User Manual

SUPEREGO
SYNTH ENGINE
Congratulations on your purchase of the Electro-Harmonix SUPEREGO Synth
Engine; a new and unique product that combines elements of sampling, synthesis
and infinite sustain. The Superego allows the musician to freeze sound, gliss between
frozen sounds, layer sounds and place an external effects loop on only the effect. In
addition, the Superego can detect new notes or chords and sustain them
automatically without requiring the musician to step on the footswitch.
WARNING: Your Superego comes equipped with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200BI
power supply (same as used by Boss
®
& Ibanez
®
: 9.6 Volts DC 200mA). The
Superego requires 140mA at 9VDC with a center negative plug. The Superego does
not take batteries. Using the wrong adapter may damage your unit and void the
warranty.
-MODES-
The Superego has three modes: LATCH, MOMENTARY and AUTO. A toggle switch
located in the center of the Superego chooses between the three options. Momentary
mode is not labeled in the artwork; it is the center (or eye) position of the 3-position
toggle switch.
Momentary Mode: When the toggle switch is set to the center position, the
Superego effect is momentary, meaning the effect is only active when the footswitch
is pressed down. Upon releasing the footswitch, the Superego goes into bypass
mode. In order to properly freeze a sound, the sound must be occurring at the
moment you press down on the footswitch. Once you freeze a sound, it will sustain
for as long as you hold down the footswitch. The LED, located between the two
switches, will light while the effect is active. When you release the footswitch the LED
shuts off after the effect has fully decayed.
In Momentary mode, the SPEED/LAYER knob acts as a speed control for the attack
and decay time of the effect. As you turn this knob clockwise, the speed of the
effect’s fade-in and fade-out slow down.
LATCH Mode: When the toggle switch is set to the left position, the Superego is in
LATCH mode. In this mode, press the footswitch once to activate the effect and light
the LED. After you release the footswitch the effect remains active and the sound
sustains indefinitely. In order to bypass the effect in Latch mode you must double-tap
the footswitch, the LED will shut off to indicate bypass. To properly freeze a sound in
LATCH mode, the sound must be occurring at the moment you press down on the
footswitch. Each time you press down once on the footswitch, a new sound is frozen.
LATCH mode also allows you to layer your notes or sounds. Each time you press
down on the footswitch to sustain a new note, the Superego will layer it on top of the
notes that were previously sustained. The SPEED/LAYER knob sets the amount of
attenuation for the old layers. If you turn this knob down to the CCW position, no
layering will occur. As you turn the SPEED/LAYER knob up, less attenuation and more
layering will occur. If you turn the knob up all the way to the maximum CW position,
each layer will remain at full volume.
AUTO Mode: Set the toggle switch to its right most position to select AUTO mode.
In the other two modes: Momentary and Latch, the Superego requires you to press
the footswitch each time you want to sustain a new note, chord or sound. In AUTO
mode the Superego detects each new note or chord that you play and sustains it
automatically. If a note is not loud enough, it will not trigger a new sustain.
When in AUTO mode, press the footswitch once to put the Superego into effect
mode, the LED will light to indicate the Superego is activated. To switch back to
bypass while in AUTO mode, you must double-tap the footswitch, after doing so the
LED shuts off. If you press and hold the footswitch while the effect is activated and in
AUTO mode, the Superego stops accepting new notes and sustains the frozen sound
indefinitely. This allows the musician to play over frozen sounds while in AUTO mode.
As long you are not holding down the footswitch, the sustained notes automatically
fade out at a speed determined by the SPEED/LAYER knob. As you turn the knob
clockwise the fade out time increases. When the knob is set to its maximum CW
position, the sustained notes do not fade out.
-CONTROLS-
SPEED/LAYER Knob: In Momentary mode, this control adjusts the speed of the
attack and decay of the frozen sound. Fully CCW produces the quickest attack and
decay, having a nearly instantaneous fade in and fade out. Fully CW yields the
longest attack and decay time for a more gradual fade in and fade out. For any given
knob setting the decay time is always longer than the attack time.
In Latch mode, this knob is a layer control. The layer control adjusts the volume of
the previously latch-sampled sound. Turn this knob fully CCW and only the newly
latched samples will be heard. Set to fully CW, previously latched samples will not
decrease in volume and newly latched samples will be added to the existing sound.
In Auto mode, this knob will adjust the decay of the auto triggered samples. Fully
CCW yields a very short decay time and will result in an effect that is staccato and
reverberant in nature. As you turn this knob clockwise, the decay time increases. At
fully CW, the sampled sound plays until a new sample is triggered or until the effect
is disengaged.
GLISS Knob: This control adjusts the speed of the gliss effect. Gliss morphs one
frozen note or chord into the next; it is similar to the portamento function found on
many synthesizers. As you turn the GLISS knob clockwise, the gliss effect slows
down. To turn gliss off completely, turn the GLISS knob down all the way to its full
CCW position. PERFORMANCE NOTE: The easiest way to hear the GLISS effect is
to put the Superego into AUTO mode, completely turn down the DRY knob and put
the GLISS and SPEED knobs at 12 o’clock or higher.