Roland U-20 / U-220

Drum Patch Editor

This patch editor ought to work properly with both the U-20 and the U-220. However it has only been tested with the U-220. Please let me know of any discrepancies you discover.

Communicating with Edisyn

Set Edisyn's MIDI channel to the same as your rhythm part's Channel (typically 10). Set Edisyn's Synth ID to the same as the Roland Device ID (typically 17). Set the unit's Part Change to "On" or "Dir". On the U-220, set the Timbre Change, Rhythm Change, and Rhythm Ins. Assign all to "Dir". Turn on Sysex receive.

About the Menu

You can set up your synthesizer's Multimode patch to nicely audition the Rhythm part by selecting "Set up Test Patch for Drum Only". This sets the Rhythm Part to be on Channel 10, with all voices, and shuts off all other parts. Alternatively you can set up each Part to be on the same numbered channel (Part 2 is channel 2, etc.), and the Rhythm part to be Channel 10, and distribute voices among all of them, by selecting "Set Up Test Patch for All Parts".

You can also call up the current Multimode patch with "Show Current Patch".

It's often the case that you want to all drums to have the same value for a given parameter. Set the parameter in one drum, then call "Distribute Last Parameter to All Drums", which will, well, distribute the last parameter you set to all drums. If you want to distribute the Drum Tone, you should first distribute the Drum Media, then the Drum Tone.

Hints



Gotchas



Thanks

Thanks to Keith (llamamusic@hotmail.com) for his extraordinary service in loaning stuff, providing materials, and debugging. If you are a U-220 owner, llamamusic.com is a fantastic resource. Thanks also to Benjamin Wild (dj@benjaminwild.com) for bug reports and suggestions.

By    Sean Luke
Date    October 2022