8
C h a p t e r 8 – M i m i K U s e r s G u i d e
C h a p t e r 8 – M i m i K U s e r s G u i d e
What is MimiK?
MimiK is a program designed to sample your MIDI-capable keyboards and hardware. It can be set
up to automatically record all the sounds on your favorite hardware for use on your Open Labs
production station. The basic algorithm behind MimiK is that it will send MIDI messages for every
note on the target keyboard you want to sample.
At the same time it will record each note played back by the keyboard. It has the ability to capture
different note lengths, velocities, note ranges, note off samples and much more. After it has
recorded/sampled all the notes of a preset, it will store a special file that can be read by a SFZ
sample player. Each sample is stored separately as a WAV or OGG file on the MimiK machine.
MimiK Suggested Usage
Due to the amount of time it takes to correctly mimic one sound well, we recommend sampling
each preset one at a time. You can mimic batches of presets or entire banks, but the time and disk
space required can be inhibiting.
Straightforward sounds like pianos, drums, and basses have a pretty simple architectural
structure. This makes it very easy to mimic an entire bank at once. Performance banks and custom
patches may have nuances that really need to be dialed in, therefore increasing the time and disc
space required. There are a number of ways to reproduce a custom or performance patch.
For instance, some performance patches are made up of multiple sounds. Instead of MimiKing the
performance patch, MimiKeach sound that is in that performance patch. Then blend them all back
together in your host. This will allow you to really dial a sound in.
It is also a good thing to write down key settings of the original sound effects settings, ADSHR and
envelope settings.
What is a Preset and a Bank?
In this documentation the terms "preset" and "bank" will be used frequently. A preset is one
complete unique sound. A bank is a collection of presets.
SFZ Format
MimiK uses the open SFZ format for storing sample libraries. The SFZ format is very simple. Every
preset captured by MimiK will have a matching SFZ file (.sfz). This SFZ file is a human readable
text file that can be opened and edited in Notepad or Microsoft Word. The SFZ file is a list of all the
samples that are in the library. Each sample is either a WAV or OGG file. The SFZ file also contains
information about each sample, such as what note the sample is and things of that nature. SFZ
files can be opened up with the free SFZ sample player (Dimension LE).
Open Labs MiKo LXD Production Station Manual
156
