USER MANUAL 2 Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. The software described in this manual is furnished under a license agreement. The software may be used only in accordance of the terms of this license agreement. It is against the law to copy this software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement. No part of this manual may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, distributed or converted to any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part without prior written approval of Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. Copyright c 2004 Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada. Program Copyright c 2004 Applied Acoustics Systems, Inc. All right reserved. Ultra-Analog is a Trademark of Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP and DirectX are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh, Mac OS, QuickTime and Audio Units are registered trademarks of Apple Corporation. VST Instruments and ASIO are trademarks of Steinberg Soft Und Hardware GmbH. RTAS is a registered trademarks of Digidesign. Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems incorporated. Unauthorized copying, renting or lending of the software is strictly prohibited. Visit Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc. on the World Wide Web at www.applied-acoustics.com Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Authorization and Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.4.1 1.4.2 1.4.3 1.5 1.6 1.7 2 Using MIDI Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using MIDI program changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Ultra Analog as a Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 7 8 8 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 15 15 15 17 18 19 19 Getting help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Forum and User Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About this manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Browser and Presets 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Playing Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Editing and Saving Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deleting Presets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Documenting Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Defining a Default Preset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Locating a Preset in the Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIDI maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exporting and Importing Presets and MIDI maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Customizing the browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Architecture of the Ultra Analog 3.1 3.2 3.3 General Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modulation Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Output Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 CONTENTS 4 Parameters 4.1 General Functioning of the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 4.1.4 4.1.5 4.1.6 4.1.7 4.2 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.2.3 4.2.4 4.2.5 4.3 4.3.1 4.3.2 4.3.3 4.3.4 4.3.5 4.3.6 4.3.7 4.3.8 4.4 4.5 4.6 Tweaking Knobs and Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Drop-down menus and Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inverting a Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bypassing a Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resetting a Module and Copying Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modulation Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Waveform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pitch and Pitch Modulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sub Oscillator ................................ Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Mixer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resonant Low-Pass Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resonant High-Pass Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Band-Pass Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Notch Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Formant Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Filter Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Slave Filter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Series/Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 20 20 20 20 21 21 21 21 22 22 22 23 23 24 25 25 26 26 27 28 28 29 29 30 31 31 31 31 32 32 33 The Oscillator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Filter Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Amplifier Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Noise Generator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The LFO Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6.1 4.6.2 4.6.3 4.6.4 Wave Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase and Reset Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fade-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.7 The Envelope Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CONTENTS 5 4.7.1 4.7.2 4.7.3 4.7.4 4.8 4.8.1 4.8.2 4.8.3 4.9 Shape of the Envelope Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Free Run Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Legato Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loop Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tuning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mode and Priority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 34 34 35 36 36 36 37 37 37 38 38 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 41 41 42 42 43 43 43 43 43 43 43 44 44 The Keyboard Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Portamento Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.10 The Vibrato Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11 The Arpeggiator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.1 Arpeggio Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.2 Rhythmic Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.3 Rate and Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11.4 Latch mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12 The Output Effect Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.1 The Clock Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.2 The Chorus Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.3 The Delay Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.4 The Reverb module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.5 Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.6 The Output Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.12.7 The Recorder Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Toolbar 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 Preset Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIDI map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Polyphony Combo Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIDI Channel combo box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Value Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CPU meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIDI Led . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit/Compare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 CONTENTS 6 Audio and Midi Settings 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Audio Device Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIDI Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audio Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Latency Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 45 45 48 48 49 49 49 49 49 49 50 50 50 50 51 54 55 7 Using the Ultra Analog as a Plug-In 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 7.9 Window Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Synchronization to the Host Sequencer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audio and MIDI parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multiple Instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIDI channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MIDI program change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 9 Quick references to commands and shortcuts Appendix 10 License Agreement Introduction 7 1 Introduction The Ultra Analog is a virtual analog synthesizer. With this product, we have not attempted to emulate a specific vintage analog synthesizer but rather to combine into a modern instrument, different features of legendary vintage synthesizers. The Ultra Analog generates sound by simulating the different components of the synthesizer through physical modeling. This technology uses the laws of physics to reproduce how an object or system produces sound. In the case of Ultra Analog, mathematical equations describing how analog circuits function are solved in real-time. The Ultra Analog uses no sampling or wavetable, it just calculates the sound as you play in accordance to the controls it receives. This sound synthesis method ensures unmatched sound quality, realism, warmth and playing dynamics. Before discussing the synthesizer in more details, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing an Applied Acoustics Systems product. We sincerely hope that this product will bring you inspiration, pleasure and fulfill your creative needs. 1.1 System requirements The following computer configuration is necessary to run the Ultra Analog: Mac OS : · · · · · · · Mac OSX 10.2 (Jaguar) or later. G4 733 MHz Processor 256 MB RAM 1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution MIDI Keyboard (recommended) Ethernet Port Quicktime 4.0 or later Windows : · · · · · · Windows 98SE/2000/XP PIII 800 MHz 128 MB RAM 1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution DirectX or ASIO supported sound card MIDI Keyboard (recommended) Keep in mind that the computational power required by the Ultra Analog depends on the number of voices of polyphony and the sampling rate used. These computer configurations will enable you to play the factory presets with a reasonable number of voices. Although it is not absolutely necessary, it is strongly recommended to play the Ultra Analog with a MIDI keyboard or controller. 8 Introduction 1.2 Installation Mac OS Insert the Ultra Analog program disc into your CD ROM drive. Open the CD icon once it appears on your desktop. Click on the Ultra Analog Install icon and follow the instructions of the installer. If you purchased this software online, simply double-click on the installer file that you have downloaded and follow the instructions of the installer. Windows Insert the Ultra Analog program disc into your CD ...