Chicken Systems Constructor User Manual

Constructor™

Version 1.1, Build 1

Page 2

Constructor™ Table Of Contents

Constructor™

Table Of Contents

Introduction.......................................

Basic Operation

Design Concepts..................................

Constructor Basics................................

Instrument Basics.................................

Instrument Organization........................

Instrument Document Window..............

Banks................................................

Instrument Document

KeyMap View......................................

Reference List......................................

Group View........................................

Editor.................................................

Waveplayer.........................................

Sound Database...................................

Multisamples......................................

Bank Document................................

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....................................................19

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Special Features

Proprietary Dialog...............................

Proprietary Drives...............................

Virtual Drives.....................................

Audio Playback.....................................

Preferences

General..............................................

Format..............................................

Format Strategies..............................

Support

Tutorials............................................

Troubleshooting..................................

FAQ...................................................

Bug Reports........................................

Contacting Technical Support...................

Updating...........................................

Contact Us.........................................

Credits..............................................

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Page 4

Constructor™ Introduction

Constructor™

Introduction

Constructor™ is a powerful multi-

instrument, cross platform generic
Instrument editor.

Many, if not all, samplers have their own
editors presented as interfaces to their
playback engines. Sometimes these editors
are capable, sometimes not. Since the
manufacters have to focus so strongly on their
playback engines, sometimes the creation
and editing area isn’t as powerful as it can be.
Additionally, it is always hardwired in to the
sample format and layout it is editing.

Constructor™ looks at Instruments generically, You can design an Instrument from scratch,
or edit an existing one. The concept is very similar to a graphics program that has to open and
save many different graphics formats - such as TIFF, JPEG, GIF, or PNG. When you are editing
a graphic, you mostly don’t care what format it is. A picture is a picture. To Constructor™, an
Instrument is an Instrument.

And just like a graphic editor, Constructor™ uses a superclass format, called a Project, to store
all the information that the export format may or may not need. Constructor™ implements

some very creative ways to link your output le with your Projects.

Constructor™ supports most professional samplers - hardware and software - made in the
past 20 years. Popular and obscure, supported and non-supported. It uses our own time-tested
Translator™ technology to read and write a complete set of formats. Constructor™ can resurrect
your older-but-loved piece of gear with its ability to create and edit Instruments without having
to use the kludgy and archiac interface of the sampler.

Constructor™ is available in both Mac and Windows Note: In this document, the Mac version is
usually pictured, and the term “right-click” can refer to”contol-click” on a Mac.

Registered owners are qualied for free updates for the life of the program. Please refer to

Update section of this document for information on how to update.

Constructor™ is consistently supported by Chicken Systems, with updates appearing
frequently.

Page 5

Constructor™ Basic Concepts

Basic Operation

Design Concepts

The absolute, singular, overriding concern
of Constructor™ is that it is EASY, SIMPLE,
and CLEAR. We hope that if anything else,
Constructor™ makes Instrument Creation
intuitive, quick and easy.

At every point, we have tried to make
operations accessible with a single click or
the minimum amount of clicks. Keyboard
shortcuts are often used to simplify
operations.

Since Constructor™ is a editor that supports a
plethora of different import and export formats,
complexity threatens to twart simplicity at many turns. Yet we don’t want to offer a impotent
program, so special care has been taken to hide complexity, yet provide accessibilty.

One way we achieved it through the Constructor™ Multi-Window Docking-Enabled Fully-Sizeable
Document Interface. (The CMWDEFSDI for short!)

Despite it’s long and complex name, the Instrument Document allows several views to work

from. You can close any of them if you need more workow room, or if you don’t care about

them at the moment. For the growing number of large monitor/multi-monitor users, the
Instrument Document can detach these views into separate dialogs that spread out across your
screen(s). You can drag and drop across these views, additionally they are tied into each other
so they update each other.

This Document interface strongly improves how “screen real estate” is used. Constructor™
only gives you the information you want to see on your screen, determined BY YOU, not the
program. Any additional information is only a click or keypress away. Plus, Constructor™ allows

you to save “View Proles” - a set of views you’d like to work with most on a Instrument-by-

Instrument basis, instead of having to live with the interface your sampler gives you.

Constructor™ emphasizes ease of use and multiple format support in a complete manner. It
is less deep on sample editing then some competing programs, but Constructor™ does not
elect to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it allows you to edit samples with external programs
by launching them within the Constructor™ framework, and then receiving the results upon
closing. This leverages the abilities of the programs that already do a better job, and includes
those abilities in Constructor™.

Constructor™ is designed for the “everyman” user. It’s industral strength Instrument composing

abilities, user interface exibility, and support for any format you can imagine make it an

essential part of anyone’s editing toolbox.

Constructor™ Basics

Constructor™ includes two types of Document interfaces. Most of your work in Constructor™
revolves around a document called an Instrument. This is also called a Preset or a Program in

some samplers. You can think of an Instrument as a single Document, like you would a Text le

in your computer. There is a another document called a Bank, the purpose of which is to gather
Instruments into a Collection and represent them in that manner.

For specic information on Instruments, go to the Instrument section of this document. For
specic information on Banks, go to the Bank section of this document.

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Constructor™ Basic Concepts

Instrument Basics

All Constructor™ Instruments are made up of basic building blocks called Sample References.
A Sample Reference is simply a mono or stereo sample that the Instrument plays under certain
circumstances.

The primary purpose of the Instrument document is to arrange these Sample References in

simple or complex ways. When you are done, you can export your work to a le that your
sampler can read. For example, with Kontakt, you can save your instrument as an .nki le,

which Kontakt can read. If you use an Emu E4 sampler, you can save your Instrument to a
Virtual Drive or a Emu formatted hard drive, into an existing Emu Bank or by creating a new
one.

You can create new Instruments from scratch, or you can import an existing sampler le to

start with, or to merge with existing work.

Again, the whole concept of Constructor™ is to make instrument creation a GENERIC exercise.
Just like to a graphics editor, a picture is a picture, to Constructor™ an Instrument is an
Instrument, no matter what sampler it comes from.

You might object, saying “an EXS24 Instrument is totally different then an Akai program!” They
may be structurally different, sure, but the end result is the same. Both are Instruments, and
both are played on keyboard or via MIDI. And when you dig into it, every Akai Program has
direct equivilants in a EXS24 structure. (Chicken Systems is the world leader in sampler fromat

structure information and their interchange, largely eshed out on our popular Translator™

program.)

Constructor™ does is represent these Instruments in the same way, so you see the common
way they are structured.

Some formats, especially modern software samplers, are “unlimited”, meaning that they have
no structural limitations. For example, a single note in Kontakt can have 32 velocity splits,
within 8 keyswitches plus release triggers for every sample - that’s 32x8x2, that 512 samples
for just single note - and that’s just an example, you can put an unlimited amount of samples
on that note. The only limit is the practical limit, not an arbitrary limit based on the format
architecture.

Other formats have some type of structural limitation. For example, IKMUltimedia’s SampleTank
only supports up to 8 velocity splits per note, and only 2 samples can play together
simultaneously on a single note. The Yamaha Motif can only layer 4 samples (8 on the XS) at
a time, plus a keymap cannot contain more then 128 channels of sound. Akai and Roland have
the typical limit of 4 samples per note (although there are creative ways of extending these).

Constructor™ addresses this problem by allowing you to select a Format Limiter for the
Instrument you are working with. Once you exceed a certain limit, the program will disallow
you from doing that operation. Additionally it often will allow certain interface modifcations
so the way you organize you instrument is the same way it will be organized on your ultimate
desination format.

Instrument Organization

At simplest, Instruments are made up of individual, completely independent, Sample
References, which have their own separate set of parameters. However, for various optional or
mandatory reasons, you probably will want to organize these in Groups.
There are two types of Groups in Constructor™ - View Groups and Parameter Groups.

A View Group is simply a set of Sample References that you want to view at one time, for the
purpose of clarity or to edit as one entity. You can have an unlimited amount of View Groups

Page 7

Constructor™Main Interface

within an Instrument, and they are saved within the Project File when you save it. View Groups
are mostly for your organizational and editing purposes, they are “cheap and disposible”.

However, a View Group sometimes has a relationship with how Instruments appear when
imported, and how they are organized when exported. When you import a Kontakt Instrument

(.nki le), Constructor™ will create a View Group for every Kontakt Group, plus additional

View Groups for every velocity split and keyswitches, and so on. When you import a Motif
Voice, there will be a View Group for every Element. View Groups created on import are for
convenience, but also important when exporting.

For a Motif Voice, those View Groups will dictate which Elements get which Sample References.
This is important because that’s the basis on how the Sample References create the Waveforms
data that the Elements use.

We could go on and on how each format is organized within Constructor, and we won’t ­instead we refer you to the Format Strategies area of this document. This lists how each
format is organized within Constructor™. Once you are familiar with your destination format
idyosncrycies, you will feel more comfortable with making more complex Instruments that will
be setup and organized more effeciently in your sampler.

Summary: Although Constructor™ is a generic Instrument editor, you still have to pay some
attention to any limitations your sampler imposes. Constructor™ seeks, however, to make this
as simple and automatic as possible.

The other type of Group is a Parameter Group. Every Sample Reference ultimately has it’s
own parameter set; that is, it’s own envelopes, modulators, pitch, volume, pan, etc. settings.
However, you have the option of making a Parameter Group and pointing the Sample Reference
to use those parameters. Parameter Groups are “cheap and disposible” - you can make any
amount of them and use them or not use them. You can make many versions of parameter sets
as Parameter Groups and switch them out whenever you wish.

Like View Groups, Parameter Groups may dictate how destination formats are written out. For

example, when a Kontakt le is created, the Parameter Groups become the actual Groups in

Kontakt. See Format Strategies for a complete list.

Instrument Document Windows

A Instrument Document window contains a Keymap window, a Sample Reference List, a Group
list, a Wavesample viewer and auditioning tool, a Parameter Set Editor, and a Sample Database
list.

For complete information on Constructor™ Instruments, Groups, and all other Instrument
document information, see the Instrument section in this document.

Banks

Banks are a simple yet powerful way of collecting Instrument and dening them as one unit “of

many” or even a single unit.

A Bank in most samplers is a collection Instruments/Programs/Presets and Sample. A

GigaStudio .gig le is a Bank - it denes one or more Instruments, and a pool of Samples. The

Instruments share those samples among each other. Other Bank structures include SoundFonts,

EmulatorX .exb les, Kontakt Multi’s and Banks, and SampleCell Banks, and many others. Most

samplers have a Bank concept, some don’t. (One wishes that EXS24 had a Bank format - it
would expontentially improve it’s ability.)

In Constructor™, a Bank is not any different - EXCEPT... what you can do with a Constructor™
Bank is very powerful!

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Constructor™ Main Screen

At the simplest, a Bank contains one or more Instruments you have made or loaded in

Constructor. It does not have to be loaded, it can simply exist as a Project le. You then can
export it as a Bank le in a samplers format - a EmulatorX .exb le, a Kontakt Multi .nkm le, a
SoundFont or a GigaStudio .gig le.

But that’s only the beginning. Let’s say you have 4 Instruments that you want to write out as
a single Instrument that is split across the keyboard (Bass with the left hand, some hits in the
lower middle, and electric piano and brass velocity layerd on the top). You can set up a Bank

that denes all these Instruments and override ranges, and write it out as a single Instrument!

So a Bank really doesn’t have to be “a Bank”, you can use them to collect Instruments to
provide a “Master Instrument” of sorts.

The key to this sort of operation is that Constructor Banks can dictate which Instruments get
merged and which stay as their own entities, plus each entry (we’d like to call it a “Part” like
Roland does but we don’t want too many terms mixing metaphors) can have it’s own Parameter

set. Banks can dene any number of Parmeter Groups, like Instruments, and you can assign

them to any Instrument as overrides to their own Parameter sets.

Using this concept, Banks can also duplicate the operations of a single Instrument document
and make them a bit simpler.

For example, a SampleTank Instrument denes a “Region” as a keyrange, which has 2

Oscillators (that is, sample sets) that can have up to 8 velocity splits (not overlapping). You can
make 2 Instruments that represent each Oscillator, and use a Bank to link those together. (You

could do the same with View Groups in a single Instrument, but you may nd this approach

better for you.)

Another example is using separate Instruments to dene each Keyswitch in a single Instrument.

This way, you can focus on a single Instrument at a time and not have it cluttered as one
Instrument containing multiple keyswitches. Then, upon export you can merge them all into
one another as one Instrument.

Those are Multiple instrument->Single Instrument applications. You can also use Banks as
“collections” of Instruments and output them accordinly for different purposes. For example,
lets say you want to start a library of Fantom Patches that rely on external samples. You can
have any number of Instruments, which represent Fantom Patches, worked on and store as

Constructor project les. You can make any number of Bank Projects to represent a bank of

Fantom Patches, and then output that to make one .svd collection, ready to load into your
Fantom. (This applies to any Bank format, such as EmulatorX, GigaStudio, SoundFonts, etc.)

For more information on Constructor™ Banks, see the Bank section in this document.

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Constructor™Pads

Instruments - Main
Screen

Most of your work in Constructor™ revolves
around a document called an Instrument.
This is a called a Preset or a Program in
some samplers.

You can think of an Instrument as a single

Document, like you would a Text le when

you open it in Word, Notepad (Windows), or
TextEdit (Mac).

You can have as any Instruments open in Constructor™ as you want. You can close them or
minimize them to get them out of the way.

Our long name for the Document interface is the Constructor™ Multi-Window Docking-Enabled
Fully-Sizeable Document Interface. (The CMWDEFSDI for short!)

This is a long-winded way of saying that a Document (an Instrument) can be customized to
view exactly what you want to see and how much information you want to see.

An Instrument Document contains several areas, called Views, where you view information. All
of them can be made invisible, detached into a separate resizable dialog, and resized or moved
within the window. This allows full customization of what you see and how you see it.

Keymap

This shows you the present contents of your Instrument in a graphical and editable form, as
determined by the View Group(s) you have chosen.

For more information on the Keymap window, please see the Keymap window section in this
document.

Sample Reference List

This shows you the present contents of your Instrument in List form, as determined by the View
Group(s) you have chosen. You can directly edit this list, and it automatically is updated by
other changes in the Instrument.

For more information on the Sample Reference window, please see the Reference List window
section in this document.

Groups List

This is a list of your View Groups and Parameter Groups for the Instrument. You can select
them and the appropriate Sample References show in the Sample Reference List.

For more information on View Groups, Parameter Groups, and the Group window, please see
the Group window section in this document.

Editor

This is an Editor for your Sample References or your Parameter Groups. The parameters that
are shown match up to what is selected in the Sample Reference List or the Parameter Group
list.

For more information on the Editor window, please see the Editor window section in this
document.

Page 10

Constructor™ Pad Contents

Waveplayer

This shows the current Sample Reference that is selected and allows you to play it back. (This is
different then the general Instrument playback that is available via MIDI.)

For more information on the Waveplayer, please see the Waveplayer section in this document.

Sample Database

This is the list of Samples that you have in your Database. It is lterable in a variety of ways,

and editable from this window.

For more information on the Sample Database window, please see the Sample Database section
in this document.

Page 11

Instruments - KeyMap Screen

The Constructor™ Instrument
Document KeyMap view shows
all the Sample References that
are currently selected within the
Instrument. You can edit these with
your mouse. You can also multi­select them and move them around
as you desire.

You can add and delete Sample
References by dragging in, dragging
out, or selecting and hitting the DEL
key on your keyboard.

The KeyMap view is tied into the
Reference List and the Group List
views.

Constructor™Partial/Patch Editor

Page 12

Constructor™ Partial/Patch Editor

Instruments - Reference List Screen

In Constructor™, all Instruments are
made up of basic building blocks that
Constructor calls Sample References.
A Sample Reference is simply a mono
or stereo sample that the Instrument
plays under certain circumstances.

For example, if you hit middle C on
a keyboard (MIDI note 60) and the
Instrument has assigned the sample
“dog bark.wav” to that key, that
Sample Reference will audibly play.

The conditions in which that Sample
Reference will play are called Rules.
Rules can be KeyRanges, Velocity
Ranges, KeySwitch numbers, Control Switch numbers, Round Robin numbers, and a host of all
sorts of things.

Keep in mind that since Constructor™ supports many different instrument formats,
they use often their own terminology. For example, the Kontakt and EXS24 term for
Sample Reference is “Zone”. The GigaStudio term for Rules is “Dimensions”, while
Kontakt calls it “Group Start”, while EXS24 actually has no term for the concept.

The Constructor™ set of terms is unique, but often represents the most common
usage. Most importantly, we believe our terminology helps clarity and gets to the
point quicker.

The Reference List shows the currently selected Sample References in your Instrument. The

Reference List can be ltered by your own criteria, so you can view AND edit any group of
References. These lterings are done by View Groups and Parameter Groups.

The Reference List is tied into the KeyMap view and the Group view. When you change things in
the KeyMap view, the Reference List will be changed accordingly. When you select one or more
View/Parameter Groups, the Reference List will also change accordingly.

You can also edit Sample References from within the Reference List, as well as add and delete
them, using the menus or via drag-drop.

Page 13

Playback/Auditioning

Instruments - Groups

A Constructor™ Instrument Document
supports the concept of View Groups. A
View Group is simply a collection of Sample
References that you want to see at a single

time; that is, to lter out what you are seeing

in the KeyMap window and the Sample
Reference List.

This is a very powerful feature, as you may
want to view a single keyrange or velocity
range, or a single KeySwitch or Controller
switch.

This greatly assists viewing layered
references, which hide behind each other in
the KeyMap window. It also allows you to edit
certain parts of an Instrument while keeping
other parts intact and out of sight, out of
mind.

Constructor™

View Groups are “cheap and free”, you can
create any number of them for later recall and
use. A Sample Reference can belong to any number of View Groups.

Although View Groups have no direct bearing when you export a Constructor Instrument, you

can set them to inuence how the exported Instrument will be organized. Some examples

of this are a EmulatorX/E4 Voice and the arrangement of Multisamples, or Oscillators in a
SampleTank Instrument. Most of the time this is the function of a Parameter Group, but View
Groups can be used this way as well.

The “Smart” Setting
Typically you populate a View Group by manually including the Sample References by drag-drop
or using the menus in the Reference List or KeyMap Window. The Smart setting allow you to
set certain criteria so the Sample References “come to the View Group” instead of having you
manually add them.

For example, if you set Smart to include Velocity Range 96-127, any Sample Reference that you
include or modify within that setting will automatically include itself in that View Group. This is
all done behind the scenes.

See Format Strategies to see if your destination format uses View Groups to organize itself.

Page 14

Constructor™ Sound Database

Instruments - Editor

The Constructor™ Instrument Document’s
Editor gives you the ability to edit the
parameters of whatever edit context you have
selected.

Often you edit a Sample Reference’s
parameters. However, you may edit a
Parameter Group, or the global Instrument
parameter set.

There are 8 areas: Ranges, Sample, Pitch,
Filter, Amplitude, Modulators, EQ, and Effects.

Ranges

Sample

Pitch

Filter

Amplitude

Modulators

EQ

Effects

Page 15

Constructor™Sound Database Editor

Instruments - Waveplayer

Constructor™ has it’s own Waveplayer
so you can play any Sample Reference
in your Instrument.

(This is separate from the standard
Instrument auditioning feature, where
you have the Instrument loaded into
memory (though it streams samples)
and are able to play it via MIDI.)

The Waveplayer shows the waveform
of the current Sample Reference
selected. This sample data can exist in

any location - from a WAVE le, or an

Akai CD, or a SoundFont, etc.

Loops are supported and are shown by
the shaded area within the view. If there is no shaded area, there is no loop.

You can play it, replay it, rewind or fast-forward it. Plus, you can drag the mouse around the
window, moving the cursor, similar to how iTunes works. Most of the time, though, this is
unnecessary, since most instrument samples are short.

Page 16

Constructor™ Working With Projects

Instruments - Sound Database

Constructor™ has it’s own Sample
Database where you can list all the
samples available on your computer.
This is extremely handy when it comes
to accessing the sampels that you
want to include in your instrument ­easily and quickly.

Metatags and keywords are fully
supported. You can categorize them
in any way you want, in any unlimited
fashion.

One powerful, unique and special
feature is the ability to access samples
from ANY lcoation - whether they

are stored within a GigaStudio le or

SoundFont, or even a Roland, Akia, or Emu CD, for instance.

A more complete form of this database is included in Chicken Systems SampleMange
application. The version inegrated here is a limited version especially designed for
Constructor™.

Page 17

Constructor™Importing Samples To Pads

Multisamples - Main Screen

Many times, you will work an Instrument
that turns out to be a Multisample.

Constructor™’s denition of a Multisample is

a KeyMap that contains Sample References
using 2 Rules - KeyRange and Velocity
Range, with no overlapping.

Since this is such a common usage,

Constructor™ has a special le type and

document called a... Multisample!

A Multisample is really identical to an
Instrument - it’s just a limited version of one. it contains the Sample Reference limit described
above, plus it contains just one Parameter Group. Each Sample Reference, however keeps it’s
own set of:

* Tuning
* Volume
* Pan
* Loop Points and Loop Type

Following that paradigm, the Multisample Document is a very limited version of the Instrument
document.

You can save Multisamples as .multisample les, which can be loaded into Constructor in

various ways. You can merge them into existing Instruments, or open them as their own
Instruments. You can reference them in Banks. (This is handy for Motif users. Just make a
Bank and load up the Multisamples you want “per Element”. The Multisamples Parameter Group
serves as the Elements parmeter set.)

You may want to develop your library of Multisamples, to use in various future Instruments.
You can edit these parameters in the Partial/Patch Editor. Please remember that except for

tuning, tuning, and looping, these parameters will not be reected when playing the pads via

MIDI or by clicking on the Pads. The streaming playback engine is has not been developed to
that point yet, although we are working toward it.

Page 18

Constructor™ Using The Database

Banks - Main Screen

An important part of Constructor™ is the
Bank.

Banks are a simple yet powerful way of

collecting Instrument objects and dening

them as one unit “of many” or even as a
single unit.

At the simplest, a Bank contains one or
more Instruments you have made or loaded
in Constructor™. It does not have to be

loaded, it can simply exist as a Project le
or an external le (such as a .nki or .exs
le). You then can export the Bank Document as a Bank le in a samplers format - a EmulatorX
.exb le, a Kontakt Multi .nkm le, a SoundFont or a GigaStudio .gig le - or...

That’s only the beginning. Let’s say you have 4 Instruments that you want to write out as a
single Instrument that is split across the keyboard.

* Bass with the left hand
* Brass Hits in the lower middle
* Electric piano and pop brass velocity-layered on the top

You can set up a Bank that denes all these Instruments and override ranges, and write it out

as a single Instrument! A Bank really doesn’t have to be “a Bank”, you can use them to collect
Instruments to provide a “Master Instrument” of sorts.

The Bank window has three windows on it; Instrument List, Arrangement Window, and Editor.

Instrument List

These are the Instruments assigned to this Bank. You can dictate under what Rules the entire
Instrument gets played. Rules are KeyRange, VelRange, Keyswitch, Controller Switch, Release
Trigger, and RoundRobin. You can turn on and off an Instrument, so you can have plenty listed

but they will not be included in the exported destination le.

An important Parameter is Bank Number and Preset Number. The terminology comes from
the MIDI spec of 128 presets for every bank, with a total of 128 banks total. However,
Constructor™ extends this concept - if two Instruments are set to the same Bank and Preset
Number, they will be merged. So even if the export format you are aiming at is not a Bank

format (like a .gig le or SoundFont), if you set some or all the Bank/Preset Numbers to the

same number, you will wind up with a single exported Instrument.

Arrangement Window

This shows you the results of the paramters set in the Instrument List.

Editor

This shows the Parmater Set applied to the selected Instrument(s). You can edit this freely.

Application of Banks

Constructor™ Banks can dictate which Instruments get merged and which stay as their own
entities, plus each entry (we’d like to call it a “Part” like Roland does but we don’t want too

many terms mixing metaphors) can have it’s own Parameter set. Banks can dene any number

Page 19

Menus - File

of Parmeter Groups, like Instruments, and you can assign them to any Instrument as overrides
to their own Parameter sets.

Using this concept, Banks can also duplicate the operations of a single Instrument document
and make them a bit simpler.

For example, a SampleTank Instrument denes a “Region” as a keyrange, which has 2

Oscillators (that is, sample sets) that can have up to 8 velocity splits (not overlapping). You can
make 2 Instruments that represent each Oscillator, and use a Bank to link those together. (You

could do the same with View Groups in a single Instrument, but you may nd this approach

better for you.)

Another example is using separate Instruments to dene each Keyswitch in a single Instrument.

This way, you can focus on a single Instrument at a time and not have it cluttered as one
Instrument containing multiple keyswitches. Then, upon export you can merge them all into
one another as one Instrument.

Those are Multiple instrument->Single Instrument applications. You can also use Banks as
“collections” of Instruments and output them accordinly for different purposes. For example,
lets say you want to start a library of Fantom Patches that rely on external samples. You can
have any number of Instruments, which represent Fantom Patches, worked on and store as

Constructor™ project les. You can make any number of Bank Projects to represent a bank

of Fantom Patches, and then output that to make one .svd collection, ready to load into your
Fantom. (This applies to any Bank format, such as EmulatorX, GigaStudio, SoundFonts, etc.)

Constructor™

Page 20

Constructor™

Menus - Function Buttons

Proprietary Dialog

The Proprietary Dialog allows viewing, reading, and
writing objects on drives, volumes, CD’s, or Virtual Drives

that are not readable by a computer due to its special le

system that is written on the drive. This is how samplers

used to save les..

When you open the Proprietary Dialog, it looks for all
peripherals attached to your system and sees if any of
them have a proprietary format on them. If it does, it adds
it to it’s list. It also locates all Virtual Drives that are in your
Images folder. When it is all done, it sorts them according
to format, and populates the two popup menus on the top of the dialog.

To access a drive, select the desired format in the Type popup. The drives show in the Drive
popup. Select the one you want, and the contents of the root show underneath in the list.

Views

There are 3 Views in which you can browse your drives. The rst is a TreeView heirarchial list,

where you click on triangles (Mac) or plus-signs (Windows) to expand containers to get to your
objects. The second is a single view list, where you double click on folders to get to your objects

(or click the one of the rst two items to go backwards), and a Column View list where you see

your objects from left to right. These are all just like the Finder (Mac) views.

Modes

There are two Modes the Proprietary Dialog can be in, whether you know it or now. One is
where you are selecting an object to work with (normally called “opening”),a dn the other is
where you are selecting an area and.or object to Save something. It’s just like the Open?Save
dialogs in your computer under normal operation. You know which Mode you are in usually by
context, but if you are unsure, the words Open or Save are on the Title bar and on the button
below.

Modal and Modeless

Unlike the typical computer Open/Save dialogs, you can use the Proprietary Dialog in a
Modeless way as well as Modal. Modeless means that you can put the dialog up, and leave it

oating while you can still access things underneath. Usually you do this in case you want to

drag items off the dialog. Modal means that the you have to select something before any other
work in the program can be done. The computer Open/Save dialogs work this way. (Any Save
operation is always Modal, however.)

To swtch between Modal and Modeless, go into Preferences-General and select your option.

Usage

In any le system, there are two types of items: Containers and Objects. Containers hold

Objects and also other Containers. For example, a “Folder” (also called “Directory”) is a
Container and a “File” is a Object. Folders contains Files and other Folders. In a very general
sense, what you do in the Proprietary Dialog is to either select a Object or save an Object.
Aside from a little blurring of the lines, this is what youa re doing.

There are a couple exception to this, however, but it is easy to understand. FIrst, there is the
concept of Banks and Instruments (just like the two types of documents in Constructor™),
or vewing Samples inside Instruments. A Bank is really a Container, but since Constructor™

denes the concept of a Bank being an Object, you can choose this type of a Container as an

Object.

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Constructor™Menus - Tools

Additionally, a Instrument should be an Object, but it actually contains samples, which are
the TRUE base object. (In fact, the true base object in every case is a single sample.) To clear
this up, we regard Instruments as an Object, since most of the time that is what you are
concentrating on.

Reading

To open a Object from a Proprietary Drive, select the “File-Open Proprietary...” menu. This
opens the Proprietary Dialog. Select the object you want to load, and either drag it off the
dialog (Modeless only) or click the Open button. Note: depending on the type of View, you
sometimes can double-click the Object and that validates as a selection; however, many times
this simply expands the item.

Uponing opening the Object, Constructor™ will create the appropriate Document that
represents the object you have selected.

Writing

To write to a Proprietary Drive, select the “File-Save Proprietary...” menu. This again opens the
Proprietary Dialog. Select wherever you want to save your document, and Constructor™ will
save it. If you select a Container (usually a Folder-type of thing) the document will be saved
in that Folder. If you choose a Object/File, that Object/File will be replaced, but only after a
customary warning.

The Propietary Dialog shows CD’s in Save mode, even though its not a writable media. In those
cases, if you ask Constructor™ to save your Instrument/Bank to a CD, Constructor™ will ask
you if you want to compose a Virtual Drive of that CD. Constructor will make a Virtual Drive
of that CD, and then write to it. It will be up to you to “reburn” the Virtual Drive to a CD. It is

recommended to make a Virtual Drive rst.

Formatting
You can format a proprietary Drive or Virtual Drive by selecting the Special-Format menu. This
formats a existing drive or Virtual Drive to your selected format.

Page 22

Constructor™

Preferences

Special Features - Proprietary Drives

Constructor™ supports reading
and writing of “Proprietary Drives”.
These are special disk formats that
older hardware samplers used to
use and are not readable in Mac
or Windows computers. (A more

specic explanation is below.)

Constructor also supports Virtual
Drives. A Virtual Drive is just a raw

data image le that yoe for reference or for later writing to a CD. Please see the Virtual Drives

section for more information on Virtual Drives.

Reading

To read from a Proprietary Drive, select the “File-Open Proprietary...” menu. This opens the
Proprietary Drives dialog, which shows all your Proprietary Drives, CD’s, or Virtual Drives
registered on your computer. Select whatever you want to load, and Constructor will create the
appropriate Document that represents the object you have selected.

Writing

To write to a Proprietary Drive, select the “File-Save Proprietary...” menu. This again opens the
Proprietary Drives dialog - select wherever you want to save your document, and Constructor
will save it.

Since CD’s are not a writabu can usle format, if you ask Constructor to save your Instrument/
Bank to a CD, Constructor will ask you if you want to compose a Virtual Drive of that CD - if you
elect to, Constructor will make a Virtual Drive of that CD, and then write to it. It will be up to
you to “reburn” the Virtual Drive to a CD, where your sampler can read that.

Formatting

You can format a proprietary Drive or Virtual Drive by selecting the Special-Format menu. This
formats a existing drive or Virtual Drive to your selected format.

Details

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, samplers were made from hardware, which were really specialized
non-PC/Mac computers. Even now, hardware sampler workstations like the Motif or Triton are
specialized “embedded-system” computers. (A piece of trivia, many of these keyboards are
Linux based embedded systems.)

Since the modern day Windows and Mac le systems (FAT, NTFS, and HFS respectively) weren’t
so established when those samplers were designed, they used their own le systems. So an
Akai CD will not show up natively in a Windows or Mac computer, because it cannot read it’s le

system.If you own one of these samplers, you probably know this already.

Constructor™ is designed to fully support these disks and le systems, both on the Mac and on

Windows. Part of Constructor™’s power is that is can design Instruments and then write them

out not just to the les that these older samplers can read, but also that it can write them to

the disk that these samplers read.

You can open a proprietary Instrument or Bank by selecting the File-Open Proprietary... menu.
You can save an Instrument or Bank to a Proprietary Disk location by selecting the File-Save
Proprietary... menu.

Page 23

Constructor™Preferences

Using Constructor with a “proprietary format” Sampler

Your rst concern would be what type of SCSI Drive do you use with your sampler. It may

be a SCSI CD-ROM Drive, or a
removeable SCSI drive like a
ZipDrive or Syquest drive, or a

xed SCSI Drive. Or it could be a

memory card, if you have purchased

a modern SCSI card retrot.

We do not recomend the use of xed

SCSI drives only, if you can help it,
with Constructor™. Probably the
only way of doing this correctly is
hooking up the SCSI Drive to both the computer and the sampler all the time. This is doable,
though it’s much easier to use a ZipDrive or removable media (like a CD or memory card), so
you can write your Instruments freely and not worry about all the interconnectivty.

For instance, you can use a USB ZipDrive and format and write to that drive. Then eject the
ZipDrive and insert it into your SCSI ZipDrive hooked up to your sampler, and load away. Or, if
you use a CD-ROM Drive, create a Virtual Drive and write things onto that, and burn them to
CD. Then insert that into your SCSI CD-ROM Drive and load away.

The essence of all this is that you use your computer as a Librarian. All your Instruments will
be in your computer. Then, use your disks and drives as copies to access in your sampler. When
you need a new copy or an updated copy, go to your computer and manufacture it. ZipDisks
and memory cards are erasable, and CD-R’s are cheap.

Using Proprietary disks with Constructor™

Assuming you do not own (or care about) the sampler, we suggest making Virtual Drives
(images) of all your CD’s and disks. Once you do that, you can access them within
Constructor™, and Constructor™ will remember premantly the item’s locations. Then any
Instrument you create will reference those without having you to duplicate them - or course,
you have to anyway, but at least you’ll have the original source in case you need them.

Page 24

Constructor™ Preferences

Special Features - Virtual Drives

Constructor™ fully supports Instruments that are stored and will be read by older Akai, Emu,
Roland, Ensoniq, and other hardware samplers. These can be CD’s or SCSI drives (such as Zip,

Jaz, Syquest, or xed drives).

Due to the removable nature of these systems, Constructor™ needs to address the non­existence of these sounds when “the CD is not in the drive”. This is where Virtual Drives come
into play.

You can create, read, and write Virtual Drives with Constructor™. Virtual Drives are usually

large les you create using Constructor™; they are our term for Images that represent the CD’s

or SCSI drives/disks.

We advise that you turn your CD’s into Virtual Drives, over some time depending on how
many you have. This way, your CD’s will always be accessible to Constructor™’s databases and

Project les. When you create your new Instruments, or edit old ones, the data will always be

accessible.

Note: If you are not working with Akai, Emu, Ensoniq, Roland CD’s, drives or samplers, Virtual
Drives are no concern to you.

Adding Virtual Drives

You can add Virtual Drives (that is, raw data disk images) for access into Constructor™ by

moving those les, or creating aliases of those les or the folders it resides in, in the Finder/

Explorer and putting them into your Images folder, which is located in these areas:

Mac
/Users/[you]/Library/Application Support/Chicken Systems/Constructor

Windows XP/2000
%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings\[you]\Application Data\Chicken Systems\Constructor

Windows 7/Vista
%systemdrive%\Users\[you]\AppData\Roaming\Chicken Systems\Constructor

Page 24

Constructor™Preferences

Special Features - Audio, Instrument and Bank
Playback

Constructor™ has it’s own Instrument and Bank auditioning facility. When an Instrument of
Bank is selected (the foremost window), it is loaded into the playback engine and can be played
back via MIDI or the onscreen MIDI keyboard.

At this stage, the playback engine does not render the Parameters, such as Envelopes, LFO’s,
modulators, effects, and the like. it does render Volume, Tune, Pan, and Loops accurately.

The intention at this stage is simply to allow you to hear the samples, what it basically sounds
like, and how they are arranged. Future versions of Constructor will improve on this engine.

Page 24

Constructor™ Troubleshooting

Preferences

Constructor has a massive amount
of optional parameters you can
invoke on everything from the

dialog view to the specics of the

translations that you perform.
It’s easy to get intimitated by the
sheer amount of preferences, but
don’t be. They are logically laid
out and hopefully intuitive. MOST
IMPORTANTLY remember that all of
them are optional, they are not necessary for successul basic operation.

And this isn’t the only Preference dialog! This is only the general ones. Preferences for specic

formats are in the Format Preferences dialog section.

Clicking the top pulldown menu determines what shows in the Preference pane. Click below on
what Preferences you want Help for.

Page 25

Constructor™ Troubleshooting

Preferences

Constructor has a massive amount of optional parameters you can invoke on everything from

the dialog view to the specics of the translations that you perform. It’s easy to get intimitated

by the sheer amount of preferences, but don’t be. They are logically laid out and hopefully
intuitive. MOST IMPORTANTLY remember that all of them are optional, they are not necessary
for successul basic operation.

And this isn’t the only Preference dialog! This is only the general ones. Preferences for specic

formats are in the Format Preferences dialog section.

Clicking the top pulldown menu determines what shows in the Preference pane. Click below on
what Preferences you want Help for.

Page 25

Constructor™ Troubleshooting

Preferences

Constructor has a massive amount of optional parameters you can invoke on everything from

the dialog view to the specics of the translations that you perform. It’s easy to get intimitated

by the sheer amount of preferences, but don’t be. They are logically laid out and hopefully
intuitive. MOST IMPORTANTLY remember that all of them are optional, they are not necessary
for successul basic operation.

And this isn’t the only Preference dialog! This is only the general ones. Preferences for specic

formats are in the Format Preferences dialog section.

Clicking the top pulldown menu determines what shows in the Preference pane. Click below on
what Preferences you want Help for.

Page 25

Technical Support

Constructor™

Format Strategies

Constructor uses two modes of operations when building Instruments - Free, and everything
else.

Free means that any limits are ignored - you can have as many velocities, layerings, switches,
and controllers as you want. No limits. Many software samplers have no limits (they do, just
just are so large they are impractical at that stage). These include Kontakt, Independence,
EXS24, HALion, MachFive, and many more.

Everything Else means... everything else. Many formats have structural limitations to them, and
it’s mandatory Constructor builds soemthing within those structural limits.

Just as vital, you want to organize areas so they line up with those structures. For example, a
Motif XS Voice has 8 Elements. Each Element can access one “Waveform”, which is a KeyMap
with no more then 128 channels of samples, variable keyranges and velranges, but no
overlapping.

Constructor has certain ways to force your opertaions to adhere to those structures. Every
Instrument you can dictate a “Format Limiter” which imposes a set of rules that your
instrument must adhere to. If you attempt an operation that goes beyond the structure,
Constructor will abort the operation. Constructor will also create some preset View Groups that
will aid you in staying within the structure limits.

In addition to that, the best strategy is for you to know what the limits should be. With that in
mind, below is a list of Format Strategies for every format that Constructor supports. Please
read the areas you are interested and learn them; it will make your Instrument building
experience a lot easier with no guessing.

Akai S-1000, S-3000, S-5000, MPC-4000, MESA, Creamware Pulsar

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Akai MPC-3000, 2000

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

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Constructor™ Contact Us

Format Strategy: Create

Akai MPC-1000, 2500, 500, 5000

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Roland S-7x, XV-5080

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Roland Fantom

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Roland MV-8000

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Page 27

Credits

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Constructor™

Emu EmulatorX

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Emu Emulator 4 (EOS)

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Emu Emulator 3, ESi

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Ensoniq EPS/ASR-10

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

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Constructor™ Contact Us

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Ensoniq ASR-X

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Kurzweil K-2000, 2500, 2600

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Yamaha Motif

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Page 29

Credits

Constructor™

Korg Triton/M3

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Alesis Fusion

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Native Instruments Kontakt

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Native Instruments Battery

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits

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Constructor™ Contact Us

for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Native Instruments Reaktor

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Tascam GigaStudio

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Apple EXS24

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Yellow Tools Independence

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

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Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Constructor™

Digidesign Structure

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Cakewalk Dimension (SFZ)

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

CamelAudio Alchemy

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Propellerheads Reason NN-XT

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are

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Constructor™ Contact Us

keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Steinberg HALion 1 and 2

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

SoundFont

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Digidesign SampleCell

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

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Credits

Format Strategy: Create

Constructor™

IkMultimedia SampleTank

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Vember Audio ShortCircuit

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Steinberg LM-4 mrk 1 and mrk II

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

IkMultimedia SampleTank

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

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Constructor™Credits

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Vember Audio ShortCircuit

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

Steinberg LM-4 mrk 1 and mrk II

An Instrument is called a Program. A Program can have up to 99 KeyGroups, which are
keyranges that can access up to 4 samples. Note:On the S-5000, they can be stereo samples.

“Stereo samples” on the S-1000/3000 are split into two mono les and take up 2 slots in the

KeyGroup.

Samples have their own volume, lter cutoff, pan and Sample Start controls. Keygroups handle

the Envelopes, LFO’s, and other real-time parameters.

Keygroups can overlap each other, which greatly expands the amount of possible velocity splits
for example. Programs can be layered as well, so if you run out of 99 KeyGroups, another
Program can be created.

Format Strategy: Create

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Constructor™ Contact Us

Tutorials

Nothing available yet; however, there are many videos and movies listed at the Chicken
Systems Movies site; see www.chickensys.com/movies/constructor

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Credits

Constructor™

Troubleshoooting

Your Constructor™ program should be rock-solid and give you no problems. However, there is
always stuff that can go wrong.

You can start from scratch as far as Preferences go by trashing your preferences. You can do
that by going to:

Mac
Go to:
/Users/[you]/Library/Preferences, delete com.chickensys.constructor.plist

Windows
Go into the Registry and delete the HKEY_CURRENTUSER/Software/Chicken
Systems, Inc/Constructor key.

Mac and Windows

Press SHIFT when starting the program.

This only trashes your working preferences; it does not trash your registration codes etc.

For all other queries, please contact Chicken Systems Technical Support at the contact
points listed under Contacting Technical Support in this document.

FAQ

Here’s a list common answers to common questions. Past that, feel free to contact Technical
Support at the contact points listed under Contacting Technical Support.

There is a online Constructor™ FAQ up on the Chicken Systems Web site:

www.chickensys.com/support/software/constructor/faq

It is extremely LIKELY that your question is answered here! PLEASE do not contact us until you
have read completely through this resource. It probably will answer your question.

If I import an EXS24 (.exs) le in, does Constructor completely rewrite it if I
choose to resave it?

Not usually. When Constructor™ imports a le in, it remembers where it came from and it’s
exact makeup. If you choose to resavve it without many modications - especially added
samples or manipulated Groups - it will simply modify the le with the added changes.

If I import a Kontakt le (.nki) le in, there are some parameters that do not
appear in the editor Does Constructor completely rewrite it if I choose to resave
it, and do I lose those parameters?

As a whole, no. Constructor™ has a more complicated internal system then just saving
items generically. If you resave to the same format, in almost all cases the same
parameters AND setup will follow. The exceptions when you make numerous changes, in
which case Constructor™ will tell you when it loses parameters.

I have a Emu CD-ROM, but it does not show up in Constructor.

Try refreshing the Proprietary Dialog. The dialog usually doesn’t update itself based on disk

insertions or le changes.

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Constructor™ Contact Us

Are oppy disks supported?

Not yet, however, oppy disk images (we call them Virtual Drives too) are supported. To
make these, you need a Windows computer with a internal oppy drive and our Translator

Free program (Translator works too). On Windows, you need to install the OmniFlop driver,

which is special replacement oppy driver that enables Translator to read these oppies.

Get it at www.shlock.co.uk/Utils/OmniFlop/OmniFlop.htm. Follow the instructions, then use
Constructor™ to view them as Virtual Drives.

Constructor will support reading and writing oppies in a future version, but only on
Windows and with a internal oppy drive.

Does Constructor run on Windows Vista or Windows 7?

Yes, it is fully supported on both operating systems.

Constructor crashed when I attepted an operation; what should I do?

Check your work, and if you think you did everything correctly, send the Instrument or

Bank Project le that you were trying to operate on to the Chicken Systems Bug Reports

page.

How do I update Constructor?

Use the Check for Updates menu under Help when Constructor™ is running, or go to the
Update Area at www.chickensys.com/constructor/userupdates. Download the le and
follow the instructions.

Bug Reports

Constructor™ should not crash or show errors, but reality insists that all programs do at some

point. Constructor™, since it deals with many undocumented formats and les created from

many sources, can be especially vunerable.

If you have a problem with a translation, or receive an error within Constructor™ concerning a

le, the BEST way to communicate that is to le a Bug Report and send us the source le - the
initial le, not the translated le - with a brief

description of what the problem is.

To use the Bug Reports system, go to Help­Bug Reports in the program. It connects you
to our Bug Reports website, has a form you

ll out that gets the information we need from
you, and permits you to send us the source le

directly from that web page.

We strongly recommend you to use the

Bug Reports page rst! We do invite you
to Email or Chat us or call us with a problem,
but most of the time we just direct people to
the Bug Reports web site to document the
information in writing and for them to send us

the le. Constructor™ has many users across

the globe, and it is not possible to track all our
users particular questions and issues through
personal correspondence.

Once you establish an issue with the Bug

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Credits

Reports web site, you will get an email back with a link to your issue that you can consistently
check. We try to address issues within 24-48 hours.

BUT, THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO ENABLE US TO EXACTLY REPLICATE YOUR ISSUE

ON OUR END! THIS IS WHY WE NEED THE SOURCE FILE IN ALL CASES.

PLEASE REMEMBER THIS!

Bug Reports Page: www.chickensys.com/constructor/bugreports
Email: [e-mail]
FTP: ftp.chickensys.com

(please make sure le names DO NOT have spaces in them!)

User: [e-mail]

Pass: les2chicken

You Send It: www.yousendit.com

How To Create Files To Send Us

If you are rading or writing a computer-based le such as a SoundFont, than this is easy - just
zip up the le and e-mail it.

But, what if, for example, if you are trying to read in an Akai Program, and you get an error,

you would want to send the actual Akai program (plus the samples) to us. But the Akai les

are on an Akai-formatted disk - how do you send that? The way you can do it is through a DOS

Counterpart le. In this Akai case, this would be an .ak1 or a .ak3 le.

Constructor™

You don’t have to make counterpart les; Constructor makes them for you in-process. With
all proprietary conversions, Constructor dumps the le into this folder: /Users/Shared/Chicken

Systems/Constructor

Akai S-1000 Volume or Program .ak1
Akai S-1000 Volume or Program .ak3
Roland Performance or Patch .rol
Emu E3/ESi Bank .esi
Emu E4 Bank .eos/.e4b
Ensoniq EPS/EPS 16-Plus Instrument .efe
Ensoniq ASR-10 Instrument .efa

Zip that up and send that to us.

Additional Notes

Again, we make a special effort to analyze les and comment or x the problem with 24

business hours through our Bug Reports page listed above.

Regarding larger les: they are easier to FTP than to e-mail, although our systems can handle

either method of any size without problem. The Bug Reports web site can handle any size. Any

email limitation is usually on your end. If you FTP a le, make sure that the lename DOES NOT

have spaces in it. This is a natural limitation of the Internet and FTP servers in general.

Please give us a brief complete explanation of the problem. We try to answer all emails within
24 hours. Please be patient if the answer does not arrive immediately.

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Constructor™ Contact Us

Contacting Technical Support

Chicken Systems Technical Support can be reached in many ways: Phone, Email, Chat, or via
our SamplerZone.com Forum. Please give us a brief complete explanation of the problem. With
Email and Forum questions, we try to respond within 24 hours, Please be patient if the answer
does not arrive immediately.

You may Phone or Chat with us also if, after reading and looking at the documentation, you

are stumped. Our usual ofce hours are 8am-6pm Monday-Friday. We are often in the ofce on

weekends and holidays on an infrequent basis.

Phone: [phone] United States, 320-235-9798 elsewhere. Please do not mind the
crabby technical support engineers.

Email: [e-mail]
Chat: www.chickensys.com, use the Chat link on the left
Forum: www.samplerzone.com/forums/constructor

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Credits

Constructor™

Updating

We update Constructor™ as needed, for bug xes, improvements, and additions to the

library.

Constructor™ automatically checks if there is a update available when you start it up. (If
desired, you can turn this checking off in Preferences.) You can also check for updates by
selecting Check for Updates under the Help menu. (This only works, of course, if you are
connected to the Internet on that computer.)

If your Constructor™ computer is not connected to the Internet, or for some reason you
can’t run Constructor™, you can check for updates at:

www.chickensys.com/constructor/userupdates

You can check what is your Constructor™ version number by checking the About Box
(under Help in Windows and under the App Menu on Mac), or by checking Get Info [Mac]
or Properties [Windows].

If there is an update available for you, you can download it and then move it to your program’s
computer (if from a different computer). Run the updater and your program should be updated.

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Constructor™ Contact Us

Contact Us

Chicken Systems, Inc.

714 5th Street SE
Willmar, MN 56201

Phone: [phone] United States, 320-235-9798 elsewhere.
Email: [e-mail]
Chat: www.chickensys.com, use the Chat link on the left
Forum: www.samplerzone.com/forums

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Credits

Constructor™

Credits

Developing software is at the core a one-man process, but making it good requires a team.

Constructor™ really benetted from good teamwork and solid commitment to quality

software.

Garth Hjelte: Project Lead
Jeff Godbloch: Programming and Technical Writer
Mike Acosta at RolandUS for the encouragement
Christian Schmitz and Joe Strout for prompt, clear, and concise technical
assistance

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