B4 Xpress Manual English

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B4 Xpress

English

E N G L I S H

B4 Xpress

Operation Manual



B4 Xpress

English

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and

does not represent a commitment on the part of Native Instruments Soft-

ware Synthesis GmbH. The software described by this document is sub-

ject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No

part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmit-

ted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Na-

tive Instruments Software Synthesis GmbH. All product and company

names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners.

User’s Guide written by: Marius Wilhelmi

© Native Instruments Software Synthesis GmbH, 2004. All rights re-

served.

B4 XPRESS is a trademark of Native Instruments Software Synthesis.

Germany USA

Native Instruments GmbH Native Instruments USA, Inc.

Schlesische Str. 28 5631 A Hollywood Boulevard

D-10997 Berlin Los Angeles, CA 90028

Germany USA

[email protected] [email protected]

www.native-instruments.de www.native-instruments.com



B4 Xpress

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E N G L I S HTable of Contents

Welcome to B4 Xpress 1

Installation under Windows 2

System Requirements and Recommendations 2Software Installation 3

B4 Xpress as Standalone 5

Soundcard (Audio Interface) 5

Routing 6

MIDI 7

B4 Xpress operation 8

Presets section 8

Parameter section 10

Keyboard section 10MIDI Controllers 11

Appendix A: More About Latency 13

Optimizing System Response 13

Use Low-Latency Drivers 13

How Low Can You Go? 14

About Samples and Buffers 14

Warning: Different Types of ASIO 16

Tips on Minimizing Latency 17

Appendix B: About MIDI 18MIDI Basics 18

MIDI Connections 18

About Program Changes and Bank Select 19

About Continuous Controllers 19

Appendix C: Trouble shooting and FAQ 21

Appendix D: Getting Help - The About Screen 22

Knowledge Base / Readme / Online Support 22

Updates 22



B4 Xpress

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B4 Xpress

English – 1

E N G L I S HWelcome to B4 Xpress

We at Native Instruments would like to thank you for buying B4

XPRESS. This software delivers the ever-popular organ sound ofthe 60’s and 70’s with a streamlined layout which allows you to

custom tailor each preset to achieve great sounds. Countless mu-

sic productions of this era used the warm and powerful sound of

the legendary drawbar organ – which to this day works for practi-

cally every genre and style. B4 XPRESS generates the sounds of

the hardware predecessor with astonishing precision and in-

cludes 32 of the best presets from the award-winning Native In-

struments B4 Organ. More sounds will be available as download

with costs on the Native Instruments website will enhance thepotential of this instrument again. We hope you enjoy using B4

XPRESS!

-Your Native Instruments Team



B4 Xpress

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Installation under Windows

System Requirements and RecommendationsTo use B4 XPRESS, you need a computer with the following min-

imum specifications:

Hardware

• Pentium/Celeron/Athlon/Duron processor with 500 MHz. Pro-

cessors with low floating-point processing performance are ex-

pressly not recommended.

• 256 MB RAM

• 20 MB free space on your hard disk

• A sound card compatible with Windows XP.

• A MIDI interface for connecting a MIDI keyboard, another

MIDI controller or an external sequencer. The MIDI interface

integrated in many sound cards can also be used.

The audio engine in B4 XPRESS has been designed to make opti-

mum use of the available computing power in the CPU. The pow-

erful FPUs integrated in modern CPUs are best suited to carrying

out the complex computations of real-time synthesis. We recom-

mend the following high-performance processors for using B4

XPRESS: Pentium III with 700 MHz or faster, Pentium 4, Celeron

with 700 MHz or faster, Athlon, Athlon XP or Duron with 700

MHz or faster. We also recommend that you use a large amount of

RAM (512 MB or more) that is optimally matched to the architec-

ture of your processor.

Software

• Windows XP



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E N G L I S H

Software Installation

• Start the installation by double-clicking B4 Xpress Setup.exe.

• The setup program will suggest C:\Program Files\Native Instru-

ments\B4 Xpress as the path for the destination folder. Youmay also choose another folder if you wish.

Installed Folders, Files, and Links

The setup program creates a new folder called B4 Xpress\ in the

installation directory (Program Files\Native Instruments). This

folder contains the files required to operate the software.

If you do not choose a different program group during the instal-lation, links to B4 XPRESS and a ReadMe file are added to the

Start menu under Programs Native Instruments.

VST Plug-in Installation

• Start the installation by double-clicking B4 Xpress Setup.exe.

• When the choice is given by the installer, select VST Plug-in

from the list of components to install.

• You can now choose to automatically search for the VST plug-in folder or manually select the VST plug-in folder of your

choice. Please select the option that best suits your installa-

tion requirements.



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Note: If more than one host program for VST 2.0 plug-ins is in-

stalled on your computer, simply copy the “B4 Xpress.dll” file

into the VST plug-ins folders of these programs. Windows: If the

VST plug-in files are not visible in the Windows Explorer, select

the Show All Files option. This option is located in the Explorermenu View

Folder Options... on the View tab below Hidden

Files. Optionally, you can set up your programs so that they all use

the same VST plug-ins folder.



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E N G L I S HB4 Xpress as Standalone

The stand-alone version of B4 XPRESS allows you to use the ap-

plication independently from other programs. In order to use the

Standalone version you have to do the audio and MIDI settingsfirst. You can call up the Audio + MIDI Settings setup dialog from

the File menu of B4 XPRESS. For setting the standalone inter-

faces please choose Setup... from the File menu.

Soundcard (Audio Interface)

Audio + MIDI Settings dialog

Interface: Choose the fastest interface protocol supported by your

interface, which will be ASIO or Core Audio. For Windows, you can

also use DirectSound and Multimedia (also called MME), but ex-

pect a significant delay between the time you play a note and the

time you hear it.

Sample rate: The drop-down menu will display compatible samplerates for your audio interface. 44.1kHz is the same sample rate

used for CDs, and is the most “universal” choice. However, some

audio interfaces offer 48kHz and 96kHz (B4 XPRESS accepts up

to 96kHz sample rates). These higher rates stress your computer

more, but offer somewhat better high frequency response. If you



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are using B4 XPRESS standalone, choose whichever rate you pre-

fer. When used as a plug-in with a host program (e.g., Cubase,

Digital Performer, Logic, Sonar, etc.), the host will determine the

sample rate.

Output Device: Use ASIO written specifically for your audio inter-

face (not “ASIO DirectX” or “ASIO Multimedia,” unless no other

choices are available), or for the Mac, Core Audio.

Input Device: Here you can define, which of the installed audio

interfaces is used as audio input. This setting depends on the

driver you have chosen under Interface.

Note: For some interfaces (e.g. ASIO or Core Audio) the Input De-

vice setting is not available. You can select the inputs for the cho-sen driver on the Routing tab instead.

Output Latency: This field displays the output latency. For some

drivers you can adjust the latency individually using a fader.

Routing

If your sound card offers multiple outputs, you can choose which

ones connect to B4 XPRESS. Inputs will not be available to B4

XPRESS. Click on Outputs to select the outputs available to you.

If you have a multichannel soundcard then you can use any of

the available outputs for B4 XPRESS, just click on the drop-



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E N G L I S H

down menu to see your choices. Note that the right and left

channels are independent and can be assigned to any inputs/out-

puts – not just stereo pairs – as well as disconnected from audio

ins and outs.

MIDI

If your MIDI interface offers multiple ins and outs, you can

choose which one connects to B4 XPRESS. When you click on

the MIDI tab you’ll see a list of MIDI I/O. Initially, each one will

be Off. This field is a toggle – click on Off to turn an input or

output On, click on On to turn an input or output Off.



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B4 Xpress operation

B4 XPRESS contains 32 organ presets, which reproduce the

original sound of the famous drawbar organ authentically.

• Icon: Click on the B4 XPRESS Icon in order to open the About

window. The About window contains information about the

software version as well as links to the NI website (e.g. addi-

tional sounds and upgrade offers, support and forum).

Presets section

• Bank: There is one preset bank included in the B4 XPRESS in-

stallation. This bank is called „Factory Bank“. Additional pre-

set banks can be purchased online following the according

links in the B4 XPRESS About window which can be opened

by clicking on the B4 XPRESS icon.

• Number: This field displays the number of the currently se-

lected preset within the chosen bank. Since it is possible to

call up presets by standard MIDI program change messages,

the number displayed in B4 XPRESS corresponds to the MIDI

program change numbers -1. Depending on which program

number format your MIDI device has, the B4 XPRESS number

will match exactly the number of your MIDI device when you

call up a program change, or it will always be one digit higher



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E N G L I S H

when the MIDI device begins counting from 0. Left and right

hand of the number field there are buttons for navigation to

the previous (left) and next (right) preset. You can also click on

the number field and drag the mouse up or down with the

mouse button pressed in order to navigate through the presetbank. Dragging up increases the preset number, dragging

down decreases it. In the standalone version presets can also

be switched by using the left and right cursor keys of your

computer keyboard.

• Preset Name: This dropdown menu serves for displaying the

name of the currently selected preset and allows to choose a

preset from the list. Click on the small triangle or anywhere in

the preset name field and keep the mouse button pressed until

you see the preset list. Now move the mouse cursor to the de-sired preset and release the mouse button. If you want to

choose a preset which is not in the visible area of the list, click

within the preset name field, keep the mouse button pressed,

move the mouse pointer to the right, so that you leave the pre-

set list area and release the mouse button, so that the preset

list remains opened. Now you can use the scrollbar on the

right side of the preset list to navigate to a different section of

the list. When you see the desired entry click on it once, so

that the preset will be called up in the preset name field.• NI logo: Click on the NI logo in order to open the About win-

dow. The About window contains information about the soft-

ware version as well as links to the website (e.g. additional

sounds and upgrade offers, support and forum).



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Parameter section

Note: With certain parameter settings it is possible to overload the

B4 XPRESS output which results in audible clicks, particularly

when playing low chords. If you encounter this, try to reduce the

value for the Percussion parameter first.

• Drive: determines the preamp level sent to the main tube amp

model. At high levels, this will force the tube amp into over-

drive, and can add a beefy Rock sound to the organ.

• Vibrato: adjusts the amount of Vibrato and Chorus and the mix

ratio of both. Move the knob fully to the left in order to hear no

Vibrato nor Chorus at all. Try different settings of this parame-

ter to get several mixes of Vibrato and Chorus.

• Percussion: determines the amount of percussion effect in the

sound. The use of Percussion provides a lightness to the

sound, and is particularly useful for jazz and house organ

sounds.• Bass: boosts or cuts the level of the lower frequencies.

• Treble: boosts or cuts the level of the higher frequencies.

• Brilliance: boosts or cuts the level of the very high frequen-

cies.

• Pan: stereo placement control for the Instrument. This control

determines the Instrument’s location in the stereo field.

• Volume: The Instrument’s level control.

Keyboard section



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E N G L I S H

• MIDI lamp: The lamp indicates incoming MIDI events like

MIDI notes and MIDI controller data.

• Rotator On/Off: switches the Rotator section on or off. The Ro-

tator significantly changes the sound, so that it is not recom-

mended to use this switch while playing.• Rotator Fast/Slow: The rotating speaker simulation (Rotator)

speeds up and slows down realistically when operating this

switch (which responds to the MIDI Mod-Wheel control). The

duration of the acceleration / slow down of the Rotator de-

pends on the selected preset and can not be adjusted in B4

XPRESS.

• Virtual Keyboard: When B4 XPRESS is receiving MIDI notes,

you can see the virtual keys moving down. You can also trigger

notes by clicking with the mouse on a key.

MIDI Controllers

B4 XPRESS uses fixed MIDI CCs (Continuous Controller) for con-

trolling the interface parameters. Usually you need to have a pro-

grammable MIDI controller unit in order to produce these MIDI

controllers. Additionally to the visible interface parameters you

can also use Expression and Hold pedals for most expressiveplaying. Here is a list of the supported MIDI controllers:

Drive (CC71)

• Vibrato (CC76)

• Percussion (CC73)

• Bass (CC75)

• Treble (CC72)

• Brilliance (CC12)

• Pan (CC10)

• Volume (CC7)

• Expression pedal (CC11): You can control the B4 XPRESS vol-

ume using an Expression pedal (MIDI controller 11). While you

can also use the standard main volume controller (CC 7) for

this purpose, we recommend using CC 11. The difference be-

tween the two controllers is that controller 7 controls the visi-

ble Volume knob on the B4 XPRESS interface, while controller



B4 Xpress

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11 is routed to the invisible swell pedal of the B4. The scaling

of the invisible swell pedal corresponds to the original B3 and

therefore creates a more authentic behavior. Professional or-

gan players use the expression pedal extensively for a dynamic

and expressive playing.• Hold pedal (CC64): You can use a Hold pedal sending on MIDI

controller 64. A hold pedal serves for sustaining all played

notes even if you have released the keys until you release the

pedal again.



B4 Xpress

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E N G L I S HAppendix A: More About Latency

A computer adds a certain amount of delay (“latency”) when pro-

cessing audio signals. Fortunately, with today’s computers and

low-latency sound card drivers, this delay can be so small that youcan’t hear it (e.g., under 3 milliseconds, which is about the same

delay caused by moving your head one meter further away from a

speaker).

Optimizing System Response

Any computer-based audio system has some delay between the

MIDI input and audio output. Even the most powerful computer

can only do a certain number of calculations per second; signalprocessing demands a lot from a processor, so it’s important to

minimize any computer-based delays.

Fortunately, three main factors make delays virtually insignificant,

assuming you have a suitable computer setup (see System

Requirements).

• Today’s multi-GigaHertz computers are so fast they dramati-

cally reduce latency.

• Many sound cards and audio interfaces include drivers opti-mized for low latency.

• B4 XPRESS, despite its superb sound quality, is written very

efficiently.

Use Low-Latency Drivers

Drivers are pieces of code that handle communications between

your computer and audio interface, whether built into a computeror attached via USB or FireWire. The more efficiently they transfer

data between audio interface and computer, the lower the latency.

B4 XPRESS works with two low-latency driver types:

• ASIO (Advanced Streaming Input Output). This cross-platform

protocol was originally developed by Steinberg.

• Core Audio (Mac only). This low-latency protocol was created

by Apple for the Macintosh, starting with OS X.



B4 Xpress

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If your audio interface does not support one of these protocols,

you will likely hear an audible delay if you play through B4

XPRESS. Although B4 XPRESS can work with the DirectSound

and MME drivers used with Windows machines, it will not make

for a satisfying playing experience.

How Low Can You Go?

1.5 ms of latency approaches the theoretical minimum, because

it will always take some time to convert digital to analog. However,

note that ultra-low latency settings (or higher sampling rates)

make your computer work harder, which may limit the number of

instances of B4 XPRESS you can add to your host program, while

still obtain audio that’s free of clicks, pops, or dropouts. So, here

are some tips on living with latency.

About Samples and Buffers

Audio cannot be handled continuously by a computer, but has to

wait its turn while other operations are being carried out. As a

result, sound cards create a “buffer,” which can hold a certain

number of samples, where data can be stored and released asneeded to create a smooth flow of data. If there’s an interruption

in the data flow for a little bit, no problem: There ’s some reserve

in the buffer. An analogy would be if you had a hose that didn’t

deliver water continuously, but in bursts. So, you use a bucket to

store the water from the hose, and release the water from the

bucket as a smooth, continuous flow.

If the bucket (buffer) is large, then you can store more water in

case the hose goes dry for a bit. But it will take longer to fill the

bucket, which is equivalent to latency. A smaller bucket takes less

time to fill, but the hose had better deliver water on a pretty

continuous basis.



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E N G L I S H

All ASIO audio interfaces and sound cards include a control panel

where you can adjust latency. This may be given as the number of

samples per buffer, as shown in the Terratec EWX control panel:

The Terratec EWX ASIO control panel lets you choose a particu-

lar number of samples/buffer. The display then shows the result-

ing latency. In this case, 256 samples/buffer has been selected,

giving latency of just under 6 ms at 44.1kHz. Setting this to 128

samples/buffer will reduce the latency, but may stress out your

computer more.

Some control panels simply show the latency that results from

choosing a particular setting in milliseconds rather than showingsamples/buffer.



B4 Xpress

English – 16

Creamware’s ASIO control panel simply lets you choose the de-

sired latency; buffers are adjusted “behind the scenes” within

the Creamware Scope application (in this case, to 128 sam-

ples). The Device Setup panel in Cubase confirms the latency,

which is about 4 ms, but doesn’t indicate the buffer size.

Warning: Different Types of ASIO

It’s extremely important to use the ASIO driver written for the card

you’re using. There are also “generic” ASIO drivers, typically

called (for Windows) “ASIO DirectX Full Duplex Driver” or “ASIO

Multimedia Driver.” There will usually be a drop-down menu in the

host program to choose the desired ASIO driver. You’ll know you’ve

chosen the right one when there’s a dramatic decrease in latency.

With the generic ASIO Multimedia Driver selected, the output la-

tency is a totally unacceptable 749 ms – almost one second! By

choosing ASIO Scope (the driver written for the sound card used

in this example), the latency shrinks to 4 ms.



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E N G L I S H

Tips on Minimizing Latency

• Set latency to the highest comfortable value. 256 samples/

buffer is very responsive yet gives your computer some

“breathing room.” 512 samples may also be acceptable, any-thing more will create too much delay. If you can’t get reliable

audio with 512 samples, it’s time for a better computer!

• If your ASIO Control Panel shows latency in milliseconds,

you’ll find that anything over 10 ms or so gives an audible de-

lay. 5 ms is a good compromise between speed and minimum

stress to your computer.

• Download your sound card’s latest drivers from the manufac-

turer’s web site. This can make a huge difference in perfor-

mance.• If you are recording in a host application and using software

synthesizers, use your program’s “freeze” function (if avail-

able) to disconnect some synths from the CPU. Or, render a

soft synth’s output as a hard disk audio track (then remove the

soft synth), as audio tracks are less taxing on the computer.

Hint: If you retain the MIDI track driving the soft synth, which

places virtually no stress on your CPU, you can always edit the

part later by re-inserting the soft synth.

• Sometimes there are two latency adjustments: A Control Panelfor the sound card sets a minimum amount of latency, and the

host can increase from this value if needed. Or, the host may

“lock” to the control panel setting.



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Appendix B: About MIDIThe complete MIDI spec is fairly “deep” and complex. Fortunately

for MIDIphobes, there are only a few parts of the spec necessary

for a basic understanding, so there’s not really that much to learn.Let’s start with MIDI basics.

MIDI Basics

A MIDI system requires something that sends MIDI messages

(such as a footpedal or footswitch that says “make the instrument

louder,” “select this effect,” “add more echo,” etc.) and

something that receives these messages and acts on them, like B4

XPRESS. Of course, this assumes your computer has a MIDI inputso that B4 XPRESS can receive MIDI messages.

Stripped to its basics, you can think of MIDI as a catch-all name

for the process of sending control messages from one device (e.g.,

a footswitch) to another device (e.g., B4 XPRESS) over a MIDI

cable. Host sequencers also use MIDI data to record MIDI notes

and provide automation for B4 XPRESS when it’s serving as a

plug-in.

There are many different kinds of MIDI messages, most of whichrelate to keyboards, sequencers, drum machines, lighting

controllers, tape recorders, and other gear we can ignore. With B4

XPRESS, 99% of the time you need to know about only three kinds

of MIDI messages: MIDI notes, program changes (which call up

different Presets) and continuous controller messages (which alter

B4 XPRESS parameters in real time).

MIDI ConnectionsYour computer’s sound card probably has a MIDI in jack (receives

MIDI message) and MIDI out jack that transmits MIDI messages.

There may also be a MIDI thru jack, which provides a duplicate of

the signal at the MIDI in jack.



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E N G L I S H

About Program Changes and Bank Select

To understand program changes, take a trip with me down memory

lane to the mid-70s, when disco ruled, synthesizers were not yet

programmable, and guitar effects were starting to progress beyondfunny little boxes that ate batteries and burped noise. Guitarists

discovered early on that the hippest control on any signal

processor was the in/out footswitch because it allowed you to bring

an effect in as needed (distortion is wonderful, but not all the

time). Nowadays many MIDI keyboards have controls for calling up

programs (program change) and transmit the according program

number via the MIDI out port. These numbers are recognized by

B4 XPRESS without any additional setting, so that the presets

there are switched according to the received program change

number.

About Continuous Controllers

Changing from one program to another is a good start, but

sometimes you’d like to vary a particular parameter within an

individual program.

When you call up a program’s parameter, you usually change its

value by turning a knob. The idea of continuous controllers came

about because synthesizers and effects have pedals, knobs, levers,

and other physical “controllers” that alter some aspect of the

sound over a continuous range of values (this is why they’re called

continuous controllers, as opposed to a controller such as an on-

off switch, which only selects between two possible values).

Unlike a program change, which is a single event, continuous

controllers generate a series of events, such as a volume fade-in

(each event raises the volume a bit more than the previous event),or change in some other parameter.

Like program changes, continuous controller messages are

transmitted over a MIDI output and received by a MIDI input. The

transmitter usually digitizes the physical controller motion into

128 discrete values (0-127). For example, pulling the controller’s

pedal all the way back generates a value of 0. Pushing down on



B4 Xpress

English – 20

the pedal increases the value until at midpoint, the pedal

generates a value of 64. Continuing to push on the pedal until it ’s

all the way down generates a value of 127.

Note that continuous controller transmitters only send messages

reflecting a change; for example, leaving a pedal in one position

doesn’t transmit any messages until you change the pedal’s

physical position.



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English – 21

E N G L I S HAppendix C: Trouble shooting and FAQ

Q: I do not hear any sound when clicking on the virtual keyboard

with the mouse. What can I do about it?

A: Please refer to the installation chapter of this manual andmake sure that you followed all instructions regarding the sound

card or host/sequencer setup, before contacting support. Also

make sure that the Volume knob in B4 XPRESS is not set to zero.

Q: When I play notes on my MIDI device, the keys on the virtual

MIDI keyboard do not move. What is the problem?

A: This can either be a problem of the sound card configuration

(since if B4 XPRESS does not produce any sound, it will not re-

ceive any MIDI as well) or the MIDI configuration. If you are usinga host/sequencer, make sure first, that the host/sequencer is re-

ceiving MIDI from your MIDI device and that it can produce any

audio signal. Please refer to the installation chapter of this man-

ual and make sure that you followed all instructions, before con-

tacting support.

Q: My Hold pedal works the opposite way as supposed to: When I

press the pedal, the notes are not sustained, when I release it,

they are sustained.

A: The format of the MIDI controller sent by the Hold pedal de-

pends on the manufacturer. When you use the pedal together with

a MIDI device from the same manufacturer, normally you should

not get any strange behavior. In many MIDI keyboards you can

change the behavior of the Hold pedal in the MIDI setup, so that

you should be able to solve this problem there.



B4 Xpress

Appendix D: Getting Help - The About ScreenIf you can’t find out the reason for a problem, Native Instruments

provides extensive help to registered users. The relevant links are

gathered by clicking on the product logo in the upper left-handcorner of any NI Software. This opens the About screen.

Knowledge Base / Readme / Online Support

Choose the support tab of the About Screen to find a series of

buttons directly leading you to the Native Instruments Online

Knowledge Base and to the Sonypicture Online Support.

In your communication with the support team, keep in mind thatyou should offer as much information as possible about your hard-

ware, your operating system and the version of the software you

are running, to give the possibility to help you. In your descrip-

tion, you should mention:

• how to reproduce the problem

• what have you already done to try to fix the problem

• a description of your setup, including all hardware

• the brand and specs of your computer

Important: Always consult the Readme file of a new software ver-

sion. It contains important information and all last minute

changes, that weren’t available when printing this manual.

Updates

Whenever you encounter problems, you should also check if youhave installed the latest update. The version number of your soft-

ware is displayed on the first page of the About dialog. Updates

are released regularly to fix known problems and to constantly im-

prove the software. You can find a link to check for the latest up-

date in the About dialog/Support tab, in the Readme file, or by

checking on www.native-instruments.com.

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