Alesis SAMPLEPAD 4

Description

ELECTRONIC PERCUSSION AND 4-PAD SAMPLE PLAYER

Alesis SamplePad 4 is an electronic percussion instrument with 4 velocity-sensitive rubber pads surrounded by blue LEDs, which allows you to play sounds integrated into its wavetable, or your own .Wav audio files (mono or stereo) at 16 bit/48, 44.1, 32, 22.05 and 11.025 kHz residing on an SD card, from each pad and from the additional trigger input.

The factory sound library includes 10 pre-programmed KITS using an internal wavetable composed of 25 of the most requested and used samples; in addition, a collection of approximately 370MB including one-shot samples and loops in .Wav format is available for free download from the Alesis website. On the back of the product, there is a trigger input to which a dual-zone or single-zone pad or pedal can be connected. Alesis SamplePad 4 allows you to play up to 2 samples assigned to different user-settable velocity layers, or in unison, from each of the four pads and from the optional trigger input.

For example, on a single pad, we can load a rimshot sample onto "Layer A" assigning it a velocity range from 000 to 064, while on "Layer B" we will load another snare drum sample associating it with the range from 065 to 127; by lightly striking the pad we will reproduce the rimshot sound, while by playing it hard we will hear the snare drum. This function is only available when using audio samples residing on the SD Card. Each layer provides basic editing parameters applicable to the sound, such as volume, pan, reverb, and pitch (+4/-4), and can also be programmed to transmit a MIDI note message as desired; this latter function is essential when you want to use the SamplePad 4 as a USB/MIDI controller for DAW software and virtual instruments installed on your computers. 8 velocity curves are selectable for the 4 pads, and each trigger (pad or external) has sensitivity adjustment.

Memory cards that can be used with the Alesis SamplePad 4 must be SD or SDHC type, with a maximum size of 32 GB and formatted in FAT32. By connecting it to the USB port of your Mac or PC computer, you can directly access the card inserted in the appropriate slot of the Alesis SamplePad 4, and then manage, load, and add audio files.

Samples must be placed directly on the card, i.e., in the main directory, not in folders or subfolders, and must be named respecting the standard 8 alphanumeric characters + extension (.Wav). No more than 512 files can be present in the main directory; 89 KITS can be stored on a single memory card. The maximum size of samples assigned to a single KIT cannot exceed 14 MB. In the SamplePad 4, you will find a metronome that can be activated when needed and programmed for both time signature division and BPM speed (from 30 to 280 BPM), the sound to be reproduced, and its relative volume.