Alesis HR-16 User manual

Instruction
Manual

DearAlesis
Custon€r:
You
have.
iust
purchased
a_
powedul
rnusic.producliodcomprehensive
eledronic
percussion
system.
ll9":9 l?k".?.Aoment
toglancellrough
thismanual
to
gaiir
abetter
undeFtanding
ofthe
ope;ation
otthe
HR-16,
theMMT-8,
and
theHR-16:8.
The operating
systems
of the AteslsHR-16
and the HR.16|B
are tdentlcat
wlth a few
exceptlons.All Instrucilons
and descrlpilons
ot HR-16 funcilons h thls manual
wllt
apply to the operatlon
of the HR-16:g
exceptfor those exceptlons
whlch ars noted
throughoutthe manual.
wh€n uslng the HR-16
and the xn.ie:a togetheras one untt,
please
refer to the lnstructlon
manualIngen,"uslng the HR-16wltti the HR.16r8..,
or
lo the Insert lnstructlon card located Inslde the lllp-up Instructlon ]ld. Both of these
Inslructlonsare Included
wlth yout HR-16:8.
PLEASE
READ
THIS
Concerning
thebackupmemory
of the HR-16
andMMT-8.
The
backup
memoriesin
theHR-16
andthe
MMT-B
arenon-volatile.
They
areprotected
by a lithium
cellbattery
withanexpectedlifeof 10years.
Thismeans
you
canturn
power
offon
bothmachines
and
your
work
will
be
retained
inmemory.
However,
please
beaware
thatanycomputer
baseddevicewith
memory
backup
canbesubject
tolosingits
memory
at
any
timefor
thefollowing
-
reasons:
1) [ power is
interrupted,
even
briefly,
duringRECORD,ERASE,
orLENGTH
CHANGE,
you
may
lose
all
memory
orsome
minute
portion
of
memory.
Thisis
possible
becausetheMMT-8
andHR-l6'sinternal
computers
are
moving
information
around
in
memory
duringtheseoperations.
Apower
surge,or
power
interruption
couldcause
anunfortunatememoryloss
during
thesevulnerable
operations.
2) Staticelectricity
canalso
causeafull
orpartial
memory
loss.
Therefore,
it is recommended
that you frequentlybackup any
rlmportant
work you areinvolved
in. lt ls a simpleoperatlon.
Please
makeit a habitual
partof your use of the HR-16
and MMT-8,
so that your enjoyment
and musical
progress
won't
be interrupted,
See the sections on TAPE in this tnstruction
Manual,

ALESIS
HR.16
HIGHSAMPLE
RATE
DRUM
MACHINE
TABLEOFCONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
HR.16QUICK
PATTERN
MODE
RECOFIDINIGAPATTERN
16BITDIGITAL
PACE
3
4
6
6
8
10
12
OUAITIZE...
STEPEDITMODE........
schGh/bDE
SONGEDrr.
coPY.........
zuTTON
DYNAM|CS...............................
START/STOP
F@TSWITCH
....... ...,....,z o

L R OUT tN SM/ @r tN w rc ff/OFF
oulrur2 tAE mP Lf,tot l
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ftft.

INTRODUCTION
TheAlesis
HR-16
(High
sample
Rate
/ 15bitdrummachine)
iqa user
{riendly,.yet
exlremely
powerful
MlDldrum
sequencer
/ sound
goneralor.
The
sound.
generation
caoabiliti-es
ottheHR-16
include16
independent
drum
"voicss"'
6ach
ofwhich
canbo
assigned
toanyons
of49digital
samples(47
inthe
HR-16:B)
,
andcanbe
routedwitha7
position
pan
looneof two iets of stereb outputs' Each
voicscan alsobs tunsd
independentty
in 32incremgnts
ovoran
oclave
anda hal{.
Thessquencing
oflhe drumsis accomplished
by€ntering
record,and.thon
playing
on
thetouch-sensiiive
drumbuttons
onthslront
panel,
whichisthsnstored
inloa'pallern."
There
canbeupto 1OO
patlerns
intheHR-16'smemory
(00'99).Th€ss
patterns
can
be
anywher€
lrom1to 682beats
long.The
patterns
canbecombined
iniolisls
ofpattsrns'
which
arecalled
"songs.'Therecin bs upto 1oo
songsintheHR'16'smemory(00-99)'
andeachcan
containalistofpalterns
upto255steps
long.
The16
drum
pads
at
thefrontof
theHR-16ar€
vslocity'sensitive'
How
hardlhopad.
ishit
determines
tlie volume
otthedrumon 8 levels. 12ofthepads(all
pads
sxceptClosod
Hat,Mid
Hat,OpenHat,
andCrash)
aro€achdirecfly
assigned
toavoice.
Thismeans
thai
playing
a padiepeatedly
willretriiger
thesame
vo'ce,andnoother
padwilleffect that
voice.
Anysounds
assigned
tothethree
HiHat
pads
will
allb€assigned10
thosamevoice.
This
isio tnat
playing
thE
ClosedHalwill
cutotttheOpon
orMklHal,
foramorsrealistic
hihat
sound. The Ciash pad is assignedlo two voicEsthat alternate. This meansthat
repealedly
hittingthecrash
pad
r-sults
inlwoindependent
crashes
(of
lhs samesound)
that
canovorlapas
lhoydscay.
Moresounds
canbsmadetooverlapbyassigning
thesame
soundtotwodiffErent
pads
andaltsrnding
which
pad
ispressed
eachtime
lhosoundistobe
playsd' Only1s.voices
havebeenused
(12
ndrmal
iads, I voicelorHiHats,2lorCrash).
Tho16thvoica
isussd
fortheClick,which
canalsobeassignsd
tob€any
ofihsavailable
sounds.
PLEASE NOTETHESE FEATURES
PROGRAM
CHANGE
THROUGHMIDI
This
allows
MlDlprogram
solection
ofpatterns toworkwhileapart
isplaying.
lfanew
program
numberis received
over MlDl, lhis programnumberwillbe selected
to be
iheI.IEXTpattern numberto play whenthecune-nt
pattern
isfinished.Thisfunctions
exactlyas
if the newpattern irurirberhadbeenselecled withthekeypad.ll a song
is
playing,
MlDl programcommandswill be ignored.
SONGCHANGETHROUGHMIDI
MlDl programchangeswill select songs it the HR-16 is in Song mode, and not
prayrng.
SPOTERASING
This allowssoot erasinowhile in recordmode whEnQuantizeis OFF. The erase
button
andadrumbuttoi canbeheld down
whilerecordingwithquantize offinorder
toerasealldrumevents
(quantized
ornot)thatoccurduring
thetime thatthebuttons
are held down.

HR.16
QUICKBASIC
SETUP
'1.Connecl
output
1(either
left
,right
orboth)
toasuitable
monitorinq
system.
I outDut2
isconnscted,
thedesired
drum
pads
must
beassigned
rooup"i i rii"iltrl i,,rix;iffi".
(See
MlX.)
?: .9llg1ltt: YlDttN
iack
ofrhe.HR-16
ro
theMtDl
OUT
jack
ofasequencer,
an
external
orum
pao
conlrolsr,
orakeyboard.
ll^?:g*lEIlDl OUT
jack
of
rheHR-.t6
ro
orherMtDt
sound
sources
whendaisey
cnarnrng
MtUtdevicos
orlo anonernaldrum
source.
TheMlDl
OUT
jack
also
doublesis
a
l,!!PlII.EV ig{ qnd
borh
MtDt
tNdara
and
dara
poOuceo
onrrrE
Hi-16 are prEsenr
arthe
MlDl
OUT
iack
if
desirod.
For
standalono
operation
thoMlDl.iacks
ne6dnotbeconneclsd.
MlDl
allows.rhythm
triggsring
and
programming
oftheHR-16
fromexternal
MlDldevices,
suchaskeyboards
ordrum
pads
that
areequipped
wilhMlDl. Also,MlDl
canbeused
to
syncdif{erent
devicss
to thoHR-16,
saveandrecall
thememory
usinganexternaldisk
drivev-ia
MlDlsystem
exclusivedata
dump,and
receive
program
ihange-commands
which
willcallup
patlerns.
The program
change
command
is useful
for accessing
ditt€rsnt
setsol soundswhen
lriggering
sounds
fromdrum
pads
or sequsncsrs.
lf a newprogram
change
commandis received while
the HR-16is in PLAYmode,
lhe program nurnber
willselect
the nextpattern
to playalterthe currentpattern
is
linished.
ThgHR-1
6has
twostereo
outputs
(four
individual
outputs).
Thevolume
sliderisactive
on
onlyths firslstereo
outpul
(output
1). In addition,
il only
oneside
of an output
is
connacted,
thestsreo
mixassigned
onihat storso
outputbecomes
a mono
mixonthat
singleoutput.
Thissaves
having
lo reconstruct
amono
mixfrom
astereo
mix,whenonly
a
single
outputis
beingused.
UsingFour
outputs,
assignths
kicktooutput
2pann6d hard
lottand
thesnarg
tooutout
2
panned
hard
right.This
leavesall
otherdrums
onoutputI panned
inslereo
asdesired
andthekick
andsnare
assignsdtoth6kownoutput.
fqr_Toj" inJormation
onssttingupdrum machines
andsequencers,
seeMMT-8BASIC
SETUPin
theMMT-8Instruction
Manual.
Pags 4

PATTERN MODE
When
power
istirstturnsd
on,the
HR-l6willbeinSONGorPATTmode
(SONGorPATT
LEDlii),depending
onths mode
thatwasselectod
before
power
was
turnedoff. The
songoi pattern
number
willalsob€
thesameas
whsn
power
wasturned
oft.
PATT (pattern) Button
Pressttib PATT'button
lo 6nter
pattsrn
mode.
PATTLED
willlight. Now,thedisplay
Selectlng a PATTern
The00isunderlined
toindicate
thatitwillbechanged
ifanewnumber
isselected
withthe
keypadorthe +/-arrow buttons.Pressinglhs+/-arrowbuttons
immediatelyselscts
the
neii pattern
number,withthEnumbsrs
looping
past
99
lo 00andlooping
down
lrom00
to99. llasingle
digitonthekeypad
is
pressed
(3,
forsxampls),
thsdisplaywill
changeto:
Thedisplay
isnowindicatingthatthesEcond
digitotthepattern
shouldbeentered.
Aftor
enteringtheseconddigit,thsnew
pattsrn
isselect€d.lfthsseconddigit
isnotentered
within
2seconds,thedisplay
willrevortbacktothepreviouspatlern
number,
andnonew
pattsrn
willhave
beensolsctsd.Thistype
ofkeypadentry
isconsistent withallsnlries
madewith
thekeypaddescribed
inthismanual.Pressing
PLAYwillstart
playing
the
selected
pattsrn
{romitsbeginning,andthsPLAY
LEDwilllight.The
displaywill
read,for
9xampre:
T001
The
displayisnowshowing
lhecurrentbeatnumborand
tho
pattern
number
thatisbeing
played.
As
eachbeatoccurs,
thedisplaywilladvancethe
beatcount.
Whiletho
pattern
is
plating,
thekeypad
and
+/-
arrowbuttonscan
beusedtoselectanew
pattorn
number.
The
displaywillread:
SElectlng
new PATTerns
In PLAY
Attheendolthecurrent
pattern,
the
newlyselected
pattsrn
numberwill
play,
withthe
beatcountstarting
againat001.TheNEXT
pattern
to
play
canbechanged
upuntilthe
endoflhe
currenl
pattern
isreached,after
whichthonew
paltern
willbegin
playing,
and
thedisplay
willrevertbackto
PLAYINGPATT.
STOP/CONTINUE
Buttons
ProssingSTOP/CONTINUE
will
stop
playing
apattem,
andthedisPlay
willrelurn
lo the
selecl
pattern
display.Pressing
STOP/CONTINUEagain
willb€ginPlaying.apattern
ffom
theb€dinning
ofthebeat
itwasonwhsnitwas
stopp€d.Pressing
PLAYwillalways
starta
pattern
trom
lhebeginning.
Whenapattsrn reaches
itssnd,
itwill loopbackand
conlinue
playing
tromlh€ beginning.
AlesisHR-15
Instruclions
.........

RECORDING A PATTern (Atso see LENGTH and QUANT|ZE)
]o-reco! ou.lg1teLll press
and
holdrhe
RECORD
button,
and
rhen
prsss
the
pLAy
button.
Ihe
HR-16
wirrimmsdiat.ry
bsgin
praying
backany
existing
drums
inths
currontrv
s9l99lgq
pattsrn
from
rhe
bsginning,
and
williad anynew
drums
piayed
onrhe
Uutton.
o',
viaMlDlto
the
pattern.
The
pLAyandRECoRD
LEDs
wiilb€
rit,a;d ihedispray
wirrread:
T
Th€pattern
number
isnoi underlined,
indicaling
thata new
pattern
cannotbeselected
whilo
recording.
When
adrumbutton
is
pressed,
itisrecorded
along
withitsdynamics
on
eighllevels. Thedrums
ar€always
rocorded
quantized
tothenearest
currenily
selec{ed
quantizo
beat. Pressing
STOP
exitsrecord
mod6,and
boththeRECORD
ind pLAy
LEDswilliurnotf. lf PLAYispressod
while
inRECORD,
theRECORD
LEDwillturn
off.
and
the
patlern
willimmediately
begin
playing
irom
thestart.
LENGTH
Whenrecording
torths
lirsttimeon
anempty
pattern,
lhelengthwill
dstaulttogbeats,
unlsssitwas
set
prsviously
withthe
LENGTHbutton.
TheLENGTH
buttonisused
tosetthelongth
ofapattarn
toa specilied
number
ofbeats.
While
hoidingihe LENGTHbutton,
thedisplay
willshowthecuirentlengtholrhe
cuilent
pattern.
lfitisanempty
panern,
thedisplaywill
r6ad:
LENGTH
OO8
BEATS
8 beats is the default length ol an smpty pattern. ll it is desired to chang€ the length, ths
+/- arrow buttons can bs used lo move the length up or down in single b6at incrsments
(001 minimum, 682 milimum), or a lhree digit numbercan bo onter€d with the keypad. In
eithercase, tho new lengthis not sntored intoths pattsrnuntilth6 RECORD button is
presssd. Wh6n RECORD is pressedthe display chang€s to:
Thisdisplay
remainsuntilRECORD
isreleased.lfLENGTH
isreleasedbeforeRECORD
is
pressed,
nochangeto thelength
willbomade,regardless
of whatwaspressed
onthe
keypad.lf RECORDisprssssd
aflerenteringaparlial length
(1
or2digits),nothingwitl
happen.Whenentering
indigits,thelirstdigit
sntered
(1,
fofexample)
resultsinths
followingdisplay:
PATTOO
LENGTH1 BEATS
Thedisplayis nowwaitingtor th€ entryot the seconddigit. lf tho seconddigitis not
enteredwiihin2 seconds,the display$,illrevertlo itsprevious
value. lf RECORDis
prsssed
atler
enleringan incompletslsngth
(l or2 digits),thsdisplay
will
revsrt
toits
oreviousvalue.
00

Whena new
lenqth
isontsred
(RECORD),
any
drum
evsnts
lhatwere
beyond
lh€..new
sellenoth
willbe;rased. It
thenew
length
isbnger
than
thsprev'ous
one'
tnsaoolpnal
ffiih ";iil6elirf"J"ittr "ir"n"e. lfitisdisired
toiEmove
oradd
lsngth
1oihebeginning
of
i oitr"rn, firstset
thedesired
length
(as
described
above),
and
then
pross
andreloase
th; PATT
button.
The
display
will
change
to:
LENGTH BEATS
PressinqthePATTbuttonagainwi||togg|ebackiotheoriginaldisp|ay.|l-RECoRD.is
pressed-withthoabov€disp|ayshowing,anyadditiona|beatswi||bep|acgdatlne
'beoinnino
ol lhepattern,
and
anybeats
removed
willbe removed
lromthePatlern
top'
Orimevinisftrat
were
siored
inthe
removed
b€atswill
be
rsmoved
fromlhs pattern.
The
LENGTH
button
has
noeflecl
insong
mods,
orwhile
asong
orpattern
isplaying'
QUANTIZE
The
ouANTIZEbutton
isusedto s€lecl
ths resoluiion
atwhich
drum
€vents
areto bo
r'Eiora"o. wnib hotoing
downth€ouANTzE button
inpattern
mode,
thodisplay
will
read:
The
1o
quantize
choices
are114,1t6,1t8,1t12,1116,1D4,1132,1/48,
1/64,.and
OfF'
ttre +l- irrow buttons
of ttrekeypad
canbe used
to scroll
lhrough
the choices' Tho
Keypacloulons 1
-0can alsobe usedIo selccl thequantize
valuedirefily' wnn
1= 1/4and0=OFF.
Quantize
will
only
affecl
newlyrecorded
evgnts,
and
willnotchangs
anyevents
alrsady
recorded.
When6ver
anew
quantize
valug
isselected,
theswingamount
will
b€resot
to
Sb7.. ltso, thsquantize
valtledeterminEs
thostep_amounl
lo beused.when
in pattern
itep mode
ipntf+RgCOnO). llquantize
issst
toOFF,
lhestaps
willbein
3841h
notes'
ERASE
Theerass
button
b usod
to erase
a singledrum,
a patt6tn,
ora song. When
in PATT
mode,
pressing
andhoHing
iheEMSE button
causssthe
lollowing
display:
The
number
01would
actually
bsthe
curreilly
sel€ct€d
pattern
number'
Tosrasstho
selectsd
pattern,
press
RECORD-
Thedisplay
will
change
io:
Thedisplay
will remain
thiswayuntil
the RECORD
button
is releas€d,
aftsr
whict.th€
;;;;-;illi"tr;"i"'its previous
6tate.
Toerase
asinglo
drum,
press
and
hold
lheERA5E
;;{;;1 ;; a"i""t ihed'esked
drum
button.
ll,lorexahple,
ToM 1ispress€d,
thsdisplay
willread:
AlesisHR-lSlnstuctons
'.............'..... """""""" Pagp
7
TO

01
01
TOM1 isnow
complet^ely_eJased
from
pattern
1. When
erasing
a single
drum,
it is not
nec€ssary
topress
RECORD.
InSOI'IG
mods,
holding
the
ERASE
buttonwill
cause
thafollowing
display:
Pressing
theRECORD
button
will
erasethe
currently
selected
song
number.
Whenerasing
apattern or
song,
theerassis
notexecuted
until
RECORD
is
oressed.and
willbe
aborled
ifERASE
isreleased
before
pressing
BECORD.
Wtrenerjsing
ad'r;m,
thseraseoccurs
assoonas
thedrum
buttbnispiessed.
The
ERASEbutto-n
has
no
eifect
while
asong
orpattarn
isplaying.
.Er€slng
lndlviduat drums In RECOFD
mode (sotected
beats)
While
recording.in
a pattsrn, individual
drums
can
beerased
by hoi,Cing
ths ERASE
button
while
playing
the
drum
onthedesired
b6at
tobeerased.
lfthe
drumaashitwithin
a quantiz€
window
inwhich
that
samedrum
hadbeen
previously
rscordsd,
itwill
be
erassd..
Holding
thedrum
button
downwill
continue
toerase
an! ofthe
samedrum
events
lhatmay
o@ur.
This
means
thatadrum
button
canbeheld
downwith
ERASEthroughout
a part
ofa
pattern
whilsinrecordinorder
tosraseall
ofthatdrum's
events
thaioccur
withintire
current
quantize
step. lf eighthnotss
exisledon a snare
forexample,
anderaseand
snare
worsh€ld
downinrecordwhile
inquarter not€
quantizg,
only.the
snaresvents
on
quarter
notes
wouldbesrased.
Er_albg an entlre drum bulton'3 rhyfhm (all beats) or erasing and enilrg
PATTern
While
not
playing
orrecordinga pattern,
the
ERASEbuttoncan
beusedto
eraseall
ofa
drum's
svents
(regardless
ofquantizs
mode)from
theontirs
pattern
byholding
araseand
llttlnglhg-dlt4. lt canalso
beusedroerase
thoenrirs
paflern
bytiotding
ERnSE
and
hittingRECORD.
STEP EDIT MODE
Howto enter
STEPEDIT
mode
Toenter
steprecord
/ stepedit,
press
andhold
PATTERN,andihen
press
RECORD,
lhenreleaseboth
buttons.TheRECORD
LEDwilllight,
burthepLAy LEDwillnor,
indicalingthat
you
areinstep
mode.Thedisplay
willlookaslollows:
STEP001 + 00/96
PERC 1 VOLUME
Thelirsllineofthedisplay
showsthecurrent
shownasa fractionof96ths
ofa beat. The+ bsat number,followed by the sub-beat
arrow butlon is used to move lorwards in
Alesis
HR-16Instructions
.............................. ..................Page I

singls steps of the current quanlize value (you cannot movg backwards). lf quantize is set
to i/16, eachstep
willequal
24196
(lf
swing
issetto 50%).
lf a drum existedon a slep in betweenthe currentquantizevalue, it will play as it is
steppedpasl, but tho displaywill not stop on that drum. The lower.display
showsthe
drumthaiwastriggered
lollowed
bylhe volume
ofthatdrum. Sinceonlyone drumcan be
displayedat a time,ifmore
thanone drumoccurred
onthesamobeat,the + arrowbutton
wili advance
lhrough each drum one at a time belore advancing
to the nexl step. lf a
quantize
slep
doesnothave
anydrumrecorded
on it,thedisplay
willreadEMPW inplace
ofthedrumname. The 16possible
drumsare
displayedwith7charactors
eachas
follows:
13 TOM4
KICK T OPN HAT CLAPS PERC
Thsse same displays appear elsewhere in this manual when lhs drum buttons are
displayed.Thevolumeisshownas oneof eight
possible
volumes. To adda newdrumto
a beat,
justpress
a dIUmbutton. That
drum,alongwith itsvolume
(how
hardthepadwas
hit),will
be recordedonto
thadisplayedstep.
lf there w6re other drums already recordedon thal beat, thoy aro not etfected. lf the drum
played
alreadysxistedonthecurrentbeat,itwillbe replacsd
withthe newvolume
P|ayed.
Eraslng a drum ffom a step
To erassa drumfrom a step,
hold
ERASE,
and prsss RECORD,
lhe drumthat was being
displayedwillbe erased. To editthevolumeof adrum,
ths 1-8 buttonson tho keypadare
used, or the displayeddrum is replayed. Step mode is exited by pressing STOP or
PATTERN. lf PLAY is presssd, step mode will be exited,and the patlern will begin
playing
from thebeginning. lfswing
ison, STEP modewillstep
in"swinged' increments.
SONG
MODE
Selecting and Playing a SONG / SONG Button
Prsss the SONG button to enler song mode. The display will fead as follows, with the last
songentered
beingindicatedinthe number
portion
ofthe display.
STEPOlPATT27
Selecting a SONG
A SONG is a listol patterns in a specilic order, with each entry into the list being a STEP
which contains a panern number. The O0is underlinedto indicalethat it will b€ cianged if
a new numberis selectsd
with
ths keypad. lf a single
digiton the keypad
is pfsssed(2,
forexample),
thedisplaywillchango
to:
The displayis now indicatingthat the seconddigitof the songshouldbe entered. Atter
snteringtho second digit,
the new song is selecled. lf tho second digit is not entered
within2 seconds,
the displaywilllevert backto ths previous
song number,and no new
song will have been selected. The +/- arrow buttons are used to scroll foruards and
backwardsthrough
thestepswithin
a song. PressingPLAYwill
start
playing
theselectsd
songfromits
beginning,and
thePLAYLEDwill
light.Thedisplaywillread,
forexample:
AlesisHR-16
Instructims . ... . Page I

T-hEfhst
lins
ol.ths
display.
isnow.showing
the.current
song
number
being
played,
and
lhe curent bear
number
ofthepattsrn
being
prayed.
Theiecond rine
ofihe disoiauii
showing
rh.e_
srepnumber
andihe patrern
iisigneo rottreiief triid ptir"riiiiiri"
momenr..
wh_en
rhe
song
adv_al:i.s.io_rhe
next
sGp,
rhe
disprav
ifli["no*lrtJfJn"inioi
stsp2, src. Pressing
srop/coNTrNUE wiilstop
praying
thesons,and
theciisorav
wirl
rerurn.ro
the
select
song
display.
pressing
sropicolilttue asai;wittueqin
olri,ini,ih"
song
rrom
lhe point
al which
itwasstopp€d.pressing
pLAy iill always
itah theiono
from.
the_beginning
of
.the
first
step. Wti€na songreiches itsenO,
ir
'wifisiop
anJih3
PLAY
LEDwiil
rurn
otf,untess
SO'IIG
LOop (se€
iflDtruTtl) ison,iihichwiii;"r"; il;
songto loop
back
lo stepone
and
continue
pliying.
SONG EDIT
Asong
is.edited
byusingrhe
DELETE,
INSERT,
and
OFFSET
buttons,
alongwith
rhe
+/-
arrowbutons. Th€arrowbuttons
arsusedto moveloruard andbackward
th-rough
thelist
ofsteps
inasong. lfasong
isempty,
thedisplay
willread:
00
STEP01
STEP
01 PATT
STEPO1TEM
ln3erllng e Step / INSERT
Button
T,oinsertastepinto
a songatthe
currsntlydisplayed
step,
press
andholdINSERT.
The
display
willread:
While
holdingth€.
INSERTbunon,
thekeypad
or+/-buttons
canbeused
tochangeths
pattern
number
displayed.To complete
theinsertion,
theRECORD
button
mustbo
pfessed
whilestill
holdingtheINSERT
button.
Thedisplay
willread:
Thisdisday
willr€main
untilRECORD
isreleased,
aftsrwhichthe
displaywillrevert
tothe
firstINSERT
display.lfitisdesired
to insertthesam6
pattern
m.any
timss,theRECORD
butloncanbepressed
repeatodly
whileholding
theINSERT
button.Each
timeapatiern
isins€ned,
theprevious
pattern
atthedisplayed
stepismovedto step+1,andail
other
stqpsafterq?!e alsostepped
+1. Italempochangeb desirsd,
pressing
TEMPO
while
holdingINSERT
causesthefollowing
display:
The.keypadcannowbousedlo changethedesired
lempoto bs inserted
intothosong.
A,g_ain,
pressing
RECORqcoJnplstes
th€insenion.Pressing
theTEMPO
buttonagain
will
changethedisptay
lo PATTagain.The
programmable
temporangeot
astepinasong
islrom46to2O0bsats psrminute.
Dcletlng a slep / DELETE Button
QO
0t
Alesis
HR-'16Instuctios ...............--. PagB 10

To del€tea slep lrom a song,pressand holdlhe DELETEbutton,and the display
will read:
STEP01 PATT27
To completethedel€tion,the RECORDbuttonmustbe pressed
while
stillholding
the DELETEbutton. Thisshiftsall patlerns afterthe bisplayedstepdownon6
step. After all steps have b€€n deleted,the displaywill show step 1 beingEND
(empty
song). TheENDstepcannotbedeleted
(RECORD
willbe ignored).
Replaclng a slep / OFFSET Button
The OFFSETbuttonis usedlo replace the currentlydisplayed step's
pattern
or
tempo with anolherpatlen or tempo. lt is provided as a convenience,and
essentiallydoeslhe samethingas DELETE
followed
by INSERT. Pressingand
holdinglh€OFFSETbulloncauses
lhefollowingdisplay:
STEP01 PATT
WhileholdingtheOFFSETbutton,thekeypadcanbe used to change thepattern
numberdisplayed.To completethe replacement,
tho RECORDbutton
must
b€
pressed
whilestill holdingthe OFFSETbutlon. The displaywill read:
STEP
This displaywill remain
untilRECORDis released,
alterwhichlhe displaywill
revertlo lhe firslREPLACEMENT
display.lf thestepbeingreplacedconlained
a
t€mpo,th€displaywill readTEM insteadof PATT. Whetherreplacinga pattern
or a tempo,the TEMPObullon
canbe turnedon or offso as to change what
lhe
replacementwill be. When replacinga step,all other
slepsremainunchanged,
sincethenumberofsteps
doesnotchange.
Erasingan entire SONG
Toerasean€ntiresong,
press
andhold
the ERASEbutton. Thedisplaywillread:
00
Whileholdingth€ ERASEbutton,
if RECORDis pressed, tho song will bo erased,
andthedisplaywillread:
SONGERASED
This displaywill remain untilRECORDis released. In all of the above
editing
examples,nochangeslo lhesongwilloccuruntilRECORD
ispressed.
Al€sisHR-16lnslructims Page 11

COPY
Copylng a PATTern to ltsetf
Thocopybutton
is used
to-app€nd
a patt€rn
or songto anoth€r
panern
or song. lt
onlyfunctions
whileth€ coPY button
is held
down.
-lf the copy button
is releised
(eilherbefor€ or afler the copy is execut€d),
th€ previousmodewill show up on
thedisplay,
andcopy modeis€xited. Whenin PATTmode,
andCOpy is preised
and held:
EqE I[E^tlR-1Q -Pressing
RECORD
completestheoperationandthedisplay reads
COPYCOMPLETE.
FORTHEHR-16:8-Atthispoint
youmayeither
enter
thepattern's
two-digit
number
with the keypad or press the + br - key to set the copy assignment to-the same
pattern
number.Pressing
RECORD
completesthe operationahd thedisplay reads
COPYCOMPLETE.
Thisdisplay
remains
untilthe RECORD
button
is released.
which
then relurns
the display to its previous state. Tho above example demonstrated
copying a
patternlo ilself, which will doublelh€ lengthof that pattern.
Copylng a PATTern to another PATTern
To copya pattern
to anolher
pattern,press
and hold
COPY,thenent€rlhe two
digit patlem number
with the keypad. The display
will show the selected
pattern
number. Pressing
RECORD
initiates
lhe copy,andappends
lhe source
pattern
(lhe current
pattern
before
COPYwas pressed)
to the destination
pattern
(the
pattern
enlered
withthe ksypad). lf thedestination patt€rn
wasempty,
lh€nthe
destination
nowcontains
an exactcopyof the source
pattern.
lf thedestination
wasnotempty,lh€n
thedestinalion'slength
is increasedby the
length
otthesource
pattern,
and
thesourc€
pattern
isapp€nd€dto the€ndof the
d€stination
patl€rn. Allvoice,mix,andtuning
assignmentsmade
on th€ source
patternwill be ovenidden by the destination
palt€rn's
assignments. ll the length
of the destinalionpatternwould result in mor€than 682 beats after copying,
the
copywillnotbe ex€cul€d,
andthe
displaywillread:
INPATTERN
Copylng a slngle drum pad's rhythm to another drum pad
Singledrum
pads
canalso
becopiedto other
pads. lfa drum pad(CLOSED
HAT,
forsxample)is pressed
whileholding
th€COPYbutton,thedisplaywillread:
FROMPATT
CLSHAT> ?
Alesis
HR-16lnstuctims
Both displayed pattern numbers will aclually display lhe current pafiern
number
(00-99).

Th€display
is nowwaitingfora second
drumpadlo b€Press€d
(pressing
RECORD
at lhis point
will
.do nothing). lf for example,TOM 1 was pressed,
lhe display
wouldread:
COPYFROMPATT
CLSHAT
>IOM 1
Thedisplay
of th€ s€cond
padpressed
remainsunderlined,indicaling
thatit can
stillbe changed
by selectinganolh€rdrum pad. As in copying
pallerns,
once
RECORD
is pressed, thecopywillbe compl€te,andthodisplay
willread
'COPY
COMPLETE."
Th€ length
of th€ rhythmof the destination
padwill notbe changed, andthesource
drum rhvlhmwill be mergedwith the destination
drumrhythm. The dsstination
drumwill remainassigned
to its previous voice,mix,andtuning. A drumfrom
one patt€rncan be copiedto a drum of anotherpatternif the destination
pattern
is selecledbeforeselectingtho sourc€
andd€stinationdrumbuttons.
Copylng a SONGto ltselt
InSONGmode,
pressing
andholdingtheCOPYbutton
willresultin thefollowing
display:
COPYFROI\,ISONG
01TOSONG
The 01 displaywill actuallyshowthe curr€ntlyselecl€dsong number. Likein
PATTmode,
pressing
RECORDwill appendthe currentsong
to itself,making
il
twic€as long.
Copylng a SONGto anotherSONG
lf a n€wsongnumberis selected,thedisplaywillshowthe newlyselectedsong
number,and pressing
RECORDwill appendlhe sourcesong numb€r(thenumber
selecledb€for6
pressing
coPY), lo th€ deslinationsong number
(the numb€r
selectedwhiloholdingCOPY).
Thismodeisveryuseful,sincea verseconsisting
of morethanone
pattern
could
b€€nteredintoa song,andthenappendedintoanoth€r
songwhenn€ededwithout
havingto re-enterth€ patterns
for ths v€rs€. lf lhe destination
song would
resullin morethan255 stepsaltercopying,th€ copywill not be ex€cuted,and
the displaywill r€ad:
TOOMANYSTEPS
lnallcases,
thecopyis nolexeculed
untilRECORDispressed,
andwillbeaborted
ifCOPYis releasedbefore
pressing
RECORD.TheCOPYbuttonhasno€ffectwhile
a songor pattern
isplaying.
AlesisHR-l6lnstructims
'.......'-......... Page 13

OFFSET
TheoFFSET button
is used
to add or subtract
a number
of crockpurses
(384th
notes)
toa drum
orpattern.
lf OFFSET
ishelddown,
th6display
wili
show:'
The keypad
can be used
to enter
a two-diglt
number (OO_99),
or the +/_arrow
buftons
can be usedlo increment
or decrehent
the amount.
'The range
oi the
offset,is 199. Entoringa value with th€ keypadwill remain th€ curre;l dispi;y
:JSl {1.or -). To changerhe sign, the +/- buttonsmust be used to ,jasi
through"
zero, Pressing
theREcoRD button
€xecutes
theoffset
command
forarl
drumsin a pattern,
resulting
in the following
display:
o0/384rh
OFFSET
03/384rh
TOM1
SWING.IN
=5O.Oo/"
Thisdisplay
remains
until
RECORD
is released.
Theoffset
lunction
movesdrum
sventsahead(+) or behind
C) the b€at in 3841h
notesleps. This is usedlo
change
lh€ "feel"of.thepaltern. lf an eventis moved
pastltie end of a patt€rn,
il
is putal th€beginning.
Likewiso,
if anevent
is moved
to before
thebelinning,
it
isput
atth6end. Like
theERASE
function,
individual
drums
can
beoffse-tasiell.
lf,torexample,
TOM 1 ispressed,
thedisplay
willread:
TOM 1 is now offset
aheadof its pr€vious
location
by 3 g84thnotes. Unlik€
quanliz€,lhis t€aturemodifiesthe alreadyexisting
drum evenls in a pattern,and
do€s no1
eflect any n€wly recorded
evontsin the pattern. B€causeof this, it is
suggested
that a copy of a pattern
be madebefore
changingthe offsetso that the
originalwill be easily
retrievable
if the results
are undesirable.
TheOFFSET
button
doesnotfunclion
while
playing
a pattern,
or whilein song
mod€-
SWING
The SWINGbutlonis usedto change
the ratiob€tweon
twoequalrhythmic
values
(such
as 1/l6th not€s)
in orderto achieve
a shuftle
feol. lf SWING
is held
down.
the display
willshow:
The displayaboveshowsthe currentswingvalue. The +/- arrowbuitonscan be
used lo incremonl
or decremenl
the swing number,
wiih the percentage
of swing
Alesis
HR-16Inslructions
................... .................
page14

shown beside it. O swing = 5A% = no swing. Tho range of the swing is
determined
by tho current
quantize
value. The swingamount
will only effect
newlyrecorded
drumevents,
like in quantize. The swingamounls
are shown
below:
OUANT SWING PERCENTAGE
1t6
1ts
1t12
1r24
1/32
1/48
1t64
OFF
oo
-24
oo-12
00-08
00-06
00-04
00-02
00-01
00
50.0
-68.8
%
50.0
- 66.7
%
50.0
-68.8
%
50.0
-66.7%
50.0
-68.8%
50.0
-66.7%
50.0
-62.s
"/"
50.0
-58.3%
50.0%
The SWING
buttondoos not functionwhileplaying
a pattern, or whilein song
mode.
FILL
The FILLbulton is used to allow repeated
entrissol drumsinlo a palt€rnwilhout
having
to rep€aledly
press
thedrum
buttons. While
FILLis helddown,
pressino
and holdingany drum buttonwill caus€ that drum to repeat at the current
ouantizorate until€itherthe FILLbutton
or th€ drumbutton
is released. The
volumeof lhe repeatswill be determinedby how hardthe drum butlonis first
hit. Fill will only workwhileplaying
or recording.
AlesisHR-16
Instructions
................. Pags 15

MODE
/ DATAENTRY
BUTTONS
All MoDE buttonsfunction
as on/offswitch€s. This means
that they are pressed
oncetoent€rlhe mode,
and
pressed
again
toexit
themode.When
anyofth6modes
hav€b€en entered,
the associat€d
LED will b€ lit. For slmpli6ity,
any lim€
PATTERN
or SONGispressed,
anypreviously
sel€cted
mode
willbe urneO6tt.
TheVOICE,
TUNE,
andMIXsettings
canbo storedwithoachpattern
by holdingthe
RECORD
button and pressing
VOICE,TUNE,or MlX, respeitively. Any chaiges
made lo th€ss paramelers
wilhout storingthem are temiorary 6dits that witt-Ue
lost it a n€w patternis selected. Copyinga pattern
to an €mptypatternwill also
copy lhos€ s€ttings. Copying
a pattern
lo a not€mply panern
wili notcopy these
s€ttings, but will instead r€tainth€ sottingsof th€ pattern being copied io. An
emptypan€rn
defaults
to a standard
voiceassignment
with no pitchshift,and
nominal
mix levels.
IHPORTANT NOTE: VOICF, IUNE, AND'MIX ASSiG,NTIENTS
CANNOT BE
STORED 'N AN EMPTY PATIERN UN'LESS THE LENCTH HAS BEEN
CHANGEDTO A LENGTHOTHER IHAN 8 BEATS.
votcE
Seloctlng a VOICE
Tochango
th6soundof anyofth€drumpads,
thed€sire
padispressed. lf KICKis
pr€ss€d,tor €xample,lh6 displaywill show:
KICK PAD = 01
The sfider, keypad, or +l- afiow butlons can be used to chang€ the s€lecl€d
sound,and the lou/sr
displaywill show th€ nam6of the curently s€lect€d
sound.
Thsr€ are a tolal ol 49 soundsto choos€from, Any changesmads to any of th€
drum padsar€ temporary
unlilstorodandwill bs lostas soonas a new patt€rn
is
sglected,or the curr€nt pattern is r€s€l€cled(unless ManualVoice/Tune/Mix
is
off, soe b6low).
Storlng VOICE settlngs
Tostor€lh6VOICE
setlings,
press
andholdRECORD,
andthen
press
VOICE.When
this is done, th€ voic€ settings will be permanently stor€d with lhe curr€nl
Dattern.
]MPORTANT NOTE: VOICE, TUNE, AND MtX AS96NMENTS CANNOT BE
STONED 'N AN EMPTY PATTERN U'VLESS THE LENGTH HAS EEEN
CHANGED TO A LENGTH OTHER THAN 8 BEATS.
AleslsHR-l6lnsnuctms ................. .........,.. Page

The TUNE mode is used to sslect the desiredpitchfor each drum pad, and the
click. When it is pressed, ils LEDwillllght,andthe displaywill read:
This displayapp€arswhen TUNE is first pressed,
and the displaywas not
pr€viously
in MIXor VOICEmodefor a drumpad. lt is usedto s€l€ctthe pitchof
the click (melronom€). The pitch amountcan be changedwilh th€ slider,orthe
+l- anow buttons. The rangeis from -16 to +15. As with the voice mode,
pressing
a drum pad will select
lhat drumfor pitch ediling. Also like in voice
mode,
changesmad6lo drumpadsaretemporary
until
stor€d
by holdingRECORD
andpressing
TUNE. See IMPORTANTNOTEunder storlng volcc aettlngs.
The MIXbuttonis us€dlo change
th6 volume,
panning,
and outputassignmentof
€achdrumbutton. WhenMIXis press€d
ils LEDlights,andthe displayreads:
'I
This display app€ars when MIX is first prossed, and the display was not
previously
in VOICE
or TUNEmodefor a drumpad. lt is usedto selectthe output,
lhe volume,and ths panning
of lhe click(metronom€). Th€ outputis selected
wilh the 1 and 2 buttons of th€ k€ypad to select stereo outpuls I or 2,
resp€clivoly. Th€ volum€ control is adjusted
with th€ slider (00 to 99), and lhe
panning is adjustedwith the +/- arrow bultons. The panningis seven position,
and the displaywill show <3, <2, <1, <>, 1>, 2>, or 3>. As with th€ voic6 mode,
pressing
a drum pad will s€l€ctthat drum for mix editing. Also like in voice
mode,changesmad€
lo drumpadsaretemporaryuntilstored
by holdingRECORD
and pressing MlX. 5€6 IMPORTANT
NOTEunder 3torlng volcs settlngs.
NOTE: The Volumeslideron th€ fronl controlsoulput 1 only.
TEMPO
TheTEMPO button
isus€dlo changeths t€mpo
of a pattern orsong. Thetempocan
be stored with a song, but nol wilh a paltern. While in patl€rn mode,th€ tempo
r€mains
at its previous s€tting
untilchanged. Whilein song mode,lhe tempo
changesto the programmed l€mpo€ach limo a t€mpost€p is oncount€redwithina
song. Whileinpatlern mode,
pressing
lheTEMPObuttoncaus€stheTEMPOLEDto
light, and results in the followingdisplay:
TEMPO
= 12
PERMINUTE
=0
AfesisHR-16Instructims
................... Paqe 17

The +/- arrowsand the SELECTslider can be used to selecra new lempo, or a
lTlL.:T_T-:lrer€d dir€crty
wilh rhre€
digirs
on
-rh keypad. Tempo
"hiig;, ;r;
€TTecilv€
as soonas th€yare€ntered,
andth€ REcoRD bunon
doesnot hav; to be
presssd.
InSONG mod€,
thet€mpoisdisplayed
as a relative
amount
ofchange
fromth€ pr€-
programm€d
song
t€mpo. Thedisplay
reads:
The.current t€mpo (thE one most recenlly recalled
within a song) will be
displayed
in the lowerdisplay,.and.the
upper
display
showsrtreperi6niale J
programmed
l€mpos lo be used. The keypadcan be used to €nt€r a three--dioit
numb€r,
or lhe +/- arrow buttons
can b6 us6dro incremenr
or decrement
tie
llgrlt: Th: rangeof rhe shifris 50% (hatf
r6mpo)
ro 2OO% (doubte
tempo)r
Inrs
cnangets shownas a p€rcsntago
so thalany tempochanges
thatoccurin the
song
will keep
their
1im€
ratios
conitant.
MIDI
/ UTIL
TheMlDl/ urlL button
isused
to access
a number
of miscellaneous
functions
that
usually
do not ne€dto b€ accessed
very often. Thefunctions
are scrolled
through
withtheSELECT
slider,
with the display
showing
the curr€nt
tunction,
and ealh
function.b€ingnumbered
for easy reierence. Thi keypadand +/- anow buflons
are used
to changethe param€t€rs.All of theseparamelers
areglobalparameters,
e.9., they are set oncefor the entire machine
and are not progrimmablefor each
pall€rnor song. Th€pag€s
areasfollows:
MIDI CHANNEL
Thefirst
MlDlUTIL page
isMlDt
CHANNEL.
Thedisptay
looks
likerhis:
CHANNEL:01
The keypad
and +/- buttonscanbe ussdto change
tho MlDl channelfrom01 to .16.
Thissets the MlDlchannelthatthe HR-16willtransmit
and receive
on. lf Oois
selected,
thedisplay
will r€ad
OMNI. In OMNImode,
th€ HR-l6 willlransmiton
channel
1,andwill
receiveonallchannels.
Th€
defaultisOMNI.
RECEIVE
MIDI DRUMS
TheRECEIVE
MlDlDRUMS
function
is used
to detormins
wh€lher
or notincomino
MlDl notesfrom a sequencer,
keyboard,
or MlDl drum pad controller
shouli
triggerthe drums. Thedisplaylooks
likethis:
Alesi8HR-l6lnsrucdms
................... page 19