Waldorf Pulse 2 manual

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Content Pulse 2 User Manual 2 Content Foreword ............................................................................................................................. 4 ! The Pulse 2 Devel opment Te am ...................................... 5 ! We wou ld like to tha nk ................................................... 5 ! Control F eatures [...]

Content 3 Pulse 2 User Manual Sound Synthe sis Basics ................................................................................... 47 ! Oscill ators Intr oducti on ................................................. 47 ! F ilter Introdu ction .......................................................... 52 ! Appendix .............................[...]

Foreword Pulse 2 User Manual 4 Foreword Thank you for purchasi ng the Waldorf Puls e 2 Synthesizer. You now own a compact analog synthesizer wit h an ast o- nishing sound. And of course, a very exceptional feature set as for exam ple the paraphonic modes and the APW wave- form. If y ou do decide to read the following quick start m a- nual we can pr[...]

Foreword 5 Pulse 2 User Manual The Pulse 2 Development Team Hardware : Frédéric Meslin, Frank Schn eider, Stefan Stenzel Software : Stefan Stenzel , Frédéric Meslin Design: Axel Hart mann Manual : Holger Steinb rink Revision : 1. 0 , September 2013 w Please visit our website pulse2.waldorfmusi c.de . Here you will find the latest firmware versi[...]

Control Fe atures and Conn ections Pulse 2 User Manual 6 Control Features and Connecti ons Front Panel a Display b Selection Buttons c Selection Dia l d Volume Dial e MIDI I nput Indi cator f Parameter Matrix g Parameter Matrix Buttons h Sh ift Button i Parameter Matrix Dials[...]

Control Featur es and Conne ctions 7 Pulse 2 User Manual Connections A Stereo headphone jack B Audio l ine output left/right (only right: mono) C Audio line mono i nput 4 CV/ Gate o utputs 5 MIDI Ou t ja ck 6 MIDI I n ja ck 7 Lo cking slot 8 USB port 9 Pow er s witch J Power supply socket[...]

Introduction Pulse 2 User Manual 8 Introduction About this Manual This manual was w ritten to help you become familiar with the Pulse 2 syn thesizer. It will also aid experienced users with routi ne tasks. To avoid confusion, the terminology in this manual is based on the Pulse 2 parameter names. You will find a glossary at the end of this manual; [...]

Introduction 9 Pulse 2 User Manual General Safety Guidelines m Please read the following safety tips carefully! They include several prec autions you should a l- ways observe when deal ing with elect ronic equipment. Read all of the instructions before operating your devi ce Suitable Operating Conditions • Use the device indoors only. Outside it [...]

Introduction Pulse 2 User Manual 10 the powe r off, unplu g the de vice and cons ult a qu a- li fied repair c enter. Maintenance • Do not open the device or remove the cover. Refer all service and repair tasks to qualified personnel. There are no user serviceable parts inside the cha s- sis. • Use only a dry, soft cloth or brush to clean the d [...]

Setup and Connection 11 Pulse 2 User Manual Setup and Connec tion Inventory The Waldorf Pulse 2 package comes complete with: • the Waldo rf Pulse 2 Synthesizer • an external power supply with 12V / 500mA • a printed Quick Start manual Please ensure all the items above were included. If something is missing, contact your lo cal dealer. We reco[...]

Setup and Connection Pulse 2 User Manual 12 ter that the Pulse 2 is autom atically a vail able as a MIDI unit . 6. Connect the power supply cable or the power cable that came with the Pulse 2 with the Pow- er supply J jack. 7. If you want to use th e external audio in put, please connect it 3 to a line output of your si- gnal source or a guitar or [...]

13 Pulse 2 User Manual The USB Connection Using a USB cable you can connect the Pulse 2 to your computer observing the following system requir ements : • Window s PC: Windows X P or newer is re co m- me nded, a USB port • Linux PC, a USB port • Apple: Intel Mac with Mac OS X 1 0.5 or newer, a USB port • Apple iPad with iPad Camera Con necti[...]

Basic Operation Pulse 2 User Manual 14 Basic Operation Switching on / off The Pulse 2 is equipped with a Powe r swi tch 8 . Flick it to switc h on the Pulse 2 . The display a is lit and shows the installed firmware version. After that, the Pulse 2 is ready for some action. Flick the Pow e r switch again to switch off the Pulse 2 . m Don´t forget t[...]

Basic Operation 15 Pulse 2 User Manual Editing Parameters In order to ch ange or ed it a sound in the Pulse 2 , you must access the appropri ate parameters . In spite of the Pu lse 2 compactness it u ses a sophisticated user inte r- face allo wing fast editing of any pa rameter. The ch ang e of any value is done with the dials in the Par ame te r m[...]

Basic Operation Pulse 2 User Manual 16 Storing Sounds After you have finished editing a sound , y ou must store it if you intend to u se it ag ain. An y of th e Pulse 2 mem o- ry locations are available for this p urpose. + To store a sound program : 1. Pres s the Shift h + Store buttons to a ctivate the Store pag e. 2. Use the Se lection dial c to[...]

17 Pulse 2 User Manual should do backups of the sou nds regularly. If you want to restore the factory prese ts, you can dow n load them as a Standard M IDI File from o ur website . w Use the Stor e func tion also if you w ant to copy sounds. Th ere is no need to edit a sound before storing it . When re ceiv in g individual sounds through sysex tran[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 18 Sound Parameter Overview of Functions The Waldorf Pulse 2 con sists of numerous sound - shaping componen ts w Is the Pulse 2 your first synthesizer? Are you cur i- ous about sound synthesis? If so, we recommend to read the c hapter "Sou nd Synthe sis Basics" in this manua l. You should know that the [...]

Sound Parameter 19 Pulse 2 User Manual The Oscillator Section (OSC 1- 3) The Pulse 2 offers three oscillators that nearly use si milar parameters for edi ting. All control s of the oscillators can be found in the OSC parameter matrix . + Selecting an Oscillator Choose the desired oscillat or with the button. The LED of the co rresponding Oscillator[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 20 but with constant energy, at the cost of having to tolerate a subh armonic o ne octave b elow. • UNISON M ( only OSC 1 ) creates a n unison in mono mode by using a cluster o f eight pulse osci l- lators at once. So if you play a single note, all eight oscillators play this note, slightly detuned to enrich th[...]

Sound Parameter 21 Pulse 2 User Manual • Para - 4 ( only OSC 1 ) ist he same as Para -8 . But tw o oscillators per note are used. This will reduce the polyphony to four voices. You can set up puls e- width, pitch and fa de ind ividual ly. w Keep in mind : When Para -4 is se lected as Shape you cannot use OSC 3 . This oscillator is not a c- cessib[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 22 Pulse w idth ( only Osc 1 a nd 2) 0...127 Sets the pulse width of the PWM / APW waveform. The value 0 is eq uivalent to a pulse ratio o f < 1% , the value 127 is equivalent to 50%. If you select an y wa veform other than PWM , this paramete r does not have any effect. The following picture illustrates the e[...]

Sound Parameter 23 Pulse 2 User Manual Detune - 64...+63 Fine - tunes th e oscillator in steps o f 1/128th of a semit o- ne. The audible result of detuned oscillators is a Chorus or Flanger effect. Use a positive setting for one oscillator and an equivalent negative setting f or another . [ A low value of ±1 re sults in a slow an d soft Fla nger e[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 24 [ Use Sync for Lead or Solo sound s. Se t O scillator 2 to p lay o ne octave and 7 semitones highe r, ap ply an envelope to its pitch with positive amount and you get a screaming sync sound. [ Sync can also be very inter esting on arpeggio sounds. Ap ply a slow clocked LFO to Oscillator 2 pitch and the arpe gg[...]

Sound Parameter 25 Pulse 2 User Manual • The Sine shape is best suited for o scillator o r pan modulat ions. • The Triangle (TRI) shape is pe rfect fo r smooth pitch, filt er or volume modulat ions. • The Sawtooth (SAW) shape ca n generate int e- resting filter or volume chan ges. • The Square (SQR) shape can be interesting for hard pan mod[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 26 Rate OFF / 0 ...127 Sets the glide time. Lo w settings will give a short glide time in a range of millisecond s that give s a spec ial ch a- racter to the sound. Higher settings will result in a long glide time of up to several seconds w hich can be u seful for solo and effe ct sound s. With the se tting OFF ,[...]

Sound Parameter 27 Pulse 2 User Manual Sust ain 0...127 Determin es the sustain level which is held until a note ends. Re le as e 0...127 Once the note has ende d, th e rele ase ph ase be gins. Durin g this phase, the envelope fades to zero at the rate determined by the Rel ease value. Loop OFF / A- D / D-D The Loop mode can be used to use an envel[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 28 The Arpeggiator Section (ARP) An Arpeggiator is a device that splits an incoming MIDI chord in to its single notes and rep eats/reorder th em rhythmically. Differen t sequence mo des can be defined for the Arpegg iator to cover a w ide ra nge o f applic a- tions. In additio n to the synth esis features, the Pu[...]

Sound Parameter 29 Pulse 2 User Manual ARP Delay - 50%...+50% Moves the playba ck time of an arpegg io forward (posit i- ve values) or backward (negative values). Forward m eans that an arpeggio is played later while backw ard means that it is played earli er. This paramet er lets you set up an offset for an incoming MIDI clock. w Keep in mind that[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 30 [ Press the ARP button again. Now press the right Param e te r button once to select the TIME function. [ Press the ARP button again to go back to the step edit mode. Now you can edit the step lenght of eac h step separa tely with the Pa ram e- ter b uttons and the Par ame te r dial. [ Press the ARP button aga[...]

Sound Parameter 31 Pulse 2 User Manual • If 1 ST is selected , on ly th e first incom ing note will b e play ed. • If RESET is selected, the note index (not the pa t- tern) will be resetted and plays from start with the f ir st played note. Time 25% / 50% / 75% / 100% Changes the length of the note of a particula r step. The overall length of t[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 32 follow w ith the other Arpeggiator M odes, too . or • Pre ss and hold the first key of the chord. While holdin g this key , ente r the othe r keys sequentially. After playing all keys, you can release the first key. Th is meth od is pract i- cal for playing difficult chords. It allows you to create arpeggios[...]

Sound Parameter 33 Pulse 2 User Manual and go es dow n to the original octave. Then the arpeggio is repeated. • If ALT is selecte d, th e n ote list is first playe d fo r- ward and the octaves are transpo sed upward. A f- ter reaching the la st note of the note lis t in the highest octave t o play, the note lis t is played backward and the octave[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 34 The Filter Section (VCF) The Pulse 2 offers a multimode filt er. w A detailed introduction of the filters can be found in the chapte r " Sound Synthesis Basics " of this manual . w We recommen d to tune the filter peri odically to ensure settings reliability. Read more about this in the chapte r &quo[...]

Sound Parameter 35 Pulse 2 User Manual change the timbre of the sound over time. Soun ds with a hard attack usually have a envelope amount that makes the s tart ph ase bright and then closes the filter to get a darker sustain phase. By the way, the envelope amount also depends on the played velocity. Use this feature to give a more expre s- sive ch[...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 36 meter with the differenc e that its intensity is velocity based. Use this fea ture to give a more expressive chara c- ter to th e s ound. When you hit the k eys smoothly, only minimal modulati on is applie d. When you hit t hem harder, the modulation amount also g ets strong er. w The overall modulation applie[...]

Sound Parameter 37 Pulse 2 User Manual Drive Curve Diverse Determin es the c haracte r o f the d rive. The fol lowing drive curves ar e available: • NONE deactivates th e dri ve curve. • TUBE generates a warm and vinta ge sound with an asyme trical distortion. • FUZZ generates a hard and noisy symmetrical distortion. Pannin g L64...CNT...R63 [...]

Sound Parameter Pulse 2 User Manual 38 The Modulation Matrix Menu (Mod) A modulatio n can be described as a signal - generating unit’s influence upon a sound parameter. T he terms used in this context are "Source" and "Target ". The Pulse 2 offers 8 independent modulation assignments (slots) each with individual settings of so[...]

Sound Parameter 39 Pulse 2 User Manual The Sound Menu Here you will fi nd additi onal paramet er s for th e sele cted sound program. Hold the Shift button and press the Sound button to access the Sound menu . Use the Se lection button s to select the desired parameter, which can be edited with the Sele ctio n d ial . Bend Upwards 0...36 Determin es[...]

Additional Settings Pulse 2 User Manual 40 Additional Settings Global parameters are se ttings that affe ct the Pulse 2 general response. Global parameters are stored automa t- ically w hen you lea ve th e Glo bal m enu, so you are not re quired to save them manually. The Global Menu All Global parameters are located in the Global Menu. Hold the Sh[...]

Additional Settings 41 Pulse 2 User Manual se 2 receives M IDI properly, set MIDI Chann el to any other value than omni . MIDI Thru OFF / ON Activates the MIDI Thr u fun ction of t he MIDI Out port. Incoming MID I data will be a utomatically sen t via M IDI Out port to connect ed MIDI devices . Additional y, the Pulse 2 will s end out its own data [...]

Additional Settings Pulse 2 User Manual 42 • If CC+SYS is se lected, all Sou nd parame ters with a dedicated controller assignment are sent as co n- troller messag es. This is the re commended s et ting . C ontrol X 0...119 This parameter is used to define an arbitrary MIDI Co n- tinuous Controller as m odulation sources for sounds. Each value re[...]

Additional Settings 43 Pulse 2 User Manual [ After you have bought your 127th Pulse 2, please contact Waldorf Music. You will receive a pers o- nal device number that authorizes you to have dinner with our Managing Director. Be sure we i n- vite you for some french fries at our favorite burger company. Input G ain - 13...+20dB Determin es the sensi[...]

Additional Settings Pulse 2 User Manual 44 • UNIPOL sets the basic value for sending unip o- lar mo dulation sources as envelope s or vel o- city. The default value is 0 V and can be mod i- fied in the M odulation matrix. • BIPOL sets the basic value for sen ding bipo lar modulat ion sources as LFOs. The d efault value is middle voltag e and ca[...]

Additional Settings 45 Pulse 2 User Manual Hold again the Shift button and press Utility to activate the selected u tility function. Init So und Use the Init function to in itialize a sou nd to i ts basic parameter settings. This i s useful if you w ant to st art programming a sound from t he scratch. w When you initi ali ze a sou nd , all action t[...]

Additional Settings Pulse 2 User Manual 46 Filter Tune - Loud! The filter is tuned at the factory prior to shipping and, as a rule, is very stable. However, the Pulse 2 is an actual analog synthesizer, so diverse factors may cause slight tuning problems. Therefore we recommen d tha t you re - calibrate it fr om time to time. O n demand, the Pulse 2[...]

Sound Synthesis Basics 47 Pulse 2 User Manual Sound Synthesis Basics Oscillators Introduction The oscillator is the first building block of a synthesizer. It delivers the signal that is tran sformed by all othe r components of the synthesizer. In the early days of electronic synthesis, engineers found that most real acoustic instrument waveforms ca[...]

Sound Synthesis Basics Pulse 2 User Manual 48 Additive c ompone nts of t he Sawtooth wave The sawtooth wave was thought as an abstraction of the timbre of string an d brass instrume nts. You can ea sily understand that when you think of a violin. Imagine a bow pulling the string slightly into one direction. At one point, t he string abruptly comes [...]

Sound Synt hesis Basi cs 49 Pulse 2 User Manual Additive c omponents of the squa re wave wit h 50% pulse width The Pulse Wa ve The Pulse Wave is the m ost versatile wave in a classic synthesizer because its shape and the refore its harmonic con tent can be changed in re al time. This is done by changing the width of the upper and lower portion of t[...]

Sound Synthesis Basics Pulse 2 User Manual 50 Additive c omponents of Pulse wav e with di fferent pulse widths The first fact you can probably observe is that the lower part of the wav e has a narrow er excursion. This is be- cause the energy of the wider pulse is higher than the one of the narrower pulse. If this w ere not compensated, the overall[...]

Sound Synthesis Basics 51 Pulse 2 User Manual The Triangle Wa ve The Triangle W ave is very similar to the squar e wave. It is compo sed of the same h armonics as the squ are wave , but with different magnitude ratios. The magnitude of each harmo nic is divided by the power of its number. This means that the third harmonic’s magnit ude is a ninth[...]

Sound Synthesis Basics Pulse 2 User Manual 52 Filter Introduction Once the audio signal leaves the oscill ator, it is sent to the filte r. The filter is a com ponent that has significant influence on the Pulse 2 ’s sound cha racteristics. For now , w e’ll explain the basic function of a filter di s- cussing the type used most commonly in synthe[...]

Sound Synthesis Basics 53 Pulse 2 User Manual If the reson ance is rais ed to a gre at extent, th en the filter will begin to self - oscillate, i.e. the filt er generates an audible sine wave even when i t does not receive an incoming s ignal. ! "#$%#&'( )#*#+ ,%-.// 0#1.&2&'#[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 54 Appendix Updating the Firmware The Pulse 2 has a service - friendly feature that makes it possible to update the system software without changing any parts. All firmware updates come in the form of a standard MIDI file that can be read by nearly any sequenc er. The fastest w ay to get this file is by downloading it f[...]

Appendix 55 Pulse 2 User Manual Receiving System Exclusive Data You are not required to activate a special receive mode of the Pulse 2 in order to rec eive system exclusive data through MIDI or USB . How ever, th ere are a few thin gs you should check before you transmit system exclusive data to the Puls e 2 : • Make sure none of the Pulse 2 ’s[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 56 Modulation Sources Source : Descript ion : OFF No modula tion LFO1 LFO 1 Signal LFO1x M ODW LFO 1 Signal shaped by Modwheel LFO1xPRS LFO 2 Signal shaped by Afte r- touch LFO2 LFO 2 Signal LFO2*ENV A LFO 2 Signal shaped by Envelope 2 ENVF Filter Envelope Signal ENVA Amplifier Envelope Si gnal VELOCITY MIDI V eloci ty [...]

Appendix 57 Pulse 2 User Manual Modulation Targets Destina tion : Descript ion : PITCH Global pitch of al l Osci llato rs O SC 1 /2/3 PITCH Pitch of Oscill ator 1…3 PULSEWIDTH 1/2 Pulse width of Osci llator 1…3 O SC 1/2/3 LEVEL Level of Oscillator 1…3 NOISE LE VEL Level of Noise C UTOFF Filter Cutoff RESONANCE Filter Resonance VOLUME Overall [...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 58 Tips & Tricks Here are a few tips that will help you make the most of your Pulse 2. • The lower the input signal, the greater the effect the filter has on the overall s ound. If you want a heavily filtered sound, set the oscillators' volum e parameters to low values in the mixer. On the other hand, high os[...]

Appendix 59 Pulse 2 User Manual quency fluctuations over a w ide range of your keyboard. • Modul ate the pitch of an oscil lator via Keytrack. Set the modu lation "Amou nt" so that th is value is numerically equal to the "Tune" value of the oscillator, but make one value positive and the other negative. This generates frequenc[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 60 Technical Data Powe r Sup ply Nominal Voltage : DC 12 V Supply Voltage: 100 – 240 V Maximum curr ent c onsump tion: 4 00 mA Maximum power cons umptio n : 6 W Dimension and Weight Width : 304 mm D epth: 13 2 mm Height ( including k nobs): 54 mm Total weight (ex cluding powe r supply) : 1, 5 kg[...]

Appendix 61 Pulse 2 User Manual MIDI Controller Numbers Ctr l # Control Range Controller o r Sound Parameter Value Range 1 0…127 Modulat ion Wheel 0…127 5 0…127 GLIDE RAT E 0…127 10 0…127 VCA PANNING - 64...+63 14 0…127 ENVF ATTACK 0…127 15 0…127 ENVF DECAY 0…127 16 0…127 ENVF SUSTAIN 0…127 17 0…127 ENVF RELEASE 0…127 83 0[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 62 64 0…127 Sustain Pedal 0…127 70 0…127 OSC1 SEMI TONE 0…127 71 0…127 OSC1 DETUNE 0…127 72 0…127 OSC3 ROUTI NG 0…127 73 0…127 OSC1 KEYT RACK 0…127 74 0…127 ENVF LOOP 0…127 75 0…127 ENVA LOOP 0…127 76 0…127 VCA DRIVE 0…127 77 0…127 VCA DRIVE CURVE 0…127 79 0…127 ARP ACTIVE 0…127 8[...]

Appendix 63 Pulse 2 User Manual 116 0…127 MOD3 TARG ET 0…127 117 0…127 MOD4 SOURC E 0 …127 118 0…127 MOD4 AMOUNT 0…127 119 0…127 MOD4 TARG ET 0…127 120 All Sound Off Immediate silence 121 Reset All Contr ollers Resets all controllers 123 All Notes Off Releases all voices[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 64 Glossary Aftertouch The majority of contemporary MIDI keyboards are capable of generating aftertouch messages. On this type of keyboard, when you press harder on a key you are already holding down, a MIDI Af tertouch message is generated. This feature can be used to control the Cutoff fr e quency of the Pulse 2 . Amo[...]

Appendix 65 Pulse 2 User Manual Control Chan ge (Controlle r s) MIDI m essages enable you to manipulate the response of a sound generator to a signi ficant degree. This message essenti ally consists of two components: • The Controller number, which defines the element to be influenc ed. It can be b etween 0 a nd 1 19 . • The Control ler value ,[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 66 Filter Cu toff Frequency The filter cutoff frequency is a significant factor for fi l- ters. A low pass filter dam pens the portion of the signal that lies above th is frequen cy. Frequ encies b elow this value are allowed to pass through without being proce s- sed. High Pass Filter A high pass filter dampens all fre[...]

Appendix 67 Pulse 2 User Manual there is a rule which is applie d to ensure each de vice responds accordin gly. MIDI Chan nel This is a very important element of most messages. A receiver can only respond to inc oming messages if its receive channel is se t to the same chan nel as the one the sen der is using to transmit data. Sub sequently, the se[...]

Append ix Pulse 2 User Manual 68 Re le as e An envelope parameter. The term "Release" describes the d escent rate of an envelope to its minimum value after a trigger is terminated. The Release phase begins immediately after the trigger is terminated , rega rdless of the env elope's current s tatus. Fo r instanc e, the Release phase m[...]

Appendix 69 Pulse 2 User Manual EG Konformitätserklärung Declaration of Conformity des Herstellers / of the manufa cturer: Waldo rf Music GmbH Landskroner Str. 52 53474 Bad Neuenahr / Germany Verantwortl iche Pers on / Responsi ble person: Stefan Stenzel erklärt hiermit, dass das Produkt / will be hereby declared that the following named p roduc[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 70 Am 15.12.2004 wurde die überarbeitete Richtlini e 2004/108/EG zur Elektromagnetischen Verträglichkeit von der Europäischen Kommission veröffentlicht (AB. L 390/2004). Sie ersetzt die bisher geltende EMV - Richtlini e 89/336/EWG. Im Zusammenh ang mit dieser Übera rbeitung gelten folgen de Übergangsfr isten: Im J[...]

Appendix 71 Pulse 2 User Manual FCC Information (U.S.A.) 1. IMPORTAN T NO TICE: DO NOT MO DIF Y THIS UNIT! This product, when installed as indicated in the instructions co n- tained in this M anual, m eets FCC requiremen ts. Modificatio ns not expressly approved by W aldorf may void your authority, granted by the FCC, to use this product. 2. IMPORT[...]

Appendix Pulse 2 User Manual 72 Product Warranty Thank you for choosing this Waldor f product. It is a dependable device and is designed to last. However, the potential for defects in material or workmanship cannot be eradicated completely. This is why we provide an extended warranty for you. This warranty covers all defects in material and workman[...]

W aldorf Music GmbH • Landskroner Str aße 52 • D-53474 Bad Neuenahr © 2013 W aldorf Music GmbH • All rights reserved www .w aldorfmusic.de[...]