Modal SKULPTsynth SE 4 voice virtual-analogue synthesiser User Manual OS Version - 2.
Important Safety Information WARNING – AS WITH ALL ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS, care and general precautions must be observed in order to operate this equipment safely. If you are unsure how to operate this apparatus in a safe manner, please seek appropriate advice on its safe use.
Index 00. Introduction 6 01. Getting Started Basic Functions UI Combinations Presets 8 9 10 13 02. Connections 14 03. Synthesis Engine Oscillators Filter Envelopes LFOs Keyboard FX Modulation Modulation Slots Arpeggiator Sequencer Settings 16 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 27 28 29 30 04. MIDI MIDI Implementation Chart MPE 32 37 42 05. Update 44 06.
00 Introduction Modal SKULPTsynth SE is a portable 4-voice 32 oscillator virtual analogue synthesiser. It features morphable waveforms, state variable filter, a comprehensive modulation matrix, 8 modulation sources, including two audio rate LFOs, a fully featured arpeggiator and a realtime sequencer.
01 Getting Started Basic Functions Powering on SKULPTsynth SE can be powered either through the micro USB socket, or by 6 x AA batteries installed in the underside battery compartment. To use USB power, simply connect the supplied Micro USB cable to a power source, and slide the power switch to the left-hand “USB” position. To use batteries install 6xAA in the battery compartment on the underside of the unit, and slide the power switch to the right-hand “BAT” position.
UI Combinations UI Combinations SKULPTsynth SE is a comprehensive and fully featured synthesiser despite its small size.
UI Combinations Presets There are a number of different latch-able ‘states’ that the panel and keyboard can be set to to allow the the encoders, buttons and touch pads to control alternative functions. If the panel and/or keyboard doesn’t appear to be functioning as expected, please check the following things There are a two types of presets on SKULPTsynth SE, patch presets and sequence presets. Patch presets are arranged into 8 banks of 16 giving you 128 slots in total.
02 Connections SKULPTsynth SE has seven external connections: USB, Line out, Headphones out Clock Sync In, Clock Sync Out, MIDI In and MIDI Out. MIDI (In, Out) Clock Sync (In, Out) MIDI In / Out on MIDI 5-pin DIN cable. These outputs can be used to communicate with any other MIDI devices. (See the MIDI section) Clock Sync In / Out on 3.5mm Mono jack. Simply plug into your clockable gear as desired. (See the Sync section) 14 Line Out USB Line level dual mono output on 3.5mm Stereo jack.
03 Synthesis engine 16 17
Oscillators Filter SKULPTsynth SE features 2 unique morphable waveform oscillators identified by Wave 1 and Wave 2 labels. It has a total of 32 oscillators inside, that’s 4 voices with 8 oscillators per voice. SKULPTsynth SE uses a Modal designed state variable 2-pole resonant filter (capable of morphing from low pass, through band pass, to high pass). • Wave 1: This encoder allows you to sweep continuously thru the waveforms from Sine Triangle - Saw - Square - PWM.
Envelopes LFOs SKULPTsynth SE provides 3 separate 4-stage Envelope Generators (i.e. envelopes), one for the filter (FILT-EG), one for the amplifier (AMP-EG) and one for modulations (MOD-EG). With negative amounts only the attack, decay and sustain levels are inverted, the release phase will still tend to 0.
Keyboard SKULPTsynth SE has some very flexible voicing and MIDI options • Oct -/+ : These buttons control the key range available along the Touch Pads. Tip: You can use this while holding notes to access unavailable notes. Particularly handy when used in conjunction with Chord mode. • Spread: This introduces additional oscillators to achieve unison and stacked octaves, intervals and chords.
FX Modulation SKULPTsynth SE features two built in effects, a waveshaping distortion and a delay. SKULPT synthsiser has a comprehensive Modulation Matrix with 8 Slots, 8 Modulation Sources and 37 Modulation destinations. • Distortion: When holding the SHIFT key this encoder allows us to control the Distortion amount. The distortion is a waveshaping overdrive and as such is incapable of bitcrushing effects.
Modulation Modulation X On SKULPTsynth SE each modulation source has its own dedicated assign button on the front panel. Assign buttons can be latched so you don’t have to hold them while assigning modulation destinations or accessing shift functions! Slots can also be easily muted or cleared by enetering the MOD SLOTS mode. FEG Amount X • FEG Attack X FEG Decay X MEG: Similar to the Assign button, this button allows us to assign which parameters the Mod-EG affects in the matrix.
Arpeggiator Sequencer SKULPTsynth SE features an arpeggiator with division, direction, octave, bipolar swing and sustain controls SKULPTsynth SE has a realtime sequencer that can record up to 256 notes at midi clock resolution with 4 notes of polyphony. Overdub is automatic - simply keep adding notes when the sequencer is recording. The speed of the arpeggiator is controlled by the current clock which can either be received from the sync in port, external MIDI or from the internal clock in SKULPT.
Settings General • Clock Source: Sets the clock source for the SKULPTsynth SE with the following available options: Internal, MIDI, Sync-In, Auto. If ‘Auto’ is selected then the SKULPTsynth SE will automatically use any detected clock source (prioritising Sync-In over MIDI) else it will use the internal clock.
04 MIDI MIDI SKULPTsynth SE is a fully USB-MIDI class-compliant, meaning you can plug it into your computer, no drivers required, and gain access to a huge array of extra features. Simply plug in SKULPTsynth SE to a USB port and it will show up as a MIDI input and output device in any software that supports external MIDI devices. On Mac OSX, SKULPTsynth SE will show up in ‘Midi Studio’, found in Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup.
MIDI MIDI MIDI Channel Program Change On SKULPTsynth SE the MIDI channel can be set from the front panel, or with the MODALapp. Sending a program change to SKULPTsynth SE will load the relevant preset. Power on holding PRESET and the current midi channel will flash on one of the touch pads 1 - 16. Select a new MIDI channel using the buttons 1 - 16. Once selected release preset and Skulpt will return to its regular operation mode. You can also change MIDI settings in the settings tab of the MODALapp.
MIDI Arp / Seq Out Enables / disables MIDI note output from the arpeggiator and sequencer. If this setting is enabled and the arpeggiator is active then the internal keyboard notes will not be transmitted to MIDI-out. Please note that MIDI-in notes that are being arpeggiated will also be transmitted to MIDI-out if this setting is enabled, which may cause MIDI loop / echo issues in complex MIDI setups.
MIDI CC Implemention Chart Function CC Values Function CC Values Osc2 Fine Detune 31 -/+ 1 Semitone LFO1 Mode 56 0-41 Retrig / 42-83 Free / 84-127 Single FEG Amount 32 63 (0) +/- 63 LFO2 Mode 57 0-41 Retrig / 42-83 Free / 84-127 Single Morph 33 0 = LP / 64 = BP / 127 = HP Arp Status 58 0 - 63 = OFF / 64 - 127 = ON Cutoff 34 0Hz - 22kHz Arp Octave 59 0 - 31 1Oct / 32-63 2Oct / 64-95 3Oct / 96-127 4Octaves Reso 35 None - Full 60 0-20 = Forwards, 21-41 = Backwards, 42-62 = Pe
MIDI CC Implemention Chart MIDI CC Implemention Chart Function CC Values Function CC Values Mod Slot 1 Depth 88 63 (0) +/- 63 All Sound Off 120 - Mod Slot 2 Depth 89 63 (0) +/- 63 Reset All Controllers 121 - Mod Slot 3 Depth 90 63 (0) +/- 63 All Notes Off 123 - Mod Slot 4 Depth 91 63 (0) +/- 63 Omni Off 124 - Mod Slot 5 Depth 92 63 (0) +/- 63 Omni On 125 - Mod Slot 6 Depth 93 63 (0) +/- 63 Mod Slot 7 Depth 94 63 (0) +/- 63 Mod Slot 8 Depth 95 63 (0) +/- 63 ModW
MPE MPE MIDI Polyphonic Expression (or MPE) is a method of using MIDI to enable expressive electronic musical instruments to control multiple dimensions of sound polyphonically. In MIDI, channelwide messages (such as pitch bend, CCs, and channel aftertouch) are applied to all notes being played on a single channel; therefore, in MPE each note is assigned its own channel so that those messages can be applied to each note individually.
05 Update Update The firmware on SKULPTsynth SE can be updated remotely. This means that you will be able to update your SKULPTsynth SE to the latest version each time an update is released. You can update SKULPTsynth SE using the MODALapp. MODALapp is available for macOS, iOS, Windows, and Android. To find the app on your platform, visit www.modalelectronics.com/MODALapp DO NOT run any other MIDI software that could be sending messages to SKULPTsynth SE during the update process.
06 MODALapp MODALapp MODALapp adds visual feedback for SKULPTsynth SE and access to a handful of extra settings outlined above. All parameters are accessible from a single interface split into 4 tabs.
Getting Started Editor Page Connecting devices MODALapp can be attached to an iPad using a Camera Connection kit, or an Android device using a USB OTG (On-the-go) adapter. NOTE: If you wish to use more than one USB device with your tablet, phone or computer, or in some cases your mobile device may not be powerful enough to power SKULPTsynth SE please connect SKULPTsynth SE and any other devices through a powered USB hub. MODALapp can only be connected via USB MIDI and not by MIDI DIN.
Controller Page Sequencer Page This page provides a MIDI controller for playing your SKULPTsynth SE with 16 assignable macro controls. Here you can access the complete sequencer and animation options as well as the global arpeggiator and sequencer options from the previous page. You can select the number of octaves of playable on screen keyboard has using the 3, 2 or 1 buttons. You have an animator grid that you can click and drag across to draw.
Preset Management Page Settings Page This page allows you to backup, curate and restore your saved presets for both patches and sequencer. The interface is split into 3 sections: In the Settings Tab there are options for updating your SKULPTsynth SE to the latest versions. MODALapp will notify you when a new update is available. SKULPT SYNTHESISER - On the right are the current presets on your SKULPTsynth SE, there are 8 banks of 16 patches and 4 banks of 16 sequences.
A Appendix Troubleshooting My SKULPT doesn’t turn on? When you provide power to the SKULPTsynth SE and power on using the power switch, you should see LEDs light up. If this isn’t the case, please check the following: • Check that the switch is selecting the correct power sourece, USB or BAT (6xAA batteries) If powering by USB: • Unplug and plug the USB cable back in. • Try using a different USB cable.
Troubleshooting My SKULPT doesn’t respond to MIDI Please check that you have SKULPTsynth SE set to the same MIDI channel that you are sending MIDI to. Also please check the current MIDI filters in the MODALapp if using a DIN connection. The touch pads don’t seem to work properly or the sound keeps re-triggering? The touch pads work though ‘capacitive sensing’, detecting the presence of your touch in a similar way to your smartphone screen.
Warranty Information Warranty Information Warranty Statement What is meant by a Manufacturing Defect? • The Modal warranty period for any product purchased is 12 months from the date of the original purchase. • We define this as a defect in the performance or specification of the product as described and published by Modal. • The warranty is not transferable to a second user.
