Tips and Tricks

Optimizing performance/DSP Load

Under some circumstances Mimic could be quite DSP demanding. If you experience any excessive DSP Load or playback problems, please check the following:

Try another Stretch Type (see “Stretch”).

Especially the “Advanced” Stretch Type can be quite DSP consuming.

•	If you are playing high-pitched notes using a low-pitched sample, the stretch function has to calculate a lot. To reduce the workload, try loading a higher pitched sample (which has a higher Root Key) and use that instead.

Try to avoid having a lot of notes decaying at the same time. Try shortening the Release time of the Amp Envelope (see “The Filter Envelope and Amp Envelope sections”) and/or deactivating Play Thru in Slice Mode (see “Play Thru”).

Creating a “velocity layered” instrument

A neat way to simulate a velocity layered instrument is to sample the same note repeatedly, of let’s say a bass or piano, and then modulate which of the recorded notes should play back. This will give you a more “live” and organic sound when you play. In this example we have sampled the same note of a bass guitar eight times in a single recording, played with a little different nuances between the eight picks:

1.	Make sure Pitch Mode is selected.

2.	Click the “Snap to Slices” LED in the Start Position section.

Do this to ensure that the playback will start from a slice marker (and not from in between slice markers).

3.	Select “Velocity” in the Start Position Mod drop-down list and turn up the Start Position Mod amount.

We are now controlling which “slice” should play back from Keyboard Velocity. You can of course choose another modulation source (e.g. Mod Wheel) if you want to control the start position using the Mod Wheel instead.

Make sure you set the Amp Envelope “Release” time so that the consecutive “slice” doesn’t play back.

Extending the sample “tail” (without looping)

Sometimes it could be useful to extend the tail of a sample (a drum sample, for example), to have it decay longer than the original sample length. An easy way of doing this is by modulating the “Speed” parameter as follows:

1.	Turn down the “Speed” knob close to minimum.

2.	Turn up the “Speed Mod” knob and select “Filt Env” as Speed Mod source.

3.	Select the “Advanced” stretch type in the Stretch section.

4.	Raise the Filter Envelope (D)ecay slider to the desired value.

When you play and hold a key down, the Speed will quickly raise and then slow down in the sample tail, making the playback time extend.

Automating the sample Start and End markers

Besides the regular modulation capabilities in Mimic, you could also automate and modulate the sample Start and End markers from the main sequencer, to have them reposition in real-time during sequencer playback. This could be useful if you have a longer recording/sample that you want to alter the playback position in:

1.	Record some notes on the Mimic sequencer track in the sequencer and then hit Stop twice.

2.	Hit Record again in the sequencer and drag the Sample Start and Sample End markers during recording:

If you like, drag and move the Start/End marker up into the Slice Marker area above the waveform, to have the Start/End marker snap to the closest slices. This works in all modes, not just in Slice Mode.

3.	Hit Stop in the sequencer twice when you are done recording.

If you moved both the Sample Start marker and the Sample End marker you will now have two Parameter Automation lanes with clips on them on the Mimic sequencer track:

•	The clips on the Start Pos and End Pos lanes represent the movements of the Sample Start and Sample End markers respectively.