EASTWEST | STORMDRUM 2
10Chapter 2: Quantum Leap Stormdrum 2, An Overview
Generally, a lot of velocity switching is going on as well as some round robin (alternate
sample) switching. The sounds are usually organized with the middle of the drum hits on
the lowest keys, and as you move up the keys the hits move to the outside of the drum.
Use CC11 (volume) and CC12 (pan) inside your sequencer, because they work per MIDI
channel, unlike CC7 and CC10 which control the entire instance of PLAY’s volume and
pan. The Mod Wheel controls a fantastic filter which can give the sounds more life and
sound design options.
The MIDI Performances
The MIDI performances in SD2 are standard MIDI files. A maximum of 16 tracks are
contained within each file. It is crucial that you set up a template or have 16 tracks
available in your sequencer, all assigned to one instance of PLAY. Each track needs to be
assigned to a unique MIDI channel (track 1 to MIDI channel 1, track 2 to channel 2, and
so on), all pointing to one instance of PLAY. After installing SD2, drag the “SD2 MIDI
Performances” folder onto your hard drive, from DVD #1. Inside this folder you will find
all 100+ midi performance files and a folder named “SD2 Audition.” This audition folder
contains a short snippet (.mp3) from each of the 100+ MIDI performances to give you
an idea of what each one sounds like. Please note that the .mp3 is low quality and only
represents one small part of the MIDI performance. Drag any .mid file from the “SD2
MIDI Performances” folder into your sequence, and up to 16 named tracks will spread
out onto the empty PLAY tracks you have set up in advance.
In the PLAY Browser, go to the “Midi Perf Multis” folder located with all the SD2 pro-
grams. Load the .ewi file with the same name as the MIDI performance file. Now set the
time signature and tempo to match the midi file name: for example, “Warriors 4 4 120”
means the time signature is 4/4 and the tempo is 120 bpm. Of course, you are free to
change the tempo, but it’s important to start with the intended tempo, so you know what
we were going for. Each sequence contains CC11 volume control and CC12 pan control
for each track, allowing you to hear a good mix of the MIDI performance without doing
anything. If you hear any distortion, reduce the volume of the entire instance of PLAY
slightly.
CRITICAL NOTE: It is important to confirm your sequencer is receiving CC11, CC12 and CC1.
To test this, load any program and confirm that CC11 changes volume, CC12 changes
panning and CC1 (the Mod Wheel) opens and closes the filter. If this is not functioning,
change the settings in your sequencer that filter out MIDI messages. These controls are
crucial to the playback of the MIDI performance files. See the section on MIDI Control
Codes in the next chapter for more information on CC11, CC12, and CC1.
Changing tempo, muting instruments, adding instruments and parts, changing the tone
using velocity and controllers, quantizing note, and so on: all are possible. If you are not
experienced with creating MIDI percussion performances, they might be educational,
too. The multi-instrument .ewi files that contain the 16 sound patches for each MIDI
performance are also useful as templates to create your own MIDI performances.
You may want to add some reverb on top of the natural sound-stage ambience, as is
typically done in film-scores. Sounds in SD2 have varying levels of ambience and you’ll