BFD XFL INSTALLATION GUIDE
Welcome! The data on the BFD XFL DVDs is arranged into full kits with auxiliary Kit-Pieces. You can run installers which copy all the data for each DVD. Alternatively, if you only wish to install certain Kit-Pieces, you can drag and drop individual Kit-Pieces from the DVDs to your BFD/Data folder. If you are using this manual method, then it is inadvisable to use the pre-made kit denitions provided on each DVD as they may reference Kit-Pieces which you have not installed. Instead, you should compile your own kits using the individual Kit-Pieces (which, as you know as a BFD user, is a breeze to do). You should also make sure that you have the latest version of BFD installed. To get the latest version, please register, then ll out the form on the following page: http://www.fxpansion.com/product-bfd-main.php
On Windows, insert DVD1 and run the Win BFD XFL Setup.exe le and follow the on-screen instructions. Ensure that the install location is your existing BFD folder. You will be prompted for further DVDs depending on the options you select. On MacOSX, each of the 5 DVDs has an installer named MacOSX BFD XFL Setup N.mpkg, where N is the number of the DVD (for example, MacOSX BFD XFL Setup 1.mpkg for DVD1). Simply run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions, making sure you select the install location as your existing BFD folder.

Using the Installers:

Using the Manual Copy method:
Each DVD has Kit-Pieces arranged inside the BFD/Data folder, arranged by manufacturer. Simply drag and drop one or more of these manufacturer folders to your BFD/Data folder. If you only want certain Kit-Pieces within a manufacturer folder, you will need to create the manufacturer folder manually, then copy 2
the desired sub-directories over to it. Alternatively, you can copy the whole manufacturer folder, and delete the parts you dont need. If in any doubt, make sure the directory structure in your hard disks BFD folder matches that on the DVDs. When you next launch BFD, the newly-copied BFD XFL Kit-Pieces will be available to you within the Kit-Piece Selector panels. Again, you will need to compile your own kits if you choose to install BFD XFL KitPieces selectively in this way.
SOME NOTES ON THE NEW KIT-PIECES
BFD XFL contains some new types of Kit-Pieces.

Kit-based Percussion

BFD XFL includes cowbells, jamblocks, tambourines, handclaps and ngersnaps (please note: because identical microphones, gain and other studio settings were used as all the other Kit-Pieces, the claps and snaps can seem rather quiet). These can be found in the Cymbal Kit-Piece Selector panels.
Included are hihats with -open and -open positions in addition to the usual closed, -open and open positions. Understandably, these are rather large and lead to a sizable RAM overhead.

Hyper-detailed Hihats

Snares, Toms and Cymbals played with brushes and mallets
Some snares, toms and cymbals have brushed versions. Also included are some toms struck with mallets.
One of BFD XFLs kicks is provided with a felt beater, while there is also a tom set damped with duct tape, for even more sonic exibility.
Kicks with felt beaters and Toms damped with duct tape
Some of the crashes and splashes within BFD XFL are provided with samples of the edge of the cymbal being hit. In addition, all ride cymbals (except brushed rides) have bell samples. These extra hit types for crashes and rides are mapped to the Bell trigger. Please make sure you have the latest version of BFD for this extra functionality.
Cymbals with edge samples and Rides with bell samples
The DW Maple Tom set (in normal and brushed versions) has an additional two toms which are available for download when you register your copy of BFD XFL on our website. To register, please visit: http://www.fxpansion.com/form-product_register.php

5-piece DW Maple Tom set

PERFORMANCE TIPS
Some of the Kit-Pieces in BFD XFL are rather huge (especially the hihats with -open and -open positions). If you have a small amount of RAM (512MB to 1GB) you will probably need to follow these guidelines in order to get these hyperdetailed Kit-Pieces running properly.
Turn on the 16 bit mode option in the Options panel Unload certain hit styles in the Hit Options panel
This results in half the memory usage with a small reduction in quality.
You may not require certain hit types provided within BFD: for example, snare ams
and drags, or hihats hit with the shank of the stick. These can be unloaded from memory via the Hit Options panel.
Decrease the Max layers value in the Options panel
A good way to save RAM is by reducing the amount of velocity layers by specifying a lower maximum value. We also recommend that you look at the BFD User FAQ, for the latest hints and tips for BFD users: http://www.fxpansion.com/product-bfd-userFAQ.php Many thanks, The FXpansion team. http://www.fxpansion.com

CREDITS

Lead Programming: SKoT McDonald (www.vellocet.com) Audio Engineering: Steve Duda, Elan Trujillo Drum Technician: Josh Baldwin Additional Programming: Angus Hewlett Design and Graphics: Adam Ferns (www.raresense.co.uk) Manual: Mayur Maha Project Management: Rhiannon Bankston-Thomas Recorded at Eldorado Recording, Burbank, CA www.eldoradorecording.com With thanks to Matt Hooper (www.topazproductions.co.uk), Gareth Green and Charlie Norton (www.colourofsound.co.uk) and Tom Santamera for help with testing.

BFD XFL KIT-PIECE LIST

XFL DW Birch Kick1 (593MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Birch\Kick1 Manufacturer: DW Model: Kick Materials: Birch Date: Late 90s Hit No snare
XFL Paiste Accent1 (121MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\AccentManufacturer: Paiste Model: 4 Accent Hit
XFL Paiste Accent2 (99MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\AccentManufacturer: Paiste Model: 6 Cup Chime Accent Hit
XFL Paiste Accent3 (207MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\AccentManufacturer: Paiste Model: 8 Accent Hit

XFL DW Birch Floor Tom (430MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Birch\Tom Floor Manufacturer: DW Model: 16x16 Floor Tom Materials: Birch Date: Late 90s Hit
XFL Paiste Crash3 (475MB)
XFL DW Birch Hi Tom (385MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Birch\Tom Hi Manufacturer: DW Model: 12x9 Hi Tom Matarials: Birch Date: Late 90s Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\CrashInnov Manufacturer: Paiste Model: 18 Innovation Medium Crash Hit Edge
XFL Paiste Hihat1 (777MB)
XFL Masterworks Ride1 (256MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Masterworks\RideBuzin Manufacturer: Masterworks Model: 20 Buzin Ride Date: 2003 Hit Bell
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\HihatSoundEdge Manufacturer: Paiste Model: 15 SoundEdge Hihat Date: 2002 Closed (tip + shank) Quarter (tip + shank) Half (tip + shank) ThreeQ (tip + shank) Open (tip) Pedal (normal + tamb)

XFL Perc Claps (45MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Perc\Claps Manufacturer: Human DNA Model: Hand Claps Note: Recorded with the same mic gains as the rest of the BFD drums, hence quiet. Hit

XFL UFIP Cym1 (94MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Up\CymNatural Manufacturer: UFIP Model: 9 Natural Hit
XFL Zildjian Splash2 (86MB)

XFL Perc Snaps (8MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Perc\Snaps Manufacturer: Human DNA Model: Finger Clicks Note: Recorded with the same mic gains as the rest of the BFD drums, hence quiet. Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Splash2 6A Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 6 A-Series Splash Hit
XFL Paiste Crash2 (459MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\CrashMellow Manufacturer: Paiste Model: 18 Signature Mellow Crash Hit Edge
XFL PorkPie Snare1 (653MB)
BFD\Data\XFL PorkPie\Snare1 Manufacturer: Porkpie Model: 5x14 Snare Materials: Maple Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL Perc Jamblock Hi (34MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Perc\JamBlock Hi Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Jamblock (High) Hit
XFL PorkPie Brushed Snare1 (220MB)
BFD\Data\XFL PorkPie\Snare1b Manufacturer: Porkpie Model: 5x14 Snare Materials: Maple Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL Perc Jamblock Lo (33MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Perc\JamBlock Lo Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Jamblock (Low) Hit

XFL Tama Kick1 (81MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Tama\Kick1 Starclassic Manufacturer: Tama Model: Starclassic 22x16 Kick Materials: Maple Date: Late 1990s Hit

XFL Tama Tom Hi (185MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Tama\Tom Hi Manufacturer: Tama Model: Starclassic 10x8 Hi Tom Materials: Maple Date: Late 1990s Hit
XFL Tama Snare1 ArtStar (310MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Tama\Snare1 Artstar Manufacturer: Tama Model: ArtStar 6.5x14 Snare Date: 1980s Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL Tama Mallet Tom Floor (182MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Tama Mallet\Tom Floor Manufacturer: Tama Model: Starclassic 16x16 Floor Tom Materials: Maple Date: Late 1990s Hit
XFL Tama Mallet Tom Mid (130MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Tama Mallet\Tom Mid Manufacturer: Tama Model: Starclassic 13x10 Mid Tom Materials: Maple Date: Late 1990s Hit
XFL Tama Tom Floor (223MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Tama\Tom Floor Manufacturer: Tama Model: Starclassic 16x16 Floor Tom Materials: Maple Date: Late 1990s Hit
XFL Tama Mallet Tom Hi (110MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Tama Mallet\Tom Hi Manufacturer: Tama Model: Starclassic 10x8 Hi Tom Materials: Maple Date: Late 1990s Hit

XFL Tama Tom Mid (144MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Tama\Tom Mid Manufacturer: Tama Model: Starclassic 13x10 Mid Tom Materials: Maple Date: Late 1990s Hit
XFL Unknown Ride1 (428MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Unknown\Ride1 Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Ride Hit Bell
XFL Unknown Snare1 Old Metal (502MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Unknown\Snare1 Old M Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Old Metal Snare Notes: Hit with thick-end of stick Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL Zildjian Hihat1 (543MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Hihat1 K14 Vintage Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 14 K-Series Hihats (vintage) Date: Late 1940s Closed (tip + shank) Quarter (tip + shank) Half (tip + shank) ThreeQ (tip + shank) Open (tip) Pedal
XFL Unknown Brushed Snare1 Old Metal (269MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Unknown\Snare1b Old M Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Old Metal Snare Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL Perc Cowbell Hi (46MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Perc\CowBell Hi Manufacturer: Unknown Model: High Cowbell Notes: Hit with stick Hit

XFL Wuhan China1 (331MB)

XFL Perc Cowbell Lo (30MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Perc\CowBell Lo Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Low Cowbell Notes: Hit with stick Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Wuhan\ChinaManufacturer: Wuhan Model: 18 China Hit
XFL Wuhan Mallet China1 (188MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Wuhan\China1m 18 Manufacturer: Wuhan Model: 18 China Hit

XFL Perc Cowbell Lo Rim (40MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Perc\CowBell Lo r Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Low Cowbell Notes: Rim hit with stick Hit
XFL Zildjian Crash2 (291MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Crash2 16A MT Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 16 A-Series Medium Thin Crash Date: 2003 Hit
XFL Perc Tambourine (56MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Perc\Tamb Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Tambourine Notes: Mounted on kit, hit with stick Hit
XFL WFL Tom Floor (265MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Tom Floor Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 16x16 Floor Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit

XFL WFL Kick1 (148MB)

BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Kick1 Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 14x22 Kick Materials: Mahogany Hit NoSnare

XFL WFL Tom Mid (160MB)

BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Tom Mid Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 12x9 Mid Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Tom Hi Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 12x9 Hi Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit
XFL WFL Snare1 Dual Strainer (369MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Snare1 Dual Str Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 7x14 Dual Strainer Snare Materials: Mahogany Date: 1940s Hit Drag Flam Rim SS

XFL WFL Tom Hi (183MB)

XFL WFL Brush Tom Floor (301MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL Brush\Tom Floor Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 16x16 Floor Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit
XFL WFL Brushed Snare1 Dual Strainer (257MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Snare1b Dual Str Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 7x14 Dual Strainer Snare Materials: Mahogany Date: 1940s Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL WFL Brush Tom Mid (334MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL Brush\Tom Mid Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 12x9 Mid Tom Material: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit
XFL WFL Brush Tom Hi (222MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL Brush\Tom Hi Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 12x9 Hi Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit
XFL Zildjian Ride1 (394MB)
XFL Zildjian Crash1 (260MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Crash1 18K DB Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 18 K-Series Dark Crash Brilliant Finish Date: Early 1980s Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Ride1 20K Proto Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 20 K-Series Prototype. Date: 1980s Notes: Prototype by Weckly/Caliuta, hand-picked by Mike Morris of Zildjian as basis for K Series. Has duct tape underneath. Hit Bell

XFL Zildjian Brushed Ride1 (258MB)
XFL Zildjian Brushed Crash1 (303MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Crash1b 18K DB Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 18 K-Series Dark Crash Brilliant Finish Date: Early 1980s Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Ride1b 20K Proto Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 20 K-Series Prototype. Date: 1980s Notes: Prototype by Weckly/Caliuta, hand-picked by Mike Morris of Zildjian as basis for K Series. Has duct tape underneath. Hit
XFL Zildjian Splash1 (200MB)
XFL Zildjian Hihat2 (604MB)
Data\XFL Zildjian\Hihat2 13A Custom Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 13 A-Series Custom Hihat Closed (tip + shank) Quarter (tip + shank) Half (tip + shank) ThreeQ (tip + shank) Open (tip) Pedal
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Splash1 12K Brill Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 12 K-Series Splash Brilliant Finish Hit Edge
XFL Bosphorus Ride1 (225MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Bosphorus\RideFerit R Manufacturer: Bosphorus Model: 19 Ferit Series Ride Notes: with four rivets, antique Hit Bell
XFL Bosphorus Brushed Ride1 (271MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Bosphorus\Ride1b 19 Ferit Manufacturer: Bosphorus Model: 19 Ferit Series Ride Notes: with four rivets, antique Hit
XFL DW Maple No Wire Snare1 (240MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple\Snare1nw Manufacturer: DW Model: Snare Materials: Birds eye maple Notes: Snare wire off Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL DW Maple Kick1 (221MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple\Kick1 Manufacturer: DW Model: 18x22 Kick Materials: Birds eye Maple Hit NoSnare
XFL DW Maple Tom Floor (261MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple\Tom Floor Manufacturer: DW Model: 13x16 Floor Tom (5/5) Materials: Birds eye maple Hit
XFL DW Maple Snare1 (378MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple\Snare1 Manufacturer: DW Model: Snare Materials: Birds eye maple Hit Drag Flam Rim SS Rimclick
XFL DW Maple Tom Mid (228MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple\Tom Mid Manufacturer: DW Model: 9x12 Mid Tom (3/5) Materials: Birds eye maple Hit
XFL DW Maple Brushed Snare1 (194MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple\Snare1b Manufacturer: DW Model: Snare Materials: Birds eye maple Notes: Snare wire off Hit Drag Flam Rim SS

XFL DW Maple Tom Hi (129MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple\Tom Hi Manufacturer: DW Model: 8x10 High Tom (2/5) Materials: Birds eye maple Hit
XFL DW Brush Tom Floor (100MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple B\Tom Floor Manufacturer: DW Model: 13x16 Floor Tom (5/5) Materials: Birds eye maple Hit
XFL DW Brush Tom Mid (156MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple B\Tom Mid Manufacturer: DW Model: 9x12 Mid Tom (3/5) Materials: Birds eye maple Hit
XFL Paiste Hihat2 (787MB)
XFL DW Brush Tom Hi (130MB)
BFD\Data\XFL DW Maple B\Tom Hi Manufacturer: DW Model: 8x10 High Tom (2/5) Materials: Birds eye maple Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\HihatHeavy Manufacturer: Paiste Model: Heavy Hihats Closed (tip + shank) Quarter (tip + shank) Half (tip + shank) ThreeQ (tip + shank) Open (tip) Pedal (normal + tamb)
XFL Perc Tamb Hand (57MB)
XFL Gretsch Brushed Snare1 (285MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Gretsch\Snare1b Manufacturer: Gretsch Model: Brown 6x15 Snare Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
BFD\Data\XFL Perc\Tamb hand Manufacturer: Unknown Model: Tambourine Notes: Mounted on kit, hit with hand Hit
XFL Wuhan Splash1 (138MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Wuhan\SplashManufacturer: Wuhan Model: 12 Splash Hit
XFL Paiste Crash1 (196MB)
XFL Zildjian Crash3 (252MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\CrashThin Manufacturer: Paiste Model: Thin Crash Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Zildjian\Crash3 17K DMT Manufacturer: Zildjian Model: 17 K-Series Dark Crash Medium Thin Hit
XFL Paiste Brushed Crash1 (207MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\Crash1b 602 Thin Manufacturer: Paiste Model: Thin Crash Hit

XFL Paiste Ride1 (450MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\RideProto Manufacturer: Paiste Model: Prototype Ride Hit Bell
XFL Paiste Brushed Ride1 (230MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Paiste\Ride1b 20 Proto Manufacturer: Paiste Model: Prototype Ride Hit
XFL Premier Snare1 (334MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Premier\Snare1 Manufacturer: Premier Model: Snare Hit Drag Flam Rim SS
XFL Pearl Snare1 Chad Smith (259MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Pearl\Snare1 ChSmith Manufacturer: Pearl Model: 5x14 Chad Smith Sig. Snare Materials: clear emporer 2-ply Hit Drag Flam Rim SS

XFL Sabian Cym1 (427MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Sabian\Cym1 Manufacturer: Sabian Model: 18 AA Thin Crash Hit
XFL PearlB Tom Floor (177MB)
BFD\Data\XFL PearlB T\Tom Floor Manufacturer: Pearl Model: 16x16 Low Tom Materials: Birch Notes: Dampening tape applied Hit
XFL Sabian Hihat1 (735MB)
XFL PearlB Tom Hi (164MB)
BFD\Data\XFL PearlB T\Tom Hi Manufacturer: Pearl Model: 12x9 Hi Tom Materials: Birch Notes: Dampening tape applied Hit
BFD\Data\XFL Sabian\Hihat1 Manufacturer: Sabian Model: 14 AAx FastHat (top), 14 AAx StageHat (bottom) Closed (tip + shank) Quarter (tip + shank) Half (tip + shank) ThreeQ (tip + shank) Open (tip) Pedal

XFL Sabian Ride1 (578MB)

BFD\Data\XFL Sabian\Ride1 Manufacturer: Sabian Model: 21 Rock Ride Date: 1980s Notes: Toured with Eric Clapton 2004. Prototype artists stock. Hit Bell

XFL WFL Kick2 (200MB)

BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Kick2 Manufacturer: WFL Model: 26x14 Mahogany Kick Date: 1940s Notes: Hard Beater Hit NoSnare
XFL WFL Mallet Tom Hi (107MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL Mallet\Tom Hi Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 12x9 Hi Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit
XFL WFL Felt Beater Kick2 (333MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL\Kick2 Felt Manufacturer: WFL Model: 26x14 Mahogany Kick Date: 1940s Notes: Felt Beater Hit NoSnare
XFL Wuhan Splash2 (160MB)
BFD\Data\XFL Wuhan\SplashManufacturer: Wuhan Model: 10 Splash Hit
XFL WFL Mallet Tom Floor (173MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL Mallet\Tom Floor Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 16x16 Floor Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit
XFL WFL Mallet Tom Mid (113MB)
BFD\Data\XFL WFL Mallet\Tom Mid Manufacturer: WFL (Ludwig) Model: 12x9 Mid Tom Materials: Mahogany Date: 1958 Hit
2004 FXpansion Audio. All Trademarks Acknowledged. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc. The Built for Mac OS X graphic is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc. used under license. RTAS is a trademark of Digidesign. ReWire is a trademark of Propellerhead Software. VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technology AG. Windows XP is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All drum images depicted on BFD XFL packaging are for illustrative purposes only. Drum manufacturer and model names are used only as a guide to sonic character, and do not indicate endorsement of BFD XFL by the respective manufacturers. All trademarks are acknowledged as the property of their respective owners

WELCOME TO BFD

Thank you for choosing FXpansions BFD! We hope you will agree that the painstaking effort of putting it together has resulted in the most realistic and versatile acoustic drum machine ever.

CREDITS

Lead Programming: Audio Engineering: Drum Technician: Additional Programming: Interface and Packaging Design: Web Site: Additional Graphics: Project Management: Manual and Groove Engineering: MIDI Session Drumming: With thanks to: The entire beta-testing team, Andy Simper, Diana Bankston, Tara Surry, Matt Hooper, Swedish Moose, John Bradshaw, Tom Santamera, Bat, Simon Allen, Monkey, Shane Champers, Nicolas Lacoumette, Gareth Green, Charlie Norton, The Bean, and of course our Long Suffering Signicant Others. SKoT McDonald Steve Duda, Elan Trujillo Josh Baldwin Angus Hewlett, Paul Chana Adam Ferns (www.raresense.co.uk) Andreas Schnetzler, Adam Ferns Alex Akers, Rhiannon Bankston-Thomas Rhiannon Bankston-Thomas Mayur Maha Chris Dagley
Recorded at Eldorado Recording, Burbank CA, USA www.eldoradorecording.com

Manual revision 1.5

Copyright 2005 FXpansion Audio UK Ltd. All trademarks Acknowledged. Mac is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc. The Built for Mac OS X graphic is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc. used under license.RTAS is a trademark of Digidesign.ReWire is a trademark of Propellerhead Software. VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technology AG. Windows XP is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other trademarks mentioned are held by their respective owners. www.fxpansion.com
BFD Reference Manual - Contents 1

1 INTRODUCTION

1:1 The BFD concept 1:2 Potential uses for BFD 1:3 Documentation 1:4 Technical support and updates

2 INSTALLATION

2:1 System Requirements 2:2 Installation Windows installation MacOSX installation ReWire installation 2:3 Authorization 2:4 Installation and Authorization problems 2:5 Registration and support 2:6 Getting started
3 OVERVIEW OF THE BFD INTERFACE 4 LOADING KITS AND KIT-PIECES
Selector panels Sticky Button 4:1 Loading Kits The Kit Selector panel Load & Save Kit buttons Reset Kit button Saving & Loading Programs Kit name and Program name Loading a default Kit when BFD is initialized 4:2 Loading Kit-Pieces Kit-Piece Selector panels Auditioning Kit-Pieces View and Sort Options Loading Options 4:3 Hit types and Kit-Piece slots Kit-Piece slots in BFD

5 MIXING IN BFD

5:1 Mixer Pages 5:2 Control conventions, shortcuts and remote operation Control shortcuts MIDI remote control of Mixer controls 5:3 Mixer controls BFD audio architecture Kit-Piece Mixer area Direct Mixer area Bus Mixer area 5:4 Mixer presets Saving defaults Reset button
6 TWEAKING THE KIT: The Kit-Piece Inspector
6:1 Different ways of tweaking the Kit 6:2 Kit-Piece Inspector Next / Previous / Clear Kit-Piece buttons Information displays and auditioning loaded Kit-Pieces Damping controls Link to Kit-Piece Flip stereo mic eld
7 CONTROLLING BFD: The Hit Options panel
7:1 Overview 7:2 Page 1 tab Editing key assignments Hihat controls Cymbal Choking Auditioning Hits Unloading Hits Hit trim 7:3 Page 2 tab 7:4 Advanced tab Cut, Copy and Paste settings MIDI Learn MIDI Log Advanced key assignment editor 7:5 MIDI CCs tab MIDI Learn Mixer MIDI CC assignment Default MIDI CCs 7:6 Hit Options presets Saving defaults Reset buttons

8 THE GROOVE LIBRARIAN

Overview of Groove Librarian-related functions 8:1 Fundamental Groove Librarian concepts 8:2 Play Options panel 8:3 Auditioning Grooves 8:4 Auto-accompaniment inside a host sequencer 8:5 Playing Bundles using MIDI notes 8:6 Kit-Piece Note Filters / Half-time buttons 8:7 Auto Repeat Groove functions 8:8 MIDI out and drag & drop export/import 8:9 Creating and importing your own Grooves and Fills Tips on creating Grooves Importing Grooves into BFD Groove Import panel 8:10 Humanization functions Quantization panel Humanize panels

9 CUSTOMIZING BFD: Options and Play Options panels
9:1 Options panel Interface options Choke Fade options Engine Options Data options 9:2 Play Options panel
10 BFD AND MULTIPLE OUTPUTS
10:1 BFD audio architecture Microphone channels Microphone buses Primary direct and bleed channels 10:2 BFD plugin output congurations BFD Stereo BFD Groups BFD All BFD Ultra 10:3 Output Options panel Output Matrix Bleed controls Output Options presets Saving defaults Reset button
11 OTHER CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS
11:1 Miscellaneous functions on the interface Help buttons Context info display Mixer MIDI Learn Bounce switch Panic button Tempo display Time signature display Beat LED MIDI activity and Audio stream LEDs CPU and disk load meters

12 OTHER INFORMATION

12:1 Preset les used within BFD 12:2 Other le types used in BFD 12:3 BFD audio content 12:4 BFD MIDI content 12:5 License agreement

INTRODUCTION

BFD is a high-quality acoustic drum module. It concentrates on playing back impeccablyrecorded multi-velocity acoustic drumkits, with some crucial differences to using a general-purpose sampler with sample-CDs, or using pre-recorded acoustic drum loops.

1:1 The BFD concept

Flexible mixing of multiple microphone placements: 17 mics were used in total, with each part of the kit being recorded through 11 microphones Hyper-detailed kits: up to 46 velocity layers and a wide selection of articulations Easy compilation of new kits without wrestling with time-consuming editing and combining of sampler programs, or having to load multiple whole kits A versatile automated drummer in the Groove Librarian Endlessly variable sound and feel All this and more is provided in an intuitive, highly integrated interface, plugged into the heart of your favourite sequencing environment, via the VSTi, DXi, RTAS, AudioUnit and ReWire interfaces. A standalone version is also supplied, which uses the ASIO and CoreAudio protocols. BFD supports Windows and MacOSX operating systems. While BFD may work in Windows 98SE and ME environments, we only recommend and support its use in Windows 2000 and XP. For Mac users, MacOSX version 10.2.8 or higher is required. When designing BFD, we tried to make it easy to use for people who prefer to write music rather than mess with the inner workings of a plugin. However, it still offers a massive amount of control and exibility for people who want to deeply customize the sound and response of the drumkit.

Selector panels

The Kit-Piece Selectors load sounds into slots according to the currently viewed Mixer Page. The Kit Selector, however, will always load Kit-Pieces into the slots in which they were saved. Exit the panels by clicking their buttons again, or by clicking the button in their top-right corner. Alternatively, bring up a new panel instead by clicking another panel button. Sticky Button If you click the Sticky button on the Kit or Kit-Piece Selector panels, you can load Kits or Kit-Pieces into BFD without exiting the Selector Panel. This can be useful for listening to a number of Kit-Pieces in context while MIDI sequences or Grooves are playing through BFD.
4:1 Loading Kits The Kit Selector panel
Kit Selector panel button View options Sorting options Sticky button exit panel HTML Help
available Kits Kit information
currently highlighted Kit scrollbar
Chapter 4: Loading Kits and Kit-Pieces
Clicking on the Kit Selector button brings up the Kit Selector panel. Here, you can load one of the supplied full drumkits. Moving the mouse over each Kit brings up information about the Kit on the right of the panel. You can navigate around the Kits with the arrow keys and the [PageUp] and [PageDn] keys. and use the scrollbar or mousewheel to scroll through longer kit listings. See section 4:2 for more details on the View and Sort options. Click on any Kit in order to load it and exit the Panel (the panel will continue to be displayed if the Sticky button is engaged). This will load all Kit-Pieces of the chosen drumkit to the slots in which they were when the Kit was saved, removing anything already loaded into any slots.
Load & Save Kit buttons
You can also load Kits, and save the current Kit, by using the Load and Save Kit buttons to the top-left of the BFD Mixer area. Kits are saved to the BFD/Kits/User folder.

Reset Kit button

Clicking this button results in all Kit-Piece slots being cleared.
Reset Kit Save Kit Load Kit
Saving & Loading Programs
A Program le is a complete BFD setup: the current Kit, and Mixer, Kit-Piece Inspector, Hit Options, Play Options and Groove Librarian settings. A Program is the only type of preset le within BFD which stores the state of the Hit trim and Unload settings in the Hit Options panel. It is the same information which is saved with a song when using BFD as a plugin inside a host. The buttons at the top-right of the BFD interface allow you to Load and Save Programs. Programs are saved to the BFD/Programs folder. To summarize: A Kit is a collection of Kit-Pieces: no other information is stored with it. Therefore, a Kit will not contain any key assignments, Mixer settings, damping settings etc.

scrollbar

Auditioning Kit-Pieces You can audition each available Hit in each Kit-Piece at different velocities by holding down the [SHIFT] key and clicking on its icon. Different Hit types are auditioned by varying the clicking position vertically, while varying it horizontally varies the velocity. The readout in the context info display shows exactly which Hit type and velocity layer is currently being auditioned. View and Sort Options You can change the size of the browsable Kit-Piece icons in the Selector Panels by using the View dropdown menu. You can choose a variety of icon sizes, or even text-only (this is faster, as images do not need to be recalled). You can sort Kit-Pieces in the browsable list by folder, manufacturer, date, type and size (both ascending and descending). This is achieved via the Sort drop-down menu. These settings are also available in the Kit Selector panel. View and Sort settings are global for all panels.

Hit type

velocity
Loading Options BFD allows you to switch each Kit-Piece Selector panel to view and load any type of Kit-Piece, with the use of the Type drop-down menu. This allows complete exibility when building your Kit. You can, for example, load a oor tom into a kick slot, by bringing up the Kick Selector panel and using the Type menu to acces toms. The Tom set and Tom set 2 Selector panels feature an extra drop-down menu in order to load a different Kit-Piece into each tom slot (oor, mid and high). When you use the Type drop-down menu to specify anything except a tom set, an extra drop-down menu appears, labelled Slot. This allows you to specify the tom slot to which the selected Kit-Piece will be loaded.
In the above screenshot, notice the individual listings of toms, rather than the default representation of tom sets.
4:3 Hit types and Kit-Piece slots
When loading Kit-Pieces, it is important to understand BFDs approach to articulations, or Hit types (sometimes referred to within BFD as Hits). A snare drum, for example, has several Hit types: the regular hit, sidestick, rim hit (rim and skin hit simultaneously), am and drag. Hihats, meanwhile, can have even more: pedal, closed, 1/2-open and fully-open for tip and shank. Additionally, 1/4-open and 3/4-open positions also exist in the BFD XFL and 8 Bit Kit expansion packs. As a registration bonus for all BFD users, a free Zildjian hihat is available for download containing an additional 1/4-open tip position. There are also ride bell Hit samples for two of the BFD rides for free download after registration. It is useful to note that the word hit is also used to describe the primary Hit type of kicks, snares, toms and cymbals. Because each type of Kit-Piece has a different range of Hit types, the Kit-Piece slots are specialized. BFDs two Mixer Pages allow you a substantial amount of freedom to create a pretty extravagant Kit: you can load two kicks and snares, both with the full array of Hits, and create six-tom and six-cymbal Kits (with a cowbell for good measure!) with ease.

Kit-Piece labels (click for audition)
Solo & Mute Dynamics buttons, Load controls status and Hit indicator lights
In the above screenshot, a Kit is in the process of loading. The kick, snare, hihat and toms have nished loading, cymbal 1 is in the process of loading, and cymbals 2 and 3 are queued up for loading. Note the tom substitution in the high tom slot.
To explain this further: some of BFDs tom sets have only two toms, because the original kit did not have either a mid or a high tom. In these cases, one of the other toms in the Kit is substituted for the missing one (details are shown in the info text for each tom set, or in any factory Kit which uses them, when using the Selector panels).
You can still independently mix the substituted tom: in other words, you can alter the tuning, panning and levels without affecting the original. To preserve a realistic three-tom set, it is advisable to suitably retune the substituted tom. Hit indicator LEDs The indicator LEDs under the Mute buttons light up when any Hits in each Kit-Piece are triggered via MIDI, or via the Groove Librarian. This functionality can be turned off in the BFD Options panel. Solo and Mute buttons These LED buttons allow you to Solo or Mute any Kit-Piece(s). When one or more Kit-Pieces are Soloed, the Mute LEDs light up for all non-Soloed Kit-Pieces, giving an easily-visible indication of the Mute/Solo status. If a Muted part is Soloed the Muted status will return when the Solo button is deactivated. Please be aware of the Solo and Mute shortcuts, detailed in section 5:2. Trim (Kit-Piece Trim) This control allows you to trim the level of each Kit-Piece within the Overhead, Room and PZM mic buses, between +6 and -inf dB. Effectively, it functions as a reverb send for the natural ambience in BFDs three stereo ambient mic buses. Tune Using this control, the pitch of each Kit-Piece can be tuned up or down an octave (1200 cents). This control acts globally for all mic buses, including the Direct bus. Dyn (Dynamics) This control scales the velocity of incoming MIDI triggers for each KitPiece. The controls value (-127 to 127) is added onto the velocity of each incoming MIDI note for that particular Kit-Piece. Using this control, you can make a Kit-Piece play more softly or harder. BFDs sounds are recorded with many velocity layers: using the Dynamics controls can achieve a variety of realistic levels of striking force: from soft and jazzy to hard and loud.

Direct Mixer area

Phase Trip switches for Kick In and Snare Bottom channels

Kick In/Out

This area of the Mixer controls the sound of the Direct mic channels, and does not affect the Overhead, Room or PZM mic Buses. The Direct mic channels include the close mic channel for each Kit-Piece, as well as the bleed channels for all KitPieces within the kick and snare mics (see section 10:1 for more details). Trim (Direct Trim) Controls the level of each Kit-Pieces Direct mic channels, between -inf and +6 dB. Pan The Pan control adjusts the position in the stereo eld of each Kit-Pieces Direct mic signals. When using the BFD Groups, BFD All and BFD Ultra versions of the plugin, Pan settings will only be effective when one of the Kit-Pieces Direct mic channels is routed to a stereo output.
Direct Trim controls Pan controls Snare Bottom/ Top
Kick In/Out (kick 1 & 2 only) This control adjusts the blend between signals from the mic placed inside the kick drum, and the mic located outside it (all kicks within BFD are recorded with this mic setup). You will notice graphical feedback in the Drum Room display while this parameter is being changed. If you click the Phase ip button, the phase of the Kick In mic channel is inverted.
Snare Bot/Top: (snare 1 & 2 only) Using this control, the blend between signals from the mics below and above the snare drum can be adjusted. You will notice graphical feedback in the Drum Room display while this parameter is being changed. If you click the Phase ip button, the phase of the Snare Bottom mic channel is inverted.

Bus Mixer area

This Mixer area allows easy control over the overall mix. Within BFD, a bus is a grouping of mic channels of a similar type (see section 10:1). Direct Master This bus incorporates the Direct mic channels for all Kit-Pieces, including the bleed channels in the kick and snare mics. The Direct Master level fader controls the volume of these signals for all Kit-Pieces after the individual Direct trim settings have been applied. Overhead This bus incorporates the stereo Overhead mic channels for all Kit-Pieces. The Overhead level fader controls the volume of these channels for all Kit-Pieces after the Kit-Piece Trim settings have been applied. Room

Groove Browser

Groove and Fill Banks
Groove and Fill Banks and Browsers: see section 8:1 Kit-Piece Note Filters & Half-Time buttons: see section 8:6 Auto-Repeat Groove buttons: see section 8:7 Quantization, Humanize Velocity and Humanize Timing panels: see section 8:10 Play Options panel: see section 9:2 Panic Button and Tempo controls: see section 11:1 Please read this chapter thoroughly to fully understand the Groove Librarian, and any additional sections detailed above for related functions.
Chapter 8: The Groove Librarian
8:1 Fundamental Groove Librarian concepts
Groove A MIDI drum sequence used in BFDs Groove Librarian. BFD comes with a large variety of Grooves, and can import any General MIDI (GM) MIDI le (type 0 and type 1). See section 8:9 for more tips on importing your own Grooves into BFD. Fill The same type of le as a Groove, but distinctly categorized as a Fill: anything which could be used as a transition between Grooves. Bundle A group of up to twelve Grooves. Bundles are small les which point to Groove or Fill MIDI les. BFD comes supplied with a comprehensive library of Grooves and Fills sorted into Bundles.
Fills Browser Bank A Bank B Fill Bank

Grooves Browser

Import / Clear / Save buttons Current Groove display
Groove and Fill Browsers There are two tree-view Browsers in BFDs Groove Librarian, which are used to select Groove and Fill Bundles, located within the BFD/Grooves and BFD/Fills folders, and the individual Grooves within them. The top tree-level is the Bundle itself. If you expand the tree structure (click on the icon next to the Bundle name), you will see the individual Grooves which comprise it. Use the scroll-bars in order to move down through the list of available Bundles. You can drag whole Bundles to any Groove Bank, or individual Grooves and Fills into slots within the Groove Banks. Groove Banks and slots There are three Banks, each with twelve slots, in BFDs Groove Librarian. These areas are where you drag Bundles or individual Grooves from the Browsers. It can also be used in order to compile and save Bundles. There are two Banks for Groove Bundles and one for Fill Bundles.
Each slot in each Bank corresponds to a MIDI note, an indicator for which is displayed on the slot, to the right of the name of any Groove which is loaded into it. When a MIDI key within the Groove Librarians key range is played, the MIDI note value and the Groove name are highlighted in red. If you are in Auto Shufe mode, the MIDI key highlight will remain on the originally triggered note, while the actual Groove which is playing will be highlighted instead. The current Groove is also shown in the Current Groove display. Bank

8:5 Playing Bundles using MIDI notes
The Grooves and Fills in all three Banks are mapped to MIDI notes. The actual notes used are displayed in the Bank slots, to the right of the name of each Groove. These values change dynamically depending upon the status of the -2 octave numbering setting in the Options panel. It is highly recommended to turn on the Polyphonic Mode option (in the Play Options panel) when using the Groove Librarian. This mode allows two or more Grooves to play at the same time. This is important for overlaying drumloop-type Grooves in one Bank with ride and crash patterns from another, especially when working with the Kit-Piece Note Filters (see section 8:6). When playing the Groove notes, (or painting them in your sequencers MIDI editor and playing them back through BFD), a MIDI note-on triggers the Groove, while a MIDI noteoff stops it playing, except when Latching mode is enabled.
When Latching mode is enabled in the Play Options panel, Grooves are not turned off by a note-off message, but by another note-on message of the same note number. It is also crucial to familiarize yourself with the different Transition modes and other settings in the Play Options panel, and also the Auto Repeat Groove buttons, when playing Grooves via MIDI.
8:6 Kit-Piece Note Filters / Half-time buttons
Half-Time button In this example, the Groove output will contain kick, snare and cymbals from Bank A and hihat and toms from Bank B. It can be nice to use this with the A-B Link function, in order to always make the Grooves in corresponding slots in both Banks play together.
At the top of the Groove Librarian you will notice three rows of pink buttons above the Groove and Fill Banks. These buttons (with one exception, the Half-time button at the extreme-right of each row see below) are used to lter out individual Kit-Pieces notes from Grooves playing from each of the Banks. Please note that the Kit-Piece Note Filters only apply to Kit-Piece slots in Mixer Page 1. There are a variety of potential uses for this function: for example, it can be used when you only want to play certain Kit-Pieces in each Groove Bank while you jam other parts in live. Another application is combining two Groove sets for instance, you can use the kicks, snares and toms from one Bank and the hihats and cymbals from another. If you are working in this way, please ensure you enable Polyphonic Mode in the Play Options panel. Shortcuts
[SHIFT]-click a Note Filter: The state of all the Banks Note Filters is inverted relative to the one on which you click. [CTRL]-click a Note Filter The settings for that type of Note Filter are inverted between Bank A and Bank B.

Half-time button

Engaging the Half-time button for any Bank results in that Banks Grooves playing in half-time.
8:7 Auto Repeat Groove functions
The two columns of three buttons on the right of the BFD interface offer repetition and variation when using the Groove Librarian. Each column represents one of the two Groove Banks: the column on the left represents Bank A, while the one on the right represents Bank B. The Auto Repeat functions are especially useful for drum pattern variation when using BFD as an auto-accompaniment module.

A-B Link

Auto Repeat
When this option is checked, any triggered Groove will repeat until it is stopped by a note-off (or by another note-on if in Latching Mode). You can toggle this option via MIDI:
Auto Repeat Bank A ON/OFF: F4 Auto Repeat Bank B ON/OFF: F#4 Auto Fill Auto Shufe Auto Repeat

Auto Shufe

When in Auto Repeat mode, turning on this button causes random Grooves within the same Bank to play, instead of the triggered Groove being repeated. Enabling the Sequenced Auto Shufe option, in the Play Options panel, results in Grooves playing sequentially in the Bank, instead of at random. This button has no effect when Auto Repeat is turned off. You can toggle this option via MIDI:
Auto Shufe A ON/OFF: G4 Auto Shufe B ON/OFF: G#4

Auto Fill

When in Auto Repeat mode, enabling this option causes a random Fill from the Fill Bank to be played every n bars, where n is dened by the Auto Fill Period setting in the Play Options panel. You can toggle this option via MIDI:
Auto Fill A ON/OFF: A4 Auto Fill B ON/OFF: A#4

Swap A/B

This function is only available via MIDI. It swaps the target of the repeating Groove triggers, from one Bank to the other.

Swap A/B: E4

Also located near the Auto Repeat Groove buttons is the A-B Link function. When this is activated, any Groove note which is routed to Bank A will be also routed to the corresponding Groove slot in Bank B, and vice versa. This is useful when using the Kit-Piece Note Filters for example you can use mutually exclusive Kit-Pieces in each Bank, then use one note to trigger a Groove from each Bank, making new Groove styles quickly and easily.
8:8 MIDI out and drag & drop export/import MIDI out
When using BFD as a VST Instrument, the output of the Groove Librarian can be routed back to the host as a MIDI input by switching on the Enable MIDI out option in the Play Options panel. Any Groove Librarian processing which is being used, such as the Auto Repeat and Humanization functions (see section 8:10), is also recorded in the MIDI output stream. Please note that, currently, VST is the only plugin format which supports this functionality, and only certain hosts, such as Cubase and Nuendo, support this aspect of the VST format. The BFD MIDI output will be available as a MIDI input source for MIDI tracks in your sequencer if it supports this feature.

Maximum voices The maximum number of Hits BFD will play simultaneously. If the voice limit is exceeded, BFD implements an intelligent voice-stealing system, based on the oldest note which is still playing. The number of voices required for a performance can be larger than you think. For example, decaying and Choke faded cymbals and toms can raise polyphony requirements quite considerably. 64 is a safe number to use, and voices dont take too much RAM. To adjust the number of voices, double-click the box and enter a new value between 2 and 96. RAM cache size This value, in sample frames, is the size of the portion of each sound held in RAM to enable low latency operation within BFD (to circumvent the inherent latency involved with hard disk seek times). This portion plays while BFD cues up the rest of the data from the hard disk. A larger value gives the hard drive longer to deliver the data, but is more demanding on RAM. This value determines the length of each sound played when the Preview RAM audio only option is enabled. Settings of 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768 and 65536 samples are possible, selectable via a drop-down menu. 16384 or 32768 will be ne for most systems: you should try to use the lowest setting possible on your system. Stream buffer size The size, in sample frames, of the buffers of data being streamed into RAM from the hard disk for each voice. Generally, hard drives are more efcient at reading fewer large chunks of data than many smaller chunks. However, a larger Stream buffer uses more RAM, and may be inefcient if not all the data is used, such as when a note is choked. Settings of 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768 and 65536 samples are possible, selectable via a drop-down menu. 8192, 16384 or 32768 will be ne for most systems: you should try to use the lowest setting possible on your system. Maximum layers You can limit the amount of velocity layers used by BFD, thereby reducing the strain on the hard disk and RAM, at the expense of detail. Smaller values can be useful as an efcient preview mode while composing. Simply increase the value during mixdown for full quality. To change the setting, double-click the box and enter a new value between 1 and 256. If you are using a low number of layers, you may want to increase the V2A setting in the Hit Options panel Advanced tab. This causes changes in the amplitude of individual Hits, proportional to incoming velocity.
Cache memory display This display shows the amount of RAM being used by BFD. As already discussed above, BFD stores a small amount of each Kit-Piece Hit type (at all velocities) in RAM, in order to circumvent inherent hard disk latencies. This display will show a gure of around 44MB by default (in 24 bit mode), as BFD needs to allocate a certain amount of RAM for the cache buffers and voices.

Latching mode When this mode is enabled, Grooves are turned off not by a MIDI note-off message, but by another note-on message of the same MIDI note number. Therefore, you play a note once to start a Groove, and then again in order to stop it. Please be aware that this applies to all notes those that you trigger from an external MIDI controller, and those from your sequencer. Polyphonic mode When in Polyphonic mode, multiple Grooves may be played simultaneously. A newly triggered Groove doesnt stop any other Grooves currently playing. This is useful, for example, to layer grooves that are partial beat components, and for overlaying ride and crash patterns over kick/snare/hat drumloop Grooves. Respond to song start Checking this option results in the default Groove (specied with the Default Groove option) being played when the sequencer is started. Use the Auto Repeat buttons in order to keep a Groove playing while your sequencer plays. This is very useful in using BFD as an auto-accompaniment module, in conjunction with the Respond to song stop option. Respond to song stop This option stops all Grooves which may be playing when the sequencer is stopped. Used in conjunction with Respond to song start for auto-accompaniment functions. Default Groove This parameter species the default Groove note to play when the Respond to song start option is enabled. Whichever Groove you have loaded into this notes corresponding Groove Bank slot will be triggered when you start playing your song. Auto-ll period (bars) This value sets the period, in bars, between every Fill played when in Auto Fill mode. For example, setting it to 16 will result in a Fill being played every 16 bars (see section 8:7). Sequenced Auto Shufe With this option enabled, the Auto Shufe function causes BFD to shufe through Grooves sequentially, rather than at random (see section 8:7). Remap Groove notes Enabling this option plays Grooves according to the current Hit Options settings. It is useful if you have created your own Grooves with a different key mapping and want to play them without remapping all the MIDI notes to the correct assignments.
MIDI in channel This parameter sets the MIDI channel on which BFD responds. MIDI out channel This option sets the MIDI channel on which to transmit events if the MIDI out function is enabled. MIDI out enabled When using BFD as a VST Instrument, the output of the Groove Librarian can be routed back to the host as a MIDI input if this option is enabled. Please note that, currently, VST is the only plugin format which supports this functionality. Please see section 8:8 for more details on this feature. Respond to MIDI CCs This option enables MIDI continuous controller support. It is essential when using the variable hihat pedal method of playing different hihat Hit types (see section 7:2). MIDI CCs can also be used to automate most controls in BFD. Please see sections 7:5 and 11:1 for more details on adjusting MIDI CC assignments. You can safely disable this option if you dont need this functionality. Anti-machinegun mode Enabling the Anti-machinegun mode option forces BFD not to play two identical velocity layers if the same Kit-Piece Hit type is triggered at the same velocity layer twice in succession. This effectively removes the machinegun effect which can make drum rolls and other intricate parts sound unrealistic. The effect of this setting can be adjusted for individual Hit types by using the VRnd parameter within the Hit Options Advanced tab (see section 7:4). Disable sidestick tuning With this option checked, the sidestick Hit type for snares will not be affected by changes to the Tune parameter, more closely resembling how a real snare works.

BFD AND MULTIPLE OUTPUTS

10:1 BFD audio architecture
Before explaining BFDs output assignment system, it would be useful to explain the BFD audio architecture.

Microphone channels

Each Kit-Piece Hit type has 8 mic channels (3 stereo, 5 mono): Overhead (stereo) The signal from the stereo Overhead mic set, above the kit. Room (stereo) The signal from the stereo Room mic set, further back in the room. PZM (stereo) The signal from the stereo PZM mic set, on the oor on either side of the kit. Kick In (mono) The signal from the mic inside the kick drum. Kick Out (mono) The signal from the mic outside the kick drum. Snare Bottom (mono) The signal from the mic underneath the snare drum. Snare Top (mono) The signal from the mic above the snare drum. Multi (mono) The signal from the direct mic for all Kit-Pieces except kicks and snares. This is usually empty for kicks and snares. The Overhead, Room and PZM mics are sometimes known collectively as the ambient mic channels. The Kick In, Kick Out, Snare Bottom, Snare Top and Multi mic channels are known collectively within BFD as Direct mic channels. This concept is used in the Direct Mixer, whose controls affect all the Direct mic channels of a Kit-Piece together (see section 5:3). The kick and snare mics are used for all Kit-Pieces, as bleed signals are recorded through them (see below, Primary direct and bleed channels).
Chapter 10: BFD and multiple outputs
A Kit-Pieces own close micd direct signal is known as the primary direct mic channel. For a kick, this is in the Kick In and Out mic channels, and for a hihat or cymbal, it is in the Multi mic channel.

Microphone buses

As well as mic channels, when using BFD you will need to be aware of the four microphone buses, which are groups of the mic channels, and can be manipulated as groups using the Bus Mixer. The Overhead, Room and PZM mics are sometimes known collectively as the ambient mic buses. Direct Master This Bus comprises all mono Direct mic channels: it includes all bleed channels as well as primary direct mic channels. The Direct mic channels for each Kit-Piece can be manipulated individually using the Direct Mixer area. The Direct Master fader in the Bus Mixer controls the volume of the overall mix of Direct mic channels. Overhead This bus groups the Overhead mic channels from all Kit-Pieces. Room This bus groups the Room mic channels from all Kit-Pieces. PZM This bus groups the PZM mic channels from all Kit-Pieces.

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-34

Mic Channels

Overhead mic bus Room mic bus PZM mic bus Bus 1 (general-purpose) Bus 2 (general-purpose) Bus 3 (general-purpose) Direct Kick 1 In Direct Kick 1 Out Direct Snare 1 Bottom Direct Kick 1 Top Direct Hihat Direct Floor Tom Direct Mid Tom Direct High Tom Direct Cymbal 1 Direct Cymbal 2 Direct Cymbal 3 Direct Kick 2 In Direct Kick 2 Out Direct Snare 2 Bottom Direct Snare 2 Top Direct Percussion Direct Tom 4 Direct Tom 5 Direct Tom 6 Direct Cymbal 4 Direct Cymbal 5 Direct Cymbal 6
10:3 Output Options panel
The Output Options panel allows you to route any mic channel within any Kit-Piece to any available output, or mute it entirely. Please ensure you are familiar with BFDs audio architecture (see section 10:1) before you attempt to use this panel. Exit the panel by clicking its button again, or by clicking the button in the top-right corner. Alternatively, bring up a new panel instead by clicking another panel button.
Reset / Save / Load Output preset exit panel HTML Help

Output Matrix

Bleed controls
While the Output Matrix may seem rather complex at rst, it is actually very logical. Once youve set up the conguration how you want it, or selected one of the presets, you can save your setup as the default and not worry about it again. Each row in the Output Matrix represents a Kit-Piece slot within BFD, and features eight columns: one for each mic channel from each Kit-Piece slot. Each cell in the Output Matrix allows you to assign a mic channel from a Kit-Piece slot to one of the available outputs, via a drop-down menu. Simply click on a cell (keeping the mouse button held down) to access and select from the output menu. Outputs are named according to their default routings.
In this example all mic channels for kick 1, including all ambient, primary direct and bleed channels, are being routed to the BUS1 stereo output.
The following table shows which actual plugin outputs correspond to the cell output names, in each BFD plugin version: Output name
<null> OUT Dir OH RM PZM BUS1 BUS2 BUS3 K1-I K1-O S1-B S1-T Hat TomF TomM TomH Cym1 Cym2 Cym3 K2-I K2-O S2-B S2-T Perc Tom4 Tom5 Tom6 Cym4 Cym5 Cym6

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 -

1-2 3-4 5--

Mute mic channel