Anyone know how to use Arturia Spark as a sound source?

[mhschmieder]

I could swear I had this working when my Spark LE controller arrives with the Spark 2 software a few weeks ago, but I hadn't yet gotten around to using it in DP so maybe it's only possible to use Spark VI as a sound source when playing it in real time from the controller?

If so, then I wasted my money, as I expected to be able to also use it as a normal VI, to record MIDI parts that I've already entered. I couldn't figure out how to do that with the previous version, but got it working with the demo of the new version so bought it with the controller and then thought I was "done" solving this mysterious problem.

I have read the huge manual many times. I see nothing in it that shows how to shut off its annoying auto-pattern loop, but regardless of the constant looping of whatever pattern is loaded (and I see no way to null that out), it never plays MIDI fed to the VI channel assigned to it.

My recollection is that I found something in the settings window a while back that was counter-intuitive and several screens away, but that might have been in standalone mode as I see no hidden information or additional screens in the AU version.

I loaded up the standalone version just now and it does NOT play an infinite loop of a pattern and can be used to play the pads with the mouse or to trigger the sounds via a keyboard, at the very least.

Maybe Spark LE has to be hooked up to the computer as some sort of "dongle" for the AU version to work as a sound source vs. a constant loop machine playing internal patterns vs. responding to a MIDI sequence fed to it via its assigned channel?

Unfortunately I can't verify that at the moment as my Spark LE is temporarily extremely inaccessible due to moving a bunch of stuff around recently for some ongoing live acoustic drum recording sessions. As I think about it more, I probably had not yet verified it is possible to use Spark as a source of drum sounds inside Digital Performer sequences.

[charlesaustin]

Works fine here. Have not used it in a while, but for sure I have done what you are trying.

Good luck!!!

[mhschmieder]

Well, at least it's good to know it's possible. I spent four hours on this last night, to no avail.

For now, I'll have to keep my Battery3 tracks as I've run out of time for tomorrow night's deadline. I much prefer the Oberheim DMX sounds in Spark though 9except the top kit stuff like hi-hat, where I lean towards Addictive Drums).

[David Polich]

I just downloaded and installed Spark 2.01 last night and installed...working a treat here.
I can reassign MIDI tracks I did using BFD as a sound source and Spark plays them back fine...with a caveat.

The whole map for Spark drum instruments is essentially shifted up 2 octaves from the General MIDI map, meaning that the kick normally assgned to C1 is actually at C3. Snare is at D3, etc. etc. So you have to transpose any MIDI tracks that used GM-mapped kits up 2 octaves to get Spark to respond to them. Regarding Spark coming up defaulting to a pattern on - no, it doesn't do that here on my system.

Now, that said, I think Spark 2.0 is really cool, but one thing I don't like about it is that, unlike Spark VDM, kits are listed by genre, not by the type of drum machine or electronic drum kit. That's understandable, but frankly I like calling up what is listed as an 808 or 909 or a Roland drum machine or Simmons kit.

Second thing I find frustrating is that, unlike Spark VDM, EDM, and Dubstep, you have to access a different page to change the patterns. On the older versions of Spark you could simply click on the pattern "wheel" to select another pattern. Not that I ever really use patterns, I prefer to create my own and just use these things as sound sources.

[David Polich]

Update - for Spark, Spark VDM,EDM, and Dubstep - to turn off the default to pattern play mode, simply disable (turn off) the Sync to host tempo button in the GUI, which is labeled "Host" at the top of the GUI.

[mhschmieder]

Thanks Dave, that rings a bell as what I did earlier. I'm at work now so can't double-check it, but I do think there was an issue with whether that button is "available" when the controller isn't hooked up. This is distinct from the standalone vs. plug-in mode operation. Once we wind down our drum sessions I can access what's behind the acoustic curtains again and I'll hook up the Spark LE controller and re-check things.

[mhschmieder]

Just to clear up some confusion, the genre-based categorization is simply an additional level of the hierarchy as opposed to "in place of" the emulation-based kit naming.

It's a bit counter-intuitive which categories some of the emulation kits wound up in, but if in a hurry, you can just do the global list. I've already gotten used to the "fake" names though so find them rather quickly on the whole.

[mhschmieder]

OK, I found that my user manual wasn't the latest, and they do briefly mention the Host and Tempo buttons in the latest version of the user manual, which can be found at their website.

Turn off the Host and Tempo buttons at the top; set pattern and MIDI mode in preferences to General MIDI (these may not be necessary when triggering from DP8 vs. from Spark LE).

The following notes apply to there Oberheim DMX kit ("DNX" under VDM->Pop), at least:

Make sure to use B0 vs. C1 as the note for BD1. They also have a BD2 kick in the pad set, but it is mapped to something else (I forget what, but it's in the next octave up).

G1 is the high rack tom (I expected D2 to be the MIDI mapping) instead of the high floor tom; though C2 is still the hi-mid rack tom, and F1 is still the low floor tom.

The shaker is mapped to Gb2 as one articulation; normally this would be the tambourine in GM.

I can't find their MIDI maps listed in the manual, for Spark mapping or GM mapping, which is part of why I set the preferences to General MIDI (even though it might not be applying to using Spark as a sound source from DP8). Nor could I find anything in the GUI to list the mapping of individual pads, such as context menus or tool tips.

[mhschmieder]

I am not enjoying this "needle in the haystack" approach to trying to figure out what MIDI note each pad is assigned to in the Spark plug-in.

I've tried every note to the fifth octave, and have yet to find one that triggers "SD 2" (an effected snare) in the ASP-12 kit (listed as VDM->Pop->ESP-12). Some of the other kit pieces were spread out pretty far across the MIDI map as well.

After going through every minute detail of the GUI and the user manual, I am stumped. Why on earth do they not document the MIDI spec for this VI?

[mhschmieder]

Oh wow, it's a bug! Or rather, not handling the Mac correctly.

I finally found something in the user manual about right-clicking the pads to edit the kit pieces. Although it mentioned nothing about MIDI note assignment, the fact that nothing happens when I right-click caused me to try command-click, and up came a tiny context menu with "Parameter: 16 Trig", "MIDI Note: 83" and a "Learn" action button.

Problem solved.

This must be the ONLY software I have that doesn't understand right-clicks on the mouse when running on a Mac. That is a trivial problem to solve; I first had to deal with it in my own software over twelve years ago and it took me less than an hour to figure it out.

Now I can gradually figure out what sort of mappings they're using and if they are consistent, either from a pad assignment point of view or in terms of what sound is on a given pad (since not all kits have the same collection of sounds available).