Akai XR20 Drums User Manual


 
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5. TAP TEMPO – You can use this button to tap in a tempo. The XR20 will average the time
between successive taps and will derive a tempo. You can also change the tempo by holding
down the TAP TEMPO button and using the DATA dial or the INC / DEC buttons. The LED will
blink at a rate equal to the tempo displayed on the screen’s bottom right corner.
6. A & B – Each Pattern consists of two Main sub-patterns – A & B. You can select each of the two
sub-patterns by pressing its corresponding button. These sub-patterns allow you to program
variation in your Patterns (i.e. sub-pattern A is the verse, sub-pattern B is the chorus).
7. FILL – Each Pattern also includes two Fills associated with each of the two sub-patterns. The Fills
are used to transition from one sub-pattern to another (i.e. transition from verse to chorus).
8. ERASE – This button allows you to erase Patterns or Songs. Hold this button down and the
screen will prompt you to verify that you want to erase the selected element. To erase the part,
press the REC button while the ERASE button is being held down. In addition, ERASE allows you
to erase specific events in real-time as you compose your patterns. Simply hold down the ERASE
button as the Pattern plays and press the pad corresponding to the sound you wish to erase. Any
events assigned to the pad will be erased from the moment the pad is pressed until either the pad
or the ERASE button is released.
9. SAVE / COPY – This button allows you to save, copy or append the selected Pattern or Song to a
specific location, in addition to various other save / copy functions. The different functions can be
accessed by pressing the PAGE RIGHT button while holding down SAVE / COPY.
PATTERN SONG
SAVE
Saves the selected Pattern, along with all sub-
patterns, to a specific location, overwriting any
data which may already exist.
1. Press and hold COPY / SAVE.
2. Select the destination with the DATA dial
or INC / DEC buttons.
3. Press REC to save.
Saves the selected Song to memory,
overwriting any data which may exist.
1. Press and hold COPY / SAVE.
2. Select the destination with the DATA dial
or INC / DEC buttons.
3. Press REC to save.
COPY
Copies only the selected sub-pattern to the
destination’s sub-pattern.
1. Press and hold the SAVE / COPY button.
2. Press PAGE RIGHT
3. Select the destination Pattern with the
DATA dial or INC / DEC buttons.
4. Press A, B or FILL to select the
destination sub-pattern.
5. Press REC to copy.
APPEND
Appends the current Pattern and all its sub-
patterns to a selected Pattern. Note that
Patterns can only be appended to Patterns of
the same time signature.
1. Press and hold the SAVE / COPY button.
2. Press PAGE RIGHT twice.
3. Select the destination with the DATA dial.
4. Press REC to append.
Appends the current Song to another Song.
Note that the combined Song length cannot
exceed more than 254 steps.
1. Press and hold the SAVE / COPY button.
2. Press PAGE RIGHT.
3. Select the destination with the DATA dial.
4. Press REC to append.
10. MUTE – This button allows you to mute a selected instrument layer. Hold down the button and
press DRUM, PERC or SYNTH to mute the corresponding instrument layer. To un-mute the layer,
press the corresponding button again while MUTE is being held down.
NAVIGATION BUTTONS:
11. INC / DEC – These buttons are used to increment and decrement through values and settings on
the XR20.
12. DATA DIAL – This dial can also be used to increment and decrement values and settings.
13. NUMBER BUTTONS – Alternatively, you may use the number buttons to input values.
14. PAGE RIGHT / LEFT – These two buttons are used to go between pages of options when
browsing menus and settings.