©2000 Access Music GmbH, Germany. Virus™ is a trademark of
Access Music GmbH. All other
trademarks contained herein are
the property of their respective
owners. All features and specifications subject to change without
notice.
Written by Christoph Kemper, Uwe
G. Hönig, Wiland Samolak and
Marc Schlaile.
Translation by Thomas Green.
Graphic Design and DTP by
Babylonwaves Media.
http://www.access-music.de
info@access-music.de
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION - 15
The Virus ..................................................16
The Amplifier Envelope .......................20
The First Filter .........................................23
Filter Modulation ...................................25
The Saturation Stage ............................27
The Second Filter................................... 28
Filter Routing ..........................................32
The First Oscillator................................ 34
The Second Oscillator ...........................37
The MIXER Section................................ 39
The LFOs ...................................................41
LFO 2 ......................................................... 46
Velocity.................................................... 48
Unison Mode..........................................49
The Chorus/Flanger Effect.................. 50
The Delay Effect...................................... 51
More to Come .........................................52
CONCEPT AND OPERATION - 53
Operating Modes.................................. 54
The Multi-Single Mode.........................55
Edit Buffers ..............................................57
HANDLING - 59
Parameter Selection and
Data Entry...............................................60
Knob Modes ........................................... 63
Display of values ................................... 64
ALL ABOUT THE MEMORY - 67
Store ......................................................... 68
Compare..................................................69
MASTER CLOCK & MIDI-CLOCK - 71
Master Clock and Midi-Clock .............. 72
THE MODULATION MATRIX AND
DEFINABLE KNOB - 75
Creating Modulation Configurations
via Assign................................................ 76
The Definable Knobs.............................78
THE EFFECTS SECTION - 81
The Effect Section ................................. 82
AUDIO INPUTS - 83
Audio Inputs........................................... 84
OSC Volume / Input.............................. 85
Input Level Indicator ............................86
INTERNAL AUDIO ROUTING - 87
Aux Buses................................................88
The Audio Outputs ...............................89
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS - 91
Panic Function ....................................... 92
Audition function.................................. 92
Reset Function .......................................92
THE PARAMETERS - 93
Sound Parameters with a Dedicated
Control Element ....................................94
LFO 1 – Panel ...........................................95
LFO 1 – EDIT Menu................................. 97
LFO 2 - Panel .........................................100
LFO 2 Edit-Menu ................................... 101
LFO 3 ........................................................102
OSCILLATOR 1- Front Panel................ 104
Oscillator 2 – front Panel....................105
OSCILLATOR – EDIT-Menu................ 106
Menu parameters for Oscillator-2...107
Menu-Parameter for Oscillator-3... 109
Menu-Parameters of the
Suboscillator ...........................................111
Mixer-Parameters within then
Oscillator-edit-Menu ...........................112
Mixer........................................................ 113
Filters – Panel.........................................114
Filter-Edit-Menu....................................118
Amplifier ................................................ 122
Main Edit Menu (Common)............... 123
Assign......................................................129
Velocity................................................... 133
WITHIN THE CTRL-MENU - 135
COMMON ..............................................136
ARPEGGIATOR....................................... 137
DEFINABLE 1 / DEFINABLE 2 .............. 140
MULTI MODE parameters..................142
PARAMETER OF THE FX-MENU- 149
The internal Effects .............................150
Input........................................................150
Follower (Envelope-Follower)........... 154
Ringmodulator ..................................... 155
Vocoder ..................................................156
Distortion............................................... 157
Analog Boost.........................................158
Phaser .....................................................159
Chorus..................................................... 161
Delay/Reverb.........................................162
GLOBAL-, MIDI- AND SYSTEM
PARAMETERS - 173
Global Parameters............................... 174
System ................................................... 180
RANDOM PATCH GENERATOR - 183
Random Patches...................................184
CATEGORIES - 187
Sound Categories.................................188
THE KEYBOARD VERSIONS OF
THE VIRUS - 189
The Virus kb and the Virus Indigo... 190
Local off and “Three in One”............ 190
Keyboard & Company.........................192
The Keyboard-Modes..........................195
THE VOCODER OF THE VIRUS - 201
Vocoder ................................................. 202
The parameters of the vocoder.......204
Notes about the vocoder ...................210
THE VIRUS AND SEQUENCERS - 213
Parameter Control via MIDI ..............214
Organizational Information.............. 214
Handling MIDI Parameter Control ..216
Notes on Adaptive Parameter
Smoothing............................................. 217
Problems Related to Parameter
Control.................................................... 221
DUMP: The Sound in the Song .........222
TIPS, TRICKS AND OTHER WORDS
OF WISDOM - 227
MULTI SINGLE Mode .......................... 228
Value Buttons ......................................229
All abouts Inputs................................. 229
About the Delay/Reverb..................... 231
The Virus as an Effect Device............232
Envelope Follower ...............................233
Oscillators ............................................. 234
Filters.......................................................237
SATURATION for Added Dirt ............239
LFOs ........................................................240
Volume Control ...................................242
ASSIGN and the DEFINABLE Knobs. 243
ARPEGGIATOR...................................... 244
MIDI........................................................ 245
PRIORITY................................................ 247
Installing an operating system
update.................................................... 247
Loading the Operating System from
One Virus to Another ......................... 249
Software Updates............................... 250
APPENDIX - 251
System Exclusive Data........................252
Parameters Describtion..................... 258
Multi Dump Table................................273
Classes ................................................... 276
Mod Matrix Sources ..........................280
Mod Matrix Destinations...................281
Definable Knobs Destinations ........ 282
MIDI Implementation Chart.............284
FCC Information (U.S.A).....................286
FCC Information (CANADA).............. 288
Other Standards (Rest of World).....289
Declaration of Conformity................290
Garantie Bestimmung....................... 292
Warranty ............................................... 293
6
Important Safety Remarks
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
7
Please read and heed the following safety guidelines!
A few fundamental rules on handling electrical devices follow.
Please read all notes carefully
before you power the device up.
Set-up
Operate and store the device in
enclosed rooms only.
Never expose the device to a
damp environment.
Never operate or store the device
in extremely dusty or dirty environments.
Assure that air can circulate
freely on all sides of the device,
especially when you mount it to a
rack.
Don’t set the device in the immediate vicinity of heat sources such
as radiators.
Don’t expose the device to direct
sunlight.
Don’t expose the device to
strong vibrations and mechanical
shocks.
Connections
Be sure to use exclusively the
included mains power supply
adapter.
Plug the device only into mains
sockets that are properly grounded
in compliance with statutory regulations.
Never modify the included
power cord. If its plug does not fit
the sockets you have available,
take it to a qualified electrician.
Always pull the power plug out
of the mains socket when you
won’t be using the device for prolonged periods.
Never touch the mains plug with
wet hands.
CHAPTER
8
Safety Remarks
2
Always pull the actual plug,
never the cord, when you’re
unplugging the device.
Operation
Don’t set beverages or any other
receptacle containing liquids on
the device.
Make sure the device is placed
on a solid base. Set it on a stable
tabletop or mount it to a rack.
Make sure that no foreign
objects fall into or somehow end
up inside the device’s housing. In
the event that this should occur,
switch the device off and pull the
power plug. Then get in touch with
an authorized dealer.
Memory battery change
The Virus stores its sound programs in a battery-buffered RAM.
This battery (general type designation: CR2032) should be replaced
every three to four years. The housing has to be opened to change the
battery, so take the device to a
qualified service technician. Do
your part in protecting our environment and take it to a shop that
disposes of batteries properly.
Before you have the battery
changed, save the entire memory
content of the RAM by loading it to
a sequencer via "Total Dump". Be
advised that RAM content is lost
when the battery is swapped (see
“Midi Dump TX” on page 174).
Used on its own and in conjunc-
tion with amps, loudspeakers or
headphones, this device is able to
generate levels that can lead to
irreversible hearing damage. For
this reason, always operate it at a
reasonable volume level.
Care
Do not open the device, it is not
equipped with any user-serviceable parts. Repair and maintenance may only be carried out by
qualified specialists.
Use only a dry, soft cloth or brush
to clean the device.
Do not use alcohol, solvents or
similar chemicals. These can damage the surface of the housing.
Fitness for Purpose
This device is designed exclusively
to generate low-frequency audio
signals for sound engineeringrelated purposes. Any other use is
not permitted and automatically
invalidates the warranty extended
by Access Music Electronics GmbH.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
9
CHAPTER
10
Safety Remarks
2
Prologue
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
11
Dear Virus Owner,
Congratulations on your choice,
the new Virus. You have purchased
a cutting-edge synthesizer that
comes fully loaded with several
revolutionary features. Here are
just a few of the highlights:
The Virus delivers the sound characteristics and tone of traditional
analog synthesizers - for instance
the Prophet 5 or Memorymoog to
name just two popular examples
of the species - in a previously
unparalleled level of quality and
handling ease. We’re not kidding,
the Virus actual delivers the
authentic response of an analog
synth via a digital signal processor
chip, although the sound shaping
and voicing options out-perform
those of it historical predecessors
by a considerable margin.
The Virus comes with 512 slots for
storing SINGLE sounds. These are
organized in four banks. The first
two banks (A and B) are located in
the RAM, so you can overwrite
them with new sounds. The other
two banks are ”hard-wired”, i.e.
they’re programmed into the
FLASH ROM.
The Virus offers a maximum of 24
voices. In Multi Mode, these are
allocated dynamically to sixteen
simultaneously available sounds.
You have no less than three audio
oscillators plus one suboscillator, a
noise generator, a ring modulator,
two Multi Mode filters, two envelopes, a stereo VCA, three LFOs and
a saturation stage (SATURATOR) for
cascade filtering, tube and distortion effects.
The Virus offers a veritable arsenal
of effects. You have seven powerful
sound-sculpting functions, including chorus, phaser and distortion,
at your disposal, with each effect
available separately for every
sound. Thus, in 16-way MULTI
mode, the Virus offers 80 effects,
no less!. You also get a global
reverb/delay unit that lets you create high-quality reverb effects and
rhythmic delay taps. Delay time
can be synced up to MIDI clock.
12
CHAPTER
Prologue
3
With the benefit of two external
audio inputs, the Virus may also
serve as an FX device and signal
processor that you can use creatively to come up with all kinds of
effects. External signals can be
processed with filter, gate and lo-fi
effects, routed to the Virus effects
section and serve as a modulation
source for frequency and ring modulation.
Beyond that, you can use internal
or external signals as sources for
the Virus’ on-board vocoder serve.
The vocoder works with up to 32
filter bands and offers diverse
manipulation and modulation
options.
The three main oscillators produce
66 waveshapes, three of which are
dynamically mixable so that spectral effects are possible within the
confines of a single oscillator. In
conventional synthesizers, this
type of effect requires several oscillators. Synchronization, frequency
modulation and ring modulation
between the audio oscillators
delivers additional complex spectral effects that you can use for all
kinds of sound shaping purposes.
The filters can be switched in
series or in parallel within the
voices via several options. When
you switch the filters in series, the
saturation stage is embedded
between the filters. Consequently,
an overdriven filter resonance can
be re-filtered within the same
voice! A maximum of six filter
poles (36 dB slope!) enables radical
tonal manipulations.
The LFOs feature 68 continuous
variable waveshapes each, including a triangle with variable symmetry and infinitely variable
aperiodic oscillations for random
variation of the controlled parameters. The LFOs are capable of polyphonic as well as monophonic
oscillation. In other words, if several voices are active, the LFOs can
run independently or in sync. A
number of keyboard trigger
options enable you start LFO waveshapes with variable phase lengths
at the beginning of a note and/or
to cycle once only, like an envelope.
Next to the numerous ”hardwired” or fixed modulation configurations, you can assign three
modulation sources to up to six
different modulation destinations
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
13
via the Modulation Matrix. For
your modulation sources, you have
LFOs, velocity, the pitch bender,
aftertouch, the modulation wheel,
numerous MIDI controllers and
other sources to chose from. For
your modulation destinations, you
can select any sound parameter of
the Virus that is conducive to being
remote controlled.
Up to 16 arpeggiators are available
in MULTI mode. These give you
countless options for creating
arpeggios, which can also be
synced up to MIDI clock.
Sounds and effects are patched
out via six audio outputs which of
course can also be used to route
three stereo signals out.
In additional to its killer sounds
and tone, the Virus was designed
to deliver ultimate handling and
control comfort. It is equipped
with dedicated knobs and buttons
for the crucial synthesizer functions, further parameters are
accessible via data entry procedures. We distinguished between
these two levels of expertise to
enable you to create complex
sounds while keeping the user
interface as clear and uncluttered
as possible.
In all modesty, we are especially
proud of a feature we developed
called Adaptive Parameter
Smoothing. For the first time in
the history of synthesizers
equipped with memories, you can
manipulate a knob or control feature without an audible step or
increment. In other words, the
sound does not change abruptly
but SEAMLESSLY. No more zipper
noises! The Virus responds just as
smoothly as analog synthesizers
did prior to the introduction of digital sound storage
And users of contemporary software sequencers will appreciate
the fact that the Virus sends all
sound shaping commands immediately in the form of MIDI Controller or Poly Pressure data (and of
course accepts all of the corresponding Controller and SysEx
messages). This feature lets you
dynamically control the Virus and
all its functions via computer.
14
CHAPTER
Prologue
3
Although far from complete, the
features listed above give you
some indication that you now own
an exceptionally versatile, highquality musical instrument that
will give you plenty of joy for years
to come. We certainly hope you
can fully exploit the enormous
potential of this fine instrument.
Have fun and enjoy!
Your Virus Development Team
By the way: a rack mounting kit is
optionally available for the Virus b.
Feel free to get in touch with your
local authorized dealer for more
info.
Many thanks to:
Ben Crosland, Thomas Green, Axel
Hartmann, Uwe G. Hönig, Jörg
Hüttner, Oliver Käser, Andrea
Mason, Thorsten Matuschowski,
Paul Nagle, Kai Niggemann, Rob
Papen, Wieland Samolak, Howard
Scarr, Hans-Jörg Scheffler, Jenny
Simon, Matt Skags, Joeri Vankeirsbilck, Jay Vaughan, Jens Wegerhoff
and Daniel Wewer.
Introduction
CHAPTER
16
Introduction
4
THE VIRUS
This section provides deliberate,
step-by-step guidelines on operating and handling the Virus for
those of you who are new to the
world of synthesizers and MIDI.
The following covers basics such as
how to connect the Virus to an AC
power supply, your MIDI system
and your audio system. Then we
will guide you through a series of
experiments designed to demonstrate the different functional
groups, their control features and
the tasks they execute.
Please keep in mind that within
confines of this introduction, we
are unable to impart all of the
knowledge and skills in acoustics,
sound synthesis and MIDI control
you might desire or need to
acquire. If you are keen to learn
more about these subjects, you
should consider becoming a regular reader of one or several of the
leading trade publications in your
country. Your local musical instruments dealer or more experienced
musicians will be able to recommend the best magazines to you.
And of course there is a wide range
of books available on these subjects.
After you have finished reading
this section, you will be able to
handle virtually all of the sound
generating and sound shaping
functions of the Virus. All of these
are described in context, along
with their control features. Even
the majority of less significant
functions, accessible via menus,
are discussed here. You will find a
detailed, comprehensive description of all functions of your new
synthesizer in the section following this introduction.
If you decide to read this section,
we recommend you read it in its
entirety from the start - rather
than begin with a subsection that
is of particular interest to you. A
fitting metaphor for the basics discussed in this section might be a
house where each bit of information in a subsection is a brick that
builds on a preceding brick and
interlocks with those next to it.
You want your knowledge base to
be a sound structure so you won’t
run into problems when you find
one of the “bricks” is missing.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
The Virus
17
Cable Connections
Before you connect the Virus to an
AC outlet and the rest of your
equipment, ensure that all of the
devices are switched OFF. If your
Virus does not have a build-in keyboard, then connect the MIDI OUT
of the desired MIDI send device
(keyboard, computer, hardware
sequencer, etc.) with the MIDI IN
of the Virus.
Connect the audio outputs of the
Virus with the signal inputs of your
audio system. In order to receive a
signal, as a minimum you must
connect the output OUT 1 R/
MONO. However, we recommend
you also connect the output OUT 1
L so you are able to enjoy the stereo sounds of the Virus.
Once you have established the
desired cable connections, make
sure the main volume controls of
all the connected devices (Virus:
MASTER VOLUME, located at the
upper left hand of the control
panel) are dialed to the lowest possible setting. Switch the devices on
in the following sequence: the
MIDI send device (computer, master keyboard, etc.) first, then the
sound generators (Virus and the
other signal sources), followed by
the mixing console and finally the
amplifier.
Now while you are sending notes
on MIDI Channel 1 of the Virus,
turn the master volumes of the
connected devices up in the same
order that you switched the
devices on. Be sure to keep on eye
on the signal level indicators of
your mixing console.
Listening to the Factory Sounds
The program memory of the Virus
was loaded with sound programs
(SINGLE PROGRAMs) and sound
combinations (MULTI PROGRAMs)
before it left the factory. To hear
the SINGLE PROGRAMs (and gain
an initial impression of the possibilities your new instrument has to
offer in terms of sounds), first
make sure your MIDI source is
sending on MIDI Channel 1.
Press the SINGLE button. A number, a letter, number and name
appear in the display. These indi-
CHAPTER
18
Introduction
4
cate the the MIDI Channel, the current Program Bank (A to D) as well
as the number and name of the
current sound program. Now if you
play notes you should be able to
hear this sound and a ≤ note (the
round dot at the end of the note
staff is solid black) should appear
in the display every time you press
a key and release a key. If you do
not hear a sound but you see a half
note (blank note head) check to
see if you are sending on the
wrong MIDI Channel.
Press the VALUE button to call up
the 128 single programs of Bank A
in sequence. (The VALUE pot is
inactive in this operating mode.) In
order to hear the sound programs
in banks B, C and D, simply use the
PARAMETER/BANK buttons to step
from one program bank to
another.
You’ll find that some sound programs are labeled with the abbreviations ”INP” or ”VOC”. These use
the external audio input as a signal
source for the filter section (INP) or
vocoder (VOC). This means that
you won’t hear anything until you
route an audio signal into the
external audio inputs.
Listening to the Multi Programs
The Virus not only has the capability of playing SINGLE PROGAMs,
but also combinations consisting
of more than one sound simultaneously (MIDI Multi Mode). To call
up the MULTI PROGRAMs, press
the MULTI button and select these
combination programs via the
VALUE button. The Virus features
“only” 128 MULTI PROGRAMs, so
you don’t have to switch back and
forth between banks they way you
just did while activating single programs.
The majority of available MULTI
PROGRAMs contain sound combinations that are controlled via a
single MIDI channel. In these
MULTI PROGRAMs, the sounds
involved are allocated side-by-side
(split) or on top of one another
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
The Virus
19
(layered) on the keyboard. In other
MULTI PROGRAMs, the sounds are
divided up over several MIDI channels to make it easier to work with
a sequencer. If you activate a
MULTI PROGRAM and hear a single
sound only, then you can control
this MULTI PROGRAM via several
channels.
Your First Sound Program
If you have never created or
changed a sound on a synthesizer,
we now have the pleasure of introducing you to this fascinating process.
Select the single program “A127 START -”. Press any key on the connected keyboard. You should hear
a sound that, for lack of better
description, is a bit harsh or biting,
but above all completely static. It
should start immediately after you
press a key and sustain indefinitely
for as long as you hold the key
down. As soon as you release the
key, the sound should end
abruptly. This sound is not
designed to be especially pleasant; it is intended to be as neutral
as possible to give you a basis from
which you can begin creating or
shaping your own sound.
CHAPTER
20
Introduction
4
THE AMPLIFIER ENVELOPE
Long-term exposure to this sound
will definitely grate on your nerves,
so let’s get started with changing
it into a signal you might enjoy
hearing, beginning with the volume characteristics. Locate the
section labeled
bottom right of the control feature
panel of the Virus. Here you can
see five pots labeled
DECAY, SUSTAIN, TIME
respectively.
These controls will help you to dial
in volume characteristics called an
amplifier envelope and put an end
to the nerve-racking drone that
may remind you of one of those
cheesy organs that you hear in ‘60s
B-movie sound tracks.
AMPLIFIER
ATTAC K
and
at the
,
RELEASE
Rotate the
repeatedly engage a key to hear
the note. The further you turn the
pot up, the longer it takes for the
sound to achieve maximum volume after the start of the note. So
you can say
initial volume swell of the sound.
Presumably the
set to a random position before
you made any adjustments. Nevertheless the volume automatically
increased to the maximum level
,
before you started rotating the
pot. The reason for this is that an
ATTAC K
sound program - START - and this
value remains valid until you
determine a new value by adjusting the position of the pot, even if
you turn it ever so slightly.
Take a look at the display of the
Virus to gain an impression of the
difference between these two values. It shows two numeric values
when you dial a pot: at the left you
can see the value stored in the
sound program and at the right,
ATTAC K
ATTAC K
value of 0 is saved in the
pot while you
controls the
ATTAC K
pot was
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
The Amplifier Envelope
21
the numeric equivalent to the
value determined by the current
position of the pot.
Always keep in mind that for a
programmable synthesizer the
position of the control feature or
pot does not necessarily indicate
the actual value of the given function. The reason for this is that
when you first activate a sound
program, it will reflect the programmed value. You have to adjust
the control feature before the programmed value is superseded by
the value you determine manually.
Now fiddle with the
DECAY
pot
while you repeatedly press a key to
activate a note. Hold the key down
for good while. You will notice that
the volume, once it reaches maximum level at the end of the
ATTAC K
phase, drops until it
reaches a minimum level. The
DECAY
pot determines the speed,
or in synthesizer jargon, the rate at
which the volume decreases.
However, the
DECAY
level does not
always drop to the minimum level;
you can determine a random value
between the maximum and minimum levels at which the volume
remains constant. This level in turn
is controlled via the
Whenever the
SUSTAIN
SUSTAIN
pot.
level is set
to maximum, the volume cannot
drop during the
DECAY
phase; in
other words, in this situation the
DECAY
pot is ineffective.
The individual functions of a
synthesizer are designed to interact; many functions are dependent
on other functions. In a number of
cases this means that some functions are subordinate to others, i.e.
the effectiveness of a control feature is altered, modified or even
negated completely by other
related functions.
The final pot,
RELEASE
, determines
the speed or rate at which the volume decreases when you release
the key: At low values the sound
ends relatively abruptly, at high
values, the sound fades out more
gradually and softly. The length of
the
RELEASE
phase also depends on
which level the amplifier curve is
at when you release the key: The
CHAPTER
22
Introduction
4
lower the level, the shorter the
RELEASE
brief
phase. If you dialed in a
DECAY
or
SUSTAIN-TIME
phase
and it ended while you held the
key down then of course there will
not be an audible
RELEASE
phase.
The next phase of the amplifier
envelope is determined by the
TAI N-TIME
pot: If the pot is set to
SUS-
the center position (12 o’clock) indicated by the mathematical infinity
symbol, then the
SUSTAIN
level
remains constant through to the
end of the note.
If you turn it counter-clockwise to
the left (towards FALL), then the
level drops off at an increasing rate
towards the minimum level much
in the manner you just experienced with the
DECAY
pot; If you
turn the pot clockwise to the right
(towards RISE), the level rises at an
increasing rate to maximum and
remains there until you release the
key.
(turns it up or down). At the beginning of the note,
ATTAC K
controls
the rise or rate of increase to the
maximum level. Once the maximum level is achieved,
DECAY
determines the fall or rate of
decrease to the
SUSTAIN
value,
which is infinitely variable
between the minimum and maximum levels. The amplifier envelope may remain at this value until
the end of the note, fall towards
the minimum level as determined
by the variable
TIME
value, or even
rise again towards the maximum
level. After the end of the note,
RELEASE
controls the fall or rate of
decrease to the minimum level.
Consequently, the control pots
labeled
RELEASE
where as
ATTAC K, DECAY, TIME
and
control a speed or rate,
SUSTAIN
actually con-
trols a level.
The amplifier envelope can be
described as a variable curve
which, depending on the type and
duration of attack, hold and
release data, automatically influences an imaginary volume pot
THE FIRST FILTER
Now we will take a look at a component of a synthesizer that is
generally regarded as the most
important functional unit as it
enables drastic sound shaping
measures: the filter - or in the case
of the Virus, the two filters.
But first we will concentrate on
just one of the two filters.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4
The First Filter
becomes muddier and clearer in
response to the direction in which
you turn the pot. (To ensure this
effect and the following aural
experiments are most pronounced,
adjust the amplifier envelope so
that the Virus generates a constant
level while you hold a key down).
This is how a low pass filter works:
it suppresses, or in technical jargon, attenuates the higher frequencies in a signal and allows the
lower frequencies through. Think
of the
and the Virus as your pub. You can
tell it which frequencies to let in
and which frequencies to keep out.
The frequencies above the socalled cutoff or filter frequency are
suppressed, those below it remain
unaffected.Now locate the FILT 1
MODE switch, which is also located
in the
you to select a filter operating
mode from the four available
options:
CUTOFF
FILTERS
pot as a bouncer
section. It enables
23
Locate the
confused with
section labeled
above the section labeled
FIER
. Rotate the pot to the left and
right and note how the sound
CUTOFF
CUTOFF
FILTERS
pot (not to be
2!) in the
, directly
AMPLI-
LLLLPPPP
the low pass filter we have
just discussed.
CHAPTER
24
Introduction
4
HHHHPPPP
the high pass filter which
works in the opposite manner of
the low pass filter: It suppresses
the lower frequencies in a signal
and lets the higher frequencies
pass.
BBBBPPPP
the band pass filter which
suppresses both ends of the tonal
spectrum and allows only a narrowly defined bandwidth of the
original sound to pass.
BBBBSSSS
reject filter or notch filter which
works in the opposite manner of
the bandpass filter. It allows all of
the frequencies of a signal except
for a narrow frequency band
around the cutoff to pass. The
term “notch” is fairly descriptive;
you might say this filter chops a
notch out of the sound spectrum.
The band stop filter, band
Now activate the different operating modes and rotate the
pot to get a feel for the way each
filtering option works.
Along with the
RESONANCE
tant control feature of a filter. The
filter resonance increases the volume of the frequencies located
near the cutoff frequencies and
suppresses the more remote frequencies. This sound shaping feature has a striking effect especially when used in conjunction with the low pass filter: it produces a nasal or honking type of
tone which increases as you turn
the resonance up. Experiment by
varying the
the different operating modes in
conjunction with different CUTOFF
settings. You will find the effect
that the RESONANCE pot achieves
is markedly different for the band
stop filter in comparison to the
effect it has on the other filter
types: as the resonance increases,
the bandwidth of the notch
decreases; in other words more
frequencies on both sides of the
filter frequency are allowed to
pass.
CUTOFF
pot is the most impor-
RESONANCE setting in
CUTOFF
pot, the
FILTER MODULATION
Of course we don’t want to require
you to execute every sound modification manually by twiddling pots.
All kinds of sound modifications in
the Virus can be executed automatically much in the way of your
previous experiments with the volume controls: The amplifier envelope can be described as a variable
curve which, depending on the
type and duration of attack, hold
and release data, automatically
influences (turns it up or down) an
imaginary volume pot.
Similar procedures are applicable
to the filter frequencies. The FIL-
TERS section features its own envelope, the structure of which is
identical to the amplifier envelope,
located directly above the amplifier envelope on the control feature panel. Much like the amplifier
envelope, the filter envelope automatically “rotates” the CUTOFF
pot.
However there is one significant
difference between the two envelopes. With the amplifier envelope,
you are always dealing with an ini-
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 25
Filter Modulation
tial volume level of 0 because of
course you want absolute silence
prior to the beginning of a note.
After the RELEASE phase, it is again
highly desirable that your box is
silent. With the filter envelope, the
situation is somewhat different: It
always starts at the CUTOFF value
that you determined manually.
And it is definitely not always
desirable that the filter frequency
is brought to the maximum level.
Consequently, you need a tool that
limits the effective range of the filter. This is why we equipped the
Virus with a control labeled ENV
AMOUNT (short for Envelope
Amount). When the pot is turned
counter-clockwise to the far left,
the filter has no effect on the cutoff frequency; the further you turn
the pot to the right, the greater
the effect the filter envelope has
on the filter frequency. The maximum level of the envelope may lie
outside the audible range when
the filter has already been partially
opened via the CUTOFF pot or was
manipulated via other control
options. In extreme cases where
the filter is already completely
26 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
open, the filter frequency cannot
be increased regardless of how
high you set the ENV AMOUNT.
Go ahead and spend some experimenting with different ENV
AMOUNT, CUTOFF and RESONANCE settings for the diverse fil-
ter operating modes. Also try
varying the settings for the amplifier envelope. You will find that
with just these few parameters
you are able to come up with a vast
amount of sound settings. If you
are among the many musicians
who are associative listeners, you
might say many of the settings
produce sounds reminiscent of
stringed-instruments; some sound
picked, plucked or snapped, others
sound bowed.
For your next experiment set the
amplifier envelope so that you
hear a constant level when you
press and hold a note. Now deactivate the filter envelope by setting
the ENV AMOUNT to 0. Set Filter1Filter-1 to low pass mode and
decrease the filter frequency until
you just barely hear a muddy signal when you play notes in the
mid-range.
Now play a few higher and lower
notes. You will find that the lower
notes have a greater overtone content, whereas the higher notes
sound muddier and their volume
decreases until the notes are completely inaudible. You might
already suspect what this is all
about: As the notes are transposed
ever lower, more portions of the
signal fall below the cutoff frequency, whereas with the notes
that are transposed ever higher,
more portions of the signal rise
above the cutoff frequency and
subsequently are suppressed until
the root note and the last audible
portion of the signal is silenced.
To avoid this effect - or if desirable,
to amplify it - you have the option
of influencing the cutoff frequency
via the pitch of the note, i.e. the
note number. The degree of influence is determined by the KEY FOLLOW pot.
Please note that KEY FOLLOW is a
so-called bipolar parameter: Its
control range is not limited to the
positive end of the spectrum (0 to
a maximum of 127). Bipolar controls effect negative values as well,
in this case from the negative
maximum of -64 through 0 an on
to the positive maximum of +63.
Consequently, if this pot is set to
the center position (12 o’clock or 0)
the pitch of the notes corresponding to the keys on your keyboard
has no effect on the cutoff frequency. If on the other hand you
turn the KEY FOLLOW pot clockwise towards the positive control
range, you will find that the filter
opens up increasingly as the pitch
increases with higher notes. At
lower notes, the filter closes down
again. If you turn the pot counterclockwise towards the negative
control range, the KEY FOLLOW
effect is reversed. With the Virus,
you will encounter this feature intensity control via a bipolar
parameter - again in conjunction
with other modulation sources
and targets.
Now experiment as much as you
like with different KEY FOLLOW
settings and tune the settings via
the CUTOFF pot. And remember to
bring all of the other parameters
you have encountered thus far into
play.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 27
The Saturation Stage
THE SATURATION
STAGE
In the signal chain of the Virus, Filter-1 is followed by a saturation
stage. It enables you to add overtones to the filtered signal via distortion. Locate and press the
button labeled EDIT in the FILTERS
section.
01111111111111111112
1 SATURATION
Curve Off≤
61111111111111111154
The display will read ”SATURATION
CURVE OFF”, which means exactly
what it says. With the VALUE buttons or the VALUE pot, you can
now select from a number of satu-
ration/distortion curves. Next to
the distortion curves, the SATURA-
TION stage offers further DSP
effects such as the shaper, rectifier
and filter. These are explained in
detail in the section on the SATU-
RATION stage.
At this point we would like to mention the OSC VOL pot in the MIXER
section. The portion of the control
range from the far left to the cen-
28 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
ter position (12 o’clock) determines
the volume of the filter section’s
input signal. The portion of the
control range located to the right
of the center position (12 o’clock)
does not achieve any increase in
volume; it simply intensifies the
degree of saturation or distortion.
This effect is only achieved when
you have activated a saturation
curve. The intensity of the remaining available DSP effects is also
controlled via the OSC VOL knob.
Feel free to experiment with the
diverse saturation curves and be
sure to vary the OSC VOL settings.
Note how the different CUTOFF
and RESONANCE settings influence
the saturation curve.
THE SECOND FILTER
You probably noticed that by a
adding a bit of saturation to the
signal you can come up with a
pretty heavy, aggressive sound especially with a low filter frequency level and high resonance.
You’re probably thinking these
types of sounds could do with
some more filtering. We had the
same idea, which is one of the reasons why we equipped the Virus
with another filter per voice.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 29
The Second Filter
The technical design of this second
filter is identical to the first, so we
won’t discuss it in as much detail
as we did the first filter. However,
there are few differences in how
you handle the second filter:
Only two control features of the
Virus are allocated exclusively to
Filter-2: CUTOFF 2 and FILT 2 MODE.
The RESONANCE, ENV AMOUNT
and KEY FOLLOW pots can be allocated to either of the two filters or
both simultaneously. Use the two
SELECT buttons located at the far
right of the FILTERS section to
select the desired operating mode.
For instance, if you press the FILT 2
SELECT button, then the values you
set via the RESONANCE, ENV
AMOUNT and KEY FOLLOW pots
apply exclusively to Filter-2. The
corresponding parameters of Filter-1 remain unaffected. On the
other hand, if you press both
SELECT buttons at the same time,
the values that you dial in apply by
the same measure to Filters 1 and
2.
that all adjustments to the given
parameters affect both filters.
However, you have yet to actually
hear the effect of Filter-2 on the
signal because it is mixed out of
the audible signal path of the
Virus.
Before we get started with our
next experiment, deactivate SATU-
RATION, set the ENV AMOUNT of
the filter envelope to zero and set
CUTOFF 2 to the center position (12
o’clock) so that Filter-2 always has
the same cutoff frequency as Filter-1 (we’ll explain CUTOFF 2 a bit
later). Set CUTOFF to a medium or
middle value and turn the RESO-
NANCE pot counter-clockwise to
the far left to achieve a relatively
muddy sound. Now locate the FIL-
TER BALANCE pot at the upper
right hand of the control panel and
rotate it from the left to the right.
You will note the sound becomes
muddier as you turn the pot
towards the center position (12
o’clock) and that the sound is
somewhat brighter at the far right
of the control range then at the far
left.
In the sound program we are using
for our experiments, the LEDs of
both buttons are illuminated, so
30 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
The reason for this effect is that
when you turn the FILTER BALANCE
pot to the far left, only Filter-1 is
audible. When you rotate the pot
to the right, Filter-2 is blended in so
that it follows Filter-1 in the signal
chain. When you turn the FILTER
BALANCE pot clockwise, Filter-1 is
blended out of the signal chain
until at the far right position only
Filter-2 is active and audible.
Each filter in the Virus normally
features 2 poles. However in the
FILTER ROUTING operating mode
SER 6, Filter-1 operates with 4
poles, so the signal patched
through Filter-1 (FILTER BALANCE to
the far left) is trimmed more drastically than when it is routed
through Filter-2 (FILTER BALANCE to
the far right). When you set the FIL-
TER BALANCE pot to the center
position (12 o’clock) - as we mentioned before - the two filters are
routed in series, which means they
respond as if they were a single filter with 6 poles and consequently
a great deal of slope. This is why
the input signal is trimmed substantially when you set the pot to
this position.
Experiment with the diverse FILTER
BALANCE positions to get a feel for
the different degrees of slope.
Rotate the CUTOFF pot or activate
the filter envelope (for both filters!) to hear the filters in action.
The CUTOFF 2 pot is a special fea-
ture: It controls the cutoff frequency of the second filter, but is
subordinate to the CUTOFF pot
located above it. In other words, at
the center position (12 o’clock) the
manually selected frequency of Filter-2 is identical to that of Filter-1.
When you rotate the pot to the left
the cutoff frequency level of Filter2 is increased relatively to Filter-1,
when you turn to pot to the right
the cutoff frequency level is
decreased relatively. Now when
you adjust the CUTOFF pot, you
adjust the cutoff frequency of both
filters by the same measure! This
feature lets you determine a difference in values in the filter frequencies (called an offset) via the
CUTOFF2 pot which remains constant whenever you adjust the
CUTOFF pot.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 31
The Second Filter
Yet another experiment in which
you can come up new filtering
characteristics that are typical of
the Virus:
Set the FILTER BALANCE pot to the
center position (12 o’clock) and
CUTOFF 2 to the maximum level.
The FILTER ROUTING operating
mode must remain SER 6. Set CUT-
OFF and RESONANCE to a middle
value and select a clearly audible
SATURATION curve.
Now you can filter this complex
signal produced by a combination
of the saturation stage and the
Filter-1 yet again. Rotate the CUT-
OFF 2 pot slowly towards the center position (12 o’clock). You can
hear how Filter-2 gradually modifies the distorted signal. You can
set a RESONANCE value for Filter-2
if you press the FILT 2 SELECT button and rotate the RESONANCE pot
to the desired position. Set the
CUTOFF 2 pot to a position to the
right of the center position. This
configuration can be described as a
complex non-linear filter set up
where the cutoff frequency is controlled via the CUTOFF pot. You can
dial in a wide range of sound-shaping option via CUTOFF 2. Also try
modifying the resonances of both
filters as well as the SATURATION
curve to come up with different filtering characteristics.
Now experiment with the diverse
filter modes and listen closely to
the effect of the parameters RESO-
NANCE, ENV AMOUNT and KEY
FOLLOW in conjunction with the
SELECT button. Please also keep in
mind that the chances of choking a
sound off are substantially greater
when you are using both filters:
For instance, if the first filter is
used as a low pass with a low cutoff frequency and the second as a
high pass with a high cutoff frequency, the Virus will not generate
an audible signal when you set the
FILTER BALANCE pot to the center
position (12 o’clock).
Regardless of which FILTER
ROUTING option you chose, the
SATURATION stage is always postFilter-1, i.e. after Filter in the signal
chain.
32 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
FILTER ROUTING
The final parameter we’ll discuss
for the time being is FILTER ROUT-
ING. This feature offers several filter routing options which allow
you to operate the filters in series,
i.e. patch one after the other in the
signal chain, or in parallel, which
means side by side in the signal
chain:
SER-4 The filters are switched in
series; with two poles each (12dB/
Okt.), both filters have the same
slope for a total of four filter poles
(24dB/Okt.).
SPLIT The filters are switched in
parallel and feature two poles each
(12dB/Okt.). Additionally, they
receive independent input signals
(more on this later). Each of the
two oscillators routes its signal
into one of the two filters whose
signals can be spread in the panorama via a parameter called UNISON Pan Spread.
SER-6 The filters are switched in
series; Filter-1 has four poles (24dB/
Okt.), Filter-2 has two poles (12dB/
Okt.) so the overall slope is equivalent to six poles (36dB/Okt.).
PAR-4 The filters are switched in
parallel and feature two poles each
(12dB/Okt.).
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 33
Filter Routing
Here is the filter routings capabilities of
the Virus.
34 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
THE FIRST OSCILLATOR
To this point, we have turned our
attention exclusively to soundshaping functions and have always
started with the same basic material: a so-called sawtooth wave.
This waveshape is especially wellsuited as a neutral starting point
as it contains all of the so-called
natural scale of overtones, which
give the filter plenty of quality
material to work with.
The filters, with the exception of a
notch filter or band stop (BS), trim
the far reaches of the tonal spectrum, so for instance a signal
sounds muddier after it has been
routed through a low pass filter.
You can well imagine that this type
of sound modification is substantial but insufficient for shaping
more subtle differences in tone.
For instance the tone of a trumpet
differs significantly from that of a
saxophone even though no one
would seriously claim that either
of the instruments has a muddier
tone than the other.
What you need is a sound-shaping
option for the portion of a signal
that a filter allows to pass. And of
course you also need a tool for
determining the pitch of a signal.
In synthesizers, both of these tasks
are executed by oscillators. They
oscillate at a variable pitch that
can be modulated and they also
generate different waveshapes
which give the filters a wider variety of material to work with.
The Virus is equipped with two
main oscillators and a so-called
suboscillator. We will first take a
look at Oscillator 1, which is the
oscillator you have already heard
in action during your experiments
thus far.
Dial in the same basic sound that
you started with at the very beginning. Now modify the amplifier
envelope so you are working with
a less grating sound, but hold back
on any other filter or saturation
modifications so you can hear the
purest oscillator signal possible.
Locate the section labeled “1”, it is
bordered off in a separate area at
the far left of the section labeled
OSCILLATORS. No check out the two
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 35
The First Oscillator
pots labeled SHAPE and WAVE SEL/
PW. These enable you determine
the waveshape and consequently
the tonal spectrum of Oscillator 1.
In the sound program, SHAPE is
preset to the center position (12
o’clock), which is equivalent to a
value of 64. On the pot, this position is identified via a graphic
depiction of a sawtooth wave. You
can definitely see why this waveshape bears the name “sawtooth.”
Press and hold a key and slowly
turn the pot clockwise. You should
be able to hear how the tone
becomes increasingly more hol-
low-sounding. You might say this
effect thins the sound out, but in
any case, the entire tonal spectrum
is affected by an equal measure,
which is an audio result filters are
unable to achieve.
The waveshape that is audible
when you turn the SHAPE pot to
the far right is a so-called pulse
wave. The graphical representation
of this waveshape on the control
panel gives you a good idea of its
appearance. It is unique because
the duration of the negative pulse
is equal to the duration of the positive pulse: It has a so-called pulse
width of 50%. The tone of a pulse
wave is different to that of a sawtooth wave because it does not
contain all overtones in the natural
overtone scale, only the odd-numbered tones, i.e. the first (the root
note that determines the pitch),
third, fifth, and so forth. By turning
the SHAPE pot from the sawtooth
control range towards the pulse
control range, you are actually dialing every other overtone out of the
mix, which explains why the sound
becomes thinner.
36 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
You can continue modifying the
sound by reducing the symmetrical width of the pulse wave. In the
Virus, you can execute this soundshaping measure via the WAVE
SEL/PW (PW = pulse width) pot,
PROVIDED THE SHAPE POT IS SET TO
A POSITION IN THE RIGHT HALF OF
ITS CONTROL RANGE (LATER THAN
12 O’CLOCK). Rotate the WAVE SEL/
PW pot slowly from the left to the
right and leave the SHAPE pot at
the far right position. You can hear
how the treble content of the
sound increases while the sound
becomes ever thinner. At the far
right position, the signal is no
longer audible because the pulse
width is equivalent to 0% and consequently the wave no longer
oscillates.
Starting at the center position (12
o’clock) indicated by the sawtooth,
turn the SHAPE pot counter-clockwise towards the left. You can hear
how the overtones are increasingly
mixed out of the signal until you
can only hear the root note. This
sound is produced by a so-called
sine wave, one of 64 other waveshapes that you have at your disposal for sound generation
purposes. These waveshapes can
also be activated via WAVE SEL/PW
(WAVE SEL: Wave Select), PRO-
VIDED THE SHAPE POT IS SET TO A
POSITION IN THE LEFT HALF OF ITS
CONTROL RANGE (EARLIER THAN 12
O’CLOCK). Regardless of the current SHAPE setting, you can also
select a wave in the EDIT menu
under OSCILLATOR 1 WAVE.
Go ahead and check out the different waveshapes. The second of the
64 waves is a triangle wave, the
remainder of the waveshapes are
each a unique tonal blend. After
you have familiarized yourself with
this raw material, experiment with
the parameters of the FILTERS and
AMPLIFIER sections you have dealt
with thus far (don’t forget about
SATURATION and the corresponding function of the OSC VOL pot),
to get a feel for how the diverse
waveshapes respond to filtering,
saturation and amplifier modifications.
THE SECOND OSCILLATOR
As we mentioned previously, in
addition to the other sound
sources, the Virus is equipped with
a second oscillator. Judging from
the amount of control features on
this oscillator’s section of the control panel, you have probably
already gathered that it has more
sound-shaping options than Oscillator 1.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 37
The Second Oscillator
lengths are mixed. Press the same
key on your keyboard several times
with the OSC BAL set to the center
position (12 o’clock). You should
notice that each note has a slightly
different tone. The oscillators are
the source of this effect. The oscillators of the Virus oscillate freely,
consequently every time you play a
note, the phase constellation
between the two oscillators is different. For now, leave the OSC BAL
POT at the center position (12
o’clock).
Dial in the basic sound program
that you had at the very beginning;
change the amplifier envelope to
suit your taste. In the sound program, the OSC BAL (Oscillator Balance) pot in the MIXER section is
preset to the far left. In order to
hear Oscillator 2 in action, rotate
the OSC BAL (Oscillator Balance)
pot in the MIXER section to the
right. Towards the center position
(12 o’clock) you will hear how the
tone is modified and as you rotate
the pot further to the right, how
the intensity of this modification is
reduced. This effect is known as
the comb filtering effect. It occurs
when two signals with the same
frequency but different phase
You are already familiar with Oscillator 1’s SHAPE and WAVE SEL/PW
pots. These functions are identical
for Oscillator 2, so we won’t go into
detail on them again.
38 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
Locate the pot labeled DETUNE
and slowly rotate it to the right
from the far left position (which is
preset in the sound program). You
can hear the tone start to waver
and as you turn the pot further to
the right, how this vibrato effect
increases until Oscillator 2 sounds
distinctly out of tune with Oscillator 1. This wavering or vibrato-type
effect has a popular traditional in
synthesizers. It is used to achieve
chorus effects, create sounds reminiscent of stringed instruments/
string sections or simply beef up
the sound.
The SEMITONE pot enables you to
transpose Oscillator 2 by plus/
minus four octaves in semitone
steps while Oscillator 1 maintains
the pitch. This feature is especially
interesting when used in conjunction with two other oscillator functions: synchronization and
frequency modulation.
Locate and activate the SYNC button in the OSCILLATOR 2 section
(the LED must illuminate). The synchronization function forces Oscillator 2 to restart its wave cycle at
the same time as Oscillator 1 waveshape starts its cycle. The initial
effect of this measure is that the
wavering tone that resulted from
detuning and mixing the oscillator
signals disappears.
The SYNC effect really becomes
interesting when you transpose
Oscillator 2 upwards in comparison
to Oscillator 1 via the SEMITONE
pot. What happens is that the
wave cycle of Oscillator 2 is interrupted as soon as Oscillator 1 starts
its cycle. The pitch of the second
oscillator no longer has the
expected effect, instead it generates special tones, in some cases
for lack of a better description
“screaming” type effects.
The other effect that benefits from
manipulating the interval between
the oscillators is frequency modulation (FM). It generates new tonal
spectra in which the signal of the
first oscillator controls the frequency of the second oscillator
similar to the manner in which filters can be controlled via envelopes. And here too you have a pot
which allows you to control the
intensity of: FM AMOUNT. Basically, this effect is similar to a
vibrato, although here you’re dealing with an extremely fast vibrato
featuring a frequency within the
range of human hearing. This signal is not actually audible as a
vibrato effect. Instead, you’ll hear a
sound modulation, in some cases,
a very drastic one at that. Choose
the pure sine waveshape for Oscillator 2. In conjunction with the
sine wave, the frequency modulation generates very clear, in some
cases bell-like, spectra.
In the Virus you have the option of
combining the two functions
called oscillator synchronization
(SYNC) and frequency modulation
(FM AMOUNT, to generate new
harmonic spectra. Switch SYNC on
and experiment with the FM
AMOUNT. Also try out different
SEMITONE settings and the diverse
waveshapes of Oscillator.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 39
The MIXER Section
THE MIXER SECTION
You have already come across two
parameters of the MIXER section:
OSC BAL determines the mix ratio
between Oscillators 1 and 2; in the
left half of its control range, OSC
VOL determines the master volume of the oscillator mix. In the
right half of the control range from
the center position to the far right,
OSC VOL increases the saturation
intensity when a SATURATION
curve has been activated.
Now we’ll take a closer look at the
final control element, the SUB OSC
pot: It controls the volume of the
fourth oscillator, the so-called
SubOscillator, which always operates an octave below Oscillator 1.
The Virus is equipped with a third
master oscillator that lets you create further oscillations and spectra. You can access the parameters
of this oscillator, which are
described in a later chapter, via the
OSCILLATOR EDIT menu.
The SubOscillator is mixed to the
Oscillator 1 and 2 master mix signal
as determined by the OSC BAL pot.
The master volume of the composite mix is controlled by the OSC VOL
pot. The only other parameter
available for the SubOscillator is
accessible via the OSCILLATOR EDIT
menu where you have the option
40 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
of selecting a triangle or pulse
waveshape (SUB OSCILLATOR WAVE
SQUARE/TRIANGLE).
Another voice-internal signal
source of the Virus has no visible
control features on the control
panel: the Noise Generator. The
dedicated sound parameters are
its volume and coloration (NOISE
Volume and Color in the OSCILLA-
TOR EDIT menu). On the middle
position of NOISE Color the Noise
Generator produces white noise.
Please keep in mind that the level
of the Noise Generator is not subject to the master volume controlled by the OSC VOL pot. In other
words, it is audible even when OSC
VOL is set to zero.
The VIRUS’ ring modulator is a new
sound source. The output of the
two oscillators is multiplied to create interesting sounds with rich
enharmonic overtones. These overtones are highly dependent on the
frequency coherence of both oscillators and it’s waveforms. The frequency coherence can be changed,
for instance use the OSC2 SEMITONE parameter. To blend in the
ring modulator use EDIT: RINGMODULATOR VOLUME (in OSCILLA-
TOR EDIT Menu). If the
RINGMODULATOR VOLUME is zero,
the ring modulator is switched off.
OSC VOL does not affect the ring
modulator level (or indeed the
noise volume). Therefore the original oscillator signal can be leveled
independently of the ring modulator. Be sure to check out what the
ring modulator does when you
select a sine wave for Oscillator 1
and 2.
Now we can go on and solve the
mysteries of the signal flow as
determined by the FILTER ROUTING
operating mode SPLIT: Here Oscillator 1 and the SubOscillator are
routed to Filter-1, whereas Oscillator 2 and the Noise Generator are
routed to Filter-2. Although the
sound sources are split into two
signal paths, you can still control
the volume levels of the different
elements as well as OSC VOL in the
usual manner.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 41
The LFOs
THE LFOS
When you first started this series
of experiments with sounds, we
promised that many of the functions the Virus can be “programmed” so that they are
executed automatically. You have
already learned how to control the
volume and cutoff frequencies of
both filters as well as the pitch and
intensity of the frequency modulation of Oscillator 2 via “preprogrammed” envelopes. These
options are great, but you have
already encountered a number of
functions where it would be a
helpful if you could also program
them to be executed automatically. And of course envelopes are
great modulation sources, but you
have to play a note every time you
want to initiate an envelope. During your experiments you probably
came across a function or two you
would like to be able to control
periodically - independently of
notes. Some features that come to
mind are traditional techniques
such as vibrato (periodic pitch control) and tremolo (periodic volume
42 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
control). Another option you might
like to have at your disposal is random parameter control.
In the Virus, both of these tasks are
executed by a so-called LFO (low
frequency oscillator) that oscillates
at frequencies below the audible
range. An LFO is similar to the
oscillators you have encountered
thus far, but it oscillates significantly slower so that its output
signal is too low for human hearing. So what good are they if you
can’t hear them? LFOs are used in
much the same manner as envelopes, with the major difference
that the are repeated indefinitely.
LFO 1
Start with the usual basic sound
configuration or chose a modified
sound to suit your taste. Locate the
RATE pot in the LFO 1 section of the
control panel. The RATE pot is
equipped with an LED that indicates the speed of the LFO as well
as its waveshape. Turn the RATE
pot and check out how the flash of
the LED indicates the change of
pace as you rotate the pot.
Currently you are unable to hear
the effect of the LFO as its modulation intensity is set to 0 in the
sound program. In order to change
this setting, you must access the
AMOUNT button which works in
conjunction with five vertically
arrayed LEDs labeled OSC 1, OSC 2,
PW 1+2, RESO 1+2 and ASSIGN:
Press the AMOUNT button repeatedly and observe how the LEDs
flash in succession (the LEDs OSC 1
and OSC 2 flash separately as well
as in unison). The corresponding
modulation targets appear in the
display, along with the modulation
intensity values as determined by
the VALUE pot and VALUE buttons.
(You can also scroll through the
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 43
The LFOs
modulation targets via the
PARAMETER button after you have
pressed the AMOUNT button
once.) Once you have dialed in a
value other than 0 for a modulation target, the corresponding LED
illuminates continually. This feature tells you at a glance that a
modulation is underway even
when the display indicates some
other type of operation.
Here are the definitions for the modulation targets:
OSC-1 refers to the frequency of
oscillator 1
OSC-2 refers to the frequency of
oscillator 2
PW 1+2 means that the pulse
widths of both oscillators are controlled in unison
RESO 1+2 refers to the resonances
of both filters. Please keep in mind
that although each set of these
parameters is assigned a common
modulation intensity, you can still
dial in different sound-shaping settings manually. In other words, the
audible result of a joint modulation varies according to the values
you have determined for the other
parameters.
ASSIGN Here you can freely select
any modulation destination.
Modulate the five parameters separately and in combinations with
different intensities. Try to anticipate the sound you will come up
with when you modulate the first
oscillator, the second oscillator or
both oscillators at once and see if
the results match your expectations. If you can fairly reliably predict the outcome of your soundshaping efforts, you should have a
handle on the information discussed thus far and can use your
knowledge to create specific
sounds you have in mind.
During the course of your experiments, it is entirely possible that
you have generated modulations
that have no effect whatsoever on
44 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
the sound, for instance if you modulate the frequency of Oscillator 2
although it is dialed out of the
oscillator mix. When you run into
this type of problem, check out the
signal routing, if any configurations conflict with each other and
memorize the situation, problem
and solution. If you make a habit
out of this, you won’t panic when
you run into similar situations;
instead you’ll keep your cool, analyze the unexpected sound and fix
the mix.
You are currently using a triangle
as the LFO waveshape. You
shouldn’t have any problem associating the periodic up and down
fluctuation of the target parameter with this waveshape. Now activate the other available
waveshapes for LFO 1 and try to
picture the respective waveshape
and associate it with the results of
the modulation.
The third waveshape is a descending sawtooth wave. You can convert it into to an ascending
sawtooth by simply dialing in the
requisite negative modulation
intensities (AMOUNT).
In the WAVE setting, you have
access to 64 LFO waveshapes.
Select these in the display section
using the VALUE buttons:
S&H (Sample and Hold) is a structured random modulation. Here
random modulation values are
generated. The value is held until
the next beat impulse, then it
abruptly jumps to a new random
value.
S&G (Sample and Glide) is a continual random modulation. Here
the random values glide seamlessly into one another, the rate of
which is determined by random
modulation of the RATE value.
The following 62 waveshapes are
identical to the oscillator section’s
digital waves. These can be used to
create interesting rhythmic effects.
Continued your experiments with
different LFO waveshapes. Note
that after a while you no longer
consciously hear minimal modulation intensities - depending on the
waveshape and modulation target
(e.g. S&G +1 on OSC 1 or 2). However they do pep up the sound of
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 45
The LFOs
lend it a certain vitality. The key to
many great sounds are these types
of minimal modulations.
You may have gathered that the
LFOs of the Virus are polyphonic:
If several notes are played simultaneously, these are controlled by
dedicated LFOs, each with a
slightly varied rate. This effect livens up the sound of chords, especially when they are sustained. To
enhance this effect, activate the
LFO 1 KEY FOLLOW in the LFO-EDITMenu.
This function enables you to control the rate of the LFOs via the
pitch, or more accurately, via the
MIDI note number, so that higher
notes generate faster LFO rates. As
result, when you press and hold
several notes you will hear all kinds
of substantially different periodic
fluctuations.
Finally, the LFOs can also be used
as additional envelopes. The control feature for this effect is the
ENV MODE button. When you
press this button, two things
occur: For one, the LFO no longer
initiates its cycles periodically, but
only once at and in sync with the
start of a note, and for the other,
the active range of the LFO is
switched from bipolar (in both
directions from the zero position)
to unipolar (from zero in one direction only). Please note that this
applies to the modulation target
but not the modulation intensity.
Here you can still determine a
value in the entire bipolar range.
This effect is especially prominent
when used in conjunction with the
sawtooth wave, which enables a
fade-out type of effect (when you
dial in a positive AMOUNT value)
or a volume-swell type of effect
(negative AMOUNT) for the available modulation targets. Using the
LFO Curve parameter located in
the LFO EDIT menu, you can have
the ”ramp” rise or fall exponentially. If you choose a triangle for
your waveshape, the device will
generate an ascending phase
(attack) and a descending phase
(decay). LFO Curve also lets you
determine the temporal relationship between attack and decay; in
other words, their respective rates..
Dial in the desired speed via the
RATE pot.
46 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
You can also use S&H and S&G in
ENV MODE to come up with some
attractive results: S&H generates a
single random value at the start of
a note (in this case, the RATE pot
has no effect); S&G works in the
same manner although in this case
the RATE value is crucial. It determines the amount of time it takes
to glide from the previous to the
new random value.
LFO 2
The design of the second LFO is
essentially the same as the first, so
we’ll spare you the repetition of
details SHAPE 1 and 2 are available
as a joint modulation target; the
filter frequencies and the Panorama position can be manipulated individually. You may also
freely select a parameter for your
modulation destination.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 47
LFO 2
Volume and Panorama Position
You probably noticed that the
many of the sound shaping
options available in the Virus occasionally influence the volume level.
For instance, an unfiltered sawtooth is naturally louder than a
highly filtered sawtooth because
whenever you blend a part of the
frequency spectrum out of the
mix, you are automatically reducing the overall volume of the signal. This is why the Virus is
equipped with a programmable
volume pot for each SINGLE PROGRAM. It enables you to balance
out the volume levels of your
sound programs.
You have already dealt with the
Panorama position as a modulation target of LFO 2. Here you can
not only modulate it, but also
determine settings manually. For
this purpose, use the parameter
PANORAMA which is also located
in the OUTPUT section of the EDIT
menu. Like many other parameters, Panorama is a starting point
for modulations. For instance you
can modulate the Panorama position via LFO 2 even if you have
already set the Panorama to the
far left position. In this case of
course you will only hear the Panorama position shift to the right.
Locate the parameter PATCH VOLUME in the COMMON section of
the EDIT menu.
01111111111111111112
1 COMMON
PatchVolume 100≤
61111111111111111154
Its value is set to 100 so that you
have a reserve or headroom of 27
volume increments when you are
dealing with highly filtered
sounds.
48 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
VELOCITY
Velocity is one of the preferred
modulation sources of keyboard
players: A light key attack generates a low velocity value for the
given note, a heavy touch generates a high velocity value. In the
Virus you have ten modulation targets available for Velocity. Locate
the VELOCITY section in the EDIT
menu.
01111111111111111112
1 VELOCITY
Osc1Shape +0≤
61111111111111111154
There you will find the modulation
intensities for:
RESONANCE 2
VOLUME
PANORAMA
which you can manipulate independently of one another in the
familiar bipolar control range.
A light key attack generates a low
velocity value for the given note, a
heavy touch generates a high
velocity value.
OSC 1 SHAPE
OSC 2 SHAPE
PULSE WIDTH
FM AMOUNT
FILT 1 ENV AMT
FILT 2 ENV AMT
RESONANCE 1
UNISON MODE
When we talked about the oscillators, we mentioned that by subtly
detuning signals, you can beef up
sounds and achieve string-like
sounds. The Virus is equipped with
features that allow you to take this
type of tonal manipulation a step
further. On of these is the so-called
UNISON MODE. It enables you to
initiate two or more voices for each
note played, which in turn lets you
detune many oscillators. UNISON
MODE also offers the option of
spreading the voices generated by
one note in the stereo panorama
and shifting the phases of their
LFOs so that all types of periodic
effects can be used to produce an
even more exciting signal.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 49
Unison Mode
it determines how ”fat” the sound
will be. You can use the UNISON
Detune parameter to determine to
which extent the active voices are
detuned. UNISON PanSpread distributes them uniformly across the
stereo panorama, a process by
which you can also determine the
width of a sound’s stereo base.
When you activate UNISON mode
for a sound, it can still be played
polyphonically. However, depending on the number of voices you’ve
dialed in, its polyphony will of
course be considerably reduced in
UNISON mode. The most efficient
and the standard setting is UNISON mode = Twin, where two
voices are played for every note. In
the ”OFF” position, one voice per
note is played.
Locate the parameter group UNISON in the EDIT menu.
01111111111111111112
1 UNISON
Mode Twin≤
61111111111111111154
UNISON mode determines how
many voices the Virus will use to
render a played note. In a nutshell,
50 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
THE CHORUS/FLANGER EFFECT
how the two sides of the signal are
modulated differently - in reverse
phase - by the LFO.
Another function that delivers
great effects based on pitch fluctuation is the so-called chorus effect.
Chorus actually consists of a brief
delay (generally up to approx. 50
ms) which is varied periodically. By
modulating the delay, the delayed
signal is slightly detuned to the
input signal (the so-called Doppler
effect). This inconsistency in pitch
between the original and effects
signal is the source of the chorus
effect. Feedback in the delay line
enhances this effect. The left signal side is automatically modulated in a different manner than
the right, so a chorus effect is great
for converting mono signals into
stereo signals.
If the delay is less than approx. 10
milliseconds, than the effect is
called flanging or a flanger effect
rather than chorus. In this case
feedback is even more significant
because it generates resonances
that can be modulated and is thus
yet another source of radical sound
effects. If you determine high feedback values, you can clearly hear
Locate the parameter group CHORUS in the EFFECTS menu.
01111111111111111112
1 CHORUS
Dir/Eff OFF≤
61111111111111111154
CHORUS DIR/EFF determines the
balance between the original signal and the processed signal. The
parameters RATE and SHAPE control another LFO that was installed
specifically for the chorus LFO.
DELAY is used to set the delay time,
DEPTH determines the modulation
intensity, and FEEDBACK controls
the feedback level. When you want
to generate a flanger effect, the
FEEDBACK parameter’s negative
control range lets you dial in softer
characteristics for the flanger.
Please keep in mind that the Chorus section in the Virus is fully stereophonic: Stereo positions as well
as panorama modulations and stereo spread values that you have
dialed in elsewhere remain intact
in the effects signal.
THE DELAY EFFECT
A delay effect is traditionally used
to generated an echo of the input
signal. Locate the parameter group
DELAY in the EDIT menu.
01111111111111111112
1 DELAY
EffectSend 0 ≤
61111111111111111154
Here you fill find parameters that
are virtually identical to the
parameters of the CHORUS group.
Do not allow yourself to be confused by the slightly different terminology: The delay time is set via
the parameter entitled TIME
(equivalent to DELAY in the CHORUS section); the other features
are FEEDBACK with a dedicated
LFO and the familiar parameters
RATE, DEPTH and SHAPE.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 51
The Delay Effect
For the other, LENGTH enables you
to create substantially longer delay
times, for instance to achieve complete echoes (maximum of 693
ms) that are fully audible. The LFO
allows you to modulate the delay
as you would the chorus to achieve
similar detuning effects. A stereo
effect is achieved via different
modulations of the left and right
sides of the signal.
Only two functions in the Delay
section are different to the Chorus
section: For one, it features an
EFFECT SEND instead of the balance parameter DIR/EFF. EFFECT
SEND is especially significant in
MULTI MODE, where several PARTs
with different levels are patched
through the same delay effect.
52 CHAPTER 4
Introduction
MORE TO COME
We have come to the end of these
detailed instructions for novices.
We hope we were able to help you
become a bit more familiar with
your new synthesizer and gain
some confidence in how to handle
it. As we mentioned earlier, this is
just an introduction and does not
cover all the functions and features of the Virus, only the basic
components and how they affect
the sound of the Virus. You should
now be able to come to terms with
the in-depth look at the Virus in
the following section.
Concept and Operation
54 CHAPTER 5
Concept and Operation
OPERATING MODES
In the Virus you can select from
two basic operating modes, SINGLE MODE and MULTI MODE.
In SINGLE MODE, the Virus is able
to generate a single sound program only. All 24 voices, all effects
and most importantly, all control
features (with the exception of the
MULTI button) function in conjunction with this one sound program.
You might say a SINGLE program is
a combination of all functions and
effects that determine the sound
of the Virus. In other words: A SINGLE program is a ”sound” of the
Virus, that can be stored and
recalled.
The Virus provides access to 512
SINGLE sounds. Next to the 256
RAM sounds (Bank A and Bank B),
you have two banks available with
a total of 256 factory sounds. These
banks, C and D, are stored in the
FLASH ROM and can not be overwritten via STORE.
The MIDI receive channel in SINGLE MODE is the Global Channel.
You can change the Global Channel in the CTRL menu.
In MULTI MODE, the Virus can combine up to sixteen (SINGLE) sound
programs, among which the maximum available number of 24
voices are allocated dynamically.
All simultaneously available
sounds can be manipulated in realtime; for this purpose the control
panel enables you to switch
among the sixteen so-called
PARTS.
In MULTI MODE, the actual sound
parameters are augmented with
other functions that deal with how
the involved SINGLE programs are
structured or organized. These
include the volume levels of the
single programs, their MIDI channels, output assignments, etc.
On the Virus, we differentiated
fundamentally between SINGLE
mode and MULTI mode. This distinction is reflected in the contents
of the menus: If the LED on the
SINGLE button lights up, the CTRL
and EDIT menus let you access the
sound parameters of the current
SINGLE program. If the LED on the
MULTI button lights up, the CTRL
and EDIT menus will contain the
appropriate ”administrative”
parameters for the current MULTI
program. For example, here you
have the option of selecting the
SINGLE program for each of the 16
MULTI PARTs.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 55
The Multi-Single Mode
THE MULTI-SINGLE
MODE
In MULTI mode, the EDIT and CTRL
menus are responsible for administering the 16 PARTs. Consequently, you can’t access SINGLE
program parameters directly here.
Beyond that, you’re unable to
change the SINGLE programs
directly here, which would admittedly be a handy option when
you’re working with a sequencer.
This is why the Virus features
MULTI SINGLE mode, which,
strictly speaking, is more an alternative view of MULTI mode rather
than a further mode in its own
right.
Activate MULTI SINGLE mode by
pressing the MULTI and SINGLE
buttons simultaneously. The name
of the selected MULTI program will
disappear and instead you’ll see
the name of the SINGLE program
for the selected PART. Now you can
page or scroll through the 16 PARTs
using the PART buttons and select
a SINGLE program for every channel. You can process the currently
selected PART or, more accurately,
edit its sound, using the control
56 CHAPTER 5
Concept and Operation
features. The CTRL and EDIT menus
let you access the usual SINGLE
parameters. In this operating
mode, you’ll find that the CTRL
menu has been expanded to
include some organizational
parameters, for instance, the
PART’s volume level, panorama and
output assignments. You’ll always
see the number of the selected
PART on the upper left in the display. The PART buttons don’t actually change sounds, they simply set
the user interface of the Virus to
the desired PART. Irrespective of
the given setting, all PARTs can be
controlled simultaneously via
MIDI. Consequently, MULTI SINGLE
mode, which makes handling so
much easier, is the ideal choice
when you’re working with a connected sequencer.
Please bear in mind that MULTI
SINGLE mode is really just another
view of the normal MULTI mode.
MULTI SINGLE mode doesn’t offer a
unique data type for storing
sounds, it always works with the
MULTI program currently selected
in normal MULTI mode. All of the
normal MULTI mode parameters
(keyboard zones, etc.) remain
intact and in force even though
you can’t view or vary them in
MULTI SINGLE mode. You can set
the device to normal MULTI mode
at any time by pressing the MULTI
button. To return to the MULTI SINGLE mode view, simply press the
MULTI and SINGLE buttons simultaneously.
When you’re working with a
sequencer, start with a MULTI program that features neutral settings for its ”administrative”
parameters, for example, the
MULTI program M0 Sequencer.
Here the PART numbers are identical to the MIDI channels of the
PARTs. Now when you work in
MULTI SINGLE mode, the Virus
responds as if it were in SINGLE
mode, except that you have 16
sounds available simultaneously
on 16 MIDI channels. Use the PART
buttons to select these sounds.
You only need to exit MULTI SINGLE mode when you want to store
the MULTI program, for example,
to save the current global delay/
reverb setting. In MULTI mode,
these settings are not stored along
with SINGLE sounds.
In addition, you can activate
another complete MULTI program
in MULTI mode only.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 57
Edit Buffers
EDIT BUFFERS
Whenever you play or edit a SINGLE program, its current data is
stored in an edit buffer. This is an
individual memory slot for SINGLE
programs that has nothing to do
with the memory slots in the
sound banks. When you activate a
new SINGLE, its data is copied to
the edit buffer. There you can edit
it as you see fit while the original
remains unchanged in the bank.
When you activate STORE (more on
this in a bit), the content of the
edit buffer is copied back to the
original slot in the bank (or, if you
so desire, to another memory slot).
In MULTI mode, you have one
MULTI edit buffer and 16 SINGLE
edit buffers for the PARTs at your
disposal. When you activate
another a MULTI program, its data
is copied from the MULTI bank to
the MULTI edit buffer. The MULTI
program in turn contains address
information for the SINGLEs
involved, in other words, the bank
and program numbers. These
addresses are also copied from the
SINGLE banks into the 16 SINGLE
edit buffers for the PARTs.
58 CHAPTER 5
Concept and Operation
When you store a MULTI program,
only the addresses of the SINGLE
programs’ original slots are saved,
but not, however, the sound data
in the 16 SINGLE edit buffers. These
must be stored separately in the
SINGLE program banks.
This type of edit buffer is used in
most synthesizers; its advantages
are many:
It lets you edit copies of sounds
without sacrificing the original
sounds.
Edit buffers can be stored in a
sequencer and sent from it to the
Virus independently of the sounds
stored in the device (see “DUMP:
The Sound in the Song” on
page 222).
In MULTI-Mode (or MULTI-SIN-
GLE-Mode) the same SINGLE-program can be recalled and edited on
different parts. In this case all
involved EDIT-buffers contain variations of the same original sound.
Handling
60 CHAPTER 6
Handling
PARAMETER SELECTION AND DATA ENTRY
In the Virus, we distinguished
between two types of parameters.
On the one hand, it features
parameters that are essential in
generating or synthesizing sounds,
on the other hand it has sound
parameters and organizational
parameters that are more of a
peripheral nature. This distinction
is apparent in handling and operation of the Virus: All essential
sound parameters feature a dedicated knob or button so that you
can access these directly - especially while you are playing!. In just
a few cases (where appropriate or
where it facilitates better handling), the control features have
dual functions.
above all the EDIT, the CTRL (short
for ”Control” and the EFFECTS
menu as well as the four local EDIT
menus in the individual function
blocks. The EDIT menus contain
parameters that you will require
less frequently, but some of these
are nonetheless indispensable for
programming sounds. The local
EDIT menus are there for a purpose
– to help you distinguish clearly
between the various parameters.
Here you’ll find parameters that
affect directly the given functional
section, but are not equipped with
dedicated control features.
Irrespective of which operating
mode you may have activated, the
EDIT menu contains the sound
parameters of the selected SINGLE
program (in SINGLE mode and
MULTI SINGLE mode) or organizational parameters for MULTI mode.
In SINGLE mode and MULTI SINGLE
mode, the CTRL menu contains further SINGLE parameters such as
the arpeggiator, etc.
Peripheral parameters, on the
other hand, are compiled in
menus. Among these menus are
In the CTRL menu, you’ll also find –
irrespective of the given operating
mode – a number of global parameters. These are called MIDI, SYS-
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 61
Parameter Selection and Data Entry
TEM and so forth and are not
stored with a SINGLE or a MULTI
program.
Located next to some of these
parameters, you’ll see the abbreviations ”ENA” and ”DIS”. The option
ENA means enable and DIS means
disable.
Call up a menu by simply pressing
the corresponding button. Once
you have opened the menu and it
appears in the display, you can
scroll through its parameters one
after another using the PARAMETER buttons and edit them using
the VALUE buttons and knobs.
If you press the PARAMETER buttons briefly, you can scroll through
the parameters contained in any
given menu step by step in the
desired direction. If you press and
hold one of the parameter buttons
for a bit longer, the display will
automatically scroll through the
list of parameters in the given
menu. When you press and hold
one PARAMETER button and then
press the other PARAMETER button, the display will scroll through
the menu in parameter groups in
the direction of the button that
you are holding down. This handy
feature lets you swiftly go from
one parameter type to another, for
instance, from all chorus-related to
all delay-related parameters. If you
also hold the second parameter
button down, the menus will automatically scroll in the selected
direction. Once you’ve scrolled to
the desired parameter group, simply select the desired parameter by
pressing the button briefly. You can
also step through the parameters
by repeatedly pressing the same
menu button.
62 CHAPTER 6
Handling
The menus, particularly the
EFFECTS menu, contain parameter
groups that are related by virtue of
their function, for instance, all
parameters that are used to control the phaser. When you switch
the phaser off (PHASER Dry/Eff =
OFF), all Phaser parameters are of
course irrelevant and will no longer
appear in the menu. In other
words, when the phaser is disabled, you can’t view its parameters. The reason for this is to make
menus clearer and less cluttered.
The VALUE +/- buttons let you
change the value of a parameter in
steps. When you hold one of these
buttons down, the value changes
automatically and the longer you
hold the button, the faster the
pace of the value change. You can
increase this pace even further by
pressing and holding one VALUE
button and simultaneously pressing the other VALUE button. If you
press and release both VALUE buttons simultaneously, the parameter is set to its default value
(mostly zero). This pertains to unipolar parameters (value range of 0
to 127) as well as bipolar parameters (value range of -64 to +63).
You can also use the VALUE knob to
change the value of the selected
parameter. The VALUE knob
responds to the KNOB MODE settings as described in the paragraph
below.
The triangular icon located next to
the parameter value indicates in
which direction you have to
change a value if you would like to
reset the parameter to the value
that has been stored to date. The
previously stored parameter value
as well as the current value are displayed for parameters that feature
a dedicated knob.
KNOB MODES
For all knobs with the exception of
MASTER VOLUME, you can select
from four operating modes in the
CTRL menu. These are located
under the menu item KNOB
MODE:
OFF The knobs are inactive.
JUMP In Jump Mode, the
parameter jumps directly and
absolutely to the value determined
by the current position of the knob.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 63
Knob Modes
SNAP When you adjust a knob
In Snap Mode, the original setting
determines the value until the
point where the movement of the
knob passes beyond this position.
In other words, the parameter does
not jump to the value as in JUMP
Mode. However, keep in mind that
your adjustments have no effect
on the parameter until the knob
“snaps” on at the position equivalent to the original value. In SNAP
mode, an ®-symbol appears to the
right of the number. It indicates in
which direction the VALUE knob
must be turned to exceed the current parameter value.
RELATIVE When you adjust a
knob in RELATIVE Mode, the
parameter is affected immediately
but not absolutely. In other words,
the value change from the original
value to the value reflects precisely
the amount you adjusted via a
given control. Generally this operating mode allows you to adjust a
parameter immediately, without
radical jumps. However, the down
side is that in an unfavorable configuration - the worst-case scenario being a maximum parameter
value and a knob position at the
minimum value - you do not have
64 CHAPTER 6
Handling
the full control range of the knob
at your disposal. To counteract this
situation, you have to turn the
knob in the opposite direction to
adjust the physical knob position
so that it is equivalent to the
actual parameter value. In RELATIVE Mode, the triangle to the
right of the number indicates if the
VALUE knob coincides with the
parameter value (≤) or not (Ω).
01111111111111111112
1 SYSTEM
KnobMode Jump≤
61111111111111111154
DISPLAY OF VALUES
When a menu is active, different
display options are available for
parameters with a dedicated knob.
These can be selected under the
menu item KNOB DISPLAY in the
CTRL menu:
OFF Knob movements are not
displayed; the current contents of
the display remain intact when
you turn a knob.
ON The lower row of the dis-
play is being overwritten by the
parameter's value.
SHORT When you turn a knob,
the current contents of the lower
display line are briefly overwritten
by data representing the change in
parameter value; once the action is
completed, the original contents
reappear in the lower display line.
LONG Same as SHORT, except
that - you guessed it - the display
shows the knob data for a longer
period of time.
ON The contents of the display
are overwritten when you turn a
knob; the original menu does not
reappear in the display.
01111111111111111112
1 SYSTEM
KnobDispl Short≤
61111111111111111154
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 65
Display of values
66 CHAPTER 6
Handling
All about the memory
68 CHAPTER 7
All about the memory
STORE
The mode structure of SINGLE,
MULTI and MULTI SINGLE MODE is
mirrored in the STORE functions: In
SINGLE MODE, STORE saves the
current SINGLE PROGRAM; in
MULTI MODE, STORE saves the current MULTI PROGRAM; and in
MULTI SINGLE MODE, the SINGLE
PROGRAM of the current PART is
stored.
The STORE process is always the
same regardless of the operating
mode: Press STORE. You then gain
access to the STORE menu. There
you can use the PARAMETER buttons to move among the individual
letters in the lower name entry
line and the number of the destined memory location as well as
the bank number in the upper line.
Use the VALUE button to make
entries. The term in the upper display line indicates the name of the
memory location which you will
overwrite when you store the program.
cess and return to the previously
active operating mode of the Virus.
If for whatever reason you change
your mind and want to cancel the
operation, simply press SINGLE or
MULTI to return to the previous
operating mode without storing
the program.
To belabor the point, when you
store a MULTI program, only the
content of the MULTI edit buffer is
saved, not however the sound programs in the PARTs. These must be
stored individually in MULTI SINGLE
mode.
Once all of the entries correspond
to the data you have in mind, press
STORE again to conclude the pro-
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 69
Compare
If you want to store the SINGLE
programs in the PARTs to their
original slots in the SINGLE banks
all at the same time, simply press
STORE and 1 C126 - Init
01111111111111111112
1 C126 - Init
[STORE] TO...
61111111111111111154
COMPARE
When you press STORE and then
EDIT or CTRL, you will activate
Compare mode. After you have
programmed or edited a SINGLE
sound, Compare mode lets you
hear the unedited sound that was
originally stored in this memory
slot. Press EDIT or CTRL repeatedly
to switch back and forth between
the Compare sound and the edited
sound so that you can - surprise,
surprise – compare the two
sounds. Use the PARAMETER/BANK
buttons and the VALUE buttons to
step through the bank and program numbers of the Compare
sound. This lets you search for a
new memory slot for the edited
sound and, at the same time, hear
the sound that you will overwrite.
The edited sound is not modified
or overwritten during this process.
Press STORE to do just that to the
edited sound – store it. Press
MULTI or SINGLE to quit the STORE
process and/or exit Compare
mode.
01111111111111111112
1 C126 -Init compare
61111111111111111154
70 CHAPTER 7
All about the memory
Master Clock and Midi-Clock
72 CHAPTER 8
Master Clock and Midi-Clock
MASTER CLOCK AND
MIDI-CLOCK
LFO 1, CLOCK LFO 2, CLOCK LFO 3,
DELAY CLOCK, see the respective
sections).
The Virus is equipped with a global
clock generator that lets you sync
the LFOs, arpeggiators and delay
up to a common song tempo and
rhythm. The clock generator works
either internally with a freely variable speed or it can, in turn, by
synced up to the MIDI clock of an
external sequencer. This synchronization occurs automatically when
the device receives a MIDI clock
signal via its MIDI In. You can vary
the speed of the clock generator
within a range of 63 to 190 BPM
(beats per minute) via CLOCK
TEMPO. When the device is synchronized via MIDI clock, the clock
generator automatically accepts
the speed dictated by the connected sequencer; the internal
tempo setting is in this case meaningless and thus disabled. The individual sections of the Virus are
synced up to the clock generator at
rhythmic intervals such as 1/16, 1/4
and so forth. These values may be
assigned individually for every section. (ARPEGGIATOR CLOCK, CLOCK
In SINGLE MODE, CLOCK TEMPO
pertains to the current SINGLE
PROGRAM and is stored along with
it. In MULTI MODE, the CLOCK
TEMPO settings for the involved
SINGLE PROGRAMs are ignored.
Instead, all involved SINGLE PROGRAMs are controlled via the same
clock generator. Its CLOCK TEMPO
is saved in the MULTI PROGRAM (as
are the settings for the global
delay effect).
This feature lets you control the
LFOs and arpeggiators of several
MULTI PARTS in a common rhythmic context.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 73
Master Clock and Midi-Clock
A small
¶
will appear in the display when the Virus is receiving
MIDI Clock data. If you’re sure you
do NOT want the device to be synchronized automatically to MIDI
clock, set MIDI CLOCK RX to Off (in
the CTRL menu).) To avoid confusion, please keep in mind that MIDI
Clock is not the same thing as MIDI
Time Code. The latter doesn’t deal
with tempo at all but with timerelated information structured in
hours, minutes, seconds, etc. which
is of no benefit to you in this context.
74 CHAPTER 8
Master Clock and Midi-Clock
The Modulation Matrix and Definable Knob
76 CHAPTER 9
The Modulation Matrix and Definable Knob
CREATING MODULATION CONFIGURATIONS VIA ASSIGN
As a rule, it is of course desirable to
be able to create modulation routing configurations on a synthesizer. In other words, you want to
enjoy the freedom to combine different modulation sources and
destinations as you see fit. Sometimes you may come up with ideas
for standard modulations that the
”hard-wired” factory modulation
routing options simply can’t satisfy. This is why we opted to equip
the Virus with a versatile Modulation Matrix – you’re sure to find it a
welcome addition. On the Virus,
you can create modulation routing
configurations freely as you see fit
using ASSIGN options. They are
located in the EDIT menu, where
they appear under the name of –
you guessed it – ASSIGN).
The three ASSIGN options let you
control up to six modulation destinations via up to three modulation
sources. Simply go to ASSIGN,
select one of the modulation
sources (SOURCE) and one or sev-
eral modulation destinations (DESTINATION). Each of these
configurations features a parameter that determines modulation
intensity (AMOUNT). ASSIGN 1 can
control one modulation destination, ASSIGN 2 can control two and
ASSIGN 3 can control three modulation destinations, each with
independent AMOUNTs.
These ASSIGN options serve several purposes: for one, they let you
assign an external MIDI controller,
for example, the keyboard’s modulation wheel, to the desired parameter. You can also chose to use the
sound generator’s internal modulators, such as LFOs and envelopes,
as modulation sources. The control
range of the source may be limited
via the AMOUNT values or inverted
so that the modulation occurs
strictly within the desired value
range for the target parameter. For
your target parameters, you can
chose from among virtually all
sound parameters that feature an
infinitely variable control range –
ergo, you have more than 100
modulation destinations at your
disposal! Since the sources and
destinations may be selected independently, you may even modulate
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 77
Creating Modulation Configurations via Assign
a single parameter by using up to
three modulation sources simultaneously. For this purpose, the control signals of the modulation
sources are added up or overlapped. Conversely, you can also
modulate up to six parameters
with just one controller, which
gives you all kinds of sophisticated
sound morphing options. For this
purpose, select the same source
for all three ASSIGN options so
that it modulates all six possible
destinations. This lets you radically reshape sounds and even
transform or morph them into
entirely different sounds.
In addition to the three ASSIGN
options, the user interface features
– as discussed earlier – a modulation destination for LFO 1 and 2
called ASSIGN. Here the same principle applies: you can select a modulation destination and vary
modulation intensity as you see fit.
The only difference here is that the
modulation source, i.e. the respective LFO, is a fixed default that you
can’t change.
01111111111111111112
1 ASSIGN
Source OFF≤
61111111111111111154
You’ll find a list of available
sources and DESTINATIONS in the
appendix. (see “Appendix” on
page 251).
78 CHAPTER 9
The Modulation Matrix and Definable Knob
THE DEFINABLE KNOBS
These DEFINABLE knobs operate in
three different modes:
The Virus is equipped with two
knobs that, rather than being dedicated to predefined tasks, may be
assigned to different parameters
by you, the user. This option is
quite handy, for it lets you control
directly the many menu parameters that do not feature a dedicated knob.
GLOBAL The knob controls the
parameter that you have set to
Global in the DEFINABLE menu
regardless of what the other settings and the selected SINGLE program may be.
SINGLE The knob controls the
parameter that you have set to
Single in the DEFINABLE menu. The
setting for this parameter is stored
in the SINGLE program and called
up whenever you select this program. If, however, you have not
selected a parameter for this program (DEFINABLE Single = OFF),
the setting for DEFINABLE Global is
automatically enabled.
MIDICONTRL Here the control-
ler number entered in the DEFINABLE MIDI menu is sent regardless
of what the other settings and the
selected SINGLE program may be.
Comparable to a small MIDI fader
box, this mode is used to control
connected MIDI devices. Note that
this information is not processed
internally in the Virus.
The setting for the actual DEFINABLE mode is global. Under normal
circumstances, you should set
DEFINABLE mode to ”Single”
because this is the most versatile
mode. When you select a SINGLE
sound whose DEFINABLE mode is
set to ”Single”, this setting is of
course enabled. If not, Global
DEFINABLE mode is enabled.
01111111111111111112
1 DEFINABLE 1
Mode Single≤
61111111111111111154
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 79
The Definable Knobs
80 CHAPTER 9
The Modulation Matrix and Definable Knob
The Effects Section
82 CHAPTER 10
The Effects Section
THE EFFECT SECTION
For every SINGLE program and
every PART, you can access up to
five different stereo effects individually. You’ll find these effects – ring
modulator, distortion, analog
boost, phaser and chorus – in the
aptly named EFFECTS menu. In
MULTI mode, you thus have a total
of 80 simultaneously available
effects.
The vocoder and the delay/reverb
section are each available just
once, but you can address them
individually via the PARTs’ Effect
Send parameter. In the signal path,
all effects are connected in series
in accordance with their sequence
in the Effects menu.
Each SINGLE program contains its
own settings for the delay/reverb
section. In MULTI mode, the sound
programs involved share the same
delay/reverb section. For this reason, the parameter values are
determined by the settings of the
currently active MULTI program.
See “Parameter of the effects
menu” on page 149.
Audio Inputs
84 CHAPTER 11
Audio Inputs
AUDIO INPUTS
You can also opt to use external
audio signals in place of the onboard oscillators for the sound programs or MULTI PARTs. The Virus is
equipped with two inputs for
external signals. You can route
these to its sound generating components (the filters, the saturation
stage as well as the volume and
panorama stage) or patch them
directly to the effects section of
the Virus. External audio signals
may also be used as carrier or modulator signals for the vocoder. Any
PART that you use to process an
external audio signal in MULTI
mode can, like every other PART, be
routed freely to one or two of the
six audio outputs.
DYNAMIC To make external
signals audible in this operating
mode, the volume envelope must
be triggered via a note. This
option, for example, lets you create
typical gater effects. INPUT
Dynamic mode is also polyphonic.
If you set the KEYFOLLOW value for
the filters to 100%, the resonant
frequencies of the filters and oscillators can be played in a tempered
manner via the INPUT signal. This
lets you play entire chords as well
as arpeggiator lines using the filters. The noise generator is also
active in INPUT mode.
As a rule, when you’re processing
external audio signals, you need to
distinguish between the following
two operating modes:
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 85
OSC Volume / Input
STATIC In Input Static mode,
the external audio signals are
audible via the output without
having to trigger a note. Bear in
mind that the oscillators as well as
all functions that have to do with
trigger and pitch are disabled
(envelopes, LFO Env mode, keyfollow...) In INPUT Static mode. When
you set the device to this mode,
one voice of the Virus is activated
automatically. If you select a stereo
source (L+R) for INPUT Select, two
voices are activated much like in
UNISON mode: Twin. In this case,
you can also use the UNISON Pan
Spread parameter to determine
the basic width of the panorama
and UNISON LFO Phase to shift the
LFO phase position between the
voices.
TOEFFECTS An alternative to
INPUT Static mode, here the audio
signal is routed directly to the
effects section of the SINGLE program or PART. This mode doesn’t
use the voices of the Virus, which
means that its polyphonic performance remains fully intact and
available. The filter section is
unavailable in this mode.
01111111111111111112
1 INPUT
Mode Dynamic≤
61111111111111111154
OSC VOLUME / INPUT
When one of the two INPUT
modes is activated, the OSC VOL
knob rather than the oscillators
controls the level of the INPUT signal in front of the Filter section and
of course also the gain of the SATU-
RATION stage. In INPUT Dynamic
mode, the level increases quite
rapidly when you play several
voices polyphonically. The reason
for this is that – in contrast to
when you’re dealing with several
oscillator signals – the voices are
86 CHAPTER 11
Audio Inputs
correlated because they are receiving an identical input signal. In the
event that the Virus generates distortion when you’re dealing with
this type of signal routing set-up,
be sure to back off the input level a
tad via the OSC VOL knob.
INPUT LEVEL INDICATOR
Alternatively, the RATE LEDs of LFO
1 and 2 can also serve as level indicators for the left and right external audio inputs. The Virus
automatically switches to this
level indicator mode when the
selected SINGLE program accesses
the external audio inputs. The LEDs
will flash rapidly to indicate that
the inputs are being overloaded.
You should dial in the proper level
on the device that is sending the
analog signals. The reason for that
you want to feed the highest possible clean signal level to the analog-to-digital converters of the
Virus so that they will deliver the
best possible performance.
Internal Audio Routing
88 CHAPTER 12
Internal Audio Routing
AUX BUSES
The Virus is equipped with several
analog outputs and inputs. We figured that you might want to connect an input with an output via a
patch cord so that you can process
a part routed to this output via
another part that is addressed by
this input, for example, to have on
part filter the other part.
You can do this if you like, but the
good news is that you don’t have
to mess with patch cords because
the Virus gives you internal signal
routing options in the form of stereo aux buses (bus is another term
for circuit) that let you configure
this type of set-up for two or several of these PARTs. The two aux
buses appear as virtual outputs in
the OUTPUT Select menu and as
virtual inputs in the INPUT Select
menu. In MULTI mode, the output
signal of a PART (or several PARTs)
may be routed via OUTPUT Select
to one of the two aux buses. In
order to make this signal audible,
you must select the same aux bus
for another PART (or several PARTs)
via INPUT Select and set the given
SINGLE program to Input mode
(Static or Dynamic). You can then
process the signal patched in to
this PART via the aux bus exactly
the same way you would process
conventional analog signals routed
in via the external input.
There is, however, a simpler option
than this relatively involved processed of connecting PARTs directly
to one another: You can also use
one of the aux buses as a ”second
output” for the PART. We’ll look at
this function a little later in the
section ”SECOND OUTPUT”.
THE AUDIO OUTPUTS
In MULTI mode, you can choose a
mono or stereo audio output in the
OUTPUT Select menu independently for every PART. The signal
can also be routed to the aux
buses that were discussed earlier.
In addition, you may also define a
second mono or stereo output in
the SECOND OUTPUT menu (under
the CTRL menu). This second output is global, in other words, it
applies to all PARTs. Using the SECOND OUTPUT Balance parameter,
you can set the levels at which the
output signals of the PARTs are
routed to this second output individually.
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 89
The Audio Outputs
When you opt to use one of the
aux buses as a second output, the
aux bus can also serve as an FX
loop. You can route the aux signal
to a PART and have the PART process this signal (via filters, effects
etc.) further.
In contrast to the majority of other
effects, the delay/reverb section is
not available individually for each
PART. Instead, it processes the signals of the PARTs collectively. You
can, however, control the intensity
of the effect individually for each
PART using the respective Effect
Send parameter. Consequently, the
delay/reverb section has just one
signal output, which cannot be distributed to the outputs of the individual PARTs.
In conjunction with the conventional output of the given sound,
you end up with a quadraphonic
signal that is suitable for Surround
applications. Using Panorama (left,
right) and the SECOND OUTPUT
Balance (front, back), you can create a genuine quadraphonic mix in
the Virus and automate it via a
sequencer.
This is why, for example, the delay
effect of a PART that is routed to
the pair of outputs labeled OUT 2
will still be audible on OUT 1. This
can be desirable yet may also lead
to confusion. To encourage the
former and prevent the latter, set
the Effect Send parameter of the
PART to zero when you’re using
individual outputs.
90 CHAPTER 12
Internal Audio Routing
In MULTI mode, the delay/reverb
section feature its own OUTPUT
Select that is independent of the
PARTs.
Additional functions
92 CHAPTER 13
Additional functions
PANIC FUNCTION
The Virus features a Panic function
to remedy stuck notes caused by
MIDI transmission parity errors
and the like. When you press the
two TRANSPOSE buttons simultaneously, then all voices of the Virus
that are still sounding will be
released.
A double-click on both buttons initiates a controller reset. The various voices that are still sounding
will be cut off instantly and controllers such as the modulation
wheel, channel volume and pitch
bender are reset to the default settings.
AUDITION FUNCTION
On the Virus panel, you can trigger
notes without using a keyboard.
When you press the OSCILLATOR
EDIT and SYNC buttons simultaneously, the Virus will play the
note C3. If you hold the buttons
down for longer than a second, the
note will continue to sound after
you release the buttons.
RESET FUNCTION
If you get the impression that the
VIRUS is behaving unstable or
indeed strange, we suggest you
perform a system reset. Holding
the keys LFO 1 SHAPE while switching the VIRUS on, performs a system reset. No data will be lost
during this procedure, although
some global system settings as
”Global Channel” will be reset.
The Parameters
94 CHAPTER 14
The Parameters
The following section lists all
parameters in the Virus, each with
a brief definition or explanation.
For the purpose of clarity, we
ordered the parameters with a
dedicated control element according to the module you will find it
in.
SOUND PARAMETERS WITH A DEDICATED CONTROL ELEMENT
MASTER VOLUME Controls the overall volume of the Virus. This control determines the volume of the signal pair piped through Output 1 before it is converted into an analog signal. This means that under normal circumstances, you should turn Master Volume all they way up because you of course want the Virus to deliver the most dynamic signal possible.
DEFINABLE 1/2 These two knobs are freely definable. You can define the knobs via the CTRL menu (DEFINABLE 1/2 MODE). Settings can be saved globally as well as individually to SINGLE program slots.
(see “The Definable Knobs” on
page 78).
TRANSPOSE Transposes the entire SINGLE program by octaves. If your Virus is equipped with a built-in keyboard, the selected SINGLE program is not transposed. Instead, the keyboard is transposed globally.
(see “The Virus kb and the Virus
Indigo” on page 190).
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 95
LFO 1 – Panel
LFO 1 – PANEL
RATE Determines the speed or rate of the LFO. In polyphonic sounds, the manually selected RATE value deviates slightly from voice to voice to liven up the sound of the LFOs, which also oscillate polyphonically. When the LFO is synced up to the master clock, the desired note value is selected via the RATE knob.
SHAPE Determines the waveshape of the LFO. You can select from a sine, triangle, sawtooth or pulse wave. WAVE opens a local menu. Here you can select 64 further LFO waveshapes in the display using the VALUE knob or the VALUE buttons. You can chose from a stepped random modulation (S&H; short for Sample & Hold), a smooth random modulation (S&G; short for Sample & Glide) and 62 cyclic modulations that are based on the oscillator modes. The latter allow you to create interesting rhythmic LFO modulations.
96 CHAPTER 14
The Parameters
ENV MODE Activates an operating mode in which the LFO oscillates like an envelope: The LFO cycles once only following the start of the note; the response of the LFO shifts from bipolar to unipolar. If the LFO waveshape S&H (Sample & Hold) is active, then the LFO is assigned a new random value with each new note. This new value is valid for the entire duration of the note.
AMOUNT This button does not actually control a parameter, it opens a local menu. This menu contains independent modulation intensities for controlling the following parameters via LFO 1:
OSC 1 Pitch of Oscillator 1
ASSIGN (Dest) A freely selectable
sound parameter for LFO modulation
ASSIGN (Amount) Modulation intensity for the freely selected sound parameter
While you are dealing with one
of the parameters discussed here,
the corresponding LED will flash. If
this parameter is assigned a value
other than 0, it will illuminate continuously when you exit the menu.
Located between OSC 1 and OSC 2,
you’ll find OSC 1+2. It lets you determine the modulation intensity collectively for both oscillators. When
you select it position, both OSC 1
and OSC 2 LEDs will flash.
OSC 2 Pitch of Oscillator 2
PW 1+2 Both pulse widths jointly
RESO 1+2 Both filter resonances
LFO 1 – EDIT MENU
LFO contour
By LFO Contour you can now bend
or ”morph” (almost) all the LFO
waveforms. A brief survey of the
LFO Contour options for the different LFO modes follows:
01111111111111111112
1 LFO 1
Contour +0≤
61111111111111111154
ACCESS VIRUS OS4 97
LFO 1 – EDIT Menu
Sawtooth Contour morphs from a linear declining sawtooth or decay to any exponentially declining decay(Contour to the left) or to a square (Contour to the right).
Square Contour modulates the pulse width of the square wave.
Waves Contour ”zooms” into the wave, thereby shortening the wave’s loop length (Contour to the right).
Sine Contour morphs from sine to a triangle wave (Contour to the left) or to a square wave (Contour to the right).
Triangle Contour morphs from a triangle to a declining (Contour to the left) or ascending sawtooth (Contour to the right).
Clock
When you set it to OFF, the LFO
oscillates in the normal manner,
independently of the global Master Clock (CLOCK TEMPO). When
you enter a note value here, the
LFO rate is synced up to the global
master clock. The length of the
waveshape’s cycle will then correspond to the note value that you
have entered. You can also set the
rate via CLOCK TEMPO (refer to the
appropriate section) or synchronize it to external MIDI clock.
When the LFO is synced up to the
98 CHAPTER 14
The Parameters
master clock, you can also select
the desired note value via the LFO
RATE knob.
01111111111111111112
1 LFO1
Clock 1/24≤
61111111111111111154
Mode
POLY In polyphonic mode, each
of the voices involved is assigned a
dedicated LFO. The LFOs oscillate in
different phase positions for each
voice. This livens up the LFO modulation.
MONO In polyphonic mode, all
voices are assigned the same LFO.
This accentuates the LFO modulation, making it more pronounced.
01111111111111111112
1 LFO1
Clock Poly≤
61111111111111111154
Trigger Phase
Selects the position in the wave
cycle - i.e. the phase position - at
which the LFO starts oscillating in
response to the start of a note. The
control range of 1 to 127 is equivalent to phase positions of 0 to 360
degrees; the value 0 switches the
KEY TRIGGER function completely
off so that the LFO oscillates freely
and appears on random phase
positions at the start of a note.
01111111111111111112
1 LFO1
TrigPhase Off≤
61111111111111111154
Key Follow
Controls the intensity of the KEY
FOLLOW function - i.e. the rate at
which the LFO follows the pitch of
a played note. At a value of 0, KEY
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