Alesis DM5 manual

A L ES I S DM5 Reference M a nu a l[...]

DM5 Reference Manual 1 I NTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing the Alesis DM5 18 Bit Drum Module. To take full advantage of the DM5’s functions, and to enjoy long and trouble-free use, please read this user’s manual carefully. H OW T O U SE T HIS M ANUAL This manual is divided into the following sections describing the various modes of the DM5. [...]

2 DM5 Reference Manual[...]

Index DM5 Reference Manual 3 C ONTENTS 1: S ETTING U P ................................................................................. 5 Unpacking and Inspection .......................................................................................5 AC Power ........................................................................................[...]

Index 4 DM5 Reference Manual Ext Trig ...................................................................................................... 31 Group ........................................................................................................ 31 MIDI .......................................................................................[...]

Setting Up: Chapter 1 DM5 Reference Manual 5 C HAPTER 1 S ETTING U P U NPACKING AND I NSPECTION Your DM5 was packed carefully at the factory. The shipping carton was designed to protect the unit during shipping. Please retain this container in the highly unlikely event that you need to return the DM5 for servicing. The shipping carton should contai[...]

Chapter 1: Setting Up 6 DM5 Reference Manual A BOUT A UDIO C ABLES The connections between the DM5 and your studio are your music’s lifeline, so use only high quality cables. These should be low-capacitance shielded cables with a stranded (not solid) internal conductor and a low-resistance shield. Although quality cables cost more, they do make a[...]

Setting Up: Chapter 1 DM5 Reference Manual 7 MIDI H OOKUP If you are using a MIDI keyboard or sequencer, connect its [MIDI OUT] to the DM5’s [ MIDI IN ]. If you have another MIDI device you wish to control from the same keyboard or sequencer, connect the DM5’s [ MIDI OUT/THRU ] to the other device’s [MIDI IN]. This also requires that you turn[...]

Chapter 1: Setting Up 8 DM5 Reference Manual E XTERNAL T RIGGERS H OOKUP Plug all of the triggers you will be using into the rear panel jacks. Since the triggers are interactive, the DM5 needs to “see” all of the signals simultaneously. Therefore, you should make sure that all triggers are connected before you begin editing the External Trigger[...]

Your First Session With The DM5: Chapter 2 DM5 Reference Manual 9 C HAPTER 2 Y OUR F IRST S ESSION W ITH T HE DM5 P OWERING U P After making your connections, turn on the system’s power using this procedure: ➀ Before turning on the DM5’s power, check the following items: • Have all connections been made correctly? • Are the volume control[...]

Chapter 2: Your First Session With The DM5 10 DM5 Reference Manual W HAT ’ S A D RUM S ET ? A Drum Set is a stored configuration of drum sounds and their parameters. This setup of drum sounds and parameters can be stored so that you can get back to it instantly. When you select a Drum Set, all of its sounds and parameter settings are recalled to [...]

Your First Session With The DM5: Chapter 2 DM5 Reference Manual 11 C HOOSING V OICES IN A D RUM S ET In this section, we will choose Voices for a Drum Set. There are many other parameters of a Drum Set we may wish to edit, however. Refer to Chapter 4 for more information about editing. There are 61 possible notes in a Drum Set. To select a note, tu[...]

Chapter 2: Your First Session With The DM5 12 DM5 Reference Manual S TORING AN E DITED D RUM S ET Once you have made changes to a Drum Set, you will need to store it; that is, if you want to keep the changes you have made. The internal memory is designed to hold up to 21 ( 00 – 20 ) Drum Sets. Once you store over an existing Drum Set, the previou[...]

Connections: Chapter 3 DM5 Reference Manual 13 C HAPTER 3 C ONNECTIONS MIDI MIDI is an internationally-accepted protocol that allows musical-related data to be conveyed from one device to another. See the MIDI Supplement in Appendix B if you are not familiar with how MIDI works. The MIDI connections on the DM5 provide three different functions. To [...]

Chapter 3: Connections 14 DM5 Reference Manual E XAMPLE 1: U SING A MIDI K EYBOARD The DM5 may be “played” from a MIDI keyboard (or some other type of MIDI controller) by connecting the keyboard’s [MIDI OUT] to the DM5’s [ MIDI IN ]. This is illustrated in the diagram on page 17. This connection requires that two MIDI parameters be set to y[...]

Connections: Chapter 3 DM5 Reference Manual 15 E XAMPLE 2: U SING A MIDI S EQUENCER The DM5 can be used with a MIDI sequencer in one of three ways: • As a sound module which is “played” by the sequencer (MIDI In only); or, • As a controller, sending MIDI notes (generated by the external triggers) to the sequencer to be recorded (MIDI Out on[...]

Chapter 3: Connections 16 DM5 Reference Manual Local Mode The Local parameter determines whether or not the external triggers will “play” the internal voices of the DM5 or not. The triggers will generate MIDI note information when played, which can be recorded onto a MIDI sequencer (as long as the DM5’s MIDI Thru parameter is turned off; see [...]

Connections: Chapter 3 DM5 Reference Manual 17 E XAMPLE 3: U SING T WO OR M ORE DM5 M ODULES The DM5 provides 16-note polyphony, which means at any single moment, up to 16 different Drum Voices can be triggered at once. This polyphony is “shared” by all 61 notes in a Drum Set. So, although you have 61 different Drum Voices available to you, a m[...]

Chapter 3: Connections 18 DM5 Reference Manual E XTERNAL T RIGGERS The DM5 has twelve trigger inputs designed to accommodate the most widely used drum pads and other triggering sources. It’s triggering mechanism is an advanced Signal-to-MIDI converter which incorporates five user controllable parameters. Trigger parameters are independent for eac[...]

Connections: Chapter 3 DM5 Reference Manual 19 To setup the external triggers: ➀ Plug in all of the triggers you will be using. Refer to the chart on page 8 as a guide for connecting your triggers. ➁ Press the [ NOTE CHASE ] button to turn the Note Chase feature off. The [NOTE CHASE ] button’s light should be off. Note Chase is a feature that[...]

Chapter 3: Connections 20 DM5 Reference Manual Repeat steps ➃ through ➆ for the remaining triggers you will be using. After completing these steps, you should be able to play on all of the pads plugged in to the DM5 and hear the sounds being triggered. Before going on to the next few parameters (described in the following sections), you should [...]

Connections: Chapter 3 DM5 Reference Manual 21 Decay Note : In this scenario we will use only the snare pad. Depending on the type of pads being used and your mounting configuration, you may be experiencing some “double triggering”. If shortly after the initial strike to the snare pad it re-triggers or sounds a second time, the pad is “double[...]

Chapter 3: Connections 22 DM5 Reference Manual ➄ Repeat steps ➀ through ➃ to correct the problem with the tom 2 pad. ➅ Finally, return to the Drum Set mode by pressing the [ DRUM SET ] button. This will protect from the possibility of accidentally editing your settings. Note : Whenever possible, keep some distance between your drum kit and [...]

Overview: Chapter 4 DM5 Reference Manual 23 C HAPTER 4 O VERVIEW B ASIC AND D EFINITIONS T HE V OICE Each time the DM5 receives a MIDI or acoustic trigger, it plays a voice . A voice is a sound-generating element with several variable parameters: Drum sound, tuning, volume, output assignment (the voice’s audio output can go to either one of two s[...]

Chapter 4: Overview 24 DM5 Reference Manual Often the default is “whatever was selected last.” Example: If the DM5 was set to Drum Set 14 just before you shut off power, upon power-up the DM5 will return to Drum Set 14. MIDI N OTE R ANGE The DM5’s sounds can be assigned to any note within a 5-octave (61 note) range, from MIDI note 36 to 96. H[...]

Overview: Chapter 4 DM5 Reference Manual 25 A BOUT THE U SER I NTERFACE R EADING T HE D ISPLAY The display is made up of 6 sections. 1) Drum Set Number. This consists of two large digits which indicate the currently selected Drum Set (from 00 to 20 ). 2) Page Number Strip. When a Function button is selected (lit) which contains more parameters than[...]

Chapter 4: Overview 26 DM5 Reference Manual F UNCTION B UTTONS The eight Function buttons select eight different groups of parameters, as shown in the display. Upon pushing a Function button, it will illuminate and deselect any previously-selected Function button (its button’s light goes out). The Functions are: Button Function VOICE Chooses the [...]

Overview: Chapter 4 DM5 Reference Manual 27 E DITING P ARAMETER V ALUES After selecting the parameter to be edited, use the [ VALUE ] knob to vary its value. Once a Drum Set has been edited, a period appears in the display after the Drum Set number. Example: This Drum Set has been edited. Notice the period on the right. Standard Set . The period re[...]

Chapter 4: Overview 28 DM5 Reference Manual F UNCTION B UTTONS V OICE Press [ VOICE ], and the display shows the selected MIDI note number in the middle of the display and two parameters, Voice Family and Voice Number, on the top line (see display example above). To select a Voice Family , use the [ ] and [ ] buttons to place the cursor (underline)[...]

Overview: Chapter 4 DM5 Reference Manual 29 M IX Press [ MIX ], and the display shows the selected MIDI note number in the middle and two parameters, Volume and Pan, on the top line. To change the Volume, use the [ ] and [ ] buttons to place the cursor under the Vol value and turn the [ VALUE ] knob. Values are variable from 00 to 99 . The DM5 has [...]

Chapter 4: Overview 30 DM5 Reference Manual Output Options Having two stereo output pairs allows for several options. Stereo with Fixed Placement: Plug the left Main output into the left channel of your amp (or mixer), and the right Main output into the right channel. The default voice mix for the preset Drum Sets pans the drums between the Main ou[...]

Overview: Chapter 4 DM5 Reference Manual 31 D RUM S ET Press [ DRUM SET ], and the display shows the selected Drum Set number on the left side and the Drum Set’s name on the top line. To select a particular Drum Set, turn the [ VALUE ] knob. The range is from 00 to 20 . Drum Set selection and management is covered in more detail in Chapter 2. E X[...]

Chapter 4: Overview 32 DM5 Reference Manual The DM5 can play up to 16 voices at a time, so it’s possible to run out of voices if you play a flurry of notes and have lots of drum sounds assigned to Multi mode. If 16 sounds are playing and you ask the DM5 to play another one, the sound that’s closest to finishing its decay cycle will be “stolen[...]

MIDI Functions: Chapter 5 DM5 Reference Manual 33 C HAPTER 5 MIDI F UNCTIONS The MIDI Function contains five pages of parameters. When you first press the [ MIDI ] button, it selects page 1. Pressing the [ MIDI ] button again selects page 2, pressing it again selects page 3, and so on. If the page 5 is selected and you press the [ MIDI ] button aga[...]

Chapter 5: MIDI Functions 34 DM5 Reference Manual MIDI C HANNEL The DM5 can receive and transmit MIDI data in Omni mode (receives data appearing on any of the 16 MIDI channels, transmits data over channel 1) or Poly mode (transmits and receives over any single one of the 16 MIDI channels). Use Omni mode when playing only the DM5 from an external MI[...]

MIDI Functions: Chapter 5 DM5 Reference Manual 35 L OCAL C ONTROL MIDI page 2 has only one parameter: Local Control. The Local parameter determines whether or not the external triggers will “play” the internal voices of the DM5. The triggers will generate MIDI note information when played, which can be recorded onto a MIDI sequencer (as long as[...]

Chapter 5: MIDI Functions 36 DM5 Reference Manual C ONTROLLERS E NABLE The DM5 can respond to several standardized MIDI controllers appearing at the DM5’s [ MIDI IN ] jack: 6 Data Slider (0-127) This allows an external data slider assigned to Controller 6 to vary values, just as if you were using the Data wheel. 7 Main Volume (0-127) Controller 7[...]

MIDI Functions: Chapter 5 DM5 Reference Manual 37 P ROGRAM C HANGE T ABLE MIDI page 4 lets you view and edit the Program Change Table. The Program Change Table determines which Drum Set will be called up in response to a particular Program Change number. The default is Program Changes 00-20 select Drum Sets 00-20; so do Program Changes 21-41, 42-62[...]

Chapter 5: MIDI Functions 38 DM5 Reference Manual To allow for running several DM5s in the same MIDI setup, System Exclusive data is channelized. In other words, if you save the data while set to channel 1, the DM5 must be set to channel 1 (or Omni, which receives all channels) when you send it back to retrieve this data. It’s a good idea to incl[...]

External Triggering: Chapter 6 DM5 Reference Manual 39 C HAPTER 6 E XTERNAL T RIGGERING O VERVIEW External triggering has three main uses: • Driving DM5 sounds from electronic drum pads. Some electronic drum pads provide MIDI triggers when hit; these can feed directly into the DM5’s MIDI input. Other pads generate analog triggers, which can int[...]

Chapter 6: External Triggering 40 DM5 Reference Manual A BOUT T RIGGER P ARAMETERS The DM5 now offers five user controllable trigger parameters. These are: • VCrv. (Velocity Curve). This represents the velocity curve, or the sensitivity of the trigger input. There are eight separate curve tables, 0 through 7. Using these settings it is possible t[...]

External Triggering: Chapter 6 DM5 Reference Manual 41 This chart represents three signals which are “seen” by the DM5. Signal 1 is a legitimate hit from the snare pad. Signal 2 is the Tom 1 pad, but it is not a hit. It is the pad being triggered by stand vibrations from the first snare hit. Signal 3 is a second "real" hit from the sn[...]

Chapter 6: External Triggering 42 DM5 Reference Manual Example: This chart simulates the waveform of a snare drum hit. The first big point in the signal is the actual hit, the rest of the waveform is all decay. Since the Decay time threshold is adjusted too low, the Decay level curves off too soon allowing a second point, during the signal’s deca[...]

External Triggering: Chapter 6 DM5 Reference Manual 43 Higher settings are useful when trying to extract drum sounds from tape where other sounds are present; often the snare or kick drum will be louder than other sounds, so setting the threshold above the other sounds will allow the snare or kick to trigger the DM5. However, the higher the thresho[...]

Chapter 6: External Triggering 44 DM5 Reference Manual T RIGGER N OTE A SSIGNMENT Each trigger can be assigned to any MIDI note number, which is associated with a corresponding drum sound (programmed according to the instructions on page 27). Trigger note assignments are the only trigger settings that are recalled as part of a Drum Set whenever a n[...]

External Triggering: Chapter 6 DM5 Reference Manual 45 interaction between the pads, and a high Noise floor setting would be selected to reject the high level of ambient Noise and vibration. In certain cases with crosstalk and Noise floor settings too high, softer hits might become rejected because the DM5 assumes that they are Noise. Instead of co[...]

Chapter 6: External Triggering 46 DM5 Reference Manual Note : Note Chase will not follow any trigger that has been set to Unassigned. To view an Unassigned trigger’s VU-style bar graph meter in order to adjust gain (page 44), use the [ VALUE ] knob to select the corresponding trigger input (page 43). C ROSSTALK If several pads are mounted on one [...]

External Triggering: Chapter 6 DM5 Reference Manual 47 D ECAY If a pad or drum “double triggers” when it is struck, it may be necessary to adjust the Decay level. This is evident when shortly after the initial strike to a pad, a second trigger from the same pad is generated, or it “double triggers”. Note: With certain pads it may not be nec[...]

Chapter 6: External Triggering 48 DM5 Reference Manual U NDERSTANDING H I H AT P EDAL M ODE This is a feature for hardcore drummers. It’s a little complicated, but hang in there— the DM5 finally gives you a way to get truly realistic hi hat effects with electronic drums. An acoustic hi hat produces three main types of sound: • Open hi hat. Th[...]

External Triggering: Chapter 6 DM5 Reference Manual 49 T IPS O N T RIGGERING F ROM A COUSTIC D RUMS When triggering from an acoustic drum, that is using a contact pick up (transducer) mounted to the head or shell, the same general set-up procedures and parameter principles of triggering from pads apply. However, due to extreme head vibrations and r[...]

Chapter 6: External Triggering 50 DM5 Reference Manual BASS DRUM ➀ Mount the trigger directly on the impact head. ➁ Place the trigger approximately 2-4 inches in from the rim, and level with the beater. ➂ Slightly reduce the sensitivity of the trigger if it has an adjustment. SNARE DRUM If you play with a fairly tight batter head, try this: ?[...]

External Triggering: Chapter 6 DM5 Reference Manual 51 LARGE TOMS 14"-18" In most cases shell mounting will work the best. However, you might experiment with head mounting and find great results. ➀ Firmly mount the trigger to the shell so that it is approximately one inch from the batter rim. ➁ Placement of the trigger should be near [...]

Chapter 6: External Triggering 52 DM5 Reference Manual[...]

Troubleshooting: Appendix A DM5 Reference Manual 53 A PPENDIX A T ROUBLE -S HOOTING T ROUBLE -S HOOTING I NDEX If you are experience problems while operating the DM5, please use the following table to locate possible causes and solutions before contacting Alesis customer service for assistance. Symptom Cause Solution The display does not light when[...]

Appendix A: Troubleshooting 54 DM5 Reference Manual M AINTENANCE Here are some tips for preventive maintenance. • Periodically check the AC cord for signs of fraying or damage. • Make sure the entire bottom part of the keyboard is supported so that the case is not subjected to unnecessary bending. • Place a dust cover over the DM5 when it is [...]