Lexicon PCM90, PCM90 DUALRVB User Guide

PCM 90

Dual Rvb

Algorithm Card

User Guide

Unpacking and Inspection

After unpacking the Dual Rvb Algorithm Card, save all packing materials in case you ever need to ship the card.
Thoroughly inspect the card and packing materials for signs of damage. Report any shipment damage to the
carrier at once; report equipment malfunction to your dealer.

Precautions

This is a read only card.
Use only with the Lexicon PCM 90.
To avoid damage to the card, do not expose to rain or moisture, extreme temperatures, direct sunlight, or extreme shock.
In the event the card is dropped, damaged, or exposed to liquids, do not insert it into the PCM 90.

Copyright 1996
All Rights Reserved.

Lexicon Part # 070-11841

Lexicon Inc.
3 Oak Park
Bedford MA 01730-1441 USA
Telephone [phone]
Fax [phone]
www.lexicon.com

Introduction

1. Dual Rvb Card Operation

Handling the Algorithm Card............................................................... 1-1

Loading the Dual Rvb Algorithms ....................................................... 1-3

Loading the Dual Rvb Presets ............................................................ 1-4

2. The Dual Rvb Blocks and the Algorithms

Overview............................................................................................. 2-1

New Parameters .......................................................................... 2-1

The Reverb Blocks ............................................................................. 2-2

Chamber ...................................................................................... 2-2

Inverse ......................................................................................... 2-2

Room2.......................................................................................... 2-3

Surround Chamber....................................................................... 2-3

The Algorithms.................................................................................... 2-4

Room2-Room2 ............................................................................. 2-4

Invrs-Invrs .................................................................................... 2-5

Chmbr-Invrs ................................................................................. 2-6

Invrs-Room2................................................................................. 2-7

Chmbr-Chmbr .............................................................................. 2-8

MatrixChmbr................................................................................. 2-9

Chmbr>Room2........................................................................... 2-10

Invrs>Chambr............................................................................. 2-11

Room2>Chmbr........................................................................... 2-12

Invrs>Room2.............................................................................. 2-13

Contents

3. The Presets

Program Bank X0 Studio .................................................................... 3-2

Environments (0.0-0.9)................................................................. 3-2

Instruments (1.0-1.9) .................................................................... 3-3

Vocal (2.0-2.9).............................................................................. 3-4

Drums/Perc (3.0-3.9).................................................................... 3-5

Custom (4.0-4.9) .......................................................................... 3-6

Program Bank X1 Live........................................................................ 3-7

Acoustic (0.0-0.9) ......................................................................... 3-7

Electric (1.0-1.9) ........................................................................... 3-8

Vocal (2.0-2.9).............................................................................. 3-9

Drums/Perc (3.0-3.9).................................................................. 3-10

Custom (4.0-4.9) ........................................................................ 3-11

Program Bank X2 Post ..................................................................... 3-12

Small Spaces (0.0-0.9)............................................................... 3-12

Medium Spaces (1.0-1.9) ........................................................... 3-13

Large Spaces (2.0-2.9) .............................................................. 3-14

Cool Places (3.0-3.9) ................................................................. 3-14

Custom (4.0-4.9) ........................................................................ 3-15

Program Bank X3 Surround.............................................................. 3-17

Small Spaces (0.0-0.9)............................................................... 3-17

Large Spaces (1.0-1.9) .............................................................. 3-17

Unnatural FX (2.0-2.9) ............................................................... 3-18

Custom (3.0-3.9) ........................................................................ 3-19

"Clean Slate" Algorithms (4.0-4.9).............................................. 3-20

Thank you for your purchase of the PCM 90 Dual Rvb Algorithm Card. Dual Rvb
processing adds powerful split reverb control to the control capabilities of the
PCM 90.

The Dual Rvb algorithms offer superb dual reverb and cascade configured
stereo effects. Ten new algorithms are provided on the PC card, along with 200

exciting new presets.

Each Dual Rvb algorithm contains two independent reverb blocks. Each
algorithm also has the full set of modulation and patch features featured in the
PCM 90.

Introduction

The 10 Dual Rvb algorithms are made up of combinations of four Reverb blocks:
Chamber, Inverse, Room2 and Surround Chamber. These effects and their
associated parameters will all be familiar to PCM 90 users. The Chamber effect
is identical to the PCM 90 Chamber. Surround Chamber is a variation of this
same effect. Room2 is a variation on the PCM 90 Room effect, with slightly
different Shape and Spread controls and a higher overall gain. The Inverse
effect provides a new type of reverb for the PCM 90 which is excellent for gated
and unnatural reverb effects, as well as for creating small, lively environments.

The 10 algorithms on the Dual Rvb card are created by combining these effects
in the following pairs:

Splits: Room2-Room2

Invrs-Invrs
Chmbr-Invrs
Invrs-Room2
Chmbr-Chmbr
MatrixChmbr

Cascade: Chmbr>Room2

Invrs>Chmbr
Room2>Chmbr
Invrs>Room2

Each algorithm has a different combination of Rvb blocks, but the basic
functionality of each is the same. Controls for each algorithm are arranged in
a PCM 90-type matrix. The audio parameters are identical to those in the
PCM 90. A few new parameters are found in the Inverse effects, and new
InRouting parameters allows you to select Stereo Split, Mono Split or Reverse
Mono Split as routing configurations for the Dual Mono effects, and Left
Cascade, Right Cascade or Stereo Cascade as routing configurations for the
Cascade effects.

The Algorithms

The Presets

Dual Rvb Card Banks

Bank X0 Studio

0.0 - 0.9 Environments

1.0 - 1.9 Instruments

2.0 - 2.9 Vocal

3.0 - 3.9 Drums/Perc

4.0 - 4.9 Custom

Bank X1 Live

0.0 - 0.9 Acoustic

1.0 - 1.9 Electric

2.0 - 2.9 Vocal

3.0 - 3.9 Drums/Perc

4.0 - 4.9 Custom

Bank X2 Post

0.0 - 0.9 Small Spaces

1.0 - 1.9 Medium Spaces

2.0 - 2.9 Large Spaces

3.0 - 3.9 Cool Places

4.0 - 4.9 Custom

Bank X3 Surround

0.0 - 0.9 Small Spaces

1.0 - 1.9 Large Spaces

2.0 - 2.9 Unnatural FX

3.0 - 3.9 Custom

4.0 - 4.9 "Clean Slate"
versions of the
algorithms

The PCM 90 Dual Rvb card contains a built-in library of 200 preset programs that
provide a completely new assortment of exciting and useful sounds. As in the
PCM 90, the presets are organized into banks of 50, and functionally grouped
for a wide range of applications. Be sure to experiment with all 200 presets to
get a feel for the full range of the Dual Rvb capabilities. As in the PCM 90, each
preset (except for the "Clean Slate" presets) has one or more parameters
patched to the front panel ADJUST knob, giving you instant control over the
primary aspect of the effect — without going into Edit mode.

The first bank of presets is for Music Production, the second bank is for Live
Sound, the third bank is for Audio Post Production and the last is a bank of
presets created for Surround. The “Clean Slate” presets in bank X3 are provided
as a convenient starting place when you want to create a new program from
scratch. There is one clean slate preset for each of the 10 algorithms.

We hope you will find the Dual Rvb card easy to use, and a great extension of
the power of your PCM 90. To get the most out of the card, we suggest that you
invest the time to explore this manual. We think you’ll agree that the time spent
investigating will reward you with enjoyment of the full capabilities of the card.

Dual Rvb Card Operation

Dual Rvb Card
Operation

1

The Dual Rvb Algorithm Card is a standard PC card designed to be used with
the Lexicon PCM 90 (Version 1.01 or higher). Care and handling of the card, as
well as some routine precautions are noted here. Please review these before
using the card to avoid damage to the card, as well as error states in the PCM

90. Refer to your PCM 90 User Guide for information on troubleshooting the
PCM 90 itself.

The Dual Rvb Algorithm Card is designed for use ONLY with the PCM 90.

The Dual Rvb card is a Read Only Memory Card which cannot be overwritten.

Handle cards with care.

Do not bend the card, or subject it to moisture, extreme temperature, direct
sunlight, or extreme shock.

Insert card completely before attempting card operations.

Incomplete card insertion can cause abnormal behavior.

Do not press EJECT while loading the card.

If the card is inserted before the PCM 90 is powered on, wait for the
completion of Power On Diagnostics and the loading of the first program
before attempting to use or remove the card.

Card algorithms will be loaded automatically into the PCM 90 on power on.
Removing the card before the completion of the normal PCM 90 power on cycle
may cause abnormal behavior.

Handling the
Algorithm Card

Care and Handling

Card Insertion

Operational Behavior

Once the algorithms have been loaded from the card, you can either remove
the card, or leave it in the PC card slot. In the PCM 90 Version 1.00, problems
can occur if you load the card, remove it, and then reinsert it without power­cycling the unit.

While the PCM 90 is running an extension card algorithm, it will not load
a second algorithm card.

Recognition of a second algorithm card requires returning to the PCM 90's
internal memory by loading a preset or register from one of the internal
algorithms before loading the new algorithm card.

1-1

PCM 90 Dual Rvb User Guide

Lexicon

MIDI SysEx register dumps require that the algorithm card used to create
the effect(s) be loaded.

Be aware that, if you create a bank of registers with effects created from both
internal algorithms and the algorithm card, you will need to perform separate
SysEx dumps for the card registers and the internal registers.

The algorithm used to create an effect must be loaded into the PCM 90 for a
SysEx dump to occur. If you do not have the algorithm card loaded into the
transmitting PCM 90, the data for the effect is not transmitted and the following
message is displayed:

Can't dump effect
Need algorithm card

If you do not have the algorithm card loaded into the receiving PCM 90 when a
valid SysEx for an effect created from a card algorithm is received, the following
message is displayed:

Effect unchanged
Need algorithm card

A placeholder is transmitted for any register which cannot be dumped due to the
absence of an algorithm card. This placeholder contains the program name and
algorithm number, but no effect parameter data. This allows an editor to identify
registers which were not sent, and the algorithm card which must be loaded to
complete the dump. The PCM 90 will always ignore the placeholder, and will
display the following message when a placeholder is received:

Effect unchanged
No data in dump

Note that registers made from algorithm cards can be freely copied between the
PCM 90's internal register banks (R0, R1) and RAM card banks (C0, C1, etc.)
without loading the algorithm card.

1-2

In order to run the Dual Rvb algorithms, the software must be loaded into the
PCM 90’s “extension” memory. To do this:

If the PCM 90 is turned off:

1. Insert the Dual Rvb algorithm card into the PC card slot.

2. Power up the PCM 90. The software will be loaded automatically.

If the PCM 90 is already running:

1. Insert the Dual Rvb algorithm card into the PC card slot.

2. Press Control and use SELECT and Up and Down to go to Control 2.1.
The following message should appear:

Card Load: Dual Rvb

2.1 (Press LOAD)

3. Press Load/✱. The following message will appear briefly to indicate the
load was completed:

Dual Rvb Card Operation

Loading the
Dual Rvb
Algorithms

Extensions now
available

If the PCM 90 is running an algorithm from a different extension card:

Loading a different algorithm card requires returning to the PCM 90's internal
memory by loading a preset or register from one of the internal banks.
Otherwise, the following error message will be displayed when you press

Load/✱:

Cannot load while
running extension

To load a different algorithm card :

1. Press Program Banks and select an internal preset bank (P0 - P4).

2. Turn SELECT to display any preset in any of these banks, then press
Load/✱.

3. The new algorithm card can now be loaded as described above.

Once extension card soft­ware is loaded, you can re­move the card from the slot.
The algorithms will remain in
the PCM 90 until the unit is
turned off. This makes the
PC card slot available for
loading and storing registers
on RAM cards.

1-3

PCM 90 Dual Rvb User Guide

Loading the

Dual Rvb Presets

Lexicon

Once the software is loaded, the PCM 90 will have access to the additional
program banks available on the algorithm card. These extension memory banks
are labeled with an X.

1. Press Program Banks repeatedly until the X banks are displayed. These
will follow all of the PCM 90's internal Program banks.

2. Use SELECT, Up and Down and Load/✱ to view and load the Dual Rvb
presets.

You can edit these presets and save the changed version into the PCM 90’s
internal registers, or you can save them into RAM card register banks. If the Dual
Rvb algorithms are loaded, recalling programs created with the algorithms is as
simple as selecting and loading any PCM 90 program.

If the Dual Rvb algorithms are not loaded when you attempt to load a program
created with them, the display will indicate that the selected register requires
extension memory (in this case, the Dual Rvb card).

Extension
R 1.1 DualStereoFX

Complete descriptions of all of the Dual Rvb presets are given in Chapter 3.

1-4

The Algorithms and Their Parameters

2

The PCM 90 Dual Reverb Card uses four reverb algorithms to produce six Dual
Mono, and four Cascade effects. Each of the algorithms and its associated
parameter matrix is presented in this section.

The parameters for the Dual Rvb algorithms are identical to those in the PCM
90 with the following additions and exceptions:

InRouting

The InRouting control for the Dual Rvb algorithms varies from the InRouting
control in the PCM 90 in that three controls are provided to determine reverb
routing: Mono Split, RevMono Split, and Stereo Split.

Mono Split separates the two reverb blocks, creating two independent mono in/
stereo out reverbs. Machine A receives input from the left channel, and Machine
B receives input from the right channel.

RevMono Split separates the two reverb blocks, like the Mono Split setting, but
reverses the inputs so that A corresponds to the right channel, and B corrresponds
to the left channel.

Stereo Split creates two stereo in, stereo out reverbs. The outputs from both A
and B are stereo.

In the cascade algorithms, the three routing selections are: Left Cascade, Right
Cascade, and Stereo Cascade. Left Cascade feeds the left input to the cascade,
and ignores audio input from the right channel. Similarly, Right Cascade feeds
only the right input to the cascade. Stereo feeds left and right inputs into the
corresponding inputs to the cascade.

The Algorithms and
Their Parameters

New Parameters

The Inverse effect, which is new to the PCM 90 contains the following unique
parameters:

Duration

This parameter in the RvbDesign row determines the length of time, in millisec­onds, which passes before the cutoff in Inverse effects.

Low Slope and Mid Slope
These parameters are found in the all of the Inverse Rvb Time rows. Low Slope
determines the shape of the reverb envelope for low frequencies. When set to
0, the level of low reverb remains unchanged over its Duration, then cuts off
abruptly (depending on the amount of diffusion in use). Setting Low Slope above
0 causes the level of low frequency reverb to rise smoothly from soft to loud until
the sound is cut off. The greater the slope, the softer the initial reverberation and
the more pronounced its rise. With negative values, the low frequency reverb
drops from its initial level to a quieter one before cutoff. The lower the slope, the
more pronounced the dropoff. Mid Slope is similar to Low Slope, but applies to
middle and high frequencies. The actual frequencies affected are determined by
Crossover.

2-1

PCM 90 Dual Rvb User Guide Lexicon

The Reverb Blocks

Chamber

This algorithm is identical to the Chamber algorithm in the PCM 90. It produces
an even, relatively dimensionless reverberation, with little change in color as the
sound decays. The initial diffusion is similar to the PCM 90 Concert Hall
algorithm, but the sense of size and space is much less obvious. This charac­teristic, along with low color in the decay tail, makes Chamber useful on a wide
range of program material. It is especially useful on spoken voice, giving a
noticeable increase in loudness with very low color.

2-2

Inverse

This algorithm allows you to vary the slope of the initial portion of the reverb
envelope. The slope can decay, remain level, or rise over a variable time interval.
When the time interval is up, the reverberation cuts off abruptly. The resulting
effect is similar to a gate, but is not at all dependent on the level or complexity
of the input signal. Slopes are adjustable over a negative, even, or positive slope.
Positive slopes create inverse effects, while more even slopes create gated
effects. Negative slope values have rather natural reverb tails.

Shape and Spread characteristics, and an overall higher gain. This algorithm
provides an excellent simulation of a very small room which is useful for dialog
and voiceover applications, but which may be too colored for some sustained
musical tones. Increasing the Size/Shape/Spread parameters produces an
excellent reverb, and an Infinite parameter allows you to freeze the reverbera­tion for as long as you like.

The Algorithms and Their Parameters

Room2This algorithm is a variation of the Room algorithm in the PCM 90 with different

This algorithm is similar to the PCM 90 Chamber, but has a mono output. This
ouput is added to the output of another reverb block 180° out-of-phase to allow
a surround decoder to identify which signals are to be routed to the surround
channel.

Note: This algorithm must be used through a surround decoder to avoid
undesireable effects. When used with another reverb block (as in the Matrix
Chamber algorithm, its entire signal can be canceled out when used in mono.
In stereo, Surround Chamber can cloud the mix if it is of comparable loudness
to the Chamber side of the algorithm.

Surround Chamber

2-3

PCM 90 Dual Rvb User Guide Lexicon

Dual Mono Reverbs

Room2-Room2

2-4

The Algorithms and Their Parameters

Inverse-Inverse

2-5