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ALESIS
QS7 and QS8
Reference Manual
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Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Alesis QS7/QS8 64 Voice Expandable Synthesizer. To take full advantage of the QS’s functions, and to enjoy long and trouble-free use, please read this user’s manual carefully. How To Use This Manual This manual is divided into the following sections describing the various modes of the QS. To get the most out of your QS, read the entire manual once, then use the table of contents and index to reference specific functions while using the instrument. Chapte
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2 QS7/QS8 Reference Manual
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Table of Contents CONTENTS 1: SETTING UP.................................................................................................... 7 Unpacking and Inspection..............................................................................................7 AC Power.......................................................................................................................7 Line Conditioners and Protectors......................................................................8 Abou
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Table of Contents The User Interface: Display, Functions, Pages, and Parameters ..................................30 About the Display..............................................................................................30 Page Buttons.....................................................................................................32 Editing Values ...................................................................................................32 Resetting a Parameter Value.........
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Table of Contents Pitch LFO ..........................................................................................................76 Filter LFO ..........................................................................................................78 Amp LFO...........................................................................................................79 Tracking Generator ...........................................................................................80 Programming D
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Table of Contents Storing an Individual Program or Mix.............................................................................122 Loading an Individual Program or Mix ...........................................................................123 Card Storage RAMifications..............................................................................123 Saving Programs via MIDI Sys Ex.................................................................................124 APPENDIX A: TROUBLE-SHOOT
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Setting Up: Chapter 1 CHAPTER 1 SETTING UP UNPACKING AND INSPECTION Your QS7/QS8 synthesizer was packed carefully at the factory. The shipping carton was designed to protect the unit during shipping. Please retain this container in the highly unlikely event that you need to return the QS for servicing. The shipping carton should contain the following items: • QS with the same serial number as shown on shipping carton • Sustain pedal • AC Power Cable • Computer CD-ROM containing software • This i
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Chapter 1: Setting Up LINE CONDITIONERS AND PROTECTORS Although the QS is designed to tolerate typical voltage variations, in today’s world the voltage coming from the AC line may contain spikes or transients that can possibly stress your gear and, over time, cause a failure. There are three main ways to protect against this, listed in ascending order of cost and complexity: • Line spike/surge protectors. Relatively inexpensive, these are designed to protect against strong surges and spikes, act
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Setting Up: Chapter 1 The connections between the QS and your studio are your music’s lifeline, so use only high quality cables. These should be low-capacitance shielded cables with a stranded (not solid) internal conductor and a low-resistance shield. Although quality cables cost more, they do make a difference. Route cables to the QS correctly by observing the following precautions: • Do not bundle audio cables with AC power cords. • Avoid running audio cables near sources of electromagnetic i
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Your First Session: Chapter 2 CHAPTER 2 YOUR FIRST SESSION POWERING UP After making your connections, turn on the system’s power using this procedure: ¿ Before turning on the QS’s power, check the following items: • Have all connections been made correctly? • Are the volume controls of the amplifier or mixer turned down? • Is the volume of the QS turned down? ¡ Turn on the [ON/OFF] switch on the QS rear panel. Upon power-up, the QS will display the last selected Program or Mix. If this Program/M
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Chapter 2: Your First Session The QS provides 640 internal Programs, divided into 5 Banks of 128 Programs each. More Programs can be added by inserting a Sound Card into the Sound Card slot on the rear panel of the QS. Each Bank is broken down into 12 Sound Groups of 10 Programs each, plus a 13th Sound Group with 8 Programs. These group together similar sounding Programs, such as pianos [00], guitars [30], bass [40] and drums [120]. A Program may have from 1 to 4 different sounds which can be co
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Your First Session: Chapter 2 The QS is always in one of two modes: Program Mode or Mix Mode. When you are auditioning Programs, you will be in Program Play Mode. When editing a Program, you will use Program Edit Mode. When you are auditioning Mixes, you will be in Mix Play Mode. When editing a Mix, you will use Mix Edit Mode. If you ever get lost while programming the QS, press either the [PROGRAM] button J or the [MIX] button to get back to their respective Play Mode. • Press the [PROGRAM] but
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Chapter 2: Your First Session SELECTING THE MIDI CHANNEL IN PROGRAM MODE While in Program Play Mode (press [PROGRAM]), the QS can transmit and receive information on any single MIDI channel of the 16 available channels. The currently selected channel appears in the bottom-right corner of the display. PROG PRESET1 ºº GrandPiano Ch01 ≠ Current MIDI Channel ¿ Use the [ PAGE] and [PAGE ] buttons to select a MIDI channel from 1 – 16. The display will change to indicate the currently selected MIDI c
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Your First Session: Chapter 2 REALTIME PERFORMANCE FUNCTIONS The QS provides various ways to control the sound as you are playing. Try out some of these functions while playing the keyboard. The sound of the effects can also change by using these controllers. The effect of these realtime controllers varies from Program to Program; in some they may not be active, and in others they may have a dramatic effect. • Velocity. The volume and tonal quality of the sound will change according to how hard
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Chapter 2: Your First Session sliders (unless the “Controller Mode” function is turned on in page 17 of Global mode; see page 115 for more information). When in Program Edit Mode or Mix Edit Mode, the CONTROLLER [D] slider is used to edit the parameter that appears in the display, and the other three CONTROLLER sliders are disabled. The lower line of the display will show the parameter’s name and current setting, which will have an underline below it. At this point, you can now use the CONTROLL
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Your First Session: Chapter 2 CHOOSING PROGRAMS IN A MIX In this section, we will choose Programs for the 16 channels in a Mix, for playing back tracks from a MIDI sequencer. There are many other aspects of a Mix we may wish to edit, however. Refer to Chapter 5 for more information about Mix editing. You do not have to access Mix Edit Mode to select Programs for a Mix (i.e. you don’t have to press the [EDIT SELECT] button). Instead, you simply use a two step process: A) Use the [ PAGE] and [PAGE
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Chapter 2: Your First Session STORING AN EDITED MIX Once you have made changes to a Mix, you will need to store the Mix into the User Bank; that is, if you want to keep the changes you have made. The User Bank is designed to hold up to 100 (00 – 99) of your custom-made Mixes. Whenever you store an edited Mix, the User Bank is automatically selected. All you have to do is select a Program location (00 – 127) within the User Bank to store the edited Mix into. However, if an SRAM Sound Card is inse
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Your First Session: Chapter 2 Your QS is an expandable system using the two PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slots on the back panel. There are three different kinds of Sound Cards available through your Alesis dealer or directly from Alesis: • SRAM cards: The Alesis Virtual Composer card provides an additional four banks of Program/Mix memory. All banks can be stored to by the user, and it comes with additional Programs and Mixes pre-stored. • QCards: These read-only memory cards provide actual samples
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Chapter 2: Your First Session If an internal Program uses one or more Sounds that reside on a sound card, the J sound card must be inserted into the same PCMCIA EXPANSION CARD slot, [A] or [B], as when the Program was stored. In other words, if a Program uses a Sound found on the card currently inserted in slot [A], then the same card must be inserted into slot [A] for that sound to be used when this Program is recalled. Although the card can physically be used in either slot, once a Program is
