B A S S S T A T I O N

BASS

STATIONAnalogUE Modelling

Synthesizer Plug-In

in music, anything is possible.nO

U S E R M A N U A L

Getting Started

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Editing sounds---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The BassStation’s panel(s) can be edited much like the hardware BassStation’s real panel - notquite as direct perhaps as reaching out and tweaking a knob but....

Simply move your mouse over the control you want to change. On the Mac, the cursor willchange to a ‘hand’ and on a PC, the cursor will change to a ‘cross-hair’ symbol. The selectedparameter and its value will be shown on the LCD:

Click on the control and move the mouse up or down. As the control is moved, the valuechanges in the display. When a parameter has been modified, an asterisk appears in the LCDnext the program number to indicate that the sound has been changed in some way:

If you write the sound to memory, the asterisk disappears.

Switches can be enabled / disabled simply by clicking on them and sliding them to the requiredposition. In the example below, it is clear that the RANGE is set to 8’ and the WAVE is set tosquare.

The LFO has a drop-down menu to select MIDI CLOCK SYNC.

Click and hold on these and make your selection by dragging down the drop down list andreleasing the mouse on the value you want to set.

Note : If you have a mouse that is equipped with a wheel, you can use this to great effect withthe panels. When the cursor is over a knob or slider, simply use the wheel to move it and set avalue - no need to click... just place the cursor over the control and scroll the mouse wheel.

The mouse wheel can also be used with drop down menus as well... place the mouse over adrop down and scroll.

Using the compare function-------------------- -------------------------------------------------After making any changes to a sound it may be useful to compare it with the originally storedprogram. This can be achieved using the COMPARE function:

To illustrate this, select any program and tweak the panel controls - move the filter, change anoscillator’s octave setting, whatever. Now click and hold down the COMPARE button. Thesound you will hear will now be the originally stored program. Releasing the COMPARE buttonwill switch to listening to the edited sound again. In this way, you can decide whether thechanges you have made are worthwhile or should be abandoned

Getting Started

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Writing a program------------------------------------------------------------------------------------If you make a change to a sound that you like, the chances are that you will want to keep it foruse later on. Sounds may be saved in any memory location. However, it is recommended thatthe user locations (41-99 ) are used early on for saving new sound creations if only to preventlosing the original factory presets (but if you are confident enough to overwrite the factorypresets with your own creations, feel free... it’s up to you to decide!).

All the BassStation’s 100 factory presets can be overwritten if desired. Once these factorypresets are overwritten, they may only be retrieved by performing a factory restore.

To actually save the sound, click on the WRITE button below the LCD. The display will promptyou to select a memory location:

If you want to over-write the existing sound, simply click on CONFIRM - the sound will be writtento the current location.

Note : The destination memory is always initially set to the currently selected program’snumber. Take care not to accidentally overwrite a treasured preset!

If you want to save the sound in a different location (thereby retaining the original sound in itsoriginal location), using the PROGRAM up/down buttons, select the destination memory andclick on CONFIRM.

To cancel the WRITE operation, simply click on WRITE again.

Renaming programs--------------------------------------------------------------------------------It also possible to rename programs in the BassStation. This is particularly useful if you havecreated your own sounds. To rename a program, simply click on the LCD – you will see acontextual menu:

Click on this to pop-up a name field:

Type in a name and press RETURN when you’re done.

Getting Started

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Loading and saving banks------------------------------------------------------------------------Most sequencer hosts allow you to load and save banks of sounds. This is useful if you want tocreate your own library of sounds and you could, for example, create a set of, say, ‘techno’sounds on your BassStation - these could be saved as a bank named “Techno”. You mightalso create a series of ‘vintage’ synth emulations - again, these could be saved as a bank called“Vintage”. Whatever... you can subsequently load all these sounds back into your BassStationat any time. In this way, you can build up your own private library of BassStation sounds. It’s alsolikely that banks of sounds will appear on the Internet which can be downloaded and used withyour BassStation.

You should consult your sequencer’s documentation for details on loading and saving banks.

Note : We have used the term ‘bank’ to describe a collection of sounds that can be loaded /saved on a plug-in. Different sequencers use different terminology for the same thing.

Notes about loading and saving----------------------------------- ----------------------------There are generally three ways to load and save items within your sequencer and to confusethe issue, different sequencers either deal with this differently and/or use their ownterminology for what is basically the same process!

At the top level, you can save your song. This will not only save the music you have recordedbut it will also save the current settings of the BassStation (and any other plug-in(s) you mayhave running). When you subsequently load that song, the BassStation’s sound(s) will also berecalled. Even if you have edited a sound, the edited version will be recalled when the song isopened again.

At the next level, you can save (or ‘write’) individual sounds to the BassStation’s ‘internal’memory. Thus, whenever you use the BassStation in any song, the sounds you have edited /created can be used in that song.

However, once you start building up lots of sounds of your own creation, you can save theseas a bank (or ‘preset’ or ‘setting’ or whatever it is your sequencer calls them) and these can beloaded into the BassStation quite separately from the song. To illustrate this, you could beworking on a song but can’t find the right sound. You can load a different bank of sounds intothe BassStation where you have access to 100 different sounds.

Some sequencers also allow you to save single sounds and these can subsequently beloaded into the BassStation at a later date.

Don’t be confused by all of this, however - most of the time, you will simply insert instances ofthe BassStation into your song, select sounds as required (maybe even tweak them to suit thesong) and then you’ll just save the song’s sequence file. When you load that song again, theinstances of the BassStation will be recalled along with the sounds you selected / edited. TheWRITE and SAVE / LOAD BANK (or whatever) options are more for building up a library of yourown sounds.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Elements of a sound-------------------------------------------------------------------------------To gain an understanding of how a synthesizer generates sound, it is helpful to have anunderstanding of the components that make up a sound, be it musical or non-musical.

The only way that a sound may be detected is by air vibrating the eardrum in a regular, periodicmanner. The brain interprets these vibrations (very accurately) into one of an infinite number ofdifferent types of sound.

Remarkably, any sound may be described by just three elements, and all sounds always havethem. They are :

* Volume* Pitch* Tone

What makes one sound different to another is the proportion of these three qualities initiallypresent in the sound and how these three terms change throughout the duration of thesound.

With a musical synthesizer, we deliberately set out to have precise control over these threeelements and, in particular, how they can be changed throughout the duration of the sound.These elements are often given different names: volume is sometimes referred to as amplitudeand/or level, pitch as frequency and tone as timbre.

PitchTaking the example of air vibrating the ear drum, pitch is determined by how fast the vibrationsare. For an adult human the lowest vibration perceived as sound is about twenty times asecond, which the brain interprets as a low, bass type sound and the highest is manythousands of times a second which the brain interprets as a high pitched sound.

Wave A

Wave B

If the number of peaks in the two waveforms (vibrations) are counted, it will be seen that thereare exactly twice as many peaks in Wave B as there are in Wave A. (Wave B is actually an octavehigher in pitch than Wave A). It is the number of vibrations in a given period that determines thepitch of a sound. This is the reason that pitch is sometimes referred to as frequency. It is thefrequency of the waveform peaks which are counted during a given period of time. Frequencyis expressed in Hertz (abbreviated to Hz). For example:

20Hz 20 Hz or 20 cycles per second

440Hz 440Hz or 440 cycles per second. This is also known as ‘concert A’ or ‘A-440’and is the pitch an orchestra tunes to. It is also the common tuning referencefor many other instruments.

1kHz 1,000Hz or 1,000 cycles per second

10kHz 10,000Hz or 10,000 cycles per second

Synthesis Tutorial

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ToneMusical sounds consist of several different related pitches occurring simultaneously. Theloudest is referred to as the ‘Fundamental’ pitch and corresponds to the perceived note of thesound. Pitches related to the fundamental are called harmonics (sometimes also referred to as‘overtones’) and these are multiples of the fundamental (i.e. x2, x3, x4, x5, x6..... etc.). Thenumber of harmonics and their relative loudness to the fundamental determines the tone or‘Timbre’ of the sound. Some waveforms contain both even and odd numbered harmonics (i.e.fundamental plus x2, x3, x4, x5... etc.), others contain only odd numbered harmonics(fundamental and x3, x5, x6, x7.... etc.). Some contain lots of harmonics (even and/or odd)whilst others only have a few.

Consider two instruments such as a clarinet and a trumpet playing exactly the same note atexactly the same volume. Even though the pitch and volume are identical, they soundcompletely different. This is because the trumpet is rich in even and odd harmonics whereasthe clarinet only contains odd numbered harmonics. Consider also a flute - another verydifferent tone. This is because a flute typically has very few harmonics. When a sound has a lotof harmonics, the sound will be bright; when a sound has very few harmonics, it will be mellowin tone.

However, tone is rarely static on most instruments and varies during the course of the note.Generally, sounds start off quite bright and, because higher harmonics have less energy, theytend to die away first followed by lower frequency harmonics - the result is that the soundgradually gets softer in tone throughout the note. Other instruments start off with fewharmonics but higher harmonics build up throughout the course of a note so that the soundgets gradually brighter. Tonal changes are often linked with level changes - i.e. the harder youhit, pluck, scrape or blow something, not only is it louder but it is usually brighter in tone.

VolumeVolume, which is referred to as the amplitude or loudness of the sound, is determined by howlarge the vibrations are. Think of a guitar string - pluck it softly so that it hardly vibrates and thesound will be low in level. Pluck it hard, however, so that it moves a lot and the sound will belouder.

In the diagram above, the waveform on the right is quieter than the one on the left.

However, volume is not a static element of a sound as it tends to change throughout a note’sduration. Consider the sound of a piano and, say, an oboe - the piano is initially very loud butdies away over time. The oboe, on the other hand, has a soft start but sustains during thecourse of the note (though not always). Other instruments’ amplitude varies in different ways aswell - some sounds start slowly (bowed instruments, for example) whilst other sounds ring onfor a long time after the note has sounded (a gong, for example). The way in which a soundvaries over time is known as the ‘envelope’ .

Synthesis Tutorial

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Putting it all together------------------------------------------------------------------------------Having shown that just three elements make up any sound, these elements now have to berelated to a musical synthesizer. It is logical that each element of the sound is handled bydifferent sections on a music synthesiser.

OSCILLATORS generate the basic waveforms which provide the pitch of the sound along withits raw harmonic content (tone). This passes into a section called the FILTER which isresponsible for further altering the tone of the oscillator’s basic waveform. It does this byremoving (filtering) certain undesired harmonics. Lastly, the filtered signal is fed into anAMPLIFIER which determines the final volume of the sound. The simplest synthesizer wouldlook something like this:

OSCILLATOR FILTER AMPLIFIER

However, additional synthesizer sections; LFOs (low frequency oscillators) and ENVELOPESprovide ways of altering the pitch, tone and volume of a sound by interacting with theoscillators, filter and amplifier. They introduce changes in the character of a sound that evolvethroughout the duration of the sound. Because the LFOs and Envelopes’ only purpose is tocontrol (modulate) the other synthesizer sections, they are commonly known as ‘modulators’. Amore advanced synthesizer might look like this and the controllers are shown in red:

OSCILLATOR FILTER AMPLIFIER

LFO ENVELOPE ENVELOPE

The oscillator generates the basic waveform but can be controlled (or modulated) from the LFOfor effects such as vibrato, etc.. The oscillator’s signal passes on to the filter where the basicwaveform can be modified further and the filter’s envelope can cause tonal changes to takeplace over time. Finally, the sound passes onto the amplifier where the sound’s volumeenvelope can be shaped.

The BassStation’s sound generating process is all based around these basic principles exceptthat it has two oscillators which can be mixed and combined in any number of ways to provide afar greater palette of raw waveforms than a single oscillator could ever produce. The oscillatorscan also be detuned to create a denser sound (consider the sound of a single violin comparedwith a string ensemble where several violins are playing together but all slightly detuned fromeach other).

These oscillators are then mixed together in a mixer and the output of this mixer passes to thefilter. The filter can be controlled by its own envelope but also by the LFO. The signal thenpasses through a final amplifier that can be shaped with its own envelope. Below is a verysimplified block diagram of the BassStation:

FILTER AMPLIFIERMIX

OSCILLATOR 1

OSCILLATOR 2

LFO ENVELOPE ENVELOPE

The various synthesizer sections will now be covered in more detail.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Oscillators---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The oscillator is really the heartbeat of the synthesizer. It generates an electronic wave (whichcreates the vibrations). This waveform is produced at a controllable musical pitch, initiallydetermined by the note played on a keyboard or other MIDI controller. The initial distinctivetone or timbre of the waveform is actually determined by the wave’s shape.

Many years ago, pioneers of musical synthesis discovered that just a few distinctive wavescontained most of the useful harmonics for musical synthesis. The names of these wavesreflect their actual shape when viewed on an instrument known as an oscilloscope. They are:

WAVEFORM WAVESHAPE HARMONIC STRUCTURE

F 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Sawtooth wave

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The sawtooth wave is probably the brightest sounding waveform of all and contains a widerange of odd and even numbered harmonics in equal proportion. It is good for a wide range ofsounds including strings, brass and more.

Square wave

F 3 5 7 9 11

The square wave is a very bright but hollow sounding waveform, not unlike the tone of aclarinet. It consists of a wide range of odd numbered harmonics.

On many synths (the BassStation included), it is possible to vary the width of the square wave:

The so-called ‘pulse’ waves at either extreme have a very different harmonic content to thesquare wave and sound ‘thinner’ and more ‘nasal’. However, because the pulse width is totallyvariable, the harmonic content of each variation in between the extremes also differs. If thepulse width is controlled by something like an LFO, a very vibrant and animated sound can becreated - this is called Pulse Width Modulation.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Another technique possible with the oscillators is that known as OSCILLATOR SYNC. Thissynchronises the outputs of two oscillators to create new waveforms.

Normally, when two oscillators are free running, they interact and the resulting waveform is an‘animated’, constantly evolving sound:

Oscillator 1

Oscillator 2

Mixed waveform

However, when two oscillators are synchronised, one oscillator’s waveform is constantly beingreset to the other:

Oscillator 1

Oscillator 2

Sync waveform

The result is a new waveshape with different harmonic components and the interval betweenthe two oscillators (and the waveforms selected for both oscillators) determines the harmoniccontent of the final waveform. Some very interesting new waveforms can be made in this wayand, used subtly, many digital sounding waveforms can be created.

However, by sweeping the frequency of the synchronised oscillator, many distinctive ‘syncsweep’ effects can be created that can sound like thick flanging - great for aggressive leadlinesand distinctive bass sounds.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Mixer-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To extend the range of sounds that may be reproduced, a typical analogue synthesizer oftenhas more than one oscillator. By using more than one oscillator when creating a sound, itpossible to achieve very interesting harmonic mixes. It is also possible to slightly detuneindividual oscillators against each other which creates a very warm ‘fat’ sound. The BassStationhas two independent oscillators which can be mixed and detuned.

For flexibility, a mixer section is usually included so that the level of each of the oscillators canbe adjusted independently and mixed together to form a harmonically complex waveform.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Filter------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The BassStation is an analogue subtractive type of music synthesizer. Subtractive implies thatpart of the sound is subtracted or removed somewhere in the synthesis process.

The oscillators provide the raw waveforms many of which have plenty of harmonic content andit is the filter that subtracts unwanted harmonics in a controllable manner.

The filter in the BassStation is a Low Pass type. A cut-off point is chosen and any harmonicsbelow that point are allowed to pass through unaffected and any above are filtered out. Thesetting of the FREQUENCY knob on the BassStation panel dictates the point below whichharmonics are removed. This process of removing harmonics from the waveforms has theeffect of changing the sounds character or timbre. When the FREQUENCY knob is set fullyclockwise, the filter is set completely open and no harmonics are removed from the rawoscillator waveforms:

Cutoff frequency

Here, all the harmonics pass through and the sound is very bright. However, as the control ismoved counter-clockwise, the cutoff frequency is reduced and the higher harmonics areremoved:

Cutoff frequency

In this example, all those harmonics within the shaded area pass through unaffected whilstthose above the cutoff frequency are removed and won’t be heard. With the cutoff set like this(i.e. about halfway), the sound will have mellower tone. As the cutoff moves down, so more andmore upper harmonics will be removed.

In practice, there is a gradual reduction in the volume of the harmonics above the cut-off point.How quickly these harmonics are reduced in volume above the cut-off frequency is determinedby the filter’s slope. This slope is measured in ‘volume units per octave’. Since Volume ismeasured in decibels, this slope is quoted in the number of decibels per octave (dB/Octave).Typical values are 12dB or 24dB per Octave. The higher the number, the faster the harmonicsare cut and the more pronounced the filtering effect.

12dB/Octave 24dB/Octave

Cutoff frequencyCutoff frequency

As you can see from the diagrams, the 12dB setting has a more gradual ‘slope’ than the 24dBsetting which is steeper and even though the CUTOFF is the same in both examples, moreupper harmonics are allowed to pass through with the 12dB setting than the 24dB setting.Some say that 12dB/Octave filters are ‘fizzier’ whilst the 24dB/Octave sett ing sounds‘punchier’ and more like the original analogue synths. The BassStation offers both types offilter slopes to be selected.

Synthesis Tutorial

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A further important feature of the filter is the RESONANCE control. Frequencies at the cut-offpoint are increased in volume by this control:

Cutoff frequency

As you can see, those harmonics around the cutoff frequency are actually boosted in levelwhilst all those outside the shaded area are removed. This is useful for emphasising certainharmonics of the sound and with increased resonance settings, sweeping the cutofffrequency up and down causes the filter sound to change from the normal ‘waa’ sound to amore distinctive ‘weeow’ as the individual harmonics are picked out and emphasised.

As the RESONANCE is increased, a whistling like quality will be introduced to the soundpassing through the filter. When set to very high levels, RESONANCE actually causes the filterto self - oscillate whenever a signal is being passed through it. The resulting whistling tonebeing produced is actually a pure sine wave, the pitch of which depends on the setting of theFREQUENCY knob (the filter’s cut-off point). This resonance-produced sine wave can actuallybe used for some sounds as an additional sound source if desired.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Amplifier and Filter Envelop es------------------------------------------------------------------In earlier paragraphs, it was determined how the pitch and timbre of a sound is synthesised.This final part of the Synthesis Tutorial describes how the volume of sound is controlled. Thevolume throughout the duration of a sound created by a musical instrument often varies greatlyaccording to the type of instrument.

Note on Note off

Level

Time

An organ sound (above) quickly attains full volume when a key on the keyboard is pressed. Itstays at full volume until the key is released, at which point the volume level falls instantly tozero.

Note on Note off

Level

Time

A piano quickly attains full volume when a key is pressed and gradually falls back down to zeroafter several seconds, even if a key is held.

Note on Note off

Level

Time

A string section emulation attains full volume gradually (i.e. it swells in gracefully with a slowattack) when a key is pressed. It remains at full volume while the key is held down, but once thekey is released, the volume level gradually falls to zero.

On an analogue synthesizer, changes which occur throughout the duration of a note arecontrolled by a section known as an Envelope Generator.

Note : On the BassStation, there are no controls in a section on the main panel which deal withthe amplifier directly. The only way to hear and control an audio signal passing through theamplifier is to modulate it by using Amp Envelope controls.

The BassStation has two envelope generators - one controls overall amplitude, the othercontrols the filter (amongst other things).

Each envelope generator has four controls which are used to adjust the shape of theenvelope.

Note on Note off

Level

Attack Decay Sustain Release

Synthesis Tutorial

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When controlling volume, these controls adjust the following phases of the envelope asshown in the illustration.

Attack time Adjusts the time it takes when a key is pressed for the envelope toclimb from zero to full volume. It can be used to create a sound with aslow fade in.

Decay time Adjusts the time it takes for the envelope to decay from full volume tothe level set by the Sustain control while a key is held down.

Sustain level Sets the level that the envelope remains at while the key is held down,after the decay time has expired.

Note : It is important to realise that the SUSTAIN parameter is a level control, not one that setstime like the other envelope controls.

Release time Adjusts the time it takes when key is released from the sustain level tozero. It can be used to create sounds that slowly fade away in volumeafter you have taken your finger(s) off the keyboard.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO)--------------------------------------------------------------Like the Envelope Generators, the LFO section on a synthesizer is a ‘modulator’. That is tosay, instead of forming a part of the sound generating process, it is used instead to modify(modulate) other synthesizer sections. For example, altering the oscillator pitch or filter cutofffrequency.

Most musical instruments produce sounds that vary not just in volume but also in pitch andtimbre. Sometimes this variation can be quite subtle, but still contributes greatly towardsshaping the final sound.

Where an Envelope is used to control a one-off modulation event which occurs during thelifetime of a single note, LFOs modulate by using a cyclic repeating wave pattern. As discussedearlier, oscillators produce a constant waveform which can take the shape of a repeating sinewave, triangle wave etc. LFOs produce waveforms in a similar way, but at a frequency normallytoo low to produce an audible pitched vibration that the human ear can perceive.

The waveforms generated by the LFOs may be fed to other parts of the synthesizer to createthe desired movements in the sound. A typical LFO will generate a variety of different controlwaveforms. These ‘look’ exactly the same as those we have seen with the audio oscillatorsexcept that, because their function is to modulate or control pitch, tone and amplitude, theeffect they have is very different. The usual waveforms are:

WAVEFORM WAVESHAPE

Triangle wave

The triangle wave will cause pitch to gradually rise and fall in accordance with its shape. Thetriangle wave is commonly used at a fairly fast speed (around 7Hz or a value of 75 on theBassStations LFO SPEED control) to create vibrato effects.

When applied to the filter cutoff frequency, it will cause the filter to gradually open (get brighter)and close (get softer). When the LFO speed is set quite fast, it can be used to emulate the‘tremolo’ effect of instruments such as flute. With extreme settings, it can create distinctive‘bubbly’ effects.

Sawtooth wave

The sawtooth wave will cause pitch to rise gradually and then drop suddenly. When applied tothe filter, the filter will open gradually then close suddenly. It is often possible to ‘invert’ thiswaveshape (i.e. turn it upside down) so that pitch falls gradually then rises abruptly and the filtercloses gradually and opens abruptly. Generally speaking, the sawtooth wave (and its invertedvariation) is used for special effects.

Random wave

Most synths feature a random wave. When fed to the oscillators, this will cause random,repetitive jumps in pitch and when fed to a filter, will cause random, repetitive changes in tone.Its most clichéd use is for creating computer effects but has many other uses besides.

Synthesis Tutorial

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Another common parameter found on LFOs is a DELAY control. This causes the controlwaveform to fade in gradually after a note-on is received:

Note on

Level

DELAY TIME

TIME

How is this useful? Well, with most instruments, vibrato is not always on - it tends to be graduallyintroduced during the course of a note. Think of a violinist or an opera singer - they start at acertain pitch and then gradually add vibrato. The LFO DELAY parameter allows us to simulatethis (although it must be said that vibrato effects are more naturally controlled with aperformance controller such as the modulation wheel).

Synthesis Tutorial

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Memories----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The first generation of synthesizers produced many years ago were large modular instrumentswhere each part of the synthesizer was housed in separate units (‘modules’). These modulescould only be physically connected together by combinations of cables (known as patch leadsor patch cords). A typical sound produced by this method would often involve connectingdozens of patch leads and every time a new sound was required, the leads would have to bephysically disconnected and reconnected. The positions and connections of the controlswould also have to be noted down on paper if there was to be any hope of creating thatparticular sound ever again!

However, it was discovered that nine times out of ten, a typical ‘patch’ (i.e. the collection ofmodules) followed the same signal path we have seen in this tutorial - i.e. oscillators into mixerinto filter into output amplifier with each of these controlled by a few envelopes and LFOs.Thus, manufacturers started making ‘hardwired’ synthesisers where everything was connectedtogether without the need for patch cords. This made them easier to use, less expensive andalso portable. However, it was still not possible to store sounds and control settings had to benoted down in order to re-create any sound. In fact, some synthesists would take Polaroidphotos of the panel(s) in an attempt to ‘store’ a sound’s settings!

Around 1977, however, someone had the bright idea of digitizing the front panel controls (i.e.have their position monitored by simple digital circuitry) and use a simple processor to storetheir positions in battery backed-up memory. As a result, patch memories were born andbecame a standard feature on all synths and it was possible to recall sounds with a simple pressof a button.

Originally, these programmable synths had only a limited number of memories (typically 40 orso) but as processors got better (and cheaper) and memory became cheaper and readilyavailable, manufacturers were able to allow more and more sounds to be stored in memory.

Summary-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------An analogue synthesizer can be broken down into five main sound generating or soundmodifying (modulating) blocks.

1 Oscillators that generate waveforms at a certain pitches.

2 A Mixer that combines the outputs from the oscillators together.

3 A filter that removes certain harmonics and which changes the tone or timbre of the sound.

4 An amplifier that is controlled by an envelope generator that alters the volume of a soundover time when a note is played.

5 LFOs and envelopes that can be used to modulate and control any of the above.

6 The combination of all the above can be stored in memories for later recall.

Much of the enjoyment to be had with a synthesizer is with experimenting with the factorypreset sounds and creating new ones. There is no substitute for ‘hands on‘ experience.Experiments with altering knobs and buttons will eventually lead to a fuller understanding ofhow the various controls interact and alter and help create new sounds.

Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Armed with the knowledge in this chapter, and an understanding of what is actually happeningin the machine when tweaks to the knobs and buttons are made, the process of creating newand exciting sounds will become easy.

In the next chapter, we’ll see how all this theory relates to the BassStation.

How The Controls Work

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BassStation main panel------------------------- -------------------------------------------------The BassStation’s MAIN panel is laid out like a conventional analogue synthesizer:

The design is based on the keyboard version of the BassStation and if you have anyexperience with that synthesizer, the BassStation will be immediately familiar to you.

The main panel houses all the main parameters associated with the creation and editing of asound. The sections are logically laid out to be representative of the signal flow (i.e. oscillatorsinto mixer into filter into amplifier). We will look at these in turn during this chapter.

How The Controls Work

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Oscillators---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The oscillators generate pitched waveforms (as described in the Synthesis Tutorial chapter) .

The controls that determine the pitch and waveform of the oscillators and how they react tomodulation are in this area.

OSC1 - MIX knobThis allows you to set the balance between the two oscillators. Fully counter-clockwise, you willhear only Oscillator 1. With the control set centrally, you will hear an equal mix of both oscillatorsand set fully clockwise, you will only hear Oscillator 2.

OSC 1 - WAVE switchUse this switch to select between sawtooth and square/pulse.

OSC 2 - DETUNE knobSets the detune amount in cents for the Oscillator 2. If it is set fully clockwise, the oscillator’spitch will be 96 cents sharper than its basic pitch, fully anticlockwise and it will be 96 cents flat.

Slight detuning between each oscillator will enrich the sound by introducing a beatingbetween the oscillators (in the same way a 12-string guitar sounds richer than a 6-string). Bassand lead sounds can be fattened up using a small amount of detune. Large amounts ofdetuning will lead to more extreme effects.

OSC 2 - SEMI knobRaises or lowers the Oscillator 2’s pitch in semitone increments up/down by a full octave. Bysetting the pitch of Oscillator 2 by differing amounts results in some musically pleasingintervals. Settings of 5 (a perfect 4th), 7 (a perfect 5th), 3 (minor 3rd), 4 (major 3rd), 8 (minor6th) and 9 (major 6th) offer the best results.

OSC2 - RANGE switchThis allows you to set the basic octave for Oscillator 2. The range is referred in ‘feet’, aconvention which comes from the length of organ pipes. An 8” setting is the same asOscillator1.

OSC 2 - WAVE switchUse this switch to select between sawtooth and square/pulse.

How The Controls Work

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OSC 1 / 2 MODULATIONThis section allows you apply modulation to the two oscillators. The controls are identical forboth oscillators. they are:

ENV knobSets the amount of pitch sweep from Envelope 2. With the control set at the centre (value = 0),no pitch sweep is applied. Set clockwise, the pitch will rise through the envelope’s attackphase and will then fall through the decay/release cycles. When turned counter-clockwise, theeffect is inverted (turned upside down)... pitch will fall through the attack and rise through thedecay/release).

LFO knobSets the amount of pitch sweep by the LFO. With the control set at the centre, no LFOmodulation is applied. With the control set clockwise, you will hear ‘positive’ pitch sweeps. Setcounter-clockwise, you will hear ‘inverted’ pitch sweeps. Consider modulation by the LFO’ssawtooth wave:

With the LFO control set clockwise, the pitch will rise slowly and drop suddenly. Set counter-clockwise, the control signal is inverted (turned upside down):

So, the pitch will fall slowly and then rise abruptly.

PULSE W knobThe function of the PULSE W knob is dependent on the selection made with the threeposition PWM switch to its right. With the MAN setting selected, the position of the PULSE Wknob will manually control the pulse width of the square waveform (of course, the selectedwaveform for the oscillator must be square wave for this to happen).

With the PWM knob in the central position and with the square wave selected, the wave is aperfect square wave and gives the characteristic ‘hollow’ quality not unlike a clarinet. As theknob is adjusted clockwise or anticlockwise, the pulse width becomes narrower producing whatis known as a Pulse Wave.

-63 0 64

A pulse wave has a different complement of harmonics and sounds thinner and more ‘nasal’and more like an oboe.

With LFO selected as the PWM source, the width of the pulse wave is modulated by anadditional fixed speed triangle wave LFO dedicated to pulse width modulation (not to beconfused with the main variable LFO on the front panel). The intensity of this modulation isdetermined by the PULSE W knob. With the PULSE W knob at the central position there is noeffect. Turning clockwise or anticlockwise introduces the effect. Continuous variations in thewidth of a pulse waveform constantly changes the harmonic content which is pleasing to theear, especially at lower pitches where all the associated harmonics fall within the audio range.This creates the classic PWM sound.

When modulated by the ENV2, pulse width is swept by Envelope 2. This is quite effective forcreating clavinet and harpsichord sounds as well as dynamic sounds where the harmonicstructure is changing throughout the course of a note. The effect is most apparent when usingfairly long Attack and Decay times.

How The Controls Work

25

Filter------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The BassStation’s filter is what is known as a ‘Low Pass’ type. This type of filter is musically themost useful for the majority of sounds, especially bass sounds at which the BassStation excels.

SLOPE switchControls how drastically the frequencies above the cutoff point are removed from the sound.

When the 12dB position is selected, the cutoff slope is gentle so higher harmonics are notattenuated (reduced in volume) as sharply as they are when the 24dB position is selected.

12dB/Octave 24dB/Octave

Cutoff frequencyCutoff frequency

Note : The 12dB filter authentically emulates the Roland TB303 ‘Bassline’ ™ synth. As such, ithas a limited frequency response that only extends to around 4.5kHz.

Also, when the 12dB position is selected, there is no keyboard tracking. That is, the cutofffrequency is constant regardless of the pitch of the note. This allows the BassStation toemulate the Roland TB303 ‘Bassline’™ quite effectively. In the 24dB position, gentle keyboardtrack is applied.

FREQ knobThis controls the basic cutoff frequency of the filter. Set fully clockwise, the filter is wide openallowing all frequencies (harmonics) produced by the oscillators to pass through.

Cutoff frequency

As the knob is turned anticlockwise, the filter closes, cutting out harmonics, starting with thehighest, then increasingly lower ones until only the fundamental (or nothing at all is allowed tosound - fully anticlockwise).

Cutoff frequency

Note : If there is silence when the VOLUME knob is turned up, it is most likely that the filter isfully closed. Turn the FREQ knob clockwise to open the filter.

How The Controls Work

26

RES knobThis knob controls the resonance of the filter. The control will boost frequencies at the cutofffrequency.

Cutoff frequency

On some synthesizers, this control is known as Emphasis since it will emphasise certainfrequencies. At the zero position (i.e. fully counter-clockwise) there is no effect. Turningclockwise slowly introduces the emphasis.

Set fully clockwise, the filter will begin to self-oscillate, producing a new pitched element (similarto feedback on an electric guitar).

Note : At least a small signal must be fed into the filter in order for the resonance to take effect.It is not possible for the filter to self - oscillate if no signal at all is fed into it.

If the BassStation produces a high pitched whistling sound, it is probably due to this knob isbeing adjusted too far clockwise. If this self-oscillating effect is not desired, keep theresonance control away from the extreme clockwise setting. Increasing the resonance is verygood for bringing out modulation (movement or change) in the filter cutoff frequency, such asin Acid bass lines and other very edgy sounds.

LFO knobControls the amount of change to the filter cutoff (set by the FREQUENCY knob) by the LFO.In its central position there is no change to the filter cutoff frequency.

Adjusting the knob clockwise from centre will introduce an increasing amount of positivemodulation - i.e. the filter will open and close at a rate set by the LFO’s SPEED control.

Adjusting the knob anticlockwise from centre will introduce an increasing amount of negativemodulation - i.e. the filter will close and open at a rate set by the LFO’s SPEED control.

ENV 2 knobControls the amount of change to the filter cutoff (set by the FREQ knob) by ENVELOPE 2.

In its central position there is no change to the filter cutoff frequency.

In the 24dB/octave setting, adjusting the knob clockwise from centre will introduce anincreasing amount of positive modulation - the cutoff will rise through the filter envelope’sattack and will fall through Envelope 2’s subsequent decay and release stages. Adjusting theknob anticlockwise from centre will introduce an increasing amount of negative modulation andEnvelope 2’s effect will appear to be ‘upside down’ (i.e. the attack stage of the Envelope 2 willforce the cutoff frequency down and the decay/release stage will cause the cutoff to rise or‘open’).

However, in the 12dB/Octave setting, the ENV control only has a positive effect. In otherwords, with ENV set fully counter-clockwise, there is slight envelope modulation and when setfully clockwise, there is full envelope modulation.

How The Controls Work

27

Amplifier and Filter Envelopes------------------------------------------------------------------The BassStation’s envelopes are used to shape a sound throughout its duration. ENVELOPE1 determines the volume of the sound with respect to its duration.

ENVELOPE 2 can be used to control other sound elements of the synthesizer throughout theduration of the sound. It can control oscillator pulse width, filter frequency and oscillator pitch.

Using the controls associated with the two envelopes, you can ‘shape’ the sound:

Note on Note off

Level

Attack Decay Sustain Release

ATTACK knobSets how quickly the envelope rises to its maximum level when a note is struck. Fullyanticlockwise and this rise time or slope is very fast increasing exponentially to twenty secondswhen fully clockwise. To shorten attack times, turn this control towards zero and to lengthenattack times, turn this control towards maximum.

Note : When the attack time is set to zero, the instantaneous rise time of the Envelope mayproduce audible ‘clicks’. This is not a faulty condition and may be useful for the creation ofcertain sounds (for example, ‘key clicks’ on organ simulations). If this is undesirable, increasethe Attack time until the clicks are inaudible.

DECAY knobSets how quickly the envelope falls to a sustain level after the maximum level has beenreached. Set to zero, this time is very fast increasing exponentially to twenty seconds when setto maximum. To shorten decay times, move this control towards zero and to lengthen decaytimes move this control towards maximum.

SUSTAIN knobSets the level at which the envelope remains following the Decay phase, only while a key isbeing held on a controller keyboard (or there is a MIDI Note On command present). When set tozero, the envelope will decay to zero without being interrupted. As the control is movedtowards maximum, the sustain level increases until, when at maximum, the sustain level is at itsmaximum level.

Note: When SUSTAIN level is set to maximum, the DECAY control has no effect - with sustainat full, there’s nothing to decay down to!

RELEASE knobSets how quickly the envelope falls from the sustain level to zero once the note has beenreleased. When set to zero, this time is very fast (instantaneous to the ear) increasingexponentially to twenty seconds when set to maximum. To shorten release times, move thiscontrol towards zero and to lengthen release times, move this control towards maximum.

How The Controls Work

28

VEL knobSets the envelope’s response to velocity. On Envelope 1, this affects how much amplitude willbe affected by your playing technique and on Envelope 2, it will affect the amount of filtersweep by Envelope 2 but also anywhere else Envelope 2 is being used (i.e. oscillator pitchand/or pulsewidth).

When set fully counter-clockwise, the BassStation’s velocity sensitivity is effectively disabledand it doesn’t matter how hard you hit your keyboard, each note will be the same. Set fullyclockwise, velocity sensitivity is at maximum - soft keystrokes will open the envelope less andhard keystrokes will open the envelope fully.

TRIG switchThis allows you to set various triggering options for the BassStation. The options are SINGLE,MULTI and AUTO.

Different monophonic synths over the years have used different triggering systems. Moog™(and other) synths used single triggering. With this, the attack/decay of the envelopes istriggered with the first note but, if that first note is held and another note is played, theattack/decay is not re-triggered and only the pitch changes through the envelopes’ sustainphase:

This triggering technique is actually closer to the way ‘real’ monophonic instruments are played.Consider the flute: the flautist doesn’t (usually) re-blow for every single note - he/she blows thefirst note but then simply continues blowing as new notes are played. So, the first note has adistinct attack but the rest don’t. Similarly other woodwind players, trumpeters, violinists and soon. The result is a more ‘fluid’ performance.

Of course, if every note is individually articulated, the attack/decay will be triggered for eachnote:

Other synths (ARP™ and others) used multiple triggering. With this, the attack/decay of theenvelopes is triggered every note regardless:

This option is useful if it is important that every note has a clear and distinct envelopearticulation.

How The Controls Work

29

The BassStation allows you to choose either SINGLE or MULTI and you can decide whichtrigger method is best for the sound you are working with.

The BassStation also offers another triggering option - AUTO. With this selected, triggering isof the single triggering type but, if a note is played and held and another note is played, thepitch will slide up or down to the new note (at a rate determined by the PORTA control... seelater).

This is very useful for certain instrument emulations (fretless bass for example) but also foremulating the ‘Slide’ effect of Roland’s TB303 ‘Bassline’™ synthesizer.

How The Controls Work

30

Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO)--------------------------------------------------------------The BassStation’s LFO produces regular electronic variations which are too low to be heard butcan be used to modify or control various elements of the sound such as pitch (vibrato), pulsewidth or filter cutoff.

SPEED knobControls the speed of the low frequency oscillations. An LED below the knob indicates thespeed. Faster speeds are set by turning the knob clockwise. These are suitable for vibrato andtremolo effects. Slower speeds are more appropriate for Pulse Width changes, slow filtersweeps or special effects.

DELAY knobControls how long after the note is struck the selected LFO begins to take effect. Fullyanticlockwise and the selected LFO effect will begin immediately. Turning clockwise will causethe LFO effect to fade in. The time of the fade in is dependent on the knob position. This isused for delayed vibrato and other effects.

SHAPE sw itchSelects the LFO’s waveform shape.

RDN Random. At a regular interval (governed by the SPEED knob), the level of theLFO jumps to a new random level and stays there until the next jump. Thiscreates a rhythmic effect particularly if routed to the filter cutoff. Routing this topitch gives a less musical result, but is useful for computer or machinery soundeffects.

TRI The triangle waveform gives the smoothest continuous change in level to theLFO. When routed to pitch, it introduces vibrato or a siren effect dependent ofits speed setting. When routed to filter cutoff, a ‘wow wow’ effect results.

SAW The sawtooth waveform generates a rising level which then jumps back up tozero level. Routed to the filter cutoff, it produces a rhythmic pulse effect.Routing it to pitch produces siren type sounds.

SYNCThe SYNC menu allows you synchronise the speed of the LFO to the sequencer’s MIDI clockat a variety of sync rate intervals:

OFF32nd T32nd16th T16th8th T16th D8th4th T

-2346891216

Manual rate32nd Triplet32nd16th Triplet16th8th Triplet16th Dotted8th4th Triplet

Menu Item MIDI Clocks Synchronised to

8th D4th2nd T4th D2nd1bar T2nd D1bar

1824323648647296

8th Dotted4th2nd Triplet4th Dotted2nd1 Bar Triplet2nd Dotted1 Bar

Menu Item MIDI Clocks Synchronised to

How The Controls Work

31

When the SYNC menu is set to OFF, the speed of the LFO is controlled by the LFO’s SPEEDcontrol and is totally free running independent of the sequencer’s tempo.

However, when set to any of the SYNC divisions, the LFO will run at a rate determined by thesync division. For example, if the sync division is set to 16th, the LFO will output its controlwaveform at 16 cycles per bar (i.e. one cycle for every 16th note). If set to 1 BAR, there will beone LFO cycle per bar.

When sync’d to MIDI clock, the LFO’s SPEED control is greyed out to show that it has nofunction:

Note : Many sequencers do not transmit MIDI Clock messages at all when they are stopped andso, when playing the BassStation when the sequencer is idle, if you play the BassStation, theLFO will have no effect.

How The Controls Work

32

Master section----------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------Although not labeled as such, this section on the far left of the panel houses certain ‘master’controls that affect the BassStation overall.

VOLUME knobThis control adjusts the overall output volume on the main master audio outputs. This controlcan be useful for preventing distortion on your sequencer’s mixer.

PORTA knobPortamento (sometimes known as GLIDE) is an effect where notes will slide smoothly from onepitch to the next. Normally, when you play, notes change pitch instantly as you would expect.However, with portamento applied, the notes will slide from one to another at a rate determinedby the PORTA control. This can be useful for simulating certain instruments such as fretlessbass, trombone, etc., but is also a rich source of synth sounds and effects not least of which, ofcourse, is an emulation of the famous Theremin.

With this control set to zero, when the keyboard is played, the pitches of notes changeinstantly from one pitch to another. Turning the portamento TIME control clockwise willincrease the time taken for the pitch of the one note to reach the next note played.

Note : When AUTO is selected in the envelopes TRIG switch, this control sets the glide timewhen mono legato playing techniques are used.

TUNE knobThis tunes the BassStation +/-50 cents (+/- half a semitone) and can be used to bring theBassStation in tune with other instruments.

SYNC switchThis switches oscillator sync on between the two oscillators. With this enabled, a wider range ofwaveforms and sounds can be created not least of which is the distinctive ‘tearing’ sync sweepeffect.

CREATING THE CLASSIC SYNC SWEEP EFECT.....

1 Switch OSC SYNC on2 Set the RANGE of OSC2 to 4’ or 2’ (set SEMI as required)3 Select the SQUARE wave on both oscillators4 Set the MIX control fully clockwise5 Turn ENV in the OSC2 MODULATION section to a positive (i.e. clockwise) position

(make sure there is no modulation for OSC1)6 Set ENV2 attack to 0, decay to 5, sustain to 0 and release to 07 Set FILTER FREQ to maximum (resonance to zero)

Play a note.

You should hear the distinctive ‘tearing’ sync sweep sound that is not unlike a thick flangingeffect. Try experimenting with the following controls to alter the sound:

ENV2 DECAY / MIX / OSC2 ENV mod / OSC2 SEMI

How The Controls Work

33

Controller Section------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------The controller section to the left of the keyboard contains a ‘virtual’ LCD, pitchbend and modwheels and program and octave UP/DOWN keys.

LCDThis allows you to see the selected program name and its number.

However, when you move the cursor over any knobs and switches, after a short delay, theparameter name and its value is shown on the LCD:

In this way, you can get a rough idea of control settings from looking at the knobs whilst theLCD shows the control’s values as your mouse ‘hovers’ over the control. However, if you adjustthe control, the value updates in the LCD allowing you to set precise values.

The LCD also shows other functions and sometimes prompts and other information underother circumstances. These are described and shown in the relevant sections of this manual.

PITCH CONTROLLER wheelsThese replicate the pitchbend and mod wheels (or equivalent) controllers on your keyboard.However, it is possible to adjust them with your computer’s mouse if you want. Please note,however, that any settings you might make with your mouse are overridden when yourkeyboard’s actual pitchbend / modwheel (or equivalent) controllers are adjusted. Thepitchbend and mod wheel graphics on the BassStation update in real-time as you manipulateyour external keyboard’s physical controllers2.

PROGRAM UP / DOWN leysThese allow you to select programs sequentially, ‘nudging’ through them one by one. Whenyou first try out your new purchase, this is a good way to familarise yourself with the sounds onoffer.

NOTE : It is also possible to select sounds more directly using your computer keyboard’snumeric keypad (more on this later in the section that describes the SETUP panel). You canalso select programs remotely from an external keyboard using MIDI program change.

OCTAVE UP / DOWN keysBy clicking on these keys, you can transpose the whole sound up and down in octaveincrements.

2 Depending on the speed of your computer’s CPU, there may be a lag (delay) between the actual

movement of your external keyboard’s controller and the BassStation’s graphic’s updating.

How The Controls Work

34

Program management-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Three buttons above the keyboard allow you to deal with saving programs. These are:

WRITE buttonAllows you to write any sounds you edit or create to the BassStation’s memory. Clicking on thiswill put a prompt in the LCD:

If you want to over-write the existing sound, simply click on CONFIRM - the sound will be writtento the current location.

Note : The destination memory is always initially set to the currently selected program’snumber.

If you want to save the sound in a different location (thereby retaining the original sound in itsoriginal location), using the PROGRAM up/down buttons, select the destination memory andclick on CONFIRM.

To cancel the WRITE operation, simply click on WRITE again.

Notes about editing programs

When you select a sound, you can start editing it immediately simply by tweaking the controlsand no special ‘edit’ mode is required. However, please note that if you do edit a sound, shouldyou then select another, by default, the edits you made to the previous sound will be lost.However, it is possible to overcome this: In the SETUP page, there is a preference - AUTOWRITE - which, when enabled, will automatically write programs to memory if another program isselected. By default, this is off.

With AUTO-WRITE enabled, selecting another sound will automatically write your editedversion before the next sound is selected.

CONFIRM buttonAs described above, the CONFIRM button is used to confirm the act of writing a program tomemory.

COMPARE buttonClicking and holding this button when editing a sound allows you to compare the original withyour edited version.

MIDI Reception--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The BassStation has an indicator that shows incoming MIDI data. This flashes whenever a MIDIevent is received.

If this LED does not flash when a note is played, there is a problem with MIDI reception.

How The Controls Work

35

The BassStation Keyboard---------------------------------------------------------------------The BassStation has its own 4-octave keyboard allowing it to be played without necessarilyneeding an external MIDI keyboard connected to your Mac/PC.

However, this keyboard is actually velocity sensitive!

By clicking on different areas of the keyboard, you can play a sound with differing velocitylevels. Clicking on the front of the note (i.e. the bottom of the keyboard graphic), high velocitywill be used; by clicking on towards the back of a note (i.e. towards the top of the keyboardgraphic), low velocity will be used.

001 pp

064

127

mf

VelocityLevel

ff

mf

001 pp

VelocityLevel

064

127 ff

mf

This is useful for checking (and / or creating / editing) sounds that use velocity when anexternal keyboard is not available for whatever reason.

The keyboard also has other unique ‘performance’ features.

If you press your computer keyboard’s SHIFT key while holding down a note on the keyboard,moving your mouse left to right does pitch bend and moving it up/down does mod wheel. Inthis way, you can use your mouse as a kind of joystick for pitchbend and modulation.

Also, on the PC version only, holding down the CTRL key allows the first held note to remaindown. This is very useful in many situations, For example, click on a note, press CTRL and nowyou’re free to use the mouse to edit the panels. Another use might be click on a note andpress CTRL - you can now click on another note to check, for example, portamento. No doubtyou’ll find your own uses for these unique features.

How The Controls Work

36

Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------That concludes our examination of the main panel. Armed with the knowledge you have(hopefully!) gained here and the Synthesis Tutorial, you should now be able to makemeaningful edits to any of the preset sounds on offer (or even create your own sounds fromscratch).

In the next section, we’ll look at some of the lesser-used (but no less important) functions ofthe BassStation.

Setup Panel

37

Setup Panel-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pressing the SETUP button will show this panel:

Just over half the panel changes to show not only some lesser used sound creationparameters but some options and preferences that affect overall operation of the BassStation.It’s in the SETUP pages as well where you can restore the factory presets and import / exportsounds from / to either a keyboard BassStation or a BassStation Rack module.

These are described over the next few pages.

Setup Panel

38

Modwheel / Pitch bend----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The FILTER control determines how much the mod wheel will open and close the filter’s cutofffrequency.

The PITCH control determines how much the mod wheel will control the depth of LFOmodulation (vibrato) to the two oscillators.

The PITCH BEND - RANGE control sets the range of pitch bend from the pitch bend wheel.The range is stepped in semi-tone increments (i.e. a value of ‘2’ is equal to two semitones,hence 1 tone of pitchbend). The maximum range is 12 semitones (1 octave).

Aftertouch---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These controls allow you to set how much aftertouch will affect volume, filter cutoff and LFOmodulation.

The ENV control determines how much aftertouch will affect overall volume.

The FILTER control determines how much aftertouch will open and close the filter’s cutofffrequency.

The PITCH control determines how much aftertouch will control LFO modulation (vibrato).

Breath---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much the same as the AFTERTOUCH controls described on the previous page, these controlsdetermine how much breath control will affect volume, tone and LFO modulation.

The ENV control determines how much breath control will affect overall volume.

The FILTER control determines how much breath control will open and close the filter’s cutofffrequency.

The PITCH control determines how much breath control will control LFO modulation (vibrato).

Note : The controls described above are stored as part of any sound that you edit/create andtheir settings are written to memory when the sound is saved.

Setup Panel

39

Preferences-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The PREFERENCES switches allow you to set certain options that affect the way you work withthe BassStation. They are:

POT CTRL switchYou can choose between two different types of controlling the knobs on the BassStation’spanels. With LINEAR selected, moving the mouse vertically up or down will cause the knob torotate. When ROTARY is selected, you should move the mouse round in a circle to rotate theknob.

AUTO WRITE switchThis option allows you to select whether loading external sounds into the BassStation will justbe stored in memory or actually written to the BassStation’s memory permanently.

When using your host sequencer’s LOAD PRESET function (or BANK or SETTING orwhatever the terminology is that is used by your sequencer), depending on the host, these willonly be loaded into the BassStation’s ‘local’ memory - to store them permanently, they need tobe written to the BassStation’s memory. This can be done manually, of course, but thispreference allows you to set the BassStation so that whenever a preset/setting/whatever isloaded, it will automatically be written to the BassStation’s memory.

You should consult your sequencer’s documentation for details about loading presets/banks.

Another use for this is for automatically writing sounds to memory when you have edited asound. Normally (i.e. AUTO WRITE : OFF), when you edit a sound, should you then select adifferent sound, unless you have specifically written the edited version to the BassStation’smemory, your edits will be lost. With this preference enabled, should you select another soundwhen editing, the edited version will automatically be written before the new sound is selected.

This sounds ideal - when you select a new sound, any edits you might have made to theprevious sound won’t be lost forever. Except.....

You might have edited a sound but made a right hash of it and it sounds worse than the originalyou started off with. So you select another sound - with AUTO-WRITE enabled, your abortiveedit will be written to memory thus overwriting the original sound!

So whilst it’s very useful to be able to auto-save your edits, you can cause problems for yourselfif you’re not careful.

NUMPAD switchThis preference allows you to enable program selection using your computer keyboard’snumeric keypad. With this enabled, programs can be selected by typing in a two digit number(00 - 99).

Note : Some sequencers use the numeric keypad for play, stop, locating and other functions.

Some sequencers allow you to re-assign these so that you can use the keypad for otherpurposes. Others, however, do not. If your sequencer doesn’t allow you to re-assign thenumeric keypad, you won’t be able to select programs numerically from your keypad. Youshould switch NUMPAD off.

Setup Panel

40

Memory-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

With these buttons, you can perform certain memory management functions.

RESTOREThe RESTORE button allows you to restore the factory sounds originally supplied with theBassStation. To restore the factory sounds, simply click on RESTORE - you will receive aprompt asking if you want to restore just the currently selected program or all programs. Selectas appropriate. You will receive a further prompt asking “Are you sure?” - click on CANCEL orOK as appropriate.

Note : The RESTORE process will completely replace the sounds you have in yourBassStation and there is no ‘undo’ function - please proceed with caution if you have createdand stored any of your own sounds as they will be lost if you proceed with the RESTOREfunction.

IMPORT / EXPORTThe BassStation allows you to import sounds from a keyboard or rack BassStation and export aMIDI file that can be used to dump your BassStation sounds into a keyboard or rackBassStation. The EXPORT function also allows you to back up your BassStation’s internalsounds and/or build up your own personal library of BassStation sounds.

To export, click on EXPORT. You will receive a prompt where you can name the file and alsoselect whether the file is compatible with the BassStation keyboard or the BassStation Rack.You can also navigate to where you want the file to be saved:

Select as appropriate and click on EXPORT. At the end of the process, you should havesomething like ‘export.mid’ or ‘moodbass.mid’ (or whatever) saved on your hard drive.

Repeat the process for the other programs.

To import a sound into the BassStation plug-in, first select the destination program you want tooverwrite on the BassStation plug-in. Now click on IMPORT. This will pop-up a typicalnavigation window. Select the file you want to import and click on IMPORT. After a short while,the BassStation plug-in’s ‘virtual’ LCD will inform you that the import completed successfully.

Please consult your hardware BassStation’s manual for details on importing sounds.

Appendix

i

Factory programs list------------------------------------------------------------------------------

75 Thin Pulse Bass76 Knuckles Lead77 Noughty Lead78 Sub Bass79 Takebreath Bass80 Stairway Bass81 Dr Who is it?82 Cheapkey Bass83 Get Serious Bass84 Epic Bass Bass85 WowTalk Bass86 Springit Bass87 Sussit Bass88 Dirtysink Lead89 Retro Bass90 Weeow LeadBass91 Broken Race Car92 Spinning Drunk93 Simple Pulse94 Inside Robot95 Porta Lead296 Sweet Lead97 Bounce Bass98 Bootit Bass99 Use it up Bass

Prog No. Name50 Single Osc Lead51 Sync Up Lead52 DnB Bass53 Porta Bass54 Sync Down Lead55 Q Lead56 Biaow Bass57 Interval Lead58 Do Stay Lead59 Organic Lead60 Velo Bend Bass61 Brassic Lead62 Log Bass63 Popsicle Bass64 Ripping Lead65 Gulp Bass66 70s Funk Lead67 Porta Lead168 Techno Bass69 Detuned Bass70 Click Sync Lead71 Squarobilly Lead72 LFO Swept Bass73 Square Bass74 Release Lead

Prog No. Name0 Moog Bass1 Wow 1 Bass2 Jacko Bass3 Soft Bass4 Electric Bass5 Birdland Bass6 Percussive Bass7 Eow Bass8 Power Bass9 Freakpower Bass

10 TB303 Autoglide Bass 11 Spit Sine Bass12 TB303 Eow Bass13 TB303 Square Bass14 Thud Bass15 Ambient Bass16 Trance 117 Trance 218 Spit19 Rainman20 Yazoo Lead21 Organ Bass22 Clavy Lead23 Puck Lead24 Lfo Filter Fade Bass25 Square Bass26 Wow 2 Bass27 Woweo Bass28 hard Sync Lead29 Square Porta Lead30 Sync 0 Lead31 Sync 1 Lead32 PT Power Lead33 Love Don’t'd Lead34 Duck Lead35 Clav Lead36 Whistle Lead37 Yaz 2 Lead38 Sync 3 Lead39 Resonant Lead40 Early Bass41 Fuzz Bass42 Ripe Bass43 Aftertouch Lead44 92 Lead45 Tinky Lead46 Subtle Bass47 Click Lead48 Blitz Kid Lead49 70s Funk Bass

All the factory programs can be overwritten with your own creations. If you need to get theoriginal’s back, use the RESTORE function described on the previous page (be sure to backyour own sounds up first though!).

Appendix

ii

MIDI Controller Mapping-------------------------------------------------------------------------

ModwheelBreathPortamentoMaster VolumeLFO speedLFO delayLFO sync rateOSC1 env mod depthOSC1 lfo mod depthOSC1 PWM mod depthOSC2 semitone tuneOSC2 fine tuneOSC2 env mod depthOSC2 lfo mod depthOSC2 PWM mod depthOSC1/2 mixer levelFilter LFO mod depthSustain pedalFilter cutoff frequencyFilter resonanceFilter env mod depthAmp env attackAmp env decayAmp env sustainAmp env releaseAmp env velocity modMod env attackMod env decayMod env sustainMod env releaseMod env velocity mod

1257

1617182021222324252627283564

105106107108109110111112114115116117118

CONTROLLER # FUNCTION