dronar distorchestra manual (pw changes)...hold down 1 to 4 keys: 1 key will give you an...
TRANSCRIPT
CONTENTS
1–WELCOME!
2–OVERVIEW
3–SNAPSHOTSPRESETSYSTEM
4–INSTALLATION&QUICKSTART
5–THEMIDIKEYS
6–MAINPAGE
7–SOUNDSPAGE
8–EXPERTPAGE
9–LFO&FXPAGE
10–ARPEGGIATORPAGE
11–MASTERFXPAGE
12–USINGEXTERNALMIDICONTROLLERS
13–RECORDINGDIALCHANGESTOYOURDAW
14–SAVINGYOURPRESETS
15–LICENSEAGREEMENT
16–TIPS
17–TROUBLESHOOTING
18–FINALWORDS
1–WELCOME!
ThankyouforbuyingtheDRONARDistorchestraModule.DRONARisadeep,expressiveandinnova@veatmosphericsoundcreator,eachmoduleexploringadifferentareaofsound&music.InDistorchestra,liverecordingsofbrass,woodwindsandstringseffectsandnoteshavebeenexpertlyprocessedandtransformedbysounddesignmasterAlessandroCamnasiointostrangenewsoundsthatretaintheorganic,[email protected]’sgloriousengine8separatesoundsareanimatedbyindependentarpeggiatorsandmodula@onstoconjureanotherworldly,evolvingsynthengine.
ABOUT
GothicInstrumentsareDanGraham(productdesign)andAdamHanley(programming).DanisalsothefounderoftrailermusiccompanyGothicStormMusic.AdamownsIcebreakerAudioandhasscriptedmanyblockbusterproducts.TheincredibleaudiowasperformedandrecordedbyWilliamArnoldandeditedbyGiovanniTria.
TheGUI&boxartisbyDarinLeachwithdialanima@onsbyKokeNúñezGómez.
Presetshavecreatorini@alsonthefoldernames,andthosecreatorsareAlessandroCamnasio,J.GabrielRodrigues,GiscardRasquin,JonathanSharp,KyleKniceleyandVinkoBorčić.
2–OVERVIEW
AUNIVERSEFROMANOTE:
DRONARcreatesmind-expandingatmospheresfromaverysmallnumberofnotesplayed(1to4recommended).Itautoma@callyspreadsoutthechordinthemid-range,addsarootbassnote,ahighnoteandthenaddsevolvingsoundeffects.8simultaneousdifferentsoundsarethenanimatedwithLFOs,arhythmsequencerandarpeggiatorstobringthemtolife.Theresultsarerichanddrama@c.
AHANDFREEFOREXPRESSION:
ThissoniccomplexityfromonehandfreesuptheothertoexpressivelycontroldialswithmousedragsorexternalMIDIcontrollerknobs,andrecordthechangesasaperformanceinyourDAW.Subtledialmovementsgivedeepexpression,idealforsoundtracksaswellashighlyexpressivepads,paWernsandatmospheresinanygenre.
ACOMPLETEATMOSPHERE:
BecauseDRONARinstantlyaddslow,mid-rangeandhighsoundsplussoundeffects,youbarelyneedothernon-Dronarsoundstoquicklycreateacompletepieceofatmospheric,expressivemusic.
BEGINNERANDEXPERTFRIENDLY:
Needingtoonlyplayafewnotesandmoveafewdialstogetsuchrichexpressionisinvi@ngforbeginners,butanexpertwillgetfurtherbyknowingwhatnotestoplayandhowtoexpressemo@onsusingthedials.Beyondtheshimmeringimmediacyofthe‘MainPage’awaitsawholeotherworldofexpertcontrol,turningDRONARintoavastmodularmul@-@mbralsynth/samplerwithmul@pleindependentarpeggiators.
DRONAR’SPRESETHIERARCHY–BRIEFOVERVIEW
DRONARstartsfromthousandsofevolvingsampleloops.8oftheseareloadedintoeachpreset,whichcanbeaudi@onedbynaviga@ngthesnapshotsbrowseronthemainpage.
SYSTEMREQUIREMENTS:
Minimumrequirements(Dronarwillrun,butnotmanyinstances,andfreezingwillbeneededtorunalongsideotherresource-hungryplugins):
• 4cores,i5• 4GBRAM• Windows7-10orOSX10.11andabove• Kontakt5.8• Avoiddirectlyhos@nginLogicProXwithapre-2014orlesspowerfulMac(LogicProXforcesDronartorunononecorewhichcanleadtoCPUspikesonlesspowerfulorolderMacsincludingMacPros,soadifferentDAWorexternalhostsuchasVEPROisrecommendedtoavoidthis)
Recommendedsystem(Dronarshouldrunsmoothly):
• Atleast4cores,i7• Atleast16GBRAM• Windows7-10orOSX10.11andabove• Kontakt5.8orlater• InstalledonanSSDdrive• Computerfrom2014ornewer• 256samplesaudiobuffer
3–SNAPSHOTSPRESETSYSTEM
IfyouhaveusedpreviousDronarModules,notethatimportantimprovementshavebeenimplementedforthisandfuturemoduleswiththeresultofmassivelyspeedingupload@mesandpresetaudi@oningwhilereducingCPUandRAMoverhead.
Themostobviouschangeistheremovalofthepreviousslow-loadingpresetsystem(loadingin.nkifileseachwithaselec@onof12drones)infavourofnowquicklyloadingonly1dronewhileaccessingalltheothersinstantlyviathesnapshotssystem.Goodbye10-secondload@mes!
ThenewsnapshotssystemrequirescarefullyfollowingtheINSTALLATIONinstrucionsbelowwhereyouneedtomanuallycopyafolderofsnapshotpresetstoyoursystemdrive’sKontaktfolderinordertoaccessthesuppliedpresets.
However,onceyou’vetakenthissmallini@alfolder-copyingstep,you’llfindthateverythingisMUCHquickerthanpreviousmodules.
4–INSTALLATION&QUICKSTART
ThefirststepistoinstallthewholelibrarytoyourpreferredKontaktsamplesloca@on.
IMPORTANT–HOWTOINSTALLTHE“SNAPSHOT”PRESETS:
Youmustmanuallycopythe“DronarDistorchestra”folderwhichisinsidethefoldernamed“Snapshots(copycontentstoKontaktdirectory)”toyour“Kontakt”directoryfoundonyoursystemdrive:
LOCATIONOFTHESNAPSHOTS(PRESETS)FOLDERONYOURSYSTEMDRIVE:
MacOSSnapshotsFolder:SystemDrive/Users/<yourusername>/Documents/Na@veInstruments/UserContent/Kontakt/
PCSnapshotsFolder:C:\Users\<yourusername>\Documents\Na@veInstruments\UserContent\Kontakt\
Onceyouhavecopiedthe“DronarDistorchestra”foldertoyoursystemdrive’s“Kontakt”folder,thepresetswillbecomeaccessiblefromtheDistorchestraMAINpage.
Onceinthecorrectplaceyoursnapshotsshouldlooklikethis:
Notethattheyhavetobeinthe…/UserContent/Kontakt/folder–NOTthe“Kontakt5”folder.
Ifyoudon’thaveaUserContentfolder,pleasecreateyourown/UserContent/Kontakt/foldersinsidetheNa@veInstrumentsfolder.
INFOONQUICK-LOAD:
Goingbackandforthbetweenthelibraryandfilestabcanslowdownworkflow,thisiswhyNa@ve-InstrumentsincludedahandyQuick-LoadfeaturewithinKontakt.BysesnguptheQuick-LoadfeatureyoucancustomisethelayoutandaccessallofyourKontaktformaWedfilesandlibrariesinoneloca@on.PleaseseethehandyTime+Spacevideoformoredetailsonhowtosetthisup:hWp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtON7YKor5Y
LOADTHEONLYNKIPRESET:
Thereisonlyone.nkiinstrumentfile,called“DronarDistorchestra.nki”whichyoucanfindinyourinstalla@ondirectory
andcanbeopenedeitherfromExplorer(PC),Finder(Mac)orfromwithintheFilesbrowserbuiltintoKontakt.ItcanbeopenedeitherbydoubleclickingordraggingintoKontakt’smainwindow.
Now,you’rereadytoplay!LOADASNAPSHOT:
AtthetopoftheUIclickthedownarrownexttothedefaultpresettoopenupallthesnapshotpresetmenusandsub-menus.
Aswellasbrowsingthemenusyoucanquicklyjumpbackandforthbetweenpresetsusingthesmallley/rightarrowkeys.It’squickbutyou’lllosetrackofwhichcategoryand
presetgroupyou’reindoingthis!
HOLDDOWN1TO4KEYS:1keywillgiveyouanoctave-baseddrone.Tryholdingdowndifferentnumbersofnotestoheartheop@ons–octaves,fiyhs,fourths,chords.Youcanholddownmorethan4keys,especiallyifyouwantthearpeggiatortocreateintricateruns,but1-4isusuallyenough.
MOVETHEMODWHEEL:LookingattheGUI,theINTENSITYdialismappedtotheModWheelandimmediatelyopensuptheexpressivepowerofDRONAR.
MOVETHEMAINPAGEDIALS:
Movethedialswithyourmouseasyouholddownthenotes(orsustainthemwithasuspedal).YouwillheartheimmediateimpactonthesoundandgetagoodunderstandingofthewayDRONARworks.INTENSITY(alsocontrolledbytheModWheel)takesyoufromsilenttopowerfulbyfadingupthroughdifferentvelocitylayers.
MOVEMENThasaglobaleffectontheintensityofthearpeggiators–setithighforstrongeffectsandzeroforaflatpadsound.
HI,MIDandLOcontroltheautoma@callygeneratedhighnotes,mid-rangenotesandbassnotes.Movingthesedialshasahugeexpressiveeffectonthemusic.It’sonlylikeusingamixingdeskandyet–havingitsoaccessibleinfrontofyouencouragesyoutoworkwiththebalanceaspartoftheoriginalcrea@veexpression,insteadofamixdecisionlateron.
FXcontrolsthelevelofun-pitchedsoundeffectsloopsinthemixandaddinstantmovementandcomplexity.
GOTOTHE“SOUNDS”PAGE:
The“Sounds”pageshowsyouthe8basicsoundsmakingupthecurrentpreset.Openingupthemenuswillquicklyshowyouthevastarrayofop@onstobrowse,mixandmatchthousandsofsoundsfromthe8individualDronarmodules.
HittheRANDOMIZESAMPLESbuWontoreplaceeverysoundwithnewsoundsforinstantinspira@on.
5–THEMIDIKEYS
TheKontaktkeyboardshowsacolourcodedguidetowhat’shappeningineachrange.
PLAYABLERANGE(bluekeysG1toB4):
Thisrangeisusedtodetectthenotesyouplay.Thinkofitalmostlikea‘noteandchorddetec@onrange’morethanaplayablesynth.DRONARwantstoknowwhatnotesandchordsyouwant,itdoesn’twantyoutoplayitlikeapiano.
OVERFLOWRANGE(palecyankeysC5toB5):
Incaseyoustartplayingoutsidethedetec@onrange,itrepeatsthetopoctaveforyoujusttomakesureyourchordsarecaptured.
6–MAINPAGE
The6simpledialshaveahugeinfluenceoverthesound.RecordchangesasDAWautoma@on,orassigndialstoanexternalMIDIcontrollerandhittheDAWrecordbuWon.
MAINPAGEFEATURES:
Thereare6maindials(INTENSITY,MOVEMENT,FX,HIMIDandLO),pluseffectsendlevels(ReverbandDelay),andtabsforthe5pages.
INTENSITY(mappedtotheModWheel)fadesupthroughvelocitylayerstogivehugeglobalexpressioncontrol.
MOVEMENTcombinesseveralparametersontheLFOandARPEGGIATORpagestogivemoreorlessfluctua@oninthesound.
FX,HI,MIDandLOcontrolthevolumelevelsofthesoundsinthose4categories–asifyouarebehindamixingdeskcrea@ngexpressionbyaddinginmoreorlessofthedifferentsound
elements.Eachcategoryactuallycontains2sounds,soyouactuallyhave8differentsoundshappeningatonce.
Tryshiyingthelayerdials–slightchangesmakeabigdifferencetothemoodandtheycanallberecordedinyourDAWasMIDIorVSTautoma@on.Assignthe6dialstophysicalcontrollersforthebestresults.
SOLOORMUTEALAYER:
Clickalayername(e.g.‘MID’)totoggleMUTEon/offforthatlayer. SOLOthatlayerusingALT+click(orOPTION+clickonaMac).
7–SOUNDSPAGE
EACHLAYERHAS2SOUNDS:
Eachofthe4layers(FX,HI,MIDandLO)consistsof2differentsounds(eachbeinglong,complexloopsat3dynamiclevels).
OntheSOUNDSpageyoucanchoosethecategoryofsound(the“Module”)thenthetwosoundsthemselves(“Sound”)foreachlayer.
The“Module”drop-downmenuallowsyoutochoosefromsoundsfromthe8differentmodulesfromourpreviousstandalonereleases.
IntheMIDlayerthemodulesareoyenbrokendownintoextrasub-categoriese.g.LiveStrings,LiveStringsRhythm,LiveStringsRev(reversed)Rhythm.ThisisbecausetherearesomanymoresoundsintheMIDlayerthatbreakingitdownfurtherwillhelpyoutofindthesoundsyouwantmorequickly.
“Common”category:The‘common’categorycontainssoundsincludedwitheveryDronarmodule:aselec@onofusefulsynth,strings,guitarandothersoundstoblendwiththerestoftheDistorchestracollec@on.
RANDOMIZESAMPLESBUTTONHisngthisbuWonwillkeepallyoursesngsbutinstantlyswapallthesamplesinthe8namedsoundslots(2perlayer).Thisiswonderfulforquicklyfindingnewsoundvaria@onsandit’seasytokeephisngthe
buWonifyou’renothappywithwhatitthrowsatyou.
CAUTION:Kontakthasno“UNDO”func@on,soonceyouhitRANDOMIZEtochangethesamplesyoucan’tchangethemback.Savethe.nkiorsnapshotifyouwanttokeepitpermanently!
THETWOSAMPLESANDTHEA/BSLIDERS:
Eachofthe4layerscontains2samples(2x10secondloopsat3dynamicvelocitylayers).Thenamesofthosesamplesareshownintheboxes.
TheA/BSLIDERStotherightallowyoutohavejustthetopsoundat100%,justtheboWomsoundat0%orablendofbothifthesliderisbetweenthetwo.
A/BSLIDERTIP:Blending2soundsfillsoutthefrequencyspectrumandthereforecreatesanoverallmorenoise-likesound,especiallyFXsounds,andevenmoresoifalllayershaveblendedsounds.Formorepurityandcharacter,trysomeorallat0%or100%.
WIDTHANDLAYERVOLUME:
TheWIDTHdialpansthetwoA/Bsoundsoutfromcentre(zerovalue)topannedhardleyandright(full).Azerosesngisgoodforawell-blendedsoundwhileincreasingwidthaddsspaceandmakesthetwoseparatesoundseasiertohearindividuallysoaddsprecisionandclarity.
TheVOLUMEdialsetsthevolumeforthatlayer.ItisaduplicateofthemainlayervolumedialsonboththeMAINandEXPERTpages.
8–EXPERTPAGE
TheEXPERTPAGEhasenvelope,filter,toneandwidthsesngsforeachlayerinyourcurrentpreset.
ThischapterexplainseachEXPERTPAGEfeature,[email protected],somenotesaboutthelayersandsounds:
EACHDRONEHAS4LAYERS:FX,HI,MID&LO:
Torecap,DRONARisdetec@ngthenotesyouplaywithonehandandautoma@callyaddingnewnotes–extendingthemiddlerange,addingahighnote,addingabassnoteandmixinginsoundeffectstocreatearich,evolvingatmosphere.
OntheEXPERTPAGEeachofthese4layers(FX,HI,MIDandLO)hasaseparatesetofcontrols,likearackof4synths,or4mixingdeskchannels.
SOLO&MUTELAYERS:
Clickonthelayername(e.g.‘FX’)totogglemuteon/off.Alt+Clicktosolothelayer.Thisisveryusefulwhenaudi@oningdifferentsamplesormakingchangestoonelayer.
‘THICK’BUTTONS:
Eachofthe4layershasaTHICKbuWon.Thisaddsinextranotesforathickersound:
• IntheFXlayerTHICKaddsthesamesoundataloweroctave.• IntheHIlayerTHICKaddsanextraoctavehigherupforamorepiercing,high
sound.• IntheMIDlayerTHICKspreadsthechordintelligentlyacross2octavesforathick
chordoralargerarpeggiorange.• IntheLOlayerTHICKaddsanoteanoctaveabovethemainbassnoteforaslightly
morepowerfullowermidrange.
ATTACKANDRELEASETIME:
ThewhiterampupanddowniconsarefortheATTACKTIMEandRELEASETIME.Togethertheycontrolwhetherthesoundfadesinandoutslowlyorquickly.
FILTERSETTINGS:
E➜F is for ENVELOPETOFILTER.Sethigh, thefilteropensupandclosesas thesoundgets louderandquieter (assetbytheATTACKandRELEASETIMES).
FistheFILTERcutoff–setlowforadarker,muffledsound.
QcontrolstheRESONANCEofthefilter.
Mw➜FisforMODWHEELTOFILTER.Sethigh,theModWheelcontrolstheFILTERCUTOFFfrequency(aswellastheINTENSITYsesng).
FILTERNOTE:thesefiltersesngsandthoseintheArpeggiatorallinteract,some@mesunexpectedly,meaningthatyouwon’talwaysgetthesameresultsfromanyonedialsesng.
TONE,WIDTHANDVOLUME:
WIDTHcontrolsthestereosepara@onofthetwosampleloopsinthelayer.Ahighsesngpansthemoutleyandrightwhilelowpansthembothcentre.Thiscanbegoodtogetspaceywidesounds,orfocusedcentralsounds.
TONEisacomplexEQcontrol.Atlowsesngsittakesoffthehighfrequenciesandbooststhelowforabiglowsound.Athighsesngsitbooststhehighfrequenciesandcutsoutthelows,resul@nginathinbrightsound.
VOLUME(speakericon)controlsthelayervolumeandmirrorsthebigdialsesngsontheMAINPAGE.
SMARTBASSON/OFFBUTTON:
Whenenabled,SMARTBASSworksoutthecorrectrootnoteforyourcurrentchord.Ifthisisoff,thebassnotewillinsteadjustbethelowestnoteinthechordyouareholdingdown.
9–LFO&FXPAGE
LFOSETTINGS:
Forthoseunfamiliar,‘LFO’(forLowFrequencyOscillator)isacon@nuouswaveofchangingvaluesspreadover@me,whichcanberoutedheretoPan,FilterandPitch.Thoseaudioparametersthenchangeover@meunderthecontroloftheLFO.Thishelpsaddmovementtothesound,includingpanning,vibratoorsireneffects.
• RATEisthespeedoftheLFO• MWHeelallowsyoutocontroltheamountofLFOusingtheModWheel• Shapechangestheshapeofthewavefromtriangletosinetosquare• PandefineshowmuchtheLFOmakesthesoundpanfromleytoright
andback• PitchdefinestheamountofpitchchangecausedbytheLFO• Desyncathighsesngsthrowsallofthedifferentsoundsinthecurrent
Droneoutofsyncwitheachother,sotheydon’tallmovetogetheranymore,foramorecomplexandvariedsound.
DRONEEFFECTS:
DIST(VALVEDISTORTION):
• DRIVEaddssteadilymoredistor@ontothesound• DAMPdampensthesound,makingitmoresoyanddull• MWheelmapstheModWheeltotheDRIVElevel.Ahighsesngmeans
itwillgetverydistortednearthetopoftheModWheel.
CHORUS:
Chorusisaneffectcreatedbyplayingthesamesoundtwicebutslightlydetunedandcanaddthickness,interestandcolourtothesound.
• AMOUNTisthedepthofthechoruseffect• RATEisthespeedofthechorusmodula@on
REVERBANDDELAYSENDS:
Thisisamirrorofthe“REV”and“DEL”dialsesngsontheMainPageGUIandcontrolstheamountofsoundbeingsentouttotheReverbandDelayeffects.
10–ARPEGGIATORPAGE
Thisistheplacetogetsoundsreallymovingorpulsingover@me,syncedtotheDAWhosttempo.Inthefactorypresetsthe“Arp-O-Rama”presetsareheavilyusingpitcharpeggiosintheMIDrangeandthe“Pulsing”presetsareheavilyusingINTENSITYandFILTERpaWernstogetthosepulsingquali@es.
ARPEGGIATORONANDOFF:
ThisswitchesthearpeggiatoronandoffforthecurrentlyselectedDrone(thelastplayedofthe12DroneKeykeyswitches).Ifyoudon’tneedthearpeggiator,turningthisoffwillsavesomeCPU.
RATEANDSTEPS:
RATEallowsawiderangeofratesfromslow1/4(whereeachstepinthearpeggiatorisaquarternote)rightuptoaveryfast1/64(eachstepisa64thofabar).ThisgivesyoutheabilitytousetheArpeggiatorasmuchforslowundula@ngmovementsasmuchasforfaststrobe-likepaWerns.
STEPSdefinesthenumberofstepsinthepaWern.16isthedefault.Using12willbeusefulfora3/4,6/8ortripletpaWern.
LAYERSELECTOR:
Selectthelayer(FX,HI,MIDorLO)thatyouwishtoviewandeditintheArpeggiator.TherestoftheARPEGGIATORpagethenshowsthesesngsforthatcurrentlyselectedlayer.
BecausetheMIDlayercoversawiderangeofdifferentnotesandtheotherlayersdon’t(theFXlayerhasnopitch,andtheHIandLOlayershavesinglenotesoroctaves),theMIDlayerhasextraPITCHarpeggiatorop@ons.
Eachlayerhasallotherop@onsincommon,withtheirownindependentarpeggiators.Thisallowsalotofcomplexityandflexibility,forexamplehavingfastrhythmsintheFXlayer,noarpeggiatorintheHIlayer,pitcharpeggiosintheMIDlaterandslowpulsesinthelowlayers.
ARPEGGIATOR-KEY-TRIGGEREDPATTERNSTIP:IfyougetagoodcomplexpaWerngoingacrossthedifferentlayers,youcanSTOREtheDrone,thencreatedifferentvaria@onsonthepaWernandSTOREeachofthose.ThenLOADthosedifferentDronesontothe12differentDroneKeykey-switches.Now,youhaveyourown12-paWernkey-triggeredsequence!
AMOUNT&SMOOTHDIALS:
Eachofthe3typesofarpeggiator(PITCH,INTENSITYandFILTER)havethesetwocontrols.AMOUNTcontrolshowstrongthearpeggia@onis,whereasSMOOTHfadesinthearpeggia@oneffect-slowlyathighsesngsandsharplyatlowsesngs.Thisexplana@onwillbemademoreclearbelow.
DRONAR’SUNIQUEPITCHARPEGGIATOR:
ThePITCHarpeggiatorasfarasweknowisanoriginaltypeofarpeggiogeneratornotfoundelsewhere.Whereasotherarpeggiatorsre-triggerthenoteateverystep,DRONAR’spitcharpeggiatorplaysallthenotesthatyouareholdingdownbutcross-fadesbetweenthem.Thisislikehavingthedifferentnotesofachordallgoingthroughdifferentchannelsonamixingdesk,thenturningthefadersinsuccessiontocreatetheimpressionofanarpeggio.
Thebeautyofthisapproachisthatyoucanchoosehowstrongthearpeggiatoris.IftheAMOUNTdialislowyouhearjustthechordyouareplaying,setfullyouhearalltheseparatenotesaseachsoundisfadedoutbetweensteps.Betweenzeroandfullyougetawonderfulblendofhalf-arpeggios–shimmeringchordswithahintofmovement.
TheSMOOTHdialislikefadingupthemixerfadersquicklyforafast,gated,non-fade,orslowlyforaslow,smoothcrossfadebetweenthenotesinthechord.
HOWTHEMAINPAGEMOVEMENTDIALAFFECTSAMOUNT&SMOOTHVALUES:
BackontheMAINpage,oneofthe6bigdialsistheMOVEMENTdial.ThisdialisactuallygloballyincreasingorreducingalltheAMOUNTsesngsontheARPEGGIATORpage.At12o’clock,youhearjustwhateverAMOUNTShavebeensetontheARPEGGIATORpage.Atzero,thearpeggiator’sAMOUNTvaluesarebroughttozero,[email protected],theAMOUNTvaluesareallpumpedupfullforexaggeratedarpeggiatorac@on.
PITCHARPEGGIATOR–FXOPTIONS:
BecausetheFXlayerdoesn’tactuallyhavepitches,wecouldn’[email protected],ratherthanleavingitblankwe’vethrowninaGATEop@onwhichpulsestheFXlayeronandoff.
PITCHARPEGGIATOR–HIOPTIONS:
IfyouhavetheHIlayer’sTHICKbuWonenabledontheEXPERTpagethenDRONARisproducingtwoHInotesanoctaveapart.Theseop@ons–UPorDOWN–createasimpleoctaveupordownarpeggiatorpaWernintheHIlayer.
PITCHARPEGGIATOR–MIDOPTIONS:
ItisintheMIDlayerthattherealarpeggiomagichappens.FourdifferentpaWerns(UP,DOWN,CYCLEandRANDOM)cyclethroughallthenotesyouareholdingdownwithasubtleshimmeryarpeggio(atlowAMOUNTsesngs)oracleararpeggiopaWern(athighAMOUNTsesngs).
MIDPITCHARP–“THICK”TIP:AniceeffectiscreatedwhentheMIDlayer’sTHICKbuWonisenabledontheEXPERTpage-thereisanextraoctaveofnotestocyclethroughandthepaWernisthereforebigger,takestwiceaslongtocompleteandproducesmoresoaringpaWerns.
MIDPITCHARP–CLUSTERSANDRUNSTIP:Insteadofachord,ifyouholddownaclusterofnotes,someclosetogether,the‘arpeggio’becomesarun,likealiWlemelody.TryholdingdownthenotesA,B,C,EandF#nowforamagicalliWlepaWernbasedaroundanAm6+9chord.
PITCHARPEGGIATOR–LOOPTIONS:
LiketheHIlayer,theLOlayeronlyhastwooctavenotes(andonlytheniftheTHICKbuWonisenabledontheEXPERTpage)andthereforeyoujustgetthesimpleUPorDOWNop@ons.
THEINTENSITYARPEGGIATOR:
Asfarasweknow,theINTENSITYarpeggiatorisanotheruniqueDRONARfeature.Whereotherarpeggiatorscontrolthevolumeofasound,theINTENSITYarpeggiatorismoreexpressivebycontrollingthedynamicvelocitylayerofthesound.ItisasifthevaluesyousetherearemovingtheModWheelupanddowninapaWern,fadingupanddownbetweensoyandintensesamples.ToeditthepaWernwindow,dragyourmouseto‘draw’paWerns.
INTENSITYARPEGGIATOR–DROP-DOWNEDITMENU:
Hereyougetsomehandyop@onstospeedupyouredi@ng:
• CLEARclearsthebox,resul@nginaflatline• RANDOMgivesyouarandompaWernforchao@ceffects• COPYcopiesthispaWerntoyourclipboardtopasteintootherpaWernwindowsinotherlayersorintheFILTERpaWernwindow.
• PASTEpastesapaWernfromyourclipboardintothecurrentwindow.
INTENSITYARPEGGIATORTIPS:
SomeideasaboutwhatcouldbedonewiththeINTENSITYarpeggiator:
• GATING:usethisasanoisegateproducingcomplexga@ngeffects.Thisisgoingtobemoredrama@cwithhighRATEsesngs(32or64)forspeed,andwithsharpcontrastsbetweenhighandlowINTENSITYbars,andwiththeAMOUNTdialhighandSMOOTHdiallow.
• TREMOLO:getaneffectlikeaguitartremolopedalwithhigh-ishRATES(16or32),drawinawavepaWernandsettheSMOOTHdialhightosmoothoffthejumpsfurther.
• UNDULATINGWAVES:havethesoundundula@ngslowlybackandforthwithslowRATES,amildwavepaWern(orlowAMOUNTdialsesng)andhighSMOOTHdialsesng.
• SLOWPULSES:settheRATEslowandhavehalfoftheINTENSITYpaWernatthetopandhalfattheboWom,withtheAMOUNTdialhighandtheSMOOTHdiallow.
• RHYTHMS:WithhighRATEsesngs,drawlargesaw-toothpaWernstomimicnotesbeingplayedwithafastaWackanddecay,andlaythemoutinapaWern.ByhavingdifferentpaWernsindifferentlayersyoucanbuildupagroove.
• MAKEALAYERSUPERLOUD:Atricktomakeonelayersuper-loud(sayyouwanttheLOlayertoblastoutevenatlowModWheelsesngs),istosettheintensitypaWernatfull–allwhitebarstothetop,withAMOUNTsetfull.ThiswillhavetheeffectofoverridingtheModWheelandgesngabigvolumeboostforthatlayer.
THEFILTERARPEGGIATOR:
ThisworksjustliketheINTENSITYarpeggiator.ThedifferenceisjustthatinsteadoftheINTENSITYlevel,theFILTERCUTOFFFREQUENCYisbeingmodulated,makingitmorebrightordull.
Usingthisyoucangeteffectslikefiltersweeps,orfollowtheINTENSITYpaWerntogetfilterenvelopeeffects.
WATCHOUTFORFILTERINTERACTIONS:
OntheEXPERTpageyouhavevariousfiltersesngs.OntheLFO/FXpageyoualsohaveafiltertoLFOmapping,andonthispageyouhaveevenmorefiltermovement.Allofthesearecontrollingthesamefilterandthereforetheywillinteractunpredictably;thesamesesngswillgivedifferentfilterresultsdependingonwhatelseisgoingon.
11–MASTERFXPAGE
Effectsonthispageareinsertedintothefinalmasterstereoaudiooutput.
TheyareallstandardeffectswhichprobablyneedliWleexplana@on,butsomequicknotesbelow:
• DELAY&REVERBAREEFFECTRETURNS:Whereas,DelayandReverblevelsontheotherpagesaresendlevels.
• REVERBTYPES:DRONARincludesacoupleofdigital(algorithmic)reverbsandalsoasetofconvolu@onimpulsesincludingsomecrea@veandunusualimpulsesforsounddesign.Trythemout!
12–USINGEXTERNALMIDICONTROLLERSYouwillgetthebestresultsfromDRONARbyassigningatleastthemain6dialsontheMAINpageGUItoknobsonanexternalMIDIcontroller.
ThisisbecauseDRONARISDESIGNEDTOBEPLAYEDEXPRESSIVELY.
Thebestresultscomefromholdingdownanoteorchordwithonehand(orsustainingitusingasustainpedal),andthenexpressivelymovingthedialswiththeotherhand.Itismoreintui@vetodothiswithanexternalcontrollerthanthealterna@veswhichare(a)tryingtomovethedialswithmousedrags,or(b)tryingtowriteinautoma@oncurvesinyourDAW.
EXTERNALMIDICONTROLLEROPTIONS:
• MIDIKEYBOARDKNOBS:ManyMIDIkeyboardshaveknobsthatoutputMIDIccdata.
• DEDICATEDCONTROLSURFACE:PopularandinexpensivecontrolsurfaceswithMIDIccknobsincludetheKORGnanoKONTROL2,BehringerX-TouchMiniDAWcontroller,Nova@onNocturnandmore.
• SMARTPHONE/TABLETAPPS:appscapableofcrea@ngMIDIccoutputincludeTouchOSCandJazzMutantLemur.
• LEAPMOTION+GecoMIDIsosware:highlyrecommendedistheLeapMo@on3Dinfraredgesture-basedcontrollerusing3rdpartyGecoMIDIsoyware(availableontheLeapAppStore).
DEFAULTGUIDIAL-TO-MIDICONTROLLERMAPPINGS:
EachDRONARpresethasbeensetupwiththefollowingcccontrollersmappedbydefault:
• CC01➜INTENSITYdial(theModWheelismappedtocc1).• CC14➜MOVEMENTdial• CC21➜FXdial• CC23➜HIdial• CC24➜MIDdial• CC25➜LOdial
TORE-MAPMIDICCNUMBERS:
Right-clickonanyKontaktdialthatyouwishtomaptoaMIDIcontroller.AswellastheMAINpagedials,youcanalsodothisforanyotherdialonanypage.
FromhereyoucanLEARN(selectthenturnaknobonyourcontrollertodetectandmapit),orREMOVE(removethedefaultmappingtoavoidanyconfusion).
13–RECORDINGDIALCHANGESTOYOURDAW
Automa@ngDRONAR’Sdialscanbedone3ways:
• ViaanexternalMIDIcontroller(seepreviouschapter)
• ByprogrammingautomaioncurvesinyourDAW
• Byenabling“WriteAutoma@on”inyourDAWandrecordingyourmouse-dragdialmovementsduringyourperformance.Thenenable“ReadAutoma@on”whenplayingback.
HOWTORECORDMIDICONTROLLERDIALMOVEMENTSTOYOURDAWPROJECT:
• ASSIGNDRONARDIALSTOYOURMIDICONTROLLER:seepreviouschapter.
• HITRECORD,ANDPERFORM!Thatshouldbeit.AslongasyourMIDIcontrolleriscorrectlyconfigured,andyourDAWispickingupMIDIfromallsources(controllerandkeyboard),yourDAWwillrecordtheMIDIccmovementsalongwiththeMIDInotesthatyouplay,leavingMIDIautoma@onlanesreadytobeeditedlater.
TIP:MAKEPRESETSFROMDIALRECORDINGS.Ifatsomepointinyourrecordingyougetanespeciallywonderfulsound,playitbackatthatpoint,hittheDAWSTOPbuWonandsavewhatyouhaveasan.nkiKontaktInstrumentpatchorsnapshot.
14–SAVINGYOURPRESETS
METHOD#1–SAVEASAN.NKIFILE:Onesimplemethodtosaveyourcurrentsesngsistosavethemasan.nkipresetbychangingthenameatthetopfrom“DronarDistorchestra”andusingthemainSaveiconatthetop,selectSave
as…andselectyournewpresetname.
METHOD#2(RECOMMENDED)–SAVEASASNAPSHOT:
Savingasasnapshotgivesyoutheincreasedloadingspeedyougetwiththefactorypresetssoisrecommended.Todothis,clickthesmallfloppyiconwitha“+”sign,nameyourpresetandclickSave.
ORGANISEYOURSNAPSHOTS:Bydefaultyoursavedsnapshotswillshowupinthetoplevelofthesnapshotsdirectoryinsteadofbeingorganisedintocategorieslikethefactorypresets.Toorganisethem,gotoyoursystem’ssnapshotsdirectory(seebelow),manuallycreatefoldernamesandmoveyournew.nksnfilestoyourdesiredfolder.Thesnapshotsdirectoryisonyoursystemdrive(youmayrememberthisfrominstalla@on):
LOCATIONOFTHESNAPSHOTS(PRESETS)FOLDERONYOURSYSTEMDRIVE:
MacOSSnapshotsFolder:SystemDrive/Users/<yourusername>/Documents/Na@veInstruments/UserContent/Kontakt/
PCSnapshotsFolder:C:\Users\<yourusername>\Documents\Na@veInstruments\UserContent\Kontakt\
15–LICENSEAGREEMENT
Youarefreetousesoundsandmusicmadewiththissoywareinanymusicalcontextincludingsounddesign,commercialrecordings,soundtracksandProduc@onMusic.
Restric@ons:
1. Youarenotauthorizedtousethissoywareoranyofthesesoundsinanysamplelibraryproductorsoundeffectscollec@on.
2. Youcannotuseanyexposedsinglesoundsasanen@recueonalibrarymusicalbumwithnothingelseaddedforthedura@onofthetrack.PleasefadeorblendmorethanoneDronarlayer,and/oraddothersounds.
3. Useisrestrictedtothesinglepurchaserofthesoyware.4. ThissoywarecannotbesharedordistributedwithoutthepermissionofGothic
Instruments.5. Thislicenseisrevokedifanyoftheabovetermsarenotcompliedwith,meaningthat
anymusicyoumakewiththisproductwouldbeinbreachofcopyright.
General:
6. ThislicenseissubjecttothelawsoftheUnitedKingdom7. Thislicenseisnotatransferofcopyrighttothepurchaser–theownershipofthe
intellectualpropertywithinthesoywareandtheaudioitcontainsremainswithGothicInstruments.
16–TIPS
TWEAK.Thepresetshereonlyskimthesurfaceoftheincrediblerangeofpossibili@esinthisinstrument.
Adeepexplora@onofallthepagesisrewardingandhighlyrecommended.
EXPRESSWITHTHEMODWHEEL.AllexpressioninDRONARisbuiltaroundtheModWheel(MIDIcc1),whichfadesupthroughthedifferentintensitylevelsoftheactualsoy,mediumandloudperformancesonthesamplerecordings.Velocity(howhardyouplayMIDIkeys)hasnoeffectonthevolume.
ACCENTYOURRHYTHMSWITHTHEMODWHEEL.ByrockingtheModWheelbackandforthwhilearhythmisplayingyoucangetgreatnaturalaccents,includingsyncopatedrhythms.
MAKEPRESETSFROMDIALRECORDINGS.LeaveyourDAWrecordingautoma@on(“writeautoma@on”enabled)whileyouplaywiththedials.Ifyougetanespeciallywonderfulsound,hittheDAWSTOPbuWon(orkeepgoingandgobacktothatpointlater)andsavewhatyouhaveasansnapshotor.nkiKontaktInstrumentpatch.
17–TROUBLESHOOTING
KONTAKTLOSESAUDIOWHENSWITCHINGSNAPSHOTPRESETS:Ifsoundsarebeingplayedaspresetsareswitched,theKontaktenginecansome@mesbecomeoverloadedandloseaudio.Ifthishappensclickthe[!]panicbuWonatthetoprightoftheUItore-settheKontaktaudioengine-
muchquickerthanshusngdownandre-star@ngit.THESOUNDSUDDENLYDISAPPEARSORGOESVERYLOUD:It’slikelythatyou’veknockedyour
MODWheel.Everypresetisstoredwithapar@cularINTENSITYlevel(shownontheMAINpageINTENSITYdial).SinceyourMODWheelismappedtothe
INTENSITYdial,touchingitwilladjusttheINTENSITYtowhateverposi@onyourModWheelisin.Toavoidthisyou’dneedtoavoidknockingyourMODWheel-or,rightclickyourmouseovertheINTENSITYdialandselect“RemoveMIDIautoma@on”.
CPUUSEISVERYHIGH:Dronar’scomplexsoundcomesfrom8soundsrunningforeverynote,mul@pliedby3velocitylayersandthenmul@pliedbythenumberofextranotesbeingautoma@callygeneratedtocreatewidespreadchordsandoctavesfromasmallnumberofnotesbeingplayed.Addi@onallythereareseparatefiltermodula@onsandarpeggiosforevery
layer.Theresultisthatafairlyfastmoderncomputerisneededtosmoothyrunseveralinstancesalongsideotherresource-heavyplugins.Apar@cularlybadcombina@onisapre-2014Mac(includingMacPros)orlesspowerfulMacwithDronarhostedinLogicProX.Logicforcespluginstoonlyuseonecoresothatevenifyouhavealotofcores,ifthatonecoreisn’tfastenoughDronarwillrunintoproblems.Workaroundsaretrackfreezingorhos@ngoutsideLogic
inhos@ngsoywaresuchasViennaEnsemblePro.Mostfasterpost-2014Macsshouldhavenoproblemhos@ngDronarinLogic.
SOMEDIALSCAN’TBEMOVEDPASTACERTAINPOINT:ManyparametersinDronarinteractso
thatchangingsesngsononepagewillaffectwhatsesngsarepossibleonanother.Forexample,ifyoumovetheMAINpage’slarge“MOVEMENT”dialtozero,youcannolongerincreasethevalueofthe“Amount”dialontheARPEGGIATORpage.ThisisbecausetheMOVEMENTparameterlowersthe
valuesofmanyotherparametersthatgiveasenseofmovementtothesound,includingtheLFOpagedialsandtheAmountdials.Ifyoufinddialsstuckinthisway,itwillalwaysbecausedbyasimilarinterac@onof2ormoreparameters.
ALAYERISMUTED:Toun-mute(ormute)anylayer(FX,HI,MIDorLO),clickonthenamelabel(e.g.HI)toac@vateorde-ac@vatethatlayer.
IFYOUHAVEOTHERISSUES:
PleasesendusamessageviatheGothicInstrumentsFacebookPageifyouhaveaproblemnotmen@onedhere:www.facebook.com/gothicinstruments
18–FINALWORDS
ThankssomuchforchoosingtheDRONARDistorchestramodule.Wehopeyouenjoyitspoten@altocreateamazing,complexatmosphericsoundsandexpressivelyperformthem.
PleasevisitourFacebookpagewhereyoucankeepupwithdevelopments&updatesandmessageuswithanyques@onsorsugges@ons:
hWps://www.facebook.com/gothicinstruments/
Onceyou’veenjoyedthepossibili@esoftheDistorchestraModule,wehopeyou’llseekoutourothermodules.
Thanks,
Dan&Adam
GOTHICINSTRUMENTS