If you are a little familiar with how Wavetables “work” then you know that they consist of slices of 2048 samples. And if you then look up which midi note exactly plays 2048 per single cycle then this is some low F# note …
Anyway: You can now put single short oneshot drum sounds into wavetable slots AND combine that with the “NOTE PER OCTAVE” modulator to jump to up to 12 different wavetable slots … which each has a single one shot drum sound.
This technique I have learnt from the famous Icarus Wavetable Synth by Tone2.
Check out the Patch here - It’s a complete drumset: Enjoy! Icarus Drumset ExpImp.vital (223.9 KB)
If you like let me know and I’ll show another neat thingy you can do with that kind of wavetables…
[…] could be awesomely useful in making generative patches
Yes true. And thanks for your reply. And to be honest/fair - The patch/idea is only copy/pasted from Icarus.
One Idea that I have already applied is to use this kind of Wavetable filled with oneshot samples to create rhythmical patches: These samples have all a clear transient and by scanning through it and combine it with a second wavetable you can generate interesting rhythmical patterns.
The idea might be copied/pasted, but the realization of the latter sure isn’t
It will definitely end up saving me some work next time I think of making something like the one in this, and probably also make things a lot more interesting thread
It’s “quite” simple.
Wavetables are actually a collection of individual, short samples.
Techincally the most prominent format used by lots of WT synths is: Each single snippet (or wavetable slot) has size 2.048 samples. the snippets are put into a single file of .wav format simply by pasting snippet after snippet. A snippet is synonym for single cycle, i.e. a full cycle of the oscillator. If you play for instance the A at 440Hz this snippet is played actually 440 times per second.
Why 2.048 samples? If you do the maths this is the number of samples for a single cycle when you play the note F#-2 (or F#-3??? Might not remember correctly) at 44100 Khz.
That means press the F#-2 key and that plays the short sample in one slot 1:1 back, without squeezing it or making it larger to meet the atuall frequency.
That said: The Drum set is simply a collection of 12 individual sample snippets of 2.048 samples each that where pasted into one wav file. You can use whatever wav editor you want. Important: Use 2.048 samples for each snippet and paste them all into the wav file.
BTW: This 2.048 thingy is the biggest limitation of this “technique”. BEcause you cannot put long 808ish Drums into such small slots.
In order to make the “Note per Octave” work, it should be exactly 12 snippets, becausae 12 notes per oactave…
Yes basicly it sounds quite simple. But some things I don´t understand.
About this 2048 Samples, 2048 x 12 Slots = 1Wavetable
So for example I make a wav file with 12 sounds, each x seconds long, and paste them together in audacity.
Then load it into vital and with the wave frame selector I can choose one from the 12 sounds, press F#-2 key and it will play the sound for x second?
Is it this easy?
Why has the wave frame selector 0-256 when it´s only 12 slots?(Has this to do with the note per octave? Is this just to keep the keys matching when you change octaves or is there more behind it? Sorry my english and my music theory knowledge is not good enough to understand this.)
And what is the value for x?
Well basicly i could just try, but now i have allready written this. And maybee you allready know what x is.
So i cannot imagine what is 2048 Samples. I only know seconds and MB and KB and stuff like that.
could you just cut the long 808 in half and use 2 slots?
with 3 osc in vital you could basicly “sample” 36 sounds?
I´m looking for every patch you share, just haven´t found time yet to analize how you doing things.
