STORING

QS7/QS8 Reference Manual 35
The [STORE] button selects Store mode. Store mode has 7 pages which you can scroll through by using the [ PAGE] and [PAGE ] 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 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 changes you have made, unless you perform a store first.
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.
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.
Press [STORE] again to complete the operation.
Or, Press any other button to cancel out of the Store operation without storing.
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.

Editing Programs: Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

EDITING PROGRAMS
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 youre 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 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 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 youre a beginner, all of the normalized pathways are easy to find; as you gain experience you can explore more advanced features.
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 youve programmed the various sound parameters. For example, when you change the filter cutoff frequency, youre not actually messing with a filter; youre 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 amplifier. You can take a snapshot of the QSs parameters and save this in memory as a program. The QS comes with 512 factory preset programs, and 128 user-editable programs.

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.

PROGRAM EDIT FUNCTIONS

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 displays edit status section (upper-left corner): ED:PRG SOUND1 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 displays edit status section (upper-left corner), with the channel number that is being edited immediately following: ED:MX CH SND1 SOUND ENABLE:ON
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

This is the master on/off switch for the selected sound (14) of the current Program. To avoid using up polyphony unnecessarily, set 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. and off from anywhere within Program TIP: A quick way to turn a sound onbutton [00][30] and press [t VALUE] to Edit Mode is to hold the corresponding Sound disable or [VALUE s] to enable. Example: Holding [00] and pressing [t VALUE] will disable sound 1.

Noise Voice Ethnic Drums

Percus

Rhythm

Pure Sine, 10% Pulse, 20% Pulse, 50% Pulse, Velo Pulse, Mini Saw, Saw Fltr 1, Saw Fltr 2, Saw Fltr 3, Saw Fltr 4, Saw Fltr 5, Saw Fltr 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, AcidRezSqr, VelAcidWav, MiniSquare, Sqr Fltr 1, Sqr Fltr 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, Inharmonc1, Inharmonc2 WhiteNoise, Spectral, Crickets, Rain Noise, FiltrNoise, ShapeNoise, VeloNoise1, VeloNoise2, VeloNoise3, NoiseLoop1, NoiseLoop2, NoiseLoop3, NoiseLoop4, NoiseLoop5 VocalAhhs, Soft Ahhs, Ahhs Wave, VocalOohs, Soft Oohs, Oohs/Ahhs, Ahhs/Oohs, Whistle, Phonic Sitar, Sitar Wave, Shamisen, Koto, DulcimerHd, DulcimerMd, DulcimerSf, DulcimrVel, DulcmrWave, MandlnTrem, Accordian, Harmonica, Banjo, Kalimba, Steel Drum, Tuned Pipe Stndrd Kit, Rock Kit 1, Rock Kit 2, Dance Kit, Brush Kit, ElctricKit, Tek Kit, Rap 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, FltrNoisOH, Ride Cym, Ride Bell, Crash Cym, Null/Crash, Splash Cym, China Cym, Rap Cymbal, RapCymWave, StndrdKtDM, RockKit1DM, RockKit2DM, 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, Clave 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, SmbaWhstl2, ShortWhstl, Shaker Hi, Shaker 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, 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, ScrtchPLp4, 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, Hat1 Clsd2, Hat1 Foot, Hat1 Open1, Hat1 Open2, Hat2 Clsd1, Hat2 Clsd2, Hat2 Foot, Hat2 Open1, Hat2 Open2, Hat3 Clsd1, Hat3 Clsd2, Hat3 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

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.
This sets the overall volume for a sound. Higher numbers give higher levels.

Pan (<3 to 3>)

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)
The Output parameter has three settings: Main, Aux, or Off. To send the sounds output to the Main outputs, select Main. To send the sounds output to the Aux outputs, select Aux. To turn off the sounds output, set this parameter to Off. (Note, however, that the sound may still feed an Effect Send). sound use Output TIP: To send aPanningtoaan individual output,selecting the in conjunction with Pan. the Example: sound full left and Aux outputs means that sound will appear at only the left Aux output.

Effect Level (00 to 99)

The QS isnt 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)

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.
The Pitch function (press [60]) lets you control the pitch aspects of each sound layer.
Semitone (-24 to +24 semitones)
Sets the oscillator pitch in semitone steps, from -24 (transposed down two octaves) to +24 (transposed up two octaves).
Detune (-99 to +99 cents)
Sets the oscillator pitch in cents, from -99 (transposed down 99/100 of a semitone) to +99 (transposed up 99/100 of a semitone).

Delay (00 to 99, Hold)

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 Envelopes 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 parameters setting.

Sustain Decay (00 to 99)

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 envelopes level will immediately jump down to 0 upon reaching the sustain stage.
Trigger (Normal, Freerun, Reset, Reset-Freerun)
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 envelopes 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.

PITCH LFO

The Pitch LFO function (press [7]) is most often used to apply vibrato to a sound.
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)

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:
SINE TRIANGLE SQUARE UP SA W

DOWN SA

RANDOM+-

RANDOM+

Speed (00 to 99)
Controls the speed or rate of the LFO. For fast modulation, increase this value. For slower modulation, decrease this value.
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.
Trigger (Mono, Poly, Key Mono, or Key Poly)
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 voices 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 voicespecific source (such as velocity or one of the envelopes, for example) will have no effect (you will be allowed to do this, but you wont 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 AD. Poly. Each voices 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 LFOs 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, 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.

to Pitch and the Tracking Generators input is an LFO using an Up Sawtooth as its waveform.
can be used to turn such TIP: The Tracking Generator switch by setting all a variable control,exceptas the Mod Wheel or velocity, into a of the points to 0 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, but ramps from point to point.

Tracking Input

Select the input of the Tracking Generator from the following sources: Note Number Poly Pressure Sustain Pedal Filter LFO Amp Envelope Velocity Mod Wheel Pedal 1 Amp LFO Random Release Velocity Pitch Wheel Pedal 2 Pitch Envelope Trig Rate
Aftertouch MIDI Volume Pitch LFO Filter Envelope Controllers AD
For detailed descriptions of each of these sources, see the section Modulation Source in the Mod section on pages 7375.

Tracking Points (00100)

Pages 212
The remaining pages of the TRACK function control the levels of points 010.

PROGRAMMING DRUM SOUNDS

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 (110), 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.
The Voice function (press [40]) is where you choose the particular sample for the selected drum (110). 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 respective groups.
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 Fat 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 HiRackTom1, HiRackTom2, HiRackTomV, MdRackTom1, MdRackTom2, MdRackTomV, LoRackTom1, LoRackTom2, LoRackTomV, HiFlrTom 1, HiFlrTom 2, HiFlrTom V, MidFlrTom 1, MidFlrTom 2, MidFlrTom V, LowFlrTom1, LowFlrTom2, LowFlrTomV, CanonTomH1, CanonTomH2, CanonTomHV, CanonTomM2, CanonTomMV, CanonTomL1, CanonTomL2, CanonTomLV, Hex Tom Hi, Hex Tom Md, Hex Tom Lo, RapTomHi, RapTomMid, RapTomLow ClosedHat1, ClosedHat2, ClosedHatV, 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 , Open Hat 2 , Open Hat 3 , Open Hat V , RideCym V3 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 Hi, Udu Mid, Udu Low, Udu Slap, Vibrasmack, WoodBlokHi, WoodBlokLo 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, ScrtchPlLp, 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, 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

Cymbal

Snd FX
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, HiMetlMute, LoMetlMute, Hi DistGtr, LowDistGtr, Hi PwrHarm, LowPwrHarm, Hi FunkGtr, LowFunkGtr, 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, Low Sync, Hi Synth, LowSynth, Ahhs High, Ahhs Mid, Ahhs Low, Oohs High, Oohs Mid, Oohs Low, TunePipeHi, TunePipeMd, TunePipeLo 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, Hat1 Clsd2, Hat1 Foot, Hat1 Open1, Hat1 Open2, Hat2 Clsd1, Hat2 Clsd2, Hat2 Foot, Hat2 Open1, Hat2 Open2, Hat3 Clsd1, Hat3 Clsd2, Hat3 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, 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 drums level (00 to 99), page 2 to adjust pan position (<3 to >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). with Pan. Example: TIP: To send a drum to an individual output, use Output in conjunction the drum will Panning a drum full left and selecting the Aux outputs means that appear at only the left Aux output.
The Pitch function (press [60]) lets you transpose the selected drum up or down one octave in micro-step (1/4th of a half step) increments, and lets you modulate the drums pitch with velocity.

Input Balance (<99 to <0> to 99>)

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 <99, only the signal coming from Input 1 is routed to the Lezlie. When set to 99>, only the signal coming from Input 2 is routed to the Lezlie. When set to <0>, an even mix of both Input 1 and Input 2 are fed to the Lezlie.
The Pitch function is used to edit Pitch parameters.

Pitch Type

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 SND1 PITCH: MN CHORUS So that you can better 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.
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.
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 slowing 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.

MIDI OUT

Page 16
The MIDI Out Mode determines whether the MIDI [OUTPUT] connector will transmit MIDI information originating from the QS (when set to OUT), or will echo MIDI information that is received at the MIDI [INPUT] connector (when set to THRU). If the I/O parameter (see previous page) is set to either Mac, PC 38.4kbaud or PC31.25kbaud, the MIDI Out parameter can only be set to OFF or THRU. This is because unless the I/O parameter is set to MIDI, the MIDI [OUTPUT] connector may only function as a MIDI Thru connector for 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 AD 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 AD 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 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 M ODE

PAGE 18
The Controller Mode function (Local, MIDI, or Both) determines whether the Controllers AD 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.

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 musics 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 instruments, 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 MIDIcompatible 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 performance data described above, rhythmically-oriented MIDI devices (e.g., 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.
Appendix B: MIDI Supplement

MIDI MESSAGE BASICS

The are two main types of MIDI messages. Channel messages, which are channelspecific, 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.

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 manufacturers equipment. Example: Sending a QS message to an Alesis D4 Drum Module wont 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 theyve both started at the same time. Many devices subdivide this clock signal internally for higher resolution (e.g., 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

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 devices memory bank. The QSs 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 different 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.

Middle C

B below Middle C B-flat below Middle C A below Middle C G# below Middle C G below Middle C F# below Middle C F below Middle C E below Middle C D# below Middle C D below Middle C C# below Middle C C below Middle C

Basic Operation: Part 4

PART 4

BASIC OPERATION

R ECAP
At this point youve pretty much learned everything there is to know about how to play your QS7.1/QS8.1: Youve got it hooked up and amplified. You know about Banks, and how to switch among them. You know about Programs and Mixes, and how to call them up. You know how to use the real-time performance controllers. You know about the various types of PCMCIA expansion cards, and how to plug them in as sources for additional Banks of Programs and Mixes.
Thats quite a lot, actually. Add in a few more basics and some MIDI info (see Part 5: MIDI) and those of you who arent interested in editing anything in your instrument will be set. Ready? In this section of the manual well give you those remaining non-MIDI basics. They include copying Programs and Mixes to new locations in the User Bank (or a Card Bank), renaming copied Programs and Mixes, changing the Programs assigned to a Mix, playing Sequences from memory cards, and everything you need to know about your QSs Global settings. But before we get started, theres something we think you ought to know:
THE DOUBLE-BUTTON PRESS TRICK
Theres a pretty nifty hidden trick in the QSs operating system. Its called the Double-button press, and what it does is reset certain parameters or functions back to a certain value without you having to actually push those same buttons a bunch of times to get there. It works with the [VALUE] buttons, the [PAGE] buttons, and the [BANK] buttons. Here are the areas where this trick is useful: If you press both [VALUE] buttons at the same time while youre in one of the Edit Modes (Program, Mix, Effects or Global), the value which is currently displayed will change to the factory default for that parameter. This works in Store Mode, too! If you press both [PAGE] buttons at the same time while youre in one of the Edit Modes, the Page which is currently displayed will change to the first page in whatever Function youre working with. This one also works in Store Mode. If you press both [PAGE] buttons at the same time while youre in Mix Program Select mode or Program Play mode, the QS will jump to MIDI channel 1.
Part 4: Basic Operation If you press both [BANK] buttons while youre in Mix Play or Program Play modes, the QS will jump to the same location in the User bank.

USING THE QS AS A MASTER KEYBOARD
Mix Play Mode also allows the QS to function as a very powerful MIDI master keyboard. You can layer the QSs internal sounds with those of several external synthesizers by adjusting the proper parameters in Mix Edit mode. For instance: You probably already know that you can layer and/or split several QS Programs in Mix Mode while simultaneously playing external synthesizers on those same MIDI channels. But the real power comes from using QS MIDI channels which have their Keyboard and MIDI Input parameters turned OFF. When this is the case, you can send a combination of MIDI Program changes and MIDI volume and panning commands to the external devices to select and blend them precisely the way you want with internal Programs on other channels. What's more, the QS can transpose the outgoing MIDI note numbers so you can play high octave brass sounds from an external device in the lower region of the keyboard, and/or layer external mid-range pads with high QS strings in the upper region. The QS is so versatile as a master keyboard that if you play live, it could prove indispensible. Or if you just like having that huge, perfect, multi-MIDI-module stack for inspiration in your studio, the QS will call it up for you just the way you want it every time. Theres a detailed description of the parameters you would use to make all of this happen in Part 7: Editing Mixes. If you havent read that chapter yet, go check out the section that describes the KEYBOARD/MIDI function (button [90]). If youre already familiar with those parameters, you're not far from being able to do the things listed in the previous paragraph. Note: Be sure to check out the following pages for some useful information regarding: Bank Select and Program changes (Part 5: MIDI, pages 52 and 53) Making sure the Effects Patch doesnt change in a Mix when Program changes are received (Part 6: Editing Effects, page 64) Enabling and disabling the Wheels, Aftertouch, Sustain Pedal, and Controllers independently per channel (Part 7: Editing Mixes, page 105) Assigning different MIDI controller numbers to the four sliders and two variable pedal inputs (Part 4: Basic Operation, pages 44 and 45). Remember that even if youre not using pedals, the controller numbers you assign to them are still available as Mod sources via MIDI. Setting up the A-D controllers so they either control internal parameters, send data to MIDI, or both (Part 4: Basic Operation, page 47).

MAKING IT HAPPEN

The three parameters found under the KEYBOARD/MIDI button determine how the QS will function as a MIDI controller. For example: To play both an internal Program and an external MIDI sound source on a given channel, set both the Keyboard parameter and the MIDI Output parameter to ON. To play an internal program from the QS's keyboard and not trigger an external MIDI module on a given channel, set Keyboard to ON and MIDI Output to OFF. To play an external MIDI sound source but leave the QS silent on a given channel, set its MIDI Output parameter to ON and its Keyboard parameter to OFF. But while youre at it, you may as well turn MIDI Input to OFF, because To send volume, panning, and transposition information to an external MIDI sound source on a given channel, set MIDI Out to ON and set both MIDI Input and Keyboard to OFF. This is covered in greater detail on the next page. Remember: This only works if that channel isnt playing a QS Program. Note: When using the QS for this sort of thing, be sure the Keyboard Mode is set to NORMAL and the MIDI Program Select parameter is set to ON (Global Edit Mode, Pages 6 and 14). For more information, see Part 04: Basic Operation. Theres also some good stuff about setting the Keyboard mode in this chapter. Look for the section called Selecting the Keyboard Mode under Using an External Sequencer.

TRANSMITTING MIDI VOLUME AND PANNING
Each Channel in a Mix can transmit its volume and panning settings via MIDI. For each channel on which you wish to transmit this data, MIDI Out must be set to ON and MIDI Input and Keyboard must be set to OFF (as explained in the KEYBOARD/MIDI section on page 102). Also, the Keyboard mode must be NORMAL and the MIDI Program Select parameter must be set to ON (Global Edit Mode, Pages 6 and 14). If a channel is set up this way: whenever a Mix is recalled (via the front panel or via MIDI), volume and panning information will be transmitted for that Channel; whenever that Channels Level parameter is edited, volume information will be transmitted as Controller #7 on that Channel; whenever that Channels Pan parameter is edited, panning information will be transmitted as controller #10 on that Channel. However, panning information will not be sent if the Channel's "Pan" parameter is set to PROG. The seven pan positions in a Mix send the following controller #10 values: Mix Pan value CC#10 value 3> 127 2> 107 1> 85 <> 64 <<<Conversely, if you want to change the panning of a QS Program via MIDI, here is what you'll get if you transmit a given controller #10 value: CC#10 value Mix Pan value 0-20 <3 21-42 <2 43-63 <1 64-84 <> 85-106 1> 107-126 2> 127 3> Placement (hard left) (mid left) (soft left) (center) (soft right) (mid right) (hard right)
TRANSPOSING MIDI NOTE NUMBERS PER ZONE
You can transpose different zones on the QSs keyboard so they send higher or lower MIDI note numbers to external MIDI devices than you are actually playing. Heres how: Once the initial conditions are met (MIDI Out set to ON, Keyboard and MIDI In set to OFF), all you have to do from within Mix Edit mode is press the Pitch function button [70] and tune the external MIDI devices as if they were internal Programs using pages 1 and 2. Thats it! Between the Octave and Semitone parameters (pages 1 and 2, respectively), this gives you a +/- 3 octave control over your other gear in any zone! And even if your external MIDI devices are being transposed in this manner by the QS, they will follow the [TRANSPOSE] button even further up or down. Combine this with the multi-octave range of your QS and that means there isnt any note you cant reach in the entire MIDI specification of 128 possible notes! Now you see why we think the QS is such a powerful controller.
SENDING CARD SEQUENCE DATA TO EXTERNAL DEVICES
There is an option box in Sound Bridge which allows you to set up the sequences on a given card so they will be transmitted from the QSs MIDI Output jack. Basically what it does is toggle the QSs MIDI Out parameter between Out and Thru (Global Edit Mode, page 16). A setting of OUT causes Card sequence data to play QS Programs only, while allowing the MIDI Out jack to function relatively normally (so you can play your MIDI gear from the keyboard while the sequence is playing). A setting of THRU passes sequence data on to external MIDI devices from the MIDI Output jack of your QS, allowing both QS Programs and sounds from other MIDI devices to be played from a Card sequence. You will be able to play QS Programs from its keyboard, but you will not be able to play external MIDI devices while the sequence is running. Note: It is highly inadvisable to enter Global Edit mode and toggle between these two settings while a sequence is running. If this happens, the QS could inadvertently send large bursts of data to your external MIDI devices.

Part 6: Editing Effects This choice is made at the Mix Edit level, not the Effects Edit level, because you arent actually editing the Effects just turning them on and off within the Mix itself. Start in Mix Mode. If you arent there, or arent sure you are there, press [MIX] once to make certain. Press [EDIT SELECT] a single time. Press [80]. As you can see if you glance at the MIX row of captions printed above the [SELECTION] buttons, this takes you to the Mixs EFFECT parameters. Go to Page Two of this parameter by pressing [PAGE ] a single time. The display will look something like this:
Now use the [DATA] slider or the [VALUE] buttons to select a new MIDI channel. The range is 01-16.
Back in the section of Part 4: Basic Operation called Changing The Programs In A Mix, we showed you that each MIDI channel in a Mix has some Program or other assigned to it (even if those Programs arent turned on and sounding). When you change the MIDI channel selection here in Page Two of the Mix Effect parameters, you are telling your QS to do two important things: Process the Mix using the Effect settings of the Program associated with this MIDI channel, even if that Program is not currently sounding. Accept MIDI controller data for the Effects Modulators only over this channel, and no others. (Never fear: Modulators will be explained clearly a little later in this section.)
THE FX PROGRAM CHANGE VIA MIDI FUNCTION
Now that youve chosen an Effect (by choosing a MIDI channel), theres one more useful tweak to be aware of. Its back on Page 1 of this setting, so press [ PAGE] to get there. The display will look like this:
This parameter determines how your QSs Effect will respond to MIDI Program Change commands. When it is set to ON, any Program Change coming in over the MIDI channel selected for Effects will select a new Program and its associated Effect. When it is set to OFF, then such Program Changes will select new Programs but not change the current Effect setting.
Both are quite useful, depending on just what you want to do. The default is OFF, because that way the Effect for a Mix does not change even though you may select different Programs for the Effects Channel.

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 on Send 1, page 1 of the Reverb function (shown above) allows you to select the first of two sources to be routed to the reverbs input. You can choose either the output of the Delay or the output of the Pitch effect as Input 1. In page 2, you can choose the second input for the Reverb, which can be the dry Send 1 signal, the Delay input or the Pitch output. You can then adjust a balance between these on page 3 and set an overall input level on page 4.
A Note regarding Configuration #2 and the Reverb function
The parameters and pages in the Reverb function are identical in every Configuration but #2. Configuration #2 is different in that it only has 11 pages of parameters for each of its two Reverbs as opposed to the 14 pages of parameters available to the Reverbs in the other Configurations. The differences are due to the smaller number of input choices the Reverbs have in this Configuration. So what youll find here is something akin to what was described regarding the various Mono Delay parameters: the page numbers are going to be off by 3 for the parameters of the Reverbs in Configuration #2. So if youre looking up the Diffusion parameter in the manual and it says its on Page 14, you should expect to find it on page 11 for the Reverbs in Configuration #2.
and one regarding the Reverb function and Sends 2 through 4
If Configurations 1 or 3 are selected and you press [10] to select Effect send 2, you will see the various parameters that deal with the amount and type of signal going into the Reverb from Send 2. Note that there are now only 4 pages available, since the actual parameters for editing the Reverb itself are found back on Effect send 1. Press [20] to select Send 3 and you will have the same options that you had for Effect send 2, but now the parameters adjust the amount and type of signal going into the Reverb from Send 3. If you press [30] to select Send 4, you will have only two pages available. 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. The situation is similar for the other Configurations: on Sends 2 through 4 you will have the ability to adjust only what those Sends will be sending into the shared Reverb, not the Reverb itself. (Naturally, Configuration #2 is the exception again, since it has a separate Reverb available for Sends 3 and 4.) And remember that some Configurations dont use some Sends, so you wont see any parameters related to Reverb there. The next three parameters are not available in Configuration #2:

Range of Settings: Delay Out/Chorus Out 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 Pitch output is chosen, the signal going into the Reverb will be chorused, flanged, detuned or resonating, depending upon which Pitch type is selected. If the Delay output is chosen, note that the signal which reaches the delay may already have passed through the Pitch module, depending on the Input Balance settings of the Delay module.
Range of Settings: Pitch Out/Delay In/Send Page 2 (Config. 1, 3, 4 and 5)
Input 2 can have as its source either the Pitch output, the Delay input, or the dry Effect send signal. If the signal is taken from the Delay Input (which is a point after the Delay Input Balance), then the signal will be a blend between the Pitch Output and the dry Send. If the signal is taken from the Pitch output, the signal going into 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.
Range of Settings: <99 to <0> to 99> 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 come into the Reverb from the Pitch section, the Delay section, or the direct Effect send in any combination or amount.
The next parameter is available on all other Configurations, but only on Sends 2 and 4 in Configuration #2:

REVERB INPUT LEVEL

Range of Settings: 00 to 99

(SEND 1)

Page 4 (Config 1, 3, 4 and 5)
This parameter controls the overall Input Level going into the Reverb for Send 1. The signal it sends is based upon the Balance between the selected Inputs to the Reverb (if more than one Input was available).

(SENDS 2 THROUGH 4)

Page 4 (Sends 2 and 3) Page 2 (Send 4)

This parameter controls the overall Input Level going into the Reverb for Sends 2 through 4. The signal it sends is based upon the Balance between the selected Inputs to the Reverb (if more than one Input was available). Note: Naturally, Configuration #2 just had to be different. If it is the active Configuration and you press [10] to select Send 2 from within the Reverb function, youll wind up on page 1 and the display will look like this:
There is only one page available to you here. It lets you adjust the level of the signal going from Effect send 2 into the Reverb. Send 2 in this Configuration has no effects of its own, and is intended to be used for signals you want sent directly to Reverb 1 without running them through Delay 1 and Pitch 1 first. Send 4 is similar to Send 2 in this Configuration, in that it has no effects of its own but serves as a bypass going directly to Reverb 3.
Part 6: Editing Effects The next parameter is only available in Configuration #2 on Sends 1 and 3:

CHORUS INPUT LEVEL

Range of Settings: 00 to 99 Page 1 (Config 2 only, Sends 1 and 3)
If Configuration #2 is selected (refer to block diagram of Configuration #2, earlier in this chapter), the first page of Send 1s Reverb function will look like this:
There is a unique parameter on this page: Chorus Input Level. It lets you adjust the level of the signal coming from the Pitch output going into the Reverb; otherwise the signal comes purely from the Pitch input. (Note that the signal which reaches the Chorus may already have passed through the Delay module, depending on the Input settings of the Chorus.) The only difference for Send 3 is that it has no Delay ahead of the Chorus. Otherwise it functions exactly the same as Send 1 in Configuration #2.
The rest of these parameters are common to all Reverbs in all Configurations (except as noted):

REVERB PARAMETERS

Use the [PAGE ] button to advance the display through the remaining pages of the Reverb function. But dont forget that you must also have the correct Effect send selected in order to get at the Reverb parameters. Just a reminder: in Config. #1, they 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 are the parameters you will find on these pages:

REVERB TYPE

Range of Settings: (see below) Page 5

The QS has seven different reverb types, all stereo, each of which simulates a different space or produces a different ambient effect. The different Reverb types are: Plate 1 & 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 provide 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 tonal characteristics of these two Plate reverbs differ subtly in ways similar to different manufacturers plate reverbs.
Part 6: Editing Effects 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 the large ambient spaces found in 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 inverted 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

Range of Settings: 0 to 299ms Pages 6 & 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; dont confuse it with the separate Delay modules available under the Delay function.

PRE-DELAY MIX

Range of Settings: IN<99DEL to IN99>DEL Page 8
This parameter allows you to control the balance between the Pre-Delayed signal of the Reverb and the straight Reverb itself. It gives you the ability to hear a bit of the Reverb before the loudest part of the Reverb (the Pre-Delayed Reverb) sounds, which makes for bigger and smoother sounding Reverb settings. When this is set to <99 you get the Reverb signal with no Pre-Delay, while a setting of <0> gives an even mix and a setting of 99> gives you pure Pre-Delayed reverb.

MIDI Input (On or Off)

This determines whether the selected channel will respond to incoming MIDI messages.

MIDI Output (On or Off)

This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit MIDI messages.

Keyboard (On or Off)

This determines whether or not the selected channel will be playable from the keyboardof the QS itself. These three parameters interact to turn your QS into a powerful MIDI controller. Weve already mentioned that it can transmit on 16 MIDI channels simultaneously from different zones of the keyboard (which can overlap, if you want). But theres more. A lot more. For example: You can send volume, panning, and transposition information to an external MIDI sound source if you set both MIDI Input and Keyboard to OFF for that channel. If this sounds like something you would like to learn more about, why not spend some time going through Part 5: MIDI? We've got the information laid out for you there.

CONTROLLERS

The Controllers function (press [100]) lets you turn on and off the various MIDI controllers that can affect the selected MIDI channel. The following four parameters determine whether or not specific types of MIDI information will be received or transmitted, and are set separately for each Channel in the Mix. These, however, are dependent on how each Channel has its KEYBOARD/MIDI parameters set (see the previous section).
Pitch-bend and Modulation Wheels (On or Off)
This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit and receive pitch-bend and modulation (controller 1) MIDI information.

Aftertouch (On or Off)

This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit and receive aftertouch MIDI information.
Sustain Pedal (On or Off)
This determines whether or not the selected channel will transmit and receive sustain pedal (controller 64) MIDI information.

Controllers (On or Off)

This determines whether or not the selected channel will allow Controllers AD and Pedals 1 & 2 to transmit and receive MIDI controller information (reception only for Pedal 2, since theres no Pedal 2 input on the QS). You can assign which MIDI controller numbers they are linked to in Global Edit Mode, Pages 8 through 13. See Part 4 BASIC OPERATION for more information.

SETTING

R ANGE
The Range function (press [110]) allows you to specify the number of keys to which each MIDI channel will respond. This is ideal for creating splits (e.g., bass on the lower keys, piano in the middle, and strings in the upper octave).

Pitch Wheel Range (0 to 12 semitones)
Determines the maximum amount of pitch bend when the [PITCH] wheel is full forward. Example: When set to 12, the pitch wheel can bend 1 octave (12 semitones).
Aftertouch Depth (-99 to +99)
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)
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 LFO parameters (such as speed and wave shape) are programmed within the Pitch LFO Function (see page 144). Note: Whether or not you hear a change when you edit this parameter depends on how the Program was created and whether the LFO has received input from a modulator (such as the Mod wheel). If you hear no change, try moving the Mod wheel up.
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 130).
Portamento (Exponential, Linear, 1 Speed)

Page 8

Normally, when you play two keys in a row the sound jumps instantly from one pitch to another. Portamento provides a sweeping glide from one note to the next over a variable amount of time. A good example of this type of sound is a steel guitar, where a note slides from one pitch to another. This parameter determines the sweeps curve. With an exponential curve, the pitch change seems to happen more rapidly at first, then slows down as it approaches the ending pitch. A linear curve produces a constant pitch change throughout the glide. 1 Speed: 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.

Release (00 to 99, Hold)

Eventually, you will let go of the note that youve 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 make the envelope take 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 indicates 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 dont want the pitch to fall when you release the key, set the Release parameter to Hold.

Delay (00 to 99, Hold)

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 begins its attack segment 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.). With a value of Hold, the Pitch Envelopes Trigger parameter is automatically set to Freerun in the software (see below). However, the displayed value of that parameter is not changed; only its behavior is.

Sustain Decay (00 to 99)

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 envelopes level will immediately jump down to 0 upon reaching the sustain stage.
Trigger (Normal, Freerun, Reset, Reset-Freerun)

Use a combination of the [CONTROLLER D] slider, the [BANK] buttons, the
[VALUE] buttons, and the 23 [SELECTION] buttons to select the Program Number you noted in step 3.

m Press [STORE] again.

The Program is now stored. At this point your edited Program is stored, but the Mix you were inside before storing the Program still has the Programs original location stored in memory. If the edited Program was saved to a different Program number, youll need to store the Mix as well. So:
This selects Mix Play Mode.

Press [STORE] twice.

The Mix is now stored.

Part 9: Extras

PART 9

EXTRAS

A WORD ABOUT THE QS CD-ROM
Included with the QS7.1/8.1 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 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-series synth, DM Pro Drum Module, 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 one of the aforementioned synthesizers or rack units. Sound Bridge creates a QS Voice (multi-sample) by loading Digidesign Sample Cell I 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 sound files in a variety of formats. 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. your QS CD-ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.). For example, a user may load data from a Sample Cell-compatible CD-ROM and send this data to one of the aforementioned Alesis units PCMCIA Card without using Sample Cell inbetween. NOTE: If you are interested in creating and/or editing your own custom Sample Cell Instruments, you will need Digidesign's Sample Cell hardware and software. 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. Make sure you pay attention to how to set things up on your Mac or PC so that you can transfer files at up to four times the speed of MIDI! This will lop a lot of time off of transmitting huge files to your synth. Again, the CD-ROM tells you all about this.

USING PCMCIA EXPANSION CARDS
The QS provides two PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slots, [A] and [B], which are found on the rear panel. These accommodate Alesis QCards and RAM cards. The RAM Card is a type of PCMCIA SRAM or FlashRAM card. We currently offer one which has 512K of memory and will store 8 complete banks. Larger Flash RAM cards can store up to 8MB of sample data using Alesis Sound Bridge software. 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. The QCards are ROM cards, which stands for Read-Only Memory. This means that you cant store (Write) to them. So the kind of card you need to use for that sort of operation is an SRAM or Flash RAM card. Note: The cards must be Type 1 PC cards (PCMCIA), and must be either AMD-C series or -D series FLASH cards (or fully compatible). Any SRAM card should work. Many different card sizes from 256K to 8 Megabytes are supported; just make sure they are 5-volt read/write only, and have an access time of 150 nanoseconds or faster.
SAVING THE USER BANK TO A PCMCIA CARD
The entire contents of the QSs User memory (100 Mixes and 128 Programs) can be stored to an Alesis PCMCIA RAM card inserted into card slot [A] 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 Sound Card slot A on the back of the QS. Alesis recommends
that you use card slot A for all RAM card storage operations.
e Press [STORE]. x Press [ PAGE] three times.
This selects the SAVE TO CARD option. The display will look like this:
Use the [CONTROLLER D] slider or the [VALUE] buttons to select a bank
location on the card to store to (A14, etc.). If the card contains a ROM bank, it will show as Bank 1 and you will be unable to store to it.
Press [STORE] to transfer the user bank data from the QS onto the card.
If the display reads CARD A IS WRITE PROTECTED., switch the writeprotect switch on the card to off and repeat the procedure.
LOADING A BANK FROM AN EXTERNAL CARD
The QS can access Program and Mix data directly from a card by using the [BANK] buttons. However, there may be an instance where you want to load a full bank from a RAM card into the User bank. WARNING! This procedure will overwrite the entire contents of your User bank. There is no Undo function! So be sure this is really what you want to do. To overwrite the User bank with a Card bank, use this procedure:
Insert the card into the card slot on the back panel. e Press [STORE]. x Press [ PAGE] twice.
This selects the LOAD FROM CARD option. The display will look like this:
Use the [CONTROLLER D] slider or the [VALUE] buttons to select the bank on