ALESIS QS8.1 - Manual (Page 135)

Editing Programs: Part 8
QS7.1/QS8.1 Reference Manual
Keyboard Mode (Mono, Poly, 1-Pitch or 1-PMono) Page 10
In Mono mode, you can play only one note at a time—just like vintage monophonic
synthesizers or wind instruments. Poly mode allows you to play polyphonically.
Note that portamento behavior is more predictable in mono mode.
With a feedback guitar patch that uses one Sound for the guitar and one Sound for
the feedback, setting the feedback sound to Mono Keyboard Mode insures that your
feedback “whistle” will be monophonic, which more accurately mimics what
happens when you play lead guitar.
Use 1-PITCH mode when you want a program Sound layer to play a single pitch
polyphonically throughout the entire keyboard range. In 1-PITCH mode, the QS will
play the sample used for note C3 for all notes in the range. 1-PITCH mode is often
used for layering a noise or drum sound behind another sound that is pitched, for
example, to fatten up a bass guitar sound with a hint of kick drum, or to have the
same cymbal hit every time any note is played. Alternatively, 1-PMONO mode is a
monophonic version of 1-PITCH.
Sometimes when playing a monophonic instrument, you will not want the envelopes
to retrigger when playing legato, as this would sound unrealistic. Imagine a flute-
player beginning each note in a phrase with a sharp, breathy attack. In reality, the
player would only attack the first note in the phrase this way. If the QS's Keyboard
Mode is set to “Mono” and you're striving for this sort of realistic articulation, we
recommend an envelope Trigger mode of "Normal". This is because the three
envelopes (Pitch Envelope, Filter Envelope and Amp Envelope) will retrigger with
every note you play when their Trigger Modes are set to “Reset” or “Reset-Freerun”.
For more information on the various Envelope Trigger modes, see pages 131 and 134.
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