futureretro operation man al
TABLE OF CONTENTS & Written and produced by Jered Flickinger Copyright 2008 Future Retro Synthesizers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39.
INTRODUCTION Thank you for choosing the Orb. Please take time to read through the entire manual for a compete understanding of the operations and procedures needed to master this device. OVERVIEW The Orb is a single-track programmable digital step sequencer designed to play analog and MIDI instruments. The Orb is a perfect choice for sequencing our XS semi-modular synthesizer, and various other MIDI and CV/Gate type synthesizers.
MAINTENANCE able to back up the internal memory. So a higher mAh rating provides a longer battery life. POWER Use only the 12 volt AC/AC 1 Amp output power supply provided with this unit. If you should ever lose this power supply, please contact us for a replacement. Never use DC output power supplies, as they will not provide enough current to power the unit properly.
CONNECTIONS 12V AC Connect the power supply provided with your unit in the Power jack located on the bottom of the unit. Use only 12V AC output power supplies rated at 1 Amp to power the unit. DC output power supplies will not provide enough current to power the unit properly. POWER This is the main power switch. Push this switch to turn the unit on and off.
SEQUENCER OVERVIEW USING THE SEQUENCER The Orb is a single-track programmable digital step sequencer for recording and playing back musical patterns and songs. All the information for a pattern can be edited while the sequencer is either playing or stopped. The sequencer automatically saves all changes made to patterns and songs. This allows users to create and manipulate patterns live and hear the changes as they are made.
While a pattern is playing, you can change its direction to play forward or backward by using the same technique as above. Hold the Shift/Clear key and then press the Play key. When the loop point for the currently playing pattern is reached, the sequencer will change the playback direction.
To edit patterns, you must be in Pattern mode (the Song key indicator will be off). First select the desired bank and pattern for the pattern you wish to edit. Once the pattern is selected, press the Pattern key to enter Pattern Edit mode (the Pattern key indicator will turn off). All pattern editing can be done while the sequencer is stopped or playing, which allows you to hear the changes you make.
The Step key indicators for these positions will also change to show how the previous sustained note was shortened. By writing a sustained note over previous notes, the previous notes will no longer be heard. You can use this method to change a sustained note’s duration. Any new notes written over a sustained note’s Note On will override the entire sustained note. The only exception is that you cannot write a 16th note over a sustained note’s Note On.
RECORDING ACCENTS Accents written into the sequencer are transmitted over MIDI as low/high Velocity values, and they also generate a +10 volt positive polarity gate for 100% duration of the accent step at the Accent jack for controlling analog synthesizers. To record or place accents for notes, first select the pattern you want to edit and then enter Pattern Edit mode. One of the Step key indicators will be flashing to show the current step selected to be edited.
SELECTING THE AMOUNT OF SWING The Orb’s Swing function will delay the playback of all evennumbered steps. This can be used to add a more human feel to patterns. To change the swing amount, first select the pattern you want to edit and then enter Pattern Edit mode. Press and hold the Swing/Tempo key and the display will show a value ranging from 0–3. While holding the Swing/Tempo key, use the Up/Down keys to select a new value of swing. A swing value of 0 means no swing will occur.
SHIFTING PATTERNS It is possible to shift all the contents of a pattern forward or backward in time from where they currently are. This is a useful feature if you have already created a pattern, but need to offset the notes’ timing so that they are aligned with the beat correctly. To shift a pattern, first select the desired pattern to be edited and then enter Pattern Edit mode. Press and hold the Shift/Clear key and then use the Up/Down keys to shift the pattern Up (clockwise) or Down (counter-clockwise).
23 16 15 14 13 12 6 5 24 Step Note Pitch Accent Glide Loop Comments: A blank pattern sheet is provided on the following page. Photocopy the pattern sheet and use it to write down the contents of a pattern, as well as make notes. 1 2 3 4 Pattern # Tempo: 7 8 9 10 11 Swing: Time Signature: Bank # Pattern Name: When the Remix function is on, the two rotary switches located in the Remix 1 and Remix 2 sections will be used to select different remix patterns.
WORKING WITH SONGS SELECTING SONGS Selecting a song is done in the same way that patterns are selected, except that you must be in Song mode. To enter Song mode, first stop the playback of the unit and press the Song key. Its indicator will turn on, showing that Song mode is currently selected. To select a song, press the Step key indicator (1–16) to select one of the 16 song locations.
To reset the transposition to a value of 0 for all the song steps, press and hold the Shift/Clear key, and then press the Xpose/Paste key. This will allow all of the patterns in the song to play at their original programmed pitches. SETTING THE LOOP POINT FOR A SONG A loop point is recorded into a song step to indicate that this will be the last step played before the sequencer goes back to the beginning of the song and starts playing it again.
Song Name: Step Tempo: Bank Pattern 29 Song Name: Transpose Step Tempo: Bank Pattern 30 Transpose
MIDI MODES PLAYING AN EXTERNAL MIDI SOUND MODULE You can play external MIDI sound modules with the Orb’s sequencer. For this setup, connect the MIDI Out of the Orb to the MIDI In of the external MIDI sound module. When accents or glides are programmed in the sequencer, they may have a totally different effect on the MIDI sound module’s sound, depending on how the module is set up to respond to Velocity changes or two keys being played at the same time.
PLAYING VOLTAGE CONTROLLED SYNTHESIZERS The Orb provides a CV (control voltage) output, along with a Gate output for playing pre-MIDI and modular analog synthesizers. The CV that the Orb generates is the most widely used 1 volt per octave standard. The Gate signal that the Orb generates is a positive polarity-type gate ranging from 0 volts (Note Off) to +12 volts (Note On).
USING THE ORB AS A MASTER CLOCK Using the Orb as a master clock allows other sequencers and drum machines to synchronize their playback to the Orb. In this configuration, the Orb acts as the master device that allows it to control the start, stop, and tempo for all the sequencers connected. For this setup, connect the MIDI Out of the Orb to the MIDI In of the devices you wish to synchronize. To set up the MIDI parameters in the Orb, press the Song key (the Song indicator should turn on) to enter Song mode.
SYNCING THE ORB TO AN EXTERNAL CLOCK The Orb can synchronize its playback to any other MIDI sequencer. In this setup, the Orb acts as a slave where the start, stop, and tempo are all controlled by another MIDI device. For this setup, connect the MIDI Out of the master sequencer to the MIDI In of the Orb. To set up the Orb’s MIDI mode, first press the Song key (the Song key indicator should be on) to enter Song mode. Now press the Accent/MIDI key to enter MIDI mode.
USING THE ORB AS A MIDI TO CV CONVERTER When the Orb’s MIDI mode is set to EXTernal, you can convert external MIDI messages from a MIDI controller or another MIDI sequencer into the appropriate CV/Gate signals needed to control an analog synthesizer connected to the Orb. This is similar to what a standalone MIDI to CV converter does.
MIDI PROGRAM CHANGE The Orb supports MIDI Program Change messages. These messages allow other MIDI sequencers to remotely select patterns to play within the Orb, or the Orb can select patterns remotely in other MIDI sequencers that support Program Change messages. The Program Change messages sent by the Orb can also be used to select different sound patches in an external MIDI sound module. and respond to MIDI Program Change messages. Use the Up/Down keys to select the appropriate setting.
MIDI SYSTEM EXCLUSIVE The Orb supports MIDI System Exclusive messages (SysEx), for saving and loading your patterns and songs to other Orb units, our Revolution units, or MIDI SysEx computer programs. The pattern and song SysEx format used in the Orb is universally compatible with our Revolution product. In this way, patterns and songs may be transferred from one unit to the other.
SYSEX INFORMATION MFG ID=07 CHANNEL#=01 MODEL#=77 RAW DATA TRANSFER/PACKET=512 BYTES PACKET SIZE ENCODED=604 BYTES GENERAL HEADER INFORMATION PACKET SIZE INFORMATION 1 BANK 1 PACKET 604 BYTES ALL BANKS 16 PACKETS 9,499 BYTES 1 SONG 14 PACKETS ALL SONGS 224 PACKETS 132,843 BYTES When transferring SysEx data to another device, make sure the receiving device has the available buffer size before attempting to download or save the files.
ADDITIONAL NOTES CREATING A DEFAULT PATTERN As stated earlier in the sequencer operations section, clearing patterns only removes Note On and duration information. You might want to create your own default pattern and save it to a special pattern location, such as bank 16, pattern 16. This pattern could then be programmed however you wish, perhaps with all 16th notes written at the pitch of C3. Or something that you would consider a nice starting point for creating your other patterns.
REMIXING SLICED AUDIO BEATS There are several software and hardware devices now available that allow you to sample a measure’s worth of music and slice it up into individual beats. If you have access to one of these devices, you may benefit by using the Orb to remix these audio slices into new arrangements. For the best results, divide the original measure of sampled beats into 16 equal parts.
TRANSPOSING THE XS USING MIDI It is possible to play the XS with the Orb, and to be able to transpose the played pitches in the XS using a MIDI keyboard. For this setup, you will need to connect the CV Out of the Orb to the OSC MOD In of the XS, the Gate Out of the Orb to the Gate In of the XS, and the Accent Out of the Orb to the Velocity In of the XS. Connect the MIDI Out of any MIDI controller or keyboard to the MIDI In of the XS. In the XS, set the CV Track control to the A B setting.
CALIBRATING THE ORB’S CV OUTPUT The Orb provides a single access hole on its bottom chassis for calibrating the CV output. This trimmer is set at the factory but may need to be adjusted over time. To make adjustments to the trimmer, we recommend using a small flat-blade screwdriver. Before making any adjustments, turn the unit’s power on and let the unit warm up for at least 15 minutes.
SPECIFICATIONS SEQUENCER • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • NUMBER OF PATTERNS: 256 patterns (16 banks x 16 patterns) RECORDED PATTERN CONTENT: note duration, pitch, accent, glide, loop point, time signature, swing amount NUMBER OF STEPS PER PATTERN: 3/4 time=12 steps max, 4/4 time=16 steps max NOTE PITCH RANGE: C1 to D#6 (internal), C2 to D#7 (MIDI) LOOP POINT: 1 to 16 notes per pattern to loop PATTERN TRANSPOSE: from –36 to +36 notes OTHER PATTERN FEATURES: pattern remixing, play patterns forward or ba
