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Cakewalk VSampler 3 User`s Manual

1. User s Manual Start Up and Basics NGAN AAA Introduction 1998 2004 Speedsoft Audio Tools GmbH D beln Germany All rights reserved Stand 26 03 2004 Products made by the following companies are mentioned solely for information purposes Microsoft Microsoft Windows DirectX DirectSound WDM Microsoft Corporation Cubase Cubase SX Steinberg VST ASIO HALion LM4 Steinberg Media Technologies AG Cakewalk Sonar DXi Twelve Tone Systems Inc Emagic Logic Emagic Soft und Hardware GmbH Battery Kontakt Kompakt Intakt NATIVE INSTRUMENTS Software Synthesis GmbH Sound Blaster EAX Audigy Live E MU Creative Technology Ltd ACID Soundforge Sonic Foundry Inc Reason ReBirth ReWire ReCycle REX Propellerhead Software AB Ogg Vorbis Xiph Org FLAC GPL LGPL All software and hardware terms not specified as well as brand names are registered trade marks or trade marks of their respective owners VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics License agreement In the following software designates the program V Sampler contained in the packaging including the manual Soundlibraries and purchased registration key Manufacturer designates the company Speedsoft The buyer acquires the non exclusive right from the manufacturer to use the software for an unlimited period of time on a suitable co
2. Enable ASIO J VST channels 4 Priority level ReWwire channels 4 Show device detail information Activation Deactivation of Output Devices All devices which are set to On in the State column will be available as individual outputs In order to change the state click on the state column of the respective device or on the Device enabled checkbox 5 2 2 VSTi DXi ReWire By using VSTi DXi ReWire up to 32 flexible individual outputs OEM ver sion up to 16 are available and can be assigned to Instruments or to specific Samples within an Instrument 80 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 3 1 Individual outputs for Samples within an Instrument are not available in the VSampler 3 0 DXi OEM version see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 PrP They can be switched between mono and stereo 32 mono or 16 stereo or any mixed combination By default 4 stereo outputs are available as mixer channels audio tracks in the sequencer The number and type mono stereo of the output channels can be adjusted under the menu item Options Audio Devices Except for the names there is no difference between the displays of the VSTi DXi ReWire channels Audio Devices Available audio output devices Device Options Channels State j Stereo output Stereo Device buffer size Unknown Stereo Device buffer count 1 Stereo Device sample rate 44100
3. IV hardware samplers 4 2 Loading a Soundlibrary In order for VSampler to produce sound a Soundlibrary an Instrument or a Sample must first be loaded This is done either with the menu item File Open or per drag amp drop from the Windows Explorer see below for more details When starting VSampler for the first time the Soundlibrary startup vs3 is loaded automatically The term Soundlibrary refers to the entire content of VSampler This includes all loaded Instruments and settings Here are the two ways of loading a Soundlibrary Menu File Open This menu item opens a new Soundlibrary If the previous Soundlibrary has not been saved since the last change VSampler asks if this should be done first You can load numerous sound formats in VSampler as mentioned in the previ ous chapter Opening a new file using the menu item File Open removes the entire VSampler content and replaces it with the content of the newly opened file To add further Instruments to your Soundlibrary instead of replacing all of them use drag amp drop or the Import Window see next chapter 58 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Drag amp Drop Drag amp drop a Soundlibrary file from the Windows Explorer to an Instruments Pool slot Choose Load Soundlibrary from the pop up context menu In order to add further Instruments to your Soundlibrary instead of replacing all of them choose one of the two import
4. Import shows the content of an external file whose Instruments can be imported into the Pool i e the current Soundlibrary 48 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Instruments Pool Compact variation of the Instruments page of the Editor View The Instruments Pool represents the entire content of the current VSampler Soundlibrary see 6 4 1 on page 109 i e all currently loaded Instruments see 6 4 2 on page 109 These conform to the GS standard and are arranged in 128 rows programs and 128 columns banks which means a maximum of 16384 Instruments same sample used The Making OF p E 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Instruments Pool divided into 128 rows programs and 128 columns banks When building your own Soundlibraries you can organize your Instruments however you please for example visually in order to keep your Instruments in clear view A typical way of sorting is to put different Instruments in a vertical column and variations of Instruments in the horizontal rows Or the Instru ments can be sorted in categories placed in columns all guitars in column 1 all pianos in column 2 etc VSampler supports program change and bank change MIDI messages which enables the Instrument of a MIDI channel to be switched by sequencer or keyboard Roland GS standard General Synthesizer standard broadens the GM Gen eral MIDI standard to include the Bank Change command which enables to switch betwe
5. Patchname After clicking the Edit button of the VST Instruments dialog the VSampler GUI appears on your screen Since the operation of VSampler is the same whether the Standalone version or the plug in version is used further steps will be described together in the following chapters 2 4 3 Setting up the DXi plug in in Sonar This description applies to Cakewalk Sonar 2 and 3 however the steps are similar in other DXi compatible sequencers e start Sonar and load a project e inthe Sonar toolbar click the small DXi button to open the Synth Rack 32 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics In the Synth Rack insert VSampler i SONAR1 Synth Rack eld fee by selecting V Sampler 3 DXi2 Synth from your list of DXi s i SONAR1 Synth Rack DAR eS Alien Connections ReValver SE ReWreDevice crane arasik DreamStation DXi2 EDIROL VSC VSampler3 DXi2 Synth select the options as shown in the screenshot to create the MIDI and audio track for VSampler Insert DXi Synth Options Insert DXi into project and Create These Tracks Open These Windows M MIDI Source Track C Synth Property Page Eirst Synth Output Audio 7 Synth Rack View J All Synth Outputs Audio Ask This Every Time If you want several individual outputs select All Synth Outputs Audio see also 4 5 Using Separate Outputs on page 70 Sonar has now created two tracks The MIDI track send
6. Purchasing decisions hardware on page 116 e Intel Pentium IV of 1 GHz and up or comparable the faster the processor the greater number of possible Voices see 6 6 Polyphony on page 114 12 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics e 512 MB RAM the more memory the larger the Instruments that can be played even without using DRC see 6 5 Dynamic Resource Control DRC on page 112 e Fast hard disk with 7200 rpm or more the faster the hard disk the greater the number of Voices possible polyphony with activated DRC A fast hard disk also speeds up the loading of Soundbanks If you want to use VSampler as a live instrument and play it with a MIDI key board and or a MIDI controller it is recommended that you use a sound card with an ASIO driver with a latency below 15 ms We recommend to use the Microsoft Windows versions 2000 or XP Based on our experience these are more reliable than the earlier versions 98 and ME 1 3 3 Installation Boxed version Download version Place the program CD in your CD ROM Get the VSampler download drive Depending on the auto start set version from www vsampler com tings of your system either the setup and start the setup program from program will start automatically or you the Explorer by opening the self must open setup exe in the Explorer extracting exe file Please follow the instructions of the setup program as described below Step 1 Choose the language for the
7. f OQA am AAC Cutoff Res me Volume Velocity A D ies R ULL A A A Small View of VSampler 3 VSampler transforms your Windows PC into a 255 voice polyphonic software sampler that transforms each recorded sound into a musical instrument It pro vides all of the classical sampler features in excellent sound quality and also offers you a multitude of new opportunities In cooperation with the users of it s award winning predecessor an intelligent software sampler has been de veloped which beneath a truly transparent surface combines extensive signal processing abilities with simplest handling Drag amp drop actions and context menus allow quick access to all functions and provide for a smooth workflow VSampler can operate either as a plug in VSTi or DXi in your sequencer or it can run as an independent program connecting via Rewire or MIDI The in cluded virtual MIDI cable also connects VSampler to classical MIDI se quencers V Sampler loads Instruments in the following popular sampler formats SF2 ReCycle RCY REX RX2 Gigastudio HALion Kontakt DLS AKAI 1000 S3000 CD and 5000 S6000 AKP files and E MU III TV CDs as well as Samples WAV AIF and drum kits LM4 Battery KIT Introduction Some of the previously mentioned sequencer interfaces a and import formats are not available in the VSampler 3 0 OEM version see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version
8. itself Double click the MIDI channel slot and choose an Instrument from the list of available Pool Instruments To quickly compare Instruments use the plus and minus keys of the numerical keyboard to switch one Instrument for wards or backwards Variant 3 in the Pool Import Window Bank Manager Open the padlock symbol of the MIDI channel by a double click and use the cursor keys to step through the Instruments of Pool Import Window or Bank Manager Each currently selected Instrument is automatically loaded to all 67 Operation opened MIDI channels and can be heard in the song Once you ve decided on an Instrument lock the MIDI channel by a double click The automatic preview of Instruments even before the Import is described in chapters 4 3 3 Importing using the Import Window on page 60 and 4 3 4 Importing from the Bank Manager on page 64 Please pay attention to the following two settings Important import settings The option Instruments Pool slot in use see page 53 of the Import Window must be set to next free default setting VSampler then automatically searches for the next free slot in the Pool you don t have to bother with it Important settings to avoid problems At the menu item Options MIDI Preferences on the General tab you should switch off the reception of Bank and Program change messages unless you are using them in the song This prevents the sequencer fr
9. o Selecting all Instruments of a row or column click on the row number or the column header Further steps for importing an Instrument to a specific MIDI channel can be found at 4 3 Importing Instruments on page 59 3 4 5 On Screen Keyboard Compact variation of the Keyboard Rack in the Editor View The on screen keyboard always plays the Instrument of the MIDI channel cur rently selected with the cursor MIDI channel slot marked in blue To play an Instrument on another MIDI channel choose another MIDI channel slot with a mouse click Above the keys is a light blue bar representing the Zones of the Instrument i e the mapping of Samples to keys TAT TTT The closer to the bottom edge of the key that you click the higher the velocity value top 1 bottom 127 You can test this with the first Instrument euro of the included Soundlibrary startup vs3 The farther down that you click on the key the brighter the sound 55 Graphic User Interface GUI Assigning a Sample to a keyboard key drag amp drop a WAV or AIF file from the Windows Explorer to a key of the on screen keyboard More details are explained in the VSampler Reference Manual With the context menu right mouse button the animated key display of incom ing MIDI events and or the alternating white gray representation of the octaves can be activated or deactivated and the octave range of the on screen keyboard can be changed 3
10. ples This both protects them from inadvertent deletion and also prevents you from having to search for the linked Samples WAV files later Whether you sort your sounds in separate VS3 files guitars vs3 drums vs3 or manage all of your sounds in one single VS3 file with corresponding col umn headings 128 Instruments in 128 columns are possible is up to you However the more Instruments you combine into a Soundlibrary the quicker it is to listen to and compare Instruments in the Import Window without having to open many files e Combine your favorite Instruments into a startup VS3 Soundlibrary and use it to begin work on new songs As an alternative to sorting your Soundlibraries by subject you can also use VSampler s Bank Manager Bank Mgr button to sort your Instruments incl Akai E MU CDs in categories All of the Instruments that have been entered in the Bank Manager can be previewed or loaded to an opened MIDI channel by double click We recommend this however only as an additional possibility because the comfort of the Bank Manager can lead you to neglect the organiza tion of the files themselves on your hard disk 4 6 4 Assembling the song specific Soundlibrary If you have followed the previous recommendations you can now easily as semble individual song Soundlibraries based on your subject sorted Soundli braries The settings are saved in the project file of your sequencer Due to the previous conversion
11. 3 0 DXi version distributed by Cakewalk with it s Sonar 3 Producer edition has the complete functionality of the VSampler 3 0 full ver sion s DXi plug in It is functional within all DXi compatible sequencers such as Cakewalk Sonar or Project 5 and includes all future updates offered by Cakewalk that improve existing 3 0 features or fix bugs VSTi plug in ReWire and Standalone version as well as some additional new functions which are not offered by Cakewalk as a free update to the VSampler OEM version can be purchase as an upgrade at the online shop of www vsampler com At 1 5 4 Upgrade to the VSTi DXi ReWire Standalone Original Equipment Manufacturer 20 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics package on page 21 you can find the exact listing of the additionally available features Whenever one of these features is mentioned in the manual it will be marked by this symbol 1 5 3 Free updates Updates to the OEM version provided with the Sonar 3 Producer package can be downloaded from Cakewalk in the form of patches Updates can also be downloaded from www vsampler com The latest VSampler 3 x update for all VSampler 3 versions can be downloaded at www vsampler com This download is suitable for updating all versions of VSampler 3 This way users of the OEM version can test the VSTi plug in and Standalone version of VSampler in the restricted demo mode see section 1 4 1 on page 16 VSam
12. E MIS IL Fil DE Volume dai 7 SB Livel Wavegei 09 DIGI96 8 PAD Ou 13 z F a 2 E 3 A D S R Cutoff Res Volume Velocity A D 5 R View of the output devices with audio level here Standalone outputs to soundcard devices 71 Operation e Pool Bank Mgr Coo Be Filter 5 3 3 a ug Fay VST 4 a VST 1 a VST 1 2g a VST 4 Q VST 2 4lad VST 1 ug VST 1 VST 1 gt VST 1 0 g a VST 2 2 a VST 1 a VST 1 aunn asen bs bs bs J A D S R Cutoff Res Send FK r 3 Volume Velocity A D 5 R View of the output devices with audio level here VSTi plug in outputs to VST mixer channels In the case of the DXi plug in the individual outputs are called DXi 1 DXi 2 etc in the case of ReWire they are called ReWire 1 ReWire 2 etc 4 5 2 Assigning Instruments to output devices In order to change the output device of an Instrument you can either open the context menu right mouse button of the desired MIDI channel and click Se lect output device Or you can double click on the desired MIDI channel in the previously described output device display Following this a list of the avail able output devices appears You can either choose a specific device as output device hard wired or you can select the current standard device To indicate the status of the output de vice assignment VSampler uses a padlock symbol similar to the Instrument assignment see 4 4 1 on page 65 E locked The I
13. GUI Graphic User Interface and Help texts Step 2 Read the VSampler 3 license agreement and accept it if you agree to it neces sary for installation Step 3 If you re interested read the quick information of the latest version Step 4 Revolutions per minute The more revolutions the faster data can be continu ously read 13 Introduction Choose the directory on your hard disk where you want VSampler to be in stalled the directory of a previously installed earlier version will be recog nized automatically and suggested If you have previously installed an earlier version of VSampler 3 on your hard disk please select the same directory This guarantees that VSampler will retain all of your settings and that no orphaned VSampler data will be left stranded on your hard drive Step 5 Choose the components which you wish to install Speedsoft VSampler 3 1 Beta 3 Setup eh Please specify the options you want to install gt Samopler Installation Options IV Base files V Documentation and help files IV VSTi support e g Cubase IV DXi support e g SONAR I ReWire support I Additional Skin files Speedsoft MIDI cable gt Shared YST Plugin directory D Programme Steinberg Vstplugins Browse VSampler Copyright C Speedsoft Audio Tools GmbH lt Back i The first two options at least should be selected Exception The current ver sion of V Sampler is already ins
14. Pme Fitter FX Gize Step Env Mod Different individual outputs for Samples within an Instrument 73 Operation 4 6 Recommended Working Methods and Organization After you have spent some time getting to know VSampler s features you should make some decisions concerning your future way of working with VSampler At a number of key positions VSampler offers several ways of ac complishing a task whereas in other software samplers just one of these varia tions is possible This variety can be especially confusing to a newcomer but for someone switching from another software sampler it is welcome because it enables them to adapt VSampler to their accustomed way of working For this reason we would like to present our opinion on the most effective way of work ing with VSampler in conjunction with a VSTi DXi compatible sequencer 4 6 1 General tips When working on a song use the Small View with the Instruments Pool or Import Window displayed This view is optimized for the typical course of events that take place when assembling a song specific Soundlibrary or filling the MIDI channels per drag amp drop or double click If a project pushes your PC to the limits of it s processing power please read 5 4 Optimizing Performance on page 86 for possible solutions 4 6 2 Settings e Leave the global Soundlibrary option at the default setting of linked Sam ples see 5 5 on page 93 e Leave the DRC options at the default
15. into the native VSampler format all instruments are imme diately playable in the Import Window You can use the same Instruments in multiple Soundlibraries without using disk space for their Samples repeatedly 75 Operation e Start your song with the Soundlibrary of your favorite instruments e When required import further instruments from your subject sorted VS3 Soundlibraries which could match with the song o Open the padlock symbol of the desired MIDI channel slot o Switch to the Import Window and choose one of your subject sorted Soundlibraries for import Use the Preview Instrument function to decide which Instruments to import At this point you should not pin yourself down too much but actually collect several candidates for each of your sequencer tracks in the Pool They don t cost additional memory or storage space Switch to the next MIDI channel slot and repeat the process for the other VSampler tracks resp MIDI channels of the song until your arrangement is fully equipped with the appropriate Instruments While you are working with the available Instruments of the Pool you can quickly compare and exchange different Instruments and variations Just open the padlock symbol of the desired MIDI channel slot and step through the In struments of the Pool using the cursor keys Once you ve decided on an In strument lock the padlock symbol by a double click After you have finished your song you can archive the Soundl
16. monophonic instruments whereas the decay phase must not overlap with the next note 102 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics VSampler can receive and process data on all 16 channels it is referred to as being 16 part multitimbral In order that each sequencer track or each keyboarder plays the right Instru ment of the VSampler Soundlibrary the MIDI channel used for sending data must be set in the track properties of the sequencer or on the keyboard With the exception of some global messages MIDI messages always apply only to the MIDI channel with which they are sent This way an entire multi track ar rangement can be played back by VSampler e g channel plays the strings channel 2 the flute channel 3 the bass channel 10 the drums etc io S 016 euro 05 2 brass 09 0 tum the modwheel 02 Q beat play chords 06 0 frog 10 euro dirty talk 07 2 lazer 11 a 08 2 filter Ifo s running 12 md ONTTO N The 16 MIDI channels in the Small View The sets of Instrument assignments for the 16 MIDI channels can be stored in up to 64 combinations see 6 4 5 Multi on page 112 so that switching be tween different sound set ups can be done quickly 6 2 4 Sequencer tracks vs MIDI channels In the computer the hardware MIDI cable is represented by a virtual equiva lent in the modern form as part of the VSTi DXi ReWire interface in the clas sical form as a virtual MIDI cable Therefore even modern sequencers are lim
17. number in the form of VS3 12345678 12345678 12345678 12345678 This can be found either on the CD cover boxed version or it will be sent to you by email download version In order to remove these restrictions you must register your serial number online whereupon you will receive your permanently valid registration key in return As opposed to e g the product activation scheme of Microsoft Windows XP VSampler must only be registered online one single time By registering your VS3 serial number you receive a permanently valid registration key which will be accepted by every VSampler 3 x version on any computer Also after re installing VSampler or even Win dows you can immediately insert the key in VSampler see screenshot option skip this step In order to start the registration select Register from VSampler s Help menu This occurs automatically the first time you start VSampler VSampler offers three registration variations 16 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Register your VSampler Sampler is currently running in demonstration mode with limited functionality After getting your VS3 serial number by purchasing VS ampler check www vsampler com the last step to remove those limits is to fetch a permanent registration key for your V53 serial number from the online registration form How do you want to register your YSampler full version automatically
18. nvecccitica cncsicsteatieesaeseeccsaeeucencivens 16 Registration sessen aeo E erie nevis eid Av reese oscars 16 1 4 1 Restricted demo mode ou eee eeeeeeseeeesecneeeecneeeeceeeeceaeeeeeeeeneeaees 16 1 4 2 Registering the serial number online once 16 1 4 3 Inserting the registration key in VSamplet eeeeceseseeeeneeeees 18 OEM Version vs Independent Version ccccesccssecseceseeeseeeeeeneeeseeenes 20 1 5 1 What does OEM Version mean cccccccesceeseeeeeseeeeeeeeeeseeeeeees 20 1 5 2 Restrictions of the OEM Version cccccesceesecsteeseeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeens 20 1 53 Free updatese cecicedsievcesucvies ns teccs chee lesdiissteenceesseeenateateeeeaess 21 1 5 4 Upgrade to the VSTi DXi ReWire Standalone package 21 SANG a T E E T E E 23 Quickstart sisien erenn a Re E Ee EEEE 23 Decision Standalone Plug in or ReWire csccescsseeseeetecseeseeeneeeees 24 2 2 1 Standalone Version ecceesceesceesceseeeeceeceseceseceeeceecseeeeeseneeereas 24 2 2 2 VSTi DX1 plug in eee ceseeeeseeneeeeeseceeesecaeeeeenaeeeeeaecaeeeeeneeeees 25 223 TROWAG ees ess tg et hes techs vices idnenasice cous a ERRE 26 Standalone Version cscccescessceesceesceeecesecesecaecaeecaeeeeeeaeecaeesseseeeeeneeereees 27 VS Ti Dr PLU the 556 s5 esccscevcesncasecstiscascueneddesosasetecusasesuiaslpesniasesesdncaia cosas 28 2 4 1 Setting up the VSTi plug in in Cubase SX 29 2 4 2 Setting up the VSTi plug in in Cub
19. occupies memory only once This way for 110 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics example a variation of an Instrument can be made by copying it per drag amp drop in the Instruments Pool cloning and then altering the Zone parameters without using up any more memory The complete description of all Zone parameters can be found in the Reference Manual A few interesting parameters are e soft crossfade between neighboring Zones e playback modes among other types tape machine mode Tap On Off to start and stop the playback of a Sample by repeatedly tapping the same key or Drum mode to play VSampler using a drum pad ignoring the Note Off MIDI message caused by the immediate release of the drum stick being lifted e Organization of Zones in groups o Selection Groups when using complex Instruments they support the organization of Zones which share the same settings o Cycle Groups enable e g the random playback of different Samples o Poly Groups enable you to limit the polyphony and also offer the special exclusion mode e g in order to define a typical hi hat group in which the closed hi hat stops playback of the open hi hat 6 4 4 Sample The Sample is the digitalized sound itself which in the form of a WAV file can also be played back for example in Windows Media player VSampler loads Samples in both WAV and AIF format It supports every sampling frequency by resolutions of 16 20 24 32 bit The sampling frequency of the play
20. on page 20 VSampler s unique Instrument preview allows you to test different sounds with a single mouse click even during playback Owners of an SB Live or Audigy sound card will be pleased that VSampler can also save files in the popular SF2 format VSampler s various envelope types which can be synchronized to the song tempo it s LFO s and it s velocity sensitive filters ranging from subtle to ag gressive are all inducive to sound editing Instruments can be further refined using either the included effects Reverb Delay Phaser Distortion EQ or any VST plug in The animation of all effect envelope and filter parameters in a mutual modulation matrix creates Instruments with extraordinary dynam ics and convincing realistic playability The included presets for effects enve lopes and modulations will get you off to a good start eee ceress transparent auto zoom envelopes Whether you want a quick playback module for everyday use or a creative tool with the qualities of a synthesizer VSampler 3 offers you both in one versatile instrument Speedsoft and MAZ hope you enjoy using VSampler 10 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 1 2 About this Manual Manuals usually begin with sentences such as please take the time to read this user manual carefully We certainly don t want to stop you This manual Start Up and Basics helps you set up VSampler on your system and explains the b
21. pler automatically recognizes the previously installed version and retains all of it s settings This also includes the registration level i e the registration key for either the OEM version or the full VSTi DXi ReWire Standalone package determines which features will be activated All future improvements and bug fixes of existing features of VSampler 3 0 DXi will of course be free for users of the OEM version as well This is also valid for numerous new features which have been added in VSampler 3 1 but not for all of them 1 5 4 Upgrade to the VSTi DXi ReWire Standalone package If you wish to add features which are not offered by Cakewalk as a free update to the VSampler OEM version or if you would like to use the VSTi plug in ReWire or Standalone version of VSampler no problem The upgrade can be purchased at the online shop of www vsampler com at a reasonable price It includes the following features in addition to those of the OEM version 21 Introduction VSTi ReWire Standalone virtual MIDI cable Users of the full VSTi D Xi ReWire Standalone package can use VSampler and it s Soundlibraries with identical sound in almost any sequencer e asa VSTi plug in inside of e g Nuendo Cubase Cubasis Logic Acid Orion Fruityloops Renoise Samplitude n track as a DXi plug in inside of e g Cakewalk Sonar or Project 5 by using ReWire with e g Live or Protools by using the included virtual MIDI cable with a
22. previously mentioned menu Options Audio Devices again and adjust the buffer size see the screenshot on the previous page to achieve a clean and delay free audio playback Adjusting the Buffer size The buffer size determines the size of data packages sent to the soundcard The smaller the buffer size the shorter the delay latency between the striking of a key and the audible output of sound A small buffer size does however increase the demands on the soundcard driver and the entire system For DirectSound devices the buffer size can be set in the Buffer size field For ASIO devices the buffer size is set in the control panel of the soundcard itself which you can open by clicking ASIO System Control To reduce the latency decrease the Buffer size After doing so make a test to make sure that the audio playback is still error free The minimum possible value depends on the quality of your soundcard driver If the Buffer size is too small then you will hear clicks or the playback will stutter In this case increase the Buffer size Inform yourself on the website of the soundcard manufacturer whether a newer driver is available for your soundcard with which a lower latency could be reached 78 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics ASIO or DirectSound Both standards have the goal of producing lowest possible sound output delay following a user action ASIO Audio Streaming Input Output is a driver specificati
23. quality and leave the Output frequency at Full 86 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Output frequency You should only change the standard setting Full if you need to spare the last droplet of processor performance and can t find any other way This setting determines whether VSampler internally computes with the full half or quarter frequency of the connected output device sequencer soundcard The audio quality suffers noticeably especially at the setting quarter LoFi at it s best Resample quality For many Instruments the difference between Standard and Production is hardly audible so in most situations Standard should be sufficient Stan dard is almost twice as fast as Production and the maximum polyphony is therefore almost doubled as well When making a mixdown you should switch to Production in order to achieve the best quality Taking advantage of the special case no resampling If you use modern sampling CDs with multi sampled Instruments often sepa rate Samples are made for almost every key i e they play at their original pitch and VSampler doesn t have to do any resampling at all This is the case for example with almost all sampled drum Instruments In order to make use of this performance advantage you should set your sequencer to a playback fre quency that corresponds to the sampling frequency of your Samples 5 4 2 Limiting polyphony backg
24. reacts to size changes of the active Instruments In practice this plays a role when removing an active Instrument or changing the Instrument of a MIDI channel e g when testing and comparing Instruments In this case VSampler automatically optimizes the memory or ganization to match the new condition e Advantage VSampler exploits the available main memory optimally all instruments reach a high polyphony while straining processor and hard disk as little as possible e Disadvantage Changing between differently sized instruments may take longer since the reorganization of the main memory takes some time de pending on the size of the other active Instruments 92 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics For this reason there are two optimization options e lazy default setting only re optimizes the memory organization after the size of the active Instrument has been changed by a certain amount some main memory might be unused until the next change e always re optimizes the memory organization after every size change of the active Instruments You should leave the option at the default setting lazy not fully optimized main memory utilization doesn t have consequences as a rule At the latest the next time the Soundlibrary is opened the optimization status will be back at 100 General tip If you experience drop outs at high polyphony do not switch off DRC 2 yet but rather e limit the Instrument polyphony see 5 4 3 Limiti
25. save the Soundlibrary after loading This will replace the older sample paths with the current ones and the searching becomes unnecessary If the search is unsuccessful VSampler will ask you to specify the location of the missing Samples Click on the button Automatic Search and add the drive where you suspect the missing Samples to be If the WAV files have actually been deleted they are unfortunately no longer available to the Soundlibrary VSampler automatically searches for the missing Samples in the following order e inthe path of the VS3 Soundlibrary file including sub folders e inall paths from which Samples have previously been loaded 96 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics e inall paths that have been entered in the import settings as Autosearch directories for missing Samples check menu Options Import on the General tab 5 6 Decision Save the Library in the host project In the menu Options Environment on the Environment tab of the VSam pler VSTi DXi plug in you can determine how the current Soundlibrary should be saved Environment options Rack buttons layout Controls O Left C Circular mouse movement for knobs Right 7 Hide inactive controls V Show rack buttons C Use large font Skin General inned fram M Select all zones of instrument V Use windows theme if possible M Show library descriptions V Use standard host toolbar Load last library Language J
26. services in the Windows control panel This option is ac cessed under Performance and Maintenance System Advanced Improve stability e Deactivate screen savers and energy saving features e Deactivate all scheduled and background tasks Instead start them manu ally when needed e g virus scanner or hard disk defragmenter e Deactivate the System Recovery for all drives since Windows might oth erwise choose an inappropriate moment to save a new System Recovery state Control Panel System System Recovery 119 Support 7 Support 7 1 Contact We are looking forward to your feedback about VSampler Can we improve something Do you have questions Feel free to pay a visit to our website www ysampler com to get help either by reading the FAQ Frequently Asked Questions or by contacting us in the public user forum or by eMail 7 2 Updates Our website www vsampler com will be at your service to tell you about recent news latest product versions and available updates As a registered website user you can subscribe to the VSampler newsletter to get first hand information about VSampler news 120 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Usamplerz SPEEDSOFL a www vsampler com www maz sound com 121
27. setting activated see 6 5 on page 112 e Activate the option Save Bank with host project see 5 6 on page 97 e Assign the Instruments to MIDI channels directly in VSampler instead of in the track properties of the sequencer When doing this choose the ap propriate settings see page 68 e Adapt VSampler s GUI to your way of working see 3 3 Less is more on page 41 e Use drag amp drop a more comfortable basis than the Windows Explorer are file managers such as Total Commander see www ghisler com e Use the numerous context menus A right mouse click will show you on the spot which further actions or settings are available 74 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 4 6 3 Basis for working efficiently e Build a set of VS3 Soundlibraries sorted by subject Fill these by import ing Instruments from any of the supported import filetypes you own be fore working on the song Whenever you get new Instruments you should check them in an extra session by using VSampler s Import Window see page 60 Import the ones you like into the respective subject sorted VS3 Soundlibraries This way when you work on a song later you can compare and apply the new Instruments right away without having to bother with the conversion of non native formats and the location of the Samples e Before importing Instruments with linked non native formats e g Kon takt HALion move them to the desired directory together with their Sam
28. the VSampler interface If the standard Soundlibrary startup VS3 does not open automatically open it using VSampler s menu File Open e create anew MIDI track pull down menu Structure Create Track or assign an existing track of your song to the output device VSampler Out put VSampler 3 Arrange Untitled 1 DER m o a e ee Marker ea Link Editors Flecord Mode ai a Track Info WY AMCT Track Chn Instrument Gut 3 ji 4 Midi 1 e l Midi1 1 YSampler3 1 01 VSampler3 1 Start 1 Channel 1 ia e selecta track for a MIDI channel Channel 1 is the default and an Instru ment from the loaded Soundlibrary Patchname euro 31 Start Now you can play VSampler using your MIDI keyboard or the on screen vir tual keyboard You can create further MIDI tracks for the common output de vice VSampler 3 in order to play up to 16 different VSampler Instruments Arrange Untitled 1 DER Sole Grep Ba Quentize 32 Marker 4 Link Editors Record Mode 16 Bit zj Track Info WJ AMC T Track hi Instrument Midi 1 1 VSampler3 1 01 YSampler3 1 2 Sampler3 1 02 YSampler3 1 Midi 3 3 YSampler3 1 03 VSampler3 V1 4 Sampler3 1 04 YSampler3 1 Midi 2 Midi 4 Make sure that each track is set to a different MIDI channel number Channel 2 3 etc You can now assign Instruments from the current VSampler Soundlibrary to other tracks
29. the increased effort of dynamic memory management places high de mands on the processor and the hard disk There are three parameters to adjust the DRC 2 performance 91 Important General Settings Sample level for instruments gt 16 MB only load active samples DRC Limit 500 MB Reloading always v Sample level for Instruments larger than Here is where you can set the minimum Instrument size for DRC to be used For very small Instruments the dynamic management processing effort of DRC 2 doesn t make sense If you have 512 or more RAM then you can raise the default value from 8 to 16 MB DRC Limit Here is where you can set the maximum amount of RAM that VSampler is allowed to use for Sample data The standard setting is 1 3 of your computer s RAM size The more RAM that VSampler has available the greater the max polyphony see 6 6 on page 114 because greater amounts of RAM reduce the demands on the processor and the hard drive If you have 512 MB or more RAM you can usually raise the default DRC limit Make sure that enough RAM is available for all other programs that are running simultaneously including Windows itself In Windows 2000 XP you can open the Task Manager with the key combination Ctrl Alt Del to show the available Physical Memory when VSampler is empty As a rule you should have at least 150 MB reserved for other programs Reloading Here is where you can set how VSampler
30. the underlying Sample in the Sample Editor In it s simplest form a VSampler Instrument can consist of a single Zone whose Sample is played across the entire range of the keyboard In order to emulate the dynamic behavior of natural instruments it can also consist of hun dreds of Zones see screenshot mapped to different ranges of the keyboard Key Zones and velocity ranges Velocity Zones As opposed to the naked Sample a Zone contains a wide range of parameters which determine how the Sample is to be played such as e Key Range and Velocity Range in which the Sample is played back see screenshots e envelopes and settings for volume filter effects and modulations e conditions which determine when a Sample should be played e g when releasing a key instead of when striking it or upon reaching a certain con troller value Zone Playback Mode Key la gt Root gt KeyHi vehi Poly Group Voites Key Zone Playback Mode Key le Root KeyHi VelHi Poly Group Voices Key 5 dE e D z x x p gE 3 ovel different Samples per key Key Zones and per velocity level Velocity Zones Each Zone contains exactly one Sample Other Zones however can also use the same Sample Each Zone however can have a different Voice structure and apply different parameter settings The same Sample can sound completely different in different Zones VSampler automatically recognizes when multiple instances of a Sample are used it
31. to VSampler 3 ReWire and or activate VSampler as input device for the desired number of audio tracks If your sequencer only supports audio tracks per ReWire you can use the included virtual MIDI cable see 5 3 2 Setting up the virtual MIDI cable on page 84 for the MIDI connection 35 VSampler s individual outputs in the Ableton Live mixer Since the operation of VSampler is the same whether the Standalone version or the plug in version is used further steps will be described together in the fol lowing chapters 36 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 3 Graphic User Interface GUI 3 1 Typical Control Elements Context sensitive help For every control element and every area of the GUI VSampler offers context sensitive help To get help click the question mark in the VSampler title bar A little question mark is now attached to your mouse pointer Then click on the control element that you want help with You can access the entire help file by opening the Help menu or by pressing the F1 key In order to search the help file for a particular word click on the Index tab and enter the first letters of the word you re looking for In the menu Options Environment you can switch the GUI and help file languages Currently English and German are available Context menus right mouse click VSampler offers numerous menus which are dependent on the situation A right mouse click will show
32. virtual MIDI cable is present select the menu item Options MIDI Devices MIDI Devices MIDI Inputs MIDI Outputs v SB Livel MIDI UART v SpeedSoft MIDI cable 1 v SpeedSoft MIDI cable 2 84 If the two SpeedSoft MIDI cable entries show up and are activated then you VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics can now play VSampler through your sequencer All further steps are explained in 2 3 Standalone Version on page 27 If the SpeedSoft MIDI cables do not appear run the VSampler setup program again and in Step 5 of the installation see page 14 activate the Speedsoft MIDI Cable checkbox VSampler installs two virtual MIDI cables The second cable is not currently needed it is for connecting future software instruments from Speedsoft The SpeedSoft MIDI cable receives data from any MIDI se quencer However it only sends data when the other end is con nected to a SpeedSoft Instrument This avoids operational errors and MIDI feedback loops After the virtual MIDI cable has been successfully installed it appears in Windows as a new MIDI output device SpeedSoft MIDI Cable 1 It can now be used by any sequencer just like a hardware MIDI output also for example as the standard output device of the Windows Media Player as shown in the screen shot All further Steps are explained in 2 3 Standalone Version on page 27 Volume Sounds Audio Voice Hardware
33. you on the spot which further actions or settings are available for the selected item By using the right mouse button for example you can set up a fader or a switch for the remote control per external MIDI controller or you can switch a tempo related knob between Hz and BPM VSampler supports the workflow principle less is more The GUI is adapt able to your individual way of working There is an extra chapter devoted to this subject see 3 3 on page 41 37 Graphic User Interface GUI Fine tuning per Shift key Holding down the Shift key puts VSampler s controllers into fine tuning mode In this mode the controllers move significantly slower so that even small knobs can be gradually adjusted in single steps Knobs and faders The value of a knob or a fader can be changed in a number of ways 03 ynth Bass 04 amp Synth Bass 2 A D 5 R Cutoff Res send e with the mouse by moving it up or down Shift key for fine tuning e with the mouse wheel after having selected the controller element Shift key for fine tuning e with a double click to reset the controller element to it s default value e per MIDI remote control or VST automation see the VSampler Reference Manual Some knobs offer additional options which are displayed per context menu right click for example remote control or switching the type of unit shown These special faders Editor View allow to set a value range they os can be chang
34. 2 TB per file which corresponds to a sample length of 144 days in CD quality in this case the limitation is more likely to be due to the size of your hard disk If your Soundlibrary uses the standard setting of linked Samples then the above mentioned limit applies per Sample With embedded Samples the re strictions apply to the entire Soundlibrary file 6 6 Polyphony 6 6 1 The more the The word polyphony refers to the number of Voices that an Instrument can play back simultaneously The higher the polyphony the more realistic the sound when numerous Instruments are simultaneously played back by a multi track sequencer But also the higher is the demand for processing power Classical hardware samplers e g Akai S3000 had 32 Voice polyphony i e a maximum of 32 keys can simultaneously produce sound This is however only a half truth so to speak because only mono Voices are counted Stereo Samples cut the felt polyphony in half If an Instrument furthermore consisted of sev eral simultaneously played sample layers multi layer the polyphony would be further reduced 6 6 2 Counting Voices Polyphony is a relative term As described in the previous section different sampler producers count the number of simultaneously playable Voices in dif ferent ways even today for example by advertising the polyphony in rather untypical mono Voices VSampler has real 255 voice polyphony This number remain
35. 3 separate files for each partition of the CD a separate VS3 file is created the volumes of the CD become bank columns o advantages disadvantages see above The possible actions in the Import Window e Selecting external files to be imported click on the file type button of the desired import format to open an exter nal file in the Import Window and display the contained Instruments e Import an external file o single Instrument double click on the Instrument or click on the Im port button o several Instruments select all of the desired Instruments and click on the Import button e Assigning an Instrument to a MIDI channel With the help of e g Daemon Tools Freeware see http www daemon tools org other software samplers can also access such a virtual CD 54 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics o drag amp drop the Instrument onto a MIDI channel slot o to quickly compare Instruments even before importing open the desired MIDI channel slot and step through the Instruments using the cursor keys the currently selected Instrument is automatically loaded to all opened MIDI channels and can be heard as a preview Instrument in the song e Selecting more than one Instrument o Shift Key click on Instrument A and then with the shift key pressed on Instrument B to select all Instruments from A to B o Ctrl Key to add or remove Instruments from the selection click on them with the Ctrl key pressed
36. 4 6 Bank Manager The Bank Manager is used to manage extensive sound libraries independent of their location on a local hard disk or network After you have entered your Soundlibraries in the Bank Manager each Instrument can be assigned to vari ous categories that can later be used as search criteria How to enter and search for Instruments using the Bank Manager is described in detail in the VSampler Reference Manual You can immediately load any Instrument that has been entered in the Bank Manager to a MIDI channel slot see 4 3 4 on page 64 56 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 4 Operation 4 1 Supported Import Formats 3 1 Some of the import formats mentioned in this chapter are not available in the VSampler 3 0 OEM version see 1 5 OEAA OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 VSampler loads and imports Instruments in the following popular sampler for mats SF2 ReCycle REX Gigastudio HALion Kontakt DLS AKAI S1000 S3000 CD and S5000 S6000 AKP files and E MU III IV CDs as well as Samples WAV AIF and drum kits LM4 Battery You thus have a wide range of both free and commercial sounds at your disposal All of the above formats can be played back in VSampler without an external conversion program These sampler formats can be divided into file formats and CD formats e File formats files on a hard disk or network that can also be seen in the Windows Explorer e CD format
37. 64 Samples al Buffer count 4 fall ms tw DirectSound Properties Primary device MASA ATSB trrs ey E Options Update interval 10 L Enable ASIO Sy J VST channels 4 Prioritylevek Normal v ReWire channels 4 Show device detail information ee JC Fena Switching between Setting the standard Buffer size ASIO DirectSound Output Device By default VSampler starts up with DirectSound devices enabled If your soundcard supports ASIO you should switch to ASIO To do this select En able ASIO The difference between DirectSound and ASIO will be explained at the end of this section 77 Important General Settings Choosing the Output Device e Assign a standard Output Device Do not use a device with an emulated DirectSound driver as this will not allow you to achieve error free audio playback Make sure that the audio output from VSampler and from the sequencer don t block each other When both programs use the same soundcard the soundcard must have either individual outputs or have multi client capability It is not rec ommended to use ASIO and DirectSound simultaneously e Deactivate all unneeded devices that you do not want to use as individual outputs To do this click on the last column of these devices so that their state switches to Off e Close the dialog window Now try playing your keyboard to test the settings If necessary reopen the
38. Device bit depth 32 Primary device VST 1 Options Show device detail information Adjusting the number of Outputs Switching between mono stereo In order to transform a stereo pair into two independent mono channels click on the Channels column or on the Stereo output checkbox If your se quencer does not support mono audio channels then switching will have no effect and the channel pair will continue to appear as stereo channels Please also read the tips concerning the adjustment of the number of channels in the following section 81 Important General Settings 5 2 3 Plug in changing the number of outputs in a project The fact that an active plug in can change the number of it s audio outputs can be more than some sequencers especially older versions are able to handle Because of this when loading a project VSampler checks whether the number of channels saved with the project is equal to the current number of channels If not VSampler will display a warning and show the old and new number of channels If your sequencer should not be able to open the project the follow ing workaround will help 82 close the problematic project create a new project and use it to set VSampler back to the previously shown old value of number of channels then close the project load the problematic project save the VSampler content as a VS3 file remove VSampler from the project save the proje
39. I device by sev eral programs hossonnunnnnnnunnnNNnENNNNNNNNANNNNNNNSNENENNNNNEBNANENNNNNANNNNNNNNNBNNNNNNNEENANNNENEEANNNENNNANEMENNNEND 83 Important General Settings VSTi DXi ReWire DEM OER The OEM version VSampler 3 0 DX1 includes the DXi plug in but not VSTi plug in and ReWire If you like you can purchase them us an upgrade see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 Pree re rer erererrrrrererrrerererrrererrrererrrrrerrrrrrrerrrrrerrrrre rer rrrrerrrrrerir rrr rer rir r errr rire As a VSTi DXi plug in or when receiving MIDI data per ReWire VSampler is not connected to the soundcard but rather receives it s MIDI data from the MIDI tracks of the sequencer Keyboard gt Sequencer MIDI track gt VSampler For this reason set the desired MIDI input device as usual in the track proper ties of the sequencer For more information see the documentation of your sequencer 5 3 2 Setting up the virtual MIDI cable It is only necessary to install the virtual MIDI cable if your se quencer supports neither VSTi DXi plug ins nor ReWire It connects VSam pler to classic MIDI sequencers such as Cakewalk Pro Audio Band In A Box Power Tracks Pro Sibelius or Finale The virtual MIDI cable has already been installed by VSampler s setup pro gram if you did activate the option Speedsoft MIDI Cable If you are not sure please read further To check if the
40. MIDI channels in VSampler see 4 4 4 on page 67 When you want to import a new Instrument to a sequencer track or would like to use the Preview Instrument function see page 52 of the Import Window you must replace the Instrument at the slot corresponding to it s previous program number To do this place the cursor on the corresponding program slot in the Pool before importing so that it will be imported to that position replacing the previous instrument Important import settings The option Instruments Pool slot in use see page 53 of the Import Window must be set to Replace Otherwise the new Instrument will be imported to the next free slot of the Pool whose program number then will not correspond to the one set in the sequencer s track properties The track would continue to play the old Instrument and you would have to then select the new Instrument in the sequencer s track properties 4 4 4 Assigning MIDI channels in VSampler This is the simpler and more flexible way because you don t have to bother with the Instrument s program number At the end of this chapter two important settings are explained so please read the whole chapter The following methods are available for assigning an Instrument to a MIDI channel Variant 1 Drag amp Drop Drag a file from the Windows Explorer or an Instrument from VSampler s Pool or Import Window onto a MIDI channel slot Variant 2 on the MIDI channel slot
41. More about this is explained in the following sections 6 3 1 Sampling Frequency The sampling frequency tells how often per second a digital sample of the original sound is taken This is represented in the illustrations by the horizontal raster The audio CD standard is 44 1 kHz i e samples of the original sound are made 44100 times per second In practice the sampling frequency deter mines the max possible upper limit of the recorded frequency range Thus it has to be twice as high as the highest recorded frequency This fact is also known as the Nyquist sampling theorem This means for example that the maximum frequencies that can be recorded on an audio CD are 22 05 kHz Since most people can only perceive frequencies up to 20 kHz a sampling fre quency of 44 1 kHz is a good compromise between quality and memory capac ity The idea behind using a higher sampling frequency e g DVD audio up to 192 kHz is to improve the resolution in the upper frequency range The reason a 20 kHz sinus oscillation for example can not be distinguished from a 20 kHz triangle oscillation after having been digitalized at a sampling frequency of 44 kHz Only one single value is sampled alternately above and below zero at a sampling frequency of 192 kHz it would already be five values 106 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics VSampler can load samples of any sampling frequency and play them back correctly The playback frequency is limited only by
42. Scrollable Keyboard Rack English v C Create Backup Files Dialog Font C Override Defaults WSampler DEFAULT YSTi DXIi Host Save Options Save Bank with host project automatically links sampledata as WAV files on hard disc Save the Soundlibrary in the host project or as a separate VS3 file In any case VSampler saves the Soundlibrary automatically as soon as the project is saved Likewise the appropriate Soundlibrary is automatically loaded the next time the project is loaded What you decide depends on how you or ganize your files You should make a permanent decision for either one or the other ways of working Our recommendation follows at the end of the section By default the option Save Bank with host project is not activated 97 Important General Settings 5 6 1 Project oriented saving the Bank in the host project If the option Save Bank with host project is activated the Soundlibrary set tings will be saved in the host project s file instead of in a separate VS3 file The Samples themselves if they don t already exist on the hard disk will be created as WAV files VSampler suggests the project directory as location The settings for Sampledata Location in the menu Options Import apply only to saving VS3 files Generally when sav ing in a host project linked samples WAV files are used Advantage The Soundlibrary settings are part of the project itself and can
43. Sound playback Default device A SB Live Wavedevice v Sound recording Default device 4 SB Live Wavedevice v MIDI music playback as Default device gt See 85 Important General Settings 5 4 Optimizing Performance 5 4 1 Setting the Resampling quality The basic function of a sampler is to convert a recorded Sample to other pitches and to play it back at the sample rate demanded by the connected out put device sequencer soundcard This process is called resampling It takes place independently and in real time for every audible Voice VSampler offers two parameters for controlling the computing performance during resampling The performance can be optimized for either tempo or qual ity Open the menu item Options Audio Performance Quality and choose the tab Quality Performance Quality Preferences Performance Quality Output Frequency Full Resampling quality O Standard linear interpolation fastest Production quality spline interpolation better Ol i Cancel Choose one of the three following setting variations e Tempo Output frequency Half Resampling quality Standard e Standard Output frequency Full Resampling quality Standard e Quality Output frequency Full Resampling quality Production Compare the results and decide for yourself As a rule you should only change the Resampling
44. VSampler 3 0 OEM version see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 The seamless integration of VSampler as a sequencer plug in has significant advantages compared to the Standalone version hooked up with the virtual MIDI cable e sample accurate timing The sequencer has complete control over au dio MIDI synchronization automatic compensation of delay during play back 50 notes played at once are in fact heard absolutely simultaneously impossible with a MIDI cable e up to 32 flexible individual outputs up to 16 in the OEM version o switchable between mono and stereo 32 mono or 16 stereo or any mixed combination o Samples within an Instrument can also be routed to individual outputs not in the OEM version e one mixer for everything audio tracks and Instrument plug ins are all mixed in the sequencer s mixer VSampler s separate outputs show up as mixer channels e no soundcard conflicts since a plug in lives within the sequencer the se quencer is solely responsible for connecting to the soundcard 25 Start e comfort instead of the numbers 0 127 the real names of the VSampler In struments can be chosen from the sequencer s track properties e multiple instances if 16 simultaneously playable Instruments 255 stereo Voices and up to 32 individual outputs aren t enough just start another VSampler plug in e total recall all Soundlibrary settings are saved together with the
45. VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 3 VSampler3 DXi2 X 0 VSampler3 DXi2 Bank 1 v i o 6 0 34 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics In order to playback existing MIDI tracks with VSampler you have to set the output device to VSampler for each track in the right column Make sure that each track is set to a different MIDI channel number Ch 2 3 etc You can now assign Instruments from the current VSampler Soundlibrary to the other tracks After double clicking the VSampler rack module in Sonar s Synth Rack the VSampler GUI appears on your screen Since the operation of VSampler is the same whether the Standalone version or the plug in version is used further steps will be described together in the following chapters 2 5 ReWire By using all 16 MIDI channels see basics on page 102 VSampler can play up to 16 different Instruments simultaneously To do this set your keyboard s MIDI out to an appropriate MIDI channel or the MIDI outs of sev eral keyboards or sequencer tracks to different MIDI channels Connecting the sequencer master to VSampler slave e first start your sequencer e then start the Standalone version of VSampler using the Windows start menu Start gt Programs gt Speedsoft gt VSampler 3 e when asked Do you want to start VSampler in ReWire mode answer 6k 39 yes After the start VSampler s GUI appears on your screen In the sequencer as sign the output device of the desired MIDI tracks
46. als it can be activated deactivated by double click e Progress bar displays the progress of time consuming operations e DRC activity blinks as soon as DRC meshes with the memory manage ment see 6 5 Dynamic Resource Control DRC on page 112 44 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics e MIDI activity blinks as soon as a MIDI message is received or sent ap plies to all available MIDI devices and channels e Tempo shows the current song tempo in BPM Beats Per Minute as de termined by the VSTi DXi ReWire sequencer or can be entered manually in the Standalone version by double click e Voices shows the number of active Voices can be switched between Note Voices and Zone Voices by right mouse key see 6 6 2 Counting Voices on page 114 e Audio reset and MIDI panic stops all active Voices and resets all audio and MIDI devices 3 4 2 MIDI channel slots and controllers Compact variation of the MIDI Rack in the Editor View The 16 slots correspond to the classic 16 MIDI channels see basics on page 102 On these VSampler can simultaneously play back 16 different Instruments on 16 different output devices Instruments can be played per on screen keyboard sequencer or MIDI key board As soon as VSampler receives MIDI signals the number of the MIDI channel receiving data lights up briefly choose show either show show show either Mute current Instruments Pool on screen Bank Instrument names or Solo Multi or Import Win
47. ase VST cceceeseesteereees 31 2 4 3 Setting up the DXi plug in in Sonar s es 32 RE WAL sei es esti nc visecs ca aieka ei ce E a e Ea poem eens aE 35 Graphic User Interface GUI roscc ovccsensszesssscuseseessveons stessecesconss 37 Typical Control Element ccceeccessesesseceeeeeceeceeceaeeeseeceaeeeeeaeeaeeaeeneees 37 Dias SC Drop esminiai a a E E ENEE 40 ESS 1S MOr enne E A E 41 EHe S mA VIEW eeaeee e a a a EEE 43 3 4 1 Title bar and Status displays cccecceccseeseeeseeeeeeeeeeeceeeneeeeeenes 44 Introduction 4 1 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 6 On ni 5 2 5 3 3 4 2 MIDI channel slots and controllers cccceceecceeeeseeeteeeeeteeeees 45 3 4 3 Tnstriimients Poolside aeS 48 34A Import Window saictiscsccccsecchavcossenoosezs aroi ai E 51 3 4 5 On Screen Keyboatdiss iccccvsescsnessvts cncsncestescacniveeretesvassecsantereonovests 55 3 46 Bank Mama ger so3 2ic stein icteveexientscext i EERE 56 Operaio seasan supeteoss vues sesbasteedoeeax cane 57 Supported Import Formats c ccccceeeeseessecesecseeceeeeneeseecaeesseeeeeeseeeeeeees 57 Loading a Soundlibrary ic 0 ccscc cceds csscecsscestvvecesadeicd sos dsccssenceceesadenceades 58 Importing Instrument 23 06 0 ccscocssceecices cosceecscescscecesadeiss des dscesvencsevasavescoates 59 4 3 1 Importing per menu item File Import eee eeeesteereeeeeees 60 4 3 2 Importing per drag amp drop eeceeceesceecceseceteceseeeeecee
48. asic concept and use of VSampler as well as it s most important settings Further information such as how to build your own sampler instruments is available in the VSampler Reference Manual This is included as a PDF file with the VSampler version 3 1 and up and can be downloaded for free from the VSampler website www vsampler com as soon as version 3 1 is released or a print version can be purchased for a nominal price After the first phase of testing we would like to suggest that you take a look at the appropriate chapter in this introduction or in the Reference Manual while you are working with VSampler The better you are at taking advantage of VSampler s capabilities the faster you will be able to realize your ideas in the future Often there are several ways of performing an operation but in the long run the most obvious way is not always the shortest As with every other instrument the old adage practice makes perfect also applies to VSampler The manual will give some background information if it is needed in order to understand a chapter We do however assume that you have some basic knowl edge about your sequencer and music software Please don t expect a compre hensive treatise on the subject of Digital Audio Workstation for the PC A huge amount has been written on this and other music related topics Look around and you ll certainly find a book that fits your needs All information in this manual r
49. audio tracks the checkbox All Synth Outputs Audio must be activated in the Insert Op tions dialog see 2 4 3 on page 32 You can also later add the audio track manually and just set VSampler 3 DXi Synth as input device left column in the illustration 70 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics E VSampler3 DXi2 th 1 VSMasterMix CL will 00dB ul VSampler3 DXi Synth 1 V O SB Live Wavegerst Cf will 00dB VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 VS O SB Live Wavegerat wil 00dB cee DXi2 Synth 1 VS O SB Live Wavegerat CL will 00dB eal DXi2 Synth 1 VS O SB Live Wavegerst l 0 0 dB ell VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 V O SB Live Wavegerat Sonar defines the individual outputs of VSampler as separate audio tracks The following sections will explain the use of the individual outputs which are available automatically Information on how to set up and change the amount of individual outputs can be found at 5 2 on page 80 4 5 1 Display of the assigned output devices The display of the 16 MIDI channel slots can be switched from Instrument names position Instrument to Output device names position Output DRc moi Instrument Output Slide switch for Instrument name Output device Except for the names the display and setup of the individual Instrument outputs is identical for Standalone VSTi DXi ReWire if DRG IMON Ira 20 Meleeens Multi 1 Poc npor Bank Mgr Instrument
50. back is limited only by the output device Of course VSampler supports all common output formats from 16 bit 44kHz up to 32bit 192 kHz VSampler s integrated Sample Editor offers all essential sample editing func tions The integrated Auto Looper enables the automatic detection of appropri ate loop points in order to play back a Sample longer than it was originally recorded when holding a note The integrated Beat Detector automatically slices drum loops into single hits so that the tempo and pitch of the loop can be altered in real time independently and without sound quality loss Double clicking a Zone on the Zone page takes you directly to the underlying Sample For further information regarding the possibilities of the integrated Sample Editor please see the Reference Manual 111 Basics 6 4 5 Multi As described in section 6 2 3 The 16 MIDI channels on page 102 VSampler is a 16 channel multitimbral instrument i e by using all 16 MIDI channels it can playback up to 16 different Instruments simultaneously The term Multi refers to a particular combination of Instruments being as signed to the 16 MIDI channels Up to 64 such combinations can be named and saved so that it is possible to easily switch between sound set ups i e all 16 MIDI channels can be switched at once by selecting a different Multi 6 5 Dynamic Resource Control DRC 6 5 1 The advantage DRC enables VSampler to load and playback Soun
51. ck for a MIDI channel chn 1 is the default and an Instru ment from the loaded Soundlibrary euro Now you can play VSampler using your MIDI keyboard or the on screen vir tual keyboard You can create further MIDI tracks for the common output de vice VSampler 3 in order to play up to 16 different VSampler Instruments In order to get a better view of the track properties you should widen the window Cubase SX Project Untitled a ol PS a a H E No ted Make sure that each track is set to a different MIDI channel number chn 2 chn 3 etc You can now assign Instruments from the current VSampler Soundlibrary to other tracks prg After clicking the Edit button of the VST instruments dialog the VSampler GUI appears on your screen Since the operation of VSampler is the same 30 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics whether the Standalone version or the plug in version is used further steps will be described together in the following chapters 2 4 2 Setting up the VSTi plug in in Cubase VST This description applies to Steinberg s Cubase VST however the steps are similar in other VSTi compatible sequencers e start Cubase VST and load a project e pull down the Panels menu and click on VST Instruments VST Instruments YST Instruments Eoir VSampler3 e click the Edit button in the VST Instruments dialog in order to open
52. ct and close the sequencer restart the sequencer and load the project re insert VSampler and load the previously saved VS3 file re assign the tracks and outputs save the project and close it VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 5 3 Setting Up MIDI Devices 5 3 1 Connecting to a MIDI keyboard Caution These instructions only apply to the Standalone version Information concerning VSTi DXi ReWire can be found in the next chapter Following the installation all MIDI Input Devices are activated by default so that VSampler can be played right away with any connected MIDI device In order to see a list of your MIDI devices open the menu item Options MIDI Devices You see the tab MIDI Inputs MIDI Devices MIDI Inputs MIDI Outputs v SB Livel MIDI UART vV SpeedSoft MIDI cable 1 v SpeedSoft MIDI cable 2 Select the MIDI Input Device of the soundcard to which your MIDI keyboard is connected In the example screenshot above that would be the SB Live MIDI UART because the MIDI keyboard is connected to the SB Live soundcard For more information regarding the two SpeedSoft MIDI cable devices see the next chapter If you operate VSampler and a sequencer simultaneously make sure that the activated MIDI input devices of both programs don t block each other VSampler and the sequencer should be assigned to different MIDI input devices Most soundcards don t allow the use of one MID
53. ctly simultaneously played notes never arrive at the sound module VSampler at the same time but rather one after another with a slight and normally inaudible temporal delay Nonetheless it hasn t kept musicians over the last 20 years from making good electronic music without which VSampler probably wouldn t exist Conclusion The Standalone version is ideal for using VSampler independently without a sequencer In order to control VSampler through a classic MIDI sequencer the connection per virtual MIDI cable is the way to go If your sequencer supports VSTi DXi plug ins or ReWire then these versions are preferable 24 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Make sure that the audio output from VSampler and from the sequencer don t block each other If you want both programs to use the same soundcard for audio output then the soundcard driver must support multi clients This is the case with most multi channel soundcards which use separate individual outputs Many older soundcards however do not support multi clients 2 2 2 VSTi DXi plug in If your sequencer supports the plug in interface VSTi or DXi then you should run VSampler as a plug in The VSTi plug in can be used with e g Nuendo Cubase Cubasis Logic Acid Orion Fruityloops Renoise Samplitude and n track The DXi plug in can be used with Cakewalk Sonar and Project 5 VSTi plug in and individual outputs per Sample are not available in the
54. ctly one Soundlibrary see 4 2 Loading a Soundlibrary on page 58 Of course you can add Instruments from other Soundlibrary files at any time see 4 3 Importing Instruments on page 59 The new Soundlibrary composition can be saved as a VS3 file e g to fit to your song 6 4 2 Instrument A Soundlibrary consists of max 16384 Instruments which can be viewed in the Instruments Pool see page 48 Click the Pool button in the Small View or select the Instruments page of the Editor View to go to the Instruments pool The terminology may differ instead of Instrument some manufacturers use the term program patch or preset it all means the same thing The view of the Instruments is presented GS conform it is divided into 128 rows programs and 128 columns banks same sample used The Making Of Instruments Pool divided into 128 rows programs and 128 columns banks Roland GS standard General Synthesizer standard broadens the GM Gen eral MIDI standard to include the Bank Change command which enables you to switch between different versions of an Instrument 109 Basics 6 4 3 Zone An Instrument consists of one or more max 32768 Zones Each Zone con tains one single Sample Whenever you load a Sample in VSampler it is auto matically packed into a Zone On the Zones page of the Editor View the Zones are displayed graphically Double clicking a Zone takes you to
55. d be lower than 15 ms ASIO drivers tend to offer lower latencies than DirectSound drivers e reliable drivers Inform yourself on the manufacturer s website or in inde pendent forums as to the frequency of past driver updates Regular updates over a period of several years are a sign of good product maintenance Operating system Regarding an operating system the old saying is still valid never touch a run ning system If you are satisfied with your Windows version stick with it Gen erally we recommend the Windows versions 2000 or XP As far as audio is concerned it makes no difference whether you use XP Professional or XP Home edition unless you own a multi processor system If you own a real multi processor system you have the choice between Win dows 2000 and Windows XP Professional Windows XP Home doesn t make sense because it only supports one physical processor Owners of Intel Pentium 4 processors with Hyperthreading technology should only use Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or above As far as audio processing is concerned it makes no difference whether you use XP Home or Professional For more information concerning the differences between the various Windows versions see the Microsoft website Mixdown all tracks of a song are mixed e g into a WAV file in order e g to burn the file on a CD Latency delay between striking a key and sound output 118 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 6 8 2 Opt
56. dlibraries and Instruments of any size you are not limited to the size of your main memory RAM When DRC is activated VSampler dynamically manages your computers RAM by loading and unloading Instruments and Samples from your hard disk as neces sary in the background 3 1 Sample level DRC is not available in the VSampler 3 0 OEM version see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent OEAA Version on page 20 The DRC settings can be found in the menu Options Audio Performance Quality on the Performance tab see also 5 4 4 Optimizing DRC on page 90 DRC operates on 2 levels which are by default both activated 6 5 2 Instrument level DRC 1 DRC 1 has been available since VSampler version 3 0 Instead of all Instru ments of the Soundlibrary only the currently active Instruments are loaded into RAM Those are the Instruments currently assigned to a MIDI channel 112 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics e Advantage You can manage as many Instruments as you wish This way you have all candidates for your song at your disposal and they can be eas ily compared and exchanged e Disadvantage Switching to another Instrument by mouse click or pro gram change message may be delayed because the new Instrument must be loaded from the hard disk first For further information please refer to section 5 4 4 Optimizing DRC on page 90 6 5 3 Sample level DRC 2 DRC 2 has been available since VSampler
57. dow keyboard Manager Output devices Limiter oi a euro 05 0 brass 09 8 Filter 02 beat play chords 06 frog i euro aja drnytak 07 amp lazer euro oa 08 0 filter lfo s running 12 w euro ADSR i J opoo Filter envelope effect sends for Channel volume velocity Master cutoff resonance send Instrument Group Zones sensitivity envelope level 45 Graphic User Interface GUI Explanation of the individual elements 46 Choose Multi switches between sets of Instrument assignments for the 16 MIDI channels see 6 4 5 Multi on page 112 using the context menu right mouse button you can reset or copy a Multi Pool Import Switches the display between the Instruments Pool shows all loaded Instruments and the Import Window shows the content of the last file selected for import see next chapter Keyboard shows the VSampler on screen keyboard see the chapter after next Bank Mgr opens the VSampler Bank Manager window Instrument Output switch switches the display of the 16 MIDI channel slots between the name of the assigned Instrument and the name of the as signed Output device Mute Solo limiter o Mute mutes the currently selected MIDI channel o Solo mutes all other channels o Limiter limits volume peaks to 0 dB Filter is only shown when the Instrument includes an active filter changes the filter settings relative to the original settings of the Instrument for more details see the VSa
58. e a P A PART AVOL 1 A PART A VOL 2 A PART A VOL3 APART A VOL 4 after clicking the AK AI button the Instruments of an Akai CD are presented You now have the choice of either importing the Instruments immediately without previewing them or first sorting out the Instruments you don t need and then importing the rest with preview 61 Operation Without preview deactivate the LED Preview Instrument e Select one or several Instruments e Finish the import by clicking on the Import button This will cause the selected Instruments to be added to the Pool i e the current Soundlibrary When the VSampler Soundlibrary is saved the imported In struments will be permanently part of it With preview default setting LED Preview Instrument is activated This option allows you to compare Instruments of an external file before actu ally importing them so that you can import only the Instruments that you need The currently selected Instrument will be automatically loaded to all opened MIDI channels for previewing Note this does not actually import it into the Instruments Pool yet You can play it right away with a keyboard or by the sequencer and hear it in the song At this point you can step through the In struments of this external file using the cursor keys and compare and contrast them before deciding which ones to import The Preview Instrument will be permanently imported into the Poo
59. e VSampler does this by blending out controller elements that are currently inactive If for example only two of the maximum three chan nel effects are activated then the third knob will be blended out Here is an example from the filter page of the Editor View without having set the filter frequency or resonance as a target for the filter envelope altering the envelope points wouldn t result in any audible effect That s why V Sampler won t let you do it no filter activated Filter activated but no target Filter envelope targeting for the envelope yet frequency and resonance 39 Graphic User Interface GUI 3 2 Drag amp Drop VSampler offers numerous drag amp drop functions 40 Loading a Soundlibrary drag a Soundlibrary file from the Windows Explorer into the VSampler In struments Pool Adding further Instruments importing drag a file from the Windows Explorer or from the VSampler Quick browser Editor View see Reference Manual or drag an Instrument from the VSampler Import Window onto a free slot in the Instruments Pool or directly onto a MIDI channel Assigning an Instrument to a MIDI channel drag a file from the Windows Explorer or drag an Instrument from VSam pler s Instruments Pool or Import Window onto a MIDI channel Assigning a Sample to a keyboard key drag a WAV or AIF file onto a key of the on screen keyboard Copying and moving Instruments in the Instruments Pool drag an Instrum
60. e polyphony can also be changed for several Instruments at once 89 Important General Settings e mark all of the desired Instruments in the Instruments Pool by holding Shift resp Ctrl key e per context menu right mouse button click on the desired Instrument and select Instrument Options Instrument Options A Settings for Selected Instrument s v Copy Settings to default setting MIDI Controllers Settings Velocity Description Polyphony Modulation al Max Pitch Range 200 B cents Max Env Time 500 a ms Instrument Polyphony LE i Voices Release Cutoff Level 50 E dB Release Cutoff Rate 200 la ms Microtuning Microtuning Scale Equal Tampered e set the desired value in the Instrument Polyphony field e close the window and save the Soundlibrary The two values below Release Cutoff Level and Release Cutoff Rate automatically prevent the waste of processing time Voices which at the end of their decay phase drop below 50 dB are faded out within the designated time at the latest 5 4 4 Optimizing DRC Dynamic Resource Control DRC enables VSampler to load and playback Soundlibraries and Instruments of any size it is not limited to the size of your main memory RAM Sample level DRC is not available in the VSampler 3 0 OEM version see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 90 VSampler 3 Start Up and Bas
61. e sequencer For information regarding the appropriate audio settings see the documentation of your sequencer 79 Important General Settings 5 2 Setting Up Individual Outputs 5 2 1 Standalone version Each of the 16 Instruments assigned to a MIDI channel can be routed to a different soundcard device A maximum of 16 individual stereo outputs is available depending on the number of soundcard devices you have activated These can be the individual outputs of a multi channel soundcard or multiple soundcards Each device can be activated or deactivated under the menu item Options Audio Devices Audio Devices Available audio output devices r 7 Device Options Name Type Channels State DX Primary Sounddriver DirectX Stereo On Devica enabled Live Audio DF80 tereo On neces ae ee DX DIGIS6 8 PAD Out 1 2 1 emulated DirectX Stereo On i DX DIGI96 8 PAD Out 3 4 1 emulated DirectX Stereo On DX DIGI96 8 PAD Out 5 6 1 emulated Directx Stereo On Device sample rate 44100 DX DIGI96 8 PAD Dut 7 8 1 emulated DirectX Stereo On Device bit depth 16 DX AVM Sound Playback 0 emulated Direc Stereo Off DX AVM Sound Playback 1 emulated Direc Stereo Off DX SoundMAX Digital Audio DirectX Stereo Sample rate 44100 v He Buffer size 864 v Samples Device buffer count DirectSound Properties Primary device ERER Options Buffer count 4 _ fl Update interval
62. ed Double clicking the padlock symbol will lock or unlock the corresponding MIDI channel 01 euro 05 2 brass 09 0 turn the modwheel 13 a 02 beat play chords 06 frog 10 euro 14 al 03 2 dirty talk 07 2 lazer 11 a euro 15 04 0 res 08 2 filter IFo s running euro 16 Channels 1 to 9 locked hard wired Channels 10 tol6 open play the currently selected Instrument of the Pool locked The Instrument is hard wired to this MIDI channel corresponds to the classic Multi mode This can take place in the following ways e by double clicking an open padlock symbol e per drag amp drop of an Instrument from Pool Import Window or Windows Explorer e by the Import button of the Import Window 65 Operation e with a Program Change message for example when another Instrument is chosen in the track properties of the sequencer oven No Instrument has been assigned to this MIDI channel yet it always plays whatever Instrument is currently selected in the Pool corresponds to the classic Preset mode When you are stepping through the Instruments in your Pool Import Window or Bank Manager using the cursor keys or the mouse all open MIDI channels will follow your selection The selected Instrument is automati cally loaded so that you can hear it right away during playback of a song and can play it on a keyboard As soon as you ve found the right Instrument lock the MIDI channel by double clicking the padl
63. ed from the Import Window into the Pool i e the current Soundlibrary and also locks the MIDI channel see 4 4 1 The MIDI channel s padlock symbol on page 65 1 1 Copy Here you can copy the content of an Akai or E MU CD onto your hard disk so that in the future you won t need to insert and change your CDs Your entire collection of Akai and E MU CDs can be accessed quicker and 53 Graphic User Interface GUI more comfortably this way After clicking on the 1 1 Copy button you have your choice between three variations Akai CD 1 1 Copy Options Create ISO Image Convert to VS3 Partitions to bank columns Convert to VS3 Partitions to separate files Ok Cancel e ISO Image creates a disk image file from which VSampler can read the Instruments just like from other Soundlibrary formats o Advantage the CD s compatibility with other samplers is retained the data is not converted to another format but copied 1 1 o Disadvantage bypasses DRC see 6 5 on page 112 i e enough memory must be available on the other hand Instruments with this format have a max size of just 32 MB e VS3 bank columns the entire CD is converted into one single VS3 file the partitions and volumes of the CD become bank columns o Advantage can be used with DRC faster loading important espe cially when using the Preview Instrument feature o Disadvantage not compatible with other samplers e VS
64. ed in a number of ways ot e with the mouse by moving it up or down Shift key for fine ce tuning click in the middle of an area to move it or at the top or 769 5 bottom end to change one of the two values e with the mouse wheel to widen or narrow the range after hav ing selected the controller element Shift key for fine tuning e with a double click to reset the full range e per MIDI remote control or VST automation see the VSampler Reference Manual Dropdown boxes Dropdown boxes offer a selection between various possibilities here for example the possible types of a sample loop Editor View The entries if not predefined by V Sampler can be re named per double click for example the list of Zones of an Instrument 38 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Numerical fields such as this one for smoothing a loop Editor View include the same functions as knobs The value can be changed in a number of ways e with the mouse by moving it up or down Shift key for fine tuning e by clicking on the up down elements to change the value in single steps e with the mouse wheel after having selected the numerical field e per double click to type in a value The content of a text field can be renamed by double click for example to change the names of the Instruments in the Instruments Pool i 1 To prevent operational errors the graphic display lets you visualize the status of the sound engin
65. efers to VSampler 3 1 The term VSTi plug in is used to mean VST instrument plug in in order to differentiate it from VST effect plug ins 11 Introduction 1 3 Setting Up Your System 1 3 1 Minimum system requirements In order to use VSampler as an instrument your PC must fulfill the following minimum requirements Hardware CPU processor Intel Pentium II 400 MHz and up or comparable RAM main memory 256 MB VSampler itself uses approx 25 MB Graphics card 800 x 600 pixels 16 Bit color depth Soundcard o VSampler VSTi DXi ReWire depending on host sequencer o VSampler Standalone each with an appropriate driver for ASIO or DirectSound not emulated Software e Operating system Microsoft Windows 98SE ME 2000 or XP e VSampler VSTi DXi plug in Host sequencer with support for the Synth plug in interfaces VSTi or DXi e VSampler ReWire Instrument slave Host sequencer master supporting the ReWire interface f The OEM version VSampler 3 0 DX1 includes the DXi plug in but not VSTi plug in ReWire Standalone version and virtual MIDI cable If you like you can purchase them us an upgrade see 1 5 1 3 2 Recommended system requirements VSampler can operate with the above minimum system requirements How ever in order to playback larger Soundlibraries in a song with an intricate ar rangement and a large number of Voices the following system profile is rec ommended see 6 8 1
66. en different versions of an Instrument 49 Graphic User Interface GUI Don t get mixed up by the word Bank or Soundbank gener ally it refers to the entire Soundlibrary whose Instruments are ar ranged in MIDI bank numbers from 0 to 127 The numbered bank columns in the Instruments Pool correspond to these MIDI bank numbers within the Soundlibrary A bank change message thus switches between and selects Instruments that are in the same row of each other in the Pool You can t load a different Soundlibrary file e g SF2 in each of VSampler s bank columns Instead any Instrument from any Soundlibrary file can be added to any slot of the current VSampler Soundlibrary by using the Import Window The possible actions in the Instruments Pool 50 Loading a Soundlibrary Instrument or Sample drag amp drop a sound file from the Windows Explorer into the Pool Assigning an Instrument to a MIDI channel o drag amp drop the Instrument onto a MIDI channel slot o to quickly compare Instruments using the plus and minus keys of the numerical keyboard you can switch one Instrument forwards and backwards o to quickly compare Instruments open the padlock symbol of the de sired MIDI channel by double click and roam through the Pool using the cursor keys the currently selected Instrument is automatically loaded to all opened MIDI channels and can be heard in the song Renaming bank columns doub
67. en several instances of the VSampler plug in in order to increase the available number of MIDI channels by another 16 channels for each additional VSampler plug in TEN DER The OEM version VSampler 3 0 DX1 includes the DXi plug in but not VSTi plug in ReWire Standalone version and virtual MIDI cable If you like you can purchase them us an upgrade see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 In order for VSampler to know which Instrument belongs to which track two settings must be made in the track properties of the sequencer e a unique MIDI channel number 1 16 must be assigned for each track e the respective VSampler Instrument must be selected for each track The Instrument selection program change is always sent per MIDI channel and not per sequencer track For each sequencer track both the Instrument and the MIDI channel must be set otherwise all tracks would play the same VSampler Instrument see After you have gotten somewhat used to VSampler you should read 4 4 2 Decision Assign Instruments in Sequencer or in VSampler on page 66 Here is where it s explained how to assign Instruments to corresponding MIDI chan nels directly in V Sampler This method is significantly faster than changing the track properties in the sequencer particularly when you are comparing Instru ments In the following sections it is explained how to connect VSampler to your se quencer in ord
68. ent details experts can switch to the Editor View at any time menu item View For now please stay in the Small View It consists of 4 screen areas 43 Graphic User Interface GUI e Part 1 the Title bar includes the main menu a few status displays as well as buttons for Help and MIDI panic among others e Part 2 16 MIDI channels and controllers for important Instrument set tings the slots can be switched to display Instrument Names or output devices e Part 3 switchable between Instruments Pool shows all loaded Instru ments and Import Window shows the content of the last file selected for import e Part 4 On screen keyboard always plays the Instrument of the current MIDI channel The Bank Mgr button is for opening the Bank Manager which is used to manage extensive sound libraries 3 4 1 Title bar and Status displays The title bar is visible in every VSampler view The elements on the top row of the bar may vary graphically depending on the host sequencer Name of the Context switching between close System menu Soundlibrary Help Minimize Small Editor View VSampler 7 tt 4 Main menu Output level Progress bar DRC MIDI Audio reset activity and MIDI panic The elements of the top row are pretty much self explanatory for more details please see VSampler s context help The elements of the lower row e Output level displays the Master level i e the sum of all output sign
69. ent onto an empty slot for more information see Instruments Pool on page 49 Merging Instruments in the Instruments Pool drag an Instrument onto a slot which is already oc cupied by another Instrument Copying Zones of an Instrument into other Instruments copy or move Zones from the Quickbrowser into other Instruments of the Instruments Pool Changing the order of Zones in the Zone View of the Quickbrowser Editor View see Reference Man ual drag a Zone to another position on the list VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 3 3 Less is more VSampler supports the workflow by the less is more principle The buttons of unused function groups can and should be hidden using the context menu right mouse button What may sound trivial in theory is in practice quite use ful File types in the Import Window If you don t own any Instruments of a particular file type just hide the corresponding button LmM4 HALion Kontakt v WAV Files WAV v VSampler Files VS3 v SF2 Files SF2 v Gigasampler Files GIG v HALion Files HALion v LM4 Files LM4 v Akai Files AKP v ISO Images ISO v AKAI CDs AKAI v EMU CDs E MU Your personal variation for example might look like this ba v53 F2 HALion GIG AKAI Editor View pages of the Main Window ae Oinstumente zanen Samples E 7 Valime Filter Fx Gize Step Env Mor The buttons for the separate pages can also be hidden if you don t need them Your p
70. er to play back several tracks at once You can skip these sec tions if you already have experience with other multitimbral plug ins If you are using a different sequencer than in the examples below please take a look in 28 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics documentation of your sequencer about how to integrate a plug in as the output device of a MIDI track After the start VSampler s GUI appears on your screen Since the operation of VSampler is the same whether the Standalone version or the plug in version is used further steps will be described together in the following chapters 2 4 1 Setting up the VSTi plug in in Cubase SX This description applies to Steinberg s Cubase SX however the steps are similar in other VSTi compatible sequencers e start Cubase SX and load a project pull down the Devices menu and click on VST instruments VST Instruments VST Instruments lt gt Folz he e the VSampler GUI opens automatically if the startup Soundlibrary startup vs3 is not automatically loaded load it by pulling down VSam pler s File menu and selecting Open e create anew MIDI track right mouse button Add MIDI Track or assign an existing track of your song to the output device VSampler out VSampler 3 29 Start Cubase SX Project Untitled Welta ss mE aj gt ein ed se Nea Drumin Rec 44100 Hz 16 Bit Max 107h 2 e select a tra
71. ersonal variation for example might look like this Editor View Toolbar In the Editor View the number and order of buttons of the toolbar on the right side of the VSampler window can be adapted to your own personal preference These buttons are for switching between the separate Racks of the Editor View To adapt the toolbar click on it with the right mouse button and choose the menu item Configure Rack Toolbar 41 Graphic User Interface GUI Configure Rack Toolbar ud Ed Configure Rack Toolbar K3 plier L Virtual Keyboard Virtual Keyboard Import Instrument Import Instrument Sample Editor Sample Editor MIDI Multi Settings MIDI Multi Settings Virtueller Mixer Virtueller Mixer Pattern Sequenzer Pattern Sequenzer Bank Manager Bank Manager Virtual Sampler Instrumente Virtual Sampler Instrumente Virtual Sampler Zonen Virtual Sampler Zonen Virtual Sampler Samples Virtual Sampler Samples Virtual Sampler Volume Virtual Sampler Volume Virtual Sampler Filter Virtual Sampler Filter Virtual Sampler FX Virtual Sampler FX Virtual Sampler LFO Virtual Sampler LFO _ Virtual Sampler Step Env Pattern L Virtual Sampler Step Env Virtual Sampler Mod Virtual Sampler Mod 3 default setting adapted just Main Window Sample Editor Mixer I K v v v M v v 700000 OoO000 ig Smaller buttons f
72. eseeeeeeneeeeeeees 60 4 3 3 Importing using the Import Window cccecceseeseeseeeeeeeeeeeeees 60 4 3 4 Importing from the Bank Manager ccccesceseeseerseeeeeeeeereees 64 Assigning Instruments to MIDI Channnels ceeeeeseeeceseereeeeeneeeeeneees 65 4 4 1 The MIDI channel s padlock symbol ecccescesseeseeteeeeeeeeeees 65 4 4 2 Decision Assign Instruments in Sequencer or in VSampler 66 4 4 3 Assigning MIDI channels in the sequencer ccscesseerteeeees 66 4 4 4 Assigning MIDI channels in VSamplev cccccesseesseeteeeeeees 67 4 4 5 Troubleshooting no sound when playing the keyboard 68 Using Separate Outputs cc eceeecsseeeeeseceeeeeceeeecaeeeeerceaeeeeeaeeateneeneees 70 4 5 1 Display of the assigned output devices ceeceseesseeseeseeeeeeeeeees 71 4 5 2 Assigning Instruments to output devices cceccseeseeseeeeeeeeees 72 4 5 3 Assigning Samples to individual outputs DXi VSTi ReWire 73 Recommended Working Methods and Organization esceseeeeeees 74 46 General tips riran EE EREE EEN R 74 A02 Se ttNE See 74 4 6 3 Basis for working efficiently eeeeeeeeeeeeeeresrsrsrrrrereessrsrrrrerens 75 4 6 4 Assembling the song specific Soundlibrary cece 75 Important General Settings csscsscssesssecsessseesessssessseesseesseesseees 77 Setting Up Audio Devices c ecccecsceseeseceseceseceeecseeeseeaeecaeesseeeaeeeeeeeeeee
73. ffect the playback of all of your previous songs 99 Basics 6 Basics 6 1 What is a Sampler A hardware sampler is a special computer which transforms any digitally recorded sound into a musical instrument The sampler doesn t care whether it s a plucked guitar string or a squeaky door hinge It can playback the sound which it receives from a connected keyboard or sequencer software see 6 2 2 The sequencer on page 101 at any pitch with any melody The sampler is the only instrument which can mimic the sound of any instru ment and enable a musician to play it whether it s a natural instrument piano string drum etc or a synthesizer sound Depending on the connected input device drum pad keyboard breath controller etc the sampler Instrument not only sounds like the original but can also be played in a similar manner In many cases a sampler can save you from buying expensive instruments or the trouble of transporting heavy ones e g a Concert Grand Piano Any sam pled instrument no matter how exotic can be played on a keyboard and con trolled from a sequencer It can bring a church organ and choir into the smallest home studio It can make a monophonic synthesizer polyphonic and can MIDIfy analog synthesizers It can place an entire orchestra in the hands of a single person Last but not least a all Instruments remember their settings for each song and b thanks to the means and effort put into the p
74. fter the point are available because they are not needed in front of the point For audio proc essing this quality is perfect because it corresponds to the automatic gain control of the human ear Here is an illustration of this principle When it s quiet it s no problem to tell the buzz of a bee from the chirp of a bird But if you re sitting next to a pneumatic drill you will neither be able to hear swarms of bees nor birds As soon as the noise level large number drops our ear adapts to the softer level small number i e our ears can better perceive the nuances of soft sounds again more digits after the point 6 4 The Structure of a VSampler Soundlibrary In this section the elements of a VSampler Soundlibrary are explained e Soundlibrary consists of one or more Instruments e Instrument consists of one or more Zones e Zone contains one single Sample with a number of playback parameters e Sample the raw waveform e g a WAV file VSampler Soundlibrary complete contents Instrument 1 Zone 1 Sample 1 Zone 2 Sample 2 Instrument 2 108 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics The individual elements 6 4 1 Soundlibrary The term Soundlibrary refers to the entire content of VSampler This includes all loaded Instruments and settings incl the MIDI channel assignments The entire Soundlibrary can be saved as a VS3 file and be reloaded later For this reason VSampler always contains exa
75. han using the Import Window The Import Window however offers the most comfortable way to listen to and compare your sound files When the option Preview Instrument is activated default setting you can step through the Instruments of an external file using cursor keys or mouse and play them on the keyboard or hear them in the song 60 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 1 WAV vs3 SF2 GIG HALion Kontakt REX KIT LM4 DLS AKP 150 AKAI E MU Preview Instrument and Instruments Pool slot in use options The layout of the Import Window as well as the function of all of it s buttons and options have been described in chapter 3 4 4 on page 51 The individual steps e Select the desired MIDI channel slot for playback of the new Instrument and open it by double clicking the padlock symbol e Ifyou want the new Instrument to be imported to a specific slot in the Pool otherwise VSampler will automatically search for the next free slot switch to the Instruments Pool by clicking the Pool button and select the Instruments Pool slot for the new Instrument You can re organize and clean up the Pool at any time by moving the Instruments to different posi tions per drag amp drop e Switch to the Import Window by clicking the Import button and click the button corresponding to the file type you wish to import and select the file The Import Window now shows all Instruments contained in the chosen fil
76. hannel slot is empty then you have either forgotten to assign an Instrument to it or your sequencer has inadvertently changed the Instrument see previous chapter If no MIDI channel is blinking check in the menu item Options MIDI De vices to see whether the corresponding MIDI device is activated see also 5 3 Setting Up MIDI Devices on page 83 69 Operation 4 5 Using Separate Outputs VSampler can output sounds to up to 32 different individual outputs Stand alone and OEM version 16 see 6 2 3 The 16 MIDI channels on page 102 In the Standalone version these can be the individual outputs of one multi channel soundcard or of different soundcards When using the VSTi DXi ReWire version the individual outputs show up as channel strips or audio tracks in your sequencer s mixer as soon as VSampler is added to the project or connected per ReWire Default setting is 4 stereo channels Stereo Out Stereo Ot Stereo Ot Stereo Out ao o 0 0 6 JDO JBL ee ee a Sar 0 0 Trim C Pan dB Bob ole o 2 OEEL Cle bilo Obekt leg m Ss RJ wj o lt gt lt 0 0 117 SB live W 2 SBLivelW 5 Sm3D2S1 Sm3D2S1 Sm3D2S1 Sm3D2S1 VSampler outputs in the Cubase SX mixer and in the Sonar mixer Tip for Cakewalk Sonar users In order for the VSampler individual outputs to show up in the mixer and for Sonar to create the corresponding
77. hic and audio engine it benefits from the use of a multi processor system and also Intel P4 processors with Hyperthreading technology RAM main memory The more RAM the better Upwards of 512 MB work will be a pleasure VSampler s DRC see page 112 enables you to load and playback Instruments of any size not limited by the RAM size However DRC places high demands on the processor and the hard disk Because the access speed of the hard disk is significantly slower than the RAM access speed more RAM reduces the load on processor and hard disk The result is an increased polyphony when using larger Instruments Tip If you work mostly with very large detailed sampled natural instruments then the amount of RAM is more important than the speed of your CPU On the other hand if you work mostly with synthesizer sounds and use lots of VSam pler s features then a fast CPU is more important than much RAM Hard disk The faster the better The hard disk should have at least 7200 rpm and support U DMA 100 or higher or SCSI If you would like to orient yourself on test reports e g www storagereview com your hard disk should have low access times as well as a high minimal transfer rate In practice when your drive space is getting full this value is more important than the maximum transfer rate which is only reached at the fastest areas of the hard disk Ideally you should use two physical hard disks not partit
78. ible sequencer operates internally with 32 bit floating point processing This way a dynamic range can be reached that far exceeds that of 24 bit fixed point processing The improved audio quality is however just a by product The main advantage is the clipping free audio processing Within the chain of instruments effects and mixer no clipping occurs no matter how high the level Searching for the cause of clipping is no longer necessary As soon as distortion becomes audible difference between the desired signal sound and unwanted noise in dB difference between the softest possible sound and the highest digital output level 0 dB in dB similar to SNR in the analog world 107 Basics through the output device all that needs to be done is to adjust the level of the main mixer If the audio connection to the sequencer s mixer takes place by VSTi DX1 ReWire then short peaks will automatically be rounded off by the sequencer s soft limiter before being routed to the soundcard VSampler also has a soft limiter which can be activated to dampen the output level This op tion is useful particularly when using the Standalone version because in this case VSampler routes it s signal directly to the soundcard The clipping free audio processing is made possible by a special quality of floating point operations Depending on the size of the number the point is internally shifted The smaller the number the more positions a
79. ibrary of the song including all associated WAV files to be on the safe side For more details please see 6 7 Archiving and Internet Exchange of Soundlibraries on page 115 76 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 5 Important General Settings Due to the unlimited variations of possible sounds VSampler is used by musi cians for very different projects on very different computer systems The fol lowing general settings enable you to adapt VSampler to your project and sys tem to achieve the best possible quality and performance 5 1 Setting Up Audio Devices 5 1 1 Standalone version DEM OEM VSampler can run on any standard soundcard either per Direct Sound or ASIO In the menu item Options Audio Devices you can change your soundcard settings Audio Devices Available audio output devices Device Options Name Type Channels State i DX Primary Sounddriver DirectX Stereo On erica olay ierat Device buffer size 864 DX DIGIS6 8 PAD Out 1 2 1 emulated DirectX Stereo On f DX DIGI96 8 PAD Out 3 4 1 emulated Directx Stereo On Dostokiineene DX DIGI96 8 PAD Out 5 6 1 emulated Direc Stereo On Device sample rate 44100 DX DIGI96 8 PAD Out 7 8 1 emulated DirectX Stereo On Device bit depth 16 DX AVM Sound Playback 0 emulated Direc Stereo Off DX AVM Sound Playback 1 emulated Direc Stereo Off DX SoundMAX Digital Audio Direc Stereo On Sample rate 44100 v jHe Buffer size s
80. ics For more information on DRC see section 6 5 on page 112 Open the menu item Options Audio Performance Quality and choose the tab Perform Performance Quality Preferences Performance Quality Dynamic Resource Control DRC Other Settings V Instrument level only load active instruments Global polyphony 255 3 Voices nto Ram Limit polyphony per Instrument 32 f Voices V Sample level for instruments gt 16 el MB only load active samples DRC Limit 500 MB Release time for cutted voices 10 41 ms Fade out instrument Fx after 3 fall sec of inactivity Reloadin v A SE aiways Tum off silent zones Performance Settings Use MMX if available Use SSE if available i Cancel DRC operates at 2 levels which are by default both activated e DRC at Instrument level since VSampler 3 0 e DRC 2 at Sample level since VSampler 3 1 An explanation of the two DRC levels and their advantages and disadvantages can be found in section 6 5 on page 112 Under certain circumstances chang ing the standard DRC settings can improve performance When this option is activated instead of all Instruments of the Soundlibrary only the currently active Instruments are loaded into RAM DRC 1 should only be shut off when you use program change messages in your song and the switching of Instruments is not fast enough When several highly polyphonic Instruments are used simultane ously
81. ies have the file extension VC3 The installation of a special compression program is not required Depending on the intended usage you have the choice between two types see the pull down menu item Export Export compressed library FLAC lossless FLAC flac sourceforge net is perfect for archiving purposes All details are completely preserved It reaches a compression of ca 2 1 and compresses somewhat better than Rar Zip Ace 115 Basics Ogg Vorbis lossy Ogg Vorbis www vorbis com is perfect for exchanging larger Soundlibraries over the Internet The compression ratio can be freely adjusted default setting is 50 quality at variable bitrate Depending on the type of audio material this results in a compression rate of about 10 1 while the quality difference to the uncompressed original is difficult to hear even for trained ears At the same compression rate Ogg Vorbis is superior to the somewhat dated MP3 format as e g the result of a big public listening test of the German computer mag c t confirms www heise de newsticker data anw 08 09 02 000 6 8 Optimizing the PC for Audio Performance 6 8 1 Purchasing decisions hardware A hardware sampler is nothing other than a pre configured package consisting of a software sampler and hardware a closed system with pre defined charac teristics and fixed processing power In the best case you have the choice be tween a handful of add ons provided by the
82. imizing Windows XP for audio processing In the following section we will offer a few tips to optimize the audio perform ance of your computer when using Windows XP they generally apply to other Windows versions as well All tips are non binding Try them at your own risk We do not guarantee success nor are we liable for any resulting damages to your system Set up a separate user account e In Windows set up a separate user account for audio purposes so that you can make special settings for audio without changing your normal settings Improve hard disk performance e Make sure that Ultra DMA mode 4 or higher is activated for your IDE hard disks Start the Windows Device Manager open the item IDE ATA ATAPI Controllers and in the properties right mouse button of Primary IDE channel and if available also of Secondary IDE channel choose the Advanced settings tab and if necessary change the setting for the Transfer Mode e Defragment your hard disk s at regular intervals to retain low access times with the ever changing content of your hard disk Particularly when using DRC the performance and with it the polyphony sinks noticeably when the hard disk is overly fragmented Start the defragmenting program manu ally automatic defragmenting in the background should be avoided Improve reaction time and reduce ASIO latency e Switching the system performance optimization from Programs to Background
83. important sequencer interfaces under Microsoft Windows Which variation of VSampler you should use depends on your sequencer Since most current se quencers support several interfaces here is some information to help you make your decision VSampler can be started in three different ways 2 2 1 Standalone version The Standalone version of VSampler transforms your PC into a dedicated sampler with 16 channel MIDI input and up to 16 individual stereo outputs with an ASIO or DirectSound soundcard This way the entire process ing power of your computer is available to VSampler If you re not using a sequencer e g to play VSampler as a live instrument this is your best option The Standalone version of VSampler is not just for live performance The in cluded virtual MIDI cable see 5 3 2 Setting up the virtual MIDI cable on page 84 enables VSampler to connect to any MIDI sequencer e g Cakewalk Pro Audio Band In A Box Power Tracks Pro Sibelius or Finale In compari son with the plug in version the Standalone version runs outside of the se quencer and is treated like external MIDI hardware There is neither an audio connection to the mixer of the sequencer nor can the sequencer synchronize the timing of the connected devices This is a general disadvantage of the 20 year old MIDI standard all data is sent indiscriminately in succession one after another at a rather leisurely tempo The consequence is that even perfe
84. in use Importing brings the new Instrument into the Pool If the Instrument slot is already occupied by another Instrument you can determine here whether or not it should be replaced e Next free the new Instrument is imported to the next free slot in the Pool that VSampler finds e Replace the new Instrument replaces the previous Instrument of the slot Which of the two options is best depends upon whether you prefer to select your Instruments in the track properties of your sequencer or to make your changes in VSampler s MIDI channel slots directly see 4 4 2 Decision As sign Instruments in Sequencer or in VSampler on page 66 The position of the current Instrument slot Bank Program where the Instru ment will be imported to is shown in brackets behind the text Preview Instru ment In the default setting next free you don t have to pay any attention to it Available Akai partitions E MU_ folders Here you can select the partition Akai or the folder E MU of the respective CD formats that you want to have displayed in the Import Window Typically these CDs consist of several partitions or folders in which the Instruments are arranged Octave Shift Here you can shift the position of an Instrument on the keyboard by 2 oc taves before you import it to fit it to the range of your other Instruments Import button Clicking on the Import button causes the selected Instrument to be actually import
85. ions The first for Windows programs and swap file the second for the audio files This way the operating system and VSampler don t get in each others way when accessing the hard disk An even more elegant solution is to use a RAID system with RAID level 2 or higher Do not be tempted to use RAID level 0 the perform ance advantage is not worth the risk Please refer to the appropriate specialized literature and or inform yourself on the Internet Redundant Array of Independent Disks merges the capacities of several hard disks in order to simultaneously read and or write data and thus increase hard disk access speed and or reduce the risks of a breakdown 117 Basics Soundcard In a purely digital system consisting of a sequencer plug ins and sampling CDs the soundcard has no influence on the quality of the mixdown It does however determine the quality at which you can hear your mix while working on the song The occasional recording of an instrument can be handled better or worse by almost any soundcard If however you are interested in making high quality recordings you should invest a little more in order e g to get yourself a soundcard with an external A D converter A good soundcard can accompany you over several computer generations and is worth the invest ment Particularly for the use with software instruments two qualities are important e low latency For delay free live performance the latency shoul
86. ited by the MIDI standard to a maximum of 16 simultaneously playable Instruments for each VSTi DXi plug in a connection with more than 16 MIDI channels does not exist in the MIDI standard You can however open several instances of the VSampler plug in each with it s own 16 additional MIDI channels 103 Basics Another burden of MIDI s past is that MIDI messages do not differentiate be tween sequencer tracks unless a unique MIDI channel has been assigned to each track Most sequencers do this automatically whenever a new track is added The Instrument selection program change is always sent per MIDI channel not per sequencer track For each sequencer track both the Instrument and the MIDI channel must be set otherwise all tracks would play the same VSampler Instrument With the exception of some global messages MIDI messages always apply only to the MIDI channel with which they are sent this also applies to the mes sage to switch Instruments program change This means that if you assign the same MIDI channel to 3 separate sequencer tracks and choose a new In strument on one of these tracks then it will be played back on all 3 of these tracks This is the case even if different Instruments were originally assigned to each track For more information see 4 4 4 Assigning MIDI channels in VSampler on page 67 6 3 Frequencies Bits and Floating Points The first digital sampler built in the early 80
87. l i e the current Soundlibrary by clicking the Import button or by double clicking it in order to actually import it Until this is done you can continue to test further Instruments as described above Keep in mind that as soon as you click on an other Instrument the previous Preview Instrument will be deleted and replaced by the new one The two typical steps are illustrated in the following screenshots first Preview Grand Piano in the left screenshot and House Piano in the middle screen shot then Import House Piano 62 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics o Grand Piano 0s 2 01 2 House Piano 0s 2 01 8 House Piano 0s 2 02 beat play chords 06 amp 02 beat play chords 06 02 beat play chords 06 03 2 dirty talk 07 2 03 2 dirty talk 03 2 dirty talk 04 2 res 08 04 2 j 04 2 Realpiano Yamaha PSOm Realpiano Yamaha P50m first previewing Grand Piano and House Piano then importing House Piano Both steps in detail e Preview Step through the Instruments by using cursor keys to compare possible candidates The Instrument under the cursor is automatically loaded to all opened MIDI channels and can be heard in the song Until it is imported it will be displayed gray and in square brackets e Importing Select one or several Instruments and finish importing by clicking on the Import button Now the Instrument will be displayed white a
88. le click the column heading to give a column an expressive name Renaming Instruments double click on the name of the Instrument Selecting more than one Instrument o Shift Key click on Instrument A and then with the shift key pressed on Instrument B to select all Instruments from A to B o Ctrl Key to add or remove Instruments from the selection click on them with the Ctrl key pressed o Selecting all Instruments of a row or column click on the row number or the column header Copying and moving Instruments drag amp drop one or several selected Instruments onto an empty slot and VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics choose the desired action from the pop up context menu or even more di rectly o Copy no pop up question to make a direct copy hold the ctrl key while dragging o Move no pop up question to move an Instrument directly hold the shift key tt while dragging the Instrument to the new position e Merging swapping and replacing Instruments drag amp drop an Instruments onto a slot that is already occupied by another Instrument and choose the desired action from the pop up context menu o Merge both Instruments are combined into one Instrument o Swap the Instruments swap places o Replace the dragged Instrument replaces the Instrument in the tar get slot By using the context menu right mouse button all Instruments can be selected or deselected or the selection can be inverted It also allows you to change the Instrume
89. menu items instead of Load Soundlibrary or use the Import Window Both options are described in the following chapter 4 3 Importing Instruments There is a significant difference between Load Soundlibrary and Import e Load Soundlibrary replaces the entire Pool i e all existing Instruments are removed and replaced by those in the new Soundlibrary e Import adds further Instruments to the Pool all existing Instruments are retained By Import you can combine Instruments of various supported formats see 3 4 6 on page 56 in one individual VSampler Soundlibrary and save all of them together as VS3 file For the Import of file types with embedded Samples e g SF2 and GIG VSampler offers the possibility of loading the Samples into RAM as long as the Soundlibrary has not yet been saved This way Instruments up to a certain size can be imported into the current Soundlibrary tested and removed without the time consuming process of having the WAV files created from the embed ded Samples during the import process The size can be set in the menu Op tions Import on the General tab Filetypes with embedded sampledata Don t load sampledata into RAM but create temporary WAY files if bank size exceeds 128 l MB There are four different ways to import Instruments with the menu item File Import Drag amp Drop using the Import Window from the Bank Manager The four methods in detail 59 O
90. mpler context help or the Reference Manual Effects the FX button lights up when at least one effect is activated at the level selected by the range slider Channel Instrument Group Zone by clicking the FX button the effect parameters can be changed on the Channel and Instrument level or effects can be added and or deleted _ SE quis Depending on the number of activated effects at the selected FX level the knobs for controlling effect strength will be blended in their effect is rela tive to the original settings of the Instrument for more details see the VSampler context help or the Reference Manual Volume changes the volume settings relative to the original settings of the Instrument for more details see the VSampler context help or the Refer ence Manual Master level changes the master volume of VSampler pay attention to the level display on the title bar to avoid clipping VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics The MIDI channel slots The various functions of the MIDI channel slots e Assigning an Instrument from the Windows Explorer drag amp drop a sound file Soundlibrary Instrument Sample onto a MIDI channel slot e Assigning an Instrument from the Pool four variations o drag amp drop an Instrument onto the MIDI channel slot o double click the MIDI channel slot and choose another Instrument o to quickly compare Instruments using the plus and minus keys of the numerical keyboard yo
91. mputer With the open ing of the CD packaging the buyer agrees to the following license agreement The buyer is entitled to resell the software to install the software on one com puter per purchased license and to make backup copies of the software for per sonal use The buyer is not entitled to keep backup copies of the software after sale to rent or lend the software to manufacture or distribute copies of the software or to change the software with exception of the Soundlibraries in any way The software has been produced with the utmost care Buyer and manufacturer agree that it is not possible to develop an absolutely error free software for all applicable conditions The manufacturer will repair known software bugs as quickly as possible The suitability of the software for a specific purpose is not guaranteed by the manufacturer The buyer is not entitled to compensation in the case of a defect except in states where liability exclusion is not permissible In any case liability is limited to the amount of the purchase price Liability for consequential damages is excluded The customer is responsible for the storage and back up of their data Venue for all disputes related to the software is the state court of the company location of MAZ at the time of the dispute Applicable law is the one of the Federal Republic of Germany Should any provision of this agreement contra vene valid law all other provisions will continue in full f
92. nd without the square brackets The padlock symbol see page 65 of the MIDI channel will be closed You can now repeat the process for the other MIDI channels until your ar rangement is fully equipped with appropriate Instruments All Instruments that have been assigned to a MIDI channel are colored orange when displayed in the Pool When importing Instruments for a song it is generally a better idea to not to pin yourself down too early but rather to import all of the Instruments to the Pool that you would seriously consider using for your sequencer tracks While you are working with the Instruments of the Pool it is easy to quickly test and switch them Re open the desired MIDI channel slot double click on the lock symbol and step through the Instruments of the Pool using the cursor keys Once you ve made your decision lock the MIDI channel slot again 63 Operation 4 3 4 Importing from the Bank Manager Similar to the Import Window Instruments which have been entered in the Bank Manager can be imported directly to a MIDI channel or to the Pool Cam POOO Q000 EE Soo Ct acs a coo Ano RES ee ee eT 7 E 7 F In the middle column select the desired Instrument and import it with either the Import button or by double click In order to use the preview function which you are familiar with from the Import Window activate the option Preview Instrument
93. nected synthesizer How the transmitted note message actually sounds depends entirely on the connected synthesizer or VSampler Instrument and not on the MIDI keyboard 6 2 2 The sequencer A sequencer such as Cubase or Sonar can record audio data as well as MIDI data coming from a keyboard After being recorded both can be played back together This way different Instruments can be recorded on various tracks one after another which in the end can be mixed and mastered into a complete song The sequencer differentiates between audio tracks and MIDI tracks Audio tracks Similar to a tape recorder the sequencer records the sound of a connected in strument onto an audio track which can then be played back The recording is Musical Instruments Digital Interface the standard for connecting electronic musical instruments and controllers 101 Basics frozen meaning that the sound of the Instrument and the melody cannot be changed later MIDI tracks Instead of the sound the sequencer records MIDI messages which can e g be received from a keyboard These messages can be altered in the sequencer in any way e g in order to correct wrong notes or timing mistakes In order for this data to become audible the MIDI track sends the MIDI messages to a sound module such as VSampler How the transmitted note message actually sounds depends entirely on the connected sound module If another sound module is connected or in
94. ng polyphony imple mentation on page 89 e raise the DRC limit as previously described 5 5 Decision Linked or Embedded Samples 5 5 1 Comparison VSampler can save a Soundlibrary with either linked or embedded Samples The standard setting is linked Both variations have their advantages and disadvantages You should make a permanent decision for either one or the other ways of working The setting can be made in the menu Options Import on the tab General 93 Important General Settings Import Preferences 94 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics The difference between the two variations linked default setting Soundlibrary settings VS3 file and Samples WAYV files are stored sepa rately The VS3 file does not include the Samples themselves but rather links to the location of the WAV files embedded Soundlibrary settings and Samples are stored together in a large VS3 file The Samples are embedded You can import VSampler Instruments of both types and combine them at the same time in your Soundlibraries whether linked e g HALion Kontakt or embedded e g GIG SF2 As soon as you save your Soundlibrary as a VS3 file VSampler treats all Samples as determined in your general setting When set to linked VSampler will create new WAV files if they don t exist from the original Instruments already The advantages and disadvantages of the standard setting linked Adva
95. not be altered by mistake outside of the project If you often save your project with different names while working on it e g for back up purposes then this op tion saves you the trouble of also having to save the VS3 file with different names Disadvantage The Soundlibrary settings and Instruments are not available to other projects as long as they are only saved in the host project This can be avoided by saving the Soundlibrary once as a VS3 file or while working on the song by importing only the Instruments from existing VS3 files that you have previously created by importing non native format Instruments 5 6 2 Soundlibrary oriented saving in a VS3 file If the option Save Bank with host project is not activated VSampler saves the Soundlibrary as a separate VS3 file and only it s directory and location in the host project e Advantage You can use the Soundlibrary in other projects as well or in the Standalone version of VSampler e Disadvantage Since only the name of the Soundlibrary is saved with the project the Soundlibrary settings themselves are not an exclusive part of the project Each parameter change will take effect in all projects that use these VS3 files 5 6 3 Recommendation We recommend that you use the Save Bank with host project option While working on the song you should only import Instruments from VS3 files that you have previously created by importing non native format Instruments F
96. nstrument of this MIDI channel is hard wired to a specific output device By double clicking the padlock symbol you can cancel the hard wiring so that the current standard output device is used instead BB oven The Instrument of this MIDI channel is not hard wired to a specific output de vice It is routed to the standard device in accordance with the device settings see Choosing the Output Device on page 78 72 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 4 5 3 Assigning Samples to individual outputs DXi VSTi ReWire When used per VSTi DX1 ReWire VSampler offers up to 32 flexible individual outputs see 5 2 Setting Up Individual Outputs on page 80 Not only can they be assigned to each Instrument as is the case with the Standalone version but since VSampler 3 1 individual outputs also can be as signed to Samples within an Instrument This function is particularly useful when applied to drum kits for example to output the bassdrum and the snare to different mixer channels of the sequencer The assigning of Samples Zones to individual outputs takes place in the Edi tor View switch views per menu View on the Zones page To do this select all of the Zones that should be played through an individual output and set the desired output in the Output field p Zone Playback Mode Keylo gt Root gt Key Hi WelHi Output Poly Group Voices Key s 7 EE sawyourphase_13 instruments Zones Samples
97. nt Options e g the polyphony of an Instrument see 5 4 2 Limiting polyphony background on page 87 For more information see the VSampler Reference Manual 3 4 4 Import Window Compact variation of the Import Rack in the Editor View The Import Window allows you to import Instruments from a wide variety of sound formats see 4 1 Supported Import Formats on page 57 Instruments stemming from different sources can be added to the current Soundlibrary see 4 3 Importing Instruments on page 59 A Soundlibrary which is composed in this way can then be saved as a VS3 file for example as the Soundlibrary for a certain song or as a subject specific Soundlibrary The Import Window always shows the content of the last external file selected to be imported You can return to the Import Window at any time during work on your Soundlibrary or song It maintains it s content until you select another file to be imported This way you can import Instruments as often as you like from an external file without having to reopen it multiple times 51 Graphic User Interface GUI imports all imports respective imports respective file formats file format CD format ET a P A PART AVOL1 A PART A VOL 2 A PART A VOL3 APART A VOL 4 Bank 5 Preview if Pool slot in with CD formats octave execute 1 1 copy yes no use next free Akai partition shifting for the import of CD or replace E MU folder Instrument forma
98. ntage 1 faster saving Because it does not include the Samples the VS3 file is very small and can be saved within seconds The reason during work on the song usually the Sam ples itself do not change but only the parameters of the Instrument Pre existing Samples WAV files are not saved each time as is the case when using the embedded Soundlibrary type Advantage 2 multiple instances of the same Sample The linked Samples WAV files can be used by any number of Instruments and Soundlibraries without repeatedly using storage space on the hard disk This way it s no waste of space for example to import VS3 Soundlibraries which are sorted by subject choose the Instruments for a particular song and store that selection as a new VS3 Soundlibrary for the song Advantage 3 external editing of the Samples possible The linked Samples WAV files can be edited in an external sample editor at any time or they can be used in other programs As soon as you reload the Soundlibrary the edited Samples will be used automatically This is quite use ful for example when creating your own Instruments because you can immedi ately hear the raw version of the Instrument and test it You don t have to cut and loop the Samples before deciding whether or not you like the Instrument 95 Important General Settings Disadvantage If your files are not well organized see 4 6 Recommended Working Methods and Organization on page 73
99. ny classical MIDI se quencer e g Cakewalk Pro Audio Band In A Box Power Tracks Pro Sibelius or Finale The Standalone version also lets you use VSampler without a sequencer as a live instrument 16 individual stereo outputs are available when using multi channel soundcards ASIO or DirectSound For more information see 2 2 Decision Standalone Plug in or ReWire on page 24 Whenever VSTi ReWire Standalone version or virtual MIDI cable is mentioned in the manual this symbol marks their ab sence in the OEM version OEM New features included with VSampler 3 1 and up Some of the new features added after the release of VSampler 3 0 are not of fered by Cakewalk as free update to the V Sampler 3 0 DX1 OEM version They can however be added and are also part of the upgrade This affects the following additional features e playback of Instruments of any size without being limited by RAM size e import of the formats ReCycle RCY REX RX2 Kontakt Battery and E MU III IV CD e group effects and individual outputs at Sample level e g to add different effects to the bass drum and snare drum of a drum kit or to send their sig nals to different mixer channels of the sequencer Whenever one of these features is mentioned in the manual it will be marked by this symbol N N VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 2 Start When you start VSampler for the first time V Sampler offers to
100. ny is a good solution 5 4 3 Limiting polyphony implementation The standard setting for global polyphony is 255 and for Instrument polyphony 32 see also 6 6 2 Counting Voices on page 114 When limiting the polyph ony you should rely on your ear and at the same time keep an eye on the num ber or active Voices as shown in the top right corner of the VSampler GUI After a while you will be able to adapt the performance of VSampler to your project with a few mouse clicks in order to free up processing power for other tracks General Limitation e playback your song at the position with the greatest polyphony and note the maximum number of Voices e limit the global polyphony to approx 3 4 of this value e playback individual tracks solo and note the maximum number of Voices of the most demanding track e limit the Instrument polyphony to approx 3 4 of this value Play your song again and adjust the polyphony values up or down as neces sary If you are uncertain it is usually better to adjust the Instrument polyph ony instead of the global polyphony Individual limitation per Instrument In most cases the method described above is sufficient If you are working intensively with VSampler it is better to set the individual polyphony for the Instrument itself before you save the Soundlibrary The effective limitation used for playback is the smaller value of general limitation and individual in strument limitation Th
101. ock symbol The default setting for all 16 channels is open i e VSampler plays the cur rently selected Instrument on all 16 channels 4 4 2 Decision Assign Instruments in Sequencer or in VSampler You can assign Instruments either in the track properties of the sequencer or in VSampler s MIDI channel slots You should decide for one way or the other We recommend using VSampler s MIDI channel slots It is not recommended to mix the two methods Particularly MIDI newcomers will run into the problem that start ing stopping the sequencer will cause the MIDI channels to Jose their Instruments For reason and solution see 4 4 4 Assigning MIDI channels in VSampler on page 67 4 4 3 Assigning MIDI channels in the sequencer Select the Instrument in the track properties of the sequencer just like you are used to doing with other plug ins or MIDI devices The corresponding setting is called Program in most sequencers also prg or prog Some sequencers show the real names of the VSampler Instruments while others only show the classic MIDI program numbers which correspond to the row numbers in the VSam pler Pool MIDI command to change Instruments 66 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Note The sequencer track is then set to a fixed Bank and Program number For this reason the program number plays an important role when switching Instru ments which is not the case with the variation Assigning
102. oices allowed to play alto gether e per Instrument What is the maximum number of Voices that an individ ual Instrument is allowed to play These setting go into effect immediately and are generally valid The Instru ment settings themselves are not changed but rather overruled the effective polyphony limit is always the smallest one of the settings When more Voices are played than are allowed by the polyphony limitations then VSampler automatically stops the oldest Voice giving preference to Voices already in their decay phase This behavior allows Instruments to be played naturally even with low polyphony If for example you are holding a bass note with your left hand and playing a fast melody with your right then VSampler will not cut the bass note if the max polyphony is exceeded but rather one of the decaying notes of the melody Polyphony killer After releasing a key a Voice does not immediately cease but rather gradually fades out depending on the Instrument as for example is the case with a plucked guitar string For this reason VSampler often must compute a far greater number of Voices than one might suspect The polyphony of a classical piano piece for example can easily exceed 30 Voices although a pianist can 88 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics only hit 10 keys at a time Particularly the use of the sustain pedal can rapidly increase the polyphony In cases like these limiting the polypho
103. om inadvertently changing the Instruments in VSam pler s MIDI channel slots Global MIDI Preferences General Controller Map Velocit Global MIDI Filter Receive Ever C Bank and program change The reason most sequencers initialize their MIDI tracks when start stop is pressed by resetting them to the parameters of the track properties This in cludes the Instrument numbers which the sequencer sends to the connected device as program change messages When you change an Instrument inside a VSampler MIDI channel slot the sequencer does not notice this change That means the track properties remain unchanged and might point to an empty Instruments slot of the VSampler Pool There are three possible ways to handle that we recommend the first one e allow VSampler to ignore the sequencer s Bank and Program change messages as suggested above e or assign the desired Instrument in the sequencer s track properties e or instead of choosing a program number choose the option off which is available in most sequencers 4 4 5 Troubleshooting no sound when playing the keyboard If you don t hear the expected Instrument during sequencer playback or when playing your MIDI keyboard but can hear it when playing the on screen key 68 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics board observe the blinking MIDI channel slots to see whether the desired In struments are assigned to the correct MIDI channels If the blinking MIDI c
104. on developed by Steinberg to enable the delay free playing of soft ware synthesizers DirectSound is part of Microsoft s DirectX a driver speci fication designed for the delay free playback of audio in computer games Typically ASIO offers a lower latency and greater reliability because in com parison with DirectSound it handles sound output with higher priority than other processes e g graphic output In some cases it is possible to further improve the ASIO performance by switching the system performance optimiza tion from Programs to Background services in the Windows control panel This option is accessed under Performance and Maintenance System Ad vanced For further information see section 6 8 Optimizing the PC for Audio Per formance on page 116 5 1 2 VSTi DXi ReWire The OEM version VSampler 3 0 DX1 includes the DXi plug in but not VSTi plug in and ReWire If you like you can purchase them us an upgrade see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 In plug in and ReWire mode VSampler is not connected directly to the sound card but rather to the mixer of your sequencer That s why you don t have to change any of your settings The sequencer sends VSampler s audio data to the soundcard together with the audio data from the other tracks VSampler gt Sequencer gt Soundcard VSampler automatically uses the output devices assigned in th
105. online this computer is connected to the intenet O manually by the help of a different intemet connected computer O skip this step already know my registration key from a previous registration Don t show this message at startup when unregistered ST the three registration variations For the automatic registration your computer must be connected to the Internet Unless your computer is permanently online you must now connect to the Internet manually VSampler automatically opens your Internet browser with the online registra tion form so that you can enter your serial number After sending the com pleted form your permanently valid registration key will be shown on the web site Now copy amp paste it in the large text field in VSampler as described in the next section 1 4 3 Inserting the registration key in VSampler Please don t attempt to type in the long registration key manually this will most certainly lead to typing errors Instead use the Windows copy amp paste function right mouse button Manually If your music computer does not have Internet access you can fill out the online registration form from another computer in order to enter your serial number Wwww maz sound com register 17 Introduction Alternately VSampler can save this address as an url file which you can trans fer to an Internet PC on a floppy disk in order to open the online registration form the Inte
106. or 98 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics further information see section 4 6 Recommended Working Methods and Organization on page 74 5 7 Adjusting the keyboard velocity In order to play VSampler expressively on a MIDI keyboard you need optimal control of the entire velocity range Since not all keyboards possess an ideal or at least an adjustable velocity VSampler lets you choose a velocity curve that best fits to the velocity of your keyboard You can find this option in the menu Options MIDI Preferences on the Velocity tab Global MIDI Preferences General Controller Map Velocity Bank Options 9127 Global Velocity Curve Velln Vel Out a s 0 103 112 z Presets EREN Y VSampler offer numerous curve presets If you have a keyboard with hammer mechanics then you will probably prefer one ofthe soft variations between soft 3 and soft 6 because with the standard setting linear the higher velocity val ues will set in too early and a finer dosage in the lower velocity range won t be possible If the velocity sensitivity is not satisfactory you should attack the problem at the source i e select another velocity curve at your keyboard not in VSampler This way the sequencer already receives the corrected MIDI notes The recorded velocity values are then compatible with every Instrument not just with VSampler and it s currently selected velocity curve where a change would a
107. or the individual pages of the Main Window can also be added to the toolbar the order of the buttons can be changed per drag amp drop Configure Rack Toolbar ale vs Toolbar Buttons Virtual Sampler stim Virtual Keyboard M Virtual Sampler Instrumente Vollime Virtual ler Volume ra IDI Multi Settings ittueller Mixer _ Pattern Sequenzer L Import Instrument Manager Sampler Filter Sampler Zonen Virtual Sampler Samples _ Virtual Sampler FX L Virtual Sampler LFO L Virtual Sampler Step Env Virtual Sampler Mod Sample 42 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 3 4 The Small View VSampler presents itself in the Small View when started for the first time It automatically loads the Soundlibrary startup vs3 Loading and importing other sounds is described in the sections 4 2 Loading a Soundlib on page 58 and 4 3 Importing Instruments on page 59 ua euro 05 0 brass 09 amp tum the modwheel 13 02 beat play chords 06 A frog 10 2 euro 14 0 03 2 dirty talk yar lazer 11 m euro 15 042 res 08 Q filter lfo s running 12 mb euro 16 ma Bank 2 16 MIDI channels top Instruments Pool middle on screen keyboard bottom The Small View offers everything to load arrange and play back Soundlibrar ies and Instruments Also it offers the most important settings for volume filters and effects In order to edit all Instrum
108. orce and effect Introduction Note Make sure to back up your data A power failure a program crash or a virus can destroy your files Make sure that you regularly back up important data such as Soundlibraries and song files and keep these in a safe place preferably outside of your computer at an exter nal data medium This also applies to your serial number Warning Due to the variety of VSampler s control possibilities unexpected high signal levels can occur that can harm both your hearing and your equipment if the playback level is too loud Please do not turn up your amp any louder than is comfortable for you to listen to at the highest digital output level 0 dB in the VSampler mixer VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Table of Contents 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 4 1 5 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 Tot UOT ON css ore ciiccereassa seek ae ea cicesaias aah aveaae cesta cuez caaesa vesean eastcesvenseaccseastcs 9 DA eoa aT E T EEA E E E ET EA E EE T 9 About this Manual cccceccccssecsecseeeeeeesceeeceseceseceseceaeceeeaeeeaeeaeceeeaeeeaes 11 Setting Up Your System ceccescescssecesecsseceeeeeeeeeeecaeeeseeeeeeeeeeereees 12 1 3 1 Minimum system requirements cceeceseceteceseeseeeseeeeeeseeeeeeens 12 1 3 2 Recommended system requirements ccceceeceeseeseeeeeeeeeeeeeees 12 3 37 AnstallatiOm sivcsesszesssteg cote cehevaes ete oteecseeezches das ea eee einen 13 134 Starting VSampler secen fcc acces
109. per context menu right mouse click To automatically load the Instrument to a MIDI channel the channel slot has to be unlocked opened pad lock symbol Then you can step through the Instruments using the cursor keys and compare and contrast them before deciding which ones to import When you ve finished testing an Instrument and like it don t forget to import it per manently to the Pool using the Import button The same functions are also available in the Category Browser right column Open the folder of a category and import the desired Instrument by double click 64 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 4 4 Assigning Instruments to MIDI Channels 4 4 1 The MIDI channel s padlock symbol The previous version VSampler 2 offered an option similar to that of many hardware synthesizers globally switching see the appendix of the Reference Manual between e Preset mode automatically plays the current Instrument ignores MIDI channels e Multi mode every MIDI channel plays it s previously assigned Instrument VSampler 3 combines the advantages of both modes each MIDI channel can be switched separately This way certain MIDI channels can automatically playback the Instrument currently selected in the Pool like the Preset mode while all other channels can keep their assigned Instrument like in the Multi mode In front of each of the 16 MIDI channels is a padlock symbol which is either open Edd or clos
110. peration 4 3 1 Importing per menu item File Import This menu item opens an external file Soundlibrary or Instrument to be im ported and presents it s content in the Import Window For all further steps see Importing using the Import Window on page 60 4 3 2 Importing per drag amp drop If you are familiar with your Instruments and don t need to preview them in the Import Window this is the fastest way to load an external Instrument from the Windows Explorer directly onto a MIDI channel It is automatically im ported into the Pool as well You can also drag the file onto a specific slot of the Pool If the file consists of more than one Instrument VSampler offers three options in a pop up context menu Import single Instrument gt VX7 Satin Bells Import all Instruments mellow organ Load Soundlibrary P pE Cancel operation dr55 drumkit Rhodes wah slow Rhodes In Space Rhodes DelayRevrb e Import single Instrument imports one of the Instruments in the file e Import all Instruments imports all Instruments of the file e Load Soundlibrary has the same function as the menu item File Open see previous chapter Loading a Soundlibrary The difference between Load Soundlibrary and Import is described at the beginning of this chapter 4 3 3 Importing using the Import Window To quickly import single Instruments the previously described method of drag amp drop is faster and more direct t
111. rnet PC by double clicking the url file Register your VSampler To get a registration key by the help of a different internet connected computer there are two possible ways OF ile VSampler saves an utl file You transfer this file e g on floppy disk to your internet computer and open it by doubleclick in Explorer your internet browser will start the online form automatically Manually Start the online tegistration form at Wii maz sound com register eT registration with the help of another computer with Internet access 1 4 3 Inserting the registration key in VSampler After sending the filled out online registration form a permanently valid regis tration key will be created which will be shown on the website Copy amp paste it into the large text field in VSampler See the following screenshots Please don t attempt to type in the long registration key manually this will most certainly lead to typing errors Instead use the Windows copy amp paste function right mouse button If you have registered your copy of VSampler on another computer due to lack of Internet access copy the registration key onto a floppy disk as a text file and then paste the key from the text file into VSampler s registration page at your music PC This way you won t have to type it in manually 18 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics After the registration key has been pasted in your screen should look like this Regis
112. roduction of sampling CDs all Instruments have perfect audio quality from the start The easy operation of a software sampler such as VSampler and the improved quality of soundcards also enable users to create their own good quality sam pler Instruments Whether you want to have the drum kit from the basement in your living room or to immortalize the two usable sounds from a synth that s been gathering dust or to have the complete best of your synthesizer col lection available per mouseclick in your laptop 100 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 6 2 MIDI and Sequencer 6 2 1 The classic MIDI cable Since over 20 years musicians have been connecting their electronic musical instruments with a MIDI cable in order to let one device control an other device s The MIDI cable does not transmit sound audio but rather com mands such as which sound is to be played at what time The simplest use is the connection between a MIDI keyboard and a sound module e g VSampler MIDI keyboard lt gt MIDI cable gt sound module e musician strikes keys on the keyboard e keyboard sends messages to the sound module to play the notes e sound module receives note messages and transforms them into sound Typical MIDI messages are e g start and end of a note Note On Note Off or switching to another sound Program Change This way the musician can use a MIDI keyboard to play the sounds and switch between the sounds of a con
113. round The term polyphony refers to the number of Voices that an Instrument can play back simultaneously see 6 6 Polyphony on page 114 High polyphony requires a large amount of processing power however achieving the maximum polyphony is not always necessary Limiting the polyphony is the simplest and most effective way of reducing the demands on processor power without reducing the audio quality VSampler allows you to limit polyphony both globally see screenshot and per Instrument Open the menu item Options Audio Performance Quality and choose the tab Performance Mixdown all tracks of a song are mixed e g into a WAV file e g in order to burn the file on a CD 87 Important General Settings Performance Quality Preferences Performance Quality Dynamic Resource Control DRC Other Settings V Instrument level only load active instruments Global polyphony 255 E Voices MERAN Limit polyphony per Instrument 32 f Voices M Sample level for instruments gt 16 MB only load active samples fal 1 DRC Threshold 500 43 MB Fade out instrument FX after 3 fal sec of inactivity Release time for cutted voices 10 fall ms Reloadi eloading alway s O Turn off silent zones Performance Settings M Use MMX if available v Use SSE if available i Cancel Both general polyphony settings are found at the top right e global What is the maximum number of V
114. s special CDs in hardware sampler formats Akai or E MU that can t be seen in the Windows Explorer File formats sorted by the order of the buttons in the Import Window e WAV raw sample data WAV AIF mostly single sounds or drumloops resolutions of 16 20 24 32 bit in all sampling frequencies e VS3 VSampler s native Soundlibrary formats V Sampler 3 Soundlibraries VS3 VSampler 3 Instruments VSI compressed VSampler 3 Soundli braries VS3 VSampler 2 Soundlibraries VSB e SF2 Creative Soundfont SF2 Soundlibraries widespread due to the popular Soundblaster Live and Audigy series of soundcards e GIG Tascam Gigastudio Soundlibraries GIG e HALion Steinberg HALion Soundlibraries FXB Instruments FXP e Kontakt Native Instruments Kontakt Multis NKM Instruments NKI 57 Operation e REX Propellerhead ReCycle RCY REX RX2 mostly drumloops e KIT Native Instruments Battery KIT mostly drum kit Instruments e LM4 Steinberg LM4 LM9 TXT mostly drum kit Instruments e DLS Downloadable Sounds DLS e AKP Akai 5000 S6000 Instruments AKP e ISO copy of an Akai or E MU CD as an 1 1 disk image ISO BIN TAO IMG can be loaded in VSampler like a normal Soundlibrary from the hard disk CD formats sorted by the order of the buttons in the Import Window e AKAI CD format of Akai S1000 S3000 hardware samplers e E MU CD format of E MU JII
115. s 77 5 1 1 Standalone Version cceseecssesseesecsecseeeceeeeceeeecaeeeeeseeaeeeeeneees 77 542 VSTi DXi Re Withee ve cacevechcica seeeceattench auicou wt eai E aes 79 Setting Up Individual Outputs ci eeceesecsceeeceseeeceeceeeeeeesecaeeeeenereees 80 5 2 1 Standalone Version csscssesesesecoececesecoeeeneneceeeeeneesnesesensensees 80 522 VST DXi RE Wit ie csccsdeye cheese sesecsastesiesmveceus neice aaie 80 5 2 3 Plug in changing the number of outputs in a project 5 82 Setting Up MIDI Devices ei eecesesesesecseeeecneeeeceseeeceecsaeeeeeaecaeeeeeneraees 83 5 3 1 Connecting to a MIDI keyboard ee eeeeesseeeceeeeeeeeeneeeeeneees 83 5 3 2 Setting up the virtual MIDI cable uw eee eeeeeeceteeeteeeeeeneeeees 84 5 4 5 5 5 6 5 7 6 1 6 2 6 3 6 4 6 5 6 6 6 7 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics Optimizing Performance 0 0 0 ceceeecesseeeeeceeeeeceeeecaeeeseecaeeneesesateeeeneees 86 5 4 1 Setting the Resampling quality eeceeeeseeeceeeeeeeeneeeeeneees 86 5 4 2 Limiting polyphony background 00 eeceeeceeseeeceteeeeeeeeeeeeneees 87 5 4 3 Limiting polyphony implementation eeeeeseeeeeeeeneeeeeeeees 89 5 4 4 Optimizing DRC eee ceecseeeseeesesceeeeeeeeeeceseeeeeesseeseeeseeeseeeaes 90 Decision Linked or Embedded Samples ccsccscesseeeseesteeseeeneeeees 93 SS COMPAHSOM AEE aces aciseeaea Wa E eve tealacdasetacsbacdeanstee 93 5 5 2 Recommendation s
116. s MIDI data to the output device VSampler die Audio track receives the audio signal from the input device VSampler 2 SONAR 2 Track ies TSS sd C8 GS CON 3 33 Start e double click the Edit button in the VST instruments dialog in order to open the VSampler GUI SONAR2 Synth Rack DER exla e gt if the standard Soundlibrary startup V S3 does not open automatically open it using VSampler s menu item File Open e expand the MIDI track so that you can see the track properties choose a MIDI channel Ch 1 and an Instrument from the loaded Soundli SB Live MIDL UART Omni O 2 VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 v Ch _1 VSampler3 Dxi2 y Z2 0 VSampler3 DXi2 Bank 1 3 euro v4 0 O 0 Now you can play VSampler using your MIDI keyboard or the on screen vir tual keyboard You can create further MIDI tracks right mouse button Insert MIDI Track for the common output device VSampler 3 in order to play up to 16 different VSampler Instruments i VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 VSMasterMix 0 0 ad C Lail 00dB VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 V v SB Live Wavegerat SB Live MID LUART Omni 2 VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 Ch 1 VSampler3 DXi2 gt IE 0 VSampler3 DXi2 Bank 1 4 euro AES 0 0 A 1017 aa CEH will 0 SB Live MIDLUART Omni v 2 VSampler3 DXi2 Synth 1 Ch 2 VSampler3 Dxi2 v ZE 0 VSampler3 DXi2 Bank 1 beat play chords SB Live MIDLUART Omni 2
117. s constant whether you use stereo Samples or multi layer Instruments As with all soft ware instruments provided that the processing power is sufficient The number of currently active Voices is shown at the top right corner of the main window 114 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics With the right mouse button the display can be switched between e Note Voices the number of notes being played back max 255 e Zone Voices the number of Zones being played back max 255 notes x 16 layers 4080 For the purpose of limiting the polyphony see 5 4 2 on page 87 VSampler counts as follows e on the global and Instrument level the Note Voices e onthe Zone level Poly Groups the Zone Voices Tip If you have assigned Zones within an Instrument to different output chan nels or Group Effects then VSampler must calculate these separately inde pendent of whether they are mapped to the same key Therefore in this case several notes are counted Keep an eye on the number of Voices display and adjust the polyphony limit appropriately For more information about limiting the polyphony see 5 4 2 on page 87 6 7 Archiving and Internet Exchange of Soundlibraries For the purpose of archiving and for exchanging Soundlibraries over the Inter net VSampler offers a unique solution it enables the loading and saving of compressed Soundlibraries that are significantly smaller than the uncompressed standard types These compressed Soundlibrar
118. s was as expensive as a mid sized car and it had a recording quality and memory capacity inferior to that of a modern day talking children s toy A sampled instrument was easily recogniz able even for untrained listeners The reason for this was the low digital resolu tion of the samples during conversion of natural analog sounds to sampled digital data caused by the minimal memory capacity Today the situation is completely different A modern sampler such a VSampler provides digital reso lution of dynamics and frequency range that is far finer than the human ear can perceive What is actually heard can naturally only be as good as allowed by the weakest link in the chain of soundcard resp D A converter amplifier and loudspeakers 104 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics The more details that are digitally recorded the larger the amount of data but also the closer to the original sound The following illustrations show the dif ference between the original analog sound and two levels of digital resolution 105 Basics Original 16 bit 44 kHz 8 bit 22 kHz This illustrates particularly the picture on the right how the valuable details of the original sound are lost due to the relatively coarse raster Besides the num ber of channels mono stereo 5 1 there are two factors which determine the maximum quality of a digital recording sampling frequency displayed hori zontally and bit depth displayed vertically
119. sampler manufacturer In comparison with this VSampler as a software instrument is part of an open system which each user can assemble to suit their own needs This is cost effective because the PC already includes the complete hardware and future hardware upgrades benefit the entire system including VSampler There is a huge selection of components available produced by various manufacturers whether it s an effect plug in or a soundcard Here is some decision making help concerning the 5 most important hardware components starting with the simplest CPU Processor The faster the CPU the better When running on a system with the current gen eration of processors from AMD or Intel the performance of VSampler is sig nificantly better than that of most hardware samplers Here is an indication on a somewhat dated Pentium II with 700 MHz VSampler achieves a polyphony of up to 120 stereo Voices The number is naturally reduced by the use of fil ters effects and modulations when using VSampler in actual practice Usually in addition to VSampler other instruments and effects are also active which also require processing power The playback frequency of the entire digital 116 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics studio also plays a role An increase from 44 kHz to 96 kHz increases the amount of data to be processed at the same ratio and correspondingly reduces the maximum polyphony Since VSampler uses separate threads for DRC grap
120. search your computer for installed VST effect plug ins in order to make them available for your VSampler Instruments If you are unsure whether VSampler should do this click no for the moment you can perform the search at another time see VSampler Reference Manual 2 1 Quickstart f Impor 0 a euro 05 2 02 G beat play chords 06 0 03 2 dirty talk 07 2 04 Q res 08 A re D S R Cutoff Res Volume Velocity A D AA VSampler Small View 16 MIDI channels the most important controls on screen keyboard When starting VSampler for the first time the Soundlibrary startup vs3 is loaded automatically Loading and importing other sounds is described in the sections 4 2 Loading a Soundlib on page 58 and 4 3 Importing Instru ments on page 59 You can play the first Instrument euro right away using your MIDI keyboard your sequencer or the on screen virtual keyboard As soon as VSampler re ceives MIDI signals the number of the MIDI channel receiving data lights up briefly Test the velocity behavior of this sound the harder you strike the keys or by clicking farther down on a key of the on screen keyboard the brighter the sound Everything else you ll need to get started using VSampler s powerful features will be explained in the following chapters have fun 23 Start 2 2 Decision Standalone Plug in or ReWire VSampler can be used with practically any sequencer because it supports all
121. song and are automatically restored when the song is loaded Conclusion By using VSampler as a plug in VSTi or DX1 you have the full comfort and perfect timing of an integrated virtual studio at your disposal 2 2 3 ReWire ReWire is not a plug in format but rather a synchronized au dio MIDI connection between two independently running programs VSampler runs separate from the sequencer e g Live Protools but ReWire still offers all but the last two of the above mentioned advantages of running VSampler as a plug in ReWire also makes the audio output of VSampler s individual outputs available in the mixer of the connected sequencer ReWire master The output to the soundcard takes place exclusively through the ReWire master Unlike the plug in version multiple instances of the Standalone version are not possible So when VSampler is hooked up to your sequencer per ReWire it is limited to 16 MIDI channels Conclusion If your sequencer does not support VSTi DXi plug ins you should use ReWire to connect VSampler to your sequencer Since programs connected per ReWire run independently the performance on a multi processor system can be better than when using VSampler as a plug in 26 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 2 3 Standalone Version By using all 16 MIDI channels see basics on page 102 VSampler can play up to 16 different Instruments simultaneously Start VSampler using the Windows star
122. sscceatdssiecants cetasvennigut nee dieenstaee eens 109 GAZ INSU NES renser t an E EER ERE 109 GAS ZONG yera A E E EA A EAEE 110 OAA Sap e E A E 111 Oaa AON eee T E AE 112 Dynamic Resource Control DRC ssssssessssssessrssreessresrsresrsrrrsssrserssee 112 6 5 1 The advantage eecesccsscssecseesseeeseeseeceeeseeeeeeeeeeereeeeeeeeeenaees 112 6 5 2 Instrument level DRC 1 oo cece eccceececsseceeeeeesseeeeeeecsseeeeeees 112 6 5 3 Sample level DRC 2 occ cecccceceseesseseeeseeeseeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeeeeeenaees 113 6 5 4 Maximum size of Instruments 0 0 0 cee eeeeeecceseeeceeeceeeeeneeeeenee 113 Polyphony eanne E R dias E R aan 114 66 The more ther leane En ERRE E A RR 114 6 62 Counting Voices siei E R aes arcs 114 Archiving and Internet Exchange of Soundlibraries 00 0 0 cesses 115 Introduction 6 8 Optimizing the PC for Audio Performance ceeseseeseeseeeeeeeeneeeeeeee 116 6 8 1 Purchasing decisions hardwate ccsccesseeseesceeeeeseeseeeeeensees 116 6 8 2 Optimizing Windows XP for audio processing seen 119 7 SUP CLES g maa EE E E ce cuven sessseescusbarsncaseaedses 120 e E Er E E E E N 120 T2 Update Seire nrp E r EEE 120 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics 1 Introduction 1 1 Welcome Speedsoft and MAZ congratulate on your purchase of VSampler 3 Bank Mgr euro 05 2 brass 02 beat play chords 06 dirty talk 07 0 azer E euro res 08 amp filter Ifo s running 12 euro
123. ssrini keirin hasi isisa 96 5 5 3 Automatic search for not found Samples c ceseeeeeneeeeees 96 Decision Save the Library in the host project ccceseeseeseesteeseeeees 97 5 6 1 Project oriented saving the Bank in the host project 0 98 5 6 2 Soundlibrary oriented saving in a VS3 file 0 eee eeeeeeeeeteees 98 5 6 3 Recommendation sre senei pienie RR Ess 98 Adjusting the keyboard Velocity ccccccsceesessceeseceteceeceeesseenseensecaeeenes 99 Babiana 100 What is a Samplet ssssssiseisscrsesrrerosrsrissssrssesoarerreriseesrsrsonirissrsnesisounaesos 100 MIDI and Sequencer ecceeccessesssceseceeceseceecseecaeeeaeeneecaeeeeeeeeeeneeneeeeas 101 6 2 1 The classic MIDI cable ee eeeecsesseesecneeeeceseeeceaecaeeseeneearenee 101 622 The SquenCer sinisini n oe asi E 101 6 2 3 The 16 MIDI channels sesseeeseessseeererssssrsrserersrsessrsrerrereesess 102 6 2 4 Sequencer tracks vs MIDI channels cccecceeseeeseeeeeeteeeeees 103 Frequencies Bits and Floating Points sssessseseeeeeseeseseesersrerrssesresses 104 6 3 1 Sampling Frequency sseseeeseessssseeesessessrseessesesresresesseesesseseeses 106 6 3 2 Bit depths irises raie rei nes Erra RARER ERE eE ecu 107 6 3 3 Zero clipping thanks to floating point processing ee ee 107 The Structure of a VSampler Soundlibrary 0 0 0 eeeeeeeceseeeeeeeeneeeeenee 108 6 4 1 Soundlibrary lt eccsseesctedesccee
124. strument settings a possible difference between Zone settings is re tained 47 Graphic User Interface GUI With a right mouse click on a VSampler controller you can access the Learn Controller function which enables remote control by a MIDI controller G MIDI Remote gt Learn Controller for Multi Rel FiltiCut Cutoff Res Send Add Assignment Editor Mode remote control of the relative filter cutoff by MIDI controller Just a wiggle of your MIDI controller is all VSampler needs to recognize the controller number which right away controls the selected VSampler controller In the screenshots all controllers are set to the middle position This does not mean that all parameters have a mid range value but rather that the Instrument is being played back with the pa rameters at the original values set in the Instrument From this starting point the values can be raised or lowered 3 4 3 Instruments Pool With the Pool and Import buttons the middle part of VSampler s Small View can be switched between the Instruments Pool and the Import Window or it can be blended out entirely Here is where you manage your Instruments which you can then drag amp drop onto the 16 MIDI channels The Instruments Pools and the Import Window look similar but they have entirely different functions Pool shows the content of the current Soundlibrary i e all currently loaded Instruments
125. t menu Start gt Programs gt Speedsoft gt VSampler 3 After the start VSampler s GUI appears on your screen Since the operation of VSampler is the same whether the Standalone version or the plug in version is used further steps will be described together in the following chapters Connecting to a MIDI sequencer In order to connect the VSampler Standalone version to a classic MIDI se quencer e g Cakewalk Pro Audio Band In A Box Power Tracks Pro Sibelius or Finale please proceed as follows e if you have not yet done so install the included virtual MIDI cable see 5 3 2 Setting up the virtual MIDI cable on page 84 e start your sequencer and VSampler e create anew MIDI track in your sequencer or assign an existing track to the output device SpeedSoft MIDI cable 1 In order for VSampler to know which track belongs to which Instrument assign a unique MIDI channel number 1 to 16 to each track The SpeedSoft MIDI cable receives data from any MIDI se quencer However it only sends data when the other end is con nected to a Speedsoft Instrument This avoids operational errors and MIDI feedback loops 27 Start 2 4 VSTi DXi Plug in By using all 16 MIDI channels see basics on page 102 each opened VSampler plug in can play up to 16 different Instruments simultaneously To do this assign the output of several tracks to VSampler Set each of these tracks to a different MIDI channel You can also op
126. talled and you just want to add one of the other options The lower options are for selecting how VSampler should connect with your sequencer Select the appropriate variation s You can find a list of popular synthesizers and the preferable way of connecting each to VSampler in section 2 2 on page 24 14 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics VSTi plug in ReWire and the virtual MIDI cable can also be installed by owners of a VSampler 3 0 OEM registration key They will then be available in the restricted demo version and can be tested thor oughly If you like you can purchase an upgrade including VSTi plug in and Standalone version incl ReWire and the virtual MIDI cable see 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version on page 20 Note about the VSTi plug in Please check whether VSampler s VST plug in directory shows the correct VST plug ins directory i e the one that your sequencer actually uses Otherwise change it with the Browse button Note about the Speedsoft virtual MIDI cable If this is installed a MIDI output to VSampler will appear throughout Windows i e in every MIDI sequencer It is only necessary to install this if your sequencer supports neither VSTi DXi plug ins nor sending MIDI data per ReWire For more information see 2 2 1 on page 24 Step 6 Choose the type of files which should be associated with VSampler This means whenever yo
127. ter your VSampler Finish registration After completing the online registration form please copy the registration key from the website or email and paste it into the text field below replacing the word DEMO DO NOT copy character by character manually but use the copy amp paste function of Windows Copy mark the complete key at the text field of the online form click right mouse and select copy from the popup menu Paste back at this dialog delete the word DEMO from the text field below click right mouse and select paste from the popup menu 5476BABC3FDCCOD55403E 83FD874484F 96B 7J87361DB21E SFABC2576251E30CLD 45C3D 5FC3596EEE0471CB6B E5C4N378992382D 3D 088 3C06C8D66245093434D 9D 4E 6D 54 76BABC3FDCCOD55403E 83FD874484F96B 7J87361 5476BABC3FDCCOD55403E 83FD874484F96B 7J873611132E 1 DS60FOFBBCD04297BE 3CF 71 45E 646E CAS33D665D 632BE9602L8C10C07D1775BA04EDE 2EAE 7BF380F527038 5476BABC3FDCCOD55403E 83FD874484F96B 7J87361 5476BABC3FDCCOD55403E 83FD874484F 96 7J87361DC4C51 FDC263E 251 486403C3975C43E1C1 7CFCIADB5313 BOSO6HEAE 4528 14C049D0004163573551 46CE S08D 6C30D 5D F820EB1D1DA619B2F To complete the registration click the button next step for the last time Af terwards the successful registration will be shown Register your VSampler Serial number VS3 12345678 12345678 12345678 12345678 Product VSampler 3 User ID aaa aaaaaaaa com Expires never VS amopler is registered You can vie
128. the case of VSampler if another Instrument is se lected then the previously recorded melody can be played back with a com pletely different sound Conclusion VSampler receives it s MIDI messages from MIDI tracks and plays back the produced sound through the soundcard Standalone version or in the mixer channels audio tracks of the sequencer VSTi DXi ReWire MIDI channel 1 gt gt mixer channel audio track 1 MIDI channel 2 gt gt mixer channel audio track 5 MIDI channel 3 gt VSampler gt mixer channel audio track 5 MIDI channel gt gt mixer channel audio track MIDI channel 16 gt gt mixer channel audio track The MIDI channels are assigned in the sequencer s track properties or in VSampler itself the audio output is assigned in VSampler For more informa tion see 4 4 4 Assigning MIDI channels in VSampler on page 67 and 4 5 Using Separate Outputs on page 70 6 2 3 The 16 MIDI channels As illustrated above a MIDI cable transmits data on 16 parallel channels which are numbered 16 These 16 MIDI channels can be connected to 16 different sequencer tracks or to demonstrate the principle to 16 flesh and blood key boarders playing back 16 different Instruments simultaneously Because Innovative audio to MIDI converters such as Melodyne can analyze an audio recording and change the pitch and position of notes or convert them to MIDI data however only with individually played
129. the connected output de vices host sequencer resp soundcard Conclusion Your valuable sample material reaches the connected output de vice in any situation at it s optimal quality 6 3 2 Bit depth The bit depth indicates the number of volume levels of the original sound that are differentiated during digital recording This is represented in the illustra tions by the vertical raster The audio CD standard is 16 bit i e from the origi nal sound 2 65536 volume levels can be differentiated The greater the bit depth the greater volume differences contrast between soft and loud sounds can be recorded and played back Here too the 16 bit depth chosen for audio CDs is a good compromise between quality and memory capacity However when recording very dynamic instru ments such as a piano an interest in better depth resolution can arise rather quickly Because of this the converters of current soundcards support a resolu tion of up to 24 bit which corresponds to 16 7 million volume levels In practice however most soundcards with 24 bit capacity do not come near to achieving the theoretically possible values because in addition to the converter chip a correspondingly good SNR Signal to Noise Ratio requires costly ana log equipment They are however in any case preferable to typical 16 bit sound cards 6 3 3 Zero clipping thanks to floating point processing The entire network of VSampler and VSTi DXi Re Wire compat
130. there is a real possibility of deleting linked WAV files from your hard disk by mistake When importing Instruments from linked non native formats e g HALion Kontakt VSampler links directly to the existing WAV files of the original Instrument If one of those original Sam ples is deleted it will irrevocably be missing from any Soundlibrary which linked to it 5 5 2 Recommendation Particularly if you are working with Soundlibraries in the gigabyte range and want to save it after changing a single Instrument parameter the speed at which such a Soundlibrary can be saved is an advantage you won t want to do with out Also linked Samples allow you to save disk space when organizing your Instruments in various Soundlibraries For further information see section 4 6 Recommended Working Methods and Organization on page 74 In order for linked VSampler Soundlibraries incl all of it s WAV files to be safely archived or shared with other users over the Internet VSampler offers a special solution see 6 7 Archiving and Internet Exchange of Soundlibraries on page 115 5 5 3 Automatic search for not found Samples If when loading a Soundlibrary VSampler doesn t find the linked Samples at their original location an automatic search will be started In most cases you won t even notice it The search can however last quite a long time since VSampler checks all paths that have been used in the current session In this case re
131. ts The buttons for opening the various file formats see 4 1 on page 57 are at the top of the Import Window area Each of these buttons remembers the directory last used for it s file type After clicking a file type button and selecting an ex ternal file it s content will then be displayed in the import window Further steps for importing an Instrument to a specific MIDI channel can be found at 4 3 Importing Instruments on page 59 Here is a description of the options shown in the above screenshot Preview Instrument If this option is activated then the selected Instrument will be automatically loaded to all opened MIDI channels for previewing Note this does not actually import it into the Instruments Pool yet You can play it right away with a key board or by the sequencer and hear it in the song At this point you can step through the Instruments of the external file using the cursor keys and compare and contrast them before deciding which ones to import The Preview Instrument will be permanently imported into the Pool i e the current Soundlibrary by clicking the Import button or by double clicking it in order to actually import it Until this is done you can continue to test further Instruments as described above Keep in mind that as soon as you click on an 52 VSampler 3 Start Up and Basics other Instrument the previous Preview Instrument will be deleted and replaced by the new one Instruments Pool slot
132. u can switch one Instrument forwards and backwards o to quickly compare Instruments open the padlock symbol of the MIDI channel with a double click and step through the Pool using the cursor keys the currently selected Instrument is automatically loaded to all opened MIDI channels and can be heard in the song e Assigning an Instrument from the Import Window o drag amp drop an Instrument onto the MIDI channel slot o to quickly compare Instruments even before importing open the desired MIDI channel slot and step through the Instruments using the cursor keys the currently selected Instrument is automatically loaded to all opened MIDI channels and can be heard as a preview Instrument in the song e Changing the output device double click the MIDI channel slot and choose another output device for more information how to use VSampler s individual outputs see chapter 4 5 on page 70 e Switching between Hard wired play selected Instrument double click the padlock symbol see 4 4 1 on page 65 With the context menu right mouse button the Instrument Options can be displayed and changed e g the polyphony of an Instrument see 5 4 2 Limiting polyphony background on page 87 For more information see the VSampler Reference Manual The controllers The controller settings for filter effects volume always affect all Zones of the Instrument of the currently selected MIDI channel Since their effect is relative to the In
133. u click one of these files in the Explorer it will be auto matically loaded in VSampler see the tip at the end of this section Step 7 Click Start Install to complete the installation Tip about associating file types with VSampler The files can still be opened with any other appropriate program You can also change the association of the file type at any time e inthe Explorer click with the right mouse button on a file whose as sociation you wish to change and select open with and then se lect program e select the program from the list e select the option Always open file with this program and click OK 15 Introduction 1 3 4 Starting VSampler After you have installed VSampler you can start the program for the first time For more information concerning the first start of VSampler see section 2 Start on page 23 1 4 Registration 1 4 1 Restricted demo mode After installation VSampler starts up in demo mode In comparison to the full version the demo version has two restrictions e Soundlibraries can not be saved e Playback is interrupted regularly by a beeping noise In order to remove these restrictions you must register your serial number online this must only be done once whereupon you will receive your perma nently valid registration key which you must then paste into VSampler 1 4 2 Registering the serial number online once VSampler comes with a serial
134. version 3 1 Instead of all Samples of the Soundlibrary only the active Samples are loaded into RAM e Advantage You can playback Instruments of any size e Disadvantage When you play back highly polyphonic Instruments see 6 6 Polyphony on page 114 the increased effort of dynamic memory management places high demands on the processor and the hard disk Since the access time of the hard disk is significantly lower than that of RAM the maximum polyphony is reduced The Sample of the currently selected Zone is always in RAM so that it is available in the Sample Editor If you experience drop outs with highly polyphonic Instruments do not imme diately switch off DRC 2 but follow the instructions in the section 5 4 4 Optimizing DRC on page 90 6 5 4 Maximum size of Instruments The maximum size of playable Instruments is technically speaking of course not unlimited because the size of your hard disk isn t infinite either Practically speaking however the problem of maximum Instrument size does not exist When DRC2 is activated the only limitation is the Windows specific file size limit depending on how your hard disk is formatted maximum 16384 i e 128 rows x 128 columns gt see the next section Maximum size of Instruments 113 Basics e FAT32 Windows 98 ME max 4 GB per file which corresponds to a sample length of approx 7 hours in CD quality e NTFS Windows 2000 XP max
135. w your current registration status at any time by pulling down the Help menu and selecting Register Please store a copy of your serial number and registration key permanently e g as a text file on a CD 19 Introduction You will receive a summary of your registration with all relevant details in an email This should be saved as a text file on an external medium i e on CD In the future for example after re installing Windows or VSampler you can paste your registration key into VSampler immediately without having to register online again 1 5 OEM Version vs Independent Version 1 5 1 What does OEM Version mean In addition to the VSampler package offered at www vsampler com an OEM version of VSampler is also available bundled with other products An OEM is a manufacturer e g a sequencer or soundcard manufacturer who integrates components of other manufacturers e g VSampler in their own product and distributes this product under their own name Despite the significantly lower price the OEM version of VSampler offers all of the functions available in the full version at the time of OEM licensing however only within that package Outside of the package OEM versions of VSampler only operate in the restricted demo mode see section 1 4 1 on page 16 This currently applies to VSampler 3 0 DXi from the Cakewalk package Sonar 3 Producer 1 5 2 Restrictions of the OEM version The VSampler

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