EXS 24 Logic Sampler Users Group

If the guys at Emagic walked into your studio and asked you what 5 features
you'd like added to the next version/update, what would they be?  Off the
top of my head:

1.  Separate, independent layers for unique controller response, filters,
etc.
2.  The addition of more DSP (particularly distortion or other mangling
processes ala Kurzweil's "shaper"), with the possibility of controlling it
with                   MIDI/automation.
3.  Better file-handling.
4.  alternate controller response curves (maybe there's already a
workaround).
5.  extensive drag-and-drop editing in the "edit" window.

Okay, off the top of my head ...

1. "Random" as a proper modulation source. Add it to the list now!

2. Give instrument files a "notepad" text area, or implement standard 
copyright/comments/etc fields. 
Heck, why not go all the way and implement them as RIFF file info 
fields, that way we can automatically see the information on the 
desktop as "extended file" info (WinXP can show all this stuff on the 
desktop and lets you sort files by info field data -- 
author/project/date/etc. I guess OSX probably does too ... as long as 
someone's actually bothered to put the info in to begin with).

3. While we are at it, utilise the existing info fields that are 
already part of various wavedata file specs -- allow the user to copy 
or stamp "instrument" ownership info onto all the sample files used 
by the instrument, using the standard tags/chunks that are there for 
this sort of thing. I think its crazy that some companies make all 
this fuss about copyright theft, and people nicking their samples, 
and then they don't even bother to stamp their own sample libraries 
with ownership data before they sell them. 
.WAV files (etc) have had this facility as standard ever since they 
were introduced (back when Win3.1 was launched!) but too many 
companies ignore all the copyright and classification fields (Logic 
really ought to support all these fields, too, naughty emagic, 
slapped wrist!). 

4. Ability to drag and move keyranges with the mouse. If I have an 
imported drumkit that's set one octave too high on the keyboard, I 
want to be able to select all the keygroups and drag them down an 
octave, not open and edit them individually      

5. Dry/effect send control
Allow a controller # or modulation source to fade the output 
between "1&2" and "3&4". So that way we could set up different 
effects, eq, etc on two logic mixer channels and have velocity etc 
controlling how much of the sound for each note goes to each stereo 
channel. Play soft notes on your guitar patch and hear lots of chorus 
and reverb on 1&2, then let loose with some hard notes and hear the 
new notes with a hard biting dry EQ on 3&4 (while the wet notes are 
still decaying away in the background). 

6. Dummy "modulation source" entries for possible extended note 
parameters (velocity2, velocity3, etc)? It would sure be nice to edit 
additional value settings per-note on logic's event edit page.

Oops, that's six.

On a fine day, 20-04-2003, Eric Baird wrote:

>4. Ability to drag and move keyranges with the mouse. If I have an
>imported drumkit that's set one octave too high on the keyboard, I
>want to be able to select all the keygroups and drag them down an
>octave, not open and edit them individually

You do know about the "move zone with/without keynote" keycommands, 
don't you?  Select all zones, press the proper key, and all zones 
shift up or down, with or without the keynote moving along.  Check 
the EXS section in the key command window.  Couldn't live without 
those...

>5. Dry/effect send control
>Allow a controller # or modulation source to fade the output
>between "1&2" and "3&4". So that way we could set up different
>effects, eq, etc on two logic mixer channels and have velocity etc
>controlling how much of the sound for each note goes to each stereo
>channel.

How about open instrument editor, select all, copy, paste and then 
assign the duplicate groups to out 3&4?  Use a controller to fade 
between the groups.  Would do exactly what you describe imo.

-- 
Hendrik Jan Veenstra  <h@...>
Omega Art: http://www.omega-art.com/

> You do know about the "move zone with/without keynote" keycommands,
> don't you?  Select all zones, press the proper key, and all zones
> shift up or down, with or without the keynote moving along.  Check
> the EXS section in the key command window.  Couldn't live without
> those...

Great but..

How to select multiple zones? We have the choice between all zones and one
by one. GRRR

Two important points missing (for me) :

1/ When I load multiple samples, I haven't the choice to "append" new
samples to existing ones when I choose Chromatic mode. "Sniff"

2/ I even can't choose my start key "Sniff again"! Always C1...

jeff.parent@... wrote: 

>
> > You do know about the "move zone with/without keynote" keycommands,
> > don't you?  Select all zones, press the proper key, and all zones
> > shift up or down, with or without the keynote moving along.  Check
> > the EXS section in the key command window.  Couldn't live without
> > those...
>
> Great but..
>
> How to select multiple zones? We have the choice between all zones and one
> by one. GRRR



Shift Clicking allows multiple selection -- clumsy but it works. 


>
> Two important points missing (for me) :
>
> 1/ When I load multiple samples, I haven't the choice to "append" new
> samples to existing ones when I choose Chromatic mode. "Sniff"



Paste in the second lot and they will be a new group. Use the key command to
select all the samples pointing to that group (if they aren't already selected)
and then use the keycommand to move them to the right as many semitones as
necessary.


>
> 2/ I even can't choose my start key "Sniff again"! Always C1...


Again with the keycommands to move  the samples. There are four -- two for up
and down shifting the root note and two for up and down leaving the root note
where it is. 

Regards,
M

On a fine day, 21-04-2003, Jeff PARENT wrote:

>  > You do know about the "move zone with/without keynote" keycommands,
>>  don't you?  Select all zones, press the proper key, and all zones
>>  shift up or down, with or without the keynote moving along.  Check
>>  the EXS section in the key command window.  Couldn't live without
>>  those...
>
>Great but..
>
>How to select multiple zones? We have the choice between all zones and one
>by one. GRRR

Or rubber-banding in the lower part of the editor.  But I agree that 
I would kill to have the ability to rubber-band, drag-move and 
drag-expand/shrink in the top (graphical) part...

>Two important points missing (for me) :
>
>1/ When I load multiple samples, I haven't the choice to "append" new
>samples to existing ones when I choose Chromatic mode. "Sniff"
>
>2/ I even can't choose my start key "Sniff again"! Always C1...

Yes, those are silly indeed.  Although both are relatively easily 
fixed by using the "move zones with rootnote" keycommand.

-- 
Hendrik Jan Veenstra  <h@...>
Omega Art: http://www.omega-art.com/

--- In exs-users@yahoogroups.com, Hendrik Jan Veenstra <h@k...> wrote:
> 
> You do know about the "move zone with/without keynote" keycommands, 
> don't you?  Select all zones, press the proper key, and all zones 
> shift up or down, with or without the keynote moving along.  Check 
> the EXS section in the key command window.  Couldn't live without 
> those...

"Shift zones" key commands ... no, I didn't actually. 
Thanks Hendrik, that's ==really== useful!
(I'm currently importing some large drumkit sample sets that that 
start at C0, so having them auto-assigned to "C1 upwards" was a pain)


> > ...
> How about open instrument editor, select all, copy, paste and then 
> assign the duplicate groups to out 3&4?  Use a controller to fade 
> between the groups.  Would do exactly what you describe imo.

Very good! Thanks again. 
I obviously need to assing some more time to learning about the 
really useful new EXS Mk2 stuff 
(or, on reflection, perhaps I'll live with the knowledge that I'm not 
an EXS expert, and spent the time on music instead)

[Erk]
(bowing and genuflecting copiously to Hendrik the EXS guru)

Hi y'all,

I just added some stuff to the Logic FAQ -- mainly in chapters 2, 8 
and 9 (ch.9 now also containing a small EXS section).  Chapter 10 is 
new and is, for now, a tiny collection of "misc tips & tricks".  This 
one will be split in audio/midi/etc once it's big enough.
I have plenty more stuff to add, but one can only do so much on one day, right?

Here it is:
http://www.omega-art.com/logic/faq/


enjoy,
HJ, who obvioulsy finished his thesis last week and so now again has 
time for more important things like FAQs and such... :-)

-- 
Hendrik Jan Veenstra  <h@...>
Omega Art: http://www.omega-art.com/

Hendrik wrote: 
>
> I just added some stuff to the Logic FAQ -- mainly in chapters 2, 8 
> and 9 (ch.9 now also containing a small EXS section).  Chapter 10 is 
> new and is, for now, a tiny collection of "misc tips & tricks".  This 
> one will be split in audio/midi/etc once it's big enough.
> I have plenty more stuff to add, but one can only do so much on one day,
> right?


Thanks for your efforts on the FAQ -- and those of the other contributors.

Regards,
Murray

I just added some stuff to the Logic FAQ -- mainly in chapters 2, 8 
and 9 (ch.9 now also containing a small EXS section).  Chapter 10 is 
new and is, for now, a tiny collection of "misc tips & tricks".  This 
one will be split in audio/midi/etc once it's big enough.
I have plenty more stuff to add, but one can only do so much on one day,
right?

Here it is:
http://www.omega-art.com/logic/faq/ <http://www.omega-art.com/logic/faq/> 


enjoy,
HJ, who obvioulsy finished his thesis last week and so now again has 
time for more important things like FAQs and such... :-) 

Cool! And congratulations on your thesis... (Dr.?) Jan Veenstra...
 
    -smeet
 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Top of my list would be-:

1. Being able to program with EXS set to ASIO for example, and then 
load the song on a TDM machine and for EXS to remember what samples 
were loaded!

Quicker loading of samples, it takes forever to bring up the samples, 
around 15 seconds to bring up the list once you've pressed and held 
it, then about 20 secs for the sample to load! We have around 50GB of 
samples, which we've reduced to around 30 using an 'unused 
folder,which makes it quicker, but still slow. 

That would be be great!
Cheers
Ry

--- In exs-users@yahoogroups.com, "truenorthryan" 
<truenorthryan@h...> wrote:
> Quicker loading of samples, it takes forever to bring up the 
samples, 
> around 15 seconds to bring up the list once you've pressed 
and held 
> it, then about 20 secs for the sample to load! 

actually, I just used the project manager for the second time. 1st 
time it bomed on me, but now, my exs samples load very quickly. 
Have you tried that?

teddybut

Essentials:

1) no more 32 zones limit per key
2) a polyphony voices grouping system independent of the group function
(like Halion and the best: Kontakt) makes possible using drum sets in a
serious way... maybe with note priority (like Kontakt) chosen for fro every
zone or group...
Now you can't have a group with Open Hat samples and a Group with Closed
Hats and make them have together only one voice polyphony... you have to put
all the Hats zones in one group... very limiting...
3) envelopes for every zone (or at least for every group, no more offsets
please)
4) filter for every zone (or at least group! see above)
5) more than one "play condition" for every group - more than onbe Midi CC
to select groups...
6) why not play conditions on samples?
7) multi timbral/channel - it's a nightmare to build and use seriously drum
kits: I have kits with different outs and have some 50 auxes only to deal
with them and I am wasting a lot of plugin power... confusing
8) multi point envelopes
9) a better editor: presets for zone and key velocity splits in multiload
menu (this way you can load and set the vel or key range automatically based
on the number of samples you import...)
10) drag and drop and draggable velocity and key ranges on the visula editor
display (like Halion and Kontakt... or even better)
11) chance to substitute a serie of samples with another (to speed up
programming) with intelligent folder scanning and stuff like that...
12) Folder samples organization: instead of only zones and groups make it
possible to nest folders of samples (groups) like you can do in Halion: very
simple to make drum instruments and to layer different sounds... you could
load the differnet "folder" inside an instrument... think about it!
13) a real time stretch/transpose engine? like Kontakt or Sample Tank 2...
14) a better real time transpose engine... it's easy to encounter digital
aliasing and similar artifacts...
16) indipendent envelopes for every sample or at least group...

I love EXS 'cause it's simple to use, but a nightmare to program.. I had to
leave EXS development for my sample library and move on to Halion 2 and
Kontakt... far better engines right now!
please Emagic, move on!

Best,

Simone Coen
www.chocolateaudio.com

I would ask for true multi-timbral capacity first.
Even the cheaper EXSP has this.
Then, Real-Time timestretching and drag-drop samples would be nice.
___________________
Yavuz AKYAZICI  
Guitar Player  
http://yavuz.dhs.org

____________________
Logic Setup  
____________________
Powerbook G4 1Ghz, 1G RAM
MOTU 896  
Logic Control  
MIDIMAN USB 2X2  
Logic Platinum  
EXS24  
EVB3  
EVP88  
EVD6  
Kontakt  
Sample Tank XL  
PSP 84 & 42  
CDXtracxt