SONICCOUTURE pan drum User Manual

SONICCOUTURE PAN DRUM USER GUIDE

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SONICCOUTURE

PAN DRUM

CONTENTS :

INTRODUCTION

INSTRUMENTS

SUPPORT

E.U.L.A

SONICCOUTURE PAN DRUM USER GUIDE

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INTRODUCTION

The Pan or Hang Drum is a relatively new musical instrument, the first one

being built in 2000. It was designed in Bern, Switzerland, by Felix Rohner

and Sabina Schärer of the PANArt company, and was the result of many

years of research into the Caribbean steel pan and other resonating

percussion instruments. Each Hang Drum is built by hand and is unique.

!!Ding Side! !! ! Gu Side

A Hang consists of two hemispheres of hardened steel, which are joined

together giving it a flying saucer shape. The top side is known as the Ding

and the bottom known as the Gu. The Ding side has seven or eight

‘dimples’ or ‘tone fields’ that are struck to provide the different notes of the

instrument. These are arranged around a central boss (also called the Ding)

which provides the basic root note of the instrument. The Gu side has a

large hole, and can also be played as a drum, although it has only one pitch.

The word “Hang” is from the Bern language and means “hand”, and the

Hang is usually played with the hands. It has a very wide dynamic range

and can produce a variety of sounds, sometimes resembling a gong or

vibraphone, as well as it’s ancestral steel pan.

Soniccouture Pan Drum features samples from the first 2 models of Hang

which we will refer to as the Mk 1 and Mk 2. The Mk 1 had 8 “tone fields”

around the Ding. These were available in 45 different tunings, and PANArt

produced nearly 4000 of them. At the end of 2005 PANArt ceased

production of these instruments and began developing the Hang Mk 2. The

Mk 2 remained basically the same shape but now had a brass coating on

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the top hemisphere as well as around the rim. The Mk 2 comes in only five

different tunings and has only seven “tone fields” around the Ding. It is a

more sturdy design, stays in tune better over time, and has a slightly longer

and purer sonic ring.

! ! Hang Mk1 ! ! ! Hang Mk2

There are many ways to hit the Hang to achieve different sounds... with the

fingertips, the palm of the hand, or with your knuckles. Also, where the

Hang is struck results in a different type of sound quality. We have sampled

our Hang Drums at three different zones around each “tone field”... the

centre, the edge, and in-between.

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Generally, the Hang is rested on the player’s lap with the lowest “tone field”

towards him, and the notes are laid out so that a scale alternates left and

right hands, as in this diagram of a Mk 1 Hang:

Including the Ding note in the middle, a Mk 1 Hang has nine possible notes,

and a Mk 2 has eight possible notes.

The middle Ding note is basically the “key” of the Hang, and is the lowest

note of the set.

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INSTRUMENTS

SAMPLING THE HANG -

ARTICULATIONS, VELOCITY & ROUND-ROBIN

Each Hangs’ “tone field” was sampled at the centre, the edge, and in-

between at up to 21 velocity levels, and with up to three versions of each hit

in a round-robin rotation.

We have also sampled each “tone field” with the fingers (normal playing), the

palm (a “slap”), and with the knuckle. We also sampled some hits on the Gu

side, which is a single pitch and sounds similar to an Udu drum.

This resulted in rather a lot of data, but we feel this provides a wealth of

possibilities and a natural sounding instrument. Although the Hang only

produces a few notes, it’s expressiveness comes from it’s dynamics and

variation in tone quality.

KEY-MAPPINGS

One initial problem was how to map this data onto the keyboard. The Hang

Drum is round, and a keyboard is not. We also are aware that some people

would like to play the Hang as realistically as possible while others would

like to play it chromatically and manipulate it as they would any other set of

samples.

To address this, we arrived a few different types of mapping, which present

the same data but arranged differently on the keyboard. You need to find

which one works best for you. Don’t worry if you prefer to use just one of

them, as they all contain exactly the same sample data.

The drums are originally tuned as follows:

! ! Hang mk1! ! ! ! ! Hang mk2

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THE CHROMATIC MAP

This type of mapping is most like a normal keyboard patch, as each note will

play the correct pitch for the note that triggered it. It means that some of the

samples are being transposed to fill in the gaps between the original notes.

The Chromatic Maps use the Strike macro knob ( see ‘Instrument Racks’

section later on ) to switch between the different types of sample.

The Gu note (reverse side of the Hang) is offered on it’s own key below the

main set of samples. This note is the key of the instrument at it’s original

pitch, ie. F for Hang Mk 1 and D for Hang Mk 2.

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THE PRECISION MAP

This type of mapping offers just the original notes for each Hang, at the

correct note for it’s pitch.

Again, you can use the Strike macro knob ( see ‘Instrument Racks’ section

later on ) to switch between the different types of sample.

THE OCTAVE MAP

Some people hate switching the articulation sound using a knob, so this is a

mapping with no switching at all. In the Octave Maps, each set of original

sounds are placed sequentially starting at C, but in a different octave.

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NB. As with the chromatic map, some of the Gu and Ding notes are copied

unaffected to each octave (ie. there is no “knuckle Gu”) This facilitates

sequencing, so that there is something for these keys, no matter which

octave you transpose to.

THE TWO HAND MAP

In the Two Hand Maps, the left and right side of the Hang drum are

separated on the keyboard. Hang players naturally play certain notes with

their left hand and others with their right.

To mimic this alternate hands technique, the left hand notes of the drum are

layed out on the left side of the keyboard (from C2), and the right hand on

the right side of the keyboard (from C4), with the Ding note in the centre

(C3).

The Gu note is placed out of the way on G1. (In real life, a player cannot

play the Gu at the same time as the rest of the notes, since you need to turn

the drum over.)

Again, you can use the Strike macro knob ( see ‘Instrument Racks’ section

later on ) to switch between the different types of sample.

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THE WIDE ZONE MAP

This is a complex map which lends itself to live jamming and random

sequencing (see the Jammer macro knob, coming up).

It attempts to “zone” the keyboard so that each “tone field” has an edge, a

centre, and an in-between place on the keyboard... as if we unwrapped the

Hang Drum and stretched it out into a straight line.

The “centre” points of each “tone field” are separated by 6 semitones, so

that they become C, F#, C, F#, etc across the keyboard. As you move either

side of the centre points, you reach the “edge” samples, and then finally the

“in-between” samples” are between each “tone-field”.

The Strike macro knob is used to switch between the Slap (D1) and the

Knuckle (D#1), and the normal layout.

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THE LIVE INSTRUMENT RACKS

You will find the Pan Drum Instrument Racks in the Instrument Racks/

Soniccouture folder.

MACRO CONTROLS

•

Jammer - This is a random arpeggiator which will generate Hang
sequences based on the notes you play.

•

Shaper Drive - A saturation effect to add body to the sound.

•

Attack - Adjusts initial transient of the amplitude envelope.

•

Decay - Adjusts how long the note decays. For the most natural sound,
leave it set to full.

•

Strike - This allows you to choose from the different types of hit on the
Hang. When set at 0 you are playing the finger hits, then as you move the
knob it steps through the Slap and Knuckle hits.

•

Filter Type - Switches between HP, LP and BP filter types.

•

Cutoff - Adjusts frequency of selected filter.

•

Reso - Adjusts amount of boost around filter cutoff frequency.

PAN DRUM SFX PRESETS

Also included is a folder of creative sound design patches for the Pan Drum

sample set. Generally we have used the chromatic mapping for these

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presets, as realism is not the main concern. The macro setup varies for each

preset, using controls that are appropriate for the effects and processes

used.

SFX PRESETS:

•

Pan Drum Delay Jammer.adg

•

Pan Drum Grainy Knuckles.adg

•

Pan Drum Inside Out.adg

•

Pan Drum Islander.adg

•

Pan Drum Long Fluttery Tails.adg

•

Pan Drum Lost Plaza.adg

•

Pan Drum Outside In.adg

•

Pan Drum Space Bubbles FX.adg

•

Pan Drum Spatial Bubbles.adg

•

Pan Drum Spatial Chamber.adg

•

Pan Drum Speaking Pans.adg

•

Pan Drum Sprinkler.adg

SONICCOUTURE PAN DRUM USER GUIDE

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SUPPORT

If you have any problems or questions relating to the use of this product,

please feel free to contact us. You can either email us at :

[e-mail]

or we have a support forum within the KVR Audio community, which can be

found here :

Soniccouture Support Forum

We will always endeavour to reply to any enquiry within 12 hours, but do

bear in mind the differences in time zones, so please be patient!

SONICCOUTURE PAN DRUM USER GUIDE

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E.U.L.A.

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

PREFACE: This End-User License Agreement ("EULA") is a legal agreement

between you and Soniccouture LTD for the Soniccouture product

accompanying this EULA, which includes computer software and may

include associated media, printed materials, and online or electronic

documentation ("Software"). By installing, copying, or using the software,

you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA. If you do not agree to the

terms of this EULA, you may not use the software.

The software is protected by copyright laws and international copyright

treaties, as well as other intellectual property laws and treaties. The software

is licensed, not sold.

Soniccouture Ltd grants the Owner of a Soniccouture product the right to

create finished musical works and performances using the sounds and

software that comprise the Soniccouture product.

The making of sample libraries in any form, commercial or otherwise,

using Soniccouture audio or software (be they single hits, loops, fully

mixed audio clips, or scripts) is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN without express

written agreement of Soniccouture Ltd, and violations will be prosecuted

to the full extent of international and local copyright law.

The ownership of all title and copyrights in and to the Software (including

but not limited to any images, photographs, animations, video, audio, music,

text, and "applets" incorporated into the Software ) is fully asserted by

Soniccouture Ltd.

The Owner may only install and use Soniccouture libraries and software

on multiple computers strictly under the following conditions: where

multiple computers comprise part of a single composition workstation for

a composer; or where the Owner has two non-concurrent sites of work,

for example a studio desktop and a laptop for live performance.

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The Owner may not transfer, modify, rent, lease, loan, resell, distribute,

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DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The software is provided "as is" and without

warranty of any kind. The entire risk arising out of the use or performance of

the software and documentation remains with user. To the maximum extent

permitted by applicable law, Soniccouture further disclaims all warranties,

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