ALESIS DRUMS B09PFCZMVL Advanced Drum Module User Guide

ALESIS DRUMS B09PFCZMVL Advanced Drum Module

Introduction

Box Contents

• Command Drum Module
• Power Adapter
• USB Cable
• User Guide
• Safety & Warranty Manual

Support

For the latest information about this product (system requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and product registration, visit alesis.com.
For additional product support, visit alesis.com/support.

Features

Top Panel

1. Power Input: Connect this input to a power outlet using the included power adapter.

2. USB Port: Connect a USB flash drive to this USB port to record songs to it, load samples from it, save kits to it, or load kits from it. See Operation > USB Drive to learn more.
   Important: Your USB flash drive must use a FAT32 file system to work properly with the drum module.

3. Power Button: Press this button to power the drum module on or off.

4. Master Volume: Turn this knob to adjust the volume level of the outputs on the rear panel.

5. Phones Volume: Turn this knob to adjust the volume level of the phones output on the rear panel.

6. Display: This screen shows various menus and options to help you configure and use the drum module. See Operation to learn more.

7. Menu: Press this button to access the Kit Menu in the display.

8. Down: Press this button to move down one option in the display.

9. Up: Press this button to move up one option in the display.

10. Enter: Press this to confirm your selection or to enter a submenu.

11. Exit: Press this button to cancel your selection or to exit a submenu.

12. Dial: Turn this dial to adjust the setting of the currently selected item in the display (number values, kits, songs, etc.). Alternatively, use the Left () and Right () buttons.

13. Click: Press this button to activate or deactivate the built-in metronome (“click”). When you activate it, the Metronome settings will also appear in the display, which you can adjust. See Operation > Metronome to learn more.

14. Song: Press this button to access the Song Selection page in the display. See Operation

    Songs to learn more.

15. Kit: Press this button to access the Kit Selection page in the display. See Operation > Kits to learn more.

16. Save: Press this button to save the settings of the current kit. See Operation > Kits to learn more.

17. Tempo: Press this button to view the current tempo in the display. See Operation > Metronome to learn more.

18. Record: Press this button to record-arm the drum module. To start recording, hit a drum pad, press Enter, or press Start/Stop. To cancel recording, press Exit or Record. See Operation > Songs to learn more.

19. Start/Stop: Press this button to play or stop a song. When the drum module is record-armed, press this button to start recording.

20.   Left : Press this button to decrease the value of the selected item (or move to the previous setting) in the display. Alternatively, turn the dial.

21.   Right : Press this button to increase the value of the selected item (or move to the next setting) in the display. Alternatively, turn the dial.

Rear Panel

1. Phones Output: Connect 1/8” (3.5 mm) stereo headphones (sold separately) to this output. Control the volume by turning the Phones Volume knob on the top panel.
2. Aux Input: Connect an additional audio player (smartphone, tablet, etc.) to this input using a standard 1/8” (3.5 mm) stereo/TRS cable. The sound will be mixed with the drum module’s sounds.
3. Outputs: Connect your audio interface, mixer, powered monitors, etc. to these outputs using standard 1/4” (6.35 mm) TRS cables.
4. Crash Trigger Input: Connect an optional cymbal pad to this input using a standard 1/4” (6.35 mm) TS cable. Hitting the pad will trigger an additional crash cymbal sound.
5. Tom 4 Trigger Input : Connect an optional drum pad to this input using a standard 1/4” (6.35 mm) TS cable. Hitting the pad will trigger an additional low tom sound.
6. MIDI In : Connect an external MIDI device (sequencer, drum machine, etc.) to this input using a standard 5-pin MIDI cable.
7. MIDI Out : Connect an external MIDI device (synthesizer, sound module, etc.) to this output using a standard 5-pin MIDI cable.
8. USB MIDI Port: Connect this USB port to a computer using a standard USB cable. The drum module will send MIDI messages to your computer over this connection.

Operation

Kits

A kit in the drum module is a selection of sounds that you can play with the pads of your electronic drum kit.
To select a kit:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select a kit. To switch between the preset kits (001–050) and user kits (051–070), press Kit.
   You can use each kit immediately after it appears in the display.
   Note: To learn how to select a kit on a USB flash drive, see the USB Drive chapter.

You can change certain parameters of each kit, letting you customize its overall sound.
To edit a kit:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. On this page:
   • To select a parameter you want to edit, use the Down and Up buttons: Kit (the large option in the center of the display), Volume, EQ High, EQ Middle, and EQ Low.
   • To change the setting or value, use the dial or Left and Right buttons.
3. When you are done editing, we recommend saving the kit. See the instructions later in this chapter to learn how to do this.

In a kit, each sound is called a “voice.” You can change each voice and set some of its parameters, letting you customize the collection of sounds in a kit.
To edit a voice:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Voice, and then press Enter.
4. Hit the pad whose voice you want to edit. The pad’s name will appear at the top of the display. Alternatively, use the dial or Left () and Right () buttons.
5. The display will show the pad’s current voice and its parameters. On this page:
   • To select a parameter you want to edit, use the Down and Up buttons:
   • Voice Name: The pad’s current voice.
   • Volume: The pad’s volume (00–16).
   • Pan: The pad’s position in the stereo field (-08 to +08). Negative values correspond to the left side, and positive values correspond to the right side. 00 is the center.
   • Pitch: The pad’s pitch offset in semitones (-08 to +08).
   • Reverb: The amount of reverb effect applied to the pad’s sound (00–16).
   • Decay: The amount of time it takes for the pad’s sound to decay (-05–00). 00 is the default and the longest amount of time. -05 is a very short time.
   • Mode: The pad’s playback mode:
     • Poly (polyphonic): Each hit will trigger the sample and allow the sample to “overlap” itself if you hit it several times.
     • Mono (monophonic ): Each hit will trigger the sample and instantly silence any previous sample from the pad that is still playing.
     • Loop: Each hit will trigger the sample. When it reaches the end of the sample, it will return to the beginning. Hit the pad again to stop the loop.
     • Stop: Hitting the pad will silence all samples, stop song playback, and deactivate the metronome.
     • Tmp (tempo): Hit the pad several times at a regular rate to change the tempo to match that rate. Each hit will also trigger the sample.
     • Clk (click): Each hit will activate or deactivate the metronome.
   • Mute Group: The pad’s mute group (00–16). Normally, when you hit a pad while another triggered sample is playing, the new sample will overlap the currently playing one. When you hit a pad in a mute group, all other samples whose pads are in the same mute group will stop playing immediately.
   • Pad Song: The song that starts when you hit the pad. The song will stop when you hit it again. If the Mode is set to Stop (described above), this feature will not work.
   • To edit the parameter’s setting or value, use the dial or Left and Right buttons.
6. When you are done editing, we recommend saving the kit. See below to learn how to do this.

You can also save the current sounds and settings as a user kit.
To save a kit:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select the kit you want to save. To switch between the preset kits (001–050) and user kits (051–070), press Kit.
3. Press Save. Rename Kit will appear at the top of the display.
4. Optional: On this page:
   • To change the currently selected character, turn the dial.
   • To move to the next or previous character, press the Left or Right buttons.
5. After entering the name of the new kit, press Down to select Save (to continue saving the kit) or Cancel (to cancel and return to the Kit Selection page.
6. The desired user kit and Save? will appear in the display.
7. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select a user kit.
8. To confirm your choice, press Enter to confirm your choice. Save OK! will appear briefly in the display.
   To cancel the operation at any point, press Exit.

Note: To learn how to save a kit to a USB flash drive, see the USB Drive chapter.

Songs

There are 120 preset songs that you can play along to. Each song has a drum part and accompaniment. You can adjust the volume of each so you can listen to the drum part, and then lower its volume and play along using your electronic drum kit.
To play a song:

1. Press Song to enter the Song Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
   To switch between the preset songs and user songs (001–120 and 121–125) and the songs available on a USB flash drive, press Song.

2. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select a song.

3. Optional: On this page:

   • To select a parameter you want to edit, use the Down and Up buttons: Song (the large option in the center of the display), Accomp Vol, and Drum Vol.
   • To change the setting or value, use the dial or Left and Right buttons.

4. Press Start/Stop to play the song. Press Start/Stop again to stop it.

Important: In order to play audio files or MIDI files properly on the drum module, make sure the files are formatted in the following way:

• MIDI files must be Standard MIDI Files (SMF), Type 0. The track number must be less than 16, the PPQN must be 480 or less, and the file size must be 128 kb or less.
• WAV files must be mono 16-bit and use a sampling rate of 48 kHz or lower.
• MP3 files must use a bit rate of 320 kbps or lower and a sampling rate of 48 kHz or lower.

You can record your performances and save them to the drum module’s built-in memory or to a connected USB flash drive.

• When using the module’s internal memory, you can record up to 5 user songs as MIDI files.
• When using a USB flash drive, you can record up to 99 user songs as MP3 audio files.

To record a song:

1. To record a song with accompaniment, press Song to enter the Song Selection page.
   To record a song with your drum performance only (no accompaniment), press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page.

2. Press Record to record-arm the drum module. The button will flash, and Record to User song ? will appear in the display.

3. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select an available user song.

4. To start recording, hit a pad or press Start/Stop. A pre-count will appear in the display. When Recording… appears in the display, the song is recording (if you are recording a song with accompaniment, it will begin playing). The length of the recording will be shown at the top of the display.
   To cancel recording instead, press Record.

5. When you are done recording, press Start/Stop. Saving… will appear in the display. The previous page will return when saving is completed.

Metronome

The built-in metronome (or “click track”) can help you keep a steady tempo while playing.
To activate or deactivate the metronome, press Click.
When you activate the metronome, its settings will also appear in the display, which you can adjust. On this page:

• To select a parameter you want to edit, use the Down and Up buttons: Time Sig (the time signature), Volume, Interval (how often the metronome clicks), Sound, and Output (whether the metronome plays through all of the module’s outputs [All] or just the phones output [Phones]).
• To change the setting or value, use the dial or Left and Right buttons.
• To exit the page, press Exit, or press Click to deactivate the metronome.

To change the tempo:

1. Press Tempo. The current tempo will appear in the display.
2. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to set the tempo.
3. Press Exit or Tempo to return to the previous page.

Trigger Settings

The drum module also lets you customize the settings of each trigger (drum pad or cymbal pad). You can change its parameters, letting you customize your kit to your playing style. These settings are “global” and therefore apply to all kits.
To edit your trigger setting:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Trigger, and then press Enter.
4. Hit the pad whose voice you want to edit. The pad’s name will appear at the top of the display. Alternatively, use the Down and Up buttons to select the pad’s name at the top of the display, and then use the dial or Left and Right buttons to change it.
5. The display will show the current trigger and its parameters. On this page:
   • To select a parameter you want to edit, use the Down and Up buttons (not all parameters are available for all pads):
   • Sensitivity: The sensitivity of the head (center) of a drum pad. Higher values let you produce louder sounds with less force. Lower values require more force to produce quieter sounds.
   • Rim Sens: The sensitivity of the rim of a drum pad. Higher values let you produce louder sounds with less force. Lower values require more force to produce quieter sounds.
   • Head-Rim Adj : The amount of crosstalk reduction between the head (center) and rim of a drum pad. Higher values reduce the probability that the pad’s rim sound will be triggered when you play its head only and vice versa (due to the force being transferred through the pad). Don’t set this value too high, though! If this value is too high, you may not be able to trigger its sound if you intentionally play both the head and rim at the same time; it may be silenced because the module incorrectly interprets the hit as crosstalk.
   • Threshold : The amount of force required to trigger the sound.
   • X-talk : The amount of crosstalk reduction. Higher values reduce the probability that the pad’s sound will be triggered when you play another pad (due to the force being transferred through a rack, through the floor, etc.). Don’t set this value too high, though! If this value is too high, you may not be able to trigger its sound if you play another pad at the same time; it may be silenced because the module incorrectly interprets the hit as crosstalk.
   • Curve : The velocity curve of the pad. This controls the relationship between the amount of playing force and the volume level of the pad’s sound.
   • Retrig Cancel: The required amount of time between successive hits of the pad to produce the sound for both hits.
   • MIDI Note: When the drum module’s USB MIDI port or MIDI Out is connected to a computer or external MIDI device, the pad will send this MIDI note to it. If you are not using those connections, this setting will not affect the trigger or its sound.
     Kick Drum| 36
     ---|---
     Snare Drum (Center)| 38
     Snare Rim| 40
     Tom 1 (Center)| 48
     Tom 1 (Rim)| 50
     Tom 2 (Center)| 45
     Tom 2 (Rim)| 47
     Tom 3 (Center)| 43
     ---|---
     Tom 3 (Rim)| 58
     Tom 4 (Center)| 41
     Tom 4 (Rim)| 39
     Ride Bow| 51
     Ride Edge| 59
     Ride Bell| 53
     Crash 1| 49
     ---|---
     Crash 1 (Edge)| 55
     Crash 2| 57
     Crash 2 (Edge)| 52
     Hi-Hat Open| 46
     Hi-Hat Closed| 42
     Hi-Hat Pedal| 44
     Hi-Hat Splash| 21
   • Splash Sens: The sensitivity of the hi-hat pedal to create a “splash” sound rather than the usual “closed pedal” sound.
   • To edit the parameter’s setting or value, use the dial or Left and Right buttons.
6. To save your changes, press Save. Otherwise, your changes will be lost when you power off the drum module.
7. Press Exit to return to the previous page.

Utility

The Utility menu lets you configure various settings for the module itself.
To use the Utility menu:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Utility, and then press Enter.
4. The display will show the Utility menu. On this page:
   • To select an option, use the Down and Up buttons:
   • GM Mode : When activated (On), MIDI messages sent into the drum module’s MIDI In will trigger sounds from the General MIDI (GM) specification. When deactivated (Off), MIDI messages sent into the drum module’s MIDI In will trigger the module’s internal sounds (the ones played by each kit). See MIDI to learn more about this.
   • Local Ctrl: When activated (On), playing the pads connected to the drum module will trigger the drum module’s internal sounds. When deactivated (Off), playing the pads will send MIDI notes from the drum module to a connected computer or MIDI device. See Trigger Settings to learn how to set the MIDI notes. See MIDI to learn how to use the drum module to send MIDI.
   • Lefty Mode : When activated (On), the pads connected to the drum module are reversed to accommodate left-handed playing.
   • Auto Power : This feature sets the drum module to power off automatically if it is not used for a certain amount of time. You can set this to 30 minutes, 60 minutes, or turn it off (Off).
   • Contrast: The display’s contrast.
   • To edit the parameter’s setting or value, use the dial or Left and Right buttons.
5. Press Exit to return to the previous page.

USB Drive
You can use the drum module with a USB flash drive to record songs to it, load samples from it, save kits to it, or load kits from it.
Your USB flash drive can have a capacity of 4–64 GB, and it must use a FAT32 file system to work properly with the drum module.
To format a connected USB flash drive:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select USB Memory, and then press Enter.
4. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Format, and then press Enter.
5. The display will show The USB memory will be erased! Enter or Exit?
   To format the drive (which will also erase its contents), press Enter.
   To cancel formatting, press Exit.

You can also load your own samples to use as voices within a kit. Each sample must be a 16-bit mono WAV file with a maximum size of 15 MB. It can have a sampling rate of 48, 44.1, 32, 22.05, or 11.025 kHz.
Note:
Samples that you have loaded to the drum module can only be deleted all at once. In other words, if you have loaded multiple samples into a kit (or to multiple kits), you cannot delete only one of your samples; you must delete all of them.
To load a sample from a USB flash drive:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select USB Memory, and then press Enter.
4. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Sample Load, and then press Enter. A list of your samples will appear in the display.
5. Use the Down and Up buttons to select a sample, and then press Enter.
6. When Load to User Voice? appears in the display, press Enter to load the sample or Exit to cancel. You may need to wait a minute for the sample to load, depending on its size.

To save a kit to a USB flash drive:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select the kit you want to save. To switch between the preset kits (001–050) and user kits (051–070), press Kit.
3. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
4. Use the Down and Up buttons to select USB Memory, and then press Enter.
5. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Kit Save, and then press Enter.
6. Use the Down and Up buttons to select a kit number (00–99). A number with no name next to it indicates an empty kit. A number with a name next to it indicates a saved kit.
7. To save the kit to the selected number, press Enter. If the number already has a kit saved to it, Data will be overwritten! Enter or Exit? will appear in the display. Press Enter to overwrite the kit or Exit to return to the list of kits.
   To cancel, press Exit.

To load a kit from a USB flash drive:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select USB Memory, and then press Enter.
4. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Kit Load, and then press Enter.
5. Use the Down and Up buttons to select a kit number (00–99). A number with no name next to it indicates an empty kit. A number with a name next to it indicates a saved kit.
6. To load the selected kit, press Enter.
7. When Load to User___? appears in the display, use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select the desired “destination” user kit number.
8. Press Enter to load the kit or Exit to cancel. You may need to wait a minute for the kit to load, depending on its size.

MIDI
You can connect the drum module to another MIDI device, allowing you to do any of the following:

• use your Command Mesh Kit to trigger sounds in software on your computer (connected to the drum module’s USB MIDI port)
• use your Command Mesh Kit to trigger sounds in an external MIDI sound module or synthesizer (connected to the drum module’s MIDI Out)
• use another MIDI device (connected to the drum module’s MIDI In) to trigger sounds in the Command Drum Module

To change the MIDI note number sent by each pad, see Trigger Settings.
You may need to adjust some settings in the drum module to ensure all MIDI communication can be properly sent or received.
To adjust the MIDI settings:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Utility, and then press Enter. The display will show the Utility menu.
4. Use the Down and Up buttons to select GM Mode.
5. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select On or Off.
   • On: MIDI messages sent into the drum module’s MIDI In will trigger sounds from the General MIDI (GM) specification.
   • Off: MIDI messages sent into the drum module’s MIDI In will trigger the module’s internal sounds (the ones played by each kit).
6. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Local Ctrl.
7. Use the dial or Left and Right buttons to select On or Off.
   • On: Playing the pads connected to the drum module will trigger the drum module’s internal sounds.
   • Off: Playing the pads will send MIDI notes from the drum module to a connected computer (connected to the USB MIDI port) or MIDI device (connected to the MIDI Out). See Trigger Settings to learn how to set the MIDI notes.
8. Press Exit to return to the Kit Menu. Press it once more to return to the Kit Selection page.

Accessing the module’s programs:
You can use an external MIDI device (e.g., a MIDI keyboard or sequencer) to access the drum module’s other sound libraries (“programs”), such as piano, bass, strings, etc. Select a different program by sending a Program Change message from your external device. Each program uses a dedicated MIDI channel (1–16). Channel 10 is reserved for the drum sounds.
To record to an external sequencer:

1. Use a standard MIDI cable (sold separately) to connect the drum module’s MIDI Out to your sequencer’s MIDI In. Use another MIDI cable to connect the sequencer’s MIDI Out to your module’s MIDI In.
2. Set the active track of your sequencer to Channel 10, and start recording.
3. Play your electronic drum kit!
4. Stop recording on your sequencer. Your performance has been recorded.

Factory Reset

To return the drum module to its original default settings:

1. Press Kit to enter the Kit Selection page (if you are not already viewing it).
2. Press Menu to enter the Kit Menu.
3. Use the Down and Up buttons to select Factory Reset, and then press Enter.
4. Use the Down and Up buttons to select which settings you want to return to the defaults: Kit (only the user kits), Song (only the user songs), Voice (only the user voices), Trigger Settings (all trigger settings), or All (all of the above).
5. When All data will be lost! Enter or Exit? appears in the display, press Enter to continue or Exit to cancel.
6. Wait a minute while the module restores its default settings. After Reset OK! appears in the display, the default settings are restored.
7. Press Exit to return to the previous page.

References

• Alesis
• alesis.com/support

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