groove cells
GrooveCell is a drum machine instrument, which may be a nod to Digidesign’s origins as a manufacturer of aftermarket drum machine sounds. GrooveCell is an easy-to-use, fast drum machine sampler that Pro Tools has been missing. Structure Free provides basic sampling, but without drum machine functionality and Boom! Comes with a small sound library, but no facilities to host custom samples. GrooveCell features simple drag-and-drop functionality to load up to three samples onto any of its 16 pads, and drum “modes” add color to classic drum machines like the SP1200 to samples. It has extensive editing capabilities, including amplifiers and pitch envelopes, send effects, and multiple outputs for feeding a Pro Tools mixer. The 32-step, 16-track drum machine-style sequencer offers the randomization and user-friendliness you’d expect, with an emphasis on speed and simplicity, and it looks like a great addition to all three layers of Pro Tools. The sequencer is very useful and I’d like to see a way to use it to drive control sequences for other instruments. Maybe in the works, but currently MIDI can be exported and dragged and dropped into Pro Tools.
The export capabilities are not limited to MIDI, once the samples have been stacked, manipulated and adjusted using the built-in effects, they can be exported as a set in one go for use elsewhere, so if you prefer to use drum samples as audio in your exports Clips, Timeline GrooveCell is still relevant to you.
