Alesis CompactKit 7 - Multipad Manual

Introduction

Box Contents

CompactKit 7
(2) Drum Sticks
(2) Footswitch Pedals
Power Adapter
User Guide
Safety & Warranty Manual

For the latest information about this product (system requirements, compatibility information, etc.) and product registration, visit alesis.com.

For additional product support, visit alesis.com/support.

Features

1. Speakers: Sound will play out of these speakers. When headphones are connected to the headphone output, these speakers will be muted.
2. Pads: Hit these pads to play CompactKit 7.
3. Control Panel: This panel contains the controls and display of CompactKit 7. See the following Control Panel section to learn more about this.

Control Panel

1. Power Button: Press this button to power CompactKit 7 on or off.
2. Display: This LCD shows information relevant CompactKit 7's current operation.
3. Master Volume Down/Up: Use these buttons to adjust the master volume.
4. Acc. Volume Down/Up: Use these buttons to adjust the volume of the accompaniment (everything but the drum sounds in a song).
5. Tempo Down/Up: Use these buttons to adjust the tempo.
6. Click: Press this button to activate or deactivate the metronome ("click").
7. Play/Stop: Press this button to start or stop playback of your recording.
8. Rec: Press this button to start or stop recording.
9. Reverb: Press this button to change the reverb level. See Operation > Reverb to learn how to do this.
10. Hand Perc: Press this button to select Song 077 and Kit 015 instantly. Kit 015 uses sounds from hand percussion instruments rather than standard drums.
11. Drum Off: Press this button to activate or deactivate the drum part of a song.
12. Value Down/Up: Use this buttons to adjust the setting shown in the display. See Operation to learn more.
13. Kit: Press this button, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to select a drum kit. See Operation > Kits to learn more.
14. Voice: Press this button, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to select a voice for a pad. See Operation > Kits to learn more.
15. Song: Press this button, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to select a song. See Operation > Songs to learn more.
16. Start/Stop: Press this button to start or stop the current song.
17. Demo: Press this button to start or stop the demo song.
18. Save: Press this button to save the current kit to a User Kit.
19. Volume: Press this button, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to adjust the volume of a specific pad. See Operation > Kits > Editing to learn more.
20. Pan: Press this button, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to adjust the panning of a specific pad. See Operation > Kits > Editing to learn more.
21. Note: Press this button, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to adjust the MIDI note of a specific pad. See Operation > Kits > Editing to learn more.
22. Indicators: Each of these lights illuminates when its corresponding pad is being played.

Rear Panel

1. Power Input: Connect this input to a power outlet using the included power adapter.
2. Kick Input: Connect one of the included footswitches to this input. When you press the footswitch, CompactKit 7 will receive the message in the same manner as it does when you hit a pad.
3. Hi-Hat Input: Connect one of the included footswitches to this input. If you hit the hi-hat pad while pressing the footswitch, it will produce a closed hi-hat sound. If you hit the hihat pad while the footswitch is up, it will produce an open hi-hat sound. If you press the footswitch without hitting a pad, it will produce a hi-hat pedal sound.
4. Headphone Output: Connect 1/4" (6.35 mm) stereo headphones (optional, sold separately) to this output. When headphones are connected, the speakers will be muted.
5. Aux In: Connect an optional audio source (e.g., smartphone, computer, etc.) to this input using a standard 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo cable (not included).
6. USB Port: Connect this port to a USB port on your computer using a standard USB cable (not included). This will let you use CompactKit 7 as a USB MIDI controller. See the Operation > USB MIDI section to learn more about this.

Operation

Kits

Selecting

CompactKit 7 has several different drum kits. Each kit is a collection of sounds that make up a typical drum set.

To select a kit, press Kit and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to select the kit number (Preset Kit 001–045 or User Kit 046–050). A dot will appear in the display above Kit to indicate you are selecting the kit.

To adjust the master volume, use the Master Volume Down/Up buttons (L00–L16).

Editing

CompactKit 7 lets you configure each pad separately. You can select an independent voice (sound), volume, panning, and MIDI note for each pad.

Note: The MIDI note doesn't affect the sound of the kit during normal operation. It affects the MIDI note the pad sends to your computer over its USB port (e.g. to your recording software, virtual instrument plugin, etc.). See USB MIDI to learn more.

To change the voice of a pad or footswitch:

1. Press Voice. A dot will appear in the display above Voice to indicate you are adjusting a voice setting.
2. Hit a pad or press a footswitch to select it.
3. Use the Value Down/Up buttons to select a voice (001–265) for the pad or footswitch.

To change the sound of another pad, repeat Steps 2–3.

To set the volume of a pad or footswitch:

1. Press Volume. A dot will appear in the display above Voice to indicate you are adjusting a voice setting.
2. Hit a pad or press a footswitch to select it.
3. Use the Value Down/Up buttons to set the volume (L00–L31) for the pad or footswitch.

To set the volume of another pad, repeat Steps 2–3.

To set the panning of a pad or footswitch:

1. Press Pan. A dot will appear in the display above Voice to indicate you are adjusting a voice setting.
2. Hit a pad or press a footswitch to select it.
3. Use the Value Down/Up buttons to set the panning (P-8 [left] to P 0 [center] to P 8 [right]) for the pad or footswitch.

To set the panning of another pad, repeat Steps 2–3.

To set the MIDI note of a pad or footswitch:

1. Press Note. A dot will appear in the display above Voice to indicate you are adjusting a voice setting.
2. Hit a pad or press a footswitch to select it.
3. Use the Value Down/Up buttons to adjust the note (n00–n99) for the pad or footswitch.

To set the note of another pad, repeat Steps 2–3.

Saving

After making changes to a kit, remember to save it. This prevents your changes from being lost when you select a different kit or when you power CompactKit 7 off.

To save a kit:

1. Select the kit you want to save by pressingKit and then using the Value Down/Up buttons to select the kit number.
2. Press Save. The kit number will flash in the display.
3. Use the Value Down/Up buttons to select a User Kit (046–050). The current kit will overwrite this User Kit.
4. Press Save. The kit number will stop flashing, and that kit will be selected.

Songs

CompactKit 7 has several songs consisting of drum parts and accompaniment. You can play the song with or without the accompaniment. Each song has its own default tempo and default kit. You can change either.

To select a song, press Song and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to select the song number (001–100). A dot will appear in the display above Song to indicate you are selecting the song.

To play or stop the song, press Start/Stop. (Songs 001–080 will loop until you stop them. Songs 081–100 will stop when they are finished.)

To play or stop the demo song, press Demo.

To adjust the master volume, use the Master Volume Down/Up buttons (L00–L16).

To adjust the volume of the accompaniment, use the Acc. Volume Down/Up buttons (A00– A16).

To adjust the tempo of the song, press Tempo, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to select the tempo (030–280 beats per minute). This also sets the tempo of the metronome.

To use the metronome, press Click once to use a human voice (counting each beat). Press Click again to use a standard metronome "click." Press Click once more to deactivate the metronome.

To activate or deactivate the drum part of a song, press Drum Off.

Reverb

You can apply a reverb effect to the sound of CompactKit 7. This will affect the currently selected kit as well as the current song.

To adjust the amount of reverb, press Reverb, and then use the Value Down/Up buttons to select the level (r-0 – r-3).

Recording and Playback

You can use CompactKit 7 to record your performance and play it back.

To record your performance:

1. Select the desired kit, song, tempo, and reverb level (as described earlier). Also, if you want to activate or deactivate the drum part of the song, press Drum Off.
2. Press Rec. Its light will flash.
3. To start recording, hit a pad or press Start/Stop. The metronome will count off the tempo, but it will not be recorded. To deactivate the metronome, press Click.
4. To stop recording, press Start/Stop.

• If the memory is full before you stop recording,FL will appear in the display, and it will stop recording automatically.
• When you record a new performance, it will overwrite the previously recorded performance.
• When you power CompactKit 7 off, the recording will remain in the memory.

To play back your recorded performance, press Play/Stop.

USB MIDI

When CompactKit 7 is connected to your computer's USB port, you can use it as a USB MIDI controller. In this scenario, the metronome, song, and kit sounds will not be recorded. Instead, you can play the pads and footswitches, each of which will send MIDI note messages to your computer (e.g. to your recording software, virtual instrument plugin, etc.).

See Kits > Editing to learn how to set the MIDI note for each pad or footswitch.

Sounds

Kick (Bass) Drum

1. 22" Acoustic Kick
2. 24" Standard Kick
3. Brush Kick
4. Rock Kick
5. Jazz Kick
6. Room Kick
7. Fusion Kick
8. 1970s Kick
9. Vintage Kick
10. Hip-Hop Kick
11. Reggae Kick
12. Old School Kick
13. Lo-Fi Kick
14. Junkyard Kick
15. Noise Kick
16. Drum & Bass Kick
17. 1980 Kick
18. 1984 Kick
19. Electronic Kick 1
20. Dance Kick
21. FX Mix Kick
22. Techno Kick
23. Electronic Kick 2
24. Magic Kick

Snare Drum

25. 14" Acoustic Snare
26. 14" Standard Snare
27. 14" Funk Snare
28. Brush Snare
29. 14" Jazz Snare
30. 14" Rock Snare
31. 13" Damped Snare
32. Orchestra Snare
33. Orchestra Snare Rim
34. Hi-Hat & Kick

35. Fusion Snare
36. Big Band Snare
37. Vintage Snare
38. Live Snare
39. Reggae Snare
40. R&B Snare 1
41. 1980 Snare
42. 1984 Snare
43. R&B Snare 2
44. Electronic Snare
45. Power Snare
46. Dance Snare
47. Old School Snare
48. House Snare
49. Lo-Fi Snare
50. Junkyard Snare
51. Noise Snare
52. Drum & Bass Snare
53. Techno Snare
54. Techno Snare Rim
55. Magic Snare
56. Acoustic Snare Stick
57. Standard Snare Stick
58. Brush Snare Stick
59. Rock Snare Stick
60. Live Snare Stick
61. Room Snare Stick
62. Fusion Snare Stick
63. Brush Swirl

Toms

64. Acoustic Tom 1
65. Acoustic Tom 2
66. Acoustic Tom 3
67. Acoustic Tom 4
68. Acoustic Tom 5
69. Acoustic Tom 6

Technical Specifications

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

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