Hello and thanks for the reply. You know what? Your right. Maybe it's not as complicated as I thought. If I simply correct the chords, that actually would solve the issue of not being able to get it right in one pass because I'm really not a keyboard player. I'll try that.

That's the thing that drives me crazy about these onboard arranger sequencers. One pass.


Thanks again!!


[This message has been edited by greenkidd (edited 08-18-2008).]

Whats the big deal....just load what ever Roland styles you like after you get one or am I missing something here? What I dont like is there is no Lyric reader for SMF?

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 08-19-2008).]

I'm not sure I understand something.

Last week I was talking to the keyboard dept at RolandUS about the GW-8. They told me clearly that it was not a "gigging" machine. That it did NOT have the ability to edit patches. He said that you can NOT set up a "patch" with the dance style and the instrumentation that you want to go with it. That you have to do all your changes one at time when you're on stage.

I didn't buy this "step backwards in arranger technology" so I asked him again and he repeated exactly that....again!

This seems a bit odd to me. Anyone know any different about this?

BTW...he also said the G-70 IS still in production.

Lucky

To clarify.
I'm talking about simply composing using just the onboard sequencers in the Roland E series and the Korg PA800. Both of these sequencers allow a first pass that records ALL the style parts. If you stop halfway through you can't just pick up WITH ALL the style parts and record the next song section. After the first pass you are forced to then re-record each part in separate takes. I simply wish they would create an onboard sequencer that would allow you to keep recording ALL the style tracks at once until the song was complete. That's the problem.

I've heard others refer to this kind of functionality as "chord sequencing". I'm hoping that Korg or Roland will release an onboard sequencer that can do this kind of thing.

thanks for the tips!

[This message has been edited by greenkidd (edited 08-18-2008).]

Kidd,
I downloaded the GW-8 manual, and I am almost certain you can accomplish what you seek with "punch in". It may not let you add to the song (i.e., punch in after the last measure.) If that is the case, record the first section, let's say 8 measures, of the song. Then just let the machine run (with no chord changes) for the rest of the song (say 32 measures total.)

After the last measure, go back and re-record with punch-in starting at measure 9. Record measures 9-16 with the appropriate chord changes. Repeat the punch-in process until you have the whole song the way you want it. Note this is still real-time recording, and you might have to repeat the difficult sections a couple of times.

If you really feel that your skills are not up to it, you might be better off with a Korg or Yamaha because their facilities for "step recording" (where you enter the chord/bass data manually) are more extensive than Roland's.

Hope this helps! -Ted

Ted, many thanks for taking the time to look at this. I already own a Korg PA800 and started looking in detail the Step Editing offers and am convinced this is the thing I overlooked about the Korg. It's very cool actually. I currently own a SonicCell but will probably trade up to a GW-8 when it's available. thanks again!

I don't know if this has been mentioned already, but Roland Central Europe has the GW-8L and the GW-8E on their list. The -L being the "Latin-focussed" one, the -E being a more "universal" styled GW-8

Roland does one better..than step record...it is called Microscope editing..every detail of a song or style can be edited..Naturally you will find this on the top model arrangers E-80 and G-70..

Both models also have an extensive 16 track sequencer..

Actually, Fran, there's something they talked about that is FAR better than Roland's system...

The 'Chord Track'. Roland have nothing like this.

Imagine you used the Recorder to capture an arranger performance, but made a few timing errors in inputting the chords, or a chord mistake, whatever. Sadly every single track derived from that erroneous input now has a problem (a nightmare to edit all of them! ). But with the Korg's, you can go in and simply edit the chord track, and then redo the 'capture', now with the timing and chords absolutely perfect!

I sure wish the Roland had something like that...

And yes, I sure wish the Recorder allowed you to 'continue' or 'punch in/out' on an existing Recording. The only way to combine multiple takes is to blow them over to your computer sequencer, and combine them there. Every time you start recording on the Recorder (remember, this is different to the 'one track at a time' 16 Track Sequencer), it erases the previous recording, and starts a new one from scratch. Admittedly, that's what I do all the time, as I FAR prefer to sequence in Cubase, but many (dare I say most?) seem to be much happier doing it all in the box.

I also wish that you could record into the 16 track sequencer on more than one track at a time. Layers and splits have to be input with the wrong sound, and then the layers and splits have to be put on afterwards. No way to do it in the box, AFAIK.

Yes, the Roland has a very, very good sequencer, especially when compared against Yamaha, but there is plenty of room for improvement

Yes, I'm glad you brought this up. Actually, I would prefer to simply use Sonar 7 and my Korg PA800 as I would not be having this conversation at all. Maybe I need to look at Cubase just for this specific thing.

Let me explain. I am no beginner to midi. I've been using it since it's inception but, I cannot for the life of me, get the Korg PA800 style playback and Sonar 7 record transport to sync properly. It is simply a cludge. I will gladly surrender that I'm an idiot but I tried 6 ways to Sunday to get midi clock to sync the two. That is the only reason why I am so interested in using the onboard sequencer. Maybe your onto something. I'll check the midi version of Cubase and see if I( have better success. thanks!