Oberheim DMX Owner's Manual
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Oberheim DMX Owner's Manual

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  • Page 2 DMX OWNER'S MANUAL DANIEL SOFER Third Edition June 1982 Copyright 1982 Oberheim Electronics, Inc. Oberheim Electronics, Inc. 2250 South Barrington Avenue Los Angeles, California 90064 USA...
  • Page 3 CAUTION: To prevent fire or shock hazard do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture. Do not remove cover. No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel. WARNING: This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly, i.e., in strict accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    INTERFACING THE DMX..........22 Synchronizing The DMX and The DSX Sync To Tape Synchronizing The DMX And Other Sequencers Controlling The DMX With External CVs And Gates Footswitches and Pedals THE DMX FACTORY SEQUENCES........26 List of Programmed Sequences List of Programmed Songs A WORD ABOUT DIGITAL AUDIO........29...

  • Page 5: Introduction

    After you have created your drumbeats, you can save them on tape for future use. The DMX even has a battery to keep the memory on when the power is off. The DMX operates like a tape recorder: press RECORD and Record your rhythms;...

  • Page 8: Hookup

    HOOKUP -------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWER The DMX comes from the factory set to operate on 115 Volts. If the local power is 220-240 Volts, you will need to change the power selection switch inside the DMX. Remove the two screws at the front of the chassis and then lift up the front panel.

  • Page 9: Operation

    DMX will record over and over on two measures (you can change the length of the sequence—see "LENGTH"). In RECORD, the DMX does not ERASE, so you can build your drumbeat as it loops over, playing the cymbal first, the bass drum, then the snare, etc., until you are finished.

  • Page 10: Overdubbing

    Your previous recording will be erased, and you may record again from scratch. The DMX will "beep" when the erasure actually takes place. The volume of the beep is controlled by the metronome volume control. Example 2: Erasing Sequence 00...

  • Page 11: Tempo

    TEMPO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TEMPO The DMX defaults to a tempo of 80 Beats per Minute, but can be varied within a range of 25 to 250 Beats per Minute. You can change the tempo at any time by entering the tempo mode.

  • Page 12: Metronome

    To change the value of the metronome clicks, see SIGNATURE. The METRONOME is heard through the mixed outputs of the DMX while in RECORD, and is accented on each downbeat. At the beginning of the sequence, an asterisk "^"...
  • Page 13 SIGNATURE (CONT.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Press SIGNATURE. The current metronome click value will appear on the display. The click value can be set to any standard note value by pressing the arrow buttons. After you have set the desired click value, you may exit by pressing STOP or you may continue on to the time signature.

  • Page 14: Quantize

    The display will show the value of quantizing currently set. You can now enter the note value that the DMX will round off to by using the arrows to increase or decrease the number in the display. The quantize values are;...

  • Page 15: Step

    1 + BEAT 07 Erase Crash on beat 7 ERASE (hold) 1 + BEAT 07 CRASH 1 + BEAT 07 (the DMX will "beep") Exit Step Mode STEP SELECT SEQ 00 ----------------------------------------------------------------- SWING SWING is similar to QUANTIZE in that it corrects the timing of your recordings, however SWING will alter the time so that the first half of the beat gets more than half of the time, creating a "shuffle"...

  • Page 16: Copying Sequences

    Access Copy Mode COPY COPY FROM SEQ 00 Select Sequence 25 COPY FROM SEQ 25 COPY COPY SEQ 00 Select Sequence 01 COPY SEQ 01 Execute the copy COPY (DMX "Beeps" and then exits Copy Mode) SELECT SEQ 01 -----------------------------------------------------------------...

  • Page 17: Appending Sequences

    RECORD (hold) APPEND TO SEQ 01 Execute Appended Copy COPY APPEND TO SEQ 01 (DMX "Beeps" and then exits Copy Mode) SELECT SEQ 01 ----------------------------------------------------------------- It is possible to append a sequence to itself. This effectively doubles the length of the sequence.

  • Page 18: Combining Sequences Into Songs

    A song then, is a combination of sequences. In addition to the 100 sequences, the DMX also contains 50 songs, numbered 00 thru 49. Unlike a sequence (appended or otherwise), a song does not remember the notes, only the order of sequences that you wish to play.

  • Page 19: Recording A Song

    Actually you don't "record" a song, you "edit" a song. To edit a song press SONG, then EDIT. Once you enter SONG EDIT mode, the DMX will ask you to select the sequences that will make up the song; the SONG LIST. Example 13: Recording Song 00...
  • Page 20 You can then REPLACE sequence 00 with the desired sequence by entering its number. ERASE By pressing ERASE and EDIT, the DMX will remove the displayed sequence from the song list. Example 14: Re-editing Song 00 OPERATION: PRESS:...

  • Page 21: Erasing A Song

    There are many ways this capacity can be divided amongst sequences. For instance, the DMX can accommodate one sequence of 2000 notes, or 100 sequences of 20 notes each. In general, it is best to take advantage of the repetitive nature of music by constructing songs from short sequences.

  • Page 22: About The Dmx Voices

    The sound of each voice is contained on one or several memory chips. THE SOUNDS The DMX comes from the factory with the following voices and these variations: BASS Bass drum, with three volume levels. SNARE Snare drum, with three volume levels.

  • Page 23: Cassette Interface

    "TO OUTPUT" on the rear of the DMX. Connect the "TO INPUT" jack on the rear panel of the DMX to the Line or Aux input of your cassette recorder. ** NOTE ** To reduce hum, remove the cables to the cassette recorder when not using the Cassette Interface.

  • Page 24: To Play Programs From Tape

    Press the PLAY switch on the tape recorder. You will now be able to monitor the tape through the MIXED OUTPUTS of the DMX As soon as the "leader" tone is heard, press the CASSETTE PLAY switch on the DMX (it shares a button with the EDIT switch ).

  • Page 25: To Check Tapes

    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TO CHECK TAPES; The CHECK function of the Cassette Interface enables verification of the data on a tape without actually transferring the data into the DMX's memory. A tape should always be checked after recording. Connect the Cassette Recorder to the Cassette Interface Jacks on the rear panel of the DMX as described in "CASSETTE...

  • Page 26: Possible Causes Of Data Transfer Errors

    The software version 2.10 (released in June 1982) enables inverted data to be read properly by the DMX Cassette Interface. To set the DMX to read inverted data, hold the "0" button while pressing CHECK or PLAY. The first digit of the display will show a "!", indicating that the DMX is expecting inverted data.

  • Page 27: Dmx Software Revisions

    However, if the battery does become completely discharged, leave the DMX plugged in and turned on for 14 hours to fully recharge the battery. As a safeguard, you should record important sequences onto cassette,...

  • Page 28: Interfacing The Dmx

    INTERFACING THE DMX ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYNCHRONIZING THE DMX AND THE DSX DIGITAL POLYPHONIC SEQUENCER The DMX and the DSX have been designed to operate in sync with each other. When the DMX runs in tandem with a DSX or another DMX, one unit must be the master and the other the slave.

  • Page 29: Sync To Tape

    If you are going to be recording on the DMX while synchronized to tape, you might consider recording sync longer than you need just to be safe. The DMX will stop at the end of a song even if the sync tone continues. SYNCHRONIZING BOTH THE DMX AND THE DSX TO TAPE...

  • Page 30: Synchronizing The Dmx And Other Sequencers

    SYNCHRONIZING BOTH THE DMX AND THE DSX TO TAPE (CONT.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are several methods to synchronize both the DSX and the DMX to tape (after the tone is recorded on tape): 1) "Y" the sync tone from the tape into the SYNC TO TAPE INPUTS on both machines;...

  • Page 31: Footswitches And Pedals

    CV IN Molex connector on the rear panel. a pedal of 50K Ohms with an audio taper potentiometer for full range. The Oberheim P-OBX pedal will work but since it uses a potentiometer with a linear taper, you will find that most of the control range is at one end of the pedal.

  • Page 32: The Dmx Factory Sequences

    These sequences may be used as-is so that you can start using your DMX right away, or they can be edited and modified to suit your needs. The 78 sequences are organized into groups of four: Each group consists of an "A"...

  • Page 33: List Of Programmed Sequences

    LIST OF PROGRAMMED SEQUENCES ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Demonstration Rock 1A Disco A Rock 1A Fill Disco A Fill Rock 1B Disco B Rock 1B Fill Disco B Fill Rock 2A Funk A Rock 2A Fill Funk A Fill Rock 2B Funk B Rock 2B Fill Funk B Fill Rock 3A...

  • Page 34: List Of Programmed Songs

    LIST OF PROGRAMMED SONGS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Directory Country Hard Rock 1 Disco Hard Rock 2 Funk Rock Ballad Polka Old-time Rock Samba Slow Rock Bossa Nova Shuffle Mambo Honky-Tonk Rock Waltz Boogie Reggae Swing 7/4 Rock...

  • Page 35: A Word About Digital Audio

    So what is programmed inside an EPROM in the DMX is a series of numbers (lots of numbers!) that represents the sound of a snare drum.

  • Page 36: Glossary

    The result of not making decisions concerning parameters in the DMX. If you do not specify how long a sequence is to be for example, the DMX will DEFAULT and specify that the length is to be two bars. EPROM...
  • Page 37 QUANTIZE A process of Founding off, in the case of the DMX the rhythms that are played, to the closest specified increment. In the DMX, your recordings can be QUANTIZED to the nearest Quarter note, Eighth note, or other smaller subdivisions down to a Forty-Eighth note.

  • Page 38: Specifications

    SPECIFICATIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NUMBER OF SOUNDS: 24 FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 10-16,000 Hz (varies among voices and is dependent upon tuning) DYNAMIC RANGE: 80 Db MAXIMUM NUMBER OF NOTES: 2000 Events, each of which may contain as many as eight notes occurring simultaneously NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 100 NUMBER OF SONGS: 50 MAXIMUM TYPICAL SEQUENCE LENGTH: 6 Minutes of 1/8 Notes at 80 Beats/Minute...
  • Page 39 SPECIFICATIONS (CONT.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- INPUTS: TRIGGER (one for each voice): Level: 1 Volt or greater Impedance: >4.7 K CONTROL VOLTAGE (one for each voice): Level: 0-+6 Volts Impedance: >500 Ohms Approx. -2.5 Volts/Octave EXTERNAL CLOCK INPUT; 5 Volt positive pulse, TTL compatible SYNC TO TAPE INPUT: 550 mV RMS FOOTSWITCHES: Start/Stop, Next Sequence;...

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