Sensory Percussion 2 is not just another update––it's a conceptual overhaul. We went back to the drawing board, completely redesigning the logic of how sounds are built and applied to the drums. This new framework removes restrictions that music software typically places on the user, allowing for unprecedented freedom of expression.

And with all-new software, why not all-new hardware? We partnered with EVANS to upgrade our sensors with a sleeker design and added the EVANS Portal, an audio interface designed for seamless use with Sensory Percussion and all the I/O you'd want for the stage or studio.

Let's dig into some of the new features and changes…

Introducing the EVANS Portal audio interface

The new EVANS Portal is an audio interface made specifically for use with Sensory Percussion. It's designed to work seamlessly with the new drum sensors and it has as many inputs and outputs as as possible while still being portable.

Inputs:

• 7 sensor inputs (now 3.5 mm jacks!)
• 2 combo XLR/instrument inputs
• 2 ¼” line inputs
• and a built-in microphone

The new 3.5 mm sensor inputs are plug-and-play with the new sensors. No gain knobs to fiddle with and no heavy XLR cables to lug on tour.

Outputs:

• 2 headphone outputs (1/4" and 3.5 mm!)
• 4 1/4" line outputs
• ADAT out for an additional 8 channels of digital audio
• MIDI 5-pin out

More Sensors Means More Fun!

With Sensory Percussion V2 and the EVANS portal, you can use anywhere from 1-7 sensors at once! The sensors are also sleeker and more portable. Because the cable now comes out of the top of the sensor, you don’t even need a stand for your drum; you can put it right on your tabletop!

New Paths

Most music-making software (including Sensory Percussion v1) is built around audio channels, as opposed to musical ideas. Before you start the creative process, you have to choose the channel you want to work in.

So, it was a major turning point for Sunhouse when we asked ourselves, “What if we don't have to use this mixer analogy? When we write music, we're thinking of instruments and sounds, not channel strips, so why can't our software reflect that?”

Enter Sensory Percussion 2. We’ve drastically changed the old structure, severing the bonds that tied hardware to musical ideas. Kits are now built around the concept of sonic layers, which are completely untethered from your physical setup, allowing users to quickly distribute sounds across any number of drums or other control surfaces. Here’s a visual representation of a set of sounds in the old structure morphing into the new:

V1

• 4 inputs (drum 1,2,3,4)
• all sounds are tied to one of these 4 input channels
• sounds can't be shared across multiple inputs (have to be duplicated)
• sounds can only be controlled by a sensor input

V2

• unlimited inputs
• sounds exist independent of hardware inputs/outputs
• sounds can quickly be assigned to multiple inputs without being duplicated
• sounds can be controlled via sensors, midi devices, or any number of analog inputs like a synth, guitar, vocal mic, etc.

So what are the implications of this change on you as a musician? Let's go over some of them:

1. Music First, Details Later

In Sensory Percussion V1, the first question you're faced with before you start adding sounds is, “Which drum is going to play this?” In V2, this is no longer true. You can now create your sounds first and decide how you want to control them later. Then, once you do assign an input, there's no time lost if you change your mind. Rerouting inside the software is easy and quick!

2. More Options, Fewer Clicks

This new signal flow also allows you to make multiple connections per input. In V1, there are barriers between each input, so if you wanted to play the one chord sequence with both toms, you'd have to copy/paste all the samplers, controllers, and effects from drum 3 onto drum 2, which could be a bit tedious and would result in two sets of the same samples on two different drums.

In V2, however, you can see that the barriers between inputs are gone, allowing for one input to be applied to multiple sonic layers, and for one sonic layer to be controlled by multiple inputs. Now, you can connect a second tom to this chord layer in just two clicks; no copying/pasting necessary!

3. Mix Sounds, Not Hardware

This structural change also makes mixing easier. In V1, sounds could only be mixed according to what drum/zone they were assigned to. So, say you'd like to add some reverb to the chords on the rim of tom 2, but keep the percussive sounds on that zone dry and unaffected. In V1, this wouldn't be possible; any reverb you add to that zone will be applied to both sounds. In V2, however, you can put the chords on a separate layer from the percussion sounds (still being played by the same zone) and mix them independently. From a mixing perspective, this is much more intuitive; we make decisions based on the type of sound it is, not how it will be triggered.

We've Gone Modular

In addition to creating more flexible signal paths from hardware to software, we've also completely revamped the way that sounds are built inside the software itself. Just like the original version, Sensory Percussion 2 is centered around manipulation of audio samples, but it now uses a modular structure to open lots of new avenues for sound design. The word "modular" can mean a lot of things, but in this case, it means that every set can be broken down into smaller, interchangeable components, which in turn can be broken down into even smaller components, over and over until you get down to a single sample.

You can think of these components--or modules--like sonic LEGOs; each one be combined with others in a myriad of ways. These modules include samplers, effects, sequencers, note controllers, and many other devices that might sound familiar if you've used audio production software before. Many of these modules are nestable, which means you can really go crazy creating complex modular chains. Want to play a sequence of 10 sequencers, each of which cycles randomly through 10 different groups of samples? No problem. Want to create a bunch of your own velocity-sensitive synths from a single sample, and move from one to the other as you play from the center to the edge of the drum? We've got you covered.

So that all sounds great in the abstract, but what does it actually mean in terms of building kits? Well, let's look at an example from the our library:

Above, we have a sonic layer from a set named "Olduvai Gorge" in the Sunhouse library. It has 4 layers of various drums, percussion, and melodic sounds, but we're looking only at the "Chord Sequences"" layer. Moving from left to right on the screen moves from top to bottom of the modular chain, meaning the leftmost module is holding everything to right of it. So all the way to the right is a single sample, "Olduvai_note_C3_V2". This sample lives alongside three other instances of the same sample, each transposed to different pitches to create a Bmaj7 chord. These four samples are inside of a hit controller set to velocity, which allows you to move through them based on how hard you play. This "Bmaj7" hit controller lives alongside two other hit controllers with the same samples transposed to different pitches to create two more chords (BbMaj7/D and Dm7/F). The hit controller that holds these three chords is named "Chord 1 Variations," and it lives alongside 9 other chord variations. All 10 of these chords variations live inside of a sequencer, which is set to move to the next variation only when the rim of a certain tom is played. And finally, this sequencer lives inside of a drum pads controller, which allows it be assigned to different zones of a given drum (and not others).

With just this one layer, you can play through 30 different chords, all created from a single sample, and the whole thing can quickly be assigned to any zone of any drum you want. That's the power of modular structure!

Much, much more

This is just a taste of what's new in Sensory Percussion V2. If you'd like to get the full nitty-gritty, check out our new manual for V2. We'll be posting more in-depth looks at the new features in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!