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Chapter 2 - Quick Start

This chapter gets you to a sound in about two minutes. Nothing here needs explaining first - the ideas behind it are in Chapter 5, and they'll make more sense once you've heard UNA do its thing.

Connect

  1. Power UNA from the USB-C cable - a wall adapter or a computer, either is fine. UNA wakes on the patch it was last using; a new unit starts on A1. If SELECT MODE appears, turn the CONTROL Knob to EXPERT and press GO (button 6) - this chapter uses the full instrument. (BASIC is the simpler one-track mode; see BASIC mode.)
  2. Connect a sound source. Run a cable from MIDI Out A to your synth. For 5-pin DIN gear, use one of the TRS→DIN cables from the box.
  3. Connect a keyboard, if you have one - into MIDI In, or straight into the USB Host port. You don't strictly need one, but UNA is much more fun with a keyboard.

Make a sound

Hold a chord on your keyboard.

That's it. UNA starts playing melody, bass and chords together, and stops when you let go. This is Live Play, and it's the fastest way to hear an idea.

Now, change the chord. The melody, bass, and chord tracks shift with you, staying in key. That's the whole instrument in one gesture: you supply the notes, UNA supplies the harmony.

Two ways to let go of the chord and play over the top:

  • Press PLAY if you'd rather UNA kept running with your hands free.
  • Hold a sustain pedal (CC 64) and Live Play latches - it keeps running while you lift your hands and change chord.

UNA ships with eight factory patches in Bank A - each one a different way of sequencing a single instrument. Load them from the patch browser and use them as starting points; the full list is in Chapter 14.

If you hear nothing

Three things, in order:

  1. Is your synth listening on the right channel? The factory patches send all three tracks on Channel 1, so a synth on Channel 1 hears everything; your own patches can put each track on its own channel. The quickest general fix is to set your synth to receive on all channels (omni). Chapter 15 covers channels in depth.
  2. Is the cable in the right socket, the right way round? It should run from UNA's MIDI Out A or B to your devices MIDI IN.
  3. Is anything actually running? Hold a chord, or press PLAY / STOP. If the transport is running and you still hear nothing, press MIXER (button 3) - a grey slider means that track is muted. Tap its button (RHYTHM, MELODY or BASS) twice - once to select it, once to unmute it.

Some key principles

The chords lead. Hold a chord. Change it. Everything follows. Turn Listen off (tap the CONTROL Knob for Performance Mode, then LISTEN on button 4) and UNA locks to the last chord or chord progression - now you can solo over the top without your playing changing the harmony.

Shape the melody live. Turn the CONTROL Knob until MELODY is the selected track, then turn any PARAMETER Knob. The display names the parameter and its value as you move it, and the melody reshapes under your fingers while it plays. You never leave Home to do this.

The change sticks - patches save themselves as you edit. If you'd rather push a value just for a moment, hold the CONTROL Knob while you turn: it springs back the instant you let go.

Drop the band. Press MIXER (button 3), then tap RHYTHM twice - once to select it, once to mute it. The chords fall silent, but the progression keeps driving the melody and bass underneath. Tap it again and the chord track comes back in. That's dynamics, with one finger.

Borrow a progression. You do not have to play one in. From Home press CHORD, then CHAIN (button 2), then SUGGEST (button 1): UNA ships thirty progressions, and two knobs choose between them - turning CONTROL picks which one, and holding CONTROL down while you turn picks what key to hear it in. Everything previews live as you turn, so you can browse with the transport running. APPLY keeps what you are hearing and CANCEL puts back what you had. Chapter 8 has the rest.

Where to go next

You've heard what UNA does. Chapter 5 - Core Concepts explains why, and it's the one chapter worth reading in full. After that, jump to whichever track you want to dig into: Chord (Chapter 8), Melody (Chapter 9), or Bass (Chapter 11).