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8.5 MODES

8. DIGITONE II CONTROLS > 8.5 MODES · PDF p. 24–29 · OS 1.10D

# 8.5 MODES

8. DIGITONE II CONTROLS
8. DIGITONE II CONTROLS
8.1 TRIG KEYS
The [TRIG] keys have several uses, including for example, triggering an audio/MIDI track from the active
pattern. They can also be used for placing trigs in the RECORDING modes. When pressed in combination
with the [PTN] and [SONG] keys, they select patterns and songs. The [TRIG] keys light up to indicate the
position of placed trigs and to indicate the selected bank and track.
8.2 ROTARY ENCODERS
The MAIN VOLUME is an absolute encoder, spanning roughly 320 degrees from its left extreme to its right
extreme. The LEVEL/DATA and DATA ENTRY knobs (with which you set various parameter values), are
relative encoders which may be spun any number of turns. Pressing and turning these encoders will change
their associated values at a greater speed.
8.3 KEY BEHAVIOR
As a group, the track selection keys (the [TRIG] keys) have radio button functionality, i.e. when a new track
is set to be active, the previous one is simultaneously deactivated. Only one track can be selected at a time.
Likewise, the group consisting of the six [PARAMETER] keys also have radio button functionality.
8.4 MIDI NOTES
Some functions can be triggered by sending MIDI note values from an external MIDI device (a MIDI key­
board or a computer, for example) connected to the Digitone II via a standard MIDI cable or a USB 2.0 A to
B connector cable.
Of the 128 notes in the standard MIDI range, Note numbers 0–15 correspond to notes C0 through to D#1,
the leftmost octave (which is sometimes called C2–D#2 in certain applications). These notes will trigger the
preset of track 1 through track 16, respectively (provided they are set to their default channels 1-16). These
notes values map to each of the sixteen tracks, regardless of which track is active.
MIDI note numbers 16–84, that corresponds to notes E2–C7 (C5, MIDI note 60, being middle C) will trigger
the preset of the active track in it’s chromatic variations (as if played by the [TRIG] keys in KEYBOARD
mode, see section below), from lowest to highest pitch.
MIDI program change messages 0–127 will select pattern 1–128 (A01–H16) on the Digitone II. Additionally,
MIDI CC and NRPN messages can be sent to control various aspects of the Digitone II. For more informa­
tion, please see “APPENDIX C: MIDI” on page 112.
8.5 MODES
There are several modes of operation on the Digitone II that decides what action the [TRIG] keys perform
when pressed.
8.5.1 KEYBOARD MODE
Press [KEYBOARD] to enter KEYBOARD mode. In this mode, you can play the preset of the active
audio track (or send MIDI notes if you have an active MIDI track). With KB SCALE set to CHROMATIC
and MODE set to NORMAL the [TRIG] keys will light up in a pattern that resembles an octave of a piano
keyboard layout. Only lit keys are playable. Press [TRK] + [TRIG 1–16] keys to select the track you want
to play.
Press the lit trig keys to play different notes. The range from [TRIG 9] key to [TRIG 16] key is one octave.
The whole note range you can trig is a little more than 10 octaves (C0–G10) You can transpose the key­
board 4 octaves up and 5 octaves down from the middle octave. Press [+]/[−] to transpose the virtual
keyboard up or down in octave steps. With U/D KEY MODE set to KB OCT,  you can also press [UP]/
[DOWN] to transpose the virtual keyboard when you are in KEYBOARD mode. For more information,
please see “13.7.4 U/D KEY MODE” on page 79.
Notes triggered can be recorded on the sequencer in LIVE RECORDING mode. Find out how this is done
in section “10.4 LIVE RECORDING MODE” on page 44.
Press [KEYBOARD] again to exit KEYBOARD mode.
In KEYBOARD mode the color of the [+]/[−] keys shows the current octave for the [TRIG]
keys. White: 1 octave up/down, Yellow: 2 octaves up/down, Orange: 3 octaves up/down,
Red: 4 octaves up/down, Dark Red: 5 octaves down.

8. DIGITONE II CONTROLS
8.5.2 KEYBOARD SETUP MENU
Press [FUNC] + [KEYBOARD] to open the KEYBOARD SETUP menu. Here you get a graphical view
of which notes the [TRIG] keys play. These settings then affect how you add notes/chords using the
[TRIG] keys to the sequencer in the LIVE RECORDING and STEP RECORDING modes and also in the
NOTE EDIT menu. Press [+]/[−] or [UP]/[DOWN] to transpose the keyboard up or down an octave. In
this menu, you can also set different musical scales, and select the root note of the scale and select
chord mode. Use the DATA ENTRY knobs to change the settings. Press [NO] to exit the menu. Press
[KEYBOARD] again to exit KEYBOARD mode. The settings are stored in the active pattern.
In the KEYBOARD SETUP menu, press and hold [FUNC] to open the CONFIG menu where
you can select if the settings for the parameters MODE, ROOT, and SCALE should be set
per pattern or per track.

MODE lets you select how the device handles note input from the [TRIG] keys.
NORMAL In this mode the the [TRIG] keys only play notes within the chosen scale. The [TRIG]
keys will light up in a pattern that resembles an octave of a piano keyboard layout. Only lit keys are
playable.
FOLDED This mode is similar to NORMAL, but changes the way the notes are laid out on the
[TRIG] keys. Now all the [TRIG] keys trigger a note. The [TRIG 9] key plays the lowest note of
the selected octave, root note and scale. The notes are then played upwards through the scale to
[TRIG 16] and then further upwards on [TRIG 1–8]. When a scale contains less than eight notes
in an octave, the “remaining” [TRIG] keys on the lower row will play the same notes as the first
[TRIG] keys on the upper row. Blue [TRIG] keys signal that they contain notes that are one or more
octaves distanced from each other.
In the following example of the whole tone scale [TRIG 15–16] keys play the same notes as the
[TRIG 1–2] keys. [TRIG 1] and [TRIG 15] both plays a note that is one octave above [TRIG 9]. [TRIG
7] plays a note that is two octaves above [TRIG 9].
CHORD ROOT In this mode, a chord based on the SCALE and ROOT settings are played when you
press a [TRIG] key. TYPE/SHAPE decides which type of chord is played. The chord stems from the
the lowest root note.
CHORD CENTER works the same as CHORD ROOT with one added functionality, CENTER PO­
SITION. This settings is indicated by a little arrow on the screen under the virtual keyboard. The
center position determines what note the other notes should be centered around. This is similar
to how a musician would play different chords, basically keeping the hand in the same position as
much as possible while changing the chords. The center position can be changed by pressing and
holding [KEYBOARD] and then pressing [+]/[−] to move it chromatically up and down. If you only
press [+]/[−], the center position automatically moves to correspond to the next inversion of the
chord, allowing quick up and down movements of the chord.
CHORD SPREAD works just like CHORD CENTER but in this mode every second note is trans­
posed one octave up, resulting in a more spread out chord.
CHORD MEMORY This mode allows playing back up to 16 previously configured chords per pattern.

8. DIGITONE II CONTROLS
Use the CHORD MEMORY LEARN feature to add chords that later can be played back in
the CHORD MEMORY mode. You can acces this learn functionality in any MODE.
1.	 When in the KEYBOARD SETUP menu, press [FUNC] + [YES] to open the CHORD
MEMORY LEARN feature.
2.	 Press the [TRIG] key(s) (or an external MIDI controller) to play and record your
chord. Press [FUNC] + [NO] if you wish to clear what you have recorded. Press
[FUNC] + [YES] to preview the chord you recorded.
3.	 Press [YES], and then use the [TRIG] keys to select a memory slot to save the
chord to.
4.	 Press [YES] to save the chord to the selected memory slot.
5.	 Repeat this process if you want to record additional chords.
6.	 Select CHORD MEMORY mode to play back the chords you recorded.
Copy, clear and paste commands are available in CHORD MEMORY mode.
ROOT sets the root note for the chosen scale.
SCALE sets the track’s scale. This setting governs which notes are playable on the Digitone II’s
[TRIG] keys to allow only notes in the set scale. For a list of all selectable keyboard scales, please see
”APPENDIX E: KEYBOARD SCALES” on page 119.
TYPE/SHAPE With SCALE set to CHROMATIC you have here a selection of different types of chords
(for example, MAJ, MIN, 7TH, MIN7, MAJ7, DIM) to choose from. With SCALE set to anything but
CHROMATIC, diatonic chords in the scale are created, and TYPE/SHAPE sets which notes in the
chord  are used.
For example, with ROOT set to C and SCALE to ION (white notes only), and SHAPE set to 1-3-5:
Playing a C note, this will create the notes C, E, G (C major)
Playing a D note, this will create the notes D, F, A (D minor)
Playing a C note on 1-3-5-7 will create the notes C, E, G, B (C major 7th) etc
You can also use [TRIG 1–8] to select shape which provides a quick access to the shapes and is use­
ful when playing the [TRIG] keys live by hand.
•	 You can also use an external keyboard to play the active tracks preset chromatically.
Connect the keyboard to the Digitone II and configure the external keyboard and the
Digitone II MIDI Auto Channel (SETTINGS > MIDI CONFIG > CHANNELS) to the same
MIDI channel. Then play the keys on the external keyboard to play the active tracks
preset chromatically. You can play the active track’s preset chromatically even if the
Digitone II is not in KEYBOARD mode.
BASS OCT adds another root bass note 1, 2, or 3 octaves below the original root.
Setting it to -1 will create a note one octave below (playing a C3 with TYPE/SHAPE set to 1-3-5 will
create the notes C2 C3 E3 G3). Setting it to -2 will create a note two octaves below.
If the chord has more than three notes, it will replace the root note for the bass note. So playing a C3
using SHAPE 1-3-5-7 and BASS OCT -1 will create the notes C2 E3 G3 B3
The BASS OCT parameter is only available if MODE is set to CHORD ROOT, CHORD CENTER, or
CHORD SPREAD.
If MODE is set to any of the CHORD modes variants, the [TRIG] keys will not light up
since a chord consists of several notes.

8. DIGITONE II CONTROLS
8.5.3 MUTE MODE
You can use MUTE mode to mute any of the 16 sequencer tracks. Unlike KEYBOARD mode,
it makes no difference which track is active when you enter MUTE mode. All tracks are accessed simul­
taneously. Press any of the [TRIG] keys to mute the corresponding track. Press again to unmute. The
color of the [TRIG] keys indicates it’s tracks mute status.  Lit keys signify unmuted tracks. Unlit keys
signify muted tracks.
There are two different versions of MUTE mode on the Digitone II:
• GLOBAL MUTE MODE In GLOBAL MUTE mode, the muted tracks are muted in all patterns. In this
mode, the [TRACK] keys are lit green. If a track with trigs placed on it is muted in GLOBAL MUTE
mode, its [TRACK] key blinks green when the pattern plays.
Press [FUNC] + [TRK] to enter GLOBAL MUTE mode.
Press [FUNC] + [TRK] to exit GLOBAL MUTE mode.
• PATTERN MUTE MODE In PATTERN MUTE mode, the muted tracks are muted only in the active
pattern. In this mode, the [TRACK] keys are lit magenta. If a track with trigs placed on it is muted in
PATTERN MUTE mode, its [TRACK] key blinks magenta when the pattern plays.
Press [FUNC] + double-press [TRK] to enter PATTERN MUTE mode.
Press [FUNC] + [TRK] to exit PATTERN MUTE mode.
The GLOBAL MUTE mode settings are saved together with the project. The PATTERN MUTE mode
settings are saved together with the pattern.
If a track with trigs placed on it is muted in PATTERN MUTE and GLOBAL MUTE mode, its [TRACK] key
blinks magenta in both modes when the pattern plays.
You can also prepare tracks for muting/unmuting before the mute action takes effect. While in any MUTE
mode, press and hold [FUNC] and then press the [TRIG] keys corresponding with the tracks you want
to mute/unmute. The selected tracks will then be muted/unmuted when you release [FUNC]. At the top
of the screen you can see an overview of the mute status for all the tracks. Square = unmuted track,
horizontal line = muted track, a plus sign = a track prepared to be unmuted, an X = track prepared to be
muted.
•	 You can also use QUICK MUTE to mute and unmute sequencer tracks. Press and hold
[FUNC] and then press the [TRACK] keys to mute or unmute tracks.
•	 Digitone II remembers the last used version of MUTE mode and will access this one first
when you press [FUNC] + [TRK]. This also applies to QUICK MUTE.
8.5.4 TRIG MODE
The various TRIG modes affect the functionality of the [TRIG 1–16] keys. Press [FUNC] + [UP] or
[DOWN] to select which TRIG mode that should be active. The selected TRIG mode is active for all the
tracks. All actions performed using the trig modes can be recorded in LIVE RECORDING mode.
TRACKS
This is the default TRIG mode. In this mode, the [TRIG 1–16] keys triggers the corresponding audio/
MIDI tracks.
VELOCITIES
In this TRIG mode, the [TRIG 1–16] keys triggers the active track with different amounts of velocity.
Trig 1 = Velocity 8
Trig 2 = Velocity 16
Trig 3 = Velocity 24
Trig 4 = Velocity 32
Trig 5 = Velocity 40
Trig 6 = Velocity 48

8. DIGITONE II CONTROLS
Trig 7 = Velocity 56
Trig 8 = Velocity 64
Trig 9 = Velocity 72
Trig 10 = Velocity 80
Trig 11 = Velocity 88
Trig 12 = Velocity 96
Trig 13 = Velocity 104
Trig 14 = Velocity 112
Trig 15 = Velocity 120
Trig 16 = Velocity 127
RETRIGS
In this TRIG mode, the [TRIG 1–16] keys triggers the active track with different amounts retrig rates.
Trig 1 = Retrig rate 1/1
Trig 2 = Retrig rate 1/2
Trig 3 = Retrig rate 1/3
Trig 4 = Retrig rate 1/4
Trig 5 = Retrig rate 1/5
Trig 6 = Retrig rate 1/6
Trig 7 = Retrig rate 1/8
Trig 8 = Retrig rate 1/12
Trig 9 = Retrig rate 1/16
Trig 10 = Retrig rate 1/20
Trig 11 = Retrig rate 1/24
Trig 12 = Retrig rate 1/32
Trig 13 = Retrig rate 1/40
Trig 14 = Retrig rate 1/48
Trig 15 = Retrig rate 1/64
Trig 16 = Retrig rate 1/80
PRESET POOL
In this TRIG mode, the [TRIG 1–16] keys triggers sixteen preset slots in the preset pool. The first page
triggers the presets in slots 1–16. Press [PAGE] + [RIGHT] to go to page 2 to trigger the presets in
slots 17–32 and so on. Press [PAGE] + [LEFT/RIGHT] to select which slots you wish to trigger. For
more information, please see “9.1 THE +DRIVE LIBRARY AND THE POOL” on page 29.
The RETRIGS and PRESET POOL trig modes are only supported on audio tracks.

9. PATTERNS, KITS AND PRESETS
9. PATTERNS, KITS AND PRESETS
The patterns are the primary data container for the Digitone II. Sixteen patterns are available for each of the
eight banks, which means that 128 patterns are available for each project. A pattern contains up to 16 pre­
sets (one for each track), sequencer data like trigs and parameter locks. It also contains the default settings
on the TRIG page and BPM, length, swing and time signature settings.
A kit is a collection of 16 presets, one for every track together with a number of kit related settings. A preset
is either an audio track preset or a MIDI track preset. Audio track presets contain all settings from the SYN,
FLTR, AMP, FX, and MOD PARAMETER pages, and MIDI track presets contain all settings from the SYN,
FLTR, AMP, and MOD PARAMETER pages. Any preset can be assigned to any of the 16 tracks.
A preset or kit that has been imported from the +Drive to a pattern becomes part of the active pattern. Any
changes made to a preset/kit will therefore not affect the stored preset/kit. It will only affect the preset/
kit in the active pattern. You can export (and in that way save) a preset/kit from the active pattern to the
+Drive. For more information, please see “9.2 PRESET/KIT MENU” on page 30.
When a preset or a kit is imported to a pattern, it becomes a copy of the preset/kit on the
+Drive and is not linked to the original preset/kit stored on the +Drive. Instead, it fully be­
comes a part of the pattern.
A pattern contains:
•	 A kit.
•	 Sequencer data such as trigs and parameter locks for the 16 tracks.
•	 The settings on the TRIG page, BPM, length, swing and time signature settings.
A kit contains:
•	 16 audio or MIDI track presets.
•	 LEVEL settings for the audio tracks and the pattern.
•	 Compressor and Master distortion settings
•	 Compressor routing and Control all settings
•	 Send FX settings
•	 Track layering settings
•	 Patterns transpose settings
A preset contains:
•	 The SYN, FLTR, AMP, FX and MOD PARAMETER pages settings for the audio track. Or, in the case of
MIDI presets, the SYN, FLTR, AMP, and MOD PARAMETER pages settings for the MIDI track.
9.1 THE +DRIVE LIBRARY AND THE POOL
The +Drive library can hold up to 2048 presets (256 presets in each bank A-H) that are available to all proj­
ects. The kits are also stored here.
Presets can be loaded to a pattern from either the +Drive library or the pool (Project RAM) of the active
project. The difference between the two is that the +Drive library has the capacity of 2048 presets, avail­
able to all projects, while the pool is a part of a projects internal memory and limited to 128 presets. The
primary benefit of presets loaded to the pool is the possibility for them to be preset locked. This feature is
not available for the presets in the +Drive library. For more information, please see “10.12.2 PRESET LOCKS”
on page 50.
9.1.1 ADDING PRESETS TO THE POOL
You must first add presets to the pool to be able to perform preset locks.
1.	 Press [PRESET/KIT] to open the PRESET/KIT menu.
2.	 Select (PRESET) MANAGE, and then press [YES] to open the PRESET MANAGER.
3.	 Select the presets you want to add to the pool by highlighting them and pressing [YES].
4.	 Press [LEFT] to open the PRESET SORTING menu.
5.	 Select ADD TO PRESET POOL and then press [YES].
MIDI presets can not be added to the preset pool

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