semi-mod lar analog synthesizer Operation Man al
Written and produced by Jered Flickinger Copyright 2007 Future Retro Synthesizers
1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 2. Welcome Overview Power Care Warranty Rack-Mount or Desktop 3. Installing the side pieces Getting Started 4. I want to play it now! Basic system setup 5. Basic Patch Sheet Connections 6. MIDI and 1/4” Connections 7. 1/4” Connections 8. 1/4” and Power Connections Overview of Analog Synthesis 9. Frequency Harmonic Content 10. Amplitude Internal Signal Routing 11. Diagram Controlling Your XS 12. Using MIDI 13. MIDI to CV/Gate Converter 14.
2 INTRODUCTION Welcome to the world of XS! Thank you for choosing the XS semi-modular analog synthesizer. Please take time to read through the entire manual for a complete understanding of the operations and procedures needed to master this instrument. Contents Included with your XS synthesizer, you should find an external power supply, optional desktop ends, owner’s manual, and warranty card.
3 RACK-MOUNT OR DESKTOP Have it your way The XS can be used as either a rack-mount or desktop unit. All units come assembled with the rack ear option installed at the factory. If you prefer to place the XS on a desktop, the rack ears may be removed and these desktop pieces may installed in their place. Remove the two Phillips screws on each of the rack ear end pieces, and install the desktop pieces as shown below.
4 GETTING STARTED I want to play now! To play the XS, follow these directions in order. 1. 2. 3. 4. Connect the XS to an audio system as shown in the illustration below. Connect the MIDI IN of the XS to the MIDI OUT of your controller keyboard or sequencer. Set the front panel controls of the XS as shown in the illustration on page 5. You’ll need to set the MIDI channel control on the XS to the same MIDI channel your keyboard or sequencer is sending MIDI information on. 5.
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6 CONNECTIONS MIDI IN: Information received at the MIDI IN jack can be used to play the sounds of the XS. Use a MIDI cable to connect this input to an external sequencer or keyboard’s MIDI OUT. MIDI THRU: All information received at the XS MIDI IN jack will be sent out the MIDI THRU jack. Use a MIDI cable to connect this output to another device’s MIDI input for creating a daisy chain between multiple MIDI units.
7 CONNECTIONS WAVE B: This is a dual-function output of the waveform selected for Oscillator B. This is a stereo output, although mono cables can be used here without any problem. If using a mono cable, you can insert it all the way for the tip signal or pull it out one notch for the ring signal. The tip of the jack provides a continuous output of Oscillator B’s selected waveform. The ring of the jack provides the same waveform, but the amplitude of this waveform is controlled by Envelope 1.
8 CONNECTIONS ENV 1+/-: This is a dual-function output of Envelope 1. This is a stereo output, although mono cables can be used here without any problem. If using a mono cable, you can insert it all the way for the tip signal or pull it out one notch for the ring signal. The tip of the jack provides a positive polarity of Envelope 1 ranging from 0 to +10 volts. The ring of the jack provides a reverse polarity of Envelope 1 ranging from +10 to 0 volts.
9 OVERVIEW OF ANALOG SYNTHESIS The XS is a true analog synthesizer, which is capable of producing an infinite amount of sonic textures. All aspects of a sound can be changed instantly by the controls and switches located on the front panel. The settings of these controls are never digitized or stored in memory. Therefore, the sound the XS produces is always a direct representation of the actual control settings.
10 OVERVIEW OF ANALOG SYNTHESIS A sawtooth waveform is one of the most complex shapes, since it contains a fundamental frequency and all harmonics of that frequency. Sawtooth waves are very full sounding and have a unique raspy quality to them. In addition to these four common waveshapes, there are other items which can also be used as audio sources which will be described in more detail later on. You can mix the waveforms of oscillators and other audio sources, together to create more complex tones.
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12 CONTROLLING YOUR XS There are several ways to control your XS. One way is to use MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), a standard developed to allow one electronic instrument to talk to another using only a single 5-pin DIN cable. Nearly all modern electronic instruments have and support MIDI. Before MIDI was developed, the standard practice was to use control voltages and logic gate signals as a means of controlling, modifying, and triggering electronic circuits in synthesizers.
13 CONTROLLING YOUR XS is converted to MIDI TO CV/GATE CONVERTER When MIDI information is received by the XS, the MIDI data is then converted into control voltages and logic gate signals that control the internal analog sound section. These control voltages and logic signals are also available at the 1/4” output jacks, which allows you to control other external analog circuits. The CV OUT signal generated represents the pitch of MIDI notes received.
14 CONTROLLING YOUR XS USING CV/GATE CONTROL SIGNALS External control voltage and logic gate signals can be used at any time in any combination to control the XS, even while MIDI note data is being received. Receiving MIDI data is the default way to play the XS.
15 ANALOG CONTROLS PITCH CONTROL This section determines how the pitch control voltage affects the oscillators. GLIDE TIME: If more than one note is played at a time by a MIDI controller or sequencer connected to the MIDI input of the XS, the XS will activate its internal glide circuit which will slew the voltage from one note to another at the rate set by this control.
16 ANALOG CONTROLS LOW FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR A low frequency oscillator (LFO), is a modulation source whose frequency is generally below the range of human hearing. The LFO provides multiple waveshapes and a variable rate at which it can modify other parameters of a synthesizer. Common uses would be to add vibrato or tremolo to a sound, or to create slowly evolving sweeps or changes to parameter settings.
17 ANALOG CONTROLS OSCILLATOR A Oscillator A is one of the main audio sources in the XS, although it can also be used as a modulation source. This is a wide range, ultra-stable oscillator capable of generating frequencies from approximately 0.5 Hz to more than 100 kHz. OCTAVE: This control is used to transpose Oscillator A through its different ranges. Zero is the default setting for this control.
18 ANALOG CONTROLS OSCILLATOR B Oscillator B is similar to Oscillator A in that it can be an audio source or a modulation source. This is a wide range, ultra-stable oscillator capable of generating frequencies from approximately 0.5 Hz to more than 100 kHz. SYNC: Oscillator B has the ability to sync its waveform to the pitch that Oscillator A is producing.
19 ANALOG CONTROLS FREQUENCY +/-: This control allows Oscillator B’s frequency to be offset approximately –9 to +9 semitones from Oscillator A. When this control is set to its mid position marked with a “0”, Oscillator B should be in tune with Oscillator A (as long as nothing is selected to modulate the frequency of either oscillator). Rotating this control counter clockwise of the “0” mark will decrease Oscillator B’s frequency.
20 ANALOG CONTROLS PULSE WIDTH MODULATION AMOUNT: The PWM control sets the amount of modulation that the PW MOD source will have on Oscillator B’s square/pulse waveform. When this control is rotated fully counter-clockwise, no modulation of the square/pulse wave will occur producing a true square wave. As you rotate this control clockwise, the affect of modulation will increase, causing the square wave to narrow its pulse width duration.
21 ANALOG CONTROLS WAVE C Wave C can be used as an audio source or a modulation source. Consider this more of an accessory module to Oscillator A and B. This control provides three sub oscillators, a ring modulator, white noise source, and access to any external audio source. The 1/8 setting will select a square wave sub oscillator, which will be one eighth the frequency (or 3 octave below) the frequency of Oscillator B.
22 ANALOG CONTROLS OSCILLATOR MODULATION The oscillator modulation section is used to route internal and external modulation sources to modify the frequency of Oscillators A and B. With these sources one can create numerous effects such as vibrato, FM, cross-modulation, self-modulation, pitch sweeping, and more. When oscillators are modulated with an audio range source, this FM effect can alter a waveforms harmonic content quite drastically for new timbral possibilities.
23 ANALOG CONTROLS The MOD W setting will route the Mod Wheel messages from a MIDI keyboard to modulate Oscillator A’s frequency. With your mod wheel set to 0, there will be no affect on Oscillator A’s pitch. Increasing the value of your mod wheel will cause Oscillator A’s frequency to increase accordingly. The WAV B setting routes Oscillator B’s waveform, as determined by the WAVE B control setting, to modulate the frequency of Oscillator A.
24 ANALOG CONTROLS OSCILLATOR B MODULATION The B AMOUNT, B MOD SELECT, and B ENV 1 controls are used to modulate the frequency of Oscillator B. The B AMOUNT control sets the amount of modulation that the B MOD SELECT source will have on Oscillator B’s frequency. When this control is rotated fully counter-clockwise, no modulation will occur. As you rotate this control clockwise, the amount of modulation will increase.
25 ANALOG CONTROLS The A ENV setting lets Envelope 1 control the amplitude of Oscillator A’s waveform, as determined by the WAVE A control setting, to modulate Oscillator B’s frequency. This provides a more traditional form of FM where the modulation source varies its amplitude over time. The B ENV 1 control sets the amount of pitch sweep that Envelope 1 will have on Oscillator B’s frequency. When this control is rotated fully counter-clockwise, no pitch sweep will occur.
26 ANALOG CONTROLS FILTER The most common way to alter the harmonic content of a sound is by using a filter. The XS provides a 12 dB filter with four filter types including lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and notch responses. There is also a cutoff control for determining the frequency of the filter and a resonance control for accentuating these frequencies.
27 ANALOG CONTROLS FILTER MODULATION The filter modulation section of the XS provides a way to animate the cutoff frequency of the filter. KEY FOLLOW: The key follow control allows the filter cutoff frequency to track the pitch of notes received from a MIDI keyboard, when this control is rotated fully clockwise. With this control rotated fully counter clockwise, no key tracking will occur.
28 ANALOG CONTROLS AMOUNT: The amount control sets the amount of modulation that the MOD SELECT source will have on the filter’s cutoff frequency. When this control is rotated fully counter-clockwise, no modulation will occur. As you rotate this control clockwise, the amount of modulation will increase. MOD SELECT: The mod select control selects which modulation source will be used to alter the cutoff frequency of the filter.
29 ANALOG CONTROLS The WAV B setting routes Oscillator B’s waveform, determined by the WAVE B control setting, to modulate the filter’s cutoff frequency. Use this to create direct FM modulations when Oscillator B is in its audio range, or to create slower sweeping effects when Oscillator B is producing frequencies below the audio range.
30 ANALOG CONTROLS ENVELOPE 1 An envelope generator is designed to accurately and repetitively sweep sound parameters such as pitch, tone or amplitude in a way which would be physically impossible for human hands to do. Envelope 1 is the main modulation envelope in the XS. It can be used to modulate the frequency of the internal oscillators and filter, as well as control external devices.
31 ANALOG CONTROLS ACCENT The accent section determines how Velocity messages received from a MIDI keyboard will affect the envelopes in the XS. The exception here is that if an external control voltage is inserted into the VEL IN jack, this external control voltage will override Velocity messages received from the MIDI keyboard, allowing the external control voltages to trigger the accent circuit instead.
32 ANALOG CONTROLS ENVELOPE 2 The XS provides four envelope types to help shape the amplitude of a sound passing through the amplifier. These envelope types include attack/decay, attack/sustain/release, accented decay/sustain/release, and accented decay/normal decay. Only two controls, however, are required to set these various envelope times.
33 ANALOG CONTROLS AMPLIFIER The amplifier is used to shape the overall volume or amplitude of a sound. The XS provides four envelope types to help shape the amplitude of sounds passing through the amplifier. These envelope types include attack/decay, attack/sustain/release, accented decay/sustain/release, and accented decay/normal decay. The amplifier’s envelopes are also Velocity sensitive to add dynamic expression to your playing.
34 PATCH NAME: __________________________________
NOISE KICK Nice sine wave kick with white noise attack. Connect the WAVE B jack to the FILTER OUT jack.
36 TECHNO KICK Tight kick using just the filter self oscillating.
SNARE DRUM Electronic snare drum, similar to the classics. Connect the WAVE B jack to the FILTER OUT jack. Notice how we take the output of WAVE B and insert it into the FILTER OUT jack. By doing so we sum the output of the filter with WAVE B.
38 HAND CLAP Electronic hand clap sound. Try varying the velocity of notes to change the duration of the clap.
HIGH HATS Electronic high hat sounds. Try playing with the filter cutoff frequency, Oscillator B’s frequency and modulation amount to dial in the tone. Adjust envelope 2’s attack and decay controls to vary the open/closed high hat durations. Use varying velocity values to trigger open or closed high hat durations.
40 DISTORTED BASS / LEAD Nice and crunchy, just the way we like! Record mod wheel movements in your sequencer to animate the filter cutoff frequency. And experiment with play notes with different velocity values, and selecting different filter types.
FUNKY TRANCE LEAD Nice full lead sound. Play different velocity values to vary the attack portion of the sound. Adjust the mod wheel to change the filter frequency.
42 CLASSIC SYNC LEAD Your typical synced lead sound. For a more aggressive sound, try increasing the overdrive amount. Play notes with varying velocity values to change the brightness of the filter frequency.
PHAT SAW Nice in-your-face bass sound. For bass bin rockers, try selecting Octave –1 and the sine wave for Oscillator B.
44 ACID BASS Not quite a 303 but similar. Use Mod Wheel messages to control the filter cutoff frequency. Try using the different filter types, and increase the overdrive for a more aggressive sound.
JUNGLE BASS Nice warbling tones for your subs. Increase the mod wheel setting to increase the warble effect.
46 WINDING DOWN More of a typical sci-fi transition effect. Experiment with various control settings to suit to your taste.
BUZZY BASS Nice bass with some added high frequency content.
48 8 BIT TALKING BASS Nice lo-fi bass sound. Try varying the velocity notes are played.
ELECTRIC BASS More realistic bass sound. Try playing notes with different velocity values to achieve a pluck / strum effect.
50 PHAT STACK PHASED Thick lead sound. Here we use the notch filter to obtain a phased sound. Adjust the LFO rate to change the phasing rate.
GRINDER Metallic-like tones, nice for low end trance pads.
52 MIDI SYNCED PSEUDO ARPEGGIATOR Play notes on your MIDI controller or sequencer to control the pitch. Try setting the LFO to different clock divisions. Connect the LFO OUT jack to the GATE IN jack. If Envelope 1’s Key Sync control is set to ON, Envelope 1 can then be retriggered by both the LFO and any MIDI notes received by the XS. If the Key Sync control is set to OFF, only the LFO will trigger Envelope 1.
COMPUTER This is more of a chaotic beep generator patch. Connect the LFO OUT jack to the GATE IN jack.
54 STRANGE BEATS Here’s one way to mangle your beats. If your drum machine has stereo outputs, route one channel to the AUDIO IN jack, and the other to the GATE IN jack. In this way the audio is also triggering the envelope generators. But you need to make sure the output of the drum machine is loud enough to trigger the envelopes in the XS. As an alternative, you could connect the FILTER OUT jack directly to your mixer, or you could use MIDI notes to trigger the envelopes as well.
55 TIPS AND TRICKS LATCH A NOTE In some cases you may find it desirable to latch a Note On to create droning-type sounds without having to constantly play a note on a MIDI keyboard or sequencer. To do so, play a note on your MIDI keyboard and then change the MIDI Channel control to a different value, and then release the key of your MIDI keyboard.
56 TIPS AND TRICKS USING CV IN AS AN ADDITIONAL MODULATION SOURCE Although the CV IN jack is designed for V/Oct control voltages to generate semitone steps of pitch in the oscillators, you can also use this input as an additional FM input to modulate the internal oscillators. Make sure you select which oscillator you want to modulate with the external control voltage using the CV Track control.
57 TIPS AND TRICKS SUB OSCILLATOR SYNC When you are syncing Oscillator B’s frequency to Oscillator A, listen to the effect this has on the different Sub Oscillator waveforms provided in the WAVE C section. The results can be quite pleasing with their pitches stepping in unusual ways. SUB OSCILLATOR SELF MODULATION The Sub Oscillator waveforms provided in the WAVE C section are derived by dividing the pitch that Oscillator B is generating.
58 TROUBLE SHOOTING WARM UP Due to the nature of analog circuits, you will want to let your XS warm up for about 15 minutes before playing the unit. This allows the unit to reach its typical operating temperature, which will provide the best tuning and performance. NO SOUND? First, check the power supply is plugged into the wall outlet and into the XS, and the XS is turned on (power LED should be lit).
59 SPECIFICATIONS MIDI Channel: 1-16 MIDI Messages Recognized: pitch C2 to C7, Note On/Off, Pitch Bend -/+ 2 semitones, Velocity, Mod Wheel, MIDI clock LFO Waveshapes: triangle, saw, square, random Free Running Rate: (MIDI SYNC off) 4 seconds to 18 Hz MIDI Clock Divisions: (MIDI SYNC on) 8 bars, 4 bars, 2 bars, 1 bar; 1/2, 3/8, 1/3, 1/4, 3/16, 1/6, 1/8, 3/32, 1/12, 1/16, 1/24, 1/32 note divisions OSCILLATOR A Total Frequency Range: 0.
60 SPECIFICATIONS FILTER MODULATION Key Follow: 0 to 100% Velocity: amplitude control for Envelope 1 Modulation Sources: external source, LFO, LFO controlled by Mod Wheel, Mod Wheel, Waveform B controlled by Mod Wheel, Waveform B, Waveform B controlled by Envelope 1, Waveform C Envelope 1: negative and positive polarity covering 10 octaves ENVELOPE 1 Key Sync: on/off (retriggering) Attack Time: 0.
