Need clarity about preset concepts

[Jlatorrel]

Hello

I need to know about some preset concepts as im new to the sampletank world and need some clarity about them:

- In some guitars it says for example Black Lp up-down stroke KS. I understand that KS it's keyswitch but the up/down part means that everytime I play the same two notes It alternates between up stroke and down stroke samples? or I have to do that manually?

- In the Sampletank 3 section of guitars I see many different neck this, bridge that presets of the same guitar. Im not very well versed in the guitar world, so if someone can point me or explain me why is this I would be grateful.

If there are more concepts that a newcomer to the sampletank world needs to know, please clarify as well.

Many thanks!

[Peter_IK]

For KS sounds you'd need to use the appropriate keyswitch for the multiple articulations that are available for a sound.

Different pickup settings will yield different guitar tones. For example, typically a neck pickup will be a more mellow/warm kind of sound - definitely not bright, while a bridge pickup will typically have more "bite" (so really more high end and a more "lead" type sound for many guitarists) and the middle will be a good balance. There are obviously other controls that can affect these generalities but as a guitarist for over 35 years I can attest to these being pretty accurate assumptions when using those types of pickup position kinds of sounds.

[Peter_IK]

OK fired up a full MAX installation and wanted to add some notes about KS (Key Switch) presets.

If you load the preset you mention (Black LP Down-Up Stroke KS) and enter Parts view by clicking the music note icon near the top left, you will see the word "Down" under the Instrument Name. This indicates the articulation currently chosen which is the default which is also controlled by the key C0 on your keyboard. You'll see the C0 key in bright red on the virtual keyboard at the bottom of the SampleTank 4 interface.

If you use the other keys available on your keyboard for key switched articulations, you'll see the word "Down" in the instrument column change to the appropriate articulation. In this case it is only "Up" which is controlled by C#0 so you can click that on the virtual keyboard (or use a MIDI controller to send C#0) and you'll see "Up" indicated thus you'd be using up strokes.

On this particular instrument it is only up and down so there is no choice for alternate picking. You'd want to choose a different preset for that, and I don't see specifically Black LP presets that would have alternate picking by default without changing via KS. You could record a track in your DAW with the Black LP preset above and then enter the keyswitching into the MIDI track afterward if that specific preset is the sound you are specifically looking for. As a guitar player, I'd suggest downstrokes on downbeats and upstrokes on upbeats (for eight, sixteenth, etc subdivisions) and if you have arpeggiation you may want to use consecutive downstrokes like a guitar player would play them regardless of the tempo/note type subdivisions. You can also simulate other picking techniques like sweep picking by using the appropriate up or down stroke direction consecutively which would require a bit of fretboard knowledge to simulate these techniques with precision.

[Peter_IK]

Also note you can use the Strummer in SampleTank 4 to help automate this type of performance parameter (even for single-note/non-chord work).

There's even an arpeggios preset that would help if you don't have the detailed fretboard knowledge of a guitar player, as well as a combination chords & arpeggios preset that can be really nice.

On top of that, the manual mode may be more suited to your needs so you can avoid excessive MIDI programming yet get a REALLY realistic performance.