Alesis QS6.2 - Manuals

Introduction 6 Unpacking and Inspection The shipping carton for your QS should contain the following items: • QS synthesizer • Sustain pedal • AC power cable • This instruction manual Please log on to the Alesis website at www.alesis.com to register your new QS synthesizer. This will help us give yo...

Important Safety Instructions 7 Important Safety Instructions (English) Safety symbols used in this product This symbol alerts the user that there are important operating and maintenance instructions in the literature accompanying this unit. This symbol warns the user of uninsulated voltage within t...

Important Safety Instructions 8 Instructions de Sécurité Importantes (French) Symboles utilisés dans ce produit Ce symbole alèrte l’utilisateur qu’il existe des instructions de fonctionnement et de maintenance dans la documentation jointe avec ce produit. Ce symbole avertit l’utilisateur de la prése...

Important Safety Instructions 9 Lesen Sie bitte die folgende Sicherheitshinweise (German) Sicherheit Symbole verwendet in diesem Produkt Dieses Symbol alarmiert den Benutzer, daß es wichtige Funktionieren und Wartung Anweisungen in der Literatur gibt, die diese Maßeinheit begleitet. Dieses Symbol wa...

Important Safety Instructions 10 CE Declaration Of Conformity See our website at: http://www.alesis.com FCC Compliance Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference and (2) this d...

1 Connections 11 Connecting AC Power Before making any power connections, make sure the QS’s power switch is turned off. 1. Plug the female end of the power cable into the QS’s power socket. 2. Plug the male (plug) end into a properly grounded power outlet. Making Audio Connections There are several...

2 First Session 13 Playing the Demos The QS has five built-in demo sequences. To play a demo, hold down [MIX] and press a number button from [0] through [4]. Playback will start with the specified demo and continue through the remaining demos. To stop the demo, press [MIX]. Playing Programs The soun...

2 First Session 14 Playing Split and Layered Programs (Mixes) A Mix is a combination of up to 16 Programs, allowing you to play more than one sound at the same time. The Programs may be split or layered across the keyboard, or distributed among MIDI channels for multitimbral sequencing. Press the [M...

3 Overview 17 The Front Panel Controls From left to right, we have: [PITCH] Bend Wheel – for bending pitch during performance. [MODULATION] Wheel – for adding vibrato and tremolo during performance. [VOLUME] Slider– sets the output level. [CONTROLLER A-D]/[EDIT VALUE] Sliders – for adjusting paramet...

3 Overview 18 The Play Modes We’ve already introduced you to these modes in the last chapter. This is where you’ll normally be when you’re playing your QS. Program Mode In this mode, you can play the QS’s various Programs one at a time. You’ll probably be in this mode most of the time. The QS contai...

Overview 3 19 The Edit Modes The Edit Modes are used to change the QS’s sounds and various parameters. Many people are perfectly happy using their QS without ever editing a sound. However, if you like to tweak and create your own sounds, you’ll be using these modes. Program Edit Mode In this mode, y...

3 Overview 20 Global and Store Modes Global Mode In this mode, you can set various aspects of the QS that don’t change whenever a new Program or Mix is selected (for example, the keyboard sensitivity). Press the [EDIT] button, then the [BANK >] button (with [GLOBAL] written under it) to get into ...

4 Expansion Cards 21 PCMCIA Expansion Cards If you want more Sounds (samples), Programs, Mixes, or Sequences, all you have to do is insert the appropriate card into the QS’s [PCMCIA EXPANSION SLOT]. There are three kinds of expansion cards that you can use: • QCards are a series of excellent ROM (re...

5 MIDI 25 What is MIDI? MIDI stands for Music Instrument Digital Interface. It allows music instruments to communicate with each other. You can use MIDI to: • Record what you play on your QS synthesizer into a sequencer or computer. • Play back sequences from a sequencer or computer on your QS. • St...

5 MIDI 26 • Slave . With this setup, you can use another keyboard to play the sounds on your QS. Connect a MIDI cable from the controller’s MIDI OUT jack to the QS’s [MIDI IN] jack. • Slave with pass-through . This setup allows MIDI signals to pass through the QS so they may reach multiple units. Th...

MIDI 5 27 Using Your QS With a MIDI Sequencer A sequencer is a device that records and plays back note messages. A sequencer can take the form of a stand-alone hardware device, or a computer with a MIDI interface and sequencing software. Using a MIDI sequencer, you can record what you play on your Q...

5 MIDI 28 4 ) Set up your receiving device to accept a MIDI sysex dump. 5.) Press [STORE] to transmit the data from the QS. While transmitting the data, the display will read “SENDING OUT MIDI DATA.....”. To send a single Program via MIDI: 1 ) Follow steps 1 and 2 in the instructions above. 2 ) Pres...

6 Global Parameters 29 What are the Global Parameters? Certain basic parameters affect your entire QS. Because they affect everything, they are called the Global Parameters. Entering Global Mode 1) Press [EDIT]. 2) Press the [BANK >] button (with [GLOBAL] written beneath it). The display will loo...

6 Global Parameters 30 WEIGHT gives the keyboard the widest possible dynamic velocity range for weighted keyboards (like the QS8.2’s). PLASTC has a narrower dynamic velocity range associated with synth keyboards (like the QS6.2’s). Notes played gently will be louder than they would be if you had sel...

Global Parameters 6 31 MIDI devices. You’ll need to set your sequencer to echo back the MIDI data that is being recorded. Turning on General MIDI Button: [EDIT] [GLOBAL] Page: 7 Parameter: Genrl MIDI (ON, OFF) This setting allows your QS to play any of the thousands of General MIDI (“GM” for short) ...

7 Editing Programs 33 QS Composite Synthesis™ The QS generates sound through the use of QS Composite Synthesis™. The basis of this technology is the playback and processing of audio samples . A sample is a digital recording of a sound. The sound could be a sine wave, a grand piano, or even a full or...

7 Editing Programs 34 The following diagram shows the signal flow for each Sound: Modulation In synthesizer programming, modulation refers to modifying some aspect of a sound over time. Modulation is the key to making rich and expressive sounds. The vibrato of a flute, the expression pedal of an org...

Editing Programs 7 35 Each envelope generator has the standard attack, decay, sustain, and release parameters found on most synthesizers, along with delay, sustain decay, and different triggering options. More on this later. The Effects Section The QS features a complete digital effects section with...

7 Editing Programs 36 The Voice Function [40 VOICE] Hit the [40] button to choose the sample that forms the basis of your Sound. Use the [PAGE] buttons to select parameters within this function to edit. Turning Sounds On and Off Button: [EDIT] [40 VOICE] Page: 1 Parameter: Snd Enable (ON or OFF) Thi...

Editing Programs 7 37 Group Sample Piano GrndPianoL, GrndPianoR, DarkPno1 L, DarkPno1 R, DarkPno2 L, DarkPno2 R, DarkPno3 L, DarkPno3 R, BritePno1L, BritePno1R, BritePno2L, BritePno2R, BritePno3L, BritePno3R, 4::VibesWave, NoHammer R, SoftPianoL, SoftPianoR, VeloPianoL, VeloPianoR, TapPiano L, TapPi...

7 Editing Programs 38 Percus 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, GuiroS...

Editing Programs 7 39 In the QS8.2, selecting MAIN routes the Sound to the main outputs; OFF shuts off the path. A setting of AUX will also shut off the path. (This is provided for backward compatibility with older QS8 models). Setting the FX Send Level Button: [EDIT] [50 LEVEL] Page: 4 Parameter: F...

7 Editing Programs 40 With EQU selected, the absolute amount of detuning remains the same over the entire keyboard, so any detuning seems less pronounced as you play higher up on the keyboard. Setting the Pitch Wheel Bend Amount Button: [EDIT] [60 PITCH] Page: 4 Parameter: PWHL>PITCH (0 to 12 sem...

Editing Programs 7 41 Setting the Portamento Mode Button: [EDIT] [60 PITCH] Page: 8 Parameter: Prtamento (EXPON, LNEAR, 1-SPD) Portamento provides a glide in pitch from one note to the next. An example of this is a steel guitar, where a note slides from one pitch to another. This parameter determine...

7 Editing Programs 42 positive modulation won’t have any affect, since the filter is already “maxed-out”. Turning On Filter Keyboard Tracking Button: [EDIT] [70 FILTER] Page: 2 Parameter: Kbd Track (ON or OFF) This sets how the filter frequency tracks across the keyboard. When OFF , the filter frequ...

Editing Programs 7 43 Setting the Filter Envelope Amount Button: [EDIT] [70 FILTER] Page: 7 Parameter: F-ENV>FILT (-99 to +99) This sets how much the Filter Envelope affects the filter frequency. Higher values increase the effect of the Filter Envelope. Negative values turn the envelope upside-do...

7 Editing Programs 46 This sets the amount of time the envelope will take to get from its current level to zero after the note is released. The higher the value, the longer it will take. When set to HOLD , the Pitch Envelope will remain where it is after the note is released. Setting the Envelope De...

Editing Programs 7 47 Activating Envelope Key Tracking Buttons: [EDIT] [90]-[110] Page: 8 Parameter: Time Track (ON or OFF) This determines whether keyboard position affects the speed of the envelope. When ON , playing toward the higher end of the keyboard will result in a faster envelope cycle. Thi...

8 Modulations 49 The Mod Routes As we mentioned in the previous chapter, modulation refers to modifying some aspect of a sound. For example, sound volume is shaped (or modulated) by the Amplitude Envelope. A Mod Route refers to a modulation source and the destination that it is modulating. In the pr...

8 Modulations 50 Editing the Mod Routes The Mod Routes are part of each Program, just like any other program parameter (like Filter Frequency for example). Hit [EDIT] from Program mode to begin editing. Selecting a Mod Route [0-5 MOD] In Program Edit Mode, use the [0] - [5] buttons to select one of ...

8 Modulations 52 Setting the Mod Level Buttons: [EDIT] [0-5 MOD] Page: 3 Parameter: Level (-99 to +99) This sets the modulation level. At zero, the modulation source has no effect on the destination (it is disabled). Higher positive values increase the amount of modulation in the positive direction....

Modulations 8 53 Selecting the LFO Waveform Buttons: [EDIT] [6-8] Page: 1 Parameter: Wave (8 choices) The waveform determines the shape of the LFO. Note that the two Sawtooth waves, the Square and the Random+ waves are unipolar (positive-going only) and the rest are bipolar (positive and negative go...

8 Modulations 54 MONO . All voices’ LFOs will be in sync with each other. POLY . Each voice’s LFO is independent. If you hold a chord, some voices’ LFOs will be moving in one direction while others move in the other direction. If the LFO Speed is being modulated (by one of the envelopes, for example...

9 Editing Drum Kits 57 Drum Mode Drum Mode allows you to construct your own drum kits within a Program. Any one or all of the four Sound layers in a Program can be put into Drum Mode. In Drum Mode, you can select 10 drum samples per Sound and individually control their pitch, level, panning, effects...

Editing Drum Kits 9 59 The Level Function [50 LEVEL] Each Sound layer lets you create 10 Drums in Drum Mode. The Level function (button [50]) allows you to control the volume, pan position, output assignment and effects send level for each Drum. Setting the Drum Volume Button: [EDIT] [50 LEVEL] Page...

9 Editing Drum Kits 60 The Pitch Function [60 PITCH] The Pitch (button [60]) function lets you transpose the selected Drum up or down one octave, and lets you modulate the Drum’s pitch with velocity. Tuning the Drum Sound Button: [EDIT] [60 PITCH] Page: 1 Parameter: Tune (-12.00 to +12.00 semitones)...

Editing Drum Kits 9 61 Choosing the Base Note for the Drum Sound Button: [EDIT] [80 AMP/RANGE] Page: 2 Parameter: Note (C2 000 to G8 127) This sets which note will trigger the Drum sound when played. You can also set the note assignment by holding [80] and tapping a key on the keyboard (while in thi...

10 Editing Mixes 63 What is a Mix? Mix Mode allows you to play up to 16 different Programs at once from the keyboard or an external sequencer. With Mix Mode, you can do the following: • Layer different Programs so they can be played simultaneously from the keyboard. For example, you can stack a pian...

10 Editing Mixes 64 Once in Mix Edit Mode, use the [0] - [9] and [00] - [50] buttons to select a Mix channel to edit. Use the [60] – [120] buttons to select an Edit Function (Level, Pitch, Effect, etc.) The Mix Edit functions and channels are written in blue above or below each numbered button, on t...

Editing Mixes 10 65 Setting the Mix Channel Effects Send Level Button: [EDIT] [60 LEVEL] Page: 5 Parameter: FX Level (00 to 99, or PROG) This determines the amount of signal from the selected channel that will be sent to the effects. When set to PROG , the effect level will defer to the Program’s Ef...

10 Editing Mixes 66 When set to ON , any Program Change message coming in over the MIDI channel selected for Effects will select a new Program and its associated Effect. When set to OFF , Program Change messages will select new Programs but not change the current Effect setting. This is the default ...

Editing Mixes 10 67 The Controller Function [100 CONTROLLERS] The Controller function (button [100]) lets you turn on and off the various controllers that can affect the selected MIDI channel. Note that these are dependent on how each Channel has its KEYBOARD/MIDI parameters set (see the previous se...

11 Editing Effects 69 QS Parallel Matrix Effects™ The QS synthesizer has a powerful built-in digital signal processor capable of generating a variety of effects, including reverb, delay, chorus, flanging and overdrive. The effects processor has four paths called effect Sends. Each Send has its own g...

Editing Effects 11 71 Hearing the Effects Only Normally, the final output of an Effect is mixed back in with the original Program or Mix, so that what you hear is a combination of the two. In some cases, however, you may want to hear only the Effected sound. Here’s how to do that: 1) Go into Program...

Editing Effects 11 79 Turning On the Lezlie Motor Button: [EDIT] [EDIT] [70 LEZLIE] Page: 1 or 4 Parameter: Motor (ON or OFF) This determines whether the Lezlie is operating or not. When turned ON , the rotating speaker effect starts up slowly, just like the real thing. When turned OFF , the effect ...

11 Editing Effects 80 The Chorus effect is achieved by mixing a signal with a slightly delayed and detuned version of itself. This detuning is modulated by an LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator). STEREO CHORUS. In a Stereo Chorus , the signal is split into three parts: a dry signal and separate left and ...

Editing Effects 11 81 Setting the Flanger Feedback Type Button: [EDIT] [EDIT] [80 PITCH] Page: 2 (Flanger only) Parameter: FlngShp (NORMAL or INVERT) This determines the phase of the Flanger feedback signal. A setting of INVERT will result in a more dramatic effect. Setting the Chorus/Flanger LFO Sp...

Editing Effects 11 83 Selecting the Delay Input 2 Source in OVERDRIVE+LEZLIE Button: [EDIT] [EDIT] [90 DELAY] Page: 2 (Config 5 only) Parameter: In2 (SEND1-SEND4, OVERDRIV, PITCH IN) This selects the second input to the Delay effect in Configuration 5, (OVERDRIVE+LEZLIE). Setting the Delay Input Bal...

11 Editing Effects 84 Selecting the Reverb Input 1 Source Button: [EDIT] [EDIT] [100 REVERB] Page: 1 Parameter: In1 (PITCHout or DELAYout) This selects the first input of the Reverb, the output from either the pitch or delay effect. This parameter is not available in Config 2 (2 REVERBS). Selecting ...

Editing Effects 11 87 Setting the Reverb Hi/Low Decay Time Button: [EDIT] [EDIT] [100 REVERB] Page: 10 or 13 (12 if Gated or Reverse type) Parameter: Density (00 to 99) This controls how the reflections of the reverb will sound. When set to 00 , the individual reflections will be very distinct. When...

A Frequently Asked Questions 89 How do I split the keyboard? 1. Press the [MIX] button to get into Mix Mode. 2. Select a Mix that has a split, for example, Preset 1 #022 “PercNPedl”. 3. Press [PAGE >] to select the first Mix channel. 4. Select the Program for the lower half of the split using the...

B Sound Bridge 91 Using Sound Bridge™ to Create Your Own Sound Cards The Alesis website (www.alesis.com) contains a free program called Sound Bridge™ for the Mac and PC. Sound Bridge allows you to download your own sequences, Program Banks, and samples into a Flash card plugged into the QS. All you ...

C MIDI Supplement 93 Sending and Receiving Bank Select Messages The QS will send and respond to MIDI Bank Select messages in the form of MIDI Controller 0. The value of Controller 0 determines which bank is to be recalled (User, Preset 1–3, GenMIDI, Card). The way the QS handles Bank Select messages...

C MIDI Supplement 94 parameter. Selection of another Mix in the same bank will send a Program change command which matches the Mix number. In Mix Program Select Mode (where you choose the Programs within the Mix), changing the Bank of any Program within the Mix will not send a Bank Select command. S...

C MIDI Supplement 96 MIDI Implementation Chart Function Transmitted Recognized Remarks Basic Channel Default Changed 1 — 16 1 — 16 each 1 — 16 1 — 16 each Memorized Mode Default Messages Altered Mode 3 X * * * * * * * * Mode 3 X Note Number True Voice 0 — 127 * * * * * * * * 0 — 127 0 — 127 Velocity...

D Troubleshooting 97 If you experience problems while operating your QS, please use the following table to check for possible causes and solutions before contacting Alesis customer service for assistance. Symptoms Cause Solution The display does not light up when the ON/OFF switch is turned on. No p...

Specifications 99 Sound Generation Method: QS Composite Synthesis™ 16 Bit Linear 48kHz Sample ROM with lowpass filter Polyphonic Voices: 64, each with sweepable lowpass filter, 3 envelope generators, 3 LFOs, programmable effects send and QS Modulation Matrix, dynamic voice allocation; 16-part multit...

Index 101 1 Pitch keyboard mode, 41 1 Reverb configuration, 72 2 Reverbs configuration, 73 aftertouch, 15 filter depth, 42 LFO depth, 54 pitch bend amount, 40 volume increase, 43 amp LFO function, 52 amp/env function, 61 amp/range function, 43 amplifier, 33 amplitude LFO amount, 44 velocity curve, d...

Warranty / Contact Alesis 103 Alesis Limited Warranty ALESIS CORPORATION ("ALESIS") warrants this product to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year for parts and for a period of one (1) year for labor from the date of original retail purchase. This warran...