Alesis QS8, QS7 manual Polyphony in MIX Play Mode, Using the QS AS a Master Keyboard

Chapter 5: Editing Mixes

POLYPHONY IN MIX PLAY MODE

The QS has 64-note polyphony. In Mix Play Mode, if you have all 16 MIDI channels assigned to the same keyboard range, and each channel’s Program has only one active Program Sound, you’ll have 4-note polyphony as you play the keyboard (but a really thick layer...). This is extreme, of course, but should tell you what you can expect when you really pile on the layers from the keyboard.

USING THE QS AS A MASTER KEYBOARD

Mix Play Mode gives the QS the capabilities of a MIDI master keyboard. You can layer the QS’s internal sounds with an external synthesizer's sounds without using up internal polyphony by adjusting the proper parameters in the Mix Edit mode.

Example: You can have 2 layers (or a split) played directly from the QS, simultaneously playing on external synthesizers using a MIDI channel which has its internal QS’s Program Enable parameter turned OFF.

SETTING THE MIDI OUT CHANNELS FOR A MIX IN GLOBAL MODE

The QS offers a wide variety of ways to set the MIDI output. It is very easy in Program Play Mode; you just use the [▲ PAGE] and [PAGE ▲] buttons to set the MIDI OUT channel for the whole instrument. But when using the QS in Mix Play Mode, you may want to transmit on several MIDI channels at once, and to temporarily isolate certain channels within a Mix. This is done with the Keyboard Mode function.

➀ Press [EDIT SELECT] and then [BANK ▲].

Note the word "Global" in blue under the BANK key.

➁Press [PAGE ▲] five times to get to Page 6. The display should look like this:

ED:GLOBAL „œ

KBD MODE: NORMAL

➂Use the [▲ VALUE] and [VALUE ▼] buttons or the CONTROLLER [D] slider to set the Keyboard Mode.

The options are: NORMAL, CH SOLO and OUT 1 — OUT 16.

NORMAL. In this mode, the MIDI channels sent out will correspond to whatever layers or splits the Mix is set up for. For example, in a Mix bank, there may be several Mixes in which the keyboard is split in two or more ways from left to right; each of these “zones” is linked to a different set of channels. As you play through each zone, it can be set to send MIDI messages corresponding to that key range and trigger the corresponding channels. Note that certain controllers such as pitch bend and aftertouch will send on all channels at once. The MIDI Monitor indicators in the display will show which channels are enabled; but if the QS is sending a MIDI OUT message on a channel without its internal sound being enabled, it will not show on the MIDI Monitor.

46 QS7/QS8 Reference Manual