User Manual

ManualsBrandsElektron ManualsKeyboard SynthesizersDigitone Keys - 8 VOICE POLYPHONIC SYNTHESIZER

Table Of Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
- 1.1 CONVENTIONS IN THIS MANUAL
2. THE DIGITONE KEYS
3. PANEL LAYOUT AND CONNECTORS
- 3.1 FRONT PANEL
- 3.2 REAR CONNECTORS
- 3.3 SETTING UP AND STARTING THE DIGITONE KEYS
4. DIGITONE KEYS SOUND ARCHITECTURE
- 4.1 AUDIO VOICES
- 4.2 EFFECTS
5. OVERVIEW OF THE DIGITONE KEYS DATA STRUCTURE
- 5.1 +DRIVE
- 5.2 DATA STRUCTURE
- 5.3 ABOUT THE TRACKS
6. THE USER INTERFACE
- 6.1 SCREEN NAVIGATION
- 6.2 PARAMETER EDITING
- 6.3 QUICK SCROLLING
- 6.4 COPY, CLEAR, AND PASTE
- 6.5 THE NAMING SCREEN
  - 6.5.1 NAMING POP-UP MENU
- 6.6 HOLD
- 6.7 OVERBRIDGE
7. QUICK START
- 7.1 PLAYING THE FACTORY PRESET PATTERNS
- 7.2 CHANGING SOUNDS
- 7.3 USING MUTE MODE
- 7.4 TEMPO
- 7.5 EDITING PARAMETERS
8. DIGITONE KEYS CONTROLS
- 8.1 TRIG KEYS
- 8.2 ROTARY ENCODERS
- 8.3 PITCH AND MOD WHEELS
- 8.4 KEY BEHAVIOR
- 8.5 MIDI NOTES
- 8.6 MODES
9. PATTERNS AND SOUNDS
- 9.1 THE +DRIVE SOUND LIBRARY AND THE SOUND POOL
  - 9.1.1 ADDING SOUNDS TO THE SOUND POOL
- 9.2 PLAYING A SOUND
  - 9.2.1 PLAYING A SOUND WITH AN EXTERNAL MIDI UNIT
- 9.3 EDITING A SOUND
- 9.4 SAVING A SOUND
  - 9.4.1 SAVING A SOUND TO THE +DRIVE
  - 9.4.2 SAVING A SOUND TO THE SOUND POOL
- 9.5 SOUND SETUP MENU
- 9.6 ARPEGGIATOR MENU
10. THE SEQUENCER
- 10.1 BASIC PATTERN OPERATIONS
- 10.2 CREATING AND EDITING A PATTERN
- 10.3 TRIG PARAMETERS
- 10.4 TRACK NOTE MENU
- 10.5 VOICE MENU
- 10.6 MICRO TIMING MENU
- 10.7 PATTERN MENU
- 10.8 METRONOME MENU
- 10.9 SCALE MENU
  - 10.9.1 LENGTH PER PATTERN MODE
  - 10.9.2 LENGTH PER TRACK MODE
- 10.10 SEQUENCER FEATURES
- 10.11 CHAINS
  - 10.11.1 CREATING A CHAIN
11. SYNTH TRACK PARAMETERS
- 11.1 EDITING THE SYNTH TRACK PARAMETERS
- 11.2 TRIG PARAMETERS PAGE
- 11.3 SYN1 PAGE 1
- 11.4 SYN 2 PAGE 1
- 11.5 SYN2 PAGE 2
- 11.6 FLTR PAGE 1
- 11.7 FLTR PAGE 2
- 11.8 AMP PAGE 1
- 11.9 AMP PAGE 2
- 11.10 LFO PAGE 1
- 11.11 LFO PAGE 2
12. MIDI TRACK PARAMETERS
- 12.1 EDITING THE MIDI TRACK PARAMETERS
- 12.2 TRIG PARAMETERS PAGE
- 12.3 SYN1 PAGE (MIDI SOURCE)
- 12.4 SYN2 PAGE (MIDI SOURCE)
- 12.5 FLTR PAGE (CC VALUE)
- 12.6 AMP PAGE (CC SELECT)
- 12.7 LFO PAGE
13. FX PARAMETERS
- 13.1 EDITING THE FX PARAMETERS
- 13.2 CHORUS
- 13.3 DELAY
- 13.4 REVERB
- 13.5 MASTER
14. GLOBAL SETTINGS
- 14.1 PROJECT
- 14.2 SOUNDS
- 14.3 MIDI CONFIG
- 14.4 SYSEX DUMP
  - 14.4.1 SYSEX SEND
  - 14.4.2 SYSEX RECEIVE
- 14.5 AUDIO ROUTING (GLOBAL)
  - 14.5.1 ROUTE TO MAIN
  - 14.5.2 SEND TO FX
- 14.6 SYSTEM
- 14.7 CONTROL INPUT A
- 14.8 CONTROL INPUT B
- 14.9 MULTI MAP EDIT
  - 14.9.1 MULTI MAP MENU
15. STARTUP MENU
- 15.1 TEST MODE
- 15.2 EMPTY RESET
- 15.3 FACTORY RESET
- 15.4 OS UPGRADE
- 15.5 EXIT
16. SETUP EXAMPLES
- 16.1 DIGITONE KEYS WITH A MONOPHONIC BASS MACHINE
- 16.2 DIGITONE KEYS TOGETHER WITH THE DIGITAKT
- 16.3 CONTROLLING A SYNTHESIZER USING THE MIDI TRACKS
17. USEFUL KEY COMBINATIONS
18. TECHNICAL INFORMATION
19. CREDITS AND CONTACT INFORMATION
APPENDIX A: THE DIGITONE KEYS FM SYNTHESIS
- A.1 OVERVIEW
- A.2 THE OPERATORS
- A.3 ALGORITHMS
- A.4 FM RATIOS
- A.5 THE OPERATOR ENVELOPES
- A.6 HARMONICS
- A.7 SYN1 PAGE 1 PARAMETERS OVERVIEW
APPENDIX B: MIDI IMPLEMENTATION
- B.1 TRACK PARAMETERS
- B.2 TRIG PARAMETERS
- B.3 FM PARAMETERS
- B.4 FILTER PARAMETERS
- B.5 AMP PARAMETERS
- B.6 LFO PARAMETERS
- B.7 MIDI TRACK PARAMETERS
- B.8 FX PARAMETERS
- B.9 MISC PARAMETERS
APPENDIX C: LFO MODULATION DESTINATIONS
INDEX

APPENDIX A: THE DIGITONE KEYS FM SYNTHESIS

A.1 OVERVIEW

At its core, the Digitone Keys is a four operator Frequency Modulation (FM) synth in the style of the classic

80s implementations. However, unlike the early FM synths, the Digitone Keys use its FM engine more like a

complex tone generator than a complete synthesizer voice (although it does have this capability too). The

Digitone Keys signal path is more similar to a typical subtractive synth than a classic FM voice.

FM Overdrive Multimode

Filter

Base-width

Filter

Amp

The idea of this design is to harness the raw, and often complex, soundscapes of FM synthesis and use a

more well-known and approachable subtractive method for the overall sound shaping.

FM is a synthesis method where you add harmonics to the timbre by using modulation or layering to shape

the sound. You add harmonics by modulating one oscillator’s pitch with the output of another oscillator. FM

works similarly to how you would apply vibrato via an LFO. At slower modulation rates, it is simply vibrato,

but when the modulating frequency reaches audio rate, the vibrato eects becomes a part of the sound and

becomes a timbral eect instead.

A.2 THE OPERATORS

In FM synthesis the oscillators are called operators. Unlike the analog oscillator, the operator also contains

an envelope and speciﬁc input and outputs, making it a sort of macro oscillator. FM combines two or more

operators to generate a more harmonically rich output. An operator that is used to modulate another opera-

tor is called a modulator. The operator that generates, or carries, the resulting tone is called a carrier.

Feedback is used to increase the sharpness of a sound. Feedback is only applied to modulators. The out-

put of the operator is fed back into itself, resulting in added harmonics. In Digitone Keys, an operator with

feedback with a parameter value around 35 results in a sawtooth waveform. If pushed to higher values, the

feedback soon results in noise. For more information, please see “11.3.7 FDBK” on page 46.

Operator

Waveform Envelope

Feedback

Modulation

input

Output

Amplitude

Wavelength

(frequency)

Output

Modulator

(ratio: 8)

Carrier

(ratio: 1)