The Yamaha DTX-Multi 12 is perhaps the most well-known and used electronic sampler pad in the marching percussion world. If you have some cool sound effects to use in your marching show, or just received audio files from your sound designer, but aren't sure how to load them into your DTX - This article is for you!
In this guide, we'll take a comprehensive look at importing custom audio files into the DTX-M12.
We will first go through the steps of formatting a USB Drive for use with the Multi 12 then take a look at the proper audio file format and naming conventions. We then go through the steps of actually importing your audio files to the Multi 12 and wrap up with a few limitations the Sampler has regarding custom sounds.
Formatting Your USB Drive
First and foremost, it's important to make sure the USB drive you'll be using is formatted to work with the Multi 12 Sampler. Fortunately, the Utility Menu in the Sampler has a handy format function that makes it easy to prepare a USB drive for use.
Be sure to format your USB drive before loading audio files onto it from your computer. The format process will erase all saved data that's loaded onto your drive, so back up any important files ahead of time or use a blank USB drive.
Step 1
Locate the USB connector on the left side of the Multi-12. Look for the "USB TO DEVICE" label and plug your USB drive into this port.
Step 2
Press the "UTILITY" button and use the ">" right arrow button (above the INC button that has the "+" sign on it) to navigate to "UTIL7 File" and press the "ENTER" button
Step 3
Now use the ">" right arrow button once again to navigate to the "UTIL7-5 Format" screen and press enter.
Step 4
You should now see a prompt that reads "Format Are you sure?"
Press the "ENTER" button and the DTX will get to work formatting your USB drive.
Be sure not to unplug the USB drive from the DTX while it's working. Once the process is finished, the "Complete" message will appear on the screen for a few moments before returning to the "UTIL7-5" menu. It's now safe to remove the formatted USB drive.
When you plug the USB drive back into your computer, you'll notice there is now a YAMAHA folder. This is the product of the formatting process and is the folder structure needed to save data from the DTX. Keep an eye out on the Microphonic Designs Blog for a future post covering this process, but for now, you can leave it as is.
Audio File Format
When we're working with an electronic sampler, we're working with digital audio. In the entire scope of digital audio there are many, many different formats an audio file can be. Luckily, the Yamaha DTX-Multi 12 will only accept digital audio files in the WAV or AIFF format that have a sample rate of 44.1kHz and a bit depth of 16 (commonly shorthanded as "44.1K/16bit). You're much more likely to be working with WAV files, but it's handy to know the AIFF audio files will work, too.
If you try to import an audio file into the DTX that has a sample rate and bit-depth other than 44.1kHz and 16bit, the "Illegal File" error massage will display. If you're not sure what file format your audio sample is, contact your sound designer or reach out to us here at Microphonic Designs for help!
File Naming & Placement On A USB Drive
The DTX-Multi 12 will only accept files that use an alphanumeric naming convention. The "Illegal File Name" error message will appear if an improperly named file is imported into the DTX.
My recommendation here is to label the audio files with numbers and keep a separate spreadsheet with the corresponding description of each sample, the kit name the sample is located in, the assigned pad number, and the measure number and beat count. All of this information makes locating individual samples much easier when changes need to be made.
In the example below, the audio files are labeled with alphanumeric characters and placed in the root directory of the USB drive alongside the YAMAHA folder that was added from the formatting process. This is an important detail to make sure the DTX will "see" your sound files.
Importing Audio Files
Finally, we can start importing sounds into the DTX. Each sound file can be easily assigned to the trigger pads during or after the import process and are referred to as "waves" inside the sampler. Once assigned to a pad, they can be played just like any other preset sound.
In this walkthrough, we will go ahead and handle the pad assignment during the import process.
Step 1
Load your audio files onto a formatted USB drive with your computer. Double check that they are the correct audio file format and are located in the root directory of the drive, as noted in the section above.
Step 2
Eject the USB drive from your computer and insert it into the "USB TO DEVICE" port on the left side of the DTX.
Step 3
Open the Kit Menu by pressing the "KIT" button. In the DTX-M12, a Kit is simply a collection of sounds assigned to the trigger pads. By factory default, the Kit menu is automatically open when the device is powered on. "P001: PercsMaster" should be displayed on the screen.
Step 4
Navigate to the "User Kit" category by pressing the "<" left arrow button so that the "P" in "P001: PercsMaster" is blinking. Next, press the "INC" button with the "+" sign to open the User Kit category.
At this point, the screen should read:
"KIT1
U001: User Kit"
It should also be noted that the "DEC" and "INC" buttons can be used here to select any User Kit you would like to start with. Up to 200 User Kits can be saved.
Step 5
Open the Import Page by holding down the "SHIFT" button and pressing the "WAVE" button. Here you'll see the audio files that were loaded onto the USB drive. Using the naming convention tips in the previous section will make it easier to import samples in order.
Step 6
The "DEC" and "INC" buttons can now be used to select which audio file you would like to import.
Step 7
Press the "ENTER" button once your audio file selection has been made. Doing so will import the selected file, so be sure to leave the USB drive plugged into the sampler until the import process is done.
*NOTE* The import process can take several seconds depending on the size of the audio file being loaded.
Step 8
Select the pad that you would like the imported sample to be assigned to. This can be done by either striking the desired pad or by using the "DEC" and "INC" buttons to select the pad number. Take a look at the pad-numbering scheme below if you're not familiar with how the pads are arranged.
- The imported file will not be assigned to a pad if the Pad Assignment is left on "off".
- If the pad you choose already has an assigned sound, the previous sound will be deleted and replaced with the new sample.
Press the "ENTER" button to confirm the Pad Assignment.
At this point, the screen will return to the Import Page. If you have additional sounds to import, you can head back to Step 6 and repeat until all of your files are imported or until all the pads in your first User Kit have assigned sounds. Otherwise, continue to Step 9.
Step 9
Press the "KIT" button once again to return to the Kit Menu. You should still see "U001:User Kit" on screen.
Step 10
Save the kit by pressing the "STORE" button followed by the "ENTER" button twice. This last step saved the pad assignments to the selected kit.
You may need to repeat steps 4 through 10 if you have a large list of audio files to import and need to use more than a single User Kit. Be sure to save each User Kit after importing and assigning audio files to pads.
It is also possible to rename your chosen User Kits for easier identification and to set one of those kits as the default kit when powering on the DTX. Keep an eye out for a future blog post detailing those different functions.
Limitations
Lastly, it's critical to know just how much storage space the DTX-Multi 12 has for custom audio files. The worst case scenario is trying to load a list of samples into your DTX only to learn that the Sampler can't hold your entire list.
The Multi 12 can only store up to 64MB of user-imported audio, which is just barely over 6 minutes of audio at the 44.1kHz/16bit file format discussed earlier. This means you must be mindful of what you request from your sound designer if the DTX-Multi 12 will be your only sampler instrument in the front ensemble as there's only so much storage space to work with. This is, of course, also true if you will be creating your own sounds.
As a sound designer, it's certainly important to review the equipment list and capabilities of your clients for this reason. Be sure to mention these equipment limitations during your discussions about show design to ensure the final product is achievable.
While 64MB may be a small amount of storage space to work with, the Multi 12 can store up to 500 different audio files. Be warned, though, that longer sound effects such as soundscapes and effects with long reverb tails will eat up space very quickly.
Final Thoughts
If you've made it here to the end, you should have a good grasp on everything you need to know about importing your own custom sounds to the DTX-Multi 12. Please feel free to share the link to this guide with anyone you know who may also be learning their way around the DTX-Multi 12.
You're absolutely welcome to send us an email on our contact page if you run into any questions or would like to discuss professional sound design for your program. We also invite you to take a look at our other services for the marching arts here.
