EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

On 22/08/2005, at 4:58 AM, Sascha Franck wrote:

> I won't be able to answer your questions about good natural drums in 
> EXS format, but when it comes to drums, I can only recommend
> getting a dedicated drum sampler.
> Not only do they usually come with a good array of properly 
> multisampled and mapped kits - they will also make your life easier in 
> a
> lot of other ways.
> The main thing being that tweaking of individual drum instruments 
> inside a kit is WAY easier than doing so inside the EXS.
>
> An example: You may want to route your velocity to sample start. That 
> way, say, a snare would only playback with the full "twang"
> when being hit hard. In the EXS such a modulation is only possible for 
> the complete set (and it might not make much sense on quite
> some instruments but snare, toms and kicks). In almost any dedicated 
> drum sampler you can easily set up these sorts of modulations
> on a "per key/instrument" base.
>
> Or well, another one: Try to detune a single snare or whatever. In the 
> EXS you'd have to enter the instrument editor, select the
> appropriate zone, alter the tuning and save the instrument under 
> another name. This is even getting worse when dealing with velocity
> layered snares as you'd have to do the tuning job for each zone. On a 
> dedicated drum sampler you'd just adjust it after selecting
> the appropriate "pad" and be done. No need to resave anything either 
> as everything will be saved with your songfile.
>
> The same goes for using multiple outs. You'd have to alter your EXS 
> patches and be stuck with the output assignments unless you'd
> resave the patch again. On a dedicated drum sampler this is done 
> easily and won't require resaving.
>
> As for now, there's two drum samplers I could recommend: NIs Battery 2 
> or Linplugs RMIV. As said, both are coming with a good
> assortment of kits as well.
> If you got some time, you may want to wait for FXpansions Drum 9, 
> which might appear end of the year or so. Should be the "mother of
> all drumsamplers" if I got the teasers right.

These are all good points Sascha that apply to esx and other generic 
sampler instruments - except in one setting which happens to be the way 
I use EXS as drum sampler most often.

One of the Libraries I use a bit is the Wizoo Mixtend mentioned 
elsewhere in this thread. It's a typical multiple velocity sampled drum 
instrument with dry, overhead and room sample sets inculded.

I load up multiple EXS instances with the same kit loaded. One for each 
drum sound I'm using. It doesn't take up any more ram to load multiple 
instances of the SAME kit as many times as you like - nor does it use 
up much more CPU than if you have one loaded. By working one drum sound 
per instrument almost all the almost all the criticisms you level at 
using EXS as drum sampler are avoided.

Unless you want to build a custom kit you never have to open the editor.

If you want to do a custom modulation routing for one of the sounds, 
simply do it in the EXS instrument panel and save the song. These 
settings get saved and you don't have to worry about saving a custom 
EXS instrument.

To change the tuning or even envelope of and individual sound - just do 
on the instrument pointing to that sound. Not even BFD (which I love) 
can change the envelope of a specific sound. Once again all adjustments 
are saved with the song. No need to save a custom EXS instrument.

Working this way it's much quicker to set up individual processing, pan 
and level per sound. You don't have to mess with multiple outputs - and 
if you're working with Logic pre ver7 you won't have to worry about 
plugin delay compensation when working this way either - which is kind 
of why I developed this technique.

When working with multiple output instruments I also hate having to 
assign Aux objects to tracks in the arrange window just so I can see 
and edit them in my track mixer - another reason I prefer this EXS 
technique and miss it when I work with other drum samplers. I've tried 
working this way with BFD but it just chokes the computer and doesn't 
seem to have the same intelligence as EXS in this way.

There are other features I like about BFD over working in EXS for drums 
like the ambience control being more intuitive. But there's nothing you 
can do in BFD that you can't do in EXS. It may be a little easier but 
that's all - and I do miss being able to use some of the aforementioned 
techniques available when using EXS for drums.

Haven't really worked with DFH or Kontact which get mentioned a lot and 
seem well liked so I can't say about them.

Kind regards
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Paul Najar
Jaminajar Music Production
www.jaminajar.com