Mangleverb User’s Guide
Audio Damage, Inc.
Release 1.0
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on
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© 2013 Audio Damage, Inc. All rights reserved.
Credits
Software Design and Construction, Documentation
Chris Randall
Adam Schabtach
Field Testing
Jens Ågren
Don Gunn
Steve Hamann
Jeff Laity
Made Possible By
Elle
Tracie
Fuzzy Logic
Alfred
Chica
Edwin
Garrus
Madeline
Pablo
Tali
Zed
Audio Unit version implemented using Symbiosis from NuEdge Development.
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Introduction
Have you ever wondered what would happen when you combine a thick algorithmic reverb, a rough-and-ready
vintage-style synth filter, and a healthy dose of modulation? Us, too. As luck would have it, we happen to
have a plug-in company, so we put our heads together, hit the woodshed, coded a little, swore a lot, and
Mangleverb is the result.
We started with the reverb algorithm from the much-loved but long unavailable Deverb, one of our earliest
products. We then put it next to a screaming analog filter model, and hit the whole shebang with a
sophisticated LFO and a full-featured envelope follower (with sidechain input, if that's your bag.) The result is
a highly capable toolbox for the sonic troublemaker.
System Requirements
To use Mangleverb you'll need a Steinberg VST-compatible host application which conforms to the VST 2.4
specification, and a computer capable of running it. For the Audio Unit version of Mangleverb, you’ll need an
application capable of hosting Audio Unit plug-ins, and an Apple computer with an Intel CPU capable of
running it. We support the use of Mangleverb under Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 or 8; and
Apple OS X version 10.6 or newer.
Installation
Double-click the Mangleverb 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).
You can retrieve your registration code from your account on the Audio Damage website if necessary. 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.
On OS X, the installer installs the Audio Unit and VST versions of Mangleverb by default. If you click the
Customize button you can choose to not install one or more of these formats. There‘s no need to install
formats that you don‘t use, but on the other hand they don‘t take up much space if you do install them. If
your host gives you a choice of which format to use, we recommend using the VST version. The OS X versions
are combined 32/64-bit binaries.
If you‘re running a 64-bit version of Windows, you can choose to install either 32- or 64-bit versions of
Mangleverb, or both. (There is no reason to install 64-bit plug-ins on a 32-bit version of Windows, and there
are good reasons to not do so.)
Operation
Mangleverb consists of three signal-processing sections: a reverb, a filter, and a VCA (“VCA” being an
acronym for Voltage-Controlled Amplifier, a module familiar to synthesizer users). The filter and VCA can be
controlled by two modulation sources: a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) and an envelope follower. The LFO can
be synchronized to the tempo of your host sequencer or run independently. The envelope follower can
respond either to the plug-in’s input signal, or several other sources, including MIDI notes. We’ll examine the
controls for each of these sections in turn.
Warning: Mangleverb can make very loud noises in an unexpected manner. In particular, turning up either
the Q or FEEDBCK knobs far enough will cause Mangleverb to break into self-oscillation, creating a loud,
sustained tone regardless of the input signal. As always, please be careful of your hearing.
Reverb
Starting at the left of Mangleverb’s window, the first group of knobs and switches control the reverb.
Mangleverb’s intent is not meticulous emulations of acoustic spaces or anything complicated like that; hence it
has a pretty simple set of reverb controls.
At the top we have the COLOR knob. This knob changes the overall timbre of the reverb
section by applying an equalizer to the reverb’s output. This EQ is a somewhat unusual
configuration of filters known as a tilting EQ. Turn the COLOR knob to the right and the
EQ boosts the highs and cuts the lows, turn it to the left and the opposite happens.
The DECAY knob controls how long the reverberation lasts. As you can probably guess,
turning the DECAY knob up makes the reverb last longer, making a bigger, more spacious
sound. Next to the DECAY knob lurks a small but powerful button labeled ∞, which
means infinity. If you turn on the ∞ button by clicking it, whatever signal is currently
present in the reverb will become frozen there, creating a continuous, infinite wash of
sound. Clicking the ∞ button again will return the reverb to its normal operation.
The MIX knob mixes some amount of the reverb’s input—the “dry” signal—with its
output—the “wet” signal. The mixture is expressed as a percentage of the wet signal. At
the knob’s center position, the mixture is 50%, i.e., equal portions of the wet and dry
signal. Turn the MIX knob to the right to get more of the reverb and less of the input, turn
it to the left to reduce the amount of reverb.
The switch labeled PRE and POST changes the signal path within Mangleverb. If the switch is set to PRE, the
reverb comes before the filter and VCA. If the switch is set to POST, the signal passes through the filter and
VCA before entering the reverb.
Filter
Second from the left you’ll find Mangleverb’s filter controls. Since the cutoff
frequency is the most important parameter of a musical filter, these controls are
dominated by the large and uniquely decorated CUTOFF knob. Turn this knob
clockwise to raise the filter’s frequency, turn it anti-clockwise to lower the
frequency.
The other control which is probably familiar to you is the resonance knob, labeled
Q1. Turning up the Q knob will cause the filter to boost signals near the cutoff
frequency. If you turn it up far enough, the filter will oscillate, creating a
continuous tone and pretty much obliterating whatever input signal you’re feeding
to it.
The filter operates in one of three different configurations, which you choose with
the TYPE switch. There are three types available:
Low-Pass Filter (LPF) – the type of filter most commonly found in
synthesizers, the low-pass filter attenuates frequencies higher than the
cutoff frequency, passing lower frequencies.
High-Pass Filter (HPF) – the high-pass filter does the opposite: it attenuates frequencies lower than
the cutoff frequency, passing higher frequencies.
Band-Pass Filter (BPF) – the band-pass filter is like a combination of a low-pass and high-pass filter: it
passes frequencies near the cutoff frequency, and attenuates higher and lower frequencies.
Mangleverb’s filters are models of the filters found in a much-revered analog synthesizer of yesteryear whose
name might have the number 20 in it. Like the originals, they distort signals that pass through them,
particularly when driven hard with a loud signal. Since this sort of distortion is often a useful tone-shaping
1
Why Q? According to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q_factor, it originated during early work with inductors (coils
of wire used to build filters) and was chosen because all of the other letters in the alphabet were taken for designating other
electrical parameters. Yes, really.
tool, we’ve provided a DRIVE knob that boosts the signal before it enters the filter. Turn this knob up and
you’ll hear the signal become louder and more distorted, in a good way.
The Modulation Source (MOD SRC) knobs control how much the filter’s frequency is affected (i.e. modulated)
by the LFO and envelope follower. Turning these knobs clockwise from their center position will cause the LFO
and/or envelope follower to increase the filter’s frequency, and turning the knobs anti-clockwise will have the
opposite effect. Note that there are combinations of settings in which the modulators have no audible effect.
For instance, if you turn the FREQUENCY knob all the way up, you won’t hear anything if you turn the MOD
SRC knobs above the 12 o’clock position because the modulators can’t raise the filter frequency any higher
than its highest setting. On the other hand, if you turn the MOD SRC knobs below the 12 o’clock position, you
will hear the modulators lowering the filter’s frequency.
LFO
Mangleverb sports a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) for generating periodic
signals. These signals can control the filter and/or VCA, creating synthesizer-like
tonal changes, tremolo and gating effects, etc. The LFO can be locked to the
tempo of your host program for creating rhythmic effects that fit with the groove
of your music, or can run freely and independently.
The RATE knob determines how fast the output of the LFO varies over time. If
the SYNC switch is not turned on, the LFO’s rate can be varied from one cycle
every 100 seconds (that is 0.01 cycles per second, abbreviated 0.01 Hz) to 100
cycles every second (100 Hz).
If the SYNC switch is turned on, the LFO’s rate is determined by the tempo of
your music as reported by your host sequencer. A value of 1/1 represents a
whole note, a value of 1/8 represents an eighth note, and so on. Dotted notes,
which have a duration equal to one and a half times a regular note, are shown
with a period in the RATE knob’s value display. For example “1/4.” is displayed
to indicate a dotted quarter note, which has a duration of a quarter note plus an
eighth note. Triplets, which are groups of three notes that have the same duration as two regular notes, are
shown with a T. “1/16T” represents a duration equal to 2/3 that of a sixteenth note.
The WAVEFORM switch and SHAPE knob together control how the LFO’s output varies over time. The
WAVEFORM switch lets you choose one of four waveforms, with triangular, rectangular, sinusoidal, and
randomly determined shapes. The SHAPE knob changes the basic waveform in different ways, depending on
which waveform is chosen with the switch.
If the SAW wave is selected, and the SHAPE knob is set to the middle of its range, the output of the LFO
rises and falls evenly between its lowest and highest values, creating a symmetric triangular wave. If you
rotate the SHAPE knob to the left, the LFO output rises more quickly and falls more slowly, creating what
is often called a sawtooth wave. If you rotate the SHAPE knob to the right, the LFO rises more slowly and
falls more quickly, creating what is called a ramp wave.
If the PULSE wave is selected, and the SHAPE knob is set to the middle of its range, the output of the LFO
jumps between its lowest and highest values, staying for an equal period of time at both values. If you
rotate the SHAPE knob to the left, the output stays at its highest value for a shorter period of time. If you
rotate the SHAPE knob to the right, the output stays at lowest value for a shorter period of time. In
engineering terms, the SHAPE knob varies the duty cycle of the rectangular wave.
If the SINE wave is selected, and the SHAPE knob is set to the middle of its range, the output of the LFO
varies smoothly between its lowest and highest values. The difference between a sine wave and a triangle
wave is that the triangle wave abruptly changes direction when it reaches its highest and lowest values;
whereas the sine wave gradually slows down, stops, and speeds up again when it changes directions.
Moving the Shape KNOB introduces an extra little wiggle in the middle of the sine wave without creating
any sharp corners in its shape.
If the RANDOM wave is selected, and the SHAPE knob is moved all the way to the left, the output of the
LFO jumps to a random value, changing at a rate determined by the RATE knob. As you rotate the SHAPE
knob to the right, the output moves more slowly from one random value to the next.
These different wave shapes and the effects of the controls upon
them are easier to see than to read about, so Mangleverb
displays the LFO’s output in a pane centered in its controls.
You’ll find that the display is most useful at fairly low rates. If the
LFO is oscillating above about 5Hz the display can’t accurately
draw the shape of the LFO. Also, the display operates at a much
lower priority than the signal-processing portion of Mangleverb,
and hence is at the mercy of your computer’s ability and willingness to divide its attention between making
music and making pretty pictures. Glitches in the LFO display do not mean that there are audible glitches in
the LFO’s signal itself.
Envelope Follower
In addition to the LFO, Mangleverb has an envelope follower as a second source of
modulation signals. The envelope follower responds to the overall loudness of its
input signal and (like the LFO) can be used to control the filter and/or the VCA.
The two knobs labeled SHAPE determine how rapidly the envelope follower
responds. The ATTACK knob adjusts how quickly the envelope follower responds
to increases in the incoming signal’s level. If the ATTACK knob is turned fully anti-
clockwise, the envelope follower’s output jumps almost instantly in response to
increases in the input signal’s level. As you turn up the ATTACK knob, the
envelope follower reacts more slowly to signal-level increases. The Attack knob is
useful for making the envelope follower’s output smoother when the input signal
contains sharp transients, such as drum sounds.
The DECAY knob adjusts how quickly the envelope follower’s output decreases as
the incoming signal’s level decreases. If the DECAY knob is turned fully anti-
clockwise, the envelope follower’s output drops almost immediately when the
input signal’s level decreases. As you turn up the DECAY knob, the envelope
follower reacts more slowly to signal-level decreases. The DECAY knob is useful
for stretching the envelope follower’s output, making it fade away more slowly than the input signal.
The envelope follower’s input can be connected to one of four different sources depending on the setting of its
TRIGGER switch. This switch also affects the SENSE knob, so the envelope follower has four somewhat distinct
modes of operation depending on the setting of the switch:
INPUT – This is the operational mode you probably expect: the envelope follower receives its input
from the plug-in’s signal input. You can use this mode to create auto-wah filter effects or mess with
the signal’s dynamics. The SENSE knob acts as a gain control for the signal; turning it up boosts the
level of the signal before it enters the envelope follower.
MIDI – In this mode, the envelope follower receives a gate-like signal when Mangleverb receives MIDI
notes. This signal turns on when a note-on event arrives, and turns off when the last note-off event
arrives. The level of the signal is proportionate to the velocity of the note. What this means is that you
can use MIDI notes to open and close Mangleverb’s filter and/or VCA, creating gated-reverb effects,
sequenced filter changes, and so on.
In the MIDI mode, the SENSE knob acts as a threshold control. If the velocity of a note is below the
setting of the SENSE knob, the note is ignored. If you leave the SENSE knob at its full anti-clockwise
setting, all notes generate gate signals for the envelope generator. Turning the SENSE knob up raises
the threshold, blocking notes with low velocities and passing notes with high velocities.
In order for this mode to work, you’ll have to route MIDI data to Mangleverb. How exactly you do this
depends on your host software so we’ll have to leave this part to you to figure out.
SIDECHAIN – In this mode, a signal other than the plug-in’s input drives the envelope follower. This
other signal can be any other signal present in your host’s mixer—another track, a send buss,
whatever. Hence you can use the sidechain input to do fun things like open and close the filter with a
kick drum, create reverb that blooms between vocal phrases, and so on. The SENSE knob acts as a
gain control for the signal; turning it up boosts the level of the signal before it enters the envelope
follower.
Support for sidechain inputs in plug-ins varies significantly between different host programs. It may
take some experimentation with your host to figure out how (or if) it supports auxiliary connections to
plug-ins. To cite two popular hosts as examples: In Ableton Live, the sidechain input will appear as a
destination on the lower “Audio To” popup menu once you select a track containing Mangleverb with
the upper “Audio To” popup menu. In Steinberg Cubase, Mangleverb shows up as an LCR surroundcapable plug-in; its Center input is the sidechain input. Hence you can insert it on a LCR surround
group track, create a child buss for that track, and route signals to the Center child buss to feed the
sidechain input.
LFO – The LFO mode sends a signal derived from the LFO to the envelope follower. The signal is a
pulse wave that’s either off or on. If the LFO’s output is at half of its maximum value or greater (i.e.
above the middle of its display), the signal sent to the envelope follower turns on. If the LFO’s output
is below the halfway point, the signal turns off. This happens regardless of the setting of the LFO’s
WAVEFORM switch. If you just figured out that the signal sent to the envelope generator will be the
same as the LFO’s output when the WAVEFORM switch is set to SQUARE, you get a gold star by your
name today. While the envelope follower always receives a square-cornered wave from the LFO, you
can use the ATTACK and DECAY knobs to turn it into something smoother, thus producing a
modulation signal that is synchronized with, but different from, the LFO.
The knob labeled HPF controls a high-pass filter positioned before the envelope follower’s input. Turning this
knob up cuts low frequencies from the signal, making the envelope follower respond only to high-frequency
portions of the signal. For instance, if the signal is a drum loop, turning up the HPF knob will tend to make the
envelope follower respond to the snare and high hats more than the kick drum. This knob has no effect on the
MIDI and LFO modes of the envelope follower.
The envelope follower has a display similar to the LFO to show you what it’s doing and what effect the various
controls have on its operation.
Master
The Master section has controls for setting the levels of various signals as they
pass into, through, and out of the plug in. The INPUT knob is a gain control for
the input signal. It has a range of -40dB to +6dB and hence can provide a fair
amount of attenuation to a modest amount of boost.
The FEEDBCK knob is somewhat more interesting. If you turn this knob up, an
increasing amount of the plug-in’s processed output signal is fed back into its
input, mixed with the usual input signal. As you’re probably already well aware,
feedback in music production can be a good thing or a bad thing2. In
Mangleverb, feedback can add subtle effects like unusual resonances to the
reverb’s sound, or not-at-all subtle wailing noises. If you turn the FEEDBCK
knob up far enough, Mangleverb will cheerfully break into self-oscillation
without any input at all. Yes, this means you should be careful about your
monitoring levels when you mess with this knob. You may not find that you use
this knob all the time, but it’s worth giving it a try now and then just to see
what happens.
We’ve mentioned the VCA a few times previously; we finally find some controls for it here in the Master
section. The VCA changes the level of the signal after it comes out of the filter. After it passes through the
VCA, the signal either continues on to the reverb, or it heads out of the plug-in, depending on the setting of
the PRE/POST switch in the Reverb section. The VCA knob sets the initial gain of the VCA. If you turn it all the
way to the left, the VCA has a gain of -50dB, which is to say that not much will get through it. If you turn it all
the way to the right, the VCA has unity gain and signals pass through it unchanged.
2
For example: if you’re singing the national anthem in front of a large audience, feedback is a bad thing. If you’re playing
the national anthem on an electric guitar in front of a large audience, feedback is a good thing.
The VCA can also be affected by the envelope follower and the LFO, using the MOD SRC knobs. These knobs
work the same way as their counterparts in the Filter section. Turning these knobs clockwise from their center
position will cause the LFO and/or envelope follower to increase the VCA’s gain, and turning the knobs anticlockwise will have the opposite effect. Note that there are combinations of settings in which the modulators
have no audible effect. For instance, if you turn the VCA knob all the way up, you won’t hear anything if you
turn the MOD SRC knobs above the 12 o’clock position because the modulators can’t raise the VCA’s gain
higher than unity. On the other hand, if you turn the MOD SRC knobs below the 12 o’clock position, you will
hear the modulators lowering the VCA’s gain, creating a ducking or tremolo effect.
The MIX knob changes the overall blend between the plug-in’s processed signal, also known as the “wet”
signal, and the unaltered input signal, the “dry” signal. The mixture is expressed as a percentage of the wet
signal. At its center position, 50%, the plug-in’s output consists of equal portions of the wet and dry signals. A
setting of around 50% is usually what you’ll use if you’re using the plug-in as an insert effect. If you’re using
it on a send-return effects bus, you’ll probably want to set the MIX knob to 100% to obtain only the processed
signal.
Finally we have the humble but sometimes useful EFFECT switch. If this switch is set to BYPASS, sound passes
through Mangleverb without alteration. You’ll find that Mangleverb is far more interesting when this switch is
set to ACTIVE. The advantage of the EFFECT switch, versus the bypass mechanism that your host software
probably offers, is that this switch engages or removes the effect without audible clicks and is easily
automated.
Automation
All of Mangleverb’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 Mangleverb. 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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