Unofficial DrumIt Three Manual for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Unofficial DrumIt Three Manual for the Blind and Visually Impaired

v1.32.4.0, for OS 1.32.4

With kind permission of 2box. 2box and DrumIt Three are trademarks of 2box AB Sweden.

Adapted by www.lustark.com with help from Justin Thornton
For a more complete manual please refer to the latest official version available from 2box

This is an unofficial version of the 2box DrumIt Three manual, adapted for the blind and visually impaired. It contains a few changes and additions and has been formatted and shortened for better access.
Each setting page is followed by a shortened list of buttons to access it. For example: "press the KIT button then press the DOWN Button 6 times" is referred to as "KIT, DOWN 6"
Each setting title is followed by the corresponding button: B1 to B3 for top buttons, D1 for the dial.




Orientation

When working with the DrumIt Three module the buttons should be facing slightly at an up angle with the input/output jacks pointed facing furtherest away from you to follow the alignment included in this manual.
This will give the user the most convenient tactile feedback when operating the module.




Rear Panel

Top row, from left to right:
Bottom row, from left to right:


Top Button Panel

There is a row of buttons on the left, from left to right:
Note: the "more" button is separate from the first three buttons.

On the right, from top to bottom:
1 round knob located near the top right: LEVEL
3 buttons located above the screen display (from left to right): B1, B2, and B3
2 buttons located on the left hand side of the screen: (top) UNIT, (bottom) KIT
2 buttons located on the right hand side of the screen: (top) UP, (bottom) DOWN
1 turn/click dial located below the screen: D1
Note: the dial provides a tactile "click" feedback when it is turned.




Setting Pages


Saving settings



Kit

Program: KIT
Drum: KIT, DOWN 1
Envelope: KIT, DOWN 2
Control Functions: KIT, DOWN 3
Kit Functions: KIT, DOWN 4
Volume: KIT, DOWN 5
Equalizer: KIT, DOWN 6
Accompaniment: KIT, DOWN 7


Unit

Mixer: UNIT
Channel: UNIT, DOWN 1
Trigger: UNIT, DOWN 2
HiHat Calibration: UNIT, DOWN 3
HiHat Setting: UNIT, DOWN 4
Spec: UNIT, DOWN 3 (HiHat DOWN 5)
Interface: UNIT, DOWN 4  (HiHat DOWN 6)
Output: UNIT, DOWN 5 (HiHat DOWN 7)
Metronome: UNIT, DOWN 6 (HiHat DOWN 8)
MIDI: UNIT, DOWN 7 (HiHat DOWN 9)
Preferences: UNIT, DOWN 8 (HiHat DOWN 10)
Memory: UNIT, DOWN 9 (HiHat DOWN 11)
Information: UNIT, DOWN 10 (HiHat DOWN 12)




Saving Settings

To enable saving settings press UNIT, DOWN 8 (or DOWN 10 if the HiHat is selected) then B1 to toggle Save on/off. The SAVE-off mode is useful when several percussionists play on your DrumIt Three and you want to prevent people from tampering with your drum kits and configurations.


Saving Kit Changes

From any kit page: KIT then press B1 twice


Saving Unit Changes

From any unit page: UNIT then B1


Dismissing Kit Changes

If you decide not to save the changes you made simply select another KIT and the changes are lost.
 

UNDO/REDO Kit Changes

If you press the MORE button before you save, an UNDO function comes up in place of the SAVE function. If you select UNDO, the changes will be reset, but stay cached.  
If you press the MORE button once again, you get a REDO option. With this, you can restore your changes. 




Kit


Kit-Program: KIT

SAVE B1 press twice to save without editing the program name. press once to edit the kit name and select the program location before saving. press once then B2 to set current kit as favorite.
FAVO B1, B2. This will set the current kit as your favorite preset. Any time you restart your module, your favorite kit will be loaded.
UNDO/REDO MORE+B1 To reload the original settings, hold the MORE button and press UNDO. To resume editing, hold the MORE button and press REDO.
STOP B2 stops the accompaniment. Hold 1/2 second to stop all loops.
PLAY/PAUSE B3 starts or stops the accompaniment.
PROGRAM D1 selects the kit program. Single kits are ordered alphabetically after program 100. Click and turn to select by initial letter, click again to select kit by kit.
TIME (kit with wave file) indicates the playing time for the selected file.
PITCH (kit with wave file) click D1 twice, can be set between 0.50 and 1.0. This allows to practice along at a lower speed.
BAR (kit with metronome) click D1, type of bar
TEMPO (kit with metronome) click D1 twice, sets the beats per minute value. Click to select between changing the value in units or tenths.



Kit-Program (save): KIT

SAVE B1 saves the kit and returns to program select.
COPY B1 (new program location) copies the kit and returns to program select. The kit at the new program location will be overwritten.
MOVE B2 moves the kit and returns to program select. The kits in between the current and new program location will be moved up or down one location as well.
SWAP B3 exchanges the kit at the current location with the one at the new location and returns to program select. At any time one can press KIT to cancel.
PROGRAM D1 selects the program location for the kit to be saved, copied, moved or swapped.
KEY click D1, changes the character at the cursor position. When selected MORE+Click to insert a space.
CURSOR click D1 twice, sets the cursor position. When selected MORE+Click to delete the current character. Holding MORE and turning will shift the name left or right.



Kit-Drum: KIT, DOWN 1

FILE/FOLD D1 selects the drum sound to be triggered. CHANNEL UP/DOWN or strike a pad to select the current channel. MORE+TRIG to select the Rim channels for the toms and snare. MORE+Click to change between file or folder browsing.
TUNE click D1, adjusts the pitch of the sound. When selected MORE+Click to switch between tuning in 100 cent (half note) or 10 cent steps.
VOLUME click D1 twice, sets the drum volume. This volume is duplicated on the KIT-Volume page. Note that the volume in the mix is affected by the drum mix volume as well (UNIT-MIX page).



Kit-Envelope: KIT, DOWN 2

SOUND B1 selects between different types of sound within a drum file. After selecting a new file all sound types are active with a default zone mapping. Selecting another combination will divide the sound types evenly over all zones. It allows for example to assign any of the bell, ride or crash sounds of a cymbal to the rim of a pad. In case the drum file is a loop, one can use the SOUND parameter to select Loop (continuous with start / stop) or Solo (one-shot with retrigger). The trigger threshold is raised to -24 dB to prevent accidental triggering. Also, the LAYER and VOICE parameters will be set to Fix and Mono.
LAYER B2
- Variable, a certain trigger level will start a semi-random layer as long as it is close to the trigger level.
- Top, any trigger level will start the top most layer.
- Fixed, a certain trigger level will always start the same layer which best matches the trigger level.
VOICE B3 can be Poly or Mono. In the latter case, only one voice will play the drum sound and the trigger threshold is raised to -36 dB to prevent accidental triggering.
ATTACK D1 sets the attack time (default 0 sec).
HOLD click D1, sets the hold time (default 0 sec).
DECAY click D1 twice, sets the decay time (default infinite). 



Kit-Control Functions: KIT, DOWN 3

FUNC B1 selects a sound or control function, MORE+B1 to return to the previous function.
- default: no function
- START: Starts the metronome or the song player.
- STOP: Stops the metronome or song player. 
- StSto: Starts and stops the metronome or song player. The first strike starts it, the second stops it and so on. 
- StPau:  Starts and stops the song playback.
- N Kit: Selects the next kit. 
- P Kit: Selects the previous kit. 
- STPLP: Stops all running loops. 
- Tap: Allows you to tap the desired tempo while the metronome is running. 
- Tap4: A kind of automated count-in. At the 5th strike the metronome starts with the calculated tempo. 
- Tap8: Like Tap4 but with 8 strikes. 
- NONE: The trigger channel does nothing. It neither triggers a sound nor controls a function.  



Kit-Kit Functions: KIT, DOWN 4

HHPOS D1 sets a fixed hihat aperture for the current kit. Set to Off or from 1 to 31 (completely open to completely closed)



Kit-Volume: KIT, DOWN 5

EQ B2 selects if the drum channel passes through the equalizer or not. It is only available when the KIT-EQ-BUS parameter is set to Drum. Note: the channel direct out does not pass through the equalizer.
BALANCE D1, sets the balance for stereo sounds.
VOLUME click D1, sets the drum volume. This volume is duplicated on the KIT-DRUM page. Note that the volume in the mix is affected by the drum mix volume as well (UNIT-MIX page).



Kit-Equalizer: KIT, DOWN 6

CURVE B1 shows the frequency response of the equalizer. Press to reset the EQ to a flat curve, press again to restore the previous settings (convenient for comparing sounds with and without EQ).
FREQ B2 sets the mid band frequency from 125 Hz to 8 kHz in 1 octave steps or for more precise control, click D1 and turn to sweep the frequency from 100 Hz to 10 kHz in 1/3 octave steps.
BUS B3 selects the bus on which the equalizer is active, either the Mix, Sub or Drum bus. The last one is a combination of all 15 drum channels, use the KIT-VOL-EQ parameter to select which channels pass the EQ.
LOW band D1 (at 80 Hz) is +-12 dB shelving or low-cut.
MID band click D1, (between 100 Hz and 10 kHz) is +-12 dB peak or dip. Click and turn to set the center frequency.
HIGH band click D1 twice, (at 12 kHz) is +-12 dB shelving or high-cut.



Kit-Accompaniment (wave file): KIT, DOWN 7

TYPE B1 selects between a wave file or a metronome.
PLAY/STOP B3 starts or stops the wave file.
FILE D1 selects a wave file. Click to select the left chan as the music and the right chan as the click track (or vice versa depending on the way the wave file is recorded). This enables having both music and click in the mix (eg. to the phones) and just the music on the submix (eg. to the line output).
VOLUME click D1 twice, sets the volume. Note that the volume in the mix is affected by the accompaniment mix volume as well (UNIT-MIX page).



Kit-Accompaniment (metronome): KIT, DOWN 7

TYPE B1 selects between a wave file or a metronome. The metronome sound is common for all kits and can be selected on the UNIT-METR page.
REP B2 sets the repeat count. Either + (continuously), 1 or 2 bars.
PLAY/STOP B3 starts or stops the metronome.
BAR D1 sets the time signature. Bars from 1/4 to 7/4 and 3/8 to 12/8 can be chosen. The odd bars 5/8 and 7/8 have several formats. The 1/4 bar is convenient when a single accent is sufficient.
TEMPO click D1, sets the beats per minute value. When selected MORE+Click to select between changing the value in units or tenths.
VOLUME click D1 twice, sets the volume. Note that the volume in the mix is affected by the accompaniment mix volume as well (UNIT-MIX page).




Unit


Unit-Mixer: UNIT

SAVE B1 saves the unit settings, please make sure save is enabled on the UNIT-PREF page.
UNDO/REDO MORE+B1 To reload the original settings, hold the MORE button and press UNDO. To resume editing, hold the MORE button and press REDO.
FADER B2 selects the volume faders to be controlled by the dial. KICK, SNARE, HIHAT or TOMS, CYMBS, PERC each control the drum volume of one or more drum channels. This volume is in addition to the volume as set on the KIT-DRUM page. The assignment of each drum channel to a particular fader is done on the UNIT-INTF page.
KICK or TOM D1
SNARE, CYMBS or LINE click D1
HIHAT, PERC or ACMP click D1 twice
Note: on this page there is also a VU meter that shows the left and right signal level of the mix.



Unit-Channel: UNIT, DOWN 1

This page shows the currently selected trigger channel. Channels can be selected in 2 ways: either strike a pad or use the CHANNEL UP and CHANNEL DOWN buttons. 



Unit-Trigger (per channel): UNIT, DOWN 2

TYPE B1 should be set to match the connected trigger source.
- Kick1, Kick2: kick pad with faster or slower response.
- PadPP: 2box or Roland pads with Piezo/Piezo
- PaPSS: Huaxin pad with Piezo/Piezo/Switch.
- PaPSY: Yamaha pad with Piezo/Piezo/Switch.
- PadPS: Roland or Alesis pad with Piezo/Switch.
- Rim: rim of various pads.
- CyPSV: 2box cymbal with Piezo/Switch/Velocity.
- CyPSB: Roland cymbal with Piezo/Switch/Switch.
- CyPS: Alesis or Roland cymbal with Piezo/Switch.
- CyPSS: Huaxin or Alesis cymbal with Piezo/Switch.
- CyPSY: Yamaha cymbal with Piezo/Switch/Switch.
- HiHat: hihat pad.
- AcTr1, 2 or 3: acoustic trig mics on drums of increasing size with Piezo/Piezo.
- RubH1, 2 or 3: 2box pad with rubber head with Piezo/Piezo.
XTALK B2 reduces crosstalk coming from pads on other channels, it can be Off (no suppression), Low, Med or High (max suppression).
GAIN D1 should be set so only a hard hit gives full trig level (0 dB). The maximum gain is 24 dB. From 12 dB and upwards, the threshold is increased to avoid stray triggering. When the TYPE is Cym12 or 14, the GAIN parameter has an extra cup value selectable between Low, Medium or High. First turn GAIN so only hard hits on the bow give full level on zone 4. Then MORE+Click so only hard cup hits give full level on zone 1. Note: only relatively hard cup hits result in zone 1, otherwise zone 4.
THRESHOLD click D1, should be low enough to pass soft hits, but high enough to avoid stray triggering. The value can be between -48 dB and -12 dB.
CURVE click D1 twice, sets the mapping between stroke force in and trig level out.
- Neg2 or 1 result in lower levels at medium strokes.
- Norm has a linear relation between stroke force and trig level.
- Pos1 or 2 result in higher levels at medium strokes.
- Lin1 or 2 are tilted and start at -36 or -24 dB at low stroke force.
- Max1 or 2 are fixed at -6 or 0 dB independent of stroke force.
Note: on this page there is also a VU meter that shows the level of the trigger signal.



Unit-HiHat Calibration: UNIT, DOWN 3

CALIB B1 calibrates the hihat. Loosen the hihat and let it rest on the hihat receiver. Press CALIB to store the closed position. Open the hihat to the position where the sound should just reach completely open and press CALIB once more to store the open position.
RAW (display only) You may have to change the RAW setting to ensure optimum performance with your hihat pad. The RAW value can be set with the small recessed screw (HH Cal) on the module's back panel. The following values are suggestions of what might work for you, feel free to tweak the setting to adapt the response to your 
playing style. Yamaha: 850-900, Roland: 800-850, Alesis: 830-880, 2box: 600-650
HTYPE D1 specify your hihat pad:
- DEF: all popular hihat types and brands 
- 2BOXHH: 2box DrumIt Five hihat 
- ALEHH: Alesis Crimson hihat controller
POFF click D1, set the calibration range: higher values extend the range, lower values narrow it down. This also affects the PFACT setting.
PFACT click D1 twice, increase to raise the calibration threshold. This is useful for a consistent "foot chick" (pedaled hihat) and "foot splash" (quick release of the pedal after a chick).
Note: on this page there is also a VU meter that shows the level of Zone 9 (pedaled hihat function).



Unit-HiHat Setting: UNIT, DOWN 4

HHPOS D1 sets a fixed hihat aperture for all kits. Set to Off or from 1 to 31 (completely open to completely closed)
SENS click D1, sets the sensitivity +-6 dB. Adjust it so only a firm foot down gives full trig level (0 dB).
CURVE click D1 twice, has 9 settings (see UNIT-TRIG).



Unit-Spec: UNIT, DOWN 3

GAINR B1 (only for the hihat and cymbals), gain reduction Of/Off to decrease the selected channel's sensitivity.
LXTR B2 local xtalk reduction to eliminate or minimize crosstalk between the head and the rim channels: Off, Low, Med, High, vHigh.
MASK D1 from Off to 9. The mask is a time limit for accepting new trigger signals to avoid double triggering issues. Increase the value to increase the minimum amount of time to accept a new trigger signal.



Unit-Interface (per channel): UNIT, DOWN 4

ZONES B2 amount of zones for each channel. It depends on the trigger type (see UNIT-TRIG) and corresponds to the amount of MIDI notes used. So if NOTE is E4 and ZONES is 4, the MIDI notes actually used are E4, F4, F#4 and G4.
FADER B3 selects the fader which controls the volume in the mix.
CHAN D1 selects the MIDI channel on which to receive and transmit note on and off messages.
NOTE click D1, selects the MIDI note for the note on and off messages. If the associated trigger type has more than one zone (like cup, bow, edge and choke), the additional zones are mapped onto consecutive higher notes. MORE+Click to switch between note name and note number. 
MIDI note 0 corresponds to C-1 and note 60 to C4. This configuration allows all drum channels to be played from a standard MIDI keyboard with the modulation wheel as the hihat pedal. If recording on a sequencer, one can set the drum channels on individual MIDI channels so they end up on separate tracks.
BUS click D1 twice, selects the bus for direct out. It can be any bus (pair) from 1 to 8 or off. The order is off, 1, 1+2, 2, 3, 3+4, 4, 5, 5+6, 6, 7, 7+8, 8. Note that the drum volume, as set on the KIT-DRUM page, affects the direct out level, but the drum mix volume does not.



Unit-Output: UNIT, DOWN 5

LINE B1 can be Mono or Stereo. When mono, only the tip signal on the line input is used for both left and right. When stereo, the tip signal is left and the ring signal is right.
SUB D1 selects a combination of the mix channels for the submix bus. Turn to select a source and MORE+Click to switch it in or out of the submix. There are 4 different sources.
- Drums: kick, snare, hihat, toms, cymbals and percussion.
- Line: line input.
- Wave: accompaniment wave file.
- Metr: accompaniment metronome.
This allows for example to make a mix for recording or PA with just the drums and effect while still having all channels to the phones. The channel volumes of the submix are the same as those for the mix and are set on the UNIT-MIX page.
OUT1-2 click D1, selects which audio bus is routed to output 1 and 2. Either the Mix, Mix!, Sub, Sub! or 1+2! bus. Mix and Sub are controlled by the LEVEL knob, the other ones are at a fixed level.
PHONES click D1 twice, selects which audio bus is routed to the headphones output. This can be the Mix, Sub, 1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7+8 or 7+8! bus. The level is controlled by the LEVEL knob, except for the 7+8! bus selection which has a fixed level equal to the other line outputs. Bus selections with an exclamation mark have a fixed output level, so be careful with the volume setting of the connected device.



Unit-Metronome: UNIT, DOWN 6

FILE/FOLD D1 selects the sound which is played by the metronome (see KIT-ACMP). MORE+Click to change between file or folder browsing.
TUNE click D1, adjusts the pitch of the sound. Click to switch between tuning in 100 cent (half note) or 10 cent steps.
DECAY click D1 twice, sets the decay time (default infinite). Turn to the left to set shorter times. This is useful to make sounds more suitable as metronome click.



Unit-MIDI: UNIT, DOWN 7

PROGRAM CHANGE B1 can be On or Off. This is valid for both receive and transmit.
LOCAL B2 can be On or Off. When off it disables the triggers to the internal sounds to avoid double triggering when an external sequencer echos back note on/off data.
THRU B3 can be On or Off. It selects if MIDI in data is passed on to MIDI out. This allows a MIDI master to control the DrumIt Three plus additional MIDI instruments connected to DrumIt Three. Note: sysex messages will be passed on empty.
CHANNEL D1 is the common MIDI channel on which to receive and transmit program changes and note triggers. Each drum channel can have an individual MIDI channel for note triggers (see UNIT-INTF).
PEDAL click D1, set the controller format for the foot controller of the hihat. You can choose between CC1 (modulation wheel) and CC4 (pedal control). For each controller format there are 4 different modes. 
- ▼: value 0 for the open and value 127 for the closed hihat 
- ▼!: In difference to ▼ the controller data is sent continuously and not just once with the NOTE-ON command. 
- ▲:  value 0 with closed and value 127 with open hihat 
- ▲!: In comparison to ▲ the controller data is sent continuously and not just once with the NOTE-ON command. 



Unit-Preferences: UNIT, DOWN 8

SAVE B1 can be On or Off. This is valid in both unit and kit mode.
TRIGGER D1 sets the top panel button trigger level in dB. The maximum is 0 dB and the minimum -48 dB. It can also be turned off.
INIT click D1, selects the unit or kit settings to be re-initialized. Either Unit, Kit1 to Kit100, Kit Program or All. MORE+Click to perform the initialization. The init data is read from the DrumItInit.dkit file in the root folder. If one wants to make a personal init settings file, one can copy the current DrumIt.dkit file and rename it to DrumItInit.dkit.



Unit-Memory: UNIT, DOWN 9

This page displays memory information: flash memory size, used and free space.



Unit-Information: UNIT, DOWN 10

This page displays unit information: DrumIt Three serial number, boot program and OS version.