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Session Guitarist Strummed Acoustic 2
Operation Manual
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Native Instruments Session Guitarist Strummed Acoustic 2 Operation Manual

MANUAL
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this docu­ment is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native Instruments.
“Native Instruments”, “NI” and associated logos are (registered) trademarks of Native Instru­ments GmbH.
Document authored by: Daniel Scholz, Samuel Dalferth
Software version: 1.0 (11/2016)

Disclaimer

Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs, but in making this a better product.
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH
Schlesische Str. 29-30 D-10997 Berlin Germany
www.native-instruments.de
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS North America, Inc.
6725 Sunset Boulevard 5th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90028 USA
www.native-instruments.com
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS K.K.
YO Building 3F Jingumae 6-7-15, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001 Japan
www.native-instruments.co.jp

Contact

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www.native-instruments.co.uk
© NATIVE INSTRUMENTS GmbH, 2016. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
1 Welcome to STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 .........................................................................
2 Using STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 ..................................................................................
2.1 Pattern Selection and Playback .................................................................................................. 8
2.2 Playing Chords and Separate Bass Lines ................................................................................... 9
2.3 Playing Endings, Pickups and Open Strings ............................................................................... 11
2.4 Blending between Low and High Voicings .................................................................................. 12
2.5 Controlling the Accents of Patterns ............................................................................................ 13
2.6 Loading/Saving Sound Presets ................................................................................................... 13
2.7 Locking Parameters When Loading Snapshots or Songs ............................................................. 14
2.8 Defining the Downbeat after Signature Changes ........................................................................ 15
3 The Pattern Page .......................................................................................................
3.1 The Song Browser ....................................................................................................................... 18
3.2 The Pattern Browser ................................................................................................................... 19
3.3 The Info Panel .............................................................................................................................22
3.4 The Auto Chords Panel ................................................................................................................24
4 The Sound Page ........................................................................................................
5 The Playback Page ....................................................................................................
5
8
17
26
29
6 Tips and Tricks .........................................................................................................
7 Credits ......................................................................................................................
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 4
32
36

Welcome to STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2

1 Welcome to STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2
We hope that you will be truly inspired by using SESSION GUITARIST – STRUMMED ACOUS­TIC 2.
About SESSION GUITARIST – STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2
Thanks to the quality and placement of microphones, superb room acoustics, and a high end signal path, no additional signal processing was required to capture the unique character of the instruments – only the AEA R84 ribbon mic used with the Guild F-412 got a little high­frequency boost to compensate for its darker sound. You will find that the STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 sound sits perfectly in any mix and barely needs any additional processing like EQ or compression.
The STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 library consists of two separate KONTAKT Instruments. The Guild F-412 12-string guitar Instrument contains 51 patterns, while the Martin O-17 6-string guitar Instrument contains 112 patterns. All of these patterns were performed live by profes­sional studio guitarists Floryan Kœrber, Viktor Derksen and Andreas Dombert. The patterns are grouped as "songs", each of which contains 6-8 patterns that go together well. You can select patterns via keyswitches and play them as chords on your MIDI keyboard. Pattern playback will always stay in sync with your host project. Regarding sound options, STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 5
Welcome to STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2
offers stereo mode, true doubling mode, as well as the possibility to blend between a low and a high voicing. With a selection of easy-to-use audio effects, you will immediately be able to tweak the sound to your liking.
The key feature of STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 is its revolutionary playback engine. You can seamlessly switch between different patterns, and also alter the dynamics in real-time, thus creating true-to-life musical performances. In contrast to most pattern-based instruments, the number of available chord types is virtually endless. Because all nuances of the original per­formance, such as exact timing and dynamics, are preserved, you will notice that the instru­ment feels very natural and organic. All of the integrated patterns can be played over a huge tempo range in an outstanding sound quality.
Some of STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2’s patterns, as indicated by a bass clef next to the pattern name, allow you to play separate bass lines and slash chords: Simply play the desired chord with your right hand, and add an independent bass note with your left hand to spice up your playing for country, bluegrass, folk and more.
Document Conventions
This document uses particular formatting to point out special facts and to warn you of poten­tial issues. The icons introducing the following notes let you see what kind of information can be expected:
The speech bubble icon indicates a useful tip that may often help you to solve a task more efficiently.
The exclamation mark icon highlights important information that is essential for the giv­en context.
The red cross icon warns you of serious issues and potential risks that require your full attention.
Furthermore, the following formatting is used:
▪ Text appearing in (drop-down) menus (such as Open…, Save as… etc.) in the software and
paths to locations on your hard disk or other storage devices is printed in italics.
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 6
Welcome to STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2
▪ Text appearing elsewhere (labels of buttons, controls, text next to checkboxes etc.) in the
software is printed in blue. Whenever you see this formatting applied, you will find the same text appearing somewhere on the screen.
▪ Important names and concepts are printed in bold.
▪ References to keys on your computer’s keyboard you’ll find put in square brackets (e.g.,
“Press [Shift] + [Enter]”).
Single instructions are introduced by this play button type arrow.
►
Results of actions are introduced by this smaller arrow.
→
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 7

Using STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2

Pattern Selection and Playback

2 Using STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2
The STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 instrument is designed to be played using a MIDI keyboard. The patterns are triggered and selected by MIDI, allowing for fast arranging.
Patterns will automatically sync to the master, or host tempo. The patterns in this library can be played at any tempo between ca. 60-65bpm and up to 180bpm and even above. Since there is no time-stretching involved in the process, you will always hear the patterns in the highest possible quality.
The patterns are based on actual recordings by a professional studio guitarist, so they sound best in the typical tempo range preferred by most guitarists.
2.1 Pattern Selection and Playback
Up to eight patterns can be assigned to chromatic keyswitches from C1 to G1 (this process is described in section ↑3.2, The Pattern Browser). These keyswitches are displayed as red keys in the KONTAKT on-screen keyboard. If no pattern is assigned to a slot, the corresponding key will have no color.
The KONTAKT on-screen keyboard displaying the keyswitches for patterns (red), endings (yellow), pickups (green), and open strings (orange). Chords can be played in the blue key range.
To select a pattern using your MIDI keyboard, press the corresponding keyswitch MIDI note.
►
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 8
Using STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2

Playing Chords and Separate Bass Lines

To select a pattern via the user interface, click on the pattern you wish to use.
►
To play a pattern, play chords on your MIDI keyboard. If Latch mode is enabled (see chap-
►
ter ↑5, The Playback Page), playback will continue even if you release the keys.
To stop the playback, either trigger one of the five endings (see section Playing Endings
►
and Pickups) via keyswitch or, if Latch mode is disabled (see chapter ↑5, The Playback
Page), release the keys on your keyboard.
Because transition from one pattern/chord to another is always legato (without breaks), it is best to make changes a little before the intended position, so that the engine is able to antici­pate and add any requested effects (e.g. fret noise). The switch will occur seamlessly at the nearest possible position. Find more information in chapter ↑6, Tips and Tricks.
If available, “Chase Events” should be enabled in your DAW settings; this will ensure that the engine gets proper note information on sequencer start or cycle jumps.
2.2 Playing Chords and Separate Bass Lines
STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 recognizes a great variety of chords, including major, minor, no third, diminished, augmented, half-diminished, various suspensions, options and alterations, and even some slash chords (e.g. G/C, Gmi/C, G7/C, Gmi7/C, Bb/C). You can also hold a chord or a 5th interval with your left hand while playing a top note melody line with your right hand
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 9
Using STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2
Playing Chords and Separate Bass Lines
and play separate bass lines with selected patterns. The instrument tries to play top lines, as well as thirds and options in the very register you play them. This leads to an enormous num­ber of available chords and voicings.
STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 provides a type of pattern specifically for bass lines, indicated by a bass clef next to the pattern name. These patterns allow you to play bass lines with your left hand independently of the chords played with your right hand.
A bass clef indicates the separate bass patterns.
There is no fixed split point that would divide the key range of your keyboard into a bass note range and a chord range. Instead, while playing chords with your right hand, the light guide on the KOMPLETE KONTROL keyboard dynamically highlights the range of keys available for playing a separate bass note in violet.
If you play a separate bass pattern with your right hand only, an appropriate bass note is added automatically, usually the chord's root note. Some of these patterns also create an alternating bass, e.g. the bass note alternates between the root note and the fifth above.
Now, as soon as you add a separate bass note with your left hand, the pattern will seamlessly transition from the automatically generated bass to the bass note pressed on the keyboard.
By playing a separate bass note, you can create all inversions of triads and seventh chords. You can even play chromatic bass lines with your left hand to accompany those chords as you hold them in your right hand.
The separate bass patterns do not like overlapping bass notes, because an overlap would technically mean that two different bass notes exist at the same time. An easy way to avoid those overlaps is to play the bass notes with only one finger. If you prefer to use more fingers of your left hand to play bass lines, make sure the notes you play do not overlap.
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 10
Using STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2

Playing Endings, Pickups and Open Strings

2.3 Playing Endings, Pickups and Open Strings
In addition to the actual patterns, STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 provides a variety of endings as well as pickup sounds and additional palm hits on the corpus/strings of the guitar. The corre­sponding sets of keys are marked yellow and green on the KONTAKT on-screen keyboard.
To trigger an ending with the current chord, play any of the five keyswitches from G#1 up to
►
C2 with the intended intensity (i.e. velocity). These ending keys are marked yellow in KONTAKT's on-screen keyboard. When an ending is played back, the current pattern playback will be stopped.
To trigger an ending with a different chord, hit the new chord just before triggering the de-
►
sired ending keyswitch. As a result, only the ending chord will be played back with the new chord.
To play a pickup sound, play any of the two keyswitches C#2 or D2, marked as green keys,
►
with the intended intensity (i.e. velocity).
Only the volume of Pickups and Endings can be altered via input velocity. To alter the dynamics of patterns, use the Pitch Wheel (see section ↑2.5, Controlling the Accents of
Patterns).
Use the Open String Key to Create Transitions
To make transitions between chords sound more natural, use the Open String feature. The or­ange D# key just below the blue area of the keyboard contains the sound of a guitarist playing open strings (E-A-D-G-B-E). Hit the Open String key slightly before triggering a new chord. This will replace the last strum before the chord change with the typical sound of strings briefly be­ing released by the guitarist's left hand before they get pressed down again for the next chord.
For example: The guitarist plays A minor, takes the fingers off the fretboard and repositions them to play, let's say, F major. While his left hand performs the chord change, his right hand keeps strumming in time, eventually hitting the strings while no chord is pressed. This results in a typical "first chord to open string strum to next chord" transition.
SESSION GUITARIST - STRUMMED ACOUSTIC 2 - Manual - 11
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