Alesis STRIKE MULTIPAD Users Manual

User Guide

( 2 – 26 )

Appendix

( 27 – 30 )

A

User Guide

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Strike Multipad. At Alesis, we know how serious music is to you. That’s why we design our
equipment with only one thing in mind—to make your performance the best it can be.

Box Contents

Strike Multipad

Power Adapter

Software Download Card

Quickstart Guide

Safety & Warranty Manual

Support

For the latest information about this product (system requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and product
registration, visit alesis.com.

For additional product support, visit alesis.com/support.

Setup

Items not listed in Introduction > Box Contents are sold separately.

Powered Monitors

MIDI Device

udio Sources

(Mobile Devices,

Mixer,

Microphone, etc.)

Power

2

USB
Flash
Drive

Computer

External

Trigger

Pad

Footswitches

Features

Top Panel

1. Pads: Use these pads to trigger samples or perform control functions.

2. Main Knob: Turn this knob to adjust the volume level of the Main Outputs on the rear panel.

3. Aux Knob: Turn this knob to adjust the volume level of the Aux Outputs on the rear panel.

4. Phone Knob: Turn this knob to adjust the volume level of the Headphone Outputs on the front panel.

5. Display: As the center for editing kits, pads, effects, and samples, this full-color display shows the current kit, settings,
and other information. Use the Main Encoder to scroll through available options and change parameter values, and
press it to select. Use the Function Buttons (F1–F6) to select tabs and functions shown at the bottom edge of the
display.

6. Function Buttons (F1 – F6): Press one of these 6 buttons to select the corresponding tab or function shown above it
(at the bottom edge of the display).

3

7. Perform: Press this button multiple times to cycle between the three pages of Perform mode: Pad View, Trigger In
View, and Foot Control View. See Basic Operation > Perform Mode for more information.

8. Main Encoder: This knob serves as the main tool for adjusting settings listed on the Display. Turn this knob to scroll
through settings and parameters. To edit a setting, press the encoder to select the setting, turn the encoder to adjust
the value, then press the encoder again to save the changes.

9. BPM: Press this button to bring up the BPM and Time Signature settings pop-up. Use the Main Encoder to adjust
the settings. Alternatively, you can use the F3 or F4 buttons for tap tempo.

10. Click: Briefly press this button to turn the click on or off. When on, this button will flash at the current BPM and the
click will play to the assigned audio output. Press and hold this button to edit the Sound, Level, Pan, Interval and
Output settings for the click.

11. Sample: Press this button to enter Sample Mode, where you can record audio from the Record Inputs or from the

USB MIDI/Audio port connected to a computer. See Basic Operation > Customizing Kits and Sounds > Recording

a Sample for more information.

12. Panic: Press this button to immediately stop all sound playing to all outputs.

13. Kit: Press this button to view a list of kits and to edit kit level settings.

14. Pad: Press this button to edit pad level settings, such as RGB lights, pad response, and output routing.

15. Sound: Press this button to browse and edit the many included sounds included with Strike Multipad, or to import
your own.

16. Utility: Press

this button to edit the global settings and backup your user data.

17. Kit Select: Press these buttons to select a kit.

18. Kit FX: Press this button to enter Kit FX Mode, where you edit the three Kit FX settings and apply them to individual
pads, trigger inputs, or footswitches.

19. MST FX: Press this button to enter the Master FX Mode, where you can apply effects, EQ and compression for all
signals routed to the Main Outputs.

20. Pad Cue: Press this button to audition sounds to the Headphone Outputs only. When active, the button LED will
flash on and off, and any pads triggered will be routed directly to the headphones without interrupting the main audio
output.

21. A-Link Encoders: These knobs can be assigned to control pad parameters or FX parameters. See Other Features

> A-Link

for more information.

22. A-Link Bank Buttons: Press these buttons to select the active bank of assignments for the A-Link Encoders. Press
and hold one of these buttons to edit the encoder assignments for that bank.

Front Panel

1. Headphone Outputs (1/8”/3.5 mm or 1/4”/6.35 mm): Connect your stereo headphones to this input. Adjust the
volume with the Headphone Vol knob.

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Rear Panel

1. Power Input: Connect the included power adapter (9 V DC, 1,500 mA) to this input.

2. Cable Restraint: You can secure the cable of the power adapter to this restraint to help prevent disconnecting it
accidentally.

3. Power Switch: Press this button to power the drum module on. Power it on only after you have connected all of your
input devices and before you power on any connected loudspeakers. Press and hold this button to power the drum
module off. All of your settings will be saved automatically when powering down. Power off your loudspeakers before
powering off the drum module.

4. USB Memory: Connect a USB flash drive to this port to load and save WAV files, kits, and global settings. See Basic

Operation > Customizing Kits and Sounds > Importing Files from USB for more information.

5. USB MIDI/Audio: Use a standard USB cable to connect this USB port to an available USB port on your computer.
This connection sends and receives MIDI and audio information to and from the computer.

6. MIDI In (5-pin DIN): Connect this input to the MIDI output of an external MIDI device (synthesizer, drum machine,
etc.).

7. MIDI Out/Thru (5-pin DIN): Connect this output to the MIDI input of an external MIDI device (synthesizer, drum
machine, etc.). In Thru mode, MIDI received from the MIDI Input will be sent back out of this output. To enable Thru
mode, go to Utility > MIDI and set the MIDI Thru setting to On.

8. Main Outputs: (1/4”/6.35 mm, TS): Connect these outputs to your loudspeakers, audio interface, etc. Turn the Main
Knob on the top panel to adjust the volume level.

9. Aux Outputs (1/4”/6.35 mm, TS): Connect these outputs to route audio signal to another destination. You can
individually route sounds from each pad, trigger in, or foot control to either the Main Outputs or Aux Outputs by
going to the Edit Pad > Output menu and changing the Audio Output setting.

10. Trigger Inpu

ts (1/4”/6.35 mm, TS and TRS): Connect these inputs to your acoustic or electronic triggers. When
connected, hitting a trigger will send an electric signal to the drum module, which will trigger the corresponding sound.
Trigger In 1 is a single-zone connection and Trigger Ins 2/3 and 4/5 are dual-zone connections. The HH Pedal can
be connected to an on/off control or a variable foot controller.

11. Record Inputs (1/4”/6.35 mm, TS): Connect these inputs to an audio source such as a smartphone, microphone,
instrument or mixer for recording samples which you can then assign to the pads. The sound from these inputs is also
passed to the Main, Aux, or Phones Outputs. To change the routing and volume level, go to the Utility > Audio
menu.

12. Foot Control Inputs (1/4”/6.35 mm, TRS): Connect optional footswitches to these inputs for additional sounds or
control functions.

13. Mic/Line Gain: Turn this knob to set the gain level of the Record Inputs. If you are using a mic-level input, turn the
knob toward the Mic setting. If you are using a line-level input, turn the knob toward the Line setting. Use the signal
meter in Sample mode to evaluate the input level.

5

Basic Operation

Perform Mode

Perform Mode is the main mode for Strike Multipad. In this
mode, you can view information about the current kit, select a
new kit, enable or disable effects, and access the built-in
looper.

At the top of Perform Mode, the current kit name and current
BPM are shown.

• To change kits, use the Kit Select -/+ buttons.

• To switch between Preset kits and User kits, press the

F1 function button.

There are three pages in Perform Mode: Pad View, Trigger In View, and Foot Control View. Press the Perform button
multiple times to cycle between these views:

• Pad View: Pad View is the default view when Strike Multipad is powered on and when the Perform button is pressed
while in another mode or menu. This view shows information about the 9 pads. Each pad icon shows the stop color
that has been set for the pad, the current sound file name or control parameter, and the current play mode:

o Control:

o Loop:

o One Shot:

o One Shot Alt:

• Trigger In View: Trigger In View shows the same information as Pad View but for the external Trigger Inputs instead
of the pads.

• Foot Control View: Foot Control View shows the same information as Pad View but for the four Foot Control Inputs
instead of the pads.

Effect View

In Perform Mode, you can also toggle between two different views of Function buttons F2—F5 by pressing F6–View.
Effect View is the default view when Strike Multipad is powered on.

In Effect View, these function buttons are used for the following:

• F2–F4 – FX1 / FX2 / FX3 Toggle: Press these buttons to toggle the respective effects on or off.

• F5 – Master FX Toggle: Press these buttons to toggle the master effects on or off.

To learn more about effects, see Other Features > Effects.

6

Looper View

Press the F6–View function button while in Effect View in
Perform Mode to access the built-in Looper.

When the Looper is activated, you can set the following
parameters for your recording:

• Number of Measures: Press the F4 button to cycle
through the lengths of the loop according to the current
global time signature and BPM settings. Select 1–8, 12, or

16. The default setting is 4 measures.

• After Recording: Press the F5 button to open the Settings
popup. Here, you can select the behavior of the looper
once recording is completed. Select Playback for the loop
to enter playback mode, or Overdub for the loop to enter
overdub recording.

• BPM and Time Signature: Displays the current global
BPM and Time Signature settings. To change the values,
press the BPM button.

Recording a Loop

Once you have set the parameters for your loop, you can begin recording.

1. Press the F3–Arm to Record button to arm the recording. You can also press F2–Cancel to return to disarm
recording.

2. Press F3–Start Rec to initiate recording. Once pressed, the click will activate and a one-measure countdown will
begin. The progress bar above the Looper controls will fill according to the number of bars and beats selected in the
Time Signature settings.

3. Once recording begins, the display will show a red progress bar that will fill according to the number of beats and
measures selected, which are also shown to the right of the bar.

During recording, you can press the F3–Recording button to stop recording and enter playback mode on the next
downbeat.

You can also press F2–Cancel to cancel recording and return to the previous page.

4. After you have recorded for the set number of beats and measures, the Looper will enter playback mode. The progress
bar countdown will still be shown, but in green. In playback mode, the options for the Function buttons are as follows:

• F2–Play/Stop: Press this button to start or stop loop playback.

• F3–Start Du

b: Press this button to immediately begin recording on top of the previous recording. The progress
bar will turn red again to indicate recording is active, and the display will show Dubbing above the button. Press
this button again to stop overdubbing, or press F2–Play/Stop.

• F4–Save: Press this button to save the current loop as a WAV file. Saved loops will automatically be stored in the
User > New Sample category.

• F5–Cancel: When playback is stopped, press this button to delete the recording and return to Arm to Record
mode. A confirmation window will appear; use the Main Encoder to select No to return to the previous page, or
Yes to discard the loop.

7

Customizing Kits and Sounds

Strike Multipad includes 30 preset kits which can be freely customized. You can also create kits from scratch using
the 70 empty User kits. The

Kit, Pad

controls Strike Multipad's global settings. See

KitFX

and

The

MstFX

menus are used to edit and apply effects. See

and

Sound

Menus

menus are used to create and customize kits. The

to learn more about these pages.

Other Features > Effects to learn more.

Utility

menu

Toolbar

In

the

Kit, Pad

display will show the following information:

• Kit Name: Displays the name of the current kit. To change
kits, press the Kit Select buttons.

• BPM: This shows the current kit BPM. To edit the BPM,
press the BPM button. Turn the Encoder to adjust the
value and press it to confirm. Alternatively, tap the F3 or F4
buttons with the downbeat of the music at least 3 times to
determine the tempo.

• Pad: This shows which pad is currently selected and
displayed (see image).

When P1–P9 is selected, the unit will show the stop color
assigned to each pad LED (colors are assigned in the Pad
Edit menu). The highlighted pad will be shown with a white/
glowing outline.

If T1–T5 or HH is selected, the Pad Select graphic will
change to show the external triggers (all same color), with
the selected one highlighted.

If FS1–FS4 is selected, the Pad select graphic will show the
footswitches with the selected one highlighted.

and

Sound

menus

, the toolbar at the top of the

P7 P8 P9

P4

P5 P6

P1 P2 P3

Pads

Kit Menu

T3

T1

T2

External

Triggers

T5

T4

HH

FS3 FS4

FS1

FS2

Foot-

switches

Browsing and Adding Sounds

1. Press the Kit button to open the Kit menu. Here, you can
select between the Preset and User kit options by pressing
the F1 button.

2. Turn the Main Encoder to select the kit you want to
customize. The kit will automatically be selected, and the
kit name will be shown in the toolbar at the top of the
display.

3. Press the Sound button to open the Sound Menu. The F2–
Browse page is the default view when entering Sound Edit
mode and lets you browse categories and samples.

4. Hit the pad, trigger in, or footswitch where you would like
to add a sound to select it. Each Wave section contains
fields for Sample Name, followed by Library > Category.

5. Start by selecting a Library. Turn the Main Encoder so the
Library field is highlighted blue. Press the encoder to select
the field. When selected, the field will be highlighted white
and you can turn the encoder to choose Factory for built­in sounds. Press the encoder again to select the library.

6. Turn the Main Encoder to highlight the Category field.
Press the encoder to select the field, then turn it to browse
the categories in the currently selected library. Press the
encoder again to select the category.

8

Library

Sound Menu

Sample Name

Category

7. Turn the Main Encoder to highlight the Sample Name field. The list of samples in the currently selected category will
be shown on the right side of the display, under Browse. Press the encoder to move the cursor to the Browse field,
then turn it to browse the list of samples. Press the encoder again to load the highlighted sample to the selected
Wave.

8. Once a sample has been added, you can use the F4–Mode and F5–Mix buttons in the Sound menu to adjust the
sample settings, such as Playback Mode, Poly/Mono, Volume, Pan, and more.

Importing Files from USB

In addition to the factory preset sounds, you can import your own sounds to the User Library to add to kits.

1. Start by adding sound files from a computer to a USB flash
drive (mass storage class).

IMPORTANT: Your flash drive must be formatted using
FAT32, and all WAV files must be 44.1 kHz / 16-bit and
located in the root directory of the drive (not in any folder
or sub-folder).

2. Insert the USB flash drive to the USB Memory port on the
rear panel.

3. Press the Sound button to open the Sound Menu, then hit
the pad, trigger in, or foot control where you want to import
the sample.

4. Press the F3–Import button and wait for the USB scanning

Sound Menu

to complete. If Strike Multipad is not able to read your USB
flash drive, an error message will appear on the display and
return to the Browse screen.

5. If WAV files are found on the USB flash drive, they will appear in the Import list. Use the Main Encoder to scroll
through the samples, and press it to select a sample. While browsing, you can press F4–Play/Stop to listen to the
highlighted file.

6. You can quickly import a selected WAV to the currently selected pad by pressing the F5–Single button.

If you want to import multiple samples at once, use the Main Encoder to select the samples, then press the F6–Multi
button to begin importing.

7. When a sample has finished importing, it will automatically be added to Wave A or B of the currently selected pad,
and assigned to the User Library in the New Sample category.

Note: Samples will be automatically added only when Single import is used.

8. To add another sample to another pad, simply select another pad. The Import list will stay the same, so you can
quickly select a pad, select a sample and import it, then select another pad and import another sample.

9. To view all of your newly imported samples, press the F2–Browse button, select the User Library, and the New
Samples Category.

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Recording a Sample

You can also use Strike Multipad to create samples from a mobile device, instrument, microphone or other device
connected to the Record Inputs, or directly from your computer using the USB Audio port.

To record a sample to use with Strike Multipad:

1. Press the Sample button to open the Sample menu.

2. Turn the Main Encoder to set the Source to Record In or

USB Audio.

Note: Make sure to select Alesis Strike Multipad as the

audio output option on your computer.

3. If desired, set a threshold level to automatically start
recording with. If you do not want to auto-start recording,
use the Main Encoder to turn the threshold up until it says
0 dB.

4. Press F5–Arm to Record to arm the recording.

5. Adjust your recording source (such as a turntable, mixer, smartphone, or computer) to its optimal output level. If
desired, play the source to view the level in the input meter on the display.

Sample Menu

6. When you are ready to begin recording, press F5–Start Recording. You can also press F6–Exit to unarm recording.

7. When you are finished recording, press F5–Stop Recording. You can also press F6–Exit at any time.

8. To preview the recording, press F4–Play/Stop. If you are happy with the result, press F5–Save to save the sample. It
will automatically be added to the currently selected pad, trigger in, or foot control on the current kit.

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