Command Station Tips, Tricks, and Missed features?
2001-11-27 by erik_magrini@Baxter.com
Tips and Tricks and stuff we might have missed the first time through the manual, feel free to add your own:
You can use the velocity sensitive pads to assign letters while naming Presets or Patterns. Using the Octave +/- keys allows you to select upper and lower case numbers, as well symbols and numbers. You still need to use the cursor left and right buttons, but it's pretty quick once you get the hang of it and can remember which octave on the pads contains which type of characters..
While in Grid Recording mode, it can be a pain to switch to the next measure in the pattern. I used to have to hit Home, then cursor twice and finally scroll to select the next measure. An easier way is to set your Display to Bar/Beat mode, and then press the Edit button. Now you can just turn on the note locations you want and use the scroll wheel to increment to the next measure. It's much faster, especially for drum programming where you might not need to change velocities that much!
Speaking of changing velocities in Grid mode, the force you hit the pad with to select the appropriate sound to sequence, is also the value used for the Velocity. This makes it really easy to quickly change velocities while programming in Grid Record Mode, without having to move the cursor under the note, and scroll the new value in.
Need new ideas for HH or percussion programming? Assign a pattern arp to that Preset and use that to lay out your drum sounds. It can give you some great ideas and out of the 300+ patterns you're bound to find something that sounds good. Best if used sparingly though, too many arp patterns going on at once can clutter up your song quickly!
By assigning two tracks to the same MIDI channel, it's easy to create new fills and variations in your patterns. Great for dropping in snare rolls and the like on the fly. For instance, say you've got a snare that hits on Grid Locations, 5 and 13. Now you want to use that same snare and all it's channel (track) settings for a long snare roll. Just assign another track to the same MIDI channel and set your snare to trigger on all the 1/16th notes. Don't forget you can use the REPEAT button above the pitch strip for adding quicker rolls as the build progresses, or for variety. Now mute the Snare roll track while your pattern plays back. When you're ready for the build, just unmute it!
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