The Soundpaint Editor
Using your own sounds in Soundpaint is easy! Just gather your desired sound files - any common format, bit depth, and sample rate will work - and open the Soundpaint Editor.
The Soundpaint Editor installs with the main Soundpaint engine, so if you have Soundpaint installed, you already have the Soundpaint Editor. If you don’t have Soundpaint installed, it’s free! Just download it from the engine tab of your account page.
You can launch the editor on its own, or click “User Sample Editor” from the menu in the main Soundpaint app.
Make the Part
Drag and drop your samples onto the keyboard. Move them up and down the range, stretch them across multiple keys, use the autofill functions from the edit menu - putting your sounds where you want them is simple in the Soundpaint Editor. For more details and tips on making instruments, you can check out our video walkthrough:
Add Tags
Before you generate the part, you will probably want to add tags. Click “Tagging Window” from the Window menu at the top of the Editor, and select any tags that apply.
The most important category here is “Instruments,” as this will determine where the part appears in Soudpaint. If nothing is selected, the part will appear in the “uncategorized” list of parts. If more than one is selected, it will only appear in the first one selected, although every tag will work if you are using the search bar in Soundpaint. In the example below, this part will appear in the “Drum” list.
Generate the Part
Now, here’s the hard part (don’t worry, it’s only 2 clicks and 2 big decisions).
When you’re ready to export your part into Soundpaint, click “Generate Part” from the file menu. A box will appear asking for a part name (big decision #1) and when you click the green save button, it will ask you to select a location to save the part (big decision #2). If you already named the part under “Part Name” in the top left corner, it will only ask you to select a location.
Note: The Save Project & Save Project as options will not export a part. You can use these to save your work in the editor so that you can continue editing the part later. These buttons will create .8proj files, which can be opened in the Editor to pick up where you left off.
Load the Part in Soundpaint
After your part is generated, you will find it in the parts list in the User directory. Click the User Library icon, then “Parts,” and you will find your sounds under the instrument the part was tagged with. Now you can add effects, more parts from the user or factory library, morphs - whatever you need to craft the perfect sound - and save custom programs!
If your new part is not appearing in Soundpaint, you can click “Manage Library & Part Directories” from the menu in the top left corner, double check that the folder where you saved the part is on the list of directories, and click “Full Rescan.”