Django Gypsy Jazz User manual
AnImpactSoundworksSampleLibrary
ProducedbyDimitrisPlagiannis
UserManual,v1.0
DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION..........................................................3
FEATURES..............................................................4
DOWNLOADCONTENTS..................................................4
REQUIREMENTS.........................................................4
LIBRARYOVERVIEW......................................................5
DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR/LEAD......................................5
KEYBOARDLAYOUT...................................................6
LEADGUITARGUI.....................................................6
ARTICULATION.....................................................7
RELEASE..........................................................8
NECKPOSITION....................................................8
PICKING..........................................................8
STRINGPRIORITY..................................................9
PREFERENCES....................................................9
EFFECTS............................................................11
LEVELMIXER.....................................................11
FILTER...........................................................12
PARAMETRICEQUALIZER..........................................12
TRANSIENTDESIGNER............................................12
COMPRESSOR....................................................13
LIMITER..........................................................13
DIEFFECTS.........................................................14
AMP&CABSIM...................................................15
TIPSANDTRICKS/LEAD..............................................15
DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR/RHYTHM..................................16
KEYBOARDLAYOUT..................................................16
RHYTHMGUITARGUI.................................................17
CHORDSELECTION...............................................18
PREFERENCES...................................................18
SEQUENCER.....................................................19
TIPSANDTRICKS/RHYTHM...........................................19
CREDITS...............................................................20
COPYRIGHT&LICENSEAGREEMENT......................................21
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
INTRODUCTION
TheSelmerMaccaferriacousticguitar,bestknownasthefavoredinstrumentoflegendary
jazzguitarvirtuosoDjangoReinhardt,isaparticularguitardesign.Namedafteritsinventor
(MarioMaccaferri)andmanufacturingcompany(Selmer),itisarareitem.Onlyabouta
thousandwereproducedfrom1932to1952.ButsincetherecentrevivalofGypsyJazz,an
increasingnumberofluthiershavebeenworkingontheoriginaldesignsandnowtheyhave
becomeapopularbuild.Visually,theyarecharacterizedbyalargebodywithamovable
bridgeandmandolinliketailpiece.Sonically,theyareknownfortheirloudvolume.Before
theadventofamplification,thisattributeallowedthemtobeheardoverotherinstrumentsin
aband.TheyarethedefinitivesoundofGypsyJazz(alsoknownasHotClub,Jazz
Manouche,orGypsySwing.)
TherearetwomainSelmerbuilds,theearlier“Dhole”(or"grandebouche")andthepost
Maccaferri“ovalhole”(or"petitebouche").TheguitarthatwesampledisabeautifulDhole,
builtbyluthierAdonisGoulielmosandthevintageStimertypepickupweusedisa
singlecoilKleio51model,madebyGabojo.Theinstrumentwasplayedbyitsowner,the
distinguishedguitaristandinstructorVasilisKotsias.
ForourDjango:GypsyJazzGuitarlibrary,wecreatedthreevirtualinstruments:twolead
(acoustic/mikedandelectric/DI)andonerhythm.Theleadinstrumentsaredesignedto
deliversolopartsinthecharacteristicexpressionandspeedofGypsyJazzstylebutnot
only;thedegreeofsamplingdepthmakesthemsuitableforuseinothercontextsaswell,
e.g.modernjazz,swing,orevenpop,andcanprovideanalternativesoundforleadsteelor
nylonacousticguitarpartsthatareplayedwithapick.Therhythmlibraryisstraightforward
GypsyJazzstyleanddeliversthewellknownupbeatswingrhythm,aka“lapompe”,inany
keyandawiderangeofchords.
ThesevirtualinstrumentsweredevelopedbythesameteambehindImpactSoundworks’
PlectraSeriesBouzoukiandOudlibrariesandweredesignedwiththesamegoalsand
samplingphilosophy.Weaimedtocreateavirtualinstrumentthatsoundsreal.Tothisend,
wedevelopedsamplingandscriptingtechniquesthatnotonlyimplementintelligent
responsetoMIDIinput(e.g.smartpositioning,6voicepolyphony,hammeron,pulloff,
bends,slides,releasenoisesandsoon)butalsoincorporatetheplayinginconsistencies
whichprovidethedynamics,flowandexpressivenessofrealacousticperformancesand
oftengetdisregardedas“bad”takesinothersamplingprojects.Wehopeyouwillenjoythe
result!
ThankyouforpurchasingDJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR.
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
FEATURES
● 20,800x24bitsamples,
● 9GBintotaluncompressed,4.5GBwithKontakt’slosslessNCWformat
● MicrophoneandpickupDIversionsoftheLeadInstrument
● Eachstringchromaticallysampled;24fretsfor1ststring,17fretsfortheothers
● 4xVelocityzonesforregularstrokes(piano,mezzoforte,forte,fortissimo)
● 4xRRforeachvelocityzone
● 2xVelocityzonesforVibratoarticulation(mezzoforte,forte)
● 4xRRforeachVibratoarticulationvelocityzone
● 2xRRforHammerOn,PullOff,Glissando,BendandHarmonicarticulations,all
chromaticallysampled
● 4xRRforOctavearticulations
● 2xRRforReleasesamples
● Naturalvibrato
● Adjustableprestrokesampleoffset(upto40msec)forultimaterealism
● Realisticplayingnoiseslayeredatadjustablelevels
● Automaticormanualcontrolofstring,articulationandstrokedirection
● Intelligentmono/polyvoicing;6voicesmax,oneperstring
● Realtimefingerboarddisplayofthenoteposition/articulationforprecisecontrol
● SoundprocessingGUI,includingEQ,Filter,TransientDesigner,Compressor,Limiter
andAmpsimulation
● Rhythmguitarinstrumentfeaturing“lapompe”(“pump”)swinggrooveinallkeys.
● Widerangeofchords,includingmajor(6,6/9,maj7,3rdonbass),minor(m6,m7,
m7♭5),dominant(7,9,7♭5),diminishedandaugmentedchordfamilies.
DOWNLOAD CONTENTS
● DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITARlibrary
● DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITARusermanual
● Demotracks(.mp3and.mid)
REQUIREMENTS
● WindowsorMacOSsystem
● NativeInstrumentsKontaktv5.5.1orhigher(fullversion)
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
LIBRARY OVERVIEW
TheDJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITARlibraryconsistsof3instruments.Theseare:
● DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITARLead(leadguitarsampledwithmicrophones)
● DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITARLeadDI(sampledthroughapickupandDI)
● DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITARRhythm(rhythmguitarsampledw/microphones)
Thetwoleadversionsarealmostidenticalintheiroperation.Themaindifferenceisthe
samplesetused:Onewascapturedacoustically,withmicrophones,whiletheother
‘electrically’,usingapickupthatwentintoadirectbox(DI).
TheRhythminstrumentisquitedifferent.Keyswitches[1]areusedtosettherootnote,chord
andRR[2]samples.Asecondsetofkeyswitchestriggerseparatechordstrumsofvarious
articulationsororganizedintogroovepatterns.
Let’stakeacloselookateachinstrument.
DJANGO : GYPSY JAZZ GUITAR / LEAD
Singlenotesonaguitarcanbeplayedinmultiplestring/fretcombinations,butthesound
timbreisdifferentforeachofthose.Implementingthisfunctioniscrucialforrealistic
performancesandwewantedtheusertobeabletomakethattimbrechoice,sowesampled
allpossiblestringandfretpositionsoftheguitar.Furthermore,allcommonarticulations
(playingtechniques)weresampled.ThroughtheGraphicalUserInterface(GUI),MIDI
ContinuousControldata(MIDICC)orKeyswitches,userscanselectthestring/fret
combinationofchoiceandswitchbetweenarticulations.Theycanalsoautomatetheir
performancesbyrecordingthesechoices.Thisiswhatdeepsamplingisabout.Ifyouare
newtoit,don’tworry;bydefaulttheinstrumentisprogrammedtoanalyzeyourMIDIinput
andautomaticallymakevalidchoicesforyou.Ofcourse,thesechoicescanbemanually
overriddenatalatertime.
[1]Keyswitch:noteonthekeyboardthatfunctionsasaswitch,unlikeregular‘musical’notes.
[2]RR:ShortforRoundRobin.RRarealternativesamplesthateliminatetheunnaturaleffectofrepeatingthe
samesample.
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
KEYBOARD LAYOUT
Keyswitches,instrumentkeys(triggeringmusicalnotes)andnoisetriggerkeys(triggering
noiseeffects)aremappedtothekeyboardinthewaydisplayedontheKontaktinterface
keyboard.HoveringthemousecursoroverakeyshowsadescriptionofthekeyinKontakt’s
infopane.
KeyswitchareaInstrumentkeysNoises
LEAD GUITAR GUI
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
ThemaininstrumentGUIisaccessiblebyclickingontheleftmosttabatthebottom.Itis
exactlythesameforboththeLeadLeadDIinstrumentsandistitled‘LeadGuitar’.TheLead
Guitarinterfacehasthreecontrolareas.Thetoponeconsistsofthefollowingfourknobs.
ARTICULATION
Thisknobsetsthearticulationpreference.Weusethetermpreference
becausesome
articulationsrequiremoreconditionstobetrueinordertobeactivated.Hereisalistofthe
availablearticulationswithdescriptionandtheconditionsforactivation.
●Picked:Regularsinglenotepickstrokes.Requiresnoothercondition.(Defaultsetting)
●Hammeron/Pulloff:Thetechniqueofsharplybringingdownorreleasinga
frettinghandfingerdownonthefingerboardbehindafret,causinganoteto
sound.Requiresthenotetobelegato[3],oneortwosemitonesaboveorbelow.
●Glissando:Thetechniqueofslidingafrettinghandfingerbetweentwonotes.Requires
upward[4]legatonote,oneortwosemitonesabove.
●Bend:Thetechniqueofpushingastringacrossthefingerboardwithafrettinghand
fingersothatthestringgetstighterandthepitchgoesup.Requiresnootherconditions.
●Harmonic:Thetechniqueoftouching(insteadofpushingdownonthefret)thestringat
acertainpointinordertoamplifyvibrationofcertainovertones.Requiresthenotetobe
higherthanE3.
●Octave:Atechniquethatallowsastrumtomuteallbuttwostrings,whichproducestwo
notesatoctaveinterval.RequiresnotetobeintherangeofE3toA5.
ArticulationswitchingcanbeautomatedeitherbyassigningaMIDICCnumbertoit,orby
pressingoneofthearticulationkeyswitchesbeforeplayinganote.Thearticulation
keyswitchesare:
●C#1:Hammeron/PullOff
●D#1:Glissando
●F#1:Bend
●G#1:Harmonic
●A#1:Octave
ReleasingallarticulationkeyswitchesactivatesthedefaultPickedarticulation.
[3]Legatonoteisanotethatispressedbeforethepreviousnotehasbeenreleased.
[4]Upwardlegatonoteisalegatonotethatishigherupthekeyboardthanthepreviousnote.
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
RELEASE
Thisknobswitchesthereleasearticulation.Therearethreesettings.
●Normal:Thisistheregularsoundthatisproducedfromliftingthefrettinghandfingeroff
astring.(Defaultsetting)
●Downslide:Withthisreleasesetting,insteadofliftingoff,thefrettinghandfingerslides
downthefretboardtowardtheheadstock,stillpressingthestring,producingaquick
pitchdrop.
●Upslide:Thisistheoppositeofdownslide.Thefingerslidesupward,towardtheguitar
body,producingthepitchtoquicklyrise.
ReleaseautomationishandledeitherbyassigningaMIDICCnumbertothereleaseknob,
orbypressingonethetwokeyswitches(C2:Downslide,D2:Upslide).Releasingthese
keyswitchesresetsreleasetoitsdefaultNormalvalue.
NECKPOSITION
Asmostnotescanbeplayedonmultiplestring/fretcombinations,eachproducingaslightly
differentsoundtimbre,theneckpositionknoballowstheusertosetpriorityofanareaover
thealternatives.Thisofferscoarsecontrol.Forfinercontrol,theusermayusetheString
Priorityswitchesorkeyswitches.Neckpositionknobhasthefollowingsettings:
●Auto:Thissettingpickstheclosestfrettothepreviousnote.(Defaultsetting)
●Low:Lowneckpositionfocusesfrettingtothefirstfivefrets,neartheheadstock.
●Middle:Middleneckpositionfocusesfrettingtothemiddleoftheneckbetweemthefifth
andtenthfrets.
●High:Highneckpositionfocusesfrettingabovethe10thfret.
NeckpositionautomationcanbeachievedbyassigningaMIDICCnumbertotheneck
positionknob.Becausethisisacoarsecontrolandtopreservetheamountofnotes
availableforkeyswitches,wedecidednottoassignanykeyswitchestothiscontrol.
PICKING
Pickingknobsetsthestrokingdirectionofthepick.Thetwodirectionsproducedifferent
soundandagoodchoiceaddsasignificantamountofrealismtoaperformance.Thereare
threesettings.
●Alternating:Thissettingforcesalternationbetweendownstrokesandupstrokes.
(Defaultsetting)
●Downstroke:Thissettingforcestheuseofdownstrokes
●Upstroke:Thissettingforcestheuseofupstrokes.
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PickingautomationishandledeitherbyassigningaMIDICCnumbertothereleaseknob,or
bypressingonethetwokeyswitches(C#2:Downstroke,D#2:Upstroke).Releasingthese
keyswitchesresetspickingtoitsdefaultAlternatingvalue.
STRINGPRIORITY
Stringpriorityswitchesprioritizeastringovertherestofthem,for
thecaseswheretherearemultiplealternativestring/fret
combinationsforanote.TheycanbeautomatedviaassignedMIDI
CCnumbersorthefollowingkeyswitches.
●C1:String6
●D1:String5
●E1:String4
●F1:String3
●G1:String2
●A1:String1
PREFERENCES
ClickingonthegeariconatthebottomleftcorneroftheGUIopensthePreferencespanel.
Thispanelcontainsthecontrolsthattunethesamplingengineanddonotrequirefrequent
adjustments.Therecontrolsarepersistent,meaningyoudon’thavetosetthemupevery
timeyouloadtheinstrument.Let’sgothroughthemonebyone.
OFFSET:Referstosampleoffset.Unlikekeyboards,guitarnotescontainasignificant
prestrokeaudiocontent,includingthepickcomingdownonthestringandscrapingitbefore
releasingit.Wehavekeptthiscontentbecauseitiscrucialtoarealisticsoundingvirtual
guitar.Alargeoffsetgivesbiggerrealismbutaddslag.Withthiscontrolyoucanadjustthe
effecttoyourliking.Youcansetitwhereyouarecomfortableperformingandchangeitlater
duringmixdown,adjustingfortheaddedlatency.(Valuerange:40msto0ms;Default
value:20ms)
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
SHRED:Thiscontrolsetsthetimelengthbetweentwonotes,belowwhichtheyare
consideredtobeplayedfastaka,inshreddingmode.Whenthishappens,becausethe
strokehastodealwithanalreadyvibratingstring,thenote’sattackisslightlymodified.
Settingtheknobto0msdisablestheeffect.(Valuerange:0msto200ms;Defaultvalue:
100ms)
RELEASEVOLUME:Setsthelevelofthenormalreleasesamples.Thisdoesn’taffect
downslideorupslidereleaselevels.(Valuerange:infdBto12dB;Defaultvalue:0dB)
NOISEVOLUME:Setstheleveloftherandomreleasenoises.Thisreferstonoises
additionaltotheregularnoterelease,e.g.fingertaps,fretslides,etc.(Valuerange:infdB
to12dB;Defaultvalue:0dB)
NOISEOCCURRENCE:Setstherandomreleasenoiseoccurrenceprobability.(Value
range:0%to20%;Defaultvalue:10%)
DIRTYOCCURRENCE:Notesonaguitardon’talwayscomeoutclean,sometimesthepick
hitsthestringwrong,othertimesthefrettinghand,comparedtothepickinghand,pushes
toolateorreleasestooearlythestring.Thisissomethingthathappensregularlyinaguitar
performancebutisusuallyoverlookedinvirtualguitars.Wecallthesenotes‘dirty’andwe
welcomethem,becausetheyarenecessarytoproducerealisticperformances.Wehave
sampledthemandthiscontroladjuststheprobabilityofdirtynotesoccurringrandomly
duringshredding[5].(Valuerange:0%to50%;Defaultvalue:0%).
Notethatifyouwishtocontroldirtynotesintentionallyyoumaydosousingthedirtynote
keyswitch(B1).
PICKINGSYNC:Alternatingpickstrokedirectioncanbesyncedtothetempoofthehost
application.Thismakesiteasytosetdownstrokestodownbeatslikearealguitar
performance.Thereare3settings:Off,8noteand16notesync.8notewillsync
downstrokestoodd8thnotesandupstrokestoeven,while16notedoesthesamein16th
noteresolution.Notethatpickingkeyswitches(C#2andD#2)overridethissyncsetting,
meaningthatyoucanusekeyswitchestoforceexceptionsandreleasethemtogobackto
followingthesyncrule.(Values:OFF/8th/16th;Defaultvalue:OFF)
SYNCOFFSET:Thiscontrolhelpsincludeunquantizednotesintothepickingsync.Adjust
thisknobtoincreaseorreducethenotedetectiontimerangebeforeandaftertheexactbeat
timing.(Valuerange:0msto200ms;Defaultvalue:20ms)
NotethatthiscontrolappearsonlywhenPickingSyncissetto8or16note.
[5]ShreddingtakesplacewhenanotesareplayedquickerthanthecurrentsettingoftheShredcontrol.
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SYNCINVERSION:Dependingonthelatencyandsongtempo,sometimesthesyncrule
resultsmayendupinverted.Onthoseoccasions,youmayswitchonSyncinversionandget
correctresults.(Defaultvalue:OFF)
NotethatthiscontrolappearsonlywhenPickingSyncissetto8or16note.
EFFECTS
TheEffectsgraphicalinterfacewillhelpyoushapethesoundthroughanessentialsetof
soundprocessingtools.Itismadeofsixlunchboxstylerackmodules,eachofwhichcanbe
bypassed.Thesignalispassedthroughinthefollowingorder:
LEVELMIXER
TherearetwoseparateVolumeknobsformixingthecloseandroommicrophonelevels.
ClosemictrackismonowhileRoomtrackisstereo.
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FILTER
ThemicrophonemixgoesintoavintagetypeLadderNotchfilter.TheNotchcutstwonarrow
bandsoffrequenciesateithersideofthecutoffandalsoincludesthefollowingadditional
controls:
●Frequency:Controlsthecentralcutofffrequency.
●Gain:Controlstheamplitudeincreaseafterthefilter.Thiscontrolcanbeusedto
compensateforamplitudereductionduetothefilter,ortoincreasethesoftsaturationof
theeffect.
PARAMETRICEQUALIZER
Nextinthesignalpathcomesa4bandParametricEQthatoffersthechoiceofBellorShelf
stylecontrolfortheLowandHighfrequencybands.ThisEQismodelledonhighquality
analoguecircuitry.Itscontrolsare:
●LowGain:AdjuststheamountofboostorcutattheLFFrequency.
●LowFreq:Adjuststhecenterfrequencyofthelowfrequencybandatwhichtheboostor
cutwilloccur.
●LowShelf:Togglestheshapeofthelowfrequencyband.Ifturnedofftheband
becomesashelf.Ifturnedoffitbecomesabell.
●LowMidGain:AdjuststheamountofboostorcutattheLMFFrequency.
●LowMidFreq:Adjuststhecenterfrequencyofthelowmidfrequencybandatwhichthe
boostorcutwilloccur.
●LowMidBand:ControlstheBandwidthofthelowmidfrequencyband.
●HighMidGain:AdjuststheamountofboostorcutattheHMFFrequency.
●HighMidFreq:Adjuststhecenterfrequencyofthehighmidfrequencybandatwhich
theboostorcutwilloccur.
●HighMidBand:ControlstheBandwidthofthehighmidfrequencyband.
●HighGain:AdjuststheamountofboostorcutattheHFFrequency.
●HighFreq:Adjuststhecenterfrequencyofthehighfrequencybandatwhichtheboost
orcutwilloccur.
●HighShelf:Togglestheshapeofthehighfrequencyband.Ifturnedofftheband
becomesashelf.Ifturnedoffitbecomesabell.
TRANSIENTDESIGNER
NextmoduleistheTransientDesigner.Thissimplebutveryusefultoolisdesignedto
controltheattackandsustainoftheinstrument.Itscontrolsare:
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
●Attack:Controlsthescalingoftheattackportionoftheinputsignal’svolumeenvelope.
Increasingthisparameterwilladdmorepunchanddecreasingitwillreducesharp
attacks.
●Sustain:Controlsthescalingofthesustainportionoftheinputsignal’svolume
envelope.Increasingthisparameterwilladdmorebodytothesoundanddecreasingit
willreducethesound’stail.
●Gain:Controlstheinputgaintotheeffect.
COMPRESSOR
Thecompressorthatcomesnexthelpstransformtheindividualsamplesintoaperformance
bygluingthenotestogether.Itscontrolsare:
●Threshold:SetsalevelthresholdabovewhichtheCompressorstartsworking.Only
levelsthatriseabovethisthresholdwillbereducedbythecompression;signalsthatstay
belowitwillbeleftunprocessed.
●Ratio:Controlstheamountofcompression,expressedasaratioof“inputlevelchange”
against“outputlevelchange”.ARatioof1:1meansthatnocompressionwillbe
happening.Forexample,aSettingof4representstheratio4:1,whichmeansforevery
4decibelincreaseofamplitudeabovethethreshold,theoutputwillincreasebyonly1
decibel.
●Attack:AdjuststhetimetheCompressorwilltaketoreachthefullRatiovalueafteran
inputsignalexceedstheThresholdlevel.
●Release:Adjuststhetimethecompressorwilltaketofallbacktononcompressionafter
theinputsignalfallsbelowthethreshold.
●Makeup:Controlstheoutputgainofthecompressedsignal.Usedtocompensatefor
thegainreductionoftheeffect.
●ParallelMix:Setsthedry/wetmixofthecompressorto50/50%.Thisparallel
compressionstyleroutingincreasesthequietersignalsratherthanreducingthelouder
ones.
LIMITER
LastinthesignalpathistheLimiter,whichactsasa“safetynet”tokeepshortsignalpeaks
fromoverloadingthesystem,whichwouldresultinaudioclipping.Controls:
●Input:Setsthegainoftheinputsignal.TheLimiterisdifferentfromtheCompressorin
thatithasafixedthreshold;toachieveasensiblepeakreduction,usethiscontrolto
adjusttheinputgainuntilyouseetheAttenuationmeterrespondingonlytooccasional
levelpeaks.
●Release:JustliketheCompressor’scontrolofthesamename,thisknobadjuststhe
timeittakestheLimitertoreturntoanunprocessedsignalaftertheinputlevelfalls
belowthethreshold.
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●Output:Adjuststhemodule’soutputlevel.
Ofcourse,thereistheoptiontoswitchoffallthebuiltineffectmodulesandroutethedry
signalintoyourowneffectchain.
DI EFFECTS
TheLeadDIinstrumentisoperatedinthesamewayastheacousticonewejustdescribed.
Thereisonlyonedifferencebetweenthetwo:TheDIinstrumenthasaAmplifier/Speaker
cabinetsimulationmoduleasfirsteffectinthesignalpath,insteadofthemicrophonelevel
mixerandfilterfoundintheacousticversion.
Therestoftheeffectsareexactlythesame.
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AMP&CABSIM
Theeffectsimulatesthetoneofguitaramplifiers.Ifswitchedoff,theDIsignalgoesthrough
totheoutputandbecomesavailableforexternalreamping.Thecontrolsare:
●Bass:Adjuststhelowfrequencyresponseoftheamplifier.
●Mid:Adjuststhemidrangefrequencyresponseoftheamplifier.
●Treble:Adjuststhehighfrequencyresponseoftheamplifier.
●Presence:Booststhefrequencyresponseintheuppermidrange.
●Reverb:Adjuststhevolumeofavintagetypespringreverbeffect.
●Master:Adjuststheamplifier’smastervolume.
●Room:Adjuststhelevelofthestereoambientroommics.
●Cabinet:Switchesbetweenfivespeakercabinetstyles.
TIPS AND TRICKS / LEAD
● AllGUIcontrolsareautomatableviaMIDICC.Rightclickonacontrol,select"Learn
MIDICC#Automation"andmovethecontrolleryouwanttoassigntoit.RefertoKontakt
manualformoreinfo.
● VieworeditMIDICCinKontakt’s“Auto”tab(thisrequiresanopenKontaktBrowser).
DraganddropaMIDICC#onanycontrolintheGUItoassigntheCC#tothatcontrol.
● Sustainpedalholdsthelastnoteplayedoneachstring.
● Modwheelduringheldnotesswitchesbetweensustainedandvibratonotes.
● ToresetaGUIcontroltoitsdefaultvalue,CTRL+clickonit.
● TheFiltereffectcanadda‘nasal’charactertothesound,bringingitclosertotheother
popularSelmerMaccaferriguitarbuild,theOhole.
● EvenifyouturnofftheampsiminordertousethedryDIsignalforexternalprocessing,
youcanstillusetheothereffectmodulesasstompboxes.
● Formaximumrealism,usetheminimumSampleOffsetvalue(40ms).Thismakesit
laggytoplaybutyoucanbypassthisproblemlikethis:Recordyourperformancewith
theOffsetsettoahighervalue,e.g.20msor10ms.Duringmixing,switchto40ms
whilepushingyourMIDIdataearlierbythesameamountoftime,e.g.from10msto
40msmeanspushingMIDIback(earlier)by30ms.
● Toseeadetaileddescriptionofthearticulationandpickstrokedirectionofthenote
playedlast,watchtheKontaktstatusbar(belowtheInfopane).Notethatthisbar
disappearsinKontakt’sMinimizedview.
● TheKontaktkeyboardandinfopanecanbeswitchedon/offfromthetoolbaratthetopof
Kontakt’swindow.
● Keyswitchesneedtobepressedbeforethemusicalnoteispressed.Similarly,release
keyswitchesneedtobepressedbeforethemusicalnoteisreleased.
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DJANGO : GYPSY JAZZ GUITAR / RHYTHM
TheRhythminstrumentplayssinglechordstrumsorprogrammablerhythmicchordstrum
patternsthataresyncedtothesongtempo.Operationissimpleandtheinstrumentiseasy
toplayandautomate.Let’stakeacloserlook,startingwiththekeyboardlayout.
KEYBOARD LAYOUT
Keyswitches,instrumentkeysandnoisetriggerkeysaremappedtothekeyboardintheway
displayedontheKontaktinterfacekeyboard.Hoveringthemousecursoroverakeyshowsa
descriptionofthekeyinKontakt’sinfopane.We’llgetbacktothekeyfunctionslateron.
Now,let’smoveontotheGUIandintroduceitscontrols.
RRRootNoteChordSingleStrumsStrumPatterns
STRUM,RRANDPATTERNKEYS
Chordsareplayedeitherassinglestrumsorasrhythmicstrumpatterns.Singlestrumsare
triggeredbythebluestrumkeys.Startingfromthelowestkeyandmovingupthekeyboard,
theseare:
● Longdownbeat(C4)
● Short(swing)upstroke(C#4)
● Shortdownbeat(D4)
● Long(swing)upstroke(D#4)
● Hardupbeat(E4)
● Softupbeat(F4)
● Chordchoke(F#4,browncoloredontheKontaktkeyboard)
● Sustained(G4)
Fortwoofthechords(6/9andm6)therearetwoadditionalstrums:
● Endstab(G#4,mintcoloredontheKontaktkeyboard)
● Endslowstrum(A4,mintcoloredontheKontaktkeyboard)
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Strumsarenamedaftertheirrhythmicfunctioninameasure.Someareintendedtobe
playedondownbeats(e.g.everyodd8thnote),othersonupbeats(e.g.everyeven8th
note),andsomeonswingbeats(e.g.oneven16thnotes).Therecanbemanycombinations
thatcreatedifferentgrooves,feelfreetoexperimentandcreateyourown.Theadditional
‘End’strumsareintendedtobeplayedonspecialoccasionssuchasbreaksorendings.6/9
chordendstrumscovermajorkeys,whilem6endstrumsareintendedforminorkeys.
RRkeyswitchesforcetheuseofspecificRRsamples.Formoststrumsthereare8RR
available.Somestrumshavefewer(4or2RR),inwhichcasetheyfoldandrepeat(e.g.for
Longupstrokes,whichhasonly4RR,usingRR5isthesameasusingRR1).RR
keyswitchesneedtobehelddowntoforceplaybackofthecorrespondingRRsample.
Patternkeystriggerthecorrespondingpattern.We’lltalkmoreaboutpatternsinthePattern
GUIchapterthatfollows.
RHYTHM GUITAR GUI
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CHORDSELECTION
Chordsareselectedthroughtwoknobswhichsettherootnoteandchordquality/extension.
Thecombinationofthetwoistheselectedchord.Itisdisplayednexttotheknobs.
Toswitchtoanotherchord,youmaymovetheknobswiththemouseorpressthe
correspondingkeyswitches.AutomationisavailableeitherbyassigningaMIDICCnumber
totheknobsorbyrecordingkeyswitchMIDI.
PREFERENCES
ClickingonthegeariconatthebottomleftcorneroftheGUIopensthePreferencespanel.
Therearethreecontrols:
2TRACK:Referstodoubletracking.Thisbuttonswitchesbetweensingleguitar(pannedat
center)anddoubleguitar(pannedleftright)modes.Whileindoubletrackingmode,thetwo
guitarsplayexactlythesamestrumsbutusingadifferentRRsampleorder,sothatthey
neversoundexactlythesame.(Defaultvalue:OFF)
2TRACKPAN:Thisknobcontrolshowhardisthepanningforthetwoguitarswhilein
doubletrackingmode.At100%thetwoguitarsarepannedallthewayleftandright.At0%
theyarebothpannedatcenter.(ValueRange:0%to100%;Defaultvalue:75%)
NOISEVOLUME:Thisknobadjuststhelevelofthefretnoisesthatplaywhenchanging
rootnote.(ValueRange:infdBto12dB;Defaultvalue:0dB)
ALTERNATIVEKEYSWITCH:Referstoanalternativekeyswitchingmethodforselecting
chords.ThisbuttonswitchesbetweenthedefaultRoot+Chordkeyswitchtriggeringmethod
andavoicingbasedmethod.Whenenabled,therootnoteandchordkeyswitchoctavesare
replacedbyatwooctavezonewherechordswillbeautomaticallydetectedasyouplay
them.Thechordsneedtobeinrootposition(rootaslowestnote)withtheonlyexception
beingthemajorchordinversion(3rdonbass).9thnotescaneitherbeplayedon9thstepor
2nd.
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SEQUENCER
ClickingonthematrixiconatthebottomrightcorneroftheGUIopenstheSequencerpanel.
Thisisasimplestepsequencerwhichcanstoreuptoeight16steppatterns.Itallowsyouto
performanentirerhythmicpatternthatissyncedtothesongtempowithasinglenotepress.
Tocreateapattern,firstselectthepatternnumberthatyouwishtostoreitin.Thenenablea
strumbyclickingononeofthestepbuttons,ordisableitbyclickingonitagain.
Toplayapatternpressoneofthepatternkeys(C5G5).C5playspattern1,C#5plays
pattern2andsoon.Releasethepatternkeyandplaybackstops.
Velocitycanbecontrolledbydraggingthebarsatthebottomofeachstep.
SwingamountcanbeadjustedaswellwiththeSwingknob.
Finally,theLatchbuttonallowspatternstokeepplayingwithouthavingtokeepapatternkey
presseddown.Whileinlatchmode,patternkeysstartandstopplayback.
TIPS AND TRICKS / RHYTHM
● Them6‘End’stabsandslowstrumsareactuallym6/9chords,butsincewedon’thave
thatchordinourpalette,weplacedtheminthem6grouptowhichtheyareclosest.
● Youcancreatemorechordextensions,withanartificialyetquiteconvincingway,by
addingsinglenotesfromDjangoLead.Forexample,tocreatea#9chord,playa7chord
fromDjangoRhythmandatthesametimeplaythecorresponding#9noteinDjango
Lead.Startbyplaythe#9noteonthe1ststringatalowvelocityandadjusttotaste.You
candothesamefor♭9,13andotherchords.
● UsingthesameEffectssettingshelpstheLeadandRhythminstrumentssoundsimilar.
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DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
● Indoubletrackingmode,thepanningofthetwoguitarsisalwaysmirrored.Ifyouwishto
createmorecomplexpanscheme,youhavetosetthe2trackpanto100%androute
theleftandrighttracksseparately.
● Thefretnoisestriggeredbyrootnotechangesalsochokesustainedchordsandcanbe
partofthegroovebyplacingtherootchangesintimelymoments(e.g.a16thnote
beforethenewchord),followingthesameswingsetting.
● UnlikeRootandChordkeyswitchesthatsettheactiverootnoteandchordupon
keypress,RRkeyswitchesneedtobeheldinordertoforcetheuseoftheir
correspondingRRsample.
● Whentriggeringapatternyoumaynoticealittlelagonthefirstchord.Thisisnormal.It
happensbecausepatternsaresyncedtothehostapptempoallthetime(evenif
playbackiscurrentlypaused/stopped)andthefirstchordiswaitingto‘catch’thenext
downbeat.
CREDITS
DJANGO:GYPSYJAZZGUITAR
©2016ImpactSoundworks
ProducedbyDimitrisPlagiannisandImpactSoundworks
Designed,recorded,editedandscriptedbyDimitrisPlagiannis
AdditionaleditingbyErikaPlagiannisandChristosRigas
AdditionalgraphicdesignbyConstructiveStumblings
GuitarplayedbyVasilisKotsiasandVasilisAntonopoulos
DholeSelmerMaccaferritypeguitarbuiltbyAdonisGoulielmos
(www.goulielmosguitars.gr)
Kleio51pickupbuiltbyGabojo(www.gabojo.com)
AdditionalthankstoGeorgeKatsigiannisfortherecordingstudioandgearandNilsLiberg
fortheSublimeKSPplugin.
Formoreinformation,visitourwebsite:
www.impactsoundworks.com
oremailusat:
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