User Guide

English

Manual Version 1.1.0

(RevB)
 Table of Contents

Introduction ..............................................................................................................3

System Requirements & Product Support ..............................................................................3

Setup .........................................................................................................................3

Operation ..................................................................................................................5

Overview .....................................................................................................................................5

Browser ......................................................................................................................................6

Kit View .......................................................................................................................................7

Kit Piece Browser ................................................................................................................................................... 8

Mixer View ..................................................................................................................................9

Grooves View ........................................................................................................................... 11

Preferences .............................................................................................................................. 13
Settings ................................................................................................................................................................. 13
Content ................................................................................................................................................................. 14
Licenses ................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Info ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Appendix .................................................................................................................16

Keymap..................................................................................................................................... 16

Trademarks and Licenses....................................................................................................... 18

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Introduction

Thank you for downloading the BFD Player plugin. BFD Player is an acoustic drum software instrument plugin that
provides fully detailed, 3D-modeled drum kits with advanced mixing tools to give seasoned drummers and aspiring
songwriters alike access to high quality drum sounds.

This user guide explains the features and functions of the plugin. For more information on using this plugin with other
software, please refer to your software’s documentation for adding and using plugins.

System Requirements & Product Support

For complete system requirements and compatibility information, visit bfddrums.com.

For technical support, visit support.bfddrums.com.

Setup

1. Installation

i. Double-click each of the .exe (Windows) or .dmg (macOS) files you downloaded for the BFD Player application
and the included Core Library content pack. Follow the on-screen instructions to install both the software and
content pack.

ii. Open BFD Player.

Note: A window will appear when BFD Player is opened if a new version of the software is available. If this
window appears, click Download to download and then install the updated version. Click No, thanks to
continue using the current version. If this window does not appear, you are using the latest version of BFD
Player.

iii. Click Log In to profile to sign into your inMusic Brands

Profile using your Internet browser. If you do not have an
inMusic Brands Profile yet, you will be prompted to create
one.

iv. Once you have logged in, you can return to the BFD Player
application.

If you have purchased additional content packs, you will need to

register the serial number(s) and authorize them with BFD Player.
Your content pack serial number will be available in your inMusic
Brands Profile or in the email account associated with your
purchase. See Operation > Preferences > Content to learn how
to register a serial number, and Operation > Preferences >
Licenses to learn more about authorizing packs.

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2. Audio/MIDI Setup

Next, you should set up your audio and MIDI devices.

Note: If you are using BFD Player as a plugin, you will need to set
up your audio and MIDI devices using the Preferences or Device
Setup menu in your DAW of choice.

i. Open the Preferences menu by clicking the gear icon ( )

at the bottom-left of the window. Alternatively, click the
BFD Player logo at the top-left of the window.

ii. Click the Settings tab in the Preferences menu.

iii. Under Audio, use the Output menu to select your audio output device. Click the Refresh button if you need
to refresh the list of connected devices.

iv. Once you have set an audio output device, you can adjust its Sample Rate and Buffer Size as needed using
the respective menus.

v. Under MIDI, use the Input Device menu to select your MIDI input device. Click the Refresh button if you need
to refresh the list of connected devices.

vi. Once you have set up your devices, click anywhere outside the Preferences menu to return to the main window.

To complete MIDI setup, you can now select a keymap for your kit
module or other MIDI input device.

i. Click the icon next to the preset name to open the preset
menu.

ii. Navigate to the Engine > Keymap menu, and then select
your kit module or other connected MIDI input device from
the list.

Note: See Appendix > Keymap for details on the default

keymapping.

You are now set up to use BFD Player! See the following Operation section for an overview of the controls.

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Operation

Overview

Click a link below to jump to that section.

B C D E

G
F H

A. Browser: Use the Browser section to browse installed co ntent packs and load presets.

B. Kit View: Click to select Kit View.

C. Mixer View: Click to select Mixer View.

D. Grooves View: Click to select Grooves View.

E. Main Output Gain: Turn to adjust the main output gain. If the red light is lit, the signal is clipping. Turn the gain
down until it is no longer lit. Click the red indicator to dismiss it (along with any other peak values in Mixer
View).

F. Preferences: Click here to open the Preferences menu.

G. Expansions: Click here to open a link to explore available BFD Player expansion packs.

H. MIDI Panic: Click here to activate MIDI panic, which will stop all MIDI notes from playing.

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Browser

In both Kit and Mixer Views, the left side of the window shows a browser with all installed
content packs.

Click a content pack name to open the list of presets for that pack.
Packs that have not been authorized to the current machine will appear as “NOT
AUTHORIZED.” See Preferences > Licenses for more information on authorizing content
packs.

When your cursor hovers over a preset, an audition preview icon will appear to the left of
the preset name. Click the play button to start previewing it, and click the stop icon that
appears while playing to stop the preview. A bar below the preset name will show the
playhead progress throughout the length of the preview.

Hover your cursor over the Information icon ( ) next to the preset name for a short
description of each preset.

Double-click a preset name to load the selected preset. You can also use the buttons
to move to the previous or next preset in the list.

The loading bar below the preset name shows the progress when a new preset or kit piece
is being loaded.

Click the icon to open the preset menu, where you can access the following options:
Click Save Preset to save the current preset. The preset name will be italicized when there are changes to be
saved.
Click Load Preset to load a saved preset.
Use the Engine menu to access additional preset preferences:
• Keymap: Selects a preset mapping based on a number of popular MIDI and drum controllers.
If you have a controller that does not have an included keymap, you can map your controller to the BFD Player
preset using the assignments noted in Appendix > Keymap.
Each time a factory preset is loaded, the selected keymap will remain unchanged. If a user-created preset is
loaded, the keymap saved with that preset will be loaded, and will be shown in this menu as “Imported From
Preset.” This keymap will remain loaded if other factory presets are loaded and until another user preset is
loaded or the keymap is changed.
• Profile: Determines the amount of detail loaded with the preset (Economy, Full, Medium, Standard – 1-2GB
RAM, or Standard – Over 2GB RAM). Higher detail levels require more processing. If your computer is having
difficulty with loading or playing presets, try reducing the detail level for better performance.
• Perspective: Adjusts the panning of the drums to be from the perspective of the Drummer or the Audience.
In Drummer perspective, the hi-hat is panned stereo left and the floor tom is panned stereo right. In Audience
perspective, this is reversed, with the hi-hat panned stereo right, and the floor tom panned stereo-left.
Use the Scale menu to adjust the plugin window to a new size (75%, 100%, 125%, 150%, 175%, or 200%).
Click Register Serial to register a serial number for a content pack. See Preferences > Licenses for more
information on registering serial numbers.
Click Logout to log out of your connected inMusic Profile. When logged out, you will not be able to access your
authorized content packs.

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Kit View

In Kit View, you can see the fully detailed, 3D-modeled drum kits that have been emulated in each content pack preset.
The drums are selectable and interactable, so you can see the kit respond in real time as it is played.

D
B C

A. Kit: Displays the current drum kit. Click a kit piece to play the sound and select it.

B. Kit Piece Selection: Displays the current kit piece when one is selected from the kit. Click to select a kit piece
from another preset.

C. Kit Piece Version: Shows the currently selected kit piece version. Click to select another kit piece version, if
available.

D. Kit Piece Version Info: Displays additional information about the kit piece version, including:
• Size: Dimensions of the selected kit piece.
• Beater: What is used to hit the kit piece.
• Wires: Whether snare strainer wires are audible in the kit piece sound or not.
• Library: Content pack that the kit piece is found in.
• Manufacturer: Maker of the emulated kit piece.
• Materials: What the selected kit piece is made from.
• Skin: Type of drum head on the kit piece (not shown for cymbals).

E. Expand Kit Piece Browser: Click the up arrow here to open the Kit Piece Browser.

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Kit Piece Browser

The Kit Piece Browser allows you to browse, filter, and load kit pieces from all your collections. To open the Kit Piece
Browser, select a kit piece in Kit View and then click the up arrow above the Kit Piece information bar:

A
D E

A. Kit Piece Selection: Click here to select a kit piece type.

B. Filters: Expand these menus to select options for filtering. Click each filter name to expand the options, and
then check one of the available boxes to show the kit pieces that match your selection. Currently selected
filters will be shown at the top of the window to the right of the Kit Piece Selection.
To remove a filter from your search, uncheck the box. Alternatively, click the X next to its name at the top of
the window, or click CLEAR ALL to remove all filters.
Note: If a kit selection has only one option for a certain filter (for example, only one type of Beater), that Filter
type will not appear in the list.
C. Kit Pieces: Click here to select a kit piece type. A sample will play when a new piece is selected.
D. Play: Click this icon to play a preview pattern using the selected kit piece.
E. Load / Load + Close: Click the Load button to load the selected kit piece. Click the Load + Close button to
load the selected kit piece and close the Kit Piece Browser. When the current kit piece is selected, this will
instead show “Currently Loaded.”
F. Kit Piece Version Info: Displays additional information about the selected kit piece version, including:
• Name: Name of the kit piece.
• Size: Dimensions of the selected kit piece.
• Library: Content pack that the kit piece is found in.
• Materials: What the selected kit piece is made from.
• Version: Version information for the kit piece. Click to select another kit piece version, if available.

To close the Kit Piece Browser, click the X in the top-right corner of the window to return to Kit View.

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Mixer View

In Mixer View, you can tweak the sound of each preset to your desire by adjusting the included effects or mixer
parameters such as levels, panning, muting/soloing, and output routing.

B C

A. Macro Controls: These four macro controls adjust settings specific to the selected preset.
Turn each knob to adjust its settings. Hover your cursor over the Information icon ( ) for a short description
of the macro.

B. Channel Strip: There are three main types of channel strips in BFD
Player:
• Drum channels, for an individual kit piece.
• Aux channels, where multiple drum channels are bussed together.
• Ambient channels, for an ambient microphone channel.
Click anywhere on a channel to select it. The selected channel will be
highlighted. You can also select multiple channels to manipulate their
controls simultaneously. To select multiple channels:
• Ctrl-click (Windows) or Cmd ()-click (macOS) to add channels
to the current selection.
• Shift-click to select all channels between the existing selection
and the shift-clicked channel.
When multiple channels are selected, you can adjust the level, pan,
and mute/solo state for each one at the same time. Drum Aux Ambient Main

C. Main Channel: This additional channel strip is for the main output.
Click the gear icon ( ) to open the Auto assign settings. These settings can be used to quickly reroute
channels to a selected output:
• Auto assign channels to Main: Route all channels to the Main output.
• Sequential Routing: Route each kit piece to individual outputs in sequential order.

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 D

F
G

D. Kit Piece: Displays the kit piece for each channel. If the piece is a drum or cymbal, you can click the picture
to trigger it.
Note: If the contents of a channel cannot be loaded (for example, if you do not have an active license
for the kit piece selected or the audio data is missing), a warning image will be shown here.

E. Pan/Width: Use this slider to adjust the panning of a drum channel or aux channel, or the stereo width of an
ambient channel.

F. Channel Gain: Adjusts the gain of the selected channel. The peak value will be shown in the box above the
slider. If the meter lights red, the signal is clipping. Reduce the gain until it is no longer lit. Clicking any red
indicator or peak value will dismiss both across all channels, including the Main Channel. To dismiss a specific
clipping indicator or peak value, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click.

G. Mute / Solo: Click M to mute the selected track(s). Click S to solo the selected track(s).

H. Output: Selects an output path for the selected channel.

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Grooves View

Grooves View allows you to browse preset rhythmic patterns that can be used to audition presets or piece together an
entire song.

All installed grooves will be shown in the Grooves List in the main body of the window. Grooves can be sorted in
ascending or descending order of each of the following columns by clicking the arrow icon ( / ) in the column
headers.
• Grooves Name: Name of the groove.
Click in the area next to the magnifying glass icon ( ) to search for a groove by name.
When the cursor hovers over a groove, an audition preview icon will appear to the left of the groove name. Click
the groove to start previewing it using the current preset, and click it again to stop the preview. If no preset is
loaded, no audio will play. A bar below the groove name will show the playhead progress throughout the length of
the groove.
• Leading Hand: Kit piece played by the leading hand of the groove.
• Bars: Number of bars of the groove.
• Sig: Time signature of the groove.
• BPM: Tempo of the groove.
• Fav: Click the star to mark the groove as a favorite.

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You can also use the Filters at the top of the window to narrow the list of installed grooves. Click each filter name and
then check one of the available boxes to show the grooves that match your selection.
• Fill: Filter grooves by those that are a drum Fill and those that are not (No Fill).
• Library: Filters grooves by the associated content pack name.
• Genre: Filters grooves by musical genre.
• Leading: Filter grooves by the leading hand used.
• Timing: Filter grooves by the rhythmic timing.
• Dynamics: Filter grooves by the playing dynamics.
• Focus: Filter grooves by the drum in focus.
• Feel: Filter grooves by the rhythmic feel of the groove.
• Fav: Filter grooves by those marked as favorites.
When filtering by Focus or Timing, only grooves that match all selections will be shown. For all other types, selecting
multiple options to filter by will show grooves that match any selection.

To remove a filter from your search, click the X next to its name. Alternatively, click CLEAR ALL to remove all filters.

Once you find a groove you like, you can export it as a MIDI file to
your desktop or directly into your DAW. To export the groove,
simply click and drag and drop from the groove name to the desired
location.

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Preferences

To open the Preferences menu, do either of the following:

• Click the BFD Player logo at the top-left of the window.
• Click the gear icon at the bottom-left of the window.

The Preferences menu contains four tabs. Click on the name below
to jump to that section.
Settings
Content
Licenses
Info

Settings

The Settings menu contains the Audio and MIDI setup options for BFD Player.
Note: These options are only available when using the standalone version of the BFD Player software. If you are using
BFD Player as a plugin, you will need to set up your audio and MIDI devices using the Preferences or Device Setup
menu in your DAW of choice.

Audio
• Sample Rate: Click this drop-down menu to select the
desired sample rate for your project. This depends on the
available sample rates of the type of audio hardware you
are using or of your audio interface (i.e., select 96000 Hz
only if your interface allows a 96 kHz sample rate).
• Buffer Size: Click this drop-down menu to set your audio
system’s latency.
Lower values result in a more immediate playing response
but also more CPU consumption. If you are working with
larger projects, this may cause audible clicks and pops.
Higher values are more CPU-friendly but can produce more
delay between triggering a drum and hearing the
corresponding sound. The ideal audio buffer size also
depends on your computer’s CPU performance.
Experiment with this to find the best setting for your
system.
• Output: Click this drop-down menu to select an audio hardware driver in your computer system. Click Refresh
to refresh the list of available devices.

MIDI
• Input Device: Displays available MIDI input devices. To enable a device, click its name so a check appears
next to it.
See Appendix > Keymap to view the complete keymapping.

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Content

The content menu allows you to manage your content packs. You can relocate content packs, such as moving them
to an external drive, or manually add packs installed while BFD Player is open.
Note: BFD Player will automatically scan for and add any content pack(s) that were installed since the software was
last run, so in most cases you can simply restart the software to add newly registered and installed packs.

Click Add to browse your computer or connected drives for

BFD content packs. Use the file browser to locate each content
pack folder path individually, or select the parent folder, which
will also scan all subfolders. Click OK to select the path and
add the content to BFD Player.

Select a pack and click Rescan Selected to rescan the folder

path of the selected pack for new content.

Click Rescan All to rescan all folder paths for new BFD content
packs.

Select a pack and click Remove Selected to remove the

selected pack from BFD Player.

Click Remove All to remove all content packs that have been
added to BFD Player.

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Licenses

The licenses menu is used for authorizing your purchased content

packs for use with your machine. Each registered serial number can
authorize a content pack on up to three machines.

Click Register to register a serial number.

In the window that appears, enter the serial number for your
content pack. You can also copy and paste it into the field
by using the Paste From Clipboard button or pressing
Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd ()+V (macOS). Your content
pack serial number will be available in your inMusic Brands
Profile or in the email account associated with your
purchase.
If the serial number is valid, click Register to continue.
If there is an issue with your serial number, a message will
appear to notify you the serial number is invalid.
If the serial number is in use, a message will appear to notify
you that it has already been registered. Pack serial
numbers can be registered to one inMusic Profile only.

Click Refresh to update the list of licenses for registered content packs.
Content packs that have already been authorized with show “Authorized” under the content pack name.
Unauthorized content packs will appear as “Not Authorized” in this window and in the Browser.
Select an unauthorized content pack and then click “AUTHORIZE” to add it to your machine. You can also
click “AUTHORIZE ALL” to authorize multiple content packs at the same time.
If an authorization attempt fails, a window will appear to notify you. Click Close to continue to BFD Player,
although the content pack will remain unusable until authorized. Click Retry Authorization to try again, or click
Contact Support for technical support.
If you need to remove an authorization from one machine to add it to another, select the content pack(s) and
then click “DEAUTHORIZE.”

Click Log out to log out of your inMusic Profile. When logged out, you will not be able to access your authorized
content packs.

Info

This menu displays version information about BFD Player, as well as links to this User Guide and other BFD resources.

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Appendix

Keymap

The BFD Player keymap is selected by default and is as follows.

Note: Some kits may not use all sounds, so those notes will be silent when played.

Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number
Perc 3 Hit C#-2 1 Snare Rim Shot E1 40
Perc 2 Hit D#-2 3 Floor Tom 2 Hit F1 41
Snare Variable F#-2 6 Hihat Closed Tip F#1 42
Hihat Variable Shank G-2 7 Floor Tom Hit G1 43
Hihat Variable Tip G#-2 8 Hihat Pedal G#1 44
Hihat Variable Tip A-2 9 Mid Tom Hit A1 45
Hihat Pedal A#-2 10 Hihat Open Shank A#1 46
Hihat Closed Tip B-2 11 High Tom Hit B1 47
Hihat 1/4 Tip C-1 12 High Tom 2 Hit C2 48
Hihat Half Tip C#-1 13 Crash 2 Edge C#2 49
Hihat 3/4 Tip D-1 14 Crash 1 Edge D2 50
Hihat Open Tip D#-1 15 Ride 1 Bow D#2 51

Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number
Hihat Open Tip E-1 16 Ride 1 Edge E2 52
Hihat Open Tip F-1 17 Ride 1 Bell F2 53
Hihat Variable Shank F#-1 18 Ride 1 Choke F#2 54
Hihat Variable Tip G-1 19 Crash 1 Edge G2 55
Hihat Variable Shank G#-1 20 Crash 1 Choke G#2 56
Hihat Pedal A-1 21 Crash 3 Edge A2 57
Hihat Closed Shank A#-1 22 Crash 3 Choke A#2 58
Hihat Splash B-1 23 Ride 1 Edge B2 59
Hihat Half Shank C0 24 Hihat Open Shank C3 60
Hihat 3/4 Shank C#0 25 Hihat Closed Tip C#3 61
Hihat Open Shank D0 26 Hihat Closed Shank D3 62
Crash 2 Bow D#0 27 Hihat Closed Tip D#3 63

Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number
Crash 2 Edge E0 28 Hihat 1/4 Shank E3 64
Crash 1 Edge F0 29 Hihat Closed Shank F3 65
Hihat Closed Tip F#0 30 Snare Hit F#3 66
Crash 3 Edge G0 31 Snare Side Stick G3 67
Hihat Pedal G#0 32 Snare Hit G#3 68
Ride 1 Bow A0 33 Snare Hit A3 69
Hihat Open Shank A#0 34 Snare Hit A#3 70
Kick Hit B0 35 Snare Rim Click B3 71
Kick Hit C1 36 Floor Tom 2 Rim Click C4 72
Snare Side Stick C#1 37 Floor Tom 2 Rim Shot C#4 73
Snare Hit D1 38 Floor Tom Rim Click D4 74
Snare Hit D#1 39 Floor Tom Rim Shot D#4 75

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 Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number
Snare Rim Click E4 76 Ride 1 Bow F7 113
Mid Tom Rim Click F4 77 Ride 1 Bell F#7 114
Mid Tom Rim Shot F#4 78 Ride 1 Edge G7 115
High Tom Rim Click G4 79 Ride 1 Bow G#7 116
High Tom Rim Shot G#4 80 Ride 1 Bell A7 117
High Tom 2 Rim Click A4 81 Ride 1 Choke A#7 118
High Tom 2 Rim Shot A#4 82 Hihat Closed Tip B7 119
Crash 1 Choke B4 83 Hihat 1/4 Shank C8 120
Crash 1 Bow C5 84 Hihat Open Shank C#8 121
Crash 1 Bell C#5 85 Hihat Closed Shank D8 122
Crash 1 Edge D5 86 Hihat 3/4 Shank D#8 123
Crash 1 Bow D#5 87 Hihat Open Shank E8 124

Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number
Ride 1 Bell E5 88 Snare Hit F8 125
Crash 2 Bow F5 89 Snare Rim Shot F#8 126
Ride 1 Bell F#5 90 Snare Side Stick G8 127
Crash 2 Edge G5 91
Ride 1 Bell G#5 92
Ride 1 Bell A5 93
Crash 2 Choke A#5 94
Crash 4 Choke B5 95
Crash 4 Bow C6 96
Crash 4 Edge D6 98
Crash 4 Choke D#6 99
Ride 1 Bell E6 100

Kit Piece Articulation MIDI Note MIDI Number

Crash 3 Bow F6 101
Ride 1 Bell F#6 102
Crash 3 Edge G6 103
Ride 1 Bow G#6 104
Ride 1 Bell A6 105
Crash 3 Choke A#6 106
Crash 3 Choke B6 107
Ride 1 Bow C7 108
Ride 1 Bell C#7 109
Ride 1 Edge D7 110
Ride 1 Bow D#7 111
Ride 1 Bell E7 112

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Trademarks and Licenses

BFD Drums is a trademark of inMusic Brands, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
macOS is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.
All other product or company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

bfddrums.com

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