] REFERENCE MANUAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 WELCOME TO THE PERFORMANCE PAD DRUM MACHINE! 1.2 GROUND RULES 1.3 IMPORTANT: HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PERFORMANCE PAD 1.4 10 STEPS TO INSTANT GRATIFICATION (SETUP AND CHECKOUT) CHAPTER 2: RECORD SETUP 2.1 PAGE 1: SELECT THE QUANTIZATION VALUE (QUANTIZE SELECT) 2.2 PAGE 2: SELECT THE SWING VALUE (SWING SELECT) 2.3 PAGE 3: ENABLE CLICK (METRONOME) AND SET RHYTHM (CLICK SELECT) 2.4 PAGE 4: SET CLICK (METRONOME) VOLUME (CLICK VOL) 2.
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 WELCOME TO THE PERFORMANCE PAD DRUM MACHINE! The Performance Pad includes over 230 high-fidelity drum/percussion sounds, and is easy to operate. As you strike the 8 drum pads (each of which can be assigned to any of the available sounds), the Performance Pad's on-board computer records exactly when you triggered the drum sound and the dynamics of your playing. You can play back the part, and edit it in various ways. Data is retained in memory even if the power is turned off.
1.2B The Four Different Types of Patterns The Performance Pad introduces exciting new Song construction techniques. The Performance Pad excels at live performance—something usually not associated with drum machines. The key to using these advanced features is to understand the different types of available Patterns. • Preset Patterns provide a variety of rock, jazz, pop, and other rhythms programmed by professional drummers. • User Patterns are Patterns you can program, edit, and save.
1.2D What's a Voice? Each of the 8 large pads triggers 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 sets of stereo outputs, and furthermore, to anywhere within the stereo field of the chosen set of outputs), and MIDI note number. Each pad is velocity-sensitive: the harder you hit the pad, the louder the drum sound assigned to the pad will play.
1.2F Physical Layout The Performance Pad includes seven main types of controls, along with a group of connectors (located on the back panel). The control groups (see diagram) are: • Pads. Striking each pad triggers a voice. • Function buttons. These six buttons select various functions, some of which include multiple "pages" of options. • Tempo/Page buttons. These alter the tempo and also select different "pages" present in the Drum Set, Record Setup, MIDI Setup, and Util functions.
1.2G Display Layout The LCD is divided into several "windows." Each window contains information that helps you monitor the Performance Pad's status, and/or indicates what type of data should be entered. • Name, "dialog" box, real time Song/Pattern readout, beat counter. This is the most commonly-used area of the display. It shows Pattern and Song names, the beat counter if a Pattern or Song is playing, and the Pattern (including A/B/Fill/Preset or User designators) that is currently playing in Song mode.
1.2H Text Protocols Throughout the text, button names are shown in UPPER CASE and words that appear on the display are shown in BOLD. When referring to a numbered step in a set of steps, the step number will be in parenthesis—for example, step (4)—to prevent confusion with Song steps or step edit mode. 1.3 IMPORTANT: HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PERFORMANCE PAD 1.
1.4 10 STEPS TO INSTANT GRATIFICATION (SETUP AND CHECKOUT) 1. Connect the Main outputs (either left or right for a mono monitoring system, or both for stereo) to a high-quality musical instrument amplifier, PA, or plug the included headphones into the headphone output on the back of the Performance Pad. The amp and Performance Pad volume control (on back) should be all the way down (counterclockwise). 2. Leave the MIDI OUT jack (rear panel) disconnected for now. 3.
BEAT 001 PATTERN A USER PLAYING PRESS PLAY TEMPO PERFORM 9. Try the following: • Enter a two-digit number between 00-49 using the number keys, then press PLAY. • Press the INC (up arrow) button to select the next higher-numbered Preset Pattern. It will play at the end of the current Pattern. • Press the DEC (down arrow) button to select the next lower-numbered Preset Pattern. • Press the B button to select the B variation of the selected Pattern.
CHAPTER 2: RECORD SETUP Several parameters are often adjusted prior to recording a Pattern, such as metronome, Pattern length, etc. General instructions are: 1. Press the RECORD SETUP button. 2. Use the PAGE (up and down) buttons to select different "pages" of functions; the display's lower right window shows the page number. These pages are described below. 3. Adjust values on pages, if necessary, as described for each page. 4.
NOTE NAME NOTE VALUE DISPLAY KEYPAD 1 = 1/4 = 2 = 1/6 = 3 = 1/8 = 4 = 1/12 = 5 = 1/16 = 6 = 1/24 = 7 = 1/32 = 8 = 1/48 = 9, 0 = 1/384 = 3 3 3 3 off = QUARTER NOTE = QUARTER NOTE TRIPLET = EIGHTH NOTE = EIGHTH NOTE TRIPLET = 16th NOTE = 16th NOTE TRIPLET = 32nd NOTE = 32nd NOTE TRIPLET = 384th NOTE Quantization shifts your playing to the specified beat while you play, so choose the desired value before playing out your rhythms.
2.2 PAGE 2: SELECT THE SWING VALUE (SWING SELECT) The display shows SWING SELECT; the Swing window shows the swing value. SWING SELECT SETUP RECORD SWINGOFF PAGE Enter the desired swing percentage with the INC/DEC or number buttons (1 = 54%, 2 = 58%, 3 = 62%, 4-0 = Swing Off). Swing shifts notes as specified while you record, so choose the desired value before playing out your rhythms. Background Swing affects the timing of pairs of equal-value notes.
2.3 PAGE 3: ENABLE CLICK (METRONOME) AND SET RHYTHM (CLICK SELECT) The display shows CLICK SELECT; the Click window shows the click's rhythmic value. CLICK SELECT SETUP RECORD PAGE CLICK Enter the click value with the INC/DEC or number buttons (1 = quarter note, 2 = quarter note triplet, 3 = 8th note, 4 = 8th note triplet, 5 = 16th note, 6 = 16th note triplet, 7-0 = Click Off). The click is audible only in Compose mode. 2.
2.5 PAGE 5: ADD/REMOVE BEATS FROM PATTERN END (LENGTH) This option either adds beats to, or subtracts beats from, the end of the Pattern. The Pattern length can be set prior to, or after, recording. Shortening a Pattern's end point erases any drum events that fall outside the remaining part of the Pattern; lengthening a Pattern's end point adds silence at the end of a Pattern. It is also important to note that changing a Pattern's length also changes the length of the associated Fill Pattern.
2.6 PAGE 6: ADD/REMOVE BEATS FROM PATTERN BEGINNING (‘START) This option either adds beats to, or subtracts beats from, the beginning of the Pattern. The Pattern length can be set prior to, or after, recording. Shortening a Pattern's start point erases any drum events that fall outside the remaining part of the Pattern; lengthening a Pattern's start point adds silence at the beginning of a Pattern. The display says ### BEAT and ‘START. This indicates a Pattern's length in beats (quarter notes).
2.8 PAGE 8: STEP MODE RECORDING (STEP MODE) The display shows STEP MODE? This is your "gateway" to step editing, which provides detailed Pattern editing and recording. To enter the step editor, press PLAY. The display now shows the beat and sub-beat. If a drum event exists on this beat/subbeat, the display will also show the drum pad that played the event and the event volume.
The following sections summarize the step edit options. 2.8A Add a New Drum to a Step Use the PAGE buttons to select the step where the drum is to be added. Press the pad that corresponds to the sound you want to add. That drum, along with its volume (how hard the pad was struck), will be recorded into the displayed step. If you hit a pad and there is already a drum event played by that pad on the displayed step, you will edit the volume rather than add another event.
CHAPTER 3: PLAYING BACK/RECORDING PATTERNS 3.1 PLAYBACK/RECORD BASICS The PATTERN/SONG button chooses between Pattern and Song modes. For all of the following Pattern operations, Pattern mode must be selected, as confirmed by the display. ROCK 1 PATTERN A PRESS PLAY TEMPO PERFORM 3.
3.1C Set Pattern Tempo The tempo range extends from 20 to 255 beats per minute. Tempo can be changed while the Performance Pad is stopped or running. There are two ways to set tempo. • Before initiating Pattern play, tap the STOP button several times at the desired tempo. The Performance Pad will average the time between taps and derive a tempo; the display will update the tempo with each tap.
3.1G Select New Patterns While in Perform (Playback) Mode In Perform mode, you can select a new Pattern number (with the desired A or B designator) or switch from A to B Patterns within a Pattern number at any time. The newly-selected Pattern will play back as soon as the current Pattern plays through its entire length. The display shows the Pattern to be played next. To select a new Pattern in Perform mode, enter the twodigit Pattern number.
played (i.e., past the downbeat of the next Pattern), the Performance Pad will return to the original Main Pattern. Example: Suppose an 8-beat A Main Pattern is playing and you press the FILL button on beat 4 but hold it down past beat 8. The A Fill Pattern will play the last 4 beats, then the Performance Pad will return to the A Main Pattern. Fills cannot start on the downbeat since a Fill, by definition, starts at some point into the Main Pattern.
3.1J Select New Patterns and Fills While in Compose (Record) Mode In Compose mode, Main Pattern selection works in the same manner as Perform mode—select a Pattern number (with the desired A or B designator), and the newlyselected Pattern will play back as soon as the current Pattern plays through its entire length. The display will show the Pattern to be played next. In Perform mode, Fills are transitional Patterns.
3.2 ERASE FUNCTIONS 3.2A Erase Mistakes While Recording While the Performance Pad is recording, you can erase any individual drum event or series of events in real time to fix up errors. Erasure occurs only on those beats that coincide with the current quantization and swing values; turn quantization off to erase a drum wherever it occurs. 1. The Performance Pad should be in Compose mode and recording. 2. Press and hold ERASE. 3.
3.3 COPY FUNCTIONS The following Copy functions assume that you are copying a Main Pattern to a Main Pattern (remember, copying a Main Pattern to another Main Pattern copies the Fill along with it). Other combinations take the following rules into account. • Copying a Main Pattern to a non-empty Pattern or to itself appends the Fill to the existing Fill, as well as appends the Main Pattern to the existing Main Pattern.
3.3B Copy One Drum Pad's Part to Another Drum Pad Merge: When the destination drum pad already has a pattern, the source pattern will be merged with the destination pattern. Note that if the two parts contain events for the same pad on the same beat, only one event will prevail and it will take the level of the source Pattern event.
CHAPTER 4: CREATING DRUM SETS The Performance Pad's 8 pads can be assigned to various drum sounds, with different levels, tuning, panning, triggering mode, and output jack assignment. Each set of pad parameters is given a number and collectively are called a Drum Set; each A and B user Pattern can have its own Drum Set assignment. There are 50 preset Drum Sets and 50 user-programmable Drum Sets.
4.2 PAGE 2: ASSIGN SOUNDS TO PADS The display shows the currently selected pad number and the sound assigned to that pad. FATSNARE 001 DRUM SET DRUM PAGE You can assign any of the Performance Pad's sounds to any of the pads, or to more than one pad. Each individual Drum Set can have its own drum sound assignment. To assign a sound to a pad: 1. Hit the pad. 2. Enter the desired drum sound number with the number or INC/DEC buttons. 3.
4.4 PAGE 4: SET PAD STEREO POSITION (PANNING) The display shows PANNING, the currently selected pad number, and the pan position assigned to that pad. (Note the cute little arrows indicating pan position; they move when you pan the drum sound.) PANNING <> DRUM SET DRUM PAGE To change the pan position associated with a given pad: 1. Press the pad (the display will show the pad number). 2. Enter the desired pan position, from full left to full right, using either the number or INC/DEC buttons.
4.6 PAGE 6: SET TRIGGERING MODE (ASN MODE) The display shows ASN MODE (short for Assignment Mode), the currently selected pad number, and the mode assigned to that pad. ASN MODE MULTI DRUM SET DRUM PAGE To change the mode associated with a given pad: 1. Press the pad (the display will show the pad number). 2. Enter the desired mode with the INC/DEC buttons or number buttons 1-4. 3. When the display confirms your choice, either store the edited Drum Set (see section 4.
4.7 PAGE 7: SAVE DRUM SET (SAVE SET) The display shows SAVE SET?, the currently selected Drum Set number (location), and a two-digit number that's the same as the currently selected Drum Set. To save the Drum Set to the existing location, press PLAY. The display will say DRUMSET SAVED for as long as PLAY is held down. To save the Drum Set to a different location, enter the new Drum Set number with the INC/DEC or number buttons (allowable range is 00-49), then press PLAY.
CHAPTER 5: SONG MODE 5.1 SONG MODE BASICS After creating the Patterns that make up a Song, it's time to string those Patterns together in a musically useful way. You can incorporate Preset Patterns, or a combination of Preset and User Patterns. There are three ways to create Songs: • In real time. As the Performance Pad plays in Song Mode (with Compose mode selected), it will remember the Patterns and Fills you select. • Manually.
5.1C Continue, Re-start, or Jump to Next Song Step • In Compose mode, if you stop a Song and then press PLAY, the Song will continue from the first beat of the Pattern that was playing when STOP was pressed. • In Perform mode, if you stop a Song and then press PLAY, the Song will re-start from the beginning. • In either Compose or Perform mode, press PLAY while the Song is playing to immediately jump ahead to the next Song step. Its associated Pattern will begin on the downbeat.
5.2 REAL TIME SONG CREATION To create a Song in real time (this assumes an empty song): 1. (Optional) In Pattern mode, select the Pattern you want for the first Song step. 2. Select Song mode and the desired Song number. 3. Select Compose mode. The display will show STEP 01 and the contents of the step, which is currently END (if the first step says END, that indicates that the Song is empty since it contains no data. If the first step shows a PATTern number, then the Song is not empty). 4.
5.3 MANUAL SONG CREATION 5.3A Enter a Pattern 1. Select Song mode and the desired Song number. 2. Select Compose mode. The display will show STEP 01 and the contents of the step, which is currently END (if the first step says END, that indicates that the Song is empty since it contains no data. If the first step shows a PATTern number, then the Song is not empty). 3. Enter a two-digit Pattern number with the number buttons. If desired, choose between the A/B variations and Preset/User options. 4.
5.3E Delete a Step 1. The Performance Pad should be in Song and Compose modes. 2. Use the INC/DEC buttons to select the step number to be deleted. 3. Press and hold ERASE. The display says ERASE STEP? 4. While continuing to hold ERASE, press PLAY. The step is deleted, and all subsequent steps are automatically re-numbered to reflect the deletion of the inserted step (e.g., what used to be step 06 is now step 05, what used to be step 07 is now step 06, etc.).
5.4I Copy a Song to Another Song (or to the End of Another Song If That Song is Not Empty) 1. The Performance Pad should be in Song and Perform modes. 2. Select the Song to be copied with the number or INC/DEC buttons. 3. Press and hold the COPY button, and keep holding it down until step (6). The display says COPY TO SONG with the number of the currently selected Song. 4.
CHAPTER 6: MIDI SETUP This menu accesses important MIDI functions. General instructions are: 1. Press the MIDI SETUP button. 2. Use the Page (up and down) buttons to select different "pages" of functions; the display's lower right window shows the page number. These pages are described below. 3. Adjust values on pages, if necessary, as described for each page. 4. After making all needed changes, press MIDI SETUP again to exit, or choose another page.
CHAPTER 7: UTILITY 7.1 ABOUT UTILITY The Utility Menu allows you to save the Performance Pad Pattern, Song, and Drum Kit data to MIDI system exclusive storage devices and check how much memory is left on the Performance Pad. General instructions are: 1. Press the UTILITY button. 2. Use the Page (up and down) buttons to select different "pages" of functions; the display's lower right window shows the page number. These pages are described below. 3.
CHAPTER 8: APPLICATIONS 8.1 MIDI SYNC APPLICATIONS 8.1A Performance Pad As MIDI Timing Master The Performance Pad can control several other slave MIDI drum machines or sequencers by turning on MIDI Clock Out, which sends Performance Pad timing information down the MIDI line. 1. Turn on MIDI Clock Out (section 6.6). 2. Program the slave units to not follow their internal clocks, but to accept external MIDI Clock and Start/Stop data. Refer to each device's manual to find out how to do this.
8.2 STRATEGIES FOR ASSEMBLING PATTERNS AND SONGS Ideally, you should be able to translate your inspirations into tangible form with a minimum amount of effort. The following tips and techniques help speed up the process of creating Patterns and Songs. 8.2A Create Fills Quickly with the Copy Function Many times a Fill will simply be a variation on another Pattern, but with a few minor differences to add variety or serve different musical purposes.
8.3 UNDERSTANDING RHYTHMIC NOTATION Measures A piece of music is divided into smaller units called measures (also called bars), and each measure is divided into beats. In the Performance Pad, each beat is further sub-divided into 96 sub-beats. Rhythmic Values for Notes With a measure written in a 4/4 time signature, there are 4 beats per measure, and each beat represents a quarter (1/4) note. Thus, there are 4 quarter notes per measure of 4/4 music.
MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART Function Transmitted Recognized Basic Default 1-16 X Channel Changed 1-16 X 0-127 X True Voice 0-127 X Note On 1-127 X Note Off 0 X X X X X X X 0-127 X O X Song Pos 0 X Song Sel 0 X Tune X X System Clock X X Realtime Commands X X Remarks Note Number: Velocity After Touch Ch’s Pitch Bend Program Change True # System Exclusive MIDI out only System Common Local On/Off X X Aux Active Sense X X Messages Reset X X GM
SOUND LIST 1 Honst Kik 2 Honst A 3 Stab Kik 4 Stab A 5 Lo Honst 6 Lo Honst 7 Lo Stab 8 Lo Stab A 9 Dynam Kik 10 Old Wood 11 Low Wood 12 Ambi Kik 13 Room Kiki 14 Lo Room K 15 Room Kik 2 16 Lo Room 2 17 Hi Fixd KK 18 Fixd Kiki 1 19 Fixd Kiki 2 20 Lo Fixd 1 21 Lo Fixd 2 22 Garage Kk 23 House Kik 24 Wrap Kik 25 Hi Wrap KK 26 Dbl Head 27 Titer Dbl 28 Head Puch 29 Brite Rm 30 Loose Kik 31 Foot Stuk 32 Hi Elect 33 Electruc 34 Amb Elect 35 Lo Elect 36 Punch Rm 37 Flab Rm 38 Mush Kik 39 Brt Hall 40 Stuk Hall 41 Lo F
PRESET PATTERN TEMPOS 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 120 95 130 105 140 95 130 140 120 115 105 125 110 110 110 60 100 110 140 95 120 140 120 125 135 130 100 130 125 75 80 115 130 120 130 100 125 110 100 135 100 105 130 120 130 95 90 85 120 100 43 (110-130) (80-90) (125-135) (100-110) (135-145) (90-95) (125-135) (135-150) (115-125) (110-120) (100-115) (120-130) (100-120) (105-115) (100-12
KEY FEATURES 8 natural feeling, velocity-sensitive drum pads Built-in professional drum machine so you can record and play back your own beats 50 Preset / 50 User drum kits with 233 sounds assignable to any pad Built-in rhythm patterns to complement your playing Large LCD display with easy-to-navigate interface Dynamic Articulation stereo samples with reverb and ambience for realistic playing 2 inputs for external kick and hi-hat pedals (sold separately) Stereo input to play a
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