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flash between all the colors of the channels assigned to that scale.
When in Scale mode, turning the ROTATE (SCALE) knob will change the scale of all the unlocked channels. Turning it one 
click to the right moves all unlocked channels up one scale, and when they hit the 11

th

 Scale, they stay there. Turning it one 

click to the left moves all unlocked channels down one scale, and when they hit the 1

st

 Scale, they stay there. If you lock a 

channel, it won't move, so you can set each channel to a different scale by locking one channel, turning the SCALE knob, 
locking another channel, turning SCALE again, locking a third channel, etc. Then if you unlock all the channels, they will stay 
in their formation as you turn the SCALE knob up or down. To force all the channels back to being in the same scale, unlock 
all the channels and then spin the SCALE knob up or down until all the channels are at the 1

st

 Scale or the 11

th

 Scale.

Banks

A bank is a collection of eleven scales. Banks have a theme, typically they represent a system of tuning with eleven variations 
or eleven parts of the frequency spectrum. For instance, the white bank is a collection of eleven scales with each scale built 
on a different interval found in western music (major 3rds, fifths, minor 6ths, etc). They are tuned using just intonation and 
each scale has a range of 10 octaves. On the other hand, the yellow bank is a collection of micro-tonal scales tuned to 17 
equally tempered notes per octave. Since each scale has 20 notes, each one ranges just over one octave, with the first scale 
starting around 20Hz and the last scale ending over 20kHz. See the end of the manual for a table of all pre-programmed 
banks.

In Scale mode, the bottom six lights on the light ring show the banks the channels are assigned to. The six lights correspond 
to the six channels, in order from left to right. (See the diagram on the previous page). By default, the white bank is selected, 
so all six LEDs on the bottom will be white. If you hold down the ROTATE (SCALE) knob and turn it while still holding it down, 
all unlocked channels will change their bank. The bank does not become active until you release the knob. This is useful for 
live performance, allowing you to select the bank you want without having each bank in between become audible.

In same way you can put each channel into a different scale by locking channels as you change the scale, you also can put 
each channel in a different bank. Try locking just one a channel and then changing the bank. Five of the bottom six LEDs will 
change color but one will stay the same. If you unlock that channel, it will keep the same bank, but when you change the bank 
again, it will join the same bank as the rest of the unlocked channels.

Scale CV

The scale can be changed via CV using the Scale CV jack. Voltages in the range of 0 to +5V are accepted. Since there are 11 
scales in each bank, a voltage increase of 0.45V causes all unlocked channels to move to the next scale. Likewise, a voltage 
decrease of 0.45V causes them to move to the previous scale. The scale can also be set manually using the ROTATE 
(SCALE) knob (see above section). If enough voltage is applied to the Scale CV jack such that the scale would move past the 
11

th

 scale, it will simply stay at the 11

th

 scale and ignore all additional voltage. The Scale CV jack works just like manual 

control of scale by keeping the moving each unlocked channel up or down the same amount and keeping their relative 
positions.

Scale Rotation switch

When the Scale Rotation switch is up, the channels will move into the next or previous scale when rotated past the zero point 
(due north) on the light ring. This can happen whether a channel is rotated manually or with triggers, or crosses the zero point 
due to Spread. Some banks, such as 17-note/octave, have the eleven scales arranged in a specific order, so rotating with 
Scale Rotation on will sweep the frequencies the full spectral range.

Spread

Spread=0

Spread=1

Spread=2

Spread=3

Spread=4

(continues to Spread=16)

The Spread parameter controls the spacing between channels. Like Rotation, Spread is subject to the Morph speed and has 
no effect on locked channels. Spread picks a center point and pushes the channels outward from that point until the desired 
spacing is achieved. Some channels move CW, some move CCW. 

In firmware version 1.0 (build 2015-07-15), channel 3 is 

taken as the center point, so it is the anchor around which the other channels are spread.

When turned all the way down, the channels will line up side-by-side. Make sure all the channels are unlocked and then turn 
Spread to 0. Turning Spread up a hair will make the channels space themselves out with one empty spot in between each 
channel. Turning Spread up a bit more causes two empty spots between each channel. A little more causes three empty 
spots, etc. At a certain amount of Spread, the first channel spreads around the light ring past the last channel and the 
channels start to overlap on themselves. Thus the “empty” spots between two adjacent channels might be filled by other 
channels. The maximum Spread value is 16, so lots of overlapping can occur.
If the Scale Rotation switch is flipped on, then as a channel is spread past the top point of the light ring, it will move into the 
next or previous scale in the bank, depending on if it's moving clockwise or counter-clockwise.

12

Summary of Contents for Spectral Multiband Resonator

Page 1: ...ts outputs and a host of unique features allows for many uses Create beautiful moving chord structures quantized to selectable scales Process audio like a classic filter bank EQ Pluck ping strike to ring like a marimba gong or membrane Beat sync to an audio track triggering modular sounds in sync with original audio Vocode outputting spectral data to a second SMR Re mix tracks Harmonize to audio Q...

Page 2: ...v Out LEDs Brightness of each light shows level of each filter Resonance Q Res Q CV jack 0 to 5V Knob offsets CV jack Stereo input and output divided into even odd bands Odd input jack and Even output jack serve as Mono in out Clipping LED between IN jacks flickers when input is clipping about 20Vpp or 10V Rotation shifts frequency pattern up or down Rotate Clockwise trigger input 2V threshold Rot...

Page 3: ...xponential decay and different timbral qualities when plucked Freq jacks no longer track 1V oct in this mode Slider LEDs can be selected to display clipping and level or just level Firmware can be updated by playing encoded audio files from a computer into the SMR Specifications 26 HP Eurorack format module 16 to 16pin eurorack power cable included 0 95 24mm maximum depth Power consumption 12V rai...

Page 4: ...tating and pushing different sliders up and down you can make different chords Play with Morph as you continue to turn the ROTATE knob Morph sets the speed at which rotation happens With Morph at 100 when you turn the ROTATE knob the SMR will slowly fade from one position to the next With Morph at 0 the SMR will instantly jump from one position to the next Play with Spread which controls the numbe...

Page 5: ...the sliders to adjust the level of each note Input another trigger source into Rotate Trig or Rotate Trig If you don t have another trigger source you could input an LFO or envelope 0 to 5V into Rotate CV In and the rotation will track the waveshape of the incoming CV Play with slowing down the rotation from the external triggers by turning up Morph Try setting the rotation trigger source super fa...

Page 6: ...hile holding down the Lock button The Lock button will be lit if the channel is locked and also flicker if it s Q locked If you don t lock the Q then the channel s resonance will be controlled by the RES Q knob and jack along with all the other channels with unlocked Q Repeat this process steps 5 7 for channels 2 6 Note that for channels 2 4 and 6 the Freq Nudge knob on the right is used while for...

Page 7: ...e it depends on the pitch of the kick you re trying to tune into Set Freq nudge to dial in a frequency in between two rotation spots Turn Q up to narrow the band Around 50 is a good place to start for syncing to drum sounds Set the Level slider to set the threshold at which the trigger fires If you set it too high the Env Out light will stay on and it it s too low it ll stay off If the slider seem...

Page 8: ...hnique outlined in the Re mix patches setting the note scale bank and resonance of each channel on both SMRs Usage Channels Six resonant filters The core of the SMR is six resonant band pass filters The six channels take their inputs from the audio IN jacks and their outputs are mixed together using the sliders and Level CV jacks The mix is then fed to the audio OUT jacks The audio IN jacks are no...

Page 9: ...ency for instance with a stereo input where you want the same filtering to happen to both left and right you can rotate them to adjacent spots on the light ring and turn Freq Nudge all the way up for the lower channel Alternatively you can program a custom scale with duplicate frequencies Freq Nudge knobs There are two Freq Nudge knobs one for the odd channels and one for the even channels A switc...

Page 10: ...uency of any of the channels that channel will ring and continue ring for a bit after the VCO has left that frequency When the resonance is low the six channels act more like band pass filters Each slider controls the volume of that band If the bands are spaced evenly across the range of human hearing then the SMR will function like a graphic EQ If the bands are rotated or swept up and down in fre...

Page 11: ...tive in the range of 0V to 5V so each rotation step has a window of 0 25V Applying 0 25V will cause the channels to rotate one step clockwise Dropping back to 0V will cause them to rotate back one step counter clockwise Applying 1 0V will result in the channels morphing four positions clockwise Dropping from 1 0V to 0 75V will cause them to rotate back one step This kind of rotation is different t...

Page 12: ...If you unlock that channel it will keep the same bank but when you change the bank again it will join the same bank as the rest of the unlocked channels Scale CV The scale can be changed via CV using the Scale CV jack Voltages in the range of 0 to 5V are accepted Since there are 11 scales in each bank a voltage increase of 0 45V causes all unlocked channels to move to the next scale Likewise a vol...

Page 13: ... the selected channels to invert their lock state Thus locked channels will unlock and unlocked channels will lock Q lock Q locking is an advanced feature that locks the channel s Q or resonance setting To Q lock a channel hold the Lock button down while you turn the RES Q knob When the RES Q knob is where you want the channel to be locked release the Lock button The Lock button will now flicker t...

Page 14: ...er LEDs do a sequential animation and the light ring slowly filling up with lights and then clearing then filling up again Do not interrupt the process You can monitor the audio by listening to the evens Lock jack or the audio OUT jacks 5 If at any time two of the Lock lights turn on channels 2 and 3 or channels 2 and 4 and the other lights stop animating then an error has occurred Verify the cabl...

Page 15: ...mount of red the second slider controls the amount of green and the third slider controls the amount of blue Billions of colors can be chosen with these three sliders When you find a color you like lock the channel and unlock the next channel you want to edit You also can edit multiple channels at once by unlocking them all while adjusting the sliders This is a quick way to set all the channels to...

Page 16: ...ntains intervals selected from Wendy Carlos s non octave repeating Gamma scale spanning roughly 20Hz to 20kHz 6 17 note per octave yellow The first scale starts at 13 75Hz and each note is equally tempered to a 17 note octave Each scale is one octave above the previous 7 Chromatic purple The first scale starts at E2 82 4Hz and each note is one semi tone above the previous Each scale spans an octav...

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