SonicProjects OP-X FREE User Manual

SonicProjects

OP-X Free

MANUAL

www.sonicprojects.ch

Introduction

Congratulations on the OP-X Free!

The OP-X Free has got the same basic engine and sound as the full OP-X
while the available presets are limited to a few chosen ones and the GUI only
gives access to a few parameters. The OP-X Free can't load the patches and
banks of the full version and there's no vst automation or midi cc control.

However there's an extremely cheap way to get access to the complete OP-X
sound library and full automation: upgrade to „OP-X Player“!

OP-X Player has the same look as OP-X Free, but is able to load any OP-X
patch with identical sound as in OP-X. It comes with the full OP-X library (500
patches!) and there's automation and midi cc remote control.

If you also want to get access to all parameters and create your own sounds,
then you can upgrade again for a cheap price to the full OP-X, which gives
instant access to all 83 parameters on a huge and classy interface. All these
parameters can be automated and remote controlled with midi CC.

Separate Voice Design (SVD):

The technical structure of this synth ist quite unique. The enigine is based on
six totally independent voices which correspond to the voice boards of the
original godfather. There's no voice cloning to achieve polyphony as it is
normally the case in VST instruments. Each voice is a separate mono synth
with completely independent signal path and slightly different sound as it is the
case too in real analog polysynths.These imperfectnesses are one of the main
reasons for the organic and lively character of the old faithfull original.

The original only offered an „Auto Tune“ function which tuned the oscillators of
the voice boards. The warm up drift did detune the oscillators again after some
time and the „Auto Tune“ had to be repeated. When filters and envelopes were
detuned, then they had to be tuned with a screwdriver in the inside of the
device by tweaking a lot of trimpots on the voice boards.

The OP-X makes this easier. It offers four global buttons which let you tune or
again detune oscillators, filters, filter envelopes and portamento times on the
fly. The oscillators' tuning additionally can be altered contunuously with the
„spread“ knob which also works in polyphonic mode. Everything can be mixed
up in any combination of course. So there are a lot of options to achieve the
right sound with the wished amount of analog dirt.

The filters of OP-X are meticulously modeled after the legendary analog
counterparts which never sound thin even in high resonance settings. Those
filters are unbeatable for lively and fat sweeps and pads.

More infos on the OP-X engine:

http://www.sonicprojects.ch/obx/separatevoicedesign.html

Installation

Doubleclick the installer and follow the instructions.

The installer will search for the shared vst plugins folder. You can also browse
your computer for the vst plugins folder manually. The plugin will be installed in
a subfolder named „SonicProjects“.

The installer will also create a folder named „SonicProjects“ in your start menu.
You will find here the pdf manual and the uninstaller.

Note: You will need a vst host to run the plugin. Have a look at the „Hosting“
section right below for further information.

Remove the plugin:

Use the uninstaller in the „SonicProjects“ folder in the start menu.

License and copyright

The OP-X Free is free and can be shared without any limitations. It's not
allowed however to make any changements, involve it in other software
projects or make money by selling it. It's allowed however to use it in
commercial music productions and live events. All rights are owned by
SonicProjects.

Hosting

The OP-X Free can't be run in standalone mode. It needs a vst host to run. If
you don't have a one then have a look at our dedicated site where we have
listed some tested and recommended free vst hosts including short guides and
a lot of additional information:

http://www.sonicprojects.ch/obx/freevsthost.html

The voice LEDs

These LEDs indicate voice activity. Each voice has its propriate LED. That
means, when a voice is receiving trigger data to play, its propriate LED shines.
In unisono mode, all six LEDs are glowing at the same time. The original has
this LEDs too, but mounted on the individual voice boards in the inside of the
device. With their help, you could see that a voice was working correctly.

The TUNER section:

VOLUME

Master volume. Its setting is stored with the preset.

TUNER

The individually and slightly detuned voices can be tuned here. Read the intro
for comprehensive info on the voice tuning.

OSC

Tunes the oscillators. In released state, each voice is slightly and individually
detuned as it would be on startup in the original.

FILT

Tunes the filters. In released state, the filter cutoff of every voice is slightly
different, as it is the case in every original device that is not freshly serviced.

ENV

Tunes the attack and decay times of the filter envelopes. In released mode,
the attack and release time of every voices' filter envelope is slightly different.
This gives organic life to pad and sweep sounds.

A further tunable parameter are the portamento times.
The portamento times can be tuned in the „CONTROL“ section, see below.