How to format the stubborn SD-Card

You may have experienced that your SD-Card can not be opened, copied and paste, even formatted. There are several ways to solve the problem.

First, using repairer software, namely MMC Medic and HP USB Storage Format Tool. This tool helps you to repair your SD-Card, so the possibility of data loss can be reduced. You can find the software in Mr. Google by yourself.

If the above mentioned tools still can not solve the problem, try the following method.

• Insert SD-Card into the Card Reader.
• Find SD-Card drive (see Windows Explorer menu), for example, on the drive (D, E, F, G, H, etc). 
• If the memory drive is found, click the right mouse button, and then select the 'Format'. Next will come the format choices (FAT, FAT32), make sure you select FAT format.
• Click 'Format Now' and wait until finish. If the message 'error' was occurred, it means the formatting process doesn't complete, and the SD Card can't be formatted in this way. Use another format way, you can try via the Command line menu.

Bellow I show you the procedure to format the SD Card from the command line.

• On the PC, click 'Start'> Run, and type CMD. Command window will appear in the DOS prompt mode. 
• Next type FORMAT H: / FS: FAT (H = drive layout of the SD-CARD), if the SD-CARD is located on drive G, then write G: / FS: FAT.
• Wait to finish. If the problem persists on the SD-CARD, please use another Card Reader. But if it is still not recovered, the memory card must be exchanged with the seller, if it's still under warranty, or you have to buy a new SD-Card if it's not. I recommend that you always backup your data frequently. So when something like this happens, your data is not lost.

Hopefully useful

How to fix problems caused by low memory for KORG PA50, 60, & 80

Low memory which is caused by the full capacity available on the the SSD or Solid State Disk can damage your PA keyboard. It makes the keyboard doesn't operate normally as usual. It can not record, save, or edit the style record, even worse it might be hang, so we stuck and can't continue our work.

Although the capacity of the SSD memory on the keyboard KORG PA already adjusted to the program contents and its existing style, sometimes the users must face this problem. It usually happens as you replace the factory preset style with your own home-made style. It could be the style you created exceeds the default capacity of the factory, because you might fill all the chord variations. Or perhaps the SSD on your keyboard is dirty caused by the frequent charge of assembling the program on the keyboard, or the remnants of the existing programs on media storage such as Floppy Disk, SD Card or USB flash drive.

If you fall into the such problem and want to restore it back, there are a few tips as alternative that can be tried before you bring your KORG Keyboard to the service center.

1. First, check your memory capacity, by

• Press Disk
• Select Page 8 (Utility Menu)
• Select SSD info on the second line. Note: Make sure that the free memory still above 1000 Kb, because it is the minimum requirment of the free memory for KORG PA50, PA60, & PA80 to be able running normally.

If your free memory is less than 1000 Kb, then the next step is, 

2. You have to restore the data of your keyboard to the factory default.
 
Install the backup data disk to your keyboard. You can have it from Korg PA's official website.

• Press Disk
• Select Page 8 (Utility Menu)
• Select Restore

Just follow the next command. If your keyboard is the floppy disk version, you have to put the backup data file into 5 diskette, and patiently enter the disk one by one (install the 5 disk backing up data sequentially).

3. Check again how much the rest of your free memory? (Repeat the step 1)

4. If they are above 1000 Kb, it means the problem has been solved completely. But if the free memory is still under 1000 Kb, it means that you haven't succeed. You have to repeat the 2nd step several times. Do also Operating System (OS) reinstalling before you go back to the step 2 if it's necessary.

The procedure to reinstall the OS is very simple. You just have to shut down your keyboard. Put in your OS installation disk. Turn on your keyboard, and then press enter. You just have to wait until the installation process finished.
 
5. Check again your memory! Have it success or not? 

When the remaining memory is back to normal (above 1000 Kb), then the trouble is over. But if the free memory is still below 1000 Kb, please take it to the Service Center.

User Style Trobleshooting in PA50 Diskette/SD and Micro Arranger

We often face problems with our PA50 /  Micro Arranger that the User Style can not be loaded, read, moreover played. We just can say that the user style of the our keyboard is error or broken. But don't worry. There are a lot of way to fix the problem. First you can format and reinstall the OS, but it's recommended that the keyboard must be backed up first to avoid an error during the re-installation progress.


If after the reinstallation the user style still error, here I provide you a trick to fix the problem. Hopefully this trick can solve your problem.

1. Open Disk, select Erase, if there is no floppy disk / SD, inevitably arises: No Disk / Unformatted - Press Exit. You just hit the exit. 
2. Press F1 [SSD], then you will see the Global, Perform, Program, and Style. If you want to remove all the style, just press F2 [Delete]. 
3. To delete a bank 1-16. Open the disk, select the Utilities menu, scroll by pressing the Page button, once again. Select the Fact. Style Protect, then switch ON mode to OFF. That way, the default style keyboard can be removed or replaced all. 
4. If when you select a style in the user still appear "It is not PA Series", load user style with label 24, 25, 26, 27 (Normally it's just need 24, 25, 26 to replace the 3 broken users). To create the 24, 25, 26, & 27 user styles, you can just rename your ordinary 1, 2, 3 user styles to 24, 25, 26 on your computer. Then load on the user. 
5. To delete just 1 style, go to the step one above, then delete one by one style in each users.

In this way, actually we do not need to format the OS.

How to use 3 Set of User Style in 1 Floppy Disk (Diskette) Without Loading. The trick might be also useful for the PA50SD

For users who still use the KORG PA50 Floppy Disks, there are a few tricks that may be helpful here.

Functioning Direct FD is the fastest way to access a style in KORG PA50. This function is very phenomenal in the KORG's family. Here I share a special tricks for users KORG PA50.

If we see, fellow gentlemen who use PA50 Diskette has always lacked for style storage, thus making the floppy disks are piled up. If you use the function of Direct FD, obviously each disks must be filled by only one set of style. It's because the Direct FD can't read more than one style set. This feels very difficult alright? Moreover diskette is a rare commodity today.

Here the trick to solve the problem.
 
Save the three sets of style to the floppy. Named the set differently, for example:
     6Pop.set
     7Regae.set
     8Mix.set
 
Actually the function of the Direct FD is reading a set of style with the earliest alphabetic sequencing, both numbers and letters. By changing the base name of the style set, then we can specify which set that will be read on Direct FD. Suppose we want to get style from 7Regae.set, then we just rename it to 5Regae.set. By changing 7 to 5, then when we press the Direct FD's button, the 5Regae.set will be read on, and so on for the other style set. As long as we do it fast, the process of finding the desired style will be more faster, even without loading.

Actually this trick also can be applied on the KORG PA50SD. Although the keyboard type has been using SD CARD as its storage data, but still the Direct FD function only reads one style set file with earliest alphabetic.

Hopefully useful..

How to fix Joystick trouble for KORG PA50SD, PA500, Micro Arranger

Many of the KORG PA-Series users experience problems with his joystick. Joystick movement in PA-series generally X (- / + or left / right) for Pitch Bend, and Y (+ / - or front / rear) for Modulation. Actually, in this case the problem is always on the Pitch Bend. Problems with the Pitch Bend is caused by the movement of the Modulation, the Y forward and backward movement causing wires of the Pitch Bend stretched and tightened. It breaks connection between the Panel Board and the Pitch Bend Connector.

Here's I show you how to solve the joystick problem for the KORG PA500 (it's might be analogically same for the other PA-Series), 

• Once the chassis is opened we go directly to the joystick! 
• Open 4 screws that locked up the joystick shell.
• Open one screw that's in the middle of the joystick shell.
• Then remove the pitch bend potentiometer.   
• Uninstall / off the male connector from the potentiometer PCB of the Pitch Bend  
• Cut the three cables precisely at the base of the female connector. In this case, it is recommended for the beginners to mark the position of the cord to prevent reverse in the installation back
• Tape the cable back to the potentio PCB! In this point we do not use connector anymore. 
• IMPORTANT: Give leeway cable spacing, so it's not stuck when the joystick move back (Y-)

Hopefully useful ..

Making different Voice per-Oktaf in KORG PA-500

Be able to include different voice in each octaves on the keyboard tuts is one of the special features provided in KORG PA-500. The keyboard has 5 octaves with each octaves can be filled by various sounds.

For example:
Octaves 1 to 2 are usually used as the SPLIT POINT limits.
We can fill Octave 3 with PIANO only (UPPER 1),
Octave 4 with STRINGS only (UPPER 2),
and then Octave 5 can be filled with GUITAR (UPPER3).

1. Choose one voice to put in UPPER 1. For example we choose PIANO  
2. Choose the other voice to put in UPPER 2. For example: STRINGS
3. Choose a different voice with the preceding UPPERs. For example: GUITAR
4. Click the MENU
5. Choose KEYBOARD ENSEMBLE 
6. At the bottom tab, select KEY VELOCITY. TOP KEY means how long the octaves that will be occupied by the chosen voice. BOTTOM KEY means the early keys to be sounded. TOP VELOCITY  means the maximum touch volume of each chosen voice.
7. Once done, save it by clicking the triangle button on the top right
8. Select WRITE PERFORMANCE.
9. Put into User (PERFORMANCE BANK)

As the result, you will hear different sound in each octaves on the keyboard turts.

Create an Own Style in KORG PA50SD / Micro Arranger PS50SD .

• Make sure your position on the 'STYLE PLAY'.
• Press the RECORD button,

1. Select 'New Style' if you want to create a new style, or
2. Select 'Current Style' if intending to edit \ create a style by taking the style from the internal keyboard.

• Press any key volume / value that is there beside the left and right to adjust the display:

1. E: V1 (Variations 1-4), use the cursor F2 to go to the CV:CV1 (Chord Variations 1-6). CV2-6 can be used if needed,
2. CV Len: 4 (CV Length 1-16 bar)
3. Resol: 1/16 (resolution/quantize HI, 1/32, 1/24, 1/16, 1/12, 1/8)
4. Arrange chord that will be used as the basis for recording is C Maj. When recording a minor in intro/ending, major chord position have to change to a minor chord position, ex: C m.
5. RL: 2 (Rec Length is always associated with CV: Len and shows the number of bars which will be recorded)
6. Metronome: On1/On2 (interval of one or two bars just started recording)
7. Meter: 4 / 4 (Time signature)
8. NTT: 5th (Root, i series, no transpose)

• To set the tempo can be done by pressing the 'SHIFT', hold and use the controls Tempo/Value, to change this.
• Press the 'TRK SELECT' to select the type of instrument sounds that will be used each of his tracks.
• When all was ready, press the Start/Stop to start recording. Press the Start/Stop once again to stop it.
• If you want to delete the data per-track press the TRK SELECT buttons to display 8 tracks instrument, then press and hold the DELETE button (Synchro Start/Stop) and then select the tracks to be removed ("Are You Sure?), Press Enter/Yes. And if you want to delete the data per-note (usually on the drum track or Percusion) can be done in a way; let the style keep it running, press the DELETE (Synchro Start/Stop) and hold down then press note which will be removed.
• If you want to do editing like Event Edit, Copy or Delete the instruments data, one or overall variation, press MENU:

1. Select Delete if you want to delete the data, set data to be deleted, press Enter/Yes 2x. Press page (+) once again if you want to delete it entirely.
2. Select the copy if you want to copy the data per-track, per-element style, as well as good overall variation of internal style and another copy of the style. Use the Volume/Value, or Down/- Up/+ to set or change parameters.
3. Select event edit if you want to edit the data per note/event on the desired track as the drums, bass etc. How: specify the track, press the Start/Stop (use the buttons such as STS and Volume/Value that is there besides the left and right cursor displays as well as the play button to change the parameters)

• Before recording the next track, you can exercise first using sounds that have been selected, except on the drum track or percussion,

1. Make a sound that was in position selected mute (temporarily dead) by pressing both buttons volume / value besides the left / right display at the same time.
2. Press the Start/Stop and start to practice (this process is not in recording position). If you want to record again press both buttons volume / value so that the position was once again back to normal. Press the Star/Stop buttons and start recording.

Note: If you want to record a minor Intro/Ending minor chord arrangements should also be changed to a minor after that open the page to see Chord Variations Table. Arrange minor (m) changed from one to two digits.

• When it all completed, the recording process for storing the user can be done by:

1. Press the "Record" or "write the disc in use".
2. Press any key Volume/Value on the left displays that associated with the style.
3. Make the desired style name with moving or turning controls Tempo/Value, to search for letters, and press the Down/Up whenever you want to shift the cursor.
4. Press any key Volume/Value (Bass/Perc) and then press the Down/Up to select the user's style that will be overwritten, for example as the Mazurka.
5. Press Enter/Yes 2x, then the mazurka position will change with the new style.

• If the style that was created did not want to be included into the user's style or canceled, then select 'Abort' and press Enter / yes 2x.