background image

3

FEATURES

Your Optimus MD-1600 Electronic Key-
board is a state-of-the-art musical instru-
ment that offers you a vast array of
sounds, with 2-way bass reflex speakers
for stunning sound reproduction. You
can choose from 200 different musical
instruments or sound effects and 100
rhythms, as well as accompaniments
and percussion sounds.

The MD-1600 also includes a MIDI fea-
ture (Musical Instrument Digital Inter-
face), which lets you connect it to other
MIDI-equipped musical instruments or
devices — even your personal comput-
er! This versatile keyboard can provide
hours of fun and is ideal for anyone who
wants to make music, from the beginner
to the experienced musician. 

Note: The MD-1600 conforms to most,
but not all, General MIDI specifications.
Therefore, you might experience some
incompatibility when using the MD-1600
with another General MIDI device. For
more information, see “Using MIDI” on
Page 41.

Your MD-1600’s features include:

73 Full-Size Keys with Touch Re-
sponse
 — the keyboard’s volume var-
ies in response to the force of your
touch, just like an acoustic piano or or-
gan, so you can add emotion to your
music. 

Backlit Liquid Crystal Display  —
shows the notes and chords as you play
them, along with the current tone,
rhythm, and tempo. The built-in back-

light makes it easy to read the display
even in darkness.

24-Note Polyphonic Sound — lets you
play and hear up to 24 notes at the
same time, so you can play or create al-
most any type of music.

Memory — lets you set the MD-1600 to
record up to 2 songs, 6 tracks, and
5,200 notes. The recording remains
stored even while the keyboard is off. 

Pitch Bender Wheel — lets you bend a
note by altering its pitch to create realis-
tic effects for reed instrument or guitar
tones.

200 Tones — let you set your MD-1600
to sound like anything from a harpsi-
chord to a honky-tonk piano. You can
even create your own tones with the
custom tone synthesizer feature.

100 Auto-Rhythms — provide a steady
beat for many styles of music, from
rhumba to rock.

Headphones/Output Jack — lets you
connect (optional) headphones so you
can play without disturbing others, or an
external amplifier (neither supplied) so
you can play for a crowd.

Assignable Jack — lets you connect a
sustain pedal (not supplied) to the MD-
1600 so you can sustain or soften your
keyboard’s sound, or start/stop an auto-
rhythm.

42-4043.fm  Page 3  Tuesday, August 3, 1999  6:51 AM

Summary of Contents for 42-4043

Page 1: ...Cat No 42 4043 OWNER S MANUAL Please read before using this equipment Electronic Keyboard MD 1600 42 4043 fm Page 1 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 2: ...ult your local RadioShack store if the problem still exists WARNING To reduce the risk of fire or shock hazard do not expose this product to rain or moisture CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN CAUTION TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT REMOVE COVER OR BACK NO USER SERVICE ABLE PARTS INSIDE REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED PERSONNEL This symbol is intended to alert you to the presence ...

Page 3: ...an so you can add emotion to your music Backlit Liquid Crystal Display shows the notes and chords as you play them along with the current tone rhythm and tempo The built in back light makes it easy to read the display even in darkness 24 Note Polyphonic Sound lets you play and hear up to 24 notes at the same time so you can play or create al most any type of music Memory lets you set the MD 1600 t...

Page 4: ...ction lets you use different sounds for the low end and high end keys Mixer Function lets you make the MD 1600 sound multiple tones for auto accompaniment memory playback or to play MIDI data received from another MIDI device Automatic Intro Ending Rhythm lets you set the MD 1600 to automatical ly add a 3 to 8 measure introduction or 3 to 8 measure ending to the selected auto rhythm Drum Pads play...

Page 5: ... 14 Using the Preset Auto Rhythms 15 Selecting Playing an Auto Rhythm 15 Using SYNCHRO 16 Using INTRO 16 Using FILL IN 17 Using VARIATION 17 Using ENDING 17 Using Auto Accompaniment 17 Adjusting the Accompaniment Volume 18 Concert Chord 18 Standard Fingering 20 Full Range Chords 21 Using FREE SESSION 21 Using the Mixer 22 Editing the Status of a Channel 23 Editing the Parameter 24 Using the Custom...

Page 6: ...ding 38 Changing Navigation Track 39 Editing Memory Contents 39 Editing Techniques and Display Contents 40 Deleting Individual Data 40 Deleting All Data in a Specific Track 40 Using MIDI 41 About MIDI 41 Making the MIDI Connections 41 MIDI Data 42 Changing MIDI Settings 44 Dumping Importing Data 45 Dumping Data 45 Importing Data 45 Notes About the MIDI Implementation Chart 46 Troubleshooting 48 Ca...

Page 7: ...and longest life we recom mend RadioShack alkaline batteries Cautions Use only fresh batteries of the required size and recommended type If you do not plan to use the MD 1600 with batteries for a week or more or if you will be using only AC power remove the batteries Do not mix old and new batteries different types of batteries stan dard alkaline or rechargeable or rechargeable batteries of differ...

Page 8: ... Insert the adapter s barrel plug into the DC 12V jack on the back of the MD 1600 2 Plug the adapter into a standard AC outlet CONNECTING HEADPHONES To listen to your MD 1600 without dis turbing others you can connect a pair of 1 4 inch 6 35 mm plug stereo head phones not supplied Your local Ra dioShack store sells a wide selection of headphones To connect a pair of headphones insert the headphone...

Page 9: ...inch 6 35 mm plug To connect an external amplifier to your keyboard insert the cable s 1 4 inch 6 35 mm plug into the PHONES OUT PUT jack on the back of the keyboard and connect the cable s other end to the amplifier s input jack s such as AUX IN or TAPE IN Your local RadioShack store sells a full line of amplifiers speakers and connec tion cables USING THE MUSIC STAND To easily view sheet music w...

Page 10: ...ch time you turn it on after that it recalls the last selected tone To select a different tone see Using the Preset Tones on Page 11 To select an auto rhythm see Using the Preset Auto Rhythms on Page 15 To play auto accompaniment see Using Auto Accompaniment on Page 17 5 Slide VOLUME toward MAX to increase the sound level or toward MIN to decrease it 6 To turn off the MD 1600 press POWER The red P...

Page 11: ...s preset tones however are capable of only 12 note polyphony Most tones on this keyboard have been recorded and processed using a technique called digital sampling To ensure a high level of tonal qual ity samples are taken in the low mid and high ranges and then com bined You might notice very slight differences in volume or sound qual ity for some tones when you play them at different positions o...

Page 12: ...umbers 168 199 are user tones See Using the Custom Tone Synthesizer on Page 24 3 Play the keyboard to hear the selected tone 4 Adjust the volume to the desired level To select a different tone while TONE appears simply enter the desired tone number No Tone 128 SYNTH PAD 1 129 SYNTH PAD 2 130 TOUCH STRINGS 131 DO AHH 132 STRINGS HIT 133 VIBES PIANO 134 SAW SYNTH 135 TOUCH BASS 136 STRINGS PIANO 137...

Page 13: ...o To turn off REVERB press REVERB so no indicator appears on the display USING SPLIT The MD 1600 s SPLIT feature lets you play two different tones on opposite ends of the keyboard so the low end keys play one tone and the high end keys play another Follow these steps to use SPLIT 1 Press TONE 2 Enter the three digit number for the tone you want the high end keys to play 3 Press SPLIT The SPLIT ind...

Page 14: ...tone is called the layer tone 1 Press TONE 2 Enter the three digit number for the base tone 3 Press LAYER The LAYER indicator appears 4 Enter the three digit number for the layer tone 5 Play the keyboard to hear the selected layered tones To select a different layer tone enter the three digit number for the new layer tone while the LAYER indicator is on the dis play To select a different base tone...

Page 15: ...he MD 1600 s dis play You can play a preset auto rhythm on the MD 1600 in any of these ways Select and play a rhythm See Selecting Playing an Auto Rhythm on Page 15 Synchronize the start of a rhythm with your music See Using SYN CHRO on Page 16 Start a rhythm with a special intro duction See Using INTRO on Page 16 Stop a rhythm with a special ending See Using ENDING on Page 17 Briefly vary the pat...

Page 16: ...e keypad To reset the tempo to its default original speed press TEMPO and at the same time To select a different rhythm repeat Steps 1 and 2 To stop the auto rhythm press START STOP Using SYNCHRO The MD 1600 s SYNCHRO feature lets you synchronize the start of an auto rhythm with the beginning of your music After you select and enter an auto rhythm press SYNCHRO ENDING then begin playing the keyboa...

Page 17: ... in the rhythm To return to the normal rhythm press NORMAL FILL IN To stop the auto rhythm press START STOP Using ENDING To end the selected rhythm with a spe cial 3 to 8 measure flourish press SYN CHRO ENDING while the auto rhythm is playing about 3 8 measures before you want the rhythm to end The MD 1600 plays a special ending then automati cally stops the rhythm USING AUTO ACCOMPANIMENT The 18 ...

Page 18: ... on the display 2 Within 5 seconds enter a number from 0 0 0 softest to 1 2 7 loudest on the keypad The numbers appear on the display as you press the keys To select the next highest or lowest accompaniment volume number you can also press or after pressing ACCOMP VOLUME Hold down or to quickly increase or decrease the accompaniment vol ume To reset the accompaniment volume to its default value of...

Page 19: ...1 Set MODE to CONCERT CHORD 2 Select and enter an auto rhythm 3 To start the auto rhythm before the auto accompaniment press START STOP or INTRO To synchronize the start of the selected auto rhythm with your accompaniment press SYNCHRO ENDING 4 Begin the accompaniment by press ing the desired accompaniment key s To play a melody along with the accompaniment press any key s to the right of the acco...

Page 20: ...m7 chord the lowest note you play determines the root of the chord Be sure your fingering correctly defines the root you want The diagrams above show only one possible fingering position for each chord It is possible to play a chord using several different positions For example these three fingering positions produce the same C chord Major M Minor m Augmented aug Suspended 4th sus4 Dominant 7th 7 ...

Page 21: ...the full range chord method lets you play chords of any type on any of the MD 1600 s keys Set MODE to FULL RANGE CHORD and follow the steps under Standard Finger ing If you press three or more keys anywhere on the keyboard that form a chord the MD 1600 plays that chord The MD 1600 responds with melody sounds if you press fewer than three keys Notes In the full range chord mode the MD 1600 recogniz...

Page 22: ...th a short introduction press INTRO 5 Each free session has its default tone If desired you can change the tone by pressing TONE and entering the tone number 6 Adjust TEMPO and VOLUME to the desired levels 7 Play your melody using the entire keyboard 8 To stop the free session accompani ment press START STOP To end the free session accompani ment with a short automatic ending press SYNCHRO ENDING ...

Page 23: ...ars on the display 2 Use or on the keypad to select the channel you want to edit 3 Press or to display the current status of the channel on oFF or SoL solo 4 Use or to select the status you want on default Turns on the current channel A bar appears at the bot tom of the level meter for the selected channel oFF Turns off the current channel The bar at the bottom of the level meter disappears SoL Tu...

Page 24: ...ected channel Pan 000 to 127 controls the pan 000 is fully left 64 is the center position and 127 is fully right Fine Tune 50 to 50 fine tunes the pitch of the selected chan nel in cent units A cent is one hun dredth of a semitone There are 12 semitones per octave C Coarse Tune 12 to 12 coarsely tunes the pitch of the selected channel in semitone units Express Expression 000 to 127 controls the vo...

Page 25: ...ic Waveform PCM Set Volume Characteristic Amp Envelope Set Tone Pitch Pitch and Pitch Envelope Set Tone Characteristic Attack Rate Release Rate Level Touch Sensitivity and Pan Understanding 1DCO and 2DCO Tones A Digital Controlled Oscillator DCO controls the sound output of a digital sig nal Some of the MD 1600 s built in tones are simple tones 1DCO and some are layered tones 2DCO When you select ...

Page 26: ... note Attack Rate Atk Rate 1 to 127 Sets the speed of the attack the period from when you press a key to when the tone reaches its maximum volume The greater the value the quicker the attack Use this parame ter to make fine adjustments to the tone characteristics of the amp envelope Release Rate Rel Rate 1 to 127 Controls the speed of a tone release the period from when you release a key to when t...

Page 27: ...tom Tone Synthe sizer mode without storing a new tone press twice so Delete appears then press To store the settings press to display the tone number where you want to save the user tone 6 Use or until the tone number you want appears on the display If you do not want to assign a name skip to Step 10 7 To give a name to your tone press The first character of the tone name flashes 8 Repeatedly pres...

Page 28: ...ese two parameters to get the general sound you want and then set the other parameters to add the finishing touches Experiment with different settings There are no real rules about what a tone should sound like Let your imagination run free and experiment with different combinations You might be surprised at what you can achieve 42 4043 fm Page 28 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 29: ...00 automatically resets the key to the default value of 0 middle C each time you turn off the keyboard The transpose setting also affects memory playback see Playing Back from Memory on Page 34 and auto accompaniment TUNING THE KEYBOARD Although your MD 1600 never goes out of tune it does let you adjust its pitch to match other instruments or musical re cordings Note You cannot adjust the pitch wh...

Page 30: ...t auto accompaniment or received MIDI data The MIDI data sent out from the MD 1600 is affected by the touch response setting CHANGING AUTO POWER OFF When you operate the MD 1600 with battery power the keyboard automati cally shuts off after about 6 minutes if you do not press a key Press POWER again to turn power back on To have the keyboard not automatically turn off during a session turn the key...

Page 31: ...ten the key board s sound and even start or stop an auto rhythm To connect a sustain pedal to your MD 1600 insert the plug on the pedal s cord into ASSIGNABLE JACK on the back of the keyboard You can adjust the MD 1600 s assign able jack to these settings when you use a sustain pedal Follow these steps to change the as signable jack s setting 1 Repeatedly press TRANSPOSE TUNE MIDI until Bend appea...

Page 32: ...each track is independent of the others you only need to re record a single track if you make a mistake while recording on it REAL TIME RECORDING With real time recording the notes are recorded as you play them on the key board Before you start read these tips To record without an auto rhythm skip Step 5 of Real Time Record ing Recording starts when you press a key To start recording with synchro ...

Page 33: ...u play 1 Repeatedly press MEMORY until Rec No appears Note MEMORY is a three way switch When you press it once the keyboard enters the memory play back mode When you press it again it enters the memory record mode When you press the button a third time it returns to memory off 2 Within 5 seconds press or or 0 or 1 to select a song number 3 Press CHORD 1 to select Track 1 While the keyboard is in m...

Page 34: ...to Track 1 The memory can store a total of about 5 200 notes If the remaining memory is less than 100 notes the measure and beat numbers flash on the display When memory becomes full recording automatically stops auto accompaniment or rhythm stops playing if used Memory contents are saved as long as power is supplied to the key board Unplugging the adapter with out batteries or with weak batteries...

Page 35: ...ding To insert an ending or fill in press SYNCHRO ENDING or NORMAL FILL IN VAR FILL IN for variation rhythm immediately before entering the chord in Step 6 of Step Recording To step record chords without a rhythm skip Step 5 of Step Record ing The chord of the specified length is recorded A rest can be specified there so you can create an original chord pattern To add chord accompaniment dur ing r...

Page 36: ...the notes you played rhythm number INTRO SYNCHRO ENDING NOR MAL FILL IN and VAR FILL IN oper ations See Recording Multiple Tracks on Page 37 to record on the other five tracks Specifying Chords in the Normal Mode To enter chords when MODE is set to NORMAL during step recording you need to specify them using a method other than Concert Chord or Fingered You can enter 18 chord types using only two k...

Page 37: ...you can press or to move the entry point to another location if you want Note TrackEnd appears on the display if you press at the end of the recording RECORDING MULTIPLE TRACKS In addition to the Track 1 where you record auto accompaniment as well as keyboard play there are five other melo dy tracks that you can use to record mel ody parts only You can record different tones on these tracks and bu...

Page 38: ...o enter the chords using the keyboard When you use or to enter a note a staff on the display shows the note you enter To delete a rest entry press 0 again 7 Use 1 9 to enter the length of the note or rest 8 Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to enter more notes 9 Press MEMORY STEP or START STOP to end recording Notes If you make a mistake see Correct ing Mistakes on Page 37 When you record on a track that alrea...

Page 39: ...shing Make the desired changes to the selected parameter The actual procedures you use to change a parameter depend on the type of data it contains See Editing Techniques and Display Contents on Page 40 Notes Do not change a note identical to the preceding or succeeding note Doing so might alter the length of the note and you will have to re record the entire track When you change note key pres su...

Page 40: ...ess and at the same time DataDel appears 3 Press to delete the selected data Or press or or or to cancel the procedure without deleting any thing Deleting All Data in a Specific Track 1 Press MEMORY until Rec No appears Within 5 seconds use or to select a song number 2 Hold down MEMORY until Tr Del appears 3 Within 5 seconds press MEMORY TRACK for the track s you want to delete You can specify mor...

Page 41: ...its MIDI IN ter minal The cable that connects MIDI devices does not actually carry sound between them like a speaker wire carries sound from a receiver to a speaker Instead MIDI equipped devices talk to each oth er in digital codes instructions One MIDI device sends digital instructions representing exactly what is being played on it The other MIDI device re ceives and translates those instruc tio...

Page 42: ... a value from 0 to 127 Notes The pitch of a note depends on the tone that is being used as shown in the Note Table on Page 52 If the keyboard receives a request to play notes outside of its range higher or lower it automatically selects the same note in the nearest octave Program Change specifies the tone Pitch Bend supplies pitch bend infor mation A Pitch Bend operation on this keyboard changes t...

Page 43: ...h bend range transpose and tune control from an external MIDI device All Sound Off forces all sound on the current channel to turn off regardless of how the sound is being produced All Notes Off turns off all note data sent from an external device on the channel The notes being sustained by the pedal continue to sound until the next pedal off signal is received Reset All Controllers initializes pi...

Page 44: ... to select the parameter you want to change GM Mode on off Default Off set to on when you want to have the key board receive GM data from another MIDI device Turning GM mode on automatically turns CHORD off since GM mode and MIDI In Chord Judge cannot be used at the same time Set to oFF to turn GM mode off The tone volume and other param eter settings of each channel are ini tialized When playing ...

Page 45: ...pport MIDI exclusive data Dumping Data Follow these steps to dump data from the keyboard to an external device 1 Put the other device in its receive standby mode See the Owner s Manual that comes with the receiving device for details 2 Repeatedly press TRANSPOSE TUNE MIDI on the MD 1600 until the display shows BulkSnd 3 Within 5 seconds press to start data send Sending appears The MD 1600 automati...

Page 46: ...st velocity pianissimo 127 is the loudest fortissimo 0 means the key is released 9n This means that the Note On mes sage is 9 hexadecimal and n is the channel number For example if you select Channel 16 and press Key D in mezzo piano 9E E is 15 in hexadecimal note that Channel 1 is 0 in MIDI data is first sent from MIDI OUT then 3D decimal 61 is sent as the key number finally 21 decimal 33 is sent...

Page 47: ...tops the sounds cur rently playing The MD 1600 only re ceives this message Active Sensing This means the MD 1600 s sound turns off in the event the connection cable to MIDI IN terminal is accidentally disconnected 42 4043 fm Page 47 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 48: ...ted Disconnect headphones Power supply problem Make sure the batteries are facing correctly to match the marked polarity Replace the batteries with fresh ones Connect the AC adapter properly You are pressing too few accompaniment keys while MODE is set to FINGERED Set MODE to NORMAL or CONCERT CHORD Press 3 or 4 keys to form a chord while MODE is set to FINGERED No sound when connected to an exter...

Page 49: ... and dirt which can cause prema ture wear of parts Handle the MD 1600 gently and carefully Dropping it can damage cir cuit boards and cases and can cause the MD 1600 to work improperly Use only fresh batteries of the required size and recommended type Batteries can leak chemicals that damage your MD 1600 s electronic parts Wipe the MD 1600 with a damp cloth occasionally to keep it looking new Do n...

Page 50: ...er Start Stop Intro Normal Fill In Variation Fill In Synchro Ending Accompaniment Volume 0 to 127 128 steps Free Session 100 patterns auto accompaniment in accordance with selected chord progression Memory Function Songs 2 Recording Tracks 6 2 through 6 are melody tracks Recording Methods Real time Step Memory Capacity Approximately 5 200 notes total for two songs Edit Function Equipped Demo Tunes...

Page 51: ... Terminal 1 4 Inch Phone Jack sustain sostenuto soft rhythm start stop Power Supply 12V DC Jack Headphones Stereo Standard Jack Output Impedance 200 Ohms Output Voltage 4 9 V RMS MAX Power Sources DC 6 D batteries AC 12V with AC adapter Power Consumption 18 W Dimensions HWD 53 4 4 453 4 161 2 Inches 14 7 116 2 42 1 cm Weight Without Batteries 20 lbs 9 1 kg Included Accessory Sheet Music Stand Spec...

Page 52: ...52 APPENDIX NOTE TABLE 42 4043 fm Page 52 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 53: ...lled Oscillator 4 Range type 5 Recommended sound range for General MIDI Tones without scale The following shows maximum polyphone for synthesized tones 128 through 159 141 BASS SLIDE 24 notes Other tones 12 notes 42 4043 fm Page 53 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 54: ...54 FREE SESSION CHORD PROGRESSION CHART 42 4043 fm Page 54 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 55: ...55 42 4043 fm Page 55 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 56: ...56 DRUM ASSIGNMENT LIST 42 4043 fm Page 56 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 57: ...57 STANDARD FINGERING CHORD CHARTS 42 4043 fm Page 57 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 58: ...1 16 1 16 1 Held in memory with power supplied Mode Default Messages Altered Mode 3 X Mode 3 X Note Number True voice 24 96 0 127 1 108 2 2 See Note Table on Page 52 Velocity Note ON Note OFF O 9nH v 1 127 X 9nH v 0 O 9nH v 1 127 X 9nH v 0 8nH v XX XX no relation After Touch Keys Channels X X X O Pitch Bender O O 3 Control Change 0 32 1 6 38 7 10 11 64 66 67 100 101 120 121 O X O 4 O O O O 5 O 5 O...

Page 59: ...59 NOTES 42 4043 fm Page 59 Tuesday August 3 1999 6 51 AM ...

Page 60: ... the warranty period take the product and the RadioShack sales receipt as proof of purchase date to any RadioShack store RadioShack will at its option un less otherwise provided by law a correct the defect by product repair without charge for parts and labor b replace the product with one of the same or similar design or c refund the purchase price All replaced parts and products and products on w...

Reviews: