Vermona PERfourMER MKII User Manual

Owners Manual
Introduction
In a choir, a string- or brass section, every voice has its own character, its sonic individuality, its proprietary modulation and its specific decay. Is this not possible for a polyphonic synthesizer? It is with the PerFourMer MKII! Each of its four voices are totally independent. No matter whether you play four single solo voices, a fourfold unison stack or with fourfold polyphony, the PerFourMer MKII will always generate all its voices on a complete indi­vidual basis. During development of the MKII-version, we focused to make this synthesizer as easy to operate and ergonomic as possible. The large housing and new designed knobs guarantee immediate access to each parameter of every synthesizer voice. PerFourMer MKII is an analogue syn­thesizer with exceptional sonic possibilities for use on stage and in studios. And we are sure; its design will assure you having a lot of fun with it.
The VERMONA-team
Erlbach /Vogtland, Germany
Important Safety Information
1. Read these instructions.
2. Keep these instructions. Alway include these instructions when passing the product on to third parties.
3. Heed all warnings.
4. Follow all instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Only clean the product when it is not connected to the mains power supply. Clean only with a dry cloth.
7. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
8. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
9. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the polarized or grounding-type plug. A polarized plug has two blades and a third grounding prong. The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet.
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10. Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched, particularly at plugs, convenience receptacles, and the point where they exit from the apparatus.
11. Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufacturer.
12. Use only with the cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table specified by the manufacturer, or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.
13. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.
14. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as power sup­ply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, when the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.
15. To completely disconnect this apparatus from the AC mains, disconnect the power supply cord plug from the AC receptacle.
16. WARNING: To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this apparatus to rain or moisture.
17. Do not expose this equipment to dripping or splashing and ensure that no objects filled with liquids, such as vases, are placed on the equip­ment.
18. The mains plug of the power supply cord shall remain readily accessi­ble.
Installation
• Ensure that the room in which you use this product is wired in accordance
with the local electrical code and checked by a qualified inspector.
• Only use this product indoors.
• Do not install the product in hot, humid, or excessively dusty locations, in
direct sunlight or in locations where it is exposed to externally generated vibrations.
• Do not place burning objects (e.g. candles) on top of or near the product.
• If condensation has formed on the product, e.g. because it was moved
from a cold environment to a warm one, allow the product to acclimatize to room temperature before using it.
• Do not overload wall outlets and extension cables as this may result in
fire and electric shock.
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction 2..................................................................................................................
2 Important Safety Information 2...............................................................................
3 Table of Contents 4......................................................................................................
4 Getting Started 6............................................................................................................
4.1. Connections and Powering 6................................................................
5 Components and Controls 6.....................................................................................
5.1. Oscillator Section 7..............................................................................
5.1.1. Extended Oscillator Functions 9........................................................
5.1.1.1 Oscillator synchronization 9............................................................
5.1.1.2 Frequency modulation of oscillators 10...........................................
5.2. Filter Section (VCF) 12..........................................................................
5.3. Amplifier Section (VCA) 14...................................................................
5.4. Modulation Generator (LFO) 16.............................................................
5.4.1. Extended LFO Settings 17..................................................................
5.4.1.1 Selecting between saw tooth and square waveforms 17...................
5.4.1.2 LFO SYNC 17...................................................................................
5.4.1.3 LFO > MIDI-clock-synchronization 18.............................................
5.4.1.4 Internal MIDI-CLOCK 19..................................................................
5.5. Envelope Generator (ADSR) 20..............................................................
5.5.1. Legato 21..........................................................................................
5.6. Connections of the Synthesizer Channels 21........................................
5.7. Additional Control Elements 22............................................................
5.7.1. Connections 23.................................................................................
6 Programming Section 25............................................................................................
6.1. Combining Multiple Synthesizer Channels 25.......................................
6.2. PLAYMODE 25......................................................................................
6.2.1. MONO 1 (M1) 25...............................................................................
6.2.2. MONO 2 (M2) 26...............................................................................
6.2.3. POLY 1 (P1) 27..................................................................................
6.2.4. POLY 2 (P2) 27..................................................................................
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6.2.5. DUO 1 (D1) 27...................................................................................
6.2.6. DUO 2 (D2) 28...................................................................................
6.3. Edit-Mode 29.......................................................................................
6.4. RESET 30..............................................................................................
7 Declaration of Conformity 31...................................................................................
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Getting Started
You should find the following items in the box:
• 1 PerFourMer MKII unit
• 1 power chord
• 1 set of rack brackets + mounting material
• this manual
Connections and Powering
If you came here without any problems, you can finally start up the Per­FourMer MKII:
1. Connect the provided power chord to the PerFourMer MKII and a power outlet.
2. Connect the stereo outputs, located on the rear, to appropriate audio inputs of a mixing console, an audio-interface or an amplifier.
3. Connect the PerFourMer MKII's MIDI input to the MIDI output of a key­board, a hardware-sequencer or a MIDI-interface, connected to your DAW.
4. Press the POWER button to switch the PerFourMer MKII on. The blue status LED above the MASTER TUNE control will now be lit blue.
5. Congratulations, the PerFourMer MKII has now been started.
Components and Controls
On one hand, the PerFourMer MKII is a four-voice polyphonic analogue syn­thesizer with a classic voice structure. On the other hand, it o!ers four independent synthesizer channels. These can either be used individually or combined and played in some unique ways. The four synthesizer channels are all independent synthesizers with a classic structure of VCO-VCF-VCA. Tiny di!erences appear only when combining these synthesizers. We will now take your through the di!erent sections and the corresponding control elements.
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Oscillator Section
Oscillators form the base of every synthesized sound. They o!er di!erent waveform shapes to create various audio spectra. Each PerFourMer MKII voice o!ers a voltage controlled analogue oscillator (VCO), four VCOs in total. Every VCO generates sine, triangle, square and saw tooth waveforms with octave positions 32’, 16’, 8’ and 4’. Alternatively, white noise or an external audio input can be selected for each synthesizer channel.
The following controls are available:
Picture 1: The oscillator section
WAVE
selects the waveform shape for the VCO. Available are: sine ( ), triangle (
), square ( ), saw tooth ( ) or noise ( ). With EXT selected, the oscillator signal is replaced by the audio signal fed into the EXT IN/VCO OUT input (see "Connections of the Synthesizer Channels", page 21).
NOTE The pulse width of the square waveform does not
have a dedicated control. However, it can be varied using the modulation wheel (MIDI CC #1). This func­tion can be enabled/disabled using EDIT PARAMETER 2: MODULATION WHEEL (PWM). (see "Edit-Mode", page 29).
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OCTAVE
sets this oscillator's base octave to 32', 16', 8' or 4'.
In setting "HI" and "LO" the oscillator doesn't respond to incoming pitch information. The oscillator constantly oscillates with a fixed frequency.
GLIDE
sets the duration of the glide-e!ect. This defines the time period for the pitch to travel from one note to the next played note. This function is also referred to as portamento or slide. It is well suited for solo work. With GLIDE set to zero, there will be no pitch-transitional-e!ect.
The glide-e!ect can also work automatically. This AUTO-function can be enabled/disabled using EDIT PARAMETER 5. With AUTO GLIDE enabled, the glide-e!ect will only be active with notes played legato, meaning a second note is played while the first note is still held. When not playing legato, the glide-e!ect will be inactive with AUTO GLIDE activated. To activate the PerFourMer MKII's legato-function see chapter "Envelope Generator" (See page 20).
EG INT
This control sets the modulation amount of the envelope generator towards the oscillator's pitch. Modulation can be applied positive or negative. In its center-position, modulation is turned o!. This control o!ers a center-catch.
TUNE
this control tunes the oscillator continuously within a range of approx. ±7 semitones.
LFO INT
sets the modulation intensity for the LFO targeting the pitch or the pulse width of the oscillator. In its center position, the modulation is turned o!. This control o!ers no center catch to allow for sensitively adjusted vibrato-e!ects.
Turning LFO INT clockwise from center position will introduce pitch modulation of the oscillator. With a sine wave selected for the LFO, this results in a classic vibrato while using the Sample & Hold waveform (S/H) will create random melodies and, at high speeds, e!ect-sounds.
Turning LFO INT counterclockwise from center position introduces pulse width modulation of the oscillator's square waveform. This function is
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dysfunctional with any other selected waveform. Using a sine waveform to modulate the pulse width results in a sound-thickening-e!ect, comparable to a slight detuning. With higher modulation intensities (70 % and higher), the oscillator will temporarily be muted depending on the LFO speed. Here, there pulse width is so narrow and the sound therefore partially inaudible. Use the LFO's square and Sample & Hold waveforms to take advantage oft this e!ect and create interesting rhythmical sound breakups.
NOTE The oscillator's pulse width can also be adjusted
using the modulation wheel (See page 7).
Extended Oscillator Functions
Oscillator synchronization
The PerFourMer MKII oscillators in synthesizer channels 2, 3 and 4 can be synchronized to their prior located counterparts. Here, the master oscillator will force its frequency upon its coupled partner. Whenever the master oscillator's waveform reaches a zero-pass-through, it will force the coupled oscillator to a pass-through, too. With two oscillators running at the same frequency, this function will eliminate all pulsing and lead to identical phases.
With the coupled oscillator's frequency set higher than the master oscillator, oscillator synchronization will lead to the generation of additional harmon­ics. Especially, a modulation of the coupled oscillator by an envelope gener­ator or LFO will result in complex harmonic structures.
To activate oscillator synchronization, set the SYNC switch to the left into VCO position.
For example, set switch
to VCO. Here, synthesizer channel 1 will act as master and synchronize synthesizer channel 2. The same is true for VCO 2 to VCO 3 and VCO 3 to VCO 4. It is of course possible to activate multiple sync switches at the same time. The dependencies will remain as described. However, modulation of multiple VCOs will lead to unforeseeable results and interesting e!ect sounds.
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NOTE To achieve a classical sync-sound, set the coupled
oscillator at least two octaves higher than the master oscillator or make sure, it heavily modulated by an envelope generator. It is also recommended to use a square waveform for the master-oscillator. However, other settings will also lead to good results.
Frequency modulation of oscillators
The PerFourMer MKII o!ers frequency modulation for the oscillators in syn­thesizer channels 2, 3 and 4. In each case, the modulation takes place through the prior located synthesizer channel. This means, oscillator 2's pitch is modulated by synthesizer channel in dependence of the played pitch. In other terms, oscillator 1 would be regarded as "modulator" and oscillator 2 as "carrier". This modulation chain can be continued all the way to oscillator 4. In opposite to the oscillator synchronization, the full synthe­sizer channel acts as modulator, including its settings for the filter, VCA and envelope.
Use the FM-controls of synthesizer channels 2-4 to set the intensity for the frequency modulation. Set to center, modulation will be turned o!. Turning the control to the left (towards VCO), will increase modulation intensity.
Turning the control clockwise (towards VCF) results in cuto! frequency modulation (See page 13).
NOTE Clean FM-sounds are achieved using sine waveforms
for carrier and modulator. In case, a frequency modulation of the oscillator does not deliver the desired result, you may try modulating the filter in a resonating state and with 100% key tracking. In most cases, this results in well playable sounds (See page
13)
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