User Guide

A look at control features in general
25
A new sonic dimension in the age of the remix
Neuron is an instrument of the remix era.
Contemporary pop music no longer clings to the
notion that musical sounds or themes must be newly
developed or composed. Instead, music-makers mine
the rich seam of our musical heritage for material;
good ideas are recycled and developed further. A
drum loop is sampled to create another - the fact
that the first drum loop was already sampled from an
old record notwithstanding. And so it goes ad
infinitum.
Neuron captures the musical spirit of the time.
Rather than dipping into a single well – a particular
form of synthesis or sound source - Neuron draws
buckets full of musical material from every well. It
has the power to develop every sound further. It does
not matter if the source is a lone flute sound or an
entire song. What for the conventional synthesizer is
the end of the sound generation chain is only the
beginning for Neuron. There are no more rules or
boundaries.
Like the remix changed the face of pop music,
Neuron’s unique powers of resynthesis open up a new
dimension in creative musical endeavor, offering
unprecedented opportunities for individual
expression to both musicians and non-musicians.
A look at control features in general
Neuron’s extraordinary user interface is another
crucial feature alongside its innovative synthesis
engine. Our philosophy dictates that every Hartmann
instrument is easy to understand and use, that it
handles intuitively, and that it makes discovering
new technology fun. To live up to that promise, we
were compelled to invent several new control
features. The tactile experience of generating sound
via Neuron is something entirely apart from what you
have encountered with conventional synthesizers.
The layout of the external operating panel mirrors
Neuron’s internal signal flow and provides a vivid
visual reference to how individual modules interact.
Its control features are arrayed logically. Striking
visuals draw your attention to key functions and
fundamental settings. The graphics of secondary
functions incorporating several control features are
homogenous, denoting their common ground and
shared purpose.
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