Roland AE-10 User Manual
Aerophone AE-10
Owner’s Manual
New digital wind instrument to expand the musical realm of saxophone players.
Saxophones are popular in all music scenes all over the world, from jazz, classical to rock
and so on. And now, Roland is introducing a new digital wind instrument, developed with
the latest technology, but designed based on the traditional acoustic saxophone. You can
enjoy playing the sounds of dierent saxophones from soprano, alto, tenor and baritone,
other wind instruments such as clarinet, ute and trumpet, strings instruments such as
violin, and even powerful synth leads, oering the sax players the new musical expression
and creativity.
Not only the volume but also the sound itself is dynamically aected by the force with
which you blow into the mouthpiece and the strength with which you bite it, providing a
natural and richly expressive sound.
It can be played using the same ngering as a saxophone, so if you’re a saxophone player,
you’ll be able to start playing after you’ve read a few pages of this manual. It’s compact,
and can also be used with headphones, so you can enjoy playing to your heart’s content
even on your living room sofa, without being concerned about the time or place.
We hope that the Aerophone will spark your imagination and enrich your musical life.
Contents
Panel Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Connecting Your Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Playing Saxophone Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Holding the Aerophone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Embouchure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Pressing the Performance Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Using the Thumb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Selecting a Saxophone Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Short Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Instantly Recalling a User Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Menu Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Making Settings in the Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Example: Changing the Master Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Saving a Tone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Menu List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Adjusting the Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Changing the Master Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Adjusting the Breath Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Tone volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Changing the Key (Transpose) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Octave Shift Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Reverb Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chorus Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Multi-Eect Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Specifying the Control of the Bite Sensor
(Reed Bite Strength) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Pitch Change Sensitivity Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Pitch Change Setting (Down) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Pitch Change Setting (Up) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Thumb Controller Up/Down (Bend Up/Down) Setting . . 8
Bend Range Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Thumb Controller Left/Right Assignment Setting . . . . . . 8
Thumb Controller Left/Right Range
(Minimum/Maximum Value) Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Thumb Controller Toggle Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Octave Key Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Hold Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Speaker Setting When Using Headphones. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Making the Power Automatically Turn O After a Time
(Auto O) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
User tone shortcut setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Key display setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Switches the ngering mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Add/Edit/Delete Fingering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Breath Threshold Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Specifying the Basic State of the Bite Sensor
(Reed Bite Strength) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Specifying Sensitivity of the Bite Sensor
(Reed Bite Strength) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
MIDI Transmit Channel Settings (MIDI Transmit Ch) . . . . . 10
Breath MIDI output setting 1/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Bite MIDI output setting 1/2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Backing up user tones and system settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Restoring user tones and system settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Returning to the Factory Settings (Factory Reset). . . . . . . 11
Clearing the user tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Version Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Main Specications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
USING THE UNIT SAFELY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
IMPORTANT NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Before using this unit, carefully read “USING THE UNIT SAFELY” and “IMPORTANT NOTES” (the leaet “USING THE UNIT SAFELY” and the Owner’s Manual (p. 12)) After reading,
keep the document(s) where it will be available for immediate reference.
1
Panel Descriptions
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
1
Mouthpiece
This is the Aerophone’s dedicated mouthpiece.
&
For details, refer to “Embouchure” (p. 4).
5 When you’re not playing, protect this with the included
mouthpiece cap.
5 The mouthpiece sensitivity is automatically adjusted when
the power turns on. For this reason, don’t bite or touch the
mouthpiece while turning on the power switch.
Maintaining the mouthpiece
The maintenance needed for a conventional
saxophone is not necessary. If the mouthpiece
becomes soiled from playing, remove the mouthpiece,
wash it with water, and use a soft cloth to dry o any
water droplets.
NOTE
5 When removing or attaching the mouthpiece, take
care not to bend the bite bar.
5 Take care not to hurt your hand on the screw that’s
inside the mouthpiece.
5 When attaching the mouthpiece, take care not to
pinch your nger between the movable part and
the body of the instrument. Applying commercially
available recorder cream makes attachment and
removal easier.
5 If the mouthpiece needs to be replaced due to age or
any other reason, you may purchase the separately
sold OP-AE10MP or OP-AE10MPH (Hard type).
As shown in the illustration, insert the mouthpiece all the
way until the concave and convex portions align.
* If the mouthpiece is not inserted all the way, it will not
be possible to raise or lower the pitch (to apply vibrato)
by varying your bite strength on the reed.
Screw
Bite
bar
11
A
B
C
D
E
2
Performance keys
These keys are used for performance. They allow performance using
the same ngering as a saxophone (p. 4).
&
For details, refer to “Fingering Chart” at the end of this manual.
3
Octave keys
Switch the octave. Operate them using the left-hand
thumb.
* The octave keys can be assigned to +1 / ±2 / ±3 octaves
(p. 8).
4
[POWER] switch
This turns the power on/o.
* The power to this unit will be turned o automatically after
a predetermined amount of time has passed since it was last
used for playing music, or its buttons or controls were operated
(Auto O function).
If you do not want the power to be turned o automatically,
disengage the Auto O function (p. 9).
5
[TONE] (tone selection) button
Accesses the tone (sound) select screen.
You can use this button in conjunction with the performance keys to
instantly recall user tones.
&
“Instantly Recalling a User Tone” (p. 5)
+2
+1
-1
-2
2
Panel Descriptions
6
Display section
Displays the tone name and menu.
Tone name/
Menu item
Tone number/
Value
Selecting the tone
On the Aerophone, each of the various sounds that you can select is
called a “ tone.”
1. Hold down the [TONE] button
5
[MENU] button
[C] [A] buttons
and then
press the [C] [A] buttons to select the tone
number.
You can select tones from Preset tones (P:001–) and User tones
(U:001–). When you turn on the power, the last-selected tone is
selected.
Edit the menu
Pressing the [MENU] button, you can make various settings.
1. Press the [MENU] button to display the menu screen.
2. Use the [
item, and then press the [MENU] button.
3. Use the [
value.
C
] [A] buttons to select the menu
C
] [A] buttons to change the
4. To return to the tone selection screen, press the [TONE]
button.
&
For details, refer to “Menu Settings” (p. 6).
10
Water drain
Drops of water will exit here. Wipe them o with a soft cloth.
11
Built-in speakers
You mainly adjust the volume by the force of your breath while
playing, but you can also adjust the volume in the menu (p. 7).
Connecting Your Equipment
A
Strap ring
Attach a neck strap here.
B
DC IN jack
Connect the included AC adaptor here.
Connecting your computer
C
USB COMPUTER port
Use a commercially available USB 2.0 cable
to connect this port to your computer. It
can be used to transfer USB MIDI data.
7
Thumb hook
Place your right thumb here.
8
Thumb controller
Use your right thumb to operate this
controller.
Bend up/
Down
Portamento Makes the pitch change smoothly.
Growl
* With the factory settings, these are the functions when a
saxophone tone is selected. The operation diers depending on
the tone that you select.
9
Battery case
The Aerophone can operate on batteries or on the
included AC adaptor. If you are using batteries, insert
six rechargeable Ni-MH batteries (AA, HR6), making
sure that the batteries are oriented correctly.
* The battery life is approximately 7 hours for typical
performance use. When the batteries run low,
the Battery icon (
Replace the battery as soon as possible.
* If you handle batteries improperly, you risk
explosion and uid leakage. Make sure that
you carefully observe all of the items related
to batteries that are listed in “USING THE UNIT
SAFELY” and “IMPORTANT NOTES” (leaet “USING
THE UNIT SAFELY” and the Owner’s Manual (p. 12)).
* When turning the unit over, be careful so as to protect the
buttons and knobs from damage. Also, handle the unit carefully;
do not drop it.
Bends the pitch up/down.
Applies a saxophone’s growl
technique.
) blinks in the display.
Growl
Bend up
Thumb hook
Portamento
Bend down
Connecting your audio player
D
INPUT jack
Connect your audio player. Sound from
the connected device comes out of
the Aerophone’s built-in speaker and
PHONES/OUTPUT jack.
This lets you play along with your favorite
songs.
Use the controls of the connected device (audio player) to adjust the
volume.
Connecting your monitor speakers or headphones
E
PHONES/OUTPUT jack
Connect this jack to your monitor speakers
or headphones.
If you connect headphones or a cable to
this jack, sound is not output from the builtin speakers, but you can change a menu
setting so that sound is output even in this
case (p. 8).
* After you’ve made connections to
devices such as speakers, be sure to turn on the power in the
order of the Aerophone rst, and then the connected system.
Powering-on in the incorrect order may cause malfunctions or
damage. When turning the power o, power-o the connected
system rst, and then the Aerophone.
or
3
Playing Saxophone Tones
Holding the Aerophone
Attach the neck strap, put the strap around your neck, and hold the
Aerophone as shown in the illustration.
Place your left thumb in the middle of the octave keys, and place
your right thumb on the thumb hook.
NOTE
If you continue playing for an extended
time, saliva from your mouth might drip
down across the instrument and enter
the interior from around the [POWER]
switch or any keys.
When playing the instrument, wrap the
included band around it as shown in the
illustration.
Embouchure
Pressing the Performance Keys
These are the performance keys. You can perform using the same
ngering as on a saxophone.
&
For details, refer to “Fingering Chart” at the end of this manual.
X
2
C
1
P
C4
2
C3
Right index nger
* Use the ball of the nger to press the side keys (C1–C4, Tc, Ta).
Tc
Ta
T
E
C
3
G
#
C
B
4
5
f
6
B
Playing harmonics (overtones)
By using special ngering and blowing techniques on a saxophone, you can
produce harmonics (overtones) that sound notes in a range above the normal
range.
5 On the Aerophone, you can easily produce harmonics simply by pressing the
performance keys, without having to adjust your breath in a special way.
5 For the ngering, refer to the “Fingering Chart” at the end of this manual.
5 You can also edit the ngering to suit your preference (p. 9).
Left index nger
C1
#
Hold the mouthpiece lightly between your lips and teeth, and blow
into it in the same way as a conventional saxophone.
5 The strength of your breath aects not only the volume but also
the sound itself.
5 By using tonguing (using your tongue to control your breath)
and legato you can control the sound more expressively.
5 The force with which you bite the reed will raise or lower the
pitch (producing vibrato) just as a conventional saxophone.
Basic state
Pitch falls
Pitch rises
Using the Thumb
Octave keys
Switch the octave. Operate them using the left-hand
thumb.
* The octave keys can be assigned to +1 / ±2 / ±3
octaves (p. 8).
Thumb controller
Use your right thumb to operate this
controller.
Bend up/
Down
Portamento
Growl
* “Growl” is a performance technique in
which you produce a rough sound by vocalizing while blowing
the sax. On the Aerophone, you can easily apply a growl
technique simply by operating the thumb controller, without
having to vocalize.
* With the factory settings, these are the functions when a
saxophone tone is selected. The operation diers depending on
the tone that you select.
Bends the pitch up/down.
Makes the pitch change
smoothly.
Applies a saxophone’s growl
technique. (*)
Growl
+2
+1
-1
-2
Bend up
Portamento
Bend down
4
Playing Saxophone Tones
Selecting a Saxophone Tone
Here’s how to select a typical saxophone tone.
SuperNATURAL icon
Tone name
Tone number
1. Hold down the [TONE] button and then press the [
buttons to select the tone number.
Use the [TONE] + [C] [A] buttons to select the following tone
number.
# Tone Name Explanation
P:001 Alto Sax Eb Alto saxophone
P:002 Tenor Sax Bb Tenor saxophone
Full range saxophone
P:012 Full Sax Eb
P:013 Soprano Sax Bb Soprano saxophone
P:014 Baritone Sax Eb Baritone saxophone
* The base key is the pitch that sounds when you play the “C”
ngering of the “Fingering Chart” at the end of this manual.
* The icon is shown if a SuperNATURAL tone is selected.
SuperNATURAL
These are proprietary Roland sounds created using
Behavior Modeling Technology, which enables natural
and rich expression that was dicult to achieve on earlier
sound generators.
Behavior Modeling Technology
Not only physical modeling of the instruments, Roland
takes it a step further by modeling the instrument’s
distinctive behavior that responds to how the performer
plays, resulting in true-to-life, expressive sounds in
realtime.
Depending on the pitch range in which you
play, the sound automatically changes from
baritone through soprano saxophone sound.
[C] [A] buttons
C
] [A]
Base
Key
E
B
E
B
E
Short Cut
Buttons Explanation
Hold down [C] and press [A]
Hold down [A] and press [C]
[TONE] + Performance Key [E²]
[TONE] + Performance Key [C]
[TONE] button
Instantly Recalling a User Tone
User tones (U:001–U:007) can be recalled instantly by holding down
the [TONE] button and pressing one of the [1]–[7] performance
keys. This is a convenient way to switch tones during a live
performance.
* Available only if the menu item “UserTone” (p. 9) is ON
[TONE] button
Decrease the value rapidly
Increase the value rapidly
Decrement the tone number
* Available only if the menu item “UserTone”
(p. 9) is ON
Increment the tone number
* Available only if the menu item “UserTone”
(p. 9) is ON
Decrement the tone number
E
C
Increment the tone number
4
5
Playing Various Tones
&
For details, refer to the leaet “Tone List.”
6
1
2
7
3
5
Menu Settings
Making Settings in the Menu
Tone name/
Menu item
Tone number/
Value
Pressing the [MENU] button, you can various settings.
1. Press the [MENU] button to display the menu screen.
2. Use the [
menu item, and then press the [MENU]
button.
3. Use the [
value.
C
] [A] buttons to select the
C
] [A] buttons to change the
4. To return to the tone selection screen, press the [TONE]
button.
Example: Changing the Master Tuning
Here’s how to change the tuning of the Aerophone. The displayed
value is the frequency of the A key. With the factory settings, the
Aerophone’s tuning is set to A=440.0 Hz, but you can change this to
some other tuning such as 442.0 Hz.
1. Press the [MENU] button.
2. Use the [
M.Tuning
“
button.
3. Use the [
tuning.
You can adjust the tuning in the range of 415.3 Hz–440.0 Hz
(default)–466.2 Hz (in 0.1 Hz steps).
C
] [A] buttons to select
,” and then press the [MENU]
C
] [A] buttons to change the
[MENU] button
[C] [A] buttons
Saving a Tone
Items indicated by the 2 symbol in “Menu List” (p. 7) are “tone
settings.” If you want to save the tone settings, save them as a user
tone as described below.
System settings and tone settings
There are two types of settings: system settings and tone settings.
5 System settings are common to all tones. These settings are saved
automatically when you change them.
5 Tone settings are for an individual tone. When you change a tone setting, it is
not saved automatically; it is saved when you save the tone.
1. Long-press the [MENU] button.
The lower line shows the save-destination user tone number.
2. Use the [
user tone number of the save destination.
3. Press the [MENU] button.
4. Rename the tone (16 characters).
5. Press the [MENU] button.
A conrmation message appears.
6. To execute the write, press the [
button.
If you decide to cancel the write, press the [C] (N) button.
* Never turn o the power while data is being saved.
C
] [A] buttons to change the
Move the cursor
Change the character
Delete
Insert
A
] (Y)
6
Menu List
Menu Value Default Explanation
Volume
M.Tuning
Breath
Tone Vol
0–10 8
415.3–466.2 (Hz) 440.0
L3, L2, L1, M, H1,
H2, H3
0–10 10
M
Adjusting the Volume
You generally adjust the volume by the strength of your breath when performing, but you can also set the volume in the
menu. This changes the volume of the speaker and the PHONES/OUTPUT jack.
Changing the Master Tuning
Changes the tuning of the Aerophone.
The displayed value is the frequency of the A key. With the factory settings, the Aerophone’s tuning is set to A=440.0 Hz, but
you can change this to some other tuning such as 442.0 Hz.
Adjusting the Breath Sensitivity
Species how the sound responds to the force of your breath.
L3, L2, L1 Fortissimo () can be produced even by blowing relatively softly.
M This setting is the closest to the response of an actual wind instrument.
H1, H2, H3 Fortissimo () is produced only when you blow quite strongly.
Tone volume
Species the volume of each tone.
Changing the Key (Transpose)
Transposes the pitch range of the tone in semitone steps.
Menu Settings
2
: Tone Setting S: System Setting
L3
L2
Level
L1
M
H1
H2
Breath force
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6
S
S
S
H3
2
Transpos
Octave
Reverb
Chorus
MFX1
MFX2
-5–+6
-3–+3
0–10
0–10
Depends on the
tone
Depends
on the
tone
Depends
on the
tone
Depends
on the
tone
Depends
on the
tone
Depends
on the
tone
If this is set to “0,” the “C” ngering in the “Fingering Chart” at the end of this manual produces the pitch C.
The alto saxophone whose base key is “E
“B
” is set to “-2.”
” is set to a transpose setting of “+3,” and the soprano saxophone whose base key is
Octave Shift Setting
Shifts the pitch range of the tone in one-octave steps.
The octave shift value is set appropriately for each tone so that it will have the appropriate pitch range. For example, this is set
to “0” for the soprano saxophone, “-1” for the alto saxophone, and “-2” for the baritone saxophone.
Reverb Setting
Adjusts the depth of reverb (the reverberation that is characteristic of a performance in a concert hall).
Higher values produce deeper reverberation; lower values produce shallower reverberation.
Chorus Setting
Adjusts the depth of the chorus eect.
Chorus is an eect that creates a beautiful spaciousness and depth by adding a slightly modulated sound.
Multi-Eect Setting
Species the depth of the eect that’s assigned to each tone.
* The eect type is set for each tone; it cannot be selected on the Aerophone.
&
For details on the eect signal ow, refer to “Eect Flow” at the end of this manual.
Multi-Eect List
MFX TYPE Display
EQUALIZER EQ
LOW BOOST LOW
ENHANCER EH
AUTO WAH WAH
HUMANIZER HMN
PHASER PH
RING MUDULATOR RNG
TREMOLO TRM
AUTO PAN PAN
RO TARY RTR
FLANGER FL
SPACE-D SPC
MFX TYPE Display
OVERDRIVE OD
DISTORTION DS
COMPRESSOR CMP
LIMITER LM
GATE GAT
DELAY DLY
LONG DELAY LDL
3TAP PAN DELAY 3DL
TELEPHONE TEL
PITCH SHIFTER PS
GATED REVERB GRV
2
2
2
2
2
7
Loading...