Data Structure Workflow

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

The Combine Projects?? thread got me thinking about this again.

When I work with my AR, I struggle with workflow for the data structure.

Typically, I’ve been creating a project for each song/track that I make. After working with Sound Locks a little, I’m thinking it may be better to have multiple Songs of a similar type in one Project, in order to have the same Sound pool for Sound Locks.

Additionally, I’ve been naming audio clips in my DAW the name of the Project and Pattern. So an audio clip in the DAW would be named “Songname - B03” where Songname is the name of the AR Project.

At any rate, I’ve become curious. How do other Elektronauts use the data structure? Do you use a project per song? Do you have multiple songs in one project? How do you reference your Elektron sequencer patterns/songs/projects in a DAW?

#2

I worked solely on the MnM for a long time before I got the AR, so I’m struggling with this a bit, too.

At the moment, I’m shooting for 3-4 songs per project. I will name the song (via songmode) whatever my track’s name is and then add which patterns it uses (A1-A8) etc.

MySongNameA1-A8

Some of us might not be using Song Mode at all, but I build all my tracks using Song Mode on both the MnM and AR. So far, it seems to be working well. I do wish there was an easier way to copy sounds/kits to another project, but I guess it keeps things interesting/fresh each time around.

#3

At this point, the system kind of forces us to save sounds to the +Drive so we can have access to them in every project.

So at least you can load Sounds (with associated samples) form the +Drive banks to any loaded project. But you can’t do it with Kits and Patterns unfortunately.

Eitan

#4

This exactly…though, if you have a saved sound with a sample, that sample has to be in the project and in the correct slot, right?

It seems like saving sounds really benefits the synth side of things rather than the sample side.

#5

Also, only sounds loaded into the current project can be used for Sound Locks.

#6

This exactly…though, if you have a saved sound with a sample, that sample has to be in the project and in the correct slot, right?

It seems like saving sounds really benefits the synth side of things rather than the sample side.[/quote]
No, when you load a saved sound that has a sample associated with it, it loads the sample along with it into the next available slot (provided you have empty slots) and sets your track up correctly with the right sample slot.

#7

This exactly…though, if you have a saved sound with a sample, that sample has to be in the project and in the correct slot, right?

It seems like saving sounds really benefits the synth side of things rather than the sample side.[/quote]
No, when you load a saved sound that has a sample associated with it, it loads the sample along with it into the next available slot (provided you have empty slots) and sets your track up correctly with the right sample slot.[/quote]
Ah, that’s a relief. So yeah, this will really push a lot of users to start saving their sounds instead of just their kits.

#8

Yes, Zwolf is correct!

There is a real benefit of saving sounds. Sounds include the samples and can be saved to the +Drive, Sound Pool etc.

When in a project, you can still load them from the +Drive in place of other sounds of in addition to, considering you have empty slots.

I wish, though, that there will be +Drive banks for Patterns and Kits…

Eitan

#9

This exactly…though, if you have a saved sound with a sample, that sample has to be in the project and in the correct slot, right?

It seems like saving sounds really benefits the synth side of things rather than the sample side.[/quote]
No, when you load a saved sound that has a sample associated with it, it loads the sample along with it into the next available slot (provided you have empty slots) and sets your track up correctly with the right sample slot.[/quote]
Ah, that’s a relief. So yeah, this will really push a lot of users to start saving their sounds instead of just their kits.[/quote]
Right, and I’m kind of struggling to get the whole workflow for this worked out in my mind.

Saving sounds is something I’m just now starting to think about. It’s kind of confusing the way there’s 3 elements to keep in mind here: synthesis, samples and sounds. I’ve had the box just over a week, but at first all I really was thinking about was synthesis and samples. It never occurred to me save the combinations of these that I’ve messed around with.

But, there are so many more advantages to the sound browser/manager as opposed to the sample manager: easier to preview sounds, you can easily use them across multiple projects, and perhaps most importantly, they can be organized across banks like on the A4 and filtered and keyword searched and all that.

In contrast, the sample manager doesn’t offer any of these features. They can be saved into categorized directories, but this is less user friendly than the sound manager.

But it seems like a lot of work to come up with a bunch of sounds to choose from. I can see this happening eventually if you make a point to save the sounds from every new kit and project, but I wish I had more to browse already. It’s like I sort of wish my samples were just sounds instead.

I can’t be the only one flummoxed by this. Any words of advice?

#10

This exactly…though, if you have a saved sound with a sample, that sample has to be in the project and in the correct slot, right?

It seems like saving sounds really benefits the synth side of things rather than the sample side.[/quote]
No, when you load a saved sound that has a sample associated with it, it loads the sample along with it into the next available slot (provided you have empty slots) and sets your track up correctly with the right sample slot.[/quote]
Ah, that’s a relief. So yeah, this will really push a lot of users to start saving their sounds instead of just their kits.[/quote]
But it seems like a lot of work to come up with a bunch of sounds to choose from. I can see this happening eventually if you make a point to save the sounds from every new kit and project, but I wish I had more to browse already. It’s like I sort of wish my samples were just sounds instead.

I can’t be the only one flummoxed by this. Any words of advice?[/quote]
I erased all of the factory settings (sounds, patterns etc), so it’s been an uphill battle in creating fresh kits. I kinda wish I would have investigated how some of the performances/scenes were used, but overall, I am constantly experimenting in order to come up with fresh kits/sounds.

I probably won’t be ready to seriously start saving sounds for another month after I’ve accumulated some more kits that I deem “finished.”

#11

When I save a project i noticed that my sample settings e.g. Start/End etc are not saved
I assumed that saving a Project would save all child objects.

I switched projects and when i loaded back up i noticed this bug