Roland System-8

3
Panel Descriptions
Controller Value Explanation
OCTAVE [DOWN]
[UP] buttons
-3–0–+3 (octave units)
Octave shift
These buttons let you shift the pitch range of the keyboard in one-octave units. The
button is lit if the pitch is shifted by one octave, and blinking if the pitch is shifted by
two or three octaves.
-5–0–+6 (semitone units)
Key transpose
By pressing a [DOWN] [UP] button while holding down the [TRANSPOSE] button,
you can transpose (shift the pitch of ) the keyboard in semitone units.
MODE [PATCH]
button
---
Switches to Patch mode.
&
“Editing a Patch” (p. 9)
MODE
[PERFORMANCE]
button
---
Switches to Performance mode.
&
“Editing a Performance” (p. 14)
PART ON/OFF
[LOWER] [UPPER]
buttons
ON (lit), OFF (unlit) In performance mode, switch the lower part or upper part on/o.
PANEL SELECT
[LOWER] [UPPER]
buttons
(The button of the selected
part is lit)
In performance mode, select the part (lower or upper) that is the target of panel
operations.
[MANUAL] button ---
Causes sound to be produced according to the current settings of the knobs and
sliders.
[PORTAMENTO]
knob
OFF, 1–255
Adjusts the time over which pitch change occurs when portamento is applied.
Portamento is an eect that smoothly changes the pitch between one key and the
next-played key.
[LEGATO] button ON (lit), OFF (unlit)
Applies portamento only when you play legato (i.e., when you press the next key
before releasing the previous key).
[TEMPO] knob 40.0–300.0 (BPM)
Species the tempo of the step sequencer and arpeggiator. The indicator blinks at
the specied tempo.
If “Patch Tempo” (p. 22) is “ON,” the tempo can be stored as a patch setting.
[TEMPO SYNC]
button
ON (lit), OFF (unlit)
The modulation speed (RATE) of the
2
LFO section and the delay time (TIME) of the
9
EFFECTS section are synchronized to the tempo.
[MONO] button MONO, UNISON, POLY
If this is on (lit), the synth will play monophonically (single notes).
If this is blinking, the synth will play all sounds in unison (UNISON mode).
MODEL [SYSTEM-8]
[PLUG-OUT 1]–
[PLUG-OUT 3]
buttons
(The button of the selected
synthesizer is lit)
When the [SYSTEM-8] button is on, this instrument operates as the SYSTEM-8
synthesizer. When one of the [PLUGOUT 1–3] buttons is on, this instrument operates
as a PLUG-OUT synthesizer.
[WRITE] button --- Saves sounds, step sequencer and system settings.
[SHIFT] button ---
When used in conjunction with other buttons or knobs, lets you view parameters or
edit dierent parameters.
By holding down the [SHIFT] button and turning the [VALUE] knob to change the
value, you can edit a setting in steps of 10.
[MENU] button --- Accesses the MENU screen.
Display --- Shows various information for the operation.
[VALUE] knob ---
Change the value at the cursor position.
By holding down the [SHIFT] button and turning the [VALUE] knob to change the
value, you can edit a setting in steps of 10.
cursor [
K
] [
J
]
buttons
---
Move the cursor left/right.
Alternatively, switch screens.
[EXIT] button ---
Returns you to the previous screen.
In some screens, this cancels the operation currently being executed.
[ENTER] button --- Press this to conrm a value or execute an operation.