PCM 81 Quick Reference Guide
Basic Operation
The PCM 81 has 5 basic modes of operation, selected by pressing: Program Banks, Register Banks, Edit, Control or Tempo
Program Banks
and Register Banks
Press Program Banks to
cycle through 6 banks of 50
presets. Press Register
Banks to access an internal
bank of 50 registers (or
PCMCIA card banks) where
you can store modified ver-
sions of the factory-loaded
presets.
Each set of PCM 81 controls
is organized into a matrix of
as many as 10 rows and 10
columns.
Simultaneously press Up
and Down to return to 0.0.
←
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✱
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3.6 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
→
↑
↓
SELECT moves you
horizontally across
the matrix.
Your current matrix location is shown in the
lower left of the display. A P, an R or a C
preceding the number indicates you are in a
Program, Register or Card Bank. If there is no
number shown here, you are in Go mode.
(See Edit.)
Up and Down
move you
vertically
through the
rows of the
matrix.
In Edit, Control or Tempo mode, a
✱
indicates the presence of multiple param-
eters within a single matrix location. Press
Load/
✱
to cycle through all of the param-
eters; simultaneously press Load/
✱
with
either Up or Down to backstep.
Edit
Press Edit to access all
available parameters for the
currently running effect. Turn
ADJUST to alter the value of
any displayed parameter.
Control
Press Control to access sys-
tem parameters, MIDI con-
trols, and global control of
parameters such as Mix,
Tempo, and Bypass type.
Tempo
Press Tempo to set tempo-
related values that affect the
delay time and LFO rate pa-
rameters of the currently
running effect.
In Edit, Control or Tempo mode, ADJUST scrolls
through the range of available settings for the displayed
control . In Program Banks and Register Banks mode,
ADJUST is patched to one or more effect parameters.
To set PCM 81 tempo rate,
press Tempo. Use SELECT
and Up and Down to locate
matrix position 0.0. Turn AD-
JUST to select any Tempo
Rate from 40-400 BPM.
Any PCM 81 delay param-
eter (as many as 10 in some
effects) and any time-based
modulator can be individu-
ally assigned an absolute
time or tempo value.
You can set delay times in
milliseconds, or in a ratio of
echoes/beats which are
linked to tempo. When you
change tempo, the delay
times will change to main-
tain the same rhythm at the
new tempo.
Note: You can set and display delay values in units of time, or
with tempo values. Whenever a delay value is displayed in Edit
mode, press Up and Tempo simultaneously to toggle these two
options.
The PCM 81 offers an exten-
sive set of informative dis-
play messages which can be
activated from the front
panel. If you want to know
more about the function of a
particular button —without
actually executing any ac-
tion — press and hold the
button down. While you are
holding down the button, an
explanatory message will
appear on the display.
Or, press Tap twice in
rhythm to establish the
tempo rate you want. Tap is
always active, allowing you
to change tempo on the fly.
Tempo
Info
Simultaneously press the
Banks button with either Up
or Down to backstep
through the banks.
Turn SELECT to view all of
the effects in the selected
bank. A
✱
in front of an effect
name indicates that the ef-
fect is not loaded. Hold down
either Banks button to see
the name of the currently
running effect.
Press Load/
✱
to load any
displayed effect.
ADJUST acts as a soft knob
for adjustment of one or more
patched effect parameters.
Lexicon Part No. 070-12615
