Source Audio Soundblox Pro User manual
MULTIWAVE DISTORTION
USERS GUIDE
SA140
WELCOME
OVERVIEW
Thank you for purchasing the Soundblox Pro Multiwave
Distortion. The Pro Multiwave Distortion produces some
very unique distortion sounds and does not attempt to
model or emulate any classic distortions. It offers some
new and different distortions ranging from the more
organic to synth-like and octave sounds. The Pro version
offers extended features over the original Soundblox
Multiwave Distortion such as 6 user presets selectable
via 3 footswitches, a 7-band graphic equalizer, and much
more. Like the other Soundblox effects pedals, the Pro
®
Multiwave Distortion is also “Hot Hand
Ready”.
The Quick Start guide will help you with the basics. For
more in-depth information about the Pro Multiwave
Distortion (MWD Pro), move on to the following sections.
Enjoy!
The Source Audio team
DIVERSE SOUND PALETTE
Featuring
CLEAN BOOST/EQ mode.
MULTIBAND PROCESSING
Signal is split into multiple bands and distorted individually for unprecedented sound clarity.
STATE-OF-THE-ART DSP
Our proprietary
clear
6 USER PRESETS
Easy to congure user presets in two banks selectable via
for quick access of your favorite sounds.
7-BAND EQUALIZER
Ultra-precise
preset.
EXTENDED CONTROL
An expression input
banks. A
MOTION CONTROL
All Soundblox and Soundblox Pro pedals are “Hot Hand Ready” and can
be used with any Hot Hand motion sensor to extend the capabilities of
the unit.
23 varieties of our unique distortion algorithms with an added
56-bit Digital Signal Processor, the SA601, and crystal
24-bit converters.
3 footswitches
7-band equalizer for in-depth tone control saved per
(EXP IN) allows morphing of sounds between preset
MIDI input allows external access to presets and parameters.
ACTIVE ANALOG BYPASS
Bypass is fully routed around the
signal degradation.
DSP and active input ensures zero
QUICK START
SENSOR
IN
SENSOR
OUT
GUITAR IN GUITAR OUT
9V DC
EXP IN
MIDI IN
SENSOR
IN
SENSOR
OUT
GUITAR IN GUITAR OUT
9V DC
EXP IN
MIDI IN
125 250 500 1K 2K
(NG) (HG) (HS) (HA) (HR) (CR)
4K 8K
+12
-12
0
< >
+12
-12
0
SUSTAIN MIX
17
MULTI BAND
SINGLE BAND
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
18
19
21
22
CLEAN BOOST / EQ
CLEAN DIST
00
20
01
OCTAVE
NORMAL
FOLDBACK
OCTAVE
NORMAL
FOLDBACK
OUTPUT
HH ENABLE
CALIBRATEPRESET BANK
4-61-3
DRIVE
BACKPAGE
MODE
MULTIWAVE DISTORTION
14
25
36
1. POWER
To power the unit, connect the included
the
9V DC jack (A) on the back panel. Note:Using a different supply
could damage the unit and void the warranty.
2. GUITAR/AUDIO CONNECTIONS
Next, plug your guitar (or other instrument) into the jack labeled
GUITAR IN (B) via a standard ¼" cable. Connect your amp (or other
audio device) to the
¼" cable. Both input and output are mono signals.
GUITAR OUT jack (C), again with a standard
DC adapter power supply to
3. BRIEF KNOB, FOOTSWITCH, AND BUTTON DESCRIPTIONS
See Controls section for more details.
A SUSTAIN: adjusts input gain to the front-end compressor.
B DRIVE: the amount of distortion gain applied to the signal.
C PRESETBANKBUTTON: select preset bank A (presets 1, 2, and 3) or
B (presets
4, 5, and 6).
D EFFECTKNOB: selects the type of distortion.
E MIX: adjusts the mix of distorted signal to clean signal
F OUTPUT: adjusts the output level of the effect.
G HHENABLEandCALIBRATE: for Hot Hand use only.
H EQSECTION:the two buttons select the frequency band to edit
and the knob adjusts the value of the selected band.
FOOTSWITCHES: Enables/Disables a selected preset depending
I
on the currently selected preset bank. Press and hold to save
an edited preset.
A
A E
B
C
D
F
G
H
CB
I
Quick Start | 54 | Quick Start
THEORY OF OPERATION
17
MULTI BAND
SINGLE BAND
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
18
19
21
22
CLEAN BOOST / EQ
00
20
01
OCTAVE
NORMAL
FOLDBACK
OCTAVE
NORMAL
FOLDBACK
The Soundblox Pro Multiwave Distortion provides some unique distortion
sounds. In creating this effects pedal, we didn’t intend to duplicate, model, or emulate any existing types of distortion. The types of algorithms
we use to create the distortion are quite different from the standard set,
although with certain settings the result can sound similar.
One of the techniques used is to divide up the input guitar signal into
multiple frequency bands. Each band is separately distorted, and then all
are recombined. Because of this, you can achieve a lot of clarity between
notes on chords with complex harmonies. It’s possible to leave several
notes droning, while a melody is played on top. A normal distortion tends
to reduce such playing to mush by compressing and distorting low and
high notes together. Because of the multiple bands, it’s also possible to
get several notes feeding back at the same time. The rst
(labeled
8 (labeled
MULTI BAND) on the effect knob use band splitting while the last
SINGLE BAND) do not.
15 settings
The shapes of the distortion curves are also different from standard
distortions. Normally, as the input signal voltage rises, the output voltage
also rises, but begins to level off and nally pins (or clips) at a maximum
value. With a foldback curve, for large enough values of the input, the
output will begin to decrease. With more extreme amounts of foldback,
after decreasing for a while, the output can begin to increase again. Maximum foldback has many regions where the output alternates between
increasing and decreasing. These kinds of curves add a lot of high frequency content to the output. It also can provide a lot of control over the
sound, based on the level of the input signal. With heavy foldback, chords
containing only octaves and fths tend to sound best. Other intervals can
cause some strange, although not necessarily undesirable sounds.
Using a special shape of the distortion curve, strong second harmonics
can be created, sounding like a note an octave higher. Rolling off the
guitar tone control will help maximize the octave impression. Complex
chords don’t typically work well for octave settings. The result is very
sensitive to the input signal level (as long as the
SUSTAIN and DRIVE
controls are not set too high) and can give a sort of auto-wah effect. Try
dialing down the guitar volume for some interesting effects.
A conventional distortion effect tends to turn the guitar signal into square
waves. Playing harder only makes the transition from negative clipping to
positive clipping a little bit steeper. With our foldback and octave algorithms, a slightly higher input can have a radical effect on the shape of
the output signal.
The
MWD Pro features the same type of algorithms as the original Mulit-
wave Distortion but adds user presets and a 7-band equalizer and many
other control and parameter options.
Theory of Operation | 76 | Theory of Operation
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