Midi Setup - Alesis DM8 Operator's Manual

MIDI SETUP

You can use the DM8 module as a trigger-to-MIDI interface, allowing you to use your electronic drum kit to
trigger sounds from external sound libraries. This means you can use your hardware kit to play sounds in
software drum modules like BFD, Toontrack, Reason, and many others.
You can also use external MIDI devices – such as MPCs, the Alesis ControlPad or PerformancePad, or other
MIDI controllers – to trigger sounds from the DM8's own extensive sound library instead of (or in addition to)
the electronic drum kit.
To use the DM8 in these ways, you will need to set it up to communicate with your external device(s) via
MIDI. Here are a couple examples of how to do this.
Using the DM8 to trigger sounds from a software drum module:
1. Connect the module's USB port to your computer with a standard USB cable.
2. Press UTILITY to access the module's Utility Menu.
3. Press MIDI (F2) to access the MIDI settings.
4. Press OUT (F3) to access the MIDI output settings.
5. Use CURSOR UP / DOWN to move through the menu
items and VALUE UP / DOWN or the VALUE DIAL to
adjust the settings accordingly:
a. Prog Chng: "SENT" (so the DM8 can send Program
Change messages to the software).
b. Clock Out: "SENT" (if you want the DM8's MIDI
clock to the be the "master" clock) or "NOT SENT" (if
you do not want the DM8 to send out MIDI clock
information).
c. MIDI Thru: "OFF."
6. Set your software to receive MIDI messages from the DM8 module ("USB Audio Device"). Consult
your software's manual for more information.
Note: These are just recommended
settings. You may configure the DM8's
MIDI settings however best suits your
performance needs.
section of the UTILITY MENU chapter
and the DRUM KIT SETUP section of
the KITS, VOICES, ACCOMPANIMENT
& INSTRUMENTS chapter for more
information.
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See the MIDI