# Style Players

Listen to styles with their real sounds. The KORG Style Player plays KORG styles with their samplers (and on your KORG keyboard over MIDI); the universal Style Player plays KORG, PA5X, Yamaha, Medeli and Ketron styles and lets you change samplers, volumes, octaves, chord rules and notes.

Web page: https://pasetexplorer.com/tutorials?c=style-players

In this chapter:

- Opening the KORG Style Player and using fills, mixer, loop and MIDI out
- Opening the universal Style Player from Resources or an AKX set
- Sections, tracks, chords and Chord Variations
- Editing samplers, volume, octave, chord rules and notes
- Saving an edited style

## Two players — which one is which

**KORG Style Player**

- For styles **inside your KORG SET** (SetManager).
- Plays with the style’s **real KORG samplers and drum kits**.
- Fills and Break on the next bar, mixer with Solo / Mute, loop.
- **MIDI out** — play the style on a KORG keyboard.

**Universal Style Player**

- For **style files** (Resources, Community, Style Database) and **AKX styles**.
- KORG .STY, PA5X .stg, Yamaha, Medeli and Ketron.
- Choose chord and Chord Variation, play sections live.
- **Edit**: samplers, volume, octave, chord rules, notes — and save.

## The KORG Style Player

**Step 1 — Open it**

In SetManager, right-click a style → **Play ▸** → choose the section (Intro, Variation, Fill, Break, Ending) and its number. You can also press **Play** in Style Properties.

![Screenshot](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/sm-play-menu.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. **Play ▸**
2. The section types…
3. …Variation…
4. …number 1.

> **Tip:** The first time, the program prepares the style’s samples (“Loading style…”); then it plays by itself.

**Step 2 — Play**

![KORG Style Player — “Guitar Pop”, Var 1.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/korg-player.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. **Style Player — Full Variation**, element, CV and number of tracks.
2. **BPM** — tempo (− / + or type it).
3. **Loop: ON / OFF**.
4. **MIDI: ON / OFF** — send the style to a MIDI port.
5. **Play / Stop**.
6. **Fill 1–4** and **Break** — click while playing: it enters on the next bar and returns to the variation.
7. How fills work.
8. A **mixer** row: track and its sampler / drum kit.
9. **S** solo · **M** mute · **Midi** = play this track with a GM sound.
10. The notes of every track, with a moving playhead.
11. Shown when a **Guitar Mode** track is playing (experimental).

> **Play the style on your KORG keyboard:** Connect a KORG Pa keyboard by USB-MIDI and switch **MIDI: ON**. When a KORG keyboard is detected, the badge shows “<keyboard> → playing” and every track plays on the keyboard with its own sound. With the keyboard connected you can even click a sound name (✎) in the mixer, choose another sound with live preview and **Apply** it to the style.

**Tips:**

- Click a fill while the player is **stopped** to arm it: it plays first when you press Play.
- Solo and Mute work live, without restarting.
- The player plays one section at a time — to hear another, choose it from the Play ▸ menu.

## The universal Style Player

Open it by double-clicking a style in **Resources** (or right-click → ▶ Open in the Style Player), double-clicking a Community download, a Style Database style, or a style in a **Medeli AKX** Styles pack.

### Step 1 — Sections

![Style Player → Sections (a KORG .STY from Resources).](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/usp-sections.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. The format: KORG STY, PA5X STG, YAMAHA, KETRON or STYLE (Medeli).
2. Tempo, time signature, number of sections and Chord Variations.
3. Bar counter (blinks in tempo while playing).
4. The steps: **1 Sections**, **2 Tracks** (and **3 Quick Settings** for Medeli styles).
5. The selected section.
6. All sections grouped as Intro, Variation, Fill, Break and Ending. Missing ones are greyed out.
7. **Next ▶** — go to the tracks (or double-click a section).

### Step 2 — Tracks

![Style Player → Tracks.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/usp-tracks.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. **Output**: 🎹 PC MIDI (your computer’s MIDI synth) or 🔊 Internal GS / AKX samples.
2. **▶ PLAY / ■ STOP** (`Space`). Choosing another section while playing switches on the next bar.
3. **CHORD** — root (C…B) and type (Maj, m, 7, m7, M7, 6, m6, sus4, 7sus4, dim, dim7, aug, m7b5, mM7, add9, 1+5, 1+8).
4. **AUTO** or a fixed Chord Variation (KORG CV1–CV6, Yamaha Main/Minor/7th, Ketron MAJ/MIN/SEV, Medeli CV1–3).
5. **⇉ Apply settings to…** — copy this section’s samplers / volume / octave to other sections.
6. Tracks grouped by Chord Variation; “playing now” shows which group you hear.
7. **S** — solo a track (preview only).
8. The part (Drum, Bass, Acc1…).
9. **SAMPLER** — double-click to change it.
10. **VOL** — click for a 0–127 slider.
11. **OCT** — −3…+3 (not for drums).
12. How many notes the track has.
13. Another Chord Variation (not playing with the current chord).
14. Section bar — jump to any section.
15. **💾 Save Style**.

![Track menu.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/usp-track-menu.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. Right-click a track…
2. …for **Edit notes**, **Change sampler**, **Move / swap with**, **Chord rule** (when the format allows), **Solo**, **Delete track** and **Delete in all sections**.

## Chord rules — how a track follows your chords

Right-click a track → **🎼 Chord rule…**. Available for Yamaha styles (with chord tables) and Medeli styles. A Yamaha example:

![A Yamaha style in the Style Player.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/usp-yamaha-menu.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. Yamaha CVs: **Main**, **Minor**, **7th**.
2. Tracks grouped by CV…
3. …and **ALL CVs** for tracks shared by every chord.
4. Right-click a track…
5. …→ **🎼 Chord rule…**

![Chord rule of a Yamaha track.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/usp-chord-rule.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. Where the change applies (this section, or all sections sharing the same chord table).
2. **NTR** — Root Trans, Root Fixed or Guitar.
3. **NTT** — Bypass, Melody, Chord, Melodic / Harmonic / Natural Minor (5th), Dorian (5th). With Guitar NTR: All-Purpose, Stroke, Arpeggio.
4. **Bass** (NTT bass on).
5. **High Key** — where notes fold down an octave.
6. **Note Limit Low / High**.
7. **Retrigger Rule** — Stop, Pitch Shift, Pitch Shift to Root, Retrigger, Retrigger to Root, Note Generator.
8. **Source Chord** — the chord the phrase was recorded in.
9. **Plays on these chords** — blue = the track plays on that chord type, grey = muted.
10. All / None.
11. Heard at once · saved with Save Style · Ctrl+Z to undo.
12. **⟲ File values**, **Cancel** or **Apply**.

> **Note:** Medeli styles use a smaller set of rules (Root Trans / Root Fixed; Bypass / Melody / Chord). KORG and Ketron files are not chord-rule editable here — their behaviour comes from the style itself.

## Edit notes of a track

![NOTES editor of the Bass track.](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/usp-notes.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. The track, CV, channel, section and sound.
2. **▶ Play track** (`Space`).
3. Click = hear · Ctrl+drag = select · Double-click = add · Del · ↑↓ move · drag velocity.
4. **Snap** (1/4 … 1/32), **Vel**, **▼ Key / ▲ Key** and **🗑 Delete**.
5. The notes on a piano roll.
6. **Velocity** — drag the bars.
7. **↶ Undo**, **⟲ Original**, **✓ Apply** and **💾 Save style**.

## Apply settings to other sections

![Apply settings to…](https://pasetexplorer.com/images/docs/usp-apply-to.webp)

Numbered marks on this screenshot:

1. What to copy: **Samplers**, **Volume**, **Octave**, and whether to include **All CVs of each part**.
2. The section you are copying from (Main A).
3. **Blue** sections receive the settings…
4. …grey ones stay as they are. Click to toggle.
5. **Auto** — selects the Intros and Endings.
6. **OK**.

## Saving an edited style

| Style | 💾 Save Style does… |
| --- | --- |
| A style file (KORG .STY, PA5X .stg, Yamaha, Ketron) | Saves the file in place, in the same format, and keeps a backup copy. |
| A style in a Medeli AKX set | Rebuilds the style in the AKX set (with a backup). |
| Other formats | The button is greyed: “Saving this format is not available yet”. |

**Tips:**

- The status line counts your unsaved changes; `Ctrl+Z` undoes them one by one.
- Closing with ✕ asks “Discard N unsaved change(s)?”.
- A section must keep at least one track — the last track of a section or of a CV cannot be deleted.