AAS Chromaphone manual

USER MANU AL[...]

2 Information in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Applied Acoustics Systems D VM Inc. The softw are described in this manual is furnished under a license agreement. The softw are may be used only in accordance of the terms of this license agreement. It is against the law to copy this[...]

Contents 1 Introduction 6 1.1 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1.2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1.2.1 From a CD-R OM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1.2.2 Electronic Deli very . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

4 CONTENTS 4 Parameters 19 4.1 General Functioning of the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4.1.1 Knobs and Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4.1.2 Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 4.1.3 Drop-do wn Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .[...]

CONTENTS 5 5 Utility Section 37 5.1 The MIDI LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 5.2 Polyphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 5.3 T uning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 5.4 History and Compare . . . . . [...]

6 Introduction 1 Intr oduction Chr omaphone is a synthesizer dedicated to the creation of acoustic instruments. It is based on the combination of acoustic resonators to create drums, percussion, string and hybrid synth-like instruments. Membranes, bars, marimbas, plates, strings, and tubes form pairs that are excited by a mallet and a flexible noi[...]

1.2 Installation 7 K eep in mind that the computational power required by Chr omaphone depends on the number of voices of polyphony and the sampling rate used. These computer configurations will enable you to play the factory sounds with a reasonable number of voices but performances will v ary depending on your specific computer configuration. [...]

8 Introduction After starting the application, a message will appear telling you that the application needs to be authorized. After clicking on the Authorize b utton, a pop-up window will appear as shown in Figure 1. Enter your serial number and click on the A uthorize button. The program will then connect to the AAS server and complete the authori[...]

1.3 A uthorization and Registration 9 Figure 2: Of fline Authorization. Y our serial number as well as the automatically generated c hallenge code are displayed b ut you need to obtain the r esponse code . T o do so, take note of your serial number and challeng e code and proceed to an internet connected computer . Launch your bro wser and go to t[...]

10 Introduction • Outside North America: 1-514-871-8100 • Fax Number: 1-514-845-1875 1.4 Using Chromaphone as a Plug-in Chr omaphone integrates seamlessly into the industry’ s most popular multi-track recording and sequencing en vironments as a virtual instrument plug-in. Chr omaphone works as any other plug-in in these en vironments so we re[...]

1.7 About this Manual 11 Our online support pages contain downloads of the most recent product updates, and answers to frequently asked questions on all AAS products. The support pages are located at: www .applied-acoustics.com/support/ 1.7 About this Manual Throughout this manual, the follo wing con ventions are used: • Bold characters are used [...]

12 Bank and Program Management 2 Bank and Pr ogram Management Chr omaphone comes with several factory presets, called pr ogr ams , cov ering a wide range of sounds. This collection of programs lets you play and familiarize yourself with this synthesizer without having to tweak a single knob. Soon, howe ver , you will be experimenting and creating y[...]

2.3 The Bank Manager 13 Figure 3: Bank and program manager windo w . A new bank can be created by clicking on the New button belo w the bank list. This opens the Cr eate New Bank window in which the name of the new bank can be entered. A bank can be deleted by first selecting it in the bank list and then clicking on the Delete button. Be careful, [...]

14 Bank and Program Management program list. Programs can be deleted from a bank by first selecting them and then clicking on the Delete button. This will move the programs to a special bank called T r ash which is located belo w the regular list of banks. This means that deleted programs can always be recuperated as long as they are not deleted f[...]

2.7 Restoring the F actory Library 15 2.7 Restoring the F actory Library If necessary , it is possible to restore the original f actory library of banks and programs. The original factory bank files are located in the follo wing folders: On W indo ws 64-bit: C: Program Files (x86) Applied Acoustics Systems Chromaphone Factory Library On W [...]

16 Architectur e of Chromaphone 3 Ar chitecture of Chromaphone Chr omaphone is synthesizer built around the combination of acoustic resonators. The resulting in- struments are played using a mallet or the signal from a noise source. It is very simple yet the range of sounds it is capable of is surprisingly wide, from realistic reproductions of acou[...]

3.1 General Organization and Signal Flow 17 Figure 5: Signal flo w of Chr omaphone . Resonators in parallel mode. Figure 6: Signal flo w of Chr omaphone . Resonators in coupling mode. by Resonator B, it starts to vibrate which in return influences the motion of Resonator A. The modeling of these complex interactions results in tones and timbres [...]

18 Architectur e of Chromaphone 3.2 Preset Management and Master Contr ols The top part of the interface includes the About button, polyphon y and general pitch settings. This part of the interface also includes the preset manager , undo, redo and compare commands, a master volume, a simple re v erb control, the MIDI led and a lev el meter . 3.3 Mo[...]

Parameters 19 4 Parameters This section can be used as a reference on the different controls appearing on Chr omaphone ’ s graphical interface. W e begin by describing the behavior of the different types of controls appear- ing on the interface and follow with general notions of acoustics which allo w for a better under- standing of the parameter[...]

20 Parameters A modulation can be viewed as the v ariation of a parameter around its current v alue controlled by a modulation signal. The different modulation controls act as gain knobs which multiply the modulation signal by a certain factor . The amount of modulation is adjusted by click-holding on a modulation dot and and moving the mouse (or t[...]

4.2 General Notions of Acoustics 21 As an example, the vibration motion associated with two normal modes of a rectangular plate is illustrated in Figures 7 and 8. In the first figure, one can see the vibration motion associated with two different normal modes of the plate (modes [1,1] and [3,2]). Over one period of oscillation, all the points go [...]

22 Parameters Figure 8: Contour plot corresponding to normal mode [1,1] and [3,2] of a plate. nodal line of a mode (a line where amplitude of the motion associated with a mode is zero) does not allo w the transfer energy to that specific mode and its corresponding partial will not be excited. The ef fect will not be as pronounced but will still ex[...]

4.3 The Mallet Module 23 of the string; most of the energy will be reflected back into the string at the bridge resulting in a standing wa ve in the string and a long decay . Now let’ s imagine that the soundboard becomes much less rigid. The string can now set it into motion more easily at the bridge. This implies that more energy will be able [...]

24 Parameters Low Medium High Low Medium High Time Time Stiff Vol Figure 9: Ef fect of the Stiffness and V olume knob on the output from the Mallet module. amount of noise. The frequency content of the noise can be adjusted with the help of the Color control. T urning this knob clockwise increases the cut-of f frequency of a high-pass filter . 4.4[...]

4.5 The Resonator Module 25 to become continuous. This parameter can be used to produce interesting ef fects by exciting the resonators randomly . This parameter can be modulated with the the pitch or velocity signal from the ke yboard or with the output from the Noise En velope or LFO module. The Direct slider linking the Mallet and Noise modules [...]

26 Parameters • Manual : In this mode, one can adjust the frequency of one to four different partials (see Quality control). The Quality control is located just below the resonator selector and is represented by big dots. It allows one to adjust the number of modes taken into account in the synthesis and therefore the richness and complexity of t[...]

4.5 The Resonator Module 27 The Release parameter is used to simulate the effect of dampers on the object when a note is released. The release time is calculated as a percentage of the total decay time of the object as set by the Decay parameter . The Material control allows one to fix the decay time of partials as a function of frequency with res[...]

28 Parameters The Hit P osition controls where the excitation signal is applied on a resonator . This is an im- portant parameter as it affects the relativ e amplitude of the different partials of the resonator and therefore the spectrum of the sound it radiates as explained in Section 4.2.1. This position is indi- cated as a percentage of the tota[...]

4.7 The V ibrato Module 29 is di vided into four phases, the Attack , Decay , Sustain and Release controlled by the A , D , S and R controls respecti vely . During the attack phase, the en velope signal goes from a value of zero to a v alue of 1 in a laps of time controlled by the A knob . The decay phase then begins and the signal goes from 1 to t[...]

30 Parameters position, there is no vibrato and turning the knob clockwise increases the amount of pitch variation. The MW modulation entry is used to determine the ef fect of the k eyboard modulation wheel on the depth of the vibrato. When this modulation is set to zero, the modulation wheel has no effect b ut when it is increased, the depth of th[...]

4.9 The Multi-Effect Module 31 4.9 The Multi-Effect Module The Multi-Effect module allo ws one to process the signal from the synthesizer before sending it to the out- put. There are two identical sets of effects which can be applied in series. These ef fects are switched On or Off by clicking on the switch located in their top left corner . The ef[...]

32 Parameters The effect is controlled with the three knobs appearing at the bottom of the module. The Mix knob is used to adjust the ratio of “dry” and “wet” signal in the output signal from the module. When the knob is adjusted in the left position, only the original or “dry” signal is sent to the output while in the right position on[...]

4.9 The Multi-Effect Module 33 around the v alue fix ed by the F req knob while with the A uto W ah ef fect, the setting of the F r eq will fix the starting point v alue of the varying center frequenc y . The Depth knob controls the excursion of the center frequency of the filter . In the case of the W ah W ah ef fect, this excursion is applied [...]

34 Parameters center frequency of the filter . T urning this knob clockwise increases the rate of the modulation if the Sync function is off . 4.9.7 EQ The EQ provides equalization ov er the low , mid, and high frequency bands. It is composed of a lo w shelf filter , a peak filter , and a high shelf filter in series. The functioning of the lo w[...]

4.9 The Multi-Effect Module 35 Amplitude (dB) 0dB Gain = 30 dB, Q = 20 Gain = 20 dB Gain = 30 dB, Q = 50 Gain = 10 dB Gain = 30 dB, Q = 20 Frequency (Hz) Freq Figure 13: Peak filter . asymmetrical resulting in the introduction of e ven and odd harmonics in the signal. The Solid State distortion applies an aggressiv e symmetrical clipping to the si[...]

36 Parameters 4.9.10 Rev erb The Reverb effects are used to recreate the effect of reflections of sound on the walls of a room or hall. These reflections add space to the sound and make it warmer , deeper , as well as more realistic since we always listen to instruments in a room and thus with a room ef fect. The Multi-Effect module includes thre[...]

Utility Section 37 5 Utility Section The utility section is located at the top of the Chr omaphone interface and it includes important parameters and monitoring tools. For information on Banks and Pr ogr ams please refer to Chapter 2 5.1 The MIDI LED The MIDI LED is located on the left of the lev el-meter . The LED blinks when the synthesizer recei[...]

38 Utility Section version. When in Compar e mode, edition is blocked and it is therefore not possible to modify any parameter . The Compar e mode must then be switched off by clicking on the Compar e b utton in order to resume edition. 5.5 Rev erb Chr omaphone is equiped with a simple rev erb which can be used to add ambiance to your sound. The Re[...]

Using Chromaphone as a Plug-In 39 6 Using Chromaphone as a Plug-In Chr omaphone is av ailable in VST and AudioUnit formats and integrates seamlessly into the in- dustry most popular multi-track recording and sequencing en vironments as a virtual instrument plug-in. Chr omaphone works as any other plug-in in these environments so we recommend that y[...]

40 Using Chromaphone as a Plug-In 6.6 Perf ormance Using a plug-in in a host sequencer requires CPU processing for both applications. The load on the CPU is even higher when multiple instances of a plug-in or numerous dif ferent plug-ins are used. T o decrease CPU usage, remember that you can use the freeze of bounce to track functions of the host [...]

License Agreement 41 7 License Agr eement IMPOR T ANT! CAREFULL Y READ ALL THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS A GREE- MENT BEFORE OPENING THIS P A CKA GE. OPENING THIS P A CKA GE INDICA TES Y OUR A CCEPT ANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF Y OU DO NO T A GREE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS A GREEMENT , PROMPTL Y RETURN THE UN- OPENED P A CK[...]

42 License Agreement 5. LIMIT A TION OF LIABILITY . TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLI- CABLE LA W , IN NO EVENT WILL AAS BE LIABLE TO THE LICENSEE OR ANY THIRD P AR TY FOR ANY INDIRECT , SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENT AL OR EXEMPLAR Y D AMA GES WHA TSOEVER, INCLUDING BUT NO T LIMITED TO LOSS OF REVENUE OR PR OFIT , LOST OR DAMA GED D A T A[...]

License Agreement 43 rendered inoperati ve b ut the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and ef fect. 9. ENTIRE A GREEMENT . This Agreement is the entire agreement between AAS and the Licensee relating to the Software and: (i) supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written communications, proposals and representations with res[...]

Index about, 38 adsr , 18 architecture, 16 authorization, 7 auto-wah, 31, 32 backup, 14 bank, 12 backup, 14 create, 12 delete, 12 factory library , 15 rename, 12 sharing, 14 bank manager , 12 challenge code, 7 chorus, 31 mono, 31 stereo, 31 clipping, 38 clock, 20 coarse, 19 compare, 37 contact, 10 cpu load, 37 delay , 31 digital delay , 31 distorti[...]

INDEX 45 re verb, 36 synchronization, 20 tremolo, 35 wah wah, 32 noise, 24 en velope, 28 noise source, 24 notch filter , 31, 33 numerical displays, 19 output ef fect, 18 ov erdriv e, 34 parameters, 19 peak, 38 performance, 6 phaser , 31, 32 ping pong delay , 31 plug-in, 10 audio configuration, 39 automation, 39 MIDI configuration, 39 MIDI progra[...]