User manual ALESIS S4 PLUS

[. . . ] ALESIS S4 Plus Reference Manual Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Alesis S4 Plus 64 Voice Sound Module. To take full advantage of the S4 Plus's functions, and to enjoy long and trouble-free use, please read this user's manual carefully. How To Use This Manual This manual is divided into the following sections describing the various modes of the S4 Plus. Though we recommend you take time to read through the entire manual once carefully, those having general knowledge about synthesizers should use the table of contents and index to reference specific functions while using the instrument. If you've upgraded your S4 to the new 2. 0 "Plus" software, refer to Appendix D to find out about the many new features. [. . . ] Also in Normal mode, the envelope will immediately advance to its release stage upon releasing the note. When set to Freerun, the envelope will complete its entire cycle, even if the note is released in the middle. When set to Reset, the envelope starts at the beginning whenever a new note is played. When set to Reset-Freerun, the envelope will start at the beginning whenever a new note is played and will complete its entire cycle, even if the note is released in the middle. If a sound layer's Keyboard Mode parameter (found in the Pitch Function, Page 3, Quad Knob [4]) is set to "Mono", the Pitch Envelope will only retrigger when playing legato if the Trigger Mode is set to either "Reset" or "Reset-Freerun". Pitch Envelope (Page 3) Time Tracking (On or Off) This determines whether or not keyboard position will affect the cycle speed of the envelope. When turned on, playing toward the higher end of the keyboard will result in a faster envelope cycle; playing toward the lower end of the keyboard will result in a slower envelope cycle. However, this does not effect the attack time, but only the decay, sustain decay and release segments. The envelope's timing doubles or halves over a range of two octaves. Sustain Pedal (On or Off) This determines whether or not the Sustain Pedal will have an effect on the envelope. When turned on, holding down the Sustain Pedal while playing short notes is virtually the equivalent to holding down those notes on the keyboard with some subtle but important differences. If the Delay and Attack are set to 0 and either the Decay is 0 or the Sustain is 99, the envelope will immediately jump to the sustain decay stage (if not already there) when the note is released and the sustain pedal is held down. If a long attack is set, and the envelope does not reach the end of the attack segment when the note is released, it will be skipped and the envelope will jump immediately to the release segment. If a long delay is set, and the envelope has not reached the attack segment before the note is released, the envelope will remain at 0. However, if Freerun is turned on, the envelope will continue through the delay, attack, decay and sustain segments and remain at the sustain decay segment. When the Sustain Pedal parameter is turned off, the Sustain Pedal will have no effect on the envelope. Level (00 to 99) This is the overall output level of the envelope. If this is set to 00, the PENV will have no output and will have no effect, while at 99 it will have a maximum effect on whatever it is being routed to. Tip: When selecting PENV Level as a modulation destination, set the PENV level to 00 if the Modulation Level is above 0 (or, set the PENV level to 99 if the Modulation Amount is below 0). S4 Plus Reference Manual 71 Chapter 6: Editing Programs Velocity Modulation (00 to 99) This determines how keyboard dynamics will affect the envelope level. When set to 99, note velocity controls the envelope's output; notes played hard will deliver a higher envelope output than notes played soft. When set to 0, note velocity will have no effect on the envelope's output level. Filter Envelope Filter Envelope (Page 1) Filter Envelope is crucial whenever you want the tonal quality of a note to change over time, differently from its overall level. Example: When you want the initial attack of a note to be bright, but want the sustaining part to be filtered. J The following Filter Envelope variables will only have any effect if the FILTER ENVELOPE DEPTH (on Page 2 of the FILTER function) is set to a value other than 0, or, Filter Envelope is a source in the MOD function. Also note that the Filter Envelope may have no effect if some other modulation source, or the basic setting of the filter, has already pushed the filter cutoff frequency to its maximum. Attack (00 to 99) This is the amount of time the envelope will take until it reaches its maximum output level. Setting the Attack to 0 will give a sharp edge to the sound (if the Delay is also set to 0 in FENV Page 2--see below); a setting of 99 will result in a much slower attack, taking many seconds before the envelope gets to maximum. Decay & Sustain (00 to 99) As soon as the attack portion of the envelope finishes (when the level reaches maximum), the envelope will decay (decrease in level). The level it reaches is set by the Sustain control; how long it takes to get there is set by the Decay control. [. . . ] If [STORE] is pressed twice while editing a Program that is on a Channel other than the Effect Channel, the edited Program will be stored without altering its previous Effects settings. If [STORE] is pressed twice while editing a Mix (Mix Edit Mode), only the Mix parameters will be stored, not the individual Programs or the Effects Patch. · Expanded Card Compatibility The S4 Plus is now compatible with more types of Sound Card formats, increasing the possibility for new, inexpensive sound cards to be produced and distributed. Supported PCMCIA Sound Cards now include: S4 Plus Reference Manual 151 Appendix D: What's New in the 2. 0 "Plus" Upgrade · · Any PCMCIA Type I SRAM Card All AMD 'C' series and 'D' series Type I FLASH Cards. Storing to Specific Sound Card Locations You now have the option of storing an edited Mix or Program directly to a specific location in a RAM Sound Card Bank (instead of only being able to transfer the entire Bank) and vice versa. However, the Sound Card you are storing to must be of the current S4 Bank format. [. . . ]