Dave Smith Instruments TETR4 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

Tetra

Operation Manual

Version 1.2

February 2010

Dave Smith Instruments

1210 Cabrillo Hwy N

Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-1449

USA

www.DaveSmithInstruments.com

Tested To Comply With FCC Standards FOR OFFICE USE

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations.

Cet appareil numerique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Reglement sur le materiel brouilleur du Canada.

For Technical Support, email: support@davesmithinstruments.com

LIMITED WARRANTY Dave Smith Instruments warrants that this product will be free from defects in materials and/or workmanship for 1 year from the date of purchase. Please register this product online at www.davesmithinstruments.com to establish the date of purchase (NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR WARRANTY SERVICE).

To exercise your rights under this Warranty as a purchaser, you must ship this product in appropriate packaging at your expense (insurance is recommended), together with proof of purchase, to Dave Smith Instruments, or to such other address as may be instructed by Dave Smith Instruments. You should contact Dave Smith Instruments Customer Service at (707) 963-7006 ext. 1, between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) from Monday through Friday, to obtain a Return Authorization number for the returned product. Any products shipped to Dave Smith Instruments without a Return Authorization number shall be refused.

Dave Smith Instruments will repair this product at no charge to you for parts or for labor within the warranty period; provided, however, that Dave Smith Instruments reserves the right to determine whether the product is “defective” for purposes of this Limited Warranty. This Warranty does not apply to damage to this product that occurred as a result of abuse or misuse, abnormal service or handling, damage which may have been caused either directly or indirectly by another product, or if the product has been altered or modified in any way, or if the damage was caused by repairs or service provided or attempted by anyone other than Dave Smith Instruments or an Authorized Service Center.

IN NO EVENT SHALL DAVE SMITH INSTRUMENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, COLLATERAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, CONSEQUENTIAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF YOUR PURCHASE OF PRODUCTS AND/OR OUT OF THIS WARRANTY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, LOSS OF USE, PROFITS, GOODWILL OR SAVINGS OR LOSS OF DATA, MUSIC, ELECTRONIC FILES, OR PROGRAMS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN STORED BY A USER OF THE PRODUCT EVEN IF DAVE SMITH INSTRUMENTS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Where applicable, if you qualify as a “consumer” under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, then you shall be entitled to any implied warranties allowed by law for the period of the Limited Warranty as set forth above. Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts, so the above limitation may not apply to you. EXCEPT AS STATED ABOVE, THE FOREGOING WARRANTIES ARE IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER CONDITIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, AN IMPLIED CONDITION OR WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND OF ANY OTHER WARRANTY OBLIGATION ON THE PART OF DAVE SMITH INSTRUMENTS DAVE SMITH INSTRUMENTS DOES NOT ASSUME OR AUTHORIZE ASSUMPTION OF LIABILITY FOR IT OR ANY OTHER WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. This Limited Warranty gives U.S. purchasers specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from State to State.

Contents

Quick Start................................................................................................. 1

Getting Connected ....................................................................................3

Front Panel Controls .................................................................................5

Basic Operation......................................................................................... 9

Global Parameters ..................................................................................13

Program Parameters............................................................................... 17

Oscillator Parameters ..........................................................................17

Miscellaneous Oscillator Parameters .................................................. 18

Mixer Parameters ................................................................................19

Feedback Parameters .........................................................................19

Low-pass Filter Parameters................................................................. 19

VCA Parameters.................................................................................. 20

LFO Parameters .................................................................................. 21

Envelope 3 Parameters .......................................................................22

Modulation Parameters .......................................................................23

Unison Parameters.............................................................................. 24

Push It Switch Parameters ..................................................................25

Keyboard Mode Parameters................................................................25

Clock Parameters ................................................................................ 26

Arpeggiator Parameters ......................................................................26

Sequence Parameters......................................................................... 27

Name Parameter .................................................................................28

Combos ...................................................................................................29

Creating a Combo ...............................................................................29

Combos and Multi Mode...................................................................... 31

Using Poly Chain..................................................................................... 32

A Note About Poly Chain and Mopho.................................................. 32

Using USB............................................................................................... 35

Modulation Destinations.......................................................................... 37

Modulation Sources ................................................................................39

Parameter List.........................................................................................40

MIDI Implementation ............................................................................... 41

MIDI Messages.................................................................................... 41

NRPN Messages ................................................................................. 44

Global Parameter Data........................................................................ 45

Program Parameter Data ....................................................................46

Combo Parameter Data....................................................................... 52

Sysex Messages .................................................................................56

Packed Data Format............................................................................ 61

Hidden Functions .................................................................................... 62

Quick Start

Thanks for purchasing your Tetra synthesizer! Listen to the sounds, twiddle some knobs, have some fun!

Please Register!

Please go to www.davesmithinstruments.com and register your synth. If you purchased directly from us, there is no need to register — we already have your contact information.

Powering Up

So, plug in the power supply, connect (in stereo!!) to your mixer/sound system, and start playing!

You can use the P

USH IT switch to trigger sounds without a keyboard. If you’re

using a MIDI keyboard, try applying keyboard pressure (aftertouch) and the mod wheel. Many sounds are fairly simple at first, then come alive when you use the controllers. With other sounds, you may need to hold the notes a while to let the sound unfold. Playing in different ways has a big effect on the programs.

Selecting and Editing Programs, Combos, and Global Settings

Use S

ELECT or the increment and decrement (+ and -) switches to step through

the programs. Hold the switches down briefly to increment or decrement the bank. There are 4 banks of 128 programs. Banks 1 and 2 are the Prophet ’08 factory programs.

If you want to edit a program, just turn any knob. The new value will be displayed in the bottom line of the LCD (the top line displays the programmed value for handy reference).

After turning knobs, just press the Mode (P

ROGRAM/COMBO/GLOBAL) switch to

exit Edit Mode and return to Program Mode, allowing you to change programs again.

While in Program Mode, press the Mode switch again to change to Combo Mode. Combos contain a combination of four different programs—one per voice—that can be used to play polyphonically or in unison, or to play four different sequences simultaneously.

Press and hold the Mode switch briefly to display the Global menu and change higher level parameters such as MIDI channel number, Transpose/Detune, and so on. The S

ELECT knob changes the displayed page and increment and

decrement change the values. These settings are remembered when the synth is turned off.

Summary

You should be up and running now; for more operation information, read on. Or, just look up specific parameters for detailed notes. Pages 35 through 39 contain a handy reference for mod destinations and sources. At some point you should read through the manual to discover all the little features that you might not notice at first.

Don’t forget you get a free editor for Mac OS or Windows with your purchase. Download it from www.soundtower.com/tetra.

I should mention that this manual does not include explanations of basic analog synthesizer functions. It assumes you already know what an oscillator is, how a low-pass filter affects the sound, what an ADSR envelope looks like, and so on.

Fortunately, these days it is quite easy to find such resources on the Internet. If you want to learn the lingo and the basics, just try a search in Google (or the search engine of your choice), something like “analog synthesizer tutorial.” You’ll find plenty of good reading material.

Have fun!

Dave Smith

Special thanks to:

Tim Ande, Dave Polich, Ravi Sharma, James Terris, Stefan Trippler, and Jason Ware for their voicing work. Thanks also to the authors of the Prophet ’08 programs, many of which are used in Tetra. Finally, the DSI Team: Chris Hector, Andrew McGowan, Joanne McGowan, and Tracy Wadley.

Getting Connected

Tetra has several inputs and outputs on its back panel.

Power Input — Connect the power supply included with your Tetra. The power

supply comes with different AC adaptor prongs that allow it to work anywhere in the world. If for whatever reason you need to use a different supply, it must match the specifications printed on the front panel.

Note: The power supply label says “Evolver” on it; we use the same supply for the mono Evolvers, Mopho, and the Prophets.

USB — Tetra transmits and receives MIDI data via this standard, Type B, USB

receptacle.

MIDI In — To receive MIDI data from another device, connect this to the other

device's MIDI Out.

MIDI Out — To send MIDI data to another device, connect this to the other

device's MIDI In. This output can also be configured as a MIDI Thru using the MIDI Out Select parameter in the Global menu.

Poly Chain Out — Up to four Tetras can be chained for increased polyphony

and one or two Tetras can be poly chained with a Prophet ’08. For details, see Using Poly Chain on page 32.

Note: When Poly Chain is turned off in the Global menu, the Poly Chain Out simply mirrors the MIDI Out and transmits the same data.

Audio Outputs — Tetra has four, unbalanced, ¼ inch outputs. 1/Left and

2/Right are the summed outputs of all four voices in Stereo or Mono mode and are typically used for “normal” polyphonic or unison playing. They are also the direct outputs of voices 1 and 2 in Quad mode. Outputs 3 and 4 are the direct outputs of voices 3 and 4, respectively, and are always mono. The individual, direct outputs are typically used in Multi Mode or Combo Mode, so that each voice can be mixed and processed separately. For more about the Audio Out and Multi Mode parameters, see Global Parameters on page 13.

Phones — A ¼ inch stereo headphone jack.

Front Panel Controls

Select — Use SELECT to change and scroll through programs and combos. Also

used to select parameters in Global mode.

Mode (Program/Combo/Global) — Tetra has four modes of operation:

program, combo, global, and edit. Press the button to toggle between Program and Combo Mode.

When in Program Mode, the display shows the name, number, and bank of the current program. Editing any of the parameters puts Tetra into Edit Mode and displays the last parameter edited and its stored and edited values. To return to Program Mode, simply press the mode switch. See Program Parameters starting on page 17 for more information.

In Combo Mode, the display shows the name and number of the current combo. Editing any of the parameters puts Tetra into Edit Mode and displays the voice (V1, V2, V3, or V4) being edited, the last parameter edited and its edited value. To return to Combo Mode, simply press the mode switch. See Combos on page 29 for more information.

Global mode is accessed by briefly holding down the mode

button. The Global

menu is displayed. Use S

ELECT to scroll the Global menu and the increment and

decrement (+ and -) buttons to change the settings. To return to Program or Combo Mode, simply press

the mode button. See Global Parameters on page 13

for more information.

Write — Use WRITE to save an edited program or combo to any of Tetra’s

memory locations. To execute the write operation, press the increment (+) button.

To store a program or combo in a different location, press the W

RITE button and

change the destination using the S

ELECT knob before executing the write.

Note: You can also change program banks by holding the increment (+) and decrement (-) buttons, but be careful! If you hit the increment button quickly, it saves the program wherever you are at that point. If you want to change banks, just be sure to hold the button until you see the bank change.

To cancel a write, press W

RITE, decrement (-), or the mode button. WRITE is

also used to execute certain operations in the Global menu.

Volume — The master volume control for all of Tetra’s audio outputs and the

headphone output.

Increment/Decrement — The increment and decrement (+ and -) controls are

used to step through programs in Program Mode, combos in Combo Mode, to change values in the Global menu, and to confirm or cancel various operations. In Edit Mode they increase/decrease the parameter value. They are also used to select Tetra’s four program banks. Hold increment briefly to switch to the next highest bank; hold decrement to switch to the next lowest bank.

Assignable Parameters 1-4 — Any of Tetra’s program parameters can be

edited from the front panel using the ASSIGNABLE PARAMETERS controls and the assignments for the controls are saved per program, to best suit that program. In other words, the assignments for the controls can be completely different from one program to another.

In Combo Mode, each of the four controls is routed to the respective voice. That is, parameter 1 controls an assigned parameter for voice 1, parameter 2 controls voice 2, etc.

See also Edit B/Combo below for more information.

Assign Parameters — When the ASSIGN PARAMETERS LED is lit, turn any of

the ASSIGNABLE PARAMETERS controls to select from the list of program parameters. Press A

SSIGN PARAMETERS again (turn the LED off) to use the

ASSIGNABLE PARAMETERS controls to edit the selected parameters. For a description of the parameters, see Program Parameters beginning on page 17. For a list of the parameters, see page 40.

Edit B/Combo — This button behaves differently depending upon the current

mode. In Program Mode, it switches between program layers. Each program has two layers, A and B. Each layer can be a complete, separate patch. The layers are used in conjunction with the KeyMode parameter for creating stacked or split programs. When E

DIT B/COMBO is active, the front panel controls the B

layer.

Note: The A

SSIGNABLE PARAMETERS are the same for both layers.

In Combo Mode, E

DIT B/COMBO is used to access various combo parameters.

Press E

DIT B/COMBO once to edit voice 1 parameters. Press the button

repeatedly to cycle through the voices and exit Edit Mode. See Combos on page 29 for more information.

Note: In Combo Mode or when Multi Mode is turned on in the Global menu, a program’s B layer is ignored.

Pitch — Controls the base frequency of the oscillators. The relative interval

between the two oscillators is in each voice is maintained, even when the extremes are reached.

Cutoff — Controls the filter cutoff.

Resonance — Controls filter resonance.

Note: The filter will only self oscillate when in 4-pole mode. See Lowpass Filter Parameters on page 19 for more information.

Attack — Simultaneously adjusts the attack portion of all envelope generators:

filter, amplifier, and Envelope 3.

Decay/Release — Simultaneously adjusts the decay and release portions of all

envelope generators: filter, amplifier, and Envelope 3.

Push It! — The PUSH IT button is a manual trigger to play Tetra. In Program

Mode, it can trigger a specific note (at a specific velocity) or a gated sequence, latch notes or sequences on and off, and manually step through a sequence. For more information, see Program Parameters, beginning on page 17.

In Combo Mode, the P

USH IT button cycles through the voices for polyphonic

combos and plays all voices simultaneously when unison is on. See Combos on page 29 for more information.

Basic Operation

Tetra has multiple personalities. It is a four-voice, analog poly synth, a sort of “mini Prophet.” But the voice architecture is based on Mopho, so it has a couple of sonic tricks up its sleeve—specifically sub-octave generators and feedback— that are absent from the Prophet. Tetra is also a four-part, multitimbral synth with separate outputs, essentially four Mophos in one very compact box. And it’s a voice expander for other Tetras or for a Prophet ’08. (Program banks 1 and 2 are the Prophet ’08 factory programs.)

In designing Tetra, the goal was to make a great sounding synth that was also affordable. Toward that end, we wanted to give players enough control over parameters to make it useful for performance, so we came up with a combination of “hard-wired” commonly used controls and user-assignable controls. Any of Tetra’s parameters can be edited in real time from the front panel controls. But we also recognize that may not be the quickest or easiest way to program sounds from scratch. A free editor for Mac OS and Windows gives you easy access to all of Tetra’s program parameters. Download it here: www.soundtower.com/tetra. Also, an advanced version of the editor with more features can be purchased from our Web site.

Note: The Prophet ’08’s controls map directly to Tetra’s, so if you have a Prophet ’08, you can use it as a MIDI control surface for Tetra.

Programs

When Tetra first powers up, it is in Program Mode. The top line of the LCD shows the Program (1…128) and Bank (1…4) number of the currently selected program, and the bottom line shows the 16-character name of the program. S

ELECT changes the program. The program can also be changed by pressing the

increment (+) or decrement (-) switches. To increment to the next bank, hold the increment switch briefly; to decrement to the previous bank, hold the decrement switch.

To edit a program, simply turn any knob. The A

SSIGNABLE PARAMETERS knobs

have been preset to useful parameters for the factory programs. To change a knob’s assignment, press A

SSIGN PARAMETERS to light the LED. Turning any of

the ASSIGNABLE PARAMETERS knobs now will scroll through the list of available parameters. Choose one or more parameters to edit and then press A

SSIGN

PARAMETERS again to exit the assignment mode (ASSIGN PARAMETERS LED should now be off). See Program Parameters on page 17 for a detailed list of all parameters and their functions. After editing parameters, press the Mode (P

ROGRAM/COMBO/GLOBAL) switch to exit Edit Mode and return to Program

Mode.

Combos

When in Program Mode, press the Mode switch to enter Combo Mode. Combos are combinations of four programs, one for each voice. In Combo Mode, use S

ELECT and increment/decrement to change combos. Each of the ASSIGNABLE

PARAMETERS knobs controls a parameter for its respective voice: knob 1 for voice 1, knob 2 for voice 2, and so on. And the bottom row of knobs affects all voices and programs in the combo. For more about combos, see Combos on page 29.

Saving a Program or Combo

To save a program or combo, press W

RITE. To store in a different location, use

SELECT to choose the target destination, and hold the increment or decrement switch to choose a different bank (programs only; there is only one bank of combos). Press increment (+) to complete the write operation or decrement (-) to cancel (or press W

RITE again).

Voice Architecture and Feedback

As you can see from the illustration on the following page, the left Audio Output goes through a programmable-gain pre-amp (controlled by the Feedback Gain parameter), then through a VCA for feedback volume control, and then to the filter input. Turning up the Feedback Volume will cause varying amounts of the audio output to be mixed back in pre-filter, individually per voice. For most purposes, small amounts of feedback are most useful and the resulting effect is similar to an overdrive distortion. Higher levels of feedback can get very squirrelly and rude (which may be exactly the effect you’re looking for).

EEDBACK GAIN also affects the level of the feedback signal, so you’ll typically

want to start with FEEDBACK GAIN turned down.

Several of the factory programs already have some level of feedback programmed in, as often indicated by the letters “FB” following the name. To hear the effect of Feedback Volume and Feedback Gain, call up one of those programs and vary those parameters.

Dave Smith Instruments TETR4 Operation Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual