Sonicware CyDrums 2.0 beta firmware adds sampling
Sonicware's CyDrums drum machine can now sample. The feature comes in a 2.0 firmware beta, which is an official release from Sonicware and open for public testing.
A Feel function and an LFO
Feel works alongside Swing. Swing shifts the timing of notes to loosen a rigid grid, and Feel adds fluctuations that drift in short cycles of gradual change. The cycle follows the playback tempo, even when varispeed is on.
Sonicware also put an LFO among the modulation options. An LFO is a slow oscillator that moves a parameter up and down over time. Various performance features were improved, and a few bugs that had come to light were fixed.
Sampling through SP DUAL
Sampling arrives with a new SP DUAL Structure. Sound Structures are how CyDrums routes several elements together, and the new one adds to that set. They combine sources such as wavetables, noise and pulses. On paper they look like FM algorithms, though they are not.
Sampling means playing recorded audio rather than synthesised tones. CyDrums is built around wavetables: 64 proprietary ones, each with up to 256 single-cycle waveforms.
The machine underneath
CyDrums is an 8-track expressive drum synthesizer in the "Giant Gameboy" form factor, Sonicware's third such instrument. Velocity and pressure can each control a parameter, and there are 22 custom Sound Structures tailored to each instrument. It ships with 520 presets that use tagging for searching.
The sequencer comes from the LoFi-12 XT. It offers 8 tracks and 128 steps, and each project holds 128 patterns, which can be chained into songs or switched live. Other performance modes include VariSpeed, extendable track release times, track randomisation and probability functions.
The back panel carries full-size MIDI, 1/4-inch TRS jacks in and out, a Hi-Z input and USB digital audio. Sync In/Out sit on top beside the built-in speaker. The unit runs on mains power or AA batteries.
Getting the beta
The firmware and the new 2.0 manual are free on Sonicware's downloads page. Testers submit a few details about themselves and their unit. After that they get a tester code, the firmware and a link where bugs can be reported.
Source: Gearnews.com