Yamaha Djx 2 Manual
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Chapter 2 Activator Basics 21 12Activator Loop bpm Here’s a real convenient feature! You’ll never have to worry about your loops drifting out of time — the DJX-II automatically matches up the bpm of the Activator Loops to the bpm of the Pattern. However, the DJX-II can’t sync up your loops if you don’t play them on time! Be careful to hit the Loops right on the beat — just as you did with the Patterns. A05 p09 q e r w
22 Chapter 3 Live Effector Basics The effects of the DJX-II are more than just frosting on the cake — they’re powerful tools that can completely transform the sounds and rhythms, and put a whole new spin on your tracks! 13What is the Live Effector? Here’s where you can really get down and dirty with your beats! The Live Effector gives you a wide variety of real-time effects that let you mangle and munge the sound in wild and exciting ways. All of the sounds of the DJX-II — the Pattern, Activator, and Sam- pler (→ page 53) — are processed by these versatile sound shapers. You can turn the effects on and off in time with the rhythm, and adjust a pre-programmed key effect parameter and the balance (depth) of the effect in realtime as the Pattern plays. q Start the Pattern or Activator. w Select the desired effect, turn the Effect on, and twist the knobs. e Stop the Pattern or Activator. Turns the effect ON or OFF. Changes the sound of the effect. (Each effect lets you control a differ- ent key parameter.) Press this to change the effect type. When changing the effect type, the new type is applied immediately from the next note (with the exception of the Slice type). • To keep the effect locked on: Simultaneously hold the toggle switch on and press SELECT. To “unlock” the effect, turn the effect on and off again. A continuously lit LED indi- cates that the effect is selected. When the effect is turned on, the LED flashes in time with the Pattern. • Doing too much at once? Changing the effect type while the effect is on and a Pattern is playing back and/or while you’re playing the keyboard can overload the processing power of the DJX-II. This could affect the sound in different ways, making the overall sound softer or changing the sound of the effect in unexpected or undesirable ways. For best results, stop the Pattern and/or stop playing the keyboard briefly before changing the effect type. Better yet, turn the effect off briefly, then change the type and turn it back on again as needed. Tech note: You can change the effect type while the effect is on in the hold condition; however, it cannot be changed when holding down the toggle switch manually. Changes the depth of the effect. When set to Dry, the effect cannot be heard. When the effect is set to on, turning the BALANCE knob may generate noise.
Chapter 3 Live Effector Basics 23 14Distortion This popular effect lets you distort the sound — from a soft grunge to a full-on metallic assault. Turn the CONTROL knob to the right for more crunch and bite. 15Auto Pan Get your sound moving in space! This effect shifts the sound in the stereo image back and forth between hard left and hard right. Setting the CONTROL knob toward max speeds up the panning so much, the sound seems to be modulated — like on a synthesizer! 16Ring Modulation Here’s an ultracool effect straight out of analog synthesizers! The Ring Modu- lator changes the sound dramatically by “overdriving” the oscillator — as set with the CONTROL knob. This effect completely destroys the original pitch of the sound and generates a whole new set of pitches and harmonics, for a mas- sively dynamic metallic sound. Use the CONTROL knob to change the fre- quency of the oscillator. Use this sparingly! You’ll want to save this awesome, powerful effect for cer- tain climactic parts of your performance — and then blow people away! 17Flanger This modulation-based effect produces a “swishing” or “tunneling” sound. Changing the speed of the modulation with the CONTROL knob produces a characteristic metallic, sweeping effect — much like a jet airplane taking off.
24 18Phaser The Phaser effect is similar to Flanger (in Tip 17 above), but more subtle — not quite as dramatic. Phaser is good for adding a little bit of warm animation and movement to the sound. Use the CONTROL knob to change the speed of the modulation. 19Slice Chop up the beat, slice and dice — completely change the feel of the rhythm! Use the CONTROL knob on this happening effect to change the “slice” Patterns, and come up with new rhythms on the fly! 20Delay Delay is a popular effect that repeats the sound in rhythm. (There’s a related Echo effect; see Tip 21 below.) And check this out — no rocket science needed! The DJX-II automatically syncs the delay time to the current bpm, so you dont even need to re-adjust the knob, even when the bpm is changed. Use the CON- TROL knob to change the relative delay time to match the rhythmic effect you want. The DJX-II syncs to note values — 16th, 8th, 4th, triplet, etc. Be careful — changing the delay time (by changing the CONTROL knob or bpm) may result in some noise.
Chapter 3 Live Effector Basics 25 21Echo Like Delay (in Tip 20 above), Echo produces repeats of the sound for rhythmic effect. However, the CONTROL knob is used to change the number of repeats (also called “feedback”). Naturally, the DJX-II automatically syncs this effect to the bpm of the Pattern. 22Lo-Fi Need to grunge up your sound, but Distortion is too nasty for you? This useful effect lets you slap that retro, lo-rez sound onto your beats — just like they do in hip-hop, trip-hop and other styles. Lo-Fi gives the sound just a little bit of “dirt” — and lets you add a vintage analog-like touch to your performance. 23Wah Wah is a special moving filter effect that gives a funky feel to the sound. Use the CONTROL knob to change the speed of the filter motion. Setting this toward the maximum produces a trembling sound.
26 Chapter 4 Isolator Basics More sonic control to you! The Isolator lets you tailor the sound just the way you want it — phat and round, thin and edgy, or big and banging! 24Tweak the sound just right! Need a beefier low end? Want to put some edge and shimmer in the top? Tweak these knobs to your heart’s content, and get the sound just the way you want it! Try turning the Low and High knobs of the Isolator a little bit to the right, and make the sound more punchy. Try other settings as well to get the sound just right! Each of these knobs boosts or cuts a general frequency band of the sound. Technically, the range for each knob is -12dB to +12dB. Be careful with this, though — if the Master Volume is at or near the max, boosting these fre- quencies can result in some nasty distortion! Helpful hint: Avoid boosting the level (when possible). For example, if you want to emphasize the highs and lows, add a gentle mid cut instead. Low Mid High Low Mid High Low Mid High Boosted low end, slightly crisper high end. Very tinny sound — almost no bass, very bright and brit- tle high end. Flat response — normal set- tings.
27 Chapter 5 The Keyboard Hidden among the many wonders of the DJX-II is — surprise, surprise! — a conven- tional keyboard. 25Play the keyboard You may not have realized it, but the DJX-II also has a regular, conventional keyboard in addition to its DJ Pattern-based one. Simply press VOICE/KEYBOARD to call up the Keyboard Mode, and play the keyboard normally. To switch back to the DJ functions — called the Pattern Control Mode — press PATTERN/ENTER. Naturally, you can switch back and forth between the Keyboard Mode and Pattern Control Mode even while the Pattern and Activator are running.
Chapter 5 The Keyboard 28 26Try some different voices! The DJX-II is chock full of a stunning variety of dynamic voices. Try some of them out right now! To get at these voices and play them, press VOICE/KEYBOARD (the display shows “Vxxx”), then turn the dial. U003 Indicates the currently selected voice. Try some different voices! Category#Voice NameComment HYPER MIX000DJX-IIVarious human voices from all over the world, plus scratches from the U.S. SYNTH PAD015Wave 2001Lush, atmospheric sweep pad, great for Trance and Chill-out styles. GUITAR036Dist. 5thHeavy, chainsaw-like power chords. Put some metal in your mix! SQUARE LEAD054Square Lead 2Classic analog synthesizer wave — with great low-end, atonal bass. SAW LEAD056Break itBrash and fat lead synth sound — perfect for Euro styles and Rave. 065Saw Lead 2Slightly buzzy analog synth sound from the 80’s. ANALOG BASS092HyperEssential bass voice for all different styles 094Dist-SynQuirky and funky — great for Acid, and for adding some in-your-face punch! DRUM LOOP177Drum Loop H2A sliced Hip-hop loop (keys C3 - A3) — play them in any order and come up with your own happening rhythms! HYPER DRUM KIT192DJX KitA different drum or percussion sound on almost evey key — plus some wild sound effects! Mix and match, and make your own beats!
29 Chapter 6 Part Mixer Basics Now that you’ve got your rhythm chops up to speed and some DJ tricks up your sleeve, it’s time to work on the Parts! This chapter — and the two that follow — give you the keys to building interesting arrangements and instrumental textures. Not to mention some slammin’ and smokin’ tracks! 27What is a Part? The DJX-II Patterns are made up of eight different instrument Parts: Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Percus- sion, Bass, and Phrases 1 - 3. Each Part has its own unique function and sound within the rhythm. The Part Mixer puts you in the producer’s seat — it lets you instantly throw Parts in and drop Parts out in real time, allowing you to arrange on the fly! The drum sounds (Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, and Percussion) are assigned to the gray keys, whereas the pitched sounds (Bass, Phrases 1 - 3) are assigned to the black keys. 28Take the console and remix the Parts! Step up to the mixer and start juggling the arrangement around! In the Part Mixer section, each press of a key alternately sounds or mutes the respective instrument. While the Pattern is playing, the lamp above the key flashes to indicate the Part is on. Turn it off (mute it), and the lamp goes off, too. Bril- liantly easy to understand, and a great help while playing live — since you can see at a glance which parts are active! Try it now! Press some of the keys. Turn the Parts on and off — and check out how each Part sounds, both on its own and with the others.
30 29Combination keys Sometimes you’ll want to mute or sound a group of Parts at the same time. Rather than having to grab several keys simultaneously, you can use the special combination keys, and turn several parts on or off together — instantly! The combination keys are: BASS+KICK, PHRASE1+2+3, and KICK+HI- HAT. For example, if you press BASS+KICK, the Bass and Kick Parts switch on and all the other Parts turn off. Try using these convenient arranging keys in your own performance for dynamic breakdowns! 30Turn them all on! Here’s a helpful tip! You can turn on all Parts instantly by simulta- neously pressing BASS+KICK, PHRASE1+2+3, and KICK+HI-HAT together.