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Editing Programs: Chapter 6
QSR Reference Manual 2
HOW THE QSR GENERATES SOUND
The QSR uses custom integrated circuits, developed by the Alesis engineering team
specifically for the QSR. These resemble the types of chips used in computers and
other digital devices. In fact, you can think of the QSR as a special-purpose computer
designed to generate and process audio. Although the user interface maintains the
metaphor of “modules,” in fact all sounds are simply a set of numbers reflecting how
you’ve programmed the various sound parameters. For example, when you change
the filter cutoff frequency, you’re not actually messing with a filter; you’re telling the
computer to simulate the effect of messing with a filter.
Each “module” is represented by parameters that appear on one or more display
pages. The [VALUE] knob lets you change these parameters. All “patching” is done
via software, so the only patch cords you need are those that go to your mixer or
amplifier.
You can take a “snapshot” of the QSR’s parameters and save this in memory as a
program. The QSR comes with 512 factory preset programs, and 128 user-editable
programs.
PROGRAM SOUND LAYERS
The simplest method of programming is to take one voice, process it through the
filter and amp sections, and (if desired) add some effect to it. However, more
elaborate Programs usually consist of 2 to 4 layers, with each layer making its own
distinct contribution to the sound, for example:
• An organ program with Program Sound 1 set to a sustained organ waveform,
and Program Sound 2 set to a percussion waveform with a fast decay.
• A piano program with one layer tuned normally, and a second layer tuned an
octave higher.
• A synthesizer program with one layer set to a sharp attack waveform, a second
layer set to an acoustic waveform, and a third layer with a slow-attack string
waveform.
This may remind you of Mix Play Mode, where playing the keyboard can sound up
to 16 different Programs at once. There are many similarities. In Mix Play Mode,
you can make the same kind of layered Mix as you can with the four sounds of a
Program. But there are differences:
Use Program Layers:
• If you want multiple sounds to respond to a single MIDI channel. For example,
if you need to play a layered synthesizer sound that was assembled in Mix Play
Mode instead of Program Play Mode, you must send 3 Note On messages from
your sequencer (one for each channel) for every note; a layered program would
need only one Note On message.
• When layers of a Program are designed to be used together, and the individual
layers by themselves wouldn't be used alone (for example, the percussion layer
of the organ sound).
Use Mix Play Mode: