Otto Review by Tej Gill

Fixed Noise OTTO

Fixed Noise OTTO is a sample library packed with sounds created by IDM (Intelligent Dance Music) and breakcore artist Otto Von Schirach. It offers over 4GB of material that includes construction loops, sequences, single hits as well as melodic sounds. OTTO uses Native Instrument’s Kontakt 2 Player to play back the samples and take care of editing duties.

Installation

There’s not much to the installation, except you must authorize (register) the library within 30-days, otherwise it will stop working. I installed under Win XP. In addition to the stand-alone version of the library, you can select which versions of the plug-in you would like installed, VST, RTAS, or DXi. Any one or all can be installed at this point. Registration is handled through Native Instruments and can be done on-line. You’ll have to install NI’s Service Center app, a small program that handles registration duties. It’s not that big, and helps keep track of all your Native Instruments registrations under one interface.

Get Set…

One of the first things you’ll want to do after installation and registration is to select your audio output device and assign an appropriate driver. This can be accomplished from the Setup Menu, where you can also make selections for your MIDI controller via the MIDI Tab. Back on the Audio Tab, you can also select the Sample Rate the sounds play back at (up to 96K) and show you the Output Latency, depending on your settings for your audio hardware. OTTO can be used with ASIO, Direct Sound, and MME, on the Mac you will use the Core Audio Driver. Sounds can either be triggered using an external controller or the on-screen keyboard of the Kontakt 2 Player.

Let’s Dig In…

Ok, enough formalities…let’s get into the kinds of sounds can you expect with this library. When the Kontakt 2 Player opens, you’ll see a list of nine Categories on the left, and once instruments are called up, they appear on the right. Here are the nine Categories, along with a brief description of each.

Construction
This category contains single shot sounds and sound effects. This category also contains drum kits, many of them. Black Metal Drums, Death Metal Drums, Hip Hop Underground and Jungle are just a few. You’ll want to also check out Video Game Synthesis in the category for some cool bleepy type sounds. These sounds come from the various loops and sequenced instruments in the library. This way, you can create your own loops and compositions, the way you want.

Performance
The Performance category is comprised of sounds that are in the Construction category. These can be played as loops and layered on each other if you wish. They also sync to the Master Tempo setting in the Player, or to your host. It’s handy to have the suggested tempo listed right in the Program name, of course, these are just suggestions. Some of the Programs can be used as soundscapes too, depending on the Effects and Filter settings you dial in. Each program has the loops laid out on the left and the individual hits on the right along the keyboard range, you can use these programs in a live performance setting and bang away on your controller.

Sequence
The third category in OTTO is the Sequence Category. These sequences are triggered by pressing any Key on your Keyboard. In some instances, Different Keys trigger a different sequence, sometimes they don’t. The great thing about these is they are editable so you can customize them to suit your needs. There’s a handy Randomize Button to help change things around a bit quickly.

Kontakt 2 Loops
In this Category, you’ll find a selection of loops that are made up of bounced sequences. It’s a great category to go to when you want to pull up some interesting loops quickly. They also sync to the Master/Host tempo.

Platinum Loops
Platinum Loops are similar to the Kontakt 2 Loops category, except they were created using an outside sequencer. These also sync to the Master/Host tempo.

Random & Experimental
These seem like they are pre-made sequences. The name says it best, as they are indeed random and experimental. Although you can’t edit the sequence of the sounds, you can use the effects and filters to vary them up a bit. There’s a large selection of programs under this category, so it’s easy to find something that fits well for your application.

Melodic Sounds
Sounds from this category are mapped out across the keyboard and can be played like an instrument. You can easily bang out melodies with these programs. In my opinion, these programs lend themselves well to created drones also and textures of sound, just layer them up and you’re good to go. Some of the programs don’t have loop points though, which means as you get higher up the octave range, the sample will abruptly end. I would have thought these should have been programmed with loops in them so they would sustain as long as the key is held down.

Cinematic & Sound Effects
This category is pretty self-explanatory. The go to place when you need a Laser Gun type of sound, a Door Slam, or perhaps a Metallic Crunch. The category also contains Cinematic textures that are done quite well. It’s easy to tell which type of program it is, since each program ends in either [SNDFX] or [CINEMA].

Surround
These are instruments created in 5.1 Surround. When loaded, you get a visual meter in the Player of each channel’s output. Unfortunately I was unable to test this group since I don’t have a 5.1 system. From what it appears, the Instruments are similar, or have been derived from the same loops and samples from the other categories.

The Kontakt 2 Player

OTTO uses the Kontakt 2 Player, from Native Instruments as the main interface. It’s a straight-forward interface, with buttons for the overall layout of the screen as well as options for the Kontakt 2 Player on the top row. There are also readouts for the number of MIDI notes being triggered, the size of the program that is loaded, CPU meter, and Disk activity. The interface can be customized to a certain degree, for example, you can click a button to make the on-screen keyboard appear/disappear.

The Outputs button brings up a mixer where you can adjust levels of the stereo outs, as well as drop in effects (Compressors, Reverbs, Delays, etc.). It also has an output for the 5.1 mix as well as the Aux Sends. You can add/delete channels as needed, I don’t think there is a limit, except maybe the one imposed by your CPU. So, you could route each instrument to it’s own output and effects – pretty sweet. With 14 effects and 19 filter types included, there’s quite a bit of mayhem that’s possible.

Below this, you’ll find the Tempo display, along with a knob to adjust it. A handy Tap Tempo button, a Metronome, a Master Tune knob, that can bring loops and samples in line with the key of your project, the Reference Tone can also be used along with the Master Tune knob to help bring out-of-tune samples back into line.

Below this section is where instruments can be loaded and triggered. You can load up multiple instruments and create a “Multi”. Each instrument’s settings for MIDI Ch., Output settings, Aux Sends can be set independently. There’s a handy Solo and Mute button on each instrument and you can collapse or expand the instruments in the rack also. You can load up to a maximum of 64 instruments in this manner, making for some quite elaborate Multis.

At the bottom of the screen is a 7-octave keyboard. It can be used to trigger samples directly from within the program.

The left side of the screen is dedicated to the file browser, where you can select instruments and load them up. There’s also a tab for Multis and in Info Tab that displays registration information, gives you the option to Update, access the NI Forums, and more. Directly above this are more tabs: User Instruments, User Multis (this is where you’ll find your creations). The Library tab displays all the Sound Libraries you have installed for the Kontakt 2 Player, so you could have multiple libraries installed and mix and match to create the perfect Multi.

There’s also a tab labeled Engine that shows you exactly what’s going on in terms of resources such as Memory and CPU Usage being used when a program is triggered. There’s also a Restart Engine Button should you need it.

The last tab is labeled Auto, this is where you can assign controllers fairly easily, for both Host Automation as well as MIDI Automation. When using OTTO as a VST or other type of plug-in, you would use the Host Automation tab. In stand alone mode, you would use the MIDI Automation tab. Setting up the connection is easy, work the control you’d like to use, drag the associated MIDI CC icon onto the function you want to use with it and you’re done.

I found the overall quality of the sound content of this library to be good. The sounds are nice and punchy, you won’t have a problem with them getting lost in the mix. The built in effects are also quite useful, you get a selection of reverbs, delays as well as different types of filters. Having an effects section built into the program allows this library to be even more useful in a live situation since you won’t have to rely on another application for effects.

While checking out this library, I learned that Fixed Noise announced a Hip Hop library with Teddy Riley, planned for later this year. If this library is any indication as to the quality of that, I can’t wait to check it out.

OTTO will no doubt get a lot of use in my compositions, in my opinion, it’s one of those libraries you can go to when everything else just sort of sounds the same. The sounds definitely jump out of the mix, and when used creatively can help set your productions apart from the pack. Depending on how you work, the sounds in OTTO can easily be used as starting points, or to add finishing touches to a track. If you need loops and sound efx to jump start your library, OTTO is your ticket.