On 30/12/2005 23:15, Charlie wrote:
The audio wouldn't need any editing abilities, just an import function and play/mute button. It would always play in correct time as it was recorded against the original DB file. The only weird bit would be starting the DB part at bar x and having the sound file know where to start.
I was originally skeptical of this idea, but after some more messing around in DB and Cubase and GB, I started to become more convinced of its utility :) It wouldn't need any UI other than an indication that a particular "accompanying audio file" had been chosen. But, yes, how to specify the relative start times would be an issue; the accompaniment might kick-off either before or after the drums. One quick'n'dirty implementation might simply be to force synchronized audio play and DB start, leaving it up to the user to ensure there were sufficient blank bars in DB (if the drums come in later) or the correct amount of silence at the start of the accompanying audio (if the drums come in first). I would, though, be a bit concerned about memory issues -- I've often noticed DB getting upset and doing things like "skipping" and dropping hits when using dbkits with lots of large samples. Assuming DB2 has gained the ability to make DB kits where a range of samples at different velocities can be specified for a particular drum variant, with DB automatically picking the approriate sample for a given hit based on a relative velocity set by the user via a slider in the UI (or something), then that's only going to make it easier for users to implement dbkits with hefty sample banks behind them, and so increase the amount of memory needed. Though of course one wouldn't need to have a high quality AIFF for your "accompanying audio file"! For the purposes of audition whilst tweaking the drum part, a low-bit rate AAC would do the job. And now for something almost completely different, I had another thought for a DB feature. What about drag'n'drop of hits in the UI? (This isn't already implemented, right? I mean, I tried doing it and it didn't seem to work, but it's always possible I've fallen out of step with the latest beta!) Like you had put a snare hit on beat 3 but then decide you need it on beat 2. Instead of erasing the existing hit and inputing a new hit, one could just "grab" the existing hit and shove it over to its new position. This kind of feature might also become more useful when relative velocity settings are there, since in such cases one might have to not just input a new hit, but reset the desired velocity too. That could get to be a pain; easier to just move beats or groups of beats around, if possible! Another note: I'm still finding myself confused by copying and pasting, especially with the Sections list. I often want to take a basic section I've made and duplicate it as a template for a new section with minor variations. Sometimes I seem to be able to select a section from the Sections list and copy/paste it to create a duplicate section, sometimes not. Perhaps a cheap and cheerful UI solution would be to allow right-clicking a section name to pop up a contextual menu that offered the option to make a copy of the section? Or something like that. (I also sometimes find myself getting tangled up by whether the cursor focus is in the Section list or in the Pattern Editor. Mmmm, must keep slogging away at rough draft ns_kit7 dbkit .... :) Cheers, Carl -- Carl Edlund Anderson mailto:cea@carlaz.com http://www.carlaz.com/