Korg R3 User Manual

E

1

ii

Precautions

Data handling

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 (for U.S.A.)

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.

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

CE mark for European Harmonized Standards

CE mark for European Harmonized Standards
CE mark which is attached to our company’s products of AC
mains operated apparatus until December 31, 1996 means it
conforms to EMC Directive (89/336/EEC) and CE mark
Directive (93/68/EEC). And, CE mark which is attached after
January 1, 1997 means it conforms to EMC Directive (89/336/
EEC), CE mark Directive (93/68/EEC) and Low Voltage
Directive (73/23/EEC).
Also, CE mark which is attached to our company’s products
of Battery operated apparatus means it conforms to EMC
Directive (89/336/EEC) and CE mark Directive (93/68/EEC).

Unexpected malfunctions can result in the loss of memory
contents. Please be sure to save important data on an external
data filer (storage device). Korg cannot accept any responsibility
for any loss or damage which you may incur as a result of data
loss.

Printing conventions in this manual

Parameters “ ”

Parameters are enclosed in “double quotation marks.”

Symbols , ,

These symbols respectively indicate cautions, advice, and MIDI­related explanations.

MIDI-related explanations

CC# is used as an abbreviation for Control Change Number.
In MIDI-related explanations, numbers enclosed in square
brackets [ ] are in hexadecimal notation.

Display indications

The numerical values of various parameters appearing in this
manual are only for explanatory purposes. They may not
necessary match what appears in the display of your R3.

Knob positions and parameters

Knob positions and parameter values appearing in this manual
are approximations. There may be slight discrepancies between
knob positions and parameter values.

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

are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
owners.

iii

Thank you for purchasing the Korg R3 synthesizer/vocoder. To ensure
trouble-free enjoyment, please read this manual carefully and use the
product correctly.

Table of contents

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

Main Features ..................................................................................... 1

The structure of a program .................................................................. 2

Synthesizer .....................................................................................................2

Vocoder ........................................................................................................... 4

Front and rear panel ........................................................................... 5

Front panel .....................................................................................................5

Rear panel ...................................................................................................... 7

Preparations ........................................................ 8

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

Connections from the audio outputs......................................................... 8

Connections to the audio inputs ................................................................ 8

Connections to MIDI equipment/computers ..........................................8

Connecting the included mic ......................................................................8

Connecting the pedal ................................................................................... 9

Turning the power on ......................................................................... 10

1. The power supply ................................................................................... 10

2. Turning the power on ............................................................................ 10

3. Turning the power off ............................................................................ 10

Quick Start......................................................... 11

Demo songs ...................................................................................... 11

Listening to the demo songs ..................................................................... 11

Synth programs................................................................................. 12

1. Selecting and playing a program .........................................................12

2. Modifying the sound.............................................................................. 12

Vocoder programs ............................................................................. 14

1. Playing a vocoder program................................................................... 14

2. Modifying the sound.............................................................................. 14

Arpeggiator ...................................................................................... 15

Using the arpeggiator ................................................................................ 15

Modulation Sequence ........................................................................ 16

1. Playing back a modulation sequence ..................................................16

2. Recording a modulation sequence.......................................................16

Formant Motion ................................................................................. 18

1. What is a Formant Motion?................................................................... 18

2. Recording formant motion data ........................................................... 18

Editing ............................................................... 19

Basic editing...................................................................................... 19

Basic editing procedures............................................................................19

Editing each timbre .................................................................................... 20

Editing a vocoder program .......................................................................21

Editing the arpeggiator ..............................................................................22

How to read the pages for each section ..................................................22

iv

Table of Contents

Timbre Parameters ............................................. 23

1. VOICE ........................................................................................... 23

2. UNISON ........................................................................................ 24

3. PITCH-A ........................................................................................ 25

4. PITCH-B ......................................................................................... 26

5. OSC1 (Oscillator 1)........................................................................ 27

6. OSC2 (Oscillator 2)........................................................................ 30

7. MIXER ........................................................................................... 31

8. FILTER1-A ...................................................................................... 32

9. FILTER1-B....................................................................................... 34

10. FILTER2-A .................................................................................... 35

11. FILTER2-B .................................................................................... 36

12. AMP (Amplifier) ........................................................................... 37

13. DRIVE/WS (Drive/Wave Shape)................................................... 38

14. EG1 ............................................................................................ 40

15. EG2 ............................................................................................ 41

16. EG3 ............................................................................................ 42

17. EG VELO INT (EG Level Velocity Intensity) ..................................... 43

18. LFO 1, 19. LFO 2 ......................................................................... 44

20. PATCH 1, 21. PATCH 2, 22. PATCH 3, 23. PATCH 4,

24. PATCH 5, 25. PATCH 6 ................................................................. 45

26. MOD SEQ-A (Modulation Sequencer) ........................................... 46

27. MOD SEQ-B (Modulation Sequence) ............................................. 47

28. EQ (Equalizer) ............................................................................. 48

29. INSERT FX1, 30 INSERT FX2......................................................... 49

31. MASTER FX.................................................................................. 50

Arpeggio parameters ......................................... 51

Front Panel Arpeggio Parameters ...................................................... 51

32. ARPEGGIATOR-A ......................................................................... 52

33. ARPEGGIATOR-B ......................................................................... 53

Vocoder parameters ........................................... 54

Front panel vocoder parameters ........................................................ 54

34. CARRIER ...................................................................................... 55

35. MODULATOR-A ........................................................................... 56

36. MODULATOR-B ............................................................................ 57

37. FILTER.......................................................................................... 58

38. FILTER/AMP................................................................................. 59

39. CH LEVEL /PAN (Channel Level/Channel Panpot) ......................... 60

Overall settings (GLOBAL) ................................... 61

GLOBAL structure .............................................................................. 61

Overview ......................................................................................................61

40. GLOBAL-A ................................................................................... 62

41. GLOBAL-B ................................................................................... 63

MIDI parameters ................................................ 64

Using the R3 with other MIDI devices (MIDI) ....................................... 64

Overview ......................................................................................................64

Connecting MIDI devices/computers .................................................... 64

MIDI-related settings ................................................................................. 65

42. MIDI ............................................................................................ 68

43. MIDI FILTER.................................................................................. 70

44. MIDI CC# MAP (MIDI Control Change No. Map) ........................... 71

45. PATCH SOURCE ........................................................................... 72

v

Table of Contents

Pedal/Switch parameters.................................... 73

46. PEDAL/SW .................................................................................. 73

Saving Data ....................................................... 74

Saving your edited settings ................................................................ 74

Saving a program ........................................................................................ 74

Saving GLOBAL, MIDI settings ...............................................................74

Saving Formant Motion data ....................................................................74

SHIFT functions ................................................... 75

Copying and exchanging timbres/ Initializing a program .................. 75

Initializing Vocoder Parameters.......................................................... 76

Copy Effect ........................................................................................ 76

Data dump ........................................................................................ 77

Restoring the factory settings ............................................................. 78

Write protect setting .......................................................................... 78

Other SHIFT key functions .................................................................. 79

Index ................................................................. 81

Voice Name List.................................................. 83

Trouble shooting ................................................. 86

Specifications and options................................... 87

vi

Introduction

Main Features

1. MMT (Multi Modeling Technology) synthesis engine

In addition to traditional analog synthesizer waveforms, the R3 also
provides a wide range of oscillator algorithms, including formant waves,
noise, and 64 DWGS (Digital Waveform Generator System) waves. With
this rich assortment of oscillator algorithms, your R3 can produce a vast
array of sonic variations.

2. Advanced Formant Motion vocoding

The

R3

includes a sixteen band vocoder. In addition to simulating the
classic “talking instrument” vocoder sounds of yester-year, you can shift
the filter frequencies and adjust the level and panning of each band to
create highly original vocoder sounds. There’s also a Formant Motion
feature that lets you capture the changing formants - even words -from
your voice and reproduce them later as you play the keyboard, without a
microphone present!

3. 128 easily editable programs

When shipped from the factory, the R3 contains 128 preloaded programs.
Banks A–N are loaded with 112 synth programs, while banks O and P
contain sixteen vocoder programs. By selecting a page and turning any of
the four knobs, you can quickly and intuitively edit these sounds. In
addition to detailed editing, these same knobs can be used as Perfor­mance Edit controllers to modify the sound as you play.

4. External sound processing

Any external audio source can be connected to the R3 via the AUDIO
INPUT 1 and 2 jacks, and processed in the same way as the internal
waveforms.

6. Modulation Sequencers

Just as step sequencers provide new pitch data to an oscillator over time,
the Modulation Sequencers can provide changes in modulation data over
time, in a way similar to a classic analog sequencer. Each modulation
sequence can be set to provide a new discreet value at each step, or to
send out a continuously changing value using the values assigned to
each step as a “map”. Modulation Sequences can be recorded in step time
or in real time.

7. Built-in EQ and effects to add polish to your sound

Each timbre is equipped with two insert effects and a two-band equal­izer. Each two-timbre program provides a master effect that lets you add
a final touch to your overall sound. Thirty different effect algorithms are
available.

8. Arpeggiator

You can set the R3’s arpeggiator to produce an arpeggiated pattern of
notes by simply holding down a chord. There are six arpeggio types, and
you can adjust the gate time, swing amount, and note value of the
arpeggiated notes. You can also create rhythmic variations by turning off
specific steps of the arpeggio pattern.

9. Editor/Librarian software

By connecting the R3 to your computer, you can use the Editor/Librarian
software (included free) to edit all of the R3’s parameters from your
computer. The R3 is also equipped with USB/MIDI, eliminating the need
for a MIDI interface.

5. Virtual Patches

Modulators and controllers such as the filter EG, amp EG, LFO 1/2,
keyboard tracking, and the modulation wheel can be routed to control
parameters such as pitch, cutoff, and amp. This virtual patching mimics
the patching versatility of modular analog synthesizers (without using
actual patch cables) to provide more creative flexibility.

1

The structure of a program

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Synthesizer

Each of the R3’s programs consists of two timbres, a master effect, and an
arpeggiator (Figure 0-1).

Figure 0-1

Audio Input 1

Audio Input 2

Timbre 1

Timbre 2

Arpeggiator

Synth

AUDIO INPUT 1, 2

OSC1

OSC MOD

OSC2

NOISE

Free Assign

MOD SEQUENCER

Timbre 1/2

In the top diagram, you can see that each timbre consists of a Synth, an
EQ, and two Insert Effects (IFX). The lower diagram shows the structure
of each timbre’s synth section.

Oscillator (OSC1/OSC2/NOISE)

There are three Oscillator sources; Oscillator 1, Oscillator 2, and the noise
generator. Oscillator 1 (OSC1) lets you choose from seven different
oscillator algorithms. These include conventional analog synthesizer
waveforms, DWGS waveforms, formant waves, noise, plus an external

Synth

EQ Insert FX 1/2

Synth

Filter Routing= Individual

MIXER

LFO1 LFO2 MIDI 1–3

EQ

KBD TRACK

EG1

Insert FX 1/2

FILTER1

FILTER2

EG1

EG2 EG3

VIRTUAL PATCH

Drive/WS Position
= PreAmp

Free Assign

Master FX

DRIVE/WS

OUTPUT
(L/MONO, R)

AMP

KBD Track
Velocity
Pitch Bend
Mod Wheel

PAN

To EQ

audio signal. Oscillator 2 (OSC2) lets you choose from four different
oscillator waves - sine, triangle, square, and sawtooth. The noise genera­tor (NOISE) produces white noise. You can use this for a variety of sound
shaping situations, such as adding breath noise for a wind instrument
sound, or as part of a special effect sound. Modulation such as cross­modulation, unison, and VPM (Variable Phase Modulation) can be
applied to the analog synthesizer waveforms of Oscillator 1. Oscillator 2
can be used as the modulating oscillator for the sync modulation (SYNC)
or ring modulation (RING) that are such classic analog synthesizer
techniques. The best elements of SYNC and RING modulation can be
combined using a third option: RING SYNC.

Voice / Unison / Pitch

These sections provides additional parameters relating to the oscillators,
such as trigger mode, unison stacking, transpose, portamento, bend
range, etc. For die-hard analog fans, this is also where you can find the
Analog Tune parameter, used to introduce simulated oscillator drift.

Mixer (MIXER)

The mixer adjusts the volume levels of oscillator 1 (OSC1), oscillator 2
(OSC2), and the noise generator (NOISE), and sends the combined signal
to the filter (FILTER).

Filter (FILTER1/FILTER2)

The filter section consists of two multi-mode, resonant filters. The two
filters can be routed in series or parallel, or even side by side in a "one
oscillator per filter" arrangement. The filters adjust the tone of the sound
coming from the oscillators by boosting or cutting specific frequency
regions. Filter settings will have a major impact on the sound. By default,
envelope generator 1 (EG1) is set to vary the cutoff frequency of the
filters over time.

Amp (AMP)

Traditionally, the amp section controls the output volume (AMP) and the
panning (PAN), or the position in the stereo field. By default, envelope
generator 2 (EG2) is set to vary the volume level over time.

Drive/Wave Shape (DRIVE/WS)

The R3 provides additional features to add more tonal complexity and
“edge” to the sound - including Drive, Wave Shape control (DRIVE/WS).

2

The structure of a program

Envelope generators (EG1/EG2/EG3)

Envelope generators (EG) are used to apply time-varying change to the
sound parameters. Each EG consists of four parameters: attack time
(ATTACK), decay time (DECAY), sustain level (SUSTAIN), and release
time (RELEASE). Each timbre contains three of these EGs. EG1 is assigned
to control the filter cutoff frequency, and EG2 is assigned to control the
volume of the amp. You can also use virtual patching (VIRTUAL PATCH)
to assign these EGs as envelope sources for other parameters.

LFO section (LFO1/LFO2)

LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) is used to apply cyclic change to the sound
parameters. Each timbre contains two LFOs, and for each LFO you can
choose one of five waveforms. By default, LFO1 is assigned to oscillator 1’s
analog algorithms as the knob labelled “OSCCtr2”, and LFO2 is assigned to
the modulation wheel. You can also make virtual patch settings (VIRTUAL
PATCH) to assign the LFOs as modulation sources for other parameters.

Virtual Patch (VIRTUAL PATCH)

The virtual patch section lets you freely assign modulation sources to
modulate-able parameters, giving you even more flexibility for creating
sounds. You can make six virtual patch assignments in each timbre.

Modulation Sequencer (MOD SEQUENCER)

Using a modulation sequencer, you can apply up to sixteen discrete
values (steps) to a modulate-able parameter over time, in a manner
similar to vintage analog synthesizers. The modulation sequence can
play once, repeat, loop front to back, etc. - providing movement and
complexity to the sound. The value can change abruptly at each step, or
it can smoothly transition from value to value. The value of each step can
be set using the front panel knobs, or by using the Motion Rec function to
record knob movements (changes in parameter values) in realtime.

Equalizer (EQ) and Insert Effects (INSERT FX1/FX2)

Each timbre is equipped with a two-band Equalizer to further control the
overall tone. In addition, each timbre also possesses two insert effects.
Thirty different effect types are available, and their 128 editable effect
program locations to save your favorites. Certain effects can by synced to
the tempo of the internal clock that is running the arpeggiator, or to an
external MIDI clock. BPM Sync effects can be conveniently set as note
values (Half-note, quarter-note, etc.).

Master effect (MFX)

Each program contains one master effect. You can use this to apply a
reverb or delay effect to the overall combined sound of the program
including the processing applied by the insert effects of each timbre,
adding the final touch to the complete program. You can choose from
thirty different effect types, and 128 editable effect programs.

Arpeggiator

You can apply the arpeggiator to a timbre. If the program uses two
timbres, you can apply the arpeggiator to either or both timbres. This is a
step arpeggiator with six types of arpeggios.

3

The structure of a program

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Vocoder

A vocoder is a device that analyzes the character (the frequency response
of each band) of a “modulator” signal (typically a human voice from a
mic), and applies a filter with the analyzed characteristics to the “carrier”
signal (typically a waveform produced by an oscillator), imposing a vocal
character on that waveform, and making it seem as though the instru­ment is talking.
As shown in figure 0-2, a vocoder program consists of two signals; a
carrier (the signal that is modified) and a modulator (the signal that
modulates the carrier). These signals are routed to the vocoder section.

Figure 0-2

Audio In 1

Audio In 2

Vocoder

Audio Input 1

Timbre 2

Audio Input 2

Timbre 1

Timbre 1

Timbre 2

LEVEL

LEVEL

Synth

Synth

Modulator

Carrier

Vocoder Sw= ON

Carrier

Vocoder

Modulator

Vocoder Sw= ON & Modulator AudioSrc = Timbre2

Band16

Band1

ANALYSIS

FILTER

Resonance

SYNTHESIS

FILTER

Fc Offset

Formant shift

EQ

E.F. Sens

ENVELOPE

FOLLOWER

Level1…16

EQ INSERT FX1/2

INSERT FX1/2

Formant Motion
On/Off

Pan1…16

Direct
Level

HPF
Level

FORMANT

MOTION DATA

MASTER FX

HPF

OUTPUT
(L/MONO, R)

To Timbre 1 EQ

Vocoder section (VOCODER)

The vocoder divides the audio spectrum into “bands”. In the R3, the
vocoder uses 16 bands. There are actually two sets of 16 bands; the first is
used to analyze the tonal characteristics of one sound (the Modulator),
and the second set is used to apply the same characteristics to another
sound (the Carrier). Each analysis band contains a bandpass filter and an
envelope follower. Each synthesis band contains a band pass filter whose
output is controlled by the matching envelope follower in the analysis
band. The modulator’s audio signal is sent through the sixteen bandpass
filters (the analysis filters), and the envelope follower detects the volume
envelope (change over time) for each of these frequency bands.
The carrier’s audio signal is sent through the other set of sixteen
bandpass filters (the synthesis filters), and the envelope detected from
each analysis filter is applied to each synthesis filter to modulate the
sound, producing the impression that the carrier sound is “talking” (the
typical vocoder effect). You can use the “FrmntSft (formant shift)” and
“FcOffset (Cutoff)” parameters to shift the frequencies of the carrier
bandpass filters. This will raise or lower the frequency response while
preserving the character of the modulator, creating major changes in the
sound.

Modulator (MODULATOR)

Most commonly, you will input your voice as the modulator, but interest­ing results can also be obtained by inputting a rhythm sound as the
modulator waveform. You can use an Audio Input1, Timbre2 or a
Formant motion data as the modulator.

Carrier (CARRIER)

A sawtooth wave (SAW) or other waveform rich in overtones is the best
choice for the carrier. As the carrier, you can use a combination of two
sources (Timbre1 and Audio Input2).

4

Front and rear panel

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Front panel

AUDIO INPUT1 [MIC] jack

Connect a mic to this input. Vocoder-type
programs use the audio signal from this mic
as the modulator.
The [MIC] switch specifies whether this jack
or the rear panel [AUDIO INPUT 1] jack will
be used.

[MIC] switch

Selects the audio input source for
AUDIO INPUT 1. Select the XLR set­ting if you're using the front panel
[MIC] jack.
Select the REAR setting if you're us­ing the rear panel [AUDIO INPUT 1]
jack.

[AUDIO INPUT 1] knob

Adjusts the input level from the front
panel [MIC] jack and the rear panel
[AUDIO INPUT 1]. The LED will light
when there is an input signal, and will
light red if the input is overloaded.

[MASTER VOLUME] knob

Adjusts the output volume from the
OUTPUT jacks (L/MONO, R) and
headphone jack

OCTAVE [UP] [DOWN] buttons

Shift the pitch assigned to the keyboard
in one-octave steps over a range of ±3
octaves.

[PITCH] wheel

Controls the pitch.

[MOD] wheel

Controls the depth of modulation
(cyclic change).

[AUDIO INPUT 2] knob

Adjusts the input level from the rear panel [AU­DIO INPUT 2] jack. The LED will light when
there is an input signal, and will light red if the
input is overloaded.

[TEMPO] knob

Adjusts the tempo (speed) of the arpeggio,
LFO, or effect delay. The LED at the right will
blink in synchronization with the tempo.

ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] (DEMO) button

Switches the arpeggiator on/off (the button is lit
when on).
You can initiate demo playback by holding down the
[SHIFT] button and pressing this button.

TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE1] (TIMBRE1 SOLO), [TIMBRE2] (TIMBRE 2 SOLO) buttons

Select the timbre(s) that you want to play or edit.
You can solo each timbre by holding down the [SHIFT] button and pressing one of
these buttons.

[VOCODER] (AUDIO IN THRU) button

Switches the vocoder on/off (☞p.55).

OFF (dark): Vocoder is off.
ON (lit): Vocoder is on.
EDIT (blinking): Vocoder parameters can be edited.

ARPEGGIATOR [LATCH] (CALIBRATION) button

Specifies how the arpeggiator behaves when you release
the keyboard.
You can execute the foot pedal calibration function by hold­ing down the [SHIFT] button and pressing this button.

AUDIO IN THRU function

If you hold down the [SHIFT] button
and press this button, the signal
from the [AUDIO INPUT 1] (or MIC)
jack and the [AUDIO INPUT 2] jack
will be passed through to the OUT­PUT [L/MONO] and [R] jacks
(☞p.79).

PROGRAM SELECT [1] [2] [3]
[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] buttons

Select a program number within
the bank selected by the [BANK
SELECT] dial. (The selected but­ton will light.) You can also use
these buttons to turn the eight
steps of an arpeggio on/off to vary
the arpeggio performance.
(☞p.15)
In addition, you can hold down the
[SHIFT] button and press one of
these buttons to access the corre­sponding utility function (☞p.75
SHIFT function).

[BANK SELECT] dial

Selects the program bank (A–P).
When the R3 is shipped from the
factory, sounds are organized in
these banks by category.

5

Front and rear panel

[WRITE] button

Saves the program or global settings you’ve edit­ed (☞p.74).

[SHIFT] button

You can execute SHIFT functions (various utilities)
by holding down this button and pressing another
button (☞p.75).

MOD SEQ/FORMANT MOTION
[ON/OFF] button

If you’ve selected timbre 1 or 2
in the TIMBRE SELECT section,
pressing this button to make it
light (on) will play back the re­corded modulation sequence
data (☞p.16).
When you’re editing the vocod­er, pressing this button to make
it light (on) will play back the for­mant motion data. This lets you
produce a vocoder effect without
inputting an audio signal from
an external source (☞p.18). If
this button is dark (off), a vocod­er effect will be produced using
an external audio signal.
By holding down the [SHIFT]
button and pressing this button,
you can specify the functions
that the [1]–[4] knobs will have
in Play mode (☞p.75 “SHIFT
functions”).

[EXIT] button

When you’re editing, this button finalizes the set­tings and returns you to Play mode. When you’re
using a SHIFT function, this button cancels exe­cution of the function and returns you to Play
mode (☞p.75).

Main display

In Play mode, this shows information
about the currently selected program. In
Edit mode, this shows the page name
you’re editing. In other cases, this display
shows the current setting or various
messages.

Sub-displays

These show parameter
names or values for the
selected program (Play
mode) or edit page (Edit
mode).

[1] [2] [3] [4] knobs

Use these knobs for per­formance editing in Play
mode, or to edit the pa­rameters in the various
pages of Edit mode
(☞p.19).

[PAGE] dial

By turning this dial while
in Play mode, you can
enter Edit mode and se­lect a page to edit
(☞p.19).
When using a SHIFT
function, use this dial to
specify a parameter or
value (☞p.75).

MOD SEQ/FORMANT MOTION [REC] button

When you’re editing a timbre, this button takes you to Modulation Se­quence recording mode (

When you’re editing the vocoder, this button takes you to Formant Mo­tion Data recording mode (

☞

p.16).

☞

p.18).

ORIGINAL VALUE LED

In Edit mode, this will light if the value of the parameter you’re
editing matches the value stored in the program (☞p.20).

6

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Rear panel

Front and rear panel

ASSIGNABLE

You can connect a foot switch and foot pedal to these jacks.

[SWITCH] jack

Connect a foot switch or damper pedal to this jack.

[PEDAL] jack

Connect a foot pedal to this jack.

[Contrast knob]

Adjusts the contrast of the main display
and the sub-displays. The readability of
the displays will depend on your viewing
angle, so you should adjust the contrast
as needed for best visibility.

[POWER/STANDBY] switch

Tu r ns the power on or off. (☞p.10)

DC12V IN connector

Connect the included AC adaptor to this
connector. Connect the AC adaptor to the R3
before you plug the adaptor into an AC outlet.

[USB] connector

Connect this to your computer so that MIDI data can
be transferred between the computer and the R3.
This also lets you use the included Editor/Librarian
software to edit the R3’s parameters.

[AUDIO INPUT 2] jack

For synthesizer programs, you can
connect an external synthesizer or
audio device to this jack and use its
audio signal as the oscillator 1
waveform.
For vocoder programs, you can use
this signal as the external carrier of the
vocoder. Use the front panel [AUDIO
INPUT 2] knob to control the input
level.

MIDI
Use these connectors to connect external MIDI
devices to the R3 so that MIDI data can be
transferred.

[MIDI IN] connector

This connector receives MIDI data.

[MIDI OUT] connector

This connector transmits MIDI data.

[MIDI THRU] connector

Incoming MIDI data is retransmitted without
change from this connector. Use this when you
want to pass the same stream of MIDI data to
multiple MIDI devices.

OUTPUT [L/MONO], [R] jacks

Connect your powered monitors,
stereo amp, mixer, or multi-track
recorder to these jacks.
Use the L/MONO jack for monaural
connection.

[PHONES] jack

Connect your headphones
(stereo 1/4" plug) to this jack.

[AUDIO INPUT 1] jack

For synthesizer programs, you can connect an external
sequencer, audio device, or 1/4" plug microphone to this
jack, and use the input signal as the oscillator 1
waveform. For vocoder programs, you can use this signal
as the modulator. Use the front panel [AUDIO INPUT 1]
knob and [MIC] switch to control the input level.
If you want to use this jack, you must set the front panel
[MIC] switch to the REAR position. If the [MIC] switch is
set to XLR, the front panel [MIC] jack will be used rather
than this jack.

[MIC/LINE] switch

Set this to the MIC position if you’ve connected a mic to
the AUDIO INPUT 1, or to the LINE position if you’ve
connected an external synthesizer or audio device.

In some cases, noise may occur when you operate
this switch. Turn the [MASTER VOLUME] knob all the
way toward the left before you operate the switch.

7

Preparations

1

2

Connections

The diagram below shows basic connections for the R3. Make substitu­tions as appropriate for your equipment.

Included mic

AC adapter
(included)

Connect to
an AC outlet

MIDI IN

MIDI keyboard, tone generator module,
rhythm machine etc.

MIDI OUT

Powered monitors, etc.

Be sure to turn off the power of all devices before making connec­tions. Failing to take this precaution may cause your speaker system
to be damaged, or may cause malfunctions.

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Connections from the audio outputs

Connect the R3’s OUTPUT [L/MONO] and [R] jacks to the input jacks of
your mixer or powered monitor system.
In order to take full advantage of the potential of the R3, we recommend
that you use stereo outputs.
If you are making monaural connections, use the L/MONO jack.

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Connections to the audio inputs

If you want to use the R3 as a vocoder, connect a mic or other audio source
to AUDIO INPUT 1, and use that audio source as the modulator (☞p.14).
If you want to use an external sequencer, rhythm machine, or audio source
as the carrier of the vocoder, connect that device to AUDIO INPUT 2

8

Phones

.

If you want to process the waveform of a synthesizer or sampler, connect
a mic or the output jack of your external device to the AUDIO INPUT 1
and 2 jacks (☞p.29).

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Connections to MIDI equipment/computers

The keyboard, and controllers etc. of the R3 can be used to control an
external MIDI tone generator. Conversely, another MIDI keyboard or
sequencer can control the tone generator of the R3 to produce sound.
(☞p.64)

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Connecting the included mic

A mic for use with the vocoder is included with the R3. Here's how to
attach the included mic to the R3.

Do not apply excessive force to the neck of the mic, or repeatedly
bend it back and forth any more than necessary. Doing so may cause
malfunctions such as breakage of the internal wiring.

Grasp the connector of the mic and con-

1

nect it to the front panel [MIC] jack. Don’t
use excessive force when plugging it in.

To disconnect the included mic, grasp
the connector and pull it out.

Set the [MIC] switch to XLR.

2

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press

3

the [VOCODER] button; the input signal from the mic will be output
from the OUTPUT [L/MONO] [R] jack and [PHONES] jack. (This is the
AUDIO IN THRU function.) Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press
the [VOCODER] button once again to return to the normal state.

Be careful of the input and output levels.

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Connecting the pedal

ASSIGNABLE PEDAL jack

By connecting a pedal such as the Korg EXP-2 or XVP-10 to this jack. You
can send control messages such as breath control, volume, pan, expres­sion, etc. while keeping your hands free for performing. The function
controlled by the pedal can be specified in the 46. Pedal/Sw page
“A.Pedal.” The factory default setting for the assignable pedal is Expres­sion (Exp Pedal). (☞ p.73)

ASSIGNABLE SWITCH jack

This jack is used for a switch type of pedal such as the Korg PS-1 pedal
switch or Korg DS-1H damper pedal. The foot switch can be used for
various functions including switching programs, changing octaves, or
turning portamento or the arpeggiator on/off. The pedal can be set to act
as a momentary pedal, or as a toggle type of switch pedal. The function
controlled by the switch can be specified in the 46. Pedal/Sw page
“A.SwFunc.” The factory default setting for the assignable switch is
Damper. (☞ p.73)

Connections

9

Turning the power on

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1. The power supply

Before you connect the power supply, make sure that the [POWER/
STANDBY] switch is turned off (i.e., in the outward position).

Connecting the AC adaptor

Firmly insert the plug of the included AC adaptor into the jack. Then
connect the AC adaptor to an AC outlet.

Never use any AC adaptor other than the included one.

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2. Turning the power on

Before you turn on the R3’s power, you should lower the level of
your monitor system or other connected output device.

1 Turn the R3’s [MASTER VOLUME] knob all the way toward the left.
2 Press the [POWER/STANDBY] switch to turn on the power.

The display will indicate the program number and name.

3 Turn the R3’s [MASTER VOLUME] knob toward the right to an ap-

propriate position.

4 Adjust the volume of your external output device.

2

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3. Turning the power off

After saving any necessary data (such as a program you have edited)
turn the power off using the reverse order of the power-on procedure.

Never turn the power off while data is being saved (i.e., while Write
is executing). Doing so may damage the internal data.

10

Quick Start

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Listening to the demo songs

The R3 contains several demo songs that take advantage of the rich
sounds and expressive potential of the instrument.

To listen to the demo songs, hold down the [SHIFT] button and press

1

the ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] button.
The demo will begin playing. the PROGRAM NUMBER button will
light and the ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] button will blink.

To switch demo songs during playback, press the PROGRAM NUM-

2

BER [1]–[8] buttons.
When you press the [SHIFT] button, demo playback will stop.

3

The R3 will return to normal playing mode.

1

3

Demo songs

1

2

11

Synth programs

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1. Selecting and playing a program

The R3 contains 128 programs. For easy selection, the programs are
arranged into 16 banks (A-P). Each bank contains eight programs. To
select different programs, use the PROGRAM SELECT knob and the
PROGRAM NUMBER buttons. As an example, here’s how to select
program “D–4 Trancer”.

Turn the PROGRAM SELECT knob to the “D–POLY SYNTH” posi-

1

tion.
Press the PROGRAM NUMBER [4] button to select the program num-

2

ber.
The display will show the name and number of the selected program.

The program will change the moment you switch Banks or select a
different Number.

Play the keyboard to listen to the sound.

3

4 You can use the OCTAVE [UP] or [DOWN] buttons to shift the pitch

range of the keyboard. (☞p.13)

Program Bank

Program Number

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2. Modifying the sound

On the R3, you can modify the sound to add expression to your perfor­mance by turning the knobs [1]–[4], by moving the [PITCH] or [MOD]
wheels, or by the way that you play the keyboard. Try out these various
ways to modify the selected program.

Using the Performance Edit function

In the R3’s normal state (when the main display is showing the program
name), you can use knobs [1]–[4] to control specific parameters of the
selected program in realtime. This is referred to as Performance Editing.
The Performance Edit function of each knob can be set individually for
each “section” (Timbre 1, Timbre 2, and Vocoder). See page 80 for more
information. With the factory preloaded data, the Performance Edit
functions for knobs [1]–[4] are generally set to the following parameters.

Timbre 1/Timbre 2:

Knob [1]: Filter1 Cutoff Frequency (Cutoff1)
Knob [2]: Filter1 Resonance Amount (Reso1)
Knob [3]: Filter Envelope (EG1) Intensity (EG1 Int1)
Knob [4]: Master Effect Dry/Wet (MFX D/W)

12

1

2

4

C6–C9 UP lit red
C5–C8 UP lit orange
C4–C7 UP lit green

Key operation

Press UP key

Key operation

Press

DOWN key

C3–C6 dark

C2–C5 DOWN lit green
C1–C4 DOWN lit orange
C0–C3 DOWN lit red

Keyboard range Key LED

Synth programs

Using the [PITCH] and [MOD] wheels

[PITCH] wheel:

Normally this wheel is used for bending the pitch.
Pushing the wheel up will bend the pitch up (sharp);
pulling the wheel down will bend the pitch down
(flat). When the wheel is in the center position, no
pitch bend effect is produced. When released, the
wheel will return to the center position.

[MOD] wheel:

This wheel allows you to manually control the modulation depth. As you
push the wheel up, the modulation depth will increase. As you pull the
wheel down, the modulation depth will decrease. At the lowest setting,
no modulation is applied from this wheel.

The [PITCH] and [MOD] wheels can be used as virtual patch
sources, they can produce a variety of effects other than described
above. (☞p.45)

0

0

Using the OCTAVE SHIFT UP and DOWN buttons

You can use these buttons to shift the range of the keyboard, in one­octave units over a range of +/-3 octaves.

Using the keyboard

Keyboard Tracking:

Keyboard tracking uses the position of the note on the keyboard to affect
the sound. Normally, this is used to brighten the sound as you play
upward, or to create differences in volume between high and low notes.

Velocity:

The dynamic strength with which you play the keyboard can affect the
sound.
Normally, your dynamics will affect the tone and volume.

Since velocity and keyboard tracking can be used as a virtual patch
source, you can use them to produce a variety of effects other than
those described above. (☞p.45)

The R3’s keyboard does not generate aftertouch data.

Octave Shift settings and note numbers

C-1

(0)

(12)

C0

(24)

C1

-3 octaves

(36)

Middle C on a
piano is C4 (MIDI
note number 60)

+2 octaves

(96)

C7

C5
(72)

-2 octaves

(48)

C3

C2

-1 octave

C4

(60)

Octave Shift not used

+1 octave

(84)

C6

+3 octaves

C8

(108)

C9

(120)G9(127)

C#8

(116)C9(120)

13

Vocoder programs

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1. Playing a vocoder program

A vocoder applies the spectral character of an externally-input voice (the
“modulator”) to an oscillator or other sound (the “carrier”), and outputs
the result. In the most popular use of a vocoder, you can speak or sing
into a mic and play chords on the keyboard, to create the impression that
an instrument is speaking or singing. You can also create a variety of
interesting effects by using audio signals other than a human voice (such
as rhythm sounds).

1 Turn the [AUDIO INPUT 1] knob all the way to the left, and set the

[MIC] switch to XLR.
Connect the included mic to the [MIC] connector (☞p.8).

2

Select a vocoder program from bank P (VOCODER).

3

The [VOCODER] button will light.

With the factory settings, bank P (VOCODER) contains vocoder
programs.

Sing or talk into the mic, and turn the [AUDIO INPUT 1] knob up (to

4

the right) as far as you can, without allowing the AUDIO INPUT 1 LED
to light red.

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2. Modifying the sound

Just as with synth programs, you can modify the sound of a vocoder
program by turning the knobs [1]–[4], by moving the [PITCH] and
[MOD] wheels, by switching octaves, and by how you play the key­board. Try using some of these methods to alter the selected program, as
described on the preceding pages.
With the factory preloaded data, the Performance Edit functions for
knobs [1]-[4] are generally set to the following parameters.

Vocoder :

Knob [1]: Formant Offset (FcOffset)
Knob [2]: Vocoder Resonance (Vcd Reso)
Knob [3]: Envelope Follower Sensitivity (E.F. Sens)
Knob [4]: Formant Motion Data Set Number (Frmnt No)

14

1

3

3

1, 4

While singing or talking into the mic, play the keyboard.

5

Try speaking or singing different words, and play various chords to
hear the vocoder effect.

The Formant Motion programs (Bank O) can produce vocoder effect
by simply by playing the keyboard; no vocal input is required. These
programs use stored formant data to create the vocoder effect.

Arpeggiator

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Using the arpeggiator

The arpeggiator detects the notes being played on the keyboard, and
automatically plays these notes one at a time in a variety of arpeggiated
styles. The R3’s arpeggiator provides six arpeggiator patterns, and lets you
adjust the duration (gate time) of the arpeggiated notes. The R3 also allows
you to specify the on/off status of each note in the chord for as many as
eight steps, letting you create an even wider range of arpeggio patterns.

When you play the chord shown above on the keyboard,
the notes will be sounded as shown at the right. (TYPE: UP)

Select a program. (☞p.12)

1

You can use the arpeggiator with either a synth program or a vocoder
program, but let’s select synth program “K–2 ArpPulse” for this
example.

Press the ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] button to turn the arpeggiator

2

on (the button will light).
Hold down a chord on the keyboard, and the arpeggiator will run.

3

Modifying the arpeggio

Turn the [PAGE] dial and select either the 32. Arpeggiator-A or the 33.

4

Arpeggiator-B page.
Turn the knobs [1]–[4] to adjust the arpeggiator parameters, changing

5

the way that the arpeggiator is sounded.
Adjust the tempo by [TEMPO] knob.

Turning individual steps on and off to vary the arpeggio

With the [PAGE] dial set to the 32. Arpeggiator-A or 33. Arpeggiator-B

6

page from the previous step, the PROGRAM NUMBER [1]–[8] but­tons will act as arpeggiator step on/off buttons, and will be lit (the “on”

state) for the number of valid steps.
By turning a step off (indicated by a blinking button) the correspond­ing step will change to a rest, and the resulting arpeggio will change
(see the diagram below). The on/off status off each step can be set
individually, allowing even more rhythmic possibilities.

TYPE: UP
LAST STEP: 8

Press the ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] button to turn the arpeggiator

7

off (the button will go dark).

2

4, 6

5

15

Modulation Sequence

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1. Playing back a modulation sequence

Timbre 1 and timbre 2 provide a “modulation sequence” that can record
movement of parameters over time. Let’s use a preset program to hear
what a modulation sequence can sound like.

Select a synth program.

1

You can use the modulation sequence with a synth program, but let’s
select synth program “K–5 RezoBeat” for this example.

The modulation sequence will begin playing when you play the key-

2

board; listen to the result.
Turn the modulation sequencer off by pressing the MOD SEQ [ON/

3

OFF] button (the button will go dark).

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2. Recording a modulation sequence

Let’s try recording a modulation sequence.

Recording in Play mode

In Play mode you can record the movement of one of the four Perfor­mance Edit knobs.

Select a synth program.

1

Select a timbre by pressing either the [TIMBRE1] or [TIMBRE2] but-

2

ton. The button for the selected timbre will blink.
Turn the modulation sequencer on by pressing the MOD SEQ [ON/

3

OFF] button. The button will light.
Press the MOD SEQ [REC] button to arm the modulation sequencer

4

for recording.
While holding down notes on the keyboard, turn the knob that con-

5

trols the parameter you want to change (one knob; [1], [2], [3], or [4]).
Recording will begin the moment you turn the knob. When you’ve
reached the last step, the [REC] button will go dark and recording will
end.

When you play the keyboard, the modulation sequence will begin play-

6

ing back and will then continue to loop. Listen to the result.

The modulation sequencer will record onkè the movement of the
knob that initiated recording. Even if you move other knobs after
recording has begun, their movements will not be recorded.

16

2

3

4

5

Recording in Edit mode

In Edit mode you can choose any single parameter that is available for
assignment via Knob Assign (SHIFT function) and record a movement for
it.

Select a synth program. Choose a program that is not

1

saved with a modulation sequence (MOD SEQ [ON/
OFF] button is dark).

Select a timbre by pressing either the [TIMBRE1] or

2

[TIMBRE2] button. The button for the selected tim­bre will blink.

Turn the modulation sequencer on by pressing the MOD SEQ [ON/

3

OFF] button. The button will light.
Turn the [PAGE] dial to enter Edit mode and select the page that con-

4

tains the parameter you want to record.
Press the MOD SEQ [REC] button to arm the modulation sequencer

5

for recording.
While holding down notes on the keyboard, turn one of the knobs [1]–

6

[4]. Recording will begin the moment you turn the knob. When you’ve
reached the last step, the [REC] button will go dark and recording will
end.

Turning the knob of a parameter that can’t be recorded will not
initiate recording.

When you play the keyboard, the modulation sequence will begin play-

7

ing back and will then continue to loop. Listen to the result.

Modulation Sequence

2 3

5

4

6

17

Formant Motion

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1. What is a Formant Motion?

Basically, the Formant Motion function records and saves the vocoder’s
“analysis” of a changing modulator signal. This saved formant motion
data can be used to produce vocoder effects without having to vocalize
into a mic each time you perform. In its internal memory, the R3 can store
sixteen sets of formant motion data, each up to 7.5 seconds long. Vocoder
programs (programs for which the [VOCODER] button is lit) can use this
data. When the R3 is shipped from the factory, bank O (FORMANT
MOTION) contains preloaded programs that use formant motion data.
You can select and play programs from this bank to hear the formant
motion effect.

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2. Recording formant motion data

Preparing to record

Turn the [AUDIO INPUT 1] knob all the way to the left, and set the

1

[MIC] switch to XLR.
Connect the included mic to the [MIC] connector (☞p.8).

2

Select a vocoder program from bank P (VOCODER). The [VOCODER]

3

button will light up.
Sing or talk into the mic, and turn the [AUDIO INPUT 1] knob up (to

4

the right) as far as you can, without allowing the AUDIO INPUT 1 LED
to light red.

Speak or sing into the mic.

8

Press the FORMANT MOTION [REC] button to stop recording.

9

Recording will stop automatically when the memory is full.

Press the FORMANT MOTION [ON/OFF] button (the button will

10

light).
Now you can play the vocoder program using the formant motion
data that you just recorded.

Saving

Here’s how to save the formant motion data you just recorded.

Press the [WRITE] button.

11

Make sure that the main display indicates “Formant” (i.e., that
formant motion data is the data that will be saved).
If the display indicates “Program“ or “Global,” use the [PAGE] dial to
select Formant.

Press the [WRITE] button once again.

12

The main display will indicate the save-destination data number.
Use the [PAGE] dial to specify the numbered location (1-16) where you

13

want the formant motion data to be saved.
Press the [WRITE] button.

14

The formant motion data will be saved into the numbered location
that you specified.

18

Recording

Press the [VOCODER] button.

5

The button will blink.
Press the FORMANT MOTION [REC] button.

6

The button will blink, and you’ll be in the record-ready condition.
Press the FORMANT MOTION [REC] button once again.

7

The moment you press the [REC] button, recording will begin and the
button will light.

5

10

6, 7, 9

11, 12, 14

13

Editing

Basic editing

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Basic editing procedures

On the R3 there are two basic ways for you to create your own sound(s).

• Select a program that is close to the sound you want to create, and tweak

the parameters of that program until it sounds the way you would like
it to.

• Start from an initialized program (“blank slate”), and create the sound

from scratch

All of editable parameters are organized into sections, and the param­eters in each section are accessed by selecting different edit pages. When
creating a sound from scratch, notice that the edit pages are organized in
a way that follow the logical order of editing. You can turn the dial to
step through these sections in the appropriate order. Broadly speaking,
the procedure is as follows.

Select the program that you want to start from. (☞p.12)

1

If you want to start from scratch, execute the Initialize operation. (☞p.75)
Use the TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE1], [TIMBRE2], or [VOCODER]
buttons to select the part that you want to edit.

Turn the [PAGE] dial to select the edit page that includes the parameter

2

you want to edit. Consider how the current program differs from the sound
you have in mind, and select the parameter that you want to edit.

3 Edit the value of the parameters available in the selected page, using

knobs [1], [2], [3], and [4]. The parameter controlled by each knob is
shown in the sub-display located above each knob.
For example if you’re editing a synth program, and you’ve selected the

8. Filt-A page in step 2, knob [1] will adjust the cutoff frequency, knob
[2] will adjust the resonance, knob [3] will adjust the filter balance, and
knob [4] controls the filter routing.

Go ahead and try editing the 15. EG2 page ozBameters “Attack2” and
“Decay2” (☞p.41), the 3. Pitch-A page parameter “Portamnt” (☞p.25),
or the 29. Insert FX1 page parameter “Type” to hear the result (☞p.49).

Repeat steps 2–3 as necessary to create the desired sound.

4

Write the program into memory. (☞p.74)

5

If you select another program or turn the power off before you write
the program into memory, your edits will be lost.

The difference between Catch and Jump modes

In some cases, the parameter values won’t seem to change when you
are turning knobs [1]–[4]. This can happen if the “KnobMode” (41.
Global-B page) is set to Catch. In the Catch mode, the physical knob
must be turned to the position matching the stored value (shown by
the LEDs around the perimeter of each knob) before any further
editing of that parameter can begin. This allows you to make fine
adjustments without any sudden or unnatural-sounding “jumps”
occurring in the sound.

For example, suppose that before you begin editing, the knob
is in the position shown at left.

The actual value of this parameter is saved at the position
shown by the triangle in the diagram at left. In the Catch
mode, the parameter value will not change until you turn the
knob all the way to that position.

Once the knob reaches the position of the actual saved value, the
knob and parameter value will begin changing in tandem, and you
can begin to edit the value.

On the other hand, if the “KnobMode” is set to Jump, turning the
knob will cause the parameter’s value to jump immediately to the
actual position of the knob.

2

3

19

Basic editing

Returning a parameter to its original value.

When editing, you can always return any edited parameter to its origi­nal value. Simply rotate the knob assigned to that parameter until the
ORIGINAL VALUE LED remains steadily lit.

If you select another program or re-select the same program while
you are editing, all your edits will be lost, unless you first save any
changes you have made. Changes you make to these settings will
also be lost if you turn the power off, so you must Write them if you
want to keep your changes.

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Editing each timbre

A program can use up to two timbres. A timbre consists of the param­eters in pages 1. Voice–30. Ins FX2. In order to edit a parameter, you must
first select the timbre that you want to edit (the [TIMBRE 1] or [TIMBRE
2] button will blink).

The 1. Voice page parameters “Mode” apply to the entire program.

Using both timbres (Layer)

When using two timbres, you can select one of three modes according to
your needs, but here we’ll set “Mode” to Layer.

❍

Turn the [PAGE] dial to select the 1. Voice page, and turn
select Layer.

Selecting the timbre to edit

If you are editing a program that uses both timbres, here’s how to select
the timbre to edit.

❍ Press the TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE1] button to select timbre 1 as the

timbre that you want to edit.
TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE1] button will light. Your editing will affect
the selected timbre.

knob

[1] knob to

Listening to only one timbre (Solo)

For a program that uses both timbres, you can use the Solo function to
hear just one timbre. This is convenient when you want to hear just one
timbre while you edit.

1 Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press the TIMBRE SELECT [TIM-

BRE 1] button.

Your editing will apply to Timbre 1, and only Timbre 1 will sound.
If you want only Timbre 2 to sound, hold down the [SHIFT] button

2

once again and press the TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE 2] button.
Your editing will apply to Timbre 2, and only Timbre 2 will sound.

3 If you want to cancel the Solo function, hold down the [SHIFT] button

and press the blinking [TIMBRE 1] or [TIMBRE 2] button.

The Solo state cannot be saved.

TIMBRE SELECT

SHIFT

Exchanging and copying the settings of the timbres
(SHIFT function)

You can exchange the settings of the two timbres, or copy the timbre
settings from another program. (☞p.75)

20

Basic editing

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Editing a vocoder program

Carrier

The carrier signal will be processed based on the modulator’s harmonic
content, so a good choice for the carrier would be a waveform that is rich
in overtones, such as a sawtooth wave or a square wave with a fixed
pulse width. You can edit these parameters in the 34. Carrier page.

To input a sawtooth wave as the carrier, edit Timbre 1 to set the 5.
OSC1 page “Wave” parameter to Saw; then use the Vocoder editing

34. Carrier page “Tmbr1Lvl” parameter to set the output level of
Timbre 1.

Modulator

You will typically use your voice as the modulator input. However,
interesting effects can also be obtained by inputting a rhythm sound On
the R3, you can choose whether the modulator will be an external input
such as a mic or rhythm sound (AUDIO INPUT 1), Timbre 2, or formant
motion data. If you choose Timbre 2, the Timbre 2 insert effect output
will be input to the modulator of the vocoder (☞Figure v - 1 ). You can
edit these parameters in the 35. Modulator-A–36. Modulator-B pages.

Figure v-1

Audio In 1

Audio In 2

Timbre 1

Timbre 2

Synth

Synth

Vocoder Sw= ON

Carrier

Vocoder

Modulator

Vocoder Sw= ON & Modulator AudioSrc = Timbre2

EQ INSERT FX1/2

INSERT FX1/2

EQ

MASTER FX

OUTPUT
(L/MONO, R)

Vocoder section

The parameters for the sixteen band-pass filters (analysis filters and
synthesis filters) and the envelope followers are edited in the 37. Filter–

39. Lvl/Pan pages.

Selecting the vocoder for editing

The procedure for editing the vocoder is essentially the same as when
editing a timbre. However, you’ll first need to turn the vocoder function
on, and then select the vocoder for editing.

1 Select a vocoder program.
2 Press the [VOCODER] button.

The [VOCODER] button will blink, and the vocoder function will be
on. The vocoder is also selected for editing.

3 Use the [PAGE] dial to select the 34. Carrier –39. Lev/Pan pages, and

use knobs [1]–[4] to edit the vocoder parameters.
If you’ve selected the vocoder as the target of your editing, the [PAGE]
dial will select only the pages containing the vocoder parameters.

4 Press the [EXIT] button when you’re finished editing.

To input your voice as the modulator, turn the front panel
FORMANT MOTION [ON/OFF] button off, and set the 35. Modula­tor-A page “AudioSrc“ parameter to Input1.

21

Basic editing

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Editing the arpeggiator

The R3’s arpeggiator provides six arpeggio types. In addition to selecting
an arpeggiator type, you can adjust the duration (gate time) , note value,
swing amount, tempo, and other arpeggiator parameters. These arpeg­giator settings are adjusted using the 32. Arpeggiator-A page and 33.
Arpeggiator-B page parameters. Arpeggiator patterns can be up to eight
steps long, and each step can be individually switched on or off (play or
mute), providing more rhythmic versatility. (☞Refer to page 15 for more
information about arpeggiator steps.)

Selecting which timbre(s) will be played by the arpeggiator

In a synth program that uses two timbres, you can select which timbre(s)
will be played by the arpeggiator. This is specified by Arpeg-A page
“Assign” (knob [1]). You can arpeggiate both timbres, only timbre 1 or
only timbre 2.

Sync’ing the LFO rate and the delay time to the arpeggiator

By synchronizing the LFO 1/2 rate to the tempo of the arpeggio, you can
apply modulation that follows the arpeggiator tempo. You can also set
the time parameter of the delay effect to be a ratio of the tempo, so that
the delay time will remain appropriate even if you change the tempo of
the arpeggio. This is particularly convenient for live performances.
Because the R3’s arpeggiator can be synchronized to an external MIDI
sequencer, then in turn you can control the LFO 1/2 rate or the delay
time from an external MIDI sequencer. (☞p.67)

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How to read the pages for each section

This is the name of the section.
When you have set the [PAGE]
dial to the 8. Filter1-A page and
would like to see an explanation of
the parameters, refer to this page.

These are the edit control
knobs [1]–[4]. The markings
printed around each knob are
the values that will be selected
when you turn that knob.
These positions are
approximate.

This area lists the parameters
that are edited by edit control
knobs [1]–[4] when the above
section is selected. The range of
values for each parameter is
given in square brackets [ ].
Explanations of each parameter
and its values are given below.

8. FILTER1-A

The filter section changes the tonal character of the oscillators by passing only the desired portion of the sound - either above (Low Pass),
below (High-Pass), or centered on (Band Pass) the cutoff frequency. The R3 has two filters (filter 1 and filter 2), and you can change their

routing to create more complex filter sounds. The filter 1 parameters are set in the 8. FILTER1-A page and 9. FILTER1-B page.

Knob [1]
Cutoff1 (Filter1 Cutoff) [0...127]

Sets the cutoff frequency.
Increasing this value will raise the cutoff
frequency.

“Cutoff1” can be varied by time-vari­ant change produced by EG1, by key­board playing dynamics (velocity),
and by note location (keyboard track­ing).

If the “Cutoff1” value is set too low,
the volume may be extremely low, or
you may hear no sound at all.

Knob [2]
Reso1 (Filter1 Resonance) [0...127]

Sets the resonance of the filter. This will
emphasize the overtones near the cutoff
frequency specified by “Cutoff1,” adding
a distinctive character to the sound. In­creasing this value will increase the effect.
Since movement of the “Cutoff1” knob will
affect the overtones that are boosted by
resonance, it is best to adjust “Cutoff1” and
“Reso1” in conjunction with each other
(☞Figure 8-1).

Depending on the cutoff frequency or
the input audio, increasing this value
may cause distortion.

A summary of this section is
given here.

Knob [3]
Filt1Bal (Filter1 Balance)

[LPF24…LPF12…HPF…BPF…THRU]

Selects the filter type. Intermediate settings
will produce a response that is between the
two filter types.

LPF12 (–12dB/oct), LPF24 (–24dB/oct):

Low Pass Filter (☞p35 “LFP:”).
HPF (-12dB/oct): High Pass Filter (☞p35

“HFP:”).

BPF (-12dB/oct): Band Pass Filter (☞p35
“BFP:”).

THRU: The sound will output directly,
without passing through the filter.

Knob [4]
Routing1 [Single, Serial, Para, Indiv]

Specifies the routing (connection) between
filter 1 and filter 2.

Single: Only filter 1 is used.
Serial: Filter 1 and filter 2 are connected in

series (☞Figure 8-2).
Parallel: Filter 1 and filter 2 are connected

in parallel (☞Figure 8-3).
Indiv: Filter 1 is applied to oscillator 1, and

filter 2 is applied to oscillator 2 and noise
(☞Figure 8-4).

22

Timbre Parameters

1. VOICE

Here you can make settings that apply to the entire program, and settings that specify how each timbre will sound. Knob
[1] specifies whether you'll be using only one timbre (Single) or two timbres and how they will be used (Layer, Split, or
Multi). Here you can also specify whether the timbre currently selected by the TIMBRE SELECT keys will play mono­phonically or polyphonically, and how it will be retriggered.

If you simultaneously press more keys than the specified number of voices, the last-pressed key will take priority.

Knob [1]
Mode [Single, Layer, Split, Multi]

This parameter determines how many tim­bres a program will use, and how those
timbres will be allocated. This parameter
cannot be selected for a vocoder program.

Single: Only one timbre will be used
(☞Figure 1-1).

Layer: Two timbres will be used. When you
play the keyboard, both timbres will sound
simultaneously.
vidually

(☞Figure 1-2)

Split: Split: Two timbres will be used. You
can specify a range of notes for each tim­bre, and play each timbre from a different
area of the keyboard. Each timbre can be
edited separately (☞Figure 1-3).

Multi: Multi: Two timbres will be used.
This mode is mainly used when playing
the R3 from an external MIDI device. Each
timbre can be edited separately.

You can edit each timbre indi-

.

Knob [2]
SplitKey (Split Key) [C-1…G9]

This parameter is available only when the
“Mode” parameter is set to Split. Timbre 1
will play the notes that are below the speci­fied note number, and timbre 2 will play
the notes that are above it.

T2MIDIch (Timbre 2 MIDI channel)

[Global, 01…16]

When the “Mode” is set to either Layer or
Multi, this parameter can be used to set the
MIDI channel for timbre 2.
If you choose the Global, the MIDI chan­nel of timbre 2 will match the global MIDI
channel.

Timbre1 will always be set to the Glo­bal MIDI channel. You can specify the
timbre1 MIDI channel by setting the

42. MIDI page parameter “MIDI Ch.”

Knob [3]
Assign [Mono1, Mono2, Poly]

This parameter specifies how notes will be
articulated from the keyboard (or MIDI
source).

Mono1: The timbre will play monophoni­cally. If you continue holding down the key
you first pressed, the EG will not retrigger
when you play the second and subsequent
keys. Use this setting when you want to
play legato (☞Figure 1-4).

Mono2: The timbre will play monophoni­cally. The EG will be retriggered each time
you press a key (☞Figure 1-4).

Poly: The program will play polyphoni­cally, allowing you to play chords. The
maximum polyphony is eight voices.

Figure 1-1: Single

Timbre1

Figure 1-2: Layer

Timbre2
Timbre1

Figure 1-3: Split

Timbre1

Figure 1-4: “Assgin” Mono1, Mono2

Note on

EG

Mono 1

Trigger

EG

Mono 2

Trigger

Timbre2

“SplitKey”

Note on

23

2. UNISON

Here you can make settings for the Unison function which “stacks” voices at the same pitch to create a richer sound.

Knob [1]
Sw (Unison Switch)

[Off, 2 Voice, 3 Voice, 4 Voice]

When the Unison Switch is turned on, you
can specify the number of voices that will
be stacked.

Off: Unison is off.
2 Voice: Unison is on; two voices are

stacked.
3 Voice: Unison is on; three voices are

stacked.
4 Voice: Unison is on; four voices are

stacked.

Depending on other voice-related set­tings, the number of voices you specify
here may not actually be sounded.

Turning on the Unison function will
limit the available polyphony.

Knob [2]
Detune (Unison Detune) [0...99]

This parameter is available when Unison
is on (i.e., if “Sw” is 2–4 Voice). It specifies
(in units of cents) the amount of detuning
that will occur between the stacked voices.
Regardless of how many voices are
stacked, this parameter will always specify
the total range of detuning.

2 voice

4 voice

99

99

0

0

Unison
Detune

Unison
Detune

Knob [3]
Spread (Unison Spread) [000…127]

This parameter is available when Unison
is on (i.e., if “Sw” is 2–4 Voice). It controls
the width of stereo spread (panning) of the
stacked voices. The number of voices speci­fied by “Sw” will be panned apart at equal
spacing according to this setting.

24

3. PITCH-A

These settings affect the pitch of the oscillators. These settings are shared by oscillators 1 and 2.

Knob [1]
Transpos (Transpose) [–48...+48]

Adjusts the pitch of the oscillators in
semitone (100 cent) steps.
The range is four octaves upward or down­ward.

This setting is related to the pitch of
the oscillators themselves; this is not
the same as the OCTAVE [UP],
[DOWN] buttons on the front panel
that change the range of notes avail­able on the keyboard.

Knob [2]
Tune [–50...50]

Adjusts the pitch of the oscillator in one­cent steps.

Knob [3]
AnlgTune (Analog Tune) [000…127]

By adding a slight randomness to the pitch
of each note as it is played, this parameter
can simulate the pitch instability and os­cillator “drift” that was characteristic of
analog synthesizers. Higher settings will
produce greater variations in pitch.

Knob [4]
Portamnt (Portamento) [000...127]

Portamento is a smooth change in pitch
from one note to another. This parameter
specifies the speed of the portamento ef­fect.
With a setting of 000, there will be no
portamento effect. Increasing the value will
lengthen the amount of time it takes for the
portamento effect to transition from one
note to the next.

25

4. PITCH-B

In this section you can specify how the [PITCH] and [MOD] wheels will affect the pitch.

Knob [1]
BndRange (Bend Range) [–12...+12]

Specifies the range of the [PITCH] wheel
in semitones This value specifies the
amount of change that will occur when you
move the pitch wheel all the way up or all
the way down.

Knob [2]
Vib Int (Vibrato Intensity)

[–2400...+2400]

Specifies the depth of vibrato that will be
applied when you move the [MOD] wheel
all the up.

By default, LFO2 is the vibrato source
for the [MOD] wheel.

26

5. OSC1 (Oscillator 1)

OSC1–1

OSC1–2

OSC1–3

OSC1 Output

Unison Detune

OSC1–4

OSC1–5

The oscillator generates a waveform that is the basis of the sound. Each timbre has two oscillators. The parameters in this section apply to
oscillator 1. Knob [1] is used to select the basic waveform, and knob [2] to select a type of oscillator modulation. The functions of knobs [3] and
[4] will be determined by the settings of knob [1] and knob [2] (☞p.28 -29).

Knob [1]
WAVE (Waveform Select)

[Saw, Pulse, Triangle, Sine, Formant,

Noise, DWGS, Audio In]

Selects the waveform for oscillator 1. The
Saw, Pulse (square), Triangle and Sine are
traditional waves associated with analog
synthesizers.

Saw: A sawtooth wave.
Pulse: A pulse wave.
Triangle: A triangle wave.
Sine: A sine wave.
Formant: A formant wave with tonal character-

istics similar to that of a human voice.

Noise: Generates noise.
DWGS: DWGS (Digital Waveform Genera-

tion System) waveforms. These digital
waves are created using harmonic additive
synthesis. Sixty-four DWGS waves are
available

Audio In: An external audio source will
be used in place of the oscillator.

The parameters of the PITCH section
will have no effect on the external au­dio source connected to the [AUDIO
INPUT 1] or [AUDIO INPUT 2] jacks.

Knob [2]
OSC1 Mod (Oscillator 1 Modulation Type)

[Waveform, Cross, Unison, VPM]

Selects the type of modulation being applied
to oscillator 1.

The maximum number of playable
voices may change depending on the
combination of “Wave” and “OSC1
Mod” settings.

Waveform (Waveform Modulation): Use
“Control1” to modify the shape of the
waveform.

The following parameters (Cross, Uni­son, VPM) are only available when the
“Wave” parameter is set to is Saw,
Pulse, Tri, or Sin, and are not available
if the “WAVE” parameter is set to
Formant, Noise, DWGS, or AudioIn.

Cross (Cross Modulation): Cross Modula­tion uses the output waveform of oscillator 2
(the modulator) to modulate the frequency
of oscillator 1 (the carrier) at high speed to
produce a modulated sound. The waveform
selected by “Wave” will be the carrier
(☞Figure 5-1).

(j)

Knob [3]
OSC1Ctr1 (Control1)

[000...127/–63…+63/---]

The function controlled by this knob is de­termined by the “Wave” and “OSC Mod”
settings. (☞p.28)

With some settings, this will produce
noise.

Knob [2] (l)

Unison: Unison simulates skewing the pitch of
five stacked oscillators from within a single
oscillator, to create a richer sound. Unlike the
unison SW parameter from the 2. Unison page,
this function does not require additional po­lyphony.

VPM (Variable Phase Modulation) :

VPM produces metallic-sounding overtones,
using a sine wave at a harmonic (integer) mul­tiple of oscillator 1’s fundamental to modulate
the phase of oscillator 1.In contrast to Cross
Modulation which produces sounds that have
a modulating character, VPM waveforms re­main static as the new overtones are added.
Oscillator 1 relies on its own sine

wave gen­erator, so unlike Cross Modulation, oscil­lator 2 has no effect on VPM.

Knob [4]
OSC1Ctr2 (Control2)

[000...127/–63…+63/

001…064/001…032/---]

The function controlled by this knob is de­termined by the “Wave” and “OSC Mod”
settings. (☞p.28)

Figure 5-1: Cross Mod

Cross Mod Depth

OSC1

OSC1
Freq Mod

OSC2

Figure 5-2: Unison Mod

OSC1
output

OSC2
output

27

5. OSC1 (Oscillator 1)

When Knob [1] Wave: Saw, Pulse,

Triangle, Sine

and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod: Waveform

Knob [3] Control1: Waveform [000…127]

Knob [1] Wave: Saw

The sawtooth wave is appropriate for cre­ating a wide range of sounds typical of ana­log synthesizers, including basses and pads.
Adjusting the value will modify the shape
of the waveform, changing the harmonic
content. A setting of 000 produces the origi­nal sawtooth wave. Higher setting stress
different harmonics; a setting of 127 pro­duces a sawtooth wave one octave higher.

000

063

Knob [1] Wave: Pulse

This is a pulse wave suitable for electronic
sounds and wind instruments. By adjust­ing the pulse width you can produce
sounds reminiscent of clavi or sax. A set­ting of 000 produces a simple square wave.
Higher settings narrow the pulse width,
and at a setting of 127, the pulse width will
disappear completely (no sound).

000 063 127

Knob [1] Wave: Triangle

Triangle waves have fewer overtones than
sawtooth or square waves, and are suitable
for mild tone such as bass or pads. Adjust­ing the value will modify the shape of the
waveform, changing the harmonic content.
A setting of 000 produces a simple triangle
wave.

Higher setting stress different har-

monics; a

setting of 127 produces a triangle

wave that is one octave and a fifth higher

28

127

(i.e., the third harmonic).

000

063

127

Knob [1] Wave: Sine

Sine wave is a mild tone that contains only
the fundamental frequency with no over­tones. A setting of 000 produces a simple
sine wave. Increasing this value will
modify the waveform, changing the over­tone structure as shown below.

000

Knob [4] Control2: LFO1 Intensity

063

127

[000…127]

LFO1 will vary the “OSC1Ctr1” effect
(Waveform Modulation.) “OSC1Ctr2” ad­justs the depth of this change.

When Knob [1] Wave: Formant
and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod:

Knob [3] Control1: Formant Width

The formant waveform has a tonal charac­ter reminiscent of a human voice. This
knob will adjust the frequency components
that are characteristic of vocal formants.
This is equivalent to changing the shape
of your mouth (i.e., changing the vowel
sound).

Knob [4] Control2:

Moves the entire formant frequency spec­trum upward or downward. This is equiva­lent to changing the size of your mouth.
With a setting of 0, the formant locations
are unchanged.

Formant Shift [–63…+63]

Waveform

[000…127]

When Knob [1] Wave: Noise,
and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod: Waveform

Knob [3] Control1:

Adjusts the amount of resonance of the fil­ter provided within the noise oscillator.
Higher values will emphasize the fre­quency points for the pitched component
within the noise.

Knob [4] Control2: LPF/HPF Mix
[LPF63…CNT…HPF63]

Adjusts the mix balance between the low­pass and high-pass filters; this will vary the
brightness of the sound.

Resonance

[000…127]

When Knob [1] Wave: DWGS
and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod:

Waveform

Knob [3] Control1: ---

has no effect

Knob [4] Control2:

Selects the DWGS waveform.

No. Name No. Name No. Name

1 SynSine1 22 Digi2 43 E.Bass2
2 SynSine2 23 Digi3 44 E.Bass3
3 SynSine3 24 Digi4 45 Bell1
4 SynSine4 25 Digi5 46 Bell2
5 SynSine5 26 Digi6 47 Bell3
6 SynSine6 27 Digi7 48 Endless*
7 SynSine7 28 Digi8 49 SynVox1
8 SynWave1 29 Digi9 50 SynVox2
9 SynWave2 30 E.Piano1 51 VoxPad1
10 SynWave3 31 E.Piano2 52 VoxPad2
11 SynWave4 32 E.Piano3 53 VoxPad3
12 SynWave5 33 Organ1 54 FlutePad
13 SynWave6 34 Organ2 55 EP Pad1
14 SynWave7 35 Organ3 56 EP Pad2
15 SynWire1 36 Organ4 57 Noise1
16 SynWire2 37 Organ5 58 Noise2
17 SynWire3 38 Clav1 59 Noise3
18 SynWire4 39 Clav2 60 Noise4
19 5thSaw 40 Guitar1 61 Noise5
20 5thSqu 41 Guitar2 62 Noise6
21 Digi1 42 E.Bass1 63 Noise7

Wave Select

[001…64]

64 Noise8

*: The 48: Endless waveform simulates the “in-

finite staircase” sound which produces the
same perceived pitch in each different octave.
The “infinite staircase” produces the sensa­tion that you never get any higher, no matter
how long you continue playing the notes C,
D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E, ? upward.

When Knob [1] Wave: AudioIn
and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod”

Waveform

Knob [3] Control1: Gain [–63…+63]

Adjusts the volume of the audio input.

Knob [4] Control2: Balance
[L63…CNT…R63]

Sets the balance between the L channel
([AUDIO INPUT 1]) and R channel ([AU­DIO INPUT 2]) jacks.

For details on how to processing an exter­nal audio signal, refer to “Processing an ex­ternal audio signal”(☞p.29).

When Knob [1] Wave: Saw, Pulse,

Triangle, Sine

and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod: Cross

Knob [3] Control1:

Adjusts the cross modulation depth.

Knob [4] Control2: LFO 1 Intensity
[000…127]

Adjusts the depth of the additional modu­lation applied by LFO1 to the cross modu­lation effect.

Modulation Depth

[000…127]

When Knob [1] Wave: Saw, Pulse,

Triangle, Sine

and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod: Unison

Knob [3] Control1: Detune [000…127]

Adjusts the difference in pitch between the
five unison oscillators. Higher values will

5. OSC1 (Oscillator 1)

broaden the pitch difference between the
oscillators, producing a richer sound.

Knob [4] Control2: Phase [000…127]

Specifies the phase of each oscillator at
note-on. This will affect the tone of the at­tack. A setting of 127 will change the pitch
and volume.

000 (0º) 063 (90º) 127 (180º)

Saw

Pulse

Triangle

Sine

When Knob [1] Wave: Saw, Pulse,

Triangle, Sine

and Knob [2] OSC1 Mod: VPM

Knob [3] Control1:

Adjusts the depth of VPM.

Knob [4] Control2: Modulation Harmonics
[001…32]

Specifies the frequency of the VPM modu­lator as a harmonic multiple of oscillator 1.

Modulation Depth

[000…127]

Processing an external audio signal

You can use the filter, amp, EG, and LFO
etc. to process the signal from a external
synthesizer, rhythm machine, or audio de­vice in the same way as an oscillator wave­form.

Before you connect an external device,
turn off the power of the R3 and of any
external output devices and power
amps.

1 Turn the [AUDIO INPUT 1] and

[AUDIO INPUT2] knob to the MIN

position, and
to REAR

2

Connect the output jacks of your ex-

set the [MIC] switch

.

ternal device to the [AUDIO INPUT
1] jack and [AUDIO INPUT 2] jack,
and set the AUDIO INPUT 1 [MIC/
LINE] switch to LINE.

3 After making connections, turn the

power on to your external device,

R3, and your powered monitor

the
speaker system - in that order.

4 Select a synth program and initial-

ize it (hold the [SHIFT] button and
press the PROGRAM SELECT [2]

button. Press the blinking [2] but-
ton to initialize;

[EXIT] to cancel.(

☞p.75).

5 Turn the [PAGE] dial to the 5. OSC

1 page, and set “WAVE” (knob [1])
to AudioIn.

6 Send an audio signal from the exter-

nal device, and turn the [AUDIO IN­PUT 1] and [AUDIO INPUT2] knob

toward MAX as far as possible with­out allowing the AUDIO INPUT 1 and
AUDIO IN 2 LED to light red.

7 While inputting an audio signal,

play the keyboard.

8 Edit the FILTER, AMP, EG, LFO, and

effects as described in “Basic edit­ing procedure” (☞p.19), to modify
the sound.

The PITCH-related parameters have
no effect on the sound from the [AU­DIO INPUT 1] and [AUDIO INPUT 2]
jacks.

In this example, you could connect the
R3’s MIDI OUT to the MIDI IN of your
external MIDI device and set the MIDI
channels to match, so that your sound
module or other external MIDI device
will produce sound when you play the
keyboard of the R3 (☞ p.64). You can
use the R3’s keyboard to play the
sounds of your external device, and use
the [PAGE] dial and the CONTROLS
[1]–[4] knobs to modify the sound.

MIDI IN

MIDI OUT

tone generator module, rhythm machine,
or audio device

You can use an external input as the
carrier of the vocoder.

If the 2. Unison page “Sw” (knob [1])
is On (2–4 Voice), certain parameters
are automatically set to allow the au­dio input to be handled in stereo. In
this case, please note the following
points.

•Regardless of the OSC1Ctr2: Balance
setting, the L-channel signal will be
fixed at L63 and the R-channel sig­nal at R63.

•Regardless of the 2. Unison page
“Sw” setting, this parameter will be
fixed at 2 Voice.

•

If the 2. Unison page “Spread” pa­rameter (knob [3]) is set to 0, both the
L-channel and R-channel of the tim­bre output will be panned (
Amp page “Panpot” parameter) to
CNT. If the “Spread” parameter is set
to 127, they will be set to L63 and
R63.

☞p.37

12.

29

6. OSC2 (Oscillator 2)

OSC1 Wave

OSC2 Wave

OSC1 Output

OSC2 Output

Sync

Here you can make settings for oscillator 2. You can create a variety of sounds by using two oscillators together. For example you can adjust knob
[3] (“OSC Semi”) and knob [4] (“OSC2Tune”) so that one oscillator acts as though it were part of the overtone structure of the other oscillator, set
the pitches of the two oscillators to an interval of harmony, or set both oscillators to the same pitch but slightly detune one of them to create a
detuning effect. You can also use Ring Modulation and Oscillator Sync to create very complex overtone structures. (This is set by “OSC Mod”
(knob [2]).)

Knob [1]
Wave (Waveform Select)

[Saw, Square, Triangle, Sine]

Selects a waveform for oscillator 2.

Saw: A sawtooth wave.
Square: A square wave.
Triangle: A triangle wave.
Sine: A sine wave.

If you do not hear the sound of oscil­lator 2, raise the 7. Mixer page “OSC2
LEVEL” (knob [2]). If you want to hear
only the sound of oscillator 2, lower
the 7. Mixer page “OSC 1 Lvl” (knob
[1]).

30

Knob [2]
OSC2 Mod (Oscillator 2 Modulation Type)

Knob [3]
OSC2Semi (Oscillator 2 Semitone)

[Off Ring, Sync, Rng+Sync]

Selects the type of oscillator modulation that will
be produced in conjunction with oscillator 1.

Off: No oscillator modulation effect is pro-

Specifies the detuning (pitch difference)
relative to oscillator 1, in semitone steps over
a range of plus or minus two octaves.

duced. However, you can detune oscillator 2
from oscillator 1 using the “OSC Semi” and
“OSC2Tune” parameters to create harmony
and detune effects.

Ring: Ring modulation generates the sum and
difference of the oscillator 1 and 2 waveforms.
By adjusting “OSC Semi” and “OSC2Tune” you
can create metallic sounds that contain little
sense of pitch. This can be effective for sound
effects (☞Figure 6-1). For example you can set
“OSC2Semi” to 24, and adjust “OSC2Tune” to
produce a clear bell-like sound. The effect will
be easier to detect if you lower “OSC 1 Lvl”
and raise “OSC 2 Lvl.” You can also create in­teresting effects by using Virtual Patch to modu­late “OSC2Tune” from LFO or EG.

Sync:

This type of modulation forcibly synchro­nizes the phase of oscillator 2 to the phase of
oscillator 1, and

is useful for creating lead-synth

type sounds (☞Figure 6-2).

Knob [2] (➘)

For example, select sawtooth wave for oscilla­tor 1 and raise the “OSC 2 Lvl” (☞p.31 “7.
MIXER”). Then, edit “OSC Semi” and “OSC 2
Tune” to change the pitch, and notice the result.
The effect will be more noticeable if the oscilla­tor 2 pitch is raised above the oscillator 1 pitch.
You can also produce interesting effects by us­ing Virtual Patch to modulate “OSC2Tune” from
LFO or EG.

Rng+Sync: This simultaneously applies both
Ring and Sync modulation (☞Figure 6-3).

(➚)

[–24...24]

If you want to use the sound of oscillator
2 as a component in the oscillator 1 over­tone structure, try setting it one octave or
a fifth higher than oscillator 1. If you want
to use oscillator 2 in harmony, you can try
intervals such as a third, fourth, or fifth.

(➚)

Knob [4]
OSC2Tune (Oscillator 2 Tuning) [–63...63]

Specifies the amount of detune for OSC2 rela­tive to OSC1. A setting of ±63 produces a pitch
difference of ±2 octaves, and ±48 produces a
pitch difference of ±1 octave. Values near 0 will
make fine adjustments in the pitch

.

If “OSC2 Mod” is set to Sync, adjustments
in “OSC Semi” or “OSC2Tune” will change
the pitch of the overtones. The pitch of the
fundamental will not change.

Knob [2] (➘)

Figure 6-1: Ring

OSC2 Wave

OSC1 Wave

Figure 6-2: Sync

Figure 6-3: Ring+Sync

OSC2 Wave

Sync

OSC1 Wave

OSC2 Output

OSC1 Output

OSC2 Output

OSC1 Output

7. MIXER

These parameters adjust the volume balance of the oscillator 1 and 2, and the noise generator. These settings will be the input level to the filter
section.

Knob [1]
OSC1 Lvl (OSC1 Level) [000...127]

Sets the output level of oscillator 1.

Knob [2]
OSC2 Lvl (OSC2 Level) [000...127]

Sets the output level of oscillator 2.

Knob [3]
NoiseLvl (Noise Level) [000...127]

Sets the output level of the noise genera­tor. This noise generator generates white
noise. This is independent of the white
noise that can be selected as a waveform
for oscillator 1(“Wave”: Noise.) This does
not have filter or resonance as the oscilla­tor 1 noise generator does, but you can use
the FILTER section to create the same re­sults as the noise waveform of oscillator 1.
Noise is used to create percussion instru­ment sounds, or sound effects such as surf.

Knob [4]
PunchLvl (Punch Level) [000…127]

Creates a more “snappy” attack by adjust­ing the amount of pulse waveform that is
added to the oscillator output only during
the attack. Increasing this value will em­phasize the attack.

31

8. FILTER1-A

OSC1

Filter1

OSC2

Noise

Filter2

The filter section changes the tonal character of the oscillators by passing only the desired portion of the sound - either above (Low Pass), below
(High-Pass), or centered on (Band Pass) the cutoff frequency. The R3 has two filters (filter 1 and filter 2), and you can change their routing to
create more complex filter sounds. The filter 1 parameters are set in the 8. Filt1-A page and 9. Filt1-B page.

Knob [1]
Cutoff1 (Filter1 Cutoff) [000...127]

Sets the cutoff frequency.
Increasing this value will raise the cutoff
frequency.

“Cutoff1” can be varied by time-vari­ant change produced by EG1, by key­board playing dynamics (velocity),
and by note location (keyboard track­ing).

If the “Cutoff1” value is set too low,
the volume may be extremely low, or
you may hear no sound at all.

Figure 8-1: Filter1 Resonance

The effect of resonance

LPF

HPF

BPF

Low resonance value

32

High resonance value

Knob [2]
Reso1 (Filter1 Resonance) [000...127]

Sets the resonance of the filter. This will
emphasize the overtones near the cutoff
frequency specified by “Cutoff1,” adding
a distinctive character to the sound. In­creasing this value will increase the effect.
Since movement of the “Cutoff1” knob will
affect the overtones that are boosted by
resonance, it is best to adjust “Cutoff1” and
“Reso1” in conjunction with each other
(☞Figure 8-1).

Depending on the cutoff frequency or
the input audio, increasing this value
may cause distortion.

Figure 8-2: Serial

OSC1

OSC2

Noise

Filter1

Filter2

Knob [3]
FiltBal1 (Filter1 Balance)

[LPF24…LPF12…HPF…BPF…THRU]

Selects the filter type. Intermediate settings
will produce a response that is between the
two filter types.

LPF12 (–12dB/oct), LPF24 (–24dB/oct):

Low Pass Filter (☞p.33 “LFP:”).
HPF (-12dB/oct): High Pass Filter (☞p.33

“HFP:”).
BPF (-12dB/oct): Band Pass Filter (☞p.33
“BFP:”).

THRU: The sound will output directly,
without passing through the filter.

Figure 8-3: Parallel

Knob [4]
Routing1 [Single, Serial, Parallel, Indiv]

Specifies the routing (connection) between
filter 1 and filter 2.

Single: Only filter 1 is used.
Serial: Filter 1 and filter 2 are connected in

series (☞Figure 8-2).
Parallel: Filter 1 and filter 2 are connected

in parallel (☞Figure 8-3).
Indiv: Filter 1 is applied to oscillator 1, and

filter 2 is applied to oscillator 2 and noise
(☞Figure 8-4).

Figure 8-4: Indiv

OSC1

Filter1

OSC2

Filter2

Noise

LPF:

LPF (Low Pass Filter) is the most common
type of filter; it passes the frequencies be­low the cutoff frequency and cuts the re­gion above. Raising the cutoff frequency
(“Cutoff1” value) will produce a brighter
tone.

LPF (Low Pass Filter)

-12dB/oct

-24dB/oct

Cutoff

Frequency

HPF:

HPF (High Pass Filter) passes the frequen­cies above the cutoff frequency and cuts the
region below. Use this when you want to
make the tone thinner. However, raising
the cutoff frequency too far will drastically
reduce the volume.

HPF (High Pass Filter)

8. FILTER1-A

Cutoff

Frequency

BPF:

BPF (Band Pass Filter) passes the frequen­cies in the region of the cutoff frequency,
and cuts all other frequency regions. Use
this when you want to emphasize just a
specific portion of the sound.

BPF (Band Pass Filter)

Cutoff

Frequency

33

9. FILTER1-B

Note on

Note off

Note on

Note off

Cutoff

Int=+32

Int=0

Int=+63

Time

Cutoff frequency
specified by
“Cutoff”

Cutoff frequency
specified by
“Cutoff”

Note on

Note off

Note on

Note off

Cutoff

Int=–32

Int=0

Int=–63

Time

Here you can set the values of the filter 1 parameters.

Knob [1]
EG1 Int1 (EG1 Intensity/Filter1) [–63...63]

This specifies how time-variant modula­tion from the EG1 will be applied to the
cutoff frequency (☞Figure 9-1). The cutoff
frequency will change over time according
to the EG1 settings, modifying the tone. For
example, you can use this to create a sound
that gradually begins to brighten when you
press the key, and then gradually becomes
darker.
“EG1 Int1” parameter specifies the depth
(sensitivity) to which the EG1 will affect
the cutoff frequency.
With a setting of 0, the EG1 will not affect
the cutoff frequency.
Increasingly positive (+) settings will allow
the EG1 to have a correspondingly greater
effect on the cutoff frequency (☞Figure 9-2).
Increasingly negative (-) settings will allow
a correspondingly greater effect in the op­posite direction (☞Figure 9-3). (➚)

34

Knob [2]
Key Trk1 (Keyboard Tracking/Filter1)

[–2.00...+2.00]

This specifies how keyboard tracking (the
keyboard location that you play) will affect
the cutoff frequency. For example if the
sound played by the C4 key has the desired
tone but higher notes no longer have reso­nance or are too mellow-sounding, you can
adjust keyboard tracking to make compen­sations so that the cutoff frequency will rise
for higher notes.
With positive (+) settings, the cutoff frequency
will rise as you play upward from the C4 note,
and fall as you play downward.
With negative (-) settings, the cutoff frequency
will fall as you play upward from the C4 note,
and rise as you play downward.

With a setting of +48, the change in
cutoff frequency will be proportionate
to the change in pitch. With a setting
of 0, keyboard tracking will not affect
the cutoff frequency.

Keyboard Track operates according to
the pitch that is controlled by pitch
bend, and transpose. It is not affected
by pitch changes produced by vibrato
or Virtual Patch.

Knob [3]
VelSens1 (Velocity Sensitivity/Filter1)

[–63…+63]

Specifies how velocity (keyboard playing
dynamics) will affect the cutoff frequency.
Positive (+) values will cause the cutoff fre­quency to rise as you play more strongly.
Negative (-) values will cause the cutoff
frequency to fall as you play more strongly.

Knob [1] (➘)

Figure 9-1: EG Intensity

Sustain Level

Decay
Time

Note off

Release Time

Note on

Cutoff

Attack
Time

Figure 9-2: EG Intensity positive settings

Figure 9-3: EG Intensity negative settings

Time

10. FILTER2-A

Frequency

COMB (Comb Filter)

Cutoff

Here you can adjust the settings of the filter 2 parameters. The 8. Filt1-A page “Routing1” parameter (knob [4]) specifies how filter 2 and filter 1
will be connected. You can edit the Filter 2 parameters in the 10. Filt2-A page and 11. Filt2-B page.

The filter 2 parameters are not shown if “Routing1” is Single.

Knob [1]
Cutoff2 (Filter2 Cutoff) [000...127]

This is the same as for FILTER 1 (☞p.32).

Knob [2]
Reso2 (Filter2 Resonance) [000...127]

This is the same as for FILTER 1 (☞p.32).

Knob [3]
Type2 (Filter2 Type) [LPF, HPF, BPF, COMB]

Selects the filter type.
LPF, HPF, BPF: These are the same filter

type as for filter 1 (☞p.32).
COMB: In a comb filter (so named for its

resemblance to the teeth of a comb), alter­nating bands pass and cut the signal, giv­ing a unique character to the sound. In­creasing the cutoff frequency (“Cutoff2”
value) will space the teeth of the comb far­ther apart, so that more regions are cut.

35

11. FILTER2-B

Here you can make settings for the filter 2 parameters.

Knob [1]
EG1 Int2 (EG1 Intensity/Filter2) [–63...63]

This is the same as for FILTER 1 (☞p.34).

Knob [2]
Key Trk2 (Keyboard Tracking/Filter2)

[–2.00...+2.00]

This is the same as for FILTER 1 (☞p.34).

Knob [3]
VelSens2 (Velocity Sensitivity/Filter2)

[–63…+63]

This is the same as for FILTER 1 (☞p.34).

36

12. AMP (Amplifier)

These parameters control the volume. The sound that is created by passing through the oscillator and filter is amplified by the amp.

Knob [1]
Level [000...127]

Adjusts the volume of the timbre.

Knob [2]
Panpot [L63...CNT...R63]

Adjusts the location of the sound in the ste­reo field. L63 is far left, CNT is center, and
R63 is far right.

Knob [3]
Key Trk (Keyboard Tracking) [–63...63]

Specifies how keyboard tracking will af­fect the volume.
With positive (+) settings, the volume will
increase as you play above the C4 note on
the keyboard, and will decrease as you play
below C4.
With negative (-) settings, the volume will
decrease as you play above the C4 note on
the keyboard, and will increase as you play
below C4.

Keyboard Track operates according to
the pitch that is controlled by pitch
bend, and transpose. It is not affected
by pitch changes produced by vibrato
or Virtual Patch.

37

13. DRIVE/WS (Drive/Wave Shape)

In this page you can set the Drive or Wave Shape parameters. This lets you add distortion to the sound and give it a distinctive impact.

Knob [1]
WS Type (Wave Shape Type)

This switches wave shaping on/off, and se­lects the type. Wave shaping modifies the
input waveform by applying a transforma­tion of the type you specify here, and pro­duces an output waveform that includes
the components of both the input wave­form and the transformation shape. “WS
Depth” specifies the depth of this effect.

Some settings may produce noise.

Off: Wave Shape/Drive is off.
Drive: Drive will be applied. The amount

of distortion is adjusted by the output level
of each oscillator in the 7. Mixer page
(☞p.39 Figure 13-1).

Only the Drive setting differs from the
wave shape effect.

Decimatr: Lowers the sampling frequency
(☞p.39 Figure 13-2).

HardClip: Flattens any portion of the wave­form above the limit

[Off, Drive…Lvl Boost]

(☞p.39

Figure 13-3).

(➚)

Knob [2]
Position [PreFilt1, Pre Amp]

Specifies the position at which the drive
or wave shape functions will be applied.

PreFilt1: Drive or wave shape will be ap­plied before filter 1 (☞p.39 Figure 13-9).

Pre Amp: Drive or wave shape will be ap­plied after the filter and before the amp
(☞p.39 Figure 13-10).

Knob [1] (➘)

OctSaw: Cuts the portion of the waveform
above the threshold level and inverts it to
keep it within limits.

MultiTri: Sending a sawtooth wave
through this will produce a triangle wave
(☞p.39 Figure 13-5).

MultiSin: Sending a sawtooth wave
through this will produce a sine wave
(☞p.39 Figure 13-6).

SbOSCSaw, SbOSCSqu, SbOSCTri,
SbOSCSin: The selected waveform will

sound one octave below oscillator 1.
“Depth” (knob [3]) adjusts the mix amount
relative to oscillator 1. (➚)

(☞p.39

Figure 13-4).

Knob [3]
WS Depth (Wave Shape Depth)

[000…127]

Specifies the depth at which the drive or
wave shape functions will be applied.

Knob [1] (➘)

Pickup: This simulates an electromagnetic
pickup. “Depth” (knob [3]) adjusts the
depth (☞p.39 Figure 13-7).

The above illustration for Pickup
shows differences in the output wave­form when a sine wave at C4 is input.
The transformation will vary depend­ing on the input pitch.

LvlBoost: Boosts the output level. “Depth”
(knob [3]) adjusts the amount of boost
(☞p.39 Figure 13-8).

This may produce high output vol­umes than other wave shape types.

38

13. DRIVE/WS (Drive/Wave Shape)

Figure 13-1: Drive

Depth: 000 Depth: 064

Figure 13-2: Decimatr

Depth: 000 Depth: 064

Figure 13-3: HardClip

Depth: 000 Depth: 064

Figure 13-4: OctSaw

Depth: 000 Depth: 064

Figure 13-5: MultiTri

Depth: 000

Depth: 064

Depth: 127

Depth: 127

Depth: 127

Depth: 127

Depth: 127

Figure 13-8: LvlBoost

Depth: 000 Depth: 064

Figure 13-9: Position=PreFilt

DRIVE/WSOSC AMP

FILTER1

Figure 13-10: Positon=Pre Amp

FILTER1OSC AMP

DRIVE/WS

Depth: 127

Figure 13-6: MultiSin

Depth: 000

Depth: 064

Figure 13-7: Pickup

Depth: 000

Depth: 064

Depth: 127

Depth: 127

39

14. EG1

Here you can adjust the settings of the Filter EG, which applies time-variant change to the tone (☞Figure 14-1). Use these settings to specify the
“shape” of the EG1, and use the FILTER parameter “EG1 Int1” (9. Filt1-B page ☞p.34) and “EG1 Int2” (11. Filt2-B page) to specify the amount of
effect that the EG will have. For details on how an EG (Envelope Generator) works, refer to EG2 (☞p.41).

You can use the EG1 as a Virtual Patch source modulate a parameter other than the filter cutoff frequency. (☞p.45)

Knob [1]
Attack1 (Attack EG1) [000...127]

Specifies the time from note-on (when the
key is pressed) until the attack level (maxi­mum value of the envelope) is reached.

Figure 14-1: EG1 envelope

Cutoff

Note off

[3]

Attack Level

Note on

0

[2]

[1]

[1]: Attack Time [3]: Sustain Level
[2]: Decay Time [4]: Release Time

40

Knob [2]
Decay1 (Decay EG1) [000...127]

Specifies the time from when the attack
level is reached until the sustain level (SUS­TAIN) is reached.

Knob [3]
Sustain1 (Sustain EG1) [000...127]

Specifies the cutoff frequency that will be
maintained after the decay time has
elapsed, until you release the key.

Knob [4]
Release1 (Release EG1) [000...127]

Specifies the time from note-off (when the
key is released) until the level reaches 0.

EG1 and EG2

As the EG1 (Filter EG) changes the cutoff frequency, the tone will change. However, the
overall character of the sound will also depend on the volume changes produced by

Time

[4]

the EG2 (Amplifier EG). For example, setting a long decay for the Filter EG (EG1) will
produce a different sound depending on how the decay is set in the Amp EG (EG2). It’s
a good idea to be aware of both the EG 1(tone) settings and the EG2 (volume) settings
as you’re editing.

15. EG2

0

Time

Note on

Note off

Level

Attack: 40 Sustain: 75
Decay: 50 Release: 50

Strings

Here you can adjust the settings for the AMP EG, which applies time-variant change to the volume (☞Figure 15-1). Using the AMP EG settings,
you can make the volume change as time passes. Create the desired volume curve by adjusting the ADSR parameters; ATTACK (knob [1]),
DECAY (knob [2]), SUSTAIN (knob [3]), RELEASE (knob [4]).

You can use EG2 as a Virtual Patch source to modulate parameters other than volume. (☞p.45)

Knob [1]
Attack2 (Attack EG2) [000...127]

Specifies the time from note-on (when the
key is pressed) until the attack level (maxi­mum value of the envelope) is reached.

Figure 15-1: EG2 envelope

Level

Note on

Attack Level

0

[2]

[1]

[1]: Attack Time [3]: Sustain Level
[2]: Decay Time [4]: Release Time

Note off

[3]

[4]

Time

Knob [2]
Decay2 (Decay EG2) [000...127]

Specifies the time from when the attack
level is reached until the sustain level (SUS­TAIN) is reached.

Knob [3]
Sustain2 (Sustain EG2) [000...127]

Specifies the volume that will be main­tained after the decay time has elapsed, as
long as you continue holding the key.

Knob [4]
Release2 (Release EG2) [000...127]

Specifies the time from note-off (when the
key is released) until the level reaches 0.

EG (Envelope Generator)

To a significant extent, each sound has its own distinctive volume curve. For example when you
play a note on a piano, the note begins at the maximum volume, and gradually diminishes. When
you release your finger from the key, the sound will disappear quickly with a brief decay. Volume
curves such as this are an important aspect of how we identify the sound of a specific instrument.
This type of change also occurs in the tone and pitch, as well as in the volume. On a synthesizer, this
type of change is produced by an EG. The R3 has dedicated EGs for the filter and for the amp.
However since these EGs can be used as Virtual Patch sources, you are also free to use them to vary
the pitch or numerous other aspects of the sound.
Some example amp EG settings are shown below.

Piano

Level

Note on

0

Attack: 0 Sustain: 0
Decay: 100 – 127 Release: 5–25

Note off

Time

Organ

Level

Note on

0

Attack: 0 Sustain: 127
Decay: — Release: 0

Note off

Time

41

16. EG3

Here you can adjust the settings of EG3. Create the desired curve by adjusting the ADSR parameters; ATTACK (knob [1]), DECAY (knob [2]),
SUSTAIN (knob [3]), RELEASE (knob [4]).

You can use EG3 as a Virtual Patch source to modulate parameters other than filter cutoff (EG1) or volume (EG2). (☞p.45)

Knob [1]
Attack3 (Attack EG3) [000...127]

Specifies the time from note-on (when the
key is pressed) until the attack level (maxi­mum value of the envelope) is reached.

Knob [2]
Decay3 (Decay EG3) [000...127]

Specifies the time from when the attack
level is reached until the sustain level (SUS­TAIN) is reached.

Knob [3]
Sustain3 (Sustain EG3) [000...127]

Specifies the volume that will be main­tained after the decay time has elapsed, as
long as you continue holding the key.

Knob [4]
Release3 (Release EG3) [000...127]

Specifies the time from note-off (when the
key is released) until the level reaches 0.

42

17. EG VELO INT (EG Level Velocity Intensity)

These settings allow the velocity (dynamics) of your keyboard playing to control the EG amplitude. Higher settings allow variations in velocity
to have more effect on the EG amplitude.
Positive (+) values: The EG amplitude will be less when you play softly, and greater when you play strongly.
Negative (–) values: The EG amplitude will be less when you play strongly, and greater when you play softly.

Knob [1]
EG1 Lvl (EG1 Level) [–63…+63]

Specifies the amout of change that the ve­locity (keyboard dynamics) will have on
EG1’s amplitude level.

Knob [2]
EG2 Lvl (EG2 Level) [–63…+63]

Specifies the amout of change that the ve­locity (keyboard dynamics) will have on
EG2’s amplitude level.

Knob [3]
EG3 Lvl (EG3 Level) [–63…+63]

Specifies the amout of change that the ve­locity (keyboard dynamics) will have on
EG3’s amplitude level.

43

18. LFO 1, 19. LFO 2

Each timbre contains two LFOs. An LFO produces a cyclic change that can be used to modulate the pitch, tone, or volume of the sound. Use knob [1] to select the
LFO waveform, and specify the method of key synchronization (knob [2]) and tempo synchronization (knobs [3] and [4]).

LFO1 and LFO2 can be used as Virtual Patch sources to apply modulation to a variety of parameters. (☞p.45)

Knob [1]
WAVE (LFO1)

[Saw, Square, Triangle, S&H, Random]

WAVE (LFO2)

[Saw, Square+, Sine, S&H, Random]

Selects the LFO waveform.

Saw

Square+

Sine

Random

Figure 18-1: Key Sync off

44

Note on

Square

Triangle

S&H

Amplitude changes irregularly

(Sample & Hold)

Knob [2]
Key Sync [Off, Timbre, Voice]

Specifies how the LFO will be applied to a
voice when note-on occurs.

Off: The LFO phase will not be reset when
note-on occurs (☞Figure 18-1).

Timbre: The phase of the LFO will be re­set by the first note-on that occurs from a
condition of no keys being held; it will not
be reset for subsequently played voices
(☞Figure 18-2).

Voice: The LFO phase will be reset at each
note-on, and modulation of differing
phases will apply to each voice (☞Figure
18-3).

Figure 18-2: Key Sync Timbre

Note on Note on

Note all off

Figure 18-3: Key Sync Voice

1VOICE

2VOICE

Note on

Note on

Knob [3]
BPM Sync [Off, On]

Specifies whether the LFO cycle will be
synchronized to the internal tempo or to
an external MIDI Clock.

Off: The LFO will not be synchronized. It
will operate at the frequency specified by
the “Freq” (knob [4]) parameter.

On: The LFO will be synchronized to the
[TEMPO] knob or to MIDI Clock messages
from an external device. The 42. MIDI page
“Clock” parameter determines the sync
source.

If “BPM Sync” is On, selecting
LFO1Freq or LFO2Freq as “Dest” in
PATCH 1–6 will have no effect.

Knob [4]
Freq (Frequency) [0.01Hz...100.0Hz]

Specifies the frequency of the LFO. Increas­ing this value will result in a faster fre­quency. This parameter will be displayed
and can be set only if “BPM Sync” is Off.

SYNC NOTE [8/1...1/64]

Specifies the LFO frequency as a note value
derived from the tempo specified by the
[TEMPO] knob. This parameter is only avail­able when “BPM Sync” is On.

8/1: One LFO cycle = 32 beats in length.
4/1: One LFO cycle = 16 beats in length.
1/1: One LFO cycle = 4 beats in length.
1/2: One LFO cycle = 2 beats in length.
1/4: One LFO cycle = 1 beat.
1/8: Two LFO cycles = 1 beat.
1/64: Sixteen LFO cycles = 1 beat.

LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator)

The LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) is an oscillator that produces a relatively slow (low­frequency) oscillation, and is used to apply cyclic modulation to various aspects of the
sound. Some typical ways to use LFO are vibrato (use LFO to raise and lower the pitch),
wah (use LFO to raise and lower the cutoff frequency), and tremolo (use LFO to raise and
lower the volume). You can select LFO as a Virtual Patch source, select the desired param­eter as the destination, and apply modulation to produce various effects. The R3 provides
special parameters that let you use the LFO to apply modulation. For LFO1, this parameter
is “LFO1Int” (knob [4] when the 5. OSC1 page “OSC Mod” (knob [2]) is set to Waveform.
For LFO2, this is the 4. Pitch-B page “VibrtInt” parameter (knob [2]).

20. PATCH 1, 21. PATCH 2, 22. PATCH 3, 23. PATCH 4,

24. PATCH 5, 25. PATCH 6

The R3 provides six Virtual Patch routes that let you create more sophisticated sounds. Each patch lets you select a modulation (“Source”) and
modulation destination (“Dest”), and specify the intensity of modulation (“P.Int1”-“P.Int6”). By using various patchings you can create a wide
variety of changes in the sound. For example if you set the modulation source “Source” to LFO2 and set the modulation destination “Dest”
(knob 2) to Cutoff1, and use “P.Int#” (knob [3]) to adjust the depth of the effect, LFO2 will create a cyclic change in tone (a “wah” effect).

Knob [1]
Source1…Source6 [EG1…MIDI3]

Selects a modulation source.

EG1, EG2, EG3: EG1, EG2, or EG3.
LFO1, LFO2: LFO1 or LFO2.
Velocity: Keyboard velocity (playing dy-

namics).

PitchBnd: Pitch bend.
ModWheel: Modulation wheel.
KeyTrack: Keyboard tracking (position).

Keyboard tracking works according to
the pitch as controlled by pitch bend,
transpose, and modulation sequencer.
It does not reflect pitch changes pro­duced by vibrato or virtual patching.

MIDI1, MIDI2, MIDI3: The function
specified for the Global mode 45. PatchSrc
page parameters “MIDI1,” “MIDI2,” or
“MIDI3.”

Knob [2]
Dest1…6 (Destination) [Pitch…LFO2Freq]

Selects the parameter (destination) that will
be controlled by the modulation. For ex­ample if you select Tune, modulation will be
applied to the overall pitch of the timbre.

Knob [3]
P.Int1…6 (Patch Intensity) [–63...63]

Specifies the depth of the effect produced
by the modulation source.
With a setting of 0, there will be no modu­lation.

Pitch: The pitch of the entire timbre.
OSC2Tune: The 6. OSC2 page “OSC2Tune”.
OSC1Ctrl: The 5. OSC1 page knob [3] pa-

rameter.

OSC1Lvl: The 7. Mixer page “OSC1 Lvl”.
OSC2Level: The 7.
NoiseLvl: The 7.
FiltBal1: The 8. Filt1-A page “FiltBal1”.
Cutoff1: The 8.
R

eso1: The 8.
Cutoff2: The 10.
WS Depth: The 13. Drive/WS page “WS Depth”.
Level: The 12. Amp page “Level“.
Panpot: The 12. Amp page “Panpot”.
LFO1Freq: The P18. LFO1 page “Freq”.
LFO2Freq: The P19. LFO2 page “Freq”.

Mixer

page “OSC2 Lvl”.

Mixer

page “NoiseLvl” .

Filt1

-A page “Cutoff1”.

Filt1

-A page “Reso1”.

Filt2

-A page “Cutoff2”.

Setting example for “Source” and “Dest”

SOURCE [1] ®DEST [2]
EG1/EG2 ®Tune The EG1 or EG2 will vary the pitch of the entire timbre over time.
EG1/EG2 ®Panpot

LFO 1/LFO 2
LFO 1/LFO 2®CutOff1/CutOff2
LFO 1/LFO 2
LFO 1/LFO 2
Velocity ®Level Velocity (keyboard playing strength) will affect the volume.
KeyTrack ® Panpot Keyboard position will gradually change the pan; lower notes at the left,

MIDI1 (P.Bend)

Virtual Patch

On modular analog synthesizers, the input
or output of each module (oscillator, filter,
amp, EG, LFO, and other controllers) could
be connected (“patched”) by a patch cord
to any other module as desired, allowing
you a great deal of freedom in creating the
sound. The Korg MS Series (MS-20, MS-50,
MS-10, etc.) went on sale in 1978 and fea­tured this type of patching. The R3 lets you
perform this patching “virtually” (i.e.,
without using physical patch cords), so you
can assign sources such as EG or LFO to
the most important parameters (destina­tions).

The EG1 or EG2 will vary the pan over time. By setting two patches to “MOD INT”

®Tune Vibrato will be applied at the LFO1 or LFO2 frequency.

®Level Tremolo will be applied at the LFO1 or LFO2 frequency.
®Panpot Auto pan will be applied at the LFO1 or LFO2 frequency.

®Panpot PITCH wheel operations or pitch bend change will move the sound be-

settings with the opposite (+/-) value you can create more complex panning.

Wah will be applied at the LFO1 or LFO2 frequency .

and higher notes at the right.

tween left and right.

45

26. MOD SEQ-A (Modulation Sequencer)

These are the parameters for the Modulation Sequencers. Modulation sequencers apply time-varying change to the sound parameters in a way
similar to the analog sequencers of the past. One modulation sequencer is provided for each timbre.

Knob [1]
LastStep [01…16]

Specifies the length of the sequence in steps
(i.e., the maximum number of steps).

Figure 26-1: SeqType Forward

Forward (Last Step=16)

Step01Step02Step

Figure 26-2: SeqType Reverse

Reverse (Last Step=16)

Step16Step15Step

Figure 26-3: SeqType Alt1, Alt2

03

14

Alt1 (Last Step=16)

Step01Step

02

Step01Step

02

Alt2 (Last Step=16)

Step01Step

02

Step01Step

02

Step14Step15Step

Step03Step02Step

Step15Step

16

Step

15

Step15Step

16

Step15Step

16

16

01

Knob [2]
SeqType (Sequence Type)

[Forward…One Shot]

Specifies the sequence type (the direction
in which the sequence will play).

Forward: Play from the first step (Step01).
(☞Figure 26-1)

Reverse: Play from the last step (the step
number specified by “Last Step”) in reverse
(☞Figure 26-2).

Alt1: Alternately play in Forward and Re­verse directions. Alt 1 immediately
changes direction at the end points, so the
first step and last steps are played only
once per loop (☞Figure 26-3).

Alt2: Alternately play in Forward and Re­verse directions. Alt 2 plays the first step
and the last step on both the way up and
on the way down, so these steps will be
played twice per loop (☞Figure 26-3).

One Shot: The sequence will play for only
one cycle, and will maintain the value of
the last step.

Knob [3]
KeySync [Off, Timbre, Voice]

Specifies how the sequence will be reset
when note-on occurs (i.e., when a key is
played).

Off: The sequence will not be reset when
note-on occurs.

Timbre: The sequence will be reset when
the first note-on occurs for a timbre from a
condition of all keys being released. In the
case of a program for which different re­gions of the keyboard play different tim­bres (i.e., a split program), the reset will
occur for the timbre that was played by the
note-on.

Voice: The sequence will be individually
reset by each new note-on that occurs.

Knob [4]
Resolutn (Resolution) [1/48…1/1]

Specifies the playback speed of the se­quence relative to the tempo (MIDI clock)
specified by the [TEMPO] knob. The se­quence will advance by one step for each
note value you specify here, relative to the
tempo. For example if you set this to 1/4,
the sequence will advance one step for each
quarter note.

46

27. MOD SEQ-B

In this page you can edit the data recorded in each step of the modulation sequencer. You can also use this page when you want to record data in
Edit mode.

(Modulation Sequence)

Knob [1]
Dest (Destination) [None, Pitch…P.Int6]

Selects the parameter that will be recorded
in the modulation sequencer.

None: The modulation sequence will do
nothing.

Pitch: The modulation sequence will
modify the overall pitch of the sounding
oscillators over a range of +/–24 semitones.

Other: The modulation sequence will
modify the parameter assigned to a spe­cific panel knob over a range of +/–63 (+/
–24 for “Pitch” and “OSC2Semi”).

Knob [2]
Motion [Smooth, Step]

Specifies how the recorded values will
change when the sequence is played.

Smooth: The change will be continuous,
with the values recorded at each step con­nected by straight lines.

Step: The value recorded at each step will
be held until the next step plays.

If you set “Dest” to OSC1Ctr2 (OSC1
Control 2) when OSC1 “Wave” is set
to DWGS, the operation will be the
same as Step even if this parameter is
set to Smooth.

Knob [3]
Step Select [Step 01…Step16]

Selects the step to edit.

Knob [4]
Value (Step Value)

[–24…+24, –63…+63]

Edits the value recorded in the step speci­fied by “StepSel” of the modulation se­quence.
The value specified here will be an offset
applied to the current value of the param­eter that is assigned to the modulation se­quence. For example if the current value is
+10, and the sequence data contains +10,
+20, +0 starting at step 1, the resulting
value of the parameter will change as +20,
+30, +10... when playback begins.

47

28. EQ (Equalizer)

Here you can adjust the equalizer settings. The equalizer is a shelving type (☞Figure 28-1).

Knob [1]
LoEQFreq (Low EQ Frequencey)

[0020Hz…1000Hz]

Specifies the frequency of the low equal­izer (shelving type).

Figure 28-1: EQ

EQ

+Gain

0dB

–Gain

Low EQ Frequency

3dB

3dB

High EQ Frequency

Knob [2]
LoEQGain (Low EQ Gain)

[–15.0dB…+15.0dB]

Specifies the gain of the low equalizer.
Positive (+) values boost the region below
the cutoff frequency.
Negative (-) values cut the region below
the cutoff frequency.

Knob [3]
HiEGFreq (High EQ Frequency)

[1.00Hz…20.0kHz]

Specifies the cutoff frequency of the high
equalizer (shelving type).

Knob [4]
HiEQGain (High EQ Gain)

[–15.0dB…+15.0dB]

Specifies the gain of the high equalizer.
Positive (+) values boost the region above
the cutoff frequency.
Negative (-) values cut the region above the
cutoff frequency.

48

29. INSERT FX1, 30 INSERT FX2

These are the settings for insert effect 1 and insert effect 2.

Knob [1]
Effect Type

Selects the effect type used by the insert
effect. For details on the available types,
refer to Effect guide in the included CD­ROM.

[NoEffect, S.Comp…W.TalkMd]

Knob [2]
Dry/Wet [Dry, 99:1…1:99, Wet]

Sets the balance between the effect and dry
sounds.

Knob [3]
Effect parameter [IFx1Knob…]

This selects which parameter will be ed­ited. The sub-display will show the name
of the selected parameter (e.g., “Sens“).
When you use “Effect parameter” (knob
[3]) to select a parameter, the display for
knob [4] will switch to the value of that pa­rameter. The available parameters will de­pend on the effect you choose for “Type.”
For details on the available effect types, re­fer to the Effect Guide in the included CD­ROM.

IFx1Knob, IFx2Knob: Use knob [4]
(“Value”) to select the effect parameter
you’ll control from knobs [1]–[4] in Play
mode. (☞p.80 SHIFT function “Knob as-
signment”)

Knob [4]
Value

This specifies the value of the parameter
you selected with “Effect parameter” (knob
[3]). The sub-display will show the value
directly (e.g., 0…127). The available param­eters will depend on the effect you choose
for “Type.” For details, refer to the Effect
Guide in the included CD-ROM.

If “Effect parameter” (knob [3]) is set to
IFx1 Knob or IFx2 Knob, you can select the
effect parameters you'll control from knobs
[1]–[4] in Play mode. (☞p.80 SHIFT func-
tion “Knob assignment”)

49

31. MASTER FX

In this page you can adjust the master effect settings.

There is one master effect. You’ll see the same effect whether you’re editing it from timbre 1 or 2. In other words if you edit the master effect
from timbre 1, your changes will be reflected in the master effect settings you see from timbre 2.

Knob [1]
Effect Type

Selects the effect type used by the master
effect. For details on the available types,
refer to “Effect guide” in the included CD­ROM.

[NoEffect, S.Comp…Talk Mod]

Knob [2]
Dry/Wet [Dry, 99:1…1:99, Wet]

Sets the balance between the effect and dry
sounds.

Knob [3]
Effect parameter [MFx Knob…]

This selects the parameter to edit. The sub­display will show the name of the selected
parameter (e.g., “Sens“). When you use
“Effect parameter” (knob [3]) to select a pa­rameter, the display for knob [4] will switch
to the value of that parameter. The avail­able parameters will depend on the effect
you choose for “Type.” For details on the
available effect types, refer to the Effect
Guide in the included CD-ROM.

MFx Knob: Use knob [4] (“Value”) to se­lect the effect parameter you’ll control from
knobs [1]–[4] in Play mode. (☞p.80 SHIFT
function “Knob assignment”)

Knob [4]
Value

This specifies the value of the parameter
you selected with “Effect parameter” (knob
[3]). The sub-display will show the value
directly (e.g., 0…127). The available param­eters will depend on the effect you choose
for “Type.” For details, refer to the Effect
Guide in the included CD-ROM.

If “Effect parameter” (knob [3]) is set to
MFx Knob, you can select the effect param­eters you'll control from knobs [1]–[4] in
Play mode. (☞p.80 SHIFT function “Knob
assignment”)

50

Arpeggio parameters

Front Panel Arpeggio Parameters

These are the parameters that can be set from the front panel ARPEGGIATOR section.

ARPEGGIATOR [TEMPO] knob

Specifies the playback tempo of the arpeg­giator.

The speed of modulation sequences
and LFOs for which “BPM Sync” is On
will be synchronized to the tempo you
specify here.

ARPEGGIATOR TEMPO LED

This will blink at quarter-note intervals of
the tempo specified by the [TEMPO] knob.

ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] button

Switches the arpeggiator on/off. The but­ton will light if this is on.

ARPEGGIATOR [LATCH] button

Specifies latch operation for the arpeggia­tor.

On (button lit): The arpeggiator will con­tinue playing after you take your hand off
the keyboard.

Off (button dark): The arpeggiator will
stop playing when you take your hand off
the keyboard.

51

32. ARPEGGIATOR-A

Here you can make various arpeggio-related settings.

Knob [1]
Assign [Timbre1, Timbre2, Tmbr1+2]

Selects the timbre(s) that will be sounded
by the arpeggiator.

Timbre1: Only timbre 1 will be sounded
by the arpeggiator.

Timbre2: Only timbre 2 will be sounded
by the arpeggiator.

Tmbr1+2: Both timbres will be sounded by
the arpeggiator.

Knob [2]
Type (Arpeggio type)

[Up, Down, Alt1, Alt2, Random, Trigger]

Selects the arpeggio type. (☞Figure 32-1)
Up: Notes will be played consecutively

from low pitches to high.
Down: Notes will be played consecutively

from high pitches to low.
Alt1: Up and Down will be alternated. (The

highest and lowest notes will be played
once.)

Alt2: Up and Down will be alternated. (The
highest and lowest notes will be played
twice, once on the way up, and once on the
way down.)

Random: Notes will be played randomly.
Trigger

: The notes you are holding down

will be played simultaneously at the tempo
and “Resolutn” timing. The “OctRange”
setting will be ignored.

If you are holding down more notes
than the maximum polyphony of the
timbre, the lowest pitches you are
holding down will be played, up to the
maximum polyphony.

Knob [3]
OctRange (Octave Range) [1, 2, 3, 4]

Specifies the range of octaves over which
the arpeggio will be played.

Figure 32-1: Arpeggio type

Up

Down

Alt1

Alt2

Random

Tr igger

Knob [4]
LastStep [1...8]

Specifies the number of valid steps (maxi­mum number of steps) for the arpeggia­tor.

52

33. ARPEGGIATOR-B

Here you can make additional arpeggio-related settings.

Knob [1]
GateTime [000%...100%]

Specifies the duration (gate time) of the
arpeggiated notes, as a percentage (%).
With a setting of 001%, each note will be
extremely short. With set to 100%, each
note will continue playing until the next
step.

Knob [2]
ArpSwing (Arpeggiator Swing)

[–100%...1+00%]

Specifies the percentage (%) by which
even-numbered notes of the arpeggio will
be shifted in timing relative to the first note
(☞Figure 33-1). This can add a “swing” feel
and make the arpeggiator sound a bit less
mechanical.

Figure 33-1: Arpeggiator Swing

When Resolution =1/8

123456789

Swing

–50 –25 +25 +50

Knob [3]
Resolutn (Resolution) [1/32...1/1]

Specifies the resolution (spacing of the
notes) relative to the tempo specified by
[TEMPO] knob.

1/32: The arpeggio will be played as 32nd
notes at the specified tempo.

1/24: The arpeggio will be played as 16th
note triplets at the specified tempo.

1/16: The arpeggio will be played as 16th
notes at the specified tempo.

1/12: The arpeggio will be played as 8th
note triplets at the specified tempo.

1/8: The arpeggio will be played as 8th
notes at the specified tempo.

1/6: The arpeggio will be played as quar­ter note triplets at the specified tempo.

1/4: The arpeggio will be played as quar­ter notes at the specified tempo.

1/3: The arpeggio will be played as half
note triplets at the specified tempo.

1/2: The arpeggio will be played as half
notes at the specified tempo.

1/1: The arpeggio will be played as whole
notes at the specified tempo.

Knob [4]
Key Sync [Off, On]

Specifies whether the arpeggiator will be
synchronized to the keyboard.
If this is On, the arpeggiator will always
start from the beginning of the arpeggio
pattern when you play the keyboard. If you
are performing together with other instru­ments, you can use this function to ensure
that the arpeggio pattern is aligned with
the beginning of the measure.

Off: Sync off. The arpeggio pattern will not
be reset when you play the keyboard.

On: Sync on. The arpeggio pattern will be
reset the moment you play the keyboard.

53

Vocoder parameters

Front panel vocoder parameters

These are the parameters that can be set from the front panel Vocoder section.

[VOCODER] button

This switches the Vocoder function on/off.
Off (key unlit): Vocoder is off. The pro-

gram will not use the vocoder.
On (key lit): Vocoder on. The program will

use the vocoder.
EDIT (key blinking): The vocoder param-

eters can now be edited. When the vocoder
is on or off, press the key once again to
make it blink; vocoder parameters will be
assigned to knobs [1]–[4], and you can con­trol the vocoder parameters by operating
these knobs while you play. Turn the
[PAGE] dial to select the group of vocoder
parameters you want to edit. (☞ p.55–60

34. Carrier–39. Lvl/Pan pages)

FORMANT MOTION [ON/OFF] button

This key lets you use formant motion data
as the vocoder’s modulator.

Off (key unlit): Formant Motion off. The
audio source selected by “AudioSrc” is
used as the modulator.

On (key lit): Formant Motion on. Formant
motion data is used as the modulator. Use
the 35. Mod-A page to specify how the data
is played.

If this is on, the audio source (AudioSrc)
input will automatically be turned off.

FORMANT MOTION [REC] button

This key lets you record formant motion
data for use as the vocoder’s modulator.
For the procedure of recording formant
motion data, refer to “Recording formant
motion data” on page 18.

Off (key unlit): Recording off.
Record Ready (key blinking): Ready to
record formant motion data.

Recording (key lit): Recording formant
motion data.

The data is not saved in internal
memory unless you write the data
when you are done recording.

54

34. CARRIER

In this page you can set the input level of the audio signal being used as the carrier

Knob [1]
Tmbr1Lvl (Timbre1 Level) [000...127]

Specifies the output level of Timbre1 (car­rier).

If you are unable to hear the vocoder
effect, try adjusting the “Tmbr1Lvl”
parameter or the 38. Filt/Amp page
“Vcd Lvl” parameter (☞p.59).

Knob [2]
Input2Lv (Input2 Level) [000...127]

Specifies the output level of the signal
cannected to the [AUDIO INPUT2] jack.

55

35. MODULATOR-A

In this page you can adjust the settings that relate to the modulator; the signal that applies its own tonal character to the carrier audio signal.
As the modulator, you can use one of the following; an external input such as a mic or rhythm audio source (AUDIO INPUT 1), timbre 2, or
formant motion data.

Knob [1]
Frmt No (Formant Data Set Number)

[01…16]

If formant motion is on, this selects the
formant motion data set that will be used
as the modulator.

If formant motion is off (FORMANT
MOTION [ON/OFF] key unlit), this
has no effect.

Knob [2]
PlayMode [FreeRun, TrgReset]

If formant motion is on, this specifies the
playback method for the formant motion
data selected by “Frmnt No.”

FreeRun: The formant motion data will
play as a loop.

TrgReset: Each time you play the key­board, the formant motion data will play
back from the beginning.

The formant motion data will be trig­gered on the global MIDI channel.

This has no effect if formant motion is
off (FORMANT MOTION [ON/OFF]
key unlit).

Knob [3]
AudioSrc (Audio Source) [Input1, Timbre2]

This selects the audio source that will be
input as the modulator. When recording
formant motion data, the audio source you
select here will be recorded as formant
motion data.

Input1: The audio source from AUDIO IN­PUT 1 will be used as the modulator.
If the [MIC] switch is set to REAR, the
source from the rear panel AUDIO INPUT
1 jack will be input as the modulator. If the
[MIC] switch is set to XLR, the audio from
the mic connected to the front panel MIC
jack will be input as the modulator. This
will be the typical vocoder effect using a
mic.

Timbre2: The output of timbre 2 will be
used as the modulator.

56

36. MODULATOR-B

As in the 35. Mod-A page, this page lets you make additional settings for the modulator.
The parameters in this page have no effect if formant motion is on (FORMANT MOTION [ON/OFF] key lit).

Knob [1]
GateSens (Gate Sensitivity) [000...127]

Specifies the speed at which the gate will
operate according to the “Threshld” set­ting.
Lower values for this setting will make the
gate close more quickly, causing the vo­coder sound to decay more quickly.
Higher values for this setting will make the
gate close more gradually, causing the vo­coder sound to have a longer decay.

If the “Threshld” value is high, this
effect will apply more readily. If the
threshold value is 0, there will be no
effect.

Knob [2]
Threshld (Threshold) [000...127]

Sets the level at which the input source will
be cut. By setting this to an appropriate
level you can cut the noise that might be
present during times of no input. Higher
settings will make it more likely that the
input source will be cut.

With excessively high settings, there
will be more chance that the audio in­put signal itself will be cut, making it
difficult for you to apply the vocoder
effect as intended.

Knob [3]
HPF Gate [Disable, Enable]

Specifies whether the high-frequency por­tion of the signal from AUDIO IN 1 that is
mixed into the vocoder output will be
passed only during the key-on (note-on)
duration, or will always be allowed to pass.

Disable: The high-frequency portion of the
signal will always be passed. This is effec­tive when you are playing a guitar etc. that
is connected via an effect unit to [AUDIO
INPUT 2] jack.

Enable: The high-frequency portion of the
signal will be passed only during the key­on (note-on) duration. Use this setting if
you are applying the vocoder effect only
to an internal sound source, or if you have
connected a synthesizer etc. to [AUDIO
INPUT 2] jack. (The signal will be passed
when a MIDI note-on is received.)

Knob [4]
HPF Lvl (HPF Level) [000...127]

This adjusts the output level from the HPF
(High Pass Filter) that extracts the high-fre­quency components from the modulator
input source; these high-frequency compo­nents are then mixed into the output of the
vocoder. Increase this value if you want to
emphasize the consonants of the vocal in­put source.

57

37. FILTER

Here you can adjust the settings for the carrier’s sixteen band-pass filters and modulator’s envelope filter. You’ll be using these parameters
frequently, since they play an important role in determining the character of the vocoder.

Knob [1]
FrmntSft (Formant Shift) [–2…+2]

Shifts the cutoff frequencies of each of the
carrier’s band pass filters. This will signifi­cantly change the character of the vocoder
output.

58

Knob [2]
FcOffset (Fc Offset) [–63...+63]

This continuously shifts the cutoff fre­quency of each band-pass filter (Synthesis
filter) of the carrier.

Knob [3]
Vcd Reso (Vocoder Resonance)

[000...127]

Specifies the amount of resonance for each
band-pass filter of the carrier.
Increasing this value will emphasize the
regions near each cutoff frequency.

“FrmntSft” and “FcOffset”

When “FrmntSft”=0 and “FcOffset”=0, the response of the carrier filters will match the
cutoff frequency of the modulator filters. The filter response is shifted upward or down­ward in two discrete steps by the “FrmntSft.” This can be adjusted upward or down­ward a total of another two steps by using “FcOffset,” giving you a total of four steps of
adjustment upward or downward.

BPFBPFBPFBPF BPFBPF

Formant Shift:+2

897

0 +63-63

Cutoff (range in which BPF 8 will change)

BPFBPFBPFBPF BPFBPF

897

-63

0

Cutoff (range in which BPF 8 will change)

Frequency

Frequency

+63

Knob [4]
E.F.Sens [000...126, Hold]

Specifies the sensitivity of the modulator’s
Envelope Followers. Lower settings of this
value will allow the attacks of the input sig­nal to be detected more rapidly.
If you set this to Hold, the character of the
signal that is being input at that moment
will be held (Formant Freeze). Subse­quently, the sound will retain that charac­ter regardless of whether there is any in­put.

If you set this to Hold when there is
no input signal present, there will be
no output even if an audio signal is
subsequently input.

If you write the program with this
value set to Hold, the program will
memorize the response of the signal
that was being held.

38. FILTER/AMP

Here you can set the parameters that modulate the cutoff frequency of the carrier’s band-pass filters (synthesis filter), and adjust the output of
the vocoder.

Knob [1]
FcModeSrc (Fc Mode Source) [EG1…MIDI3]

Selects the modulation source that will be
applied to the carrier band-pass filter
“FcOffset.” The available modulation
sources are the same as the modulation
sources for program parameter virtual
patches (☞p.45 “Source1…Source6”).

Knob [2]
FcModInt (Fc Modulation Intensity)

[–63...+63]

Specifies the depth of the modulation that
is applied to the carrier band-pass filter
(Synthesis filter) “FcOffset.”

Knob [3]
DirectLv (Direct Level) [000...127]

Sets the volume level at which the
modulatior input source will be output
directly (unaffected).

If you press the [VOCODER] button
to make it blink, and raise the Edit
mode 38. Filt/Amp page “DirectLv”
value, the incoming audio signal will
be output directly. Raise this value if
you want to hear the audio input while
you’re adjusting it.

Knob [4]
Vcd Lvl (Vocoder Level) [000...127]

Sets the output level of the vocoder.

59

39. CH LEVEL /PAN (Channel Level/Channel Panpot)

These parameters set the level and pan for each of the sixteen band-pass filter channels (Synthesis Filter) of the carrier (☞p.55).

Knob [1]
Channel Select [Ch1…Ch16]

Selects one of the sixteen filter channels for
editing.

Knob [2]
Level1…Level16 [000...127]

Specifies the output level of the selected
channel.

Knob [3]
Pan1…Pan16 [L63…CNT…R63]

Specifies the panning of the selected chan­nel.

60

Overall settings (GLOBAL)

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Overview

The GLOBAL section lets you can make overall settings for the R3.
For example, although it is possible to individually adjust the pitch of each synth or

vocoder program, you can use the 40. Global-A page pitch settings (“MstTune” and
“Transpos”) to adjust the pitch of all programs. When you are playing the R3 to-
gether with other instruments, use “MstTune” to match the pitch. If you want to
transpose the pitch of the song you are playing, you can adjust “Transpos.” In cases
such as when you use multiple programs in a single song, it is convenient to simply
adjust the GLOBAL setting instead of adjusting the pitch of each individual pro­gram.

If you want to keep the changes you make to these settings, you must execute
the Write operation (☞p.74).

GLOBAL structure

61

40. GLOBAL-A

The settings you make here will apply to the entire R3, such as the overall tuning and the velocity curve.

Knob [1]
Mst Tune (Master Tune)

[430.0Hz...450.0Hz]

Adjusts the overall pitch in 0.1 Hz steps,
in terms of A4 as the reference pitch. Use
this when you need to tune the pitch of the

R3 to other instruments.

Knob [3] (l)

great deal of change with softly played
notes, so they may be more difficult
to control. Choose the curve that is
most appropriate for your playing dy­namics or the effect you want to ob­tain.

Figure 40-1: Velocity curve

MAX

(127)

5

4

3

Velocity

MIN (1)

ppp

(1) (127)

8

Strength

(MIDI Velocity)

2

7

1

6

fff

62

Knob [2]
Transpos (Transpose) [–12...12]

Adjusts the overall pitch in steps of a
semitone (100 cents) over a range of one
octave up or down. Use this when you
want to transpose to suit the song you are
playing.

Knob [4] (l)

MIDI IN

Timbre 2

MIDI IN

Arpeggiator

Timbre 1

Timbre 1

GLOBAL: Master Transpose
GLOBAL: Velocity Curve

Arpeggiator

Timbre 2

MIDI OUT

Figure 40-2: Post KBD

Keyboad

GLOBAL: Master Transpose
GLOBAL: Velocity Curve

Figure 40-3: Pre TG

Keyboad

FRONT PANEL: Octave

MIDI OUT

Knob [3]
VelCurve (Velocity Curve)[1…8, Const127]

Different velocity curve let youtailor the re­sponse of the keyboard to your own playing
style. Lighter curves are best for heavy-handed
players, higher curves may work better for
players with a light touch (☞Figure 40-1).

1: This curve requires you to play strongly
in order to produce an effect.

2, 3: |
4: This is the typical curve.
5: |
6: This curve produces an effect without

requiring you to play very strongly.
7: This curve produces a fairly steady ef-

fect with little change for medium-strength
playing.

8: This curve produces a fairly steady ef­fect with little change for medium-strength
playing (a flatter curve than 7).

Const127: All notes will sound maximum
velocity (127). This setting mimics the be­havior of early analog synths.

Curves 7 and 8 produce little change

Knob [4]
Position [Post KBD, Pre TG]

Specifies the internal MIDI IN/OUT rout­ing within the R3. This setting will affect
the way in which MIDI data is transmitted
and received, and how the arpeggiator
data is handled.

Post KBD: In this position, incoming MIDI
data will be sent to the timbres without
being affected by the global or front
paneltranspose controls, and will not trig­ger the arpeggiator. Data produced by the
keyboard will be converted according to
the internal settings, routed through the ar­peggiator (arpeggiator notes are sent as
MIDI data), and then sent to the MIDI OUT
connector. (☞Figure 40-2)

Pre TG: Incoming MIDI data will be af­fected by by the global settings, and will
act as trigger notes for the arpeggiator.
Data produced by the keyboard will be
sent to the MIDI OUT connector without
being affected by any setting other than
OCTAVE [UP] [DOWN] button. (☞Figure
40-3) (p)

for medium-strength playing. How­ever, these curves will also produce a

(p)

41. GLOBAL-B

These parameters select the input when using the AUDIO IN THRU function, and specify how knobs [1]–[4] will operate.

Knob [1]
Thru Src (Thru Source)

[Input1, Input2, Input1+2]

The input signal(s) selected here will be
sent to the OUTPUT [L/MONO] and [R]
jacks without change when using the Shift
function “AUDIO IN THRU.”

Input1: The signal connected to the [AU­DIO INPUT 1] jack will be sent to the OUT­PUT [L/MONO] and [R] jacks without
change.

Input2: The signal connected to the [AU­DIO INPUT 2] jack will be sent to the OUT­PUT [L/MONO] and [R] jacks without
change.

Input1+2: The signals received from both
the [AUDIO INPUT 1] jack and the [AU­DIO INPUT 2] jackwill be sent to the OUT­PUT [L/MONO] and [R] jacks without
change.

You can use the AUDIO IN THRU
function to check whether the signal
from each jack is being input correctly.
This also lets you use the mic to speak
to the audience between songs.

Knob [2]
KnobMode [Jump, Catch]

Specifies the behavior of the front panel
knobs [1] - [4] and [TEMPO] knob when
editing.

Jump: When you turn the knob, the param­eter value will jump to the value indicated
by the knob, regardless of the stored value.
Since this makes it easy to hear the results
while editing, we recommend that you use
this setting when editing.

Catch: When you turn the knob, the pa­rameter value will not change until the
knob position matches the stored value. We
recommend that you use this setting when
you don't want the sound to change
abruptly, such as during a live perfor­mance.

63

MIDI parameters

MIDI IN MIDI OUT

MIDI keyboard

R3

Using the R3 with other MIDI devices (MIDI)

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Overview

Here you can make MIDI-related settings for the R3.
MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, and is a world-wide standard

for exchanging various types of musical data between electronic musical instru­ments and computers. When MIDI cables are used to connect two or more MIDI
devices, performance data can be exchanged between the devices, even if they were
made by different manufacturers.

The R3 lets you assign control change numbers to the major parameters that affect
the sound, and control these parameters from an external MIDI sequencer while
you play the tone generator. You can also operate the assigned knobs [1] –[4] or keys
to transmit these control changes to control an external MIDI device.
You can synchronize the R3’s arpeggiator, LFO rate, or the delay time of the delay
effect to the MIDI Clock of an external MIDI sequencer.

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Connecting MIDI devices/computers

Controlling an external MIDI tone generator from the R3

When you wish to use the R3’s keyboard, controllers, and arpeggiator etc. to play an
external MIDI tone generator, use a MIDI cable to connect the R3’s MIDI OUT con­nector to the MIDI IN connector of the external MIDI tone generator.

MIDI OUT MIDI INR3

MIDI tone generator

1 2

TAP

5710 12

EM-1

14161513119843

Controlling the R3’s tone generator from an external MIDI device

When you wish to play or control the R3’s tone generator from an external MIDI
keyboard or sequencer etc., use a MIDI cable to connect the MIDI OUT connector of
the external MIDI device to the MIDI IN connector of the R3.

Controlling two or more external MIDI tone generators from the R3

You can use the MIDI THRU connector to simultaneously control multiple MIDI
devices. (This type of connection should be used to connect no more than three
devices. If you wish to connect a larger number of MIDI devices, we recommend
that you use a MIDI patch bay (or MIDI thru-box) as shown in the second diagram
below.)

R3

MIDI OUT MIDI IN MIDI THRU

MIDI keyboard

You can also use a MIDI patch bay to control multiple MIDI devices.

R3

MIDI INMIDI OUT

MIDI OUT

MIDI IN

TAP

1 2

5710 12

MIDI tone generator

MIDI IN

EM-1

14161513119843

MIDI patch bay

MIDI OUT

1 2

TAP

5710 12

MIDI IN

EM-1

MIDI tone generator

14161513119843

MIDI keyboard

64

Using the R3 with other MIDI devices (MIDI)

Connecting an external MIDI sequencer or computer etc.

If you want to record your performance on the R3’s keyboard into your external
MIDI sequencer/computer (via a MIDI interface), or use the R3 as a combination of
controller keyboard and MIDI sound module, or use the Editor/Librarian software
included with the R3, then you’ll need to connect the R3’s MIDI OUT and MIDI IN
connectors to the MIDI IN and MIDI OUT connectors respectively of your external
MIDI sequencer or computer.

Some USB-MIDI interface devices may not be able to transmit/receive the R3’s
MIDI exclusive messages.

computer

MIDI interface

MIDI OUT

MIDI IN

R3

MIDI INMIDI OUT

Connecting the R3 to your computer via USB

As an alternate way of connecting the R3 to your computer in the situations de­scribed above, you can use a USB cable if your computer has a USB connector. Since
a USB connection sends the data faster than when using MIDI cables and a MIDI
interface, we recommend a USB connection if you’re going to be using the PC editor
software.

For details on the included software, refer to the owner’s manual for the soft­ware provided on the CD-ROM.

If either the MIDI connection or the USB connection does not work, you should
also check the “Routing” setting (☞p.68) in the 42. MIDI page.

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MIDI-related settings

MIDI channel setting

In order to exchange data with a connected external MIDI device, you must set the
R3’s MIDI channel to match the MIDI channel of the external MIDI device.

1 Set the MIDI channel of the R3.

Select the [PAGE] dial to the 42. MIDI page, and use knob [1] (“MIDI CH”) to
set the MIDI channel. (☞p.68)

2 Set the MIDI channel of the connected external MIDI device.

For information on setting the MIDI channel of the external MIDI device,
refer to the owner’s manual of that device.

MIDI channel setting – use the R3 as a multi-timbral sound module

You can specify separate MIDI channels for each of the two timbres, and use the R3
as a multi-timbral sound module that can be driven from your external MIDI se­quencer or controller.

1 Set the R3 to multi-timbral operation.

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the 1. Voice page, and use knob [1] (“Mode”) to
select Multi.

2 Set the MIDI channel for timbre 2.

When you use knob [1] to select Multi, knob [2] will change to “T2MIDIch.”
Use knob [2] to set the MIDI channel of timbre 2.

3 Go to the 42. MIDI page and use knob [1] (MIDI Ch) to set the MIDI channel of

timbre 1.

4 Set the appropriate MIDI channels on the external MIDI device.

65

Using the R3 with other MIDI devices (MIDI)

GLOBAL “POSITION” setting

The R3’s GLOBAL “Position” lets you specify how MIDI IN/OUT will be internally
routed. This will affect how the MIDI data will be affected by the “Transpos,”
“VelCurve,” and arpeggiator settings.

• Normally when controlling an external MIDI tone generator from the R3, you

will set “Position” to PostKBD. The various settings listed above will affect the
MIDI data that is transmitted. The received data will be processed as “Transpos”:
0, “VelCurve”: 4.

• Normally when controlling the R3’s tone generator from an external MIDI de-

vice, you will set “Position” to PreTG. The various settings listed above will
affect the MIDI data that is received.

The transmitted data will be processed as “Transpos”: 0 and “VelCurve”: 4.

“MIDI FILTER” settings

The 43. MIDI Filt page setting specifies whether program change, pitch bend, con­trol change, and system exclusive messages will be transmitted or received. (☞p.70)

Virtual patch modulation source settings

You can assign three different MIDI control messages (MIDI 1, 2, 3) as virtual patch
modulation sources. Make the desired assignments in the 45. PatchSrc page (☞p.72),
and then select MIDI1 or MIDI2 etc. as the virtual patch source (knob [1]) for the
virtual patch settings (20. Patch1–25. Patch6). This lets you control modulation via
MIDI.

The modulation source “FcModSrc”of the cutoff frequency of the vocoder’s carrier
band-pass filters can also be controlled via MIDI; simply select MIDI 1, 2, or 3 as the
virtual patch modulation source.

“CONTROL CHANGE” settings

You can assign control change numbers to the major parameters that affect the sound,
and use an external MIDI device to perform the same operations as when the knobs
and keys of the R3 are operated. Conversely, you can operate the R3’s knobs and
keys to control an external MIDI device. Use the 44. MIDI CC# page to assign con­trol change messages to parameters. (☞p.71)

MIDI “LOCAL” setting when connecting an external MIDI sequencer
or computer

If notes are sounding doubled when the R3 is connected to an external MIDI sequencer
or computer, turn the Local setting off (42. MIDI page “Local” Off). (☞p.68)

If the R3 is connected to an external MIDI sequencer or computer, and the Echo Back
setting of the external MIDI sequencer or computer is turned on while the R3’s Lo­cal Control setting is also on, the performance data generated when you play the
R3’s keyboard will be sent to the external MIDI sequencer, and will also be echoed­back to sound the R3’s tone generator a second time. To prevent each note from
being sounded twice, once directly from the keyboard and once from the echoed­back note, you must turn the R3’s Local Control setting off.

Recording the MIDI output from the R3’s arpeggiator onto an
external MIDI sequencer or computer

1. Connect and setting

Connect the R3’s MIDI OUT connector to the MIDI IN connector of your external
MIDI sequencer / computer, and connect the R3’s MIDI IN connector to the MIDI
OUT connector of your external MIDI sequencer / computer. (☞p.64) Then turn the
R3’s Local Control off (42. MIDI page “Local” Off), and turn on the echo back setting
of your external MIDI sequencer / computer.

2. Recording the note data from the arpeggiator onto an external MIDI
sequencer / computer

Set the R3’s 40. Global-A page “Position” to PostKBD
Turn on the R3’s arpeggiator (ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] button lit), play the key­board, and record the note data on your external MIDI sequencer / computer. If the

40. Global-A page “Position” is set to PostKBD, the MIDI note data produced by the

arpeggiator will be output from the R3, and recorded. (☞p.62) Turn the R3’s arpeg-
giator off during playback.

66

Synchronizing the arpeggiator

The 42. MIDI page “Clock” (knob [4]) setting specifies whether the R3’s arpeggiator
will be the master (the controlling device) or slave (the controlled device).

For information on synchronization-related settings of your external MIDI de­vice, refer to the manual of your device.

1. Using the R3 as master and the external MIDI device as slave

Connect the R3’s MIDI OUT connector to the MIDI IN connector of your external
MIDI device (☞p.64).
Use the [PAGE] dial to select the 42. MIDI page, and set “Clock” (knob [4]) to Inter­nal; the R3 will be the master device, and will transmit MIDI timing clock messages.
Set your external MIDI device so that it will receive incoming MIDI clock messages.
Now your external MIDI device (sequencer, rhythm machine, etc.) will operate at
the tempo specified by the R3’s [TEMPO] knob.

2. Using the external MIDI device as master and the R3 as slave

Connect the R3’s MIDI IN connector to the external MIDI device’s MIDI OUT con­nector (☞p.64). If you select the [PAGE] dial to the 42. MIDI page, and set 42. MIDI
page “Clock” (knob [4]) to Ext MIDI, the R3 will be the slave.
The R3’s arpeggiator will operate at the tempo of the external MIDI device (sequencer,
rhythm machine, etc.).

If you set 42. MIDI page “Clock” (knob [4]) to Auto, the R3 will automatically
function using the Ext MIDI setting if MIDI clock is being received from an
external MIDI device connected to the MIDI IN connector. Otherwise, the R3
will function using the Internal setting.

Using the R3 with other MIDI devices (MIDI)

If the R3 is synchronized to the MIDI clock of an external MIDI device, its ar­peggiator will reset when a MIDI Start message [FA] is received. This will also
cause LFOs and modulation sequences to be reset if “Key Sync“ is Off.

67

42. MIDI

Here you can make MIDI-related settings for the R3.

Knob [1]
MIDI Ch (MIDI Channel) [01...16]

Specifies the MIDI channel. When you
wish to transmit program changes or sys­tem exclusive messages via MIDI, set the
global MIDI channel to match the MIDI
channel of the connected MIDI device.

68

Knob [2]
Local [Off, On]

Switches the local setting on and off
Off: With this setting, controllers such as

the keyboard and modulation wheel will
be internally disconnected from the tone
generator section. This setting prevents
notes from being sounded in duplicate
when the R3 is connected to a sequencer
and the performance data is echoed back
from the sequencer. (Echo back is when the
performance data transmitted by playing
the R3 is re-transmitted back to the R3 from
the sequencer.)

On: Select this setting when you are using
the R3 by itself.

Knob [4] (n)

Ext MIDI: The R3’s arpeggiator will syn-
chronize to the MIDI clock messages re­ceived from an external MIDI device con­nected to the MIDI IN connector.

When sync’ing to an external MIDI de­vice, refer to that device’s owner’s
manual.

Knob [3]
Routing [USB+MIDI, USB, MIDI]

Selects the connector(s) that will be used
to transmit and receive MIDI messages.

USB+MIDI: The MIDI connectors and
USB connector will be used to transmit and
receive MIDI messages. When receiving
MIDI messages, the messages from both
types of connector will be mixed, and MIDI
messages received later will be given pri­ority. For transmission, the same MIDI
messages will be transmitted from both
connectors (☞p.69 Figure 42-1).

USB: Only the USB connector will be used
to transmit and receive MIDI messages. Thru
operation via the MIDI IN and MIDI THRU
connectors is enabled (☞

MIDI: Only the MIDI connectors will be
used to transmit and receive MIDI
messages(☞p.69 Figure 42-3).

The “Thru” function from the MIDI IN to
the MIDI THRU connectors is active even
if this parameter is set to USB.

p.69

Figure 42-2).

Knob [4]
Clock [Auto, Internal, Ext USB, Ext MIDI]

Specifies how the R3 will synchronize with
an external MIDI device (sequencer,
rhythm machine, etc.). If the LFO 1/2 or
delay effect “BPM Sync” is On, the LFO
rate and delay time will also synchronize
in the same way as the arpeggiator.

Auto: The R3 will automatically function
using the External (or USB) setting if MIDI
clock messages are being received from an
external MIDI device connected to the
MIDI IN connector. If no MIDI clock mes­sages are being received, the internal set­ting will be used.

Internal: The arpeggiator will sync to the
internal clock (specified by knob
[TEMPO]). Select this setting if you are
using the R3 by itself, or if you are using
the R3 as the master (controlling device)
so that an external MIDI device will syn­chronize to the MIDI clock messages from
the R3.

Ext USB: The R3’s arpeggiator will syn-
chronize to the MIDI clock messages re­ceived from an external USB MIDI device
connected to the USB connector.

(p)

Knob [3]

Figure 42-1: USB+MIDI

PC USB-MIDI Port

R3 MIDI OUT

R3 KBD/KNOB

R3 MIDI IN

R3 SOUND

Figure 42-2: USB

PC USB-MIDI Port

R3 MIDI OUT

R3 KBD/KNOB

R3 MIDI IN

R3 SOUND

Figure 42-3: MIDI

PC USB-MIDI Port

R3 MIDI OUT

R3 KBD/KNOB

R3 MIDI IN

R3 SOUND

R3

USB MIDI RX (EXT)

USB MIDI TX (INT)

USB MIDI TX (EXT)

USB MIDI RX (INT)

R3

USB MIDI RX (EXT)

USB MIDI TX (INT)

USB MIDI TX (EXT)

USB MIDI RX (INT)

R3

USB MIDI RX (EXT)

USB MIDI TX (INT)

USB MIDI TX (EXT)

USB MIDI RX (INT)

KBD/KNOB OUT
DUMP OUT etc...

KBD/KNOB OUT
DUMP OUT etc...

KBD/KNOB OUT
DUMP OUT etc...

TG OUTPUT
DUMP IN etc...

TG OUTPUT
DUMP IN etc...

TG OUTPUT
DUMP IN etc...

MIDI OUT

MIDI IN

MIDI THRU

MIDI OUT

MIDI IN

MIDI THRU

MIDI OUT

MIDI IN

MIDI THRU

42. MIDI

69

43. MIDI FILTER

Here you can adjust the the R3’s MIDI Filter settings.

Knob [1]
Prog Chg (Program Change)

[Disable, Enable]

Selects whether program changes will be
transmitted and received.

Disable: Program changes will not be
transmitted or received.

Enable: Program changes will be transmit­ted and received.

Knob [2]
Ctrl Chg (Control Change)[Disable, Enable]

Selects whether MIDI control changes will
be transmitted and received.

Disable: MIDI control changes will not be
transmitted or received.

Enable: MIDI control changes will be
transmitted and received.

Knob [3]
PitchBnd (Pitch Bend) [Disable, Enable]

Selects whether pitch bend messages will
be transmitted and received.

Disable: Pitch bend messages will not be
transmitted or received.

Enable: Pitch bend messages will be trans­mitted and received.

Knob [4]
SystemEx (System Exclusive)

[Disable, Enable]

Selects whether MIDI system exclusive
messages will be transmitted and received.

Disable: MIDI system exclusive messages
will not be transmitted or received.

Enable: MIDI system exclusive messages
will be transmitted and received.

70

44. MIDI CC# MAP (MIDI Control Change No. Map)

Here you can assign control change numbers to the most important parameters corresponding to the front panel buttons and knobs [1]–[4].
When you use the Performance Edit function or edit a program, the control change you assign here will be transmitted when you operate the
corresponding knob for each parameter. When the R3 receives one of these control change messages, the value of the corresponding parameter
will change. (☞Supplementary material on the CD-ROM: “Control change assignments for the R3’s knobs/buttons”)

Knob [1]
Parameter [Portamnt…VcdFmtNo]

Select the knob or button.

Knob [2]
Value [NoAssign, CC#000…CC#095,

CC#102…CC#119]

Assign a MIDI control change number
(CC#) for the knob or button selected in
“Parameter” (knob [1]).

If the selected value is already as­signed to another parameter, an "*" is
shown at the right of the value.

The MIDI channel for vocoder param­eters will be the same MIDI channel
as timbre1.

71

45. PATCH SOURCE

Here you can select the functions that are assigned to modulation sources MIDI 1, 2, and 3 of the Virtual Patch function.

If the selected function is assigned to a different parameter, an "*" is shown at the right of the value.

Knob [1]
MIDI1 [P.Bend…#119]

These select the functions that are assigned
to modulation sources MIDI 1 of the Vir­tual Patch function. With the factory set­tings, “MIDI1” is assigned to #016 (CC#16).

Knob [2]
MIDI2 [P.Bend…#119]

These select the functions that are assigned
to modulation sources MIDI 2 of the Vir­tual Patch function. With the factory set­tings, “MIDI2” is assigned to #002 (CC#02).

Knob [3]
MIDI3 [P.Bend…#119]

These select the functions that are assigned
to modulation sources MIDI 3 of the Vir­tual Patch function. With the factory set­tings, “MIDI3” is assigned to A.Touch (Af­ter Touch).

72

Pedal/Switch parameters

46. PEDAL/SW

Here you can specify the function of the foot pedal and foot switch connected to the rear panel.

You can use a Shift function to adjust the calibration of the foot pedal (☞p.79).

Knob [1]
A.Pedal (Assignable Pedal)

[Volume…Foot Pdl]

Selects the function of the pedal connected
to the ASSIGNABLE [PEDAL] jack. With
the factory settings this is set to ExpPedal.

Volume: The pedal will control the volume of
the timbres used in the program (CC#07).

ExpPedal: The pedal will control the volume
of the timbres used in the program. The expres­sion value is multiplied by the volume value
to specify the actual loudness (CC#11).

Pan: The pedal will control the panning of
the timbres used in the program (CC#10).

If the 44. MIDI CC# page “Panpot” is as­signed to CC#10, you can control the ste­reo panning of the output.

AftTouch: The pedal will control the
aftertouch for timbres used in the program.

ModWheel: The pedal will control the ef­fect of the modulation depth (CC#01).

BrthCtrl: The pedal will control the MIDI
control change Breath Control (CC#02).

FootPdl: The pedal will control the MIDI
control change Foot Control (CC#04).

Knob [2]
A.SwFunc (Assignable Switch Function)

Selects the function of the pedal switch
connected to the ASSIGNABLE [SWITCH]
jack. With the factory settings this is set to
Damper.

Damper: The pedal switch will function as
a damper pedal (CC#66).

ProgUp, ProgDown: The pedal switch will
advance to the program with the next high­est (increment) or next lowest (decrement)
number.

OctUp, OctDown: The pedal switch will
change the octave. Turning the switch on
will shift the pitch by +1/-1 octave.

PrtmnSw: The pedal switch will function
as a portamento on/off switch (CC#65).

ArpSw: The pedal switch will function as
a arpeggiator on/off switch.

ArpStop: The pedal switch will start and
reset the arpeggiator.

FootSw: The pedal switch will control the
parameter assigned to FootSw (CC#65).

[Damper…Foot Sw]

Knob [3]
A.Sw Pol (Assignable Switch Polarity)

[– (KORG), +]

Specifies the polarity of the pedal switch
connected to the ASSIGNABLE [SWITCH]
jack. With the factory settings this is set to –
(KORG).

Choose the – (KORG) setting if you're
using a Korg PS-1 pedal switch, or if
you’re not using any pedal switch.

Knob [4]
A.SwMode (Assignable Switch Mode)

Specifies the mode of on/off operation for
the pedal switch connected to the ASSIGN­ABLE

[SWITCH]

tings this is set to UnLatch.
UnLatch (Momentary): The assigned func-

tion will be on only while the pedal switch
is held down.

Latch (Toggle): The assigned function will
alternate between on and off each time the
switch is pressed.

jack. With the factory set-

[UnLatch, Latch]

73

Saving Data

Saving your edited settings

If you have edited a program, your edited settings will be lost if you turn the power off or select another program
before saving (writing). In order to preserve your edits, you must save (write) the edited program. Changes you
make to the 40. Global-A – 46. Pedal/Sw page, or SHIFT functions (described later in this manual) will also be lost if
you turn off the power before saving (writing). In order to retain the modified settings, you must save (write) them.

Never turn off the power while data is being written. Doing so may destroy the data.

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

Saving a program

Settings that will be saved

• 01. Voice – 33. Arpeggiator-B page pa­rameters, 34. Carrier – 39. Lvl/Pan page
parameters

• [TEMPO] knob setting

• ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF] switch set­ting

• OCTAVE [UP] [DOWN] button setting

• Shift function “Program name”setting

• Shift function “Knob assign” setting

Procedure

Press the [WRITE] button.

1

Make sure that the main display in­dicates “Program” (the type of data
to be saved), and press the [WRITE]
button once again.

If the main display indicates “Global”

when you press the [WRITE] button ,

the global parameters are what will be

saved. Use the [PAGE] dial to select

“Program“ and press the [WRITE]

button .

If the main display indicates “WrtPrtct”
when you press the [WRITE] button
again, write protect is turned on (i.e.,
you can't write programs). Press the
[EXIT] button twice to cancel the Write
operation, and turn off Write Protect
(☞p.78).

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the des-

2

tination program number into which
you want to save the program.

Press the [WRITE] button once

3

again to save (write) the program.

The main display will indicate “Com­plete.” The Write operation is com­pleted, and you’ll return to Play mode.

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

Saving GLOBAL, MIDI settings

Settings that will be saved

• 40. Global-A – 46. Pedal/Sw page pa­rameters

• Shift function “PROTECT”setting

• Shift function “CALIBRATION” setting

• Formant motion data

Procedure

Press the [WRITE] button.

1

The main display will indicate Pro­gram (the type of data to be saved),
so use the [PAGE] dial to select Glo­bal and then press the [WRITE] but­ton once again.

Press the [WRITE] button once

2

again to save (write) the global data
and MIDI settings.

The main display will indicate “Com­plete.” The Write operation is com­pleted, and you’ll return to the Play
mode.

If you press the [WRITE] button when
one of the Edit mode 40. MIDI – 46.
Pedal/Sw pages are selected, it will be
the global data that is saved.

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

Saving Formant Motion data

Settings that will be saved

• Formant motion data

Procedure

Press the [WRITE] button.

1

The main display will indicate Pro­gram (the type of data to be saved),
so use the [PAGE] dial to select
Formant and then press the [WRITE]
button once again.

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the des-

2

tination formant motion data num­ber into which you want to save the
formant motion data.

Press the [WRITE] button once

3

again to save (write) the program.

The main display will indicate “Com­plete.” The Write operation is com­pleted, and you’ll return to Play
mode.

If you press the [WRITE] button im­mediately after recording a formant
motion, the main display will show
formant motion data as the object to
be saved.

74

SHIFT functions

Copying and exchanging timbres/ Initializing a program

1-1. NAME PROGRAM
Renaming a program

The R3 lets you assign a name of up to eight
characters to each program. In Play mode,
the main display will show the program
number and the program name.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press

1

the PROGRAM SELECT [1] button.
The [1] button will blink. The main dis­play will show the current program
name.

Use the OCTAVE [UP][DOWN] but-

2

tons to select a character, and use the
[PAGE] dial to change the character.

You can also use the [1] knob to enter
uppercase characters, the [2] knob to
enter lowercase characters, the [3] knob
to enter numerals, and the [4] knob
to enter symbols.

When you’ve finished editing the pro-

3

gram name, press the [1] button.
The program name will be changed and
you’ll return to Play mode.
If you decide to discard your changes,
press the [EXIT] button.

If you’ve edited the program name,
your changes will be lost if you turn
off the power or switch to a different
program without writing the program.
Be sure to write the program if you
want to keep the edited program name.

2-1. INIT PROGRAM
Initializing a program

Here’s how to initialize the settings of the
currently selected program.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press

1

the PROGRAM SELECT [2] button.
The [2] button will blink. The main dis­play will show the name of the currently
selected program.

To initialize the program, press the [2]

2

button.

The program will be initialized, and
you’ll return to Play mode.
If you decide not to initialize the pro­gram, press the [EXIT] button.

3-1. COPY TIMBRE
Copying a timbre

Here’s how to copy the timbre settings
from another program into a timbre of the
currently selected program.
This operation is available if TIMBRE SE­LECT [TIMBRE 1] or [TIMBRE 2] is se­lected.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

1

press the PROGRAM SELECT [3] but­ton.

The [3] button will blink. The main dis­play will show the copy-source program
number and program name.

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the copy-

2

source program.
Press the [3] button.

3

The upper line of the main display
will show the copy-source timbre
(SrcTmb>#), and the lower line will
show the copy-destination timbre
selected by TIMBRE SELECT.

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the copy-

4

source timbre, and use the TIMBRE SE­LECT [TIMBRE1] [ TIMBRE2] buttons

to select the copy-destination timbre.
Press the [3] button.

5

The main display will ask you to con­firm the operation. The upper line will
ask “Copy OK?” and the lower line will

show the copy-source program number
and timbre, and the copy-destination
timbre.

To execute the copy, press the [3] but-

6

ton.
The settings will be copied, and you'll
return to Play mode.
If you decide to cancel the copy opera­tion, press the [EXIT] button.

75

Initializing Vocoder Parameters

Copy Effect

4-1. SWAP TIMBRE
Swapping the timbres

Here’s how to swap (exchange) the settings
of timbre 1 and timbre 2 in the currently
selected program. This operation is avail­able if TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE 1] or
[TIMBRE 2] is selected.
You can execute this only if the program
uses two timbres; i.e., you can’t execute it
for a program whose 1. Voice page “Mode”
parameter is Single.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press

1

the PROGRAM SELECT [4] button.
The [4] button will blink. The main dis­play will ask you to confirm the opera­tion.

To swap the timbres, press the [4] but-

2

ton.
Timbres 1 and 2 will be swapped, and
you'll return to Play mode.
If you decide not to execute the opera­tion, press the [EXIT] button.

3-2. INIT VOCODER
Initializing vocoder parameters

This initializes the vocoder parameters of
the currently selected program. This opera­tion is available if [VOCODER] is selected
for editing (i.e., when the [VOCODER]
button is blinking).

This operation does not erase the
formant motion data.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

1

press the PROGRAM SELECT [3] but­ton.

The [3] button will blink. The main dis­play will ask you to confirm the opera­tion.

To initialize the vocoder settings, press

2

the [3] button.
The vocoder settings will be initialized,
and you’ll return to Play mode.
If you decide not to execute the opera­tion, press the [EXIT] button.

The vocoder parameters will also be
initialized if you initialize the pro­gram.

5-1. COPY EFFECT
Copy effect setting

Here’s how to copy the effect settings from
another program into a effect of the cur­rently selected program.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

1

press the PROGRAM SELECT [5] but­ton.

The [5] button will blink. The main dis­play will show the copy-source program
number and program name.

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the copy-

2

source program.
Press the [5] button.

3

The main display will show the copy­source effect.

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the copy-

4

source effect.
If the copy-source effect is an insert-ef­fect (Tmb1IFx1, Tmb1IFx2, Tmb2IFx1,
Tmb2IFx2), select the combination of a
timbre and insert effect.
If the copy-source is a master effect
(MFx), select a master effect. If you se­lect a master effect, proceed to step 6.

Press the [5] button.

5

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the copy­destination insert effect, and use the
TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE1] [TIM­BRE2] buttons to select the copy-desti­nation timbre.

To execute the copy, press the [5] but-

6

ton.
The settings will be copied, and you'll
return to Play mode.
If you decide to cancel the copy opera­tion, press the [EXIT] button.

76

Data dump

6-1. MIDI DATA DUMP

Data dump

“Data dump” is a function that transmits
program or global data in the form of MIDI
exclusive data, so that it can be saved on a
connected MIDI data filer or computer.
This can also be used to transmit data to
another R3 unit.

Do not touch the knobs or buttons of
the R3 while data is being transmitted
or received. Also, never turn the power
off during this operation.

Some USB-MIDI interface devices may
not be able to transmit/receive the

R3’s MIDI exclusive messages.

Transmission procedure

Connect the R3’s MIDI OUT connector

1

to the MIDI IN connector of a device that
is able to receive a MIDI data dump, and
set both devices to the same MIDI chan­nel.

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

2

press the PROGRAM SELECT [6] but­ton.

The [6] button will blink. The main dis­play will show the type of data dump
that will be transmitted.

Use the [PAGE] dial to select the type

3

of data dump that will be transmitted.

1 Prog:

Data for the currently selected program
will be transmitted (1. Voice – 39. Lvl/
Pan page parameters, front panel but­ton and knob settings.)

AllProg:

Data for all programs will be transmitted.

Global:

Global data will be transmitted (40. Glo­bal-A – 46. Pedal/Sw page parameters,
foot pedal calibration setting, and
formant motion data.)

AllData:

All programs and global data will be
transmitted.

Press the blinking [6] button.

4

The data dump will be executed, and
then the R3 will return to the Play mode.

For more about the contents of pro­gram data and global data, refer to the
explanations of what is saved in the
sections “Saving a program” and
“Saving Global and MIDI settings” in
“Saving (Writing)” (☞p.74).

For the size of the dumped data and
the time required for each, refer to the
table.

Reception procedure

Use the following procedure when you
want to load previously-saved data from
a connected MIDI data filer or computer
back into the R3, or to receive data from
another R3 unit.

Connect the R3’s MIDI IN connector to

1

the MIDI OUT connector of the device
that will transmit the MIDI dump data.

Set the MIDI channel of the transmitting

2

device to match the R3’s MIDI channel.
If you previously transmitted data to an
external MIDI device and want to re­ceive it into the R3, be sure to set the
R3’s MIDI channel to the same channel
setting as when the data was originally
transmitted.

Set the 43. MIDIFilt page “SystemEx” to

3

Enable, turn the Shift function “PROTECT”
to off.

The size of the dumped data and the time required for each:

Data to dump

1 Prog 452 Less than one second
AllProg 57,856
Global 192,144
AllData 250,000

Data size (Bytes)

approximately 3 minutes 15seconds
approximately 2 minutes 10 seconds
approximately 5 minutes 30 seconds

Time required

Transmit the data from the MIDI data

4

filer or other device. For the transmis­sion procedure, refer to the manual of
the device you are using.

77

Write protect settingRestoring the factory settings

7-1. PRELOAD

Restoring the factory settings

This operation restores the R3’s programs
and global data settings to the factory-set
condition. The factory-set settings are re­ferred to as the “preload data.”

When you restore the Preload settings,
the data within the R3 will be rewrit­ten to the factory settings. Be sure that
you don’t mind losing your current
data before you restore the factory set­tings.

Do not touch the R3’s knobs or but­tons while the Preload operation is
being executed, and never turn the
power off during this operation.

The Preload data cannot be restored/
reloaded if the SHIFT function “PRO­TECT“ is on. You must turn “WRITE
PROTECT“ off beforehand.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

1

press the [7] button.
The main display will show a screen
where you can select the type of
preloaded data that will be loaded.

Turn the [PAGE] dial to select the data

2

that will be restored to its factory-set
condition.

1 Prog:

Load only data for one program (1.
Voice – 39. Lvl/Pan page parameters,
front panel button and knob settings.)

AllProg:

Load data for all 128 programs.

Global:

Load global data (40. Global -A – 46.
Pedal/Sw page parameters, foot pedal
calibration setting.)

AllData:

Load data for all programs, global data,
and formant motion data.

If you selected AllProg or Global in step

3

2, proceed to step 4. If you selected 1
Prog, press the [7] button. The main dis-
play will show a screen where you can
select the program that you want to
load. Use the [PAGE] dial to select a pro-
gram.

When you load 1 Prog, the data will
be loaded into the currently selected
program.

Press the blinking [7] button. The

4

Preload operation will be executed, and
the R3 will return to the Play mode.
If you decide not to execute the opera­tion, press the [EXIT] button.

8-1.PROTECT
Write protect setting

The R3 provides a write protect setting that
disables writing to memory, letting you
prevent data from being rewritten acciden­tally. If you want to save data that you have
edited, you must first turn write protect off.

Procedure

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

1

press the [8] button.
The main display will show a screen
where you can select protect on/off.

Turn the [PAGE] dial to switch write

2

protect on/off.
When you have made the desired set-

3

ting, press the lit [8] button or [SHIFT]
button. The R3 will return to the Play

mode. If you decide not to execute the
operation, press the [EXIT] button.

78

Other SHIFT key functions

DEMO
Listening to the demo performance

•Hold down the [SHIFT] button and
press the ARPEGGIATOR [ON/OFF]
switch.
The demo will begin playing. While the
demo is playing, you can stop it by
pressing the [EXIT] switch.

Refer to p.11 for details on how to se­lect songs.

CALIBRATION
Calibrating the foot pedal

Connect a foot pedal (☞p.8). Begin this

1

operation with the pedal set all the way
down.

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

2

press the ARPEGGIATOR [LATCH]
switch.

The [LATCH] switch will blink.
The main display will show the calibra­tion setting screen.

Advance the foot pedal all the way up, and

3

then return it to the fully down position.
Make sure that the lower line of the

4

main display shows “********”.
To execute the calibration, press the

5

[LATCH] switch.
The calibration settings will be loaded,
and you’ll return to Play mode. To save
the settings, write the Global data
(☞p.74 “Saving GLOBAL and MIDI set­tings”).
If you decide to cancel the calibration
operation, press the [EXIT] button.

TIMBRE1 SOLO, TIMBRE2 SOLO
Soloing a timbre

For a program that uses two timbres, this
operation lets you listen to just one of the
timbres. While editing, you can use this
when you want to hear a single timbre by
itself.

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

1

press the TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE
1] or [TIMBRE 2] button. Only the tim-

bre whose button you press will be
heard.

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and

2

press the TIMBRE SELECT button
([TIMBRE 1] or [TIMBRE 2]) of the tim­bre that you were soloing.
The solo setting will be defeated.

If you execute this while editing, the
timbre being edited will change.

AUDIO IN THRU
Audio In Thru

This operation causes the audio signal from
the input jacks to be sent directly to the
OUTPUT [L/MONO] and [R] jacks.

• Hold down the [SHIFT] button and
press the [VOCODER] button.
When this function is on, the audio sig­nal from the [AUDIO INPUT 1] (or
[MIC]) and [AUDIO INPUT 2] jacks will
be passed through and sent from the
OUTPUT [L/MONO] and [R] jacks.
This will turn on/off each time you
press the button.

The 41. Global-B page “Thru Src” pa­rameter specifies the input jack(s) to
which the Thru function will apply.

79

Other SHIFT key functions

KNOB ASSIGN

Knob assignments

You can assign parameters to knobs [1]–
[4]. This lets you control the sound and
settings in Play mode while you perform.
(This is referred to as Performance Editing.)
You can make a separate set of knob [1]–
[4] assignments for the Timbre 1, Timbre
2, and Vocoder sections; use the TIMBRE
SELECT [TIMBRE 1], [TIMBRE 2] or [VO­CODER] buttons to select the section you
want to control from the knobs.

When the R3 is shipped from the fac­tory, typically useful parameters are al­ready assigned to the knobs.

As an example, here’s how to make knob
assignments for timbre 1.

Hold down the [SHIFT] button and press

1

the MOD SEQUENCE/FORMANT MO­TION [ON/OFF] switch.

The [ON/OFF] switch will blink. The
main display will show the assignment
setting screen.

Press the TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE

2

1] button.
The sub-displays above knobs [1]–[4]
will show the parameters that are as­signed to each knob.

Use knobs [1]–[4] to select the param-

3

eters you want to assign.

If you select “......” for a knob, that knob

won’t do anything in Play mode.

To apply your settings, press the [ON/

4

OFF] switch.
The new settings will be applied. If you
decide to cancel the changes you made,
press the [EXIT] button.

If you want to make assignments for
Timbre 2 or Vocoder, press the TIM­BRE SELECT [TIMBRE 2] or [VO­CODER] button when you’re finished
with step 3, and then make the desired
assignments for each knob.

If you assign effect parameters
(IFx1Knob, IFx2Knob, MFx Knob) to
the knobs, you’ll be able to control the
effect parameters specified in each ef­fect page (29. Ins FX1, 30. Ins FX2, 31.
MasterFX ☞p.49, 50) from Play mode.
For example, suppose that you select

7. Distortion for insert effect 1, and
then in the 29. Ins FX1 page you set
“Param” (knob [3]) to FxKnob and set
“Value” (knob [4]) to Gain. Now use
the SHIFT function to select IFx1Knob
for knob [1], and you’ll be able to use
knob [1] to control the “Gain” of in­sert effect 1 while you’re in Play mode.

80

Index

A

AC adaptor 10
ADSR 41
AMP (Amplifier) 2, 37
AMP EG 41
Analysis filter 4
Arpeggiator 3, 15, 22, 51, 66
Arpeggio parameters 51
Arpeggio type 52
Assignments 80
Attack level 40
Attack time 40
Audio in 27
Audio In Thru 79

B

Band-pass filter (BPF)

33, 58, 59, 60

C

Calibration 79
Carrier 4, 27
Comb filter 35
Computer 65
Connections 8, 64

Computer 65
Mic 8
MIDI equipment 8, 64

pedal, switch 9
Control change messages 71
Copying

Effect 76

Timbre 75

Create a sound 19
Cross Modulation 2, 27
Cutoff 32

D

Data dump 77
Decay time 40
Demo song 11, 79
Destination 45
Detuning 30
Drive 2, 38
Drive/Wave Shape 2, 38
DWGS 27, 28

E

Editing 19

Arpeggiator 22, 52
Timbre 20, 23
Vocoder 21, 54

EG (Envelope Generator)

3, 40, 41
EG Level Velocity Intensity 43
Envelope filter 58
Envelope follower 4, 58
EQ (Equalizer) 3, 48

F

Filter 2, 32, 35, 58

BPF 33
HPF 33
LPF 33
Routing 32

Filter EG 40

Foot pedal 73
Formant Motion 4, 18, 74

Recording 18, 54
Formant shift 4, 58
Frequency 44, 48

G

Gain 48
Gate time 53
Global data 74
Global MIDI channel 23
Global parameters 61

H

HPF (High-pass filter) 33

I

Initializing

Program 75

Vocoder 76
Insert effects 3, 49

K

Keyboard tracking

13, 34, 36, 37

L

Level 60
LFO 3, 28, 44
Local Control 66
LPF (Low-pass filter) 33

M

Master effect 3, 50
Mic 8
MIDI 64
MIDI channel 65, 68
MIDI control change messages

71
MIDI Filter 70
MIDI parameters 68
MIDI sequencer 66
MIDI system exclusive messages

70
Mixer 2, 31
MOD wheel 13, 26
Modulation

Cross 27
Oscillator 30
Ring 30
Ring and Sync 30
Sync 30
Unison 27
Variable Phase 27
Waveform 27

Modulation Sequence

Playback 16

Recording 16
Modulation Sequencer 3
Modulation source 45
Modulator 4, 56
Monophonic 23
Multi-timbral 65

N

Noise Generator 31

O

OCTAVE UP and DOWN

buttons 13
Oscillator 2, 27, 30
Oscillator modulation 27, 30

P

Panpot 37, 60
Pedal switch 73
Performance Edit function 12
Pitch 25, 62
Pitch bend message 70
PITCH wheel 13
Playback speed of the sequence

46
Playback tempo of the arpeggia-

tor 51
Polyphonic 23
Portamento 25
Power on 10
Preload data 78
Processing an external audio

signal 29
Program

Initialize 75
Rename 75

Select 12, 14
Pulse wave 27
Pulse width modulation 28

81

Index

R

Release time 40
Renaming a program 75
Resolution 53
Resonance 32, 58
Restoring the factory settings 78
Ring and Sync modulation 30
Ring modulation 30

S

Saving 74

Formant Motion Data 74
Global data and MIDI settings

74

Program 74
Sawtooth wave 30
SHIFT functions 75
Sine wave 28
Solo 20, 79
Soloing a timbre 79
Source 59
Square wave 30
Step 52
Sustain Level 40
Swapping the timbres 76
Sync modulation 30
Synchronize 44, 53, 68
Synth program 12
Synthesis filter 4, 59

T

Timbre 2, 23
Transpose 25, 62
Tremolo 44
Triangle wave 30

U

Unison (OSC1 Mod) 27

V

Variable Phase Modulation 2, 27
Velocity 13, 34, 36, 43, 62
Vibrato 44
Virtual Patch 1, 3, 45, 66
Vocoder 4, 14, 54
Vocoder parameters 54
Vocoder program 14
Volume 37
Volume balance of oscillator 31
VPM (Variable Phase Modula-

tion) 27

W

Wah 44
Wave Shape 2, 38
Waveform 27, 30, 44
Waveform Modulation 27
Write protect setting 78

82

Voice Name List

Program

No. Program Name Category Voice Mode Arpeggio

A-1 Hypnotic FAVORITE Split On
A-2 SweepPad FAVORITE Multi Off
A-3 Talk Seq FAVORITE Multi On
A-4 Komputer FAVORITE Layer On
A-5 SyncCity FAVORITE Split Off
A-6 VelSquBs FAVORITE Multi Off
A-7 AlphaMod FAVORITE Single Off
A-8 Wide Saw FAVORITE Single Off
B-1 LinerzBs BASS Single On
B-2 RingBass BASS Single Off
B-3 Urban Bs BASS Single Off
B-4 DigiBass BASS Single Off
B-5 Smack Bs BASS Single Off
B-6 BiteBass BASS Single Off
B-7 HooverBs BASS Single Off
B-8 Juicy Bs BASS Single Off
C-1 HardTune LEAD Single Off
C-2 DeepHsLd LEAD Single Off
C-3 Wired Ld LEAD Multi Off
C-4 ScreamLd LEAD Single Off
C-5 PhunkyLd LEAD Single Off
C-6 Speakin' LEAD Single Off
C-7 FusionLd LEAD Single Off
C-8 FlyingLd LEAD Layer Off
D-1 SpinCode POLY SYNTH Single Off
D-2 UnisonHP POLY SYNTH Single Off
D-3 5thSplit POLY SYNTH Split Off
D-4 Trancer POLY SYNTH Single Off
D-5 AmbiDriv POLY SYNTH Single Off
D-6 CmbChoir POLY SYNTH Single Off
D-7 El Pizzo POLY SYNTH Single Off
D-8 HPF Fall POLY SYNTH Single Off

No. Program Name Category Voice Mode Arpeggio

E-1 Strings PAD/STRINGS Multi Off
E-2 Warm Pad PAD/STRINGS Multi Off
E-3 AirGlass PAD/STRINGS Multi Off
E-4 5thGlide PAD/STRINGS Layer Off
E-5 PhaseStr PAD/STRINGS Multi Off
E-6 StrngPad PAD/STRINGS Single Off
E-7 Xtal Pad PAD/STRINGS Multi Off
E-8 BPFSweep PAD/STRINGS Single Off
F-1 P5 Clav KEYBOARD Single Off
F-2 Wurly EP KEYBOARD Single Off
F-3 VPM EP KEYBOARD Layer Off
F-4 ArpOrgan KEYBOARD Multi On
F-5 DirectEP KEYBOARD Single Off
F-6 Jazz Gtr KEYBOARD Single Off
F-7 Wah Clav KEYBOARD Single Off
F-8 NuResoEP KEYBOARD Single Off
G-1 XtalBell BELL/METAL Single Off
G-2 MotionBl BELL/METAL Layer Off
G-3 DeciBell BELL/METAL Layer Off
G-4 DigiHarp BELL/METAL Single Off
G-5 CrossMod BELL/METAL Single Off
G-6 NoizBell BELL/METAL Single Off
G-7 PolyShot BELL/METAL Single On
G-8 TubularB BELL/METAL Single Off
H-1 ModSweep MOTION Layer Off
H-2 ResoGate MOTION Single Off
H-3 Tronika MOTION Single Off
H-4 FleaComb MOTION Multi On
H-5 Arp Pad MOTION Layer Off
H-6 Wave Seq MOTION Layer On
H-7 Glacial MOTION Multi On
H-8 Octagon MOTION Multi On

VNL

SPEC

83

No. Program Name Category Voice Mode Arpeggio

I-1 ChordHit PERC/HIT Layer Off
I-2 5th Stut PERC/HIT Layer Off
I-3 SeqVoice PERC/HIT Single On
I-4 Cyborg PERC/HIT Layer On
I-5 Nz Sweep PERC/HIT Single Off
I-6 P6 Chord PERC/HIT Layer Off
I-7 Dust Vox PERC/HIT Split Off
I-8 Syn Drum PERC/HIT Split Off
J-1 MovieSFX SE Layer Off
J-2 NoiseSeq SE Split Off
J-3 Windstrm SE Single Off
J-4 FilterFX SE Single On
J-5 Red Zone SE Multi On
J-6 Spectra SE Multi Off
J-7 HypDrive SE Layer Off
J-8 DSP Cryz SE Single Off
K-1 Phospho ARP/SEQ Multi On
K-2 ArpPulse ARP/SEQ Layer On
K-3 KaossArp ARP/SEQ Single On
K-4 UTurnSeq ARP/SEQ Multi On
K-5 RezoBeat ARP/SEQ Multi On
K-6 TechSync ARP/SEQ Single On
K-7 BPF Plus ARP/SEQ Multi On
K-8 Psy Zoop ARP/SEQ Layer On
L-1 Krash Bs VINTAGE BASS Single Off
L-2 MG Bass VINTAGE BASS Single Off
L-3 Morph 33 VINTAGE BASS Single Off
L-4 Pulse Bs VINTAGE BASS Single Off
L-5 UnisonBs VINTAGE BASS Single Off
L-6 MS20Bass VINTAGE BASS Multi Off
L-7 Oddsy Bs VINTAGE BASS Single Off
L-8 VPM Bass VINTAGE BASS Single Off

No. Program Name Category Voice Mode Arpeggio

M-1 Dukey Ld VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
M-2 Pr5 Sync VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
M-3 700sLead VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
M-4 3OSCLead VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
M-5 MG SquLd VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
M-6 A26 Lead VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
M-7 GliderLd VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
M-8 MG 5thLd VINTAGE LEAD Single Off
N-1 OB Jumpr VINTAGE POLY Single Off
N-2 SolinStr VINTAGE POLY Multi Off
N-3 OB Brass VINTAGE POLY Single Off
N-4 Jpt8 Dcy VINTAGE POLY Multi Off
N-5 Pr5 Comp VINTAGE POLY Single Off
N-6 Poly6Pad VINTAGE POLY Single Off
N-7 PMG Vibe VINTAGE POLY Single Off
N-8 DW Brass VINTAGE POLY Single Off
O-1 Beat Vox FORMANT MOTION Multi On
O-2 Aliens FORMANT MOTION Single Off
O-3 Futurist FORMANT MOTION Single Off
O-4 SpecialA FORMANT MOTION Layer Off
O-5 VoicPerc FORMANT MOTION Single Off
O-6 FormantM FORMANT MOTION Layer Off
O-7 Arigato FORMANT MOTION Single Off
O-8 MyNameR3 FORMANT MOTION Single Off
P-1 EnsVocod VOCODER Multi Off
P-2 PulseVoc VOCODER Single Off
P-3 Airy Voc VOCODER Single Off
P-4 CombCode VOCODER Single Off
P-5 5thVocod VOCODER Single Off
P-6 SpectMod VOCODER Single Off
P-7 Grain FX VOCODER Single Off
P-8 Audio In VOCODER Single Off

84

• In programs for which “Voice Mode” is set to Multi, the timbre 2 MIDI channel

(“T2MIDIch”) is set to 9 as the factory default setting.

• O-1–O-8 are programs that use the Formant Motion function (☞p.19)

• P-1–P-8 are programs that use the mic input (audio input). In order to play these

programs, you’ll need to connect a mic or external audio device to the R3, and
play the keyboard while you input sound (☞p.15).

Demo Songs

No. Name Author

1 R3Medley KORG Inc.
2 KaossMe KORG Inc.
3Crevice Numb
4 RazorBld Oliver Munyak
5 DeciBell KORG Inc.
6 Maschine KORG Inc.
7 SkyHigh Oliver Munyak
8 Struggle Numb

All Demo Songs: © 2006 KORG Inc. - All rights reserved.

VNL

85

SPEC

Trouble shooting

Before you suspect a malfunction, please check the following points.

Power does not turn on

❏ Is the AC adaptor connected to an AC outlet? ☞p.8
❏ Is the [POWER/STANDBY] switch turned on (pressed inward)? ☞p.10

No sound

❏ If your powered monitor system or headphones connected to the correct

jack(s)? ☞p.8

❏ Is the connected monitor system powered-on, and is the volume raised?
❏ Is the MASTER VOLUME knob set to a position where sound will be output?

☞p.10
❏ Is the 42. MIDI page “Local”(knob [2]) setting turned ON? ☞p.68
❏ Were any volume-related parameters set to a value of 0? ☞p.31, 37, 55, 59
❏ Was the 8. Filt1-A page “Cutoff1” (knob [1]) set to 0? ☞p.32
❏ Was the 37. Filter page “E.F.Sens” set to Hold (FORMANT HOLD) while there

was no input to the [AUDIO INPUT 1] or [MIC] jack ? ☞p.58

Can’t input sound

❏ Is the input source connected to the [AUDIO INPUT 1] jack, the [MIC] jack, or

the [AUDIO INPUT 2] jack? ☞p.10, 21, 34

❏ If you are inputting to [MIC] jack, is the [MIC] switch set XLR ☞p.10, 21, 34
❏ If you are inputting to [AUDIO INPUT 1], is the [MIC] switch set REAR? ☞p.
❏ Is the [AUDIO INPUT1] or [AUDIO INPUT2] knob turned up? ☞p.10, 21, 34
❏ If using a vocoder program, have you connected the modulator audio source to

the [AUDIO INPUT 1] jack or to the [MIC] jack? ☞p.10

Can’t edit

❏ If you are unable to use the knobs [1]–[4] to edit the parameter value in the

performance edit, Edit mode may be active.
❏ If you are unable to use the knobs [1]–[4] to edit the parameter value, Perfor-

mance Edit may be active. ☞p.8, 12
❏ If you are unable to edit timbre 2 of a synth program, has 1. Voice page “Mode”

been set to Layer, Split, or Multi? ☞p.23
❏ If you are unable to use the knobs [1]–[4] to edit timbre 1 or 2 of a synth program,

is the TIMBRE SELECT [TIMBRE 1] or [TIMBRE 2] button blink for the timbre

you want to edit? ☞p.21

❏ If you are unable to use the knobs [1]–[4] to edit vocoder parameters, is the

[VOCODER] button blink for the vocoder you want to edit? ☞p.21

❏ If the changes you made to a program or to the global settings have not been

remembered, did you turn the power off before executing the Write operation? In
the case of a program, your edits will also be lost if you select a different program.
Execute the Write operation to save your edits before you switch programs or turn
off the power. ☞p.74

Can't write programs or global settings

❏ Is Shift function “PROTECT” turned Off? ☞p.78
❏ If an edited program or edited GLOBAL, MIDI settings you thought you had

saved have not actually been saved, did you select “Global” when you attempted
to save the program, or “Program” when you attempted to save the global data?
☞p.74

Arpeggiator will not start

❏ Is the arpeggiator turned on (ON/OFF button lit)? ☞p.15
❏ Is the 42. MIDI page “Clock” (knob [4]) setting correct? ☞p.68

No response to MIDI messages sent from an external device

❏ Is the MIDI cable or USB cable connected correctly? ☞p.65
❏ Does the MIDI channel of the data transmitted from the external MIDI device

match the MIDI channel of the R3 ☞p.65

Does not respond correctly to MIDI messages sent from an external device

❏ Is the 43. MIDIFilt page parameters for that type of MIDI message set to Enable?

☞p.70

Transpose, velocity curve, and arpeggiator data is not recognized correctly

❏ Is 40. Global-A page “Position” (knob [4]) set appropriately? ☞p.62

Can't control two timbres on separate MIDI channels

❏ The R3 uses only one MIDI channel to transmit and receive when 1. Voice page

“Mode” (knob [1]) is set to Single, Layer, or Split. You can use two MIDI channels
to play the two timbres independently only when 1. Voice page “Mode” (knob [1])
is set to Multi.

86

Specifications and options

Tone generator system: MMT (Multiple Modeling Technology)

• Programs:

Number of timbres: maximum 2 (when using Layer, Split, or Multi)

Maximum polyphony: 8 voices

Structure:

Synth: 2 oscillators + noise generator

Oscillator1:
Wave: 8 Types: Sawtooth, Pulse, Triangle, Sine, Formant,
Noise, DWGS, Audio In
Modulation: Waveform, Cross, Unison, VPM

Oscillator2:
Wave: 4 Types: Sawtooth, Square, Triangle, Sine
Modulation: Ring, Sync, Rng+Sync

Wave Shape:
Type: Drive, Decimator, HardClip, OctSaw, MultiTri,
MultiSin, SubOSCSaw, SubOSCSqu, SubOSCTri,
SubOSCSin, Pickup, LevelBoost

Multimode filters:
Filter1: -24 dB/oct LPF – -12 dB/oct LPF – -12 dB/oct BPF –

-12 dB/oct HPF – Thru
Filter2: LPF, HPF, BPF, COMB

EG1, EG2, EG3, LFO1, LFO2

Vocoder: 16 channel vocoder, adjustable level and pan for each chan-

nel, Formant Shift function, Formant motion function,
Formant hold function

Keyboard: 37 notes (full size keys, velocity sensitive, no aftertouch)
Effects: Timbre: 2 band EQ, Insert effect (per timbre)

Program: Master effect

Arpeggiator: Six Types: UP, DOWN, ALT1/2, Random, Trigger, Individual step

on/off function

Programs: 128 programs (16 banks x 8 programs), 16 formant motion data sets (7.5

second x 16)

Inputs

• [AUDIO INPUT 1] jack (with MIC/LINE switch) –Rear panel

Connector: 1/4" phone jack (unbalanced)

• MIC/LINE switch: LINE

Input impedance: 600 []
Maximum input level: –10 [dBu] (AUDIO INPUT1 knob: Max)

• MIC/LINE switch: MIC

Input impedance: 600 []
Maximum input level: –33 [dBu] (AUDIO INPUT1 knob: Max)

• AUDIO INPUT 1 [MIC] jack – Front panel
Connector: XLR jack (balanced)
Input impedance: 600 []
Maximum input level: –33 [dBu] (AUDIO INPUT1 knob: Max)

• [AUDIO INPUT 2] jack
Connector: 1/4" phone jack (unbalanced)
Input impedance: 600 []
Maximum input level: –10 [dBu] (AUDIO INPUT1 knob: Max)

Outputs

• [L/MONO, R] jacks
Connector: 1/4" phone jack (unbalanced)
Output impedance: 1.1 [k ] (MONO: 550 )
Maximum output level: +7.5 [dBu] or more
Load impedance: 10 [k ] or mor e

• [PHONES] jack

Connector: 1/4" phone stereo jack
Output impedance: 10 []
Maximum output level: 35 [mW]
Load impedance: 33[]

Foot switch: ASSIGNABLE [SW] jack, ASSIGNABLE [PEDAL] jack
MIDI: IN, OUT, THRU connectors,

USB: B connector

Display:

Main display: 8-charactors x 2 line LCD module
Sub display x4: 8-charactors x 1 line LCD module

Power supply: DC12V, 6.5 W
Dimensions: 635 x 270 x 76 mm / Inches: 25.00" x 10.63" x 2.99" (W x D x H)
Weight: 2.8kg / 6.17 lbs.
Included items: Gooseneck microphone, AC adaptor (DC12V), CD-ROM

Options:

* Appearance and specifications of this product are subject to change without

EXP–2 foot controller, XVP–10 EXP/VOL pedal, PS–1 pedal switch

notice.

VNL

SPEC

87

2006 KORG INC.



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.

4015-2 Yanokuchi, Inagi-city, Tokyo 206-0812 Japan