Alesis QSR 64 manual Realtime Performance Functions

Your First Session: Chapter 2

REALTIME PERFORMANCE FUNCTIONS

The QSR provides various ways to control the sound as you are playing. Try out some of these functions while playing your MIDI 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 of your keyboard 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 of your keyboard, 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.

•Controllers A–D.The QSR provides four global controllers, called Controllers A through D, which allow control over various parameters of a Program. These Controllers are defined in Global Edit Mode (Pages 4 through 7) to respond to specific MIDI controller messages. Many of the QSR’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.

Further expressive control is available with a pedal switch or expression pedal. By using a sustain pedal connected to your master MIDI keyboard, you can have the sound sustain even after you release the keys. By connecting an expression pedal to your master MIDI keyboard,, 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).

QSR Reference Manual 5