Joue Music Instruments PL23 JPLAY V2 Production Unit User Manual

User Manual
Version 1.0.0 – November 2020
by Joué Music Instruments

PL23 JPLAY V2 Production Unit

Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of a Joué Play!

The Joué Play is a unique digital instrument, thanks to its unparoled expressiveness, it provides a similar feeling as if you were playing on traditional instruments. It has been thought and conceived with the purpose of making musical practice accessible and easy for both beginners and musicians and make them rediscover the joys of playing music.
The Joué Play is composed of a Play Board, made from French wood and metal, equipped with pressure-sensitive sensors, on which Play Pads made of silicon are placed. Each pad has an associated range of sounds that provides the user a borderless creative field.
With Joué Play’s official app, record your tracks, explore various sounds and experiment with sound effects, and share your music with the community of players.
This manual will review in detail the use of the Joué Play and its application. Demo sessions are available on the app, we recommend that you take a look at them to discover all the possibilities the instruments offer to you. You will also find in this guide some usage recommendations that we strongly advise you to follow and to prevent any further malfunctioning.
Video tutorials are also available on our Youtube channel to guide you in your musical journey with the Joué Play.
Have a good musical time in the company of your Joué Play! The Joué Team

Introduction

The Joué Play allows you to play a full range of sounds, from percussions to piano, through guitar or xylophone. The Play Board is the main element of the instrument, you need to plug it to any device with the Joué Play app on it, computer, tablet or even smartphone. Alone, the Play Board won’t make any sound, it is the medium on which we can place Play pads. Each pad placed on the board will be automatically detected by the app and you will be able to choose a sound from a selection of 10 sound for each pad.

Important safety rules.

– Read carefully the rules
– Respect the rules
– Do not use the device near a water source
– Use a dry rag to clean up the device
– Do not put the device near a source of heat
– Be careful not to bend the USB cable
– Only use the accessories provided by the fabricant
– Un-plug the device during storm periods or for extended period of non-use
– Entrust all repairs to a qualified technician. Maintenance is required when the device has been damaged in any way
– No fire should be in contact of the device
– Malfunctioning may appear if the device is placed on a metallic support, especially if it is iron

This product generates permanent magnetic fields (> 150 mT) that might interfer with cardiac simulators and defibrillator implats (ICDs).
Please maintain a distance of at least 30 cm (12”) between the instrument and any cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator implant. The Play Board contains magnets and RFID readers, pads contains metallic particules and RFID tags.
Tags and RFID readers enable pads to be detected automatically by the board. We recommend not place the Joué Play next to other magnetic devices or metallic support to avoid altering its functions.
WARNING: RFID tags in the pads must not be programed with another software than the one given by Joué Music Instruments. Do not try to program RFID tags with another software, it may damage RFID tags and compromise its use.

Package content.

You will find upon receipt of your order, a box containing:
– A Play Board (unless your order only includes Play Pads)
– Play Pads included in your order
– USB-C to USB-C cable
– Apple lightning and USB-A adapters
– A storage case

Equipment connection.

The Joué Play has been conceived to be Plug & Play. It means you just need to plug it to any device with the app using the USB-C to USB-C cable. If needed, you may use the Apple Lightning or USB-A adapter.
Launch the app, place a pad on the board and start making music.

The Joué Play app

The Joué Play app is available to download on Windows (8.1 and higher), Mac OS X (10.11 and higher) and iOS (10.3 and higher) for iPad.
When you launch the app, you will be asked to connect your Joué Play to the device you are using.
To do so, use the cable provided and, if needed, an adapter.

My music creations

Once the device is plugged in, you will have the possibility to create a new track or continue a previous creation. You will also find a selection of demo songs to familiarize yourself with the instrument and its possibilities. Video tutorials are also available on our
You tube channel to help you practice your skills.

Organize your sessions
On the main screen of the app (My music creation), accessible from the “Joué” button at the top left corner of the app, several actions are possible for each previously created session. You will have the possibility to rename, duplicate, delete or share each session.

Share a session
Two sharing options will show up when you click on the “sharing” button. You will have the possibility to export your creation in an audio format, by doing so, each track of your song will be summed into one and only master track. You will also have the possibility to share your Joué project, so any user of the app will be able to open your session, alter it or add an element or two and then collaborate with you directly from the app.

Create a new track

If you want to start a new project, click on “Create a new track”, then, if it has not been done before, place a pad on your board to start playing music.

Musical creation – your first steps

The Joué Play has been conceived with the purpose of making musical practice as simple as possible, and it’s also the case for its app. You just need to place a pad on your board to create a track, anytime.

Pick a sound

For each pad, a selection of sounds will be available. Once you have placed a pad on your board, a default preset will be selected, just click on the instrument icon to change the sound of your pad. For each pad, 10 sounds will be available, you can experiment with
associated effects and make them more unique.

Play and record

On the middle of the screen, two buttons will be available:
– Play: plays what has been previously recorded
– Rec: record a loop
When you click on the “Rec” button, there will be a 4 beat countdown before the begginng of the recording. 1, 2, 3 ,4, GO ..
You can erase or undo a recording by clicking the “go back” arrow or the cross under each instrument after a recording. The undo function will erase or restore the last recording. The erase function will delete all recording of the selected track.

Tempo and metronome
In order to help you play in rhythm, you can use the metronome so you will hear a click on each beat. Simply click on the metronome button to activate this sound.
You can also adjust the speed of your track, its tempo, by clicking the tempo button. By default, tempo is set at 120 BPM, it can be changed anytime. If you already have recorded tracks, their speed will change too.

Adjust tracks volume

By clicking the volume button on the bottom left corner of the app, you will be able to adjust the volume of each track individually.
The master track is the sum of all the tracks. If you reduce the master track volume level, the global volume of your music will be reduced.

Settings
You can access the setting menu from the setting button at the left top corner of the app. From this menu you can:

– Change the length of the loop (“bar”). By default, a new session will be 4 bars long. One bar equals 4 beats and each beat is counted by the metronome. For example, when we say “3, 4” before starting to play or when a drummer gives chopsticks strokes we are counting beats.
– Set the volume of the metronome sound.
– Prevent recording by activating the “play only” function
– See the credits of the app

Audio/MIDI settings
On a computer or a mac, another setting will be available, the audio/MIDI setting. More complex, we recommend that you keep default settings on that section. This menu allows you to control several audio settings such as:
– Audio device type : The type of audio interface you are using. If you have an external audio interface you can select it here.
– Output : The audio output used, if you are using monitors for example select them here.
– Active output channel : If multiple audio channels are available, you can activate or deactivate them here.
– Sample rate : The sample rate of the session, by default 48kHz.
– Audio buffer size : The size of the buffer, if you have some latency or some lags, you can reduce it here.

The Play Board and its Play Pads

Discover in detail the functions of each element composing the Joué Play.

Play Board
Made from wood and metal, the Play Board contains pressure-sensitive sensors (RFID). The device has been conceived to detect any pads placed on it automatically. Alone, the Play Board does not make any sound, you need to connect it to a device with the Joué Play application.

Play Pads
There are four Pads available, piano, drums, keys and guitar. Each of them has its own special features but there are as well common functions. On each pad you will find some transport functions ▷/⭘ allowing you to play your song or start recording directly from the instrument.
At the right top corner of each pad, a silicon grip allows you to change pad easily. Also, every pad has a function to change octaves △/▽. Click on an arrow to access sharper (right) or deeper (left) notes.
Caution, on the drum module (Play Drum Pad), the octave function has been built to change soundbanks. At this date, there is only one soundbanks by drum preset, this function is then unavailable.

Play Piano Pad

Similar to a piano, you will find on the Play Piano Pad 25 keys that correspond to 2 octaves plus the C note of the next octave.
Effect strip : Slide your finger on the strip from left to right to adjust the effect level, by default, the effect is disabled.
Effect bubble : Press the bubble to activate the associated effect, it will be more or less intense depending on the pressure you are applying on the bubble. The effect will end whenever you release the pressure.
Each sound has its own effects, we invite you to discover them by yourself.
Some sound will allow you to make some glide effects. Play a note and slide your finger on the pad without releasing the pressure to change the tonality of the sound.

Play Drum Pad

The Play Drum Pad is composed of 12 identical pads, each of them has its own percussive sound.
Select a drum kit from the app and discover the 12 associated sounds of each kit.
Effect Area : enables to control two effects regarding two axis X & Y. Slide your finger on the area to adjust the quantity of each effect. On the X axis (horizontal) add some distortion to your sound, on the Y axis (vertical) add some reverb (persistence of sound over time) to it.
Effect bubble : Press the bubble to activate the associated effect, it will be more or less intense depending on the pressure you are applying on the bubble. The effect will end whenever you release the pressure.

Play Guitar Pad

Joué Play’s guitar pad. It represents the 7 first frets of a guitar neck. The note on the left of the pad represents the note you get when you play an “empty” string.
Vibrato, slide and glissando effects are available on this pad, slide your finger when you play a note the change the tone of the sound or change the pressure you’re applying to create a vibrato effect.
Effect Area : allows to control each sound effect. Adjust the intensity of the effet by sliding your finger from bottom to top.
Effect bubble : Press the bubble to activate the associated effect, it will be more or less intense depending on the pressure you are applying on the bubble. The effect will end whenever you release the pressure.

Play Keys Pad

Composed of 17 keys, the Play Keys Pad enables to play melodies or lush pads with a fixed scale (group of notes). For the moment, the scale is E pentatonic.
Effect strip : Slide your finger on the strip from left to right to adjust the effect level, by default, the effect is disabled.
Effect bubble : Press the bubble to activate the associated effect, it will be more or less intense depending on the pressure you are applying on the bubble. The effect will end whenever you release the pressure.

Technical specifications

Material
PEFC beechwood and metal. Silicon pads.
Sizes
360 (L) x 130 (l) x 15,6 (H) mm
Weight
650 g
Connectivity
USB-C to USB-C or Apple Lightning or USB-A with adapters
Power supply
No batteries, works with USB-C
Sizes (pads)
270 mm (L) x … mm (l)

CAUTION: Changes or Modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible could void the user’s authority to operate this device.
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
NOTE: 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. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment.

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