Nektar Aruba Beat Composer and Performance Instrument

A BEAT CREATION POWERHOUSE!Nektar Aruba is a powerful beat making and performance instrument. This MIDI Pad Controller has 16 hyper-sensitive RGB illuminated pads, an on-board drum machine-style step sequencer with record, a flexible pad repeat engine and outstanding plugin control. The included Nektarine software and drum library turns Aruba into a complete beat making solution that works with any DAW. Use your favourite drum instrument plugin (VST/VST3 or AU) or start creating with the built-in DP-1 drum player, K1 Kick, S1 Snare and T1 Tom synth instruments.

Play your own library of audio samples or incorporate any combination of plugins with any other content, to create your own unique kits. All settings, including pad setups, are stored as part of your DAW song/project or Nektarine Multipatch for complete recall when you start working again.

Aruba and Nektarine put a complete beat creation powerhouse at your fingertips. Nektarine also runs in any DAW as a VST, VST3, AU or AAX plugin so you can load your kits in the environment you prefer. Go on – Make your own beat. It’s a blast!

Amazing Features • 16 RGB color illuminated velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads
• Dedicated programming interface with 16 RGB buttons and parts selection buttons
• Each Pattern with up to 4 parts for a total of up to 64 steps
• TFT colour display with 320×240 px including 4 soft buttons
• 8 heavy duty potentiometers (360 degrees, endless)

seamless workflowAruba’s hardware is all about realtime access and performance: A host of controls give direct access to key features without any menu diving. At the center are 16 large RGB pads – they are velocity and pressure-sensitive and can be fine-tuned to match your personal playing style.

ARUBA’s 8 heavy-duty 360-degree rotary pots are always assigned to control a selected feature’s parameters with their assignments shown on the colour TFT display. 4 display buttons give access to extra settings, MIDI assignments or secondary menus. Dedicated buttons make it easy to switch between different modes: Internal MIDI controller, drum machine style sequencer, Pad Repeat or DAW Control are always just one button-press away.

The hardware Step Sequencer is programmed like a classic drum machine from the 16 small RGB buttons. Each pad can be programmed, or recorded in real-time, with its own independent sequence. You can solo, mute or trigger sequences simply by hitting a pad and control other parameters from the pots, which makes the Sequencer an excellent realtime performance tool. The MIDI Out on ARUBA’s back lets you sequence external MIDI gear and can also be used as a MIDI interface from the computer.

DAW Control and integrationThen there’s the transport section for DAW Control: With Nektar DAW Integration everything’s set up for instant control of your DAW’s transport functions from Aruba. In this mode, the pots let you set locators, select tracks, navigate and even set up a connected footswitch for transport control. Without DAW integration, the transport buttons can be assigned to MIDI functions or to control the sequencer. The 2 footswitches can also be MIDI-assigned.

Aruba’s feature set is greatly enhanced when connected to the included Nektarine software. Eight mode buttons give one-press-access to key Nektarine functions, including Mixer, Pad Setup, Instrument and FX plugin control, browsing and solo/mute. When a mode is selected, the eight 360 degree analogue pots provide smooth control of the selected mode’s parameters and in particularly, deep plugin control of your VST, VST3 and AU plugins. Control the assigned plugins, sends or insert FX from Aruba – with full parameter feedback on Aruba’s screen. Many plugins are already pre-mapped for control but you can also create your own mapping, as deep as you like.

ARUBA stores 16 user Internal presets for pad configuration and pot MIDI control assignments. When paired with Nektarine, an ulimited amount of pad configurations can be saved complete with plugin and Nektarine settings. Pad’s are programmed from the Pad Setup mode which also includes menus for Chord and Scale, so you can use the pads to play melodic parts or assign chords to each pad.

PAD REPEATARUBA’s 16 RGB-illuminated pads are great for finger drumming and trigger at the lightest touch. Pad sensitivity has already been set or trained automatically to each pads behavior which achieves consistent performance and a great trigger response. Pad sensitivity can also be manually adjusted on a per-pad-basis, if required.

Velocity curves are not just selected but adjusted. There is no need to weigh through velocity curves, just tweak until you are satisfied. A Bias parameter adjusts the overall velocity curve response from linear to logarithmic or exponential. Other velocity options include a Dynamic response where the velocity value is set at a medium point with the rest of the curve adjusted accordingly. Fixed and step options are also included if you prefer a more rigid response.

Pad pressure is assignable to Aftertouch (channel and poly), Pitch Bend or MIDI CCs. Pad pressure can be a great dynamic performance element particularly with sustaining sounds such as long kicks or effects. Once set up, press a pad to slightly bend pitch on a percussion sound, as you can do on a Djembe. Each pad is illuminated by an RGB LED, providing up to 16 distinct colours.

ARUBA’s on-board Pad Repeat engine is directly accessible, offering a dedicated on/off button and settings menu. Use Repeat to create rolls or other percussive lines, that would be hard to play by hand. The repeat settings are highly customizable with realtime parameters for groove and speed control – all right under your fingertips on ARUBA’s 8 potentiometers.

If you want some instant Trap-style hihat lines. The first 6 RGB LED buttons right above the display switch repeat rates in realtime. Create truly dynamic rolls by using pad pressure to control velocity while changing the repeat rates with the LED buttons. Other parameters include Repeat Rate, Gate, Accent Interval, Accent Velocity Offset, Swing, Trigger Mode and Clock Source.

classic 16-step programmingThe on-board hardware step sequencer is a great tool for creative beat composition. Press ARUBA’s ‘SEQ’ button and the 16 LED buttons below the pots become the much loved classic 16-step programming interface. Each pad is now a pattern, triggering the note the pad is assigned to play.

Activate the sequencer’s Record button and you can play the pads and capture/record the played notes with velocity values in individual patterns. It’s a fast and fun way to build a beat adding steps by design or intuitively. Editing is also very easy too. Just press the 16 step buttons to add or remove note steps even while you record. Each step is recorded strictly to the play rate set for each pattern (default is 1/16). Every pattern (one per pad) has a total of up to 64 steps split across 4 parts. The 16 patterns are combined called a Collection. A total of 16 Collections can be saved internally for future use.

ARUBA’s sequencer is all about interaction and performance: Parts may be triggered in any combination at any time, so you can create new variations very intuitively. Each pattern, and even each part in a pattern, can have a different length – massively simplifying the creation of poly-rhythms. Reassigning patterns to new sounds is also easy: As there is one pattern per pad, it is just a matter of adding a slot in Nektarine with a new plugin – and the new sound is playing for that pad and pattern. You don’t even have to stop the sequencer to do this.

Realtime EditingEvery time a step is recorded or manually entered, the display updates to show what it looks like. The 4 step rows in the display represent the 4 parts. Each part can be activated/deactivated by pressing the Parts 1-4 buttons (the 4 big arrow buttons above the pads). The play cursor progresses as the pattern plays and an arrow indicates which part is current.

Change the Play Rate, dial in a fixed Velocity and Accent Level Offset, set a Length for the events or add Swing for an extra-helping of groove. Many of these features go all the way down to step level. Last Step allows you to adjust the step length for each of a pattern’s parts independently.

Power user features: Dive as deep as you like – many parameters can be edited with up to step level precision. Just select the pattern, part and steps you want and change the values for one or multiple selections at the same time. Group editing of Velocity, Play Rate or Gate Length across 4 parts or patterns in groups of 8 patterns at the same time is also possible. A great way to check and edit values across multiple steps without having to select them first.

Synchronization: Internal and external clock modes ensure perfect sync with the outside world. ARUBA and the sequencer may also be used stand-alone with external MIDI instruments connected directly to the MIDI Out jack.

a plugin hostYou can of course load an instrument plugin onto a track in your DAW and play it right away – but ARUBA does so much more when paired with the included Nektarine software. Nektarine is a plugin host that itself can be loaded as an AU, VST, VST3 or AAX plugin (meaning it can run in virtually any current DAW).

Start by loading your favourite drum plugin in Nektarine and map the pads to it’s sounds. From the Pad Setup menu on ARUBA, just move the pot that sets the MIDI IN note until you hear the sound you want the selected pad to play. With the pads set up, save a multipatch in Nektarine. Both pads and plugin settings are recalled next time you load it. When you make your own kits & sounds, the fun really begins by combining multiple samples and plugins in Nektarine. Create kits with up to 16 different instrument plugins, 64 insert FX-plugins and an additional 4 send FX. All plugins instantly controlleable, straight from the hardware!

You can even import your sample library and play the samples in Nektarine’s DP-1 drum player. ARUBA also includes a license for the Nektarine stand-alone application. This lets you create beats easily by sequencing your instrument plugins from ARUBA, drum-machine-style: get groovin’!

Sounds from any sourceLoad a multi-sound drum plugin like Supperior Drummer, Groove Agent, one of the many Kontakt libraries, or any other drum plugin and they instantly take over ARUBA’s 16 pads. The pads can be setup from ARUBA or Nektarine, with all settings saved with your DAW project/song or in a Nektarine Multipatch. Play the pad, press ‘Add Slot’ in ARUBA’s Pad Setup menu, press Browse and select a patch from your library on the TFT colour display, loading the patch also loads the plugin.

Any pad can be reassigned to a new plugin by creating a plugin slot and loading a patch or plugin from ARUBA’s browser. The patch browser lets you filter for particular plugins, categories or tags to quickly zoom in on the sounds you are looking for. Finding that “perfect” kick or snare for your track across multiple plugins now becomes a matter of seconds, because a patch automatically loads the plugin it belongs to.

Keep adding instrument plugins until you have a different one playing on each of the 16 pads, their key ranges can also overlap for sound layering.

dedicated controlsWhen finished with your assignments, press the “Mixer” button on ARUBA. On the Mixer screen you can see mix levels, pan and FX sends for 8 pads at the same time – just play a pad and the right group is visible. The small buttons underneath the pots now control solo and mute, ARUBA’s soft buttons switch between volume, pan and send 1-4 control views.

4 insert FX slots per instrument channel as well as 4 global send FX slots provide plenty of additional processing options. The FX plugins can be loaded and tweaked from ARUBA, using the two dedicated “FX” buttons for direct access to inserts and sends.

The Nektarine software also has a Mix View, presenting all parameters at a glance in a traditional console design. In here you can see and tweak settings across all 16 pads, you can open plug in interfaces and even insert new plugins onto a channel directly from Nektarine’s browser. Playing a pad on ARUBA selects the channel for editing and you can tweak it from the hardware or in the software.

A big time saver: Of course you can save edited patches on every level, including each effect and instrument. Nektarine allows you to save your complete setup in one step. Your kit, including all of the FX configurations and pad assignments is saved as part of a DAW project/song or in a Nektarine Multi-Patch for instant recall.

incredibly simpleThe Nektarine Drum Player DP-1 makes it incredibly simple to play audio samples from ARUBA. Use drag and drop in Nektarine or load samples directly from ARUBA while you work. This automatically launches the DP-1 Drum Player with your audio sample loaded and assigned to the correct pad, ready for action.

DP-1 is compatible with WAV and AIFF files, playing back sample rates from 16kHz to pristine 192kHz and supports 12 to 24bit resolutions. But you won’t have to down-sample your sounds manually to get that gritty 8 bit-crunch sound. The “1982” button and DP-1’s real time sample rate converter takes you right back to when 8 bit sampling was the best technology could deliver! Nektar actually went as far as emulating the circuitry found in those classic machines – including the µ-law algorithm. But on DP-1 you can tweak that sound : Change the sample rate (from 4kHz to 16kHz) or the circuits’ internal filter in realtime and make it as rough or smooth as you want!

DP-1’s user interface has been created for control from ARUBA’s 8 knobs and display buttons, so the experience is like working with a hardware sample player! The main parameters are grouped into 3 sections of 8 parameters each:

The Sample Parameters give you access to the typical sound parameters, starting with Pitch: Designed exclusively as a drum player, DP-1 plays the sample at its root pitch so it always sounds as intended, regardless of what MIDI note is sent to DP-1. Pitch can be adjusted to any value over 4 octaves (-/+ 24 semitones). Attack, Decay, Decay Slope and a one-shot switch let you control a sample’s amplitude envelope, from short sharp attacks to longer sustain kick drums. Using the ENV>FILT knob, you can use this envelope to modulate the also included synth-style 2 pole filter. It has Drive, Cutoff and Resonance control to let you create anything from subtle low end kicks to screaming distorted snare drums.

The 1982 instantly turns DP-1 in to a vintage 8-bit mono sampler including reduced dynamics, MuLaw algorithm and D/A circuitry in one go. The mode’s Sample Rate can be set from 4kHz to 16kHz and the Filter parameter can reduce the impact of aliasing: Simply by playing with these controls, you can turn a soft Jazz Brush Snare into a slamming crunchy 8-Bit HipHop snare.

common audio processingDP-1, K1, S1 and T1 all share a common audio processing and modulation setion. If you Want to add more punch, kick in the One Knob Compressor: The higher you set the Amount, the more you’ll squash your samples’ dynamics, the Gain knob lets you finetune the behavior by driving the compressor softer or harder. The 2-band Equalizer has also been designed with drum sounds in mind: The Low band controls the bass, the semi-parametric Hi band lets you shape the upper part of the frequency spectrum. This EQ-section is surprisingly effective!

The Modulation Section lets you assign Velocity to up to 3 different modulation targets at the same time and Pad Pressure to a fourth target. You can route modulation to pitch, envelope parameters, the filter and volume for very dynamic and lively sounds.

You can also control each section’s parameters simultaneously from Aruba’s 8 knobs, which makes sound creation and editing extremely intuitive.

ultra-compatibleAruba can be used with any DAW either as a regular MIDI pad controller but once Nektarine is loaded on a track, all the features described so far, are available.

Aruba also comes with Nektar DAW integration software for many of the most poplar DAWs. Nektar DAW integration adds extra functionality that helps the process of recording beats in your DAW. Scrolling through tracks updates the Aruba display, showing the track name and hosted instruments. When you select a track hosting Nektarine, the DAW integration knows. If multiple instances of Nektarine are used in a project, Aruba even knows which of many instances are on the current track. This ensures that pads are always updated correctly along with all other Aruba settings.

For example, create a track hosting Nektarine with Aruba’s pads setup to play scales as described in the previous section and create another track with Nektarine hosting a drum kit. When Nektar DAW integration is installed, Aruba’s pads and all other settings are automatically updated whenever you change track. If Nektarine is hosted in a DAW without Nektar DAW integration, what we call instance detection, has to be done manually. It’s a simple process but requires opening the Nektarine UI, then click on the instance activation icon in the top right corner.

From the DAW page, the Song Position or play head can be moved. Loop length can be set and the loop point moved using the pots. A button combination moves the Song Position/play head to the left loop point, ready for recording.

The dedicated transport buttons enable Click, forward/rewind, loop on/off, stop, play, record, set loop points, goto left loop point, undo and automation read/write. Transport functions are always accessible, regardless of what menu is selected on ARUBA. With DAW integration installed, you are ready to record beats anywhere in the project, without having to reach for the mouse.

Nektar DAW Integration software for ARUBA currently supports: Ableton Live Suite, Bitwig, Cakewalk, Cubase, Digital Performer, Garageband, Logic Pro, Nuendo, Reaper, Reason and Studio One.