Alesis QSR 64 manual WHAT’S a MIX?, Whats a BANK?, About Sound Groups

Your First Session: Chapter 2

get back to it instantly at the touch of a button. When you select a Program, all of its parameter settings are recalled to recreate the original sound.

The QSR 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 front panel of the QSR. 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, guitars, bass and drums.

A Program may have from 1 to 4 different sounds which can be combined in a variety of ways to create the overall sound of the instrument the Program is intended to emulate. These four sounds can be layered on top of one another, or split up into different sections of the keyboard. You can even have different sounds played depending on how hard you play the keyboard (this is known as velocity).

WHAT’S A MIX?

A Mix is a combination of 1 to 16 Programs. These Programs can be combined in many ways. The most common is multi-timbralwhen connected to a MIDI sequencer, which means that for each MIDI channel the QSR receives (up to 16), a different Program may be selected, thus creating anything from a small pop/rock ensemble to a complete orchestra. Another way of using a Mix is by layering two or more Programs together, so that they play simultaneously from your MIDI controller. You can also create a split, where one Program is in the lower half of your keyboard, while another is at the top half; and these programs can even overlap in the middle.

WHAT'S A BANK?

A Bank is a collection of 128 Programs and 100 Mixes. There are five internal banks available at any time, with more if a card is in the Sound Card slot. The current bank is shown on the top line of the display, and will cycle in the following order:

USER	PRESET1	PRESET3	PRESET2	GenMIDI
…and optionally …		CARD A-1	CARD A-2, etc.

Each bank contains its own unique Programs and Mixes. Program 10 in Preset Bank 1 is different from Program 10 in Preset Bank 3, although they can be (and are usually) related sounds. A Mix may contain Programs from any bank.

The BANK SELECT [UP] and [DOWN] buttons change the current bank from the front panel, and MIDI Bank Select commands may also be used to select any of the 640 Programs on board, or additional card programs.

Preset and General MIDI banks are permanently “burned in” at the factory. User banks, and Card banks from an SRAM card, may be changed by the user. If you edit a Preset Program or Mix, it can be saved to a User or SRAM card bank only.

ABOUT SOUND GROUPS

Preset Banks 1-3 and the User bank are organized into 13 Groups of 10 Sounds each (Programs 00-09 are pianos, 50-59 are basses, and so on). The GenMIDI bank, however, does not follow this arrangement; it follows the Program list of the General MIDI standard. Programs on some sound cards may not follow that arrangement either, depending on the card type.

QSR Reference Manual 2