The Audio File Player plugin provides a MIDI input pin, eight audio output pins, and a MIDI output pin. It allows you to load and play up to eight audio files (in AIF, WAV or MP3 formats), either one at a time or simultaneously. You can use this plugin as a backing track player or for looping short samples, switching seamlessly from one to another while running. Up to eight audio output channels are available, singly or in pairs.
The Audio File Player plugin provides eight “lanes” for playback. You can think of these as roughly equivalent to tracks on a DAW. Its editor provides controls that enable the following advanced operations:
1.Single/Multi – Switch between playing back one audio file at a time versus multiple files simultaneously.
2.Loop – Turns looping on or off for all lanes.
3.Go To Beginning – Instantly go to the beginning of all files.
4.Time/Tracks display – Displays the current time, in hours/minutes/ seconds/hundredths of a second, as well as the number of tracks (channels) loaded with audio files.
5.Play/Pause – Start or pause file playback. (Note: The “pause” function does not return the file to the beginning; it simply pauses it wherever it is. Clicking on the button a second time resumes playback from the point at which it was stopped.)
6.Sync–When turned on (lit green), Gig Performer will play and pause the Audio File Player automatically when its button is engaged. This allows you to begin playback of audio files at the same time you start a drum machine emulation plugin, for example.
7.Load Full Directory – Loads a full directory of audio files at once, up to the number of available (empty) lanes. If, for example, you have six empty lanes and you try loading eight files using this button, only the first six files will get loaded, into lanes 3 – 8. With this feature, you can create a directory with all of the files you will need, then load the entire player with them at the gig by invoking only a single command.
8.Metronome– Clicking on this icon provides a number of additional controls that allow you to create a MIDI click track in sync with the tempo of your Master track. See the MIDI metronome information for more details.
In addition, the Audio File Player editor offers the following lane-specific controls:
9.Play Enable–Enables or mutes playback of the file loaded into the lane.
10.Load New Audio File (file cabinet icon) – Click this to load an audio file into the lane.
11.Remove Audio File (trashcan icon) – Click this to delete the audio file from the lane.
12.File name– Displays the name of the file currently loaded in the lane.
13.Master indicator – When lit, indicates that the file in the lane is being used as the Master, determining the playback length of all other files. Note that this is not a parameter that can be changed; instead, Gig Performer automatically designates the lane loaded with the longest audio file as the Master. If you load other lanes with new files, the Master designation may change accordingly (if the new files are longer than the one in the currently designated Master lane).
14.Output assignment – Allows you to set the output for that lane’s playback. A stereo file should ideally be set to a pair of outputs (i.e., Output 1&2, Output 3&4, etc.) but if it is sent to a mono output, the two channels will automatically be mixed to mono. Conversely, sending a mono file to a pair of outputs will result in the same signal being routed to both outputs.
15.Level indicators – Shows the current playback level for that lane.
16.Volume control – Allows you to adjust the volume of the lane.
17.Oneshot on/off – Allows you to turn looping off for that lane, even if the master Loop button is on (lit). Clicking on the Oneshot button (causing it to light) during playback will cause the file in that lane to play to the end and then stop. If you then turn Oneshot for that lane off again, the file will resume playback when the file loaded into the Master lane ends.
18.File duration– Displays the duration in seconds and samples of the file currently loaded in the lane.
