Ohm Force Ohmicide Reference Manual
Ohmicide Reference Manual
THIS MANUAL IS COPYRIGHTc OHM FORCE 2000-2007. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
NO PART MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION.
VST TECHNOLOGY BY STEINBERG MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES AG. ALL TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGED.
Ohmicide Manual v1.10
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
Thank you for purchasing Ohmicide, your
new huge-sounding, feature-rich, audiomangling tool!
So, how does it work? Basically, the plugin splits an input audio signal into userdefined frequency bands and processes
them individually through dynamic and
then distortion stages.
On the top of this, feedback sections and
other deviously designed goodies are included for you to mess up your sounds
even more, and a post-effect low-pass filter
can come in handy to tame any unwanted
high frequencies induced by all this madness.
All the processing is in stereo, and you’ll
discover that Ohmicide can create wide
sounds, through the use of the very stereo
per-band feedbacks, pans, and optional
mid-side processing(see pages 16 and 18).
Ohmicide is designed to help you quickly
shape any sound according to your needs.
It can be used in a subtle way to help
it fit better in the mix, in a more direct
way to give it more width and punch, or
it can even be used to radically change
the color. It works very well with drums,
voices, basses, guitars and synthesizers, in
fact anything you can throw at it!
As usual for Ohmforce products, we put a
great deal of effort into this one, and we
hope you’ll enjoy using it as much as we
enjoyed making it.
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Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
CHAPTER 2 Getting Started
Contents
1. Structure of this Manual . . . . . 3
2. Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3.1. Installing on Windows . . 3
3.2. Installing on MacOS X . . 3
3.3. Installing AudioUnit Presets 4
4. First Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1. Structure of this Manual
This manual is divided into 8 chapters:
I
Introduction briefly describes the design
of the plug-in and it’s usage,
I
Getting Started explains how to install
Ohmicide and get it working,
I
User Interface Features rounds up the user
interface features of Ohmicide and covers Automation and MIDI topics,
I
Using Ohmicide, shows you how to oper-
ate the effect
I
Settings File Reference explains the syn-
tax and use of a Settings File,
I
Ohmicide Default MIDI Mapping gives the
information necessary to control Ohmicide using MIDI,
I
MAC - 64 Mbytes RAM, 25 Mbytes hard
disk space, G5 compatible CPU, and
OS 10.1, but OS 10.2 is strongly recommended.
It is available on VST for Windows, and
VST/AU/RTAS for MacOS X.
3. Installation
3.1. Installing on Windows
Run the installer, an .exe file whose exact
name depends on the version you received.
Follow the on-screen instructions carefully.
You will be prompted to enter both your
User Name and Key Code. They have
been sent to you by e-mail or can be found
within your printed manual if you bought a
boxed version. Please enter the two codes
carefully, preferably using copy/paste to
avoid typos. Then you will be prompted
to choose one or more installation path,
depending on the plug-in version you are
installing.
3.2. Installing on MacOS X
Almost every internet browser will open
the file automatically, presenting a disk image on your desktop. If not, please locate
the .dmg file and double click it.
The disk image contains:
I
Version Notes summarize the difference
from one version of Ohmicide to another,
I
FAQ gives you some helpful information
on how to troubleshoot your plugin.
2. Requirements
The minimum requirements to run Ohmicide are:
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PC 64 Mbytes RAM, 25 Mbytes
hard disk space, Pentium III compatible
CPU, and Windows 98.
Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
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This manual,
I
The installer named Ohmicide Installer,
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A folder containing a collection of Presets in AudioUnit format for the AudioUnit installer only.
To install Ohmicide, double click the installer icon. Before the installer can copy
its file to your disc, it needs to have permission from your system to do it.
The first window will ask for your admin
password:
3
If you don’t know the admin password
please contact the system administrator,
generally the owner of the computer, who
should know it.
3.3. Installing AudioUnit Presets
You will find a folder containing a collection of Presets in the AudioUnit format.
Installing them depends upon the host you
use. Please refer to your host manual and
install them manually.
4. First Use
Open your favorite audio host and put
Ohmicide as an insert effect on an audio
track. A good way of getting a feel for
Ohmicide is to try the factory Presets. You
will find a frame with buttons in it, either
numbered or laid out like a keyboard octave. Click on each button to audition a
factory Preset.
The next screen is the plug-in installer.
Please follow the on-screen instructions
carefully. You will have to choose between
Classic Skin and Funky Skin (they cannot be both installed), and you will be
prompted to enter your User Name and
Key Code.
Turn the knobs by clicking on them and
dragging the mouse vertically.
If your mouse suddenly goes mad, don’t
call the cat, stay calm and locate the Setup
button. Click on it to open the menu
and deselect Enhanced Mouse Mode. This
behaviour may happen with some mice,
graphic tablets or trackball devices.
They have either been sent to you by email, or can be found within your printed
manual if you bought a boxed version.
Please enter those two codes carefully,
preferably using copy/paste to avoid typos.
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Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
CHAPTER 3 User Interface Features
Contents
1. Preset and Melohman Panel . . 5
1.1. Presets / Memorise . . . . 5
1.2. Load / Save Metapatch . 5
2. Using Knobs and Faders . . . . . 5
2.1. Direct action . . . . . . . . 5
2.2. Side-clicks . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3. Linked Knobs . . . . . . . 6
3. Tempo Control . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4. Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.1. Support . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4.2. VST and AU Limitations . . 6
5. MIDI Support . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5.1. Selecting MIDI Ports . . . 8
5.2. Binding Parameters to
MIDI Controls . . . . . . . 8
5.3. Saving and Loading MIDI
Configuration . . . . . . . 8
5.4. About Control Change
(CC) Messages . . . . . . 9
5.5. Unbind . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Neither the preset nor the Metapatch is stored on the disk at this
point. See next section.
1.2. Load / Save Metapatch
Use these two buttons to load and save
your Metapatches from and to the hard
disk. Note that loading a Metapatch will
not modify the current settings until you
either select a new Preset on the GUI, or
morph to a preset using Melohman (see
page 10). There are many Presets bundled
with your plug-in. Feel free to use the Presets as the basis from which to create your
desired sound.
2. Using Knobs and Faders
1. Preset and Melohman Panel
Each bank, or Metapatch,
contains twelve preset allocations. Metapatches can
be saved to your hard disk,
and are multi-platform,
thus enabling you to load them into any
sequencer on any computer.
1.1. Presets / Memorise
To activate a Preset simply click on any of
the twelve Preset buttons. The Preset will
be applied immediately.
After editing the on-screen parameters,
you may wish to memorise your new settings. To do so, click once on the Store
(or M) button; it will light-up. Then click
on the Preset button in which you wish
to store your new settings in the Metapatch. The Store M button will turn off automatically and you’ll be returned to Preset Mode.
All the knobs and the faders work the same way. There are two modes: direct action and side-clicks.
2.1. Direct action
You can move a Knob or Fader by clicking
directly on it and moving the mouse while
keeping the button pressed down. Each
button has a preferred direction for mouse
movement: vertical for Knobs and, for the
Faders, parallel to their layout.
If you move the mouse in the preferred direction, the Knob will turn quickly. However, if you move your mouse in the perpendicular direction i.e. horizontally for
Knobs, the movement will be slow and very
accurate. Some Knobs have notches which
lock to certain values. It is possible, however, to set the Knob position between two
notches by moving the mouse in the perpendicular direction, as mentioned above.
If you double click the control, it will be
reset at its default position.
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2.2. Side-clicks
3. Tempo Control
When selected, a Knob or
Fader display a blue shape with
lobes. If you click on a lobe,
the control will start to move
toward the lobe’s value. This enables you
to make very small adjustments with ease.
If you click on this zone, then move the
mouse without releasing it, the control will
move automatically and keep moving even
after you have released it. The further you
move the mouse, the faster the Knob will
move. To stop the movement, just click on
the Knob again.
The movement will stop by itself at the
end of the course or the lobe value. This
is especially useful during live sessions, as
you can have many parameters shifting at
the same time without having to use the
Melohman morphing feature.
If you double click the lobe, you will set
the control to the lobe’s value directly.
2.3. Linked Knobs
You can link similar parameters of different bands. This means that you can alter
a parameter in the four bands at the same
time — with a single click.
To do so, you have to click on the parameter with the right mouse-button (click
while holding the Control key on Mac systems with a single-button mouse). The
Knobs of the four bands will now move in
unison.
If you hold the Shift key and click on the
right mouse-button, the four Knobs move
at the same time but retain their relative
distance. For instance, if the original value
of the first Knob is 10% and the second
Knob is at 50%, when you increase the
value of the first Knob to 30%, you will
also increase the second knob to 70%.
You can undo the movement of the slave
Knob(s) by performing a right mouse
click while holding the Control key (the
Command key on Macintosh).
Because many plug-in applications are related to music and
therefore rhythm, it is necessary to be able
to synchronise to the tempo of the host
application. Some host programs can automatically synchronise the plug-in’s internal tempo with their own tempo. Alternatively, you can change the tempo by clicking on the buttons to the right of the numeric display. You can also type into the
numeric display itself. On the Ohmicide,
the tempo only affects morphing times.
When the host controls the
tempo, you won’t be able to manually set the plug-in tempo
4. Automation
4.1. Support
Every parameter is potentially automatable on RTAS, VST and AudioUnit platforms. However, depending on your host’s
capabilities, you may be restricted to a
fixed number of parameters, or even have
no automation capability at all. Check
your host’s reference manual for details
about parameter automation.
ProTools display the automated parameters on the plug-in interface itself. A green
triangle on a Knob indicates that automation is playing, and a red disc shows automation data being recorded.
4.2. VST and AU Limitations
Some host applications, such as Ableton Live and earlier versions of Steinberg
Cubase VST, have several limitations regarding plug-in automation. They can
handle only a few parameters, which is unfortunate as some Ohm Force plug-ins have
hundreds! As a consequence, some important parameters cannot be automated.
However, it is possible to get around this
limitation by using MIDI commands, or
changing the order that parameters are displayed in the host.
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Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
To change the order, you need to edit the
plug-in’s configuration file, by following the
steps below. We should warn you that this
section is rather technical!
Before editing the configuration
file, please save any changes you
have made to the plug-in to a preset as described in the Preset section above. Note also that if you
have used the host’s preset system you should first save those
presets using the plug-ins internal preset procedure, as the reordering of the parameters may
make those presets act differently
to what you expect!
You have two ways to proceed: you can either use the provided file or make your own
from scratch.
To load the provided configuration
file, activate the Settings/Load item
in the Setup menu. Locate the file
easy vst automation.cfg.txt in your effect’s installation folder and open it. The
configuration file is designed so that you
can manually move the parameters, that
you want to be automated, to the top of
the list, thus allowing them to be recognized by the host.
Now to change the provided configuration file. First save the current plug-in configuration using Set-
tings/Save (eg. my settings.cfg.txt).
Then load it into a text editor, along
with easy vst automation.cfg.txt so
you have a reference to work with. If you
examine the file, you can see that it consists
of a number of keys. Each key has a name
and a value (which might consist of other
keys, a recursive structure known as a tree
in scientific circles). Key names are separated from their values by an equals sign
(=), and complex key values are enclosed
by brackets.
The provided configuration file will be a
lot smaller than your own one. This is because it is a partial configuration, whereas
yours is a complete one. You can suppress
some irrelevant subkeys (like the MIDI section, for example) in order to make the two
files look more alike, however yours will inevitably remain longer.
Now let’s look at parameter reorder mapkey.
You’ll see many parameter names as the
file you have just saved will contain all
possible plug-in parameters. To change
the parameter order, simply move the parameters you want to automate to the top
of the list. You can specify a particular
order for the other parameters if you want
to, or you can simply suppress them (Suppressing them does not mean that they
will not appear any more, or become unavailable for automation, because when
loading the configuration file, the plug-in
will automatically find the best available
mapping for the suppressed parameters).
Once you have finished sorting the parameters to your liking, save your work and
load your configuration file into the plugin. The newly ordered paramters should
appear in the host’s automation lists as
you set them.
Finally, activate Settings/Autoload to automatically load your new file each time
the plug-in is opened.
5. MIDI Support
You can also use MIDI commands to control the plug-in parameters. MIDI can even
replace automation, because not only can
the plug-ins receive MIDI commands, they
can also transmit them. The effects are set
in “Omni”mode, meaning they can receive
MIDI commands from any channel. However, all commands are sent via Channel 1.
Commands can be regular CC (Continuous Controllers), or RPN and NRPN (NonRegistered Parameter Numbers). The decision as to whether to use CC or NRPN
will depend upon the capabilities of your
MIDI device. CC is commonly used by
Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
7
hardware devices, but NRPN has a higher
resolution, so is recommended if available
to you. The factory MIDI settings use
NRPN, but it is possible to change the
mapping at any time. The default mapping for Ohmicide is listed in the Ohmi-
cide default MIDI mapping chapter of this
manual.
Some hosts, such as Mackie
Tracktion or Ableton Live auto
connect the MIDI ports of audioconnected plug-ins. This can result of strange behaviour. However you can disable the MIDI
ports in the plug-in Setup Menu.
5.1. Selecting MIDI Ports
Depending on your host, your MIDI devices and your system settings, you may
have more than one MIDI port available
for MIDI input and output. If so, you
may want to select which ‘virtual’ port you
wish to use for receiving and sending MIDI
events.
To choose the input port — the one from
which MIDI data is received by the plugin — click on the Setup button, go to the
MIDI/Input device menu and select the
one you want. Do the same thing to select the output port, except, of course, you
will need to click MIDI/Output device. The
selected MIDI port will be ticked in the
menu. You can only use one input and one
output port at a time.
5.2. Binding Parameters to MIDI Controls
The easiest way to bind a parameter with a
specific MIDI controller knob or fader (or
any MIDI Control Change) is to use the
Auto-bind feature. First, activate Autobind mode by checking MIDI/Auto-bind in
the Setup menu.
If you have already selected a parameter
its name will be displayed in brackets in
the menu, like this:
Auto-bind [target: Volume]
If not, click on the Knob you want to bind
to a MIDI control message. Only the last
one selected will be taken into account for
binding.
Once you have chosen the parameter, send
a MIDI event to the plug-in (for example,
turn a knob on your external MIDI controller). It can be a simple CC, an RPN or
an NRPN command. As soon as the event
is received, the connection is created automatically, and the MIDI command will remain associated with this parameter. Only
one parameter can be bound to each MIDI
command, and visa versa. If you want to
Bind more parameters, repeat the procedure: select another parameter, and send
another MIDI event. Do not forget to exit
the Auto-bind mode, by un-checking the
corresponding entry in the Setup menu,
when you have finished.
Only one MIDI Input device is
available for AudioUnit plug-ins.
No MIDI output device is available for AudioUnit plug-ins.
If the connection fails, it is usually because
the port you selected is already in use by
another application — most likely the host
itself. In this case, check your host’s operating manual to see if it is possible to free
up the port.
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5.3. Saving and Loading MIDI Configuration
If you have numerous parameters to bind
each time you want to use the plug-in, you
can save the configuration for later use.
Currently selected ports will also be saved.
To do so, select Settings/Save in the Setup
menu. You can restore the settings at any
time by selecting Settings/Load.
Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
The MIDI configuration is not
stored with the Presets, and
therefore is not saved with the
host song. You will have to
load the settings manually after
loading a song on your host application. The true tech freaks
among you will notice one can
open the saved file in a text editor and tweak the configuration
from there. It is also possible to build partial configurations
by only keeping a couple of the
‘keys’. The content syntax is covered in the Settings File Reference
chapter of this manual.
they are used for RPN and NRPN coding.
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It is possible, but not advisable, to use
the fine tuned section at the lower end
of the controller range (32 to 63). This
will work, but if plug-in parameters are
assigned to coarse parts of the low controller range (0 to 31), the plug-in will
also output the fine commands, resulting
in possible interference. For example, if
you assigned Knob A to CC 20 and Knob
B to CC 52 (= 20 + 32), twisting Knob B
would output CC 52 messages, whereas
twisting Knob A would output both CC
20 and 52! Trying to record automation
in this manner could result in a host of
unnecessary complications.
5.4. About Control Change (CC) Messages
Although you can assign most of the CC
numbers to plug-in parameters, there are
some things to consider:
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You cannot use certain CC numbers like
Data Entry (6 and 38), Data Button Increment (96), Data Button Decrement
(97), nor you can use RPN and NRPN
Parameters 98, 99, 100 and 101, because
5.5. Unbind
Select the parameter you want to unbind.
Open the Setup menu. You can see that
the Un-bind menu item shows which MIDI
control the parameter is bound to. To unbind it, simply click on the Un-bind menu
item.
The Un-bind menu item is handy
to know which MIDI control is
currently bound to the selected
parameter.
Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
9
CHAPTER 4 Melohman
Contents
1. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2. Using Melohman . . . . . . . . . 10
3. Parameters on the GUI . . . . . . 10
3.1. Melohman Mode . . . . . 10
3.2. Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. Parameters in the Setup Menu . 11
4.1. Mapping . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.2. Sensitivity . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.3. Density . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.4. MIDI Channel . . . . . . . 11
5. Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5.1. Preset Morphing . . . . . . 11
5.2. Morphing Back & Forth . 12
5.3. Morphing triggered . . . . 12
5.4. Morphing sequence . . . 12
5.5. Mutation . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. Overview
This is probably the most innovative part
of Ohmicide. With Melohman, you can assign an octave of your MIDI keyboard to
control the settings of the effect. There are
five modes available :
I
Preset Morphing
to another, simply play the MIDI key that
corresponds to the target preset in the defined Melohman octave.
The time taken to morph from one preset to another is determined by either the Time parameter (default), or the velocity you play the MIDI key (optional). The lights on the preset buttons indicate the state of the morph; getting brighter on the target preset as the morph is closer to completion.
You can assign the Melohman octave to
a particular MIDI channel, and can also
set the octave to ’All Octaves’, so that
any key on the keyboard will activate the
Melohman functions.
Note that you can still press the 12 presets buttons on the GUI to change presets,
but the sound will change abruptly, with
no morphing.
3. Parameters on the GUI
Below is an explanation of
the Melohman controls.
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Preset Morphing back and forth
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Preset Morphing triggered
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Preset Morphing sequence
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Mutation
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Partial mutation
The Morphing modes let you morph between the 12 presets of the bank (or Metapatch). The mutation modes modify a reference preset and morph toward it.
2. Using Melohman
If you look at the preset layout on the effect,
you’ll see a remarkable simularity to a piano keyboard. To morph from one preset
3.1. Melohman Mode
This big knob allows you to choose the
current Melohman mode. We will explain
later the functionality of each Mode.
3.2. Time
This is the time parameter for the
Melohman functions. Its effect may vary
from one mode to another, but generally it
sets the maximum time it takes to morph
between different settings.
When you click on a preset button, the sound changes immediately.
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Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
4. Parameters in the Setup Menu
5. Modes
4.1. Mapping
This parameter selects the Melohman octave. Choose ’No MIDI control’ to deactivate control via the keyboard, and ’All octaves’ to make the Melohman octave loop
over the whole keyboard (so that, for example, playing any A key will always choose
Preset #10)
4.2. Sensitivity
This parameter sets the sensitivity of the
Melohman keys to note velocity. If set to
’None’, the morphing time will be determined by the Time parameter, whereas if
set to ’Full’, the morphing time is dependant on how hard you press the key. It
will be instantaneous at maximum velocity, and progressively longer the lighter you
press the key. The minimum time to complete a morph increases with lower Sensi-
tivity settings.
4.3. Density
This parameter sets the smoothness of
the morph. A high value will result in
smoother morphs but can be very CPU intensive, particularly if there are a lot of parameters changing.
Be careful when you change a
Melohman parameter while playing notes to control Melohman as
occasionally a note may become
stuck. If this happens, you’ll need
to either send a MIDI reset message or replay the stuck key to unstick it.
4.4. MIDI Channel
This parameter sets the MIDI channel for
Melohman control.
5.1. Preset Morphing
When you play a key, the sound starts to
morph toward the preset corresponding to
the key you press. If you then play a second key, the synthesiser morphs from its
current position to the newly selected preset, but will morph back to the intitial one
if you release this second key while keeping
the first one pressed.
For example, your current preset is C (#1).
You play E and the sound begins to morph
to preset #5. While keeping E pressed you
then play an A and the sound morphs to
preset #10. Releasing the A key will bring
the sound back to preset #5, and releasing
the E will stop the morph at its current
position.
Following the lights on the preset buttons
give you a visual clue as to the current state
of the morph.
There are many ways to use preset morphing. For example, you can:
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Press and hold a key to morph smoothly
to another preset,
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Rapidly hit a key which will slow morphing down as the current settings approach the destination Preset,
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Start a morph then interrupt it and
morph to another Preset, circulating between Presets without actually reaching
their full target parameter values.
Some parameters cannot be morphed (and also cannot be saved
with the presets, although they
are saved with a song). They are
the band Solo and Mute buttons,
and the Trim, Dry/Wet and Out-
put knobs. If you want to even
out the overall gain between the
presets, adjust the band Volumes
in each preset.
Copyrightc 2000-2007 Ohm Force Ohmicide Manual v1.10
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