User Manual

7 March 2024, 08:13

Requirements • 

Requirements

Software and hardware requirements:

Windows PC

OS version Windows 7 or newer

CPU Intel x86 / AMD x86
Software VST2 / VST3 /AAX compatible host application (32bit or 64bit)

Apple Mac

OS version OS X 10.13 or newer

CPU Intel x86 / Apple Silicon
RAM 8 GB (16 GB Recommended)
Software AU / VST2 / VST3 / AAX compatible host application (64bit!)

Hardware requirements / recommendations are based on estimates performed on available computers at D16 Group HQ,
and therefore cannot cover all possible configurations available on the market. CPU usage may vary widely depending on the
manner in which the product is used. Factors that may contribute to variance in CPU usage include particular patch and its
complexity, the global quality setting, project sample rate. In order to form a better understanding of how a plug-in will behave
within your current setup, we highly recommend downloading the demo and giving it a try.

2
Preliminary information • 

Preliminary information

This chapter contains general advice for using the plug-in’s interface.

To do a right-click on macOS with single button mouse:

Either click your mouse while holding the CTRL key on your keyboard or use two fingers on your touchpad.

Checking the value of a parameter

Right-click on any parameter to check its value in its context menu:

A parameter’s context menu

Note: It’s currently not possible to enter a precise value in the input box; it’s just to check the value.

Fine-tuning continuous parameters

Tweak a control (knob) while holding the CTRL key (on Windows) or Apple CMD key (on macOS) - this will make the
tweaking more precise while moving the mouse pointer up and down.

Double-click to reset a continuous parameter’s value

Double-clicking on a parameter restores its value to the initial state, either default (right after loading the plug-in /
loading it along with a project file) or from the most recently loaded preset.

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Preliminary information • 

Enabling parameters for automation

Drumazon 2 has thousands of sound parameters and VST/AU/AAX host automation allows only a handful of automatable
parameters so by default all parameters are disabled for automation.

Using the parameter’s context menu (described above), you can enable automation for any parameters you wish to
control externally:

Enabling a parameter for automation

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Interface overview • 

Interface overview

After loading the plug-in into the host application, the Drumazon graphical interface will appear:

The Drumazon Graphical User Interface

Drumazon’s interface is split into two main parts: the Sound Control section - responsible for controlling Drumazon’s
sound-generation options…

The Sound Control section

… and the Internal Sequencer - responsible for editing / replaying patterns. Available only while Int Seq mode is
enabled.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

The Internal Sequencer

The sound control section

This section is responsible for generating and processing sound.

The Sound Control section

Preset browsers
The top part of the Sound Control section contains the Preset Management subsections:

The Preset Management sections

There are two types of presets managed from here.

• The Scene presets section (to the left) - A Scene holds information for much of the plug-in state, including sound
parameters (in the Sound Control section), the state of Int Seq option and entire pattern storage (for internal
Sequencer).
• The Drum Kit presets section (to the right) - Covers only the sound parameters from the Sound Control section:
parameters for all drum sounds, two effect Buses and Master effects.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Both subsections have the following controls:

• Preset display - Opens a browser to load, save and manage presets (more on that in the Preset Management part
of the manual).
• Save button - Saves current sound settings as a new preset.

Generating drum sounds

Drumazon is a drum machine comprising 11 synthesized percussion instruments (the Synth view). Each of the instru-
ments has its own independent effect chain (Strips view) and can then be routed / sent to one of two Bus effects (in the
bottom part of the Sound Control section) or directly onto the Master effect chain (Master view).

To switch between all available views in the Sound Control section, use the View selector:

The View selector in the Sound Control section

The parameters for all 11 instruments are available in the Synth view:

The Synth view

The parameters correspond with the following drum sounds:

• Bass Drum
• Snare Drum
• Rim Shot
• Hand Clap
• Low Tom
• Middle Tom
• High Tom
• Closed Hihats
• Open Hihats
• Crash
• Ride
Each of these instruments have a common parameter:

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Level - Sets the output volume for each instrument, placed after its effect strip in the Strips view.

And individual parameters:

• Bass Drum
• Tune - Release time of the frequency envelope,
• Attack - Amplitude value of the initial transient,
• Decay - Decay time of the amplitude,
• Pitch - Base frequency of the instrument,
• Tune Depth - Range of the frequency envelope.
• Snare Drum
• Tune - Release time of the frequency envelope,
• Tone - Noise amplitude release time,
• Tune Depth - Range of the frequency envelope,
• Decay - Decay time of the amplitude,
• Snappy - Amplitude value of the noise.
• Rim Shot
• Tune - Base frequency of the instrument,
• Decay - Decay time of the amplitude.
• Hand Clap
• Decay - Decay time of the amplitude,
• Reverb - Reverb time.
• Low Tom, Middle Tom, High Tom
• Tune - Base frequency of the instrument,
• Tune Depth - Range of the frequency envelope,
• Decay - Decay time of the amplitude,
• Tone - Noise amplitude release time,
• Tune Decay - Decay time of the frequency envelope.
• Closed Hihats, Open Hihats, Crash, Ride
• Tune - Base frequency of the instrument,
• Decay - Decay time of the amplitude.

Mute / solo LEDs

When Drumazon is playing, it is possible to turn individual instruments On or Off using the Mute / Solo LED switches;
these stop the triggering of the instruments but allow the sounds to play until the end of the envelope. This stops a
rapid cut in the sound, making the transition more natural.

The Mute / Solo LED switches

Drum sounds activity

The LEDs next to each instrument’s name light up when the instrument is triggered and starts to play:

The activity LEDs

This way it’s easier to be sure which drum instruments are engaged and when.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Drum sounds’ individual effect chains

Each of the 11 drum sounds has its own dedicated channel strip where it can be further processed through a dedicated
chain of effects. To get access to the drum sounds’ channel strips we need to switch to Strips view:

The Strips view

The Instrument Selector section allows us to select which instrument’s channel strip we edit:

The Instrument Selector section

Once an instrument is selected, we get access to its effect chain:

Selecting a Drum Sound’s effect chain

Drum sound synth parameters

Each effect chain starts with the synth parameters from the Synthesis view, for ease of editing:

A drum sound’s parameters

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Filter / EQ
Then, the drum sound goes into the Filter / EQ:

The Filter / EQ section

Which can be Enabled / Disabled using the toggle LED in the upper-right corner of the section:

The LED to enable / disable the Filter / EQ

The first row of parameters controls Low Cut and High Cut filters with shared Resonance:

18 The Low Cut / High Cut filters

• Low Cut - Selects the Low Cut filter’s frequency.

• Resonance - Sets the level of emphasis for both Low Cut and High Cut filters.
• Hi Cut - Sets the High Cut filter’s frequency.
The two consecutive rows below control a two-band Parametric EQ (one row for each band):

The parametric EQ

• EQ1 / EQ2 - Enables / Disables the corresponding band.

• Freq - Adjusts the center frequency of the band filter’s peak.
• Width - Broadens or narrows the frequency range of the band from 4 to 0.5 octaves.
• Gain - Boosts or attenuates the amplitude of the band by up to +/- 24 dB.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Compressor
The Compressor section follows the Filter / EQ:

The Compressor section

A toggle LED in the upper-right corner of this section Enables or Disables the effect:

Enabling / Disabling the Compressor

The compressor is controlled by the following set of parameters:

• Look A. - (Look ahead) Allows the compressor to “see what’s coming”, to better predict signal level changes and
allow for precise peak detection at the cost of latency;
• Off - The option is disabled (no Look Ahead).
• 1ms - 1 ms look ahead.
• 5ms - 5 ms look ahead.
• Pre Eq - If disabled, the sound is first processed by the Filter / EQ and then by the Compressor. If enabled, the
sound is first processed by the Compressor and then by the Filter / EQ.
• Attack - Sets the attack time for the compressor’s envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Release - Sets the release time for the compressor’s envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Threshold - Adjusts the amplitude detection threshold between 0 and -48 dB.
• Ratio - Adjusts the compression ratio between 1:1 and 1:20.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Signal routing
The two remaining sections, Audio Out and Bus Send, are responsible for redirecting the signal leaving the Strip:

Routing the signal as it leaves the Strip

From the Audio Out section, we can decide where to direct the Strip’s output; it can be routed to one of the FX Buses
or directly to the Master effect chain.

The Bus Send section decides how much signal from Audio Out is sent to one of the two FX Buses, relative to the
output Level set in Audio Out section - the principle is similar to mixer sends

Audio Out
Here, you’ll find the following set of parameters:

• Route To - The destination to which the signal is routed to;

• Mast - Master effect chain.
• Bus 1 - First FX Bus.
• Bus 2 - Second FX Bus.
• Bus Slot - If the Route To parameter is set to one of the Buses, we can also decide at which Bus Slot the signal
enters the Bus effect chain. Each Bus is a series of 5 effects working in a chain so there are 5 slots where the
signal can enter. If we set the slot to 1, then the signal is routed to the first effect in the chain and then further
processed by the rest of the Bus. If 2, then the signal is routed to the second effect (omitting the first one) then
further processed by the rest of the Bus (by consecutive effects in the chain - the 3rd, 4th and 5th).

BUS CHAIN
BUS SLOT 5
4
3
2
BUS INPUT IN 1 BUS INPUT

IN OUT IN OUT IN OUT IN OUT IN OUT

FX 1 FX 2 FX 3 FX 4 FX 5

A diagram showing the Bus Slots

You can find more on Buses in the FX Buses chapter.

• Panning - Adjusts stereo panning.
• St. Spread - Adjusts the delay between Left / Right stereo channels.
• Level - Sets the output signal volume before it’s routed to its destination.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Bus Send
This section is controlled by the following set of parameters:

• Route To - The signal leaving the strip is sent to;

• Bus 1 - First FX Bus.
• Bus 2 - Second FX Bus.
• Bus Slot - Selects which Bus Slot the signal is sent to within the Bus chosen by Route To.
• Panning - Adjusts stereo panning.
• St. Spread - Adjusts the delay between Left / Right stereo channels.
• Pre Lev - If Pre Level is disabled, the signal level (controlled by the Amount knob) sent to its destination is propor-
tional to the Level setting in the Audio Out section. When Pre Level is enabled, the Amount is independent of
the Level parameter.
• Amount - Sets the volume of the signal sent to its destination

AUDIO OUT
LEVEL

IN ROUTE TO

BUS or MASTER

BUS SEND

PRE. LEVEL

INs OUT ROUTE TO

BUS

AMOUNT

A diagram showing Amount and Pre Level dependency

Drum Sounds’ presets

The Presets display in the Strip view lets you manage presets for individual drum sounds:

The Drum Sounds’ Presets display

Clicking the display opens a browser to load, save and manage Presets (more on that in the Preset Management part of
the manual).

Copy / Paste functions for strip’s sections

The Copy / Paste icons in the Filter / EQ and Comp. sections;

The Copy / Paste functions for a Strip’s sections

These allow you to duplicate the section’s parameter values between different drum sounds.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

FX Buses
In the middle part of the GUI, there are two FX Bus sections:

The FX Bus sections

They are labeled Bus 1 and Bus 2 and work independently of each other.

Each Bus is a chain of 5 effects working in series. When a signal enters a Bus, it’s processed by the effect in Slot 1, then
the effect in Slot 2 and so on until it’s processed by the last one, Slot 5; it then leaves the Bus. Before the signal leaves a
Bus, we can adjust its output level using the Level knobs:

The Level knobs in the Buses

Buses are fed by signals from individual drum instruments (the Strips), which are then processed by the Buses and
continue onto the Master effect chain.

Graphically, the effects chain in Buses is organized as tabs. We can access each effect’s parameters by clicking a corre-
sponding tab:

The Bus tabs

By default, only essential parameters are shown in the tab’s content. Clicking the More button in a Bus expands the
section, allowing access to all parameters for the effects:

30 Accessing the complete range of parameters in the Bus effects section

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Effect reordering / swapping

The effects in a Bus are reorderable using simple mouse drag-and-drop on tab headers within a Bus.

Re-ordering the effects in a Bus

It’s also possible to swap effects between Buses. To do that, select the effects you want to swap in each Bus:

Swapping effects between Buses

Next, click the Arrows icon above the header in either of the two active effects to perform the swap.

Bus 1 setup
For more advanced routing, it’s possible to redirect the output from Bus 1 into the Master effect chain and additionally
to split the signal and also send it to Bus 2. To access this option, use the Setup button in the Bus 1 section:

The Setup button in Bus 1

The following parameters are available:

• Amount - Sets the amount of signal that’ll be sent to Bus 2, proportional to the Bus 1 Level value.
• Bus slot - Decides which slot in Bus 2 that the signal will be sent to.
• Pre Level - If Pre Level is enabled, the signal level (controlled by the Amount knob) sent to its destination is propor-
tional to the Bus Level value. When Pre Level is disabled, the Amount is independent of the Level parameter.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Available algorithms
There are 10 effect instances available in total (5 per Bus), but only 8 different algorithms since there are some dupli-
cates for more commonly used ones (EQ and Dynamics).

Distortion
The Distortion is an emulated diode-clipper style distortion effect with pre compression and optional crossover.

The Distortion effect

The following parameters are available:

Pre amplification
• Dynamics - (Single-knob compressor) Turn clockwise to increase the amount of compression for the input signal
prior to clipping.
• Before - Decides where the compressor is located in the signal flow. This makes a difference only when Crossover
is active. If Crossover is disabled, this parameter does nothing and compression is performed before clipping;
• Clip - Compression is done after the signal is divided into two bands and applied only on the higher band
(the Clipper’s input) and before clipping.
• Split - Compression is applied before the signal is split into two bands, so affects Higher and Lower bands.

Crossover
• Enable - Enables the 2-way Crossover. When activated, the signal is split into two separate frequency bands;
Lower, which bypasses the Clipper and goes directly to the Distortion’s output. Higher, which goes into the
Clipper, so only higher tones are distorted while lower frequencies remain intact. If Crossover is disabled then
other parameters from this section remain inactive.
• Split Freq. - Decides the frequency where the signal is divided into two bands.
• Gap - Sets the gap between Lower and Higher bands;
• If the Gap = 0 then the two bands are conjoined.
• If the Gap > 0 then the bands are disjoint and there’s a gap between Lower and Higher bands; the bigger
the value, the greater the gap (expressed in Octaves).
• If the Gap < 0 then the bands overlap. The lower the value, the bigger the common part of the bands
(expressed in negative Octaves).

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Interface overview • The sound control section

SPLIT FREQUENCY

GAP = 0

LOWER HIGHER
BAND BAND

GAP > 0

LOWER HIGHER
BAND BAND

GAP > 0

LOWER HIGHER
BAND BAND

A diagram showing the Distortion’s crossover

Clipper
• Preamp - Sets the level of signal amplification in the Diode clipper.
• Threshold - Sets the level of amplitude above which signal distortion occurs.
• Knee - Sets the knee shape for the Diode clipper.

Mix
• Low Out - Sets the output volume of the lower band that bypasses the Clipper. This parameter is active only
when Crossover is Enabled.
• Clip Out - Sets the output volume of the signal leaving the Clipper.
• FX - Crossfades between Dry and Wet signal.

Parametric EQ
Drumazon 2 offers a four-band Parametric EQ. The effect comprises lower and higher band filters that can work
independently in either low and/or high shelf/cut modes. Additionally, there are two bell / peaking EQ filters.
There are two instances of the effect in the FX Bus chains.

A parametric EQ

The effect has the following parameters:

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Lower and Higher Bands

• Mode - Sets the mode in which the band operates.
• Cut - Sets the band to work as a cut filter.
• Shelf - Sets the band to work as shelf EQ.
• Res / Width - Controls Resonance while in Cut mode or slope Width while in Shelf mode.
• Freq - Adjusts the frequency of the Shelf / Cut filter.
• Gain - Sets the Gain value for the Shelf filter. Does nothing in Cut mode.

Bell filter / parametric EQ

There are two Bell filters in an EQ:

• Freq - Sets the center frequency of the peak.

• Gain - Boosts or attenuates the amplitude of the band.
• Width - Broadens or narrows the frequency range of the band.

Delay
Drumazon 2 offers a delay effect with a multi-mode filter in the feedback loop and a tempo synchronize option.

The Delay effect

Delay loop
• Rate - Controls delay time and ranges between 1 - 1000 ms, if Sync is Off. It can also be set to one of the four
note values if Sync is set to any other position: 1/32, 1/16, 1/8 and ¼.
• Sync - Syncs the delay line to the clock/tempo of the host application. Sync can take one of the following values;
• Off - Synchronization is inactive and delay time, controlled by the Rate parameter, is expressed
in milliseconds.
• Full - Synchronization is enabled and delay time is equal to the full note value set by the Rate display,
relative to the host tempo.
• Dot - Synchronization is enabled and delay time is equal to the dotted note value set by the Rate display,
relative to the host tempo.
• Tri - Synchronization is enabled and delay time is equal to the triplet note value set by the Rate display,
relative to the host tempo.
• Feedback - Delay loop feedback value.
• Spread - Stereo spread between Left / Right channels.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Feedback loop’s filter

• Type - Filter mode;
• Off - Filter disabled
• Low-pass
• Band-pass
• High-pass
• Cutoff - Cutoff frequency
• Reso - Filter’s resonance

Mixer
• FX - Crossfades between Dry and Wet signals

Reverb
The Reverb effect is an algorithmic reverberation unit with Early and Late reflection sections.

The Reverb section

The Reverb is controlled by the following set of parameters;

• Pre. Del. - Sets the delay between the dry signal and reverberation.

Early reflections
• Size - Sets the room size for early reflections only.
• Diffusion - Sets the reflecting surface’s ability to spread the echo out. If this parameter is set to its lowest value,
the reflecting surface is perfectly flat and does not distort the reflected wave. If set to its highest value, the
reflecting surface distorts waves and spreads them out in different directions.
• Color - Changes the reflection character of the surfaces; the greater the value, the brighter the sound.
• Modulate - Controls the reflections’ continuous variation.

Late reflections
• Size - Sets the room size for late reflections only.
• Diffusion - as above.
• Color - as above.
• Feedback - Controls how much wave energy is consumed by reflection. The smaller the value, the more energy is
consumed, meaning the feedback is weaker.
• Modulate - as above.

Mix
• ER / LT - Crossfades between early and late reflections’ outputs.
• FX - Crossfades between Dry and Wet signals.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Chorus
It’s a double-line chorus with feedback option.

The Chorus

The Chorus is controlled with the following set of parameters:

Delay line
• Offset - Sets the minimum time that the input signal is delayed.
• Depth - Sets the maximum amount of delay time modulation applied by the internal LFO. Delay time modulation
ranges from Offset (minimum) to Offset + Depth (maximum).
• Feedback - Sets the feedback value within the delay loop.

LFO
• Rate - Sets the frequency of the LFO controlling the delay line.
• Spatial - Adjusts the stereo phase shift between the LFO’s oscillations.

Mixing
• Lo Cut - Sets the frequency of the low cut filter on the Wet signal leaving the delay line.
• Hi Cut - Sets the frequency of the high cut filter on the Wet signal leaving the delay line.
• Fatness - Increases the volume of the second delay line that has slightly deviated parameters, which results in
fatter sound.
• Gain - Boosts the gain of the Wet signal.
• FX - Crossfades between Dry and Wet signals.

Bitcrusher
This effect features high quality resampling and bit reduction units with additional filtering in pre and post modes.

The Bitcrusher

The Bitcrusher is controlled via the following set of parameters:

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Bit reduction
• Dither - Sets the intensity of the half-bit white noise that is added to the signal just before quantization.
This reduces harmonic distortion that results from the signal’s amplitude degradation by masking the side effects
of quantization.
• Bits - The number of bits the input signal’s amplitude is degraded to, which corresponds to 2^N actual quantiza-
tion levels.

Approximation filter
This is an optional filter to remove partial or complete harmonic content above the resampler’s Nyquist frequency,
controlling the level of aliasing that occurs below the resampling frequency. It removes harmonic content before the
discretization process.

• Enable - Activates / deactivates the filter.

• Freq - Sets the cutoff frequency of the Approximation Filter relative to the Nyquist frequency of the resampler,
controlled by these parameters;
• 0 (the default) - Sets the Approximation Filter’s cutoff frequency exactly at the Nyquist frequency
(no offset). This removes all harmonic content above the Nyquist frequency, preventing audible artefacts.
The only occurring artefacts are images (harmonics occurring above the Nyquist).
• < 0 (negative offset) - Sets the Approximation Filter’s cutoff frequency below the Nyquist frequency.
This removes audible aliasing and part of the original harmonic content below the Nyquist frequency
(proportionally, according to the negative Freq offset), as well as some images near the Nyquist.
• > 0 (positive offset) - Sets the cutoff frequency above the Nyquist frequency. As a result, aliasing will start
to appear (artefacts below Nyquist frequency) in proportion to the positive Freq value.

Resampler
• Freq - Sets the frequency the signal is discretized to (resampled). This parameter ranges from 44 Hz to 44.1 kHz
• Jitter - Controls the intensity of random, short-period clock deviations in the resampler.

Images filter
Images are artefacts that result from resampling a higher sample rate to a lower sample rate. The Images Filter removes
some or all of these artefacts from the audio spectrum after the discretization process.

• Enable - Enables the images filter.

• Freq - Sets the cutoff frequency of the Images Filter relative to the Nyquist frequency of the resampler.
The higher the value of this parameter, the higher the frequency of harmonics passed to the output
(above the resampler’s Nyquist frequency).

Mixer
• FX – The crossfade between Dry and Wet signals

Dynamics
This is two effects in one; a typical compressor with a side chain option and an amplitude shaper with an envelope
triggered via Drumazon’s instruments.

There are two instances of the effect in the FX Bus chains.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

The Dynamics FX Module - Mode selector section

The Mode parameter lets you select the mode of the Dynamics effect:

• Comp. - Compressor
• VCA - Amplitude shaper

Compressor
While in Comp. mode, the effect is controlled by the following set of parameters:

The Dynamics FX module - Compressor mode

• Look A. - (Look ahead) Allows the compressor to “see what’s coming”, to better predict signal level changes
and allow for much more precise peak detection at the cost of latency;
• Off - The option is disabled (no Look Ahead).
• 1ms - 1ms of audio latency is used for look ahead.
• 5ms - 5ms of audio latency is used for look ahead.
• Threshold - Adjusts the amplitude detection threshold between 0 and -48 dB.
• Ratio - Adjusts the compression ratio between 1:1 and 1:20.
• Side Ch. - Enables side-chain input for the compressor, so instead of using the input signal for peak detection,
the peak detector uses one of Drumazon’s other instruments as an input.
• Input - Selects the input / control signal for side-chaining.
• Attack - Sets the attack time for the compressor’s envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Hold - Sets the hold time for the compressor’s envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Release - Sets the release time for the compressor’s envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Make Up - Sets audio level gain.
• FX - Crossfades between Dry and Wet signals.

VCA
In VCA Mode, the internal envelope is triggered by one (or more) instruments of your choice. The envelope then
modulates amplitude.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

The Dynamics FX module - VCA mode

While in VCA Mode, the effect is controlled by the following set of parameters:

• Attack - Sets the attack time of the envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Hold - Sets the hold time of the envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Release - Sets the release time of the envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Triggers - Selects which inputs will trigger the compressor’s envelope. These three combo boxes can select three
different inputs and a signal from any of these will trigger the envelope.
• Modulation - Controls the way the envelope modulates the input signal’s amplitude;
• 0 - Sets the input signal to remain unchanged.
• Positive values - Reduces the signal volume “outside” the envelope. The greater the value, the bigger the
reduction of amplitude outside the envelope. At max settings, there will be no audible signal unless the
envelope is triggered.
• Negative values - Reduces the amplitude of the input signal. The signal is reduced by the value of the
envelope.
• Gain - Sets output gain after amplitude modulation.

MODULATION > 0 MODULATION = 0 MODULATION < 0

MAX MIN

A diagram showing how different envelope modulation values affect amplitude

Filter
The last algorithm available in the FX Bus is the multi-mode Filter with cutoff modulation.

The Filter FX module

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Interface overview • The sound control section

The first section controls basic filter parameters:

• Type - Selects one of 3 filter types, or disables the filter;

• Off - Disabled
• Low-pass
• Band-pass
• High-pass
• Cutoff - Sets the base cutoff frequency.
• Reso - Sets the filter resonance level.
Then we have the following controls:

• Mod type - Chooses the cutoff frequency modulation source;

• LFO - Internal LFO.
• Env - Envelope generator triggered by one or more of Drumazon’s instruments.
• Mod Amt. - Sets the amount by which the modulation source affects the cutoff frequency.

LFO Modulator

The Filter’s LFO modulator

The LFO is controlled with the following set of parameters;

• Rate - Controls the LFO frequency, ranging between 0.01 Hz to 20 Hz, if Sync is set to Off. Sets the LFO
frequency to note value if Sync is set to any other option.
• Sync - Sets the LFO to synchronize with the clock/tempo of the host application. Sync can take one of the
following values;
• Off - Synchronization is inactive and the LFO’s speed is controlled by the Rate parameter, expressed in Hz.
• Full - Synchronization is enabled and the LFO’s rate is equal to the full note value of the Rate display, at
the host tempo.
• Dot - Synchronization is enabled and the LFO’s rate is equal to the dotted note value of the Rate display, at
the host tempo.
• Tri - Synchronization is enabled and the LFO’s rate is equal to the triplet note value of the Rate display, at
the host tempo.
• Wave - Chooses the LFO’s waveform.
• St. Spread - Adjusts the stereo phase shift between the left and right channels for the LFO’s oscillations.

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Envelope modulators

The Filter’s envelope modulators

The Envelope is controlled by the following set of parameters:

• Attack - Sets the attack time of the envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Hold - Sets the hold time of the envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Release - Sets the release time of the envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Triggers - Selects which inputs will trigger the filter’s envelope. These three combo boxes can select three differ-
ent inputs and a signal from any of these will trigger the envelope parameters.

Master effect chain

Eventually the signal from all drum instruments or Buses goes into the Master FX chain, where final touches to the
sound can be made.

The Master FX chain

To edit the Master FX effect chain, select Master view in the radio group.

First, the signal goes into the Multiband Compressor and then it’s processed by the Limiter. Any of the effects can be
easily activated or deactivated using the LEDs in the header:

Enabling / disabling effects in the Master FX chain

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Interface overview • The sound control section

Multiband Compressor
The first effect in the chain is a 3-band compressor with a Look Ahead option

The multiband Compressor

Each band is controlled by same set of parameters:

• Enable - Activates compression for a specific band.

• Solo - Mutes signals from other bands to check audio output from a specific band.
• Attack - Sets the attack time for a compressor’s envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Release - Sets the release time for a compressor’s envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Threshold - Sets the amplitude detection threshold between 0 and -48 dB.
• Ratio - Sets the compression ratio between 1:1 and 1:20.
• Make Up - Sets audio level gain.
The Reduction meter shows how much the signal is being compressed in a band.

The frequency width of each band is controlled by the two Cross Frq knobs:

The cross-frequency settings for the bands

And finally, the Compressor’s Look Ahead option:

The Look Ahead option

26
Interface overview • The sound control section

The Look Ahead option allows the Compressor to “see what’s coming”, to better predict signal level changes and allow
for precise peak detection at the cost of latency.

• Off - The option is disabled (no Look Ahead).

• 1ms - 1ms look ahead.
• 5ms - 5ms look ahead.

Limiter
The limiter has fairly standard parameters, with a soft-clip option:

The Master FX chain Limiter

• Attack - Sets the attack time for the limiter’s VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Release - Sets the release time for the limiter’s VCA envelope between 1 and 500 ms.
• Threshold - Adjusts the threshold level below which the limiter activates its VCA and the envelope is triggered.
• Output volume - Sets the overall output volume for the signal leaving the Limiter and can be found outside the
Master view for quick access:

Output Volume parameter

• Soft Clip - Enables a diode-like soft clipper that cuts out all peaks that exceed a 0 dB amplitude level.

27
Interface overview • The sound control section

Trigger Outs
It’s possible to add an audible trigger sound, like what occurs in analogue machines. By default, this signal is off. When
turned on, you can decide which track (instrument) will trigger this sound and where the audio should be redirected to.

First, open the Triggers view:

The Trigger Outs section

Then set up to 3 simultaneous triggers that will be mixed with the rest of the drum instruments.

Enable / Disable the triggers you want with the LED toggle buttons in the header:

Enabling / disabling Trigger Outs

Then decide where to route the audible trigger signal:

The Trigger Out section

• Route To – Selects where the trigger out signal should be sent to, where it will be mixed with the rest of the drum
sounds;
• Master
• Bus 1
• Bus 2
• Bus Slot – Selects which Slot in the Bus the signal will go to, if the Route To parameter is set to one
of the two Buses.
• Source – Selects which instrument should initiate the trigger sound.
• Panning – Sets the stereo balance.
• Level – Adjusts the output level of the trigger sound.

28
Interface overview • The sound control section

Plugin Audio Outs

Drumazon is a multi-output plug-in. It has 16 stereo outputs that Buses or the Master Output can be routed to, with
individual volume settings.

When Drumazon is loaded, the only routing is between the Master Output and the plug-in’s first available audio out;
the rest remain unused.

To change the output assignments, go to the Options menu and select the Audio Outputs -> Edit Setup option:

Opening the Audio Outputs Setup window

You will see the following window:

The Audio Outputs Setup menu

Using the combo boxes, you can choose which audio outputs receive a signal from which part of Drumazon’s signal
flow. A Disabled value means that no signal is being sent.

Once Audio Output is selected, the checkbox next to it becomes active. If it’s unchecked, then signal is just sent to
Audio Output without further processing by signal path that follows. This concerns processing by Buses + Master chain
for individual instruments / triggers and Master chain for the Buses.

29
Interface overview • Play modes

Loading and Saving Audio Outputs setup

Using Load Setup and Save Setup options in Audio Outputs submenu you can save current Audio Outputs Setup
as file and load it from file.

Play modes
Drumazon works in two play modes:

• Internal – Drum patterns are triggered by the internal sequencer of the plug-in. Drumazon operates in this mode
when Int Seq is enabled.
• External – Drumazon acts as a sound module; drum sounds are triggered by incoming MIDI Notes from the host
sequencer. Drumazon operates in this mode when Int Seq is disabled.

The Int Seq toggle button

External mode
When Int Seq is disabled, Drumazon is in the External mode where it acts as a sound module. MIDI Notes correspond-
ing to instrument (drum sound) note numbers are sent from the host sequencer to play drum patterns.

By default, the MIDI Notes layout (MIDI Map) follows the General MIDI standard, as it does in the original 909. The
following chapters will explain how to change these settings.

Note velocity determines the volume at which notes are played. There’s no discrete gradation between accented and
non-accented notes in this mode as played note velocity will depend on the velocity value of each incoming MIDI Note.
As a result, we can obtain a smooth transition in the loudness and responsiveness of instruments (127 levels of velocity).

In External mode, only the Sound Control part of the GUI works.

Drum MIDI Map

To change the MIDI Map or, in other words, the MIDI Notes that trigger particular sounds, you need to open the Trigger
/ MIDI view:

The MIDI Map

30
Interface overview • Play modes

Using the selector at the bottom, you can select the drum sound / instrument you wish to re-map:

The Instrument selector

Then, use the keyboard above to change which MIDI Notes trigger that particular sound.

Alternatively, you can use the MIDI Learn function if you have a MIDI keyboard connected:

The MIDI Map – MIDI Learn

Once you activate the MIDI Learn mode, the plug-in will wait until you hit some keys on your MIDI keyboard to set as
new trigger notes for the selected instrument. Drumazon operates in a 4-octave MIDI range only (starting with the 3rd
octave of the entire MIDI range).

Using the icon shaped buttons in the header:

Managing the Drum Map

You can do the following:

• Restore factory (General MIDI based) Drum Map

• Load a Drum Map from a file
• Save the current Drum Map to a file

31
Interface overview • Play modes

Internal mode - Sequencer

While Int. Seq is active;

Int Seq active

Here, Drumazon is in Internal mode, meaning that rhythms are generated by the internal sequencer which is located in
the bottom part of GUI:

Drumazon’s internal sequencer

In this mode, Drumazon uses its internal bank of patterns to generate rhythmic sequences.

Pressing Play in a host application, or the Start / Stop button on Drumazon, will start playback of a selected pattern.
The LED diode on the Start / Stop button will light up if a pattern is playing:

The Start / Stop button

32
Interface overview • Play modes

The Pattern Selector in the bottom-right corner allows you to select which pattern should be played, and/or view
patterns in the Pattern Editor.

The Pattern Selector

Pattern trigger modes

There are two internal Trigger modes to start playing a pattern:

Selecting Trigger mode

• Live mode - Enabled when the Live tab is active in the Pattern Selector.
• Host Note mode - Enabled when the Host Note tab is active in the Pattern Selector.
Each of these modes share a common pattern storage system.

The whole bank consists of 48 different patterns that can be triggered using GUI or MIDI Messages (depending on the
Trigger Mode selected).

33
Interface overview • Play modes

Live mode
Drumazon is in this mode when first loaded. This is the default mode. From here, you can select patterns to be played
continuously (in a loop) using the Pattern Selector:

The Pattern Selector in Live mode

The 1 to 12 buttons represent 12 patterns within a single bank. There are four banks named A to D, which give 48
patterns in total. The currently selected bank and pattern in the bank are indicated by red glowing LEDs on correspond-
ing buttons.

After loading Drumazon, the default chosen pattern is A-1.

When the Start button is pressed, the red highlight column scrolling across the Pattern Editor will indicate which step
in the pattern is currently playing.

The Pattern play cursor

To select another pattern while playing, use a combination of one of the Bank (dark gray colored) and Pattern (white
colored) buttons in the Pattern Selector (in that order). If the next pattern is in the same bank, you can select the new
pattern using just the Pattern button in the Pattern Selector.

The next pattern will start playing when the current pattern comes to the end of its final step. The waiting pattern will
be indicated by an LED glowing blue in the corresponding pattern button.

34
Interface overview • Play modes

Host Link Active option

The Host Link Active option is accessible from the Cog icon in the Pattern Selector section and controls the way the
plug-in sequencer’s cursor position is aligned with the cursor position of the project in your DAW.

The Host Link Active mode

• Option disabled (default) - The sequencer cursor position is synchronized only once, when the sequencer starts
to play, then the internal clock takes it over.
• Option enabled - The sequencer cursor position is continuously aligned for as long as the pattern plays.
The main difference between having the option disabled or enabled can be seen when you use loops in your project.
When the option is disabled and the host rapidly changes cursor position, Drumazon ignores it and continues playing as
if the position change didn’t occur. But, when you enable the option and the host changes cursor position, Drumazon
re-adjusts its own cursor position in response to changes in the host.

Host note mode

The Pattern Selector in Host Note mode

In Host Note mode, patterns are triggered using only MIDI Notes. Each note coming from the host application corre-
sponds to one internal pattern. The whole bank of patterns is accessed by the 48 MIDI Notes starting from the C note
of the second lowest octave and spanning 4 octaves. For convenience, Drumazon indicates the currently selected
pattern on the Pattern Selector.

A MIDI Note ON triggers the corresponding pattern to play. Releasing the key and sending a MIDI Note OFF message will
eventually stop the pattern.

It should be noted that in Host Note mode, the Start button in a DAW (Start transport message) has no effect. Patterns
are only played back while a MIDI Note is received.

35
Interface overview • Play modes

Pattern Follow
The Follow button activates a mode where the pattern currently playing is also set as the one being edited (Pattern
Editor).

The Pattern Follow mode

When Follow mode is disengaged, the pattern being edited will be indicated by a blue LED light and the pattern being
played will be indicated by a red LED light on the Pattern Selector buttons.

Pattern Follow disabled

MIDI Output
Drumazon features active MIDI Output. This allows for the control of external instruments (virtual or hardware) by
Drumazon’s internal sequencer. It works either in Live mode or Host Note mode. When Drumazon is in External mode,
it passes MIDI Notes through itself unchanged.

Velocity values of MIDI Notes sent by Drumazon are calculated according to Normal, Accent and Global Accent Boost
patterns’ dynamics parameters.

Enable / Disable MIDI Output

It’s possible to disable MIDI Output to avoid the problems with MIDI loopbacks that occur in some DAWS; to do so, use
the Options button in the upper left corner of the GUI and uncheck the MIDI -> Enable MIDI Out option.

The Enable MIDI Out option in the MIDI menu

36
Interface overview • Play modes

Pattern editing
The Pattern Editor is located in the bottom section of the GUI:

The Pattern editor

The grid section is the actual Sequencer. Each cell in the grid represents a single sequence step; the X axis represents
time and the Y axis represents tracks for every drum instrument that Drumazon features. We can find the instruments’
names on the right side:

The Column with drum sound names

Each step can be enabled as Normal (with base loudness), or Accented (with increased loudness). The precise values
for both types of steps can be specified for an entire pattern in the Pattern Properties section.

Apart from volume for each step, we can define additional attributes and articulations; such as Flam (or added grace
note) and Sub Step (or subdivisions of 2, 3 or 4 repetitions per step).

Editing sequences
We can “draw” over the grid using mouse clicks to set / unset the steps (working as an on/off toggle). A filled rectangle
means the step has been set / enabled:

An enabled step

37
Interface overview • Play modes

On the right side, we can find a toolbar to select which Drawing mode we use and which type of step we will draw:

The draw toolbar

Accented and non-accented steps

The Step Type radio group allows us to choose between drawing Normal and Accented steps:

The Step Type

In the Sequence editor, a red rectangle represents a Normal step while a brown rectangle is an Accented one:

Normal and Accented step

For efficient editing, hold the CTRL key while setting steps to draw the alternative Step Type. So, if you set Step Type to
Normal, drawing with the CTRL key held will draw Accented steps instead, and vice versa.

The precise MIDI velocity values for Accented and Normal steps are defined in the Normal tab at the bottom of the
Pattern Properties section:

The Normal tab in the Pattern Properties section

The Base and Accent displays can be used to edit velocity values.

Articulations
The Articulation radio group lets you select which type of articulation is associated with a drawn step:

The Articulation radio group

38
Interface overview • Play modes

Starting from the left, we have the following values:

• None - Articulation disabled, regular notes

• Flam
• Sub Step x 2 - Subdivision with 2 notes
• Sub Step x 3 - Subdivision with 3 notes
• Sub Step x 4 - Subdivision with 4 notes
In the Sequence editor, Articulated steps are indicated with an appropriate icon:

Steps with Articulation enabled

Alternatively, you can quickly change articulation for a step by right-clicking over that step in the editor. This will change
the step to the next articulations in the sequence, in the same order as can be seen in the toolbar.

Flam
A Flam is a double triggering of a sound with a short delay between each trigger. In musical terms, it’s equivalent to
inserting a grace note before a main note. Parameters for the Flam articulation are controlled from the Flam tab in the
bottom part of Pattern Properties and defined for each pattern:

Flam tab in Pattern Properties

The Flam tab has two parameters:

• Delay - Sets the offset between the grace note and the main note, measured in Step Length. A 100% value
means that offset is a half-step long.
• Volume - Sets the loudness of the grace note, measured against the step’s volume. For example, a 50% value
means that the added grace note is half as loud as the main note that follows.

39
Interface overview • Play modes

Sub step
Another type of articulation in Drumazon is subdivision, referred to here as Sub Step. This divides a single step into
evenly sized segments. The 2, 3 and 4 note subdivisions repeat a note 2, 3 or 4 times within the duration of a single
step.

Parameters for the Sub Step articulation are controlled from the Sub S. tab in the bottom part of Pattern Properties,
and the values are for an entire pattern:

The Sub S. tab in Pattern Properties

There are two parameters, expressed as percentages:

• Start - Sets the start volume, compared to the step volume.

• End - Sets the end volume, compared to the step volume.
The parameters describe the initial and final volume for the series of Sub Step notes, and volume for any in-between
notes changes gradually between the two values.

Global accent
The Global Accent row is used to accent all parts / tracks on a given step:

The Global Accent track

For Global Accent, steps are set / drawn the same way as any other track using the Sequence editor, except the value is
either On or Off (no accents nor articulations are available).

To control the Global Accent’s boost or, in other words, how much louder globally accented steps will be, you need to
use the Gl. Acc. parameter on the Normal tab in Pattern Properties column:

40
Interface overview • Play modes

The Global Accent boost

The Global Accent parameter’s value is added to existing velocity values for all enabled steps in a column, and if an
instrument has an Accent on a given step and Global Accent is also added to that step, the two values will be combined.

Pattern Properties
The column located to the right of the grid contains properties and edit functions for the currently selected / edited
pattern:

The Pattern Properties section

You can adjust the following properties:

• Scale - Sets the duration of a single step, relative to the tempo. The first part sets the note value, from 1/64th up
to 1/4th, and the second part is a note value modifier (Full, Dotted, Triplet).
• Length - Sets pattern length, up to 64 steps.
• Shuffle - Adjusts the swing effect amount.

Pattern edit functions

In the upper part of pattern editor there’s little toolbar with few useful edit functions;

The Pattern edit functions

Some of them are disabled because they operate only on selected tracks (so you need to select a track or tracks before
using them).

41
Interface overview • Play modes

To select a track for editing, click on a desired instrument name in the column on the left:

Selecting tracks

To select more than one track, hold the CTRL key while clicking.

Copy / Paste / Clear tracks

The first three buttons offer basic edit functions such as Copy, Paste and Delete track contents:

The Copy, Paste and Delete buttons

• Copy - Copies selected tracks to a buffer.

• Paste - Pastes the buffer contents onto selected tracks. If you copied more than one track into the buffer, you
need to select the same number of destination tracks for every track to paste into the pattern editor. If you select
fewer destination tracks, only that number of tracks will be pasted.
• Clear - Removes the contents of selected tracks.

Shift left / right

The Shift Left, Shift Right buttons for selected tracks

These buttons shift the contents of selected tracks in the X axis (time), to the left or right. Pressing once shifts the
selected contents by one step.

The Shift Left, Shift Right buttons for the entire pattern

The next two buttons shift the contents of the entire pattern (all tracks), to the left or right. This function doesn’t
require any track selection.

42
Interface overview • Play modes

Copy / paste / clear pattern

Above the Pattern Selector, we have three more edit functions:

The Clear / Copy / Paste pattern buttons

• Copy - Copies a currently selected pattern into a buffer.

• Paste - Pastes the stored pattern onto the currently selected pattern slot.
• Clear - Clears a currently selected pattern.

Loading and saving patterns

Loading patterns
Clicking the Pattern Name box opens the Pattern Browser. Alternatively, you can use the Arrow icons to the right to
browse the Pattern Content line-by-line.

Browsing patterns

There are a few ways to load a pattern using the browser:

1. You can open the Browser, select a pattern and click OK; this will load the pattern into a previously selected
Pattern slot:

Loading a pattern through a browser

2. You can use drag-and-drop to load a selected pattern into the desired Pattern Slot in the Pattern Selector:

Loading a pattern using drag-and-drop

3. You can use drag-and-drop to load a few selected patterns at once into several Pattern Slots:

Loading a group of patterns using drag-and-drop

43
Interface overview • Play modes

Saving patterns
Using the Save button will save your pattern.

Saving a pattern

Exporting patterns
Using the Export button allows you to export your pattern outside Drumazon:

Exporting a pattern

When you click the button, the Pattern Editor area will be darkened by an overlay panel:

Dargging a pattern onto a track as MIDI clip, or onto the hard drive in Drumazon’s own format

From this panel, you will be able to drag-and-drop the pattern wherever you like - either into your project or to a
location on your hard drive. Using the left-side option (Drag MIDI file), you can drag the pattern as a MIDI Clip, while
using the right-side option (Drag pattern), you can drag the pattern in Drumazon’s native file format. Using Drag pattern
also works between instances of Drumazon.

Velocity values for the exported MIDI Clip will be derived from Pattern Properties (the values for Accented and Non-ac-
cented steps, and for Global boost).

Alternatively, you can export patterns directly from the Pattern Browser by dragging a pattern from there onto the hard
drive or into a project in your DAW:

Dragging a file directly from the Pattern Browser

However, this will export patterns only in Drumazon’s native file format. You cannot export patterns as MIDI Clips this way.

44
Interface overview • Play modes

Randomizer
The Randomizer fills internal patterns with randomly generated content, working only in Internal mode. Select the
Random tab from the Pattern Editor properties column to enable the Randomizer:

The Random mode tab

Using the instrument names column, you can select the tracks you wish to randomize:

Selecting tracks for randomization

Clicking selects a single track; to select more than one, hold the CTRL key on your keyboard while clicking additional
tracks to add to the selection. Once you’ve decided which tracks you wish to randomize, click the Next button to gener-
ate randomly populated track rows:

Generating new random pattern

45
Interface overview • Play modes

If you haven’t selected any tracks then the entire pattern will be randomized (all tracks).

It’s worth mentioning that randomization isn’t a special mode; you can switch between Edit and Random tabs with no
restrictions. Also, when the Random tab is selected, you can modify sequence content (in the grid), just like you were
editing it.

Every time a new sequence is drawn, you can use the Amount knobs to precisely set the “density” of the generated
sequence individually for each of the randomized tracks:

Setting densities

The greater a knob’s value, the “denser” (more numerous) a generated sequence for a particular part will be.

The Amount knobs for unselected tracks are grayed out; they are inactive.

The Modifiers at the bottom choose what type of steps (accented, non-accented or both) and articulations are included
in randomized patterns:

The Randomizer’s modifiers

Any change to the Modifiers will be taken into account in the next random draw, which happens by clicking the Next
button.

Each time you hit Next, a new seed for the randomizer is set, changing the probability distribution and generating a new
pattern. Using the Prev button, you can go back to the previous seeds / randomization patterns.

46
Interface overview • Play modes

Tap mode
Tap mode allows patterns to be recorded live. To enter Tap mode, select the Tap tab in Pattern Properties:

The Tap mode tab

Here, you will find Pad buttons that allow you to record steps while playing. Note that recording steps is only possible
when the sequencer is running.

Pressing the upper half of a Pad records Accented steps and pressing the lower half, Normal steps. The Pad correspond-
ing to Global Accents is an exception, since the Global Accent track has only single state steps (no Accents).

Alternatively, you can record steps using your MIDI keyboard. In Tap mode, Drumazon listens to MIDI Input and records
steps according to the predefined Drum MIDI Map (see the External Mode chapter). Hitting a key with a velocity > 64
registers an Accented step; hitting a key with a velocity below that threshold will register a Normal step.

47
Options • MIDI and parameter automation

Options

This chapter concerns all the additional plug-in settings that aren’t stored with any preset type. These settings are exclu-
sively stored within a DAW session but can also be saved and loaded using the options described later in this chapter.

MIDI and parameter automation

This chapter describes everything about communication between the DAW (host) and the plug-in regarding MIDI
or parameter automation options.

MIDI output
By default, Drumazon 2 bypasses the MIDI messages it receives, meaning every MIDI event that goes into the plug-in
is also sent out from the plug-in (which you can use to feed another MIDI track). If this functionality causes issues with
your DAW (such as creating unwanted MIDI loopbacks) you can disable Drumazon 2 MIDI Output by clicking
the Options button and unchecking the MIDI -> Enable MIDI Out option.

The Enable MIDI Out option

48
Options • MIDI and parameter automation

MIDI learn
Right-click any plug-in parameter to open the context menu:

A context menu

Left-clicking outside the menu area closes it automatically.

Clicking the bottom arrow expands the menu and displays all available options:

An expanded context menu

Linking a parameter to MIDI CC

The Learn function enables a quick assignment of physical controllers (from a MIDI controller) to plug-in parameters.

1. Click the Learn button to put the plug-in into a pending state before moving any MIDI CC controller.
2. Once the CC is recognized, click OK to save the change or click the Cancel button to restore the previous setting.

Linking a parameter to MIDI CC

49
Options • MIDI and parameter automation

Unlinking a parameter from MIDI CC

You can also delete a MIDI CC code attributed to a parameter from the context menu:

1. From the context menu, click the Clear button:

The Clear MIDI CC button

2. Then confirm using the OK button.

Loading / Saving a MIDI CC Map

These options are available in the MIDI submenu, accessible under Cog icon in the left-upper corner:

The Load Map and Save Map options

• Save Map - Saves the current MIDI CC map to a file.

• Load Map - Loads a MIDI CC map from a stored file.

Parameter automation
By default, all internal Drumazon 2 parameters are disabled for external automation; this is because Drumazon 2 has
thousands
of sound parameters and VST/AU/AAX technologies don’t allow so many automatable parameters.

If you right click on a parameter in the Drumazon 2 UI, you will see a context menu that allows you to enable automa-
tion for a given parameter and control it externally:

Enabling a parameter for automation

Note that not all parameters can be externally automated. Only parameters directly involved in sound generation have
this option present.

50
Options • MIDI and parameter automation

Loading and saving an automation template

Once you enable the desired parameters for automation, you can save the automation map as a template to load later
on in another plug-in instance.

The Host Automation options

Click the Options button and go to the Host Automation menu to see the following options:

• Load Template - Loads an automation map from a file.

• Save Template - Saves current plug-in state as a new automation map file.

MIDI / automation summary

Once you have enabled some parameters for automation or assigned them (using MIDI Learn) to MIDI CC, you can
check the current status of that assignment using MIDI / Automation Summary option in Options menu:

The MIDI / Automation Summary menu option

Using this option will bring up the MIDI / Automation Summary window:

The MIDI / Automation Summary window

This shows the list of parameters enabled for automation (with the respective IDs they are assigned to) and/or the MIDI
CC numbers they are assigned to.

51
Options • GUI

GUI
The Size and System Scale options are accessible from the GUI submenu under the Options menu in the upper-left
corner of the plug-in. With these, you can adjust the look of the plug-in to suit the pixel density and resolution
of your screen, and make some tweaks to the look.

The GUI Size and look options

Size
This option lets you choose one of several default skin sizes to best match the plugin to the resolution of your computer
monitor.

System Scale
System Scale controls the rescale factor for the whole plug-in. For the best visual results, you should set it to the exact
value from your system settings (screen properties).

Quality settings
The Quality submenu under Cog icon in upper-left corner allows to choose sound quality for Real-time
or Offline modes.

Quality settings

The higher the quality, the bigger the impact on the CPU.

52
Options • Default settings

Default settings
You can save your current settings so that the plug-in will default to them for each new instance, or restore the plug-
in to load with its factory settings.

Changing default settings

1. Click the Cog icon in the left-upper corner of the plugin.
2. Go to the Default State submenu and choose the Save current option.

Changing the default state of the plug-in

With this option, the current plug-in state will be saved as the default / initial state for when you insert a new instance
of the plug-in.

The plug-in state includes: sound parameters (default preset), views, preset filters, sound quality settings,
loaded / created MIDI CC map and GUI settings.

Restoring factory defaults

To return the default state for new instances to factory settings:

1. Click the Cog icon in the left-upper corner of the plugin.

2. Go to the Default State submenu and choose the Restore factory option.

53
Preset Management • Preset storage

Preset Management

Preset storage
Presets, both from Factory content and user ones, are stored as files in proper locations on the disc. Each time a plug-in
instance is loaded into a project, these locations are scanned and the presets found there are consolidated into a single
linear structure (list) in the Preset Browser.

Preset structure
The presets’ structure in the plug-in is hierarchically organized; there are a few different kinds of presets and these store
different groups of parameters.

• Scene - A global preset which gathers all sound parameters, entire pattern storage for the Sequencer (48 patterns)
and the selected Int Seq state;
• Drum Kit - Covers all sound parameters, including all instruments and their Strips, both Buses and the
Master Section;
• Instrument Preset - Each instrument has its own preset system, which covers its synth parameters and
its Strip parameters (EQ, Compressor and Level).
• Master Preset - Includes parameters from Master view (Multiband Compressor + Limiter).
• Sequencer pattern - Includes a single sequencer pattern with its additional parameters (like scale, length,
shuffle, etc.). This kind of preset can be loaded only when Int Seq is enabled.

54
Preset Management • Browsing presets

Browsing presets
The Preset management section (no matter what kind of preset it concerns) enables quick navigation and browsing
of the preset structure:

The Preset management section

• PRESET - Displays the name of the currently loaded preset. Clicking the display opens the Preset Browser panel,
allowing you to browse factory / user presets.
• Prev / Next - Hovering over right side of the Preset display exposes the Prev / Next buttons:

They allow for linear browsing of the presets list (depending on currently set filters - see sections below).
• Save - Saves current parameters as a new preset or allows for overwriting of the existing one (see sections
below).

Right-clicking over the Preset display opens a context menu with two or three additional options:

• Init - Restores initial settings of plug-in parameters.

• Reload - Reloads the most recently loaded preset.
• Save – See description above.

The Preset Browser looks as follows:

The Preset Browser

There are four main parts:

• Sources - Situated in the left column, filter content Sources for displayed presets.
• Filter - Below Sources, a preset Filter that uses the Tags system.
• Results - List of presets (shown in the middle column) from Sources that meet criteria set in the Filter.
• Info pane - The right column shows information about the currently selected preset(s), divided into several
subsections.

If available - For some preset types this button can be hidden and accessible from the contextual menu (accessible via right mouse-click on Preset display)
If available

55
Preset Management • Browsing presets

Sources
In this section, you can choose a Source / Source(s) that you want to browse presets from.

Preset Sources

There are two resources to choose from:

• Factory - Delivered together with the plug-in and cannot be modified (read-only).
• User - Created by the user and can be freely modified or shared with other users.

Choosing any of them will cause the results to narrow to the presets from one resource.

Filter
The section below is the Filter, which represents a preset filtering system using Groups and Tags to browse the content.

The Filter section

Groups and tags

Each Preset is described by a few common Groups. Within each of them there may be one or more Tags from a particu-
lar set.

The Filter group

Presets from the Factory resource were assigned Groups and Tags when they were created.

Groups and Tags describe the content clearly, taking into account the plug-in’s purpose.

Editing of the Groups and Tags for Factory content is limited. User presets can be described with the same Groups and
Tags as Factory content, or you may define additional Tags within factory Groups and even create your own Groups
with your own Tags to describe your own presets.

The only limitation is that a user cannot remove factory Groups or Tags from Factory content.

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Preset Management • Browsing presets

Results
This is a list of presets from chosen Sources that meet the filtering criteria. The basic function of this section is to
browse and load presets. It can also be used for editing, which is described later.

The Results list

• Click any name to choose and load the preset.

• Double-click the name to choose, load the preset and close the browser.

Hitting the OK button confirms loading a preset and closes the browser. Using Cancel closes the browser but reverts all
parameter changes that loading a new preset might have caused.

The OK and Cancel buttons in the browser

Using the X icon has the same effect as the OK button:

Close Browser window

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Preset Management • Browsing presets

Preset filtering using Groups and Tags

The Filter section contains Groups of Tags. Each Group is represented by a rectangle with the Group name + set of Tags
inside.

Group 2 with two tags set (Tag 2 and Tag 3)

The filtering process cascades from top to bottom. This means that all presets available in the selected Sources are
filtered by selected Tags from the first Group (uppermost one), then the Group below and so on, until filtered by the last
active Group (the bottom one).

Preset Filtering with the use of Groups

The result of the cascade filtering process is listed in the middle column, the Results / presets list section. You can also
consider the Results list as an intersection of preset sets, found by filtering through every individual Group.

Basic Actions
Tags work as toggle buttons. Click to activate / deactivate a Tag; a gray background color means that the Tag is inactive,
and orange means that the Tag is active.

Group 2 with two tags set (Tag 2 and Tag 3)

If at least one Tag in a Group is active, then the Group (filter) also becomes active, otherwise the Group chosen doesn’t
affect the filtering process at all.

Group operator
When a single Tag is active in a Group, only presets having that Tag set are displayed in the Results.

If two or more Tags in a Group are active, the Results depend on the Operator chosen for the Group:

A Group operator

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Preset Management • Browsing presets

The Operator button works in toggle mode and offers a choice of two alternative Operators for the Group:

• Any - Means that a preset is shown in the Results when the preset includes at least one of the active Tags
from the Group.
• All - Means that a preset is shown in the Results only when the preset includes all active Tags from the Group.

Filter enable / disable

You can quickly enable / disable the Filter using the toggle switch in the top-most section of the Filter:

An On/Off switch for a Group Filter

Other types of filtering

Searching by name
Alternatively, you can look for a preset by entering its name or just a piece of its name into the Find preset field:

The Find preset input

The Results are refreshed on-the-fly and they work together with the other filters.

Using the X icon clears the entire field:

Clearing the search field

Filtering Favorite presets

You can mark presets as a Favorite by clicking the Heart icon while hovering on preset name . You can unmark
presets by clicking the icon again (toggle mode):

Setting a preset as a Favorite on the list

Logical OR between Tags in the Group

Logical AND between Tags in the Group
It’s allowed for every source (factory or user)

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Preset Management • Browsing presets

The flag is stored globally, meaning that a Favorite preset will be accessible as such from every other instance of the
plug-in .

Once you have your Favorite presets flagged, you can quickly filter them using the toggle button with a Heart icon on it:

Favorite presets filtering

If the button is active, then only Favorite presets will be shown (considering all remaining filters).

Filtering Pinned presets

You can Pin one or more presets using the Pin icon while hovering over a preset name . You can unpin a preset by
clicking the icon again (toggle mode):

Pinning a preset on the list

Unlike Favorites, this flag works locally and it’s stored with the project file (not global config), so Pins are stored individ-
ually for every instance (with total recall, so a plug-in state is recalled if saved in the context of a project).

But, similarly to Favorites, you can easily filter presets using the toggle button with the Pin symbol on it:

Pinned presets filtering

If the button is active, then only Pinned presets will be shown (considering all remaining filters).

Sometimes project or plug-in reload may be required

It’s allowed for every source (factory or user)

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Preset Management • Browsing presets

Info pane
The column to the right shows information about the selected preset or presets. It also provides access to some of the
preset editing functions.

The Info pane

There’s a preset name at the top.

The Preset name in the Info pane

Additionally, if you’ve selected more than one preset there’s information about how many more have been selected:

Selecting more than one preset

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Preset Management • Browsing presets

Below the preset(s) name there are few common sections describing selected presets:

• Tags
• Author
• Description

Browser’s visual adjustments

Folding sections
If you don’t need to see the contents of every section / subsection, you can fold some of them up using the Caret icons:

Sections folded up

Resizing columns
You can use the three-dotted handles to change a column’s width to your preference.

Resizing Browser columns

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Preset Management • Editing presets

Editing presets
You can perform certain actions on presets, such as adjusting Groups and Tags, deletion, renaming the presets as well
as their export or import. One should bear in mind, however, that some operations are only allowed on user presets but
not on Factory content.

Preset selection for Edit

Some operations can be done on more than one preset, so you’re allowed to select more than one preset at once; in the
Results section, you can choose a preset or a set of presets in the following ways:

• Click a preset - Selects (and loads) one preset from the list.
• Win ( Ctrl + Click the preset ), Mac ( Cmd + Click the preset ) - Adds another preset to an already chosen
preset or a set of presets.
• Shift + Click the preset - Selects a range of presets from the last chosen preset to the preset clicked with the Shift key.
• Right-Click on any Preset in the Results section and choose the Select All option - this selects all presets:

Selecting all presets

Preset renaming
On a selected preset , right-click to open the context menu and select the Rename option:

Preset renaming

The option is available only for individual presets and won’t work on a selection of two or more presets.

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Preset Management • Editing presets

Preset deletion
Once you have selected one or more presets, right-click to open the context menu and select the Delete items option:

Deleting presets

Alternatively, you can use the Trash bin button in the Info pane to delete selected presets:

The Trash bin button

Tags editing
When you select a preset or presets to change their tags, click the Pencil button next the Tags section in the Info pane
to enter Edit mode for the Tags:

Entering the Tag edit mode

Or Delete option (depending on how many presets have been selected).

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Preset Management • Editing presets

With the Edit mode enabled, you will see all possible Groups and Tags available for the preset(s):

The Tag Edit mode

Tag buttons work in toggle mode, much like filtering. Clicking them either sets or erases a Tag for a chosen preset. If a Tag
is set for a preset, it is indicated by an orange background color, whereas if a Tag is not set, it has a gray background color.

If you choose multiple presets with existing tags, Tag buttons will appear orange if a specific Tag appears in all selected
presets, and gray if it appears in none.

When a specific Tag is set only for a few of the selected presets, it appears as half-gray and half-orange.

Tags appearing only in part of selection

Changing the Tag status for one or more chosen presets sets or erases this Tag in all these presets. A status change
is signaled by an Asterisk to the left of a Tag.

A Tag with a status change

Tag buttons highlighted in half-gray and half-orange color (where Tag values across the highlighted presets aren’t all the
same) workin a three-state system when switching between states; they turn gray if you erase the Tag for all selected
presets, orange if you set the Tag for all selected presets, and return to half-gray and half-orange if the selected items
remain unchanged or are returned to their initial state.

Potential changes have to be confirmed using the OK / Cancel buttons at the top part of the Tags section:

Confirmation buttons in the Tags section

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Preset Management • Editing presets

Author editing
When you select a preset or presets to change the Author, click the Pencil button next the Author section in the Info
pane to enter the Edit mode for the Author field:

Editing Author

Once you’ve finished editing the field, confirm the operation using the OK / Cancel buttons:

Confirming Author editing

This operation is possible for user content only.

Description editing
When you select a preset or presets to change the Description, click the Pencil button next the Description section in
the Info pane to enter the Edit mode for the Description field:

Editing Description

Once you’ve finished editing the field, confirm the operation using the OK / Cancel buttons:

Confirming Description editing

This operation is possible for user content only.

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Preset Management • Editing presets

Setting presets as Favorites

As described in the chapters above, you can mark a preset as a Favorite by clicking the Heart icon while hovering over
the preset name:

Setting a preset as a Favorite

The flag is stored globally, meaning that a Favorite preset will be accessible as such from every other instance of the
plug-in .

It’s also possible to perform the operation for a selection of presets. After you select the desired presets in the Results
window, right-click on the presets to open a context menu:

Setting Favorite presets from the context menu

And select the Set favorite option.

To clear Favorite flags for the selection of presets, use the Clear favorite option instead.

Pinning presets
You can Pin one or more presets using the Pin icon while hovering over the preset name:

Pinning a preset

Unlike Favorites, this flag works locally and it’s stored with the project file (not globally). This means the Pins are stored
individually for every instance (with total recall, so a plug-in state is recalled if saved in the context of a project).

Sometimes a project or plug-in reload may be required

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Preset Management • Editing presets

It’s also possible to perform the operation for a selection of presets. After selecting the desired presets in the Results
window, right-click on the presets list to open the context menu:

Pinning presets from selection

And select the Pin option.

To clear the Pin flag for a selection of presets, use the Unpin option instead.

Preset exchange
If you want to make a backup, or exchange a preset with a collaborator, you can export / import selected presets.

Export
Select a preset or presets that you’re going to export and drag-and-drop them outside your DAW into a location you’d
like to store them:

Exporting presets

The presets will be saved as individual files (one per preset) in the plug-in’s native format.

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Preset Management • Creating custom Tags and Groups structure

Import
If you’d like to import preset files, you can drag-and-drop preset files from where they’re stored, into the preset browser:

Importing presets

They will be automatically imported as user presets.

Creating custom Tags and Groups structure

Adding custom Tags

Users are allowed to add their own custom Tags to both their own content and factory content. To add a new Tag to an
existing filter Group, click over the Group’s name to pull down a menu and select the Add Tag option :

Adding a new Tag

You can do this either in the Info Pane (right column, while the Tag edit mode is enabled) or Filter (left column).

This operation is allowed for a user’s Groups only

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Preset Management • Creating custom Tags and Groups structure

Editing custom Tags

There are a few edit options available for a user to perform on their own Tags, which are available by right-clicking
a Tag’s name in the Filter section:

The Filter section

You will see a context menu with all the available options:

Editing options for a user Tag

• Rename - Changes the name of a Tag.

• Move to - Moves a Tag to another Group.
• Remove - Deletes a Tag.

The menu is accessible only for a user’s own Tags.

Adding custom Groups

You can add a custom filter to Groups by clicking the Filter label and selecting the Add Group option from
the pull-down menu:

Adding a user Group

From here, you can add Tags to that newly created Group (see above), or move Tags from other Groups.

You can also add a custom filter to Groups in the Info Pane (right column) or Filter (left column).

You can only move user Tags

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Preset Management • Creating custom Tags and Groups structure

Editing custom Groups

There are a few edit options available for a user to perform on their own Groups. Click on a Group’s name in the Filter
section:

The Filter section

You will see a context menu with the following options:

Edit options for a user Group

• Add Tag - Adds a new tag to the Group (described earlier).

• Rename - Changes the Group’s name.
• Remove - Deletes the Group, possible only when all Tags in the Group have also been removed.
• Move up - Moves a Group up in the Filter. Possible unless the Group is already the topmost one.
• Move down - Moves a Group down in the Filter. Possible unless the Group is the last one.

These operations are possible only on user Groups.

Groups in the Filter are ordered with Groups from Factory content first, then user groups below.

You can edit user Groups in either the Info Pane (right column, while Edit mode for Tags is enabled) or Filter (left column).

Unassigned Tags
When you receive content from a collaborator who uses different Tags and Groups, some Tags may show as
Unassigned. This happens if the filter structure made by a preset’s author is different.

Unassigned Tags

You can move the Tags across your Groups to make them fit your scheme, or re-tag the collaborator content entirely.

71
Requirements...................................................................................................... 2 Articulations.......................................................................... 38
Preliminary information.................................................................................... 3 Flam................................................................................. 39
Interface overview............................................................................................. 5 Sub step.......................................................................... 40
The sound control section........................................................................ 6 Global accent ....................................................................... 40
Preset browsers................................................................................... 6 Pattern Properties................................................................ 41
Generating drum sounds................................................................... 7 Pattern edit functions......................................................... 41
Mute / solo LEDs......................................................................... 8 Copy / Paste / Clear tracks........................................ 42
Drum sounds activity.................................................................. 8 Shift left / right.............................................................. 42
Drum sounds’ individual effect chains........................................... 9 Copy / paste / clear pattern....................................... 43
Drum sound synth parameters................................................. 9 Loading and saving patterns ............................................. 43
Filter / EQ...................................................................................... 10 Loading patterns .......................................................... 43
Compressor................................................................................... 11 Saving patterns ............................................................ 44
Signal routing................................................................................ 12 Exporting patterns ...................................................... 44
Audio Out.............................................................................. 12 Randomizer............................................................................ 45
Bus Send................................................................................ 13 Tap mode............................................................................... 47
Drum Sounds’ presets................................................................ 13 Options................................................................................................................. 48
Copy / Paste functions for strip’s sections............................ 13 MIDI and parameter automation............................................................ 48
FX Buses............................................................................................... 14 MIDI output.................................................................................. 48
Effect reordering / swapping.................................................... 15 MIDI learn..................................................................................... 49
Bus 1 setup................................................................................... 15 Linking a parameter to MIDI CC.............................................. 49
Available algorithms.................................................................... 16 Unlinking a parameter from MIDI CC............................. 50
Distortion............................................................................... 16 Loading / Saving a MIDI CC Map..................................... 50
Pre amplification........................................................... 16 Parameter automation....................................................................... 50
Crossover....................................................................... 16 Loading and saving an automation template........................ 51
Clipper............................................................................. 17 MIDI / automation summary............................................................ 51
Mix................................................................................... 17 GUI................................................................................................................. 52
Parametric EQ....................................................................... 17 Size......................................................................................................... 52
Lower and Higher Bands............................................. 18 System Scale........................................................................................ 52
Bell filter / parametric EQ.......................................... 18 Quality settings........................................................................................... 52
Delay....................................................................................... 18 Default settings........................................................................................... 53
Delay loop...................................................................... 18 Changing default settings................................................................. 53
Feedback loop’s filter................................................... 19 Restoring factory defaults................................................................. 53
Mixer............................................................................... 19 Preset Management ......................................................................................... 54
Reverb.................................................................................... 19 Preset storage............................................................................................. 54
Early reflections............................................................ 19 Preset structure.......................................................................................... 54
Late reflections............................................................. 19 Browsing presets........................................................................................ 55
Mix................................................................................... 19 Sources.................................................................................................. 56
Chorus ................................................................................... 20 Filter....................................................................................................... 56
Delay line........................................................................ 20 Groups and tags........................................................................... 56
LFO.................................................................................. 20 Results................................................................................................... 57
Mixing............................................................................. 20 Preset filtering using Groups and Tags........................................... 58
Bitcrusher.............................................................................. 20 Basic Actions................................................................................ 58
Bit reduction.................................................................. 21 Group operator............................................................................ 58
Approximation filter..................................................... 21 Filter enable / disable................................................................. 59
Resampler....................................................................... 21 Other types of filtering...................................................................... 59
Images filter................................................................... 21 Searching by name...................................................................... 59
Mixer............................................................................... 21 Filtering Favorite presets........................................................... 59
Dynamics............................................................................... 21 Filtering Pinned presets............................................................. 60
Compressor.................................................................... 22 Info pane............................................................................................... 61
VCA.................................................................................. 22 Browser’s visual adjustments........................................................... 62
Filter........................................................................................ 23 Folding sections........................................................................... 62
LFO Modulator............................................................. 24 Resizing columns......................................................................... 62
Envelope modulators................................................... 25 Editing presets............................................................................................. 63
Master effect chain............................................................................. 25 Preset selection for Edit.................................................................... 63
Multiband Compressor............................................................... 26 Preset renaming.................................................................................. 63
Limiter............................................................................................ 27 Preset deletion.................................................................................... 64
Trigger Outs.......................................................................................... 28 Tags editing.......................................................................................... 64
Plugin Audio Outs............................................................................... 29 Author editing...................................................................................... 66
Loading and Saving Audio Outputs setup.............................. 30 Description editing............................................................................. 66
Play modes .................................................................................................. 30 Setting presets as Favorites.............................................................. 67
External mode...................................................................................... 30 Pinning presets.................................................................................... 67
Drum MIDI Map.......................................................................... 30 Preset exchange.................................................................................. 68
Internal mode - Sequencer............................................................... 32 Export............................................................................................. 68
Pattern trigger modes................................................................. 33 Import............................................................................................ 69
Live mode ............................................................................. 34 Creating custom Tags and Groups structure........................................ 69
Host Link Active option ............................................. 35 Adding custom Tags............................................................................ 69
Host note mode................................................................... 35 Editing custom Tags............................................................................ 70
Pattern Follow............................................................... 36 Adding custom Groups...................................................................... 70
MIDI Output ................................................................................ 36 Editing custom Groups...................................................................... 71
Enable / Disable MIDI Output ......................................... 36 Unassigned Tags.................................................................................. 71
Pattern editing.............................................................................. 37
Editing sequences................................................................ 37
Accented and non-accented steps................................... 38