EMPIRE BREAKS Explained®

In this hour-plus video course, studio expert Thomas Cochran "breaks" down Native Instruments' EMPIRE BREAKS, an inspiring old-school virtual percussion instrument fueled by a large collection of vintage-sampled grooves and drums. You'll learn how to customize kits, work with patterns (including designing your own), use macros, and more! These videos are for new EMPIRE BREAKS users.

To begin the course, Thomas introduces you to the interface and shows how to load snapshots and employ some basic editing. Then, it's on to the Kit window, where you're able to customize your kit with different drums and manipulate them in various ways. You'll also learn how to swap drum samples inside the preset snapshots - perfect for when you only need a minor tweak to make a pattern work for your track.

Next up, explore the world of patterns, as Thomas demonstrates how to select, play back, and arrange them to suit your needs. You'll discover how to create your own MIDI patterns based on the preset loops and more. Then learn how to further manipulate your sounds with the use of built-in effects (insert, group, and send), such as flanger, distortion, filter, limiter, etc.

Thomas also shows you how to make effective use of macros, which allow you to make quick, sweeping adjustments of multiple parameters with one stroke. To wrap things up, follow along as he demonstrates how to completely customize a kit for production, including swapping drum samples, adjusting effects, and more.

The EMPIRE BREAKS video descriptions on this page will provide more information on the contents of each EMPIRE BREAKS video lesson and further elaborate on how you'll be able to craft memorable beats with this phenomenally fun virtual instrument. If old school is your thing, you don't want to miss this... watch “EMPIRE BREAKS Explained®” today!

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I enjoyed this introduction to Empire Breaks. After watching this series, I feel much more familiar with the plug-in, which is actually quite different from most other instruments in the Play Series, which is what makes this course such valuable viewing. The fluctuation in Tom's mic volume was a little off-putting at times, but this was not a major issue.

I had owned Empire Breaks for months but never really got deep into it. I loved the individual samples and patterns, but I knew there was more. This course shows the full potential of the product. The instructor goes under the hood and really shows you how to customize the kits and make the sounds your own. His teaching style is in-depth but easy to follow. A+ Course!

In a few lessons you get an overview of the possibilities of Empire Breaks. The possibilities to edit the sounds the kits and the patterns are endless.

I am a: Hobbyist, Musician, Producer, Beat Maker, Sound Designer, Ableton Live, Cubase