Preset Maker Releases

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The latest Preset Maker version is 1.3.0

Preset Maker Downloads

To update, simply quit the app and install the new version.

Release Notes

Version 1.3.0

The biggest update Preset Maker has had. Everything below is new since 1.2.4.

  • NEW
  • Sample Pack Importer. A new Import button opens a browser for whole folders of packs. Five source tabs: My Packs (your own folders), MPC Exp., Maschine, Splice, and Samples From Mars. Most tabs find where that software keeps its packs on their own, and you can point them somewhere else or reset them.
  • See what’s in a pack before you convert it. Every pack in the importer shows its real name, how many samples it holds, and how many multisample instruments Preset Maker expects to build. Packs that wouldn’t produce anything are collected in a drawer at the bottom instead of failing partway through a batch.
  • Real names for MPC Expansions. MPC installs Expansions under coded folder names, so Preset Maker digs the actual pack name out of MPC’s own catalog files and shows you that.
  • Preset Maker can read a pack’s own instrument files. If a pack ships .sfz instruments, MPC Keygroup .xpm programs, or MPC 3 .xty keygroup tracks, it uses the pack’s own key ranges, root notes, velocity splits, and loop points instead of working the mapping out from filenames
  • Option to skip .sfz files that use one sample. Some packs ship a tiny .sfz for every one-shot, which would turn into hundreds of single-note presets. Those samples go back into normal one-shot grouping instead.
  • Loop points carry through. Loops defined in a pack’s .sfz files, or embedded as markers in the WAV files, now show up in Ableton, MPC, Deluge, and SFZ presets.
  • Ableton presets are portable. New presets write their samples into a _Samples folder next to the .adv file, so a pack stays self-contained and can be moved or shared without breaking. Writing into your User Library is still there as an option.
  • Push 3 standalone. Transfer your output preset packs into the Push User Library and the instruments are available on Push 3 standalone.
  • Ableton preview files. Live can’t audition presets from the User Library, so Preset Maker saves a copy of each instrument’s C3 sample next to its preset. Click the sample and hear what the preset sounds like. Previews can sit beside each .adv or be kept together in a [Previews] folder.
  • No Threshold. Multisample presets are normally built when several files share a name and differ only by note. Tick No Threshold and one sample is enough, so a folder holding Bass C3, Bass D3 and Bass F3 becomes three playable presets instead of one bank of one-shots. The trade, noted beside the box: one-shot groups whose filenames carry note values are skipped, because those samples are being made into presets instead.
  • Keyword Groups are now One-Shot Presets, with their own preferences tab.
  • Keyword modifiers. Keywords now use the more advanced modifier system. Plain keywords behave exactly as they always did, so your existing lists keep working.
  • The built-in keyword list is about three times bigger. Vibraphone became Mallets Plucks and Bells, covering plucks, bells, glock, marimba, xylophone, kalimba, music box, celesta, chimes and tubular bells. Pads and Atmospheres is new: atmos, texture, soundscape, drone, ambient. Horns picked up woodwinds, Strings picked up orchestral articulations (pizz, staccato, legato, spiccato) plus harp and sitar, and Keys learned harpsichord. Longer keywords match first, so the most specific category wins.
  • Start MPC One-Shot Presets at C0. Puts MPC one-shot presets at C0 regardless of the Starting Octave setting, matching how MPC pads are laid out. On by default.
  • One-Shot and Loose notes play fully. Each sample plays all the way through instead of stopping when you release the key, so 808s, crashes and risers keep their decay. Currently applies to SFZ presets, with other formats to follow.
  • Reports. Turn on Create Reports on the Troubleshooting tab and every run writes a pack_report.log next to each set of presets, plus one overview log for the whole batch.
  • Where your presets went. After a run you get a short list of where each format’s presets were saved, one row per format that produced something, each with its own “don’t show this again”.
  • Folder Paths tab. Your output folder and your Ableton User Library in one place. Click a path to change it, click the folder icon to reveal it in Finder or Explorer, and reset any row to its default. The first time you make Ableton presets, Preset Maker shows you the User Library location it found and lets you confirm or change it.
  • Update notifications. Preset Maker tells you when there’s a new version, and the dialog lays out what’s in the release section by section, with Skip this version, Update later, or Update now. Dismissed it? The arrow next to the version number brings it back.
  • Rebuilt License Info window. Shows your license nickname and how many of your activations are in use, and lets you deactivate a computer you no longer use.
  • Send Support Files. Builds a single zip with your logs, your settings, and what your machine is running. It’s in Preferences on the Troubleshooting tab, and in the right-click-the-logo menu on the main window alongside Send License Log and shortcuts to your logs and config file.
  • Redesigned interface. Updated main window and Preferences reorganized into tabs.
  • IMPROVEMENTS
  • Ignore basic counting. “Kick 1, Kick 2, Kick 3” is no longer read as MIDI note numbers and mapped to the very bottom of the keyboard. Those sets stay one-shots.
  • Note names written octave-first (3C) and flats (Bb2) are recognized.
  • Names that glue a number and a note together, like “Omni Double10A”, are read correctly as chromatic multisamples.
  • When numbers really are MIDI notes, each file is mapped by its own number rather than by its position in the list, so a gap in the numbering no longer shifts everything after it.
  • A period in the middle of a name no longer hides the note after it. “Pad v1.5 C3.wav” and “Loop [143.37] C.wav” are mapped now, where before they were left out for having no note in the filename.
  • Two samples that would produce the same output filename get their parent folder name added as a prefix instead of one overwriting the other.
  • BUG FIXES
  • Deluge one-shot and loose presets now transpose to the correct pitch, confirmed on hardware, and Deluge multisample zones pick the right sample per key range.
  • MPC preview files no longer go missing when the first sample needs a folder prefix.
  • Maschine Expansions save their Ableton presets into a Maschine Presets subfolder, and a trailing “Library” is stripped from pack names.
  • MPC Expansions installed across two drives no longer count empty placeholder files as content, so the importer reports what a split install actually holds.
  • Preferences save correctly after a Reset.
  • The settings file is now config.json. Existing settings are migrated automatically the first time you launch.
  • Many more small bug fixes

Version 1.2.4

  • Javascript error bug fixed.

Version 1.2.3

  • Registration fixes

Version 1.2.0

  • MANY more naming conventions are now accepted! (Samples from Mars and more)
  • Presets now have wider range of notes.
  • Sub octave notes are properly handled (these used to sometimes mistakenly go to the Loose group).
  • MPC previews now use a middle range note instead of first note in filename list.
  • Deluge presets are organized into folders to adapt to the firmware update. 
  • Fixed bug with underscores in filenames not being accepted. 
  • Fixed bug with Beatmaker note transposition. 
  • Loose groups now have an adjustable threshold of minimum samples. 
  • Note filter is now ignored for Maschine keyword presets (improves keyword presets).
  • Added an alert when presets are complete. 

Version 1.1.0

  • Can now process filenames that are ordered by MIDI numbers but don’t include note names. Packs like Samples From Mars and others that follow this naming convention can now be processed.
  • More than twice as many text fields for one-shot keywords are available (in the preferences).
  • More default keywords for Maschine one-shot folders, such as “Licks” and “Chords” etc, are included in the default preferences.
    • (Note: Your current preferences and keywords will remain in place when you install the update. To benefit from the new Maschine keywords you can enter them manually from the list in the screenshot below. OR you can simply “reset” the preferences. But remember to redo any changes you made, as this will reset all your prefs.
  • Ableton presets now have a small amount of velocity scaling to help with realism.
  • MPC instrument presets now use a larger range of notes
  • Some MPC instruments would use a root of a lower semi-tone and pitch it up a semi-tone. Although nearly impossible to notice, this bug has been fixed. 
  • Better labeling and wording of messages and alerts. 
  • Multiple sample packs can be imported via the import browser now.
  • Various minor improvements