Phoscyon Manual

Phoscyon 1.6.0 owner's manual

Table of Contents1 Quick Start..................................................................................................................................................1

2 Sequencer preface.....................................................................................................................................22.1 Sequencer modes..........................................................................................................................22.2 Attributes of step............................................................................................................................22.3 Threshold mode.............................................................................................................................3

3 Sequencer External mode.........................................................................................................................53.1 Seq Ex Mode.................................................................................................................................53.2 Play Live Switch.............................................................................................................................6

4 Sequencer Internal mode...........................................................................................................................84.1 Special modes...............................................................................................................................84.2 The pattern edition.........................................................................................................................9

4.2.1 Pattern management..........................................................................................................104.2.2 Step management..............................................................................................................124.2.3 Loading and saving patterns...............................................................................................13

4.3 Controlling the tempo...................................................................................................................134.4 Randomizer.................................................................................................................................14

5 Synthesis...................................................................................................................................................185.1 Controls.......................................................................................................................................185.2 Filter envelope.............................................................................................................................19

6 Arpeggiator...............................................................................................................................................226.1 Controls.......................................................................................................................................226.2 Usage..........................................................................................................................................23

6.2.1 Arpeggiator tone.................................................................................................................246.2.2 The range of octaves..........................................................................................................266.2.3 Arpeggiator runtime modes................................................................................................266.2.4 Arpeggiator repetitions........................................................................................................276.2.5 Multiplication of tempo........................................................................................................27

7 Distortion...................................................................................................................................................287.1 Structure......................................................................................................................................287.2 Controls.......................................................................................................................................297.3 Pre/Post Eq Switch......................................................................................................................31


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1 Quick Start

After loading the plugin in the host application, the Phoscyon Graphic Interface should appear:

On the top of the GUI you can see a row of controls. There are responsible for work mode of the plug−in,loading/saving internal patterns.

Next row of controls including one switch and 12 knobs. These are responsible for synthesis control.

Bellow them on the left, you can see the a group of Arpeggiator controls − these are: the Arpeggiatorchord switch (Arp. Chord), Arpeggiator mode switch (Arp. Mode), Octave range indicators (Oct. Range),and Arpeggiator multiplier/repeater switch. (Arp. Tempo Multiplier) Six Distortion knobs (Preamp, Size,Density, Clip, Wetness, and Brightness ). There is also a Distortion On/Off switch.

Further down, toward the center of Phoscyon, lay the sequencer controls, the rightmost of which is theVolume knob. These span horizontally from the Tempo controls (including LED display, rocker switch and atempo knob). Transpose rocker on the right. Some of these controls have special uses and others are usedduring pattern editing when the internal sequencer mode is turned on. On the bottom of the GUI (the entirebottom panel) are controls used with the internal sequencer mode. There is also a music keyboard and afew other controls which divide their functionality between pattern editing, randomization, threshold mode.The next chapters will explain each aspect of working with Phoscyon. There will be Sequencer, Synthesis,Arpeggiator and Distortion descriptions.

1 Quick Start 1

2 Sequencer preface

2.1 Sequencer modes

The Seq In/Ex switch allows you to select one of the sequencer modes.

In the Ex position Phoscyon uses notes coming directly from the host program to generate sound. Some ofthe notes correspond to the tone of the generated sound, while others control step attributes (Gate,Accent, Slide).

In the In position Phoscyon uses the internal sequencer, including patterns, while notes coming from thehost are used to control the order in which patterns play. The next few chapters describe both of thesequencer modes in detail.

2.2 Attributes of step

Every step of the pattern is described by four attributes: Note, Gate, Accent and Slide.

Note − defines the pitch that is played within each step. The range is from C2 to C6 in Ext mode (dependly on host application).

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Gate − decides whether sound in the step is played or not. This only concerns the amplifier sincethe oscillator is set to the frequency of the step's note.

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Accent − decides whether a step will become accented meaning that the volume of an accentedstep will be louder than steps which are not. Additionally, during an accented step, the frequency ofthe synthesizer's filter will be pitched.

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Slide − when a step has the Slide (portamento) attribute switched on, the pitch of this step will beheld over to the next step with a simultaneous smooth tone change between each pitch.

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Aside from their states (switched on/off), Gate, Accent and Slide also have their own values that range0−127. These values can be set in both Seq Ex and Seq In mode.

2 Sequencer preface 2

Some information about the usage of the step attributes can also be found in following sections.

2.3 Threshold mode

Threshold mode works both in Seq Ex and Seq In mode. Thr. mode button allows you to switch this modeon/off but only in Seq In mode:

Threshold mode in Seq Ex mode is always switched on. The actual state of Thres mode is indicated by itsLED.

There are also 3 knobs used in Thresh mode which are placed on the bottom panel and labeled as Eventthreshold block.

These knobs allow you to set threshold values for each of the attributes: Gate, Accent, Slide. Thethreshold value for a given attribute of a step means that only attributes with values below the thresholdvalue will be included (treated as switched on).

The leftmost position of a given knob's threshold value is equal to 0, and the rightmost is equal to 127. Forattribute values ranging 0−127 it means that if the threshold value is equal to 0 then none of the attributewill be included. On the other hand if the threshold value is equal to 127 then every (switched on) attributewill be included (no matter the value of the attribute).


2.2 Attributes of step 3

Remember that these knobs work as described above only when Threshold mode is on. In Seq In mode,with Threshold mode switched off, these knobs are responsible for setting the values of the properattributes for each edited step (see Step management in a section Sequencer Internal mode).

Thres mode can be very useful when the values of certain attributes need to be edited. Changingthreshold values across the time (e.g. with event edition in a host program) allows the user to control theattribute amount at any given moment. Another very important application of this mode is using it withRandomizer (see the section concernig it).

Note: If the threshold value for Gate attribute is equal to 0 then Phoscyon will not generate sound becauseattribute Gate for every step will not be included.


2.3 Threshold mode 4

3 Sequencer External mode

3.1 Seq Ex Mode

In the Seq Ex mode the synthesizer does not use the bank of internal patterns. Notes coming from hostprogram do not correspond to pattern numbers. instead they generate sound.

Notes in the range of C2−B5 define the pitch of the generated sound. Notes A1, A#1 and B1 (octavenumbers may depend on host application) control attributes of step pertaining to:

A1 − Gate• A#1 − Accent• B1 − Slide•

A Note On message for a given note causes the appropriate attribute to switch on, while the messageNote Off causes the attribute to switch off. The note volume parameter controls the value of thecorresponding attribute. An explanation of all attributes is offered in Section Sequencer preface.

Notes outside the range mentioned above are ignored. To make it easier in Seq Ex mode, notes comingfrom the host activate of the corresponding LEDs for the given attribute on the bottom panel. An example ofan external pattern is illustrated on figure below.

3 Sequencer External mode 5

3.2 Play Live Switch

Play Live mode is an external sequencer mode. As opposed to the Seq Ex mode, Play Live moderepresents a way of controlling the monophonic synthesizer. In this mode the plugin acts as the soundmodule with a 4 octave tone range.

With this mode turned on, we don't have to use any additional kind of midi note e.g. Accent, Gate, Side (asit takes place in Seq Ex mode). It causes a bit of a difference in the way bass lines are written (a morecommon way).


3.1 Seq Ex Mode 6

Play Live mode can be activated only with the Seq Ex/In switch set to the EX position. When theapplication is loaded, the Play Live switch is set to the ON position by default. This means the internalsequencer in turned off as well. Only parameters controlling the sound and the arpeggiator still work.

As it was mentioned above, playing in Play Live mode is similar in manner to that of playing a typical VSTisynthesizer. The Midi Note On triggers the sound, and Midi Note Off ends it.

Sounds are Accented when their velocity exceed the value 100. Below this threshold value, sounds areplayed without Accent.

Phoscyon is a monophonic synthesizer, which means that during play (triggered with the Midi Note On), ifanother note comes (another Midi Note On), the first note stops playing immediately and the next onestarts to play. Between both notes a Slide is executed with the time set by the Slide Time knob. In otherwords, the user can only play one note at a time. The user can also specify the amount of Slide.


3.2 Play Live Switch 7

4 Sequencer Internal mode

In the Seq In mode Phoscyon uses the internal bank of patterns. In this mode every note coming from hostprogram corresponds to one internal pattern. The whole bank of patterns is accessed by the 128 availableMIDI notes. In general the Note On message starts the pattern, while Note Off message stops the it. Thereare some special cases related to the Note Off Clear and Self reset attributes (see section The PatternEdition).

4.1 Special modes

Clock In/Ex − allows you to select the synchronization mode of the synthesizer. In the Ex position itsynchronizes to the tempo of the host program. In the In position the synthesizer isn't synchronizedwith host program but instead has its own internal tempo settings.

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Pattern buffer Switches on/off the Pattern Buffer mode. In this mode Note On messages (normallyresponsible for starting corresponding patterns) push patterns to to the end of the pattern queue.The sequencer plays each following pattern from the beginning of the queue. When the sequencerreaches the end of the current pattern this pattern is removed from queue and sequencer takes thenext pattern to play. This cycle repeats until the current pattern is the only pattern in queue. In thissituation the sequencer repeats this pattern.

Because the Note Off messages responsible for stopping each corresponding pattern are ignoredin this mode each pattern, once queued, can be removed only when sequencer takes the nextpattern from the queue.

This mode can be useful mostly when playing live or when preparing a sequence of patterns. Thequickest way to get needed sequences is adding patterns to the queue in specified order with aMIDI keyboard.

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Auto follow Switches on/off Auto Follow mode. In this mode an edited pattern is follows thepattern currently playing. In detail, when a Note On message starts a corresponding pattern, thispattern is actually edited as well. This feature allows the user to edit the current pattern withoutmanual movement to this pattern. When this mode is switched off it is possible to edit other patterns

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4 Sequencer Internal mode 8

than the one being played. This mode is switched on by default.

4.2 The pattern edition

The controls used with pattern edition are placed in the down half of the GUI in the sections labeled asPattern control and Pattern edit, and also in the bottom keyboard.

Note: Most of the controls used with pattern edition implement two functions. When Randomizer mode orThreshold mode is on, some of their controls are used with other functionality.

Every pattern has a given length which is the number of steps (1 step is equal to a 16th note) as well astwo attributes (the Note Off Clear and Self Reset) defined per pattern. The Note Off Clear and Self Resetattributes modify the behavior of the sequencer as Note On/Off messages are incoming.


4.1 Special modes 9

Every step in the pattern is defined with four attributes: Note, Gate, Accent and Slide (see sectionSequencer Preface).

4.2.1 Pattern management

The controls In figure below are mainly responsible for operating on whole patterns. Their functions are asfollows:

Pattern +/− − Selects the pattern to be edited. This number is displayed in note format because ofthe relation between notes from host and the numbers of corresponding patterns. So C0 is equal tothe first pattern and F#A is equal to the last (128th) pattern. The octave number is presented in thehexadecimal system 0,..,9,A,..,F (that's why the higher octave has value A). The rocker switch onthe right side of the display is used to select patterns. Pressing the rocker switch up or downchanges the pattern number by 1. If the Ctrl key is held while pressing the switch, the patternnumber changes respectively by 12 (one octave).

Note: When Auto Follow mode is on, the edited pattern changes to match the pattern which isplaying.

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Note Off Clear − When the Note Off Clear attribute is set for a given pattern the Note Off messageof the corresponding note will stop the pattern. However if the Note Off Clear attribute is not set, thesequencer will ignore Note Off message. In that situation the pattern will be played until the nextpattern is played.

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Self reset − When the Self reset attribute is set for a given pattern a Note On message (playingthe same note) will restart the pattern (the pattern starts playing from the first step). If this attribute isnot set then the pattern will not reset when a corresponding On message arrives (when the samenote is played).

Playing any pattern for the first time or playing any pattern other then one preceding it will alwaysreset said pattern.

This attribute is most commonly used together with the Note Off Clear attribute. With theseattributes it's easy to fit a pattern of 5 steps with a pattern of 16 steps. You can do it by switching of

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4.2 The pattern edition 10

both of the attributes (see the figure below).

Above we can see an example of Self reset and Note Off Clear usage. a) The corresponding MIDIsteps, b) What happens to the actual sound in four different setting combinations.Patt Length − Controls the Length of the pattern, 1−16 steps . The length is presented in a numericLED display as well as by the step sequencer at the bottom of the GUI (Len. display).

The rocker switch on the right side of the display is used to change the length of the edited pattern.Pressing the rocker switch up or down changes the pattern length by 1. If Ctrl key is held whilepressing the switch, the pattern length will be rounded to the next 4 steps. Additionally if it isdivisible by 4 it will be changed 4 steps (1 measure).

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Clear − Resets all attributes of the pattern, meaning the settings will be as follows: Note equal toC3, Gate, Accent and Slide attributes are switched off and their values are equal to 0. The lengthof the cleared pattern is set to 16. If the Ctrl key is held while pressing the Clear button the Gateattributes for all the steps are switched on. Before reset the pattern and all its contents are copied tothe clipboard.

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Copy − Copies all the pattern's contents. Meaning: the length of pattern, states of its attributes andall of the steps' contents.

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4.2.1 Pattern management 11

Paste − Replaces a pattern's content with the content from the clipboard (if there is any content inthe clipboard).

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Shift − Nudges the pattern's content to the right or left depending on the arrow that is pushed on therocker switch. Pressing once shifts by 1 step and, if Ctrl is held, shifts by 4 steps. All attributes of thestep are shifted as well.

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Transpose − transposes the contents of the pattern up or down by 1 half tone. The notes arewrapped at the ends of the keyboard note range. This means that note C5 changes i nto B2 whenit's transposed up and note C2 changes into B4 when it's transposed down.

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4.2.2 Step management

Figure below illustrates the controls responsible for operating and editing step parameters.

Prev., Next − These two buttons allow you to change position in a pattern with regard to patternlength. Pressing the Next button moves the position to the next step while pressing the Back buttonmoves position to the previous step. The number of the step is indicated on the display Step Numon the bottom of the GUI.

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Notes − The one octave keyboard allows the user to set Note attributes for the pattern. To be moreprecise the keyboard sets the base of the note range C3−C4. To cover the entire range of notes inwhich the synthesizer operates the user should use Transpose buttons.

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Transpose − These two buttons, labeled as "Transpose" and placed on the right hand side of thehigher C on the keyboard.

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4.2.2 Step management 12

allow the user to set note transposition for an edited step in the range of −1 to +2 octaves. With thebase note (C3−C4) it is allowed to reach a whole range C2−C6 on the synthesizer. When only theTranspose down attribute is set it indicates a transposition down 1 octave. When only theTranspose up attribute is set it indicates transposition up 1 octave. When both of these attributesare set it indicates a transposition up 2 octaves.Gate, Accent, Slide − These three buttons control the states of their corresponding attributes(Gate, Accent and Slide) for an edited step.

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Event thresholds − These three knobs allow the user to set values for the attributes Gate, Accentand Slide for an edited step. Note: When Threshold mode is on these knobs work a little different(see section Sequencer preface).

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4.2.3 Loading and saving patterns

Load patterns/Save patterns button is placed in the top of the GUI. When it is pressed it opens a dialogbox which allows you to save a bank of internal patterns at a specified location. When the Ctrl key is heldduring pressing it allows you to load a bank of patterns from specified location.

As default Phoscyons internal pattern files have the extension .ph. Such files contain whole banks of 128patterns including attributes and steps of patterns.

4.3 Controlling the tempo


4.2.3 Loading and saving patterns 13

When the synthesizer works in the internal clock mode (Clock In mode is set) the adjustment of internaltempo settings can be done with the tempo controls placed in the mid−left area of the GUI (see figureabove). The internal tempo parameter has a range of 40−300BPM (Beats Per Minute).

The Tempo knob is used to quickly adjust the tempo value, while the rocker switch is used for preciseadjustments. Pressing the rocker switch once changes the tempo by 1BPM. When it's pressed whileholding the Ctrl key the value changes by 0.1BPM.

4.4 Randomizer

The Randomizer fills internal patterns with random complex content (it works only in Seq In mode). Whenthe randomizer is switched on the LEDs of the controls effected by it start to blink. when Randomizer isactive Threshold mode must also be active (it changes the use of the Event threshold knobs). Turning onthe Randomizer is performed by pressing the Rand.mode button.

Almost all the controls used with Randomizer have more than one function. These controls are doublelabeled. The label with the gray background describes the behavior of the control when used withRandomizer.

Their altered uses are as follows:

Previous rand, Next rand − These buttons allow you to move to the previously drawn sequence orthe next drawn sequence.

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4.3 Controlling the tempo 14

Rand Notes, Rand Gate, Rand Accent, Rand Slide − The state of these buttons define whetherRandomizer will draw corresponding attributes or not. This feature allows the user to choose whichattributes will change or not. It also allows you to exclude chosen attributes from being drawn afterreaching their expected settings.

Eg. When Rand Notes and Rand Gate are set while Rand Accent and Rand Slide are not, onlyvalues of Note and Gate will be drawn while values of Accent and Slide stay unchanged.

Using the values of Gate, Accent and Slide means that the state of the attribute is always set (in allthe steps of edited pattern) however its value is drawn from its full range (0−127). Due to the factthat Threshold mode is always set when using Randomizer the density of these attributes can beeasily controlled with the Event Threshold Knobs.

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Notes, Rand octaves − The one octave keyboard allows you to define the drawing pool (set) ofnotes from which Randomizer will draw note values. Together with the Rand Octave buttons it candefine another pool of notes for each of four octaves. The Randomizer draws notes from a pooldefined by all octave pools.

If only Rand Octave down is set the Randomizer draws form the 2nd octave. If only octave up isset it draws form the 4th octave. If both octaves are set it from the 5th octave and if none are set itfrom the 3rd octave.

Note: this function is active only when the Rand Notes attribute is set. In any other case thecontrols stay inactive.

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Rand chord − With this switch the pool of notes used for drawing can be easily reduced to a set of•


4.4 Randomizer 15

notes contained in a specified chord. When one of the predefined chords is set, the drawing poolsfor all four octaves are initially set to notes contained in that chord. Then the pools can be modified.For Custom setting, the drawing pools all need to be set by the user. The custom drawing pool isremembered even after Rand chord is changed.

Transpose − With the Transpose rocker switch all notes can be transposed up or down onehalftone (the notes are then treated as one chord and transposed together). With this featureRandomizer can be easily set to draw notes from specified keys eg. only notes from E−Major. Onlynotes from drawing pools are transposed. The actual values of step notes stay unchanged.

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Rand clear − When pressing the Clear button in Randomizer mode the drawing pool is cleared.When the Ctrl key is held while pressing Clear all notes in the edited drawing pool are set.

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Flatten − As it was mentioned above the states of Gate, Accent and Slide attributes are always setwhen they are drawn. This means that after drawing a pattern and changing one of the Eventthreshold knobs the pattern will sound different. This is because all states of attributes are set soonly the threshold value for the attribute decides which of them will be included or not. Flatten dealswith this problem and saves wanted density of attributes.

This function is activated by pressing the proper button with Ctrl key held. It changes the states ofthe attributes depending on the values of the attributes and threshold values. The function operatesonly on the attributes for which the corresponding Randomizer attributes (Rand Gate, RandAccent and Rand Slide) are set.

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4.4 Randomizer 16

Let's say we've drawn a pattern and after it we've set threshold values for Gate and Slide and wewant to save their values and make them independent of their threshold values. We want also toleave the Accent attribute dependent on its threshold value. So we make sure that Rand Accentis not set while Rand Gate and Rand Slide are set. Next we use the Flatten function. The resultingstates and values of the Accent attribute don't change, however, states for the Gate and Slideattributes stay active only for the steps in which the value of the attribute is lower than its thresholdvalue at the moment the function was activated. The values of the Gate and Slide attributes for allsteps are set equal to 0.

In other words the Flatten function limits ("clips") the attributes of the steps with values exceedingthe threshold value.


4.4 Randomizer 17

5 Synthesis

5.1 Controls

The block of synthesis controls is placed in the top portion of the Phoscyon GUI. These controls aredescribed below:

Wave − This switch allows the user to choose between saw or square waveforms.• Fine tuning − This tunes the instrument in the range of +/− 1 half−tone. (A−440Hz in the middleposition).

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Slide time − Duration frequency change between two notes (slide/legato) with Slide attributeplaced on the first of them. Left position corresponds to 0ms (legato), middle position to about 60ms(standard setting), and right position to about 1.5s.

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Cutoff − Filter cut off frequency. This is the frequency filter cut off which is added to the filterenvelope. In other words, this parameter moves the range of effect of the filter envelope.

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Reso link mode − Allows the user to choose the work mode of the Resonance and Sweep timeknobs. If it's turned on then the Resonance knob controls both resonance as well as sweep timeparameters and Sweep time knob is inactive. If it's turned off then the control of Resonance andSweep time is divided respectively between knobs.

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Resonance − Controls the filter boost at the cut off frequency. If the Reso link mode switch (placedunder Res onance knob) is turned on, the knob also controls the speed of attack of the accentenvelope (sweep time parameter).

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Sweep time − Controls the speed of attack of the accent envelope if Reso link mode is turned off.If Reso link mode is turned on this knob is inactive.

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EnvMod − Envelope modulation. Defines the range in which the filter envelope is affected. Thehigher the value of EnvMod is set, the more gain the amplitude of the envelope has.

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Env attack − Envelope attack. Defines the time of attack of the filter envelope.• Env decay − Defines decay time of the filter envelope. This parameter applies only to notes withoutthe Accent attribute.

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Accent decay − Defines decay time of filter envelope. This parameter applies only to notes with theAccent attribute.

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Accent link mode − Allows the user to choose the work mode of the Env accent and Accentvolume knobs. If it is turned on then the Env accent knob controls both envelope accent as accentvolume parameters and the Accent volume knob is inactive. If it's turned off then the control of Envaccent and Accent volume parameters is divided between the respective knobs.

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Env accent − Controls the accent level of the accent envelope on modification of the envelope filter(for notes with the Accent attribute). If the Accent link mode switch (placed under Env accentknob) is turned on the knob also controls the Accent volume parameter (for notes with the Accent

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5 Synthesis 18

attribute).Accent volume − Controls the Accent volume parameter (for notes with the Accent attribute) if theAccent link mode is turned off. If the Accent link mode is turned on this knob is inactive.

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Step length − Defines the time of sound duration. Time of sustain in the range from about 0.1 of16th note to full 16th note.

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Aside from the controls listed above there is one more knob belonging to the synthesis block. The Volumecontrols the volume of the sound the synthesizer produces. If the knob is in the extreme left position, thenthe synthesiser stops processing. In the middle position volume of the sound is on normal level and nooverdrive will appear. In the extreme right position the amplitude is up to +6dB.

5.2 Filter envelope

The base element of the filter envelope circuit is the envelope generator which generates a base signal withtwo states: Attack and Decay. The duration of the Attack state is controlled by the Env attack parameter.However, the duration of the Decay state is controlled by the Env decay or Accent decay parameterdepending on the state of the Accent attribute in a given step. If Accent is set then Accent decay is taken,otherwise Env decay is used. The generator is reset at each step not preceded by the Slide attribute. Theamplitude of a generated envelope is always constant.

Next. The signal from the envelope generator follows two paths:

Depending on the Accent attribute state, the signal goes through the RC lowpass filter. The outputamplitude of this filter is controlled by the Env accent parameter . The cut off frequency is con−trolled by the sweep time parameter (the Resonance or Sweep time knob depending on Reso linkswitch position).

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5.1 Controls 19

The amplitude of the signal is controlled by the EnvMod parameter and moved by the offset definedby the Cutoff parameter.

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The signals from these two paths are summed up and the resulting signal controls the cut off frequency ofthe 3−pole lowpass filter. The RC lowpass filter smooths the envelope and moves frequency of the 3−polefilter up in step with the Accent attribute. In this way the famous "wow" is created. It should be mentionedthat the output signal of the envelope generator controls the gain of the input signal amplitude. This makesaccented tones sound louder than unaccented tones.The value of this gain is controlled by the Accentvolume parameter (Env accent or Accent volume knob depending on the Accent link mode switch position).


5.2 Filter envelope 20


5.2 Filter envelope 21

6 Arpeggiator

6.1 Controls

The block of Arpeggiator controls is placed in the center of the Phoscyon GUI.

Arpe chord switch is responsible for setting the tone of the Arpeggiator.

Note: This switch implements two functions. When Randomizer is turned off the switch isconnected to the Arpeggiator. However if Randomizer is turned on (only in Seq In mode) theswitch is connected to Randomizer. When setting the tone of the Arpeggiator, the user canchoose one of the defined chords (Major, M7, Dim, etc) or choose a Custom chord defined by theuser.

Note: The defined tone is not taken into account if the Arpeggiator is turned off.

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Arpe mode − The Off position keeps the Arpeggiator turned off. Positions from Random toUp−Down allow the user to set the runtime mode of Arpeggiator. It then controls both the order ofthe notes as well as the mode of transition between octaves.

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Arpe octave range − The four buttons allow the user to set the range of the octaves thatArpeggiator will play. Initial Arpeggiator notes are transposed in the range of active octaves. Themethod of transition between octaves depends on the Arpe mode. Numbers of octaves (from −1 to+2) are given relative to the increase or decrease in the octave of the initial note.

Note: If all the octaves buttons on the Arpeggiator are turned off, and the Arpeggiator is turnedon, then the synthesizer will still not play anything because there is no octave defined for theArpeggiator.

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Arpe tempo multiplier/repeater − If the horizontal switch (placed under the multiplier/repeaterswitch) is in the left position then the multiplier/repeater switch controls the value of the Arpe tempomultiplier which is the tempo multiplication factor. If the mentioned switch is in the right positionthen the multiplier/repeater switch controls the value of Arpe repeater. This value responds to thenumber of repetitions of every note from the defined tone of the Arpeggiator.

Note: Value of Arpe repeater equal to 1.5 is rounded to 1.

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6 Arpeggiator 22

6.2 Usage

The Arpeggiator allows the user to program the sound used by Phoscyon, the range of octaves,repetitions, tempo multiplying etc. During operation the Arpeggiator increases note repetition by thefollowing means. When the value of this counter reaches the value of the Repeater, the Arpeggiator takesthe next defined note and resets the counter. After reaching the last of the defined notes, the Arpeggiatorchanges to the next octave defied by the octave range and sets the first of defined notes again. When thelast octave from the defined octave range is reached the whole cycle repeats.

In Seq Ex mode: The Arpeggiator input notes come directly from the host. The note beingresponsible for the Gate attribute is ignored. The Gate is set as long as the tone of the Arpeggiatoris not empty (the queue of notes is not empty when the Custom tone or any base note for a definedtone is switched on) When two or more notes start or end at the same time, the host decides whatorder in which to send the notes to the synthesizer, at the same it decides what order to push thenotes into the queue. Setting such notes with little time distance allows one to deal with theseproblems.

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In Seq In mode: The Arpeggiator input notes come from the internal sequencer. With internalpatterns it can be set to only one note per step. If the step has no Gate attribute it corresponds to asequence of two messages: Note On and Note Off (just like pressing and releasing a piano key). Ifa step has a Gate attribute it means that only Note On message (pressing and holding key) is sent.The Note Off message will appear when the step with other note arrives or when a step with noGate attribute comes along.

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When the Arpeggiator is turned on the Accent and Slide attributes work in the same way as when theArpeggiator is turned off. The attributes can be used to create complicated Arpeggiator sequences. Anexample is illustrated in figure below.

The Arpeggiator sequences can be used while playing live as well. Delete the edited chord from theprevious example and leave only notes corresponding to Accent (A#1) and Slide (B1) attributes. Set yourhost program to repeat a pattern ("pattern mode" or "song loop" ( depending on your host)) and play achord or melody.


6.2 Usage 23

6.2.1 Arpeggiator tone

With the Arpe chord switch the user can choose the Custom tone mode or one of 7 predefined tones.

In the Custom mode the tone is created from incoming notes. When a Note On message for any note fromC2 to B5 arrives, this note is put at the end of the note queue. All notes from this queue are used to createthe tones produced by the Arpeggiator. When a Note Off message for any note existing in the queuearrives the note is deleted from the queue. Of course the Arpeggiator plays only if the queue is not empty.While playing, the Arpeggiator takes notes sequentially from the queue, when it reaches the last note inthe queue it then goes to the beginning of the queue and takes the first note.


6.2.1 Arpeggiator tone 24

With the 7 predefined chord types the Arpeggiator works a little different. All tones produced are part thethe specified chord. All predefined tones are illustrated in figure below.

Notes coming into the Arpeggiator (message Note On) are not queued as in the case of the Custom tone,only the final incoming note is given attention. This note is used as a base note for the chosen (defined)chord. This means that the chosen chord is played in relation to this base note. Eg. Major tone with thebase note C3 will form a C−Major chord into 3−rd octave, and the base note E4 will form an E−Major chordinto 4−th octave.

When any base note comes it'll replace any possible preceding base note. When an actual base note isreleased the base note will be deleted even if the preceding base note is still pressed. In other words thebase note can be set and changed only as a result of Note On messages.


6.2.1 Arpeggiator tone 25

When a base note arrives the Arpeggiator resets the note position in the defined chord and starts playingthis chord from the beginning.

6.2.2 The range of octaves

Arpeggiator transposes notes from a defined tone in the range from −1 to +2 octaves. Switching to thechosen octave causes this octave to be used during Arpeggiator operation. Arpeggiator plays only if atleast one octave is used. The mode of transition between octaves depends on the Arpe mode settings .

The changes in the set of octaves don't take place until the last note from the defined tone is played. TheArpeggiator then resets the note position within the defined tone and changes the set of octaves.

If the value of the transposed note exceeds the synthesizer range (C2−B5) it is then wrapped at the ends.Transposed notes above B5 are moved to the lower end of range (above C2). Respectively transposednotes below C2 are moved to the upper end of range (below B5).

6.2.3 Arpeggiator runtime modes

With the Arpe mode switch the user can choose from one of 5 runtime modes:

Off − Arpeggiator is off.• Random − Arpeggiator draws both the note of a defined chord and the octave from defined setrandomly.

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Up − The transitions between notes from defined chord are "normal" which means that notes arechanged in the same order that are specified in the defined chord. After reaching the last note thefirst note will be played again and also the octave from the defined set will change. Octaves fromdefined sets of octaves are changed increasingly from the lowest one and after reaching the highestone it starts over from the lowest octave again. Eg. for a set of octaves equal to (−1, 0, +2) theoctaves will change as follows: −1, 0, +2, −1, 0, +2, : : :

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Down − The transitions between notes are "normal" as well. However, octaves from the definedrange are changed decreasingly from the highest and after reaching the lowest it starts from the

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6.2.2 The range of octaves 26

highest octave again. Eg. for a set of octaves equal to (−1, 0, +2) the octaves will change as follows: +2, 0, −1, +2, 0, −1, : : :Up−Down − The transitions between notes are also "normal". The way of transition betweenoctaves from the defined set changes in cycles: Up, Down, Up, Down, . . . Eg. for set of octavesequal to (−1, 0, +2) the octaves will change as follows: −1, 0, +2, 0, −1, 0, +2, 0, : : :

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6.2.4 Arpeggiator repetitions

Arpe Repeater parameter allows the user to define the number of repetitions of every note from a definedchord before Arpeggiator will go to the next note of the chord.

6.2.5 Multiplication of tempo

The Arpe tempo multiplier parameter defines the multiplication factor of the tempo of Arpeggiator. Thisfollows in relation to the tempo of synthesizer, be it the tempo of the host program in Seq Ex mode or thatof the internal sequencer in Seq In mode. this feature means that for the multiplication factor equal to x theArpeggiator will execute x steps of its internal work during one step


6.2.3 Arpeggiator runtime modes 27

7 Distortion

The distortion effect deforms the sound of the synthesizer and enhances high frequencies, making thesound become more expressive while adding to the cut off frequency of the synthesizer's filters. With thedistortion effect switched off the synthesis of low frequencies is at a low volume level because of the poorhigh frequency content (though using the external equalizer can change this situation).

To obtain the constant level of amplitude desired from the synthesizer (both on low as well as on highfrequencies) you can use the distortion effect. This doesn't mean that with the distortion effect switched offour synthesizer is useless and the "acid sound" will get lost in "the bush" of other tracks, but to obtain theconstant level of amplitude we'll need to use the compressor.

Hint: One can also use the distortion effect for something it was not exactly created for. Turning Preamp tothe left, and Clip and Brightness to the right we'll get non distorted sound processed through theDiode−clipper. With these settings the signal goes together through LowPass, BandPass and HighPassfilters. When additional events for the Size and Density parameters are recorded the sound will becomesimilar to phaser effect and many others.

7.1 Structure

In the distortion block (see the figure below) the signal from the synthesizer is processed as follows:

The signal is amplified proportional to the Preamp parameter.1. Depending on Clip parameter settings the signal comes through the diode−clipper.2. The signal is sent proportionally to three filters: LowPass, BandPass and HighPass whosefrequencies are controlled by Size and Density parameters. The resonance is controlled by theWetness parameter.

3.

Outputs of all the filters are summed up.4. The filtered signal and signal from the diode−clipper are cross−faded (the Brightness parameter)and is finally sent to the output of the synthesizer.

5.

7 Distortion 28

7.2 Controls

The block of Distortion controls is placed in the top−right area of the GUI. There are six knobs which givetotal control over the dirty sound we all love so much.

Preamp − The level of gain for the Distortion input signal.•


7.1 Structure 29

Defines the gain of the signal that goes into the Distortion effect. The leftmost position gives noadditional gain while the rightmost position gives +60 dB.Clip − The clip level of the input signal

Signal coming to the Distortion block can be clipped to define the level of amplitude. The rightposition of the knob means no clipping (the amplitude is at 0dB). The leftmost position indicates thatthe signal is clipped. To get a more distorted sound you can use Clip with the Preamp parameterwhich adds gain to the signal before clipping it.

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Size − Controls the middle frequency of the BandPass filter

Controls the middle frequency of the BandPass filter in the range of 0Hz (left posi− tion) to 22050Hz(right position). This parameter also indirectly controls the cut off frequencies of LowPass andHighPass filters. The cut off frequency of each of them is moved up or down from the mid frequencyof BandPass by roughly the offset amount controlled by the parameter Density.

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Wetness − Controls resonance of the filters

Controls the boost of the cut off frequency of the LowPass and HighPass filters and the bandwidthof the BandPass filter. The left position means no boost and a wide band while the right positionmeans maximal boost and a tight band.

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Brightness − Expressiveness of sound

Controls the position of the crossfader used between filtered and non−filtered signal. The leftposition means that all non−filtered signal comes through the crossfader and the signal is notfiltered (when this is the case the parameters Size, Density and Wetness don't affect the sound).The right position means the exactly opposite situation while the mid position means an even mix ofthe two.

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7.2 Controls 30

7.3 Pre/Post Eq Switch

This switch is responsible for choosing the distortion work mode. (diagram above the signal flow in thedistortion effect). We can distinguish two blocks in the figure: 1) Diode clipper with preamp, 2) Equalizer(containing three filters: BandPass, LowPass, and HighPass).


7.3 Pre/Post Eq Switch 31

When the switch is set to the Pre position, the signal comes through the Equalizer and next throughthe Diode Clipper with preamp.

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When the switch is set to the Post position, then the signal comes through the Diode Clipper andnext through the Equalizer.

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7.3 Pre/Post Eq Switch 32

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