Alesis BassFX manual

User Manual[...]

Table Of Contents 2 Introduction ................................................................................ 3 About the BassFX ............................................................................... 4 BassFX Ba sics .................................................................................... 4 How to Use Th is Manual .........[...]

1 Introduction 3 Welcome! Thank you for making th e Alesis BassFX a part of your setup. Sin ce 1984, we’ve been designing a nd building c reative tools f or the a udio community. We belie ve in our products, because we’ ve h e ard th e results that creative people like you have achieved with them. One of Alesis’ goals is to make h igh-quality[...]

1 Introduction 4 About the BassFX The first thing y ou’ll proba bly notic e about the Bass FX is its size—it’s not much larger or smaller than mo st other effect pedals for bass guitars. But don ’t let that fool you. The BassFX does much mo re than most p edals you’ll find on the market today (and for an unb eatab le p rice too). We’ve [...]

Introduction 1 5 Effect Modules If you were to thi nk of the BassF X as a serie s of indivi dual pedals linked together, then each pedal in that series wo uld b e considered an effect module. Th e Bas s FX h as nine separate effect module s, as shown be low: You can assign one eff ect to each of these modules and adjust its parameters accordingly. [...]

1 Introduction 6 How to Use This Manual This manual is div ided into the fol lowing sections d escribing the various fu nctions and ap plications for the BassFX. W hile it’s a good idea to read through the en tire m a n ual on ce carefully, if you already h ave gen eral knowledge about effects, you should use th e tab le of contents to look up sp[...]

2 Important Safety Instructions 7 Important Safety Instructions (English) Safety symbols used in this product This symbol alerts the us er that there ar e important ope rating and maintenance inst ructions in the literat ure accompan ying this unit. This symbol warns the user of uninsulated voltage within the unit that can cause dangerous elec tri [...]

2 Important Safety Instructions 8 10. Protect the power cord from bein g walked on or pinched, particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point wher e they exit from the apparatus. 11. Use only attachmen ts or accessori es specified by the manufactu rer. 12. Use only with a cart, stand, bracket, or table designed for use with professio[...]

Important Safety Instructions 2 9 Instructions de Sécurité Importantes (French) Symboles utilisés dans ce produit Ce symbole alèrte l’utilisateur qu’ il existe des instructions de fonctionnement et de maintenance dans la documentation joi nte avec ce produit. Ce symbole avertit l’utilisateur de la présence d’une tension non isolée à [...]

2 Important Safety Instructions 10 10. Evite z de marcher su r le cordon se cteur ou de le pincer, en particulier au niveau de la prise, et aux en droits où il sor de l’appareil. 11. N’utilisez que des accessoires spécifiés par le constructeur. 12. N’utilisez qu’avec un stand, ou table con çus pour l’utilisation d’audio professionne[...]

Important Safety Instructions 2 11 Lesen Sie bitte die folgende Sicherheitshinweise (German) Sicherheit Symbole verwendet in diesem Produkt Dieses Symbol alarmiert den Benutz er , da ß es wichtige Funktionieren und Wartung Anweis ung en in der Literat ur gibt, die diese Maßeinheit begleitet . Dieses Symbol warnt den Benu tzer der nicht isolierten[...]

2 Important Safety Instructions 12 10. Verlegen Sie das Netzkabel des Gerätes ni emals so, daß man da rüber stolpern kann oder daß es gequetscht wird. 11. Benutzen Sie nur das vom Herstell er empf ohlene Zubehör. 12. Verwenden Sie ausschließlich Wag en, Ständer, od er Tische, die speziell für professionell e Audio- und Musiki nstrumente gee[...]

Important Safety Instructions 2 13 CE Declaration Of Conformity See our website at http://www.alesis.com FCC Compliance Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rul es. Operation is subj ect to the following two conditions: (1 ) This device may not cause harmful interference an d (2) this devic e must accept a ny interferenc e receive[...]

3 Hookup Diagram 14 Bass The first thing we’ll show you is how to get your BassFX up and running. The fo llo win g diagram shows you the most common method of hooki ng up your BassFX, but there are other ways of doing it. Fo r examp le, you may decide to run the BassFX straight into your m ixer o r recordin g devic e instead of an amplifier (th a[...]

4 A Tour of the BassFX 15 Top Panel Display This LED display is made up of two digits and two decimal points. In PLAY mode, the digi ts indicate the c urrent bank letter and program number. When you turn the EFFECT knob to a modul e or paramete r, the two digits display the setting of the se lection. Desc riptions of settings for each mode and para[...]

4 A Tour of the BassFX 16 BassFX’s tuner to help indicate the pitch of a note y ou’re playing, and the EDITED decimal p oint lights up when you have changed the se ttings of the current program. You can read more about these in ch ap te r 6, “Editing Programs,” and chapter 7, “Using the Tuner.” EFFECT knob The EFFECT knob is us ed fo r [...]

A Tour of the BassFX 4 17 Rear Panel The rear panel is where you’ll conn ect the power source, your bass and amplifier and an op tional control pedal. It ’s important that you use th e righ t types of plugs in these jacks. Be sure to follow these guidelines.[...]

5 Selecting Programs 18 After you’ve plugged everyth ing in, you’ll probably want to check out the factory pres ets we program m ed into th e BassFX. This chapter shows y ou how to do that. To Select Programs 1. Make sure the BassFX is hooked up pr operly and tu rned on, as outli ned in chapter 3 . 2. Make sure you’re in PLAY mode (turn the E[...]

6 Editing Programs 19 To Edit a Selected Program 1. Select a program to edit using the foot pedals or VALUE knob. 2. Turn the EFFECT k nob to the effect module or param eter you wish to modify. 3. Turn the VALUE knob to select an effect type or value for the module. As soon as you change the value, the EDITED decimal point on the display l ights up[...]

7 Using the Tuner 20 To Tune Your Bass 1. In PLAY mode, enter BYPASS mode by pressing bo th foot pedals at the sa me time onc e, or enter MUTE mode by holding them bot h down for more than half a second. The display will now show tunin g information. 2. Make sure your bass is connected to the BassFX , and play the open string you wis h to tune. The[...]

Using the Tuner 7 21 Changing Pitch Reference If you turn the VALUE knob while using the tuner, the display shows you the se tting for the BassFX’s pitch reference, which is set to 440Hz (sho wn as ) for the A note above m iddle C. The po ssible range of values for this setting is 35 to 45, which represents 435Hz to 445Hz. When you turn the Bass [...]

8 Storing & Copying Programs 22 To Store a Program 1. In PLAY or EDI T mode, press the VALUE knob. The disp lay will flash the current program number. 2. Use the VALUE knob or the foot pedals to select the program number where th e current program will be stored. If you want to sa ve it in the same program nu mber, you can skip this step. 3. Pr[...]

9 Deferred Program Change 23 When you switch pro gram s , the BassFX normally changes immediately to the pro g ram sh o wn on the display. However, in some situations—especially when p layin g live— you may want the ability to scro ll th rough program numbers while remaining in the c urrent program setti ng. For example , let’s say you’re s[...]

10 EFFECT Knob Settings 24 Following are desc riptions of eac h of the ef fect module s (and other settings of the EFF ECT knob), alo ng with their e ffect types and parame ters. PLAY In this setting, th e display show s you the c urrent program number. This is t he mode in whic h you shou ld be per forming , as it allows you to easily switch progr[...]

EFFECT Knob Settings 10 25 Classic 1 Recreates the well-kno wn tone of a classic combo bass amp; works well for most playing styles. Classic 2 Recreates the sound of a clas s ic s t age am p lifier. Jazz Tone Replicates the warm sound of class ic combo amps used by the jazz greats (hint: this one sounds grea t with a tou ch of choru s in FX1 or FX3[...]

10 EFFECT Knob Settings 26 EQ (Equalizer) This setting gives yo u a 4-b and equalizer that you can use to shape the s o und of your audio signal by cutting and boosting certai n frequenc ies. Varying levels of cut and boost for low, middle and high audio frequencies broken do wn as fo llows: 01 – 10: Lower values = attenuat ed highs and emphas iz[...]

EFFECT Knob Settings 10 27 CAB (Cabinet Simulator) This module emulates vario us cab inet setups. This effect is especially useful if you are plugging your ba s s directly in to th e board instead of using an amplifier. A 4 x 10” driver cabinet. A 4 x 12” driver cabinet. A 1 x 15” driver cabinet. Turns off CAB. FX1 (Multi-Effect M odule 1, Mo[...]

10 EFFECT Knob Settings 28 Cry Creates an effect si milar to that of a voice box, adding a hu man-like crying effect to the s o und. Higher values result in faster attack/release rates. Pedal Cry A cry effect whose cry-filter fr equency is contro lled b y the control pedal. Random Sample and Hold Step Filter Filters the signal with a cutoff freq ue[...]

EFFECT Knob Settings 10 29 Rotary Speaker Emulates the sound of the classic ro tary, creatin g a Do pp ler effe ct similar to that ac hieved by an organ’s rota ting speaker. Hi gher values result in greater intensity and pan dep th. Pedal Rotary Speaker A rotary speaker effect wh ose intensity and pan depth are controlled by t he control pe dal. [...]

10 EFFECT Knob Settings 30 Indicates the value of FX1’s direct-con t ro l parameter, according to the following: For Phaser, Tremolo, Step Filter, Auto Pan, Flanger and Chorus, indicates the rate of the effect. For Slow Attack, indicates the rate of the attack. For Rotary Speaker, indicates th e rate of the speaker rotation. For Pedal Pitch Trans[...]

EFFECT Knob Settings 10 31 Auto Pan Pans the signal back and forth f rom left to righ t at a constant rate determined by the PARAM setting. Higher values result in increased pan de pth. Pedal Auto Pan An Auto Pan e ffect whose depth is c ontrolled by the control pedal. Octaver Adds a note an oc tave lower than the note you are playing. Higher value[...]

10 EFFECT Knob Settings 32 Pedal Doubling Doubling effect who s e inten sity is controlled by the control pedal. Ping Pong Delay Creates a delay that bounces ba ck and fo rth between the right and left sides of the stereo spectrum . Higher values indicate more feedback. Pedal Ping Pong Ping Pong Delay effect whose a mount of feedback i s controlled[...]

EFFECT Knob Settings 10 33 Room Reverb Simulates the e ffect of sou nd waves bounc ing off of the walls of a room. Higher values indicate a wett er m ix. Pedal Room Reverb A Room Reverb effect wh o se wet/dry mix is controlled by the control pedal. Reverse Reverb Creates a backwards-playing reve rb that you hear immediately before you hear the orig[...]

10 EFFECT Knob Settings 34 For all reverbs, higher values indic a te a lon ger decay. For fixed-interval P itch Transpose, indicates the wet/dry mix from 0 (100% dry) to 10 (50% dry, 50% wet) to 20 (100% wet). Indicates that the control pedal controls the parameter. Indicates FX3 is off. DIGFX (Digital Sampling Effects) This effect module emulat es[...]

EFFECT Knob Settings 10 35 ROU TE In this position, the display in dicates the current signal routing order of the FX modules. This ordering can have a big effect on your soun d, as each effect in the configuration feeds into the next. The LEVEL setting always comes last in line. This is the default order. This one is the d efault order wi th FX2 a[...]

11 Troubleshooting 36 T roubleshooting Index Symptoms Cause Solution Unit does not funct ion (no display or audio). Batteries dead. Replace batte ries . Incorr ect A C adapter . Use only Alesis P6 or equiv alent. No/incor rect INPUT connection. On battery po wer , the BassFX will turn on only when a mono 1/4” plug is ins erted in to the INPUT jac[...]

12 Specifications 37 For the more technical-minded, here are s ome detailed specifications for the BassFX. AUDIO PROCESSING Effect Modules: 9 Programs: 4 banks x 10 Pro grams = 40 progr ams, user overwritable, maintained when unit is off, restorable to facto ry defaults AUDIO PERFORMANCE THD+N: < 0.05% A/D Converter: 20-bit, 64 times oversamplin[...]

13 Warranty/Contact Alesis 38 Alesis Limited W arranty ALESIS CORPORATION ( "ALESIS") w arrants this p roduct to be f ree of defects in material and workmanship for a pe riod of one (1) year for parts and for a perio d of one (1) year for labor from the date of original reta il purchase. This warra nty is enforcea b le only by the origina[...]

Warranty/Contact Alesis 13 39 Alesis Contact Information Alesis Distribution, LLC Los Angeles, USA E-mail: support@ale sis.com Website: http://www.alesis.com BassFX User Manual V e rs i on 1 . 1 by E d w i n E r dma n n Copyright 2003, Alesis Distribution, LLC. All rights reserved Reproduction in whole or in part is pr ohibited. Spe cific ations su[...]

7-51-0139-A[...]