Monday, October 20, 2014

Automatable MIDI channel router script for Kontakt

This is my first exercise in writing a multiscript for Kontakt. It's a little tool to route MIDI messages between channels inside Kontakt. It may be used to switching instruments with keys or controllers while playing. It looks like this:


The top row of buttons is where you select the destination channel, these buttons can be automated, with keys of CC controllers. There are two routing modes: single channel is where you redirect midi messages to a channel of choice, in multi channel you can select multiple channels as destination, so you can reprogram a multi instrument setup live.
There are three ways of automation. Use keys, is where you assign keyboard keys as channel switches. You set (manually or by learn button) "start_from" parameter to point to first key number to use, from now on following 16 keys will be used to toggle channels switches. If you don't need to automate all 16 channels, or don't want to trade off so many keys, you can reduce automation range with "size" parameter. You can do the same using CC controllers, "use multi CC" option. Or, if you only use "single channel" destination, you can "use single CC" controller to set destination channel. Automation source can be assigned to any port / any channel, or a specified channel. So you could for example use one controller to play and another controller to select instruments. And this is how it works...


If you'd like to try it, download plain text file, or Kontakt preset file (to place in Kontakt's presets/multiscripts folder). It should work in Kontakt 4.2.4 or newer, I'm not sure about earlier versions. I tested it roughly and it seems to work, but there are no guarantees, so use it at your own risk. Also remember that it is multiscript, you insert it in multi rack, on top of all instruments (use the "scroll" button to activate multiscript rack).

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Mufftronic Percussion and FX

Today, I am happily proud to present the mufftronic percussion set, which takes electronic drum kit idea to another level of quality. These sounds have been generated by mighty analogue table modular system, consisting of module 1: Korg Monotron Duo; and module 2: Big Muff Pi. It has been nicknamed The Mufftron and it delivers fuzzily pristine low fidelity bleeps.

It sounds like this:
http://www.fairlyconfusing.net/docs/mufftronic.mp3

There sure is some flavor of 80's arcade games / chip-tune madness in there...

The kit contains 182 samples in wav format, 44.1 kHz, 16 bit. Samples are named in somewhat abstract manner, so don't be surprised, if you pick a sample named 'snare' and you get a bleep. Volume envelopes have been superimposed digitally, either edited by hand, or copied from acoustic hit sounds (mainly junk percussion kit) via envelope follower.

You can get it here. 5MB RAR file, 12MB when unpacked. Free to download and free to use in your bleepings.