USER MANUAL ARTURIA – B-3 V – USER MANUAL 1
Direction Frédéric Brun Kévin Molcard Development Baptiste Aubry Samuel Limier Stefano D’Angelo Germain Marzin, Corentin Comte Mathieu Nocenti Baptiste Le Goff Pierre Pfister Pierre-Lin Laneyrie Benjamin Renard Valentin Lepetit Design Glen Darcey Sébastien Rochard Shaun Ellwood Greg Vezon Morgan Perrier Sound Design Christian Laffitte Nori Ubukata Paolo Apollo Negri Manual Hollin Jones Léonard Sauget Tomoya Fukuchi Jason Valax Special Thanks Chuck Capsis Theo Niessink Thierry Chatela
Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................... 5 1.1 What is B-3 V? ..................................................................................................... 5 1.2 History of the original instrument..................................................................... 5 1.2.1 1.3 2 3 Notable users ...............................................................................................
3.4.1 The vibrato switches ................................................................................. 24 3.4.2 The Vibrato and Chorus mode knob.................................................... 24 3.4.3 The Drawbars ............................................................................................. 25 3.4.4 Preamp Drive ............................................................................................. 26 3.4.5 Master Volume .............................................
1 INTRODUCTION Congratulations on purchasing our virtual organ, B-3 V. We are confident that it will give you many hours of playing and producing pleasure. B-3 V is the newest addition to our extensive family of instruments that recreate hard-to-find classic keyboards and synths.
musicians in churches and fairly quickly after that, with jazz musicians who loved their unique sound. This was thanks to features like the organ’s drawbars and various tone controls as well as the rotating speaker that sounded like nothing else around. It would go on to play a central role in the rock music of the 1970s and even in pop, all the while remaining a staple instrument of jazz, blues and gospel.
2 ACTIVATION AND FIRST START 2.1 Register and Activate B-3 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 B-3 V as an Audio Units, AAX, VST2 or VST3 instrument. Once B-3 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.
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 that you are using. The Audio MIDI Settings on Windows 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.
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. If you have more than two you can select a specific pair of outputs. The Buffer Size menu lets you select the size of the audio buffer your computer uses to calculate sound. A smaller buffer means lower latency between pressing a key and hearing the note.
The Mac OS X Audio MIDI Settings window 2.2.3 Using B-3 V in plug-in mode B-3 V comes in VST, AU and AAX plug-in formats for use in all major DAW software like Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools and so on. You can load it as a plug-in instrument and its interface and settings work in the same way as in standalone mode, with a couple of differences. The instrument will now sync to your DAW’s host tempo, where tempo is a factor like in the tremolo and repeat controls, if you activate the Sync buttons on the organ.
3 USER INTERFACE B-3 V has many great features, and in this chapter we’ll make sure you know what each one does. We think you’ll be amazed at how quickly B-3 V provides you with sounds that are inspiring and perfect for all sorts of projects. It’s also really easy to work with: just a few tweaks here and there and suddenly you’re in a new world of sound. That will always be the main focus of every Arturia product: unleashing your creativity while remaining easy to use. 3.
3.2.1 Save preset The first option lets you save a preset. If you select this you are presented with a window where you can enter information about the preset. As well as naming it you can enter the author name, select a bank and type and select some tags that describe the sound. This information can be read by the preset browser and is useful for searching presets later. You can also enter freeform text comments in the Comments field which is handy for providing a more detailed description. 3.2.
3.2.6 Resize window options B-3 V’s window can be resized from 60% to 200% of its original size without any visual artefacting. On a smaller screen such as a laptop you might want to reduce the interface size so it doesn’t dominate the display. On a larger screen or a second monitor you can increase its size to get a better view of the controls. The controls all work the same at any zoom level but the smaller ones can be harder to see if you have shrunk the window down. 3.2.
shown in purple and the idea is that you map physical MIDI dials, faders or pedals from your hardware units like Beatstep or Keystep to specific destinations inside the instrument. A typical example might be to map a real expression pedal to the virtual swell pedal, or buttons on a controller to the tone select switches so you can change the sound from your hardware keyboard. B-3 V in MIDI learn mode If you click on a purple area you’ll put that control into learning mode.
The MIDI Control Setup window In the case of switches which only have two positions (up or down) you can still use minimum and maximum values in the MIDI learn popup window, but in these cases the behaviour is a little different. It's about what values the controller sends and whether those are high or low enough to trigger the state change in a switch - which is always 0.5 or in the case of the three stage switch, 33.3/33.3/33.3 (or near enough).
In the case of drawbars which have nine different positions the same rule applies but instead of splitting the controller range into two or three it is split into nine. The final option in this window is a button labelled “Is relative”.
3 V without having to build all the assignments from scratch each time you swap hardware. 3.2.12 The lower toolbar At the right hand side of the lower toolbar are three small items. The Panic button can be pressed to reset all MIDI signal in the event of stuck notes, and stop sounds being generated. The CPU meter is used to monitor how much of your computer’s CPU is being used by the instrument. The Keyboard preferences button opens a new window. 3.2.
In Multi mode, you can assign MIDI channels to each manual. A typical example might be to connect one MIDI keyboard to the upper manual on MIDI channel 1, and a second one to the lower manual on channel 2, giving you the full range of notes at your fingertips. Or you could split your controller into two zones, assign each one a MIDI channel and achieve a similar result.
The Lower and Upper options also allow octave shifting but these modes simply assign your whole MIDI keyboard to play either the lower or upper manuals. 3.3 The Preset Browser The preset browser is how you search, load and manage sounds in B-3 V. It has a couple of different views but they all access the same banks of presets. Click on the browser button (three lines and a slanted line) to access the search view. 3.3.1 Searching presets The Search screen has a number of sections.
You can use multiple search fields to perform narrower searches. So by entering a text search and also specifying type, bank and characteristics options you could see only the presets that match those exact criteria. Deselect any tag in any area to remove that criteria and widen the search without having to go back and start again. Using “Ctrl + click” (Windows) or “Cmd + click” (Mac) will allow you to select multiple elements in the same area.
3.3.4 The second preset view The menu next to the Search menu shows you a different view. The first option in this menu is called Filter and will hold a record of whatever you have currently searched for in the Search field. So if you searched for Jazz in the main search area, those results will appear here. Selecting the All Types option in this column on the other hand will provide a list of all patches. The Categories shown beneath group sounds based on their Type like keys, pads, bass and so on.
3.3.5 Playlists In the lower left corner of the Preset Browser window is a feature titled Playlists. This is used to collect presets into different groups for different purposes, such as a set list for a particular performance or a batch of presets related to a particular studio project. 3.3.5.1 Add a playlist To create a playlist, click the plus sign at the bottom: Give the playlist a name and it will appear in the Playlists menu.
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 Re-order the presets Presets may be reorganized within a playlist. For example, to move a preset from slot 2 to slot 4, drag and drop the preset to the desired location. This will move the preset into the new location. 3.3.5.4 Remove a preset To delete a preset from a playlist, click the x at the end of the preset row.
3.3.5.5 Delete a playlist To delete a playlist, click the x at the end of the playlist row. Click the X to delete a playlist 3.4 Front panel 3.4.1 The vibrato switches These switches let you toggle vibrato on or off independently for the upper and lower manuals. 3.4.2 The Vibrato and Chorus mode knob This knob lets you select between three different chorus and three different vibrato types that will be applied to the manuals when their vibrato switches are activated.
3.4.3 The Drawbars The upper and lower manual drawbars Every sound or note is made up of a fundamental and harmonics. The fundamental can be considered as the "root" of the sound and harmonics are higher frequencies you can hear, which add some shape to the sound. The drawbars let you shape your organ sound by mixing the fundamental and harmonics. B-3 V has nine drawbars for each manual (upper and lower) for a total of 18.
Think of the leftmost two (brown) drawbars as “sub” tones, the middle four as “foundation” tones in the midrange, and the three to the furthest right as “brilliance”, controlling higher frequencies. Due to the fact that each drawbar has nine positions there are literally millions of possible combinations of settings and sounds and this is what makes tonewheel organs so flexible, capable of everything from subtle, minimal tones to very complex, rich and powerful sounds.
Vol Soft/Norm - Sets the volume of the Percussion tone. Decay Fast/Slow - When set to Slow, the Percussion tone will decay slowly. Set to Fast, it will decay rapidly. Percussion Harmonic Selector - This sets the pitch of the Percussion sound. Second means the pitch is up one octave above the Fundamental Drawbar. Third means the pitch is up an octave and a fifth above the Fundamental Drawbar. 3.5 The Advanced Section This section allows you to make further changes to the way sound is generated.
Key Click Volume can be turned up or down, altering the organ’s sound to make it more or less percussive when notes are hit. Lower and Upper Attack and Release can be used to change the speed at which a note comes in once pressed and how long it takes to fade out when released, on each respective manual. For regular organ sounds these would all be set very low, but if you raise them you can get more synth-like sounds. 3.6 The Voice Modulator Section 3.6.
You can use up to 10 modulators at the same time and mix and match types and settings by using the mod select dropdown menus in this section. Click on a section and then choose a modulator type. 3.6.2 Envelope modulator This lets you set your own envelope shape over time by adding and manipulating values. The Envelope modulator You can set up to 16 points in the Envelope window and modify the curve between any two points.
3.6.3 LFO The LFO modulator The LFO modulator type has settings for sync, waveshape, rate and phase. You can set the waveform, start phase, and rate of the LFO and the rate can be quantized or unquantized. You can choose between Sine, Triangle, Saw, Ramp and Square waveforms. 3.6.
You can set the number of steps from 2 to 32 and the rate can be quantized or unquantized. 3.6.5 Assigning modulation amount to drawbars The position of the drawbar in the main organ interface has no influence on these modulations. You can reset a modulation amount by double clicking on the slider. 3.7 The Rotary Speaker 3.7.1 The Slow / Fast Lever This lever controls whether the rotary speaker runs at slow or fast speeds. More precise settings can be made on the speaker module itself. 3.7.
3.7.3 Slow and Fast speed control On the speaker module you will find additional controls. The Speed knobs let you set what speeds will be used when the Slow or Fast lever positions (see 3.7.1) are selected. The Slow knob can be set anywhere from 0.100Hz to 2Hz. The Fast knob runs from 2Hz at its minimum setting up to 8Hz. 3.7.4 The Horn and Stereo controls Rotary speakers have two elements: a large drum that deals with lower pitched sounds, and a smaller horn that handles higher tones.
3.7.5 Speaker on / off You can deactivate the speaker to just hear the output of the organ plus any of the effects you have activated. 3.7.6 Model select switch Here you can switch between open and closed models. Each option gives a significantly different kind of sound. 3.7.7 The Reverb section The area contained within the white border is the reverb section.
clicking on the name below a pedal and choosing a different effect. If you do this, its position will be swapped with the one it is replacing. 3.8.2 The flanger Flanging works by mixing two identical signals together, one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period. This produces a swept comb filter effect.
3.8.3 The phaser Phasing is the psychedelic sweeping effect that was popular in the 1960s and 70s and adds a sense of movement and swirling to the sound. It works particularly well on organ sounds. The controls are : Modulation Rate Feedback amount Phaser depth Stereo spread 3.8.4 Chorus pedal Chorus works by adding a second voice to the signal and in the process making it harmonically richer and adding a sense of movement.
Rate Delay amount Chorus Amount Dry / Wet Mix 3.8.5 Analog delay pedal Delay is a great effect to use on organs as it can really increase the sense of depth and space without becoming “splashy” and adding to much air and high end like reverbs sometimes do.
3.8.6 Overdrive pedal Overdrive is great for adding drive, crunch and grit to organ sounds. The controls are: Drive Amount Output Level Drive Tone 3.8.7 The swell pedal The swell pedal is situated pre-amplifier and connects directly to the organ. Assigning a MIDI hardware pedal to the swell pedal is a good way to get more creative control over your performance.
4 END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT 1. General 1.1 In consideration of payment of the Licensee fee, which is a portion of the price you paid, Arturia, as Licensor, grants to you (hereinafter termed “Licensee”) a nonexclusive right for the use of software including related media, documentation (for example program descriptions, manuals) and other documents and materials manufactured by Arturia SA ("Product(s)"). All intellectual property rights in the software belong to Arturia SA (hereinafter: “Arturia”). 1.
not be resold or transferred. The Licensee can activate the Product on up to five computers, as long as only one installation is used at any given time. The Licensee must register the Product to Arturia to get access to client support, and to activate his Product. (An internet connection is required to register and activate the Product, either on the computer on which the Product is installed, either on another device able to exchange files with the computer on which the Product is installed).
the third party agrees in writing with this EULA and Licensee ceases all use of the software, completely removes all installed copies of the software from his computers and – if the software was not purchased via download – deletes or transfers the original media delivered with the software to the third party. In addition, Licensee is required to de-register the purchased software with Arturia (more information available on www.arturia.com). 5.
interruption, loss of business information and the like) even if Arturia was previously advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow limitations on the length of an implied warranty or the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusions may not apply to the Licensee in this case. This warranty gives the Licensee specific legal rights, and the Licensee may also have other rights which vary from state to state.
