This page lists a number of Frequently Asked Questions and the answers to these questions.
For more information on using Hydrogen please read the manual and check out the tutorial video's (both can be found under the Documentation tab)
If you cannot find an answer to your question in the FAQ, Manual or Video's your best bet is to post it on the forum.
Q: How do i install a new drumkit ?
Q: i'm using Windows and i cant install a new drumkit, why is that ?
Q: I have connected my midi controller/drum to Hydrogen but i hear no sound. What's wrong ?
Q: Can i change the tempo in the middle of a song ?
Q: How do I mute a sound ? (eg choking the open hihat sound)
Q: The pads of my midi drum/controller don't map to the right sound, how can i fix this ?
Q: Can i sell MP3 songs (on line) that i have created with Hydrogen ?
Q: How do i cut/copy/move/delete a part of a song ?
Q: How do i create / change / import / export a drumkit ?
Q: How do I install Hydrogen on my Mac ?
Q: Tempo changes are lost when i export a song, why is that ?
Q: How do i install a new drumkit ?
A: You can download drumkits via the soundlibrary manager or by hand. The soundlibrary manager is accessible via the "Instrument" menu. After choosing "Import soundlibrary" you can update the server-list and install your favourite drumkit. If you already downloaded a .h2drumkit file, you can install via the soundlibrary dialog, too. Switch to the "Local file" tab and then choose the desired file.
Q: i'm using Windows and i cant install a new drumkit, why is that ?
A: Check what version you have installed. Installing drumkits using this procedure does not work in 0.9.4. You should upgrade to the most recent version (0.9.5 or higher). Get your installer on the Download page.
Q: I have connected my midi controller/drum to Hydrogen but i hear no sound. What's wrong ?
A: First check if the midi from your drumkit reaches Hydrogen : each time you press a key on your controller the 'MIDI-IN' led in Hydrogen should light up. If this is not the case there is probably something wrong with your midi routing. Check your Jack-midi routings, or if you are not using Jack, check if you have selected the correct midi driver, input (your controller) and the channel. These settings can be changed via Tools - Preferences - 'Midi System' tab. To start it's best to set the channel to 'All'.
Keep in mind that Hydrogen uses a fixed midi-mapping (more info in the manual) so if your controller is sending a note that does not match with an instrument in your drumkit, you will hear no sound. You can use a tool like KMidimon to check the midi messages coming from your controller. If the notes don't match you will have to change the midi mapping on your controller to match Hydrogens's mapping.
Q: Can i change the tempo in the middle of a song ?
A: Yes you can : click the 'BPM' button (just below the transport control buttons) and the BPM timeline next to this button will be enabled. Now you can add a 'BPM marker' by clicking the BPM timeline where you want the tempo to change. Enter the new tempo in the popup and click OK. You can edit the BMP marker by clicking it again.
Q: How do I mute a sound ? (eg muting the open Hihat sound when the closed hihat sound is triggered)
A: Use a 'mute group' to do this. Under the General tab of the instrument editor you can set the mute group that the instrument is a member of. If 2 or more instruments are members of the same mute group they will mute each other. So if the open hihat sound has been triggered it will be muted as soon as the closed hihat sound is triggered.
Q: The pads of my midi drum/controller don't map to the right sound, how can i fix this ?
A: Hydrogen uses a fixed midi input mapping. You can however rearrange the mapping by simply dragging an instrument from your drumkit up/down in the drumkit list. The position of the instrument in the list determines the midi note that this sound is mapped to : position 1= note 36, pos2=37 ...
Q: Can i sell MP3 songs (on line) that i have created with Hydrogen ?
A: Hydrogen and the main h2-sound libraries (which you can download from the Source-forge server) are under GPL2/GPL/CC license. This means that you can use these for free in your own work and sell the music that you have created with it. If you are using other sound libraries (commercial or 'found' on the www somewhere) you _must_ read the license agreement carefully before using it in a song that you want to sell.
Also keep in mind that the MP3 format itself is not free. More info here http://www.mp3licensing.com/
Q: is there a pattern generator available in Hydrogen ? (that can create a hip-hop, waltz, rock ... pattern)
A: No, Hydrogen does not have such a feature, but you can easily import existing patterns via Project > Open Pattern. If you search the forum you might bump into some people that have created some patterns and have made these available on their own site.
Q: How do i cut/copy/move/delete a part of a song ?
A: First make sure you have enabled the 'SelectMode' 
- Delete : select the area of the song you want to delete and hit the Delete button
- Move : select the area of the song you want to move and simply drag it to it's new location
- Copy : select the area of the song you want to move and Ctrl-drag it to it's new location
- Cut : there is no real cut (as in Ctrl-X) option. Instead used the Move/Copy action
Q: How do i create / change / import / export a drumkit ?
A: All these questions are addressed in tutorial no 5 on the Video page
Q: How do I install Hydrogen on my Mac ?
A: You can download the Mac installer (.dmg file) form the download page. For more info about installing a .dmg check out this page.
Q: Tempo changes are lost when i export a song, why is that ?
A: This is a known limitation in the 0.9.5 (and below). Maybe this will get fixed in a next release (not in 0.9.6). The current workaround is to record the output of Hydrogen using an audio recording app like Ardour, Qtractor ...
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