Organization | Performance Tips | User Notes | Abbreviations

We divided the collection into a few major categories, the majority of the collection consisting of Sweeps, with the remainder divided between Lasers and Stabs, Textures, Arpeggios and Delirium.

A Sweep is a transitional sound that in most cases begins softly, then expands, building in intensity before reaching its apex, usually in conjunction with a significant change in the music, or the "transition point." A Sweep is a great device to use in dance music, adding excitement and drama to the track without interfering with the groove. We created several styles of sweeps ranging from resonant noise, to distortion fx, to "dark evolvers," in order to cover a vast variety of music styles. Of course the depth and complexity of many of these sounds lend themselves equally well to soundtracks or even new age music. We purposely intermingled all of these styles from program to program to help you avoid pegging certain sounds with specific styles. It goes without saying that experimentation is the key to being fresh!

Within the Sweeps category, you'll find Swell-Stop and Carry-Over sweeps each with long and short varieties. Short sweeps are typically four seconds or less in length while the long ones extend from three to nearly 30 seconds. Swell-Stops refer to sweeps which climax at or near the end of the sound and have a hard stop. Ideally, these should come to an abrupt end at the musical transition point. If the sound is 12 seconds long, then a Swell-Stop should be triggered about 12 seconds before the downbeat of the next section. Carry-Overs have a more ambiguous climax point anywhere from the middle to near the end of the sound, sometimes with a hard start, and usually with a soft fade at the very end. These are useful if you want to achieve a less abrupt change at the transition point by allowing them to "carry over" into the next section. Despite these categories, you will find Carry-Overs with abrupt endings and Swell-Stops with long ones. Again, audition and experiment. Look to the abbreviation table below to identify these categories in the disc directory.

Beyond the Swell-Stops and Carry-Overs, you'll find unique Percussive Sweeps and 32nd note-style Snare Sweeps, timed to specific tempos. Also look for a smattering of Reversed Cymbals for a traditional yet effective approach to transitioning.

Lasers and Stabs offer you a way to accentuate the downbeat of your next section with a few hard-start events great for Big Beat or Disco, or in the middle of a section to add interest.

The Textures can be divided into pitched and non-pitched categories. In this case, where there are pitched elements, we tried to map them on the keyboard (CD-ROM only of course) according to the tonal center of the sound. Try layering and staggering two or three pitch-related keys to create interesting variations.

The Arpeggios were created using various synthesizers' arpeggiators or built-in sequencers. These are mapped to C4 and are labeled by key and tempo. If you need to adjust the key of the arpeggio to match the key of your music, keep in mind that the tempo will also change as you go up and down the keyboard.

Delirium are metaphysical meanderings which are best left for mystics and psychoanalysts. But if you're of sound mind, enjoy your journey into "Lunacy" and "Madness."

On the CD-ROM, each volume contains one menu program containing several sampled sounds, each mapped to a different key. Menu program key ranges start from C3, stepping chromatically upward to as far as G5, depending on the number of samples in the volume. Each of these samples is then assigned its own program following the menu program. These single-sample programs can be played polyphonically if you wish, to create longer, larger, denser versions of the original sounds.

Timing the Sweeps

In this booklet, you'll find a listing of every sample, including the length of each sweep in seconds. Again, most of the Swell-Stop sweeps climax at or near the end of the sample. So if a particular swell-stop is 12 seconds long, it should be triggered around 12 seconds before the transition point. Most of Carry-Over sweeps continue to sound after their climax point and should be triggered closer to the music's transition point.

Triggering the sweeps at the right time can be a little tricky, since the musical mark you're trying to hit is anywhere from the middle to the end of the sample. So here's a little tip. After you have a feel for the tempo of the music, play your sweep and count the number of beats it takes to get from the beginning of the sound to the climax point. Then simply count that same number of beats in your music, backwards, starting at your desired transition point and trigger your sound there. For example, if you have a music change on beat one of measure 33 (33:1) and you want build up to it with the sound, "Arctic," count out how long it takes to get from the beginning of "Arctic" to the climax at your current tempo (in this case, about 11 beats at 122 BPM). The next time through, simply trigger the sound 11 beats before and including 33:1, which is 30:3 (in 4/4 time). Almost invariably, you'll want to adjust the timing a little to get it right on, but using this method cuts down on the guess work.

Of course, you may also pre-empt the sound by releasing the key at your transition point before the sound is finished playing.

You might also try layering two or more sweeps, triggering them so that they climax at the same point. This is a bit complicated since the lengths of two sweeps are never the same, but doing so can add a lot of depth and interest. Another trick is to play the same sweep in octaves. Time the upper octave first, then double that number of beats in advance of the transition point to trigger the lower octave.

Tempo adjusting

The arpeggios on TranceFusion may be tempo-adjusted simply by detuning them. Of course, this will also alter their pitch which will probably cause you to make tuning adjustments in your other tracks. In general terms, you may achieve one BPM change in tempo for every 22 cents you detune the sample. To get from 120 BPM to 122 BPM, for instance, you would adjust the tuning of the sample to around +44 cents. As with any loops, whether they're argeggios or drums, you should re-trigger them every two to four bars to ensure they stay in sync with your sequence.

If you're new to using CD-ROMs in your sampler, congratulations, and rest assured that it's very simple to do. Once you've used CD-ROMs, you won't go back! All you need is a dedicated CD-ROM drive for your sampler, preferably 4X or higher, and a SCSI cable. (It's best not to use your computer's internal CD-ROM drive.) Refer to your sampler owner's manual for details on connecting your equipment. You must also make sure your CD-ROM drive is compatible with your sampler. Most manufacturers provide a list of compatible drives on their web sites or via fax, or check out ILIO's web site for more details: www.ilio.com.

As a rule, we recommend you have at least 32 megabytes of RAM installed in your sampler. The majority of the current crop of CD-ROM titles have 32 meg programs which you won't want to miss.

CD-ROM users also receive the audio version convenient for Speed Referencing. Simply play this disc in your standard CD player to quickly audition the selections before accessing the programs off the CD-ROM. All of the sounds in the audio CD appear in the exact same order as on the CD-ROM.

UPGRADE: If you own the Audio CD of TranceFusion and would like to upgrade to the CD-ROM version, please contact ILIO at www.ilio.com.

If you have at least 32 megabytes of RAM installed in your sampler, we recommend you load each "Entire Volume" to easily browse through multiple sounds. Or if you prefer, find the sound you want on the audio CD and load just that program off the CD-ROM using the load "Cursor Programs and Samples" mode. Please refer to the listing below for the contents of both the CD-ROM and Audio CD. This volume has been tested successfully on Emu and Kurzweil samplers. Refer to your owners manual for tips on import loading Akai volumes.

This disc was optimized for use on a 32 megabyte S-760 and will work on the newest Roland samplers. It may be used with the S-750 and S-770 series samplers, but due to the sizes of some volumes and performances, it may be necessary for you to load individual patches instead of complete performances. Please refer to the enclosed separate directory listing for the contents of this disc.

Please refer to the "Read Me" file enclosed on the CD-ROM for specific information about this volume.

CD-ROM Term	Description
STOP or STP	Swell-Stops (described above)
OVER or OVR	Carry-Overs (described above)
MN	Menu program (described above)
SHRT	Short

Special Thanks to Greg Rule for the map, Bob and Mike at Brown Bag Productions for the buried treasure, Chris for the instinct, Shelly for the irrational impulses, John Lehmkuhl, Glen Darcey, Steve Berkley, Andrew (Tommy) Calvo and Earl Vickers at Bias, Andy Hildebrand at Antares, Joey Donatello, Klaus Kandler, our friends and cohorts: Eric and Lorey Persing, Ric and Tandy Wilson, Chris Hufford, the completely happening ILIO staff, Immanuel Kant, and our friends and colleagues in Sampledom, especially Spectrasonics, Best Service, Univers Sons, Time + Space, MIDIWare, Select International, and IK Multimedia.

From the day they opened their doors in 1994, ILIO has been committed to producing useful, timeless and inspiring sample libraries for musicians. Tapping years of experience in sound design and electronic composition, their knowledge of the quality demands of today's music scene is the driving force behind every title they release.