User Manual

If you have read some of the above references or are already familiar with the speciﬁcs of these saturation

and frequency response characteristics in use, we now point out that the mono and stereo sections of Vortices

exhibit alternative severity of these eﬀects. The intention behind this choice is inherent in modules that one may

be using with Vortices. For instance, it has been described earlier in the manual that the mono and master output

sections oﬀer a more intense eﬀect on frequency response, while the stereo output oﬀers a brighter response in

this regard. It has also been noted that the stereo section's saturation eﬀect is more subtle.

The intention here is that you would use the mono section to add varying levels of saturation, add panning

and cross-fading – then patch from the Mono Mix Output to stereo eﬀects such as delays, reverb or resonators.

Since these eﬀects do tend to be stereo and can also tend to be darker in tone, the stereo section is meant to

accommodate these aspects while still adding a bit or warmth and roundness to the overall response. This is a

case where you would choose to use the Stereo Mix Output as your main mix out. In general, the stereo section

and output may be used for sources in which you do not need to add as much saturation or distortion or would

like that particular input to have a stronger high frequency presence.

The high frequency response and intensity of saturation achievable from the mono section oﬀers addi-

tional uses speciﬁc to modular synthesis. For instance, we are all familiar with frequency and amplitude modula-

tion for producing more complex sounds. These basic techniques are widely utilized for creating sideband

frequencies beyond the fundamental that standard VCO waveforms can produce. Unfortunately, they can also

create grittier overtones in the higher harmonic region and can sound harsh and piercing.

The Mono Mixer channels can smooth FM'd material and round out the edginess of sharp transients.

Because our ears will perceive higher frequencies in this manner, and signal sources do not generally have built in

frequency compensation in this part of the audio band, the only way to tame the imbalance would traditionally

be to use a ﬁlter. While a simple solution, it may not be practical to use up a VCF for such a simple function. Vorti-

ces oﬀers a way to accomplish this automatically in a mix. Another similar and common situation occurs when

using digital sources. There are many very good sounding digital modules but even the great ones can sound

sterile or exhibit some aliasing. Both the frequency response and saturation can be used to smooth and add

analog warmth to these sources.

While on the subject of high frequencies, it is also important to have a handle on this part of the audio

spectrum in a feedback application. Vortices lends itself to even simple self-feedback patching without the need

for additional modules to tame the high end. High end frequencies will start to feedback much more easily than

lower ones. It becomes more diﬃcult to manage a feedback patch when the high end is constantly on the brink of

oscillation. You can choose a number of feedback topologies that focus on either the mono or stereo mixers with

mindfulness of your chosen source material and how frequencies and external modules may aﬀect your patch.

The Amp Biasing Feature mentioned earlier in the manual may be familiar to an engineer or tech in the

audio world, but unknown to many synth users. This is an essential aspect of any discrete ampliﬁer and a feature

exploited by the technical counterparts of many famous artists as well as savvy audio engineers who desired to

perfect or modify a device to attain 'that sound'.

We have touched on this feature in the Amp Biasing section where we described biasing as a necessary

feature of calibrating a tube or transistor ampliﬁer to work correctly, in order to produce a clean and linear

response. Vortices' implementation of this feature is 100% on the level of exploitation of the harmonic eﬀects it

can produce. If you do not chose to oﬀset the input signal before patching into Vortices, and your signal is sym-

metrical about ground (Zero Volts), then the eﬀect is simply the same as a properly biased ampliﬁer, with the

exception that you can increase the drive to overdrive the input into heavier saturation and clipping. When

pushed into this region, the top and bottom halves of the input signal both have to potential to exhibit the same

eﬀect on the input waveform (symmetrical distortion.)