Welcome to ELECTRIC MINT
Get the most out of ELECTRIC MINT with the online documentation. Learn basic workflows as well as advanced tips and tricks.
Thank you for purchasing SESSION GUITARIST - ELECTRIC MINT, a classic guitar sample library powered by KONTAKT. This document will provide you with instructions and advice on how to use the library, as well as additional information.
We hope that you will be truly inspired by using ELECTRIC MINT.
What’s new in ELECTRIC MINT?
ELECTRIC MINT offers most technical features found in other products of the SESSION GUITARIST series, while it also adds many new features:
Patterns and phrases: ELECTRIC MINT includes 222 patterns, 58 of which are phrases, which can either be played as a phrase, or in one pitch mode. This mode reduces the melody to the root note and allows you to create custom phrases while maintaining the rhythm of the original performance. The playback engine was updated to improve the sound quality of funk patterns.
Song browser filter tabs: The Song Browser now features filter tabs to find groups of patterns in specific musical styles.
Song Browser prelisten: The new Prelisten feature plays back the first included pattern and effect preset when clicking on a song’s name in the Song Browser.
MIDI drag and drop: Phrases and voicings can be dragged and dropped into a MIDI track of your DAW. The MIDI notes can then be edited to create custom phrases and voicings.
Progressions: ELECTRIC MINT contains complete four-bar chord progressions for each of the included patterns to illustrate how the included patterns can be used in a song. You can also drag and drop these chord progressions into your DAW for further editing.
Pickup section: ELECTRIC MINT has three different pickups. Use them individually or combined for a total number of five different guitar signals.
Fret noises: When playing melodies or pitch changes, the instrument emulates the fingering of the notes and the ringing of strings that lie in between the saddle of the instrument and the left hand of the guitarist.
Muted notes: The Muted Decay feature has been improved so you can adjust the decay time of muted notes over an even wider range. Furthermore, new muted hammer-on and pull-off articulations are included to enable sophisticated, authentic-sounding performances.
Tremolo Bar Vibrato: While Finger vibrato typically raises the pitch by bending the string, the Tremolo Bar can also lower the pitch. You can choose between different vibrato speeds and types and control the intensity with the modulation wheel.
New cabinets and effects: ELECTRIC MINT features the new Cry Wah effect, which comes with lots of different modulation presets to emulate typical wah-wah patterns. New speaker cabinet emulations, reverb effects and filters allow you to build guitar effect chains in many different styles.
Extended sound preset library: The included sound preset library contains 71 presets. Sound presets are now sorted in categories like D.I., clean, crunchy, high gain etc. which makes it easy to find the desired sound quickly.
Feel control: This control enables you to shift accents in a pattern from the downbeat to the offbeat and vice versa to adapt the accentuation of patterns to your needs. Now, the time base can be set for the Feel control and the Swing control independently.
About SESSION GUITARIST - ELECTRIC MINT
ELECTRIC MINT combines a pattern-based guitar library with a sophisticated multisample set, designed to deliver authentic-sounding melodies, patterns, and phrases for songwriting and music production. Its samples originate from a unique Fender Stratocaster with Rosewood neck, made in the USA in 1960. This unique model has been played on tour and in the studio by a renowned German rock guitarist over several decades, which results in the musical and lively sound that only a high-end, original vintage instrument can deliver. The instrument’s pickup signals were recorded through the DI inputs of vintage Universal Audio M-610 and 2-610 preamps. After extensive shoot-outs, Gibson Pure cables were used to achieve the highest sonic integrity possible throughout the signal chain. In addition to the pickup signal, one vintage dynamic microphone was mounted above the strings to capture the acoustic sound, which can be dialed in for added presence and clarity. To enable the sampling of each pickup signal individually, the tone and volume circuitry of the original instrument was replicated three times using vintage capacitors and potentiometers, as well as meticulous fine-tuning to match the specs of the original volume and tone controls as closely as possible.
The signals were converted using the SPL Madison analog-to-digital converter and fed into an RME MADIface XT via MADI, both externally clocked by Antelope Audio’s 10MX Rubidium atomic clock. The entire recording environment was electromagnetically shielded and acoustically designed by Philip Newell, former technical director of Virgin Records, to achieve the highest sound quality and best signal-to-noise ratio possible. Laboratory-style silent temperature and humidity control was employed for maximum sonic consistency.
A total of 222 loops, single notes in many different articulations, round robin variants and velocities in multiple fret positions over the range of three octaves, and additional sample content were performed live by professional guitarists Martin Kursawe, Joschi Joachimsthaler, Eduard Hausauer and Jonas Roßner. The loops and phrases are grouped into 81 song presets, containing four to eight patterns each, as well as a matching sound preset. You can select patterns via keyswitches and play them on your MIDI keyboard. Playback will always stay in sync with your host project. Phrases can also be dragged and dropped into the DAW as MIDI files for further editing.
Regarding sound options, ELECTRIC MINT offers the five pickup settings of the original instrument: The three pickups can be selected individually, as well as the positions in between the first two pickups and pickup two and three. An authentic emulation of the real instrument’s tone control and an integrated effects chain are available for further processing. An expanded selection of integrated effects and a carefully curated sound preset library containing 71 presets provides for a truly versatile collection of sounds, suitable for a wide range of musical styles.
The key feature of ELECTRIC MINT is its revolutionary playback engine. You can seamlessly switch between different patterns, and also alter the dynamics in real-time, thus creating true-to-life musical performances. Because all the nuances of the original performance, such as exact timing and dynamics, have been preserved, you will notice that the instrument feels very natural and organic. All of the integrated patterns can be played over a wide tempo range in outstanding sound quality.
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