U-He Uhbik User Manual
UHBIK
User Guide
uhbik 1.3 is safe if used as directed
Heckmann Audio GmbH • BERLIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 5
........................................................................................About Uhbik! 5
....................................................................................Installation! 5
................................................................................File Locations! 5
..........................................................................Online Resources! 5
.....................................................................The u-he team 2015! 5
...............................................................................Common Features! 6
...................................................................................GUI Settings! 6
..............................................................................................Load! 6
..............................................................................................Save! 6
...........................................................................................Knobs! 6
............................................................................Bypass and Gain! 6
..........................................................VU Meter and MIDI Indicator! 7
LFO Modulation Effects 8
...........................................................................Time Unit, Times! 8
....................................................................Phase, Channel Offset! 8
..................................................................Wave, Scale, Symmetry! 9
Uhbik-F: Flanger & Chorus 10
............................................................................Flanger History! 10
.................................................................Virtual Tape Machines! 11
..........................................................................Depth and Delay! 11
.........................................................................Mix and Automix! 11
.....................................................................................Feedback! 11
.............................................................................Bass Sanctuary! 11
...........................................................................................Drive! 11
Uhbik-P: Phaser 12
.............................................................................Phaser History! 12
....................................................................................Operation! 12
....................................................................Spectrum and Depth! 13
.....................................................................................Feedback! 13
.............................................................................................Mix! 13
.............................................................................Bass Sanctuary! 13
! 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Uhbik-T: Tremolo & Panner 14
....................................................Gain Attenuation and Gain Law! 14
....................................................Haas Delay and Channel Offset! 15
........................................................................Filter Attenuation! 15
..............................................................................No Mix Knob?! 15
....................................................................................Operation! 15
........................................................................................Pattern! 16
..................................................................Two Tips for Uhbik-T! 16
Uhbik-S: Frequency Shifter 17
............................................................Frequency Shifter History! 17
..........................................................Shift and Frequency Range! 18
.............................................................................Channel Offset! 18
............................................Phase, Auto Reset and Manual Reset! 18
.....................................................................................Feedback! 18
.............................................................................................Mix! 18
Uhbik-A: Ambience & Reverb 19
....................................................................................Operation! 19
...........................................................................Mix and Reverb! 19
.............................................................Pre-Delay and HF-Range! 20
..................................................................Early Size and Spread! 20
.......................................................................Decay and Density! 20
..................................................................................Modulation! 20
........................................................Bass, Treble and Treble Freq! 20
Uhbik-D: Delay & Echo 21
.............................................................................1/16, Pan, Vol! 21
...........................................Speed, Depth, Mod Rate, Modulation! 21
......................................................Feedback Knob and Selectors! 22
...................................................High Cut, Low Cut and Soft Clip! 22
.............................................................................................Mix! 22
.............................................................Multi-Channel Operation! 22
.........................................................................Tips for Uhbik-D! 22
! 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Uhbik-Q: Semi-Parametric Equalizer 23
.....................................................................Frequency and Gain! 23
...........................................................Band 1 and Band 2 modes! 24
........................................................................................Bottom! 24
..............................................................................................Cut! 24
............................................................................................Gain! 24
..................................................................Other Considerations! 24
Runciter: Distorting Filter 25
...............................................................................About Filters! 25
..................................................................Cutoff and Resonance! 25
........................................................Extern/MIDI and its Selector! 26
.........................................................................Drive and Output! 26
................................................Lowpass, Bandpass and Highpass! 26
.............................................................................................Mix! 26
..........................................................................Fuzz and Colour! 26
......................................................Envelope, Env Rate, Env Sense! 26
.....................................................................................Env Mode! 27
Uhbik-G: Granular Pitch Shifter 28
.....................................................................Pitch Shifter History! 28
....................................................................................Grain size! 29
...............................................................................Pitch Shifting! 29
........................................................................Other parameters! 29
...................................................................Phase Vocoder Mode! 29
! 4
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
About Uhbik
Uhbik is our great collection of effect plug-ins for the discerning audiophile. Each surroundcapable effect comes wrapped in a beautiful, streamlined interface...
Installation
Go to the Uhbik webpage, grab the appropriate installer for your system, double-click on the
downloaded file and follow further instructions. For more information, please refer to the ReadMe
file included with the installer. Note: The only demo restriction is a crackling sound that appears at
irregular intervals.
File Locations
To uninstall, delete the plugin itself, then the associated files from the following directories (the
exact locations depend on your specific installation):
Win:! Preset files! ...\Vstplugins\Uhbik\Presets\Uhbik-[ADFGPQRST]\
!Preferences!...\Vstplugins\Uhbik\Support\
Mac:! Preset files! MacHD/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Uhbik-[ADFGPQRST]/
! User Presets! [you]/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Uhbik-[ADFGPQRST]/
!Preferences!–/Library/Application Support/u-he/
Online Resources
For u-he news, downloads, support etc., go to the u-he website
For a lively discussion about u-he products (including Uhbik), go to the u-he forum
For friendship and informal news, visit to our facebook page
For video tutorials and much more, go to our youtube channel
For thousands of u-he presets (commercial and free), go to PatchLib
The u-he team 2016
Urs Heckmann (code, strategy, discipline)
Sascha Eversmeier (code, tenacity)
Howard Scarr (HS presets, manuals, grump)
Rob Clifton-Harvey (databases, support)
Sebastian Greger (GUI design, 3D vision)
Jan Storm (more code, framework)
Michael Pettit (video, marketing)
Viktor Weimer (support, TUC presets)
Thomas Binek (QA, TAS presets)
Alexandre Bique (all things Linux)
William Rodewald (even more code)
Oddvar Manlig (everything else!)
Thanks to Brian Rzycki for maintaining PatchLib
contents LFO flanger phaser tremolo f-shifter reverb delay EQ filter granular!3
INTRODUCTION
Common Features
GUI Settings
Right-click anywhere in the background to adjust the size of the window in 10% increments. In the
same menu you can adjust the brightness (gamma) and turn off text anti-aliasing if necessary.
Load
To load a preset in any flavour of Uhbik, click the patches
button (top left corner of the window). Select a folder in
the left pane and a preset in the right panel. To return to
the main window, click on the same button again (now
labeled controls).
If you want to create a new folder or refresh the list, right-click in the left pane. Make a habit of
refreshing the list after presets have been added, deleted or renamed using Explorer/Finder etc.!
Rightclick in the right pane to mark patches as Favourite or Junk. Junked patches will disappear,
but can be retrieved by right-clicking anywhere in the righ pane and selecting show Junk.
Note: The folder called MIDI Programs can contain up to 128 patches (as well as 128 sub-folders
containing up to 128 patches each). If your host application lets such messages through,
patches copied into the root or any sub-folder can be loaded by sending MIDI bank/program
change messages. Changes will only take affect after you have restarted your host software i.e.
MIDI Program patches cannot be added, removed or renamed on the fly.
Save
Use the patches window to select the folder where you want to put your new creation. Then click
on the save button. Give it a name, enter your name (as author) plus any details you would like to
add: description, usage etc.. Finally, confirm via the apply button.
Tip: If there’s a preset called default in the local root, it will be loaded automatically with every
fresh instance. Try this: Load your favourite preset, open the root folder (Local) and save it under
the name ‘default’. Start a new instance of the plug-in and check…
Knobs
Values are adjusted via the usual click-and-drag. Hold down the SHIFT
key on your computer for finer steps. Note that some knobs are bipolar
(i.e. zero is in the center, you can set negative values). Knobs can be reset
to their default values via double-click, or remote-controlled / automated
via the MidiLearn function (right-click on the knob).
Tip for wheel-mouse owners: You don’t even have to click on knobs to
change values: simply move your mouse over any control and roll the
wheel. For fine tuning, hold down a SHIFT key beforehand.
Bypass and Gain
All Uhbiks include a soft bypass button
below the data display, which does a quick
cross-fade for click-free on/off switching.
The slider next to the button adjusts the
wet signal gain (+/- 12dB) so you can e.g.
balance the processed and bypassed levels.
contents LFO flanger phaser tremolo f-shifter reverb delay EQ filter granular! 6
INTRODUCTION
VU Meter and MIDI Indicator
Along the bottom of the data display is a row of 8 small indicators. These are VU meters for the
input levels (upper) and output levels (lower) for all used channels.
To the far right is a MIDI activity indicator (the faint circle of 5 pips) that turns from red to green
whenever MIDI input is recognized.
Surround Processing
All Uhbiks are surround-capable, they can handle up to 8 channels including all popular formats
such as quadrophony, 5.1 and 7.1. The idea was to make Uhbik plug-ins work in surround modes
without adding unnecessary clutter to the GUI, and without the need for dedicated versions. Some
hosts do need dedicated stereo versions, but all Uhbiks already comply with this requirement.
So while the actual handling within all Uhbiks is strictly stereo, you do gain the advantage of fully
surround(ish) sound and control – far superior to the ‘multi-mono’ workarounds that some hosts
offer. Options to keep LFE or Center/LFE unprocessed are included in the context menu.
Right-click (PC) or ctrl-click (Mac) on the data display of any Uhbik for the following options...
auto/surround: This default mode tests the number of output channels, then switches to 1.0,
•
2.0, 3.0, 3.1, 5.0, 5.1, 7.0 or 7.1 accordingly. In this mode you can use ‘no lfe’ or ‘dry c + lfe’ to
leave the center and/or LFE channels unprocessed. The assumed channel order is: left, right,
center, LFE, left surround, right surround, left rear, right rear. This order may deviate from your
host's meters, but you can always check channel activity in Uhbik's own little VU-meter located
immediately below the data display.
multichannel: All channels are treated evenly – the first channel is the furthest left, the last
•
channel is the furthest right. For example, if 4 channels are connected, the assumed channel
order is left rear, left, right, right rear.
stereo a+b: All channels pass through unprocessed except for the selected pair. Use this mode
•
if you want to process a specific pair of channels only.
mono: Processes the first channel (typically ‘left’) as mono, and outputs it to as many channels
•
as are connected. Unlike mono-surround mode, all output channels are processed equally.
stereo-surround: The right and left channel are first copied in pairs to channels 3-8, then
•
processed like in auto/surround mode (see above).
mono-surround: Like stereo-surround, but with mono input. Unlike mono mode, the output
•
channels are processed differently.
When used in multichannel tracks, the modulation plug-ins (Uhbiks F, P and T) have variable phase
offset between the channels – you can e.g. create dramatic effects that rotate around the listener's
head. Note: The pan pots in Uhbik-D are not restricted to stereo, they span all surround channels!
contents LFO flanger phaser tremolo f-shifter reverb delay EQ filter granular! 7
LFO MODULATION
LFO Modulation Effects
Several of the plug-ins in the Uhbik collection are modulation effects which include a low
frequency oscillator (LFO). They all have the same set of controls in the same positions:
Time Unit, Times
Modulation rate is controlled by a combination of the time unit and times parameters. The rate is
continuously adjustable using the times knob, but depending on the selected time unit, it is
either a time/frequency (in seconds or Hertz), a tempo (divisions of the current song tempo), or a
manually set position within the LFO wave...
If quarters is selected, a times value of e.g. 16 means that the LFO wave has precisely the same
length as 16 quarters. In this case, the higher the value of times, the slower the LFO. If 1/x is
selected, 16 times means that the LFO cycle lasts for a 16th (semiquaver). In this case, the higher
the value of times, the faster the LFO.
Similarly, if Seconds is selected, 16 times means 16 seconds. If Hertz is selected, it means 16
cycles per second. In general, the Quarters and Seconds modes are more suitable for slow
modulation, whereas 1/x and Hertz are more suitable for fast modulation.
Manual lets you control modulation via e.g. parameter automation in your sequencer. In this
mode, the LFO is effectively frozen unless you move the phase (see below) – which scans through
the LFO wave manually or via automation. The times value here determines how many LFO cycles
are included in the range of the phase knob. An example: times is set to 4. If you move the phase
from 0 to maximum, you will have scanned through 4 complete LFO cycles.
Phase, Channel Offset
The LFO’s phase is particularly important in time unit modes that depend upon song tempo. The
phase knob effectively shifts the LFO forwards or backwards in time – it adjusts the LFO phase so
that modulation will rise and fall precisely where you want it to.
The channel offset parameter shifts LFO phase(s) between multiple audio channels. The simplest
case would be shifting phases between the channels of a stereo signal in opposite directions. This
is quite a common feature in conventional stereo effects, but Uhbik’s channel offset also works in
other multi-channel modes (quad or 5.1 surround) – in which case the LFO phases are shifted
outwards and to the rear.
contents LFO flanger phaser tremolo f-shifter reverb delay EQ filter granular! 8
LFO MODULATION
Wave, Scale, Symmetry
The wave parameter continually adjusts the basic LFO shape, from triangle to sine.
The scale parameter skews the wave vertically so that the upper half of the wave is shorter and
more pronounced or longer and more subtle than the lower half.
The symmetry parameter skews the LFO wave horizontally so that the rising part is either shorter
or longer than the falling part. For instance, minimum symmetry applied to a triangle wave makes
it more sawtooth-like.
In combination, these parameters give you very fine control over the shape of the LFO. For
instance, you can concentrate most of the effect on the “offbeat”.
Note: wave, scale and symmetry have rather different functions in Uhbik-T, which offers multiple
waveforms and chopped patterns.
contents LFO flanger phaser tremolo f-shifter reverb delay EQ filter granular! 9
Loading...