User Reference Manual 95000 performance loop laboratory
TABLE OF CONTENTS MEET THE 95000… 3 IN DEPTH: RECORDING TRACKS… 22 What’s in the Box? | Main Features | Specifications Prepare to Record a New Loop | Non-Quantize vs.
MEET THE 95000 Thank you for purchasing the Electro-Harmonix 95000 Performance Loop Laboratory. Please set aside some time to read this manual and familiarize yourself with this unique instrument’s layout and operation. Then keep the manual close by to use as a reference guide.
QUICK START GUIDE RECORDING AND WORKING WITH MULTITRACK LOOPS Make Connections and Set Input Level 1. Plug your instrument or microphone into either the L or R INPUT jacks and adjust the corresponding INPUT knob so that the CLIP LED barely lights up on your loudest notes. 2. Connect the MONITOR OUT jack to an amplifier or mixer. Turn up the HEADPHONE LVL knob to approximately 50%. 3.
Undo and Redo Record a Quantized Loop 1. Select the track you want to undo. 2. Press and release the UNDO footswitch. The last layer of audio on the track is removed and the previous version of the track begins playing. The UNDO LED lights up. 3. If only one layer of audio was recorded on the track, then the track plays back silence. 4. Press and release the UNDO footswitch to return—or redo—the audio layer that undo had removed. The previous layer of audio begins playing back as you last heard it. 1.
MIXING Prepare to Mix 1. You can mix your 6 tracks down to one stereo Mixdown track at any time. For now, let’s start with the 95000 in Idle (stopped) mode. If the 95000 is playing or overdubbing a loop, press the PLAY footswitch to stop. 2. Press the MIXDOWN button once and it will light solid to indicate that the Mixdown track has been enabled for overdubbing. 3. Press the PLAY footswitch. Your loop will play back. Move the Volume and Pan controls of the 6 tracks to establish a satisfactory balance.
BASIC TERMINOLOGY AND KEY CONCEPTS ERASE: The act of deleting an entire loop, one track, or a stereo pair of tracks when a stereo pair is enabled. You cannot undo a loop that has been erased. Once a loop is erased it is permanently deleted. To erase an entire loop do one of the following: Press and hold the TRACK and UNDO footswitches simultaneously for two seconds. After the Track LEDs stop blinking, the loop is erased. Press the NEW LOOP button while the loop is idle or in playback.
TRACK: A track is a discrete or separate channel of loop audio that may be recorded, overdubbed or mixed independently from other tracks. All tracks in a loop are the same length. All tracks contained in a loop playback, record or overdub at the same speed and direction as the other tracks. Each loop contains 6 mono tracks and one stereo track. UNDO/REDO: Undo: The undo function allows you to remove the last overdub layer that was recorded on a track. The 95000 has one level of undo for each track.
MONITORING Use the monitoring controls to vary the listening volume of various signals. None of the following monitoring controls affect the actual recorded signal levels. 1. DRY OUTPUT L/R Faders and Pan Knobs The DRY OUTPUT faders and pan knobs allow you to monitor your instrument when recording or to play along with a loop you have already recorded. Adjust the output volume of your instrument with the DRY OUTPUT fader. Use the pan knobs to direct the Left and Right Inputs to the Left and Right Outputs.
THE RECORD TRANSPORT 1. INPUT LEVEL L/ R Knobs and CLIP LEDs 2. NEW LOOP Button Use the INPUT LEVEL L and R knobs to adjust the amplitude of the left and right input signals before they are sent to the A/D Converter. To set the proper level, turn each INPUT LEVEL knob clockwise to the point where the maximum level causes the CLIP LEDs to barely blink or not light up at all. These LEDs light up when the audio signal clips—or is on the verge of clipping—the A/D Converter.
Current Mode Idle Playback Overdubbing Record-Ready Recording New Loop + NEW LOOP press Record-Ready Record-Ready; continues playing loop Overdubbing; NEW LOOP Button is ignored Reverts to previous mode before Record-Ready Cancels New Loop recording and discards the audio that had been recorded; loop remains empty 3. TRACK Footswitch Use the TRACK footswitch to advance tracks, erase tracks or to erase an entire loop.
5. RECORD Footswitch Depending on the 95000’s current mode, the RECORD footswitch serves a few purposes, all of which enable the 95000 to enter/exit one of the recording modes: Record, Overdub or Punch-In. The red RECORD LED will light up solid anytime the 95000 is recording or overdubbing audio. The RECORD LED blinks at a medium rate when the 95000 is in Record-Ready mode. The table below explains the result of pressing the RECORD footswitch in relation to the current mode of the 95000.
8. PUNCH Button Press the PUNCH button to enable/disable PUNCH (“Punch-In”) mode. While recording with Punch-In enabled, all audio previously recorded on the active track is erased each time the loop cycles. The Punch-In function is particularly useful for fixing bad notes or mistakes. When Punch-In mode is active, the PUNCH button lights green. 9. OCT Button The OCT (Octave) button lowers the speed of the loop by exactly one-half: the pitch will go down one octave and the tempo will be halved.
TRACKS, TRACK SELECTION, MIXDOWN, TEMPO TRACKS OVERVIEW There are 6 tracks available for you to record your instruments and vocals. You can record a maximum of 2 tracks simultaneously. Each of the 6 tracks contains a volume fader and pan knob to balance your levels and place your tracks within the stereo spectrum. Each track also contains an illuminated button above each track number. When a button is lit, that particular track is active.
5. MIXDOWN Button The MIXDOWN button gives you access to the Normal and Constant Tempo Mixdown modes. Use Normal Mixdown mode when you want to bounce the 6 mono tracks or create a clean stereo mix. Use Constant Tempo Mixdown mode to create pitch-related special effects. Enter Normal Mixdown mode by pressing the MIXDOWN button once. When in Normal Mixdown mode, the MIXDOWN button lights solidly. Normal Mixdown can be selected while the 95000 is overdubbing, playing or idle.
7. TAP Button In addition to moving the TEMPO slider, you can also change tempo by pressing the TAP button two or more times to put the 95000 into Tap Tempo mode. The 95000 produces a set tempo by calculating the average of the four most recent taps in a grouping of TAP button presses. The TAP button’s integrated LED blinks at the current tempo. In normal use, Tap Tempo ranges from 60 BPM to 240 BPM.
LED DISPLAY AND CONTROL 1. LED DISPLAY 2. VALUE Push to Jump Knob The VALUE knob modifies the active parameter. Push/click the knob to toggle between the left and right parameters. Turn the knob to change the value of the selected parameter. The 4-digit LED display provides visual feedback and control for a number of functions. These functions are accessible by cycling the display through three Primary Mode pages and four Secondary Mode pages.
beat location. If you turn the VALUE knob while the loop is playing, the 95000 will jump to the new location and continue playback. When you stop a loop, the loop automatically goes back to the beginning of the loop (position 1.1). You cannot jump to a new location while the loop is recording or overdubbing. PRIMARY MODE PAGES 4. LOOP/DUB Mode The LOOP/DUB page shows the current loop number and the active track’s overdub feedback level. The left field displays the selected loop number.
SECONDARY MODE PAGES Press and hold the PAGE button for about one second to activate the Secondary Mode pages. The PAGE button will blink rapidly and the red Primary Mode LEDs will be unlit. Once Secondary Mode has been entered, release the PAGE button. Press and release the VALUE knob to cycle through the four available pages. Then turn the VALUE knob to change a specific parameter. Exit Secondary Mode at any time by pressing the PAGE button. The PAGE button will no longer be lit.
REAR CONNECTIONS AND CONTROL 1. 9VDC 400mA Power Jack Connect the output plug of the factory-supplied AC Adapter into this 9VDC power jack. The current requirement is 400mA at 9VDC. The polarity of the power jack is center negative. The maximum allowable power supply voltage is 10.5 VDC. Once power is applied, the 95000 begins its startup procedure. The 4-digit LED display shows the following: 1. “EHX 95000” scrolls across the display. 2. Then the firmware’s version number “V x.
7. HEADPHONE Jack 10. AUX IN Jack Plug headphones into the 1/4” Stereo Headphone jack. Each channel of the Headphone jack can deliver 0.1W into 16 ohms. The Headphone jack contains the loop audio from all 6 main tracks, the Mixdown track, the DRY OUT channels, audio from the AUX IN jack and the CLIX LEVEL metronome beat. NOTE: the volume of the audio at this jack is set by the HEADPHONE LVL knob.
IN DEPTH: RECORDING TRACKS Prepare to Record a New Loop 1. Plug your instrument into either the L or R INPUT jacks, or both if recording two separate instruments or if recording in stereo. 2. To monitor your recording, connect one or both of the L and R OUTPUT jacks or the MONITOR OUT jack to a mixer or amp. You can also plug headphones into the HEADPHONES jack. 3.
If you discover that you normally work best in Quantize mode, feel free to always leave Quantize enabled. Otherwise, enable or disable Quantize prior to pressing the RECORD footswitch when recording a New Loop. If you press the QUANTIZE button while in the process of recording a New Loop, you will be able to end the loop according to the rules of the Quantize mode you just entered. For example, you start a loop in Quantize mode so that you can have a 2-bar Count-In.
Loop Length and Storage Capacity Erase Loops and Tracks The loop length is set automatically for all tracks in a given loop when you record a New Loop on Track 1. The loop length for any given loop is set when you record your New Loop, and the loop length for all 7 tracks is always identical to Track 1’s length. For example, imagine you record a new 10-second loop: the length of all 7 tracks will be 10 seconds, too. You cannot record a longer or shorter loop on, say, Track 3 as compared to Track 1.
IN-DEPTH: OVERDUBBING TRACKS Choose a Track to Overdub DUB Settings (aka Feedback) After recording a New Loop on Track 1, the 95000 automatically advances to Track 2. If you press the PLAY footswitch to end a New Loop recording, the 95000 automatically starts overdubbing onto Track 2. Both the RECORD and PLAY LEDs light to indicate you are overdubbing. An individual track’s DUB settings are displayed on the right-hand parameter of the LOOP/DUB page. To select and modify the DUB parameter: 1.
Manipulating Sounds While Overdubbing Certain button pushes or slider movements enable you to manipulate sounds while overdubbing: Move the TEMPO slider and use the TAP button to achieve slowed-down or sped-up sounding instruments or vocals. Press the TAP button two or more times while in Overdub mode to immediately match the loop’s BPM speed to the tempo of your TAP presses. This function works well for percussive loops, but it may result in “out of tune” loops for pitchbased loops.
IN DEPTH: MIXDOWN Mixdown Basics The 95000 features a simple mixer that combines the 6 recorded tracks, the DRY OUTPUT tracks, and the Mixdown track. The outputs of the mixer are sent to the L and R OUTPUT jacks, Headphones and MONITOR OUT jacks. You can independently adjust the volume of any of the 6 tracks, the DRY OUTPUTs and the Mixdown track. Adjust the stereo positioning of the 6 tracks and DRY signals using the Pan knobs. NOTE: the MONITOR OUT jack supplies a mono mix of the Headphones stereo output.
Constant Tempo Mixdown Mode NOTE: The abbreviated term CT Mixdown will hereafter be used when appropriate to refer to the more bulky term Constant Tempo Mixdown. During normal mixdown, the Mixdown track records at the same tempo to which the 6 mono tracks play back. All tracks are locked in at the same speed at all times, just like on a multitrack tape recorder. This speed is set by the TEMPO slider, the TAP button, or an external MIDI Clock.
MEMORY CARD AND USB About the microSDHC Memory Card How to Format microSDHC Memory Cards Use only microSDHC Memory Cards that are formatted with the FAT32 file system. Most cards come preformatted for FAT32. But if you do need to format a microSDHC card for the 95000, we recommend using the official SD Card Formatter tool published by the SD Association (http://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4) instead of the standard formatting utilities included with Windows and OS X operating systems.
USB Port: Using the 95000 with a Computer The 95000’s USB Port allows you to move your files to and from your computer via a standard USB cable. The USB Port is located next to the microSD card slot on the rear panel of the 95000. When you connect your 95000 to a computer through the USB connector, the computer displays the microSDHC card inside the 95000 as a “Removable Disk.” You may then copy files to and from the microSDHC card.
Restoring Files Importing Audio Files 1. Make sure both your computer and the 95000 are powered up. 2. Connect the 95000 to your computer with a standard USB cable. 3. Look for the 95000’s removable disk in your file system. 4. Locate the folder or files on your hard drive that you want to restore to the 95000. If the files are in their own folder with no other files, copy the entire folder to the root directory of the 95000’s microSDHC card.
MIDI SYNC Earlier in this manual, we noted that the 95000 has three Clock Sync modes. One Clock Sync mode is internal (IN). The other two modes are external: XT (Normal External MIDI Clock sync) and BX (Beat Sync External Clock mode). Each press of the EXT. CLOCK button advances through the three clock modes: 1. IN: EXT. CLOCK button off 2. XT: EXT. CLOCK button lit solid 3. BX: EXT.
clock so that the 95000 is synchronized to the master’s location. When you press PLAY, the 95000 starts playback at the beginning of the loop in sync with the beat generated by the master MIDI device. The 95000 always starts playback at the beginning of its loop in Beat Sync External Clock mode. The 95000 always waits for the next MIDI master beat to start playback after you press PLAY or RECORD. This behavior insures that the 95000 remains in sync with the master MIDI Clock.
NOTE: In order for the 95000 to start recording a loop, one of the External Clock modes needs to be selected at the time you start playback on the MIDI Clock master. The 95000 needs to receive a MIDI Start command—followed by subsequent MIDI Clock messages—for it to “know” where it is located within MIDI Clock bars. PRO TIP: If the loop length (in bars) is known prior to recording the loops, create a blank loop before you start recording with MIDI Clock.
MIDI CONTROLLER AND PROGRAM MESSAGES Overview Use MIDI to engage remote and automated control over nearly all the 95000’s buttons, sliders and rotary controls. The exceptions are the L and R INPUT LEVEL knobs and the HEADPHONES LVL knob; since these controls are fully analog they cannot be controlled via MIDI. The 95000 responds to Control Change (CC) and Program Change (PC) messages at all times. The 95000 does not send PC and CC messages, it only receives these messages.
MIDI CC Tables The table on the left lists each 95000 Control Change number (CC#), the data range used by each CC#, and the parameter assigned to each CC#. The table on the right lists all of the button presses and their associated data values available through CC3. Please Note: There must be at least 300mS between each button push message. Moving a fader or knob after receiving a CC message will overwrite the last CC message with the last fader or knob movement.
MIDI Program Change (PC) Messages The 95000 responds to PC messages to allow the direct selection of loops, initiate button pushes and mute/unmute all tracks.
SIGNAL PATH DIAGRAM 38
FACTORY DRUM LOOPS The microSDHC card supplied with your 95000 comes equipped with 20 factory drums loops to help get you started. The factory drums are located on the Mixdown track of Loops 1–20. If you erase any of these loops, the factory drums for that particular loop number will also be erased. If you would like to restore the factory drums for any or all of the loops, they are available for download on the 95000’s product page at www.ehx.com.
WARRANTY Please register online at http://www.ehx.com/product-registration or complete and return the enclosed warranty card within 10 days of purchase. Electro-Harmonix will repair or replace, at its discretion, a product that fails to operate due to defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from date of purchase. This applies only to original purchasers who have bought their product from an authorized Electro-Harmonix retailer.
