Alexander Quadrant User manual

NEO
SERIES
Journey with us into the Quadrant - four unique effects hailing from a distant delay dimension.
We hold a mirror up to your music, and reect the echoes from a parallel universe.
Magnetic, analog, digital, and lo- delays await within, coupled with the power of our Neo
Series platform to provide a unique but familiar echo experience.
The sonic scientists at Alexander Pedals have been working overtime to cram
the most pedal into the smallest box, and we now present the Neo Series!
Each Neo Series pedal incorporates an advanced 32-bit microcontroller adding
presets, expression, and MIDI capability.
MultiJack
Expression, Footswitch, or MIDI
Output
Stereo output on ring Input
Instrument or line level
USB Mini-B
MIDI or rmware update
DC 9V
80mA, center negative
Select Button
Hold to access ALT knobs
Bypass Switch
Tap to bypass, hold for next preset
CONTROLS
Controls in parentheses ( ) are accessed by holding down the Select button and turning the
indicated knob.
Rate: Controls the delay time from 0-1220ms (requires rmware v1.07a or higher.) If Glide is
disabled, the time will adjust seamlessly. If Glide is enabled, the time will pitch-shift and get
all “rubber-bandy” (technical term.)
(Tone): Controls the tone of the delay engine. Controls the grunge and grit of the LOFI
mode.
Feedback: Controls the repeat level of the delay. The BBD and LOFI modes will go into
innite / runaway feedback.
(Glide): Controls the delay time change method. If Glide is set to less than 12 o’clock, the
delay time will adjust seamlessly when tapped or adjusted with the Time knob. If Glide is set
to greater than 12 o’clock, the delay time will pitch shift when adjusted.
Mix: Controls the blend between the dry and delay signal. Equal mix is at 12 o’clock.
(Level): Controls the overall output level of the pedal, from -20dB to +10dB. Unity gain is
near 1 o’clock.
Mod: Adjusts the depth of the delay modulation.
(Rate): Adjusts the rate of the delay modulation.
EFFECT MODES
Tap the Select Button to move to the next mode.
MAG - Magnetic tape echo, warm and rich. The MAG mode captures the frequency response
of the tape heads and preamp of a vintage tape delay. The Mod knob controls the “wow”
or “utter” of the tape. Each delay repeat loses both treble and bass, for a warm and
compressed sound. The Tone knob controls the age of the tape, making the echo brighter or
darker.
BBD - Analog delay, murky and wet. The BBD mode is based on a classic solid-state analog
echo. This mode is capable of innite repeats for the classic analog delay “spaceship”
tone. The Mod knob adds analog chorus or vibrato. The Tone knob controls the analog
delay lter.
DIG - Digital delay, bright and present. The DIG mode captures the sheen and clarity of
the early digital delays. Each repeat sounds just like what you put in, with the classic digital
“clang” you will either love or hate. The Mod knob adds wide-ranging pitch modulation, be
careful! The Tone control sweeps the delay between low-pass and high-pass ltering for a
wide range of delay tones.
LOFI - How can we put this? This mode sounds terrible. Don’t use it. It’s all dirty and grungy
and sounds like you’re playing through a payphone or an AM radio. Roll the Tone control
down to clean things up a little, or crank it for minimum delity.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NEO
Tap Switch
Tap to set tempo, hold to change
subdivision

BYPASS AND PRESETS
Tap the foot switch to toggle the pedal between bypass and active. Both the dry signal and
the bypass signal are buffered and 100% analog. The pedal features our exclusive AutoTrails
feature that allows the wet signal to continue after the pedal is bypassed, with a timer that
smoothly turns the wet volume down over time to eliminate noise.
Hold the bypass footswitch to move to the next preset. The Neo Series pedals have 16
presets, four of which are accessible on the pedal itself. The main LED will blink one, two,
three, or four times to indicate the current preset.
Hold the select button down, then hold the footswitch down to save. The pedal will save the
current settings to the active preset. The main LED will blink to indicate the preset has been
saved.
If you choose to connect a Neo Footswitch or a standard footswitch to the MultiJack, you can
congure it to change presets on the pedal. Tapping the footswitch will advance one preset,
holding will move back one preset. If you connect a Neo Footswitch, its LED will show the
current preset: Red = 1, Green = 2, Blue = 3, Violet = 4.
TAP TEMPO AND SUBDIVISIONS
Tap tempo for delay effects is easily one of the great miracles of the modern age. It’s not
super-complicated, just tap the left footswitch a few times and the pedal will set its tempo to
match your tapped rhythm. You’ll see the upper LED blink in time while you’re tapping, and
the lower left LED will keep blinking to indicate the tempo.
If you’d like the delay to use a different subdivision than what you tapped, you can hold the
tap footswitch to select between three different options. The upper LED will show BLUE for
quarter-notes (default,) GREEN for dotted-eighth notes, and RED for eighth notes.
Both the tempo and the subdivision will be stored in the preset you’re using should you
decide to save.
If you choose to connect a Neo Footswitch or a standard footswitch to the MultiJack, you
can congure it to send tap tempo to the pedal. Tapping the footswitch will set the tempo,
holding it will change the subdivision. If you connect a Neo Footswitch, its LED will blink to
show the tempo.
You can also use MIDI to control the tempo of the pedal. Send a MIDI CC93 with any value to
tap the tempo for the pedal. You’ll need to send at least two MIDI taps to set the tempo. You
can also use MIDI Clock (sometimes called MIDI Beat Clock) to set the delay time and tempo.
The subdivisions setting will affect the tempo when set by MIDI.
EXPRESSION AND RAMP MORPH
The Neo Series feature a comprehensive expression control setup. Connect an expression
pedal to the Neo pedal MultiJack (red) and sweep its treadle until the heel is down. Turn the
knobs to your desired setting. Now sweep the expression pedal until its toe is down, and turn
the Neo pedal’s knobs to a new setting. You should now be able to sweep the expression
pedal and hear the change in the Neo pedal! Please note that the Neo pedal’s physical
knobs won’t move when you sweep the expression pedal but the pedal settings will change
internally. The main LED will fade in and out to indicate the expression pedal position.
If you set up the EXP port on the Neo pedal for use with a foot switch, you can use it in the
same way as the expression pedal. Tap the foot switch to make the Neo pedal Ramp down,
then tap again to Ramp up. You can adjust the knob positions at these two settings and the
Neo pedal will ramp between them at the speed you selected in setup. Neat!
If you prefer to use MIDI commands to control your pedal, both Expression and Ramp are
accessible using MIDI continuous controller (CC) messages. Please consult the MIDI Control
section for more details.
Please note that both the main AND alternate knob functions may be controlled by the
expression or ramp controls!
CONFIGURING YOUR NEO PEDAL
Power on the pedal while holding the Select button to enter conguration mode.
Release the button when the main LED turns violet.
Tap the Select button to choose the MultiJack function. The upper program LED will change
colors to indicate the function. Green = Expression Pedal, Orange = Foot Switch, Red = MIDI
Connect a MIDI controller to the EXP port and send a program change to set the Neo Pedal’s
MIDI channel.
Turn the upper left knob to select the Neo Footswitch conguration. Counter-clockwise =
Ramp, Mid = Preset Advance, Clockwise = Tap Tempo.
Turn the lower left knob to set the Ramp Morph speed. The lower program LED will change
colors to indicate the speed setting. Green = slow, Orange = medium, Red = fast.
Turn the upper right knob to set the AutoTrails conguration. Lower settings disable trails,
higher settings enable trails and increase the trails time.
Turn the lower right knob to set the main LED brightness.
Hold the Select button to save the conguration and exit.

MIDI CONTROL
Connect a compatible MIDI controller to the Neo pedal to access its full feature set!
The Neo pedal can accept MIDI over USB from a computer or mobile device, or from a MIDI
controller using a 1/4” cable. The Neo pedals are compatible with interface converters made
by Disaster Area Designs and Empress.
The following commands are accepted by the Neo pedal:
MIDI Program Change: Load Presets 0-15
0-3 are the four Red presets on the pedal itself.
4-7 are the Green bank
8-11 are the Blue bank
12-15 are the White bank
MIDI Continuous Controller 93: Tap Tempo
MIDI Continuous Controller 97: Ramp
Send value 1-8 to set the ramp speed
Send any other value to trigger the ramp
MIDI Continuous Controller 100: Expression Pedal
Value 0 = Heel down, Value 127 = toe down
MIDI Continuous Controller 102: Bypass
Value 0-63 = Bypass, Value 64-127 = Engage
MIDI Continuous Controller 50-57: Pedal Knobs
Value 0 = CCW, Value 127 = CW
CC 50 = Lower right main CC 54 = Lower right alt
CC 51 = Upper left main CC 55 = Upper left alt
CC 52 = Upper right main CC 56 = Upper right alt
CC 53 = Lower left main CC 57 = Lower left alt
MIDI Continuous Controller 59: Mode Select
Accepts values 0-7 to select modes 1-8.
(Not all Neo pedals support the full 8 modes.)
MIDI Channel Assignment:
Set the Neo pedal to Cong mode by holding Select at boot, then send a MIDI program
change on your desired MIDI channel to set the Neo pedal’s MIDI channel. Hold the Select
button to save the MIDI channel assignment.
404 E. Main St, Garner, NC 27529 [phone] alexanderpedals.com
GREAT TONES. DOING GOOD.