Originally posted by rikkisbears:
The default mode syncs to the style immediately & starts playing depending on where you are in the bar.ie if you hit it on the second beat of the bar, the fill starts on the second beat of the fills' bar instead of the first beat.
2nd mode, it starts playing immediately also, but from the beginning (ie 1st beat of of the fills bar.
3rd mode it starts playing at the beggining of the next bar , so doesn't matter when you trigger it.
The first 2 modes you just have to be a bit more acurate when you press the fill.
Well, the first mode is pretty much the de facto standard on all arrangers (at least, those I've played)... but with one HUGE exception. There is absolutely no need for them to be hit accurately on any particular beat. Even off-timing doesn't make a glitch in the timing, but just the usual one you'll get from ANY late chord entry. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't this how ALL arrangers (apart from Korg) work?
Of the other two choices, #2 seems absurd. No matter when you hit it, timing accurate or not, it goes immediately into the fill, regardless of where you are in the bar when you hit it! I anticipate a lot of sprained ankles from the dancers! Honestly, does ANYONE want to trigger a fill this way (other than perhaps greek music if you can't be bothered to program the style with the right time signature in the first place!)? The slightest timing mistake with this option would be musically disastrous...
And option #3... You have to cue your fills up in advance. PLEASE...! If I wanted a WS loopstation, I'd get a MotifXS.
No, IMO Korg have designed these options based on geek rules, not musical rules. Option #2 particularly shows their lack of common musical sense. As to being able to program, per registration, how the styles behave (which variation they go to... Just about every other arranger has moved on to a system where you select the VARIATION you want to go to, and the smoothest fill choice is automatically chosen for you. Simple, one button push. Back to PLAYING. But this only works if there are sufficient fills to make most of the transitions (remember, 16 possible transitions for a 4 Variation arranger). TWO IS NOT ENOUGH.
And no amount of dubiously useful 'options' can overcome this fatal handicap. All these are, especially the 'direction' controls, are a way to mitigate the problem in the first place! Rather than FIX IT...
The thought of a Fill button, that you have to be careful exactly when you can hit it, destroys the whole concept of an 'arranger', IMO.
Things you take for granted on an arranger (IMO):
1) Variations that musically progress from simple to complex
2) Fills that smoothly and musically allow you to transition between one VAR and any other
3) A simple control method, that triggers the fill and the next VAR without extreme accuracy of timing (or multiple button pressing)
All the rest is fluff compared to these. They are the Holy Trinity of arranger play. Korg have chosen to ignore this. Despite many cutting-edge features in other areas, they have chosen to disregard the BASIC elements of an arranger. And it's users have to scramble around with 'workarounds' and troubling need for extreme accuracy hitting this most oft used button (what do you hit MORE than the Fill button?), while everybody else doesn't even have to THINK about it...
Korg have built an amazing arranger, but with a crack in the foundation. Until this is fixed, it doesn't matter how high the building goes. At any time, one badly timed Fill request can bring it down on your head. My G70 (and most other arrangers) may have flaws in the upper stories, but at least the foundation is strong...
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