6. drum mode

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6.1 drum mode introduction

The Drum Mode - entered by pressing the key with the green drum symbol - is similar to the synthesizer mode. The difference is it’s use for shorter drum/percussion sounds. Sounds can be loaded either into the Drum engine (DRUM), or made using a drum synth (DBOX).
as with synthesizer mode, pressing the drum key enables both T1-T4 and sound selection keys 1-8.

When you have pressed the Drum key, first select a sound (drum-kit) from 1-8 with the Sound keys.

then use T1-T4 keys to shape the sound:

• T1 – drum engine
• T2 – dynamic envelope
• T3 – effect
• T4 – LFO/G-force

6.2 drum sampler engine

The difference compared to the Synthesizer sampler engine is that the Drum sampler has 12 seconds of recording time (vs. 6 seconds in the Synthesizer sampler) and has a layout function which lets you lay out parts of the sample to dedicated keys on the musical keyboard (compared to different pitch of the sound when playing the musical keyboard using the Synthesizer sampler).

The basic concept here is to record all drums in a row and keep that recording to 12 seconds. Then set in and out points of that recording and dedicate it to a certain key on the musical keyboard.

6.3 laying out a drum kit

To layout a Drum Kit, press any key on the musical keyboard and start to set the In point of the sound. This can be anywhere on the sample. Then set the Out point and hit the same key on the musical keyboard. You should now hear the part of the sampling you have dedicated to that key. The tools you have to set up your drum kit are:

• PITCH

Set the pitch of a part by turning the Blue encoder.

• DIRECTION

Press SHIFT and turn the Blue encoder to change direction of a part.

• IN POINT

Set the in point by turning the Green encoder.

• FINE TUNE IN POINT

Press SHIFT and turn the Green encoder to fine tune the position of the in point.

• OUT POINT

Set the out point by turning the White encoder.

• FINE TUNE OUT POINT

Press SHIFT and turn the White encoder to fine tune the position of the out point.

• PLAY TO END, LOOP, PLAY ONCE

Turn the Orange encoder to set the play mode of a part.

• LEVEL

Press SHIFT and turn the Orange encoder to set the volume level of a part.

NOTE: Remember to always select the key on the musical keyboard where you want to change sound
PRO-TIP: To copy a sample position across the keyboard in Drum mode, just hold the key you want to copy from and press LIFT, then hold the key you want to copy to and press DROP. This is good for re-arranging your drum kits or creating tonal keys.

6.4 dynamic envelope

Dynamic Envelope is specially designed for short drum sounds. Set the attack level with Blue Encoder, Mid part level with Green Encoder, Release Level with Encoder and use the Orange Encoder to adjust the region.

6.5 importing your own sounds

Simply create a single sound file from whatever sounds you have chosen. Remember to keep the audio file maximum 12 seconds long.

then save the sound as an .aif file. 

transfer the file to the user folder located inside the drum folder. see chapters 5.8-5.9 on how to transfer files to your OP-1.

6.6 using OP-1's standard layout

To make sound switching between kits more logical when you have a sequence running, it’s a good habit to layout your kits in the same order. The factory kits are mapped as seen here to the right.
PRO-TIP: A nice way of creating fill-ins, is to have the same sequence running and switching between drum kits based on the same sounds, but mapped differently. You can also map some keys to silent parts of a sample to “mute” certain sounds.

factory drum kits

kick alternative

snare alternative

hand clap

closed hi-hat

open hi-hat

ride cymbal

crash cymbal

bass 2

bass 4

kick

snare

rimshot

Tambourine

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

bass 1

bass 3

bass 5

6.7 d-box drum engine

d-box, short for drumbox, is a dual oscillator synthesizer, convenient for producing drum sounds.

blue encoder adjusts pitch, green encoder adjusts waveform, white encoder adjusts envelope. hold shift to access secondary oscillator. orange encoder is used for cross modulation and, when shift is pressed, filter cutoff frequency.

saving a sound is achieved by holding a sound key (1-8) for five seconds, similar to elsewhere on the OP-1. the sound will be saved in snapshot.

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