You can also distribute the velocity ranges across each layer equally at the click of a button. The ranges of velocity that will trigger each sample layer can be set by clicking and dragging the edges of the layers themselves. Clicking on the editor tab reveals a row of open layers for the currently selected cell, and adding new sample layers is as simple as clicking and dragging a sample from the browser into an open layer. Sample layering is one of Battery's calling cards, and Battery 4 makes this process quite easy. Loading a sample from the browser into a cell in Battery automatically creates a single sample layer on that cell, spanning the entire range of possible velocity levels. This smart bit of functionality can really help you find the right sound quickly. If you loaded from the file system the list will include the other files in the same folder, and if you loaded from the library it will include the other library items that match the tags or search string that you used to find the sample. Battery is smart enough to adjust the list of possible alternatives depending on what mode the browser was in when you selected the sample. Once you have loaded a sample into a cell, there are helpful buttons that allow you to quickly audition alternative samples. If you prefer your own folder organization, the browser can also navigate and load from the file system directly. Of course, only the kits and samples that come with Battery 4 are pre-tagged, but it's pretty simple to import and tag your existing samples. This browser now has a library that utilizes the same type of sample- and kit-tagging mechanism in place in Maschine, which makes it leaps and bounds more helpful than the previous Battery browser. With practice it becomes pretty obvious when you're editing the parameters of a kick versus a snare just by looking at the colors of the controls.ДЄlso in keeping with recent NI design themes is the updated browser, which can be toggled to take up the left edge of the interface. To this end, NI suggests color-coding each sample type differently.

This kind of visual cue is very helpful in preventing accidental parameter changes.

The cell color options are more vibrant, and the device controls now have highlights that change to match the color of the cell currently in focus. Native Instruments transitioned from the familiar green GUI (which had been showing its age) to one that fits into the design theme that's unified many of its creations of late. The first and most noticeable of the changes built into Battery 4 is the new design. Rather than merging these features into Maschine, NI has confirmed with Battery 4 that the two products can live in harmony. Even after the release of Maschine, Battery maintained its place in many producers' toolboxes due to its advanced features like sample layering, MIDI articulation and round-robin triggering.

Until that announcement, the promise of a Battery refresh seemed very much in doubt due to the meteoric rise of Maschine, Native Instruments' hardware/software sampler and groovebox.

When Native Instruments announced Komplete 9 this March, one of the two major product revelations came as a surprise to many: almost seven years since its release, the legendary Battery 3 drum sampler was getting an update.

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