FXpansion BFD Eco - Manual (Page 27)

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8:3 Key context menu
Right-click (or CTRL-click on Mac) on any of the vertical keys to display the key context menu. This
menu contains functions to
Cut, Copy and Paste assignments between keys, as well as to Delete
any assignment on a key.
8:4 Hihat control
The hihat features more articulations than any other kit-piece, and a number of additional controls
for adjusting the playing response.
Variable mode and Pedal CC
Variable mode is provided if you use an electronic drumkit and would like to use variable hihat
pedal control in order to access all positions between open and closed.
1. enable the Variable mode button
2. set any notes transmitted for Tip sounds to a Tip hihat articulation
3. set any notes transmitted for Shank sounds to a Shank hihat articulation
4. set the MIDI CC transmitted by the hihat pedal using the
Pedal CC control
For example, here are the typical notes for a Roland brain such as the TD20 or TD12.
Roland note MIDI note (note no.) BFD Eco suggested mapping
Open bow A#1 (46) Open tip
Closed bow F#1 (42) Closed tip
Open edge D0 (26) Open shank
Closed edge A#-1 (22) Closed shank
Pedal G#1 (44) Pedal
When the Variable mode button is enabled, the ‘bow’ or tip notes trigger Tip articulations
and the ‘edge’ or shank notes trigger Shank articulations, with the position between open and
closed being dictated by the pedal MIDI CC, which is MIDI CC #4 for Roland drum brains.
Setting transition points between hihat positions for the hihat pedal MIDI CC
When Variable mode is enabled, the hihat pedal position slider becomes active. The slider features 4 points which can be adjusted to form 5
zones – one each for Closed, 1/4-open, 1/2-open, 3/4-open and Open articulations. These are arranged from bottom to top, reflecting the travel
of the hihat pedal on an electronic drumkit – when the pedal is fully up (open), its value is 0; when it is fully down (closed), its value is 127.
In the above screenshot, the following MIDI CC values are required to trigger each hihat position when a tip or shank hihat note is received:
Open: 0-15
3/4-open: 16-44
1/2-open: 45-91
1/4-open: 92-114
Closed: 115-127
Disabling Variable mode – access to open/closed only
With Variable mode disabled, the notes transmitted from the Roland hihat triggers either closed or open tip/shank articulations. Recording hihat
performances in this way means that editing and quantizing is much easier (due to not having to edit a MIDI CC in parallel to notes). You can edit
the notes to play other available hihat articulations afterwards.
Pedal note choking
In both cases, the pedal note (G#1, sometimes termed a ‘foot-chick’) chokes any playing hihat articulations.
Auto Pedal
This function, when enabled, generates a pedal note articulation whenever the incoming hihat pedal MIDI CC value reaches 127. You should only
need to use this function if your electronic drumkit does not send out a pedal note when the hihat pedal is fully depressed.
Auto Splash
If this function is enabled, a hihat splash sound is generated when the hihat pedal is opened and closed very quickly.
8:5 Additional controls
MIDI Log
The MIDI Log is provided to help troubleshoot MIDI-related problems. It displays a real-time readout of incoming MIDI messages, which can be
useful when creating key map assignments.
Octave numbering scheme
Changes the MIDI note octave numbering scheme. When this is set to ‘Normal’, the lowest octave is numbered 0. Some sequencers/drum
modules number the lowest octave as -1 or -2.
8:6 Articulations and slots
Please note that each kit-piece slot or channel contains a fixed number of articulations, which are detailed in section 2:1.
• Not all kit-pieces contain all articulations. Whenever a kit-piece lacks a certain articulation, a suitable articulation is substituted when it is
triggered from a mapped MIDI key or a Groove event.
• The Perc1, Perc2 and Perc3 channels can load percussion, tom and cymbal kit-pieces. However, only the first 2 articulations are available,
which are triggered with the slot’s Hit and Alt key map assignments.