AAS ULTRA ANALOG VA-3 User Manual Download Page 4

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CONTENTS

The Editor View

5.1

General Functioning of the Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.1.1

Knobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.1.2

Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.1.3

Drop-down Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.1.4

Modulation Signals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.1.5

Synchronisation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.1.6

Module Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2

The Modes View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.1

The Clock Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.2

The Keyboard Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.3

The Unison Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.4

The Glide Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.5

The Macros Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.6

The Vibrato Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.7

The Arpeggiator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.8

Ribbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.9

Split Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.2.10 Layer Settings

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3

The Synth View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3.1

The Oscillator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3.2

The Filter Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3.3

The VCA Module

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3.4

The Noise Generator Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3.5

The LFO Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.3.6

The Envelope Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.4

The Effects View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.4.1

Equalizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.4.2

Compressor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.4.3

Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.4.4

Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.4.5

Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Summary of Contents for ULTRA ANALOG VA-3

Page 1: ...USER MANUAL ...

Page 2: ...tics Systems DVM Inc Copyright c 2019 Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc All rights reserved Printed in Canada Program Copyright c 2004 2019 Applied Acoustics Systems Inc All right reserved Ultra Analog VA is a Trademark of Applied Acoustics Systems DVM Inc Windows and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries Mac OS and Audio Units ar...

Page 3: ... 11 2 1 Signal Flow of the Ultra Analog VA Engine 11 2 2 Multimbral Architecture 12 2 3 Interface 12 2 3 1 The Home View 13 2 3 2 The Browser View 13 2 3 3 The Editor View 14 2 3 4 The Settings View 17 3 The Home View 19 4 The Browser View 21 4 1 Sounds and Sound Packs 21 4 2 Saving Sounds 21 4 3 The Sound Browser 22 4 3 1 Managing User Packs 22 4 3 2 Managing Sounds 25 4 4 Backing up of Sound Pac...

Page 4: ...Unison Module 32 5 2 4 The Glide Module 32 5 2 5 The Macros Module 33 5 2 6 The Vibrato Module 35 5 2 7 The Arpeggiator Module 35 5 2 8 Ribbon 37 5 2 9 Split Keyboard 37 5 2 10 Layer Settings 37 5 3 The Synth View 38 5 3 1 The Oscillator Module 38 5 3 2 The Filter Module 40 5 3 3 The VCA Module 46 5 3 4 The Noise Generator Module 47 5 3 5 The LFO Module 47 5 3 6 The Envelope Module 49 5 4 The Effe...

Page 5: ...gs View 68 6 1 Settings 68 6 1 1 Polyphony 68 6 1 2 Master Tuning 68 6 1 3 Microtonal Tuning 69 6 1 4 Macros 69 6 1 5 Keyboard 70 6 1 6 MIDI 70 6 1 7 MIDI Control Assignments 70 6 1 8 Control Change Assignments 71 6 1 9 Saving Settings 71 7 Utility Section and Layer Mixer 72 7 1 Sound Display 72 7 2 The MIDI LED 73 7 3 View Selector 73 7 4 The Layer Mixer 73 7 4 1 Level Meter 74 7 5 The About Box ...

Page 6: ...n Controller 77 8 2 3 Creating MIDI Control Assignments 77 8 2 4 Creating a default MIDI Assigment Map 78 8 2 5 MIDI Program Change 78 8 2 6 Pitch bend 78 8 2 7 Modulation Wheel 79 8 2 8 Sustain Pedal 79 9 Using Ultra Analog VA 3 as a Plug In 80 9 1 Audio and MIDI Configuration 80 9 2 Automation 80 9 3 Multiple Instances 80 9 4 MIDI Program Change 80 9 5 Saving Projects 80 9 6 Performance 81 10 Li...

Page 7: ...atched sound quality realism warmth and playing dynamics Before discussing the synthesizer in more detail we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing an AAS product We sincerely hope that this product will bring you inspiration pleasure and fulfill your creative needs 1 1 System Requirements The following minimum computer configuration is necessary to run Ultra Analog VA 3 Mac...

Page 8: ...ur serial number and the email address which you used in order to get the installer file Note that your serial number is also sent to you by email when your custom installer is created If your computer is offline when running the installer or if the authorization procedure could not be completed for another reason the dialog box will will not show your serial number and you will be prompted to aut...

Page 9: ...o through the sounds one at a time A sound or preset is a stored set of parameters corresponding to a given sound The programs are grouped and organized in packs The names of the currently loaded pack and sound are dis played at the top of the interface One navigates among the different sounds with the associated drop down menu which is opened by clicking on the sound name One can also browse soun...

Page 10: ...Toll Free 1 888 441 8277 Worldwide 1 514 871 8100 Email support applied acoustics com Our online support pages contain downloads of the most recent product updates and answers to frequently asked questions on all AAS products 1 5 About this Manual Throughout this manual the following conventions are used Bold characters are used to name modules commands and menu names Italic characters are used to...

Page 11: ...not totally independent since the output of the filter module from the first line can be sent to the input of the filter on the second line Figure 1 General signal flow of Ultra Analog VA 3 This configuration is very flexible because depending on the type of mixing applied sources can be treated separately or in combination For example when the filters each receive signal from distinct sources the...

Page 12: ...licking on the sound name in order to open a drop down menu with the list of sounds in the pack One can also browse sounds by using the left and right arrows which appear to the right of the sound name The computer keyboard arrows can also be used to navigate through sounds but this control must first be selected by clicking on the arrows or the sound name The arrows then become surrounded by an o...

Page 13: ...which are mapped to specific synthesis parameters affecting the same characteristic of the sound In other words these controls add dimension by allowing one to obtain many different variations of a given sound Controls on this view will be described in details in Chapter 3 Figure 4 The Home view 2 3 2 The Browser View Clicking on the Browser button reveals the sound manager This view gives complet...

Page 14: ...Modes view of the instrument gives access to different performance parameters as well as to a step sequencer The second and third views called the Synth and Effects views respectively are used for in depth editing of the synthesis and effect parameters One can switch from one view to the other by using the Modes Synth and Effects tabs located just below the layer mixer The Layer Mixer The layer mi...

Page 15: ...ether shift click on a slider and move it The Pan knob is used to position the output of a layer in stereo space by adjusting the relative amplitude of signals sent to the left and right channels When in its leftmost position signal is only sent to the left channel while in its rightmost position signal is only sent to the right channel When in its center position an equal amount of signal is sent...

Page 16: ...ynthesis parameters described in details in Chapter 5 and allows one to really go under the hood The Effects View The Effects view proposes a multi effects module comprising an equalizer a compressor a reverb and two additional effect modules These five modules are in series and their respective order can be changed by click holding on the handle on the left of the module and moving it to the desi...

Page 17: ...4 The Settings View The Settings page is accessed by clicking on the Settings button This is where general parameters and options for polyphony tuning MIDI assigments and MIDI configuration are adjusted The different setting options will be described in details in Chapter 6 ...

Page 18: ...18 Architecture of Ultra Analog VA 3 Figure 11 The Settings view ...

Page 19: ...t position to 1 in their rightmost position with a value of zero in their center position The value of these parameter represents the amount of modulation applied to the synthesis parameters mapped to these macro controls For example if the Timbre macro is mapped to the cutoff frequency of some filters the value of this frequency is increased when the value of this knob is positive while it is dec...

Page 20: ...rresponding knob in order to indicated the actual value associated with the knob If the knob is not set to a value of zero the value received from the external control will be added to the value corresponding to the knob position This is useful when a default value for the macro is desired The Home view also includes a virtual keyboard as well as a pitch bend wheel This allows one to trigger sound...

Page 21: ...f sounds using the left and right pointing arrows located on the right of the sound name Note that after clicking on the name of the sound or selecting a new sound the left or right pointing arrows become surrounded by an orange line This indicates that the arrows of the computer keyboard can also be used to navigate through the list of sounds This feature is de activated as soon as one clicks in ...

Page 22: ...r packs AAS packs comprise the new Ultra Analog VA 3 factory sounds VA 2 legacy factory sounds as well as any expansion pack which might be installed on the computer A pack is selected by clicking on its associated image in the left section of the browser The AAS packs have read only permission which means that their content can not be modified The sounds from these packs can be edited but the new...

Page 23: ...nd clicks on the Create button This creates an empty pack in the user pack list Packs and the information corresponding to their sounds are stored as files in a Packs folder on your computer hard disk In order to this Packs folder click on the Show Packs Folder command in the same menu On the Windows operating system this command will open ...

Page 24: ...ator an Explorer window at the location where the files are stored while on Mac OSX the command opens a Finder window All the pack file names follow the same format which consists of the pack name followed by the VA 3 Pack extension These files can be used for backups or to exchange sounds with other users ...

Page 25: ...hen this command is selected the list of existing user pack is displayed and there is also the option to create a new one Another way to create a copy of a sound in another pack is to use the Copy command click on the name of the destination user pack and then by right clicking in the sound list of this pack and using the Paste command Information for individual sounds is shown by clicking on the ...

Page 26: ...ra Analog VA 3 users This operation simply involves the exchange of the above mentioned user pack files When a new pack file is copied to the pack folder on the destination computer it is automatically available in Ultra Analog VA 3 Note that individual sounds can not be exported Sounds always appear inside a pack file If you only wish to share a few sounds create a new pack copy the sounds you wi...

Page 27: ...ses the Layer Browser and reverts to the original version of the layer If a new layer has been chosen and you are satisfied with this new version of a sound click on the Save or Save As button in the top right corner of the interface in order to save the changes For convenience layer presets which you often use can be stored separately in a user section These can simply be copies of existing layer...

Page 28: ... the conversion This is due to the fact that the mapping of the parameters from different versions of Ultra Analog VA is not direct as a result of changes in the architecture modules and the effect section between the different versions Note that AAS expansion sound packs for Ultra Analog VA which were installed on your computer prior to the installation of Ultra Analog VA 3 should not be converte...

Page 29: ...such as knobs switches and numerical displays A specific control is selected by clicking on it A coarse adjustment is obtained by click holding the parameter and moving the mouse or the finger on a track pad either upwards and downwards or leftwards and rightwards The value of the parameter replaces its label while it is being adjusted Fine adjustment of a control is obtained by holding down a mod...

Page 30: ...ng it from its middle position clockwise or counter clockwise When turning it counter clockwise the phase of the modulating signal is inverted while it is preserved when moving it clockwise 5 1 5 Synchronisation The rate of the Arpeggiator LFO and certain effect modules can be synchronized to the clock of a host sequencer when the program in used in plug in mode To do so simply turn on their Sync ...

Page 31: ...ept in text files on your computer disk Clicking Show Files button in the lower left corner of the module preset window opens a Finder or Explorer window on Mac OSX or Windows respectively at the locations where these files are kept This might be useful for backuping presets or exchanging them with other users 5 2 The Modes View The Play view is where the main performance oriented modules are loca...

Page 32: ...f notes are calculated relative to A4 with a frequency of 440Hz 5 2 3 The Unison Module The unison mode allows one to stack voices in other words play two or four voices for each note played on the keyboard This mode creates the impression that several instruments are playing the same note together adding depth to the sound It is switched on by clicking on the LED located in the upper right corner...

Page 33: ...he Modulation macro is used to control the amount of modulation in the sound and it is usually assigned to parameters from the vibrato module frequency modulation or the tremolo effect module amplitude modulation The Timbre macro is used to modify the tone quality of a sound and is typically mapped to parameters from the filter modules of the synthesizer The Envelope macro is used to adjust the ti...

Page 34: ...allowed range of the destination parameter When set to a value of 1 the amount of modulation applied to the destination parameter will be equal to value set by the range parameter when set to 0 5 it will be equal to half the value allowed by range knob with a value of zero the modulation will be nil and the value of destination parameter will remain unchanged The effect is the same for negative va...

Page 35: ...n Macro modules we mention that the list of destination parameters for macros include Pre and Post effect Gains These two parameters are useful to control the overall level of the sound when modulation is applied Indeed the level of the sound may vary when for example changing the cutoff frequency of a filter or modulating the depth of an effect These gain parameters can then be used to compensate...

Page 36: ...ve and Rock and Roll inclusive the notes are played forward from the lowest to the highest and then backward from the highest down to the lowest When using the RnR exclusive mode the highest and the lowest notes are not repeated when switching direction but in RnR inclusive mode these notes are repeated Finally in Chord mode all the notes are played at once Rhythmic Patterns Rhythmic patterns can ...

Page 37: ...ode is activated a coloured line appears above the ribbon keyboard of the interface in order to indicate the range of each split region of the keyboard The left portion of the keyboard is associated with layer A while the right portion is associated with layer B The split point on the keyboard can be adjusted by clicking on the ellipsis icon located to the right of the ribbon The split note can be...

Page 38: ...lator module is the main sound source of Ultra Analog VA 3 and offers the features of the most reputed analog oscillators It provides a fine control on the pitch standard wave forms a sub oscillator and hard synchronization The Oscilla tor module is implemented using precise modeling algorithms rather than wave tables providing alias free sources with clean pulse width modulation and synchronizati...

Page 39: ...m these sources is adjusted by using the Key and the VCO Detune gain knob from the LFO module In order for the oscillator to respond to the keyboard with an equal tempered scale the Key knob of the Oscillator module must be set to its center position The Oscillator module includes a ramp generator which allows one to obtain a pitch variation when a key is depressed The Ramp modulation knob is used...

Page 40: ...and Key controls The frequency of the slave oscillator is adjusted using the Tune knob and its value is presented as a ratio between the frequency of the slave and that of the master oscillator It can take values between 1 and 20 and can be modulated by the ramp signal of the oscillator envelope using the Ramp knob and the output from the LFO module Note that in sync mode the sub oscillator knob i...

Page 41: ...he different filter types available Resonant Low Pass Filter A low pass filter is used to remove the higher spectral components of the signal while leaving the lower components unchanged The frequency at which attenuation begins to take effect is called the cutoff frequency and it is controlled using the Frequency knob In a resonant filter frequencies located around the cutoff frequency can also b...

Page 42: ...corresponding to a second order filter and a slope of 24dB Oct to a fourth order filter Resonant High Pass Filter Figure 23 Frequency response of the high pass filter The high pass resonant filter works exactly in the opposite manner as the low pass resonant filter by removing the frequency component of a signal located below the cutoff frequency while leaving those above the cutoff frequency unch...

Page 43: ...of the band pass filter It attenuates the frequencies in a band located around the center frequency and leaves those outside of this band unchanged as shown in Figure 40 The Frequency knob is used adjust the center frequency and the Resonance knob sets the bandwidth of the notch Note that the center frequency is totally removed from the spectrum of the output signal of the filter Formant Filter Th...

Page 44: ... one can cycle between all the vowels The effect of the Frequency knob on the formant filter is to offset all the formants by the same factor and it is used to switch between male voice left position female voice center and child right position The Resonance knob is used to cycle between vowels Note that changing these parameters can be automated by using the different modulation signals ...

Page 45: ...he distortion pattern applied is not the same for positive and negative values of the signal Figure 27 Saturation curves of the resonant filters For asymmetrical curves the saturation level and threshold are different for positive and negative values of the input level The distortion algorithms are selected with the Drive drop down menu and are numbered from one to three for both symmetrical and a...

Page 46: ... 5 3 3 The VCA Module After filtering the signal is routed to an amplifier in order to add an amplitude envelope and panning effect to the sound Both the Filter 1 and Filter 2 modules have their own amplifier section the VCA 1 and VCA 2 modules which allows one to keep the signal coming from each filter totally independent from the other The two main controls of the amplifier module are the Level ...

Page 47: ... noise The Color knob is used to vary the cutoff frequency of the built in low pass filter Turning this knob to the right increases this frequency and therefore increases the high frequency content of the noise until in its rightmost position the filter is fully opened The Noise knob on the filter mixers is used to control the amount of noise sent to each filter 5 3 5 The LFO Module The LFO module...

Page 48: ...gnal of the LFO correspond ing to a polyphonic voice is fixed and adjusted with the Phase knob This means that every time a note is depressed on the key board and a gate signal is received from the Keyboard module the LFO module starts generating signal for this specific voice starting at a specific point in the cycle of the waveform The ini tial phase of the signal is determined with the Phase kn...

Page 49: ... the LFO module can be used to modulate parameters in the VCO Filter and VCA modules using the controls located on the left part of the module Available modulation destinations on the VCO module are the cutoff frequency and pulse width parameter controlled with the VCO Detune and VCO PW knobs respectively The Filter Freq and Filter Res knobs are used to control modulation of the cutoff frequency a...

Page 50: ...d of the decay phase until the key is released When the Sustain knob is fully turned to the left the sustain level is zero and there is no sustain phase while fully turned to the right the sustain level is at maximum and there is no decay phase When the key is released the envelope generator toggles to the release phase and the envelope signal decreases from the value at the end of the sustain pha...

Page 51: ...gy is adopted when the Retrig button switched on while the second is applied when it is in its off position Note that when the keyboard is in polyphonic mode and the envelope generator in retrig mode the envelope generator behaves in a monophonic manner reacting to a logical OR between all the gates signal from the different notes played on the keyboard In other words the envelope generator is onl...

Page 52: ...a Compressor in series with two configurable effect processors and a Reverb The effect processors can be set to a different type by using the drop down menu located at the center of each module for a wide range of possibilities They are turned on or off by using the On button located just below this menu The effect list includes a Delay Distortion Chorus Flanger Phaser Wah Wah Auto Wah Guitar Ampl...

Page 53: ...31 The filter applies a gain factor to components located above a cutoff frequency while leaving those below unchanged The cutoff frequency of this filter located above 1 kHz is adjusted with the help of the Freq knob while the gain factor applied to the signal in a 15dB range is adjusted using Gain knob In its center position there is no attenuation 0 dB Turning it clockwise boosts the amplitude ...

Page 54: ...ss in other words reduce the dynam ics of a signal This module receives two input signals The first one is the signal to be compressed while the second one is a control signal which triggers the compression process when it rises above a given level Tuning The level at which the Compressor starts to enter into action is determined by the value of the Threshold parameter This value is in dB and corr...

Page 55: ...plied by the module It is the difference between the input and output signals of the module before makeup gain is applied 5 4 3 Delay The Delay module consists in a stereo feedback loop with a variable delay in the feedback It is used to produce an echo effect when the delay time is long greater than 100 ms or to color the sound when the delay time is short smaller than 100 ms The Delay knob is us...

Page 56: ...introduction of even and odd harmonics in the signal The Solid State distortion applies an aggressive symmetrical clipping to the signal thereby adding high frequency harmonics and resulting in a harsh sound The Drive control is a gain knob acting on the input signal This parameter allows one to adjust the amount of distortion introduced in the signal by controlling how rapidly the signal reaches ...

Page 57: ...lay line can be modulated introducing a slight perceived pitch shift between the voices Figure 33 Chorus module Tuning The amount of modulation of the length of the delay lines is adjusted using the Depth knob In the left position there is no modulation and the length of the delay lines remains constant As the knob is turned to the right the length of the delay line starts to oscillate by an amoun...

Page 58: ... equal amount of dry and wet signal in the output signal from the module 5 4 6 Flanger The Flanger module implements the effect known as flanging which colors the sound with a false pitch effect caused by the addition of a signal of varying delay to the original signal The algorithm implemented in this module is shown in Figure 34 The input signal is sent into a variable delay line The output of t...

Page 59: ...y response of the Flanger module is also influenced by the amount of wet signal re injected into the feedback loop as shown in Figure 37 Increasing the feedback enhances frequency components least affected by the delay line and located at even harmonic intervals of the fundamental frequency As the feedback is increased these peaks become sharper resulting in an apparent change in the pitch of the ...

Page 60: ... Play view 5 4 7 Phaser The Phaser module implements the effect known as phasing which colors a signal by removing frequency bands from its spectrum The effect is obtained by changing the phase of the frequency components of a signal using an all pass filter and adding this new signal to the original one The algorithm implemented in this module is shown in Figure 38 The input signal is sent into a...

Page 61: ... rejection around a limited number of frequencies which in addition are not in an harmonic relationship Tuning The location of the first notch in the frequency response of the module is adjusted with the Fre quency knob This frequency can be modulated by an amount controlled with the Depth knob In its leftmost position the location of the first notch is fixed but it starts to oscillate by an amoun...

Page 62: ...quency is controlled by the amplitude envelope of the incoming signal The Freq knob is used to control the central frequency of the filter Turning this knob clockwise increases the center frequency In the case of the Wah Wah effect the center frequency will oscillate around the value fixed by the Freq knob while with the Auto Wah effect the setting of the Freq will fix the starting point value of ...

Page 63: ...ter frequency and leaves those outside of this band unchanged as shown in Figure 40 As was the case for the Wah Wah effect the filter can be modulated The Freq knobs is used to control the central frequency of the filter Turning this knob clock wise increases the center frequency The Depth knob controls the excursion of the center frequency of the filter around its center frequency Turning this kn...

Page 64: ... The Level knob is a gain knob which is used to adjust the overall volume of the amplifier Note that the effect of this control on the frequency response of the amplifier is different for each channel The Low and High parameters are used to boost or cut low and high frequencies respectively by up to pm 18dB by turning the knob from its center position These controls have a similar behavior for bot...

Page 65: ...ition the waveform is a triangular and as the knob is turned clockwise it changes to a smoothed square wave The stereo button is used to switch between stereo and mono mode When the button is in its on position the module is in stereo mode and the output signal from bounce with a 180 degrees phase difference between the left and right channels In mono mode button switched off the signals in the le...

Page 66: ...verberation time is not constant over the whole frequency range As the walls are often more absorbent in the very low and in the high frequencies the reverberation time is shorter for these frequencies These parameters are adjusted with the Low and High knobs respectively Another parameter which affects the response of a room is its geometry the more complex the geometry of a room the more reflexi...

Page 67: ...taging the output level of the Effects section in other words the post effects signal level should be between 0 and 4 dBr when playing a musical phrase mezzo forte moderately loud assuming of course that the pre effects level is also correctly adjusted It should be possible to achieve this using the different gains of the different effects modules An extra gain parameter is provided in case this p...

Page 68: ...parameters are saved with a project which mean they can vary from one project to the other but are fixed within one project Figure 42 The Settings window 6 1 1 Polyphony The Voices control located at the top of the Settings window allows one to adjust the number of polyphony voices used by Ultra Analog VA 3 The number of voices is adjusted by clicking on the control and selecting the desired numbe...

Page 69: ...endently using the Tune controls in the layer mixer as will be discussed below 6 1 3 Microtonal Tuning An interesting feature of Ultra Analog VA 3 is that it can be tuned according to different temper aments using Scala micro tuning files Temperament files are loaded by clicking on the Tuning drop down menu which shows a list of available temperament By default the only temperament available is th...

Page 70: ... please refer to section 4 3 2 Pitch Bend Ultra Analog VA 3 reacts to the MIDI pitch bend signal when this option is activated By default the pitch bend is controlled by the pitch bend wheel but this can be changed by using the drop down menu appearing in this section A Learn command is available to assign a controller automatically In order to adjust the range of the pitch bend use the Pitch Bend...

Page 71: ...nd is used to disable all MIDI control assignments For more information on MIDI Control Assignments please refer to section 8 2 3 6 1 9 Saving Settings Once changes are made to any parameter in the settings window they are applied to the synthesizer regardless of the sound played In plug in mode the value of these settings are automatically saved with the DAW project In order to save the settings ...

Page 72: ... The Reload command is used to reload the original version of a modified sound This may be useful when a sound has been modified but one wants to discard the changes The Back and Forward commands are used to go through the history of modifications applied to a sound backwards or forwards in time The two rounded arrow buttons next to the Save button are shortcuts for these commands The Locate comma...

Page 73: ...eyboard Once a name has been entered hit the Return key or click outside the label in order to deselect this region A layer can be switched on or off by clicking on the power switch icon located just before its label Switching off a layer not only mutes its output but completely deactivates the synthesis engine of the layer Note that in this case the split layer feature of the keyboard is also dea...

Page 74: ...r a basis for new layers The Save command is used to add new layers to this list of user saved presets Note that layer presets can be renamed and deleted in the layer preset window The Browse command is also used to load layer parameters into a layer slot but from layers used in other sounds rather than from the list of user saved layer presets This command opens the layer browser allowing one to ...

Page 75: ...distortion is added in the output signal A peak value mark allows one to follow the maximum level values reached by the output signal The limiter is triggered when this mark enters the red zone of the level meter 17 dB and it remains active while the side vertical bars at the top of the lever meter are switched on 7 5 The About Box The About box is open by clicking on the chevrons located at the v...

Page 76: ... Once the audio input has been selected you can then select a sampling rate and a buffer size from those offered by your audio interface 8 1 2 Latency The latency is the time delay between the moment you send a control signal to your computer for example when you hit a key on your MIDI keyboard and the moment when you hear the effect Roughly the latency will be equal to the duration of the buffers...

Page 77: ... controller is set by default to control the gain parameter located before the multi effects processor of each layer This could be used for example to control the output volume of the synthesizer but without loosing the tail signal from a reverb In order to enable this controller click on the Pre Effects Output Gain option The channel volume controller is set by default to control the gain paramet...

Page 78: ...Clear command is used to disable all MIDI control assignments at once 8 2 5 MIDI Program Change Ultra Analog VA 3 responds to MIDI program change messages In order to enable MIDI program changes open the the Settings window by clicking on the Settings button in the top right of the interface and check the Enable Program Changes option in the MIDI Program section When this is the case Ultra Analog ...

Page 79: ...heel of MIDI keyboards contin uous controller number 1 The first macro module is usually mapped to this controller For more information on the Macros modules please refer to section 5 2 5 8 2 8 Sustain Pedal By default Ultra Analog VA 3 responds to MIDI sustain pedal messages MIDI cc number 64 The sustain pedal can however be turned on or off independently for each layer from the Layer Settings wi...

Page 80: ... words parameters from the Layer Mixer Home and Editor views 9 3 Multiple Instances Multiple instances of Ultra Analog VA 3 can be launched simultaneously in a host sequencer 9 4 MIDI Program Change MIDI program changes are supported in Ultra Analog VA 3 When a MIDI program change is received by the application the current sound used by the synthesis engine is changed to that having the same index...

Page 81: ...ad on the CPU is even higher when multiple instances of a plug in or numerous different plug ins are used To decrease CPU usage remember that you can use the freeze or bounce to track functions of the host sequencer in order to render to audio the part played by a plug in instead of recalculating it every time it is played ...

Page 82: ...er arrangement to users not individually licensed by AAS other than as expressly permit ted by the terms of this license The Software is licensed to you as a single product Its component parts may not be separated for use on more than one computer 3 OWNERSHIP AAS retains title to the Software including but not limited to any titles computer code themes objects dialog concepts artwork animations so...

Page 83: ...o have a valid license which is in effect at the time of receipt of each such update or new release This License shall remain in effect until terminated The Licensee may terminate this Agreement at any time upon notification to AAS This Agreement will terminate immediately without notice from AAS if the Licensee fails to comply with any provision of this License Any such termination by AAS shall b...

Page 84: ...of any quote order acknowledgement or similar communication between the parties during the term of this Agreement except as otherwise expressly agreed by the parties No modification to the Agreement will be binding unless in writing and signed by a duly authorized representative of each party 10 NON WAIVER No delay or failure to take any action or exercise any rights under this Agreement shall con...

Page 85: ...rol assigments 71 cpu load 68 default MIDI map 78 delay 16 52 55 distortion 56 63 74 drop down menus 29 editor 29 effect 13 19 33 effects master clock 31 synchronization 30 effects view 16 52 output gain 67 studio mix 67 unity gain 67 envelop 33 envelope 49 free run mode 51 legato mode 51 loop mode 51 shape 51 equalizer 16 52 53 factory library 9 21 fade in 49 filter 40 band pass 43 band pass filt...

Page 86: ...er 74 lfo 47 fade in 49 phase 48 rate 48 reset mode 48 synchronization 30 wave shape 47 limiter 74 low pass filter 40 41 macro 13 19 33 macro effect 33 macro envelop 33 macro modulation 33 macro timbre 33 macros 13 19 manual 75 master clock 31 master tuning 68 master volume 14 73 micro tuning 69 MIDI 76 assignment map 78 cc 69 channel volume 70 77 clear assignments 78 configuration 9 77 control as...

Page 87: ... 39 noise 38 pitch 39 rectangular 38 saw tooth 38 sine 38 square 38 sub oscillator 39 output gain 67 overdrive 56 pack 21 22 AAS 21 backup 22 26 commands 22 create 22 creating 22 delete 22 duplicate 22 exchange 22 factory 21 new 22 read only 21 rename 22 sharing 26 show files 24 user 21 panning 46 parameters 29 peak 74 phase 48 phaser 16 52 60 pitch bend 78 direction 70 range 70 pitch modulation 3...

Page 88: ...name 22 notes 21 pack 22 paste 26 read only 22 save 22 save as 22 saving 21 select all 25 sharing 26 tone quality 21 trash 26 user 22 sound browser 22 speaker 63 split keyboard 37 spring reverb 63 square 38 standalone 8 start up 8 studio mix 67 sub oscillator 39 sustain pedal 37 switches 29 synchronization 30 31 40 synchronization to a host 31 synth view 16 38 system requirements 7 timbre 13 19 33...

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AAS ULTRA ANALOG VA-3, User Manual

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