Is there currently a list or chart that outlines the correlation between Velocity and Sample playback? I would just like to know exactly what the velocity needs to be in order to trigger certain sounds.

Hi Charlie. There isn't anything like this at the current time. Since the velocity mapping is different for each instrument (literally!), it would be a daunting task to put it in a documented format. The instruments should be programmed in a way that it should be relatively smooth to move from zone to zone velocity-wise, but I do understand that there might be occasions where you're targeting a specific sample.

One general rule of thumb is that on instruments where there is a shorter decay (i.e. snare drum), there will likely be more velocity layers than on instruments with longer decay (i.e. ringing vibes). So this may have a bearing on certain choices for velocity settings. I know this may not be the answer you're searching for, but it may help equip you for making more intuitive decisions. If you are using Kontakt 2, you can view the velocity mapping in the 'mapping editor', though I realize it may be more trouble than most are interested in going to.

You may also be interested to know that notation programs are a bit, well...  arbitrary in velocities that aren't defined by number.  If you use Sibelius, look in your help system for ";Edit Sound Sets";, and check out ";Velocity calibration";.  You'll find that when you give a specific number, even if you think you have the velocity picked out, you may have it adjusted at the last minute.

At least for the case of this program, you'll see that each of the curves is an ";S"; curve, while percussion would lend itself to a U, and a fat one at that.

Thanks for the help guys! I've been doing some experimentation with Logic Express lately. Sometimes I want the timbre of a snare played at piano, but I want it louder (without adjusting the levels) or to add effects to it. Currently I've figured that I can bounce a portion of the snare track as an audio file, the add gain, normalize, etc. from there. I suppose I'll just rely on my ears and the velocity tool :) Thanks!

If you want to get really tricky, there's another thing you can do.  Create a duplicate snare instrument, go into the mapping, and delete out the ";forte"; samples.  Then stretch the piano samples up to max velocity.  That would probably be a lot easier than going through partial renders.

[quote author=perpetualpoet link=topic=1615.msg7736#msg7736 date=1173805631]
Thanks for the help guys! I've been doing some experimentation with Logic Express lately. Sometimes I want the timbre of a snare played at piano, but I want it louder (without adjusting the levels) or to add effects to it. Currently I've figured that I can bounce a portion of the snare track as an audio file, the add gain, normalize, etc. from there. I suppose I'll just rely on my ears and the velocity tool :) Thanks!
[/quote]
And before you get too used to this method, there will be a forthcoming VDL update that changes much of the velocity sensitivity automatically. So you may find that less tweaking is necessary. That's about as much of a hint as I can give for now, but an official announcement shouldn't be too much farther off.

Woohoo!