Parts, Groups and Zones
A Shortcircuit XT instrument, called a multi, is a three level hierarchy.
A multi has 16 parts. Each part is an instrument in its own right, with its own MIDI channel, level, pan, tuning, 16 macros and four FX slots. Parts are how Shortcircuit XT plays several instruments at once. See Multitimbral Playback.
A part can be saved and loaded on its own, as a .scp file. A whole multi is a .scm file.
Groups
Section titled “Groups”A part holds any number of groups. A group collects zones and adds what is shared by all of them:
- play mode (poly, mono or legato) and polyphony
- trigger conditions, such as keyswitches and round robins
- four processors, run on the mixed output of the group’s voices
- group LFOs, envelopes and a modulation matrix
- an output, normally to its part
A group holds any number of zones. A zone maps a sample, or no sample at all, to the keyboard:
- a key range, root key and velocity range
- up to 16 sample variants, for round robins inside one zone, or none for an empty zone
- four processors, run separately for every voice
- an amp envelope, four more envelopes, four LFOs and a modulation matrix
- an output, normally to its group
When a note arrives, every zone in every group whose range and trigger conditions match plays a voice. A single note can play many zones at once.