Spectral

User Manual
Welcome
Thank you for purchasing a LinPlug Spectral license or trying the demo.
Spectral is a very unique software synthesizer, in some aspects similar to
additive as well as sutractive synthesizers. !t features four unique "#"
and filters, one for each #$% harmonics additive oscillator. !t also has
sophisticated cross&modulation possiilities which are good for '( and
similar synthesis methods.
(oreover it has an enormous range of processing and modulation options
including a pretty unique arpeggiator, as well as a versatile effects section.
Spectral comes with a selection of high quality presets in a wide range of
styles, an easy&to&use interface, and of course this manual.
We elieve that Spectral is an e)ceptional instrument ecause of its unique
audio processing capailities, which result from the fact that we at LinPlug
design most of our audio modules from scratch, sometimes * as in case of
Spectral & following paths no one else would proaly even consider.
Spectral is the result of more than "# years of synthesizer uilding
e)perience and the realization of a dream. We know you will get a lot of yet
unheard sounds using the Spectral synthesizer and hope that it ecomes
an integral part of your music&making.
The LinPlug team, +utumn #,"-
.redits
.oncept Peter Linsener
!nstrument Peter Linsener and Pavol (arkovi/
0raphics 1ranislav Paki2
Sounds 3in alphaetic order of the sound prefi)4
t 5ico 6erz igtone.de
c .hris 1ader
dh duhad
edt 7d Ten 7yck edtaudio.com
fn 'rank 89eno): 5eumann particular&sound.de
ho ;oseph 6ollo sound.artenuovo.com
hr 6i7nergy soundcloud.com<6i7nergy
iw !ngo Weidner
=a ;>n +n/ic
=am (ark Satchell
ks ?. Satterlee
pf Philippe 'avr@
sm rsmusA sounduniverse.de
st satBatunes satyatunes.com
vv Civolator soundcloud.com<vivolator
ym Bemski
(anual Peter Linsener with the help of our ets testers
Demo Songs 3in alphaetic order4
'rank 5eumann particular&sound.de
;oseph 6ollo sound.artenuovo.com
Len Sasso swiftkick.com
(arco Lehmann marcolehmann.com
Civolator soundcloud.com<vivolator
(any thanks to 3in alphaetic order4 7d Ten 7yck, 'rank 89eno9:
5eumann, ;acky Ligon, 5ico 6erz and Philippe 'avr@, without you guys
this instrument would lack a lot of its fascination E
+lso a 1!0 Thank you to all the volunteering eta testers, you made sure
that many people have a wonderful Spectral e)perience.
.opyright LinPlug Cirtual !nstruments 0m6, #,"-.
+ll rights reserved.
+ll technical specifications of the products specified in this manual may e su=ect to change
without notice. The documents may not e changed, especially copyright notices may not e
removed or changed. LinPlug and all LinPlug product names are trademarks of LinPlug Cirtual
!nstruments 0m6. (ac and the (ac logo are trademarks of +pple .omputer, !nc., registered
in the F.S. and other countries. The 1uild for (ac GS 9 graphic is a trademark of +pple
.omputer, !nc., used under license. The +udio Fnits logo and the +udio Fnits symol are
trademarks of +pple .omputer, !nc. (icrosoftH and WindowsH are trademarks of (icrosoft
.orporation, registered in the F.S. and other countries. .uase and CST are registered
trademarks of Steinerg (edia Technologies 0m6. +ll other trademarks are the property of
their respective owners.
Tale of .ontents
Welcome...................................................................................................... #
.redits.......................................................................................................... -
Tale of .ontents......................................................................................... $
!nstallation.................................................................................................... I
'eatures..................................................................................................... ",
Gverview.................................................................................................... ""
Fser !nterface < .ontrols............................................................................ "#
Gscillator.................................................................................................... "J
Loading Waveforms............................................................................... "%
Spread................................................................................................... "A
.ross&(odulation................................................................................... "K
5oise...................................................................................................... ##
'ilter........................................................................................................... #-
Spectral 7ditor............................................................................................ #A
Looming and Scrolling........................................................................... #I
7dit 'rame Tool...................................................................................... #I
7dit (ode............................................................................................... #K
Pattern 7diting....................................................................................... -,
Transpose.............................................................................................. -"
1lending................................................................................................. -"
+dditional Tools...................................................................................... -#
(odulation.................................................................................................. -J
7nvelopes.................................................................................................. -J
7nvelope Parameters............................................................................ -%
Phase Shape......................................................................................... -A
Pit Scale 3Pitch Scaling4......................................................................... -A
Cel Scale 3Celocity Scaling4................................................................... -I
0lide........................................................................................................... -I
0lide Mouting......................................................................................... -K
L'Gs.......................................................................................................... J,
L'G&Start&(odes................................................................................... J-
(od (atri)................................................................................................. JJ
+rpeggiator................................................................................................. J$
Step Display........................................................................................... JA
7ffects........................................................................................................ $J
.horus................................................................................................... $%
.ompressor........................................................................................... $A
.rusher.................................................................................................. $I
Delay 3(odulation&Delay4...................................................................... %,
Delay 3Ping Pong Delay4........................................................................ %"
Delay 3Stereo Delay4.............................................................................. %#
7N 3Parametric4..................................................................................... %-
'ilter....................................................................................................... %J
'langer................................................................................................... %$
0ator...................................................................................................... %%
Phaser................................................................................................... %A
Mever................................................................................................... %I
Wah&Wah............................................................................................... %K
(aster 7N.............................................................................................. A,
The (ain Section....................................................................................... A"
.hord (emory....................................................................................... A"
7)actness.............................................................................................. A"
Coice Limit............................................................................................. A#
Fndo < Medo........................................................................................... A#
Preset 1rowser...................................................................................... A#
7.S 37asy .ontroller Setup4................................................................. AJ
Setup..................................................................................................... A$
Celocity to (ain Colume......................................................................... A$
(aster Colume....................................................................................... A%
Setup Page................................................................................................ AA
Gptions.................................................................................................. AI
Per Preset Gptions................................................................................. AI
Per !nstance Gptions............................................................................. AI
0loal Gptions....................................................................................... AK
0lossary..................................................................................................... I"
(!D! !mplementation .hart........................................................................ I-
+ppendi) +O Tempo Sync Settings............................................................. IJ
+ppendi) 1O (odulation (atri) Sources....................................................I$
+ppendi) .O (odulation (atri) Destinations.............................................. II
+ppendi) 7O Fsing TF5 files in Spectral.................................................... K-
!nde).......................................................................................................... K$
!nstallation
Installation on Mac
+fter downloading the installer for (ac you will find a file named PSpectral
!nstaller nnn.dmgP 3or PSpectral Demo !nstaller nnn.dmgP if you are trying
the demo4 located in your download folder. 8nnn: is the actual version
numer, for e)ample 8",,:.
(ost (ac will mount the disk image automatically. !f not, please doule&
click this file to open the image.
Then doule&click the installer program which will guide you through the
installation process. The plugin file for Spectral and the factory presets will
e placed in the right directories for +F and CST plugins on your (ac.
The ne)t time you start your host software Spectral will e listed in the +F
and CST plugin list of your host software.
The installation is always only for the current userQ if you want to use the
plugin with different users on your computer, each user must run their own
installation.
Installation on PC
+fter downloading the installer for P. you will find a file named PSpectral
!nstaller nnn.e)eP 3or PSpectral Demo !nstaller nnn.e)eP if you are trying the
demo4 located in your download folder. 8nnn: is the actual version numer,
for e)ample 8",,:.
Start this program and the installer will guide you through the installation
process. (ake sure you choose the correct plug&in directory so that your
host software can find Spectral. Mefer to your host softwareRs manual if you
are unsure aout where this plug&in directory is located.

The plugin file Spectral -#.dll 3if you choose the -# it version4 or
Spectral.dll 3for the %J it version4 and the factory presets will e placed in
the chosen directory. The ne)t time you start your host software Spectral
will e listed in the CST plugin list.
The installation is always only for the current userQ if you want to use the
plugin with different users on your computer, each user must run their own
installation 3however, you can choose the same installation location4.
Common to Mac and PC
The first time Spectral is started a Serial 5umer edit o) will e visile on
the Setup page. !t reads P7nter Serial hereP in red letters. .opy<Paste the
serial numer you have received via email after your order has een
processed into this edit o).
!f the serial numer has not een entered or it has een entered incorrectly,
Spectral will remain in demo mode and emit a noise sound aout once a
minute.
!f you have any questions regarding the installation please contact our
support atO
httpO<<www.linplug.com<support<support.htm.
'eatures
J Gscillator and 'ilter modules with powerful yet detailed
harmonics and filter and editing and modification functions.
7)tensive Gscillator and 'ilter audio rate cross&modulations.
7ach Gscillator and 'ilter with own dedicated envelope to control
its volume or frequency respectively
+dditional - freely assignale (odulation 7nvelope.
$ L'Gs with
various waveforms
free ad=ustale tempo up to over -,, 6z
tempo&sync capailities
Poly&, mono& and one&shot&mode
Fnipolar and ipolar options
integrated delay&attack&envelope
start phase and symmetry ad=ustale
ad=ustale smoothing
"$ slot (odulation (atri) with -$ sources and more than ",,
destinations including all important parameters
'ully recognizes Celocity, +ftertouch, Pitch 1end , (odulation&
Wheel and various other (!D! controllers
+ sophisticated effects section containing "$ 7ffects including
various Delays, .horus, Phaser, 'ilter, Mever, 'langer, 0ator,
Stereo 7nhancer, Parametric 7N and .rusher.
0lide < Portamento featuring
(ono<Polyphonic operation
8'ingered: mode
switchale constant Time < constant Mate operation
+uto&1end (odes
switchale to affect pitch and < or cutoff
switchale to only affect certain Gscillators < filters
"%&voice polyphony 3.PF and sound program dependent4 and
ad=ustale voice limit 3(ono..."#, all4.
Supports +F and CST hosts on (ac GS 9 and Windows P..
Sample accurate timing, parameter automation and settings are
saved with your song.
Gverview
Spectral is a -# note&polyphonic synthesizer with some e)traordinary
features.
+udio signals are created y the Gscillators. They get triggered from your
host software 3D+W software4. The 5otes might come from a prerecorded
track or eing played life from your ?eyoard, 0uitar or whatever .ontroller
you use to play your music.
The output of each Gscillator is sent to its dedicated 'ilter. (oreover each
Gscillator can e used simultaneously as a cross&modulation source in any
Gscillator or 'ilter. This cross&modulation increases the harmonic spectrum
of the modulated Gscillator or 'ilter producing very interesting results.
+t this point the signals can also e thickened and spread in the stereo
panorama using the Spread 3polyphonic Fnison4 controls.
(ost Gscillator parameters can e modulated using the (od&(atri).
The 'ilter modifies the harmonic spectrum of the Gscillator signal. 7ach
filter includes a dedicated envelope for controlling the filters operation
frequency. The filter can also e used as a cross&modulation source. The
filtered signal then can e panned and routed to either one or two effect
units. (ost filter parameters can e modulated using the (od&(atri),
including the routing.
'ollowing the 'ilter section is the SpectralRs effects section which contains
% independent effects processors plus a (aster 7N. + wide range effect
processors are availale including delays, chorus, phaser, filter and many
more.
The effects routing is quite fle)ile allowing each effect to go to any of the
successive effects.
The (odulation sections contain the instrumentSs "# 7nvelopes, $ L'Gs,
0lide, the +rpeggiator and the (odulation (atri) 3or in short (od (atri)4.
+t various points throughout the SpectralSs signal path you can modulate
the processing parameters using the various controls found in this sections.

!ndependent from the internal modulation sources every (!D! .ontrollers
can e used to modify any of the SpectralSs parameters 3using 7.S < (!D!
learn4 and the most common .ontrollers can e used in the (od (atri) 3for
e)ample Celocity, the (odulation Wheel or the 7)pression .ontroller4.
Fser !nterface < .ontrols
Gn (ac the interface supports oth traditional and Metina displays
automatically. Gn P. you have the possiility to change the Fser !nterface
size with the menu on the very top left. +vailale resolutions are (T",,U,
LT"$,U and 9LT#,,U as on P. there is no reliale auto&detection of your
screen resolution and size. The selected size is stored permanently and
used whenever you open up a new instance of Spectral.
The controls 3dials4 on the user interface are operated in a linear manner,
so move your mouse up<down to modify a control.
6olding down the +LT key while clicking on a control changes the selected
controlRs value a minimum step upwards 3when clicking in the upper half of
the control4 or a minimum step downwards 3when clicking in the lower half
of the control4.
6olding down the .TML key 3Windows4 or .G((+5D key 3(ac4 while
clicking on a control sets the control to its default value 3e.g. for Colume
controls it sets the controlRs value to , d14.
6olding down the S6!'T key while changing a controlRs value enales finer
control values to e set.
Doule clicking one on a (odulation (atri) Depth parameter sets the value
to ,.,,. Doule clicking in the same parameter a second time resets it to its
previous value. This is handy for quickly disaling 3and re&enaling4 one or
multiple modulations.
The Gscillator and 7ffects selector uttons have a doule functionO when
you right click them this changes the state of the Gscillator or 7ffect from
Gn to Gff and ack. This way you can quickly disale certain Gscillators
and 7ffects and enale them again.
+ll .ontrols can e controlled using e)ternal (!D! messages. To do this you
need to use the 7.S 3(!D!&Learn4 which is descried in detail later in this
manual.
The SpectralSs (ain panel can e divided into several sectionsO
Gscillator 3top left4
'ilter 3top right4
Spectral 7ditor 3will open elow Gscillator or 'ilter4
(odulation 3L'G, 7nvelopes and (atri), in the vertical middle4
+rpeggiator 3ottom left4
7ffects 3ottom right4
(ain 3the ottom title ar4
Preset 1rowser 3full size window4
Setup 3full size window4
Gscillator
The Gscillator section is located on the upper left of the instrument.
Gn the very left are the Gscillator Selection utton. These are used to
choose one of the four Gscillators < 'ilters 3each Gscillator is linked to its
own 'ilter4.
The radio utton has multiple states, indicating whether a Gscillator is
not selected for editing and Gff 3inactive, Gsc - and J elow4
not selected for editing an Gn 3active, Gsc # elow4
selected for editing and Gn 3Gsc " elow4
selected for editing and Gff 3no e)ample elow, ut =ust like Gsc "
ut with a more dim lael4
This is giving you a hint that there might e more Gscillators making up the
sound than the one currently visile.
7ach Gscillator also has its own Gn<Gff switch located to the right of the
Gscillator lael. Bou can also switch an Gscillator y right&clicking on the
Gscillator Selection utton.
Gn the right there is a Tool (enu which offer functions to copy and paste
one GscillatorRs settings to a different Gscillator and to init the settings of a
Gscillator.
7ach Gscillator contains controls for Semitone, and .ent which allows to
transpose the Gscillator. Semitone sets the Gscillator pitch in semitones. +
wide range covering multiple octaves up or down is availaleO &A# to VA#
semitones 3thats &% to V% octaves4.
.ent sets the oscillator pitch in cents 3a semitone is equal to ",, cents4. +
range of &",, to V",, cents is availale.
The Track utton determines whether the Gscillator tracks the pitch of
incoming note messages. !f Track is switched off the frequency of the
Gscillator depends on the Semitone and .ent settings only and is the same
whatever note is played.
The main part of the Gscillator section is covered y a large waveform
display, as the waveform ultimately is what makes up the sound. Bou can
click on it to open a Waveform 7ditor descried in the chapter 8Spectral
7ditor:. This display shows the waveform, reflecting the Phase and
Symmetry parameters 3descried soon4.
1elow the display is a Display Selection utton to select either waveform +,
waveform 1 or the resulting mi) of + and 1 to e shown on the display.
?eep in mind that what you hear is always the mi), ut for editing its good
to e ale to see oth + and 1 separately.
The Tool (enu
Gn every module in Spectral you will find the small wrench utton,
usually on the very right, which lets you open a tool menu when
clicked.
The asic functions within this tool menu are copy, paste and init.
Some tools do also allow save and load 3namely the +rpeggiator and
the 7.S4.
!ts useful to know that you can copy etween
". different modules 3e.g. Gscillator " to Gscillator #
#. different patches 3the copy uffer is preserved when loading
new patches4 and
-. multiple instances of Spectral which are simultaneously
open.
The Tool (enu in the SpectralRs 7ditor contains many more options
and e)plained in the respective section.
Might of the +, 1 and (i) uttons is the Load menu to load a waveform
from the factory lirary 3or one you saved into the lirary4.
5oteO saving of waveforms happens from the tools menu of the Spectral
7ditor.
Might of the display you find a numer of controls to further ad=ust the
Gscillator.
The (i) dial sets the wave mi) of waveform + and 1.
This parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3Gsc Wave (i)4 .
The Sym dial ad=usts the symmetry of the mi)ed waveform, you may know
this from Pulse waves as 8Pulse&Width: ut in Spectral you can ad=ust the
symmetry of each waveform. The waveform display is reflecting the
Loading Waveforms
1y clicking the Load utton elow the waveform display most of
SpectralRs user interface will turn into a rowser window. !t shows the
factory and user saved waveforms.
Loading and saving waveforms is a it special ecause Spectral
actually uses two waveforms in one oscillator. +nd often the
comination of the two is what matters for a certain sound
3especially when dynamically modulating the wave mi)4.
Thus Spectral always stores oth waveforms and their mi) relation
when you save them.
When loading you might want to load either oth or only one of
them, depending on what you currently are doingO
!f you are working on a sound and look for a new waveform for the
whole oscillator you would load oth waveforms 3make sure the
8(i): utton in the rowser is litE4.
!f you however work on only one of the two waveforms of an
oscillator and only want to replace one of them, make sure to
". select either + or 1 as where to load from 3usually the name of the
waveforms indicates what you can e)pect to load4 and
#. make sure the 8Load !nto: switch is at the waveform you want the
one you load to go into. Spectral automatically set it to the one you
are =ust editing 3in case you have the Spectral 7ditor open4.
parameter as you change it. The Symmetry is shown in the Waveform
display.
This parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3Gsc < Symmetry4.
The Phase parameter allows ad=usting the phase at which the Gscillator
starts when itRs triggered 3y a 5ote eing played4.
1elow the dial is a switch that allows you to set how the oscillator startsO
PhaseO The Gscillator starts with the Phase set y the Phase dial, e)cept
for ound 3held4 notes in (ono (ode 3Coices set to (ono4. !n this case the
Phase of the Gscillator of the new note continues from where the Phase in
the previous note was.
'reeO The Gscillator always runs continuously, no re&starts
The Phase parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3Gsc <
Phase4. 5ote that this modulation not only affects the starting&phase ut
continuously changes the phase which is good for certain sound effects.
The Phase is also shown in the waveform display on the left.
Spread
5e)t comes the Spread section which consists of J parameters. Spread
means that a single Gscillator is running multiple times with the voices
eing detuned against each other for a fatter sound. This is also called
3polyphonic4 Fnison. The Spread lael indicates whether or not Spread is
active, if its lit 3light lue4 Spread is active, if its grey, its inactive. !ts no
switch, if Spread is active or not is determined y the Spread Detune
parameter.
'or Spread again the =ust descried Phase parameter has an important
meaningO When set to 'ree, the Fnison starts at a random deviation of all
voices. When Phase is set to 5ull, Fnison will start with a 81oom: ecause
all phases are overlapping perfectly and produce quite some volume. While
turning the Phase dial to the right the phases of the voices do gradually
deviate, making especially the start of the sound ecoming more and more
smooth.
The Coices dial ad=usts how many times the
Gscillator runs. While more voices thicken the
sound more, they uses significantly more .PF.
5ote that the possile stettings areO # voices, -,
then two flavours of J voices, $ and % voices.
When choosing an odd numer of voices one voice
is in center while the other voices are placed left
and right in the stereo panorama, depending on the
Stereo parameter. +n 7ven numer of voices
contains no centered voice.
6intO Sometimes choosing a .horus in the effects
section will have a similar effect on the sound 3and uses much less .PF4.
The Spread Colume ad=usts the volume of the additional voices.
This parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3Gsc < Spread Col4.
5oteO When using an even numer of voices 3#, J or %4 keep in mind that
the asic voice is panned hard left, so when you turn down additional
voices volume you might want to also reduce the Spread Stereo width to
make it move towards the middle again. Bou not have this effect with the
odd numer of voices 3- and $4.
The Detune dial allows to define how much the voices are detuned against
each other. This is the most influential parameter in the Spread section and
it can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3Gsc < Spread4.
!mportantO 7ven though this parameter can e modulated, you cannot
modulate it in a way that an Gscillator which has Spread Gn ecomes one
with Spread Gff and vice versa. !f you intend to suppress the Spread effect
or through modulation ecoming audile, please modulate the Spread
Colume 3maye in comination with the Spread Detune4.
The Stereo parameter finally allows to place the voices either in center or
towards the left and right of the stereo field. To modulate the parameter in
the (atri) use destination Gsc < Spread oo.
.ross&(odulation
The .ross&(odulation is very important for SpectralRs unique sound. 'or
each Gscillator 3and as you will see later also for each 'ilter4 you can
choose # cross&modulations with ad=ustale type, intensity and source.
Gn top of each .ross&(odulation dial you find the Type selector, which in
case of the Gscillators can e either
+( 3+mplitude (odulation4
'( 3true 'requency (odulation4 or
P( 3Phase (odulation, sometimes in other synthesizers this is
called 'requency (odulation4
+mplitude (odulation 3+(4 can e used to produce rich and comple)
waveforms. 'requency (odulation 3'(4 and Phase (odulation 3P(4 are
great for producing metallic, ell&like tones. !n almost any case cross&
modulation raises the harmonic content, making a sound righter.
The Dial itself sets the amount of .ross&(odulation which is also availale
for modulation using the (od (atri) 3Gsc < 9(od +mt4.
The source selector elow each dial contains any of the four Gscillators
and any of the four filters. The output of the respective chosen source is
used as input for the cross&modulation.
5oteO !f an Gscillator which runs in Spread mode is chosen, still only one of
its voices is used for cross&modulation.
.ross&(odulation Sources
Though it at first sounds simple to have either the Gscillator or 'ilter
as source there are a few things which are good to knowO
When choosing the Gscillator you get the full Gscillator output, not
affected y the Gscillator Colume dial, the Gscillator 7nvelope, any
volume modulation via the (od (atri) and of course no filtering.
When choosing the 'ilter you get the filtered signal, which is affected
y the Gscillator Colume dial, the Gscillator 7nvelope and any
volume modulation of the Gscillator via the (od (atri). 6owever,
the 'ilter Colume dial and any 'ilter volume modulation via the (od
(atri) does not affect this signal.
!mportantO Due to the internal structure of Spectral the harmonics created
through cross&modulation cannot e filtered y the folowing filter. (ore on
this in the 'ilter section, when descriing the Susequent 'ilter 3on page
#-4.
The 0ain control finally allows to ad=ust the volume of the Gscillator efore
its fed into its following filter. (ore info aout volume in the Colume info o)
following ne)t. This parameter is also availale in the (od (atri) 3Gsc <
0ain4.
Details aout Colume
There are many ways to ad=ust volume, weRre going through them
one y one following the signal flowO
". When you use the Spectral 7ditor you asically edit the volume of
harmonics or filter ands. 6owever, Spectral always automatically
normalizes the resulting waveform or filter shape, so donRt worry
aout volume here.
#. The Gscillator Colume is then controlled y the dedicated
envelope which each oscillator has, you may check this one if an
oscillator is not audile though you think it should.
-. when using +mplitude .ross&(odulation the volume of the source
does also affect the cross&modulated Gscillator of course. !f for
e)ample Gsc " modulates Gsc # y ",,U, ut Gsc " is silent, you
wont hear anything from Gsc # as well.
$. The 0ain dial on the 0F!, as descried aove this info o),
controls how loud the oscillator is when fed into the filter. This in
pretty unimportant when not using filter resonance, ut if filter
resonance is cranked up, the 0ain dial helps to alance the volumes
of the oscillator and the filter resonance.
$. (odulation which are applied via the (od (atri) may affect an
Gscillators amplitude 3Target Gsc Colume4 and its intensity with
which it reaches the filter 3Target Gsc 0ain4. The difference etween
these two is, that Colume also affects cross&modulation which use
the Gscillator as source while 0ain only affects the Colume with
which it reaches the 'ilter. See appendi) D on page K" for more
details on modulation of Colume.
%. Gf course the filter shape and operating frequency will affect the
volume of the signal, =ust think of a lowpass filter which is closed
3reducing the operating frequency towards zero4, if its all filtered out,
no signal is audile.
A. The 'ilter Colume dial, which you can also think of a 8(i) Colume:
control as it is primarily used to ad=ust the volume relation etween
the J Gscillator&'ilter&.hannels.
I. The 7ffects also affect the volume of course and some effects 3for
e)ample the 'ilter 7ffect4 have their own Colume control.
K. 'inally the (ain Colume control the overall volume of Spectral.
5oise
The SpectralRs Gscillator is not capale of producing a 5oise sound. We will
give some e)tra e)planations on this, ecause these a frequently asked
questionsO
+s it would e amazing to have a noise source with such filters, why is
there no noiseW
Might, it would e great. 1ut the reason we could create such filters is, that
they are tightly integrated with the oscillators. Gnly together we could
create this versatile and cross&modulate&ale filter. The whole engine has
een carefully designed and the option to include noise would have
increased the memory demands and the .PF usage y factor ", at
minimum. This might not e a prolem one day, ut for now we stick with
not having true noise.
6ow can ! fake a noise sound W
!ts actually pretty simple, however, its limited in its capailities. Bou can
load the 87)ample 5oise ": preset from the 8Carious: ank to see and hear
itO when an Gscillator phase&modulates itself massively you end up in pretty
nice noise. Fsing different waveforms does slightly change the sound, ut
its all somewhat similar. The ig cru) is that you cannot use the main filter
to shape the 5oise 3ecause of the integrated architecture we talked aout
answering the first question4. 6owever, you can use the Susequent 'ilter
3more on this in the 'ilter section of the manual on page #-4. This should
e feasile for most noise requirements.
+ny other options W
There are many more, however, none of them could make the main 'ilter
effecting the noise spectrum for the e)plained reasons.
There are more 87)ample 5oise: presets in the 8Carious: ank who use
different techniques, like for e)ample modulating the Gscillator pitch with a
3true&4 noise L'G. Please check the out, some have a nice noise following
the pitch while some have not and hopefully you find a suitale noise.
'ilter
!n Spectral each Gscillator is followed y its own 'ilter. These filters are
structural identical ut can take an specific individual shape out of many
thousand shapes.
To turn a filter module on or off, select the Gn<Gff utton to the right of the
'ilter lael. 5oteO when a filter is turned off no filtering is applied so that the
audio signal from the Gscillator passes straight through it without eing
altered.
Gn the far right you find the Tool (enu as descried in the Tool (enu info
o) on page "$.
'req 3'requency4 is used to set the operation frequency of the filter. When
using the filter as a simple Low Pass, higher settings produce righter
sounds while lower settings result in darker sounds. 6owever, as the
SpectralRs filters can e of aritrary any shape you etter think of it as a
possiility to shift the whole filter towards higher or lower operation
frequencies.
This parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3'il < 'requency4.
The Meso 3Mesonance4 dial is used to set the amount of emphasis around
the operation frequency. 6igher settings create a more pronounced peak in
the signal while lower settings produce a flatter response.
This parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3'il < Mesonance4.
5e)t is the Susequent 'ilter, laeled LPV 3ecause its an additional "Id1
Lowpass4. Due to the internal structure of Spectral harmonics created when
cross&modulating an Gscillator cannot e filtered y the corresponding filter.
While on many sounds this will not e an issue, on some you may want to
reduce the harmonics created y cross&modulation. To do so, you can use
this Susequent 'ilter.
This "I d1 Lowpass is Gff and does not affect the sound when the dial is
turned fully clockwise. 1y turning it counter clockwise the filter frequency is
ad=usted from $ octaves aove the operation frequency of the main filter
down to e =ust the same as the main filters frequency.
This parameter is also availale for modulation in the modulation matri)
3'ilter LPV .utoff4. !n comparison to the main filter you need a stronger
signal to modulate it, so when you have a modulation of for e)ample
SourceTL'G ", DepthT ,." and DestinationT'ilter " 'requency and want
change it so that only the additional filter is modulated, ut with the same
intensity, you would ad=ust to SourceTL'G ", DepthT ,.# and
DestinationT'ilter " LPV .utoff.
?eep in mind that the additional filter is always following the modulation of
the main filter anyway, so usually you wont have to separately modulate it,
e)cept for special effects.
The large display in the filter section which follows ne)t shows the filter
shape which can e edited when clicking on the display. + large editor
which is descried later will open elow the Gscillator < filter section.
1elow the display you find the Load lael, which when clicked allows you to
load any factory filter&shape 3and any shape you might have created and
saved yourself4.
Might of the display are more parameters, starting with the Track dial. !t is
used to control the degree to which the filter tracks the played noteRs
frequency 35ote or Pitch Tracking4. When set to center no tracking is
applied, when set fully right the filters operation frequency is fully shifted
according to the played notes 3higher notes produce higher operation
frequencies4.
The full left setting does the oppositeO the filter frequency changes e)actly
opposite to the notes frequencies.
The 7nv 37nvelope4 parameter controls the 7nvelope +mount. !t is used to
set the degree to which the filterRs envelope affects the 'ilter operation
frequency. 7ach filter in Spectral has a dedicated envelope which is located
right elow the filter 3and which is descried on page -J4.
Setting 7nv +mt to the central 3neutral4 position means that the envelope
has no effect on the filter while oth fully right as well as fully left means
that the filter is modulated y the envelopeRs full range 3either positive,
raising the filter frequency or negative, reducing the frequency4.
This parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri) 3'il < 7nv Depth4.
The Cel 3Celocity Tracking4 can e used to modulate the filter frequency
with the Celocity 3how hard a note is eing played4. Like with Track and 7nv
the dial can e used to gradually ad=ust the effect from fully reversed to
fully.
(uch like in the Gscillator section the 'ilter section ne)t offers the cross&
modulation settings, allowing audio rate modulation of
'requency 3'(4 and
Mesonance 3M(4
The selector is aove the amount dial.
The Dial itself sets the amount of .ross&(odulation which is also availale
for modulation using the (od (atri) 3'il < 9(od +mt4.
The source selector elow each dial contains any of the four Gscillators
and any of the four filters. The output of the respective chosen source is
used as input for the cross&modulation.
5oteO !f an Gscillator which runs in Spread mode is chosen, still only one of
its voices is used for cross&modulation.
Gn of the right of the cross&modulation dials is the Colume dial allowing
ad=ustment of the filter output.
7ach filter also has its own Pan 3Panning or Panorama4 dial. This is used to
position the filterRs output signal within the stereo field.
'inally the alance of the filter output etween two effects units can e
ad=usted. The 1alance gradually changes the amount of the signal going to
each of the selected effects units. Bou can for any filter choose any of the %
effects units or the main output.
5oteO 7ven if you choose Gut 3output4 as a routing, still the (aster 7N 3and
an invisile Limiter4 will affect the signal. The (aster 7N is descried at the
end of the 7ffects chapter 3page A,4.
7ffects Mouting
;ust as we talk aout the 'ilter to effects units its maye a good
point to talk aout routing a it moreO 0enerally you can run all %
effects units sequentially, ut maye sometimes you may want to run
some in parallel.
6ere are some ideasO
Gscillator < 'ilter " could go to ')", which goes to ')# which goes to
for e)ample ') $. Gscillator < 'ilter could go to ') -, which goes to
')J which also goes to ')$. This way you created two parallel audio
streams which merge in ') unit $.
Gr you could give each Gscillator < 'ilter its own ') unit and they all
merge in ') unit $.
+lso sometimes interesting is to send one Gscillator < 'ilter directly
to the output while another one is going through an ') chain.
Spectral 7ditor
The Gscillator Waveform consisting of #$% 6armonics and the detailed "#"
and 'ilter of Spectral require a dedicated editor which supports sound
design and turns it into a pleasureful e)perience.
The keys are powerful manipulation functions and clever visual
presentation of the edited data. 1oth editors for Gscillators and 'ilters
share a lot of features, so we descrie them only once and note if
something only applies to a certain editor. The editors are opened and
closed y clicking on the oscillator waveform display or the filter shape
display.
The 7ditor consist of the large upper display and editing part and the
smaller lower control part. The display part shows a couple of numers
written on top, indicating the shown range of harmonics or filter ands. !n
oth editors each octave is shown in a slightly different color.
!t shows a numer of either harmonics or filter ands depending on its
zoom factor. Bou can change the harmonics and filter ands y clicking
and dragging them to ad=ust the levels.
5oteO !n the Gscillators Waveform 7ditor you can also edit the phase of
each harmonics y holding down the .ontrol&?ey while editing.
Looming and Scrolling
The zoom control is on the control part on the very right of the Spectral
7ditor. !t gradually enlarges the display, showing only a part of the availale
#$% harmonics or "#" filter ands. +ove the zoom is a slider for quickly
scrolling.
5oteO you can also scroll the display when moving the mouse left or right
while right clicking in the display.
7dit 'rame Tool
The 7dit 'rame Tool is switched Gn and Gff with the large utton in the
center of the .ontrol Part. When Gn a rectangular area of the Display Part
is surrounded y a red frame. This frame indicates which part of the shown
harmonics or filter ands are edited.
The frame has a couple of handles attached, three on top 3left, middle and
right4 and one on oth the left and right side.
The handles on the left and right side are for manipulating the size of the
7dit Tool frame. Bou can click and drag them to change the frame width.
When holding the +lt key on your computer keyoard the opposite side of
the frame moves in the opposite direction as you move the handle on this
side. Thus the frame gets equally wider or smaller on oth sides.
When using the right mouse utton to change the frame on one side, the
other side will change accordingly, thus effectively moving the frame to the
left or right without changing its width.
The handles on the upper left and upper right corner allow ad=ustment of
the harmonics depending on their position in the frameO The harmonics
close to this side will change as you drag the handle, towards the other
side of the frame the change will e gradually less.
The round handle in the middle is the most powerful one, allowing you to
draw curves into the line of harmonics. This would e quite complicate to
descrie, please try it, clicking on the middle handle and dragging the
mouse around, up and down as well as left and right, a curved shape of
harmonics will follow your movements.
The characteristic of the curve can e altered with the .urve Shape
modifier left of the large 7diting Tool switchQ its similar to the Phase Shape
control used to shape the envelope phases.
7dit (ode
There are several way to selectively edit only certain harmonics or filter
ands. !f not otherwise notes, all eing said now applies to oth harmonics
as well as filter ands, for the sake of clarity we say harmonics and this
also means filter andsO
All is the most used form, all harmonics in the editor are availale for
editing, you can draw in the editor as you like, the mouse determines the
level of each harmonic as you move it around.
Single is useful when editing single harmonics and when you not want to
accidentally change the neighor harmonics. When in Single mode your
first click determines the harmonic edited as long as the mouse utton is
pressed, so when you drag it up or down no left or right movement of the
mouse will change the harmonic.
Even and Odd are only availale for Gscillators, not for the 'ilter. They are
useful when you only want to alter only even harmonics or only odd
harmonics. 1oth have a certain sound 3Pulse waves are a good e)ample of
the characteristic sound of odd harmonics4 and sometimes you might want
to keep that sound without modifying harmonics of the other type.
Pattern is a special editing mode making use of the Pattern, descried
nowO
Pattern 7diting
To the right of the 7dit (ode is the Pattern. The Pattern is only effective
when selected in the =ust descried 7dit (ode, it consists of two dials with
numers and two switches.
The numers define the pattern, so there are patterns like "OJ or -O-
possile. The upper switch defined whether the first numer is the
harmonics to e edited or the second. +n e)ample should make this clearO
Lets assume you have a "OJ pattern and the upper switch points to the left.
This means " harmonic is edited and J harmonics are ignored, the ne)t is
edited, and another J are ignored and so on.
Would that switch point to the right, it would mean the oppositeO " is
ignored and J are edited, going on like this for all harmonics.
5ow is the moment you should try it, ecause when you see it happening
its pretty ovious.
The second switch cycles through - statesO 'or the Gscillator the states
areO
" O Pattern starts with the fundamental 3first harmonic4
# O Pattern start with the second harmonic
- Pattern starts with the first harmonic inside of the 7dit 'rame Tool 3if it is
active, otherwise this is not availale4.
'or the filter the states areO
"O Pattern starts with the lowest filter and
#O Pattern starts with the center filter and
-O Pattern starts with the first filter and inside of the 7dit 'rame Tool 3if it is
active, otherwise this is not availale4.
So this switch kind of defined the anchor point for the pattern. +lthough we
used the word 8starts: for ease of e)planation its not e)actly right ecause
the pattern is also applied left of this start point, however always so that it
fits with the start point. +gain, trying is etter than thinking aout it.

Transpose
The V or * Gctave 3and for the filter also V and * semitones4 uttons allow
you to quickly transpose the complete 'ilter or Gscillator.
0enerally what you see is what you hearQ so when through shifting a
certain part of the filter disappears, its also no longer actively shaping the
sound. The same applies to the Gscillator harmonics, when though shifting
some vanish, you wont hear them.
While for the filter there is not much to say, for the oscillator one needs to
e clear aout whats going onO Shifting one octave down means that you
8loose: a lot of harmonics. The #
nd
harmonic ecomes the fundamental, the
J
th
harmonic ecomes #
nd
, the %
th
harmonic ecomes -
rd
and so on. This
means you loose all odd harmonics.
!f you shift up y one octave the opposite happens, leaving gaps etween
the harmonics 3fundamental ecomes #
nd
, #
nd
ecomes J
th
and so on,
leaving gaps on all odd harmonics4.
This however should not hold you ack e)perimenting, the transpose in the
Spectral 7ditor is a sound sculpturing tool, to do a mathematical transpose,
use the Semitone control of the Gscillator 3see page "$4 or the 'requency
control of the 'ilter 3see page #-4.
1lending
1lending is a powerful feature for comining multiple shapes into one and
thus creating new and more comple) harmonic spectrums or filter shapes.
Bou first need to select one from any of the factory or user saved
waveforms 3or filter shapes4. When clicking the name field it opens the
1rowser offering you the factory and user saved Waveforms or 'ilter&
Shapes for loading, depending on what you are editing.
'or Waveforms again you need to choose whether you want to load + or 1
from the saved data 3see the Loading Waveforms description on page "%
for more info4.

5e)t you can change the 1lend dial and watch the spectrum gradually
morph into the lended waveform.
'or filters the process is asically the same, =ust that you not morph into the
selected filter shape ut you can select whether the 7ditor should treat the
selected filter as eing connected in serial or parallel to the edited filter
shape. We choose this approach as for most people this is the way they
think aout uilding up comple) filters.
With the Shift dial 3only availale in the filter 7ditor4 you can also shift the
selected filter gradually against the edited filterQ again trying is the key to
see how simple and powerful this is in practice.
+dditional Tools
The Tool (enu as you know it from other modules is also availale in the
Spectral 7ditor, again located top right allowing to copy and paste settings.
6owever, it contains a numer of additional tools, depending on whether
you work on harmonics or filter andsO
5oteO (ost tools do consider oth the previously descried 7dit 'rame Tool
3page #I4 and the Pattern 3page -,4, further increasing the possiility of
purposeful editing.
Harmonic / Init to Sine
sets the fundamental to full level and all harmonics to silence.
Harmonic / Normalie !evels
+d=usts the level of all harmonics so, that the highest level is at , d1
Harmonic / Swap Harmonics
7)changes 7ven and Gdd harmonics
Harmonic / "andom Spectr#m
.reates a random spectrum
Harmonic / Init Phases to $
sets all Phases to ,, not changing the harmonics level.
Harmonic / Save %ave A and &
saves oth Waveform + and 1 3and the (i) setting4 for future use in other
patches. When giving a name to the file it might e useful to find something
descriptive for oth spectra, like the factory waveforms are named for
e)ample 8Sine * Saw: for a Sine and a Sawtooth spectrum. +nd yes, giving
it a descriptive name can e challenging.
Saving the harmonics is not affected y the 7dit Tool range or any Pattern
currently active.
'ilter &ands / Init to 'lat
Sets all filter ands so that the filter is not changing the audio at all 3as it
would e ypassed4
'ilter &ands / Normalie !evels
+d=usts the level of all filter ands so, that highest level is at , d1
'ilter &ands / !eft ( "ight
+pplies a horizontal swap of the filter ands
'ilter &ands / )op ( &ottom
+pplies a inversion of the filter ands level
'ilter &ands / Smoothen Shape
Smoothens the filter ands y averaging the level of each and with its
neighor ands. This is good for eautifying any hand drawn shapes, ut is
also useful when the shape has too drastic changes in level 3which might
sound unpleasing especially when modulating the frequency of the filter4.
'ilter &ands / Save
+ file dialog will come up allowing you to pick a name under which the filter
will e saved for future use in other patches. Saving the filter is not affected
y the 7dit Tool range or any Pattern currently active, its always saving the
complete filter ands definition, ut not settings from the filter section 3like
7nvelope Depth etc4.
(odulation
Spectral offers an incredile range of possile modulations. The instrument
contains "# independent +DSM < +6DS'M envelopes, $ independent L'Gs
3low frequency oscillators4, a sophisticated 0lide section, an +rpeggiator
and finally the (od (atri) 3(odulation (atri), see page JJ4 which is used
to set up certain modulations.
Gn the very left and very right are the selection uttons to choose which
7nvelope or L'G to edit. These uttons also indicate with their color if an
envelope or L'G is used. 'or L'GRs this means that they are in a matri)
routing. 'or 7nvelopes it also simply may mean that the corresponding
Gscillator or 'ilter is eing switched Gn. !n either case a slightly lit utton
indicates the L'G or 7nvelope is having some influence on the sound.
7nvelopes
7ach of the twelve envelopes modulates a different point in the SpectralSs
audio signal pathO
& The Gsc " to Gsc J envelopes control the volume of the respective
Gscillator.
& The 'il " to 'il J envelopes control the operation frequency of the
respective 'ilter.
& The three (od envelopes are general&purpose modulation sources
that can e used to modulate a range of destinations which can e
set using SpectralSs (od (atri).
& The (ain envelope controls the overall volume of the instrument.
The 7nvelopes are positioned elow the Gscillators and elow the 'ilters
they elong to, left and right of the (od (atri). The (odulation 7nvelopes
and the (ain 7nvelope are on the left elow the Gscillators.
+ll envelopes are e)actly the same. They are of +6DS'M type ut can also
act like a conventional +DSM envelope. +6DS'M stands for
+ttack, Hold, Decay, Sustain, 'ade, Melease

and are classic +DSM plus a 6old phase which determines a time span
etween end of +ttack and start of Decay and the 'ade phase where the
sustain can either fade in or out.
+n 7nvelope which !S synced to tempo
5e)t to the 7nvelope lael you find a switch to either run the envelope with
freely ad=ustale times or with times synced to the host tempo. !f an
envelope is synced to the host tempo, ut it seems not e quite right, check
the (od (atri) to see if maye the envelope time is modulated, which
might interfere with the intention to lock it to a certain tempo.
7nvelope time modulation allows to change the time eing set here to e
varied in a wide range from aout "<%J of the time up to %J times the time.
So if you for e)ample set a Decay of ",, ms it may e modulated down to
".$ ms and up to %.J seconds with for e)ample an L'G.
+TT75T!G5O When you set a time of , there is no modulation possile.
+ synced 7nvelope does not allow Pitch& or Celocity scaling. Times are
always fractions of "<"%
th
note, with a resolution of ,.,", so each "%
th
is split
into ",, for fine ad=ustment 3use shift&drag to change a value in small
steps4.
Gn the top right you find the Tool (enu as descried in the Tool (enu info
o) on page "$.
7nvelope Parameters
+ttack
The +ttack dial determines the time it takes for the envelope to reach its
ma)imum value. The range is , millisecond to "$ seconds.
!f used for Colume, it means that the 7nvelope takes so long to reach the
ma)imum +mplitude, for the 'ilters it takes so long to reach ma)imum
'requency 3or minimum 'requency when 7nvelope Depth is inverted, more
aout this in the 'ilter description on page #J4.
+n 7nvelope which is 5GT synced to tempo
6old
!f the +6DSM envelope is used, this dial controls the time gap etween end
of the +ttack phase and start of the Decay phase. !n classic +DSM
envelopes these phases are connected, as soon as +ttack is finished,
Decay will start. With the 6old parameter however the envelope can remain
at ma)imum level for a certain amount of time. The effect of that is
somewhat a it similar to applying a compressor. The range is ,
millisecond to $ seconds.
Decay
The Decay dial setting determines the time it takes from the +ttack peak to
the Sustain value of the envelope. MangeO " milliseconds to "$ seconds.
Sustain
The Sustain dial setting determines value at which the Decay phase ends,
that can e something in the range , to ",,U. !f set to ",,U it means that
the envelope wont fall from its ma)imum value, thus the decay is effectively
not taking place. + value of ,U means that the envelope is at minimum
value at the end of the Decay phase.
'ade
!f the +DS'M envelope is used, the 'ade determines the rate at which the
envelope moves from the Sustain level to either , 3for negative 'ade
values4 or its ma)imum value 3for positive 'ade values4. + 'ade setting of ,
means that the envelope remains at the Sustain level until the key is
released. The more you turn the dial towards V or &, the faster it fades
towards the respective destination. The fade time is in the range "%
milliseconds to ", seconds.

Melease
The Melease dial is used to set the time it takes the envelope to move from
the current level to , after the key is released 3the 5ote ends4. MangeO J
milliseconds to "$ seconds.
5oteO 'or the Gscillator&7nvelopes the ma)imum setting is 8oo: 3infinite4,
which means that the Gscillator&7nvelope does not affect the Melease and
that the Melease is determined y the (ain 7nvelope 3the overall Colume
envelope for the whole patch4.
Phase Shape
5e)t to each dial which controls a Time 3that is +ttack, Decay, 'ade and
Melease4 there is a Phase Shape control. !t determines how the respective
phase is working. !f it is a straight line, then the phase is working in a Linear
mannerQ changing it results in a either logarithmic or reverse logarithmic
shape. This has quite some effect, to try it we recommend you to use a
sound with a not too long volume release and play with the shape of the
release phase while listening to the results.
Pit Scale 3Pitch Scaling4
This kind of envelope scaling allows to change all 7nvelope times
according to the pitch 3the note eing played4, the reference key is the
middle ..
When turning this dial clockwise the envelope times get longer with higher
notes while turning it counter&clockwise shortens the envelope times with
higher notes. The shortening with higher notes is a phenomenon found on
many acoustic instruments.
Pitch scaling is not availale with Synced 7nvelopes 3see page -$4.
Cel Scale 3Celocity Scaling4
This kind of envelope scaling allows to change the +ttack time according to
the key eing played, the reference key is the middle ..
When turning this dial clockwise the +ttack get longer with harder played
notes while turning it counter&clockwise shortens the +ttack times with
higher velocity.
Celocity scaling is not availale with Synced 7nvelopes 3see page -$4.
0lide
0lide continuously changes the pitch from one note to the ne)t, connecting
the notes and letting you smoothly glide from one to the other. This is
usually utilized in (ono mode 3Coices Limit eing set to (ono, see pg A#4.
The 0lide (ode has J valuesO
GffO no 0lide is applied
GnO 0lide is applied, that is the pitch will glide to the new note,
even when there is a pause etween the previous and current
note.
6eldO Gnly if notes overlap 0lide is applied, however if they donRt
then the notes are played without 0lide. This makes it possile to
apply 0lide only to selected notes y at least slightly overlapping
them.
1endO This mode allows you to apply a predetermined pitch end to
each note. The end range is set using the Mange control elow
the (ode utton. + end range of &JI to VJI semitones is
availale. This is sometimes called +uto&1end 3and is actually no
0lide < Portamento at all4.
When 0lide is on, the Time<Mate dial is used to set the length of time it
takes for the first note to reach that of the second note. The Time<Mate
switch elow this dial has two settingsO Time and Mate. They determine the
manner in which the pitch of one note moves to that of the ne)t noteO
)ime When set to Time, it takes a constant amount of time to move from
one note to the ne)t. !n this case it will take the same amount of time to
reach the destination pitch regardless of whether the preceding notes are a
semitone apart or an octave apart. This parameter can e modulated using
the (od (atri) 30lide Time4.
"ate When set to Mate, the amount of time it takes to move from one note
to the ne)t depends upon how far apart the two notes are. The further apart
the notes, the longer it will take for the pitch of the first note to reach that of
the following note. This parameter can e modulated using the (od (atri)
30lide Time4.
5ote that the Time<Mate dial itself can either ad=ust an un&synced time
3thats a constant time, no matter what tempo your D+W is reporting to
Spectral4 or 3when you click the note icon4 a synced time in a wide range
so the timing of 0lide is always in sync with the song or pro=ect tempo.
0lide Mouting
5e)t are a numer of switches allowing you to define in detail how the
0lide is actually working in this specific preset.
'irst is a line allowing you to define whether or not 0lide is affecting the
Gscillator pitch. While this usually is what is most typical in 0lide it can e
turned of on an per&Gscillator asis for special effects.
The ne)t line allows this for the 'ilter frequency, providing the the Pitch
Track parameter of the 'ilter is set to any non&zero value. +gain, while for
the usual 0lide effect you will want this to happen, you can turn it off here.
The final line allows to define which of the J (odulation Sources will e
glided. Fsually when playing successive notes, these (odulation Sources
will change instantly from one note to another, however, with 0lide they
gradually change 3or not, when switched Gff here4.
5GT 35ote4 This is not to e confused with the first line 3Gscillator
Pitch4, this is aout the 5ote eing used as a (odulation
Source in the (atri).
C7L 3Celocity4 This affects three points in the signal flowO The effect of
Celocity to the (ain Colume, the effect on 'ilters 3when
Celocity Tracking4 is set and the use of Celocity in the
(atri).
+LT 3+lternate4 The +lternate modulation source in the (atri)
M5D 3Mandom4 The Mandom Fnipolar and Mandom 1ipolar modulation
sources in the (atri)
L'Gs
The SpectralSs L'G 38Low 'requency Gscillator:4 modules are located on
the right of the instrumentSs user interface, elow the filter, sharing the area
with the 'ilter envelopes.
+n L'G is an oscillator that generates 3rather4 low frequency signals which
can e used to modulate one of Spectral parameters, for e)ample the 'ilter
frequency or an Gscillators volume. Spectral contains $ separate L'Gs
which are identical ut fully independent.
The SpectralRs L'Gs are much more powerful than it seems at first, so in
case you are not consider yourself a power user you might maye skip the
in depth descriptions and =ust go with the 8L'Gs made easy: summaryO
L'Gs made easy&to&use
!n case you donRt need to fancy features and possiilities you may
work with much less of the L'GRs optionsO
Select the Poly 3oo4 or (ono 3(4 mode depending on whether or
not you want to have each voice its own L'G.
Select your desired waveform elow 3most of the time Triangle
serves well4 and keep the menu elow at its 85ormal: setting.
Bou can ad=ust the tempos with the Tempo dial and switch etween
6z and a synced tempo in the display aove the Tempo dial.
'orget aout Sym and Smooth, Phase, Delay and +ttack 3.trl&.lick
on P. and .ommand&.lick on (ac resets them to a useful default4
until you are ready to e)plore the L'GRs deeper.
7ach of the L'Gs can e used to modulate a range of destinations which
are to e set using the SpectralSs (od (atri) 3see the ne)t chapter for more
information aout the (od (atri)4. There e)ists no predefined modulation
of any kind, when an L'G not appears in the (od (atri), it does not affect
the sound, you can also see this on the slightly dimmed L'G utton on the
very right.
Gn the top right you find the Tool (enu as descried in the Tool (enu info
o) on page "$.
The first three uttons select one out of three overall function modes of the
L'GO
!n oo T !nfinite state, which is the normal, polyphonic operation mode the
L'G starts with each note independently and from the phase defined y its
Phase parameter, each note you play has its own L'GRs, independent from
other voices and the L'G runs as long as the note sounds.
!n 8(: 3(ono4 mode one L'G is applied to all synth voices simultaneously,
so all played notes share one permanently running L'G. This is useful
when a modulation should e 8in sync: across multiple notes.
(oreover the L'G is synced to the song position, so if you have a "<J
th
note
tempo set for the L'G, it will start e)actly at each "<J
th
note as the song
plays ack.
The third mode 8": is the Single setting. Single is a un&synced, polyphonic
mode, so again each voice has its own L'G. The L'G is again started with
the note, ut it only runs a single cycle 3or less, depending on the Phase
parameter4. This is particular useful for certain effects, for e)ample when
you use the L'G as kind of envelope.
6intO When applying the L'G Delay parameter, this single cycle can also
happen not right at the start of the note ut a it later, depending on the
actual Delay time.
Might elow this operation selector are K uttons to directly choose any
availale L'G waveform. These shapes are availaleO Sine, Triangle, Mamp
3Sawtooth4, Square3Pulse4, Peak 3logarithmic4, Peak 3linear4 5oise, Sample
and 6old and Mandom Pulse.
Polar 1elow the -)- waveform selector is the L'G Polar switch. !t can e
any of the states 5ormal, FniV, Fni& and .utV and .ut&, which are shown in
this imageO
!n many cases 5ormal and the Fni modes might not seem much different
from the audile effect, ut sometimes its more handy to know that the L'G
will only change the modulation value in one direction 3unipolar4 as
opposed to its normal ipolar operation.
The .ut modes actually deliver a modified waveform and are unipolar.
The huge 'req 3'requency4 dial determines the L'GRs frequency. +ove
the dial is a display which functions in two waysO usually it shows the
frequency in 6z or in 5otes 3when synced4. When you click it you can
select either a synced tempo setting like for e)ample "<"%
th
note or Gff,
which lets you ad=ust the 'requency in 6z.
Might of the 'requency is the Symmetry parameter. !t can e used to distort
the L'G waveform shape, as you might know it from oscillator waveforms.
The Smooth dial allows to gradually soften the L'G waveform which is
particularly useful when you apply Pulse, S6 or Madom Pulse waveforms to
amplitude modulation 3and sometimes filter modulation4 as otherwise this
can result in unwanted audile clicking.
5oteO Smooth does almost nothing on waveforms with low harmonics, so
its for e)ample without effect on the Sine waveform.
the Delay and +ttack dials. Please note that the Delay and +ttack
parameters do not function if the L'G is set to (ono mode 3ecause then
itSs a permanently running L'G4.
The Phase parameter sets the point in the waveform cycle at which the
L'G starts when its triggered 3y a 5ote eing played4. 6owever, its much
more powerfulO
1elow the dial is a switch that allows you to set three L'G&Start&(odesO
Phase, 'ree&Mun and Phase<(ono which will take a moment to e)plain in
full depthO
L'G&Start&(odes
The way an L'G is started depends on the overall function mode of the
L'G, which makes it a it complicate, ut tremendously versatileO
!n L'G Poly and L'G Single mode 3not host synced4 the L'G&Start&(odes
are
Phase the L'G starts with every note as set with the Phase dial
'ree the L'G starts with every note at an almost random phase
Pha/M 3Phase (ono4 is here like descried in 8Phase: aove
!n L'G (ono mode 3all voices share the L'G4 the meaning is
Phase the L'G always runs, its Phase is in accordance with the Phase
parameter. +n e)ampleO When you set Phase to , and Tempo to
X
th
5ote the L'G will start right on each quarter. 6owever, when
you set Phase to #$U it means that its shifted y #$U 3or K,
degree4 of its cycle, so each full cycle of the L'G wont start at the
quarter ut "<"%
th
note efore 3or you can think of it still starting at
the quarter, ut not at the start of the full cycle, ut instead #$U
later, for a Sine that would e the ma)imum positive value4.
'ree here the L'G simply is always right in sync with the host tempos
and song position, its equivalent to the Phase mode =ust descried,
when Phase is set to ,. !t is never re&triggered.
Pha/M is an e)tension to the Phase mode, it is like that, ut the L'G is
restarted with every first 5ote eing played after a pause. So
whenever you play a note after a pause, the L'G will start at that
moment, with the Phase as ad=usted with the Phase dial and it will
remain in that resulting total phase offset from now on. +ctually this
mode is harder to descrie than to e)plore, so please try it. !t is
usually used with the Coices eing set to (ono 3see page A# for a
description of the Coices parameter4
The Delay parameter sets the time efore the L'G egins running. + Delay
setting of , means that the L'G egins operating immediately.
Delay is not =ust suppressing the L'G, the L'G indeed only starts after the
Delay is over, so when you set a start&phase with the Phase dial, keep in
mind that Delay affects this.
Delay in only active when the L'G not runs in (ono mode 3host synced4
The +ttack dial setting determines the length of time it takes for the L'G to
reach its full amplitude. This can e used to slowly increase the amount of
modulation applied. + setting of , means that modulation commences
immediately. +ttack in only active when the L'G not runs in (ono mode
3host synced4
(od (atri)
The SpectralRs (odulation (atri) allows you to create "$ user&defined
modulation routings. (ore than ",, modulation destinations are availale
for modulation y more than -, modulation sources 3see +ppendi) 1 and .
for a listing and description of all modulation sources and destinations4.
(odulation sources are shown in a column on the left of the display, while
the destinations are shown on the right. The modulation amount is
displayed in the middle. To change a routing click on the source or
destination that you want to change. + menu will appear which lets you
select the new source or destination.
To remove a modulation source or destination select the P& & &P entry in the
menu. 7ach modulation routing can e switched on and off y doule
clicking on the modulation depth in the middle.
To change the modulation depth click on the amount display and move the
mouse 3while keeping the mouse utton pressed4 upwards or downwards
3increasing or decreasing the value4 until the desired amount has een
reached. + negative modulation depth inverts the waveform of the
modulation source.
This inversion is easiest to e)plain with an envelope as modulation source.
+n envelope is unipolar, so when you apply it with a positive depth of for
e)ample ".,,, the modulation will raise the destination parameter. With a
negative depth it will lower the destination parameter.
The modulation of Pitch has a special display for modulation depthO 'irst is
the amount in semitones shown, then a colon and ehind it the amount in
cents. Still the mouse affects oth values simultaneously, for finer control
use hold the Shift key on your computers keyoard 3more on this in the
.ontrols chapter on page "#4.
The Tools menu of the (atri) also contains a 8.lean: entry, which allows
you to clean the (atri), removing all modulations that have no effect.
+rpeggiator
The SpectralRs +rpeggiator allows you to create very sophisticated user&
defined arpeggios. +rpeggios are chords that are played as separate
successive notes 3also called roken chords4. With the SpectralRs
+rpeggiator you can control the way the arpeggio is played in great detail.
Might ne)t to the +rp 3+rpeggiator4 lael you find the (ode selector. The
+rpeggiator (ode defines how the +rpeggiator functionsO
GffO Switches the +rpeggiator completely off.
(od&GnlyO !n this mode the +rpeggiator is Gff and does not influence
chords 3or single notes4 eing played. 6owever, the +rpeggiator is
availale as a (odulation Source in the (odulation (atri) as if it were
switched on. Fsing the +rpeggiator in the (odulation (atri) is like
having an L'G with up to -# individually definale steps.
Fp, Down, Fp<Down, Fp<DownV, Down<Fp, and Down<FpVO These
modes play typical arpeggiator patterns or arpeggios which, as
descried aove, are the notes of the chord played successively
instead of simultaneously.
!n Fp mode the chord notes are played in ascending order starting from
lowest note. !n Down mode, the playack sequence is reversed with
chord notes eing played in descending order starting from highest
note. !n FpDown mode chord notes are played from lowest to highest
and then from highest to lowest. !n DownFp mode this pattern is
reversed. + 8V: sign after the mode type indicates that the highest and
lowest notes of the chord are played twice. 'or e)ample, in the case of
FpDown mode the chord .&7&0 would e arpeggiated as .&7&0&7 and
then repeated. !n the case of Fp<DownV mode, the chord would e
arpeggiated as .&7&0&0&7&. and then repeated.
MandomO !n this mode the notes of the chord are played in a random,
aritrary order.
.hordO !n this mode the +rpeggiator does not play the chord as
separate notes ut instead plays the chord in rhythmic phrases defined
y the other parameters.
+sPlayedO !n this mode notes are played y the +rpeggiator in the order
that the 5ote Gn messages were received y the instrument, or more
simply, in the way that the chord was actually played 3time wise4.

5e)t to the (ode is the Tempo menu, allowing you to set the note
sudivision of the individual arpeggiated notes. 'or e)ample, when Tempo
is set to "<"% it will play all the chordSs notes at "<"%th note sudivisions.
Then comes a switch to select either the first "% 3".."%4 or the second "%
3"A..-#4 arpeggiator steps to e shown in the display. (any arpeggios use
"% or less notes, ut this way arpeggios up to -# steps can e programmed
without making the display too large or too crowded.
Gn the very right you find the Tool (enu as descried in the Tool (enu info
o) on page "$, however you can even save and load its settings for future
use. This way you can uild an entire lirary of your own +rpeggiator
patterns if you wish.
Step Display
Lets e)amine the large J y J area in the center of the +rpeggiator ne)t. !ts
surrounded y a couple of controls on its left and right side and is the heart
of the +rpeggiator. The 8Step Display: contains the +rpeggiatorSs -# steps
in two sections 3".."% and "A..-#, which can e switched top right of the
display4. This is where the rhythmic patterns of the +rpeggiator are defined.
+s we said aove, the SpectralSs +rpeggiator reaks a chord into separate
notes of equal length 3defined y the Tempo4 parameter4 and plays them
sequentially. !n the Step Display each note step can e
given a different velocity value
transposed
ad=usted in length
assigned a specific note of the chord
programmed to 8glide: from the previous step
(oreover rests can e inserted into the pattern and notes can e tied
together to form longer notes.
The following info graphics can also e viewed on the +rp when
clicking the help utton 3the 8W: utton4 at the top right of the window.
Within the Step Display, each step can have its own valuesO
*elocity This is ranging from " to "#A. + Calue of 8Gff: means that no note
value is defined for the step so that a pause or rest is created in the
arpeggiator pattern. + value of 8Tie: means that this steps is ound together
with the previous step, creating a longer note duration.
+ttentionO !n case the Celocity value does not seem to have any effect or a
too sutle effect, check the gloal Celocity parameter of the arp 3descried
on page $" 4 as it may render your changes here inaudile.
1oth a Tie and an Gff result in the other parameters of this step eing
greyed out, to indicate they have no meaning for and Gff note and no
meaning if the previous note is =ust continued.
5oteO Placing a Tie after an Gff is the same as placing an Gff ehind an Gff.
1oth result in a longer pause.
Meturning to the .&7&0 chord e)ample presented aove, step values of
"#A, "#A, Gff, ",,, Tie, -,, Gff, Tie would result in the following sequence
of notes 3assuming a "<"% Tempo setting and the +rpeggiator eing in Fp
mode4O
'irstly, note . would e played with ma)imum velocity and duration "<"%
th
.
Then note 7 would e played the same way. 5e)t there would e a "<"%
th

duration pause, followed y the note 0 played with a velocity of ",, and a
note duration of "<I
th
3as the following step is tied to this step4. Then the
note . would e played with a velocity of -, and a duration of "<"%
th
length.
'inally, there would e a "<I
th
pause.
Please note that the arpeggio will vary so that when it returns to step one it
will now play an 7 with velocity of "#A and "<"%
th
durationQ thatRs ecause
the chord has - notes while the pattern contains J notes. !n this case the
arpeggiator will play .&7&0&. followed y 7&0&.&7 and then 0&.&7&0
efore starting with the first pattern again. This is very useful for some
rhythmic variations ut can e confusing at first.
)ranspose as we will see later using a setting of # or more octaves may
lead to transposition of notes, ut each step can also have its own
transpositionO .hanging this value within the range &#J to V#J creates some
additional variation to the arpeggio.
+ate !n addition to the gloal 0ate parameter left of the display each step
can have its own length setting. 1oth settings, gloal 0ate and 0ate of the
step together form the step length 3the time the 5ote is Gn during this
particular step4.
5oteO on top of this, this parameter can e modulated in the (atri)
3destination +rp 0ate4.
Note N#m,er !f you not yet got confused y the variations possile, here is
the ne)t chanceO Fsually the arpeggio plays the notes one y one, this is
always the case until you touch the 5ote 5umer parameter which is
availale at the ottom left.
1asically what it does is going to a specific note in the chord eing played.
Two e)amplesO
!f you play .&7&0 3the time order matters here, so first ., than 7, than 0,
even if played as a chord4. So the +rp 3without taking the note numer into
consideration4, as its in Down mode, would play
0&7&.&0 7&.&0&7 .&0&7&. and so on forever.
5ote the 85ote 5umer: # in step #
5ow, the note numer on step # is #. This oviously changes nothing for
the first iteration 0&7&.&0 ut then, after its J
th
step the +rp returns to step
", playing 7 and then step #, which now is not . 3as it would e playing
ack in Down order4 ut again 7 3as we so to say nailed it to the second
note eing played4. So the complete pattern looks like thisO
0&7&.&0 7&7&.&0 7&7&.&0 and so on forever
+s you see the pattern continues after a step with a note numer as
defined y the +rpeggiator Gperation (ode 38Down: in this e)ample4.
5oteO if you play less notes than a note numer in the patter is 3lets say a
step sets 5ote numer to - and you only play two notes4, then the note
numer is roken down 3mathematically the modulo operation4, that is note
numer - ecomes " 3and J would ecome #, $ would ecome " again and
so on4. So no matter how many notes you play, a 5ote 5umer defined for
a step is always a step thats eing played.
+lide 'inally you have the option to use 0lide even in the +rpeggiator.
Fsually when you set the gloal 0lide to Gn it plays on all notes, when you
set it to 6eld it only is active on overlapping notes, which is never the case
with an arpeggio.
6owever, here comes the +rpeggiators 0lide into playO When activated the
current step will glide from the previous steps. (oreover, when the previous
pitch has a length of ",,U 3the steps so to say touch each other without
any gap4, this step will not re trigger the envelopes.
(ore +rpeggiator Parameters
Gn each side of the display there are a couple of controls to modify how the
+rpeggiator worksO
The Steps parameter allows you to define how many of the availale -#
steps are actually used for a particular arpeggio. 5ote that wile most
arpeggios may have I, "%, #J or -# steps for rhythmic variation a few more
or less, for e)ample A, "J or "$ steps can e amazingly interesting.
The setting of the +ate defines the actual duration of each note. While the
Tempo setting 3descried ne)t4 determines the time sudivision of each
arpeggiator step, the 0ate parameter determines how much of this time
sudivision that the note is on and how much it is off.
'or e)ample, with the 0ate set at ",,, the note is the full step length. +
middle setting of $, means that the note plays for half of the time 3for
e)ample if the Tempo parameter was set to "<"%
th
then in this case the note
would have an actual duration equivalent to a "<-#
nd
note4.
5oteO The effect of shorter 0ate values is only prominent with sounds that
have a short release time.
The J Octave uttons to the left of the Step Display e)tend the arpeggiated
note range regardless of the octave in which the note was originally played.
'or e)ample, setting the Gctave to # means that the notes of the chord will
e played as originally played, and also transposed y one octave up. This
can e e)tended up to J octaves 3original V -ocatves up4.
The setting of the "etrigger switch determines whether or not a new chord
will restart the +rpeggiator. !f Metrigger is activated and there is a gap
etween two consecutive chords, the +rpeggiator will restart when the
second chord is played. !f Metrigger is deactivated the +rpeggiator will
continue onto the ne)t step when a new chord is played.
5e)t to the Metrigger are the )ranspose On/Off and !ength On/Off
switches. While usually you might want to have them Gn, you can control
the effect of the Transpose and length parameter on the pattern y
switching this Gff and Gn. (oreover, when set to Gff you might find it useful
to use either or oth Transpose and Length as a modulation value 3via the
(od (atri)4 and thus modify another parameter of Spectral with each
+rpeggiator step.
*elocity Gn the right side we first have the 8+ Cel P: dial. This one is aout
Celocity. While each step of an arpeggio has its 8automatic: velocity.
6owever you can also simply 8play: a chord with a different velocity for
each note.
So it should also e possile to arpeggiate the notes with the velocity at
which they are actually played. This is achieved y setting the Celocity
parameter to its full right position 3P means Played4, in which case the
velocity of each step in the arpeggiator has no meaning or is overridden.
Gn the other hand, the full left setting means that the velocity at which the
chord is played is meaningless and the velocity of the notes is determined
only y the arpeggiator 3+ means +utomatic4.
+d=usting this parameter somewhere etween these e)tremes gives you
the rhythmic variations of the steps comined with the e)pression of the
actually played chord.
5oteO 8Celocity: values of Gff and Tie keep their meaning, no matter the
actual value of the Celocity dial.
Swing
This adds a swing effect to the notes eing played, so within a given clock
the odd step numers 3notes4 are lengthened while the even ones are
shortened or vice versaQ this is much more easy to e)plore than to e)plain,
please use a pattern of J "<Ith notes and play with the swing parameter to
hear the ovious effect.
The +rpeggiator will always ad=ust the first note 3when its not e)actly in
timing4 so that the successive notes are e)actly in sync with the song
position. This can e switched Gff if desired in the Setup 3see the Lock
+rpeggiator to Song Position option descried on page AK4.
!f the +rpeggiator is triggered with an e)act timing your wont notice this,
however, if the triggered 5otes comes more than only a it too early or late
it might result in a longer or shorter first note. (ore info in the following info
o)O
Help- the first Arp note is always of ar,itrary length .
The truth is, that its not aritrary. There is a system ehind itO When
you play a note, and the host transport is playing, then your note is
either e)act in the timing or its more or less slightly efore or after
the eat. Thats where the changes in first note length come fromO
when you play the note too early, the +rpeggiator makes it =ust so
much longer that the following notes are in sync with the song again.
Same the other way aroundO when you play a it late, the first note
will e a it shorter to get ack to sync.
!ts a it different when transport is stopped, then Spectral uses its
own internal sync, which resets after each pause of " second. So
after a pause it will start its internal sync with the first note, unless
your pause is shorter than a second, than it assumes you try to stay
in the timing you played efore the pause.
To put it shortO !f you want all notes to e the same length, the
simples way is to have a tight timing for all notes you send to the
SpectralRs +rpeggiator.
7ffects
Spectral has % independent, simultaneously&availale stereo effects
modules. 7ach module can e set to one of many different effects. +t the
end of effects chain is a (aster 7N unit.
Gn the right of the 7ffects lael is an Gn<Gff switch for the currently shown
effect.
5e)t to it are the effects name which can e clicked and then turns into a
menu allowing you to select any of the availale effect types.
Gn the top right you find the Tool (enu as descried in the Tool (enu info
o) on page "$.
Gn the very right of the 7ffects Section there are A switches which
correspond with the availale effects units. 7ach switch shows the name of
the currently selected effect type for each unit. The currently visile unit is
lit. !f a switch is dimmed, the corresponding effects unit is currently
switched on, if the witch is Gff the effects unit is Gff too.
The large Wet dial is for ad=usting the amount of effect applied and the
Gutput selector. + setting of ",,U means that Dry and Wet 3original and
processed4 signals are mi)ed together with the same level. + setting of
#,,U means that you only have the processed signal.
5oteO The Wet control has no meaning for the .ompressor and the
Parametric 7N effects, these two are always processed signal only.
(oreover the 'ilter is an effects that you usually would want to run without
the Dry signal, so #,,U is a typical setting here.
'inally, with the menu at the ottom right, each successive effect or the
main output can e chosen as output for an effects processor.
5oteO 0enerally, when a time or rate is displayed in any of the effects, the
display functions as a popup menu when you click it, offering you the Sync
times listed in +ppendi) +. .hoosing such a sync value, e.g. "<"%
th
note
does sync the respective time or rate with the song tempo.
Gnce you chose such a synced value, the dial elow changes the synced
values, to go ack to a un&synced time or rate, again click the display and
choose 8Gff:.
5oteO Sometimes, especially with very fast or very slow songs, it can e
that a synced value e)ceeds the tempo range or time range of an effect. !n
this case the synced value will e internally corrected y factor #. +n
e)ampleO when you chose to sync a delay to a Y note and have a song
tempo of A$ pm this would result in a "%,, ms delay time. +s the delays
have a ma)imum time of "-,,ms the setting will internally e corrected to
X note 3I,, ms4.
.horus
The .horus effect can e used to thicken a single sound creating the
impression that it contains multiple voices. There are two .horus in
Spectral oth share a lot so they are descried together in this section. The
.horus works y mi)ing delayed signals with the original signal. .horus #
offers fewer control over the sound ut uses a different algorithm and might
e etter suited for certain sounds, particularly with audio that has a wide
stereo image.
The .horus "
The Time dial is used for setting the delay time. (iddle or longer times
produce a typical chorusing effect while shorter times rather create a
flanging effect.
The Mate dial sets the rate at which the signal is modulated.
6intO Sometimes its a good comination to have Time high and Mate low or
Time low and Mate high, ut of course everything is a matter of taste.
The .horus #
+ unique feature of the .horus " are its Time Spread and Mate Spread
parameters. 1asically, Spread makes the chorus sound fatter y adding
random deviations to the Time and Mate parameters. The degree of
randomness depends on the spread Time and Mate parametersQ setting the
Spread Time and Mate to , cancels the effectQ increasing the value of the
Spread Time and Mate parameters adds additional richness and fullness to
the sound. !t can also make the effect sound more natural.
5oteO Mate Spread is only widening the sound with lower values, and
narrowing it again with higher values ecause when the modulation speed
is reduced more than only a it, it reduces the .horus 7ffect.
The Stereo dial is used to ad=ust the width of the stereo image. To create
the ma)imum stereo effect keep the dial all the way to the right. 5ote that
when used in comination with other stereo enhancing effects 3such as the
ping pong delay4 it might e desirale to set the Stereo dial to a lower
value.
With the !nvert utton you can control whether or not the internal feedack
inverts the signal or not. !nverted Signals usually sound smoother ut lack
lower harmonics, so depending on the desired effect the switch can used.
The Pan parameter allows the .horus effect to e placed outside the
center of the signal which might e desired for certain effects.
.ompressor
The .ompressor can e used to control the dynamic range of the sound.
.ompression can e used to increase the perceived volume of a sound y
reducing the level transient peaks, and thus allowing for an increasing of
the average signal level without clipping.
The Matio dial is used to set the ratio etween the input and output level of
signals that are aove the .ompressorRs Threshold level. The compression
ratio can e set anywhere etween "O" 3no compression4 and ",O" 3heavy
compression4.
The Threshold dial is used to set the signal level at which the .ompressor
egins operating. The Threshold dial has a range of &#J to ,d1 and
automatically ad=usts the make&up 0ain to give ,d1 signal peaks.
The +ttack dial is used to set how quickly the compressor responds to
changes in the input signal.

The Melease dial sets the amount of time that it takes for the compressor to
return to unity gain after the signal falls elow the Threshold level. The
Melease time has a range of " millisecond to J seconds.
The SpectralRs compressor features an +uto&(ake&Fp&0ain, which ad=usts
the Colume so that a input of , d1 Colume will result in an output of ,d1.
6owever, when you feed in significantly lower or higher signal levels you
might want to manually ad=ust the volume with the Colume control.
.rusher
The SpectralSs .rusher is a Lo&'i < Distortion effect that comines it&depth
and sample&rate reduction with 8smoothing: algorithms allowing the
resolution of the signal to e decreased, therey making the sound rougher
and noisier. This effect processor also includes a filter.
The 1its control enales you to reduce the it depth of the output signal
from oo its 3the signal is not changed4 to ".,, its. Meducing the it depth
adds a harsh, noisy quality to the sound.
The .utoff dial is used to set the operation frequency 3in 6z4 aove which
frequencies are filtered out of the signal when using a Low&Pass 'ilter.
6igher settings produce righter sounds while lower settings result in
darker sounds. Bou can also use other filter types with the Type Selection
utton ne)t to the Mesonance dial.
The Mesonance dial is used to set the amount of emphasis around the
cutoff frequency. 6igher settings create a more pronounced peak in the
signal while lower settings produce a flatter response.
The Type Selection utton allows you to choose one of four "# d1 filter
typesO LP T Low Pass, 6P T 6igh Pass, 1P T 1and Pass and 1M T 1and
Me=ect 3also called 5otch4.
The +uto&Col utton allows a compressor < e)pander to e switched into the
signal path. This reduces the overall effect of the .rusher making the
sound less harsh and more 8musical:.
The Divider dial controls a sample&rate divider that divides the current
sample&rate y the current dial setting. 'or e)ample, if the current sample&
rate is JJ." k6z, then setting the Divider dial to #, halves the sample&rate to
##.,$ k6z. Manges from " to -#.
When this Divider dial is set to a value other than ", a new output sample
value must e created for each group of samples in the input audio stream.
'or e)ample, if the Divider dial is set to a value of J, then four 3possily
different4 samples in the input stream are replaced y four samples with a
single value in the output audio stream.
The Divider (ode menu determines how the output sample value is
created from the input samples. Three options are availaleO
+C0 T +verage 6ere it calculates the average of the input samples and
uses this as the output sample value for each of the input samples.
STP T Step This option takes the first sample in each group of input
samples and uses this as the output sample value for each of the input
samples. This is the most harsh and rough sound.
SLD T Slide This option takes the first sample in each group of input
samples, interpolates etween them and uses the interpolated value as the
output sample value for each of the input samples.
The 'il Post Div 3'ilter Post Divider4 utton is used to set the position of the
.rusherSs 'ilter with respect to the Divider. 1y default, the 'ilter is efore
the Divider in the signal path. Switching this utton on moves the 'ilter to
after the Divider in the signal path.
Delay 3(odulation&Delay4
This (odulation&Delay effect can e used to create echoes and other
related effects. !t works in Stereo, ut the delay times for the left and right
channel are always the same. 'or more control over the time of each
channel use either the Stereo Delay or the Ping Pong Delay descried
ne)t.
The Time dial is used for setting the delay time 3in milliseconds4. This can
range from " ms to "-,, ms and is displayed aove the dial.
The time display also functions as a Sync popup menu which can e used
to sync the delay time with the current host 3D+W4 tempo 3see +ppendi) +
for the range of possile sync settings4.
The 'eedack dial allows you to ad=ust the numer of times the signal
repeats or echoes.
+lso included in the Delay section is a variale low pass<high pass %d1<Gct
filter which is ad=usted with the 'ilter dial. Towards the right 3showing
negative values4 a low pass filter is applied. Towards the left 3showing
positive values4 a high pass filter is applied. The more you move the dial
from the center, the more the filter will modify the delayed signal.
The Stereo dial allows ad=ustment of the stereo&width, for the full stereo
effect keep it set fully right. The more you move it to the left, the more the
effects signal ecomes monophonic. !n the center position you effectively
have a mono delay. (oving it further to the left gradually widens the stereo
image again, only that the Left and Might outputs appear on the opposite
side.
5oteO Gnly when modulation is applied a stereo effect is audile.
The (od Mate sets the rate 3in 6z4 at which modulation takes place. The
rate display aove the dial also functions as a Sync popup menu when you
click it.
The (od Depth dial is used to set the depth to which the delayed signal is
modulated, while the Mate dial determines the modulation speed. 'or
e)ample, if you set a delay time of ",,ms and a depth of $,U, the amount
of modulation is $,U of ",,ms 3$, ms4. !n this case youRll get a delay time
that varies from $, 3",, & $,ms4 up to "$, 3",, V $,ms4.
Delay 3Ping Pong Delay4
The Ping Pong Delay lets the signal move from left to right and ack, a it
like a game of ping pong
The Ping Pong Delay functions as followsO the input signal is first delayed
y Time Pre amount, then itSs delayed y Time Left amount and finally y
the Time Might amount.
When 'eedack is applied the 8Time Might: signal is fed ack into the left
delay line, so that an alternating left&right delay is produced.
The Time Pre, Time Left and Time Might dials are used for setting the initial,
left and right channel delay times 3in milliseconds4. This can range from "
ms to "-,, ms 3time display also functions as a Sync menu4.
6intO + value of , ms can e set for the Time Pre value effectively disaling
the pre&delay.
The 'eedack dial allows you to set the numer of times the signal repeats
or echoes.
5e)t to the 'eedack dial is a switch which sets the feedack either after
each left GM right delay 3thats called 8per stage:4 or after each complete left
+5D right delay. The difference etween these two modes is most ovious
with feedack settings of -,U to $,U.
The 1al Pre<LM dial is used to set the alance etween the initial pre&delay
and the following left and right delays. This allows you to alance the initial
delay response against all successive echoes. Gr you can completely
suppress it 3setting the dial all the way to the right4.
The Pan Left<Pan Might dials are used to set the pan position of the left and
right delays.
6intO !f you want the delayed signal to appear on the right side first, use the
Pan controls to e)change left and right positions 3moving Pan Left fully to
the right and Pan Might fully to the left4.
Delay 3Stereo Delay4
The Stereo delay offers separate times for the left and right echo.
The Time Left and Time Might dials are used for setting the left and right
channel delay times 3in milliseconds4. This can range from " ms to "-,,
ms.
The left and right channels of the delayRs output can e independently
synced to the songRs current tempo using the time display which also acts
as a Sync popup menu 3see +ppendi) + for the range of possile sync
settings4.
The 'eedack dial allows you to set the numer of times the signal repeats
or echoes.
The Stereo dial allows ad=ustment of the stereo&width, for full stereo width
keep it set fully right. The more you move it to the left, the more the effects
signal ecomes monophonic. !n the center position you effectively have a
mono delay. (oving it further to the left gradually widens the stereo image
again, only that the Left and Might outputs appear on the opposite side.
The Link LVM utton 3located eneath the Time Might dial4 is used to
automatically match the feedack amount of the shorter delay to that of the
longer delay. 'or e)ample, if you set the left channel delay time to ", ms,
the right channel delay time to ",, ms and feedack to K,U, you will hear
the left channel delay fade out much more quickly than the right channel
delay 3this is what you would e)pectE4. 6owever, when you press the Link
utton the feedack of the channel with the shorter delay time is ad=usted
so that the signal fades out in the same amount of time as the longer delay
3thus the feedack for the shorter time is increased4.
The 6ighpass 36igh Pass 'ilter .utoff 'requency4 dial is used to set the
frequency 3in 6z4 elow which frequencies are filtered out of the signal.
6igher settings produce thinner, righter sounds, while lower settings
produce fatter sounds including low frequencies.
The Lowpass 3Low Pass 'ilter .utoff 'requency4 dial is used to set the
frequency 3in 6z4 aove which frequencies are filtered out of the signal.
6igher settings produce righter sounds while lower settings result in
darker sounds.
7N 3Parametric4
The SpectralSs Parametric 7N 37qualizer4 effect contains # independent
parametric equalizer stages in series. !ts the same as the (aster 7N, ut
without the .ut&'ilters.
The 'req 3'requency4 control sets the frequency at which the 7N operates.
+ range of #, 6z to "".,,, 6z is availale.
The 0ain control sets the amount of gain that is applied to the selected
frequency. 5ote that the gain can e positive or negative. + positive gain
corresponds to oosting the signal while a negative gain corresponds to
cutting the signal. + range of V&"I d1 is availale.
The N 3Nuality4 controls set the andwidth of the filter. + large value means
that a wider andwidth is affected while a smaller values means only a
narrow and is affected.
'ilter
The Drive dial 3Saturation4 enales you to set the amount of filter drive or
distortion. This can e used to create a distorted sound.
The .utoff dial is used to set the operation frequency of the filter. The 'ilter
Type menu right of the Mesonance dial allows you to select one of four filter
typesO
LP"# T Low Pass "# d1
6P"# T 6igh Pass "# d1
1P"# T 1and Pass "# d1
1M"# T 1and Me=ect "# d1
The Mesonance dial is used to set the amount of emphasis around the
cutoff frequency. 6igher settings create a more pronounced peak in the
signal while lower settings produce a flatter response.
5e)t is a Colume control to ad=ust the level after the filter, as sometimes it
might e desired to reduce it a it especially when applying heavy Drive
and<or Mesonance or raise it after filtering a lot of the original signal.
The filterRs cutoff frequency can e modulated using the (od Mate and (od
Depth controls.
The (od Mate dial allows you to set the rate at which the filterRs cutoff
frequency is modulated. The modulation rate is displayed in 6z, the display
also functions as a Sync menu.
The (od Depth control is used to set the depth to which the filterRs cutoff
frequency is modulated.
'langer
The SpectralSs 'langer can e used to create the classic flange effect
produced y using two analog tape machines playing ack the same signal
ut with small 3and changing4 differences in the playack speed of the
machines.
The Time control defines the length of the delay line, representing the delay
etween the original 3tape machine "4 and the delayed < wet signal 3tape
machine #4.
The 'eedack control feeds the processed signal ack to the input of the
effect producing a more pronounced and richer effect.
The !nvert control inverts the processed signalRs phase against the original
signal, giving a sutly different sound.
The Stereo dial allows ad=ustment of the stereo width of the 'langer. This is
effectively phase shifting the modulation on the left and right audio channel,
so often a rather smaller value is more pleasing that a fully right setting.
The (od Mate control sets the speed of the flange effect 3the speed of the
cyclic changes of the two tape machines4. This setting can e either made
with the dial or set as a fraction of the song tempo using the 8Sync: popup
menu.
The (od Depth control is the key parameter for determining the depth of
the flange. The higher the setting, the more pronounced the effect.
The Pan Depth control allows the stereo position of the flanged signal to e
modulated according to the setting of the Mate parameter.
0ator
The 0ator 3sometimes called 0ater or =ust 0ate&7ffect4 is a step&controlled
audio gate that can e used to create rhythmic, stuttering and pulsing
effects. The effect is unique in that it separates the input signal into left and
right components, each of which can e gated independently.
The Steps control consists of two rows of si)teen 8uttons:, one for each
rhythmic step of the pattern. When a utton is on, the signal is passed
through the effect. +lternately, when a utton is off, the signal is gated. The
duration of each step depends on the setting used in the Tempo control.
The Smooth control sets the envelope shape of the gate for each step
value. + lower setting of the Smooth control creates a sharper envelope
shape that produces a more pronounced gating effect. !ncreasing the value
of the control 8smoothes: the envelope creating a more pulsing, tremolo&
like sound.
The Link control is used to set the way that the 0atorSs step uttons
respond to user input. This control has three settingsO Gff, Link and 9Link.
When set to 8Gff:, each step utton can e switched on and off
independently of any other utton. When set to Link, the step uttons for
the left and right patterns are linked together so that switching either utton
turns oth uttons on or off. When set to 9Link, the step uttons for the left
and right patterns are linked together, however in this case they work in a
complementary mannerZwhen one utton is on, the other will e off. !n
this case only one of the two left and right channel uttons can e switched
on at the same time.
The Tempo control sets the duration of each step. 'or e)ample, a setting of
"<"% means that each pattern step is equivalent to a "%
th
note. 5ote that the
overall tempo at which the 0ator effect operates is set in the host software.
Phaser
The SpectralSs Phaser can e used to create swirling dynamic movement in
sounds. The Phaser effect is created y automatically sweeping a series of
equally spaced frequency notches up and down the audio spectrum.

The .enter dial is used to set the frequency around which modulation
occurs.
The Stages dial sets the numer of stages in the phaser. 7ach phaser
stage shifts the signalRs phase y "I, degrees. The higher the Stages
setting, the more frequency notches there are in the signal and so the more
pronounced is the phasing effect.
The 'eedack dial is used to set the amount of internal feedack employed
within the phaser. (ore internal feedack produces increasingly
pronounced resonant peaks.
Fse the Stereo control to widen the stereo image. !f itRs set full left the
modulation on the left and right channel will e in perfect synchronization.
+t full right setting the left and right channel will e completely out of phase,
creating an e)treme stereo effect. The est 3rather sutle4 stereo effect is
achieved with settings around the mid mark.
The Mate dial sets the rate at which the signal is modulated. The Mate
display also word as a Sync popup menu 3see +ppendi) + for the range of
possile sync settings4.
The Depth dial is used to set the intensity of the modulation.

The !nvert utton allows you to invert the phase of the effects signal that is
created to otain a more or less different sound.
Mever
The Mever effect is used to add amiance to sounds.
The Predelay dial enales you to delay the processed signal y a given
amount 3in milliseconds4 so as to achieve a more natural revereration.
5ormally, shorter Predelay times are applied in the case of smaller room
sizes while longer Predelay times are applied in the case of larger room
sizes. MangeO , ms..."#$ ms.
The time display also functions as a Sync popup menu can e used to sync
the Predelay time with the current tempo 3see +ppendi) + for the range of
possile sync settings4.

The Moomsize dial is used to set the size of the simulated room. The
Moomsize varies from a small chamer up to a huge hall.
The simulated roomRs wall materials can e ad=usted with the Damp
3Damping4 dial. This parameter ranges from practically loss&free reflecting
walls 3,U damping4 up to very asorent walls 3K,U damping4. !n practical
terms, the amount of damping determines the amount of higher frequencies
that are contained in the processed signalO The higher the Damp 3Damping4
setting, the more that higher frequencies are removed from the processed
signal.
The Mever also allows a decent modulation which is controlled with the
(od Depth dialQ the effect is similar to a chorus and also suppresses a
certain metallic sound which otherwise can occur in large rooms.
The (od +ctive switch allows quick comparison of the signal with and
without modulation.
Wah&Wah
The Wah&Wah effect is an amplitude&controlled andpass filter that can e
used to produce vocal&like sounds, particularly 8wah&type: sounds.
The Sensitivity control sets the degree to which the input signalRs amplitude
affects the filter cutoff frequency. Lower values produce a less&pronounced
wah effect, while higher values produce stronger, more vocal&like wah
sounds.
The .utoff control is used to set the centre frequency 3in 6z4 at which the
andpass filter operates.

The Mesonance control is used to set the amount of emphasis around the
cutoff frequency. 6igher settings create a more pronounced peak in the
signal while lower settings produce a flatter response.
The Colume dial is primarily to ad=ust the level after the filter, as the Wah&
Wah can reduce volume quite a it 3or in case of heavy Mesonance even
oost it4.
The +ttack control is used to set the response time of the filter to changes
in the input signalRs amplitude. 'aster +ttack times mean that the wah effect
is triggered more quickly, while slower +ttack times introduce a delay efore
the wah effect is produced.
The Decay control is used to set the recovery time of the filter after the
input signalRs amplitude has changed. 'aster Decay times mean that the
wah effect returns to its default value more quickly, while slower Decay
times mean that the wah effect returns to its default value more slowly.
(aster 7N
+ll +udio finally gets through the (aster 7N, if its switched Gn. !ts the last
audio processing efore +udio is routed to the host 3your D+W4.
The (aster 7N has the same controls as the Parametric 7N descried on
page %-, plus a Low&.ut and a 6igh&.ut 'ilter, suited for removing
frequencies at the lower or upper end of the frequency range.
1oth .ut filters have a 'req 3're/#ency4 parameter to ad=ust the operation
frequency, the range for the Lo&.ut is D. 3, 6z4 up to %J, 6z and for the
6i&.ut %J, 6z to ## k6z. The Lo .ut more or less reduces frequencies
elow its operating frequency, depending on the Stages parameter
descried ne)t. 'or the 6i&.ut all frequencies aove the operation
frequency are reduced.
1oth also have a Stages parameter which controls how many %d1 Stages
are used, the range is " to I so the roll&off of each shelf&filter can e
ad=usted etween % d1<Gctave up to JI d1<Gctave.
The (ain Section
!n the (ain section you find a couple of gloal settingsO The .hord (emory,
7)actness, Coices, Fndo and Medo, the 1ank and Preset 5ame, Colume
and a couple of other controls.
.hord (emory
The .hord 3.hord (emory4 function allows you to record chords and
include them with the current preset. The idea ehind it is, to trigger
multiple notes which can e interesting sound effects, often when using the
+rpeggiator to reak this chord into many, successively played notes.
The .hord utton has three statesO
the left state 3single note4, means .hord memory is Gff
the middle state 3a red chord4 means you are in Learn mode and
can now record a simple two notes chord up to a I note comple)
chord.
The right state 3a lue chord4 means that .hord memory is Gn,
turning every 5ote message into the chord which was previously
recorded.
5ote that the order in which notes are played in Learn (ode is importantO
the first note is taken as the root or asic note and all successive notes are
stored y interval relative to this first note. 'or e)ample, if you learn the
chord .&7&0 y actually playing the 7 first, the . is stored as &J semitones
and the 0 as V- semitones.
This means that if you play a . note when in Play mode after recording the
chord from the aove e)ample, the resulting chord will e 0[&.&D[.
7)actness
The 7)actness control can e used to set the accuracy of the SpectralRs
signal generation. When it is set to less than ",,U small inaccuracies are
introduced at many different points in the SpectralRs signal chain. This is
useful if youRre aiming to replicate the warmth of an old analog synthesizer.
Coice Limit
The Coices control is used to set the numer of voices 3polyphony4
availale. Settings availale include (ono and various amount of notes
from " to "%.
Gne thing that may e confusing is the difference etween (ono and "
setting. !t can e e)plained as followsO Say that you hold down one key and
then press and release a second key. !n the case of the (ono voice setting,
the first note will sound, and then the second note sounds. When the
second note is released the first note sounds again. This creates a pedal
tone effect typical for monophonic synthesizers. When set to " after
releasing the second note, the first will not sound again. !n this case only
the amount of voices are limited to ", =ust like with any other limit value.
+lso, when playing overlapping notes, with 8": 7nvelopes and L'GRs will re&
trigger with each note, while with 8(ono: they wont.
Fndo < Medo
The ne)t two uttons allow to undo 3and redo4 parameter changes.
Sometimes when editing a sound you may accidentally change a
parameter or not e happy with the sound you created. !f you only changed
a few parameters it might e easiest to undo these recent changes. Bou
can do so y clicking the Fndo utton once or multiple times.
!n case you went ack to far, having clicked Fndo once too often you can
simply redo 3that is kind of undo the undo4 the last change. 5ote that you
can redo as many times as you did undo efore 3however, any manual
parameter change will immediately end the possile MedoRs4.
5oteO comple) operations like loading a patch or copying a complete
module to another using the SpectralRs tools menus cannot e undone.
Preset 1rowser
The Preset 1rowser section is located on the ottom center of the main
panel. !t consists of several separate controlsO The 1ank<Preset display, the
(odulation !nfo, the Previous<5e)t switches and the Save 1utton.
The leftmost part is the 1ank<Preset Display, it shows the name of the
current ank on the left and the current preset on the right. Whenever a
preset is loaded using this control or the Previous<5e)t switches, the preset
name is updated with the name of the loaded preset and the ank name
with the name of the ank from which the preset has een loaded.
The Preset 1rowser always operates on the factory lirary installed with
Spectral. Gf course you can add your own presets and third party presets
to this lirary. Presets can e changed in five waysO
+ new preset can selected y opening the ank or preset selector
3y clicking either the ank or preset name, more on this soon4
The respective previous or ne)t preset in a ank can e loaded y
clicking the Previous or 5e)t switches located to the right of the
1ank<Preset display.
The respective previous or ne)t preset in a ank can e loaded y
pressing the left or right arrow key on your computer keyoard.
This only works when your host software 3daw4 allows plugins to
receive these keys.
Bou can send a (!D! program change or ank change command to
Spectral. This option can e disaled on the setup page.
Bou can select the preset in your host software plugin preset
selector 3when your host software supports such selector4. This
option can e disaled on the setup page.
Fsually, to select a new preset you will click on the ank name or on the
preset name. The response is slightly differentO
When you click on the ank name, the whole 0F! ecomes a large list of
availale anks. The moment you selected a ank the 0F! will switch to the
list of presets in the =ust chosen ank.
When clicking on the preset name the full user interface of Spectral
ecomes a large list with all presets from the current ank.
The ehavior of this list depends on the Gption 8+uto .lose on Program
Select: 3see page AA for more details aout the SpectralRs options4.
Whenever you open the Preset 1rowser Spectral will save its current
preset state, so in case you cancel the preset selection you find the sound
in e)act that state you left it when opening the Preset 1rowser.
5ote that the currently loaded ank or preset is displayed in a different
color in the ank or preset list to allow you to spot it.
!f the +uto .lose option is checked, once you selected one of the presets in
the list, the preset is loaded and the user interface returns to its normal
appearance.
!f you want to cancel the selection and stick with the current preset, click on
the close symol on the ottom right.
!f the +uto .lose option is unchecked, you can selected presets from the
list, which will e loaded, so it can e previewed, the preset list remains
open. !f you doule&click a preset this will also close the preset list.
To finish the preset selection either click the Gk or .ancel utton at the
ottom right and the user interface returns to its normal appearance.
The Save utton finally allows you to save the current settings as a new
presetQ Spectral will default to the 8(y Presets: ank within the 'actory
Lirary.
+ttentionO When pressing Shift&+lt while clicking this utton, no dialog will
open and the preset will e saved to the same location as where it was
loaded from 3or last saved to, if it has een saved again already4. Fse this
with caution, the target file is overwritten without notice.
7.S 37asy .ontroller Setup4
The 7.S 37asy .ontroller Setup4 control makes it simple to control
Spectral from an e)ternal (!D! controller 3either hardware or software4.
This function is also often called (!D!&Learn.
To access the 7.S section click on the 7.S utton which is located on the
lower right of the SpectralSs front panel. .licking on the 7.S utton opens a
popup menu containing the following itemsO Gff, Learn, .lear, .lear +ll,
Load and Save.
To use the SpectralSs 7.S feature, proceed as follows. .lick on the 7.S
utton and then select 8Learn: from the popup menu. Select a Spectral
parameter with the mouse y clicking on it and then send some (!D!
messages to Spectral from your (!D! controller. When done, click on 8Gff:.
ThatRs all there is to itE 'rom now on you can change the selected
parameter with the chosen controller.
!n addition to this, more than one controller can e defined to change a
particular parameter. !n fact, you can define up to "#I parameter&controller&
cominations. This does not depend on the type of controller you have nor
the particular (!D! .ontrol .hange messages it sends.
TrouleshootingO !f Spectral is not responding to a controller it is most likely
that your host software 3D+W4 is not allowing the (!D! .. (essages to e
send to SpectralQ please consult your host software documentation aout
how to enale (!D! .. eing send to a instrument plugin.
7.S settings can e saved and restored using the Load and Save
functions found in the menu that pops up when you click the 7.S utton.
Please note that Spectral always rememer what it learned without the
need to save that. 6owever, when you have multiple setups you use 3e.g.
Studio and Stage4, you might find the Save < Load useful to have different
assignments for the respective setup.
!n addition, a single controller assignment can e cleared using the .lear
menu entry. To do this, select 8.lear: from the 7.S popup menu 3the 7.S
light goes on4 and move control that you wish to e cleared 3de&assigning it
from the (!D! .ontrol .hange message it is currently controlled y4. DonRt
forget to switch off the .lear function y clicking the 8Gff: utton after you
have finishedE
The 8.lear +ll: menu item clears all controller&parameter assignments at
once. +fter this function has een e)ecuted, Spectral does not change
parameters depending on (!D! .. messages anymore. To also suppress
the effect of (!D! program change < ank change messages please check
the respective options in the general Spectral Setup.
Setup
The SpectralSs Setup panel can e accessed y clicking on the Setup
utton at the lower right of the instrument. The Setup panel contains
various controls for setting gloal parameters as well as several other
miscellaneous controls.
Celocity to (ain Colume
The Cel 3Celocity4 dial is used to control the degree to which the played
notes Celocity influences the patch volume. !f turned folly clockwise, the
volume of the sound do largely depend on Celocity. When turned fully anti&
clockwise the Celocity does not affect the Colume of the preset.
(aster Colume
The Colume control sets the overall SpectralRs volume within a wide range.
Please note that Spectral has an internal limiter that prevents the overall
output level to go eyond aout V"# d1.
Setup Page
Gn the left of the Setup page you find the information aout which version
of Spectral you are running as well as the Serial 5umer input field.
Please enter your serial numer 3the one you got after your order is
fulfilled4 in the field laeled 87nter Serial here:. Gnce the full version of the
instrument is unlocked the serial numer edit o) is no longer editale ut
shows 8Calid: as in the e)ample aove.
Please 0eep yo#r serial in a safe place as it1s yo#r primary proof of
ownership and is re/#ired for s#pport- #pdates and of co#rse to
reinstall Spectral2
1elow the version and serial numer you find the credits, the names of
people who worked for quite a time on various aspects of this instrument.
We at LinPlug are very happy to have these contriutors, and thank them a
lot. (ost of them are partners since many years and there is a good reason
they worked with us again on this instrumentO we elieve they are the est
person for the =oE
Gptions
The Gptions covering most of the Settings panel. They divided into
& Per Preset optionsO setting which are stored within each preset. Per
presets options control how Spectral works when loading this particular
preset. They are too saved with your song or pro=ect in your D+W.
& Per !nstance optionsO These are valid for each instance of Spectral, that is
for every instrument you open, and only for this one. They are not
affected when you load another preset. They are used to make one
particular instance of Spectral work in a desired way, of course this is
saved with your song or pro=ect in your D+W.
& 0loal optionsO 0loal options are valid for all Spectral !nstruments in
every song<pro=ect, they store automatically and work in each and every
instance of Spectral that will e opened on your computer. So neither
loading of a preset or a song<pro=ect will affect them.
Per Preset Gptions
1end Mange Fp is used to set the SpectralRs response to pitch end
messages in the upwards direction. 1end Mange can e set from , to #J
semitones.
1end Mange Down is used to set the SpectralRs response to pitch end
messages in the downwards direction. 1end Mange can e set from , to #J
semitones. 5ote that if the 8link: setting is chosen, the 1end Mange for
downwards ending is the same as for upwards ending.
5e)t to these 1end settings there are # rows of J switches each, controlling
whether or not any received pitch end messages control the Gscillator
Pitch 3upper row4 and the 'ilter 'requency 3lower row, provided the 'ilter
Track parameter is set to any value not null4.
Per !nstance Gptions
The (icrotonal Scale control enales Spectral to e tuned to tunings other
than 7qual Temperament. See +ppendi) 7 for a complete description of
how to use TF5 files to set the SpectralSs scale tuning.
(aster Tune is used to set the overall tuning of Spectral if no microtuning
file is loaded. This tuning can e set from J"$ 6z to J%% 6z.
5e)t comes a switch to define how the +rpeggiator in Spectral should work
in respect to the song position. Fsually the 8Lock +rpeggiator to Song
Position: should e Gn, however, if its useful in a pro=ect you might want to
switch it Gff. When switched Gff the +rpeggiator will use the start of the first
note as its synchronization origin and all notes will e played as the
+rpeggiator pattern defines them. When switched Gn however, the first
5ote of the +rpeggiator will e shortened or lengthened 3if required4 so that
the successive notes are played e)actly 8on the eat:.
0loal Gptions
The Celocity .urve allows one of ten different velocity responses to e set.
These range from linear through to an e)treme e)ponential velocity
response. Fse this to generally ad=ust the SpectralRs response to your
?eyoard.
5e)t are two options which allow you too choose a different .ontroller to
function as (odulation Wheel or +ftertouch. This is useful when you not
play with a keyoard or when your keyoard has not +ftertouch 3also called
Pressure4 function ut you have for e)ample a 1reath .ontroller
connected.
5e)t is the Startup Preset and Lirary Location setting. When you install
Spectral the Lirary 3presets consisting of the parameter settings,
waveforms and filter&shapes4 are placed in a default location. Gn P. that is
in the same folder where you installed Spectral, on (ac it is
8<Lirary<+pplication Support<LinPlug:.
6owever. !f you for some reason want to place the lirary in a different
location you can do so and point Spectral to the lirary manually y
choosing a preset from the new location. This is howO
.lick on the Set utton ne)t to the Startup preset name and navigate to a
preset that Spectral should load upon startup. This not only defines your
initial patch that is loaded when you open a new instance of Spectral ut
also defines at which location Spectral should look for the rest of the factory
lirary. The path to the factory lirary is shown elow the startup preset and
you will see how it ad=usts to the startup preset when you change it.
5e)t come a couple of switches for several optionsO
The 8+llow (!D! Program .hange: option can e used to suppress
Spectral to respond to program change messages received as (!D! data
from the host software 3your D+W software4. The default setting is Gn.
The 8+llow 6ost Program .hange: is similar, ut allows or suppresses the
host to change a program 3patch4 in Spectral. The default is again Gn.
The 8+llow (!D! Colume .hange: option can e used to suppress a
response to volume change messages 3.. A4 received as (!D! data from
the host software 3your D+W software4. The default setting is Gn as its
used y a couple of D+WRs.
+uto .lose on Program Select is usually Gn and means that when you
selected a patch in the Patch Select window, that the window automatically
closes 3and thus returns to the normal 7dit Window4. Bou may switch this
Gff in case you want to try multiple presets successively.
Link 0en<'il and 7nvelopes is used to link various sections of the SpectralRs
0F! together. When this option is Gn and you switch the Gscillator and
'ilter section to for e)ample Gsc < 'ilter - Spectral will automatically select
and show the respective Gscillator 7nvelope on the left 3elow the
Gscillator4 and the 'ilter envelope on the right 3elow the 'ilter4.
!t will also work the other way around, when you select any envelope,
Spectral will select the matching Gscillator and 'ilter.

0lossary
+(O +( or +mplitude (odulation is a process where the
amplitude of one oscillator 3the carrier4 is controlled y
another 3the modulator4. When the frequency of the
modulator is periodic and elow the audio range 3less than
#, 6z4 tremolo is produced. When the modulation
frequency is within the audio range metallic overtones are
produced.
+mplifierO + signal processing device that changes the amplitude, and
hence the volume, of a signal.
1andO .ertain filters consist of multiple ands, that is the
frequency spectrum is split in multiple parts, usually with
the same relative andwidth 3e.g. an "<- octave 7qualizer
found in many studios4. Spectral has "#" ands, each "<"#
octave wide.
7ffectO + signal processing device that changes some aspect of
the input signal. +n enormous numer of different effect
types are availale. These include .horus 3which produces
a thickening of the signal4, Delay 3adding echoes to the
signal4 and Distortion 3which changes the shape of the
waveform usually adding overtones4.
7nvelopeO + time&varying signal used to control the development of
another signal after it has een triggered. 7nvelopes are
often used for controlling a signalRs amplitude 3volume4 or
filterRs frequency. The shape of the envelope is determined
y its control parameters.
'ilterO + signal processing device that suppresses or filters out
specific parts of a signalRs frequency spectrum. 5umerous
types of filter are used in audio synthesis, spectral allows
filter design in great detail using "#" individual ands.
'(O '( or 'requency (odulation is a cross&modulation process
where the frequency of one oscillator or filter 3the carrier4 is
controlled y another 3the modulator4. When the frequency
of the modulator is periodic and elow the audio range
3less than #, 6z4 virato is produced. When the modulation
frequency is within the audio range, 'requency (odulation
is produced.
6armonicsO 7very waveform can * at a given time * e seen as a
fundamental wave 3the ase frequency4 and a numer of
harmonics. !f there are no harmonics you have a simple
sine wave. .ertain harmonics create certain well known
waveforms such as sawtooth or pulse. !n Spectral
waveforms can e constructed from the fundamental up to
the #$%th harmonic.
L'GO +n L'G or Low 'requency Gscillator is a periodic signal
source 3usually elow audio frequency range4 used to
modulate another moduleRs parameter. +n L'G can e
used for a variety of effects including virato 3y modulating
the pitch4 and tremolo 3y modulating the volume4.
GscillatorO + signal source that generates a periodic waveform at a
given frequency.
Patch or + Patch is another word for Preset or Sound Program, that
PresetO is, the complete data making up a certain sound as it is
editale on the SpectralRs user interface. Bou can save
sound programs 3see page AJ4 and later load them using
the Preset 1rowser 3see page A#4.
P( or Phase (odulation is a kind of cross&modulation, meaning
Phase that the Gscillator eing modulated changes its Phase not
(odulation only according to its pitch ut also in relation to the
(odulator 3the Gscillator modulating this one4. Thus, the
Phase usually changes forth and ack and produces
additional harmonics, similar to '( modulation.
(!D! !mplementation .hart
ProductO LinPlug Spectral Cersion ".) DateO $.;une #,"-
Man#fact#rer !inPl#g *irt#al Instr#ments +m,H
'#nction )ransmitted "ecognied "emar0s
1asic .hannel
Default no no
.hanged no no

(ode
Default no Gmni
.hanged no no

5ote 5umer
no yes
True Coice no no
Celocity
5ote Gn no yes
5ote Gff no no
+ftertouch
Poly 3?ey4 no yes
(ono 3.hannel4 no yes
Pitch 1end no yes
.ontrol .hange no yes

Program .hange no yes
System 7)clusive no no
System .ommon
Song Position no no
Song Select no no
Tune Mequest no no
System Mealtime
.lock no no
.ommands no no
+u) (essages
Local Gn<Gff no no
+ll 5otes Gff no yes
+ctive Sensing no no
System Meset no yes
+ppendi) +O Tempo Sync Settings
Tempo Sync is availale in various modules, for e)ample for the L'G
speed, various 7nvelope times and many more. The availale ranges differ
depending on the modules and their purpose, however, there is a lot in
commonO
Off & the setting which allows manual ad=ustment of the speed or time, not
synchronized to the host tempo
Carious Calues, such as "<J\, "<J, "<JT, "<I\, "<I, "<IT and so on refer to
notes.T stands for Triplet and \ stands for a dotted note. !n the case of a
dotted note, the note duration is equal to ".$ times the normal length while
a triplet is ,.%%% or #<- of the normal note length.
'or a translation of these 5ote values into "<"%
th
and ack see this
overview taleO
S3NC 4/45
th
S3NC 4/45
th
4/45
th
S3NC 4/45
th
S3NC
RJ<" %J "<I\ - ,.#$ R"<%J I R"<#
J<"T J# #<- R"<I # R"<- R"<-#T K RK<"%
#<"\ JI "<IT " "<- R,.$ R"<-# ", R$<I
R#<" -# "<"%\ ".$ R#<- "<"%T "" R""<"%
#<"T #" "<- R"<"% " ,.A$ "<-#\ "# "<#\
"<" \ #J "<"%T R#<- " R"<"% "- R"-<"%
R"<" "% "<-#\ ,.A$ " "<- "<IT "J RA<I
"<"T ", #<- R"<-# ,.$ ".$ "<"%\ "$ R"$<"%
"<#\ "# "<-#T R"<- # R"<I "% R"<"
R"<# I R"<%J ,.#$ - "<I\ #J "<"\
"<#T $ "<- J R"<J -# R#<"
"<J\ % R$<I ", $ R$<"% JI #<"\
R"<J J RA<I "J % "<J\ %J RJ<"
"<JT # #<- A RA<"%
5oteO Some Calues are directly written in "%
th
like for e)ample the ""<"%
th
.
+ppendi) 1O (odulation (atri) Sources
Three types of modulation source are availaleO two different unipolar and a
ipolar oneO.
(odulation Source Types
Fnipolar modulation sources increase the modulation destinationRs
value in a single direction 3for e)ample an envelope4. !ts range can
e descried as , to ", gradually changing.
Spectral also has some uncommon unipolar modulation sourcesO the
+ftertouch Su and (od Wheel Su. Su stands for the different
range these values can haveO &" to ,. Sometimes these different
ranges can e handy, when for e)ample the (od Wheel should
control the +mplitude of an oscillatorO
Fsing 8(od Wheel: as modulation source it will only later the volume
the oscillator from where it is set to twice that volume. Fsing (od
Wheel Su it will change the volume from silent to the volume set on
the user interface.
1ipolar modulation sources oth increment and decrement the
modulations destination value 3usually a good e)ample is an L'G,
which periodically changes its value according to the chosen
waveform, for e)ample a sine wave4.
Gverview of (odulation Source types
8&&&8 5o modulation source is selected.
5ote The note eing played. The modulation value follows
the frequency of the played note 3ipolar4.
Celocity The (!D! note&on velocity information. The harder the
key is hit, the higher the modulation value 3unipolar4.
+ftertouch The +ftertouch 3sometimes called Pressure4 (!D!
value. Spectral automatically either uses monophonic
or polyphonic +ftertouch, whatever your keyoard
supports 3unipolar4.
!f this (odulation source doesnRt work it is likely that
your keyoard does not support aftertouch.
+ftertouch Su Same as +ftertouch ut with a different unipolar range.
'or more info see the 8(odulation Source Types: info
o) at the start of this section 3unipolar4
Pitch Wheel The value of the Pitch&Wheel is taken as modulation
source, maye it makes sense to reduce the Pitch
Wheel range on the Settings page to , when using the
Pitch Wheel as modulation source. The Pitch Wheel is
ipolar
Pitch Wheel V Gnly the positive value of the Pitch&Wheel is taken as
modulation source 3when the wheel is moved away
from you4, allowing to use the Pitch Wheel in different
ways, depending if its moved up or down 3unipolar4.
Pitch Wheel & Gnly the negative value of the Pitch&Wheel is taken as
modulation source 3when the wheel is moved towards
you4, allowing to use the Pitch Wheel in different ways,
depending if its moved up or down 3unipolar4.
(od Wheel The (!D! modulation wheel 3(!D! .. "4 3unipolar 4
(od Wheel Su Same as (od Wheel ut with a different unipolar
range. 'or more info see the 8(odulation Source
Types: info o) at the start of this section 3unipolar4
+rp Celocity The Celocity value of each step in the +rpeggiator 3if
the +rpeggiator is switched Gn, Fnipolar4.
+rp Transpose The Transpose value of each step in the +rpeggiator 3if
the +rpeggiator is switched Gn, 1ipolar4.
+rp Length The Length value of each step in the +rpeggiator 3if the
+rpeggiator is switched Gn, Fnipolar4.
L'G " ] L'G $ The respective L'G. While a L'G is generally ipolar,
it can e switched to certain operation modes 3see
L'G section for details4 so it appears as a unipolar
source.
5nn 7nvelope +ll 7nvelopes of Spectral are availale as modulation
source. This includes the Gscillator, 'ilter, the three
dedicated (odulation envelopes 3(od 7nvelope4 and
the (ain 7nvelope.
(odulation 7nvelopes are not pre&assigned a
destination and only function via the (od (atri). +ll
envelopes are unipolar.
0lide .urve The 0lide 3sometimes called portamento4 7nvelope
3unipolar4. ?eep in mind that this 87nvelope: has a
different intensity, depending on the successive notes.
So if you play for e)ample a .- and then a D- the
0lide 7nvelope only has a very small deviation as the
notes are so close. +lso, when 0lide is set to .onstant
Mate mode, the 7nvelope is shorter or longer
depending on the notes following each other.
Mandom There are also two random sourcesO Mandom Fnipolar
and Mandom 1ipolar. This random values stays
constant during the note eing played ut changes
upon each trigger of a new note. So its different for
each note.
To have a modulation source which is random and
changes while the notes is played, use a L'G with a
random Waveform selected in the L'G section.
+lternate The +lternate modulation source changes etween
values of " and &" for each note. This is useful for
modulation effects such as auto&panning 3ipolar4.
.onstant The (odulation +mount is used as a constant
modulation value 3unipolar4.
+ppendi) .O (odulation (atri) Destinations

8&&&8 5o modulation destination is selected.
5oteO +ll J Gscillators and 'ilters offer the same modulation destinations in
the (atri), so we only descrie them onceO
Gsc Pitch The pitch of the Gscillator, used for e)ample for virato,
variale detuned voices or special effects.

Gsc Phase The phase of the Gscillator, used for e)ample for
modifying the start&phase of the oscillator or to create
pretty weird sounds when using fast modulation sources.
When using slow sources, like a slow running L'G the
effect will e arely noticeale.

Gsc Colume The amplitude of the Gscillator, used for for e)ample
tremolo or to fade in or out a part of the sound
independently from the main volume. The Gsc Colume is
always controlled y its dedicated 7nvelope.

Gsc Wave (i) The mi) relation of the two fundamental waveforms + and
1 of each Gscillator. This way you can create dynamic
harmonic changes.
Gsc Symmetry The Symmetry of the waveform, used to thicken a sound
or make it swirl, effect depends on intensity and
modulation speed, typically with L'G.
Gsc Spread The Detuning of the additional voices when using Spread.
Gsc Spread Col The Colume of the additional voices when using Spread.
Gsc 9(od +mt The cross&modulation amount of either cross&modulation
" or #.
Gsc 0ain +llows modulation of the 0ain with which the Gscillator is
fed into the filter. This is particularly useful when using
'ilter Mesonance to alance the relation of the Gscillator
and the Mesonance.
'ilter 'requency Gperation frequency of the 'ilter, often used with an L'G
to create filter sweeps, with the (odulation Wheel to open
or close the filter during playing or with Celocity to react to
harder played notes.
'ilter Mesonance Mesonance 37mphasis4 of the 'ilter, a sometimes not as
ovious effect as modulating the frequency.
'ilter 7nv&Depth The +mount of the 'ilter 7nvelope actually applied to the
'ilter .utoff.
'ilter 9(od +mt The cross&modulation amount of either cross&modulation
" or #.
'ilter Colume The output volume of the 'ilter.
'ilter Pan The output pan position of the 'ilter.
'ilter Moute 1al The alance of the routing to the two effects units
following the the 'ilter.
(ain Colume Gverall volume of the sound. This destination is always
directly controlled y the (ain 7nvelope ut also
availale in the (atri) to apply ?ey&Scaling, L'GRs or for
special effects.
(ain Pitch Gverall pitch of all Gscillators. Gften used for virato or
drum sounds where the pitch drops quickly at the start of
the sound. Bou can also use 0lide for certain overall pitch
effects.
(ain Pan .ontrols all four 'ilter Pan parameters at once, good
when you want the whole sound to move in the stereo
panorama 3and not =ust a part of it4
(ain Moute 1al .ontrols all four 'ilter Moute 1alance parameters at once,
good when you want the whole sound change its effects
routing 3and not =ust a part of it4
L'G Speed Speed of one of the five L'Gs, this allows tempo changes
of the L'G to e modulated y for e)ample another L'G,
7nvelope or (!D! controller. +nother e)ample is ?ey Lin
as source which makes the L'G run faster with higher
notes.
+ll 7nvelopes can e modulated the same way. Please note that all
envelope times are modulated only once at note start 3not
continuously4. While this slightly reduces the possiilities
of modulating envelopes its much easier to predict how a
modulation will effect the sound.
7nv +ttack The +ttack Time of the 7nvelope.
7nv 6old The 6old Time of the 7nvelope. Please note that this has
no effect when the 6old parameter is at 5ullE So to make
the particular modulation have an effect a minimum 6old
time must already e)ist in the 7nvelope.
7nv Decay The Decay Time of the 7nvelope.
7nv Sustain The Sustain Level of the 7nvelope.
7nv Melease The Melease Time of the 7nvelope.
0lide Time The Time 0lide takes to move to the notes final pitch.
This only works if 0lide is active 3see the 0lide section of
this manual for more details4. Like with envelopes, the
modulation takes place once at note start 3no continuous
modulation4.
(atri) Depth !ntensity of the first eight entries 3line " to I4 in the
(odulation (atri), often used with the (odWheel as
source to control a specific modulation parameter.
'or Cirato one would have for e)ample line " of the
(atri) read
L'G ,O,, (ain Pitch
and another Line would e
(odulation Wheel #O,, (atri) Depth "
for a # semitones (od&Wheel controlled Cirato.
+rp 0ate This changes the 0ate time 35ote Length4 of each step in
the +rpeggiator. The modulation covers the full range
from a close&to&zero time where the step starts and the
stops the note right after starting it to the note length
covering the full length of the step.
7ffects ') Wet The Dry<Wet relation of the % effects slots. ?eep in mind
this is a destination shared y all notes, so its usually a
good idea to only use modulation sources which are too
shared y all notes 3e.g. a mono L'G or the (odulation
Wheel4 or with a (ono&preset 3Coices eing set to (ono4.
Bou can also use other modulation sources, like an
envelope, the ')&Wet is then determined y the last note
eing played, so if you play a chord 3in chronological
order4 .&0&7, then the envelope of the 7 will control the
')&Wet. !f you release only the 7, the 0 will take over the
modulation of ')&Wet.
+ppendi) DO (atri) (odulation of Colume
This is an in&depth description of the specifics of modulating volume. !f you
are not interested in every detail this short summary will doO
(ost of the modulation in the (atri) is applied on and 8additive: way, so
when you apply an L'G to the 'ilter 'requency it will periodically raise and
lower the 'ilter 'requency, which happens internally y adding the L'G
waveform 3multiplied y the (atri) Depth value4 to the 'ilter 'requency.
'or all kinds of amplitude modulation this is however, slightly different and
this leads to some effects worth e)plaining. +mplitude modulation is
8multiplicative:, so the modulation value is not added, ut multiplied with the
modulation destination.
Why is that so W (ost of all it makes a couple of modulations easier to
ad=ust and ehavior much more 8as e)pected: than additive modulation. To
stay with the L'G e)ample, we this time apply !t to the (ain +mplitude, and
to point out the advantage we assume main amplitude is *K d1O
When using the (odulation Wheel or +ftertouch for Colume (odulation,
use the 8Su: variant 3e.g. 8(od Wheel Su:4 to control the +mplitude
from silence to the (odulation Destinations parameter value.
!n this e)ample we assume a (odulation Depth of ".,,, 3ma)imum depth4,
as you easily can see the (ultiplication works as one would desire while
the +ddition leads to a not as desirale modulation with longer times with
no signal 3ecause the amplitude cant go elow its minimum, which is
silence4.
1ut why do we e)plain all this W 1ecause (ultiplication also has its
disadvantages with certain modulations.
Lets assume you would use the (odulation Wheel to modulation the (ain
+mplitude. 6aving it set to &Kd1 the (odulation Wheel 3as a unipolar
source4 would only raise it slightly and not allow you to control it from
Silence on. 1ut thats e)actly what most people want, have a lookO
So, to sum it all up. +mplitude modulation in Spectral is always a
(ultiplication, with certain advantages and the need to use a special
modulation source 3(od&Wheel Su or +ftertouch Su4 to control it from
silence to the level set with the respective parameter.
+ppendi) 7O Fsing TF5 files in Spectral
1y ;acky Ligon
A,o#t Microt#ning

(icrotuning makes it possile for musicians and composers to change the
underlying pitch scales of musical instruments, wherey they may e)plore
and compose with many different types of ethnic, historical and
contemporary alternative intonation systems. (icrotuning musical
instruments enales musicians to use unique sounding scales which may
have pitches lying etween the notes of our familiar Western "# tone equal
tempered scale.

These alternative intonation systems and methods of microtuning musical
instruments to pitches found in the cracks of the Western "# Tone 7qual
Temperament, are one of the things that gives the music of such places as
1ali, !ndia, +frica, Thailand, Turkey and the (iddle 7ast a special sonic
quality, ut is also something that is of immeasurale value to
contemporary acoustic and electronic musicians and composers, who may
require a more road palette of pitches for their music.

The quest for creating eautiful and musically useful intonation systems
has een a perpetual process of discovery and deate amongst musical
theorists, mathematicians and musicians going ack to early history. Nuite
often the reasons for microtuning musical instruments may involve
improving the consonant intervals of a tuning&system for more euphonious
sounding harmonies, as well as offering a wider variety of choices for
melody. (icrotuning an instrument can sometimes mean there may e less,
or more, than "# tones in an octave, or even that the octave itself may e
stretched or compressed. (icrotuning is a vast musical frontier, rich with
historical lore, music and an infinity of e)citing musical possiilities for the
adventurous sonic e)plorer.


Creating )6N Microt#ning 'iles with Scala

Scala is a freeware musical software utility developed y (anuel Gp de
.oul in the 5etherlands, which can e used for the creation and analysis of
historical, ethnic and contemporary microtunings. + powerful capaility of
Scala is that it enales the user to create the proprietary tuning data
required for microtuning a wide range of hardware and software
synthesizers and samplers.

Scala may also e used to create the TF5 format microtuning files needed
to e)plore microtunings with this software instrument. The Scala home
page is atO httpO<<www.huygens&fokker.org<scala<


Specifying the "eference 're/#ency of a Microt#ning

Gne of the powerful capailities of the TF5 format and Scala is the aility
to specify the frequency and (!D!&note numer for the pitch ase of a
microtuning. This ecomes a very important consideration when one is
using a numer of different synthesizers and wishes to keep them in all
tune with a given ase frequency.

!t is a common requirement for musicians and composers to e ale to
specify concert pitches such as +JJ, 6z 3(!D!&5ote %K4 or .#%".%#$% 6z
3(!D!&5ote %,4 as a reference pitch for a microtuning, however, the
fle)iility of the TF5 format enales one to specify this frequency aritrarily,
so that any ase frequency may e assigned to any (!D!&note numer. !n
Scala this important parameter is called the Meference 'requency.

1eing ale to specify a particular (!D!&note numer on the (!D! controller
and its associated Meference 'requency, provides a way to map a
microtuning to a common ase pitch, making it easier to navigate the
instrument when the intonation system may have more or less than "#
tones per octave, or where one may need to map the notes of a
microtuning to fall on certain physical keys.

Important Note

When musicians use TF5 microtuning files with this software instrument,
the aove mentioned mapping properties will override the (aster Tune
setting, which is set to a default of JJ, 6z 3found on the Setup page4.
5ormally when one is using the default "# Tone 7qual Temperament
tuning, the (aster Tune setting can e used to set pitch offsets around the
standard concert pitch of +JJ, 6z, however, when one has specified
another pitch ase for a microtuning when creating TF5 files in Scala,
these settings will determine the actual Meference Pitch for the intonation
system eing used.
!nde)
Inde7
+dditional Tools.......................................................................................... 89
+lternate..................................................................................................... :;
+rpeggiator............................................................ <=- J%pp., $,pp., A", I%p.
+ttack................................................................................................... 85- <<
1and..................................................................................................... 9;- I"
1end........................................................................................................... 8:
1ipolar.................................................................................................. J#, :=
1lending..................................................................................................... 84
1rowser...................................................................................................... ;9
.ent........................................................................................................... 4=
.hord................................................................................................... <5- ;4
.horus....................................................................................................... =5
.ompressor.......................................................................................... -%, =;
.onstant..................................................................................................... :;
.ontrols...................................................................................................... "#
.ross&modulation...................................................44- 4>- #,, 9=- I"p., IIp.
.rusher...................................................................................................... =:
Decay......................................................................................................... 85
Delay........................................................................................... <<- 5$- %"p.
Delay 3Ping Pong Delay............................................................................. 54
Delay 3Stereo Delay4.................................................................................. 59
7.S............................................................................................................ ;<
7dit 'rame Tool.................................................................................... 9:- -,
7dit (ode................................................................................................... 9>
7ffects....................................................................... 4;p2- #$, 95- =<- I", IK
7ffects Mouting........................................................................................... 95
7nvelope................................................................ #", 9<- 8<- J", I", IA, K,
7nvelope scaling.................................................................................. 8;- -I
7nvelope Sync........................................................................................... 8=
7N 3Parametric4......................................................................................... 58
7qualizer.................................................................................................... 58
7ven harmonics......................................................................................... 8$
7)actness................................................................................................... ;4
'ade........................................................................................................... 8;
'eatures..................................................................................................... 4$
'ilter............................................................................................ #", 98- IIp.
'langer....................................................................................................... 5=
'requency.................................................................................................. <$
0ain........................................................................................................... 9$
0ate........................................................................................................... =4
0ator.......................................................................................................... 55
0lide............................................................................. 8:- JA, $,, IA, :>- K,
6armonics............................................................................................ 9;- I#
6old............................................................................................................ 85
!nstallation................................................................................................ :- K
L'G.......................................................................... <$- J"pp., J%, I#, IApp.
Lirary Location.......................................................................................... ;>
Lo&'i........................................................................................................... =:
Load............................................................................................... 45- 84- A$
Loading Waveforms................................................................................... 45
(aster 7N.................................................................................................. ;$
(icrotuning....................................................................................... AI, >8p2
(!D!................................................................................................... AJp., AK
(!D! program change................................................................................ ;8
(!D!&Learn................................................................................................. ;<
(od (atri)............................................45pp2- 98- 9=- -J, -K, J", <<- $", IA
(odulation.................................................................................................. 8<
(odulation depth........................................................................................ <=
Gdd harmonics........................................................................................... -,
Gscillator.............................................................................................. 4<- II
Gverview.................................................................................................... ""
Pattern....................................................................................................... 8$
Pattern 7diting............................................................................................ 8$
Phase......................................................................................................... <8
Phase Shape.............................................................................................. 8;
Pitch end.................................................................................................. ;:
Pitch Scaling.............................................................................................. 8;
Preset 1rowser..................................................................................... ;9- I#
Mandom.......................................................................................... <9- <5- :;
Mate........................................................................................................... 8>
Medo.......................................................................................................... ;9
Melease...................................................................................................... 8;
Mesonance........................................................................................... #", 98
Metrigger.................................................................................................... =4
Mever....................................................................................................... 5:
Mouting................................................................................................. 44- :>
Save............................................................................................... 45- ;<- A$
Scrolling..................................................................................................... 9:
Semitone.................................................................................................... 4=
Serial 5umer........................................................................................ >- ;;
Setup.................................................................................................... A$, ;;
Shape................................................................................................... #K, 8;
Smooth....................................................................................................... <9
Spectral 7ditor............................................................................................ #"
Spread....................................................................................................... 4;
Startup Preset............................................................................................ ;>
Step................................................................................................... J%p., =4
Stereo........................................................................................................ 4:
Stereo Delay.............................................................................................. 59
Susequent 'ilter....................................................................................... 98
Support......................................................................................................... >
Sustain....................................................................................................... 85
Swing......................................................................................................... =9
Tale of .ontent........................................................................................... =
Tool (enu............................................................................................... 4<p2
Transpose................................................................................ 4=- 84- <>- =4
Fndo.......................................................................................................... ;9
Fnipolar................................................................................................ J#, :=
Fnison........................................................................................................ 4;
Fser interface............................................................................................. 49
Celocity..................................................................................... <:- =4- ;=- AK
Celocity Scaling.......................................................................................... 8:
Coice Limit.................................................................................................. ;9
Colume............................................................................... "I, 94- $A, A$, ;5
Wah&Wah................................................................................................... 5>
Wave mi)................................................................................................... 45
Waveform display....................................................................................... 4=
Looming..................................................................................................... 9: