Alesis DMPRO User Guide

DM PRO
BASIC USER GUIDE

Here is a quick reference guide to some of the most commonly used
functions of the DM Pro. Refer to the DM Pro Reference Manual for
complete descriptions of the following procedures.

CONNECTIONS DIAGRAM

MIDI CONNECTIONS

If you are using a MIDI keyboard or sequencer, connect its [MIDI OUT] to
the [MIDI IN] of the DM Pro. If you have another device that you wish to
control from the same keyboard or sequencer, connect the [MIDI THRU] of
the DM Pro to the [MIDI IN] of the other device.

If you wish to store your edited Drums and Drumkits to a computer or
other data storage device or use an external editor, connect the [MIDI
OUT] of the DM Pro to the [MIDI IN] of the computer or other data

storage device. If you’re using Emagic’s SoundDiver, it requires a

handshake from the DM Pro, so you must also connect the [MIDI OUT] of
the computer to the [MIDI IN] of the DMPro.

1

EXTERNAL TRIGGER CONNECTIONS

• The DM Pro’s Drums can be triggered (played) from two sources:

analog triggers and MIDI triggers.

• Typical analog triggers are drum pads available from numerous
manufacturers that connect to the 1/4” jacks on the DM Pro’s rear
panel.

• Because of the wide variety of pads available, setting up external
triggers takes a little time and experimentation. The procedures,
therefore, are not really appropriate here and we recommend that you
go straight to “Chapter 7: Triggers” and “Appendix B: Advanced
Trigger Information” in the DM Pro Reference Manual to get set up
right away.

MIDI TRIGGER SETUPS

MIDI triggers, on the other hand, are a little more straightforward to set
up. Whether you are using a multi-pad device with a MIDI jack built in
or some other type of MIDI device, simply plug a cable from the MIDI
Output jack of that device to the MIDI Input jack of the DM Pro.

Each Drumkit in the DM Pro has 64 consecutive MIDI Note Numbers
available, which can be thought of as locations or slots where Drums
reside. To assign the Drums you want to the MIDI Note numbers you’re
sending from your controller, first call up a Drumkit to edit by following
the procedure described on the next page in the topic “How to Select a
Drumkit.” Then follow the steps on page 4 in the topic “How to Change a
Drum Within a Drumkit.”

2

PLAYING THE AUTO DEMOS

To give you an idea of the kind of musical power the DM Pro contains, we
have included four “Auto Demos”. These compositions cover a variety of
musical styles, and illustrate how the DM Pro lends itself to many
different environments.

Here’s how to select and play one of the Auto demos:

1. Press and hold the [KIT] button.

2. While still holding the [KIT] button, press the [< CURSOR]
button. You will see a screen that looks like this:

3. Using the VALUE wheel, select a number between 1 and 4.

4. Press [STORE]. The screen will indicate that the DM Pro is
playing the Auto demo you selected. You can stop the Auto demo
at any time by pressing the [KIT] button.

Play Auto demo 1
<STORE>

HOW TO SELECT A DRUMKIT

• To select a Drumkit, press the [KIT] button to jump to the top level of
Drumkit Mode.

• The top level of Drumkit Mode displays the name of the Drumkit in
quotation marks on the top line of the display and nothing on the
bottom line:

“RealProKit”

• Play notes between A0 (MIDI Note # 33) and C6 (MIDI Note # 96) from
your controller to hear the current Drumkit.

• Turn the VALUE encoder to select any of the 64 different Drumkits,
and then press the [KIT] button again to “Load” the Drumkit of your
choice into the “Play Memory” of the DM Pro. Because Drumkits
contain so much information, they must be individually loaded into
the Play Memory after selecting them rather than simply just
selected.

• If the Drumkit number and the [KIT] button are flashing, the Drumkit
currently shown on the display has not yet been loaded – the

3

previously loaded Drumkit still resides in the Play Memory and will
sound until you press [KIT] to load the new Drumkit.

4

HOW TO CHANGE A DRUM WITHIN A DRUMKIT

Background Info

• Individual drum and percussion sounds are all called “Drums” in the
DM Pro.

• Each of the 64 Drumkits in turn contain 64 Drums.

• A Drum is assigned to each of the 64 MIDI Notes across the most
commonly used controller range: A0 (MIDI Note # 33) through C6
(MIDI Note # 96), which just slightly exceeds the range of a 5 octave
keyboard.

Procedure #1 - Using the CHASE Function

1. To change Drums, press the DRUM button.

2. Now press the CHASE button so that it lights, and then play a note
from your controller. The display will show the MIDI Note Number of
the note you just played along with the Drum that is currently
assigned to that MIDI Note.

Procedure #2 - Using the Cursor and Value Encoder

1. Alternatively, if you do not wish to use the CHASE Function, press
DRUM, and then move the CURSOR beneath the MIDI Note Number.
Now you can select the MIDI Note with the VALUE encoder:

AKk:005 PwrShoes

Drums are displayed with their three character “Drum Group”
followed by the “Drum Number” followed by the “Drum Name”:

Note:36 C1

5