Steinberg Nuendo - 5.0 User Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer, Heike Schilling

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.

All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista and Windows 7 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks. MP3SURROUND and the MP3SURROUND logo are registered trademarks of Thomson SA, registered in the US and other countries, and are used under license from Thomson Licensing SAS.

Release Date: April 13, 2010

7 About this manual

8 Welcome!

9 System requirements and installation

10 About this chapter 10 Minimum requirements 10 Installing the Nuendo Expansion Kit 10 Register your software

11 The included VST instruments

12 Introduction 12 Prologue 21 Spector 29 Mystic 37 HALionOne 38 Groove Agent ONE 43 LoopMash 47 Embracer – Surround Pad Synthesizer 49 Monologue – Monophonic Analog Modeling

Synthesizer

52 Diagrams

54 Editing drums

55 The Drum Editor – Overview 57 Drum Editor operations 58 Working with drum maps 61 Using drum name lists

62 VST Expression

63 Introduction 64 VST Expression in Nuendo 67 Creating and editing expression maps

70 How the Score Editor works

71 About this chapter 71 Welcome! 71 How the Score Editor operates 71 MIDI notes vs. score notes 72 Display Quantize 74 Entering notes by hand vs. recording notes

75 The basics

76 About this chapter 76 Preparations 76 Opening the Score Editor 76 The project cursor 76 Playing back and recording 77 Page Mode 77 Changing the zoom factor 78 The active staff 78 Making page setup settings 78 Designing your work space 80 About the Score Editor context menus 80 About dialogs in the Score Editor 81 Setting clef, key, and time signature 85 Transposing instruments 85 Printing from the Score Editor 85 Exporting pages as image files 86 Working order 87 Force update

88 Transcribing MIDI recordings

89 About this chapter 89 About transcription 89 Getting the parts ready 89 Strategies: Preparing parts for score printout 90 Staff settings 90 Situations which require additional techniques 91 Inserting Display Quantize changes 92 Strategies: Adding Display Quantize changes 92 The Explode function 92 Using “Scores Notes To MIDI”

Table of Contents

94 Entering and editing notes

95 About this chapter 95 Score settings 96 Note values and positions 97 Adding and editing notes 99 Selecting notes 100 Moving notes 101 Duplicating notes 102 Cut, copy, and paste 102 Editing pitches of individual notes 103 Changing the length of notes 104 Splitting a note in two 104 Working with the Display Quantize tool 104 Split (piano) staves 105 Strategies: Multiple staves 106 Inserting and editing clefs, keys, or time signatures 107 Deleting notes

108 Staff settings

109 About this chapter 109 Staff settings 109 Making settings 109 Working with staff presets 110 Staff names 110 Key and clef 110 Display Quantize and Interpretation Options 113 Display Transpose 113 The Options tab 114 The Polyphonic tab 114 The Tablature tab

124 Additional note and rest formatting

125 About this chapter 125 Background: Note stems 125 Setting stem direction 126 Stem length 126 Accidentals and enharmonic shift 127 Changing the note head shape 128 Other note details 129 Coloring notes 129 Copying settings between notes 129 Handling beaming 133 About tied notes 135 Graphic moving of notes 135 Cue notes 136 Grace notes 137 Tuplets

139 Working with symbols

140 About this chapter 140 Background: The different layers 141 The Symbols Inspector 142 Important! – Symbols, staves, and voices 143 Adding symbols to the score 149 Selecting symbols 150 Moving and duplicating symbols 153 Changing length, size, and shape 154 Deleting symbols 154 Copy and paste 154 Alignment 155 Symbol details

115 Polyphonic voicing

116 About this chapter 116 Background: Polyphonic voicing 117 Setting up the voices 118 Strategies: How many voices do I need? 119 Entering notes into voices 119 Checking which voice a note belongs to 119 Moving notes between voices 121 Handling rests 121 Voices and Display Quantize 122 Creating crossed voicings 123 Automatic polyphonic voicing – Merge All Staves 123 Converting voices to tracks – Extract Voices

Table of Contents

161 Working with chords

162 About this chapter 162 Inserting Chord symbols 164 Global chord settings

165 Working with text

166 About this chapter 166 Adding and editing text symbols 168 Different types of text 172 Text functions

175 Working with layouts

176 About this chapter 176 Background: Layouts 176 Creating a layout 176 Opening a layout 176 Layout operations 177 Using layouts – an example 178 Marker Track to Form

179 Working with MusicXML

180 Introduction 181 Importing and exporting MusicXML files

183 Designing your score: additional

techniques

184 About this chapter 184 Layout settings 185 Staff size 185 Hiding/showing objects 186 Coloring notes 187 Multiple rests 187 Editing bar lines 188 Creating upbeats 189 Setting the number of bars across the page 190 Moving bar lines 190 Dragging staves 192 Adding brackets and braces 192 Auto Layout 194 Reset Layout 194 Breaking bar lines

204 The score and MIDI playback

205 About this chapter 205 Scores and the Arranger mode 205 The MIDI Meaning function 206 Dynamic crescendo symbols

207 Tips and Tricks

208 Overview 208 Useful editing techniques 209 Frequently asked questions 211 If you wish you had a faster computer

212 Index

196 Scoring for drums

197 About this chapter 197 Background: Drum maps in the Score Editor 197 Setting up the drum map 199 Setting up a staff for drum scoring 199 Entering and editing notes 199 Using “Single Line Drum Staff”

200 Creating tablature

201 About this chapter 201 Creating tablature automatically 202 Creating tablature manually 202 Tablature number appearance 203 Editing 203 Note head shape

Table of Contents

About this manual

Welcome!

This is the manual for Steinberg’s Nuendo Expansion Kit. The Nuendo Expansion Kit adds a number of music composition functions from Steinberg’s Cubase (the “Cubase Music Tools”) to your Nuendo application.

These features and functions, or more precisely the included VST instruments, the Drum Editor (and drum map support), the handling of VST expression maps as well as the Score Editor are described in detail in the following chapters.

About the program versions

The documentation covers two different operating systems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X.

Some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms. This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. In other words:

Ö If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac OS X.

Key command conventions

Many of the default key commands in Nuendo use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] under Windows and [Command]-[Z] under Mac OS X.

When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:

[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]

For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] under Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”.

Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.

Ö Please note that this manual often refers to right-clicking, e.g. to open context menus, etc. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.

About this manual

System requirements and installation

About this chapter

Installing the Nuendo Expansion Kit

This chapter describes the requirements and installation procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version.

Minimum requirements

Your computer must meet the following requirements:

Windows

• Windows XP (Home or Professional, Service Pack 2, 32-bit), or Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), or Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)

• 2 GHz processor (Dual Core processor recommended)

•1024 MB RAM

• Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware; ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low latency performance.

• Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels recommended

•4 GB of free hard disk space

• QuickTime 7.1 and video card supporting OpenGL 1.2 (OpenGL 2.0 recommended) required for video playback

• USB-eLicenser and USB component connector

• DVD ROM drive required for installation

• Internet connection required for license activation

Macintosh

• Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.6

• Intel Core processor (Intel Core Duo recommended)

•1024 MB RAM

• CoreAudio compatible audio hardware

• Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels

•4 GB of free hard disk space

• QuickTime 7.1 and video card supporting OpenGL 1.2 (OpenGL 2.0 recommended) required for video playback

• USB-eLicenser and USB component connector

• DVD ROM drive required for installation

• Internet connection required for license activation

The installation procedure puts all files in the right places, automatically.

Windows

1. Insert the Nuendo Expansion Kit DVD into the DVD drive of you computer.

2. Double-click the file called “Setup.exe”.

3. Follow the instructions on screen.

The installation process also includes the activation of the program license on your USB-eLicenser. This is the same procedure as for Nuendo.

Macintosh

1. Insert the Nuendo Expansion Kit DVD into the DVD drive of you computer.

2. Double-click the file “Nuendo Expansion Kit 5.mpkg”.

3. Follow the instructions on screen.

The installation process also includes the activation of the program license on your USB-eLicenser. This is the same procedure as for Nuendo.

Register your software

We encourage you to register your software! By doing so you are entitled to technical support and kept aware of up dates and other news about your product.

There are two ways to register:

• In Nuendo, open the Help menu and select the Registration option.

This option is an Internet link that opens the Registration page of the Steinberg web site. To register, simply follow the instructions on screen. When you launch Nuendo, you also get prompted to launch the registra tion process.

• Included on the installation DVD, you can find a registration form in PDF format. To register, print out the form, enter all required information and send it to Steinberg.

System requirements and installation

The included VST instruments

Introduction

This chapter contains descriptions of the included VST instruments and their parameters.

Ö Most of the included instruments are compatible with VST3, this is indicated by an icon in front of the name (for further information, see the section “About VST 3” in the chapter “Audio effects” in the Operation Manual).

Prologue

Ö The signal flow of the Prologue synth is illustrated in the section “Diagrams” on page 52.

Sound parameters

Oscillator section

This section contains parameters affecting the 3 oscillators. These are located in upper half of the instrument panel.

Selecting Waveforms

Each oscillator has a number of waveforms which are selectable by clicking on the waveform name in the box located in each oscillator section.

Prologue is modelled on subtractive synthesis, the method used in classic analog synthesizers. It has the following basic features:

• Multimode filter

Variable slope low pass and high pass, plus band pass and notch filter modes – see

“About the filter types” on page 16.

• Three oscillators, each with 4 standard waveforms plus

an assortment of specialized waveforms.

See “Selecting Waveforms” on page 12.

• Frequency modulation.

See “About frequency modulation” on page 14.

• Ring Modulation.

See “Ring modulation” on page 15.

• Built-in effects.

See “Effects (EFX) page” on page 20.

• Prologue receives MIDI in Omni mode (on all MIDI

channels).

You do not have to select a MIDI channel to direct MIDI to the Prologue.

The included VST instruments

The following waveforms are available:

Waveform Description

Sawtooth This waveform contains all harmonics and produces a

Parabolic This can be described as a “rounded” sawtooth wave-

Square Square waveforms only contain odd number harmonics,

bright and rich sound.

form, producing a softer timbre.

which produces a distinct, hollow sound.

Waveform Description

Triangle The triangle waveform generates only a few harmonics,

Sine The sine wave is the simplest possible waveform, with no

Formant 1–12 Formant waveforms emphasizes certain frequency bands.

Vocal 1–7 These are also formant waveforms, but specifically vocal-

Partial 1–7 Partials, also called harmonics or overtones, are a series

Reso Pulse 1–12

Slope 1–12 This waveform category begins with a complex waveform

Neg Slope 1–9

spaced at odd harmonic numbers, which produces a slightly hollow sound.

harmonics (overtones). The sine wave produces a neu tral, soft timbre.

Like the human voice, musical instruments have a fixed set of formants, which give it a unique, recognizable tonal color or timbre, regardless of pitch.

oriented. Vowel sounds (A/E/I/O/U) are among the wave forms found in this category.

of tones which accompany the prime tone (fundamental). These waveforms can be described as producing inter vals with two or more frequencies heard simultaneously with equal strength.

This waveform category begins with a complex waveform (Reso Pulse 1), that emphasizes the fundamental fre quency (prime). For each consecutive waveform in this category, the next harmonic in the harmonic series is emphasized.

(Slope 1), with gradually decreasing harmonic complexity the higher the number selected. Slope 12 produces a sine wave (no harmonics).

This category also begins with a complex waveform (NegSlope 1), but with gradually decreasing low fre quency content the higher the number selected.

• To hear the signal generated by the oscillator(s), the

corresponding Osc controls in the oscillator sections must be turned clockwise to a suitable value.

OSC 1 parameters

Oscillator 1 acts as a master oscillator. It determines the base pitch for all three oscillators. Oscillator 1 features the following parameters:

Parameter Description

Osc 1 (0–100)

Coarse (±48 semitones)

Fine (±50 cent)

This controls the output level of the oscillator.

This determines the base pitch used by all oscillators.

Fine tunes the oscillator pitch in cent increments (100th of a semitone). This also affects all oscillators.

Parameter Description

Wave Mod (±50)

Phase button (On/Off)

Tracking button (On/Off)

Wave Mod button (On/Off)

Waveform pop-up menu (see “Selecting

Waveforms”

on page 12)

This parameter is only active if the Wave Mod button is activated beside the waveform selection box. Wave mod ulation works by adding a phase-shifted copy of the oscillator output to itself, which produces waveform variations. For example if a sawtooth waveform is used, activating WM produces a pulse waveform. By modulat ing the WM parameter with for example an LFO, classic PWM (pulse width modulation) is produced. However, wave modulation can be applied to any waveform.

When Phase synchronization is activated, all oscillators restart their waveform cycles with every note played. With Phase deactivated, the oscillators generate a waveform cycle continuously, which produces slight variations when playing as each note starts from a random phase in the cy cle, adding warmth to the sound. But when synthesizing bass sounds or drum sounds, it is usually desired that the attack of every note played sounds the same, so for these purposes activate Phase sync. Phase sync also affects the noise generator.

When Tracking is activated, the oscillator pitch tracks the notes played on the keyboard. If Tracking is deactivated, the oscillator pitch remains constant, regardless of what note is played.

This switches wave modulation on or off.

Sets the basic waveform for the oscillator.

OSC 2 parameters

Oscillator 2 has the following parameters:

Parameter Description

Osc 2 (0–100)

Coarse (±48 semitones)

Fine (±50 cent)

Wave Mod (±50)

This controls the output level of the oscillator.

This determines the coarse pitch for Osc 2. If FM is enabled, this determines frequency ratio of the oscillator regarding Osc 1.

Fine tunes the oscillator pitch in cent increments (100th of a semitone). If FM is enabled, this determines the fre quency ratio of the oscillator regarding Osc 1.

The included VST instruments

Parameter Description

Ratio (1–16)

Sync button (On/Off)

Tracking button (On/Off)

Freq Mod button (On/Off)

Wave Mod button (On/Off)

Waveform pop-up menu (see “Selecting

Waveforms”

on page 12)

This parameter (which is only active if the Freq Mod button is activated) adjusts the amount of frequency modulation applied to oscillator 2, see on page 14. Is normally referred to as FM index.

When Sync is activated, Osc 2 is slaved to Osc 1. This means that every time Osc 1 completes its cycle, Osc 2 is forced to reset (start its cycle from the beginning). This produces a characteristic sound, suitable for lead playing. Osc 1 determines the pitch, and varying the pitch of Osc 2 produces changes in timbre. For classic sync sounds, try modulating the pitch of Osc 2 with an envelope or an LFO. The Osc 2 pitch should also be set higher than the pitch of Osc 1.

When Tracking is activated, the oscillator pitch tracks the notes played on the keyboard. If Tracking is deactivated, the oscillator pitch remains constant, regardless of what note is played.

This switches frequency modulation on or off.

This switches wave modulation on or off.

Sets the basic waveform for the oscillator.

“About frequency modulation”

OSC 3 parameters

Oscillator 3 has the following parameters:

Parameter Description

Osc 3 (0–100)

Coarse (±48 semitones)

Fine (±50 cent)

Ratio (1–16)

Sync button (On/Off)

This controls the output level of the oscillator.

This determines the coarse pitch for Osc 3. If FM is enabled, this determines the frequency ratio of the oscillator regarding Osc 1/2.

Fine tunes the oscillator pitch in cent increments (100th of a semitone). If FM is enabled, this determines the fre quency ratio of the oscillator regarding Osc 1/2.

This parameter (which is only active if the Freq Mod button is activated) adjusts the amount of frequency modulation applied to oscillator 3, see on page 14. Is normally referred to as FM index.

When Sync is activated, Osc 3 is slaved to Osc 1. This means that every time Osc 1 completes its cycle, Osc 3 is forced to reset (start its cycle from the beginning). This produces a characteristic sound, suitable for lead playing. Osc 1 determines the pitch, and varying the pitch of Osc 3 produces changes in timbre. For classic sync sounds, try modulating the pitch of Osc 3 with an envelope or an LFO. The Osc 3 pitch should also be set higher than the pitch of Osc 1.

“About frequency modulation”

Parameter Description

Tracking button (On/Off)

Freq Mod button (On/Off)

Wave Mod button (On/Off)

Waveform pop-up menu (see “Selecting

Waveforms”

on page 12)

When Tracking is activated, the oscillator pitch tracks the notes played on the keyboard. If Tracking is deactivated, the oscillator pitch remains constant, regardless of what note is played.

This switches frequency modulation on or off.

This switches wave modulation on or off.

Sets the basic waveform for the oscillator.

About frequency modulation

Frequency modulation or FM means that the frequency of one oscillator (called the carrier) is modulated by the frequency of another oscillator (called the modulator).

• In Prologue, Osc 1 is the modulator, and Osc 2 and 3 are carriers.

Osc 2 could be said to be both carrier and modulator as if Freq Mod is applied to Osc 2 it is modulated by Osc 3. If Osc 2 also uses frequency modulation, Osc 3 is modulated by both Osc 1 and Osc 2.

• The “pure” sound of frequency modulation is output through the modulator oscillator(s).

This means that you should turn off the Osc 1 output when using frequency modulation.

• The Freq Mod button switches frequency modulation on or off.

• The Ratio parameter determines the amount of frequency modulation.

Portamento

This parameter makes the pitch glide between the notes you play. The parameter setting determines the time it takes for the pitch to glide from one note to the next. Turn the knob clockwise for longer glide time.

The “Mode” switch allows you to apply glide only when you play a legato note (when switch is set to Legato). Le gato is when you play a note without releasing the previously played note. Note that Legato mode only works with monophonic parts.

The included VST instruments

Ring modulation

Ring modulators multiply two audio signals. The ring-modulated output contains added frequencies generated by the sum of, and the difference between, the frequencies of the two signals. In Prologue, Osc 1 is multiplied with Osc 2 to produce sum and difference frequencies. Ring modu lation is often used to create bell-like sounds.

• To hear the ring modulation, turn down the output level

for Osc 1 and 2, and turn up the “R.Mod” level all the way.

• If Osc 1 and 2 are tuned to the same frequency, and no

modulation is applied to the Osc 2 pitch, nothing much happens.

However, if you change the pitch of Osc 2, drastic changes in timbre can be heard. If the oscillators are tuned to a harmonic interval such as a fifth or octave, the ring modulated output sounds harmonic, other intervals produce inharmonious, complex timbres.

• Deactivate Oscillator Sync when using ring modulation.

Noise generator

A noise generator generates noise (all frequencies at equal levels). Applications include simulating drum sounds and breath sounds for wind instruments.

• To hear only the sound of the noise generator, turn

down the output level for the oscillators, and turn up the Noise parameter.

• The noise generator level is routed to Envelope 1 by de-

fault.

See “Envelope page” on page 18 for a description of the Envelope generators.

Filter section

The circle in the middle contains the filter parameters. The central control sets the filter cutoff parameter and the outer ring the filter type:

Parameter Description

Filter type Sets the filter type to either low pass, high pass, band

Cutoff This knob controls the filter frequency or “cutoff”. If a low

Emphasis This is the resonance control for the filter. For low pass and

Drive This can be used to adjust the filter input level. Levels

Shift Internally, each filter consists of two or more “subfilters”

Tracking If this parameter is set to values over the 12 o’clock posi-

pass or notch. The filter types are described in the table below.

pass filter is used, it could be said to control the opening and closing of the filter, producing the classic “sweeping” synthesizer sound. How this parameter operates is gov erned by the filter type mode (see the table below).

high pass filters, raising the Emphasis value emphasizes the frequencies around the set cutoff frequency. This pro duces a generally thinner sound, but with a sharper, more pronounced cutoff sweep. The higher the filter Emphasis value, the more resonant the sound becomes until it starts to ring (self-oscillate), generating a distinct pitch. For Band pass or Notch filters, the Emphasis setting adjusts the width of the band. When you raise the value, the band where frequencies are let through (Band pass), or cut (Notch) becomes narrower.

above 0

dB gradually introduce a soft distortion of the in-

put signal, and a decrease of the filter resonance.

connected in series. This parameter shifts the cutoff fre quency of the subfilters. The result depends on the selected filter type: For Low pass and High pass filter types it changes the filter slope. For Band pass and Notch filter types it changes the bandwidth. The Shift parameter has no effect if either the 12 selected.

tion, the filter cutoff frequency increases the further up on the keyboard you play. Negative values invert this rela tionship. If the Tracking parameter is set fully clockwise, the cutoff frequency tracks the keyboard by a semitone per key.

dB LP or 12 dB HP filter type is

The included VST instruments

About the filter types

You select which filter type to use using the buttons around the filter cutoff knob. The following filter types are available (listed clockwise from 9 o’clock):

Type Description

12 db LP Low pass filters let low frequencies pass and cut out the

18 dB LP This low pass filter also has a cascade design, attenuat-

24 dB LP This filter type attenuates frequencies above the cutoff

24 dB LP II This low pass filter has a cascade design which attenuates

12 dB Band This band pass filter cuts both high and low frequencies

12 dB Notch This notch filter cuts off frequencies near the cutoff fre-

12 dB HP A high pass filter is the opposite of a low pass filter, cutting

24 dB HP This filter has a 24 dB/Octave slope, giving a bright and

high frequencies. This low pass filter has a gentler slope

dB/Octave above the cutoff frequency), leaving more

(12 of the harmonics in the filtered sound.

ing frequencies above the cutoff frequency with a 18 dB/ Octave slope, as used in the classic TB 303 synth.

frequency with a 24 warm and fat sound.

frequencies above the cutoff frequency with a 24 tave slope, which produces a warm and dark sound.

above and below the cutoff frequency with a 12 tave slope, producing a nasal and thin sound.

quency by 12 dB/Octave, letting the frequencies below and above through. This produces a phaser-like sound.

out the lower frequencies and letting the high frequencies pass. This high pass filter has a 12 a bright and thin sound.

sharp sound.

dB/Octave slope, which produces a

dB/Oc-

dB/Octave slope, giving

Master Volume and Pan

Modulation and controllers

The lower half of the control panel displays the various modulation and controller assignment pages available as well as the effect page. You switch between these pages using the buttons below the Filter section.

The following pages are available:

• The LFO page has two low frequency oscillators (LFOs) for modulating parameters – see below.

• The Envelope page contains the four Envelope generators which can be assigned to control parameters – see

“Envelope page” on page 18.

• The Event page contains the common MIDI controllers (Mod wheel, Aftertouch, etc.) and their assignments – see

“Event page” on page 20.

• The Effect page has three separate effect types available; Distortion, Delay and Modulation – see “Effects

(EFX) page” on page 20.

LFO page

The LFO page is opened by clicking the LFO button at the top of the lower half of the control panel. The page contains all parameters and the modulation and velocity destinations for two independent LFOs.

The master Volume controls the master volume (amplitude) of the instrument. By default this parameter is controlled by Envelope 1, to generate an amplitude envelope for the os cillators.

The Pan knob controls the position in the stereo spectrum for the instrument. You can use Pan as a modulation des tination.

The included VST instruments

Depending on the currently selected preset, there may already be modulation destinations assigned, in which case

these are listed in the “Mod Dest” box for each LFO – see

“Assigning LFO modulation destinations” on page 17. A

low frequency oscillator (LFO) is used for modulating pa-

rameters, for example the pitch of an oscillator (to produce vibrato), or for any parameter where cyclic modulation is desired.

The two LFOs have identical parameters:

Parameter Description

Speed This governs the rate of the LFO. If MID I Sync is acti vated

Depth This controls the amount of modulation applied by the

Waveform This sets the LFO waveform.

Sync mode (Part/MIDI/ Voice/Key)

(see below), the available rate values are selectable as note values, e. in Nuendo.

LFO. If set to zero, no modulation is applied.

This sets the sync mode for the LFO. See below for a description.

g. beat increments of the sequencer tempo

About the sync modes

The Sync modes determine how the LFO cycle affects the notes you play:

Parameter Description

Part In this mode, the LFO cycle is free running and affects all

MIDI In this mode the LFO rate is synced in various beat incre-

Voice In this mode each voice in the Part has its own indepen-

Key Same as Voice except that it is not free running – for

the voices in sync. “Free running” means that the LFO cy cles continuously, and does not reset when a note is played.

ments to MIDI clock.

dent LFO cycle (the LFO is polyphonic). These cycles are also free running – each key down starts anywhere in the LFO cycle phase.

each key down the LFO cycle starts over.

About the waveforms

Most standard LFO waveforms are available for LFO modulation. You use Sine and Triangle waveforms for smooth modulation cycles, Square and Ramp up/down for different types of stepped modulation cycles and Random or Sam

ple for random modulation. The Sample waveform is different. In this mode, one LFO actually samples and holds the values of the other LFO at the chosen frequency.

Assigning LFO modulation destinations

To assign a modulation destination for an LFO, proceed as follows:

1. Click in the “Mod Dest” box for one of the LFOs.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible modulation destinations are shown. All Sound parameters as well as most LFO and Envelope parameters are available as destinations.

2. Select a destination, e. g. Filter Cut Off.

The selected modulation destination is now shown in the list. Beside the destination, a default value (50) has been set. The value represents the modulation amount.

• You can set positive and negative modulation values by clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Select a suitable LFO Waveform, Speed, Depth, and Sync mode.

You should now hear the filter cutoff being modulated by the LFO.

4. Using the same basic method, you can add any number of modulation destinations for the LFO.

They are all listed in the “Mod Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

The included VST instruments

Assigning LFO velocity destinations

You can also assign LFO modulation that is velocity controlled (i.e. governed by how hard or soft you strike a key). This is done as follows:

1. Click in the “Vel Dest” box for one of the LFOs.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible velocity destinations are shown.

2. Select a destination.

The selected velocity destination is now shown in the list. Beside the destination, a default value (50) has been set. The value represents the modulation amount. See below for an example of how velocity modula tion works.

• You can set positive and negative values by clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Using the same basic method, you can add any number of velocity destinations for the LFO.

They are all listed in the “Vel Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

LFO modulation velocity control – an example:

If you follow the steps above and select the filter cutoff parameter as a Velocity destination, the following happens:

• The harder you strike the key, the more the filter cutoff parameter is modulated by the LFO.

• If you enter a negative value for the velocity modulation amount, the opposite happens; the harder you play the less the filter cutoff is modulated by the LFO.

Envelope generators govern how a parameter value changes when a key is pressed, when a key is held and finally when a key is released.

On the Envelope page, the parameters for one of the four envelope generators is shown at a time.

• You switch between the four envelopes in the section to the left.

Clicking on either of the four mini curve displays 1 to 4 selects it and displays the corresponding envelope parameters to the right. The mini curve displays also reflect the envelope settings for each corresponding enve lope.

• Envelope generators have four parameters; Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release (ADSR).

See below for a description of these.

• You can set envelope parameters in two ways; either by using the sliders or by click-dragging the curve in the Envelope curve display.

You can also do this in the mini curve displays.

• By default Envelope 1 is assigned to the master volume, and therefore acts as an amplitude envelope. The amplitude envelope is used to adjust how the volume of the sound changes from the time you press a key until the key is released.

If no amplitude envelope were assigned, there would be no output.

The Envelope parameters are as follows:

Envelope page

The Envelope page is opened by clicking the ENV button at the top of the lower half of the control panel. The page contains all parameters and the modulation and velocity destinations for the four independent envelope generators.

The included VST instruments

Attack

The attack phase is the time it takes from zero to the maximum value. How long this takes is governed by the Attack setting. If the Attack is set to “0”, the maximum value is reached instantly. If this value is raised, it takes time before the maximum value is reached. Range is from 0.0 millisec onds to 91.1 seconds.

Decay

After the maximum value has been reached, the value starts to drop. How long this takes is governed by the Decay time parameter. The Decay time has no effect if the Sustain parameter is set to maximum. Range is from 0.0 milliseconds to 91.1 seconds.

Sustain

The Sustain parameter determines the level the envelope rests at after the Decay phase. Note that Sustain repre

sents a level, whereas the other envelope parameters represent times. Range is from 0 to 100.

Release

Release determines the time it takes for the value to fall back to zero after releasing the key. Range is from 0.0 milliseconds to 91.1 seconds.

Punch

When Punch is activated, the start of the decay phase is delayed by a few milliseconds (i.e. the envelope remains at the top level for a moment before moving on to the decay phase). The result is a punchier attack similar to a com

pressor effect. This effect is more pronounced with short attack and decay times.

Retrigger

When Retrigger is activated, the envelope re-triggers each time you play a new note. However, with certain textures/ pad sounds and a limited number of voices it is recommended to leave the button deactivated, due to click noises that might occur, when the envelope is ended up abruptly. This is caused by the incoming re-trigger that forces the en velope to start over again.

Assigning Envelope modulation destinations

To assign a modulation destination for an Envelope, proceed as follows:

1. Click in the “Mod Dest” box for one of the Envelopes.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible modulation destinations are shown. All Sound parameters as well as most LFO and Envelope pa rameters are available as destinations.

2. Select a destination, e. g. Filter Cut Off.

The selected modulation destination is now shown in the list. Beside the destination, a default value (50) has been set. The value represents the modulation amount.

• You can set positive and negative modulation values by clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Select a suitable envelope curve for the modulation.

You should now hear the filter cutoff being modulated by the envelope as you play.

4. Using the same basic method, you can add any number of modulation destinations for the envelope.

They are all listed in the “Mod Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

Assigning Envelope velocity destinations

You can also assign Envelope modulation that is velocity controlled (i.e. governed by how hard or soft you strike a key). This is done as follows:

1. Click in the “Vel Dest” box for one of the envelopes.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible velocity destinations are shown.

2. Select a destination.

• You can set positive and negative values by clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Using the same basic method, you can add any number of velocity destinations for the Envelope.

They are all listed in the “Vel Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

Envelope modulation velocity control – an example:

If you follow the steps above and select the filter cutoff parameter as a Velocity destination, the following happens:

• The harder you strike the key, the more the filter cutoff parameter is modulated by the Envelope.

• If you enter a negative value for the velocity modulation amount, the opposite happens; the harder you play the less the filter cutoff is modulated by the Envelope.

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Event page

The Event page is opened by clicking the EVENT button at the top of the lower half of the control panel. This page contains the most common MIDI controllers and their respective assignments.

Effects (EFX) page

This page features three separate effect units: Distortion, Delay and Modulation (Phaser/Flanger/Chorus). The Effect page is opened by clicking the EFX button at the top of the lower half of the control panel.

The following controllers are available:

Controller Description

Modulation Wheel

Velocity Velocity is used to control parameters according to how

Aftertouch Aftertouch, or channel pressure, is MIDI data sent when

Key Pitch Tracking

The modulation wheel on your keyboard can be used to modulate parameters.

hard or soft you play notes on your keyboard. A common application of velocity is to make sounds brighter and louder if you strike the key harder.

pressure is applied to a keyboard after the key has been struck, and while it is being held down or sustained. Af tertouch is often routed to control filter cutoff, volume, and other parameters to add expression. Most (but not all) MIDI keyboards send Aftertouch.

This can change parameter values linearly according to where on the keyboard you play.

To assign any of these controllers to one or several parameters, proceed as follows:

1. Click in the “Mod Dest” box for one of the controllers.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible modulation destinations are shown. All Sound parameters as well as most LFO and Envelope pa rameters are available as destinations.

2. Select a destination.

The selected modulation destination is now shown in the list. Beside the destination, a default value (50) has been set. The value represents the modulation amount when the controller is at its full range.

• You can set positive and negative modulation values by clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Using the same basic method, you can add any number of modulation destinations for the controllers.

They are all listed in the “Mod Dest” box for the respective controller.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

• Each separate effect section is laid out with a row of buttons that determine the effect type or characteristic and a row of sliders for making parameter settings.

• To activate an effect, click the “Active” button so that a dot appears.

Clicking again deactivates the effect.

Distortion

You can select between 4 basic distortion characteristics:

• Distortion provides hard clipping distortion.

• Soft Distortion provides soft clipping distortion.

• Tape Emulation produces distortion similar to magnetic tape saturation.

• Tube Emulation produces distortion similar to valve amplifiers.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Filter This parameter sets the crossover frequency of the dis-

Tone This parameter controls the relative amount of low pass

Drive Sets the amount of distortion by amplifying the input signal.

Level This controls the output level of the effect.

tortion filter. The distortion filter consists of a low pass filter and a high pass filter with a cutoff frequency equal to the crossover frequency.

and high-pass filtered signal.

Delay

You can select between 3 basic delay characteristics:

• Stereo Delay has two separate delay lines panned left and right.

• In Mono Delay the two delay lines are connected in series for monophonic dual tap delay effects.

• In Cross Delay the delayed sound bounces between the stereo channels.

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The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Song Sync This switches tempo sync of the delay times on or off.

Delay 1 Sets the delay time ranging from 0 ms to 728 ms. If MIDI

Delay 2 Same as Delay 1.

Feedback This controls the decay of the delays. With higher set-

Filter A low pass filter is built into the feedback loop of the de-

Level This controls the output level of the effect.

sync is activated the range is from 1/32 to 1/1; straight, triplet or dotted.

tings the echoes repeat longer.

lay. This parameter controls the cutoff frequency of this feedback filter. Low settings result in successive echoes sounding darker.

Modulation

You can select between 3 basic modulation characteristics:

• The Phaser uses an 8-pole allpass filter to produce the classic phasing effect.

• The Flanger is composed of two independent delay lines with feedback for the left and the right channel respectively. The delay time of both delays is modulated by one LFO with adjustable frequency.

• Chorus produces a rich chorus effect with 4 delays modulated by four independent LFOs.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Song Sync This switches tempo sync of the Rate parameter on or off.

Rate Sets the rate of the LFOs modulating the delay time. If

Depth This parameter controls the depth of the delay time mod-

Delay This parameter sets the delay time of the four delay lines.

Feedback The feedback parameter controls the amount of positive

Level This controls the output level of the effect.

Song Sync is activated the rate is synced to various beat increments.

ulation.

or negative feedback for all four delay lines. The adjust able range is from -1 to 1.

SR parameters

With these buttons you can change the sample rate. Lower sample rates basically reduce the high frequency content and sound quality, but the pitch is not altered. This is a great way to emulate the “lo-fi” sounds of older digital synths!

• If button “F” is active, the selected Part’s program plays back with the sample rate set in the host application.

• If button “1/2” is active, the selected Part’s program plays back with half the original sample rate.

• If button “1/4” is active, the selected Part’s program plays back with a quarter of the original sample rate.

• A bonus effect of using lower sample rates is that it re-

duces the load on the computer CPU, allowing more simultaneous voices to be played, etc.

Spector

The synthesis in this synthesizer is based around a “spectrum filter”, which allows you to specify the frequency response by drawing a filter contour in the spectrum display. Slightly simplified, the signal path is the following:

• The starting point is the sound generated by up to 6 os-

cillators.

You can choose between different numbers of oscillators in different configurations (in octaves, in unison, etc.). The oscillators can also be detuned for fat sounds or extreme special effects.

• Each oscillator produces two basic waveforms, labeled

A and B.

You can choose between six different waveforms, independently selected for A and B.

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• The two waveforms pass through separate spectrum filters (A and B).

You can draw different spectrum contours for the two filters, or select a contour from the included presets.

• The Cut 1 & 2 parameters allow you to shift the frequency range of the spectrum filter.

This makes it easy to create unique-sounding filter sweeps.

• Finally, a Morph control lets you mix the output of spectrum filters A and B.

Since this can be controlled with envelopes, LFOs, etc. you can create morphing effects.

• You also have controllers and modulation parameters (two LFOs, four envelopes and three effects), see

“Modu-

lation and controllers” on page 24.

Ö The signal flow of the Spector synth is illustrated in the section “Diagrams” on page 52.

Oscillator pop-up menu

This pop-up menu is opened by clicking on the arrow below the centrally placed section (which illustrates the currently selected oscillator configuration).

Sound parameters

Oscillator section

A/B waveform pop-up menus

This is where you select basic waveforms for the A and B output of the oscillators. The options are especially suited for use with the spectrum filter.

Coarse and Fine

These parameters provide overall transposition and tuning of the oscillators (common for all oscillators, A and B waveforms).

The pop-up menu has the following oscillator configurations to choose between:

Option Description

6 Osc 6 oscillators with the same pitch.

6 Osc 1:2 3 oscillators with base pitch and 3 pitched one octave down.

6 Osc 1:2:3 Three groups of two oscillators with the pitch ratio 1:2:3 (2

6 Osc 1:2:3:4:5:6

4 Osc 1:2 2 oscillators with base pitch and 2 pitched one octave down.

3 Osc 3 oscillators with the same pitch.

2 Osc 2 oscillators with the same pitch.

2 Osc 1:2 One oscillator with base pitch and one pitched one octave

1 Osc A single oscillator. In this mode, the Detune and Cut II pa-

oscillators with base pitch, 2 oscillators at half the frequency of the base pitch and 2 oscillators at a third of the frequency).

6 oscillators tuned with the pitch ratio 1:2:3:4:5:6 (known as the “subharmonic series”).

down.

rameters are not active.

Detune

Detunes the oscillators (in all oscillator modes except “1Osc”). Low values give gentle chorus-like detuning; raising the control detunes the oscillators by several semitones for clangorous special effects.

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Raster

This parameter reduces the number of harmonics present in the oscillator waveforms in the following manner:

Setting Description

0 All harmonics present.

1 Only every second harmonic present.

2 Only every third harmonic present.

… …and so on.

• If you want to random calculate a spectrum filter curve,

you can choose the Randomize function from the Preset pop-up menu.

Each time you choose this function, a new randomized spectrum appears.

Cut I and II

Portamento

The “Mode” switch allows you to apply glide only when you play a legato note (when switch is set to Legato). Legato is when you play a note without releasing the previously played note. Note that Legato mode only works with mono phonic parts.

Spectrum filter sections

This is where you create the contours (frequency response characteristics) for the two 128 pole resonant spectrum filters “A” and “B”.

• You can use the Preset pop-up menu to select a preset contour if you like.

• To change the contour, click and “draw” with the mouse.

Once you change the selected contour, it is labeled as “Custom” in the Preset field above the display, indicating that you’re no longer using one of the presets.

These work much like cutoff frequency controls on a conventional filter: With the Cut controls at the maximum setting, the full frequency range is used for the spectrum filter; lowering the Cut controls gradually moves the entire contour down in frequency, “closing” the filter. Please note the following:

• If a 2 oscillator configuration is used, you can set differ-

ent “cutoffs” for the two oscillators with Cut I and Cut II, respectively. Similarly, if more than two oscillators are used, they are internally divided in two groups, for which you can set independent “cutoffs” with Cut I and II.

For example, in the “6 Osc” modes Cut I affects the sound of oscillators 1, 3 and 5 while Cut II affects the sound of oscillators 2, 4 and 6. In the “1 Osc” mode, the Cut II control is not used.

• If the Spectrum Sync (link symbol) button between the

Cut controls is activated, the two knobs are synced and follow each other and are set to the same value.

Morph

This controls the mix between the sound of spectrum filters A and B. When the Morph knob is turned fully left, only the “A” sound is heard; when it is turned right only the “B” sound is heard. This allows you to seamlessly morph (manually or using an LFO or an envelope) between two totally different sounds.

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Master Volume and Pan

The master Volume controls the master volume (amplitude) of the instrument. By default this parameter is controlled by Envelope 1, to generate an amplitude envelope for the os cillators.

The Pan knob controls the position in the stereo spectrum for the instrument. You can use Pan as a modulation des tination.

Modulation and controllers

The following pages are available:

• The LFO page has two low frequency oscillators (LFOs) for modulating parameters – see below.

• The Envelope page contains the four Envelope generators which can be assigned to control parameters – see

“Envelope page” on page 26.

• The Event page contains the common MIDI controllers (Mod wheel, Aftertouch, etc.) and their assignments – see

“Event page” on page 27.

• The Effect page has three separate effect types available; Distortion, Delay, and Modulation – see “Effects

(EFX) page” on page 28.

LFO page

Depending on the currently selected preset, there may already be modulation destinations assigned, in which case these are listed in the “Mod Dest” box for each LFO – see

“Assigning LFO modulation destinations” on page 25. A

low frequency oscillator (LFO) is used for modulating parameters, for example the pitch of an oscillator (to produce vibrato), or for any parameter where cyclic modulation is desired.

The two LFOs have identical parameters:

Parameter Description

Speed This governs the rate of the LFO. If MIDI Sync is activated

Depth This controls the amount of modulation applied by the

Waveform This sets the LFO waveform.

Sync mode (Part/MIDI/ Voice/Key)

About the sync modes

The Sync modes determine how the LFO cycle affects the notes you play:

Parameter Description

Part In this mode, the LFO cycle is free running and affects all

MIDI In this mode the LFO rate is synced in various beat incre-

(see below), the available rate values are selectable as note values, so the rate is synced to the sequencer tempo in Nuendo in various beat increments.

LFO. If set to zero, no modulation is applied.

This sets the sync mode for the LFO. See below for a description.

the voices in sync. “Free running” means that the LFO cycles continuously, and does not reset when a note is played.

ments to MIDI clock.

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Parameter Description

Voice In this mode each voice in the Part has its own indepen-

Key Same as Voice except that it is not free running – for

dent LFO cycle (the LFO is polyphonic). These cycles are also free running – each key down starts anywhere in the LFO cycle phase.

each key down the LFO cycle starts over.

About the waveforms

Most standard LFO waveforms are available for LFO modulation. You use Sine and Triangle waveforms for smooth modulation cycles, Square and Ramp up/down for differ ent types of stepped modulation cycles and Random or Sample for random modulation. The Sample waveform is different:

• In this mode, the LFO actually makes use of the other LFO as well.

For example, if LFO 2 is set to use Sample the resulting effect also depends on the speed and waveform of LFO 1.

Assigning LFO modulation destinations

To assign a modulation destination for an LFO, proceed as follows:

1. Click in the “Mod Dest” box for one of the LFOs.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible modulation destinations are shown. All Sound parameters as well as most LFO and Envelope pa rameters are available as destinations.

2. Select a destination, e.g. Cut.

The selected modulation destination is now shown in the list. Beside the destination, a default value (50) has been set. The value represents the modulation amount.

• You can set positive and negative modulation values by

clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Select a suitable LFO Waveform, Speed, Depth, and

Sync mode.

You should now hear the Cut parameter being modulated by the LFO.

4. Using the same basic method, you can add any num-

ber of modulation destinations for the LFO.

They are all listed in the “Mod Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in

the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

Assigning LFO velocity destinations

You can also assign LFO modulation that is velocity controlled (i.e. governed by how hard or soft you strike a key). This is done as follows:

1. Click in the “Vel Dest” box for one of the LFOs.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible velocity destinations are shown.

2. Select a destination.

tion works.

• You can set positive and negative values by clicking on

the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Using the same basic method, you can add any num-

ber of velocity destinations for the LFO.

They are all listed in the “Vel Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in

the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

LFO modulation velocity control – an example:

If you follow the steps above and select the Cut parameter as a Velocity destination, the following happens:

• The harder you strike the key, the more the Cut parame-

ter is modulated by the LFO.

• If you enter a negative value for the velocity modulation

amount, the opposite happens; the harder you play the less the Cut parameter is modulated by the LFO.

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Envelope page

Envelope generators govern how a parameter value changes when a key is pressed, when a key is held and finally when a key is released.

On the Envelope page, the parameters for one of the four envelope generators is shown at a time.

• You switch between the four envelopes in the section to the left.

• Envelope generators have four parameters; Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release (ADSR).

See below for a description of these.

• You can set envelope parameters in two ways; either by using the sliders or by click-dragging the curve in the En velope curve display.

You can also do this in the mini curve displays.

• By default Envelope 1 is assigned to the master volume, and therefore acts as an amplitude envelope. The ampli tude envelope is used to adjust how the volume of the sound changes from the time you press a key until the key is released.

If no amplitude envelope were assigned, there would be no output.

The Envelope parameters are as follows:

Attack

Decay

Sustain

The Sustain parameter determines the level the envelope rests at after the Decay phase. Note that Sustain repre sents a level, whereas the other envelope parameters represent times. Range is from 0 to 100.

Release

Release determines the time it takes for the value to fall back to zero after releasing the key. Range is from 0.0 milliseconds to 91.1 seconds.

Punch

When Punch is activated, the start of the decay phase is delayed a few milliseconds (the envelope “stays” at top

level for a moment before moving on to the decay phase). The result is a punchier attack similar to a compressor ef fect. This effect is more pronounced with short attack and decay times.

Retrigger

When Retrigger is activated, the envelope re-triggers each time you play a new note. However, with certain textures/pad sounds and a limited number of voices it is recommended to leave the button deactivated, due to click noises that might occur, when the envelope is ended up abruptly. This is caused by the incoming re-trigger that forces the envelope to start over again.

Assigning Envelope modulation destinations

To assign a modulation destination for an Envelope, proceed as follows:

1. Click in the “Mod Dest” box for one of the Envelopes.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible modulation destinations are shown. All Sound parameters as well as most LFO and Envelope pa rameters are available as destinations.

2. Select a destination, e.g. Cut.

The selected modulation destination is now shown in the list. Beside the destination, a default value (50) has been set. The value represents the modulation amount.

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• You can set positive and negative modulation values by clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Select a suitable envelope curve for the modulation.

You should now hear the Cut parameter being modulated by the envelope as you play.

4. Using the same basic method, you can add any number of modulation destinations for the envelope.

They are all listed in the “Mod Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

Assigning Envelope velocity destinations

You can also assign Envelope modulation that is velocity controlled (i.e. governed by how hard or soft you strike a key). This is done as follows:

1. Click in the “Vel Dest” box for one of the envelopes.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible velocity destinations are shown.

2. Select a destination.

• You can set positive and negative values by clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Using the same basic method, you can add any number of velocity destinations for the Envelope.

They are all listed in the “Vel Dest” box.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

Envelope modulation velocity control – an example:

If you follow the steps above and select the Cut parameter as a Velocity destination, the following happens:

• The harder you strike the key, the more the parameter is modulated by the Envelope.

• If you enter a negative value for the velocity modulation amount, the opposite happens; the harder you play the less the Cut parameter is modulated by the Envelope.

Event page

The Event page is opened by clicking the EVENT button at the top of the lower half of the control panel. This page contains the most common MIDI controllers and their respective assignments.

The following controllers are available:

Controller Description

Modulation Wheel

Velocity Velocity is used to control parameters according to how

Aftertouch Aftertouch, or channel pressure, is MIDI data sent when

Key Pitch

Tracking

To assign any of these controllers to one or several parameters, proceed as follows:

1. Click in the “Mod Dest” box for one of the controllers.

A pop-up menu appears in which all possible modulation destinations are shown. All Sound parameters as well as most LFO and Envelope pa rameters are available as destinations.

2. Select a destination.

• You can set positive and negative modulation values by

clicking on the value in the list, typing in a new value and pressing the Enter key.

To enter negative values type a minus sign followed by the value.

3. Using the same basic method, you can add any num-

ber of modulation destinations for the controllers.

They are all listed in the “Mod Dest” box for the respective controller.

• To remove a modulation destination click on its name in

the list and select “Off” from the pop-up menu.

The modulation wheel on your keyboard can be used to modulate parameters.

hard or soft you play notes on your keyboard. A common application of velocity is to make sounds brighter and louder if you strike the key harder.

This can change parameter values linearly according to where on the keyboard you play.

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Effects (EFX) page

• Each separate effect section is laid out with a row of buttons that determine the effect type or characteristic and a row of sliders for making parameter settings.

• To activate an effect, click the “Active” button so that a dot appears.

Clicking again deactivates the effect.

Distortion

You can select between 4 basic distortion characteristics:

• Distortion provides hard clipping distortion.

• Soft Distortion provides soft clipping distortion.

• Tape Emulation produces distortion similar to magnetic tape saturation.

• Tube Emulation produces distortion similar to valve amplifiers.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Filter This parameter sets the crossover frequency of the dis-

Tone This parameter controls the relative amount of low pass

Drive Sets the amount of distortion by amplifying the input sig-

Level This controls the output level of the effect.

Delay

You can select between 3 basic delay characteristics:

• Stereo Delay has two separate delay lines panned left and right.

• In Mono Delay the two delay lines are connected in series for monophonic dual tap delay effects.

tortion filter. The distortion filter consists of a low pass filter and a high pass filter with a cutoff frequency equal to the crossover frequency.

and high-pass filtered signal.

nal.

• In Cross Delay the delayed sound bounces between the stereo channels.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Song Sync This switches tempo sync of the delay times on or off.

Delay 1 Sets the delay time ranging from 0 ms to 728 ms. If MIDI

Delay 2 Same as Delay 1.

Feedback This controls the decay of the delays. With higher set-

Filter A low pass filter is built into the feedback loop of the de-

Level This controls the output level of the effect.

sync is activated the range is from 1/32 to 1/1; straight, triplet or dotted.

tings the echoes repeat longer.

lay. This parameter controls the cutoff frequency of this feedback filter. Low settings result in successive echoes sounding darker.

Modulation

You can select between 3 basic modulation characteristics:

• The Phaser uses an 8-pole allpass filter to produce the classic phasing effect.

• Chorus produces a rich chorus effect with 4 delays modulated by four independent LFOs.

The parameters are as follows:

Parameter Description

Song Sync This switches tempo sync of the Rate parameter on or off.

Rate Sets the rate of the LFOs modulating the delay time. If

Depth This parameter controls the depth of the delay time mod-

Delay This parameter sets the delay time of the four delay lines.

Feedback The feedback parameter controls the amount of positive

Level This controls the output level of the effect.

Song Sync is activated the rate is synced to various beat increments.

ulation.

or negative feedback for all four delay lines. The adjust able range is from -1 to 1.

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SR parameters

• If button “F” is active, the selected Part’s program plays back with the sample rate set in the host application.

• If button “1/2” is active, the selected Part’s program plays back with half the original sample rate.

• If button “1/4” is active, the selected Part’s program plays back with a quarter of the original sample rate.

• A bonus effect of using lower sample rates is that it re-

duces the load on the computer CPU, allowing more simultaneous voices to be played, etc.

Mystic

The synthesis method used by Mystic is based on three parallel comb filters with feedback. A comb filter is a filter with a number of “notches” in its frequency response, with the notch frequencies harmonically related to the frequency of the fundamental (lowest) notch.

A typical example of comb filtering occurs if you are using a flanger effect or a delay effect with very short delay time. As you probably know, raising the feedback (the amount of signal sent back into the delay or flanger) causes a res onating tone – this tone is basically what the Mystic produces. This astonishingly simple synthesis method is capable of generating a wide range of sounds, from gentle plucked-string tones to weird, non-harmonic timbres.

The basic principle is the following:

• You start with an “impulse sound”, typically with a very short decay.

The spectrum of the impulse sound largely affects the tonal quality of the final sound. To set up an impulse sound on the Mystic you use a slightly simplified version of the synthesis found on the Spector synth.

• The impulse sound is fed into the three comb filters, in parallel. Each of these has a feedback loop.

This means the output of each comb filter is fed back into the filter. This results in a resonating feedback tone.

• When the signal is fed back into the comb filter, it goes via a separate, variable low pass filter.

This filter corresponds to the damping of high frequencies in a physical instrument – when set to a low cutoff frequency it causes high harmonics to decay faster than the lower harmonics (as when plucking a string on a guitar, for example).

• The level of the feedback signal is governed by a feedback control.

This determines the decay of the feedback tone. Setting this to a negative value simulates the traveling wave in a tube with one open end and one closed end. The result is a more hollow, square wave-like sound, pitched one octave lower.

• A detune control offsets the fundamental frequencies of the three comb filters, for chorus-like sounds or drastic special effects.

Finally you have access to the common synth parameters – two LFOs, four envelopes and an effect section.

• By default, envelope 2 controls the level of the impulse sound – this is where you set up the short impulse decay when emulating string sounds, etc.

Ö The signal flow of the Mystic synth is illustrated in the section

“Diagrams” on page 52.

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Sound parameters

The Impulse Control section

This is where you set up the impulse sound – the sound fed into the comb filters, serving as a starting point for the sound. The Impulse Control has two basic waveforms that are filtered through separate spectrum filters with adjust able base frequency; the output is an adjustable mix between the two waveform/spectrum filter signals.

Spectrum displays

The displays allow you to draw a filter contour with your mouse for spectrum filters A & B.

• To set up the contour, click in one of the displays and

drag the mouse to draw the desired curve. Note that this produces the inverse contour in the other display, for max imum sonic versatility.

To set up the contour independently for the two filters, hold down [Shift] and click and drag the mouse in either display.

• Use the Preset pop-up menu to select a preset contour

if you like.

• If you want to random calculate a spectrum filter curve,

you can choose the Randomize function from the Preset pop-up menu.

Each time you choose this function, a new randomized spectrum appears.

Waveform pop-up menu

The pop-up menu at the bottom of the waveform section (the central box at the top of the panel) allows you to select a basic waveform to be sent through filter contour A. The options are especially suited for use with the spectrum filter.

Cut

This offsets the frequency of the filter contour, working somewhat like a cutoff control on a standard synth filter. To use the filter contour in its full frequency range, set Cut to its maximum value.

Morph

Adjusts the mix between the two signal paths: waveform A spectrum contour A and waveform B spectrum contour B.

Coarse

This offsets the pitch for the impulse sound. In a typical “string setup”, when the impulse sound is very short, this does not change the pitch of the final sound, but the tonal color.

Raster

This removes harmonics from the impulse sound. As the harmonic content of the impulse sound is reflected in the comb filter sound, this changes the final timbre.

The included VST instruments

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