Akai S900

CHAPTER
2:
REFERENCE
SECTION
PART
1
:
INTRODUCTION,
SHORT
FORM
~1
ENTERING
TEXT
AND
NAMES
The
following
is
a
summary
of
the
information
presented
in
the
introduction
and
is
intended
to serve
as a
reference.
For
further
information,
re-read
Chapter 1
.
FUNCTIONS,
PAGES,
and
BUTTONS
The
S900
has
8
functions
selected
by
8 front
panel
master
but-
tons:
PLAY,
REC,
EDIT
SAMPLE,
EDIT
PROGRAM,
MIDI,
UTILITY,
DISK,
and
MASTER
TUNE.
Each
function
(except
MASTER
TUNE)
includes
several
pages.
Each
page
covers
a
specific
aspect
of
the
function's
operation.
For
example,
typical
DISK
function
pages are
load
sound
from
disk,
save
sound
to disk,
erase
disk,
etc.
Each
page
also
displays
several
of the
S900's
parameters.
These
are
changed
with
the
page
programming
buttons
(con-
tained
within
the
gray
rectangle)
and
the
upper-riqht
hand
CONTROL.
SELECTING
A
PAGE
There
are three
ways
to
select
a
page:
1.
Enter
the
page
number
directly
with
the
numeric
(0-9)
PARAMETER
KEYS.
This
must
be
a
two-digit
number;
if
you
are
calling
up
a single-digit
page number,
press
the
button
first
(e.g.
to
call up
Page
7,
press the
key then
the
7 key).
2.
You
may
advance
to the
next
page by
pressing
PAGE
(down
arrow),
or
return
to the
previous
page
by
pressing
PAGE
(up
arrow).
3. If
the
arrow
points
at the
page
number
(see
next
section
for
more
about
the
arrow),
CONTROL
will
select
the
different
pages
within
a function.
ARROWS,
CURSORS,
and
GADGETS
Upon
selecting
a page,
the
LCD will
indicate
parameters
related
to
that
page. Two
"gadgets"
help
you
locate
the
desired
parame-
ter:
1
.
An
Arrow
gadget
point
to the
name
of
the
currently
selected
parameter.
2.
A
flashing
cursor
indicates
the
value
of the
parameter
pointed
to
by the
Arrow.
If
you
enter
a piece
of
data
(number,
yes, no,
letter,
etc.),
it will
be entered
in
the
space
indicated
by
the
flashing
cursor.
Use the
elongated
arrow/cursor
switch
to
move
the
arrow
and
cursor.
Press
the
left
side
of the switch
to move
the
arrow/cursor
left,
and
the right
side
to
move the
arrow/cursor
to the right.
CHANGING
PARAMETERS
Parameters
can
usually
be
changed in
two
ways:
1
.
Scroll
through
the
available
options
by
turning
the
CONTROL.
2.
If
you
know
the value
you want
to enter,
use the
PARAMETER
KEYS.
If the
value
is
a number,
use the 0-9
keys
(remember
that
numbers
must
have
leading
zeroes-e.g.
if
a three-digit
number
is
required,
enter
zeroes if
necessary.
Thus,
9 would
be
entered
as
009. If a two-digit
number
is
required,
then
9
would
be
entered
as
09).Some
parameters
expect
a
yes/no
answer,
or
a
positive/negative
indication;
for
these,
use the
ON/+
and OFF/-
buttons.
Important:
If
the LCD
asks
you to press
ENT
after
altering
a
parameter,
do so.
To
enter
a name:
1
.
When
the
cursor
specifies
a
parameter
that
requires
a name,
press the
LETTER
button.
The
cursor
will
be
replaced
by
a
line
under
the
letter to
be
entered.
2. Turn
the
control
to
choose
a
letter
(A~Z).
You
may
also
choose
0-9,
space, and
#.
To
quickly
choose
a
space
with-
out
having
to turn the
CONTROL,
press
the
SPACE
button.
3. After
selecting
the
desired
character,
move
the
cursor
to the
next
letter
and
repeat
step
2.
If
you
make
a
mistake
at any
time,
back
the
cursor
up
to the
incorrect
character
and repeat
step
2.
4.
After
entering
the
entire
name,
press
ENT.
ERROR
MESSAGES
If
all
eight
function
lights
flash,
there
is
an
error.
Press
one of the
function
buttons
to
return
to
normal
operation.
DEFINITIONS
1
.
A
velocity
keyboard is
a
type of
keyboard
that
measures
the
time
it
takes for
a key
to
go from
the
up
to
down
position
and
therefore
indicates
dynamics.
2. A
Sample
is
a single
sound
that
you record
into
the
S900.
To
cover
more
than
one
key
on a
keyboard,
the
sample
may
be
transposed
over
up
to a
six-octave
range.
3.
A
Keygroup
is
a pair of
samples.
The
sample
meant
to
be
heard
at
higher
velocity
levels
is
called
the
Loud
sample
and
the
sample
meant
to be heard
at
lower
velocity
levels
is
called
the
Soft
sample.
4.
Trying
to
transpose
a sample
over
too
wide
a range
leads
to
an
unnatural
sound. The
S900
can
assign
up
to
32 samples
over
the
keyboard.
Using
multiple
samples
means
that
indi-
vidual
samples
need
not
be
transposed very
far.
A
Program
(also
called
preset)
is
a set of
keygroups,
and
can
consist
of
up
to
32 different
keygroups
(or individual
samples)
assigned
across
the
keyboard.
THE
IMPORTANCE
OF
SAVING
MEMORY
DATA
TO
DISK
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
S900 has no
permanent
memory.
If
you
load
a
disk
into
the
S900 and alter it,
the
altered
parameters
MUST
BE
SAVED
TO
DISK or your work
will
be lost if
you turn
off
power.
This
is
described
fully in the
section
on the
DISK
func-
tion.
PART
2:
THE
PLAY BUTTON
FUNCTION
PLAY
FUNCTION
To
play
back
programs
stored in the
S900 memory
(usually
these
are
loaded
from
disk first;
see DISK function
Page
01 ):
1.
Press
the PLAY
function
button.
2. Turn
CONTROL
counter-clockwise.
The
programs
contained
in
memory
will
scroll
past the LCD window.
3. Each
program
has
an associated number. Press
the
key
cor-
responding
to that
number to
select a
particular
program.