tone2 Tone2 FireBird FireBird manual english

-1

Version 1.1, 2007

Tone2 would like to thank you for your interest in Firebird, a VST-format virtual analog
synthesizer. Firebird is a ground breaking product in a VST market often saturated with many
similar sounding virtual synthesizers. The architecture of Firebird will allow you to produce
many unique and dynamic sounds, so your next production that uses it will stand out from the
crowd.

Firebird features a new synthesis method called Harmonic Content Morphing (HCM) which
gives it a unique sound which is not possible with subtractive, additive or FM synthesis
methods alone. Harmonic Content Morphing actually allows you to alter the harmonics of your
oscillators over time to produce stunning dynamic sounds. Just as sounds in the real world
have changes in harmonics over time, which makes them sound pleasing and interesting,
Firebird can mimic this behaviour by changing the harmonic content of its oscillators over a
certain time period. Not only will Firebird allow you to produce new and unheard of dynamic
sounds, but it can also become your workhorse synthesizer because of the large range of
possibilities available from this seemingly straightforward synthesizer.

Icons used in this manual

To help you while your learn how to use Firebird we have included a couple of icons:

The hint icon - which gives you hints and tips to remember
when using Firebird.

The warning icon - which warns you of any important things to
be aware of when using Firebird.

With the introductions over, let’s get started!

To install the Firebird VST instrument, simply run the setup EXE file. You will be prompted to
select the install folder – please make sure that you choose the location that your VST host
application uses as the default ‘VSTPlugins’ folder. Additionally, it is strongly advised to create
a subfolder within this location for the Firebird.

Firebird is provided as a VST standard DLL file, which can be loaded in hosts that support
VST plugins.

Refer to your host application’s manual to learn how to install
the Firebird DLL, though hopefully you would have done this
before.

When the installation is completed, Firebird will be available on the instrument plug-in menu
of your VST host application. An uninstaller will be created and added to your start menu,
which you may use if you would like to remove Firebird from your computer at a later time.

If you have difficulties installing or using Firebird, please contact us by visiting our website
and clicking on the Support button:

http://www.tone2.com

We also have a support forum located on the popular KVR website, where you can post
feedback, bug reports, and ask questions.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=76

Firebird features

● Harmonic content morphing (HCM)

● 58 OSC types containing 14000 morphable waveforms!

● 20 Filter Types

● True stereo mode, 4x unison mode, and up to 8 OSCs per voice

● Can sound like other synthesis methods- Additive, Subtractive, AM, FM, Phase

Distortion, Supersaw, Vocoder - with just a few parameter changes

● Spectral manipulations or “modifiers”

So, I hear you ask… what is Harmonic Content Morphing?

Picture this…

In a studio somewhere, a musician picks up an acoustic guitar and strums a note. As the
string vibrates through the air and the sound reverberates through the guitar chamber, this
seemingly simple act generates a very complex sequence of harmonic spectra which change
over time. In other words, the essence of the guitar sound changes over time, which makes
an acoustic guitar sound like an acoustic guitar. It is possible to make a sequence of
snapshots of these spectra at given times, in essence to capture that change in basic sound
over time. And this is where Firebird comes in…

Tone2 has analysed the spectras of natural instruments and synthesizer sounds, to produce
harmonic content snapshots of various sounds which have been included in the synthesizer
as waveform morph-tables. Each snapshot in a morph-table is equivalent to a traditional
single oscillator waveform, and each morph-table has 256 snapshots! In Firebird, these
morph-tables can be loaded exactly like traditional oscillators in subtractive synths, but then
you can:

Ÿ Modify the morph-table spectrally by changing the harmonic structure of the sound - you

can make a fat sound become thin for example, a thin sound become fat, or you can
multiply the harmonics… and much more!

Ÿ Control the playback of snapshots in each morph-table, over a chosen time period. In

other words, you can change the sound over time, however you see fit.

Harmonic Content Morphing gives you the ability to mimic the sound of real life instruments
like guitars and pianos, but also gives you the opportunity to create unique sounds by
morphing harmonic content in interesting ways. The possibilities are endless…. Unlike
traditional synthesis methods like subtractive and additive which for the most part have only
static single oscillators, Firebird allows you to alter your basic sound over time because of the
inclusion of 256 snapshots per morph-table. Firebird includes 58 morph-tables, so that means
a total of 14,000 snapshots are contained in the synthesizer. Welcome to the power of
Firebird!

This manual assumes that you have a certain amount of
synthesis knowledge before you start trying to program Firebird.
Sure, presets can be acceptable to use in certain situations, but
more often than not you will want to dive into the world of
synthesis to tailor sounds to your needs.

If this world is new to you, you may wish to learn the basics of
sound synthesis before you continue to read through this
manual. The Sound on Sound website has some great
resources about synthesis. Go to http://www.sospubs.co.uk and
search for “Synthesis” using the search engine.

Firebird uses three main controls, which you will alter to program your own sounds. These
are:

Knobs

Click on a knob and drag left or right to decrease or increase the
parameter.

Note: when adjusting a knob, the parameter name and value are shown
over it so you know what parameter you are adjusting and by how much.

In this example, the Filter cutoff is being set at a value of 26.

Drop down selectors

Click on these and a drop down menu will appear with a number of options.
Click on an option in a drop down menu to select it.

Buttons

There are a number of buttons on the Firebird interface which can be
clicked These are described in later sections.

The following pages contain a detail overview of how to use Firebird. We’ll follow Firebird
through from signal generation (oscillators) to filtering, modulation, volume, arpeggiator and
effects.

First up… the oscillators of Firebird…

The Osc1 and Osc2 sections provide the sound generation of Firebird. This is where you can
get the basic timbre of the sound which can be spectrally modified, and the playback of the
harmonic content can be controlled through Harmonic Content Morphing (HCM). Firebird
contains over 15000 spectras in more than 60 morphtables. Each morph-table basically acts
as an oscillator than can change harmonics over time.

Let’s look at what each part of the Osc1/Osc2 section does:

wave For either Osc1 or Osc2 click on the drop-down selectors to select a morph

table. This is the equivalent of choosing a waveform in a traditional subtractive
synthesizer, but Firebird stores 256 waveforms (snapshots) for each morph­table which can be morphed using loopmode and loopspeed (see below)

Choose from the following waveform morph-tables (shown here grouped in
categories):

Single Waveforms

Off No waveform is used in the oscillator.
Noise
WV Saw
WV Pulse
WV Sine
WV Peek
WV Comb
WV Platine

Pulses

EL PWM
EL Squ Multi

Saws

EL Beta 2x
EL Beta 4x
EL Saw Multi
EL Flange 1
EL Flange 2
EL Synced

Sine morphed sounds

PD Peek
PD Squ
PD Saw

FX

SO Sine Rand
SO Ambie 1
SO Ambie 2
SO Digital
SO Morph
SO Multi
SO Platine
SO Feedsyn
SO Lava
SO Siaou

Other

OT Didge
OT Flute

Brass

BR Sax
BR Trumpets
BR Trumpet

Organ

OR Church
OR Clicks
OR Hammond
OR Tremolo
OR Orgicato

Guitar

GT Slap 1
GT Slap 2
GT Sitar
GT Saz

Piano

PI Piano like 1
PI Piano like 2
PI Harpsich

Percussion

PE Bowl 1
PE Bell
PE Marimba

Vocoder

VO Electro
VO Synth

VO Vocoder
VO Music
VO We are…
VO Let the...
VO I am...
VO Welcome
VO Drumloop 1
VO Drumloop 2

modify Select a modifier to alter the harmonics of the sound.

You can choose from the following modifiers:

Off No spectral modification occurs
Mix: X2 Mix with one octave up
Mix: X4 Mix with two octave up
Mix: Layer Mix with a layer of octaves
Thin: Square Sets all even harmonics to 0, to give a tone like a square

waveform

Thin: Bell Bell sound harmonics, similar to sounds that can be

derived from FM synthesis

Thin: Warm Makes sound warmer and more bassy
Squeeze: shrink ?????
Squeeze: spread Makes sound sharper with more treble
Squeeze: up Shift spectrum up
Squeeze: down Shift spectrum down
Multi: 1 Sounds like several waves are playing at once for a thicker

sounds

Multi: 2 Sounds like several waves are playing at once for a thicker

sound

Multi: Flange1 Adds a flange effect to the sound
Multi: Flange2 Another flanger-like sound
Multi: Hyper1 Sounds like several noisy waves are playing at once
Multi: Hyper2 Sounds like several noisy waves are playing at once
Filt: LP down Low pass filter with falling cutoff
Filt: LP up Low pass filter with raising cutoff
Time: +16 Rotate spectrum in time (+16 snapshots)
Time: +32 Rotate spectrum in time (+32 snapshots)
Time: +37 Rotate spectrum in time (+37 snapshots)
Time: +64 Rotate spectrum in time (+64 snapshots)
Time: +107 Rotate spectrum in time (+107 snapshots)
Sync Provides a sync-like sound, similar to the oscillator-sync

function found in some subtractive synthesizers

loopmode

There are different ways how Harmonic Content Morphing can be done:

forward,
backward,
forward and backward.

Load a piano oscillator (eg PI Piano like 1) and play around with it, this helps to
understand what happens. Plus is forward, minus is backward, when playing
the morph-table.

loopspeed This is how fast the morph is performed - the time it takes to cycle through the

harmonic sequence of the morphtable.

The available loop speeds fall into the following categories when you choose

auto: Tries to automatically detect the best loopspeed
Hz: A fixed loopspeed, in hertz.
BPM: Host BPM synced loopspeed.

The frequency sets the time how long it takes to cycle
trough on harmonic set

BPM*2 Means the loopspeed will be twice the hosts BPM

rate

Key follow: The higher the note, the faster the cycling speed

tune Adjusts the coarse tuning of each oscillator (in octaves).

fine Adjusts the fine tuning of each oscillator (in semitones).

vol Adjusts the volume of each oscillator.

fat This is equivalent to a unison effect and will multiply the available oscillators

and spread them across the stereo field to provide a huge, wide sound which is
often favoured on lead sounds in contemporary dance music.

Available fat settings: mono; 2x stereo unison; 4x stereo unison

analog Adjusting this will increase or decrease the amount of oscillator pitch drift, to

simulate the effect of old virtual analog synthesizers going out of tune slightly.
This is a subtle effect but can add some realism to a patch.

Filter

type Choose from the extensive range of available filter-types from the drop down

selector:

While there are many different filter types most are variations on the four main
filter types, lowpass, highpass, bandpass and notch.

A lowpass filter allows low frequencies to be heard, but blocks the higher
frequencies. It is often used for isolating bass sounds.

A highpass filter allows high frequencies to be heard, but blocks the lower
frequencies. It is frequently used to create hi-pitched whistle sounds, and
piercing synthesizer leads.

A bandpass filter allows the frequencies within a specific range to be heard, and
blocks out all the other frequencies above and below it. It can be used to create a
variety of effects, from the subtle to insane!

A notch filter is the opposite of a bandpass filter – it will block the frequencies
within a set range, and allow all other frequencies above and below it to be
heard. Like the bandpass filter, it can be used to achieve a wide variety of effects.

cutoff Adjust the cutoff of the filter.

Cutoff is used to set the frequency at which the filter’s behavior changes, relative
to the filter type. In a lowpass filter, the cutoff will set the frequency at which the
filter begins to ‘close’ and allow less and less of the higher frequencies through.
When the frequencies are high enough past the cutoff point, no more sound will
be allowed through the filter.

In a highpass filter, the opposite applies – the cutoff sets the frequency point at
which the filter begins to reject sounds that are lower than the cutoff point.
Sounds far enough below the cutoff point will not be let through the filter at all.

In a bandpass or notch filter, the cutoff value acts a little but differently – it sets
the center point of the ‘band’ or ‘notch’, which will taper off as the frequencies
move away from the cutoff point, both in higher or lower frequencies.

reso Adjust the resonance.

Understanding how the cutoff function works is essential to understanding
resonance. In essence, resonance controls the steepness of the ‘slope’ around
the cutoff point. A very steep slope would filter more frequencies sooner, relative
to the sound moving away from the cutoff point. In comparison, a very soft slope
would have the filtering applied more subtly, and require a farther frequency from
the cutoff point to achieve complete signal attenuation.

Steep filter response slopes are referred to as having a higher resonance value,
or sometimes a higher ‘Q’ (which refers to ‘quality’ – a steeper curve is a higher
quality filter because it is more precise).

The slope of a filter’s response curve is often measures in dB/Oct, or ‘Decibels
per Octave’. Values may look like 18dB/Oct, 30dB/Oct, etc. Using 18dB/Oct as
an example, this means that a frequency an octave away from the cutoff point
would be attenuated by 18 decibels relative to the full signal. The higher the
resonance or ‘q’ of the filter, the higher the number in the dB/Oct measurement
will be.

High resonance values will actually add a boost to the frequencies at the cutoff
point, and are useful when you want to really focus on a very precise part of a
sound, or generate intense, cutting tones. Low resonance values are better
suited to subtle and less precise ‘smoothing’ and shaping of your sounds.

drive The Drive knob is used to adjust the amount of signal that is being fed into a

distortion module in Firebird. The higher the value, the greater the effect of the

distortion effect will be, from subtle to very overdriven and extreme sounds.

key Adjusts the effect that notes playing will have on the cutoff of the filter. Positive

“key” knob values will cause the cutoff to increase when higher keys are played,
while negative knob values will cause the cutoff to decrease.

Filter envelope

The filter envelope controls (ADSR) determine how the filter is affected by the envelope.
Adjust these parameters to make the filter’s cutoff change over time.

A (Attack time) Controls the attack time of the filter envelope. If you want the filter

cutoff to be immediate use a short filter attack time, or if you want the cutoff to
fade in use a longer attack time.

D (Decay time) controls the initial decay filter decay time, ie the time it takes the

filter cutoff to return to the set “cutoff” value.

S (Sustain volume) Sets the volume that the sound reaches after the decay phase.

R (Release time) Sets the amount of time the sound takes to go from sustain

volume to zero volume, after the decay phase. Increase the release time for long
sounds like pads and strings.

vel (Velocity to filter envelope) Positive values (+) will amplify the effect of the filter

envelope, while negative values (-) will decrease the effect.

send This will modulate the chosen destination from the LFO section (see next page),

by a positive (+) or negative (-) value.

The Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) allows you to modulate various parameters of Firebird.

LFO works by creating a rising and falling waveform, moving at a sub-audio (less than 20hz,
or ‘cycles per second’) rates. This waveform can typically be linked to any of multiple different
parameters, giving the effect of having the parameter ‘rise’ and ‘fall’ according to the
waveform and rate of the LFO. It’s a simple yet powerful way to automate control over various
parameters, and create a more interesting, dynamic sound.

You can adjust the following parameters when programming modulation into a patch:

type Here you can choose the shape of the LFO. A triangle waveform will rise and fall

at a constant rate, while a rising saw will fall faster than it rises. This is an area
where experimentation will help you find the sound you are after.

speed Controls the speed of the LFO - choose from Hz (frequency) or BPM (tempo-

synced to host) settings.

send Controls how much the LFO will affect the destination parameter. Positive values

(+) will affect it more, and negative values (-) will affect it less.

dest Here you can choose the modulation destination, in other words you can choose

the destination parameter which will be modulated by the LFO.

The possible destinations include:

● Cutoff

● Resonance

● Volume

● OSC octave

● OSC pitch

● OSC detune

● Pan

● OSC 1/2 cross

Like any other synthesiser, the volume/amplitude envelope allows you to shape the volume of
your patch over time.

A (Attack time) Controls the attack time of the volume envelope. For punchy

sounds use lower attack times, or for sounds that fade in use longer attack times.

D (Decay time) controls the initial decay time of the sound, after the attack phase

has finished, before the patch reaches the sustain volume (and then moves into
the release phase)

S (Sustain volume) Sets the volume that the sound reaches after the decay phase.

R (Release time) Sets the amount of time the sound takes to go from sustain

volume to zero volume, after the decay phase. Increase the release time for long
sounds like pads and strings.

vel (Velocity to volume) This effects how much the velocity of incoming notes affects

the volume envelope. Greater vel values will cause velocity to amplify the volume
envelope, while lesser vel values will have the opposite affect.

pop If this button is turned on (it goes a darker shade when turned on) then the

volume envelope will be retriggered when you release a key on the keyboard. If
you are programming long, evolving pads where the volume envelope should be
continuous regardless of what key is pressed, then turn pop off. In certain
situations it can be useful to re-trigger the volume envelope after every key, so in
those situations you would turn pop on.

Firebird provides an arpeggiator so you can turn your incoming midi notes into a hi-energy
melody for dance music (or anywhere else you would like). The Arp options are:

type Selects the Arp type from the following a selection.

Up / Down / Alt The arpeggiator plays each of the keys being pressed in

order, and with an increasing octave range.
Example: Up 2oct plays the currently pressed keys in an
upward direction, while systemically increasing the note
by 2 octaves from the original key. Larger oct values will
cause the arpeggiator pattern to cover a larger ranges of

notes.
Gate Rhythmically triggers a complete chord at once.
1 Finger The 1 finger types automatically play a chord in the key

chosen, eg 1 Finger C.

rhythm Controls the rhythm or feel of each 1 bar arpeggio pattern. When selecting

rhythm, take note of the following symbols in the patterns:

| indicates an on note in the pattern
. Indicates an off note in the pattern

The | symbols indicate where individual hits sounds in the Arp pattern, so they
give you an idea of the groove of the pattern.

Eg.
|…….|…….
Means that the arpeggiator will sound on the 1st and 8th notes of the bar in that
pattern.

|…|…|……..
Means the arpeggiator will sound on the 1st, 4th and 8th notes of the bar.

Firebird provides you with a range effect treatments to help you tailor sounds to your needs.
You can assign one effect per patch. Move the par1 and par2 knobs left and right to
decrease and increase amounts. Click the drop down selector above type to select the
effects.

The effects are:

type description par1 par2

Off Effects are bypassed ----- -----

Reverb A A reverb controlled by a time setting mix time

Reverb B A reverb suited to halls and larger rooms mix room size

Delay A An echo-like delay which uses room size mix room size

Delay B A dub style delay using feedback feedback time

Delay C An echo-like delay using time mix time

Delay D A dub style delay using feedback feedback time

Chorus A chorus effect speed depth

Ensemble A thicker chorus-like effect speed depth

Flanger A classic flanger effect speed depth

Rotary A rotary speaker effect speed volume mod

Del + Rev A A mix of delay + Reverb A mix room size

Del + Rev B A mix of delay + Reverb B mix room size

Ens + Rev A mix of the ensemble effect + reverb mix room size

The Other section of the Firebird interface provides controls and buttons for various Firebird
utilities. These controls are:

vol This knob controls the output gain of Firebird.

midi The red light emitting diode (LED) flashes whenever Firebird receives midi notes.

setup Clicking the setup button opens the setup screen - see “Setup” section below

random Clicking this button will randomize all the parameters of Firebird and may yield

interesting and possibly other-wordly results! Click this for instant inspiration, and
don’t forget to save random patches if they sound particularly good.

The random button could result in unpredictable sounds. Make
sure insert a reliable Brickwall Limiter after Firebird to ensure
that you don’t blow your speakers - or even worse, your
eardrums! Always remember to have your speakers, monitors or
headphones set at lower levels when you are experimenting
with sound to avoid long term damage to your hearing. Once
your hearing is gone, it’s very difficult to get it back, it not
impossible. So, please take care.

Midi CC assignment:

#2: Analog
#7: Main volume
#21: OSC1 tune
#22: OSC2 tune
#23: OSC1 fine
#24: OSC2 fine
#25: OSC1 volume
#26: OSC2 volume
#28: Filter key follow
#71: Reso
#72: Reso
#74: Cutoff
#116: Drive
#91: Effect par1
#92: Effect par2
#102: Filter env attack

#103: Filter env decay
#104: Filter env sustain
#105: Filter env release
#106: Filter env velocity
#107: Filter env send
#108: Volume env attack
#109: Volume env decay
#110: Volume env sustain
#111: Volume env release
#112: Volume env velocity
#113: Volume env pop
#114: LFO send

In setup you can route your modwheel (CC#1) to these destinations:

– vibrato fast
– vibrato slow
– cutoff +
– cutoff -
– reso +
– reso -
– osc1/2 crossfade

The Setup screen allows you to alter some of Firebird’s options:

exit setup Clicking this button returns you to the main Firebird screen.

pitch wheel depth Controls how much the pitch wheel of a midi controller will affect the

pitch of Firebird, in semitones. A depth of +-2 means that when the
pitch wheel is pushed to it’s maximum the pitch is altered by 2
semitones.

modwheel Sets the destination parameter that is affected when you move the

modwheel on a midi controller. The possible destinations are:

Ÿ Vibrato fast
Ÿ Vibrato slow
Ÿ Cutoff + (affects the cutoff positively)
Ÿ Cutoff - (affects the cutoff negatively)
Ÿ Resonance + (affects the resonance positively)
Ÿ Resonance - (affects the resonance negatively)
Ÿ OSC ½ crossfade (Crossfades between Osc1 and Osc2)

glide mode Controls the glide mode (portamento) of Firebird. This allows you to

slide between notes to create particular effects, like the TB303 acid
sound; or the sound of a finger sliding along a violin string.

glide time Controls the glide (portamento time) - the time it takes to glide between

two particular notes.

quality Sets the rendering and playback quality. Lower values will decrease

CPU use but lower quality. Higher values will increase CPU usage, but
also increase quality.

voices Controls the number of notes that Firebird can play at once. Decrease

to lower CPU usage when using complex arrangements or playing
chords with many notes.

hide keys Clicking this button will show or hide the virtual keyboard at the bottom

of the Firebird interface. The virtual keyboard shows the keys midi
notes that Firebird is receiving by animating a key press, and clicking
on the keyboard will force Firebird to play the note you have pressed. If
you find these features unnecessary and wish to conserve screen
space, then hide the keyboard.

Visit the tone2 website http://www.tone2.com in the future, and you will be able to buy a
firebird expansion package including more filter-types, more waveforms and additional
presets.

Check the website regularly to see when new expansion packages are released!

Firebird concept and development by Markus Feil.

We would like to thank the following contributors:

The beta testing team

Manual

Chris Farrell