DocsSetManagerSetManager

SetManager

The heart of PA SET Explorer: your SET laid out bank by bank and page by page like on the keyboard, a second SET next to it, and every tool to build, convert and clean SETs — Import/Merge, Create New Set, Convert, Medeli AKX, Copy Options and Check Unused.

12 min read · 10 sections · Intermediate
In this chapter you will learn
  • The SetManager screen: tabs, banks, pages and slots
  • What every toolbar button does
  • Every Copy Options switch, explained
  • Create New Set and Convert (all targets and options)
  • Check Unused, and the right-click menus of styles, sounds, performances and pads

The SetManager screen#

Click SetManager in the sidebar. Your SET (SET A) is shown exactly like on the keyboard: banks on the sides, the slots of the current page in the middle, page buttons at the bottom.

PA SET Explorer
SetManager → STYLES with a PA4X SET in SET A.
  1. 1Import/Merge — open a second KORG SET/KST (SET B) or a Medeli AKX set.
  2. 2Create New Set — an empty SET for any model PA300 – PA4X.
  3. 3Convert — convert the whole SET A to another format.
  4. 4Create AKX/Zen Set — a new, empty Medeli AKX/Zen set.
  5. 5Load AKX/Zen Set — open an existing AKX/Zen set.
  6. 6Copy Options — what travels with a style when you copy it.
  7. 7Check Unused — find sounds that nothing uses.
  8. 8Undo, Redo and Save — your changes wait here until you save.
  9. 9SOUNDS, STYLES, PERF and PADS tabs.
  10. 10Banks (first 8)…
  11. 11…and the rest of the banks. Fav banks are green, User banks red.
  12. 12Slots of the current page, numbered like on the keyboard (01–08 here).
  13. 13P1, P2… — the pages of the bank.
  14. 14The SET name and the SET A label.
  15. 15Push Community — share every style of this SET with the Community.
SetManager → STYLES with a PA4X SET in SET A.
TabWhat it shows
SOUNDSThe sound banks (.PCG): User banks with samplers and USERDK banks with drum kits, 128 slots each. Every slot shows the name and its (MSB, LSB, PC).
STYLESThe style banks (.STY) — or, on a PA5X KST, the style folders (.stg).
PERFThe performances (.PRF).
PADSThe pads (.PAD).
Pro tips
  • On a PA5X KST all banks are listed in a two-column grid and each page has 10 slots instead of 8.
  • Press Ctrl+F in SetManager to search a sound, style, performance or pad by name (in SET A or SET B).
  • Double-click a style to select it; right-click anything for its menu.

SET A and SET B side by side#

After Import/Merge → KORG SET / KST, the second SET appears on the right as SET B:

PA SET Explorer
SET A (PA4X, “Stefan v2 2021”) and SET B (“BRMA2020PA4X”).
  1. 1SET A — your SET, the destination. You edit and save this one.
  2. 2SET B — the source SET.
  3. 3Collapse — hide SET B (it stays loaded).
  4. 4SET A / SET B — choose which SET the Sounds, PCM, Samples and Oscillators sections show.
  5. 5SET B has its own banks…
  6. 6…its own slots…
  7. 7…and you drag what you want onto a slot of SET A.
  8. 8SET B pages.
  9. 9The status tells you what was loaded.
SET A (PA4X, “Stefan v2 2021”) and SET B (“BRMA2020PA4X”).

Everything about dragging styles, sounds and pads — and what is copied along — is explained in Combining SETs.

Import/Merge#

PA SET Explorer
The Import/Merge choice.
  1. 1KORG SET / KST — opens your Resources library in “Import/Merge” mode: double-click a SET or KST to load it as SET B.
  2. 2Medeli AKX / Zen expansion — opens an AKX/Zen set (.GSTarget). The text under it tells you where it will appear: next to your KORG SET A, or as AKX SET B next to an AKX SET A.
The Import/Merge choice.
You have open…You import…Result
A KORG SET or KSTa KORG SET / KSTIt becomes SET B next to SET A. Drag styles, sounds and pads from B to A.
A KORG SET or KSTa Medeli AKX / Zen setThe AKX set opens next to the KORG SET. Drag KORG styles, samplers and drum kits onto its packs.
A Medeli AKX setanother AKX / Zen setIt opens as AKX SET B (source). Drag its items onto the packs of AKX SET A.
A Medeli AKX seta KORG SET / KSTThe KORG SET opens next to the AKX set.

Create New Set#

Builds a brand-new, empty KORG SET that you can fill with styles and sounds from other SETs.

PA SET Explorer
Create New Set.
  1. 1SET Name — the name of the new SET folder.
  2. 2Target keyboard model — PA300, PA600, PA900, PA3X, PA700, PA1000 or PA4X.
  3. 3What will be created: 99 PCM banks (RAM01–RAM99.PCM), RAM.KMP, the USER PCG files and 12 style banks.
  4. 4Continue — then choose the folder where the SET is created.
Create New Set.

The new <name>.SET is created empty in the folder you choose and opened as SET A. Style banks get 5 pages on PA300 / PA600 / PA900 / PA3X and 6 pages on PA700 / PA1000 / PA4X.

Convert — the whole SET in one go#

Convert converts the complete SET A. The choices depend on what SET A is:

SET A is…You can convert it to…
A KORG SET (PA300 – PA4X)KORG PA5X (.KST) · Medeli AKX / Zen · Yamaha · Ketron
A KORG PA5X KSTKORG PA300 / PA600 / PA900 / PA3X (.SET, 40 styles per bank) · KORG PA700 / PA1000 / PA4X (.SET, 48 styles per bank) · Medeli AKX / Zen · Yamaha · Ketron
A KORG SET + a Medeli AKX set are openFirst choose what to convert: the KORG SET A or the Medeli AKX set (AKX → KORG).
PA SET Explorer
Convert SET A — a KORG PA4X SET.
  1. 1What SET A is: model family, number of style banks and styles, and user samples / drum kits.
  2. 2KORG PA5X (.KST) — styles become PA5X .stg folders; samples come along.
  3. 3Medeli AKX / Zen — creates a new AKX set and converts the SET into it.
  4. 4Yamaha — one folder of .sty per bank, samples as .sf2.
  5. 5Ketron — one folder of .kst per bank, samples as .sf2.
  6. 6Choose folder & Convert — pick an output folder (outside the SET) and start.
Convert SET A — a KORG PA4X SET.

KORG SET → PA5X KST#

PA SET Explorer
What happens when converting to a PA5X KST.
  1. 1KORG PA5X (.KST) selected.
  2. 2One folder per style bank; every style becomes .stg; every sampler and drum kit is rebuilt in a new PA5X sample template in the same bank and slot, so the styles keep their sounds.
  3. 3Choose the output folder and convert.
What happens when converting to a PA5X KST.

PA5X KST → older KORG SET#

  • Model — older (PA300, PA600, PA900, PA3X; default PA3X) or newer (PA700, PA1000, PA4X; default PA700). The window shows how many styles per bank and how many standard banks it has.
  • Style banks (.STY) — Automatic, One PA5X folder per bank, or Fill the banks one after the other. If more banks are needed than the standard 12, extra banks get new names (FAVORITE13… / USER13…).
  • Style folders — tick the PA5X folders you want (All · None).
  • Samples: if the KST was made from an older SET, samples and sounds are copied as they are. Native PA5X samples are not copied — bring the sounds you need afterwards with Import/Merge.

KORG → Yamaha or Ketron#

PA SET Explorer
Options for Yamaha (Ketron has the same, without RX noises).
  1. 1Yamaha selected.
  2. 2Transcribe Guitar Mode tracks into a real guitar (on by default).
  3. 3Also transcribe RX noises — Yamaha only (choose a Mega Voice guitar on the Yamaha for those parts).
  4. 4Export the SET’s samples & drum kits as .sf2 — with how many there are.
  5. 5Output: Styles/<bank>/… and Samples/<sound bank>/… plus a report of which KORG sound (MSB/LSB/PC) each .sf2 replaces.
  6. 6Choose folder & Convert.
Options for Yamaha (Ketron has the same, without RX noises).

KORG → Medeli AKX / Zen#

The button becomes Create AKX Set…: you name the new AKX set and choose its memory, then the Convert KORG SET → Medeli AKX/Zen window opens by itself. See Medeli AKX → Convert a whole KORG SET.

Progress and result#

  • While converting you see the overall progress, the current bank, the time left and a log. Cancel stops after the current style.
  • At the end: styles converted, not converted, banks, samplers / drum kits and sample files. A conversion report (.txt) is written in the output folder.
  • Load in SET B opens the new SET/KST next to yours, Open folder shows it in Windows. New SETs and KSTs are added to Resources automatically.

Create AKX/Zen Set and Load AKX/Zen Set#

Create AKX/Zen Set
Name the new set, choose 256 MB or 768 MB of memory, press Create and pick the parent folder. The set is created as a sub-folder.
Load AKX/Zen Set
Choose the memory of the set (256 / 768 MB, for the memory bar), then pick its .GSTarget file.

Everything about Medeli AKX sets is in the Medeli AKX / Zen chapter.

Copy Options — every switch explained#

Copy Options decides what travels with a style when you copy it from SET B to SET A, or from a KORG SET to a Medeli AKX set. Set them before you drag.

PA SET Explorer
Copy Options.
  1. 1Save Styles Samples & DrumKits — also copy the RAM samples and drum kits the style uses.
  2. 2Save Styles STS — copy the sounds of the style’s Single Touch Settings.
  3. 3Copy Styles Pads (KORG SET↔SET) — also copy the style’s 4 USER pads.
  4. 4Relocate ACMP Percussion (Medeli AKX / Yamaha) — move a melodic ACMP Perc track to a free channel.
  5. 5Transcribe Guitar Mode (Medeli AKX / Yamaha) — turn KORG guitar strums into real guitar notes.
  6. 6Transcribe RX Noises (Medeli AKX / Yamaha) — also write the guitar noises and techniques.
  7. 7Copy Styles Pads (Medeli AKX) — bundle the style’s pads into a Medeli pad.
  8. 8Done — or click outside to close.
Copy Options.
SwitchDefaultWhen ONWhen OFF
Save Styles Samples & DrumKitsOffThe user samplers and drum kits the style uses (RAM sounds) are copied too — with their PCM samples and multisamples — and the style is re-pointed to the copies. Into a PA5X KST the sounds come along as well. Into an AKX set the samples are converted with the style.Only the style is copied. Its tracks keep pointing to the same sound numbers, which may be different (or empty) sounds in SET A.
Save Styles STSOffThe style’s STS (Single Touch Settings) keep their sounds. When you switch it on you are asked whether to also save the PCM samples those STS sounds use if SET A does not have them (Deny / Confirm). For AKX the STS sounds go into an “STS” pack.The copied style gets a default STS (STS 1–4 with Grand Piano on Upper 1, the other parts off).
Copy Styles Pads (KORG SET↔SET)OffThe style’s 4 assigned USER pads are copied and the style points to them. Factory pads stay as they are; identical pads are reused.The style’s USER pad references are cleared.
Relocate ACMP Percussion (Medeli AKX / Yamaha)OffA KORG Perc track set to ACMP is moved to a free accompaniment channel (Medeli’s Perc channel only accepts drum kits). If no channel is free, the track is dropped.The Perc track stays where it is.
Transcribe Guitar Mode (Medeli AKX / Yamaha)OnKORG Guitar Mode tracks are transcribed into a real guitar: fretboard voicings, strum direction, muted and dead strokes, ringing strings.The raw KORG trigger notes are kept.
Transcribe RX Noises (Medeli AKX / Yamaha)OffWith Guitar Mode on: also writes the guitar strum noises (KORG RX noises) and playing techniques by velocity. Medeli AKX uses the AXS guitar voices; on Yamaha choose a Mega Voice guitar.Clean guitar notes only.
Copy Styles Pads (Medeli AKX)OffWhen a style is added to an AKX set, its pads are bundled into one Medeli pad named after the style, in a “Pads” pack. Missing samplers / drum kits are copied, existing ones reused.No pad is created.
Pro tips
  • Copying styles from a SET that uses its own samples? Turn on Save Styles Samples & DrumKits — otherwise the style may play with the wrong sounds in SET A.
  • Watch the memory bar: copying samples uses SET A’s sample memory. If there is not enough room, the copy stops with a clear message.
  • Transcribe RX Noises only works together with Transcribe Guitar Mode (it is greyed out otherwise).

Check Unused#

Check Unused scans every sound, style and performance of SET A and lists the sounds that nothing uses. Deleting them frees slots and sample memory.

PA SET Explorer
Unused Sounds: 4 of 67 sounds are not used by any style or performance.
  1. 1How many sounds are unused out of the total, and how much PCM memory they hold.
  2. 2An unused sound with its size…
  3. 3…its MSB / LSB / PC and where it lives (file @ position).
  4. 4Delete — remove this sound (you are asked to confirm).
Unused Sounds: 4 of 67 sounds are not used by any style or performance.

The SOUNDS, PERF and PADS tabs#

PA SET Explorer
SetManager → SOUNDS with two SETs.
  1. 1SOUNDS tab.
  2. 2User sound banks (samplers)…
  3. 3…and the drum kit bank (USERDK).
  4. 4A sound with its slot number…
  5. 5…and its (MSB, LSB, PC) — the numbers a style uses to call it.
  6. 6SET B also has drum kit banks (USERDK01, USERDK02…).
  7. 7Pages (and › for more).
  8. 8The Save button counts your unsaved changes.
SetManager → SOUNDS with two SETs.
PA SET Explorer
SetManager → PADS.
  1. 1PADS tab.
  2. 2Right-click a pad → Properties. Drag a SET B pad onto a SET A slot to copy it.
  3. 3A pad in SET B…
  4. 4…dragged onto SET A.
SetManager → PADS.
PA SET Explorer
SetManager → PERF.
  1. 1PERF tab.
  2. 2A performance — right-click for Copy, Rename, Delete, Properties.
  3. 3Performance banks of SET B.
SetManager → PERF.
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