1 Contents Contents Getting Started Introduction..................................................................3 Installation....................................................................4 Adjusting Parameters....................................................4 Programming the Gigmate v2 Oscillators.....................................................................6 Filter..............................................................................8 Envelope...................................
3 Getting Started Please note that if you are new to synthesis, parts of this user guide may appear to be ‘a bit heavy’. 2 Don’t worry, once you start turning knobs and flicking switches on the Gigmate v2, it will all start to make sense. Introduction Congratulations on acquiring the Manx Gigmate v2 synthesizer. Back in the early days of synthesizers, even the most basic of instruments cost a fortune to buy and thus ownership was limited to professional musicians and only the most dedicated of enthusiasts.
4 Getting Started Installation Please extract the contents of your downloaded RAR file to your VST plugins folder. Please copy both the dll file and the folder into your VSTplugins folder: If this folder is absent when the Gigmate v2 is launched, the instrument will attempt to create one automatically, but this may be undermined by Windows security systems. (Note: if for some reason you can’t open the RAR file, please let us know and we can send the dll & folder to you directly, via email.
6 Programming - VCOs Meet the Gigmate v2’s oscillators 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 Gigmate (synthesizer section).
7 Programming -Oscillators OSCILLATOR SYNC Syncronisation off / on switch Normally, the two oscillators are free running (simulated); they operate independently. This means that when you press a key multiple times, the resulting sound may not be exactly the same each time, because the oscillators will interact with each other differently each time.
8 Programming - Filter Meet the Gigmate v2’s Filter 1 2 3 4 Under the hood, there is quite a lot going on with the Gigmate v2’s filter. However, from a user’s perspective, the filter functions like any other straight forward low pass filter. If you are already familiar with synthesis, you won’t need to spend a long time reading this section. If you are not already familiar with synthesis, We have provided a brief introduction to the subject of filtering in Appendix #1.
9 Programming - Filter 1 2 3 4 CUT-OFF FREQUENCY (2) - sets the cut-off frequency of the filter. Please refer to appendix #1 for details of cut-off frequency and resonance.. RESONANCE (3) REZ - sets the resonance of the filter. CAUTION: Turning up the resonance can lead to a profound increase in sound volume, perhaps unexpectedly. Please consider both your speakers and your ears and use this feature cautiously.
10 Programming -Envelope Meet the Gigmate v2’s envelope The Gigmate v2 has a single, very straight forward ‘envelope’. The envelope is triggered when a key is depressed; from this point the output of the envelope will develop over time in a predictable profile, defined by the user, using controls in the envelope section. The configuration of these controls varies from one instrument to another, but a popular standard which emerged early on is to have four controls - Attack, Decay, Sustain & Release.
11 Programming -Envelope The Gigmate v2 does NOT conform to the ADSR type configuration. Instead, it has controls for ‘Attack’ and Release’ only. These are named ‘Rise Time’ & ‘Fall Time’. With the sustain switch set to ‘in’, the envelope will hold its peak value until the key is released, at which point the ‘fall time’ stage will kick in. With the sustain switch set to ‘out’, the envelope will proceed to the fall time as soon as the attack phase is completed.
12 Programming -Envelope ENVELOPE TO FILTER CLIPPING Please note that the maximum output from the Gigmate v2’s envelope exceeds the highest cut-off frequency setting (all frequencies allowed through) by a wide margin.
13 Programming -Modulation Modulation Audio Path Polyphonic Section Control Signal Modulation Sources Pitch bend VCO1 Mixer Filter (VCF) Amp (VCA) VCO2 LFO Any Gigmate patch has two main characteristics which can be ‘tweaked’ while a note is being played; pitch & filter cut-off frequency. The modulation section of the Gigmate provides a number of facilities to control these characteristics, including a ‘low frequency oscillator’ (LFO) and portamento slider (Glide).
14 Programming -Mixer Mixer Audio Path Polyphonic Section Control Signal Modulation Sources Pitch bend VCO1 Mixer Filter (VCF) Amp (VCA) VCO2 LFO The mixer allows you to control the mix of the two VCOs and the Polyphonic Section. In addition, you can also mix in a white noise source and a ring modulation effect.
16 Control Panel The last section in this guide dealt with functionality which affects the Gigmate’s sound. This section concentrates on the facilities designed to operate the instrument effectively; Patch memory, test tone facility, volume and bend range. Master Volume: as you would expect. Bend Range: set the range between 0 and +-12 semitones. Poly Wave: controls the Polyphonic Section waveform. Test Tone: Use this to check that the Gigmate is correctly set up within your host software.
17 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 Gigmate v2 parameter. When you save your song the continuous controller assignments will be saved and will be functional when you reopen it later.
19 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.
20 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 sine wave pattern.
21 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.
22 Appendix Two - Troubleshooting Appendix Two TROUBLESHOOTING & KNOWN ISSUES These issues apply to Gigmate 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 Gigmate v2, for some reason the host software tells the Gigmate v2 to default to the first patch.
23 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.
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