Ensoniq Corporation ASR-X Pro Quick Start Guide
ASR-X / X Pro Getting S tarted Guide
Written by Eric Montgomery©2000
Getting S tarted
The first thing most people want to do when they get a new piece of gear is to "do it all".
They want to start writing songs, sampling and doing performances. My advice is to take
your time and get to know the new product first. By the time you finish this manual you will
have the basic idea of how to sequence, sample, load and save data to disk. Take it a little
at a time and you will be moving around on the X like you never thought you could!
For A/C connections, refer to the owner’s manual that came with your ASR-X. If you do
not have a manual, you can place an order for one through a local Ensoniq dealer or from
the company listed below.
Syntaur Productions
1418 N. Walnut Ave., New Braunfels, TX 78130
830-627-1530 Fax: 830-627-1531
www.syntaur.com
As a tip, try to avoid lifting the ground. Don’t use adapters that convert the 3-prong A/C
cable to a 2 prong. If there is ever a power surge there is the possibility that you can hurt
yourself or your equipment can sustain damage. It is safer for the both of you!
Audio Connections:
You can listen to the ASR-X in a few different ways. There is a ¼” headphone jack located
on the rear of the unit. You can also try connecting the Main Outputs to a mixer, pair of
powered monitors, or even to your home stereo or portable radio. If the connection is
going to be to a home stereo or portable radio, those products must have either a Line
input, Aux. input or CD/Tape input. Under normal conditions the type of cable needed is a
stereo RCA to ¼” cable. Any length is okay, but try to stay less than 18 feet to avoid signal
loss. If you are going to use a mixing console, refer to the owner’s manual of that mixer for
connections and input control settings. Normally, on a mixer, the type of cables needed for
connection are two ¼” to ¼” audio cables. Again, try to stay less than 18 feet to avoid
signal loss.
The ASR-X has Audio inputs too. It is a sampler. In case you don’t know, a sample is
nothing more than a recording. Similar to when you make a cassette recording of one of
your favorite songs from the radio. The only difference is that the tape is replaced by RAM
computer memory and the recordings are much shorter than the length of a song. The
recordings or “samples” are of single notes of a musical instrument, vocal uttering, noises
etc.
When connecting to the audio inputs of the ASR-X:
DO NO T U S E T H E A M P O U TP U TS O F A N A M P L I F I E R OR S T E R E O RECEI V E R !!!! I f
you do, pack up the unit and take it to your nearest service center. The amp or speaker
outputs of a stereo receiver, portable radio or any amp have an extremely high output and
will certainly damage your ASR-X/X Pro.
Similar cables are needed to connect to the audio inputs of the ASR-X as with the outputs.
If you are going to use a microphone (like a Shure SM-58), you will probably need a ¼” to
XLR cable. If it is a condenser mic (one that requires a 48 volt power supply), you will
need some sort of phantom power supply to connect the mic to first. Then, you can use a
standard ¼” to ¼” instrument cable to connect the audio output of the phantom power
supply, to the audio input of the ASR. Another possible connection you might consider is a
CD player to the X. If it is a portable CD Player then the cable that is most likely needed is
a 1/8” tip-ring-sleeve to dual ¼” male.
1 Headphone
2 Left and Right Main Outputs
3 Mic/Line Gain switch
4 Input Attenuator knob
5 Left and Right Audio Inputs for sampling
6 Sustain pedal input (SW-6 or SW-10)
7 MIDI In, Out and T hru
8 A/C Cable connection
9 Power Switch
10 Aux iliary Outputs (Optional X-8 )
11 SCSI Interface for storage and interface with computers
Assuming we have gotten through the A/C power connections and the
connections of outputs and inputs, let’s move on to the fun part, making music!
*A quick way to get to the sound groups in an ASR-X Pro (not ASR-X Black box) is to use
the ESSENTIALS buttons.
Buttons 0-3 select drums kits Gizmo, Dance, Heavy Drum kit and Ol’school
Button 4 selects the GM Drum kit
Buttons 5-9 select Vintg Bass 1, Sweep Bass, Snot T Bass, MONO Boy and Tight T Bass.
Press and hold button 0, then press button 5 to get to the Synother bank.
Press and hold button 1, then press button 6 to get to the Syn Lead bank
Press and hold button 2, then press button 7 to get to the Syn-Vint bank
Press and hold button 3, then press button 8 to get to the PNO Layer-E bank
Press and hold button 4, then press button 9 to get to the Techno Sync bank
It is easy to go through the sounds of an ASR-X/X Pro. There are 2 knobs on the front of
the X. They are labeled Parameter (on the left) and Value (on the right). The Parameter
knob is the SOUND TYPE or SOUND GROUP. The Value knob CHOOSES the SOUND
IN THAT GROUP. As an example, if you turn the parameter knob you will see a group
name on the left of the screen like DRUM-KIT. If you want to then demo the entire set of
drum kits in the X simply turn the value knob. Take some time and become familiar with
the sounds. Don’t forget to use the OCTAVE buttons to play the sound higher or lower.
The Octave buttons are especially important when exploring drum kits. All of the kick
drums are in their own octave, as are the snare drums, percussion and other kit elements.
There are many banks to become familiar with. The ASR-X/X Pro users guide has a
complete list of the possible banks. Here are just a few of the banks to choose from. Drum
Kit, Guitar-E, Percsolo, Keys, Organ-E, Sound efx and Syn Comp. Your banks and
sounds will expand if you install an EXP-3 Urban Dance expansion board into your X or X
Pro. You’ll be adding such banks as the EXP bank and Loop groove bank. Loop groove
will contain exactly what it says, R&B and Dance sampled drum grooves! Other banks that
will show up while using the X are User, Custom and RAM. Those banks will show up if
you create a sample, load samples or if you create your own drum kits and patches.
Selecting Sounds
Sounds
Press the Track Sound button
Turn the Parameter knob to selec t a sound group
Turn the Value knob to select a sound within that group
Sequencing and Scoop editing
Your next thought might be, “wow I got so many great sounds. How do I begin
sequencing?" Just in case you don’t know, sequencing, simply put, is a recording of your
performance on the instrument. The recorder in the X records the notes you play, and
plays the notes back for you. The cool part is that if you want to edit or change anything
you played, it can be done. There are features to do this such as Scoop editing and
quantizing. We will talk about quantizing in a moment. First, let’s sequence!
Sequencing
Select a Sound
Press and hold the Record button
Press Play and release both buttons
There will be a 1 measure (4 counts if you are in 4/4 time) intro
Start Playing, Press Stop when finished recording
To record yourself playing along with the first track:
Press the Track button and select the next available track
(The screen will display the Selected track number in the upper left of the screen, TK01,
TK02 etc.)
Repeat the above steps
“What if I played a note that I do not like? Can I erase it?”
Yes! There are TWO ways to get rid of a single note after it has been recorded. You can
Scoop
Scoop Editing
the note out of the recording.
1>
Press and hold Record
Play the Pad that you want to erase
Release record and press Enter
*This method erases the note from the entire sequence.
2>
Press and hold Record
Press Play, then release both buttons (the unit is now in normal record mode)
Press and hold Record
Play the pad of the sound y ou want to delete
*Play the pad and hold it. As long as you hold the pad down, it is erasing the note from the
sequence.
Erase a Track
Select the track you want to erase with the Select Track buttons
Press the Sequence Process button
Turn the Parameter knob to select Erase Track #?
Press Enter
Another very useful tool that will allow you to create professional sequences is the
use of Quantizing.
What quantizing does is to shift the notes you have played to get them to be “in
time” with specific predetermined times of the sequence.
Quantize
Press the Sequence Process button
Turn the parameter knob to select Quantize Track #
Press Enter
Turn the Parameter knob to select QUANTIZE TO=
Turn the Value knob to select a quantize resolution
Press Enter
*Use 1/16 for a Dance music feel. It is very “straight”.
*If you want it to “swi ng ” like in Jazz or Hip Hop/R&B use 1/16T (Triplet).
*Remember that Michael Jackson tune, “The way you make me feel”? Remember Sting's
"Brand New Day"? They were both quantized at a rate of 1/8T!
A Groovy tip (pun intended)
Quantizing
Press Sequence Edit
Turn the Parameter knob till you see RECORD QUANTIZE on the screen
Select the quantize rate you want to use
Now, the X/ X Pro will automatically quantize upon recording.
*Another thing about grooves and feel to keep in mind is this. Lately, a popular
groove or feel has been to use very fast tempos. It is impossible to play at the
tempo of some of today’s Hip-Hop, or Techno songs. But, it is possible to get that
style by playing at half that speed and then raising the tempo to the desired
speed. Simply record your beats at HALF the tempo you intend on using. If you
really want the song to be at 140bpm, record all the data at 70bpm. Speed up the
tempo to see if it sounds the way you want. If you need to make changes, slow it
down and make the changes.
Sampling
Most times, the simple word “Sampling” throws people into a tizzy and
makes them believe it is the most complex function in the entire unit. It isn’t.
Everything is hard to do when it is new to you. Once you understand it, the
ASR takes on a new persona. It is no longer difficult. Before long, you will
realize that you are doing the “impossible”. First, let me mention what
sampling is.
Have you ever taped a song from the radio with a cassette or taped a
television show with your VCR? Guess what, you sampled it! A sample is
nothing more than a recording. Replace the VCR or cassette tape with
computer memory called RAM (Random Access Memory) and instead of
recording entire programs of data, record short pieces of data. Normally, a
sample is very short. Some examples of things to sample on an ASR-X/X
Pro are drums (kick, snare, hi-hat etc.), maybe a guitar chord or a vocal riff.
Now, here is how to sample. I will assume you already have a source to
sample from, like your CD Player or a microphone.
Sampling
Press the Setup button
Turn the Parameter knob to get to Sourc e =
Choose the source you will be sampling from with the Value knob
(If it is your CD player or a Mic, choose the Input Dry s etting)
Press the Start/Stop button
Begin sampling
When finished, press the Start/Stop button
Play the Scratch pad to see if you want to keep the sample, if so press the Send to
Pad button
Tap the pad you want to send it to and press Enter
* When choosing a sample source, choose Input+Insert to sample a sound with
the Insert effect on the sample.
* Before sending the sample to the Pads, choose the Utility Silence Instrument
(last sound Bank). Now you have a blank “palette” to work in w hi le sampl in g. It is
easier to build custom drum kits from the Silence instrument also.
Resampling
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