The DTX Multi 12 is a popular sampler in the marching arts due to its generally rugged construction, ease of use, and drum pad form factor. This post will guide you through basic audio sample upload, basic volume and velocity editing, and playback using the DTX Multi 12.
Step 1
Samples are uploaded to the DTX Multi 12 using USB thumb/flash drives. The sample has to be placed in the root of the drive (not within any folder or sub-folder) for the DTX to read the sample.
Start by uploading your samples to your flash drive with a computer. I highly recommend starting with a completely empty drive, and that you keep that flash drive with the DTX and use it only for samples to avoid confusion later on.
Be aware of the limited visibility on the DTX screen…if you have multiple samples of the same name and would like to number them, for example, the number should go before the name rather than after, just in case the name is too long to be fully displayed on the screen.
Step 2
Once your samples have been uploaded to the drive, insert the drive into the DTX via the port on the side of the unit. Make sure that you’re currently working with the Kit that you’d like to upload the samples to by pressing the KIT button and selecting the user Kit that you’d like to use (displayed as U###: Your Name Here).
Step 3
Hold the SHIFT button and press the WAVE button to open the sample import page. The screen will read IMPORT and display the name of the sample.
Step 4
Navigate to the sample you’d like to import using the -/DEC and +/INC buttons and press ENTER once you’d found the sample you’d like to import.
Step 5
Once the sample has been imported, you will be presented with an option to assign that audio file to a particular pad. I typically set this to OFF and assign the samples later for a variety of reasons, including decreasing the chances for mistakes and allowing me to double check that I’m putting the sample exactly where I want it, but if you are confident in which pad you’d like to assign the sample to, feel free to set it here and skip Step 7 below.
Step 6
Repeat this process until all of the samples you’d like to load are imported and press the KIT button to exit IMPORT mode and return to your Kit.
Step 7
To assign a sample to your pad, strike the pad to set the DTX to display that pad and press the VOICE button. This will display the voice for the particular pad you have selected. Use the arrow buttons to select Press the ‘+’ or ‘-‘ buttons until
you find the wav files, find the name of the sound you wish to assign to that pad, and hit ENTER.
Step 8
Once you’ve assigned all your samples to the pads, we now need to go back through and turn off velocity control for each sample. This is something you’re most likely going to want to do so you can accurately balance your samples against the band without the often unpredictable factor of how hard the pad being struck each time affecting the volume.
Strike a pad to ensure you’re working with the correct pad and press the MIDI button to display the page that says
- MIDI1 -01-
- MessageType=note
Ensure that this second number (-01-) matches the number of the pad that you are intending to edit…if you struck the pad before pressing MIDI, this should read correctly, otherwise either edit this parameter to reflect the correct pad, or strike the pad you’d like to edit.
Step 9
Hit ENTER once more and page over to MIDI1-7 using the arrow buttons
Step 10
From this page you can now change the TrigVel=variable to TrigVel=127, which means that the velocity will be max for no matter how hard the pad is struck. Any other number will introduce some degree of variety to the volume depending on how hard the pad is struck.
Step 11 (optional)
Now you need to adjust the sample volume…this step is optional, but it’s very likely that not every sample will be perfectly balanced to your band right off the bat so it’s important to get familiar with this next set of edits.
Strike the pad you wish to edit the volume of and repeatedly hit the VOICE button until you reach the home page that displays the name of the sample that is assigned to that pad
Step 12 (optional)
Page over to VCE2, TUNE/OUTPUT and hit ENTER
Step 13 (optional)
Page over to VCE2-2. From here you can adjust the sample volume. By default the samples are loaded in at 110, and you can adjust them to anywhere between 0 and 127.