However, a scan though the various folders quickly revealed a wealth of quality samples begging to be used. In my experience, drum hits tend to be short, so I was curious to learn exactly what I'd received and if it would justify the inevitable whining email from BT.
Fxpansion geist 2 factory content download#
The download consists of three 'RAR' files that expand to over 2GB of factory content. I instantly spotted that Geist was large, arriving, as it did, in a month when I once again broke my meagre Broadband limit (those in a similar position may opt for the boxed version instead). With the stand‑alone Licence Manager, this is a breeze, although there's an alternative method for any who keep their studio computer offline. Having downloaded all the component parts and followed the simple installation instructions, choosing a suitable location for the factory content, all that's left is authorisation. You can view and edit a complete pattern 'x0x'‑style. Finally, and shunting the drum machine concept into a corner screaming and blubbering, Song mode is equivalent to the arrange window of any popular DAW, with a track allocated to each Engine. If you prefer to go out of the box, Geist supports multiple outputs - up to 16 stereo streams with a suitable audio interface. Keeping everything self‑contained, the effects implementation is highly polished: easily enough for a finished song. Up to 64 Scenes may be populated with any combination of patterns from the active Engines, instantly suggesting a means of on‑the‑fly remixes. These snapshots are known as Scenes and are triggerable from a keyboard, the whole performance ready to be captured in your DAW. You can take snapshots of multiple Engines while they play their respective patterns. These hold the samples that make Geist's ghostly heart go 'thump'. A kit consists of 16 pads, each with as many as eight Layers. Yes, Geist is multitimbral, with up to eight 'Engines' each containing a unique drum kit, effects, and up to 24 rhythm patterns. In the former case, you trigger patterns and individual hits as per any virtual instrument on up to eight MIDI channels. Geist is happy to haunt your Digital Audio Workstation or run stand‑alone.
Fxpansion geist 2 factory content full#
It encompasses sampling, sample slicing and full song construction too, so anyone expecting a rendering of traditional hardware might reasonably ask how many bells and whistles a drumkit needs - and then how many congas, bass guitars and synths! Overview Geist is a complete rhythm environment in software, capable of turning out anything from simple 'x0x' patterns to elaborate percussion arrangements. It's also a disembodied drum machine from FXpansion - although maybe the term 'drum machine' doesn't do it justice. Geist is the German word for ghost or spirit - a nugget of information I acquired from an early Tangerine Dream LP. A chain of up to six effects can be applied to individual layers, to pads, to entire kits, to the main output, or via aux sends. The effect structure is highly configurable. Put down your bells, books and candles - this a ghost you do want in your machine.