I'm finally getting around to playing with the new nskit sounds from the version 7 files. It's going very well, and I am really liking some of the new cymbals and snare treatments. This could be my favorite kit yet, once I'm done. I just noticed that there is a choice of linking vs. embedding the files. Was this a nod toward the "recipe" building method of kit distribution? I can't think of a good reason to link my sound files here on my home machine. A great aid towards recipe building might be the ability to "export drum list". In other words, a delimited text file that shows the table in the kit builder window could be useful for communicating recipes to others, as well as serving as an aid to building icons from scratch. I find that I have to refer back to the window in the kit builder constantly. It would be great to be able to just print out a list of drums and variants, including pan, volume, and position settings. It would also be a great tool for checking that your pans and volumes match among like drums. I'm wrestling with actual production of music vs. building and documenting my new kit and building it's icons. If I get time, I'd like to take a crack at recipe building. I envision a spreadsheet style list, with annotations and instructions.
On 21 8 2004 at 9:02 am -0400, Mike Carlyle wrote:
I just noticed that there is a choice of linking vs. embedding the files. Was this a nod toward the "recipe" building method of kit distribution? I can't think of a good reason to link my sound files here on my home machine.
There is one good reason, and that's portability -- if you intend to share your kit with others, it makes things vastly simpler, because then you need only trade the small .dbkit file and let users download their own ns_kit sample library. (If you're going to keep it to yourself though, there is maybe not as much to be gained.) Another benefit is that it will provide you the freedom to open up the original samples in an external editor and make tweaks to them, and then enjoy those changes automatically without having to re-import your changes back into the kit.
I find that I have to refer back to the window in the kit builder constantly. It would be great to be able to just print out a list of drums and variants, including pan, volume, and position settings. It would also be a great tool for checking that your pans and volumes match among like drums.
That's a cool idea... will take a note of it. Thanks. I'm thinking the easiest would probably just be to expand on copy/paste of multiple drums so that text is included on the pasteboard as well, à la Finder.
If I get time, I'd like to take a crack at recipe building. I envision a spreadsheet style list, with annotations and instructions.
The "linking" facility was designed in part to make recipe-making as brainless as possible -- in fact, obviating the need for the "recpie" concept altogether. (For a new user to be able to e.g. use an ns_kit dbkit, the instructions would be as simple as: 1. download nskit.dbkit; 2. download the samples from nskit.com; 3. launch doggiebox and point it the samples when it asks; 4. enjoy.) Are there other aspects of by the recipe concept that are not addressed well by this approach? -ben -- Ben Kennedy, chief magician zygoat creative technical services 613-228-3392 | 1-866-466-4628 http://www.zygoat.ca
If I get time, I'd like to take a crack at recipe building. I envision a spreadsheet style list, with annotations and instructions.
The "linking" facility was designed in part to make recipe-making as brainless as possible -- in fact, obviating the need for the "recpie" concept altogether. (For a new user to be able to e.g. use an ns_kit dbkit, the instructions would be as simple as: 1. download nskit.dbkit; 2. download the samples from nskit.com; 3. launch doggiebox and point it the samples when it asks; 4. enjoy.)
Are there other aspects of by the recipe concept that are not addressed well by this approach?
I had never thought about it before, but it seems that most of the things I describe here would travel with the dbkit file. If this is true, the linking is all that is needed. If it's not then... Most significantly, panning and volume settings are hardly ever set to the default "center" and "100 percent" for each drum. As if that weren't enough, new users should still receive some "recipe" instructions about the general kit setup in terms of drum type and variant. This has a big effect on the usability of the final kit. Also, icons are, in my opinion, a significant aspect of usability that should probably not be overlooked.
On 21 8 2004 at 1:34 pm -0400, Mike Carlyle wrote:
Most significantly, panning and volume settings are hardly ever set to the default "center" and "100 percent" for each drum. As if that weren't enough, new users should still receive some "recipe" instructions about the general kit setup in terms of drum type and variant. This has a big effect on the usability of the final kit.
Also, icons are, in my opinion, a significant aspect of usability that should probably not be overlooked.
True. All of the above is stored in the dbkit, just as before. The only difference is that the actual waveform data for the sound files themselves are not. -ben -- Ben Kennedy, chief magician zygoat creative technical services 613-228-3392 | 1-866-466-4628 http://www.zygoat.ca
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Ben Kennedy -
Mike Carlyle