Image line software MORPHINE ADDITIVE SYNTHESIZER User Manual

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Morphine Additive Synthesizer

Introduction

Morphine is an Additive Synthesizer with quite a few 'twists'. Additive synthesis creates sound entirely
from sine wave harmonics and at first this may seem like a major limitation. However, Fourier Theory
teaches us that any waveform can be decomposed into an infinite series of sine-waves, a harmonic
series. That means Morphine can still create all your Subtractive Synthesis favorites: Square, Saw and
Sine waves. It gets better, Morphine can also reproduce the complexity found in real sounds by
smoothly interpolating a series of these harmonic 'snapshots', in real-time, to generate what is best
described as 'synthetic samples'. In this way, programming Morphine will feel familiar to anyone who
has used a Sampler, with the ability to assign sounds across the keyboard and to create crossfades,
stacks or blends of any sound/s as desired; welcome to Morphine!

What can Morphine do?

Morphine is a 4 Voice (Generator) additive synthesizer with 128 harmonics per voice. The 'Morph' part
of Morphine refers to an architecture that allows these 4 Voices to be mixed and morphed under user
control. Sounds (Spectra) are generated by interpolating a series of spectral 'snapshots' that can be
created from any input sample or manually drawn. The following is a list of Morphine’s main capabilities
in more detail:

4 Independent Generators - Generators are a complete set of Keyboard Zones (independent
sounds mapped across the Keyboard). Each Keyboard Zone holds a unique Spectrum (a
synthesized sound of any length).

Unlimited Keyboard Zones Per-Generator - Every MIDI key can be programmed to hold a
unique Spectrum.

Spectra - Similar to a 'synthetic' sample. Spectra can be resynthesized from any sample or
manually programmed.

Resynthesis - Automatically transforms a sample into a Spectrum. That is, a series of harmonic
snapshots (called Breakpoints) and puts these under complete user control.

Breakpoints - A Breakpoint is a harmonic 'snapshot' at a given moment in time. The Spectrum
interpolates a series of Breakpoints to re/create any sound.

Noise Generator - The Noise Generator is a specialized extra voice designed primarily for
injecting untuned noises into the final patch. This can improve the accuracy and realism of
sounds.

Morph / Mix - The 4 Generators can be Morphed / Mixed with a user specified envelope. The
Morph/Mix envelope can be time or tempo based.

Effects - Portamento, Distortion, Chorus, Stereo Delay, Reverb and 8-Band Graphic Equalization
are available simultaneously.

Coffee & Tea making - You wish.
Amazing Sound - No problem!

Does Additive Synthesis Hurt?

Additive Synthesizers are rare enough that they exist in an atmosphere of mystique, rumour and fear.
Some say that Additive Synthesis is so complicated that it makes FM synthesis appear to have the
engineering complexity of a spoon. Fortunately the reality is a lot less scary, Morphine is only slightly
more complex to master than a spoon and you will be feeding yourself in no time. Probably the best
analogy is to consider Morphine a multi-sampler that can generate its own 'synthetic' samples. So how
does Morphine do this? Any sound can be represented by an infinite series of harmonics (sine waves)
that vary constantly in amplitude and phase. Morphine captures this harmonic variation as a series of
snapshots, just like the still frames in a movie and then by playing back this 'harmonic movie', in real­time, almost any sound can be re/created in synthetic form. So there you have synthesis in Morphine,
not so scary. The hardest part will be learning the jargon in this manual. If Morphine is a spoon, then
the jargon welds a set of spring-loaded cheek-piercing bolts to it.

The harmonic snapshots are called Breakpoints, each is composed of three unique values, Amplitude
(shown above), Panning and Detune. The 'harmonic movie' is an interpolated sequence of Breakpoints
and is officially called a 'Spectrum'. The envelope-style display, middle of the screenshot above, shows
a Spectrum composed of 10 Breakpoints. Spectra can be manually entered and edited using the
Breakpoint Editor (the top-most window in the screenshot above) OR automatically generated from
samples in a process called 'Resynthesis'. Now all you have to do is work out how not to jab yourself in
the eye with your new spoon and you will be Additively Synthesizing like a pro. Still scared? Load the
factory patches, sit back and use a straw...tastes just as good!

Plugin Credits:

Morphine was created by Maxx Claster exclusively for ­Image Line Software BVBA

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

General Settings & Controls

Controls

This page is dedicated to the General Settings panel and tips for using the main interface controls.

General Settings

Many of the name fields or data fields also function as the interface to change the value. For example
clicking in the TRANSP field (shows -24 in the screen-shot above) and dragging the mouse up/down will
change the value of the field.

BANK - Click to select a new Bank. Selecting a Bank opens a list showing installed Banks.
PROGRAM - This a single patch (sound). Selecting this field will open a list of all the patches in

the Bank.
POLY - Change the polyphony (number of simultaneous notes). 'Mono' to 32 note Polyphony is

possible.

TRANSP - Transpose the sound in semi-tones (+/- 24).
FINE - Fine tune in Cents (1/100th of a semitone).
G-MODE - Glide Mode. This works in conjunction with the GLIDE knob.

Bend VT - All notes will glide at a fixed rate so that larger jumps take longer (Variable Time).
Held VT - Overlapping notes will glide at a fixed rate so that larger jumps take longer (Variable

Time).
Bend ST - All notes will glide at a variable rate so that glide-time is independent of the jump

size (Static Time).
Held ST - Overlapping notes will glide at a variable rate so that glide-time is independent of

the jump size (Static Time).

Control Types

If it looks like a control, or even if it doesn't, try left-clicking it, right-clicking (or Alt + Left-click) and
generally fiddling around. It's a great way to learn the interface!

Data & Name Fields - Many of the Data/Name fields in Morphine also function as the interface
to change the value. For example, clicking in the TRANSP field (shows -24 in the screen-shot
above) and dragging the mouse up/down will change the value.

Partials - Click the AMPLITUDE, PANNING, DETUNE, VELOCITY or WINDOW switches to change
the target.

Change value: Left-click and drag up/down.
Reset: Right-click (or Alt + Left-click).
Note: There is also a TOOL menu with options for adjusting partials in groups.

Knobs & Sliders -

Change value: Left-click and drag the mouse up/down.
Reset: Right-click (or Alt + Left-click).
Fine changes: Holding the Shift key while adjusting knobs and sliders will allow more precise

adjustment.

Markers - Can be left-clicked and dragged in any direction (up/down and or left/right).

Create/Delete: Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) at the location where you want a Marker to

appear OR on the Marker you want to delete.
Select: To select a Marker click in the space between markers and the leading Marker will be

selected.

Slide Reposition: Left-click and drag the Marker, any following markers will slide in sympathy.
Independent Reposition: To move a Marker without disturbing others, hold Shift + Left-click

and drag the Marker.

Switches - Left-click to turn on/off or select.
Menus - Left-click to open the drop-down menu. Note that some menus appear static menu fields

while others change to show the selected option. Look for the down arrow symbols.

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Generator Panel

An Overview of Synthesis in Morphine

The Generator Page contains the Additive Synthesis controls for Morphine. As has been discussed in the
introduction , Additive synthesis builds more complex waveforms from a harmonic sequence of sine­waves. Better yet, Morphine can interpolate a series of these harmonic 'snapshots', that may be
manually programmed or derived from samples, to re/create infinitely complex sounds. In other words,
Morphine can generate synthetic 'samples'. There are four main features of the Morphine architecture -

Harmonics: Each note consist of a fundamental (or root) sine wave and, optionally, a series of
harmonics (higher frequency sine waves linked to the root) to create almost any waveform. The
architecture allows harmonic amplitude, tuning and panning to be modulated creating infinitely
complex and rich tones. Each set of 128 harmonic properties and associated modifiers is termed a
'Breakpoint'.

Harmonic Morphing & Modulation: Breakpoint properties such as harmonic amplitude, tuning
and panning can be interpolated to produce a continuous evolving sound, known as a 'Spectrum'.

Keyboard Zones: Zones add the ability to spread unique Spectra across the keyboard. If desired
each note from C0 to C11 can play a unique Spectrum!

Generator Mixing: The 4 Generators can be dynamically cross-faded using the Morph/Mix
control panel. Given that each Generator can contain a set of morphing Breakpoints, the
possibilities are limitless.

The aim was to provide the sound designer with a rich pallet of evolving sounds that can be mixed,
real-time, in response to modulation parameters time or tempo. By now the Morph in Morphine should
be clear.

Controls

This section describes the synthesis controls and their operation.

GENERATOR A, B C & D

The 4 GENERATORS in Morphine have the same set of properties that modify the response of 128
harmonics per voice. Further, in combination with Keyboard Zones , Generators can contain multiple,
independent, 'sub-voices ' assigned to play over unique keyboard ranges. The components of the
Generators are described, starting from the bottom of the Generator Page (as shown above) working
upwards:

KEYBOARD ZONE LAYOUT - Each Generator can include multiple Keyboard Zones controlled by the
KEYBOARD ZONE LAYOUT control. The control defines both the keyboard range (as shown by the
horizontal line), for each voice, and the playback level (height). At least one Keyboard Zone must
exist for each GENERATOR, the default covers notes C0 to C11. Note: Each zone represents a
completely independent SPECTRUM (a set of interpolated BREAKPOINTS). This allows different
sounds to be spread across the keyboard for each Generator. The most common use of Keyboard
Zones is to balance the tonal properties of imported Spectra (see the Resynthesis section) across the
keyboard, similar to a multi-sampled sound in a sampler. However, you can also use Zones to make
a set of completely unrelated sounds on every key if desired.

Select Zone - Left click between Zone Markers (small squares). This will change the harmonic
partial editor and spectrum editor to show the values of the currently selected zone.

Create Zone - Right-click (or Alt + left-click) at the point where the zone should start. Note:
New Zones open with a default Spectrum (i.e silent).

Delete Zone - Right-click (or Alt + left-click) the zone Marker (square) at start of the zone.
Change Zone Range - Left-click the Marker at the start of the zone and drag horizontally.
Change Zone Volume - Left-click the Marker at the start of the zone and drag vertically.
Select Zone - Click anywhere inside the zone range. This will change the harmonic editor to show

Spectrum Breakpoint & Spectrum values.

KEYBOARD ZONE LAYOUT (Drop-down menu) :

Import Kbd Zone Layout – Loads a zone layout from disk. Please note, this loads a set of
zones saved for the current GENERATOR. Drag-n-drop is supported.

Export Kbd Zone Layout – Saves zone layout to the disk.
Copy - Copies all zones for the current Generator so that they can be pasted into another

Generator.

Paste - Pastes zone layout.
Reset - Initializes the layout, setting it to the default state. Note: this will reset all zones for

the current GENERATOR. The initial zone will have no harmonics set so won't produce sound
(tabula raza!).

SPECTRUM EDITOR - The Spectrum Envelope holds a series of harmonic snapshots
(BREAKPOINTS), represented by the points along the envelope (height is level, horizontal distance is
time). The harmonic properties of each Breakpoint are set using the BREAKPOINT EDITOR described
in the next section. The envelope 'plays' the sequence of Breakpoints morphing from one to the next
creating what is termed the SPECTRUM for the KEYBOARD ZONE. The SPECTRUM can include an
unlimited number of BREAKPOINTS including LEVEL, PAN and DETUNE for the 128 harmonics. The
two additional harmonic properties, WINDOW (a filter curve) and VELOCITY (velocity

responsiveness) apply to all Breakpoints in the Spectrum and so remain constant.

Each Keyboard Zone contains one Spectrum. The Spectrum Editor allows you to edit the Spectrum of
the currently selected (highlighted) Keyboard Zone, as follows:

Select Breakpoint - Left-click in the space between Breakpoint Markers and the Breakpoint to
the left will be selected (You can click directly on the Breakpoint Markers however it is easy to
accidentally move them using this technique).

Add Breakpoint - Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) at the place where the Breakpoint should
appear. Both the level and time are selected on the basis of the cursor position.

Delete Breakpoint - Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) the Breakpoint Marker.
Breakpoint Level (Volume) - Left-click and drag the Breakpoint Marker up or down.
Temporal position (timing) - Left-click and drag the Breakpoint Marker horizontally. The time-

line below shows the time in seconds. The level (%) and time is also displayed in the info-bar
above partial editor (near Partials label). Timing is in seconds unless the TEMPO SYNC button is
enabled, then timing is in beats (related to the host sequencer tempo).

SPECTRUM (Drop-down menu):

Import/Export spectrum - Opens a dialog to load/save a Spectrum to/from disk. Drag-n-
drop is supported.

Copy Spectrum - Copies the current spectrum. This can be pasted in another spectrum at

another keyboard zone, generator or even another Morphine instance.

Paste spectrum - Paste the spectrum copied above.
Paste Velocity - Paste only Velocity response coefficients (see in Breakpoint Editor section).
Paste Window - Paste only Window data (see in Breakpoint Editor section).
Reset Spectrum/Velocity/Window - Resets the spectrum, or portion of it, to default

(empty) state.
Normalize Level - Will normalize the general level of Breakpoints, so the level of spectrum

sounding will be maximized.
Delete Breakpoints Before/Within/After loop - Deletes the Breakpoints in the region

specified. Before the loop refers to the loop start Marker, Within the loop refers to the
points bounded by the loop Markers and After the loop refers to points after the loop end
Marker.

Import Charged Sample - See the Resynthesis section.

LOOP MODE - The spectrum envelope can be looped by dragging the loop start and end Markers

(shown set to the last two points in the envelope above) to the desired points in the envelope.
When the loop start is reached the Spectrum timer loops the region bounded by the start and end
points according to the LOOP MODE setting. Left-click on the LOOP MODE menu, text after the
label, to set the loop type. Note: Loop start/end markers can be placed anywhere and don't need
to fall on Breakpoint Markers. 4 loop modes are possible:

Ping-Pong - The loop will bounce back and forth between the start and end positions.
Forward - The loop will jump back to the loop start each time it reaches the loop end.
Backward - The envelope will play to the loop end then play backward to the loop start, jump

to the loop end again and repeat this process.

Off - No looping. The envelope plays through to the last point and holds that value.

Pausing a Breakpoint - To stop at a given place in the envelope, make the loop start and end

positions the same. If RELEASE LOOP mode is on, the envelope will continue past this point
when you release the note.

RELEASE LOOP - This button controls timer behaviour when a note is released. When release
loop button is enabled, after you release the note the loop will jump out of loop-mode and jump to
the next Breakpoint after the loop end point.

TEMPO SYNC - Changes the envelope to play back in sync with the host tempo. The time display
will change to beats.

RATE - Changes the envelope playback speed, right = faster, left = slower. The default value =

0.0, no change. Note: The time-base changes so the breakpoints are displayed against their
correct time values in ruler below.

K-TRK (Keyboard Tracking) - Acts as an envelope playback speed modifier in response to
keyboard/note position. When positive values are set the higher keys will progress through the
spectrum envelope faster. Negative values will cause lower notes to progress through the
spectrum envelope slower.

V-TRK (Velocity Tracking) - Acts as an envelope playback speed modifier in response to note
velocity. Positive values will speed the envelope with higher velocities, negative values will slow
the envelope with increasing velocity.

Spectrum Editor Tips and Tricks

Selecting Breakpoints - To select a Breakpoint Marker to edit its values, it’s not necessary to
click on the point on the envelope, click somewhere between the desired Breakpoint and next one.

Scroll the envelope window - Click and hold the time/beat display ruler below the envelope
and drag left/right to access time beyond those displayed in the window.

Zoom - To Zoom the spectrum envelope roll the mouse wheel. Alternatively Click + Shift on the
ruler below the envelope and drag the mouse up and down.

Reposition a Breakpoint - To shift the relative position of a Breakpoint without disturbing others
hold Shift and move the Breakpoint Marker.

BREAKPOINT EDITOR - Each BREAKPOINT has level , panning and detune properties for each of
128 harmonics that creates the waveform for that Breakpoint. The Breakpoint is just one moment in
time as defined by the SPECTRUM ENVELOPE, as described in the preceding section. There are two
additional harmonic properties, Velocity and Window , these are global settings that apply to all
Breakpoints on the Spectrum and so do not change with time.

As shown above there are 5 properties that can be accessed by selecting the switch along the top of
the Breakpoint Editor window. To change the values left click at the partial to be edited and move
your mouse up/down. To reset/delete values Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) at the partial to be
edited. The functions of the various properties are described below:

BREAKPOINT (Drop-down menu):

Import Breakpoint/Waveshape - Load previously saved breakpoints or import wave
shapes from an audio file (wav, aiff). Drag-n-drop is supported.

Export Breakpoint - Save a breakpoint to file.
Copy Breakpoint - Copy the currently selected Breakpoint (remember a Breakpoint

includes all 'views' - Amplitude, Detune, and Panning).
Paste Breakpoint - Paste the contents of the Breakpoint buffer to the currently selected

breakpoint (Amplitude, Detune, and Panning).
Paste Current View - Pastes only the currently selected Breakpoint view (Amplitude,

Detune, OR Panning).
Paste Current View to all Breakpoints - Applies the current Breakpoint view (Amplitude,

Detune OR Panning) to all Breakpoints in the Spectrum.

Reset Breakpoint - Clears the breakpoint (blank).
Reset current view - Resets the current view only (Amplitude, Detune OR Panning).

AMPLITUDE - Displays volume level for each of the 128 harmonics. Values can range from 0%

(no bar showing) to 100% (maximum height). Note: The overall level of the harmonics also
depends on the Breakpoint level set in the SPECTRUM Editor as described in the Spectrum Editor
section.

DETUNE - Applies a frequency offset to the selected harmonic. As the frequency of each harmonic

is equal to the root-note frequency multiplied to the harmonic number (1 to 128), detune allows
you to change set sub-integer (decimal) tuning values to the harmonics. Setting detune values to
MAX/MIN values will make them equal to the neighbouring harmonic. Detuning harmonics causes
the sound to take on the character of acoustic instruments and sounds, including some 'unison'
effects.

PANNING - Places the harmonic in the stereo field. Move bars up to right, down to pan Left.
VELOCITY - This is a global modifier and sets the harmonic partial velocity sensitivity for all

Breakpoints of the currently selected Spectrum. The higher the bar, the greater the velocity
modulation of the harmonics/partials volume. No bar means velocity will have no effect.

WINDOW (Frequency Domain Window) - This is a global harmonic volume modifier for all
Breakpoints of the currently selected Spectrum (it functions as a harmonic filter). The smaller the
bar the quieter all harmonics in the Spectrum will be. By default, all Window columns are set to
maximum (no change).

Note: When the Breakpoint Menu is in Window and Velocity edit modes, has no copy/paste values
as these are already global functions for the Spectrum. To reset, copy or paste go to the spectrum
menu and click the desired Spectrum menu option.

TOOL (Drop-down menu) - Changes the edit behaviour of the values. There are two edit modes
for this tool setting, Normal (Left-Click & Drag): The value will jump to the mouse position and
then move with the mouse. Relative (SHIFT + Drag): Edits are 'relative' for the affected value/s.

One - Edit single harmonics (default mode).
Odd - Raise/lower all odd numbered harmonics (1,3,5...127).
Even - Raise/lower all even numbered harmonics (2,4,6...128).
3rds - Raise/lower every 3rd harmonic (3,6,9...126).
4ths - Raise/lower every 4th harmonic (4,8,12...128).
5ths - Raise/lower every 5th harmonic (5,10,15...125).
FLT 1 - Filter Narrow, raise/lower a narrow bandwidth around the target harmonic.
FLT 2 - Filter Medium, raise/lower a medium bandwidth around the target harmonic.
FLT 3 - Filter Wide, raise/lower a wide bandwidth around the target harmonic.
FLT 4 - Filter Extra Wide, raise/lower an extra wide bandwidth around the target harmonic.

Breakpoint Editor Tips and Tricks

Zero a harmonic - To reset a harmonic value to zero, Right-click (or Alt + Left-click). To reset a
range right-click (or Alt + Left-click) and drag the mouse across the harmonics to be reset.

The important harmonics - The first 16 harmonics are most audible and so important to the
final sound. Often the highest harmonics are set to low levels in order to subtly affect a sound.
These are also more audible when low notes are played. The same principle applies to DETUNE
with the lower harmonics having the greatest impact on the sound.

Values and Labels - When you edit a harmonic its values and number appear in the info bar
near the “PARTIAL” label.

CONTROL RANGE

Limits the Detune and Pan range of the 128 harmonics for all Breakpoints. Note: If these are set to
zero then the Detune and Pan values set in the Breakpoints won't have any effect, conversely, if the
Breakpoints don't have Detune and Pan values set, then these sliders will have no effect on the sound.

PWM FILTER

PWM FILTER - Each generator has a unique PWM Filter (Pulse Width Modulation). PWM Filters are
usually created by adding or subtracting a second (detuned or phase shifted) voice with an original to

create unison, phasing or chorus-like effects. As the Morphine architecture provides control over the
harmonic spectra it is possible to modulate the 128 harmonic amplitudes of each Breakpoint to simulate
voice mixing without the need to double voices. The options include detune, phase, and mix coefficient
(positive or negative).

RATE - Modulation speed. Up is faster.
FREE - OFF: the modulation cycle starts with each note. ON: the modulation cycle is free-running.
PHASE - Change the phase of the modulation cycle.
MODE (OFF / + / -) - OFF: No detune simulation. + : Simulates additive voice mixing. - :

Simulates subtractive voice mixing.

Breakpoint Editor Tutorial

This quick tutorial will show you how to morph between two simple harmonic spectra and give you a
feel for working the controls of the Breakpoint Editor window, see the instructions below the image.

Harmonic Morphing

Reset the patch: Left click in the Program Name field (top-left window in Morphine) and select
'Reset Program' to call a blank patch.

1.

Add a harmonic Breakpoint: Click on the AMPLITUDE Breakpoint control and raise the left-most
harmonic bar to maximum and play on your keyboard/sequencer. You should hear a single sine
wave sound, the fundamental harmonic.

2.

Add a new morphing envelope point: Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) in the area shown above3.

at (2.) to add a new morphing envelope point. Make sure the point is at the top of the window as
the height will affect the volume of the spectra at that point. Adding a point in this way will
replicate the spectrum of the point immediately to the left of the new point.

3.

Customise the new Breakpoint sequence: Lower the original, left-most harmonic and add a
new one further to the right. When this patch is played you will hear the low sine morph into a
higher one as the harmonics are morphed from the first to second Breakpoint.

4.

Change the morph speed: Adjust the RATE knob above the envelope window and hear how it
affects the speed the envelope is played. You can also modulate the playback speed by changing
the RATE K-TRK (keyboard tracking), the RATE V-TRK control or simply moving the Breakpoint
left/right. These will change the speed in response to note position and velocity respectively. An
alternative envelope mode is the TEMPO SYNC mode where the envelope will play back in beat-
time, this is useful for tempo-synced sounds.

5.

LOOPING: Left-clicking to the right of the LOOP MODE label will open an menu to change the
envelope loop type (Off, forward, backward or ping-pong as shown above). The start/end points
may be left-clicked and dragged to the appropriate position on the envelope.

6.

KEYBOARD ZONES - Keyboard Zones allow you to either program new sounds on any or all keys
or to tonally balance a sound across the keyboard (similar to multisamples on a Sampler). When
you add a new Keyboard Zone (Right-click or Alt + Left-click in the Keyboard Zone window) it may
seem that Morphine has lost your hard work on the current Zone. Fear not! New zones are blank, if
you click on the first Keyboard Zone in the lower panel, your first Keyboard Zone will re-appear.
Use this method to swap between Zones and Breakpoint Sequences.

7.

ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release) Envelopes

You may be wondering where the ADSR envelopes are for the Generators (A to D). Since the volume
envelope of a Spectrum is defined by the height of the Breakpoint Markers a separate ADSR envelope is
unnecessary. To set the ADSR of a Spectrum simply draw the desired volume curve. To set a Sustain
Level (a constant volume while a key is held) you can either use the last Breakpoint or, if you also
need to have a release envelope, then use the Loop Markers to trap the Spectrum at the desired
Breakpoint (or set of Breakpoints) and so define the Sustain level. In the example below, the Loop Start
and End Markers are placed on the third Breakpoint in the sequence, trapping the Spectrum at that
Breakpoint. On release the Spectrum will continue to the last Breakpoint and so the portion after the
loop end will define the Release envelope . Don't forget, there is also a Master Envelope , that applies
to all Spectra, however bear in mind that this is imposed over the sound of the Generators so it won't
add a fast attack to a Generator with an inherently slow attack.

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Resynthesis Panel

Resynthesis

The Resynthesis function takes an input sample and recreates the sound as a 'Spectrum' that is a series
of Breakpoints. Each Breakpoint represents a harmonic 'snapshot' of the sound at a given moment in
time. For the most accurate results Morphine offers several manual controls to 'tune' the resynthesized
sound to the original. The tutorial at the bottom of this page has more details on manual tuning.

Controls

CHARGE SMP - Charge Sample opens a Load Dialog to browse and load (Charge) samples.
Clicking the button again when a sample is loaded will 'Uncharge' the sample, clearing it. Favor
samples without effects and in the MIDI note range C4 to C5 for the best results.

NOTE - Change the root note of the resynthesized sound (the note that corresponds to the
original pitch of the sound). This is similar to the 'Root Note' function in a Sampler and is the main
control to adjust when matching the resynthesized sound with the original sample.

DETUNE - Fine tune. Changes the tuning of the resynthesized sound in cents.
RESOLUTION - Changes the rate at which Breakpoints are laid down (similar to sample rate).

The Normal setting is the lowest resolution while Best has the highest and works in conjunction
with the SPECTRUM menu item 'Import charged sample'. Changes to RESOLUTION will only be
audible once the resynthesized sound has been loaded to a ZONE (see below).

BALANCE - Adjust the TEST playback balance between the original sample (fully left) and the
resynthesized sound (fully right). The default is a 50/50 mix of the original and resynthesized
sounds and is a good starting position as you use the Note & Detune controls to fine-tune the tone
of the resynthesized sound to match the original.

TEST - Starts/Stops a looped play-back of the original and resynthesized 'preview' sound. Note:

The resynthesized sound heard here is a preview only (in order to reduce CPU load for testing).
Always 'Import charged sample' (described below) to hear the final resynthesized sound.

SPECTRUM (Menu) - Use the menu item 'Import charged sample ' to load the spectrum into
the currently selected Zone. Remember this will overwrite any existing data in the Zone.

Resynthesis Tutorial

The most accurate resynthesis will usually require your input, nothing can beat the human ear when
matching sounds. A good analogy to keep in mind when Resynthesizing is: 'Load, Aim and Fire'. That is,
'Load' the sample, 'Aim' by adjusting the Resynthesis controls and 'Fire' by sending the sample to the
desired Keyboard Zone. Details are as follows -

Reset the patch: Start with a blank patch, left-click in the Program Name field (top-left
window in Morphine) and select 'Reset Program' to call a blank patch.

1.

'Load': Load the sample to be resynthesized by clicking the CHARGE SMP button. Pad/String
sounds are a good example to start with as they are usually the easiest to resynthesize. Tips:
Use 'dry' samples around C4 or C5. Reverb or delay effects are difficult for the resynthesis
algorithm to interpret and often sound strange. The note range C4-C5 also tends to work best
for single sounds stretched across the keyboard. If you intend to have multiple Keyboard
Zones use a sample that is in the middle of the Keyboard Zone range that it will serve (the
same principle that is applied to multi-sample patches on samplers).

2.

Play the sample: Pressing the TEST button will play the original sample and resynthesized
sounds together to aid the 'tuning' procedure.

3.

Compare sounds: Use the BALANCE control to fade between the original (left-turn) and
resynthesized (right-turn) sounds for comparison.

4.

'Aim' by fine-tuning the sound: Adjust, first the NOTE and then DETUNE controls so that
the original and resynthesized sounds are closely matched (if that is your goal). A good
technique is to fade the BALANCE knob fully left/right after making adjustments, if you have
the perfect resynthesis the sound won't change (much) as the BALANCE knob is moved.
Notes: 1. The resynthesized sound is only a preview, always 'Import charged sample'
(described below) to hear the final resynthesized sound. 2. Untuned noises are difficult to
resynthesize. For example the human voice, plosives, breath and similar untuned percussive
sounds tend to acquire a 'vocoded' quality. To help resolve these issues the Noise Generator
can be used to restore untuned noises to the patch. Note that you can load your own custom
Noise Samples to the library if needed.

5.

'Fire', shoot the resynthesized sound to a Zone: Open the SPECTRUM menu and import
the Spectra into the selected Zone (Import charged sample). If desired you can change the
import resolution by selecting the RESOLUTION (Normal, High, Best) options in combination
with the 'Import charged sample' step. If you have resynthesized a sample and the sound is
still out of tune (and you have set the Resynthesis DETUNE range to the max) the following
method may help:

6.1 If you don't need to preserve Detune settings on other Spectra, turn down the
'Control Range' Detune slider (on the main interface) to the minimum setting. OR if you
need to preserve Detune on other Spectra...

6.2 Select 1 breakpoint from inside the Spectrum window.

6.3 In the breakpoint window, select the 'Detune' view.

6.4 In the breakpoint menu, first select 'Copy Breakpoint', then select 'Paste current view
to all breakpoints'. This will match the detuning levels of all Breakpoints to the current
Detune selected, but won't alter the Amplitudes or Panning values.

This is particularly useful for sounds that are rich in higher harmonics (ie: plucked sounds,
hammered sounds, square-waves etc).

6.

It's that easy, Load, Aim and Fire!

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Morph / Mix Panel

Morph Mix & Noise Generator Page

The Morph / MIX page provides controls to mix the 4 Generators (A to D) together according to the
MORPH PATH. There are two ways of editing the path, on the left-hand side of the page is a 2D
representation. The position in 2D space represents the relative input of each Generator with the 100%
mix position for each Generator being at the corner of the square. The path shown in the screen-shot
above starts with 100% Generator A then moves to mainly Generator C, to Generator B and finally to
Generator D (the highlighted marker). An equal mix of all 4 Generators lies at the center of the space
(roughly where the paths cross in the middle of the screen-shot). On the right, the path is broken down
into Generator Pairs. The upper path represents Generator A/D vs B/C morphing and the lower path
represents Generator A/B vs D/C. In combination these graphs equal the principle horizontal and
vertical axes of the 2D path on the left side of the page. The Morph/Mix path can be time or tempo
based.

Morph / Mix Controls

Add Markers - Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) the location where the marker is required.
Delete Markers - Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) the marker.
Move Markers - Left-click and drag the selected marker (Markers to the right will also be

shifted). Holding the SHIFT key moves only the selected marker, other markers remain in place.

2D Morph Panel Controls (left)

The following controls affect Generator morphing.

GENERATOR A/B/C/D (drop down menus):

Import / Export Generator - Import / Export a Generator Spectrum. Drag-n-drop is

supported.

Reset - Reset the Generator (blank).
MIX - Relative volume of the Generator.
PAN - Pan for the Generator.
MUTE/SOLO - Mute or Solo Generators while editing the Mix/Morph path.

Morph Paths (right)

MORPH PATH (drop down menu):

Import / Export Morph Path - Import / Export a Morphing path. This will affect both the

upper and lower editors. Drag-n-drop is supported.

Reset - Reset the Morph Path (blank).
LOOP (drop down menu): Change the loop type between -

Ping-Pong - The loop will bounce back and forth between the start and end positions.

Forward - The loop will jump back to the loop start each time it reaches the loop end.

Backward - The envelope will play to the loop end then play backward to the loop start, jump

to the loop end again and repeat this process.

Off - No looping. The envelope plays through to the last point and holds that value.
TEMPO SYNC - Changes the Morph Path to play back in sync with the host tempo. The time

display will change to beats.
RATE - Changes the envelope playback speed, right = faster, left = slower. The default value =

0.0, no change.
K-TRK (Keyboard Tracking) - Acts as an envelope playback speed modifier in response to

keyboard/note position. When positive values are set the higher keys will progress through the
Morph Path faster. Negative values will cause lower notes to progress through the Morph Path
faster.

V-TRK (Velocity Tracking) - Acts as an envelope playback speed modifier in response to note
velocity. Positive values will speed the Morph Path with higher velocities, negative values will slow
the Morph Path with increasing velocity.

Tips

Zoom time ruler - Scroll mouse wheel.
Scroll time ruler - Left-click and drag time ruler.

Noise Generator (lower right)

Untuned noises are difficult to accurately resynthesize. In particular the human voice with its
plosive/breath noises or taps, bangs and scrapes tend to acquire a 'vocoded' quality after resynthesis.
To solve this problem, the Noise Generator is a specialized extra voice designed primarily for injecting
untuned noises into the Mix/Morph mix. For example, the mechanical 'Piano Hammer' sound or the
'Chuff' from the attack of a flute. Noise samples are triggered at the start of each path (note on) and
remain unpitched as the MIDI note changes. If desired, you can add your own noise samples to the
Library.

Main controls

NOISE SMP (drop down menu):

Add sample to Noise Library - Opens a browser dialog so that you can find and import

custom noise samples to the Morphine library.

Choose from the noise samples in the list - Click on the name of the sample to load.
BYPASS - Bypassing the noise sample turns it off.
MONO - Force the noise sample to play in mono.
LOOP ON/OFF - Loop the noise sample.

Off - No looping. The envelope plays through to the last point and holds that value.

Forw (Forward) - The loop will jump back to the loop start each time it reaches the loop end.

Backw (Backward) - The envelope will play to the loop end then play backward to the loop

start, jump to the loop end again and repeat this process.

P-P (Ping Pong) - The loop will bounce back and forth between the start and end positions.
MIX - Relative mix of the noise sample (0 to 100%).
PAN - Pan of the noise sample (-100% L to 100% R).
RATIO - Pitch the noise sample relative to the original (0.25 to 4.00).
VEL - Velocity sensitivity of the sample (0% is no velocity sensitivity, 100% is maximum).

Noise Generator Filter

FLT (Drop down menu), works in conjunction with the CUTOFF, RESO and FLT K-TRK knobs:

Off - No filtering.

LP (Low-Pass) - Allows low frequencies to pass according to the CUTOFF knob value.

BP (Band-Pass) - Allows a narrow band of frequencies to pass, the centre of this band is

controlled by the CUTOFF knob value.

HP (High-Pass) - Allows high frequencies to pass according to the CUTOFF knob value.
CUTOFF - Filter cutoff frequency.
RESO - Filter resonance amount.
FLT K-TRK (Keyboard Tracking) - Modifies the filter cutoff in response to keyboard/note position.

Higher notes allow higher frequencies to pass.

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Modulation Panel

Modulation

Modulation is essential to give sounds a natural and interesting quality.

PITCH-BEND AMOUNT - Global Pitch-Bend setting (in semi-tones).

Modulation Matrix Controls

The Modulation Matrix provides the opportunity to set 12 Source to Destination relationships within
Morphine.

SOURCE - Each of the 12 Source fields contains a drop-down menu to select from the options.
AMOUNT - Modifies the Modulation relationship (-100% to 100%). Minus values invert the

relationship, that is as the Modulation Source increases the Destination decreases.
DESTINATION - Each of the 12 Destination fields contains a drop-down menu to select from the

Modulation target options.

EG Envelope (Envelope Generator)

There are 4 Envelope Generators that provide customisable Modulation Envelopes. The EG Envelopes
may be synced to tempo or time. To edit an Envelope select the switch EG 1 to 4 to the right side of the
display. These appear as Modulation Source options in the Modulation Matrix (Envelope 1 to 4).

Add Envelope Marker - Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) at the place where the Marker should
appear. Both the level and time are selected on the basis of the cursor position.

Delete Envelope Marker - Right-click (or Alt + Left-click) the Marker.

ENVELOPE (drop down menu):

Import / Export Envelope - Import or export envelopes using saved files. Drag-n-drop

is supported.

Copy / Paste - Copy and paste envelopes.
Reset - Blank default.

LOOP (drop down menu):

Off - No looping. The envelope plays through to the last point and holds that value.
Forward - The loop will jump back to the loop start each time it reaches the loop end.
Backward - The envelope will play to the loop end then play backward to the loop start,

jump to the loop end again and repeat this process.

Ping-Pong - The loop will bounce back and forth between the start and end positions.

RELEASE LOOP - When the Release Loop button is enabled, the Envelope will break out of the

looped section and jump to the next Envelope Marker after the loop end point.
TEMPO SYNC - Changes the envelope to play back in sync with the host tempo. The time display

ruler will change to beats.
BIPOLAR - Changes the envelope to Bipolar mode, that is -100% to 100%. 0 % in the middle, as

shown by the horizontal line.
RATE - Changes the envelope playback speed, right = faster, left = slower. The default value =

0.0, no change. Note: The time-base changes so the breakpoints are displayed against their
correct time values in ruler below.

K-TRK (Keyboard Tracking) - Acts as an envelope playback speed modifier in response to
keyboard/note position. When positive values are set the higher keys will progress through the
Envelope faster. Negative values will cause lower notes to progress through the Envelope slower.

V-TRK (Velocity Tracking) - Acts as an envelope playback speed modifier in response to note
velocity. Positive values will speed the Envelope with higher velocities, negative values will slow
the Envelope with increasing velocity.

VEL RESPONSE (Velocity Response) - Acts as an envelope playback speed modifier in
response to note velocity. Positive values will speed the Envelope with higher velocities, negative
values will slow the Envelope with increasing velocity.

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Envelopes & Effects Panels

Envelopes & Effects

The following are Global controls and affect all Generators.

GLIDE - Glide-time. Slide between notes. Note: There are Glide Mode options on the General
Settings panel.

VEL CRV (Velocity Curve) - Left (0%) decreases velocity sensitivity, right (100%) increases
velocity sensitivity.

MASTER ENVELOPE

The Master ADSR controls are imposed over the Generator volume dynamics.

ATTACK - Note onset attack time.
DECAY - Decay time from peak (Sustain) level.
SUSTAIN - Peak Sustain level.
RELEASE - Decay time after the note is released.

Note: If the Generators already have slow attacks then adjusting the Master attack to minimum cant

create a fast attack sound. To change the volume dynamics of the Generators adjust the shape of the
Spectrum for each Generator (see the tutorial on ADSR at the bottom of the Generator Page ).

MASTER (Amp)

DRIVE - Distortion sound.
LEVEL - Master volume level.

Effects

Each Effect has a switch so that it can be turned ON/OFF. In the screen-shot above the Chorus and
Equalizer are on, all other effects are off.

CHORUS

DEPTH - Chorus depth/intensity.
RATE - Chorus speed.
MIX - Chorus mix level (0% to 100%).

DELAY

TIME - Delay time (2 ms to 999 ms).
STEREO - Creates a stereo ping-pong effect. First ping direction (Left or Right) is controlled by

the direction of the knob.

FDBK (Feedback) - Delay feedback level. More feedback creates a greater number of echoes.
MOD DEPTH (Modulation Depth) - Adds a modulation offset to the delay time to create more

complex echoes.
MIX - Delay mix level (0% to 100%).

REVERB

DECAY - Decay time. Turn the knob to the right to simulate a larger space, left smaller.
HI-CUT - Amount of high-frequency damping to the reverb. Turning to the right simulates a

'brighter' space, left 'dull'.
MIX - Reverb mix level (0% to 100%).

EQUALIZER

8 band Graphic Equalizer with +/- 12 dB of boost/cut.
Note: If you need to EQ, rather than boosting the parts of the spectrum you want louder, cut the parts

of the spectrum you don't want instead. While these two options sound the same in isolation, cutting
unwanted frequencies ensures the sound will sit better in a mix. This works because the frequency
energy from the unwanted (cut) parts no longer interferes with neighbouring sounds in the mix. The
result is better clarity and more headroom.

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Technical Information

Hardware Requirements

OS: Window XP, OSX 10.4 (Tiger) or higher.
CPU: Intel Pentium III compatible with SSE1/2 support, G4 PowerPC on Macintosh with full Altivec

support. Recommended CPU speed is 2 GHz or higher.
RAM: Recommended 512 Mb or higher.

Plugin Formats:

VSTi 2.4 (Windows / OS X), AudioUnit (OS X), Stand Alone.

Morphine MIDI support

Morphine supports standard MIDI protocol. You may route various MIDI Channel Controllers (CC) to
different parameters at Morphine Modulation Matrix. Channel number is ignored (Morphine works in
“omni” mode).

The following MIDI commands/CC’s are assigned automatically:

Program Change.
Bank Change (CC 32)
Sustain Pedal (CC 64)
Channel Volume (CC 7).
Channel Panning (CC 10).
Reset All Controllers (CC 121).
All Notes Off (CC 123).
Pitch Bend Wheel (the range of pitch bend wheel is being set on the Modulation Page).Pitch Bend Wheel (the range of pitch bend wheel is being set on the Modulation Page).

Output Sound Format

Morphine uses the following standard sound output formants -

VSTi: 32 bit float, stereo.
AudioUnit (AU): Canonical format – 32 bit float, stereo, non interleaved.

Morphine File Architecture

Synthesizer Core:

Windows: Morphine.dll AND Morphine.exe will be copied into the VST folder. The location of this
folder often depends on settings in the Host program (e.g. FLStudio, Cubase, Live…), see your
host settings. The 'standard' folder path for VST’s is Program Files/Steinberg/VstPlugins.

OS X: Three files will be copied automatically. VST format file (Morphine.vst) will be installed to
Library\Audio\Plug-ins\VST\Image-Line, AudioUnit (Morphine.component) format file will be
installed to Library\Audio\Plug-ins\Components and the standalone version (Morphine.app) in the
Application folder.

Additional files:

Additional Morphine related files will be copied into the installation directory. The default locations are -

Windows: You can choose where to install these files (default location is Program Files/Image-
Line/Morphine).

OS X: In OS X the files will be copied in Library\Application Support\Image-Line\Morphine.

Additional files are:

Graphical (Skin) files in../Morphine/Graphics folder.
Sound library (factory presets) in …/Morphine/Sound Banks. Banks are stored in sub-

directories.
Noise Samples library in …/Morphine/Noise Samples.

Audio Formats supported

Morphine can load audio files for resynthesizing them, importing spectra in a breakpoint, or to be used
as noise sample. Supported audio file formats are:

Microsoft Wave (.WAV) with any sampling rate, and 8/16/24/32 bits Integer sample format, or
32 bit float sample format, not compressed, mono or stereo.

Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF, which may have .AIF or .AIFF file extension). Any
sampling rate, 8/16/24/32 bits integer sample format, not compressed, mono or stereo.

Uninstalling Morphine

While it is not necessary to uninstall Morphine before installing a new version, to ensure Morphine is
completely uninstalled from a machine:

Windows

Use the Programs > Image-Line > Morphine > Uninstall application.

OSX

Delete the relevant folder in /Library/Application Support/Image-Line1.
Delete the relevant files in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components and /Library/Audio/Plug-

Ins/VST/Image-Line

2.

Delete the standalone app in /Applications3.
Delete the relevant file (i.e. Morphine.pkg") in /Library/Receipts4.

Tips for advanced users

Skins: To create your own “skin”, you can edit files located in the Graphics folder (remember to save
a backup of any file you intend to edit BEFORE you start). Morphine uses TARGA bitmaps (.TGA).

Windows: Morphine.dll AND Morphine.exe will be copied into the VST folder. The location of this

folder often depends on settings in the Host program (e.g. FLStudio, Cubase, Live…), see your
host settings. The 'standard' folder path for VST’s is Program Files/Steinberg/VstPlugins.

OS X: Three files will be copied automatically. VST format file (Morphine.vst) will be installed to
Library\Audio\Plug-ins\VST\Image-Line, AudioUnit (Morphine.component) format file will be
installed to Library\Audio\Plug-ins\Components and the standalone version (Morphine.app) in the
Application folder.

Additional files:

Additional Morphine related files will be copied into the installation directory. The default locations are -

Windows: You can choose where to install these files (default location is Program Files/Image­Line/Morphine).

OS X: In OS X the files will be copied in Library\Application Support\Image-Line\Morphine.

Additional files are:

Graphical (Skin) files in../Morphine/Graphics folder.
Sound library (factory presets) in …/Morphine/Sound Banks. Banks are stored in sub-

directories.
Noise Samples library in …/Morphine/Noise Samples.

Audio Formats supported

Morphine can load audio files for resynthesizing them, importing spectra in a breakpoint, or to be used
as noise sample. Supported audio file formats are:

Microsoft Wave (.WAV) with any sampling rate, and 8/16/24/32 bits Integer sample format, or
32 bit float sample format, not compressed, mono or stereo.

Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF, which may have .AIF or .AIFF file extension). Any
sampling rate, 8/16/24/32 bits integer sample format, not compressed, mono or stereo.

Uninstalling Morphine

While it is not necessary to uninstall Morphine before installing a new version, to ensure Morphine is
completely uninstalled from a machine:

Windows

Use the Programs > Image-Line > Morphine > Uninstall application.

OSX

Delete the relevant folder in /Library/Application Support/Image-Line1.
Delete the relevant files in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components and /Library/Audio/Plug-

Ins/VST/Image-Line

2.

Delete the standalone app in /Applications3.
Delete the relevant file (i.e. Morphine.pkg") in /Library/Receipts4.

Tips for advanced users

Skins: To create your own “skin”, you can edit files located in the Graphics folder (remember to save
a backup of any file you intend to edit BEFORE you start). Morphine uses TARGA bitmaps (.TGA).

Note: You can't delete or rename graphical files OR changing the size (height or width) of these files.

Make all modifications to the existing graphical files structure using the factory skin as the basic
example. If you destroy important graphical files you will need to re-install Morphine.

CPU/Memory saving: Morphine's sound engine is highly optimized, however, keeping CPU/Memory
usage low when creating your own sounds is a good habit. The most important parameter for saving
CPU/Memory is the number of breakpoints and number of audible harmonics. Each harmonic is an
independent “sine oscillator”, so the less harmonics used, the lower the CPU load will be. Each
breakpoint contains a lot of data for all 128 harmonics, so the less breakpoints used (in all Generators
and in all Keyboard Zones in total), the smaller memory requirements will be, similarly the smaller the
preset file size it will be. Extremely large numbers of breakpoints per Spectrum may also slow down
sound generation process (CPU usage will be higher in this case).

Custom Noise Samples: Although the factory Noise Samples library has many noises, you may wish
to use your own noise samples. Noise Samples are located in the …/Morphine/Noise Samples/ folder.
Please note: when you click “Import Noise Sample” option, the audio file is copied into that folder.
When loading a preset, Morphine searches the noise sample requested by the preset in that folder. This
means – if you move your presets to another computer for example, don’t forget to copy the noise
audio files used by your custom presets in the Noise Samples folder also.

Image-Line: Morphine Synthesizer

Morphine Credits & Information

About Morphine:

Morphine was created and developed exclusively for Image-Line Software by Maxx Claster.

Manual Rev 011:

Scott Fisher & Maxx Claster.

Special thanks to Frank G and Mark Wheeler.

Where can I buy Morphine?

http://shop.flstudio.com/

Distributed by:

Image Line Software BVBA
Kortrijksesteenweg 281
B-9830 Sint-Martens-Latem
Belgium