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VIRUS Owner’s Manual
16
oscillators are the source of this effect. The oscillators of the Virus oscillate freely, consequently every
time you play a note, the phase constellation between the two oscillators is different. For now, leave the
OSC BAL POT at the center position (12 o’clock).
You are already familiar with Oscillator 1’s
SHAPE
and
WAVE SEL/PW
pots. These functions are
identical for Oscillator 2, so we won’t go into detail on them again.
Locate the pot labeled
DETUNE
and slowly rotate it to the right from the far left position (which is
preset in the sound program). You can hear the tone start to waver and as you turn the pot further to the
right, how this vibrato effect increases until Oscillator 2 sounds distinctly out of tune with Oscillator 1.
This wavering or vibrato-type effect has a popular traditional in synthesizers. It is used to achieve chorus
effects, create sounds reminiscent of stringed instruments/ string sections or simply beef up the sound.
The
SEMITONE
pot enables you to transpose Oscillator 2 by plus/minus four octaves in semitone steps
while Oscillator 1 maintains the pitch. This feature is especially interesting when used in conjunction
with two other oscillator functions: synchronization and frequency modulation.
Locate and activate the
SYNC
button in the OSCILLATOR 2 section (the LED must illuminate). The
synchronization function forces Oscillator 2 to restart its wave cycle at the same time as Oscillator 1
waveshape starts its cycle. The initial effect of this measure is that the wavering tone that resulted from
detuning and mixing the oscillator signals disappears.
The SYNC effect really becomes interesting when you transpose Oscillator 2 upwards in comparison to
Oscillator 1 via the SEMITONE pot. What happens is that the wave cycle of Oscillator 2 is interrupted as
soon as Oscillator 1 starts its cycle. The pitch of the second oscillator no longer has the expected effect,
instead it generates special tones, in some cases for lack of a better description „screaming“ type effects.
The other effect that benefits from manipulating the interval between the oscillators is frequency
modulation (FM). It generates new tonal spectra in which the signal of the first oscillator controls the
frequency of the second oscillator similar to the manner in which filters can be controlled via envelopes.
And here too you have a pot which allows you to control the intensity of:
FM AMOUNT
. In contrast to
an envelope, which consists of a single slow continual process initiated at the start of a note, the
controlled oscillator fluctuates periodically and in an audible frequency range. Consequently you are
unable to hear the individual pulses of the modulation; instead you hear a radical change in tone.
In the Virus you have the option of combining the two functions called oscillator synchronization (SYNC)
and frequency modulation (FM AMOUNT, to generate new harmonic spectra. Switch SYNC on and
experiment with the FM AMOUNT. Also try out different SEMITONE settings and the diverse waveshapes
of Oscillator.
The function
FILT ENV MOD
lets you use the filter envelope to control the frequency of OSCILLATOR 2
and the FM intensity. Here you can switch back and forth between the parameters
FM AMOUNT
and
OSC 2 PITCH
by repeatedly pressing the FILT ENV MOD button. The currently valid value appears in
the display of the Virus.
Each of the two parameters has a bi-directional value range of -64 to +63. Enter the desired values via
the VALUE pot or VALUE buttons. As soon as you have determined a value other than 0 for one of the
two parameters, the LED of the FILT ENV MOD button will illuminate to indicate a modulation is
underway here.
Summary of Contents for VIRUS C SERIES
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