Making a velocity-layered sample-based kit in AR

Elektron Gear Analog Rytm
#1

This is something that should be simple to do but I couldn’t find a tutorial online, and the manual is a little vague about it. I’m using an AR2 but I assume it’s the same on the AR. I wanted to create a velocity-sensitive multisampled acoustic drum kit for finger drumming and the occasional rock or jazz project. I think you can do it with sample chains, but I did it by setting velocity to mod the sample slot.

  1. Make sure your samples are numbered sequentially so that they will appear in RAM in velocity order from lowest to highest, then transfer them to the AR’s drive with Transfer. I mean, like, ACOUS_SN_01, ACOUS_SN_02, whatever.
  2. Create a project for your velocity-layered kit
  3. Load all your samples into the pool
  4. Start with the track of your choice, say, kick, and assign the sample to it that will be triggered by the LOWEST velocity
  5. Go to Settings for that track (FUNC-FLTR)
  6. In the menu that appears, key down to VELOCITY MOD and choose it
  7. Turn data entry knob A and choose Sample Slot as your destination
  8. Adjust data entry knob E so that the HIGHEST velocity triggers your LAST, highest-velocity sample. So, if there are 10 samples in total, the value will be 10 (or maybe 9?). Anyway, the point is, incrementally increase this number while hitting the pad until it goes too far, all the way to the next instrument in the pool, then back off by one
  9. Repeat for all the other pads

And that’s it. Now the Rytm will choose a sample from the pool based on how hard you hit the pad, or whatever is affecting velocity in your pattern.

I don’t want to share the project I made because the samples aren’t free—they are the MPC Tutor “Pro Studio Kit”—but there are between 8 and 12 velocity layers on each pad, plenty for my uses, I recommend them.

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#2

Same with chains, you just assign velocity mod to sample start. And have the Hold on the amp short so it doesnt bleed onto the next sample. It should be easier as, you dont have to waste all ur sample slots for the multisamples

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#3

Great idea! Would be cool if Elektron could implement this as a ‘sample machine’, where you select multiple samples and velocity is already mapped to cycle through them

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#4

Haven’t figured chains out yet, but this would definitely be the most efficient method!

#5

I tried to get this to work but as the kit I was using had variable layers for velocity (i.e. not all were 120 per sound) I ended up getting weird transients with the velocity, even when I tried tweaking the velocity in proportion. I expect I’m probably missing something though :slightly_smiling_face: … I was also going to try padding out the shorter chains with additional layers to make them all 120 and therefore easier to map reliably to velocity but didn’t get chance for that yet.

#6

Does this mean you have to have 120 samples per sound? If you hit a velocity between two “sample slots” do you lose some of each sample’s attack?

#7

You probably want a number that goes evenly into 120, like 12 or 6 assuming each sample is of exactly the same length.

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#8

Sure, that’s how you make sample chains. My question was about the velocity sensitivity. If you set VEL to modulate STA… how does the AR know that VEL 12-24 are all STA 10, and not all the points in the range 10…20 ? (to pick some numbers almost at random).

#9

yes. you gonna need like 120 samples into each chain, to work perfectly.
then i suppose its easier and less counter intuitive to use the sample slots for this reason

#10

Great explanation! You could actually use this to play sample chops using a pad controller that can play different set velocities per pad… thinking about setting that up now!

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#11

A sicko realization I just had is that, if you use sample chains to create your velocity layers for each track, you could ALSO create many redundant chains of alternate hits, then simultaneously faux-randomize the chains with an LFO modulating sample slot, then multiply this by twelve, for a psychotically nuanced impersonation of a live drum kit

This would be thrilling for the nine people on planet earth who are attempting to create rock and jazz with this drum machine

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#12

This sounds insane!

When you get a chance, could you break this down further?

#13

I haven’t actually done it! But theoretically, if you have, say, a big folder full of 120 snare hits, with a dozen separate variants of each of ten velocity layers, then you could use DigiChain to create ten chains, one for each variant. Route a random LFO to sample slot, then route velocity to start time, and repeat for every other instrument in the kit.

I think this is such a niche use for the AR that nobody is ever going to offer this kind of detail in a commercially available acoustic kit, but if you have the patience and desire to execute on it, you could.

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#14

For velocity-selected sample chains you actually need 128 slices since MIDI velocity ranges from 0-127.

  • Make 128 sample chain (include some silence after each sample for easier enveloping)
  • On the Sample Page, set Start to 0
  • On the Sample Page, set End to 1
  • On the Velocity mod page set to Sample Start at 120 & Sample End at 120
  • Cut off the end using the Amp envelope. The slice is 6.667% too large since the length between Start & End is still 1/120 but the sample length is 1/128, so you need to control this with the amp envelope. I have been setting Decay to zero and setting Hold so it cuts off right after the sample slice ends
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