ALESIS QSR 64 - Manual (Page 12)

Your First Session: Chapter 2
QSR Reference Manual 2
get back to it instantly at the touch of a button. When you select a Program, all of its
parameter settings are recalled to recreate the original sound.
The QSR provides 640 internal Programs, divided into 5 Banks of 128 Programs each.
More Programs can be added by inserting a Sound Card into the Sound Card slot on
the front panel of the QSR. Each Bank is broken down into 12 Sound Groups of 10
Programs each, plus a 13th Sound Group with 8 Programs. These group together
similar sounding Programs, such as pianos, guitars, bass and drums.
A Program may have from 1 to 4 different sounds which can be combined in a
variety of ways to create the overall sound of the instrument the Program is intended
to emulate. These four sounds can be layered on top of one another, or split up into
different sections of the keyboard. You can even have different sounds played
depending on how hard you play the keyboard (this is known as velocity).
W
HAT
’
S A
M
IX
?
A Mix is a combination of 1 to 16 Programs. These Programs can be combined in
many ways. The most common is multi-timbral when connected to a MIDI sequencer,
which means that for each MIDI channel the QSR receives (up to 16), a different
Program may be selected, thus creating anything from a small pop/rock ensemble to
a complete orchestra. Another way of using a Mix is by layering two or more
Programs together, so that they play simultaneously from your MIDI controller. You
can also create a split, where one Program is in the lower half of your keyboard,
while another is at the top half; and these programs can even overlap in the middle.
W
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S A
B
ANK
?
A Bank is a collection of 128 Programs and 100 Mixes. There are five internal banks
available at any time, with more if a card is in the Sound Card slot. The current bank
is shown on the top line of the display, and will cycle in the following order:
USER PRESET1 PRESET3 PRESET2 GenMIDI
…and optionally … CARD A-1 CARD A-2, etc.
Each bank contains its own unique Programs and Mixes. Program 10 in Preset Bank
1 is different from Program 10 in Preset Bank 3, although they can be (and are
usually) related sounds. A Mix may contain Programs from any bank.
The BANK SELECT [UP] and [DOWN] buttons change the current bank from the
front panel, and MIDI Bank Select commands may also be used to select any of the
640 Programs on board, or additional card programs.
Preset and General MIDI banks are permanently “burned in” at the factory. User
banks, and Card banks from an SRAM card, may be changed by the user. If you edit
a Preset Program or Mix, it can be saved to a User or SRAM card bank only.
A BOUT S OUND G ROUPS
Preset Banks 1-3 and the User bank are organized into 13 Groups of 10 Sounds each
(Programs 00-09 are pianos, 50-59 are basses, and so on). The GenMIDI bank,
however, does not follow this arrangement; it follows the Program list of the General
MIDI standard. Programs on some sound cards may not follow that arrangement
either, depending on the card type.