BigSeq2 User’s Guide
Audio Damage, Inc.
Release 1.0
21 March 2009
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on
the part of Audio Damage, Inc. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this
publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior
written permission by Audio Damage, Inc.
© 2008 Audio Damage, Inc. All rights reserved.
Credits
Software Design and Construction, Documentation
Chris Randall
Adam Schabtach
Field Testing
Sean Costello
Matthew Davidson
Steve Hamann
Jeff Laity
Jim Murphy
Made Possible By
Tracie
Lisa
Fuzzy Logic
Alex
Chica
Pablo
Widget
License Agreement
BY INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT
AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, THEN RETURN THE PRODUCT TO THE PLACE OF
PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND.
Single User License Grant: Audio Damage, Inc. ("Audio Damage") and its suppliers grant to Customer
("Customer") a nonexclusive and nontransferable license to use the Audio Damage software ("Software") in
object code form solely on a single central processing unit owned or leased by Customer.
Customer may make one (1) archival copy of the Software provided Customer affixes to such copy all
copyright, confidentiality, and proprietary notices that appear on the original.
EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED ABOVE, CUSTOMER SHALL NOT: COPY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART,
SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION; MODIFY THE SOFTWARE; REVERSE COMPILE OR REVERSE ASSEMBLE ALL
OR ANY PORTION OF THE SOFTWARE; OR RENT, LEASE, DISTRIBUTE, SELL, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE WORKS
OF THE SOFTWARE.
Customer agrees that aspects of the licensed materials, including the specific design and structure of
individual programs, constitute trade secrets and/or copyrighted material of Audio Damage. Customer agrees
not to disclose, provide, or otherwise make available such trade secrets or copyrighted material in any form to
any third party without the prior written consent of Audio Damage. Customer agrees to implement reasonable
security measures to protect such trade secrets and copyrighted material. Title to Software and
documentation shall remain solely with Audio Damage.
LIMITED WARRANTY. Audio Damage warrants that for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of shipment
from Audio Damage: (i) the media on which the Software is furnished will be free of defects in materials and
workmanship under normal use; and (ii) the Software substantially conforms to its published specifications.
Except for the foregoing, the Software is provided AS IS. This limited warranty extends only to Customer as
the original licensee. Customer's exclusive remedy and the entire liability of Audio Damage and its suppliers
under this limited warranty will be, at Audio Damage or its service center's option, repair, replacement, or
refund of the Software if reported (or, upon request, returned) to the party supplying the Software to
Customer. In no event does Audio Damage warrant that the Software is error free or that Customer will be
able to operate the Software without problems or interruptions.
This warranty does not apply if the software (a) has been altered, except by Audio Damage, (b) has not been
installed, operated, repaired, or maintained in accordance with instructions supplied by Audio Damage, (c) has
been subjected to abnormal physical or electrical stress, misuse, negligence, or accident, or (d) is used in
ultrahazardous activities.
DISCLAIMER. EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN THIS WARRANTY, ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS,
REPRESENTATIONS, AND WARRANTIES INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OR ARISING FROM A
COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY
APPLICABLE LAW.
IN NO EVENT WILL AUDIO DAMAGE OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST REVENUE, PROFIT, OR
DATA, OR FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER
CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO
USE THE SOFTWARE EVEN IF AUDIO DAMAGE OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF SUCH DAMAGES. In no event shall Audio Damage's or its suppliers' liability to Customer, whether in
contract, tort (including negligence), or otherwise, exceed the price paid by Customer. The foregoing
limitations shall apply even if the above-stated warranty fails of its essential purpose. SOME STATES DO NOT
ALLOW LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES.
The above warranty DOES NOT apply to any beta software, any software made available for testing or
demonstration purposes, any temporary software modules or any software for which Audio Damage does not
receive a license fee. All such software products are provided AS IS without any warranty whatsoever.
This License is effective until terminated. Customer may terminate this License at any time by destroying all
copies of Software including any documentation. This License will terminate immediately without notice from
Audio Damage if Customer fails to comply with any provision of this License. Upon termination, Customer
must destroy all copies of Software.
Software, including technical data, is subject to U.S. export control laws, including the U.S. Export
Administration Act and its associated regulations, and may be subject to export or import regulations in other
countries. Customer agrees to comply strictly with all such regulations and acknowledges that it has the
responsibility to obtain licenses to export, re-export, or import Software.
This License shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Colorado, United
States of America, as if performed wholly within the state and without giving effect to the principles of conflict
of law. If any portion hereof is found to be void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this License
shall remain in full force and effect. This License constitutes the entire License between the parties with
respect to the use of the Software.
System Requirements
BigSeq2 is provided as both a VST and an AudioUnit plug-in for Windows and MacOS X. The MacOS X version
is a Universal Binary, compatible with both Intel- and Motorola-based Macs.
To use BigSeq2, you'll need a Steinberg VST-compatible host application which conforms to the VST 2.0
specifications, and a computer capable of running it. Note that BigSeq2 requires tempo and transportsynchronization information from its host, and hence will not work with programs that do not supply this
information such as Sound Forge.
For the AudioUnit version of BigSeq2, you’ll need an application capable of hosting AudioUnit plug-ins, and a
computer capable of running it. The following specifications represent minimum requirements.
For use with Microsoft Windows: For use with Apple Macintosh:
Windows XP or Vista Mac OS X version 10.4 or newer
512 MB RAM 512 MB RAM
Pentium III 600 MHz CPU Motorola G4/G5 or Intel CPU
High Color S-VGA Display
Display capable of “thousands of colors”
Installation
Double-click the BigSeq2 Installer icon and follow the instructions. During the installation process the installer
will ask you to enter your registration code. Your registration code uniquely identifies your purchase, and you
will need it if you need to reinstall your plug-in (for example, after upgrading to a new computer). Keep a
copy of the code in a safe location and please don’t share it with your friends. We’re delighted if you like our
products so much that you want to share them, but please ask your friends to buy their own copy so that we
can keep making new products.
To un-install from OS X, simply delete the plug-in from your VST folder, which is usually located at
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/, and your AudioUnits folder, which is located at /Library/Audio/PlugIns/Components/. To un-install from Windows, simply delete the plug-in from your VST folder, which is
usually located at C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins.
Introduction
Thanks for purchasing BigSeq2, an extensive (dare we say "massive") upgrade to our BigSeq gate sequencer
plug-in. BigSeq2 starts with BigSeq's original concept, gating an audio track rhythmically, and turns it on its
ear with the addition of nine other effects, all of which can be sequenced.
BigSeq2 consists of six "blocks," each of which has its own time base, two sequencers, and one to three
effects. These effects can be turned on and off via the Gate Sequencer of that block, and their values can be
controlled with the Modulation Sequencer for that block. To make matters even more complicated, you can
drag the individual blocks around to change the order the effects occur.
That preceding paragraph makes the plug-in sound fairly complex, and we'd be lying if we told you it wasn't.
But it's easier than you think. Go play around with the presets for a while, and it'll start to make sense. Then
come back and read this manual. You'll have a better understanding of what's possible, and probably find a
few tricks you didn't see immediately.
The Sequencers
Each of BigSeq2’s six effects blocks has its own pair of step sequencers, a Modulation Sequencer and a Gate
Sequencer. The Modulation Sequencer varies (modulates) one or more of the block’s parameters, while the
Gate Sequencer simply turns the block on or off. These sequencers enable BigSeq2 to create complex,
evolving sounds synchronized to your music. All of the sequencers run independently, but are always locked
to your host DAW’s transport. When your host program starts playing, BigSeq2’s sequencers start running;
when your host stops, so does BigSeq2.
All of the sequencers operate the same way for each block. We’ll describe the Gate Sequencer first since it’s a
little simpler.
Gate Sequencer
An effects block’s Gate Sequencer turns the block on or off. If every step of the Gate Sequencer is turned off,
the effects block won’t do anything audible. Here is what the Gate Sequencer looks like:
The row of squares represents the 32 steps
in the sequence. If a square is shaded, that
step’s gate is turned on. In the above
illustration, the first, third, fifth, etc. steps
are turned on. You can turn steps on and off
individually by clicking on them, and you can
turn several or all of them on or off by clicking on one and dragging across others.
At the bottom right of the Gate Sequencer panel are three buttons. When you click the RAND button, the
gates will be randomly set either on or off. About half of the gates will be turned on and about half will be
turned off every time you click the RAND button. When you click the CLEAR button, all of the gates are
turned off. This silences the effects block and gives you a blank slate upon which to draw a new pattern.
The RESET button is an on/off toggle switch. When turned on, the Gate Sequencer automatically randomizes
the gates every time the sequencer starts playing from the beginning. Turning RESET on is like clicking the
RAND button every time the sequencer starts the beginning of its pattern, except that BigSeq2 does the
clicking for you.
The small rectangles immediately below the squares are the gate locks. (That little symbol to the left of the
row is a stylized image of a padlock.) When a step’s gate lock is turned on, that step is not affected by the
rand, reset, and clear buttons. A locked gate will remain either on or off when you click RAND or CLEAR, and
when RESET is turned on. You can still turn the gate on or off by clicking it with the mouse. The gate locks let
you keep parts of the gate pattern the same while other parts change randomly, producing patterns that have
some resemblance to each other but change over time.
The GLOBAL RESET popup menu at the bottom left of the Gate Sequencer panel determines whether, and
how often, the effects block’s sequencers are reset to their first position when your host DAW’s transport
reaches the beginning of a measure. Since BigSeq2’s sequencers can have patterns of any length from one to
32 steps long, and since the steps can have lengths other than simple durations like an eighth note, the
sequencers can potentially reach the end of their pattern at times that do not line up with the measures (or
major beats, e.g. quarter notes) of your host sequencer. Sometimes this is desirable since it can create effects
that move in and out of phase with your music in interesting ways. Other times, however, it is useful to
always have BigSeq2’s sequencers jump back to their first step at more predictable times, regardless of what
they’re currently doing.
If the GLOBAL RESET menu is set to “Off”, the sequencer will not be reset automatically in response to the
host DAW’s actions. The sequencer will merrily cycle along by itself, synchronized to your music’s tempo but
willfully ignorant of the placement of your music’s bar lines. If the GLOBAL RESET menu is set to any of its
other choices, which are “1 Measure” through “4 Measures”, the sequencer will jump back to its first step
whenever your host DAW’s transport crosses the corresponding number of bar lines. For example, if the
GLOBAL RESET menu is set to 2 Measures, BigSeq2’s sequencer will jump back to its first step at the
beginning of every other measure.
Note that the GLOBAL RESET menu affects both of the sequencers in all of the effects blocks. Each pair of
sequencers can have a different number of steps and step size (as we’ll describe shortly) and hence can
advance and cycle independently, but when a bar line triggers a reset in response to the GLOBAL RESET
setting, all of BigSeq2’s sequencers jump to their first steps.
Loading...