Owner manual

3
Contents
5 Credits
5 About this manual
6 1: Introduction
6 1:1 Welcome to DCAM: Synth Squad
6 DCAM: Synth Squad at a glance
6 A note on effects
7 1:2 Shared aspects of all instruments
8 1:3 Interface basics
8 Loading presets: preset pickers
8 Other Preset picker controls
9 Preset browser
10 Controlling parameters: initial values (Main view)
10 Fine control over parameters
10 Controlling parameters: TransMod modulation depths
11 TransMod slots
11 Rotary selectors and drop-down menus
11 Numerical text-boxes
11 Buttons
11 Indicator LEDs
12 Parameter context menu
12 Snapping/unit options for tuning and filter cutoff controls
12 On-screen keyboard and performance controllers
13 2: Strobe
13 2:1 Overview
13 Strobe highlights
14 2:2 Oscillator section
14 Oscillator controls
14 Waveform mixing controls
14 Pulse Width controls
14 Direct modulation
15 2:3 Filter section
15 Filter controls
15 Direct modulation
16 2:4 Amp section
16 2:5 Other functions
17 2:6 Modulation
17 Gateable modulators
17 Glide
17 Keytracking (modulation from keyboard pitch)
18 2:7 Strobe signal flow
19 3: Cypher
19 3:1 Overview
19 Background
19 Programming with Cypher
20 3:2 Oscillator section
21 3:3 Shaper section
22 3:4 Filter section: shared controls
22 3:5 Filter section: individual controls for filters 1 & 2
23 3:6 Amp section
23 3:7 Other functions
24 3:8 Modulation in Cypher
24 Gateable modulators
24 Glide
24 Keytracking (modulation from keyboard pitch)
24 Oscillators as LFOs
24 Beating rates as LFOs
25 3:9 Cypher signal flow
25 Osc section
26 Shaper-Filter & Amp sections
27 4: Cypher’s oscillators in detail
27 4:1 Introduction to audio-rate modulation
27 Basics of audio-rate modulation
27 Audio-rate modulation implementations
27 4:2 Frequency modulation
28 Oscillator FM in Cypher
29 Filter FM
29 Envelopes and LFOs
29 Programming hints
30 4:3 Wave modulation
30 Continuous waveshape of Cypher’s oscs
30 Audio-rate waveform modulation
31 4:4 Audio-rate sample and hold
31 Using audio-rate sample & hold
32 4:5 Variable-depth oscillator sync
32 Main uses of osc sync
32 Variable-depth osc sync in Cypher
34 4:6 Beat detune
34 Using the Beat control
34 Beat rates as TransMod modulators
34 Usage with other oscillator functions
35 5: Amber
35 5:1 Overview
35 Divide-down synthesis explained
35 Implementations of divide-down synths
35 String synths in popular use
36 Amber: the next step in divide-down synthesis
37 5:2 Master tuning controls
37 5:3 Synth section
37 Paraphonic oscillator control
37 Filter stage (polyphonic multimode resonant filter)
38 5:4 Ensemble section
38 Paraphonic oscillator control
38 Formant filter stage
38 5:5 Ensemble section chorus stage
39 5:6 Mixer / Amplifier stage
39 5:7 Perform controls
40 5:8 Other functions
40 5:9 Modulation
40 Paraphonic architecture and polyphonic modulation
40 Gateable modulators
41 Synth and Ensemble Envelopes
41 Glide
41 Keytracking (modulation from keyboard pitch)
42 5:10 Amber signal flow
43 6: Common synth functions
43 6:1 Arpeggiator (Strobe and Cypher only)
43 Arpeggiator and LFO
43 Arpeggiator and Keying controls
43 Arpeggiator controls
44 6:2 Keying controls
45 6:3 Glide controls
45 6:4 Settings
46 6:5 Preferences panel
46 Oversampling
46 Perf. Controls (Performance controllers)
46 Managing settings
47 6:6 Visualizer scope
47 Locking and unlocking the Scope
47 Parameter value display
47 6:7 FX versions of synth plugins
48 6:8 MIDI Learn and host automation
48 MIDI Learn
49 Host automation
50 6:9 Program change panel
50 Using the PC panel