LIMITED WARRANTY TERMS AND CONDITIONS This Limited Warranty applies only to ANALOGIA INC./STUDIO ELECTRONICS purchased in the United States of America. Outside the USA, warranty policy and service is determined by the laws of the country of purchase and followed by our local authorized distributor. A listing of our authorized distributors is available at http://www. studioelectronics.com/shop/distributors/ ANALOGIA INC.
CIRCUIT AND SOFTWARE DESIGN Tim Caswell USER INTERFACE AND FEATURE SPECIALIST Greg St. Regis SOUND PROGRAMMING AND DEMOS Drew Neumann Greg St. Regis Marc St. Regis GRAPHIC DESIGN John Greczula PRIMARY ANALOG CONSULTANT Drew Neumann LEAD VENDOR LIAISON Daniel Wendell QUICK START GUIDE MANUAL Marc St. Regis Greg St. Regis Camille St. Regis Daniel Wendell VERY SPECIAL THANKS Mary St. Regis Geoff Farr Rachael Herbison Lucy Bauer Rev. 2.0, 5.3.
BOOMSTAR OPERATION MANUAL 1) The Design Behind the ‘Stars . . . . . . . . . . 1 5.2.14 Glide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 5.2.15 Dynamics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 5.2.16 ENV 1 • PW 1 - Envelope 1 to Pulse Wdth 19 5.2.17 MIXER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 2) Setup Essentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6 2.
1 THE DESIGN BEHIND THE ‘STARS As SE fans know, we’ve been doing the multiple filter thing for some time, and while our approach has never been one of exact emulation of the original synthesizers—that could only be accomplished if the entire signal path were cloned as well—the focus and purpose was, and remains, to bring the main essence—the “spirit” of the classic originals into our own unique, performance-based platforms, and in the case of the Boomstar accomplish that with as many hardware features, i.
2 SETUP ESSENTIALS 2.1 Warnings, Precautions, and Advice WARNING - When using electric products basic precautions should always be followed to avoid the possibility of serious injury or even death to you or others, as well as damage to the device or other property from electrical shock, fire, or other risks. These precautions include, but are not limited to, the following “to do” list • Read, save, and understand all of the instructions before using product.
The product should be serviced by qualified service personnel when: a) The power supply cord or the plug has been damaged. b) Solid objects or liquid either have fallen or spilled into the product. c) The product has been exposed to rain. d) The product does not appear to operate normally or exhibits a marked change in performance. e) The product has been dropped, or the enclosure damaged. • Do not attempt to service the product beyond that described in the user maintenance instructions.
TRADEMARKS: The STUDIO ELECTRONICS logo is a trademark of Analogia Inc./Studio Electronics. All other trademarks included in the publication remain the property of their respective holders. Specifications and appearances are subject to change without notice. COPYRIGHT © 2014 ANALOGIA INC. / STUDIO ELECTRONICS 2.2 Registration Registering your BOOMSTAR synth establishes your ownership (should there be a legal ownership dispute in the future), which then secures access to Analogia Inc. Tech.
2.3 Smart and Safe Connections Always power-off all audio gear before making any connections. Failing to do so may damage your speakers, or other audio equipment and possibly your Boomstar Synth. After completing all connections, set all levels to 0. Power on the various devices with audio amplifier or monitoring system last, then raise the volumes to an appropriate listening level.
2.4 Boomstar Warming & Output Warning Once the Boomstar is powered up, its temperature-regulated Oscillators will attain optimal temperature stabilization in 5 minutes at which point it is ready for tuning and accurate control of all parameters. IMPORTANT WARNING: DO NOT PATCH OUTPUTS TO OUTPUTS! THE “AUDIO OUT” ON THE BACK PANEL MUST NOT BE PATCHED TO THE “OSC OUT” PATCH POINT ON THE FRONT PANEL.
3 Studio Electronics Boomstar Manual SIGNAL FLOW CHART 7 Signal Flow Chart
4 PATCH RESET 3.1 Sawtooth Bass Patch - Factory Reset “We have talked to engineers,” and they advise starting (and returning to this “home base” when puzzled or lost) with this very basic patch to begin one’s exploration of the Boomstar sound and structure.
5 PANELS 5.1 Front Panel 5.1.1 Adjustment Holes These unmarked holes on the front panel are motherboard access points for calibration potentiometers, set by none other than Greg St. Regis, or a trained factory tech, and tweaking them without a knowledge and familiarity of their function could result in your Boomstar sounding and playing quite poorly; that being said, some interesting drive and VCA offset settings can be tailored to one’s own preferences—proceed at own risk.
5.1.1.7 #7 Oscillator 2 initial tune adjust. 5.1.1.8 #8 Oscillator 2 high tune adjust. 5.1.1.9 #9 Oscillator 2 octave adjust. 5.1.1.10 #10 Envelope Drive: Set to full for Minim—g; back off for more Oberh—m-like sound. 5.1.1.11 #11 VCA Offset: Uniform waveform adjust. 5.1.1.12 #12 VCA DC Balance: De-pops amplifier. A detailed calibration video will be posted at http://studioelectronics.
5.2 Top Panel 5.2.1 SEM Controls NOTCH Sweeps the 12dB filter setting from low-pass to high-pass. The ON position enables the BANDPASS filter mode, passing frequencies within a certain range and rejecting, or attenuating frequencies outside that range. 5.2.2 SE80 and 700 Controls The FREQ knob sets the hi-pass filter (cutoff) frequency: the greater the value, the fewer low frequencies pass through. The RESONANCE knob sets the filter resonance.
5.2.3.6 External Input: Takes an external audio source and processes it through the Boomstar’s filter and amplifier. In order to hear the sound you will need to open the amplifier, with either a gate or a MIDI note. Patching the OSC OUT to the EXT IN (pictured below) will add additional depth, harmonics, and distortion.
5.2.4 VCO 2 - Voltage Controlled Oscillator 1 A word about the Oscillators as a whole: Oscillators are the Adam (and Eve) of Analog synthesis. An oscillator produces periodic or regularly repeating waveforms, e.g., pitched sounds. The Oscillator’s tuning controls alter the frequency or pitch of the oscillators, whereas its wave shape selectors determine the harmonic spectrum of the signal, its basic timbre, or tone coloration.
5.2.5 VCO 2 - Voltage Controlled Oscillator 2 The TRACK switch selects Oscillator 2’s pitch tracking response. The ON position is the “business as usual,” 1 volt per octave default setting. The OFF position disconnects the pitch control of the keyboard so a fixed or static pitch can be achieved, which is useful and expressive in a variety of ways, i.e.
The ENV DEPTH (Envelope) knob sets the depth of the modulation amount as it is applied to the filter cutoff frequency. The shape of the filter envelope is determined by the contouring controls attack, decay, sustain, and release; the amount or depth of the envelope contouring is determined by this parameter. Note: If the MASTER/DRONE switch is set to the Master position, then the filter frequency is modulated by ENV 2, not ENV 1.
initial rise and fall of the attack and decay times to the sustain level, the release time takes effect after the sustain level segment, when the played key or note is lifted. The frequency at which the sustain level is set, falls to the initial filter cutoff frequency level at the rate set by the release time. 5.2.8 ENV 2 - Envelope 2 A word about the Amplifier Envelope: The volume of the audio signal, which passes through the VCA envelope, is contoured by the ENV 2 controls.
5.2.9 X MOD - Cross Modulation A word about Cross Modulation: Is it just another term for frequency modulation, as some say, or is it a magical plane where seemingly bizarre, almost entirely unpredictable results bring chaotic freshness to any electronic vision or experimentation? Yes. It can also be coaxed into creating vocal textures à la the ATC-1.
1/8 note, 1/4 note triplet, 1/16 note, 1/8 note triplet, 1/16 note triplet; MIDI SYNC OFF honors panel settings; WAVE: Selects the waveforms: sine, triangle, reverse sawtooth, sawtooth, square, 10% square, 90% square, random 1, random 2; MOD DEPTH (x2): Sets the modulation depths—the destinations being VCO 1 PW (Oscillator 1 Pulse Width), VCO 1 FREQ (Oscillator 1 Frequency), VCO 2 PW (Oscillator 2 Pulse Width), and VCO 2 FREQ (Oscillator 2 Frequency). 5.2.
5.2.16 ENV 1 • PW 1 - Envelope 1 to Pulse Width Sets the amount of ENV 1 (Envelope 1) modulation and the pulse width of Oscillator 1. To set modulation to the full range of the pulse width, set the pulse width to “0,” meaning all the way counter-clockwise, and then set the parameter to “10,” or all the way clockwise. 5.2.17 Mixer 5.2.17.
5.3 Back Panel 5.3.1.1 Standard high impedance instrument level output. 5.3.1.2 The MIDI OUT connection functions as a thru as well. The MIDI IN is self-explanatory. The OVERFLOW switch sets the MIDI overflow parameters for chaining multiple Boomstar synths together. To do this, activate the first unit’s OVERFLOW switch, and the last unit in the “chain” OVERFLOW switch disengaged.
OF THIS POWER SUPPLY MAY RESULT IN DAMAGE TO SYNTHESIZER AND SUPPLY. THE OPERATOR OF THIS SYNTHESIZER ASSUMES ALL RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY. ANALOGIA INC./STUDIO ELECTRONICS— OWNERS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES—ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR PERSONAL AND PROPERTY DAMAGE INCURRED DUE TO ACCIDENT, CARELESS HANDLING, ABUSE OR MISUSE, IMPROPER CONNECTION, INSTALLATION, OR IMPROPER ELECTRICAL CONTACT OR GROUNDING. OWNERSHIP AND OR USE OF BOOMSTAR SYNTHESIZER CONSTITUTES AN AGREEMENT WITH THESE TERMS.
6 LEGAL 6.1 Liability Neither Analogia Inc.
distribute this type of product. If you cannot locate the appropriate retailer, please contact Analogia inc. These FCC statements apply only to those products distributed in the USA. 6.3 Canada NOTICE: This class B digital apparatus meets all the requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulation. 6.4 Europe AVIS: Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada.
7 GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS CV: Control Voltage ENV: Envelope EXT: External FREQ: Frequency IN: Input LFO: Low Frequency Oscillator LO: Low MOD: Modulation MULTI: Multiple OSC: Oscillator OUT: Output PW: Pulse Width SYNC: Synchronisation TRIG: Trigger VCA: Voltage Controlled Amplifier VCF: Voltage Controlled Filter VCO: Voltage Controlled Oscillator WAVE: Waveform Other Non-Screened Terminology: “0”= all the way counter clockwise “10”= all the way clockwise Studio Electronics Boomstar Quick Start Manual
8 FILTER TALKERS 8.1 Bace (vstace@gearslutz.com) MOOG: Creamy with great definition in the lower registers. 303: Mid range pronounced with clean clear resonance—squelchy. ARP: Similar to Moog but less creamy and more grit—woolly. SEM: Powerful mids. Not as deep as Moog but round and punchy, sinuous—searing. 8.2 Drew Neumann (droo@gearslutz.
9 THE ANCIENT CHINESE 9.1 “Broom Star” (controlvoltage@gearslutz.com) “Has anybody mentioned how “Boomstar” is a play on “broom star,” the ancient Chinese term for a comet? vvvvvaThat keeps this synth name in the realm of cosmic/celestial objects, in the grand tradition...” Thank you, controlvoltage—this is news to us! Our research shows, in “The Records of the Grand Historian, or Shiji (or Shi Chi),” written more than a century later ‘round about midnight on one fine evening/day in 100 B.C.
10 Studio Electronics Boomstar Manual BACK PANEL 27 Back Panel
11 TROUBLESHOOTING No Sound Check all audio and MIDI connections—make sure the Boomstar is set to receive on the correct channel. [see p. 20, 5.3.1.2] Reset patch. [see p. 8, 3.1] Check all MIDI channel settings. [see p. 20, 5.3.1.2] Turn up master VCA volume. [see p. 18, 5.2.11] Turn up Mixer VCO 1 and VCO 2 levels. [see p. 19, 5.2.17] Turn on Waveform 1 Sawtooth. [see p. 13, 5.2.4] Turn off MIDI sync. [see 17, 5.2.10] Turn off LFO trig. [see 16, 5.2.8] Soft Sound Check all audio connections.
12 Blank Patch Sheet 1 5089, 4075, 3003, SEM Boomstar Patch Sheets - Rev. 1.2 © Analogia Inc.
13 Blank Patch Sheet 2 SE80, 700 Boomstar Patch Sheets - Rev. 1.2 © Analogia Inc.