Specifications
ATOMIZER OPERATIONS MANUAL105
ABOUT ATOMIZER
Automatic tempo detection for the 4th Millenium
• About Beat Scanner
Atomizer features a sophisticated algorithm which processes the incoming audio stream and adjusts the glo-
bal tempo parameter of the Virus TI to match it. Scanning the beat can take anything from a couple of beats
to a few bars, depending on the material - watch the LFO1 (Desktop, Keyboard and Polar) or BPM (Snow)
LEDs while audio is playing, and you will instantly get a better picture of the process. Basically, the more
condent Beat Scanner becomes in its analysis, the more abrupt the ashing becomes.
With Beat Scanner taking care of the tempo for you, Atomizer can be used carefree and in an more intuitive
way compared to manual tempo - even with music aside the “4 on the oor” genre. The Scanners accuracy,
in comparison to a manually tapped in tempo, allows for much longer transitions in between the Atomized
(and therefore looped) audio and the incoming live audio. On top, you can concentrate on Atomizing instead
of watching the tempo sync.
When using Beat Scanner, the tempo will always settle somewhere between 80 and 160 bpm, hence you
may nd that the tempo will sometimes be half or double that which you expect. Normally, this shouldn’t
matter too much, but if it’s really important that you have a tempo outside of these boundaries, then you can
use Tap Tempo as described below.
• Phase Detection
In many cases, Beat Scanner is also able to detect the ‘phase’ of the beat, i.e. the beginning of the bar.
However, there will be times when it gets the tempo correct, but the BPM led will ash on the ‘off’ beat. To
correct this, simply hit the Tap Tempo button once on the rst beat of the bar. Virus TI Snow users can see
the phase by switching the play mode to “Atomizer” and watch the 8 LEDs in the upper row.
• Assisting The Autopilot
In case the material you wish to Atomize is devoid of any rhythmic consistency, or you disagree with the
tempo that Beat Scanner has settled on, you can easily override its decision at any time by using the Tap
Tempo button. Beat Scanner will automatically catch up with your tempo, and lock to the music again. The
longer you tap, the better the result. 8 taps should be sufcient in most cases.
If at any time you realise that Beat Scanner does indeed know best, and you wish to return full control of the
tempo to the auspices of its superior wisdom, simply hold the Tap Tempo button for a half a second and all
your ngers will be free to glitch the night away. Also, if the tempo of the incoming audio changes signicant-
ly (i.e. a new song begins), Beat Scanner will re-awaken by its own accord and take the helm once more.
Note: Opening Virus Control disables Beat Scanner and locks the Virus to the sequencer’s tempo
instead.
About Atomizer
What Is Atomizer?
Atomizer is, at its heart, an instant looping device. It enables you to ‘play’ beat-synced loops on your key-
board in realtime, taken from any audio you choose to send into the Virus TI’s inputs. The loop lengths can
range from a 1/2 note (minimum) down to a 1/32nd note, and from there, down to slices so small that they
are perceived as pitched notes.
The incoming audio is sent as a dry signal, straight back to the outputs, but as soon as you hit one of the
loop or buffer keys, a sample is taken at that instant, and looped at the rate determined by the key you
played. For as long as you hold the key down, you will only hear the looped buffer, and as soon as you re-
lease the key, you will hear the dry signal again. The time-ow of the incoming signal is not affected by this,
so the song will continue ‘underneath’ the Atomizer.
Effectively, what you are doing is replacing portions of the incoming audio with looped slices of itself.
Enabling Atomizer
Atomizer is located in the Inputs pages of the COMMON EDIT menu.
• TI Desktop/Keyboard/Polar
Press EDIT, use the Parameter keys to locate the Inputs page, and select Atomizer = On ..16 (‘Normal’
mode is ‘On’ - please select this value if it is your rst time with Atomizer, for information on the other set-
tings, please refer to the paragraph entitled ALTERNATIVE ATOMIZER MODES.). Alternatively dial up Virus
Control and select an Atomizer preset from the list of presets in the Access folder.
• TI Snow
Hold EDIT/SHIFT and press COMMON to enter EDIT SINGLE, locate the Inputs page, and select Atomizer=
On .. 16 (‘Normal’ mode is ‘On’ - please select this value if it is your rst time with Atomizer, for information
on the other settings, please refer to the paragraph entitled ALTERNATIVE ATOMIZER MODES.). Alterna-
tively dial up Virus Control and select an Atomizer preset from the list of presets in the Access folder.
Once you have switched Atomizer on, you should be able to hear the incoming audio. A good starting point
are the Atomizer example patches which come pre-installed and can be accessed through Virus Control.
Note: Avoid using more than one instance of Atomizer at the same time.