Supplemental
Notes
July 10, 1995
SN06 v1.2
© 1995 Roland Corporation U.S.
GR-1 MIDI Sequencing
Page 1 of 7
MIDI Sequencing with the GR-1
This is an application guide for use with the GR-1 and an external MIDI sequencer. This guide will cover MIDI
connections, setup of the GR-1 transmit parameters, setup of the GR-1's sound module section and recording a
performance Patch. You should start by properly connecting MIDI cables between the sequencer and GR-1. Next,
you will need to access the MIDI Out parameters in the SYSTEM menu and set them up to properly control your
multitimbral Parts. Then, you will need to set-up the GR-1’s sound module section by programming the MIDI Part
parameters located in the RECORDER/PART menu. Finally, you will need to setup up the GR-1 to record a Patch.
When you first turn on the GR-1, you are playing what is called a Patch. A Patch is a combination of up to two
smaller elements called Tones. The GR-1 has four multitimbral Parts for accompaniment applications, which
means that you can have a bass Part, a piano Part, a string pad Part, and a rhythm Part played back at one time
by the sequencer. The Parts of the GR-1 use Tones. You can then play a Patch live and record that performance
into another track of your sequencer. This makes a total of 5 sounds that can be accessed through MIDI at the
same time. Following this procedure will also allow you to monitor the performance you are recording on a
sequencer more accurately, since you will hear all of the Parts played through MIDI while they are being recorded.
MIDI Cable Routing
If your MIDI system is limited to a GR-1 and a sequencer, connect a MIDI cable from the GR-1’s MIDI Out to the
external sequencer's MIDI In. Connect another MIDI cable from the sequencer's MIDI Out to the GR-1’s MIDI In.
If you are using one or more additional MIDI devices such as synthesizers, drum machines or MIDI effects
processors, you will need to use the MIDI connections labeled MIDI Thru. MIDI Thru takes the data that your MIDI
device receives at it’s MIDI In and passes it, unprocessed, to the MIDI Thru connection. It is possible to “chain”
several MIDI units together by connecting the MIDI Out of your controller into the MIDI In of your first slave, then
MIDI Thru of the first slave into the MIDI In of the second slave. This procedure can be repeated until all of the
MIDI devices in your system have been connected. The GR-1 does not have a MIDI Thru jack so it will have to be
the last slave sound module in your system. If you have more than one MIDI device that does not have a MIDI
Thru, you may need to add a MIDI Patch bay or a MIDI Thru box to your system.
Initialize the GR-1
If you have any custom sounds or songs in the GR-1 be sure to save them to a M-256E card or via MIDI bulk
dump to an external MIDI device before executing the following procedure. If you are unfamiliar with the procedure
to save you sounds refer to pages 7-12,13 and 7-18,19 for card or 6-31 for bulk dump.
Note: This procedure will erase ANY custom settings in the GR-1!
1) Turn off the GR-1.
2) Hold down WRITE/COPY.
3) Turn on the GR-1.
4) Press ENTER.
I. Programming the MIDI Out Parameters
After making the appropriate MIDI connections and initializing the GR-1, we need to set up the MIDI Out
parameters located in the SYSTEM menu. This is where we assign the MIDI transmit channel and transmit mode.
We can also turn local control off in this menu, which will allow us to sequence the entire Patch along with the four
multitimbral Parts. We will discuss the purpose of these MIDI Out parameters in more depth as we get further into
the sequencing process, but for now, let’s access them and set them up so we can begin sequencing.
1) Press SYSTEM and then press PARAMETER NEXT two times to access the following display screen:
Summary of Contents for GP-100
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