Nektar Aruba Beat Composer and DAW Controller

Product Description

The Nektar Aruba pad controller and sequencer is an advanced performance instrument. The included Nektarine 2.0 software and drum library transform Aruba into a complete beat production solution. Reach for you favorite drum instrument plug-in (VST/VST3/AU) or start use the built-in DP-1 drum player, K1 Kick, S1 Snare and T1 Tom synth instruments for instant creative inspiration! Aruba gives you control of up to 16 different instrument plug-ins simultaneously using ultra-sensitive pads. Onboard DAW integration gives you control over Ableton Live, Logic, Reaper, Studio One, and more. The Aruba includes 16 user presets for storing pad and control assignments.

THE HARDWARE

Aruba’s hardware is all about realtime 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 realtime 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.

WHAT IS NEKTARINE?

Nektarine is a plug-in host that itself can be loaded as an AU, VST, VST3 or AAX plug-in (meaning it can run in virtually any current DAW). Start with the simple task of loading your favorite drum plug-in in Nektarine and map the pads to it’s sounds. From the Pad Setup menu on Aruba, just move the pot that sets the MIDI IN note until you hear the sound you want the selected pad to play. With the pads set up, save a multipatch in Nektarine. Both pads and plug-in settings are recalled next time you load it. But the fun really begins, when you make your own kits & sounds by combining multiple samples and plug-ins in Nektarine. Create kits with up to 16 different instrument plug-ins, 64 insert FX-plug-ins and an additional 4 send FX. All plug-ins instantly controllable. directly from the hardware!

You can even import your sample library and play the samples in Nektarine’s DP-1 drum player. And before we forget: Aruba includes a license for the Nektarine stand-alone application. This lets you create beats easily by sequencing your instrument plug-ins from Aruba, drum-machine-style: get groovin’!

• AAX, AU, VST or VST3 plug-in version and standalone application for OSX & Windows
• Load any VST, VST3 and AU instrument plug-ins
• DP-1 drum sample player included (supports AIFF and WAV files, up to 24 Bit / 192 kHz)
• 16 instrument plug-in slots
• Each instrument slot with choke, volume, pan, mute/solo, sends 1-4 controls
• 4 effect insert plug-in slots per instrument (AU / VST / VST3 FX)
• 4 send effect plug-in 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 plug-in patches + Nektarine Multi-Patches
• Browser Settings are remembered per plug-in slot
• Handles all pad-, plug-in- & patch-management with complete control from Aruba
• Control page editor for customizing Nektar plug-in 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

BUILT-IN DAW INTEGRATION

Aruba features a dedicated "DAW" button which, when engaged, allows you to use Aruba to select tracks, enable recording, control transport. The following DAWs are compatible:

• Ableton Live Suite
• Apple Logic and Garageband
• Bitwig 8-Track and Studio
• Cockos Reaper
• MOTU Digital Performer
• PreSonus Studio One
• Reason Studios Reason
• Steinberg Cubase and Nuendo

FEATURES:

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 aluminum 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

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 operationLatch automation on/off

PAD REPEAT ENGINE

• 8 adjustable real-time parameters including 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