Page 2 - TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS C H A P T E R 1 : I N T R O D U C T I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 WELCOME TO THE SR-16 DRUM MACHINE!................................................................1 1.1A If You Just Can't...
Page 5 - CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION; . 1 W E L C O M E T O T H E S R - 1 6 D R U M M A C H I N E !
1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 . 1 W E L C O M E T O T H E S R - 1 6 D R U M M A C H I N E ! 1 . 1 A I f Y o u J u s t C a n ' t W a i t … Turn to section 1.4, 10 Steps to Instant Gratification, and start making sounds. Some of theterms in that section may not make sense, but just follow the instructio...
Page 7 - . 2 B T h e F o u r D i f f e r e n t T y p e s o f P a t t e r n s
3 After perfecting these Patterns, Song mode offers two ways to create a song: • Program a list of Patterns, in the order in which they are to be played.• Select Patterns in real time, and the SR-16 will remember your performance. The SR-16 stores up to 100 User-programmable Songs. Breaking a song i...
Page 9 - . 2 F P h y s i c a l L a y o u t
5 1 . 2 F P h y s i c a l L a y o u t The SR-16 includes seven main types of controls, along with a group of connectors (locatedon the back panel). The control groups (see diagram) are: • Pads (play buttons). Tapping each button triggers an SR-16 voice.• Function buttons. These six buttons select va...
Page 10 - . 2 G D i s p l a y L a y o u t; . 2 H T e x t P r o t o c o l s
6 1 . 2 G D i s p l a y L a y o u t The LCD is divided into several "windows." Each window contains information that helps youmonitor the SR-16's status, and/or indicates what type of data should be entered. • Name, "dialog" box, real time Song/Pattern readout, beat counter. This is ...
Page 13 - • Press the TEMPO/PAGE buttons to change the tempo.
9 7 . To hear the built-in demo, hold down the PATTERN/SONG button and press PLAY. To stopthe demo, press STOP. If you want to play along with the demo, feel free to bash away on thepads. 8 . Press PLAY, and you'll hear a Preset Pattern. (In case the SR-16 has already been playedwith, make sure that...
Page 14 - CHAPTER 2: RECORD SETUP; . 1 P A G E 1 : S E L E C T T H E Q U A N T I Z A T I O N V A L U E ( Q U A N T I Z E S E L E C T )
10 CHAPTER 2: RECORD SETUP Several parameters are often adjusted prior to recording a Pattern, such as metronome,Pattern length, etc. General instructions are: 1 . Press the RECORD SETUP button.2 . Use the PAGE (up and down) buttons to select different "pages" of functions; the display'slowe...
Page 15 - . 2 P A G E 2 : S E L E C T T H E S W I N G V A L U E ( S W I N G S E L E C T ); SWING; SELECT
11 Quantization shifts your playing to the specified beat while you play, so choose the desiredvalue before tapping out your rhythms. Remember that you can also change quantizationwhile recording if, for example, you want to record snare with eighth note quantization buthigh-hats with 16th note quan...
Page 16 - . 3 P A G E 3 : E N A B L E C L I C K ( M E T R O N O M E ) A N D S E T R H Y T H M ( C L I C K S E L E C T ); The click is audible only in Compose mode.
12 2 . 3 P A G E 3 : E N A B L E C L I C K ( M E T R O N O M E ) A N D S E T R H Y T H M ( C L I C K S E L E C T ) The display shows C L I C K S E L E C T ; the Click window shows the click's rhythmic value. CLICK PAGE SELECT SETUP RECORD CLICK Enter the click value with the INC/DEC or number button...
Page 17 - . 5 P A G E 5 : A D J U S T V E L O C I T Y R E S P O N S E ( V E L O C I T Y ); e d
13 2 . 5 P A G E 5 : A D J U S T V E L O C I T Y R E S P O N S E ( V E L O C I T Y ) There are 11 ways in which a pad's output level can respond to the force with which you tapit: soft, medium, loud, and eight fixed responses. PAGE VELOCITYLOUD SETUP RECORD PERFORM The display says V E L O C I T Y ....
Page 18 - . 6 P A G E 6 : A D D / R E M O V E B E A T S F R O M P A T T E R N E N D ( L E N G T H ); LENGTH; . 7 P A G E 7 : A D D / R E M O V E B E A T S F R O M P A T T E R N B E G I N N I N G (; START
14 2 . 6 P A G E 6 : A D D / R E M O V E B E A T S F R O M P A T T E R N E N D ( L E N G T H ) This option either adds beats to, or subtracts beats from, the end of the Pattern. The Patternlength can be set prior to, or after, recording. Shortening a Pattern's end point erases anydrum events that fa...
Page 19 - S T A R T . This indicates a Pattern's length in beats; . 8 P A G E 8 : O F F S E T A P A T T E R N O R D R U M P A R T
15 The display says # # # B E A T and ➔ S T A R T . This indicates a Pattern's length in beats (quarter notes). Enter the desired length with the INC/DEC or number buttons (this must be athree digit number; enter leading zeroes if necessary). A smaller value compared to theoriginal length will remov...
Page 21 - The following page summarizes the step edit options.
17 The following page summarizes the step edit options.
Page 22 - NO NAME; NAME
18 2 . 9 A A d d a N e w D r u m t o a S t e p Use the PAGE buttons to select the step where the drum is to be added. Press the pad thatcorresponds to the sound you want to add. That drum, along with its volume (how hard thepad was hit), will be recorded into the displayed step. If you play a pad an...
Page 23 - CHAPTER 3: PLAYING BACK/RECORDING PATTERNS; . 1 P L A Y B A C K / R E C O R D B A S I C S; . 1 A T h e D u a l - P u r p o s e F i l l B u t t o n
19 CHAPTER 3: PLAYING BACK/RECORDING PATTERNS 3 . 1 P L A Y B A C K / R E C O R D B A S I C S Please make sure you've read section 1.2B, which explains the different types of SR-16Patterns. It is important to understand the differences between these Pattern types. The PATTERN/SONG button chooses bet...
Page 26 - . 1 H S e l e c t F i l l P a t t e r n s i n P e r f o r m ( P l a y b a c k ) M o d e
22 3 . 1 H S e l e c t F i l l P a t t e r n s i n P e r f o r m ( P l a y b a c k ) M o d e Fill Patterns are the key to creating expressive drum parts. However, Fill is a sophisticatedfeature that requires some explanation. Remember that Fills are always the same length, and use the same Drum Set,...
Page 28 - . 1 K U s i n g F i l l t o C r e a t e R e p e t i t i v e D r u m H i t s
24 3 . 1 K U s i n g F i l l t o C r e a t e R e p e t i t i v e D r u m H i t s As mentioned earlier, the FILL button performs two different functions. We've already coveredhow to use the FILL button for Pattern selection, however, it can also trigger a drum sound atthe current quantization rate (e...
Page 32 - . 3 F C o p y a D r u m S e t t o A n o t h e r S R - 1 6 V i a M I D I
28 5 . Release the COPY and PLAY buttons. 3 . 3 E C o p y a S i n g l e D r u m P a d ' s P a r t t o a D r u m P a d i n A n o t h e r S R - 1 6 V i a M I D I The SR-16 can send system exclusive information for a drum part to another SR-16 via MIDI.If you have only one SR-16, you can skip this sect...
Page 33 - CHAPTER 4: CREATING DRUM SETS; General instructions for Drum Set construction are:
29 CHAPTER 4: CREATING DRUM SETS The SR-16's 12 pads can be assigned to various drum sounds, with different levels, tuning,panning, triggering mode, and output jack assignment. Each set of pad parameters is given anumber and collectively are called a Drum Set; each A and B user Pattern can have its ...
Page 34 - . 2 P A G E 2 : A S S I G N S O U N D S T O P A D S; FATSNARE; To assign a sound to a pad:
30 4 . 2 P A G E 2 : A S S I G N S O U N D S T O P A D S The display shows the currently selected pad number and the sound assigned to that pad. FATSNARE PAGE 001 DRUM SET DRUM You can assign any of the SR-16's sounds to any of the pads, or to more than one pad. Eachindividual Drum Set can have its ...
Page 35 - To change the pan position associated with a given pad:
31 To change the volume associated with a given pad: 1 . Press the pad (the display will show the pad number).2 . Enter the desired volume, from 00 (full off) to 99 (maximum volume), with the number orINC/DEC buttons.3 . When the display confirms your choice, either store the edits you've made (see ...
Page 36 - TUNING; To change the tuning associated with a given pad:; To change the mode associated with a given pad:
32 4 . 5 P A G E 5 : S E T P A D T U N I N G ( T U N I N G ) The display shows T U N I N G , the currently selected pad number, and the tuning assigned tothat pad. TUNING PAGE +3 DRUM SET DRUM To change the tuning associated with a given pad: 1 . Press the pad (the display will show the pad number)....
Page 37 - . 7 P A G E 7 : C H O O S E O U T P U T J A C K S ( O U T P U T ); OUTPUT; To change the output assignment:
33 B a c k g r o u n d Each mode affects triggering in a different way: Multi: When hitting a pad repeatedly, each hit will cause the sound to go through its entire decay. This is usefulwith cymbals, since early strikes will continue to decay as you play later strikes. Single: When hitting a pad rep...
Page 39 - . 9 P A G E 9 : M A N U A L D R U M S E T O V E R R I D E ( S E T M O D E ); SET MODE; PATT
35 copy one Drum Set to a different Drum Set. Also, remember that if you change Patternsbefore saving your Drum Set, all of your edits will be lost. 4 . 9 P A G E 9 : M A N U A L D R U M S E T O V E R R I D E ( S E T M O D E ) The display says S E T M O D E . Use the INC/DEC buttons to select P A T ...
Page 40 - C H A P T E R 5 : S O N G M O D E; . 1 S O N G M O D E B A S I C S
36 C H A P T E R 5 : S O N G M O D E 5 . 1 S O N G M O D E B A S I C S After creating the Patterns that make up a Song, it's time to string those Patterns together in amusically useful way. You can incorporate Preset Patterns, or a combination of Preset andUser Patterns. There are three ways to crea...
Page 44 - . 3 E D e l e t e a S t e p; . Release the ERASE and PLAY buttons.; . 3 F R e p l a c e a S t e p; C O P Y T O S O N G with the number of the currently selected Song.
40 5 . 3 E D e l e t e a S t e p 1 . The SR-16 should be in Song and Compose modes.2 . Use the INC/DEC buttons to select the step number to be deleted.3 . Press and hold ERASE. The display says E R A S E S T E P ?4 . While continuing to hold ERASE, press PLAY. The step is deleted, and all subsequent...
Page 46 - CHAPTER 6: MIDI SETUP; . 1 P A G E 1 : S E L E C T M I D I C H A N N E L ( M I D I C H )
42 CHAPTER 6: MIDI SETUP This menu accesses important MIDI functions. General instructions are: 1 . Press the MIDI SETUP button.2 . Use the Page (up and down) buttons to select different "pages" of functions; the display'slower right window shows the page number. These pages are described be...
Page 47 - . 2 P A G E 2 : R E C E I V E M I D I D R U M N O T E S ( D R U M I N ); DRUM IN; . 3 P A G E 3 : T R A N S M I T M I D I D R U M N O T E S ( D R U M O U T ); DRUM OUT
43 6 . 2 P A G E 2 : R E C E I V E M I D I D R U M N O T E S ( D R U M I N ) DRUM IN PAGE ON V1 SETUPMIDI PERFORM The display shows D R U M I N . This page features two different MIDI input velocity curves(O N V 1 and O N V 2 ). To have the SR-16 receive note messages at its MIDI input, use theINC/D...
Page 48 - . 4 P A G E 4 : A S S I G N M I D I N O T E N U M B E R S T O D R U M P A D S ( N O T E ); M I D I N o t e; D r u m P a d
44 6 . 4 P A G E 4 : A S S I G N M I D I N O T E N U M B E R S T O D R U M P A D S ( N O T E ) This page determines which MIDI in N O T E will trigger a pad, or MIDI out note will beproduced if you play a pad. The display shows the note number/name in the upper left, andthe drum pad number in the up...
Page 49 - . 5 P A G E 5 : A C C E P T E X T E R N A L C L O C K D A T A ( C L O C K I N ); . 6 P A G E 6 : S E N D C L O C K D A T A T O O T H E R D E V I C E S ( C L O C K O U T )
45 6 . 5 P A G E 5 : A C C E P T E X T E R N A L C L O C K D A T A ( C L O C K I N ) PAGE CLOCK IN ON SETUPMIDI PERFORM The display shows C L O C K I N . To have the SR-16 recognize clock (timing) messagespresent at its MIDI input, use the INC/DEC buttons to select O N (if no clock messages areprese...
Page 50 - . 7 P A G E 7 : M E R G E M I D I I N W I T H M I D I O U T ( M I D I T H R U ); MIDITHRU; OFF
46 • The external device (sequencer, drum machine, etc.) can respond to MIDI timing signals.• These signals go from the SR-16's MIDI out to the external device's MIDI in.• C L O C K O U T is O N . When slaving the SR-16 to other devices, C L O C K O U T should be O F F and C L O C K I N should be O ...
Page 51 - . 8 P A G E 8 : S E L E C T D R U M S E T S V I A M I D I P R O G R A M C H A N G E S ( P R G C H N G )
47 6 . 8 P A G E 8 : S E L E C T D R U M S E T S V I A M I D I P R O G R A M C H A N G E S ( P R G C H N G ) PAGE SETUPMIDI PRG CHNG OFF PERFORM The display shows P R G C H N G . Program Change commands can change Drum Setsnumbers at any time, including while the SR-16 is playing. To have the SR-16 ...
Page 52 - Drum note map in M U L T I - D R U M S E T mode
48 DrumSet Pad# MIDINote DrumSet Pad# MIDINote DrumSet Pad# MIDINote 00000000000000000000000001010101010101010101010102020202020202020202020203030303 1234567891011121234567891011121234567891011121234 0000010020030040050060070080090100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240250260270280290300310320...
Page 53 - . 1 B A C K U P B A S I C S
49 CHAPTER 7: BACKUP 7 . 1 B A C K U P B A S I C S This function allows you to save the SR-16 Pattern, Song, and Drum Kit data to cassettetapes or MIDI system exclusive storage devices. General instructions are: 1 . Press the BACKUP button.2 . Use the Page (up and down) buttons to select different &...
Page 54 - . 2 T A P E I N T E R F A C E H O O K U P
50 7 . 2 T A P E I N T E R F A C E H O O K U P T o s a v e t o t a p e : Connect a mini phone plug cable (male-to-male) from the SR-16 tapein/out to the recorder's tape in. If you are using a standard cassette recorder rather than adata recorder, plug into the recorder's Aux or Line Level input. If ...
Page 55 - . 4 R E C E I V E D A T A D I R E C T L Y F R O M A N O T H E R M I D I D E V I C E
51 1 . Connect the SR-16 MIDI out to the DataDisk (DD) MIDI in.2 . Insert a formatted disk into the DD and proceed to the next step. If the disk is not formatted, insert it in the driveand press the DD Format switch. When the DD display says FORMAT DISK?, press DO/YES. When the displaysays ARE YOU S...
Page 56 - . 5 P A G E 2 : S A V E A L L M E M O R Y C O N T E N T S T O T A P E ( S T O R E T O T A P E ? ); . 6 P A G E 3 : V E R I F Y D A T A R E C O R D E D O N T A P E ( V E R I F Y T A P E ? ); VERIFY
52 7 . 5 P A G E 2 : S A V E A L L M E M O R Y C O N T E N T S T O T A P E ( S T O R E T O T A P E ? ) PRESS PLAY PAGE BACKUP STORE TOTAPE? PRESS PLAY This function saves all Patterns, Songs, and Drum Kits to tape. The display shows S T O R ET O T A P E ? Put the cassette recorder into record mode. ...
Page 57 - LOAD IN
53 To cancel the verifying operation at any time, press STOP. The display says T A P E I NC A N C E L . B a c k g r o u n d Although cassette interfaces are quite reliable, problems can occur due to incorrect tape levels,defective tape, bad luck, etc. Do not consider your work as saved until you hav...
Page 58 - . 8 P A G E 5 : L O A D O N E P A T T E R N F R O M T A P E ( L O A D I N P A T T ); . 9 P A G E 6 : L O A D O N E S O N G F R O M T A P E ( L O A D I N S O N G )
54 7 . 8 P A G E 5 : L O A D O N E P A T T E R N F R O M T A P E ( L O A D I N P A T T ) LOAD IN PAGE BACKUP PATT01 A PRESS PLAY This loads a single Pattern from a tape dump. The display says L O A D I N P A T T 0 0 . Enterthe desired Pattern number with the number or INC/DEC buttons, press the A or...
Page 59 - . 1 0 P A G E 7 : C H E C K A V A I L A B L E M E M O R Y ( F R E E M E M ); FREE MEM
55 B a c k g r o u n d You may just want to load one Song from tape rather than all data. A Song being loaded from tapewill take its original position in memory (e.g., SONG 32 will reload back into SONG 32) and will overwrite any datacurrently stored in that location. 7 . 1 0 P A G E 7 : C H E C K A...
Page 61 - CHAPTER 8: APPLICATIONS; . 1 M I D I S Y N C A P P L I C A T I O N S; . 1 B S R - 1 6 a s M I D I T i m i n g S l a v e
57 CHAPTER 8: APPLICATIONS 8 . 1 M I D I S Y N C A P P L I C A T I O N S 8 . 1 A S R - 1 6 A s M I D I T i m i n g M a s t e r The SR-16 can control several other slave MIDI drum machines or sequencers by turning onMIDI Clock Out, which sends SR-16 timing information down the MIDI line. 1 . Turn on ...
Page 62 - . 1 C S y n c h i n g t o S y n t h e s i z e r S e q u e n c e r s
58 3 . Press PLAY on the system master. The SR-16 should start at the same time, and progressat the same tempo. If the master generates Song Position Pointer, you can start the master atany point, and both units will synchronize from that point on. The following diagram shows an SR-16 slaved to the ...
Page 65 - . 4 U N D E R S T A N D I N G R H Y T H M I C N O T A T I O N
61 8 . 4 U N D E R S T A N D I N G R H Y T H M I C N O T A T I O N M e a s u r e s A piece of music is divided into smaller units called measures (also called bars),and each measure is divided into beats. In the SR-16, each beat is further sub-divided into 96sub-beats. R h y t h m i c V a l u e s f ...
Page 66 - CHAPTER 9: MIDI SUPPLEMENT; . 1 M I D I B A S I C S
62 CHAPTER 9: MIDI SUPPLEMENT (This chapter is adapted with permission from Power Sequencing with Master Tracks Pro/Pro4 and The Complete Guide to the Alesis HR-16 and MMT-8, copyright 1990 and 1989respectively by AMSCO Publications.) 9 . 1 M I D I B A S I C S Most current electronic instruments, in...
Page 67 - N o t e O f f This indicates the end of the note.
63 16's MIDI out jack can be switched to a thru function that merges MIDI in data with SR-16MIDI data. 9 . 1 B A b o u t S e q u e n c i n g Sequencing, the computerized equivalent of tape recording, is a very common and popularMIDI application. The SR-16 is a special-purpose sequencer optimized for...
Page 68 - S t a r t Signals all rhythmically-based units when to start playing.; . 4 B O O K S O N M I D I
64 9 . 2 B M o d e M e s s a g e s There are two messages that determine the MIDI mode (i.e., how devices will receive MIDIdata). The "omni" message determines how many channels will be recognized. Omni onmeans that data from all channels will be received; Omni off limits the number of chann...
Page 69 - . 5 V I D E O S O N M I D I
65 MIDI For Musicians and The Electronic Musician's Dictionary by Craig Anderton; AMSCOPublications. The former was written specifically for musicians with no background in MIDI,and the latter defines terms related to musical electronics. Music Through MIDI by Michael Boom; Microsoft Press. An excel...
Page 70 - ALESIS SR-16 TROUBLESHOOTING CHART
Symptom No display. Buttons have no effect. LCD reads “Software Error”.LCD shows nonsense, all lights on, or unit has lost allmemory. No sound. Sound is distorted. Drums don’t “pan” in stereo field. One or more pads not working. Drums don’t play back as recorded. Some beats seemshifted. Won’t displa...