Sonic Charge Microtonic User Manual

Name: Sonic Charge Microtonic
Brand: Sonic Charge
SKU: 1791604
Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

4.5 (2)

version 3.1

Table of Contents

Introduction!..................................................................................	3
Architecture!.................................................................................	4
User Interface!..............................................................................	6
Top Section!..................................................................................	7
Drum Patch Section!..................................................................	11
Pattern Section!..........................................................................	19
Global Section!...........................................................................	23
Matrix Editor!..............................................................................	24
Open Preset Dialog!...................................................................	25
Open Drum Patch Dialog!..........................................................	25
Preferences Dialog!....................................................................	26
MIDI Config Dialog!....................................................................	27
MIDI Controllers And Keys!........................................................	30
MIDI Keyboard!..........................................................................	31
Computer Keyboard!..................................................................	32
Change History!..........................................................................	32
Requirements!............................................................................	39
Credits and Contacts!.................................................................	39
Copyrights And Trademarks!......................................................	40

Introduction

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Welcome to Sonic Charge Microtonic, the synthetic rhythm generator.

Microtonic is a VST and AudioUnits compatible plug-in featuring a powerful drum and percussion synthesizer combined with a pattern based drum machine engine. You can use it as a conventional sound module to play drum sounds from your MIDI keyboard or sequencer, or you can use the built-in pattern engine to play drum patterns in sync with your sequencer.1

In Microtonic, a single universal sound architecture is used to simulate a wide variety of sounds. The parameters and the configuration of this architecture has been carefully chosen to be as versatile as possible while still keeping Microtonic simple and straightforward.

The sound of Microtonic is 100% synthetic and rendered in real-time. No samples or pre-rendered waveforms are used. This means that you can modify the sound in real-time with instantaneous response by turning and dragging the knobs and faders of Microtonic. If your host supports parameter automation, you can record all parameter changes in your host sequencer for later playback with high accuracy.

Much work has been put into achieving optimal sound quality for Microtonic. There are virtually no compromises to the sound it produces. The oscillators are “over-sampled” and produce a clean sound without distortion or “aliasing” even at extreme frequency settings. The filters and equalizers have a full frequency response range and parameter changes are smooth and responsive. The sound synthesis in Microtonic is based on a proprietary technique that eliminates the need for low-resolution approximations and quantization. (This technology also gives all parameters virtually unlimited resolution.)

Furthermore, the triggering of drums is sample-accurate2 and envelope generators and modulators work at highest possible rate to give the sound a distinct sharpness. Microtonic works in any sample rate of your choice. In short, Microtonic delivers a quality that sets the standard for what synthetic drums and percussions should sound like.

Thank you for choosing Microtonic, I trust that you will find it a valuable addition to your palette of sounds.

/ Magnus Lidström

1Some hosts do not support synchronization of plug-ins and in this case, the built-in pattern engine will be disabled.

2Timing accuracy may be affected by the precision of the host preset.

Architecture

Sound Synthesizer

The sound engine of Microtonic offers eight channels of stereophonic sound (called drum channels or simply channels). Each channel has its own set of parameters that define its sound. Collectively these parameter settings constitute a drum patch. You work with one channel at a time and you can load and save drum patches individually. (The file extension for a drum patch file is “.mtdrum”)

The parameters of a drum patch are organized into four main sections: the Mixing Section, the Oscillator Section, the Noise Section and the Velocity Sensitivity section (from left to right on the screen).

The Mixing Section is the final stage in the audio processing chain. It mixes the oscillator and the noise generator and optionally distorts and equalizes the channel.

After this stage the audio from the various channels are mixed and sent to the host. Microtonic plug-in comes installed in two different versions, the “standard version”

(“Microtonic”) which offers two assignable stereo outputs and the “multiple output version” (“MicrotonicMulti”) which offers eight individual stereo outputs, one for each drum channel.

The Oscillator produces a steady or pitch-modulated tone. The oscillator features three different waveforms and typically provides the tonal quality and the pitch of a drum sound. For example, a low-frequency tone with a quick drop in pitch is often used to synthesize bass drums. A higher frequency setting and a slower drop in frequency can simulate the sound of a tuned drum like a tom. Other types of modulations can be used to create a vast variety of sounds.

The Noise Generator is used to add noisy elements to the sound. For example, it can be a noisy punch sound, such as the sound of a hand or a drumstick hitting a drum, or the sound of the vibrating snares on a snare drum. The noise generator also features a stereo mode where two uncorrelated noise sources are used for the left and right output channels. This mode creates a dispersed stereo effect similar to the sound of a reverb. Furthermore, the noise section features a multimode filter with low-pass, band-pass and high-pass modes as well as an amplitude envelope with different shapes allowing you to sculpt the noise just the way that fits your sound.

Lastly, we have a Velocity Sensitivity Section that controls how MIDI velocity and pattern accents affect the sound (see below for more info on pattern accents). You have three different settings; two of which controls the volumes of the oscillator and the noise respectively, and one that controls the amount of pitch modulation on the oscillator.

Pattern Engine

The Pattern Engine plays rhythmic patterns in sync with your host preset (that is, if your host supports tempo and song position synchronization of plug-ins). You have 12 different patterns to choose from, labeled A to L. Each pattern consists of up to 16 steps and you may chain them in series so that when one pattern ends the next automatically follows. Each step in turn has switches for triggering drum channels with either accented or normal velocity. (Accented velocity corresponds to a MIDI velocity of 127, the hardest you can hit a MIDI key, and normal velocity is 64.)

The Rate at which the patterns run is set globally for all patterns in a preset and is relative to the tempo of your host sequencer. The setting goes from 1/8, meaning that each step is one-eighth note in length, up to 1/32.

Each step of a pattern also has a Fill option that is used to create rapid drum rolls at a rate of your choice. Finally, a Swing parameter gives your rhythm a looser, more human feel by delaying the sixteenth notes that fall between the eights (this feature also goes by the name of “shuffle” in some products). The fill rate and the swing parameter are also set globally for the entire preset.

Pattern Changes usually do not occur in the middle of a pattern1. The patterns play to their full length before switching. You can automate and arrange pattern changes in a number of different ways. First, you have the chaining option where you create Chains of patterns that play after each other in series. As you only have 12 patterns to chain, this technique is somewhat inadequate for longer arrangements. One way to solve this is to automate pattern changes as parameter changes, provided your host supports this. (The current pattern selection is a parameter just as any other.)

Another technique is to use MIDI notes to trigger patterns and record these notes in a MIDI sequencer track (see MIDI Keyboard for details).

Notice that if you have odd pattern lengths, such as 7 or 13 steps, the pattern engine will synchronize its play position to the song position of your host sequencer in a manner that give consistent and predictable results regardless of where you start the sequencer. This can have the effect that the current step indicator jumps in peculiar ways if you switch between patterns of different lengths.

Similar to the synchronization of pattern changes, starting and stopping patterns is synchronized to the length of the currently selected pattern. However, unlike pattern changes, you can force the pattern engine to start and stop immediately by clicking twice on the Play and Stop Buttons. (Starting and stopping patterns may be automated as parameter changes, just like pattern changes.)

The pattern engine of Microtonic can also transmit MIDI notes. Thus, to the extent that your host preset supports it, you can use Microtonic to trigger other MIDI devices. The MIDI keys / note-numbers are the same as for reception (normally C1 to G1). The MIDI velocities depend on the accent settings (64 or 128).

Presets

The drum patch settings for all eight channels, all the 12 patterns and the global parameters together constitutes a Preset. In Microtonic, you will find several functions that operate on the entire preset, including functions to load and save presets to “.mtpreset” files.

Morph

Version 3.0 of Microtonic adds a creative feature called Morph. Morph lets you interpolate all drum patch parameters (for all eight channels) between two end-points using a single slider. Patterns and global parameters (like Swing) are not affected. While you morph, the drum patch knobs and faders will turn and move along. You can leave the morph slider at any position and edit the preset there (including copying, pasting, loading etc) and it will affect the two end-points according to where the

1 MIDI notes can be used to switch patterns immediately depending on the chosen Pattern Launch Mode in the MIDI Config Dialog.

morph slider is positioned. If the morph slider is to the far left or right, only the left or right end-points are affected. If the morph is centered, both end-points will change by an equal amount. Morph can be controlled with MIDI and automated, allowing you to use it both for performance (e.g. for dramatic build-ups) and for editing (e.g. exploring semi-random parameter settings).

Programs

The morph data, all patterns and global parameters together constitutes a Program. There are 16 programs in memory which you can instantly activate from MIDI or the user-interface at any given time without interrupting audio. These 16 programs are collectively known as the Program Bank, and it corresponds to the program bank accessible in VST hosts. By default, when you open a new instance of Microtonic, the last used 16 programs will be reloaded automatically. (This behavior can be changed with the Preferences Dialog.)

User Interface

The main window of Microtonic is divided into four main sections. At the top, you have the Top Section with the Sound Morph, Preset Browser and Channel Control. Below you will find the Drum Patch Section where the drum patch parameters of the currently selected channel are visible. At the bottom, you have the Pattern Section and the Global Section (including the master volume control of Microtonic).

Figure 1 Main Window

Menus

At the far left of each section, you will find a number of buttons for performing various functions. The buttons marked with down-pointing arrows are menu buttons; menus concerning the relevant sections will pull down when you click on these. As a shortcut, you may right-click anywhere in the main window (or control-click on Mac) to display a context menu. The context menus contain items that are relevant to the section or controller you click on.

Repeat Last Menu

You can Shift Click any menu button to repeat the last executed menu. This is especially useful for repeating functions such as altering and randomizing drum patches and patterns, shifting patterns left and right etc.

Knobs and Faders

Parameters are edited with the numerous buttons, knobs and faders found on the screen. Whenever you drag a fader or a knob, a hint window is shown displaying the name and setting of the parameter in question. The setting is displayed in the natural unit for the parameter, e.g. frequency settings are displayed in hertz (Hz) and note name and volume settings in decibels (dB).

Some keys on your computer keyboard modify the behavior of knobs and faders. If the Shift Key is held down, the rate of change is adjusted so that you can make finer adjustments. If the Control Key is held down (command key on Mac), the fader or knob will reset to its default value (i.e. the value of a newly initialized preset / drum patch). Finally, you can press the Alt Key when clicking a knob to temporarily change its mode from circular to linear or vice versa.

You can right-click any knob, fader or button in Microtonic to open a small menu with a few different choices that works directly on the controller. For example, you can use this menu to enter an exact textual value or assign a MIDI controller to the parameter.

Top Section

The Top Section of Microtonic contains both program controllers as well as a preset selector and channel buttons.

Figure 2 Top Section

Preset Selector / Browser

Select Channel with MIDI

Pitched MIDI Mode

Program Display / Selector

Sound Morph

Stop Voices with MIDI Note Off




Main Menu							Mute Buttons
Main Menu							Mute Buttons
Channel Buttons
Channel Buttons

Program Display

There are 16 program slots available in Microtonic. Clicking the program display will open up a pop-up menu where you can select which of the 16 slots you want to activate. There are also options for enabling MIDI Program Change messages as well as Write Protecting all programs. By write protecting the programs, any edits you make will be lost as soon as you switch to another program. (This can be handy in live performance situations.)

Sound Morph

This slider allows you to morph all drum patches of all channels simultaneously. Read the section above called Morph for information on how this slider works.

Select Channel with MIDI

When the Select Channel With MIDI option is turned on, Microtonic will select drum channels as you trigger them from your MIDI keyboard. This features is especially useful if you plan to use the MIDI controller mapping features to edit your drum patches (see the section on MIDI Controllers And Keys for more info).

Notice that there is no way to distinguish MIDI notes that come from your keyboard from notes that come from MIDI tracks in your host sequencer. Therefore, it may be a good idea to turn this option off before starting sequencer playback.

(This option is also available from the MIDI Config Dialog.)

Pitched MIDI Mode

Microtonic features a mode called Pitched MIDI Mode which allows you to play melodies with the drum patches on your keyboard. Clicking this button will switch this mode on and off. In pitched mode, the eight drum channels are addressed with MIDI channels 1 to 8 and you have the entire keyboard for each channel. C3 (note number 60) will play the “original pitch” of the drum patch.

MIDI channel 10 still responds like it does in standard mode, which allows you to control Microtonic fully from your MIDI keyboard (including changing programs, patterns and muting channels).

(This option is also available from the MIDI Config Dialog.)

Stop Voices with MIDI Note Off

Turning this option on will make Microtonic mute voices on MIDI Note Off messages. This allows you to change the length of drum sounds by changing the length of the notes in your sequencer. It is also useful when using Pitched MIDI Mode to sustain held midi keys.

(This option is also available from the MIDI Config Dialog.)

Main Menu Button

Click the main menu button to display the main menu. Here you will find functions that operate on the entire preset as well as some general utility and installation functions.

Undo / Redo

These choices undoes or redoes recent changes you have made. The “undo history” remembers up to 40 changes, but the history will be cleared every time you close the editor window. To conveniently undo or redo more than one step, use the Repeat Last Menu feature.

Open Preset

Choose Open Preset to bring up an “open dialog” that lets you load a Microtonic preset file (file extension “.mtpreset” or “.mtpg”). The open dialog features direct previewing of presets when you browse them as well as options to load only parts of preset (see Open Preset Dialog).

Save Preset As

Save Preset brings up a “save dialog” that lets you save the current preset settings into a Microtonic preset file (file extension “.mtpreset”).

Revert to Saved

Reloads the last saved version of the preset from disk. (Only available if the current preset has been loaded from or saved to disk.)

Cut Preset

This menu copies the current preset settings onto the clipboard and resets the settings in Microtonic.

Copy Preset

This menu copies the current preset settings onto the clipboard.

Paste Preset

This menu pastes preset settings from the clipboard. The current preset settings will be replaced by those on the clipboard. (Only available if a Microtonic preset is available on the clipboard.)

Initialize Preset

This menu choice will reset all preset settings, including all current drum patch parameters and all patterns.

Exchange Preset / Clipboard

This menu item exchanges the preset settings on the clipboard with the settings in Microtonic. This feature is useful if you would like to toggle between two different versions of a preset. Copy the first version, change the parameters (or load a new preset) and use this function to swap between the two different presets.

(Only available if a Microtonic preset is available on the clipboard.)

Transpose Preset

This will let you transpose the entire preset (all drum patches) by an arbitrary number of semitones up (positive) or down (negative). You can enter decimals for a finer precision than whole semitones. To repeat the transposition, use the Re- peat Last Menu feature.

Alter Drum Patches

Use this function to make minor random adjustments to all drum patches. To test various alterations, use the Repeat Last Menu feature.

Randomize All

Use this function to randomize all preset settings, including all current drum patch parameters and all patterns. Effort has been put into making the random function

create musically interesting results (with an emphasis on the word “interesting”, as in experimental, not necessarily musically pleasing). To test various random results, use the Repeat Last Menu feature.

Edit MIDI Controllers / Keys

This menu toggles the on-screen editing of MIDI keys and controllers mapping. See MIDI Controllers And Keys for a description on how this works.

MIDI Config

This menu item opens the MIDI config dialog described below in MIDI Config Dia- log.

Preferences

Choose this item to open the preferences dialog described below in Preferences Dialog.

Brings up a registration dialog where you register your copy of Microtonic. More information on how to purchase a registration key can be found on the Sonic Charge web site.

Read User Guide

Opens the Microtonic User Guide in your PDF reader.

About

Choosing this item will display a window with information on the version of Microtonic you are running.

Channel Buttons

There are eight channel buttons, one for each drum channel. Press a channel button to display and edit the drum patch parameters for that channel. The pattern editor will also display the triggers, accents and fills of the channel you select. The selected channel is indicated by a blue light.

You may trigger a channel to preview its drum patch by clicking a selected channel button again. If the Control Key is held down (Alt Key on Mac) the channel will be triggered accentuated (MIDI velocity 127), otherwise it will be triggered normally

(MIDI velocity 64).

The channel buttons also indicate when channels are being triggered. The button of a channel that is being triggered flashes quickly with a green light.

If you right-click a channel button a menu will popup offering a few different choices that works on the drum channel. From this menu you can for example cut, copy and paste entire channels, including the channel's pattern data for all patterns. This makes it easy to swap the places of two channels. Just copy the first channel to the clipboard, choose Exchange Drum Channel / Clipboard on the second channel, and paste back on the first channel again.

Mute Buttons

Pressing a mute button will toggle the muting of a channel. A muted channel will not respond to triggers from the pattern engine or MIDI notes. If a sound has already been triggered it will not be shut off by muting the channel. Thus, the muting differs from the muting on a mixer-console where the mute button turns the sound off and on instantaneously. If you are using Microtonic to control other MIDI devices, the

pattern engine will not generate MIDI notes for muted channels. Muted channels are indicated by a red light.

Holding down the Control Key (Alt or Command key on Mac) when clicking a mute button will solo that channel by muting all other channels, unless it is already soloed in which case it will be “un-soloed” by “un-muting” all channels.

The mutes can also be controlled from the MIDI keyboard, normally with the keys C2 to G2 (MIDI note-number 48 to 55), but this may be customized to your preference (see MIDI Controllers And Keys). The channels will be muted for as long as you hold the key(s) down. (Muting from the MIDI keyboard cannot be automated by the parameter automation features in your host as opposed to muting with mouse-clicks or from the computer keyboard, instead you can record the MIDI mutes in a MIDI track.)

Drum Patch Section

In the middle of the main window you have the drum patch section. This section contains all the controls for altering the drum patch of the currently selected channel.

Drum Patch SelectorFigure 3 Drum Patch Section

Drum Patch Selector

Drum Patch Menu

Open Drum Patch

Save Drum Patch

Edit All Channels

If the current drum patch has been loaded from or saved to disk the Drum Patch Selector will display its name. Use the buttons on the left and right-hand side of the name display to flip through patches on disk and click inside the name display to bring up a list with all the patches in the current directory. If the drum patch is modified, a star (*) is appended to the name. Note that you cannot explicitly rename a patch without saving it with a new name.

Drum Patch Menu Button

Click the drum patch menu button to open up the drum patch menu. The drum patch menu contains functions that operate on the drum patch of the currently selected channel.

Open Drum Patch

Brings up an “open dialog” that lets you load a Microtonic drum patch file (file extension “.mtdrum” or “.mtdp”). The open dialog features direct previewing of drum patches when you browse them (see Open Drum Patch Dialog).

Save Drum Patch

Brings up a “save dialog” that lets you save the current drum patch parameters

(of the selected channel) into a Microtonic drum patch file (file extension “.mtdrum”).

Cut Drum Patch

This menu copies the current drum patch parameters (of the selected channel) onto the clipboard and resets the parameters in Microtonic.

Copy Drum Patch

This menu copies the current drum patch parameters (of the selected channel) onto the clipboard.

Paste Drum Patch

This menu pastes drum patch parameters from the clipboard. The patch on the clipboard will replace the parameters of the selected channel. (Only available if a

Microtonic drum patch is available on the clipboard.)

Initialize Drum Patch

This menu choice will reset all drum patch parameters of the selected channel to their default settings.

Exchange Drum Patch / Clipboard

This menu choice exchanges the drum patch parameters on the clipboard with the parameters of the selected channel in Microtonic. This feature is useful if you would like to toggle between two different versions of a patch. Copy the first version, change the parameters (or load a new patch) and use this function to swap between the two different patches. It is also useful if you want to swap the drum patches of two different channels. (Only available if a Microtonic drum patch is available on the clipboard.)

Transpose Drum Patch

This will let you transpose the drum patch by an arbitrary number of semitones up (positive) or down (negative). You can enter decimals for a finer precision than whole semitones.

Alter Drum Patches

Use this function to make minor random adjustments to the drum patch.

Randomize Drum Patch

Use this function to randomize the drum patch entirely.

Open Drum Patch Button

Press this button to bring up an “open dialog” that lets you load a Microtonic drum patch file (file extension “.mtdrum or “.mtdp”). The loaded patch will replace the current patch parameters of the selected channel.

(This is a shortcut for “Open Drum Patch” in the Drum Patch Menu.)

Save Drum Patch Button

Press this button to up a “save dialog” that lets you save the current drum patch parameters (of the selected channel) into a Microtonic drum patch file (file extension “.mtdrum”).

(This is a shortcut for “Save Drum Patch” in the Drum Patch Menu.)

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