Your Prometheus DLX was handcrafted in Newberg OR USA.
TAP WARP EXP TAP WARP EXP TAP/WARP/EXP
STEP/PIXELATED N/A N/A
TRIGGER LFO N/A N/A
MANUAL LFO N /A N/ A
N/A N/A
CONTROL
MATRIX
LFO
SHAPES
SPECIAL
ENVELOPE
ANALOG
ENVELOPE
TAP TEMPO
1X 2X 3X & 4X
MULTIPLIERS
NUMBER OF
STEPS TH RU
LFO SHAPE*
CONTROLS
STEP RATE
(SUPERSEDES TAP)
TAP TEMPO
1X 2X 3X & 4X
MULTIPLIERS
CONTROLS
ENVELOPE
SENSITIVITY
TRIGGERS ONE
FULL CY CLE OF
LFO WAVESHAPE
SETS STAR T/END
POINT OF LFO
SHAPE
MAPS LFO SHAPE
TO EXP. PEDAL
(SUPERSEDES TAP)
TAP TEMPO
1X RATE ONLY
CONTROLS
ENVELOPE
SENSITIVITY
HOLDS/STOPS
LFO SHAPE
MANUAL
LFO SPEED
CONTROL
CONTROLS LFO
SPEED (WARP
CONTROLS RANGE)
HOLDS LFO
SPEED AT
CURRENT RATE
ADJUSTS
MINIMUM AND
MAXIMUM SPEED
WARP LFO
(SLOW – MED - FAST)
TAP TEMPO
1/8 1/3 1/ 2 1X & 2X
MULTIPLIERS
VARIES
WAVESHAPE
OF LFO
MANUAL LFO
SPEED CONTROL
(SUPERSEDES TAP)
HOLDS LFO
SPEED AT
CURRENT RATE
CONTROLS
ENVELOPE
SENSITIVITY
PROMETHEUS DLX
What is the Prometheus DLX all about?
At the heart of the PDLX is an all analog VCA based filter. Similar in design to vintage analog synthesizers the filter range
goes both above and below typical guitar frequencies. This adds an extra dimension to a filter effect which most other filter
pedals ignore.
While the options are nearly infinite, after a few minutes with this pedal and this user guide, you should be using this pedal
with ease.
Getting familiar with filters:
Audio spectrum- Many people
understand this intuitively even if they
can't really describe it. Human
hearing is often said to be 20hz to
20Khz. In reality our ears work best
from about 50hz and 12Khz. To give
you an idea of where these ranges
are see the chart to the right.
An audio filter essentially let's some frequencies through, and cuts others. Resonance adds gain at the cutoff point. The
three filter types in the Prometheus DLX are lowpass, bandpass and highpass. A low pass filter allows low frequencies
through and cuts frequencies above. A bandpass filter allows a small band of frequencies through at the cutoff point. A
highpass filter allows high frequencies through and cuts frequencies below the cutoff point.
Each note or tone is made up of
a fundamental, and a series of
related overtones, also called
harmonics, or harmonic content.
Harmonic content is what makes
something sound interesting.
You can think of them as a the
flavor that makes a guitar sound
different from a piano or a tuba
sound different than a diesel engine. In general, the more harmonic content, the more noticeable a filters effect is. Much of
the way we gauge distance, surroundings and the direction a sound is coming from is based on the frequencies we can
hear in a sound. A filter effect basically plays a trick on your brain by manipulating the frequency response.
IMPORTANT: Powering up your Prometheus DLX.
The Prometheus DLX can not be powered by a battery. To increase headroom of the filter effect power filtering was left at a
minimum, therefore CLEAN POWER IS REQUIRED! If you hear an audible hum in the background there is a 99.9%
chance that this is power supply related. Power supplies verified with the PDLX were: Visual Sound OneSpot, Voodoo
Labs Pedal Power 2, and Dunlop DC Brick.
Using the controls: Familiarize your self with the Prometheus DLX.
Before jumping in to the features, we recommend familiarizing your self with the filter effect. Plug it in and turn the pedal on.
For now focus on the HP-BP-LP switch, FREQuency, DEPTH and RESonance controls.
Turn the DEPTH all the way down, and let a chord or a few notes ring on your guitar. Turn the FREQ control in either
direction and hear the filter cutoff sweep through the frequency range. Turn the RES control, and switch between LP-BP-LP
filter types. These sounds are essentially what the Prometheus DLX does. The other controls are all about modulating the
filter cutoff point in different ways. Turn the DEPTH control up to hear the modulation.
No matter the other settings on Prometheus DLX these controls are always available and serve the same basic functions.
SHAPE – MODE – WARP controls & EXPRESSION PEDAL
This is where the Prometheus DLX gets interesting. Just by looking at them you can tell there are plenty of options.
Perhaps even a little intimidating. Spend some time with this user guide and your Prometheus DLX for a better
understanding of what everything does.
Although the SHAPE and MODE controls each have eleven different positions, the SHAPE control has three similar
groupings, and the MODE control has four. Although there are many variations, the Prometheus DLX essentially has nine
different fucntions. * denotes tap tempo.
• ANALOG ENVELOPE (FORWARD AND REVERSE)
• *PIXELATED ENVELOPE
• *ENVELOPE TRIGGERED LFO
• MANUAL ENVELOPE SPEED CONTROL (FIXED ENVELOPE GAIN)
• ENVELOPE SPEED CONTROL (FIXED MINIMUM SPEED W/ VARIABLE ENVELOPE SENSITIVITY)
• *STEP FILT ER (BASED ON THE 7 LFO SHAPES)
• *TAP TRIGGERED LFO
• MANUAL LFO
• *TAP TEMPO LFO W/ WARP
SHAPE- This is where you start. There are three main groupings here. ANALOG ENVELOPE (white arrows) LFO (white
on blue) and SPECIAL ENVELOPE (blue arrows.) It's helpful to consider this the main control, and think of other controls as a
variation on the shape.
MODE (& TAP/HOLD SWITCH)- This allows you to use the LFO and SPECIAL ENVELOPE shape settings in different
ways. The four main groupings are STEP, TRIGer LFO, MANual LFO and WARP LFO. The WARP and TAP/HOLD
SWITCH serve various different functions depending on the MODE setting.
knob controls speed range.
• WARP LFO (SLOW – MEDIUM – FAST)
Select LFO SHAPE for tap tempo LFO w/ warp. (warp knob changes warps LFO shape)
Select SPECIAL ENVELOPE for envelope speed control. Warp knob controls envelope sensitivity.
• ANALOG ENVELEOPE settings
supersede all WARP and MODE control
settings. The two arrows represent a
simple forward and reverse envelope.
The EXPression pedal, WARP and
MODE controls have no effect on these
settings.
• LFO SHAPES settings represent seven
different LFO shapes. WARP and MODE
controls serve various functions. The
EXPRESSION PEDAL adds extra control,
or changes functionality slightly.
• SPECIAL ENVELOPE settings allow your
playing dynamics to control the filter in
different ways. WARP and MODE
controls serve various functions. The
EXPRESSION PEDAL has no effect on
these settings.
• STEP settings are all essentially
sample/hold filter effects.
-Select LFO SHAPE for step filter (based
on selected LFO shape)
-Select SPECIAL ENVELOPE for
pixelated envelope.
• TRIGger LFO
- Select LFO SHAPE for a single cycle
triggered LFO. (press tap/hold switch
twice to trigger)
-Select SPECIAL ENVELOPE for
envelope triggered LFO.
• MANual LFO
- Select LFO SHAPE for manual LFO
speed control. (warp knob controls
speed.)
- Select SPECIAL ENVELOPE for
manual envelope speed control. Warp
See the chart below for a better understanding of what each control does depending on the SHAPE and MODE settings.
*Warp knob function in LFO SHAPE / STEP MODE settings:
-Random- Basically nose or random sample/hold. Since noise does not have an actual frequency like a fixed
waveshape the warp knob has no effect.
-Sine, ramp, triangle saw- the wave shape is sampled at a percentage of the step rate. From ~1% to 50%.
-Triangle/random & Triangle/square- The warp knob blends between a step triangle wave and random/square.
Waveshapes, and frequency tables are a
representation and may not be fully accurate.
Notes:
The Prometheus DLX has more resonance than the original prometheus.
Because of this, extreme resonance settings can lead to distortion or oscillation (feedback) if
you want to avoid this turn the resonacne knob down a little bit.
No user serviceable parts.
Please contact us for repair or mantenance.
Subdecay Studios, Inc.
503 538 3632
support@subdecay.com
Any Trademarks used are for reference only.
All trademarks are property of their respective owners.
This document was believed to be accurate at the time it was printed.
Specifications are subject to change without notice.
SUBDECAY STUDIOS INC. ©2011
User Guide version 1-1a
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