Alesis QS6.1 Reference Manual - Cyborgstudio.com

PART 5
MIDI
WHAT WE’LL COVER HERE...
MIDI: Part 5
¥ Sequencing with the QS6.1 via MIDI or the serial port.
¥ Using the QS6.1 as a master MIDI keyboard for a live rig, along with a little more
info about controlling external MIDI devices from a Card sequence.
¥ Sys-ex transfers. How to go about transferring single Programs, Mixes or an entire
User bank via Sys-ex to a computer or another QS series synth.
…AND WHAT WE WON’T (BUT WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT).
¥ How to create a Mix. We will go over selecting Programs within a Mix (the very
top level of Mix editing), but for information on things like setting levels or selecting
the Effects Patch within the Mix, see Part 7: Editing Mixes. Our main focus here will
be on interfacing the QS6.1 with the outside world.
¥ General MIDI (GM) will only receive a brief amount of coverage here, because itÕs
covered pretty well in the discussion about Global Edit ModeÕs page 7 (Part 4: Basic
Operation). ThereÕs even more in-depth coverage of it in Part 10: Appendices
(Appendix B: MIDI Supplement).
¥ Basic MIDI concepts. If youÕre a novice to the world of MIDI, you should make it a
point to read the MIDI Supplement in Appendix B soon. ItÕll help things make a lot
more sense a lot sooner if you want to get a good handle on MIDI sequencing.
THE POWER OF MIX MODE
In Program Mode, the QS6.1 sends and receives MIDI information on only one MIDI
channel at a time. In Mix Mode, however, the QS6.1 can send and receive on as many
as 16 MIDI channels at once, each with its own keyboard range and a whole lot of
other parameters you can customize. Mix Mode allows a single QS6.1 to play back
full song arrangements at one time, with full control over the levels and stereo
placement of the various Programs, complete with the Effects necessary to make the
music shine.
But we also said it cansend (and how!). A QS6.1 in Mix Mode gives you the potential
to control a whole lot of other MIDI devices at one time. When the next song calls for
you to layer strings from that box with the brass from this box along with a couple of
internal Programs, mixed just so, while calling up the DMPro kit for the drummer,
setting the Q20 Reverb patch for the singer, and changing the setup on your lighting
controller, selecting a single Mix on the QS6.1 can do all of that. ItÕll set up your
whole rig instantly, right before the next song is to begin (even if your band changes
its collective mind at the last second and starts a tune that wasnÕt on the song list!).
WeÕll dig into the MIDI controller aspects of the QS6.1 later in this chapter. For now,
letÕs start talking aboutÉ
QS6.1 Reference Manual 47