SPIRE

UserManual

(c)RevealSound,2014.www.reveal-sound.com

Introduction
Foundedin2009bymusiciansandprogrammers,RevealSoundhadtheintentionofcreating
firstclassaudioplugins.Thepurposeofourcompanyistoprovethatsoftsynthscansound
amazing.Weareconstantlyimprovingouralgorithmstoachievetheperfectresult.Ourfirst
productisasynthesizercalledSpire.Spireisasoftwarepolyphonicsynthesizerthatcombines
powerfulsoundenginemodulation,flexiblearchitectureandagraphicalinterfacethatprovides
unparalleledusability.Spireembodiesthebestofbothsoftwareandhardwaresynthesizers.This
guidewillshowyouhowtousetheSpire.

SpireActivation
ToactivatethelicensedcopyoftheSpire,pressMENU,Register,andthenspecifythepathto
theactivationfilespire.lic,thatwassenttoyoubyemail.

Usagetips
Useshift+mouseleftclickonaknoborslidertofineadjustvalues
Usemousedoubleclickorcommand/ctrl+mouseleftclickonaknoborslidertosetdefault
position.

PresetManager

Pressingtheleftandrightbuttonscyclesthroughthepresetsclickingonthecurrentpreset
nameopensadropdownmenuwhichdisplaysallthepresetsinthecurrentbank.
Clickonthecircletotheleftofthepresettorenameitthenpressentertosavethenewpreset
name.

INITinitiliazesthesynth
MENUopensthemenuwhereyoucanselectthefollowingoptions:

SelectBankclicktoselectfactoryorimportedbank
ImportBankclicktoimportbank
RemoveBankclicktoremoveimportedbank
LoadBankclicktoloadauserbank
SaveBankclicktosavethecurrentbank
LoadPresetclicktoloadauserpreset
SavePresetclicktosavethecurrentpreset
CopyPresetclicktocopythecurrentpresettotheclipboard
PastePresetclicktopastethepresetsavedtotheclipboard,overwritingthecurrent
preset
RestorePresetclicktorestorethepresettoitsdefaultstate.Thiswayyoucanundoall
parameterchangesyoumadetotheselectedpreset
InsertPresetclicktopastethepresetsavedtotheclipboardthiscreatesanewpreset
inthedropdownlistWITHOUToverwritingthecurrentpreset
RemoveBackupPresetclicktoremovethepresetfromitscurrentslotandaddittoa
newslot
CheckforUpdateclicktocheckifthereareupdatesavailable
Undoclicktoundothelastchange,Spirestoresupto10ofthelastestchangesin
memorythatcanbeundonesequentially.

YoucancopypresetsbetweenseveralinstancesofSpireopeninyourproject.Thisis
usefultoreproduceyourfavoriteuserpresetbank(s).

PolyphonicmodesandMidiLearn

Mono1monomode.
Thepitchglidesuptotheselectednoteinsteadofstartingimmediatelyonthepressednote.
(Portamento).
Envelopesareretriggedoneachnewnote.

Mono2monomode.
Whentwonotesarehelddownatthesametimethepitchglidestothelastpressednote
(Legato).
Envelopesareretriggedoneachnewnote.

Mono3monomode.
Thepitchglidesuptotheselectednoteinsteadofstartingimmediatelyonthepressednote.
(Portamento).
Envelopesaretriggeredwhenanoteisfirstpressedandonlyretriggedwhenthenotehasbeen
releasedandanewnoteispressed.
notes.

Mono4monomode.
Whentwonotesarehelddownatthesametimethepitchglidestothelastpressednote
(Legato).
Envelopesaretriggeredwhenanoteisfirstpressedandonlyretriggedwhenthenotehasbeen
releasedandanewnoteispressed.

Poly1polyphonicmode.
Thepitchglidesuptotheselectednoteinsteadofstartingimmediatelyonthepressednote
(Portamento).

Poly2polyphonicmode.
Whentwonotesarehelddownatthesametimethepitchglidestothelastpressednote
(Legato).

Voicessetthenumberofvoicesforthepolyphonicmodes.

MIDIMIDIlearnallowsyoutoassignparametersofSpiretoanexternalMIDIcontroller.
MidilearnclicktheMIDIlearnbutton,clickonthesynthparameterthatsgoingtobe
linkedthenpresscontrolonyourexternalMIDIcontroller.
MidiunlearnclicktheMIDIlearnbuttonthenclickthecontrolonyourexternalMIDI
controllerthatyouwanttobeunlinked.

Oscillators
Spirefeatures4completelyidenticaloscillators.

UsetheknobslabelledOSC1,OSC2,OSC3,OSC4toadjustthevolumeofeachoscillator.
WhentheknobissetallthewaytothelefttheoscillatoriscompletelyshutoffandtheLEDlight
immediatelytotheleftisunlit.Knobpositionwithina130(yellowLED)
Knobvaluesbetween130(asindicatedbyayellowLEDlight)addtheoscillatorintothe
renderingbutpassnosound.Thisisusefulwhenyouareonlywanttouseanoscillatorasa
modulator.

Wave

OSC1,OSC2,OSC3,OSC4Switchesbetweenindividualoscillators.
OctaveNote,andFineknobssetthepitchoftheoscillator.
Phasecontrolsthepositionofthephase.Selectingavaluebetween029meansthe
oscillatorwillbefreerunningor"random".
Selectingavaluebetween301000willmaketheoscillatorrestartitsphaseattheposition
shownonthedisplay.
Wave+WTMixselectanyofthe49availablewaveformsandmixesitwiththesignalatalevel
setbytheWTMix.
CtrlA,CtrlBmultifunctionalknobs,theirtaskschangedependingontheoscillatormode.
Eachoscillatorhasfouravailablemodes:Classic,Noise,FM,AMSyncandSawPWM.
CPY/PSTcopy/pasteoscillatorsettings.

ClassicMode

Inthismode,youcancrossfadebetweenasawandasquarewaveform(thesquarecanhaveits
pulsewidthadjusted)andmixthiswiththewavetablewaveforms.
CtrlAcrossfadesthesignalbetweenSawandSquare(Pulse)
CtrlBcontrolsthewidthofthePulse.Inaddition,thisknoballowsyoutochangethe
Waveformsstartingpoint(notthesameasthePhaseknob),expandingthepaletteofthe
soundsthatcanbecreated.

NoiseMode

Noisegenerationthatcanbeshapedbyfilters.
CtrlAcontrolsthefiltercutofffrequency.Valuesbetween0500engagetheLowpassfilter
whilevaluesbetween5011000engagethehighpassfilter.
CtrlBcontrolsthefilterResonance.
EnablingKEYfollowmodemeansthecutofffrequencycorrespondstothenotesfrequency.

FMMode

Frequencymodulationmode.ThisusesthesamephasemodulationmodethatwasintheDX7
synthesizer.
YoucanmodulateanywaveformfromtheWavelist.
ThemodulatorsignalisaSinewave.
CtrlAmodulationintensity
CtrlBmodulationfrequency.
TheWTMIXknoballowsyoutomixinacopyoftheselectedwavewithitspitchcorresponding
tothefrequencymodulatorspitch.

AMSyncMode

Thiscombinesoscillatorsyncwithamplitudemodulation.
CtrlAcrossfadesthesignalbetweenSawandSquare(Pulse)
CtrlBmodulationfrequency.

SawPWMMode

SawtoothPulseWidthModulation
CtrlAswitchesSawPWwaveformbetween4differenttypes.
CtrlBcontrolsthewidthofthePulse.Inaddition,thisknoballowsyoutochangethe
Waveformsstartingpoint(notthesameasthePhaseknob),expandingthepaletteofthe
soundsthatcanbecreated.

Unison

Spirehasaverypowerfulunisonwithseveraladvancedsettings.
Eachoscillatorcanhaveitsownunison.Choosethenumberofvoices(upto9),itsspreadand
oneofthefollowingmodes:
1Octaveallvoicesaredistributedinthecurrentoctave(regularunison)
2Octavepartofthevoicesaredistributedinthecurrentoctavewhiletherestofthe
voicesaredistributedoneoctaveup
3Octavevoicesaredistributedevenlybetweenthreeoctaves
Cmajchrdunisonvoicesformamajorchord
Cmchrdunisonvoicesformaminorchord
Cmaj7unisonvoicesformamajorseventhchord
7unisonvoicesformamajorchordwithaminorseventh
Cmmaj7unisonvoicesformaminorchordwithaminorseventh
Cm7unisonvoicesformaminorchordwithamajorseventh.

Detunedetunesthevoices.

Densitythisisauniqueparameter. Thisallowsyoutodetunethevoicesinanirregularway
experimentwithittoachieveuniqueunisonsounds.

YoucansimulateaSupersawturntheDensityknobtothefarrightandsettheunisonto7
voices(using9voicesmakesthesoundmoredenseanddelicious!).
SimulateaHypersawbyturningtheDensityknobtothecenter.ANAbuttonmustbeturnedoff
(oscillatorstartswitharandomphaseposition).
AllotherDensitypositionsresultinauniquegroupingofvoices.
Also,bychangingthenumberofvoices,theirspreadandtheirpitchdistributionyoucanachieve
quiteunusualresults.Theresultsareinteresting,tryexperimentingwithit!

Signalcontrolandsettings

ANAswitchesbetweenphasebehavior:
Enabledtheoscillatorisfreerunning
Disabledtheoscillatorstartswitharandomphaseposition.
Widedistributesunisonvoicesthroughoutthestereofield
Pancontrolsthepanningpositionofthesound
Filterinputdeterminestheamountofsoundthatssentintoeachfilter,themiddleposition
passesanequalamountofsoundthroughbothfilters.
INVinvertstheoscillatorsoutput
KEYifenabledtheoscillatortracksitspitchdependingonthenotepressed.Ifnotenabledthe
pitchdoesnotfollowthenotespressed

Filters

Therearetwofiltersbothcanbesettodifferentmodesindependently.Eachmodehasdifferent
filtertypes.Thefilterscanberoutedinparallelorserial.
Thesearethefiltermodesandtheirrespectivetypes:
Perfectoauniquealgorithmthatcombinesthebestcharacteristicsofanalogand
digitalfiltertypes.Greatforabroadspectrumofsounds.Modes:LP4,BP4,HP4,Peak.
Acidotypedoesnotrepeatat100%,butgoodforsimulatingTB303soundsandnotonly.
Modes:LP1,LP2,LP3,LP4.
Infectotypedoesnotrepeatat100%,butsimulatesthefiltersoundofaVirusTI
synthesizer.Modes:LP2,BP2,HP2,Notch.
Scorpioanotheruniquealgorithmbyourteamthatcombinesthebestcharacteristicsof
analoganddigitalfiltertypes.Greatforabroadspectrumofsounds.Modes:RedLP2,
RedLP4,BlackLP2,BlackLP4,BlackHP,BlackBP.

Combofilterconsistsofaseriesofregularlyspacedspikes,givingtheappearanceofa
comb.Modes:Mono+,Mono,Stereo+,Stereo.

Cut1,2cutofffrequency
Res1,2resonanceamount
Keytrackwhenenabledthefiltercutofffrequencyfollowsthemidinote,bothinpositiveor
negativevalues
FilterBalancethiscontrolsthefiltersbalance.Iftheknobatzeroyouhearthefirstfilter,when
theknobinthemiddle,youcanhearboth,andwhentheknobintherightposition,youwillhear
onlythesecondfilter
LINKwhenenabledbothfilterscutoffsarelinked.Ifenabled,setthesecondfilterscutofftothe
middlepositionanditwillfollowthefirstfiltercutoff.Whenthesecondfilterissettopositions

otherthancenterthecutofffrequencywillbeoffsettoahigherorlowervaluethanthefirstfilter
cutoff
PARswitchesbetweenparallelorserialfiltermodes.Whenthebuttonactivethefilterisin
parallelmode,whenthebuttonininactivethefilterisinserialmode.
Settingfiltersinserialmode:

1. Makesurethatbothfiltersareused.
2. PARbuttonshouldbedisable.
3. FilterInputsettothefarleftposition(thispassesthesignalthroughthefirstfilteronly).
4. SettheBalancetothefarrightposition(onlythesecondfilterisaudible).

Settingfiltersinparallelmode:

1. Makesurethatbothfiltersareinuse.
2. PARbuttonshouldbeenable.
3. FilterInputsettothecenterposition(passesthesignaltobothfilters)
4. SettheBalancetothecenterposition(bothfiltersareaudible).

Modulators

Themodulationsectionconsistsof:

4Envelopes
4LFO
2stepsequencers(Stepper)
Matrix.

EnvelopeLFOStepper

Matrix

Envelope

ENV1,ENV2,ENV3,ENV4switchesbetweenenvelopes
CPY/PSTcopy/pastethesettingsoftheenvelope
ATTtimeittakestheenvelopetorisefrom0to1000
DECtimeittakestheenvelopetofallfromtheattackleveltosustainlevel
SUSthelevelthesoundsustainsatafterthedecayenvelopehasended
SLTtimeittakestheenvelopetofallfromthesustainleveltotheslopelevel
SLLthelevelthesoundsustainsatafterthesustainenvelopehasended
RELtimeittakestheenvelopetodropto0afterthenotehasbeenreleased.

Youcanchoosethecurvetypeforeachenvelopestagebyclickingonthegraphicdisplay:
ATTLin,Exp,Pow
DECExp1,Exp2,Pow
SLTLin,Exp,Pow
RELExp1,Exp2,Pow.

Totherightoftheslidersarecontrolsforlinkingtheenvelopestosoundsourcesandadjusting
theirvelocitysensitivity:
AMT1+2theintensityoftheenvelopeonitsrespectivesoundsource
VEL1+2theintensityofvelocitysensitivitywhichdeterminesthestrengthoftheenvelope.

Note:envelope1controlstheoutputamplitudeofthesynth.

Inordertoassign,forexample,thesecondenvelopetotheamplitudeofthesecondoscillator,
setthevolumeofOSC2to30(theminimumaudiblevalue).Theninenvelope2assignoneof
themodulationsourcestoOscAmp2(OscMixer)andadjusttheamount.

LFO

RateLFOrate
SYNCLFOrateissynchronizedwiththehoststempo
TimesetsthetimesynchronizationwhenSYNCisactivated
SymshiftstheLFOsignalupwardsordownwards
Phasecontrolsthepositionofthephase.Selectingavaluebetween029meansthephase
willbefreerunning.Selectingavaluebetween301000willmakethephaserestartatthe
positionshownonthedisplay
Form(dropdownmenu)selectawaveformfortheLFO

Form(slider)transformstheshapeofthewaveform
AmpamplitudeleveloftheLFO
MONOswitchesmonauralLFOmodeoff/on
FadeingraduallyfadesintheLFOamplitudelevel.Toadjustthefadein,holdthe
mousedownontheLFOdisplayanddragupordown

Amt1+2theintensityoftheLFOonitsrespectivesoundsource
Vel1+2theintensityofvelocitysensitivitywhichdeterminesthestrengthoftheLFO.

Stepper

Stepperisanadvancedstepsequencerwithaflexiblewaveformeditor.Foreachstep,youcan
assignauniquewaveform.Theindividualwaveformscombinetoformsequencesthatrange
fromsimpletointricatepatterns.

Eachstepisdividedintothreezones:theStart(1),theCenter(2)andtheEnd(3)withits
owneditor(4).Editingisdonebyholdingthemouseonthedisplayandmovingit.

Command/Ctrl+clickontheamplitudeofanindividualstepinthestepsequencergraphicto
makeitequaltotheamplitudeofendofthepreviousstep.

Command/Ctrl+clickontheamplitudeofanindividualsteptomakeitequaltotheamplitude
startofthenextstep.

Command/Ctrl+clickinthecenteroftheamplitudeofanindividualsteptomakeittomakethe
startandendofthecurrentstepequal.

KnobRatesetsmodulationrate
Timesetsthesynchronizationrate
MONOswitchesmonauralLFOmodeoff/on
Modesynchronizationmode:
Freethepositionandspeedofthestepsequencerarefreerunning
Syncthestepsequencersspeedissynchronized
Sposthestepsequencersspeedandpositionaresynchronized.

RTRGretriggersthestepsequencerwhenanewmidinoteistriggered.
Startloopstartposition.

Endloopendposition.
LOOPon/offoftheloopmode.
Note:forexample,iftheloopmodeissettoretrigger,theloopmodeisengaged,'start'issetto4
and'end'issetto6thestepperwillstartfromstep1andthenenterthelooponceitsreached
step4.
123456456456
IfyouchoosethesamesettingsbutRetrigisturnedoff,thestepperwillplaydirectlyfromthe
startoftheloop.ItwillNOTbeginatstep1.
456456456

X1,X2,X3,X4amountoftimedivisionsineachstep.
Ccopysettingsfromtheselectedstep.
Ppastesettingsfromtheclipboardtotheselectedstep.
Rreversestheselectedstep.
Hswitchestheeditingmodebetweencurveorrectangular.
CPY/PSTcopy/pastethesteppersettings.Youcanalsocopyandpastesettingsfromone
presettoanother.

Matrix

Thematrixconsistsof15slots,eachofwhichhave2sourcesand4targets.Potentialsources
Include:oscillators,LFO,envelopes,steppers,MIDIsignalsandMIDIcontrollers.
Almosteveryparametercanbemodulatedinspire!Thisallowsforvirtuallyunlimitedsignal
routingpossibilities!

PG1,2,3,4,5switchesbetweenmatrixpages

Src1,2modulationsources
Trg1,2,3,4modulationtargets.


Drift,PortamentoandPitchWheelsettings

DRIFTTogglesthedriftfunctionon/off.Whenenabledthisrandomlychangesthepitchwithin
arangeof+/3.TheLFOs'frequenciesalsodrift.
Glideadjuststhetimeittakesforthepitchtoglidetoitsdestination
LOGswitchesbetweenlinearandlogarithmicslidingcurves
BenderUp/Downdefinespitchbendrangeforthepitchwheel.

FXsection

Shaper

Availablemodes:
Soft,Warm,Hard,Clip,Tube1,Tube2,Tube3,
FBsin,FBtri,Flt+dcm(filter+decimator),dcm(onlydecimator).

Bandifenabled,onlythedistortedsignalwithinthelowcutandhighcutvaluewillbeaudible
HQenablethe8xoversamplingmode
Drivedistortionstrength
Bitbitdepthreductionknob
S.Ratesampleratereductionknob
LowCutdeterminesthefrequencyofthelowcut(highpass)filter
HiCutdeterminesthefrequencyofthehicut(lowpass)filter
Dry/Wetcrossfadesbetweenthedryandwetsignal.

PhaserandVowel

Stagesmodeselection:6Stages,VowelLow,VowelMid,VowelHi
Preifitisenabled,theeffectwillbebeforetheshaperinthesignalchain
Freqbasefrequency
F.Backfeedback
Spreadstereowidening
Ratemodulationrate
Depth modulationdepth
Dry/Wetcrossfadesbetweenthedryandwetsignal.

ChorusandFlanger

ModethefirstmodeisFlanger.Othermodes(26)activatedifferentChorusalgorithms
Delaydelay
F.Backfeedback
Ratemodulationrate
Depthmodulationdepth
Widestereowidening
LowCutdeterminesthefrequencyofthelowcut(highpass)filter

HiCutdeterminesthefrequencyofthehicut(lowpass)filter
Dry/Wetcrossfadesbetweenthedryandwetsignal.

Delay

PingPongswitchesonthepingpongfeedbackmode
SYNCsynchronizesthedelaytimetohoststempo
Delay LdelaylengthoftheLeft(First)channel
Delay RdelaylengthoftheRight(Second)channel
Ratemodulationrate
Modulatemodulationintensity
F.Backfeedback
Widestereowidening:
Whentheknobissetrightofcenter(5011000)thenormaldelaymodeisengaged
Whentheknobissetleftofcenter(0500)theleftandrightdelaychannelsare
swapped
Whentheknobissettoitscenterposition(500)thedelayoutputisinmono

WhenthePingPongbuttonenabled:
Whentheknobissetleftofcenter(0500)thecrossfeedbackmodeisengaged
Whentheknobissetrightofcenter(5011000)thepingpongmodeisengaged
LowCutdeterminesthefrequencyofthelowcut(highpass)filter

HiCutdeterminesthefrequencyofthehicut(lowpass)filter
Dry/Wetcrossfadesbetweenthedryandwetsignal.

Reverb

Modereverbmodes:Plate1,Plate2
SYNCsyncsthepredelaytimewiththehoststempo
Predelaytimedelaybeforereverbtriggering
Dampdetermineshowmuchhighfrequenciesaredampened
Widestereowidening
Decayreverbdecaytime
Colorlowpassandhighpassfilter
Dry/Wetcrossfadesbetweenthedryandwetsignal.

MasterOut

XCompmultibandcompressor.Itsdisabledwhentheknobisinitsrightmostposition
Velocitydeterminestheamountofvelocitysensitivity
Volumeoveralllevel.

Warmnormalorwarmcharacter
Softclearorsoftcharacter
Boostboosttheoveralllevel.

ThreebandEQ

EQon/offbuttonoftheequalizer
LowShelf,Peak,HiShelfbandselectionbuttons
Frqdeterminesthefrequencyoftheeqband
Qresonanceoftheselectedband
Levelattenuationorgainoftheselectedband.

Arpeggiator

Thearpeggiatorfunctionsasanautomaticarpeggioorsequenceperformancedependingonthe
selectedmode.

Modes:

Upascendingnotesorder,startingwiththelowestnote
Downdescendingnotesorder,startingwiththehighestnote
Up/Downascendingthendescendingnoteorder.Loweranduppernotesarenot
restartedwhenachangeofdirectionoccurs
Up/Down2ascendingthendescendingnotesorder.Loweranduppernotesare
restartedwhenachangeofdirectionoccurs
Down/Updescendingthenascendingnotesorder.Loweranduppernotesarenot
restartedwhenachangeofdirectionoccurs
Down/Up2descendingthenascendingnotesorder.Loweranduppernotesare
restartedwhenachangeofdirectionoccurs
Randomrandomnotesorder
Orderedorderinwhichthenoteswerepressed
Stepplaysasequenceofnotedefinedinthestepsequencer
Chordplaysallheldnotesusingthestepsequencer.

On/Offengagesordisengagesthearpeggiator
Gatelengthadjustmentforthenote
Timesetsthesynchronizationrate
Swingaffectsthetimepositionofeachoddnote(step).Theswingfactorcanbeeitherpositive
ornegative.Thus,theSwingaffectstheSteppersmodulesaslongasthesynchronizationtime
oftheStepperandArpareidentical.
Octaveeacharpeggiocyclecanbetransposedupto4octaves.Transpositiondoesnotoccur
whenoneoctaveisselected.
Endthesequencecanbeloopedbysettinganendvalue.BydefaultitissettoNoanddoes
notloop.

Tousethesequence,switchthearpeggiatormodetoSteporChord.
TransposedeterminesthepitchofeachnoteinsequencedeterminedbytheMIDInotestriggered

Velocitydeterminesvelocityvalueofeachnoteinsequence.Ifthevelocityissettozero,the
noteissilent.ThelengthofeachnotecanbeextendedbyusingtheHoldbutton(rightarrow
symbol).Thisisusefulformakingslideeffects.

VelocityModes:

Keyeachnoteinthearpeggiousesitsownvelocityvalue,determinedbythecurrent
MIDInote.
HoldallnoteshavethesamevelocityvalueasthefirstplayedMIDInote(until
released).
Steptakesthevelocityvaluefromthestepsequencer.
Step+KeytakesintoaccountboththestepsequencerandMIDInotesvelocities.
Step+HoldtakesintoaccountboththestepsequencerandthefirstplayedMIDInotes
(untilreleased)velocities.

(c)RevealSound,2014.www.reveal-sound.com