Waves Audio Codex Wavetable Synth User Guide
WAVES
CODEX
USER GUIDE
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 3
1.1 Welcome ................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Product Overview ..................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Concepts and Terminology ....................................................................................... 3
1.4 Components .............................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER 2 – QUICK START GUID E .............................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 3 – INTERFACE AND CONTROLS ................................................................ 6
3.1 Interface ................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 Controls .................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER 4 – ST ANDALONE APPLICAT ION .............................................................. 21
CHAPTER 5 – THE WAVESYSTE M ............................................................................... 23
5.1 The WaveSystem Toolbar ...................................................................................... 23
5.2 Preset Handling ...................................................................................................... 23
5.3 Interface Controls ................................................................................................... 27
5.4 Waves Preferences (Pro Tools only)...................................................................... 29
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CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION
1.1 Welcome
Thank you for choosing Waves! I n order to get the most out of your Waves processor,
please take the tim e to read through this m anual.
In conjunction, we also suggest that you become familiar with www.wavesupport.net
There you will find an extens ive Answe r B ase , the latest Tech Specs, detailed
Installation guides, new Software Updates, and current information on Licensing and
Registration.
By signing up at www.wavesupport.net, you will receive personalized information on
your registered products, reminders when updates are available, and information on
your licensing status.
.
1.2 Product Overview
Waves CODEX is an advanced polyphonic granular wavetable synthesizer designed to
provide complex evolving sounds that can range from acoustic and analog emulations,
to complet ely new, previously unhear d s ounds . CO DE X’s c ontrols are highly inviting,
combining tradition with intuitive interaction in a way that lets users easily customize
existi ng pres ets and build c us tom patc hes from the gr ound up. The unique wavetable
oscillators are embedded in a subtractive synthesis engine that allows further shaping of
the sound using traditional analog subtractive components and layout.
1.3 Concepts and Terminology
CODEX is powered by Virtual Voltage™ technology, which connects its various
generators and transformation filters, envelopes and modulators. CODEX therefore us es
many of the same terms used by its hardware forerunners: VCF (Voltage-Controlled
Filter) , VCA (Voltage-Controlled Amplifier), and so on.
While anyone acquainted with synthesis should feel right at home with the subtractive
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section of CODEX, the advanced oscillators might at first seem daunting. Please browse
through the oscillator section of this manual to become better acquainted with the unique
features and vast possibilities of CODEX’s oscillators. The learning curve will pay off
when encounter ing other s ynthes iz er s , whether softwar e or hardware, analog or digital.
All users can partake in the instant gratification of CODEX’s v ast selection of factory
presets. CODEX’s team of experienced preset developers created hundreds of presets,
sorted by category, so you can quickly find the exact sound you need—leads , pads ,
basses, sound effects, sequences, gated rhythmic lines, motions, and more. Or just
brows e around unt il s om ething catc hes your ear and c aptures your im agination.
Whether in the studio or live on stage, many musicians like to control their synth
parameters in real time for enhanced creativity and expression. While CODEX supports
the basic automation features of plugin hosting technologies such as VST, it also
supports MI DI Learn. Assigning a CODEX control to a knob on your M IDI controller is as
easy as right-click > Learn > knob turn, done!
Granular wavetable synthesis, analog modeling, and supreme sound quality do come at
a price. CODEX can be rather CPU- and RAM-hungry compared to other software
synthesizers. During the days of analog hardware, less expensive oscillators were often
considered “dirty,” while accurate oscillators were costlier than was practical for most
mus ic ians . Ir onic ally, in today’s digital w orld, creat ing a pristine oscillator is relatively
easy; it’s the “dirtiness” that takes more CPU calculations to recreate. To conserve CPU
power, CODEX lets you select the maximal number of simultaneous voices.
1.4 Components
CODEX has one component: CODEX Stereo.
CODEX is a virtual ins trument plugin and will appear under the related selec t ion m enus
for virtual instruments under all supported DAW host applications.
Waves CODEX also works as a standalone application, using ASIO (Windows) or Core
Audio (Mac) drivers to play through your audio devic e of choic e. CO D EX rec eives MIDI
data to trigger notes and control changes.
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CHAPTER 2 – QUICK START GUIDE
Open CODEX on an instrument track in your DAW of choice, or launch the CODEX
st andalone applic ation.
1. Select a preset from CODEX’s factory presets.
2. Play!
Use the next/previous preset arrow controls on the toolbar
to scroll through
presets. If you’re looking for a certain type of sound, click the load button to reveal the
factory presets, sorted by category.
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CHAPTER 3 – INTERFACE AND CONTROLS
3.1 I nt erface
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3.2 Cont rols
The CODEX interface is arranged into four sections grouped according to function:
• Voice generation and s ubtr ac tive elements (blue)
• M odulation sources and patches (purple)
• Effects, EQ, global and output sections (green)
• Arpeggiator/s equencer ( red)
3.2.1 Oscillators
CODEX has two wavetable oscillators which are labeled 1 and 2.
OCTAVE determines the pitch range.
Range: 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 (from lowest to highest pitch)
TUNE determines the pitch.
Range: -12 to +12 semitones
FINE fine-tunes the pitch.
Range: -100 to +100 cents
RESOLUTION determines the resolution of the oscillator.
Range: 0 to 100
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TABLE selects one of 64 internal or imported wavetables.
Range: 1 to 64
WAVE selects a specific section of the wavetable to be used as the oscillator.
Range: 0 to 10
FORMANT controls the formant of the oscillator by altering the spectral peaks of the
sound spectrum.
Range: -100 to 100
START determines the start point of the wavetable scan.
Range: 1 to 64
MID determines the midpoint of the wavetable scan.
Range: 1 to 64
END determines the endpoint of the wavetable scan.
Range: 1 to 64
SPEED determines the w avetable scanning speed.
Range: 0 to 100 (free-running), 4/1 to 1/32 (synched)
SCAN SYNC determines whether the wavetable scanning is synchronized to the host
clock.
LOOP – When enabled, wavetable scanning loops continuously between ‘MID’ and
‘END’ points .
IMPORT allows the integration of user-selectable WA V files. Imported WAV files are
automatically converted into wavetables by CODEX. These new wavetables are saved
along with presets. CODEX supports WAV files of any length, bit-depth and s am pling
frequenc y. For optimal results, samples of between one and five seconds are
recommended.
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FC enables CODEX’s advanced formant correction algorithms.
When enabled, formant can be controlled using the ‘FRMNT’ knob.
OSC SYNC synchronizes the triggering of the OSC 2 waveform to the rate of OSC 1.
When activated, OSC 2 pitch controls affect only the timbre of OSC 2, not its pitch.
Range: On/Off
FM (Frequency M odulation) controls the amount by which the frequency of OSC 2 is
modulated by OSC 1. (OSC 2 only)
Range: 0 to 100
3.2. 2 Addition al Oscillators & Mix Section
This section is used to combine OSC 1 and OSC 2, and to add noise, sub-oscillation and
ring m odulation.
SUB m ixes in a tri angle wave one octave below OSC 1.
Range: 0 to 100
NOISE mixes in white noise.
Range: 0 to 100
RING controls the ring modulation of OSC 1 and OSC 2.
Range: 0 to 100
OSC 1 / OSC 2 activate each oscillator.
Range: In/Out
Waves CODEX User Guide
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