EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

--- In exs-users@yahoogroups.com, Garth Hjelte <garth@c...> wrote:

> This was the part of the mystery that I didn't get. How is it that hi-hats 
> played polyphonically sound better? 

They just do :)

If you sit on an electronic drum kit and play rock style (fours or eighths on the open hat), 
you will see why mono open hats sound *awful* and poly open hats sound much better. 

Technically it sounds like it would be wrong as a real hat isn't quite polyphonic, but it isn't 
quite monophonic either, as notes and frequencies blend into each other when you hit 
already resonating cymbals. At least with poly hats you get a wash of open cymbals which 
gives a decent enough effect.

> The problem is in the premise: "...I want to be able to play the open hat 
> polyphonically as it sounds much better." Again, how? Real drums don't work 
> this way. 

I hope I've explained this. If in doubt and you don't have a kit, try it on the keyboard. Have 
a open hat sample that rings (usually for a couple of seconds for good samples). Make it 
monophonic and play a rock pattern on the open hats. It's really ugly. make it poly and try 
the same thing.

> You can play the open hats on different keys, which will sound like they 
> fall into each other on repeated hits. B1 will cut both off.

The issue with different keys is that I'm playing them from one pad. The moment you set 
up different keys/zones/EXS instances etc then you need some environment solution to 
remap hits from your own pad to different cyclic notes.

This is what we have been discussion the last week or so, coming up with these kinds of 
workarounds.