Sampler Keyzones

Sample Keyzones

The Sample Keyzones tab is used to create areas of note triggering for sample-based instruments across a variety of key ranges and velocities. It is also possible to create and overlap zones for instruments with multiple samples. This can be done for both Note-On (key press) and Note-Off (key release) inputs, via separate layers.

The Interface

File:2.7 instrument samples keyzone editor.png

The Sample Keyzones interface consists of a large central section showing the zones above a keyboard, with various options above and below. The keyboard represents the various notes that can be played within Renoise along the horizontal plane, while the velocity key-press range of 00-80 is shown vertically. This grid is used to create the range of the keyzones for an instrument.

Placing the mouse pointer over the grid or keyboard and scrolling the mouse wheel will zoom in/out, giving you access to more/less detail horizontally. The scrollbar beneath the keyboard can be used to move around while zoomed in.

File:2.7 sample keyzone scrollbar animation.gif

The keys of the keyboard can played by left-clicking on them. Playing notes via any method will highlight the current key(s) being pressed and also display them on the grid according to the velocity. Right clicking on a key will change the Basenote of the current zone, transposing its pitch, an option that can also be adjusted via the value box in the bottom left corner of the interface.

Creating Keyzones

Selecting & Adjusting the Zones

The shaded area(s) within the grid represents the velocity and key zone that will trigger the assigned sample(s). A zone can be selected by left-clicking on it or using the zone selection menu in the top left of the interface. You can also select the desired sample and its associated zone in the Instrument Settings tab. Multiple zones can be selected at once by either left-click dragging or "Shift + left-click"-ing to select a range or "Ctrl + left-click"-ing individual zones. The currently selected zone(s) will be highlighted.

As the notes are played on the keyboard, the zones of corresponding samples are automatically selected. You can turn this behaviour off by unchecking the box at the top left corner of the interface.

The range of a selected zone (or multiple zones) can be adjusted by left-click-dragging its edge or changing the values shown in the bottom left of the interface. A selected zone (or zones) can also be moved around as a whole by left-clicking on it and moving the mouse while holding the button down. It is possible to have overlapping zones, so that multiple samples can be triggered at once with a single key.

File:2.7 instrument samples keyzones selection and alteration.gif

Inserting & Deleting Zones

To insert a new keyzone, place the mouse pointer over the vertical column of the key you would like to be used and right-click to open the context menu. From the "Insert New" sub-menu, select the sample you would like to use this new zone for. A single sample can have multiple zones spread around the grid. They also have the possibility of overlapping, which will simultaneously trigger the same sample multiple times.

Alternately, select one or more samples from the sample-list and drag them into the keyzone area, where they can be distributed across two octaves per sample, one octave per sample or one key per sample (adjusted by moving the mouse pointer up and down in the grid).

A zone can be deleted by selecting it and pressing "Delete" or "Backspace", or using the right-click menu and selecting "Remove".

File:2.7 instrument samples keyzones drag and drop.gif

Automatically Assigning Zones to Samples

Pressing the Distribute button in the top right corner of the interface will evenly distribute the number of samples in an instrument across the entire key range.

Just to the left of this, the Drumkit button will assign each sample to a single key, starting from the note selected in the value box to the right. Using the menu button just to the right of the Drumkit button, two additional options can be selected. "Use White Keys Only", will obviously only assign zones to the white keys, while "First Octave for Transposing" will assign an entire octave to the first sample of the instrument.

File:2.7 instrument samples keyzones drumkit distribution.gif

Assigning A Basenote To A Keyzone

To assign a basenote to a keyzone, first select the keyzone and then either right-click the key of the keyboard you wish to use or change the value with "Basenote" value box in the lower-left corner of the interface. The basenote of the currently selected keyzone is shown by a black dot on that key of the keyboard.

When keyzones are created by dragging and dropping from the sample-list or Disk Browser, the basenote will be automatically assigned. The basenote for a keyzone will be unchanged when moving it around in the grid.

File:2.7 instrument samples keyzones manually adjusting keymappings.gif

Using Instrument Envelopes

At the bottom right corner of the interface is the "Use Instrument Envelopes" button. With this you can enable and disable the use of the Instrument Envelopes for each individual keyzone.

To the left of this is the "Map Velocity To Volume" button, which will, when disabled, always play the sample at full volume. This can be useful when mapping samples which are already sampled at lower volumes.

Note On/Off Layers

At the top left of the interface are two buttons that switch the grid focus between creating keyzones for Note-On and Note-Off inputs. This gives you the option of triggering samples for both the pressing and releasing of a key. The Basenote and Use Instrument Envelopes options also function independently between layers.

By assigning a note no keyzone in the Note-On layer, but having one in Note-Off, it is possible to have a sound only play when a key is released.

Using Keyzones with a Sliced Sample

With a sliced sample your options are far more limited. Zones cannot be adjusted by velocity and (aside from the initial sample) can only be a single key in width. Additionally, zones cannot be inserted into the Note-Off layer and you have no control over the use of Instrument Envelopes. However, the Drumkit button and its options are still available.

File:2.7 instrument samples keyzone slice layers.png