Friday, February 19, 2016

Beat Assembler XT

Beat Assembler XT is drum computer instrument based on experimental design, extended version of previously posted Beat Assembler 48. It is using randomly or manually generated pattern model, which is then being used as basis for creating a drum sequence. The machine is using series of quantizers and sound mappers to re-shape model pattern, fitting it into a time-frame of choice, allowing user to observe the results on the fly.

New and expanded features in  XT version:
  • bigger master sequence size (128 notes) and more optimized calculations, which it would require,
  • 99999 automatic pattern generator presets,
  • up to 16 voice groups,
  • drag'n'drop MIDI export, drop final pattern directly to DAW, or to a file manager to create a midi file,
  • preset system, 10 memory slots and support for saving sequences to a file (so they can be loaded into another Beat Assembler patch),
  • displacer mechanism, introduce 'little changes' to a pattern with single knob,
  • expanded manual editor with handful of new tweaks (including copy/paste mechanism, so you can drop a portion of one pattern into another easily),
  • filter bank access, filter type can be set quickly from drop-down menu, for each voice group individually,
  • resizeable drum kit, makes it easy to create custom drum kits, use the machine as sample shell,
  • 12 patches, including a re-creation of obscure polish analog drum machine from the 80's (which I took apart and soldered voice on/off switches, so I could capture each sound separately and then hand programmed re-constructed rhythm patterns in Beat Assembler),
  • 36 hand programmed patterns (as opposed to automatically generated ones) to experiment with (can be loaded from file in nka format),
  • five background variations, change the machine looks in setup panel,
  • and, as usual, a fairly confusing manual in strange English.
Here's a video overview, jamming with three instances of Beat Assembler in standalone Kontakt:


Beat Assembler XT is available on Loot Audio.

It requires full version of Kontakt 5.5.1 or newer to run (Free version will run on Kontakt 4, but XT is actually using Kontakt's new features, like changing filter type from script).

2 comments:

  1. I searched the sampleism site, but Beat Assembler XT isn't there. Is it still available somewhere? This looks very fun and useful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Beat Assembler XT can now be found at Kontakt Hub.

      Delete