Quick Reference

Listening to the demo songs

KORG iMS-20 provides one built-in demo song and a number of official demo songs posted on the SoundCloud music distribution and collaboration site.

Listening to the built-in demo song

1. After starting the app, tap “BROWSE” in the SESSION section at the upper left of the screen.
2. In the list that appears, tap “SyNc”; the demo song will be preview-played.
3. In the lower right of the screen, tap “OK” to load that demo song.
4. In the PLAYBACK section at the top of the screen, make sure that the SONG-PTN switch is set to SONG, and then tap the white button with the -> symbol to play or stop the song.

Listening to demo songs on SoundCloud

1. In the SESSION section at the upper left of the screen, tap “BROWSE.”
2. In the library at the left, tap “SoundCloud.”
3. In the bar above the list at right, tap “Featured.”
4. The demo songs are below. When you tap a track, streaming playback will begin.

• Gain (by Denkitribe)
• Keep On Bleepin’ (by mugenkidou)
• KAMAITACHI (by mryat)
• Seventh Sense (by koishi)
• No Compromises (by iNALOG)
• Cartoon Cat Tone (by matsumae)
• SyNc (by Keishi Yonao)
• Eyeshut (by KORG)

5. If you tap the downward arrow icon at the bottom of the screen, that song data will be downloaded. The downloaded data will be included in “Downloads” and “All Sessions.”
6. Now you can load and play the song in the same way as the built-in demo song.

For details on using the browser, click here. For more about SoundCloud, click here.

Playing the synthesizer

Here’s how to play the synthesizer using the keyboard or Kaoss pads.

1. In the COMPONENTS section at the top of the screen, tap “SYNTH.”
2. Tap or slide over the on-screen keyboard; you’ll hear sound.
3. Separately from this keyboard, another keyboard for performance is also provided. To access the performance keyboard, tap “KEYBOARD” in the CONTROLLERS section on the upper right side of the screen.
4. In addition to the keyboard, you can also perform using the Kaoss pads. Tap “KAOSS PAD” in the CONTROLLERS section, and tap the right Kaoss pad to perform.
5. The KORG iMS-20 provides various presets. When you want to play a different sound, tap the “BROWSE” button in the SOUND PRESET section, choose the desired preset in the browser, and tap “OK.” Go ahead and try out the sounds that are provided.

A detailed explanation of the keyboard is provided here. A detailed explanation of the Kaoss pads is provided here.

Editing the synth sound

Let’s try editing the MS-20’s sound by turning the knobs and using the patch panel.

1. In the COMPONENTS section at the top of the screen, tap “SYNTH.”
2. Edit by turning the knobs shown to the left side of the MS-20, or change the connections between the patch jacks on the right side to modify the sound.
3. If you want to concentrate on editing, you can tap “ZOOM MS-20” in the SYNTH EDIT section to zoom the control panel and patch panel.

Information about basic MS-20 operation is provided here. A detailed explanation of the MS-20 is provided here..

Playing the drum machine

Here’s how to play the drum machine sounds by striking the drum pads.

1. Tap “DRUMS” in the COMPONENTS section at the top of the screen.
2. Play the sounds by tapping the six drum pads shown on the bottom of the screen.

Information about basic drum machine operation is provided here. A detailed explanation of the drum machine is provided here.

Editing the drum sounds

You can use the MS-20 to edit the drum machine’s sounds.

1. Tap “SOUND EDIT” to the left of each part of the drum machine. A dedicated screen for editing the drum sounds will appear.
2. Since the drum machine uses the MS-20’s sounds, the MS-20 will appear when you enter this screen, allowing you to edit the sound in the same way as for the synthesizer.
3. To select a preset, tap the “BROWSE” button in the SOUND PRESET section at the top of the screen, select the desired preset in the browser, and then tap “OK.”
4. When you’ve finished editing the sound, tap “BACK” on the upper right side of the screen to exit edit mode.

A detailed explanation of drum sound editing is provided here. Information about basic MS-20 operation is provided here. A detailed explanation of the MS-20 is provided here.

Saving your sounds

Here’s how a synth or drum sound that you’ve created can be saved as a preset.

1. In the SOUND PRESET section on the top of the screen, tap “SAVE.”
2. In the dialog box that appears, enter information such as the name.
3. Tap “OVERWRITE” if you want the sound that you’ve created to overwrite the existing sound; tap “ADD” if you want to save the sound as a new preset.

Creating a pattern

The KORG iMS-20 provides six template sessions, and each template contains eight patterns. Let’s try creating a pattern based on one of these template patterns.

1. In the SESSION section on the upper left side of the screen, tap “BROWSE.”
2. In the list that appears, tap a template to preview-play the template session.
3. Tap “OK” on the lower right side to load that template.
4. Make sure that the SONG-PTN switch is set to “PTN” in the PLAYBACK section on the top of the screen.
5. Next tap “SONG/PTN” in the COMPONENTS section.
6. Tap the above eight pattern pads to select the pattern that you want to use as the basis for the pattern you create.
7. In the PLAYBACK section on the top of the screen, tap the white button with the -> symbol to play/stop the pattern. A basic explanation of patterns is provided here. A detailed explanation of patterns is provided here.

Creating a synth sequence

Let’s use the analog sequencer to create a sequence that can play the synthesizer.

1. In the COMPONENTS section at the top of the screen, tap “SYNTH.”
2. Scroll vertically until you see the sequencer.
3. Steps where the GATE and VOLUME are raised will play a note. In addition to specifying whether a note will be heard, you can also use PITCH and OCTAVE to change the pitch of each step, use GATE to change the duration of each note, and use PARAMETER or VOLTAGE to control the tone.
4. You can also record using the keyboard or Kaoss pads. Select one of these in the CONTROLLERS section, and turn on “REC”, located at the left, and then perform. Information about basic sequencer operation is provided here. A detailed explanation of the sequencer is provided here. A detailed explanation of the keyboard is provided here. A detailed explanation of the Kaoss pads is provided here.

Creating a drum pattern

Let’s use the six-part drum machine to create a drum pattern.

1. In the COMPONENTS section at the top of the screen, tap “DRUMS.”
2. Turn on some of each part’s step switches; the corresponding notes will sound.
3. By entering “SEQ EDIT” located on the left side of each part, you can make detailed edits to the duration, volume, and panning of the note at each step. Information about basic drum machine operation is provided here. A detailed explanation of the drum machine is provided here. A detailed explanation of drum sequences is provided here.

Using the mixer to adjust the volume

Here’s how you can use the mixer to adjust the volume of each channel while you’re creating a pattern.

1. In the COMPONENTS section on the top of the screen, tap “MIXER.”
2. Adjust the volume and panning of each channel. A detailed explanation of the mixer is provided here.

Creating a song

When you’ve created several patterns, here’s how you can arrange them in a desired order to create a song.

1. In the COMPONENTS section at the top of the screen, tap “SONG/PTN.”
2. Tap the first of the sixteen switches in the SONG section.
3. Use the sixteen pattern pads of the PATTERN section to select the pattern that you want to assign. That pattern will be assigned to the first position in the song.
4. Repeat the step above to assign patterns to the song in the desired order.
5. At the end of the song, assign “STOP.”
6. Make sure that the SONG-PTN switch is set to “SONG” in the PLAYBACK section at the top of the screen, and then play back the song that you created.

A basic explanation of songs is provided here. A detailed explanation of songs is provided here.

Saving your session

Here’s how to save the song and patterns that you’ve created.

1. In the SESSION section at the top of the screen, tap “SAVE.”
2. In the dialog box that appears, enter the name and other information.
3. Tap “OVERWRITE” if you want the session you’ve created to overwrite the existing session; tap “ADD” if you want to save the session as a new session. A basic explanation of a session is provided here.