Line 6 Filter Pro User Manual

FILTER PRO

Programmable Filter & Monophonic Synths with MIDI Sync

Pilot’s Handbook

An in-depth exploration of the revolutionary technologies

and the pulsing tonal pleasures that power your Filter Pro.

Electrophonic Limited Edition also available at www.line6.com. Revision A.

The serial number can be found on the back panel of your

Filter Pro. Please note it here for future reference:

SERIAL NO:

WARNING:

electric shock, do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.

CAUTION:

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

To reduce the risk of ﬁre or

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device

The lightning symbol within a triangle means “electrical caution!” It indicates the presence of information about operating voltage and potential risks of electrical shock.

CAUTION:

do not remove screws. No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualiﬁed service personnel.

To reduce the risk of ﬁre or electric shock,

The exclamation point within a triangle means “caution!” Please read the information next to all caution signs.

YOU

SHOULD READ THESE IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

Before using your Filter Pro, be sure to carefully read the applicable

items of these operating instructions and the safety suggestions.

1. Obey all warnings on the Filter Pro and in this Pilot’s Handbook.

2. Do not place near heat sources, such as radiators, heat registers, or appliances which produce heat.

3. Guard against objects or liquids entering the enclosure.

4. Connect only to AC power outlets rated 100-120V or 230V 47-63Hz (depending on the voltage range of the unit; refer to the back panel). Current ratings should be 400mA for the 120V range and 200mA for the 230V range.

5. Do not step on power cords. Do not place items on top of power cords so that they are pinched or leaned on. Pay particular attention to the cord at the plug end and the point where it connects to the amp.

6. Unplug your Filter Pro when not in use for extended periods of time.

7. Do not perform service operations beyond those described in the Filter Pro Pilot’s Handbook. In the following circumstances, repairs should be performed only by qualified service personnel:

• liquid is spilled into the unit

• an object falls into the unit

•the unit does not operate normally or changes in performance in a significant way

•the fuse is blown (replace with 400mA timed fuse for 120V, and 200mA timed fuse for 230V)

•the unit is dropped or the enclosure is damaged

8. Prolonged listening at high volume levels may cause irreparable hearing loss and/or damage. Always be sure to practice “safe listening.”

Please Note:

Line 6, Echo Pro, Mod Pro, Filter Pro, POD, POD Pro and Flextone are trademarks of Line 6, Inc. All other product names, trademarks, and artists’ names are the property of their respective owners, which are in no way associated or affiliated with Line 6. Product names, images, and artists' names are used solely for the purpose of identifying the specific products that were studied during Line 6’s sound model development and describing certain types of tones produced with Line 6’s digital modeling technology. Use of these products, images, trademarks, and artists' names does not imply any cooperation or endorsement.

CHAPTER 1: I

NTRODUCTION

Thanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1•1

Who is Line 6? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1•1

UICK START GUIDE

Plug it In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1•3

CHAPTER 2: G

Front Panel Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2•2

Rear Panel Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2•4

CHAPTER 3: B

Audio Hookup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•1

Selecting a Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•4

Editing a Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•4

Tap Tempo and Speed/Tempo Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•4

Global Speed/Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•7

Set Expression Pedal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•7

Mix Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•8

Saving a Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•9

MIDI/Sys Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•10

Mix Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•10

Bypass Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•11

MIDI Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•12

Program Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•12

MIDI Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•13

MIDI Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•13

MIDI Out/Thru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•14

MIDI Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•14

Pedal Update Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•15

MIDI Controller Assignments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•16

Restoring Factory Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3•17

UIDED TOUR

ASIC OPERATION

CHAPTER 4: M

ODEL DESCRIPTIONS

Synth String to Growler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4•1 to 4•16

CHAPTER 5: MIDI C

What is MIDI, Anyway? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•1

ONTROL

Why Should I Care?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•2

General Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•3

MIDI Mapping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•3

Parameter Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•6

MIDI Clock and Tempo Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•9

MIDI Out/Thru (and what it means to you). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5•10

CHAPTER 6: S

Syncing to MIDI Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•1

In the Studio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•1

Syncing Live. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•3

Other Live Performance Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•4

Using Multiple Studio Modelers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•5

Basic Chain Hookup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•5

Using another MIDI Device as Master Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•6

Using a Foot Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•7

Controlling From a Studio Modeler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•8

Stupid Effects Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6•9

APPENDICES

Model Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A•1

MIDI Implementation - Program Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A•2

MIDI Implementation - Continuous Controller & Note Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A•3

MIDI Continuous Controller Map for Note Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A•4

Audio Performance Speciﬁcations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A•5

Signal Flow Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A•5

OME REAL LIFE EXAMPLES

NTRODUCTION

Introduction

Thanks and what the heck did you just buy, anyway?

Thanks for your purchase, and congratulations on being the proud new owner of a Filter Pro, part of Line 6’s Studio Modeler line of products. We hope that your new toy will make your musical and creative life more fun, exciting, fulfilling, and will stop the awful drip under the bathroom sink (although we suspect you're gonna have to break down and call a plumber for that one).

If you're familiar with Line 6’s award-winning series of Stompbox Modelers–the DL4 Delay Modeler, MM4 Modulation Modeler, and FM4 Filter Modeler–you’ve already got a pretty good idea of some of what your new Filter Pro can do. We’ve added a lot of new features and capabilities to the Studio Modelers, so you’ll want to give this manual at least a quick once-over, if not a thorough reading before diving in. Don’t worry, we’ll try and make it as painless as possible. If you’re not yet familiar with Line 6 products, let’s start with a brief introduction. But first, you’ve filled out that attractive registration card and put it in the outgoing mail, right? No? Well then, have you logged onto registration? If you haven’t yet, that’s okay, we’ll wait here…

www.line6.com

and filled out the online

1 •

Who is Line 6?

Hi! We’re Line 6. As you may know, Line 6 first came on the scene with a new kind of guitar amplifier – the first to put digital software modeling technology to work in a combo amp for guitarists. In order to pioneer this technology, we focused our efforts on the vacuum tube, the little glass wonder that sat at the heart of most every great guitar amp in history – plus quite a few stomp boxes, effect processors, and other pieces of great audio gear. The Line 6 crew assembled a dream collection of amplifiers recognized by guitarists the world over as true “tone classics”, and, with a guitar in one hand and modern computer measuring gear in the other, put these amps through their paces and got them to give up their secrets–a guitar pickup output, after all, is an electronic signal, and tubes and the rest of the guitar amplifier electronics are really just a complex form of signal processing. These electronic explorers thus distilled the noble history of guitar tone heritage into a revolutionary, patented DSP (digital signal processing) software-based modeling technology which gave Line 6 the power to create super silicon-based life forms like our history-making amplifiers and POD.

Introduction

Who is Line 6?

1 •

Well, it’s been some years since the first Line 6 amp brought modeling to the combo amp world, followed by the Line 6 POD that revolutionized the world of guitar recording. During that time, our thoughts have often turned from our amps to our feet. We started thinking about all those great stompboxes that have been as much a part of the electric guitar experience as the amplifier. So, turning from our massive collection of vintage amps we had assembled for our first products, we began the task of assembling the most in-demand and hippest stompboxes ever made in order to put them through the same rigorous modeling procedures. Many a night we had to stay up late comparing different delay pedals, and on the weekends we had to haul vintage effects home for more testing in our personal studios. (Yes, it's a rough job, but someone has to do it.) When all was said and done, though, we had created a series of Stompbox Modelers, each one containing a dream collection of lovingly crafted digital software models of a whole carpet-full of the great effects of guitar history.

Once we'd accomplished that, our attention turned to guitarists who love rack gear, as well as keyboard players, recording engineers, home recordists, and other nonguitarist types. After all, they needed these sounds, too! One night, a vindaloo inspired dream came to us, in which a voice called out, "Rackmount! With serious MIDI functions, too!" Never ones to ignore visions brought on by amazingly hot, yet tasty food, we started work on what you now hold in your hands.

Introduction

Quick Start Guide

Hate long-winded manuals? Want to use your Filter Pro having to worry about any details? Here’s the important stuff to know:

1. Hook It Up

Input (for mono sources) or both

– Plug the output of something into Filter Pro’s rear panel

R/Mono

and

Left

the Filter Pro outputs to the input of whatever you’re feeding the Filter Pro to – guitar amp, mixing board, etc. Chapter 3 has more details.

2. Power It Up

down, press the

– Turn the

Power

button. Light show! Make sure the volume is turned up on

Input

and

Output

knobs on your Filter Pro all the way

whatever is receiving Filter Pro’s output signal, so you’ll hear what you’re doing.

3A. Crank It Up: Guitar Source

– If you’re connecting a guitar directly to Filter Pro and running straight into the front of a guitar amp, turn the Filter Pro knob way up (probably to max if you’re using standard passive pickups). Don’t expect to hit the yellow or red lights on the Filter Pro input meter; you’ll most likely only get to the green. Don’t set the Filter Pro the Filter Pro can put out a much hotter signal than your guitar can and will overload the front end of your amp if you do.

3B. Crank It Up: Line Level Sources

– If you’re feeding Filter Pro a signal from a line level source (keyboard, mixing board, etc.) do this: while sending a healthy signal to your Filter Pro, turn up the Filter Pro

Input

ﬂashing red occasionally, then back it down just a hair so you're living in the yellow zone.

Avoid hitting the red in normal use

. Next, press the Pro and turn up the output volume until the meter on your mixer (or whatever) reads about the same as the input meter. (Hint: With most line level signals, both the input and output knobs should be pointing at about 3 o’clock. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but a good starting point.) Now, press the Bypass button again to let the Filter Pro’s signal through. If you made all your connections correctly, and remembered to turn up the Aux send and return and other levels on your board (D’oh! Been there, done that!) you should be hearing Filter effects.

RIGHT NOW

without

inputs (for stereo). Connect

Output

level too high, since

knob until the input meter is

Bypass

button on the Filter

R/Mono

Input

1 •

4. Dial It Up

– The

Program Select

knob is ‘velocity sensitive’ – when you turn it slowly, the programs change one by one, but if you ﬂip it fast, you’ll jump ahead (or back) a number of programs at a time. See the included

Preset Chart

for

details.

UIDED

OUR

UIDED TOUR

There are several types of tourists. First, there are the ones who sign up with the tour group, read the itinerary in advance, hang on every word of the tour guide, and come home with a solid overall understanding of the new place they’ve visited, although they may have missed that neat little cafe that was just up the side street they rushed past on the way to another museum. Then, there are the adventurous types who just strike out on their own, wander around, ﬁnd that little cafe – but who might wander into the wrong part of town and get into trouble. Finally there are the (in our opinion) wiser tourists who read the guide book before travelling, ask questions, use small tours to ﬁgure out where they want to come back and visit in more depth, and still leave themselves a chance for some adventure. In an attempt to join this last group, let's take this opportunity to look at all the controls and connections that your Filter Pro has, and give you a little bit of explanation of what they do, shall we? You've got a lot of control at your ﬁngertips here, and you don't want to miss out on any of it.

2•

NON-SYNC'D FX

SYNC'D FX

UIDED TOUR

2•

Front Panel Controls

1. Input Level Meters –

input of your Filter Pro (in which case you’ll see red and should turn down).

2. Input Level –

level until the input meter is flashing red occasionally, then back it down a hair.

3. Output Level –

4. Save button –

5. MIDI/Sys button –

functions like Bypass Mode, Mix Mode, or to recall factory programs. Flickers when there’s incoming MIDI on the MIDI Channel Filter Pro is set to listen to.

L R

INPUT

ROGRAMMABLE FILTER & MONOPHONIC SYNTHS with

CLIP

OUTPUT

SAVE

MIDI/SYS

BYPASS

PROGRAM SELECT

MIDI S

YNC

TRON DOWN

SYNTH-O-MATIC

SLOW FILTER

Q FILTER

TRON UP

ATTACK SYNTH

SYNTH STRING

NON-SYNC'D FX

V-TRON

GROWLER

VOICE BOX

SEEKER

OBI-WAH

THROBBER

SPIN CYCLE

COMET TRAILS

OCTI SYNTH

SYNC'D FX

Shows you input levels and whether you’re clipping the

Set the input level here. While feeding a signal, turn up the input

Set the output level here.

Press to save an edited program.

Press to access MIDI functions and other System editing

6. Bypass button –

7. Program Display –

Press to bypass effect processing.

Shows which program you’ve selected. See later sections for

detail on its use for Save, Compare and MIDI/Sys functions.

8. Program Select knob –

Selects one of Filter Pro’s programs. See later sections

for detail on its use for MIDI/Sys functions.

9. Model Select knob –

10. Tempo Display –

Selects model. (Kinda figures, doesn't it?)

Shows Tempo in

Hertz

BPM

, depending on whether the Hertz or BPM buttons are lit. The Note Value is also always shown. See later sections for detail on the display’s use for Saving and MIDI/Sys mode.

UIDED TOUR

SPEED FREQUENCY

HERTZ NOTE BPM

SET EXPRESSION PEDAL

11. Hertz button –

12. Note button –

13. BPM button –

14. Speed knob –

15. Tap button –

PWM RATE

TAP

GLOBAL

WAVEFORM

RESONANCE PEAK Q FILTER WIDTH

STOP VOWEL

TRAIL WIDTH

OCTI WIDTH

Press to display current Tempo in Hertz

Sets Note Value to determine Tempo division

Press to display current Tempo in BPM (beats per minute).

Sets Tempo in Hertz or BPM, whichever you’ve chosen.

Tap twice to set Tempo. A unique feature of Filter Pro is that a

PITCH

LO/BAND/HIPASS

UP/DOWN

UP/RETURN AUTO/PEDAL # OF STEPS WAVEFORM

VOL SENS

GAIN

VIBRATO DEPTH

TWEEZ MIXTWEAK

single tap will reset the LFO to the beginning of the sweep.

16. Global button –

Press to enable Global Speed/Tempo Mode. Global overrides

the tempo stored within each program with the current tempo.

POWER

FILTER

PRO

2•

17. Frequency knob –

Controls the Frequency of the effect, but may set other

parameters, as well, like the Start Vowel on the Voice Box or V-Tron effects.

18. Tweak knob –

Controls various functions depending on the model chosen. The

lights to its immediate left show just what you're adjusting for each model.

19. Tweez knob –

Controls various functions depending on the model chosen. The

lights to its immediate left show just what you're adjusting for each model.

20. Mix knob –

21. Power switch –

Sets Effect Mix from 0% to 100% Wet (or is that 100% to 0% dry?).

Makes all the pretty lights go on and off.

UIDED TOUR

2•

POWER RATING

100– 240V~

IN L/STEREO R/MONOL/STEREO R/MONO

50– 60Hz

N222

CAUTION

RISKOF ELECTRIC SHOCK

DONOT OPEN

0.3 A

OUT

MIDI INPUTOUTPUT

Rear Panel Connections

PEDAL

Tip = Left Ring = RightTip = Left Ring = Right

RIGHTLEFTEXPRESSION

RIGHTLEFT

22. Power –

23. MIDI In –

Where the end of the power cord that doesn't plug into the wall goes.

Connect the MIDI Out from your sequencer, synthesizer, or other MIDI

Device to the MIDI In here.

24. MIDI Out/Thru –

Connect the MIDI Out on the Filter Pro to the MIDI In of your sequencer, synthesizer, or other MIDI Device. You can switch this to function as a MIDI Out or a MIDI Thru via a MIDI/Sys setting.

25. Expression Pedal Input –

26. +4dBu Balanced XLR Out Left –

Plug the optional EX-1 expression pedal in here.

This audio connection keeps ground separate from the signal by running 3 lines; two conductors (+ and –) and a ground/shield. This type of connection significantly reduces noise with longer cable runs, and enables hotter levels to be transmitted (which is a good thing). There's a certain amount of controversy about which pin should be “positive” or “hot”, so it's always a good idea to check. (Some manufacturers have staked their claim to pin 2, others to pin 3. We come down firmly on the pin 2 side.)

27. +4dBu Balanced XLR Out Right

28. –10dBV Unbalanced 1/4" Out Left/Stereo –

balanced cable (like a guitar cable) this functions as the left output. To connect

When you connect a 1/4"

to the FX Return of a POD Pro, Flextone II, or other Line 6 product that uses 1/4" TRS connections for its loop, use a 1/4" TRS cable and connect to the loop’s return jack. “TRS” means Tip, Ring, Sleeve and you’ll see that this type of connector has an extra ring carved out on it that a standard mono 1/4" cable (like the ones normally used for guitar) lacks. See the pretty pictures in Chapter 3.

Very Important Note:

if you want to run balanced signals, please use the XLR

jacks to connect the Studio Modeler to the rest of your system. The 1/4" connectors

UIDED TOUR

are set up to run strictly unbalanced. And what, pray tell, happens when you plug a mono balanced 1/4" TRS mono cable into the “stereo” out of the Studio Modeler? Well, the middle of the stereo field may disappear, or if you’re less lucky, the right channel may go AWOL altogether – pretty scary! So for balanced hookups, be sure to use the XLRs.

2•

29. –10dBV Unbalanced 1/4" Out Right/Mono –

Mono Out unless something's

plugged into the Left/Stereo Out, in which case it's the Right Channel.

30. +4dBu Balanced XLR In Left

31. +4dBu Balanced XLR In Right

32. –10dBV Unbalanced 1/4" In Left/Stereo –

With a 1/4" unbalanced cable this is the left input. To connect the Stereo Effects Send of a POD Pro or Flextone II to the Filter Pro, use a 1/4" TRS cable to connect to this input.

33. –10dBV Unbalanced 1/4" In Right/Mono –

Mono In unless something's

plugged into the Left/Stereo In, in which case it's the Right Channel.

Basic Operation: Audio Hookup Options

BASIC OPERATION

Audio Hookup Options

Note that you’ll want to get the best cables you can afford. Although we’d avoid claims about cables that are packed with Australian air or any such audiophile voodoo, good cables can make a difference. Really. And if you’ve got one of those setups with five different adapters plugged into each other to make the gazinta-gazoutas* match up (and we’ve been there, believe me!), we’d strongly suggest actually going out and buying or

building the correct cables. But it’s just a suggestion....

As you may have noticed in the Guided Tour chapter, Filter Pro’s back panel has an extensive (and possibly confusing) array of jacks you can plug stuff into (aka I/O). To attempt to help you along, here are diagrams of some typical hookups:

1 Mono In & Out

Tip = Left Ring = RightTip = Left Ring = Right

TO AMP,

MIXER OR

RECORDER

RIGHTLEFTRIGHTLEFT

INPUTOUTPUT

FROM GUITAR,

KEYBOARD,

ETC.

L/STEREO R/MONOL/STEREO R/MONO

Connect the ouput of a guitar, keyboard, etc. to the R/MONO input of the Studio Modeler.

Connect the R/MONO output of the Studio Modeler to the input of your amp, mixer or recorder.

3 • 1

* Or, as translated from audio technician speak: goes in to’s and goes out of’s

Basic Operation: Audio Hookup Options

2 Using with a Line 6 Flextone II or POD Pro

Connect the Stereo Effects Loop Send to the Stereo input of the Studio Modeler using a 1/4” TRS cable.

3 • 2

Connect the Stereo output of the Studio Modeler to the Stereo Effects Loop Return on your Flextone II or POD Pro using a 1/4” TRS cable.

3 Connecting to an Amp with a Mono Effects Loop

Connect the Effects Loop Send on your amp to the R/MONO input on the Studio Modeler.

EFFECTS LOOP or AUX SEND

STEREO STEREO

SENDRETURN

Tip = Left Ring = RightTip = Left Ring = Right

RIGHTLEFTRIGHTLEFT

L/STEREO R/MONOL/STEREO R/MONO

INPUTOUTPUT

Tip = Left Ring = RightTip = Left Ring = Right

RIGHTLEFTRIGHTLEFT

L/STEREO R/MONOL/STEREO R/MONO

INPUTOUTPUT

Connect the mono output of the Studio Modeler to the Effects Loop Return on your Amp. If your amp has an Effects Loop Mix control, set it to 100% wet.

EFFECTS LOOP or AUX SEND

MONO MONO

SENDRETURN

Basic Operation: Audio Hookup Options

4 Connecting to a Mixer - Mono Send, Stereo Return

Connect an Aux Send from your mixer to the R/MONO input of the Studio Modeler.

Connect the Left and Right outputs of the Studio Modeler to a pair of Aux Returns or channels on your mixer with 1/4” unbalanced cables.

RIGHTLEFTRIGHTLEFT

INPUTOUTPUT

AUX SENDAUX RETURN

LEFT / MONO

RIGHT

5 Connecting to a Mixer - Stereo Send, Stereo Return

Connect a Stereo pair of Aux Sends from your mixer to the Left & Right inputs of the Studio Modeler.

Tip = Left Ring = RightTip = Left Ring = Right

L/STEREO R/MONOL/STEREO R/MONO

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Tip = Left Ring = RightTip = Left Ring = Right

RIGHTLEFTRIGHTLEFT

L/STEREO R/MONOL/STEREO R/MONO

INPUTOUTPUT

Connect the Left and Right outputs of the Studio Modeler to a pair of Aux Returns or channels on your mixer with 1/4” unbalanced cables.

LEFT / MONO

RIGHT

AUX SENDAUX RETURN

Basic Operation: Selecting a Program

NON-SYNC'D FX

SYNC'D FX

Selecting a Program

There are two methods of selecting a program:

First, you can dial it up from the Program Select knob. Remember that the Program Select knob is ‘velocity sensitive’. The faster you spin it, the further it jumps, so if you

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need to get from program 1 to program 99 in a hurry, just twirl it quickly. A slow spin moves you one program at a time.

If you’re using MIDI with the Filter Pro, send a MIDI Program change message from any MIDI controller to change the program. And because we were thinking ahead, you can actually call up the basic models as Programs, giving you a total of 115 available programs. See the MIDI Program Change Chart in the Appendix.

Editing a Program

Just call up a program or select a model with the Model Select knob and start twisting and tweaking. You can tell that you’ve edited a program by the hypnotic, slow flashing of the Save button (just don’t stare at it for too long, or you may start clucking like a chicken).

Tap Tempo and Speed/Tempo Calculation

A Few Notes About Speed/Tempo And When It’s Not

While many (well, half) of the effects in your Filter Pro have some sort of time based component (usually a sweeping oscillator of some sort), some don’t. You’ll notice that they’re clustered around the model select knob, split as “Non-Sync’d FX” and “Sync’d FX”.

To avoid confusion, and as a valuable visual cue, when you select one of the non-sync’d effects, or choose a preset that uses one of them, all the Tempo LEDs stop their manic flashing.

SLOW FILTER

Q FILTER

TRON UP

TRON DOWN

SYNTH-O-MATIC

ATTACK SYNTH

SYNTH STRING

NON-SYNC'D FX

V-TRON

GROWLER

SYNC'D FX

VOICE BOX

SEEKER

OBI-WAH

THROBBER

SPIN CYCLE

COMET TRAILS

OCTI SYNTH

SYNC'D FX

Basic Operation: Tap Tempo and Speed/Tempo Calculation

Setting Speed/Tempo

When digital effects first hit the market back in the late 70’s, long before Tap Tempo hit the scene, calculators and stop watches were standard issue in most studios. Engineers would calculate the correct speed value in hertz for the tempo of a song by dividing the tempo by 60. This would give them the 1/4 note value, and from there they could calculate all of the wonderful possible rhythmic divisions like a dotted 8th or a 1/2 note triplet by using a division table like the one here:

1/4 Note Time Division Table

Note Value Divisor Note Value Divisor

Whole Note 4 Dotted 1/8 .75

Dotted 1/2 3 1/8 Note .5

1/2 Note 2 Triplet 1/8 .333

Triplet 1/2 1.333 Dotted 1/16 .375

Dotted 1/4 1.5 1/16 Note .250

1/4 Note 1 Triplet 1/16 .167

Triplet 1/4 .667

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Fortunately, for the math-impaired, Filter Pro lets you bypass the math and just press buttons.

Setting Tempo in BPM

1. Press BPM to see the tempo expressed as beats per minute.

2. Tap a tempo with the TAP button. (Tap on the 1/4 notes along with the music

that you’re adding a filter effect to.) Or, use the Speed knob to adjust the current tempo. Press once to reset to the downbeat of the music.

3. Press the NOTE button as needed to select the note division you’d like for your Filter effect.

Basic Operation: Tap Tempo and Speed/Tempo Calculation

Setting Tempo in Hertz

Hertz (abbreviated Hz, so we don’t have to type quite so much) is a unit used to describe how often an event (say a Throbber filter sweep) happens. 1Hz is equivalent to one cycle (or sweep) per second, just in case you cared.

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1. Press the Hertz button to see the speed expressed in Hertz.

2. Use the Speed knob to set the Speed in Hz. The Speed knob is also velocity

sensitive. Twist it quickly for coarse adjustments, and slowly for finer adjustments. You can use the Tap Tempo button for quick changes.

Hertz NOTE BPM

Now let’s talk a little bit about the Tempo display and its related buttons, since that’s where you’ll get a lot of your information about what’s going on. This display shows you the tempo in either Hertz or in Beats Per Minute (BPM). The buttons underneath it let you determine which of those two options you get, as well as select what rhythmic value you want the filter effect to have. Bare in mind, though, that we’re not trying to force you into anything – if you don’t want to have a specific note value for a tempo, just press the Hertz button and use the Speed knob to dial up a value and ignore the whole BPM/note thing.

But, just in case you do want to do something cool with note values, here’s an example: Let’s say you’re writing a new Drum n’ Bass Goth hit, with the leisurely tempo of 183 BPM. Let’s also say that you want the sample of your cat sneezing that you’re using as a snare to have a synced filter sweep of a quarter note triplet. There’s no need to get out the calculator (or boot up that special piece of software you have) to figure out what the Hertz value would need to be. You simply press the button labeled “BPM”, turn the Speed knob until the display reads “183” and press the Note button until “

 3” is lit,

and you’re there. If your curiosity gets the better of you (or you’re working on the project with a friend and he needs to know ’cause he hasn’t bought his own Filter Pro

Basic Operation: Global (Tempo)

yet) and you decide you really need to know what the Hertz value is for that, just hit the Hertz button. Ta-da! The display switches back to Hertz, and you haven’t even had to think about that math stuff.

Sweep Reset

Another of Filter Pro’s uniquely cool features is the ability to reset the start of a filter sweep by just tapping the Tap Tempo button once (tapping it twice, of course, recalculates your tempo). This means that you can control where the downbeat of a particular effect occurs.

Global (Tempo)

Global Tempo determines whether models and programs will load with their stored tempo or ignore that and use a Global Hertz or BPM value. Just press the Global button to toggle it on and off.

Hint: It’s on when the button is lit.

Set Expression Pedal

Pedal Assign mode lets you create two different versions (kind of like 2 snapshots of the front panel controls) of a program and morph between them with an expression pedal (like the Line 6 EX-1) connected to the 1/4" jack on the rear of the Filter Pro. This is great for controlling single parameters on the fly like the wet/dry mix, or exploring more radical soundscapes like adjusting filter frequency and width in tandem on the Synth-O-Matic model. The expression pedal is a key performance tool for both live and studio work. You can also do the same thing via MIDI using MIDI continuous controller # 4.

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If you’re one of those types who’s used to the way an Expression Pedal works with the Line 6 FM4 Filter Modeler stompbox, you’ll want to listen carefully. The Filter Pro works a little differently, but the concept remains the same. You may also want to check out page 15 in this chapter which describes the intricacies of the Pedal Update Mode options. But for now, here’s the basics:

1. Make sure that your EX-1 is plugged into the correct jack on the back of your Filter Pro. From Program Select Mode, press and hold the Global button and then press the BPM button at the same time.

Basic Operation: Compare

2. With the EX-1 in the heel down position, set up your basic program (Model,

Speed, Frequency, Tweak, Tweez, etc.).

3. Move the EX-1 to the toe down position and set up a variation on the same program (note: you can change any knob but Model).

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4. Move the EX-1 from heel to toe and back while feeding a signal through your Filter

Pro so you can make sure that the program is working the way you want.

5. Store the program (if you like what you’ve done and want to keep it), or press BPM and Global at the same time. Either one will exit Pedal Assign mode. If you decide that you’ve made a bad decision (like the time you had one beer too many at the Mousetrap Dancing Festival), just press MIDI/Sys, and it will cancel everything you’ve done in Pedal Assign.

Compare

Wonder exactly what edits you’ve made? Do you want to get back to the original program settings? Did you increase or decrease the Vibrato Depth and now wonder what it was when you started out? It’s easy to tell! Whenever you’re editing a Program, you’ve also got some handy Compare information available. Just look at the Program display while you turn a knob. You’ll see that when you turn any knob to edit the program, one or more dots in the Program display will turn on, depending on whether you’ve turned the knob up or down versus the saved settings for the Program. As illustrated by the images below, there are three possibilities: If the left dot is lit, the current value is less than the stored version of the program. If the dot to the right is lit, it’s greater than the stored version. If both dots are lit, the value matches the stored program. Pretty simple, huh?

Less Than Stored

Equal To Stored

More Than Stored

Basic Operation: Saving a Program

Saving a Program

Okay, so you’ve edited a program and come up with your ultimate Comet Trails setting. Now what do you do? You save it so you can always amaze your friends with a quick psychedelic trip into oblivion, of course! There are a couple of different ways to save a program, so here goes with the explanation type stuff:

Regular Save

If you want to save your edits as a regular program, overwriting the program you started from, simply press the Save button twice. That’s it, no muss, no fuss, you’re done. If, on the other hand, you like the original program and want to keep it, but also like your edited version, you’ll need to save it to a new location. To do this, press Save once. The Save Button will start flashing quickly. (If you have never saved your own program to this location before, the display will show “FACT” to let you know that you’re saving over a factory setting. If you have saved to that location before, it will show “USER”.) Now, use the Program Select knob to choose the location where you want to save your new sound and press Save a second time.

Hint: It’s probably a good idea to go through all the presets and ﬁgure out which ones you like, which ones you could live without, and make a list of both. The best time to ﬁgure that one out isn’t when you’re trying to save a fabulous new program. And what if you blow it and overwrite one that you loved? Not to worry, just skip ahead a couple of pages to the section on Restoring Factory Settings.

Custom Save

Here we come to one of the very cool features of Filter Pro. If you love your new edited program so much that you just want it to pop up every time you select that model with the Model Select knob, you can do that, too. Just press Save once, so the button begins to flash. Then turn the Program Select knob all the way down. This will take you to an extra setting below 1 that shows up on the display as “FX”. When you see “FX” in the program display, press Save a second time, and your edited program will overwrite the default sound on the Model Select knob. Now, whenever you twirl that Model Select knob to “Comet Trails” it’s your very own, custom, amazing sound that pops up. It may not be quite as cool as a major label recording contract, but it’s getting there.

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