BLOQ FOR KONTAKT 5 - USER MANUAL 1.0 by Sharooz Raoofi

Transcription

1 BLOQ FOR KONTAKT 5 - USER MANUAL 1.0 by Sharooz Raoofi IMPORTANT: Bloq does not include Kontakt 5. You will need to own or purchase the full software from Native Instruments INSTALLATION Please ensure the latest version of Kontakt 5 is installed. Bloq was built on Kontakt but is not backwards compatible. Download, unzip and install by dragging the Bloq Synth.nki and Bloq Drum.nki files into the Kontakt Multi-Rack environment. You should assign the Drum and Synth module to different Midi channels either within Kontakt or in your DAW. There is also a multichannel Drum module which allows each pad to be assigned to a separate output should the 8 Out or16 Out option be selected in Kontakt. 1.2 BLOQ SYNTH If using in Kontakt within standalone mode, make sure to select a MIDI channel and audio output for the instrument. This can be done by referring to the Kontakt instruction manual. If using within your DAW, select an instance of Kontakt and assign to an instrument track. Multiple instances of Bloq Synth within Kontakt can be loaded, dependant on your computer's RAM and CPU capability. In Synth mode the main Graphic User Interface (GUI) is presented. This is where the most commonly used controls are. a. Selecting Patches You can select patches by clicking buttons either side of the patch display to cycle back or forth through patches. Clicking on the patch display will reveal a drop down menu that allows all presets to be browsed and a selection to be made. b. Patch Editors Bloq features a customised GUI, giving access to many of the common and advanced patch editing functions of Kontakt 5.

2 i. Waveform - Start Offset - Adjusts the sample start position, allowing playback from varying points in the sample waveform. - Unison - Increases the volume of two unison voices which double the synthesizer voice. - Detune - Detunes the unison voices. - Pitch Mod - Varies the amount of pitch modulation, syncable to any of the three LFO models by clicking and dragging display below. - Tremolo - Adjusts the amount of tremolo effect, syncable to any of the three LFO models by clicking and dragging display below. - Autopan - Adjusts the amount of autopan effect, syncable to any of the three LFO models by clicking and dragging display below. ii. Filter - HPF Freq/ LPF Freq - Control the low-pass and high-pass frequency cutoff between 26Hz and 1kHz for the HPF and 26Hz and 20kHz for the LPF. In addition the displays below can be clicked and dragged to toggle through four filter types. LADR 2-2 pole legacy filter which attenuates at a rate of -12db/octave. LADR 4-4 pole legacy filter which attenuates at a rate of -12db/octave. DAFT - A more aggressive 2 pole filter which attenuates at a rate of - 12db/octave. SV 4 - A state variable, clean-sounding 4 pole filter which attenuates at a rate of - 24db/octave. - LPF Res - Adjusts the lowpass frequency resonance. - LPF Env - Articulates the filter using the Env 2 envelope. - LFO Mod - The filters can be modulated by any of the three LFOs. - LPF Drive - Adds subtle drive to the low pass filter models. iii. Waveform Env - Here the standard ADSR controls can be edited for each patch. - The numerical displays below the Attack and Decay controls can be clicked and

3 dragged to adjust the attack and decay curves. iv. Env 2 - These parameters control the Filter Envelope ADSR settings. The filter envelope control needs to be engaged fully in order to enable the Filter Envelope ADSR. v. LFO - Here the three different LFO rates can be adjusted. LFO 1 also allows a delay to be added to the LFO. - The numerical displays below the LFO rates can be clicked and dragged to toggle through four different LFO waveform types. 1.2c. FX Sends, Equalizer, Compressor and Tape Saturation - the Compressor, FX Sends, EQ and Tape Saturation can be turn on by clicking the red switches next to each unit. A state showing GREEN denotes the effect is engaged. A state showing RED denotes the effect is bypassed. The FX Sends control functions as follows Chorus Send - Increases the send level to the Chorus effect. Phaser Send - Increases the send level to the Phaser effect. Stereo Spread - Adjusts the amount of Stereo Widening from mono to 200% Stereo. Delay Send - Increases the send level to the Delay effect. Reverb Send - Increases the send level to the Reverb effect. 1.2d. Compressor The Compressor controls function as follows: Threshold - Adjusts the threshold of the Compressor. Ratio - Adjusts the ratio of the compressor between 1.5:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 10:1. Attack - Adjusts the speed of the compressor attack between 0.1ms, 0.3ms, 1ms, 3ms, 10ms and 30ms. Release - Adjusts the speed of the compressor release between 100ms, 200ms, 400ms, 800ms, 1600ms and Auto. Makeup - Adjusts the makeup gain of the compressor between -5dB and +20dB. Mix - Adjusts the mix between the uncompressed and compressed sound.

4 1.2e. FX Page - Individual FX parameters can be accessed by clicking the FX button to the top right of the Synth page menu, next to the Sample Magic logo. The knobs function as follows: Delay Time - Adjusts the synchronised delay rate. Delay Feedback - Adjusts the the feedback of the delay effect. Delay Width - Adjusts the pan modulation of the delay effect. Delay Hi Cut - Adjusts the filter cutoff of the Delay effect. The numerical display value under Hi Cut denotes the amount of FX send. Chorus Depth - Increases the strength of the Chorus modulation. Chorus Speed - Increases the speed of the Chorus modulation. Chorus Phase - Adjusts the phase of the Chorus effect. The numerical display value under Phase denotes the amount of FX send. Reverb Pre-Delay - Increases the Pre-Delay of the Reverb. Reverb Size - Increases the size of the Reverb Decay. Reverb Colour - Adjusts the tone of the Reverb effect. Reverb Width - Adjusts the stereo width of the Reverb effect. Reverb Hi-Cut - Adjusts the filter cutoff of the Reverb effect. The numerical display value under Hi Cut denotes the amount of FX send. Phaser Depth - Increases the strength of the Phaser modulation. Phaser Speed - Increases the speed of the Phaser modulation. Phaser Phase - Adjusts the phase of the Phaser effect. Phaser Feedback - Increases the feedback of the Phaser effect. The numerical display value under Feedback denotes the amount of FX send. 1.2f. Data Display - The data display enables editing of less commonly used functions. The central numerical value denotes the parameter currently in use. Parameters can be adjusted by clicking and dragging them in the display.

5 - Play Mode: Poly - Enables polyphonic operation Mono - Enables monophonic operation Seq - Arms the sequencer. Each key will play the programmed default sequence at varying pitch. The sequencer parameters can be accessed via the Seq button in the top right hand of the Synth page. Chord - Arms the chord function. Each key will play the programmed default chord at varying pitch. The chord parameters can be accessed via the Seq button in the top right hand of the Synth page. - Sampler Mode - Toggles between Vintage and Modern sampler modes. Vintage mode replicates 12-bit sampling algorithms such as those commonly associated with the Akai MPC 60 and Emu SP Analog Mode - Adjusting this value adds subtle changes to pitch variation, mimicking a vintage analogue synthesiser VCO. - Bit Rate - Adjusting this value degrades the bit rate, gradually interpolating high frequencies, adding a crispy, crunchy artefact. - Sample Rate - Similarly to Bit Rate, adjusting this value degrades the bit rate, gradually interpolating high frequencies. - Vel - Adjusts velocity sensitivity. - Tune/ Fine Tune - Adjusts tuning +/-12 semitones and +/- 50 cents. - Pan - Pans left and right. - Output - Adjusts individual patch output. 1.3 SEQUENCER OPERATION Bloq Synth has an inbuilt 32 step sequencer with the ability to store up to 8 patterns. Many of the patches have pre-programmed sequences. When the Synth page menu is displayed, the numerical LED graph shows the sequence position. Press the Seq button on the top right of the page to access the Sequencer editor. The sequencer is armed by choosing Seq under Play Mode in the Data Display mode.

6 1.3a. Sequencer Layout The 32-step sequencer layout has 32 faders representing the pitch of each step. These can be pulled down to adjust down by semitone and up to adjust up by semitone increments. Clicking and dragging the step numbers above the faders can increase or decrease the number of steps from The numerical value display below shows and adjusts the octave of each step +/- 2 octaves. The yellow fader below the numerical value display adjusts the pitch of the velocity of the sequence step, toggling between three modes - Off, Unaccented and Accented. The light blue fader below adjusts the length of each sequence step. 1.3b. Lower Panel The sequencer can store up to 8 Patterns by simply clicking on the relevant Sequence button. In addition existing sequences can be copied, pasted and cleared. The sequence can be synced to the host tempo of your DAW by clicking the green/red switch. The sequence rate can be toggled between 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32 speeds. The 4 knobs function as follows Free - Increases the non-synchronized speed of the sequencer. Accent - Increases the volume of the Accented Steps. Swing - Increases the shuffle/swing of the sequencer. Chord - See Chord Mode below 1.3c. Chord Mode Bloq Synth also makes use of Kontakt's extensive chord memory functionality. Here single notes can sound as chords in an assortment of variations and inversions. Chord mode is set up by adjusting the Play Mode to Chord in the Synth menu.

7 The chord shapes are adjusted in the Sequencer menu The chord type can be varied using the Chord knob or clicking and dragging the Chord display. The chord shape can be varied using the Shape display. A chord delay can be introduced, giving a subtle glissando or arpeggio effect by adjusting the Chord Delay fader. The Width fader adjusts the width of the notes. 1.4 BLOQ DRUM Bloq Drum is a virtual drum machine featuring sounds and custom made tones from the following drum machines: Nord Drum, Roland TR 808, Roland TR 909, Roland TR 707, Roland TR 606, Roland TR 626, Roland CR 68, Sound Master SR 55, Sequential Circuits Drumtraks, MXR 185, Emu Drumulator, Akai MPC 60, Korg Super Drums 1.4a. Main Page Any of the 32 kits can be toggled by clicking the left and right arrows next to the kit name. Pressing on the display reveals a drop down menu allowing any kit to be browsed or selected. The eight pads play the respective sounds within that kit. The sounds can also be triggered using the keyboard keys C1 to Bb1. Each voice can be soloed or muted using the S and M buttons to the left of the pad. Clicking the displays above the pad allows any sound or voice type to be selected within any kit. The voice display shows the pad being edited. The Learn button allows each pad to be assigned to a key of your choice. Click Learn and press the key to which you wish the currently edited voice/pad to be assigned. The sampler mode can be toggled between Modern and Vintage. Vintage

8 sampler mode replicates a 12-bit drum sampler such as the Akai MPC 60 or Emu SP Clicking Note Off will stop the pads from sounding but keyboard key assignments will still sound. Clicking MIDI-Select allows a voice to be selected for editing via MIDI input from the keyboard keys. Clicking Link links pads 7 and 8 causing one to choke the other. This is useful for creating realistic open and closed hi-hat rhythms. The micro knobs on the bottom right of the Main page editor control the velocity sensitivity, panning L&R, level, delay send, reverb send, bit rate and sample rate of the selected pad/voice. Compression, EQ and Tape Saturation can be activated and bypassed for each pad individually by pressing the green LED below each effect section. The larger knobs control the Compressor, EQ and Tape Saturation settings for each pad. The faders at the top of the page control the following: Sample - Selects the various Drum Samples available for the current Drum Voice. There are numerous sample options available in many of the voice groups. For example there are over Kicks at varying levels of tone and decay settings. Start - Adjusts the start point of the sample waveform to allow natural control of voice transients. Random - Selects a random point in the sample waveform. Tune - Allows tuning of each individual pad/voice. Env Attack - Adjusts the attack time of the voice. Env Hold - Adjusts the hold time of the voice. Env Decay - Adjusts the decay time of the voice. Filter Freq - Adjusts the cutoff frequency of the filter on the voice. Can be toggled between Low Pass and High Pass modes. Filter Res - Adjusts the resonance of the filter. Filter Drive - Adjusts the drive added to the filter. Trans Attack - Adjusts the attack of the transient designer.

9 Trans Sustain - Adjusts the sustain of the transient designer. b. Sequencer Page Bloq Drum features a 32 step, fully programmable sequencer with space for up to 8 patterns to be stored. The sequencer page can be accessed by pressing the Seq button on the top right of the menu pages. The steps are denoted by the 32 LEDs across the top of the menu pages. The sequencer is automatically started by pressing key C3. Patterns are toggled by pressing keys Db3 to Ab3, with each key representing a pattern from 1-8. Patterns can be programmed by adding notes in the display for each voice lane. There are two levels of accent (half and full), and beat lines are separated using the yellow grid lines. Each voice type and variant can be toggled and changed using the individual pad displays on the left hand side. This will also be reflected in the Main page pad menu. Accents can be added to each step using the LEDs below the programming grid. Pattern length can be varied by dragging the numerical LEDs left and right to reduce/increase the number of steps from 1 to 32. Patterns can be selected, copied, pasted and cleared using the switches under the pattern length rows. The eight knobs below this function as follows: Sync - Increases the rate of the step sequencer. Sync switch - Enables/Disables sequencer host synchronisation. Free - Increases the free rate of the step sequencer when not sync'ed to the DAW host tempo. Shuffle - Adds swing to the sequence. Rnd Pitch and Time - Randomise the pitch and time of voices in the sequence. Step Dynamics - Increases/decreases the dry/wet level of the compressor. Accent - Increases/ decreases the volume of the accented steps.

10 c. FX Page FX parameters can be edited by accessing the FX page menu by pressing the button to the right of the main menu. Delay and Reverb settings can be edited as follows: Delay Time - Increases the synchronised delay rate. Delay Feedback - Increases the feedback of the delay effect. Delay Width - Increases the pan modulation of the delay effect. Delay Hi-Cut - Increases the cutoff frequency of the Delay effect. Reverb PreDelay - Increases the Pre-Delay of the Reverb. Reverb Size - Increases the size of the Reverb Decay. Reverb Colour - Adjusts the tone of the Reverb effect. Reverb Width - Adjusts the stereo width of the Reverb effect. Reverb Hi-Cut - "Adjusts the cutoff frequency of the Reverb effect. BLOQ FOR LOGIC X INSTALLATION: EXS24: Copy the folder BLOQ EXS24 Library to - Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Logic/Sampler Instruments Ultrabeat: Copy the folder BLOQ Ultrabeat Presets to Your Name/Music/Audio Music Apps/Plug-In Settings/Ultrabeat Copy the folder BLOQ Ultrabeat Samples to Library/Application Support/Logic/Ultrabeat Samples Patches: Copy the folder BLOQ Patch Library into Your Name/Music/AudioMusicApps/Patches/Instruments BLOQ FOR ABLETON INSTALLATION: Double click the project file Bloq.alp to install.

11 CREDITS: Concept, sampling and patch design - Sharooz Raoofi Scripting - Matthew Fudge GUI Design - Luis Burdallo