u-he ACE User Guide

ACE
any cable everywhere
user guide
for version 1.4.1
15. December 2019!
HECKMANN AUDIO GMBH - BERLIN
Introduction 4
Installation 4 ...........................................................
ACE Concept and Features 5 ................................
User Interface 6
Default Signal Flow 6 .............................................
Control Bar 7 ..........................................................
GUI Elements 8 ......................................................
Multichannel MIDI 10 .............................................
Patch Browser 11
Overview 11 ...........................................................
Directory Panel 12 .................................................
Presets Panel 14 ...................................................
Drag & Drop functions 15 ......................................
Preset Tagging 16 ..................................................
Search by Tags 17 .................................................
Search by Text 18 ..................................................
Modules 20
VCO common parameters 20 ................................
VCO1 21 ................................................................
VCO2 22 ................................................................
LFO common parameters 23 .................................
LFO1 24 .................................................................
LFO2 26 .................................................................
MIX 27 ....................................................................
VCF 28 ...................................................................
ADSR 30 ................................................................
Ramp Generator 31 ...............................................
Multiplex 31 ............................................................
VCA 33 ...................................................................
Signal Sources 34 ..................................................
General Settings 35
Polyphony and Quality 35 ......................................
Pitch Settings 36 ....................................................
Effects 37
Chorus 37 ..............................................................
Delay 39 .................................................................
Tone controls 40 ....................................................
Effects On/Off 40 ...................................................
Tweak Page 41
Mapping Generator 41 ...........................................
Stacked Voice Tuning 44 .......................................
Circuit Bending 44 .................................................
Envelope Tweaks 45 ..............................................
Microtuning 45 .......................................................
Configuration 46
MIDI Control 46 ......................................................
Preferences 48......................................................
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
Installation
Go to the ACE webpage at www.u-he.com, download the appropriate installer for your system, and unzip the compressed file. Open the “ACE” folder and start the installer application. The only demo restriction is a mild crackling sound at irregular intervals af­ter about two minutes of use. This disappears after you enter a valid serial number.
For more information, including our terms of use, please refer to the ReadMe file that comes with the installer. By default, ACE uses the following directories:
Win
presets (local) C:\Users\*YOU*\Documents\u-he\ACE.data\Presets\ACE\" presets (user) C:\Users\*YOU*\Documents\u-he\ACE.data\UserPresets\ACE\ " preferences C:\Users\*YOU*\Documents\u-he\ACE.data\Support\ (*.txt files)" alternative skins C:\Users\*YOU*\Documents\u-he\ACE.data\Support\Themes\ " microtuning C:\Users\*YOU*\Documents\u-he\ACE.data\Tunefiles\
Mac
presets (local) Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/ACE/" presets (user) *YOU*/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/ACE/" preferences *YOU*/Library/Application Support/u-he/com.u-he.ACE... (*.* files)" alternative skins Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/u-he/Themes/" microtuning Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/u-he/Tunefiles/
online resources
For downloads, news articles and support, go to the u-he website For lively discussions about u-he products, go to the u-he forum For friendship and informal news updates, go to the u-he facebook page For countless presets (commercial and free), go to the u-he preset library For video tutorials and more, go to the u-he youtube channel
u-he team 2020
in no particular order…
Urs Heckmann (boss, concepts, original GUI); Thomas Binek (QA, bug-hunting, pre­sets); Sebastian Greger (GUI design, 3D stuff); Rob Clifton-Harvey (IT admin, backend development); Viktor Weimer (support, presets, the voice); Howard Scarr (user guides, presets, necessary grump); Jan Storm (framework, more code); Sascha Eversmeier (code, bad puns); William Rodewald (student life-support code); Frank Hoffmann (more framework, new browser); Alexandre Bique (all things Linux); Henna Gramentz (office supervision); Jayney Klimek (office management); Alf Klimek (tagging & repairs, studio); Melina Garbisch (studio attendant); Oddvar Manlig (everything else!)
Special thanks to Brian Rzycki for maintaining the original preset library!
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INTRODUCTION
ACE Concept and Features
modular ultrasound
Most digital synths handle audio signals and modulation signals separately. Audio is usually evaluated at a rate between 44100 and 96000 Hertz, while modulation signals update at 1000 Hz or slower (often called the "control rate" of the synthesizer).
ACE is different in this respect. While the oscillators have more than 500 times over­sampling, all signals (including modulation) run at least twice as fast as the host appli­cation's sample rate... and this is just the lowest of ACE's quality settings.
ACE does not differentiate between audio signals and modulation/control signals. You can plug any signal output into any signal inputs and expect it to work just like vintage modular hardware. So any modulation can function beyond the limits of human hearing. For instance, the LFOs (low frequency oscillators) can be sent above 20 kHz and still modulate e.g. the pulse width of another oscillator. This gives you a sonic freedom pre­viously reserved for expensive analogue hardware. Both LFOs can be used as audio oscillators e.g. for FM (frequency modulation) sounds. Conversely, the VCOs (voltage controlled oscillators) can be used as alternative LFOs. Note: Any DC (direct current) is removed from VCO outputs, so when used as LFOs their shapes may not be precisely as you might expect.
analogue modeling
Wherever necessary, the non-linear characteristics of analogue circuitry has been pro­grammed directly into the code. For instance, the filter algorithm is built around a very precise mathematical model of a hardware analogue filter – as are the basic compo­nents of the oscillators and envelope generators.
Only the LFOs, mixer, ramp generator and control-signal conversions are not analogue models. You will soon hear why: unlike its analogue ancestors, ACE is not susceptible to instabilities, and all the oscillators can be synchronized to song tempo. In ACE, even perfect host-synchronized beating between two oscillators is possible.
Non-linear distortion in the self-oscillating filters, extremely fast envelopes and modula­tion channels (as well as other unique details such as "Glide2" and “Tap Map”) open up a myriad of sound-sculpting techniques unavailable in other software synths.
If you really want to compare ACE to a classic modular synth (or three), think of it as a pimped-up ARP 2600 using modules from a Roland SH-7 with (almost) the patching flexibility of an EMS VCS3 / Synthi A – but polyphonic. Just like the ARP 2600, ACE is pre-patched so that it will work out-of-the-box, but these default connections can be overridden by plugging in patch cables.
Many of the modules were designed to carry out a number of seemingly unrelated tasks. For instance the ramp generator can be used as an LFO, the multiplexes as ring or amplitude modulators, LFO1 as a waveshaper, or the filters as slew limiters…
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INTRODUCTION
User Interface
You should feel very comfortable with ACE – it was designed to pack a lot of functionality into a compact but clear user interface:
Default Signal Flow
Like e.g. the ARP 2600 but unlike most other real modular systems, you don’t need to plug any cables in before you can get a humble squeak out of ACE. That’s because the mod­ules are already connected in the typical configuration of a fixed architecture synth by de­fault. Of course the real fun begins when you dip into your infinite supply of cables and start overriding those defaults, connecting modules together any way you like...
ACE signal flow when no patch cables are connected
VCO1 and sub-oscillator, VCO2 and white noise are MIXed and routed to VCF1, which is in turn routed to VCA1 (to right of the oscilloscope, unlabeled). VCO2 is also sent through VCF2 to VCA2.
LFO1 is hardwired as the source of vibrato for both VCOs. The output level of LFO1 and therefore vibrato depth is controlled by the modulation wheel (MIDI CC#1). LFO2 (violet) modulates both VCO pulse widths and both VCF cutoffs.
ADSR1 (red) is used as the envelope generator for both VCAs. ADSR2 (orange) modu­lates both VCO frequencies, both VCF cutoffs and the output level of LFO2.!
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INTRODUCTION
Control Bar
The strip along the top is home to several indicators and controls:
synth / tweak / patch
Select the the synthesis page, the so-called Tweak page or the patch (preset) browser.
MIDI
A MIDI activity indicator. This flashes whenever ACE is receiving MIDI data.
save
Right-click on the Save button to check the format in which patches will be saved. The default is u-he’s cross-platform .h2p format. To save patches in the host-specific native format, select native before saving. We recommend using the standard .h2p so you can exchange patches directly between the various computer worlds. The .h2p extended format is the same but also allows per-line comments.
Important: If you have set the Save Presets To preference from the default user folder to selected folder, make sure that the folder where you want to store your preset is already selected before saving – if not, click on it first.
Click on the [save] button, give your preset a name and enter any other details. Preset description, playing tips etc. – anything you would like to appear in the PRESET INFO panel of the browser. Finally, confirm by clicking on the apply button.
Whenever you need to create a new folder or refresh the list (e.g. if folders or patches have been added from Explorer / Finder), right-click in the left pane of the browser. Simply clicking on a folder should also refresh the list.
Tip: If there’s a preset called default in the local root, it will be loaded instead of the regular demo sound. Try this: Right-click on the data display and select ‘init’. Save the patch under the name ‘default’ and start a fresh instance of ACE.
data display
The central display shows the name of the selected patch or the value of any parameter as it is being edited. Click on the triangles either side of the display to step through patches. Click on the name in the the display to open a drop-down list of all patches in the current directory.
undo / redo
To the right of the data display is a pair of undo and redo buttons.The number of steps in the undo buffer is limited, but you can even undo a change of preset to recall edits made to the previous one!!
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INTRODUCTION
multicore
Switching this on causes ACE to distribute voices across available CPU cores, which will usually allow more voices to be played without overloading the CPU. This mode ap­pears to work well on relatively recent processors such as the Intel i5 and i7, but please note that performance can even be reduced if your CPU is older. Note: Some hosts al­ready offer multicore support, and this can lead to poorer performance for ACE. In such cases, please switch one of them off (either ACE’s or the host's multicore option).
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GUI Elements
knobs
ACE has two types of knob: unipolar and bipolar. Unipolar knobs only allow positive values, usually within a range of 0.00 to
100.00. Bipolar knobs also allow negative values, usually within a range of -100.00 to +100.00 with zero in the central position.
coarse control: Click+hold with the lefthand mouse button, then drag up or down.
fine control: for steps of 0.01, hold down either SHIFT key before moving the knob.
mouse wheel: If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can hover over a knob and roll the
wheel for coarse adjustment. Fine control via SHIFT.
If your mouse wheel is rastered (you can feel it clicking slightly as you roll the wheel), right-click on any knob and select MouseWheel is rastered from the context menu. Each little click will then increment or decrement with a more ‘sensible’ step!
default reset: Double-clicking a knob reverts to a sensible default value, usually 0.00.
Note: All the above also applies to the envelope faders.!
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INTRODUCTION
switches
All orange text elements and icons are switches. Many of them also serve as labels for the associated knobs.
Values can be incremented via left-click, a right-click opens the list, and mouse wheel movement scrolls through all values.
parameter locking
To guarantee that the value of a parameter doesn’t change when you switch presets, use the Lock function. Right-click on a control and select
‘Lock’ from the context menu. Please remember this: You are still free to ad­just the value of a locked parameter at any time!
sockets and cables
In most hardware modular synthesizers, standard jack sockets and leads are used to connect modules together. ACE’s virtual cables always connect outputs with inputs:
the OUTPUT sockets have darker rims
the INPUT sockets have lighter rims
To create a connection in ACE, drag and drop between the sockets. Outputs will happily accommodate several patch cables, while inputs will only accept one. Most of the mod­ulation inputs have controls for setting the modulation amount. For instance below LFO1‘s Phase knob is an input socket and control for phase modulation.
daisychains: Although you normally can’t connect two inputs together, try dragging a cable from an unused input socket to one that is already in use it works, the source signal is passed on to all inputs in the chain. The main advantage of daisychain patch­ing is that it can appear clearer.
to change inputs, drag+drop from the current input to another input.
to change opacity and style, right click on any input socket (even an unused one) and
select the two properties: Opacity = solid, see-thru, x-ray or ghosted and Style = thick, slim, line, hair or natural. Default options can be set in the preferences panel.
to change outputs, right-click on the output and drag it to a different output. A straight line will appear. Several cables connected to one output can only be moved together.
to remove cables, double-click (or drag away) the input end.
to change colour, click on the input end. Take care not to double-click, as this would
remove the cable. Colours are initially selected more or less at random so that overlap­ping cables can be differentiated easily.!
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INTRODUCTION
oscilloscope
The oscilloscope displays a mono sum of the output, pre-effects. It is used for e.g. fine adjustments to waveforms, for checking the effects of audio-rate mod­ulation or filtering on the waveform, for viewing envelope shapes etc.. Or sim­ply for its entertainment value!
Oscilloscopes have proved very useful while creating sounds. Especially if the synth has audio-rate modulation – like classic modular systems... and ACE.
ACE’s oscilloscope is synchronized to MIDI notes as well as to zero-crossings (negative to positive transitions). The display is updated whenever a longer scan is completed.
As synchronization is automatic, the oscilloscope only requires two controls: Freq ad­justs the horizontal resolution while Scale adjusts the vertical resolution.
Right-clicking in the window lets you switch the drawing mode: glow, fire and wind add different fade-out effects at the cost of extra CPU. These modes are also a bit slower than eco or fast. Tip: If you need to keep CPU-usage down, use eco (economical) mode. The setting is temporary. To specify a default ‘scope effect, see Preferences.
GUI size
Right-click anywhere in the background. The size options are measured in percentages and pixels (width x height), and increment in 10% steps from 70% to 200%.
This setting is temporary – to specify a default GUI size, see Preferences.
Multichannel MIDI
ACE now supports a growing class of expressive ‘performance’ instruments (e.g. Haken Continuum, Eigenharp, Roli Seaboard, Linnstrument) that can send each note on a separate MIDI channel. For ACE to respond correctly your host must be able to route multiple MIDI channels to a single instance of a plug-in. Each voice should then react individually to performance controls (pitchbend, pressure, mod wheel, Control A and Control B).
The voice modes poly, mono and legato become practically identical while multichannel MIDI is received. In each case, ACE behaves like several mono synths set to the same sound. The value of voices in the General Settings panel still applies as the voices can be ‘stolen’ across multiple channels. The duo voice mode is not channel aware – the MIDI channels are simply merged. ‘Single trigger’ type modulation sources react to the channel used by the first played voice.!
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PATCHES
Patch Browser
Overview
ACE presets are sometimes called patches, a term borrowed by the modular synth com­munity from the telephone world where calls used to be connected via jack cords.
You can load any preset in the current folder by clicking on the data display, or step through them by clicking on the arrow symbols either side of the data display.
Of course ACE also includes a browser. Clicking on the [patch] button at the top left will open this set of panels:
Folders appear on the left, patches in the centre and information about the currently active one appear on the right. If you can’t see any, click on Local. If there is no PRESET INFO panel, click on the [] button (top right) and select Show Preset Info.
The Local root directory contains a representative selection of presets copied from the sub-folders. After loading a preset by clicking on its name you can step through all others using your computer’s cursor keys.
That’s all you need to know for now!
If you want to dig deeper, however, read the rest of this chapter. ACE’s browser has many more features including drag&drop functions and a powerful search engine.
Default preset
When ACE starts it checks whether the Local root contains a preset called default, which is then loaded instead of the demo sound. Note that default will not appear in the browser.
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PATCHES
Directory Panel
On the left of the patch browser is the DIRECTORY panel:
Local
ACE’s factory presets are sorted into folders 01 through 09. We recommend that you do not add or remove presets here, but save all your creations and any third party sound­sets in the ‘User’ folder (see below). See the preference Save Presets To.
MIDI Programs
As well as the categorized factory presets, Local also contains a special folder called ‘MIDI Programs’, which is initially empty. When the first instance of ACE starts, all pre­sets in that folder will be loaded into memory. These presets (up to 128) are selected directly via MIDI Program Change messages. As they are accessed in alphabetical or­der, it’s probably best to put a number at the beginning of the name e.g. ‘000 rest-of­name’ to ‘127 rest-of-name’. But that’s not all…
‘MIDI Programs’ can contain up to 127 sub-folders, each holding up to 128 presets. The sub-folders are switched via MIDI Bank Select messages (CC#0). Send Bank Select first, then Program Change. ‘MIDI Programs’ is bank 0, sub-folders are addressed in alphabetical order, starting with bank 1.
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PATCHES
Important: ‘MIDI Programs’ presets cannot be added, removed or renamed on the fly – any changes to that directory will only take affect after you have restarted the host.
User Folder
The best address for your own creations as well as soundsets from other sources. You can either select ‘User’ immediately before saving the preset, or set a global preference which ensures that it will always be saved here – see the Save Presets To preference.
Tip: It’s worth finding out where the ‘User’ folder actually resides on your computer. Right-click on ‘User’ and select reveal in Finder (Mac) or open in Explorer (Win).
Smart Folders
These folders do not contain files, but display the results of querying a database. The content is dynamic i.e. it will change whenever the underlying data changes.
Search History
Click on this folder to display the results of past searches (maximum 10). Whenever you need to make the results of a search more permanent, right-click and select save Search... The entry will be moved to the Saved Searches folder – see below. To remove all searches from the list, right-click on the Search History folder and select clear.
Saved Searches
This folder contains searches that have been saved via right click from Search History. To remove individual saved searches, right-click on the search and select delete.
Tip: Entries dragged from Saved Searches and dropped onto real folders within Local or User will create a folder containing copies of all found presets!
Favourites
8 smart folders, one for each Favourite colour. See Presets context menu on the next page. Presets dropped onto one of the Favourites folders will be marked as such.
Junk
A smart folder pointing to all junked presets. See Presets context menu on the next page. Presets dropped onto this folder will disappear from the rest of the browser un­less made visible (see show junk in the Presets context menu).
Tags
Smart folders for each Category/Subcategory, Features and Character tag. Presets dropped onto these folders will adopt the corresponding tag. Presets dropped onto the Untagged folder will have all Category, Features and Character tags removed.
Author
Smart folders for each Author. Tip: Instead of signing each of your creations, you could sign just one of them, select them all and drag onto Author/*YOU*/. This process cannot be undone, so to avoid setting wrong authorship please use this feature with caution!
See also the section Drag & Drop functions a few pages down…!
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PATCHES
Directory context menu
Right-clicking on any folder within Local or User will open this menu:
refresh: Update the browser contents, which is necessary for
Windows users after altering any files in Explorer.
create new: Insert an empty subdirectory.
rename: Edit the folder name.
reveal in Finder / open in Explorer: Opens a system window for
the clicked folder. After adding, removing or renaming presets or folders outside of ACE’s own browser, Windows users should always refresh (see above).
on open expand to: Specifies how deeply the browser will open subdirectories whenever the GUI is reopened or the refresh function is called.
show folder icons: Lets you hide all icons in the directory (except the Junk symbol).
Presets Panel
The central, unlabelled area of the browser is where you click to load presets...
Presets context menu
Right-click to open a menu containing functions that can be applied to individual presets.
mark as favourite: Choose one of eight ‘favourite’ marks. The selected entry will be replaced with unmark as favourite.
mark as junk: Instead of deleting any unloved presets, you can mark them as ‘junk’ so that they disappear from the browser…
show junk: Activate this option to display junked files (see above) instead, but mark them with a STOP symbol.
select all, deselect: See Multiple Selection below.
rename: You can change the names of presets using this func-
tion. Note that only the most recently selected preset can be renamed i.e. you can’t rename multiple files at once.
copy to User Folder / duplicate: The function here depends on the status of the Save Presets To preference as well as on the location of the source preset(s) i.e. whether they are in Local or User. Selected presets are copied with a number appended to the name, which is incremented so that presets cannot be overwritten by mistake.
reveal in Finder / open in Explorer: Opens a system window for the selected preset. After manipulating any files in Explorer, Windows users should always refresh the directory.
convert to native / h2p / h2p extended: Converts the selected preset(s) into the format pre­viously selected via right-click on the [SAVE] button.
move to Trash / Recycle Bin: Moves the selected preset(s) to the system trash.
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refresh create new… rename… reveal in Finder *
move to Trash
on open expand to
show folder icons
mark as favourite
select all
deselect
show junk
rename… copy to User folder reveal in Finder * convert to h2p
move to Trash
mark as junk
mark as favourite mark as favourite mark as favourite mark as favourite mark as favourite mark as favourite mark as favourite
PATCHES
Restore
While in the browser you can audition as many presets as you like in any folders without losing the one that was previously loaded: Clicking the [Restore] button will always get you back to where you started.
Scan / ready
In the top right of the presets panel is a dark rectangle normally labelled ‘ready’. Upon refresh this turns into a progress indicator showing how much of the preset database has been refreshed. The process should only take a few seconds.
Multiple selection
A block of adjacent presets can be selected via shift+click, and individual presets can be added to the selection via cmd-click (Mac) / alt+click (Win). Presets can be moved to a different folder via drag & drop (see below). To deselect, either click on an unselected preset or choose deselect from the context menu.
Drag & Drop functions
To manage your preset library more comfortably you can drag presets and folders be­tween ACE’s browser and your desktop (or elswhere). Examples: To install new sound­sets, drag them from your desktop directly into the User folder. Dragging a search result folder onto the desktop will create a new folder containing the presets from that search.
Import / export favourites: You can import/export a single favourite ‘colour’, or all at once. Shift-click and drag the favourites smart folder(s) out of the browser to create a Favourite (n).uhe-fav favourites file. To import, drag this file into the favourites area. Note: Importing favourite status from another computer will only work correctly if the names and locations of those presets are identical on both computers.
Mac: Most Finder operations should automatically update the browser. This might not update instantly when using multiple instances of different formats, or multiple hosts at the same time, but all it usually takes is a click on the GUI or in the directory tree, which sets the focus to the plug-in instance.
Win: A manual refresh is often required. We plan to improve this in future versions.!
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