The 88 Series - Acoustic Pianos Manual v 1.5

©2016 Chocolate Audio

C A

Welcome Thank you very much for purchasing one of the 88 Series Pianos!

We hope you’ll make the best out of this carefully crafted Virtual Instrument.

Requirements This Instrument requires that you have installed the Full Version of Kontakt 5.5.2 or newer.

It will not work with the free Kontakt Player.

Most presets need between 250 and 500 MB of preload in RAM, never exceeding 1 GB when using all microphones. Make sure that your computer has enough RAM to cope with your host DAW needs and this and other libraries’ needs.

When using more microphones at the same time, a fast hard disk drive or an SSD is warmly suggested, since the polyphony count can easily exceed 300 voices when using the sustain pedal extensively.

Unpacking Once you have downloaded the Install files following the instructions from the purchase email, please follow these steps:

1. The RAR compressed files (.rar, .r01, .r02...) need a specific application in order to be opened.

1.1. PC users might use 7-zip, an open source tool for compressed files: http://www.7-zip.org.

1.2. MAC users might use UnRarX: http://www.unrarx.com.

1.3. These are freeware open-source option but there many commercial alternatives available on both platforms to open RAR files.

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Installing Once all of the RAR files are unpacked, you can move the decompressed folder (aptly named The 88 Series - “your purchased piano here”) to your favorite location.

Please keep and eventually make back-up copies of the RAR installers since they might be useful in case of data-loss, without requiring a full re-download of the whole package.

Loading Kontakt Instruments not based on the protected NI scheme, can be loaded in one of the following ways:

1. Drag & Drop the .nki file onto the main Kontakt interface.

2. Use the Kontakt Browser to find the .nki file and either Double-Click or Drag & Drop to the main interface.

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Quick Load You can use Kontakt’s Quick Load feature to easily access the Instrument.

1. Click on the “Quick” button on top of Kontakt’s interface.

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2. Either from the PC’s Explorer / Mac’s Finder or from Kontakt’s Browser, Drag and Drop the folder containing the Instrument or the .nki file itself to the Quick Load window.

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3. Eventually, you can organize instruments in collection by creating folders inside the Quick Load window (right-Click on PC or ctrl-Click on Mac).

4. The Instrument is readily available, either from the Quick Load window itself or through the Quick Load button.

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Performance Page • Save and Delete Piano Presets

• Click on the Preset name to enter a new Name, then click Save

• Use the down-arrow to load Presets

• Purge Muted deletes from RAM, samples currently muted in the mixer

• Volume, Pan, Mute and Solo let you work on the main mix from the different Mics available

• Reverb Volume and Mute modify the internal Impulse Response Reverb return level

• Master Vol, Stereo Width and Swap L/R let you set the overall volume of the Mics and manage the stereo field - right below them, find the master 3-band EQ

• Width sets the Stereo Width for each Mic set while Rev Send sets the amount of signal (pre-fader) the gets sent from each Mic set to the internal Impulse Response Reverb

• Tune lets you set the piano to either the 440 or 442 Hz tuning references

• Velocity sets the velocity response Curve

• Realism is a macro control for all kind of action noises the piano makes

• Piano Tone makes the piano sound harder or softer

• Lid controls the amount of opening of the piano lid

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Ctrl-Click (PC) and Cmd-Click (Mac) set each Pot to its default value

Advanced Page • The Envelope controls sets the Envelope for the

Piano, good for sound-design and mangling of the piano sound. Leave untouched for maximum realism

• Touch Response sets the amount of pre-attack information to be left in the Piano samples. Low settings translate into a more life-like sound while increasing the perceived latency. Higher settings will have almost instant response at the price of reduced realism (suggestion: use a higher setting when recording your performance, and the lowest when mixing)

• Release Trails sets the level for the key-damper action on the strings when releasing each key

• Key Off sets the level of the noise of the piano key being released

• Resonances sets the level of the sympathetic resonances happening when playing with the Sustain pedal pressed

• Pedal Noise sets the level of the Sustain pedal action, both when depressing and releasing it

• Click on the “gears” icon to access the Key Level Trimmer Panel

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Ctrl-Click (PC) and Cmd-Click (Mac) set each Pot to its default value

Effects Page • Each Mic Channel features a 3-band EQ to further

tailor the piano sound

• The Reverb section allows you to select between different custom hi-quality Impulse Responses, set the perceived size of the virtual space and the distance (pre-delay) from the original sound

• The Compressor section controls the status of the on-board Compressor-Tape Simulator combo. The Compressor is preset, so just choose to taste and work with the Amount knob to set the desired quantity of compression effect. Note: if the Amount knob seems not to be working it could be either that you loaded a preset with just the Tape Simulator or the the compressor is not being driven hard enough. In the latter case, please select the Presets followed by a “+” mark

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Ctrl-Click (PC) and Cmd-Click (Mac) set each Pot to its default value

Key Level Trimmer Panel • Clicking on the “gears” icon in the Advanced Page,

access the Key Level Trimmer Panel (shown on the right)

• Attenuate each single key by up to 12 dB in order to change the volume curve of the piano, to better fit your playing style, your keyboard or just your ears

• Click and drag the graph and/or select one of the presets from the Curve menu

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About Page(support and credits)

• Clicking on The 88 Series logo brings forward the credits/about page

• You can refer to the version number and date if asking for support

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End User License Agreement (EULA) Please read the terms of the following Soundware license agreement before using this Instrument. By installing and using these sounds, you agree to become bound by the licensing agreement. If you do not agree to these terms, do not install and use the product.

With this library, you are obtaining a license for your use only. The sounds, images, presets, samples and programming are the property of Chocolate Audio and are licensed (not sold) to you for use in music production, public performance, and reasonable musical purposes within musical compositions.

This license expressly forbids resale or other distribution of these sounds, either as they exist in this form or any modification thereof. Any duplicating, copying, distributing, transferring, uploading or downloading, trading or reselling of these libraries or any of the contents therein is strictly prohibited. You cannot sell, loan, share, rent, lease, trade, reissue, resell nor assign any or all of the enclosed sounds to anyone. You cannot redistribute them through an archive, nor a collection, nor through the Internet, nor binaries groups, nor newsgroup, nor any type of removable media nor through a network. The sounds and samples contained herein cannot be edited, digitally altered, re- synthesized or manipulated without direct written consent of Chocolate Audio. The enclosed sounds cannot be re-used in any other commercial sample library or any competitive product.

A right to use any of the samples and sounds in this collection is granted to the original end-user only, and this license is not transferable unless there is written consent of Chocolate Audio or its representative and payment of an eventual additional fee. Licensor will not be responsible if the content of this product does not fit the particular purpose of the Licensee. The sounds are licensed "as is" without warranties of any kind. Neither Chocolate Audio nor any agent or distributor can be held responsible for any direct or indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of this product in whatever form.

This product may not be returned for any reason other than manufacturing defects. Please make sure before ordering this item that it meets your needs. Information contained herein is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Chocolate Audio.

The terms of this license shall be construed in accordance with the substantive laws of Italy and EU. In any written materials or credits accompanying your music recording that utilizes material from Chocolate Audio (website, CD booklet, film credits, etc), you are invited to include a courtesy credit and inform Chocolate Audio about it.

By installing and using this product, you acknowledge that you have read this license agreement, understand the agreement and agree to its terms and conditions. This is the complete agreement between you and Chocolate Audio that supersedes any other representations or prior agreements, whether oral or in writing.

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