User Manual

BV512 VOCODER
(RECORD+REASON)
822
BV512 parameters
On the front panel of the BV512 Vocoder, you will find the following parameters and displays:
|
Parameter
|
Description
Bypass/On/Off switch In Bypass mode, the carrier signal passes through the device unaffected and the modulator signal is disregarded.
In On mode, the device outputs the vocoded or equalized signal. Off mode cuts the output, silencing the device.
Level meters Show the signal level of the carrier and modulator signals, respectively.
Band switch Selects the number of filter bands (4, 8, 16 or 32) or FFT (512) mode.
Equalizer/Vocoder switch Determines whether the BV512 should work as a vocoder or an equalizer. In Equalizer mode, the Modulator input
is disregarded.
Modulation level display The upper display shows the spectrum of the modulator signal.
Frequency band level adjust The lower display allows you to adjust the level of each filter frequency band, by clicking and dragging the corre-
sponding bar. In vocoder mode this affects the vocoded sound. In equalizer mode, this is where you cut or boost
frequencies. To reset a band to ±0 dB, press [Command] (Mac) or [Ctrl] (Win) and click on its bar in the display. To
reset all bands, select “Reset Band Levels” from the device context menu.
Note: when FFT (512) mode is selected, each of the 32 bars in the display corresponds to several frequency
bands, with bars to the right in the display controlling progressively more bands (due to the FFT bands being lin-
early distributed over the frequency range).
Hold button Clicking this button “freezes” the current filter settings. While the button is lit, the modulator signal doesn’t affect
the sound - the carrier signal is filtered with the settings as they were the moment you activated Hold. Click the
button again to turn off Hold. Hold is also automatically reset (turned off) when you stop sequencer playback - just
like the pitch bend and modulation wheels on synth devices.
This function can be controlled via CV or MIDI, for sample and hold-like effects.
The Hold button is not available in Equalizer mode.
Attack This is a global attack time control, affecting all envelope followers (see “Filter bands”). Normally you probably want
this set to zero, to make the vocoder react as quick as possible. Raising the Attack time can be useful for “smear-
ing” sounds, creating pads, etc.
Not available in Equalizer mode.
Decay Similarly, this controls the decay time for all envelope followers, i.e. how quick the filter band levels drop. Adjust this
according to taste and context.
Not available in Equalizer mode.
Shift Shifts the carrier filters up or down in frequency, drastically changing the character of the vocoded (or equalized)
sound. This parameter can be controlled via CV, for phaser-like sweeps and special effects.
HF Emph
(High Frequency Emphasis)
Boosts the high frequencies in the carrier signal. This is sometimes desired to get a clearer vocoded sound. The
reason is that a carrier signal should theoretically contain roughly equal energies in all frequency ranges for best
results - in a typical synth sound the high frequencies are often weaker than the low frequencies. Raising the HF
Emph control will rectify this.
Not available in Equalizer mode.
Dry/Wet Determines the balance between modulator sound (dry) and vocoded sound (wet). To get the pure vocoder sound,
set this to wet (turned fully right).
Not available in Equalizer mode.