TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide
Table of Contents Getting Started with the TimewARP 2600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 In this document, you’ll learn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 What Is an ARP 2600? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide Getting Started with the TimewARP 2600 Welcome to the TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide. This document covers the product in greater depth than the Quick Start Installation Guide included in the box. For even more comprehensive product information and additional resources for Way Out Ware’s TimewARP 2600, please refer to the PDF manual included on CD.
Why Synthesize? Samplers are synths that use actual recordings of instruments to create sounds, and many synth keyboards use pre-programmed sounds, but a truly modular synthesizer like the TimewARP 2600 lets you CREATE your own sounds from the ground up.
TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide Synth Glossary Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) - simple sound wave generator. Voltage-Controlled Filter (VCF) - a tone-shaping control. A typical EQ is really just a set of filters grouped together. Filter Cutoff (FC) - the point at which a filter begins to reject frequencies. For instance, a low-pass filter will cut highs out of a signal beginning at a certain point, only passing the low frequencies on.
I/O Jacks The panel has eighty-one mini-jacks. Forty-five are inputs, twenty-nine are outputs, and seven operate as both input and output. Of the 45 inputs, 32 are in a row running across the center of the panel. (There are actually 34 jacks in the row, but the two labeled “gate” and “trig” are outputs.) This row of input jacks divides the control surface almost evenly in half. Above this row, in the upper half of the control surface, there are only three input jacks.
TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide Outputs = Inputs = Note that the ADSR section’s GATE jack works as either input or output. Mult or Switch = Labels and Symbols Input jacks are the signals feeding to a module. Patch in these if you want to feed some other signal into the module. Outputs are the resulting signal of a module. Patch in these if you want to divert the output to another destination.
Preamp Section Preamp/Gain Control The Preamp section controls the gain of the audio signal(s) from the track in which the TimewARP 2600 is running. A rotary knob labeled Gain adjusts the signal level. If the TimewARP 2600 is running in full stereo configuration–as a plug-in to a stereo track–the preamp will display two output jacks, one for each stereo channel. Envelope Follower The primary use of the Envelope Follower is with external instruments.
TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide VCO 1 VCO 1 ➊ generates saw, square, and sine outputs. The default signal to the first (unattenuated) FM Control input is from the keyboard. The Audio/LF switch ➋ above this input switches the mode of the VCO from Audio (10Hz - 20,000Hz) to LFO Mode (0.03Hz – 30Hz). When the VCO is in LFO Mode, the default connection to the keyboard is removed.
VCO 3 The VCO3 pulse ➊ width is manually variable, just like in VCO2. VCO 3 generates sawtooth, sine, and pulse ❷ outputs. The default signals to the next three FM Control inputs are from: a) the Noise Generator ❸ b) the ADSR Envelope Generator c) VCO2 sine ❹, which is the output of VCO2’s sine wave generator VCF Filter Cutoff and Resonance Filter cutoff is controlled manually by a coarse tuning slider (labeled initial filter frequency) and a fine-tune slider.
TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide VCF Inputs The VCF has five audio signal inputs. These are fed through linear faders as a summed signal to the VCF itself ❶. The default input signals sources are: < Ring Modulator < VCO-1 Square < VCO-2 Pulse < VCO-3 Sawtooth < Noise Generator The VCF has three Frequency Control inputs ❷. The first is normally from the keyboard pitch control.
VCA With the initial gain control ❶ at maximum, and with no control input, the VCA will pass with unchanged amplitude any signal presented to its signal input. On the other hand, with the initial gain control at minimum, no signal will pass through the amplifier at all unless some positive signal level (the VCA does not respond to negative control signals) is present at one or both of its control inputs.
TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide Ring Modulator The Ring Modulator ❶ adds or subtracts the inputs from VCO1 and VCO2 together. It works with a carrier signal and a modulator. The term “Ring Modulator” is the most common name in sound synthesis and comes from the original analog method for creating this effect: a ring with four paired diodes accompanied by precision transformers. When you add and subtract two signals in the Ring Modulator, the outcome signals are called sidebands.
Sample and Hold The Sample and Hold module produces stepped output signals by sampling the instantaneous value of any signal at its input. The stepped levels it produces are useful for controlling oscillator and filter frequencies and occasionally VCA gain. Any signal whatsoever may be sampled. The default input is from the Noise Generator ❶, so that the step sequence is random. When the signal being sampled is random noise, the output voltages are correspondingly unpredictable.
TimewARP 2600 Getting Started Guide Virtual Keyboard Controls Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) Section ❶ The keyboard unit has its own LFO section, independent of any of the standard VCOs. It can be used in two ways: for vibrato, or for automatically repeated keyboard gates (for example, in imitating the repeated notes of a mandolin). Three sliders govern the Speed, Delay, and Depth of the LFO. Under MIDI control, the keyboard LFO may be synchronized to incoming MIDI Beat Clock signals.
Contact M-Audio We at Way Out Ware have worked diligently to ensure that the TimewARP 2600 is an optimal piece of software for your studio. However, due to the wide variety of host computers and configurations, you may encounter unexpected behavior from your software. If you feel that the TimewARP 2600 is not working properly, you may contact M-Audio Technical Support for assistance. < (626) 633-9055 – Tech Support phone lines are open from 7AM to 7PM PST, Monday through Friday. < techsupt@m-audio.
