DCAM Synth Squad Operation Manual

7/31/2019 DCAM Synth Squad Operation Manual

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Contents5 Credits

5 About this manual

6 1: Introduction6 1:1 Welcome to DCAM: Synth Squad

6 DCAM:SynthSquadataglance

6 Anoteoneects

7 1: Shared aspects o all instruments

8 1: Interace basics8 Loadingpresets:presetpickers

8 OtherPresetpickercontrols

9 Presetbrowser

10 Controllingparameters:initialvalues(Mainview)

10 Finecontroloverparameters

10 Controllingparameters:TransModmodulationdepths

11 TransModslots

11 Rotaryselectorsanddrop-downmenus

11 Numericaltext-boxes

11 Buttons

11 IndicatorLEDs

1 Parametercontextmenu

1 Snapping/unitoptionsortuningandltercutocontrols

1 On-screenkeyboardandperormancecontrollers

1 2: Strobe1 :1 Overview

1 Strobehighlights

14 : Oscillator section

14 Oscil latorcontrols

14 Waveormmixingcontrols

14 PulseWidthcontrols

14 Directmodulation

15 : Filter section

15 Filtercontrols

15 Directmodulation

16 :4 Amp section

16 :5 Other unctions

17 :6 Modulation17 Gateablemodulators

17 Glide

17 Keytracking(modulationromkeyboardpitch)

18 :7 Strobe signal ow

19 3: Cypher19 :1 Overview

19 Background

19 ProgrammingwithCypher

0 : Oscillator section

1 : Shaper section

:4 Filter section: shared controls

:5 Filter section: individual controls or flters 1 &

:6 Amp section :7 Other unctions

4 :8 Modulation in Cypher

4 Gateablemodulators

4 Glide


4 Oscil latorsasLFOs

4 BeatingratesasLFOs

5 :9 Cypher signal ow

5 Oscsection

6 Shaper-Filter&Ampsections

7 4: Cyphers oscillators in detail7 4:1 Introduction to audio-rate modulation

7 Basicsoaudio-ratemodulation

7 Audio-ratemodulationimplementations

7 4: Frequency modulation

8 OscillatorFMinCypher9 FilterFM

9 EnvelopesandLFOs

9 Programminghints

0 4: Wave modulation

0 ContinuouswaveshapeoCyphersoscs

0 Audio-ratewaveormmodulation

1 4:4 Audio-rate sample and hold

1 Usingaudio-ratesample&hold

4:5 Variable-depth oscillator sync

Mainusesooscsync

Variable-depthoscsyncinCypher

4 4:6 Beat detune

4 UsingtheBeatcontrol

4 BeatratesasTransModmodulators

4 Usagewithotheroscillatorunctions

5 5: Amber5 5:1 Overview

5 Divide-downsynthesisexplained

5 Implementationsodivide-downsynths

5 Stringsynthsinpopularuse

6 Amber:thenextstepindivide-downsynthesis

7 5: Master tuning controls

7 5: Synth section

7 Paraphonicoscillatorcontrol

7 Filterstage(polyphonicmultimoderesonantlter)

8 5:4 Ensemble section

8 Paraphonicoscillatorcontrol

8 Formantlterstage8 5:5 Ensemble section chorus stage

9 5:6 Mixer / Amplifer stage

9 5:7 Perorm controls

40 5:8 Other unctions

40 5:9 Modulation

40 Paraphonicarchitectureandpolyphonicmodulation

40 Gateablemodulators

41 SynthandEnsembleEnvelopes

41 Glide


4 5:10 Amber signal ow

4 6: Common synth unctions

4 6:1 Arpeggiator (Strobe and Cypher only)4 Ar peggiatorandLFO

4 ArpeggiatorandKeyingcontrols

4 Arpeggiatorcontrols

44 6: Keying controls

45 6: Glide controls

45 6:4 Settings

46 6:5 Preerences panel

46 Oversampling

46 Per.Controls(Perormancecontrollers)

46 Managingsettings

47 6:6 Visualizer scope

47 LockingandunlockingtheScope

47 Parametervaluedisplay

47 6:7 FX versions o synth plugins

48 6:8 MIDI Learn and host automation48 MIDILearn

49 Hostautomation

50 6:9 Program change panel

50 UsingthePCpanel


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51 7: Modulation51 7:1 Introduction to modulation in DCAM: Synth Squad

51 TheTransModsystemexplained

5 7: TransMod system overview

5 Mainview

5 TransModSlotviews

5 BasicTransModsystemoperations

5 Scaling

54 7: Using the TransMod system

54 Settinginitialvalueocontrols(Mainview)

54 Finecontroloverparameters

54 SettingTransModmodulationdepths

55 Managingmodulationwiththeparametercontext-menu

55 ManagingTransModslotswiththeslotcontextmenu

55 Mouseoverindicatorsandslothighlighting

56 LoadtoModSlot

57 7:4 Velocity and Perormance controllers

57 Velocity

57 Perormancecontrollers

58 7:5 Gateable modulators

58 Typesogatingbehaviour(Gateparametersettings)

59 Envelope

60 LFO

61 Ramp

6 7:6 Glide, voices and unison

6 Glide6 VoicesandUnison

6 7:7 Tracking the keyboard

6 Pitchkeytracking

6 Keyboardzones

64 7:8 Summary o TransMod sources

64 Monophonicsources

64 Monosourcesub-menu

65 Persourcesub-menu

65 Polyphonicsources

65 Polysourcesub-menu

66 Randomsourcesub-menu

67 Synthsourcesub-menu

68 8: Fusor68 8:1 What is Fusor?

68 FuseMod

68 8: Interace Overview

68 FusorLCD

69 Macrocontrols

69 Editpagebuttons

69 Editworkspace

69 Keyboardandperormancecontrols

69 Statusdisplay

70 8: Global page

70 Deviceandpresetpickers

70 EditandPowerbuttons

70 MIDIchannels

71 Synthchannels

71 AuxFX,Mixer&MasterinsertFX7 8:4 Input device pages

7 KeyMappage

7 MonoModpage

7 Animatorpage

74 8:5 Synth channel pages

74 Synth1,Synth2andSynth3pages

75 FX1,FX2andFX3pages

75 8:6 Aux FX and Master FX pages

75 AuxFXpage

75 MasterFXpage

76 8:7 Fusor FX suite

76 Overview

76 Eecttypes

78 X4QuadFX

80 8:8 Modulation in Fusor

80 FuseMod

80 Devicesthatcanbemodulated

80 UsingtheFuseModsystem

80 FuseModmodulationsources

81 UsingFuseModmodulationwithinsynthsTransModslots

8 8:9 Animator: global controls

8 Architectureoverview

8 Presetpickers

8 Engineselector

8 Enginetype

8 Clocking8 Importantnoteaboutclockingandtriggering

8 DrivingdeviceswithAnimator

84 AnimatorGrapheditor

84 Graphlanes

85 AdvancedenginetypeGraphmodulation

86 8:10 Animator: Arpeggiator engine type

86 Destination

86 Arp/Seqsection

86 Graphssection

86 Triggeringsection

87 UsingtheAdvancedenginetypeasanarpeggiator

87 8:11 Animator: Note Sequencer engine type

87 Destination

87 Arp/Seqsection87 Graphssection

88 8:1 Animator: Modulation Sequencer engine type

88 Destination

88 Graphssection

89 8:1 Animator: Advanced engine type

89 Introduction

89 UsingtheAdvancedenginetypealongsideothertypes

89 Destination

90 Patter nmemories

90 Graphosetcontrolsandmodulation

90 Triggeringsection

9 Arp/Seqsection

9 KeyInputsection

9 OctAdvancesection

94 8:14 Fusor signal ow

95 Appendix 1: Standalone application & plugin usage95 Usingthesynthstandaloneapplications

95 I/OSettings

96 UsingSynthSquadasRTASpluginsinProTools7.x

96 UsingSynthSquadasAUpluginsinLogic7.2orlater

96 UsingSynthSquadasAUpluginsinLogic8

97 UsingSynthSquadasVST/AUpluginsinAbletonLive

97 UsingSynthSquadasAUpluginsinDigitalPerormer

97 UsingSynthSquadasVSTpluginsinCubase4

98 UsingSynthSquadasVSTpluginsinSonar

98 UsingSynthSquadasVSTpluginsinFLStudio

98 UsingSynthSquadasVSTpluginsinReaper

99 Potentialproblems

100 Appendix 2: Strobe flter modes

101 Appendix 3: Cypher waveshaper modes

10 Appendix 4: Fusor Overloud Breverb algorithms10 BreverbHall

10 BreverbInverse

10 BreverbRoom

10 BreverbPlate

104 Appendix 5: Host automation parameters104 Strobe

105 Cypher

107 Amber108 Fusor


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Credits

DSP Programming AndrewSimper

Additional Programming AngusHewlettSteveBakerPaulChanaSKoTMcDonaldCalebReach

Project Co-ordination SteveBakerRhiannonBankston-Thomas

Interace Design AlexAkersSteveBakerAngusHewlett

Artwork/Packaging Design RusBrockman

Web Programming AndreasSchnetzler

Manual/Copywriting MayurMaha

Video Production RoryDow

QA RobBantinAndrewVernon

Preset design and QA PeterModSlotwinski

Support RyanSellersRoryDowAlexVolmerAndrewVernon

Artist Relations ClareOBrien

FXpansion USA TerryHardinDanielWilkinson

Preset design

PatchenPrestonKickfipDJSubjectDaveBlakelyBobuleMichalGarstecki

JanisChanFrancescoSilvestriDanielStawcyzkRoryDowAngusHewlettPeterModSlotwinskiTasmodiatasmodia.comRaphaelS.electric-himalaya.comBrianLeexenossoundworks.comDerikWhitedustedwilliamsounds.comSoundsDivinesoundsdivine.com

Beta testing

MarkWilliams,SeanAhern,AndrewCapon,RobertSeir,AshleySmith,MikaelAdle,MurrayMcDowall,JordanChillcot,ChristopherReis,AndyReaburn,AnthonyWebster,PaulSureno,AndrewShantz,JoostGransjean,ScottMcGrath,KrisGiampa,RoyQueenan,AndreasBeisler,AliceBernier

www.fxpansion.com

About this manual

Itisbeyondthescopeothismanualtoullyexplaineveryconceptosynthesisindetail.

AlotobackgroundinormationisgiveninorderoryoutoullyunderstandDCAM:SynthSquadseatures,butsomepriorknowledgeosynthesisandaudioprocessing/mixingunctionsisassumed.

Suggested urther reading

TheSoundOnSoundmagazinearticlesdatabaseincludesanexcellentresourceosynthesisinormation,particularlythecomprehensiveSynthSecretsseries.Therearealsoarticlesonmixing,eectsprocessingandotherrelevanttopicswhenusingDCAM:SynthSquad:

http://www.soundonsound.com/articles/Technique.php

Thereisalsoanexcellentbookaboutsynthesisavailableorreeviewingontheweb(orasadownloadablePDFle),calledAdvancedProgrammingTechniquesorModularSynthesizersbyJamesJ.Clark.ItiswrittenortheNordModularDSPsynthesisenvironment,butitsinormationisrelevantorallkindsosynthesis,nomatterwhatequipmentyoureusing:

http://www.cim.mcgill.ca/~clark/nordmodularbook/nm_book_toc.html

Printing this manual

Fullpermissionisgrantedtoprintthismanualorpersonal,non-commercialuse.
http://www.tasmodia.com/http://www.electric-himalaya.com/http://xenossoundworks.com/http://www.dustedwilliamsounds.com/http://www.soundsdivine.com/http://www.fxpansion.com/http://www.soundonsound.com/articles/Technique.phphttp://www.cim.mcgill.ca/~clark/nordmodularbook/nm_book_toc.htmlhttp://www.cim.mcgill.ca/~clark/nordmodularbook/nm_book_toc.htmlhttp://www.soundonsound.com/articles/Technique.phphttp://www.fxpansion.com/http://www.fxpansion.com/http://www.soundsdivine.com/http://www.dustedwilliamsounds.com/http://xenossoundworks.com/http://www.electric-himalaya.com/http://www.tasmodia.com/


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1: Introduction

1:1 Welcome to DCAM: Synth Squad

DCAM: Synth Squad at a glance

DCAM:SynthSquadcontains4individualdevices:

Strobe

souped-upperormancesynthdesignedoreasyprogrammingoclassicsubtractiveanaloguesynthsounds

centredaroundasimple1-oscillatorarchitectureincludesabuilt-inarpeggiator

Strobeisinstalledasaninstrumentandasaneectorprocessingaudiothroughitscircuit.

Cypher

3-oscillator,complexsynthFMandotheraudio-ratemodulationseveralotherspecializedoscillatorunctionsadual-lter/waveshaperarchitectureabuilt-inarpeggiator

Cypherisamorechallengingenvironmentorprogrammingiyourequireatraditionalanalogue-stylesound,youllachievequickerresultsusingStrobe.

Cypherisinstalledasaninstrumentandasaneectorprocessingaudiothroughitscircuit.

Amber

classicstringsynthesizermodelwithdivide-downoscillatorstructureconstantlygeneratesthenotesora96-notekeyboardrangewithinasinglevoice3vintagechorusmodelsandaormantlter

Amberisinstalledasaninstrumentandasaneectorprocessingaudiothroughitscircuit.

Fusor

Fusorisanenvironmentor:

layeringsynthsapplyingFXprocessingstep-sequencingperormingmodulationbetweenthevariousloadedelements

Fusorisinstalledonlyasaninstrumentpluginitcannotbeusedasaneectorprocessingexternalaudio.

A note on eects

Noneotheindividualsynthseaturebuilt-inaudioeects,withtheexceptionoAmberschorus,whichisessentialorastringsynthesizer.Youmaywonderwhywetookthisdecision.Thereareacoupleomainreasons:

1.Classicanaloguesynthesizershavenoproblemsoundinggreatwithoutanyeects

2.WewantedthesynthsinDCAM:SynthSquadtosoundequallygreatwithoutrelyingonanyeects

However,werealisethateectedsuper-patchesarevalidintheirownright.ThisiswhereFusorcomesinitincludesanextremelyversatilesuiteobuilt-ineects,aswellasacomprehensivewayomodulatingthem.Ieectsarevitaltoyou,weencourageyoutousethesynthswithinFusortosee(andhear)whatspossible.


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1:2 Shared aspects of all instruments

DCAM: Discrete Component Analogue Modelling

DCAM:SynthSquadhasbeenbuiltbyaccuratelyanalysingandmodellingreal-worldcomponentsandcircuitsoundinvintageanaloguesynths.

Asaresult,dontexpectastandardcleanVAsoundromthesesynthsyouwouldnevergetperectwaveshapesonarealVCO-basedanaloguesynthesizer.

Whatyoucanexpectisasetometiculouslycratedsynthesizerinstrumentsthatsoundtrulyaliveinawaythatisveryrareinthedigitalworld.

Voices, Unison voices and polyphonyEachothesynthswithinDCAM:SynthSquadeaturesanidenticalapproachtosynthvoicesandunison.

Thesesettingsresultin4-notepolyphony,witheachnotebeing2stackedvoices.

StrobeandCyphereatureaclassicpolyphonicarchitecturetoachieve2notepolyphony,orexample,2wholemonosynthsareeectivelyplayedtogetherattherelevantpitches.

Youcanconsidereachothesemonosynthsasavoice.

Additionally,youcansetupunisonvoicesinordertostackmorethan1voiceoreachnoteopolyphony.Thisisaclassictechniqueusedinanaloguesynthesistoachievehuge,atsounds.

Unisonvoicesaretakenromthetotalavailablevoices.Thetotalpolyphonyis:

voices unison voices

Ambersarchitecture,likeanyclassicstringmachine,isdierenttoaclassicpolysynth.Itprovides96simultaneousnoteswithinasinglevoice.However,multiplevoicescanbeusedorprogrammingmoreunconventionalsounds.

TransMod modulation

CommonbetweenalltheDCAM:SynthSquadinstrumentsisthemodulationarchitecture,calledtheTransModsystem.Whiletherearesomehard-wiredmodulationroutingsinthesynths,youwillneedtousetheTransModmodulationsystemtoperormmoresophisticatedsynthprogrammingunctions.

Bydeault,noTransModslotisselected,andMainishighlighted.Inthisstate,onlytheinitialvaluesoparameterscanbeadjusted.

FirstTransModslotselectedcontrolscannowsetanddisplaymodulationdepthsawayrominitialvalues.

Mainviewselectedonlytheinitialvalueoallparametersisshown.

Clickingononeothe8TransModslotschangesthecontrolssothatyoucansetamodulationdepthoneachothem.

FusorincludesaslightvariantonthesystemcalledFuseMod,whichallowsvariousdeviceswithinFusor,includingsynths,tomodulateeachother.ItoperatesinaverysimilarwaytotheTransModsystem,andisdescribedinsection8:8.

Perormance controllers and MIDI Learn

DCAM:SynthSquadeaturesastandardizedsystemormanipulatingparameterswithMIDIcontrollers.

PerormancecontrollersaredesignedtoallowyoutohaveaccesstoyourmostimmediateMIDIcontrollersacrossallpresets.TypicalperormancecontrolsincludeModulationWheel,Atertouch,Breath,Expressioncontrollersandsoon.

DCAM:SynthSquadalsoprovidesaMIDILearnsystem,whichallowsyoutomapanyMIDICC#toanyparameter.


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1:3 Interface basics

Loading presets: preset pickers

PresetnameLoadto

ModSlot

PreerencesToolsmenu

Savepreset

Presetbrowser

Prev/Nextpreset

Audiostreamindicator

MIDIindicator

TheinstrumentsinDCAM:SynthSquadhaveastandardizedpresetselectionsystem.Thereare3waysobrowsingthroughpresets:

Clickingonthepresetnamedisplaysadrop-downmenuoallavailablepresets.Clickonanypresetinthemenutoloadit.

Drop-down preset menu

Clickonthepresetnametodisplayasimpledrop-down

listoavailablepresets,arrangedbystyles.

Inordertoaccessallavailablepresets,hoverthemouseovertheredup/downarrowsatthetopandbottomoeachsub-menu.Thecontentsothesub-menuscrollup/downtorevealmorepresetsitheyarepresent.

Prev/Next preset buttons

Thesebuttonsprovideaquickwayofickingthroughpresetssequentially.

Preset browser

ClickontheBrowse...buttoninthepresetpickertolaunchthepresetbrowser,whichletsyoubrowsethroughpresetsin-contextseebelowormoredetails.

Other Preset picker controls

Save preset

ThisbuttonlaunchesasystemSaveAs...dialog,directedattheuserpresetlocation,Itisrecommendedtosaveyourpresetsintothisoldersothattheyareeasilyaccessiblewithinthepreset-loadingunctions!

Savingapresetwiththerelevant2-letterprex(orexample,BAorbasses)resultsinitappearingintherespectivecategorysub-menu.

Theuserpresetlocationis:

/FXpansion//Presets

Tools menu

TheToolsmenucontainsitemsorlaunchingthepresetbrowserandSaveAs...dialog.ItalsoeaturesCut,CopyandPasteunctions,whichcanbeuseulortranserringthecurrentpresettootherinstancesothesynththatarecurrentlyopeninyourhost.

Preerences

ClickthisbuttontoopenthePreerencespanel,whichisdiscussedinsection6:5.

Load to Mod Slot

ThesynthpresetpickerscontaintheLoad to Mod Slotbutton,whichoersanadvancedunctionorusewiththeTransModsystem.Seesection7:3ormoredetails.

Audio stream indicator

Thisindicatorlightsupithesynthreceivesanaudiostream.Theindicatorshouldbelitithesynthisoperatingproperlyin

yourhostsaudioengine,orwithinthestandaloneapplicationiavalidaudiointeraceisselected.MIDI indicator

ThisindicatorlightsupwhenanyMIDIeventinputisreceived.


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Preset browser

Thepresetbrowserallowsyoutobrowsethroughpresetsin-context.

Loadpreset

Reresh

Prev/Nextpreset

Searcheld

ShowPCpanel Categorylters

1.ClickontheBrowse...buttoninthepresetpickerinordertodisplaythepresetbrowser.2.Clickonapresetinthelist.3.PlaysomeMIDInotesintothesynthyoullheartheselectedpreset.

4.IyouclicktheLoadbutton,thepresetwillbeloadedintothesynth.5.IyouclicktheCancelbutton,thesynthrevertsbacktoitsstatebeoreyouopenedthepresetbrowser.

Presetscanbeselectedeitherbyclickingtheminthelisting,orbyusingthePrev/Nextbuttons.

TheLoad Presetbuttonallowsyoutoloadapresetromanylocationonyoursystem(ratherthanmerelywithinthesynthpluginsownpresetolders),whiletheRereshbuttonre-readsthecontentsothepresetolder.

Searching and fltering

Thepresetbrowsercontainsadditionalunctionstolterandsearchtheavailablepresets.

ClickintheSearch feldatthetop-rightothepresetbrowser,typeasearchtermandpressENTERinordertosearchthename,authorandstyleeldsanddisplaymatchingresults.

The3category fltersallowyoutonarrowdownthedisplayedpresetsbytheollowingcriteria:

Collections Filtersbypresetcollection.Bydeault,FactoryandUsercollectionsexist.

YoucanalsocompilenewcollectionsusingthePCpanel(seebelow).

Presetauthor Filtersbythenameothepresetdesigner.

Presetstyle Filtersbypresetstyle(Bass,Chord,Drum,Keys,Lead,Organ,Pad,Texture,Unison,Arpeggiated,SpecialFXorSequenced).

All3ltersandthesearchacilitycanbeusedatthesametime.

Thepresetbrowsercontainstheprogramchange(PC)panel,whichisshownbyclickingtheShow PC Panelbutton.Thisunctionisdescribedinsection6:9.


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Controlling parameters: initial values (Main view)

WhentheMainviewisselected,onlytheinitialvalueoacontrolcanbeadjusted.

Theinitialvalueoacontrolisadjustedby

clickingitanddraggingup/down.

Main view:

SlidersMain view:Rotary pots

Theinitialvalueoacontrolisadjustedby

clickingitanddraggingup/down.

Youcanalsodouble-clickthecontrol,typeavalueandpressENTERorRETURN.

Main view

Fine control over parameters

HolddowntheSHIFTkeywhileadjustingacontrolornerresolution.

Controlling parameters: TransMod modulation depths

Eachsyntheatures8TransModslots,whichallowmodulationdepthstobesetonalmostallsynthparameters.

WhenaTransModslotisselected(seebelow),thesynthscontrolscanbeadjustedintheollowingways:

Youcanalsodouble-clickoutsidetheslidercap,typeavalueandpressENTERorRETURN.Clickoutsidetheslidercapand

dragup/down.

Theslidercapdividesandthemodulationdepthromtheinitialvalueisset.

Youcanalsomovethepartotheslidercapwiththearrowtoadjustmodulationdepth.

TransMod slot selected:

Setting modulation depth

Clicktheslidercapanddragup/down,ordouble-clicktotypeavalueandpressENTERorRETURN.


Setting initial value

Dragtheinitialpartotheslidercap(withoutthearrow):

Theinitialvalueandthemodulationdepthareadjustedtogether.

Youcanalsodouble-clicktotypeavalue.

TransMod slot selected:Setting initial value + depth

HolddownALTandclick/dragtheinitialslidercap(withoutthearrow):

Onlytheinitialvalueissetthemodulationdepthisunaected.

TransMod slot selected:Setting initial value only

Sliders

Whenmodulationalreadyexists,2additionalwaysomanipulationarepossible:

TransMod slot selected:Setting initial value only

HolddownALTandclick/dragthecentreothepot:

Onlytheinitialvalueissetthemodula-tiondepthisunaected.

TransMod slot selected:Setting initial value + depth

Clickanddragthecentreotherotarypottoadjusttheinitialvalueandmodulation

depthtogether.

Youcanalsodouble-clicktotypeavalue.

Youcanalsodouble-clickintheouterring,typeavalueandpressENTERorRETURN.


Setting modulation depthClickanddragtheouterringaroundtherotarypottosetthemodulationdepthromtheinitialvalue.


Setting initial valueClickthecentreotherotarypotanddragup/down.

Rotary pots

Whenmodulationalreadyexists,2additionalwaysomanipulationarepossible:


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TransMod slots

WhenyourstlaunchaDCAMsynth,itdisplaysitsMain view.

TheMainviewonlyeditsthebasicstateothesynththeinitialvaluesoallcontrolsbeoreanyTransModmodulation.

TransModslots1-8

Prev/Nextslotbuttons

Iyouclickonanyothe8TransModslotsselectionarea(whereitsaysvia),orusethePrev/Next slotbuttons,thesynthsinteracechangessothatmostoitscontrolsareabletosetanddisplaymodulationdepthsawayromtheinitialvalue.

Inthisexample,StrobesrstTransModslot(assignedtokey-onvelocity)containsmodulationortheoscSawwaveormlevel,lterCutoandampLevelparameters.

Seechapter7orulldetailsotheTransModsystem.

Click & drag:

Clickthevalueanddragitup/down.

Double-click & type:

Double-clickthevalue,typeanewoneandpressENTER/RETURN.

Rotary selector click & drag (let):

Clicktherotaryselectoranddragup/down.

Rotary selector drop-down menu (below):

Clickonthedisplaythatshowsthesettingandselecttherelevantsettingromthedrop-downmenuthatappears.

Fusorcontainssomerotaryselectorsthatareessentiallypots(suchasStepsinthescreenshottotheright),somewhichhaveassociateddrop-downmenus(suchasStep Duration)andsomewhicharesimplydrop-downmenus(suchastheMultipliercontrols).

Drop-downmenuscanalsobeoundinthesynthsorexample,TransModslotsource/scalermenus,perormancecontrollerselectorsinthepreerencespanelandthepresetmenu(clickon

thepresetname).

Rotary selectors and drop-down menus

Numerical text-boxes

Therearetwowaystoadjustthesecontrols:

Buttons

Buttonsaregenerallytoggletypebuttonsclicktoactivate,clickagaintodeactivate.Buttonslightupwhenactivated.Someradiobutton-stylecontrolsexist,suchasthesub-oscillatorOctavebuttonsinStrobe.

Indicator LEDsDCAM:SynthSquadinstrumentscontainindicatorLEDswhichlightuptorepresentLFOrates,audio-ratemodulationandsoon.Donotconusethesewithbuttons,whicharelarger.


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Parameter context menu

Right-click(orCTRL-click)onanycontroltoshowitsparametercontextmenu,whichoersanumberounctionsandoptionsrelatingtothecontrol.

Reset Param

Resetsthecontrolsinitialvaluetoitsdeaultsetting.

Clear Param Mod

ClearsanymodulationdepthsthatexistorthecontrolinthecurrentTransModslot.

Clear Param All ModClearsanymodulationdepthsthatexistorthecontrolinallTransModslots.

Lock ScopeUnlock Scope

Youcanlockthevisualizerscopetothesectionothesynththatcontainsthecurrentparameter(seesection6:6).

Clear Learn

ClearsanyMIDILearnassignmentthatexistsortheparameter(seesection6:8).

Snapping/unit options or tuning and flter cuto controls

Anycontrolsrelatedtoaudiopitchorrequency(usuallyoscillatorpitchandltercutocontrols)oer3distinctmodesooperation,whichareaccessedviatheparametercontextmenu.

TheJustandHarmonicmodesarebasedonperectpitchratios,ratherthanabsoluterequencysettings.ThisisparticularlyuseulorprogrammingmusicallyharmonicrequencieswhenusingCyphersaudio-ratemodulationunctions.Usingthesemodesmeansyouyoudonthavetocalculatesuchrequenciesmanually.

Thesemodespersistindependentlyalltuningcontrolswithineachsynthpossesstheirownmode,andallltercontrolspossesstheirownmode.

Just

Usesperectpitchratiosratherthanimperect,equal-temperedpitch.

Inthismode,pitchorltercutocontrolsaresetinharmonics(Hm).

Thereisnosnappingtowholeharmonics.

Harmonic

SimilartoJust,exceptthatthecontrolsnapstowholeharmonics.

EqualRepresentsequal-temperedtuninginsemitones,snappingtowholesemitones.

O

Turnsoallsnapping/unitoptions:thecontrolissetinsemitonesbutdoesnotsnaptowholesemitones.

On-screen keyboard and perormance controllers

Perormancecontrollers

1&2

MIDILearn Panicbutton(allnoteso)

Pitchbendwheel

Octavedown/up

Keyboard

Thisareaotheinteracemainlycontainscontrolsthatarerepresentationsohardwareinputthekeyboard,pitch-bendwheelandperormancecontrollers1and2.WhiletheseareintendedtobeusedwithMIDIhardware,theinteraceelementscanneverthelessbecontrolledwiththemouse.UsetheOctave down/up buttonstoaccesstheullrangeoMIDInotesonthekeyboard.

ThereareacoupleootherMIDI-relatedunctionsinthisarea:

MIDI Learn button

EngagingthisbuttonentersMIDILearnmode.Thisunctionisdiscussedinsection6:8.

Panic button

ClickingthisbuttonresultsinaMIDIresetallnotesareturnedo.Usethistostopanynotesthatarehungorhaveaverylongampenvelopereleasetime.


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2: Strobe

2:1 Overview

Strobeisaperormancesynthesizer,designedtobeeasytoprogramsothatyoucangetonwithplayinggreat-soundingmusic!Asingle-oscillatorsynthwithosc-stacking,sub-oscsandoscsync,italsoeaturesaversatilemultimodelter,LFO,

rampgenerator,twoenvelopesandanarpeggiator.WhilebeinginspiredbyrelativelysimplemonosynthssuchastheRolandSHseries(especiallytheSH-09andSH-101),OberheimOB-1andSCIPro-One,Strobeisnotanexactmodeloanyparticularsynth.Ithasbeendesignedtotaketheperormancesynthesizerintoanewdimension.

Strobe highlights

Unlikethemonosynthswhichinspireditsdesign,Strobeiscapableopolyphony-youcansetupasmanyvoicesasyourCPUcanhandle,anddeneanumberounisonvoices.Forexample,with8voicesand2unisonvoices,theresultis4-notepolyphonywitheachnotecomprising2unisonvoices.

Strobeisdesignedorpowerulanalogue-stylebass,leadandpadsounds.Theltersectioneaturesalargevarietyomodes,leadingtowiderangeopotentialtimbres.Thedetailedltermodelincludesrealisticoverdriveothecircuit,urtherincreasingthetonalrange.Theosc-stackingallowsmanypossibilitiesthatarenormallyonlypossiblewhenusingmultipleoscillatorsorunisonvoices.

Whilethesynthsarchitectureisquitesimple,withcertainobvioushard-wiredmodulationroutingsalreadyavailableviadedicateddepthcontrols,theTransModmodulationsystemprovidesahugeselectionomonophonicandpolyphonicmodulationsources,whichcanberoutedtovirtuallyanysynthesisparameter.Strobespowertrulycomesalivewhenusingimaginitivemodulation,whichgreatlyexpandsitssoundandperormancepotential.

Tryalsostacking2or3instancesoStrobeinFusor,whichallowsyoutointer-connectmodulationsourcesbetweeninstances.


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2:2 Oscillator section

PulseWidthdirectmod:Key

PulseWidthdirectmod:LFO

PulseWidthdirectmod:Env

Octavebuttonsorsub-oscs

Pitchdirectmodulation:-Key-LFO-Env

Mainoscwaveormmixer

Sub-oscwaveormmixer

Oscillator controlsTuning: Pitch & Fine

Thesearethemaintuningcontrolsortheoscillator.ThePitchcanbemodulatedromthekeyboard,LFOandModEnvelopeusingthededicatedcontrols.

Sync

Theoscillatoreaturesahardsyncunction:youcanincreasetherequencyotheoscillatorwiththeSynccontrol,butitisre-syncedoneachcycleothelowestsub-oscillator.

Theresultingwaveormhasthesameoverallpitchastheoriginaloscbutwithaddedharmonicsthatcreatemorecomplextimbres.

Sync & Detune

Thesecontrolscomprisetheoscillator-stackunction,whichprovidesclassicmulti-oscsoundsusingasingleoscillator,

withoutneedingtouseadditionalunisonvoices.TheStackcontrolsetsthenumberostackedoscillators,whiletheDetunecontroldetunesthemuptoanoctaveapartromthemainoscillatorpitch.Foradetunedsupersawsound,settheDetunecontroltoaround5%,andthenincreasetheStackcontrolto2or3(oranynumberupto5!).

Waveorm mixing controls

Main osc and sub-osc mixer

ThemainoscmixercontainslevelslidersorSaw,Square (Sqr)andNoise (Nse)(gaussianwhite)waveorms.

Thesub-oscmixereatureslevelsidersorSine (Sin),Triangle (Tri),SawandSquare (Sqr)sub-oscillatorwaveorms.Eachothesecanbeset1,2or3octavesbelowthemainoscpitchusingtheOctavebuttons.

Thelevelslidersallowyoutoreelymixthelevelsoalltheseparallelwaveorms.

TheSquarewaveorms,orboththemainoscandsub-osc,areinactpulsewaveorms.Theirpulsewidthcanbe

manipulatedwiththecontrolsinthePulseWidthsectionotheoscillator.WhenusingtheStrobeFXplugin(MIDI-controlledaudioeectpluginversion),theexternalaudioinputappearsinplaceotheNsesource.

Pulse Width controls

PW & Sub PW

TheSquarewaveormsinStrobeareactuallyvariable-widthPulsewaveorms.

ThePulseWidthsectionallowsyoutocontrolthepulsewidthotheSquaremainoscillatorandsub-oscillatorshapesusingthePWandSub PWcontrolsrespectively.

Themainoscpulsewidth(PW)canbemodulatedromthekeyboard,LFOandModEnvelopeusingthededicatedcontrols.

Direct modulation

TheoscillatorsectioncontainsdedicatedcontrolsorsettingthemodulationdepthotheoscsPitchandthePulse WidthothemainSquarewaveorm(thesub-oscpulsewidthmustbemodulatedviatheTransModsystem)rom3modulationsources:

KeytrackingLFOModEnvelope


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2:3 Filter section

Filtercutodirectmod:Key

Filtercutodirectmod:LFO

Filtercutodirectmod:Env

FilterPower

Strobeslterisitsmainsourceotonalvariation,especiallywhenmodulated.Whiletherearedirectmodulationroutingstothecutoromthekeyboardpitch,LFOandModEnvelope,thelterscontrolscanbemodulatedwiththeTransModsystemorreallycreativeandvariedeects.

StrobeslterisbasedonanOTA(operationtransconductanceamplier)cascadedcore,withadiodeclipperintheeedbacksection.Thediodesareslightlymismatched,leadingtothecharacteristicgrowloarealanaloglter.

Filter controls

Power

ThePowerbuttonswitchesthelteronoro.Whenthebuttonisdisabled,theaudioromtheoscillatorpassesthroughthelterunaected.

Cuto & Res (Resonance)

TheCutocontroldeterminesthecutorequencyoStrobeslter.

TheRescontroladdsemphasisaroundthecutorequency,givingawarm,resonantsoundtotheosctone.AtextremeRessettings,theltersel-oscillates.

Thecutocanbemodulatedromthekeyboard,LFOandModEnvelopeusingthededicatedcontrols.

Thecontrolisadjustedinsemitones,allowingyoutotunethesel-oscillatinglterjustlikeanoscillator.Settingthekeytrackingdepthcontroltomaximumallowsyoutoplaytheltermusicallyromthekeyboard.

Drive

TheDrivecontrolincreasesthegainothesignalgoingintothelter.Thisoverloadsthelterscomponents,drasticallychangingitssoundandcharacter.

NotethattheeectiveresonanceisreducedasyouturnuptheDrivecontrol.

Mode

AlargevarietyoltermodesareavailablebyadjustingtheModecontrol.

NotethatltersdenotedasTeature2ormorelterswithanoctavebetweentherequencyoeach.Therstlterinthenameisatthecutorequency,withsubsequentlterseachanoctavehigherthanthelast.Theonlyexceptionsarethe

last2ltermodes-seethetablebelow.GraphicalplotsothelterresponsescanbeoundinAppendix2.Inothercombinationlters,allltersactatthecutorequency.

L2,L4,B2,B4,H2,H4 2-pole(12dB/oct.)&4-pole(24dB/oct.)Low-pass,Band-pass&High-passlters

P2 2-polePeaklter

NP2 1-poleNotchand2-polePeaklters

N2P2T 2-poleNotchand2-polePeaklters,anoctaveapart

N2L2T 2-poleNotchand2-poleLow-passlters,anoctaveapart

N2H1L1T 2-poleNotch,1-poleHigh-passand1-poleLow-passlters,eachanoctaveapart

P2N2T 2-polePeakand2-poleNotchlters,anoctaveapart

H2N2T 2-poleHigh-passand2-poleNotchlters,anoctaveapart

H1L1N2T 1-poleHigh-pass,1-poleLow-passand2-poleNotchlters,eachanoctaveapart

N2P2N2T 2-poleNotch,2-polePeakand2-poleNotchlters,eachanoctaveapart

N2 2-polenotchlter

N4 4-polenotchlter

N2L2 2-poleNotchand2-poleLow-passlters

H2N2 2-poleHigh-passand2-poleNotchlters

H1N2L1 1-poleHigh-pass,2-poleNotchand1-poleLow-pass,eachanoctaveapart

N2N2AT 2-poleNotchwith2-poleNotchanoctavehigherthanthecutorequency

N2N2BT 2-poleNotchwith2-poleNotchanoctavelowerthanthecutorequency

Direct modulationTheltersectioncontainsdedicatedcontrolsorsettingmodulationdepthothelterCutoby3modulationsources:

KeytrackingLFOModEnvelope


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2:4 Amp section

StrobesampsectioncanbeoverloadedlikethatoarealanaloguesynthVCA(voltage-controlledamplier).ThereisawaveshapingstagebetweentheAmpandnalLevelcontrols,whichiscapableodistortionwhenitscomponentsaredrivenhard.

Iyouwantacleanersound,keeptheAmpcontrolatlowsettingsandincreasetheLevel.

IyouwanttooverloadtheampbyincreasingtheAmpparameter,remembertoturndowntheLevelcontrol.Otherwise,theoutputoStrobemayclip.

Amp

TheAmpparameterisdirectlymodulatedbytheAmpEnvelope.ItsvaluerepresentstheamplitudeatthemaximumvalueotheAmpEnv(attheendoitsattackstage).

Inordertoachievevelocity-sensitivityoramplitude,modulatetheAmpparameterwiththeOnVel+source(oundinTransModslot1inallDCAM:SynthSquadpresets).

Pan

ThePanparametersetsthepositionothevoiceinthestereoeld.

TrymodulatingthiscontrolwiththeTransModsystem,usingaVoicemodulationsourcethisleadstoarichstereospreadothevoiceswhenplayingchords.

Level

ThisparametersetsthenalLevelothevoicebeoreitissummedwithallotheractivevoices.

Analogue

TheAnalogue parametersimulatestheeectonoiseinStrobescontrolsignalcircuits,somethingthatalwaysoccursinrealanaloguesynths.Atlowersettings,itleadstoasubtlygrittyandslurringcharacter,whilehighersettingscreateamoreunstableanddistressedsound.

2:5 Other functions

Built-in Arpeggiator

ThearpeggiatoriscommontobothStrobeandCypher.Seesection6:1ordetailsonusingthearpeggiator.

Settings, Glide and Keying controls

Theseparametersarecommontoallsynths,andarecoveredinsections6:2,6:3and6:4.

Visualizer Scope

Thevisualizerscopeprovidescontext-sensitivegraphicaleedbackoreachsectionoStrobe.Seesection6:6ormoredetailsonthiseature.


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2:6 Modulation

Strobecontainsseveralmodulatorsthateaturedirectroutingsanddepthcontrolsorcertaindestinations.ThesesourcescanalsobeusedintheTransModsystem(seechapter7)tomodulateotherparametersandperormmorecomplexmodulation.TherearemanyotherTransModsourcesavailablebeyondthemodulatorsshownontheinterace.

Gateable modulators

Gateablemodulators(whichcanbegatedwithnote-on/-oortriggeredwithnote-on)eatureanumberodierentgating/triggeringmodes,includingtheabilitytogateortriggereachother.Formoredetails,seesection7:5.

LFO

Directroutings:OscPitch,PulseWidth,FilterCuto

Gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,ModEnv,Song

Ramp

Directroutings:none

Gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,ModEnv,LFO,Song

Mod Envelope


Gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,LFO,Song

Amp Envelope

Directroutings:VCAAmp

Gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,ModEnv,Ramp,LFO,Song

Glide

Strobeiscapableosmoothingbothvelocityandpitchcontrolsignals.

ForurtherdetailsonthePitch GlideandVel Glideunctions,seesections6:3and7:6.

Keytracking (modulation rom keyboard pitch)


Keytrackingismodulationromthepitchothekeyboard.Thepitchmodulationsourcevalueincreasesby1overeachoctave.Aswellasthedirectroutingsanddepthcontrolsspeciedabove,keytrackingcanalsobeachievedoranyother

parameterbyusingthePitchsourceintheTransModsystem.

Seesection7:7ormoredetailsaboutkeytracking.


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2:7 Strobe signal flow

TheollowingsignalfowdiagramrepresentsasinglevoiceoStrobe.OnlydirectmodulationisshowntherearemanyurtherpossibilitieswhenusingtheTransModsystem.


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3: Cypher

3:1 Overview

Cyphereaturesadual-lter/waveshaperarchitectureandahighlycomplex,versatileseto3modelledoscillators.Whileitcanbeusedasa3-oscanalogue-stylesubtractivesynth,ithasbeendesignedtobeusedprimarilyorFM,audio-ratemodulationandotheradvancedoscillatorunctions.UsingStrobeisrecommendedormostconventionalsubtractivesounds,asitisoptimizedorquickandeasyprogramming.

AlsoincludedinCypherisanarpeggiatoridenticaltothatoundinStrobe,andothercommonDCAM:SynthSquadunctionssuchastheTransModsystemoradvancedmodulation.

Background

TheethosbehindCypheristoprovideatrulyaccuratemodeloananaloguesynthcapableoanalogue-styleFMand

otheraudio-ratemodulation(asopposedtomulti-operatorFMsuchasthatoundinYamahaDX-seriesdigitalsynths).Iteaturesthru-zeroFMwhichallowsmusicaldigitalFM-stylesoundswithananalogue-stylecircuit.

SomeexamplesoanaloguesynthsthateatureFMaretheSCIProphet5andRolandJupiterseries,whichallowedoneosctomodulateanother.Mostmodularsynthsalsoallowyoutopatchanyaudio-ratesignaltovarytheoscrequency.

Programming with Cypher

Cypherrequiresaslightlydierentapproachtoamoreconventionalanalogue-stylesynth.Chapter4eaturesadetaileddiscussionothespecializedunctionsoCyphersoscillators,whicharethemainocusotimbralvarietyinthesynth.

EachoscistunedusingaScalecontrolinrelationtoavariablemasterpitch.Sinceanypitch-relatedcontrolinDCAM:SynthSquadeaturesseveralsnappingmodesincludingharmonic,youcantuneeachoscwithharmonicratiomultipliersinsteadoabsoluterequencies.Thismeansyoudont

havetocalculateharmonicrequenciesyoursel,makingmusicallyuseulFMsoundsmucheasiertoachievethanwithtraditionalanalogueoscillators.Seesection1:3ormoredetailsothesnappingunctions.


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3:2 Oscillator section

ThissectionisabrieoverviewoCyphersoscillatorunctions.Pleasereadchapter4togainaullunderstandingotheoscsspecialcapabilities.

OscPower

Frequencyindicator

LED

RingMod

FilterMix

Oscillator 1

Blendcontrol

Oscillator

Oscillator

Osc3WMrom2

Osc2FMrom3

Osc2Syncto1

Osc3Syncto1

Mastertuning

Pitch, Fine & Scale

Thepitchoeachothe3oscillatorsisscaledagainstthemastertuning(setusingthePitchandFinecontrols),usingtheirrespectiveScaleparameters.

BysettingtheHarmonicmodeonapitchcontrolsparametercontextmenu,eachoscsScalecontrolcanoperateinharmonicpitchratiosinsteadosemitones,useulwhendealingwithFMandotheraudio-ratemodulationprocesses.

Power

EachosceaturesaPowerbuttontoenableit.Withthebuttondisabled,theoscisdeactivated.

Wave

TheshapeoeachoscillatorcanbevariedcontinuouslybetweenTriangle,Saw,SquareandPulsewaveorms,usingtheWavecontrol.

Duetotheircontinuouslyvariablenature,Cyphersoscsdonoteatureadedicatedpulsewidthcontrolinordertovarypulsewidth,youmustmodulatetheWaveparameterinthesquare/pulseregionoitstravel.

ThewaveormoOsc3canbevariedataudioratebyOsc2usingtheWM rom control.

FM rom & WM rom

Audio-ratemodulationreerstomodulatingaparameterattheveryastspeedsoaudiowaveorms,asopposedtotheslowerspeedsoLFOsandenvelopes(knownascontrol-ratemodulation).Theaudio-ratemodulationinCypheristheresultoextremelydetailedmodelling,andstrivestoreproducethecomplexbehaviourthatresultswhenmodulatinganaloguecomponentsataudio-rate.HeresasummaryowhatCyphercandointhisrespect:

Audio-rateFrequencymodulationoOsc2byOsc3usingtheFM rom controlonOsc2(seesections4:1and4:2)

Audio-ratewavemodulationoOsc3byOsc2usingtheWM rom controlonOsc3(seesection4:3)

Sync to 1

TheSync to 1controlsintheOsc2andOsc3sectionsallowyoutosynctheseoscstoOsc1srequency.Ratherthanasimpleon/obuttonorthisunction,Cyphereaturesacontinuouscontrolthatprovidesullhardsyncat100%andvariabledegreesosyncbetween0and100%.Thiseatureiscoveredindetailinsection4:5.

Beat

TheBeatcontrolallowsyoutodetuneoneoscillatoragainstanotherwhilekeepingtherateotheresultingbeatingconstantacrossthekeyboard.Thisopensupnewrhythmicwaysoplayingsoundswithclassicdetuned-beatingcharacteristics.Seesection4:6oradetaileddiscussionohowtheBeatcontrolworks.

Thiscontrolalsosetstheoscsrequency(orrate)whiletheOscisinLFOmode(whentheLowbuttonisenabled).


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Phase

EachoscsphasecanbesetwiththePhaseparameter.

WiththeRset(Reset)buttonenabled,thephaseisresettothevaluedenedbythePhaseparameteroneachenveloperetriggerevent(whichisdependentontheRetrigbutton).

DisablingtheResetbuttonmeansthatthephaseiseectivelyree-running.

ThePhasecontrolcanbecontinuouslymodulatedinrealtimeorphasemodulationeects(atcontrol-rateratherthanaudio-rate).

Low

TheLowbuttononeachoscswitchesittoactasanLFO,withtheBeatparametercontrollingitsrateinHz.Eachoscisavailableasacontrol-rateTransModsourceorusewiththisunction(seesection7:8).

Key

TheKeybuttonturnskeytracking(modulationopitchbythekeyboard)onorooreachosc.

Blend (S+H - Osc - Noise) & Pink

TheBlendcontrolcrossadesthenalaudiooutputromeachoscillatorbetweentheoscillatoritsel(centreposition),white/pinknoise(ullyright),andanotheroscsampledandheldataudio-ratebytheoscsrequency(ullylet).

Section4:4oersadetailedanalysisotheaudio-ratesampleandholdeature.

WhenthePinkbuttonisengaged,thenoisesourceoutputspinknoise.Whenthebuttonisdeactivated,thesourceissettowhitenoise.

NotethatwhenusingtheCypherFXplugin(MIDI-controlledaudioeectpluginversion),externalaudioappearsinplace

othewhitenoisesourceineachoscthePinknoisesourceisstillavailableoreachosc.Thereore,toheartheexternalaudiosource,youmustdisablethePinkbutton.

Ring mod

Eachoscillatoreaturesaringmodulationunction,allowingittobemultipliedbyoneotheotheroscillators.EnablingtheRing Modbuttonoranoscresultsinthesumanddierenceotheoscsrequenciesbeingusedastheoutputotheosc.Itheoscsrequenciesareharmonicallyrelated,theresultisamusicalsound;inot,theoutputmaybedissonant.TheringmodulationprocessoccursatertheBlendcontrolinthesignalpath.

Osc1:Osc2xOsc1Osc2:Osc3xOsc2Osc3:Osc1xOsc3

Gain

TheGaincontrolsetsthenaloutputleveloeachoscillator.Atasettingozero,theoscisnotheardinthenaloutput.

However,itseectisstillheardiitismodulatingoneotheotheroscs.Filter Mix

EachOscsFilter Mixcontroldeterminestheamountosignalromtheoscthatisroutedtoeachothetwolter/shaperpaths.Whenatthecentreposition,theoscssignalissentequallytobothlter/shaperpaths.

3:3 Shaper section

EachoCypherstwolterpathseaturesapolyphonicwaveshapingblockthatcanbeplacedbeoreoraterthelter.

Awaveshaperappliesamathematicalunctiontotheincomingwaveorminordertoalteritsharmoniccontentandintroducedistortion.Itisuseuloroverdrivingthesignaltoaddabrasivegritandcharacter.

ShaperPower

Power

Toenableeachothewaveshaperblocks,engageitsPowerbutton.

PostWithitsPostbuttonturnedo,thewaveshaperblockisplacedbeorethecorrespondinglterblock(orexample,shaper1 lter1).ByengagingthePostbutton,theshaperismovedaterthelter(lter1 shaper1).

Mode

Thiscontrolselectsrom4distinctwaveshapermodels,eachprovidingitsowndistortionfavour.Diode,OTA(operationaltransconductanceamplier),OpAmp(operationalamplier)andHalRect(hal-rectier)shapersareavailable.GraphicalplotsotheseshapermodesareprovidedinAppendix3.

Drive

TheDrivecontrolincreasesthegainothesignalgoingintothewaveshaperhighervaluesdrivethewaveshaperharder,leadingtomoregritanddistortion.

LPF

TheLPFcontrolappliesa1-poleLow-passlteraterthewaveshaperordiallingouthighrequenciesandharmonicsasrequired.


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3:4 Filter section: shared controls

Cyphersdual-ltersectioneaturesanumberocontrolsoreachlter,whileothersaresharedbetweenthem.Theollowingcontrolsaresharedbetweenbothlters:

Cuto

TheCutocontroladjuststhecutorequencyobothltersrelativetoeachltersScalecontrolsetting.Youcanconsiderthiscontrolasthemastercutorequencythatadjuststhecutoobothlterssimultaneously.

Env1 & Env

ModEnvelopes1and2aredirectlyroutedtomodulatetheCuto(thecutorequenciesobothlterssimultaneously).

TheEnv1andEnvcontrolsadjustthedepthomodulationromModEnv1andModEnv2respectively.Route

Theroutingothelterscanbechangedbetween2serialand2parallelcongurationsusingtheRouteparameter.

1>2 Serial,lter1beorelter2

2>1 Serial,lter2beorelter1

1+2 Parallel,lter1+lter2

1-2 Parallel,inver tedlter1+lter2

Spread

TheSpreadcontrolsetstheamountostereospreadbetweenthelterswhenusingparallelroutings.

Filter1

Filter2

Sharedltercontrols

FilterPower

FMrom3

3:5 Filter section: individual controls for filters 1 & 2

InadditiontothesharedcontrolsthataecttheltersinbothoCypherslterpaths,eachltereaturestheollowingindividualcontrols:

Power

ThePowerbuttonenablesordisablesthelter.Whendisabled,incomingaudiopassesthroughthelterstageunaected.

Type

SelectromtwoclassiclterdesignsoreitherothetwolterpathsusingtheTypeparameter:state-variable(Sv)andtransistor-ladder(Mg)typesareavailable.

Thesearebothdistinctcircuitmodelswithverydierentsoniccharacteristics.

Mode

TheModecontrolallowsyoutoselectromtheollowingltermodes:

Low-Pass2-poleor4-poleHigh-Pass2-poleor4-poleBand-Pass2-poleor4-pole

Peak4-poleNotch4-pole

Drive

TheDrivecontrolincreasesthegainothesignalenteringthelter.Thisleadstotheltercircuitbeingoverloaded,drasticallyalteringitstoneandcharacter.


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Scale

EachltersScalecontrolosetsitscutorequencyrelativetothemastercutobypositiveornegativeamounts.Atthecentreposition,thelterscutoisthesameasthatothemaster.

Res (Resonance)

TheRescontroladjuststheresonanceoeachlter.Highersettingsresultinsel-oscillation.

Keytrack

TheKeyTrackparametercontrolstheamountodirectmodulationromkeyboardpitch,whichisappliedrelativetotheltersScalesetting.

FM rom Thecutorequencyoeachltercanbemodulatedataudio-ratebytherequencyooscillator3.TheFM rom controlsadjusttheamountorequencymodulationoreachlter.

Seesection4:2ormoredetailsolterFM,andFMingeneral.

3:6 Amp section

CyphersampsectioncanbeoverloadedlikethatoarealanaloguesynthVCA(voltage-controlledamplier).ThereisawaveshapingstagebetweentheAmpandnalLevelcontrols,whichiscapableodistortionwhenitscomponentsaredrivenhard.

Iyouwantacleanersound,keeptheAmpcontrolatlowsettingsandincreasetheLevel.

IyouwanttooverloadtheampbyturninguptheAmpparamater,remembertoturndowntheLevelcontrol.Otherwise,theoutputoCyphermayclip.

Amp

TheAmpparameterisdirectlymodulatedbytheAmpEnvelope.ItsvaluerepresentstheamplitudeatthemaximumvalueotheAmpEnv(attheendoitsattackstage).

Inordertoachievevelocity-sensitivityoramplitude,modulatethisparameterwiththeOnVel+source(oundinTransModslot1inallDCAM:SynthSquadpresets).

Pan

ThePanparametersetsthepositionothevoiceinthestereoeld.

TrymodulatingthiscontrolwiththeTransModsystem,usingaVoicemodulationsourcethisleadstoarichstereospreadothevoiceswhenplayingchords.

Level

ThisparametersetsthenalLeveloeachvoicebeoreitissummedwithallotheractivevoicesatthenaloutputothesynth.

Analogue

TheAnalogue parametersimulatestheeectonoiseinCypherscontrol-signalcircuits,somethingthatalwaysoccursinrealanaloguesynths.Atlowersettings,itleadstoasubtlygrittyandslurringcharacter,whilehighersettingscreateamoreunstableanddistressedsound.

3:7 Other functions

Built-in Arpeggiator

ThearpeggiatoriscommontobothCypherandStrobe.Seesection6:1ordetailsonusingthearpeggiator.


Theseparametersarecommontoallsynths,andarecoveredinsections6:2,6:3and6:4.

Visualizer scope

Thevisualizerscopeprovidescontext-sensitivegraphicaleedbackoreachsectionoCypher.Seesection6:6ormoredetailsonthiseature.


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3:8 Modulation in Cypher

ThissectioncoversparametermodulationinCypher(control-ratemodulation).ForadetailedguidetoCyphersaudio-ratemodulationcapabilities,seechapter4.

SomeoCyphersmodulatorseaturededicatedroutingsanddepthcontrolsorcertainparameters,whileothersmustbeutilizedwithintheTransModsystem(seechapter7)

Gateable modulators

Gateablemodulators(whichcanbegatedwithnote-on/-oortriggeredwithnote-on)eatureanumberodierentgating/triggeringmodes,includingtheabilitytogateortriggereachother.Formoredetails,seesection7:5.

LFO1 & LFO

Directroutings:none

LFO1gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,ModEnv1,SongLFO2gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,ModEnv2,Song

Ramp

Directroutings:none

Gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,LFO1,Song

ModEnv1 & ModEnv

Directroutings:FilterCuto

LFO1gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,LFO1,SongLFO2gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,LFO2,Song

Amp Envelope

Directroutings:VCAAmp

Gateableby:Poly,PolyOn,Mono,Ramp,LFO1,Song

Glide

Cypheriscapableosmoothingbothvelocityandpitchcontrolsignals.ForurtherdetailsonthePitch GlideandVel Glideunctions,seesections6:3and7:6.

Keytracking (modulation rom keyboard pitch)

Directroutings:OscPitch(on/o),Filter1&Filter2(variable)

Keytrackingismodulationromthepitchothekeyboard.Thepitchmodulationsourcevalueincreasesby1overeachoctave.Aswellasthedirectroutingsanddepthcontrolsspeciedabove,keytrackingcanalsobeachievedbyusingthePitchsourceintheTransModsystem.

Seesection7:7ormoredetailsaboutkeytracking.

Oscillators as LFOs

EachoscunctionsasanLFOiitsLowswitchisenabled.EachoscisavailableasaTransModsource(Osc1+-,Osc2+-andOsc3+-)ormodulatinganyparameter.Seesection7:8ormoredetails.

Beating rates as LFOs

ThebeatingratesbetweenoscillatorsareavailableasTransModsources,whichcanbeusedasadditionalLFOs.ThesesourcesoperateregardlessotheBeatcontrol.AllbeatingratescanbeutilizedintheTransModsystem,whetherconstantbeatingviatheBeatcontrol,orconventionalirregularbeatingwhenmanuallydetuningoscsagainsteachother.

Section7:8containsasummaryothebeatingrateTransModsources.


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26/1106

Shaper-Filter & Amp sections


27/1107

4: Cyphers oscillators in detail

4:1 Introduction to audio-rate modulation

Basics o audio-rate modulation

Whilesubtractivesynthesisusingaltertosubtractportionsoanoscillatorsrequencyrangeisrelativelyeasytounderstand,FMandotheraudio-ratemodulationtendstoperplexmostmusicians.

Conventionalsubtractivesynthesisisgreatormanytypesomostlyabstractsoundsbutitisntusuallysophisticatedenoughtoproducemorecomplex,realistictimbressuchasthoseproducedbyacousticinstruments.Thisisbecause

mostreal-worldtimbresinvolveverycomplexharmonicvariationharmonicschangeatveryhighspeedsandinmorecomplexwaysthanthosemadepossiblebysubtractiveltering.

Mostmodulationinsubtractivesynthesizerstakestheormocontrol-rateunctionssuchasLFOsandenvelopes,whichdonotproduceastenoughmodulationorthesecomplextimbres.

Audio-ratemodulationmodulationatrequenciesoaudiblesoundsiscapableoproducingmorecomplextones.FMisoneothemostcommontypesoaudio-ratemodulation,andcanbeveryeectiveatemulatingmanytypesoacousticsounds,particularlywhenusingenvelopesandothercontrol-ratemodulationtodictatetheamountoFMapplied.Forexample,soundsreminiscentoacousticpluckedandhammeredinstrumentsaremuchmoreconvincingwhenusingFMratherthanconventionalsubtractivesynthesistechniques.

Ocourse,itisnotnecessarytorestricttheusesoaudio-ratemodulationtoproducingreal-worldtimbres.Itcanalsobeusedorproducingnewtypesoabstractsoundsthatarenotpossiblewithconventionalsubtractivesynthesis.

Audio-rate modulation implementations

FM(requencymodulation)ispossiblythemostwell-knowntypeoaudio-ratemodulation.WhileitiscommontoassociateFMwithdigitalsynthssuchastheYamahaDXandTXseries,FMcapabilitiescanactuallybeoundonmanyanaloguesynthesizers.Manyclassicpoly-andmonosynthseatureFMcapabilities,withoneosctypicallymodulatinganotheroscorthelter.SomeexamplesincludetheRolandJupiterseries,SCIProphet5,MinimoogandARPOdyssey.Mostpatchablemodularandsemi-modularsynthesizersalsoallowthiskindounctionality.

DigitalsynthesizershaveahugeadvantageoveranaloguesynthswhenitcomestoFM:itiseasytoinputexactvaluesandrequencyratios,andthetuningisstableandreliable.Despitethesedrawbacks,thesoundoanalogueFMisrichandcomplex.Withitsmeticulouslymodelledoscillators,Cypherattemptstocombinethesoundoanaloguewiththeconvenienceandstabilityoadigitalpolyphonicsotwareinstrument.

4:2 Frequency modulation

Whenyoumodulatetherequencyooneoscillatorwiththatoanother,themodulatoroscillatorisessentiallyactingasaveryastvibratoonthemodulatedoscspitch.

AnLFOisanoscillatorrunningatlowspeeds,whichproducesavibratoeectwhenitmodulatespitch.

Modulatingpitchwithanoscillatorthatrunsataudio-ratesresultsinadditionalharmonics,calledsidebands,beingproduced.Thisleadstoachangeintoneratherthaninpitch.

Thenatureothesetonalchangesdependsontherequencyothemodulatoroscillatormoreaccurately,howtherequencyothemodulatoroscillatorrelatestotherequencyothemodulatedoscillator(knownasthecarrier).

Simple,integer-basedratiosbetweentherequenciesothecarrierandmodulator,suchas2:1,1:2,1:3,1:4,1:5andsoon,producemusical-sounding,orharmonicresults.Theadditionalharmonicsaremusicallyrelatedtothebaseoscillatorrequency.Ontheotherhand,arbitraryratiossuchas1:2.57,producemoredissonantresults.

CypherallowsyoutomodulatetherequencyoOsc2withtheoutputoOsc3.TheoverallshapeotheOsc3waveormisusedasthemodulatorthereoretherearealotoparametersthatcontributetoitsoutput.However,themostimportantactorisOsc3srequency,orpitch.

Osc3usedasFMsourceorOsc2.

TheFM rom controlsetsthedepthoFM.


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Oscillator FM in Cypher

Harmonic tuning

Cypherspitchcontrolunit/snappingoptions(seesection1:3)allowyoutospeciyeachoscsrequencyaseitherotheollowing:

anabsoluterequencymultiplierothemasterpitch,expressedinsemitones.aperectpitch-ratioothemasterpitch,expressedinharmonics(usingtheJustandHarmonicmodes).

UsingtheHarmonicmode,youcaneasilysetupharmonicpitchrelationshipsbetweenoscs.

FM depth

BeoreOsc3hasanyeectonOsc2,itisnecessarytosetthedepthomodulationwithOsc2sFM rom control.Asthecontrolisincreased,moresidebandsareintroducedadditionaltonalpartialsappearintherequencyspectrum.

Demonstrating osc FM in Cypher

HeresapracticalexampletodemonstrateFM,startingwithaninitializedCypherstate:

1. SettheOsctuningcontrolstoHarmonicmodebyright-clickingonanOscScalecontrolandselectingHarmonicromthecontextmenu.

. WiththemasterPitchsetto0semitones,settheOsc3Scalecon-trolto3.LeavetheOsc2 Scalecontrolunchanged(1).

. SettheGaincontrolsoOsc1andOsc3to0,andullyturnupOsc2sGain.

4. SettheWaveparameterobothOsc2andOsc3toaTriangleshape(movethecontrolullytothelet).

5. GraduallyincreasetheFM rom controlonOsc2rom0to1whileplayingakey.

Thepitchratioo1:3(carrier:modulator)isaharmonicratiotheresultingsoundsaremusicalratherthandissonant.Inharmonicratioscanbeuseul,however,justlikedetunedpitchingomultipleanalogueoscillators.TrysettingtheOsc3

Scaleto3.09.Theresultstillhasanoverallharmonictone,butwithaninterestingdissonance.Moreextremeinharmonicscalingothemodulatorcancreatebell-typesounds,oneothestaplesoFM-basedsynthesizers.

YoumayhavenoticedthatasyousweeptheFM rom control,thechangeintimbreisreminiscentoaltersweep.WhenusingFM,itispossibletoachieveaverybroadrangeotonalcharacteristicsusingtheoscillatorsalone.Moreconventionalsubtractivesynthesizersareheavilyreliantonthelterstageormostotheirtonalvariety.


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Thru-zero oscillator FM

Thetermthru-zeroFMreerstotheabilitytomodulatetherequencyoanoscillatorbeyondzerointonegativerequencyvalues.Negativerequenciesarevitallyimportantorastablepitchresponsewithanypossibleamountomodulation,andisaprominentcharacteristicotheYamahaDX-seriesimplementationoFM.CyphersimplementationgivesyoudigitalFM-stylesoundsrenderedbyarealisticanaloguecircuitmodel,withtheconvenienceandpolyphonyoasotwareinstrument.

Thru-zeroFMisnotusuallypossiblewithanalogueoscillatorsinsteadotherequencytravellingbeyondzerowhenmodulated,itsimplystopsatzerountilthemodulationcausesittoriseintopositivevaluesagain.Theresultisthat,atharmonicratios,theoverallpitchthatisheardisirregularatlowerrequencies.Thru-zeroFMallowsorthetimbreto

remainharmonicatallrequenciesevenwithverylargemodulation.Theollowingwaveormplotsshowthru-zeroandnormalanalogFMusingasquarewaveasthemodulator,andasawtoothwaveasthesignalbeingmodulated.Whilethesquarewaveishigh,thepitchothesawisincreased,andwhenthesquarewaveislowthepitchisdecreased.

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0Time mS

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Voltage V

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Thru-zero FM:

Thedecreaseinpitchresultsinanegativerequency,andthesaw-upwaveormbecomesasaw-downwaveorm.Atrianglewaveormcorneriscreatedatthepointotransition.

Normal analogue FM:

Theoscisunabletoproduceanegativerequencywhenthepitchdecreases.Itbecomesclampedatzeroandstaysconstantuntilthemodulatorincreasesthepitch.Theresultisthattheresultingpitchisnotthesameastheoriginalsawwave.

Therearecurrentlysomethru-zeroanalogueoscillatorsavailableormodularsystems,suchastheCyndustriesZeroscillator.However,thesetendtoberatherexpensive(especiallyiyouneedapolyphonicsystem)andtherearestillinherentproblemssuchastheinabilitytoachieveexacttuningratios.

Thru-zeroFMisveryeasytoimplementondigitalsynthsthatusewavetable-lookuptechniques,suchastheYamahaDX

series.CyphersoscillatorFMiscapableothru-zeroFMusingtruevirtualoscillatorsgeneratedinrealtime,withoutusingwavetable-lookuptechniques(whichcannotoerthesamesoundqualityasamodelledanalogue-styleoscillator).

Filter FM

AnotherclassicuseoanalogueFMistomodulatethecutorequencyoalterataudio-ratessuchasthatoanoscillator.Cypherallowsyoutomodulatebothoitstwoltersataudio-rate,usingOsc3asthemodulator.

Again,thistechniqueisusedinordertoobtainachangeintimbrebymodulatingtheltercutoatveryastspeeds.TurninguptheFM3controlonthelterreducestheactionothelterwhileintroducingadditionalharmonics,resultinginabuzzyandaggressivesound.

Theeecttendstobemorepronouncedathigherresonancesettings,especiallyasthelterbeginstosel-oscillateinsuchsituations,lterFMiseectivelylikeperormingFMonasinewave.

AswithoscillatorFM,therequency(pitch)othemodulatingoscillatorisanimportantactorindeterminingthecharacterotheresultingsignal.

Thru-zeroFMonalterisinherentlyimpossibleinbothanalogueanddigitaldomains.Thereore,itheamountorequencymodulationawayromtheinitialltercutorequencywouldtaketherequencyvaluebeyondzerointonegativevalues,therequencystaysat0Hzuntilthemodulationagainraisesithigheragain.Thismeansthatinsuchsituations,theresultingtimbrechangeswiththepitchothesignalgoingthroughthelter,meaningthatCypherslterFMbehavesexactlylikethatoarealanaloguelter.

Envelopes and LFOs

FMdepthsbecomemuchmoreinterestingwhenmodulatedbyenvelopesorLFOs.YoumustusetheTransModsysteminordertoachievethisselectanEnvorLFOasthesourceoaTransModslotandsetamodulationdepthontheFM romcontrolonOsc2ortheltersection.

Programming hints

Extremeamountsoaudio-ratemodulationcanbegreatwhenyouwantwildandexperimentalsounds,butormostuseul,musicalsounds,trytousesmalleramounts.ThesameistrueomodulatingFMdepthcontrolswiththeTransModsystemoruseulratherthancrazysounds,trytondsweetspotswithinsmalldepthranges.

TryalsolookingattheactoryCypherpresetsorideasandinspiration.Figuringouthowsoundshavebeencreatedusingsynthesisparametersismoreimmediateandpracticalthanstudyingtext-booksaboutmathematicalFMtheory.

MakesuretolookatallusedTransModslotstoseeexactlywhatisgoingoninthepreset!


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4:3 Wave modulation

WaveModulationusesaudio-ratemodulationoanoscillatorinordertovaryitstimbre.However,unlikeoscillatorFM,itmodulatesthewaveformoanoscillatorinordertoproducethesetimbralchanges,ratherthanitsrequency.

Continuous waveshape o Cyphers oscs

ThewaveshapeoCyphersoscillatorscanbecontinuouslyvariedbetweentheollowing:

TriangleSawSquare

PulseIyoumovetheWavecontrolwhilewatchingCyphersvisualizerscope,youcanseeexactlyhowthewaveormmorphsbetweentheavailableshapes.ThecontrolcanbemodulatedbyanyTransModsourceatcontrol-rate.

Audio-rate waveorm modulation

Osc3usedasWMsourceorOsc2.

TheWM rom controlsetsthedepthoWM.

AspecializedunctionoOsc3allowsyoutomodulateitswaveormataudio-rateusingtheoutputoOsc2asthemodulator.IncreasetheWM rom controlinordertosettheamountowaveormmodulation.Themovementothe

oscillatorthroughthewaveshapesattheseastratescausestimbralchangesduetothevaryingharmonicsothewaveshapes.

SimilarlytoFM,therequencyoOsc2(adjustedusingtheOsc2Scalecontrol)hasamajorinfuenceonthesoundoOsc3whenusingaudio-ratewavemodulation.

TheinitialpositionotheOsc3Wavecontrolalsohasalargeinfuenceonthecharacterothetimbralchanges,duetotheharmonicdierencesbetweenthewaveorms.Forexample,asquarewavecontainsonlyoddharmonics,butasthepulsewidthischanged(asthewaveormchangestowardsapulse),moreevenharmonicsareintroduced.

ChangesinharmonicsoccurthroughouttherangeotheWaveparameter.Thesechangesoerahugevarietyooscsounds,whethermodulatedatcontrol-rateviatheTransModsystem,orataudio-rateusingtheOsc3sWM rom control.

Wave Mod and FM

FollowtheoscillatorFMexampleintheprevioussectionandthenturnuptheWM rom controlonOsc3.Youwillnoticethesignalgettingmorecomplexandaggressive,withmorebuzzyharmonics.TryroutinganLFOtothisparametersothat

itchangesovertimewhileyouadjusttheFM rom controlonOsc2.

Pleasenotethat,duetotheimplementationotheoscillatoralgorithm,thereisaveryshortdelayontheoutputoeachoscillator(4samples,orhigh-qualityband-limitingosignalsbetweenoscs).

IyouuselargeamountsotheFM rom andWM rom controls,theoscsdisplayverychaoticsonicbehaviour.

Eects o wave shape

Whileanoscsrequency(pitch)isthemostimportantactorwhenperormingFMonanotherosc,itswaveshapealsohasalargeinfuenceonthenatureandcharacterothesidebandsgenerated.Thisisalsothecaseonthemodulatedosc.WhenusingtheSquare/PulserangeotheWavecontrol,theresultingsidebandssoundveryaggressiveandextreme.

Waveshape,likeotherelementsotheoscillator,isrelevanttootherprocesses,notjustFM.Italsoaectstheringmodandsyncunctions,orexample.


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4:4 Audio-rate sample and hold

Cyphereaturestheabilitytosampleandhold(S+H)anoscillatorusingtherequencyoanother,ataudio-rate.Asampleandholdoperationinvolvestheamplitudeoonesignalbeingsampledandheldataregularclockpulse.Oneachclockpulse,thesignalsamplitudevalueissnapshotted(sampled)andkeptconstant(held)atthesamevalueuntilthenextclockpulse.

Thesampleandholdtechniqueisusedoravarietyopurposesinanaloguesynthesis,suchasgeneratingarandomLFObyperormingS+Honanoisesignal.

InCypher,itisusedtoprovideanotheraudio-ratemodulationtechniquetooerincreasedtimbralvariationromeachosc.Theclockpulseisprovidedbythemodulatingoscillatorsrequency.Theresultisaquantizingeectonthemodulatedoscswaveshape,illustratedbytheollowingdiagram:

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Voltage V

Audio-ratesampleandholdonaTrianglewaveorm.

Thesoniccharacteristicsaregrittyandbuzzy,reminiscentolow-resolutionFMandsampling.

TheS+HisachievedbyusingtheBlendcontroloneachOsc,labelledS+H-Osc-Noise.ThiscontrolallowsablendotheS&Hsignalandtheactualoscillatorsignal.

TheS+HpositionotheBlendcontrolisnotcomparabletotheFM rom andWM rom amountcontrolselsewhereinOsc2,Osc3andtheltersection.TheS+Hprocessisalwaysactive,withtheBlendcontrolallowingyoutoaltertheoscillatormixtoincludetheS&Hsignal.

HereisasummaryowhatisheardwheneachoscsBlendcontrolisturnedullytothelet:

Osc1 Osc2sampled&heldbyOsc1srequency.Osc1istheclocktriggeractingonOsc2



Using audio-rate sample & hold

. Atrstyouwonthearanythingasthepitchobothoscsisthesame.

TurnuptheOsc1Scalecontrolwhileplayingakey.

1. FullyturndowntheS+H-Osc-Noise(Blend)controlonOsc1.ThesoundoOsc2,sampledandheldbyOsc1srequency,isnowtheoutputotheOsc1block.

YoullnowhearthesoundoOsc1srequencyapplyingasample&holdprocesstoOsc2.LowerOsc1requenciesresult

inamorequantizedOsc2signal.Manyparameterscaninfuencethesound.Trytheollowingtoinvestigatetheaectotheseparametersonthetimbre(youcanadjusttheparametersmanuallyorbyapplyingmodulationtothecontrols):

ChangethewaveormsobothoscsusingtheWavecontrolThepitch(Scale)oOsc2IncreaseOsc3sScaleandthenincreaseOsc2sFM rom control


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4:5 Variable-depth oscillator sync

ComparedtoFM,oscillatorsynchronizationisarmorecommononclassicanaloguesynthesizers.Thisisbecauseitmakescomplexharmonictimbrespossiblewithoutsueringromtheinherenttuningdrawbacksoanaloguerequencymodulation.

Mostconventionalimplementationsooscsyncareknownashardsync.Thisiswhenthecycleoanoscillator(calledthesyncsourceorsyncmaster)isusedtoresetthephaseoasecondoscillator(thesyncslave).

Inordertocreateauseuleect,thesyncslaveoscsrequencyshouldbesethigherthanthatothesyncsourceosc.

Theendresultisamorecomplexwaveormromtheslaveoscthatcontainsadditionalharmonics,butmaintainsthe

sameundamentalrequencyasthatothemasterosc.Main uses o osc sync

Apracticaladvantageooscsyncisthatitallowsyoutocombineoscillatorswithouttheinherentbeatingthatoccursbymixingthemnormally(duetotheactthatitisvirtuallyimpossibletogettwoanalogueoscsperectlyintunewitheachother).Whilethesoundooscsbeatingagainsteachotherisotendesirable,therearesituationswhenitcanbeaproblem.

Perhapsthemostwell-knownusesooscsyncistocreateextreme,aggressiveleadsounds.AnothercommontechniqueistoperormsyncsweepswheretheslaveoscsrequencyissweptmanuallyorwithanLFOtocreateharmonicallyrichmovement.

Variable-depth osc sync in Cypher

InCypher,Osc1isthesyncmaster,andOsc2andOsc3arethesyncslaves.BothOsc2andOsc3canbesyncedtoOsc1srequencytheirphasecanberesetoneachcycleoOsc1.

Youwillnoticethatratherthansimplyhavingsyncon/obuttonsortheslaveoscs,Cypherhasvariablecontrols,calledSync to 1,orthesetwooscs.

Minimum (0) and maximum (1) settings

WhenSync to 1isturneduptoitsmaximumsetting(1)onOsc2orOsc3,thephaseotheseoscsisresetullytotheirinitialstateuponeachcycleoOsc1.Thistechniqueiscommonlyknownashardsync.Whenthecontrolisattheminimumsetting(0),nooscsyncoccurs.

Settings between 0 and 1

AtSync to 1settingsbetween0and1,Osc2orOsc3resettheirphaseoneachOsc1cycleonlyitheollowingconditionismet:

Osc2[or Osc3]phase>(1-(Osc2[or Osc3]Sync to 1amount)

100)

Thisresemblessomeanalogueimplementationsosotsync,andcancreatearangeocomplexsoundsthatarenotpossiblewithull,hardosc-sync.

Thisexampleshowsasaw-upwaveorm(lled)on

Osc2,syncedtoalower-requencysaw-upwaveormonOsc1.TheSync to 1controlissetto100%.

NotethephaseotheOsc2waveormisresetto0oneverycompletedcycleoOsc1.

Inthisexample,theOsc2waveormdoesnotre-syncontherstcycleoOsc1,becauseOsc2sphaseisapprox.0.35,whichisnotgreaterthan0.5(or1-(50/100)).

OnthesecondcycleoOsc1,Osc2sphaseisapprox.0.67,whichisgreaterthan0.5thereoreOsc2sphaseisresetto0anditsyncstoOsc1.

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Sync to 1at50%


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Using variable-depth osc sync in Cypher

. FullyturnupOsc2sGaincontrol.1. Changetheoscsectionsunit/snappingoptionstoEqual.

. Playakeyyoullhearasimplesaw-wavetone.NowincreasetheOsc2Scalecontrolto+15andplayakey.Youshouldheara2-noteminorchord.

4. IncreasetheOsc2Sync to 1control.Asthesettinggoesoverabout30%,thechordisnolongerhearditisnowacomplexwaveorm.

5. Nowtryasyncsweep:movetheOsc2 Scalecontrolupanddown.


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4:6 Beat detune

Whentwodetunedoscillatorsplaytogether,theirdieringrequenciescauseanaudiblebeatingeectagainstoneanother.Therhythmicrateothisbeatingvariesdependingonthenotesplayed,sincebeatingisdirectlyaectedbytherequenciesothenotesthemselves-dierentnotesgeneratedierentrequencies.Whileitiscommontousesuchsoundsinarhythmicway,anyperormanceisalwaysinfuencedbyeachnotecreatingadierentbeatingrate.

EachoCyphersoscillatorsincludesauseuleatureorprovidingthisdetunedbeatingeectwiththesamerateacrossthewholekeyboardrange,resultinginnewwaysoperormingthrobbingdubstepbassesandrhythmicpadsandchords.

Using the Beat control

TheBeatcontrolsetstherequencyrateothebeatingeectinHz.Tounderstandhowthiscontrolworks,ollowthissimpleexample:

Normal detuning

Manual detuning:

InitializeCypher,turnupOsc2s GainullyandsetOsc2s Scalecontrolto1.04(double-clickthecontrolandtypethevalue).

StartwithaninitializedCypherstate.Osc1andOsc2arebothsettothesamerequencyinrelationtothemasterPitch.Whenplayedtogethernormally,withtheBeatcontrolsettozero,thereisnobeatingtheoscsareperectlyintunewitheachother.

Now,settheOsc2Scalecontrolto1.04(inotherwords,+4centsor+0.04semitones).Thiscreatesbeatingatarateoapproximately1HzwhenplayingtheA4keyonthekeyboard.

Thisisbecausethispitch,whencombinedwithkeyboard

tracking,causestheA4keytoproducearequencyoapproximately441HzromOsc2.WhenthisoscrequencyplaysatthesametimeasOsc1atexactly440Hz,thedierencebetweeneachoscsrequenciesistherateobeating.

However,iyouweretoplaytheA5key,thebeatingratewouldbeapproximately2Hz.Thisisbecause,withkeyboardscaling,eachincreasingoctavedoublestheoscillatorrequency:theOsc2requencyis882Hz,whileOsc1isat880Hz.Thedierencebetweenthemis2Hz,whichistherateobeating.

Beat detuning

Beat detuning:

InitializeCypher,turnupOsc2s GainullyandsetOsc2s Beatcontrolto1Hz.

NowsettheOsc2Scalecontrolbackto1andsettheOsc2Beatcontrolto1Hz.Thisresultsinabeatingrateo1Hzacrossthewholekeyboard,becausethe1Hzisaddedafterthe

keyboardscalingisapplied:Osc2atA4:440Hz+1Hz=441HzOsc2atA5:880Hz+1Hz=881Hz

Becausethedierencebetweentherequenciesothetwooscsisthesame,thebeatrateisalsothesame.

WiththeSyncbuttonenabled,theBeatcontrolissetinBPM-basedvaluessyncedtothehosttempo,allowingtempo-syncedbeatingeects.

Adedicatedbeatratecontrolisveryrarelyoundonhardwareanaloguesynths,withanotableexceptionbeingtheMoogTaurusbasssynthesizer.

Beat rates as TransMod modulators

ThebeatingratesothevariousoscillatorcombinationsareavailableasTransModcontrol-ratesources.Thismeansyoucanmodulateotherparametersatthebeatrate,allowingorunprecedentedrhythmicmodulationeectssyncedtooscbeating.

Thesesourcesarediscussedattheendosection7:8.

Usage with other oscillator unctions

TheBeateatureoersinterestingpossibilitieswithotheroscillatorunctions,asitprovidesarhythmicrequencydetuningeect.TryusingitalongsideFM,WM,ringmodandsyncunctions.


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5: Amber

5:1 Overview

Amberrepresentsoneotherstattemptstorealisticallymodelclassicstring-ensemblesynthesizersromthe1970s.Theseinstrumentseaturedaspecialoscillatortechniqueorullpolyphonyusingasinglesynthvoice.Thewordpolyphonyisininvertedcommasbecausetheseinstrumentsweretechnicallynottruepolyphonicsynths.

Divide-down synthesis explained

Tobeullypolyphonic,asynthmustbeabletoproduceseveralentirevoicessimultaneously.Thismeansthatatrue

polyphonicsynthiseectivelyastackoullmonosynthswithsomeextraprocessingunctionsorassigningkeyboardinputtotheavailablevoices.

Adivide-downsynthesisarchitectureisverydierent.Generally,therequenciesoaseto12masteroscillators(orthehighestoctave)aredivideddowntolowerrequenciesmultipletimestoproducetheullrangeonotesonthebuilt-inkeyboard(typically4or5octaves).TheprincipleissimilartoStrobessub-oscillators,exceptthatkeyboardinputprovidesaccesstothesesub-octavesinsteadoaader.

Polyphonicarchitecture Paraphonicdivide-downarchitecture

Monophonicarchitecture

ThisapproachbecameknownasparaphonicatermintroducedbyRolandsRS-505ParaphonicStringsinstrument.Whiletheoscillatorsproducemultiplenotessimultaneously,allnotestypicallysharedasingleampenvelopeandlter.

Implementations o divide-down synths

Divide-downsynthswerenotintendedtoproducebigsoundssuchasthoseromaconventionalatanaloguemono-orpolysynth.Inact,mostimplementationsothistechnologyinvolvedusinganalchorusstagetothickentheoutputand

createtheillusionomanystringinstrumentsplayingatoncetocreateanensemblesound.Turningothechorusresultedinarathersterileandcharacterlesstimbreallnotesinthekeyboardrangeareperectlyinphase,meaningthereisnobeating.

Sometimesamonophonicbasssynthsectionwasprovided,suchasthatintheARPOmniseries,whichtypicallybypassedthechoruscircuitandeaturedaresonantlter,allowingthebassregistertocutthroughmorepowerully.

Instrumentsbasedondivide-downtechnologybecameprimarilyusedorsimplestring,pianoandorgansoundsactuallynotveryrealistic,butverypassableandpleasantrepresentations,withthecrucialabilityobeingabletoplayallnotesonthekeyboardsimultaneously.

String synths in popular use

Inspiteotheirlimitations,stringsynthsbecameverywidelyused.Itwascommoninthe1970sorkeyboardplayerstouseastringensemblesynthalongsideothersynthsandelectromechanicalkeyboards.Perhapsthemostwell-knownexamplesweretheARPOmniseries,RolandRS-505andEminentSolina.

AewstringsynthssuchastheLoganStringMelodyseriesandtheKorgLambdaeaturedadedicatedARampenvelopeoreach noteonthekeyboard.Thisapproachinvolvedincreasedcost,weightandmainten-anceissues,andthelesssophisticatedsingle-VCAinstrumentslikethosebyARPandEminentweregenerallymorewidelyused.

Evenmoresophisticatedimplementationsodivide-downtechnologywereinvolvedintheMoogPolymoogandtheKorg3x00series,withthelatterparticularlynotableorbeingaparaphonicsemi-modularsynth.


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Amber: the next step in divide-down synthesis

Ambersdesignbuildsonthestringsynthesizerlegacy,whileretainingcrucialelementsthatmadethemsospecial.

Bothsingleandmultipleparaphonicenvelopebehaviourispossible,alongwithvelocity-sensitivity.Aormantlterandthreedierentchorusmodelsareprovidedorawiderangeosounds.

BecauseAmbersharesthesameoverallvoice,unisonandmodulationarchitectureastheothersynthsinDCAM:SynthSquad,ithastheabilitytostackandmodulateentireparaphonicvoices.

Synth and Ensemble sectionsAmbereaturestwosophisticatedparaphonicsectionswithinasinglesynthvoice.Eachothesesectionscontainsaparaphonicnote-generatingstage,ollowedbypolyphonicprocessingblocks,whicharemonophonicoreachvoice.Bothsectionsarecapableoplayingallnotesonthekeyboardsimultaneouslywithinasinglesynthvoiceupuntilacertainpointinthesignalfow.

Synthsection Theparaphonicstage(whicheaturesanoisegenerator)issummedtoasinglesignalbeorethepolyphonicresonantmultimodelter.

Ensemblesection TheEnsemblesectionissummedtoasinglesignalbeorethepolyphonicormantlterandchorus.

Bothsectionsareverysimilar(theSynthsectionsnoisegeneratoristhemaindierence),withtheirrespectivemonophonicprocessingstagesdeningtheircharacter.Optionally,theSynthsectioncanberoutedthroughtheEnsemblesectionsormantlterand/orchorus.

Contents o a single Amber voice

AsinglevoiceoAmberprocessestheollowingaudiogenerationandprocessingblockswithinbothparaphonicsections:

12oscillatorsoreachnoteinthetopoctave,sub-dividedinto8loweroctaves192envelopesandVCAs,velocity-sensitive3841-poletonelters(2pernoteorboththeEnsembleandSynthsections)

Additionally,itincludesallthepolyphonicaudioblocksmultimoderesonantlter,ormantlter,chorusandnalmixer/amp.

Thereore,itisveryCPU-intensivewhenrunningasinglevoice.PleasedonotexpecttobeabletorunthesamenumberoAmbervoicesonyoursystemasthoseorCypherandStrobe!


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5:2 Master tuning controls

ThePitchandFinecontrolsallowyoutotunethemasteroscillatorbank.

DuetoAmbersparaphonicarchitecture,thesecontrolsadjustthepitchoallparaphonicnoteswithinasinglevoicesimultaneously.

YouwillmainlyneedtousethesecontrolswhenusingmultipleAmbervoicestrysettingsomemodulationontheFinecontrolromaVoiceorUnisonsourceinordertodetuneeachvoice.

YoucouldalsousetheDritsourcetomodulatethepitchwhenusingasinglevoice,inordertosimulateasynthwithunstable,dritingoscillators.

5:3 Synth sectionParaphonic

oscillatorcontrol

ResonantlterPower

Polyphonicmultimode

resonantlterParaphonic oscillator control

Level controls: 8, 4 & Nse

TheSynthsectioneatureslevelcontrolsorthe8and4octaves,andoragaussianwhitenoisegenerator(Nse).

WhenusingtheAmberFXplugin(MIDI-controlledaudioeectpluginversion),theexternalaudioinputappearsinplaceothe

Nsesource.Inv (invert)

TheInvbuttoninvertsthephaseotheSynthsectioninrelationtotheEnsemblesection.Thiscanresultininterestingphase-cancellationeectswhenbothsectionsareinuse.

Paraphonic ADSR envelopes and VCAs

EachnoteintheSynthsectionpossessesitsowndedicatedADSRenvelopetocontrolitsamplitudeovertime(theenvelopesareinternallyconnectedtoVCAsoreachnote).TheshapeoalltheseenvelopesisdictatedbytheSynthEnvelope.

Vel (Velocity)

TheVelcontrolsetsthevelocitysensitivityortheSynthsectionsVCAs.Attheminimumsetting,thereisnomodulationo

amplitudebyvelocity.LP & HP (paraphonic 1-pole tone flters)

Thetoneoeachparaphonicnoteisadjustedbya1-polelterstageeaturinghigh-passandlow-passlters.UsetheLPandHPcontrolstoadjustthecutorequenciesotheselters.

Theseltersarekeytracked(directlymodulatedbykeyboardpitch)relativetothecutorequencies,withmaximumdepth.Thisdirectmodulationcannotbeadjusted.

Filter stage (polyphonic multimode resonant flter)

AlltheindividualparaphonicSynthsectionnotesaresummedbeorebeingpassedthroughthemultimoderesonantlterstage.

Thislterstageispolyphonicmonophonic for each voice.

Power

ThePowerbuttonenablesordisablesthelter.Whendisabled,incomingaudiopassesthroughthelterstageunaected.

Cuto & Res (Resonance)

TheCutoandResparameterscontrolthecutorequencyandresonanceothelterstage,

Mode

Theresonantltercanbeusedinanyotheollowingmodes:

Low-Pass2-poleor4-poleHigh-Pass2-poleor4-poleBand-Pass2-poleor4-polePeak4-poleNotch4-pole


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5:4 Ensemble section

FormantlterPowerParaphonicoscillatorcontrol

Polyphonicormantlter

Paraphonic oscillator control

Level controls: 8, 4 &

TheEnsemblesectioneatureslevelcontrolsor8,4andoctaves.

Inv (Invert)

TheInvbuttoninvertsthephaseothe

EnsemblesectioninrelationtotheSynthsection.Thiscanresultininterestingphase-cancellationeectswhenbothsectionsareinuse.

Paraphonic AR envelopes and VCAs

EachnoteintheEnsemblesectionpossessesitsowndedicatedARenvelopetocontrolitsamplitudeovertime(theenvelopesareinternallyconnectedtoVCAsoreachnote).TheshapeoalltheseenvelopesisdictatedbytheEnsembleEnvelopesparameters.

Vel (Velocity)

TheVelcontrolsetsthevelocitysensitivityortheEnsemblesectionsVCAs.Attheminimumsetting,thereisnomodulationoamplitudebyvelocity.

LP & HP (paraphonic 1-pole tone flters)Thetoneoeachparaphonicnoteisadjustedbya1-polelterstageeaturinghigh-passandlow-passlters.UsetheLPandHPcontrolstoadjustthecutorequenciesotheselters.

Theseltersarekeytracked(directlymodulatedbykeyboardpitch)relativetothecutorequencies,withmaximumdepth.Thisdirectmodulationcannotbeadjusted.

Formant flter stage

Ambersormantlterstageisprovidedprimarilytoimpartmorerealisticstring-likecharacteristicsontheEnsemblesection(andoptionallytheSynthsectionbyadjustingtheSyn Routecontrol).Thisallowsoraversatilerangeostringtimbres,aswellasmoreexperimentalsoundsbeyondthescopeomoststringsynths.

Itisunusualtohaveaormantlteronastring-synth,althoughsomesynths,suchastheARPOmni,eaturedxedlteringoneachpartothestringsection(violin,viola,cello,bass)togiveititsowncharacter.Othersynthseaturedadditionallterswithinthechoruscircuitinordertoproducethesetypesoeects.

Theormantlterispolyphonicmonophonic for each voice.AllparaphonicnotesintheEnsemblesectionaresummedbeorereachingthispointinthecircuit.

Formant flter controls: Power, Freq, Gain, Scale & Notch

Toenabletheormantlter,engageitsPowerbutton.

Theormantltercomprises4band-passlters,eachwiththeirownFreq(requency)andGaincontrols.TheresonanceoallbandsiscontrolledbyasingleResparameter,whiletheScalecontroladjuststherequencyoallbandssimultaneously.

TheNch(Notch)buttonswitchesallbandstonotchltermodeinthismode,theGaincontrolsareinactive.

Theormantlteriscapableosel-oscillationusethenalmixer/ampliercontrolstotamethesoundsothatitdoesnotdistortathigherresonancesettings.

5:5 Ensemble section chorus stage ChorusPower

Thenalchorusprocessingisaveryimportantpartoastringensemblesynth,asitprovidesthelush,blendedensemblesoundoastringorchestraplayingtogether.Amberschorusismodelledonclassicbucket-brigadedelay(BBD)choruscircuitsoundinmanyoldsynthesizersandstomp-boxes.3dierentmodelsareavailableusingtheModecontrol,witheachprovidingtheirownuniquesoniccharacter:

197519811984

ThechorusstageispartotheEnsemblesection,butitispositionedatertheEns. Ampinthesignalfow.TheSynthsectionisnotroutedthroughthechorusbydeault,althoughthiscanbeachievedusingtheSyn Routecontrolinthemixer/ampliersection.

EnabletheChorusstagebyengagingitsPowerbutton.Thechoruseaturescontrolsorspeed

opitchmodulation(Rate)andstereoSpread.

Extralterswereotenintegratedintostringsynthchoruscircuitsinordertoshapethetonetobemorestring-like.Amberhasadedicatedormantlterorthispurpose,soyoumayneedtoenableBrightmode(usingtheBrtbutton)todeactivatetheextralteringwithinitscircuit.


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5:6 Mixer / Amplifier stage

Synth & Ens. (Synth Amp and Ensemble Amp)

Themixer/amplierstageeaturesseparateAmpcontrolsortheSynthandEns.(ensemble)sectionsothevoice.Sincetheparaphonicnoteshavealreadybeensummedtosinglesignalsbythetimetheyreachthisstage,theSynthandEns.controlseectivelymixthelevelsothetwosectionswithinthevoice.NotethattheactualmixingstageoccursaterthechorustheEns.controlsitsbetweentheormantlterandchorusinthecircuit.

ThereisawaveshapingstagebetweentheSynth/Ens.andLevelcontrols,whichis

capableodistortionwhenitscomponentsaredrivenhard.Iyouwantacleanersound,keeptheSynthandEns.controlsatlowsettingsandincreasetheLevel.

IyouwanttooverloadtheampbyincreasingtheSynthandEns.controls,remembertoturndowntheLevelcontrol.Otherwise,theoutputoAmbermayclip.

Syn Route

TheSyn RoutecontrolallowstheSynthsectiontoberoutedthroughtheEnsemblesectionsormantlterorchorusidesired.ThisroutingoccursaftertheSynthAmpstage.

Pan

ThePanparameterexistsaftertheSynthandEnsemblesectionsaresummedthereoreiyouneedtopanthe2sectionsseparatelyyoumustuseunisonvoicesandappropriateTransModmodulation.

LevelThisparametersetsthenalLeveloeachvoicebeoreitissummedwithallotheractivevoicesatthenaloutputothesynth.

Analogue

TheAnalogueparametersimulatestheeectonoiseinAmberscontrolsignalcircuits,somethingthatalwaysoccursinrealanaloguesynths.Atlowersettings,itleadstoasubtlygrittyandslurringcharacter,whilehighersettingscreateamoreunstableanddistressedsounds.

5:7 Perform controls

ThesecontrolsallowyoutochangetheplayingbehaviourotheSynthandEnsemblesections.

Range

TheRangecontrolrepresentsamethodosplittingthekeyboardrangeotheSynthandEnsemblesections.EithersectioncanbesettoLow,HighorAll.

All: C2toB9Low:C2toG4High:G#4toB9

Mode

ThePerormanceModesettingsallowboththeSynthandEnsemblesectionstoollowoneoseveralbehavioursparaphonic,monophonicnotes,monophonicenvelopeattackormonophonicenveloperelease.

ParaphonicemulatestheplayingstyleostringmachinessuchasthosebyLoganandKorg,eaturinganindividualVCAoreachnoteonthekeyboard.

TheMonoAtkandMonoRelmodeseachinvolveadierentstyleosingle-VCAparaphonicplayingresponse.Single-VCAsynths,suchastheSolinaandOmniseries,possessedtheirowneelandsoundduetotheirlimitationsheavilyinfuencingthewaytheyhadtobeplayed.

SettingbothsectionstoMonoNoteresultsinAmberrespondinglikeaconventionalpolyphonicsynth:eachvoicecangenerateonly1noteorbothsections.

Paraphonic Everykeytriggerseachnotesindividualampenvelope

MonoNote Onlythehighestprioritynoteisheard.ThepriorityissetusingthePrioritycontrolintheKeyingcontrols.IPriorityissettoLowestandthismodeisselectedortheSynthsectionyoucanplayamonophonicbasslinetoaccompanyyourstringchords.

MonoAtk Allnotesshareasingleattackampenvelope,allowingyoutoplayapartwiththevolumeslowlyswellingoverallthenotes.

MonoRel Allnotesshareasinglereleaseenvelope,allowingchordstoslowlyreleaseuntilnewnotesareplayed,whereupontheoldnotesaremuted.


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5:8 Other functions


TheseparametersareincludedinallDCAM:SynthSquadsynths,andare

describedinsections6:2,6:3and6:4.

Visualizer scope

Thevisualizerscopeprovidescontext-sensitivegraphicaleedbackoreachsectionoAmber.Seesection6:6ormoredetailsonthiseature.

5:9 Modulation

TheTransModsystemmustbeusedorallprogrammedmodulationinAmber.

WiththeexceptionotheSynthandEnsembleEnvelopes(directlyroutedinternallytotheindividualparaphonicSynthandEnsemblenotesVCAs)andthenon-adjustablekeytrackingortheparaphonic1-poletonelters,noneoAmbersmodulatorshavedirectroutingstoanyparameters.Therearenocontrolsorsettingthedepthointernaldirectmodulation.

Paraphonic architecture and polyphonic modulation

Ambersdivide-downsynthesisarchitectureisverydierentromtheconventionalpolyphonicarchitectureoStrobeandCypher,meaningthatmodulationmustalsobeapproacheddierently.Inpolyphonic(ormonophonic)architectures,amodulatorsuchasanLFOactsper voiceeachvoiceisshapedbythemodulatorpolyphonically.Inotherwords,eachvoicehasitsownLFOoperatingindependentlyotheothervoicesLFOs.

Ambersdivide-downparaphonicarchitecturemeansthatonevoiceactuallygeneratesallnotesonthekeyboardwithinasinglevoice.Thisparaphonicportionothesynthactuallycontains192envelopesandVCAsoneoreachnoteitcanproduceintheSynthandEnsemblesections.

However,thevoicealsocontainselementsthateatureasingleinstanceoreveryvoiceLFO,RampandModEnvmodulators,andthemulti-moderesonantlter,ormantlter,chorusandMixer/Amplierstagesinthesignalpath.Theseelementsallactpolyphonically(monophonicallyoreachvoice)ratherthanparaphonically.Similarly,theTransModsystemals

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DCAM Synth Squad Operation Manual

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