Dr. Device User’s Guide Audio Damage, Inc. Release 1.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Audio Damage, Inc. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Audio Damage, Inc. © 2007 Audio Damage, Inc.
Single User License Grant: Audio Damage, Inc. ("Audio Damage") and its suppliers grant to Customer ("Customer") a nonexclusive and nontransferable license to use the Audio Damage software ("Software") in object code form solely on a single central processing unit owned or leased by Customer. Customer may make one (1) archival copy of the Software provided Customer affixes to such copy all copyright, confidentiality, and proprietary notices that appear on the original.
COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW. IN NO EVENT WILL AUDIO DAMAGE OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST REVENUE, PROFIT, OR DATA, OR FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES HOWEVER CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE EVEN IF AUDIO DAMAGE OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
Introduction Thank you for purchasing Dr. Device, Audio Damage’s combination filter and delay plug-in. Dr. Device’s filter features a warm, resonant four-pole low-pass filter with the overdrive and self-oscillation found in its analog counterparts. The filter section provides several other filter modes as well as an analog-style soft-clipping distortion stage and a very digital-sounding bitcrushing effect. Dr.
Installation Double-click the Dr. Device Installer icon, and follow the instructions. During the installation process the installer will ask you to enter your registration code. Your registration code uniquely identifies your purchase, and you will need it if you need to reinstall your plug-in (for example, after upgrading to a new computer). Keep a copy of the code in a safe location and please don’t share it with your friends.
Operation Dr. Device can be used in a mono, stereo, or mono-to-stereo context. In a stereo context, no summing of the input channels happens; each channel passes through separate filters and delays. Dr. Device is useful as either an insert effect or a send/return effect. Here is a screenshot of Dr. Device, followed by detailed descriptions of its controls.
1. Filter Controls The FREQ controls the cutoff frequency of the filter. Rotate the knob clockwise to increase the cutoff frequency. The RES knob controls the resonance of the filter. As the resonance of a filter increases, the filter's output emphasizes frequencies near its cutoff frequency. In plainer terms, if you turn up the resonance knob, the filter sounds more “synthy”. (Try it—you'll hear what we mean.
Two-pole high pass (shown as “2PHP”): If you've been paying attention you can probably figure this one out for yourself, right? It's a high-pass filter that has a less steep attenuation curve than the fourpole high-pass filter. Use it when you want to create a thinner sound without the drastic low-frequency reduction of the four-pole high-pass filter.
The LEFT and RIGHT knobs control the amount of time that the signal is delayed in relation to the original (post-filter) signal. The delay has a maximum time of two seconds. The exact delay times are displayed in the parameter display at the top of the plug-in’s window. The LEFT knob controls the delay time of the left channel. It operates in the manner you expect: turn it clockwise to increase the delay time. The RIGHT knob is a little unusual.
The FILTER MODE switch chooses between two different tone-control options for the delays. In the BBD position, the delays include a variable low-pass filter whose frequency depends upon the delay time. As the delay time increases, the filter’s frequency decreases, recreating the limited-bandwidth characteristics of analog delays that used “bucket-brigade” delay circuits.
For example, suppose that the X axis of a nubby is assigned to control the filter frequency, the left handle of the X-axis range slider is positioned about ¼ of the way from the left end of the slider, and the right handle is positioned about ¾ of the way from the left end, like this: Now, when you move the nubby all the way from the left edge of the XYZ pad to the right edge, the filter frequency knob will rotate through about half of its range, from about the 10 o'clock position to about the 2 o'clock po
With the LOCK setting, the nubbies are connected together. Moving either nubby moves the other by the same amount, and clicking either nubby also causes the other nubby's Z-axis value to also change from zero to one. A solid line appears between the nubbies when the LOCK mode is engaged. With the LINK setting, the nubbies are connected together but the dark-colored nubby can be moved independently of the light-colored nubby.
The MODE buttons control Dr. Device's motion recorder. The motion recorder is a built-in automation mechanism that records and plays back the movements of the nubbies. Dr. Device makes separate recordings for each nubby, so you can first record a series of movements for one nubby and then record another series of movements for the other nubby while the first one moves by itself. You can also have the motion recorder control the movements of one nubby while you move the other with your mouse.
If the KINETICS button is turned on, the nubbies move by themselves after you move them with the mouse. If you release the mouse button as you drag a nubby, it will continue to move with the same speed and direction that you dragged it. In other words, you can push the nubbies with the mouse and they'll coast in the direction that you push them. (Think of an Air Hockey table.) The nubbies bounce off the sides of the pad area and will continue to move until you turn the KINETICS button off.
MIDI Controllers The VST version of Dr. Device responds to MIDI continuous controller messages. You can use hardware MIDI controllers, such as MIDI slider boxes or the knobs found on some MIDI keyboards, to adjust Dr. Device’s parameters. The VST version of Dr. Device has a simple “MIDI Learn” mode for assigning its controls to MIDI controllers.
use at once, any MIDI assignments you make will not be propagated to the other instances until the next time that your host loads the plug-ins. Dr. Device automatically makes three MIDI assignments when instantiated. The X, Y, and Z axes of the lightcolored nubby are assigned to MIDI control numbers 12, 13, and 92 respectively. You may find these assignments are useful if you happen to own a popular performance-oriented touchpad device and effects unit.
