Digital art crafting, sharing and learning made easy. R1 WIND SYNTHESIZER USER MANUAL English © Robkoo Information & Technologies Co., Ltd.
R1 WIND SYNTHESIZER USER MANUAL For firmware version 1.0 © Robkoo Information & Technologies Co., Ltd.
P lease visit our website to obtain this user manual in other languages. http://www.robkoo.
WELCOME Robkoo helps everyone become a digital artist. Thanks for purchasing R1 Wind Synthesizer. Before using this unit, please read and understand this manual. After reading, please keep it available for immediate reference.
CONTENTS Introduction................................................................1 Concept ..........................................................................1 Package Contents ......................................................3 Panel Descriptions ...................................................4 Features ........................................................................4 Display - Performance Mode .................................10 Display - MIDI Mode ..............................
Patch Bank .................................................................20 Octave Shift ................................................................21 Magic Button ..............................................................21 [+] key ...........................................................................21 [‒] key ...........................................................................22 Pitch Bend Wheel.....................................................22 Motion Control ................
Factory Reset ............................................................28 Version Info. ...............................................................29 MIDI Mode ...............................................................30 Connect R1 .................................................................30 Play in MIDI Mode .....................................................31 Connect with JamKoo APP .....................................31 Appendix .....................................................
INTRODUCTION CONCEPT R1 Wind Synthesizer is a new form of wind instrument created by Robkoo. With its intuitive design, audio technology, and realistic sounds, R1 makes performing music easier than ever. Behold the musical instrument from future. ‣ SOUND OF TRUE INSTRUMENTS With sounds sampled from top performers around the globe, R1 saves 10 or even 20 years of practice to achieve the vibe of a pro. ‣ FOOD GRADE MOUTHPIECE Same material as baby pacifier for utmost health protection.
‣ TOUCH-SENSITIVE PERFORMANCE KEYS Perform by touching the keys. Fast response, Minimal noise, and maximum durability. ‣ INDEPENDENT SEMITONE KEYS Resemble the buttons on an acoustic instrument. Play expressive in a realistic and graceful way. ‣ PATCH SWITCH Switch tones in a flash. Multiple functions assignable without interfering the play. ‣ TRIPLE OCTAVE KEYS Break away from the limitation of acoustic instruments. Travel across wide octaves in light speed.
‣ HIGH-ACCURACY GYROSCOPE Trigger performance techniques by simply shaking and waving. Pull up and down for LFO, another articulation, and pitch bend. ‣ RESPONSIVE RGB LIGHTS The cyber style RGB light patterns display over 60,000 colors. The lights will also respond to your breath and technique, adding a visual element of your play. ‣ LEARN IN 1 5 MINUTES A delicate interactive course guides you through all the basics in 15 minutes. Keep practicing for 2 weeks, you will be ready to perform.
PANEL DESCRIPTIONS FEATURES 4
① MOUTHPIECE CAP Protects mouthpiece. To be taken off before playing. After playing, clean the mouthpiece before putting the cap back on. ② [♯] KEY Lift up all notes by one semitone (sharp) while holding down. ③ [♭] KEY Lower all notes by one semitone (flat) while holding down. ④ [+] KEY • While performing, press for the next patch. • In menu, press for the next item. You can customize this key in "Settings Advanced Settings". ⑤ [‒] KEY • While performing, press to trigger sound 2.
⑥ NOTE KEYS Hold different combinations of note keys while blowing into mouthpiece to play notes. You can use the fingering of saxophone, recorder, and so on. Please find the full fingering charts in "Appendix - Fingering Charts" of this manual. ⑦ DISPLAY Displays the current patch, key, octave, as well as menu and status. ⑧ PITCH BEND WHEEL By default, pushing up or down will change the pitch of sounds. You can customize the pitch bend wheel in "Settings - Advanced Settings", e.g.
⑨ MAGIC BUTTON By default, pressing magic button will enable portamento. Pressing again will disable portamento. You can set up magic button to control sound 2 in "Settings - Advanced Settings" in order to switch articulations while performing. ⑩ WATER DRAIN Drops of water will exit here. Wipe them off with a soft cloth. ⑪ [+2] OCTAVE KEY Hold to play 2 octaves above, release to restore. ⑫ [+1] OCTAVE KEY Hold to play 1 octave above, release to restore.
⑬ [‒1] OCTAVE KEY Hold to play 1 octave below, release to restore. Alternative cross-octave fingering available in "Appendix - Fingering Charts" of this manual. ⑭ STRAP RING To attach neck strap. A neck strap can effectively prevent R1 from falling. ⑮ THUMB HOOK Fit your right thumb below the hook to hold R1. A neck strap can relief your thumb, in which case your other fingers can also move easier.
Paired button/ key Hot key [♯] key Transpose up by 1 semitone step [♭] key Transpose down by 1 semitone step [+1] octave key Shift all notes up by 1 octave [‒1] octave key Shift all notes down by 1 octave [+] key Next patch [‒] key Previous patch Magic button Go to settings Read more about octave shift in "Advanced Settings - Octave Shift" of this manual. ⑰ POWER SWITCH • Hold for 2 seconds to power up. • Hold for 3 seconds to power off.
The PHONES will still function while the OUTPUT is plugged in, so that you can always monitor your performance on stage. ⑲ TYPE-C USB PORT Charges R1 and transfers data. Connect this port to computer or smart devices to upgrade, charge, or exchange data. ⑳ OUTPUT 6.35mm TRS audio output. Connect this port to a mixer or amp. DISPLAY - PERFORMANCE MODE ① VOLUME Shows the current level of volume or indicate the status of mute.
② USER PATCH BANK Appears when "user patch bank" is applied. Absent when factory patch bank is applied (by default). Read more about patch bank in "Advance Settings - Patch Bank" of this manual. ③ BLUETOOTH Appears when Bluetooth is on (connected or not). Absent when Bluetooth is off. ④ BATTERY LIFE Shows the remaining battery life. ⑤ PATCH NAME Name of the current patch. ⑥ KEY (TRANSPOSE) While factory patch bank is applied, shows the global key. Changing the key will affect all patches.
⑧ OCTAVE SHIFT AMOUNT Absent by default. If octave has been shifted (Fn+ [+1]/[‒1] octave key), it shows the amount of octave shifts. While factory patch bank is applied, the shift applies to all patches. Read more about hot keys in "Panel Description - Features - Function Button" of this manual. DISPLAY - MIDI MODE R1 switches to MIDI mode when connected to a DAW or JamKoo APP. ① MIDI MODE ICON Appears when R1 switches to MIDI mode. When connected to JamKoo APP, JamKoo icon will appear instead.
② MIDI CHANNEL The current MIDI Channel. Displays "CH01" to "CH16" for Channel 1 to 16. ③ BLUETOOTH Appears when Bluetooth is on (connected or not). Absent when Bluetooth is off. ④ BATTERY LIFE Shows the remaining battery life. ⑤ PROGRAM CHANGE NUMBER The current program change number, ranging from 001 to 128. ⑥ KEY (TRANSPOSE) The current key (transpose), globally effective in MIDI mode. ⑦ OCTAVE SHIFT AMOUNT If octave has been shifted (Fn+[+1]/[‒1] octave key), it shows the amount of octave shifts.
PLAY HOLDING R1 Hold R1 as the graph shows with left hand above right hand. Rest your left thumb on the circle between octave keys. Fit your right thumb below the thumb hook to support this position. It is advised to use a neck strap. ‣ USE THE MOUTHPIECE • Default method: gently wrap the mouthpiece with lips like using a straw. Do not bite the mouthpiece. • Alternative method: stick a saxophone/ clarinet mouthpiece patch on its top.
BASIC FINGERING Pressed note key Released note key Multiple fingering modes (saxophone/ flute/hulusi) available in Advanced Settings. Access full fingering charts in "Appendix - Fingering Charts" of this manual. SELECTING A PATCH There are more than one controls to browse through patches.
applicable to both performance mode and MIDI mode. ‣ CONTROL 1 Press [+] key for the next patch. Keep pressing to rotate through the patch bank. ‣ CONTROL 2 Press [+] key while holding function button for the next patch. Press [‒] key while holding function button for the previous patch. ARTICULATIONS Extra articulations are available through tonguing, press of a button, or raising the body of R1. Try tonguing or set up in Advance Settings.
BASIC SETTINGS SETTINGS MENU Press the magic button while holding function button to enter the settings menu. ‣ NAVIGATING IN SETTINGS MENU Magic button: confirm/enter Function button: cancel/back [+] key: next/plus [‒] key: previous/minus ‣ DISPLAY - SETTINGS ① CURRENT SETTING Name of the current setting.
② PREVIOUS ITEM The previous selectable item. ③ CURRENT ITEM The selected item. Press magic button to confirm. ④ NEXT ITEM The next selectable item. ⑤ INDICATORS Shows current location within the menu. ‣ SETTINGS WITH JAMKOO APP While R1 is connected with JamKoo APP, it can be found on the "Devices" page of JamKoo. Click on its card, full settings are accessible on the following page. Read more about JamKoo APP in "MIDI Mode - Connect with JamKoo App" of this manual.
There are 10 levels from 1 to 10, along with mute. REVERB Adjusts the level of reverb in performance mode (as built-in reverb does not work in MIDI mode). There are 5 levels of reverb from 1 to 5, along with off. TRANSPOSE Adjusts the global transpose (key). There are 12 keys ranging from G, A , A, B ,B, C (default), to D , D, E ,E, F, and F . While user patch bank is applied, transpose will only affect the current patch.
ADVANCED SETTINGS PATCH BANK Switch the Patch Bank here. ‣ FACTORY PATCH BANK The default patch bank with patches listed in fixed order. While applied, settings of volume, transpose, reverb, and octave shift are effective globally. For example, if R1 is transposed to the key of G, all patches will be in G. ‣ USER PATCH BANK Patches can be rearranged to fulfill practical needs on stage. User patch bank supports recurring patches, individual transpose, and individual octave shift.
OCTAVE SHIFT Shifts the octave of all patches while factory patch bank is applied or MIDI mode is enabled, ranges from -3 to +3. Only shifts the current patch when user patch bank is applied. MAGIC BUTTON Magic button can be customized to aid performance. Press magic button once to enable its function, press again to disable. • Portamento (default): to enable smooth and continuous slide of pitch between notes. • Sound 2: to switch to Sound 2 of the current patch.
• Sound 2: press to trigger Sound 2 of the current patch, release to restore. [‒] KEY • Sound 2 (default): press to trigger Sound 2 of the current patch, release to restore. • Previous patch: press to load the previous patch. Patch number goes down. PITCH BEND WHEEL • Pitch bend (default). • Portamento/pitch down: push up the wheel to enable portamento, release to disable. Push down to pitch down. • Sound 2/pitch down: push up the wheel to trigger Sound 2, release to restore. Push down to pitch down.
related parameter reaches maximum when R1 reaches 75° from vertical. • Vibrato: while motion control is enabled, lift R1 to turn on vibrato, pull back to turn off. The transaction is seamless. • Portamento: while motion control is enabled, lift R1 to enable portamento, pull back to disable. • Pitch bend: while motion control is enabled, lift R1 to pitch up, pull back to restore. • Sound 2: while motion control is enabled, lift R1 to switch to Sound 2, pull back to switch back. • Off: default option.
MIDI CHANNEL Applicable to MIDI mode, select the MIDI channel to send MIDI signal to DAWs, smart devices, and other sound sources. 16 channels are available from 1 to 16. MASTER TUNING Default at 440Hz. When needed, can adjust the master tuning between 435Hz to 445Hz. FINGERING MODE Alternative fingering modes are available for players with different experience. Saxophone/recorder fingering is the default fingering mode, while flute and Hulusi fingerings are selectable here.
BREATH CURVE Select the velocity curve of breath sensor. 4 curves are available as below, with horizontals representing the strength of breath while verticals represents the corresponding velocity. Curve 1 Curve 2 Curve 3 Curve 4 BREATH SENSITIVITY Adjust the sensitivity of breath sensor.
level 3 as default. The lower the level number is, the more breath-saving R1 becomes. KEY SENSITIVITY Adjust the sensitivity of keys. 5 levels are available from 1 to 5, with level 3 as default. The lower the level number is, the faster the keys respond. Unwanted notes may occur when keys are too sensitive. Change key sensitivity to higher number to avoid.
SYSTEM SETTINGS BLE MIDI Enabled by default. When Bluetooth MIDI (BLE MIDI) is enabled, a bluetooth icon will be on the top right of the display. R1 is able to connect with smart phone, computer and other smart devices through BLE MIDI. LIGHT FX Switch the light effects of responsive RGB light bars. 3 sets of effects are available, along with lights off option. AUTO POWER OFF R1 will power off by itself after standing by for a certain period of time.
power off. 4 options are available: 5 mins, 30 mins, 60 mins, and "never". DISPLAY SLEEP While Display Sleep is enabled, the display of R1 will sleep during performance. The display will wake up when performance stops. LANGUAGE Chinese (simplified) and English are supported. FACTORY RESET Reset all settings including user patch bank.
VERSION INFO. Display the model name, firmware version (FW), and serial number (SN). firmware can be updated while connected with JamKoo. Serial number is also printed at the physical bottom of R1.
MIDI MODE CONNECT R1 R1 can be used as a MIDI controller to play virtual instruments on computer or smart device. ‣ USB MIDI Connect R1 with computer or smart device through USB cable as the graph indicates. R1 sends out MIDI controls through cable, while the connected device outputs the sound. ‣ BLE MIDI R1 comes with built in BLE (Bluetooth) MIDI connectivity. While BLE is enabled, R1 can connect with computer or smart device wirelessly.
PLAY IN MIDI MODE Upon successful connection with computer or smart device, R1 will switch to MIDI Mode, indicated by a display as the graph. Onboard sound of R1 will be disabled in MIDI Mode, and the display will show the MIDI instrument number. CONNECT WITH JAMKOO APP ‣ DOWNLOAD (FREE) Search "JamKoo" in App Store and download for free. Jamkoo ‣ CONNECT Keep R1 close to JamKoo, and find it in the device page of JamKoo. Alternatively, use USB Type-C cable to connect with smart device.
‣ USE R1 WITH JAMKOO • Quickstart: tap " " to access MIDI devices. Go to the details of R1 and find "Quickstart Guide" in the menu. • Settings: tap " " to access MIDI devices. All settings are available in the detail page of R1. • User patch bank: tap " " to access MIDI devices. Go to "User Bank" in detail page of R1. • Custom fingerings: go to "Fingering Mode" in detail page of R1, and add extra fingerings for any note.
APPENDIX IMPORTANT NOTES Please read carefully before using R1: To avoid electric shock, damage, or other dangerous events that may result in injury or catastrophic outcomes, please use R1 safely by complying with the following notes. ‣ POWER SUPPLY Please use a standard 5V AC adapter. ‣ DO NOT DISASSEMBLE No part of R1 is supposed to be repaired by users themselves. DO NOT open up R1, take away parts, or modify the hardware in any way.
keep R1 away from any liquid container (e.g. vase, bottle, glass) to avoid infiltration. If water or any liquid infiltrates R1, please power off R1 and remove all cables immediately. Repair information can be found on Robkoo website (www.robkoo.com). DO NOT connect cables with wet hands. ‣ CAUTION OF FIRE Please keep R1 away from burning objects like candle to prevent the event of fire. ‣ IN EVENT OF ACCIDENT When any of the following event occurs, please power off R1 immediately.
Please remove all cables before storing R1. ‣ CONNECTION Please switch off the audio equipment before connecting to R1. Please apply minimal level of volume before powering on/off any equipment. ‣ USE R1 SAFELY DO NOT stick finger into any gap or hole of R1. Please avoid having objects (e.g. paper, plastic, metal) sticking into any gap of R1. In event of such situations, please power off R1 immediately, and remove all cables. Visit Robkoo website (www.robkoo.com) for latest repair information.
MAINTENANCE ‣ MOUTHPIECE Gargle before playing to maintain the hygiene of mouthpiece. Drops of water will exit from the water drain, dry off with soft cloth. Mouthpiece can be removed regularly to wash. Hold the ring below mouthpiece with one hand, meanwhile twist the mouthpiece with the other hand to remove it. After washing, use soft cloth to wipe it dry. FIRMWARE UPDATE You may update the firmware of your R1 from time to time, in order to improve its performance or fix bugs.
TROUBLESHOOTING Problem Solution Some notes are silent. Notes are beyond the range of sound patch. Try another key or shift octave backwards. Breath is out of control. Water may jam within R1 and interfere with the breath sensor. Lean R1 vertically and let water exit from water drain. Fingering does not respond properly. Fingering may not function if all 7 note keys are touched when powering up. Release all 7 note keys at the same time to fix. R1 cannot be found by other smart devices.
Cannot charge. The adapter may not be qualified. Use another adapter that supports USB protocol. Noise comes from PHONES port while connected with computer. Some computer may cause noise while charging R1 via USB cable. Use another power source or avoid charging while playing. Random sound occurs while performing. Please check if motion control is enabled.
PATCH LIST No.
FINGERING CHART Hold ‣ SAXOPHONE FINGERING 40 Release
Meanwhile, express fingerings are available for certain notes in a higher octave. It means that some notes beyond one octave can be played without using any octave key.
‣ HULUSI FINGERING When the upper 6 note keys play together as the 5th (sol), the fingering chart is as follows: ‣ FLUTE FINGERING When the upper 6 note keys play together as the 5th (sol), the fingering chart is as follows: Express octave fingerings are applicable to all 3 fingering modes.
MIDI CC MESSAGES In MIDI mode, depending on your settings, the following CC messages will be sent to computer or other sound sources.
SPECIFICATIONS Power Supply USB(Type-C)5V ⎓1.5A Battery 2600mAh Current Draw 1.5A Sensor Breath sensor, Gyroscope Battery Life 10 hours lights off, 6 hours light on MIDI Interface USB MIDI, BLE MIDI Audio Ports Stereo 3.5mm TRS Headphone output, 6.
FCC Information and Copyright This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
Digital art crafting, sharing and learning made easy. DIGITAL ART CRAFTING, SHARING AND LEARNING MADE EASY. Contact us www.robkoo.com contact@robkoo.com Robkoo Information & Technologies Co., Ltd.
