Alesis Trigger iO Reference Manual
REFERENCE MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ......................................................................1
REGISTRATION....................................................................... 1
FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW.................................................... 2
REAR PANEL OVERVIEW ...................................................... 2
HOOKUP DIAGRAM................................................................ 3
COMPUTER INSTALLATION.................................................. 4
GETTING STARTED – USING KITS .......................................6
SAVING KITS ....................................................................... 6
PROGRAM CHANGE MESSAGES......................................... 7
EDITING KITS .......................................................................... 8
TRIGGER MIDI CHANNEL .................................................. 8
TRIGGER MIDI NOTE ......................................................... 9
SETTING GLOBAL PARAMETERS...................................... 10
GAIN................................................................................... 11
VELOCITY CURVE ............................................................12
THRESHOLD .....................................................................13
X-TALK (CROSSTALK)...................................................... 14
RETRIGGER ...................................................................... 15
TRIGGER TYPE................................................................. 16
USING HI-HAT PEDALS........................................................ 17
EDITING HI-HAT PEDAL PARAMETERS .........................17
SENDING MESSAGES .......................................................... 18
ALL NOTES OFF................................................................ 18
RETURN TO DEFAULT VALUE ........................................ 18
FACTORY RESET .............................................................18
MIDI SYSEX TRANSFERS ................................................ 18
USING THE TRIGGER IO WITH BFD LITE .......................... 19
DEFAULT SETTINGS FOR THE TRIGGER IO................. 20
ADJUSTING KIT PERFORMANCE IN BFD LITE.............. 20
CUSTOMIZING YOUR KIT IN BFD LITE........................... 21
OTHER APPLICATIONS OF THE TRIGGER IO................... 22
UPGRADING SOFTWARE .................................................... 23
UPGRADE PROCEDURE.................................................. 23
TRIGGER IO KIT PRESETS .................................................. 24
TRIGGER IO DEFAULT GLOBAL PARAMETERS .............. 25
TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................................... 26
MIDI IMPLEMENTATION....................................................... 29
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of the Alesis Trigger IO USB/MIDI Percussion
Interface. With the Alesis Trigger IO, you can connect your favorite acoustic drum
triggers or electronic percussion pads and control sounds on external drum
machines, modules or software devices. Here at Alesis, we take pride in building
electronic instruments and controllers for the modern musician. The Trigger IO
allows you to explore new avenues of sonic possibilities with an intuitive percussion
interface. You no longer have to worry about feeling disembodied from your music
experience. The Trigger IO offers an ideal approach to controlling and sequencing
rhythm content. We hope that you enjoy this great product!
Sincerely,
The People of Alesis.
REGISTRATION
Please visit http://www.alesis.com to register your new Trigger IO. Registration
helps you by ensuring that we can keep you informed on up-to-the minute product
news. Registering your product also ensures that you can get the latest updates and
software available for your product. If you would like, Alesis can also send you
information on other products that might interest you.
Your feedback helps us, too. When you let us know the types of music products you
use and dream about, you help us bring you cutting-edge products like the Trigger IO.
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FRONT PANEL OVERVIEW
1. FUNCTION UP/DOWN – These buttons are used to select through different functions on the
Trigger IO.
2. VALUE UP/DOWN – These buttons are used to cycle through kits and parameters for the different
functions.
3. FUNCTION LEDs – Each function on the Trigger IO is paired with a corresponding LED on the
panel. These LED will reflect which function is currently being selected.
4. LED SCREEN – The LED screen displays information about the state of the Trigger IO. The
screen also features a small “Activity” LED which will light up each time a trigger generates a Note
On message, as well as a “Trig B” LED which will light up when the secondary zone (ring) of a
REAR PANEL OVERVIEW
dual-zone trigger generates a Note On message.
1. Power Button – This button function as a AC/USB power switch. If the button is in the IN
position (AC), the unit will draw power from the connected AC power adapter. If the button is in
the OUT position (USB), the unit will draw power from the USB connection to your computer.
Please note: If your computer’s USB port does not provide sufficient power to the Trigger IO,
please use the included AC adapter to power the unit.
2. USB Port – The USB port is used to transmit MIDI data between the Trigger IO and a computer.
If you are using the USB port, there will be no need for the power adapter to be plugged in – The
Trigger IO will be powered through the USB port.
3. Power Adapter Input – If you do not wish to power the unit through the USB port, please use an
optional AC power adapter to connect the Trigger IO to a power source.
4. Power Adapter Restraint – You can secure the power adapter cord to this restraint to prevent
accidental unplugging.
5. MIDI OUT – Use a five-pin MIDI cable to connect this output to the MIDI IN of an external device,
such as a drum machine, synthesizer or sound module.
6. 10 TRS Trigger Inputs – Please connect your trigger sources to these ten ¼” TRS inputs. You
will notice that some of the inputs are marked. If you would like to take advantage of certain preprogrammed presets, such as the GM or BFD Lite drum mappings, please follow these markings
to connect your triggers.
7. HI-HAT Input – Please connect your hi-hat pedal to this input.
8. INC/DEC pedal input – Please connect a dual footswitch button to this input. Using this
footswitch input allows you to remotely increment and decrement values from your dual
footswitch.
9. KENSINGTON LOCK – You may use this Kensington lock slot to secure the unit to a table or
surface.
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HOOKUP DIAGRAM
Please study the following diagram to connect your Trigger IO.
(OPTIONAL)
ATTACH 2 BUTTON FOOTSWITCH HERE
ATTACH ADDITIONAL TRIGGERS HERE
TO EXTERNAL MIDI MODULE
TO COMPUTER
1. Before turning on the Trigger IO, connect all triggers, pads, footswitches, MIDI devices and
external modules as shown above. If you would like to use the Trigger IO with a computer,
connect a USB cord from the Trigger IO to your computer’s USB port.
2. Connect a power source to the Trigger IO. You have two options for powering the Trigger IO:
3. Use the power switch on the rear panel of the Trigger IO to turn it on.
NARROW
WIDE
a. Connect the Trigger IO to a computer’s USB port – the computer’s USB bus will
provide power.
b. Connect an optional 9V AC power adapter to the Trigger IO.
Important: Please use the appropriate cables to connect your triggers to the Trigger IO. For
single zone triggers, please use TS cables to connect them to the Trigger IO. If using dual-zone
triggers, please make sure that you are using TRS cables. Using TS cables to connect dual-zone
triggers to the Trigger IO will only allow you to use the primary zone (tip) of the drum.
The Trigger IO can be mounted on a drum
or cymbal stand and is compatible with
most drum mounts on the market today.
Please attach the drum mount as shown on
the left.
(drum mount not included)
POWER ADAPTER
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COMPUTER INSTALLATION
The Trigger IO is a Plug-and-Play device so there is no driver or special software
installation required. When the Trigger IO is connected to a computer, it will
automatically be recognized as an available USB device.
How to connect and use the Trigger IO with a software application:
1. Connect a USB cord from the USB port of the Trigger IO to the USB port of
your computer.
When the Trigger IO is connected to a computer using a USB cord, the
computer’s USB bus will provide power to the unit. If you would like to use
an alternate power source, plug in a 9v AC power adapter.
2. Press the power switch on the back panel of the Trigger IO. The display
will turn on to let you know that the Trigger IO is on.
Tip
!
It is a good idea to connect and turn on the Trigger IO before
starting any software applications with which you intend to use the
Trigger IO. Otherwise the software program will not recognize the
Trigger IO as being connected.
3. Open up your software application.
4. Next, select the Trigger IO as a MIDI input device. Usually, this is done in
the Preferences menu of the software application.
If you are using Windows XP, you will notice that the Trigger IO may appear
as ‘USB Audio Device’ or ‘USB Audio Device (Emulated)’. Please make
sure that this MIDI input is enabled and active.
(Cubase LE example shown
on left. You may access the
MIDI inputs by going to
Devices | Device Setup and
clicking on All MIDI Inputs.)
5. Now the Trigger IO should be ready to use with the software application.
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A Note About Audio Latency
!
Latency describes the time that it takes for your soundcard to
respond to a command. In other words, this is the time that it takes
for your computer to process incoming data (for example, MIDI
Note events) and output a sound. The lower your latency is, the
faster your computer will respond to commands and output sound.
Please make sure that your soundcard’s latency (or buffer) is set to
a low number so when you hit the pads on the Trigger IO, your
computer will output the sound promptly. Latency and buffering is
usually adjusted in your software’s Preferences menu. In general,
if latency is higher than about 15-20ms, you will start to notice a
significant delay between the time that you hit the pads and the
time that the sound comes out of your computer.
If you still experience too much latency or “lag” with your internal
soundcard audio drivers, you might want to download one of the
free and widely available ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) drivers
from the Internet. In general, ASIO drivers perform better and with
lower latency since they create a more efficient communication
between audio devices and software. You may download and
install the free ASIO4ALL driver (PC) by visiting www.asio4all.com.
(Only compatible with USB audio interfaces)
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GETTING STARTED – USING KITS
What is a Kit?
A Kit, also known as a Preset, is a collection of parameters which describe
different configurations of the Trigger IO. These parameters include the
MIDI Note Numbers assigned to triggers, MIDI Channels on which the
triggers are sending information, as well as associated Program Change
messages. Using kits allows you to store and access different trigger
setups and allows you to address different hardware and software module
configurations.
The Trigger IO automatically goes into Kit selection function when it is turned on.
Notice that the LED next to Kit is lit. If you are in a different function, you can always
get to the Kit selection function by using the function up/down buttons.
When in Kit selection function, you can use the value up/down buttons to select
different kits. The Trigger IO will automatically load the kits as you step through the
values. There are 21 available kits that you can load, modify and store.
SAVING KITS
If you have made changes to the selected kit (i.e. changed MIDI note numbers,
channels), you will notice that the LED next to Kit will begin blinking. This means
that there are changes which have not yet been saved. To save these changes,
please use the function up/down buttons to return to the Kit Function. This will
save the changes you have made to the current kit.
Alternatively, if you have made changes to the current kit but do not wish to save
them, press function down and value down buttons simultaneously. This will
cancel any changes made after the kit was loaded.
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PROGRAM CHANGE MESSAGES
A Program Change, often referred to as a Patch Change, is a MIDI message used for
sending data to devices to cause them to change to a new program. This allows you
to tell a hardware or software device which sound to play. For example, if your
Trigger IO is controlling a rock drum kit in your DAW or on an external hardware
device, using a Program Change command allows you to easily switch to an
electronic kit. Program Change messages also give you the freedom to reorchestrate MIDI content without having to redo any MIDI note information.
Each kit on the Trigger IO can have an associated Program Change message (0-
127). This means that, effectively, you can have each kit on the Trigger IO address a
different set of sounds in your DAW or external MIDI device. By default, each kit on
the Trigger IO is set to “---“. A Program Change message of “---“ means that no
Program Change message will be sent when the kit is loaded.
How to set a Program Change Message:
1. Use the function up/down buttons to select Program Change.
2. Select the desired Program Change message (0-127) using the value
up/down buttons to dial in the value. The Program message will be sent
automatically and will affect only that kit.
3. Subsequently, every time you load the kit the selected Program Change
message will be sent to your DAW or external MIDI device.
REMEMBER TO SAVE YOUR CHANGES BY GOING BACK TO KIT!
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