Live gig workflow: best practice for setlist & song load

Technobob13 · Post by **Technobob13** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 7:07 pm

Hi all

New member here, I don't yet have a M50 (soon, soon...) but I used to own a Triton classic a LONG time ago as well as recently a TR61 and I still have a Karma. However, I've never used any of them with their respective sequencers, having always used software to record.

Anyway, I'm now in a band and I'm looking to use the RPPR facility to playback phrases/loops etc. I know this can only be done using songs, as oppsoed to combis with which I'm already familiar.

I'm a little confused as to how to quickly load songs live on stage, as well as how to change the order of songs for each gig.

So, can anyone who plays live kindly explain their workflow, initially how they get their songs in the right order (creating a setlist of around 30-40 songs) and then how they load songs quickly live.

Also, although I have a Karma, it uses a floppy disk to store data and is very slow and also floppies are not 100% reliable, hence me looking to buy a M50. How fast is loading songs from an SD card?

I know there's a lot of questions here, and I really should know the answers having owned a Triton, TR61 and Karma, but I'm stumped?

Thanks in advance,

TechnoBob13

mrteclas · Post by **mrteclas** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 7:51 pm

Anyway, I'm now in a band and I'm looking to use the RPPR facility to playback phrases/loops etc. I know this can only be done using songs, as oppsoed to combis with which I'm already familiar.

RPPR patters can be used in Combi mode. You first need to create the pattern, then export it as a Drum Track. Then, assign it to a sound in Combi mode. This makes the Drum track unavailable for anything else, but hey, it's good enough.

How fast is loading songs from an SD card?

Well, it depends on the song. I don't know how fast, but definitely faster than floppy drive. Besides, you have much more storage space, and the M50 has the Cue List function, this enables to set songs in any order you want, making a live setup very easily.

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:33 pm

When loading songs for live use on stage, load each file in order with the 'append' rather than 'clear' option. Then your first will go into S001, 2nd into S002, etc.

You can then save all of these into another sequencer file which is effectively your setlist. This is the way I work with it.

Also keep in mind that sequencer mod is very similar to combi mode so it shouldn't be too complicated for you. There are just a few differences regarding EXT timbres.

If you already have a combi you want to use for your song, just hold down ENTER + REC and it will be instantly imported into a new song in the sequencer.

Technobob13 · Post by **Technobob13** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:44 pm

mrteclas wrote:
Anyway, I'm now in a band and I'm looking to use the RPPR facility to playback phrases/loops etc. I know this can only be done using songs, as oppsoed to combis with which I'm already familiar.
RPPR patters can be used in Combi mode. You first need to create the pattern, then export it as a Drum Track. Then, assign it to a sound in Combi mode. This makes the Drum track unavailable for anything else, but hey, it's good enough.

How fast is loading songs from an SD card?
Well, it depends on the song. I don't know how fast, but definitely faster than floppy drive. Besides, you have much more storage space, and the M50 has the Cue List function, this enables to set songs in any order you want, making a live setup very easily.

Thanks mretclas for the quick response to my questions

However, I'm sorry to appear dense but does that mean I can or can't start and stop drum/bass/melody loops using the keyboard in combi mode, which is what I want to do? I thought it could only be done in song mode?

Thanks in advance...

TechnoBob13

Technobob13 · Post by **Technobob13** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 9:50 pm

X-Trade wrote:When loading songs for live use on stage, load each file in order with the 'append' rather than 'clear' option. Then your first will go into S001, 2nd into S002, etc.

You can then save all of these into another sequencer file which is effectively your setlist. This is the way I work with it.

Also keep in mind that sequencer mod is very similar to combi mode so it shouldn't be too complicated for you. There are just a few differences regarding EXT timbres.

If you already have a combi you want to use for your song, just hold down ENTER + REC and it will be instantly imported into a new song in the sequencer.

WOW!! Thanks X-Trade, that is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for, real-life example of how its done! Is there a limit to the amount of songs that can be loaded and saved as a new song file? Does this new file with all the songs (i.e. setlist) still have all the original data e.g. patterns for RPPR playback from keyboard?

Sorry for the extra questions, but its going to be a while before I get to demo an M50 for myself then but I can print out this valuable info you're all giving me and try it out for myself!

Thanks again

TechnoBob13

X-Trade · Post by **X-Trade** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 10:08 pm

When you save a sequencer file, it is a sequencer file, not just a 'song' file, it contains the whole content of the sequencer. I'm fairly sure you can have up to 127 or 128 songs loaded in the sequencer.

By the way, the method I mentioned is the way I am working with my KARMA at the moment. I'm looking into replacing RPPR with an Ableton Live setup.

Technobob13 · Post by **Technobob13** » Sun Jan 16, 2011 11:36 pm

X-Trade wrote:When you save a sequencer file, it is a sequencer file, not just a 'song' file, it contains the whole content of the sequencer. I'm fairly sure you can have up to 127 or 128 songs loaded in the sequencer.

By the way, the method I mentioned is the way I am working with my KARMA at the moment. I'm looking into replacing RPPR with an Ableton Live setup.

BRILLIANT! Thanks for the additional info X-Trade, so it looks like I can load up to 128 songs at a time from 1 big file, created in the order I want. So I just load this one big file from the SD card and all the songs inside are loaded into the correct song slots in the M50 e.g. song001 in first slot, song 002 in second etc.?

Sorry if all this is 'old hat' to all of you but to me this is a real eye opener, I can tell you!!

Talking of which, is there a topic/page/forum anywhere dedicated to hints & tips on this and other Korg synth subjects? I've heard about another forum, www.korgfans.com, but it appears to be dead?

Anyway, thanks again!

TechnoBob13

mrteclas · Post by **mrteclas** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:42 am

However, I'm sorry to appear dense but does that mean I can or can't start and stop drum/bass/melody loops using the keyboard in combi mode, which is what I want to do? I thought it could only be done in song mode?

If you want to play a song while you have a drum base and a bass/melody loop, the best way would be playing in "Sequencer" mode.

But, if you create a pattern in Sequencer mode, save it and then export it as a drum track pattern, you can use it in Combi mode. This is a great way to stay in Combi mode and having a loop on any of the keys, assigned to a sound. But, you can't have 2 Drum Tracks at the same time, so it's the loop or a drum base. Got it?

(I'm not from EE.UU. not England, so I understand what you say, but not as you intended it to be)

Technobob13 · Post by **Technobob13** » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:33 pm

mrteclas wrote:
However, I'm sorry to appear dense but does that mean I can or can't start and stop drum/bass/melody loops using the keyboard in combi mode, which is what I want to do? I thought it could only be done in song mode?
If you want to play a song while you have a drum base and a bass/melody loop, the best way would be playing in "Sequencer" mode.

But, if you create a pattern in Sequencer mode, save it and then export it as a drum track pattern, you can use it in Combi mode. This is a great way to stay in Combi mode and having a loop on any of the keys, assigned to a sound. But, you can't have 2 Drum Tracks at the same time, so it's the loop or a drum base. Got it?

Thanks for the clarification and I do now 'get it'

Still a very handy feature to know about.

Thanks again

TechnoBob13

Mr.Green · Post by **Mr.Green** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 9:26 pm

mrteclas wrote: But, if you create a pattern in Sequencer mode, save it and then export it as a drum track pattern, you can use it in Combi mode. This is a great way to stay in Combi mode and having a loop on any of the keys, assigned to a sound.

That sounds good. I need to RTFM and study this keyboard more.

Can you dynamically change the tempo of your pattern using the tap button? For when you play with one of those vintage human drummers.

mrteclas · Post by **mrteclas** » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:41 pm

Of course, the Drum Track pattern responds to the internal clock, so tweaking the tempo knob or the tap tempo switch affects it's speed.