Yes, it is limited to 8 audio tracks. You can go to the sampler and enable monitoring, allowing you to hear anything coming through the inputs without using an audio track if you wish.
You can then sample and assign those samples to a drum track to avoid using an audio track for small (or large) loops and phrases, etc.
Very cool - thanks for explaining!
Yes, Drum Programs would be an awesome feature for Instrumap - please add this feature!
I have done a lot of tinkering today but it seems I cannot plug a Rytm MkII via a usb hub into the Force and directly access Rytms as an jnput for a Force Audio Track? I have Rytm audio+midi through usb toggled and I can see Forces 32 inputs but none of them are the Rytm. All the inputs are silent. I am brand new to audio over usb. I was won over to midi over usb when the MPC platform got itâs extensive update a year or so ago. Thanks.
I donât think so. Maybe my vid can shed some light on the subject.
Feedback is appreciated.
@beefpoweredcars - Rytm audio over USB inât going to work because of a sample-rate mismatch. MIDI should be fine.
SCG
Fyi 3.1.3 update was release a few days ago.
@Macbutch thanks for the Instrumap link! A question as I didnt see it in the user manual.
Can I specify my own sample name string to detect key, velocity, etc? I have Presetmaker and it will only detect samples filenames that contain space as delimiter and in the format âfilename key velocityâ so any samples with underscores have to be renamed and velocity layer has tp be in a specific name (eg. V1, V2).
price raised to 149⌠too bad I was not here the whole weekend 
perhapâs is it for the best, 60gb of samples would have me totally lost I guess!
Yes, Drum Programs would be an awesome feature for Instrumap - please add this feature
Itâs definitely on the list. I havenât quite figured out the best way to do it yet. I really want instrumap to be as simple and fast to use as possible (I think mostly thatâs true so far). Ideally people spend as little time as possible using Instrumap and more time making music.
Sorry for the slow reply. My actual job is keeping me super busy at the moment. You canât specify your own pattern but Instrumap has about 9 patterns it matches against (and 16 in the next update). Generally it supports dash, underscore and space as delimiters.
These are the most common:
Name-44-64.wav, Name-44-127.wav: the first number treated as MIDI note and the second is max velocity. These are great because I can map exactly what the library designer intended.Name C4 V1.wav, Name C4 V2.wav: similar to above but the note and velocity are reversed. Here I have to do a best guess at the correct velocities (sometimes it is inverted but thereâs a button you can click to invert it before saving). Itâs usually pretty easy to fix this on the Force itself if it comes out wrong.Name_C4.wav, Name_C4_0001.wav, Name_C4_0002.wav: this is essentially exactly the same as the one above.The other thing that happens is that I reduce the Velocity -> Amplitude mapping when Velocity layers are added. My experience is that the samples for lower velocity are (almost?) always quieter so the more layers there are the more I turn that down. I find this comes out much more natural (and I found myself doing this manually when using sounds with velocity layers). Iâve put quite a lot of thought into how this can save time etc.
The next update will have some basic support for converting words like âHeavyâ, âSoftâ, âLightâ to velocity layers as well. It will also turn everything down by 3db because I find that the first thing I do on loading a keygroup is turn it right down on the mixer. Dropping 3db makes most samples just a little easier to mix imo. Oh and itâs going to have a demo mode so you can download it and create 10 keygroups or so before deciding to pay for it.
I want to release this stuff as soon as possible but Iâm absolutely slammed for time right now. Itâs very nearly ready though.
If you bought your Force new you might have an offer for a cheap Akai expansion pack - itâll be in your user area on their website after registering the device. If so, the Jupiter Rising pack is well worth a look. I wouldnât have picked it up without the discount, but it worked out well. I have the Samples from Mars collection too, which is epic but can be a bit⌠overwhelming. For free classic synths sounds, you could do a lot worse than browse Legoweltâs samples page.
I was going to pull the trigger too
That deal seems to come about semi-regularly, youâll just have to wait.
As others have also said, SFM is a HUUUGGE collection that can be overwhelming at first, but, if you go in looking for something specific itâs great.
One thing I REALLY liked about it was introducing it to XLN XO and Argonauts Atlas, which are my two main drum sample orgnaniser apps that I use (both fantastic, I like XO the most overall, but Atlas is great for creating Akai Program kits fast, both MPC 16 pad types and full on 64 pad types for the Force)⌠anyway, pointing XO and Atlas at the Sample From Mars folders and auto-categorise all of the samples is fantastic.
Ooooooooooooo thatâs a brilliant idea! I just picked up XO over the holidays as well. Thanks for reminding me!
I got Instrumap when I bought the hole Samples From Mars pack and it works really well. Only a few packs do not translate well to Keygroups because of what they are (Drums) or because they do not map well to the Keygroups. #SatisfiedCustomer 
Thanks for the detailed reply!
Looking forward to the next update then and take your time. Having passionate side projects is a recipe for burn out.
Hey there I have a very noob question : is it possible to load both a drum kit expansion and its preview pattern ?
Oh and by the way I havenât SFM but only Reverb sample collection, which is huge⌠and totally free.
To be clear, the audio previews in Expansions arenât actual MIDI files - theyâre MP3âs (or WAV, AIFF) that Expansion builders include in the [Preview] folder of the respective Expansion content. Is that what youâre talking about? If so, then the answer is: if the Expansion has audio previews, you can ofcourse audition them on your Force (for Drum Programs as well as Keygroups). And yes, you can of course load Drum Programs on Force.
Thanks for the explanation. I thought it was a bit like Maschine where you can load a kit with or without the attached pattern. Force works quite differently if the demo is only an audio file.
Yeah, both Force and MPC require the Expansions (or Keygroups/Drum Programs/Project files) to have an attached audio preview stored in the [Preview] folder, and theyâll play back when browsing without having to load the content. But it does take some preparation from content providers. Theyâre super easy to make, itâs just tedious.
The preview audio is only an audio file, but many expansion packs will have a demo project attached which contains what you are looking for - midi and audio arrangements using the expansions included drum kits, instruments, key groups and the like. Others will not.
On occasion I have found Maschine patterns, MPC/Force expansions, and Ableton projects etc., to be helpful for exploring and learning different techniques. But I learn more from just diving in and doing my own experimenting. There are also many project files from users available online that you could download if you are seeking ideas or pre-made beats etc.