Roland ~

GR-50 Tutorial

by Scou B. Summers, Product Specialist

Paul Young blood, Technical Editor

Ernie Rideout, General Editor and Design

Copyright @ 1991 RolandCorp US Communications Department All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical) including
photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from RolandCorp us.

~Roland. RolandCorp US, 7200 Dominion Circle Los Angeles, CA 90040-3647

The Roland GR-50 Tutorial

Congratulations on your purchase of the Roland GR-50. You are now in an elite group of guitar players who have expanded their
musical horizons and joined the ranks of the MIDI musician. The GR-50 is one of the most innovative and powerful products in the
entire Roland line. Roland has been at the forefront of guitar synthesis for well over a decade and the GR-50is the most superior
instrument yet created. It features lightning-fast tracking, superb MIDI implementation and an internal sound module which uses the
same technology as that found in the popular D-series keyboards. The GR-50 will give the guitarist opportunities that were never
before available. Being able to access all the same technology that keyboardists have worked with for years will greatly expand the
expressive capabilities of the fretboard

It is great that guitarists can finally use a fretboard to control these wonderful electronic instruments such as synthesizers, samplers
and sequencers. The problem is that many guitarists have-not worked with MIDI equipment, and let's face the facts, this stuff is
really complicated. Keyboard players have been using high tech gear for years so they have learned the language. Many guitar
players simply do not have the same background on this subject and the learning Qlrve can be very frustrating.

We at Roland understand your dilemma, so we have written a supplemental manual which will give you a guided tour through the
GR-50. This additional documentation is a tutorial, while the owner's manual is more of a reference book. Hopefully you will find
the owners manual easier read to after going through this tutorial, because we are only scratching the surface of the overall
capabilities of the GR-50 and the owners manual covers this unit in more depth.

In order to get the most out of this tutorial, you should understand a few basic concepts. We are going to assume that you have
already installed your GK-2 pickup and that you have discovered how to use the string sensitivity .adjustments. You have also
probably spent time playing the presets that come with the GR-50. You should know how to change the preset patches from the front
panel and from an FC-I00 foot controller pedal if you have one. You can also use the SI and S2 switches on your GK-2 to select
different sounds within a patch chain. If you do not understand patch chains it will be covered in a later section of the documentation.
Here are some guidelines that are consistent throughout the entire tutorial. If you encounter a word which is all capital letters such as
PLAY, WRITE or VALUE UP, this indicates a specific button on the front panel of the unit. If a word or phrase is surrounded with
[brackets] , this indicates that the same words or numbers will also be shown in the display screen. The GR-50 actually has two
different display modes. For the purpose of continuity, this entire tutorial is written based on display mode 1. Please use the
following procedure to confirm that the GR-50is in the proper display mode.
I) Press the SYSTEM button. The display should change to:

System Mem Protect = ON

2) Press the PARAM A DOWN button once and the display will change to:

System Disp1ay Mode = ?

3) Press the VALUE UP/DOWN button and set the display mode to [1] .Now press the PLAY button to return to the standard play
mode.

If you were able to successfully follow these instructions, then you should have no trouble using the rest this tutorial to help you
greatly improve your understanding of the Roland GR-50. Good Luck with your music and thank you for buying Roland products.
Creating Customized Patches

By now you should be familiar with the 64 patches that are currently in the GR- SO. The original factory patches do a good job of
demonstrating the capabilities of the unit, giving you a wide variety of generic synthesizer sounds to work with. Many users are even
satisfied with the original setup in the GR-50, and may never alter its programming because it suits their needs. You should be
aware, however, that the GR-50 is completely programmable and once you have learned a few basic concepts, creating your own
customized patches is quite simple- Customizing your GR-50 can be a very rewarding experience because you will have
personalized your unit with a new set if patches that will work well with your playing style-

Accessing the Tones in the GR-50

On the surface there are 64 internal patches which can be called up from the front panel, the GK-2's SI and S2 switches or with an
FC-I00 foot control pedal. 64 additional patches are available when using an optional M-2S6 RAM card. The actual number of
sounds available in the GR-50 is 256, and they are called tones. A patch is simply a configuration of tones assignable to each
individual string and stored into a memory location which can then be easily accessed for performance.

To hear each of these 256 tones, you will need to go into internall edit mode and manipulate the parameters so that you can assign
any of the available tones lo your guitar strings widIin the selected patch. To do this, use the following procedure:

1) Select the first patch in the GR-50 which should be labeled:

Play 1A- 1 I-11 Pedal Steel

2) Push the internal edit button labeled 1NT. The display should change to:

INT stA mod I-11 Mode=lst sinqle

If it does not say [stA] , which stands for all six strings, then use the

STRING buttons to scroll up or down until it is set to all strings instead of individual strings. If it does not say [mode= ] use the
PARAMETER A keys to scroll up or down to the mode parameter. If the display does not say [1st single] use the VALUE keys to
scroll through the mode options.
3) Now push the PARAM A UP key once so that the display reads:

INT stA lst I-11 a64:PedalSteel

4) At this point you can use the V ALUE keys to scroll through and audition the 256 sounds which have been organized into four
banks of 64 tones labeled [a] , [b] , [r] ,and [i]

It should also be noted here that the [a] , [b] and [r] banks of tones are stored in the GR-50’S permanent memory and cannot be
erased or lost. The [i] bank however is a set of programmable tones that can be altered and even erased. If you do a convert load from
a D-I0 ROM card, it will load in 64 new tones into the [i] bank eliminating the tones already in the unit. It is a good idea to save your
factory data before you start altering the programs in the GR-50. For more information about how to do this, consult pages ?? to ?? of
this documentation.

Creating a Simple Patch

Now that you have auditioned the actual sounds in the GR-5O, we will create a Customized patch using tones. Let's start by making
a performance patch which layers an [Electric Piano] tone with a (Slow Strings] tone:

I) If you are not already in play mode, return to it by pressing the PLA y button. The display screen should now read;

Play IA- 1 I-11 Pedal Steel

2) Push the internal edit button labeled INT, and the display screen will change to:

INT stA mod 1-11 Mode=lst sinqle

If it does not say [Mode], then use the PARAM A buttons to scroll through the screen options until it does.

3) Use the VALUE UP key to scroll through the various modes until the screen says:

INT stA mod I-11 Mode=Dual

The modes available include: [Dual], which layers two tones, [Velo Switch] which will switch from one tone to another when you
pick hard, [Velo X-fade] , which fades from one tone to another as you pick harder, and [Velo Mix] which mixes in the second tone
when you pick harder.

4) Now push the PARAM A UP key once so that the display reads:

INT stA lst 1-11 a64:PedalSteel

5) Use the VALUE DOWN key to change this Ist tone to:

INT stA lst I-11 la05: ElecPiano1

6) Now push the PARAM A UP key one more time so that the display reads:

INT stA 2nd I-11 r02:ClsdHiHat2

7) Use the VALUE DOWN key to change this 2nd tone to:

INT stA 2nd I-11 b01:S1owStrngs

You have now created a new patch which layers the Electric Piano sound with the Slow Strings sound. At this point, we need to
name the patch. then we will adjust the digital effects to work well with the tones selected and finally we will save the patch into the
GR-50's memory-

Naming the Patch

1) Press the Patch Edit common button labeled COM. The display should say:

COM Name 1*11 Pedal Steel

2) When you press the PARAM B buttons, it moves the cursor right or left within the display window. The VALUE buttons will
change the letter directly above the cursor. Use these buttons to change the name of the patch so that the display screen says:

COM Name 1*11 E.P. & Strings

.

Programming the Effects

I) Press the PARAM A UP button once so that the Display screen says; COM 1*11 Reverb Type = 4

2) Use the VALUE keys to scroll through the 8 effects algorithms until it says: COM 1*11 Reverb Type = 3

3) Press the PARAM A UP button again so that the display screen says: COM 1*11 I Reverb Time = 5

Use the VALUE key to increase the number to 7 or 8.

4) Press the PARAM A UP button one final time so the display reads:

COM 1*11 Reverb Level= 3

Use the VALUE key to increase this number to a setting that appeals to you.

Saving the Patch Into Memory-

I) Press the WRITE button. The display will change to:

I Patch Write to I-11

If you want to write the patch over the [Pedal Steel] patch currently

residing in 1-11, then go to the next step. If you would like to write this

new patch into a different memory location then use the GROUP BANK and NUMBER buttons to select an alternate memory
location. Remember that anytime you write a patch into memory, it will erase the patch that was formerly in that memory location.

2) Press the ENTER button and the word [Sure?] will appear in the screen;

Patch Write to I-11 Sure?

3) Press the WRITE button again and the screen will say:
Patch Write Complete

Or

Memory Protected Turn off once ?

If it gives you the [Memory Protected] message, you can over ride the protection by pressing the ENTER button one more time.

Creating a Complex Patch

Now that we have gone through the basic steps for creating a custom patch, we will go one step further and create a complex patch
which uses all of the edit parameters available within the GR-50. Lets start with the [E .P. & Strings] patch that we just completed
and wrote into a patch memory location. Our first modification will be to put a bass sound on me bottom E and A strings. .

I) Call up the proper patch and press the INT button:

INT stA mod I-l1 Mode=Dual

If it does not say [Dual], then use the VALUE buttons to scroll through the screen options until it does.

2) Use the STRING UP button until it changes to [st5], then use the VALUE key and change the mode to [Velo X-fade]. The display
screen should now read:

INT st5 mod I-1l Mode=VeloX-fade

3) Press the PARAM A UP button once and then use the VALUE UP button to change the first tone from [a05:ElecPiano1] to
[b38:Fretless 1]. The screen should now look like this:

INT st5 lst I-11 b38:Fretless 1

4) Press the PARAM A UP button again and then use the VALUE UP button to

change the second tone from [b01: SlowStrngs] to [b36 : Thumb Funk] .The screen should now look like this:

INT st5 2nd 1-11 b36:ThumbFunk

--

This should give you a bass sound on the 5th string which fades from fretless to slap bass as you pluck the string harder.

5) There is a parameter available which will change the velocity level setting that switches tones in the velocity modes. To access
this parameter, press the PARAM A button until the screen returns to [Mode=Velo X-fade] .Then press the PARAM B UP button
and the display screen will change to:

INT st5 mod 1-11 Mode Sense = 1

Use the VALUE button and experiment with the four levels to find out which setting is most applicable to your playing technique.

6) Once you have the 5th string programmed to fade from fretless bass to slap bass, you can copy it to the 6th string by pressing the
WRITE/COPY button twice. The display should now say:

Copy String 5>6 Sure ?

Press the ENTER button and you will now have a Bass sound on the low E and A strings that velocity cross-fades between [Fretless]
and [Thumb Funk]

There are several additional parameters that can be edited within a perfom1ance patch. They include [Output Level], [Pan], [Key
Shift], [Fine Tune], [Chromatic SW] and [Reverb SW]. You can experiment with each of these parameters within your own patches,
but for this particular patch we will start by setting the panning.

I) Press the STRING UP button until it changes to [st1] and press~the PARAM A button until it gets to the first tone. The display
should read:

INT st1 1st 1-11 a05:ElecPiano1

2) Now press the PARAM B button until you reach the [Pan] parameter:

lNT st1 1st I-11 Pan =>< I

VALUE this parameter until it reads:

INT stl 1st 1-11 Pan = 7>

Press the STRIN G UP button once and VALUE string 2' s pan setting to [3> ] :
INT st2 lst I-l1 Pan = 3>

Repeat this procedure setting each of the strings as follows:

[st3lstPan=<3], [st41stPan=<7], [st5lstPan=4>] and [st61stPan=4>].

3) Now press PARAM A UP once and the screen will change to the second tone:

INT st6 2st 1-11 Pan =>< I

Using the STRING and the VALUE buttons, set each string to this settings: [st12ndPan=<7], [st22ndPan=<3], [st32ndPan=3>],
[st42ndPan=7>], [st52ndPan=<4] and [st62ndPan=<4].

If you have your GR-50 set up to play back in stereo, or if you are using headphones, listen to how these [Pan] settings create a very
wide stereo field.

The final parameter that we will be adjusting is the Chromatic/Bend switch. Since we are working with a piano sound, which does
not normally bend, we should set [Chromatic SW=On] for each of the strings that are performing the piano and strings sounds. We
will not turn the bend off for the bass sounds because fretless bass obviously can slide from note to note.

1) Press the PARAM B UP button until the display says:

INT stl 2st I-11 ChromaticSW=Off

2) Using the STRING and VALUE buttons, turn the [ChromaticSW=On] for strings 1,2,3 and 4, But leave the [Chromatic SW=Off]
for strings 5 and 6.

INT stl 2st I-11 ChromaticSW=On

3) Press the PARAM A DOWN button one time to access the [lst] tones, and adjust the [Chromatic SW] the same wayas it was set
for the [2nd] tones.

INT stl lst I-11 ChromaticSW=On

You may now want to rename this patch, and save it into a new memory location. The procedure to do this has already been
discussed in the previous section titled, "Saving A Patch Into Memory." If you want more information about creating custom
patches, consult pages 57 through 75 of your GR-50 owners manual.
-

Creating Customized T ones

Now that we have spent some time understanding how patches work on the GR- 50, you may now be interested in moving on to the
next level of the unit's voice architecture. The "tone" is the lowest level of GR-50's heirachy and it is here that you will be able to
truly create your own sound This tutorial is not meant to be a dissertation on linear Arithmetic synthesis because we are trying to
cover the GR-50 on a more basic level. If you are interested there are lots of books and magazine articles that cover sound design
with the D series instruments, but for now lets just open the door to synthesis on the GR-SO.

Selecting a Tone to Edit

Editing should be done within a patch that is set up in [Mode=lst single].- If you have written over the [Pedal Steel] patch, located in
11, then select patch 88, titled [Soft Rhodes]. We will need to start with a relatively simple tone such as [a02:AcouPiano2] and edit
patch 88 to access this tone. Here are the steps:

I) From the PlAY mode, use the NUMBER and VALUE keys to call up patch 1-88:

Play 1A. 1-88 Soft Rhodes

2) Press the INT button and the screen will change to:

INT stA mod 1-88 Mode=lst single

If it does not say [lst sing 1 e] 1 then use the VALUE buttons to scroll through the screen options until it does.

3) Press the PARAM A UP button once until the screen reads:

INT stA lst 1-88 a09:SoftRhodes

4) Use the VALUE DOWN key to change the page to:

INT stA lst 1-88 a02:AcouPiano2

5) Now follow the patch write procedure outlined on page ?? of this

documentation, so that you will not have to repeat these steps again.
We now have a patch which accesses a tone that uses two partials: one PCM wave and one traditional square wave. We will now
work with each of these partials individually to analyze their sound capabilities. Then we will combine them together so that you can
get an idea of how component synthesis works.

Choosing PCM Partials

I) Start with unit in PART mode, accessing patch 88 which we just edited: Play IA l I -88 Soft Rhodes

2) Press the INT button, and then press the PARAMETER A button until you get the following screen:

INT stA lst 1-88 a02:AcouPiano2

3) Press the STRING button until a number [1-6] appears next to the [st] on the top line of the display screen. Do not leave it set at
[stA] (all strings)

since you will not be able to edit tones if the unit is in this setting. For this sound, editing will be most effective on [st4] .

INT st4 lst 1-88 la02:AcouPiano2

Also, remember which string you selected (stl-high E string, st2-B string, st3-G string, etc). You will only be able to hear the edited
tone on one string.

4) Press the +PAGE button to access [Tone Edit] page:

ToneEditCommon Name=AcoPi.ano2

5) Press the PARAM A button repeatedly until you reach [Partial Mute] page:

ToneEditCommon PartialMute=1100

6) Press the PARAM B button to scroll through each of the Partials and press

the VALUE button to set Partials on [1] or off [0] so only the first Partial is on:

ToneEditCommon I I Part.a1Mute=1000

i
Notice that when you play string 4) you are hearing a very short piano attack. When you play the other guitar strings) you are hearing
the original piano sound that we started from This is because on string 4 the second partial is now muted, so you are only listening to
the PCM wave produced by the first partial.

7) Press the STRING button once and then use the PARAM A button to access [WG PitchCors] page:

T.Edit.Partial l WG PitchCors=CS

8) Press the PARAM B button until you reach the PCM page which will say [PCM=#] on the display screen:

T.Edit.Partial l PCM=34:AP1anoL

At this point you can use the VALUE buttons to scroll through all 256 PCM partials. When you have listened to the sounds
available) leave it on one that you really like and move on to the next section.

Editing Synthesizer Waveforms

I) Use the PART buttons to return to the [Tone Edit*Common] screen, and the PARAM A buttons to return to the [Partial Mute]
screen:

ToneEditCommon

PartialMute=1000

2) Now use the PARAM B buttons and the VALUE buttons) to mute the first partial, and turn the second on:

ToneEditCommon PartialMute=0100

Play some notes on the 4th string which is now using one partial with a synthesizer wavefonn. If you compare it to the sound on the
5th and 3rd strings) which also have the piano attack PCM wave, you will see how

much more realistic the sound is when it uses the PCM wave layered with the synth waveform. Now lets go back to the 4th string,
and edit some of the parameters of the synth wave to make it sound different

3) Press the PART UP button twice) so that the screen says [Partial 2] .then press tile PARAM A button until it says [TVF Freq] on
the screen:
T.Edit.Partial 2 TVF Freq =76

Use the V ALUE UP and DOWN buttons to alter this parameter and listen to how it changes the texture of the sound.

4) Now use the PARAM A buttons to access the [TVA-ENV TKF] , and use the PARAM B buttons until you reach [TVA-ENV T5]:

T.Edit.Partial 2 TVA-ENV T5 = 64

As you increase the level of this parameter, notice how it lengthens the time it takes for the sound to die away after you have stopped
the vibrating string. This parameter is sometimes called release.

There are of course many more parameters that can be altered to change the sonic characteristics of the given tone. We have basically
just begun to explore the possibilities of sound design with this synthesizer and if you are inspired by this concept, you may spend
many rewarding hours programming your own sounds. At this point, let's go back to the [Tone Edit Common] parameters and
un..mute the partials so that you can see how component synthesis works on an LA-based

synthesizer.

1) Press the PART button until you return to [Tone Edit Common], and then use the PARAM A buttons to return to (Partial Mute] :

ToneEditCommon PartialMute=0100

2) Using the PARAM B buttons and the VALUE buttons un-mute each partial one at a time to see how each additional partial adds
new levels of complexity to the tone. When you have added all four partials, the screen will look like this:

ToneEditCommon PartialMute=1111

3) If you decide that you like this new tone you may want to rename it and then save it into memory. To rename the tone, use the
PARAM A button to get to the (Name] screen:

ToneEditCommon Name=AcoPiano2

4) Use the PARAM B buttons to move the cursor, and the VALUE buttons to change the letters in the name. Then save the tone into
memory.
--

Saving Edited Tones Into Memory

As we have discussed in the previous sections, there are four banks of tones in the GR-50, the [a], [b], [r] and [i.]. If you are using an
M-256 card, there is also a [c] bank of tones which are exclusive to the memory card The [a], [b] and [r] banks are presets which are
stored in permanent memory within the GR-50. The [i] and the [c] banks are reserved for programming and saving your own tones.
Any tone from any of the banks within the unit can be edited, but edited tones must be saved into the [i] or [c] banks.

You should already have a set of tones in your programmable bank when you get the GR-50 new from the factory. It is wise to listen
to these tones because you may like some more than others. When you make your own tones you will want to save them over the top
of tones that you do not care about losing. Once you have chosen [i] or [c] tones that you do not mind replacing after tone editing,
here is how you save your edited tone:

1) Have the edited tone in the edit buffer of the GR-50, and press the WRITE button:

Tone Write to i??

2) Use the GROUP, BANK and NUMBER buttons to select the location that you will

be storing the altered tone into and then press the ENTER button. It will ask you if you are [Sure ?] :

Tone Write to i?? Sure?

3) If you are sure then press the WRITE button again, and if the [memory protect] is on, press the ENTER button again. The screen
will say [complete] and return you to the edit mode.

If you would like more information on editing tones in the GR-50, you can consult pages 81 through 107 of your owners manual. For
more information about programming linear Arithmetic synthesizers, you can buy the "D-50 Book" from the Roland literature
department There are also some fine books on the D-50, and the D-I0/20/110 from Alexander publishing that may help you better
understand your GR-50. Finally there are many articles covering LA synthesis in both Keyboard and Electronic Musician
magazines. Any of these publications should give you some insight into the concepts of sound design.

j
--

Creating Patch Chains

P atch chains are basically a subset of the 128 total patches that are stored within the GR-50. (There are 64 patches in the internal
memory of the unit and an additional 64 patches which can be stored on an M-256 RAM card) A patch chain can use up to 25 patches
stored in any order, and there are a total of ten patch chains available, five in internal memory and five on the memory card. Once
you have selected a particular patch chain, you can scroll up and down through the patches within that chain by using the 51 and 52
switd1es located on the GK-2 pickup.

Patch chain [A] is currently set up to access eight different patches within the internal memory of the GR-50. We will select this
particular patch chain and modify it with a variety of edits which will help you understand how to create a patch chain. Once you
understand the concept you should be able to set up your own chains, which will access the sounds that you like. in an order that
works well in your system.

--

Selecting Patch Chains ~

1) To select a patch chain, start with the GR-50 in PLAY mode. Press the PLAY button and both the PlA Y button and the PATCH
CHAIN button will be lit up with a green LED. The display screen should look like this:

PLAY IA-1 I-11 Pedal Steel

2) The [IA] located in the top row of the display window indicates which of I the ten patch chains you are currently using. To select
a different chain. Iuse the -PAGE and +PAGE buttons. It will scroll [IA] through [IE]. and if

you have a memory card in the GR-50 it will then change to [CA] through

[CE] .If you do not have a memory card you will get a [Card Not Ready] message on the screen and then it will return to the internal
patch d1ains. IAfter you have looked at all the locations available for patch chains, use the

+PAGE buttons and return to patch chain [IA

Editing Patch Chains .

There are four edit functions available to help you create your own patch chains. They are "overwrite," "insert," "delete" and "end"
Let's experiment with each one j of them.
I) Use the 51 and 52 switches on the GK-2 to scroll through the eight

patches that are programmed into patch chain [IA]. Stop on the eighth step of the chain and the screen should say:

PLAY IA-8 1-81 Guittar And Flute

2) Press the PA TCH CHAIN button so that the LED changes from green to red. Use the VALUE UP button one time which will
change the screen to:

PLAY IA-8 1-82 I list + 2nd Melody

3) Press the PLAY button to return to the normal PLAY mode. Now use the

51 and 52 switches and notice that the eighth patch in the chain has been changed.

4) Now let's insert a new patch into the middle of the chain. Use your 51

switch and value down to the fourth patch in the chain. The display screen should read:

PLAY IA-4 1-34 Stee1 Strinqs

5) Make certain that you are in the standard "PLAY " mode with the green LED lit. Press the VAlUE UP button on the GR-50 and
the display screen should change to:

PLAY IA-4 1-35 RockinHarmontcs

6) Press and hold down the PA TCH CHAIN button, and while holding this

button, press the +PAGE button. Now return to standard PLAY mode and scroll through the patches using the 51 and 52 buttons and
you will

discover that there are now nine patches in the chain. The fifth one looks like this:

PLAY IA-5 1-35 RockinHarmonics

7) Now lets delete the same patch that we just added. Make certain that

[RockinHarmonics] is still in the display window. Press and hold the PATCH CHAIN button, and while holding it down press the
-PAGE button. Return to "PLAY " mode and scroll through the patches using the 51 an 52 switches and you will once again have
eight patches in the chain and [RockinHarmonics] will no longer be in location [5] .
8) If you would like to shorten the number of patches currently set up in the chain then start by selecting the chain location were you
would like to end.

Enter the edit mode by pressing the PATCH CHAIN button so that it changes 1 to the red LED. Now press the PARAM A DOWN
button once and the screen j will change to:

SetIB.? - - -

9) Return to the standard "PLAY " mode and when you scroll through the links in the patch chain, you should discover that it ends
where you set it in the step 8.

Saving a Patch Chain

1) While in patch chain edit (red LED is lit), press the WRITE button. The screen display should change to:

Chain Write to IA

2) Press the enter button and [Sure?] will appear on the display screen:

Chain Write to I A [Sure?]

3) Press the WRITE button and the screen will change to:

Memory Protected Turn off once ?

4) Press the ENTER button one more time to override the memory protection and the screen will say [Complete] and return to
"PLAY " mode.
Data Transfer on the GR-50

Data transfer is the process of exchanging information between two compatible MIDI devices, such as two GR-50’s or a GR-50 and
a sequencer or data disk. You can also do data transfer between the GR-50and an M-256 memory card or you can load data into the
GR-50 from the PN-GR50-01 ROM card or any of the three PN-D10 ROM cards.

Saving Data onto an M-256 Memory Card

1) Turn GR-50 unit on (unit should be in "PLAY " mode).

2) Insert the M-256 RAM card into the memory card slot. Make sure that the

cards protect tab is set to the “write" position.

3) Press the WRITE button and the display screen will change to: Save To Card Sound

If the screen does not say this, press PART/STRING buttons until you reach this message.

4) Press the VALUE buttons to select the information you want to save. There are several save options including [Sound] , [Rhythm
Setup] .[Patch Chain] , or [A 11] .You may want to consult page 129 of your GR-50

owners manual for more details covering the specific data that will be transfered with each of these options. For now select [All]:

Save To Card-All

5) Press the ENTER button and [Sure?] will appear on screen:

Save To Card All Sure ?

6) Press the WRITE button and the screen will change to:

Save To Card Complete

If the card has not been formatted as a GR-50 card, then the screen will give you a message that reads:

j
illegal Card!I

And then the screen changes to:

ICard Formatting OK?

Press the ENTER button which will format the card and save the data. The screen will say [complete] and then change back to the
"PLAY " mode.

Loading Tones from a PN-D10 ROM Card:

You can only load "tone" data from a D-I0/20/110 card into the GR-50. Patch data is not compatible and cannot be loaded. Insert a
D-I0/20/110 card into the GR- 50's memory card slot.

1) Press the WRITE button and the display screen will change to:

Save To Card Sound

2) Press the PART buttons until the display changes to:

Convert load From D-10/20/110

3) Press the ENTER button and [Sure?] will appear on screen:

Convert load D10/20/110 Sure?

4) Press then WRITE button. The function will either begin and [Complete] will appear on the screen briefly, or you will get the
following message:

Memory Protected Turn off once ?

If this appears, press the ENTER button one more time to override the memory protection.

Warning: By loading a D-I0/20/110 can into a GR-50, you will be replacing the entire [i] bank with new tones.
-

Bulk Data Dumps To Sequencer Or Between Two GR-50’s:

To dump data from one GR-50 unit to another, you need to connect the MIDI Out of one GR-50into the MIDI In of another, then
follow the directions listed below:

1) Make sure that both GR-50's MIDI/RRC switches, located on the back panels of the units, are set to MIDI.

2) Make sure that the [Exclusive Unit] number of both GR-50's is set to [17] (if it isn't already set correctly). To access this
parameter, start wid1 the unit in "play” mode, press the SYSTEM button, and press one of the PARAM B buttons repeatedly until
the screen reads:

System Exclu Unit #= 17

If it does not say [17] J use the VALUE keys to change it.

3) Turn memory protect off on the receiving unit Press the SYSTEM button

and then press a PARAM B button repeatedly until the display screen reads:

System Mem Protect =On

If memory protect is [On] , press a VALUE button to change to [Off] .

4) Press the PLA Y button on the transmitting unit to return to PLAY mode. Then press the WRITE button, and press one of the
PART buttons repeatedly until the screen reads:

Dump One Way Sound

(One way dump can also be used to save the internal system exclusive data of your GR-50 into a sequencer or data filer).

5) Press the VALUE buttons until the bottom line of this display reads:

Dump One Way All

6) Press the ENTER button on the transmitting unit [Sure?] will appear on screen:

Dump One Way All Sure?

7) Press WRITE button to begin dumping data. [Work] will appear on screen:

Dump One Way All -Work

[Complete] will temporarily appear on screen when the dumping process is finished and then the GR-50 will return to "PLAY “
mode.

Check the patches on the receiving unit by, returning to the PLAY mode and pressing the NUMBER or VALUE buttons to scroll
through the patches. The patch names should be identical to those of the transmitting unit.
Using a Sequencer with the GR-50

W hen recording sequences using the GR-50 as a controller and as a sound module, use the following procedure for the best results.
You should start by creating and storing a patch to use specifically for sequencing applications. The procedure consists of muting the
internal patch, setting up the external patch to control your sound source, and connecting MIDI cables to the sequencer and GR- 50
properly. This procedure is ideal for recording independent parts for accompaniment applications such as having a bass part, a string
pad part, and a rhythm part PLAY ed back by the sequencer, while you PLAY a brass patch live. This procedure will also allow you
to monitor the performance you are recording on a sequencer more accurately since you are hearing only the part as it is controlled

through MIDI.

MIDI Cable Routing To Monitor Parts While Sequencing

Connect a MIDI cable from the GR-50's MIDI Out to the sequencers MIDI In.

Connect another MIDI cable from the sequencers MIDI Out to the GR-50's MIDI In. Turn soft thru (sometimes called echo) "on” on
the sequencer.

Make certain that the control channel located in the system menu is either set to [Off] or that it is set to a MIDI channel that is not
being used for any of the multi- timbral parts. Setting the MIDI channels of the external parts and the control channel to the same
number will result in a MIDI feedback loop, causing [MIDI Buffer Overflow] to be display ed on the screen.

Muting An Internal Patch

1) Start with the GR-50in "PLAY ' mode. The display screen will look like this:

PLAY IA-1 I-11 ???

2) Press PATCH EDIT/1NT button to access the internal edit parnmeters:

INT stA mod I-11 Mode=lst single

Make certain that the display reads [stA] (all strings) and not [st1], [st2], etc. Also note which mode is used If the mode is [lst
single], you will need to mute the first tone group. If the mode is [2nd single], you will

need to mute the second tone group. If the mode is [Dual], [Velo Switch],. [Velo X-Fade], or [Velo Mix], you will need to mute both
tone groups.
3) Press PARAM A buttons to access desired tone group pages. This is how the page for the first tone group looks:

INT stA lst I-11 ???

4) Press VALUE buttons until it accesses tone number [r64:OFF] :

INT stA lst I-11 r64:0FF

At this point you have muted the GR-50ts internal synthesizer which will allow you to sequence more efficiently. You may also want
to name this patch [Sequencing]. and save it into a patch memory location. Directions for naming a patch are discussed on page 3 of
this documentation. To write the patch into memory, use the following procedure.

1) Press the WRITE button which begins the procedure of saving these settings to a patch:

Patch Write I to I-??

2) Press ENTER:

Patch Write to I-?? Sure?

3) Press WRITE to complete patch write procedure (if memory protect is on you will also need to press ENTER again):

Patch Write Complete

After the write procedure is [Complete], then the GR-50 will return to the PLAY mode.

Setting Parts 1) Press the PLAY button to access the PLAY mode: PLAY IA- 1 I-11 Sequencing

2) Press the PART UP button to access Part display :

,

Part 1 Channel 1 1-??

3) Press the +PAGE button to access Part set mode:

Part set Part-l 1-??

4) Press the VALUE buttons to select desired timbre for a part. (Take note of the number to the right of the [I] on the bottom line
since you will need to know this later when you select the program change number from your sequencer).

From the factory the GR-50 has 128 timbres whid1 are mapped to access the ROM tones that reside in the [a] and [b] tone banks. The
[r] bank of tones are used for the rhythm setup. If you want to use the programmable tones located in the [i] bank. select a timbre that
you do not care about losing and reassign which tone that it accesses. You can assign any individual tone to a timbre by pressing the
+PAGE button which will take you to the [Timbre Edi t] page. Press the VALUE buttons to scroll through tones until you reach the
one you want, then press PARAM A to select any parameters you want to edit (change settings by pressing VALUE buttons). Save
the new timbre settings by pressing WRITE button, [Timbre Write] should appear in display . then press ENTER, then press WRITE
again (if memory is protected. press ENTER button once more as well). Press -PAGE button to return to the part set page.

5) Press the PARAM A buttons to access the [Output Level] , [Pan] , and [t.1IDI Channel] parameters. Press VALUE to change any
of these settings.

Part set Part-l MIDI Channel=??

6) Press the PART UP button to select the next part and repeat steps 4 & 5.

For the following sequencng tutorial set part 1 to MIDI channel 1. part 2 to MIDI channel 2, and rhythm part to channellO.

Set External Patch To Control The GR-50ts Parts ,

1) Press PATCH EDIT /EXT button to access External Patch edit page. EXT brA stA I-11 Program No. =??

2) Press the PARAM A buttons until you reach the [gen]eral group.
EXT brA gen I-??I MIDI Channel=??

The [MIDI Channel] display should appear when you select the general

group. If it doesn't, press PARAM B until the MIDI Channel display appears.

3) Press the VALUE buttons to select the MIDI channel that corresponds to the part you wish to control:

EXT brA gen I-?? MIDI Channel= 1

4) Press PARAM B buttons until you access [MIDI] mode page:

EXT brA gen 1-? MIDI Mode = Poly

5) If it says [Mono] on the display screen, press VALUE buttons to select MIDI [Poly] mode. Mono mode transmits note data from
each guitar string on six separate MIDI channels while Poly mode transmits all six guitar strings on one MIDI channel. You should
not set the MIDI mode to Mono because the GR-50's part section is designed to be controlled in Poly mode.

6) Press the PARAM B buttons until the display screen says [Bender Range]:

EXT brA gen I-?? Bender Ranqe=12

A Bender Range of 12 should normally be used since most GR-50 Timbres default to this setting if you need to sequence your string
bending. A

chromatic bend setting is advisable when sequencing chords so that you can save memory in your sequencer. You will also find that
your music will be more in tune if you sequence in chromatic mode.

These settings for the external edit parameters may be written to a patch if desired. Refer to page ?? for the exact procedure.