Controls and Jacks
Root knob and jack
The
Root
knob controls the pitch of the lowest (root) oscillator before quantization. As you adjust this
knob, the oscillators move up or down in frequency, crossfading between notes in the selected scale.
The
Root
jack has the same function, with a 1V/oct response limited to voltages between -2V (two
octaves down) and +6V (six octaves up).
When used with the
Pitch
knob, the range exceeds human hearing, from about 1Hz to over 20kHz.
Spread knob and jack
The
Spread
knob adjusts the spacing between the pitches of each oscillator, before quantization. Like
Root
, adjusting this knob causes the oscillators to crossfade between notes. With
Spread
at minimum,
all the oscillators are tuned together, in unison. Turning
Spread
up causes them to spread apart,
towards the higher frequencies, while leaving the lowest (root) note stationary.
The
Spread
jack has the same function, with a linear response for voltages between -5V and +5V.
Negative voltages reduce the amount of spread (same as turning the knob down), and positive voltages
increase the amount of spread (same as turning the knob up).
Pitch knob and jack
The
Pitch
knob transposes the pitch of all the oscillators continuously after quantization, similarly to
pitch knobs found on common analogue VCOs. All the oscillators are shifted up or down in pitch,
preserving the intervals between them. This can be used to tune the scales to other equipment , to
provide a traditional pitch-sweep effect, or to FM the
Ensemble Oscillator
with external gear.
The
Pitch
jack has a 1V/oct response to voltages between -2V (two octaves down) and +6V (six
octaves up). The jack works like an exponential 1V/oct jack found on common analog VCOs. When in
Learn
mode, the
Pitch
jack is used to input new notes (see Learn Jack, page 8).
When used with the
Root
knob, the frequency range exceeds human hearing, from about 1Hz to over
20kHz.
Scale knob, switch and jack
The
Scale
knob selects the scale to which the oscillators are quantized. See the Scales and Oscillators
section (page 11) for details about how scales are used. There are 30 pre-programmed scales on the
Ensemble Oscillator,
arranged in three groups of ten scales each. You can also program your own
scales (see Learn Mode page 14).
The
Scale
knob has ten positions, each one selects a scale.
The
Scale
jack can select a scale by responding to voltages from -5V to +5V. Relative to the position of
the knob, negative voltages select scales of a lower number, and positive voltages select scales of a
higher number. The
Learn
button flashes white each time a new scale is selected, whether you are
using the knob or the jack.
The
Scale
switch selects one of three groups of scales:
12TET
,
Octave
, or
Free
. Each group has
different properties regarding allowable intervals and how the scale is repeated. See the Scales and
Oscillators section (page 11) for more details.
Balance knob and jack
The
Balance
feature controls how the oscillators are mixed before reaching the output jacks. When
Balance
is turned all the way down, only the lowest (root) oscillator will be heard. As you turn
Balance
up towards center, the other oscillators will rise in volume, with the lower oscillators being louder than
the higher ones. With
Balance
at center, all the oscillators will have the same volume. As you continue
turning
Balance
up, the lower oscillators will begin to
decrease in volume while the higher ones will remain
louder. With
Balance
all the way up, only the highest
oscillator will be heard.
The
Balance
jack has the same effect, responding to
voltages from of -5V to +5V. Negative voltages shift the
balance towards the lower oscillators (same as turning
the knob down), and positive voltages shift towards the
higher oscillators (same as turning the knob up).
Page of
6
19
Root
Add Note
# Oscillators
8
# Oscillators
Spread
1V/oct
Root
Spread
Pitch
1V/oct
Pitch
Fine Tune
Scale
10
2
1
9
3
8
4
7
5
6
Free
Oct.
12TET
Scale
Balance
Balance
Balance
Lowest
osc. only
All oscillators equally
Highest
osc. only
