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EK-50 Owner’s Manual Table of Contents Main Features.......................................................................... 3 Connecting to an external device........................................26 Part Names............................................................................... 4 Connecting an audio player.................................................... 26 Connecting powered monitor speakers................................. 26 Connecting to a computer...............................
Main Features Thank you for purchasing the Korg EK‑50 Entertainer keyboard. To help you get the most out of your new instrument, please read this manual carefully. Main Features About this manual Playing with different sounds The EK-50 comes with the following manuals. • Quick Start Guide (printed) • Owner’s Manual (this document, PDF) • Voice Name List (PDF) The EK‑50 lets you play many different kinds of instrument sounds in addition to piano, violin, sax, drums and so on. ...............
Part Names Part Names Front panel Display (page 6) Sheet music stand insertion holes (page 8) Built-in speakers (page 8) Built-in speakers (page 8) Joystick (page 13) Keyboard Rear panel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1. Cable hook........................................................................................ page 7 6. AUDIO IN jack............................................................................ page 26 2. DC 12V jack 7. Headphones jack ( ( ) ....................................
Part Names Control panel Style list 1 Song list 2 3 4 5 6 7 Keyboard list 8 9 10 Power button ( (page 7) ) 11 12 13 14 18 VOLUME knob (page 8) 17 16 15 1. MODE section................................................................................. page 9 16. SET LIST section................................................................... page 10, 17 2. KEYBOARD SET/[STS] button...................................... page 10, 15 17. STYLE/SONG section STYLE/[MUSIC STYLE] button..
Part Names Display Chord Displays the name of the chord played within the chord recognition range. : Displays the tempo of the style or song. : Lights up to display the beat of the style or song. Tempo lock icon (page 12) Displays when the tempo is locked. Battery indicator Displays the remaining amount of battery power when running on batteries. : Displays when the style or song have stopped. The octave and transpose state are displayed to the right.
Preparing to Play 7 Preparing to Play Using the AC adapter Replacing the batteries 1. 2. Note: This indicator will not be displayed while the AC adapter Make sure that the power on this instrument is turned off. Connect the DC plug of the included AC adapter to the DC 12V jack located on the rear panel of the EK‑50. The battery indicator is displayed at the top right-hand part of the display. is plugged in. Be sure to use only the included AC adapter.
Preparing to Play Adjusting the volume Using a pedal yy Turn the VOLUME knob on the front panel to adjust the sound to the optimum level. The VOLUME knob sets the volume of sound coming from the built-in speakers, the headphones jack and the OUTPUT jacks. You can plug an optional pedal (sold separately) into the FOOT CONTROLLER jack on the rear panel to use as a damper pedal, or to control the volume.
Basic operations 9 Basic operations About modes Selecting sounds and changing values The EK‑50 features two different modes, a style mode and a song mode. Use the dial, the numerical buttons, the + and – buttons and the CATEGORY button when selecting sounds or changing the values of the settings. Press the appropriate MODE section button on the front panel to enter one of the modes. 1 4 2 3 1. Dial When turning on the EK‑50, the instrument will automatically enter style mode.
Playing the EK‑50 (style mode) Playing the EK‑50 (style mode) 1. Selecting a grand piano yy Press the GRAND PIANO button. This will quickly select the grand piano sound. Press the KEYBOARD SET/[STS] button. will blink on the display, and the keyboard set name will be displayed. 1 2 2. Selecting the keyboard set The keyboard set is a group of sounds used in keyboard performance. There are over 170 keyboard sets, divided into 17 groups.
Playing the EK‑50 (style mode) Changing the sounds on the left and right (split) You can divide the keyboard into a high note range (for upper 1–3 parts) and a low note range (for lower part). This is called a split function, and the key where the sound changes (the next note directly below the upper part) is called the split point. Turn the split function on when you want to play different sounds with your left and right hands. You can also change the sounds for each part (see page 12 “Changing sounds”).
Playing the EK‑50 (style mode) Locking the tempo (tempo lock) yy Press the TAP TEMPO/[TEMPO LOCK] button while holding down the [SHIFT] button (the tempo lock icon will light on the display). Setting the key and octave Transposing (changing the key) You can change the key of this instrument in semitones, over a range of ±1 octave. The key that is currently set is shown in the display. yy To lower the key: Press the TRANSPOSE ♭/[OCTAVE –] button.
Playing the EK‑50 (style mode) 13 Changing the octave for each part Selecting effects 1. Each keyboard set contains two effects (effect 1 and effect 2), which change the sound and its impression depending on the effects you select. Press the part button for the part you want to change while holding down the [SHIFT] button (the part button will blink). and the sound name will blink on the display. 1.
Auto-accompaniment (style mode) Auto-accompaniment (style mode) Playing along with auto-accompaniment 4. Auto-accompaniment is a function that automatically plays accompaniment to match the chord that you specify. The EK‑50 features accompaniment patterns in various styles, such as dance, rock, jazz, Latin and so on. These patterns are called styles. There are over 280 styles, divided into 17 groups. Press the SPLIT button to activate the keyboard split feature (the button will light).
Auto-accompaniment (style mode) Making changes to the autoaccompaniment Adding an intro or setting a variation Use the buttons in the STYLE section to make changes to the auto-accompaniment, such as adding an intro, fill-ins and breaks, and an ending. 15 Using the SYNCHRO START and SYNCHRO START/ STOP functions This function allows you to start the accompaniment when you play the keyboard (SYNCHRO START), or accompany you only when you are playing the keyboard (SYNCHRO START/STOP).
Auto-accompaniment (style mode) Adjusting the volume of the keyboard and accompaniment parts You can adjust the volume balance between the keyboard and accompaniment parts. This is useful for making a solo that you play on the keyboard stand out over the accompaniment, or for simply performing with good sound balance. Keyboard part Accompaniment part Choosing a music style and playing Instead of choosing a style, you can select a music style and then play or record.
Auto-accompaniment (style mode) 17 Saving the set list (WRITE) Recording your performance A set list contains saved settings such as style, tempo, keyboard set and effect settings. Once you have customized the settings for a style, we recommend that you save your settings as a set list. You can record as you play along with the auto-accompaniment. 1. 1. In style mode, customize the style such as changing the sound of the keyboard part, changing the octave and so on. 2.
Song mode Song mode Note: User songs are recordings of songs that you have played on the EK‑50 (see page 17 “Recording your performance”). Listening to the demo songs The EK‑50 has 18 built-in demo songs. This shows you how to listen to the songs. Tip: See “Playing along with a song” (page 18) for how to play along with a demo song. 1. Press the SONG/[DEMO SONG] button while holding down the [SHIFT] button.
Song mode Playing back part of a song in a loop This feature lets you play back part of a song over and over (loop playback). Quick loop playback Press the LOOP button to loop the playback of the current measure. (For MP3 and WAV files, playback will be looped from 1 second prior to the point where the LOOP button was pressed.) Editing a song You can edit the user songs. Erasing part of a recording (erase function) Here’s how to erase part of what you played using the keyboard part in a user song.
Song mode Overlaying parts when recording (overdubbing function) You can overlay parts that you play using the keyboard part when recording a user song. You can also record changes in the sounds used for the keyboard and accompaniment parts. 1. 2. 1. 2. Select a user song. Press the ERASE button. “Delete? No” will appear on the display. Press the start/stop button to play back the song. 3,5 3 2,4 Press the record button (the button will light up red).
SETTING functions 21 SETTING functions Basic methods of use Changing the pedal function The basic methods of using the SETTING functions are shown below. 1. Press the SETTING/[EFFECT] button. This will enter the SETTING functions, and blink on the display. will Change the pedal function on this instrument to match the type of pedal connected, whether a pedal switch, expression pedal or volume pedal. 1. 2. Connect the pedal to the FOOT CONTROLLER jack. 3.
SETTING functions List of SETTING functions (*: Factory default setting value) Page Parameter Settings Contents of settings P.01 KeyResponse Soft Touch Medium Touch* Hard Touch Fixed_001...127 Sets the ratio of volume change when playing the keyboard at different velocities (the strength at which your fingers strike the keyboard). P.02 PtchBndRange Style Setting* (Pitch Bend Range) Off 01 ...
SETTING functions Page 23 Parameter Settings Contents of settings User C Tune – User B Tune -99... +00* ... 99 Cent This is displayed when “User” is selected for “P.08 UpperScaleTyp” or “P.09 StyleScaleTyp”. This indicates the amount of detuning compared to standard equal temperament tuning. These settings affect the entire tonal range. ±50: Moves the tuning up or down 1/4 (quarter) tone. ±99: Moves the tuning up or down nearly one semitone. P.
MEDIA functions MEDIA functions Connecting and removing USB flash drives Formatting a USB flash drive 1. 2. Connect a USB flash drive (commercially available) to the USB TO DEVICE port. 1. Make sure that the USB flash drive is facing the right direction when you insert it. If you try to push the drive in the wrong way too hard, the port on the instrument or the drive itself may break, or you may lose your data. In the MEDIA functions, press the CATEGORY button u and select “Media Format”.
MEDIA functions Storage media that can be used The EK‑50 supports the use of USB storage devices such as FAT16 or FAT32-formatted flash drives or disks. Supported capacities FAT32: Up to 2 TB (2,000 GB) FAT16: Up to 4 GB File and folder structure This instrument can save and load set lists, as well as save user songs. When saving data to USB flash drives from this instrument, or when formatting USB flash drive, a folder directory named “EK‑50” will automatically be created on the media.
Connecting to an external device Connecting to an external device Connecting an audio player You can connect an audio device such as an audio player to the AUDIO IN jack (stereo mini-phone jack) on the rear panel of this instrument, and hear the sound of the audio device playing back through the built-in speakers of the EK‑50. This is useful for playing along. external audio equipment. Use particular care when setting the volume. 1.
Connecting to an external device Connecting to a computer The EK‑50 is equipped with USB TO HOST port, which can be used to connect to a computer, allowing this instrument to be controlled using DAW software as a MIDI sound generator, or to be used as a controller. To connect the EK‑50 to a computer via USB, install the KORG USB-MIDI driver on your computer. Download the driver from the Korg website, and install the driver by following the accompanying documentation.
Appendix Appendix Restoring the EK‑50 to factory default settings This restores the settings of this instrument to the factory defaults. Note that this will initialize (reset) all of your song lists, user songs and the settings you have made in the SETTING functions. For this reason, any user songs you have recorded or any new set lists you may have made will be overwritten and lost.
Appendix I hear unwanted noise. When the volume for a part is raised, the digital signal processing may overload the signal, which could cause distortion or other noises. This is not a malfunction. Try lowering the volume on each part button. You may hear distorted or noisy sounds due to input overload with certain effects. This is not a malfunction. In certain electrical environments, you may hear noise due to a ground loop or other factors.
Appendix List of chords recognized These are the main chords that will be recognized when the chord recognition on this instrument is set to “Fingered3”.
Specifications 31 Specifications Function EK‑50 Function EK‑50 Keyboard 61 keys (velocity sensitive) Normally C2–C7 (adjustable in the range [C1...C6]–[C3...C8]) Input/output jacks FOOT CONTROLLER jack 6.3 mm phone jack AUDIO IN jack 3.5 mm stereo mini-phone jack Touch control Soft (light), medium (standard), hard (heavier), fixed Sound generator Stereo PCM sound generator OUTPUT L/ 6.3 mm phone jack (unbalanced) MONO, R jacks Maximum polyphony 64 voices Headphones jack 3.
[ENTERTAINER KEYBOARD] Model: EK-50 Function...
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