FUNKBOX Instruction Manual
CHAPTER 1: QUICK START
Figure 1: FunkBox tab menu
The iPhone version of FunkBox is split up into five parts, each with its own page, that you can navigate to with the use of the tabs on the bottom of the screen. Each tab contains a collection of functions that let you choose or change the beat in certain ways. Some tabs, like TAP (2), are easier to understand. Others, like EDIT (4) let you get deep into editing the drum patterns, but are a bit more complicated and can take some time to understand.
Don't feel like you have to understand and use every tab! You can have plenty of fun using just a couple of them to start with, and as you get more comfortable, move on to the more complicated stuff later.
Here's a short description of what each of the tabs do:
A: FUNK
The FUNK tab (A) is where you will start, and where you choose the basic beat that you will be playing by pressing the colored rectangular buttons. This is also where you start and stop the FunkBox, and where you can set how fast it plays.
QUICK START: Try pressing the different colored buttons on the bottom half of the screen (Funk-1, Funk-2, Disco-3) and listen to the changes in the drum patterns when you do that. Then adjust the tempo slider, the slider on the top in the middle, to hear the beat go faster or slower. Press the Start/Stop button, square button at the top left, to start and stop the beat.
B: TAP
The TAP tab (B) is where you can trigger the individual drum sounds, and play along with the beat, by tapping the buttons. This is a fun and easy tab to play with!
QUICK START: Just tap the buttons and make some noise.
C: MIX
The MIX tab (C) is where you set the volume of each of the individual parts of the drum beat. You can also mute individual parts, for example, to take away the hi-hats or snares for a measure, then bring them back in.
QUICK START: Try pressing all the mute buttons, they are the bottom row of buttons with red LEDs on top, so all the parts are silenced. The red LEDs should turn off as you do this. Now choose one part, for example SD (SNARE DRUM), and adjust the volume for that part by movingthe slider above it. Now bring the other parts in one by one, by pressing their mute buttons again and un-muteing them, and adjust their volumes too.
D: EDIT
The EDIT tab (D) is where you get down and deep into creating or modifying drum patterns. This one can be complicated if you haven't done this sort of thing before, so if you haven't played with a drum machine in the past don't get discouraged! Just keep at it until it starts making sense. Each row of square buttons represents a single drum instrument. Each column represents a step in time. So by flipping the squares off and on, you are deciding which parts will play at a particular moment in time.
QUICK START: Flip the "Chase Switch" and watch the eight red LEDs on the bottom of the screen, and the four SEQ buttons on the top, to get an idea of what's happening over time. Press and unpress the square tan buttons in the middle, and listen to what that does, to start programming some patterns!
E: BOX
The BOX tab (E) is where you pick which drum machine you want to use. FunkBox uses samples from a bunch of classic old school beatboxes, and a couple new school classics. As of v2.0 you can also customize these boxes, and even import your own samples. For now just check out the nine different preset drum machines we've included.
QUICK START: Browse through the pictures of the different drum boxes and listen to how each one sounds.