Understanding F2 Root Key on GD Soul Treasures

Gordon Laurie

Hi Team,

When i load up a SoulTreasures patch, the root key is set to F2 - does that mean that all the phrases/loops are in the key of F?

Probably not, right?

PK The DJ

If you need to detect keys, there's a little free app I use on my iPhone called Auto-Key (by Antares so it's quality).

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/auto-key-music-key-detection/id1559061303

Friede

No, it just means you can use the 2nd octave for transposition. The Samples can come in any key, for example Augemented 1 & 2 are in Eb minor, Open Heart is in C major.

You can choose your root key depending on if you want to shift more up or down. F2 is in the middle, you can go -5 or +6. If you want to shift 11 keys up, set root key to C2 and press B2.

It's just translating a part of the keyboard to numbers, they have no meaning as notes.

Technically all the root keys in samplers are like that. You often will put a sound on the corresponding note on the keyboard, but sometimes you want something completely different.

So root key in any (not only GD ST) environment means: the key where the sample is in original pitch, other keys might transpose (there can be multiple zones with own root keys).

Gordon Laurie

Thanks Freide,

how do you know the original key of the patches? I need to know that I order to make the correct transposition to my song key, no?

Is there a phrase “original key” that I can see or are you able to tell with your perfect pitch?thanks!

Brad Yost

Further information:

If you open the GD instrument in Edit view (either in Kontakt or Komplete Kontrol) and view Keyboard as well as the <Trigger> tab, you will see the three octaves broken out and enumerated.

Red is the FX chain which affects the tone & timbre, Green is the ROOT pitch, Blue is the trigger key section for each sample slice.

This is all covered in the manual on page 9, Section 2.2, which is in a <Documentation> directory in the library install location.

Most of the performances in GD default to F so that when they are stretched or shrunk for the other keys, they don't get too strange sounding.

Gordon Laurie

Thanks, Brad,

I am familiar with the keyboard triggers and thanks for the screenshot. I think my question is what key is each loop played in? I can't tell because I don't have perfect pitch - is there a list of each loop and its original key? If I knew that I could transpose the samples via the F2 root to my song key - does that make sense?

Gordon

PK The DJ

If you need to detect keys, there's a little free app I use on my iPhone called Auto-Key (by Antares so it's quality).

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/auto-key-music-key-detection/id1559061303

wesboundmusic

Thanks for that! I had wondered the same. Maybe I should have looked here first before making my little songwriting clinic using a phrase from this library (https://youtu.be/CgINc05KYEY). OK, now I know for future use, thanks again!