2Box DrumIt Five User Manual

DrumIt Five
User Manual

OS version 1.24

www.2box.se

Manual revision 1

2box and DrumIt Five are trademarks of 2box AB Sweden

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Contents

1 Introduction 5
2 Rear Panel 7
3 Top Panel 9
4 Getting Started 11
5 Connecting 13
6 Files 15
7 Editing 17
8 Page Reference 18
9 Utility Functions 40
10 Addendum 42

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Precautions

Please make sure the supplied power adapter has the right mains
voltage for your area. Do not open it or try to modify it. If another
adapter is used, make sure it has 18 VAC at 500 mA (9 VA) output.
It is intended for indoors use only, avoid humid conditions.

The DrumIt Five unit has only a low voltage power input, so no
dangerous conditions can arise from its use. However, please use
common sense using it. Don't spill fluids over the unit, don't use it
under extreme hot (> 40 C) or cold (< 0 C) conditions, keep the
bottom and back free for air ventilation and don't use excessive
force while handling the unit. In short, be careful just as one would
be with other electronic equipment.

The internal Flash memory should not be reformatted. Doing so
might prevent the system from functioning properly.

Attention

From the factory save is disabled. To be able to save any changes,
enable save on the UNIT-PREF page.

By default, the line input volume is 0 to prevent noise coming into
the mix from the line input if nothing is connected. Raise the volume
on the UNIT-MIX page when the line input is used.

Before first use, the hihat must be calibrated. This is described in
detail on the UNIT-HPED page.

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Introduction

Overview

DrumIt Five is an open sound drum unit featuring 10 dual function
trigger inputs, 15 independent drum channels, 8 audio outputs and
4 GB Flash memory for sound storage. Together with the DrumIt
Five pads and rack stand, it becomes a complete electronic drum
system giving the user an experience which is very close to playing
an acoustic drum kit.

Flexibility

DrumIt Five offers 100 user configurable drum kits with sounds from
an ever expanding sound library. With the PC / Mac based DrumIt
Five Editor one can configure kits and create custom sounds. When
the DrumIt Five unit is connected by USB to a host computer it
appears as an external storage device (no driver install needed).
Sounds can then be copied to the DrumIt Five unit just as easy as
one would copy files to an external hard disk.

Triggers

The fast and flexible trigger interface offers low latency and wide
dynamic range. Additionally, depending on the type of pad, different
sound types can be triggered from different zones on the pad. For
example, all snare and tom pads have head and rim triggers and all
cymbal pads have cup, bow and edge triggers.

Sounds

Most DrumIt sounds are recorded with several microphones at
different distances and then mixed down to stereo, some with room
ambience, others rather dry. Sounds can consist of upto 128 layers
so the gradual change between soft and hard hits can be faithfully
reproduced. Any drum channel can be loaded with any sound,
however, some sounds have multiple sound types which can only be
played when the channel is configured with an appropriate pad.
Each drum sound is stored in a separate file and they are all
organized in folders to make it convenient to select them.

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Accompaniment

To play along with an audio track, one can download CD quality
wave files (stereo 16 bit 44.1 kHz) by USB. These can then be
selected and saved with each kit. Alternatively, one can connect a
media player to the line input, which can also be used to connect
other instruments or a monitor mix of the other players in the band.

With the built in metronome, one can practice ones playing skills.
There are many time signatures to choose between and these, plus
the tempo, can be set individually for each kit. To start a song with
the right tempo, the metronome can count in 1 or 2 bars and then
stop.

PC / Mac Editor

The DrumIt Five Editor allows one to edit kits and make custom
sounds or loops on a PC or Mac. In Kit view, one can select a sound
file and drag-n-drop it on any of the drum pads. One can also tune
the sound and set its balance and volume. In Sound view one can
select wave files (like multi layer instrument recordings) and drag-n­drop them onto the sound layer box to create custom sounds or
loops. All these features are described in a separate user manual.

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Rear Panel

Layout

Power

POWER Power on / off button.
AC IN Input for the 18 V AC power adapter.

Warning! Connecting a power adapter with a voltage higher
than 18 V AC or any DC voltage can damage the DrumIt Five.

Data Ports

USB USB device port for connecting to a USB host.
MIDI IN Input for data from other MIDI equipment.
MIDI OUT Output for data to other MIDI equipment.

The USB version is 1.1 full-speed (12 Mbits / sec), compatible with
USB 1.1 and 2.0 hosts. The DrumIt Five is implemented as a
standard USB mass storage device, so no device drivers are needed
for the major operating systems. When the DrumIt Five is in USB
mode and connected to a host computer, it will appear as an
external storage device.

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Trigger Inputs

KICK Trigger on tip, current source for LED array on ring.
SNARE Trigger on tip, trigger on ring.
HIHAT Trigger on tip, sense amplifier for pedal on ring.
TOM1-4 Trigger on tip, trigger on ring.
CYMB1-3 Trigger on tip, switch detect for zone and choke on ring.

All trigger inputs have TRS input jacks. The trigger function on the
tip contact is the same for all, while the function on the ring contact
can differ. Please note that any pad can be connected to any trigger
input jack. The function on the ring contact of the pad might not
work as expected, but no damage will be done.

The SNARE and TOM inputs can be used to connect 5 additional
triggers for a total of 15 independent trigger inputs. Use a split cable
(Y cable) with a stereo TRS jack on one end to the trigger input, and
2 mono TS jacks on the other end to 2 separate pads. Some pads
may loose some of their functionality when connected this way. For
example, the rim on a snare or tom pad will become inactive and
position detect plus choke on a cymbal pad will be disabled.

Audio Inputs and Outputs

LINE IN Stereo line level input for media players or instruments.
OUT1-6 Mono line level outputs with the ring contact to ground.
PHONES Stereo headphones output (32 to 600 Ohm).

The LINE IN can be set to accept mono or stereo signals (see UNIT­OUT page). In mono mode only the tip signal is used for both left
and right, in stereo mode the tip is left and the ring is right.

The OUT1-6 outputs have the ring contact to ground. So for a
balanced TRS to XLR cable, the XLR negative signal is grounded.

The PHONES output is independent of the other outputs. It can be
used as 2 additional line level outputs for a total of 8 audio outputs.
Use a split cable (Y cable) to obtain a separate left and right signal.
Please note that the maximum signal level is two times (6 dB)
higher than the line outputs. If the 7+8! bus with fixed level is
selected for the headphones output (see UNIT-OUT page), the
nominal signal level is matched to the OUT1-6 levels to accomodate
an easy connection of all 8 outputs to an external mixer.

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Top Panel

Layout

Drum Channels

KICK Triggers the head.
SNARE, TOM1-4 Trigger the head, hold MORE to trigger the rim.
HIHAT, CYMB1-3 Trigger the bow.

MORE Used with other buttons for extended functions.

Each button corresponds to the trigger input with the same name on
the rear of the unit. The names refer to the suggested function,
however the drum channel can hold any kind of sound. When
holding down MORE with SNARE or TOM1-4, one can access the 5
additional percussion channels. If no sounds are assigned to them,
they trigger the rim sound on the snare or tom channels.

Pressing a channel button selects the channel and triggers the
associated sound (the button trigger level is programmable see the
UNIT-PREF page). If the channel holds a loop, it will normally just
play 1 second of the loop, this is a kind of preview to avoid the
entire loop playing to the end. To start the loop with its full length,
hold down the button 1/2 second. Once the loop is running (if
continuous), a short press on the button selects the channel but
does not start or stop it. Hold the button to stop the loop.

Note. The zone triggered by the buttons is dependent on the
selected trigger type for that channel.

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Mode / Page

UNIT Selects unit mode.
KIT Selects kit mode.

PAGE UP Moves to the previous page.
PAGE DOWN Moves to the next page.

Unit mode and kit mode each have their own set of pages. The
current page name is shown vertically on the right side of the LCD.
Since the size is restricted to 4 characters, some page names are
abbreviated.

Parameters

LCD Shows upto 6 parameters plus the page name.

PAR1-3 Buttons for parameters on the upper half of the LCD.
PAR4-6 Dials for parameters on the lower half of the LCD.

Each parameter has a name with the associated value below. For
some parameters an additional value may be shown, for example
the kit name appears separately on the 2nd line of the LCD. Some
parameters below the buttons do not have an associated value, they
are most often used to activate a function, for example STOP and
PLAY.

Miscellaneous

USB / MIDI Indicates USB or MIDI activity.
LEVEL Sets the volume of the phones and outputs 1 and 2.

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Getting Started

Pads and Triggers

Depending on the pads being connected, the trigger settings might
have to be changed, this is done on the UNIT-TRIG page for each
channel individually. The factory trigger settings are configured for
use with DrumIt pads. How to set up and connect these is explained
in a separate manual.

HiHat

Before first use, the hihat has to be calibrated on the UNIT-HPED
page. If a dash is shown below CALIB, the hihat is not connected. A
closed hihat symbol will blink if the hihat is not calibrated yet,
otherwise press CALIB to start the calibration. Now loosen the hihat
and let it rest on the hihat receiver. Press CALIB to store the closed
position, now an open hihat symbol will blink. Open the hihat to the
position where the sound should just reach completely open and
press CALIB once more to store the open position.

If the calibration is ok, Done will be displayed, otherwise NoChg
appears indicating that no settings have been changed. This might
be because the range between open and closed is too small. Finally
fix the hihat at a (possibly higher) open position which suits ones
playing style.

Monitoring

For audio monitoring, one can either use a pair of headphones
(preferably low impedance type) connected to the phones output or
an amplifier with speakers connected to line outputs 1 and 2. The
volume level is set with the LEVEL knob on the top panel. Normally
the mix is on the phones output and on outputs 1 and 2, this can be
changed on the UNIT-OUT page.

Please note that the output of the DrumIt Five can be quite strong
and that the sounds are often very rich in transients. A normal HiFi
system might easily get damaged by this. So be careful about what
kind of monitor system is being used. Always start with a low
volume and gradually turn it up to a comfortable level.

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Bank Select

When holding down the KIT button at startup, one can choose which
kit bank file to open. Press PREV or NEXT to select a dkit file, then
press OPEN. By default the DrumIt.dkit file is opened.

Kit Select

The kit program can be changed on the KIT-PROG page. Turn the
left dial to select a program. The kit bank holds 100 programs to
choose from. A kit can be copied or moved to a different program
location so it will have a different program number, however, it's
still the same kit (unless some of it settings are changed too). Single
kits are located after program 100, they can be saved to the same
file or copied to a program location in the kit bank.

Volumes

The volume levels for the mix are set on the UNIT-MIX page. The
first 6 faders control the drum channel volumes. The last 3 faders
control the volumes for the effect, input and accompaniment. The
mixer settings are common to all kits and are saved with the unit
settings. The individual drum channel volumes for each kit can be
set on the KIT-DRUM page, these settings are saved per kit.

Sounds

On the KIT-DRUM page one can select sounds for each of the 15
drum channels. If there are no sounds selected on the percussion
channels (MORE plus SNARE or TOM1-4), then the percussion
trigger (most likely from the rim of the pad) is redirected to zone 8
on the snare or tom channel. Depending on the sound selected
there, this can trigger the rim of a snare or tom. Otherwise, the
sound on the percussion channel will be independent with its own
individual channel settings.

Changing Settings

Use the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN buttons to select other unit or kit
pages. When parameter settings are changed, they can be saved by
pressing SAVE on the UNIT-MIX or KIT-PROG page (please make
sure save is enabled on the UNIT-PREF page).

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Connecting

Block Diagram

The DrumIt Five internal architecture is best described by the
organization of all pages and their function as shown in the block
diagram here below. It shows the signal flow from trigger input to
audio output (MIDI and other data signals are shown with dotted
lines). The stereo audio signal of each channel is always routed to
the mix bus and can also be routed to bus (pair) 1 to 8.

- 1+2, optionally routed to output 1 and 2.

- 3+4, always routed to output 3 and 4.

- 5+6, always routed to output 5 and 6.

- 7+8, optionally routed to the phones.

- Mix, optionally routed to output 1 and 2 and / or the phones.

There's also a submix bus which consists of a combination of mix
channels. The bus to output selection is made on the UNIT-OUT
page. See chapter 8 for detailed page descriptions.

Shaded pages are in kit mode, the other ones in unit mode.

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