Expert Advice

Jul 1, 2000 12:00 PM, Mike Levine

In this month's installment of "Operation Help," Mark of the Unicorn helps you set up Digital Performer to work with ReBirth and ReWire, and E-mu offers tips on the Xtreme Lead-1 module's SuperBeats and Arp functions. Also, Charlie Shew of Glyph Technologies makes a guest appearance to answer a reader's question on hard drive specifications, and EM editor Steve Oppenheimer gives gear advice to a backpacking musician.

FROM THE MANUFACTURERS Setting up Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer for ReBirth and ReWire

Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer is compatible with many of today's hottest plug-ins and virtual- instrument products. One is the popular ReBirth-338, the virtual analog drum machine/synth bass from Propellerhead Software. ReBirth reproduces (to the last detail) the buttons and performance characteristics of the old Roland TR-series drum and bass modules. Propellerhead (along with Steinberg) also created ReWire, a Mac OS shared library that enables ReBirth to stream its 24-bit audio output directly into Digital Performer's virtual mixing environment in real time while both programs are running (see Fig. 1). ReWire even lets you control the transports from either program.

ReWire allows you to program killer drum and bass parts in ReBirth and then layer them with other instrument parts in Digital Performer's sequencing, hard disk-recording, and mixing environment. ReWire also provides multichannel input, so you can put parts such as the kick, snare, hat, and synth bass on separate tracks in Digital Performer for independent automated mixing and real-time 32-bit effects processing.

To set up the ReWire library with Digital Performer, follow these easy steps:

1. Install Digital Performer (version 2.7 or later).

2. Use the Get Info command for Digital Performer and add 10 to 20 MB to its memory partition. For example, if you normally run Digital Performer with a 40 MB partition, try 50 or 60 MB. This adjustment reserves a little extra RAM for ReBirth, which will use Digital Performer's memory partition.

3. Launch Digital Performer. Go to Basics right arrow Edit FreeMIDI Configuration to launch FreeMIDI Setup. In FreeMIDI Setup, choose FreeMIDI Applications Only. This setup allows you to freely switch back and forth between ReBirth and Digital Performer during playback. It's almost as if ReBirth becomes another window within Digital Performer.

4. Quit FreeMIDI Setup and return to Digital Performer. Go to File right arrow Preferences and make sure that the Play in Background option is enabled.

5. Quit Digital Performer.

6. Install ReBirth-338.

7. Launch ReBirth (don't launch Digital Performer yet). Play a few demo "mods" to make sure that it's up and running correctly.

8. Quit ReBirth.

9. Launch Digital Performer. (ReWire requires you to open Digital Performer before ReBirth.) You should now see ReBirth inputs in Digital Performer's audio-track input menus. ReWire supplies these inputs even when ReBirth is not running.

10. Before you reopen ReBirth, either create a stereo Aux track and assign ReBirth's main Mix (L/R) as its audio input, or do the same thing using a regular stereo audio track and record-enable the track. Either option activates Digital Performer as a ReWire host for ReBirth. If you don't take this step, ReBirth will not "see" Digital Performer as an audio-output destination.

Remember, you can set up a separate Digital Performer track for each ReBirth input. But you need to set up at least one track as just described.

The audio-output assignment for the ReBirth tracks in Digital Performer can be the main outs on your 2408 audio interface, the speaker outputs of your Mac, or any other available outputs.

11. Launch ReBirth.

Now when you load a song in ReBirth and press Play in either ReBirth or Digital Performer, ReBirth's audio output will appear on its assigned track on Digital Performer's Mixing Board channel strip. In addition, you'll hear the audio on the ReBirth track's playback destination. The programs will stay in perfect sync.

Don't forget that you can apply real-time plug-in effects to the incoming ReBirth audio, and even bus ReBirth audio anywhere you want in your Digital Performer mix. When Digital Performer is in Tempo Slider mode, tempo can be adjusted in either program. In Conductor Track mode, Digital Performer controls the tempo, including on-the-fly tempo changes. When you're finished with your session, quit ReBirth first. That's it! Enjoy.-Jim Cooper, Mark of the Unicorn

Using the E-mu Xtreme Lead-1's SuperBeats and Arp Functions

E-mu's Xtreme Lead-1 expandable sound module now offers a SuperBeats mode, which allows you to access a built-in 16-track play-only sequencer optimized for live performance and groove creation. Based on the Beats mode introduced in E-mu's Orbit and Planet Phatt modules (which could play back only one track), XL-1 contains dozens of special 16-Part SuperBeats riffs created by some of the industry's most talented programmers.

Here's how it works. Each of the 16 Parts (instrument grooves) is assigned to a key on the selected Trigger MIDI channel. Additional key assignments give you control over the Beats: for example, Latch Notes keys turn Parts on and off; Group Parts keys trigger multiple Parts. The other options are Mute All Parts, Clear All Parts, and Start & Stop. The 16 Parts are organized into four groups-Main Groove, Alt Groove, Perc/Fills, and Inst Wild-and are mapped over two octaves (see Fig. 2).

The XL-1 also features the powerful Arp/Rhythm Pattern Generator, a feature that first appeared in E-mu's Audity 2000 module. Each of the pattern generator's presets offers 16 user-programmable synched arpeggiators. You can set up the XL-1 to play the arpeggiators and Beats together in a few easy steps:

1. Set MIDI mode to Omni.

2. In the Beats menu, set the Beats channel (BtsCh) to MIDI channel 01.

3. Set the Trigger channel to Basic.

4. Set the MIDI channel of the Beats preset to 01.

5. Set each Arp preset to any unused MIDI channel.

You can play only one SuperBeats preset at a time, but you can combine the Beat with up to 15 arpeggiators and other presets simultaneously (you have 16 MIDI channels to work with). And because the Arps and Beats are synched to the same Beats/Arp Clock, when you change the bpm in real time, all the Arps and Beats will automatically adjust to the new tempo. For more information about the XL-1's SuperBeats mode, check out www.emu.com.-Derk Hagedorn and Aaron Eppolito, E-mu

QUESTIONS FROM READERS Hard Choices

Q: I am a music-production professional in need of a fast hard drive. I'm a little confused by the large amount of information and specifications provided by manufacturers. What are the pros and cons of high cache and high seek speed and rpm? It seems that you can have one or the other. I would like some info so I can decide what would be more beneficial for my particular applications.

Luis Gonzalez via e-mail

A: In order to answer your question as accurately as possible, we enlisted the help of Charlie Shew of Glyph Technologies, a company that produces high-speed, computer-based mass-storage devices for music and video production.

First you need to understand what's happening at the drive/OS level in regard to shuttling data in and out of your application. The common wisdom on disk rotational speed (rotations per minute) is that the faster your disk spins, the better-because the less time it takes for the platter (disk surface) to come around, the faster the heads deliver your data.

Most current hard drive mechanisms come in one of three rotational-speed settings: 5,400, 7,200, or 10,000 rpm. Your choice depends on the amount of data you need to move (track count) and how many edits you will be making to that data.

For example, if you are doing radio production and you don't frequently use more than, say, six tracks recorded at 16 bits, 44.1 kHz, then you may be able to get by just fine with a 5,400 or 7,200 rpm drive. However, if you're a track junkie and you work in 24-bit, 96 kHz format with heavy edits, then you will most certainly need a 10,000 rpm drive.

As for seek time, the smaller the number, the better. The best drives offer seek times of 6 to 9 milliseconds; at the minimum, you should get a unit with a seek time that's rated under 12 ms.

The drive cache is not as important a factor in audio work, because you want to keep data flowing steadily from the drive into your application/OS's cache. Current hard drives typically provide at least a 512K cache, and most offer 1 to 2 MB. Any of these cache sizes is sufficient for most audio work. Again, though, track junkies may want a larger drive-cache size, just to give those massive amounts of bits as much breathing room as possible as they shuttle back and forth.

The best rule of thumb is to look at the manufacturer's recommended drive specs for a particular DAW. However, the hard drive world changes very quickly, and getting information from the manufacturer on the most current drives may be difficult. Therefore, it's advisable to work with a knowledgeable dealer who knows which drive mechanisms will work best for your particular application.-Charlie Shew, Glyph Technologies

Trip Abroad

Q: I've recently received a fellowship that's sending me abroad for a full year to study electronic music in several countries. I'll be living out of a backpack (or two), and I need to stuff as much of a studio as possible into my luggage. I'm used to working with a sampling keyboard, a decent mixing board, an effects unit, and my laptop. The laptop is coming with me, but everything else is too big. What kind of compact gear do you recommend for the backpacking electronic musician?

Jesse Stiles Poughkeepsie, NY

A: That depends on the kind of work you want to do. The simplest way to go is to leave the laptop at home and carry only a set of headphones (for privacy) and a small portable home keyboard with built-in speakers and a good sequencer. Some of these keyboards also have built-in computer interfaces, and almost all can be powered with batteries and AC supplies. If you're going to compose on the road and then create the finished piece at home, this might be all you need.

If you add the laptop for all the recording, synthesis, sampling, signal-processing, and mixing chores, you need a digital audio sequencer, perhaps a few DSP plug-ins, and a software synth and sampler. Make sure the programs work well together. For instance, if you use a Steinberg sequencer, use a software synth that supports ReWire technology (from Steinberg and Propellerhead Software) and VST plug-ins. Whatever your choice, think in terms of a system.

If you take the laptop, you can use any small MIDI keyboard controller because you can get your sounds from the software synth/sampler. Fatar and Novation (see Fig. 3) make some small, lightweight keyboard controllers that might do the trick, but again, portable home keyboards are made for this kind of job. Get one with a built-in MIDI interface to shave off some weight.

If you plan to add vocals and acoustic instruments to your compositions when you get back, you don't have to haul around a mic and mic preamp. But if you want to sample sounds along the way (which is a cool idea) or jam with musicians you meet and record the results, a mic and preamp (a battery-powered preamp if you want to do field recording) are in the cards. Use a small, solid-state mic preamp because a tube preamp might not survive the shocks of backpacking. Similarly, dynamic mics are best for your application because they can usually take a moderate beating and still perform, and they do not require phantom power.

If your laptop has a PC Card (PCMCIA) slot, and you want to record pro-level audio, consider using an audio card such as Digigram's VXpocket (reviewed in this issue of EM). This card works with laptop PCs and Mac PowerBooks.

For more-specific product ideas, check out the new version of EM's Personal Studio Buyer's Guide, available at newsstands and stores that carry EM. (Readers in the United States with paid subscriptions received the PSBG free with this issue.) The PSBG product listings include features, prices, and, in a few cases, dimensions, along with the manufacturers' Web URLs and e-mail addresses. You can use the PSBG charts to narrow the field and contact manufacturers to ascertain any sizes and weights we didn't list.-Steve O. A