Still having not experienced hooking up a keyboard or otherwise trying to record an Accompaniment track, I keep having ideas and questions on how I'll approach this when I finally do get the opportunity. For me - especially lately - time is incredibly limited, so I'm hoping to make good, practical use of my time when I do get the chance to dig in.
That said, I was just wondering to myself: When I hook up a midi keyboard controller to this thing, do I need to know specific midi notes for each accompaniment instrument note? I'm thinking it has to be easier than that.
So I head straight to the manual again to see if I can gain some insight.
This brought me to EDITING ACCOMPANIMENT IN A KIT, which appears (appears) to have an answer to rhysT's question above. Here's a quote from the manual:
EDITING ACCOMPANIMENT IN A KIT 1. When you are in the Kit whose Accompaniment you want to edit, press EDIT ACCOMP. The screen will show:
a. the number of the Kit whose Accompaniment you will be editing
b. the Layer (the Accompaniment consists of two layers, each with its own Instrument)
c. the Category (the type or "class" of sound currently assigned to that Layer)
d. the Instrument (the sound for that Layer)
2. Select which Layer of the Accompaniment you will edit by pressing EDIT ACCOMP. It will toggle between Layer A and B.
3. Select the Category you want to assign to that Voice by pressing CURSOR UP / DOWN to highlight the Category field, then use the VALUE UP / DOWN buttons or VALUE DIAL to change it.
4. Select the Instrument for that Layer by pressing CURSOR UP / DOWN to highlight the Instrument field, then use the VALUE UP / DOWN buttons or VALUE DIAL to change it. To hear the currently selected sound, strike the corresponding trigger or press PREVIEW on the module.
Useful information about Accompaniment:
The Accompaniment track includes the bass line and other synthesizer sounds that you hear when the
module is playing a Sequence. The drum track and Accompaniment track play simultaneously, and you
can mute either of the tracks as they play with the MUTE DRUMS or MUTE ACCOMP buttons.
Just as each drum Instrument of a Kit belongs to a Category (e.g., KICKS, SNARES, LATIN PERC, etc.)
Accompaniment Instruments are also grouped into several Categories: BASS, SYN BASS, FX, and HIT
GROUPS.
Also, just like drum Voices, the Accompaniment has two Layers of Instruments. Layer A is usually the
bass line. Layer B is often something different – another melodic line, chords, or "hits."
Instrument changes within or between the BASS and SYN BASS Categories may sometimes be
desirable – the bass will have a different tone or quailty while the bass line itself (the notes you hear)
remains the same. However, if you edit the Instruments in the FX or HIT GROUPS Categories, it may
dramatically change the way a Sequence sounds if it uses that Kit.
In this case, we recommend muting that Layer of that Kit's Accompaniment (see EDITING VOICE &
ACCOMPANIMENT PARAMETERS for more information) or muting the Accompaniment altogether by
pressing MUTE ACCOMP.
EDITING VOICE & ACCOMPANIMENT PARAMETERS While editing your Kits by changing the Instruments in a drum Voice or the Accompaniment, you can also edit various parameters that affect each Layer and, therefore, the Instrument on that Layer. You can do this for the drum Voices or the Accompaniment, though some parameters below may only be editable for one of these.
1. Press DRUM KIT to go to the Main Screen.
2. Press EDIT INST to edit drum Voice parameters or EDIT ACCOMP to edit Accompaniment parameters. The top of the screen will show the number and name of the Kit whose Instruments (drum Voices or Accompaniment) you will be editing.
3. Select INST (F1). The new screen will show:
a. the trigger Voice you are editing (the Kit number and name of the Voice will be shown). If you are editing the Accompaniment, this will read "Accomp."
b. the Layer (each trigger sound or Accompaniment track consists of two Layers, each with its own Instrument)
c. the Category (the type or "class" of drum sound or Accompaniment currently assigned to that Layer)
d. the Instrument (the drum or Accompaniment sound for that Layer)
4. If you are editing a Voice, select the Voice whose Instrument you want to change by pressing NOTE CHASE then striking the desired trigger. Alternatively, you can highlight the Voice (next to the Kit number) using the CURSOR UP / DOWN buttons to highlight it and use the VALUE UP / DOWN buttons or VALUE DIAL to change it.
(This step is not necessary when editing Accompaniment.)