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THE CONCEPT The Power of Layering

The idea behind DruMM was to create an aesthetically and fully functional drum module that would have the type of controls that I selfishly wanted. Ease of use and fun were the main criteria for developing this product. To be able to dynamically affect every sample on the fly appealed to me greatly. Chaining specific effects and dynamics into single function knobs and dials not only makes it easy to run deep edits on the go but it makes for a much more pleasing approach to sound design. Additionally, the whole concept of making everything simple and beautiful gave me an insight into how to design a functioning GUI whilst maintaining control. The decision to chain and condense effects and dynamics into single functions was made to help beginners and intermediates understand and utilize commonly desired processes. The real power of DruMM lies in the layering process. The fact that modules can be stacked on top of each other and layered using the same midi channel in Kontakt makes the series both extremely versatile and fun! With this in mind the samples have been processed using phase cancellation, polarity inversion and M/S, all resulting in specific bands being removed to hollow out samples for clean and explosive layering. Please see the chapter on SAMPLES and LAYERING. There are no limits as to what can be done with DruMM and I implore you to abuse the modules as much as possible and enjoy the same mayhem that I have had such fun in being the cause of. DruMM is an ongoing project with more modules being created for further layering and warping!
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Stretch That Note was created to act as a vehicle for users to dig into and enjoy crazy warping products. Additionally, specific phase cancellation and M/S techniques have been used to create space for layering drum kits (please see chapter SAMPLES). A labour of love? Yes. A moment of madness? I certainly hope so.

I sincerely hope you enjoy using DruMM as much as I have in creating it. Eddie Bazil STN Stretch That Note

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INSTALLATION AND SETUP

Once you have successfully downloaded the product, use either Winzip or Winrar to unzip the contents. You should see something like the following:

DruMM requires Kontakt 4.2.3 and higher and one of the new functionalities is wrapping resources into Resource Containers which includes things like graphics etc. It is, therefore, important that the nkc and nkr files are kept within the same main folder. Place this main folder into the usual Kontakt library root directory, or wherever your library is located. BUT please make sure to keep all the relevant files together.

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Drumm GUI Panels and Controls

DruMM consists of the following: A drum kit template spanning across 60 keys with repeated mini kits across each octave allowing for multiple kits to be accessed within the same kit. The drop down menu below the AMP ENV sliders shows all the midi notes and corresponding samples. This allows you to either treat the whole kit globally or to edit individual samples. Globally: Individual edits:

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Drum kit list:

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MAIN CONTROL PANEL

The control panel houses the global functions for the whole kit.

VELOCITY LEVEL CUT OFF TUNE PAN RES

Controls the velocity curve of the instrument. Controls the overall level (volume) of the instrument. Controls the filter cut-off for the selected filter type. Controls the overall tuning of the instrument. Controls the pan of the instrument. Controls the filter resonance of the selected filter.

AMP ENV Amplitude Envelope

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The amplitude envelope consists of the following parameters:

ATTACK HOLD DECAY SUSTAIN RELEASE

determines the time it takes the sound to reach peak value determines how long peak value is held prior to the decay determines time taken for attack to die prior to sustain determines how long the note is held determines how long the note takes to release (die)

FILTER ENV Filter Envelope

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The filter envelope consists of the following parameters:

ATTACK HOLD DECAY SUSTAIN RELEASE AMNT

determines the time it takes for the filter to open determines how long peak value is held prior to the decay determines time taken for attack to die prior to sustain determines how long the filter is held open determines how long the filter takes to release (die) controls the amount of filter required

There are three filter types:

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Introduction to Filters
Cut-off frequency This is the point (frequency) at which the filter begins to filter (block or cut out). The filter will lower the volume of the frequencies above or below the cut-off frequency depending on the type of filter used. Attenuation This lowering of the volume of the frequencies, is called Attenuation. In the case of a low-pass filter, the frequencies above the cut-off are attenuated. In the case of a hi-pass filter, the frequencies below the cut-off are attenuated. Resonance Boosting the narrow band of frequencies at the cut-off point is called resonance. Also known as Q and bandwidth, in effect, he higher the resonance, the narrower the bandwidth.

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LOW PASS

In the low-pass filter diagram the frequencies below the cut-off are allowed to pass through whereas the frequencies above the cut-off are attenuated.

Hi PASS

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BAND PASS

A filter that passes frequencies between two limits is known as a band-pass filter.

It attenuates frequencies below and above the cut-off and leaves the frequencies at the cut-off. It is, in effect, a low-pass and a hi-pass together.

AMBIENCE SLIDER

The ambience slider controls the send levels of both the reverb and delay effects both globally and on single samples. This has been carefully created to allow for space rather than a wet reverb as low frequency drum sounds, like kicks etc, can lose definition when too much reverb is applied. Moving the slider to the right allows for more of the ambient effect. Use this when you want your drums to sit in their own space.
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DIALS, KNOBS AND SLIDERS

This is the heart of Drumm.

PHAT
A combination of chained effects and dynamic in series affording a very specific multi-band EQ, subtle distortion when pushed and a limiter to tame the varying levels. The design of this knob is a well guarded secret but suffice to say each effect and dynamic behave relative to each other. If you like your drum sounds really PHAT then hit the dial and explore some sonic mayhem. BE CAREFUL when using the PHAT dial on tonal sounds like 808 kick drums or toms etc as it can give an underlying distortion buzz tone.but maybe that is exactly what you want!

CRUNCH
A combination of bit crushing into sample rate conversion gives this dial a nasty and destructive character..LOVELY! Turn the dial to the end for some serious degradation of sound. BUT, used lightly you can achieve a nice thickening of the sound much like saturation.

VINYL
This dial is a 4 way selector switch and selects vinyl background noises from different eras.
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OFF 30 - 40 60. This is a global effect as the vinyl noise is added globally to the whole instrument. Controls the level (AMT) of vinyl noise required.

WIDTH
This dial controls the stereo width of either the whole instrument (globally) or a sample.

VINYL KNOB
The crackle knob is a 3 way selector OFF crackle 1 crackle 2 and selects crackle noises that you get with vinyl playback. This effect is global and is applied to the whole instrument. Controls the level (AMT) of the selected crackle.

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THE SAMPLES and LAYERING

I have used specific sample inversion techniques and polarity inversions with some M/S to create width and this has resulted in specific frequencies being removed for layering purposes. By phase cancelling specific frequencies I was able to create a hollow in the secondary layer so that the primary layer can sit. This makes for layering without the usual uncontrollable frequency cancellations and summing that normally takes place with sample layering. I also switched some of the polarities so they sound 'different' when using the PHAT dial. This allowed for thickening without having to have the usual gain problems when the dial is turned, even with a variable limiter. Please watch the SAMPLES AND KIT

LAYERING video as it clearly

demonstrated the thinking and processes behind this technique. A great way to test this concept is to load 2 DruMM kits/modules into one instance of Kontakt. Assign the same midi channel to both kits/modules and play away. This way the two kits are triggered at the same time allowing for layering on the fly. You will now hear a huge difference when playing the kits as layers as opposed to individual kits. This was the original and whole idea behind DruMM, the ability to layer and edit drum sounds on the fly without losing the creative process due to the time taken to create layers and assign effects etc. For this reason alone I hope you will delve into all the modules and extreme all functions and layering. If you find you are in the mood, chain a series of modules for mayhem madness. Warp and weep!
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INFO

Click the INFO tab to access all the necessary credits and a very brief breakdown of the heart of DruMM.

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KONTAKT ISSUES
Kontakt displays certain anomalies with certain effects and dynamics. Whilst creating and then testing DruMM we found that the WIDTH dial crackles when used. This was investigated and found to be a known issue with this specific effect in Kontakt. The PHAT dial displayed a click when used with FX bypassed. This was remedied by switching FX ON all the time. This may drain your CPU resources and if it does then it can be bypassed. Midi note select cannot be adopted when scripting in group mode. This is why a drop down menu was created for sample/note selection. For detailed editing please use the settings option and use group and sample editing.

USING THE FREE KONTAKT PLAYER

Please be aware that there is a time limitation when using the free Player to audition DruMM. The Player will shut down after a specific period (depending on which version you have) and although it allows full access to editing the edits cannot be saved.

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COPYRIGHT
YOU ARE BUYING A LICENSE TO USE STRETCH THAT NOTE PRODUCTS FOR YOUR OWN USE.... IF YOU ARE COLLABORATING WITH OTHERS THEY MUST BUY THEIR OWN COPY. PLEASE DO NOT GIVE THEM A COPY. YOU CANNOT USE STRETCH THAT NOTE SAMPLES IN THE CREATION OF YOUR OWN SAMPLE LIBRARY WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION FROM STRETCH THAT NOTE. LICENSING OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE IF YOU WISH TO DO SO. YOU CANNOT RE-DISTRIBUTE OR SELL STRETCH THAT NOTE PRODUCTS. NEITHER CAN YOU CONVERT THEM TO SOME OTHER FORMAT TO RE-DISTRIBUTE/SELL THEM. THIS INCLUDES ANY FREE CONTENT ON THE SITE STRETCH THAT NOTE WILL FOLLOW UP SUCH CONTRAVENTIONS TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW TO PROTECT ITS COPYRIGHT. PLEASE RESPECT MY COPYRIGHT AND THE WORK THAT HAS GONE INTO THE CREATION AND PRODUCTION OF THESE SOUNDS. SUPPORTING STRETCH THAT NOTE HONESTLY ENSURES THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER PRODUCTS. THANK YOU.

Copyright Stretch That No

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