Section 1 — Controls and Architecture
ASR-10 Musician’s Manual
12
Architecture
Architecture
“Booting” the ASR-10
Insert the power cord into the line receptacle on the back of the ASR-10, next to the power switch.
Plug the other end of the cable into a grounded AC outlet. The proper voltage for your ASR-10 is
listed on the Serial Number label on the rear panel. Turn the ASR-10 power on and make sure
the display lights up. If not, check your connections and power source.
The ASR-10 Operating System (O.S.) — the computer program that tells the hardware what to do
— is “disk based.” This means that each time you turn the ASR-10 on, the first disk you insert
must be one containing an ASR-10 Operating System (see the disk label). This is called “booting”
the machine. Insert the disk with the label facing up and the sliding metal door facing away from
you. The display will read LOADING SYSTEM while the O.S. is being loaded. You should
always use the latest (highest-numbered) Operating System. If the first disk you put in the drive
doesn’t contain the ASR-10 Operating System — the display will flash O.S. NOT ON DISK or
DISK NOT FORMATTED. Just remove that disk and insert a proper ASR-10 O.S. disk.
Note:
We recommend that you use a copy of the original O.S. Disk for daily use, and store the original
O.S. Disk in a safe place. For more information, see the Preface.
Right after the ASR-10 is finished loading the Operating System, and before it puts itself into
LOAD mode, it will calibrate its keyboard. During calibration the software scans each key and
optimizes its velocity and pressure response. The display will briefly read TUNING KBD -
HANDS OFF. It is important that you don’t play or hold down any keys during this time (see
below).
Once it has “booted” the ASR-10 is ready to operate, but it won’t make any sound until you
LOAD an instrument into its internal memory and then select that instrument by pressing its
Instrument•Sequence Track button. These functions will be covered later in this section.
Keyboard Calibration
Each time you switch it on, the ASR-10 will go through a boot-up routine that includes
calibrating the keyboard — a process by which the ASR-10 software is able to scan the entire
keyboard and optimize the response of each key. This ensures that the keyboard is always fine
tuned for the best possible response. The calibration process only takes about three seconds.
Never play the keyboard while it’s calibrating:
After you turn on the ASR-10 and insert the Operating System in the drive, the display will show
LOADING SYSTEM, then TUNING KBD - HANDS OFF. You should not play the keyboard
while this message is on the display. After about three seconds, the display will automatically
switch to show the instrument files on the current disk and the ASR-10 is ready for use.
If you do play the keyboard while it’s calibrating:
Playing keys during calibration will cause the display to show KBD FAILED - RETRY? Press
Enter•Yes to allow it to calibrate again, taking care not to play keys this time. In short, you
should make it a point not to play keys during the first few moments after turning the unit on.
If the KBD FAILED message appears without touching the keys:
If the display repeatedly shows KBD FAILED RETRY? even when you are not touching keys
during calibration, this would indicate a hardware problem and the unit should be serviced by an
Authorized ENSONIQ Repair Station.
Using the ASR-10 as a sound module only, after getting repeated KBD FAILED messages:
If you want to use the unit as a sound module after the display shows repeated KBD FAILED
RETRY? messages, press Cancel•No. This will disable the Poly-Key™ keyboard completely, but
the ASR-10 will respond normally to all button presses and incoming MIDI information from
another MIDI instrument.
