Alesis DG8 Electronic Keyboard User Manual


 
Chapter 2: Playing the DG8
32 DG8 REFERENCE MANUAL
The Keyboard Bank buttons are used in conjunction with the and arrows to
access the Keyboard Programs in each Bank:
Press a Keyboard Bank button to select a Keyboard category. The name and
label of a Keyboard Program from the selected Bank will appear in the
PRIMARY
SOUND
segment of the display.
Use the arrow on the right side of the display to scroll forward through the
four Keyboard Programs in the Bank. If you continue to scroll forward with
the
arrow, when the last Program in the bank is reached, the display will
“wrap” to the first Program.
Use the arrow to scroll backward through the four Keyboard Programs in
each Bank. If you continue to scroll backward with the
arrow, when the first
Program in the Bank is reached, the display will wrap to the last Program.
A Keyboard Program can be played by itself as single program, layered with another
Keyboard Program or Card Program, or split with a Bass (or Card) Program. See the
topics on Layers and Splits starting on page 36 for information on these Play Modes.
Bass Banks
Similar to the Keyboard Banks, the Bass Banks contain the main bass sound
programs in the DG8’s internal memory. And, like the Keyboard Banks, each of the
seven Bass Banks contains four Bass Programs. Each Bank represents a category of
related bass sounds and the name of the category is printed on each button.
Note that the DG8’s internal Bass Programs are programmed without modulation –
they will not respond to a mod pedal plugged into its back panel or to received MIDI
modulation commands. Also, there is a minimal amount of Reverb and Chorus
effects programmed into the Bass Programs.
The Bass Bank buttons are used in conjunction with the
and arrows to access the
Bass Programs in each Bank:
Press a Bass Bank button to select a Bass category. Bass Programs are always played
as the Split sounds on the lower range of keys, and the selected Bass Program’s
label will appear in the
SPLIT segment of the display.
Use the and arrows to step forward or backward through the four Bass Programs
in the Bank.
The Card Bank
You can take advantage of the DG8’s expandability by acquiring an Alesis QCard or
other compatible PCMCIA Type I sound card. The QCard provides an additional
library of 128 new sounds you can play on the DG8. Just be aware that the effects
programmed into each card sound may act unpredictably.
The card’s sounds act just like the internal DG8 programs. You can use Card
Programs for Primaries, Layers and Splits by pressing the
CARD button instead of a
Bank button when selecting a sound. The last card sound that was selected will load
and its name and/or label will appear in the appropriate segment of the display. Use
the
and arrows to step forward or backward through the Card Programs in the
Card Bank to select another program.
Card sounds can be combined with the DG8’s internal sounds or can be layered
and/or split within the Card Bank. A complete tutorial on using Card Programs is
provided in the section
Using the External Card Sounds starting on page 40.