Keymap Sample Editor

The Sample editor

The sample editor is where you perform edits on virtual samples and have full access to all the Keymap functions for creating loops, Regions, applying Harmonic Resynthesis, creating slices and much more. While the focus of the sample editor is on a single virtual sample at a time, the same features and functions of the sample editor are also available in the Aux Sample Editor found in the Instrument editor and resources window, which is for all intents and purposes as functional as the full sample editor only stripped of some of the full sample editor’s surrounding elements.

It is important to understand that the sample editor is always about virtual samples, and not the real sample files on disk. All the cut and paste operations you do here never modify the real samples: the editor, and all of its functions, are totally non destructive.

The main element in the sample editor is the sample view, where the sample waveform is displayed, and where you can set cursors, define loops, make selections, and perform functions.

Loop...

Keymap and the EXS24 offer realtime loop crossfades which are very useful for smoothing out the “join” point of the loop, i.e. when the playback cursor jumps from the loop end back to the loop start.

Once you set the crossfade length, the function works by smoothly fading-out the end of the loop segment, and at the same time mixing-in the audio segment from the corresponding relative position immediately before the loop start.

This way, the audio at the end of the loop will blend seamlessly with the audio at the start of the loop in order to avoid glitches: the crossfade function spreads any possible glitch or sonic difference over the length of the crossfade (mix) before loop end.

This function is non destructive and can be performed as simply as dragging the xfade cursor in the sample editor. Several Keymap commands let you optimize the crossfade in order to match your sound.

Non destructive editing

Instead of playing samples directly, Keymap plays non-destructively edited samples (Virtual samples), that you can cut, copy, paste, slice, shift, fade, loop at your pleasure. The fact that that you can manipulate sounds without touching the files on disk means that you do not have to worry about undoing changes and sharing samples among instruments, you have more freedom to experiment, and edits are always very quick.

Slices, transients and loop remix

You can slice a sample manually, at regular points or at transient points, and then shift the content of individual slices around. Slices are played back with a continuous crossfade system allowing glitch-free playback. Through cursor keys commands you can navigate across slices and shift their content in real time and very intuitively, effectively remixing the content. This is especially interesting with rhythmic loops. You can also slice loops and map them to individual notes on the Keyboard.

Tune and pitch

Version 1.5 brings three new functions in Keymap, dedicated to retuning and pitch correcting samples. The target for these tuning functions is a standard 440 hz chromatic scale. The functions offers different ways to perform the tuning, from simply modifing the finetune parameter of the sample to making full use of Harmonic Resynthesis to completely freeze the pitch.

Interactive trimming

With Keymap you can select a portion of a sample, or a Zone, or even multiple Zones, and tweak a slider for trimming the attack to a desired dB level.

The same can be done for the release. This lets you select your Zones containing raw samples, set the two values, and…you’re done! When you are doing this on a single Zone or single Sample, the trim points are also visualized in realtime.

Crossfaded cuts

When cutting/deleting/pasting/slicing samples in the sample editor, Keymap can automatically set a desired crossfade length and shape in order to smooth the edit. You can see the crossfade by enabling the slice view in the Sample Editor. A new "Blend" menu command let you add/change an arbitrary length crossfade, with selectable shape, to a split.

You can blend an edit anytime directly with the mouse, by holding the option+command key modifiers and selecting the blend area across the split. As soon as you release the mouse button, the blend is performed or updated. The blend operation is, as everything in Keymap, completely non-destructive.

Harmonic resynthesis

Harmonic Resynthesis (HR) is a proprietary technology we have introduced to the field of sampled instruments editors for manipulating pitch, time, formant and amplitude of samples in the context of entire sampler instruments in a simple and intuitive way. The same way movies use computer graphics to create realistic scenes that would be otherwise impossible to shoot, Harmonic Resynthesis works by analyzing your samples, and creating in realtime new sounding samples using the original as a basis. Read more about it at the Harmonic Resynthesis page

... and Autoloop

Finding an optimal loop in a sample is often a difficult, boring and time consuming task. Keymap offers a series of extremely powerful autolooping tools that work for real, and enable you to find loops in your sample material very easily. While a lot of complex DSP is required for this to happen, we designed the simplest possible user interface for it. You basically select a sample area (up to the entire sample), and you “Autoloop” it, and that’s all. You can also search for loops by limiting the search Zone only to a certain range over the sample. Autolooping can be performed on multiple Zones at once.

Logic 8 Integration
Instrument Editor
Group Editors
Setup Editor
Sample Editor
Harmonic Resynthesis
Resources Window
Surround+Space mixer
Batch Creator
Spectral Tuner
Keymap and Kontakt, Structure.

VAT ID IT02120380353