The Sample, The Variants, and Empty Zones

A zone plays one sample, a choice of samples called variants, or no sample at all.

The sample

The SAMPLE tab of the mapping pane edits the lead zone’s sample. Double-click the lead zone on the map to open it.

Each sample has:

• Start and End
• A loop mode: Loop, Loop Alternate, Loop Until Release, Loop Alternate Until Release or Loop For Count
• ∞ to turn looping on, loop Start and End, and XF crossfade length
• Reverse
• SRC: interpolation, Sinc, Linear, Zero-Order Hold (Anti-Aliased) or Zero Order Hold
• Volume, pan and tuning

Drag the handles on the waveform to set start and end, at the bottom, and loop points, at the top.

Click the sample name beside File to load a different file into the current variant. The arrows beside it step to the previous or next sample in the same folder.

The variants

A zone holds up to 16 variants, shown as numbered tabs. Drop a sample on + to add one, or on a tab to replace it. To make a zone from several files at once, hold Alt while dropping them on the map.

Variants chooses which variant plays for each note:

• Round Robin: each in turn.
• Shuffle: each once, in random order, before repeating.
• Random
• Random (no repeats): never the same variant twice in a row.
• Unison: all of them at once.

Each variant has its own copy of the sample controls above. EDIT ALL applies edits to every variant, except start, end, loop points, crossfade and normalization, which stay per variant.

Right-click a variant tab to delete or normalize it.

Empty zones

An empty zone has a range but no sample. Create one by:

• right-clicking a group in the tree and choosing Create Empty Zone, which maps keys 48 to 72
• right-clicking empty space on the map and choosing Create Empty Zone, which fills the gap around the click
• Cmd/Ctrl-dragging on empty space on the map

An empty zone still plays a voice for each note, running its envelopes, modulators and processors. With a processor from the Generators category, such as Virtual Analog or Sine +, an empty zone is a synthesizer voice.

The voice lasts as long as the amp envelope. An empty zone with no processors makes no sound.

Drop a sample on an empty zone’s SAMPLE tab to give it one.