USER MANUAL
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Expressive SAS. “Expressive E”, “Touché SE”, "Lié" and associated logos are registered trademarks of Expressive SAS. Ableton is a trademark of Ableton AG. Mac, MacOS, OS X, GarageBand, Logic, are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and use of them does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by them.
1. Introduction 5 1.1. Downloads & Updates 5 1.2. Installation 5 2. Touché SE 6 2.1. Overview 6 2.1.1. What is Touché SE ? 6 2.1.2. Slave and Standalone 6 2.1.3. Default Behaviour 6 2.2. Mechanism 7 2.2.1. Concept 7 2.2.2. Shiftings 7 2.2.3. Skin 8 2.2.4. Cylinders 8 2.2.5. Slider 8 2.3. Controls 9 2.3.1. Buttons 9 2.3.2. Encoder 9 2.3.3. LEDs 9 2.4. Connectivity 10 2.4.1. Ports 10 3. Lié 11 3.1. Overview 11 3.1.1. What is Lié ? 11 3.1.2.
.1.1. Ableton Live 21 4.1.2. Logic Pro 22 4.1.3. Cubase 23 4.1.4. Presonus Studio One 25 4.1.5. GarageBand 26 4.1.6. Fruity Loop 26 4.1.7. Reaper 28 4.1.8. Bitwig Studio 29 4.2. Creating a new Plugin preset 31 4.5. Adjusting your sensitivity 34 4.5.1. By Parameter 34 4.5.2. For the Top and Bottom Shiftings 34 4.5.3. For the Left and Right Shiftings 34 5. Troubleshooting 35 5.1. Touché SE behavior 35 5.1.1. My Touché SE does not turn on when I plug it. 35 5.1.2.
1. Introduction 1.1. Downloads & Updates Touché SE comes with Lié, its companion software. When you receive Touché SE, you need to update its firmware to make it work properly with Lié. You can find the latest version here : https://www.expressivee.com/downloads 1.2. Installation Once Lié is downloaded, you can start the installation : Double click on "Lié.dmg" (“Lie.exe“ for Windows users) to open it. Inside the installation folder you will find this screen : • "UVI Workstation.
2. Touché SE 2.1. Overview 2.1.1. What is Touché SE ? Touché SE is an instrument that gives you a unique tactile approach for virtual instruments. Shaping and controlling their sound with a simple pressure of your hands, Touché SE gives you a powerful and natural connection with your music. Touché SE controls your plugins with four independent Shiftings : Two vertical and two lateral Shiftings.
2.2. Mechanism 2.2.1. Concept Touché SE reacts to the pressure and gestures you apply to the touch plate, which is called the Skin. It possesses two pairs of complementary Shiftings : Top and bottom / left and right. Those need to be calibrated before you play, it is automatically done when you plug Touché SE.
2.2.3. Skin The touch plate at the top of Touché SE is conceived to give you a great, smooth instrumental touch. This skin is magnetized in order to be removed and locked easily, making an easy access to the Cylinder and the Slider underneath. Be careful when replacing it, it must be put in the right position. The Cylinder must face the two little plastic parts, otherwise the skin won't be properly magnetized. 2.2.4.
2.3. Controls 2.3.1. Buttons In Slave mode, You can use the right and left buttons to navigate through Lié’s presets. Pressing left and right buttons until the LEDs start blinking will re-calibrate Touché SE. Moreover, in Slave mode, the Buttons send the following CCs : • Left : CC 80 • Right : CC 81 2.3.2. Encoder In both Slave and Standalone mode, the Encoder allows you to define Touché SE’s sensitivity. Turning it towards the right will increase sensitivity, turning it to the left will decrease it.
2.4. Connectivity 2.4.1. Ports USB Touché SE is USB powered. You can power it by plugging it to a compute. 0.1A from your USB port is required to power Touché SE. In order to connect Touché SE, we recommend to use the USB cable supplied. You can use any suitable USB cable but we strongly recommend to use short USB cables (less than 2 meters), labeled with an identification code that ends with "24/2C", "24AWGX2C" or "AWG24X2C". Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
3. Lié 3.1. Overview 3.1.1. What is Lié ? Lié is a powerful software with a simple design. Lié works hand in hand with Touché SE in a clear, simple workflow. Lié is a host of plug-ins and is available in both VST and AU flavours, making it compatible with all major DAWs. Lié has advanced features like sensitivity curves, speedmapping, min/max values, preset recalling, tags...
3.2. Interface Lié is divided into four main parts : 1. Menu : Allows you to create and save presets, and access to Settings. 2. Browser : Displays access your library of presets. 3. Slot Center : Allows to link a parameter of your synth to a Shifting of Touché SE. 4. Scope : Displays the pressure you’re applying on Touché SE. This area can also display the Sensitivity Curve Editor. 3.2.1. Menu You can access the Menu by clicking on the icon.
3.2.2. Settings You can access the Settings from the Menu. In the Settings window you can see five different sections : • Plugins : Displays the plug-in folder. This is the place where you scan your VST Plug-ins in order to use them in Lié. To scan your VST Plug-ins, click on “Options” at the bottom of the “Available Plugins” window, then select “Scan for new or updated VST plug-ins”. Your VST Plug-ins will be scanned with the specified default folder. You can choose a custom folder by clicking on the icon.
• Copy the logfiles to the desktop : Creates a system report file when you click on “Get Logger file”. The file will be created on the desktop, named “expressiveeLogfile.zip”. It is an useful file to join if you report a bug. • Install Firmware : Click on “Install firmware” to start the update. Do not unplug Touché SE or quit Lié while the firmware is updated. This operation may take a few moment. While the firmware is updated, Touché SE’s LEDs are pink, meaning that Touché SE is in bootloader mode.
3.2.3. Browser 2 1 1. Preset List All the presets from your Preset folder are visible on this preset list. By default, they are sorted by alphabetical order. Clicking on “NAME” on the top of the list will rank them either by increasing or decreasing alphabetical order. Right clicking on any of the presets in the list shows the option to rename it or delete it. 2. Filters & Tags A system of filters and tags is available to easily browse between presets.
3.2.4. Slot Center In this area, you can control all the parameters of your instrument, by assigning Shiftings and designing curves. Slots 1. Parameter Selection : A drop-down list above each slot makes it possible to choose the parameter you want to attribute to this slot. 2. Shifting Selection : To select a Shifting, click on its position on the slot. When selected, the shifting is displayed in colour. You have 4 different Shiftings, and you can have left and right at the same time. 3.
Toolbar 1. Instrument View : Displays the interface of the hosted plug-in. 2. Random : Sets random assignations for each Slot. If you wish to keep the current assignations, please save your configuration as a preset before proceeding. 3. Flip Curves : Shows sensitivity curves for all 8 Slots. 4. Autoset : Allows the automatic adjustment of the values of the min/max sliders, according to the current value of the parameters from the hosted plug-in.
3. Instrument View You can also select parameters by opening your plug-in interface. For that you need to click on the Above your plug-in interface, you can see 8 numbers. button. Each number corresponds to a Slot. Click on a number then move one of the parameters from your plug-in (a knob, a slider …). The chosen parameter is now mapped to the corresponding Slot, as indicated by the new colour line surrounding the number.
3.2.8. Scope The Scope is a visual display of Touché SE’s Shiftings. Whenever you press on Touché SE, the Scope will display the amount of force you’re applying. You can also monitor useful things like the influence of different sensitivity levels. The scope can also be hidden in favour of the Sensitivity Curve Editor.
3.2.9. Sensitivity Curve Editor You can access the Sensitivity Curve Editor by clicking on the little curve icon just below each Slot, and then clicking on the curve displayed.. The Sensitivity Curve Editor lets you change Touché SE’s sensitivity by changing each Slot’s sensitivity curve. This curve show you how the parameter will vary depending on your movement. The horizontal axis represents the amount of pressure you apply, and the vertical axis the parameter value output.
4. Workflow 4.1. DAW Setup 4.1.1. Ableton Live To use Lié within Ableton Live, you must load Lié on a new MIDI Track. Make sure that your track is armed, and set the MIDI IN of your Track to "All MIDI Input". You can now play with Touché SE and Lié. If Touché SE is not communicating with Lié, check that your track is armed, and make sure that the audio engine is on. If not, choose an audio device from Live's audio Preferences. (Live > Preferences > Audio).
4.1.2. Logic Pro To use Lié in Logic Pro, you must load Lié on a new MIDI Track. Make sure your track is armed and the MIDI IN of your Track is on "All MIDI Input". You can now play with Touché SE and Lié. If you can't find Lié in your Plug-ins, make sure Lié is activated (click on Preferences > Audio Unit Manager) Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
4.1.3. Cubase To load Lié in Cubase , you must add a new MIDI track or click on the instrument selection from an existing track. Choose the synth part layer and select Lié. Make sure that your track is armed and that the MIDI IN of your Track is on "All MIDI Input". Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
If you can't find Lié in the instrument selection, make sure Cubase has the right plug-in path ( Devices > Plug-in Manager > VST Instruments > Settings ). If Touché SE is not communicating with Lié, check that your track is armed, and make sure that the MIDI IN of Touché SE is active in Device > Device Setup > MIDI > MIDI Port Setup. Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
4.1.4. Presonus Studio One First, add Touché SE as a new midi device. To do this, go to Preferences>External Devices>Add.Select “New Keyboard”, then select TOUCHE for “Receive From” and “Send To”. Then, load Lié on a new Instrument Track. Make sure your track is armed and the MIDI IN of your Track is on "All MIDI Input". You can now play with Touché SE and Lié. Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
4.1.5. GarageBand To open Lié in GarageBand, click on SmartControl (1), then on Inspector (2) and select Lié in AU Instruments 4.1.6. Fruity Loop Scan Plugin to find Lié Options > Manage Plugin. Select your Plugin Path and "Start Scan". Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
Enable Touché SE as MIDI Device Options > MIDI Settings. Clic on "Enable" for Touché SE input and select a Port. Loading Lié Load Lié on a track and clic on "VST wrapper settings" (gearing and speakers icon) Now select the same MIDI Input Port as Touché SE. Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
4.1.7. Reaper First of all, in Reaper’s préférences, check that the MIDI input of Touché is enable for control messages. Insert virtual instrument on new track, make sure that your track is armed, and set the MIDI IN of your Track to "All MIDI Input ». Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
4.1.8. Bitwig Studio To use Lié within Bitwig Studio, you must load Lié on a new MIDI Track. If Touché is not communicating with Lié, check that your track is armed, and make sure that the audio engine is on. If you can't find Lié in your Plug-in list, make sure that you have set the right plug-in path in Bitwig’s preferences (Click on File > Settings > File/Folder). Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
4.2. Creating a new Plugin preset 1. Click on “NEW PLUGIN PRESET” in the Menu 2. Select your Plugin Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
3. For one or several of the 8 Slots, choose the parameter you wish to control either by selecting it in the dropdown list above the chosen Slot. 4. Or by clicking on the Instrument View in the Toolbar to use our mapping features 5. Assign the chosen parameter to one of the four Shiftings for each Slot you wish to use. Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
6. Play with your newly created preset, and adjust the min/max values and curve of each Slot if needed. Once you’re happy with your sound, you can save your new preset by clicking on “SAVE AS PRESET” in the Menu. Once you’re glad of your sound, you can save your new preset by clicking on “SAVE AS PRESET” in the Menu. Expressive E Touché SE User Manual v.
4.5. Adjusting your sensitivity Lié and Touché SE offer several ways to adjust the sensitivity of Touché SE. Note that the sensitivity of Touché SE can be affected by how it is calibrated. Touché Self-calibrates each time you power it with its USB cable (learn more in the Concept section). 4.5.1. By Parameter You can adjust Touché SE’s sensitivity by changing each Slot’s curve (see Sensitivity Curve Editor).
5. Troubleshooting 5.1. Touché SE behavior 5.1.1. My Touché SE does not turn on when I plug it. You can force Touché to switch to bootloader mode by pressing both buttons and the encoder at the same time when plugging Touché. If Touché SE switches to bootloader mode, LEDs should turn pink. You’re now able to reupload the firmware with Lié. 5.1.2. My Touché SE does not seem to go back to zero when I do not press.
5.2.3. I can not update the firmware of my Touché SE. If you encounter problems during the firmware update, please check that your Touché SE is not connected via a USB hub or any other USB interface. Your Touché SE must be connected directly to your computer with the USB cable provided with the Touché SE. If the firmware update does not start, or if your Touché SE remains in standalone mode, do not hesitate to force the unit into bootloader mode (refer to section 5.1.1).
