1 Contents Contents Getting Started Introduction.................................................................3 Installation...................................................................4 Adjusting Parameters...................................................4 Programming the Destiny v2 Oscillators.....................................................................6 PWM.............................................................................8 Filter............................................
3 Getting Started 2 note that if you are new to synthesis, parts of this user guide may appear to be ‘a bit heavy’. Please Don’t worry, once you start turning knobs and flicking switches on the Destiny v2, it will all start to make sense. Introduction Congratulations on acquiring the Manx Destiny v2 synthesizer. The Destiny is inspired by a real vintage analog synth, a splendid instrument originally produced some 40 years ago, whose classic sound can be heard on countless popular recordings.
4 Getting Started Installation Please extract the contents of your downloaded RAR file to your VST plugins folder. If you are installing the demo version of the Destiny v2, please copy both the dll file and the folder into your VSTplugins folder: If this folder is absent when the Destiny v2 is launched, the instrument will attempt to create one automatically, but this may be undermined by Windows security systems.
6 Programming -Oscillators The Destiny v2’s oscillators 2 1 1 When playing a guitar, the sound produced originates from the strings. In the case of a synthesizer, the basic sound comes from a section called the ’oscillator’. Just as a guitar can have twelve strings instead of six, so a synthesizer may feature two oscillators instead of one. This is the case with the Manx Destiny v2.
7 Programming -Oscillators ( OSC SYNC CONTINUED ) The important characteristic of oscillator synchronising is that changing oscillator 2’s pitch will change the timbre of the oscillator section but the pitch of both oscillators will track the pitch setting for oscillator 1.
8 Programming -PWM Pulse Width Modulation Both of the Destiny v2’s oscillators output pulse waves, which looks like this: The pulse waves have a feature which the sawtooth waveforms don’t have; The peak to trough ratio can be adjusted. We do this using a parameter known as ‘pulse width’. Pulse Width Pulse Width increased This is a superb feature for two reasons: Firstly, one wave shape - pulse - becomes an infinite number of wave shapes; all pulse waves with different pulse widths.
9 Programming -Filter The Destiny v2’s Filter 2 1 If your not already familiar with audio filters, please refer to our basic introduction in Appendix #1. 3 5 7 9 4 6 8 The Destiny v2 has both a high-pass and a low-pass filter. The high-pass filter can not be modulated and only has one control; Frequency (3). VCF FREQ (1) is the main cut-off control for the lowpass filter, with associated resonance, (2).
10 Programming -Envelopes The Destiny v2’s envelopes Attack Decay Sustain Release The Destiny v2 has two ADSR type envelopes. Envelopes are triggered when a key is depressed; from this point the output of the envelope (used for modulation) will develop over time in a predictable profile, defined by the user, using controls in the envelope section.
11 Programming -Envelopes The Destiny v2 has two envelopes, both triggered simultaneously by depressing a key. The output of these envelopes can be assigned to various parts of the synth; pitch, volume, filter cut-off, and Pulse-Width: Switchable: Envelope 1 or Envelope 2 to Filter cut-off.
12 Programming -Envelopes 8 AUTO REPEAT 1 2 Normally, the envelopes are triggered by key presses, but using switches (1) & (2) you can set up each envelope to be automatically triggered at regular intervals by the LFO (auto repeat). The switch labelled ͚kybd repeat (3), if set in its upper position, will cause this LFO auto repeat for envelope 2 to occur only when a key is pressed.
13 Programming -Envelopes SHORT ATTACK TIMES At extreme settings, the peak of an Destiny v2 envelope can be so snappy that it becomes important to co-ordinate the attack times of the two envelopes, in order to prevent the filter from peaking after the volume has decayed to sub-optimal levels. This is really only an issue when you have some moderate attack time on the filter envelope, zero attack on the volume envelope but a swift decay on the latter.
14 Programming -LFO / S&H Low Frequency Oscillator LFO Destinations Just like the Destiny v2’s main oscillators, the low frequency oscillator (LFO) creates waveforms. Unlike the main oscillators, the LFO is not influenced by which key has been depressed; the frequency is controlled by the slider labeled ‘LFO FREQ in the LFO section of the instrument and it can go down to sub-audible frequencies.
15 Programming - Mixer Section Mixer Section Much of the routing performed on the Destiny v2 is achieved using the mixer section, shown here: AUDIO MIXER 8 Use sliders (2)&(3) to mix the output of the Destiny’s oscillators. The switches below allow you to select between saw and pulse waveforms - you cannot have both at the same time coming into the audio mixer. You can mix in an independent noise source or ring modulation effect (1).
17 Control Panel The Destiny v2 control panel provides all you need to effectively control the synthesizer. Here, you will find a noise source selector, test tone facility, duophony mode selector facilities to load and save patches, a second LFO and more. Please note that apart from the patch memory menus, all controls in this section save with the patch, including Master-Tune and Test-Tone controls.
18 Control Panel Patch menus: Click on the white button labelled ’Patch ‘ in order to select a patch. Note that if you make alterations to a particular patch, those alterations will remain in effect if you select a different patch, but will not be present if you launch the Destiny v2 on another occasion. Copying patches from one memory slot to another can be achieved by clicking on the menu labelled File.
19 Midi Learn / Zoom Continuous Control & Midi Learn Right click on any switch or knob to bring up a menu which will allow you to either manually assign a continuous controller number or use the Midi Learn facility: Simply click midi learn and then adjust the control on your midi control keyboard which you would like to associate with the Destiny v2 parameter. When you save your song the continuous controller assignments will be saved and will be functional when you reopen it later.
21 Appendix One - Audio filters Appendix One: The basics....... You may think of a synthesizer filter as being rather like a single ‘tone’ control that you might find on a home audio system such as a personal CD player.
22 Appendix One - Audio filters Frequency and Waveforms...................a little bit of magic! 8 It just so happens that sound waves don’t like to propagate through air in any form other than a sine wave. It stands to reason; air which is of a higher pressure because of a sound wave will want to expand quickly, but this urgency will dampen off as the pressure returns to normal, and a subsequent rebound in the other direction will complete a sign wave pattern.
23 Appendix One - Audio filters If we add yet another sine wave, higher pitched and quieter than the others, we get this: + = As you can see a regular waveform which is not a sine wave begins to emerge. It turns out that when many different sine waves are added together, the resulting wave-shape can be anything at all. In complex cases such as speech, you are still hearing a ‘chorus’ of sine waves, but in this case, the relative volumes and pitches of those wave would be constantly changing.
24 Appendix Two - Troubleshooting Appendix Two TROUBLESHOOTING & KNOWN ISSUES These issues apply to Destiny v2 version 1.1 and may be resolved in subsequent versions. Defaulting to Patch 1, upon start-up: With some VST host programs, when you reopen a song which contains an instance of the Destiny v2, for some reason the host software tells the Destiny v2 to default to the first patch.
25 Appendix Three - Information for users Appendix Three- Information for users CREDITS We would like to thank the following contributors: Jeff McClintock. David Haupt, Daz Disley, Rob Herder, Rick Jelliffe, Christian-W. Budde & Chris Kerry, who have provided code used in Manx synthesizers.
Thank you for supporting Manx. Other Manx Instruments: Bit 100 v2 MM-2 XS-4 Destiny v2 Gigmate v2 http://www.manxsynthesizers.
