PERFORMER NOTES

We conclude our look at DP3's Drum Editor window, learn more about zooming and scrolling functions and input strips, and round up all the usual MOTU-related news and advice.

Robin Bigwood

I've been taking a closer look at DP3's Drum Editor window in this column for the last couple of months, and it's time to finish off by examining the Rhythm Brush.

In DP 2.7 the Rhythm Brush can be found in the Drum Editor window, and in DP3 it's in the Tool Bar. Either way, MOTU promise that it will let you 'paint' in drum parts in a variety of rhythmic styles, and it's certainly very useful, even if you just use it to construct simple MIDI drum 'guide' parts.

To get going, you just need to create a single drum part in the note list in the Drum Editor window and select the Rhythm Brush tool. You'll then see its settings pane appear in the lower-left pane of the Drum Editor window (see screen grab below). Initially it offers only 'Default' and a couple of editing options, but if you go down the pane and click on 'Custom', a pop-up menu appears with plenty of ready-built patterns for you to try. Just select one and then, back in the Note Grid, you can 'paint in' your rhythm. Remember that you may need to zoom to a greater view resolution to really see what's going on (more on this later in the column). You'll also notice that you can use the Rhythm Brush with abandon -- it doesn't have to go from left to right, and you don't need to worry about velocity, which is stored as part of the pattern. If you think you'll be using the pattern you've selected quite a bit in your sequence, it might be worth going back up to the Preset pop-up menu and selecting 'Save Pattern' -- that way you can select it from the pop-up menu.

You can also store your own rhythmic patterns so that they're available to any other projects you open (patterns stored in the Preset menu are project-specific). This is done by selecting some MIDI data and clicking on the Rhythm Brush, selecting Custom in the Drum Editor's settings pane, and then entering a name for the pattern and clicking the Learn button. Your pattern is now in the 'Select a Rhythmic Pattern' pop-up list, which can be accessed from any project.

You can also use the Rhythm Brush to paint in patterns based on a standard rhythmic grid (you get a range of note values to select from) or 'Raw Ticks'. This allows you to specify the interval between the beats with great precision and allows really complex, mathematically-based rhythm parts to be constructed. For both Grid and Raw Ticks mode there's a 'Use Alternating Strokes' option which allows you to alter note velocity on alternate beats, and is good for believable hi-hat parts.

Before we leave the Drum Editor, it's worth pointing out that despite its name, you don't have to use it for drums (a point so simple that it's often overlooked). There's nothing to say that you shouldn't use it for programming all sorts of melodic and chordal parts. In fact, by having to specify pitches and work within a predefined rhythmic framework, it's possible to get a fairly strong analogue-sequencer-style vibe -- perfect for a Jean-Michel Jarre/Kraftwerk feel. Working with pitched sounds in the Drum Editor is no different to working with drums, except that it's probably worthwhile really getting to grips with both of the duration-based Data Display modes (as explained last month). Also, when entering notes with the Pencil tool, the tool's settings are displayed in the Drum Editor's lower-left pane, and the default duration and velocity for all new notes can be changed here.

Remember that a lot can be achieved, too, with the Change Velocity and Change Duration MIDI plug-in effects in the Mixing Board, especially if you're looking for a quick way to experiment with velocity or duration settings for a whole section of music.

Although it's not hard to spot zoom buttons in several of DP3's editing windows, they offer only simple facilities. As with so many things in DP3 (and Macs in general) it's possible to work much more quickly and efficiently by learning a few keyboard shortcuts and the odd new technique.

An absolutely fundamental zoom shortcut is the combination of the Apple and arrow keys. For example, holding down the Apple key and hitting the right arrow zooms in your edit window view horizontally, whereas holding Apple and hitting the down arrow zooms out vertically. Adding the Option key (marked 'Alt' on some keyboards) to these shortcuts zooms in or out to the extremes of the zoom range. So, for example, using the Apple and Option keys with the right arrow in the Sequence Editor zooms the view of soundbites to individual sample level.

Another handy shortcut is 'Zoom To Selection', which is accessed by holding down the Apple and Option keys and hitting 'S'. This is particularly handy if you've selected some MIDI data and quickly want to edit it at the optimum resolution. An alternative approach is to hold down the Option key and drag with the mouse in the time ruler, which expands the section you drag over to occupy the full width of the editing window. Actually, holding down the Option key and dragging with the mouse is an old pre-DP3 technique, and nowadays the same can be achieved by dragging in the time ruler with the Zoom tool selected. But, as I've said before, it's much better not to select the Zoom tool with the mouse, instead accessing it by pressing 'Z' in any graphic-based editing window. Using the Zoom tool, there are two main options:

Hold down the 'Z' key and click in an editing window to zoom in one level (hold down 'Z', the Option key and click to zoom out);

Hold down the 'Z' key and drag the mouse in a window to zoom horizontally (and vertically) to the selection.

DP3 maintains a 'zoom history' in editing windows, and by holding down the Apple key and hitting the '[' and ']' keys respectively, you can move backwards and forwards through this. This function is very handy when editing audio, as you can zoom to a very detailed selection (perhaps showing individual samples) to make precise edits, then hold down the Apple key and hit '[' to jump back out to an overview of the same section. If you need to make a further adjustment, you can then use Apple and ']' to jump right in to your previous detail view. An alternative approach is to use the so-called 'Zoom to Normal Zoom' command, which is accessed from the keyboard by holding down the Apple and Option keys together and hitting the 'Z' key.

Finally, you can define three individual 'zoom settings' in each editing window, which are then accessible independently from the Zoom History. To define a zoom setting, just zoom to the required level of detail and select 'Set Zoom Setting 1' from the editing window's mini-menu. You can do this for two more settings, and then recall them by holding down the Apple and Option keys and typing the stored zoom setting's number.

Remember that the amount of vertical zoom for each track in the Sequence Editor can be controlled by the little 'magnifying glass' pop-up -- this is essential for editing very low-amplitude soundbites, amongst other things. Also, if you're finding it hard to remember all of DP3's zooming shortcuts, you can change them in the Commands window (accessed from the Windows menu).

Compared to the plethora of zoom functions on offer, scrolling options are much more limited. The combinations of the Control key with the left and right arrows, which scroll any editing window a screenful at a time, are very useful, but I think I'm not alone in bemoaning the lack of a 'scroll just a little bit'

MOTU News     X MARKS THE SPOT They've been hidden away somewhat, but since Christmas there have been some new OS X MIDI drivers lurking on MOTU's web site at www.motu.com/downloads/MTPMac. At the time of writing, they're only beta versions, but at least it goes to show that MOTU is taking the new OS seriously. A deafening silence on the development of DP3 'X' at the moment, though... 896 INTERFACE Continuing the trend established by the 828 audio interface, MOTU recently announced the 896, which also uses FireWire to connect to the host computer. The 896 is rather a handsome beast, with built in mic preamps, phantom power, 96kHz support and decent front-panel metering. In MOTU user circles, though, the 896 has been fuelling speculation that we've now seen the last of any new interfaces based around the PCI324 PCI card. Equally, though, there have been a few whispers about a joint PCI324/FireWire driver, which would allow, for example, an 896 to be used alongside a 1224. Pure speculation, I think, but an intriguing idea.

Incidentally, the top three options in the Auto Scroll window are very useful (as well as being self-explanatory -- see the screenshot on the left) because having the option to make fewer windows follow the counter during playback (or even during manual scrolling of a single window) can help to make DP3 feel much much responsive at higher processor loads.

I promised last month that I'd divulge some intriguing possibilities using what I termed 'input strip' auxes. The following suggestions make use of multiple inputs and MAS plug-ins that have side-chain access (see August 2001's Performer Notes, or surf to www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug01/articles/motunotes0801.asp for more information), and they're just a taster of what can be cooked up with a little imagination.

First off, you could try placing Multimode Filter on an aux handling the output of a synth or guitar, and then set up another aux which will carry a microphone input. Route the output of this microphone aux to a buss, then select the same buss in Multimode Filter's side-chain input pop-up menu and set the Modulation Source switch to 'env'. Set the filter's mix parameter to 100 percent and its 'Center' (ie. cutoff frequency) to around 1000Hz. Now the microphone input will control the opening and closing of the filter (according to the settings in the Filter's 'envelope') panel, allowing you in turn to control the action of the filter on your synth or guitar sound in real time, simply by, say, talking into the mic. You won't hear the mic signal, but you shouldn't be unaware of its presence!

Another setup along similar lines is to put the MAS Ring Modulator on a vocal 'input strip' then create another aux whose output goes via a buss to the Ring Modulator's side-chain (configured with its 'modulation source' pop-up menu). If you set the mix parameter to, say 50 percent, the vocal signal passes through the Ring Modulator unaltered when no signal is present on this second aux, but by feeding various signals through it (from a guitar, keyboard, CD player, or whatever) you can achieve some astonishing vocal effects that range from odd to unlistenably disgusting.

If you fancy bringing audio and MIDI a little closer (conceptually speaking) you could try putting the Trigger plug-in (see screen grab above) on an input strip, and setting it up to drive a MIDI device. It's not pitch-to-MIDI conversion, but it could help you to develop some distinctive MIDI drum parts, for example. Make sure you read all about Trigger in the DP3 manual, though -- it needs a few other bits of DP and FreeMIDI to be set up correctly before it works properly.

Quick TipsIf DP3 plays back audio OK but refuses to make a sound when trimming or scrubbing soundbites, check the Outputs tab in the Audio Bundles window. DP3 always uses the output or output pair at the top of the list for this sort of soundbite 'auditioning', so just use the grab handles to move your desired output to the top of the list.

If the colour DP3 uses for highlighting data clashes with those in your sequences or makes things hard to read, you can change it, but it isn't controlled from within DP3; you have to go into the Appearance control panel in the Mac's Finder. To change it (in OS 9, at least) open the control panel, click on the Appearance tab and use the Highlight Colour menu to select from an array of pastel colours, or choose a colour of your own.

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