Euterpe Synthesizer Laboratories Vertice, User Manual

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USING THE VERTICE FILTERBANK [ 57 ]
VERTICE as a compression/expansion unit
Everyone in the music industry know how much dynamic control can affect the total result of a complex mix,
digitally or not obtained. Punching out fast transient Compression is the key to achieve recognizable and easy-
assembled bass drum and bass combinations, while Expansion can get out from a complex riff the most loud
parts, giving to them further more level and sense of impact. Generally this kind of machines are hosted in a
secret space into audio engineers minds, the space where only The Best can live together because "there is not
enough room for two of us in this rack". Seems that this kind of “hi-end” signals treatments can be outline for
VERTICE, too unstable, too “crazy-synth” and not so much “professional” but in real life they are not . In fact
VERTICE can be more than a normal compressor/expander.
Starting from the fact that its VCAs host the just mentioned THAT2181, a very hi-end IC with great technical
performances, we can imagine that VERTICE can compress, or expand.
Yes, compression is available. And what a compression! During this chapter we will dwell on that matter because
of its major importance in tracking and re-amping moments, giving to compression a relevant argumentation
role but keeping in mind that almost all said about compression is also true, generally in reverse-biased mode,
for expansion function, which is the exact opposite of compression.
To set VERTICE in order to obtain compression you must involve both VCAs and external audio-drive Eg. No other
possibilities, unless you want to define the Overload function as a compression, which can be also true under a
general mode of view, but also incorrect under other lights so we ignore that function as a compression matter:
it is a distortion matter, which is of course a particular sort of compression, or dynamics manipulation, that's all.
Another intro: we will argue using a particular example, something that has a relevant role on music production.
We will refer to a Bass Drum signal, so something with fast transient feature and very solid low frequency
body. This is primarily because to compress you have to use your signal as a key-signal for Eg GATE input to
achieve compression, and BD is generally a heavy signal that can easily trigger the Eg circuit. Second, we use
this particular example because BD+compression represents a very common combo in music today and so
its procedures and behaviors are easily to understand since most of the compression literature dwell on this
particular kind of signal a lot.
So to use VERTICE as a compressor you must:
1. Procure yourself a stereo BD signal (or obviously any other signal that may trigger the Eg)
2. Use one cable to feed audio signal into audio path of VERTICE. It can be A, B or C audio input, it’s not so
important right now. Amplify it to obtain a properly gain-staged signal without introducing any audible
distortion
3. Use the other cable to drive the EG GATE input. Your BD signal will flow to both ports at the same time. This
is important. Note that the part of the signal that pass the EG activating threshold is only a matter of source
machine output level, to be set correctly high to obtain different results over a wide range of processable
audio materials. This relation between injected level and compression behavior is the typical idea behind
the common side-chain modality, also investigated later in this chapter.
The blinking LED will be your only visual reference in this process. Obviously an integrated 20-LED-strip or
a fancy VU meter should be useful in this case to show at least Gain Reduction values, but VERTICE is born
with a strong synthesis character so this feature was avoided during project phase because too directed
to this particular function. For a more visual full of unuseful meters approach you can refer to one of the
thousand compression VSTs available today on the net. :)
4. Setting up the rest of VERTICE means in the most case to switch it into a general serial modality, but of
course you can set it differently. The tone result will be naturally different but this is a timbre matter only,
while we are talking about dynamics right now, so you are right if want to try other options like using both
the two output ports of VERTICE to obtain a mono to false-stereo signal or use it to apply a false stereo BD
from C-filter summed to the rest of the processed material, even the entire main track, as mentioned later.
So let’s continue our demonstration with the simple serial BD
5. Set VCF/VCA switch to VCA. In this position the two VCAs are really dynamic and can give very high signal
values. Be careful with both STACCATO/CONTINUO pot and EG LEVEL. Starting from a zero output level, to
hear something you must raise up the VCA level, e.g. to flat position.
6. Then you can set the ADSR as follow:
A = zero
D = zero
S = max
R = close to zero but not zero
7. Percussive mode to obtain fast-transient response. It's useful now, giving the fastest response VERTICE can
allow.
8. Inverted or straight mode are the key to choose from Compression (inverted) or Expansion (normal)
function. We continue our example with Inverted mode inserted
9. EG Level value defines how much your VCA will be affected by the EG time-subjected output.
It’s important to understand that right now EG level and VCA level are strictly connected, as if they were a single