Chapter 1: Introduction; Ground Rules; A The Pattern/Song Recording Method - ION iED004 Reference Manual

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.1 WELCOME TO THE IED04 DRUM MACHINE!
The IED04 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
IED04'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. If the memory fills up with drum
Patterns and Songs, this data can be saved permanently to MIDI System Exclusive storage
devices.
The IED04 also includes a library of preset rhythm Patterns prepared by professional
drummers for those who want to start creating Songs in the fastest and easiest way possible.

1.2 GROUND RULES

The IED04 Digital Drum Station consists of two main elements:
• The drum sounds themselves, recorded using 16-bit resolution (the same resolution as CDs).
For additional realism, many sounds use advanced "dynamic articulation" techniques so that
these sounds, when hit loudly, have a different timbre than when they're hit softly.
• An internal computer to control and trigger the sounds. This computer simulates an
advanced, easily editable tape recorder.
The IED04 offers two main modes, Perform (for playback) and Compose (for recording). You
can switch between these while the IED04 is playing, making it easy to test out different
sounds without recording them and then drop back into record mode.

1.2A The Pattern/Song Recording Method

When recording with a drum station, it's often easier to divide a song into shorter individual
Patterns and work on these rather than record an entire song. A typical Pattern might be 8,16,
or 32 beats long, and correspond to a verse, chorus, bridge, instrumental, intro, etc. While
recording these Patterns, the IED04 will be in Pattern mode. The IED04 holds 50 Preset (i.e.,
can't be edited) Patterns and 50 user-programmable Patterns, each of which can be from 1 to
128 beats long.
After perfecting these Patterns, Song mode offers two ways to create a song:
• Program a list of Patterns, in the order in which they are to be played.
• Select Patterns in real time, and the IED04 will remember your performance.
The IED04 stores up to 100 User-programmable Songs.
1