Edit Program - Akai S950 Operator's Manual

EDIT PROGRAM

Once you have your sample(s) In the S950, you will want to organize them so
that they are properly laid out across the keyboard. All this and more is
done in the EDIT PROGRAM mode using KEYGROUPS. We have already had a brief
look at what a keygroup is in the S950 BASIC ARCHITECTURE section of this
manual but before we go on to see what EDIT PROGRAM has in store for us, let
us first find out what a keygroup actually is.
A keygroup is something into which you place a sample within a program. The
keygroup can be given a highest and lowest note assignment and so can be
spread out across the keyboard in any number of configurations. The simplest
program you could have would be to have one sample in one keygroup spread out
across the entire range of the keyboard. A more advanced program would be to
have keygroups assigned to individual notes or groups of notes with a
separate sample in each one so that each note or group of notes on the
keyboard has a different sample on it. This particular application, known as
MULTI-SAMPLING, is useful in sampling certain instruments such as vocal
sounds, piano, guitar, etc., that require a series of different samples
across the keyboard range because the tonal quality of these sounds changes
when a sample is transposed too far from the original pitch. This technique
is also useful for creating drum programs where every drum. can be assigned
to a different note on the keyboard.
Using the keygroups, it is also possible to create split keyboard effects
where you could have, for example, bass guitar on the bottom two octaves and
piano on the top three octaves. It is also possible to layer two keygroups
on- top of each other for layering and chorus effects. Furthermore, a
keygroup can have two totally separate samples within it each of which can be
sounded depending on how hard you hit the keyboard this is known as VELOCITY
SWITCHING where attack velocity switches in one of the two samples depending
on the force with which the keyboard is hit. The prime application of this is
to take a soft sample of a sound and a hard sample of a sound to reproduce
the tonal differences in their dynamic range. For example, you may take a
sample of n softly plucked bass guitar and a slapped bass guitar and you
could switch between them using keyboard dynamics. Alternatively, for special
dynamic effects, the two samples switched using keyboard velocity could be
distorted guitar and feedback or damped and open 'picked guitar or they could
be two different slightly different drum sounds for more authenticity when
creating drum programs. They could even be totally different sounds such as
strings and brass - the possibilities are endless)
As if all this weren't enough, a keygroup allows you to modify the sample
itself and it is possible to affect loudness, adjust the tone with a filter
and tune the sample as well as add amplitude and filter envelope shaping,
vibrato and pitch sweep. You can also assign individual keygroups (and hence
the samples within them) to separate MIDI channels and audio outputs for
mufti-timbral sequencing. EDIT PROGRAM, therefore, is the key to getting the
raw samples sounding great. And remember, because ail the parameters in EDIT
PROGRAM are simply processing variations, those raw samples are not affected
and so you can create any number of variations on one sample without using
any valuable memory.
Having understood that, let us now see what facilities we have to play with
in EDIT PROGRAM.
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