Native Instruments

Important Notes

Capabilities

Additions

Keyboard control

Mouse control

Hubis Loopback

Contact

Welcome
to the Native Instruments
B4 Demo

This document contains a list of important information about the demo version of the B4.

Important Notes

Latency
When running the standalone version of the B4 you should optimise the Play Ahead setting for your soundcard in System/Audio Settings, in order to reduce the latency - the delay between pressing a key and hearing the sound. The latency of the B4 as a VST 2.0 plug-in depends on the soundcard buffer of the host application, typically a sequencer. We recommend to adjust the size of this buffer to a minimum.

MIDI-Channels
The B4 as a VST plug-in receives the MIDI-Channels 1,2 and 3. The Note Events on Channel 1 are mapped to the upper manual, Channel 2 to the lower manual and Channel 3 to the pedal manual. In the stand-alone version you can select the MIDI-Channels for each manual in the System/MIDI Settings Dialog.

Caution
If you hear harsh digital distortion (clipping) when playing many notes, you must reduce the Volume setting in the Control View to prevent overloading the soundcard.

Emagic Logic
There are a number of issues when using the B4 as a VST plug-in with Emagic Logic Audio (version 4.2 and 4.5).

Logic does not support Program Change for the VST interface. This will be implemented in one of the next Logic updates
Logic has its own method for assigning MIDI controller numbers to VST plug-ins
The Channel selector in the Instrument parameter box does not work correctly with VST Instruments, the channel of the events is always used
Logic 4.2 does not save the sounds and settings within a song. You must use the Export All and Import All Fuction of the B4. (With Logic 4.5 it works perfectly)

DirectX Adapter
If you use the B4 with the fxpansion VST to DirectX adapter under Cakewalk, you should send a value for MIDI controller 7 (Volume) at the beginning of a song, because Cakewalk sends a value of 0 when you press the Start button, thereby silencing the B4.

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Capabilities of the demo version

The demo is identical to the full version except the following restrictions:

15 minutes testing period per session
No loading and saving of sound presets
No loading of tonewheel files
Only 24 of 120 presets are included in the demo
There is a short audio signal (an organ tone) in the audio output once about every 20 seconds
No recording of automation possible. (With the full version you can record the movements of the controls as MIDI Continous Controllers)
Snapshots and a lot of buttons are adjustable now from the computer keyboard (see also later keyboard shortcuts description)

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Additions

View Toggle
You can quickly toggle between the two views by clicking on the right-hand side of the B4's menu bar.

Preset List
You can open a pop-up menu for selecting Presets by clicking on the NI-Logo at the left end of the B4's menu bar.

Preset Scrolling
In the Control View you can scroll through the B4's presets by holding down the Ctrl key (PC) or Apple key (Mac) and dragging the Preset Number up and down with the mouse. Alternatively you can use the right mouse button (PC).

MIDI Controller Templates
The B4 can be used with any programmable MIDI controller box. Included with the B4 are templates in the form of MIDI Sys-Ex files for the Peavey PC1600x and the Kenton Control Freak 16. The faders on either of these units are very convenient for controlling the B4's drawbars.

Demo Songs
In the B4 Demo folder, you can find some songs for demonstrating the B4's sound. They are available in both Standard MIDI File and Cubase Song format. You may have to change the Cubase tracks' MIDI Output Port to "B4(1)".

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Keyboard control

VST	STAND ALONE (additional)	Function
DOWN ARROW	-	program -
UP AROW	-	program +
LEFT ARROW	-	bank -
RIGHT ARROW	-	bank +
SHIFT + Q	F1	vibrato lower on/off
SHIFT + W	F2	vibrato upper on/off
SHIFT + A	F3	percussion on/off
SHIFT + S	F4	overdrive on/off
SHIFT + D	F5	rotator on/off
SHIFT + F	F6	velocity on/off
SHIFT + C	F7	show preset list
SHIFT + V	F8	toggle view
SHIFT + E	F11	split lower/upper
SHIFT + R	F12	split pedal/lower
SHIFT + X	SPACE	rotator slow/fast
-	ALPHABETIC KEYS	play midi notes

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Mouse control

Key	+ Mousebutton	Function
-	LEFT	value adjustment
-	RIGHT	smoother value adjustment or value change on text displays
SHIFT	LEFT	smoother value adjustment
CTRL ( or APPLE)	LEFT	undo stored value
ALT	LEFT/RIGHT	swap linear/circular movement

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Hubis Loopback

If you want to trigger the B4 software from a sequencer you have to install a MIDI Loopback driver. Enclosed with the B4 demo is Hubis Loopback driver for Windows 95/98.

To install this driver you have to start HubisLoopback25.exe. The archive extracts itself and put its files in the folder you specified as path (per default a subfolder of the current location of the compressed archive).Follow the directions in the "How to install HLD" help file to install Hubis Loopback driver.

After installing and rebooting Windows you will find new MIDI ports in all your MIDI applications. To control the B4 from a sequencer set the MIDI output of your sequencer's MIDI track to LB1. After that you should set the MIDI input of the B4 also to LB1. Now the sequencer is able to send MIDI onto the B4. To record controller movements of the B4 in your sequencer, you can activate LB2 as MIDI output in the B4 MIDI settings for instance.

Important: Most sequencer initialize all MIDI drivers during program start. If a MIDI driver is already used by another program you might encouter an error message. Then you should deactivate the LB1 MIDI port for the sequencer you use.

Note: Hubis Loopback driver doesn't work under Windows NT/2000. For those you need an alternative 32bit driver - for instance MIDI Yoke.

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Contact:

For more informations about other Native Instruments products visit the NI homepage at www.native-instruments.com or contact us at info@native-instruments.com.

Enjoy the fabulous B4,

your Native-Instruments team!

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