Instrument slots

Click just below the slot number of the instrument slot you want to activate. A white indicator appears to show that the slot is active.

1. Click an instrument slot. A drop-down menu with a list of each installed sample libraryA piece of software consisting of a collection of recorded instrument sounds. Sample libraries can be used to play back existing MIDI sequences or to act as a live virtual instrument. appears.

2. Choose a library, followed by an instrument patchA particular instrument sound, often containing multiple samples. The term is borrowed from physical synthesizers in which cables were used to connect sound modules. Also referred to as program. from the list in that library.


The selected instrument patch loads. When it's finished, the name of the instrument appears in the instrument slot and the onscreen keyboard lights up. Alternatively, you can also use the Tree view to load an instrument patch.

In addition to these steps, you can also load an SFZ file by locating it outside the ARIA Player and dragging it onto the ARIA Player window. If you want a third-party SFZ library to appear as a bank, see External SFZ libraries.

1. Click an instrument slot. A drop-down menu with a list of each installed sample libraryA piece of software consisting of a collection of recorded instrument sounds. Sample libraries can be used to play back existing MIDI sequences or to act as a live virtual instrument. appears.

2. Choose import.
3. In the Please select file dialog box, navigate to the location of the SFZAn open standard for developing virtual instruments from audio samples. The ARIA Player uses the SFZ format as the basis for its instrument engine. Read more at http://ariaengine.com/overview/sfz-format/. file.
4. Select the SFZ file and click Open.

If after loading an instrument and changing the parameters you decide that you prefer the original sound of the instrument, reload the instrument to restore its original settings.

1. Click an instrument slot. A drop-down menu with a list of each installed sample libraryA piece of software consisting of a collection of recorded instrument sounds. Sample libraries can be used to play back existing MIDI sequences or to act as a live virtual instrument. appears.

2. Choose reload. The patch is reloaded and any changes you have made are replaced by the original settings.

1. Click an instrument slot. A drop-down menu with a list of each installed sample libraryA piece of software consisting of a collection of recorded instrument sounds. Sample libraries can be used to play back existing MIDI sequences or to act as a live virtual instrument. appears.

2. Choose empty. The patch is removed from system memory and the instrument slot name becomes blank.

Within the instrument slot that you want to configure, drag the tuning controls up or down to adjust fine-tuning (up to 100 cents, or one half-step). CTRL-click or COMMAND-click to reset the tuning value.

1. Within the instrument slot that you want to configure, click the Pitchbend Range menu. By default, this is set to Def. A drop-down menu with range options appears.

2. Choose an option from the list to set the number of half-steps that apply to a pitch bend controller.

Since ARIA version 1.6, the global polyphonyA setting for how many simultaneous notes can occur. Many instrument patches are polyphonic, and you can often control the level of polyphony for a given patch. control has been removed from the settings view in favor of individual control located in the instrument slots.

1. Within the instrument slot that you want to configure, click the Polyphony menu. By default this is set to 32. A drop-down menu with polyphony options appears.

2. Choose an option from the list to set the maximum number of simultaneous samples/layers.

Tip: The number chosen from the list refers to the amount of samples or layers rather than pitches; for example, an instrument patch that uses four samples for a single pitch can only have two notes sounding at the same time if polyphony is set to 8.

1. Within the instrument slot that you want to configure, click the Stereo Output menu. By default, this is set to 1/2. A drop-down menu with stereo channel options appears.

2. Choose an option from the list.

You can control multiple instrument slots with the same MIDI channel. Just change the MIDI channel assignment to the same channel on each slot you want to control simultaneously. If you have multiple MIDI controllers and you want them all to control the same slot, choose OM (omni).

The MIDI Channel selection determines the MIDI channel from which the instrument slot receives input data from your MIDI controller. By default, most MIDI controllerAny device, such as a piano keyboard or wind instrument, that transmits performance information as MIDI data. The ARIA Player can use these devices for live playback and control. hardware transmits on channel 1.

1. Within the instrument slot that you want to configure, click the MIDI Channel menu. A drop-down menu with MIDI channel options appears.

2. Choose an option from the list.