Applied Acoustics Systems ULTRA ANALOG User Manual

USER MANUAL

Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part ofApplied 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.

Ultra-Analog is a Trademark of Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP and DirectX are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh, Mac OS, QuickTimeandAudio Units are registered trademarks of Apple Corporation. VSTInstruments and ASIO are trademarks of Steinberg Soft Und Hardware GmbH. RTAS is a registered trademarks of Digidesign. Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems incorporated. 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 7

1.1 System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.3 Authorization and Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

1.4 Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1.4.1 Using MIDI Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.4.2 Using MIDI program changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.4.3 Using Ultra Analog as a Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.5 Getting help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.6 Forum and User Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

1.7 About this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2 Browser and Presets 13

2.1 Playing Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.2 Editing and Saving Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.3 Deleting Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2.4 Documenting Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2.5 Deﬁning a Default Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

2.6 Locating a Preset in the Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.7 MIDI maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.8 Exporting and Importing Presets and MIDI maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2.9 Customizing the browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

3 Architecture of the Ultra Analog 17

3.1 General Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

3.2 Modulation Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3.3 Output Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

4 CONTENTS

4 Parameters 20

4.1 General Functioning of the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.1.1 Tweaking Knobs and Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.1.2 Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.1.3 Drop-down menus and Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4.1.4 Inverting a Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.1.5 Bypassing a Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.1.6 Resetting a Module and Copying Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.1.7 Modulation Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

4.2 The Oscillator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.2.1 Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.2.2 Pitch and Pitch Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

4.2.3 Sub Oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.2.4 Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

4.2.5 The Mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

4.3 The Filter Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.3.1 Resonant Low-Pass Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

4.3.2 Resonant High-Pass Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4.3.3 Band-Pass Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

4.3.4 Notch Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

4.3.5 Formant Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4.3.6 Filter Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4.3.7 Slave Filter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4.3.8 Series/Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4.4 The Ampliﬁer Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

4.5 The Noise Generator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4.6 The LFO Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4.6.1 Wave Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4.6.2 Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

4.6.3 Phase and Reset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4.6.4 Fade-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

4.7 The Envelope Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

CONTENTS 5

4.7.1 Shape of the Envelope Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4.7.2 Free Run Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4.7.3 Legato Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

4.7.4 Loop Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

4.8 The Keyboard Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4.8.1 Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4.8.2 Mode and Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4.8.3 Unison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4.9 The Portamento Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4.10 The Vibrato Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4.11 The Arpeggiator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4.11.1 Arpeggio Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4.11.2 Rhythmic Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.11.3 Rate and Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.11.4 Latch mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.12 The Output Effect Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.12.1 The Clock Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

4.12.2 The Chorus Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

4.12.3 The Delay Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

4.12.4 The Reverb module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

4.12.5 Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

4.12.6 The Output Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

4.12.7 The Recorder Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5 Toolbar 43

5.1 Preset Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.2 MIDI map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.3 Polyphony Combo Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.4 MIDI Channel combo box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.5 Value Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.6 CPU meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

5.7 MIDI Led . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

5.8 Edit/Compare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

6 CONTENTS

6 Audio and Midi Settings 45

6.1 Audio Device Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

6.2 MIDI Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

6.3 Audio Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

6.4 Latency Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

7 Using the Ultra Analog as a Plug-In 49

7.1 Window Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.2 Synchronization to the Host Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.3 Audio and MIDI parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.4 Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.5 Multiple Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7.6 Saving Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7.7 MIDI channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7.8 MIDI program change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

7.9 Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

8 Quick references to commands and shortcuts 51

9 Appendix 54

10 License Agreement 55

Introduction 7

1 Introduction

The Ultra Analog is a virtual analog synthesizer. With this product, we have not attempted to emulate a speciﬁc vintage analog synthesizer but rather to combine into a modern instrument, different features of legendary vintage synthesizers. The Ultra Analog generates sound by simulating the different components of the synthesizer through physical modeling. This technology uses the laws of physics to reproduce how an object or system produces sound. In the case of Ultra Analog, mathematical equations describing how analog circuits function are solved in real-time. The Ultra Analog uses no sampling or wavetable, it just calculates the sound as you play in accordance to the controls it receives. This sound synthesis method ensures unmatched sound quality, realism, warmth and playing dynamics.

Before discussing the synthesizer in more details, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing an Applied Acoustics Systems product. We sincerely hope that this product will bring you inspiration, pleasure and fulﬁll your creative needs.

1.1 System requirements

The following computer conﬁguration is necessary to run the Ultra Analog:

Mac OS :

• Mac OSX 10.2 (Jaguar) or later.

• G4 733 MHz Processor

• 256 MB RAM

• 1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution

• MIDI Keyboard (recommended)

• Ethernet Port

• Quicktime 4.0 or later

Windows :

• Windows 98SE/2000/XP

• PIII 800 MHz

• 128 MB RAM

• 1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution

• DirectX or ASIO supported sound card

• MIDI Keyboard (recommended)

Keep in mind that the computational power required by the Ultra Analog depends on the number of voices of polyphony and the sampling rate used. These computer conﬁgurations will enable you to play the factory presets with a reasonable number of voices. Although it is not absolutely necessary, it is strongly recommended to play the Ultra Analog with a MIDI keyboard or controller.

8 Introduction

1.2 Installation

Mac OS

Insert the Ultra Analog program disc into your CD ROM drive. Open the CD icon once it appears on your desktop. Click on the Ultra Analog Install icon and follow the instructions of the installer.

If you purchased this software online, simply double-click on the installer ﬁle that you have downloaded and follow the instructions of the installer.

Windows

Insert the Ultra Analog 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.

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

During the installation procedure, the authorization page will appear. The Ultra Analog uses a proprietary challenge/response copy protection system which requires you to provide some information before using the program. You will need:

• A valid email address

• Your product serial number (on the back of your CD or in your conﬁrmation email for down-

loads)

• The challenge key supplied by the registration page

A challenge key is a long string of capital letters and numbers that is generated uniquely for each machine during the registration process. In other words, for each machine you install this program on you will receive a different challenge key. If you are a PC user, please note that a new challenge key will be generated should you change your computer’s hard drive or upgrade your operating system. Once you have registered you will not have to do so again unless:

• You reformat or upgrade your hard drive (on PC)

• You change or upgrade your operating system (on PC)

• You uninstall the program (Mac and PC)

Authorizing your software will also automatically register you as an AAS customer. This 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 Authorization and Registration 9

If the machine you have installed on is connected to the internet:

Enter your email address and serial number, and click next. The registration system will now automatically launch your internet browser and connect to the AAS unlock page. The information you have provided, along with your challenge key will be ﬁlled into the online form. Verify that this information is correct and click next. The next page asks you to provide information about yourself including your mailing address and phone number. While this part of the registration process is optional, we recommend this information be provided to ensure our support team is able to contact you to resolve any future support issues, and notify you of product updates promptly. This information is kept completely conﬁdential.

You will then receive your response code on-screen. Copy and paste this information into the registration window, and the process is complete. Your response code will also be sent to you by email for your records.

If you wish to register your software from another computer:

Enter you email address and serial number into the registration window and click next. You will then be provided your challenge key. Take note of this information and proceed to your internet connected computer. Launch your browser and go to the unlock page of the AAS website at:

http://www.applied-acoustics.com/unlock.htm

Enter your email address, serial number, and challenge key, and click next. The next page asks you to provide information about yourself including your mailing address and phone number. While this part of the registration process is optional, we recommend this information be provided to ensure our support team is able to contact you to resolve any future issues, and notify you of product updates promptly. This information is kept completely conﬁdential.

You will then receive your response code on-screen. Copy this information into the registration window, and the process is complete. Your response code will also be sent to you by email for your records.

If you wish to register by fax or over the phone:

Should you not have access to the internet, AAS support representatives are available to assist you in the 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

• Outside North America: 1-514-871-8100

• Fax Number: 1-514-845-1875

• Email: support@applied-acoustics.com

10 Introduction

1.4 Getting started

The Ultra Analog comes with a wide range of factory presets 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 Ultra Analog offers is simply to go through the presets one at a time. We recommend that you ﬁrst start using the Ultra Analog in standalone mode.

Using Ultra Analog in standalone mode

• Windows - Double-click on the Ultra Analog icon located on your desktop or select Ultra Analog from the Start > All Programs > menu.

• Mac OS - Double-click on the Ultra Analog icon located in the Applications folder.

Before you start exploring the factory presets, take a moment to set up you audio and MIDI

conﬁguration as explained below.

Audio Conﬁguration

This menu allows you to select from the installed audio ports on your computer, by driver type. If you have ASIO drivers available, these should be selected for optimum performance. Multichannel interfaces will have their outputs listed as stereo pairs.

• Windows - Select your sound card port from the list in the Audio Conﬁguration dialog from the Edit > Preferences > Audio Settings . .. menu.

• Mac OS - Select your audio device from the list in the Audio Settings dialog from the Ultra Analog > Preferences > Audio Settings ... menu.

For more detailed information on audio conﬁguration, sampling rate selection and latency ad-

justments, please refer to section 6.4.

MIDI Conﬁguration

• Windows - Select your MIDI port from the list in the MIDI Conﬁguration dialog from the Edit > Preferences > MIDI Settings . . . menu.

• Mac OS - Select your MIDI port from the list in the MIDI Settings dialog from the Ultra Analog > Preferences > . .. menu.

For more detailed information on MIDI conﬁguration, MIDI links and MIDI maps, please refer

to section 6.2.

1.5 Getting help 11

Exploring the factory presets

The browser on the left of the Ultra Analog interface is similar to the browser your operating system generates to display the contents of your hard disk, or your email program uses to organize your mail and address book. When launching the application for the ﬁrst time, this “tree view” will include a destination folder for imported presets as well as different folders containing different categories of factory presets. To open a folder, click on the “+” symbol which will reveal the folder content. To load a preset, double-click on a preset icon (blue knob).

The Browser makes it easy to organize presets in whatever manner you choose. To create a

new preset folder, click in the browser to select this region of the interface, and choose New Folder from the File menu. You can now save new presets in this folder or copy or move existing presets to this folder by dragging preset icons from one folder to the other or using the Copy and Paste commands from the Edit menu.

1.4.1 Using MIDI Links

Every parameter on the Ultra Analog interface can be linked to an external MIDI controller. To assign a MIDI Link, right-click (control-click on Mac) on a control (knob, button or slider) and a contextual menu will appear. Select Learn MIDILink and move a knob or slider on your MIDI controller to activate the link. To deactivate the link, right-click on the control and choose the

Forget MIDILink command.

1.4.2 Using MIDI program changes

MIDI program changes have been assigned to a selection of factory presets. The factory library can therefore be explored using MIDI program changes.

1.4.3 Using Ultra Analog as a Plug-in

The Ultra Analog integrates seamlessly into the industry most popular multi-track recording and sequencing environments as a virtual instrument plug-in. The Ultra Analog 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 the Ultra Analog as a plug-in.

1.5 Getting help

Applied Acoustics Systems technical support representatives are on hand from Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm EST. Whether you have a question on Ultra Analog, 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:

12 Introduction

• North America Toll Free: 1 888 441 8277

• Worldwide: 1 514 871 8100

• Fax: 1 514 845 1875

• Email: support@applied-acoustics.com

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/faq.htm

1.6 Forum and User Library

The AAS community site also contains the Ultra Analog user forum, an excellent place to meet new users and get answers to your questions. The community site also contains an exchange area where you will ﬁnd presets for your AAS products created by other users and where you can also make your own creations available to other users.

http://community.applied-acoustics.com/php/community http://community.applied-acoustics.com/php/forum

1.7 About this manual

In the next chapter, the use of presets and the browser is described in detail. Chapter 3 describes the general architecture, signal ﬂow and routing possibilities offered by Ultra Analog. In Chapter 4, the different modules and controls are reviewed in detail. Chapter 6 explains the different functionalities related to Audio and MIDI and their settings. Finally, the use of Ultra Analog as a plug-in in different host sequencers is covered.

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.

• Windowsand Mac OS keyboard shortcuts are written as Windows shortcut/Mac OS shortcut.

Browser and Presets 13

2 Browser and Presets

The Ultra Analog comes with several factory presets covering a wide range of sounds. This collection of presets 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 that you will need to archive or exchange with other users. All the operations on presets are conveniently managed with the help of the Ultra Analog Browser, similar to those found in most email programs, which uses a hierarchical tree structure and a visually intuitive, drag and drop approach.

2.1 Playing Presets

All the presets are located in the Ultra Analog root folder. To explore the different presets available in Ultra Analog, click on the “+” icon to the left of the Ultra Analog folder, in other words, expand this branch of the browser tree, in order to reveal the various preset sub-folders based on different sound categories. Opening the individual sub-folders reveals a set of presets represented by blue knob icons.

• Toload a preset, simply double-click on the preset icon or drag and drop the preset icon from the browser onto the synthesizer.

• You can also load a preset by right-clicking/control-clicking on a preset icon and choosing the Open Preset command from the drop-down menu that appears or by clicking on a preset icon in order to select it and use the Ctrl-O/Apple-O shortcut.

• It is also possible to load presets using MIDI program changes as described in Section 6.2.

It is also possible to change to the next and previous preset in the hierarchy by clicking on the “+” and “-” sign on the right of the preset name in the left corner of the toolbar at the top of the Ultra Analog interface, or by using the “+” and “-” keys of the computer keyboard.

2.2 Editing and Saving Presets

As soon as a preset is modiﬁed, the preset icon just before the preset name in the toolbar will change color indicating that saving the preset is necessary in order not to loose the changes. Modiﬁcations to an existing preset are saved using the Save Preset command from the File menu or the CtrlS/Apple-S shortcut. Be careful, however, as using this command will overwrite the original preset. In order to create a new preset, use the SavePreset As command from the File menu and a window will appear asking for a name for the new preset. Once the preset is saved using this command, a new preset icon will appear directly under the Ultra Analog folder.

14 Browser and Presets

Note that after having modiﬁed a preset, Ultra Analog will always ask you if you want to save the changes in order not to loose your work. This behavior is however not always convenient. To disable this option, select the General command under Preferences of the Edit menu and deselect the Ask to save preset before opening another option. By default, Ultra Analog will also ask you if you want to save changes to a modiﬁed preset before quitting the application. Todisable this option, de-select the Ask to save preset before quitting option under the same command as mentioned above.

When editing presets and creating new ones, it is very helpful to go back and forth between different the different stages of your modiﬁcations and adjustments. To move back step by step through every modiﬁcation that was applied to a preset, use the Undo command from the Edit menu or the Ctrl-Z/Apple-Z shortcut. Once the Undo command has been used, it is also possible to move up again through the modiﬁcations by using the Redo command from the Edit menu or the Ctrl-Y/Apple-Y command. Note that the number of Undo levels is unlimited and that this command is effective on any control of the interface but not on the different Save commands.

Once a preset has been modiﬁed, it is also possible to move back and forth between the current state of the preset and its original state when it was loaded. This is very helpful in order to hear again the original preset after having applied many modiﬁcations. To hear the original preset, simply click on the Compare button of the toolbar or the Compare command from the Edit menu. Once this button has been pressed, the original settings of the preset are loaded. Note that in this mode, the graphical interface is frozen and it is therefore not possible to modify the preset. To further modify the preset, click on the Edit button or the Edit command from the Edit menu to revert to the modiﬁed version of the preset and unfreeze the interface.

2.3 Deleting Presets

To delete a preset, ﬁrst select it by clicking on its icon in the browser and use the Delete command from the Edit menu or the Del key from the computer keyboard.

2.4 Documenting Preset

It is possible to document a preset or view related information from the Edit Preset Information window. To launch this window, right-click/control-click on a preset icon and choose the Pre- set Info command or use the Ctrl-I/Apple-I shortcut. The Preset Info command from the Edit menu can also be used after selecting a preset. Information on a preset include the author’s name, copyright notice, date of creation, last modiﬁcation date and a description text.

2.5 Deﬁning a Default Preset

It is possible to deﬁne a default preset that will be loaded automatically when Ultra Analog is launched. To deﬁne a default preset, select a preset by clicking on its icon in the browser and

2.6 Locating a Preset in the Browser 15

launch the Edit Preset Information window as explained in the preceding paragraph and select the Mark As Default option. To change the default preset, just repeat the operation on a new preset. If no default preset has been deﬁned, the default values for every module will be loaded when Ultra Analog is launched.

2.6 Locating a Preset in the Browser

After navigating through presets, it might be difﬁcult to ﬁnd the current preset icon in the browser. To rapidly locate the current preset in the browser, use the Locate command from the Viewmenu or the Ctrl-L/Apple-L shortcut. The Locate command will automatically expand the folder containing the currently used preset and select the preset.

2.7 MIDI maps

MIDI maps containing information about MIDI links between the MIDI controllers and the Ultra Analog interface can easily be created as will be explained in Section 6.2. MIDI maps are

represented in the browser with a MIDI connector icon. MIDI maps are treated exactly the same way as presets in the browser and are saved using the Save MIDI Links or Save MIDI Links As commands from the File menu.

2.8 Exporting and Importing Presets and MIDI maps

The Import and Export commands, found in the File drop down menu, allow one to easily exchange presets and MIDI maps with other Ultra Analog users. This feature can also be used to decrease the number of elements in the browser by archiving older or rarely used ones elsewhere, on CD-R, or a second hard disk for example. Files containing Ultra Analog presets and MIDI maps are equivalent in size to short text ﬁle, making it easy to send presets to other users via email.

To export a folder, a group of folders, presets or MIDI maps within a folder, select the elements to export in the browser and use the Export command from the File menu. When the Export window appears, choose a ﬁle name and a destination location on your hard disk. Ultra Analog export ﬁles will be saved with an “axf” extension.

Importing presets and MIDI maps is just as easy. Simply click on the Import command from the File drop down menu, and select the ﬁle to import. A new folder will then appear under the Imports directory in the browser, containing all of the ﬁles contained within the imported package. These can then be dragged and dropped to a new folder, or remain in the Imports directory.

2.9 Customizing the browser

The Browser structure can be customized in various ways. New folders can be created from the

File drop down menu using the Create New Folder command. One can also move presets, MIDI

16 Browser and Presets

maps and folders from one place in the browser to another by using the Copy and Paste commands from the Edit drop down menu, or by simply dragging objects from one folder and dropping it into the folder of your choice. Ultimately, how things are organized, is left entirely up to you.

The browser can also be hidden from the interface which can be convenient in order to save screen space. To hide the browser, use the Hide Browser command from the View menu. To make it reappear, use the Show Browser command from the View menu.

Architecture of the Ultra Analog 17

3 Architecture of the Ultra Analog

The Ultra Analog is a very adaptable and versatile two-oscillator synthesizer. The different control elements of the synthesizer have been grouped into three sections in the graphical user interface shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Graphical user interface of the Ultra Analog Synthesizer.

The main section of the interface, the synthesis section, is related to the main sound generating and processing modules including two oscillators, a noise source, two multi-mode ﬁlters, two LFOs, four envelope generators and two ampliﬁers. These modules have been laid out into two symmetrical rows on the interface following the general internal signal ﬂow of the synthesizer as will be described below. The column to the left of the main section is the control section which includes the modules related to performance and the processing of MIDI events. Finally, the top row of the interface is an output effect stage which includes a multi-effect module, master clock module as well as a master level and a recorder module.

The individual modules and controls of the user interface will be described in detail in Chapter 4. We will now take a closer look “under the hood” at how the different modules are connected

18 Architecture of the Ultra Analog

LFO 2

LFO 1

L R

Pre Filter Mix

LFO 1

LFO 2

Noise

Filter 1 Amp 1

Amp Env 1Filter Env 1

Filter 2 Amp 2

Amp Env 2Filter Env 2

Output Effect Stage

Oscillator 1

Oscillator 2

together, as well as the multiple signal paths available.

3.1 General Signal Flow

The general signal ﬂow of Ultra Analog is shown in Figure 2 and in a more detailed schematic in Figure 15 of the Appendix to this manual. The primary sound sources of the synthesizer are two oscillators and a noise generator. These sources are mixed by a two output pre-ﬁlter mixer which redirects the signal from each oscillator, or a combination of both and the noise source, to two different multi-mode ﬁlter modules in series with an ampliﬁer.

Figure 2: General signal ﬂow of the Ultra Analog.

This conﬁguration is very ﬂexible because, depending on the type of mixing applied, it allows one to treat the sources from each oscillator separately or to combine them. When ﬁlters 1 and 2 only receive signal from one oscillator, the source section behaves as a dual oscillator-ﬁlterampliﬁer system and left and right information from each source is preserved until the very end of the signal path. This allows, for example, to position and move sources in the stereo space independently with the panning control on each of the ampliﬁer modules. On the other hand, combining the sources at the mixer level will allow one to obtain rich and complex tonal textures.

The signal path between Filter 1 and Filter 2 allows the use of the ﬁlter modules in a parallel or series conﬁguration giving more processing possibilities. Sending signal only through the ﬁrst output of the mixer and using this signal route will result in a series conﬁguration while sending signal to both ﬁlters and closing this signal path will result in a parallel conﬁguration.

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