USER MANUAL ARTURIA – ARP 2600 V – USER MANUAL 1
Direction Frédéric Brun Kevin Molcard Development Stefano D'Angelo Samuel Limier Baptiste Aubry Germain Marzin Corentin Comte Mathieu Nocenti Baptiste Le Goff Pierre Pfister Pierre-Lin Laneyrie Benjamin Renard Valentin Lepetit Design Glen Darcey Sebastien Rochard Yannick Bonnefoy Greg Vezon Morgan Perrier, Sound Design Jean-Baptiste Arthus Jean-Michel Blanchet Manual Jason Valax Special Thanks Alejandro Cajica Sergio Martinez Denis Efendic Shaba Martinez, Ruary Galbraith Miguel Moreno
Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 6 1.1 The birth of ARP Instruments and the ARP2600 ................................................................................. 6 1.2 Arturia’s secret ingredient: TAE ® .......................................................................................................... 8 2 1.2.1 Aliasing-free oscillators .............................................
3.3.5.2 Add a preset .................................................................................................................................................. 32 3.3.5.3 Re-order the presets ...................................................................................................................................... 32 3.3.5.4 Remove a preset ...........................................................................................................................................
.1 5.2 6 7 The three main elements .................................................................................................................... 66 5.1.1 The oscillator or VCO ............................................................................................................................ 66 5.1.2 The filter or VCF ..................................................................................................................................... 71 5.1.3 The amplifier or VCA ...
1 INTRODUCTION Arturia would like to thank you for purchasing our synthesizer model: the ARP 2600 V. We are confident it will prove to be an extremely valuable addition to your music production studio. If you’ve purchased our products before, you know we pride ourselves in faithfully recreating the sound and feel of the original instruments, down to the smallest detail. ARP 2600 V is no exception to this rule.
The great rival of ARP was the Bob Moog’s company. The competition between the two manufacturers can easily be seen when we observe the machines: The ARP, for example, has linear potentiometers, while its competitor has rotating pitch bend and modulation wheels. A well-known episode of this competition was the 24 dB/octave filter, the 4012, used by the ARP. This was a replica of the famous filter made by its competitor.
1.2 Arturia’s secret ingredient: TAE® TAE® (True Analog Emulation) is Arturia's outstanding technology dedicated to the digital reproduction of the analog circuits used in vintage synthesizers. TAE®’s software algorithms result in spot-on emulation of analog hardware. This is why ARP 2600 V offers an unparalleled quality of sound, as do all of Arturia’s virtual synthesizers. TAE® combines three major advances in the domain of synthesis: 1.2.
1.2.2 A better reproduction of analog oscillator waveforms The waveforms produced by the oscillators in analog synthesizers are affected by the presence of a capacitor in the circuits. The discharge of a capacitor results in a slight ‘bend’ in the original waveform (most notably for sawtooth, triangular and square waveforms). TAE® reproduces the result of this capacitor discharge in software.
What’s more, the hardware analog oscillators were unstable. In fact, their waveforms vary slightly from one period to another. If we add to this the fact that the starting point for each period (in Trigger mode) can vary with the temperature and other environmental conditions, we see why vintage synthesizers have such a typical sound. TAE® reproduces the instability of oscillators, resulting in a fatter and “bigger” sound. 1.2.
Comparison of harmonics generated by the filter circuits in self-oscillation of TAE® and a hardware synthesizer So here’s the bottom line: when you bring together a bunch of music lovers who also have a deep understanding of the characteristics of electronic circuits, you wind up with Arturia. And Arturia now offers you our most impressive software model yet, the ARP 2600 V. We take great satisfaction in knowing this great synthesizer will help you explore previously unknown musical territory.
2 ACTIVATION AND FIRST START 2.1 Register and Activate ARP 2600 V works on computers equipped with Windows 7 or later and Mac OS X 10.8 or later. You can use the stand-alone version or use ARP 2600 V as an Audio Units, AAX, VST2 or VST3 instrument. Once ARP 2600 V has been installed, the next step is to register the software. The registration process will require you to enter the serial number and the unlock code you received with the product.
ARP 2600 V main menu You will then see the Audio MIDI settings window. This works in the same way on both Windows and Mac OS X, although the names of the devices available to you will depend on the hardware you are using.
Audio and MIDI settings window Starting from the top you have the following options: Device lets you choose which audio driver you want to use to route sound out of the instrument. This might be your computer’s own driver like Windows Audio, or an ASIO driver. The name of your hardware interface may appear in this field. Output Channels lets you select which of the available outputs will be used to route audio out. If you only have two outputs, only two will appear as options.
go up to 96kHz, then 44.1k or 48k is usually fine. The Show Control Panel button will jump to the system control panel for whatever audio device is selected. Play Test Tone helps you to troubleshoot audio issues by confirming whether sound can be heard through the correct device. Your connected MIDI devices will appear in the MIDI Devices area. Click the check box to accept MIDI from the device you want to use to trigger the instrument.
You can automate numerous parameters using your DAW’s automation system. You can use more than one instance of ARP 2600 V in a DAW project. In standalone mode you can only use one at once. You can route ARP 2600 V’s audio outputs more creatively inside your DAW using the DAW’s own audio routing system.
3 USER INTERFACE In this chapter we will give an overview of the features available to you with ARP 2600 V. As with every Arturia product, we have gone to great lengths to make the use of this software instrument as simple and as much fun as possible, while also striving to make sure you never run out of new things to do with it as your knowledge expands. After reading this chapter you should be ready to delve as deeply into the workings of ARP 2600 V as you would like. 3.
The Save Preset window 3.2.2 Save Preset As… This works in the same way as the Save command, but lets you save a copy of the preset instead of saving over the original. It’s useful for creating variations on patches but still keeping individual copies of each one. 3.2.3 Import preset This command lets you import a preset file, which can be either a single preset or an entire bank of presets. Both types are stored in the .arpx format.
3.2.4 Export preset You can export and share a single preset using this command. The default path to these files will appear in the window, but you can create a folder at another location if you like. 3.2.5 Resize window options The ARP 2600 V window can be resized from 60% to 200% of its original size without any visual artifacts. On a smaller screen such as a laptop you might want to reduce the interface size so it doesn’t dominate the display.
The Resize Window menu 3.2.6 Audio settings Here you manage the way the instrument transmits sound and receives MIDI. See section 2.2 of the manual for full details on this. 3.2.7 Preset browser overview The Preset browser is invoked by clicking the toolbar button that has four vertical lines. See section 3.3 of the manual for full details on this. The Filter, name field and left / right arrows in the toolbar all assist with preset selection.
The Preset Browser 3.2.8 MIDI Learn assignment The MIDI plug icon at the far right side of the toolbar places the instrument into MIDI learn mode. Parameters that can be assigned to MIDI controls will be shown in purple, and the idea is that you map physical buttons, knobs, faders or pedals from hardware MIDI controllers to specific destinations inside the instrument.
MIDI Learn mode 3.2.8.1 Assigning / unassigning controls If you click on a purple area you’ll put that control into learning mode. Move a physical knob or fader and the target goes red, indicating that a link has been made between the hardware control and the software parameter. There’s a popup window that displays which two things are being linked and a button to unassign the two from each other.
Preamplifier knob selected and assigned 3.2.8.2 Min / Max value sliders There are also minimum and maximum value sliders that you can use to restrict the parameter change range to something other than 0%-100%. For example, you might want the filter cut-off be controllable via hardware from 30% to 90%. If you made this setting (Min set to 0.30 and Max set to 0.90) your physical knob would be unable to alter the volume lower than 30% or higher than 90%, no matter how far you turned it.
being an “absolute” control and snapping it to some other value as soon as you start to move it. This can be a great feature when controlling things like volume, filter, or effect controls, since you won’t usually want them to jump massively out of their current setting as soon as you start to modify them. 3.2.8.4 Reserved MIDI CC numbers Certain MIDI Continuous Controller (MIDI CC) numbers are reserved and cannot be reassigned to other controls.
3.2.10 The lower toolbar 3.2.10.1 Current control value At the left hand side of the lower toolbar you will see a readout showing the value or state of whatever control you are modifying. It will also display the current value of a parameter without editing it: just hover the cursor over the related control and the value will appear as pictured below.
3.2.10.2 Midi Channel Setting At the right hand side of the lower toolbar are three small windows. The first one on the left indicates the current MIDI Channel setting. Click on it and it will expand to show the full range of values you can select (All, 1-16). 3.2.10.3 Panic button and CPU meter The Panic button can be pressed to reset all MIDI signals in the event of stuck notes or other issues. The Panic button is also MIDI-assignable.
3.3 The Preset Browser The preset browser is how you search, load and manage sounds in ARP 2600 V. It has a couple of different views but they all access the same banks of presets. To access the search view, click on the browser button (the icon looks a bit like books on a library shelf). The Preset Browser button 3.3.1 Searching presets The Search screen has a number of sections.
3.3.2 Using tags as a filter You can also search using different tags. So for example by clicking on the Bass option in the Types field you can show only presets that match that tag. The tag fields can be shown or hidden by using the small down arrow buttons in their title fields. Results columns can be sorted by clicking the same arrow button in their own section. You can use multiple search fields to perform narrower searches.
The second Results column can be switched to show Type, Sound Designer, Favorite or Bank tags depending on how you like to search. Click on its options menu button just next to its sort arrow. 3.3.3 The Preset Info section The Info column on the right of the search field shows you information about any preset. The information for User presets may be changed here: Name, Type, Favorite, etc.
3.3.4 Preset selection: other methods The pull-down menu to the right of the Search menu provides a different way to select presets. The first option in this menu is called Filter, and it will display the presets that fit the search terms you used in the Search field. So if you searched for “Love” in the main search area, the results of that search will appear here. Similarly, if you previously selected Type: Lead in the Search field you would see the results of that search in this area instead.
3.3.4.1 Selecting a preset by its Type Clicking on the name field in the center of the toolbar will show you a list of all available presets. The list will also take into account any selections you have made in the Search field. So if you have pre-selected a Characteristic this shortcut menu will only show you presets that match that tag.
Give the playlist a name and it will appear in the Playlists menu. You can rename the playlist at any time; just click the pencil icon at the end of its row. 3.3.5.2 Add a preset You can use all of the options in the Search window to locate the presets you want to have in your playlist. Once you have found the right preset, click and drag it onto the playlist name. Click and drag from the Search Results list onto one of the playlists To view the contents of a playlist, click on the playlist name. 3.3.5.
3.3.5.4 Remove a preset To delete a preset from a playlist, click the x at the end of the preset row. Click the X to remove a preset from a playlist 3.3.5.5 Delete a playlist To delete a playlist, click the x directly to the right of the playlist name. Click the X to delete a playlist.
3.
And the keyboard section You can scroll up and down the ARP 2600 V interface thanks to the wheel of your mouse or by using the up & down arrows of your computer keyboard. 3.5 Overview of the Synthesizer section 3.5.1 The Synthesizer The “SYNTH” section contains 73 synthesis parameters as well as jack inputs and outputs that you can connect to one another with virtual cables. The potentiometers or switches associated to these parameters will help you to create an infinite variety of sounds.
Synthesis parameters 3.5.2 The effects The effects section lets you add a Stereo Delay and Chorus to your sound on top of the reverberation which is already present in the original instrument. The two effects can be found in the place of the left speaker grid in the bottom of the synthesizer section. To open it, click on the “open” button under this grid. Open the effects grid 3.5.2.1 Chorus Chorus is used to copy your sound, and slightly detune the copy, to give it more depth.
The chorus effect settings 3.5.2.2 Delay Delay brings a stereo echo effect to bring more space to your sound. It possesses independent settings for the speed and number of repetitions for the left and right sides. It is also possible to create a large number of rhythmic combinations between the repetitions. The delay speed can also be synchronized with the MIDI tempo. The Delay effect settings 3.5.
Open the tracking grid... 3.1 Overview of the Sequencer / LFO / General settings section The “SEQ” section gives you access to the sequencer as well as different functions allowing an extension of the possibilities of synthesis and playing. It is situated under the Synthesizer section. It contains a sequencer identical to the 16 step ARP (model 1601) sequencer, a module for play settings, and a low frequency oscillator (LFO) which was added as a complement to oscillator2 which was often used as LFO. 3.1.
From left to right: The two lines of faders and selector switches situated at the top give access to the tuning of the 16 steps as well as management of their triggering (gates). The two lines of faders and selector switches The oscillator sets the speed of the sequencer as well as the start and stop. Set the oscillator speed The “Quantizer” quantifies the values for the 16 steps by semi-tone.
The quantizer section 3.1.2 The LFO On the original ARP 2600, oscillator2 could be set to low frequency position (“LF” position in the range) for use in LFO mode. Although practical, this solution prevented us from using 3 oscillators simultaneously and a slow modulation on the filter cut-off frequency for example.
Raise the “Vibrato Depth” potentiometer Another example would be to click on the LFO triangle output and direct the cable to the “VCO2 sin” modulation input of the filter module. Raise the potentiometer above it. Lower the cut-off frequency to hear the result more clearly. The brightness of the sound will vary in a cyclic fashion, to the rhythm of the LFO.
4 THE MODULES The ARP2600 V can be separated into 3 parts: from top to bottom, the first is a cabinet dedicated to sound programming and effects, the second concerns the ARP sequencer and the playing mode configuration interface with the keyboard and LFO, and finally the third contains the keyboard. 4.1 Sound programming cabinet 4.1.1 Description The programming section groups all modules which can be used to program sounds.
4.1.2 The Oscillators (VCO) There are three oscillators in the ARP2600. The oscillators permit the management of the base frequency and tone of the ARP 2600. It also manages the impulse width of the waveforms. These changes can either be made with linear potentiometers, or thanks to modulation inputs which can be connected to the output of any module (envelope, low frequency oscillator - LFO -, modulation wheel…).
4.1.2.1 Oscillator 1 Range: General tuning of the oscillator by octaves. Up or down 4 octaves and low frequencies Frequency: Tuning by semi-tone (Initial Oscillator Frequency).
4.1.2.3 Oscillator 3 Range: General tuning of the oscillator by octaves. Up or down 4 octaves and low frequencies Frequency: Tuning by semi-tone (Initial Oscillator Frequency).
perform modulation using the lower CPU power compared to the other positions. To set the modulation rate, use the linear potentiometer situated above the corresponding jack. You can also connect another source of modulation to each input. This considerably widens the possibilities for sound creation. For a conventional key follow setting (in relation to the scale) place the potentiometer completely to the top.
Sine 4.1.3 The Filter (VCF) The ARP2600 V possesses a multimode filter module (the original had only one resonant low pass mode). It is possible to choose a filter type among the five offered: a low pass 24 dB (identical to that found on the ARP2600), a low pass, a high pass, a band-pass and a notch 12 dB of the same kind as the one found on the ARP 2500 modulars. The change of type is done by setting the selector situated on the right of the filter module.
Frequency (Initial Filter Frequency): Sets the filter cut-off frequency, tuned between 10 Hz and 10 KHz Fine tuning (Fine tune): Fine tuning of the filter cut-off frequency Resonance Sets the filter resonance Notch frequency / fc (Notch Frequency/ fc): Sets the frequency of the notch divided by the filter cut-off frequency Filter type selector (Types): Type of filter (LP 2600 and 2500, HP, BP and notch) Audio output (Output): Filter audio output connection jacks Audio input (Audio): Filter input connection
4.1.3.1 The filter types: • The low pass 24dB / oct Low pass (LP 24) The low pass 24dB filter is typical of the ARP2600. It eliminates the frequencies situated below the pivotal frequency (the cut-off frequency). The low pass filter The four other filtering modes didn’t exist on the original ARP2600 but existed on the ARP2500 modular systems. They all use a filtering slope at 12 dB/ octave. These modes were added to increase the possibilities for sound creation on the ARP 2600 V 2.5.
• The band pass filter (BP 12) The band pass filter is a combination of the low pass and high pass: It eliminates the frequencies on each side of the cut-off frequency. The band pass filter • The notch filter (Notch) The notch filter coupe is the opposite of the band pass filter. It eliminates the frequency band situated on both sides of the cut-off frequency. The resonance can be used to accentuate the “hollow” of this frequency band.
goes to the inactive state (release of the note), the envelope performs the “fall” sequence (Release). ADSR and AR envelopes settings 4.1.4.1 ADSR Attack (Attack time): Sets the attack time Decay (Decay time): Sets the decay time Hold (Sustain Voltage): Sets the level of the hold Release (Release time): Sets the release time Output (Output): Envelope output signal 4.1.4.2 AR Attack (Attack time): Sets the attack time Release (Release time): Sets the release time 4.1.4.
“Trigger” output type (trig): Output connection for a “trigger” type signal: each note played by the keyboard presents a sustain time reduced to the minimum. Switch “trigger by Sample and Hold clock” (S/H gate): Selection of the choice of envelope trigger - AR and ADSR – by the keyboard or Sample and Hold clock. This function reactivates the envelopes at every clock cycle. 4.1.5 Output amplifiers (Voltage Control Amplifier - VCA) The amplifier is the last step in the conception of a preset.
The noise generator Low pass frequency (White / Low Freq): Sets the cut-off frequency of the low pass filter. Noise volume: Sets the noise volume. Noise generator output (Noise generator output): Noise out connection jack. 4.1.7 Voltage processor (Mixer / inverter / lag generator) The voltage processor allows you to mix up to 8 inputs (audio or modulation) to one (or several) outputs.
4 “Mix” switches: This switch allows you to merge one or several inputs pairs into the one above. 4 “Volume” potentiometers: Potentiometer to set the volume of 2 input signals (A and B for example) 4.1.8 Sample and Hold generator This module lets you sample the signal connected as input. The source can be external (source of trigger connected to the input) or pre-cabled to the noise generator. This module allows you to create random modulations by sampling the noise signal, for example.
(pre-cabled to the Sample and Hold clock) to create a composite source of modulation. The electronic switch An example: • • • • Connect the output of the square waveform of oscillator 1 to input A and the sine output of oscillator 2 to input B. Place these two oscillators to low frequency position (LF) so as to slow the oscillation speed. Set the frequency potentiometers for the two oscillators to 0.3 Hz. Connect output C of the interrupter to one of the filter modulation inputs.
The preamplifier The envelope follower An example: • • • • Try for example to insert an audio signal coming from a drum loop sample to the input of the envelope follower. Connect the output of the envelope follower to one of the filter modulation inputs. Increase the modulation rate for the amp (VCA). Do the same for the envelope follow level. The VCA volume will modulate the volume of the VCA with the envelope of the drum loop audio sample.
The ring modulator 2 Audio inputs (VCO1 Saw / VCO2 Sin): Audio input connection jacks (precabled to the oscillator1 sawtooth and oscillator 2 sine outputs). Output (Output): Ring modulator output connection jacks 4.1.12 “Tracking” generator This very original module was added to modify the course of a modulation thanks to four curves which can be edited in real-time by the user. It can also be used as source of modulation to create envelope forms or complex LFO waves.
4 audio outputs: Audio signal input connection jacks. 4 “Smooth”: Sets the smoothness of the tracking curve. Curve viewer: Displays the 4 tracking curves. Clicking on it opens the Edit interface. 4.1.12.2 Edit interface Curve editing screen: Screen for real-time curve editing. Drawing tool: Tool for drawing a freehand curve. Line tool: Tool for drawing a straight line. Curve tool: Tool for drawing an exponential curve. Sine tool: Tool for drawing a sinusoid. Square tool: Tool for drawing a square signal.
The reverb module Right effect level (Level): Sets the output level for the right reverberation Left effect level (Level): Sets the output level for the left reverberation Right output (Output R): Right output connection jack (with or without reverberation) Left output (Output L): Left output connection jack (with or without reverberation) Dry input right (Dry input right): Dry right input connection jack Dry input left (Dry input Left): Dry left input connection jack 4.1.
Delay has two potentiometers, “Time Left” and “Time Right”, respectively for setting the time for the left channel, and the right channel. The two potentiometers, “FeedB Left” and “FeedB Right” respectively set the channel return gain for left and right channels. Finally the “Dry/Wet” potentiometer sets the ratio between the original and modified signals. The delay effect The “Midi Sync” selector switch allows us to synchronize the return time for the delay to the tempo of the host application. 4.1.
4.2 Keyboard interface (Model 3620) The keyboard interface contains all of the parameters necessary for playing on a keyboard: the monophonic or polyphonic playing modes, the portamento, the LFO (mainly used for vibrato), keyboard triggering modes, etc... The keyboard interface Portamento trigger input pedal (portamento footswitch): Output connection jack for portamento trigger control with a pedal. Sustain trigger input pedal (KBd Latch): Input connection jack for Hold trigger control with a pedal.
The LFO Low frequency oscillator speed (LFO speed): Sets the clock speed for the low frequency oscillator. Low frequency oscillator delay (LFO delay): Sets the delay of the low frequency oscillator action. Vibrato depth (vibrato depth): Sets the depth of the vibrato. MIDI synchronization (MIDI sync): The “Midi Sync” selector switch lets you synchronize the low frequency oscillator clock with the MIDI tempo. Triangle output (LFO triangle): Audio output of the LFO triangle waveform.
Sequence step management, setting and management of the 16 sequencer steps. 16 sequencer steps and bus management 2x8 output levels (1 ... 16 faders): Sets the modulation or tuning level for sequence steps.
Sequencer oscillator. The sequencer oscillator Skip / return (Skip/Off/reset Steps): Selector switch for skipping steps or returning to step 1 Skip steps (Step): Button for manual choice of steps. Return input (Reset): Input jack for a forced return to step 1. Start input (trig or gate) (Jack Start): Input jack to start the sequencer with a trig or gate signal. Trig or Gate (trig / gate): Selector switch for choice of trig or gate (starting the sequencer).
Setting the sequencer input / outputs (quantizer) The sequencer input / outputs Quantized outputs A and B (Quantized outputs A/B): Output jacks A and B for the quantization of the step signals in semi tones. CV input (CV input): Jack inputs manage the reference voltage for the sequencer (generally connected to CV keyboard control - Kybd CV output) Quantized inputs A and B (Quantized inputs A/B): Input jacks A and B for the signal quantization.
5 THE BASICS OF SUBTRACTIVE SYNTHESIS Of all forms of sound synthesis, subtractive synthesis is one of the oldest and still certainly one of the most employed today. It is this method that was developed toward the end of the 60’s on analog synthesizers like the ARP, Oberheim, Yamaha, Buchla, Sequential Circuits (Prophet series), Roland, Korg (MS and PS series), Bob Moog’s creation and many others.
The main oscillator settings are: • The pitch is determined by the oscillation frequency. You can set the frequency of the oscillator with 2 controllers: first, the “RANGE” selector which determines the fundamental frequency – it is expressed in feet- : Low, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2; the highest number (32) brings the deepest tone, inversely, the smallest number (2) brings the highest tone. – Secondly, the detune setting (“FREQUENCY”) lets you tune the oscillator more precisely.
o The triangle can be considered like a very filtered (and soft) square signal. It is very low in harmonics (odd only) and will be very useful for creating sub basses, flute sounds, etc.… o The sinusoid is the purest of all. It is a single harmonic and produced a very “damped” sound. It can be used to reinforce the low frequencies of a bass sound or as a frequency modulator in order to create harmonics that don’t exist in the original waveforms.
PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) is a setting that allows you to modify the waveform cycle (or wave length). This can be done manually with the help of a knob “PW” or by modulation (with an envelope or LFO). This pulse width variation translates to a spectrum modification, resembling a waveform change. The ARP2600 V waveforms on the oscillator2 The synchronization of an oscillator with another creates more complex waveforms.
In the above image, oscillator2 is synchronized with the first and tuned to twice its frequency. The resulting waveform is unique in that it cannot be created by standard synthesis techniques such as layering or filtering. A frequency modulation (FM) can be created between 2 oscillators by connecting the audio output from a first sinusoidal oscillator to the modulation input of a second oscillator. On the ARP2600 V, if you turn the modulation rate ring, you will obtain a sound richer in harmonics.
The ARP2600 V noise module 5.1.2 The filter or VCF The audio signal generated by an oscillator (the waveform) is next generally directed to a filter module (Voltage Controlled Filter). It is this module that we use to control the sound by filtering (by subtraction, which explains the name given to this type of synthesis) the harmonics situated around a cut-off frequency. It can be considered to be a sophisticated equalizer that reduces, depending on the case, the high or low frequencies of a sound.
The ARP 2600 V offers two types of slope: 24 and 12 dB/Oct slopes. On the ARP2600 V, you have access to four types of filtering. Let’s have a look at some of his properties: The low-pass filter (LPF) progressively removes high frequencies above the assigned frequency limit (the cut-off frequency) and allows the sound below the cut-off to pass through unchanged. Depending on the setting we will hear the sound becoming more or less “brilliant”, more or less “dampened”.
The band-pass (band-pass filter or BPF) eliminates the frequencies situated on either side of the cut-off frequency. Use it to make a certain band of frequencies that you wish to emphasize appear. This will make the sound more “pinched”. The band-reject (band-reject filter or notch) eliminates the frequencies inside a band of frequencies.
(you will also find it called “emphasis” or “Q” – for Quality of filtering) The resonance amplifies frequencies close to the cut-off frequency. The other frequencies remaining are either unchanged (below the cut-off frequency) or reduced (above the cut-off frequency). On the ARP2600 V, you can increase the rate of resonance through the “resonance” potentiometer.
5.1.3 The amplifier or VCA The amplifier (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) is charged with receiving the audio signal coming from the filter (or directly the one from the oscillator if it is not filtered) to adjust its volume with a potentiometer, before the signal is directed to the speakers. The ARP 2600V amplifier In conclusion, here is a scheme that may help you to understand the composition of a basic sound: 5.2 Complementary modules 5.2.
lowering the filter cut-off frequency so that it becomes more and more thick until it disappears; or more simply, to lower the volume of the amplifier! To trigger and stop this sound, at the tone that we want, we use a keyboard, which will be connected to the oscillator. This will “play” as soon as a key is pressed and will mute it as soon as released.
The envelope module The most common envelope modules use 4 settings that can vary: • • • • The Attack is the time that the sound will take to reach its maximum volume once the key has been pressed on the keyboard. The Decay is the time that the sound will take to decline after the key is played. The Sustain is the maximum level of volume that the sound will reach when a key is pressed. The Release is the decline time after the key has been released.
5.2.3 The low frequency oscillator The LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) possesses, among other things, the same characteristics as the classic audio-frequency oscillator but does not produce frequencies higher than 20 Hz. In other terms, you won’t hear the sound if you connect the audio output of an LFO in an amplifier. Not being used to produce a sound, it can be used to create a cyclic modulation on the parameter on which it is connected.
VCA modulated by a LFO 5.2.4 The ring modulator The ring modulator is a module which multiplies two signals (generally two oscillators) so as to generate non-harmonic frequential components. We can thus easily obtain metallic sounds.
5.2.5 Sample and hold The sample and hold module lets us sample the signal connected as input. The values for modulation are taken at every trigger signal connected as input. This module is notably interesting for creating random modulations by sampling the noise signal. It is also possible to use it for more rhythmic cyclic modulations by connecting a square or saw-tooth waveform coming from a VCO to the sample and hold input.
ARTURIA – ARP 2600 V – USER MANUAL 81
6 A FEW ELEMENTS OF SOUND DESIGN Here is a series of five examples designed to guide you through the creation of a sound and a sequence. They are classed in order of difficulty and organized into two parts: The first part will give you an introduction to sound synthesis.
this is normal! Only the volume of the VCA amplifier mixer (the VCF filter output) and the ADSR envelope input of the VCA are open. On the filter module, raise the vertical “VCO1” potentiometer. This is the volume of the first oscillator. When you hold down a note, the sound seems continuous and flat! Raise the “VCO1” potentiometer on the filter module To give it more life, still on the same module, raise the “ADSR” potentiometer corresponding to the envelope of the same name.
Lower the filter cut-off frequency (“Initial Filter Frequency”) potentiometer almost completely so as to really hear the effect produced by the envelope on the filter. Lower the filter cut-off frequency Lower fully the Sustain potentiometer on the ADSR envelope and lower the Decay a bit as well. (set a value aroud 100ms). The duration of the sound becomes shorter. Lower the Decay potentiometer Now raise the volume of “VCO2” on the VCF mixer (“VCO2”). You will hear the 2 oscillators play in unison.
Lightly detune the second oscillator (“VCO2”). The sound becomes more lively and “fatter”! Lightly detune the second oscillator Set the VCO2 an octave lower: set the “Range” octave selector to “16’”. Set the “Range” octave selector to “16’” Finally, lightly raise the filter resonance.
Save this sound as “bass1”, you can reuse it later on. For this, click on the “Save_as” button and choose the option “new bank” (at the bottom of the menu). Provide a new name to the bank (your initials for example), the subbank (“basses” for example) and to the new preset (“Bass1” for example). 6.2 Polyphonic patch with cabling Let’s reuse the sound “bass1” as it will be useful to us for the next preset.
Still on this mixer, lower the VCO2 volume. You will notice the change of tone resulting from the change of waveform on VCO1. If you need to be convinced, disconnect the cable (click on the mixer audio input to disconnect the cable). You thus move from a saw-tooth to a square signal. Reconnect the saw-tooth to continue with this preset. Do the same with oscillator2: direct the saw-tooth waveform to the VCO2 input on the VCF mixer.
Raise the volume of the LFO modulation If it has a tendency to “disappear” too much (you don’t hear sound anymore), gently raise the cut-off frequency potentiometer. Set the LFO oscillation speed with the “LFO Speed” potentiometer. For this type of sound choose a slow speed (around 0.10 Hz). Set the LFO oscillation speed Raise the Attack time (“A” around 2000 ms) and the Release (“R” around 750ms) of the AR envelope. At last, raise fully the Decay time (“D”) of the ADSR envelope.
The envelopes settings Set the playing mode selector situated on the left of the LFO module to “Poly” (polyphonic) position so as to be able to play chords. Then choose the number of polyphonic voices by clicking on the “voices” button, situated on the toolbar. (For exemple, choose “6” voices) Polyphonic mode At this stage, you can also enrich your chords by dedicating a third oscillator to sevenths (“+7 semi-tones”) - or fifths (“+5 semi-tones”).
If you wish to bring more space to your sound, add a delay or chorus effect to it. For this, click on the “Chorus” or “Delay” buttons situated on the toolbar, open the grid on the left of the synthesizer. This holds the settings for these 2 effects. If you use delay, you can synchronize it with the MIDI tempo of your host sequencer. The “Chorus” and “Delay” settings Don’t forget to save your new sound, as like the previous, it will be useful as a template for other more complicated sounds. 6.
Open the tracking grid... ... then, connect the output of the first tracking line to the filter modulation input Raise the potentiometer above the modulation input jack. This is the modulation rate. The modulation rate Next click in the central part. A secondary window appears. It will allow you to graphically draw the waveform that will modulate the cut-off frequency.
It is composed of three parts: on the left, the selection of the 4 tracking lines, in the middle, the interface for drawing the waveform, and above, the choice of drawing tools. By default, the “pencil” tool is selected. Start by drawing a freehand curve. The form is not important. Once this is done, play a note to hear the result of this modulation. You can set the oscillation speed with the “Freq” potentiometer which is on the left of the tracking generator.
You can combine the four tracking lines for a single modulation input. For this, Connect the four tracking generator outputs to the “voltage processor” 1, 2, 3 and 4 inputs. Connect the 4 tracking generator outputs to the “voltage processor” inputs Place the “link A/B” selector switch to the right to link the two lines of mix to the output of the first.
So that your sequence is tuned by following the semi-tones, connect the “Quantized output A” on the sequencer to the input oscillator1 key follow (“VCO1” > “CV KBD”). Connect the “Quantized output A” of the sequencer to the KBD CV input oscillator1 Play a note on your keyboard (C4 for example). The sequencer starts and you will hear a series of 16 notes of identical pitch, this is normal. Set each of these 16 potentiometers representing 16 sequence steps to a different value.
You can stop the sequencer by clicking on the “Start/Stop” button. Stop the sequencer by clicking on the Start/Stop” button It is possible to obtain a sequence of 16 steps like the one you have just created by using 2 independent sequences of 8 steps. For an 8 step sequence, place the “1/16 > 2/8” selector switch to 2/8. The sequencer will only play half of the sequence.
Connect the sequencer B output to the second modulation input acting on the filter cut-off frequency (ADSR). Raise the potentiometer of the same name to increase the depth of this modulation. Connect the sequencer B output to the second modulation input of the filter... ...
Play a note on your keyboard to start the sequencer. Change the positions of the 16 potentiometers representing 16 steps in the sequence. You can hear the variations on the opening of the filter cut-off frequency. This creates an automatic wah wah effect. It is also possible to simultaneously create a melodic sequence on the eight first steps and a modulation sequence on the last eight. For this, set the “1/16 > 2/8” interrupter to 2/8. The sequencer will only play half of the sequence.
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