ALESIS MidiVerb 3 Reference Manual
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 2 FEATURES............................................................................................................. 2 HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL ................................................................................ 3 SECTION 1 MIDIVERB III QUICK START........................................................................ 4 FACTORY PROGRAMS .................................
SECTION 3 INTERFACING MIDIVERB III ......................................................................... 14 INSTRUMENTS/MICROPHONES........................................................................... 14 MONO OPERATION .................................................................................. 14 MIXING CONSOLES .............................................................................................. 15 INTERFACING VIA AUX SENDS .........................................................
TRANSMITTING PROGRAMS VIA MIDI .................................................... 42 RECEIVING PROGRAMS VIA MIDI ........................................................... 43 MIDI MAPPING .......................................................................................... 43 MIDI PROG.................................................................................... 44 INT. PROG .................................................................................... 44 HOW TO USE MIDI MAPPING ........
USERS MANUAL
INTRODUCTION Alesis MIDIVERB III 16 BIT MULTI-EFFECTS PROCESSOR WITH REAL-TIME MIDI PARAMETER CONTROL INTRODUCTION The Alesis MIDIVERB III is a high quality multi-effects unit which features up to 4 simultaneous effects (Delay, Reverb, Chorus, EQ) at a full 15KHz bandwidth and with 16 bit resolution. Since all features of MIDIVERB III are accessible from the front panel, the operator can set up a wide range of complex effects without a complex user interface.
INTRODUCTION 3
INTRODUCTION HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL Since a musician's time is better spent making music than reading manuals, we've tried to make this manual not only easy to use, but also fast and easy to find things when you need to. Therefore, the manual is broken down to 6 major sections, of which Section 4 will be probably be referred to the most. They are: SECTION 1 - QUICKSTART This section tells you how to use the most frequently needed operations.
QUICK START SECTION 1 MIDIVERB III QUICK START FACTORY PROGRAMS The MIDIVERB III contains 200 factory supplied programs, 100 of which are stored in memory locations 000 to 099 and repeated again in locations 100 to 199. Only the programs in locations 100 to 199 can be permanently altered and stored as desired by the user. SELECTING PROGRAMS 1) Press the PROGRAM button. button will light. The LED in the middle of the 2) Press either VALUE button until the desired program is displayed.
SECTION 1 2) Pressing the EDIT button again will select the upper LED which indicates that the top row of edit functions on the top row of buttons can be accessed. 3) Select the desired function to be edited. The stored value of the parameter will appear in the numeric display and the button will light up. 4) Press either VALUE button to adjust the desired parameter. 5) Select another function to be edited, if desired.
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SECTION 1 SAVING (STORING) EDITED PROGRAMS 1) Once a program has been edited to your liking, press the STORE button. The LED in the middle of the button will flash. 2) The numeric display will show the current program number if it was program 100 through 199, or will display the program number plus 100 if it was 000 to 099, since 000 to 099 cannot be stored to. 3) If another storage location is desired, press either VALUE button until the desired program location is displayed.
DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS SECTION 2 DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS FRONT PANEL INPUT The INPUT control is a stereo control that determines the master volume level of the signal being fed into both inputs of the MIDIVERB III. MIX The MIX control determines the ratio of direct to effect signal. Full counterclockwise (to the left) applies only direct signal to the outputs of MIDIVERB III. Full clockwise (to the right) applies only effect signal to the outputs.
SECTION 2 VALUE The VALUE buttons can be used to select the desired number or, once a desired parameter has been selected, edit the parameters value. PROGRAM The PROGRAM button will display the number of the current program. A period appearing behind the program number indicates that a parameter or function has been edited and is different from its stored value. STORE The STORE button allows you to store an edited program into any available program location.
DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS DELAY/2 When in the EDIT mode, pressing the DELAY button will access either the DELAY TIME or DELAY REGENERATION amount for editing, depending which EDIT LED is lit. The DELAY TIME parameter allows the user to adjust the time between repeats as required. The DELAY REGENERATION parameter adjusts the number of repeats. After pressing the DELAY button, pressing the VALUE buttons will select the desired DELAY TIME or REGENERATION levels.
SECTION 2 MIX/5 When in the EDIT mode, pressing the MIX button will adjust the relative level of either the Delay or Reverb, depending on which page the Edit LED is set. The Chorus level is always the same and is either On or Off depending upon the Configuration selected. After pressing the MIX button, pressing the VALUE buttons will select the desired levels. When in the PROGRAM mode, this is button 5 of the keypad for selecting a program by directly entering the desired program number.
DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS When in the EDIT mode, the MIDI button is used to select the send and receive channel for the MIDIVERB III. The range is channel 01 through 16. Pressing the MIDI button a second time selects if the MIDIVERB III will accept MIDI Program Change commands. Pressing the MIDI button a third time selects the ECHO On or Off function.
SECTION 2 The other half of the MIDI program MAPPING section when in the EDIT mode, the INT. PROG (Internal Program) button selects the internal MIDIVERB III program (from 000 to 199) that will be chosen by the external MIDI program number that is selected by the MIDI PROG button. When in the PROGRAM mode, this is button 0 of the keypad for selecting a program by directly entering the desired program number.
DESCRIPTION OF CONTROLS Retransmits MIDI information received by MIDIVERB III to other MIDI units if the MIDI ECHO function is enabled. Also used as a MIDI OUT jack for MIDI system exclusive data dumps. BYPASS JACK The BYPASS jack bypasses the effects of the MIDIVERB III and supplies only Direct Signal Level to the stereo outputs. When the signal is bypassed, the BYPASS LED on the front panel will light. Any momentary switch can be used. POWER Accepts the +9VAC power from the MIDIVERB III Power Supply.
SECTION 2 Edit button Delay button Reverb button Chorus button EQ button Mix button MIDI Mapping buttons (Mapping and Int.
INTERFACING MIDIVERB III SECTION 3 INTERFACING MIDIVERB III INSTRUMENTS MICROPHONES The Alesis MIDIVERB III has high impedance inputs that are ideally suited for use either with instruments or line level signals. Although microphones can be connected directly into the MIDIVERB III, it is recommended that for quietest operation they be connected to a mixing console first and then connected to the MIDIVERB III as described in Figures 2 or 3.
SECTION 3 MIXING CONSOLES INTERFACING VIA AUX SENDS The MIDIVERB III handles mono or stereo sends at all system levels. The input circuitry of the MIDIVERB III can easily handle +4dBv levels (+20dBv peaks), while having enough input or output gain to interface with the extremely low signal levels of budget recording systems. The MIDIVERB III may be connected to the mixing console in several ways.
INTERFACING MIDIVERB III B. STEREO IN - STEREO OUT RIGHT INPUT AUX SEND 1 LEFT INPUT LEFT OUPUT RIGHT OUPUT AUX SEND 2 AUX RETURN OR INPUT CHANNEL INTERFACING VIA INSERT SEND AND RETURNS Another way of interfacing the MIDIVERB III is to connect the unit directly to the insert send and return patch points of the channel that is to be effected.
SECTION 3 CONNECTION TO THE MAIN OUTPUTS Still another way of interfacing the MIDIVERB III to a mixer or recording console would be in-line across the output of your mixing console (See Figure 4). This setup would be used only if you needed to effect the entire mix.
INTERFACING MIDIVERB III 2) Now turn the OUTPUT LEVEL control up (clockwise) until there is sufficient level at the amplifier or mixer. Be careful not to turn the OUTPUT LEVEL control up too high since the strong signal may cause your amplifier or mixer to overload. 3) Next, turn the MIX control until the correct balance between effect and direct signal is reached.
SECTION 4 SECTION 4 USING MIDIVERB III PROGRAM MODE When power is first turned on, the MIDIVERB III automatically resets to the Program mode and the last program selected before the power was turned off will be currently selected. For the purpose of illustration, let's assume that you are turning your MIDIVERB III on for the first time.
USING MIDIVERB III 023 Note that the front panel still displays the following: —The PROGRAM LED will be lit, indicating that the MIDIVERB III is in the Program mode. —The display will read the program number, only now it reads "023". WITH KEYPAD Another way to select program 23 would be to use the ten function keys on the right of the front panel which double as a keypad in the Program mode (notice the numbers beside each button).
SECTION 4 Pon 3) Press the "Up" VALUE button until display read "Pon" 4) Set program 023 on the MIDIVERB III to correspond with the desired program number on your synth, sequencer, or other MIDI device. (see " How to Use MIDI Mapping" on page xxxxxxx). 5) Send the program change from your synth, sequencer, or other MIDI device. EDITING A PROGRAM Any MIDIVERB III program can be easily edited (modified) by entering the EDIT mode. As an example, we will edit our program 023. 1) Select the EDIT button.
USING MIDIVERB III ro1 3) Select the desired function to be edited. The stored value of the parameter will appear in the numeric display and the button will light up. In this case we will edit the DELAY TIME. When we select the DELAY button, the display will read: 080 4) Press either VALUE button to adjust the desired parameter. 5) Select another function to be edited, if desired.
SECTION 4 REVERB Reverb can be thought of as a great number of distinct echos, called reflections, that occur so fast that our ear hears them blurred together as one. In nature, different size spaces give distinctly different sounding reverbs, depending upon the size and shape of the space (called Reverb Density), and the texture of the surfaces that the reflections bounce off of (called Reverb Diffusion).
USING MIDIVERB III REVERB DECAY The Reverb Decay determines the length of time that the Reverb will sound before it finally fades away. It is not used in the Reverse 1 and 2 Algorithms. It is functional in all others. DELAY The Delay section of the MIDIVERB III can be used in two modes, depending upon the configuration. In some configurations, the Delay acts as a straight mono Digital Delay which can be programmed for up to 490 milliseconds.
SECTION 4 There are 24 different Chorus Algorithms (Chorus versions), in the MIDIVERB III. Each algorithm has a different sound and simulates a different pitch based effect. There are two major types of algorithms: Chorus and Flanging (see explanation below). Both Chorus and Flanging have 6 algorithms of mono and 6 algorithms of stereo. See Figure 6.
USING MIDIVERB III variables are available, from varying the Speed and Depth of the LFO to feeding back part of the signal to make the effect stronger. In the case of a Stereo Flange, the signal is split into three parts with a dry signal and a separate Delay section for both left and right channels with one channel flanging up while the other channel flanges down. This causes the effect to become more pronounced and dramatic.
SECTION 4 INPUT EQ The INPUT EQ is a high-cut filter that rolls off the high frequency response of the input signal before it is sent to either the Delay, Reverb, or Chorus. The VALUE button selects the frequency where the signal has been rolled off -3dB. See Figure 7. EFFECT EQ The EFFECT EQ is a high-cut filter that is part of the currently selected effect. The VALUE button selects the frequency where the signal has been rolled off -3dB. See Figure 7.
USING MIDIVERB III MODULATING MIDIVERB III 's PARAMETERS MOD PARAMETERS The MOD section lets you control various MIDIVERB III parameters from a MIDI controller such as the pitchwheel, modwheel, keyboard aftertouch, keyboard note number, keyboard velocity, sustain pedal, or breath controller. This is extremely useful when dynamic or real-time control is required in a live playing situation, and allows for a new level of creativity on recordings.
SECTION 4 FIGURE 8 MIDI CONTROLLER SOURCES CONTROLLER PITCH BEND CONTROLLER #1 AFTER TOUCH NOTE NUMBER NOTE VELOCITY SUSTAIN PEDAL BREATH CONTROLLER VOLUME PEDAL DESCRIPTION The pitch bend wheel or lever common on most synthesizers. The Mod Wheel common on most synthesizers is designated Controller #1 in the MIDI specification. It is called Controller #1 instead of Mod Wheel here since it is easier to display as "1" due to the limits of the 7 segment LED displays.
USING MIDIVERB III Figure 10 shows how MIDIVERB III will display the routing and which controller/parameter combinations are active.
SECTION 4 PdL Modwheel Level Pitchwheel Delay Level AdL SdL bdL Delay Level 1dL ndL Note Number Delay UdL VelocityDelay Level Aftertouch Delay Level Sustain Pedal Delay Level Breath ControllerDelay Level 7dL Volume Pedal Delay Level MOD AMPLITUDE The Mod Amplitude is the amount that the selected MIDIVERB III parameter will be affected by the Mod Source. It can be adjusted to affect the target parameter by a positive or negative amount.
USING MIDIVERB III PLEASE NOTE: In all Configurations except #14 and 15, the maximum delay is 100 milliseconds. milliseconds.
SECTION 4 FIGURE 10 CONFIG NUMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 CONFIGURATION SIGNAL PATHS EQ > CHRS > DELAY > REVERB EQ > CHRS > REVERB EQ > CHRS > DELAY EQ > CHRS > REVERB DELAY EQ > CHRS > REVERB EQ > DELAY EQ > REVERB CHRS > DELAY EQ > DELAY CHRS > REVERB EQ > CHRS > DELAY > REVERB EQ > CHRS > REVERB EQ > CHRS > DELAY EQ > CHRS > REVERB DELAY EQ > CHRS > REVERB EQ > DELAY EQ > REVERB CHRS > DELAY EQ > DELAY CHRS > REVERB EQ > DELAY > REVERB CHRS EQ > CHRS > DELAY EQ > CHRS > DELAY CHRS in OUTPU
USING MIDIVERB III Below is a chart for each configuration that shows what the effects possibilities of each are, as well as where the Chorus section is routed to.
SECTION 4 CONFIGURATION 1 CHORUS EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES Routed to Output 1. EQ'd, Chorused, Predelayed Reverb 2. EQ'd, Chorused, Predelayed Reverb with echo 3. EQ'd, Chorused Delay 4. All of the above at once 5. EQ'd Chorus only EQ CHORUS DELAY 100ms INPUT EQ ALGORITHM SPEED TIME REGEN REVERB DELAY LEVEL REVERB LEVEL ALGORITHM DECAY EQ L L R R INPUT MIX OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 2 CHORUS Routed to Output EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd, Chorused, Reverb 2. EQ'd, Chorused, Delay 4.
USING MIDIVERB III CONFIGURATION 3 CHORUS Routed to Output EQ EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Chorused Reverb 2. Delay 3. All of the above at once 4. EQ'd Chorus only CHORUS DELAY REVERB DELAY LEVEL 100ms INPUT EQ ALGORITHM SPEED TIME REGEN REVERB LEVEL ALGORITHM DECAY EQ L L R R MIX INPUT OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 4 CHORUS Routed to Output EQ EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Chorused Reverb 2. EQ'd Delay 3. All of the above at once 4.
SECTION 4 CONFIGURATION 5 CHORUS Routed to Output of the above at once EQ CHORUS EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Reverb 2. Chorused Delay 4. Chorus only DELAY ALGORITHM SPEED TIME All REVERB 100ms INPUT EQ 3. DELAY LEVEL REGEN REVERB LEVEL ALGORITHM DECAY EQ L L R R MIX INPUT OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 6 CHORUS Routed to Output EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Delay 2. Chorused Reverb 3. All of the above at once 4.
USING MIDIVERB III CONFIGURATION 7 CHORUS EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES Routed to Effects only 1. EQ'd, Chorused, Predelayed Reverb 2. EQ'd, Chorused, Predelayed Reverb with echo 3. EQ'd, Chorused Delay 4. All of the above at once EQ CHORUS DELAY REVERB 100ms INPUT EQ ALGORITHM SPEED TIME DELAY LEVEL REGEN REVERB LEVEL ALGORITHM DECAY EQ L R INPUT MIX OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 8 CHORUS Routed to Effects only EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd, Chorused, Reverb 2. EQ'd, Chorused, Delay 3.
SECTION 4 CONFIGURATION 9 CHORUS Routed to Effects only EQ CHORUS EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Chorused Reverb 2. Delay 3. All of the above at once DELAY REVERB 100ms INPUT EQ ALGORITHM SPEED TIME DELAY LEVEL REGEN REVERB LEVEL ALGORITHM DECAY EQ L L R R MIX INPUT OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 10 CHORUS Routed to Effects only EQ CHORUS EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Chorus Reverb 2. EQ'd Delay 3.
USING MIDIVERB III CONFIGURATION 11 CHORUS Routed to Effects only EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Reverb 2. Chorused Delay 3. All of the above at once EQ CHORUS DELAY REVERB 100ms INPUT EQ ALGORITHM SPEED TIME DELAY LEVEL REGEN REVERB LEVEL ALGORITHM DECAY EQ L L R R MIX INPUT OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 12 CHORUS Routed to Effects only EQ CHORUS EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Delay 2. Chorused Reverb 3.
SECTION 4 EQ CHORUS DELAY 100ms INPUT EQ ALGORITHM SPEED TIME REVERB DELAY LEVEL REGEN REVERB LEVEL ALGORITHM DECAY EQ L R MIX INPUT OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 14 CHORUS Routed to Output EQ'd Chorused Delay the above at once EQ EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1. EQ'd Chorus CHORUS DELAY DELAY LEVEL 490ms INPUT EQ ALGORITHM SPEED 2. 3. All of TIME REGEN EQ (in feedback) L L R R MIX INPUT OUTPUT CONFIGURATION 15 CHORUS Routed to Effects only EQ EFFECTS POSSIBILITIES 1.
USING MIDIVERB III SAVING (STORING) EDITED PROGRAMS 1) Once a program has been edited to your liking, press the STORE button. The LED in the middle of the button will flash. 199 2) The numeric display will show the current program number if it was program 100 - 199, or will display the program number plus 100 if it was 000 to 099, since 000 to 099 cannot be stored to. 123. 3) If another storage location is desired, press either VALUE button until the desired program location is displayed.
SECTION 4 USING MIDIVERB III WITH MIDI MIDI PARAMETERS The MIDI button accesses the various MIDI parameters of MIDIVERB III. The MIDI functions are global functions and are not stored with an individual program. MIDI CHANNEL The MIDIVERB III can receive MIDI information on channels 1 through 16. When in the EDIT mode, the MIDI button is used to select the send and receive channel for the MIDIVERB III. The range is 01 through 16.
USING MIDIVERB III MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE Pressing the MIDI button a second time accesses the MIDI Program Change page which allows the MIDIVERB III to change programs remotely by a MIDI Program Change command. The MIDIVERB III will also send Program Change commands when programs are selected from the front panel. When used in conjunction with the VERB PROGRAM button, the MIDIVERB III transposes the program numbers of a MIDI controller (a synthesizer, for instance) to match those of the MIDIVERB III .
SECTION 4 exception of System Exclusive data) to be retransmitted back out the MIDI OUT jack.
USING MIDIVERB III SELECTING MIDI ECHO 1) While still in the EDIT mode ( either EDIT LED lit), press the MIDI button THREE times. The numeric display will read "Eon" if MIDI Echo is on, and "Eof" if MIDI Echo is off. Eof 2) Press the VALUE "Up" button to toggle MIDI Echo "On"; Press the VALUE "Down"button to toggle MIDI Program Change "Off".
SECTION 4 2) Press the STORE button, which causes MIDIVERB III's entire memory to be sent out via MIDI to an external storage device like an Alesis DATADISK or another MIDIVERB III. The display will read "____" while sending the data, which will take about 1 second, after which it will return to "Snd". --- RECEIVING PROGRAMS VIA MIDI 1) At any time, the MIDIVERB III can receive MIDI Program Data (known as a Sysex dump).
USING MIDIVERB III MIDI Controller Program 102 = MIDIVERB III Program 39 MIDI Controller Program 103 = MIDIVERB III Program 25 Selecting program 101 on the MIDI controller would result in program 33 of the MIDIVERB III being accessed, selecting program 102 would result in program 39 of the MIDIVERB III being accessed, and selecting program 103 would result in program 25 of the MIDIVERB III being accessed.
SECTION 4 100 3) Select the INT. PROGRAM button on the MIDIVERB III. 4) Press the VALUE button until the desired internal MIDIVERB III program number is displayed. In this case it would be program 33. 033 5) Select the MIDI PROGRAM button on the MIDIVERB III once again. 6) Press the VALUE button until the next desired program number of the external MIDI controller is displayed. In this case it would be program 101. 101 7) Select the INT. PROGRAM button on the MIDIVERB III once again.
USING MIDIVERB III 53
SECTION 4 MISCELLANEOUS FUNCTIONS INITIALIZING THE MIDIVERB III There are two reasons why you may want to reinitialize your MIDIVERB III : 1) To return all programs to their factory parameter settings (called "initializing"). 2) In case the unit locks up from a power surge. To initialize your MIDIVERB III, do the following: 1) Turn the MIDIVERB III off. 2) Hold the INT. PROG and STORE buttons. 3) Turn the MIDIVERB III on again while holding the above buttons.
USING MIDIVERB III DETERMINING THE CURRENT SOFTWARE VERSION 1) Hold the PROGRAM button and press the EDIT button. The display will read X.XX which represents the current version number of the software. 1.
SECTION 5 SECTION 5 SPECIFICATIONS ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS FREQUENCY RESPONSE DYNAMIC RANGE HARMONIC DISTORTION 16Hz - 15KHz, ±1dB 85 dB .1% typical @ 1KHz @ 0dBV INPUT NUMBER OF CHANNELS NOMINAL LEVEL MAXIMUM LEVEL IMPEDANCE A/D - D/A CONVERSIONS CONVERSION SCHEME PROCESSOR SPEED PROCESSOR MEMORY SAMPLING FREQUENCY 2 +4dBV +20dBV 1 M½ per channel in stereo 500K½ per channel in mono 16 Bit Linear PCM 2 Million Instructions per Second 16K x 16 bits 31.
SPECIFICATIONS 57
SECTION 5 MIDI CONTROL Program Change MIDI Modulation MIDI Sysex TransferMIDI Program Mapping MIDI Echo Extensive real-time control of Program parameters and Effects levels Mod Sources Pitch bend, Mod wheel, Aftertouch, Note number, Note velocity, Sustain pedal, Breath Controller, volume pedal Destinations Reverb Decay, Delay Time, Delay Regeneration, Chorus Speed, Reverb Level, Delay Level Mod Amount FRONT PANEL CONTROLS 0 to +99, 0 to -99 Input Level Mix Level Output Level KEYPAD Value Up Button
