Motu BPM Beat Production Machine User manual

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Page 1

User Guide

1280 Massachusetts Avenue

Cambridge, MA 02138

Business voice: (617) 576-2760

Business fax: (617) 576-3609

Web site: www.motu.com

Tech support: www.motu.com/support

Page 2

About the Mark of the Unicorn License Agreement and Limited Warranty on Software

TO PERSONS WHO PURCHASE OR USE THIS PRODUCT: carefully read all the terms and conditions of the “click-wrap” license agreement presented to you when you install the software. Using the software or this documentation indicates your acceptance of the terms and conditions of that license agreement.

Mark of the Unicorn, Inc. (“MOTU”) owns both this program and its documentation. Both the program and the documentation are protected under applicable copyright, trademark, and trade-secret laws. Your right to use the program and the documentation are limited to the terms and conditions described in the license agreement.

Reminder of the terms of your MOTU software license

This summary is not your license agreement, just a reminder of its terms. The actual license can be read and printed by running the installation program for the software. That license agreement is a contract, and clicking “Accept” binds you and MOTU to all its terms and conditions. In the event anything contained in this summary is incomplete or in conﬂict with the actual click-wrap license agreement, the terms of the click-wrap agreement prevail.

YOU MAY: (a) use the enclosed program on a single computer; (b) physically transfer the program from one computer to another provided that the program is used on only one computer at a time and that you remove any copies of the program from the computer from which the program is being transferred; (c) make copies of the program solely for backup purposes. You must reproduce and include the copyright notice on a label on any backup copy.

YOU MAY NOT: (a) distribute copies of the program or the documentation to others; (b) rent, lease or grant sublicenses or other rights to the program; (c) provide use of the program in a computer service business, network, time-sharing, multiple CPU or multiple user arrangement without the prior written consent of MOTU; (d) translate, adapt, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise alter the program or related documentation without the prior written consent of MOTU.

MOTU warrants to the original licensee that the disk(s) on which the program is recorded be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase as evidenced by a copy of your receipt. If failure of the disk has resulted from accident, abuse or misapplication of the product, then MOTU shall have no responsibility to replace the disk(s) under this Limited Warranty.

THIS LIMITED WARRANTY AND RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT IS IN LIEU OF, AND YOU HEREBY WAIVE, ANY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, BOTH EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE LIABILITY OF MOTU PURSUANT TO THIS LIMITED WARRANTY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE REPLACEMENT OF THE DEFECTIVE DISK(S), AND IN NO EVENT SHALL MOTU OR ITS SUPPLIERS, LICENSORS, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE, OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THIRD PARTIES EVEN IF MOTU HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS WHICH MAY VARY FROM STATE TO STATE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

About the Ultimate Sound Bank License Agreement

DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT. BY USING THIS PRODUCT YOU ACCEPT THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT.

1. License Grant. USB grants to you, subject to the following terms and conditions, a non-exclusive, nontransferable right to use each authorized copy of the enclosed product. The enclosed product is the property of USB and is licensed to you only for use as part of a musical performance. This license expressly forbids resale or other distribution of these Sounds or their derivatives, either as they exist on disc, reformatted for use in another digital sampler, or mixed, combined, ﬁltered, resynthesized or otherwise edited, for use as sounds, samples, multisamples, wavetables, programs or patches in a sampler, microchip or any hardware or software sample playback device. You cannot sell them or give them away for use by others in their sampling or sample playback devices.

2. Protection of Software. You agree to take all reasonable steps to protect this product and any accompanying documentation from unauthorized copying or use. You agree not to modify the enclosed product to circumvent any method or means adopted or implemented by USB to protect against or discourage the unlicensed use of copying of the enclosed product.

3. Ownership. As between you and USB, ownership of, and title to, the enclosed digitally recorded sounds (including any copies) will be held by USB. Copies are provided to you only to enable you to exercise your rights under the license. Only this license is purchased by you.

4. Term. This Agreement is effective from the date you open this package, and will remain in full force until termination. This Agreement will terminate if you break any of the terms or conditions of this Agreement. Upon termination you agree to destroy and return to USB all copies of this product and accompanying documentation.

5. Restrictions. Except as expressly authorized in this Agreement, you may not rent, sell, lease, sublicense, distribute, transfer, copy, reproduce, display, modify or time share the enclosed product or documentation.

Update Policy

In order to be eligible to obtain updates of the program, you must complete and return to MOTU the Mark of the Unicorn Purchaser Registration Card found at the beginning of the BPM User Guide.

Copyright © 2011, 2010, 2009 by Mark of the Unicorn, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any human or computer language, in any form or by any means whatsoever, without express written permission of Mark of the Unicorn, Inc., 1280 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02138, U.S.A.

BPM, Digital Performer, MOTU, Mark of the Unicorn and the unicorn silhouette logo are trademarks of Mark of the Unicorn, Inc.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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Quick Reference

About BPM

Installation

Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide

Tutorial 2: Building a Song

BPM Application

BPM Plug-in

BPM Window

109

Sound and Pattern Library

Effects

239

Troubleshooting

255

261

Index

Contents

III

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CONTENTS

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Quick Reference

CHAPTER

1. The File menu provides commands for importing and exporting sounds, patterns, kits, and many other elements, including Performances, which are a “snapshot” of the entire BPM window.

2. BPM conveniently routes incoming MIDI data to the bank or part you are working on, but you can also control where MIDI input goes.

3. BPM lets you sample external live audio signals, such as a microphone connected to your computer’s audio interface, or audio track output from your host software. You can even sample directly into a pad.

4. This menu lets you choose the audio input source for sampling. You can even choose BPM to record BPM’s output back into itself.

5. This “virtual LCD screen” displays BPM’s many features, including sequencers, editors, the mixer, effects slots and others. Shown is the pad step sequencer. Use the tabs to the right (below the BPM logo) to choose what is displayed here.

2 3 4

5 6 7

6. Apply grooves globally to all BPM output, including all patterns and loops. Many classic preset grooves are provided (MPC, LinnDrum, etc.) Save and apply your own, too.

7. Master tune and volume.

8. These tabs give you access to BPM’s various main features, displayed to the left in the “virtual LCD display”.

9. These browser tabs give you direct access to BPM’s extensive sound library, which includes kits, patterns, loops, samples and instruments.

10. The browser organizes BPM’s sound library into stylistic categories. BPM provides many fully programmed grooves, but it also gives you their individual elements (referenced by the same name) so you can easily “deconstruct” or “reconstruct” them to make your own unique rhythms.

11. BPM provides extensive drag & drop functionality. You can drag items from the browser into target areas in the BPM window, which highlight as you drag to indicate they can accept what you are dragging.

12. Most BPM presets indicate their original tempo (in beats per minute) in the name of the preset.

13. When AutoLoad is enabled, items in the browser are loaded as soon as you click them. This makes for very fast, interactive browsing. The check box options let you control what gets loaded.

14. This play/stop button lets you control AutoPreviewing in the browser. The pad matrix to the right lets you choose which pads get loaded (black) and which ones don’t (gray) when AutoLoading a kit.

15. Quantize mode for recording MIDI into bank patterns and part sequences.

16. BPM’s main transport controls.

17. O verdub record mode for loop recording into bank patterns and part sequences.

18. When running BPM as a plug-in, you can lock its tempo and transports to your host software to make it an integral part of your virtual studio.

1920

15161718

19. Each bank holds up to 16 patterns, one of which is active at a time.

20. Build scenes and trigger them live or use them to build a song.

21. Synth parameters for the currently selected bank pad or rack part. Each one can have its own synth settings.

22. The bank pads are highly programmable, with unlimited sample layers and independent settings for volume, pan, FX, synth settings, etc.

23. BPM provides four independent banks of 16 pads, which can all play simultaneously.

24. BPM provides two racks, which hold an unlimited number of parts. A part can be an instrument sound (like bass, guitar, etc.) that you play via BPM’s sequencer, or it can be an audio loop (REX ﬁle, Apple Loop, etc.)

25. Live mode lets you trigger scenes on the ﬂy from the on-screen pads or your MIDI controller.

26. Song mode lets you build an entire song out of multiple scenes.

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CHAPTER

About BPM

BPM is an advanced urban rhythm production instrument for Mac and Windows. BPM runs on Mac or Windows, either standalone or as an instrument plug-in for your favorite host software, including Digital Performer, Cubase, Live, Logic, Pro Tools, SONAR, and others via all major audio plug-in formats (MAS, VST, AAX, RTAS, and Audio Units).

Universal plug-in or standalone operation

As a standalone application, BPM turns your Mac or PC into a urban rhythm production powerhouse with 19 GB of all new, never before released sounds. Standalone operation also allows you to use BPM with music software applications that do not host third-party instrument plug-ins. Standalone operation is virtually identical to plugin oper ati on, ex cept for a few addit ional set tin gs fo r audio/MIDI input and output.

As a plug-in, BPM can be used as a rhythm production center directly within your projects. You can save all BPM settings with the project for instant and total recall. Since all BPM settings are saved with your host application session, you enjoy the highest degree of convenience and speed because there is no separate application or associated documents to manage.

Collaborate across platforms

Because BPM supports every major audio production platform, you can effortlessly move from one platform to another — or collaborate with colleagues who use different audio software. For example, you could compose and track a project in Digital Performer, Logic, or Cubase and then move to Pro Tools for mixing. Simply save a BPM performance (a snapshot of all its settings) in

DP, Logic, or Cubase and then load it into BPM running in Pro Tools. All settings are exactly preserved, and BPM is ready to go.

Operation at a glance

BPM makes it easy to choose patterns and drum kits independently, and then mix and match them to quickly create your own unique beats simply by browsing the virtually inﬁnite possible combinations. BPM displays all essential settings in one window, with a “virtual LCD screen” providing additional, contextual controls. Advanced settings are just one click away.

Included sounds, loops and instruments

To get you going right away, BPM provides hundreds of preset patterns and kits to choose from, built from an all-new 19 GB core sample library of never before released samples, loops, beats and multi-sample instruments. Included are over 10,000 individual samples and over 1,000 new loops — all recorded at 24-bit 96kHz resolution and mastered at Sterling Sound, New York by renowned urban mastering engineer Chris Gehringer. Included is Beat Box Anthology, a comprehensive collection of authentic sounds from 80 legendary drum machine models from the the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. From classic beat box to cutting-edge urban rhythms, you can use BPM’s comprehensive selection of sounds for many musical styles, including R&B, hip hop, techno, electro, house, and even pop, rock and others.

BPM even includes a programmable Drum Synthesizer with over 250 factory presets, or create your own. Synth drum sounds can add inﬁnite variety and serious punch to your beats.

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24-bit 96kHz samples

BPM sampled sounds are provided in 24-bit 96kHz resolution. BPM also provides on-the-ﬂy upsampling and downsampling, allowing you to play BPM sounds at any sample rate that your current project calls for, without the need for lengthy sample rate conversion operations.

Interactive browsing

Find a nd org anize p atter ns and s ounds with BPM’s integrated browser and ﬁle management tools. BPM makes it easy to browse and locate exactly the sounds you are looking for. Quickly scan expandable folders to audition and select patterns, kits, kits+patterns, loops, individual drum samples and instrument presets. BPM plays — or even loads — items as you click them, so you can quickly ﬁnd the right drum hit, loop or pattern. You can also drag and drop from the browser or desktop — including audio ﬁles, MIDI ﬁles and loops in all standard formats. BPM is designed to be live and interactive.

A complete rhythm production center

BPM is a powerful all-in-one rhythm instrument designed with smooth and seamless workﬂow in mind. Record individual samples or loops from any external source. Just click the Quick Sampling but ton to record dire ctly into the c urrently selected drum pad. You can even record BPM’s output back into itself. Mix and match multiple drum samples and drum synth sounds — even on the same pad via unlimited layers, where you can play them based on rules such as cycle, random or random cycle.

Building beats and kits

Building beats and kits is fast and easy. As you would expect, each kit consists of a bank of 16 pads, but BPM provides four separate kits per scene, each with its own step sequencer. That’s 64 pads playing simultaneously.

Each pad has dedicated solo, mute, gain and pan controls. Click the pad for more detailed controls, including velocity, ﬁne/coarse tuning, ﬁll, timeshift, ﬁlter cutoff, resonance, decay, and others. Each sample layer can be ﬁne-tuned with its own amplitude envelope, ﬁlter, drive, aux sends, pitch envelope, and more. Plus, you can apply unlimited insert effects per layer and per pad.

If you need to edit the samples themselves, you can use the built-in waveform editor with fade in/out, normalize, silence, gain and more. BPM gives you unprecedented pin-point control within a beat production instrument.

Pattern programming with advanced features

BPM’s pattern programming feels so familiar, you can start using it right away. Use the independent step sequencer to program, record, overdub and quantize patterns interactively in real time from the on-screen pads. The Graph Sequencer produces ultra-dynamic expression for individual notes with just a few clicks. Or, record live from a MIDI keyboard or drum pad controller for that true, hands-on MPC-style experience with useful features such as Note Repeat, Record Undo, and MIDI Select. When you’re done, you can apply grooves with independent control over timing and velocity. Choose among dozens of groove presets or create and apply your own. An advanced arpeggiator provides variations to your live or sequenced performance.

Are you a fan of the unique sound of the classic E-mu SP1200? BPM’s exclusive SP Mode faithfully reproduces the edgy sound and beat box grit of this legendary rhythm machine.

Unlimited loops and instruments

Two independent rack modules hold loops, audio phrases and instrument sounds with unlimited parts in each rack. These rack parts play simultaneously with BPM’s four drum kit banks to make

ABOUT BPM

Page 9

up a scene. This is where you can add bass parts, rhythm guitar, audio phrases such as background vocals, breakbeat loops, and much more.

Loops and phrases

Just drag and drop to import any audio into a part, including REX ﬁles, Apple Loops, AIFF, WAV and all standard audio ﬁle formats. BPM will automap REX loop slices so you can work with them either as audio clips or individual MIDI-triggered slices. BPM time-stretches and grooves any audio ﬁle in real t ime with audio quality th at sounds incredible, even at extreme tempos.

BPM provides a powerful set of tools for manipulating looped audio. Essential controls such as tempo, sync, audio drag and drop, MIDI mapping and MIDI drag and drop are accessed in the Loop Editor.

Multi-sample instruments

When it’s time to add guitar, bass, keys, or other instrument sounds, BPM includes a great selection of instrument presets at your ﬁngertips. Use BPM’s familiar piano roll editor and pencil tool to sequence instrument parts, or record them live from up to 64 separate MIDI channels. Apply effects with unlimited effects slots per instrument part. The same goes for loops and phrases.

Compatibility with other UVI instruments

If you own another UVI-based instrument from MOTU, such as MachFive 2, Electric Keys, Ethno Instrument or Symphonic Instrument, you can load sounds from their libraries into BPM’s two rack modules to incorporate them into your BPM rhythm productions.

BPM is also compatible with BPM Expander packs and other UVI SoundCards from UVISoundSource.com.

Powerful synthesis engine

The central section of BPM window shows an amplitude envelope, ﬁlters, velocity response curves and LFO. These parameters let you carefully shape the sound of any individual sample, pad, loop or instrument. The award-winning UVIEngine that powers BPM delivers virtually unlimited polyphony and ultra-low latency.

Complete mixing

Use BPM’s graphic mixer to reﬁne your mix with channel strips for all 64 pads, loops and instrument parts. BPM also provides stereo main outs plus 16 stereo aux channel outputs for sending sub-mixes to your host audio software.

Comprehensive effects processing

BPM provides the most comprehensive and ﬂexible effects architecture ever devised in a rhythm instrument. You can apply professional quality effects at any point in the signal chain, from individual samples, pads, loops, and instruments, to entire drum kit banks, racks, aux returns and even BPM’s master output.

You get dozens of effects, including EQ, compressor/gate, ﬁlter, delay, reverb, phaser, chorus, drive, distortion, reverb and many more.

Convolution reverb and real acoustic spaces

For the very best in reverb technology, BPM includes a convolution reverb processor to produce the most realistic acoustic spaces available. From directly in the BPM window, you can audition and choose plates, halls and authentic acoustic spaces, such as studio rooms, concert halls and cathedrals.

Live performance and song programming

BPM provides a complete set of features for live performance and song creation. Combine kits, patterns and sequences into a scene. Create multiple scenes and then trigger them during live

ABOUT BPM

Page 10

performance by clicking the on-screen pads or play ing note s on you r MIDI key board or c ontrol ler — a unique and powerful performance feature.

Build an entire song in seconds by simply dragging and dropping multiple scenes and adjusting their lengt h. Sync your song to your host audio s oftware, or export the song as a stereo audio ﬁle.

BPM is complete beat production environment. BPM delivers the perfect balance of smooth operation, advanced features, fresh patterns and sounds, superb audio quality and across-the-board compatibility.

MIDI Remote Control

BPM and a drum pad controller give you a true beat box experience. Map hardware pads to BPM’s sixteen on-screen pads and you are on your way. BPM includes template ﬁles that you can load into popular pad controller models to get going quickly. Or program your favorite MIDI keyboard to control BPM, both from the keyboard and any knobs, buttons, and sliders it may have. Then use BPM's MIDI Remote Control features to map additional controls such as knobs, buttons, and sliders.

ABOUT BPM

Page 11

CHAPTER

Installation

Thank you for purchasing BPM, the advanced urban rhythm instrument.

Package contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Attention new users: an iLok is required . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Preparing your iLok USB Smart Key. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Connect your iLok . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Familiarity with your computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Please register your software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Visit motu.com for software updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Technical support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

PACKAGE CONTENTS

Your BPM package includes:

■

BPM installer CD-ROM disc

■

Two BPM soundbank DVD discs

■

One Beat Box Anthology soundbank DVD disc

■

BPM User Guide with tear-out registration card

ATTENTION NEW USERS: AN ILOK IS REQUIRED

If you are a new BPM user: this product requires an iLok Smart Key, a small USB device (sold separately) that holds the license for your MOTU software. Before you install and use your MOTU software, you must obtain an iLok, if you don’t already have one.

You will not be able to use your BPM software

☛

without an iLok.

iLok 2

iLok 1

Figure 2-1: BPM is compatible with iLok 1 and iLok 2 USB Smart Keys.

Do you already own an iLok?

You may already own an iLok if:

■

you upgraded from BPM 1.0

■

you own another MOTU instrument product

■

you own a 3rd-party product that uses iLok

If so, you can skip to “Preparing your iLok USB Smart Key”.

Purchasing an iLok

If you do not already own an iLok, you can purchase one from your local music retail shop, an on-line music technology reseller, or iLok.com.

iLok compatibility

MOTU instrument products are compatible with iLok 1 or 2 (Figure 2-1).

PREPARING YOUR iLOK USB SMART KEY

BPM will not run unless it detects an iLok Smart Key plugged into any available USB port on your computer. In addition, the iLok must hold both a BPM license and a Beat Box Anthology license.

Downloading your BPM licenses to your iLok

Your BPM package includes a two-sided card with unique iLok license redemption codes printed on it for your BPM software and the Beat Box Anthology soundbank included in your BPM software

Page 12

package. Follow the instructions on the card to redeem each code and download the resulting two software licenses to your iLok.

BPM will not run without the downloaded

☛

BPM and Beat Box Anthology licenses in your iLok, so be sure to follow the important instructions on the card before proceeding to install and use BPM.

Managing iLok licenses

If you have multiple iLoks, you can consolidate all of your licenses onto a single iLok. Use iLok License Manager to move product licenses from one iLok to another, consolidate them onto one iLok, protect them from loss or damage, or otherwise manage your product license assets.

If you have further questions about your iLok, visit www.iLok.com, or contact MOTU Customer Service at +1 (617) 576-2760.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

BPM 1.5.3 has the following minimum and recommended system requirements:

■

Mac or PC with Intel Core Duo CPU 1.83 GHz or faster; multiple processors or a multi-core processor is required. Intel Core 2 Duo CPU

2.0 GHz or faster recommended. Macs with PowerPC CPUs are not supported.

■

2 GB of RAM is required; 4 GB or more is highly recommended.

■

CD/DVD disc drive for installation.

Mac OS X version 10.5.8 or later, or Windows 8,

■

7 or Vista (32- or 64-bit; Vista SP2 or later is required).

■

A digital audio workstation program or other program that hosts AU, VST, or RTAS instrument plug-ins. Alternatively, BPM can be used as a standalone application.

64-bit operation

For native 64-bit operation, BPM has the following additional requirements:

Mac OS X v10.6, Windows 8, or a 64-bit version

■

of Windows 7 or Vista

■

64-bit CPU

■

64-bit plug-in host application, if using the 64-bit plug-in

Hard disk format

Due to the large size of BPM’s factory soundbank UFS ﬁles, the disk containing the soundbank ﬁles must be able to support individual ﬁles larger than 4 GB. This is determined by the disk’s ﬁle system format.

The default ﬁle system format for disk drives on Mac OS X and Windows are compatible with BPM’s soundbank ﬁles:

■

Mac OS X: HFS+ (Mac OS Extended, journaled or unjournaled)

■

Windows: NTFS

The FAT32 format is not compatible with BPM’s soundbank ﬁles, as it does not allow ﬁle sizes greater than 4 GB.

If you experience trouble copying the UFS ﬁles to your hard disk, refer to the troubleshooting chapter in the BPM User Guide.

Large hard disk, preferably at least 100 GB. The

■

disk on which the sounds are stored must be a fast hard disk. Refer to the BPM User Guide Installation chapter for details.

■

Available USB port for the iLok SmartKey.

INSTALLATION

Page 13

INSTALLATION

Run the BPM installer

Run the BPM installer ﬁrst before you copy the UFS soundbank ﬁles from the soundbank DVDs, as follows:

Insert the downloaded the BPM installer, locate the folder containing the download.

Double-click (Windows 32-bit), or 64-bit).

Follow the directions the installer gives you.

☛

Windows VST users: The BPM VST plug-in is

installed in:

startup disk:\Program Files\MOTU\Vstplugins

Point your host application to this folder, or copy

BPM.dll

the Vstplugins folder of your choice.

BPM Installer

Setup64.exe

and

BPMSampler.dll

CD; or, if you have

(Mac),

Setup32.exe

(Windows

ﬁles to the

The term

startup disk

in the path names above is

the name of your system hard drive (usually

Macintosh HD

or C).

Place the UFS ﬁles directly in this location. Alternatively, you can place the UFS ﬁles in another location (possibly on an external or second hard drive), create aliases (Mac OS X) or shortcuts (Windows) to them, and then place the aliases or shortcuts in this location.

If you create aliases or shortcuts, the names

☛

must be the same as their corresponding UFS ﬁles. If the alias or shortcut name includes the words

alias

☛

shortcut to,

The

BPM.ufs

it will not work.

and

BPM.ufs1

ﬁles must be

placed in the same folder.

Installing the Beat Box Anthology soundbank ﬁle

To i ns ta ll t h e

Beat Box Anthology.ufs

soundbank ﬁle, copy it from the Beat Box Anthology DVD to the following location:

Copy the UFS soundbank ﬁles to your hard drive

BPM version 1.5 includes two 8 GB (dual layer)

soundbank

DVDs that contain a total of 15 GB of drum samples, loops, phrases and multi-sampled instruments. These sounds are organized into two separate “.UFS” soundbank ﬁles on these DVDs:

BPM.ufs

and

BPM.ufs1

. Additionally, the Beat Box Anthology.ufs soundbank DVD contains another 4 GB of drum samples, loops, kits, and patterns.

Installing the BPM soundbank ﬁles

To i ns ta ll t h e

BPM.ufs

and

BPM.ufs1

soundbank ﬁles, copy them from the DVDs to the following location:

Mac OS X

startup disk/Library/Application Support/MOTU/BPM/

Win dows

startup disk:\Program Files\MOTU\BPM\

INSTALLATION

Mac OS X

startup disk/Library/Application Support/UVISoundBanks/

Win dows

startup disk:\Program Files\UVISoundBanks\

Place the UFS ﬁles directly in this location, or cre ate an a lias or shor tcut to the ﬁ le in this locati on, as described for the

BPM.ufs

and

BPM.ufs1

ﬁles.

Presets for hardware controllers

The BPM installer disc includes a folder of presets for popular hardware pad controller products, including the Akai MPD16, Akai MPD32, Korg padKONTROL and the M-Audio Trigger Finger. If you own one of these products, load the supplied BPM pad preset into the hardware’s utility software to load BPM’s pad conﬁguration into the controller hardware. For details, consult the documentation for your pad controller.

Page 14

CONNECT YOUR ILOK

Connect your BPM USB iLok SmartKey to any available USB port.

Figure 2-2: BPM requires the USB iLok SmartKey (included).

PLEASE REGISTER YOUR SOFTWARE

MOTU can only provide customer service and technical support to registered users. Therefore, it is important for you to register your software immediately after purchase.

To do so, visit www.motu.com/registration to register online. Or, ﬁll out and mail in the registration card found at the beginning of the

Use r

Guide (leave the rest of the cardboard page in the

manual for your future reference).

☛ If you purchased an upgrade from an earlier

version at motu.com, you are already registered and no further action is necessary.

VISIT MOTU.COM FOR SOFTWARE UPDATES

Software updates are periodically posted on our website, so check our web site for the latest updates at www.motu.com.

BPM will not run unless it detects that your iLok SmartKey is plugged into any available USB port on your computer.

If you wish to transfer the authorization in your BPM iLok to another iLok, or if you have questions about your iLok, visit www.ilok.com for further information, or contact MOTU Technical Support (as explained on page 259).

GETTING STARTED

Follow the directions in the next few chapters of this guide to successfully install and begin using BPM.

FAMILIARITY WITH YOUR COMPUTER

This manual assumes that your are familiar with using your computer. If not, please review your computer’s user guide before proceeding.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

If you have questions, please review this manual carefully ﬁrst. You can reach MOTU tech support as follows:

■ 24-hour online tech support database with

search engine: www.motu.com

■ Online: www.motu.com/support

■ Phone: +1 (617) 576-3066

(9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Eastern)

■ Downloads: www.motu.com

INSTALLATION

Page 15

CHAPTER

Open BPM

1 After BPM installation, launch your audio sequencer or MIDI software.

2 Open BPM in the usual fashion, either as a standalone application or as a plug-in from within your audio sequencer.

3 Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide

Choose a kit+pattern

A pattern is a rhythm that can b e applied to any kit. A kit is a collection of drum sounds assigned to BPM’s sixteen drum pads. A kit+pattern is a combination of the two that BPM provides as a preset. All kit+pattern presets are also available as independent kit and pattern presets.

3 Click the Sequence Editor button (Figure 3-1) so you will be able to see the pattern that will be loaded.

Figure 3-1: The Sequence Editor button.

4 Notice that the Sequence Editor is currently empty (Figure 3-2).

Figure 3-2: The empty Sequence Editor.

5 Click the Kit+Pattern tab (Figure 3-3).

Kit+Pattern tab

Figure 3-3: Browsing Kit+Pattern presets

☛ If the brows er i s emp ty a t this poin t, the n BP M

has lost the location of the BPM.ufs and/or BPM.ufs1 ﬁles. See “When I try to access the

browser, the browser is empty. Why is it empty?” on page 255.

6 Open the Dirty South folder.

7 Make sure the Auto Loa d button is enabled

(yellow) at the bottom of the browser (Figure 3-4).

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Figure 3-4: Make sure AutoLoad is enabled.

8 Click 076-Brick and Stick (Figure 3-5).

Figure 3-5: Loading the ‘Brick And Stick’ kit+pattern.

9 As soon as you click, the kit+pattern will load and you will see the notes in the Pattern Editor (Figure 3-6):

Check the audio output assignment

11 If you are running BPM as a plug-in inside your audio sequencer host, the BPM track has an audio output assignment. Make sure that it is assigned to the appropriate audio output in your system (the headphone outs, main outs, or whatever you are using for listening).

12 If you are running BPM as a standalone application, open the preferences (in the File menu) and click the Audio Device tab. Check the Output Device assignment and make sure the sample rate setting matches the setting on your audio hardware (or the built-in audio hardware of your computer, if that is what you are using).

If you don’t hear anything

13 Check the audio output assignment for the track on which BPM is instantiated. Make sure it is assigned to your headphones, main speakers, or whatever you are listening to.

Try a different kit

BPM lets you choose kits and patterns independently so there are virtually unlimited possibilities. Let’s keep the same pattern going, but try it with a different kit:

Figure 3-6: A pattern in the Sequence Editor.

Play the kit+pattern

10 If the kit+pattern is not playing, click the play button to hear it.

The play button

Figure 3-7: The play button.

14 Click the Kits tab in the browser.

Kits tab

Figure 3-8: Kits tab.

TUTORIAL 1: QUICKSTART GUIDE

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15 Open the Dancehall folder.

16 Click a few of the kits in the Dancehall folder to

audition them. Notice that the pattern stays the same, but the drum sounds change as try different kits.

Try a different pattern

Once you ﬁnd a kit that you like, let it play while you try different patterns with it.

17 Click the Pat tern s shortcut in the browser.

Replace a snare sound

As you’ve seen and heard so far, patterns and kits can be chosen independently. The same is true for individual drum pad sounds. For example, you might ﬁnd a beat you like, but you might want to change the snare drum sound (or any other individual sound).

22 Make sure the pattern you are currently playing has a few snare drum 1 (SD1) hits. If not, you can add a few by clicking on the cells in the SD1 row in the pattern grid as shown below.

Patterns tab

Figure 3-9: Patterns tab.

18 Open the Hiphop-Rnb-Bpm V1 > Machine folder.

19 Click a few of the patterns in the Machine folder to audition t hem. Notice that t he kit stays the same, but the pattern changes as try different patterns.

20 If you ever want to hear the “original” pattern that goes with a kit, or vice versa (the original kit that goes with a pattern), just go to the Kits+Patterns folder (Figure 3-3 on page 15) and click the Kit+Pattern with the same name.

Snare drum row Snare drum hit

Figure 3-10: Snare drum hits in the pattern grid.

Click the SD1 pad in to select it.

SD1 pad

Figure 3-11: The snare drum 1 pad.

21 For the purposes of this demo, go back to the Kit+Pattern folder and choose the Kit+Pattern called 086-Dentist (in the Machine folder) before proceeding.

TUTORIAL 1: QUICKSTART GUIDE

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23 Click the Sound tab in the browser.

Sounds tab

Add reverb to the snare

BPM lets you add effects processing to your beats in just about every way imaginable, from individual samples to your entire mix. Let’s add a little reverb to your snare sound. For the purposes of this tutorial, it would be best to choose a snare sound that is fairly dry to begin with (there is not a lot of reverb on the original sample).

28 Make sure the SD1 pad is still selected (Figure 3-11 on page 17).

29 Click the Edit button.

Edit button

Figure 3-12: Sounds tab.

24 Notice that individual sounds are organized by type (BD for bass drum, SD for snare drum, HH for hi hat, Clap, Shaker, etc.) In the (Categories) folder at the top of the list, the same sounds are organized by the same categories as the drum kits and patterns (Acoustic Mood, Beat City, etc.), so you can easily ﬁnd an individual sound that is part of a Kit or Kit+Pattern.

25 Open the SD (Snare Drum) folder.

26 Click a few different snare sounds to audition

them.

27 For the purposes of this tutorial, choose SD-Z Rock (near the end of the list).

Figure 3-13: Editing a drum pad.

30 You should now see a waveform display that represents the audio for the snare drum sample currently loaded into the SD1 pad. Click the FX button.

The FX button

Figure 3-14: Adding effects to a sample.

31 Click the Add FX button in the upper right-hand corner of the FX list.

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Add FX button.

Figure 3-15: Adding an effect.

32 Choose a Simple Reverb, such as Jazz Club, as shown below.

Figure 3-18: Click the Rack A button to switch to it.

35 Click the Instr uments tab in the browser.

Figure 3-16: Choosing a reverb.

33 If you don’t hear the reverb very well, turn up the Mix parameter.

Mix parameter

Figure 3-17: Adjusting the reverb mix.

Add a bass part

Now let’s try recording in a bass line to go with your beat.

34 Switch from Bank A (the pattern and kit you are currently playing) to Rack A. These two racks are where you can add instruments like guitar and bass, as well as loops and audio phrases.

Instruments tab

Figure 3-19: Instruments tab.

36 Open the Synth Bass folder.

37 Click DSP Bass. This lo ads the bass instrument

sound into the ﬁrst part.

38 Use the scroll arrow to the left of the small keyboard at the bottom of the rack (Figure 3-18) to scroll down to C1 octave on the keys.

39 Click a few keys in this octave to hear the bass sound.

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Set up MIDI keyboard input to BPM

You could record the bass part by clicking on the on-screen keys with the mouse as you record them live, while the beat plays. However, for a bass part it might be more fun — and more musical — to record from your MIDI keyboard.

Click anywhere on the bass part.

40 If you are running BPM as a plug-in inside your audio sequencer host, you’ll see BPM as a virtual instrument destination for your MIDI controller. Set up your host software so that it sends live MIDI input from your controller to BPM.

41 If you are running BPM as a standalone application, open the Audio and MIDI Settings (in the File menu) and click the MIDI Devices tab.

Figure 3-20: Conﬁrming that an available MIDI device is available for MIDI input.

42 Make sure that an available MIDI device connected to your system is chosen for MIDI Port A.

43 Set the Route MIDI input to menu to Selected Bank/Part and make sure the check box is checked,

as shown below.

Figure 3-22: Selecting the bass part for MIDI recording.

Play the bass sound with your keyboard controller

45 Try playing your MIDI controller. You should now hear the same bass sound you heard back in step 39.

46 If you hear it, you are ready to record the bass part.

If you don’t hear anything

47 Check to see if the MIDI light for the bass part is blinking when you play notes on your MIDI controller. If it blinks, then MIDI is OK. If not, check your MIDI cables, connections and software settings again.

Recording a bass part

48 Press the play button (Figure 3-7 on page 16) to begin playing the drum loop again (if it is not already playing).

49 Switch back to the Sequence Editor, as shown in Figure 3-1 on page 15.

Figure 3-21: use these settings to route live MIDI input to the bass part.

44 Click the bass part in the list to select it. It gets a bright red border around it when it is selected.

50 You’ll see the playback wiper move across the note grid.

51 Use the scroll bar to the right of the note grid to sc roll down to the C1 octave range so you can see the notes appear as you record them.

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Add a loop

BPM includes a large library of loops that you can freely mix and match with patterns, kits, instruments and other loops.

56 Back in the rack, click the empty part below the bass part to select it.

Figure 3-23: Scroll the empty note grid down to the C1 octave .

52 Press the red Record button to the right of the play button (Figure 3-7 on page 16) to engage recording. You’ll hear a “blip” metronome sound when recording is engaged.

53 Wait for the wiper to come around to the be gin ning of t he lo op, and t hen play you r bas s pa rt. For the purposes of this tutorial, play a bass line where the root note is C1.

Figure 3-24: The recorded bass part.

54 If you don’t like what you played, use the selection cursor to select the notes and then hit the delete key to erase them. Then just record again.

57 Click the Loops tab in the Browser.

Loops tab

Figure 3-26: Loops tab.

58 Open the Va r i o u s folder.

59 Open the 099-C-Martinik folder.

60 Click 099-Martinik DrmLoop.

61 Now let’s add another loop. Click the empty part

below the Martinik DrmLoop part to select it.

Selection cursor

Figure 3-25: Selecting notes to erase them.

55 When you are ﬁnished recording, click the red record button again to disengage recording.

TUTORIAL 1: QUICKSTART GUIDE

62 Click 099-C-Martinik Gtr+Vox.

Balance the parts in the mixer

BPM provides a complete mixing environment just a click away.

63 Click the Mix button.

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Export your mix

BPM provides many drag and drop tabs. To ﬁnish this tutorial, drag and drop the new mix to the desktop. Everything done so far is stored in Scene

1. A scene is a a snapshot of the patterns and sequences loaded in each bank and rack.

Mix button

Figure 3-27: Opening the mixer.

64 Bring down the volume Part 2 (the drum loop) a little bit to settle it into the mix. Bring up Part 3 (the guitar and vocals) so you can hear them a little better.

The volume slider

Figure 3-28: Mixing the parts.

65 To mix the individual elements of the Kit+Pattern that you currently have loaded in Bank A, click the Bank A button.

66 To drag and drop Scene 1 to the desktop, press on the word SCENE above the scene menu and then drag to your computer desktop. There will be a short pause while BPM generates the audio, and then a WAVE ﬁle will appear on your desktop.

Figure 3-30: To export the current scene (in the Scene menu) as an audio ﬁle, drag the word ‘SCENE’ to your computer desktop.

Save a performance

A performance is a snapshot of all settings in BPM, including all scenes, plus all the kits, loops and instr uments that might be loaded in the four ba nks and two racks, along with effects, mix settings — everything. Saving a performance at the end of a session is a good idea because it preserves all the work you have done in BPM in that session. You can save a performance to disk to archive it and share it with a colleague.

67 Choose Save Performance from the File menu in the BPM window, as shown below.

Figure 3-29: Mixing the kit+pattern loaded in Bank A.

Figure 3-31: Saving a performance.

Congratulations

You are now ready to create your own beats with BPM and learn more about BPM’s many other advanced features.

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CHAPTER

4 Tutorial 2: Building a Song

Overview

The ﬁrst tutorial focused on perfecting a single scene; this tutorial focuses on using multiple scenes to build a complete track entirely in BPM.

Scenes

A Scene is a snapshot of the patterns & sequences loaded in each bank & rack part. There are 16 scenes available in each instance of BPM.

Two important things to remember about scenes:

■ Only one scene is active at a given time.

■ The kits and instruments loaded in the Banks

and Racks don’t change when you change scenes — only the patterns/sequences change.

Scene Editor

The Scene Editor provides a simple display to show which patterns & sequences are assigned to each scene.

1 Click the Scene tab.

By default, each scene uses the patterns of the same number. That is, Scene 1 has pattern 1 loaded in each bank, Scene 2 has pattern 2 loaded in each bank, and so on. However, you can freely assign any pattern to any scene.

Figure 4-2: The Scene Editor.

In the Scene Editor, each bank and rack part has a column, and each scene has a row. The number shown at the intersection of a row and column is the pattern that will play for that bank/part in that scene. For example, if a 4 is shown at the intersection of Scene 3 and Bank C, that means Bank C’s Pattern #4 will play during Scene 3.

To change the pattern in any cell, click it and choose the desired pattern from the pop-up menu.

Figure 4-1: Opening the Scene Editor.

Scene tab

Figure 4-3: Choosing a pattern.

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Loading the tutorial ﬁle

For this tutorial, you are going to load a performance that already has a few patterns programmed and assigned to a number of scenes.

Use the Load Performance command under the File menu to load the “Tutorial 2” performance ﬁle.

Song mode

In Song mode, scenes are placed end-to-end to create a sequential timeline.

3 To add Scene1 to the song, click and drag the Scene1 pad to the Song Editor and drop it at bar 1.

Figure 4-6: Dragging Scene1 into the Song Editor

2 To enable Song mode, press the Song button in the lower left corner.

Figure 4-4: The Song mode button.

Note that the pads have changed from BD1, BD2, etc. to Scene1, Scene2, etc.

Above the pads, you’ll see the Song Editor, which is currently empty:

4 Scene1 is 4 bars long. Let’s repeat it 2 times (ending at the beginning of bar 9).

When you hover the mouse near the right edge of Scene1, the cursor will change to the edge-edit cursor. Click and drag to stretch the Scene1 block to bar 9.

Figure 4-7: Stretching Scene1 to repeat it.

5 To zoom out to see more of the song, hover over the Song Editor timeline. When you see the hand cursor, click & drag upward to zoom out.

Figure 4-5: The Song Editor.

Figure 4-8: Zooming the Song timeline.

6 Let’s add more scenes to the song. Drag the Scene2 pad to the Song Editor and drop it at bar 9, then drag Scene3 to bar 13, and ﬁnally, Scene1 again to bar 17.

TUTORIAL 2: BUILDING A SONG

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Figure 4-9: Building a song.

7 To hear the song, press Play: you’ll see the playback wiper advance, as well as the playback position ﬁelds above the timeline.

If you’re using BPM as a plug-in within a sequencer/DAW, the song playback position will follow the host.

8 To export the entire song as a new audio ﬁle, choose Export Song as Audio from the File menu.

Figure 4-11: The Live mode button

As with Song mode, the pads are for Scene1, Scene2, etc.

10 Each scene is assigned a MIDI note chromatically beginning at C1: Scene 1 is triggered by C1, Scene 2 by C#1, and so on.

Pl ay C 1 on you r MID I co ntro lle r ke ybo ard : Sc ene 1 starts playing.

Figure 4-10: Exporting a song

Live mode

Instead of planning out your scene changes in Song mode, you can trigger scenes on-the-ﬂy using Live mode. In this mode, you change scenes using MIDI input (from a keyboard or a sequencer/DAW application) or by clicking on the 16 pads in the BPM user interface.

9 To ena ble Live mode, press the Live but ton i n th e lower left corner.

TUTORIAL 2: BUILDING A SONG

11 While Scene1 is playing, play C#1: Scene 2 plays.

12 Now click on the Scene3 pad: Scene 3 plays.

Sequencing Live mode from your host

Live mode is also great for programming scene changes from your host sequencer. Since the scene changes are controlled by MIDI notes, you can insert MIDI notes in your host that can be cut, copied, pasted, repeated, etc. just like any other MIDI notes.

13 In your host sequencer, instantiate BPM in the normal fashion and assign a MIDI track to BPM channel A-1.

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Figure 4-14: Inserting C1 to trigger Scene1

Figure 4-12: The BPM instrument and MIDI tracks

14 In BPM, load the “Tutorial 2” performance ﬁle in the same manner as before.

15 Open the Scene Editor and click on the Options tab. Change Latch to “False”.

Figure 4-13: Turning off Latch mode

For details on Latch mode, see “Latch” on page 103.

16 Back in your sequencer, insert or record a C1 from the beginning of bar 1 until bar 5.

17 Insert a few more notes in the following measures, using C1, C#1, and D1.

Figure 4-15: Inserting additional notes

18 Press Play in your host: as it reaches each MIDI note, BPM changes to the corresponding scene.

The next step

You’re now ready to build your own songs with BPM. Keep reading for all of the details about BPM’s powerful features.

TUTORIAL 2: BUILDING A SONG

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CHAPTER

5 BPM Application

OVERVIEW

BPM is supplied in two forms:

■ As a standalone application

■ As a plug-in

This chapter explains how to use the BPM standalone application. For information about operating BPM as a plug-in, see chapter 6, “BPM Plug-in” (page 35).

Standalone operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Managing latency with standalone operation . . . . . . . 30

Opening the standalone version. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Audio and MIDI settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Audio device tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Routing tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

MIDI Devices tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

STANDALONE OPERATION

BPM can operate as a standalone instrument application, independent of a plug-in host, turning your Mac or PC into a streamlined urban rhythm production powerhouse. Standalone operation also allows you to:

These three scenarios are brieﬂy described below. The rest of this chapter explains the settings in BPM necessary to establish MIDI and audio connections for these scenarios.

Playing BPM as a live instrument from MIDI controller

To play BPM as a live instrument from a MIDI controller, you need to route MIDI data from your controller to BPM via a MIDI interface connected to the computer, and then route the audio output from BPM to your computer’s audio hardware, as shown below. The MIDI data triggers sounds in BPM, which then produces audio signal to be routed to your headphones or speakers in your studio:

MIDI keyboard or controller

MIDI data

BPM running on a computer

■ play BPM from an external MIDI keyboard, pad

controller or other MIDI controller, allowing you to use BPM as a live instrument

■ use BPM as a comprehensive rhythm instrument

for an external MIDI sequencer or MIDI-capable music software running on another computer

■ use BPM as a comprehensive rhythm instrument

for MIDI-capable music software that does not host third-party instrument plug-ins but that is running on the same computer as BPM

BPM audio output from the computer

Figure 5-1: The ﬂow of MIDI data and audio signal when playing BPM as a live instrument.

MIDI connections

There are several ways to get MIDI data into your computer. Here are a few:

■ A USB MIDI keyboard or pad controller that

connects directly to the computer

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■ A MIDI-equipped keyboard connected to a USB

MDI i nterfa ce, or to an audio i nterfa ce th at doubles as a MIDI interface, via a standard MIDI cable

performance of your audio sequencer, notation program or other MIDI authoring software running on your main computer.

Audio connections

There are many ways to play audio from your computer. The simplest method is to use the computer’s built-in audio capabilities. You can also use a third-party audio interface. A perfect example is the MOTU UltraLite-mk3, an affordable, bus-powered FireWire audio interlace that also provides MIDI input and output, as shown below:

MIDI keyboard or controller

MIDI OUT

MIDI cable

UltraLite-mk3 audio/MIDI interface

FireWire cab le

Figure 5-2: An example setup for standalone operation using a MOTU UltraLite-mk3 audio interface. In this example, the UltraLite-mk3 is also handling MIDI data transmission from the keyboard controller to the computer and BPM.

MIDI data

MIDI IN

MIDI data to BPM and audio output from BPM

UltraLite-mk3

audio

output

BPM running on a computer

Speakers or headphones

The disadvantage to this setup is that you must manage the operational overhead of two (or more) computers. For example, you will need to save BPM settings on the satellite computer in a way that lets you easily cross-reference them to the corresponding ﬁle or project for your authoring software on your main computer. If you prefer to save BPM s etti ngs dire ctly in your host authoriz ing software, you are better off running BPM as a plug-in. But if processing resources are at a premium, and you have an extra computer on which to run BPM, this “satellite” computing scenario can be very beneﬁcial.

The setup for running BPM on a satellite computer is simil ar to the live keyb oard s cena rio descr ibe d in the previous section, except that audio sequencer software or other authoring software running on your main computer serves as the source of MIDI data being sent to BPM running on the satellite computer, as demonstrated in Figure 5-3. MIDI data is transmitted from the host computer via a FastLane MIDI interface and MIDI cable to the UltraLite-mk3 audio/MIDI interface connected to the laptop running BPM.

Using BPM as a sound source for music software running on another computer

When running as a standalone application on a computer by itself, BPM can serve as a sound source for MIDI equipped music software, such as an audio sequencer application, running on another computer.

The advantage of this “satellite” setup is that you can fully dedicate the BPM satellite computer’s processing resources to BPM, without affecting the

BPM APPLICATION

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Main computer running audio sequencer or other MIDI authoring software

USB cable

USB MIDI interface

MIDI OUT

MIDI cable

UltraLite-mk3 audio/MIDI interface

FireWire cab le

Figure 5-3: An example setup for standalone operation using a MOTU UltraLite-mk3 audio interface. In this example, the UltraLite-mk3 is also handling MIDI data transmission from the keyboard controller to the computer and BPM.

MIDI data

MIDI IN

MIDI data to BPM and audio output from BPM

UltraLite

audio

output

Satellite computer running BPM

Speakers or headphones

The example setup shown in Figure 5-3 shows one satellite computer. But you can use this same basic idea for two or more satellite computers, each running virtual instruments as well. For multiple satellite computer setups, you may also want to consider using just one or two computer monitors connected to a computer monitor switcher. These devices, available from your favorite computer supplies retailer, allow you operate multiple computers from the same screen, keyboard and mouse.

Running BPM standalone on the same computer as your host software

If you are planning to run BPM on the same computer as your audio sequencer, notation program or other MIDI authoring software, it will be mos t conv eni ent for y ou t o ru n BP M a s a p lug -in inside your host software.

If, however, your authoring software does not have th e abi lit y to h ost inst rum ent plug- ins, i t is po ssib le that you might be able to run BPM in standalone mode and trigger BPM sounds from your host software using inter-application MIDI transmission, if your host software supports this feature. Inter-application MIDI transmission is when one program sends MIDI data to another program that is running at the same time. In essence, both programs are running side by side as standalone applications, and they pass MIDI data (and perhaps even audio streams) between each other.

Inter-application MIDI

On the Mac, inter-application MIDI functionality is supported by the Mac operating system (OS) itself, and many current music software packages support the Mac OS’s inter-application features. Consult your host software documentation for details. On the Mac, you can set up a compatible host application to publish a virtual MIDI device (stream), which then appears in BPM’s MIDI Device tab menus.

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Inter-application audio

The audio output from BPM can either play directly to your audio interface hardware connected (via the settings described later in this chapter), or you can use third-party downloadable utilities (such as Cycling 74’s Sound Flower utility for Mac OS or other similar downloadable 3rd-party audio utility) to route BPM’s audio output back into your host audio sequencer application (or any other audio software running on the same computer).

MANAGING LATENCY WITH STANDALONE OPERATION

Latency is the time it takes for MIDI data from your controller to reach BPM and then for BPM to respond to it and produce sound. See “Managing latency” on page 36, which discusses ways to manage latency that apply to both plug-in operation and standalone operation.

Figure 5-4: An example of the inter-application MIDI feature in a host program. This window in Digital Performer (Setup menu> Interapplication MIDI) lets you create a ‘virtual’ MIDI output device (stream) from Digital Performer, as shown in this example by the name ‘DP Output’. You can then choose this a virtual MIDI device (source) from within BPM (running standalone, not as a plug-in). If you then play a MIDI track to the MIDI channels on this virtual output device, they will trigger parts in BPM that are assigned to receive on those same MIDI channels.

On Windows, there are third-party utilities available for Windows, such as LoopBe or MIDI Yo k e , that allow MIDI programs to transmit MIDI data to each other.

OPENING THE STANDALONE VERSION

On the Mac, the standalone version of BPM can be found in your Applications folder. On Windows, it can be found under the Start menu> Programs> MOTU.

Standalone operation is identical to plug-in operation as described in chapter 7, “BPM Window” (page 49), with the exception of the additional standalone settings described in this chapter.

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AUDIO AND MIDI SETTINGS

The standalone version of BPM has a few basic settings that can be found in File menu> Audio and MIDI Settings:

Audio and MIDI settings (Mac OS X)

Audio and MIDI settings (Windows)

Figure 5-5: The standalone version Audio and MIDI settings.

AUDIO DEVICE TAB

The Audio Dev ice tab settings (Figure 5-5) let you make several audio hardware device settings.

API

Choose the desired audio driver for the audio interface you are using for BPM. For Mac OS X, this will almost always be set to Core Audio. If your Windows audio device provides both MME and ASIO driver support, you are free to choose either driver for BPM, but ASIO is recommended.

Output device

Choose the desired audio hardware from the Output Device menu (Figure 5-5). For example, you could choose your computer’s built-in audio hardware. If you have a third party audio interface installed or connected, and you do not see it in the menu, be sure that you have correctly installed its dr iver and th at it is ot her wise fun cti onin g prope rly, independently of BPM. For example, can you access the hardware from the system software (Mac OS or Windows) and other audio applications?

Sample Rate

Choose the desired Sample Rate (Figure 5-5) for playback. The choices in this menu are provided by your audio hardware driver, and the setting you choose here is the sample rate your hardware will be set to. 44.1 kHz is the standard rate for audio compact discs. BPM samples are all provided in 24bit resolution at 96 kHz, but if you choose to operate at a different sample rate, they are samplerate converted on the ﬂy to match the rate you’ve chosen.

BPM APPLICATION

Buffer size (Mac) Output Latency (Windows)

This setting is crucial for managing your computer’s processing resources. In general, settings of 256, 128 or 64 samples produce better latency performance. But lower settings place higher demand on your computer’s processor.

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ASIO Conﬁg (Windows only)

Click the ASIO conﬁg button to open the ASIO driver conﬁguration window. Consult your audio hardware documentation for details about the settings in this window for conﬁguring your hardware’s ASIO driver.

Refresh Audio Devices

If you make changes to your audio device conﬁguration (outside of BPM), click the Refresh Audio Devices button (Figure 5-5) to see those changes reﬂected in the BPM Audio Devices tab.

ROUTING TAB

The standalone version of BPM provides 17 independent stereo outputs (a main out pair, plus 16 additional separate output pairs numbered 2 through 17) to which you can freely assign each part (instrument), as explained in “Outputs” on page 98.

The Routings tab (Figure 5-6) provides a way for you to map each BPM output to a physical output connector on your audio hardware. For example, you might map the BPM’s “Main Out Left/Right” output pair to the headphone output of your audio interface.

Routing (Mac OS X)

Routing (Windows )

The connectors you see in the Physical Output menus (Figure 5-6) are provided by your hardware and its software driver. If you do not see the desired hardware device outputs in the menus, be sure that you have correctly installed its driver and that it is otherwise functioning properly, independently of BPM. For example, can you access the hardware from the system software (Mac OS X or Windows) and other audio applications?

Figure 5-6: Mapping standalone version outputs to the physical connectors on your audio hardware.

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MIDI DEVICES TAB

The MIDI Devices tab (Figure 5-7) lets you conﬁgure how external MIDI sources are mapped to BPM’s 64 MIDI channels (four ports of 16 channels each).

MIDI Devices (Mac OS X)

MIDI Devices (Windows)

This means that there is no such thing as MIDI channel 17, 18, 19, etc. So how does BPM provide 64 MIDI c hanne ls? Th e answer is: b y divi din g them into four ports of 16 channels each: Port A, Port B, Port C and Port D. Each port represents one MIDI cable — or MIDI port on a MIDI interface. The MIDI Devices tab (Figure 5-7) lets you map external MIDI sources to each port. These sources could be any of the following:

■ A MIDI IN port on a MIDI interface that is

connected to the computer

■ A “virtual” MIDI cable from MIDI software

running concurrently with BPM (such as Digital Per former )

■ A USB MIDI controller (a keyboard controller

that is connected directly to the computer via a USB cable)

■ A n au dio inte rfac e th at a lso suppl ies one or more

MIDI IN ports (such as the MOTU 828mk3 or Tr a v e l e r - m k 3 )

When any of these devices are “on line” (that is, they are connected to your computer with their drivers properly installed — or in the case of MIDI software programs, they are running simultaneously with BPM), they will display their available MIDI ports in the four MIDI port menus shown in Figure 5-7.

Figure 5-7: MIDI devices.

As deﬁned by the MIDI speciﬁcation, MIDI channels are supplied in banks of 16 channels. For example, one MIDI cable carries 16 MIDI channels. On multiport MIDI interfaces, such as the MOTU MIDI Express 128, each MIDI port carries its own set of 16 MIDI channels.

BPM APPLICATION

You can choose any source you wish for each port. If you c hoo se t he s ame source for two or more por t, just be aware that you will trigger the same MIDI channel on both port. For example, if you assign your controller to both Port A and Port B, and it transmits on MIDI channel 1, you will trigger any BPM parts that are assigned to either channel A1 or B1. To make channel A1 and B1 independent from one another, assign them to different sources in the MIDI Devices tab.

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Refresh MIDI Devices

If you make changes to your MIDI device conﬁguration (outside of BPM), click the Refresh MIDI Devices button to see those changes reﬂected in the BPM MIDI Devices tab.

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CHAPTER

6 BPM Plug-in

OVERVIEW

BPM is supplied in two forms:

■ As a standalone application

■ As a plug-in

This chapter provides basic setup and operation instructions for each supported plug-in format, with speciﬁc explanations for a variety of popular host audio software applications. After reading the ﬁrst two sections (for all users), turn to the section that applies to you.

For information about operating the standalone application, see chapter 5, “BPM Application” (page 27).

When operating BPM as a plug-in inside a host audio program, you can open — or instantiate — BPM on two or more tracks at a time. Each independently operating BPM is referred to as an instance of BPM. For example, you could say that it is possible to open multiple instances of BPM in a project. Each one opens as a separate window and operates independently.

For all users

Conserving CPU resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Managing latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

MAS

Digital Performer (Mac OS X) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

AAX/RTAS

Pro Tools (Mac & Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Audio Units

Logic (Mac OS X) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Other Audio Unit hosts (Mac OS X) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

VST

Cubase and Nuendo (Mac & Windows). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Live (Mac & Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Other VST hosts (Mac & Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

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CONSERVING CPU RESOURCES

Regardless of your host application, BPM provides several settings that are crucial for managing your computer’s precious processing (CPU) resources. Another setting, generally referred to as hardware buffer size, can also dramatically impact BPM performance. This last setting is not in BPM; instead, you’ll ﬁnd it either in your host application or in your audio hardware driver conﬁguration settings.

The Polyphony setting

The Polyphony setting (see “Pad polyphony” on page 65) lets you control the maximum allowed number of stereo notes that can be played simultaneous by an individual pad. The upper limit is 256. This setting can be adjusted separately for each pad. Keep it as low as possible to conserve CPU bandwidth.

software. For other Windows applications, such as Cubase and Pro Tools, it is managed by the audio hardware driver and is usually found in the driver conﬁguration software for your audio hardware. In general, settings of 256, 128 or 64 samples produce better latency performance. But lower settings place higher demand on your computer’s processor.

MANAGING LATENCY

Latency is a term used to refer to the very small delay that can occur between when a MIDI note is played and the resulting BPM sound is triggered. The discussion below explains how to best reduce — and in some cases completely eliminate — latency. However, regardless of which host application you use, there are two general situations that you should be aware of in which latency may be an issue:

Here are three ways you can optimize BPM performance:

1. The ﬁlter requires processing bandwidth, so disable the ﬁlter (click the Off button) when not using it.

2. Long envelope times can increase the polyphony count — without being obvious. Make sure your amplitude envelope is set as short as necessary. For details, see “Amplitude Envelope” on page 87.

3. BPM’s effects will increase the CPU load. Reverb is the most CPU-intensive effect, particularly the convolution (IR) reverb.

Hardware buffer size

A crucial setting for managing your system’s resources is the hardware buffer size. This setting is discussed more speciﬁcally for each host application later in this chapter. In general, under Mac OS X, this setting is managed by (and found in) your host audio software. Under Windows, some host audio applications, such as SONAR, control this setting, and you’ll ﬁnd it in the host

■ During live MIDI input

■ During MIDI track playback

Live MIDI input

Live input latency can occur when you play your MIDI controller to trigger sounds “live” in BPM, as demonstrated below in Figure 6-1. The most important setting to control live input latency, regardless of your host application, is the “Hardware buffer size” on page 36. Lower hardware buffer settings (512 samples or below) make live input latency almost inaudible. The lower the setting, the more accurate live playing will feel. However, lower settings place higher demand on th e comp uter, so if you are plac ing high demands on BPM, you may not want to go much lower than 512 samples. If you can live with a little “sponginess” when playing live parts, you could even set the buffer size to 1024 samples. This will give you even better BPM performance.

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☛ It is important to note that live input latency

has no effect whatsoever on the accuracy with which the MIDI data is recorded. This is only a monitoring issue (i.e. what you hear when you play live).

MIDI track playback

MIDI sequencers store streams of MIDI data in their tracks. When you play back the sequence, this MIDI data is sent to BPM (and other MIDI instruments) to trigger sounds. The question is: how much time elapses between when a MIDI data event is played from the track and when BPM plays the sample being triggered? This period of time, if any, could be referred to as MIDI playback latency.

The latest versions of the host applications described in this chapter all have ways to completely eliminate MIDI playback latency for virtual instruments like BPM: their MIDI track playback is extremely accurate — even sampleaccurate in some cases. (Host applications either send the MIDI data a little early or cue up BPM’s audio playback a little early so that it plays exactly when the MIDI note plays.) For a few host applications, however, this period of time is affected by the “Hardware buffer size” on page 36: the higher the buffer size, the longer the playback latency. The following sections explain which applications are affected by this setting with regard to MIDI track playback. As with live input latency, lower buffer settings result in more accurate playback, but at the expense of increased processing load on your computer.

BPM

MIDI Controller

MIDI or USB Cable

Figure 6-1: Latency during live MIDI input. You press a key on your controller keyboard. The note gets sent to BPM, which then plays a note in response to the received MIDI data. Latency is the time it takes between when you play the note and then hear it. High latency feels “spongy”. In other words, notes seem to play consistently a little late. Live input latency has no effect whatsoever on the accuracy with which the MIDI data is recorded. This is only a monitoring issue (i.e. what you hear when you play live).

BPM PLUG-IN

BPM audio output

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DIGITAL PERFORMER (MAC OS X)

For Digital Performer, BPM operates as a standard MAS instrument plug-in. Alternatively, you may use BPM as an Audio Unit (AU) instrument; the process is the same as described for MAS.

For complete details about running instrument plug-ins in Digital Performer, refer to your DP documentation. Here is a brief overview of how to use BPM in DP.

Installation for DP

BPM Installer places BPM plug-in in the MAS plug-ins folder:

/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/MAS/

Calling up BPM on an instrument track

BPM is accessed from an instrument track in Digital Performer’s Mixing Board. To create a new instrument track with BPM already instantiated on it, choose Project menu> Add Track> Instrument Track> BPM. To instantiate BPM on an existing instrument track, just choose it from the topmost insert menu.

Using BPM in a V-rack

If you are working with multiple sequences in a Digital Performer project document, and the sequences are making use of the same sounds in BPM, consider instantiating BPM in a V-rack. By doing so, you will only have to instantiate BPM once, in the V-rack, instead of multiple times in each individual sequence. This is a much more highly efﬁcient way to work, as it speeds up the time it takes for the project to open and the amount of time to switch between sequences. It also takes up much less computer memory.

Initiating BPM operation

Before you can begin using BPM, you need to load a kit into a bank or load at least one instrument or loop into a rack. For details, see chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

Specifying audio output

By default, BPM sends the output of all banks and parts to the audio output assignment of the instrument track on which it is instantiated. But it also supplies multiple independent outputs that let you send parts to different destinations in the Digital Performer mixing environment, including the separate outputs on your audio hardware. For details, see “Outputs” on page 98.

Figure 6-2: Opening BPM on an instrument track in Digital Performer.

Working with multiple instances of BPM

You can open as many instances of BPM in Digital Per former as you r comp uter’s process ing res ource s will allow. Keep in mind that BPM operates as a multitimbral instrument, so each instance of BPM is capable of playing different instruments (triggered from separate MIDI channels).

Figure 6-3: In Digital Performer, BPM sends audio to the track’s audio output assignment. In this example, the instrument track is being played on the main outs of a MOTU FireWire audio interface.

MIDI I/O

MIDI I/O between BPM and Digital Performer is handled by Mac OS X’s built-in MIDI services (Core MIDI). When you ﬁrst instantiate a BPM plug-in, BPM publishes 64 MIDI channels to

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Digital Performer. (Each instance of BPM publishes its own set of 64 channels.) These MIDI channels appear in the output assignment menus of DP’s MIDI tracks.

☛ BPM must be instantiated in the project

before you’ll see its MIDI channels displayed in the MIDI output menus in DP.

To send MIDI data from a DP track to a speciﬁc BPM bank or rack part, assign the MIDI track to the corresponding BPM MIDI channel for the bank or part. BPM banks A, B, C, and D respond to MIDI channels A1 through A4, respectively. The ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to MIDI channel A5, but rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input channel you wish. For further important details about MIDI channel assignments in BPM, see “MIDI channel” on page 71).

Near sample-accurate MIDI playback

In regard to “Managing latency” on page 36, DP’s MIDI track playback (the timing between MIDI tracks in Digital Performer and the audio being tr igge red in BPM ) is accu rat e to wit hin one s ample . In other words, BPM audio will never trigger more than one sample earlier or later than the exact sample location prescribed by the MIDI data event triggering the sample. This is because both DP and BPM take advantage of Mac OS X’s MIDI timestamping features. This allows DP to accurately pre-cue MIDI data for playback. BPM plays back in DP with the tightest timing possible.

Reducing live input latency

In regard to “Managing latency” on page 36, you can minimize live input latency with BPM by keeping Digital Performer’s Buffer Size setting as low as possible. This setting is found in

Setup menu> Conﬁgure Audio System> Conﬁgure Hardware Driver. Try values of 256 samples or

lower, if your computer can handle them. Lower settings produce higher processing demands on your computer’s CPU resources.

PRO TOOLS (MAC & WINDOWS)

BPM operates as a standard AAX or RTAS plug-in. For complete details about running AAX or RTAS plug-ins in Pro Tools, refer to your Pro Tools documentation. Here is a brief overview of how to use BPM in Pro Tools.

Installation for Pro Tools

The BPM installer places the BPM plug-in here:

Platform Location

Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/Digidesign/Plug-ins

Windows \Program Files\Common Files\DAE\Plug-ins

Calling up BPM on an instrument track

BPM is accessed from the insert menus of any instrument track in Pro Tools. Just choose it from the insert menu and it will open as a plug-in.

Figure 6-4: Opening the BPM plug-in in Pro Tools (same for Mac and Windows).

Working with multiple instances of BPM

You can open as many instances of BPM in Pro Tools your computer’s processing resources will allow. Keep in mind that BPM operates as a multitimbral instrument, so each instance of BPM is capable of playing different instruments (triggered from separate MIDI channels).

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Initiating BPM operation

Before you can begin using BPM, you need to load a kit into a bank or load at least one instrument or loop into a rack. For details, see chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

Specifying audio output

By default, BPM sends the output of all banks and parts to the audio output assignment of the instrument track on which it is instantiated. But it also supplies multiple independent outputs that let you send parts to different destinations in the Pro Tools mixing environment, including the separate outputs on your audio hardware. For details, see “Outputs” on page 98.

MIDI I/O

MIDI I/O between BPM and Pro Tools is handled by Mac OS X’s built-in MIDI ser vices (Core MIDI). When you ﬁrst instantiate a BPM plug-in, BPM publishes 64 MIDI channels to Pro Tools. (Each instance of BPM publishes its own set of 64 channels.) These MIDI channels appear in the output assignment menus of Pro Tool’s MIDI tracks.

respond to MIDI channels A1 through A4, respectively. The ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to MIDI channel A5, but rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input channel you wish. For further important details about MIDI channel assignments in BPM, see “MIDI channel” on page 71).

Figure 6-5: Assigning a Pro To ols MIDI track to a BPM MIDI channel.

☛ BPM must be instantiated in the session

before you’ll see its MIDI channels displayed in the MIDI output menus in Pro Tools (Figure 6-5) below.

To send MIDI data from a Pro Tools track to a speciﬁc BPM bank or rack part, assign the MIDI track to the corresponding BPM MIDI channel for the bank or part. BPM banks A, B, C, and D

Reducing buffer latency

In regard to “Managing latency” on page 36, you can minimize both live MIDI input latency and MIDI track playback latency by keeping your Pro To ol s DA E Buffer Size setting as low as possible. Consult your Pro Tools manual for details about adjusting the DAE buffer size. Lower settings produce higher processing demands on your computer’s CPU resources.

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LOGIC (MAC OS X)

For Logic, BPM operates as a standard Audio Unit (AU) plug-in.

Installation for Logic

BPM Installer places BPM AU plug-in in the Components plug-in folder:

/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components/

Opening BPM on an instrument track

In Logic, create an audio instrument track. Then open a stereo BPM on the instrument track.

Figure 6-6: Opening BPM on a Logic instrument track (from the track settings panel in this example).

Working with multiple instances of BPM

Yo u can ope n as ma ny in stanc es of BPM i n Logi c as your computer’s processing resources will allow. Keep in mind that BPM operates as a multitimbral instrument, so each instance of BPM is capable of playing different instruments (triggered from separate MIDI channels).

Initiating BPM operation

Before you can begin using BPM, you need to load a kit into a bank or load at least one instrument or loop into a rack. For details, see chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

Specifying audio output

By default, BPM sends the output of all banks and parts to the audio output assignment of the instrument track on which it is instantiated. But it also supplies multiple independent outputs that let

you send parts to different destinations in the Logic mixing environment, including the separate outputs on your audio hardware. For details, see “Outputs” on page 98.

MIDI I/O

MIDI I/O between BPM and Logic is handled by Mac OS X’s built-in MIDI services (Core MIDI). When you ﬁrst instantiate a BPM plug-in and choose a preset, BPM publishes 16 MIDI channels to Core MIDI and Logic. (Each instance of BPM publishes its own set of 16 channels.) These MIDI channels will automatically become available in Logic on BPM’s instrument track. No extra preparation is necessary.

☛ BPM must be instantiated in your Logic

session before you’ll see its MIDI channels displayed in the MIDI output menus in Logic.

To send MIDI data from a Logic track to a speciﬁc BPM bank or rack part, send MIDI data to the corresponding BPM MIDI channel for the bank or part. For further important details about MIDI channel assignments in BPM, see “MIDI channel” on page 71).

In the Logic instrument track for BPM (or any other tracks assigned to BPM instrument object), each MIDI data event is tagged with a MIDI channel. Use Logic’s list editor to assign existing notes to a MIDI channel, and then ass ign t hat same MIDI channel to the desired part (or parts) in BPM (as explained in “MIDI channel” on page 71). Any notes in the instrument track that match a part’s MIDI receive channel in BPM will play that part. The same is true for any new data recorded, or live data that is ‘patched through’ to BPM from your controller keyboard. In this scenario, make sure BPM instrument track channel (in the track settings panel) is set to All or “0” (zero).

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You can also route data from other MIDI tracks to BPM by assigning the track to BPM audio instrument and tag all notes in the track to the necessary MIDI channel for BPM.

Latency

In regard to “Managing latency” on page 36, Logic’s I/O Buffer Size setting (as shown below in Figure 6-7) has no effect on either live MIDI input latency or MIDI track playback, as Logic has other ways of managing them. In general, BPM will perform as well as any other virtual instrument that you use in Logic.

OTHER AUDIO UNIT HOSTS (MAC OS X)

For Mac OS X audio/MIDI applications that support Audio Units (AU) plug-ins, BPM operates as a standard AU plug-in. The AU host application must also support MIDI sequencing and Mac OS X’s built-in MIDI services (Core MIDI) to send MIDI data to BPM. BPM sounds are triggered by MIDI data received from the host application.

Installation for AU hosts

BPM Installer places BPM AU plug-in in the Components plug-in folder:

/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components

Calling up BPM on an audio track

BPM is accessed in an Audio Unit host application in the standard fashion as an AU plug-in.

Working with multiple instances of BPM

You can open as many instances of BPM in your host application as your computer’s processing resources will allow. Keep in mind that BPM operates as a multitimbral instrument, so each instance of BPM is capable of playing different instruments (triggered from separate MIDI channels).

Figure 6-7: Logic’s I/O Buffer Size setting.

Initiating BPM operation

Before you can begin using BPM, you need to load a kit into a bank or load at least one instrument or loop into a rack. For details, see chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

Specifying audio output

By default, BPM sends the output of all banks and parts to the audio output assignment of the instrument track on which it is instantiated. But it also supplies multiple independent outputs that let you send parts to different destinations in your host software’s mixing environment, including the separate outputs on your audio hardware. For details, see “Outputs” on page 98.

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MIDI I/O

MIDI I/O between BPM and an AU plug-in host application is handled by Mac OS X’s built-in MIDI services (Core MIDI). When you ﬁrst instantiate an BPM plug-in, BPM publishes itself as a MIDI destination to the AU host and appears in the output assignment menus of the AU host’s MIDI tracks.

☛ BPM must be instantiated in the AU host

project before you’ll see it displayed in the MIDI output menus in the host.

To send MIDI data from your AU host software track to a speciﬁc BPM bank or rack part, assign the host MIDI track to the corresponding BPM MIDI channel for the bank or part. BPM banks A, B, C, and D respond to MIDI channels A1 through A4, respectively. The ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to MIDI channel A5, but rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input channel you wish. For further important details about MIDI channel assignments in BPM, see “MIDI channel” on page 71).

CUBASE AND NUENDO (MAC & WINDOWS)

For Cubase or Nuendo, BPM operates as a standard VST instrument (VSTi).

Installation for Cubase or Nuendo (Mac OS X)

BPM Installer places BPM VST plug-in here:

Platform Location

Mac OS X /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

Windows \Program Files\MOTU\Vstplugins

If you want to install the VST in another Vstplugins folder, copy the BPM VST files from this folder to the desired location.

Opening a BPM VSTi

Go to the VST Instruments r ack an d ch oos e BP M in a slot, as shown below:

Reducing buffer latency

In regard to “Managing latency” on page 36, the hardware buffer size may or may not impact live MIDI input latency and MIDI track playback: it depends on the host software. Consult the documentation for your host software for information about using virtual instruments.

BPM PLUG-IN

Figure 6-8: Opening BPM in the VST Instruments window (same for Mac and Windows).

Alternatively, you can create an instrument track, as shown below:

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Figure 6-9: Creating an instrument track for BPM (same for Mac and Windows).

Working with multiple instances of BPM

You can open as many i nstances of BPM i n the VST Instruments rack as your computer’s processing resources will allow. Keep in mind that BPM operates as a multitimbral instrument, so each instance of BPM is capable of playing different instruments (triggered from separate MIDI channels).

Initiating BPM operation

Before you can begin using BPM, you need to load a kit into a bank or load at least one instrument or loop into a rack. For details, see chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

Setting up audio outputs

Use the Device Setup window to enable VST outputs as usual. Then, add the desired output busses in the VST Connections window (Devices menu). For complete information about setting up audio outputs for VST instruments, refer to your Cubase or Nuendo manual.

Once you’ve se t up the desired output bus, go to the Mixing Board and assign BPM output (BPM) to the desired output bus:

Figure 6-10: Assigning BPM output to the desired output bus (same for Mac and Windows).

MIDI I/O

MIDI I/O between BPM and Cubase or Nuendo is handled by VST. When you ﬁrst instantiate a BPM plug-in, BPM publishes 16 MIDI channels to Cubase or Nuendo. (Each instance of BPM publishes its own set of 16 channels.) These MIDI channels automatically appear in the output assignment menus of Cubase or Nuendo’s MIDI tracks:

Figure 6-11: Assigning a MIDI track to BPM and choosing a MIDI channel.

☛ BPM must be opened in your Cubase or

Nuendo project before you’ll see its MIDI channels displayed in the MIDI output menus in Cubase or Nuen do.

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To send MIDI data from your Cubase or Nuendo MIDI track to a speciﬁc BPM bank or rack part, assign the MIDI track to the corresponding BPM MIDI channel for the bank or part. BPM banks A, B, C, and D respond to MIDI channels A1 through A4, respectively. The ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to MIDI channel A5, but rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input channel you wish. For further important details about MIDI channel assignments in BPM, see “MIDI channel” on page 71).

Reducing buffer latency

In regard to “Managing latency” on page 36, Cubase and Nuendo provide ways to manage virtual instrument playback timing (consult your user guide for details). You can minimize live input latency with BPM by keeping their Audio Buffer Size setting as low as possible. Try values of 256 samples or lower, if your computer can handle them. Lower settings produce higher processing demands on your computer’s CPU resources.

Under Mac OS X, the Audio Buffer setting is found in the Device Setup window under the VST Audio System list item (Figure 6-12).

Under Windows, open the Device Setup window and choose your audio hardware from the list on the left, found under VST Audio System (Figure 6-13). Click the Control Panel button to launch your audio hardware’s conﬁguration software.

Figure 6-12: Setting the Audio Buffer Size in Cubase or Nuendo (Mac).

BPM PLUG-IN

Figure 6-13: Setting the Audio Buffer Size in Cubase or Nuendo (Windows).

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LIVE (MAC & WINDOWS)

For Ableton Live running on Mac OS X or Windows, BPM operates as a standard VST instrument (VSTi). Alternatively, you may use BPM as an Audio Unit (AU) instrument when running Live on Mac OS X; the process is the same as described for VST.

Installation for Live

The BPM Installer places the BPM VST plug-in here:

Platform Location

Mac OS X /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

Windows \Program Files\MOTU\Vstplugins

If you want to install the VST in another Vstplugins folder, copy the BPM VST files from this folder to the desired location.

Opening an BPM VSTi

Go to the Plug-in Device Browser and drag the BPM VST onto a MIDI track, or into the Clip/ Device Drop Area, to create a new track.

Initiating BPM operation

Before you can begin using BPM, you need to load a kit into a bank or load at least one instrument or loop into a rack. For details, see chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

Setting up audio outputs

Use the Preferences > Audio window to enable outputs as usual. Once you’ve set up the desired outputs, assign the output of the BPM track to the desired bus. Choose Master to assign it to the master output bus, or choose Ext. Out and select a different output from the menu below.

Figure 6-14: Opening BPM in the VST Instruments window.

Working with multiple instances of BPM

You can open as many i nstances of BPM i n the VST Instruments rack as your computer’s processing resources will allow.

Figure 6-15: Assigning the BPM output to the desired output bus.

MIDI I/O

When you ﬁrst instantiate an BPM plug-in, BPM publishes itself as a MIDI destination to Live, which appears in the output assignment menus of Live’s MIDI tracks.

☛ BPM must be opened in your Live project

before you’ll see it displayed in the MIDI output menus in Live.

To send MIDI data from a Live track to a speciﬁc BPM bank or rack part, assign the MIDI track to the corresponding BPM MIDI channel for the bank or part. BPM banks A, B, C, and D respond to

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MIDI channels A1 through A4, respectively. The ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to MIDI channel A5, but rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input channel you wish. For further important details about MIDI channel assignments in BPM, see “MIDI channel” on page 71).

Reducing buffer latency

In regard to “Managing latency” on page 36, Live provide ways to manage virtual instrument playback timing (consult your user guide for details). You can minimize live input latency with BPM by keeping the Aud io B uffe r Si ze setting as low as possible. Try values of 256 samples or lower, if your computer can handle them. Lower settings produce higher processing demands on your computer’s CPU resources.

In Live, the Buffer Size setting is found in the Preferences > Audio window (Figure 6-16). On Mac OS X, you can directly change that setting. On Windows, click the Hardware Setup button to launch your audio hardware’s conﬁguration software.

OTHER VST HOSTS (MAC & WINDOWS)

For other VST hosts running on Mac OS X or Windows, BPM operates as a standard VST instrument (VSTi).

Installation for Your VST host

The BPM Installer places the BPM VST plug-in here:

Platform Location

Mac OS X /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST

Windows \Program Files\MOTU\Vstplugins

If you want to install the VST in another Vstplugins folder, copy the BPM VST files from this folder to the desired location.

You can copy the BPM VST ﬁle from the directory listed above to the Vstplugins folder of your choice after installation completes. Or you can point your host application to the directory listed above.

Calling up BPM on an audio track

BPM is accessed in a VST host application in the standard fashion as an VST plug-in.

Working with multiple instances of BPM

You can open as many instances of BPM in your host application as your computer’s processing resources will allow.

Figure 6-16: Setting the Audio Buffer Size in Live.

BPM PLUG-IN

Initiating BPM operation

Before you can begin using BPM, you need to load a kit into a bank or load at least one instrument or loop into a rack. For details, see chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

Specifying audio output

BPM sends its audio output to the audio output assignment of the instrument track on which it is instantiated.

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MIDI I/O

When you ﬁrst instantiate an BPM plug-in, BPM publishes itself as a MIDI destination to the VST host and appears in the output assignment menus of the VST host’s MIDI tracks.

☛ BPM must be instantiated in the VST host

project before you’ll see it displayed in the MIDI output menus in the host.

To send MIDI data from a VST host track to a speciﬁc BPM bank or rack part, assign the MIDI track to the corresponding BPM MIDI channel for the bank or part. BPM banks A, B, C, and D respond to MIDI channels A1 through A4, respectively. The ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to MIDI channel A5, but rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input channel you wish. For further important details about MIDI channel assignments in BPM, see “MIDI channel” on page 71).

Reducing buffer latency

BPM PLUG-IN

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CHAPTER

7 BPM Window

OVERVIEW

Read this ﬁrst: basic BPM concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Conventions and shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Using the BPM sound library. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Banks and pads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Patterns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Step Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Graph Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Pad Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Racks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Piano Roll Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Part Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Loop Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Synth Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

SP mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Transport Control and Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

File menu MIDI input controls Editor area Sampling controls

MIDI Select

Master volume and tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Groove . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

MIDI automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

MIDI modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Sampling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Mixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Song arranging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Scenes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Scene Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Live mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Song mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

File menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Drag & Drop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Groove controls

Master Tune

and Volume

Display

tabs

Sound library

browser

Browser

tabs

Banks

Note Repeat

Live Mode and Song

mode

Instrument

and loop

racks

Drum pads Synth

Figure 7-1: The BPM window.

section

Scene menu

Tem po

controls

Overdub

record

mode

Transport

controls

Undo

Record

Quantize

mode

AutoLoad

settings

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READ THIS FIRST: BASIC BPM CONCEPTS

Here are a few basic concepts that lay the groundwork for how BPM works.

Kits

A kit is a bank of 16 drum pads loaded with sounds. Each pad has its own name and settings, and it can hold an unlimited number of drum sound layers, each with their own settings. You can apply unlimited effects processing to the pad or its individual drum sound layers.

Pattern

A pattern is a series of notes in the drum pad Step Sequencer or the instrument Piano Roll Editor that together make up a rhythm. Patterns are recorded, imported and exported as MIDI note data. Patterns do not contain actual drum sounds. They consist of rhythmic information that can be applied independently to any kit (set of sounds).

Kit+Pattern

A kit+pattern is a combination of a pattern with a kit that can be saved and loaded together. Kit+patterns are especially convenient for layering using BPM’s four banks. For example, you could load a basic beat (kit+pattern) in Bank A and then layer a conga kit+pattern in Bank B.

Loop

A loop is a short audio clip of anything (drums, percussion, an instrument sound such as guitar or bass, etc.) that is meant to be played over and over again. Most of the loops in BPM’s included library of sounds are sliced loops, similar to REX ﬁles, which means they have predeﬁned slices that can be accessed and played individually, if desired.

Phrase

A phrase is an audio clip that is generally not intended to loop. Instead, phrases are meant to be played in a “one-shot” fashion, such as a vocal phrase or guitar lick. Phrases in BPM’s browser are indicated with a “PHR” at the end of their name.

Sound

A sound is a sho rt au dio c lip of any thi ng, such as an individual drum hit (snare hit, bass drum hit, hihat, etc.), a sound effect or even an instrument note. BPM’s included library has a Sounds category mostly made up of drum hits that are suitable for loading into individual dr um pads to build custom kits. However, you could also load a sound into one of BPM’s two instrument/loop racks.

Instrument

An instrument is a multi-sampled instrument such as a bass, guitar, piano, synth pad, etc. BPM lets you load and play instruments along with loops, patterns and kits.

Working with kits and patterns

At its most basic level, BPM lets you load a Kit+Pattern from its library, so you can hear a pattern with the original kit of sounds that goes with it. However, you can easily switch to a different kit to hear the same rhythmic pattern played by different drum sounds.

Conversely, you can keep playing the same kit (sounds), and try different patterns (rhythms) with that same kit.

BPM provides four separate banks (A, B, C and D), each of which can hold a different pattern and kit, allowing you to layer multiple kit+pattern combinations.

Working with sounds

Once you ﬁnd a kit and pattern combination that you like, you might then decide that you would like to change individual drum pad sounds. Perhaps the snare needs to be a tighter, or the kick needs to be a little deeper. BPM makes it easy to browse and swap out individual pad sounds.

This basic process is covered step by step in the chapter 3, “Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide” (page 15).

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You can also layer multiple sounds on a single pad and program BPM to switch between them via note velocity or other rules. This process is covered later in “Pad Editor” on page 63.

Adding loops and instruments

Once you’ve programmed your beat by choosing a kit, pattern and perhaps individual sounds, you can layer as many loops and instruments as you wish using BPM’s two Rack modules. These racks hold an unlimited number of loops and instruments. For further details about rack operation, see “Racks” on page 69.

CONVENTIONS AND SHORTCUTS

BPM provides the following user interface conventions and shortcuts.

Scroll wheel support

BPM supports the scroll wheel on your mouse.

Right-clicking

There is extensive support for right-clicking in BPM. Except where noted, Mac users can use Control-clicking as an alternative to right-clicking.

USING THE BPM SOUND LIBRARY

Of course, BPM allows you to build your own kits and patterns, either from the ground up or by modifying existing ones. But to get you going quickly, BPM’s sound library provides a vast collection of pre-programmed patterns, kits, kit+patterns, loops, phrases, sounds and instruments. BPM allows you to freely browse and combine these elements independently, a degree of ﬂexibility that produces inﬁnite possible combinations. The browser gives you access to all of these elements in the BPM sound library.

Kit+Pattern Pattern Sounds Us er

Kit Loop Instrument

Option/Alt key

In this manual, the convention Option/Alt is used for any operation or shortcut that involves the Option key on the Mac or the Alt key on a PC.

Shortcuts for changing BPM settings

Here are several shortcuts for changing settings for BPM’s controls, knobs, sliders and so on:

Action Shortcut

Return to default Option/Alt-click

Enter numeric value double-click

Fine adjustment hold Option/Alt while dragging control

Relative adjustment hold Shift while dragging control

MIDI learn right-click

Play/stop (standalone application only)

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spacebar

Construction kit categories

Figure 7-2: Browser tabs

Browser tabs

BPM’s sound library is organized by the categories discussed earlier in “Read this ﬁrst: basic BPM concepts”. The Browser (Figure 7-1 on page 49) provides tabs that take you directly to each category (Figure 7-2). Click a tab to go directly to the folder.

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Navigating the browser

Double-click a folder or click its disclosure triangle to open it. To go back up one level, double-click the Parent Folder item at the top of the list, or click the path menu (Figure 7-3).

Path m enu

Figure 7-3: Navigating the browser.

Tempo indication

Most patterns and loops indicate their original tempo at the beginning of their name: a three digit number in beats per minute (BPM). But you can play them at any tempo you want.

individual elements separately, organized by the same name (Figure 7-5) so you can easily access the individual elements that make up the kit.

“Five Billion” Kit+Pattern

“Five Billion” Kit only

“Five Billion” Pattern only

Figure 7-4: Pattern and loop names indicate their original tempo.

Construction kits

A core collection of BPM sound library kits, patterns, loops and sounds are organized into 200+ “const r uc t ion k its” organized by the stylistic categories shown in Figure 7-2. A construction kit is a kit+pattern for which BPM provides all the

“Five Billion” Loop elements

“Five Billion” Sound elements

Figure 7-5: An example of a construction kit.

Construction kits give you a great deal of ﬂexibility. For example, if you ﬁnd a loop that you like, but you’d like to work with the individual elements separately, you can go to the loop’s corresponding Kit+Pattern for complete control over every

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individual element. The Kit+Pattern will sound exactly like its corresponding loop, except that you have access to the individual notes in the Pattern Sequencer and the individual sounds in each pad.

Here’s another example: if you ﬁnd a Kit+Pattern that you like, and you’d like to hear some ins trument p arts that go with it, suc h as g uitar, bass or vocals, BPM likely provides them as loops. Just go to the Loops sub-folder with the same name as the Kit+Pattern. For example, in Figure 7-5 you can see in the Loop elements sub-folder there is a bass loop and instrument loop that goes with the original Five Billion Kit+Pattern.

‘Xtra’ folders

BPM’s sound library also includes “xtra” folders that provide a great deal of additional material, above and beyond the construction kit elements.

The User tab

The Use r tab (Figure 7-2) provides access to the rest of your computer system.

Current directory

Soundbanks

The Soundbanks section of the User tab (Figure 7-6) displays UVI-based sample instrument libraries installed in your system. BPM can read presets from the libraries of these other products. See “UVI soundbanks” below.

Places

The Places section of the User tab (Figure 7-6) displays favorite locations. You can add your own favorites by navigating to a folder and then rightclicking on the folder. Then choose Add to favor ites from the menu. To remove it from your favorites, navigate to the folder, right-click the Current Directory bar (Figure 7-6) and choose Remove from favorites.

UVI soundbanks

BPM can load loops and multi-sample instrument sounds from any MOTU instrument library or any other third-party UVI sounbank.

If the instrument libraries from your other MOTU instruments are placed in their proper locations (refer to each instrument’s documentation), they will be available in BPM without any additional steps.

Figure 7-6: Accessing your computer system

BPM WINDOW

Your BPM soundbank library

Other UVI soundbanks installed on your computer system

Favo rite s

Mounted hard drives and network volumes

To access other UVI soundbanks, place them (or an aliases to them) in your computer’s UVISoundBanks folder:

Mac:

/Library/Application Support/ UVISoundBanks

Window s:

\Program Files\UVISoundBanks

Using Beat Box Anthology presets

In addition to BPM’s included kits, patterns, and kit+patterns, the Beat Box Anthology soundbank included with BPM version 1.5 and later provides its own kits, patterns, kit+patterns, and loops.

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To access the Beat Box Anthology kits, select the Kits tab in the browser, click the path menu (as shown in Figure 7-7, below), and select Beat Box Anthology from the drop-down menu. The Kits tab will then display the Beat Box Anthology kits. The same process can be followed when other browser tabs are selected (Kit+Pattern, Loop, etc.).

Figure 7-7: Selecting the Beat Box Anthology soundbank

AutoLoading patterns and kits

To AutoLoad patterns and kits:

1 Click the Bank A button (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

2 Click the Kit+Pattern tab in the browser (Figure 7-2) and open any folder.

3 Each time you click a Kit+Pattern, it will load the kit and pattern combination. (Press play to listen it.)

4 Click the Pattern tab ((Figure 7-2), open any folder and preview different patterns with the same loaded kit.

AutoLoad

When Aut oLo ad is on (yellow), items that you click in the browser load and play immediately, as soon as you click them. If the transport is engaged (ﬁgure Figure 7-60 on page 90), you will hear patterns and loops play as soon as you click them for fast and convenient browsing.

AutoLoad allows you to quickly “surf” different patterns with the same kit, or different kits with the same pattern. You can also quickly browse loops.

When AutoLoad is off, you need to drag and drop the item to any location in the BPM window that accepts that type of item to load it (explained later), or double-click the item.

AutoLoad options

Preview start/stop

Pad selector

Locked pad (gray)

Unlocked pad (black)

Autoloading sounds

To replace a sound in a pad, AutoLoad works the same way as described above.

1 Click a pad to select it (it turns red).

2 Click the Sound tab in the browser (Figure 7-2)

and open any folder.

3 Sounds load as soon as you click them.

Autoloading loops and instruments into a part

To autoload a loop or instrument into a rack part, the procedure is the same as described above.

Figure 7-8: AutoLoad settings

Preview level

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AutoL oad options

When using AutoLoad, the AutoLoad options (Figure 7-8) let you control what gets loaded into into banks when browsing patterns and kits.

AutoLoad option What it does

Kit Settings When checked, all current kit settings are

Load bank FX When checked, all current bank effects are

Overwrite Tempo When checked, BPM’s global tempo setting

AutoPreview Causes loops and phrases to play once when

Preview start/stop Plays or stops AutoPreview playback.

Preview volume Preview playback level.

Pad selector Lets you “lock” pads so that they are not

overwritten with those saved with the kit. Settings include pad volumes, pan settings, effects, etc.

overwritten with any bank effects saved with the bank.

is changed to the original, saved tempo of any kit+pattern when you load it.

you click them in the browser.

changed in any way when loading kits.

BANKS AND PADS

A bank is a set of sixteen drum pads and their loaded kit sounds, pad settings and patterns. BPM provides four separate banks (A, B, C and D) that operate independently. All four banks can play simultaneously with each other. This allows you to load and play up to four independent Kit+Pattern combinations.

Four bank buttons

Click a bank button to view the pads and other settings for the bank. Below each bank button are Mute and Solo buttons that allow you to mute and solo the entire bank during playback. Each bank also has an SP Mode button next to it. For details, see “SP mode” on page 89.

Loading a kit into a bank

To load a kit sounds into a bank of pads:

1 Click the bank button (Figure 7-9) for the bank you wish to load.

2 Go to the browser and navigate to either a kit or a kit+pattern (Figure 7-2 on page 51).

3 If AutoLoad (Figure 7-8) is turned on, simply click the kit or kit+pattern to load it into the bank pads.

4 If AutoLoad is turned off, drag and drop the kit or kit+pattern from the browser onto the sixteen pads or onto the Step Sequencer window area (above the pads).

The target area highlights when you move the mo use over it to i ndi cate t hat it c an a ccep t what y ou are dragging.

Bank

buttons

Figure 7-9: BPM provides four independent banks (A, B, C and D) for kits and patterns.

BPM WINDOW

Figure 7-10: Dragging and dropping a pattern or kit+pattern from the browser onto the pad bank or the Step Sequencer.

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Loading a sliced loop into a bank

In addition to using loops in rack parts, you can load sliced loops as kits. When a sliced loop is loaded in a bank, the ﬁrst 16 slices of the loop will be mapped to the pads.

You can load a sliced loop in a bank by selecting it in the browser while viewing a bank. If you want to load the entire loop on a single pad, turn off AutoLoad and drag & drop the ﬁle directly onto a single pad. To load a sliced loop as a kit via drag & drop, drag the sample to the areas between the pads, rather than directly onto a pad (the highlighted region will clue you in to which way it will load).

from your computer desktop. Either way, dragging directly to the pad replaces any sounds currently in the pad with the newly dropped sound.

To drag multiple samples onto separate pads, drag & drop the selected samples from the browser or computer desktop to the space between pad.

To load the sound as a new, independent layer (this preserves existing sounds already loaded in the pad), you can drag and drop a sound to the top portion of the Pad Editor (Figure 7-27). See “Loading multiple samples into a pad” on page 63 for details.

Drag and drop into the Step Sequencer

You can drag and drop patterns from the browser (with AutoLoad turned off), and MIDI ﬁles from your computer desktop, into the Step Sequencer. When importing MIDI ﬁles, drag and drop works best when using single-channel MIDI ﬁles of a reasonable length.

Loading a sound into a pad

The procedure for loading an individual sound into a pad is similar to loading a kit or kit+pattern.

1 Click the bank button (Figure 7-9) for the bank you wish to work with.

2 Click the pad you wish to load a sound into to select it (it turns red).

3 Go to the browser and navigate to any sound in the Sounds folder (Figure 7-2 on page 51).

4 If AutoLoad (Figure 7-8) is turned on, simply click any sound in the browser to load it into the currently selected pad.

Playing a kit using the pads

Once you’ve loaded sounds into the pads as explained in the previous sections, click the pads to play the sounds. If a pattern is also currently loaded, press the play button (Figure 7-60 on page 90) to play the pattern using the sounds currently loaded in the pads. You can also play the pads from your MIDI controller and even record patterns this way. See “Recording” on page 93 for further details.

Recording a pattern using the pads

You can record patterns by clicking on the pads while recording in real time. For details, see “Recording” on page 93.

Pad settings

Each pad has its own name, volume slider, pan slider, mute button, solo button and synth section settings (see “Synth Parameters” on page 86 for details).

Pad name

Dragging and dropping into a pad

If AutoLoad is turned off, you can drag and drop the sound from the browser onto the desired pad. Alternatively, you can drag and drop an audio ﬁle

Volume slider

Mute/solo buttons

Pan slider

Figure 7-11: Pad settings.

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Selecting a pad

Click a pad to select it and view its synth settings, access the pad editor, and other tasks related to the pad.

Alternatively, pads can be selected by incoming MIDI notes. When MIDI Select is enabled (Figure 7-12), playing a note on your MIDI controller or playing back a note from your host software will select the pad that is assigned to that note.

Figure 7-12: MIDI Select

Renaming a pad

Option/Alt–double-click the pad name to change it. Or right-click to access the Rename pad setting command (Figure 7-13). You can also double-click the pad name in the pattern Step Sequencer (Figure 7-16 on page 59).

Assigning a MIDI note to a pad

Each pad can be played via a corresponding MIDI note sent from your sequencer or MIDI controller. The sixteen pads adhere to standard general MIDI conventions for their factory default MIDI note assignments, starting at C1 for the bass drum (BD) pad and ending at A#3 for the shaker (SHK) pad. However, you can reassign a pad to any MIDI note you wish using the Learn MIDI Key command in the pad settings menu (Figure 7-13).

Assigning MIDI notes to all pads

To load a pad template, right-click in the space between pads and choose a template from the list — you'll see both factory and user-created pad templates in the list. To save the current pad assignments as a template, choose Save Pad Te m p l a t e from the contextual menu.

Pad settings menu

Right-click to access further pad settings:

Figure 7-13: Pad settings menu.

Copying and pasting pad settings

You can copy and paste all settings for a pad (including its loaded samples) using the commands in the pad settings menu (Figure 7-13).

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Figure 7-14: Pad template menu

Clearing a pad

Right-click to use the Clear Pad command to clear all settings and samples from the pad.

Assigning MIDI controllers to pad controls

To assign a MIDI controller to a pad volume, pan, mute or solo, right-click the item to either choose the desired controller from a menu or play it from your MIDI controller. See “MIDI automation” on page 92.

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Pad synth parameters

BPM provides synth parameter settings for each pad (to the right of the pads). Click the pad to select it and then view and adjust its synth settings. See “Synth Parameters” on page 86. Also see “Edit All Layers” on page 65.

Sequences

When viewing a rack part, the Pattern menu changes to Sequences, a slightly different term for what is essentially the same thing: a sequence of MIDI data that plays the notes for the part (or the slices for a sliced loop).

PATTERNS

A bank holds up to sixteen patterns, accessed via the Pattern menu (Figure 7-15). Only one pattern is active for the bank at a time (the currently chosen pattern in the menu). This is the pattern that accepts patterns from the browser, and it is the pattern you hear during playback. The sixteen pattern slots in the menu start out empty and you load them by choosing them from the menu and then loading a pattern from the browser. You can then freely switch among the sixteen patterns at any t ime by choosing them from the Pattern menu. To rename the currently selected pattern, doubleclick the name.

Clear

Pattern

current

pattern

Copy

current

pattern

Paste into

current

pattern

Exporting a pattern

You can export a pattern as a WAVE ﬁle to your host software or your computer desktop with the following drag and drop technique: click the word Pattern above the Pattern menu (Figure 7-15) and then drag to your host or desktop.

To export the pattern as a MIDI ﬁle, hold Option/ Alt, click the word Pattern above the Pattern menu, and then drag to your host or desktop.

STEP SEQUENCER

The Step Sequencer (Figure 7-16) provides a complete environment for programming a pattern for the current bank.

Accessing the Step Sequencer

To access the Step Sequencer, select a pad and then click the Seq (Sequencer) display tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

Two editors

The Step Sequencer has two editors accessed via their buttons (Figure 7-16): Tra c k s (Step Sequencer) and Graphs (Graph Sequencer). To access the Graph Sequencer, click the Graphs button (Figure 7-16).

Figure 7-15: The Pattern menu.

Copying, pasting and clearing patterns

Use the buttons next to the pattern menu to copy, clear or paste into the current pattern. The copy and paste buttons let you transfer patterns among banks, duplicate them and then modify the duplicate, etc.

Track Editor

The Track Editor shown in Figure 7-16 displays one row for each pad with the pad name in the lefthand column. All notes for the current bank are shown. Selecting a pad highlights its corresponding row, and vice versa. Each column in the track editor represents one step at whatever resolution you are currently working (see “Resolution” on page 59).

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Zoom

Click the Zoom button (Figure 7-16) to toggle between viewing eight pads at a time or all sixteen pads at once. Most patterns use the ﬁrst eight pads, so this view gives you a convenient close-up of the ﬁrst eight pads, with a scroll bar on the right-hand side to scroll between pads 1-8 and 9-16. When viewing all sixteen pads, the rows are smaller but you can see all sixteen at once (Figure 7-17).

automatically scrolls left and right to follow playback. You can disable AutoScroll to focus on a page during playback, and scroll manually instead.

Bypass

Click Bypass (Figure 7-16) to turn off the Step Sequencer entirely. This lets you use the bank purely as a sound source for an external MIDI controller or sequencer.

Steps

The Steps menu (Figure 7-16) lets you specify the number of steps (overall length) of the pattern.

Resolution

The Resolution menu (Figure 7-16) lets you specify the duration of each step, as indicated below:

Figure 7-17: The Track editor zoomed out to show all sixteen pads.

AutoScroll

If the number of steps exceeds the width of the editor display, BPM activates the Page scroll bar (Figure 7-16) and pages left and right to display all the steps. When Aut oSc rol l is enabled, BPM

Graph Editor

Step sequencer

Pad track

Selected pad track

Zoom

AutoScroll

Bypass

Resolution Metric value

8 Eighth note

8T Eighth note triplet

16 Sixteenth note

16T Sixteenth note triplet

32 Thirty second note

Steps

Page scroll bar

Resolution

Timeline

Soft note

Loud note

Scroll bar

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Figure 7-16: Step Sequencer.

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The pattern plays at the currently chosen resolution. You can freely change the resolution at any time, but doing so affects how the pattern plays. For example, if you start with a 16th note resolution and then switch to 32, the pattern will play twice as fast. If you switch to 16T, it will play with a 16th-note triplet feel.

Time line

The Time line (Figure 7-16) indicates measure and beats. For example, 2.3 indicates measure 2, beat 3. The number of measures, as well as the number of cells per beat, are determined by the Steps and Resolution settings.

Working with the Step Sequencer grid

Click a cell to enter a hit. The size of the square indicates its velocity (strength). Here is a summary of techniques for working in the Step Sequencer:

Do this To do this

Click an empty step Enter a hit at the default velocity

Click a step with a hit Remove the hit

Option/Alt-click Enter a hit at a lower velocity

Line templates

To ﬁll a line in the Step Sequencer with a preset pattern from BPM’s extensive collection of line pattern templates, right-click, choose Line Te m p l a t e s and then choose the desired template from the sub-menus (Figure 7-18).

Shift-click Enter a hit at maximum velocity

Double-click pad name Rename the pad

Right-click > Fill Line Fill a line (all steps) at medium

Right-click > Copy Line Copy line

Right-click > Paste Line Paste line

Right-click > Line Templates

Right-click > Save Line Save your own line pattern

Right-click > Clear Line Clear line

Right-click > Clear Pattern

Right-click > Duplicate Pattern

Right-click > Double resolution

velocity

Fill a line with a pattern template

Clear entire pattern

Double length of pattern

Keeps current pattern and doubles the grid resolution

Figure 7-18: Right-click on a line in the Step Sequencer to access line templates.

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GRAPH SEQUENCER

The Graph Sequencer (Figure 7-19) lets you edit note parameters one at a time, allowing you to program a great deal of expression for each individual note.

Accessing the Graph Sequencer

To access the Graph Sequencer, click the pad you wish to edit to select it and then click the Seq (Sequencer) display tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49), and then click the Graphs button Figure 7-16 on page 59).

Note menu

The Graph Sequencer displays parameters for the currently selected pad. Click the desired pad, or choose it from the note menu (Figure 7-19).

Note parameters

Various note parameters are displayed in the left column below the note menu. Click a parameter name to edit it. The Graph Sequencer displays one parameter at a time. In Figure 7-19 below, note Ve l o c i t y (loudness) is currently being edited.

hit at that location. As you raise the graph bar, two, three, or more hits w ill occur during that step. Note that when you view other graphs (velocity, pan, etc.) the graph will be divided according to the Roll parameter which allows you to tweak each hit.

Figure 7-20: A roll value of ﬁve produces ﬁve subdivisions in that step for other parameters , such as velocity.

Time Shift

Time Shift (Figure 7-21) lets you advance the step ahead of the beat (above the center line) or delay it after the beat (below the line).

Roll

The Roll parameter (Figure 7-19) is the number of notes that will play within a step, to easily make rolls on any step. When roll is set to one (no graph bar visible, the default setting), entering a step (in the step row at the top of the grid) will trigger one

Graph Sequencer button

Note (pad) menu

Currently selected

note parameter

Note parameters

Figure 7-19: Graph Sequencer.

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Figure 7-21: TimeShift.

Playback location

Steps

Parameter value

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Ve l o c i t y

The Ve l o c i t y parameter (Figure 7-19) is similar to MIDI note velocity and controls loudness.

Length

The Length parameter (Figure 7-19) lets you control the duration of the step.

Pan

The Pan parameter (Figure 7-19) controls the panning of each step.

Semi and Fine tuning

The Semi and Fine tuning parameters (Figure 7-19) allow you to control the pitch of a step in semitones and cents (100ths of a semitone), respectively.

CutoffMod, ResonanceMod and DecayMod

These three Graph Editor parameters (Figure 7-19) control ﬁlter cutoff, resonance and decay, respectively.

Working with the Graph Sequencer grid

Click anywhere in a parameter cell to set the value for that cell. You can also drag vertically and/or horizontally to sweep across multiple steps and create smooth curves or lines (such as a crescendo for the velocity parameter).

Advanced graph programming

Right-click anywhere on the Graph Sequencer to access the Graph Sequencer menu (Figure 7-22).

Functions and Graph Templates

The Functions and Graph Templates sub-menus (Figure 7-22) provide convenient preset patterns for the Graph Sequencer, such as the sine wave pattern shown in Figure 7-23.

Figure 7-23: The sinus (sine wave) template for the Graph Sequencer.

The Graph Templates sub-menu (Figure 7-24) provides templates speciﬁcally designed for velocity and pitch, but they can be used for any parameter you wish.

Figure 7-24: The Graph Templates sub-menu.

Figure 7-22: Right-click to access the Graph Sequencer menu.

Figure 7-25: An example of an arpeggiated pitch template from the ‘Tuned’ sub-menu in Figure 7-24.

Resetting the graph

Choose Reset from the Graph Sequencer menu (Figure 7-22) to reset all cells to the default value.

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Saving your own Graph Sequencer patterns

Choose Save Graph from the Graph Sequencer menu (Figure 7-22) to save any Graph Sequencer pattern, which then appears by name at the bottom of the Graph Templates sub-menu (Figure 7-26).

PAD EDITOR

The Pad Editor (Figure 7-27) provides in-depth programming of individual pads.

Accessing the Pad Editor

To access the Pad Editor, make sure a bank is currently selected, click the pad you wish to edit to select it and then click the Edit tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

Figure 7-26: A saved graph can be applied to any parameter.

Saving your own grooves

When viewing either the Velocity or TimeShift parameters (Figure 7-19 on page 61), the Save Groove menu item appears in the Graph Sequencer menu (Figure 7-22 on page 62), allowing you to save the current velocity and timeshift settings as a custom groove, which then appears in BPM’s Groove menu (Figure 7-62). See “Groove” on page 91.

Applying grooves

You can apply the factory groove presets as well as your own saved grooves to the Velocity and Time Shift graphs.

Additional layers

Sample layers

Sample/oscillator

Effects ta b

First layer

tab

Loading multiple samples into a pad

An unlimited number of samples can be loaded into a pad. When a pad is loaded with its ﬁrst sample, this sample is placed in Layer 1, as shown in Figure 7-27.

To create additional, empty sample layers, right-click in the empty area to the right of Layer 1, above the waveform (Figure 7-28).

Figure 7-28: Right-click to add sample layers.

Add more

layers here

Layer settings (all layers)

Exclusive pad groups

Layer rules Edit all layers button

Polyphony

Sample Editor

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Sample

start

Figure 7-27: Pad Editor.

Wave for m

selection

Loop start

Sample

waveform

Loop

end

Sample

end

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Alternatively, you can drag and drop a sound from the desktop or the browser to this same empty space (Figure 7-29), and the new audio ﬁle is added as a new layer.

Figure 7-29: Drag and drop a sample to the empty space above the waveform to add the sample or audio clip as a new, separate layer.

☛ When you drag and drop a sample or audio

ﬁle directly onto a pad, as explained earlier in “Dragg ing and dropping into a pad” on page 56, all current layers are replaced by a new Layer 1 that holds the new sample.

Here are some basic techniques for working with multiple sample layers:

Do this To do this

Click a layer Select the layer (to view its wave-

Right-click a layer > Del Layer

Right-click the empty space to the right of current layers > Add Layer

Right-click a layer > Duplicate Layer

Sample layer settings

Each sample layer has its own relative volume, pan, solo/mute controls and velocity range (Figure 7-30).

Velocity range

Volume

form and layer-specific settings)

Delete the layer

Add a new layer

Duplicate the layer

PanMute/solo

Sample layer velocity programming

You can specify an independent velocity range for each layer (Figure 7-30) in a pad. Layers are triggered when the pad is played with within their velocity range. If samples share the same velocity range, or if their ranges overlap, they will play together when triggered at a shared velocity. In the example shown in Figure 7-30, there are three sample layers divided into three separate velocity ranges with no overlap: 1-39, 40-79 and 80-127. In this case, only one sample layer will play at a time, depending on the velocity played.

☛ When programming velocity layers, be sure

there are no gaps in the velocity range between sample layers. If there are any velocity ranges not assigned to at least one layer, you will hear silence when the pad is played at those orphaned velocity values.

Layer switching using layer rules

The Layer Rules menu (Figure 7-27) provides two modes for randomly triggering sample layers as you strike the pad to provide an extra dimension of realism and “human feel”.

Random mode plays all layers randomly.

Random Cycle mode plays all layers randomly, but

only once per cycle. When all layers have ﬁnally been played once, a new cycle begins. Random Cycle mode helps prevent repetition, as a sample is not played again until the current cycle is complete.

Here is a simple example with three layers:

■ random choice among (1,2,3) -> 2

■ random choice among (1,3) -> 3

■ random choice among (1) -> 1

Figure 7-30: Layer settings.

■ restart cycle with (1,2,3)

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Both modes can produce excellent results, depending on the samples involved and the effect you are trying to achieve. You can experiment with each mode to see which one sounds best.

Pad polyphony

The Polyphony setting (Figure 7-27) determines how many stereo notes the pad can play simultaneously. For example, a setting of 12 lets you play 12 stereo notes. You might think that for a stereo drum sample, you only need a polyphony of 1. However, the sample might overlap itself if you trigger it multiple times. Therefore, the default value of 16 is adequate for most typical situations. However, if you are working with multiple sample layers, you might need to raise it. The maximum settings is 256 stereo notes (per pad). Note that this is a per pad setting, and it controls the currently selected pad.

independently for each layer. For further details about synth parameters, see “Synth Parameters” on page 86.

Exclusive pad groups

An exclusive pad group is a group of two or more pads that cut each other off when they play. This allows you to create the classic open/closed hi-hat effect, where the closed hat sample cuts off the open hat sample. You can include as many pads as you want in a pad group. BPM allows you to deﬁne up to 32 different pad groups across all four banks.

☛ The exclusive pad group setting applies to all

lay ers i n th e pad; it canno t be se t inde pend entl y pe r layer.

Creating a pad group

To assign two or more pads to an exclusive pad group:

☛ Caution: higher polyphony settings demand

more of your host computer’s processing power. For example, if you set the polyphony to 64 voices and played only 12 notes, then BPM would require much more computer processing power than it would when playing those same 12 notes with a polyphony setting of 12. Tr y to keep the polyphony setting as low as possible — only use what you know you’ll need for the pad. This setting is one of the most signiﬁcant ways of optimizing BPM CPU usage and managing your computer’s processing resources.

Edit All Layers

As explained earlier, BPM provides synth parameter settings for each pad (to the right of the pads). Click the pad to select it and then view and adjust its synth settings. If the Edit All Layers option (Figure 7-27) is enabled, then synth parameter settings apply to all layers in the currently selected pad. When this option is disabled, you can adjust synth parameters

1 Click the desired bank and pad to select it.

2 Click the Edit button in the Window buttons

portion of the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49) to access the pad editor (Figure 7-27).

3 Double-click the Ex. Group (Exclusive Group) setting (Figure 7-27) and set it to any pad group you wish between 1 and 32.

4 Click the second pad you wish to include in the group to select it, and assign it to the same Exclusive Group number.

5 Repeat step 4 above for any other pads you wish to include in the group.

Removing a pad from an exclusive pad group

To remove a pad from an exclusive pad group, assign it to group zero (0).

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Sample Editor

Click the Sample/Oscillator Editor button to access the Sample Editor for the currently selected sample layer (Figure 7-27 on page 63). This is a basic waveform editor that lets you do basic editing on the actual sample data.

Setting sample and loop start/end points

Drag the “S” and “E” markers to set the sample start/end times (Figure 7-27). Similarly, you can drag the “L” and “R” markers to adjust the Loop Start and Loop End times for sample loops.

Making selections for editing

Drag across the waveform to select a portion of it. Double-click to Select All.

Insertion Point

Click anywhere on the waveform to place the Insertion Point. This is the location where sample material in the clipboard will be inserted.

Drag and drop in the sample editor

You can drag and drop audio selections into the sample editor. You can also drag and drop the current selection in the sample editor to any other portion of the BPM window that accepts audio clips. To do so, hold down Shift-Option/Alt and then drag and drop the current selection.

Sample Editor menu

Right-click to access the Sample Editor menu (Figure 7-31). Here is a brief summary of the menu operations.

Figure 7-31: Right-click the waveform to access the Sample Editor menu

Unlimited Undo/Redo

The Sample Editor supports unlimited Undo/ Redo. Use the Undo/Redo commands (Figure 7-31) to step forwards or backwards through the undo history.

Destructive editing

The standard Cut, Copy and Past e (Figure 7-31) commands operate in the standard fashion on the currently selected portion of the waveform. These destructive editing commands actually modify the waveform data. Remember, however, that editing only occurs in RAM. To permanently save your edits, you must use one of the various commands in the File menu that save samples.

Cut

The Cut command (Figure 7-31) removes the selected sample data and ﬁlls the gap. So Cut actually removes time and makes the sample sho rter. If you wish to mainta in sa mple lengt h (an d simply remove waveform data), use the Silence command (Figure 7-31).

Copy

Copy (Figure 7-31) places the currently selected sample data in the clipboard for pasting.

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Paste

To Paste sample data that you have just copied or cut into the clipboard (Figure 7-31), you must ﬁrst determine where to paste, as follows:

Method for choosing where to paste Result when you paste

Click anywhere in the waveform to place the Insertion Point)

Make a selection The selected portion of the waveform is

Clipboard data is inserted at the insertion point, and all data after the insertion point is moved later in the sample.

replaced with the clipboard data, even if their lengths don’t match. For example, if you select 1 second and paste 2 seconds, the 1-second portion of the waveform is replaced with the 2 seconds of material on the clipboard.

Crop

The Crop command (Figure 7-31) removes all sample data that i s not w ithi n the current selec tion. To use Crop, you must ﬁrst make a selection over the sample data you wish to preserve. Then use Crop to remove everything else.

Delete

The Delete command (Figure 7-31) does the same thing as Cut, except that it does not place the deleted material on the clipboard. This command al lows you to remove samp le da ta w ithout affe cting any data currently on the clipboard.

Norm alize

The Norm alize command (Figure 7-31) boosts amplitude by whatever amount is needed to make the loudest peak reach digital full scale (zero dB).

Fade In/Fade Out

The Fade In/Fade Out commands (Figure 7-31) apply a linear fade to/from zero dB.

PlaySelection

The PlaySelection command (Figure 7-31) plays whatever is currently selected in the waveform.

Change Playing Direction to Reverse/Forward

The Change Playing Direction to Reverse command (Figure 7-31) makes the entire sample layer play in reverse. To make it play forward again, choose Change Playing Direction to Forward.

Set As One Shot

When Set As One Shot is enabled (Figure 7-31) and its amplitude envelope is conﬁgured as ADSR, the note-off event is ignored and the entire sample will be played.

Create Loop/Delete Loop

The Create Loop command (Figure 7-31) lets you make a selection in the waveform and then loop that selection. You can drag the loop points as needed to adjust them. To get rid of the loop, choose Delete Loop from the Sample Editor menu (Figure 7-31).

Pad Editor effects tab

Click the FX tab (Figure 7-27 on page 63) to access the sample layer effects list (Figure 7-32). The effects list provides unlimited effects slots for each sample layer.

Silence

The Silence command (Figure 7-31) gives all sample data within the current selection a value of zero (silence).

Reverse

The Reverse command (Figure 7-31) makes the current selection play backwards.

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Applying effects to a layer

To apply an effect to a sample layer, click the layer to select it, click the FX tab (Figure 7-32) and then click the Add FX butt on to open the effe cts brow ser. You can add as many effects as you wish to the list for the currently selected layer, and each layer can have its own set of effects. For further details about working with effects, see “Effects” on page 99.

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Drum synthesizer

BPM provides a drum synthesizer (Figure 7-33) with dozens of preset sounds. You can use the drum synthesizer just like a sample layer and even mix and match drum synth layers with sample layers using all of the multi-layer features discussed earlier.

Accessing the drum synthesizer

To access the drum synthesizer, right-click the Sample/Oscillator tab (Figure 7-27 on page 63) to open the Change Oscillator Type menu (Figure 7-34) and choose DrumOscillator. Yo u c an use this menu to freely switch the layer between sample playback and the Drum Synth.

Figure 7-34: Accessing the drum synth.

Layer bypass

Effects ta b

Effects slots

Sample/oscillator tab

Effects ta b

Effect name

Figure 7-32: Pad effects tab.

Effects settings

Currently selected drum synth layer

Individual bypass

Effects browse r Delete effect

Page buttons

Drum synth preset menu

Figure 7-33: Drum Synthesizer.

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Drum synth (osc) layers work just like sample layers

A drum synth layer operates in much the same way as a sample layer, as discussed earlier in this chapter. This includes velocity layering, layer switching by rules, polyphony and effects.

Drum synth presets

The drum synth preset menu (Figure 7-33) provides many useful preset sounds organized by category. These are a great place to start, even when you wish to program your own sound with the many available parameters.

Figure 7-35: Drum synth presets.

Drum synth parameters

The Drum Synth provides straightforward oscillator settings (Figure 7-33), including basic waveform (sine, triangle, saw or pulse), oscillator frequency, simple two-stage attack/decay amplitude envelope and pitch modulation with rate and depth controls.

Use the Mix control (Figure 7-33) to blend the oscillator output with the noise generator, which provides a standard low/high/band-pass ﬁlter, plus a two-stage amplitude envelope.

The Master section (Figure 7-33) provides built-in EQ, distortion volume and velocity sensitivity controls for the oscillator amplitude, oscillator pitch modulation and noise amplitude.

RACKS

A rack (Figure 7-36) holds multi-sample instruments, loops and phrases. Each individual instrument, loop or phrase is loaded into the rack as a part. A part is like a channel on a mixing console or instrument track in your audio workstation software; it can have its own preset and settings.

Similar to banks, BPM provides two separate racks (A and B) that operate independently, but play simultaneously with each other and the four pad banks. You can load and play an unlimited number of instrument and loop parts in each rack.

Two rack buttons

Click a rack button (Figure 7-36) to view its parts list. Below each rack button are Mute and Solo buttons that allow you to mute and solo the entire rack during playback. Each rack also has an SP Mode button next to it. For details, see “SP mode” on page 89.

Selecting a part

Click a part to select it. A red border appears around it. The currently selected part is loaded with any loop, phrase or sound that you select in the browser with AutoLoad enabled. You can also select a part to view its synth parameter settings to the right of the part list.

Adding, deleting and clearing parts

To add a part, click the ADD button (Figure 7-36). You can also add a part by dragging and dropping an audio ﬁle onto any empty part in the list. If you are dragging a loop into the part list from the browser, be sure to turn off AutoLoad ﬁrst. Otherwise, the loop you drag will be loaded into the currently selected part as soon as you click it.

To clear a part of the current loop or instrument, right-click and choose Empty.

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To delete a part, select it and click the DEL button (Figure 7-36).

Browsing loops and instruments with AutoLoad

The basic procedure for browsing loops and instrument parts with AutoLoad mode enabled is described in “AutoLoad” on page 54. AutoLoad lets you hear loops as you browse, as long as BPM’s main play button (Figure 7-60 on page 90) is engaged. When playback is stopped, you can still hear loops as you browse using the AutoPreview option (“AutoLoad options” on page 55), which plays loops as you click them. Use the Preview Start/Stop button (Figure 7-8 on page 54) to control preview playback.

Drag and drop into the part list

If AutoLoad is turned off, you can drag and drop a loop or instrument preset from the browser onto an existing part, or an empty part slot. Alterna-

tively, you can drag and drop an audio ﬁle from your computer desktop. Either way, dragging directly to a part replaces any loop or instrument currently in the part.

Playing a part using the keyboard

Once you’ve loaded a loop or instrument into a part as explained in the previous sections, select the part and then click the keyboard (Figure 7-36) to play the part. Use the left/right arrows to scroll to lower or higher octaves. The red line above the keys indicates the note range for the current slice loop or instrument preset. If you have loaded a preset from MachFive that includes key switches, key switch keys are indicated in blue.

Playing a part using the Piano Roll Sequencer

If a pattern is also currently loaded into the Piano Roll Sequencer for the part, press BPM’s main play button (Figure 7-60 on page 90) to play the pattern

Add/delete part buttons

Rack

buttons

SP mode

Scroll left Scroll right

Figure 7-36: BPM provides two independent racks (A and B) for loops, phrases and instruments.

range (red bar)

Part list

Loop part

Instrument part

Currently selected part (red border)

Empty part slots

Keyboard

OctavePreset note

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for the part. You can also play the part from your MIDI controller and even record patterns this way. See “Recording” on page 93 for further details.

Recording a pattern using the keyboard

You can record patterns by clicking on the keyboard while recording in real time. For details, see “Recording” on page 93.

Part settings

Each part has the following settings:

MIDI

channel

Loop or instrument

preset name

Volume

Pan

the part list (as shown in Figure 7-37), you will always see them presented in this fashion (bank letter plus MIDI channel number). You can use any MIDI channel you wish for any of BPM’s 64 parts. Parts (as many as you wish) can also share any MIDI channel.

☛ This feature (multiple banks of MIDI I/O) is

supported by the standalone, MAS and RTAS versions of BPM. As of this writing, the VST and Audio Unit (AU) standards do not support multiple banks of MIDI channels. If you are using BPM in one of these plug-in formats, and you need more than 16 parts, open a second instance of the plug-in.

MIDI

activity

Mute

Next/previous

and

preset buttons

Solo

Figure 7-37: Part settings.

Level

meter

Autoplay

Part play

MIDI (note) activity LED

The MIDI activity LED (Figure 7-37) lights up wh en t he p ar t rec eives MID I data or n ote data f rom the Piano Roll Sequencer.

Next/previous preset buttons

The Next/Previous preset buttons (Figure 7-37) let you easily browse through a series of presets.

MIDI channel

Press the MIDI channel menu for a part (Figure 7-37) to choose the desired MIDI receive channel for the part (the channel from your sequencer or external MIDI keyboard or other controller).

BPM provides 64 separate MIDI channels, divided into four banks of 16 channels each: Bank A, B, C and D. MIDI channels in Bank A are designated as A1, A2, A3, A4, etc. up to A16. Similarly, channels in Bank B are designated as B1, B1, B2, B3, etc. and so on for banks C and D as well. When you choose MIDI channels for BPM in your h ost software or in

Rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input you want. By default, the ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to A5, the second part to A6, and so on. This is because pad banks A, B, C, and D respond to MIDI channels A1 through A4, so the parts start at channel A5 to avoid a MIDI channel conﬂict with the pad banks.

For details about setting up MIDI I/O with the standalone version of BPM, see “MIDI Devices tab” on page 33. For setting up MIDI I/O with the plug-in version running in your favorite host, see chapter 6, “BPM Plug-in” (page 35).

Creating instrument “stacks”

With 64 available MIDI channels, you can assign each part to its own MIDI channel, if you wish. But you can also assign multiple parts to the same channel to easily create layers (“stacks”), where all instruments that share the same MIDI channel play exactly the same notes.

Part volume, pan, mute and solo

The drag vertically on the part volume or pan (Figure 7-37) control to adjust it, or double-click to edit the value numerically. Volume range is from

-144 to +6 dB. Pan goes from -1.00 to +1.00, where zero is center (C).

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Click the Mute button (Figure 7-37) to temporarily silence the part. When you mute a part, it no longer expends system resources.

Both volume and pan can be automated with the standard MIDI controllers #7 (volume) and #10 (pan), although you can use any controller you wish, as explained below. Mute and Solo can also be automated via MIDI.

Play/Autoplay

The Auto pla y and Part Play buttons (Figure 7-37) are inactive and grayed out, unless a the part has a loop, and the loop is currently set to Slice mode without mapping. For details about these loop settings, see “Slice” on page 80.

If a loop has been loaded into the part and it is in

Slice mode without mapping, the AutoPlay and Part Play buttons (Figure 7-37) become activated.

Click the Part Play button to play or stop the loop.

Click the Auto Play button to toggle the part’s AutoP lay status. When AutoPlay is enabled for the part, the loop will follow BPM’s main transports. When it is disabled, the loop will only play when you click the part’s Play button. For complete details about the transports, see “Transport Control and Tempo” on page 90.

Assigning MIDI controllers to part controls

To assign a MIDI controller to a part volume, pan, mute or solo, right-click the item to either choose the desired controller from a menu or play it from your MIDI controller (Figure 7-63 on page 92).

Part sy nth parameters

BPM provides synth parameter settings for each part (to the right of the parts list). Click the part to select it and then view and adjust its synth settings. See “Synth Parameters” on page 86.

PIANO ROLL SEQUENCER

The Piano Roll Sequencer (Figure 7-38) provides a basic sequencer for the currently selected part.

Accessing the Piano Roll Sequencer

To access the Piano Roll Sequencer, select a part and then click the Seq (Sequencer) tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

Pitch Ruler

Th e Pian o Rol l gr id i s a s impl e gr id w ith tim e goi ng horizontally and pitch going vertically. The Pitch Ruler (Figure 7-38) indicates the pitch for each note, where C3 is middle C.

Pitch ruler

Pencil tool

Selection

Eraser Bypass

tool

Figure 7-38: Piano Roll Sequencer.

Snap to Grid

Length

Grid

Timeline

Sequences of notes triggering a slice loop

Scroll bar

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Timeline

The Timeline (Figure 7-38) indicates measure and beats. For example, 2.3 indicates measure 2, beat 3. The number of measures is determined by the Length (in bars).

To ol s

The Selection tool, Pencil and Eraser (Figure 7-38) provide standard selection, insertion and deletion capabilities for the grid. Here is a summary of techniques:

Zooming the timeline

Click on the time line (Figure 7-38) and drag vertically to zoom the resolution of the piano roll grid.

Length

The length setting (Figure 7-38) lets you specify the length of the time line in the Piano Roll Sequencer for the part. Each part can have a unique len gth. Lengt h is speciﬁed in a number of complete bars.

Grid

The Grid menu (Figure 7-38) lets you specify the grid resolution for editing, as indicated below:

Resolution Metric value

8 Eighth note

8T Eighth note triplet

16 Sixteenth note

16T Sixteenth note triplet

32 Thirty second note

To do this Do this

Insert a note with the duration of the current grid

Insert a note of any length Drag with the Pencil

Change the pitch of a note Drag it up or down

Change the pitch of several notes

Change the velocity of one or more notes

Delete a note Double-click it, or

Delete multiple notes Select them with the Selection

Click with the Pencil, or

Double-click with the Selection tool

Select them and drag up or down

Select them and Shift-drag up or down

click it or drag over it with the Eraser, or

Select it and hit delete.

tool and then hit delete.

Piano Roll Sequencer menu

Right-click to access the Piano Roll Sequencer menu (Figure 7-39).

Snap to Grid

Enable the Snap to Grid option (Figure 7-38) to cause edits and note insertions to automatically conform to the current Grid resolution.

Bypass

Click Bypass (Figure 7-38) to turn off the Piano Roll Sequencer entirely. This lets you use the part purely as a sound source for an external MIDI controller or sequencer.

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Figure 7-39: Right-click the piano roll to access its contextual menu.

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Here is a brief summary of the menu operations:

Menu item What it does

Selection Tool / Pencil / Eraser

Cut Places the currently selected MIDI

Copy Places the currently selected MIDI

Paste Pastes the MIDI data in the clipboard.

Select All/Deselect All Selects or deselects all notes.

Clear Selection Removes all currently selected notes.

Clear All Removes all notes and other data.

Delete All Notes Removes all notes.

Delete All But Notes Removes all data except for notes.

Quantize Moves all notes, or the currently

Apply Groove Applies the chosen groove to all notes,

Selects the corresponding tool.

data in the clipboard for pasting, removing the data from the sequence.

data in the clipboard for pasting, leaving the data in the sequence.

selected notes, to nearest grid location.

or the currently selected notes.

Drag and drop into the Piano Roll Sequencer

You can drag and drop patterns from the browser (with AutoLoad turned off), and MIDI ﬁles from your computer desktop, into the Piano Roll Sequencer. When importing MIDI ﬁles, drag and drop works best when using single-channel MIDI ﬁles of a reasonable length.

Working with slice loops in the Piano Roll Sequencer

When you load a slice loop into a part, each slice is mapped to an individual note and the notes are automatically loaded into the Piano Roll Editor. The ﬁrst loop slice is mapped to note C3 and from there slices are mapped sequentially in ascending order, chromatically, up the keyboard. The resulting cascade of notes is a similar to what is shown in Figure 7-38. You can edit the slice notes in the grid to modify the loop. You can play slices from the on-screen keyboard, a MIDI keyboard, a pad controller or any other MIDI controller. Essentially, these mapped slice notes give you a great deal of control over manipulating the loop.

PART EDITOR

The Part Editor (Figure 7-41) provides in-depth programming of individual rack parts. The Part Editor provides a wide range of controls (such as envelopes, multi mode- ﬁlters, LFOs, and pitch controls) that allow you to shape and mold the instrument sound or loop in the currently selected part.

Accessing the Part Editor

To access the Part Editor, make sure a rack is currently selected, click the part you wish to edit to select it and then click the Edit tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

Applying grooves

The Apply Grooves menu item (Figure 7-39) provides many classic drum machine groove “feels”, including MPC swing and LinnDrum presets (Figure 7-40). You can also create and apply your own grooves. See “Saving your own grooves” on page 63.

Figure 7-40: MPC, LinnDrum and other grooves can be applied to note data in the Piano Roll Sequencer.

MIDI automation of part editor parameters

Part Editor parameters can be automated by sending MIDI control messages to BPM. Rightclick any parameter to either choose the desired controller from a menu or play it from your MIDI controller (as shown in Figure 7-63 on page 92).

LFOs (1 to 4)

The Part Editor LFO section (Figure 7-41) provides four LFOs to shape your parts. Click an LFO button (1, 2, 3 or 4) to select a speciﬁc LFO. Click the LFO menu to choose a waveform for the

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LFO. Choose among nine different waveforms for each LFO, allowing for a great deal of control in shaping the part you are working with.

Figure 7-42: LFO types.

Retriggering

Retriggering causes each new note that is played to restart the LFO waveform. LFO 1 and 2 are retrigger. LFO 3 and 4 are non-retrigger.

Rate

Rate (Figure 7-41) controls the speed of the currently selected LFO.

Depth

Depth (Figure 7-41) controls the intensity of the LFO.

Tra nsp ose

The Part Editor Tra n s p o s e section (Figure 7-41) provides general pitch controls for each part.

Bend

The Bend setting (Figure 7-41) controls the pitch bend range for the part. The range is from 0 to 24 semitones (2 octaves).

Constant pitch (“Const”)

Enable the Constant Pitch (Const) button (Figure 7-41) if you would like to maintain the same pitch, regardless of what MIDI note is being played. Use the Octave and Semitone settings (below) to adjust the pitch as desired. This setting is especially useful for loops, phrases or drum hits that you do not wish to transpose.

MIDI

The Octave and Semitone (Semi) settings (Figure 7-41) transpose the current part in octaves and semitones, respectively. The octave range is from -2 to +2 octaves. The semitone range is from

-24 to +24 semitones (two octaves).

Sync

Sync (Figure 7-41) allows the LFO’s rate to be synced to BPM’s global tempo.

Loop Editor tab

Part Editor tab

Figure 7-41: Part Editor.

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Polyphony

Velocity curvesArpeggiator

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Play

The Part Editor Play section (Figure 7-41) provides general controls for part playback.

to conﬁrm the value. Now when you play the part, the notes will be played at the note-on velocity that you speciﬁed.

Glide

Portamento is used to smooth the transition between played notes. When in Mono mode, the Glide setting (Figure 7-41) controls the length of the portamento transition. The portamento range is from 0.00 ms (milliseconds) to 10.00 second.

Poly phony

The Polyphony setting (Figure 7-41) determines how many stereo notes the currently selected part can play simultaneously. For example, a setting of 12 lets you play 12 stereo notes at a time. The maximum setting is 256 stereo notes (per part).

☛ Polyphony is a per part setting. Higher

polyphony settings demand and consume more of your host computer’s processing power, so set this parameter only as high as needed for each part.

Mono

Click the Mono button (Figure 7-41) to make the currently selected part play like a monophonic synth, where only one note can play at a time. Each new note played replaces any currently sustaining note, with a degree of glide between them (see Glide above). Mono mode is ideal for solo instruments.

Choose the linear curve for a 1-to-1 response curve (all notes are played at the velocity at which the key is struck). This is the normal response for MIDI data.

The exponential curve produces medium velocity values that result in a lower volume than linear mode. This curve is well suited for soft keyboards that send high velocity MIDI values with a light touch.

The logarithmic curve produces higher velocity values that result in a higher volume than linear mode. This curve is good for piano-action keyboards that require harder action to send high velocity values.

Modulations

You can modulate the pitch, pan, amplitude, and ﬁlter cut-off parameters to further mould the sound of the part. Use a parameter’s modulator menu to choose the type of modulation for that parameter, and use the Depth control to set the amount of modulation that is applied. The modulator menu is shown below:

Ve lo ci t y c ur ve

Click the desired Velocity curve button (Figure 7-41) to set the note-on velocity response curve for the current part.

The ﬂat line option plays all struck notes at the same velocity. By default, the Flat velocity value is 127, but can be set to any value from 1-127. To edit this va lue, double-click the F lat velo city butt on and enter a new value. You can then type in a velocity from your computer keyboard, or you can play a note on you r MIDI control ler, an d then press E nter,

Figure 7-43: The modulators.

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Here is a brief explanation of the modulation sources shown in Figure 7-43:

Modulation source Explanation

Off Turns off modulation.

Pitch Env. Amp. Env Filter Env.

These options use their corresponding dedicated envelope.

Alternate modulation

The Alternate modulation option (Figure 7-43) sends maximum and minimum modulation values alternately. For example, if applied to pan with a depth of 1, this modulation source would alternate between the hard-right and hard-left pan position. To lower the values, just lower the depth.

LFOs These options use their corresponding

Key Pitch Bend After Touch Velocity

Wheel-> These options use the chosen LFO from the

Organ Pan Wheel Alternate Random

dedicated LFO.

Modulation is controlled by the chosen type of MIDI data. Key refers to MIDI pitch.

LFO section, with the addition that the mod wheel controls LFO depth.

See below.

External modulation via MIDI

As shown in Figure 7-43, modulation can be controlled from a variety of MIDI sources, including notes (key number), pitchbend, etc.

Organ Pan modulation

The Organ Pan modulation option (Figure 7-43) is based on the way organ pipes are set in a church organ. This option is primarily for panning samples, but it can be used for other creative effects, too. This option determines modulation values depending on incoming MIDI pitch numbers. For pitches lower than 36, maximum and minimum values are sent alternately (i.e. note 32 will be generating a value of 0, 33 will generate

127). For pitches between 36 and 108, the alternating continues but with smaller and smaller amplitude, until ﬁnally, above note 108, all notes generate a value of 64.

Wheel modulation

The Wheel modulation option (Figure 7-43) applies mod wheel (CC 1) as the modulation source.

Random modulation

The Random modulation option (Figure 7-43) generates a new, random value each time a note-on is received.

Arpeggiator

Each rack part has an independent arpeggiator, as shown in Figure 7-44 on page 78.

Accessing the Arpeggiator

Select a rack part, click the Edit display tab, then select the Arp tab in the virtual LCD screen. To enable the arpeggiator, click the Enable button.

Steps

The number of steps is set with the NumSteps knob, from 1 to 128. The Resolution knob sets the value of the s teps , in me tri c va lues fr om 32 bars to 6 4th not e triplets.

You can manipulate each step in the following ways.

To do this Do this

Enable/disable step Click checkbox

Merge with previous step Shift-click checkbox

Change velocity Drag slider/up down

Change length Shift-drag slider left/right

Additionally, the step length can be set globally with the StepLen knob. The StepLen knob setting is combined with the setting of each individual step. For example, if you have shortened a step to 50% by Shift-dragging it and have the StepLen knob set to 50%, that step will be 25% of the usual length.

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The Ve l B l e n d knob controls the depth of the steps’ velocity. At 0%, the full velocity range is used; at 100%, a constant velocity is used (effectively making all steps the same velocity, regardless of their individual values).

Tri gg er Mo de

Tr i g g e r M o d e determines where in the pattern of steps each note will start.

Note: Each played note restarts the from the ﬁrst

step.

Legato: the ﬁrst played note starts on the ﬁrst step,

and the pattern of steps continues as additional notes are played. If all held notes are released, the pattern will restart from the ﬁrst step when the next note is played.

Song Position: the position in the pattern is

determined by the song position, regardless of how notes are being played.

Hold

When Hold is set to True, arpeggiated notes are held.

Octave

The Octave knob determines how many octaves above or below the played notes will be arpeggiated.

Strike and Repeat

To further tailor the way in which each arpeggiated note is triggered, use the following settings:

Strike: the number of times the note is triggered

before moving on to the next note.

RepeatBottom: the bottom note is repeated.

RepeatTop: the top note is repeated.

Swing

The Swing knob applies swing to the steps.

Arpeggiator presets

Arpeggiator settings can be saved and recalled with the arpeggiator preset controls.

Figure 7-45: Arpeggiator presets

Mode

The Mode menu determines the order in which the arpeggiated notes are played.

Figure 7-44: Arpeggiator

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A variety of factory presets are included, and you can also save and recall your own. Presets can be loaded by selecting them from the menu, or with the next/previous preset buttons.

Disabling the arpeggiator

To temporarily disable the arpeggiator, click the Bypass button. To remove the arpeggiator, deselect the Enable button.

(Figure 7-1 on page 49) and then click the Loop Editor tab (Figure 7-41 on page 75). Note that the Loop Editor tab only appears when the currently selected part is loaded with a loop (not an instrument).

Loops versus phrases

In the following discussion, the terms phrase and loop have the following meaning:

☛ The arpeggiator returns to its default settings

when the arpeggiator is removed. If you would like to recall your current arpeggiator settings, save an arpeggiator preset before removing it, or use Bypass instead.

LOOP EDITOR

The Loop Editor (Figure 7-46) provides in-depth programming of individual rack parts that are currently loaded with a loop. The Loop Editor provides a wide range of controls that allow you to control the playback behavior and other parameters of the loop in the currently selected part.

Accessing the Loop Editor

To access the Loop Editor, make sure a rack is currently selected, click the part you wish to edit to select it, click the Edit tab in the BPM window

Loop Editor tab

Part Editor tab

Loop waveform display

■ Loop — a pre-sliced audio ﬁle such as a ReCycle

(REX) ﬁle, Apple Loop, UVI library Loop, etc. where each beat has been identiﬁed as its own slice. Almost all loops in BPM’s included library are slice loops.

■ Phrase — any other audio ﬁle (WAVE, AIFF,

Sound Designer II, etc.)

Loop waveform display

The loop waveform display (Figure 7-46) provides an over view of the loop’s waveform. It is for display purposes only.

Loop settings

Loop modes

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Figure 7-46: Loop Editor.

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Three loop modes

Click the desired loop mode button (Figure 7-46) to put the part into one of three possible loop modes:

Sample mode is good for material such as vocal phrases, where precise tempo control is not required. It is also good for producing the “sampler effect”.

Loop mode What it does

Sample Plays the loop like a regular sampler. As

Stretch As you play notes up and down the key-

Slice Same as stretch mode, except that the loop

you play notes up and down the keyboard, both tempo and pitch change.

board, pitch changes but not tempo.

can also be played as individual slices. Also, slice loops can be autoplayed (without being triggered from MIDI or the Piano Roll Sequencer).

☛ A native “sliced” sound ﬁle (REX ﬁle, Apple

Loop, etc.) can be switched to Stretch or Sample mode, but a “non-sliced” sound ﬁle cannot be switched to Slice mode.

As with other loop parameters, each part can have its own loop mode setting. The mode you use for a loop or phras e wil l depend on the nature of loop or phrase itself and how you would like to use it within a musical context.

Sample

Click the Sample mode button (Figure 7-46) to put the loop or phrase into Sample mode. In Sample mode, the loop or phrase is triggered like a traditional sampler: as you play the loop with different keys up and down your MIDI controller, both the pitch and the duration of the audio will change. The higher the note, the higher the pitch of the audio and the faster it plays. The lower the note, the lower and slower the audio plays. BPM’s global tempo setting (and the tempo setting of the host software, if any) is ignored. The sample plays at the speed dictated by the note played.

To play the loop at its original pitch and tempo, play the note indicated by its Key setting, if any (Figure 7-46).

Stretch

Click the Stretch mode button (Figure 7-46) to put the loop or phrase into Stretch mode. In Stretch mode, the MIDI note you play to trigger the loop or phrase affects the sample’s pitch, but not the tempo. For example, if you play a three-note chord, all three triggered loops (or phrases) will play at the same speed (but at the different pitches you played). Playback speed is determined by the speed controls. Stretch Mode locks the loop’s tempo to BPM’s global tempo setting (and/or the tempo setting of the host software, if any).

☛ To ensure that Stretch mode produces high-

quality results, BPM employs very high quality real-time audio time-stretching DSP technology.

Slice

Click the Slice mode button (Figure 7-46) to put the loop into Slice mode. If a “non-sliced” loop or other sound ﬁle is loaded in the currently selected part, slice mode is not available and so the Slice button is grayed out. Just about all of the loops in BPM’s included loop library are slice loops. There are a few audio clips that are non-slice phrases (as indicated by “PHR” at the end of their name).

☛ If you have your own loop material, and it is

not yet in a slice loop format (such as a REX ﬁle), you can slice the loop using the Clip window, or use MachFive or other software. See “Slicing a loop” on page 85.

When AutoPlay is deactivated on the selected part (see “Play/Autoplay” on page 72), Slice mode works the same way as described above for Stretch mode: the MIDI note you play to trigger the loop or

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phrase affects its pitch, but not the tempo. For example, slice mode allows you to play chords, just like Stretch mode.

Loop mode summary

Here is a summary of the loop modes discussed above:

Slice mode differs from Stretch mode in that it allows the part to play the loop without any MIDI triggering. It’s like having a very basic loop sequence for the part. For details, see “Sync menu” on page 83.

Map

In Slice mode, you can enable the Map button (Figure 7-46). The Map button splits up the loop into individual beat slices, mapped chromatically to MIDI notes starting at C3. This allows you to play each individual slice by itself from a note on your MIDI controller.

By playing the notes upwards chromatically, you can recreate the original loop. But you can mix up the notes to play the slices in any order you want, allowing you to create your own rhythms based on the slices of the original loop. Mapping opens up a world of possibilities for restructuring the beats of a loop, quantizing or groove quantizing loop slices, and so on.

To trigger a sliced loop that has been mapped, make sure that the part that currently holds the sliced loop is properly receiving MIDI. See “MIDI channel” on page 71.

Map mode also allows you to drag and drop the loop’s MIDI data into a MIDI track in your host software. You can then manipulate the loop as MIDI data in your host. For details, see “Loop export via Drag & Drop” on page 84.

Loop mode

Sample Loops

Stretch Loops

Slice Loops only Pitch only Speed, tempo

Slice with Map Loops only Slice played N/A

Typically used with

Phrases

MIDI note affects

Pitch and duration

Pitch only Speed, tempo

Tempo is determined by

MIDI note

and loop sync controls

Sample Start

The Sample Start slider (Figure 7-46) lets you specify any location in the loop or phrase as the sample start time. This is the location at which the loop or phrase will begin playing.

In Sample mode or Stretch mode, the Sample Start slider provides a range from zero percent (0%) to 100%, where zero is the very beginning of the loop or phrase.

In Slice mode (without mapping), the Sample Start slider provides a range from the ﬁrst slice (0) to the last slice. The number of the last slice depends on the length of the loop and the number of slices. For example, if a two-bar loop is divided into 16th note slices, it will have 32 slices total. This means that slice 17 is the downbeat of measure 2. So if you set the Sample Start slider to 17, the loop will start on the downbeat of measure 2.

☛ The Sample Start parameter is disabled when

the loop is in Slice+Map mode (because in this mode, you play slices individually).

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Speed control

The Speed control slider (Figure 7-46 on page 79) lets you speed up or slow down the selected loop or phrase. This setting is applied relative to the other sync and tempo settings. The speed range is from

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50% slower to 50% faster than the original tempo, which is represented by the center position of the slider. Option/Alt-click the slider to return to zero. Double-click to type in a value numerically.

☛ The Speed parameter is disabled when the

loop is in Sample mode (because speed is governed by the MIDI note that you play).

then stop. In either case, play the same key again to make the loop or phrase stop playing. You can also disengage the Latch button to stop all latched notes.

Loop mode Latch Off Latch On

Sample Plays only when the

Stretch Plays only when the

note is held on.

Repeats (if the sample has a loop).

Plays once.

Half/Double

The Half and Double Speed buttons (Figure 7-46 on page 79 ) le t you slow dow n th e lo op or phras e to one half (50%) or one quarter (25%) of the current tempo, or speed it up to t wice ( 200%) or four times (400%) the current tempo. Similar to the Speed Control slider, this setting is applied relative to the other sync and tempo settings. It can be combined with the Speed Control slider, allowing you to specify any tempo within a range of 25% to 400% of the current tempo, giving you an extremely wide range of tempo control.

☛ Half/Double speed parameter is disabled

when the loop is in Sample mode (because speed is governed by the MIDI note that you play).

Latch

When the Latch button (Figure 7-46 on page 79) is off (disabled), a loop or phrase plays for as long as you hold down its corresponding note on your MIDI keyboard (or any other controller).

When Latch is on (enabled), a loop or phrase continues to play, even if you lift your ﬁnger from the key on your controller. If the loop or phrase is a loop in Slice mode (without mapping), it will conti nue to repe at indeﬁnite ly. If the loop or p hras e is in Sample or Stretch mode, it will play once and

Slice (without mapping)

Plays only when the note is held on.

Repeats indefinitely until the same note is played again. Turning latch off stops all latched notes.

Latch Start menu

The Latch Start menu (to the right of the Latch button in Figure 7-46 on page 79) lets you specify when the loop or phrase begins to play after you trigger it. Latch Start is different from the Sample Start control (explained above), which determines the point (in the actual loop) where the loop will start to play. Instead, Latch Start determines when a loop begins to play, relative to other loops currently playing in BPM.

Start menu setting What happens

Immediate Plays immediately, as soon as the loop or

Next Beat Begins playing at the next beat

Next Bar Begins playing at the downbeat of the

phrase is triggered.

next measure.

☛ Latch is also governed by BPM’s global tempo

setting and/or your host software tempo (if BPM is synchronized to it).

In Stretch mode (“Stretch” on page 80), loops and phrases always begin playing at the beginning of the loop or phrase (plus any offset added by the Sample Start slider). So if you choose Next Beat, t he loop or phrase will begin playing at the next beat from its beginning. This may or may not be what you want musically. For example, if you trigger the loop or phrase just after beat 2, it will come in on beat 3, but start playing at its beginning (beat 1). If

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you are creating poly rhythms in this manner, this might be just what you want. But if you want the loop to come in on beat 3 playing its own beat 3, then use Slice mode (“Slice” on page 80) with Position sync (see “Position” below). The Position sync setting keeps the loop’s beats aligned with the global tempo, regardless of when the loop begins playing (on the next beat or next bar). Position sync is only available for loops, not phrases.

Key

The Key display (Figure 7-46 on page 79) shows the root key for the loop or phrase, if any. This is for informational purposes and it cannot be changed. To transpose the key, put the loop or phrase into Sample mode and play a different note, or use the Pitch controls in the synth settings section (see “Pitch settings” on page 88).

Sync menu

The settings in the Loop Sync menu (Figure 7-46 on page 79) let you synchronize the loop or phrase to BPM’s global tempo setting. If the Sync to Host option is enabled (Figure 7-60 on page 90), the loop or phrase will also synchronize to the tempo of your host software.

Sync menu setting What it does

Off The loop or phrase does not sync to tempo.

Tempo The loop or phrase follows tempo, but not

Position Not available for phrases. Loops follow

position. Loops and phrases always start at the beginning.

both tempo and position (their beats and barlines always align with the tempo).

Tem po sy n c

When you choose Te m p o from the Sync menu (Figure 7-46 on page 79), the loop or phrase will play at the tempo indicated by BPM’s tempo set ting, or as determine d by the host sof tware if the Sync to Host option is enabled (Figure 7-60 on page 90). However, in this mode, the loop or phrase always starts at the beginning (or at the location determined by the Sample start setting).

In addition, it begins to play at the instant it is triggered, so it is up to you to trigger it “on the beat”. If you trigger it at between beats, it will play in tempo, but offset from the beat by what you played.

Posit ion

The Position sync setting in the Sync menu (Figure 7-46 on page 79) only affects loops, and only when they are in Slice mode w ithout mapping (“Slice” and “Map” on page 81). When a loop is in Slice mode with Position sync, it might be helpful to think of the loop as looping indeﬁnite ly, whether you are actually playing the loop or not.

When you play a note to “trigger” the loop, you are actually just “unmuting” it, and it begins to play at the position in the loop that currently matches BPM’s tempo. For example, if the loop is two bars long, and you trigger it at the second measure of your music, then it plays starting at bar two of the loop.

Loop Sync summary

Putting a loop into Slice mode and choosing Position sync gives you the highest degree of tempo synchronization because the loop will not only play in tempo, but its beats and barlines will always match the beats and barlines prescribed by the tempo.

Here’s a summary of the different loop modes and sync settings:

Sync off Tempo sync Position sync

Sample

Stretch

Slice

Slice+map

Sync setting has no effect.

Plays at original tempo.

No effect No effect No effect

Sync setting has no effect.

Follows tempo but does not automatically align beats.

Sync setting has no effect.

Follows tempo but does not automatically align beats.

Follows tempo and aligns beats.

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Loop export via Drag & Drop

The Drag & Drop button (Figure 7-46 on page 79) lets you export loops and phrases into the tracks of your host software, or onto your computer desktop.

Loops and phrases are transferred as a standard audio clip. Loops that are in Slice mode with mapping (“Map” on page 81) can be dragged as MIDI data (MIDI notes) into a MIDI track, which can then trigger the mapped loop in BPM.

In either case, once the loop is placed in your host software, it is completely independent of BPM at that point, and you can treat it as regular audio or MIDI data. This opens up a world of possibilities for manipulating the raw audio or MIDI data using the features in your host software.

Dragging audio data

When you see the audio data icons shown in Figure 7-47, this means that you are dragging a standard mono or stereo audio clip. You can drag and drop it anywhere into your host software that accepts audio clips via drag and drop.

display shown in Figure 7-46 on page 79 to determine if the loop or phrase you ar dragging from BPM is mono or stereo.

Conforming to the host tempo

If the Sync to Host option is enabled (“Sync to Host” on page 90) when you perform the drag and drop operation, the loop or phrase will snap to the host’s tempo when you place it in an audio track, such that it conforms to the host’s time line. If your host software has the ability to snap the drag and drop operation to measures and/or beats, this will help produce rhythmically accurate results quickly.

If Sync to Host is disabled, the loop or phrase retains is original tempo when placed in the track.

Dragging MIDI data

When you see the MIDI data icon shown in Figure 7-48, this means that you are dragging a sliced, mapped loop in the form of MIDI data. Therefore, you should ﬁnd a destination in your host software that accepts MIDI data, such as a MIDI track, although your host may also provide other possible destinations. For example, in Digital Performer, you could drag a MIDI loop into a clipping window.

Figure 7-47: Dragging and dropping an audio loop into a host audio track.

☛ Here is a good rule of thumb: if it works from

your computer desktop, it should work from BPM.

If your host makes a distinction between mono and stereo audio material and therefore places restrictions on where the audio can be placed based on the channel format, use the waveform

Figure 7-48: Dragging and dropping a MIDI loop into a host MIDI track.

Triggering BPM slices from the host

When a mapped MIDI loop is dropped into a MIDI track, it looks similar to the MIDI data shown in Figure 7-48. Each MIDI pitch triggers a different loop slice. If you play notes chromatically upwards from C3, you will recreate the original loop. If you play them rhythmically in a different

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order, you’ll play the individual slices but the result will sound quite different from (but similar to) the original loop.

Make sure that the MIDI track is assigned to play it s MI DI da ta out put t o th e BP M part t hat hold s the mapped loop. Otherwise, the MIDI data from the track will not reach the sliced mapped loop. Also, clear or bypass the loop’s Piano Roll Sequencer, so the part does not receive different MIDI input from two places at once.

Slicing a loop

The Clip window can be used to create slices in audio ﬁles that do not already have slices.

Figure 7-50: Slice controls

To manually edit slices:

To do this Do this

Create slice Double-click in the top ruler

Move slice Click and drag a slice

Lock slice Right-click a slice and choose Lock

Figure 7-49: Clip window

Sample or drag some audio into the Clip window. You’ll see controls for slicing in the lower left corner: the Slice on/off button to t oggle slicing, and the pop-up menu to choose if slices will determined by Tra n s i e n t s or the Grid. Whe n Transients is chosen, a sensitivity slider is shown (see Figure 7-50, below); when Grid is chosen, a menu with grid settings is shown (1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc., including dotted and triplet options).

Mute slice (temporarily disable)

Delete slice Right-click a slice and choose Delete

Right-click a slice and choose Mute

To audition a selection in the waveform, press the Play button at the top, next to the Sampling button, or right-click the waveform and choose Play Selection from the contextual menu. You can easily select a slice to audition it by double-clicking on the slice’s waveform.

After the loop is sliced, you can use the menu in the upper left to save the entire ﬁle as a sliced loop (Save as...) or export the slices as individual ﬁles (Export slices). Alternatively, you could export the slice s directly to the current bank’s p ads by clicking the Map on Pads button in the lower left.

Figure 7-51: Saving or exporting the sliced loop

When using the Clip window’s Map on Pads feature, it will map each slice to the current bank’s pads starting with BD1. However, if some of those

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pads already contain samples and you don’t want their contents to be overwritten, you can “lock” pads by using the Pad selector grid in the browser.

Figure 7-52: Use the Pad selector to “lock” pads.

Filter

The ﬁlter section (Figure 7-54) provides several ﬁlter types for shaping the sound of the pad or part.

Filter type menu

Pads that are checked (black) will be overwritten; pads that are unchecked (empty/gray) will be locked. For example, you can use Map on Pads to map eight slices from one loop, lock those pads, then load eight slices from a second loop to ﬁll all sixteen pads.

SYNTH PARAMETERS

The Synth Parameters section of BPM window (Figure 7-53) provides settings for the currently selected bank pad or rack part. (See “Selecting a pad” on page 57 and “Selecting a part” on page 69.) The parameters discussed below apply to any BPM material that is currently loaded in the pad or part (samples, instruments, loops and phrases).

Envelope

Drive menu

Figure 7-54: The Filter section.

Filter Type

Choo se the type of ﬁlter you wis h to a pply fr om th e menu (Figure 7-54). BPM provides the following ﬁlter types:

Figure 7-55: Filter types.

The ﬁlter type menu uses the following abbreviations:

Abbreviation Meaning

HP High Pass

Figure 7-53: The Synth Parameters section.

LP Low Pass

BP Band Pass

Rez Resonant

Comb+ Comb filter with positive feedback

Comb- Comb filter with negative feedback

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Cutoff (Cutoff Frequency)

Turn the large Cutoff knob (Figure 7-54) to set the cutoff frequency of the ﬁlter. The cutoff frequency can be automated by sending a MIDI controller to BPM, as explained in “MIDI automation” on page 92.

Res (Resonance)

Resonance (Figure 7-54) emphasizes the cutoff frequency of the ﬁlter. Higher resonance values can signiﬁcantly boost gain, so you may need to attenuate the volume of the pad or part to achieve a clean sound. Resonance can be automated by sending a MIDI controller to BPM, as explained in “MIDI automation” on page 92.

Drive

The Drive setting (Figure 7-54) sets the type and amount of distortion (if any) that’s applied to the ﬁlter output. In addition to the default setting of Off, you have three different drive settings to choose from: Analog, Mild, and Strong. Once you set the distortion type, use the Drive knob to set the amount of distortion that is applied.

Filter envelope

BPM provides a dedicated envelope for ﬁlter modulation. Think of the ﬁlter envelope (Figure 7-54) as a hard-wired control signal for the ﬁlter cutoff frequency (although it can also be used as a modulation source for other parameters, too). The ﬁlter envelope provides the following conventional 4-stage controls:

Stage Name Unit range

A Attack time msec 0.00 msec to 10 seconds

Alternatively, you can choose a conventional AHD envelope from the envelope type menu (Figure 7-54):

Envelope stage unit range

Attack (A) msec 0.00 msec to 10 seconds

Hold (H) msec 0.00 msec to 10 seconds

Decay (D) msec 0.00 msec to 20 seconds

Env (Envelope) Depth

The Env Depth knob (Figure 7-54) is like a valve that governs the amount of envelope control signal you want to apply to the ﬁlter. Positive envelope depth values open up the ﬁlter relative to the cutoff frequency; negative values close (invert) it. A value of +1.00 applies the envelope in full, and -1.00 applies the envelope in full, but completely inverted.

Ve l o c i t y

Ve l o c i t y (Figure 7-54) allows you to control how much affect the MIDI note-on velocity has on the triggering of the envelope. This control has a range from 0 to 1. If you wish the ﬁlter envelope to be independent of velocity, set this control to zero (0).

Amplitude Envelope

The amplitude envelope (Figure 7-56) lets you control the attack (A), decay (D), sustain (S) and release (R) characteristics of the sample, instrument, loop or phrase loaded into the currently selected pad or part. Alternatively, you can choose an AHD envelope from the menu: attack (A), hold (H) and decay (D).

D Decay time msec 0.00 msec to 20 seconds

S Sustain level Percent of

R Release time msec 0.00 msec to 20 seconds

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filter cutoff frequency

zero to 1.00 (full scale)

Figure 7-56: The Amplitude Envelope is provided in two forms: ADSR and AHD.

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ADSR envelope

The attack, decay and release parameters are timebased parameters (a length of time), whereas the sustain parameter is a level (volume) parameter. When a note is played, the envelope generator begins to rise to its full level at the rate set by the attack parameter. Upon reaching peak attack level, it begins to fall at the rate set by the decay parameter down to the volume level set by the sustain parameter. The envelope remains at the sustain level as long as the note sustains. When the note stops, level retur ns to z ero at the rate set by the release parameter.

Below is a summary:

Envelope stage unit range

Attack (A) msec 0.00 msec to 10 seconds

Decay (D) msec 0.00 msec to 20 seconds

Sustain (S) percent zero to 1.00 (full scale)

Release (R) msec 0.00 msec to 20 seconds

AHD envelope

The AHD envelope parameters (Figure 7-56) are all time-based parameters. When a note is played, the envelope generator begins to rise to its full level at the rate set by the attack parameter. Upon reaching peak level, it remains there for as long as the hold parameter speciﬁes. At the end of this period, it begins to fall at the rate set by the decay parameter down to zero.

Envelope stage unit range

Attack (A) msec 0.00 msec to 10 seconds

Hold (H) msec 0.00 msec to 10 seconds

Decay (D) msec 0.00 msec to 20 seconds

Pitch settings

The pitch settings (Figure 7-57) let you modify the pitch reference for the currently selected part.

Figure 7-57: The Pitch settings.

Global, Semi and Fine tune

The Global knob lets you adjust pitch in semitones over a two-octave range (-25.00 to +25.00) with the precision of one cent (one one-hundredth of a semitone). This is audio transposition (not MIDI). The Semi (semitone) and Fine (ﬁne-tune) settings (Figure 7-57) provide more precise control, transposing the pad or part in only semitones or cents, respectively. The Semi range is from -24 to +24 semitones. The Fine Tune range is from -100 to +100 cents (one semitone). The Global setting essentially combines the functionality of the other two knobs into one: it provides the two-octave range of the semi knob combined with the precision (in cents) of the Fine knob.

Pitch envelope

The pitch envelope controls (Figure 7-57) let you apply a pitch bend envelope to the pad or part. The basic shape of the envelope is shown by the graph. The Depth knob sets the amount of pitch bend to be applied by the pitch envelope (in semitones). This is the amount of transposition above or below the root note that the pitch bend will begin. The Time knob sets the amount of time it takes for the pitch bend to go from the initial transposed (depth) setting to the ﬁnal root pitch of the sample, loop or instrument note.

Ve l o c i t y

The velocity (Ve l ) knob (Figure 7-56) controls the sensitivity of the velocity to the envelope’s amplitude.

Aux Send

The Aux Se nd section (Figure 7-58) provides access to the auxiliary (aux) effects busses. The three aux send knobs control the amount of signal being fed by the pad or part to the aux busses.

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Figure 7-58: The Aux sends.

There are two kinds of aux effects: master and bank. A switch is provided to toggle the knobs between the master and bank aux sends. Both sets of aux sends are active simultaneously; that is, setting the switch to bank does not mute the master aux sends, or vice versa.

For details about how to set up the Aux effects, see “Effects” on page 99.

Master aux effects

Master aux effects busses are shared by all bank pads and rack parts, but the send levels to the busses are independent for each pad or part.

Bank aux effects

Bank aux effects provide a ﬂexible way to utilize and save effects along with a kit. Bank aux effects operate similarly to the master aux effects, except bank aux effects are saved with the bank. This enables you to use an aux send to an effect from a single pad, for example, but still save the effect along with the bank.

SP MODE

BPM has four pad banks and two racks for loops and instruments. Each bank and rack has an SP Mode on/off switch:

SP mode

Figure 7-59: SP mode can be enabled or disabled independently for each bank and rack.

When SP Mode is enabled for a bank or rack, BPM applies advanced DSP technology to emulate the “gritty” sound of the classic E-mu SP1200 rhythm machine, as well as the unique sample transposition behavior of the SP1200.

SP Mode only affects the bank(s) or rack(s) for which it is enabled, and it affects all audio output from the bank or rack.

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TRANSPORT CONTROL AND TEMPO

BPM provides a Play and Stop button, along with a tempo setting, that allows you play all currently loaded patterns, sequences and loops in tempo with one another.

Host

AutoPlay

Sync

Tem po in BPM

Host

Figure 7-60: The transport and tempo controls.

Overdub

Tap

Tempo

Stop Play

Play and Stop buttons

Click Play and Stop (Figure 7-60) to start and stop playback. This includes all currently loaded banks (with kits and patterns loaded), all currently loaded instrument parts (with their accompanying sequences) and parts loaded with loops that have their individual AutoPl ay setting enabled (see “Play/Autoplay” on page 72).

Record, Quantize and Overdub

The Record, Quantize and Overdub buttons (Figure 7-60) can be used for real-time MIDI recording directly into BPM. For complete details, see “Recording” on page 93.

Metronome

Click the metronome icon to toggle the metronome on or off, and drag the slider to set the metronome level.

Tempo (BPM)

The Tempo setting (Figure 7-60) lets you specify the tempo in BPM (beats per minute). Drag up or down on the text, or double-click to type in the desired tempo. All loops are time-stretched in real time to match this global tempo setting. When

Record

Undo

Quantize

Metronome

BPM is syncing its tempo to your host software, this setting reﬂects the current host software tempo setting and it cannot be changed.

Host AutoPlay

When the host Aut oPl ay option (Figure 7-60) is enabled, the plug-in version of BPM follows the main transports of the host software. You can also still use BPM’s Play and Stop buttons independently from the host. In other words, BPM’s play button won’t start the host, but the host’s play button will start BPM.

In the standalone version of BPM, the AutoPlay option is disabled (because there is no host software present).

Sync to Host

When the Sync to Host option (Figure 7-60) is enabled in the plug-in version of BPM, the BPM setting becomes disabled (it cannot be directly modiﬁed) and instead displays the current tempo setting of the host software. BPM follows the tempo of the host software, so that all BPM loops play in tempo with your host software tracks. Use the tempo controls in the host software to control overall tempo of both BPM and the host software tracks.

In the standalone application, when the Sync button in the transport is enabled BPM will sync to MIDI Beat Clock messages received on any of its MIDI input ports (as chosen in the Audio and MIDI Settings > MIDI Devices tab).

Tap Tempo

Click the Tap Temp o button (Figure 7-60) to set BPM’s tempo by tapping your mouse. This allows you to set the tempo intuitively, by “feel”, rather than by specifying a number.

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Loop tempos and authentic rhythmic feel

BPM loops have been recorded and prepared with the utmost care in programming a unique, original rhythmic feel for the loop. As a result, you may sometimes hear loops with different styles that sound like they are not playing in tempo with each other. This is not because the loops are being incorrectly played by BPM. The tempo settings of the loops themselves and BPM’s tempo-matching features are extremely sophisticated, accurate and true. Instead, loops won’t necessarily always “groove” with each other, due to their unique, and possibly irregular, timing. These timing variances are an essential musical component of the loop, dutifully preserved by BPM during playback.

In cases like these, you might try applying BPM’s groove quantization or other tempo and beat matching features. These features can work wonders on loop tempos, giving you complete control over them. For example, you can quantize loops to a more precise rhythmic grid, apply the groove of one loop to another to match them, and many other beat and tempo-related operations. For details, see “Groove” on page 91 and “Saving your own grooves” on page 63.

MASTER VOLUME AND TUNE

The master section (Figure 7-61) provides general settings that affect the entire plug-in as a whole (all parts).

Tun e

The Tu n e knob (Figure 7-61) is a global tuning stage for BPM window. It is applied to the entire plug-in as a whole, in addition to any other instrument-speciﬁc tuning adjustments that have been made. For example, you could tune BPM to reference A at 442 Hz (instead of 440). The range is from 420 Hz to 460 Hz. Option/Alt-click the knob to return to the default value of 440 Hz. Doubleclick it to enter the desired value numerically.

If you have multiple BPM plug-ins instantiated in your software, this global tune setting affects each plug-in separately.

GROOVE

A groove consists of slight variations in the timing of the beats, along with variations (emphasis and de-emphasis) of the loudness (velocity) of beats. The groove controls in the master section (Figure 7-61) let you apply an overall groove to BPM’s playback. All patterns and slice loops are affected. Choose the desired groove from the Groove menu (Figure 7-62) and then adjust the amount of position and velocity to be applied with the Pos and Ve l knobs, respectively. The range of these settings is 0.00 to 1.00, where zero is no effect and 1.00 is full effect. This allows you to apply different amounts of timing and velocity.

Figure 7-61: The Global section.

Global volume

The Vo l u m e setting in the master section (Figure 7-61) serves as a overall volume setting for the entire BPM plug-in. It is applied as a ﬁnal, additional gain stage for BPM’s Main output.

BPM WINDOW

Figure 7-62: The Groove menu provides dozens of classic grooves, including MPC and LinnDrum grooves.

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Custom grooves

If you have created and saved any custom grooves, they appear at the bottom of the Groove menu (Figure 7-62). See “Saving your own grooves” on page 63.

MIDI AUTOMATION

You can send MIDI continuous controller data to any BPM knob or slider to control it remotely from your MIDI controller or automate it from recorded controller data in a MIDI track in your audio sequencer.

To assign a MIDI controller to a knob or slider, right-click it. A window appears:

Controlling the volume of each pad and part

To control the volume of each bank pad and rack part individually, perhaps from a MIDI controller device with faders on it, control-click or right-click its volume slider in the mixer (Figure 7-74 on page 97) and then move the desired fader on your controller to complete the assignment. Repeat this procedure for each pad and/or part you wish to control.

Controlling synth parameters

MIDI automati on is an ideal w ay to have hands- on, real-time dynamic control over the timbre of any ban k pad or rack part. Here are ju st a few examples:

■ Control the ﬁlter cutoff

■ Control ﬁlter or amplitude envelope depth

Default MIDI controllers

By default, each bank and each rack part has MIDI controller numbers 7, 10 and 11 assigned to volume, pan and expression. These assignments can be edited or removed in the Mixer view.

Figure 7-63: Assigning a MIDI controller to a control to automate it.

Choose the desired controller from the menu provided, or send the desired controller from your keyboard. As you move it, the controller data type is accepted and the window is dismissed.

To remove a controller, right-click the control and choose the None option (Figure 7-63).

Automation is assigned per pad/part

When you assign a MIDI controller as described above, it is connected to the control for the currently selected pad or part. This gives you the maximum amount of ﬂexibility, allowing you to control multiple parts simultaneously.

MIDI automation examples

Here are a few examples of how you could use MIDI automation to control BPM.

MIDI MODULATION

MIDI Modulation is an extension of BPM’s MIDI automation capabilities. MIDI Modulation works as a real time control that modulates a parameter’s value without changing the parameter’s setting itself. It can either add to or subtract from the parameter’s current value, while at the same time preserving the original value of the parameter.

Option/Alt-right-click to bring up the MIDI Modulation window. The MIDI Modulation window looks very much like the MIDI Control window, except this window also has a slider. For a negative modulation value, drag the slider to the left; for a positive value, drag the slider to the right.

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Figure 7-64: Adding a MIDI modulator

This is useful to provide an extra degree of control and variance over the details of your sounds. For example, try using MIDI Modulation to modify the ﬁlter cutoff frequency. You can also use it to create crossfades between different controls. For example, you could assign two banks to the same controller: modulate volume on one bank with Expression (CC 11) and drag the slider to the right, and modulate volume on the other bank with Expression and drag the slider to the left. The result is that you could crossfade between the banks by moving your expression controller.

Viewing your record pass

To view your record pass as you record it, click the Seq (Sequencer) display tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

MIDI input

If you will be recording from an external MIDI source (a MIDI controller or host sequencer), you need to route MIDI input to the bank or part you are recording.

The Route MIDI input to option in the top left corner of the BPM window (Figure 7-65) ensures that incoming MIDI data is always routed to the cu rrentl y sel ected bank or r ack p art . Just ma ke sure that the box is checked and the menu says Selected Bank/Part, as shown below. This convenient feature means you won’t have to keep changing your controller’s transmit channel as you move around in BPM.

Figure 7-65: Routing incoming MIDI data.

RECORDING

BPM lets you record into the Step Sequencer for a pad bank (Figure 7-16 on page 59), or the Piano Roll Sequencer for rack part (Figure 7-38 on page 72), from the following sources:

■ The on-screen pads

■ The on-screen keyboard

■ A MIDI controller

■ A host sequencer

Choose the bank or part to record into

If you are recording into a bank, click its bank button (A, B C or D) to make it the current bank. If you are recording into a rack part, click its rack button (A or B) and then click the part you want to record into to select it.

BPM WINDOW

The MIDI input menu shown in Figure 7-65 also lets you choose a speciﬁc MIDI channel. This allows you move around in BPM while always routing the incoming MIDI to a par ticular Bank or Rack part. Banks A, B, C, and D respond to MIDI channels A1 through A4. (See “MIDI channel” on page 71 for an explanation of BPM’s four banks of MIDI channels.) Rack parts can be assigned to any MIDI input you want. By default, the ﬁrst part in Rack A defaults to channel A5, the second part to A6, and so on, to avoid a MIDI channel conﬂict with the pad banks. See “MIDI channel” on page 71 for details on making part MIDI channel assignments.

If you uncheck the Route MIDI input to option (Figure 7-65), incoming MIDI data will be routed to any ban k or p art that is set to re ceive on the same channel.

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Quantize

If you would like to quantize your input as you record, enable the Quantize button in BPM’s main transports (Figure 7-60 on page 90). Quantizing records the notes you play precisely on the step grid. When quantizing is off, notes are recorded exactly with the timing and feel you play them with. You can quantize them later using the TimeShift Graph Sequencer (see “TimeShift” on page 61).

Overdub

Each time BPM cycles back to the beginning of the pattern or sequence, a new record pass begins. If you would like to keep any data you have already recorded in previous passes and simply layer more new material on top of them, enable Overdub record mode in BPM’s main transports (Figure 7-60 on page 90). If you would like to wipe out the previous record pass as you record each new one, disable Overdub.

Note Repeat

The Note Repeat function repeats incoming notes in metric values. This can be a useful performance tool, as well as a helpful way to record repetitive note patterns into BPM’s step sequencer.

Using Note Repe at

To enable Note Repeat, enable the Note Repeat checkbox (Figure 7-66).

The rate of the repeated notes is controlled by the Note Repeat rate menu, which ranges in metric values from 32 bars to 64th note triplets.

Begin recording

To begin recording, press the Record button in BPM’s main transports (Figure 7-60 on page 90). During recording, you’ll hear a synthetic click sound on t he be ats to h elp you play in rhyth m. Thi s is also an audible indication that BPM is in record mode.

To record from the on-screen bank pads (Figure 7-9 on page 55), click them.

To record from the keyboard below the rack part list (Figure 7-36 on page 70), click its keys.

To record from a MIDI controller, play the controller.

To r ecor d from your host s eque ncer, ma ke su re that BPM’s Sync to Host and Host AutoPlay options (Figure 7-60 on page 90) are enabled and then start playback from the host.

Figure 7-66: Note Repeat

Repeated note velocity

By default, the velocity of the repe ated notes w ill be the same as the note-on velocity of the initially triggered note. However, you can use polyphonic aftertouch to vary the velocity of the repeated notes; this requires a MIDI controller or a plug-in host which supports polyphonic aftertouch.

☛ Akai MPD32 users: The MPD32’s pads are

conﬁgured to use monophonic (channel) aftertouch by default. To control the velocity of repeated notes in BPM, change the pads to use polyphonic aftertouch. Refer to the MPD32 User Guide for information on how to conﬁgure your MPD32.

Record Undo

The Record Undo button in the Transport section will undo the previous record pass in BPM’s sequencer. You can simply click the button to activate it, or control it via MIDI Remote Control.

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SAMPLING

In addition to its extensive drag and drop import capabilities, BPM also allows you to sample live audio input. You can sample any audio material you wish, including individual drum hits, loops or any audio phrase. Then newly sampled material can then be assig ned to a pad as par t of a kit, or you can load it into a part and use it as a loop or phrase. This opens a world of possibilities for creating truly unique rhythms with your own custom sounds.

BPM lets you sample audio from outside audio sources. You can also sample BPM’s main output back into itself (self-sampling).

BPM provides two ways to sample audio:

■ Direct sampling into a pad

■ Sampling into the Clip window

The sampling controls

The sampling controls are located at the top of the BPM window:

Level meters

Figure 7-68: The BPMSampler application

Sampling from an external source

To set up sampling from an external source:

1 In BPMSampler, choose Stereo or Mono as desired from the Conﬁguration menu.

2 Choose File menu> Audio and MIDI Settings (Figure 7-69):

Clip window Source Record

Figure 7-67: The sampling controls.

The BPMSampler application

To sample outside sources, such as a microphone connected to your computer’s audio interface, launch the BPMSampler application. This is located side by side with the BPM standalone application in your Applications folder (Mac) or Program Files\MOTU\BPM (Windows).

BPM WINDOW

Figure 7-69: Choosing an input to sample from.

3 Click the Audio Devices tab to specify the audio device driver for your audio interface (or other audio source). This is the audio input device installed in (or connected to) your computer that you would like to sample from.

4 Choose the desired mono or stereo inputs from the Physical Inputs menus. These are the physical inputs on your audio interface that you will be sampling.

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5 If you would like to monitor the inputs, choose the desired outputs from the Physical Inputs menus. Choose None if you don’t want to monitor the input.

Figure 7-71: Choosing the BPMSampler as the source for sampling.

☛ Make sure that the outputs you’ve chosen

won’t cause a feedback loop.

6 Click OK.

7 Use the level meters (Figure 7-68) to set the level

for the input.

8 Leave the BPMSampler applet running during your sampling session. You can quit from it when you are done.

Sampling from an audio track in your host audio software

BPM can also sample the audio output of any track in your host audio sequencer or other software. To set up sampling from your host, instantiate the BPMSampler FX plug-in on the desired track, just as you would any standard FX plug-in. The plug-in should already be present in your host’s effects plug-in menu:

If you would like to sample BPM’s output back into itself, choose BPMSA 1 Output, where SA refers to the standalone version. Alternatively, this could be MAS (for the MAS version), VST (for the VST version), etc.

The number (1, 2, etc.) in the name of the source refers to which instance when there are multiple instances running. For example, you might have th e st and alon e BP MSa mpler run ning , as w ell as th e plug-in version (within your host software).

Sampling into a pad

To sample into a pad, click the desired pad and click the sampling Record button (Figure 7-67). Click Done when you are ﬁnished, or click Cancel to discard the recording.

Figure 7-72: Sampling into a pad.

Figure 7-70: To record the audio output of a track in you host software, instantiate the BPMSampler plug-in in the normal fashion for a standard effects plug-in.

Source

Back in BPM, choose the Source that you would like to sample from (Figure 7-67). The Source menu shows the BPMSampler input, plus BPM’s own output:

☛ When sampling, be sure to use the sampling

record button at the top of the window (Figure 7-67 on page 95), not the record button in BPM’s main transports (which is used for MIDI recording into the Step Sequencer).

Sampling a clip

The clip window lets you record independently from the pads. To use audio recorded in the clip window in a pad, make a selection in the waveform and then drag and drop the selection into the BPM window to any destination that accepts clips (pads, parts, etc.).

To s am pl e a cl ip :

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1 Choose the desired input from the Source menu (Figure 7-71).

2 Click the Clip button (Figure 7-67 on page 95). The Clip window appears (Figure 7-73).

Figure 7-73: Sampling via the Clip window.

3 Conﬁrm the source from the menu provided.

4 Click the Sampling button to begin sampling.

5 Click the Sampling button again to stop.

6 Select the desired portion of the waveform, or

double-click to select all.

7 Press Command/Control-C to copy the selected waveform and then paste the selection into the sample editor (see “Paste” on page 67), OR

8 Hold down Shift-Option/Alt and then drag the selection to any destination in the BPM window that accepts audio clips.

MIXING

The Mixer (Figure 7-74) provides a complete environment for mixing all components of BPM output.

Accessing the mixer

To access the Mixer, click the Mix display tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

Bank and Rack mixer tabs

Click a Bank or Rack mixer tab (Figure 7-74) to view the individual mixer channel strips for the each bank pad or rack part. Each bank and rack has its own tab.

Channel strips

The pad and part channel strips (Figure 7-74) provide conventional mixer controls for volume, pan, mute (m), solo (s), and output assignment

Mixer tabs

Pad or part

channel strips

Selected pad or

part (darkened

channel strip)

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Bank and Rack mixer tabs

Figure 7-74: The Mixer.

Master mixer tab

Pad or part name Pad or part effects

Pan

Volu me

Level meter

Output

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(see below). Signal ﬂows from top to bottom. The FX button provides direct access to the part effects for the pad or part (see “Effects” on page 99).

Outputs

The Output channel strip setting (Figure 7-74) let you assign each part to one of 17 possible stereo output pairs (main outs plus 16 stereo aux outputs). Each output pair can be assigned to (or routed by your host audio software to) a pair of physical outputs on your audio hardware. This provides you with a great deal of ﬂexibility in submixing BPM’s four banks, two racks and unlimited parts.

The list of stereo pairs that you see in each Outputs menu depends on the situation in which you are running BPM.

Multiple outputs and standalone operation

If you are running BPM as a standalone application, the output menu displays a main out pair, plus 16 additional separate output pairs, numbered 2 through 17. To learn how to map these output pairs to the physical outputs on your audio hardware, see chapter 5, “BPM Application” (page 27) and “Outputs” on page 98.

Multiple outputs and plug-in operation

If you are running BPM as a plug-in, the output me nu di splays whatever o utpu ts are ma de av ailab le to the plug-in by your host software. For example, in Digital Performer, you will see pairs of busses, as supplied by Digital Performer’s current studio conﬁguration (Setup menu). Your host software allows you to map the busses to the physical outputs on your audio hardware.

Master mixer tab

Click a Master mixer tab (Figure 7-74) to view the master channels for the each bank pad or rack part. Th is t ab a lso dis play s BP M’s ma ster o utput chann el and three Aux bus channels, as shown below.

Figure 7-76: The master channels.

Figure 7-75: BPM’s seventeen output pairs in the standalone version.

Bank and rack master channels

The bank and rack master channels control the overall output of each bank and rack. The FX button provides direct access to the bank/rack effects. You can assign each bank or rack to its own independent audio output pair.

Aux channels

The three Aux (auxiliary) channels (Figure 7-76) serve as independent busses with their own effects processing, volume and pan, similar to a conventional mixing console. Use the Aux sends (see “Aux Send” on page 88) to assign bank pads or rack parts to them. Apply the desired aux channel effects (Figure 7-77 on page 99) via the FX button, and use the desired level and pan. The aux channel

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has no output assignment because it is fed back into the master channel (at the top of the channel, before master effects).

Master channel

The master channel (Figure 7-76) provides a ﬁnal, global mix stage for BPM’s main stereo output. The FX button provides direct access to the master effects (Figure 7-77 on page 99). The output assignment for the standalone version of BPM is made in the Audio and M IDI Settings window (Figure 5-6 on page 32). When running BPM as a plug-in, the master output assignment is handled by the host software.

EFFECTS

BPM provides unlimited effects slots at many points in its signal chain, from individual sample layers in a pad, all the way up to master effects on the master output fader. You can apply unlimited effects independently to the following BPM elements:

■ Racks

■ Aux busses

■ Bank aux busses

■ Master fader

Accessing effects

To access BPM’s effects (Figure 7-77), click the FX display tab in the BPM window (Figure 7-1 on page 49).

Effects tabs

To view the effects for a pad, part, bank or rack, select it and then click its tab in the Effects display (Figure 7-77). To view the effects for the aux busses or master fader, click their corresponding tab at any time.

Bypassing a tab

Use the tab bypass button (Figure 7-77) to temporarily bypass all effects currently loaded in the tab.

■ Pad layers

■ Pads

■ Rack parts

■ Rack presets

■ Banks

Tab bypass

Effect slots

Effect name

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Effects tabs for the

currently selected

pad/part or bank/rack

Figure 7-77: Effects.

Aux bus effects

Adding, deleting, bypassing and replacing effects slots

To add an effect to the list, click the Add FX button (Figure 7-77). Each effect slot has its own bypass and delete button. If an effect has more parameters than the slot can display at one time, use the slot’s

Master

Add

effects

effect

Bypass slot

Sync to tempo

Delete slot

Scroll bar

Next/previous parameters

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next/previous parameter buttons to access them. To replace an existing effect with a different one, right-click its name to open the FX browser.

Unlimited effects slots

You can add an unlimited number of effects to the effect slot list. Use the scroll bar to access the entire list of effects. Note that signal ﬂows from top to bottom in the list, so order your effects accordingly.

Sync

Some effects have parameters, such as delay taps, that can be synced to BPM’s tempo (or the tempo of your host). To do so, enable the Sync button (Figure 7-77). Doing so changes the Effect controls, allowing you to adjust timing via a linear time reference (such as seconds/milliseconds) or a beat-based time reference (fractions or multiples of BPM’s beat and tempo).

The effects browser

When you click the Add FX button (Figure 7-77), you’ll see BPM’s multi-column effects browser (Figure 7-78), where effect presets are conveniently organized by category and sub-category.

The effects

BPM provides dozens of included advanced, professional quality effects. For details about each effect and its presets, see Appendix B, “Effects” page (239).

Effect controls

Each effect has a unique set of controls. You can adjust them directly in the effect slot. Drag them to adjust their setting with the mouse. Double-click to enter values numerically. Right-click to assign automation, as explained in “MIDI automation” on page 92. For details on the settings for each speciﬁc effect, see Appendix B, “Effects” page (239).

Preset effects

Preset effects (Figure 7-77) are similar to pad/part effects in that they apply to the currently selected pad or part. However, they differ in that they repres ent any effects that have been saved as part of the preset loaded from BPM’s preset library. The preset tab gives you access to these original, saved effects.

If you add preset effects to a preset, you must remember to save them as part of a bank (see “Banks” on page 106).

Pad layer effects

When you program multiple sample layers on a pad, BPM lets you apply independent effects to each pad layer, if you wish. Because pad layer effects are so intimately tied to layer programming, they are not accessed through the Effects tabs shown in Figure 7-77. Instead, you can access them in the Pad Editor effects tab (Figure 7-32 on page 68).

100

Figure 7-78: Browsing effect presets.

BPM WINDOW

Motu BPM Beat Production Machine User manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Quick Reference

About BPM

Universal plug-in or standalone operation

Collaborate across platforms

Operation at a glance

Included sounds, loops and instruments

24-bit 96kHz samples

Interactive browsing

A complete rhythm production center

Building beats and kits

Pattern programming with advanced features

Unlimited loops and instruments

Loops and phrases

Multi-sample instruments

Compatibility with other UVI instruments

Powerful synthesis engine

Complete mixing

Comprehensive effects processing

Convolution reverb and real acoustic spaces

Live performance and song programming

MIDI Remote Control

Installation

PACKAGE CONTENTS

ATTENTION NEW USERS: AN ILOK IS REQUIRED

Do you already own an iLok?

Purchasing an iLok

iLok compatibility

PREPARING YOUR iLOK USB SMART KEY

Downloading your BPM licenses to your iLok

Managing iLok licenses

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

64-bit operation

Hard disk format

INSTALLATION

Run the BPM installer

Presets for hardware controllers

CONNECT YOUR ILOK

PLEASE REGISTER YOUR SOFTWARE

VISIT MOTU.COM FOR SOFTWARE UPDATES

GETTING STARTED

FAMILIARITY WITH YOUR COMPUTER

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Open BPM

3 Tutorial 1: QuickStart Guide

Choose a kit+pattern

Check the audio output assignment

If you don’t hear anything

Try a different kit

Play the kit+pattern

Try a different pattern

Replace a snare sound

Add reverb to the snare

Add a bass part

Set up MIDI keyboard input to BPM

Play the bass sound with your keyboard controller

If you don’t hear anything

Recording a bass part

Add a loop

Balance the parts in the mixer

Export your mix

Save a performance

Congratulations

4 Tutorial 2: Building a Song

Overview

Scenes

Song mode

Live mode

The next step

5 BPM Application

OVERVIEW

STANDALONE OPERATION

Playing BPM as a live instrument from MIDI controller

Using BPM as a sound source for music software running on another computer

Running BPM standalone on the same computer as your host software

MANAGING LATENCY WITH STANDALONE OPERATION