Kombinat User’s Guide
Audio Damage, Inc.
Release 2.0
29 November 2011
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, 2011 Audio Damage, Inc. All rights reserved.
Credits
Software Design and Construction, Documentation
Chris Randall
Adam Schabtach
Field Testing
Jens Ågren
Wade Alin
Steve Hamann
Jeff Laity
Tim Skold
Donovan Stringer
Made Possible By
Elle
Tracie
Fuzzy Logic
Alfred
Chica
Edwin
Garrus
Madeline
Pablo
Tali
Zed
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Introduction
Thank you for purchasing Kombinat, Audio Damage's multi-destruction toolbox. Kombinat is named with the
Russian term for a conglomeration, as it is not a single effect, but rather a group of effects that work towards
a defined end. This plug-in includes a set of crossover filters (otherwise known as a DJ EQ or "band killer"),
three distortion engines, a lowpass filter, and a compressor. Each effect can be used individually, but they
combine to give Kombinat a distinct sound, not entirely unlike accidentally dropping a piece of sheet metal
into a paper shredder.
Kombinat works on any given signal is dependent on several factors; these include, in no particular order, how
hot the input signal is and how much of the frequency spectrum it occupies, how much gain the input knob is
sending to the various effects, how much gain the crossover bands are adding or removing, and how hard the
compressor is working. Kombinat comes with 80 presets, but it is worth remembering that Kombinat is
extremely input-dependent, and these presets are not meant to describe how the plug-in should be used in
any particular context; rather, they are merely starting ideas.
You'll find that the sound of the unit can be drastically changed on almost any preset merely by changing the
setting of the input knob, and we recommend some experimentation in this regard. All the gain knobs will
boost the signal’s loudness, up to 7dB per knob, so it is possible to heavily overload the individual distortion
engines, the filter, and the compressor.
Finally, you should remember that at high levels of gain, Kombinat is somewhat unpredictable. This is by
design; the filter can be overdriven to the point of breaking up, the individual distortion engines can be
overdriven in to strange territory, and the compressor can be overloaded to the point where it is also a
distortion engine.
All of these factors come in to play to create a plug-in that is essentially unique in every context. Unlike a
traditional filter or EQ, which will generally only remove things from your sound, or a traditional distortionbased effect, which will generally only color what already exists, Kombinat can (and will) add its own
personality in each instance. It is almost instrument-like in this regard, and rather than just programming it,
we suggest you actually think about playing it.
What’s New
If you’re familiar with the first version of Kombinat, here are the main differences in version 2:
Five new distortion engines, for even more ways to destroy your signals
A feedback loop that sends the output back into its input, creating strange new tones and oscillations
A complete visual makeover—no more squint-inducing labels on buttons
New presets; old factory presets have names starting with “OG”
Because of these changes, and other changes under the hood, Kombinat Dva cannot load presets and settings
created with the previous version of Kombinat. However, all of the distortion methods and other features of
the first version are present in the new version. You can recreate all of your existing settings with the new
version, but you’ll have to do so by hand. The new version and the old version are distinct plug-ins from your
host program’s point of view. You can have both installed on the same system at the same time, and you can
use both within the same project. The new version is named Kombinat_Dva, “dva” being Russian for two.
System Requirements
To use Kombinat, you'll need a Steinberg VST-compatible host application which conforms to the VST 2.0
specifications, and a computer capable of running it. For the AudioUnit version of Kombinat, you’ll need an
application capable of hosting AudioUnit plug-ins, and an Apple computer with an Intel CPU capable of running
it. We support the use of Kombinat under Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7; and Apple OS X version
10.5 or newer. All formats of Kombinat are available as both 32- and 64-bit binaries.
Installation
Double-click the Kombinat 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.
Operation
Kombinat can be used in either a stereo or mono context in your host DAW software. If you use a stereo
input, the left and right channel separation of the input signal is preserved in the output signal. Kombinat is
meant to be used as an insert effect but there’s no reason you can’t use it as a send/return effect if doing so
suits you.
Kombinat’s knobs respond to vertical mouse-pointer movements; that is, click on a knob and drag upwards
and downwards to rotate the knob. If you’re using the VST version of Kombinat, your host software may
override this behavior.
Here is a screenshot of Kombinat, followed by detailed descriptions of its controls.
Crossover
The Crossover section of Kombinat is a DJ-style 3-band equalizer. It splits the incoming signal into three
frequency ranges: high (treble), middle, and low (bass). The CROSSOVER control, at the upper right of the
window changes the frequencies of the filters in the crossover network which divide the incoming signal into
separate frequency ranges, as well as the level (loudness) of each frequency band. The two square handles at
the bottom of the control set the dividing points between the three frequency ranges. Drag the left handle
back and forth to set the dividing point between the middle and low frequencies, and drag the right handle to
set the point between the middle and high frequencies.
The upper three handles control the level (loudness) of each
frequency band. Dragging a handle upwards increases the band’s
level, dragging it downwards decreases the level. The horizontal grey
line near the top of the control represents 0dB, or unity gain.
Distortion Engines
The heart of Kombinat is its three distortion processors, which we call engines. Each engine can operate as
one of 13 different types, each of which mangles signals in a different manner.
The routing of signals through the engines depends on the mode switch in the upper
right of Kombinat’s window. In Multi mode, each engine operates on its corresponding
band of frequencies, and the engines operate in parallel. The top engine processes the
high frequencies, the bottom engine processes the low frequencies, and the middle
engine processes the mid-range frequencies. The outputs of the three engines are added together; this mixed
signal is then sent to the output filter.
In Series mode, the engines are connected in series, with the output of the top engine
connected to the input of the middle engine and the output of the middle engine
connected to the input of the bottom engine. In Series mode, the three outputs of the
crossover filters are added together; the crossover operates more or less like a threeband parametric equalizer. The signal filtered by the crossover enters the HIGH engine,
passes through the MID engine, leaves from the LOW engine, and then makes its way to the output filter.
Click the mode buttons to switch back and forth between the two modes.
Each engine has the same complement of controls. There is a circular on/off switch that acts as a “kill” switch
for each frequency band. If the engine’s switch is off (greyed out rather than glowing orange), the band is
completely silenced. Click the switches with your mouse to turn them on and off.
Each engine has a horizontal GAIN slider that sets the
level of the corresponding crossover frequency band,
in the same manner as dragging the three square
handles on that control. Drag the gain slider to the
right to increase the band’s level. You can hold down
the CMD key on an OSX computer, or the CTRL key
on a PC, to set the slider to unity gain.
The TYPE selector near the left side of each engine’s pane shows which distortion type the engine employs.
Click on the TYPE selector to choose the engine type. Each type has one to three parameters which are
controlled by the pie-graph knobs above the TYPE selector. Click and drag vertically on the knobs to change
the parameter values. The engine types operate as follows:
THRU: This is actually not a distortion type as such, but essentially a bypass switch for the
engine. If the engine type is set to THRU, the signal passes through the engine without
alteration. Choose THRU in MULTI mode if you want a band of frequencies to be left
unscathed by its engine, and choose THRU in SERIES mode if you find that you don’t
need all three engines to create the effect you’re looking for. Since the THRU engine
type obviously has no parameters, it also does not have any knobs.
FUZZ: The FUZZ engine type is derived from Audio Damage’s wildly popular freeware fuzz
pedal plug-in, Fuzz+. It is based on a mathematical model of a fuzz pedal near to the
hearts of many guitarists. If you’ve enjoyed using Fuzz+ but have yearned for a multiband version, now you have it.
FUZZ has a single knob labeled AMT (short for Amount) which increases the signal
level and hence the amount of distortion. The FUZZ type is perhaps most interesting at
lower settings of the AMT knob, where it imparts a somewhat grainy distortion to
signals regardless of their level. At high AMT settings the fuzz and SAT types are
mostly indistinguishable.
SAT: The SAT type, short for saturation, simulates the distortion
created by overloading a transistor-based gain circuit
such as a pre-amp. At low signal levels the SAT type has
no effect. As the signal level increases the top and bottom
of the signal wave are flattened, creating a brightsounding distorted signal.
SAT has a single knob labeled AMT which increases the
signal level and hence the amount of distortion.
DIST: The DIST type, short for distortion (you probably guessed
that one), distorts the signal at both its peaks (like the
SAT type) and at very small values near zero. This zerocrossing distortion imparts a sort of gate-like effect that is
typical of contemporary boutique guitar pedals.
DIST has two knobs labeled AMT and GAIN. AMT acts as
a “mix” knob, varying the amount of the original signal
and the distorted signal. Turning up the amt knob
increases the distortion. The GAIN knob changes the level
of the signal before it is distorted. Generally speaking,
turning up the gain will also increase the distortion.
CLIP: The CLIP type simply clips off the peaks of the signal. The level at which the signal is
clipped can be set independently for the positive and negative peaks of the signal.
Since audio signals are usually not symmetric, clipping the positive half of the signal
can sound different than clipping the negative half. Even if the signal happens to be
symmetric, clipping only one half will sound different than clipping both halves. Some
diode-based guitar pedals exhibit asymmetric clipping behavior in which the positive or
negative half of the signal is clipped more than the other half.
The CLIP type has three knobs: GAIN, LO, and HI. GAIN simply changes the signal
level before it is clipped. LO sets the clipping point for the negative half of the signal,
and HI sets the clipping point for the positive half. Both of these knobs set the clipping
point relative to zero; that is, as you turn them up, the clipping level moves away from
zero. This means that if you leave them both at zero, you won’t hear anything at all
from this engine because both the positive and the negative halves of the signal wave
are chopped off at zero. If you turn them both all the way up you won’t hear much of
any effect because the clipping levels are both set beyond the peaks of the wave. (You
will hear clipping nonetheless if you crank up the signal enough with the gain knob.)
WARP: The WARP type, technically speaking, distorts the signal by using a sinusoid as a non-
linear transfer function. In less technical terms, it makes odd noises by wrapping the
signal around a sine wave. It creates harsh distortion that can sound like hard clipping,
or add metallic-sounding overtones somewhat like ring modulation.
WARP has a single knob, FREQ, which varies the frequency of the sine wave, and
hence varies the timbre of the distorted signal.
BITZ: The BITZ engine type applies several different forms of digital signal destruction. BITZ
creates the popular “lo-fi” sample-rate reduction and bit-crusher digital effects we’ve all
come to know and love despite having 24-bit audio converters and 64-bit signalprocessing math readily available to us.
BITZ has three knobs. The first knob, RATE, controls a sample-rate reducer. As you
turn this knob up, the signal is resampled at a lower rate than your host’s current
sampling rate. If this knob is turned all the way anti-clockwise, the resampling process
has no effect on the signal. As you turn the knob up, the signal is sampled at a lower
rate. If you turn this knob all the way clockwise, the signal is sampled at 1/100th of
your host’s sampling frequency (e.g., 441Hz if you use the usual sampling frequency of
44100Hz). You may find that the RATE knob has the most noticeable effect when used
in the high-frequency-band processing engine, since higher frequencies will be affected
first by lowering the sampling rate.
The second knob, BITS, controls a bit-depth reduction or “bit-crushing” process. If you
leave the knob turned fully anti-clockwise, the signal is passed with full resolution.
(Kombinat uses 32 bits to represent signals internally, but your host software may use
16, 24, or 32 bits.) As you rotate the knob, the number of bits used to represent the
signal first drops to 16, and then decreases all the way to one as you turn the knob
fully clockwise.
The third knob, ERR, is an Audio Damage original. It introduces errors in the bits used
to represent the signal. The knob controls how long the errors persist, and hence how
much they damage the audio. If the knob is rotated fully anti-clockwise, no errors are
added to the signal. As you rotate the knob, progressively more persistent errors are
added to the signal, creating digital-sounding noise. The BITS and ERR knobs are
somewhat complementary in that the effect of the ERR function is less noticeable at
high settings of the BITS knob.
RINGMOD: The RINGMOD engine type is a ring modulator. Ring modulators are familiar to
many users of synthesizers and guitar effects; they produce “clangorous” or inharmonic
tones by multiplying the input signal with the output of a built-in oscillator. Ring
modulation is actually a form of amplitude modulation; “ring” refers to the arrangement
of diodes in analog circuits originally used to create the effect.
RINGMOD has three knobs. The first knob, AMT, controls the amount that the
incoming signal is modulated (affected) by the oscillator. Turning this knob up
increases the overall intensity of the effect. The second knob, FREQ, controls the
frequency of the oscillator. Rotating this knob changes the timbre or tone of the effect.
The third knob, SHAPE, varies the shape of the oscillator’s wave. At its fully anticlockwise position, the wave has a smooth sinusoidal shape. As you turn the SHAPE
knob up, the shape becomes more and more squared off. Turning the knob up makes
the effect brighter and more digital-sounding.
X NOISE: The X NOISE engine multiplies the input signal with filtered white noise. Applied
lightly, this adds a subtle amount of distortion to the signal. Applied heavily, it more or
less turns the signal into noise, modulated in amplitude by the original signal.
X NOISE has three knobs. . The first knob, AMT, controls the amount that the incoming
signal is modulated (affected) by the noise signal. Turning this knob up increases the
overall intensity of the effect. The second knob, FREQ, controls the center frequency of
a bandpass filter which changes the tone of the noise, and hence the tone of the overall
effect. The third knob, Q, adjusts the resonance of the filter; higher settings make the
filter narrower.
OCTAVER: The OCTAVER engine uses the same methods found in guitar effects pedals to
generate signals one octave above and below the input signal. On simple signals these
methods are fairly effective and produce distinct pitch-shifted replicas of the original.
On more complex signals they don’t work terribly well as pitch shifters, but do produce
interesting distortion effects with a tonal center one octave above/below the input
signal.
The three knobs are level controls. DRY sets the level of the unchanged signal. 1/2 sets
the level of the octave-down signal, and 2/1 sets the level of the octave-up signal.
WAVY: WAVY is similar to the WARP engine. (The WARP engine was present in version 1.0 of
Kombinat, and hence is still present in version 2.0 for backwards compatibility.) Like
WARP, WAVY uses a sine wave to create a non-linear transfer function, although it is
applied in a different manner. There is a FREQ knob to control the frequency of the sine
wave, and hence the tone of the effect. WAVY also has an AMT knob to control the
intensity of the effect.
RECTIFY: RECTIFY mostly affects the negative half of the signal’s waveform, by either reducing
its amplitude or flipping it over to make it a positive signal. The SLOPE knob is the main
control for RECTIFY. If the SLOPE knob is rotated fully anti-clockwise, the input signal is
passed without change. As you rotate the knob towards the 12:00 position, the lower
half of the waveform is flattened out, distorting the signal. As you rotate the slope knob
further, the lower half of the waveform is increasingly reflected upwards.
The ROUND knob smoothes the transitional area where RECTIFY starts affecting the
negative half of the waveform. Turning up ROUND makes the transition smoother
(more rounded) and hence makes the distortion somewhat less buzzy.
TUBE CLIP: The TUBE CLIP engine applies asymmetric distortion to the signal in a manner
similar to vacuum-tube-based circuits. The DRIVE knob acts as an input gain control;
turning it up increases the signal level and hence how much the signal is distorted. The
BITE knob makes the distortion shape sharper, creating a brighter or harsher distortion
tone. The MIX knob blends the input signal and the distorted signal. As you rotate the
MIX knob clockwise you’ll hear less of the clean signal and more of the distorted signal.
NERD RAGE: Part distortion effect and part short delay, Nerd Rage grabs short pieces of the
input signal and plays them back in reverse.
NERD RAGE has three knobs. The THRESH knob, short for Threshold, is a sort of tuning
knob which controls how much of the signal is recorded for later playback. The DECAY
knob controls how rapidly the recorded signal fades out when being played back. The
GAIN knob is a level control; turning it clockwise makes Nerd Rage’s output louder.
Historical note: if you happen to be a user of Audio Damage’s venerated Master Destrukto plug-in, you’ll
recognize the CLIP, WARP, and BITZ engine types. These engine types were lifted directly from Master
Destrukto (although the ERR parameter in BITZ is a new invention).
Meters
There are three circular meters, one for each engine, in
the top left area of Kombinat’s window. These meters
reflect the level of the signal entering the engine. This
means that the meters will display different levels
depending on the setting of the mode switch. In Multi
mode the meters reflect the levels of the signals for the
three separate frequency bands, since the three outputs
of the crossover are sent individually to the three
engines. If you kill a band altogether with its on switch, you’ll see the corresponding engine’s meter stay at
zero. In Series mode, generally speaking, all three meters will be active since the signal passes through all
three engines.
Filter
Kombinat has a low-pass filter to smooth off some of the rough edges created by its distortion engines. The
filter has two modes: a four-pole lowpass model of the type commonly found on many analog synthesizers,
and a more gentle two-pole version. You can also turn the filter off altogether. Click the small OFF/FLT1/FLT2
control to switch between the three choices.
The filters have a graphical control representing the frequency response
of a low-pass filter. Clicking and dragging the circle in the control
changes the frequency and resonance of the filter. Move the circle left to
lower the cutoff frequency, dulling the sound, or move it to the right to
brighten it. Move the circle upwards to emphasize frequencies near the
cutoff frequency, making the sound more “synthy”.
The filter can self-oscillate at high resonance, resulting in a tone with
the pitch determined by the setting of the frequency knob. This is not common in software-based filters, and
may surprise you the first time you hear it. To get the filter to self-oscillate, just move the circle all the way
up and you'll hear the oscillation tone. Move the circle back and forth and it will change the pitch of the tone
accordingly. Note that when the filter is receiving input, the tone is blended with the input, and will be more
apparent the lower the input signal.
Compressor
The compressor in Kombinat only has one control, AMOUNT. Thus, it is fairly obvious how to use it. If you
want more of the compression effect, simply move the slider to the right. This will have the effect of evening
out the signal coming out of the filter, so that the parts of the signal that would be low in volume are much
more apparent, and nearly as loud as the loudest parts of the signal. This will also add a couple dB of level to
the overall signal, and make it a bit more "knocky." As with the filter, when you send the compressor
extremely high-level signals, it begins to operate in an unpredictable manner, and will add distortion to the
signal.
For the technically inclined, the compressor is always on, the attack is always 5ms, the release is always
50ms, and the ratio is always 1000:1. At the left-most setting, the
threshold is 0dB. When the knob is completely clockwise, the threshold
is -30dB, and the input and output gains are raised to compensate.
Feedback
Kombinat has an internal feedback path that can route its output signal back into the input, mixing it with the
usual incoming signal. This can intensify Kombinat’s distortion and create ringing oscillations and other
unpredictable effects. It’s a somewhat experimental feature; while you might not find it useful all the time, it’s
worth trying now and then just to see what happens.
The AMOUNT slider changes the amount of the output that gets fed
back; moving the slider to the right increases this amount. At the far
left setting, there is no feedback.
The feedback path is also controlled by an envelope follower that
responds to the level of the plug-in’s input signal (before the
feedback signal is added). This envelope follower reduces the gain of
the feedback path when the input signal is small, reducing Kombinat’s
tendency to oscillate continuously at high settings of the AMOUNT slider. The envelope follower has two
numerical controls which adjust how rapidly it responds to changes in the input signal. The ATTACK control
changes how quickly it increases the feedback signal as the input signal increases, and the DECAY control sets
how quickly it responds as the input signal decreases. Click and drag vertically on the numerical controls to
change their values. The controls respond to where you click them, and will change by whichever digit you
click on when you start dragging.
Levels
The INPUT and OUTPUT level numerical controls provide overall gain control of the signals entering and
leaving the plug-in. The INPUT control has a range of -40 to +6dB; the OUTPUT control has a range of -60 to
+6dB. Since many of Kombinat’s engine types operate in part by boosting signals to high levels, you may find
the OUTPUT level control handy for keeping things under some semblance of sanity. Also, since the effects
created by the engines are all very much dependent on the level of the signals they process, you may find
that simply changing the INPUT gain can radically alter what you hear
coming out of Kombinat.
Click and drag vertically on the numerical controls to change their
values. The controls respond to where you click them, and will change
by whichever digit you click on when you start dragging.
MIDI Controllers
Kombinat responds to MIDI continuous controller messages. You can use hardware MIDI controllers, such as
MIDI slider boxes or the knobs found on some MIDI keyboards, to adjust Kombinat’s parameters.
Kombinat has a simple “MIDI Learn” mode for assigning its controls to MIDI controllers. To assign a control to
a MIDI controller:
First, hold down the SHIFT and CTRL keys on your PC’s keyboard, or SHIFT and CMD keys if you’re
using a Mac, and click once on the control. A white box will be drawn around the control to indicate
that it is ready to learn which MIDI controller it will be assigned to.
Next, move the MIDI controller to send a continuous controller message—turn the knob, press the
button, move the slider, whatever is appropriate.
The white square will disappear. Now the control will move when you manipulate the MIDI controller.
Kombinat waits until it has received two consecutive continuous controller messages with the same controller
number before it makes an assignment. This filters out extraneous data sent by some MIDI controllers. If you
are assigning a button or switch on a MIDI controller, you may have to press or move the switch twice before
Kombinat recognizes the controller and assigns it to the desired control.
To assign a different MIDI controller to a control, repeat the same procedure using a different controller.
To cancel MIDI Learn mode without assigning a controller, hold down the SHIFT and CTRL keys (SHIFT and
CMD keys on a Mac) and click in any empty area in Kombinat’s window (i.e., don’t click on another control).
The white box will disappear.
To remove a MIDI controller assignment from a control, SHIFT and CTRL keys, (SHIFT and CMD keys on a
Mac) click on the control once so that the white box appears, then click again on the same control.
Kombinat’s MIDI controller assignments apply to all presets and instances of Kombinat, in all host applications
that you use. The MIDI assignments are stored in a special file on your hard drive. The contents of this file are
read when Kombinat is loaded by your host. If you have two or more instances of Kombinat in use at once,
any MIDI assignments you make will not be propagated to the other instances until the next time that your
host loads the plug-ins.
Automation
All of Kombinat’s parameters can be automated using your host's automation features. Consult your host's
documentation for information on how to use these features.
And Finally…
Thanks again for purchasing Kombinat. We make every effort to ensure your satisfaction with our products,
and want you to be happy with your purchase. Please write info@audiodamage.com if you have any questions
or comments.
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