MIDI Sustain, Crossfade, MultiSounds

MIDI Sustain, Crossfade, Multisounds

Contributed by Jeremy Slead

Sustain:

Sustain is a Midi control function that allows a note to be "held" either by holding down a key, or by holding down a sustain pedal. It allows the sound to stay in its "sustain" mode as long as one of those conditions are present, and when released, the note goes into its "decay" phase.

On the DM-Pro, the sustain function can be used to control LOTS of different parameters of different sounds OTHER that note duration, by using the programmable Modulations, or "MODs". Please see a previous how-to I wrote (I think it is in the Mixed Bag on the Zendrum Resource site) for more info on how to use this feature for hi-hat control or cymbal chokes.

On SYNTH modules, like the Alesis QSR (or any MIDI keyboard) the sustain function makes the notes "hold" or ring out for a longer duration. In many of these modules, the LENGTH of the sustained note can be ajusted internally. E-mail me if you want to know more about that. I find it ESSENTIAL when playing melodically on the Zendrum.

Crossfading:

Velocity crossfading is when multiple note numbers (four consecutive) are assigned to a single pad on the Zendrum, and the VELOCITY at which the pad is played determines which of those note numbers is sent to the module. The Zendrum has the ability to do a 4-note velocity crossfade. The way it works is: the Zendrum pad assignment must be a number in the "Note Number" screen ABOVE 127. All note numbers above 127 have a red LED light before them, indicating that the Zendrum is in crossfade mode. The Zendrum is now sending either the number assigned, or one of the next three consecutive note numbers (i.e.: 43, 44, 45, 46) depending on how hard the pad is played (harder playing results in the higher numbers being sent). To utilize this feature, you must also assign the note numbers in the module to play the four sounds you want to crossfade with.

Here is an example setup to assign a single Zendrum pad to play four different snare drum sounds: (cross stick, quiet stroke, loud stroke, rim shot)

1. Assign the Zendrum to note number *36 (* means the red LED, indicating a number PAST 127)

2. Assign these notes to these sounds in the module:
36 = Cross Stick
37 = Quiet stroke
38 = Loud Stroke
39 = Rim Shot

Now when you play the snare pad, all these sounds are available to you (although it is really tough to be exact with your playing velocity to the point of controlling which sound you want, especially for the middle two notes!)

Also note that the DM-Pro can do the Velocity Crossfade feature on a SINGLE note number. For this application, set the Zendrum to play a regular note number WITHOUT the red LED (a number 127 or below). In the DM-Pro, go into Drum Edit mode (see manual) and assign the four sounds you want all in the same "Drum". Then set each sound's Velocity Curve to which area of the crossfade you want it to be: in our Snare example, assign the Cross Stick sound Velocity Curve "1 of 4", and the Rim Shot "4 of 4". etc. You will need to save the "Drum" in the User Drum Bank.

The cool thing about doing it this way is that you can set the velocity assignment changes PER KIT in the DM-Pro and still use your normal drum map on the Zendrum, without having to have different Zendrum maps for different drumsets. For instance, if some of your kits have the snare crossfade and others do not, you could still use just ONE notemap on the Zendrum, and just switch kits in the DM-Pro.

Also, in the DM-Pro crossfades, you can assign just 2 notes or 3 to be crossfaded, while in the Zendrum it is always 4 (of course, you could assign the first 2 notes of the crossfade the same, and the last 2 the same, effectively getting a 2-note crossfade). An added bonus in the DM's crossfade: the sounds actually "overlap" when you play velocities near the "crossover" point. This could be a good thing OR a bad thing depending on the effect you are after, so choose wisely between using the Zendrum's crossfade or the DM-Pro's.

Single pad, Multiple Sounds:

There are FOUR different functions that could be described as multiple sounds on one pad, so I will address them all.

1. Velocity Crossfade (see above).

2. Alternate sounds controlled through MIDI (like open/closed Hi-Hat). There are a few ways to do this: either by plugging a hi-hat control pedal into your module and assigning the notes you want to alternate between to the module's hi-hat numbers, OR by using the sustain switch in the Zendrum (see my how-to on the Zendrum Resource Site).

3. Note Stacking: this is when a pad is hit, and multiple sounds are played at the same time (like bass drum/crash cymbal). Some people would call this cheating!!! LOL!!! There is no way to do it just on the Zendrum since it allows only one note number per pad, but it can be done through Midi with the DM-Pro (but not in the TD-10). In the DM-Pro, there are two ways to do it. One way is to go into Drum Edit mode and assign different instruments to the four available Sounds in the Drum (see manual) and then save the drum in the User Drum Bank. This method allows up to four sounds simultaneously.

An easier way is to use DrumLink. DrumLink will only allow two sounds, but is easy to use. You simply assign a SECOND note number to be played in unison with another. So in our example, you would set the DrumLink number of the Bass Drum to the Crash Cymbal's note number.

4. Tap Sequence: This is when a pre-set chain of sounds come out when a single pad is played multiple times in succession. For example, a bass line consisting of twelve notes, each played one-at-a-time, are heard when you tap ONE pad twelve times. This is not possible on the DM-Pro, but can be done with the TD-10 (it's tricky though!)

The problem is, the sequences in the TD-10 can ONLY be played through the trigger inputs; NOT through Midi (i.e., Zendrum). So to use the feature on the Zendrum, you must "trick" the TD-10. The way to do it is this:

You will need ANOTHER Midi device (I use a Roland R-5 drum machine) as a "Midi-to-Trigger Interface". Plug the Zendrum into the drum machine via Midi, plug the Midi Thru of the drum machine to the Midi In of the TD-10, and plug the AUDIO output(s) of the drum machine into the Trigger Inputs of the TD-10. The R-5 has six outputs, so I can do up to six of these tap sequences (or at least I could before I sold my TD-10...) Assign a sound that has a short attack (I use a cross-stick sample) to the same note number of the pad on the Zendrum you want to use, and route that sound to the output you are using on the drum machine. Then assign the trigger input you are using on the TD-10 to control the Tap Sequence you have stored (in this case, our 12-note bass line). Now when you play that pad twelve times, you should hear the bass line notes in order! You can ALSO put a sound from the TD-10 in WITH the bass line...like a ride cymbal for instance, by assigning it to the same note number that the Zendrum is outputting to the drum machine. It can be tricky to get the audio output of the drum machine matched with the input level of the trigger inputs on the TD-10, but once they are set, they can easily be duplicated.