Monolith Generator

Project to help automate the generation of virtual instruments based on the monolith concept by Christian Henson.

The project currently supports generation of instruments in Kontakt, SFZ and DecentSampler.

Getting started

Download the Source Code zip file from the Latest Release.

Recording

There is a Logic Template to help with the recording and editing of the monolith. For more details on how to use the Logic Template the section on the Pianobook Monolith page.

Building instruments

Once you have recorded and edited your samples, copy your monolith samples wav files into the samples directory under the instruments directory.

Configuration

To configure the automation, edit the config.lua. The following variables can be set:

• instrument The name of your instrument.
• filepath Path(s) to the monolith file(s) - can be a single string or a list for multiple mic signals. Lists are comma seperated and enclosed in curly brackets {}.
• prefix The prefix to use for each file in various names - can be a single string or a list for multple mic signals. Lists are comma seperated and enclosed in curly brackets {}. The number of prefixes must match the number of filepaths.
• flavour The type of monolith (DEFAULT/SAME_PEDALS).
• bpm The Logic recording template is set to 115.2 BPM but if you change to a different BPM you can set it with this variable.
• using_split If you split your monolith (see below) you can set this to true (default is false).

There are a set of example configurations from instruments released on Pianobook in config_examples.lua.

Splitting the monolith

The automation scripts can work directly with full monolith files and this makes it very easy to quickly test out your samples in an instrument across the different platforms.

One drawback to running the full monolith directly in samplers (particularly Kontakt) is it can put extra strain on CPU and memory. To handle this you can automatically split the monolith files into files with only one sample per file.

To generate the split files, install lua and then simply run

lua splitter.lua

Then within your config.lua file set using_split=true and build your instruments as described below.

In general it is recommended to use raw monolith until distribution, and then consider splitting the monolith.

Kontakt

Kontakt instruments can be automatically created using Native Instruments Creator Tools.

Steps to run the automation:

1. Load Creator Tools (1.3 and above) and Kontakt (6.5 and above)
2. In Kontakt load the Template.nki from the instruments directory (you can create your own template if you prefer - see below)
3. In Creator Tools open the monolith.ncpr project
4. Open the kontakt.lua script and hit the run button
5. Click the "Push to Kontakt" arrow to apply the changes to the Kontakt instrument

It's generally a good idea to close Creator Tools once you are finished with the automation as it can cause Kontakt to hang / go slow.

NOTE: The automation uses Group 0 as a template for all "notes" groups as it is currently not possible to automate the creation of source modulators. If you want to tweak the ADHSR or velocity modulator, do this in Group 0 before running the automation.

The factory preset of "Piano" is a good starting point for the ADHSR envelope. You may wish to tweak this as appropriate.

You may wish to use the modulation shaper option for Velocity to create a table that matches the velocity feel you wish for your instrument. A reasonable starting place is the Factory Default - Keytrack Tables - AR Table.

Should you wish to edit this after the automation has run then:

1. In the Expert view, Command / Shift multi-select all the note_without_pedal and note_with_pedal groups
2. Right-click and click "Set Edit flag for selected group(s)"
3. In the Source section open the Mod option for the Amplifier and make and adjustments as appropriate

Creating your own Template.nki

If you would like to create your own Template.nki the following steps can be used

1. In Kontakt click the blank instrument area to create an empty instrument
2. Click the Spanner icon to edit the instrument.
3. Open Group Editor, Mapping Editor, Wave Editor and Script Editor
4. Disable "Edit All Groups"
5. In the Expert view, Command / Shift multi-select all the note_without_pedal and note_with_pedal groups
6. In the Voices section increase the maximum number of voices from the default 32 to a much larger number (more than 200), particularly if you are using multiple mic positions.
7. To attach the graphics resources, click the "Instrument Options" button
8. In the "Resource Container" click the folder icon and browse for the Resources.nkr file that is in the instruments folder
9. Edit any of the Group 0 setting such as envelope, velocity curves, etc
10. Add two FX to the Instrument Send FX section for FX1 and FX2 to control

KSP Scripts

The generated Kontakt files will automatically add the approriate scripts from Dave Hilowitz's piano template scripts:

https://github.com/dhilowitz/kontakt-piano-template

The scripts should work out of the box, but you can tweak them as required.

SFZ

To generate a SFZ file, install lua and then simply run

lua sfz.lua

DecentSampler

To generate a DecentSampler dspreset file, install lua and then simply run

lua ds.lua

Development

TIP: You can create a long placeholder WAV file for "DOES_NOT_EXIST.wav" using ffmpeg

ffmpeg -f lavfi -i "sine=frequency=1000:sample_rate=48000:duration=5358" -ac 2 -c:a pcm_s24le instruments/samples/DOES_NOT_EXIST.wav

In the above duration=5358 is the length of a DEFAULT monolith (1h29m18s). Use duration=2756 for a SAME_PEDALS monolith (0h45m56s).