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 Context Menus

The small LCD-style screens contain some parameters that are actually context menus.
Click on a parameter to show a context menu of options. Click on the desired setting to 
select and close the menu. The display changes to show the current value.

In the example pictured above clicking on 'Load Wave1' will open the Waveform menu, 
from here you can choose either a factory Wave to open, or load an external Wave from 
disk.

 

 Previous/Next

In Rayblaster, the left and right arrows in it’s patch browser (the orange section in the 
middle) are used to select the previous and next patches (program) or category (bank)

Click the program back arrow (<) to select the previous patch in the current category, click 
the program forward (>) arrow to select the next patch in the current category. The browser 
display changes to shows the newly selected patch.

Click the bank back arrow (<) to select the previous patch category, click the bank forward 
(>) arrow to select the next patch category. The browser display changes to show the 
current selected patch category.

Summary of Contents for Rayblaster

Page 1: ...RAYBLASTER Reference MANUAL ...

Page 2: ...us by visiting our website at http www tone2 com and clicking the Support button User Forum http www tone2 org forum index php Support Address support tone2 com YouTube http www youtube com user Tone2Audiosoftware Facebook http www facebook com Tone2Audiosoftware Twitter https twitter com Tone2Audio Google https plus google com b 117394698401069212106 Development Markus Krause formerly Feil Bastia...

Page 3: ...tallation for Mac 3 Rayblaster Interface controls 4 The Rayblaster User Interface 4 1 The patch browser 4 2 Oscillator section 4 3 Envelopes 4 4 LFOs 4 5 The Modulation Matrix 4 6 Arpeggiator Gate 4 7 Effects sections Boost 5 Modulation Matrix value modifiers 6 Rayblaster CPU usage 7 Creating your own custom Rayblaster filter impulse responses 8 How to extract use waveforms in Rayblaster 9 Tone2 A...

Page 4: ...llators The oscillators play back these short samples in rhythmic or chaotic order to create an audible sound Pitch formant frequency impulse order mix pulse width and the harmonics of oscillators can be adjusted independently which allows for a very large amount of possibilities to morph your sound in real time The oscillators have an very wide pitch range ranging from lower than 0 5 Hz up to 22k...

Page 5: ...Installation recommended for PC Mac 1 Close your host Logic Live Cubase etc 2 Install the full version of the plugin Note the demo version can not be unlocked 3 Open your host program 4 Do a plugin rescan in the host if it does not list Rayblaster as plugin Detailed instructions on how to perform a rescan can be found in your host s manual 5 Open Rayblaster 6 Click on the registration box in the m...

Page 6: ...ual 6 Open Rayblaster Now the normal user interface appears If this is not the case close your host and go back to step 3 as most likely you did not copy the keyfile to the right place 2 3 Manual installation for Mac 1 Close your host Logic Digital Performer Live Cubase etc 2 Install the full version of the plugin Note the demo version can not be unlocked 3 Copy Rayblaster t2k to Library Audio Plu...

Page 7: ...nimum threshold value to a maximum threshold value To increase a knob s setting value turn it clockwise click and hold the knob with your mouse and then move it up and or to the right To decrease move down and or to the left or anti clockwise If you press the Shift key on your keyboard and then click and hold the left mouse button on a knob you will have fine control There are two type of value ra...

Page 8: ...e from disk Previous Next In Rayblaster the left and right arrows in it s patch browser the orange section in the middle are used to select the previous and next patches program or category bank Click the program back arrow to select the previous patch in the current category click the program forward arrow to select the next patch in the current category The browser display changes to shows the n...

Page 9: ... oscillators 3 Main Amplifier Glide Drive Unison Controls Here you will find the main amp envelope for Rayblaster along with the unison spread pan glide Portamento and drive controls 4 Main Preset Window Options Here you can find the various options for loading banks and presets for Rayblaster Also you can save presets and export waveforms copy oscillators initialize Rayblaster the matrix or the a...

Page 10: ... host s tempo and adjust it s phase The LFOs can be assigned from the mod matrix 7 Envelope Section Rayblaster comes complete with two additional ADSR Attack Decay Sustain Release envelopes Their structure and shape can be altered in this section and they can be assigned from the mod matrix 8 Pitch Wheel Mod Wheel Here you see a graphical representation of the Pitch and Mod Wheels you normally fin...

Page 11: ...e Arpeggiator Saves the current arpeggiator pattern to disk Export Osc1 Wave1 Exports the waveform from Oscillator1 Wave1 as wav file to disk Export Osc1 Wave2 Exports the waveform from Oscillator1 Wave2 as wav file to disk Export Osc2 Wave1 Exports the waveform from Oscillator2 Wave1 as wav file to disk Export Osc2 Wave2 Exports the waveform from Oscillator2 Wave2 as wav file to disk Resynthesis ...

Page 12: ...ettings to Oscillator2 Copy Osc2 to Osc1 Copies Oscillator2 settings to Oscillator1 Help Clicking on the Help link opens the Rayblaster manual Buy Sounds Opens the Rayblaster sound section of Tone2 website The second row highlighted in the picture above shows the currently loaded patch If you click on the patch name a drop down list will appear from which you can select any patch in the current ca...

Page 13: ... the standard categories additional expansions bought from Tone2 or categories you created yourself The left and right arrows next to the category name are used to select the previous and next category The bottom line of the browser window highlighted in the picture above serves as an active parameter indicator If you alter any parameter in Rayblaster s interface the parameter name and its current...

Page 14: ...ample where the length is around 1 second or a drum loop for beat slicing granular playback you should set Formant and Tune to a very low value and Harmonic to a negative value The waves are stored in the Rayblaster_waves directory Note in Rayblaster s File menu you ll find two quick import options these will help you load your sample automatically configure Rayblaster to use the sample Example Pa...

Page 15: ...m within the window is repeated for several times so it will sound more bright and harsh When negative values are used it will result mostly in a darker sound since only a smaller part of the waveform will be part of the window The Start value defines the start offset of the waveform or the waveform s phase within the window function The Start value is for example used when you want to play granul...

Page 16: ...be morphed with PW in real time by routing a modulation source LFO ENV to one of the PW destinations in the Modulation Matrix Example Patches in Patch manager Tutorial category PWM Noise type Here you can choose between 3 different types of noise to add to the oscillator s sound Pitch and Formant noise are useful to create a breathy silky sound to simulate filter instabilities or to add rhythmic c...

Page 17: ...cutoff of the filter impulse responses the pitch of granular sounds or in general the brightness of your sound When Formant key follow is set to a value of 100 Formant values lower than 0 will result in a low pass style characteristic Formant values higher than 0 will result in a bandpass style characteristic Example Patches in Patch manager Tutorial category FakeAnalogFilter MonoBass FormantSynth...

Page 18: ...value Use Off or Saw Down as Osc Window function for best results Example Patches in Patch manager Tutorial category HardSync Tune Sets the harmonic or rhythmic relationship of the oscillator which can range from 3 octaves below up to 2 Octaves higher Other tunings provided which are not in octave steps like 8 3 are useful to create organ sounds or chords When Osc BPM Sync is On Tune controls the ...

Page 19: ...o architecture this allows the synth to have an individual pan setting for each oscillator For example the Vocoder Effect needs the modulator sample panned to left and the carrier oscillator panned to the right Example Patches in Patch manager Tutorial category Vocoder Low Cut The Low Cut control removes low frequencies from the oscillator s output Use for example Low Cut to remove lower frequency...

Page 20: ...ou set Phase to a value above 0 it will re trigger oscillator1 and oscialltor2 with the current phase amount each time a new note is played Example Patches in Patch manager Tutorial category FakeSubstractive Ring Ring modulates oscillator1 and oscillator2 This creates additional mid high range harmonics which pulsate in a frequency depending on the de tuning amount of the oscillators Note that you...

Page 21: ...s properties of changing volume and timbre over time Traditionally an envelope generator produced a control voltage that varied over time which could be used to automatically change the filter cut off or amplifier volume There are many different types of envelopes but the most common one is known as an ADSR which is an acronym for Attack Decay Sustain and Release which describes the four controls ...

Page 22: ...to be used The available waveforms are I Sine II Triangle III Square IV Saw V Sample Hold VI Ramped Noise Note Additional LFO waveforms Like a sinoid or smoothed versions can be created by using the filter X function in the matrix FREQ This controls at which frequency the LFO runs the LFO speed BPM This will synchronize the LFO s frequency to the host PHASE This will adjust the starting position o...

Page 23: ...in the drop down menu This is what gets affected by the modulation or changing effect 3 Drag the slider in the center of the bar left or right in a negative left or positive right direction to increase or decrease the values Source menu options Off Default matrix source is set to off Vol Env The Volume envelope will be used as modulation source Env1 The Auxilary 1 envelope will be used as modulati...

Page 24: ...s white noise as modulation source PinkNoise Uses pink noise as modulation source Key Uses the played note value as modulation source Velocity Uses the positive Velocity values to modulate Velocity Uses both the positive and negative Velocity values to modulate Modwheel Uses the Modulation Wheel as modulation source Pitchwheel Uses the Pitch Wheel as modulation source to modulate Aftertouch Uses t...

Page 25: ...Volume control as destination Pan Selects the Master Panning control as destination Spread Selects the Unison Spread control as modulation destination Drive Selects the Drive control as modulation destination OSC1 Formant Selects the OSC1 Formant control as modulation destination OSC1 Tune Selects OSC1 s Tune control as destination OSC1 Volume Selects Osc1 s volume control as destination OSC1 Damp...

Page 26: ...ts OSC2 s Tune control as destination OSC2 Volume Selects Osc2 s volume control as destination OSC2 Damp Selects Osc2 s volume control as destination OSC2 PW Selects Osc2 s Pulse width control as destination OSC2 Wave1 2 Mix Selects Osc2 s Wave1 2 mix control as destination OSC2 Harmonic Selects Osc2 s Harmonic control as destination OSC2 Startphase Selects Osc2 s start phase as destination OSC2 P...

Page 27: ...ation Vol D Selects the Volume Envelope s Decay control as destination Vol S Selects the Volume Envelope s Sustain control as destination Vol R Selects the Volume Envelope s Release control as destination Env1 A Selects the Auxiliary1 Envelope s Attack control as destination Env1 D Selects the Auxiliary1 Envelope s Decay control as destination Env1 S Selects the Auxiliary1 Envelope s Sustain contr...

Page 28: ...odulation Matrix to setup a Trance gate or drive other types of modulation The step values can be edited by click holding one of the small rectangle shaped steps and dragging them up or down to in decrease their value Note that when in Arp mode these same steps can still be used for Gate and or modulation purposes the main difference between the Arp and Gate mode is that in Arp mode the Arpeggiato...

Page 29: ... song Arp Trigger Enables the arp retriggers on key press Gate Sync Disables the arp and uses the gate only synchronized to song GateTrigger Disables the arp and uses the gate only retriggers the gate on key press BPM menu Default 1BPM The tempo function sets the speed for the arpeggiator in multiples of the tempo of your host program Whole divisions of the tempo default is 1 BPM the ARPEGGIATOR s...

Page 30: ...or that step 2x Doubles the note for that step and plays two higher 2x Doubles the note for that step and plays two lower 3x Triples the note for that step 3x Triples the note for that step and plays three higher 3x Triples the note for that step and plays three lower All Plays all current held notes on this step SL Restart note reorder from lowest key SH Restart note reorder from highest key S Re...

Page 31: ... swing from 0 no swing to 99 full swing The swing feature alternately delays and rushes the arpeggiator steps to add feel Velocity Gate menu The Velocity Gate section consists of a step sequencer that you can use to set the amount of velocity per step This is used in conjunction with the Modulation Matrix in which the velocity should be assigned to the preferred modulation target ...

Page 32: ...t of time between the direct signal and the reverberated signal Reverb Cathedral Modelling a huge space of a Cathedral with dense reflections Size Adjusts the size of the simulated space Damp Controls the amount of attenuation of the high frequencies of the reverb signal Diffuse Controls how diffused the reverb reflections are Predelay Sets the amount of time between the direct signal and the reve...

Page 33: ...he 60 s Time Sets the delay time The delay time is set to either divisions or multiples of your host s tempo e g 2 3 is two thirds of your host s tempo Feedback Sets the amount of the delay signal that is fed back into the delay s input Frequency Sets the frequency used by the delay band s filter Detune Sets how much of the feedback signal is de tuned Delay Pingpong Tempo synced delay which altern...

Page 34: ...ck setting C_LR Taps play as Center space Left Right This pattern repeats for a time dependent on the Feedback setting CCC_ Taps play as Center Center Center space This pattern repeats for a time dependent on the Feedback setting CLR_ Taps play as Center Left Right space This pattern repeats for a time dependent on the Feedback setting C__C Taps play as Center space space Center This pattern repea...

Page 35: ...e frequencies of the ensemble effect Depth How much the LFO modulates the frequency changes Phaser Creates a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum The position of the peaks and troughs is modulated so that they vary over time creating a sweeping effect Speed This sets the LFO speed used to modulate the frequency of the peaks and troughs Depth How much the LFO modulates the frequenc...

Page 36: ...tible surround encoder It is also useful to add a more spatial effect to your stereo recordings If you encode to Back the channel will come from the rear speaker if you play your song on a surround system The sound remains fully stereo compatible Settings To which speaker the signal is encoded on dolby prologic II compatible surround systems If you select Center and play back your song on a surrou...

Page 37: ...hould always select a boost mode which fits to your current patch They include No Boost With this one you re always on the safe side It does errrm nothing Psychoacoustic Equalizes non linearities of the human ear It makes the patch sound fatter and louder without raising the overall volume too much Bass Boost Equalizes non linearities of the human ear This one is suitable for most bass sounds and ...

Page 38: ...nger the distance between two notes is the longer it will take to glide This mode is useful for hoovers and effect sounds QUALITY This determines the overall quality of sound that Rayblaster produces at the expense of CPU consumption Options are High Quality The highest possible quality of sound using higher CPU values Low CPU This is the lowest possible CPU consumption that Rayblaster can use at ...

Page 39: ...matrix and on the first line assign LFO1 to the destination X Value set the slider for this to 60 2 Next we ll assign one of our modifiers to oscillator 1 s Formant on the second matrix line assign Filter X to OSC1 Formant and set its slider to 70 You may have to increase the LFO rate a bit but you should now hear the LFO filtering the Formant by using our Filter X modifier What Filter X in this c...

Page 40: ...is use the Gate section triggered on key press The Gate section itself is made up of 16 steps each step currently set at 100 represents a value that can be adjusted from 100 to 100 and used to modulate whatever is linked to the Arp Step and Arp Step inside of the Modulation Matrix sources For this example let s go for a classic type of gate you can see the gate s layout in the picture below you ll...

Page 41: ...at you do in the instrument Like with most virtual instruments a lot calculations are required whenever dealing with more complex patch setups The following are some tips to reduce CPU usage if a preset has a high er CPU load 1 Use the Ensemble or Chorus effect instead of the 4x unison 2 Go to the Setup tab and reduce the number of voices used For most sounds Poly8 will suffice 3 Reduce release ti...

Page 42: ...s type is with formant lower than 0 and bandpass type with values above 0 There are some example Impulse responses included in the Wave library OSC Load Wave menu like the LpSaurusReso As window function use OFF Soft Saw or Exponential An example patch can be found in the Tutorial category FakeAnalogFilter Filter types The advantage of importing filter impulse responses is that it allows you to cr...

Page 43: ...nit all 2 Harmonic 9 3 Start Offset 30 4 Window mode Sine 8x All pass Filter 1 Init all 2 Harmonic 9 3 Start Offset 30 4 Window mode Sweep2 Lowpass with FM Filter 1 Init all 2 Harmonic 9 3 Start Offset 30 4 Window mode FM2 6dB high Shelf Filter 1 Init all 2 Harmonic 9 3 Start Offset 30 4 Window mode Exponential1 ...

Page 44: ...note on the instrument you want to extract a sample of 2 Sample the instruments 3 Extract edit a single cycle waveform from your sample note that there should be a zero crossing at the start end of the single cycle The maximum amount of energy largest amplitude should be as far to the start of as possible 4 Save your single cycle wav and import it into one of Rayblaster s oscillators Note that the...

Page 45: ...nd sculpting tools exclusive to Saurus All without placing heavy demands on your CPU or budget It has been the aim of developers the world over to bring the best Virtual Analog synths possible to re create the sound of classic hardware However unlike many competitors who sell Virtual Analog Synthesizers which are at best mere approximations of what happens in the real world we set out to create no...

Page 46: ...nd two Sub Oscillators Not just standard waveforms but also a large number of exotic ones Pulse Width Modulation and Oscillator Sync applicable to every waveform Oscillator Drift Phase and Noise Modulation controls Noise FM AM and Ring Modulation for Oscillators Analog filter with self oscillation nonlinearity 6 filter types FM and feedback LFOs and modulation capable of running at audio rate Powe...

Page 47: ...y crafted by professional designers Features summary Four synthesizers in one interface High end sound quality Huge sonic range High flexibility 13 different synthesis methods which can be combined Psychoacoustic processing Low CPU multicore processor support Easy to use 4x multitimbral 4x stereo unison Over 1000 sounds in 575 presets by professional sound designers 32 exclusive analog modeled fil...

Page 48: ...rs per voice Fractal a completely new synthesis method Phase distortion Waveshaping Exclusive oscillator types PWM Sync Noise Ringmod Vocoder Analog oscillator drift modeling Fat tuning 18 warm sounding effect types Reverbs Hall Cathedral Room Delays Delay Delay band Ping Pong Multitap Chorus Ensemble Phaser Flanger Rotary Trancegate Compressor Ampsim Equalizer Surround Encode Vocoder 23 exclusive...

Page 49: ...nly the perfect instrument but also the best virtual synthesizer and go to instrument for all those looking for the ultimate creative tool Synthesis types supported by Gladiator 2 are Tone2 s award winning Harmonic Content Morphing synthesis HCM Frequency Modulation FM Amplitude Modulation AM Pulse Width Modulation PWM Analog osciallators Resynthesized instruments Vocoder sounds Oscillator sync Ph...

Page 50: ...eate rhythmic sequences and trance gates With midi learn you can assign your hardware controller with a single mouse click Psychoacoustic processing The exclusive IQM algorithm Intelligent Microtuning makes the synthesizer sound fatter and cleaner by automatically detuning notes for lush chords The innovative phase modulator module in the OSC section is based on the latest knowledge in phonetic sc...

Page 51: ...t randomize function and over 150 presets Warmverb gives you instant access to a large selection of essential effects and inspiring new sounds Effect modules 3 high end quality Reverbs Vocoder and Vocoder L R Delay Ping pong delay Filtered Ping pong Chorus Ensemble Flanger Stereo Flanger Superstrings Phaser Stereo phaser LFO Low pass Band pass and High pass Talkbox Tubeamp Transistor Presence Hard...

Page 52: ... kinds of material It s a one click solution to make your mix sound professional without knowing about mastering voodoo Six essential effects to complement your track and mastering process Add brightness transparency fatness vibrancy and depth to your mix Restore and revitalize old recordings Drastically enhances stereo mixes Exclusive new technology based on the latest in psychoacoustics research...

Page 53: ...ncer can create rhythmic sequences with some mouse clicks 58 different high end quality dual stereo filters Outstanding sound quality Flexible semi modular architecture and routing Virtual analog OSCs LFOs FM AM feedback 20 Delay types Reverb 12 Distortion types 320 presets included Can be loaded as synthesizer as well as effect Vocal filtering equalizing phasing flanging compressing envelope foll...

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