Quasimidi Sirius User manual

32 OHM32 OHM
NATURAL
DRUMS BASS- SOUNDS
DIRTY
NATURAL DIRTY BASS
ELECTRONIC
DRUMS PAD- SOUNDS
909-TYPE PLUCKED
SOUNDS
808-TYPE
LEVEL
BD SNARE HIHAT PERC. SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3
MOD.-WHEEL
ASSIGN
PART
SELECT
SOUND
SELECT
MODULATION
WHEEL
PITCH
BEND
TRACK-MUTING
PATTERN
SELECT SONG SELECT
PART
MUTE PART/SEQ. TO MIDI
PANORAMA FX1/FX2
12
SNARE HIHAT
DETUNE FILTER-
OVERDRIVE Q-FACTOR VCF-EG MACRO VCA-EG MACRO
MOD.-
DEPTH
MOD.-
RATE
SPECIAL-LOOP
TRACK-FADER OVERBLAST
MOD.-
MACRO WAVE- MACRO GLIDE LPF 24 dB RELEASE
0
32
64
96
127
LPF 12 dB
HPF 12 dB
PAGE/BANK
MASTER
VOLUME
MICROPHONE
CONNECTOR
VALUE
TEMPO
RECALL EXIT
EDIT WRITE
SHIFT
KEY-TRACKINGOCTAVE-UPOCTAVE-DOWN VCF-DYN. VCA-DYN. RANDOM-SOUND
PRESS BUTTON
FOR SOUND-CREATION
TAP-
TEMPO
DEMO
SYNC.
EXTERN
AUDIO
SYNC
CUTOFF ENV.-MOD VCA
LEVEL
PERCUSSION
PATTERN BREAK SPECIAL LOOP TRACKS
SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3 VOCODER
HOLD BUTTON AND
SELECT PART
ANALYSE CARRIER CARRIER-EXT. MICRO.
HOLD
TO
SELECT REW
ARPEG.
ON/OFF START
SONG-STEP
STOP
FWD
PHONES
KICK/BD
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
SOLO-
SOUNDS
DRUM-SFX EFFECT-
SOUNDS
SIRIUS
SIRIUS
by QUASIMIDI
CATEGORIES
MIXER 11 CHANNEL VOCODER SEQUENCER
MODULATOR OSCILLATORS RESONANCE-FILTER AMPLIFIER EG-MACROS PHONETISCHER SPEKTRAL TRANSFORMATOR
RECORD
SIRIUS
Operating Instructions
QUASIMIDI

Important Safety instructions
Unpacking and Connecting . . . . . . . . .
Getting started
The Synthesizer
The Percussion-Sets
The Write-Menu
The Sequencer
. . . . . . . . 4
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
What is in the box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Connecting the power supply . . . . . . . . . . 8
Connecting the goose neck microphone . . . . . 9
Connecting the Sirius to a stereo system . . . . . 9
Connecting the Sirius to a mixing desk . . . . . 10
Connecting the Sirius to an amplifier . . . . . . 10
Operating the Sirius with headphones. . . . . . 10
Initialise and Calibrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Listening to Demo-Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
A round trip on the front panel of your Sirius . . 14
Playing the Sounds of the Sirius . . . . . . . . . 20
How do I listen to the pre-programmed
patterns of the Sirius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Creating Sounds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Oscillator-Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
The Filter-Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Amplifier-Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
The Modulator-Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Pitch-Wheel and Hold-Pedal . . . . . . . . . . 28
Random-Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Storing the Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Recall and Compare-Sound . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Overview of the Sound-Parameters . . . . . . . 30
Overview of the Sound and Setup Parameters. . 32
Storing/Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The Quick-Save Function . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Save Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Save Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Save Arpeggio-Motions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Initialise Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Initialise Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Initialise Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Copying Motifs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Momentary Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Sound-Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Song-Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
All-Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
What is a Sequencer and how does it work? . . 40
Patterns, bars and Motifs . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
What is being saved in a Pattern? . . . . . . . . 42
The Memory(Storage) Display . . . . . . . . . . 47
Recording drum-motifs with the drumgrid. . . . 48
The Step Sequencer for the Synthesizer-Parts . . 50
The Mixer-Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Allocating the Sequencer Tracks . . . . . . . . . 53
Saving a Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Patterns in a Live-Performance . . . . . . . . . 54
The Number-Keys or ‘Pads’ . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The favourite Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
The Special-Loop-Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Mute und Transpose Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . 56
A Song develops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
To Store a Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Playing a Song . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The Selection of manufactured
arpeggio-types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
The Arpeggiator-Freeze-Function . . . . . . . . 61
Programming the Arpeggiator . . . . . . . . . . 61
How to use the Gater und the Chord Trigger? . . 64
Saving the Arpeggiator-Settings . . . . . . . . . 65
Free-programmable-arpeggiator-pattern. . . . . 65
How to record the arpeggiator into
the intern sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
How does the Beat-Recognition-System work . . 70
Operating the Beat-Recognition-System. . . . . 70
Connection to a Mixing Desk . . . . . . . . . . 71
For difficult cases: The Beat-Offset . . . . . . . 73
External Synchronization of additional units . . . 73
How to direct the Parts of the Sirius
to the two Effect processors? . . . . . . . . . . 74
The Effect processors of the Sirius . . . . . . . . 74
The Effect processor FX1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
The Effect processor FX2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Vocoder-Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
How does the Vocoder work? . . . . . . . . . . 78
Features of the Sirius-Vocoder. . . . . . . . . . 78
Starting immediately? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Song and its Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Recording and Editing Motifs . . . . . . . . . . 42
Random Motifs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Moving or Deleting User Memory Spaces . . . . 44
Realtime Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Overdub Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
The Groove-Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Quantisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
The Arpeggiator
The Beat-Recognition-System
The Effects
The Sirius-Vocoder
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
. . . . . . . . 70
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Contents
2

3
Basic functions of the Vocoder . . . . . . . . . 82
Turning the Vocoder On and Off . . . . . . . . 82
Setting the volume of the Vocoder-sound . . . . 82
How can I select the different Basic programs? . 82
How can I select Analyze-signals and Carrier? . . 84
Using other external sound sources
for the Vocoder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Changing the level of the individual
Vocoder tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
How does the Filter Bank work?. . . . . . . . . 88
How can I set Effects and Pan? . . . . . . . . . 89
The Vocoder Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Where are the Vocoder settings stored? . . . . . 92
Configuration Diagram of the Vocoder . . . . . 93
Master-Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Master-Tune. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
MIDI-Master-Channel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Local-Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
MIDI-Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Send- and Receive Functions . . . . . . . . . . 96
SysEx-Speed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Poti-Snap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Poti-Info. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Track-Mute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Beat-Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
MIDI? What on earth that? . . . . . . . . . 100
Connecting MIDI-Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Examples of MIDI-Connections to the Sirius . . 101
Sirius and Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
MIDI-Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . 107
Changing Sound banks and Sound programs
with MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Data-Dumping-Storing your Data! . . . . . . . 110
How to Data-Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
How does the Data-Dump get back to the
Sirius? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Synchronisation of the Sirius to Cubase . . . . 113
Recording Sirius-Pattern and -Songs into an
external Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
What is stored and where it is stored? . . . . . 118
The System Menu
The Sirius and MIDI
The Sirius and Cubase
Saving and storing
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
. . . . . . . . . . . 113
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
is
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
List of Wave-Macros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
List of Percussion Instruments . . . . . . . . . 121
List of Drum Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
List of Synth-Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
List of MIDI-Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
The System Exclusive Data formats of the Sirius 127
Sirius MIDI-Implementation chart . . . . . . . 133
Diagramatic Overview of the Edit Menus . . . 134
Problems and answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Hotline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Initializing of the Sirius and calibration of the
controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Warranty definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Technical Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Button combinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Special Functions and short selection . . . . . 137
Contents
QUASIMIDI Musikelektronik GmbH
Bahnhofstr. 44
35282 Rauschenberg
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

2
The lightning flash with arrowhead symbol, within an
equilateral triangle, is intended to alert the user to pres-
ence of uninsulated "dangerous voltage" within the prod-
uct's enclosure that may be of suf ficient magnitude to
constitute a risk of electric shock to persons.
The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is
intended to alert the user to the presence of important
operating and maintanance (servicing) instructions in the
literature accompanying the product.
INSTRUCTIONS PERTAINING TO A RISK OF FIRE, ELECTRIC SHOCK, OR INJURY TO PERSONS
SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
The CE-Sign on our products declares that our electr ical devices are in conformity with the EN 55014 and
EN 50082-1(in accordance with 89/336 EMC- and EEC directive). The manuf acturer also declares the
conformity of above mentioned product with the actual required safety standards.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTR
UCTIONS
WARNING - When using electr ic products, basic precautions should alw ays be followed, including the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Read all the intructions before using the product.
Do not use this product near water - for example, near a
bathtub, washbowl, kitchen sink, in a wet basement, or
near a swimming pool, or the like.
This product should be used only with a cart or stand that
is recommended by the manufacturer .
This product, either alone or in combination with an
amplifier and headphones or speakers, may be capable of
producing sound levels that could cause permanent hearing
loss. Do not operate for long period of time at a high
volume level or at a level that is uncomfortable. If you
experience any hearing loss or ringing in the ears, you
should consult an audiologist.
The product should be located so that its location or position
does not interfere with its proper ventilation.
The product should be located away from heat sources
such as radiators, heat registers, or other products that
produce heat.
Avoid using the product where it may be af fected by dust.
The product should be connected to a power-supply of the
type described in the operating instructions or as marked
on the product.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
The power-supply cord of the product should be unplugged
from the outlet when left unused for a long period of time.
Do not tread on the power -supply cord.
Do not pull the cord but hold the plug when unplugging.
When setting up with any other instruments, the procedure
should be followed in accordance with instruction manual.
Care should be taken so that objects do not fall and liquids
are not spilled into the enclosure through openings.
The product should be serviced by qualified service
personnel when:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The power-supply cord or the plug has been damaged;
or
Objects have fallen, or liquid has been spilled into the
product; or
The product has been exposed to rain; or
The product does not appear to operate normally or
exhibits a marked change in performance; or
The product has been dropped, or the enclosure
dammaged.
15. Do not attempt to service the product beyond that described
in the user -maintanance instructions. All other servicing
should be referred to qualified personnel.

Important Notes
In addition to the "IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS" on the previous
page please note the following:
Connecting to the Mains:
Installation:
Maintenance:
Repairs and Data:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Do not connect the unit to a socket which is already feeding other units that can cause interference (for
instance electric motors, light controls, fridges etc.)
The heat generated by the mains adapter is completely normal.
Whenever you intend to connect the Sirius to other units, first turn off all units. This will prevent possible
malfunctions and damage to speakers and other equipment.
Using the unit close to heavy power sources (or other units containing larger mains transformers) can
cause "humming" or other electrical interference.
The unit might cause disturbances to television and radio. Do not set up your unit near any of these re-
ceivers.
Do not expose the unit to extreme temperatures (like for instance direct sun light in a closed vehicle or
extreme frost in winter). The unit could be damaged or the varnish on the casing might disintegrate.
To clean the unit wipe it with a soft, dry or damp cloth. To remove persistent stains you can use a damp
cloth and a neutral cleaning agent. Wipe the unit dry afterwards.
Never use Petrol, Thinner, Alcohol or similar cleaning agents to clean your unit. These can dissolve the
markings and varnish and might deface the casing.
Please remember that you might lose the memory of your unit when you send it in for repair. Important
information should therefore be stored on a different MIDI-unit (for instance Sequencer). Although ev-
ery care is taken when repairing your unit it can happen, especially when work to the storage/memory
or affiliated groups is necessary, that information is lost. Please note that it is not possible for us to restore
lost data.
See page 110
5

Important Notes
Storage Protection:
Additional precautions:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
The memory of the unit is secured with a Lithium battery (CR 2025). The storage contents will remain
even when the unit is switched off. Depending on how it is treated, the battery will last for several
years. Should you have to exchange it, please contact our Service-Department. Please make sure that
the old batteries are disposed of properly. Batteries of all kinds do not belong in the domestic trash, as
they contain dangerous heavy metals.
Please consider that the storage contents can also be irrevocably lost through mal-function or improper
use. Important data should therefore be stored regularly on another MIDI-unit (for instance a se-
quencer)
For these cases we point out that it is not possible to restore lost data.
Treat the keys and dials as well as the connection sockets with care - improper use can lead to mal-
functions.
Never press or hit the buttons or the display hard.
Whenever you are connecting or unconnecting cables, always pull the plug itself, do not pull the cable.
This will avoid short-circuits and cable damage.
Should you wish to transport the unit, it is best to use the original carton (including the polystyrene in-
lays)
The CE-Sign on our products declares that our electrical devices are in conformity with the
EN 55014 and EN 50082-1 (in accordance with 89/336 EMC- and EEC directive). The
manufacturer also declares the conformity of above mentioned product with the actual
required safety standards.
See page 110
6

7
Introduction
Introduction:
Caution:
Dear Sirius-owner,
With the Sirius you have acquired a very user-friendly synthesizer. In the past, you had to spend a
lot of money on many different types of equipment before you could create and record an entire mu-
sical composition. This is a fact which we paid a lot of attention to when designing the Sirius. To this
end, we have combined several exciting machines into one all-purpose unit.
In the Sirius you will find everything you need to write and record your own music: a sequencer, a
drum computer, 3 polyphonic synthesizers,
an arpeggiator, a vocoder, a beat-recognition system and even two effects units. The Sirius is there-
fore a complete and compact studio for very little expense.
It does not matter whether you are a newcomer or have advanced knowledge of such musical instru-
ments. The unit has been designed with user-friendliness as a priority, enabling everyone to reach
their desired musical goals fast! The flexibility of the Sirius guarantees endless pleasure and surprises.
Be it the versatile connection possibilities of the integrated vocoder or the brilliant real time possibili-
ties of the filter and arpeggiator stages, the Sirius will definitely inspire the creative and experimental
sound designing side in everyone who uses it. The Sirius is programmed for endless fun!
You will soon realise that the Sirius, with its many useful functions and simplicity of operation, is the
perfect partner in your day to day musical life. Naturally we have devoted a lot of thought to live per-
formance as well, and have equipped the Sirius with numerous possibilities for real time operation
and management. Your audience will be thrilled.
In order to get to know your Sirius as fast as possible you should work through this manual step by
step and try out the individual functions directly on the machine (learning by doing). Not only will
this save you a dry and dusty week of reading, it will also guarantee that you miss none of the excit-
ing functions available to you.
But enough talk!
Everyone here in the Quasimidi Team wishes you lots of fun working with your new synthesizer.
The use of the Sirius preset motifs and patterns for your own music production is granted only to
Quasimidi Sirius owners.
The commercial distribution of Sirius preset-sound and preset-pattern samples on Sampling-CD,
Internet, Disc or any other media without permission of the Quasimidi-Musikelektronik GmbH is
strictly prohibited.
We would like to thank Stefan Skaliks for the friendly support on the Beta-Test.
Copyright © 1998 QUASIMIDI-Musikelektronik GmbH
!
Tip
!
This symbol points out the numerous tips you
will find in this manual.
Text marked with this symbol should be paid
particular attention to.

Unpacking and connecting
What is in the box
Unpacking:
Connecting the mains adapter:
What else do you need to get going?
The box in which the Sirius is delivered contains the following parts:
- the Sirius
- the external mains adapter
- this manual
- a guarantee registration form
- 1 goose neck microphone
- 2 jack-jack audio cables
- 2 jack-phono(RCA) adapters
Do not use a knife or any other sharp metal object when removing the Sirius from its pack-
ing.
The Sirius is secured in the packing with polystyrene moulded inlays. Take the Sirius together with
these polystyrene moulded inlays out of the box and put it on an even surface. Caution - the mains
adapter is packed in a small cardboard box located in a hollowed-out section in the side of one of
the polystyrene inlays. After you have removed the mains adapter you can then carefully take off the
polystyrene inlays and take the Sirius out of the plastic bag. Now you can install the Sirius in its fu-
ture place of work.
The box in which the Sirius is delivered is ideal for transportation. Should you wish to
transport the Sirius, you won´t have any packing problems. In the unlikely event of a repair, the
Sirius should be sent to Quasimidi in its original packaging. Should Quasimidi receive a unit for re-
pair without the original packaging, QUASIMIDI will return the repaired unit in replacement packag-
ing at the owner's expense, as only this packaging can guarantee safe transport. Transport damages
due to improper packaging will not be compensated by QUASIMIDI.
Remove the mains adapter from the box. Plug the big plug into the mains socket. Plug the small plug
at the other end of the cable into the power supply socket, protruding slightly from the rear panel of
the Sirius and located immediately next to the
on/off switch. It is marked as follows:
10,5V DC, 1,5 A
Please use the original mains adapter
provided only for running your Sirius. Only this
adapter guarantees both perfect functioning
and damage protection of the Sirius.
In order to hear the Sirius you will need an amplifier. Several appliances can be used: Stereo Sys-
tems with auxiliary inputs, Mixers connected to an Amplification system, Instrument Amplifiers or
simply Headphones. The respective cables are included with the Sirius. The enclosed jack-jack ca-
bles can be used with the usual mixers or instrument amplifiers. The jack-phono(RCA) adapters allow
a problem-free connection to a stereo system (provided it has auxiliary inputs such as CD, AUX, DAT
etc.) or to any other DJ-Mixer.
Caution:
?
Caution:
Important:
!
!
!
!
8
external mains adapter

Unpacking and connecting
The Rear Panel
Connecting the goose neck microphone:
How do I connect the Sirius?
1.) Connecting the Sirius to a stereo system:
First plug the enclosed goose neck microphone into the XLR input which is located at the top right of
the front panel of the Sirius.
On the back of the Sirius you will find two 6,3mm (1/4") jack sockets, the stereo output pair. These
sockets are marked audio-left and audio-right. The amplifier, stereo system or mixing desk will be
connected to these outputs. You will need a mixing desk if you wish to run other instruments apart
from the Sirius through the amplifier or stereo system. The 5-pin din sockets which you will also find
on the rear panel are for the transmission of MIDI information and do not output any audio signal
(sound). A more detailed explanation of the MIDI-connections can be found in the chapter called:
"The Sirius and MIDI".
The following is a detailed description of how to connect the Sirius to the three types of audio equip-
ment we have already mentioned. A detailed connection plan can also be found on the page after
next (Page 11):
First turn off your stereo system and the Sirius. You will need the two enclosed jack-jack cables and
the two jack-phono(RCA) adapters to make this connection. Not all of the auxiliary inputs at the rear
of your stereo amplifier are suitable for connecting the Sirius. Choose one of the following possibili-
ties:
1.) AUX or Auxiliary
2.) LINE
3.) CD
4.) DAT
5.) TAPE IN or TAPE PLAY
Totally unsuitable for the connection of the Sirius is the PHONO input of your stereo amplifier, as
this input has a pre-amp and is constructed for your record player. This input would distort the sound
of the Sirius.
Put the two jack cables in the AUDIO-LEFT/RIGHT socket of the Sirius. Connect the jack-
phono(RCA) adapters to the other end of the cables. Now you can connect the cables to the stereo
amplifier.
Turn the volume dial of the stereo and the MASTER-VOLUME dial of your Sirius to minimum. Now
first switch on the Sirius and then the stereo system. Turn the input selector on your stereo amplifier
to the input you chose when connecting the Sirius. Now turn the MASTER VOLUME dial of the
Sirius to Maximum. Press the START-Key of the Sirius (located in the SEQUENCER section on the
front panel) to start a sequence. Carefully turn up the volume of your stereo system to the desired
level. In order to avoid damage to your speakers due to the deep bass frequencies the Sirius is able
to create you might have to lower the bass level on your stereo amplifier.
2
POWER
ON / OFF
MIDI-INAUDIO-LEFTCARRIER-IN ANALYSE-IN GAIN MIDI-OUTAUDIO-RIGHT MIDI-THRUFOOTSWITCH 10,5V DC / 1,5 A
to amp or mixer
alternative inputs
for the Beat-Recognition-System
Footswitch
connection
Carrier-input
for the Vocoder
Analyse-input
for the Vocoder
with a Gain-knob
copy
of the
MIDI-IN MIDI-keyboard
or computer power
supply
See page 100
9

10
Unpacking and connecting
2.) Connecting the Sirius to a mixing desk:
3.) Connecting the Sirius to an amplifier:
4.) Operating the Sirius with headphones:
If you are connecting the Sirius to a mixing desk you must use the LINE INPUTS. The microphone in-
puts of most mixing desks are unsuitable for connection to the Sirius - the high output level will
cause distortion. Most microphone inputs are also equipped with XLR sockets which are only very
rarely used for connecting instruments. (By the way, the microphone input on the front panel of the
Sirius is a XLR socket.)
Before you attempt to make any audio connections turn all your equipment off. Then connect the
two audio outputs of the Sirius (AUDIO-LEFT/RIGHT, located on the rear panel) to two of the inputs
on the mixing desk. Turn the MASTER-VOLUME control of the Sirius to maximum and the GAIN-
CONTROL (sometimes referred to as "INPUT SENSITIVITY") of the mixing desk to MINIMUM. The
TONE CONTROL (or "EQUALISATION") of the mixing desk should be in the same position on both
channels. You are best-off choosing a neutral setting for the tone control / equalisation (if possible,
the tone control or equalisation should be switched out) so that the sound of the Sirius will not be
changed.
The pan control of the two channels should be set to the exact opposite of each other:
left channel -> hard left, right channel -> hard right) in order to hear true stereo. Should your mix-
ing desk have stereo inputs, these settings are already made.
Slide the stereo mix faders of the mixing desk back to MINIMUM.
Now turn on first the Sirius and then the mixing desk. Press both the demo Keys of the Sirius at the
same time (located below the large round VALUE/TEMPO-dial on the right of the front panel) and
chose a demo song using one of the Number-Keys marked 1-16, which you will find directly above
the Keyboard.
Set the Gain control of the mixing desk so that the level showing on the channels' individual level me-
ters is below the peak level (if the meters are "in the red", the level is too high and distortion will oc-
cur!). If your mixing desk does not have individual level meters for each channel, turn up the stereo
mix faders (master level faders) of the desk so you are able to hear any distortion which may be oc-
curring and turn down the GAIN control accordingly. Instead of a gain control some desks only give a
choice between LINE and MIC sensitivity. In this case turn the input selector to LINE. Should even
the smallest gain setting of the mixing desk result in distortion, turn down both the MASTER-
VOLUME and OVERBLAST controls on the Sirius respectively. Generally you should always choose
the highest possible setting of your sound source (in this case the Sirius) and turn down the mixing
desk accordingly to achieve the optimum sound to noise ratio. Once the mixing desk been cali-
brated to the Sirius you can set the stereo mix faders of your mixing desk to your preferred setting.
Should you wish to connect your Sirius to an instrument or Keyboard amplifier you should firstly turn
all the equipment off. Then connect the Sirius' audio outputs (AUDIO-LEFT/RIGHT, located on the
rear panel) to the audio inputs of your amplifier.
Turn the volume control and, if there is one, gain control on your amplifier to minium and the MAIN-
VOLUME control on the Sirius to maximum. Switch on the Sirius first and then the amplifier.
On the Sirius press both demo Keys simultaneously (they are located on the right of the front panel
directly below the large round VALUE/TEMPO- dial) and choose a demo song from the Number-
Keys 1-16, which you will find directly above the Keyboard. Carefully adjust the gain control of the
amplifier to just below the level where distortion occurs. Then adjust the overall volume of the am-
plifier to the desired setting.
The Sirius has a headphone output on the far right of the front panel.
Should you use headphones please note that extensive blasting of your eardrums can result
in permanent damage to your hearing.
In this case it is necessary to see a doctor.
The headphones should have an impedance of at least 32 ohm.
Caution:
!

11
Unpacking and connecting
Now you're almost there!. You may have noticed that on the rear panel of your Sirius there are addi-
tional sockets. There is another 6,3mm (1/4") jack socket for a foot pedal and three MIDI sockets: IN,
OUT and THRU.
The Sirius is able to communicate with any other MIDI device via these MIDI sockets. You can for ex-
ample connect a MIDI Keyboard, a sound expander, a MIDI sequencer or a computer with Midi se-
quencing software etc.
MIDI allows you to control your Sirius from other midi devices or to control other midi devices from
your Sirius. You can also dump all the information in the Sirius' memory onto a computer where it
can then be saved onto a disk or hard drive in case the Sirius' internal memory should prove too
small for you.
An important point which is unfortunately very often misunderstood:
MIDI transmits control information only from one MIDI device to another. It does not transmit any
audio signal (sound). Should you have several devices connected to each other via MIDI you will still
have to connect the audio outputs of each device to an amplifier or mixing desk separately. You will
find more about connecting MIDI devices in the chapter called: "The Sirius and MIDI".
In addition there are two more 6,3 mm (1/4") jack sockets marked CARRIER-IN and ANALYSE-IN on
the rear panel of your Sirius. These sockets can be used to run the Vocoder of the Sirius with an ex-
ternal sound source (for example drum computer, synthesizer, sampler etc.) Either of the two sockets
can also be used to carry the trigger signal for the beat-recognition system. A detailed description can
be found in the relevant chapter of this manual.
This diagram shows you how to connect the audio section of the rear panel
of your Sirius. The two audio outputs (AUDIO-LEFT/RIGHT) are connected to
the inputs of two adjacent channels on your mixing desk . In order to keep
the stereo quality of the Sirius the pan control of these channels should be
set to opposite positions i. e. channel 1 hard left, channel 2 hard right.
Should your mixing desk consist of stereo channels, no such setting of the
panorama will be necessary.
In order to work with the beat-recognition system the signal from the CD
player has to get to the CARRIER-input or the ANALYSE-input of the Sirius.
The simplest solution is to connect the headphone output of the CD player to
the CARRIER-IN or ANALYSE-IN. This enables the Sirius to receive the trigger
signal even when the CD-player has been muted on the mixing desk. Better
mixing desks offer the possibility to send the trigger signals of the CD player
via the AUX-sends or EFFECT-sends. This connection is also recommended if
the CD-player does not have any headphone output or if you want to use a
record player (with pre-amplifier) as the trigger source.
IN IN IN IN IN IN IN IN LR
AUX-SEND
MAIN-OUT
12345 6 7 8
LR
MIX
CD-1 02:35
CD-Player
AUDIO-RIGHT
AUDIO-LEFT
CARRIER-IN
or
ANALYSE-IN
AUX-/EFFECT-SEND
PHONES
R OUTPUT L
Amplifier
R Input LSpeaker
VU VU
32 OHM32 OHM
NATURAL
DRUMS BASS- SOUNDS
DIRTY
NATURAL DIRTY BASS
ELECTRONIC
DRUMS PAD- SOUNDS
909-TYPE PLUCKED
SOUNDS
808-TYPE
LEVEL
BD SNARE HIHAT PERC. SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3
MOD.-WHEEL
ASSIGN
PART
SELECT
SOUND
SELECT
MODULATION
WHEEL
PITCH
BEND
TRACK-MUTING
PATTERN
SELECT SONG SELECT
PART
MUTE PART/SEQ. TO MIDI
PANORAMA FX1/FX2
12
SNARE HIHAT
DETUNE FILTER-
OVERDRIVE Q-FACTOR VCF-EG MACRO VCA-EG MACRO
MOD.-
DEPTH
MOD.-
RATE
SPECIAL-LOOP
TRACK-FADER OVERBLAST
MOD.-
MACRO WAVE- MACRO GLIDE LPF 24 dB RELEASE
0
32
64
96
127
LPF 12 dB
HPF 12 dB
PAGE/BANK
MASTER
VOLUME
MICROPHONE
CONNECTOR
VALUE
TEMPO
RECALL EXIT
EDIT WRITE
SHIFT
KEY-TRACKINGOCTAVE-UPOCTAVE-DOWN VCF-DYN. VCA-DYN. RANDOM-SOUND
PRESS BUTTON
FOR SOUND-CREATION
TAP-
TEMPO
DEMO
SYNC.
EXTERN
AUDIO
SYNC
CUTOFF ENV.-MOD VCA
LEVEL
PERCUSSION
PATTERN BREAK SPECIAL LOOPTRACKS
SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3 VOCODER
HOLD BUTTON AND
SELECT PART
ANALYSE CARRIER CARRIER-EXT. MICRO.
HOLD
TO
SELECT REW
ARPEG.
ON/OFF START
SONG-STEP
STOP
FWD
PHONES
KICK/BD
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
SOLO-
SOUNDS
DRUM-SFX EFFECT-
SOUNDS
SIRIUS
SIRIUS
by QUASIMIDI
CATEGORIES
MIXER 11 CHANNEL VOCODER SEQUENCER
MODULATOR OSCILLATORS RESONANCE-FILTER AMPLIFIER EG-MACROS PHONETISCHER SPEKTRAL TRANSFORMATOR
RECORD
See page 100
See pages 70, 78

12
Getting started
Initialise and Calibrate:
Listening to Demo-Songs:
Now that you have connected your Sirius properly you are probably itching to hear it. Before you
switch it on for the first time you should however initialise it and calibrate the performance aids for
safety reasons. The memory of the Sirius will be deleted and all parameters will revert to their origi-
nal settings.
(In future you will only have two reasons to initialise your Sirius: 1. When the Sirius Service Depart-
ment tells you to do so or, 2. If you want to reset the Sirius to its original factory settings.)
When you turn on the Sirius for the first time you should hold down the WRITE-Key and turn on the
POWER ON/OFF switch on the rear panel.
The following message will appear on the display:
Now press the left-hand Key under the display (F1-Key) to confirm, and your Sirius will be initialised.
This procedure is shown on the display by a status bar. Once the initialisation is complete the Sirius will
ask you to calibrate the pitch-bend and the modulation wheels. The display shows the following:
Now turn the modulation wheel down all the way and hold the pitch-bend wheel at its lowest position.
Press the left Key under the display (F1-Key). The following message appears:
Repeat this procedure by bringing the wheels to their highest position. Again confirm with the F1-Key.
This will bring you to a test menu. Here you can test if the calibration was successful.
When the pitch-bender is released it should show 64, its top setting 127, the lowest 0. The modulation
wheel should show 0 in its lowest position ( at the bottom) and 127 in its highest position ( at the top). Con-
firm once again by pressing the left-hand Key below the display (F1 Key). The Sirius is ready to go.
NB: Should the calibration not show the desired result you can repeat the procedure by pressing the
right-hand Key under the display (F3-Key)
In order to sweeten the reading of this manual we have given the Sirius 16 Demo-Songs. 40 minutes
of music of different musical styles await you to give you a small insight into the sound possibilities of
the Sirius. All demo songs were exclusively programmed with the internal functions of the Sirius.
Why not listen to the pieces while you are studying the manual?
To hear the songs the Sirius has to be switched to demo-mode. Press both keys named DEMO below
the VALUE/TEMPO-dial control.
Initialize All?
[ok] [cancel]
Set Wheels-> min
[OK] [cancel]
Set Wheels-> MAX
[OK]
Wheels-Test: 64
[OK] [retry]
TAP-
TEMPO
DEMO
SYNC.
EXTERN

13
Getting started
After pressing the two Keys the normal display of the Sirius says good bye with an elegant wave and
disappears to the right. The display now shows that the Sirius is in demo mode:
Now you only need to listen. The 16 Demo -Songs are played one after the other. After the last song
it will start again from the beginning. You can also choose the demo songs separately. Press any of
the Number-Keys 1-16 located directly above the Keyboard. To make it easier to choose, here is a
short description of each demo-song:
A driving song with clear Drum & Bass and jungle elements.
An unusual name for this sparse groove. Please note that the rhythmic synth line is
bubbling directly from the vocoder.
This song takes you directly to the disco. With the Sirius your songs should find
their way into the charts too.
A Song proving that QUASIMIDI-instruments do not only produce "Techno". This
demo song has already thrilled the American audience at the NAMM-SHOW ‘98
in Los Angeles and increased demand for the Sirius in the US!
House-heavy track with a strong stress on the Off-Beat and interesting filtersweeps.
Kraftwerk did not have the advantage of owning a Sirius 20 years ago. Now they
do!!
Not really from this world. Although only at a modest pace of under 130 BPM this
Goa-number with house influence will push your legs to the limit. Pay attention to
the clever use of the vocoder.
And because it was so fabulous, another bit of Kraftwerk.
This demo-song's name speaks for itself. Boxed up break-beats, off the wall synths
and a lot of effects give it an essential drive.
A demo for the nostalgic people amongst the synthesizer brotherhood. In the past
this was known as "The Berlin School".
Commercial dance number. Here there is only a vocal line missing to bring it to
chart success. Be our guest - do one yourself!
Modern, synthetic sound structures with a light ambient-touch.
Driving but still melodic Dancefloor-demo with a memorable refrain.
Another Dance-demo processed by the vocoder.
Several parts of an experimental electronic session with trance elements and some
Phatt-beats.
A trip round the current club scene: a bit of trance, some house, some acid and
the techno soup bubbling away...
To exit the demo-mode press the EXIT-Key on the top right of the display.
1.) Saturn:
2.) VOC Grov:
3.) Danceflr:
4.) Hip&Funk:
5.) Tricky:
6.) Elektro1:
7.) AlienJam:
8.) Elektro2:
9.) Prodigy:
10.) Oldschol:
11.) DanceNow:
12.) Atmosphe:
13.) Tetsuo:
14.) VocodeX:
15.) SpaceAce:
16.) Motivate:
*** DEMO ***
1: Saturn

14
Getting started
A round trip of the front panel of your Sirius:
The individual control panels on the front panel of the Sirius are clearly divided. The following dia-
gram gives you an overview of the most important functions of the Sirius.
The elements and sections in detail:
The Keyboard:
As the diagram above is only a rough guide we would like to briefly introduce the individual ele-
ments and sections separately . A detailed description of the grouped functions like the Vocoder, the
Sequencer or the Synthesizer can be found in the relevant chapters in this manual.
The Keyboard is mainly used to play notes on the synthesizer. You also have the possibility to mute
individual tracks and to transpose a whole pattern (changing the overall musical Key of the pattern).
These functions are available on the first two octaves of the Keyboard.
Mute Transpose
32 OHM32 OHM
NATURAL
DRUMS BASS- SOUNDS
DIRTY
NATURAL DIRTY BASS
ELECTRONIC
DRUMS PAD- SOUNDS
909-TYPE PLUCKED
SOUNDS
808-TYPE
LEVEL
BD SNARE HIHAT PERC. SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3
MOD.-WHEEL
ASSIGN
PART
SELECT
SOUND
SELECT
MODULATION
WHEEL
PITCH
BEND
TRACK-MUTING
PATTERN
SELECT SONG SELECT
PART
MUTE PART/SEQ. TO MIDI
PANORAMA FX1/FX2
12
SNARE HIHAT
DETUNE FILTER-
OVERDRIVE Q-FACTOR VCF-EG MACRO VCA-EG MACRO
MOD.-
DEPTH
MOD.-
RATE
SPECIAL-LOOP
TRACK-FADER OVERBLAST
MOD.-
MACRO WAVE- MACRO GLIDE LPF 24 dB RELEASE
0
32
64
96
127
LPF 12 dB
HPF 12 dB
PAGE/BANK
MASTER
VOLUME
MICROPHONE
CONNECTOR
VALUE
TEMPO
RECALL EXIT
EDIT WRITE
SHIFT
KEY-TRACKINGOCTAVE-UPOCTAVE-DOWN VCF-DYN. VCA-DYN. RANDOM-SOUND
PRESS BUTTON
FOR SOUND-CREATION
TAP-
TEMPO
DEMO
SYNC.
EXTERN
AUDIO
SYNC
CUTOFF ENV.-MOD VCA
LEVEL
PERCUSSION
PATTERN BREAK SPECIAL LOOP TRACKS
SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3 VOCODER
HOLD BUTTON AND
SELECT PART
ANALYSE CARRIER CARRIER-EXT. MICRO.
HOLD
TO
SELECT REW
ARPEG.
ON/OFF START
SONG-STEP
STOP
FWD
PHONES
KICK/BD
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
SOLO-
SOUNDS
DRUM-SFX EFFECT-
SOUNDS
SIRIUS
SIRIUS
by QUASIMIDI
CATEGORIES
MIXER 11 CHANNEL VOCODER SEQUENCER
MODULATOR OSCILLATORS RESONANCE-FILTER AMPLIFIER EG-MACROS PHONETISCHER SPEKTRAL TRANSFORMATOR
RECORD
DETUNE FILTER-
OVERDRIVE Q-FACTOR VCF-EG MACRO VCA-EG MACRO
MOD.-
DEPTH
MOD.-
RATE
MOD.-
MACRO WAVE- MACRO GLIDE LPF 24 dB RELEASE
0
32
64
96
127
LPF 12 dB
HPF 12 dB
KEY-TRACKINGOCTAVE-UPOCTAVE-DOWN VCF-DYN. VCA-DYN.
FOR SOUND-CREA
CUTOFF ENV.-MOD VCA
LEVEL
LEVEL
PART
SELECT PART MUTE PART/SEQ. TO MIDI
PANORAMA FX1/FX2
SNARE HIHAT PERCUSSION SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3 VOCODERKICK/BD
MIXER
SOUND
SELECT PATTERN SELECT SONG SELECT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
HOLD BUTTON AND
SELECT PART
ANALYSE CARRIER CARRIER-EXT. MICRO.
11 CHANNEL VOCODER
PAGE/BANK
RECALL EXIT
EDIT WRITE
PRESS BUTTON
FOR SOUND-CREATION
REW
START
SONG-STEP
STOP
FWD
SEQUENCER
RECORD
32 OHM32 OHM
SPECIAL-LOOP
TRACK-FADER OVERBLAST
VOLUME
SHIFT
TAP-
TEMPO
DEMO
SYNC.
EXTERN
AUDIO
SYNC
PHONES
Synthesizer-Section
Edit section with display
Socket for foot switch VALUE /TEMPO-dial
Microphone input
Master-Section
Sequencer-Panel
Vocoder-Section
Keyboard Number-Keys
Mixer-Section
Modulation wheel
Pitch-Bend Wheel
Sound type / categories
NATURAL
UMS BASS- SOUNDS
DIRTY
TURAL DIRTY BASS
ELECTRONIC PAD-
SOUNDS
909-TYPE PLUCKED
SOUNDS
808-TYPE SOLO-
SOUNDS
UM-SFX EFFECT-
SOUNDS
BD SNARE HIHAT PERC. SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3
TRACK-MUTING

15
Getting started
The Edit Panel and Display Panel:
The Display Panel is for communication with the Sirius. It contains the display and the Keys which
enable you to move around the display's menus.
The three Keys below the display will now be referred to in this manual as the F1, F2 and F3 Keys.
Depending on which menu has been chosen, these Keys perform different functions. If there is no
edit or write menu shown on the display, the F2-Key activates the RANDOMIZE-mode which creates
new sounds with an intelligent random-algorithm.
The EDIT-Key opens the edit menu of the Sirius. The WRITE-Key opens the WRITE -menu of the
Sirius in which all memory and Init functions can be found. The RECALL-Key recalls the original ver-
sion of an edited sound. The EXIT-Key quits the edit menu you were just working in. The
PAGE/BANK-Keys allow you to scroll through the pages in the edit menu. In addition you can chose
from the Sound libraries of the Sirius with these Keys when you're not working in any of the edit
menus.
The VALUE/TEMPO-dial:
The Master-Section:
The VALUE/TEMPO-dial is a so called infinite dial control. With this con-
trol the values in the edit menus are changed. It is also used to change
the tempo of the sequencer.
The master section holds functions which affect the Sirius as a whole.
The most important function is without doubt the MASTER-VOLUME control which adjusts the over-
all volume (output level) of the Sirius. Below this control you will find the headphone socket. The
headphone volume is also adjusted with the MASTER-VOLUME-control.
VALUE
TEMPO
MASTER
VOLUME
32 OHM32 OHM
OVERBLAST
SHIFT
TAP-
TEMPO
DEMO
SYNC.
EXTERN
AUDIO
SYNC
PHONES
SPECIAL-LOOP
TRACK-FADER
F1-Key
F2-Key
F3-Key
PAGE/BANK
RECALL EXIT
EDIT WRITE
PRESS BUTTON
FOR SOUND-CREATION
RANDOM-SOUND
S I R I U S
by QUASIMIDI

16
Getting started
The control marked SPECIAL-LOOP TRACK-FADER allows you to adjust the volume of the special-
loop tracks. When the Sirius is in Record mode you can adjust the volume of the metronome with
this control.
The OVERBLAST-control is located right next to it. It allows you to lift up the high (treble) and low
(bass) ends of the Sirius sounds. You could probably compare this function to the 'loudness' control
on most stereo systems. Above these two controls there are two Keys, both of which can perform
several functions.
The SHIFT/TAP-TEMPO KEY serves first of all as a shift-Key. If you press it down you can perform
functions which do not have their own designated Key by using the other Sirius Keys . A list of these
functions can be found in the appendix of this manual. The TAP-TEMPO KEY allows you to adjust
the tempo or pace of the sequencer by tapping it four times at the desired tempo.
With the SYNC-EXTERN KEY you can select whether the Sirius is to be synchronised to an external
MIDI device or to an audio signal. When the Key is constantly lit the Sirius is waiting to be synchro-
nised to an external MIDI device. When the Key is blinking you have activated the BEAT-RECOGNI-
TION-SYSTEM and you can synchronise the Sirius to an audio signal.
When you press both Keys at the same time, the DEMO-mode of the Sirius will be activated. This
mode allows you to listen to the Demo-songs of the Sirius. In order to quit the demo-mode press the
EXIT-Key to the right of the display.
The Sequencer panel controls the main functions for the sequencer. This panel will remind you of a
cassette deck and basically gives you the same functions: RECORD, START, STOP, REW and FWD.
This section lets you select specific sounds from the sound categories provided. The original sounds
of the Sirius are already divided into specific categories of Sirius factory sounds. If, for example, you
would like to play wide sounds (Pads), simply press the PAD-SOUNDS Key. On the left of the Keys
you will find sound categories for your drum tracks (Parts 1-4), on the right you will find the sound
categories for the synthesizer tracks (Parts 5-7). Inside each of these sound categories there is a li-
brary of 16 sounds which you can choose using the number Keys 1-16 directly above the Keyboard.
As the Sirius offers several sound banks, each of these categories is available several times. The
PAGE/BANK-Keys in the edit section allow you to move from one bank of sounds to another.
The Sequencer Panel:
Choosing your sound from the Categories Section:
REW
START
SONG-STEP
STOP
FWD
SEQUENCER
RECORD
NATURAL
DRUMS BASS- SOUNDS
DIRTY
NATURAL DIRTY BASS
ELECTRONIC
DRUMS PAD- SOUNDS
909-TYPE PLUCKED
SOUNDS
808-TYPE SOLO-
SOUNDS
DRUM-SFX EFFECT-
SOUNDS
CATEGORIES
See page 136

17
Getting started
The Number Keys:
The Mixer Panel:
The Synthesizer Section:
The Number-Keys 1-16 directly above the Keyboard allow you to perform a number of different
tasks. The most important feature here is the ability to choose whether you want sounds, patterns or
songs. This choice is made by pressing one of the three selection Keys on the far left hand side. The
selection you have made is indicated by the lit Key.
You also need to use these Keys to enter notes in the Drumgrid Record-mode,
the Step Record-mode and the Arpeggiator, or to fly in breaks and special -loop-
tracks.
This section is not only built like a mixing desk but also works like one! Apart from the selection
block for the Part-Keys and Number-Keys, the mixer consists of seven dials above each Part-Key, each
dial with its respective Part-Key works as a pair. Each part (track) of the Sirius is controlled by one of
these pairs. The dial controls allow you to set the volume, the pan position as well as the value for
the FX-sends of a Part (track).
The row of Keys allows you to select the separate Parts of the Sirius in order to, for example, play
them on the Keyboard or to edit them. The Part-Keys also allow you to select individual parts/tracks
or to pass them on to an external MIDI device.
The synthesizer-section is the heart of the Sirius. Here all the important sound creating elements are
available to you. The section is built just like a classic analogue synth. From left to right you will find
the modulator (LFO), the oscillators, the filter (VCF) as well as the amplifier (VCA). The diagrams on
the right-hand side of the synthesizer section illustrate the behaviour of the Envelope Generator mac-
ros for VCF and VCA.
SOUND
SELECT PATTERN SELECT SONG SELECT 12
PATTERN BREAK
VELOCITY
SPECIAL LOOPTRACKS
GATE-TIME
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
With these three Keys you
decide what you want to
choose using the number
Keys.
With these Keys you
select the functions which
are to be performed by
the mixer section
LEVEL
PART
SELECT PART MUTE PART/SEQ. TO MIDI
PANORAMA FX1/FX2
SNARE HIHAT PERCUSSION SYNTH 1 SYNTH 2 SYNTH 3KICK/BD
MIXER
MOD.-
DEPTH DETUNE FILTER- OVERDRIVE Q-FACTOR VCF-EG MACRO VCA-EG MACRO
MOD.-
MACRO WAVE- MACRO GLIDE LPF 24 dB RELEASE
0
32
64
96
127
LPF 12 dB
HPF 12 dB
CUTOFF ENV.-MOD VCA
LEVEL
MODULATOR OSCILLATORS RESONANCE-FILTER AMPLIFIER EG-MACROS
MOD.-
RATE KEY-TRACKINGOCTAVE-UPOCTAVE-DOWN VCF-DYN. VCA-DYN.

18
Getting started
The Vocoder section:
This section controls the main functions of the Vocoder which are the switching on and off of the
Vocoder, selecting Vocoder presets, adjusting the volume as well as the routing of ANALYSE and
CARRIER signals. The Vocoder section works closely with the mixer section. To adjust the separate fil-
ter frequencies of the vocoder, for example, you would use the controls of the mixer while holding
down the VOCODER-Key. With the row of Keys on the mixer, the separate tracks of the Sirius can be
routed to the ANALYSE or CARRIER signal. You select the 16 vocoder presets using the Number-Keys
1-16 while holding down the VOCODER-Key.
The Microphone connector:
The Footswitch Socket:
This socket is for connecting the goose neck microphone. The microphone is auto-
matically activated when you select one of the 16 vocoder-presets. Please note that
the microphone socket is immediately de-activated as soon as you connect a cable
to the ANALYSE-IN socket on the rear panel of the Sirius.
Although this socket is not located on the front panel of the Sirius we would like to briefly go into it
at this point.
The reason for this is that a footswitch is a so called 'performance aid' with which the sound of the
Sirius can be influenced in real time. Other performance aids are the modulation wheel and the
pitch bender.
This socket requires a footswitch with an on/off switch. The footswitch should be connected prior to
powering up the Sirius. When the Sirius is turned on it will automatically recognise the polarisation of
the footswitch. Pedals which send continuous information (for example volume pedals) are not suit-
able for connection to this socket.
Once you have found the right footswitch you can try the following:
hold down a PAD on the Keyboard and step on the footswitch. If you now let go of the note you are
holding down on the Keyboard, the sound will keep on playing until you release the pedal. This is
called a Sustain-footswitch.
The second function of the footswitch enables you to transpose arpeggios. When you step on the
footswitch while the Arpeggiator is running and stay put, the Arpeggio will continue to play out nor-
mally. When you now press any note on the Sirius Keyboard the pitch of the whole Arpeggio will
change.
VOCODER
HOLD BUTTON AND
SELECT PART
ANALYSE CARRIER CARRIER-EXT. MICRO.
11 CHANNEL VOCODER
MICROPHONE
CONNECTOR
FOOTSWITCH

19
Getting started
The two wheels on the left of the front panel of the Sirius are often referred to as performance aids.
They allow you to change the sound while playing, particularly useful in a live situation. Each wheel
has its own functions.
The Pitch-Bend Wheel, also known as the Pitch-Bender, allows you to change the pitch while you
are playing. If you release the wheel it automatically returns to its central position. If you move it
downwards the pitch of the sound will get lower. If you move it upwards it will become higher. Each
sound of the Sirius can be allocated an individual pitch-bend setting.
The Modulation Wheel allows you, as the name says, to modulate sound. In synthesizer language
modulation means the generating of a continuous change of the sound characteristics while playing.
This could be for example the generating of vibratos or the opening of a filter. A lot of synthesizers
only allow you to control one parameter with each wheel. Not so with the Sirius. You can allocate up
to five sound parameters of the Synthesizer section to the modulation wheel simultaneously. This en-
ables you to create very complex and interesting soundscapes and layers.
The MOD-WHEEL ASSIGN-Key has several important functions. If you have assigned one or more
sound parameters from the synthesizer section to the modulation wheel in order to process your cho-
sen sound, this Key will be lit. This Key also allows you to delete a MOD-WHEEL ASSIGN or to
programme a new one. You can do this by holding the key down. The display will show the following
message:
If you now press the Key F1 below the display the current settings of the modulation wheel will be
deleted. Once you release the Key the MOD-WHEEL-ASSIGN message on the display disappears.
The Modulaton Wheel is now ready for re-programming. The assigning of parameters is very simple:
Hold down the MOD-WHEEL-ASSIGN -key and turn the dial of the parameter which is to be as-
signed to the modulation wheel. The display shows a change in value. This value shows the positive
and negative deviation of the parameter relative to the value stored in the sound. This deviation can
now be performed by the Modulation wheel. You can repeat this until you have assigned five differ-
ent parameters to the Modulation Wheel. Should you want to assign one of the MACRO-controls to
the modulation wheel please note that you are then assigning several parameters at one time. For ex-
ample the two EG-MACRO-Keys control 4 parameters each.
Apart from the parameters from the syntehesizer section the parameters from the Mixer section can
also be assigned to the Modulation Wheel. The procedure is the same. You can yield particularly
good results if for example you assign FX-sends when you have chosen a delay as an effect. Check it
out!
The Pitch-Bend Wheel:
The Modulation Wheel:
How to programme the Modulation Wheel:
Mod-Wheel-Assign
[Clear]
Experts tip:
Pitch-Bend Wheel
Modulation Wheel
Programming Key for the
Modulation wheel
PITCH
BEND MODULATION WHEEL
MOD.-WHEEL
ASSIGN
Tip

20
Playing the Sounds of the Sirius:
The sound categories:
The sound banks and libraries:
Playing Drum-Sounds:
By now you must be starving to hear the sounds of the Sirius. Once you have left the demo-mode by
pressing the EXIT-Key you will see the following on the display:
This means the following: 'A' indicates the bank from which the sound comes - '71' indicates the
number of the sound within that bank. After the colon comes the sound name, in this case
"SyncSynt".
On the right of the display you see a number, in this case "160" which is indicating the current speed
or tempo of the internal sequencer. In the lower part of the display you see the word "STOPPED"
which means that at present the sequencer is not running.
The seven bars to the right symbolise the separate Parts(tracks) of the Sirius. If you now play the Key-
board you will hear the sound shown on the display. The fifth bar of the part-display will show a level
reading. This is basically indicating that part 5 (SYNTH-1) is active. You will notice that the Part-key in
the mixer-section is also lit up, verifying the display's information.
Now let's look at the CATEGORIES section which allows you to choose the sound categories. You will
note that the CATEGORIES-Key named "SOLO-SOUNDS" is lit up. We have deliberately divided the
sounds into these different categories because it makes the selection of particular sounds so much
easier. The drum-sound categories (parts 1-4) are on the left of the CATEGORIES-Keys in orange
print. The synthesizer-sound categories (parts 5-7) are printed in white on the right. With the help of
the number Keys 1-16 directly above the keyboard you can choose one of 16 sounds from the se-
lected sound category. You can immediately play it on the keyboard. The display will directly show
you sound name, storage bank and library number.
The synthesizer-sounds are spread over three fixed ROM banks (A, B and C) and a USER-bank. After
listening to all categories and sounds on bank "A" you will have to change to the next bank. You can
do this two ways: Use either the PAGE/BANK-Key in the edit section or press the Categories-Key you
have selected one more time. Every time you press the Categories-Key you change banks.
In order to play any drum-sounds you have to select the Drum-Part you want to listen to first. You se-
lect the parts with the Part-Keys (1-4) in the mixer section. You will find these Keys directly below the
first four Mixer-section dials. Make sure that these Keys are selected by checking if the PART-SELECT
Key on the left of the mixer is lit. If not, press it down. Now choose the part for which you want to
hear the sounds. You select the different sounds exactly like you selected the synthesizer sounds. But
note that there is only one ROM and one USER bank for each drum-part.
There are 96 different ROM-sounds available in every drum-part (kick, snare, hihat and percussion).
This equals 384 drum sounds all together.
The synthesizer -Parts consists of 3 banks with 96 sounds each, 288 synthesizer-sounds in total. All in
all the Sirius has 672 factory sounds ready for you to use.
In addition the Sirius offers you 480 User-storage spaces for sounds programmed by yourself. There
are 96 storage spaces each for the kick, snare, hihat, percussion and synth parts .
A71:SyncSynt 160
(STOPPED)_______
Getting started
The fixed storage space for the factory-sounds of the Sirius is called ROM (Read Only Memory). It
can not be deleted or overwritten. The USER-storage space for your own programmed sounds is
called RAM (Random Access Memory).