NN-XT Advanced Digital Sampler

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In many ways, the NN-XT is similar to the NN19, but, as the name implies, it is a more advanced sampler. One of the biggest advantages of the NN-XT over the NN19 is that all the parameters such as filters and envelopes are individual for each key zone, allowing you to have more control over the samples you use.

Loading the NN-XT

Load the NN-XT to your rack.

The Sampler and the Remote

As with most hardware samplers today, the NN-XT consists of the body, which is the brains of the device, and a remote unit, the device that allows you to tweak the parameters. By default, the NN-XT's remote is folded out of the way.

Loading Patches

Now load a Grand Piano patch into the NN-XT.

The Key Zone Editor

As with the NN19, all samples loaded into the NN-XT must be mapped to a key zone. The NN-XT's key zone editor is simpler than the NN19's, although it may appear to be more complicated. With the Grand Piano patch that you loaded, you can see how the samples are already mapped to several key zones across the keyboard. Because most of the advancements of the NN-XT over the NN19 are in how the key zones are edited, you can now concentrate mostly on the key zone editor.

Changing the Key Zones

With the NN19, you used the Lo Key and Hi Key settings to change the start and stop points of a key zone. To change these on the NN-XT:

NOTE

The key zone start and stop points can also be set by clicking and dragging on the key zone markers below the keyboard in the key zone editor.

NOTE

You can select a key zone by clicking on the key zone directly or by clicking the sample it is assigned to in the left side sample list.

Setting the Key Zone's Root Key

When you import a sample into the NN-XT (or the NN19), you need to be careful to map it to a key that will match the pitch of the sample. For example, if you import a bass sample that is pitched to an A note, then you would want to make sure that the sample is mapped to an A note; when a sample is mapped to a key of equal pitch to the sample, that key is referred to as the root key.

NOTE

For a demonstration of a root key in use, take a look at the Grand Piano patch. On the left side of the key editor window is a list of all the samples used that make up the Grand Piano. Click on the sample, PianoC33.wav, and the key zone will also become highlighted. If you notice that one of the notes is grayed out in the key zone, this indicates the zone's root key. You may also notice that this root key is set to a C2 note. Now look at the sample's filename, and you'll notice there is a C in the filename. This is because this sample's pitch is a C2 note; therefore the root key has been set to C2.

To set the root key of a sample:

NOTE

The root key is displayed on the key zone by highlighting the note; as you change the root key value, the highlighted note will change to reflect the change.

Automatically Assigning the Root Key

The purpose of the root key is to ensure that when you play a note from your MIDI controller the sample is played with the correct pitch; this means that the pitch of the sample you use should also be the pitch of the root key. For example, if you use a sample of a C4 note from a piano, then the root key should also be set to C4. Sometimes, however, you may come across a sample for which you do not know the pitch. If this ever happens, you can have the NN-XT automatically detect the pitch of the sample and assign the root note accordingly .

Sample Tuning

From time to time, a sample may need some fine-tuning in order to match the root key. To fine-tune the sample:

Setting the Volume of a Key Zone

When working with various samples from different sources, sometimes you may find that their volume levels are not consistent. One way to fix this is to control the level of the individual key zones.

Key Zone Layers

With the NN19 you could set only one sample to a key zone, but with the NN-XT, you can map several samples to a single key zone; this is known as layering.

To demonstrate how layering works, you will to add a bass guitar sample that will be played along with the piano sample.

NOTE

Most likely, you will have to scroll to the bottom of the zone list to see the newly created key zone.

NOTE

Double-clicking on the key zone will also open the Sample Browser window to load a sample into the key zone.

Next you will set the key zone of the bass to play between the notes A1 and E2.

NOTE

If you forget to set the root key of the bass sample, when you play your MIDI controller between the notes A1 and E2, the bass sample will be pitch shifted to match the key you are playing. The result is a very high-pitched bass sample!

Auto Mapping

If you are loading several patches into the NN-XT to create your own patch, the task of creating a key zone for each sample can be tedious . With the NN-XT, you can automatically create a key zone for each sample.

To show you how this is done, you'll need to begin with an empty NN-XT (no patch loaded). If you have a patch loaded, initialize the NN-XT before continuing.

First you will need to load all the samples you want to use. For this example you will load several samples that are included with Reason.

All the samples will be loaded using the same key zone. However, you want to have every sample you loaded map to its own key zone.

NOTE

Right-clicking anywhere other than the selected samples or key zones will deselect the samples and key zones. If you do accidentally click elsewhere, you can simply use the Ctrl-A key command (Command-C for Mac OS X users) to reselect all the zones.

NOTE

If you try to use the Automap function on samples that contain several pitches, such as vocals or drum loops , auto mapping will create the same key zone for each sample.

Global Controls

As mentioned earlier, each key zone in the NN-XT has its own parameters, such as filters, envelopes, and LFOs. However, there are a few parameters that affect the NN-XT as a whole. The global controls are located on the main body of the NN-XT.

Filter

Use the filter on the main body to shape the tonal character of the instrument as a whole.

NOTE

When a global parameter's knob is in the center position, that parameter is not being applied to the NN-XT.

NOTE

To hear the effect of the resonance control, the frequency must be set to either a positive or a negative value.

Amp Envelope

The Amp Envelope controls the volume of the NN-XT, just as any other envelope. The difference is that this one has knobs instead of faders , and the Sustain parameter has been removed.

NOTE

With some samples, increasing the Attack parameter too much will cause the note to not even be produced when you play your MIDI keyboard.

NOTE

Using a very short decay time is great for creating a percussive instrument effect.

The last parameter in the Global Controls is the Decay control for the modulation filter. This parameter controls the decay time for any modulation applied to your samples. However, the bass samples you loaded above have no modulation applied, so in order to demonstrate this control's effect, you first need to apply some modulation.

NOTE

To demonstrate the use of modulation, you needed to raise the pitch in the Modulation section. However, the Modulation section itself is not a global parameter, and therefore this effect would be applied only to the selected key zones.

Next use the Global Mod Env Decay control so that the pitched modulation will be heard only when you first strike the key.

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