the blooo
Software Synthesizer
Version 2.1
© 2010–2020 by Björn Arlt @ Full Bucket Music
http://www.fullbucket.de/music
VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation
The Audio Units logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
the blooo Manual Page 2
Table of Contents
Introduction................................2
What's New With Version 2.1?........2
Architecture.................................3
Oscillators...................................3
Filters.........................................4
Modulation Sources......................5
Envelopes.....................................6
LFOs............................................6
Global Section..............................7
Options Menu................................7
The blooo.ini Configuration File........8
MIDI Control Change Messages........8
MIDI Learn...................................8
Parameters..................................9
Global..........................................9
Oscillators.....................................9
Filters.........................................10
Envelopes...................................11
LFOs..........................................11
Frequently Asked Questions.........12
Introduction
The blooo is a software synthesizer plug-in for Microsoft Windows (VST) and Apple
macOS (VST/AU) based on the classic subtractive synthesis architecture. It is written
in native C++ code for high performance even on “lighter” systems. The main
features are:
● Up to 64 voices polyphony including portamento
● Two band-limited oscillators including Ring modulation and Soft/Hard sync
● Four oscillator waveforms (sawtooth, pulse, sawpulse, sine) with shape control
● Additional white noise generator
● Two multi-mode four-pole filters (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, allpass, phaser)
with resonance and panorama control
● Three envelopes (ADSR) with exponential slopes
● Three low frequency oscillators (LFOs) with tempo synchronization
● Double precision audio processing
● All parameters can be controlled by MIDI controllers
● Plug-in supports Windows and macOS (32 bit and 64 bit)
What's New With Version 2.1?
Apart from macOS compatibility, most changes are under the hood. Version 2.1 of the
blooo is fully compatible with the previous versions; it should be safe to replace the
old plug-in with the new one.
the blooo Manual Page 3
Architecture
Each voice of the blooo features two oscillators feeding a Ring modulator. The
individual outputs of the oscillators, the Ring modulator, and an additional white noise
generator are sent to the input mixers of two multi-mode filters; furthermore, Filter 2
can receive the output of Filter 1. The filter outputs are routed to two individual
amplifiers with panorama control which are connected to the main stereo output bus.
Aside from the audio modules, the blooo has three envelopes and three LFOs for
modulation purposes.
Oscillators
The oscillators of the blooo feature four different waveforms:
Sawtooth, Pulse, Sawpulse (a mixture of sawtooth and pulse),
and Sine. The shape of the waveforms can be modulated by
any unipolar modulation source (see below); in case of the
pulse waveform, this is equivalent to pulse width modulation.
Sawtooth
Sawpulse
Pulse
Sine
Shape = 0 Shape = 50 Shape = 100
Osc 1
Osc 2
Ring
Noise
Filter 1
Filter 2
Amp 1
Amp 2
L
R
the blooo Manual Page 4
Note that Sawtooth with a shape value of 100 equals a mixture of a sawtooth wave
and an additional sawtooth wave transposed by one octave. For Sine the shape value
controls the phase of the sine waveform only.
On a new note event, digital oscillators typically start at the same initial phase angle
of the waveform (e.g. the zero-crossing of a sawtooth's rising edge) while classic
analog oscillators do not; they are “running free” (which means they are still
oscillating even if no note is played). The blooo will emulate this behaviour when the
Free parameter in the Global Section is turned on.
The frequencies of both oscillators can be modulated independently by two different
modulation sources (unipolar or bipolar). Furthermore, Oscillator 2 features Soft and
Hard sync (the phase angle of it's waveform will be inverted or reset whenever
Oscillator 1 has finished a complete waveform cycle) to create rich harmonic spectra.
Filters
Each of the two filters of the blooo can
be divided into three sections: input
mixer, filter stage, and output amplifier.
The input mixer accumulates the
output signals of Oscillator 1 and 2, the
Ring modulator (output of Oscillator 1
multiplied by the output of Oscillator
2), and a white noise generator.
Furthermore, Filter 2 can also add the
output of Filter 1's filter stage.
From the input mixer the signal is sent
to a four-pole filter stage of selectable
mode: Lowpass, Highpass, Bandpass,
Allpass and Phaser (Allpass added to
the input mixer's output). The filter
stage may also be bypassed (i.e. the
input mixer signal is routed directly to
the output amplifier) or even turned off
completely.
The Cutoff parameter adjusts the cutoff
or center frequency of the filter stage.
Like the oscillators, the cutoff/center
frequency can be modulated
independently by three modulation
sources. Resonance controls the
amount of feedback from the output to
the input of the filter stage. If Resonance is set to a value near 100 the filter will start
to self-oscillate.
The output of the filter stage is sent to an amplifier section with stereo panorama
control which can be modulated by a unipolar or bipolar source. The output volume is
controlled by the Volume parameter, the output signal of Envelope 1, and two
optional unipolar modulation sources. Note that Envelope 1 is hard-wired to the
amplifiers of both filters.
the blooo Manual Page 5
Modulation Sources
The blooo's oscillator/filter frequencies, waveform shapes, amplitudes etc. can be
modulated by various modulation sources. Sources that produce a control signal of
positive values only (including zero) are called unipolar while sources producing either
positive or negative values are called bipolar. The following table lists the available
modulation sources and their polarity.
source polarity description
Off unipolar constant value 0
On unipolar constant value 1
LFO1+ unipolar output of LFO1 ranging from 0 to 1
LFO2+ unipolar output of LFO2 ranging from 0 to 1
LFO3+ unipolar output of LFO3 ranging from 0 to 1
Env1 unipolar output of envelope 1 ranging from 0 to 1
Env2 unipolar output of envelope 2 ranging from 0 to 1
Env3 unipolar output of envelope 3 ranging from 0 to 1
Velo unipolar MIDI note velocity
Note+ unipolar MIDI note value
PBnd+ unipolar MIDI pitch bend wheel (value at center
position is 0.5)
Wheel unipolar MIDI modulation wheel
LFO1 bipolar output of LFO1 ranging from -1 to 1
LFO2 bipolar output of LFO2 ranging from -1 to 1
LFO3 bipolar output of LFO3 ranging from -1 to 1
Note bipolar MIDI note (value at C3 is 0)
PBend bipolar MIDI pitch bend wheel (value at center
position is 0)
the blooo Manual Page 6
Envelopes
The three envelopes of the blooo are standard
ADSR generators with exponential slopes as
featured in classic analog synthesizers. Envelope 1
is hard-wired to the filter amplifiers and directly
controls the overall amplitude contour.
LFOs
The three low frequency oscillators (LFOs)
generate a periodic control signal from 0 to 100 Hz
or can be tempo-synchronized to the host. Six
waveforms are available: Sine, Square, Saw Up
(rising sawtooth), Saw Dn (falling sawtooth), S/H
(Sample and Hold, i.e. random values), and 3-Step
(“stair”-shaped waveform with three steps). The
Retrig parameter controls whether the LFO is
restarted for each new note or is “running free”
(similar to the Free Run mode of the oscillators).
It is possible to modulate the magnitude of the LFO's output by any unipolar
modulation source (even by the LFO itself). This can be used to control the LFO via
the modulation wheel or to create complex modulation signals, “magic vibrato”
effects, etc.
the blooo Manual Page 7
Global Section
The Global Section hosts common parameters such as Volume, Pitch Bend Amount,
and Portamento Time as well as the controls for program selection/naming, the
Options menu, and the MIDI Learn button.
Options Menu
When clicking on the
Menu button in the Global
section, a context menu
opens with the following
options:
Copy Program Copy current program to internal clipboard
Paste Program Paste internal clipboard to current program
Init Program Initialize the current program
Load Program Load a program file containing a patch to the blooo's
current program
Save Program Save the blooo's current program to a program file
Load Bank Load a bank file containing 64 patches into the blooo
Save Bank Save the blooo's 64 patches to a bank file
Select Startup Bank Select the bank file that should always be loaded when
the blooo is started
Load Startup Bank Load the Startup bank file; can also be used to check
what the current Startup bank is
Unselect Startup Bank Unselect the current Startup bank
MIDI Thru Set globally if MIDI data sent to the blooo should be
sent through to its MIDI output
Ignore Program
Change
Set globally if MIDI Program Change data sent to the
blooo should be ignored
Reload Configuration Reload the blooo's configuration file (see section The
blooo.ini Configuration File)
Save Configuration Save the blooo's configuration file (see section The
blooo.ini Configuration File)
Check Online for
Update
When connected to the Internet, this function will check
if a newer version of the blooo is available at
fullbucket.de
Visit fullbucket.de Open fullbucket.de in your standard browser
the blooo Manual Page 8
The blooo.ini Configuration File
The blooo is able to read some settings from a configuration file (blooo.ini) located
in the same directory as the blooo VST DLL (blooo.dll or blooo64.dll) or Mac
VST/AU (Blooo.component or Blooo.vst) itself. After you have edited this INI file in a
text editor, you have to reload it using the Reload Configuration command from the
File menu (see section Options Menu).
MIDI Control Change Messages
All parameters of the blooo can be controlled by MIDI controllers, or more precise:
Each MIDI controller (except Modulation Wheel and Sustain Pedal) can control one of
blooo's parameters. The mapping is defined in the blooo.ini for example like this:
[MIDI Control]
CC7 = 4 # Volume
CC70 = 32 # Filter 1 Cutoff
CC71 = 33 # Filter 1 Resonance
...
The syntax is straight forward:
CC<controllernumber> = <parameter ID>
Given the above example, controller 7 directly controls the overall Volume parameter,
controller 74 the Filter 1 Cutoff etc. As you can see, comments are introduced by the
Pound sign (#); they are here just for description purposes and completely optional.
Note that the controller number can run from 0 to 110, with the exception of 1
(Modulation Wheel) and 64 (Sustain Pedal); the latter two are simply ignored.
MIDI Learn
The easiest way to assign MIDI controllers to blooo parameters is to use the MIDI
Learn function. To activate MIDI Learn, click on the respective button and wiggle both
the MIDI controller and the blooo's parameter that you want to link. If you want to
unlearn the assignment, right-click the MIDI Learn button (the label now reads
“Unlearn”) and activate it. Now wiggle the MIDI controller or the parameter that you
want to unlearn.
the blooo Manual Page 9
Parameters
Global
parameter description
Voices number of polyphonic voices (up to 64)
PBend maximum pitch bend amount (± 24 semitones) of the oscillators
Porta portamento time (0 to 5 seconds)
Volume the overall volume
Free Free Run mode: when a new note event occurs, Free controls
whether the oscillators start at the beginning of the wave form
(typical for “digital” oscillators) or are “running free” (like classic
analog oscillators)
Clip controls whether the overall output is unlimited or clipped to
unity (tanh clipping function)
Oscillators
parameter description
Waveform four types are available: Sawtooth, Pulse, SawPulse, and Sine
Pitch the relative pitch (± 24 semitones)
Tune fine tuning of the oscillator (± 1 semitone)
Shape waveform shape control; for Pulse this is equivalent to pulse
width
Sh.Mod amount of waveform shape modulation
Sh.Mod
Source
the source of the shape modulation; this can be any unipolar
modulation source (see Modulation Sources below)
FM1 / FM2 amount of frequency modulation
FM1 / FM2
Source
the source of the frequency modulation; this can be any
modulation source (see Modulation Sources below)
Sync controls whether Oscillator 2 is synchronized to Oscillator 1 (Off,
Soft, Hard)
the blooo Manual Page 10
Filters
parameter description
Osc 1 filter input mixer: level of Oscillator 1
Osc 2 filter input mixer: level of Oscillator 2
Ring filter input mixer: level of Ring modulation (Oscillator 1 /
Oscillator 2)
Noise filter input mixer: level of white noise generator
Filter 1 filter input mixer: level of Filter 1
Filter mode Off: the filter is switched off
Bypass: the filter's input is directly routed to the filter's
output
Lowpass: 4 pole lowpass filter
Highpass: 4 pole highpass filter
Bandpass: 4 pole bandpass filter
Allpass: 4 pole allpass filter
Phaser: 4 pole allpass filter (output mixed with the filter's
input)
Cutoff cutoff or center frequency of the filter
Resonance feedback amount of the filter; high values will cause self-
oscillation
FM1 to FM3 amount of cutoff frequency modulation
FM1 to FM3
Source
the source of the cutoff frequency modulation; this can be any
modulation source (see Modulation Sources below)
Pan stereo position (panorama) of the filter output
Pan
Modulation
amount of panorama modulation
Pan Source the source of the panorama modulation; this can be any
modulation source (see Modulation Sources below)
AM1 / AM2 amount of amplitude modulation
AM1 / AM2
Source
the source of the amplitude modulation; this can be any unipolar
modulation source (see Modulation Sources below)
Volume filter output volume
the blooo Manual Page 11
Envelopes
parameter description
Attack attack time of the envelope
Decay decay time of the envelope
Sustain sustain level of the envelope
Release release time of the envelope
LFOs
parameter description
Waveform six types are available: Sine, Square, Saw Up (rising sawtooth),
Saw Dn (falling sawtooth), S/H (Sample and Hold, i.e. random
values), and 3-Step (“stair”-shaped waveform with three steps)
Retrig when a new note event occurs, Retrig controls whether the LFO
starts at the beginning of the wave form or is “running free”
(similar to the Free control for the audio oscillators)
Rate rate or speed of the LFO (in Hertz or note lengths)
Sync controls whether the LFO is synchronized to the host tempo
AM amount of amplitude (output level) modulation
AM Source the source of the amplitude modulation; this can be any unipolar
modulation source (see Modulation Sources below)
the blooo Manual Page 12
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I install the blooo (32 bit version)?
Just copy the files blooo.dll and blooo.ini from the ZIP archive you have
downloaded to your system's or favorite DAW's VST plug-in folder. Your DAW should
automatically register the Blooo VST plug-in the next time you start it.
How do I install the Blooo (Windows 64 bit version)?
Just copy the file blooo64.dll and blooo.ini from the ZIP archive you have
downloaded to your system's or favorite DAW's VST plug-in folder. Your DAW should
automatically register the Blooo VST plug-in the next time you start it.
Note: You may have to remove any existing (32 bit) blooo.dll from your VST plug-in
folder or else your DAW may screw the versions up…
How do I install the Blooo (Mac VST/AU universal 32/64 bit)?
Locate the downloaded PKG package file blooo_2_1_6_mac.pkg in Finder (!) and do a
right- or control-click on it. In the context menu, click on “Open”. You will be asked if
you really want to install the package because it comes from an “unidentified
developer” (me J). Click “OK” and follow the installation instructions.
What is the plug-in ID of the blooo?
The ID is 1 r 7 6 .
How can I decrease the blooo's CPU load?
Always try this:
• If you don't need one of the two filters, set it's mode to Off.
• If you don't need Ring modulation, set both Ring parameters of the filter input
mixers to zero.
Whenever it does not degrade the sound you need, try this:
• Reduce polyphony, i.e. the number of voices.
• Turn of Free Run mode of the oscillators.
• Turn of tempo-synchronization of the LFOs.
How can I prevent output clipping (for example when I use high
Resonance values)?
Decrease the filter amplifier's and/or the overall Volume parameters. Alternatively,
switch on the Clip parameter in the Global section but that might lead to distortion
effects. Hey, maybe that's exactly what you need? ;-)
the blooo Manual Page 13
Why are the maximum values of the FM parameters ±5.00 and
not ±1.00 like most of the other parameters?
The maximum frequency modulation of the blooo's oscillators and filters ranges from
five octaves down to five octaves up. Thus, a value of 1.00 represents a ±1 octave
modulation range and a value of 5.00 the maximum range of ±5 octaves.
However, in case of the Note modulation source a value of 5.00 results in a frequency
modulation of one octave per octave on the keyboard (with respect to MIDI key C3).
Why that? Because it gives the answer to the following question:
How can I tune the filter frequencies to the note played on the
keyboard?
Select the Note modulation source for one of the FM parameters of the filter and set
the modulation amount to 5.00. Play MIDI key C3 and adjust the Cutoff parameter so
that the filter is in tune with the oscillators.
How do I know if a new version of the blooo is available?
When connected to the Internet, open the Options menu (see section Options Menu)
by clicking the disk icon and select the entry “Check Online for Updates”. If a new
version of the blooo is available on fullbucket.de the respective information will be
shown in a message box.
What does the name blooo mean?
Nothing, except that it sounds like “blue”. The same is true for the name Full Bucket,
excepts that it does not sound like “blue”.
What…?
Before I answer this question, let me tell you a bit about the history of the blooo...
The blooo was the first software synthesizer I ever created; this was back in 2010. It
is still my workhorse synth and underwent many UI changes (some of you folks might
remember the quirky designs from the past) until it got its current look. But under the
hood it is almost the same machine as it was from version 1.0.0 onward (OK, the Soft
Sync mode was added along with the whole utility paraphernalia...).
The problem with extending or adding functionality is that you loose backwards
compatibility pretty fast. This has to do with the way (VST) parameters are stored (by
values between 0 and 1). I wont go into detail here, but even adding an additional
modulation source entry to a parameter can kill backwards compatibility. So I decided
to leave the blooo as it is and put advanced changes into a potential new plug-in.
Sorry, what was the question? J
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