Tantra 2 Rhythmic Multi-Effect Plug-In User Manual DS Audio, 2021
Welcome to Tantra! Thank you for choosing Tantra! The main idea behind Tantra is as simple as effective: whenever you would like to add some rhythmic pattern to any kind of sound, no matter if they flat or dry, a lifeless basic synth sound or deep evolving pad, if you would like to just reshape your already created complex arpeggiated sequence and make it sparkle in few clicks, let Tantra do the job! With 8 powerful multi-stage sequencers you can create rhythmic modulations for various modules like filter,
Table of Contents Installation System requirements Installation Activation User Interface Working with knobs MIDI Learn Locking parameters Working with value fields Working with buttons, switches and selectors The Top Bar The Layer Effects Section Common elements Filter Distortion Delay Lo-Fi Flanger Glitch The Modulator section Drag and Drop Modulator settings Curve mode Steps mode The Master Section Equalizer Reverb Master output The Modulation Matrix Credits Updates, Support and Contact 4 4 4 4 5 6 7 7
Installation System requirements In order to use Tantra you need a system with at least the following specifications: • • • Modern powerful processor with SSE3 support Windows 7 (or higher) or Mac OS X 10.9.X (or later) VST 2.4 or VST 3.X or AAX or AU compatible host software Installation 1. Download please the latest version of Tantra at the Plugin Alliance website: https://www.plugin-alliance.com/downloads/ds_tantra 2.
User Interface The user interface of Tantra is divided into four sections: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Working with knobs The most common GUI control in Tantra is the knob. Although the appearance of knobs may vary, they are all controlled in the same way.
MIDI Learn Many of Tantra’s GUI controls support MIDI Learn. • • • Right-click on the knob and choose “Start Midi Learn” from the popup menu Move the desired MIDI control on your controller. Tantra will automatically detect the MIDI control and assign it to the knob Choose “Clear MidiCC” from the popup menu if you want to remove the learned MIDI control You can save all MIDI control assignments into a MIDI Map. How to work with the MIDI Map presets will be explained later.
Working with value fields Many parameters in Tantra can be controlled via their value fields. The value fields display text information about the associated parameter. You can perform the following actions on the value fields: • • To set the desired value right-click on the value field and select an appropriate menu item from the popup menu. Note that not all value fields have a popup menu.
The Top Bar The Top Bar provides control over different aspects of Tantra behavior Click the Settings button to access global setting and utility functions of Tantra: • • Open User Manual. Shows this user guide Open DS Tantra Web Site. Shows Tantra home page in your browser • Use Current Settings as Default Preset. Allows you to mark the current patch as a template that is loaded when loading the default preset from the Preset Browser Reset Default Preset.
The Preset Browser allows to manage presets available for use in Tantra and includes the following elements: • • The text area displays the current preset name.
The Layer Effects Section The Layer Effects section is the main audio processing part, which process audio and in response to the applied modulations form rhythmic pulsations in your sounds. Tantra provides 2 groups of 6 high quality processing effects. The groups are called Layer A and B. You can switch between Layers by using the Layer selector, located in the Top Bar section: The Master Section contains several layer controls: Layer A and B are organized as two independent stereo channels.
Common elements Each layer effect has a header area, which contains several common elements. With the Mix control you can adjust balance between Wet and Dry signals in the output of the effect module, while the Bypass switch allows you to turn the effect on or off. Click the Randomize to randomly change parameters and modulations assigned to the effect. Right-click on the Randomizer button to reset the effect and modulations to the default state.
Filter Tantra provides a high-quality, analog-modelled multi-mode filter section with basic and advanced types of filters There are 3 serially connected filters available for processing. The Multi-mode filter allows you to choose one of the 18 modes with the Filter Type control: • • • • • • • Clean / Dark LP/BP/HP. New filter models in version 2.x, Analogmodelled, zero delay feedback filter with 12 and 42 dB slope Legacy LP/BP/HP 12 and 24 dB. Filter models from Tantra version 1.x.
Distortion The module offers a high quality multi-stage circuit-modelled distortion The Drive knob controls the amount of amplification of the incoming signal before it enters the distortion stages. Before transforming audio at the main distortion stage it is preprocessed in a special Fuzz stage, which provides a model of a classic analog fuzz pedal. With the Fuzz control you can adjust the amount of pre-distortion, which results in altering the high frequency contents.
Delay The Delay is the most commonly used effect for adding dimension into sounds. Producing rhythmic decaying echoes is another major utility of the module With the Speed L and R control you can adjust the delay time for the left and right channel respectively. The Sync switch defines whether the delay time calibrated in tempo-synced intervals (ON) or in milliseconds (OFF).
Lo-Fi The most common use of the Lo-Fi effect is to destruct the incoming audio signal. Sounds processed by the Lo-Fi effect get a harsh, digital and dirty character The Bit knob allows you to control the amount of sound degradation by reducing the bit depth of the signal. The Lo-Fi module also includes a decimator stage, which destroys your sounds by resampling the signal at a lower sampling rate. With the Rate control you can adjust the decimation factor.
Flanger The Flanger is a common classic effect produced by mixing the input signal and some number of its delayed copies. The Flanger widens your sounds and colorizes them The effect can operate in Flanger and Phaser mode. Use the Flanger control to switch between the modes. Use the Delay control to adjust the delay time between the input signal and its delayed copies. In the Phaser mode, the Delay controls center frequency.
Glitch Glitch is the most creative and unpredictable effect in Tantra. With the Glitch module you can create modern kinds of effects known as «Stutter» or «Buffer effects» The principle behind the Glitch effect can be described as replaying short sections of the incoming audio. The length of the section is defined by the Buffer Size parameter. The value of the Scale parameter determines how many times the recorded section will be repeated.
The Modulator section The Modulator section is the heart of Tantra. Modulators generate modulation signals that define the rhythmic pattern applied to the output sound. Tantra provides 8 Modulators, which generate complex 32-step envelopes with adjustable shape and different operating modes. The Modulators presented in the GUI as 8 tabs in the Modulator section. Use the tab switch to access the settings of each of the 8 Modulators: Drag and Drop Tantra offers an easy way to assign and edit modulations.
Modulator settings All of the 8 Modulators have the same settings. Use the Speed control to define the actual time period for each of the 32 steps used for envelope generation. The value field below the Speed knob provides a popup menu which can be useful for quick selection of a setting. The Sync switch defines whether the generated envelopes are temposynced (ON) or free-running (OFF). Each Modulator has two built-in modules, Tremolo and Pan Flip.
There is the Preset Browser control, which allows you to manage predefined and custom presets for the Modulator and provides the same functionality and GUI elements as the Main Preset Browser in the Main Display section: Next to the Preset Browser there is a Randomizer button. Click the Randomizer button to create a random pattern for the selected modulator’s mode. Right-click the Randomizer button to reset pattern to it’s default state. Modulators in Tantra can operate in two different modes.
In Curve mode you have the following controls available: The Smooth control allows you to control the sharpness of the generated envelope. The more the control is turned to the right the less «clicky» the sound is. You can adjust overall slope of your shape with the Tension knob. The Shuffle knob controls the swing amount applied. The swing effect is produced by pulling every second step of the curve forward in time.
Steps mode The Steps mode allows you to create modulations composed from series of steps with adjustable levels and width. • • • Left-click on the node, hold the mouse button and drag in horizontal direction to define width of the step and in vertical direction to define step’s level.
The Master Section The final processing stage of Tantra is the Master Section. The output signal from the Layer Effects is passed through the Equalizer, Reverb and Master Output in order to form the final output mix. Equalizer The three-band Equalizer in the Master Section can be used to adjust the frequencies of the sound, before it hits the output: Use the Bass, Mid and Treble knobs to control the boost of low, middle and high frequency content respectively. The knobs are bipolar.
Reverb The Reverb effect is used to add a dimension to your sounds. Additionally, when sound is processed by trance-gate kind of effects it can lose its depth. In such cases the Reverb is useful to restore the ambient space. With the Size control you can adjust the size of the simulated virtual room. Use the Decay to define the feedback amount for the reverb delays. The Mix control adjusts the balance between Wet and Dry signal.
The Modulation Matrix There are 24 modulation slots to maintain all modulation assignments in Tantra. You can use the Modulation Matrix page to manage all the assignments. In order to access the Modulation Matrix click the Matrix button: Click the Matrix button again to close the Modulation Matrix page and return to the Master Section. Each slot in the Matrix is used to define the link between Modulation Source and Modulation Target.
Credits Concept, programming, sound design Dmitry Sches Graphic design Dmitry Sches and VOGER Design http://vogerdesign.com https://www.facebook.
Updates, Support and Contact If you have any questions, need help or want to check for updates please visit our web site at http://www.dmitrysches.com Feel free to use the contact form on the website, we are always happy to support you.
