What is the use of the USB connector?

USB MIDI and firmware updates (over USB MIDI, no driver needed in both Windows and Mac OS X)

How many MIDI channels does the DoubleDrummer need?

Only 1 channel to trigger all instruments.
The 12 instruments are mapped to different MIDI keys (more or less following the MIDI GM standard).

However, for full MIDI CC control, as the total number of parameters is higher than the number of available CCs, there is a special control mode that will accept CC’s on 2 different channels.

In addition to MIDI CC, the whole engine can also be controlled with NRPN.

What parameters can I control over MIDI?

Potentially all of them, please refer to the previous question

How many samples are there in the DoubleDrummer?

56: 8 kicks, 8 snares, 2 rim shots, 2 claps, 4 toms, 16 various percussions, 4 closed hats, 4 opened hats, 8 cymbals

Sound sources used for the factory bank: acoustic drums and classic drum machines

Depending on the sample slot, the sample length is either 0.25s, 0.5s or 1s, for a total of 24s sample memory

Can I use my own samples?

Yes, a software is available in Downloads section of the website, for Win 7+ and Mac OS 10.9+.

The sample player engine is optimized for drum hits, however do not expect crystal clear pristine sample playback, the process is not transparent at all (if you need this, use a computer).

Samples are stored in permanent memory (so yes they stay there when you turn it off, and there is no loading time) in a compressed format similar to the one used in the 80’s sample-based drum machines