ALESIS HR-16:B User Manual
MULTI TRACK MIDI RECORDER
Instruction Manual
Dear Alesis Customer:
You have just purchased a powerful music productlon/comprehensive electronic percussion system.
Please take a moment to glance through this manual to gain a better understanding of the operation of the
HR-16, the MMT-8, and the HR-16:B.
The operating systems of the Alesis HR-16 and the HR-16:B are identical with a few
exceptions. All instructions and descriptions of HR-16 functions In this manual will
apply to the operation of the HR-16:B except for those exceptions which are noted
throughout the manual. When using the HR-16 and the HR-16:B together as one unit,
please refer to the instruction manual Insert, "Using the HR-16 with the HR-16:B", or
to the insert instruction card located Inside the fllp-up instruction lid. Both of these
instructions are Included with your HR-16:B.
PLEASE READ THIS
Concerning the backup memory of the HR-16 and MMT-8.
The backup memories in the HR-16 and the MMT-8 are non-voiatiie. They
are protected by a lithium ceii battery with an expected iife of 10 years.
This means you can turn power off on both machines and your work
wiii be retained in memory.
However, piease be aware that any computer based device with memory
backup can be subject to losing its memory at any time for the following
reasons:
1) If power is interrupted, even briefly, during RECORD, ERASE, or LENGTH
CHANGE, you may lose all memory or some minute portion of memory.
This is possible because the MMT-8 and HR-16's internal computers are
moving information around in memory during these operations. A power
surge, or power interruption could cause an unfortunate memory loss
during these vulnerable operations.
2) Static electricity can also cause a full or partial memory loss.
Therefore, it is recommended that you frequentiy backup any
important work you are invoived in. It is a simpie operation.
Piease make it a habituai part of your use of the HR-16 and MMT-8,
so that your enjoyment and musicai progress won't
be interrupted. See the sections on TAPE in this Instruction
Manuai.
ALESIS HR-16 HIGH SAMPLE RATE 16 BIT DIGITAL
DRUM MACHINE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
HR-16 QUICK BASIC SETUP
PATTERN MODE
RECORDING A PATTERN..........................................................6
LENGTH......................................................................................6
QUANTIZE...................................................................................7
ERASE.........................................................................................7
STEP EDIT MQDE
SONG MODE
SONG EDIT.................................................................................10
COPY
..........................................................................................
OFFSET.......................................................................................1 4
SWING
FILL
.............................................................................................
MODE/DATA ENTRY BUTTONS................................................1 6
VOICE
TUNE...........................................................................................17
MIX..............................................................................................1 7
TEMPO........................................................................................1 7
MIDI/UTILITY
MIDI CHANNEL...........................................................................18
RECEIVE MIDI DRUMS..............................................................1 8
TRANSMIT MIDI DRUMS
MIDI NOTE ASSIGNMENT.........................................................1 9
MIDI ECHO
MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE.........................................................2 0
CLOCK90URCE..........................................................................2 0
MIDI CLOCK OUT.......................................................................21
AUTOSTART
CLICK VALUE.............................................................................2 2
CLICK IN PLAY...........................................................................2 2
MANUAL VOICE/TUNE/MIX.......................................................2 2
BUTTON DYNAMICS..................................................................2 2
SONG LOOP...............................................................................23
TAPE (STORAGE)......................................................................2 3
STORING TO DISK USING MIDI BULK DATA DUMP
SYNCING THE HR-16 TO TAPE................................................2 5
USING THE HR-16 AS A SOUND SOURCE..............................2 6
START/STOP FOOTSWITCH.....................................................2 6
REMAINING MEMORY...............................................................2 7
CLEARING MEMORY.................................................................2 7
HR-16 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART...................................2 8
HR-16 TROUBLESHOOTING CHART
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INTRODUCTION
The Alesis HR-16 (High sample Rate / 16 bit drum machine) is a user friendly, yet
extremely powerful MIDI drum sequencer / sound generator. The sound generation
capabilities of the HR-16 include 16 independent drum "voices", each of which can be
assigned to any one of 49 digital samples (47 in the HR-16:B), and can be routed with a 7
position pan to one ot two sets of stereo outputs. Each voice can also be tuned
independently in 32 Increments over an octave and a half.
The sequencing of the drums is accomplished by entering record, and then playing on
the touch-sensitive drum buttons on the front panel, which is then stored into a "pattern."
There can be up to 100 patterns in the HR-16's memory (00-99). These patterns can be
anywhere from 1 to 682 beats long. The patterns can be combined into lists of patterns,
which are called "songs." There can be up to 100 songs in the HR-16's memory(00-99),
and each can contain a list of patterns up to 255 steps long.
The 16 drum pads at the front of the HR-16 are velocity-sensitive. How hard the pad is hit
determines the volume of the drum on 8 levels. 12 of the pads (all pads except Closed
Hat, Mid Hat, Open Hat, and Crash) are each directly assigned to a voice. This means that
playing a pad repeatedly will retrigger the same voce, and no other pad will effect that
voice.
Any sounds assigned to the three Hi Hat pads will all be assigned to the same voice. This
is so that playing the Closed Hat will cut off the Open or Mid Hat, for a more realistic hi hat
sound. The Crash pad is assigned to two voices that alternate. This means that
repeatedly hitting the crash pad results in two independent crashes (of the same sound)
that can overlap as they decay.
More sounds can be made to overlap by assigning the same sound to two different pads
and alternating which pad is pressed each time the sound is to be played. Only 15 voices
have been used (12 normal pads, 1 voice for Hi Hats, 2 for Crash). The 16th votes is used
for the Click, which can also be assigned to be any of the available sounds.
PLEASE NOTE THESE FEATURES
PROGRAM CHANGE THROUGH MIDI
This allows MIDI program selection of patterns to work while a pan is playing. If a new
program number is received over MIDI, this program number will be selected to be
the NEXT pattern number to play when the current pattern is finished. This functions
exactly as if the new pattern number had been selected with the keypad. If a song is
playing, MIDI program commands will be ignored.
SONG CHANGE THROUGH MIDI
MIDI program changes will select songs if the HR-16 is in Song mode, and not
playing.
SPOT ERASING
This allows spot erasing while in record mode when Quantize is OFF. The erase
button and a drum button can be held down while recording with quantize off in order
to erase all drum events (quantized or not) that occur during the time that the buttons
are held down.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Fsge 3
HR-16 QUICK BASIC SETUP
1. Connect output 1 (either left, right or both) to a suitable monitoring system. If output 2
IS conn^ed. the desired drum pads must be assigned to output 2 using the MIX button
(See MIX.)
2. Connect the MIDI IN jack of the HR-16 to the MIDI OUT jack of a sequencer an external
drum pad controller, or a keyboard.
3. Connect the MIDI OUT jack of the HR-16 to other MIDI sound sources when daisey
chining MIDI devices or to an external drum source. The MIDI OUT jack also doubles as a
MIDI THRU jack and both MIDI IN data and data produced on the HR-16 are present at the
MIDI OUT jack if desired.
AUDIO
For stand alone operation the MIDI jacks need not be connected.
MIDI allows rhythm triggering and programming of the HR-16 from external MIDI devices,
such as keyboards or drum pads that are equipped with MIDI. Also, MIDI can be used to
sync different devices to the HR-16, save and recall the memory using an external disk
drive via MIDI system exclusive data dump, and receive program change commands which
will call up patterns.
The program change command is useful for accessing different sets of sounds when
triggering sounds from drum pads or sequencers.
If a new program change command is received while the HR-16 is in PLAY mode,
the program number will select the next pattern to play after the current pattern is
finished.
The HR-16 has two stereo outputs (four Individual outputs). The volume slider is active on
only the first stereo output (output 1). In addition, if only one side of an output is
connected, the stereo mix assigned on that stereo output becomes a mono mix on that
single output. This saves having to reconstruct a mono mix from a stereo mix, when only a
single output is being used.
Using Four outputs, assign the kick to output 2 panned hard left and the snare to output 2
panned hard right. This leaves all other drums on output 1 panned in stereo as desired
and the kick and snare assigned to their own output.
For more information on setting up drum machines and sequencers, see MMT-8 BASIC
SET UP in the MMT-8 Instruction Manual.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
Page 4
PATTERN MODE
When power is first turned on, the HR-16 will be in SONG or PATT mode (SONG or PATT
LED lit), depending on the mode that was selected before power was turned off. The
song or pattern number will also be the same as when power was turned off.
PATT (pattern) Button
Press the PATT button to enter pattern mode. PATT LED will light. Now, the display
reads:
SELECT PATT 20
Selecting a PATTern
The 00 is underlined to indicate that it will be changed it a new number is selected with the
keypad or the +/- arrow buttons. Pressing the +/- arrow buttons immediately selects the
next pattern number, with the numbers looping past 99 to 00 and looping down from 00
to 99. If a single digit on the keypad is pressed (3, tor example), the display will change to:
SELECT PATT 3_
The display is now indicating that the second digit of the pattern should be entered. After
entering the second digit, the new pattern is selected. If the second digit is not entered
within 2 seconds, the display will revert back to the previous pattern number, and no new
pattern will have been selected. This type of keypad entry is consistent with all entries
made with the keypad described in this manual. Pressing PLAY will start playing the
selected pattern from its beginning, and the PLAY LED will light. The display will read, for
example:
PLAYING PATT fiO
BEAT 001
The display is now showing the current beat number and the pattern number that is being
played. As each beat occurs, the display will advance the beat count. While the pattern is
playing, the keypad and +/- arrow buttons can be used to select a new pattern number.
The display will read:
PATT 00 NEXT 21
BEAT 001
_____
Selecting new PATTerns in PLAY
At the end of the current pattern, the newly selected pattern number will play, with the
beat count starting again at 001. The NEXT pattern to play can be changed up until the
end of the current pattern is reached, after which the new pattern will begin playing, and
the display will revert back to PLAYING PATT.
STOP/CONTINUE Buttons
Pressing STOP/CONTINUE will stop playing a pattern, and the display will return to the
select pattern display. Pressing STOP/CONTINUE again will begin playing a pattern from
the beginning of the beat it was on when it was stopped. Pressing PLAY will always start a
pattern from the beginning. When a pattern reaches its end, it will loop back and continue
playing from the beginning.
Aiesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 5
RECORDING A PATTern (Also see LENGTH and QUANTIZE)
To record on a pattern, press and hold the RECORD button, and then press the PLAY
button. The HR-16 will immediately begin playing back any existing drums in the currently
selected pattern from the beginning, and will add any new drums played on the buttons or
via MIDI to the pattern. The PLAY and RECORD LEDs will be lit, and the display will read:
RECRDING PATTOO
BEAT 001
The pattern number is not underlined, indicating that a new pattern cannot be selected
while recording. When a drum button is pressed, it is recorded along with its dynamics on
eight levels. The drums are always recorded quantized to the nearest currently selected
quantize beat. Pressing STOP exits record mode, and both the RECORD and PLAY
LEDs will turn off. If PLAY is pressed while in RECORD, the RECORD LED will turn off,
and the pattern will immediately begin playing from the start.
LENGTH
When recording for the first time on an empty pattern, the length will default to 8 beats,
unless it was set previously with the LENGTH button .
The LENGTH button is used to set the length of a pattern to a specified number of boats.
While holding the LENGTH button, the display will show the current length of the current
pattern. If it is an empty pattern, the display will read:
PATTOO
LENGTH a08 BEATS
8 beats is the default length of an empty pattern. If it is desired to change the length, the
+/- arrow buttons can be used to move the length up or down in single boat increments
(001 minimum, 682 maximum), or a three digit number can be entered with the keypad. In
either case, the new length is not entered into the pattern until the RECORD button is
pressed. When RECORD is pressed the display changes to:
PATTOO
LENGTH CHANGED
This display remains until RECORD is released. If LENGTH is released before RECORD is
pressed, no change to the length will be made, regardless of what was pressed on the
keypad. If RECORD is pressed after entering a partial length (1 or 2 digits), nothing will
happen. When entering in digits, the first digit entered (1, for example) results in the
following display:
PATTOO
LENGTH 1 BEATS
The display is now waiting for the entry of the second digit. If the second digit is not
entered within 2 seconds, the display will revert to its previous value. If RECORD is
pressed after entering an incomplete length (1 or 2 digits), the display will revert to its
previous value.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
Page 6
When a new length is entered (RECX)RD), any drum events that ware beyond t^he new
set length will be erased. If the new length is longer than the previous one, the additional
length will be filled with silence. If it is desired to remove or add length to the beginning of
a pattern, first set the desired length (as described above), and then press and release
the PATT button. The display will change to:
CHANGESPATTTOP
LENGTH 208 BEATS
Pressing the PATT button again will toggle back to the original display. If RECORD is
pressed with the above display showing, any additional beats will be placed at the
beginning of the pattern, and any beats removed will be removed from the pattern top.
Drum events that were stored in the removed beats will be removed from the pattern.
The LENGTH button has no effect in song mode, or while a song or pattern is playing.
QUANTIZE
The QUANTIZE button is used to select the resolution at which drum events are to be
recorded. While holding down the QUANTIZE button in pattern mode, the display will
read:
QUANTIZE RECORD
ТОЩ6_________
The 10 quantize choices are 1/4, 1/6, 1/8, 1/12, 1/16, 1/24, 1/32, 1/48, 1/64, and OFF.
The +/- arrow buttons of the keypad can bo used to scroll through the choices. The
Keypad Dunons i-O can also be used to select the quantize value direaiy, with
1 = 1/4 and 0= OFF.
Quantize will only affect newly recorded events, and will not change any events already
recorded. Whenever a new quantize value is selected, the swing amount will be reset to
50% Also, the quantize value determines the stop amount to be used when in pattern
step mode (PATT+RECORD). If quantize is set to OFF, the steps will be in 384th notes.
ERASE
The erase button is used to erase a single drum, a pattern, or a song. When in PATT
mode, pressing and holding the ERASE button causes the following display:
ERASE PATT 01
The number 01 would actually be the currently selected pattern number. To erase the
selected pattern, press RECORD. The display will change to:
ERASE PATT 01
PATT ERASED
The display will remain this way until the RECORD button is released, after which the
display will return to its previous state. To erase a single drum, press and hold the ERASE
button, and select the desired drum button. If, for example, TOM 1 is pressed, the display
will read:
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
ERASE PATT 01
TOMI ERASED
ТОМ 1 is now completely erased from pattern 1. When erasing a single drum it Is not
necessary to press RECORD.
In SONG mode, holding the ERASE button will cause the following display:
ERASE SONG 01
Pressing fhe RECORD button will erase the currently selected song number.
VVhen erasing a pattern or song, the erase is not executed until RECORD is pressed, and
will be aborted if ERASE Is released before pressing RECORD. When erasing a drum,
the erase occurs as soon as the drum button is pressed. The ERASE button has no
effect while a song or pattern is playing.
Erasing Individual drums in RECORD mode (selected beats)
While recording in a pattern, individual drums can be erased by holding the ERASE
button while playing the drum on the desired beat to be erased. If the drum was hit within
a quantize window in which that same drum had been previously recorded, it will be
erased. Holding the drum button down will continue to erase any of the same drum
events that may occur.
This means that a drum button can be held down with ERASE throughout a part of a
pattern while in record in order to erase all of fhat drum's events that occur within the
current quantize step. If eighth notes existed on a snare for example, and erase and
snare were held down in record while in quarter note quantize, only the snare events on
quarter notes would be erased.
Erasing an entire drum button's rhythm (all beats) or erasing and entire PATTern
While not playing or recording a pattern, the ERASE button can be used to erase all of a
drum's events (regardless of quantize mode) from the entire pattern by holding erase and
hitting the drum. It can also be used to erase the entire pattern by holding ERASE and
hitting RECORD.
STEP EDIT MODE
How to enter STEP EDIT mode
To enter step record / step edit, press and hold PATTERN, and then press RECORD,
then release both buttons. The RECORD LED will light, but the PLAY LED will not.
Indicating that you are in step mode. The display will look as follows:
STEP 001 + 00/96
PERC1 VOLUME:a
The first line of the display shows the current beat number, followed by the sub-beat
shown as a fraction of 96ths of a beat. The + arrow button is used to move forwards in
Alesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 8
single steps of the current quantize value (you cannot move backwards). If quantize is set
to 1/16, each step will equal 24/96 (If swing is set to 50%).
If a drum existed on a step in between the current quantize value, it will play as it is
stepped past, but the display will not stop on that drum. The lower display shows the
drum that was triggered followed by the volume of that drum. Since only one drum can be
displayed at a time, if more than one drum occurred on the same beat, the + arrow button
will advance through each drum one at a time before advancing to the next step. If a
quantize step does not have any drum recorded on it, the display will read EMPTY in place
of the drum name. The 16 possible drums are displayed with 7 characters each as follows:
TOM 1 TOM 2
KICK
These same displays appear elsewhere in this manual when the drum buttons are
displayed. The volume is shown as one of eight possible volumes. To add a new drum to
a beat, just press a drum button. That drum, along with its volume (how hard the pad was
hit), will be recorded onto the displayed step.
If there were other drums already recorded on that beat, they are not effected. If the drum
played already existed on the current beat, it will be replaced with the new volume played.
Erasing a drum from a step
To erase a drum from a step, hold ERASE, and press RECORD, the drum that was being
displayed will be erased. To edit the volume of a drum, the 1 -8 buttons on the keypad are
used, or the displayed drum is replayed. Step mode is exited by pressing STOP or
PATTERN. If PLAY is pressed, step mode will be exited, and the pattern will begin
playing from the beginning. If swing is on, STEP mode will step in "swinged" increments.
SNARE CIS HAT
TOM3
TOM 4 RIDE
MID HAT OPN HAT
CRASH
CLAPS
PERC3
PERC1
SONG MODE
Selecting and Playing a SONG / SONG Button
Press the SONG button to enter song mode. The display will read as follows, with the last
song entered being indicated in the number portion of the display.
SELECT SONG 00
STEP 01 PATT27
Selecting a SONG
A SONG is a list of patterns in a specific order, with each entry into the list being a STEP
which contains a pattern number. The 00 is underlined to indicate that it will be changed if
a new number is selected with the keypad . If a single digit on the keypad is pressed (2.
for example), the display will change to:
SELECT SONG 2_
STEP 01 PATT 27
The display is now indicating that the second digit of the song should be entered. After
entering the second digit, the new song is selected. If the second digit is not entered
within 2 seconds, the display will revert back to the previous song number, and no new
song will have been selected. The +/- arrow buttons are used to scroll forwards and
backwards through the steps within a song. Pressing PLAY will start playing the selected
song from its beginning, and the PLAY LED will light. The display will read, for example:
PERC4
PERC2
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
Page 9
SONG 00 BEAT 001
STEP 01 PATT27
The first line of the display is now showing the current song number being played and
the current beat number of the pattern being played. The second line of the display is
showing the step number and the pattern assigned to the step that is playing at the
moment. When the song advances to the next step, the display will show the pattern for
step 2, etc. Pressing STOP/CONTINUE will stop playing the song, and the display will
return to the select song display. Pressing STOP/CONTINUE again will begin playing the
song from the point at which it was stopped. Pressing PLAY will always start the song
from the beginning of the first step. When a song reaches its end, it will stop and the
PLAY LED will turn off, unless SONG LOOP (see MIDI/UTIL) is on, which will cause the
song to loop back to step one and continue playing.
SONG EDIT
A song is edited by using the DELETE, INSERT, and OFFSET buttons, along with the +/arrow buttons. The arrow buttons are used to move fonivard and backward through the list
of steps in a song. If a song is empty, the display will read:
SELECT SONG fiO
STEP 01 END
Inserting a Step / INSERT Button
To insert a step into a song at the currently displayed step, press and hold INSERT. The
display will read:
INSERT INTO
STEP 01 PATTaO
While holding the INSERT button, the keypad or +/- buttons can be used to change the
pattern number displayed. To complete the insertion, the RECORD button must be
pressed while still holding the INSERT button. The display will read:
INSERT COMPLETED
STEP 01 PATTOO
This display will remain until RECORD is released, after which the display will revert to the
first INSERT display. If It is desired to insert the same pattern many times, the RECORD
button can be pressed repeatedly while holding the INSERT button. Each time a pattern
is inserted, the previous pattern at the displayed step is moved to step +1, and all other
steps after it are also stepped +1. If a tempo change is desired, pressing TEMPO while
holding INSERT causes the following display:
INSERT INTO
STEP 01 TEMJ.20
The keypad can now be used to change the desired tempo to be inserted into the song.
Again, pressing RECORD completes the insertion. Pressing the TEMPO button again
will change the display to PATT again. The programmable tempo range of a step in a song
is from 46 to 200 beats per minute.
Deleting a step / DELETE Button
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
......................................................
Page 10
To delete a step from a song, press and hold the DELETE button, and the display
will read:
DELETE STEP
STEP 01 PATT27
To complete the deletion, the RECORD button must be pressed while still holding
the DELETE button. This shifts all patterns after the displayed step down one
step. After all steps have been deleted, the display will show step 1 being END
(empty song). The END step cannot be deleted (RECORD will be ignored).
Replacing a step / OFFSET Button
The OFFSET button is used to replace the currently displayed step’s pattern or
tempo with another patten or tempo. It is provided as a convenience, and
essentially does the same thing as DELETE followed by INSERT. Pressing and
holding the OFFSET button causes the following display:
REPLACE STEP
STEP 01 PATTgO
While holding the OFFSET button, the keypad can be used to change the pattern
number displayed. To complete the replacement, the RECORD button must be
pressed while still holding the OFFSET button. The display will read:
STEP REPLACED
STEP 01 PATTOO
This display will remain until RECORD is released, after which the display will
revert to the first REPLACEMENT display. If the step being replaced contained a
tempo, the display will read ТЕМ instead of PATT. Whether replacing a pattern
or a tempo, the TEMPO button can be turned on or off so as to change what the
replacement will be. When replacing a step, all other steps remain unchanged,
since the number of steps does not change.
Erasing an entire SONG
To erase an entire song, press and hold the ERASE button. The display will read:
ERASE SONG 00
While holding the ERASE button, if RECORD is pressed, the song will be erased,
and the display will read:
ERASE SONG 00
SONG ERASED
This display will remain until RECORD is released. In all of the above editing
examples, no changes to the song will occur until RECORD is pressed.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
COPY
Copying a PATTern to Itself
The copy button is used to append a pattern or song to another pattern or song. It
orily functions while the COPY button is held down. If the COPY button is released
(either before or after the copy is executed), the previous mode will show up on
the display, and copy mode is exited. When in PATT mode, and COPY is pressed
and held:
FOR THE HR-16 - Pressing RECORD completes the operation and the display reads
COPY COMPLETE.
FOR THE HR-16:B - At this point you may either enter the pattern's two-digit number
with the keypad or press the + or - key to set the copy assignment to the same
pattern number. Pressing RECORD completes the operation and the display reads
COPY COMPLETE.
This display remains until the RECORD button is released, which then returns
the display to its previous state. The above example demonstrated copying a
pattern to itself, which will double the length of that pattern.
Copying a PATTern to another PATTern
To copy a pattern to another pattern, press and hold COPY, then enter the two
digit pattern number with the keypad. The display will show the selected pattern
number. Pressing RECORD initiates the copy, and appends the source pattern
(the current pattern before COPY was pressed) to the destination pattern (the
pattern entered with the keypad). If the destination pattern was empty, then the
destination now contains an exact copy of the source pattern.
If the destination was not empty, then the destination's length is increased by the
length of the source pattern, and the source pattern is appended to the end of the
destination pattern. All voice, mix, and tuning assignments made on the source
pattern will be overridden by the destination pattern's assignments. If the length
of the destination pattern would result in more than 682 beats after copying, the
copy will not be executed, and the display will read:
TOO MANY BEATS
IN PATTERN
Copying a single drum pad's rhythm to another drum pad
Single drum pads can also be copied to other pads. If a drum pad (CLOSED HAT,
for example) is pressed while holding the COPY button, the display will read:
COPY FROM PATT
CLS HAT > 2
Alesis HR-16 Instructions .... ... ... ... ... ... ... .............................. Page 12
Both displayed pattern numbers will actually display the current pattern
number (00-99).
The display is now waiting for a second drum pad to be pressed (pressing RECORD
at this point will ,do nothing). If for example, TOM 1 was pressed, the display
would read:
COPY FROM PATT
CLSHAT>IOM1
The display of the second pad pressed remains underlined, indicating that It can
still be changed by selecting another drum pad. As in copying patterns, once
RECORD is pressed, the copy will be complete, and the display will read "COPY
COMPLETE."
The length of the rhythm of the destination pad will not be changed, and the source
drum rhythm will be merged with the destination drum rhythm. The destination
drum will remain assigned to its previous voice, mix, and tuning. A drum from
one pattern can be copied to a drum of another pattern if the destination pattern
is selected before selecting the source and destination drum buttons.
Copying a SONG to itself
In SONG mode, pressing and holding the COPY button will result in the following
display:
COPY FROM SONG
01 TO SONG ai
The 01 display will actually show the currently selected song number. Like in
PATT mode, pressing RECORD will append the current song to itself, making it
twice as long.
Copying a SONG to another SONG
If a new song number is selected, the display will show the newly selected song
number, and pressing RECORD will append the source song number (the number
selected before pressing COPY), to the destination song number (the number
selected while holding COPY).
This mode is very useful, since a verse consisting of more than one pattern could
be entered into a song, and then appended into another song when needed without
having to re-enter the patterns for the verse. If the destination song would
result in more than 255 steps after copying, the copy will not be executed, and
the display will read:
TOO MANY STEPS
IN SONG
In all cases, the copy is not executed until RECORD is pressed, and will be aborted
if COPY is released before pressing RECORD. The COPY button has no effect while
a song or pattern is playing.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 13
OFFSET
The OFFSET button is used to add or subtract a number of clock pulses (384th
notes) to a drum or pattern. If OFFSET is held down, the display will show:
OFFSET Q0/384th
The keypad can be used to enter a two-digit number (00-99), or the +/- arrow
buttons can be used to increment or decrement the amount. The range of the
offset is ±99. Entering a value with the keypad will remain the current display
sign (-I- or -). To change the sign, the +/- buttons must be used to "pass
through” zero. Pressing the RECORD button executes the offset command for all
drums in a pattern, resulting in the following display:
OFFSET 03/384th
PATT OFFSET
This display remains until RECORD is released. The offset function moves drum
events ahead (-ь) or behind (-) the beat in 384th note steps. This is used to
change the "feel" of the pattern. If an event is moved past the end of a pattern, it
is put at the beginning. Likewise, if an event is moved to before the beginning, it
is put at the end. Like the ERASE function, individual drums can be offset as well.
If, for example, TOM 1 is pressed, the display will read:
OFFSET 03/384th
TOMI OFFSET
TOM 1 is now offset ahead of its previous location by 3 384th notes. Unlike
quantize, this feature modifies the already existing drum events in a pattern, and
does not effect any newly recorded events in the pattern. Because of this, it is
suggested that a copy of a pattern be made before changing the offset so that the
original will be easily retrievable if the results are undesirable.
The OFFSET button does not function while playing a pattern, or while in song
mode.
SWING
The SWING button is used to change the ratio between two equal rhythmic values
(such as 1/16th notes) in order to achieve a shuffle feel. If SWING is held down,
the display will show:
SWING IN RECORD
ao=5o.o%
The display above shows the current swing value. The -f/- arrow buttons can be
used to Increment or decrement the swing number, with the percentage of swing
Alesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 14
________
shown beside it. 0 swing = 50% = no swing. The range of the swing is
determined by the current quantize value. The swing amount will only effect
newly recorded drum events, like in quantize. The swing amounts are shown
below;
QUANT
1/4
1/6
1/8
1/12
1/16
1/24
1/32
1/48
1/64
OFF
SWING
00
00-24
00 -16
00-12
00-08
00-06
00-04
00-02
00-01 50.0 - 58.3 %
00 50.0 %
PERCENTAGE
50.0 %
50.0 - 68.8 %
50.0 - 66.7 %
50.0 - 68.8 %
50.0 - 66.7 %
50.0-68.8%
50.0 - 66.7 %
50.0 - 62.5 %
The SWING button does not function while playing a pattern, or while in song
mode.
FILL
The FILL button is used to allow repeated entries of drums into a pattern without
having to repeatedly press the drum buttons. While FILL is held down, pressing
and holding any drum button will cause that drum to repeat at the current
quantize rate until either the FILL button or the drum button is released. The
volume of the repeats will be determined by how hard the drum button is first
hit. Fill will only work while playing or recording.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
Page 15
MODE / DATA ENTRY BUTTONS
All MODE buttons function as on/ofi switches. This means that they are pressed
once to enter the mode, and pressed again to exit the mode. When any of the modes
have been entered, the associated LED will be lit. For simplicity, any time
PATTERN or SONG is pressed, any previously selected mode will be turned off.
The VOICE, TUNE, and MIX settings can be stored with each pattern by holding the
RECORD button and pressing VOICE, TUNE, or MIX, respectively. Any changes
made to these parameters without storing them are temporary edits that will be
lost if a new pattern is selected. Copying a pattern to an empty pattern will also
copy these settings. Copying a pattern to a not empty pattern will not copy these
settings, but will instead retain the settings of the pattern being copied to. An
empty pattern defaults to a standard voice assignment with no pitch shift, and
nominal mix levels.
IMPORTANT NOTE: VOICE, TUNE, AND MIX ASSIGNMENTS CANNOT BE
STORED IN AN EMPTY PATTERN UNLESS THE LENGTH HAS BEEN
CHANGED TO A LENGTH OTHER THAN 8 BEATS.
VOICE
Selecting a VOICE
To change the sound of any of the drum pads, the desire pad is pressed, if KICK is
pressed, for example, the display will show:
KICK PAD = ¡2.1
24' POWER KICK
The slider, keypad, or +/- arrow buttons can be used to change the selected
sound, and the lower display will show the name of the currently selected sound.
There are a total of 49 sounds to choose from. Any changes made to any of the
drum pads are temporary until stored and will be lost as soon as a new pattern Is
selected, or the current pattern is reselected (unless Manual Volce/Tune/Mix Is
off, see below) .
Storing VOICE settings
To store the VOICE settings, press and hold RECORD, and then press VOICE. When
this is done, the voice settings will be permanently stored with the current
pattern.
IMPORTANT NOTE: VOICE, TUNE, AND MIX ASSIGNMENTS CANNOT BE
STORED IN AN EMPTY PATTERN UNLESS THE LENGTH HAS BEEN
CHANGED TO A LENGTH OTHER THAN 8 BEATS.
Aiesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 16
TUNE
The TUNE mode is used to select the desired pitch for each drum pad, and the
click. When it is pressed, its LED will light, and the display will read:
CLICK
PITCH = 0
This display appears when TUNE is first pressed, and the display was not
previously in MIX or VOICE mode for a drum pad. It is used to select the pitch of
the click (metronome). The pitch amount can be changed with the slider,or the
+/- arrow buttons. The range is from -16 to +15. As with the voice mode,
pressing a drum pad will select that drum for pitch editing. Also like in voice
mode, changes made to drum pads are temporary until stored by holding RECORD
and pressing TUNE. See IMPORTANT NOTE under storing voice settings.
MIX
The MIX button Is used to change the volume, panning, and output assignment of
each drum button. When MIX Is pressed its LED lights, and the display reads:
CLICK OUTPUT 1
VOL:65 PAN:. •
This display appears when MIX is first pressed, and the display was not
previously In VOICE or TUNE mode for a drum pad. It is used to select the output,
the volume, and the panning of the click (metronome). The output is selected
with the 1 and 2 buttons of the keypad to select stereo outputs 1 or 2,
respectively. The volume control Is adjusted with the slider (00 to 99), and the
panning is adjusted with the +/- arrow buttons. The panning is seven position,
and the display will show <3, <2, <1, <>, 1>, 2>, or 3>. As with the voice mode,
pressing a drum pad will select that drum for mix editing. Also like In voice
mode, changes made to drum pads are temporary until stored by holding RECORD
and pressing MIX. See IMPORTANT NOTE under storing voice settings.
NOTE: The Volume slider on the front controls output 1 only.
TEMPO
The TEMPO button is used to change the tempo of a pattern or song. The tempo can
be stored with a song, but not with a pattern. While in pattern mode, the tempo
remains at its previous setting until changed. While in song mode, the tempo
changes to the programmed tempo each time a tempo step is encountered within a
song. While in pattern mode, pressing the TEMPO button causes the TEMPO LED to
light, and results in the foliowing display:
TEMPO = J.2 0
BEATS PER MINUTE
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
The +/- arrows and the SELECT slider can be used to select a new tempo or a
tempo can be entered directly with three digits on the keypad. Tempo changes are
effective as soon as they are entered, and the RECORD button does not have to be
pressed.
In SONG mode, the tempo is dispiayed as a relative amount of change from the pre
programmed song tempo. The display reads:
SONG TEMPO 100%
TEMPO = 120
The current tempo (the one most recently recalled within a song) will be
displayed in the lower display, and the upper display shows the percentage of
programmed tempos to be used. The keypad can be used to enter a three-digit
number, or the +/- arrow buttons can be used to increment or decrement the
amount. The range of the shift is 50% (half tempo) to 200% (double tempo).
This change is shown as a percentage so that any tempo changes that occur in the
song will keep their time ratios constant.
MIDI / UTIL
The MIDI / UTIL button is used to access a number of miscellaneous functions that
usually do not need to be accessed very often. The functions are scrolled through
with the SELECT slider, with the display showing the current function, and each
function being numbered for easy reference. The keypad and +/- arrow buttons
are used to change the parameters. All of these parameters are global parameters,
e.g., they are set once for the entire machine and are not programmable for each
pattern or song. The pages are as follows:
MIDI CHANNEL
The first MIDI UTIL page is MIDI CHANNEL. The display looks like this:
01 SET MIDI
CHANNEL: Q1
The keypad and +/- buttons can be used to change the MIDI channel from 01 to 16.
This sets the MIDI channel that the HR-16 will transmit and receive on. If 00 is
selected, the display will read OMNI. In OMNI mode, the HR-16 will transmit on
channel 1, and will receive on all channels. The default is OMNI.
RECEIVE MIDI DRUMS
The RECEIVE MIDI DRUMS function is used to determine whether or not incoming
MIDI notes from a sequencer, keyboard, or MIDI drum pad controller should
trigger the drums. The display looks like this:
Alesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 18
shown beside it. 0 swing = 50% = no swing. The range of the swing is
determined by the current quantize value. The swing amount will only effect
newly recorded drum events, like in quantize. The swing amounts are shown
below:
QUANT
1/4
1/6
1/8
1/12
1/16
1/24
1/32
1/48
1/64
OFF
SWING
00
00-24
00 -16
00-12
00-08
00-06
00-04 50.0 - 66.7 %
00-02
00-01
00
PERCENTAGE
50.0 %
50.0 - 68.8 %
50.0 - 66.7 %
50.0 - 68.8 %
50.0 - 66.7 %
50.0-68.8%
50.0 - 62.5 %
50.0 - 58.3 %
50.0 %
The SWING button does not function while playing a pattern, or while in song
mode.
FILL
The FILL button is used to allow repeated entries of drums into a pattern without
having to repeatedly press the drum buttons. While FILL is held down, pressing
and holding any drum button will cause that drum to repeat at the current
quantize rate until either the FILL button or the drum button is released. The
volume of the repeats will be determined by how hard the drum button is first
hit. Fill will only work while playing or recording.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions
Page 15
MODE / DATA ENTRY BUTTONS
All MODE buttons function as on/off switches. This means that they are pressed
once to enter the mode, and pressed again to exit the mode. When any of the modes
have been entered, the associated LED wili be iit. For simpiicity, any time
PATTERN or SONG is pressed, any previously selected mode will be turned off.
The VOICE, TUNE, and MIX settings can be stored with each pattern by holding the
RECORD button and pressing VOICE, TUNE, or MIX, respectively. Any changes
made to these parameters without storing them are temporary edits that will be
lost if a new pattern is selected. Copying a pattern to an empty pattern will also
copy these settings. Copying a pattern to a not empty pattern will not copy these
settings, but will instead retain the settings of the pattern being copied to. An
empty pattern defaults to a standard voice assignment with no pitch shift, and
nominal mix levels.
IMPORTANT NOTE: VOICE, TUNE. AND MIX ASSIGNMENTS CANNOT BE
STORED IN AN EMPTY PATTERN UNLESS THE LENGTH HAS BEEN
CHANGED TO A LENGTH OTHER THAN 8 BEATS.
VOICE
Selecting a VOICE
To change the sound of any of the drum pads, the desire pad is pressed. If KICK is
pressed, for example, the display will show:
KICK PAD = at
24' POWER KICK
The slider, keypad, or +/- arrow buttons can be used to change the selected
sound, and the lower display will show the name of the currently selected sound.
There are a total of 49 sounds to choose from. Any changes made to any of the
drum pads are temporary until stored and will be lost as soon as a new pattern Is
selected, or the current pattern is reselected (unless Manual Voice/Tune/Mix Is
off, see below) .
Storing VOICE settings
To store the VOICE settings, press and hold RECORD, and then press VOICE. When
this is done, the voice settings will be permanently stored with the current
pattern.
IMPORTANT NOTE: VOICE, TUNE, AND MIX ASSIGNMENTS CANNOT BE
STORED IN AN EMPTY PATTERN UNLESS THE LENGTH HAS BEEN
CHANGED TO A LENGTH OTHER THAN 8 BEATS.
Alesis HR-16 Instructions ..................................................................................................................................... Page 16
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