Alesis DM5 Midi, help please

Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 5:01 pm

Hello everyone. I have a computer recording setup with Nuendo and a Firepod. Also have a DM5 that I've been using with acoustic triggers. Up until now I've been recording from the audio outputs of the DM5 from my triggered 2 bass drums and snare. To try to free up some processor room on my computer, I'd like to just record the midi from the DM5, so that I can later resend the midi signals from my recording back to the DM5 so I can record the audio sounds at a later time.
I've achived recording a single bassdrum track, and playing it back, all via midi, but how do I do a double bassdrum track, plus a snare track? From reading the Alesis manual on midi, I just can't figure it out. Am I limited to only one midi channel? Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Thank you!

Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 5:15 pm

yes one midi channel at a time
as this is not a multitimbral sound module in the sense that it doesn't multi midi channel playback like others do ...
note , none of the drum modules do

BUT
it does make different sounds at the same time on the single midi channel

kick, snare, hihhat etc ... are assigned to diferent midi notes and so you have a drum kit

does Nuendo have midi channels ?
I haven't used it for a very long time

try the DM5 in a default setup and put it on channel 10
on a midi track on Nuendo place a midi note and slide it up and down until you find the sounds.

Place quarter notes and shuffle them around to make a beat.
Things could start to make sense very quickly.
Smile

Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 6:45 pm

Kev's right...each sound has it's own MIDI note. You don't really need different tracks for each MIDI note. Just record everything onto one MIDI track. If you want to split them all out to different tracks, then you can create a couple new tracks and cut and paste the appropriate notes over to the new tracks.

Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 9:03 pm

Thank you both for your quick replies. Extremely helpful! Seems quite simple now. Basic midi? Now, I just need to give seperate notes to each drum I want seperate? Bass drum one note C1, bass drum two note C2, snare note C3? The recorded midi should be 3 seperate notes. Then playback will just be the reverse of the process?
Thanks so much!

Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 12:21 am

yep
you may want to adopt/stick with a midi mapping similar to GM (General Midi)
this is good when you swap files about with other people

OR
you just go your own way and make up your own mapping ... this can bring it's own advantages

it all depends on how you like to work and/or whether you work with other people

this is where logic's old environment page can work wonders with real time mapping
...
too complicated for me to explain and I never really got the hang of it
but these things can be impressive in the hands of those that give it the time to learn

my midi is far more simple and I tend to use midi as a virtual player and then commit to audio reletively soon
you can always change the midi and then RE-record the audio

midi is a very strong arrangement tool when tempos and key is still being modified

it's all about workflow

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