Adjust the Swing Timing of Drumbeats or Filter Sequences
Did you know that you can change any 1/16 note drumbeat from straight time to swing or halfway in-between? To do this, use the Timebase setting, located in the Drums row, 4th column. There are 5 options, but here are the ones to use:
16n (Straight 1/16 notes)
16H (Halfway between straight 1/16 notes and swing timing, a loose swing feel)
16S (Swing timing)
For example, try beat 89 with each of these 3 settings and listen to the difference a little swing makes. Also, any filter, arpeggiator or tremolo sequence that plays at the same time will use this selected swing setting. This is how we programmed preset 142, a Tremolo Sequence that imposes a Reggae rhythm on your guitar sound. See page 56 of the Users Manual for details.
Try Different Filter Types
Most of AdrenaLinn III's filter presets (73-85, 100-111, 125-139, and 160-167) use either the Lowpass or Bandpass filter types, but the Hipass and Notch filter types--while less commonly used--have their own interesting characters. If you're looking for a new sound, select one of the filter presets, then change the filter type:
1) Select the Filter Type parameter. (Select row 2, column 3, then select Details mode by briefly tapping both arrow keys simultaneously.)
2) Turn knob 3 to select one of the 5 filter types:
LP2 (Oberheim-style lowpass filter)
LP4 (Moog-style lowpass filter),
bnP (bandpass filter, like wah pedal),
not (notch filter, which blocks a narrow range of middle frequencies) or
HiP (hipass filter, which only passes higher frequencies).
See page 21 of the Users Manual for details. Also, you'll discover tremendous tone variation by tweaking the Frequency, Resonance, Depth and FX-Dry settings, all described on pages 16-19 of the manual.
The Post Treble setting
The Post Treble setting is an often-overlooked but very useful setting, located in row 4, column 4, Details layer of the front panel. It's a lowpass filter that appears directly after the amp models in the signal path, and can be very useful when you want to reduce high frequencies of distortion sounds in a way that's more useful that an ordinary treble control. See page 34 of the Users Manual for details.
Beat-Synced Time-Slice and Reassembly
This is a truly weird effect that produce solos you'll either love or hate. It's demonstrated in preset 184, "Mangled Notes", and works by combining Square-Wave Tremolo with Beat-Synced Delay. In this effect, Square-Wave Tremolo is used to slice away every second 1/16 note, and delay is used to fill the resulting holes with the 1/16 note slice immediately preceding each hole. Here are a few interesting variations of preset 184:
1) Set SPEED to "8t" and DELAY TIME to "8n"
2) Set SPEED to "4n" and DELAY TIME to "8n"
3) Set SPEED to "16n" and DELAY TIME to "16d"
4) Set SPEED to "4n", DELAY TIME to "8d" & DELAY REPEATS to "65" (better with chords)
Restore an individual preset or drumbeat to factory status
You probably know to restore all of the AdrenaLinn III's presets and drumbeats to factory status: hold both foot switches while connecting power. But did you know that you can also restore only one preset or drumbeat to factory status? To restore an individual preset, select the preset, hold the UP ARROW key for at least 1/2 second, turn the PRESET knob to the right until it shows "FAC", then briefly press UP ARROW again. To restore an individual drumbeat, select the drumbeat, hold the DOWN ARROW key for at least 1/2 second, turn the DRUMBEAT knob to the right until it shows "FAC", then briefly press DOWN ARROW again.
Transpose Arpeggiator Sequences with a MIDI keyboard
AdrenaLinn III's Arpeggiator Sequences--used by John Mayer in his hit "Bigger Than My Body"--are a wonderful tool for inspiring new ideas. However, they loop the same 2-bar note sequence regardless of what chords you play. To transpose these sequences in real time, simply connect a MIDI keyboard (or MIDI bass pedals). Press any key lower than the "E" below middle C to transpose down, or any key above it to transpose up.
Timing of START foot switch
* Are you finding it difficult to start the drumbeat on time with the START footswitch? That's because the beat starts when you release the foot switch. Click here to learn how to make it actuate on the downstroke
What to play on guitar when using AdrenaLinn's beat-synced effects
* When using AdrenaLinn III's Filter Sequences, start by playing sustained chords. Don't try to solo over it or play rhythmically because this will fight the rhythm of the sequencer. Instead, simply lets chords sustain and hear how the sequencer plays with the guitar sound. If you're playing a clear sequence sound (no amp distortion), try arpeggiating the chord in time to the drumbeat.
What to play on guitar when using AdrenaLinn's Arpeggiator Sequences
* When using AdrenaLinn III's Arpeggio Sequences, remember that the notes in these sequences don't change depending on what you play. Also, all the factory presets containing Arpeggio Sequences are set by default to the key of E. So when using these presets, start by sustaining an E chord (E Minor for E minor sequences, and E major--or root+5 only--for others). Like the filter sequences, at first just sustain a chord and let the sequence provide the rhythm. Then slowly experiement with what you play to find out what works for you. And to transpose the sequence, simply change the value of the Frequency/Key parameter.
Dotted 1/8 note delay
* When using the beat-synced delay, the Dotted 1/8 Note setting ("8d") is a great value to start with because the resulting "3 against 2" rhythm fits nicely in all the holes between subsequent notes.
