Page 2
HR-16, the MMT-8, and the HR-16:8. The operating systems of the Atesls HR-16 and the HR.16|B are tdentlcat wlth a few exceptlons. All Instrucilons and descrlpilons ot HR-16 funcilons h thls manual wllt apply to the operatlon of the HR-16:g except for those exceptlons whlch ars noted throughout the manual.
Page 3
ALESIS HR.16 HIGH SAMPLE RATE DRUM MACHINE TABLEOFCONTENTS INTRODUCTION H R . 1 6 Q U I C K PATTERN MODE RECOFIDINIGAPATTERN OUAITIZE... STEP EDIT MODE... schGh/bDE SONGEDrr. coPY... zuTTON DYNAM|CS... START/STOP F@TSWITCH ... 1 6 B I T DIGITAL PACE .
Page 4
oulrur2 @ r t t t r r 4 t I r t r | E @ @ @ @ @ : E E t I E t r ] @ E E T I E E E E ::_) ldY,Ll l "-,' I w rc ff/OFF Lf,tot t , * |...
Page 5
255 steps long. The 16 drum pads at the front of the HR-16 ar€ vslocity'sensitive' How hard lho pad. is hit determines tlie volume ot the drum on 8 levels. 12 of the pads (all pads sxcept Closod Hat, Mid Hat, Open Hat, and Crash) aro €ach direcfly assigned to a voice.
Page 6
1 (either left , right or both) to a suitable monitorinq system. I outDut 2 is connscted, the desired drum pads must be assigned ro oup"i i rii"iltrl (See MlX.) YlDt tN iack of rhe.HR-16 ro the MtDl OUT jack of a sequencer, an external ?: .9llg1ltt: orum pao conlrolsr, or a keyboard.
Page 7
Pressing PLAY will always start a pattern trom lhe beginning. When a pattsrn reaches its snd, it will loop back and conlinue playing trom lh€ beginning. Alesis HR-15 Instruclions ...
Page 8
]o-reco! ou.lg1teLll press and hold rhe RECORD button, and rhen prsss the pLAy button. Ihe HR-16 wirr immsdiat.ry bsgin praying back any existing drums in ths currontrv s9l99lgq pattsrn from rhe bsginning, and will iad any new drums piayed on rhe Uutton. o', via MlDlto the pattern.
Page 9
When a new lenqth is ontsred (RECORD), any drum evsnts lhat were beyond lh€..new sel lenoth will be;rased. It the new length is bnger than ths prev'ous one' tns aoolpnal ";iil 6elirf"J "ittr "ir"n"e. lf it is disired to iEmove or add lsngth 1o ihe beginning of ffiih i oitr"rn, first set the desired length (as described above), and then pross and reloase th;...
Page 10
TOM 1 is now complet^ely_eJased nec€ssary to press RECORD. In SOI'IG mods, holding the ERASE button will cause tha following display: Pressing the RECORD button will erase the currently selected song number. When erasing a pattern or song, the erass is not executed until RECORD is oressed. and will be aborled if ERASE is released before pressing BECORD.
Page 11
Pressing PLAY will start playing the selectsd song from its beginning, and the PLAY LED will light. The display will read, for example: Alesis HR-16 Instructims T O M 4 OPN HAT CLAPS...
Page 12
PATT again. The programmable tempo range ot a step in a song is lrom 46 to 2O0 bsats psr minute. Dcletlng a slep / DELETE Button Alesis HR-'16 Instuctios ...--. asai;witt ueqin olri,ini, ih" ptir"riiiiiri"...
Page 13
While holding th€ ERASE button, if RECORD is pressed, tho song will bo erased, and the display will read: SONGERASED This display will remain until RECORD is released. In all of the above editing examples, no changes lo lhe song will occur until RECORD is pressed. Al€sis HR-16 lnslructims Page 11...
Page 14
EqE I[E^tlR-1Q COPY COMPLETE. FOR THE HR-16:8 - At this point you may either enter the pattern's two-digit number with the keypad or press the + br - key to set the copy assignment to-the same pattern number. Pressing RECORD completes the operation ahd the display reads COPY COMPLETE.
Page 15
Th€ display is now waiting for a second drum pad lo b€ Press€d (pressing RECORD at lhis point will .do nothing). lf for example, TOM 1 was pressed, lhe display would read: COPY FROM PATT CLS HAT > IOM 1 The display of th€...
Page 16
OFFSET The oFFSET button is used to add or subtract a number of crock purses (384th notes) to a drum or pattern. lf OFFSET is held down, th6 display wili show:' The keypad can be used to enter a two-diglt number (OO_99), or the +/_ arrow buftons can be used lo increment or decrehent the amount.
Page 17
shown beside it. O swing = 5A% = no swing. Tho range of the swing is determined by tho current quantize value. The swing amount will only effect newly recorded drum events, like in quantize. The swing amounls are shown below: SWING OUANT...
Page 18
MODE / DATA ENTRY BUTTONS All MoDE buttons function as on/off switch€s. This means that they are pressed once to ent€r lhe mode, and pressed again to exit the mode. When any of th6 modes hav€ b€en entered, the associat€d LED will b€ lit. For slmpli6ity, any lim€ PATTERN or SONG is pressed, any previously sel€cted mode will be urneO 6tt.
Page 19
€ach limo a t€mpo st€p is oncount€red within a song. While in patlern mode, pressing lhe TEMPO button caus€s the TEMPO LED to light, and results in the following display: TEMPO = 12 PER MINUTE Afesis HR-16 Instructims ... Paqe 17...
Page 20
The keypad and +/- buttons can be ussd to change tho MlDl channel from 01 to .16. This sets the MlDl channel that the HR-16 will transmit and receive on. lf Oo is selected, the display will r€ad OMNI. In OMNI mode, th€ HR-l6 will lransmit on channel 1, and will receive on all channels.
Page 21
shown beside it. O swing = 5O'/o = no swing. The range ot lh€ swing is determined by the current quantize value. The swing amount will only eff€ct newly recorded drum events, liko in quantize. The swing amounts are shown below: SWING OUANT...
Page 22
MODE / DATA ENTRY BUTTONS All MoDE bunons funcrion as on/otf swilches. This means that th6y are pressed once to enl€r the mode, and pr€ss€d again ro €xit rhe mod€. when any of th6 modes ent€red, lhe associared LED wiil b€ tir. For simpti6iry, an/ iir" !ql1!g.n PATTERN or SONG is pressed, any previousty selected mod€...
Page 23
€ach timo a tompo step is encountered within a song. While in pattern mode, pressing lhe TEMPO button caus€s lhe TEMPO LED lo lighl, and results in th€ following display: Alesis HR-l 6 Instrucdons = L 2 P8ge...
Page 24
This sets lhe MlDl channel that the HR-i6 will transmit and rEceive on. lf OO is s€lecl€d, lh€ display will read OMNI. ln OMNI mode, the HR-16 will lransmit on channel 1, and will receive on all channels. The default is OMNI.
Page 25
+/- arrow buttons can b€ used to select lh€ desired nole. DFII.JM MIDIT.IOTE KEY VALUE cllo( KIf,( SMFE CLSHAT 042 MIDHAT O44 PEFICS TOf\,43 TOi,,l4 CRASH Alesis HR-16 Instructions ... . P a g e 1 9...
Page 26
Program changes will be ignored while a patGrn or song is playing. CLOCK SOURCE The clock source function is used to s€lect what clock will drive rhe HR-16. Th6 display will show one ol the three following choices: & INTERNAL...
Page 27
I s€cond. lf auto start is nol on, th€ HR-16 will wait in play for more sync pulses. RECEIVE...
Page 28
LOUD, MEDIUM, SOFT, and FIXED 1 rhrough FIXED 8. The first three choices are 3 differ€nt loudness curves. In the FIXED 1 through 8 settings, the pads will always play lhe same dynamics (1 through 8), regardless of how hard they afe Afesis HR-16 lnstruclions ...--...- ...--...-... pffi...
Page 29
When ON, a song that roaches its end will loop back to lh€ b€ginning of that song. T A P E The TAPE button is us€d to access tho tap€ int€rface f€atures of the HR-16. This allows lhe us6r to save and rotrieve sequ€nce data with an ordinary casseil€...
Page 30
TAPE: MIDI ln all five ot th€se pag€s, pressing RECORD initiatos the oporation. The verify tunction is us€d lo insure that the data just recorded to tap€ is good. Load from tape. loads th€ enlire memory with lh6 data on lape. Load palt and load song allow a singlo paltern or song to be loaded from a tap€.
Page 31
2) Press PLAY on tho HB-16, then adjust lhs level of lhe track so that il reads approximatsly '0VU". 3l You must selort a tempo lot the song on the HR-16 at this time as it cannoa be changed later.
Page 32
B) Kgep the Sync signal at abut OVIJ in oder to avoid dtopouts. fi the HR-16 does not see the sync tone lor 1,/2 seand, it will assume that the sy;c tone has enAed ana iti go into STOP mode.
Page 33
This is due to the tact that th€ HR-16 requires enough memory to duplicale a pattern befor€ it can be record€d on, or length changed, or otfset, €tc.
Page 34
HR-16 MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART :unctlon Transrnited :HAIINEL Default r-l 6 t-16 Changed dODE Default M o d e 3 M$sage3 Atered NOTE NUMBER True Yoice 0 G 1 2 7 Notc on YELOCITY NotcOff Keys roucH Chan's PITCH BENDER CONTROL...
Page 35
8ad connecliorc. Level on tape, lf problems aren't solved atter troubloshooting and refering to the manual, consuh your Alosis deale'r for assistanca. Al€sls HR-16 ln3tucdon3 ...,.. HR.1 6 TROUBLESHOOTING WHAT'S PROBABLYWRONG Power supply not properly connected. Power swilch not lurned on.
Page 36
ALESIS MMT.8 MULTI TFACK MIDI RECORDER ...'..'..,...'.'.'... ERASE...
Page 37
-sffiffiffiY-1 1-) n.\ O O O?T I \_./ (, u/ \__/ \--,/ \__/ \J ffi/ A . e e l 3 7lr=C|El l | u r ' l 1 i l 4 4 1 l A i l l E = = _ l @ , , l l "...
Page 38
I N T R O D U C T I O N The Alesis MMT-g Mufti Track MlDl Recorder sequencer. rr is abre io re6ia any.inrormaiion pressure and note olt vetmirv), arid.sro-re notdi, conrrorrers, |$S,'$."'ji:f$?Jl"llje The^MMT-8 can pray back 8 tracks_sinnrlraneolsry an 8lrack tape recorder.
Page 39
Arso, ium-on MlDl ECHO (Red LED lit) so that MlDl information Urru ine MMT-g. nOO more'feyooards / sound gdnerators by.connecting the MlDl THRU lrom eitnei ine iepoarO or fie HR-16 to the MlDl lN on the keyboard / sound generator' etc' fllDl ouT N I D I FtG.
Page 40
MlDl OUT to other MlDl Instruments AUDIO OUT E t - - AUDIOOUT Al€sis MMT-8 Instructlons ...,... page 4...
Page 41
1:':::3 E a l t l E s - ! l o r : - l D l T H R U t 0 o t h e r l l l D l I n s t r u m e n t s M I D I O U T FIG.
Page 42
PART MODE Selectlng and Ptaytng a PART Wlrglpolq"r is fifst iurnod on, the sequencer will be in SONG or pART mode (SONG or PART LED lit),.depending..on the mode that was selected before power was ti.,rnea-ott. I he song or part numbsr will also be the samg as when Dower was trjrned olf. PART Button Press lhe PART bunon to enter PART mode if lhe sequanc€r is not currentlv in this modo.
Page 43
part ls reached, atler which ths new part will begin playing, and the display will reved back to PLAYING PART. Pressing STOP/CONTINUE will stop playing a part, and ths display will return to the select part display. Any notes lhat weresustaining will turn off. Pressing STOP/CONTINUE again will begin playing a part lrom the beginning ol the beat it was on when il was stopped, replaying all previously sustaining Aoles.
Page 44
+/- buttons can be used to move the length up or down in single beat incremsnts (OOO minimum, 682 maximum), or a thrg€ digit numbor can be ent€r€d Alesis MMT€ lnstruclions ... RECoBD LED is onine necono'lEo *iiii"li, "ri,...
Page 45
ERASE button causes th€ following display: The number 01 would actually be lhe currently selected part number. All 8 track LEDS will be lit. To erase the selected part, press RECORD. The display will change to: Alesis MIVIT-8 lnstructions...
Page 46
The.display will remain thb way until the RECORD display will return to its previous itate. Eraslng ! rlngle TRACK Io erase a single track, pross andfiold the ERASE bu.on (all :elqcl.tr9 d€sired rrack humber. The setea;d irack;iEb'-rniti'i"r",n rn, and rhe orher track LED-s_wirr rurn ofr.
Page 47
To copy a single track lo itsell (us€tul for erasing all but one type of MlDl inlormation, see below), press and hold the COPY b!fion, seleci the dssirod track (its LED will remain lit and lh€ others willturn otl), then press RECORD. Alesis MMT-8 lnslructions ... Pags 1l...
Page 48
Copylng r TRACK to another TRACK of the lemc PART To. copy a single trad( to another track of the same part number, press and hold COpy, and solsct the source track. The selocled track's LED will remain lit, dnd all lhs other track LEDS sercq rne source rrafi.
Page 49
The first lhree digits are ths beat number, followed by ths sub-beat counl (00"95), lollowed by the note value, followed by lhe note velocity (01-127), followed by lhe nole's duration (in baats and sub-beats), followed by the note's MlDl channel (1-16). The cursor is under Alesis MMT-8 Instructions turns EDIT ... Pag€ 13...
Page 50
1ne 991.nuq!er, indicating lhat ir can be changed with the keypad of th€ +/- buttons. To 1T:1:I_"_:tlg.t11Tl!1glhg pase up and-pase rne cursor as shown in lhe following displays: 002/00 Q l - z a # - 2 CHAN 01 002/00 CHAN The cursor moves to the nexl parameter, and will'loop around"...
Page 51
1 2 7 CHAN 01 /00: 127 CHAN Forsyslem exclusive inlormation, ths numberol parameters could be any value. Sinc6 this could contain a large amount of intormation, the page up and page down buttons continue Alesis MMT€ Instructions -page down ... pa€...
Page 53
By scrolling through ths list, any selecled dala can bs copied lrom one track or part to another. For example, ff a track containsd notes on many MlDl channels that had been previously combined togethsr, copying only ona MlDl channel to a new track would allow ths pans to be soparated out again.
Page 54
lh€ b€al.number, indicaling thal h can be changed with the keypad or the +/- buttons. To p.r.aTdeJl: lhe page up and page down bui6ns are u3od. Th€y move 1T::_T_"_9tlpl rne cursor a3 shown in the tollouring displays: I /00: C f - 2 I / 0 0 : CHAN 01 1 / 0 0 : C t...
Page 55
CHAN O1 127 CHAN For system exclusiv€ information, tho number of parameters could be any valu€. Since this could conlain a large amount of information, the page up and page down butons continue Alesis MMT€ lngruclions -page down Page 15...
Page 56
to scroll. the data through the display until the end is reachsd. The display includes the bgat, sub-beat, and any systsm sxclusive data, as follows: /00: 126 125 'l 1/00: 125 124> 126 I25 124> u t / o u : s 126 125 122 121>...
Page 57
In th6 above choices, prossing RECORD will insert the displayed ev€nt at the current beat and whh values of 0. While in part EDIT, the tast totward and rewind buttons are ussd to advance and retreat, respoc'tiv'ely, through ths list of MlDl evsnls on the sel€ctad lrack. When tho end oJ a track is rLached, or if a tirck is empty, the display will read END OF TRACK.
Page 58
STOP/CONTINUE Alesis MMT-g Instructions l f t h e c u n e n t s d n g ' n u m b e r i s e m p t y , t h e s e c o n d l i n 6...
Page 59
Ths MERGE mode is provided so that two tracks can be merged together (overlapped) onto one lrack. In part mode, when MERGE is held down, the display reads: Alesis MMT-8 Instructions W h e n M l D l E C H o i s o n ,...
Page 60
The sight track LEDs will be off. Prsss the first desired track (it will light solid), followed by the deslinalion track (it willflash),lollowed by BECORD. The display will read: This display remains uniil the RECORD button is reloasgd. The first track and the second track are now combinsd in the second track's location.
Page 61
The 10 quanlize choices are 112, 114, 116, 1lg, 1112, 1/16, 1n4, 1132, 1148, 1164. The +/- buttons of ths keypad can be ussd to scroll through lho choicos. The keypad builons 0-9 can also be us6d lo select lhs quantize value dkeclly, with O=1/2 and 9=l/64. sslec{ buttons can be used to solect tho desirod track(s) to be quantizod.
Page 62
Oth€rwise, it is a temporary tempo change that will be torgottsn once a ditferent song is selected. lf REcoRD is prsssed, the display changes to: Alesis MMT-8 Instruclions . . . , ..P a g e 2 2...
Page 63
This remains untilthe RECORD button is releassd. ln both song and part mode, the tempo can be changed while playing. M I D ] F I L T E R The MlDl FILTER button is used lo select what type ol MlDl in{ormation will bs r€corded by lhe MMT-8.
Page 64
ONLY SYNC By using the keypad or +/- buttons, one of the three clocking sourc€s can be sslectsd. Ttte default llting-is lrllDl & INTERNAL (1), wirh rhe olher choiLs being TNTERNAL ONLi (2), and TAPE SYNC (g). The page up and page down buttons cai be used to scroil thrcugh the next lwo clock pagos: The + and - buttons can b€...
Page 65
RECORD, the page up and page down bultons can be used to access the other five tape pages. They are as follows: FOR ERRORS FROM TAPE: Alesis MMT-S lnstructions 1 t 1 Both buttons can now be "" "" Page 25...
Page 66
FROM TAPE In all five of these pages, pressing RECORD initiates the operation. The verity function is used to insure thal the dala just record€d to tape is good. Load f rom taps loads the entire sequenc€ msmory with the data on tape. Load part and load song allow a single part or song to be loaded from a tape.
Page 67
1 ) Connecl the output of the track of the tape machine that has the sync tone to the TAPE lN iack ol the MMT-8. Alesis MMT-8 lnstructions lf the MMT-B does not it will assume that the sync tone has ended and will go on the sync tone.
Page 68
To clear all ol the MMT-8'S memory and reinitialize all of its variables, turn power otl, press and hold ERASE, PAGE UP, and PAGE DOWN, and turn on the power while holding lhess bultons down lor 3 se@nds. Alesis MMT-8 Instructions aut6mhticaily begin...
Page 69
AUTO LOCATE The MMT€ has Aulo Lmte ability which a,bws you to go directly b a speifrc b€at of a part wihout playing through the beats prior to ths dssired beat number. PART MODE: A. When the MMT-8 is in PLAY - 1.
Page 70
M o d e l : O M N I O N , P O L Y M o d e 3 : O M N I O F F , P O L Y Alesis MMTS lnstrucllons Recognizad l - l 6...
Page 71
Level of sync tone is too high or low. Errors in data. won't sync to tape. Bad connections. Level on tape lf probl€ms aren'l solved after troubl€shooling and ref€ring to the manual, consull your Alesis dealer for assistanco. MMT-8 TROUBLESHOOTING WBONG with sound sources.
Page 72
1 4 days of purchase. During the warranty period ALESIS shall, at its sole and absolute option, either repair or replace free of charge any product that proves to be detective on inspection by ALESIS or its authorized service representative.
Need help?
Do you have a question about the HR-16 and is the answer not in the manual?
Questions and answers