Alesis QS8, QS7 manual Realtime Performance Functions, Controller A-D Sliders

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 you play the keyboard.

•Aftertouch. The action of pressing a key down after playing it is called “aftertouch” (it is also sometimes referred to as “Pressure” since it corresponds to the amount of pressure being applied to the keyboard). Pitch, tone and volume (among other things) can be changed using aftertouch.

•Pitch Bend Wheel. While playing a note, you can move the PITCH BEND WHEEL up to raise the pitch, or down to lower the pitch. The amount of pitch bend available can be different for each Program.

•Modulation Wheel. By raising the MODULATION WHEEL, you can add expressive modulation effects (such as vibrato or tremolo) while you play. The type of modulation effect can be different for each Program.

•Controller A–D Sliders. This is described below.

Further expressive control is available with a pedal switch (included) or expression pedal (optional, see page 25). By connecting a pedal switch to the [SUSTAIN] jack on the rear panel, you can have the sound sustain even after you release the keys. By connecting an expression pedal to the [PEDAL 1] jack, you can use the pedal to change the volume or tone (or some other quality such as reverb depth or vibrato speed) of the sound, if the Program is edited to use the pedal(s).

THE CONTROLLER A–D SLIDERS

To the right of the [VOLUME] slider are the four Controller sliders: CONTROLLER [A], [B], [C] and [D]. These provide control over various parameters depending on if you are in a Play mode, or in one of the Edit modes.

In Program Play Mode and Mix Play Mode, the CONTROLLER [A] slider acts as Controller A, the CONTROLLER [B] slider acts as Controller B, and so on. These Controllers are defined in Global Edit Mode (Pages 8 through 11) to transmit specific MIDI controller messages. Many of the QS’s internal Programs use Controllers A–D to provide control over their tonal aspects. When auditioning Programs, move the CONTROLLER [A]–[D] sliders up and down to find out what effect each has; they will be different from Program to Program.

PROG PRESET1 ºº

GrandPianoÍÎCh01

≠

Controllers A–D Indicators

A section of the lower line of the display is used to indicate the current settings of the Controller A–D sliders (in Program Play or Mix Play modes only). These four “bar- graph” type indicators will update instantly when any of these four sliders are moved. When a Program or Mix is selected, the display indicates the stored settings for these

QS7/QS8 Reference Manual 15