REFERENCE MANUAL (ENGLISH) ::::: 1 ­ 32 MANUAL DE REFERENCIA (ESPAÑOL) ::::: 37 ­ 68 GUIDE D'UTILISATION (FRANÇAIS) ::::: 73 ­ 104 BEDIENUNGSANLEITUNG (DEUTSCH) ::::: 109 ­ 140 MANUALE DI RIFERIMENTO (ITALIANO) ::::: 145 ­ 176 WWW.ALESIS.COM TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 3 REGISTRATION....................................................................................... 3 TOP PANEL OVERVIEW......................................................................... 4 REAR PANEL OVERVIEW...................................................................... 5 HOOKUP DIAGRAM................................................................................ 6 COMPUTER INSTALLATION.................................................................. 7 GETTING STARTED ­ USING KITS ....................................................... 8 PROGRAM CHANGE MESSAGES......................................................... 9 EDITING KITS ........................................................................................ 10 PAD MIDI CHANNEL ......................................................................... 10 PAD NOTE NUMBER ........................................................................ 11 SETTING GLOBAL PARAMETERS...................................................... 12 SENSITIVITY ..................................................................................... 13 VELOCITY CURVE ............................................................................ 14 THRESHOLD ..................................................................................... 15 SENDING GLOBAL MESSAGES.......................................................... 16 ALL NOTES OFF ............................................................................... 16 RETURN TO DEFAULT VALUE ........................................................ 16 FACTORY RESET ............................................................................. 16 MIDI SYSEX TRANSFER ...................................................................... 17 USING THE CONTROLPAD WITH BFD LITE ...................................... 18 DEFAULT SETTINGS FOR THE CONTROLPAD ............................. 19 ADJUSTING KIT PERFORMANCE ................................................... 21 CUSTOMIZING YOUR KIT ................................................................ 22 OTHER APPLICATIONS OF THE CONTROLPAD .............................. 23 FACTORY PRESET MAPPINGS........................................................... 24 TROUBLESHOOTING ........................................................................... 29 KEY FEATURES .................................................................................... 31 COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS ............................................................. 31 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART ......................................................... 32 1 This page has been intentionally left blank. 2 INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of the Alesis ControlPad USB/MIDI Percussion Controller! Combining a lightweight, portable design with the functionality of a full-size electronic drum kit, the ControlPad is a definitive solution to rhythm performance and programming. Here at Alesis, we take pride in building electronic instruments and controllers for the modern musician. We believe that the ControlPad is an intuitive and necessary tool for today's electronic musician. You no longer have to worry about feeling disembodied from your music experience. The ControlPad offers an ideal approach to controlling and sequencing rhythm content. We hope that you enjoy this product! Sincerely, The People of Alesis REGISTRATION Please go to http://www.alesis.com to register your new ControlPad. Registration helps you by ensuring that we can keep you informed on upto-the minute product news. Registering your product also ensures that you can get the latest updates and software available for your product. If you would like, Alesis can also send you information on other products that might interest you. Your feedback helps us, too. When you let us know the types of music products you use and dream about, you help us bring you cutting-edge products like the ControlPad. 3 TOP PANEL OVERVIEW 8 PLAYING PADS These are the eight playable velocity sensitive pads. FUNCTION BUTTON This button is used to select different operations. / BUTTONS These two buttons are used to cycle through presets, as well as increase and decrease values when a parameter is selected. LED SCREEN The LED screen displays information about the state of the ControlPad including kit number and function parameters. The screen also features a small "Activity" LED which will light up each time that a pad, trigger, or pedal is engaged. FUNCTION LEDs Each function in Edit Mode is paired with a corresponding LED on the panel. When in Edit Mode, these LEDs will reflect which function is currently being edited. 4 REAR PANEL OVERVIEW 2 EXTERNAL TRIGGER INPUTS These two ¼" inputs can be used for connecting external triggers, pads, and pedals. Alesis offers a pad expansion kit, as well as a cymbal expansion kit sold separately. 2 SINGLE FOOTSWITCH INPUTS These two ¼" inputs are used for connecting external footswitches to function as a high hat pedal or bass drum pedal. DUAL FOOTSWITCH INPUT This is a ¼" TRS input which can be used with a dual pedal footswitch for selecting kits and incrementing or decrementing values on the ControlPad. USB PORT The USB port is used to transmit MIDI data between the ControlPad and a computer. If you are using the USB port, there will be no need for the power adapter to be plugged in ­ the ControlPad will be powered through the USB bus. MIDI IN PORT Use a five-pin MIDI cable to connect the OUTPUT of another ControlPad to this MIDI IN port. The ControlPad will function as a MIDI interface and send the incoming MIDI data through the USB port. This input will show up on your computer as "USB Audio Device [2]" or "USB Audio Device [2] [Emulated]". MIDI OUT PORT Use a five-pin MIDI cable to connect the OUTPUT of the ControlPad to the MIDI IN port of an external device, such as a drum machine, synthesizer or sound module. POWER ADAPTER INPUT If you do not wish to power the unit through the USB port, please use the DC power adapter included in the box. POWER SWITCH BUTTON This button is used to power the ControlPad on and off. 5 HOOKUP DIAGRAM COMPUTER MIDI CONTROL DEVICE EXTERNAL DEVICE 6V POWER ADAPTER TRIGGERS (optional) FOOTSWITCHES DUAL FOOTSWITCH MOUNTING OPTIONS: · · · 1. Tabletop ­ put the ControlPad on a flat table top with enough space. Snare stand ­ lay the ControlPad securely on a snare stand. Tom or cymbal stand ­ mounting brackets (sold separately) are available for mounting the ControlPad onto a tom or cymbal stand. Before turning on the ControlPad, connect any additional triggers, footswitches, MIDI control or other external devices. If you would like to use the ControlPad with a computer, connect a USB cord from the ControlPad to the computer's USB port. 2. Connect a power source to the ControlPad. You have two options for powering the ControlPad: a. b. 3. Connect the ControlPad to a computer's USB port ­ the computer's USB bus will provide power. Connect an optional 6v DC power adapter to the ControlPad. Use the power switch on the rear panel of the ControlPad to turn it on. 6 COMPUTER INSTALLATION The ControlPad is a Plug-and-Play device so there is no driver or special software installation required. When the ControlPad is connected to a computer, it will automatically be recognized as an available USB device. How to connect and use the ControlPad with a software application: 1. Connect a USB cord from the USB port of the ControlPad to the USB port of your computer. When the ControlPad is connected to a computer using a USB cord, the computer's USB bus will provide power to the unit. If you would like to use an alternate power source, plug in a 6v DC power adapter. 2. Press the power switch on the back panel of the ControlPad. The display on the top panel will turn on to let you know that the ControlPad is on. ! 3. 4. Tip It is a good idea to connect and turn on the ControlPad before starting any software applications with which you intend to use the ControlPad. Otherwise the ControlPad might not function properly ­ or at all. Open up your software application. Next, select the ControlPad as a MIDI input device. Usually, this is done in the Preferences settings of the software application. If you are using Windows XP, you will notice that the ControlPad may appear as `USB Audio Device' or `USB Audio Device (Emulated)' and the MIDI IN port of the ControlPad will appear as `USB Audio Device [2]' or `USB Audio Device [2] (Emulated)'. Please make sure that both of these MIDI inputs are enabled and active. (Cubase LE example shown on left. You may access the MIDI inputs by going to Devices | Device Setup and clicking on All MIDI Inputs.) 5. Now the ControlPad should be ready to use with the software application. ! A Note About Audio Latency Latency describes the time that it takes for your soundcard to respond to a command. In other words, this is the time that it takes for your computer to process incoming data (for example, MIDI Note events) and output a sound. The lower your latency is, the faster your computer will respond to commands and output sound. Please make sure that your soundcard's latency (or buffer) is set to a low number so when you hit the pads on the ControlPad, your computer will output the sound promptly. Latency and buffering is usually adjusted in your software's Preferences settings. In general, if latency is higher than about 15-20ms, you will start to notice a significant delay between the time that you hit the pads and the time that the sound comes out of your computer. If you still experience too much latency or "lag" with your internal soundcard audio drivers, you might want to download one of the free and widely available ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output) drivers from the Internet. In general, ASIO drivers perform better and with lower latency since they create a more efficient communication between audio devices and software. You may download and install the free ASIO4ALL driver (PC) by visiting www.asio4all.com. (Only compatible with USB audio interfaces) 7 GETTING STARTED ­ USING KITS The ControlPad automatically goes into Kit selection mode each time it is turned on. Notice that the LED next to Kit is lit. If you are in a different mode, you can always get to the Kit selection Kit mode by pressing the function button until the A Kit, also known as a LED next to Kit is illuminated. ? While in Kit selection mode, you can use the and buttons to select different kits. The ControlPad will automatically load the kits as you step through the values. There are 21 available kits that you can load, modify and store. Preset, is a collection of parameters which describe different configurations of the ControlPad. These parameters include the MIDI Note Numbers assigned to individual pads or external triggers, as well as the MIDI Channels on which the pads or external triggers are sending information. This allows you to store and access different setups of the pads. 8 PROGRAM CHANGE MESSAGES A Program Change, often referred to as a Patch Change, is a MIDI message used for sending data to devices to cause them to change to a new program. This allows you to tell a hardware or software device which sound to play. For example, if your ControlPad is controlling a rock drum kit on your DAW or an external device, using a Program Change command allows you to easily switch to an electronic kit. Program Change messages also give you the freedom to re-orchestrate MIDI content without having to redo any MIDI note information. Each kit on the ControlPad can have an associated Program Change message (0-127). This means that, effectively, you can have each kit on the ControlPad address a different set of sounds on your DAW or external MIDI device. By default, each kit on the ControlPad is set to "---". A Program Change message of "---" means that no Program Change message will be sent when the kit is loaded. How to set a Program Change message : 1. 2. Press the function button until the LED next to Program Change message turns on. Select the desired Program Change message using the and buttons. The Program Change message will be sent automatically and will affect only that kit. Every time you load the kit thereafter, the selected Program Change message will be sent to your DAW or external MIDI device. 3. 9 EDITING KITS Editing kits is a powerful tool for customizing your ControlPad. When you are editing a kit, the information displayed on the screen will always reflect the parameters of the last pad in the curre ...