Sound Bridge and the DM Pro

M

MERRICK

New member
uh...Sorry about the double post. I just realized this belongs in the Alesis Forum.

I am looking to expand my Alesis DM Pro via Sound Bridge. I'm having a hard time finding info on these questions:

1] Can anyone please recommend an exact make and model number 8MB Flash RAM PCMCIA card known to work with the DM Pro?

2] Can anyone tell me a good retailer/price?

3] I am collecting 16/44.1 samples, but I have the ability to create 20 bit .wav files. Could I create 20bit/48KHz .wav files for sound bridge to import to the Flash RAM?

4] How many seconds of 20/48 samples can I have on an 8MB card?

5] How many seconds of 16/44.1 samples can I have on an 8MB card?

Of Course I have e-mailed Alesis but they are taking their time, and I'm hoping someone here has hands on experience. Thanks!


Thanks to anyone who can help!
 
I picked up an 8 meg flash ram card for my Pro. The slips in the office so I'll send you the vender's web address tomorrow. Did a lot of research to find the cheapest manner to do this. Final result... you can't do it cheap. With memory sticks selling for less than a buck a meg, this 8 meg card will run you about $150. I could only find two venders that sell a compatible card. Supply and demand you know... they've got you by the short & curlies!!

Steve
 
Thanks for the reply Steve. You're my official envoy into the forum! I just finished a search and I found this:
http://www.pretec.com/order.htm#Linear Flash (Macronix,%20Fujitsu)

It's Pretec's online site. 8MB for $76 + Shipping(~$11.00). I sent their tech Support a question about the plastic vs. metal case. Did you check Pretec? Is their an issue with this company? Do you know any of the answers to my other questions?

That's alot of questions I know. Thanks for the input. I hope to contribute to this forum in kind.

Merrick
 
Here is the meat of my findings. The following are the e-mails I traded with Pretec Tech Support:

Dear Pretec Support,
I would like to purchase an 8MB FAD008-P Linear Flash Card for my Alesis DM PRO drum module. I am concerned with the metal vs. Plastic AMD issue as described at the bottom of the enclosed Alesis article. Can you please confirm if there is no existing issue with the Pretec Card and the DM PRO? Thank you for your valuable time and support.

Merrick

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They need to update their site as we have. There was some confusion about plastic vs. metal casings in the past but it's no longer an issue--all our current FAD008-P cards are compatible with Alesis digital instrument requiring such cards.

Peter Mo
Pretec Technical Support

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks Peter! God bless you. I've been running around the web like a nut. But to add more confusion, I just got off the phone with Alesis (finally) and they said I want Pretec Part Number: FAD008F-P (note extra F). I asked him to repeat it. Is this a different card than the one you have listed on your website for purchase?

Merrick

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The important thing for the Alesis instruments is that the card must be based on the AMD Series-D chip. Both our current FAD008-P (licensed manufacturer is Macronix) and our former FAD008F-P (licensed manufacturer is Fujitsu) meet this requirement.

Peter Mo
Pretec Technical Support
 
Well I'll be biting the bullet but I may consider 2 cards depending on:

I am collecting 16/44.1 samples, but I have the ability to create 20 bit .wav files. Could I create 20bit/48KHz .wav files for sound bridge to import to the Flash RAM?

How many seconds of 20/48 samples can I have on an 8MB card?

How many seconds of 16/44.1 samples can I have on an 8MB card?


When Burning a Flash card, must I install all samples from scratch, or can I add samples one at a time?
 
Good price... I bought mine from the same guys and it cost me $150 about six months ago. Part Number FAD008-P. The card works fine but the DM-Pro Sh$&% the bed.

It's a long story involving GC, Alesis, and a Warehouse... But the pro's been out of service for the last five months and is currently sitting in the closet of my den (Studio). If you want to hear the horror story, look up the thread elsewhere in this forum.

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32145


Sorry I didn't get back to you, I spaced out... been spending most of my time at VS Planet trying to get my VSR 880 talking to my sequencer.

Let me know how you make out. I wasn't able to do too much with the card before some of the pros trigger inputs headed south.

Thanks,

Steve
 
Sorry to hear your problem. I actually read that thread a while ago. I know of one place here in New York City that repairs Alesis. They fixed a warranty Behringer unit for me and when I went there, I thought they were very pro in the amount of brands they service and the fact that they did simple stuff to workstations:

dBm Pro Audio/Music Services
320 W37th Street New York, NY
1-212-629-0326

www.dbmproaudio.com

I see you're in MA though.

I'll post my findings here when I get some answers. I'm nagging Alesis with e-mail but I'll call very soon.

I heard that there is a good improvement for the triggers in software version 1.02 of the DM Pro. Hey here's a pointless fact, Alesis in house communication refers to the DM Pro as the DM6 (It's on a repair invoice I got from them last year)

Thanks again!!
 
Hey Merrick...

Is that new version available for download? And do you know if it can be loaded via Midi?

That might just solve my problem. A couple of the triggers are just misbehaving. The Hi-Hat pedal is reversed, and I think its the snare is cycling with a strike every second or so. If I turn down the sensitivity on that trigger I can prevent the drum sounding, but then the pad plays with no velocity (soft no matter how hard you pound the Sh%$ out of it).

I was very happy with the trigger performance before the problems, doesn't even compare to the DM-5 (which I also own, and have to use for now).

Thanks...Let me know,

Steve
 
Oh... Hey...

Thanks for the repair info; I'll file that away. But I'm trying to go through Alesis. They have a flat rate $85.00 for the Pro, but I should be able to get the work done on warrantee.

I've been dealing with a woman from a company that's just about to get the Alesis contract for all in-house repairs. We've talked on a number of occasions (they've fixed two other Alesis products for me), and she said she'd bump me to the top of the pile as soon as they sign on the dotted line. Probably be able to turn it around for me in a couple of days opposed to a couple of months if I ship it to Alesis.

Thanks Again!

Steve
 
Hi steve,
Based on the experience I had when I sent my 2 Pro's to Alesis for non warranty: repairs, software upgrades from version 1.01 to 2.0, new Lithium batteries and thorough diagnostics. (they offered a complete package for a flat $85 per unit). In that course of time I phoned several times and picked their brains to know as much as I could regarding my RMA's and the DM Pro in general. Please keep in mind that I do not use the triggers. BTW I did own a pair of DM 5's also but sold them to get the Pro's.

To the best of my knowledge the software upgrade consists of 2 chips and 1 capacitor.
Chip 1 reads: 2-31-0097 D6v2.00 ALESIS (SP) 12/27/99 C/S C16D
Chip 2 reads: 2-31-0098 D6v2.00 ALESIS (SP) 12/27/99 C/S 06E9
The capacitor is for the Cymbal Choke Function, it reads:
103M Z5U 1KV

I beleve v.2.0 is the most recent.

BTW Did you do a hard reset of the unit? This might do the trick, but you'll lose your trigger settings. I don't know if trigger settings can be backed up via MIDI.

Good luck.
 
I guess that depends on what you call a hard reset.

I tried all of the resets that were documented in the manual, but could not find a function to reset all parameter to factory default at once(Had to reset trigger, Kits, samples, etc. individually. No luck with Alesis tech support on that one. I did find an undocumented test menu. Ran through every self-tests and the unit passed them all.

Do you have an all parameter reset? Boy that would be fantastic. I originally hesitated in bring the unit back for repair because it sounded like a data corruption problem (while trying odd stuff with the Memory card) but it was day 30 on a Guitar Center and the unit was about to turn into a pumpkin.

I'll check my version, maybe pick up the parts and do the upgrade before I send it in. Thanks for the Info!!

Let me know about the reset thing...

Thanks,

Steve
 
I just looked in the manual. You're right there is no true Global reset. I was confusing the re-initialization on page 111.

BTW I got some feed back from Pretec on my question. The answer was there in front of me. If I make a 20bit/48KHz sample of a drum hit, and look at the.wav file properties for file size, I can calculate how many of these files are stored on an "8 MB Hard Drive"
 
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