Expert Sleepers Silent Way v2.4.
Copyright © 2009-2015 Expert Sleepers. All rights reserved. This manual, as well as the software described in it, is furnished under licence and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of such licence. The content of this manual is furnished for informational use only, is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Expert Sleepers. Expert Sleepers assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this document.
Contents Introduction 15 Installation 16 Mac OS X, Audio Unit (AU)! Mac OS X, VST! Mac OS X, AAX! Windows (VST)! System Requirements Mac OS X! Windows! 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 Hardware/Cabling Requirements 18 Registration 19 Upgrading from v1.
Silent Way CV To OSC! Silent Way DC! Silent Way ES-4 Controller! Silent Way ES-5 Controller! Silent Way ESX-4CV Combiner! Silent Way ESX-8CV Combiner! Silent Way Follower! Silent Way Function! Silent Way Learner! Silent Way LFO! Silent Way Logic Project! Silent Way Quantizer! Silent Way SMUX! Silent Way Soundplane! Silent Way Step LFO! Silent Way Sync! Silent Way Trigger! Silent Way Voice Controller! Silent Way AC Encoder 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 23 24 Introduction 24 In Use
Setup Selecting the Target! Using the VST MIDI output! Using inter-application busses! Using the connection to Silent Way Learner! Preparing input CVs! Other Controls Enable/Channel! Sending MIDI CC messages! Sending MIDI note messages! Silent Way CV To OSC 30 30 30 30 31 31 31 31 31 32 34 Introduction 34 Setup 34 Target! Browsing for Targets (OS X only)! OSC Paths! Other Controls Enable! Threshold! Max Rate! Silent Way DC 34 35 35 36 36 36 36 37 Introduction 37 Left/Right Channel 37 Out
MIDI/CV 1/2 40 Channel! Min & Max! Gate! Vel! Priority! 40 40 40 41 41 Outputs 41 Gates 41 Triggers/Accents 42 Triggers! Accents! MIDI Out Channel! Channelise! Output! Clock! Swing! Offset! Poly! NoteOffs! Virtual MIDI port (Mac OS X only)! 42 42 43 43 43 43 43 43 44 44 44 44 Output Indicators 45 Inputs 45 Thru! 1-5! 45 45 Input Modes 46 Input To Gates 46 Panic Button 47 Interface Category 47 Silent Way ES-5 Controller 48 Introduction 48 In Use 48
Silent Way ESX-4CV Combiner 49 Introduction 49 In Use 49 Target 49 Inputs 49 Offset 50 SMUX Proof 50 Interface Category 50 Silent Way ESX-8CV Combiner 51 Introduction 51 In Use 51 Target 51 Inputs 52 Offset 52 SMUX Proof 52 Adaptive Mode 53 Interface Category 53 Silent Way Follower 54 Introduction 54 Follower 54 Source! Input Filters! Env Gain! Env Attack and Release! Env Gate! Pitch Pitch Mode! 54 54 55 55 55 55 55
Pitch Scale! 0V! 56 56 Outputs 57 Graphical Displays 57 Silent Way Function Introduction Enable! Function! Scale and Offset! Graph! Silent Way Learner 58 58 59 59 59 59 60 Introduction 60 UIDs 60 MIDI Mapping 60 Supported MIDI Messages 61 MIDI Message History 61 OSC Control 62 Parameter Paths! 62 Activating OSC 62 Setting up the controlling device 63 Setting up controllers! 63 OSC Message History 63 Sending OSC 63 Advanced Usage 64 Wildcards! Multiple parameters per messa
Introduction 65 Speed Controls 66 Sync Controls 66 Mix Controls 67 Asymmetry 67 Input Mode 68 Swing 68 Reset By Note 69 Silent Way Logic Project Introduction Usage! 70 70 70 Silent Way Quantizer 72 Introduction 72 Loading Calibration Data 72 In Use 73 Manual Mode! Calibrated Mode! Using Scales! Smooth! 73 73 74 74 Using the Quantizer with the Step LFO 74 Using the Quantizer with the Expert Sleepers ES-4 75 And with the Expert Sleepers ESX-4CV 75 Silent Way SMUX 76 Introdu
Introduction 77 Setup 77 Voice ID! Gate Z! 78 78 Calibration 78 Output Matrix 78 Offset! Note! Gate! X! Y! Z! Smooth! Silent Way Step LFO 79 79 79 79 79 79 79 80 Introduction 80 In Use 81 UI Groups 81 Speed Mode 81 Editing the Steps/Waveform 82 Waveform display! Setting the pattern length! Range mode! Interpolation mode! Gate! Inputs Reset Mode! Input Mode! MIDI Inputs! Random Enable! Set Next! Mode! Length! DAC Bits! 82 82 82 83 83 83 84 84 84 85 85 86 86 86 86
Randomness! Editing the bits with the mouse! Manual DAC! Silent Way Sync 86 86 87 88 Introduction 88 In Use 88 Type! Divisor! Multiplier! 1st Delay! Skip 1st! Run Signal Type! Periodic Reset! Outputs! Mute Clocks! Swing! Offset! Trigger! ES Hardware Mode! 88 89 89 89 89 89 89 90 90 90 91 91 91 Signal Routing 91 Interface Category 91 Silent Way Trigger 92 Introduction 92 Setup 92 CV Trigger 93 Voltages 93 Overrides 93 Trigger 93 Envelope 94 Silent Way Voice Controller Introducti
Loading the plug-in 95 VST Output Arrangement 96 Don’t Panic 97 Calibration 97 Saving and Loading Calibration Data 97 Output Matrix 98 Offset! Pitch! Gate! Env 1/2/3! Trigger! Velocity! Smooth! Voltages Gate Clsd/Open! Trig Off/On! Vel Min/Max! Overrides Pitch! Gate! Detune Bend Rng! Transpose! Detune! Random! LFO Depth/Speed! Envelopes Simple Env Controls! Full Env Controls! Env Misc! Modes Note Priority! Retrigger Mode! Polyphonic Mode 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
Portamento 105 Trigger 106 Hardware Modes 106 Hardware! 106 In ESX-8CV mode outputs 1 to 6 of the Voice Controller are combined into a stereo signal suitable for sending to the ES-4, ES-40 or ES-5, in order to drive 6 of the outputs of an ESX-8CV module. (Outputs 7 & 8 of the module are unused.) This signal emerges from outputs 1&2 of the Voice Controller; outputs 3-6 carry their usual signals from the Output Matrix.
oscpack 121 glew 122 FreeType 123 FTGL 123 libpng 123 zlib 123
Introduction Silent Way is a suite of plug-ins designed for use with analogue synthesisers, and especially as part of a modular analogue synthesiser system. The plug-ins produce no sound themselves, nor do they process sound - rather, they generate signals to be used as control voltages (CVs), which can be patched into the control inputs of oscillators, filters, VCAs etc. of an analogue system.
Installation Mac OS X, Audio Unit (AU) The plug-in file is named “ExSlSilentWay.component”. Simply copy the file to the folder: Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components Mac OS X, VST The plug-in file is named “ExSlSilentWay.vst”. Simply copy the file to the folder: Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST Mac OS X, AAX The plug-in file is named “ExSlSilentWay.aaxplugin”. Simply copy the file to the folder: /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins Windows (VST) The plug-in files are named “silentway.dll” “silentway_x64.
System Requirements Mac OS X Silent Way requires at least Mac OS X version 10.6.8. The plug-in is Intel-only, and built for both 32 and 64 bit. The Audio Unit version will work in any Audio Unit host. The VST version requires a “VST 2.4” compatible host.1 The AAX version requires Pro Tools 10 (10.3.2 or above recommended). Windows Silent Way has been developed and tested with Windows XP SP2 and Windows 7. It may work with other versions of Windows (Vista included) but this is by no means guaranteed.
Hardware/Cabling Requirements For most of the Silent Way plug-ins to work, the audio interface between the computer and the synth needs to be “DC coupled” i.e. capable of maintaining a DC voltage at its outputs. Refer to this page on the Expert Sleepers website for up-to-date information on compatible devices.
Registration The downloadable version of Silent Way stops working after 15 minutes every time you use it. To stop this happening, you need to buy a registration. You can buy a registration key online using a credit card or PayPal from the Expert Sleepers Licence Manager application. See here for more information. Note that you need at least version 1.0.18 of the Licence Manager. The e-commerce side of things is handled by eSellerate.
The Silent Way GUI Using the controls Knobs Basic use of the knobs is to click on them and drag the mouse up and down. However you can obtain different results by holding keys as follows: • • • • • Shift : Values change more slowly as you move the mouse. Command1 (Mac OS X)/Alt (Windows) : The knob assumes its default position. Option 2 (Mac OS X)/Control (Windows): The knob assumes integer values only. Double-click: The knob returns to its default value.
Getting Started Tutorial Videos There are a number of tutorial videos on the Expert Sleepers website, here1. These mostly cover the basic setup of the Voice Controller plug-in in various DAWs, since this is the first thing most people want to do with Silent Way. Other Demo Videos There are many more videos that demo specific features or techniques on our Vimeo channel, here2. Or if you prefer YouTube, here3. Join the forum Silent Way has a very active community of users participating in the forum, here4.
Plug-in Overview Silent Way AC Encoder Allows the use of non-DC-coupled audio interfaces. Silent Way CV Input A means of getting CVs back into the computer. Silent Way CV To MIDI Converts CVs (from e.g. CV Input, or the LFO) to MIDI. Silent Way CV To OSC Converts CVs (from e.g. CV Input, or the LFO) to OSC. Silent Way DC Generates a simple constant CV. Also provides simple CV scaling/offsets. Silent Way ES-4 Controller Supports the Expert Sleepers ES-4 hardware module.
Silent Way LFO A versatile low frequency oscillator. Silent Way Logic Project Stores project settings specific to Apple Logic Pro. Silent Way Quantizer Quantizes CVs e.g. to a musical scale. Silent Way SMUX Allows use of all 8 outputs from an ES-3 module when running at 88.1/96kHz. Silent Way Soundplane Supports the Madrona Labs Soundplane instrument. Silent Way Step LFO An LFO most often useful as a step sequencer. Silent Way Sync Generates clock pulses (including DINsync).
Silent Way AC Encoder Introduction Silent Way AC Encoder removes the need for a DC coupled audio interface (see above) and lets you use Silent Way with almost any audio interface. For this to work, you must either: • • make some special cables, or use a hardware module specifically designed to work with Silent Way AC Encoder, for example, the Expert Sleepers ES-1 module. The cables are a very simple job, well within the scope of anyone with basic soldering skills.
In Use To use Silent Way AC Encoder simply insert an instance of the plug-in on each track that is generating CVs, after all the other plug-ins. The AC Encoder receives the CVs as inputs and uses them to modulate a very high frequency audio signal, which is then output from the audio interface. Each channel has a small number of controls, as follows. Enable This button simply enables the AC Encoder’s processing.
Silent Way CV Input Introduction Silent Way CV Input provides a means of getting control voltages from an analogue synth into the computer, which is not normally possible since the DC voltages of CVs are blocked by the inputs of all current audio interfaces. Once inside the computer, CVs can be recorded, or processed as any other signal before being output back to the synth. It operates as a stereo or mono plug-in. In stereo mode, the two channels are independent and have identical controls.
new instance) which is put in ‘Decoder’ mode. The output of this plug-in is the desired CV. Note that the Generator level (see below) defaults to zero so you need to turn it up before anything will happen. The reason for this is to avoid situations where you might accidentally feed the generated signal out to your speakers and cause damage to your equipment/hearing/sanity. Unipolar/Bipolar Operation CVs can be unipolar - i.e. they take positive values only e.g. 0V-10V - or they can be bipolar - i.e.
To the right of the menu are the controls that apply in Decoder mode. The ‘Bipolar’ button puts the Decoder into Bipolar mode, as discussed above. The ‘Scale’ knob is a simple multiplier on the CV. It can take negative values in order to invert the signal. The ‘ES-2 Offset’ control is used only in ‘ES-2 Decoder’ mode - see below. The ‘Smooth’ control has the same effect as that in the DC plug-in (see below).
Silent Way CV To MIDI Introduction Silent Way CV To MIDI translates CV signals (such as those produced by Silent Way CV Input, for example) into MIDI messages. These can in turn be used to control all sorts of software and hardware devices. Used in conjunction with, say, Silent Way LFO, the CV To MIDI plug-in provides a standalone means of generating MIDI LFOs, giving Silent Way an application to musicians who have no analogue gear at all. Silent Way CV To MIDI operates as a stereo or mono plug-in.
Setup Once you have your CVs entering the plug-in (a simple matter of audio routing) you will also need to set up the MIDI target i.e. the destination to which the plug-in sends MIDI. This will either be a hardware MIDI port attached to your computer, or a virtual ‘bus’ used to route MIDI to other software within the computer. Selecting the Target The field along the bottom of the plug-in GUI shows its MIDI target.
On OS X, you can use the system’s built-in ‘IAC Driver’. To set this up, open the ‘Audio MIDI Setup’ utility, show its MIDI Window, and double click on the IAC Driver item that you see there. On Windows, you will have to use 3rd party software, for example Hubert Winkler's Hubi's Loopback Device or Jamie O'Connell's MIDI Yoke (both freeware). Using the connection to Silent Way Learner Enabling the ‘Learner’ button causes the plug-in to send its output directly to Silent Way Learner.
0 will generate a CC value of 0, and a CV value of +1 will generate a CC value of 127; CV values below 0 will be clamped and generate CC values of 0. Sending MIDI note messages Press the ‘Note’ button to enable sending of MIDI note messages. Both note on and note off messages can be generated. The three drop-down menus select the behaviour of the plug-in in terms of when messages are sent. Where a ‘gate signal’ is referred to below, this is taken from the CV entering the opposite plug-in channel.
The ‘Length’ control allows you to set a maximum length (in milliseconds) for any note. When this is set to a value other than ‘Off’, a note off message will be generated for the preceding note on message after the specified time, if one has not already been generated e.g. by the closing gate. The ‘Centre’ and ‘Slope’ controls relate the incoming CVs to the generated MIDI note numbers. ‘Centre’ sets the note number when the incoming CV is zero; ‘Slope’ controls the rate of change of note number with CV.
Silent Way CV To OSC Introduction Silent Way CV To OSC translates CV signals (such as those produced by Silent Way CV Input, for example) into OSC messages. These can in turn be used to control all sorts of software and hardware devices. See the Expert Sleepers YouTube channel for some ideas. If you’re unfamiliar with OSC, start by visiting opensoundcontrol.org. Silent Way CV To OSC operates as a stereo or mono plug-in. In stereo mode, the two channels are independent and have identical controls.
You can use either a numeric IP address (e.g. 127.0.0.1) or a hostname (e.g. localhost) to identify the host. This should be followed by a colon (‘:’) and then the port number. Browsing for Targets (OS X only) To the right of the Target field is a button labelled ‘Browse’. Clicking this brings up a dialog which lists all the OSC services on the network that are advertising themselves via ‘Bonjour’.
Other Controls The two channels have a small number of other controls in addition to the OSC Path. Enable The ‘Enable’ button simply enables that channel for producing OSC messages. By default it is off, so you’ll want to turn it on to see anything happen. Threshold The ‘Threshold’ control sets a limit below which a change in CV will not emit a new OSC message. Think of it like a noise gate in the audio world.
Silent Way DC Introduction Silent Way DC is a simple plug-in that generates constant output signals. It is intended to be used in conjunction with parameter automation (via MIDI or directly by the host application) to generate varying signals. For example, you could use it as an LFO where you draw out the LFO waveform in your host’s parameter automation GUI. It operates as a stereo or mono plug-in. In stereo mode, the two channels are independent and have identical controls.
If both ‘Out 0->1’ and ‘Out -1->1’ are used, the output is simply the sum of the two settings. Multiplier Scales the values set by the two ‘Out’ knobs. This can be useful if you’ve set up a pattern you like automating the Out knobs and you just want to scale the overall output level. Input Add Sets the level of the input to the plug-in that is added in to the output signal. Input Mult Sets the amount by which the input signal is used to multiply the output signal.
Silent Way ES-4 Controller Introduction The Silent Way ES-4 Controller plug-in is a special element of the Silent Way plug-in suite, dedicated to controlling the Expert Sleepers ES-4 and ES-40 modules. Unlike most of the rest of the Silent Way plug-ins, the ES-4 Controller does not time out, allowing unrestricted use without a Silent Way licence. However, some advanced features of the ES-4 Controller are only available to owners of a active licence.
A note on MIDI channels The ES-4 Controller packs a lot of functionality into one plug-in, and to address all of that functionality via MIDI, the various blocks of the plug-in let you choose which MIDI channel they respond to. However, not all DAWs pass MIDI to plug-ins on multiple MIDI channels. Ableton Live, for example, always passes MIDI to plug-ins on channel 1, no matter what the MIDI channel of the messages arriving into Live itself.
Specifies the ES-4 output to use for the gate signal (an on/off CV signal reflecting whether a note is held or not). You can choose any of the ES-4’s 5 outputs, or one of the 40 possible Gate Expander outputs. Setting this to ‘Off’ disables the gate signal. Vel Specifies the ES-4 output to use for the velocity signal (a CV reflecting the velocity of the MIDI note being played). You can choose any of the ES-4’s 5 outputs. Setting this to ‘Off’ disables the velocity signal.
There is a pair of controls for each of the ES-4’s 5 channels i.e. the 5 possible Gate Expanders. “Channel” sets the MIDI channel to respond to, or “Off”. “Base” sets the base note to respond to, which will control the Gate Expander’s output 1. The remaining 7 outputs will be controlled by the 7 MIDI notes above the base note e.g. if the base note is 48, outputs 1 to 8 on the Gate Expander will be controlled by notes 48 to 55. There is a demo video of this here1.
MIDI Out This section allows a Gate Expander output to be used as a MIDI output. Because the ES4’s outputs are derived from an audio signal, the MIDI messages sent from an ES-4 are free from the timing problems often associated with regular (e.g. USB) MIDI interfaces. Note: The MIDI out feature is fully supported when the input sample rate is 48kHz or above. In particular, it may not work reliably at 44.
Swing has two controls. The knob sets the amount of swing, in percent. 50% means no swing (the middle sixteenth note is 50% of the way between the neighbouring notes, as normal). Higher values of swing make the middle note later; lower values make it earlier. At 100%, the middle note is right on top of the following note. The dropdown menu chooses between sixteenth and eighth note swing.
Note that MIDI sent through these virtual ports does not maintain the sample accurate timing, which can only be achieved by sending MIDI from the DAW to the plug-in in the usual way. Output Indicators The row of numbers just above the ‘Triggers’ button show the values currently being output on the 5 ES-4 output channels. Inputs This section controls the routing of other signals into the plug-in and on to the ES-4. The plug-in has 8 inputs, organised as 4 stereo pairs.
These inputs simply route audio (or CVs) from the selected plug-in input to the relevant ES-4 output. This is how you would, for example, use the Silent Way LFO plug-in to send LFO signals out of the ES-4. Input Modes These menus work in conjunction with the input 1-5 options above, and define how the incoming audio/ CV stream is mapped onto the ES-4’s output range. ‘Unipolar’ means that positive inputs from 0.0 to 1.0 will be mapped to the ES-4’s output range (0 to 255).
Panic Button The button marked “Don’t Panic” has the same effect as if the plug-in received a MIDI “All Sound Off” message on every MIDI channel. That is: • • • notes stop sounding on any active MIDI/CV channels all gates close on active gate channels All Sound Off messages are sent to the MIDI output, if in use. Interface Category The Interface Category drop-down menu allows you to inform the plugin of what kind of audio interface will be outputting the plug-in’s signal.
Silent Way ES-5 Controller Introduction The Silent Way ES-5 Controller plug-in is a special element of the Silent Way plug-in suite, dedicated to controlling the Expert Sleepers ES-5 module. Unlike most of the rest of the Silent Way plug-ins, the ES-5 Controller does not time out, allowing unrestricted use without a Silent Way licence.
Silent Way ESX-4CV Combiner Introduction The Silent Way ESX-4CV Combiner plug-in is a special element of the Silent Way plug-in suite, dedicated to controlling the Expert Sleepers ESX-4CV module. Unlike most of the rest of the Silent Way plug-ins, the ESX-4CV Combiner does not time out, allowing unrestricted use without a Silent Way licence. In Use The ESX-4CV Combiner is a 6-in, 2-out plug-in.
The “Thru” input chooses a stereo pair of inputs which will receive a signal from another Silent Way plug-in which is outputting a signal for the ES-4/5 e.g. from the ES-4 Controller, from Silent Way Sync (in ES-4 mode) or from the Voice Controller (in ES-4 mode). Use this input to stack plug-ins on a single track to address multiple ES-4/5/expanders at the same time. The drop-downs labelled “1” to “4” choose a plug-in input that will be routed to the corresponding output of the ESX-4CV.
Silent Way ESX-8CV Combiner Introduction The Silent Way ESX-8CV Combiner plug-in is a special element of the Silent Way plug-in suite, dedicated to controlling the Expert Sleepers ESX-8CV module. Unlike most of the rest of the Silent Way plug-ins, the ESX-8CV Combiner does not time out, allowing unrestricted use without a Silent Way licence. In Use The ESX-8CV Combiner is a 10-in, 2-out plug-in.
Inputs The “Inputs” section sets up the routing from the plug-in inputs to the hardware outputs. Each control may be set to “Off” which disables that input. The “Thru” input chooses a stereo pair of inputs which will receive a signal from another Silent Way plug-in which is outputting a signal for the ES-4/5 e.g. from the ES-4 Controller, from Silent Way Sync (in ES-4 mode) or from the Voice Controller (in ES-4 mode).
Adaptive Mode The ‘Adaptive Mode’ button controls whether the plug-in will update all eight of the hardware outputs continuously (non-adaptive mode), or only those outputs that are changing (adaptive mode). In general the best performance will be in adaptive mode, unless you want the precise timing of the output updates to be predictable, in which case you may prefer non-adaptive mode. As an example, assume that the system is running at a sample rate of 48kHz.
Silent Way Follower Introduction Silent Way Follower tracks the pitch and envelope of incoming audio, and outputs pitch and envelope CVs accordingly. Follower The “Follower” section defines some basic parameters of the pitch and envelope detection processes. Source The “Source” drop-down sets whether the plug-in operates on its left input, its right input, or a sum of the two (“L+R”).
from 200-400Hz, adjusting the filters to 200Hz and 400Hz or thereabouts might help the detection process. Env Gain The “Env Gain” knob is a simple gain control on the signal, provided as a convenience to get the envelope CV into a healthy range. Env Attack and Release The “Env Attack” and “Env Release” knobs define time constants for the maximum rate of change of the envelope CV. Env Gate The “Env Gate” knob sets a threshold on the envelope level, below which the envelope CV goes to zero.
If “Calibrated” is selected as the Pitch Mode, neither of these two knobs is used. Instead, a calibration profile generated by the Voice Controller plug-in is used to determine the relationship between tracked frequency and output voltage. The “Load” button is used to load a calibration file saved from the Voice Controller. The “Transfer” button transfers the calibration directly from the last-calibrated Voice Controller (without the need to save the calibration file to disk).
Outputs Each output (left and right) has a group of controls which define how the pitch and envelope CVs are finally output by the plug-in. The “Pitch” and “Env” knobs are simple mixer controls, defining how much of each signal leaves by the output in question. The “Smooth” knob is the same as in many other Silent Way plug-ins (described above). Graphical Displays At the right side of the plug-in GUI are two graphs, showing how the detected pitch and envelope are changing over time.
Silent Way Function Introduction Silent Way Function applies simple mathematical operations to incoming CVs. It is intended to be primarily useful for processing CVs entering the computer via Silent Way CV Input or directly from an Expert Sleepers ES-6 or ES-7 module, in ways that are hard to implement in hardware, making the computer itself a useful utility module in a modular system. However, you can (ab)use it however you wish; you can feed audio through it if you like extreme waveshaping effects.
Enable The ‘Enable’ button activates processing on the relevant channel. If the channel is not enabled, signals pass through it unmodified. Function The ‘Function’ drop-down menu allows you to choose the function that will be applied to the incoming signal. The options are: • • • • Linear - a simple linear function. If no scale and offset are applied (see below) this doesn’t modify the signal at all. Logarithm - the output is 1.0 plus the logarithm (to base 2) of the input.
Silent Way Learner Introduction Silent Way Learner is the hub for controlling the Silent Way plug-ins from the outside world - specifically, via MIDI and via OSC. MIDI is passed to the plug-ins by the host application/DAW. Using the Learner, MIDI can be sent to any or all plug-ins and used to control the receiving plug-in or any other, greatly simplifying the task of getting MIDI from your MIDI controller to the plug-in you want to control.
First, click the parameter you want to control in the plug-in UI. This will be reflected in the Learner display, under “Active Parameter”. Now, click the “Learn Active” button in the Learner. The Learner is now listening for MIDI messages. Any Silent Way plug-in in your setup can receive MIDI, including the Learner itself. When it finds a message it can use, the Learner automatically maps it to the active parameter, and the parameter is now controlled by that MIDI message.
OSC Control Silent Way defines a unique and consistently-formed OSC path for every parameter in every plug-in loaded in your setup. This makes it straightforward to create templates for control of Silent Way in popular OSC-sending apps such as TouchOSC1 and Lemur 2. There is a demo video of Silent Way Learner’s OSC capabilities here3.
to 7000 (the default) and the Port is set to 1, then the plug-in listens on port 7001. Setting up the controlling device The device/application sending OSC to the Learner needs to know the computer’s IP address, and the port as defined above. How you enter that information depends on the sender. For example, this page1 describes the setup in TouchOSC on iPhone. On Mac OS X only, Silent Way Learner supports ‘Bonjour’ (aka ZeroConf).
You also need to tell the Learner the IP address and port of the remote device/app. This is done in the same way as in the CV To OSC plug-in, above. Again, Bonjour is supported on Mac OS X only. Advanced Usage There are some special OSC paths that you can form, beyond the basic single parameter control already described. Wildcards In the Long and Compact path forms, the LUID can be “*” (an asterisk) instead of a number, in which case the message controls the parameter on all plug-ins of the same type.
Silent Way LFO Introduction Silent Way LFO, as its name suggests, is intended as a low frequency oscillator, performing the same functions as LFOs in any other synth e.g. vibrato, filter cut-off modulation, autopan effects etc. It operates as a stereo or mono plug-in. In stereo mode, the two channels are independent (except in ‘Quadrature’ mode - see below) and have identical controls. In mono mode, the ‘Right Channel’ controls are not used.
Speed Controls Two controls set the basic frequency of the LFO - the large ‘Speed’ knob on the left and the ‘Multiplier’ drop-down beside it. The Speed knob sets the LFO frequency in Hz (cycles per second). The Multiplier drop-down lets you choose a number by which the frequency is multiplied. The options are 0.1, 1, 10 and 100. So for example if the Speed knobs is set to 5Hz and the Multiplier is set to 100, the actual frequency of the LFO will be 500Hz.
sor. So for example if the Divisor is 1/8 and the Beats is 3.0, the cycle length of the LFO will be three eighth notes. If the Divisor is 1/1 and the Beats is 4.0, the cycle length will be four bars. Note that while the Beats control only takes integer values when adjusted with the knob it is perfectly happy to be set to arbitrary non-integer values e.g. by typing in a value in the text field, or by setting a value via parameter automation/MIDI/OSC.
Input Mode The ‘Input Mode’ drop-down controls how the plug-in’s inputs are combined with the LFO signal. The options are: • • • Add - the LFO signal is added to the input signal. A typical use for this would be to modulate an incoming pitch CV. Multiply - the LFO signal is multiplied with the input signal. If for example the input signal is an envelope CV, this gives the effect of the LFO depth being modulated by the envelope.
Reset By Note The ‘Reset’ button, when enabled, causes the LFO to retrigger (i.e. start from the beginning of its waveform) whenever the plug-in receives a MIDI note-on message. This is useful when you effectively want to use the LFO as a complex and looping envelope generator, instead of a traditional free-running LFO. The ‘Phase’ button sets the point in the waveform that the LFO jumps to when reset by a MIDI note.
Silent Way Logic Project Introduction Silent Way Logic Project is a utility plug-in that is only useful when used with Apple Logic Pro. It allows Silent Way to adapt to certain Logic project settings that affect Silent Way’s behaviour. Usage Logic has project settings for 'Pan Law' and 'Apply Pan Law Compensation to Stereo Balancers'. If 'Apply...
accordingly in plug-ins that control ES-4s & ES-5s. Hence the need for 'Silent Way Logic Project. This plug-in is an AU Generator and so needs to be loaded on a software instrument track in Logic. The pan law settings from Logic should be replicated in the SW Logic Project plug-in's GUI. Silent Way Logic Project itself outputs no signal, and so its track needs no particular routing. In fact the track and even the plug-in can be safely deactivated - it just needs to be present in the project.
Silent Way Quantizer Introduction Silent Way Quantizer is a CV processing plug-in that constrains the incoming (continuous) CVs to a number of discrete values. For example, it can constrain a pitch CV to exact semitone values. This is especially useful when combined with the Step LFO plug-in in order to accurately sequence musical notes, but it can also be used with e.g. the regular LFO plugin, or with the Voice Controller plug-in to turn portamentos into discrete glissandos.
In Use A video demonstrating the various plug-in parameters is available on the Expert Sleepers YouTube channel here. As in the video, using an oscilloscope can help in visualising the effect of the controls. The ‘Enable’ button enables quantisation on the channel in question - if the channel is not enabled, CVs pass through unchanged. The ‘Mode’ drop-down menu selects between ‘Manual’ and ‘Calibrated’ modes, as described below.
Using Scales When in Calibrated mode, you can also activate the ‘Scale’ button to restrict the notes produced to musical scales. The ‘Key’ and ‘Key Offset’ controls together determine the root note of the scale. They are simply added - the idea being to make it easier to automate variations around a root key. The ‘Scale’ menu determines the nature of the scale used e.g. Major, Minor, Pentatonic.
Using the Quantizer with the Expert Sleepers ES-4 The ‘ES-4’ button replaces the loaded calibration (if any) with one perfectly tuned for the Expert Sleepers ES-4 module, assuming the ES-4’s factory calibration. The output of the Quantizer can then be passed to the ES-4 Controller plug-in, to be routed in turn to the ES-4’s channel 1 or 2.
Silent Way SMUX Introduction Silent Way SMUX provides a hack to workaround the reduction in channel count over ADAT connections when running the audio system at 88.1/96kHz. When using an audio interface to produce your CVs that is connected via ADAT (for example, the Expert Sleepers ES-3 Lightpipe/CV Interface), and when the audio system is being run at a ‘double speed’ rate (typically 96kHz), the number of audio channels that can be sent down the ADAT connection is reduced from the usual 8 down to 4.
Silent Way Soundplane Introduction Silent Way Soundplane is a plug-in dedicated to working with the Soundplane instrument by Madrona Labs1. There is a video demo of the Soundplane being used with Silent Way to control a modular synth here2. Madrona Labs provide a client application which talks to the Soundplane itself via USB. The client then transmits MIDI and/or OSC. It is the OSC which is picked up and used by Silent Way.
Any Silent Way Soundplane plug-in loaded now talks to the Learner behind the scenes to receive the OSC information. You need one plug-in per voice, or per touch, as the Soundplane client refers to it. Set the ‘touches’ control in the client to the desired number of voices and then add the same number of Silent Way Soundplane plug-ins to your setup. Please note that the current version of Silent Way Soundplane supports the OSC format of the Soundplane client v1.0 and above.
The seven controls per row are as follows: Offset This is simply a constant offset. You might use it, for example, to set the centre frequency of a filter around which the other signals modulate. Note The Note output derives from the current pitch that is sounding, via the calibration profile. Gate The gate output is simply on or off, depending on whether the voice/touch is active. You might use this to drive a hardware envelope generator. X The raw ‘x’ position (left to right) of the touch.
Silent Way Step LFO Introduction Silent Way Step LFO is a combination step sequencer and LFO generator. It shares many of the features of the LFO plug-in, but rather than generating waveforms based on simple sine, triangle etc. waves it generates a waveform that the user draws in the GUI. When the waveform is interpreted as a series of discrete values, rather than as a continuous waveform, then the output is that of a traditional analogue step sequencer.
In Use The Speed, Sync, Swing, Asymmetry, Phase, Offset and Smooth controls are all the same as for the LFO plug-in. Please refer to the documentation of that plug-in above before reading on. The ‘Multiplier’ knob is very much like one of the mix controls in the LFO plug-in - it simply scales the whole waveform up & down (and can invert it too). The Sync control has two extra modes as compared to the LFO plug-in: Trig Free and Trig Tempo.
Editing the Steps/Waveform Waveform display The right hand side of the GUI is where you set up the waveform that the LFO will output. It is divided horizontally into a number of steps, each one of which can be set to a value of your choosing. Note that every fourth and every third dividing line is coloured differently, to aid in setting up patterns in standard time signatures. Simply click and drag the mouse to set values. You can set a number of steps in a single gesture.
Interpolation mode The ‘Interpolation’ dropdown menu lets you select between Step and Linear interpolation. When set to Step, the same value is held constant throughout a step; when set to Linear, the values change in linear ramps between steps. Note that the Smooth control offers other options for how the value changes between steps, that can be combined with either setting of the Interpolation menu.
Reset Mode There are four different modes of operation for the reset function (in addition to the selfexplanatory ‘Off’). On - the LFO jumps to the start of step 1 immediately. Delayed If Sync is Transport: the LFO jumps to the start of step 1 at the end of the current • step. I.e. it waits for the current step to complete, and then resets. If Sync is a triggered mode: the LFO jumps to the start of step 1 on the next trig• ger. Otherwise, the same as On.
Random Pressing the ‘Random’ button shows controls for the Step LFO’s random step generator. This is a software take on the popular shift-register based method of random CV generation found in a number of hardware synth modules. Google for ‘random shift register cv’ and you should get the idea. The basic idea is that you have a number of binary ‘bits’ (often 8 or 16 in a hardware implementation) which rotate around a register (essentially a very small element of computer memory).
Set Next This control sets whether the random value replaces the step value that the LFO just stepped to, or the following step value. This makes more sense when the Interpolation mode is Linear. Mode There are two modes, Rotate Right and Rotate Left, which are fairly self-explanatory - they simply control in which direction the bits rotate. Because the right-most bit is always the least significant bit of the DAC, different rotation directions tend to produce different sounding patterns.
Manual DAC The cluster of controls to the right of the Random section allow you to replace the notional ‘DAC’ with a manually set combiner. A DAC can be thought of as a weighted sum of the input signals - if each bit of the register is ‘0’ or ‘1’, then by summing them with weights of negative powers of 2 (0.5, 0.25, 0.125 etc.) a regular binary digital-to-analogue conversion is achieved.
Silent Way Sync Introduction Silent Way Sync generates regular clock pulses or triggers, and in particular can generate a DINsync signal, suitable for synchronising certain old drum machines and synths to the DAW. The plug-in has two outputs (both of which are optional): a clock output and a run/stop/ reset output. In Use When the ‘Type’ is set to something other than ‘Off’, clocks are generated when the host DAW’s transport is running.
Divisor However the number of pulses per quarter note is specified, the ‘Divisor’ control allows the rate to be halved, quartered etc. Multiplier The reverse of Divisor, the Multiplier knob multiples the period of the clock pulses. This is particularly useful for very slow clocks, for example, if you require a clock pulse every 16 bars to reset a sequence. 1st Delay If enabled, causes the first clock pulse after transport start to be delayed slightly.
This feature is activated by setting Beats to a value other than ‘Off’. The value of Beats multiplied by the time set by Divisor (e.g. 1/4 is a quarter note) gives the reset interval. Outputs Each output (clock/run) has three controls that determine the output routing and signal levels. The first sets which plug-in output will carry the signal in question, or “Off” if that signal is not required.
Offset The Offset control applies a small delay or advance in the timing of the clocks, relative to the host’s transport. This can be used to compensate for any difference in the response time of the hardware being synced. Trigger If set to “Off”, the clock pulses are a 50% duty cycle square wave. Otherwise, the clock pulses are fixed-length trigger pulses, and this control sets the trigger length in milliseconds.
Silent Way Trigger Introduction Silent Way Trigger is a simple plug-in for generating a gate or envelope in response to an incoming MIDI note or CV trigger. A typical application would be for triggering drum sounds, where you might have a number of different sounds mapped to different notes. The plug-in has a single output. If you want more than one output per note (e.g. a gate and and envelope) simply use multiple copies of the plug-in set to respond to the same note.
CV Trigger If the plug-in is configured to receive an input signal, you can optionally have it triggered by the incoming signal as well as or instead of by MIDI. Pressing the ‘Enable’ button enables this feature. The ‘Threshold’ knob sets the level the incoming signal has to exceed to trigger the plug-in. Note that this is strictly a DC level, not an amplitude. If you want to trigger the plug-in with an audio signal, precede it with an instance of Silent Way Follower.
Envelope The envelope controls are exactly the same as those of the Voice Controller’s envelopes, though the full controls are always displayed.
Silent Way Voice Controller Introduction Silent Way Voice Controller is a virtual instrument plug-in designed to directly control an analogue synthesiser by generating the appropriate CV and gate signals via an appropriate audio interface. By listening to the synthesiser’s output signal, the plug-in is able to calibrate itself to generate the appropriate pitch CV for the incoming MIDI notes.
Host Logic Plug-in format Comments AU Use instrument version. Load as a multi output plug-in (3x stereo). Use side chain input to get audio in. Create aux channels in the mixer to access extra channels (as you would for e.g. Ultrabeat). Digital Performer AU Use effect version. Extra channels are available via bundles. NB be sure the track that the plugin is to be loaded into is configured with a mono input and a stereo output, else the plug-in will not appear in the list of available plug-ins.
Don’t Panic The button labelled ‘Don’t Panic’ causes any currently sounding note to end - the gate closes, and the envelopes all go back to zero. Calibration The calibration process is quite simple: • • • • Connect the Voice Controller’s pitch output (by default, output 1) to the pitch CV input of the oscillator that you want to control. Connect the oscillator’s output to the Voice Controller’s input. Ideally this would be a direct connection, not through any filter or other processing.
The data is saved in a simple text file, which is easy to read and if necessary easy to edit. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for manually created or adjusted calibration data. Calibration files can also be used with Silent Way Quantizer. A typical calibration file might look like this: Silent Way Calibration Data version: 1 0 -0.98087925 1 -0.96048236 2 -0.94008547 3 -0.91968852 4 -0.89929163 (and so on - this example is truncated.
Each row in the matrix corresponds to an output. Each has eight knobs which mix together the eight possible output signals. The knobs go down to -1.0 so you can add in a negated contribution from a signal. By default outputs 1 to 6 correspond to Pitch, Gate, Env 1, Env 2, Env 3, and Trigger. Initially the output matrix is hidden - reveal it by pressing the ‘Outputs’ button. The eight output signals are as follows: Offset This is simply a constant offset.
Voltages The Voltages section sets the actual output levels that are generated for the Gate, Trigger and Velocity outputs. Gate Clsd/Open Sets the voltages generated for the Gate signal when the gate is closed and open respectively. Trig Off/On Sets the voltages generated for the Trigger signal. Vel Min/Max Sets the voltage range generated for the Velocity signal. Overrides The Overrides section lets you override the pitch and gate outputs, so they’re no longer controlled by the incoming MIDI notes.
Detune The Detune section lets you modify the pitch CV output from its ‘true’ value i.e. the value that would produce the pitch according to the input MIDI note. Bend Rng Sets the range (in semitones) of the pitch bend applied by incoming MIDI pitch bend messages. Transpose Applies a constant detune (in semitones) to the output pitch. Detune Applies a constant detune (in cents i.e. hundredths of a semitone) to the output pitch. Random Applies a random detune whenever a new note is triggered.
complex view which offers all the possible controls on each envelope. Select the view by pressing one of the four buttons above the envelope controls. Simple Env Controls Using the simple controls lets you set up a traditional ADSR (Attack-DecaySustain-Release) envelope shape. The times are calibrated in seconds. For very fast times, remember that holding Shift while dragging the mouse increases the resolution of the changes.
Env Misc The Env Misc group contains three more controls per envelope. The Vel 1/2/3 knobs control how much Envelope 1/2/3 respectively are affected by the velocity of MIDI notes. At the default setting of 0.0 the envelope is not affected by velocity at all. At a setting of 1.0, the scale of the envelope is completely determined by the velocity - so a note with velocity zero will produce a constant zero envelope. At a setting of -1.0, the envelope depth is inversely related to the note velocity.
Note that these settings only affect the Voice Controller’s internal envelopes. When using external envelope generators, you have the following options: • • • If you just use the Gate output, you will end up with the same result as described for ‘Retrig Off’ above. If your envelope generator has a retrigger input as well as a gate input (for example, the Analogue Systems RS-60), you can connect the plug-in’s Trigger output to the retrigger input to achieve the ‘Retrig On’ behaviour.
Host Comments Live Set the master’s output to ‘Sends Only’ (effectively disabling it) and set each voice to receive input from the output of the master’s track. Logic Set the master to output to a bus, and use this bus as the sidechain input for the voices. NB remember to prevent the bus from directly outputting to an audio output. Digital Performer Set the master to output to a bus, and use this bus as the sidechain input for the voices.
Trigger The ‘Length’ control sets the length of the trigger pulse that is emitted whenever a new note begins, in milliseconds. Hardware Modes The Voice Controller offers direct compatibility with the Expert Sleepers ES-4 SPDIF/CV Interface module, ESX-4CV CV Expander module and ESX-8CV CV Expander module. The controls for these modes are shown by pressing the ‘H/W’ button. Hardware The Hardware menu selects which device the plug-in is driving.
header on the ES-4/40/5 the expander is connected to. Default Calibrations ‘Create ES-4 Calibration’ overwrites the current calibration (if any) with a perfect 1V/ octave curve, assuming the ES-4’s hardware factory calibration. The 0V point is set to MIDI note 48 (C below middle C) - you may like to use the Voice Controller’s Transpose setting if this is not suitable for your needs. You would almost certainly want to create a calibration in this way if using ES-4 Mode (above).
Preferences Pressing the ‘Prefs’ button brings up a dialog where various preferences are set. These settings are shared by all instances of Silent Way, and are not stored with presets. The top section shows the product version. The central section will show your serial number once you’ve bought a registration. Skin Allows you to choose a skin for the plug-in GUI. See below. OSC Base Port Sets the base port number for OSC. See the documentation for Silent Way Learner. Eye candy Enables the pretty graphics.
Constant redraw Is on by default. If turned off, the GUI is only redrawn when a control changes. Use this if you’re concerned that the GUI is wasting your CPU resources. Floating tooltip Causes the parameter name and value display (usually in the top right of the GUI) to be displayed above the mouse pointer. VC output arrangement See the description in the Voice Controller section, above.
Skinning Preamble From Silent Way v2.0.0 onwards it is possible to completely redefine the plug-ins’ GUIs. Possible changes range from simple colour scheme changes through to a complete redesign and rearrangement of the controls. The skin GUIs are defined by script files, and by any graphical resources the scripts use (e.g. images for the buttons and knobs).
Anatomy of a Skin Skins use the standard Mac OS X bundle system. Since this is essentially just a folder hierarchy with a special structure, this works just fine on Windows as well. Skin location Skins must be stored in a particular location. Clicking the “Open skin folder” button in the Preferences window will open up a Finder (OS X)/Explorer (Windows) window showing where skins need to be installed.
Notes on the AAX versions There are a small number of differences/limitations in the AAX versions as compared to the Audio Unit or VST versions. • • • The keyboard modifier for 'reset to default' is 'option' for the AAX version to be consistent with other Pro Tools plug-ins. Plug-ins with multiple inputs (e.g. Silent Way ES-4 Controller) are limited to the main stereo input 1/2 plus one extra mono input - this is a limitation of Pro Tools's sidechain implementation.
Version History 2.4.3 2/2/15 • • • • Added support for MIDI output of Song Position Pointer. Added support for MIDI output of sysex data to the AAX version. Fixed a possible crash when using the OSC browse dialog in 64 bit hosts. Added ‘Match Note Offs’ feature to Silent Way ES-4 Controller and Silent Way ES-5 Controller. 2.4.2 1/9/14 • • Silent Way ES-4 Controller now supports MIDI output at 192kHz. Silent Way ES-5 Controller now supports MIDI output at all sample rates, including when used with SMUX.
2.2.1 20/8/13 • First 64 bit AAX release for Mac OS X. 2.2.0 10/4/13 • • • • • • • • • • Added Silent Way Logic Project. Added controls for Interface Categories. Silent Way Step LFO can now be reset and/or triggered by MIDI notes and/or incoming CVs. Added ‘Gate Length’ control to Silent Way Step LFO. Added ‘Random’ feature to Silent Way Step LFO. Silent Way CV To MIDI, VST version, can now output MIDI direct to the host. Silent Way CV To MIDI can now output MIDI directly to Silent Way Learner.
2.0.0 28/8/12 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Added Silent Way ES-5 Controller, Silent Way ESX-4CV Combiner, Silent Way Follower, Silent Way Learner and Silent Way Soundplane. Silent Way ES-4 Controller is now part of the main Silent Way suite. All plug-ins are now installed in a single bundle (OS X)/dll (Windows). 64 bit support (OS X and Windows). New GUI look. Added skinning. Added MIDI learn. Added new OSC control features. Double-click to reset knobs to default.
• • Added visual feedback of the LFO’s position in its cycle to Silent Way LFO. Added a ‘Create ES-4 Calibration’ button to Silent Way Quantizer. 1.6.10 19/9/11 • Added ‘Transpose’ and ES-4 mode options to Silent Way Voice Controller. 1.6.7 21/4/11 • Added the ‘Output arrangement’ option to the VST versions of the Silent Way Voice Controller plug-in. 1.6.6 30/3/11 • Fixed the Windows version of the Silent Way CV Input plug-in for compatibility with the Expert Sleepers ES-2-2 module. 1.6.
1.5.5 28/4/2010 • Extended the range of Silent Way LFO’s Beat Divisor parameter down to 1/128th notes, in order to address a problem with setting up the VST versions of the plug-in to output DIN Sync. 1.5.4 20/4/2010 • Fixed a bug in the Silent Way Quantizer plug-in that could cause the quantized note name to be displayed incorrectly when in ‘Calibrated’ mode. 1.5.3 29/3/2010 • Added the VSTi version of the Silent Way Voice Controller plug-in. 1.5.
1.4.1 28/9/2009 • Added 'AU Generator' variants of Silent Way DC & LFO. 1.4.0 25/9/2009 • • • • • Added Silent Way Trigger plug-in. Added smoothing option on all outputs of all plug-ins. Added ‘swing’ feature to Silent Way LFO. Added portamento feature to the Voice Controller. Fixed a bug that would very occasionally cause the GUIs to be corrupted. 1.3.0 4/9/2009 • • • Added polyphonic support for the Voice Controller plug-in. Added envelope Reset To Zero controls. Updated all plug-ins for OS X 10.
1.0.2 3/7/2009 • The Voice Controller VST plug-ins are no longer virtual instruments, they are effects. This allows Cubase to handle them properly. 1.0.1 30/6/2009 • The Voice Controller AU now defines 3 stereo busses rather than 1 6 channel bus, which allows Logic to handle it properly. 1.0.0 29/6/2009 • ! First release.
Contact The Expert Sleepers website is here: http://www.expert-sleepers.co.uk/ Or you can email info@expertsleepers.co.uk Or you can use the Expert Sleepers forum, which is here: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=85 Or you can use the dedicated Silent Way forum, which is here: http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewforum.
Acknowledgements The software described in this manual makes use of the following open source projects. The author is greatly indebted to them for their efforts and generosity. Below are reproduced the various copyright notices and disclaimers that accompany these software projects, in accordance with their terms of use. Lua Copyright (C) 1994-2008 Lua.org, PUC-Rio.
glew The OpenGL Extension Wrangler Library Copyright (C) 2002-2007, Milan Ikits Copyright (C) 2002-2007, Marcelo E. Magallon Copyright (C) 2002, Lev Povalahev All rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE MATERIALS OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE MATERIALS. FreeType The FreeType Project is copyright (C) 1996-2000 by David Turner, Robert Wilhelm, and Werner Lemberg.
