Sometimes the improper use of something may bring to something interesting...

This issue is for those who use an unique Korg Workstation during live concerts, and those who rack their brains to organize their patches in the best possible way.

I know so many keyboard players that leap manually from a mode to the other (namely, PROGRAM, COMBI, SEQUENCER) and without any sense. In my opinion, this is inconvenient and makes the live performance difficult to manage.

A concrete and quick method, but at the same time constraining, is the activation of the "10's hold" button, in the numerical keypad. The above mentioned tool works as a rapid-call instrument for 10 patch of the same modality. For instance, by setting our COMBI from A000 position to A009 and activating the button, our keyboard works as if we have a secondary bank A00- and numbers from 0 to 9 recall by just one click our COMBI. It is a good solution only for certain situations, but it cannot be considered an ideal setting.

The method I am going to show you is slightly more complicated but really effective and quick to be programmed. This method works on Triton Extreme, M3 and M50, while it is only a theory (but I am pretty sure it could work) for Triton classic, studio, LE, Karma and TR. The most important features are the SEQUENCER and CUE LIST in the relevant submenu, so for instance this method is not applicable on X50, and Triton rack.

It's been ten years since I've started using the Triton series in every possible way, and since I've known the Jordan Rudess' settings, that is, to organize patches in sequence, even if they repeat themselves, and make them going on, I always use COMBIs as the sole tool to organize the whole, also for just a single patch. I have always deleted the preset banks to develop my own personal COMBIs and I have replaced the categories names with the band names or the cover band names I have and I had, too. Moreover, every COMBI had its own song name and position number according to the song itself.

For instance:

B043 – Hereafter

B044 – Hereafter 2

B045 – Hereafter 3

B046 – Hereafter 4

…..

This has always led to some problems:

1. Every single time I had to program a sound set for a new song, even if my sounds were already stored, I always had to copy them COMBI by COMBI, renaming everything
2. The day I decided to change my Hammond (it could have been any other patch, anyway), I modified a lot of COMBI to catch every Hammond program stored within them
3. Year by year, I have fully used all the banks of my Extreme, and everyone of you should know that I'm talking about one thousand slots, isn't it?
4. The day I decided to modify a sequence of sounds by inserting a COMBI in more than a song, God only knows how many manual edits I had to apply to make all the sounds shift one location forward
5. It always takes time to level the patches volumes... So much time!
6. It's never been easy to distinguish which was the sound I was using from the COMBI name, because it did not identify the PROGRAMS of which the COMBI was made up of.

Time ago I had a brilliant idea about how to solve these problems, and you must believe me, the solution I found is the ultimate solution! I started to use the SEQUENCER improperly: I started thinking about the SONGS as they were simply COMBIs. Thus, I created my sounds just once, copying them from those COMBIs already programmed time after time by the function "copy from combi".

hen I created the sound sequences by the CUE LIST, that is, the SONG dynamic lists. And... What about the outcome?Here you are:

1. Every time I have to program a sound set for a new song, I just have to recall them in a sequence in a new CUE LIST. To the utmost, I have to create some new COMBI in the SONGS, which is really quicker than in the past.
2. As I want to modify one of my sounds, I do it just once, and it is recallable by all the lists.
3. I do not change the COMBI locations anymore, so, if someone wants to keep the factory presets in place, he may do so.
4. If I want to modify a sound sequence in order to add or delete something, it is possible to do it in a couple of seconds.
5. It only takes a minute to level the patch volumes.
6. Every sound has its own specific name which describes what I actually hear when I play the keyboard (strings, EmA lead, choirs, piano+pad, Strings/Saw lead etc.)

Obviously, there are some drawbacks, but nothing insurmountable. The numbers here below refer to Triton Extreme:

1. The sequencer memory is temporary, as you shut down and restart, it will lose all data. You should save everything on a USB device, turn the keyboard on, upload contents, it only takes one minute!
2. The storable COMBI /SONG are just 128. Look at me: JUST 128???
3. The maximum number of the storable CUE LISTs is 20: just 20 songs indeed, but this does not constitute a problem; during the concert, as needed, it is possible to upload the second CUE LIST part, just a moment and everything will be done!
4. The keyboard pedal is often used to advance between the stored sounds: according to the test I carried out, only M3 could work this way, by setting the switch in GLOBAL mode, not as "program up" but as "Data Inc". All the other keyboards must go manually!

Hoping to have been helpful, I am at your complete disposal for any further clarifications you may need! I will be happy to defeat your stress!

Emanuele Casali http://www.myspace.com/emanuelecasali