User manual ALESIS DMPRO

[. . . ] REFERENCE MANUAL Alesis DM Pro Reference Manual by Erik Norlander TM Additional documentation by Randy Lee © Copyright 1998, Alesis Studio Electronics, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. "DM Pro", "DM5", "QS8" and "QS6. 1" are trademarks of Alesis Studio Electronics, Inc. Selected material for this manual was imported from the Alesis DM5 and QS8 Reference Manuals by Geoff Ryle. TM TM Additional material imported from the QS6. 1 Reference Manual by Connor Freff Cochran and Randy Lee. TM The illustration on page 50 is from EmagicTM Sound DiverTM, © Michael Haydn. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to Robert Rampley, David Bryce, Connor Freff Cochran, Taiho Yamada, Mike Peake, Mark McCrite, Ed Burzycki, Chris Asmus, David Cadmus, Julie Yarbrough, David Seaton, Jim Mack, Danna Teal, David Bertovic, Geoff Ryle, Grant Kraus, Marcus Ryle and Michel Doidic for invaluable information, support and guidance. ALESIS CONTACT INFORMATION Alesis Studio Electronics, Inc. [. . . ] The Value is adjusted in increments of a musical half step (100 cents) with a maximum range of one octave in either direction. 82 DM PRO REFERENCE MANUAL Programming Drums Since the MIDI specification calls for a Pitch Bend Wheel to bend the Pitch of a Sound both up and down, this Parameter is an absolute value only ­ it is neither positive nor negative, merely a range amount. To set the range that a MIDI Pitch Bend Wheel can alter the Pitch of a Sound, move the cursor beneath the Parameter Value and then turn the Value encoder to set the semitone range: SND1:PITCH P3 PWHL>PITCH: 0 2 This Parameter may seem silly on a drum module, but do not overlook the usefulness of pitch bending hand drums, especially ethnic drums that are designed to change pitch such as udus or talking drums. P4 The PITCH ENVELOPE TO PITCH Parameter This Parameter determines how much the Pitch Envelope Function will affect the Pitch of the current Sound. The default value is 00, meaning that the Pitch Envelope has no effect on the Sound's Pitch. However, certain hand drums and even toms can benefit from some "automatic pitch bend" which can be programmed with the Pitch Envelope. To set the amount that you wish the Pitch Envelope to modify the current Sound's Pitch, move the cursor beneath the Parameter Value and then turn the Value encoder: SND1:PITCH P4 PENV>PITCH: 5 0 Note that negative Values will "invert" the Envelope, allowing you to create very esoteric pitch effects with the Pitch Envelope. Remember that "inverting" is not the same as "reversing" ­ the envelope will still play in a forward direction (attack is still attack, release is still release, etc. ) but the Pitch will be modulated in the opposite direction from a non-inverted (normal) envelope. DM PRO REFERENCE MANUAL 83 Programming Drums THE FILTER FUNCTION The Filter Function determines the brightness of an individual Sound by controlling the low pass filter attached to each of the 64 DM Pro Voices. The low pass filter affects a Sound's harmonic content by progressively attenuating high frequencies above the specified "Cutoff Frequency". The higher frequencies are filtered, while the lower frequencies are allowed to "pass through", hence the term "low pass filter". When the Cutoff Frequency is set to a high Value, the sound remains bright; when set to a low Value, the sound becomes darker since fewer harmonics are present. The DM Pro Filter cuts, or "rolls off" high frequencies in the amount of 6dB per octave. For example, if the Cutoff Frequency is set to begin the high frequency rolloff at 5kHz, 10kHz would be 6dB softer than 5kHz, and 20kHz would be 12dB softer than 5kHz. The lower the Filter settings, the darker the Sound. Note that the Filter is subtractive only ­ it cannot boost high frequencies. Cutoff Frequency Frequency Response Curve Filter Amplitude Frequency 00 99 The cutoff parameter changes the frequency at which the highfrequency response starts to roll off. Lower values give a lower cutoff frequency. A value of 00 will cut all sound off. Static (non-changing) Filter settings can be useful, but varying the filter cutoff dynamically over time with an Envelope can produce more interesting and even more natural sounding effects. Modulating the Filter with Velocity can allow sounds to be brighter when playing hard and darker when playing soft, which can result in a very accurate acoustic instrument emulation. It is important to remember that all of the Filter Parameters are both interactive and cumulative, meaning that if you set the Cutoff Frequency to 40 and the Filter Envelope Amount to 40, the resulting Filter Cutoff Frequency will be 80 (assuming a wide open envelope). Also, be aware that contrary Filter Values can easily nullify each other, so be sure to set each Filter Parameter toward a common effect. Arbitrary Filter settings can be your undoing!Used carefully and creatively, the Filter can be a highly effective dynamic tone control for a DM Pro Sound. The Filter Function has four interrelated Parameters: Cutoff Frequency, Velocity to 84 DM PRO REFERENCE MANUAL Programming Drums Filter, Modulation Wheel to Filter and Filter Envelope to Filter. P1 The CUTOFF FREQUENCY Parameter This Parameter sets the basic brightness of the Filter. [. . . ] (2) As an Effects Function, Pitch refers to the group of Functions Chorus, Flanger and Resonator, where the frequency of the incoming signal is modulated to create ensemble, sweeping or metallic timbres. The Function that allows you to save your edits, and that also contains the Copy and MIDI Transmit Commands. The Store Function exists within Drumkit Mode and Drum Edit Mode only ­ there is no Store Function in Trigger Mode. The electronic circuitry that converts an incoming voltage signal from a pad or audio source into MIDI data that is used to play a Drum or initiate a Sequence command. [. . . ]