Short Guide to Z and XV presets


Alchemy can store in its Remix Pads 8 variations of a "primary" instrument. This ability was primary marketed as an uberpowerfull feature for Morphing between the Remix Pads or Long evolving textures. And indeed it can do all that.

The Remix Pads however, can be used in a totally different way. A variation can be more or less drastic, ie the new variation can be close of the original instrument, or .... it can also be COMPLETELY different.

So, for example, A Bass can have one (or more) lead Variation, and a Pad can have one (or more) Keys variation. And you can also find 8 totally different Basses as variations, though they will share a certain common basis. At this point, no apparent problem can be found. Until you think of the implications.

How to find the right bird to sing your song ?

Alchemy browser, with its categories, is very handy. So handy that you could miss the essential : The right instrument for the right track.

Say you need a Bass for your track. You will obviously look in the ..... Bass folders.

In case the needed and right variation of a lead could actually be the BEST bass for your track, you'll just ........ never find it. It’s that simple

The Z birds

And thats precisely why we invented the Z presets. If the Remix Pad 7 of a Lead patch is indeed a great possible Bass intrument, we just took care to save this Remix Pad in the Bass folder too, with a special name. If the lead was called : The Bird, then in the Bass folder you'll find a preset named ...... Z the Bird, ready to play as a bass, and you wont miss it for preview next time you need a bass.

So a Z preset is just a "real-ghost copy" of one MetaInstrument ( ie the best name for a "preset" in Alchemy imho) saved with the right default Remix Pad, AND in the right folder, so thats it will be the more easy and convienent place to find it for you.

The Z presets concept was invented to make your life easier. As they're prefixed with a Z, they will always be located at the end of a folder in Alchemy’ browser, so that they will never be mistaken with any of the original MetaInstruments, and can be instantaneously identified as "Z Variations" of original instruments.

Should you find this little idea a usefull concept, we strongly encourage you to make your own Z presets in Alchemy, each time you see an instrument wich could be used in another category/folder.

The XV birds

Are a bit more sophisticated than the Z presets, and a natural evolution of the concept.

The XV patches are also variations of the initial Meta Instruments, but here, we actually changed a few parameters ( Like enveloppes, filters, or Oscillators) to transform these presets into another new intrument belonging to another instrument category.

A simple example : A pad can become an interesting Key instruments by modifiying a few parameters in a preset. The bonus with XV presets is that usually all of the 8 remix pads were modified, so they look very close of distinct original Meta Instruments.

We could have as well included them in the initial number of presets of the bank to increase it in an artificial way, but we think it was more honnest, and more interesting for those who have interest in sound design and how its done, to release them as XV presets.

XV presets are of course prefixed with XV followed by the name of the original instrument.

Laurent Bourgeon December 2009 http://www.lelotusbleu.fr/