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Alesis QS7 Musical Instrument User Manual

1. MIX GenMIDI GM Multi l For more information about General MIDI refer to the MIDI Supplement in Appendix B USING THE PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD SLOTS 18 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Your First Session Chapter 2 Your QS is an expandable system using the two PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slots on the back panel There are three different kinds of Sound Cards available through your Alesis dealer or directly from Alesis e SRAM cards The Alesis Virtual Composer card provides an additional four banks of Program Mix memory All banks can be stored to by the user and it comes with additional Programs and Mixes pre stored e QCards These read only memory cards provide actual samples plus the Programs and Mixes that use them in a single card bank Available QCards include a Stereo Grand Piano card a Pop Rock card that includes high quality guitar drum bass and keyboard sounds a World Ethnic card and a Rap Techno Dance card e Flash RAM cards If you want to burn your own custom sample cards Flash RAM cards are available in 2 MB 4 MB and 8MB sizes Alesis Sound Bridge software see next section will translate from Sample Cell format to Alesis QS Composite Synthesis format and then you can write your own custom Programs and Mixes that use these samples To use a sound card with the QS Hold the card with the front label facing up and insert the exposed contact end gently into either of the QS s PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slots
2. 40 VOICE VOICE SELECT ER CHANNEL 15 N 50 LEVEL LEVEL SELECT EQ CHANNEL 16 en PITCH PITCH LEVEL MOD 70 FILTER FILTER PITCH LEZUE 80 AMP RANGE AMP RANGE EFFECT PITCH 90 PITCH SE EE DELAY ENVELOPE ss 3 y 100 FILTER BEER E REVERB ENVELOPE 110 AMPENVELOPE DECAY RANGE TI OVERDRIVE 120 NAME NAME NAME MIX QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Overview Chapter 4 COMPARING EDITED AND STORED VERSIONS When you edit a Program or Mix you are actually editing a copy which is ina temporary edit buffer Therefore to retain the results of your edit you must save it to a particular memory location see the next section on Storing If you change memory locations before saving the buffer will be replaced and your edits lost Because the original Program Mix remains undisturbed you can compare the edited version to the original by using the Compare function You can only select Compare mode when either Mix Edit Program Edit or Effects Edit is selected and the symbol appears in the display next to the Mix Program s name whil in either Mix Play Mode or Program Play Mode Indicates Program or Mix has been edited PROG PRESET1 GrandPianoliCho1 l While in an Edit Mode the letters ED should appear in the upper left section of the display press COMPARE The letters ED in the displa
3. Global Settings Chapter 8 KEYBOARD SCALING Page 4 Page 4 of Global Edit mode lets you adjust how sensitive the keyboard s velocity will be 00 to 99 When set to 0 the keyboard will have the greatest dynamic range but loud notes will be more difficult to play When set for 99 the opposite is true loud notes are easier to play but softer notes are not as soft The default value is 65 but you should adjust this parameter to fit your own playing style KEYBOARD TRANSPOSE Page 5 Page 5 of Global Edit mode lets you control the keyboard transposition 12 to 12 up or down 1 octave This determines the note number that the keyboard will transmit to the QS s sounds and to MIDI Out If you are using a MIDI sequencer use this function when you wish to record notes outside of the keyboard s normal note range note numbers 36 96 When set to 12 the QS7 keyboard range is note numbers 16 91 Likewise if set to 12 the range would be 40 115 KEYBOARD M ODE Page 6 Page 6 of Global Edit mode lets you select the Keyboard Mode NORMAL CH SOLO OUT 1 OUT 16 This determines how the keyboard will function When in Mix Mode you have the option to transmit on several MIDI channels at once or to temporarily isolate certain channels within a Mix NORMAL In Program Mode the keyboard will transmit on the selected MIDI channel In Mix Mode the MIDI channels the keyboard transmits on will correspond to whatever layers or spl
4. e Use the 00 120 buttons to select a Sound Group then use the 0 9 buttons to select a Program within the Sound Group The selected Sound Group determines the tens digit of the selected Program s number Example Selecting the 60 Sound Group lets you select Programs 60 through 69 The 100 Sound Group lets you select Programs 100 through 109 e Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to step forwards and backwards through all the Programs one at a time J When in Program Play Mode and the 120 Group is selected the 8 and 9 buttons will not function since Programs only go from 00 to 127 SELECTING PROGRAM BANKS The QS provides five internal Banks containing 128 Programs in each and 100 Mixes each but we ll get to Mixes in a moment The currently selected Bank will be shown in the upper line of the display just above the currently selected Program s name Current Bank PROG PRESET1 GrandPiano_Cho1 l e Use the BANK and BANK I buttons to select a Bank User Preset 1 3 GenMIDI User and Preset Banks are described in detail in Chapter 4 14 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Your First Session Chapter 2 REALTIME PERFORMANCE FUNCTIONS The QS provides various ways to control the sound as you are playing Try out some of these functions while playing the keyboard The sound of the effects can also change by using these controllers The effect of these realtime controllers varies from
5. 6 62 Sustain Pedal Amp Amp ENV 9 68 Sustain Pedal Filter Filter ENV 9 65 Sustain Pedal Pitch Pitch ENV 9 63 Time Track Amp ENV Amp ENV 8 68 Time Track Filter ENV Filter ENV 8 65 Time Track Pitch ENV Pitch ENV 8 62 Track Input Track Gen 1 77 Track Points 0 10 TrackGen_ 2 12 77 Tuning Semitone Pitch 1 54 Tuning Detune Pitch 2 54 Tuning Type Pitch 3 54 Velocity Filter l 3 56 QS6 Reference Manual Parameters Index Appendix C Page in Parameter Function Page Manual Velocity Curve Crossfade ___Amp Range 1 58 Sound Group Voice 3 51 Sound Name Voice 4 51 Sound Volume Level 1 53 Ce Function Page Manual Display Page in Aftertouch Controllers 2 39 Controllers A D Controllers 4 39 Effect Channel Effect 2 38 Effect MIDI Effect 1 38 Keyboard Keyboard MIDI __ 3 38 MIDI In Keyboard MIDI _ 1 38 MIDI Out Keyboard MIDI _ 2 38 Name Name 1 10 40 Pitchbend and Mod Wheels Controllers 1 39 Program Effect Bus Level 6 37 Program Effect Level Level 5 37 Program Enable Level 1 37 Program Output Level 4 37 Program Pan Level 3 37 Program Volume Level 2 37 Range Lower limit Range 1 40 Range Upper Lim
6. MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART Function _ Transmitted Recognized Remarks Basic Default 1 16 1 16 Channel Changed 1 16 each 1 16 each Memorized Default Mode 3 Mode 3 Mode Messages A A Number Tue Voice 0 127 Velocity Note On O O _Note Off LO LO After Key s X O Touch _Ch s LO LO Pitch Bender o o Control 0 120 O O Prog Olo 12 O1 0 127 Change Tue EE 0 127 System Exclusive o o System Song Pos D X Common Song Sel X X System Clock X X Realtime Commands 13 X Aux Local On Off X 0 Messages All Notes Off X O Active Sense X X Reset xX o2 Po GM OD JE O Notes 1 O X is selectable 2Recognized as ALL NOTES OFF Mode 1 OMNI ON POLY Mode 3 OMNI OFF POLY O Yes Mode 1 OMNI ON MONO Mode 4 OMNI OFF MONO XxX No 136 QS6 Reference Manual Parameters Index Appendix C APPENDIX C PARAMETERS INDEX PROGRAM EDIT PARAMETERS Parameter Function __ Page Display LW Page in Manual Aftertouch Depth Am ___Amp Range 2 S Aftertouch Depth ALFO Amp LFO 7 76 Aftertouch Depth Filter Filter 5 57 Aftertouch Depth FLFO Filter LFO 7 75 Aftertouch Depth Pitch Pitch 5 54 Aftertouch Depth PLEO Pitch LFO 7 74 Amp ENV Level Amp ENV 10 68 Amp ENV Trigger Amp ENV
7. Page 5 Config 5 This is only available in Configurations 3 and 5 Adjusting this value will cause the Lezlie Output Level to increase or decrease Even if this parameter is set to 00 the output of the Pitch section is still available depending on the bus and configuration to following Delay and Reverb sections Overdrive Level 00 to 99 Page 1 Config 5 Only This is only available in Configuration 5 Adjusting this value will cause the Overdrive Output Level to increase or decrease The Overdrive Output level is the level for the Overdrive Section of the QS s effects processor to the main outputs and should be set as desired QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 111 Global Settings Chapter 8 CHAPTER 8 GLOBAL SETTINGS Global Edit Mode is where you will find several parameters which affect the entire instrument such as overall master tuning controller settings and keyboard mode EDITING GLOBAL PARAMETERS To select Global Edit Mode follow these steps Dress the EDIT SELECT button Press the BANK P button The display will look like this Use the lt PAGE and PAGE gt buttons to scroll through the various pages of Global Edit Mode Use the CONTROLLER D slider to adjust the selected Global parameter The following sections describe in detail each of the parameters found in the nineteen Global Edit Mode pages MASTER PITCH Page 1 Page 1 of Global Edit Mode lets you adjust the QS s
8. sound 1 54 To edit a Program you must select Program Edit mode This is done by pressing the EDIT SELECT once from Program Play Mode each time you press EDIT SELECT in Program Mode the display cycles between Program Edit and Effects Edit Modes When editing a Program in Program Mode the letters ED PRG will appear in the display s edit status section upper left corner ED PRG SOUNDI r SOUND ENABLE ON _ A Program may also be edited from within a Mix This requires that you press the EDIT SELECT button twice from Mix Play Mode each time you press EDIT SELECT in Mix Mode the display cycles between Mix Edit Program Edit and Effects Edit Modes When editing a Program in Mix Mode the letters ED MX CH will appear in the display s edit status section upper left corner with the channel number that is being edited immediately following ED MX CHa SNDiza SOUND ENABLE ON _ VOICE The Voice function press 40 is the most fundamental part of Program editing It is where you choose the particular sample that forms the basis of a sound To avoid scrolling through long lists of samples remember there are 8 megabytes of sounds in here sounds are divided into groups After selecting the group you then select the sound within the group Sound Enable Page 1 This is the master on off switch for the selected sound 1 4 of the current Program To avoid using up polyphony unnecessarily set
9. 99 to 99 Page 3 At 00 the modulation source has no effect on the destination Higher positive values increase the amount of modulation Negative values also increase the amount of modulation but with negative phase i e if the modulation would normally be increasing with depth set to a positive number the modulation would instead be decreasing at that same moment had the depth been set to a negative number Gate Mode Off or On Page 4 The Gate Mode function is available only on modulation routings 1 through 4 When Gate Mode is on the Modulator will only be routed while notes are being played In other words you can gate the effect of the Modulator so that it stops when you are not playing any notes This can be used on sounds with medium to long release times where an interesting effect like tremolo is intended to be active while holding notes down but deactivated as the sound is fading away after being released Quantize Mode Off or On The Quantize Mode function is only available in modulation routings 4 through 6 When Quantize Mode is on the modulation effect will be stepped When off the effect will be smooth or linear Example lf you were to route the Modulation Wheel to Pitch with an amplitude of 99 moving the Mod Wheel while the Quantize parameter was off would cause the pitch of a held note to slide up much the same way it does when the Pitch Bend Wheel is used However moving the Mod Wheel while the Quantize
10. Ha Clsd1 Hat3 Clsd2 Ha Open1 Hat3 Open2 Hat Beat 1 Hat Beat 2 Hat Beat 3 Hat Beat 4 Hat Beat 5 Hat Beat 6 Hat Beat 7 Hat Beat 8 Hat Beat 9 Hat Beat10 Agogo Loop Bongo Loop CabasaLoop CastanetLp CongaLoop1 Shaker Lp1 Shaker Lp2 SleighLoop Tabla Ga Lp Tabla Ka Lp Tabla Na Lp Tabla Te Lp TablaTin Lp Taiko Loop PercBeat1 PercBeat2 PercBeat3 PercBeat4 VoiceLoop1 VoiceLoop2 PhonicLoop SpinalLoop Tr Loop 1 Tri Loop 2 Orch Loop QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 LEVEL The Level function press 40 allows you to control the volume pan position output assignment and effects send level for each sound layer With up to four sounds per program this allows for a wide variety of stereo effects and level balances between the sounds Volume 00 to 99 Page 1 This sets the overall volume for a sound Higher numbers give higher levels Pan lt 3 to 3 gt Page 2 There are 7 available pan locations in the stereo two channel field Far left 3 mid left near left center 0 near right mid right and far right 3 The pan value is maintained even if the Output value is changed see below Output Main Aux or Off Page 3 The Output parameter has three settings Main Aux or Off To send the sound s output to the Main outputs select Main To send the sound s output to the Aux outputs select Aux To turn off the sound s output set this parameter to Off Note however th
11. However if an SRAM Sound Card is inserted into the Sound Card Slot on the rear panel of the QS you may select any of the available Banks on the Sound Card to save the edited Mix into Press STORE This selects Store Mode The display will look like this SaveMix STORE to USER 12 Mix Bank Mix Number The Mix Number will be the identical to the last Mix number selected Optional lf a Sound Card is inserted Use the s VALUE button to select a Bank on the Sound Card o Use the 0 9 and 00 120 buttons to select a Mix location 00 99 within the selected Bank The selected Bank and Mix number location will appear in the display yV Press STORE to save the Mix into the selected location The Mix has now been stored and the display will revert back to whatever was shown before STORE was pressed the first time ENABLING GENERAL MIDI MODE If you are using a General MIDI sequencer and or playing a sequence that is programmed to take advantage of General MIDI turn the General MIDI function in the QS on Press EDIT SELECT then press GLOBAL The display will now be in Global Edit Mode Press PAGE I 6 times to advance to page 7 This selects the General MIDI parameter in the display Press the S VALUE button This turns on General MIDI mode and automatically puts you into Mix Play Mode with Mix 00 of Preset Bank 4 selected This display should look like this
12. LOWPASS FILTER A lowpass filter varies a signal s harmonic content by progressively increasing attenuation above a specified cutoff frequency The higher frequencies are filtered while the lower frequencies are allowed to pass thru When the cutoff frequency is set high the sound becomes brighter when set low the sound becomes bassier since fewer harmonics are present Cubctt Feaquency Frequency Repon Cure Oh S Fitter Amplitude 5 Frequency UU OO The cutoff parameter changes the frequency at which the high frequency response starts to roll off Lower values give a lower cutoff frequency A value of OO will cut all sound off Static non changing filter settings can be useful but varying the filter cutoff dynamically over time often produces more interesting effects Modulating with velocity produces brighter sounds with louder dynamics which produces a more accurate acoustic instrument simulation Modulating with an envelope can create a pre defined change in harmonic structure such as having a brighter attack and bassier decay AMP QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Each voice filter combination is followed by an amplifier whose level can be controlled by a variety of modulation sources This allows for creating sounds with percussive or slow attacks particular types of decays tremolo etc Filter and amp settings can interact If the filter cutoff is extremely low then
13. Program to Program in some they may not be active and in others they may have a dramatic effect e Velocity The volume and tonal quality of the sound will change according to how hard you play the keyboard e Aftertouch The action of pressing a key down after playing it is called aftertouch it is also sometimes referred to as Pressure since it corresponds to the amount of pressure being applied to the keyboard Pitch tone and volume among other things can be changed using aftertouch e Pitch Bend Wheel While playing a note you can move the PITCH BEND WHEEL up to raise the pitch or down to lower the pitch The amount of pitch bend available can be different for each Program e Modulation Wheel By raising the MODULATION WHEEL you can add expressive modulation effects such as vibrato or tremolo while you play The type of modulation effect can be different for each Program e Controller A D Sliders This is described below Further expressive control is available with a pedal switch included or expression pedal optional see page 25 By connecting a pedal switch to the SUSTAIN jack on the rear panel you can have the sound sustain even after you release the keys By connecting an expression pedal to the PEDAL 1 jack you can use the pedal to change the volume or tone or some other quality such as reverb depth or vibrato speed of the sound if the Program is edited to use the pedal s THE CONTROLLER A D S
14. Snare Lp 7 Snare Lp 8 Snare Lp 9 SnareBeat1 SnareBeat2 SnareBeat3 SnareBeat4 SnareBeat5 Back Beat1 Back Beat2 Back Beat3 Back Beat4 Hat1 Clsd1 Hat1 Clsd2 Hati Foot Hati Open Hati Open2 Hat2 Clsd1 Hat2 Clsd2 Hat2 Foot Hat2 Open1 Hat Open2 Ha Clsd1 Ha Clsd2 Ha Open1 Hat Open2 Hat Beat 1 Hat Beat 2 Hat Bea 3 Hat Beat 4 Hat Beat 5 Hat Beat 6 Hat Beat 7 Hat Beat 8 Hat Beat 9 Hat Beat10 Agogo Bongo Loop CabasaLoop CastanetLp CongaLoop1 Shaker Lp1 Shaker Lp2 SleighLoop Tabla Ga Lp Tabla Ka Lp Tabla Na Lp Tabla Te Lp TablaTin Lp Taiko Loop PercBeat1 PercBeat2 PercBeat3 PercBeat4 VoiceLoop1 VoiceLoop2 Phonic Loop SpinalLoop Tri Loop Tri Loop 2 Orch Loop Each of the 10 drums in a sound can have its own level pan position and output assignment The Level function press 50 provides these controls Use page 1 to adjust the selected drum s level 00 to 99 page 2 to adjust pan position lt 3 to gt 3 page 3 to select the Output assignment Main Aux or Off Page 4 lets you adjust the Effect Send level 00 to 99 and page 5 lets you select the Effects Bus 1 2 3 or 4 TI P To send a drum to an individual output use Output in conjunction with Pan Example Panning a drum full left and selecting the Aux outputs means that the drum will appear at only the left Aux output PITCH The Pitch function press 60 lets you transpose the selected drum up or down one octave in micro step 1
15. Vibrasmak2 Wood Block Rain 1 Rain 2 Bird Tweet Bird Loop Telephone Jungle 1 Jungle 2 Jungle 3 Jungle 4 GoatsNails ScrtchPul1 ScrtchPul2 ScrtchPsh1 ScrtchPsh2 ScratchLp1 ScratchLp2 ScrtchPLp1 ScrtchPLp2 ScrtchPLp3 SertchPLp4 Orch Hit Null Orch Dance Hit Null Dance Rez Zip RezAttack1 RezAttack2 RezAttkVel Zap Attk 1 Zap Attk 2 Zap Attk 3 Fret Noise Sci Loop 1 Sci Loop 2 Sci Loop 3 Bit Field1 Bit Field2 Bit Field3 Bit Field4 Bit Field5 Bit Field6 WavLoop1 0 WavLoop1 1 WavLoop1 2 WavLoop1 3 WavLoop1 4 WavLoop1 5 WavLoop1 6 WavLoop1 7 WavLoop1 8 WavLoop2 0 WavLoop2 1 WavLoop2 2 WavLoop2 3 WavLoop2 4 WavLoop2 5 WavLoop2 6 WavLoop2 7 WavLoop2 8 WavLoop3 0 WavLoop3 1 WavLoop3 2 WavLoop3 3 WavLoop3 4 WavLoop3 5 WavLoop4 0 WavLoop4 1 WavLoop4 2 WavLoop4 3 WavLoop4 4 WavLoop4 5 D Scrape D ScrapeLp Psi Beat 1 Psi Beat 2 Psi Beat 3 Psi Beat 4 Psi Beat 5 Psi Beat 6 Psi Beat 7 Psi Beat 8 Psi Beat 9 Psi Beat10 Psi Beat11 Psi Beat12 Kick Loop1 Kick Loop2 Kick Loop3 Kick Loop4 Kick Loop5 Kick Loop6 Kick Loop7 Kick Loop8 Kick Loop9 KickLoop10 KickLoop11 Snare Lp 1 Snare Lp 2 Snare Lp 3 Snare Lp 4 Snare Lp 5 Snare Lp 6 Snare Lp 7 Snare Lp 8 Snare Lp 9 SnareBeat1 SnareBeat2 SnareBeat3 SnareBeat4 SnareBeat5 Back Beat1 Back Beat2 Back Beat3 Back Beat4 Hat1 Clsd1 Hat Clsd2 Hat Foot Hati Open Hati Open2 Hat2 Clsd1 Hat2 Clsd2 Hat2 Foot Ha Open Hatz Open2
16. becomes lower in volume e Sustain Pedal The sustain switch plugged into the sustain pedal jack provides this modulation signal e Pedal1 The pedal plugged into the Pedal 1 jack provides this modulation signal The default setting assigns Pedal 1 to MIDI Controller 7 to act as a volume pedal e Pedal 2 The pedal plugged into the Pedal 2 jack provides this modulation signal Pedal 2 can be assigned to any MIDI controller from Global Edit Mode page 12 e Pitch LFO This is the same modulation signal provided by the Pitch LFO The Frequency LFO and Amplitude LFO can also be selected as modulation sources e Pitch Envelope This is the same modulation signal provided by the Pitch Envelope The Frequency Envelope and Amplitude Envelope can also be selected as modulation sources e Random This provides a different modulation value every time you hit a key Example With vintage analog synth patches use pitch as the destination and apply a very slight amount of random modulation Each note will have a slightly different pitch which simulates the natural tuning instability of analog circuits e Trigrate This is a Trigger Rate Follower which monitors how fast notes are being played on the keyboard For example if routed to the Effect send of a Program you could automatically have more effect when playing slowly and less effect when playing quickly 74 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 e Controllers A B C D Four
17. buttons to select the Program Number that uses the Sound you want to copy If necessary use the BANK and BANK I buttons to select a different Bank Press STORE Press PAGE I once to advance to Page 2 The upper section of the display will read COPY SOUND 1 Use the s VALUE and t VALUE buttons to select which Sound 1 4 you wish to copy from the currently select Program Press PAGE i once to advance the cursor to the Program number value in the lower section of the display Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons or move the CONTROLLER D slider to select the Program Number in the User Bank you wish to copy the Sound to 000 127 Or you may copy into any of the four Sounds of the source Program Sound 1 4 Press STORE to complete the copy function COPYING EFFECTS BETWEEN PROGRAMS Follow the steps below to copy the Effects from one Program to another Program in the User Bank Press PROGRAM to select Program Play Mode then use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to select the Program Number that uses the Effects you want to copy If necessary use the i BANK and BANK IF buttons to select a different Bank Press STORE Press PAGE i once to advance to Page 2 The upper section of the display will read COPY SOUND 1 Press the s VALUE button four times until the display reads COPY EFFECT This selects the Effects of the currently selected Program as the source of what
18. is to be copied Press PAGE I once to advance the cursor to the Program number value in the lower section of the display Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons or move the CONTROLLER D slider to select the Program Number in the User Bank you wish to copy the Effects to 000 127 Press STORE to complete the copy function QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 37 Chapter 4 Overview TO AUDITION PROGRAMS BEFORE STORING To look for available memory locations to permanently store your Program into you can move between Program Mode and Mix Mode without losing your changes This is because Program Mode uses a Program edit buffer and Mix Mode uses its own Mix edit buffer along with 16 additional Program edit buffers These buffers are retained when moving between Program Mode and Mix Mode making it easy to search for a suitable location to store your newly created Program Example While in Program Edit mode go to Mix Mode and scroll through the Program list on one of the Channels while editing a Program from Mix Mode go to Program Mode to scroll through the Program list The way to tell the difference between a program edited in Program Mode and one edited from Mix Mode is by looking at the display in Program Edit Mode ED PRG appears in the display while in Mix Edit Mode ED MIX appears J You will lose your changes if you remain in the same mode and recall a different Mix Program by pressing the 0 9 or 00 12
19. s output level AMP ENVELOPE The Amp Envelope function press 110 is crucial for all sounds because it sets the basic characteristics of the note whether it attacks quickly or slowly sustains or decays Some Programs may leave the Amp Envelope in a sustaining mode and provide attack and decay using the Filter Envelope the effect is slightly different Unlike the Pitch and Filter Envelopes the Amp Envelope is always fully active there is no parameter in the Amp Range function adjusting how much envelope is applied to the Amp Attack 00 to 99 Page 1 This is the amount of time the envelope will take until it reaches its maximum output level Setting the Attack to 0 will give a sharp edge to the sound if the Delay is also set to 0 in Amp Envelope Page 5 see below a setting of 99 will result in a much slower attack taking many seconds before the envelope gets to maximum Decay amp Sustain 00 to 99 Pages 2 amp 3 As soon as the attack portion of the envelope finishes when the level reaches maximum the envelope will decay decrease in level The level it reaches is set by the Sustain control how long it takes to get there is set by the Decay control In the special case where the Sustain level is all the way up 99 then there is no decrease and the Decay time segment is bypassed Whatever level the sustain is set to is the level that the decay section of the envelope will head for Depending on the setting of the Sustai
20. 127 in the Appendix B MIDI Supplement PEDALS 1 AND 2 ASSIGNMENT Page 12 amp 13 Like the MIDI Controllers A D the two footpedal controls Pedal 1 and Pedal 2 can be assigned to a MIDI controller Although these two pedals are linked to specific MIDI controllers which can be received from another synth or sequencer Pedal 1 is directly linked to the PEDAL 1 jack on the QS s rear panel Pages 12 and 13 of Global Edit mode lets you assign which MIDI controllers 0 to 120 that Pedal 1 and Pedal 2 will be transmitted as over MIDI Out Simultaneously if the same MIDI controller is received it will control any modulations that use either Pedal 1 or Pedal 2 Page 12 lets you select the controller for Pedal 1 while page 13 lets you select the controller for Pedal 2 Ca When recording into a MIDI sequencer be careful not to accidentally assign either Pedal 1 or 2 to a controller which may already be used by another control like MIDI Volume controller 7 or Mod Wheel controller 1 USING A PEDAL TO CONTROL VOLUME OR MODULATION If Pedal 1 is assigned to Controller 7 Global Edit Mode Page 4 then they will automatically control the volume of e any Sounds in a Program and e in Mix Mode any Sounds that are controlled by the Keyboard Mix Edit Mode Range Page 2 and have Pedals turned on Mix Edit Mode Range Page 3 QS7 0S8 Reference Manual 114 Global Settings Chapter 8 Likewise if either Pedal is assigned to Contr
21. 4th of a half step increments and lets you modulate the drum s pitch with velocity Tune 12 00 to 12 00 Page 1 Determines the tuning of the selected drum 12 00 Velocity gt Pitch 0 to 7 Page 2 Selects how much velocity will affect the selected drum s tuning 0 7 When this value is set to 7 the drum will be played sharp when the associated note is played hard when played soft the drum s tuning will be unaltered FILTER Velocity gt Filter 0 to 3 Page 1 The Filter function press 70 lets you control the brightness of the selected drum by modulating the filter frequency with velocity When set to 3 playing the associated note will result in a brighter sound more high frequencies while playing softer will QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 83 Chapter 6 Editing Programs 84 result in a duller sound less high frequencies When this parameter is set to 0 velocity will have no affect on the filter AMP RANGE Velocity Curve 13 choices Page 1 Page 1 of the Amp Range function press 80 lets you select one of 13 velocity curves This determines how the drum will respond to the dynamics of your playing the keyboard A LINEAR curve is the norm whereby the increase in level is equal to the increase in velocity the velocity values increase as you play harder Many of the Velocity Curves make up sets to be used by 2 3 or 4 drums in order to facilitate velocity crossfading whereby a different drum is played
22. 7 67 Amp LFO Delay Amp LFO 3 75 Amp LFO Depth Amp Rane 3 59 Amp LFO Level Amp LFO 5 76 Amp LFO Mod Wheel Depth Amp LFO 6 76 Amp LFO Speed Amp LFO 2 75 Amp LFO Trigger Amp LFO 4 75 Amp LEO Waveform Amp LFO 1 75 Attack Amp Amp ENV 1 66 Attack Filter Filter ENV 1 64 Attack Pitch Pitch ENV 2 61 Decay Amp Amp ENV 2 66 Decay Filter Filter ENV 2 64 Decay Pitch Pitch ENV 2 61 Effect Bus Level 5 53 Effect Level Level 4 53 Filter ENV Depth Filter 7 57 Filter ENV Level Filter ENV 10 66 Filter ENV Trigger Filter ENV 7 65 Filter ENV Velocity Depth Filter ENV 11 66 Filter Frequency Filter 1 56 Filter Keyboard Tracking Filter 2 56 Filter LFO Delay Filter LFO 3 74 Filter LFO Depth Filter 6 57 Filter LFO Level Filter LFO 5 74 Filter LFO Mod Wheel Level Filter LEO 6 75 Filter LFO Speed Filter LEO 2 74 Filter LFO Trigger Filter LFO 4 74 Filter LFO Waveform Filter LFO 1 74 Keyboard Mode Pitch 10 55 Mod Wheel Depth Amp LEO _ Amp LFO 6 76 Mod Wheel Depth Filter Filter 4 57 Mod Wheel Depth Filter LFO Filter LFO 6 75 Modulation Destination Mod 1 6 2 71 QS6 Reference Manual 137 Appendix C Parameters Index 138
23. A or B Push the card in until you the slot s eject button extends outward and the card will not go any further To remove the card press the eject button adjacent to the card slot and gently slide the card out of the slot The QS s two PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slots can accommodate any combination of these three card types You can combine QCards and Flash RAM cards that store up to 8 MB of samples each giving you a total of 16 Mb of sound ROM expansion and effectively doubling the internal 16 MB of sound ROM for a total of 32MB When storing Mix and Program Banks to external cards the maximum number of accessible card banks is 11 This is because the QS s grand total of banks possible is 16 and 5 of them are already built into the QS The 11 card banks can be split among the two PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slots Under normal situations this will not be a limitation remember each bank has 128 Programs and 100 Mixes 11 banks gives you 1408 additional Programs and 1100 additional Mixes In other words if you have two SRAM cards 256k each capable of storing up to 4 banks you will have 4 banks available on each card for a total of 8 banks well below the maximum However since it is possible to purchase third party 512k PCMCIA cards and burn these yourself using Sound Bridge software it is possible to physically insert two 8 bank cards which combine for a total of 16 banks In this situation only the first 11 banks will b
24. A LINEAR curve is the norm whereby the increase in level is equal to the increase in velocity the velocity values increase as you play harder Many of the Velocity Curves make up sets to be used by 2 3 or 4 sounds in order to facilitate velocity crossfading whereby a different sound is played depending on how hard or soft the keyboard is played As explained earlier many of the samples to choose from when assigning voices are already velocity switching These samples usually have the word Velo or the letter V in their names indicating that there is actually more than one sample per note which can be selected by how hard or soft each note is played However the velocity point at which these sounds change is fixed and cannot be altered If you want to create your own velocity crossfading Program assign the single sample versions of the same samples MarimbaVel is made up of Marimba Hd and Marimba Sf to two or more sounds then use the appropriate velocity curves for each sound in a three way velocity split sound 1 would use curve 1 of 3 sound 2 would use curve 2 of 3 while sound 3 would use 3 of 3 LINEAR INVERTED MAXIMUM MINIMUMI 99 99 9f L t rE E E e v v Moe E E EZE L L LE o o o o VELOCITY 127 a VELOCITY 127 o VELOCITY 127 o VELOCITY 127 10F2 20F2 10F3 20F3 30F3 99 99 ant 99 L L GE L et E e E vE v vr v E E et E L L LE L o o o o o VELOCITY 127 o VELOCITY
25. Envelope Envelope Envelope LAN Processor t t t t t t Level Buss reverb dely chorus etc Asdqnade Mocuiction Sources velocity aftertouch rocdulation whee pitch bend etc When editing a Program use the 00 30 buttons to select the sound layer you want to edit Let s look at each module s function in detail QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 49 Chapter 6 Editing Programs 50 VOICE This digitally based oscillator provides the actual raw sounds from the 16 megabyte library of on board samples The oscillator s pitch can be tuned to a fixed frequency or modulated Modulation is the process of varying a parameter dynamically over time the oscillator pitch can be modulated by envelope keyboard pressure pedal LFO and other control sources described later Note that the waveforms in the QS are different from those found in samplers or many sample playback units Because the QS has its own filter module and amplitude module for each voice the pure waveforms are relatively bright as bright as the original instrument can be and have a constant sustaining amplitude like an organ So if you listen to a piano voice without setting the filter or amp to the correct settings it won t decay after it is hit as you might expect This gives you the freedom to create the timbre and dynamics you want instead of being chained to the parameters of the original sample
26. File SMF format plus demonstration software we thought you would find interesting Most of these programs are provided in both Macintosh and IBM PC formats SOUND BRIDGE Among the files contained on the CD ROM is a software program called Sound Bridge Sound Bridge is a sound development utility which compiles custom samples from a variety of sources into the QS Synthesis Voice format and downloads the compiled data to an Alesis PCMCIA Flash RAM Sound Card via MIDI Sysex to a QS QuadraSynth Plus Piano or S4 Plus Sound Bridge allows individuals and sound developers to make their own Sound Cards using whatever samples they want Sound Bridge makes this possible without having a PCMCIA card burner attached to your computer All you need is a QS series synth QuadraSynth Plus Piano or S4 Plus Sound Bridge creates a QS Voice multi sample by loading Digidesign Sample Cell or Sample Cell II format Instrument files Using this format Sound Bridge is able to determine key group and velocity group split points root notes sample playback rates tunings start points loop points and loop tunings Sound Bridge can also create QS Voices without Sample Cell Instruments by loading single AIFF Sound Designer or Sound Designer II files Sound Bridge does NOT require Sample Cell hardware The Sample Cell Instrument file or sample file may be loaded directly into Sound Bridge from any disk i e CD ROM floppy disk hard disk
27. Output and Delay Output Input 2 sources include Send 1 4 Overdrive Output Pitch Input Pitch Output Delay Input and Reverb Input Input Balance lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt Page 3 Config 5 only This parameter controls the Balance between the Input 1 and Input 2 signals going into the Lezlie effect When set to lt 99 only the signal coming from Input 1 is routed to the Lezlie When set to 99 gt only the signal coming from Input 2 is routed to the Lezlie When set to lt 0 gt an even mix of both Input 1 and Input 2 are fed to the Lezlie QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 PITCH The Pitch function is used to edit Pitch parameters Pitch Type Page 1 The Pitch Type function allows access to 6 pitch altering modes The Pitch types available are Mono Chorus Stereo Chorus Mono Flange Stereo Flange Pitch Detune and Resonator Although some of these effects can sound similar to one another depending on the parameter settings each is achieved differently and can be quite dramatic under the right circumstances Pitch effects are achieved by splitting the signal into two parts effecting the pitch of one of the parts then mixing them back together This eventual mixing is essential since the overall sound of the effect is achieved by the actual difference between the normal uneffected signal and the effected signal ED MIX FX SND17A PITCH MN CHORUS _ So that you can better
28. Program or Mix 122 Loading an Individual Program or MIX o eeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeeeeeaaeeeeseeaaaeeeeeeeaeeeeeneeaaes 123 Card Storage PDAMiftcattons 123 Saving Programs via MIDI Sys EN 124 APPENDIX A TROUBLE SHOOTING degen 127 Trouble Shooting Wl EE 127 FROSINITLANIZIMG DEE 127 Checking Software Version 127 MaintenanceiGervlce nnna 128 GIG EINE DEE 128 Want Mane EEN 128 Refer All Servicing to Alesis A 128 Obtaining Repair Service 0 0 cccccecceeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeaeeseeeeeseaaeseeaeeesaaeseeeeeessaeeeeneees 128 APPENDIX B MIDI SUPPLEMENT 2 c 0 lt ccc0cccceesscecccccesssesseeeeceeserceececeuessncceessseses 131 WIND B sse ebe e tasesunge ce ad suteataes tad salate chest EE 131 OllSIKe fire UE 131 OUR DEE 132 Channel Messages Mode Messages 132 Channel Messages Voice Messages 132 System Common Messages 134 General MID iiinis lenny deer dedi a a dee 134 APPENDIX C MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHAT 136 APPENDIX D PARAMETERS INDEX 222 c0sssssseseeeeeeeceeseecsecccesccssssssseeneeeeeness 137 Program Edit Parameters seier Enner EA E E NEARE AR aA aE A EEEE ENERE 137 Mix Edit Parameterg roii aita EE AE EE IAA E IAEE E E 139 INDEX EE 140 6 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Setting Up Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 SETTING Up UNPACKING AND INSPECTION Your QS7 QS8 synthesizer was packed carefully at the factory The shipping carton was designed to protect the unit during shipping Please retain this contai
29. Programs V Press s VALUE four times to select EFFECT which is the Effects Patch in the currently selected Program to copy from f Press PAGE I to advance the cursor to the lower line of the display Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to select which Program 0 127 to copy to When selecting another Program location the selected sound will be copied into the same sound location in the selected Program If you select to copy sound 2 to Program 45 the sound will be copied into sound 2 of Program 45 A Press STORE to copy the sound INITIALIZING PROGRAMS 86 If you want to start programming from scratch you can easily reset all parameters to their default settings by re initializing the software Make sure your mod wheel is all the way down before re initializing otherwise the Zero position of the mod wheel will be incorrect To re initialize the QS d Turn the power off i While holding down both Buttons 0 and 3 turn on the power The QS will come on showing Program 01 of Preset Bank 1 with the flag showing in the display and no Program Name This is the Program Mode edit buffer set to the default settings Re initializing will also reset all Global parameters to their default settings and will initialize all edit buffers so that all Mix and Program parameters are reset to their default settings However none of the Programs or Mixes are changed when re initializing the unit You can pr
30. QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Overview Chapter 4 CHAPTER 4 OVERVIEW BASIC ARCHITECTURE The QS contains 16 megabytes of Sound ROM which provide digitized acoustic and electronic samples These samples are organized into 17 sample groups of different types The groups are Piano String Noise Sound FX Chromatic Brass Voice Rhythm Organ Woodwind Ethnic Guitar Synth Drums Bass Wave Percussion Several functions filter amplitude envelope pitch envelope LFO multiple modulation sources signal processors etc can be used to process a sample A Sound is the combination of a sample with its associated processing A Program consists of up to four sounds These sounds can be layered split over specific keyboard ranges or selectively overlapped The QS has a User Bank of 128 Programs that you can modify plus 4 Preset Banks of 512 Preset Programs that are permanently installed in the QS at the factory although the Preset Programs can be edited they must be stored into the User bank to permanently retain your changes Each Program is linked to its own Effects Patch Preset Banks 1 3 and the User bank are organized into 13 Sound Groups of 10 Sounds each and are spread out among the top right row of buttons on the front panel programs 00 09 are pianos 50 59 are basses and so on The GenMIDI bank however does not follow this arrangement it follows the program list of the General MIDI standard A Mix consists of up to 16 Progra
31. QS8 Reference Manual 77 Chapter 6 Editing Programs 78 Aftertouch Depth 99 to 99 Page 7 This is the modulation amount of Aftertouch over the Pitch LFO s Level A positive value raises the level as more Aftertouch is applied A negative value will lower the amount of Pitch LFO level as more Aftertouch is applied FILTER LFO The Filter LFO function press 7 is most often used to apply tremolo like or wah wah effects to a sound The following Filter LFO variables will affect the sound only if the FILTER LFO DEPTH on Page 6 of the FILTER function is set to a value other than 0 or if Filter LFO is a source in the MOD function Also note that the Filter LFO may have no effect if some other modulation source or setting has already pushed the filter cutoff frequency to its maximum Wave 8 choices Page 1 The waveform determines the shape of the LFO Select either Sine Triangle Square Up Sawtooth Down Sawtooth Random Noise or Random For a graphic representation of these waveforms see the diagram in the Wave section of the Pitch LFO description on page 76 Speed 00 to 99 Page 2 Controls the speed or rate of the LFO For fast modulation increase this value For slower modulation decrease this value Delay 00 to 99 Page 3 This is the amount of time that is to occur before the LFO fades in Sometimes it is desirable to have modulation come in a moment or two after a note has been played rather than s
32. a MIDI sequencer The display will look something like this Play Mode Bank Mix Number EE MIX PRESET1 2 ShimmerGrd Mix Name Active MIDI Channels The current mode MIX is displayed in the top left corner followed by the current Bank PRESET1 and the current Mix number 00 The Mix s name Piano amp Pad appears on the lower line of the display and the Active MIDI Channels 1 and 2 are shown at the bottom right In a Mix that uses all 16 MIDI channels such as the Mixes found in the General MIDI Bank the display would look something like this MIX GenMIDI 2 GM Multi 7 l Active MIDI Channels QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 13 Chapter 2 Your First Session SELECTING THE MIDI CHANNEL IN PROGRAM MODE While in Program Play Mode press PROGRAM the QS can transmit and receive information on any single MIDI channel of the 16 available channels The currently selected channel appears in the bottom right corner of the display PROG PRESET1 o GrandPiano_Cho1 l Current MIDI Channel A Use the PAGE and PAGE ki buttons to select a MIDI channel from 1 16 The display will change to indicate the currently selected MIDI channel AUDITIONING INTERNAL PROGRAMS Press the PROGRAM button to select Program Play Mode You can now play the QS keyboard the Program will be whatever was selected when last in Program mode Program number 00 127 j Select a Program using either of these methods
33. but ramps from point to point Tracking Input Page 1 Select the input of the Tracking Generator from the following sources e Note Number e Velocity e Release Velocity Aftertouch e Poly Pressure e ModWheel Pitch Wheel e MIDI Volume e Sustain Pedal e Pedal 1 e Pedal 2 e Pitch LFO e Filter LFO e Amp LFO e Pitch Envelope e Filter Envelope e Amp Envelope e Random e Trig Rate e Controllers A D For detailed descriptions of each of these sources see the section Modulation Source in the Mod section on pages 73 75 Tracking Points 0 10 00 100 Pages 2 12 The remaining pages of the TRACK function control the levels of points 0 10 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 81 Chapter 6 Editing Programs PROGRAMMING DRUM SOUNDS 82 To program a sound in Drum Mode you must first set the Sound Type to Drum for that particular sound in the Voice Function page 2 see previous section The 0 9 buttons are used to select a Drum 1 10 regardless of which Function or Page is selected except Effect Name and Misc For an explanation of the basics of Drum Mode see page 53 VOICE The Voice function press 40 is where you choose the particular sample for the selected drum 1 10 Similar to the normal Assign Voice function sounds are divided into groups After selecting the group on page 3 you then select the sample within the group on page 4 Here is a chart listing the various drum samples in their respec
34. configuration however Pitch 3 can be routed to the Mix only after passing through Reverb 3 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 CONFIGURATION 3 LEZLIE AND REVERB Pitch 1 Delai Reverb 1 Lezlie Mono delay Plate 1 Plate 2 Hall Room Hall Large Gate f Reverse i Pitch 2 Delay2 _ Reverb 2 H Mono chorus Mono delay Balance and level to Reverb 1 Stereo chorus Stereo delay Mono flange Ping pong delay Stereo flange Pitch detune Resonator Pitch 3 Delay3 Reverb3 Resonator Mong dela Balance and level to Reverb 1 Delay 4 Reverb 4 Mono delay Mix and level to Reverb 1 This Configuration is similar to Configuration 1 except it provides a stereo Lezlie effect on send 1 which emulates a rotating speaker effect commonly heard with organ sounds This is followed by a Delay effect before going to the single stereo Reverb effect Sends 2 and 3 have Pitch modules preceding Delay modules which are then routed to Reverb 1 Send 4 has only a Mono Delay effect which may also be routed to Reverb 1 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 95 Chapter 7 Editing Effects CONFIGURATION 4 REVERB AND EQ ALR LEET AL LEFT AUS FIGHT ALG FIGHT MAI LEFT MAM LEFT MAIN FIGHT MAIN FAGHT Fa SEMD 1 Fx SEMD 2 4 Pitch 1 Delayi Reverb 1 Mono chorus Mono delay Plate 1 Stereo chorus Stereo delay Plate 2 Mono flange P
35. depending on how hard or soft the keyboard is played However each drum must be in a different sound layer of the Program in order to be stacked on the same note If you want to create your own velocity crossfading Program assign the related versions of the same drum samples Conga High and Conga Lo the same key in different Program Sound layers then use the appropriate velocity curves for each drum in a three way velocity split drum 1 would use curve 1 of 3 drum 2 would use curve 2 of 3 while drum 3 would use 3 of 3 For more details about the 13 velocity curves see the illustration on page 62 Note 000 to 127 C 2 to G8 Page 2 Each drum can be assigned to a single note which will trigger the drum sound when played You can also set the note assignment by holding 80 and tapping the key on the keyboard you want to set as the note for the drum Only one drum can be assigned to a single note within a single Program sound If more than one drum in a sound is assigned to the same note only the higher number drum will sound Note Range 0 to 3 Page 3 Each drum can be assigned a range of notes up to 3 above the root note which will trigger the drum sound when played This parameter specifies the note range of the selected drum 0 to 3 AMP ENVELOPE Decay 0 to 99 Gate00 to Gate99 Page 1 Page 1 in the Amp Envelope press 110 Function lets you adjust the Decay time of the selected drum
36. effect unless either the Aftertouch or the Level is set to raise the Filter LFO output If both the Level and Aftertouch are set to 00 and the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 99 the Mod Wheel will have no effect on the tremolo from the Filter LFO Aftertouch Depth 99 to 99 Page 7 This is the modulation amount of Aftertouch over the Filter LFO s Level A positive value raises the level as more Aftertouch is applied A negative value will lower the amount of Filter LFO level as more Aftertouch is applied AMP LFO The Amp LFO function press 8 is usually used to add tremolo to a sound J The Amp LFO variables will have an effect only if the AMP LFO DEPTH in the AMP function page 3 is set to a value other than 0 or if Amp LFO is a source in the MOD function Wave 8 choices Page 1 The waveform determines the shape of the LFO Select either Sine Triangle Square Up Sawtooth Down Sawtooth Random Noise or Random See the diagram in the Wave section of the Pitch LFO description on page 76 Speed 00 to 99 Page 2 Controls the speed or rate of the LFO For fast modulation increase this value For slower modulation decrease this value Delay 00 to 99 Page 3 This is the amount of time that is to occur before the LFO fades in Sometimes it is desirable to have modulation come in a moment or two after a note has been played rather than starting instantly The higher the value the slower the LFO fades in Trigg
37. found in Configuration 3 include Motor on off Speed fast slow and Horn Level 6 to 6 db In addition to these the Lezlie found in Configuration 6 also provides 3 additional parameters Input 1 Input 2 and Input 1 amp 2 Balance The Lezlie in Configuration 3 takes its input from the Send 1 signal In Configuration 5 the Lezlie can receive a combination of two inputs which can be assigned to a variety of sources Motor On Off Page 1 Config 3 or Page 4 Config 5 This determines whether the Lezlie is operating or not When turned on the rotating speaker effect slowly starts up When turned off the effect slowly dies down until a complete stop When using this parameter as a Mod Destination see above be sure to set it opposite of the Mod Level Example If the Mod Source is a footswitch and the level is at 100 set the Motor to OFF so that the footswitch turns on the motor when pressed and turns off the motor when released Speed Slow Fast Page 2 Config 3 or Page 5 Config 5 This determines the speed the rotating effect spins Horn Level 6 to 6 dB Page 3 Config 3 or Page 6 Config 5 This allows you to cut or boost the high frequency signal from the Lezlie effect from 6 to 6 dB in 1 dB increments Input 1 amp 2 Pages 1 amp 2 Config 5 only Pages 1 and 2 of the Lezlie effect found in Configuration 5 lets you select from two possible input sources Input 1 sources include Reverb
38. ia aat 27 Oe EE 28 Program ele 28 Mix Play Mode ozeeEENReNEAEN Eed ee SENNENG deren eee eer 28 Program Edit Mode EE 28 MiX Edit MOJE niiina auae a dee EEEN edd deet 29 Effects Edil MOOG aricii eea Ta aE EEN AA EAEE AI ELEA ENS 29 Global Edit Mole rninistr lactate deena deiner aed Gentle 29 Ore lee 29 Compare Mode enaere sperante e ade ekaman eae Fan E aa aai vests in deen ra IER ied 29 Table of Contents The User Interface Display Functions Pages and Parameters ssesssssssssseseeenneen 30 About the Display ET 30 PAGS El 32 Editing Values roiie rei eere den alate iain teenies intial aati 32 Resetting a Parameter Value ceceecceeeeeeneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeneaeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeeees 32 Parameter Editing Cvervlew rnent nt 32 Selecting Functions and Parameters ccccccccceeeeecseeeeceeeeeeeeaeeeeeeeeseeeeseaeees 33 Comparing Edited and Stored Versions cccccccccecceeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeeceeeeseeeeesiaeeetennees 34 Preset Memory and User Memory 0 0 ccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeenneeeeeeeaeeeeeeeaaeeeeeetaeeeeenenaeeeeeeeaea 34 elle DEE eh 35 Sto re a Program or ON 35 Copying Sounds Between Programs sesssssessressrssssrstsinresirsrrnnsrinssrnessrnssrns 36 Copying Effects Between Programs ccccsceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenaeeeeeeeeeesaeeeteneees 36 To Audition Programs Before Grortmg 37 5 enk le EE 39 UE NEE 39 Program Assign for each MIDI Chanel 39 Mix ele 39 Understanding the Edit BUNG S
39. included in this manual so that you can understand the many ways in which you can process a signal as it works its way from oscillator to output THE NORMALIZED SYNTH VOICE The first synthesizers were comprised of various hardware modules some of which generated signals and some of which processed those signals These were designed to be general purpose devices since nobody was quite sure how they would be applied some engineers used them as signal processors while keyboard players treated them as musical instruments Therefore patch cords connected the inputs and outputs of the various signal generating and processing modules which is why particular synth sounds were called patches Changing a patch involved manually repositioning patch cords and adjusting knobs and switches recreating a patch required writing down all the patch settings on paper so they could be duplicated later Even then due to the imprecision of analog electronics the patch might not sound exactly the same Over the years certain combinations of modules seemed to work better than others and since patch cords were troublesome to deal with eventually these modules were wired together in a normalized configuration Synthesizers such as the MiniMoog Prophet 5 and others eliminated the need for patch cords by containing a normalized collection of sound modules including oscillators filter envelopes LFOs etc The QS offers the best of both
40. incoming MIDI controllers can be recognized by the QS and used as modulation sources These controllers are assigned as A D in Global Mode see Chapter 8 In Program Play and Mix Play Modes the CONTROLLER A B C and D sliders can be used to control Controllers A D directly e Tracking Generator This accepts the output of a signal processed by the Tracking Generator module see page 81 e Stepped Tracking Generator This accepts the output of a signal processed by the Tracking Generator module in stepped mode see page 81 Modulation Destination Page 2 Select from the following modulation destinations You can find out more about these parameters and how they affect the sound in their respective sections to learn how Pitch Envelope Attack affects the sound see page 74 on Pitch Envelopes Pitch Effect Send Pitch LFO Delay Pitch Envelope Decay Pitch Envelope Amp Filter LFO Delay Filter Envelope Decay Filter Envelope Amp Amp LFO Delay Amp Envelope Decay Amp Envelope Amp Filter Cutoff Pitch LFO Speed Pitch Envelope Delay Pitch Envelope Sustain Decay Filter LFO Speed Filter Envelope Delay Filter Envelope Sustain Decay Amp LFO Speed Amp Envelope Delay Amp Envelope Sustain Decay Portamento Rate Amplitude Pitch LFO Amp Pitch Envelope Attack Pitch Envelope Release Filter LFO Amp Filter Envelope Attack Filter Envelope Release Amp LFO Amp Amp Envelope Attack Amp Envelope Release Modulation Level
41. instead of continuing from wherever it may be in its cycle Key Poly This is almost identical to POLY but whenever a new note is played the LFO is retriggered instead of continuing from wherever it may be in its cycle Level 00 to 99 Page 5 This is the base output level of the Pitch LFO If you want to have a constant value of vibrato even without using the Mod Wheel or Aftertouch set LEVEL above 00 The Mod Wheel and Aftertouch will add or subtract from this base level Example If Level is set to 10 and the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 10 there will always be some vibrato and raising the Mod Wheel will add more vibrato On the other hand if the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 10 raising the Mod Wheel to the top will cancel out all vibrato Mod Wheel Depth 99 to 99 Page 6 This is the modulation amount of the Mod Wheel over the Pitch LFO s Level A positive value raises the level when the Mod Wheel is moved up and lowers the level when moved down Negative settings of this parameter will decrease the output level of the Pitch LFO as the Mod Wheel is raised Since the output level of the Pitch LFO cannot be less than zero a negative setting of the Mod Wheel parameter will have no effect unless either the Aftertouch or the Level is set to raise the Pitch LFO output If both the Level and Aftertouch are set to 00 and the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 99 the Mod Wheel will have no effect on the vibrato from the Pitch LFO QS7
42. later you transfer the entire Bank back into the QS you will find that Mix 00 no longer uses the Program on the Card as it was originally programmed to Here s a few ways to avoid this problem First always transfer to a Card Bank that does not include any Programs used by the Mixes in the Bank you are transferring from In other words if we transferred the Bank into Card Bank 2 we would not have a problem since the Mix would still be using the Program in Card Bank 1 When this Bank is transferred back to the QS the Mix will still use the Program in Card Bank 1 Another way to avoid this problem is to transfer the Bank to a Card Bank and then immediately store the individual Mix onto the Card by itself When a Mix is stored individually to a Card it is not modified in any way i e if it used Programs in the internal Banks it will still use them even though the Mix and its Programs are in two different locations the Mix is on the Card but the Programs it uses are stored in the internal Banks Finally you could avoid this situation by always making sure your Mixes use only Programs located in the same Bank it is stored in This could mean individually storing some Programs from a RAM Card into one of the internal Banks Although this is very limiting it makes things much simpler in the long run QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 123 Chapter 9 MIDI Transfer and Storage Operations SAVING PROGRAMS VIA MIDI Sys Ex 124 As an alternativ
43. no signal will get through no matter how the amp is set Similarly setting the amp for a short decay won t let you hear any filtering set for a longer decay This is because the volume will reach zero before the filter decay finishes ABOUT MODULATION Modulation modifies some aspect of a sound over time Since oscillators make static sounds unlike acoustic instruments whose timbre and dynamics change often radically over the duration of a note modulation is the key to making rich and expressive sounds The vibrato of a flute the expression pedal of an organ a wah wah pedal on a guitar all of these are examples of modulation You re probably familiar with the mod wheel of a synthesizer which typically adds vibrato to a Program as it is raised But in synthesizer programming modulation is used to control even the basic characteristics of a voice its attack decay and release times for example Every box in the signal diagram on page 49 pointing towards the Voice Filter or Amp boxes is a modulation source The amount of modulation the time it takes place and what controls such as key velocity footpedals aftertouch mod wheel etc affect it are important parameters in every Program The QS provides the modulation flexibility of patch cord based instruments but with the convenience and ease of use of digital technology With some parameters the modulation amount can be positive or negative A positive control signal increases
44. of this type of sound is a steel guitar where a note slides from one pitch to another Portamento Rate 0 to 99 Page 9 Sets the glide duration Higher numbers give longer glide times The Rate value is affected by the Portamento value see above Keyboard Mode Mono Poly 1 Pitch or 1 PMono Page 10 In Mono mode you can play only one note at a time just like vintage monophonic synthesizers or wind instruments Poly mode allows you to play polyphonically Note that portamento behavior is more predictable in mono mode With a feedback guitar patch that uses one sound for the guitar and one sound for the feedback setting the feedback sound to Mono Keyboard Mode insures that your feedback whistle will be monophonic which more accurately mimics what happens when you play lead guitar TIP Use 1 PITCH mode when you want a program sound layer to play a single pitch polyphonically throughout the entire keyboard range In 1 PITCH mode the QS will play the sample used for note C3 for all notes in the range 1 PITCH mode is often used for layering a noise or drum sound behind another sound that is pitched for example to fatten up a bass guitar sound with a hint of kick drum or to have the same cymbal hit every time any note is played Alternatively 1 PMONO mode is a monophonic version of 1 PITCH Sometimes when playing a monophonic instrument you will not want the envelopes to retrigger when playing legato as this would sound r
45. overall Master Pitch 12 to 12 up or down an octave Adjust this parameter when you wish to globally transpose all sounds both from the keyboard and from the MIDI In This parameters have no effect on drum sounds the Range settings or MIDI Out MASTER TUNE Page 2 Page 2 of Global Edit Mode lets you adjust the QS s overall Master Tuning 99 to 99 up or down 1 2 step Adjust this parameter when tuning the QS to other instruments This parameters have no effect on drum sounds the Range settings or MIDI Out KEYBOARD CURVE Page 3 Page 3 of Global Edit mode lets you select the Keyboard Velocity Curve There are three options Weighted Plastic and Maximum When set to weighted the keyboard will have a wider dynamic range This means that when you play the keyboard softly the notes will be softer than if the keyboard was set for plastic When set to plastic the keyboard will have the velocity response of a typical plastic keyboard Use this mode when you want a smoother flatter keyboard curve When set to Maximum no velocity response is available and all notes are given a maximum velocity value of 127 This parameter only affects the keyboard s output to the sounds in the QS and MIDI Out This is different from the Velocity Curve parameter in Program Edit which determines how a sound in the selected Program will respond to incoming velocity information either from the keyboard or from MIDI In 0QS7 0S8 Reference Manual 112
46. sequencer s MIDI In This allows the QS to send data to the sequencer for recording and play back data from the sequencer ABOUT THE KEYBOARD MODE In a Mix the QS s keyboard may be set up in several ways using the Keyboard Mode parameter found on Page 6 of Global Edit Mode You need to determine which way is best for your application The Keyboard Mode parameter determines how the keyboard will function with regard to MIDI e The keyboard sends on only one MIDI channel and the sequencer is used to set the MIDI channel of each track Keyboard Mode OUT 1 OUT 16 e Or the keyboard is split or layered sending on many MIDI channels at once and the sequencer records each channel onto a different track NORMAL e Or the keyboard only sends on one MIDI channel but you change the channel on the QS for each separate track on the sequencer CH SOLO In OUT 1 OUT 16 mode you will not hear the QS unless your sequencer echoes the MIDI data back to the QS s MIDI IN This is a way of verifying that the sequencer is set to receive properly Depending on the capabilities of your sequencer it may auto channelize the echoed MIDI back to the QS on a different MIDI channel usually the MIDI channel that the selected record track is assigned to In NORMAL or CH SOLO mode the QS sounds are internally played from the QS keyboard so any echo features of the sequencer should be turned off When using the QS with a MIDI sequence
47. that is on a Channel other than the Effect Channel the edited Program will be stored without altering its previous Effects settings e If STORE is pressed twice while editing a Mix Mix Edit Mode only the Mix parameters will be stored not the individual Programs or the Effects Patch COPYING EFFECT PATCHES 90 When you want a Program to use the Effects from a different Program you must copy that other Program s Effects into the Program you are working on This is done within Store Mode using the Copy Effect function First select the Program which contains the Effects you wish to copy And of course you can only copy Effects to Programs that are in the User Bank or on a RAM Sound Card Bank For more about copying effects see page 36 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 CONFIGURATIONS A Configuration is essentially the starting point of any Effects Patch You must select the Configuration you are going to use before making any other edits since all routings and parameters change to their default settings each time you change the configuration Each Configuration is a unique arrangement of multiple effect blocks distributed across the four effect sends Some effect sends may have three different effects pitch delay and reverb on them Configurations also determine where the signal to a block comes from and where the output of each block goes to the main outputs the next effect in line or even
48. the 60 button accesses the LEVEL functions in Mix Edit Mode the MOD functions in Effects Edit Mode and the PITCH functions in Program Edit Mode Each Function has one or more parameters in its Function Group Once a Function is selected the last parameter in that Function s Group will appear in the lower section of the display You can step through all the parameter s in a Function s Group by using the Ta PAGE and PAGE RI buttons or make coarse adjustments quickly by moving the CONTROLLER D slider In the example above the Sound Enable parameter is selected and is turned on QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 31 Chapter 4 Overview 32 PAGE BUTTONS The fg PAGE and PAGE I buttons serve two purposes In Program Play Mode and Mix Play Mode they are used to select a MIDI channel from 1 to 16 In Program Play Mode they are used to select the basic MIDI channel the QS will receive and transmit MIDI messages on In Mix Play Mode they are used to select one of the 16 possible Channels for viewing and editing For more information on MIDI and its uses see Chapters 8 and 9 and Appendix B In any of the Edit Modes when more than one display page is available the PAGE and PAGE I buttons are used to move forwards and backwards through these pages The currently selected page number will appear in the upper right corner of the display EDITING VALUES Once an Edit Mode is selected and a parameter is displayed that parameter s s
49. the Channel is selected using the Ta PAGE and PAGE RI buttons the symbol will appear between the Mode name and the Bank name in the upper part of the display if this parameter is received However if you are viewing the Detune Amount parameter in the display Program Edit Mode Pitch Function Page 2 the display will not be updated to reflect the new setting If you go to another Page or Function and then return to it the display will now reflect the updated setting e MIDI Registered Parameter 2 Coarse Tune This will directly effect the Tune Semitone parameter of all four Sounds of the Program on the received MIDI Channel of the Mix If the Channel is selected using the Ta PAGE and PAGE I buttons tthe symbol will appear between the Mode name and the Bank name in the upper part of the display if this parameter is received However if you are viewing the Tune Semitone parameter in the display Program Edit Mode Pitch Function Page 1 the display will not be updated to reflect the new setting If you go to another Page or Function and then return to it the display will now reflect the new setting Portions of this appendix are abridged versions of material from Power Sequencing with Master Tracks Pro Pro 4 and The Complete Guide to the Alesis HR 16 and MMT 8 copyright 1990 and 1989 respectively by AMSCO Publications and is adapted with permission QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 135 MIDI Implementation Chart
50. the Pitch output going into the Reverb otherwise the signal comes purely from the Pitch input The other parameters and pages in the Reverb function are identical regardless of which Configuration is being used Only page 1 is different because of the fewer input choices the Reverb has in this Configuration Send Input Levels lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt Page 1 Sends 2 through 4 If Configuration 1 is selected and you press 10 to select effect send 2 the display will now show you the parameters that represent the signal levels on send 2 going into the Reverb Note that there is now only 1 page available since the other reverb parameters are found back on effect send 1 Press 20 to select send 3 and the display will still look the same but now the parameters adjust the signal levels on send 3 going into the Reverb If you press 80 to select send 4 the display will look like this ED MIXFXSND42a RVB IN SN4 lt 35DEL There are only two parameters Balance and Input Level This is because in Configuration 1 effect send 4 only has a Delay effect and not a Pitch effect like the other effect sends do Page 1 controls the Balance between the Delay output and the dry effect send signal while page 2 controls the overall input level to the Reverb If Configuration 2 is selected and you press 10 to select effect send 2 while the Reverb function is selected the display will look like this ED MIXFXSND2xa RVB IN S
51. the Sustain control how long it takes to get there is set by the Decay control In the special case where the Sustain level is all the way up 99 then there is no decrease and the Decay time segment is bypassed Whatever level the sustain is set to is the level that the decay section of the envelope will head for Depending on the setting of the Sustain Decay control see below the envelope will either hold at the sustain level until you release the note on the keyboard or decay to 0 at the Sustain Decay rate which is on page 2 of the envelope You can create a long plateau at the start of a note by setting the Sustain to 98 and the Decay to 99 This will cause the envelope to take the maximum amount of time to get from peak level to a level of 98 before the Sustain Release portion of the envelope begins Release 00 to 99 Hold Page 4 Eventually you will let go of the note that you ve been holding either by releasing the note on the keyboard or releasing the sustain pedal if it was pressed It is at this point that the Release portion of the envelope takes effect The Release is the time that the envelope takes to get from its current level back down to nothing Setting the Release time to 99 will take the envelope a very long time to reach zero level The Pitch Envelope is unique from the other two envelopes in that its Release time can be set above 99 When this is done the value in the display will read Hold This indicate
52. the sustain pedal is held down If a long attack is set and the envelope does not reach the end of the attack segment when the note is released it will be skipped and the envelope will jump immediately to the sustain decay segment If a long delay is set and the envelope has not reached the attack segment before the note is released the envelope will remain at 0 However if Freerun is turned on the envelope will continue through the delay attack decay and sustain segments and remain at the sustain decay segment This is exactly the same as holding down the note on the keyboard When the Sustain Pedal parameter is turned off the Sustain Pedal will have no effect on the envelope Level 00 to 99 Page 10 This is the overall output level of the envelope If this is set to 00 the Filter Envelope will have no output and will have no effect while at 99 it will have a maximum effect on whatever it is being routed to When selecting Filter Envelope Level as a modulation destination set the Filter Envelope level to 00 if the Modulation Level is above 0 or set the Filter Envelope level to 99 if the Modulation Amount is below 0 Velocity Modulation 00 to 99 Page 11 This determines how keyboard dynamics will affect the envelope level When set to 99 note velocity controls the envelope s output notes played hard will deliver a higher envelope output than notes played soft When set to 0 note velocity will have no effect on the envelope
53. the value of the parameter being controlled A negative control signal decreases the value of the parameter being controlled Setting modulation to 00 turns off the modulation source Example Keyboard velocity can either make a sound brighter the harder you play or make it less bright or have no effect on the Filter at all You have the freedom to set modulation any way you want even in ways that are the opposite of what they would be on an acoustic instrument If a baseline setting exists for a parameter modulation amounts add or subtract values from the existing setting However modulation cannot force a value beyond its maximum range For example if the Amp is already at its minimum value lowest level you could apply positive modulation to raise the level But applying negative modulation will not affect the Amp level since it s already at its lowest value and cannot go any lower The QS lets you assign several modulation sources to one modulation target parameter which allows for interaction between two modulation signals Example lf the Amp parameter responds to both the envelope generator and a pedal the parameter will follow the general envelope shape but will also be influenced by the pedal QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 51 Chapter 6 Editing Programs LFO LOW FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR The pitch filter and amp modules each have a dedicated LFO module for modulation The term LFO stands for low frequency oscillator
54. to an effect block belonging to another effect send The Configuration diagrams on the next six pages provide a crucial road map you ll need to guide you through the many paths that are possible in each configuration Refer to them as you program the effect The five Effect Configurations are e Configuration 1 1 Reverb e Configuration 2 2 Reverbs e Configuration 3 Lezlie and Reverb e Configuration 4 Reverb and EQ e Configuration 5 Overdrive and Lezlie The Configuration function is used to select the Configuration for the Effects Patch you are editing While in Effects Edit Mode press the 40 button to select the Configuration function The display should look like this from Mix Edit Mode ED MIXEFFECTSza CONFIG 1 REVERB Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons or the EDIT VALUE slider to select the Configuration As you scroll through the various Configurations each one s name will appear in the lower right section of the display The following is a run down of the various Configurations QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 91 Chapter 7 Editing Effects CONFIGURATION 1 1 REVERB RK LERT zen ALLE BIN BERT nn BIR RE T MAE LEFT H MAE RIGHT Pepp a H Fe 6 BIDS Peppi Eich Delayt Reverb 1 Mono chorus Mono delay Plate 1 Stereo chorus Stereo delay Plate 2 Mono flange Ping pong delay Room Stereo flange Hall Pitch detune Large Resonator Gate Reverse Pitch 2 Delay
55. understand the differences between the Pitch type effects and therefore better apply them to your music here is a brief explanation of each Mono Chorus The Chorus effect is achieved by taking part of the signal slightly delaying it and then slightly detuning it as well The detuning is further effected by being modulated by an LFO which causes the detuning to vary Many variables are available in this scheme The LFO depth can be varied the LFO speed can be varied and a portion of the detuned signal can be fed back to the input to increase the effect Finally the waveform shape of the LFO can be changed from a smooth triangle to a more abrupt squarewave to make the pitch detuning more pronounced DRY SIGNAL CHORUSED OUTPUT DRY SIGNAL QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 101 Chapter 7 Editing Effects 102 Stereo Chorus In the case of a Stereo Chorus the signal is split into three parts with a dry signal and a separate Detuning section for both left and right channels When the left channel is detuned sharp the right is detuned flat and vice versa Once again this causes the effect to become more pronounced and dramatic DRY SIGNAL FEEDBACK Ee Ka CHORUSED OUTPUT DETUNE ORY SIGNAL RIGHT CHORUSED FEEDBACK Ble DRY SIGNAL Mono Flange First used in the 1960s Flanging was achieved by the use of two tape recorders that would record and play back the same program in synchronization By alternately slowin
56. whenever a new note is played and will complete its entire cycle even if the note is released in the middle If a sound layers Keyboard Mode parameter found in the Pitch Function Page 10 is set to Mono the Filter Envelope will only retrigger when playing legato if the Trigger Mode is set to either Reset or Reset Freerun Time Tracking On or Off Page 8 This determines whether or not keyboard position will affect the cycle speed of the envelope When turned on playing toward the higher end of the keyboard will result in a faster envelope cycle playing toward the lower end of the keyboard will result in a slower envelope cycle However this does not effect the attack time but only the decay sustain sustain decay and release segments This feature will result in only a subtle change The envelope s timing doubles or halves over a range of two octaves Sustain Pedal On or Off Page 9 This determines whether or not the Sustain Pedal will have an effect on the envelope When turned on holding down the Sustain Pedal while playing short notes is virtually the equivalent to holding down those notes on the keyboard with some subtle but QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 69 Chapter 6 Editing Programs TIP 70 important differences If the Delay and Attack are set to 0 and either the Decay is 0 or the Sustain is 99 the envelope will immediately jump to the release stage if not already there when the note is released and
57. you recalled a different Program the value of Controller A would remain at 25 if the Reset Controllers function was turned off Alternatively the Controller A value would reset to 0 if this function was turned on CONTROLLER MODE PAGE 18 The Controller Mode function Local MIDI or Both determines whether the Controllers A D will have an affect on the currently selected Program or Mix or will only send out controller data via the MIDI Out connector or do both If the Controller Mode function is set to MIDI moving one of the CONTROLLER sliders will have no affect on the currently selected Program or Mix however this will cause controller data to be sent out the MIDI Out connector Example If Controller A is defined as MIDI controller 11 which is the default and the Controller Mode is set to MIDI moving the CONTROLLER A slider will send out controller 11 data but will have no effect on the currently selected Program or Mix Although the Program or Mix may use Controller A to modify it in some way the CONTROLLER A slider is temporarily disconnected from the Program or Mix until the Controller Mode function is set to Local or Both Q57 QS8 Reference Manual 117 Global Settings Chapter 8 CLOCK PAGE 19 The Clock function found on Page 18 of Global Edit Mode determines the sample clock rate the QS will use Normally the QS uses its own internal clock to determine the actual number of samples per second Remember
58. 0 buttons To audition Programs before overwriting them with STORE when editing a Program in Program Mode While in Program Edit mode press MIX This selects Mix Play Mode retaining your edits to the Program in an edit buffer Use the BANK and BANK B buttons select Preset Bank 1 then press 90 and 9 to select Mix 99 Press both Ia PAGE and PAGE kl buttons simultaneously to select Channel 1 d Usethe 4 BANK and BANK bi buttons select the User Bank f Use the 0 9 and 00 120 buttons to go through the Programs in the User Bank until you find one you wish to overwrite with the new edited Program Take a note of the number Press PROGRAM to enter Program Play Mode This recalls the edit buffer in Program Mode which is your edited Program A Press STORE The upper section of the display will read SavePrg STORE to USERxxx where XXX is a User Program number from 000 127 Press PAGE I to advance the cursor to the Program Number field in the display Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons or move the CONTROLLER D slider to select the Program Number you noted in step 5 Press STORE again The Program is now stored 38 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Overview Chapter 4 To audition Programs before overwriting them with STORE when editing a Program in Mix Play Mode While in Mix Program Edit mode press PROGRAM This selects Program Play M
59. 00 to 99 Gate00 to Gate99 If this is set to 0 only the very beginning of the drum sample is played setting this to 99 will cause the entire drum sample to play When set above 99 the Decay uses a gated mode The Decay can still be set between 0 and 99 but in 5 step increments e g GateOO Decay setting of 0 with gating GateO5 Decay setting of 5 with gating etc Gating means that the drum sound will continue to be played as long as the key is held This is useful for longer sounds like cymbals when you wish to hear a short crash by playing a short note but can still hear a longer crash by keeping the note held down QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Mute Group Off 1 2 or 3 Page 2 This is an important feature when using multiple sounds of the same instrument Mute Groups allow multiple drums to share a single voice For example if you have assigned a Closed Hat and an Open Hat to two different notes playing either note should cut off the other if it had recently been played This creates a more realistic sound since an actual Hi Hat is only capable of making one sound at a time In the Amp Envelope function Page 2 is used to assign the selected drum to one of the three Mute Groups In our example above both Hi Hat drums would be assigned to the same Mute Group The additional Mute Groups can be used by other sounds that you wish to cut off each other but do not want to interfere with the Hi Hat sou
60. 127 o VELOCITY 127 o VELOCITY 127 o VELOCITY 127 10F4 20F4 30F4 aora 99 99 d L L E E v v E E L L H o o VELOCITY 127 a VELOCITY 127 o VELOCITY 127 o VELOCITY 127 Aftertouch Depth 99 to 99 Page 2 At 00 aftertouch has no effect on the amplitude Applying aftertouch with this parameter set to a positive value raises the amplitude conversely applying aftertouch with a negative value will make the sound softer the harder you press The higher the number either positive or negative the greater the effect for a given amount of aftertouch TI P Use aftertouch to swell the amplitude of brass and horn parts 62 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Amp LFO Depth 99 to 99 Page 3 At 00 the Amp LFO has no effect Higher positive values increase the amount of LFO modulation Negative values give the same apparent effect but with reversed LFO phase i e if the amplitude would normally be increasing with depth set to a positive number the amplitude would instead be decreasing at that same moment had the depth been set to a negative number Amp LFO parameters such as speed and wave shape are programmed within the Amp LFO Function see page 75 TI P Amp LFO set to a triangle wave gives tremolo effects Lower Limit MIDI note 000 to 127 C 2 to G8 Page 4 Each sound can be restricted to a specific range of the keyboard This is ideal for creating splits e g bass in the lower octave and a
61. 2 sd Reverb 2 Mono chorus Mono delay Balance and level to Reverb 1 Stereo chorus Stereo delay Mono flange Ping pong delay Stereo flange Pitch detune Resonator Pitch 3 Delay3 sd Reverb 3 Resonator Mono delay Balance and level to Reverb 1 Delay 4 Reverb 4 Mono delay Send delay mix and level to Reverb 1 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 Think of the diagram as a road map showing all possible paths from the starting points FX SEND 1 through 4 to the ultimate destinations LEFT and RIGHT outputs at the top of the page The dotted lines indicate the divisions between different functional blocks and the solid lines indicate signal paths between the blocks and controls The diagram is similar to a block diagram for a mixer with signal moving generally from the left to the right The number next to each function name represents one of the four effect sends For example Delay 2 refers to the Delay effect on effect send 2 This Configuration 1 provides three Pitch effects four Delay effects and one Reverb effect The Pitch effects are found on effect sends 1 2 and 3 but while the Pitch effects on sends 1 and 2 are stereo and their types are selectable Mono Chorus Mono Flange or Resonator the Pitch effect on send 3 is mono and can only be used as a Resonator Effect send 4 has no Pitch effect Each of the four sends has its own Delay effect but while the Delay effects on sends 1 and 2 are stere
62. 3 PwrHrmVel1 PwrHrmVel2 PwrHrmVel3 Bass StudioBass Studio amp Hrm Studio Hrm Slp Studio Slap Bass Slap amp Harm Slap Harm Slap Pop Pop Slap Bass Pop Pop Harm Harm Pop JazzFingrd Fingr amp Harm JazzPicked Pickd amp Harm Jazz Velo Muted Bass Stik Bass Stik amp Harm Stik Harm Harm Stik Fretless Frtls amp Harm AcousBass1 AcoBs1 amp Hrm AcousBass2 AcoBs2 amp Hrm VelAcoBass 3 VelBass1 3 VelBass2 3 VelBass3 3 VelBass4 BassHarmnc String StringEnsm TapeStrngs SoloString SoloViolin Solo Viola Solo Cello Contrabass Pizz Sectn Pizz Split Pizz Strng Strng Pizz StringAttk Harp Hi Bow Low Bow Brass ie Brass ClasclBras AttakBrass Trumpet HarmonMute Trombone FrenchHorn Bari I Hom Tuba a Wdwind Bassoon Oboe EnglishHrn Clarinet Bari Sax BrthyTenor Alto Sax SopranoSax Velo Sax Flute Flute Wave Shakuhachi PanPipe Hd PanPipe Md PanPipe Sf PanPipeVel Pan Wave BottleBlow BottleWave Synth J Pad M Pad X Pad Velo Pad 1 Velo Pad 2 Velo Pad 3 AcidSweep1 AcidSweep2 AcidSweep3 AcidSweep4 AcidSweep5 VeloAcid 1 VeloAcid 2 VeloAcid 3 VeloAcid 4 Chirp Rez1 Chirp Rez2 Chirp RezV Quack Rez1 Quack Rez2 Quack Rez3 Quack Rez4 QuackRezV1 QuackRezV2 QuackRezV3 Uni Rez 1 Uni Rez 2 Uni Rez 3 Uni Rez V AnalogSqr1 AnalogSqr2 AnalogSqrV SyncLead 1 SyncLead 2 SyncLead V Seq Bass Seq BassV1 Seq BassV2 FatSynBass TranceBas1 TranceBas2 VeloTrance FunkSynBs1 Fun
63. ALESIS QS7 and QS8 Reference Manual Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Alesis QS7 QS8 64 Voice Expandable Synthesizer To take full advantage of the QS s functions and to enjoy long and trouble free use please read this user s manual carefully How To Use This Manual This manual is divided into the following sections describing the various modes of the QS To get the most out of your QS read the entire manual once then use the table of contents and index to reference specific functions while using the instrument Chapter 1 Setting Up Deals with the necessary preparation before playing including connections to external devices Chapter 2 Your First Session with the QS This section provides a brief tour of the QS shows you how to audition the various sounds of the QS and points out the various performance features Chapter 3 Connections Details rear panel connections like MIDI footpedals and the serial interface proper hook up procedures plus application examples Chapter 4 Overview Covers the structure of sound sources within the QS how to read and navigate through the LCD display pages how to edit parameters and how to store edited Programs and Mixes Chapter 5 Editing Mixes Explains how to create and edit Mixes Chapter 6 Editing Programs How to create and edit Programs Chapter 7 Editing Effects How to create and edit Effects Patches Chapter 8 Global Settings Describes all global functi
64. DB25 cable part number 15 00 0025 Some PCs will have both connectors available so you ll have to identify which connector is currently not in use Connect the DIN8 end of the cable to the QS s SERIAL PORT connector and the other end to the serial port of your computer If your computer has more than one serial port refer to the setup of your MIDI software to determine which port it is using Alesis provides a MIDI serial driver that works with Windows 3 1 Windows NT and Windows 95 This can be found on the QS CD ROM disk that came with your QS package located in the ALESIS ASDWIN directory If you don t have a CD ROM drive connected to your computer you can call Alesis Product Support and order the Windows MIDI driver on a 3 1 2 inch floppy disk This driver is used to send and receive midi data your QS6 and the computer via a serial port connection Once the MIDI driver has been successfully installed you need to indicate to the driver which connector port the QS is using WINDOWS 3 1 From your Windows 3 1 Control Panel open the Drivers applet Add an Unlisted or Updated driver and select or browse to the appropriate path for Windows to find the ASDWIN OEM setup info Follow the instructions given by windows to install the driver SETUP FOR WINDOWS 95 Open Control Panels Select Add New Hardware Select NO to NOT have windows auto detect hardware Select Sound Video Game controllers as hardware
65. END2 99 l This lets you adjust the level of the signal coming from effect send 2 going into the Reverb Send 2 in this Configuration has no effects of its own Therefore there are no input or input mix controls in this page since there is only one possible signal choice Send 2 is intended to be used for signals that you want to send to Reverb 1 but bypass Delay and Pitch 1 In Configuration 2 send 4 is similar to send 2 in that it has no effects of its own but serves as a bypass going directly to Reverb 3 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 107 Chapter 7 Editing Effects 108 REVERB PARAMETERS Use the PAGE ki button to advance the display through the remaining pages of the Reverb function However you must have the correct effect send selected 1 4 in order to get at the Reverb parameters in Config 1 the Reverb parameters are found only on effect send 1 in Config 2 they are found on sends 1 and 3 since there are two separate Reverbs Here you will find parameters for selecting the Reverb type adjusting Pre Delay Time and Pre Delay Mix Reverb Type 7 types Page 5 The QS has seven different reverb types all stereo each of which simulates a different space or produce a different ambient effect The different Reverb types are Plate 1 amp 2 The two Plate reverb types simulate an artificial device known as a Plate In the early days of recording Plates were extremely popular because they were almost the only way to provid
66. FO parameters such as speed and wave shape are programmed within the Pitch LFO Function see page 72 Pitch Envelope Depth 99 to 99 Page 7 At 00 the Pitch Envelope has no effect Positive values raise the pitch from the baseline according to the envelope shape while negative values similarly lower the pitch see illustration below The higher the number negative or positive the greater the effect Pitch Envelope parameters such as attack and decay time are programmed within the Pitch Envelope Function see page 61 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Portamento Exponential Linear 1 Speed Page 8 This provides the sweep s curve e With an exponential curve the pitch change seems to happen more rapidly at first then slows down as it approaches the ending pitch e A linear curve produces a constant pitch change throughout the glide e Normally the greater the interval the pitch difference between the two notes the longer the glide For example a glide between two notes a whole step apart would take much less time than a glide between two notes an octave apart The 1 Speed curve maintains a constant glide rate regardless of the pitch difference between notes About portamento When you play a key and then a second key normally the sound jumps instantly from one pitch to another Portamento provides a sweeping glide from one note to another over a variable amount of time A good example
67. GE I buttons are used to select one of the 16 channels in the Mix The actual channel number shown in the display at half size will be whatever channel was last selected In the illustration above channel 1 is shown If the channel number in your display is not A 1 press both PAGE and PAGE kl buttons simultaneously to select channel 1 Use the BANK and BANK buttons to select a Program Bank Use the 00 120 buttons to select a Program Group Example Press 00 for pianos 20 for organs etc f Use the 0 9 buttons to select a Program Press PAGE I to select to the next channel up If channel 1 had been selected pressing PAGE Kl will select channel 2 A Repeat steps as needed to select Programs for the remaining channels J Changes you make to a Mix are temporary and will be lost if another Mix is selected To make changes permanent you must store the Mix into the User bank see next page QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 17 Chapter 2 Your First Session STORING AN EDITED MIX Once you have made changes to a Mix you will need to store the Mix into the User Bank that is if you want to keep the changes you have made The User Bank is designed to hold up to 100 00 99 of your custom made Mixes Whenever you store an edited Mix the User Bank is automatically selected All you have to do is select a Program location 00 127 within the User Bank to store the edited Mix into
68. IGN FOR EACH MIDI CHANNEL Once a Mix is recalled you will likely want to choose different Programs than the ones the Mix has stored with it This does not require that you be in Mix Edit Mode Assigning Programs to the 16 channels of a Mix is done by first using the lt PAGE and PAGE buttons which are also labeled PROGRAM CHANNEL SELECT to select a channel and then using the 0 9 and 00 120 buttons to select a Program If desired you can use the lt BANK and BANK P buttons to select a Program from any of the internal or card banks Mix EDIT MODE Editing a Mix begins with using the lt PAGE and PAGE buttons to select the MIDI channel you want and selecting a Program number for each of the channels you want to use as described above Beyond Program selection you may control many other aspects of a Mix by accessing Mix Edit Mode This is done by pressing the EDIT SELECT button while Mix Play Mode ED MIX should appear in the upper left section of the display EDIT MODE PAGE MODE BANK NUMBER NAME ABCD 2345678 9 10 11 12 13 1415 16 PARAMETER QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 39 Chapter 5 Editing Mixes Once in Mix Edit Mode use the 0 9 and 00 50 buttons to select a MIDI channel to edit 1 16 Use the 60 120 buttons to select a Function Group Level Pitch Effect etc If a Function Group has more than one parameter use the lt
69. LIDERS To the right of the VOLUME slider are the four Controller sliders CONTROLLER A B C and D These provide control over various parameters depending on if you are in a Play mode or in one of the Edit modes In Program Play Mode and Mix Play Mode the CONTROLLER A slider acts as Controller A the CONTROLLER B slider acts as Controller B and so on These Controllers are defined in Global Edit Mode Pages 8 through 11 to transmit specific MIDI controller messages Many of the QS s internal Programs use Controllers A D to provide control over their tonal aspects When auditioning Programs move the CONTROLLER A D sliders up and down to find out what effect each has they will be different from Program to Program PROG PRESET1 GrandPianoliCho1 l Controllers A D Indicators A section of the lower line of the display is used to indicate the current settings of the Controller A D sliders in Program Play or Mix Play modes only These four bar graph type indicators will update instantly when any of these four sliders are moved When a Program or Mix is selected the display indicates the stored settings for these QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 15 Chapter 2 Your First Session sliders unless the Controller Mode function is turned on in page 17 of Global mode see page 115 for more information When in Program Edit Mode or Mix Edit Mode the CONTROLLER D slider is used to edit the parameter that
70. Limit MIDI note 000 to 127 C 2 to G8 Page 2 Specifies the highest note of the sound s keyboard range You can set the high limit by holding the 110 button and tapping the key on the keyboard you want to set as the highest note in the range Ca If the low limit is set above the high limit you will be able to play this program layer at the lower and upper ends of the keyboard but not in the middle between the two limit settings QS8 Keyboard Range TULLE TULLE UENO Program Sound Range NAMING A MIX The Name function press 120 allows you to change the name of the Mix The Mix name can be up to 10 characters long Use the lt PAGE and PAGE buttons to position the cursor and the CONTROLLER D slider to select the character Here is a chart of available characters O eS ee D te te pe OMALE M N O a b c E 6 7 8 Hpi fu fK fE is K lt B Eloge 7 uv Fae coe lb fc fa fe t fo fn fi j lp la lr Is lt lu v wlx fy tz Te lh h gt QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 45 Chapter 5 Editing Mixes POLYPHONY IN Mix PLAY MODE The QS has 64 note polyphony In Mix Play Mode if you have all 16 MIDI channels assigned to the same keyboard range and each channel s Program has only one active Program Sound you ll have 4 note polyphony as you play the keyboard but a really thick layer This is extreme of course but should te
71. Open Hat 2 Open Hat 3 Open Hat V RideCym V3 Percus Agogo Hi Agogo Low Bongo Hi Bongo Low Brake Drum Cabasa Castanet Chimes 1 Chimes 2 Clap Rap Clap Tek Clave Conga Hi Conga Low Conga Slap RapCongaHi RapCongaMd RapCongaLo Rap Rim Rap Tone Cowbell RapCowbell Cuica Djembe Hi Djembe Low Drumstix FingerSnap Guiro Long Guiro Med GuiroShort Ice Block Kalimba Hi KalimbaLow Maracas SambaWhstl SambaShort Shaker1 Hi Shaker1Low Shaker2 Hi Shaker2Low Sleighbl 1 Sleighbl 2 SteelDrmHi SteelDrmLo TablaGa Hi TablaGaLow Tabla Ka TablaNa Hi TablaNaLow Tabla Te TablaTinHi TablaTinLo Taiko Hi Taiko Low Taiko Rim Talk Up Hi Talk Up Lo TalkDownHi TalkDownLo Tambourin1 Tambourin2 Timbale Hi TimbaleLow Timpani Hi TimpaniMid TimpaniLow Triangle TriangleSf Udu Hu Udu Mid Udu Low Udu Slap Vibrasmack WoodBlokHi WoodBlokLo Snd FX Bird Tweet Bird Chirp Bird Loop Fret Noise Fret Wipe Orch Hit Dance Hit Jungle 1 Jungle 2 Applause GoatsNails Brook Hi Bow Low Bow ShapeNzHi ShapeNzMid ShapeNzLow ScrtchPull ScrtchPush ScrtchLoop ScrtchPILp ScrtcPshLp RezAttkHi RezAttkMid RezAttkLow RezZipHi RezZipMid RezZipLow Zap 1 Hi Zap 1 Mid Zap 1 Low Zap 2 Hi Zap 2 Mid Zap 2 Low Zap 3 Hi Zap 3 Mid Zap 3 Low FltrNzLoop Romscrape Rain Telephone Sci Loop 1 Sci Loop 2 Sci Loop 3 Bit Field1 Bit Field2 Bit Field3 Bit Field4 Bit Field5 Bit Field6 WavLoop1 0 WavLoop1 1 WavLoo
72. PAGE and PAGE gt buttons to locate a specific parameter The Mix Edit functions and Channels are written in blue above or below each numbered button on the line labeled MIX Each channel of a Mix may be enabled or disabled without changing any of its parameter settings When a channel is disabled its marker _ will not appear in the bottom right corner of the display when Mix Play Mode is selected You can set levels effect levels and bus assignments pitch transposition keyboard ranges if making a split or layer and MIDI parameters for each individual channel A Mix also uses the Effect Patch associated with one of its 16 Programs Here is a simplified diagram of the signal path in Mix mode MIDI Out Pedals MIDI In inL Pan Output me i Bux AuxR Effects Keyboard Keyboard Mode NORMAL Effects Pio Channel 1 Level reverb delay chorus etc Sch td Sch Channel 2 Sch Sch Channel 3 UNDERSTANDING THE EDIT BUFFERS 40 In Mix mode there are 16 edit buffers one for each channel plus another buffer for the Mix parameters Level Pitch Range etc and yet another buffer for the Effects Processor When you select a Mix from memory it is copied into the Mix Edit buffer the 16 Programs of that Mix are copied into the 16 edit buffers and the Effect from one of the 16 Programs is copied into the Effects buffer If y
73. Page in Parameter Function Page Manual Modulation Gate Mode Mod 1 3 4 71 Modulation Level Mod 1 6 3 71 Modulation Quantize Mode Mod 4 6 4 71 Modulation Source Mod 1 6 1 69 Name Program Name 1 10 68 Output Level 3 53 Pan Level 2 53 Pitch ENV Depth Pitch 7 54 Pitch ENV Level Pitch ENV 10 63 Pitch ENV Trigger Pitch ENV 7 62 Pitch ENV Velocity Depth Pitch ENV 11 63 Pitch LFO Delay Pitch LFO 3 72 Pitch LFO Depth Pitch 6 54 Pitch LFO Level Pitch LFO 5 73 Pitch LFO Mod Wheel Level Pitch LFO 6 73 Pitch LFO Speed Pitch LFO 2 72 Pitch LFO Trigger Pitch LFO 4 73 Pitch LEO Waveform Pitch LFO 1 72 Pitch Wheel Range Pitch Pitch 4 54 Portamento Type Pitch 8 55 Portamento Rate Pitch 9 55 Range Lower limit Ampbange 4 59 Range Upper Limit Ampbange 5 59 Release Amp Amp ENV 4 67 Release Filter Filter ENV 4 64 Release Pitch Pitch ENV 4 61 Sound Enable Voice 1 50 Sound Overlap Ampbange 6 60 Sound Type Voice 2 50 Sustain Amp Amp ENV 3 66 Sustain Filter Filter ENV 3 64 Sustain Pitch Pitch ENV 3 61 Sustain Decay Amp Amp ENV 6 67 Sustain Decay Filter Filter ENV 6 65 Sustain Decay Pitch Pitch ENV
74. S EBU or S PDIF stereo digital audio format by using the Alesis Al 1 interface Fiber optic cables of various lengths are available from your Alesis dealer However the shorter the cable the better The model OC cable is 5 meters long and is the maximum length recommended To hook up the optical cable between the QS and an ADAT or Al 1 Remove the two pieces of clear plastic tubular sleeving if present that protect the tips of the optical cable plug j Insert one cable end into the QS DIGITAL OUT and the other end into the ADAT or Al 1 DIGITAL IN To test the cable and QS digital output plug one cable end into the QS The other end should emit a soft red light it is not dangerous to look directly at this light RECORDING DIGITAL AUDIO Once the fiber optic connection is made between the QS and ADAT or an Al 1 the QS will output audio on the first four channels of the digital bus the bus is capable of handling eight channels of digital audio The MAIN LEFT and RIGHT outputs are routed to channels 1 and 2 while the AUX LEFT and RIGHT outputs are routed to channels 3 and 4 Note that the VOLUME slider controls the level of all analog and digital output channels simultaneously Set the volume to maximum for most applications When recording to ADAT or some other digital audio recorder it will be slaving to the digital clock accompanying the digital audio emanating from the QS This clock can be set to either 48kHz o
75. Settings Chapter 8 QS7 0S8 Reference Manual 119 MIDI Transfer and Storage Operations Chapter 9 CHAPTER 9 MIDI TRANSFER AND STORAGE OPERATIONS USING PCMCIA EXPANSION CARDS The QS provides two PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slots A or B which are found on the rear panel These accomodate Alesis QCard RAM cards The QCard is a type of PCMCIA SRAM or FlashRAM card it has 256K of memory and will store 4 complete banks A 512K PCMCIA card can store 8 banks When saving data to a card that contains a ROM READ ONLY bank the ROM data is found in bank 1 this means you cannot save anything into bank 1 Each PCMCIA Expansion Card slot can house a card with up to 8 Mb of RAM for a total of 16 additional megabytes of sound storage SAVING THE USER BANK TO A PCMCIA CARD The entire contents of the QS s User memory 100 Mixes and 128 Programs can be stored to an Alesis QCard PCMCIA RAM card inserted into either PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slot A or B on the QS Depending on the amount of RAM a particular card has up to 8 complete banks can be stored onto it Insert a card into the Sound Card slot on the back of the QS Press STORE Press PAGE twice to select Page 6 of the Store function This selects the SAVE TO CARD option The display will look like this SAVE TO CARD 1 Press STORE V Use the CONTROLLER D slider to select a bank location on the card to store to 1 11 If the card contains a ROM bank it wi
76. Sound Enable to OFF for any sounds that will not be used in a Program Turning sounds off is also a convenient way to isolate a particular sound you are editing When the sound being edited is disabled the upper display will show the word sound in lowercase letters When the sound being edited is enabled the word SOUND will appear in uppercase letters When editing a Program from Mix Mode the words will letters will appear as SND when a sound is enabled and snd when disabled A quick way to turn a sound on and off from anywhere within Program Edit Mode is to hold the corresponding Sound button 00 30 and press t VALUE to disable or VALUE s to enable Example Holding 00 and pressing t VALUE will disable Sound Type Page 2 This determines whether a Sound layer is going to be in Keyboard Mode or Drum Mode Drum Mode allows you to assign individual drum sounds to individual keys To Program a sound in Drum Mode refer to the next section Programming Drum Sounds on page 78 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Sound Group 17 options Page 3 Choose from among 16 different sample groups see chart below Sound Page 4 Selects one of the available samples by name from the selected group or OFF no sample selected Each group has a variety of samples from which you can choose although some groups such as waves have more samples than others Below and on the following page yo
77. T SELECT button In the example above Program Edit Mode is selected e Editing Status The upper middle section of the display indicates what you are editing This information will change depending on the Edit Mode you have selected Example If you are in Mix Edit Mode you can choose to edit any of the 16 Channels by pressing one of the 0 9 or 00 50 buttons the display will indicate the channel like this ED MIX CHAN 01 If you are in Program Edit Mode you can choose which of the Program s 4 sounds you wish to edit by pressing one of the 00 30 buttons the display will indicate the channel like this ED PRG SOUND1 In the example above Sound 1 is selected for editing e Page In many cases when a Function is selected for editing there will be more than one parameter associated with it Each parameter is divided into pages The upper right corner of the display will indicate the currently selected page number xa alt The number of pages available depends on the Function you have selected to edit In the example above page 1 is currently selected e Parameter The lower section will display the parameter which is currently selected and its setting Once you have selected an Edit Mode you may select an editing Function by pressing one of the 0 9 or 00 120 buttons depending on which Edit Mode you are in The editing Function is written in blue type above or below the number keys For example
78. When either MIX or PROGRAM is pressed their respective Play Mode is selected and the display will look something like this EDIT MODE PAGE MODE BANK NUMBER PROGPRESET1 zs TrueStereoliCho1 l NAME ABCD 2345678 910111213 141516 PARAMETER e Mode The upper left corner of the display will indicate whether you are in Program Play Mode PROG or Mix Play Mode MIX In the example above Program Play Mode is selected If the selected Program or Mix has been edited a symbol will appear to the right of the Mode In the example above the Program has not been edited e Bank The upper middle section of the display will indicate which Bank is currently selected PRESET1 PRESET3 GenMIDI or USER if a card is inserted CARD1 CARD8 In the example above Preset 1 Bank is selected e Number The upper right section of the display will indicate which Program or Mix number is currently selected 22 ug in Program Mode gg 22 in Mix Mode In the example above Program 00 is selected e Name The bottom left section of the display will indicate the name of the Program or Mix which is currently selected In the example above TrueStereo is selected e Controllers A D In Program Play Mode and Mix Play Mode the current positions of the Controller A D parameters will appear between the Mix s Program s name and the Channel s indicator represented by four vertical bars The Controllers A D can be ma
79. actually hear the individual echoes that make up the overall reverb sound With higher diffusion settings the echoes increase in number and blend together washing out the reverb s decay Greater diffusion works better with percussive sounds whereas less amounts of diffusion work well with vocals and other sustained sounds DERSDN OFO OFPFUBON OF e L L E E NM NM E E L L TE che THE ce Fetegeg raf rH ora Mora rech ora Note The illustration above reflects a Density setting of 0 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 109 Chapter 7 Editing Effects OVERDRIVE 110 The Overdrive effect provides four parameters spread across four editing pages It is only used in Configuration 5 Overdrive Type Hard or Soft Page 1 This selects one of two Overdrive Types Soft and Hard The Soft Overdrive has less gain and provides slightly less distortion than the Hard Overdrive Also there will still be a slight bit of distortion when using the Soft setting if the signal feeding the Overdrive effect is below the Overdrive Threshold setting see below The Hard setting will only provide distortion when the signal feeding the Overdrive effect is above the Overdrive Threshold setting Overdrive Threshold 00 to 99 Page 2 This sets the level the signal feeding the Overdrive effect must be reach before the Overdrive effect will begin distorting It can be set between 00 and 99 If this number is very low the Overdrive effect will start to distort almost
80. age and the isolation it provides from the power line minimizes all forms of interference spikes noise etc ABOUT AUDIO CABLES 8 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Setting Up Chapter 1 The connections between the QS and your studio are your music s lifeline so use only high quality cables These should be low capacitance shielded cables with a stranded not solid internal conductor and a low resistance shield Although quality cables cost more they do make a difference Route cables to the QS correctly by observing the following precautions e Do not bundle audio cables with AC power cords e Avoid running audio cables near sources of electromagnetic interference such as transformers such as the QS s Power Supply monitors computers etc e Do not place cables where they can be stepped on Stepping on a cable may not cause immediate damage but it can compress the insulation between the center conductor and shield degrading performance or reduce the cable s reliability e Avoid twisting the cable or having it make sharp right angle turns e Never unplug a cable by pulling on the wire itself Always unplug by firmly grasping the body of the plug and pulling directly outward Basic AUDIO HOOKUP J When connecting audio cables and or turning power on and off make sure that all devices in your system are turned off and the volume controls are turned down Because the QS includes extensive signal processing as well as a f
81. ages e Use the 00 30 buttons to select which of the four effect sends you want to edit press 00 for send 1 10 for send 2 etc The important thing to understand is the hierarchy of the displays Think of it as a three dimensional game of Chess where you can move among three different axes Each function has 1 or more pages But the number of pages a function has available will differ when another effect send is selected using the 00 30 buttons For example if you are using Configuration 1 and trying to edit the Reverb parameters you would need to have effect send 1 selected because that s where the Reverb is located So you not only have to be aware of how to select a function and a page but how to select the effect send as well Not all effects are available in each Configuration For example if you were to select the Pitch function on effect send 4 in Configuration 1 the display would read NOT IN CONFIG This is because a Pitch module is available on sends 1 2 and 3 in Configuration 1 but not on send 4 as you can see in the chart on page 92 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 89 Chapter 7 Editing Effects STORING EFFECT PATCHES IN PROGRAM MODE Effects are an extension of a Program So when you store a Program you store its Effects Patch along with it Once a Program s Effect Patch has been altered the display will show a next to the Program s name if in Program Mode when editing
82. and comes from how modulation was created in the early synth days an oscillator set to a low frequency could modulate some aspect of the sound routing the LFO to the pitch for example would create vibrato The LFO creates a cyclic periodic modulation this amount can be constant and or varied with a variety of modulation sources mod wheel is one of the most popular Each LFO has a waveform shape and speed along with other controls ENVELOPES Envelope generators provide a modulation signal that varies over time from the time you strike the key until after you let go There are three independent envelope generators for pitch filter and amp in each Program Sound An envelope generator has different effects on different modules Example The Amp Envelope creates level changes Amplitude that decays over time creates percussive effects plucked strings drums etc Amplitude that increases over time gives the effect of brass woodwind and some bowed instruments Each envelope generator has the standard attack decay sustain and release parameters found on most synthesizers along with delay sustain decay and different triggering options DECAY SUSTAIN LEVEL RELEA 5E ATTACK mmr SUSTAIN DECAY TME vc MOTE OM MOTE CFF Lamm ABOUT SIGNAL PROCESSING 52 The QS features a signal processing section based on the Alesis QuadraVerb 2 It is a complete digital signal processing unit with four input buses si
83. appears in the display and the other three CONTROLLER sliders are disabled The lower line of the display will show the parameter s name and current setting which will have an underline below it At this point you can now use the CONTROLLER D slider to adjust the parameter s setting or use the a VALUE and VALUE kl buttons to raise or lower the parameter s setting one step at a time AUDITIONING MIX PLAY MODE Mix Play Mode allows you to assign a Program to each of the 16 MIDI channels This makes it easy to create multitimbral setups for use with an external MIDI sequencer Additionally a MIX can be used to layer sounds together or split the keyboard in a number of ways or any combination of these There are many different ways to program a Mix For more about Mix Play Mode refer to Chapter 5 For more about connecting the QS to a MIDI sequencer see Chapter 3 d Press the MIX button The display will change to Mix Play Mode Select a Mix from 00 99 using one of these methods e Use the 00 120 buttons to select a Mix Group then use the 0 9 buttons to select a Mix within the Group e Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to step forwards and backwards through all the Mixes one at a time J When in Mix Play Mode the 100 110 and 120 buttons will not function Mixes only go from 00 to 99 SELECTING MIX BANKS The QS provides five internal Banks containing 100 Mixes in each The
84. are using to determine which PC setting to set the I O parameter to e When this parameter is switched to 110 I the SERIAL PORT will not function and the MIDI INPUT and OUTPUT will operate normally receiving and transmitting MIDI information to and from the QS if the SERIAL PORT s 4 or i if the SERIAL PORT switch is set to PC the MIDI me PUT will not function any MIDI information received on the MIDI INPUT connector will be ignored and the MIDI OUTPUT connector may act as a MIDI Thru connector for the connected computer i e MIDI information received from the computer will be transmitted see below When this parameter is set to either For information regarding connecting a computer to the SERIAL PORT see page 22 Ca When the I O parameter is NOT set to lL the QS will not transmit any locally generated MIDI information to the MIDI OUTPUT connector but will only transmit this information to the connected computer via the SERIAL PORT If the computer program has its MIDI Thru parameter turned on this information will be echoed back from the computer to the QS The MIDI information coming from the computer will also be transmitted out the QS s MIDI OUTPUT connector 0QS7 0S8 Reference Manual 116 Global Settings Chapter 8 MIDI Our Page 16 The MIDI Out Mode determines whether the MIDI OUTPUT connector will transmit MIDI information origin
85. at the sound may still feed an Effect Send To send a sound to an individual output use Output in conjunction with Pan Example Panning a sound full left and selecting the Aux outputs means that the sound will appear at only the left Aux output TIP Effect Level 00 to 99 Page 4 The QS isn t just a synthesizer it also has a built in effects system and mixer with four effect buses and sends This section lets you feed the sound to one of the effect buses for processing see Chapter 7 for more information on editing Effects The Effect Level parameter determines how much of the sound feeds the chosen effect bus see below Higher values mean that the sound will be more effected Effect Bus 1 to 4 Page 5 Selects which of the four buses the sound will feed thereby determining which effect s will process the sound Each Program has its own unique arrangement of effects Example In Program 12 bus 1 may be a Chorus Delay Reverb while in Program 27 bus 1 may just be a Flanger QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 57 Chapter 6 Editing Programs 58 PITCH The Pitch function press 60 lets you control the pitch aspects of each sound layer Semitone 24 to 24 semitones Page 1 Sets the oscillator pitch in semitone steps from 24 transposed down two octaves to 24 transposed up two octaves Detune 99 to 99 cents Page 2 Sets the oscillator pitch in cents from 99 transposed down 99 100 of a semitone to 99 tra
86. at the top half you can even have these Programs overlap in the middle WHAT S A BANK A Bank is a collection of 128 Programs and 100 Mixes There are five internal banks available at any time with more if a card is in the Sound Card slot The current bank is shown on the top line of the display and will cycle in the following order USER PRESET1 PRESET3 PRESET2 GenMIDI and optionally CARD 1 CARD 2 CARD 3 etc Each bank contains its own unique Programs and Mixes Program 10 in Preset 1 is different from Program 10 in Preset 3 although they are usually related sounds A Mix may contain Programs from any bank The Ta BANK and BANK buttons change the current bank from the top panel and MIDI Bank Select commands may also be used to select any of the 640 Programs on board or additional card programs Preset and General MIDI banks are permanently burned in at the factory User banks and Card banks from an SRAM card may be changed by the user If you edit a Preset Program or Mix it can be saved to a User or SRAM card bank only ABOUT SOUND GROUPS Preset Banks 1 3 and the User bank are organized into 13 Groups of 10 Sounds each and are spread out among the top right row of buttons on the front panel programs 00 09 are pianos 50 59 are basses and so on The GenMIDI bank however does not follow this arrangement it follows the program list of the General MIDI standard Programs on some sound cards may not follow that arra
87. ating from the QS when set to WHT or will echo MIDI information that is received at the MIDI INPUT SC when set to i If the I O parameter see previous page is set to either Mac PC 38 4kbaud or PC31 25kbaud the MIDI Out parameter can oy be set to lire EPLI This is because unless the I O parameter is set to iiis i the MIDI OUTPUT connector may only function as a MIDI Thru connector ior the connected computer and can only be switched off RESET CONTROLLERS PAGE 17 Found on Global Edit Page 17 the Reset Controllers function On Off determines whether the values for Controllers A D will be reset to zero when a new Program or Mix is recalled This parameter works along with the Controller Mode parameter described below to choose how the keyboard is being used as a controller If the A D Controllers are being used to modulate the volume etc of external MIDI sound modules you will probably want the Reset Controllers parameter turned OFF so that the modules volumes will not be reset to zero every time a new Mix or Program is selected If you are using the A D Controllers only for modulating parameters in the QuadraSynth Plus you will probably want this parameter turned ON so that new Programs or Mixes are recalled with their stored settings Example If you adjusted Controller A using the CONTROLLER A slider to say a value of 25 and then
88. ayers or splits the Mix is set up for For example in a Mix bank there may be several Mixes in which the keyboard is split in two or more ways from left to right each of these zones is linked to a different set of channels As you play through each zone it can be set to send MIDI messages corresponding to that key range and trigger the corresponding channels Note that certain controllers such as pitch bend and aftertouch will send on all channels at once The MIDI Monitor indicators in the display will show which channels are enabled but if the QS is sending a MIDI OUT message on a channel without its internal sound being enabled it will not show on the MIDI Monitor QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Mixes Chapter 5 CH SOLO In this mode the only sounds coming from the QS and the only MIDI Out messages will come from the MIDI channel in the display which is selected by using the a PAGE and PAGE P buttons This allows you to isolate individual channels in a Mix So if you play in a range of the keyboard that is active on MIDI CH Land CH appears in the upper left corner of the display you ll hear it All other ranges or layers will not respond to the keyboard they will continue to respond to incoming MIDI messages on their respective channels however Use the 4 PAGE and PAGE buttons to hear each channel in turn OUT 1 OUT 16 The QS will generate MIDI messages from the keyboard regardless of the Range se
89. cay Reverb Diffusion Overdrive Bright Lezlie Balance Lezlie Motor Reverb Low Decay Reverb Level Overdrive Balance Lezlie Level Reverb High Decay Overdrive Threshold Overdrive Level Lezlie Speed If the selected Configuration has a particular effect on more than one effect send for example Config 1 has a delay on each send then some Mod Destination parameters will be listed more than once For example the Delay Time parameter will appear four times D1 Time D2 Time D3 Time and D4 Time In the case of Pitch where you can choose from various pitch effects different parameters are available depending on the effect chosen However the Mod Destinations retain their names Example If the Resonator is the Pitch effect the Pitch Speed Modulation Destination controls the first parameter in the Resonator Tuning Mod Level Page 3 Mod 1 amp Page 6 Mod 2 The Mod Level is the amount that the Destination parameter will be affected by the Mod Source Pages 3 and 6 let you adjust the Level parameter by a positive or negative amount Example If the Reverb Decay was selected as the Destination with the mod wheel as the Source the mod wheel could be programmed to cause the Reverb to increase the decay positive or decrease the decay negative QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 99 Chapter 7 Editing Effects LEZLIE 100 The Lezlie function is only available in Configuration s 3 and 5 The Lezlie parameters
90. cess Program Edit Mode and Effects Edit Mode While in Mix Play Mode pressing EDIT SELECT alternates between Mix Edit Mode Program Edit Mode and Effects Edit Mode Once EDIT SELECT has been pressed the upper left corner of the display reads ED pressing BANK accesses Compare Mode if the Program Mix has been edited and pressing BANK kl accesses Global Edit Mode Pressing STORE accesses Store Mode Here are descriptions of these modes PROGRAM PLAY MODE Program Play Mode lets you play the QS s various Programs one at a time The QS contains 512 Preset and 128 User Programs i e the sounds of various instruments effects ensembles etc that show off just how cool this instrument really is Initially the 4 Preset Banks and the User Bank contain data loaded in at the factory The User Programs can be edited or replaced with your own Programs However you cannot replace the Preset Programs because these are stored in ROM permanent memory In Program Play Mode the QS responds to or generates messages on a single MIDI channel MIX PLAY MODE Mix Play Mode lets you audition the QS s various Mixes and use it as a MIDI master controller The QS contains 400 Preset Mixes and 100 User Mixes A Mix can combine up to 16 different Programs and the keyboard can generate up to 16 channels of MIDI data at once Therefore much thicker and richly textured sounds can be created In Mix Play Mode the QS can be used in a wide ran
91. ched together at the end of each effect send Example In one configuration effect send 3 has its own separate reverb while in another configuration it has its own delay and a level control feeding a reverb shared with send 1 When you re programming effects you will need to refer to the charts on pages 88 93 for the effect configuration you re using so you will Know how the paths from different effect functions interact The Effect functions consist of Pitch Delay Reverb and in some cases Misc which provides access to special effects such as EQ and Overdrive Each function has several types to choose from For example the Pitch effect can be either a chorus a flange a resonator etc The Reverb can be a large hall plate gated etc The effect types available for each effect function depends on the Configuration you are using The parameters available for an effect function depend on the selected effect type Some effect types have very few parameters while others have many For example the stereo delay effect has about twice as many parameters as the mono delay effect since the stereo delay has two adjustments left and right for several parameters Consequently the more parameters an effect has additional pages become available for that function Each effect has stereo outputs which may be routed to the MAIN LEFT and RIGHT outputs using the Mix function this is not the same as a Mix but rather a function that mixes t
92. currently selected Bank will be shown in the display just to the left of the currently selected Mix s name Current Bank oe SE MIX PRESET1 gg Piano amp Pad_ l e Use the BANK and BANK I buttons to select a Bank User Preset 1 3 GenMIDI User and Preset Banks are described in detail in Chapter 4 16 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Your First Session Chapter 2 CHOOSING PROGRAMS IN A MIX In this section we will choose Programs for the 16 channels in a Mix for playing back tracks from a MIDI sequencer There are many other aspects of a Mix we may wish to edit however Refer to Chapter 5 for more information about Mix editing You do not have to access Mix Edit Mode to select Programs for a Mix i e you don t have to press the EDIT SELECT button Instead you simply use a two step process A Use the la PAGE and PAGE I buttons to select one of the 16 channels in the Mix B Use a combination of the Ta BANK and BANK ki buttons the 00 120 buttons and the 0 9 buttons to choose a Program for the selected channel Here s the process broken down into simpler steps Press MIX and select Mix 00 from the GenMIDI Bank using one of the methods described on page 16 Io IO MIX GenMIDI GM Multi l Press PAGE Ri The display will look like this Channel Bank Program Number O O CHa GenMIDI 2 GrandPiano l Program Name The PAGE and PA
93. d Card To do this select the Mix or Program in the Sound Card Bank that you wish to copy then use the Store Function as described above to designate a location you wish to store to in the User Bank Note When storing a Mix from a Sound Card into the User Bank the individual Programs used by the Mix will not be moved into the User Program Bank Once you store a Mix from a Sound Card into the User Bank it will still look for its Programs in the Sound Card Bank if that is where it was programmed to look for them in the first place which is almost always the case CARD STORAGE RAMIFICATIONS Whenever you transfer an internal Bank to a RAM card the result is that all Mixes in the transferred Bank are changed so that they now access the Programs on the card bank to which the User bank was saved since they reside there now instead of the Programs from the original internal Bank And when a Card Bank is transferred to an internal Bank location the opposite happens all Programs within a Mix which had previously accessed card bank 1 the ROM card now point to the User bank However a problem can arise when you have one or more Mixes in the Bank you are transferring which use Programs already on the Card Example Let s say Mix 00 in Preset Bank 1 uses a Program that s located in Card Bank 1 If the Preset Bank 1 is transferred to the Card Bank 1 the result will be that Mix 00 in Card Bank 1 now uses only Programs from Card Bank 1 If
94. d channel pressure and represents an average of QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 73 Chapter 6 Editing Programs all keys being pressed This affects any keys that are held down The harder you press on the keys the greater the degree of modulation e Polyphonic Pressure This is similar to aftertouch but each key can respond to individual pressure messages Although the QS keyboard does not generate poly pressure the sound generators can respond to poly pressure signals entering via the MIDI In Example Assign poly pressure to the sound s amplitude in a string ensemble patch You can then increase the level of selected notes of a held chord to pull some notes out of the chord e Modulation Wheel The rightmost wheel Modulation is traditionally assigned to LFO amount level so that rotating the wheel away from you introduces vibrato However it is also well suited to controlling timbre vibrato speed and many other parameters e Pitch Wheel The two wheels to the left of the keyboard are modulation sources see below The leftmost wheel Pitch always controls the oscillator pitch but can be tied to other parameters as well e MIDI Volume MIDI can produce a variety of controller messages see the MIDI supplement in the back of this manual Of these controller 7 which controls channel volume is one of the most frequently used Example Assign the filter cutoff as the destination and you can have the signal become less bright as it
95. differences If the Delay and Attack are set to 0 and either the Decay is 0 or the Sustain is 99 the envelope will immediately jump to the release stage if not already there when the note is released and the sustain pedal is held down If a long attack is set and the envelope does not reach the end of the attack segment when the note is released it will be skipped and the envelope will jump immediately to the sustain decay segment If a long delay is set and the envelope has not reached the attack segment before the note is released the envelope will remain at 0 However if Freerun is turned on the envelope will continue through the delay attack decay and sustain segments and remain at the sustain decay segment This is exactly the same as holding down the note on the keyboard When the Sustain Pedal parameter is turned off the Sustain Pedal will have no effect on the envelope Level 00 to 99 Page 10 This is the overall output level of the envelope If this is set to 00 the Amp Envelope will have no output and will have no effect while at 99 it will have a maximum effect on whatever it is being routed to When selecting Amp Envelope Level as a modulation destination set the Amp Envelope level to 00 if the Modulation Level is above 0 or set the Amp Envelope level to 99 if the Modulation Amount is below 0 NAME The Name Function press 120 allows you to change the Program s name The Program name can be up to 10 characters
96. diting the Mix s parameters Mix Edit Mode one for editing the Programs themselves Program Edit Mode and the last for editing the Effects Effects Edit Mode Select a function level pitch etc by pressing one of the 0 9 or 00 120 buttons depending on which Edit Mode you are in Ifa function has multiple pages use the PAGE and PAGE I buttons to select the appropriate page QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Overview Chapter 4 The upper right section of the display will indicate the currently selected page number Each page provides a different parameter The parameter s name will appear in the bottom section of the display Press the PAGE I button to select the next higher numbered page and Ia PAGE to select the next lower numbered page Press both PAGE and PAGE RI simultaneously to get back to the first page of the selected function y Change the parameter value You can edit the value either by moving the CONTROLLER D slider for large value changes or pressing the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons for smaller changes SELECTING FUNCTIONS AND PARAMETERS When editing a Mix a Program or a Program s Effects the 23 buttons located on the right side of the front panel provide direct selection of edit Functions the 4 Sounds within a Program in Program Edit Mode and the 16 Channels within a Mix in Mix Edit Mode This means you can quickly get to the Function Sound Channel you want to ed
97. djusting the Sound Overlap to a lower value you decrease the number of voices used by each new note and thereby ensure there are voices available to play other sounds if necessary 64 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 PITCH ENVELOPE The Pitch Envelope function press 90 can lead to dramatic effects since it can cause the pitch of a single key to change drastically over time It s typically used in special effect synthesizer programs but it may also be used more subtly in an acoustic program to simulate the characteristic of some instruments to go sharp on the initial attack especially when played hard J The following Pitch Envelope variables will have an effect only if the PITCH ENVELOPE DEPTH on Page 7 of the PITCH function is set to a value other than 0 or if Pitch Envelope is a source in the MOD function Attack 00 to 99 Page 1 This is the amount of time the envelope will take until it reaches its maximum output level Setting the Attack to 0 will make the pitch go to maximum immediately on hitting the key if the Delay is also set to 0 in Pitch Envelope Page 5 see next page a setting of 99 will result in a much slower attack taking many seconds before the envelope gets to maximum Decay amp Sustain 00 to 99 Pages 2 amp 3 As soon as the attack portion of the envelope finishes when the level reaches maximum the envelope will decay decrease in level The level it reaches is set by
98. e Low Decay and High Decay 00 to 99 Pages 11 amp 12 These two parameters allow the Decay Time to be set separately for both the low and high frequencies of the Reverb This means that you have control over the tonal shape of the Reverb itself being able to make the high frequencies die faster if the effect is too bright and being able to make the lows die faster if the effect is too boomy This allows you to simulate different surfaces of a room or hall with softer surfaces absorbing more high frequencies and smaller rooms having faster low frequency decay If the selected Reverb type is Gate the Low Decay parameter is unavailable Density 00 to 99 Page 13 Page 12 if Gated or Reverse type Density controls how the first reflection of the reverb effect will appear When set to 0 the first reflection is heard alone without any other reflections When set to 99 the first reflection appears to fade in and then fade out This is because a number of reflections will occur just before and just after the first reflection in addition to the remaining reflections heard after the first reflection the reverb sounds more dense If the select Reverb type is Large the Density parameter is unavailable Diffusion 00 to 99 Page 14 Page 13 if Gated or Reverse type Diffusion determines the thickness of the reverb sound by adding more reflections to the reverb s decay With lower diffusion settings you may be able to
99. e Mix is now stored QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 39 Editing Mixes Chapter 5 CHAPTER 5 EDITING Mixes WHAT Is A MIx Mix Mode is one of the most powerful features of the QS Although in Program Mode you can play only one Program at a time in Mix Mode you can play up to 16 Programs at once either from the keyboard as layers or splits or from an external sequencer via 16 MIDI channels or a combination of both With Mix Mode you can do the following e Combine stack or layer different Programs so they can be played simultaneously from the keyboard For example stack a piano on top of a brass sound and a string sound adjusting the volume of each for a desirable mix Note that the stacking of Programs in Mix Play Mode is in addition to any sounds that may be stacked in the four sound layers of each Program e Split the keyboard into different zones for example the classic bass guitar on the left hand side of the keyboard and synth or piano on the right You can split the keyboard into as many as 16 zones which may overlap e Transmit on as many as 16 different MIDI channels simultaneously e Receive up to 16 MIDI channels from an external sequencer with each channel representing a different instrument piano on Ch 1 bass on Ch 2 drums on Ch 10 trumpet on Ch 16 Mix Play Mode is the multitimbral mode of the QS e Set the level panning transpositions and effect send of each MIDI channel PROGRAM ASS
100. e Ze ante tain Daa O el ee 98 MOGs Kee E haul eae Re ae ee ee ee 98 RV EE 105 PROVOMD DEE 106 Input Level snai iee ea KAREN ENEE ENEE eect ek 106 EENEG geegent Eege EE 110 OK 111 8 GLOBAL SET EN 113 Editing Global Parameters 0 0 c ccccceceeceeeeseeeceeeeeecaeeeeeeeeesaaeeeeeaeeeseaeeeseaaeeseeeeeesnaeesennees 113 Master EE eges dert pitied EE eh ek nats es ae tees ee 113 Master TUNG isiin iiri iia EA e iE EAN EAA EAE EENE NE NEE A 113 K yb ard G NE rairai dianian adeta seen scedac then nad dee asathecadit eeunaacdtten ETE Laaa ANELEE aiwa 113 Keyboard Selm ee Ne iia ate altel i N ape indeed 114 Kuss Eier EE 114 Keyboard Moge ee Arenes earann iE EAE EAn ES EAEAN E EKEN E e REET E FER Edee Eege dg eist 114 EE e EYL E AAE AE ESEA FE rE EE ET A 115 Enabling General MIDI Mode via MID 115 Controllers A DAeslonment 115 Pedals Tand Z ASSIONMENE ET 115 Using a Pedal to Control Volume or Modulation cccceeceeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeneeeees 115 MIDI Program Gelec AAA 116 Receiving Transmitting Bank Change Messages 116 TUT QUT E 117 MIDI Kal 118 Reset Controllers AA 118 Gontrolle hk MOG se isste E E AT A T A A dared 118 lee Ee Ee eeh A ee 119 9 MIDI TRANSFER AND STORAGE OPERATIONS sssssnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnninnnnnnnnnnennne 121 Using PCMCIA Expansion Cards 121 Saving the User Bank to a PCMCIA Card 121 Loading a Bank from an External Can 122 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 5 Table of Contents Storing an Individual
101. e accessible beginning with slot A i e you ll be able to access all 8 banks from the card in slot A and the first 3 banks from the card in slot B QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 19 Chapter 2 Your First Session J If an internal Program uses one or more Sounds that reside on a sound card the sound card must be inserted into the same PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slot A or B as when the Program was stored In other words if a Program uses a Sound found on the card currently inserted in slot A then the same card must be inserted into slot A for that sound to be used when this Program is recalled Although the card can physically be used in either slot once a Program is stored using a Sound on a card it expects to find that card in the identical slot it was in when the Program was stored The same is true when a Program residing on the card in slot A uses a Sound stored on card B or vice versa J If an internal Mix uses one or more Programs that reside on a sound card the sound card must be inserted into the same PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slot A or B as when the Mix was stored The same is true when a Mix residing on the card in slot A uses a Program stored on card B or vice versa A WorD ABOUT THE QS CD ROM 20 Included with the QS is a CD ROM containing various useful software programs to use with your QS These include various Alesis and third party programs QS sounds and samples sequences stored in the MIDI Song
102. e any sort of artificial ambiance to a recording The sound of a well tuned Plate has become quite popular over the years especially when used on vocal or drum sounds The two Plate reverbs differ in subtle tonal characteristic changes such as those found in different manufacturers plate reverbs Room The Room reverb type simulates not only rooms of different sizes but rooms with different surface materials A room with soft surfaces such as carpet will produce a reverberant sound with much less high end treble than a room with hard surfaces This reverb type can easily simulate both examples and many many more Hall Much larger than a room Halls are characterized by their high ceilings irregular shapes and generally uniform density of reflections Large Much larger than a hall this reverb type emulates large ambient spaces such as amphitheaters gymnasiums etc Gate Gated Reverb is a very popular effect on drums first found on English records in the early 1980s This reverb type can simulate applying a noise gate a device that automatically decreases the volume once the signal falls below a certain level across the output of the reverb thereby causing the initial attack of the reverb to sound very big but the tail of the reverb to be cut off very quickly Although this effect is not found in nature it works great for modern drums percussion and any quickly repeated transient source Reverse The Reverse Reverb type is an i
103. e to storing data to a card the QS lets you transmit internal data via MIDI System Exclusive messages This data can be sent to a storage device or recorded into a MIDI sequencer or sent to another QS or S4 You have a choice of sending any single Program in the User bank 00 to 127 or what is in the current Program Edit buffer or what is in any of the 16 Mix Edit Program buffers or the entire User bank 100 Mixes 128 Programs 128 Effects Patches plus Global data In the case of sending data to another QS you can send any individual Program to the same location or any other location in the receiving QS including any of its 17 Program Edit buffers To send the entire User bank via MIDI Connect a MIDI cable from the QS s MIDI Out to the MIDI In of a device capable of receiving the data a MIDI sequencer another QS etc Press STORE Press PAGE I four times to select Page 3 of the Store function The display will look like this SEND ALL DATA TO MIDI STORE l d Press STORE to transmit the data out the MIDI Out connector While transmitting the data the display will temporarily read SENDING OUT MIDI DATA To send a single Program via MIDI Follow steps and j in the instructions above Press PAGE I five times to select Page 4 of the Store function The display will look like this MIDI PRG 000 TO PRG 000 STORE l Use the CONTROLLER D slider to select a Progra
104. ealistic Imagine a flute player beginning each note in a phrase with a sharp breathy attack In reality the player would only attack the first note in the phrase this way Therefore if the Keyboard Mode is set to Mono the three envelopes Pitch Envelope Filter Envelope and Amp Envelope will only retrigger when playing legato if the envelope s Trigger Mode is set to either Reset or Reset Freerun QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 59 Chapter 6 Editing Programs TIP TIP 60 FILTER The Filter function press 70 lets you control the tone of each sound layer Filter Frequency 00 to 99 Page 1 This sets the filter s initial cutoff frequency Lower values give a duller sound since this removes more harmonics higher values let through more harmonics which gives a brighter sound Signals with complex harmonic structures are most affected by the filter Examples A sine wave has virtually no harmonics so you will not hear any significant changes as long as the filter cutoff is higher than the note pitch If the filter cutoff is lower than the note pitch you will either not hear the note or it will be very soft A harmonically rich sample such as brass or white noise will be greatly affected by the filter If the Filter Frequency is set to maximum in most cases all other variables in the Filter function will have no effect Most other filter functions raise the filter frequency and it can t be greater than 99 So
105. ect of the Amp Envelope gets progressively longer as the Delay control is turned up If the Delay is set above 99 the display will read Hold This indicates that the Delay stage of the envelope will wait indefinitely until the key is released before continuing on to the remaining envelope stages Attack Decay etc This requires that the Amp Envelope s Trigger parameter see next page is set to Freerun However when the Delay is set to Hold Freerun mode is forced on regardless of the Trigger parameter s setting Sustain Decay 00 to 99 Page 6 This is the amount of time that the envelope will take during the sustain stage to bring the level down to 0 If this is set to 99 the envelope will remain at the Sustain level until the note is released When set to 0 the envelope s level will immediately jump down to 0 upon reaching the sustain stage Trigger Normal Freerun Reset Reset Freerun Page 7 The Trigger mode determines how the envelope will function You may select either Freerun or Reset or both Reset Freerun or neither Normal When set to Normal the envelope will always start at its current level i e if another note had been played which triggered the envelope s cycle playing another note in the middle would not interrupt the cycle Also in Normal mode the envelope will immediately advance to its release stage upon releasing the note When set to Freerun the envelope will complete its e
106. eiae AEAEE ee eee ae vere ENNEN 54 Vis 54 Level neiaa a ENEE E EEN ee 57 PACH eet EE ith eee clean dt t 58 el EE 60 AMP e ue EE EE 62 Pitch Envelopesin tac acta E 65 elle 68 Amp Envelope EE 70 E 72 M d 1 MOG Go ieaoo i ERER EEN 73 4 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Table of Contents ei eh E E 76 Filter DECH E cre tenbestea ce iteeeteateeth EEA 78 le dE WEE 79 Tracking Generatoti y ee aus tiahkeeae ites eaea aaa aat a aria 80 Programming Drum Gounde 0 cceceeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeesecaeeeeeaaeeeseaeeeseeeeeesaaeeseeeeeessaeetee 82 Vis EE 82 Kevelaer deiere eege na E aed ae eet 83 Kette beer EE vache tt nen ERR atm natant 83 FUG cca A sane Dacia ent ae ace E ENNEN day uke eae Te 83 AMO Me ul EE 84 Amp MET 84 COPYING SOUNAS 2 sasyone di aces deeaehaadheg ccaeane E aad quaguees azaceuanec seasaimetdesaea 85 elle RE 85 wl UE Luis Red tele TELE 86 7 EDITING GE 87 About Signal Processing c cccceceececeeeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeaaesecaeeeseaaeseeeeeeseaaeseseeeeeseaeeeseaeeesaees 87 Selecting an Effects Patch in Mix Mode 88 Setting Effects Send Levels A 88 E e EEN 88 Eding Me 89 NAVIQAUING EE 89 Storing Effect Patches In Program Mode 90 Storing Effect Patches in Mix Mode ssssssesssesssiessssssissrirssrnssinssinsttnnstnnnstnnnennnsnnnne 90 Copying Effect Patches cc ccccccceceseeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeceaaeeeeeeeeeeeeaaeeseeaeeesseeeeesiaaeesecueeeseaeees 90 Ee ts E e EE 91 Eug esti eege Denne An
107. eieren Eee aaa e aeee A E E 40 Level Setting for Each Program ssssesssssessisssisssrissrirssirnsstnsstrnnntnnstnnntnnnntnnntnnntennesnnnt 41 Ae A AE ERE A T A S E A EE 42 e EE 42 Keyboard MID I ist cis ut rea iee eeneioe erae Erer EE 42 bell ct asthe ate geed 43 Transmitting MIDI Volume and Panning sssessessssssrsssserrssseirrsssrirnrssrrnnssnes 43 Setting the Range and MIDI Switches c eccececeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeseaeeeeeeeeenaeeesaes 44 Raning E KEE 44 Polyphony in Mix Play Mode 45 Using the QS as a Master kevboard 45 Setting the MIDI Out Channels for a Mix in Global Mode sssssnnnnnsnnnnnnennnnnnnnnnnnnennn nne 45 Using Keyboard Mode with the Serial Jack 46 6 EDITING PROGRAMS EE 47 COVE IVIOW EEEE coded ati ube easca Datla E tansy usd edb be gare N EN 47 The Normalized Synth Voice eceeeceeeeeeceeeeeeeeeaeeceeeeeesaaaeseeeeeesaaeeeeeaeeseeaeeeseeeeeeaees 47 How the QS Generates Goumd 48 Program Sound Layers ugeduet ee Raden die eaten igs Menace gheiie bed Aueeseuda ieee 48 QS Signial ie VE 49 The Four Sounds of a Program 49 tee 50 Lowpass Filter ong zeesioseceet eegdee EN ee aid ENEE Ee dd EES eE Ne Raan a ites 50 PAID EE 51 About e EI ue EE 51 LFO Low Frequency Oscillator 00 c ceceeeeeeeceeeeeeeeseaeeseceeeeseaeeseeeeeesenaeeeeaees 52 Mee 52 About Signal Processing 07 akde Nee ei a elaine des 52 DY Tu dle e 53 Program Edit FUNCIONS aine eae eero eoii ia
108. en turned on playing toward the higher end of the keyboard will result in a faster envelope cycle playing toward the lower end of the keyboard will result ina slower envelope cycle However this does not effect the attack time but only the decay sustain decay and release segments This feature will result in only a subtle change The envelope s timing doubles or halves over a range of two octaves 66 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Sustain Pedal On or Off Page 9 This determines whether or not the Sustain Pedal will have an effect on the envelope When turned on holding down the Sustain Pedal while playing short notes is virtually the equivalent to holding down those notes on the keyboard with some subtle but important differences If the Delay and Attack are set to 0 and either the Decay is 0 or the Sustain is 99 the envelope will immediately jump to the sustain decay stage if not already there when the note is released and the sustain pedal is held down If a long attack is set and the envelope does not reach the end of the attack segment when the note is released it will be skipped and the envelope will jump immediately to the release segment If a long delay is set and the envelope has not reached the attack segment before the note is released the envelope will remain at 0 However if Freerun is turned on the envelope will continue through the delay attack decay and sustain segments and remain at the sus
109. ept a Roland model EV 5 or equivalent type volume control pedal or a standard switch pedal Normally PEDAL 1 acts as a volume pedal for the entire instrument but both pedals can be assigned to modulation functions within a program Example The pedal could control Vibrato or Lezlie Speed The SUSTAIN footswitch jack accepts a momentary footswitch unit included with the unit This provides the same function as the sustain or damper pedal on a standard keyboard You can use either a normally closed or normally open momentary contact footswitch Plug it into the rear panel SUSTAIN footswitch jack QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Connections Chapter 3 before powering up the QS on power up it will automatically sense the footswitch polarity and calibrate itself accordingly J If your footswitch seems to respond backwards notes sustain unless the footswitch is pressed turn off the QS make sure the footswitch plug is fully inserted into the footswitch jack then turn the power back on Also make sure the footswitch is not held down when powering up the QS DIGITAL AUDIO OPTICAL HOOKUP The QS can output digital audio directly into an Alesis ADAT or ADAT compatible multitrack digital recorder via fiber optic cable The digital connector follows a proprietary Alesis format that carries all four audio outputs of the QS Main and Aux Left and Right on a single fiber optic cable Either pair of outputs can be converted into standard AE
110. er Mono Poly Key Mono Key Poly Page 4 The Trigger parameter determines how the LFO should be triggered or started There are four possible settings Mono Poly Key Mono and Key Poly A description of these settings is found in the Trigger section of the Pitch LFO description on page 77 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 79 Chapter 6 Editing Programs 80 Level 00 to 99 Page 5 This is the base output level of the Amp LFO If you want to have a constant value of tremolo even without using the Mod Wheel or Aftertouch set Level above 00 The Mod Wheel and Aftertouch will add or subtract from this base level Example If Level is set to 10 and the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 10 there will always be some tremolo and raising the Mod Wheel will add more tremolo On the other hand if the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 10 raising the Mod Wheel to the top will cancel out all tremolo Mod Wheel Depth 99 to 99 Page 6 This is the modulation amount of the Mod Wheel over the Amp LFO s Level A positive value raises the level when the Mod Wheel is moved up and lowers the level when moved down Negative settings of this parameter will decrease the output level of the Amp LFO as the Mod Wheel is raised Since the output level of the Amp LFO cannot be less than zero A negative setting of the Mod Wheel parameter will have no effect unless either the Aftertouch or the Level is set to raise the Amp LFO output If both the Level and Aftertouch are
111. er service for assistance The display does not light No power Check that the power cable turned on No sound Check your audio cables if necessary swap cables Set the Keyboard Mode to incorrectly NORMAL Global p 6 No MIDI input in Mix Check MIDI cables mode cannot control One or more channels Make sure the MIDI IN through MIDI MIDI IN switch is off parameter is turned on for the channel s you wish to control via MIDI Keyboard Mode is set Make sure the Keyboard incorrectly Mode Global p 6 is set to NORMAL Notes sustain Sustain pedal was Turn off power and turn on continuously plugged in after power again was turned on RE INITIALIZING If your unit behaves erratically or freezes the first step is to power down the unit and power it back up again Disconnect any cables connected to the MIDI IN jack and make sure that a sequencer or keyboard is not sending messages to the QS that would make it behave erratically such as a long stream of pitch bend messages on 16 channels simultaneously If these steps do not solve the problem you must re initialize the software Make sure your mod wheel is all the way down before re initializing otherwise the zero position of the mod wheel will be incorrect To re initialize the QS hold down both buttons 0 and 3 while turning on the power This will reset all Global parameters to their default settings and will initialize all edit buffers so t
112. es in a single sound each voice has its own LFO However the LFO Trigger parameter determines whether or not they should be in sync and whether or not they can be retriggered independent from one another Mono All voices LFOs are in sync with each other If you hold a chord and then play new notes on top of the chord all voices LFOs will be moving in the same direction and at the same speed Because of this modulating the LFO Speed using a voice specific source such as velocity or one of the envelopes for example will have no effect you will be allowed to do this but you won t hear any difference This is because these modulation sources are meant for polyphonic purposes These include Note Number Velocity Release Velocity Pitch Filter Amp LFO Pitch Filter Amp Envelope Random Trig Rate and Tracking Generator However modulation sources which are not voice specific will still have an effect while the LFO Trigger is set to MONO These include Aftertouch Mod Wheel Pitch Wheel MIDI Volume Sustain Pedal Pedal 1 Pedal 2 and Controllers A D Poly Each voice s LFO is independent If you hold a chord some voices LFOs will be moving in one direction while others move in the other direction If the LFO Speed is being modulated by one of the envelopes for example the LFO s of each voice may be running at different speeds Key Mono This is identical to MONO but whenever a new note is played the LFO is retriggered
113. et to a common MIDI channel you can hear both when playing the master QS s keyboard The QS s MIDI OUT connector sends MIDI data from the QS s keyboard to other MIDI devices but can also send System Exclusive data see the MIDI supplement to a storage device for later recall If you are using the QS in the middle of the MIDI chain example as the second unit of a three device chain connect the QS MIDI THRU to the third device s MIDI IN connector in order to route the first device s MIDI out information to the third device QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual 21 Chapter 3 Connections USING AN EXTERNAL SEQUENCER The QS can generate MIDI signals that are recorded by a sequencer On playback the sequencer sends this data back into the QS which then serves as a multitimbral sound module in Mix Mode The sequencer can generate data over several channels in Mix Mode the QS can be programmed so that individual Programs play sequenced data on specific channels Example lf the sequencer transmits a piano part over channel 1 a bass part over channel 2 and a drum part over channel 10 you could set up a QS Mix so that a piano sound plays only the MIDI data assigned to channel 1 a bass sound plays only the MIDI data assigned to channel 2 and drums play only the MIDI data assigned to channel 10 The QS can store up to 100 User Mixes Connect the sequencer s MIDI Out to the QS s MIDI IN and the QS s MIDI OUT to the
114. etc For example a user may load data from a Sample Cell CD ROM and send this data to the QuadraSynth PCMCIA Card without ever using Sample Cell The Sound Bridge folder on the CD ROM contains the Sound Bridge application and an electronic manual which will give you all the information you need to know to run Sound Bridge QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Connections Chapter 3 CHAPTER 3 CONNECTIONS Basic MIDI HOOKUP MIDI is an internationally accepted protocol that allows musical related data to be conveyed from one device to another See the MIDI Supplement in Appendix B if you are not familiar with how MIDI works The QS has three MIDI connectors which provide the following functions e MIDIIN This port is for receiving MIDI information notes program changes etc from a source such as another QS or MIDI keyboard controller or computer e MIDI OUT This port is for transmitting MIDI information to another MIDI keyboard sound module or computer e MIDI THRU This port is for passing on echoing MIDI information received by the MIDI IN port In simple MIDI setups the THRU port is used to connect additional devices that will all be listening to the same source To play the QS from a MIDI control device keyboard drum pad guitar or bass controller sequencer etc connect the control device s MIDI OUT to the QS s MIDI IN The illustration below depicts a master QS connected to a slave QS When both are s
115. etting can be adjusted by either pressing the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons or by moving the CONTROLLER D slider also labeled EDIT VALUE The CONTROLLER D slider is useful when making broad adjustments to a parameter such as when moving a parameter from its minimum setting to its maximum while the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons are best suited for when you wish to perform fine adjustments such as stepping through a parameters value one at a time You will find that using a combination of these two controls will make editing fast and easy RESETTING A PARAMETER VALUE It s often convenient while editing to return a parameter to its default setting usually but not always 0 This normally involves moving the Edit Value Slider or repeatedly pressing the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons but here s a quicker way Select the parameter you wish to reset using the methods described earlier Simultaneously press both the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons PARAMETER EDITING OVERVIEW All parameter editing involves the same general procedure with minor variations Select an Edit Mode with the EDIT SELECT button Example If you pressed PROGRAM the EDIT SELECT button switches between two Edit Modes one for editing the Program s Sound layers Program Edit Mode and the other for editing the Effects Effects Edit Mode If you pressed MIX the EDIT SELECT button switches between three Edit Modes one for e
116. evices from the QS patch the QS s MIDI OUT to the MIDI device s MIDI IN If there are more than one MIDI device patch the first device s MIDI THRU to the second device s MIDI IN the second device s MIDI THRU to the third device s MIDI IN etc Caution Do not attempt to connect more than three or four units together using the Thru connectors as this may impede the MIDI data flow to the connected devices Instead insert a MIDI patch bay to the QS s MIDI OUT so that all devices receive its MIDI information simultaneously In Program Mode the QS sends and receives MIDI information on only one MIDI channel at a time In Mix Mode however the QS can transmit on as many as 16 MIDI channels each with its own keyboard range for more information on Program Mode and Mix Mode see Chapter 4 When using the QS as a master keyboard to play other MIDI devices be sure the Keyboard Mode is set to NORMAL The Keyboard Mode parameter is found on Page 6 of Global Edit Mode for more information see Chapter 8 It is also possible for the QS to transmit volume and pan settings via MIDI as controllers 7 and 10 respectively This occurs whenever a new Program is selected or when a new Mix is selected In the case of a Mix the volume and pan settings may be transmitted for each Channel up to 16 used in the selected Mix PEDAL AND FOOTSWITCH HOOKUP 24 The QS keyboard has two pedal jacks PEDAL 1 and PEDAL 2 that acc
117. g down one tape machine and then the other different phase cancellations would occur Since the slowing down of the tape machines was done by hand pressure against the flanges of the tape supply reels the term Flanging came into being The effect of Flanging is achieved by splitting and slightly delaying one part of the signal then varying the time delay again with an LFO The delayed signal is then mixed back with the original sound to produce the swishing or tunneling sound DELAY FEEDBA CK FLA MiS ED OLTPLUT DRY SIGNAL DRY SIGNAL Many variables are available from varying the speed and depth of the LFO to feeding back part of the signal to make the effect stronger The Flanger s feedback can be either Normal or Inverted Use the Inverted setting for a more dramatic flange effect QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 Stereo Flange In the case of the Stereo Flange the signal is split into three parts with a dry signal and a separate Delay section for both left and right channels with one channel flanging up while the other channel flanges down Once again this causes the effect to become more pronounced and dramatic DRY SIGNAL FEEDBA CE Ce LEFT FLANGED OUTPUT DRY SIGNAL RIGHT FLA BSED FEEDBACK Cen DRY SIGMA L Pitch Detune As the name implies Pitch Detune takes a part of the signal and detunes it either sharp or fla
118. g softly makes the sound fade in while playing hard causes an immediate attack e Using release velocity to increase decrease the release time of an envelope so quick releases of the keys cut off the end of the sound while slow key releases allow the sound to fade away gradually The MOD functions give you the freedom to go beyond the standard modulation sources built in to other functions Selecting the Modulator 1 to 6 Use the 0 5 buttons to select one of the six modulators modulator 1 is 0 modulator 2 is 1 modulator 3 is 2 etc All modulators work in the same way so only the pages of one will be described here Modulation Source Page 1 Select from the following modulation sources e Note provides a modulation signal that corresponds to the note played on the keyboard higher keys give higher values Example Use this modulation source to obtain a different chorus sound in the upper and lower keyboard ranges e Velocity relates to how fast a key goes from the key up note off to the key down note on position and therefore represents the dynamics of your playing e Release velocity relates to how fast a key goes from the key down note on to the key up note off position Example Use this to affect the rate of a sound s release based on how fast you remove your fingers from the keys e Aftertouch Pressing on the keys after they re down generates this control signal Aftertouch is also calle
119. ge of applications It can be used for live performance in which sounds are layered or assigned to sections of the keyboard It can also be used as a multitimbral sound source for desktop music and home studio applications A Mix can use the Effects Patch associated with one of its Programs Although there may be 16 Programs ina Mix there can only be one Effects Patch per Mix In Mix Mode the QS can respond to messages on up to 16 MIDI channels simultaneously different channels are available depending on which Mix is selected PROGRAM EDIT MODE In Program Edit Mode you can change the various settings which determine the sound of an individual Program or create an entirely new Program from scratch Each Program is made up of four Sound layers which you can edit individually or simultaneously In Program Edit mode you can e select which sample waveform from the 16 megabytes of onboard sample ROM will be used in each of the 4 sounds e change the tone level attack and decay characteristics modulation inputs and pitch of each layer e set modulation routings whereby any parameter can be controlled via MIDI e set the effect level for each Sound layer and set which of the four effect sends each Sound layer will use for signal processing such as reverb delay and chorus or any combination of these MIX EDIT MODE QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Overview Chapter 4 Mix Edit Mode lets you change the parameters of an existing Mi
120. ges you have made unless you perform a store first J You can only store Mixes and Programs into their respective User banks The Preset banks are permanently stored in ROM and cannot be saved over STORE A PROGRAM OR MIX While in either Program Mode or Mix mode after making your edits press the STORE button Optional Select the memory Bank in which you want to store the Program or Mix into using the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons If no RAM Card is inserted you will only be able to select the User Bank zo Use the 0 9 and 00 120 to select the Program Mix location 00 127 in which you want to store the Program or Mix into d Press STORE again to complete the operation Or Press any other button to cancel out of the Store operation without storing J Storing a Mix only stores the Mix parameters not the individual Programs or Effect Patch used in the Mix If you have edited any of the Programs in the Mix or the Effects Patch you must store them separately 36 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Overview Chapter 4 COPYING SOUNDS BETWEEN PROGRAMS Follow the steps below to copy one of the four Sound layers from one Program to another Program in the User Bank When copying Sounds between Programs the new Sound will replace the same numbered Sound in the destination Program i e Sound 3 will replace Sound 3 A Press PROGRAM to select Program Play Mode then use the s VALUE and VALUE t
121. gether The Delay effect has two inputs which can be mixed together The first input comes from the Pitch effect s output The second input can come from either Sends 1 2 3 or 4 or the Overdrive effect s output or Pitch effects input The Reverb effect has two inputs which can be mixed together The first input can come from the Pitch effect s output or the Delay effect s output The second input can come from either Sends 1 2 3 or 4 or the Overdrive effect s output or the Delay effect s input The Lezlie effect has two inputs which can be mixed together The first input can come from the Delay effect s output or the Reverb effect s output The second input can come from either Sends 1 2 3 or 4 or the Overdrive effect s output or the Pitch effect s input or output or the Delay effect s input or the Reverb effect s input The outputs of all these effects are routed back to the Outputs and sent through the shelving EQ effect QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 97 Chapter 7 Editing Effects EQ MoD 98 The shelving EQ is only available in Configuration s 4 and 5 It provides bass and treble boost and effects the entire Main Output not just the Effects Sends Four EQ parameters are included Low Frequency range 30Hz to 180Hz Low Frequency Gain OdB to 12dB High Frequency 3kHz to 10kHz High Frequency Boost 0dB to 9dB Lo EQ Frequency 30Hz to 180Hz Page 1 This allows you to adjust the cut
122. give the same apparent effect but with reversed LFO phase i e if the filter cutoff frequency would normally be increasing with depth set to a positive number the cutoff would instead be decreasing at that same moment had the depth been set to a negative number Filter LFO parameters such as speed and wave shape are programmed from within the FLFO Function see page 74 TI P Filter LFO is good for giving wah wah effects at slower LFO speeds and for adding shimmering with higher LFO speeds Filter Envelope Depth 99 to 99 Page 7 The Filter Envelope is one of the most important settings in making a program Many programs will use the Filter Envelope to determine the tonal character of the sound over time attack decay sustain and release At 00 the filter envelope has no effect Positive values raise the filter from the baseline cutoff frequency according to the envelope shape and negative values similarly lower the cutoff frequency The higher the number negative or positive the greater the effect Filter Envelope parameters Such as attack and decay time are programmed within the Filter Envelope Function see page 64 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 61 Chapter 6 Editing Programs AMP RANGE The Amp Range function press 80 lets you control the velocity and keyboard range of each sound layer Velocity Curve 13 choices Page 1 This selects how the sound will respond to the dynamics of your playing the keyboard
123. half piano in the middle three octaves and strings in the upper octave The Lower Limit specifies the lowest note of the sound s keyboard range You can set the lower limit by holding 80 and tapping the key on the keyboard you want to set as the lowest note in the range High Limit MIDI note 000 to 127 C 2 to G8 Page 5 Specifies the highest note of the sound s keyboard range You can set the high limit by holding 80 and tapping the key on the keyboard you want to set as the highest note in the range By setting the lower limit above the high limit you can create a hole in the middle effect This makes the sound appear to have two zones All notes from the bottom of the keyboard to the high limit note will play and all notes from the lower limit to the top of the keyboard will play but the notes between the high limit and the lower limit will not play This can be further enhanced in Mix Mode by using the Range function in Mix Edit Mode to cap off the lower and high limits TIP QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 63 Chapter 6 Editing Programs Sound Overlap 00 to 99 Page 6 This determines how many voices can overlap on the same pitch Example If you hold the sustain pedal down and play the same note over and over Sound Overlap determines how many voices are available for that note and thus how many voices will overlap play simultaneously In the old days different brands of synthesizers offered different voice a
124. hat all Mix Program and Effects parameters are reset to their default settings However none of the Programs Mixes or Effects are changed when re initializing the unit CHECKING SOFTWARE VERSION The current software version may be determined by simultaneously pressing PROGRAM and 00 The QS will momentarily indicate the current software version installed in the display QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 127 Appendix A Troubleshooting MAINTENANCE SERVICE 128 CLEANING Disconnect the AC cord then use a damp cloth to clean the keyboard s metal and plastic surfaces For heavy dirt use a non abrasive household cleaner such as Formula 409 or Fantastik DO NOT SPRAY THE CLEANER DIRECTLY ONTO THE FRONT OF THE UNIT AS IT MAY DESTROY THE LUBRICANTS USED IN THE SWITCHES AND CONTROLS Spray onto a cloth then use the cloth to clean the unit MAINTENANCE Here are some tips for preventive maintenance e Periodically check the AC cord for signs of fraying or damage e Make sure the entire bottom part of the keyboard is supported so that the case is not subjected to unnecessary bending e Place a dust cover over the QS when it is not in use REFER ALL SERVICING TO ALESIS We believe that the QS is one of the most reliable keyboards that can be made using current technology and should provide years of trouble free use However should problems occur DO NOT attempt to service the unit yourself The full AC line voltage as well as
125. he Sustain to 98 and the Decay to 99 This will cause the envelope to take the maximum amount of time to get from peak level to a level of 98 before the Sustain Release portion of the envelope begins Release 00 to 99 Page 4 Eventually you will let go of the note that you ve been holding either by releasing the note on the keyboard or releasing the sustain pedal if it was pressed It is at this point that the Release portion of the envelope takes effect The Release is the time that the envelope takes to get from the sustain level back down to nothing Setting the Release time to 0 is good for playing those short funky riffs that you hear on a clavinet Setting the Release time to 99 will take the envelope a very long time to reach zero level 68 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Delay 00 to 99 Page 5 This is the amount of time that the envelope will wait before doing anything very useful if you want to affect one element of a sound sometime after the sound starts When the Delay is set to 0 the envelope attacks right away without any delay Play some notes while turning up the delay and see that the time between playing the note and hearing the effect of the Filter Envelope gets progressively longer as the Delay control is turned up If the Delay is set above 99 the display will read Hold This indicates that the Delay stage of the envelope will wait indefinitely until the key is released before conti
126. he effects outputs together QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 87 Chapter 7 Editing Effects SELECTING AN EFFECTS PATCH IN MIX MODE Each Program has its own Effects Patch that is recalled when you select a Program in Program Mode However since a Mix can have up to 16 Programs one on each Channel you need to select which Channel s Program you wish to use the Effects Patch from To select an Effects Patch you must be in Mix Edit Mode by pressing the EDIT SELECT button once so that the top line of the display reads ED MIX Use the 80 button to select the Effect function then press PAGE I to select page 2 The display should look like this ED MIX zB FX MIDI CHAN 01 l This parameter lets you select which Channel 1 16 of the Mix whose Effects Patch you wish to use If you set the Effect Channel to 1 the Mix will use the Effects Patch used by the Program on Channel 1 The Effect Channel is also used to determine what MIDI channel the Effects Patch will be set to for receiving MIDI controller information for the Modulators see the Mod section later in this chapter for more on real time MIDI control of effect parameters Press PAGE to go back to page 1 The lower line of the display will look like this FXPRGCHNGE ON _ This parameter turns on and off the FX Program Change function The FX Program Change parameter determines whether or not a MIDI Program Change message received on the Effects Channel should
127. hen TRACKGEN is selected as the modulation source the Tracking Generator functions normally scaling its input as determined by its parameter settings When STEPTRACK is selected as a modulation source the Tracking Generator s output will be stepped or interpolated This means that instead of scaling the input linearly from point to point the input is kept at each point s value setting until it goes beyond the following point s value setting at which point it jumps to that setting This feature is very useful in creating mini sequences if the modulation destination is set QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 to Pitch and the Tracking Generator s input is an LFO using an Up Sawtooth as its waveform TI The Tracking Generator can be used to turn a variable control such as the Mod Wheel or velocity into a switch by setting all of the points to 0 except for point 10 Only near the maximum input will anything other than 0 come out of the Tracking generator You can patch the Mod Wheel somewhere else in addition to the Tracking Generator giving you gradual control of one function with the full range of the Mod Wheel while switching on a second function only at the top of the wheel However the Tracking Generator interpolates between steps this is sort of like playing connect the dots In other words the Tracking Generator does not step directly from one point to the next
128. high voltage high current DC voltages are present at several points within the chassis Service on this product should be performed only by qualified technicians THERE ARE NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE OBTAINING REPAIR SERVICE Before contacting Alesis check over all your connections and make sure you ve read the manual Customers in the USA If the problem persists call Alesis USA at 1 310 841 2272 and request the Product Support department Talk the problem over with one of our technicians if necessary you will be given a repair order RO number and instructions on how to return the unit All units must be shipped prepaid and COD shipments will not be accepted For prompt service indicate the RO number on the shipping label If you do not have the original packing ship the QS in a sturdy carton with shock absorbing materials such as styrofoam pellets the kind without CFCs please or bubble pack surrounding the unit Shipping damage caused by inadequate packing is not covered by the Alesis warranty Tape a note to the top of the unit describing the problem include your name and a phone number where Alesis can contact you if necessary as well as instructions on where you want the product returned Alesis will pay for standard one way shipping back to you on any repair covered under the terms of this warranty Next day service is available for a surcharge Field repairs are not normally authorized during the warranty
129. idual Mixes or Programs onto it until you store an entire QS Bank onto it first Insert a card into the Sound Card slot on the back of the QS Select the Program or Mix you wish to transfer to the card Press STORE V Usethe s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to select a bank location on the card to store to 1 11 If the card contains a ROM bank it will be bank 1 Therefore you will only be able to save into bank locations 2 11 f Use the 00 120 and 0 9 buttons to select a location in the selected card Bank to save to 00 127 if storing a Program 00 99 if storing a Mix Press STORE to transfer the data from the QS onto the card If the card is write protected or not inserted or not of the current Bank format the display will indicate the situation with an error message If the card is not of the current Bank format use the Save To Card command first See previous page to save the entire User Bank to the card This however will erase all Programs and Mixes in the selected card Bank If these are important to you first load them into the User Bank in the QS and then save them back onto the card in order to re format the card using the new format QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual MIDI Transfer and Storage Operations Chapter 9 LOADING AN INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM OR MIX You can load a single Mix or Program from a Sound Card into the User Bank instead of having to load the entire Bank from the Soun
130. if you want to use filter effects proper setting of this initial cutoff frequency is crucial This is the baseline from which all other filter parameters will raise or lower open or close the filter If the Filter Frequency is set to 00 and no other parameters are set to raise it dynamically no sound will pass through the filter at all there will be silence If the Amp settings are wide open and you can t hear anything check the Filter Frequency setting Since the waveforms in ROM are recorded at the brightest possible setting in many cases dynamic filtering is crucial to making a program sound natural Filter Track On or Off Page 2 When off the filter cutoff remains constant across the keyboard Higher notes will be more affected than lower notes since the filter cutoff is comparatively lower for higher notes than lower ones When on the filter frequency tracks the keyboard pitch Therefore if using the filter creates a particular harmonic structure when you play one key playing a different key will shift the filter frequency to maintain the same harmonic structure Velocity 99 to 99 Page 3 At 00 velocity has no effect on the filter cutoff With positive values playing harder increases the filter cutoff More positive values drive the cutoff frequency higher for a given amount of velocity More negative values drive the cutoff frequency lower for a given amount of velocity Many acoustic instruments such as ac
131. ifferent Delay types available Note Some Configurations only feature a mono Delay and therefore the Delay Type parameter will be unavailable Instead the parameters normally found on page 2 of the Delay function are shown in page 1 and there are no other pages please refer to next section for a description of those parameters Delay Type 3 types Page 1 Ping Pong This is called a Ping Pong Delay because the output bounces from side to side left to right in stereo with the speed determined by the delay time The maximum delay time is 399 milliseconds Stereo Delay The Stereo Delay is actually two separate delays which can be individually varied The maximum delay time for each delay is 399 ms Mono The Mono Delay has the advantage of twice the available delay time or 799 ms in Configuration 1 1199 ms in Configuration 2 In Pages 2 through 5 of the Delay Function you will find the remaining parameters for the Delay function If the Stereo Delay type is selected you can use PAGE I to advance through pages 6 8 This is because the Stereo Delay type has parameters for both the Left and Right channels Input lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt Page 2 This parameter is used to balance the Delay Input between the signal coming from the Pitch effect output if applicable in the selected Configuration and the dry effect send Time 0 to 799ms total Pages 3 amp 4 and 6 amp 7 in Stereo Delay This is the actual De
132. ing Pong delay Room Stereo flange Hall Pitch detune Large Resonator Gate Reverse Pitch 2 Delay2 sd Reverb2_ Mono chorus Mono delay Balance and level Stereo chorus Stereo delay to Reverb 1 Mono flange Ping Pong delay Stereo flange Pitch detune Resonator In this Configuration note that Sends 1 and 2 are identical to that of Configuration 1 However Sends 3 and 4 have been removed In their place we have added a shelving EQ module to the main outputs This means you have bass and treble boost controls for all sounds coming out of the main outputs not just the sounds routed to the Effects Sends J If you are using Configuration 4 routing any of the Program s Sounds to Sends 3 or 4 will have no effect In other words it s as if you routed channels of your mixing console to effects sends that aren t connected to anything 96 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 CONFIGURATION 5 OVERDRIVE AND LEZLIE Pitch 1 Reverb 1 Mono chorus Mono delay Plate 1 Mono flange Stereo delay Plate 2 Resonator Ping Pong delay Room Hall Large Gate Reverse This is an all for one Configuration You get six effects all at once and they are all found in the Send 1 section Send 1 feeds the Overdrive effect which provides classic distortion The Overdrive output then feeds the Pitch effect The Pitch effect has a second input which can come from either Sends 1 2 3 or 4 These two inputs can be mixed to
133. ion effects and 3 synth waves Plus there are 44 rhythm beats to choose from pre sequenced drum grooves You can map any of these samples to any note on the keyboard that does not already have a drum assigned to it in that layer When a sound is in Drum Mode you can assign 10 different drum sounds to 10 different keys in that layer If all four sounds in a Program are placed in Drum Mode you could assemble 40 drum sounds In Drum mode individual drums cannot be stretched across the entire range of the keyboard each occupies a maximum of three keys Each of the 10 drum sounds has its own set of parameters in each of the functions in the display Pitch Filter Range Effects Level etc You can use the 0 9 buttons to select which one of the 10 drum sounds to edit in each Function Group 40 120 buttons Here is a block diagram of a sound in Drum Mode EE Vooe gt Filter Ame ron DI oan Sound 1 Sound 2 sound 3 sound 4 When Drum Mode is enabled the sound will have fewer parameters for editing Consequently not all Function buttons will respond when pressed as when Drum Mode is turned off Specifically the LFOs and all Envelopes with the exception of the Amp Envelope are unavailable In addition the parameters in most other functions will differ QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 53 Chapter 6 Editing Programs PROGRAM EDIT FUNCTIONS TIP
134. is not grounded consult with a licensed electrician J Do not operate any electrical equipment with ungrounded outlets Plugging the QS into an ungrounded outlet or lifting the unit off ground with a three to two wire adapter can create a hazardous condition J Alesis cannot be responsible for problems caused by using the QS or any associated equipment with improper AC wiring QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual 7 Chapter 1 Setting Up LINE CONDITIONERS AND PROTECTORS Although the QS is designed to tolerate typical voltage variations in today s world the voltage coming from the AC line may contain spikes or transients that can possibly stress your gear and over time cause a failure There are three main ways to protect against this listed in ascending order of cost and complexity s Line spike surge protectors Relatively inexpensive these are designed to protect against strong surges and spikes acting somewhat like fuses in that they need to be replaced if they ve been hit by an extremely strong spike s Line filters These generally combine spike surge protection with filters that remove some line noise dimmer hash transients from other appliances etc e Uninterruptible power supply UPS This is the most sophisticated option A UPS provides power even if the AC power line fails completely Intended for computer applications a UPS allows you to complete an orderly shutdown of a computer system in the event of a power out
135. it Range 2 40 Sustain Pedal Controllers 3 39 Tuning Octave Pitch 1 38 Tuning Semitone Pitch 2 38 QS6 Reference Manual 139 Index Aftertouch 15 Amp 62 Filter 60 Pitch 58 Compare 29 34 Computer 23 117 Controllers 115 Copy Sound 85 Effects 85 Demo 11 Direct Select 33 Digital Output 25 Display 30 Drum Mode 53 Edit buffer 34 40 Effects Edit 29 89 Clip 88 Configuration 91 92 97 EQ 98 Mix 111 Mod 98 Modulation 98 Reverb 106 Footswitch 24 48kHz Input 26 Global Edit 29 113 Headphones 9 Input Output 117 Keyboard Curve 113 Mode 22 45 114 Scaling 114 Transpose 114 Local Off 46 Master Pitch 113 Master Tune 113 Memory Preset 34 User 34 MIDI 21 22 121 132 Channel 14 Controllers 133 VO 117 IN 21 OUT 21 45 118 Program Select 116 System Exclusive 21 124 Mix 28 Mix Edit 29 39 Effect Bus 42 Effect Level 41 FX Channel 42 140 INDEX FX Program Change 42 Keyboard 42 MIDI 42 43 Name 44 Output 41 Pan 41 Pitch 42 Octave 42 Semitone 42 Range 44 Mix Mode 13 16 28 39 Modulation Wheel 15 Name Mix 44 Program 72 Outputs 9 PCMCIA 19 Pedals 24 115 Pitch Bend 15 Polyphony 27 45 64 Power 7 11 Preset Bank 27 Program 27 Program Edit 28 54 Amp 51 Aftertouch 62 Velocity Curve 62 Amp Envelope 70 Amp LFO 63 79 Amp Range 62 Drum Mode 53 82 Amp Envelope 84 Level 83 Pitch 83 Velocity 83 Effect Effect Bus 57 Envelope 52 Filter Aftertouch 61 Cutoff f
136. it The Functions available for direct selection are printed on the front panel adjacent to each button Many Functions provide more than one parameter and so have multiple pages available Use the Ia PAGE and PAGE i buttons to move forwards and backwards through the available pages The number of available pages will change depending on which Function you have selected The Direct Select Functions are shown in the table below Button Program Edit Program Edit Mix Edit Effects Edit L I Sound _ Dum ee ee eee 0 MOD 1 DRUM 1 SELECT Jeep E ANNE 2 3 1 MOD 2 DRUM 2 SELECT seis E 8 9 ANNE ee 2 2 MOD 3 DRUM 3 SELECT EE fo EE CANNEL Se 2Yt 3 MOD 4 DRUM 4 SELECT Saige EE i a D CANNEL A 4 MOD 5 DRUM 5 SELECT ee es Sd tt el SS 2 5 MOD 6 DRUM 6 SELECT same We SS tg NI CANNES 6 PITCH LFO DRUM 7 SELECT aes Po 1 CHANNEL 7 FILTER LFO DRUM 8 SELECT care Po CHANNELS 8 AMP LFO DRUM 9 SELECT ee J A ME TE EEN 9 TRACKING DRUM 10 SELECT eee GENERATOR _ CHANNEL 10 00 ES SOUND SELECT SC SELECT Ess SEND ya ft DEE Sd A M CHANNEL AA EE 5 10 Bess SOUND SELECT au SELECT EE SEND a Ne CANINE ER 20 ES SOUND SELECT SEN SELECT Se SEND 3 3 CHANNEL 13 3 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 33 Chapter 4 Overview 34 30 law SOUND SELECT SOUND SELECT SELECT SEND Mie Se E EE EE
137. its the Mix is set up for Note that certain controllers such as pitch bend and aftertouch may transmit on a different set of channels since they are enabled or disabled independently for each channel of the Mix The MIDI Monitor indicators in the lower right section of the display will show which channels are active CH SOLO In Program Mode this is the same as the NORMAL setting In Mix Mode the only sounds coming from the QS and the only MIDI messages will come from the layer or range of the underlined MIDI channel in the display This allows you to isolate individual channels in a Mix So if you play in a range of the keyboard that is active on MIDI channel 1 and Channel 1 is selected you ll hear it All other ranges or layers will not respond to the keyboard they will respond to incoming MIDI messages on their respective channels In Mix Play Mode use the a PAGE and PAGE P buttons to hear each channel in turn OUT 1 OUT 16 In both Program Mode and Mix Mode the keyboard will transmit on a specific MIDI channel determined by the number setting of this parameter but it will not play the internal sound s Use this mode if you re using a MIDI sequencer with an Echo feature also known as MIDI Thru the sound will be activated by messages appearing at the MIDI IN connector after it s made the round trip through the sequencer Ca Setting the Keyboard Mode to one of the OUT values OUT1 OUT 16 is
138. kSynBs2 FunkSynBs3 FunkSynBs V FilterBass FM Bass FM FiltVel Soft Chirp Soft Rez QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 55 Chapter 6 Editing Programs 56 Percus Pure Sine 10 Pulse 20 Pulse 50 Pulse Velo Pulse Mini Saw Saw Fltr 1 Saw Fltr 2 Saw Fitr 3 Saw Fitr 4 Saw Fitr 5 Saw Fitr 6 Saw Fltr 7 RezSaw UK RezSaw USA Acid Saw Velo Saw 1 Velo Saw 2 Velo Saw 3 Velo Saw 4 Velo Saw 5 Velo Saw 6 AcidRezSaqr VelAcidWav MiniSquare Sqr Fitr 1 Sqr Fitr 2 VeloSquare Mini Tri Tri Filter Velo Tri Rectanglar Hard Sync HSync Rect BrightSync Rez Sync Ring Mod RingMod V1 RingMod V2 OctaveLock Diet Saw Band Saw Notch Saw HiPassSaw1 HiPassSaw2 HiPassSaw3 HiPassSaw4 HiPassVel1 HiPassVel2 HiPassVel3 HiPassVel4 HiPassVel5 HiPassVel6 Cognitive Additive 1 Additive 2 VeloAdditv Digital 1 Digital 2 Digital 3 Digital 4 Science 1 Science 2 Science 3 Science 4 VelScience Metal Wave Inharmonct Inharmonc2 WhiteNoise Spectral Crickets Rain Noise FiltrNoise ShapeNoise VeloNoise1 ease VeloNoise3 NoiseLoop1 NoiseLoop2 NoiseLoop3 NoiseLoop4 NoiseLoop5 Here Soft Ahhs Ahhs Wave VocalOohs Soft Oohs Oohs Ahhs Ahhs Oohs Whistle Phonic Sitar Sitar Wave Shamisen Koto DulcimerHd DulcimerMd DulcimerSf DulcimrVel DulcmrWave MandinTrem Accordian Harmonica Banjo Kalimba Steel Drum Tuned Pipe Stndrd Kit Rock Kit 1 Rock Kit 2 Dance Kit Brush Kit ElctricKit Tek Kit Ra
139. lay time which determines the amount of time the input signal will be delayed The Stereo and Ping Pong Delay types can have a delay time of up to 399ms However the Mono Delay can have up to 799ms per channel Use Page 3 to adjust the delay time in 10 ms intervals use page 4 to adjust the delay time in 1 ms intervals When using the Stereo Delay pages 3 amp 4 let you adjust the delay time of the left channel while pages 6 amp 7 let you adjust the same for the right channel Feedback 00 to 99 Page 5 and Page 8 in Stereo Delay This adjusts the Delay Feedback which is a portion of the delay signal output being fed back into the input This results in the delay repeating itself The more feedback the more repeats When using the Stereo Delay page 5 lets you adjust the feedback level of the left channel while page 8 lets you adjust the same for the right channel QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 105 Chapter 7 Editing Effects REVERB 106 Reverb can be thought of as a great number of distinct echoes called reflections that occur so fast that our ear hears them blurred together as one In nature different sized spaces give distinctly different sounding reverbs depending on the size and shape of the space and the texture of surfaces that the reflections bounce off of The various parameters in the effects processor make it possible to simulate nearly any natural reverberant space that can be imagined and a few artificial ones as
140. level will be that stored by the channel s Program Effect Bus 1 2 3 4 or PROG Page 6 This determines which effect bus the selected channel will be routed to When set to PROG the effect bus assignment will be that stored by the channel s Program 1 2 3 or 4 overrides the Program s bus assignment sending all sound layers of the Program to the chosen bus QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 41 Chapter 5 Editing Mixes 42 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Mixes Chapter 5 PITCH The Pitch function press 70 lets you transpose a channel s Program in either semitone or octave increments Tune Octave 2 to 2 octaves Page 1 This transposes the Program s pitch in octave 12 semitones steps from 2 transposed down 2 octaves to 2 transposed up two octaves Semitone 12 to 12 semitones Page 2 This transposes the Program s pitch in semitone steps from 12 transposed down one octave to 12 transposed up one octave EFFECT The Effect function press 80 is where you select what Effect Patch will be used by the Mix In Mix Mode you can have only one Effect Patch per Mix which will be the Effects Patch associated with one of the Programs used in the Mix FX Program Change On or Off Page 1 This determines whether the Effects settings will change along with its Program if a MIDI program change is received on the Effect Channel see next section If ON and a MIDI program change is received a new P
141. ll be bank 1 Therefore you will only be able to save into bank locations 2 11 f Press STORE to transfer the user bank data from the QS onto the card If the display reads CARD IS WRITE PROTECTED switch the write protect switch on the card to off and repeat the procedure QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 121 Chapter 9 MIDI Transfer and Storage Operations LOADING A BANK FROM AN EXTERNAL CARD The QS can read data directly from a card by using the Ta BANK and BANK BF buttons To overwrite the User bank with a Card bank use this procedure Insert the card into the card slot on the back panel Press STORE Press fg PAGE once to select Page 7 of the Store function This selects the LOAD FROM CARD option The display will look like this LOADFRMCARD 1 _ Press STORE l V Use the CONTROLLER D slider to select the bank on the card you wish to load 1 11 f Press STORE to transfer the data from the card into the QS STORING AN INDIVIDUAL PROGRAM OR MIX 122 You also have the option of storing a Mix or Program directly to a specific location in a RAM Sound Card Bank instead of transferring the entire Bank and vice versa However the Sound Card you are storing to must be of the current QS Bank format A Sound Card is formatted whenever an entire QS Bank is stored onto it If you are using an older QuadraSynth Sound Card that does not use the current Bank format you will not be able to store indiv
142. ll you what you can expect when you really pile on the layers from the keyboard USING THE QS AS A MASTER KEYBOARD Mix Play Mode gives the QS the capabilities of a MIDI master keyboard You can layer the QS s internal sounds with an external synthesizer s sounds without using up internal polyphony by adjusting the proper parameters in the Mix Edit mode Example You can have 2 layers or a split played directly from the QS simultaneously playing on external synthesizers using a MIDI channel which has its internal QS s Program Enable parameter turned OFF SETTING THE MIDI Our CHANNELS FOR A MIX IN GLOBAL MODE 46 The QS offers a wide variety of ways to set the MIDI output It is very easy in Program Play Mode you just use the lt PAGE and PAGE gt buttons to set the MIDI OUT channel for the whole instrument But when using the QS in Mix Play Mode you may want to transmit on several MIDI channels at once and to temporarily isolate certain channels within a Mix This is done with the Keyboard Mode function Press EDIT SELECT and then BANK P Note the word Global in blue under the BANK key Press PAGE five times to get to Page 6 The display should look like this Use the A VALUE and VALUE V buttons or the CONTROLLER D slider to set the Keyboard Mode The options are NORMAL CH SOLO and OUT 1 OUT 16 NORMAL In this mode the MIDI channels sent out will correspond to whatever l
143. llocation schemes One brand used a method called rotate mode in which each time a note was struck a new voice was used Another brand used a different method called reassign mode whereby if a note is played and then played again the same voice is used both times In other words a new voice is used each time a new note of a different pitch is played The Sound Overlap value lets you choose a comfortable setting between rotate mode and reassign mode When the value equals 99 you are always in rotate mode using up polyphony if the value is 00 you are always in reassign mode conserving voices Set the value anywhere between 00 and 99 and you will get a combination of both with partiality toward whichever mode the value is closest to A piano sound requires some Sound Overlap but not a lot it isn t natural to hear too many voices on the same note On the other hand having only one voice per pitch isn t natural either let s say you played a loud note with the sustain pedal held followed by a soft note the second note would abruptly cut off the first On a real piano the string would still be resonating from the first loud note when the second soft note was played thus the two notes would overlap J It is important to note that Sound Overlap can have a negative effect on polyphony If you have Sound Overlap set to 99 hold the sustain pedal and play a series of notes you will run through all 64 voices in no time By a
144. long Use the Ta PAGE and PAGE ii buttons to position the cursor The s VALUE VALUE t buttons and the CONTROLLER D slider let you change the character Here is a chart of available characters ti i J ls telat cl it i ols 2 3 l4 l5 lel7lslol l l lt l gt 21 lAlBiclDIElFIaG ot J KIL MINJolPlal Ris Tlulvi wixly zlt lxil lel l lalblclalelf tg hli lj k 1 mIn lo lelalr slt lulvilwilxly zi h b lel QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 MOD 1 MOD 6 About General Purpose Modulation Although there are several dedicated modulators in the QS e g the pitch can always be modulated by the pitch LFO and Pitch Envelope sophisticated synthesizer programming demands the ability to use as many modulation sources as possible to modulate as many modulation destinations as desired The QS arranges its modulation source outputs and modulation destination inputs into a matrix so that any selected source can connect to any of several destinations There are six general purpose matrix modulators which allows you to control up to six parameters with any of several control sources Use the MOD functions to setup your own customized control of a program such as e Using the PEDAL 1 input or the Controller A Slider to control volume brightness filter cutoff effect level LFO speed etc e Using velocity to increase or decrease the attack speed of an envelope so playin
145. m to transmit You may select any Program in the User bank 000 to 127 or the Program Edit buffer EDIT or any of the 16 Mix Edit buffers Em01 to Em16 As this value is changed the second parameter destination will be linked This is because most often you will want to transmit a Program to the same Program location The only time to do otherwise is when sending to another QS see below d Press STORE to transmit the data out the MIDI Out connector QS7 QS8 Reference Manual MIDI Transfer and Storage Operations Chapter 9 To send a single Program via MIDI to a different Program number Follow steps through in the instructions above Press PAGE I to advance the cursor to the lower section of the display o Use the CONTROLLER D slider to select a Program number to send the Program to d Press STORE to transmit the data out the MIDI Out connector The procedure is similar for sending Mixes Page 5 of the Store function allows you to send any one of the Mixes In the case of storing a Mix you may want to store each of the Programs used in the Mix The SEND ALL TO MIDI command in Store mode is an easy shortcut to this see above QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 125 Troubleshooting Appendix A APPENDIX A T ROUBLE SHOOTING TROUBLE SHOOTING INDEX If you are experience problems while operating the QS please use the following table to locate possible causes and solutions before contacting Alesis custom
146. meter with the exception of chorus speed while audio is passing through it can result in audio artifacts or noises due to discontinuities in the modulation source SELECTING THE MODULATOR The are two Modulators You can select between these by using the Ta PAGE and PAGE ki buttons Page 1 through 3 display the parameters of Modulator 1 while pages 4 through 6 display the parameters for Modulator 2 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 Mod Source Page 1 Mod 1 amp Page 4 Mod 2 The Mod Source parameter selects the MIDI controller which will remotely cause a change modulate in one or two of the parameters in the effects processor Nearly every MIDI controller can become a Mod Source using controllers A D set in Global mode page 3 with the most common controllers appearing as a direct option in the display Pages 1 and 4 let you select the Mod Source for Mod 1 and 2 respectively The options for the Mod Source are e Aftertouch e Mod Wheel e Pitch Wheel e MIDI Volume e Sustain Pedal e Pedal 1 e Pedal 2 e Controllers A D Mod Destination Page 2 Mod 1 amp Page 5 Mod 2 The Mod Destination is the parameter that will be controlled by the selected Mod Source Pages 2 and 5 let you select the Mod Destination for Mod 1 and 2 respectively The possible Destination parameters are Pitch Speed Pitch Depth Pitch Level Pitch Balance Delay Time Delay Feedback Delay Level Reverb Balance Reverb Input Reverb De
147. meter MSB 0 127 101 Registered Parameter LSB 0 127 121 Reset All Controllers 0 122 Local Control On Off 0 or 127 123 All Notes Off 0 124 Omni Off 0 125 Omni On 0 126 Mono On 0 16 0 Omni Off 127 Poly On 0 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 133 Appendix B MIDI Supplement SYSTEM COMMON MESSAGES Intended for all units in a system some of these MIDI messages are Song Position Pointer This indicates how many MIDI beats normally a 16th note have elapsed since a piece started up to 16 384 total beats It is primarily used to allow different sequencers and drum machines to auto locate to each other so that if you start one sequencer the other device will automatically jump to the same place in the song whereupon both continue on together System Exclusive This message called Sys Ex for short is considered exclusive because different manufacturers send and receive data over MIDI which is intended only for that manufacturer s equipment Example Sending a QS message to an Alesis D4 Drum Module won do anything but the message will be understood by other QS This data often contains information about individual instrument programs Timing Clock A master tempo source such as a sequencer emits 24 timing messages clocks per quarter note Each device synchronized to the sequencer advances by 1 24th of a quarter note when it receives the clock message thus keeping units in sync after they ve both star
148. ms each assigned to a specific MIDI channel and one Effect Patch The QS has 100 Mixes in the User Bank plus 4 Preset Banks of 400 Preset Mixes This is extremely useful for multitimbral setups where the QS plays back different sounds on different MIDI channels Because of its 64 voices and built in effects the QS is often the only sound generator needed QS POLYPHONY The QS provides 64 voice polyphony i e how many notes can play at once If a program uses one sound up to 64 notes can play at once Layering two sounds allows for 32 note polyphony and layering four sounds 16 note polyphony Layering is a powerful technique that allows you to build up complex timbres This is crucial because acoustic instruments have extremely complex evolving sounds and by comparison many synths sound static Being able to layer up to four sounds allows for creating large ensembles e g brass section consisting of alto amp tenor sax trumpet and trombone or extremely realistic versions of single instruments When creating layered Programs keep polyphony in mind If all Programs in a Mix use all four available sounds the QS will quickly run out of voices QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 27 Chapter 4 Overview MODES 28 The QS is always in one of two main modes Program Play Mode or Mix Play Mode Pressing PROGRAM selects Program Play Mode while pressing MIX selects Mix Play Mode While in Program Play Mode you can press EDIT SELECT to ac
149. multaneous multiple effects and flexible signal routing Effects e Aas gt reet delay chorus etc Effects parameters are edited separately from either the Program or the Mix using Effects Edit Mode more in Chapter 6 In Program Edit Mode each of the four sounds in the Program has its own Effect Level control and can be assigned to any one of the four effect buses Effects settings Effect Level and Bus information are saved with the Program when you store it back into memory QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 DRUM MODE Any one or all of the four sounds in a Program can be put into Drum Mode The Drum Mode parameter is found in the Misc Function see last section of this chapter Note that Drum Mode isn t the only way to hear drums or percussion from a Program In Standard mode if you select a kit such as Rock Kit 1 as the voice of a Program sound an entire arrangement of preset pre mapped drum sounds will be assigned across the keyboard If you select a single drum such as Timpani as the voice that single drum sound will sound across the keyboard range with a different pitch on each note the original sample pitch will appear on C3 However Drum Mode changes the nature of the VOICE function allowing you to make up your own drum kit from a selection of over 80 different samples 7 kicks 8 snares 4 hi hats 14 toms 5 cymbals 31 percussion 17 percuss
150. n Decay control see below the envelope will either hold at the sustain QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 level until you release the note on the keyboard or decay to 0 at the Sustain Decay rate which is on page 2 of the envelope You can create a long plateau at the start of a note by setting the Sustain to 98 and the Decay to 99 This will cause the envelope to take the maximum amount of time to get from peak level to a level of 98 before the Sustain Release portion of the envelope begins Release 00 to 99 Page 4 Eventually you will let go of the note that you ve been holding either by releasing the note on the keyboard or releasing the sustain pedal if it was pressed It is at this point that the Release portion of the envelope takes effect The Release is the time that the envelope takes to get from the sustain level back down to nothing Setting the Release time to 0 is good for playing those short funky riffs that you hear ona clavinet Setting the Release time to 99 will take the envelope a very long time to reach zero level Delay 00 to 99 Page 5 This is the amount of time that the envelope will wait before doing anything very useful if you want to affect one element of a sound sometime after the sound starts When the Delay is set to 0 the envelope attacks right away without any delay Play some notes while turning up the delay and see that the time between playing the note and hearing the eff
151. n of Pitch Detune and Resonator Depth 00 to 99 Page 4 This parameter adjusts the LFO Depth of all Pitch types with the exception of Pitch Detune and Resonator The LFO Depth which is the amount of pitch alteration can be adjusted to produce the desired effect Feedback 00 to 99 Page 5 This parameter adjusts the LFO Feedback of all Pitch types with the exception of Pitch Detune and Resonator A portion of the output of the Pitch section can be fed back into the input in order to make the effect more tonal or pronounced The following three parameters only appear if the Pitch type is set to Pitch Detune or Resonator respectively Detune 99 to 99 Page 2 Pitch Detune only If the Pitch type is Pitch Detune page 2 will have only this parameter This adjusts the tuning of the Pitch Detune effect This can be set between 99 and 99 in 1 cent increments Resonator Tuning 00 to 60 Page 2 Resonator only If the Pitch type is Resonator page 2 of the Pitch function will let you adjust the Resonator tuning This can be tuned from 00 to 60 Resonator Decay 00 to 99 Page 3 Resonator only If the Pitch type is Resonator page 3 will let you adjust the Resonator Decay This can be set 00 to 99 whereby 00 is a very fast decay and 99 is a very slow decay 104 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 DELAY The Delay function is used to edit Delay parameters The QS s effects processor has three d
152. n will be transmitted as controller 7 on that Channel e whenever a Channel s Pan parameter is edited panning information will be transmitted as controller 10 on that Channel except when set to PROG Note Panning information will not be transmitted if the Channel s Pan parameter is set to PROG using the selected Program s stored Pan setting 44 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Mixes Chapter 5 SETTING THE RANGE AND MIDI SWITCHES The Range function press 110 allows you to restrict each MIDI channel to a specific range of the keyboard This is ideal for creating splits e g bass in the lower octave and a half piano in the middle three octaves and strings in the upper octave When you start to setup a MIX it may be confusing if many of the channels have their Keyboard parameter turned off In order to hear anything on a particular channel enable Keyboard control and set the Range so that the low note and high note values are set beyond where you want to play Look at the lower right section of the display A small block _ will appear next to any active MIDI channels as you play notes or send notes to the QS from a sequencer on those channels Lower Limit MIDI note 000 to 127 C 2 to G8 Page 1 Specifies the lowest note of the sound s keyboard range You can set the lower limit by holding the 110 button and tapping the key on the keyboard you want to set as the lowest note in the range High
153. na aaar a Tana ea arae Taaa a ea aa aata diotan 13 Program Mode and Mix Mode 13 Selecting the MIDI Channel in Program Mode 14 Auditioning Internal Programs A 14 Selecting Program Banks 14 Realtime Performance Funchons 15 The Controller A D Sliders 0 0 cccccceceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeceaeeeeeeeeecaaeeeseeeeeeeaeeeeeeeeeeaees 15 Auditioning Mix Play Mode 16 Selecting Mix Banks 16 Choosing Programs in a Mi 17 Storing an Edited Mix 18 Enabling General MIDI Mode 18 Using the PCMCIA Expansion Card Slots cccccccceeeeeeceeeeceeeeeeeeceaeeeseeeeeecaeeeeeeeeeeas 19 A Word About the QS CD ROM 20 E Eeer iere Seier Eege Eeer 20 ERNEIEREN Ata ats vost a ead 21 Basic MIDIMHOOKUP obase aa EAE EEA SE EEA E TA 21 Using an External Geouencer 22 About the Keyboard Mode A 22 Using a Computer EE 23 IBM PCs and compatibles ccccceeccceeeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeaaeeeeneeeeetaeeseceeeseaeeess 23 erreeche tie ee Eege ee 24 Master Controller for Live Use 0 c cccceeceeeeneeeeteeeeeeaeeeeeeeeeeaeeseneeeecaaeeeseneeessaeeeseneeeeaas 24 Pedal and Footswitch Hookup c ececeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeeeeeeeeaaeeeeseeaaeeeeseeeaaeeeeeseaaaeeeeneeaas 24 Digital Audio Optical Hookup ececcececeeeeeeeeeceaeeeseeeeseaeeeeeeaeeeceeeeesaaeeeeneeeessaeeseeneees 25 Recording Digital Audio 25 Ri EE 26 CREW ee Meet eh tne bt Rett diet ee 27 Basic ArchitG EE 27 QS Eelupbem deiere dees Ate aea nach Rea aeaa aana a a a aaa aa ncaa
154. nds COPYING SOUNDS While editing a Program it is helpful to be able to copy a sound to another sound in either the same Program or a different Program especially if you are building a split or layered Program This can be done very easily from within the Store function To copy a Sound to another sound in the same Program or to the same sound in a different Program From Program Edit mode press STORE Press PAGE I twice to select Page 2 of the Store function Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to select which sound 1 4 in the currently selected Program to copy from yV Press PAGE I to advance the cursor to the lower line of the display f Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to select which sound 1 4 in the currently selected Program to copy to or to select which Program 00 127 to copy to Press STORE to copy the sound COPYING EFFECTS While editing a Program it is helpful to be able to copy the Effects Patch from a different Program This can be done very easily from within the Store function J Be sure to save your changes to the edited Program before going to a new Program Otherwise all your changes will be lost To copy the Effects Patch from a Program to another Program Recall the Program which contains the Effects Patch you wish to copy Press STORE Press PAGE I twice to select Page 2 of the Store function QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 85 Chapter 6 Editing
155. nel for every note a layered program would need only one Note On message e When layers of a Program are designed to be used together and the individual layers by themselves wouldn t be used alone for example the percussion layer of the organ sound Use Mix Play Mode QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 e When you want to layer more than four voices In Mix Play Mode it is possible though not advisable to stack all 64 voices onto a single key e When each sound is likely to be used by itself by other setups For example if you are programming three different keyboard splits each of which uses the same left hand bass patch it makes sense to use Mix Play Mode e When you want different sounds to respond to different MIDI channels QS SIGNAL FLOw THE FOUR SOUNDS OF A PROGRAM Each Program is made up of at least one to four sounds A sound is made up of several components including a voice the original sound material which passes through a low pass filter and an amplifier The voice filter and amp modules each have direct modifiers Pitch LFO Filter LFO Amp Envelope which affect how each will function in the Program You can layer these sounds together or divide them into regions of the keyboard or a combination of these things The following diagram illustrates the signal flow within each QS Program E Eh Alter Voice Fitch Der Diech me
156. ner in the highly unlikely event that you need to return the QS for servicing The shipping carton should contain the following items e QS with the same serial number as shown on shipping carton e Sustain pedal e AC Power Cable Computer CD ROM containing software e This instruction manual plus lists of Mixes and Programs and Quick Start guide e Alesis warranty card J It is important to register your purchase if you have not already filled out your warranty card and mailed it back to Alesis please take the time to do so now AC POWER HOOKUP The QS works with the voltage of the country it is shipped to either 110 or 220V 50 or 60 Hz and comes with a line cord or power supply suitable for the destination to which the keyboard is shipped With the QS off plug the female jack end of the power cable into the QS s power socket and the male plug end into a source of AC power It s good practice to not turn the QS on until all other cables are hooked up The IEC spec AC cord included with the QS do not substitute any other AC cord is designed to connect to an outlet that includes three pins with the third round pin connected to ground The ground connection is an important safety feature designed to keep the chassis of electronic devices such as the QS at ground potential Unfortunately the presence of a third pin does not always indicate that it is properly grounded Use an AC line tester to determine this If the outlet
157. ngement either depending on the card type PLAYING THE QS KEYBOARD The QS is shipped from the factory with 5 Banks of 128 Preset Programs sounds each Additionally there are 100 Mixes in each of the 5 Banks PROGRAM MODE AND MIX MODE 12 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Your First Session Chapter 2 The QS is always in one of two modes Program Mode or Mix Mode When you are auditioning Programs you will be in Program Play Mode When editing a Program you will use Program Edit Mode When you are auditioning Mixes you will be in Mix Play Mode When editing a Mix you will use Mix Edit Mode J If you ever get lost while programming the QS press either the PROGRAM button or the MIX button to get back to their respective Play Mode e Press the PROGRAM button to select Program Play Mode In Program Play Mode the QS plays a single Program The display looks like this Play Mode Bank Program Number 0 S PROG PRESET1 TrueStereo_Ch01 l Program Name MIDI Channel The current mode PROG is displayed in the top left corner followed by the current Bank PRESET1 and the current Program number The Program s name GrandPiano appears on the lower line of the display and the current MIDI channel appears to its right e Press the MIX button to select Mix Play Mode In Mix Play Mode the QS can combine up to 16 Programs for stacking sounds together splitting the keyboard into different regions or working with
158. nges received on any of the 16 MIDI channels will be received by the same numbered MIDI channels in the current Mix The Mix itself will not respond to Program Changes on any MIDI channel When set to Channel 1 16 the QS will change Mixes in response to Program Change messages received on the same MIDI channel as selected by this parameter from whichever bank Preset or User is currently selected Program Change messages received on any other channel other than the one selected by this parameter will change the individual Programs in the Mix on the same channels the messages are received on Note When General MIDI Mode is enabled see page 115 Channel 10 of the selected Mix will be used exclusively for drums If a program change is received on Channel 10 a new drum kit will be recalled These drum kits are used exclusively in General MIDI mode and adhere to the General MIDI specification RECEIVING T RANSMITTING BANK CHANGE MESSAGES The QS will respond to MIDI Bank Select messages Bank Select messages are transmitted via MIDI Controller 0 The value of Controller 0 determines which bank User Preset 1 3 GenMIDI Card 1 11 is to be recalled Example If a Bank Select controller 0 message of 0 is received it will cause the User Bank to be recalled If a Bank Select message of 1 is received Preset Bank 1 will be recalled Additionally if a Sound Card is inserted the Card Banks can be selected using Controller 0 values be
159. nipulated using the four CONTROLLER sliders A B C and D In some Programs and Mixes not all four CONTROLLER sliders will be enabled When you move a CONTROLLER slider that is enabled you will not only hear its effect on the current Program or Mix but will also see the display update to show its position as it changes e Channel 1 16 In Program Play Mode the QS will transmit and receive on a single MIDI channel which will be indicated in the lower right section of the display In Mix Play Mode the QS can transmit and receive on up to 16 MIDI channels The active channels will be indicated by the presence of a symbol When a channel is played by either the QS s keyboard or from messages received via MIDI a symbol will appear In the example above MIDI channel 1 is selected QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Overview Chapter 4 When EDIT SELECT is pressed the display enters Edit Mode which Edit Mode you are in depends on whether you were already in Program Mode or Mix Mode When in an Edit Mode the display will look something like this EDIT MODE PAGE MODE BANK NUMBER Icpppesouwp m SOUND ENARLEON NAME ABCD 2345678 910111213 141516 PARAMETER e Edit Mode The upper left section of the display will indicate the Edit Mode which is currently selected ED MIX Mix Edit Mode ED PRG Program Edit Mode ED GLOBAL Global Edit Mode The Edit Mode is selected using the EDI
160. nsposed up 99 100 of a semitone Detune Type Normal or Equal Page 3 With Normal selected the percentage of detuning remains the same over the entire range of the keyboard so the effects of detuning sound the same no matter which key you play With Equal selected the absolute amount of detuning remains the same over the entire keyboard so any detuning seems less pronounced as you play higher up on the keyboard Pitch Wheel Range 0 to 12 semitones Page 4 Determines the maximum amount of pitch bend when the PITCH wheel is full forward Example When set to 12 the pitch wheel will bend 1 octave 12 semitones Aftertouch Depth 99 to 99 Page 5 At 00 aftertouch has no effect on pitch Applying aftertouch by pressing harder on the keyboard or via MIDI messages with this parameter set to a positive value raises the pitch conversely applying aftertouch through a negative value lowers the pitch The higher the number either positive or negative the greater the amount of pitch change for a given amount of aftertouch Pitch LFO Depth 99 to 99 Page 6 At 00 the pitch LFO has no effect Higher positive values increase the amount of Pitch LFO modulation Negative values give the same apparent effect but with reversed LFO phase i e if the pitch would normally be increasing with depth set to a positive number the pitch would instead be decreasing at that same moment had the depth been set to a negative number Pitch L
161. ntire cycle even if the note is released in the middle When set to Reset the envelope starts at the beginning whenever a new note is played When set to Reset Freerun the envelope will start at the beginning whenever a new note is played and will complete its entire cycle even if the note is released in the middle If a sound layers Keyboard Mode parameter found in the Pitch Function Page 10 is set to Mono the Amp Envelope will only retrigger when playing legato if the Trigger Mode is set to either Reset or Reset Freerun QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 71 Chapter 6 Editing Programs TIP 72 Time Tracking On or Off Page 8 This determines whether or not keyboard position will affect the cycle speed of the envelope When turned on playing toward the higher end of the keyboard will result in a faster envelope cycle playing toward the lower end of the keyboard will result in a slower envelope cycle However this does not effect the attack time but only the decay sustain sustain decay and release segments This feature will result in only a subtle change The envelope s timing doubles or halves over a range of two octaves Sustain Pedal On or Off Page 9 This determines whether or not the Sustain Pedal will have an effect on the envelope When turned on holding down the Sustain Pedal while playing short notes is virtually the equivalent to holding down those notes on the keyboard with some subtle but important
162. nuing on to the remaining envelope stages Attack Decay etc This requires that the Filter Envelope s Trigger parameter see next page is set to Freerun However when the Delay is set to Hold Freerun mode is forced on regardless of the Trigger parameter s setting Sustain Decay 00 to 99 Page 6 This is the amount of time that the envelope will take during the sustain stage to bring the level down to 0 If this is set to 99 the envelope will remain at the Sustain level until the note is released This is the normal setting for organ type sounds When set to 0 the envelope s level will immediately jump down to 0 upon reaching the sustain stage Trigger Normal Freerun Reset Reset Freerun Page 7 The Trigger mode determines how the envelope will function You may select either Freerun or Reset or both Reset Freerun or neither Normal When set to Normal the envelope will always start at its current level i e if another note had been played which triggered the envelope s cycle playing another note in the middle would not interrupt the cycle Also in Normal mode the envelope will immediately advance to its release stage upon releasing the note When set to Freerun the envelope will complete its entire cycle even if the note is released in the middle When set to Reset the envelope starts at the beginning whenever a new note is played When set to Reset Freerun the envelope will start at the beginning
163. nverted reverb in which the volume envelope is reversed This means that the signal begins softly but grows louder until it is cut off rather than loud to soft as normal Pre Delay Time 0 to 299ms Pages 6 amp 7 Pre Delay is the slight delaying of the Reverb itself so that the dry signal more easily stands out from the Reverb A bit of Pre Delay can sometimes make certain instruments Such as snare drums sound bigger Use page 6 to adjust the Pre Delay Time in 10ms intervals and or use page 7 to adjust the Pre Delay Time in 1ms intervals This Pre Delay is part of the Reverb itself don t confuse it with the separate Delay modules available under the Delay function QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 Pre Delay Mix lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt Page 8 This allows you to mix the amount of Pre Delay into the Reverb signal path This gives you the ability to hear a bit of the Reverb before the loudest part of the Reverb the Pre Delayed Reverb sounds This makes for bigger and smoother sounding Reverb settings Input Filter 00 to 99 Page 9 This adjusts the frequency of the low pass filter which comes before the Reverb input Lower the Input Filter value to remove high frequencies from the input signal before they go into the Reverb Decay 00 to 99 Page 10 The Reverb Decay determines how long the Reverb will sound before it dies away When using the Reverse Reverb type Reverb Decay controls the Reverse Tim
164. o the Delay effects on sends 3 and 4 are mono Each effect send can be routed through the Reverb Since there is only one Reverb effect it is found in the first effect send see next section on Reverb Reverb parameters that set the sound of the reverb itself such as high and low decay reverb type predelay etc are found only when SND1 is displayed However each of the 4 effect sends has controls for how much dry signal and how much effected signal are sent to the Reverb effect Example The Reverb 2 block allows you to send signal to the reverb from four different points in the second effects chain a the send input itself b the output of Pitch 2 c the input of Delay 2 or d the output of Delay 2 You can even send a combination of these to the reverb But to change any other reverb parameters you must return to editing Reverb 1 Each Pitch Delay and Reverb module has its own independent Mix output level Le how much of their output is routed directly to the Main Left and Right outputs The Mix function is where you determine how the effects will actually be heard Mix 1 for example is where you can control the outputs of Pitch 1 Delay 1 and Reverb 1 to the main outputs The Mix parameter controls how much an effect block feeds directly to the main outputs but doesn t control how much it feeds to any other blocks that may follow it For example when Pitch 1 s Mix control is set to 0 it is still available as an inpu
165. oceed to edit then STORE at any Program location you like QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 CHAPTER 7 EDITING EFFECTS ABOUT SIGNAL PROCESSING The built in effects processor of the QS is similar to that of the Alesis QuadraVerb 2 capable of generating multiple fully digital effects simultaneously The QS effects processor has four inputs called effect sends You might think of these as the typical post fader sends found on a mixing console In a Program each of the four Sounds can be assigned to one of the four effect sends In a Mix each Program can use its own effects level and bus routing or you may override these by assigning the entire Program all 4 of its sounds to one of the four effect sends and all at the same level Once you assign a Sound in Program Edit Mode or a Program in Mix Edit Mode to an effect send you can adjust the Sound s Program s Effect Send Level To route a Sound Program only to an effect send and not the Main or Aux outputs assign the Output parameter of the Sound Program to OFF assign its Effect Bus to one of the four effect sends and adjust its Effects Level TIP Outputs D Min Left o _ Aux Left 1 SOUND e Main Right Aux Fight Effect Sends D 1 2 o 3 4 The Effect Patch s Configuration determines the arrangement of effect functions of each effect send Imagine a Configuration as an arrangement of multiple effects processors pat
166. ode retaining your edits to the Program in Mix Edit Use the 4 BANK and BANK I buttons to select the User Bank If a RAM card is inserted use the a BANK and BANK IF buttons to select a Card Bank o Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons or move the CONTROLLER D slider to scroll through the Programs until you find one you wish to overwrite with the new edited Program Take note of the number d Press MIX This recalls the edit buffer in Mix Mode which contains your edited Program f Press EDIT SELECT twice until EDITING PROGRAM appears under the MIX number in the display Press STORE The top line of the display will read SavePrg STORE to USERxxx where XXX is a User Program number from 000 127 A Optional If the location you noted was on a RAM card use BANK B to select the Card Bank Press PAGE I to advance the cursor to the Program Number field in the display Use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons or move the CONTROLLER D slider to select the Program Number you noted in step 5 Press STORE again The Program is now stored At this point your edited Program is stored however the Mix your were auditioning before storing the Program still has the old Program number assigned if the edited Program was saved to a different Program number location Therefore you need to store the Mix as well Press MIX This selects Mix Play Mode Press STORE twice Th
167. off frequency of the Lo EQ It can be set between 30Hz and 180Hz If the Lo EQ Gain parameter is set above 0dB all frequencies below and including the one selected by the Lo EQ Frequency parameter will be affected Lo EQ Gain 0dB to 12dB Page 2 This controls how much boost will be applied to frequencies below and including the one selected by the Lo EQ Frequency It can be set between OdB and 12dB Hi EQ Frequency 3kHz to 10kHz Page 3 This allows you to adjust the cutoff frequency of the Hi EQ It can be set between 3kHz and 10kHZz If the Hi EQ Gain parameter is set above OdB all frequencies above and including the one selected by the Hi EQ Frequency parameter will be affected Hi EQ Gain 0dB to 9dB Page 4 This controls how much boost will be applied to frequencies above and including the one selected by the Hi EQ Frequency It can be set between OdB and 9aB The Mod Function lets you control various effects parameters from the various controls on the QS keyboard after touch pitch bender etc or from the MIDI input This is extremely useful when dynamic or real time control is required in a live playing situation It is possible to control up to 2 parameters simultaneously The Modulation assignments are saved with the Effects Patch Don t confuse this Mod Function with the Mod Function used by the Programs they are independent destinations though they can come from the same source Note Modulating any effect para
168. oller 1 then they will automatically function like the Modulation Wheel for any Sound in Program Play Mode and in Mix Play Mode Sounds that are controlled by the Keyboard and have Pedals turned on This is in addition to the fact that the pedals will be sending out MIDI information The default settings are Pedal 1 7 Pedal 2 4 MIDI Page 14 of Global Edit mode lets you determine the MIDI Mode Off On Channel 1 16 When this is set to Off the QS will not respond to incoming MIDI Program Change messages nor will it transmit Program Changes When set to On the QS will respond to incoming Program Change messages Likewise when a Program or Mix is recalled from the front panel its respective program change message will be sent out However the QS will respond differently to incoming Program Change messages depending on whether Program Mode or Mix Mode is selected In Program Play Mode the lt PAGE and PAGE gt buttons determine which MIDI channel the QS will receive MIDI Program Change messages on as well as other messages like notes controllers etc The Program recalled will be the same number as the Program Change message that is received from whichever bank Preset or User is currently selected When a Program is recalled from the front panel the QS will transmit the equivalent Program Change message on this same MIDI channel In Mix Play Mode when MIDI Program select is set to On Program Cha
169. on If you don t want to lose any of the sounds in the User bank you should back up the entire bank to either an external SRAM or FlashRAM PCMCIA card or via MIDI System Exclusive into a data storage device or a MIDI sequencer See Chapter 9 for more information on external storage operations STORING QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 35 Chapter 4 Overview The STORE button selects Store mode Store mode has 7 pages which you can scroll through by using the Ta PAGE and PAGE B buttons Each page in Store mode provides a different type of storage copy or data transfer function When storing edited Mixes or Programs into the User Bank or a RAM Card Bank you will use the first page of Store mode for more information about the other pages of Store mode see Chapter 9 If you press STORE the display will look something like this SavePrg STORE to USER 127 l Each edit mode type requires its own store operation For example if while making a new Mix you also make changes within one of the Programs such as lowering the filter level you must use the Store command separately from Mix Edit and Program Edit or Effect Edit in order to save your work Note When using the Store command from Effect Edit Mode the associated Program is stored This is because Effects are stored within their respective Programs If you select a different Mix while in Mix Edit mode or a different Program in Program Edit mode you will lose all chan
170. only recall a new Program Off or if the Effects of the newly selected Program should be recalled as well On This can be set on or off Usually you would want this off so that the Effects in a Mix do not change even though you may select different Programs for the Effects Channel SETTING EFFECTS SEND LEVELS CLIP The effect send levels and effect bus assignments are saved as part of a Program from Program Edit Mode or as part of each Channel in a Mix from Mix Edit Mode Keep in mind that these are separate from any changes that will be made to the Effects Patch itself If you are in Mix Mode and change the settings in both Mix Edit and Effects Edit modes you will have to STORE not only the Program that is on the Effect Channel thus storing its Effects Patch but the selected Mix as well in order to have your changes remembered and heard the same way in the future The actual arrangement of depth of reverb delay time etc is saved as part of the Effects Patch when a Program is stored It is possible for different Mixes to share the same Effects Patch So keep in mind that when you edit an Effects Patch it may affect the sound of any other Mixes that also use it If the input to the effects becomes overloaded the symbol will temporarily appear in the upper display between the Bank name and the Mix Program number when in either Mix Play or Program Play Modes If this should occur try reducing the Input Levels f
171. ons such as Master Tuning Keyboard Mode Keyboard Scaling and Program Change Mode Chapter 9 MIDI Transfer and Storage Operations Discusses MIDI functions and how to store sounds either to a MIDI device or to a RAM card Appendices MIDI basics trouble shooting maintenance and service information MIDI Implementation Chart and an Index Conventions The buttons knobs and rear panel connectors and switches are referred to in this manual just as their names appear on the QS using all capital letters and in brackets Example PROGRAM button a PAGE and PAGE I buttons CONTROLLER D slider etc J When something important appears in the manual an icon like the one on the left will appear in the left margin This symbol indicates that this information is vital when operating the QS Mac and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Corporation QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 1 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Table of Contents CONTENTS SE e EE 7 Unpacking and Inspection 7 EIERE NT 7 Line Conditioners and Protechors 8 About Audio Cables priini a a a aaa aae a a aa a aa E a R a e a 9 Basit Audio lee e MEET 9 2 YOUR FIRST RE 11 POW6riING Ee ET 11 Playing the Demo Geouences retn tstinssrrnsssrn nsere nnt 11 UECHTER 11 Whats a MKC E tect ara tate tee hk oso EA coh su aa E aval actu te saten EE 12 UNENEE 12 About Sound Groups 12 Playing the QS Keyboards sscccestneesaechesesaee ee
172. ons are made see pages 38 amp 40 Volume 00 to 99 Page 2 This sets the overall volume for a channel Higher numbers give higher levels Pan lt 3 to 3 gt or PROG Page 3 This determines the pan position of the selected channel When set to PROG the Pan setting will be that stored with the Program assigned to the selected channel However you can override this setting by selecting a different value thereby assigning the channel s panning between the left and right outputs Output L R Aux Off or PROG Page 4 This determines the audio output assignment for the selected channel When set to PROG the channel will use the Output assignment of the Program However you can override this assignment by setting this parameter to something different To send the sound s output to the Main outputs select Main To send the sound s output to the Aux outputs select Aux When set to OFF the channel will not be sent to the outputs but can still feed an effect bus TIP e To send a sound to an individual output use Output in conjunction with Pan Example Panning a sound full left and selecting the Aux outputs means that the sound will appear at only the left Aux output Effect Level 00 to 99 or PROG Page 5 This determines the amount of signal from the selected channel that will be sent to the effects using one of the four effects buses as determined by the Effect Bus parameter see below When set to PROG the effect
173. or each of the effects devices in the current configuration and if necessary reduce the Effects Levels in the Mix and or Program EDITING EFFECTS 88 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 The Effects Patches themselves are not edited in Program Edit Mode or Mix Edit Mode but could you guess it Effects Edit Mode You can enter Effects Edit Mode from Program Mode by pressing the EDIT SELECT button twice or until the display looks something like this ED PRGEFFECTSza CONFIG 1 REVERB _ In Program Mode each time the EDIT SELECT button is pressed the display will alternate between Program Edit and Effects Edit Modes You can enter Effects Edit Mode from Mix Mode by pressing the EDIT SELECT button three times or until the display looks something like this ED MIXEFFECTSxa CONFIG 1 REVERB _ In Mix Mode each time the EDIT SELECT button is pressed the display will cycle between Mix Edit Program Edit and Effects Edit Modes NAVIGATING The basic method of navigating through the displays in Effects Edit mode is similar to that in Program Edit Mode and Mix Edit Mode e The 40 120 buttons are used to select an effect function Configuration EQ Mod Lezlie Pitch Delay Reverb Overdrive and Mix e Ifa function has more than one page the display will indicate the current page number in the upper right corner Use the PAGE and PAGE I buttons to scroll through a function s p
174. ormance data described above rhythmically oriented MIDI devices eg drum machines can often transmit and or receive additional MIDI timing messages that keep other rhythmically oriented units in a system synchronized with each other An optional MIDI Thru jack provides a duplicate of the signal at the MIDI In jack This is handy if you want to route MIDI data appearing at one device to another device as well QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 131 Appendix B MIDI Supplement MIDI MESSAGE BASICS 132 The are two main types of MIDI messages Channel messages which are channel specific consist of Voice and Mode messages System messages which do not have a channel number and are received by all units in a system include Common Real Time and Exclusive messages CHANNEL MESSAGES MODE MESSAGES There are two messages that determine the MIDI mode i e how a device will receive MIDI data The Omni message determines how many channels will be recognized Omni On means that data from all channels will be received Omni Off limits the number of channels usually to one The Mono Poly message deals with voice assignment within the synthesizer In Mono mode only one note at a time plays in response to voice messages in Poly mode aS many voices can play notes as are available to play notes CHANNEL MESSAGES VOICE MESSAGES A synthesizer s voice is the most basic unit of sound generation Usually each voice plays one note a
175. ou make changes to the Mix they are only temporarily kept in the edit buffer until a new Mix is selected from memory Therefore you MUST store your edited Mix if you want to keep it If in the course of making a Mix you enter Program Edit mode by pressing EDIT SELECT and edit one or more Programs in the Mix the edits you make are entered into a separate buffer for each Program in the Mix Note however that you DO have to store each edited Program into the User bank in the same or different Program number location before selecting a different Mix or your changes will be lost The same goes for editing the Effects which will be stored along with its associated QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Mixes Chapter 5 Program into the User Bank If you select another Mix before storing your changes will be lost LEVEL SETTING FOR EACH PROGRAM The Level function press 60 of Mix Edit is used to control several parameters that deal with the audio output of the selected channel Parameters in the Level Function s group include Volume Pan Output Effects Send Level Effects Bus and Program Enable Enable On or Off Page 1 This determines whether the selected channel is enabled or disabled When disabled no sound will be heard The Channel indicator in the display for a disabled channel will not appear Ca Even if a channel is enabled it will not play unless the proper settings in the RANGE LOW HIGH and MIDI KEYBOARD functi
176. oustic guitars sound brighter when you play them more forcefully Adding a little positive velocity control over the filter can simulate more realistic acoustic sounds QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Modulation Wheel Depth 99 to 99 Page 4 Determines how moving the modulation wheel affects the filter cutoff frequency Example With positive settings moving the modulation wheel up raises the filter cutoff frequency and moving it down lowers the filter cutoff frequency With negative settings moving the modulation wheel up lowers the filter cutoff frequency and moving it down raises the filter cutoff frequency Aftertouch Depth 99 to 99 Page 5 At 00 aftertouch has no effect on the filter cutoff frequency Applying aftertouch with this parameter set to a positive value raises the filter cutoff frequency conversely applying aftertouch with a negative value lowers the filter cutoff frequency The higher the number either positive or negative the greater the effect for a given amount of aftertouch Many acoustic instruments sound brighter as you play them more forcefully in particular brass gets brighter as you blow harder Using aftertouch to increase a sound s brightness can give more control and realism with acoustic instruments TIP Filter LFO Depth 99 to 99 Page 6 At 00 the filter LFO has no effect Higher positive values increase the amount of filter LFO modulation Negative values
177. own to 0 If this is set to 99 the envelope will remain at the Sustain level until the note is released When set to 0 the envelope s level will immediately jump down to 0 upon reaching the sustain stage Trigger Normal Freerun Reset Reset Freerun Page 7 The Trigger mode determines how the envelope will function You may select either Freerun or Reset or both Reset Freerun or neither Normal When set to Normal the envelope will always start at its current level i e if another note had been played which triggered the envelope s cycle playing another note in the middle would not interrupt the cycle Also in Normal mode the envelope will immediately advance to its release stage upon releasing the note When set to Freerun the envelope will complete its entire cycle even if the note is released in the middle When set to Reset the envelope starts at the beginning whenever a new note is played When set to Reset Freerun the envelope will start at the beginning whenever a new note is played and will complete its entire cycle even if the note is released in the middle If a sound layers Keyboard Mode parameter found in the Pitch Function Page 10 is set to Mono the Pitch Envelope will only retrigger when playing legato if the Trigger Mode is set to either Reset or Reset Freerun Time Tracking On or Off Page 8 This determines whether or not keyboard position will affect the cycle speed of the envelope Wh
178. p Kit Street Kit MetalliKit HvyMtliKit VeloMtlKit Trip Kit 1 Trip Kit 2 Trip Kit 3 Wild Kit Octave Kit Orchstrakt Raga Kit FloppyKick PillowKick MasterKick Metal Kick Smoke Kick GrooveKik1 GrooveKik2 Sharp Kick Tek Kick AnalogKick Rap Kick FatWoodSnr HR Snare Master Snr PiccoloSnr Electrnic1 Electrnic2 Rap Snare1 Rap Snare2 Tek Snare Brush Snr Crosstick Hi Tom Mid Tom Low Tom Cannon Tom Hex Tom Rap Tom Closed Hat HalfOpnHat Open Hat Foot Hat TekHatClsd TekHatOpen RapHatClsd RapHatOpen CricketCHH CricketTIK CricktsOHH FltrNoisCH FitrNoisOH Ride Cym Ride Bell Crash Cym Null Crash Splash Cym China Cym Rap Cymbal RapCymWave StndrdKtDM RockKit1DM RockkKit2DM DanceKitDM BrushKitDM ElctrcKtDM Tek Kit DM Rap Kit DM StreetKtDM TripKit1DM TripKit2DM TripKit3DM OctavKitDM OrchstraDM Agogo Bongo Cabasa Castanet Chimes 1 Chimes 2 Chimes 3 Clap Rap Clap Tek Clav 1 Clave 2 Conga Hit1 Conga Hit2 CongaSlap1 CongaSlap2 Rap Conga Rap Rim Cowbell RapCowbell Cuica Djembe Hi Djembe Low Drumstix FingerSnap GuiroLong1 GuiroLong2 GuiroShort Maracas SmbaWhstl1 SmbaWhsitl2 ShortWhstl Shaker Hi Shake Low Sleighbel1 Sleighbel2 Tabla Ga Tabla Ka Tabla Ka 2 Tabla Na Tabla Te Tabla Te 2 Tabla Tin Taiko Drum Taiko Rim Talk Down Talk Up Tambourine Timbale Timpani Null Timp Triangle 1 Triangle 2 TrianglSf1 TrianglSf2 Udu Hi Udu Mid Udu Low Udu Slap Vibrasmak1
179. p1 2 WavLoop1 3 WavLoop1 4 WavLoop1 5 WavLoop1 6 WavLoop1 7 WavLoop1 8 WavLoop2 0 WavLoop2 1 WavLoop2 2 WavLoop2 3 WavLoop2 4 WavLoop2 5 WavLoop2 6 WavLoop2 7 WavLoop2 8 WavLoop3 0 WavLoop3 1 WavLoop3 2 WavLoop3 3 WavLoop3 4 WavLoop3 5 WavLoop4 0 WavLoop4 1 WavLoop4 2 WavLoop4 3 WavLoop4 4 WavLoop4 5 D Scrape D ScrapeLp QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Wave High Sine Mid Sine Low Sine HiWhitNoiz MidWhtNoiz LowWhtNoiz HiSpectral LoSpectral HiCrickets LoCrickets Inharm 1 Inharm 2 High Saw Low Saw High Pulse Low Pulse Hi AcidRez LowAcidRez Metal Wave HiMetIMute LoMetIMute Hi DistGtr LowDistGtr Hi PwrHarm LowPwrHarm Hi FunkGir LowFunkGir Hi MuteGtr LowMuteGtr HiElecHarm LoElecHarm ClsclHarm HiBassHarm MidBassHrm LowBassHrm HiSlpBass LoSlpBass Hi BassPop LowBassPop Muted Bass Stik Bass StudioBass JazzFingrd JazzPic Fretless AcousBass 60 s Combo Hi Piano Mid Piano Low Piano High Sync Lo Sync Hi Synth LowSynth Ahhs High Ahhs Mid Ahhs Low Oohs High Oohs Mid Oohs Low TunePipeHi TunePipeMd TunePipeLo Rhythm Psi Beat 1 Psi Beat 2 Psi Beat 3 Psi Beat 4 Psi Beat 5 Psi Beat 6 Psi Beat 7 Psi Beat 8 Psi Beat 9 Psi Beat10 Psi Beati1 Psi Beat12 Kick Loop1 Kick Loop2 Kick Loop3 Kick Loop4 Kick Loop5 Kick Loop6 Kick Loop7 Kick Loop8 Kick Loop9 KickLoop10 KickLoop11 Snare Lp 1 Snare Lp 2 Snare Lp 3 Snare Lp 4 Snare Lp 5 Snare Lp 6
180. parameter was on would cause the pitch of a held note to rise in half step increments QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 75 Chapter 6 Editing Programs PITCH LFO The Pitch LFO function press 7 is most often used to apply vibrato to a sound J The following Pitch LFO variables will make a difference in the sound only if the PITCH LFO DEPTH on Page 6 of the PITCH function is set to a value other than 0 or if the Pitch LFO is a source in the MOD function Wave 8 choices Page 1 The waveform determines the shape of the LFO Select either Sine Triangle Square Up Saw Down Saw Random Noise or Random Note that the two Sawtooth waves and the Random wave are unipolar and the rest are bipolar ep Oe ep E Speed 00 to 99 Page 2 Controls the speed or rate of the LFO For fast modulation increase this value For slower modulation decrease this value Delay 00 to 99 Page 3 This is the amount of time that is to occur before the LFO fades in Sometimes it is desirable to have modulation come in a moment or two after a note has been played rather than starting instantly The higher the value the slower the LFO fades in 99 99 TIME cz 76 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Trigger Mono Poly Key Mono or Key Poly Page 4 The Trigger parameter determines how the LFO should be triggered or started There are four possible settings Mono Poly Key Mono and Key Poly When playing multiple voic
181. period and repair attempts by unqualified personnel may invalidate the warranty QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Troubleshooting Appendix A Service address for customers in the USA Alesis Product Support 3630 Holdrege Avenue Los Angeles CA 90016 Customers outside the USA Contact your local Alesis dealer for warranty assistance The Alesis Limited Warranty applies only to products sold to users in the USA and Canada Customers outside of the USA and Canada are not covered by this Limited Warranty and may or may not be covered by an independent distributor warranty in the country of sale Do not return products to the factory unless you have been given specific instructions to do so QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 129 MIDI Supplement Appendix B APPENDIX B MIDI SUPPLEMENT MIDI Basics Most current electronic instruments and signal processors including the QS contain an internal computer Computers and music have been working together for decades which is not surprising considering music s mathematical basis consider frequencies harmonics vibrato rates tunings etc In the mid 70s microcomputers became inexpensive enough to be built into consumer priced musical instruments They were used for everything from sound generation to storing parameters in memory for later recall In 1983 the MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface specification was introduced to better exploit the computers inside these new musical instrument
182. r You can take a snapshot of the QS s parameters and save this in memory as a program The QS comes with 512 factory preset programs and 128 user editable programs PROGRAM SOUND LAYERS 48 The simplest method of programming is to take one voice process it through the filter and amp sections and if desired add some effect to it However more elaborate Programs usually consist of 2 to 4 layers with each layer making its own distinct contribution to the sound for example e An organ program with Program Sound 1 set to a sustained organ waveform and Program Sound 2 set to a percussion waveform with a fast decay e Apiano program with one layer tuned normally and a second layer tuned an octave higher e A synthesizer program with one layer set to a sharp attack waveform a second layer set to an acoustic waveform and a third layer with a slow attack string waveform This may remind you of Mix Play Mode where playing the keyboard can sound up to 16 different Programs at once There are many similarities In Mix Play Mode you can make the same kind of layered Mix as you can with the four sounds of a Program But there are differences Use Program Layers e Ifyou want multiple sounds to respond to a single MIDI channel For example if you need to play a layered synthesizer sound that was assembled in Mix Play Mode instead of Program Play Mode you must send 3 Note On messages from your sequencer one for each chan
183. r the usual choice for the Keyboard Mode is OUT 1 This is equivalent to turning the QS s local control off and transmitting on channel 1 For more information see page 41 USING A COMPUTER 22 QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Connections Chapter 3 The QS can communicate directly with a computer via its SERIAL PORT connector This eliminates the need for an additional computer MIDI interface as well as the MIDI cables to connect to it The SERIAL PORT can be set to one of two modes depending on the computer you are using The mode is selected using the switch directly next to the SERIAL PORT connector Set the SERIAL PORT switch to If using a es PG IBM PC or compatible MAC Macintosh If you already have a MIDI interface for your computer then you will want to use the QS s MIDI connectors to connect the QS to your computer interface s MIDI IN and OUT connectors using the method described in the previous section Note If you are already using the QS s SERIAL PORT to connect to your computer it is not necessary to connect the MIDI ports to the computer as well IBM PCS AND COMPATIBLES This connection will require a special cable with a DIN8 connector on one end and either a DB9 or DB25 connector on the other end depending on the type of connector you are using on the PC You can purchase this cable through Alesis Product Support DIN8 to DB9 cable part number 15 00 0009 DIN8 to
184. r transmitted and are set separately for each Channel in the Mix These however are dependent on how each Channel has its MIDI parameters set see page 38 Pitch bend and Modulation Wheels On or Off Page 1 This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit and receive pitch bend and modulation controller 1 MIDI information Aftertouch On or Off Page 2 This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit and receive aftertouch MIDI information Sustain Pedals On or Off Page 3 This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit and receive sustain pedal controller 64 MIDI information Controllers On or Off Page 4 This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit and receive MIDI controller information which the Controllers A D and Pedals 1 amp 2 are assigned to these are assigned to MIDI controllers in Global Mode Page 3 and 5 TRANSMITTING MIDI VOLUME AND PANNING Each Channel in a Mix can transmit its volume and panning settings via MIDI if the MIDI Program Select parameter is set to ON Global Edit Mode Page 14 Volume level is sent as MIDI controller 7 and panning is sent as controller 10 If the MIDI Program Select Global parameter is set to ON e whenever a Mix is recalled via the front panel or via MIDI volume and panning information will be transmitted e whenever a Channel s Level parameter is edited volume informatio
185. r 44 1kHz as determined by the Clock function found in Global Edit Mode The Clock function has four settings Int 48kHz Int 44 1k Ext 48kHz and Ext 44 1k The default setting is Int 48kHz which is suitable when the digital recorder is using the 48kHz sample rate However if the recorder is using the 44 1kHz sample rate the Clock function should be set to Int 44 1k This ensures that the QS will be in tune with previously recorded material See page 119 in Chapter 8 for more information on the Clock parameter 48 KHZ IN If your ADAT system has an Alesis BRC Remote Controller the QS s digital clock must be synchronized to the clock coming from the BRC This requires that a connection be made providing the clock signal to the QS and that the QS s Clock function be set to either one of its two external settings Ext 48kHz or Ext 44 1k QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 25 Chapter 3 Connections Connect a BNC to BNC cable such as the Alesis BN cable between the BRC s 48 kHz CLOCK OUT and the QS s 48 KHZ IN Set the Clock function to either Ext 48kHz if the BRC is set to 48kHz or Ext 44 1k if the BRC is set to 44 1kHz For more information about the Clock function see page 119 in Chapter 8 Tip With this type of connection the ADAT tracks will remain in tune with the QS even when the BRC s pitch value is adjusted Note When using only one or more ADATs without the BRC it is not necessary to connect the 48 kHz Clock 26
186. rent sound device The Programs in the GenMIDI Bank use the General MIDI names in some cases abreviated with the letters GM added to indicate their are designed specifically for use in General MIDI mode QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual MIDI Supplement Appendix B There are three MIDI registered parameters which the QS will recognize in Mix Play Mode when General MIDI Mode is enabled These are e MIDI Registered Parameter 0 Pitch Bend Sensitivity This will directly effect the Pitch Wheel Range parameter of all four Sounds of the Program on the received MIDI Channel of the Mix If the Channel is selected using the a PAGE and PAGE ki buttons the symbol will appear between the Mode name and the Bank name in the upper part of the display if this parameter is received However if you are viewing the Pitch Wheel Range parameter in the display Program Edit Mode Pitch Function Page 4 the display will not be updated to reflect the new setting If you go to another Page or Function and then return to it the display will now reflect the updated setting e MIDI Registered Parameter 1 Fine Tune This will directly effect the Detune Amount parameter of all four Sounds of the Program on the received MIDI Channel of the Mix If this MIDI registered parameter is received the QS will automatically make sure that all four Sounds of the Program have their Detune Type parameter set to Normal Program Edit Mode Pitch Function Page 3 If
187. requency 50 Lowpass 50 Modulation Wheel 61 Velocity 60 Filter Envelope 61 68 Filter LFO 61 78 Keyboard Mode 59 LFO 52 Modulation 51 73 Name 72 Pan 57 Pitch Aftertouch 58 Pitch Wheel 58 Pitch LFO 58 76 Portamento 59 Sound 48 49 Sound Enable 54 Sound Overlap 64 Sound Type 54 Voice 49 54 Volume 57 Program Mode 13 28 Re initializing 86 127 Samples 27 Software Version 127 Sound 27 Sound Bridge 20 Sound Card 20 Sound Groups 27 Store 29 35 36 37 90 Sustain Footswitch 24 User Bank 27 Velocity 15 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Index 142 QS7 QS8 Reference Manual
188. right away When set to a high number the distortion will not occur until the signal feeding the overdrive becomes louder than the Threshold setting Overdrive Brightness 00 to 99 Page 3 This sets the tone of the Overdrive effect It can be set between 00 and 99 Higher numbers result in a brighter sounding overdrive Lower numbers result in a duller distortion sound Overdrive Balance lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt Page 4 This controls the output mix of the Overdrive effect It can be set anywhere from lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt When set to lt 99 the Overdrive effect cannot be heard at all When set to lt O gt you have an even mix between the original uneffected signal and the overdriven signal When set to 99 gt only the overdriven effect is heard QS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 Mix Not to be confused with an actual Mix or Mix mode the Effect s Mix function is where you can mix the various signal levels of all the effects to the Main Left and Right outputs of the QS Only effect modules that have access to the Main outputs will appear on the Mix page There is a separate Mix page for each of the four effect busses whose effect modules feed the main output Note that the Mix page doesn t control how much the individual effect modules feed to each other only how much they feed to the Main outputs ED MIX FX SND17A PITCH OUTPUT 00 l Depending on the
189. rogram will be recalled along with its associated Effect Patch This however can change the way the other Programs in the Mix sound since they all share the same Effects Patch If you want to recall Programs via MIDI program changes but also want to continue using the same Effects Patch leave this parameter turned OFF FX MIDI Channel 1 to 16 Page 2 The Effect Channel determines which channel s Program s Effect Patch will be used for the entire Mix In other words when the Effect Channel is set to 3 the Mix will use the Effect Patch used by the Program assigned to channel 3 KEYBOARD MIDI The Keyboard MIDI Function press 90 allows you to turn on and off the MIDI and Keyboard switches for the selected MIDI channel MIDI In On or Off Page 1 This determines whether the selected channel will respond to MIDI messages MIDI Out On or Off Page 2 This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit MIDI messages Keyboard On or Off Page 3 This determines whether or not the selected channel will respond to the keyboard pitch bend and mod wheels foot pedals and sustain pedal of the QS itself QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 43 Chapter 5 Editing Mixes CONTROLLERS The Controllers function press 100 lets you turn on and off the various MIDI controllers that can effect the selected MIDI channel The following four parameters determine whether or not specific types of MIDI information will be received o
190. s primarily to ensure compatibility of equipment between manufacturers MIDI expresses musical events notes played vibrato dynamics tempo etc as a common language consisting of standardized digital data This data can be understood by MIDI compatible computers and computer based musical instruments Before electronics music was expressed exclusively as written symbols By translating musical parameters into digital data MIDI can express not only the types of musical events written into sheet music but other parameters as well Such as amount of pitch bend or degree of vibrato MIDI HARDWARE MIDI compatible devices usually include both MIDI In and MIDI Out jacks which terminate in 5 pin DIN style connectors The MIDI Out jack transmits MIDI data to another MIDI device As you play a MIDI controller such as a keyboard data corresponding to what you play exits the MIDI Out jack Example If you play middle C the MIDI Out transmits a piece of data that says middle C is down If you release that key the MIDI Out transmits another piece of data that says middle C has been released If the keyboard responds to the dynamics of your playing the note data will include dynamics information too Moving the modulation wheels and pedals attached to many synthesizers will also generate data associated with the wheel or pedal being used The MIDI In jack receives data from another MIDI device In addition to the type of perf
191. s that the Pitch Envelope will remain where it is even after the note is released This is important when you want the pitch effect to continue even after releasing the key Example If the Pitch Envelope is bending a note up and you don t want the pitch to fall when you release the key set the Release parameter to Hold QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 65 Chapter 6 Editing Programs Delay 00 to 99 Hold Page 5 This is the amount of time that the envelope will wait before doing anything very useful if you want to affect one element of a sound sometime after the sound starts When the Delay is set to 0 the envelope attacks right away without any delay Play some notes while turning up the delay and see that the time between playing the note and hearing the effect of the Pitch Envelope gets progressively longer as the Delay control is turned up If the Delay is set above 99 the display will read Hold This indicates that the Delay stage of the envelope will wait indefinitely until the key is released before continuing on to the remaining envelope stages Attack Decay etc This requires that the Pitch Envelope s Trigger parameter see next page is set to Freerun However when the Delay is set to Hold Freerun mode is forced on regardless of the Trigger parameter s setting Sustain Decay 00 to 99 Page 6 This is the amount of time that the envelope will take during the sustain stage to bring the level d
192. selected Configuration the order of the effects will differ for example in Configuration 1 the order reads Pitch Delay Reverb but in Configuration 2 the order is Delay Pitch Reverb Pitch Level 00 to 99 Page 1 Config 1 and 4 Page 2 Config 2 amp 5 Adjusting this value will cause the Pitch Output Level to increase or decrease The Pitch Output level is the level for the Pitch Section of the QS s effects processor to the Main outputs and should be set as desired Even if this parameter is set to 00 the output of the Pitch section is still available depending on the bus and configuration to following Delay and Reverb sections Delay Level 00 to 99 Page 2 Config 1 3 4 Page 1 Config 2 Page 3 Config 5 Adjusting this value will cause the Delay Output Level to increase or decrease The Delay Output level is the level for the Delay Section of the QS s effects processor to the Main outputs and should be set as desired Even if this parameter is set to 00 the output of the Delay section is still available depending on the bus and configuration to following Pitch and Reverb sections Reverb Level 00 to 99 Page 3 Config 1 4 Page 4 Config 5 Adjusting this value will cause the Reverb Output Level to increase or decrease The Reverb Output level is the level for the Reverb Section of the QS s effects processor to the main outputs and should be set as desired Lezlie Level 00 to 99 Page 1 Config 3
193. set to 00 and the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 99 the Mod Wheel will have no effect on the tremolo from the Amp LFO Aftertouch Depth 99 to 99 Page 7 This is the modulation amount of Aftertouch over the Amp LFO s Level A positive value raises the level as more Aftertouch is applied A negative value will lower the amount of Amp LFO level as more Aftertouch is applied TRACKING GENERATOR The Tracking Generator function press 9 is used to scale a modulation source For example normally you could modulate the Amp volume of a sound using velocity the harder you play the louder the sound gets The amount of change in volume is equal to the change in velocity this is called linear control If instead however you set the Tracking Generator s input to velocity and then routed the Tracking Generator to the Amp using the Mod function you can make your own customized map of the control velocity has over the sound s level The Tracking Generator divides the range of the input into 11 points 0 10 each of which can be set between 0 and 100 If you boost the value of one of the lower points you make the input more sensitive in its lower register By creating a non linear curve using the velocity example above you can scale the velocity s control over the sound s volume just the way you want When selecting the Tracking Generator as a modulation source in the Mod Function these two choices will be available W
194. t When mixed back with the original dry signal the popular 12 string guitar effect is produced DRY EFFECTED SIS BAL SIS MAL DRY SIGNAL Resonator This can be thought of as a highly resonant filter or a filter that is tuned to a specific frequency with a lot of emphasis which will cause the frequency that the resonator is set at to be highly accentuated Delay Input lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt Page 2 Config 2 Only This parameter adjusts the level of the signal coming from the Delay output going into the Pitch Input The Delay Input parameter is only available when editing a effects bus which has the Delay effect ahead of the Pitch effect in the selected Configuration Example Configuration 2 effect send 1 ED MIXFXSNDiz8 DEL IN SND lt 00PCH__ QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 103 Chapter 7 Editing Effects If the Pitch type is Mono Chorus Stereo Chorus Mono Flange or Stereo Flange page 2 through 5 of the Pitch function contain the following four parameters Waveform Shape Sine or Square Page 2 This determines the LFO s waveform shape This parameter only appears when the Mono or Stereo Chorus or Flange are selected The Waveform Shape of the LFO can be changed from a sine waveform which provides a smoother more even sound to a square waveform which makes the Chorus or flange effect more pronounced Speed 00 to 99 Page 3 This parameter adjusts the LFO Speed of all Pitch types with the exceptio
195. t a time so the number of notes you can play at one time will be limited by the available number of voices MIDI messages that affect voices include Note On Corresponds to a key being pressed down values range from 000 lowest note to 127 highest note Middle C is 60 Note Off Corresponds to a key being released values are the same as note on Velocity Corresponds to dynamics values range from 001 minimum velocity to 127 maximum velocity A velocity of 000 is equivalent to a note off message Pressure Indicates the pressure applied to a keyboard after pressing a key Mono pressure Aftertouch represents the average amount of pressure applied by all keys Poly Pressure produces individual pressure messages for each key Program Change Sending a Program Change command from a sequencer or other MIDI keyboard can change synth patches automatically There are 128 Program Change command numbers Also note that not all units number programs consistently Some number them as 000 127 others as 001 128 and still others arrange programs in banks of 8 programs such as A1 A8 B1 B8 C1 C8 etc Pitch Bend This bends a note from its standard pitch Continuous Controller Footpedals breath controllers and modulation wheels can vary sounds as you play thus adding expressiveness MIDI allows for 64 continuous controllers these act like potentiometers in that you can choose one of many different values and 58 continuous swi
196. t to Delay 1 and Reverb 1 Think of the Mix function in the QS s effects section as being similar to the effect return control on a mixing console For example if Effect Send 1 s Mix Reverb Output parameter is set to 0 you won t be able to hear reverb regardless of how much input you feed it from any of the effect buses QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 93 Chapter 7 Editing Effects 94 CONFIGURATION 2 2 REVERBS BIN EE a AL LEFT AA OU ss OOO OO A FHT MAA LEFT MAN LEFT MAE RT MAE RH T 1 Fab EO 1 Fah Bod _ Delay 1 Pitchi Reverb 1 Mono delay Mono chorus Plate 1 Stereo chorus Plate 2 Room Hall Large Gate f Reverse i Reverb 2 Level to Reverb 1 Pitch 3 Reverb 3 Mono chorus Plate 1 Plate 2 Room Hall Large Gate Reverse Reverb 4 Reverb 4 Level to Reverb 3 This Configuration differs from Configuration 1 in many ways In this Configuration there is only one Delay effect two Pitch effects and two Reverb effects Effect send 1 is routed through the mono Delay then a stereo Pitch effect and finally a stereo Reverb effect Send 2 has no effects of its own but can be routed to the same Reverb effect as send 1 Send 3 is routed through a mono Pitch effect and then a stereo Reverb effect Send 4 has no effects of its own but can be routed to the same Reverb effect as send 3 Effect send 1 s Delay Pitch and Reverb can feed the Mix output directly Unlike the first
197. t to a value other than O or Filter Envelope is a source in the MOD function Also note that the Filter Envelope may have no effect if some other modulation source or the basic setting of the filter has already pushed the filter cutoff frequency to its maximum Attack 00 to 99 Page 1 This is the amount of time the envelope will take until it reaches its maximum output level Setting the Attack to 0 will give a sharp edge to the sound if the Delay is also set to 0 in Filter Envelope Page 5 see next page a setting of 99 will result in a much slower attack taking many seconds before the envelope gets to maximum Decay amp Sustain 00 to 99 Pages 2 amp 3 As soon as the attack portion of the envelope finishes when the level reaches maximum the envelope will decay decrease in level The level it reaches is set by the Sustain control how long it takes to get there is set by the Decay control In the special case where the Sustain level is all the way up 99 then there is no decrease and the Decay time segment is bypassed Whatever level the sustain is set to is the level that the decay section of the envelope will head for Depending on the setting of the Sustain Decay control see below the envelope will either hold at the sustain level until you release the note on the keyboard or decay to 0 at the Sustain Decay rate which is on page 2 of the envelope You can create a long plateau at the start of a note by setting t
198. tain decay segment This is exactly the same as holding down the note on the keyboard When the Sustain Pedal parameter is turned off the Sustain Pedal will have no effect on the envelope Level 00 to 99 Page 10 This is the overall output level of the envelope If this is set to 00 the Pitch Envelope will have no output and will have no effect while at 99 it will have a maximum effect on whatever it is being routed to When selecting Pitch Envelope Level as a modulation destination set the Pitch Envelope level to 00 if the Modulation Level is above 0 or set the Pitch Envelope level to 99 if the Modulation Amount is below 0 TIP Velocity Modulation 00 to 99 Page 11 This determines how keyboard dynamics will affect the envelope level When set to 99 note velocity controls the envelope s output notes played hard will deliver a higher envelope output than notes played soft When set to 0 note velocity will have no effect on the envelope s output level QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 67 Chapter 6 Editing Programs FILTER ENVELOPE The Filter Envelope function press 100 is crucial whenever you want the tonal quality of a note to change over time differently from its overall level Example When you want the initial attack of a note to be bright but want the sustaining part to be filtered J The following Filter Envelope variables will have effect only if the FILTER ENVELOPE DEPTH on Page 7 of the FILTER function is se
199. tarting instantly The higher the value the slower the LFO fades in Trigger Mono Poly Key Mono or Key Poly Page 4 The Trigger parameter determines how the LFO should be triggered or started There are four possible settings Mono Poly Key Mono and Key Poly A description of these settings is found in the Trigger section of the Pitch LFO description on page 77 Level 00 to 99 Page 5 This is the base output level of the Filter LFO If you want to have a constant value of tremolo to the filter even without using the Mod Wheel or Aftertouch set LEVEL above 00 The Mod Wheel and Aftertouch will add or subtract from this base level Example f Level is set to 10 and the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 10 there will always be some filter tremolo and raising the Mod Wheel will add more tremolo On the other hand if the Mod Wheel parameter is set to 10 raising the Mod Wheel to the top will cancel out all tremolo QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Programs Chapter 6 Mod Wheel Depth 99 to 99 Page 6 This parameter sets how much the Mod Wheel will increase or decrease the Filter LFO s Level A positive value raises the level when the Mod Wheel is moved up and lowers the level when moved down Negative settings of this parameter will decrease the output level of the Filter LFO as the Mod Wheel is raised Since the output level of the Filter LFO cannot be less than zero a negative setting of the Mod Wheel parameter will have no
200. tch controllers these can act like continuous controllers but some are assumed to choose between two possible states such as on off QS7 QS8 Reference Manual MIDI Supplement Appendix B Each type of controller is stamped with its own controller identification number Not all controller numbers have been standardized for specific functions but the following indicates the current list of assigned controllers Numbers in parenthesis indicate the controller range Function Modulation Wheel 0 127 Breath Controller 0 127 Early DX7 Aftertouch 0 127 Foot Controller 0 127 Portamento Time 0 127 Data Slider 0 127 Main Volume 0 127 Balance 0 127 10 Pan 0 127 11 Expression 0 127 16 General Purpose 1 0 127 17 General Purpose 2 0 127 OD Joo oh R 18 General Purpose 3 0 127 19 General Purpose 4 0 127 32 63 Least Significant Bits Controllers 0 31 0 127 64 Sustain Pedal 0 or 127 65 Portamento On Off 0 or 127 66 Sustenuto Pedal 0 or 127 67 Soft Pedal 0 or 127 69 Hold 2 0 or 127 80 General Purpose 5 0 or 127 81 General Purpose 6 0 or 127 82 General Purpose 7 0 or 127 83 General Purpose 8 0 or 127 92 Tremolo Depth 0 127 93 Chorus Depth 0 127 94 Celeste Depth 0 127 95 Phase Depth 0 127 96 Data Increment 0 or 127 97 Data Decrement 0 or 127 98 Non Registered Parameter MSB 0 127 99 Non Registered Parameter LSB 0 127 100 Registered Para
201. te this by showing an to the left of the name of the Program or Mix Press PROGRAM to select Program Play Mode The display should look something like this PROG PRESET1 TrueStereo Ch01 Raise the QS s master VOLUME slider to maximum The best signal to noise ratio is achieved when VOLUME is set to maximum voue f Turn on the power of the amplifier mixer and adjust the volume PLAYING THE DEMO SEQUENCES The QS has built in demo sequences which demonstrate the wide variety of sounds this amazing instrument is capable of generating In order to get the full effect of the demo we recommend that you connect both the LEFT and RIGHT outputs to your sound system or listen on headphones To play the demo sequence Hold the MIX button and press GLOBAL The display will read PLAYING DEMO lt MIX gt STOP Press MIX to stop the demo There will be no MIDI out messages during the demo and the keyboard will be disabled WHAT S A PROGRAM A Program is a stored configuration of parameters which emulates the sound of an instrument or sound effect such as a piano or synthesizer or drum set AQS Program is made up of hundreds of parameters which when set to specific values create a specific type of sound This setup of parameters can be stored so that you can get back to it instantly at the touch of a button When you select a Program all of its parameter settings are recalled to recreate
202. ted at the same time Many devices subdivide this clock signal internally for higher resolution eg 96 pulses per quarter note Start Signals all rhythmically based units when to start playing Stop Signals all rhythmically based units when to stop playing Continue Unlike a Start command which re starts a sequencer or drum machine from the beginning of a song each time it occurs sending a continue message after stop will re start units from where they were stopped GENERAL MIDI 134 General MIDI is an extension of the MIDI standard designed to meet the demands of the ever growing multimedia industry and to make simple the act of playing commercially produced MIDI sequences The General MIDI standard utilizes all 16 channels available in MIDI The QS is a perfect General MIDI companion since its Mix Mode uses 16 channels Although many channels are commonly used for specific types of instruments Example Channel 1 is usually piano channel 2 is usually bass etc channel 10 is always used for drums General MIDI also standardizes the placement of sound types in a sound device s memory bank The QS s GenMIDI Bank is designed specifically for General MIDI and organizes it sounds according to the General MIDI specification This means when a sequencer sends a MIDI program change message that is supposed to call up a particular sound the correct sound on the QS will be called up even if the composer of the sequence used a diffe
203. the QS s equivalent to LOCAL OFF 0QS7 0S8 Reference Manual 113 Global Settings Chapter 8 GENERAL MIDI MODE Page 7 Page 7 of Global Edit Mode lets you enable and disable General MIDI Mode If this parameter is turned on you will immediately be taken out of Global Edit Mode and into Mix Mode and Mix 00 of Preset Bank 4 will automatically be selected For more information about General MIDI refer to the MIDI Supplement in Appendix B ENABLING GENERAL MIDI Mope via MIDI The QS will respond to a universal MIDI Sysex message to turn General MIDI mode on or off Some but not all General MIDI sequences will have a Sysex message at the beginning bar 1 which tells the receiving device to go into its General MIDI mode If this message is sent no matter where you happen to be on the QS General MIDI mode will be enabled and Mix 00 of Preset Bank 4 will automatically be selected CONTROLLERS A D ASSIGNMENT Page 8 11 The QS allows you to assign up to four general purpose MIDI controllers These controllers are assigned a letter A D These are directly linked to the CONTROLLER A B C and D sliders on the QS s front panel They are also linked to specific MIDI controllers which can be received from another synth or sequencer Page 8 through 11 of Global Edit mode lets you choose which MIDI controllers 0 to 120 to assign as Controllers A B C and D For a listing of all MIDI controllers and their designations see page
204. the Effect Patch in Mix mode a will appear next to the Program s name only when assigning Program s to the Mix s channels and the Effect Channel is selected The indicates that the current Effect Patch in the edit buffer is different from what is stored in memory for the selected Program While in Effects Edit mode press STORE at any time to go to Store mode Store mode has several pages but the main storing function is found in the first page SAVE USER 000 _ Press STORE l To store the edited Program along with its Effect Patch into the same location it was recalled from simply press STORE again and it will be stored To store the edited Program into a different location use the 00 120 and 0 9 buttons to select a Program number 000 127 in the User Bank If a RAM Sound Card is inserted use the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons to select a different Bank When you re ready press STORE to save your Program STORING EFFECT PATCHES IN MIX MODE When in Mix Play Mode or Mix Edit Mode the Effect Program number shown in the display is the Program number selected as the Effect Channel Storing the Mix will save this number but will not store any changes you may have made to the Effect Patch itself e If STORE is pressed twice while editing a Program that is on the Effect Channel both the Program and its Effects will be stored e If STORE is pressed twice while editing a Program
205. the original sound QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 11 Chapter 2 Your First Session The QS provides 640 internal Programs divided into 5 Banks of 128 Programs each More Programs can be added by inserting a Sound Card into the Sound Card slot on the rear panel of the QS Each Bank is broken down into 12 Sound Groups of 10 Programs each plus a 13th Sound Group with 8 Programs These group together similar sounding Programs such as pianos 00 guitars 80 bass 40 and drums 120 A Program may have from 1 to 4 different sounds which can be combined in a variety of ways to create the overall sound of the instrument the Program is intended to emulate These four sounds can be layered on top of one another or split up into different sections of the keyboard You can even have different sounds played depending on how hard you play the keyboard this is known as velocity WHAT S A MIX A Mix is a combination of 1 to 16 Programs These Programs can be combined in many ways The most common is multi timbral when connected to a MIDI sequencer which means that for each MIDI channel the QS receives up to 16 a different Program may be selected thus creating anything from a small pop rock ensemble to a complete orchestra Another way of using a Mix is by layering two or more Programs together so that they play simultaneously from the keyboard You can also create a split where one Program is in the lower half of the keyboard while another is
206. the sounds in the QS are based on digital recordings These recordings are made up of several thousands of tiny digital audio snapshots otherwise known as samples These samples are played so quickly and run so close together they all appear to the human ear to be one sound The rate at which ee are paves parki is determined by the Clock noe It has four settings i e kot 3 Go LE The default sehe is LFV When set to either I rit ernal setting the QS uses its own internal sample clock as a reference for playing back the sampled sounds that make up a Program or Mix However if you are recording the QS to ADAT using the QS s DIGITAL OUT connector and nee ADATi is unig a sample rate of 44 1 kHz you should set the QS s Clock function to E If you are recording to an ADAT and also have a BRC Master Remote Controller the QS must receive a clock signal from the BRC in order to maintain perfect sync with the ADAT system This requires that you connect a BNC to BNC cable between the BRC s 48 kHz Clock Out to the QS s 48 kHz IN When you are ready to re ord onto ADAT from the QS be sure to set me a Clock function to either Esc riz if the BRC is set to 48 kHz ott i if the BRC is set to 44 1kHz By setting the QS s clock to the identical CAR rate e the ADAT BRC you guarantee perfect sync between the two units For more on connecting the BNC to BNC cable see page 26 QS7 0S8 Reference Manual 118 Global
207. tive groups Group Voice Kick FloppyKik1 FloppyKik2 FloppyKikV MasterKik1 MasterKik2 MasterKikV MetalKick1 MetalKick2 MetalKickV GrooveKik1 GrooveKik2 GrooveKikV Sharp Kick Tek Kick 1 Tek Kick 2 Tek Kick V AnalogKik1 AnalogKik2 AnalogKik3 AnalogKikV Rap Kick Snare F Wood 1 Fat Wood 2 Fat Wood V HR Snare 1 HR Snare 2 HR Snare V MasterSnr1 MasterSnr2 MasterSnrV Piccolo 1 Piccolo 2 Piccolo V Electronc1 Electronc2 ElectroncV Rap Snare1 Rap Snare2 Tek Snare1 Tek Snare2 Tek SnareV Brush Hit1 Brush Hit2 Brush HitV Crosstick1 Crosstick2 CrosstickV Toms HiRackTom1 HiRackTom2 HiRackTomV MdRackTom1 MdRackTom2 MdRackTomV LoRackTom1 LoRackTom2 LoRackTom V Hirt om 1 HiFirTom 2 Hirt om V MidFIrTo 1 MidFirTom 2 MidFlrTom V LowFirTom1 LowFirTom2 LowFlrTomV CanonTomH1 CanonTomhH2 CanonTomHV CanonTomM2 CanonTomMV CanonTomL1 CanonTomL2 CanonTomLV Hex Tom Hi Hex Tom Md Hex Tom Lo RapTomHi RapTomMid RapTomLow Cymbal ClosedHat1 ClosedHat2 ClosedHatvV Tight Hat Loose Hat Slosh Hat Foot Hat 1 Foot Hat 2 Velo Hat 1 Velo Hat 2 Velo Hat 3 TekHatClsd TekHatOpen RapHatClsd RapHatHalf RapHatOpen CricktHat1 CricktHat2 FilterHat1 FilterHat2 FilterHat3 Ride Cym Ride Cym 2 RideCym V1 RideCym V2 RideBell 1 RideBell 2 RideBell V Crash Cym1 Crash Cym2 SplashCym1 SplashCym2 SplashCym3 China Cym1 China Cym2 RapCymbal1 RapCymbal2 RapCymWave Open Hat 1
208. ttings for that channel in the Mix but it will not play the internal sound Use this mode if you re using a MIDI sequencer with an ECHO feature the sound will be activated by messages appearing at the MIDI IN connector after it s made the round trip through the sequencer This is the QS s equivalent to LOCAL OFF USING KEYBOARD MODE WITH THE SERIAL JACK The Serial jack follows the MIDI ins and outs in the Keyboard Mode settings above If you are connected to a computer using the Serial jack be sure to check the setting of the Keyboard Mode In most cases a setting of OUT 1 should be used with a MIDI sequencer See page 117 for more information about the Serial jack QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual 47 Editing Programs Chapter 6 CHAPTER 6 EDITING PROGRAMS OVERVIEW Synthesizer programming is the art and science of shaping sounds in a particular way by altering the parameters of various modules Like music itself learning synth programming is an ongoing process Although this manual presents information about synthesizer programming no manual can offer a complete course in programming at least for a price that customers would be willing to pay If you re new to synthesizer programming the best way to learn is to adjust different parameters as you play to discover how different parameter values affect the sound Also become familiar with the signal and modulation flow within the QS as shown in the various block diagrams
209. tween 5 and 15 Values higher than 15 are wrapped around and will recall the same Banks Example A Controller 0 message with a value of 39 will recall the User Bank QS7 0S8 Reference Manual 115 Global Settings Chapter 8 Note Bank change messages will be ignored if General MIDI Mode is enabled so that only Programs within the General MIDI Bank GenMIDI can be recalled via MIDI Program changes If the MIDI Program Select parameter is On and a new Bank is selected using the a BANK and BANK gt buttons a Bank Change message will be transmitted from the MIDI OUTPUT connector If additionally a new Bank is selected in Mix Play Mode and any of its Channel s MIDI Out parameters Mix Edit Mode Keyboard MIDI Function Page 2 are turned On a Bank Select message followed by the appropriate Program Change will be transmitted out the MIDI Out connector for each of those MIDI Channels INPUT OUTPUT Page 15 The I O Input Output Mode determines how the MIDI INPUT and OUTPUT connectors on the QS s rear panel will function in relation to the SERIAL PORT connector The possible settings of the I O parameter depend on the setting of the SERIAL PORT switch located on the back panel next to the SERIAL PORT With SERIAL PORT set The I O parameter may be switched between to PC andi MAC F and If you are using a PC compatible computer consult the software you
210. type When prompted for device select Have Disk Navigate to the OEM setup in the ASDWIN directory Follow the Win95 instructions from there Please refer to the READ MET file which accompanies the Alesis MIDI driver MACINTOSH QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 23 Chapter 3 Connections Connect one end of a DIN 8 cable to the QS s SERIAL PORT connector and the other end to either the MODEM serial port or the PRINTER serial port depending on which one you are using for sequencing MIDI sequencing software for the Macintosh typically defaults to using the MODEM port but in actuality can be set to use either the MODEM or the PRINTER port or both If you have a printer connected you will want to use the MODEM port conversely if you have a modem connected but do not have a printer you will want to connect to the PRINTER port If however both a printer and modem are connected you will need to either temporarily disconnect one of them preferably the modem especially if the printer uses AppleTalk since AppleTalk must be disabled to use the PRINTER port for MIDI or purchase a multiple serial port box that will allow you to switch between the modem and the QS MASTER CONTROLLER FOR LIVE USE Most live applications use the QS to generate sounds with possibly the MIDI output driving other MIDI devices such as an S4 Plus rack unit QuadraVerb 2 and other keyboards and sound modules etc To drive MIDI controlled d
211. u ll find a chart listing the various samples in their respective groups ei lt Q O D DarkPno3 R BritePno1L BritePno1R BritePno2L BritePno2R BritePno3L BritePno3R 4 VibesWave NoHammer R SoftPianoL SoftPianoR VeloPianoL VeloPianoR TapPiano L TapPiano R E Spinet 1 E Spinet 2 Toy Pno L Toy Pno R KeyTrack1 KeyTrack2 Stretch L Stretch R PianoWaveL PianoWaveR BriteRoads Dark Roads Soft Roads VeloRoads1 VeloRoads2 VeloRoads3 Wurly VeloWurly1 VeloWurly2 FM Piano FM Tines Soft Tines VelAtkTine Vel FM Pno BrtRdsWave DrkRdsWave SftRdsWave Wurly Wave Chromatic Clavinet VelAtkClav ClavntWave Harpsicord VAtkHarpsi HarpsiWave Glock Xylophone Marimba Hd Marimba Sf MarimbaVel Vibraphone VibesWave Ice Block Brake Drum TubulrWave TubWv Null FMTbIrBell FMTublrSft FMTublrVel FMTub Null Organ Rock Organ Perc Organ FullDrwbr1 FullDrwbr2 3 Drawbars 4 Drawbars UpprDrwbrs 16 Drawbar 5 1 3 bar 8 Drawbar A Drawbar 2 2 3 bar 2 Drawbar 1 3 5 bar 1 1 3 bar 1 Drawbar Percus 2nd Percus 3rd Percus Wav HollowWave 60 s Combo RotarySpkr ChurchOrgn Principale Positive Guitar SteelStrng NylonGuitr Nylon Harm Nylon Harp JazzGuitar SingleCoil Sngle Mute DoubleCoil DCoil Harm DCoil Jazz D S Coil MicroGuitr PwrH MGtr1 PwrH MGtr2 MuteGuitar Mute Velo Metal Mute MGtr MtIMt MtIMut Hrm Fuzz Wave ClsHarmncs ElecHarmne Pwr Harm 1 Pwr Harm 2 Pwr Harm
212. ull complement of sounds you can make great sounds with nothing more than an amplifier or a set of headphones The QS has two Main outputs two Aux outputs plus a stereo headphones output These can provide an amplification system or mixer with several hookup options e Mono Connect a mono cord from the RIGHT MAIN OUTPUT jack to a mono amplification system or individual mixer input e Stereo Connect two mono cords from the LEFT and RIGHT MAIN OUTPUT jacks to a stereo amplification system or two mixer inputs e Dual Stereo Four Individual Outs Connect two mono cords from the LEFT and RIGHT MAIN OUTPUT jacks and two mono cords from the LEFT and RIGHT AUX OUTPUT jacks to a dual stereo amplification system or four mixer inputs e Stereo Headphones Plug a set of high quality stereo headphones into the headphones v NM jack on the rear panel QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 9 Your First Session Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2 Your First SESSION POWERING UP After making your connections turn on the system s power using this procedure Before turning on the QS s power check the following items e Have all connections been made correctly e Are the volume controls of the amplifier or mixer turned down e Is the volume of the QS turned down Turn on the ON OFF switch on the QS rear panel Upon power up the QS will display the last selected Program or Mix If this Program Mix has been edited the display will indica
213. ve as its source either the Pitch output the Delay output or the dry effect send signal If the signal is taken from the Delay output the Reverb will be delayed by the amount of delay time set for the Delay If the signal is taken from the Pitch output the Reverb will be chorused flanged detuned or resonating depending upon which Pitch type is selected If the signal is taken from the effect send the Reverb will receive direct uneffected signal Input Balance lt 99 to lt 0 gt to 99 gt Page 3 Config 1 3 4 and 5 This allows you to control the balance between Reverb Inputs 1 and 2 and therefore control the blend between the various input sources This makes it possible to have the signal from the Pitch or Delay sections or the direct effect send in any combination or amount Input level 00 to 99 Page 4 Config 1 and 3 This controls the overall Input Level going into the Reverb QOS7 QS8 Reference Manual Editing Effects Chapter 7 Chorus Input Level 00 to 99 Page 1 Config 2 Only If Configuration 2 is selected refer to block diagram of Configuration 2 earlier in this chapter the first page of the Reverb function will look like this ED MIXFXSNDiza RVB CHRin LEV 08 The Configuration has two Reverbs one on send 1 which send 2 can share the other on send 3 which send 4 can share There is only one parameter in this page Chorus Input Level This lets you adjust the level of the signal coming from
214. well ED MIX FX SND17A RVB IN4 PITCHout l The Reverb function is used to edit Reverb input levels and other parameters In all configurations page 1 of the Reverb function selects what the reverb is hearing i e where the input of the reverb is coming from The source can come directly from the Effect bus the output of other effects in the chain before it or a mix of several of them Example In Configuration 1 page 1 of the Reverb function shown above allows you to select the first of two sources to be routed to the reverb s input You can choose from the Delay output or the Pitch output In page 2 you can choose the second input for the reverb to process which can be the dry send 1 signal the Delay output or the Pitch output You can then adjust a balance between these on page 3 and set an overall input level on page 4 INPUT LEVELS Input 1 Page 1 Config 1 3 4 and 5 In Configurations 1 and 3 there are two inputs to the Reverb Both Inputs 1 and 2 can select a signal from several locations in the signal chain You can select either the Pitch output or the Delay output as Input 1 If the signal is taken from the Pitch output the Reverb will be chorused flanged detuned or resonating depending upon which Pitch type is selected Note that the delay signal may already have passed through the Pitch module depending on the Input settings of the Delay module Input 2 Page 2 Config 1 3 4 and 5 Input 2 can ha
215. worlds The most commonly used normalized configurations are built in to every program for ease of programming In addition the QS Modulation Matrix gives back much of the flexibility of a modular synthesizer allowing you to map various modulation sources to multiple destinations for special needs If you re a beginner all of the normalized pathways are easy to find as you gain experience you can explore more advanced features QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 47 Chapter 6 Editing Programs How THE QS GENERATES SOUND The QS uses custom integrated circuits developed by the Alesis engineering team specifically for the QS These resemble the types of chips used in computers and other digital devices In fact you can think of the QS as a special purpose computer designed to generate and process audio Although the user interface maintains the metaphor of modules in fact all sounds are simply a set of numbers reflecting how you ve programmed the various sound parameters For example when you change the filter cutoff frequency you re not actually messing with a filter you re telling the computer to simulate the effect of messing with a filter Each module is represented by parameters that appear on one or more display pages The s VALUE VALUE t buttons and the CONTROLLER D slider let you change these parameters All patching is done via software so the only patch cords you need are those that go to your mixer or amplifie
216. x Up to 16 Programs can be active in each Mix and Mix Edit mode sets up how each will be played Mix Edit Mode allows you to e set the output level effects level and pan of each Program in the Mix e select which Program s Effects Patch will be used by the Mix Note that you can select which Programs will be played by the different MIDI channels and by the keyboard in multiple layers or splits without entering Mix mode EFFECTS EDIT MODE Effects Edit Mode is used for setting up the Digital Signal Processing effects Each Effect Patch has 4 effect bus inputs and an internal configuration of multiple effects such as reverb delay and pitch related effects chorus flange etc You can determine what kinds of effects are used on each bus called a Configuration change each effects parameters such as reverb decay time or chorus speed set modulation routings such as having the modulation wheel change the decay time and set the effects mix how much reverb delay and chorus on the output of each effect bus GLOBAL EDIT MODE Use Global Edit Mode to set various parameters which effect the entire instrument such as overall master tuning display contrast MIDI controller settings keyboard sensitivity and how the unit will respond to or generate messages in Mix Mode STORE MODE Store Mode is used for storing changes of Programs Mixes and or Effects into the User Bank or onto a QuadraCard PCMCIA memory card accessor
217. y It is also used for transmitting the QS s parameters over MIDI for data storage purposes copying sounds or effects from one Program to another and for transferring entire Banks to or from a Sound Card COMPARE MODE Once a Program has been edited in Program Edit Mode or a Mix has been edited in Mix Edit Mode the symbol will appear in the display to the left of the Mix s Program s name while in either Mix Play Mode or Program Play Mode If COMPARE is pressed while in an Edit Mode the letters ED will change to Cm in the upper left corner of the display and you will temporarily be hearing and seeing the original version of the Mix Program If you are editing a Mix and press COMPARE the original unedited Mix is temporarily recalled Likewise if you are editing a Program or its Effects Patch and press COMPARE the original Program will be temporarily recalled Pressing COMPARE again switches back to the edited version and the letters Cm will revert back to ED in the display QS7 QS8 Reference Manual 29 Chapter 4 Overview THE USER INTERFACE DISPLAY FUNCTIONS PAGES AND PARAMETERS 30 The key to the QS user interface is the combination of the Display the a PAGE and PAGE ki buttons the s VALUE and VALUE t buttons and the CONTROLLER D slider The Display constantly informs you of the QS s status ABOUT THE DISPLAY The display has two modes Play Mode and Edit Mode
218. y will change into Cm Indicates Compare Mode is selected Cm PRG SOUNDI r SOUND ENARLEON Press COMPARE again to exit Compare mode and return to the edited version The letters Cm will revert back to ED Pressing MIX PROGRAM GLOBAL or STORE will also exit Compare mode However to return to Compare mode after pressing one of these buttons you must first press EDIT and then press COMPARE J While Compare mode is selected you can move around to view the various functions and parameters but you will not be able to edit anything This is because you are seeing what is in memory not what is in the edit buffer PRESET MEMORY AND USER MEMORY The QS has three types of memory banks for Mixes and Programs Preset User and Card The Preset banks of which there are four are stored in ROM Read Only Memory and therefore cannot be altered However the User bank of which there is 1 is stored in RAM Random Access Memory Card banks can be either ROM or RAM Anytime you want to keep an edited version of a Mix or Program you will store it into the User bank or onto a RAM Card If you want to permanently change a Mix or Program that is in the Preset bank you can store the edited version into the User bank in either the same number location or a different number location However this requires that you store over an existing Program or Mix losing whatever was previously in that locati

Alesis QS7 Musical Instrument User Manual

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