OWNER’S MANUAL
Owner’s Manual
Copyright © 2004, by Way Out Ware, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, from or to any form of media, without the prior written permission of Way Out Ware, Inc.. Requests for permission to reproduce any part of this work should be addressed to : Way Out Ware, Inc., attn: Copyright Adminstration, info@wayoutware.com.
Table of Contents 1 1 The ARP 2600, 1970 – 1981 and onward... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 System Requirements, Installation, Configuration, Setup and Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 In this chapter you will find all of the platform-dependent information you need in order to install and operate your TimewARP 2600 software synthesizer. 3 The Craft of audio Synthesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The ARP 2600, 1970 – 1981 and onward... 1 The ARP 2600 was the second product of ARP Instruments. It was released in 1970, and continued until the manufacturer ceased operations in 1981. Its design combined modularity (for studio flexibility, and for instructional use) and integration (for realtime performance). Functionally, the ARP 2600 was completely modular: any signal output could be routed to any signal input, with a patch cord.
CHAPTER 1 - The ARP 2600 Foreword Unfasten the seat belts of your mind. The TimewARP 2600 will be an astonishing, exhilarating, and enlightening experience. Creating this manual has been an astonishing, exhilarating, and enlightening experience for me. How many are ever given the chance to revisit an earlier life, an earlier project, a project like the ARP 2600 Manual, decades later, and get it right? It’s time travel. I’m grateful to Way Out Ware for providing me that opportunity. When, at Alan R.
CHAPTER 1 - The ARP 2600 How this Manual is Organized This is not a textbook; it’s a survival manual. Chapter 2 is about installing and configuring the software so you can get up and running. Chapter 3 is a brief introduction to the vocabulary and methods of classical analog synthesis, so that we can understand each other throughout the rest of the book.
System Requirements, Installation, Configuration, Setup and Usage 2 In this chapter you will find all of the platform-dependent information you need in order to install and operate your TimewARP 2600 software synthesizer. The TimewARP 2600 provides an extended set of digitally-based features that no hardware-based analog synthesizer can offer. We describe the most important of these in section 2.2. 2.
CHAPTER 2 - System Requirements, Installation, Configuration, Setup and Usage 2.1.2.1 Apple OSX Insert the distribution CD or download the .dmg installer file from www.wayoutware.com. Double click the .dmg installer to initiate installation. If you agreed to the license, a TimewARP 2600 installer icon appears. Double-click it to initiate the installation process. When finished, start Pro Tools and proceed to 2.1.3.1. 2.1.2.2 Windows XP Insert the distribution CD or download the installer file from www.
CHAPTER 2 - System Requirements, Installation, Configuration, Setup and Usage If the current track is mono, the TimewARP 2600 for this track will be configured for one channel of input, and you can select between mono and stereo output. If the current track is stereo, the TimewARP 2600 insert will automatically be configured for stereo throughout. Confirm this, when the synthesizer panel comes up, by observing that the preamp module in the upper left corner has two channel outputs rather than just one.
CHAPTER 2 - System Requirements, Installation, Configuration, Setup and Usage The TimewARP 2600 will allow Y-connections, distributing a single output signal to multiple destinations by holding the control key down while clicking an output that already has a cable connected to it. A second cable will appear attached to the cursor, which can then be plugged into another input. 2.1.6 Using the Sliders and Knobs To adjust a slider or knob, drag it with the mouse.
CHAPTER 2 - System Requirements, Installation, Configuration, Setup and Usage (Mac) or shift (Windows) key and click on the slider, knob or switch image. The responding dialog box offers you both global and patch-specific connections. 2.2.1.1 Global MIDI Map Settings Select the controller number number, either by directly typing it in, or by twiddling the physical control on the MIDI device you intend to use. Set the response curve, polarity, and range.
The Craft of Audio Synthesis 3 This chapter is about the facts – physical, mathematical, and auditory – that make the TimewARP 2600, and the hardware that it emulates, possible. We have to spend a few minutes here distinguishing between physical signals, and the sounds that people hear in the presence of certain kinds of signals. This is important because synthesizer equipment can only deal with signals – physical commotion of one sort and another.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis Another way to record such a signal is, with high-speed digital circuits, to measure the underlying medium many times each second, and store the measured numbers. This is digital recording.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.2.1.1 Amplitude: what’s the diameter of this imaginary circle? 3.2.1.2 Frequency: how fast is it rotating? 3.2.1.3 Phase: when does it start a new cycle? 3.2.2 Complex Attributes Most of the activity that reaches our ears every day is far more complex than just a sine wave. Banging on a garbage can creates a much more complicated sort of vibration than tapping a tuning fork.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.2.2.2.1 Harmonic Series The spectral view of any periodic signal has components at simple multiples of the signal frequency. For example, suppose we examine a sawtooth wave at a frequency of 110Hz. It will have components at 110, 220, 330, 440, and so on. A simple number sequence like this is called a harmonic series.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis Enharmonic Series Enharmonic, in this context, means “not forming a harmonic series.” Some waveforms do not repeat themselves at a regular interval; the spectra of such waves will have components at strange non-integral frequency ratios, or they may have shifting spectral components that die out and reappear. Some percussion instruments, such as kettledrums, or bells, have enharmonic spectral components. Not all spectra are harmonic.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.3 Attributes of Auditory Events “white” noise has equal energy in any two equal frequency bands… 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20K so it’s NOT equal in equal pitch intervals… 20 40 80 160 320 640 1.25 2.5 5 10K 20K octave intervals …even when you use dB for the vertical axis… 0dB -12 -9dB -6 -3 -30dB THIS is why white noise sounds so shrill Of all the thousands of sounds you hear in a single day, only some have a definite beginning or ending point.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.4 How Signals and Sounds Go Together... Sort Of Signal activities, being entirely physical kinds of things, are easily nameable, measurable, catalogable, countable. Sounds, as we pointed out above, are not quite so easily domesticated. The music and other sounds that we listen to correlate in several wellestablished ways with the signals around us; but the correspondence is not simple. There are always surprises. 3.4.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.4.2 Signal Amplitude and Audible Volume This is a very dicey relationship. It is true that, for any given signal, increasing its amplitude will increase the volume of the associated sound. But a lot of other signal characteristics have a greater impact on our perception of volume than amplitude does. For example, the difference between talking and shouting at someone is far more a matter of pitch and spectrum – tone-color – than of mere amplitude.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.4.4 Signal Envelopes and Audible Event-Contours One of the most fascinating areas of audio synthesis is listening for the envelopes of time-varying events. Here there are all sorts of mysteries, in which signal attributes get regularly “misperceived”: frequency variations get heard as volume, spectral evolutions are heard as pitch, and amplitude envelopes generate an elusive spectral twitter. 3.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.5.2 Noise Generators A device that jiggles at random without ever repeating itself is a noise generator. Waterfalls, steam, wind, fans, and such things are all noise generators. 0dB White noise spectrum The spectrum of a noise signal is a statistical distribution of frequency components. (This is the opposite of a sine wave, which is exactly one frequency.) A noise spectrum that is perfectly balanced throughout the musical range is called pink noise.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.6.2 Signal Mixing A signal mixer adds two or more signals together and outputs the result of the addition. This is a more complex signal, usually, than any of the inputs. But not necessarily; if signal B, for example, is the exact inversion of signal A, then mixing the two will produce a signal of exactly zero. Inverters t pu in tp ou ut input output these four signals added (mixed) together make.... two sines added together 3.6.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.6.4.1 Low-Pass Filters f | 4f | 8f | Any device or mechanism that passes along slower motions better than faster ones can act as a lowpass filter. 16f 32f | A lowpass filter in the time domain . . . Picture yourself stirring a cup of tea with one of those little wooden paddles they hand out in the coffee shops. Stir it back and forth, fast. Now slow down. Now imagine the tea has turned to syrup.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.6.4.3 Cutoff Slope This is the rate at which a filter attenuates spectral components, as a function of their frequency. It is usually a multiple of 6dB/octave. 3.6.4.4 Feedback and Resonance It is usually possible, with any signal-processing device or system of devices, to mix some of its output signal back into the input signal.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.6.5.1 Sidebands and Sideband Spectra What happens to the spectrum of a sine wave when we modulate its amplitude? What happens when we modulate its frequency? Clearly, since the signal that results from AM or FM methods is no longer a plain vanilla sine wave, then, in the frequency domain, it must have some additional components. These additional components are called sidebands.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.6.5.2.1 Ring Modulation Whereas a VCA responds only to a positive-going signal at its amplitude-control input, a ring modulator responds to both positive and negative levels at both of its inputs. Its output is simply the product, arithmetically, of the two inputs.
CHAPTER 3 - The Craft of audio Synthesis 3.7 Controlling One Module by Means of Another The modulation methods we’ve just described can be accomplished with voltagecontrolled or digitally-controlled equipment. For example, to set up an AM effect, feed the carrier signal into a VCA audio input, and the program signal into one of the amplitude-control inputs. Likewise, to set up an FM method, route the program signal into one of the frequencycontrol inputs of a VCO. (See section 4.
Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.1 4 Top Row Control Panel Buttons and Indicators Just above the panel graphics, outside the “case” of the TimewARP 2600, is a horizontal row of buttons and indicators for patch storage, import/export, voice-cloning, and other operations. These powerful features of the TimewARP 2600 have no equivalent in the world of analog synthesis; they are unique digital extensions of the original ARP 2600 synthesizer. 4.1.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.1.4 Save As Button. The Save As button saves the current patch configuration and settings under a group, category, and patch name of your choice. Within the Save As dialog, you may create new groups and categories at will. There is no limit to the number of groups and categories you may create. 4.1.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.1.5.1 Import / Export Use the Import / Export commands to write or read entire Groups, Categories, and Patches to/from external files. Export works on whatever items are currently selected; by selecting all of the current groups, you can use Export to make a backup of all of your patches. When you export a single Patch, the names of the Group and Category for the patch are exported with it. Import asks you to select the file you want to read in.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.1.7 Reset Button The Reset button removes all patch cords and returns all sliders to a standard position. 4.1.8 MIDI Indicator This virtual LED glows when there is any MIDI input to the TimewARP 2600 – not just keystrokes, but also controller input and sysex dumps. 4.1.9 Output-Level Meter This shows the output signal level. If it reaches into the red segment, your signal will distort. 4.1.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.1.11.3 Load Microtuning You may also load alternate tunings for the keyboard. These are described in Appendix 6.1. The TimewARP 2600 does not allow you to modify these tunings or to save or create new ones. Microtunings are a global attribute of the keyboard; once loaded, the tuning will govern anything you play until you load a different one, regardless of your patch changes 4.1.11.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.1.12 Jacks, Patchcords, and Default Connections The panel has eighty-one mini-jacks. Forty-five are inputs, twenty-nine are outputs, and 7 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.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 So you can listen to this input by opening the VCF input to the mixer, and the Noise Generator input to the VCF. Now experimenting with the two horizontal control sliders at the top of the VCF panel will give you a wide range of filtered sounds. It will be worth your while to experiment thoroughly and systematically with the default signal connections at this point, particularly if you are planning to use the TimewARP 2600 in live performance.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.3.1 VCO 1 VCO 1 generates saw, square, and sine outputs. The sine output is a TimewARP 2600 extension; the original ARP 2600 VCO1 provided just sawtooth and squarewave outputs. The default signal to the first (unattenuated) FM Control input is from the keyboard. The Audio/LF switch above this input switches the mode of the VCO from Audio (10Hz - 20,000Hz) to LFO Mode (0.03Hz – 30Hz).
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.3.3 VCO 3 VCO 3 generates sawtooth, pulse, and sine outputs; the pulse width is manually variable. The sine output is a TimewARP 2600 extension; the original ARP 2600 VCO3 provided just sawtooth and pulse outputs. The default signal to the first (unattenuated) FM Control input is from the keyboard. The Audio/LF switch above this input switches the mode of the VCO from Audio (10Hz - 20,000Hz) to LFO Mode (0.03Hz – 30Hz).
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 ARP 2600, the keyboard control depth was not adjustable. The second and third FM Control inputs are governed by linear attenuators; prewired to these are the ADSR Envelope Generator output and the VCO-2 Sine output. Inserting a patch cord at an input jack automatically disconnects the default signal. 4.5 Envelope Generators The Envelope Generators generate transient, positive-going waveforms, with controllable rise and fall times.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.5.2 AR Envelope Generator The AR Envelope Generator offers variable Attack time and final Release time. Two vertical sliders control these parameters. The generator produces an output only when a gate signal is present at its input. At the onset of a gate signal, the output level rises to +10vV, at a rate set by the Attack slider. When the level reaches +10vV, it remains at this level while the gate signal continues.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.7 Mix/Pan/Reverb Output Module The three functions in this module provide final processing of the output signal. That, at least, is what they are intended for; you may actually use them in other roles, for any purpose you please. If you leave the default connections undisturbed, the module is configured as a two-input Mixer, which feeds a Pan Control and a Reverb unit, which are themselves mixed to feed the final left/right system output channels.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.8 Envelope Follower The Envelope Follower generates, from any audio-frequency input, a fluctuating DC output level directly proportional to the average moment-by-moment input signal amplitude. Its sensitivity is such that, with the input attenuator wide open, a 1V P-P square wave will produce a +10vV output. The maximum output is +10vV.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.9 Ring Modulator The Ring Modulator is essentially a multiplier; from its two inputs A and B it produces the output function A x B / 5. The kind of transformation this effects on input signals depends to a large extent on what they are and on whether the modulator is AC or DC coupled to them. This is selected by the Audio/DC switch at the bottom of the modulator.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.10 Noise Generator (NG) The Noise Generator has two manual controls: one for spectral balance (“color”) and one for output level. The spectral balance is continuously variable from white to red (low-frequency noise output). In the latter case the output falls off at the rate of 6Db/Octave; the pink noise position approximates a -3Db/Octave slope. The level control, at minimum, cuts off the output signal completely.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.12 The Sample & Hold Module (S/H) The Sample & Hold Module produces stepped output signal levels, by sampling the instantaneous value of any signal at its input. The stepped levels produced in this manner are useful for controlling oscillator and filter frequencies and – occasionally – VCA gain. The S/H circuit has a signal input (the waveform to be sampled), a trigger input, and an output giving the result of the sampling operation.
CHAPTER 4 - Modular Components of the TimewARP 2600 4.14 The Virtual Keyboard This has five octaves, 60 keys. The control panel, at the left, is modeled on but not identical to the original ARP 3620 keyboard. 4.14.1 Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) Section The keyboard unit has its own LFO section, independent of any of the standard VCO’s. It can be used in two ways: for vibrato, or for automatically repeated keyboard gates (as, for example, in imitating the repeated notes of a mandolin).
Patching the TimewARP 2600 5 Please see the Patchman.pdf file found on the install disc or at www.wayoutware.com for suggestions. If you are new to audio synthesis, consult the tutorial patch collection.
Appendices 6.1 6 Table of Alternate keyboard tunings Tuning Presets, compiled by Robert Rich 6.1.1 12 Tone Equal Temperament (non-erasable) The default Western tuning, based on the twelfth root of two. Good fourths and fifths, horrible thirds and sixths. 6.1.2 Harmonic Series MIDI notes 36-95 reflect harmonics 2 through 60 based on the fundamental of A = 27.5 Hz. The low C on a standard 5 octave keyboard acts as the root note (55Hz), and the harmonics play upwards from there.
CHAPTER 6 - Appendices 6.1.7 31 Tone Equal Temperament Many people consider 31root2 to offer the best compromise towards just intonation in an equal temperament, but it can get very tricky to keep track of the intervals. 6.1.8 Pythagorean C One of the earliest tuning systems known from history, the Pythagorean scale is constructed from an upward series of pure fifths (3/2) transposed down into a single octave.
CHAPTER 6 - Appendices 6.1.13 Dan Schmidt Pelog/Slendro Created for the Berkeley Gamelan group, this tuning fits an Indonesian-style heptatonic Pelog on the white keys and pentatonic Slendro on the black keys, with B and Bb acting as 1/1 for their respective modes. Note that some of the notes will have the same frequency. By tuning the 1/1 to 60 Hz, Dan found a creative way to incorporate the inevitable line hum into his scale. Bb, B = 1/1 (60 Hz) 1/1 1/1 9/8 7/6 5/4 4/3 11/8 3/2 3/2 7/4 7/4 15/8 6.1.
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