songs (185), with which you can play along for practicing or
for enjoying your preferred tunes. Songs are organized in “al­bums”, that include famous lesson books (Beyer, Burgmüller),

Accessing the Song Play mode

After you press the SONG PLAY button, the Song Play page
appears:

Song name

01-Prelude 1





M:--- 4/4 120

Current measure

Time signature

Tempo

a collection of famous songs, and all the pieces included in the
supplied SongBook.

The recorder can also read 16-track songs in the Standard
MIDI Files (SMF) format, that can be created on a computer
or easily found on the market or in the public domain. Please
note that, while the C-540 complies with General MIDI (GM)
sound mapping, it does not include all GM sounds. For a de­tailed list of sounds, see page 283.

To return to the Main page, just press one of the sound selec­tion buttons to select a sound, or press the EXIT button. The
selected song will still be active, but you will no longer see its
name in the display, until you press the SONG PLAY button
again.

EnglishEnglish

How to select a song

To play a song, you must first select it from an album. Songs
are contained into a permanent memory, and are preserved
when turning the instrument off.

1. Press the SONG SELECT button to access the Song Selec-

tion page:

Album:SongBook





01-Prelude 1

2. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to select one of the avail-

able songs inside the selected album. If the name is longer
than the display, it will scroll up to the end, then returns to
the beginning.

3. To select a different album, use the SCROLL 

move the cursor to the first line of the display:

Album:SongBook



01-Prelude 1





Scroll 





Album:SongBook

01-Prelude 1

Album
Song



button to

As an alternative, you can use the first six sound select
buttons to choose an album. See table on the next page.

4. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to select one of the avail-

able albums. Various song albums are available (see
page 283 for a detailed list of the included songs):

Album Content

UserSong Songs created using the internal

SongBook All the songs of the supplied

Classics A collection of famous classical

Beyer A The “Preparatory School, Op. 101”

Beyer B (5) HARPSI/

Burgmlr Burgmüller’s “25 Easy and Pro-

recorder, or created with an exter­nal sequencer and then trans­ferred to the C-540 via a USB
connection (see page 53)

SongBook

pieces

lesson book by Ferdinand Beyer,
splitted in two separate parts (A
and B)

gressive Studies, Op. 100” lesson
book

Correspondin
g sound
button

(1) PIANO 1

(2) PIANO 2

(3) E.PIANO 1

(4) E.PIANO 2

CLAV

(6) VIBES/
GUITAR

23

Playing back a song > How to start playback

01-Prelude 1





M:--- 4/4 120

01-Prelude 1





M:--- 4/4 120

5. After having selected an album, use the SCROLL

ton to move the cursor to the song name again, then
choose a different song:





Album:SongBook

01-Prelude 1



Scroll 

Album:SongBook





01-Prelude 1

How to start playback





but-

6. Press the PLAY/PAUSE button to start playback and re-

turn to the Song Play page, or the EXIT button to just re­turn to the Song Play page, without starting the song.

After having selected a
song, you can play it
back.

Note: During playback,
song parts can be sent out
via MIDI. Song parts are
the following: Part 1, Part 2, and Drum (this latter is active only
if a drum patterns is playing).

Starting from a different measure

You can start playback from a measure different than the first
one.

Note: When releasing the +YES or -/NO button, you may hear
the EPx effects, due to Damper data recorded in the song.

1. While in the Song Play page, the M (Measure) parameter

is selected. Use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to choose a

1. Press PLAY/PAUSE to start playing the song. The indica-

tor on the button turns on.

2. Press PLAY/PAUSE again to stop the song at the current

position. The indicator on the button starts flashing.

3. Press PLAY/PAUSE again to resume playback. The indica-

tor on the button stays on steadily.

4. Press STOP to stop the song. The indicator on the PLAY/

PAUSE button turns off. The song returns to the begin­ning (measure “---”).

different measure (+/YES is sometimes called Fast For­ward, while -/NO is called Rewind):

2. Press the PLAY/PAUSE button to start playback from the

selected measure.

24

Muting/unmuting a recorder’s part

Playing back a song > Muting/unmuting a recorder’s part

During playback, you can mute or unmute a recorder’s part.
Muting is useful to play a part on the keyboard, while letting
the recorder to continue playing the other.

Depending on the settings made in Global mode (see “Mute
Level” on page 50), muting may completely silence the part, or
just attenuate it. Attenuation is very useful for practicing, since
it lets you play over a part that you can still hear at a very soft
level.

Note: The part’s status is automatically restored when you
choose a different song (it is turned on if there are notes, or
turned off if the part is empty).

Changing the song’s tempo

Each song contains its own tempo. You can, however, change
it during playback, for example to make it easier playing along
with the song.

1. Use the TEMPO + button to increase the tempo and make

the song play faster.

1. Press the PART 1 or

PART 2 button, de­pending on the part
you want to mute
(usually, Part 1 = left
hand, Part 2 = right
hand. This may be different with songs imported via USB).
The muted part’s indicator turns off.

At this point, you can play the muted part on the keyboard.

2. Press the same button again, to unmute the part and let its

indicator turn on again.

2. Use the TEMPO - button to decrease the tempo and make

the song play slower.

3. Press both the +/YES and -/NO buttons at the same time

to recall the original tempo of the song.

EnglishEnglish

Play along with the song

During playback, you can play along with the song. The latest
selected sounds are still active on the keyboard. You can select
different sounds, as seen before. When you press a sound se­lection button, the Main page appears. Press the SONG PLAY
button to return to the Song Play page.

When selecting different sounds, their effects are also recalled.
Be careful, since this can dramatically affect the song’s overall
sound. When selecting a different song, the song’s effects are
selected again.

25

Playing back a song > Cycle Play

Cycle Play 1





On S:1 E:1

Cycle Play 1





Off

Cycle Play

When practicing, you can choose a passage to be repeated
again and again. This way, you can try it until it is perfect. This
is called the Cycle Play function.

Note: When the Cycle Play is activated, the Fast Play function no
longer works (see page 50).

Note: If you enter editing later, you might see a different edit
page instead of the first one. Use the SCROLL  button to
reach it.

1. While in Song Play mode, press the EDIT button. The first

page of the Song Edit mode, Cycle Play, will appear.

Cycle Play 1





Off

2. Press the +/YES button to turn the Cycle Play mode on.

The S (Start Measure) and E (End Measure) parameters
will appear:

Cycle Play 1





On S:1 E:99

Start Measure

3. Press the SCROLL 

sure) parameter, and use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to
choose the measure where the cycle will be starting. Keep
them pressed to scroll faster.



Cycle Play 1
On

End Measure

button to select the S (Start Mea-





S:1 E:1

5. Press the EXIT button to return to the Song Play page.

You’ll notice the Cycle Play icon appearing on the top right
corner of the display, indicating the function has been ac­tivated:

01-Prelude 1





M:--- 4/4 120

This icon will stay steadily on when cycle measures are
playing back. It will flash when measures located before or
after the cycle measures are playing (for example, it will
flash if measure 2 or 16 is playing back, when the cycle is
delimited by measures 4 and 12).

Cycle Play icon

6. Press PLAY/PAUSE to start playing. The song will cycle be-

tween the chosen starting and ending points.

During playback, you can press the PLAY/PAUSE button
to pause the song, or restart it from the current point. You
can press the STOP button to stop the song and go back to
the Cycle’s Start Measure.

Note: If the S (Start Measure) parameter has a value other
than 1, the song will be set to pause even if you press STOP.

Turning the Cycle Play off

The Cycle Play will continue until you don’t select a different
song, or turn the instrument off. Otherwise, you can manually
turn it off.

1. While in Song Play mode, press the EDIT button. The first

page of the Song Edit mode should appear.

By default, the “S” parameter corresponds to the first mea­sure.

4. Press the SCROLL 

sure) parameter, and use the +/YES and -/NO buttons to
choose the measure where the cycle will be ending. Keep
them pressed to scroll faster.



button to select the E (Ending Mea-

Cycle Play 1
On S:1





E:1

2. Press the -/NO button to turn the Cycle Play mode off.

3. Press the EXIT button to return to the Song Play page. The

Cycle Play icon on the top right corner of the display will
be gone.

26