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BFD Eco NFUZD3 Credits4 Ch.1 Introduction to BFD Eco4 1:1 BFD Eco basics4 Launching BFD Eco4 BFDEco’sinterface5 NoteforBFDEcoNFUZDusers6 1:2 Loading sounds6 •LoadingaBFDEcoPreset6 •Loadingakit6 •Loadingakit-piece6 1:3 Playing sounds6 •viaMIDI6 •fromtheGroovespage6 •previewingsounds7 1:4 Default MIDI key assignments
8 Ch.2 BFD Eco audio architecture8 2:1 Kits, kit-pieces and articulations9 2:2 Velocity layers and mic channels9 2:3 Using expansion packs with BFD Eco
10 Ch.3 Loading and saving in BFD Eco10 3:1 Preset types and kit-pieces10 3:2 Other preset types used in BFD Eco10 3:3 Using the Preset pickers11 3:4 Lock buttons11 3:5 Using preset browsers11 Presetlisting,LoadandCancel11 ViewSize/Sorting11 Type(kit-piecebrowserforPercussionslotsonly)12 Delete12 Loadfromdisk(Preset,kitandmixerbrowsersonly)12 Search12 Quick-search12 Sticky12 Image/Rating12 Infodisplay12 Targetslotinformation(kit-piecebrowseronly)12 DrumShop(kit-piecebrowseronly)
13 Ch.4 Kit Page and Mixer13 4:1 Kit page13 4:2 Mixer13 Kit-piecechannels13 Ambiencechannels:OHandRoom13 Auxchannels13 Masterchannel13 Mixervisibility14 Selectingchannels14 Selectingmultiplechannels14 4:3 Mixer channel controls14 Channelimage14 FX1/FX2Power14 Pan(kit-piecechannelsonly)14 Mute/Solo14 Levelfader/meter15 Outputselector
15 4:4 Channel context menu15 LoadKit-piece15 ClearKit-piece15 CopyChannel,PasteChannel15 ResetChannel15 ClearChannelFX15 ClearAuxSends
16 Ch.5 Channel page16 5:1 Kit-piece preset picker16 5:2 Inspector16 Largechannelimage16 Tune16 Dyn(Dynamics)16 In/Out(kickonly)16 Bot/Top(snareonly)16 Damp17 Tighten(hihatonly)17 Width(ambiencechannelsonly)17 Distance(ambiencechannelsonly)17 Ambiencecontrols(kit-piecechannelsonly)17 FlipLR17 OH/RoomAmount17 Auxsends(kit-pieceandambiencechannelsonly)17 5:3 EQ and FX slots17 EQ17 FXslots17 Power17 Inputmeter18 Mix18 Effectpicker18 Effectpresetpicker18 Toolsmenu
19 Ch.6 Grooves19 6:1 Introduction to Grooves19 UsingGrooves19 6:2 Groove browser19 Groovelist20 Auto-PreviewandindividualPreviewbuttons20 Categoryfilters20 Search20 6:3 Grooves Mode21 6:4 Drum Track21 Ruler21 Track21 Scrollbar/Zoom21 DrumTrackmarkers21 Positionmarker(blue)21 Insertmarker(red)21 Startmarker(white)21 6:5 Adding parts to the Drum Track22 6:6 Manipulating Parts on the Drum Track22 SelectingParts22 MovingselectedParts22 CopyingselectedParts22 ChangingthesizeofParts22 Trackcontextmenu22 CutselectedParts22 CopyselectedParts
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22 Pastebeforeselection/Pasteafterselection22 PastePartsatMarker22 RepeatselectedParts22 SplitPartatmarker22 ClearallParts23 6:7 Additional Drum Track controls23 Loop23 Export23 6:8 Groove FX23 Quantize23 HumanizeTime23 Swing23 Simplify23 6:9 Exporting Grooves as MIDI
24 Ch.7 Global controls24 Bleed24 GlobalTune24 GlobalDyn(Dynamics)24 HumVel(HumanizeVelocity)24 Volume24 V2A24 FXpower24 Offline24 Learn25 Diskactivitymeter25 RAMmeter25 Contextinfo25 Audiostreamindicator25 MIDIactivityindicator25 Transportcontrols25 Play25 Returntostart25 Stop25 Panic25 Beatlight25 Tempo25 TimeSig(TimeSignature)25 Position25 Record25 ShowJukeboxplayer
26 Ch.8 Key Map panel26 8:1 Key map picker26 Defaultkeymap26 Key/MIDILock
26 8:2 Creating assignments27 8:3 Key context menu27 8:4 Hihat control28 8:5 Adjusting Velocity Response28 8:6 Additional controls28 8:7 Articulations and slots
29 Ch.9 Options and Help menus29 9:1 Options menu29 SetDataPath...29 RebuildDatabases...29 KeyMap...29 TooltipsOn/Off29 OutputsasNumbersOn/Off29 DrummerPerspectiveOn/Off29 Anti-machinegunModeOn/Off29 RAMBuffer16k/32k29 LoadonDemandOn/Off30 SetStartupPreset30 ClearStartupPreset30 ExportNFUZDKit30 ShowJukeboxplayer30 Recordpath30 9:2 Help menu
31 Ch.10 FX devices
33 Ch.11 Standalone application and plugin usage33 Using the BFD Eco Standalone application34 Using BFD Eco as an RTAS or AAX plugin in Digidesign Pro Tools 7.x or later34 Using BFD Eco as an AU plugin in Apple Logic 8 or later35 Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin or an AU plugin in Ableton Live35 Using BFD Eco as an AU plugin in Digital Performer36 Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in Cubase SX36 Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in Cubase 4 or later36 Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in Sonar37 Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in FL Studio37 Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in Reaper37 Potential problems
38 Ch.12 Additional features for NFUZD NSPIRE-series electronic drumkits38 Exporting kits to NFUZD Audio NSPIRE format38 Jukebox player
CreditsProjectlead,programming SKoTMcDonald Additionalprogramming PaulChana,SteveBaker,AngusHewlett,JamaineObeng Webprogramming AndreasSchnetzler,SamSharp Graphicdesign ToniSimonen Additionalgraphicdesign AlexAkers Packagingdesign RusBrockman Documentation MayurMaha Qualityassuranceengineering AndrewVernon,TomMeaney,MikeBugh Contentmanagement RoryDow Marketing&sales RhiannonBankston-Thomas Artistrelations ClareO’Brien Technicalsupport RyanSellers,AlexVolmer FXpansionUSA TerryHardin
Audioengineering JohnEmrich Groovecomposition RussCannizzo–www.groovemonkee.com AdditionalGrooovecomposition JacquesMathias
BreverbPlatebyOverloudTechnologies–www.overloud.com
Specialthankstothebetatestingteam!
Manual revision 3
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Ch.1 Introduction to BFD Eco1:1 BFD Eco basics
BFDEcoisanacousticdrumsoftwareinstrumentwhichprovidesmultisampleddrums,playedinavarietyofways(calledarticulations),andrecordedwithmultiplemicrophonesincludingrealstereoambiencechannels.Thestereoambienceprovidestheactualsoundofthedrumswithinaroom,offeringanaturalalternativetoartificialreverbeffects.BFDEcoalsocontainsaGrooveenginethatplaysbackrealisticdrumperformancesthroughBFDEco’ssounds.MoredetailaboutthearchitectureofBFDEco’ssoundscanbefoundinchapter2.
Launching BFD Eco1. As a standalone applicationOnWindows,you’llfindtheBFDEcostandaloneapplicationhere: Program Files/FXpansion/BFD Eco or Start menu/Programs/FXpansion/BFD EcoOnMac,launchBFDEcofromyourApplicationsfolder.Onceyoustarttheapplication,youmayneedtosetupitsaudioandMIDIsettings.Seechapter11fordetailsonmakingthesesettings.
2. As an instrument plugin within a hostBFDEcocanbelaunchedinaVST/AU/RTAS-compatiblehostinthesamewayasanyotherplugininstrument.Seeyourhostdocumentationfordetailsonthissubject,orseechapter11foraguidetolaunchingBFDEcoinmostmajorhosts.
BFD Eco’s interfaceBFDEco’sinterfacemainlyconsistsof3pages,alongwithamixerthatisalwaysvisible.Switchbetweenthepagesusingthe3pagebuttonsatthetop-leftoftheBFDEcointerface.
Kit page
Mixer
Mixer & kit-piece slots (section 4:2)Themixerletsyoublendbetweenall12kit-piecechannels,OverHeadandRoomambiencechannels,2auxchannelsandamasterchannel.Youcanalsoperformanumberofroutingandparallelprocessingfunctions.Thekit-piecechannelsarealsoslotsinwhichtoloadkit-pieces–double-clickonthechannelimageorright-clickonthechannelandusetheLoad kit-piecefunction.Thisdisplaysthekit-piecebrowserforloadingakit-pieceintotheslot.
Kit page (section 4:1)TheKitpageshowsagraphicalrepresentationoftheloadedkit-pieces,andindicateswhentheyareplayed–thekit-piecesflashwhenevertheirarticulationsaretriggered.Youcanalsoclickonkit-pieceshereinordertopreviewthem.
Channel page
Channel page (chapter 5)TheChannelpagefeaturescontrolsspecifictoeachchannelinthemixer.Thecontrolsforthecurrentlyselectedchannelareshown.•Kit-piecechannels:Controlsforchangingthesoundandresponseofakit-piece–tuning,dampingandmore.
•Ambiencechannels:Controlsforchangingthestereowidthanddistanceoftheambiencemics.•Allchannels:EQand2assignableFXslots.
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Grooves page (chapter 6)TheGroovesengineislocatedinthispage,allowingyoutoplaybackalibraryofprofessionally-produceddrumpatternsthattriggerBFDEco’ssoundsinternally.
Grooves page
Options menu
Help menu
Global controls
Main preset pickers
Other interface items and panelsAswellasthe3mainpages,BFDEcoalsocontainsthefollowingadditionalcontrolsandpanels:
• Main preset pickersThesepickersallowyoutoloadandsaveBFDEcoPresets,kitsandmixersetups.Seechapter3formoredetails.
• Global controls (chapter 7)Anumberofglobalcontrolsarealwaysvisibleontheinterface.
• Options and Help menus (chapter 9)TheOptionsmenufeaturesanumberofpreferencesettingsforcertainaspectsofBFDEco’soperation.ItalsocontainstheDatapathsetting,whichspecifiesthelocationoftheBFDEcoaudiodata.TheHelpmenu,meanwhile,featureslinkstothemanual,FAQs,supportformandsoon.
• Key Map panel (chapter 8)TheKeyMappanelisaccessedfromtheOptionsmenuandletsyoucustomizetheassignmentofMIDInotestoBFDEco’skit-piecearticulations.
Note for BFD Eco NFUZD usersBFD Eco NFUZDisaspecialeditionoftheBFDEcosoftwarecreatedespeciallyfortheNFUZDAudioNSPIREelectronicdrumkit.FunctionallyitisvirtuallyidenticaltotheregularversionofBFDEcoalthoughthereareafewsmalldifferencesandadditionalfeaturessuchas:
•ExportNFUZDKit•DefaultkeymapforNFUZDAudioNSPIREdrummodule•Exclusiveaudiocontentfeaturingadditionalarticulations(Snare/TomRim,HihatsplashandcymbalswithEdgeandBell)
ThismanualusuallyreferstothesoftwareasBFD Eco.WhendescribingfeaturesexclusivetotheNFUZDeditionitisreferredtoasBFD Eco NFUZD.
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1:2 Loading soundsOnceyou’velaunchedBFDEcoandfamiliarisedyourselfwithitsinterface,you’rereadytoloadsomesounds.Seechapter3formoredetailedinformationaboutthevariouspresettypes.
• Loading a BFD Eco PresetClickonthePresetpickerdrop-down–youcaneitherclickonanyPresetshowninthemenu,orclickonLoad... toopenthePresetbrowser.Double-clickonanyPresetinthebrowserlistingtoloadit!A PresetcontainsinformationabouttheentirestateofBFDEco:thekititself,kit-pieceadjustmentsliketuninganddamping,mixerandEQ/FXsettings,andalsothecontentsoftheGroovespage–tryloadingoneofthe“DrumTrack...”presets,whicheachcontainanexampledrumsequence,andstarttheBFDEcotransport(oryourhost’stransportwhenusingtheBFDEcoplugin).
• Loading a kitClickonthekitpickerdrop-down–youcaneitherclickonanykitshowninthemenu,orclickonLoad...toopenthekitbrowser.Double-clickonanykitinthelistingtoloadit.
Thisresultsinloadingthekit–anewconfigurationofkit-pieceswithadjustmentsliketuninganddampingandsoon.ThestateofthemixerandtheGroovespageisunchanged.
Double-click channel image to load kit-piece OR Right-click on the channel
and click ‘Load Kit-piece’
• Loading a kit-pieceToloadanindividualkit-piecesuchasasnare,double-clickontheSnarechannelimagetoopenthekit-piecebrowser.Youcanalsoright-clickanywhereontheSnarechannelandclickonLoad Kit-piece.Double-clickonanysnareinthelistingthatappearsinordertoloadit.Thenewsnarereplacestheprevioussnare.Additionaladjustmentsliketuninganddampingareunchanged.
1:3 Playing soundsOnceyou’veloadedsomesounds,theycanbeplayedusinganyofthefollowingmethods:
• via MIDIYoucanplaynotesviaaMIDIkeyboard,orfromasequenceinyourhostwhenrunningBFDEcoasaplugin.Section2:4showsthedefaultMIDInoteassignmentsforBFDEco’sarticulations.
• from the Grooves pageThebuilt-inGrooveengineallowsyoutoplayBFDEco’ssoundswithitsbuilt-inlibraryofexpressivedrumpatterns.ClickonaGrooveintheGroovepage’sbrowsertohearitthroughthecurrentlyloadedsounds.
• previewing soundsYoucanalsopreviewkit-piecesbyclickingonthemintheKitpagedisplay,orbyALT-clickingonakit-piecechannelimageinthemixer.
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Ch.2 BFD Eco audio architecture2:1 Kits, kit-pieces, articulations and velocity layersKitsInBFDEco,akitisacombinationofkit-pieces,alongwithChannelinspectoradjustmentstoeachkit-piece.
Kit-pieceKit-piecesareindividualdrums,cymbals,hihatsorotherinstrumentswithinakit.Theyareeachmadeupofoneormorearticulations,whichrepresentanindividualwayofplayingthekit-piece.
Articulations and velocity layersTheavailablearticulationsvaryforeachtypeofkit-piece.HereisasummaryofpossiblearticulationsinBFDEcoNFUZD.Pleasenotethatsomekit-piecesmaynotcontainallpossiblearticulations–inthisevent,intelligentsubstitutionoccursifamissingarticulationistriggered.
Kit-piece type Articulations within BFD Eco NFUZD library
Kick Hit,Hit(nosnare)
Snare Hit,Sidestick,Half-edge,Rim,Drag,Rim-click,Flam
Hihat Closed,1/4-open,1/2-open,3/4-open,open(tip) Closed,1/4-open,1/2-open,3/4-open,open(shank) Pedal,Splash
Toms Hit,Rim(Rim-shot)
Cymbals Hit,BellandEdge
Percussion Hit,Alt
Eacharticulationisafolderofnumberedsamplesoraudiofiles,calledvelocity layers.Thesearerecordingsoftheinstrumentbeingstruckatvaryinglevelsofintensity,fromverylighttoveryheavy,arrangedacrosstheMIDIvelocityrangefrom0to127.WhenarticulationsaretriggeredinBFDEco,theirvelocitylayersamplesareplayeddependingonthevelocityofMIDIeventsreceived.Pleaseseesection1:4fordetailsonthedefaultassignmentsforkit-piecearticulationsinthekeymapfortheNFUZEDAudioNSPIREdrummodule.
Choke articulationsAchokeisaspecialkindofarticulationwhichdoesnotproduceanysound–instead,triggeringakit-piece’schokestopsanyotherarticulationsfromthesamekit-piecethatarecurrentlyplaying.Thisfeatureisusefulforchokingacymbaltailearly,forexample(adrummerwould‘stop’thecymbalby‘grabbing’it).Notethatifyouplayakit-piecearticulationwhileanotherfromthesamekit-pieceisstillplaying,thenewarticulationchokesthepreviousarticulation.Inmostsituations,thisoccursgently.However,ifyouplayaclosedhihatarticulationwhileanopenarticulationisstillplaying,theopensoundischokedimmediately,reflectingthebehaviourofarealhihat.
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2:2 Mic channelsEachvelocitylayerisafilecontainingmultipleaudiochannels.Thesechannelsarerecordingsfromseveralsetsofmicrophones.Realdrumrecordingsituationscommonlyusemultiplemicsetupsinordertocaptureavarietyofdifferentaspectsofhowthekitsoundswithinaroom.Akit-piecemaysoundverydifferentdependingonmicplacement.Snaressoundverydifferentwhenmic’dfromaboveratherthanfrombelow–amicplacedontopcapturesthe‘pop’oftheskinbeingstruck,whilethecrunchandsizzleofthewire-meshsnareiscapturedunderneath.Meanwhile,micsinsidekickdrumstendtopickupthe‘snap’or‘click’ofthebeaterstrike(thismicissometimesplacedonthebeaterside).Themain‘thud’andlow-endpoweriscapturedbyamicoutsidethekickdrum(onthesidefurthestfromthedrummer).Drumrecordingsituationsalsomakeuseofstereosetsofmicstocapturethekitasitsoundsasawholewithinaspace.Theycapturetheprojectionofthekitanditsreflectionswithintheroom.BFDEcofeaturesthesignalsfromtwosetsofthesemics,calledambience channels.Individualdirectionalclosemicsonvariouspartsofthekit,knownasdirect channelsinBFDEco,soundvery‘dry’incomparison.
Mic channel Contents Kicks Snares Toms / Perc Cyms / Hats
Kick In Themicinsidethekick DirectKickIn - - -
Kick Out Themicoutsidethekick DirectKickOut - - -
Snare Btm Themicunderthesnare Bleed DirectSnareBottom - -
Snare Top Themicabovethesnare - DirectSnareTop - -
Multi Anyotherdirectmic - - Directsignal Directsignal
OH Stereoover-headmicset Allkit-piecesfeatureastereoOHambiencechannel.The‘amount’ofeachkit-pieceintheOHchannelcanbevariedwiththeSend OHcontrolintheChannelpage.
Room Stereoroommicset Allkit-piecesfeatureastereoRoomambiencechannel.The‘amount’ofeachkit-pieceintheRoomchannelcanbevariedwiththeSend RoomcontrolintheChannelpage.
Bleed and Direct channels‘Bleed’betweenmicsisaphenomenonthatalwaysoccurswhenrecordingdrumswithdiscretedirectmicsforeachpartofthekit.Adedicatedmicintendedtocaptureonepartofthekitalwayspicksupsomesoundfromotherpartsofthekit.InBFDEco,theonlybleedthatexistsisthekicksignalintheSnareBottomchannel,inordertoreducesystemresourceandRAMusage.Itispossibletocontrolthelevelofthisbleedwiththe Bleedcontrolatthebottom-leftoftheinterface.Whetheryouusebleedornotisuptoyouandyourpersonalpreference.Itisrecommendedtousebleedifyouwanta‘realistic’sound,asbleedalwaysoccursinamulti-micdrumrecording.However,ifyouwanttogobeyondnotionsofrealismandachieve‘idealseparation’forprocessingeachkit-piecediscretely,thenturndownthelevelofthebleedtozero.
Ambience channels (stereo)TheambiencechannelsallowyoutoapproachmixinginBFDEcointhesamewayasanactualrecordingofadrummerplayingakit.Becauseeachinstrumentisplayedindividually,itsambiencechannelsarediscrete.However,sincethiswouldsimplymeantoomanychannelstoconvenientlymix,thediscretechannelsaremixeddownto2ambiencechannel‘buses’fortheOverHeadandRoommicpositions.However,youcanadjusttheamountofeachkit-pieceintheambiencechannels,usingitsSend OH and Send Roomcontrols.
2:3 Using expansion packs with BFD EcoWhenusingexpansionpackswithBFDEco,onlythefirst2ambiencechannelscanbeused.Inaddition,allaudiodataisloadedin16bitqualitywithamaximumof24velocitylayers.
2:4 Default MIDI key assignmentsThefollowingtableshowsthedefaultMIDIkeyassignmentsfortheNFUZDNSPIREdrummodulekeymapinBFDEcoNFUZD.Formoredetailsaboutthecharacteristicsofeacharticulation,seethenextchapter.This list corresponds to -2 Octave numbering scheme (the lowest octave is numbered as octave -2). MIDI note numbers are also shown.
MIDI note MIDI note number Slot : Articulation Kit-piece articulationE3 64 8:2 Cym2Bell
D3 62 7:2 Crash(Cym1)Bell
B2 59 9:3 Ride(Cym3)Edge
A#2 58 4:3 FloorTomRim
A2 57 8:1 Cym2Hit
G2 55 7:3 Crash(Cym1)Edge
F2 53 9:2 Ride(Cym3)Bell
E2 52 8:3 Cym2Edge
D#2 51 9:1 Ride(Cym3)Hit
D2 50 6:3 HiTomRim
C#2 49 7:1 Crash(Cym1)Hit
C2 48 6:1 HiTomHit
B1 47 5:3 MidTomRim
A#1 46 3:1 HihatOpenTip
A1 45 5:1 MidTomHit
G#1 44 3:11 HihatPedal
G1 43 4:1 FloorTomHit
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MIDI note MIDI note number Slot : Articulation Kit-piece articulationF#1 42 3:9 HihatClosedTip
F1 41 11:1 Perc2Hit
E1 40 2:4 SnareRim
D#1 39 11:3 Perc2Alt*
D1 38 2:1 SnareHit
C#1 37 2:5 SnareSideStick
C1 36 1:1 KickHit
D0 26 3:2 HihatOpenShank
A#-1 22 3:10 HihatClosedShank
A-1 21 3:14 HihatSplash
D#-1 15 10:1 Perc1Hit
D-1 14 10:2 Perc1Alt
Additional unmapped articulationsPleasenotethatthedefaultBFDEcoNFUZDkeymapdoesnotfeaturemappingsforthefollowingarticulations:•Perc3Hit/Perc3AltThesearticulationsdonotfeatureanytriggerinputontheNSPIREdrummodule.•SnareDrag/FlamThesetechniquesareintendedtobeplayedbythedrummerusingtheregularSnareHitarticulation.•Hihat1/4-open/1/2-open/3/4-open(Tip&Shank)ThesehihatarticulationsareintendedtobeaccessedbyplayingtheHihatOpenorHihatClosednotesinconjunctionwiththepedalcontroller(whichtransmitsMIDICC#4).AlltheaboveunmappedarticulationsarestillpresentandcanbemanuallyassignedtoMIDInotesifdesiredusingtheKeyMappanel(seechapter8).YoumayneedtodothisifconnectingasecondarytriggeringdevicesuchasanOctapad-stylecontrollerforadditionalsounds.Theadditionalarticulationscanalsobeusefulwhenprogrammingandediting/fine-tuningparts.Aftercreatinganydesiredassignments,pleaseremembertosaveyourcustomkeymapforfutureuse!BFDEcoloadsthelastsaved/loadedmapwhenitislaunched.
Second articulation mappings for Tom and Perc2 slotsTom slotsThesearemappedtothe3rdtomarticulation–fortheBFDEcoNFUZDdatathistriggerstheRimarticulation(Rim-shot).Ifloadingatomfromanexpansionpackwithoutthisarticulation,aTomAltarticulationissubstitutedandplayedinitsplace.IfaTomAltarticulationdoesnotexist,theTomHitarticulationisplayed.
Perc2 slotThePerc2slotisintendedtobeusedwitha4thtomtriggerifyouuseonewithyourNSPIREmodule.Therefore,the2ndmappingspecifiedinthekeymapforthisslotisforthe3rdarticulation:whenatomisloadedintoit,thismappingtriggerstheRimarticulation.Ifacymbalisloadedintoit,themappingtriggersanEdgearticulation.Intheeventofa3rdarticulationnotbeingpresent,substitutionoccursasdescribedabove.
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Ch.3 Loading and saving in BFD Eco3:1 Preset types and kit-piecesPreset pickers
Kit picker Mixer picker
Lock buttons
Preset picker
BFDEcofeaturespresetpickersforthefollowingtypeofpresets:BFD Eco Presets
A BFD Eco Presetstorestheentirestateoftheinstrument.NotethecapitalizationwheneverthemanualreferstoPresets.PresetsalsostorepreferencesettingsthatoverrideBFDEco’sdefaultpreferencesettings.
KitsA kitstorestheconfigurationofkit-piecesthatformakit,alongwithsettingsforthekit-piece’sinspectorcontrols(locatedontheleftsideoftheChannelpage).•Kit-piecescontainedwithinslots •Kit-pieceinspectorsettings(excepttheAux1 / Aux2 Sendcontrols)
MixersA mixer isapresetthatstoresthestateofthemixer,includingoutputroutingsandFXsettings.•ItalsostoresthestateoftheAux1 / Aux2 Sendcontrols,locatedintheChannelpageforkit-pieceandambiencechannels.
Double-click channel image to load kit-piece OR Right-click on the channel
and click ‘Load Kit-piece’
Loading Kit-piecesKit-pieces(withoutanyadditionalsettings,asopposedtokit-piecepresets–seebelow)donotfeaturepickerslikethemainpresettypes.Instead,theyareloadedineitherofthefollowingways:•Double-clickonakit-piecechannelimage •Right-click(orCTRL-clickonMac)onakit-piecechannelandusetheLoad Kit-
piecefunctionintheChannelcontextmenuthatappears
3:2 Other preset types used in BFD EcoThefollowingtypesofpresetfilesbothfeaturepresetpickers,althoughtheyarenotlocatedalongwiththemainpresetpickersatthetop-rightoftheBFDEcointerface:
Kit-piece presetsAkit-piecepresetstorestheentirecontentsofakit-piecechannel–thekit-piececontainedwithinthechannel,itsmixersettingsanditsChannelpagesettings(includingallinspector,EQandFXslotsettings).Thekit-piecepresetpickerisabovethelargekit-pieceimageontheChannelpage,whenakit-piecechannelisselected.Seesection5:1formoredetails.
Key mapKeymapsstoreMIDIkeyassignmentsforplayingarticulations.ThekeymappickerislocatedintheKeyMappanel,accessedviatheOptionsmenu.Seechapter8formoredetails.
Using the preset picker for BFD Eco Presets
3:3 Using the Preset pickersAswellasalistingofthecurrentlyavailablepresets(clickonanypresetinthelisttoloadit),eachpresetpicker’sdrop-downmenufeaturesthefollowingfunctions:
Load...Opensthepresetbrowser(seesection3:5).
Save...OpensanOSfileSaveAsdialog,allowingyoutosavecurrentsettingsasapreset.
Clear...ClearsthecontentsofBFDEcorelevanttothepresettype:•Presetpicker: clearstheentirestateofBFDEco •Kitpicker: clearsthekitandinspectorsettings •Mixerpicker: clearstheentiremixerandEQ/FXsettings •Keymappicker: clearstheentirekeymap
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3:4 Lock buttonsLockbuttonsexistfortheKit,Mixer,Grooves and Key/MIDI (keymapandMIDICCassignmentsmadeinLearnmode).EnablinganyofthesebuttonslockstherelevantpartsofBFDEco,sothattheyremainunaffectedwhenyouLoad... or Clear...aBFDEcoPreset.The Key/MIDI LockbuttonisenabledbydefaultwhenBFDEcoislaunched.
3:5 Using preset browsersApresetbrowserappearswhenyouusetheLoad...functiononanypresetpicker(forthePreset,kit,mixerorkeymap),orwhenyouusetheLoad Kit-piecefunctioninthechannelcontextmenu(ordouble-clickakit-piecechannelimage).
Delete
Load from disk
Quick-search
Sticky
Image / Rating
Info display
Preset listing, Load and CancelThemainpartofthebrowseristhepresetlisting.Clickapresetinthelistingtoselectit,andclicktheLoadbuttontoloadit.Youcanalsodouble-clickanypresetinordertoloadit.Toexitthebrowserwithoutloadingapreset,clicktheCancelbutton.
Previewing kit-pieces in-context (kit-piece browser only)Ifyouareusingthekit-piecebrowser,selectingakit-pieceinthelistingresultsinitbeingpreviewed‘in-context’–anyMIDImessagesforthekit-piecethataresenttoBFDEcoresultintriggeringtheselectedkit-pieceinthebrowserlisting.
View Size / SortingThe View Sizedrop-downmenusetsthesizeofimagesshowninthebrowserlisting.The‘List’and‘Details’settingsaretext-only,andareslightlyfasterbecauseofthelackofkit-pieceimages.Thedefaultsettingis‘Standard’.The Sortingdrop-downmenusortsitemsinthelistingby‘Name’or‘StarRating’(thedefaultsettingis‘Name’).Inthekit-piecebrowser,thisdrop-downmenualsocontains‘Manufacturer’,‘ArticCount’(thenumberofarticulationspresentwithinthekit-piece),and‘DiskSize’(thesizeofthekit-pieceondisk,whichisanindicationofhowmuchRAMituseswhenloaded).Ratingpresetsorkit-piecesandsortingthemby‘StarRating’canmakeiteasiertofindyourfavourites.TheseViewSizeandSortingsettingsarerecalledbetweensessions.Theirstateisstoredinthepreferences–therefore,theyareresetifyoure-initializeyourpreferences.
Type (kit-piece browser for Percussion slots only)Specifiesthetypeofkit-piecetobrowseandloadforPerc1,Perc2andPerc3(Percussion)slots–toms,cymbalsorpercussioncanbebrowsedandloadedintotheseslots.NotethatwhenusingcymbalsandtomsinPercussionslots,onlythefirsttwoarticulationsareavailable,mappedtotheslots’HitandAltarticulations.ThistypicallymeansthatyoucannotusetheEdgesoundsofcymbalsthatfeatureHit,BellandEdgearticulations.Also,youcannotuserimarticulationswhenusingtomsfromexpansionpacksthatcontainthem.
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DeleteThisbuttonisusedforremovingunwantedpresetsorkit-piecesfromthedatabase,whichcanmakeiteasiertofindtheonesyouneed.Youareaskedforconfirmationbeforeyoucancontinue.Whenremovingauserpresetfromthedatabase,BFDEcoalsoasksifyouwanttoremoveitsfilesfromdisk.Click‘Yes’toremovethefilesfromtherelevantuserpresetlocation.Ifyouclick‘No’,thepreset’sfilesremainuntouched,andtheyarefoundduringthenextrebuildofthedatabase.BFDEconeverpromptstodeletefactory-installedpresetfilesorkit-pieces.
Load from disk (Preset, kit and mixer browsers only)Clickthisbuttontodisplayasystemfileopendialogfornavigatingtoaspecificpreset.Whenyouattempttoloadit,BFDEcoasksifyouwouldalsoliketoimportitintothedatabase.Thisfunctionisintendedforloadingnewfileswithouthavingtoplacetheminthecorrectlocationandrebuildthedatabase.
Above: the Search function Below: the Quick-search drop-down
SearchNarrowdowntheamountofitemsshowninthelistingbyclickinginsidetheSearchboxandenteringoneormoresearchkeywords.
Quick-searchUsefulsearchtermsarestoredintheQuick-searchdrop-downmenutotheleftoftheSearchtext-box.Recentsearchesareshowninthemenu,alongwithotherusefulterms.
StickyWith the Stickybuttonenabled,thebrowserstaysopenafterapreset/kit-pieceisloaded–youcanplayBFDEcoviaMIDIandchangebetweenpresetswithoutreopeningthebrowser.
Image / RatingYoucanratepresetswiththeRatingcontrolabovethelargeimage.Ratingscanbeusedasa‘favourites’systemwhenSortingissetto‘StarRating’.
Info displayThe Info displayvariesdependingonwhichtypeofpresetyouarecurrentlyloading.Presets/kits: Thedisplayshowsalistofthekit-pieceswithineachslot.Mixers: Thedisplayisblank.Kit-pieces: Thedisplayshowsauditionpreviewstripsforeacharticulationwithinthekit-piece,along
withadditionalbackgroundinformation.
Kit-piece articulation audition strips (kit-piece browser only)Thedisplayfeaturesanauditionstripforeacharticulationwithintheselectedkit-piece.Clicktowardstheleftofthestriptohearlowervelocitylayers,andtotherightforhigherlayers.
Target slot information (kit-piece browser only)Displaysthefollowinginformationaboutthedestinationkit-piecechannel:
Target Slot (slot number and name)
Thename/numberoftheslottowhichthekit-piecewillbeloaded.Currently in SlotThenameofthekit-piececurrentlyloadedintothetargetslot.
Drum Shop (kit-piece browser only)ThisbuttonlaunchestheFXpansionDrumShopinyourwebbrowser,whereyoucanpurchaseadditionalsoundsforusewithBFDEco.
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Ch.4 Kit Page and Mixer4:1 Kit page
TheKitpage,shownwhentheKitpagebuttonisactive,featuresavisualrepresentationoftheBFDEcokitlayout.All12kit-piecechannelsarerepresentedonthedisplay.Clickthedrumheadsorthecymbals/percussiontopreviewthemainarticulationofthekit-pieceatavelocityof100.YoucanalsoALT-click kit-piecechannelimagesinthemixerforvelocity-sensitivepreviews.
Kit page display – click a kit-piece to audition it
Mixer
4:2 MixerBFDEco’smixerfeaturesseveraltypesofchannels:
Kit-piece channels•Monochannelsthatcontainthedirectmicsignalsfromakit-piece.Kit-piecechannelsarealsokit-pieceslots–kit-piecesareloadedintothem.Double-clickakit-piecechannel’simagetobringupthekit-piecebrowser,orright-click(orCTRL-clickonMac)onachannelandusetheLoad Kit-piecefunctioninthechannelcontextmenu.
Ambience channels: OH and Room•StereochannelsthatfeaturetheOHandRoomsignalsfromallkit-pieces.Thelevelofeachkit-pieceintheambiencechannelsissetbyitsOH Send and Room Sendcontrols(locatedintheChannelpage’sinspector).Bydefaultthesearesettosendthenaturallevelofallkit-piecestotheambiencechannels,whichwouldbethecasewhenrecordingarealdrummerplayingakitinaroom.
Aux channelsTheAux1andAux2channelsareprovidedsothatyoucanprocessseveralsignalssimultaneously.Entirechannelscanberoutedtoanaux(usingthechannel’sOutput selector),orvariableamountsofchannelscanberoutedusingtheAux1 / Aux2 Sendcontrols(intheChannelpageinspector).
Master channelTheMasterchannelrepresentsthemainstereooutput(output1-2)ofBFDEco.Inthedefaultmixersetup,allothermixerchannelsareroutedtotheMaster,meaningtheywillallbeheardinthemainstereooutput.WhenusingthepluginversionofBFDEco,channelscanberoutedtotheirownoutputinsteadoftheMasterchannel.Inthestandaloneversion,allsignalsareroutedtotheMasterchannel,regardlessofwhethertheoutputofanychannelsareroutedtotheirdirectouts.
Mixer visibilityTheentiremixercanalwaysbeseenwhenusingintheKit,ChannelorGroovespages.However,ifyouareusingtheKeyMappanel,theambience,auxandMasterchannelsarenotvisible.
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Selecting channelsSelectachannelbyclickinganywherewithinit.ChannelpageinspectorandEQ/FXoperationsareperformedonthecurrentlyselectedkit-pieceorambiencechannel.
Selecting multiple channelsYoucanselectmultiplechannelsinordertoperformsimultaneousadjustmentsforthechannelsinthemixer–forexample,thechannel’sfader,Pan,Mute/SolobuttonsandOutput selectorcanallbeadjustedformultiplechannels.•CTRL-click(Windows)orCommand-click(Mac)Addsthechanneltothecurrentselection.Ifachannelisalreadyselected,thisoperationde-selectsit.•SHIFT-clickCreatesacontiguousselectionbetweentwochannels.
4:3 Mixer channel controls
Channel image
FX1 / FX2 PowerPan
Level meter
Output selector
Kit-piece channel controls
Level fader
ALT-click the image to preview the kit-piece
Channel imageKit-piece direct channelsEachkit-piecechannel’simagefeaturesaphotoofthekit-piececurrentlyloaded.Whenakit-piecechannelisempty,thechannelimageisarepresentationofthetypeofkit-pieceintendedtobeloadedintoit(althoughthePerc1,Perc2andPerc3channelscanloadtomsandcymbalsaswellaspercussionkit-pieces).Whenakit-pieceisloaded,ALT-clicktheimagetohearapreviewofitsmainarticulation.Clicktowardstheleftoftheimagetopreviewlowervelocities,andtowardstherightforhighvelocities.
Loading kit-piecesDouble-clickingakit-piecechannelimageopensthekit-piecebrowser,allowingyoutoloadakit-pieceintothechannel.
Ambience, Aux and Master channelsTheimagesonthesechannelsaresolelyforidentificationpurposesanddonotperformanyadditionalfunctions.
FX1 / FX2 PowerThesebuttonsallowaquickwaytoenableorbypassthechannel’s2FXdeviceswithoutneedingtoswitchtotheChannelpage. TheyperformthesamefunctionaseachFXdevice’sPowerbutton(intheChannelpage).NotethatthesebuttonsareonlyactivewithanFXdeviceloadedintherelevantslot.
Ambience, aux and Master channel controls: note the lack of a Pan control on these channels because they are stereo.
Pan (kit-piece channels only)Allkit-piecechannelsfeatureaPancontrolinordertoadjustthepositionofthemonochannelwithinthestereofield.Notethatakit-piecechannel’spanningcannotbeappliedtoitssignalintheambiencechannels,becausetheambienceconsistsofstereorecordings.However,youcanusetheFlip LRbuttonintheChannelpageinspectortoinvertthestereoimageofthekit-piece’sambiencechannels.
Mute / SoloAllchannelsfeatureMute and Solobuttons.
Level fader / meterEachchannel’slevelfaderadjustsitsvolume.Thelevelofthechannelisindicatedbythemeter(singleformonochannels,dualforstereochannels).NotethattheMasterchannelfaderonlyaffectschannelswhichareroutedtothechannel.Iftheoutputofanychannelissettoitsdirectoutput,youcanusetheGlobal Volumecontroltoadjustthelevelofallchannelssimultaneously(seechapter7).
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Setting the Snare channel output
Output selectorThe Output selectoratthebottomofeachchannelallowsyoutorouteitssignaltothekit-piece’sdirectoutput,totheAux1andAux2channels,ortotheMasterchannelwhichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutputfromtheplugin.Notethatthesignalflowbetweenchannelsisalwaysfromlefttoright–youcannotrouteanychanneltoachannelonitsleft.Bydefault,allchannelsareroutedtotheMasterchannel.Inthestandaloneversion,alldirectoutputroutingsareautomaticallychangedtotheMasterchannel, astheapplicationhasastereooutput.
Available plugin outputs:
Plugin output Output name Contents
1-2 Master AnysignalsroutedtotheMasterchannel
3-4 OH StereoOverHeadmicsignal–amountofeachkit-pieceinthischannelissetbyitschannel’sOH Sendcontrol
5-6 Room StereoRoommicsignal–amountofeachkit-pieceinthischannelissetbyitschannel’sRoom Sendcontrol
7-8 Aux1 Aux1channel–routeentirechannelstoAux1usingtheOutputselector,orusetheAux1 SendcontrolstoroutevariableamountsofchannelstoAux1inparallel
9-10 Aux2 Aux2channel–routeentirechannelstoAux2usingtheOutputselector,orusetheAux2 SendcontrolstoroutevariableamountsofchannelstoAux2inparallel
11-12 Kick ThedirectoutputoftheKickkit-piecechannel
13-14 Snare ThedirectoutputoftheSnarekit-piecechannel
15-16 Hihat ThedirectoutputoftheHihatkit-piecechannel
17-18 Toms ThedirectoutputoftheTomskit-piecechannels (FloorTom,MidTom,HiTom)
19-20 Cyms ThedirectoutputoftheCymbalskit-piecechannels (Crash,Cymbal,Ride)
21-22 Perc ThedirectoutputofthePercussionkit-piecechannels (Perc1,Perc2,Perc3)
4:4 Channel context menuRight-clicking(orCTRL-clickingonMac)onachannelinthemixerdisplaysthechannelcontextmenu.
Load Kit-pieceOpensthekit-piecebrowser.Youcanalsodouble-clickakit-piecechannelimagetodisplaythekit-piecebrowser.
Clear Kit-pieceRemovesthecurrentlyloadedkit-piecefromthechannel.Thechannel’sadditionalsettingsremainunchanged.
Copy Channel Paste ChannelThesefunctionsallowyoutocopyandpastethecontentsofachannel.Allthechannel’scontrols,withtheexceptionofMute/Solobuttons,arecopied/pasted–thisincludestheLevel,PanandallcontrolsintheChannelpageinspector,EQandFXslots.
Reset ChannelResetsallchannelcontrolstotheirdefaultsettings,excepttheEQ,FXslotsandAuxSends,whichareallunaffected.
Clear Channel FXRemovesanyFXdevicesloadedintothechannel’sFXslots,andresetstheEQtodefaultsettings.
Clear Aux SendsThevaluesoftheAux1 / Aux2 Sendparametersforthechannelarereducedto0.
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Ch.5 Channel pageClicktheChannelpagebuttontodisplaytheChannelpage.Thispagefeaturescontrolsthatapplytothecurrently selectedmixerchannel.Thereare3mainareas–thekit-piecepresetpicker,theinspectorandtheEQ/FXslots.
FX slots
Kit-piece preset picker
Inspector
EQ
5:1 Kit-piece preset pickerThispresetpickerprovidesaccesstoentirechannelpresetsforkit-piecetypes.Thesekit-piece presetsstorethestateofakit-piecealongwithotherchannelsettings.Thekit-piecepresetpickerletsyouaccesskit-piecepresetsrelevanttothecurrentlyselectedchannel.•thekit-pieceitself •channelinspectorsettings •EQandFXslotsettings •mixerchannelfader/pansettings.
5:2 InspectorThissectionletsyouadjustspecificaspectsofthechannel.Thecontrolsvaryfordifferentkit-pieceandambiencechannels.TherearenoinspectorsettingsontheAux1,Aux2orMasterchannels–onlythechannelphotoisshown.
Inspector display for Kick channel
Large channel imageTheisalargeversionofthemixerchannelimage(seesection4:3).Itissolelyforidentificationpurposesandperformsnoadditionalfunctions.
TuneAdjuststhepitchofthekit-piece.The Tunecontrolhasnologicalreal-worldequivalentforcymbalsandhihats(asopposedtodrumswithtunableskins),buttheabilitytotunethemisneverthelessprovided.The Global Tunecontrol,foundtowardsthebottom-leftoftheBFDEcointerface,adjuststhepitchofallkit-piecesrelativetotheirindividualTunesettings(seechapter7).
Dyn (Dynamics)Scalesthevelocityofeventsplayedbythekit-piece,fromtheGrooveengineorfromincomingMIDI.Thecontroloffsetsthevelocityofincomingeventsupordownbyupto127.The Global Dyncontrol,foundtowardsthebottom-leftoftheinterface,offsetsthevelocityofallkit-pieceeventsrelativetotheirindividualDynsettings(seechapter7).
In/Out (kick only)Adjuststhebalancebetweeninside(In)andoutside(Out)kickdrummics.Theinsidemicprovidesmoreattackandsoundsmore‘clicky’,whiletheoutsidemiccontainsmore sustained,deeplow-end.
Inspector display for Snare channel
Bot/Top (snare only)Adjuststhebalancebetweenmicsbelow(Bot)andabove(Top)thesnare.Thetopmiccapturesmoreofthesoundofthedrum-head(skin),whilethebottommicpicksupmostofthesnarewiresound–the‘crunch’and‘rattle’ofasnaredrum.
DampReducesthedecayofthekit-piece,inasimilarwaytousingadampingmethodsuchasasnarering,ablanketinthekickdrum,ordampinggel/tapeonacymbal.
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Inspector display for Hihat channel
Tighten (hihat only)‘Tightens’thesoundofclosedhihats.Thecontrolsimulatespressingdownhardonahihatclutch,aprocessthatmovesthetwohihatsurfacesmoretightlytogether.NotethatthisparameterisnotcapableofbeingMIDI-controlled.
Width (ambience channels only)Adjuststhewidthoftheambiencechannels’stereofield,frommonotofullyenhancedstereo.
Distance (ambience channels only)Adjuststhedistanceofeachsetofambiencemicchannelsfromthekit.Effectively,thisfunctionintroducesadelaybetweentheambiencechannelsandthedirectmics.Ithasasimilareffecttotheambienceasa ‘pre-delay’controlhasovertheprocessedsignalonandigitalalgorithmicreverbunit.
Ambience controls (kit-piece channels only)Flip LRWhilethestereopositionofkit-piecesinambiencechannelscannotbeadjusted,duetothembeingstereorecordings,theFlip LR buttonmakesitpossibletoswaptheleftandrightchannelsoftheambienceifyoupanakit-piecetotheothersideofthestereofield.
OH/Room AmountThesecontrolsadjusttheamountofthekit-pieceintheOHandRoomambiencechannels.
Inspector display for OH and Room channels
Aux sends (kit-piece and ambience channels only)Aux1/Aux2 SendThesecontrolssendvariablelevelsofthechanneltotheAux1andAux2channels.Sendsareusefulforparallelprocessingsuchasartificialreverbeffects.NotethatitisalsopossibletoroutetheentireoutputofoneormorechannelstotheAuxchannels.UsingSendsallowsyoutovarytheamountofeachchannel’ssignalintheAuxchannelswithoutalteringtheoriginalchannels’levels.
5:3 EQ and FX slotsAllmixerchannels–kit-piece,ambience,auxandMasterchannels–featureahard-wiredEQand2FXslots,eachofwhichcanhostoneofthe15internalFXdevices.
EQEachchannelhasa4-bandEQhard-wiredintoit,priortothe2FXslotsinthesignalpath.ThetopsectionoftheEQdevicefeaturesthesamecommoncontrolsastheFXslotsexceptforanFXpicker.Seebelowformoredetailsofthesecontrols.NotethatadditionalEQdevicescanbeloadedintoFXslotsifrequired.Eachofthe4EQbandsfeaturesapowerbutton(LO,LM,HM and HI).Notethatbandsareactivatedautomaticallywhentheirsettingsareadjusted.TheLow(LO)andHigh(HI)bandsareswitchablefrom‘shelf’to‘bell’modebyenablingtheBell button.TheLowMid(LM)andHighMid(HM)parametricbandsincludeaQcontrol.AllbandsfeatureFrequency and Gaincontrols.Thehard-wiredEQfeaturesalltheextracontrolsfoundintheFXslots(seebelow),withtheexceptionofanFXpicker.
Frequency Display controlYoucanchangeEQcurvesbyclickinganddraggingthegraphicaldisplayintheEQinterface.Toeditabandinthisway,movethemousecursoroverthedisplay.Thedisplayisdividedinto4zonesforeachbandfromLOtoHI,fromlefttoright.Eachzoneishighlightedinadifferentcolour,correspondingtothecolourofthebands’controls.•Withabandhighlighted,clickanddragup/downtoadjusttheband’sgain,andleft/righttoadjustitsfrequency.•ForthetwoMidbands,clickinganddraggingup/downwhileholdingdowntheALTkeyallowsyoutoadjusttheband’sQ.
Effect picker
Input meter
Power
Tools
FX slotsThissectiondescribesthecommoncontrolsoftheFXslots.Seechapter10formoredetailsofeachFXdevice.
PowerTurnsthedeviceonoroff.Withthebuttondisabled,theeffectisbypassedandinactive(itscontrolscannotbeadjusted).Thesebuttonsareduplicatedonthemixersection,meaningthatyoucanpoweron/offindividualFXwithoutusingtheChannelpage.Seesection4:3formoredetails.YoucanalsotoggleFXpoweronallchannelsusingtheglobalFX Power button(seechapter7).
Input meterRepresentstheleveloftheinputsignal.ItisusefulforensuringthattheFXdeviceisreceivingasignal,andthattheinputisnotclipping.
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MixThe Mixcontrol,whichblendsbetweentheprocessed(wet)andunprocessed(dry)signals,existsonallBFDEcoFX.Bydefault,allFXaresetto100%wet,butthiscontrolallowsyoutoadjustthewet/drymixasrequired.Whileitisnotcommontoseeawet/drymixcontroloncompressors,itisavailableonallBFDEcoFXincludingitsdynamicsprocessors.Itcanbeveryusefulforparallelcompressiononasinglechannel.
Effect preset picker
Effect pickerSelectthedesiredFXdevicefortheslotusingthisdrop-downmenu.
Effect preset pickerEachFXdevicefeaturesitsownsetofpresets,selectablefromthisdrop-downmenu.YoucancyclethroughtheavailablepresetsusingthePrevious/Nextbuttons.
Tools menuTheToolsmenuisdisplayedbyclickingtheToolsbutton,orbyright-clickinganywhereinthecommoncontrolsareaoftheEQandFXslots.ThismenuoffersanumberoffunctionsformanagingFXandtheirsettings.
Cut / Copy / Paste EffectThesefunctionsallowyoutocut,copyandpasteFXdevices(withtheircurrentsettings)between anyFXslotsonanychannel.
Reset EffectRevertstotheFXdevice’sdefaultsettings.
Clear EffectRemovestheFXdevicefromtheslot.
Load PresetOpensanOSfileOpendialogthatallowsyoutonavigatetoandselectaneffectpresetfile(thefileextensionis.bfdfx).Thedefaultfolderis<Documents>/FXpansion/BFD Eco/Mixers/Effects/<effect>
Save PresetOpensanOSfileSaveAsdialogthatallowsyoutosaveapresettoanylocation.Thedefaultfolderis<Documents>/FXpansion/BFD Eco/Mixers/Effects/<effect>Itisstronglyrecommendedtostorepresetsinthedefaultfolders,foreaseofreloadinginthefuture!
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Ch.6 Grooves6:1 Introduction to Grooves
TheGroovespageisshownwhentheGroovesbuttonisactive,andprovidesrealisticdrumpatterns(Grooves)inavarietyofgenrestoplayusingtheBFDEcosounds.
Additional Drum Track controls
Grooves Mode
Groove browser
Groove FX
Drum Track
Transport controls
TheGroovespagefeaturesthefollowingmainareas:•Groovebrowser(seesection6:2) •GroovesMode •DrumTrack(seesections6:3to6:5) •AdditionalcontrolsandGrooveFX(seesection6:6and6:7)TheBFDEcotransportcontrolsareveryimportantwhenusingtheGroovespage–seechapter7fordetailsofthesecontrols.
Using GroovesGroovescanbeusedinthefollowingways:Single mode: SingleGroovesinthebrowsercanbepreviewedinsyncwithyourhost(seesection6:3)Track mode: Drag&dropGroovestothebuilt-inDrumTracktocreateasequenceofGrooves(seesection6:4)Drag+drop to host/file: Drag&dropGroovestoaMIDItrackinyourhostwhichisroutedtoBFDEco(seesection6:9)
6:2 Groove browserTheGroovebrowserletsyoufindandauditionGrooves.TheycanthenbedraggedtotheDrumTrack,exportedtoyourhostoryoucanchoosetosimplylooptheselectedGroovebyusing‘Single’Grooves Mode.
Groove list
Auto-preview
Category filters
Preview buttons
Groove listAllavailableGroovesareshowninthelist.ThereareanumberofcolumnswhichdisplayextrainformationabouteachGroove.Thelistcanbesortedbythe‘Name’or‘BPM’columns(theothercolumnsrepresenttimesignatureandlengthinbars).
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Auto-Preview and individual Preview buttonsWith the Auto-Previewbuttonenabled,selectinganyGrooveinthebrowserresultsinitautomaticallybeingpreviewed(insyncwiththehostifitisplaying).With the Auto-Previewbuttondisabled,youmustclickonaGroove’sindividualPreview buttontopreviewit.NotethatBFDEcocannotplaymorethan1Groovesimultaneously–ifaGrooveisalreadyplaying(forexample,fromtheDrumTrack),itismutedwhileGroovebrowserpreviewsoccur.Wheneveryoustoppreviewing,thepreviouslyplayingGrooveisrestored.
With the Auto-preview button disabled, you must click a Groove’s individual Preview button to audition it.
When Auto-preview is enabled, simply select a Groove to audition it.
Selecting a category Selecting an item with which to filter the category
Category filters4categoryfiltersareavailabletonarrowdowntheGroovelist,tomakeiteasiertofindwhatyouneed.Eachfiltercanbesettooneofthefollowingcategoriesbyusingitsdrop-downmenu: •Library •Author •Genre •TimeSignature •BPMRange •Fill/GrooveThedefaultsareGenre,BPMRange,TimeSignatureandFill/Groove.EachofthesecategoriesfeaturesanumberofitemswithwhichtofiltertheGroovelist.Bydefault,allfilteringisturnedoff,aseachcategoryissetto‘All’.
SearchThe SearchfunctionallowsyoutofindGroovesmatchingoneormoresearchkeywords.The‘Name’,‘Author’,‘Library’,and‘Genre’informationfieldsaresearched.
6:3 Grooves ModeGrooves ModeThissetof3buttonsdictateshowBFDEcorespondswhenitstransportisstarted–eitherusingthePlaybuttononBFDEco’stransport,orinyourhostwhenusingBFDEcoasaplugin.
OffNoGroovesstartplayingautomaticallywhenthetransportisstarted.Thismodeshouldbeusedwhenyouareworkingwithyourhost’sMIDIfunctionstosendnotestoBFDEco.NotethatGroovescanstillbepreviewedwithinthebrowser,andexportedtoyourhostifdesired(seesection6:9).
SingleThecurrentlyselectedGrooveisplayedwhenthetransportisstarted.SinglemodeeffectivelyoffersasimpleGrooveplayerwhichindefinitelyloopsthecurrentlyselectedGrooveinthebrowser.ThecurrentGrooveissavedandrecalledwiththeBFDEcoPresetorwhensavedwithinahostproject.
TrackTheDrumTrackisplayedwhenthetransportisstarted.ThefunctionalityoftheDrumTrackisdescribedinsections6:4to6:7.
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6:4 Drum TrackTheDrumTrackletsyoubuildadrumpartforafullsongbydraggingGroovesfromthebrowserontoatimeline.
Ruler
Scrollbar / zoom
TrackParts
RulerThe RulerrepresentstheDrumTrack’stimelineinbarsandbeats.
TrackGroovesareaddedasParts onto the Tracktimelineusingdrag&drop(seesection6:5).
Scrollbar / ZoomThe Zoom buttonsatthebottom-rightoftheDrumTrackcontrolitshorizontalzoomlevel.YoucanalsousethemousewheelwhileholdingdowntheALTkeytochangethezoomlevel.IfthezoomlevelresultsinpartoftheDrumTracknotbeingvisible,usetheScrollbar to change the visiblearea.
Drum Track markersPosition marker (blue)IndicatesthecurrentplaybackpositionwhiletheDrumTrackisplayingback.ClickintheRuler(outsidetheloopindicatorifitisactive)tosetthemarker’sposition–iftheDrumTrackiscurrentlyplaying,theplaybackposition‘jumps’tothisnewposition.Thisalso‘disconnects’hostsyncwhilerunningBFDEcoasaplugin.Stopandstartthehosttransportto‘reconnect’synchronization.
Insert marker (red)IndicatestheinsertionpointwhenaddingaGroovetotheDrumTrackandwhenmovingorcopyingpartswithinit.ItspositionalsospecifiesthepointatwhichPartsaresplit,whenusingtheSplit Part at MarkerfunctionintheTrackcontextmenu.
Changing the insert marker positionTochangethepositionoftheInsert marker,clickthedesiredpositionontheTrack.
Start marker (white)• Standalone mode or host transport stoppedThewhitestartmarkerindicatesthepointintheDrumTracktowhichthepositionmarkerissentwhenusingtheReturn to startbuttononthetransport.ThenexttimetheBFDEcotransportisstarted,playbackstartsfromtheStart markerpoint.YoucanpresstheReturn to startbuttonduringplayback,whichcausestheplaypositiontojumptothestartmarkerimmediately.
• Host transport started TheDrumTrackplaybackpositionalwaysstartsinsyncwiththehostposition.YoucanclicktheStop or Return to startbuttonsonBFDEco’stransportduringplaybackinorderto‘disconnect’thesynchronizationbetweenhostandplugin.Tore-establishhostsynchronization,stopandrestartyourhosttransport.
Changing the Start marker positionTochangethepositionoftheStart marker,clickintheRulerwhileholdingdowntheALTkey.IfyouclicktwiceintheRuler,thefirstclicksetsthebluepositionmarkerandthesecondclicksetsthewhitestartmarker.
6:5 Adding parts to the Drum TrackToaddaParttotheDrumTrack,draganddropanyGroovefromthebrowsertothedesiredpositionintheDrumTrack.TheinsertionpointisshownbytheredInsert marker.OnceaGroovehasbeendroppedontotheTrack,itisreferredtoasaPart.
1. Drag a Groove from the browser over the Drum Track
2. The position at which it will appear is indicated by the red Insert marker
3. Drop the Groove to add it as a Part at the Insert marker position
YoucannotlayermultiplePartsontopofeachother–onlyonePartcanbeplayingontheDrumTrackatonce.Ifyourequiremorecomplexsequencing,youmustuseMIDItracksinyourhosttosendeventstoBFDEco.Youcandrag&dropGroovestohostMIDItracks–seesection6:9.
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6:6 Manipulating Parts on the Drum TrackSelecting PartsClickonaParttoselectit.SeveraladjacentPartscanbeselectedbyclickingonthesongbackgroundanddrawingaselectionboxoverthedesiredParts.Youcanalsoselectmultiplepartsinthefollowingways:•CTRL-click(Windows)orCommand-click(Mac)AddstheParttothecurrentselection.IfaPartisalreadyselected,thisoperationde-selectsit.•SHIFT-clickCreatesacontiguousselectionbetweentwoParts.
Moving selected PartsUsing drag & dropTomovePartswithintheTrackusingdrag&drop:1.Selectoneormorepartsandthendragthemleft/rightalongtheTrack. 2.ThepositionatwhichtheywillbedroppedisshownbytheredInsert marker.3.Releasethemousebuttontodropthepartatthedesiredposition.IfthereisagapbetweentheinsertmarkerandsubsequentPartsidenticaltoorgreaterthanthesizeofthemovedPart(s),themovedPart(s)simplyslotintothegap.Ifthereisnogap,oragapsmallerthanthemovedPart(s),allsubsequentPartsinthetrackarenudgedlaterintimebythelengthofthemovedPart(s)–inotherwords,thegapispreserved.
Using the Track context menuTheTrackcontextmenufeaturesCut selected Parts and Paste Parts at MarkerfunctionsforPartselections,whichcanbeusedasanalternativemethodofmovingParts.
Copying selected PartsPartsarecopiedusingdraganddropwhileholdingdowntheALTkey.ThisfollowsexactlythesamebehaviourasthatwhichoccurswhenmovingParts,exceptthattheoriginalPartiscopiedinsteadofbeingmoved.PartscanalsobecopiedusingtheCopy selected Parts and Paste Parts at MarkerfunctionsintheTrackcontextmenu.
Truncation indicators show Part has been shortened and start
point has been changed
Changing the size of PartsWhenthemousecursorismovedovertheright/leftedgesofaPart,itindicatesthatyoucanchangeitssizebyclickinganddraggingleft/right.ClicktherightedgeanddragtowardstheleftinordertoshortenthePart.AtruncationindicatorattherightofthePartshowsthatithasbeenshortened.ThelengthofashortenedPartcanbeincreasedbyclickingtherightedgeanddraggingtowardstheright.ClicktheleftedgeofaPartanddragtowardstherightinordertochangethePart’sstartpoint.AtruncationindicatorattheleftofthePartshowsthatitsstartpointhasbeenchanged.ClicktheleftedgeofthePartand dragtowardstheleftinordertomovethestartpointtowardsthestartofthePart.ItisnotpossibletochangethelengthofaPartbeyondthatoftheoriginalGroove.
Track context menu when right-clicking on a Part
Track context menuRight-click(orCTRL-clickonMac)ontheDrumTracktodisplaytheTrackcontextmenu,featuringseveraladditionalfunctionsformanipulatingPartsontheDrumTrack.TheavailablefunctionsonthemenudependonwhetheryouclickonanemptyareaoftheTrack,oronaselectionofParts.
Cut selected PartsRemovestheselectedPartsfromthetrackandstoresthemintheclipboard.
Copy selected Parts StorestheselectedPartsintheclipboard.
Paste before selection / Paste after selectionThesefunctionsarevisibleintheTrackcontextmenuwhentheInsertmarkerispositionedwithinaselected Part.TheyallowyoutopasteanyPartsintheclipboardbeforeorafterthecurrentlyselectedPartintheTrack.
Track context menu when right-clicking on empty Track
Paste Parts at Marker PastesanyPartsstoredintheclipboardtothepointindicatedbytheInsertmarker.ThisfunctionisvisibleintheTrackcontextmenuwhentheInsertmarkerispositionedonanemptysectionoftheTrack.Partsareinsertedsequentiallyintheiroriginalorder.Theirrelativepositionswhentheywereoriginallycopiedarenotretained.
Repeat selected PartsCreatesacopyofallselectedparts,whichareinsertedsequentiallyattheendofthelastselectedpart.
Split Part at markerSplitsthePartatthePosition marker.WhenaPartissplit,thefirstoftheresultingtwoPartshasatruncationindicatoratitsright,toshowthatithasbeenshortened,andcanbeincreased.ThesecondoftheresultingPartshasatruncationindicatoratitsleftside,toshowthatthestartpointhasbeenchanged.
Clear all Parts ClearsthecurrentcontentsoftheDrumTrack.Youareaskedforconfirmationbeforeyoucancontinue.
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6:7 Additional Drum Track controlsLoopCausesplaybacktorepeatbetweentheLoop indicatorsintheDrumTrack.When the Loopbuttonisenabled,twoLoopindicators(fortheStartandEndoftheloop)appearontheRuler.WhenthePosition marker reaches the End Loop indicator,playbackloopsbacktothepositionspecifiedbytheStart Loop indicator.AdjustthepositionoftheStartandEndLoopindicatorsbyclickinganddraggingthemleftandrightalongtheruler.
ExportExportsastereomixdownofthecontentsoftheDrumTrack,fromtheMasterchanneloutput.ClickingtheExportbuttondisplaysafileSaveAsdialog,allowingyoutoselectafoldertowhichtosavetheexportedaudiofile.Beforeyoucanusethisfunction,theremustbeGroovespresentintheDrumTrack.TheExportfunctioncannotbeusedwhensendingMIDInotestoBFDEcofromyoursequencer/DAW/host.Insuchcases,youmustusetherecording/mixdownfunctionsofyourhost.OnlychannelswhoseoutputsareroutedtotheMasterchannelwillbeheardintheaudioexport.Ifyouneedtorecordaudiofromthemultipledirectoutputs,youmustuseyourhost’srecording/mixdownfunctions.
6:8 Groove FXTheGrooveFXsectioncontainsseveralfunctionstoalterthefeelofGrooves.Forexample,youcanadd‘humanization’effectsliketimingrandomizationandsyncopation,ortightenupthefeelwiththeQuantizefunction.NotethattheHumanize VelfunctionaffectstheGrooveengineaswellasMIDInoteinput(seechapter7).
QuantizeForcesGrooveeventstowardsquantizationtoa16th-notegrid.Theparameteradjuststheamountofquantizingappliedfromzero(minimumposition)tofullyquantized(maximumposition).SettingsbetweenthesevaluesallowyoutotightenuptimingwithoutlosingtheentirefeeloftheoriginalGrooves.
Humanize TimeAppliesvaryingamountsoftimingrandomizationtoplayingGrooveevents.Lowersettingsarerecommendedforsubtleandnon-intrusivehumanization,whilehighsettingscanresultinextremelysloppytiming.
SwingAppliesavariableamountofnon-destructiveswingtoplayingGrooveevents.
SimplifyAppliesanalgorithmthatselectivelymuteseventsintermsof‘importance’totheGroove.Asthecontrolisincreased,moreeventsaremuted.Thisparameteressentiallybehavesasa‘threshold’ona‘complexitygate’.ItisveryusefulifyoufindaGroovetobetoo‘busy’–forexample,withalotofghostnotesthatintrudeupontherestofyoursongtoomuch.
6:9 Exporting Grooves as MIDIGroovescanbeexportedasMIDIfromBFDEcointhefollowingways:
1. Drag & drop as host MIDI part to host MIDI trackDraganddropanyGroovefromthebrowsertoaMIDItrackinyourhost.TheGrooveappearsasastandardMIDIpart/clip/sequence.ThecurrentKeyMapisusedtotranslatetheGroove’sarticulationtriggersintosuitableMIDInotes.OncetheGroovehasbeenexportedinthisway,itcanbeeditedusingyourhost’seditingfacilitiessuchasthepianoroll,andmanipulatedwithitsMIDIfunctionssuchquantizeetc.WhenusinghostMIDItrackstotriggerBFDEco’sarticulations,remembertosetGrooves Modeto‘Off’ifitisn’talready.NotethatalthoughyoucanexporttoaMIDItrackthatissettotriggerBFDEco,youcanroutetheexportedMIDIcliptoanyotherinstrumentifrequired.
2. Drag & drop as MIDI file to disk folderDraganddropanyGroovefromthebrowsertoyourdesktop(oranyotherfolderonyourharddisk)toexportitasaMIDIfile.ThecurrentKeyMapisusedtotranslatetheGroove’sarticulationtriggersintosuitableMIDInotes.ThefileissavedasastandardMIDIfile,whichcanbeimportedintoanycompatiblesoftwareorhardwaredeviceforplaybackandediting.
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Ch.7 Global controls
Disk activity meter
RAM meter
Context info
Transport controls
MIDI activity indicator
Audio stream indicator
BleedAdjuststhelevelofkickbleedintheSnareBottomchannel.Seesection2:2formoredetailsaboutbleed.
Global TuneAdjuststhetuningofallkit-pieces,relativetotheirindividualTunesettingsintheChannelpage.
Global Dyn (Dynamics)AdjuststhevelocityofincomingMIDIorGrooveeventsupordownbyupto127,relativetothekit-pieces’individualDynsettingsintheChannelpageinspector.
Hum Vel (Humanize Velocity)Adjuststheamountofvelocityrandomizationthatoccurs.ThisisappliedbothtoeventsgeneratedbyMIDIinputandbytheGrooveengine.
VolumeAdjuststhelevelofallchannelssimultaneously.AsitispossibletousemultiplechannelswiththeBFDEcoplugin,theVolumecontrolletsyouadjustallchannelstogether.TheMasterchannelfaderonlyaffectschannelsroutedtoit.Ifanychannelisroutedtoadirectoutput,onlytheVolumecontrolcanfunctionasa‘global’levelcontrolthataffectsallchannelsinBFDEco.
V2AAdjuststheamountofamplitudescalinginresponsetoincomingMIDIvelocity.Bydefault,thiscontrolissetto50%.Withasettingof0,thereisnoamplitudescalingapplied–eachvelocitylayerisplayedbackatitsactuallevelwiththenaturaldynamicsofthekit-pieceunchanged.WhenV2Aissetto100%,theamplitudeismorelinearlyscaledacrossthevelocityrange.
FX powerPowerson/offallcurrentlyenabledFXonallchannels.
OfflineThe Offlinebuttonshouldbeenabledwhenperforminganon-realtime‘offline’bounce.ItensuresthatBFDEcohasenoughtimetodeliverthedatafromdisk.WhenusingBFDEcoduringnormalplayback,thisbuttonshouldbedisabled.
LearnEnables/disablesMIDILearnmode.ThisfunctionallowsyoutoassigninterfacecontrolstoMIDIcontinuouscontrollers(MIDICCs)andevennotes,sothatyoucanusephysicalkeys,knobs,fadersorothercontrollerstoadjustBFDEco’sinterfacecontrols.
1.WhentheLearnbuttonisenabled,anoverlayappearsontheinterface,withallMIDI-controllableparametershighlightedingreen.
3.TheassignedMIDInote/CCnumberisoverlaidonthecontrol.
2.Clickthedesiredcontrolandthendooneofthefollowing: •movethephysicalknob,faderorothervariablecontrollertoassignaMIDICC •playaMIDIkeytoassignthenote–thisisespeciallyusefulforbuttons
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MIDICCassignmentsareloadedandsavedwithBFDEcoPresetsandinhostprojectscontainingtheBFDEcoplugin.When the Key/MIDI Lockbuttonisactive,MIDICCsarenotrestoredfromBFDEcoPresets.
Learn context menuWhileMIDILearnmodeisactive,right-clickonanyassignablecontroltodisplaytheLearncontextmenu,whichcontainstheClear automation function.
Clear AutomationClearsthecontrol’scurrentMIDIassignment.IftheparameterhasnotyetbeenassignedtoaMIDICC,thisfunctionisgreyedoutonthemenu.Clear All AutomationClearsallcurrentMIDICCassignments.
Managing MIDI CC assignmentsThereisnodedicatedpresetformatforMIDICCassignments–theyaresimplysavedwithinaBFDEcoPresetorwiththehostprojectwhenusingtheBFDEcoplugin.ItispossibletodefineadefaultPresetsavedwithyourpreferredMIDICCassignments.Seesection9:1formoredetails.The Key/MIDI LockbuttonaffectsbothkeymapsandMIDICCassignmentswhenloadingBFDEcoPresets.However,whenloadingahostprojectcontainingBFDEco,theMIDICCassignmentssavedwithinitarealwaysrestored.
Disk activity meterIndicatestheamountofdiskbandwidthcurrentlybeingusedbyBFDEco.
RAM meterDisplaystheamountofRAMthatiscurrentlybeingusedbyBFDEco.
Context infoShowsthenameandvalueofanycontrolunderthemousecursor,orofthecontrolcurrentlybeingadjusted.
Audio stream indicatorHighlightswhenBFDEcohassuccessfullylaunchedwithinthehostaudioengineorwhenthestandaloneapplicationhassuccessfullyinitializedthespecifiedaudiodevice.Inotherwords,itindicateswhetherthesoftwareisfunctioningcorrectly.
MIDI activity indicatorHighlightswheneverBFDEcoreceivesanyMIDIinput.
Beat light
Stop
Return to start
Play
Transport controlsPlayStartsplaybackwhenusingthestandaloneapplication,orwhenthehostisstopped(whenusingBFDEcoasaplugin).Notethatwhenthehostisstarted,playbackrestartsinsyncwiththehost.
Return to startResetstheplaybackpositiontotheStart markerposition.ThisbuttoncanbeusedduringplaybackwithoutpressingStopfirst.Doingso‘disconnects’synchronizationifusingBFDEcoasaplugininahost.Tore-establishsynchronization,stopandrestartyourhost’stransport.
StopStopsGrooveplayback.ThisispossibleevenwhentheBFDEcopluginisplayinginsyncwiththehost–GrooveplaybackinBFDEcostopswhilethehostkeepsplaying.IfyouclickthePlaybuttonafterusingtheStopbutton,playbackcommencesfromthepositionatwhichitwaspreviouslystopped,andisnotsynchronizedtothehostposition.Tore-establishhostsynchronization,startandstopthehosttransport.
PanicImmediatelystopsanycurrentlyplayingsoundsorGrooves.
Beat lightFlashesoneverybeatwhenBFDEco’sGrooveengineisplaying.
TempoAllowsyoutosetatempowhenusingthestandaloneapplication.EitherclickanddragtheTempocontrol,ordouble-clickit,typeanewtempoandhitENTER.WhenrunningBFDEcoasaplugin,theTempoindicatorcannotbeadjustedbecausethepluginislockedtothehosttempo.
Time Sig (Time Signature)Allowsyoutosetatimesignaturewhenusingthestandaloneapplication.Double-clicktheTime Sigindicator,typenewvaluesseparatedbya“/”andhitENTER.
PositionIndicatesthecurrentplaybackposition,inbarsandbeats,ofeitherthehost(whenusingtheplugin),theDrumTrackorthecurrentGroove.
RecordActivatingtheRecordbuttonstartsrecordingtheaudiofromBFDEco’smasteroutputtodisk–thebuttonflashestoindicatethisisoccurring.Pleasenotethatanychannel(s)thatyouwishtobepresentintherecordingmustfirstberoutedtothemasteroutput.ClicktheRecordbuttonagaintostoprecording.SubsequentuseoftheRecordfunctionresultsincreatingsequentiallynumberedaudiofiles.ThelocationofthefilesisspecifiedusingtheRecord pathsettinginBFDEco’sOptionsmenu.
Show Jukebox playerTheJukeboxplayeroffersasimplewaytoplayaudiofilessuchasbackingtrackstopracticewith.Seechapter12formoredetails.
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Ch.8 Key Map panel
Vertical keyboard
Keyrange selector
ArticulationsHihat & additional
controlsKey map picker
MIDI Log
TheKeyMappanelallowsyoutocustomizetheMIDInoteassignmentsforallkit-piecearticulations.ItisalsopossibletodefineahihatpedalMIDICC,forexpressiveplayingwithanelectronicdrumkit.ClicktheClosebuttontoexittheKeyMappanelandreturntothepreviouspage.
8:1 Key map pickerThekeymappickerfunctionsinthesamewayasotherpresetpickersinBFDEco.Load Key Map...displaysabrowsersimilartothoseforPresets,KitsandMixers.TheSave Key Map...functiondisplaysanOS‘SaveAs’dialogforsavingthecurrentkeymap.The Clear Key Mapfunctionallowsyoutoremoveallcurrentkeymapassignmentssothatyoucancreateanewmapfromscratch,whileReset Key Maprevertstothelast-savedversionofthecurrentlyloadedmap.
Default key mapWhenBFDEcoislaunched,itloadsthelastsavedkeymapthatwasinuse.Ifyoumakesomeassignments,makesureyousavethekeymapsoitcanbeloadedwhenBFDEcoisnextlaunched.KeymapsaresavedwithinBFDEcoPresets,andwithinhostprojectscontainingBFDEco.
No mappingsSelected key
Choke note
Mapped but no kit-piece loadedMapped
Key/MIDI LockBydefault,theKey/MIDI Lockbuttonisenabled.ThismeansthatkeymapassignmentsarenotaffectedwhenaBFDEcoPresetisloaded,orwhentheClear Preset...functionisusedinthePresetpicker.Thisisbecauseyougenerallyshouldnotneedtochangeyourkeymapforeveryproject.SimplydisabletheKey/MIDI Lock buttoninordertorestorekeymapsembeddedwithinPresets.
8:2 Creating assignmentsAverticalkeyboardisshownattherightsideoftheinterface,andrepresentstheentireMIDIkeyboardrangefromthelowestatthebottom,andthehighestatthetop.Theselectedkit-piecechannel’sarticulationsareshownintheArticulationssection.Thekeysarecolour-codedtoindicatetheircurrentstatus,illustratedbythescreenshot.
Creating an assignment1.Selectthedesiredkit-piecechannelbyclickingitsimage.2.YoucanoptionallyplaytheMIDInotetowhichyouwishtoassignanarticulationiftheKey Selectbuttonisactivated–therelevantkeyishighlightedontheon-screenkeyboard.Alternatively,scrollupanddownthekeyboardusingthekeyrangeselector.
3.DraganddropanarticulationfromtheArticulationssectiontothedesiredkey.Ifthekeyisnotcurrentlyinviewonthekeyboard,youcanscrollupordownbymovingthemousetowardsthehighandlowendsofthekeyboard.
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8:3 Key context menuRight-click(orCTRL-clickonMac)onanyoftheverticalkeystodisplaythekeycontextmenu.ThismenucontainsfunctionstoCut,Copy and Pasteassignmentsbetweenkeys,aswellastoDelete anyassignmentonakey.
8:4 Hihat controlThehihatfeaturesmorearticulationsthananyotherkit-piece,andanumberofadditionalcontrolsforadjustingtheplayingresponse.
Variable mode and Pedal CCVariable modeisprovidedifyouuseanelectronicdrumkitandwouldliketousevariablehihatpedalcontrolinordertoaccessallpositionsbetweenopenandclosed.
1.enabletheVariable modebutton2.setanynotestransmittedforTipsoundstoaTiphihatarticulation 3.setanynotestransmittedforShanksoundstoaShankhihatarticulation 4.settheMIDICCtransmittedbythehihatpedalusingthePedal CCcontrol
Forexample,herearethetypicalnotesforaRolandbrainsuchastheTD20orTD12.
Roland note MIDI note (note no.) BFD Eco suggested mappingOpenbow A#1(46) OpentipClosedbow F#1(42) ClosedtipOpenedge D0(26) OpenshankClosededge A#-1(22) Closedshank
Pedal G#1(44) Pedal
When the Variable modebuttonisenabled,the‘bow’ortipnotestriggerTiparticulationsandthe‘edge’orshanknotestriggerShankarticulations,withthepositionbetweenopenandclosedbeingdictatedbythepedalMIDICC,whichisMIDICC#4forRolanddrumbrains.
Setting transition points between hihat positions for the hihat pedal MIDI CCWhen Variable modeisenabled,thehihatpedalpositionsliderbecomesactive.Thesliderfeatures4pointswhichcanbeadjustedtoform5zones–oneeachforClosed,1/4-open,1/2-open,3/4-openandOpenarticulations.Thesearearrangedfrombottomtotop,reflectingthetravelofthehihatpedalonanelectronicdrumkit–whenthepedalisfullyup(open),itsvalueis0;whenitisfullydown(closed),itsvalueis127.Intheabovescreenshot,thefollowingMIDICCvaluesarerequiredtotriggereachhihatpositionwhenatiporshankhihatnoteisreceived: Open: 0-15
3/4-open: 16-44 1/2-open: 45-91 1/4-open: 92-114 Closed: 115-127
Disabling Variable mode – access to open/closed onlyWith Variable modedisabled,thenotestransmittedfromtheRolandhihattriggerseitherclosedoropentip/shankarticulations.Recordinghihatperformancesinthiswaymeansthateditingandquantizingismucheasier(duetonothavingtoeditaMIDICCinparalleltonotes).Youcansubsequentlyeditthenotestoplayotheravailablehihatarticulationssuchas1/4-open,1/2-openetc.
Pedal note chokingInbothcases,thepedalnote(G#1,sometimestermeda‘foot-chick’)chokesanyplayinghihatarticulations.
Auto PedalThisfunction,whenenabled,generatesapedalnotearticulationwhenevertheincominghihatpedalMIDICCvaluereaches127.Youshouldonlyneedtousethisfunctionifyourelectronicdrumkitdoesnotsendoutapedalnotewhenthehihatpedalisfullydepressed.
Auto SplashIfthisfunctionisenabled,ahihatsplasharticulationisgeneratedwhenthehihatpedalisopenedandclosedveryquickly.
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8:5 Adjusting Velocity ResponseTheVelocityResponsecontrolsadjusthoweachkit-pieceslotrespondstothevelocityofMIDInotesreceived.Thesettingscanbesettodifferentvaluesforeachkit-pieceslot–theyaresharedbetweenallarticulationswithintheslot.
Vel Hi, Vel LoThesecontrolsremaptheincomingMIDIvelocityrangetoaspecificportionofthekit-piece’savailablerangeofvelocitylayers.Forexample,setting Vel Lo to 64 and Vel Hito127meansthatonlythetophalfofthevelocitylayerrange–inotherwords,the‘hardhits’–willbeplayed.Forexample:•Anincomingnotewithvelocityvalue1wouldplayalayerhalf-waythroughtherangewhichwouldusuallybeplayedbyavelocityof64.•Anincomingnotewithvelocityvalue64wouldtriggeranarticulationwhichwouldusuallybeplayedbyanincomingvelocityof96.
CurveThiscontroladjustshownoteinputvelocitiesaredistributedacrosstheavailablerangeofthearticulation’svelocitylayersamples(aftertheVel Hi and Vel Losettingsareapplied).Bydefault,alinear1:1mappingisused-theactiverangeofMIDIinputvelocityisdistributedproportionallyacrosstheavailablevelocitylayersforeacharticulationinthekit-piece.Thisisshownasastraightdiagonalline.Clickanddragupwards on the Curvecontroltovarytheresponsetowardsaninverse-exponentialcurve.Lowervelocitiesareconcentratedwithinthequietpartofthevelocitylayerrange(approximatelythefirst25%)withhighervelocitiesspreadoverthemiddleandloudpartsofthevelocitylayerrange(theremaining75%).Clickanddragdownwardsonthecontroltovarytheresponsetowardsanexponentialcurve.Lowervelocitiesarespreadoverthequietandmiddlepartsofthevelocitylayerrange(approximatelythefirst75%)withhighervelocitiesconcentratedovertheloudestpartofthevelocitylayerrange(theremaining25%).
8:6 Additional controlsMIDI Log
The MIDI LogisprovidedtohelpduringthemappingprocessandtotroubleshootMIDI-relatedproblems.Itdisplaysareal-timereadoutofincomingMIDImessageswhichcanbeusefulwhencreatingkeymapassignments.ClicktheClear Logbuttontoresetthedisplay.
Octave numbering schemeChangestheMIDInoteoctavenumberingscheme.Whenthisissetto‘Normal’,thelowestoctaveisnumbered0.Somesequencers/drummodulesnumberthelowestoctaveas-1or-2.
8:7 Articulations and slotsPleasenotethateachkit-pieceslotorchannelcontainsafixednumberofarticulations,whicharedetailedinsection2:1.•Notallkit-piecescontainallarticulations.Wheneverakit-piecelacksacertainarticulation,asuitablearticulationissubstitutedwhenitistriggeredfromamappedMIDIkeyoraGrooveevent.
•ThePerc1,Perc2andPerc3channelscanloadpercussion,tomandcymbalkit-pieces.However,onlythefirst2articulationsareavailable,whicharetriggeredwiththeslot’sHitandAltkeymapassignments.
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Ch.9 Options and Help menus
9:1 Options menuWhenBFDEcoislaunched,thepreferencesettingsfromthelasttimeyouusedthesoftwareareused.WhenyousaveaPresetorahostprojectcontainingtheBFDEcoplugin,thecurrentpreferencesaresavedwithit,andrecalledwhenthesessionisrestored.
Set Data Path...Opensthedatapathpanel,whichallowsyoutosetuponeormorefoldersthatcontainBFDEco-compatibledata(kit-pieceaudioandGrooves).Atleast1datapathmustexistinorderforBFDEcotobeusable!Multipledatapathscanoftenbeusefulifyoupurchaseadditionalexpansions,butlackthespaceonasingleharddiskforallthedata.Toaddadatapath,clicktheAdd data pathbutton.AnOSbrowserdialogisdisplayed,allowingyoutonavigatetoandselectthedesiredfolder.Whenyouselectadatapath,thedatabaseofkit-piecesandGroovesisrefreshed.Toremoveadatapath,selectitinthelist,andclicktheRemove data pathbutton.ClickingtheClearbuttonremovesalldatapathsfromthelist.AfteryouinstallBFDEco,thepathforitssupplieddataisalreadyspecifiedinthispanel.Whensettingadatapath,youshouldselectthetoplevelofthefolder–here’sanexample: BFD Eco /Audio /GroovesInthiscase,youshouldselecttheBFD Ecofolderasthedatapath–not /Audiooranyotherfolder.
Add data path
Remove data path
Rebuild Databases...Thisfunctionrescansthecurrently-specifieddatapath(s),andrebuildsBFDEco’sinternaldatabases.
Key Map...OpenstheKeyMappanel,toassignkit-piecearticulationstoMIDInotes(seechapter8).
Tooltips On / OffThissettingletsyouswitchofftooltipsifyoufindthemdistracting.
Outputs as Numbers On / OffMosthostsdisplayeachpluginoutputasaname,whilesomedisplaythemasnumbers.Thisoptionletsyousethowchanneloutputsarelabelledinthemixer,sotheymatchwhatisshowninyourhost.
Drummer Perspective On / OffWhenthissettingisturnedoff,thekitisheardfromthe‘audience’perspective–inotherwords,ontheothersideofthekittothedrummer–allpansettings(includinganyFlip LRsettingsforkit-pieces’ambiencechannels)andambiencechannelsareinvertedrelativetotheircurrentsettings.Whenthesettingisenabled,thekitisheardfromthedrummer’sperspective–alldirectpanandambiencesettingsareunchanged.
Anti-machinegun Mode On / OffWiththissettingenabled,thesamevelocitylayerisneverplayedtwiceinsucessionforanarticulation.Thisremovesthe‘machineguneffect’.
RAM Buffer 16k / 32kTheRAMbufferisusedtostoretheinitialportionofeachvelocitylayerofallkit-piecearticulationsinmemory.Whenalayeristriggered,thebufferisplayedwhilethesoundisqueuedupfromdiskandplayedimmediatelyafterwards.SmallerRAMbuffersuselessmemory,butrequirefasterdiskperformance.LargervaluesusemoreRAM,butallowmoretimefordiskaccess.
Load on Demand On / OffThisfeatureisintendedforconservingRAMbyonlyloadingthevelocitylayersthatyouneed,astheyareplayed,in their entirety.Nodisk-streamingoccurswhenthisfeatureisenabled.Beforeanynotesareplayed,asinglevelocitylayerisloaded.Whenyouplayacertainvelocitylayer,thecachedlayerisplayedwithamplitudescaling(accordingtothevelocityoftheMIDIinputevent)whiletheactuallayerisloadedfromdisk.Thenexttimethislayeristriggered,theactuallayerisplayed.Asmorevelocitylayersaretriggered(withvaryingnoteinputvelocities),morelayersareloadedfromdisk,andRAMusageincreases.IfyouusetheHumanize Vel,Anti-machinegun Mode or Dynamicsfunctions,agreatervarietyoflayersareused,thereforeincreasingtheamountofRAMused.
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Ifyoucanlivewiththeapproximatedaudiothefirsttimealayeristriggered,LoadondemandcansavealotofRAM–evenifyoueventuallyplayalllayersforanarticulation,thereareotherarticulationsandkit-pieceswhicharen’tplayedasfrequentlyandsowillnotoccupymuchRAM.
Using Load on demand in the studioInthestudio,Load-on-demandmaybemoresensibletouseafteradrumtrackisprogrammed,tofreeupRAMforothertasksinyourhost.Ensurethatyouplaythesongfullyfrombeginningtoend,inordertoloadallrequiredvelocities.Thisresultsinconsistentplaybackuntilfurtherlayersareplayed/programmed,oruntiltheHumanize/Dynamicscontrolsareused.
Using Load on demand during live performanceLoadondemandallowsveryfastchangingbetweenkitsduringliveperformance.Thedifferencesbetweentheinitialamplitude-scaledandeventuallyloadedvelocitylayersmaynotbesuchaconcernbecauseofnoisy,distortedPAsystemsandless-than-idealvenueacousticsandlisteningconditions.
Set Startup PresetSpecifiesaBFDEcoPresettoloadwhenthepluginorstandaloneapplicationislaunched.ThenameofthecurrentlyspecifiedPresetisshown.AstartupPresetisespeciallyusefulforrecallingyourpreferredMIDICCassignmentswheneverBFDEcoislaunched.
Clear Startup PresetClearsanycurrentlyspecifiedstartupPresetsothatBFDEcoopenswithafactorydefaultstatewhenitislaunched.
Export NFUZD KitThisfunctiondislaystheNFUZDExportdialogwhichallowsyoutoexportthecurrentkit/mixeraudioinaformatwhichcanbeloadedintoNFUZDNSPIREseriesdrummodules.Seechapter12formoredetails.
Show Jukebox playerTheJukeboxplayeroffersasimplewaytoplayaudiofilessuchasbackingtracksforjamming/practicingpurposes.Seechapter12formoredetailsoonhowtousetheJukeboxpanel.
Record pathThissettingspecifiesalocationtowhichtorecordaudiofilestodiskusingtheRecordfunction(initiatedbyactivatingtheRecordbuttonintheGlobalcontrolssection).MultiplefilesrecordedinthesameRecord pathlocationareautomaticallysequentiallynumbered.Seechapter8formoredetailsontheRecordfunction.
9:2 Help menuLaunch PDF manualLaunchestheBFDEcomanualinyoursystem’sdefaultPDFreader(youmustinstallAdobeAcrobatReaderoranotherPDFreaderonWindows).
Launch BFD Eco Online FAQ Launch BFD Eco Online Support Launch BFD Eco Online ForumThesewebpages,launchedinyourdefaultbrowser,areyourfirstportofcallforhelpwithBFDEco.
Check for BFD Eco updates...CheckstheFXpansionsitefornewerversionsofBFDEco.
About BFD EcoOpensthecreditsandversionnumberboxforBFDEco.
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Ch.10 FX devices
GainThiseffectisasimpletoolforincreasingordecreasingachannel’sgain.TheGaincontrolsetsthechannel’sgainbetween-infdBand+18dB.
Comp ChanThisisaDCAMcircuit-modelledchannelcompressor,basedonaclassic‘limitingamplifier’design.IncreasetheInputcontroltomakethesoundmorecompressed,andadjusttheOutputlevelasrequired.UsetheRatio,Attack and Releasecontrolstoaffectthecompressioncharacteristics.
Comp BusTheCompBusisaDCAMcircuitmodelofaclassicBritishconsolebuscompressordesign,andfeaturesThreshold,Ratio,Makeup,Attack and Releasecontrols.The Key HPcontrolallowsyoutohighpass-filterthesignalusedfortheamplitude-detectioncircuit,whiletheAnalog Limitcontrolappliesnon-linearitiestothedetectioncircuit,resultinginacompressioncharacteristicthatismoretransparentonattacks.
DelayThisisaclassicstereodelayline.AswellasTime and Feedbackcontrols,itfeaturesaSwingcontrolforachievingavarietyofdelayfeels,andadjustableLowCut and HighCutfiltersinthefeedbackchain.The Synccontrolswitchesbetweentime-based(Sec)andtempo-synced(BPM)delaytimes.TheSumInputcontrol(availableonstereochannelsonly)sumstheleftandrightinputstoasinglemonosignalandfeedsonedelaylineinsteadoftwo.
FilterTheFiltereffectprovidessimple1-polehigh-passandlow-passfilters.Eachfilterfeaturespower(LPin and HPin)andfrequency(LPFreq and HPFreq)controls.
FlangerTheFlangereffectisashortmodulateddelaylinewithfeedbacktotheinput.Itisusedforasenseofmovementandforpsychedeliceffects.The FreqcontrolsetsthefrequencyofthesineLFOusedtomodulatetheflanger’sdelaytime,whiletheDepthcontroladjuststheamountofmodulation.ThePos(Position)controladdsupto10mstotheflanger’sdelaytime.TheneedledisplayintheFlangereffectrepresentsthedelaytimemodulation.The Feedbackcontroladjuststheamountoftheprocessedsignalthatisfedbackintotheinput.Highersettingsresultinamorepronouncedflangingeffect,withsettingsover50%leadingtoextremecombfiltertypeeffects.The Modebuttondictatesthephaserelationshipbetweentheinputandprocessedsignals.Withthebuttondisabled,thetwosignalsareinphase(resultinginamorepronouncedflangingeffect);withitenabled,thesignalsareoutofphase.The Spread and Phasecontrolsareonlyavailableonstereochannels.Spreadadjuststhepanningoftheleftandrightchannelprocessedsignals,whilePhaseoffsetsthephaseoftheinternalLFOsfortheleftandrightchannels.
Filter ModThisisaDCAMcircuit-modelledmultimoderesonantfilterwithmodulationanddrive.AswellasthePitch(cutofffrequency)andRes (resonance)controls,thefilterfeaturesaModecontroltoswitchbetweenlow-pass,band-pass,high-pass,peakandnotchmodes.Thereisevenanaudio-rateFMDepthcontrolwhichsetstheamountofcutoffmodulationderivedfromtheinputsignal’swaveform.TheDrivefunctionfeaturescontrolsforinput(Drive)andoutput(OutDrive)drivestages.Theeffectcontainsabuilt-inenvelopefollowerformodulatingthecutofffrequencywiththeamplitudeoftheinputsignal.ItfeaturescontrolsforAttack,Release and Env Depth.
DriveDriveisaversatile,DCAM-modelledoverdrive/distortioneffect.TheHPFreq and LPFreqcontrolsallowyoutofilterthesignalbeforethedistortionstage,whiletheModecontrolswitchesbetween4differentdistortionmodels–‘Diode’,‘OTA’,‘OpAmp’and‘HalfRect’.The Dirtycontrolsetstheamountofthedistortedsignalthatisheardattheoutput,whiletheCleancontrolsetstheamountofthesignalthatwasfilteredoutbeforethebitcrushingstagebythehigh-passandlow-passfilters.TheTonecontrolisasimple1-polelow-passfiltertoremoveunwantedhigh-frequenciesfromtheDirtysignal.
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BitCrusherThiseffectemulatesthedigitaldistortionthatoccurswhenloweringthebit-depthorsample-rateofanaudiosignal.Adjustthebit-depthwithBits controlandthesample-ratewiththeFreqcontrol.TheeffectalsoincludesaDrivecontrolforaddingdistortion.LiketheBitCrushereffect,itfeaturespre-distortionhigh-passandlow-passfiltersbeforethedistortionstage,aswellassimilarDirty,Clean and Tonecontrols.
RingModThiseffectisusedforradicaltimbralshiftsandexperimentaleffects.Itmultipliestheinputsignalwithitsinternaloscillator,theshapeandpitchofwhicharesetwiththeMode and Pitchcontrols.TheDrivecontrolsetstheamountofdistortionontheinputsignal.
TinCanVerbThiseffectisarecreationofalow-endroomreverbunit,perfectforemulating‘cheapandnasty’onboardsynthFX.UsetheincludedOverloudBreverbPlatedeviceforhigh-qualityreverbFX.AswellastheubiquitousSize,Decay Time and Dampparameters,TinCanVerbfeaturesPinch and Squeezecontrolsformanipulatingtheroomshape,whiletheFreezecontrolloopsthecurrentreverbbufferindefinitelyuntilitisturneddownagain–usefulfordubbyspecialeffects.
NoiseGateTheGateattenuatesthesignaluntilitsamplitudereachestheThresholdlevel.TheAttack and Releasecontrolssetthespeedatwhichthegateopensandclosesafterthesignalgoesaboveorbelowthethreshold,whiletheHoldcontrolforcesthegatetoremainopenforacertainlengthoftimeafteritisopened.The HPFreq and LPFreqcontrolsallowyoutohigh-passandlow-passfilterthesignalusedfortheamplitude-detectioncircuit,whiletheKey Listenbuttonallowsyoutolistentothissignal.IncreasingtheHysteresiscontrolsmoothsthegate’sresponse,attheexpenseofsensitivitytosmallchangesaroundthethresholdlevel.
Env ShaperTheEnvelopeShaperallowsyoutoadjusttransientsandchangethedynamicshapeofasignalinadifferentwaytousingacompressor.TheSensitivitycontroladjuststheEnvShaper’speakdetectioncircuit.DetectedpeaksareaffectedbytheAttackandSustaintransientprocessing.The Attackcontroladjuststheintensityoftheattackphaseoftransientsintheaudio.Increasethecontroltointensifyattacktransients,anddecreaseittosoftentransients.The Sustaincontroladjuststheintensityofreleaseportionsoftransientsintheaudio,whichincreasesordecreasestheapparentsustainofsoundsinthesignal.Increasethecontrolformoresustain,anddecreaseitforlesssustain.Thiscontrolisusefulforadjustingtheperceivedlevelofambienceinachannel.Verylowsettingscanproducedampingeffectsfordrumsounds.TheprocessedsignallevelcanbeadjustedusingtheGaincontrol,between-12dBand+12dB.
Breverb PlateThedurationofthereverbtailisdictatedbytheTime and Sizecontrols,whiletheDiffusionparameteradjuststhedegreetowhichtheinitialechodensityincreasesovertime.ThePredelaycontroladjuststhetimethatelapsesbetweentheinputsignalandtheonsetofreverberation.TheShapecontroldictatesthecontourofthereverberationenvelope.Attheminimumsetting,reverberationbuildsexplosivelyanddecaysveryquickly.Asthecontrolisraised,reverberationbuildsupmoregraduallyandsustainslonger.The Lowcontrolsetsthefrequencyunderwhichthereverbeffectisattenuated,whiletheHighcontrolsetsthefrequencyoverwhichthereverbeffectisattenuated.
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Ch.11 Standalone application and plugin usageUsing the BFD Eco Standalone applicationTheBFDEcostandaloneapplicationisprovidedsothatyoucanusethesoftwarewithoutrequiringahostinordertouseit.ItcanbeconvenienttooperateBFDEcointhiswayforliveuseorquickdrumcomposition.YoucaneithersaveaBFDEcoPresetofyourworkforlaterrecallinahost,orsimplyusethebuilt-inaudioandMIDIexportfunctionsinordertocreatefilesthatcanbeimportedintoothersoftwareordevices.
ItisalsoveryusefulasameansofauthorizingBFDEco,astheplugin-initializingmechanismsofmanyhostscandisrupttheauthorizationprocess.
Pleasenotethatifyourequirefunctionalitysuchasmultipleoutputsoradvancedsynchronization(exceptslavingtoMIDIclock),youshoulduseasuitablehost,suchasPlogueBidule(www.plogue.com).
Tempo and time signatureWhenrunningBFDEcoasastandaloneapplication,youcanchangethetempoandtimesignaturesettingsdirectlyontheinterface(seechapter7).Double-clickeachcontrol,typeanewvalueandhitENTERorRETURN.
Open Audio PreferencesThispanelspecifiesthestandaloneapplication’saudiosettingsaccessedviathethestandaloneapplication’sstandardOSmenu-bar(BFD Eco / PreferencesonMac;OptionsonWindows).
SamplerateThestandaloneapplicationattemptstodetectthissettingforyouraudiodevice.Insomecasesthismaynotbepossibleduetothedevice’sdrivernotproperlyrespondingtothestandaloneapplication’srequest.Insuchcases,settheSampleratetothesamevalueasthatdefinedinyouraudiodevice’scontrolpanel.
Buffer sizeAgain,thestandaloneapplicationattemptstodetectthissettingforyouraudiodevice.Insomecasesthismaynotbepossibleduetothedevice’sdrivernotproperlyrespondingtothestandaloneapplication’srequest.Insuchcases,settheBuffer sizetothesamevalueasthatdefinedinyouraudiodevice’scontrolpanel.
Output device (Mac) ASIO device (Windows)OnMacOSX,allavailableCoreAudiodevicesareshownintheOutput devicesdrop-downmenu.SelectthedesiredaudiointerfacedevicewithwhichyouwanttousetheBFDEcostandaloneapplication.NotethattheInput devicesettingdoesnothaveanyeffectforBFDEco,whichdoesnotuseexternalaudiosignalsforanyfunctions.
OnWindows,availableASIOdevicesareshownintheASIOdevicedrop-downmenu.SelectthedesiredaudiointerfacedevicewithwhichyouwanttousetheBFDEcostandaloneapplication.IfyouraudiointerfacelacksanASIOdriver,itisoftenpossibletoachievegoodresultsusingthefreeASIO4ALLuniversalASIOdriver,whichcanbedownloadedfromwww.asio4all.com
Open ASIO Panel (Windows only)OnWindows,thisfunctionbringsuptheASIOcontrolpanelforyouraudiodevice,inwhichyoucanadjustitssettingsifrequired.
ThisfunctionisnotavailableonMac–inordertoadjustyouraudiocard’ssettingsonMac,youmustdirectlylaunchitsparticularcompanionsoftware/controlpanel.
Audio ChannelsThissectionshowstheavailablestereooutputpairsforthecurrentlyselectedOutput device.Toenablemulti-outputoperation(ifyouraudiointerfacehasmorethanasinglestereooutput),activatetheAll outputssetting.OutputsforeachchannelaresetviatheOutputSelectorcontrols(seesection4:3).
Open MIDI PreferencesThispanelspecifiesMIDIinputandoutputsettingsfromtheBFDEcostandaloneapplicationandisaccessedviatheapplication’smenu-bar.
Input DevicesThissectionspecifiestheMIDIinputport(s)forplayingBFDEco,AlldetectedMIDIinputportsinyoursystemaredetectedanddisplayed–activateanyavailableporttoenableMIDIinputfromtheporttoBFDEco.YoucanselectmorethanoneMIDIportifrequired.
Eachinputportfeaturesanadditional‘CLK’checkbox–activatethischeckboxforanyportonwhichtoreceiveMIDIclock.Tosuccessfullyslavetotheclocksignal,theSynctoMIDIclocksettingmustbeactivated(seebelow).
Output DevicesBFDEcoiscapableoftransmittingtheoutputoftheGrooveengineasMIDInoteswithwhichtotriggerotherMIDIdevices.IntheOutputDevicessection,allMIDIoutportsinyoursystemaredetectedanddisplayed–activateanyavailableporttoenabletheMIDIoutput.Only1outputportcanbespecified.
Sync to MIDI clockEnablingtheSync to MIDI clockfunctionresultsintheBFDEcostandaloneapplicationrespondingtoMIDIclockfromspecifiedMIDIinputportsinordertosynchronizewithanotherdevice.YoumustmakesurethatthecurrentlyenabledMIDIportsincludetheportonwhichtheclockisbeingtransmittedandthattherelevantport’s‘CLK’checkboxisactivated.
ThestandaloneapplicationcanonlyslavetoanexternalmasterMIDIclocksource.ItcannotsendoutitsownMIDIclock–ifyouneedsuchfunctionality,pleaseuseBFDEcoasaplugininasuitablehost/DAWthatsupportsthesefeatures.
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Using BFD Eco as an RTAS or AAX plugin in Digidesign Pro Tools 7.x or laterTheRTASversionofBFDEcorequiresProTools7-10.Forbestperformance,version7.1orlaterishighlyrecommended.TheAAXversionrequiresatleastProTools10(ProTools11orlaterrecommended).BFDEcocannotbeusedinProTools6.x,oranyearlierversions.
Launching BFD Eco1.InserttheBFDEcomulti-channelplugin(RTASorontoastereoInstrumenttrack.TheInstrumentchannel’soutputplaystheoutputofthefirststereopair-channels1-2.
Setting up additional output monitoringBydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).
Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredoutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
Oncethechannelsareroutedasdesired,dothefollowingtomonitoreachoutputseparately:
1.CreateamonoorstereoAuxtrack,dependingonwhetheryouwanttomonitoranadditionalmonoorstereooutputfromBFDEco.
2.SettheinputoftheAuxtrackastherelevantstereoormonooutputfromBFDEco–afterthepluginisinsertedintotheproject,itsoutputsbecomeavailableastrackinputsources.
3.RepeatthisprocessforasmanyadditionalBFDEcooutputsthatyouneedtomonitor.
Ifyouencounteranyproblemsperformingthestepsabove,pleaseconsultyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactthemanufacturer’stechsupportchannels–BFDEcooperatesinthesamewayasanyothermultiple-outputinstrumentplugin.
Using BFD Eco as an AU plugin in Apple Logic 8 or laterLogic8currentlyhasalimitationonthenumberofoutputsavailablefromaplugin.WhenusingBFDEcoinLogic8,onlyoutputs1-24areavailable–stereooutputs1-8andmonooutputs1-8.
TheAUformatdoesnotsupportMIDIoutputfromplugins–therefore,BFDEco’sMIDIOutfunctioncannotbeusedinLogic8.
Launching BFD Eco1.InserttheBFDEcomulti-channelAUpluginontoanaudioinstrumentchannel.Theinstrumentchannel’soutputplaystheoutputofthefirststereopair-channels1-2–aswellasanyotheroutputswhichhavenotyetbeenassignedtobemonitoredfromanadditionalAuxchannel.
2.CreateatrackinLogic’sArrangewindow,correspondingtotheaudioinstrumentchannelonwhichyouinsertedBFDEco.YoucannowplayBFDEcofromthistrack.
Setting up additional output monitoringBydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).
Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredBFDEcooutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
Oncethechannelsareroutedasdesired,dothefollowingtomonitoreachoutputseparately:
1.CreateamonoorstereoAuxchannel,dependingonwhetheryouwanttomonitoranadditionalmonoorstereooutputfromBFDEco.
2.SettheinputoftheAuxchannelastherelevantstereoormonooutputfromBFDEco–afterBFDEcoisinsertedintotheproject,itsoutputsbecomeavailableastrackinputsources.
3.RepeatthisprocessforasmanyadditionalBFDEcooutputsthatyouneedtomonitor.
Ifyouencounteranyproblemsperformingthestepsabove,pleaseconsultyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactthemanufacturer’stechsupportchannels–BFDEcooperatesinthesamewayasanyothermultiple-outputinstrumentplugin.
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Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin or an AU plugin in Ableton LiveOnMac,AbletonLivesupportsbothVSTandAUplugins.WhenusingtheVSTplugin,itispossibletouseBFDEco’sMIDIOutfeaturetosendMIDItoanothertrackfromBFDEco.TheAUformatdoesnotsupportMIDIoutputfromplugins,sothisfeatureisunavailablewhenusingtheAUplugin.
Launching BFD Eco1.DraganddroptheBFDEcoVSTorAUplugin(Maconly)fromthePlug-InDeviceslistintotheLiveworkspace.
Setting up additional output monitoringBydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredBFDEcooutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
Oncethechannelsareroutedasdesired,dothefollowingtomonitoreachoutputseparately:
1.Createanaudiotrack.
2.Clickthe‘I-O’buttonontherighthandsideoftheLiveinterfacetorevealeachtrack’sinput/outputsettings.
3.Setthe‘AudioFrom’selectortotheBFDEcotrack.
4.SettheselectorimmediatelyunderneaththistotherequiredBFDEcooutput.
Livedoesnotpossessmonotracks.Therefore,ittreatsBFDEco’s16monooutputsas8stereooutputpairs.Inordertomonitoramonooutputproperly,insertLive’sUtilityplugin(foundintheAudioFXfolderintheLiveDeviceslist)ontoanaudiotracksetupasabove.SetuptheUtilitypluginsothatitmonitorseithertherightorleftofthechannel,pannedtothecentre.
Ifyouencounteranyproblemsperformingthestepsabove,pleaseconsultyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactthemanufacturer’stechsupportchannels–BFDEcooperatesinthesamewayasanyothermultiple-outputinstrumentplugin.
Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in Cubase SXLaunching BFD Eco1.Withaprojectopen,bringuptheVSTInstrumentspanel.
2.ClickonaninstrumentslotandselecttheBFDEcoplugin.CubaseSXautomaticallycreatesalladditionalBFDEcooutputsinitsmixer.
Bydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredBFDEcooutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
3.AssignaMIDItrackintheProjectWindowtoBFDEco.
Ifyouencounteranyproblemsperformingthestepsabove,pleaseconsultyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactthemanufacturer’stechsupportchannels–BFDEcooperatesinthesamewayasanyothermultiple-outputinstrumentplugin.
Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in Cubase 4 or laterLaunching BFD Eco1.Withaprojectopen,bringuptheVSTInstrumentspanel.
2.ClickonaninstrumentslotandselecttheBFDEcoplugin.IfCubaseasksyouwhetheritshouldcreateaMIDItrackroutedtotheplugin,click‘Yes’.
3.Cubase4doesnotautomaticallycreateadditionalBFDEcooutputsinitsmixer.Toenabletheadditionaloutputs,clicktheoutputbuttonintheVSTInstrumentspanelforBFDEco(itistotherightofthe‘e’buttonthatshowstheplugininterface).Inthepop-uplistthatappears,youcanenableindividualoralloutputs.Thisbuttonisdescribedonpage63oftheCubase4.1plug-inreferencePDFmanual.
Bydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredBFDEcooutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
3.AssignaMIDItrackintheProjectWindowtoBFDEcoifyoudidnotclick‘Yes’instep2.
Ifyouencounteranyproblemsperformingthestepsabove,pleaseconsultyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactthemanufacturer’stechsupportchannels–BFDEcooperatesinthesamewayasanyothermultiple-outputinstrumentplugin.
Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in SonarLaunching BFD Eco1.Withaprojectopen,usetheInsertmenutoinsertBFDEcoasasoftsynth: Insert•SoftSynths•[VSTpluginsfoldername]•BFDEco
2.Inthesynthpropertiesdialogboxthatappears,youcanchoosetosetupBFDEco’sadditionaloutputsintheSonarmixer.Unfortunately,thisdialogboxdoesnotincludeanoptiontocreatealltherequiredstereoandmonooutputs,soitisrecommendedtochoose‘AllSynthAudioOutputs:Stereo’,andafterwardsmanuallychangethestereochannelscreatedforBFDEco’smono1-16outputstomonochannels.Ifyoudonotknowhowtodothis,pleaseconsultyourSonardocumentationorcontactCakewalksupport.
Bydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredBFDEcooutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
IfyouneedtouseBFDEco’sMIDIOutfunction,remembertocheckthe‘EnableMIDIOut’checkboxinthesynthpropertiesdialog.
3.Ifthe‘MIDISource’checkboxwasnotleftcheckedinthedialogbox,youneedtocreateaMIDItrackandrouteitsoutputtoBFDEco.
Ifyouencounteranyproblemsperformingthestepsabove,pleaseconsultyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactthemanufacturer’stechsupportchannels–BFDEcooperatesinthesamewayasanyothermultiple-outputinstrumentplugin.
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Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in FL StudioLaunching BFD Eco1.BFDEcoisnotdisplayedinthepluginlistbydefault.Tomakeitpartofthelistselect‘More…’topopupalistofallavailableplugins.Fromthebottom-rightofthiswindowclick‘Refresh’then‘FastScan(recommended)’.
2.EnablethecheckboxesnexttotheBFDEcopluginwhichisshowninred(meaningthatitisanewlyfoundplugin).
3.NowyoucanaddBFDEcototheprojectbyselecting‘Channels•Addone…’andthenselectingBFDEco.
4.AssignBFDEcotoanFXtrack,usingthe‘ChannelSettings’window.ThisFXtrackplaysBFDEco’soutputs1-2.
Setting up additional output monitoringBydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredBFDEcooutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
Oncethechannelsareroutedasdesired,dothefollowingtomonitoreachoutputseparately:
1.Enabletheadditionaloutputsusingthedown-arrowmenu,justunderneaththeredpluginiconinthetop-leftcornerofthepluginwindow.
2.TheadditionaloutputsoccupytheFXtracksaftertheFXtrackyouoriginallyspecifiedforBFDEco’smainoutput(1-2).
Ifyouencounteranyproblemsperformingthestepsabove,pleaseconsultyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactthemanufacturer’stechsupportchannels–BFDEcooperatesinthesamewayasanyothermultiple-outputinstrumentplugin.
Using BFD Eco as a VST plugin in ReaperLaunching BFD Eco1.CreateanewtrackandbringuptheFXBrowser.
2.AddtheBFDEcoplugin(locatedintheVSTisectionoftheFXBrowser).
Setting up additional output monitoringBydefault,allchannelsinBFDEcoareroutedtotheMasterchannelintheBFDEcomixer,whichishard-wiredtothefirststereooutput(output1-2).
Inordertoseparatechannelsintodiscreteoutputs,youmustfirstroutetherelevantchannelstothedesiredBFDEcooutputsintheBFDEcomixer.
Oncethechannelsareroutedasdesired,dothefollowingtomonitoreachoutputseparately:
1.BringuptheFXChainforthetrackonwhichyouinsertedBFDEco.
2.Right-clickontheBFDEcoVSTiintheFXChainandclickonthe‘BuildmultichannelroutingforoutputofselectedFX’functioninthemenuthatappears.
3.Thedefaultsettingsforthisfunctionresultin7extrastereochannelsand16monochannelsbeingaddedtotheReapermixer,withtherelevantoutputsfromBFDEcoroutedaccordingly.
Potential problemsMissing pluginWindows•YoumustmakesurethatyourhostapplicationissettousetheVSTpluginsfoldertowhichyouinstalledBFDEco.Seeyourhost’sdocumentationorcontactitsmanufacturer’stechsupportifyoudonotknowhowtodothis.
•Bydefault,theBFDEcoinstallersuggeststheVSTfolderdefinedintheHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE•SOFTWARE•VSTregistrykey.Unlessyouchangedthislocationduringtheinstaller,thisiswheretheBFDEcopluginisinstalled.
•IfyoucannotfindtheBFDEcoVSTplugin,youcancopyitintotheVSTpluginsfolderofyourchoicefromthefollowingfolder:
C:\ProgramFiles\FXpansion\BFDEco
•(thisisthedefaultBFDEcoapplicationpath,althoughyoumayhavespecifiedadifferentlocationduringtheinstaller)
Mac•TheVSTpluginisinstalledtoLibrary•Audio•Plug-Ins•VST
•TheAUpluginisinstalledtoLibrary•Audio•Plug-Ins•Components
•TherearenotmanysituationswhenyourhostwillnotfindtheBFDEcoplugin.However,ifyouuseLogic,youneedtomakesuretheBFDEcoAUpluginisproperlyvalidatedintheLogicAUManager,locatedinLogic’sPreferencesmenu.PleaseseetheLogicdocumentationifyouareunsurehowtodothis.
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Ch.12 Additional features for NFUZD NSPIRE-series electronic drumkitsExporting kits to NFUZD Audio NSPIRE formatBFDEcoprovidesanexportfunctionfortheNFUZDAudioNSPIREseries,accessibleviatheExport NFUZD KitfunctioninBFDEco’sOptionsmenu.Thisfeaturecreatesamixed-downsample-bankfilewhichcanbeloadedintoanyof3usersoundbank‘slots’withintheNSPIREmodule.
Thekick,snare,hihat,tomsandpercussionaremixeddowntocreatemonosoundswhilecymbalsaremixedtostereo.Allmixerandeffectssettingswhichareactiveareappliedtotheexportedsounds.
Module sound-bank slot numberTheNSPIREdrummodulecontains3slotsforcustomusersample-banks-specifywhichslotshouldbeusedforthesample-bankusingthissetting.Thissettingisactuallystoredinthesample-bankfilename(bfd01.bin,bfd02.bin or bfd03.bin)andcanbechangedbysimplyrenamingit.
Pleasenotethatamaximumof3usersample-banks–bfd01.bin,bfd02.bin and bfd03.bin–canexistontheUSBstick,orinanysinglefolder,atanyonetime.Ifthespecifiedsample-banknumberalreadyexistswithinthespecifiedExport folder,BFDEcowarnsthatdatawillbeoverwrittenifyouproceed.
Toavoidthissituationpleasedeleteexistingsound-bank.binfilesasrequiredorspecifyanewExportfolder(inthelattercase,youwillneedtocopythefiletoanNFUZDUSBstick,renamingordeletingfilesasnecessary,toeventuallyloadthefileintotheNFUZDmodule).
Module key pathBFDEcomusthaveaccesstoaUSBstickwhichhasbeenpreppedinyourNSPIREdrummodule,orafileuniquetoyourNSPIREmodulewhichiscreatedduringthisprocesscallednfuzd.key.Theexportedsample-bankcanbeusedonlyontheNSPIREmodulewhichoriginallypreppedtheUSBstick(andthereforewhichcreatedthenfuzd.keyfile).
ThissettingdefaultstotheUSBkeypathifitisfound.UsetheBrowsebuttontospecifytheUSBkeypathifitisnotfoundautomaticallyortospecifyanyotherfolderonyoursystemwhichcontainstherequirednfuzd.keyfile.
Export folderThissettingspecifiesthelocationtowhichtoexportthesample-bank.Bydefault,thisfolderissettothesamelocationastheModule key pathsetting.However,usingtheBrowsebuttonitispossibletospecifyanyfolderonyourharddiskusingthissettingandsubsequentlycopyexportedbankstotheUSBsticktoloadintoyourNSPIREmodule.
ExportClickthisbuttontobegintheexportoperation.Pleasebepatientastheprocessmaytakeafewminutestobecompleted.
CancelClicktheCancelbuttontoreturntothemainBFDEcointerfacewithoutperforminganexport.
Jukebox playerTheJukeboxplayeroffersasimplewaytoplay/practicealongwithanyaudiofilesuchasyourfavouritemusic,backingtracksandsoon.Thisfunctionexistswithinaseparatewindow-clicktheShow Jukebox playerbuttonintheGlobalcontrolsareaorusetheShow Jukebox playerfunctioninBFDEco’sOptionsmenu.Toclosetheplayerwindow,usethestandardOScontrolsattheupper-left(Mac)orupper-right(Windows)ofthewindow.
TheJukeboxplayer’saudiooutputisroutedtoBFDEco’smasteroutput(thefirststereooutput)althoughitisnotaffectedbythemasterchannel’ssettingsoreffects.ItcanthereforeberoutedtoyourNFUZDNSPIREmodule(usingitsAuxinputorwhenusingthemoduleasanaudiointerface)alongwithBFDEco’saudiooutput.UsetheJukeboxplayerpanel’sVolumecontroltoadjustitslevelrelativetotheotheraudiowithinBFDEco’smasterchannel.
ChooseThe ChoosebuttondisplaysanOSfilebrowserforloadingaudiofilesintotheJukeboxplayerplaylist.
RwdClickthisbuttontorewindtothebeginningofthecurrentlyplayingaudiofile.
PlayThe Playbuttonstartsplaybackfromtheplaypositioninthecurrentaudiofile.
PauseThisbuttonpausesplaybackuntilitisclickedagain.
LoopWhen the Loopbuttonisactivated,thecurrentaudiofileisrepeatedafterithasfinishedplaying.
Next, PreviousClickingthesebuttonsresultinswitchingtothenextorpreviousaudiofile.
Up, DownThesebuttonsareusedtore-ordertheplaylistbymovingthecurrentlyselectedaudiofileup(beforethepreviousfile)ordown(afterthenextfile).
VolumeThe VolumecontroladjuststheleveloftheJukeboxplayer’soutputrelativetotheothersignalsinBFDEco’smasterchannel.
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Importing user samplesBFDEcoNFUZDallowsyoutoimportmonoorstereoWAVfilestomakeyourownsingle-articulationkit-pieceswithasinglevelocitylayerwhichisamplitude-scaledwithvelocity.
Itisimportanttonotethefollowing:
•Therecanbeonly1articulationinthekit-piece,mappedtotheprimaryHitarticulationfortheslotintowhichitisloaded.Anyadditionalarticulationmappingsfortheslotwillalsofallthroughtothissinglearticulation.
•Eachkit-piececreatedusingthisprocessmustbedesignatedasaKick,Snare,Tom,CymbalorPercussionkit-piece–itthenappearsinthekit-piecebrowserforthatparticularkit-piecetype.
•ItisnotpossibletocreateHihatkit-piecesasaminimumof2articulationswouldberequired.
•Thekit-pieceonlyproducessoundinthedirectbus-thekit-piecechannelitself.ItcannotproduceaudiointheOHorRoomchannelalthoughitcanbestereoandcanbesenttoAux1orAux2forprocessingwithartificialreverb.
•Therecanbeonlyasinglevelocitylayerinthekit-piece-itsamplitudelevelvarieswithincomingnotevelocity.
•Animportedsamplecanbe16-bitor24-bitWAVwithasample-rateof44.1kHzbuttheresultingkit-piececanonlyplaybackat16-bitlikeallothersoundswithinBFDEco.
Sample Importer panelInordertocreateakit-piecefromasample,youmustopentheSampleImporterpanelusingtheUser Sample Import...functiononBFDEcoNFUZD’sOptionsmenu.
SampleClicktheSample Browsebuttontoaddasample.AnymonoorstereoWAVfilecanbeselected,butitmustbeatasamplerateof44.1kHz,atabitdepthofeither16or24bit.Theresultingkit-piececanonlyplaybackat16-bitlikeallotherkit-pieceswithinBFDEco.
DestinationSelectadatapathtowhichtosavetheimportedsampleasakit-piecebyclickingthisdrop-downmenuandselectingthedesiredpath.
Touseanewdatapathtowhichtosavetheimportedkit-piece,itmustfirstbespecifiedwiththeSet Data PathfunctioninBFDEcoNFUZD’sOptionsmenu.
Ifyoureceiveanerrorwhenimportingsamples,makesurethatyouhaveadequatepermissionstowritetothedatapath,andtryagain.
Kit-piece TypeThisdrop-downmenuspecifiesthetypefortheimportedkit-piece.Thekit-piececanbeclassifiedasKick,Snare,Tom,CymbalorPercussion–aftertheprocessiscomplete,itisaddedtothedatabaseandisvisibleinthekit-piecepicker/browserforrelevantslottypes.
ItisnotpossibletocreateHihatkit-piecesasatleast2articulationswouldberequired.
Kit-piece NameClickthistext-boxandenteranameforthecreatedkit-piece.Thisnameidentifiesthekit-pieceinthekit-piecepickerandbrowser.
Photo settingsYoucanspecifyanyJPEG,PNGorTGAimagefileasaphototoassociatewiththekit-piece.Ifnoimageisspecified,adefaultimageisused.
Browse buttonClickingtheBrowsebuttonopensasystemfileopendialogallowingyoutobrowsetoaJPEG,PNGorTGAfiletospecifyastheimportedkit-piece’sphoto.Thefilemusthavearesolutionof180x150pixels.
Clear buttonClickingthisbuttonremovesthephotocurrentlyspecifiedforthekit-piece.
Import & CancelClicktheImportbuttontosavetheuserkit-pieceintothedatabase.Ifyouchangeyourmindanddecidethatyoudon’twanttocreateakit-pieceatthistime,clicktheCancelbuttontoreturntotheBFDEcoNFUZDinterface.
Whenakit-pieceisimported,itisnotloadedintothecurrentslotbutisaddedtothedatabase.Itcanthenbeloadedintoaslotlikeanyotherkit-piece–itisvisibleinthekit-piecebrowserpanelfortherelevantkit-pieceslottype.