Applied Acoustics Systems AADL-CH User manual
USER MANUAL
2
Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on
the part of Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. The software described in this manual is furnished under a
license agreement. The software may be used only in accordance of the terms of this license agreement. It is
against the law to copy this software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement.
No part of this manual may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, distributed or converted to any
electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part without prior written approval of Applied Acoustics
Systems DVM Inc.
Copyrightc2011 Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.
Program Copyrightc2011 Applied Acoustics Systems, Inc. All right reserved.
Chromaphone is a Trademark of Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. Windows and Windows Vista
are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Mac OS and
Audio Units are registered trademarks of Apple Corporation. VST Instruments and ASIO are trademarks
of Steinberg Soft Und Hardware GmbH. All other product and company names are either trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective owner. Unauthorized copying, renting or lending of the software is
strictly prohibited.
Visit Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. on the World Wide Web at
www.applied-acoustics.com
Contents
1 Introduction 6
1.1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.1 From a CD-ROM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.2 Electronic Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 Authorization and Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.1 Your Computer is Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3.2 Your Computer is Offline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.4 Using Chromaphone as a Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.5 Exploring the Factory Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.6 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.7 About this Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Bank and Program Management 12
2.1 Banks and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.2 Saving Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.3 The Bank Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2.4 Using MIDI Program Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.5 Backups of Banks and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.6 Exchanging Banks and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.7 Restoring the Factory Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3 Architecture of Chromaphone 16
3.1 General Organization and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2 Preset Management and Master Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3 Modulation Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.4 Output Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4 CONTENTS
4 Parameters 19
4.1 General Functioning of the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.1 Knobs and Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.2 Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.3 Drop-down Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.4 Modulation of Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.1.5 Synchronisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2 General Notions of Acoustics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2.1 Normal Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4.2.2 Coupling of Resonators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.3 The Mallet Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.4 The Noise Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.5 The Resonator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.6 The Noise Envelope Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.7 The Vibrato Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.8 The LFO Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.9 The Multi-Effect Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.9.1 Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.9.2 Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.9.3 Flanger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.9.4 Phaser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.9.5 Wah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.9.6 Notch Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
4.9.7 EQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.9.8 Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
4.9.9 Tremolo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4.9.10 Reverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
CONTENTS 5
5 Utility Section 37
5.1 The MIDI LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.2 Polyphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.3 Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.4 History and Compare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.5 Reverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.6 Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.7 Level Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.8 The About Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
6 Using Chromaphone as a Plug-In 39
6.1 Audio and MIDI Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.2 Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.3 Multiple Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.4 Saving Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.5 MIDI Program Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
6.6 Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
7 License Agreement 41
6 Introduction
1 Introduction
Chromaphone is a synthesizer dedicated to the creation of acoustic instruments. It is based on
the combination of acoustic resonators to create drums, percussion, string and hybrid synth-like
instruments. Membranes, bars, marimbas, plates, strings, and tubes form pairs that are excited
by a mallet and a flexible noise source. Access to different parameters such as the material of
the resonators, their tuning and hit position allow for the creation of a vast range of realistic and
creative instruments and sonic colors.
Chromaphone is entirely based on Applied Acoustics Systems (AAS) physical modeling technology and uses no sampling nor wave tables. Sound is produced by solving, on the fly, mathematical equations modeling the different types of resonators and how they interact. This elaborate
synthesis engine responds dynamically to the control signals it receives while you play reproducing
the richness and responsiveness of real acoustic instruments. Chromaphone features a brand-new
coupling technology allowing an accurate description of the exchange of energy between the resonators resulting in rich and natural sounding tones.
Before discussing the synthesizer in more detail, we would like to take this opportunity to
thank you for choosing an AAS product. We sincerely hope that this instrument will bring you
inspiration, pleasure and fulfill your creative needs.
1.1 System Requirements
The following computer configuration is necessary to run Chromaphone:
Mac OS :
• Mac OS X 10.5 or later
• Intel Core processor or later
• 512 MB of RAM
• 70 MB of free hard drive space
• 1024 x 768 screen resolution
• Built-in audio interface
Windows :
• Windows XP SP2 32-bit or Windows Vista/7 32-bit/64-bit
• Intel Core or equivalent processor
• 512 MB of RAM
• 70 MB of free hard drive space
• 1024 x 768 screen resolution
• Windows-compatible audio interface
• Windows-compatible MIDI interface/keyboard
1.2 Installation 7
Keep in mind that the computational power required by Chromaphone depends on the number
of voices of polyphony and the sampling rate used. These computer configurations will enable
you to play the factory sounds with a reasonable number of voices but performances will vary
depending on your specific computer configuration.
1.2 Installation
1.2.1 From a CD-ROM
Mac OS
Insert the Chromaphone program disc into your CD-ROM drive. Open the CD icon once it
appears on your desktop. Click on the Chromaphone Install icon and follow the instructions of the
installer.
Windows
Insert the Chromaphone program disc into your CD-ROM drive. Launch Explorer to view the
content of the CD-ROM and double-click on the installer file to launch the installer.
1.2.2 Electronic Delivery
If you purchased this software online, simply double-click on the installer file that you have downloaded and follow the instructions of the installer.
1.3 Authorization and Registration
Chromaphone uses a proprietary challenge/response copy protection system which requires authorization of the product. A challenge code is a long string of capital letters and numbers that is
generated uniquely for each machine during the registration process. The response code is another
unique string of capital letters and numbers generated from the data encrypted in the challenge
code. As the keys are unique to each machine, it is necessary to go through this procedure every
time the program is installed on a new computer.
Note that it is possible to use the program during 15 days before completing the authorization
process. After that period, the program will not function unless it is authorized.
1.3.1 Your Computer is Online
The authorization process is very simple if your music computer is connected to the internet since
the Chromaphone program will connect to the AAS server and take care of the key exchange
automatically.
8 Introduction
After starting the application, a message will appear telling you that the application needs to
be authorized. After clicking on the Authorize button, a pop-up window will appear as shown
in Figure 1. Enter your serial number and click on the Authorize button. The program will then
connect to the AAS server and complete the authorization process.
Figure 1: Online Authorization.
If this is the first AAS product that you authorize on your computer, or if no registration information can be related to your serial number by our server, you will be asked to provide your name
and email address for registration purposes. Note that only a valid email address is required to register your product. Registration of your product will entitle you to receive support and download
updates when available, as well as take advantage of special upgrade prices offered from time to
time to registered AAS users.
1.3.2 Your Computer is Offline
If your music computer is not connected to the internet you will need to obtain the response code
from an internet connected computer or by contacting AAS.
After starting the application, a message will appear telling you that the application needs to
be authorized. After clicking on the Authorize button, a pop-up window will appear as shown in
Figure 1. Enter your serial number and click on the Authorize button. The program will then inform
you that your computer is not connected to the internet, click on the Offline Options button and a
new pop-up window will appear as shown in Figure 2.
1.3 Authorization and Registration 9
Figure 2: Offline Authorization.
Your serial number as well as the automatically generated challenge code are displayed but you
need to obtain the response code. To do so, take note of your serial number and challenge code
and proceed to an internet connected computer. Launch your browser and go to the unlock page of
the AAS website located at:
http://www.applied-acoustics.com/unlock/
Enter your serial number and challenge code in the form, follow the instructions, and the re-
sponse code will appear on screen. Write it down, go back to your music computer, and enter the
response code in the authorization pop-up window. This will complete the authorization procedure.
If you prefer, you can also contact us by email at support@applied-acoustics.com with your
serial number and challenge code and we will send you back your response code.
Should you not have access to the internet, AAS support representatives are available to assist
you in the unlock and registration process Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm EST. You may contact
us by phone at:
• North America Toll-free number: 1-888-441-8277
10 Introduction
• Outside North America: 1-514-871-8100
• Fax Number: 1-514-845-1875
1.4 Using Chromaphone as a Plug-in
Chromaphone integrates seamlessly into the industry’s most popular multi-track recording and
sequencing environments as a virtual instrument plug-in. Chromaphone works as any other plug-in
in these environments so we recommend that you refer to your sequencer documentation in case
you have problems running Chromaphone as a plug-in.
1.5 Exploring the Factory Sounds
Chromaphone comes with a wide range of factory programs right out of the box which amounts
to a huge range of sounds before you have even turned a single knob. As you would expect, the
best way of coming to grips with the possibilities Chromaphone offers is simply to go through the
programs one at a time.
Chromaphone uses the notions of Banks and Programs to organize and classify sounds. A
program or preset is a stored set of parameters corresponding to a given sound. The programs are
grouped and organized in banks.
The name of the currently loaded bank and program are displayed at the top of the interface.
One navigates among the different banks and programs by using the arrows in each of the corresponding boxes or by opening the associated drop-down menu by clicking inside these boxes.
Banks and programs are managed using the Bank Manager which is revealed by clicking on the
Manage button appearing above the right-top corner of the Bank box. Playing programs and organizing them is pretty straightforward, please refer to Chapter 2 for a complete description of the
bank and program management operations.
1.6 Getting Help
AAS technical support representatives are on hand from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm EST.
Whether you have a question on Chromaphone, or need a hand getting it up and running as a
plug-in in your favorite sequencer, we are here to help. Contact us by phone, fax, or email at:
• North America Toll Free: 1-888-441-8277
• Worldwide: 1-514-871-8100
• Fax: 1-514-845-1875
• Email: support@applied-acoustics.com
1.7 About this Manual 11
Our online support pages contain downloads of the most recent product updates, and answers
to frequently asked questions on all AAS products. The support pages are located at:
www.applied-acoustics.com/support/
1.7 About this Manual
Throughout this manual, the following conventions are used:
• Bold characters are used to name modules, commands and menu names.
• Italic characters are used to name controls on the interface.
• Windows and Mac OS keyboard shortcuts are written as Windows shortcut/Mac OS shortcut.
12 Bank and Program Management
2 Bank and Program Management
Chromaphone comes with several factory presets, called programs, covering a wide range of
sounds. This collection of programs lets you play and familiarize yourself with this synthesizer
without having to tweak a single knob. Soon, however, you will be experimenting and creating
your own sounds and projects that you will need to archive or exchange with other users. In this
section, we review the management of programs.
2.1 Banks and Programs
Sounds are stored in banks contaning so-called programs. The name of the currently selected bank
is shown in the Bank drop-down display located at the top of the Chromaphone interface. The list
of available banks is viewed by clicking on the Bank display. A bank can be selected by navigating
in the list of banks using the left and right-pointing arrows in the display or by clicking on its name
when the list of banks is open.
The list of programs included in the currently selected bank can be viewed by clicking on the
Program display located on the right of the Bank display. A program is selected by using the left
and right-pointing arrows or by clicking directly on its name. Once a program is selected, the value
of the different parameter of the synthesizer are updated and it can then be played.
2.2 Saving Programs
Programs are saved by clicking on the Save button located on the top of the Program display. When
a program has just been loaded, this command is greyed and therefore inactive. It is activated as
soon as a parameter of the interface is modified. Clicking on this command replaces the stored
version of the program with the new one.
The Save As command is activated by clicking on the corresponding button which opens the
Save Program pop-up window. It is then possible to save the program under a new name or its
current one in any of the available program banks. Note that if the original name of the program
is used, a new program with the same name will be created at the end of the program list meaning
that the original program is not erased. This also implies that it is possible to have many programs
with the same name in the same bank.
2.3 The Bank Manager
Banks and Programs can be edited using the Bank Manager. The manager window is displayed by
clicking on the Manager button located above the Bank display. It is closed by clicking again on
the same button. On the left of the window, one finds the list of banks. Clicking on a bank name
updates the list of programs included in the bank in the program list in the center of the window.
2.3 The Bank Manager 13
Figure 3: Bank and program manager window.
A new bank can be created by clicking on the New button below the bank list. This opens
the Create New Bank window in which the name of the new bank can be entered. A bank can be
deleted by first selecting it in the bank list and then clicking on the Delete button. Be careful, this
command erases a bank and all the programs it contains; this operation is permanent and can not
be undone.
In order to rename a bank, simply click on the rename button and enter a new name.
Banks and the information corresponding to each of its programs is stored in a simple text file
on your computer hard disk. In order to view these bank files, click on the Show Files button under
the bank list. On Windows, this command will open an Explorer window at the location where the
files are stored. On Mac OSX, the command has a similar effect and opens a Finder window. All
the bank file names follow the same format and begin with the bank name. These files can be used
for backups or to exchange presets with other users.
The list of programs included in the selected bank is displayed in the program list in the center
of the manager window. Presets are selected by clicking on their name which updates the program
information appearing on the right of the preset list. Program information includes the name of the
preset, its author and comments. This information can be updated by clicking on their corresponding box which opens an edition window.
Programs can be copied to another bank by clicking on the Copy button. A program must first
be selected by clicking on its name on the program list; it is then copied by moving the mouse to
a given bank in the Bank list on the right and clicking on the bank name. The move command is
activated by clicking on the Move button; it copies a preset to a new bank but also erases it in the
original bank. A multiple selection consisting of adjacent programs is obtained by holding down
the Shift key on the computer keyboard and then clicking on the name of the first program to be
copied and then the last one. A non-adjacent multiple selection is obtained by holding down the
Ctrl/command computer key and clicking on the name of the different programs to be copied. It is
also possible to select all programs at once by clicking on the Select All button at the bottom of the
14 Bank and Program Management
program list.
Programs can be deleted from a bank by first selecting them and then clicking on the Delete
button. This will move the programs to a special bank called Trash which is located below the
regular list of banks. This means that deleted programs can always be recuperated as long as they
are not deleted from the Trash bank. The content of the Trash bank is viewed by clicking on its
name; the different programs can then be moved to the other banks as explained above. The Trash
bank can be emptied by clicking on the Empty Trash button which appears below the program list
when the Trash bank is selected. Be careful as this command can not be undone.
2.4 Using MIDI Program Changes
The synthesizer responds to MIDI program changes. When a program change is received by the
application, the current program is changed to the program having the same number as that of the
program change message in the currently loaded bank.
2.5 Backups of Banks and Programs
User banks are stored on disk as simple text files located in the following folders:
On Mac OS: /Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Applied Acoustics Systems/Chromaphone/Banks
On Windows: %AppData%\Roaming\Applied Acoustics Systems\Chromaphone\Banks
The bank files saved by Chromaphone are named using the following convention:
[name of bank].Chromaphone Bank
These file contain all the information corresponding to the programs they include. These files can
be displayed directly from Chromaphone by opening the Bank manager and clicking on the Show
Files button. This will open an Explorer or Finder window on Windows or Mac OS respectively at
the right location.
The simplest way to create a backup of banks and programs is to make a copy on an external
media of the above mentioned folders. Individual banks can be backed-up by making copies of
individual bank files.
2.6 Exchanging Banks and Programs
Banks and programs can easily be shared with other Chromaphone users. This operation simply
involves the exchange of the above mentioned user bank files. When a new bank file is copied to
the bank folder, it is automatically available to Chromaphone.
Note that individual programs can not be exported. They always appear inside a bank file. If
you only wish to share a few programs, create a new bank, copy the programs you wish to exchange
to this bank and share the corresponding bank file.
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