Author Topic: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback  (Read 1600 times)

Offline cleverest

Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« on: August 01, 2019, 12:21:59 PM »
Hi Everyone, I can't seem to find a guide for this...

I have a lot of .ogg and .mogg files (DRUMLESS songs) to play against, but I can't find any reference on file-formats supported by the Strike via USB playback...also, does the USB have to be formatted Fat32? Are there file character limits, any specific bit rates needed, does it have to be .WAV and .MP3 instead? (will I need to convert?)

Any info out there for this? I haven't tried it myself because I don't have the kit yet, but I want to make sure this is viable with this kit before investing in it.  Thank you.

- Brett

Offline Chaser

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #1 on: August 01, 2019, 02:25:15 PM »
Hi Everyone, I can't seem to find a guide for this...

I have a lot of .ogg and .mogg files (DRUMLESS songs) to play against, but I can't find any reference on file-formats supported by the Strike via USB playback...also, does the USB have to be formatted Fat32? Are there file character limits, any specific bit rates needed, does it have to be .WAV and .MP3 instead? (will I need to convert?)

Any info out there for this? I haven't tried it myself because I don't have the kit yet, but I want to make sure this is viable with this kit before investing in it.  Thank you.

- Brett
The STRIKE module doesn't have USB playback.USB is MIDI only.
The module uses SDHC cards which have to be formatted to Fat32 and loops/samples/ songs etc must be placed in the proper folder on the card.
MOGG and OGG (Guitar Hero,Band Hero etc) have to be converted to MP3 or WAV.

Offline cleverest

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2019, 03:39:38 PM »
Hi Everyone, I can't seem to find a guide for this...

I have a lot of .ogg and .mogg files (DRUMLESS songs) to play against, but I can't find any reference on file-formats supported by the Strike via USB playback...also, does the USB have to be formatted Fat32? Are there file character limits, any specific bit rates needed, does it have to be .WAV and .MP3 instead? (will I need to convert?)

Any info out there for this? I haven't tried it myself because I don't have the kit yet, but I want to make sure this is viable with this kit before investing in it.  Thank you.

- Brett
The STRIKE module doesn't have USB playback.USB is MIDI only.
The module uses SDHC cards which have to be formatted to Fat32 and loops/samples/ songs etc must be placed in the proper folder on the card.
MOGG and OGG (Guitar Hero,Band Hero etc) have to be converted to MP3 or WAV.

Oh wow, so the Alesis DM10 MKII is superior in that regard? I want to be able to jam to these tracks (converting is fine in either case). Doesn't the Strike SD sample feature have a 2min file/play limit?

Offline Chaser

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2019, 04:40:12 PM »
Hi Everyone, I can't seem to find a guide for this...

I have a lot of .ogg and .mogg files (DRUMLESS songs) to play against, but I can't find any reference on file-formats supported by the Strike via USB playback...also, does the USB have to be formatted Fat32? Are there file character limits, any specific bit rates needed, does it have to be .WAV and .MP3 instead? (will I need to convert?)

Any info out there for this? I haven't tried it myself because I don't have the kit yet, but I want to make sure this is viable with this kit before investing in it.  Thank you.

- Brett
The STRIKE module doesn't have USB playback.USB is MIDI only.
The module uses SDHC cards which have to be formatted to Fat32 and loops/samples/ songs etc must be placed in the proper folder on the card.
MOGG and OGG (Guitar Hero,Band Hero etc) have to be converted to MP3 or WAV.

Oh wow, so the Alesis DM10 MKII is superior in that regard? I want to be able to jam to these tracks (converting is fine in either case). Doesn't the Strike SD sample feature have a 2min file/play limit?

The STRIKE sampler is for creating/recording/editing loops etc at 48K..mathematically a 120 second stereo 16 bit x 48K file would be a 24mb file size..24 bit x 48K Stereo file is 34mb.You can load songs but the folder doesn't allow any organization
File limit on the DM10 MKII Studio is 16 bit 15mb max size...75 seconds.if 48K stereo wav
So you will have to figure out the proper MP3 compression to try and make an entire song fit the module requirements...especially if you want stereo.
The STRIKE module looks like it would allow a higher file size.
For playing tracks/songs and saving module resources I recommend just using a player/phone etc into the aux.

Here is a calculator if you are interested in converting songs without spending most of your time using trial and error trying to figure out what compression to use versus song size/length..I have it set at 16bit stereo 48K.. 3 mins..so you would get a little over 7mb at 320kps 
 
MP3 Calculator
« Last Edit: August 01, 2019, 05:09:06 PM by Chaser »

Offline Iggford

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #4 on: August 07, 2019, 12:40:24 PM »
While it's nice to have the tracks on a USB drive or SD card, I went a different route that I had seen somewhere (honestly can't remember if it was on here or in the Facebook Group).

I picked up a Chromecast Audio.  They're getting increasingly hard to find; mine actually came from the UK, so I wasn't able to use the included power adapter.  Luckily it was just the box with a separate USB cable.  I connected the audio cable to the AUX IN port on my module.  I'm eventually going to find something to use to attach it to the module itself.  I've found that the finish, at least on the bottom, doesn't allow much to stick to it (tried to use velcro for easy mount and removal for gigs). 

But, now I basically can stream any audio to my module without having to worry about format or file size.  It's a HUGE improvement for me!


--
Shawn

Offline cleverest

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2019, 12:02:47 PM »
I ended up attacking my laptop with a nice laptop stand via the AUX with mini stereo cable, so now I can jam along without limits too..it's nice cause I can pull up videos, training, songs, mix my playing into them, etc...

I haven't tried recording yet, not sure how that will work but just assume it will only record my actual drumming and not what I'm listening too. It's now only limited by the size of the SD card if I choose internal recording and the default 8GB is like 10hrs, so that's long enough.

But I'm crazy and ended up ordering a 64GB card anyways, LOL

Offline Iggford

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #6 on: August 20, 2019, 01:55:59 PM »
You should be able to tell the module what to record.  It should have an option to record the drums and/or the input from the Aux port.  I've recorded from the Aux port to make some loops for some of the songs for my band, and I've recorded my playing for various reasons.  I've never done both, but I remember seeing the available option.


--
Shawn

Offline cleverest

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #7 on: August 20, 2019, 01:59:16 PM »
You should be able to tell the module what to record.  It should have an option to record the drums and/or the input from the Aux port.  I've recorded from the Aux port to make some loops for some of the songs for my band, and I've recorded my playing for various reasons.  I've never done both, but I remember seeing the available option.


--
Shawn

Oh, that's awesome! Hey did you ever find out if the Y-Splitters work for single-zone toms okay on the Strike? (adding more toms),  I don't even have the Pro expansion Kit yet, but someday I may grow beyond even that....lol

Offline Iggford

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #8 on: August 20, 2019, 02:12:19 PM »
Oh, that's awesome! Hey did you ever find out if the Y-Splitters work for single-zone toms okay on the Strike? (adding more toms),  I don't even have the Pro expansion Kit yet, but someday I may grow beyond even that....lol


I attached a pic below, where I labeled the pads that I have on splitters.  Splitting has worked fine for me with single and dual zone pads, as long as I keep it on the TOM inputs.  Here are the inputs and what they run out to:

TOM1 - Tom 1 / Tom 2
TOM2 - Tom 3 / China
TOM3 - Tom 4 / Tom 5
TOM4 - Tom 6 / Cowbell

Hopefully that makes sense! 


--
Shawn


Offline cleverest

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #9 on: August 20, 2019, 02:25:07 PM »
Super helpful! Thanks for that!! It's good to know I'm not limited to the Strike Pro level (once I get there, which will be awhile) :-)

Offline cleverest

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2019, 02:29:10 PM »
Iffford,

Is it a pain to manage the drums within the Module with all those splits? I wish I could see what it LOOKED like in action, but I can't imagine the display shows you each trigger all of a sudden, so how does that work? Thanks alot for the info. Not a lot out there...

Offline Iggford

Re: Strike (Studio) Kit - Loading USB Songs for playback
« Reply #11 on: August 20, 2019, 04:28:23 PM »
It's no problem at all!

The module used to show distinction when you hit a pad, whether it was rim or head.  I think it was the v1.4 update that turned it into just the entire pad lighting up regardless of if it was a head or rim shot.  Now, if I hit MY Tom 1 or 2, the display just shows a hit on Tom 1.

To be honest, I used the editor for a couple of my custom kits, which does still show the distinction between head and rim.  But, the easiest way I found to edit a kit was to use the onboard kit builder (module) and the Note Chase function.  That way, you just have to strike the pad you want to assign the sound to.  It kept it from getting confusing because I would forget my split layout at first. 

I haven't done a lot of editing since I've gotten the kits I like to use, and I've labeled all my cables at both ends based on my splits just in case I have to take the cables off the rack in a move.  I usually transport it with cables still attached.

The band is off after Friday until the first weekend of October (we always take September off), so it's my time of the year to tinker with settings and kits again.  There's no telling what whim will strike me, causing me to change it all up again!!


--
Shawn