MFB Dominion 1 User Manual

Operating Manual

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MFB – Ingenieurbüro Manfred Fricke (Engineering office)
Neue Str. 13
14163 Berlin - Germany
www.mfberlin.de

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DISCLAIMER

MFB will not assume any responsibility for errors which
may occur in this manual. The content of these
instructions is subject to change without prior notice.
When this manual was created, good care was taken to
exclude any mistakes and contradictions. MFB will not
accept any guarantees for this manual except those
provided by commercial law.
No part of this user manual is allowed to be reproduced
without the expressly written consent of the
manufacturer.

GENERAL SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

Please carefully read these safety instructions, before
start using the device. They comprise basic rules for the
use of electronic devices. Please read all the notes.

Suitable location

• Only operate the device in closed rooms.

• Never operate the device in humid environments

• Do not operate the device in dusty or dirty

environments.

• Ensure unhindered air supply to all sides of the device.

• Do not place the device in proximity of heat sources.

• Do not expose the device to direct sunlight.

• Do not expose the unit to heavy vibration.

Mains connection

• Only use the supplied connection cable.

• If the supplied mains connector does not fit into your

socket you should consult a qualified electrician.

• Disconnect the mains connector from the socket if

you do not use the device for a longer period of time.

• Never touch the mains connector with wet hands.

• When disconnecting, always pull the connector and

never the cable.

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Operation

• Never place any vessels containing liquids on top of

the device.

• Ensure that the device cannot move during

operation.

• Ensure that no objects can get inside the device.

Should this happen, switch the device off and
disconnect it from the mains. Then, contact a
qualified technician.

Maintenance

• Do not open the device. Any repair or maintenance

should only be done by qualified tech personnel.
There are no parts inside the device that could be
maintained by the user. You will also lose your right to
claim warranty if you open the device.

• Only use a dry, smooth cloth or brush for cleaning the

device. Do not use any alcohol, solvents or similar
chemicals. These will damage the surfaces.

Proper use

This device is exclusively intended for creating audio
signals and creating and processing control signals
according to the MIDI and CV/Gate (1V/Oct.)
standards. Any other use is not permitted and will
exclude any warranty claims towards MFB.

Disposal

This device has been manufactured RoHS-conforming in
compliance with the requirements of the European
parliament and council and thus is free from lead,
mercury, cadmium and chromium.
Nevertheless, this product is special waste and must not
be disposed in ordinary household waste.
For disposal, please contact your local dealer, MFB's
local distributor or www.mfberlin.de.

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Table of Contents

General 6
Setup 6
OSCILLATORS 7
VCO - Modulation 8
VCO - Synchronization 9
VCO - Frequency Modulation (FM) 10
MIXER 11
FILTER 12
VCF - Modulation 13
ENVELOPES 14
LFOs 15
MODULATION / LFO3 16
PITCH 17
Key Functions - Aftertouch 18
Single-/Multi-Trigger 19
Glide 19
VCA 19
VELOCITY/PROGRAMMING 20
VELOCITY - Routing 20
SYSTEM SETTINGS 22
Preset Selection 24
Saving Presets 24
Program Changes 24
SHIFT - Functions 24
ARPEGGIATOR 26
SEQUENCER 28
Playing Sequences 28
Creating Sequences 28
Editing Sequences 29
PATCH PANEL CONNECTIONS 30
REAR PANEL CONNECTIONS 33
MIDI IMPLEMENTATION 34

Note: We have included schematic views of the
described sections for better understanding. All names of
controls, switches and jacks are printed bold and exactly
spelled as labeled on the unit.

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General

Dominion I is a monophonic analogue synthesizer.
Among its most important characteristics are a threefold
oscillator section that can be played paraphonically with
up to three voices, a new designed multimode filter with
twelve operational modes, 128 memory locations, step
sequencer and arpeggiator, versatile MIDI and
CV/Gate-control as well as a three octave keyboard
with two ribbon elements for pitch and modulation.

Setup

Dominion I is powered by an internal power supply.
Connect the provided power chord to the
corresponding socket on the unit's rear panel. Find the
corresponding on/off switch alongside.
Make sure to connect the unit's AUDIO OUT to a mixing
console, an audio-interface or an amplifier before
switching on. Toggle the aforementioned switch to turn
Dominion I on and off.

In case Dominion I is not played using its keyboard, the
unit is addressed via its MIDI or CV/Gate connectors.
Connect the Midi IN input to the MIDI output of a
keyboard or a computer MIDI-interface. Alternatively,
use inputs CV VCO1 (as well as VCO2 and VCO3) and
GATE to connect to an analogue sequencer or CV/Gate
keyboard.

Note: Dominion I uses analogue circuits. It is therefore
recommended to "warm up" the unit for 5 to 10 minutes
to ensure solid tuning.

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OSCILLATORS

Dominion I utilizes three voltage controlled oscillators
(VCO) with almost equal functions. Differences are to be
found for the Tune controls and ring modulation. All
described functions are valid likewise for VCO1, VCO2
and VCO3.

Use the four-stage selector Wave to choose the
waveform. Available choices are triangle, saw tooth,
square and ring modulation resp. XOR. When set to

Ring/XOR, the oscillators modulate each other as follows:

VCO1 – VCO1 <> VCO2 (resp. external signals RM X/Y In)
VCO2 – VCO2 <> VCO3
VCO3 – VCO3 <> VCO1

Oscillator 1 offers an analogue ring modulator, while
oscillators 2 and 3 each utilize a digital ring modulator
with so called XOR wiring which offers a rough sounding
character.
To be able to hear the ring modulation of VCO1, you
have to turn up RM Y In in the mixer section. In alternative
to VCO2 and/or VCO1, external audio signals can be fed
into the connectors RM X In and RM Y In on the unit's top
panel (see page 32).

The Tune control for VCO1 sets the general tuning for all
three oscillators. The available range is approx. ±6 semi
tones.
The Tune controls for VCO2 and VCO3 set the tuning for
the respective oscillators. The range is approx. ±13 semi

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tones, allowing detuning by a little more than a full
additional octave.

Use the four-stage selector Octave to adjust the octave
range for each oscillator. Select between 32’, 16’, 8’, 4’,

2’ and 1’.

VCO – Modulation

Each VCO can individually be modulated. The
Modulation control adjusts the respective modulation
intensity whereas the modulation target depends on the
setting of the Mod Select selector.

The six-stage selector Mod Select allows choosing a
specific modulation path for the corresponding oscillator.
The choices available are:

Level – pre-mixer level modulation by LFO1
Pitch1 – pitch modulation by LFO1 (up to ± 2 octaves)
Pitch2 – pitch modulation by LFO2 (up to ± 2 octaves)
AD– pitch modulation by envelope AD
PWM – modulation of waveform symmetry by LFO1
PW – manual modulation of waveform symmetry by
Modulation control

Note: With Mod Select being switched to a new position

from PW, the former Modulation setting (waveform
symmetry) is being preserved. This allows to modulate a
narrow square wave (e.g.) in volume and pitch. Even
with a pitch modulation being selected, e.g. by a LFO,
the symmetry can still be manually altered or modulated.
However, with Mod Select being set to PWM the pulse
width will always be modulated starting from a 50%
position.

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Note: When switching Mod Select, the new function will
be activated after having moved the Modulation
control.

Note: Although this function has been labeled PW resp.
PWM, meaning pulse width (modulation), the parameter

modifies the symmetry of all VCO waveforms. Using the
Modulation control, the curves change as follows when
turned from left to right:

Wave Triangle – triangle to sine
Wave Saw tooth – saw tooth to triangle
Wave Square – 50 to 95% pulse width (center ≈ 75%)

VCO – Synchronization

All three oscillators of
Dominion I can be hard­synced. Here, the main
oscillator will dictate its
pitch to the synced
partner. Changing the
tuning of the synced
oscillator using Tune or Modulation will lead to drastic
timbral changes.

The best settings for typical sync-sounds are Pitch1 resp. 2
and AD selected for the modulation path (using Mod
Select). VCO1 always acts as main oscillator. However,
an external signal fed into input Sync In may replace its
signal (see page 31).

Use the two Sync buttons for oscillators 2 and 3 to
individually enable the sync function. The corresponding
red LEDs will then be lit.

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VCO – Frequency Modulation (FM)

Use the frequency modulation section to modulate
VCO1 and VCO2 in pitch by VCO3. Depending on the
settings and intervals, this leads to metallic and atonal
sounds. Use the four-stage selector FM Source to set the
modulation target:

OFF – no frequency modulation
VCO1 – is being modulated by VCO3
VCO2 – is being modulated by VCO3
VCO1+2 – are being modulated commonly by VCO3

FM Mod sets the amount resp. intensity of the frequency

modulation.

Use the six-stage selector FM Mod Select to set a
modulator for the FM-intensity. When set to Manual, the
FM-intensity is being manually controlled by the FM Mod
control.
With LFO1, LFO2, ADSR1, ADSR2 or AD being selected, FM
Mod will adjust the modulation amount of the selected
modulation source.

In lieu of VCO3, an external signal being fed into the FM
In jack (see page 31) can be used as modulator.

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MIXER

Controls VCO1, VCO2 and
VCO3 set the oscillators'

output level, prior entering
the filter stage. With all
controls set to full level, the
filter input will be slightly
overdriven.

Noise/Ext adjusts the level of
the internal noise generator
(white noise).

With the input labeled Ext In
being used, the noise
generator will be replaced
by an audio signal being fed
in here.
The corresponding Noise/Ext
control will then set the level
for the external audio signal.

The RM Y In control adjusts the level of the ring
modulated signal of VCO2 resp. an audio signal being
fed into the RM Y In jack.

Note: In order to hear any ring modulation results, the
VCO1 mixer control needs to be turned on. RM Y In will

be inactive without having selected VCO1 for RM (see
page 7).

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