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Obscurium
Users Manual
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Table of contents
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Sugar Bytes Obscurium Users Manual

Obscurium
User Manual
1
Table of Content
ABOUT ............................................................................................................... 3
GETTING STARTED .............................................................................................. 4
REFERENCE GUIDE ............................................................................................ 12
TROUBLESHOOTING ......................................................................................... 46
INSTALLATION & UNINSTALLING OBSCURIUM ................................................. 47
CONTACT & LICENSE ......................................................................................... 49
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................ 50
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About

Obscurium is a timbral organism, a generative synthesizer feeding on scales, chords and classic synthesis producing vivid harmonics paired with an elaborate aesthetic. It is the source of a dazzling array of organic and lively sounds, delivering spherical pads, bubbly arpeggios and deadly percussion attacks.
Obscurium offers detailed control over the musical grammar of its generative engines: its results are far from arbitrary. Get the sequencer going and define polyphony, chords and arpeggiator for each of the 32 steps. Detailed sound controls allow for a free mix between the FM analogue oscillators and ongoing modulation of three variables for each of the generators.
The playful user interface streamlines the complexity of the inner workings: You can freely change and swap all parameters and motion lanes leading to hundreds of new sounds from the init preset, so you can realize unique and surprising sequences in a matter of a few clicks. Thanks to its VST interface, you can host any of your sound generator plugins in Obscurium for fresh sounds.
We hope you will enjoy exploring the depths of Obscurium. In a best-case scenario, our latest instrument communicates our love for detail, humor and passion for what we are doing.
Our intention was to make the instrument immediate and intuitive. Your ear is probably the most important organ here and we believe Obscurium holds a vast potential for the experienced electronic musician.
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Getting Started

Flexible Parameter Column,
switch on/off on the left
Hopefully this section saves you some time. We tried to explain as briefly as possible the most important aspects of the instrument.
1) CLEANING UP THE TABLE
2) OSCILLATORS
3) PITCH
4) MODULATORS
5) OUTPUT
6) LOOP BARS AND THE TRIGGER SEQUENCER

1) Cleaning up the table

Obscurium’s settings, flexible parameters and moving modulators – many of these interdependent - can be overwhelming at first sight, so starting with a clean slate is probably the best approach:
INIT preset: Click the vertical triangle in the preset area & go to the USER folder.
If you want an even more reduced approach to Obscurium, you can switch off all its engines & effects like this:
a) Activate „MIDI only“ in the Pitch Tab to switch off all generative engines.
b) Switch off all flexible parameters by deactivating the triangular indicator left to their slots in the flexible parameter column.
c) Leave the filter on (CUTOFF)! Switching it off would mute the output.
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2) Oscillators

The oscillators produce the original sound, which is then fed through the filters and effects.
Obscurium has two oscillators: Analogue & FM. Find their main controls in the Sound Tab.
Analogue. The main control is the SPREAD dial. When set at zero, this gives you classic, synced oscillation in form of a saw- or pulse wave. Cranking up SPREAD will produce super-saw waves, resulting in broad pads.
FM. Obscurium’s FM generator uses three FM modes. These can be routed in three different ways and harmonized with the harmonic button (this button also works as an indicator). You can also regulate the RATIO between the carrier frequencies and the modulating frequencies.
Have a look at the flexible parameters: Activate the MIX parameter:
1) Switch on its left indicator and
2) Activate its slot by clicking on its name.
You can now draw the MIX parameter’s motion lane in the sequencer. If you want a clean analogue signal, draw at the low end of the grid, top for FM.
Start playing with the oscillator’s features in the Sound Tab and the flexible parameters:

Analogue

Check out the Analogue section of the flexible parameters:
SNCFRQ Sets the sync frequency of the analogue oscillators. PW Pulse Width of the analogue pulse wave. WAVE Min=SAW, Max=PULSE -> relates only to the lower half of the SPREAD
dial when the analogue oscillator is on synced oscillation.
FM
We included three operators to spice things up.
These three operators can be routed in three different ways (serial, parallel & always harmonic).
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The interaction between modulating frequencies and carrier waves can produce unique and live-like sounds unachievable with other types of sound synthesis.
Flexible Parameters:
FMX This parameter controls the carrier frequencies of the three
FM operators. It covers a massive spectral playground and
should be used carefully. It works similar to the „Ratio“
control in the Sound Tab, but if the Ratio is harmonic, the carrier frequencies will also be harmonic. In Routing Mode 3 (Sound Tab) it controls formant-shifting.
FM1 This parameter controls the amount of frequency modulation
of the three operators. If this parameter is raised, the timbre will become brighter.
FM2 This parameter controls a feedback circuit within the FM
algorithm, adding complexity to the spectrum.
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3) Pitch

Here’s where the magic starts: Obscurium generates notes, sound, pitch along with the notes
you are playing on your keyboard.
Switch off the MIDI only option in the pitch tab to activate Obscurium’s pitch features.
Pitch can be controlled via the Pitch Tab (fixed settings) or the top-five (flexible) parameters. Both controls have maximum impact on Obscurium’s output.

Pitch Tab (fixed settings)

The Pitch Tab holds the general fixed settings for Obscurium’s generated voices (up to seven):
OCTAVE
Octave sets the root note’s position of Obscurium’s generated
voices by +/- 2 octaves.
DETUNE
Detune Obscurium’s voices from each other to achieve more organic results.
GLIDE
Glide will create smoother transitions between the individual pitch voices over time. It works as a classical portamento control and causes the pitch to glide from one note to another.
SCALE
Choose from 34 different scales to define the harmonic structure of the generated voices. A detailed overview of the different scales can be found in the APPENDIX.
CHORD TABLES
The chord table picks notes from the scale selected and stacks them to a chord. One chord table consists of 24 chords.
MIDI ONLY
This will switch off Obscurium’s voice generator.
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PITCH: Flexible Parameters

ARP The Arpeggiator automatically steps through a generated sequence of
notes based on the input chord and the scale selected, thus creating an arpeggio. Define the arpeggiator’s offset in the central grid (max. + 3 octaves) and/or with the pitch parameter.
The Arp uses the current 8-voice pitch and has its own polyphony. Just
open the AMP ENV Tab and use the ARP control to define the polyphony of the arpeggio.
MOD This is a plain manual modulator. Define its amount in the central grid.
PITCH Fine tunes the root note of the generated voices/chords (max +24).
CHORD Depending on your chosen SCALE and CHORD TABLE in the pitch tab,
POLY Check the y-axis in the sequencer – it shows the total number of voices
Choose from these targets:
you can trigger any of up to 24 chords in the central sequencer.
Usually 24 chords are available (unless you chose the 54 chords table).
In the PITCH Tab, you can select chord tables and scales.
played by Obscurium (one up to eight).
Here, the maximum polyphony is defined. For each step in the motion screen, you can define an individual value. This also affects the arpeggiator polyphony in the AMP ENV tab.
the Arp Envelope’s Attack/Sustain/Release
(see tab AMP ENV)
The main modulators themselves
(envelope’s ASR and the LFO rate (see tab
MODS)).
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4) Modulators

Obscurium offers six modulators:
An envelope follower, tracking the amplitude of the output (MODS tab) Targets: all flexible parameters
A Low-frequency oscillator (MODS tab) Targets: all flexible parameters
The MOD parameter as part of the Motion Sequencer (flexible parameters) Targets: AHR envelopes, LFO rate (AMP ENV & MODS tab)
LFO, envelope & Step Sequencer (MORPH pop-up) Target: Morph- and Shift Fader
For the sake of clarity, we will focus on the envelope follower and the LFO here:
The MODS tab holds settings for envelope’s AHR,
the frequency of the LFO and the modulators’
principal amount controls.
Each flexible parameter can be made a target for these two modulators.
The tiny column chart next to the parameter’s name
holds a pop-up to
1) Define the final min/max values – „final“ meaning after the y-axis setting in the
sequencer and after modulation impact.
2) Parameter’s individual amounts of the incoming modulator signal (ENV & LFO)
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5) Output

Filter

Obscurium’s Filter can be controlled via the flexible parameters in the central grid.
CUTOFF Define cutoff frequency between 35Hz and 16 kHz – switching
this parameter off will mute Obscurium’s output! RESONANCE Set the filter’s resonance. TYPE Use the grid to switch between Low-, Band- & High Pass.

Tab „AMP ENV“

ARP Envelope The ARP ENVELOPE is triggered on a step by step basis through the white-globe sequencer at
the bottom. It is the gateway to Obscurium’s arpeggiator opening up the dynamics of Obscurium’s generated pitch.
MIDI Envelope Use the MIDI envelope to manipulate the amplitude of the incoming signals.

6) Loop Bars and the Trigger Sequencer

The Trigger Sequencer

This sequencer triggers the Arp Envelope (to be found on the AMP ENV tab) and the Mod Envelope (to be found on the MODS tab).
Also, each trigger will select voices from the current scale for the arpeggiator.

The Loop Bars

The Loop bars determine which part of the sequence is being played.
The upper Loop bar sets the part played by the THE MOTION SEQUENCER.
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The Loop bar below defines the part of the sequence which is played by the Trigger Sequencer.
Drag the start- and endpoints to resize the loop bars. Drag the centre to move the loop bars.
The loop bars also determine which part of the sequence is used for copy and paste.
Goodies
1. Obscurium’s PLUGIN HOSTING
2. Tune in to the universe: changing Obscurium’s MASTER TUNE.
3. SHIFT FADER.
4. MORPH between two sequencer states.
5. Work with the MODIFIERS.
6. SUPER OBSCURE MODE.
7. STEP KEYS/ STEP PLAY Feature.
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Reference Guide

MAIN TABS
PLUGIN HOSTING
THE SEQUENCERS & LOOP Bars
FLEXIBLE PARAMETERS
TOOLS
PRESET BROWSER
ABOUT SCREEN

Main Tabs

Obscurium’s tabs hold a variety of settings throughout the signal path:
CLOCK : all you need to read the sequencer.
PITCH: all about Obscurium’s harmony.
AMP ENV controls the duration and the amplitude shaping.
MODS controls the properties of the two modulators.
SOUND controls the sound generating engines / Plugin Hosting
GENERAL Other Settings.
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CLOCK

The Clock Tab offers general settings for the speed and style of reading through the sequencer.
The mini sequencers for clock and direction need to be activated via the on/off switches on the right.
CLOCK
Here you set the note length of one step. Usually you would work with 16th or 8th notes, but here, also tripled divisions are available.
DIR
The running direction of the sequencer. We implemented the usual options like forward, backwards, ping pong and random. Try 2nd, 3rd and 4th to play every second, third or fourth step in the sequencer.
SWING
This will add a triolic feel to your groove, adding a delay to every second step.
LEGATO
Activating Legato will result in an uninterrupted sequencer movement once an additional note is pressed.
STEP KEYS
Since we have 32 steps, we can put the information of the steps to 32 keys! With this button activated, the clock will run no longer and each key on the keyboard (from C1 to G3) now relates to a single step in the sequencer.
STEP PLAY
If this button is on, the sequencer will move one step ahead when you hit a key. Hit two keys at once to reset to the first step.
OBSCURE CLOCK
put in some triplets and rolls…
This sequencer lets you change the tempo divider in ¼ note steps. So you can change tempo on the fly. That will make some great stumbling grooves:
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OBSCURE DIRECTION
This one also runs at quarter note speed. The upper field determines the playback direction. The direction contains funny settings like playing each 3rd or 4th step, or staying on a step for a number of counts.
The circled numbers set the number of repeats for each step. If the master clock is set to 1/16 notes, give it a 4 to make the step last for one bar. 8 would be two bars then.
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PITCH

The Pitch Tab offers vital controls for the generative engine.
As a pitch generator, Obscurium will take what you play on the keyboard and add melody and rhythm to it. When you play one note, Obscurium can add up to 7 more. When you play more notes, Obscurium will prefer the MIDI notes over the generated notes, but still the MIDI notes will be matched to the scale selected.
The lowest note played on the keyboard is the root note for generated scales and chords. The Pitch sequencer lane can change the root note by +/- 2 octaves.
OCTAVE
The overall octave has a huge impact on sound. Try the setting that fits best: deep and sinister or shimmering and glimmering. The octave setting is also displayed by the keyboard, where the circle-icons show the final pitch.
DETUNE
Detune the synthesizer-voices with each other. This results in a subtle and more organic pitch.
GLIDE
The pitch will slide from one voice to another with increasing glide time, as you crank up the knob: a classical portamento control.
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