M-Audio 2600 User Manual

TimewARP 2600

Getting Started Guide

Table of Contents

Getting Started with the TimewARP 2600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

In this document, you’ll learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What Is an ARP 2600? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Portable Modular Synthesizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Why Synthesize? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Basic Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Modular Synths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Synth Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

I/O Jacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Labels and Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Output Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Mix/Pan/Reverb Output Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Preamp Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Preamp/Gain Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Envelope Follower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

VCO Fine-Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

VCO 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

VCO 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

VCO 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

VCF Filter Cutoff and Resonance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

VCF Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

ADSR Envelope Generators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

VCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Pan and Reverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Pan Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Reverb Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Ring Modulator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Noise Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Voltage Processors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The Lag Processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Sample and Hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Internal Clock and Electronic Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Virtual Keyboard Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Dual-Pitch Control Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Gate and Trigger Control

The “Magic Logo” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Contact M-Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide

Getting Started with the TimewARP 2600

Welcome to the TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide. This document covers the product in greater depth than the Quick Start Installation Guide included in the box. For even more comprehensive product information and additional resources for Way Out Ware’s TimewARP 2600, please refer to the PDF manual included on CD.

In this document, you’ll learn:

< synthesizer terms and basic concepts of synthesis < the difference between TimewARP 2600 and the original ARP 2600 < how to navigate the main features of the TimewARP 2600 and their use < how the unique features of the TimewARP 2600 set it apart from other synth emulations

What Is an ARP 2600?

Portable Modular Synthesizer

Its design combined modularity (for studio ﬂexibility, and for instructional use) and integration (for real-time performance). Functionally, the ARP 2600 was completely modular: any signal output could be routed to any signal input with a patch cord. Operationally, the ARP 2600 was integrated, using internally-wired default signal paths that made it possible to create a wide range of keyboard patches by simply opening up slide attenuators, as though sitting in front of a mixing console.

“Classic ARP 2600 with add-on keyboard module”

Why Synthesize?

Samplers are synths that use actual recordings of instruments to create sounds, and many synth keyboards use pre-programmed sounds, but a truly modular synthesizer like the TimewARP 2600 lets you CREATE your own sounds from the ground up. By supplying you with the tools to generate, modify, and stack simple waveforms together, modular synthesis using the TimewARP 2600 provides nearly inﬁnite programmability so you can make wholly new, completely customized and personalized sounds that cannot be found anywhere else.

Learning to use a synthesizer is actually a lot easier to do than it looks at ﬁrst glance, and it’s tremendous fun once you get the hang of it. By their very nature, synthesizers make great teaching tools for audio instruction as well. Synths also allow experimentation with sound creation to an almost inﬁnite degree, making them the tools of choice for any sound designer.

Basic Waveforms

All complex sounds can be broken down into simpler ones, and the reverse is also true—you can combine simple waveforms (graphical representations of sound waves) into very complex and rich-sounding textures.

Synthesizers use oscillators (in other words, a simple waveform generator) to provide the handful of simple wave types. Then, you can add more oscillators, and layer the sounds together. Add some frequency control, some other effects and tricks, and the possibilities become inﬁnite.

a complex signal

can be made of simple ones like this

...and this...

...and a pinch of this

...and a dash of that

Sine Wave

Triangle Wave

Square Wave

Pulse Wave

Pulse Width Modulation

Sawtooth Wave

Harmonic Content

Varies with width

Harmonic Content

Varies with time

Harmonic Content

Modular Synths

The early synthesizers grouped together several “modules” that each formed part of a signal chain, but in these very early models they all had to be connected using patch cables. The ARP 2600 did away with much of this clutter, incorporating semi-ﬁxed signal paths, as well as the ability to re-patch modules. Also included was a separate keyboard module add-on, the 3620 module.

The basic operation of a synth involves the use of oscillators, which are sound-generation sources, routed through ﬁlters to shape or contour the sound, and then through ampliﬁers to boost the output. There can, of course, be other ‘stops’ along the way for additional sound modiﬁcations. Programming of any synth starts with these controls, and then involves adjusting any other modules until you get the sound you want. The ARP 2600 allowed for extreme ﬂexibility in routing, but still remained portable enough for live work.

TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide

Synth Glossary

Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) - simple sound wave generator.

Voltage-Controlled Filter (VCF) - a tone-shaping control. A typical EQ is really just a set of ﬁlters grouped together.

Filter Cutoff (FC) - the point at which a ﬁlter begins to reject frequencies. For instance, a low-pass ﬁlter will cut highs out of a signal beginning at a

certain point, only passing the low frequencies on.

Voltage-Controlled Ampliﬁer (VCA) - a loudness control for a signal.

Voltage Processor (VP) - simple utility functions for mixing, inverting, and shaping signals.

Control Voltage (CV) - a voltage-varying signal sent from a controller device to control a synth parameter.

Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) - a control voltage that works by generating subsonic lows that can be used to modulate a signal or other synth

parameters with a periodic oscillation, for instance to simulate phasing or warbling sounds.

Ring Modulator - used to create unusual sounds, it takes two signals (each with some frequency), and produces a signal containing the sum and differences of those frequencies. These frequencies will typically be non-harmonic, so the ring modulator can create some very clangorous or bell-like and “swooping” or “swooshing” sounds.

Envelope - the set of variations in how a speciﬁc sound attacks, decays, sustains and falls off from its onset to its complete fade-out.

Envelope Follower - A process that “listens” to a sound and tracks its amplitude envelope. You can use the resulting signal to control various other

synth parameters and effects, such as vibrato rate and depth, so that the effects intensify as the sound gets louder.

ADSR - “Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release” are the four controls used to contour the main amplitude variations in each sound’s envelope. These control voltages can also be used to modulate ﬁlter cutoffs or other synth parameters. These can have less than four stages, such as an AR envelope, or subdivide into more than four on some synths.

Feedback - by routing an oscillator’s output back to its own input, one can generate different kinds of distortion effects and other alterations of the sound.

Resonance - the intensiﬁcation of a sound created by increasing sympathetic vibrations, and usually generated around a ﬁlter cutoff frequency.

Sample and Hold (S&H) - A synthesizer module that outputs random control voltages periodically. The Sample and Hold Module captures a

frequency from a random waveform (noise) and outputs it as a control voltage for a deﬁned period of time, and repeats this process endlessly.

Multiplier (Mult) - a signal splitter/combiner circuit.

Gate/Trigger - a circuit that “waits” for a threshold voltage to be reached before it will pass or cut signals.

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