Music Factory

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 incredible plugin control.

The included Nektarine software and drum library turns Aruba into a complete beat making solution that works in any DAW. Use your favorite 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 next start working.

Aruba and Nektarine put a complete beat creation powerhouse at your fingertips. Best of all, Nektarine 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!

ARUBA HARDWARE OVERVIEW

Aruba’s hardware is all about real time access and performance: A host of controls ensures 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 color TFT display. 4 display buttons give access to additional 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 real time 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.

Then 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 are also MIDI-assignable.

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 analog pots offer 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 unlimited 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.

A PAD INSTRUMENT THAT RESPONDS TO YOU

ARUBA’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 needed.

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 a total of 16 distinct colors.

PAD REPEAT

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 real time parameters for groove and speed control – all right under your fingertips on ARUBA’s 8 potentiometers.

Looking for some instant Trap-style hi hat 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.

DRUM MACHINE-STYLE

STEP SEQUENCER –

WITH RECORD

The 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 allows you to 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 super 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.

BUTTON AND DISPLAY STEP INFORMATION

Every 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.

Real Time editing: 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. Simply 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.

HARDWARE

16 RGB color illuminated velocity- and pressure-sensitive pads
8 heavy duty potentiometers (360 degrees, endless)
TFT colour display with 320×240 px including 4 soft buttons
16 RGB LED buttons
8 Nektarine buttons for direct access to Patches, Mixer, Pad Setup, Plugins and more
6 mode buttons
7 Transport Buttons with LED illumination
Fully MIDI-programmable pads, switches and pots
16 Presets for storing all internal settings (not required when using Nektarine)
Rugged housing with aluminium top

CONNECTIONS

MIDI Out connector
1/4″ TRS footswitch socket (for up to 2 footswitches using optional Y-adaptor)
USB connector
PSU connector (PSU not included)
Kensington Lock connector

WEIGHT & DIMENSIONS

30,1 cm (L) x 23,1 cm (D) x 4,5 cm(H), 1,4 kg

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

USB class compliant (no driver needed)
USB Power Requirement: 500 mA
9v DC Power Requirement: 500 – 600 mA, center positive
ARUBA: works with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 or higher. Mac OS X 10.5 or higher, Linux (Ubuntu)
Nektarine and Nektar DAW Integration: Windows 8,10 or higher. Mac OS X 10.11 or higher

STEP SEQUENCER

Stores 16 Collections of 16 Patterns each
Each Pattern with up to 4 parts for a total of up to 64 steps
Dedicated programming interface with 16 RGB buttons and parts selection buttons
Real-time performance features (solo, mute, instant start options and more)
Trigger sequencer parts in any combination at any time
Independent settings per part (play rate, step length, velocity, accent, gate, swing and more)
Extensive editing features all the way down to step level
Internal and external clock operation Latch automation on/off

PAD REPEAT ENGINE

8 adjustable real-time parameters incl. note length, accent level and interval and repeat rate
Dedicated Repeat rate settings & activation buttons
Display soft button for instant assignment of pressure to velocity
Tap tempo feature
Internal and external clock operation

NEKTARINE

AAX, AU, VST or VST3 plugin version and stand-alone application for OSX & Windows
Load any VST, VST3 and AU instrument plugins
DP-1 drum sample player included (supports AIFF and WAV files, up to 24 Bit / 192 kHz)
16 instrument plugin slots
Each instrument slot with choke, volume, pan, mute/solo, sends 1-4 controls
4 effect insert plugin slots per instrument (AU / VST / VST3 FX)
4 send effect plugin slots (AU / VST / VST3 FX)
Pads View for easy kit overview and fast kit creation from the integrated Browser Pane
Mixer View for kit mixing
Store instrument & FX plugin patches + Nektarine Multi-Patches
Browser Settings are remembered per plugin slot
Handles all pad-, plugin- & patch-management with complete control from ARUBA
Control page editor for customizing Nektar plugin maps or creating new ones from scratch
Full parameter feedback: display updated in real-time
Scale and Chords mode for building tracks
Multi-Patch with Pad settings saved as ‘Default’ load as default – all browser settings can be saved with tags for slots tag ‘kick’, slot 1, etc.
Drum Sample Library with 500+ sounds and patches including acoustic, electronic and drum machine samples