Getting Started - nord Electro 3 User Manual

26 | NordElEctro3UsErMaNUalosv1.X
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Nord Sample Editor
What is the Nord Sample Editor?
The Nord Sample Editor is the application that allows you to edit, cre-
ate and load collections of samples to and from the sample memory
area of a Sample Library compatible Nord instrument .
The Nord Sample Editor will assist you in your editing efforts; it contains
powerful tools for various actions that can be applied to a sample .
These tools will for instance help you in setting a start point of a
sample, creating a loop and other tasks that are essential in making
the samples ready for use in the Nord Electro 3 . The Editor also has
functions for automatic mapping of samples across the keyboard and
much more .
Non-destructive editing
Any editing that takes place in the Nord Sample Editor software is
completely non-destructive . The audio files on your hard disk will not
be altered in any way even though the Nord Sample Editor will e .g .
truncate samples before they are downloaded to the Nord instrument .
The Editor links to the audio files, any alterations that you do to an
original audio file will also affect how that file "behaves" in the Nord
Sample Editor .
You should however try to keep a backup of, or use copies of the
original audio files when you start to assemble the sample content for
the Nord Electro 3 . If you edit any audio file that is used by the Nord
Sample Editor with some other application, that edit will also affect that
particular file in the Nord Sample Editor .
System Requirements
Windows PC
The Nord Sample Editor requires a computer with a CPU running at
233 MHz or better with a minimum of 512 MB RAM and Windows
XP or Vista . Additionally you need one free USB (1 .1) port plus a DVD
ROM drive if you want to install the software from the DVD, a keyboard,
a mouse and a graphics display with an on-screen resolution of 1024
by 768 pixels and a 16-bit color or better graphics card .
Mac
The Nord Sample Editor requires a Mac with one USB-port, a DVD
ROM unit to install the software, at least 512 MB RAM and OSX 10 .4
or later .
You will also need a Sample Library compatible Nord instrument to be
able to download the samples . The Nord units that are compatible with
the Sample Editor and the Nord Sample Library are: Nord Wave with
OS v2 .x and later and the Nord Electro 3 with OS 1 .x or later .

Getting Started

Let's begin with a brief description of the terminology used in this chap-
ter, followed by a typical workflow scenario to give you an overview of
the functions of the Nord Sample Editor .
Project, sample memory
All the parts that are needed to assemble a sample waveform in the
Nord Electro 3 – references to audio files, samples, mappings, start-,
stop- and loop markers etc . - are organized in Projects .
All Project related settings is done on your computer, and you can
preview edits via the computer audio card . A Project links to the actual
audio files on the hard drive, if you e .g . delete or edit an audio file that
is included in a Project, that Project will be affected .
You can save Project files on the hard drive, just like any other com-
puter file . When you are satisfied with a Project, you can generate a
Sample Instrument, which can be downloaded to the Flash memory in
the Nord Electro 3 .
WYDIWYH
What You Do Is What You Hear . Every function in the Nord Sample
Editor can be applied to a sample in real time . If the sample is playing
back through the computer audio card, you can e .g . listen to how the
loop changes if you move the loop markers or if you adjust the cross-
fade settings or the start point of the sample .
Working offline
Project or sample editing does not require a connected Nord unit; you
can create and edit Projects using only the computer and then connect
to the unit at some other time in order to download the result of the
Project to the Nord Electro 3 .
Sample, Zone
When an audio file is added to a Project, it can be used as the source
for one or several samples . A sample can be assigned to a range on
the keyboard; this range is called a Zone . The sample parameters that
determine the range of its zone is the Root Key and the Upper Key .
Sample Instrument
A set of samples with zone settings is a Sample Instrument; the
maximum number of zones in a Sample Instrument is 91 . The Sample
Instrument (also known as SI in this manual) can be selected in the
Nord Wave oscillator 2 as a waveform and by choosing the SampLib
type and model in the Electro 3 .
Any kind of sample may be assigned to any zone, which means that
a Sample Instrument can consist of several different sounds, mapped
across the keyboard . You can e .g . create a drum type Sample Instru-