Instrument editor

The Instrument editor is a powerful tool to transform an ordinary sample into a real instrument. It gives you full control over all sort of envelopes over the instrument, making multi sample instruments etc.

Screen displays (from top-left to bottom-right)

Volume/Pan/Pitch envelope

• On/Off (Volume/Panning/Pitch)

  Selects and enables/disables a specific envelope.

• Envelope type

  Selects between a linear and a curved envelope.

• Length

  Defines how long the selected envelope will last (in ticks)

• Envelope display

  Draw envelope with left or right mouse buttons. Left draws lines, right draws points.

• Presets

  Select predefined envelopes or define new ones (left mouse to recall, right to store an envelope in a preset button). Saving and loading an envelope includes the used loop points.

• Init/Flip/Mirror

  Initializes an envelope (sets it back to default) or mirrors it horizontally (Flip) or vertically (Mirror).

• Loop

  Selects the loop type that of the current envelope. When you select the loop type, Start and End markers appear, and you can move them with the mouse.

• Sustain

  When enabled, the sustain marker appears, and you can move it with the mouse. Sustain is the point where envelope playback is paused until key release (note off).

• FadeOut

  If an envelope loop is set and you trigger a Note Off command, this value is the speed of the fadeout (to silence). A smaller value means a longer fadeout time.

• LFO/Dephase/Freq/Amp

  These are LFO parameters. Select LFO type (basic waveforms like sinus, triangle, random) and control it with the Dephase/Freq/Amp parameters. Also look at the line display between the 2 LFOs to see how fast the LFO modulates the sound. If the second LFO is turned on, it will modify the first one, and the result will be the mixed LFO value. LFOs are individual for each envelope type, and they are a great way to produce volume/pan/pitch oscillation without drawing envelopes.

Filter envelope

Most of the parameters are the same as with Volume envelope. Here are the only differences:

• Cutoff/Reso/Filter type

  Sets the Cutoff and Resonance envelope and the type of filter applied to the envelope.

• AutoAmp

  Simple envelope follower that controls the Cutoff and Resonance amounts dynamically.

• Attack

  Sets how fast the envelope reacts on higher peak values coming from the audio signal.

• Release

  Sets how fast the envelope will fall down when the peak of the audio signal falls beneath the envelopes amount.

• Amount

  Define the intensity with which the envelope controls the Cutoff / Resonance amount. 127 means full control over the Cutoff / Resonance.

Multi Sample Instruments (split sample keyboard)

Multi Sample Instruments are described in detail in the Instrument settings section.

If you have more than one sample in an instrument, it is here that you can define which keys they will be assigned to. Multi sampled instruments sound more natural and you can also create drum kits with this keyboard.

• Selected split's base note

  Defines which keyboard key will be assigned to the current sample as Base Note (what frequency will be produced by pressing "C-4").

• Transpose all splits

  Changes the Base Note of all split samples.

• Set all to current split

  This button fills the keyboard with the current split number and erases all other numbers. By pressing this button, you make the current sample the "only one in the multi sample instrument).

• Generate drum kit map

  This spreads the splits across keyboard keys so that one key receives one split number. This way you can generate drum kits (instruments with many drum samples, different drum on each different key). The advantage of setting up drum kits in this way is that you need only one instrument for a whole set of drums, and applying DSPs and effects is easier this way. Also, playing the drum samples with the keyboard is a lot easier like this.

To position samples across keyboard keys, select the first sample split and draw with mouse on the keyboard in the Instrument editor where you want it to be located (it will draw 0's). Then select the second sample and draw it where you want this one (it will draw 1's). After you've drawn key splits for all samples, test it by playing on your real keyboard (or PC virtual piano keyboard).

Using the Instrument editor

A sample without envelopes is just a sample. A sample with envelopes and key splits is an instrument.

• Volume envelope

  Try loading a basic string loop sample. It will just loop without any exciting changes. Now if you add (at least) a volume envelope you can make it fadein at the start position and fadeout at the end (while the sample is looping). Other instruments, basses for example, could have short fadein and longer fadeout times using a volume envelope. With leads, you may want to hold a certain volume for a pitch change - in this case use Loop and/or Sustain points to hold envelope playback at certain points. Your lead will follow the volume envelope until loop or sustain points are reached and then either loop or pause playback of the envelope. After note off, it will either continue with envelope playback (if you selected sustain) or fade out (loop) with FadeOut value.

• Panning envelope

  You can also do stereo pans across 2 speakers. The effect will be mostly audible on headphones but also on speakers it will give the sound more space. You can also do left-right "swish's" or such effects with pan envelopes.

• Pitch envelope

  A pitch envelope is used to give sound interesting pitch slides. It may start at octave up and slide quickly to a lower octave, for example. To make a simple vibrato effect, you can use loop points and draw a sinus envelope, but for this purpose it is much easier with an LFO where you don't even need a pitch envelope.

• Filter envelope

  The filter envelope is very effective on 303 slides or strings. Use it also to create interesting leads - it may, for example, change your lead from sounding dull to sounding sharp.

• LFOs

  LFOs can be used to replace certain envelope effects. In certain cases you can do the whole thing only by using volume/pan/pitch LFO even without turning the graphical envelope on. LFO modulates sound but to hear the effect LFO gives it is best to start one and play with LFO waveforms, amplitude and frequency. You can also use an LFO together with an envelope for some special effects.

• Split keyboard

  Here is an example how to create multi sampled piano - assuming you have one sample for each C-key in each octave, load all of these as separate samples. Now select the first one and draw where you want to put it on the keyboard. Do the same for the second but one octave up. Do it for all samples you have. Setup a base note for each of them correctly! When you play this instrument now it will automatically jump to another sample when one sample's boundary has been reached. This results in a very natural sounding piano.

Envelopes are very powerful tools that are simple to learn but for a better understanding of them and how you can use them effectively you need to hear some examples. Therefore we prepared a few. For examples of using Instrument envelopes load and play the Tutorials included in songs folder. Then try turning off envelope and hear the difference. Play with them or learn them from other songs, too.

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