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The Interface

All of the controls for Percussao Do Brasil are featured on the main Kontakt UI. These include: instrument selection, convolution reverb, mic selection, EQ and “Ensemblator”.

Instrument Selection

Click on the graphic of each instrument to load it. Click it again to unload. When you select an instrument you will see the keys on the Kontakt keyboard become populated with the triggers for that particular instrument - starting at MIDI C0. The colour of these keys will vary, depending on the type and timbre of that instrument:

The number of trigger keys available for each percussion instrument will vary, depending on how many articulations are available. It is possible to load several different instruments at the same time. The trigger keys will simply continue up the keyboard as you load more instruments. Two-handed mode will load onto the keyboard twice - more on that later.

EQ Controls

The EQ section, shown here, allows you to quickly and simply tweak the levels of the low, mid and high frequency levels. Simply click and drag. Cmd / ctrl click to reset.

Each instrument can have completely independent EQ settings. These settings will be remembered, even if you re-arrange the keyboard mapping of the instruments.

Ensemblator

The instruments of Percussao Do Brasil have been sampled individually. In a real-life samba band there would be several people playing identical instruments. We’ve made it easy to emulate this within the interface with the “Ensemblator”.

Using this control will automatically play multiple hits. Turn on/off by clicking the button. The timing of the hits can be tightened / loosened with the SPREAD dial.

Each instrument can have completely independent Ensemblator settings - this allows you to adjust the size of your virtual samba band to your taste. These settings will be remembered, even if you re-arrange the keyboard mapping of the instruments.

Note that the Ensemblator can only be used with the mid and large snares / drums (the bottom row of instruments within the interface).

Impulse Response

Percussao Do Brasil comes preloaded with a convolution reverb sampled from an actual space to simulate a realistic ensemble percussion environment. This control makes it easy to quickly dial in some realistic reverb without too much fuss. Adjust the wetness and size of the reverb by click-dragging on the dials shown here. Ctrl / cmd click to reset the levels to default.

From the Kontakt configuration window (shown below) you can adjust many other aspects of the reverb including wet/dry levels, pre-delay, dampening and width. You can also swap out the preloaded impulse response for one of your own.

Microphone Positions

The instruments of Percussao Do Brasil were sampled with two different mic positions: Close and Far. This section the interface gives you control over the mixing and panning of those positions. Use the left / right arrows to select the Close or Far mic controls. Adjust the level and panning using the dials shown here. Ctrl / cmd click to reset the dials to default.

Note that you can set completely independent levels and panning for each instrument - and these settings will be remembered, even if you re-arrange the keyboard mapping of the instruments.

Playing Percussao do brasil

Basic Mode

The basic mode of playing Percussao Do Brasil is to load instruments (as explained above) and then trigger them on the keyboard. Pictured below is the basic keyboard layout:

Two-Handed Mode

In two-handed mode, the instruments will be added to the Kontakt keyboard twice - beginning at MIDI C0 and MIDI C2. This mirroring of the instruments for both left and right hand enables faster playing. To turn two-handed mode on / off use the keyswitch at MIDI A-1. High velocity will turn two-handed mode on, low velocity will turn two-handed mode off. Triggering this keyswitch will also clear all instruments from the keyboard. Other than the mirroring of the trigger keys, the keyboard layout is the same as basic mode:

Round Robin

The recording of each instrument articulation includes many round robin samples. In normal playback these will cycle through, each time they are played. If you want to, you may exclude certain round robin variations from the cycle using the upper MIDI keys from E4 to C5. Each key represents an individual round robin sample. Play a key with low velocity to turn that variation off, high velocity to turn it on. The MIDI key at D4 will reset the round robin cycle to the beginning.