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Modal SKULPTsynthesiser

Polyphonic Virtual Analogue Synthesiser

User Manual

OS Version - 

1.20

Summary of Contents for SKULPTsynthesiser

Page 1: ...1 Modal SKULPTsynthesiser Polyphonic Virtual Analogue Synthesiser User Manual OS Version 1 20 ...

Page 2: ...onto or come into contact with the apparatus In the event this should happen remove power from the unit immediately and seek expert assistance This apparatus produces sound that could cause permanent damage to hearing Always operate the apparatus at safe listening volumes and ensure you take regular breaks from being exposed to sound levels THERE ARE NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE THIS APPARATUS...

Page 3: ... Envelopes LFOs Keyboard FX Modulation Modulation Slots Arpeggiator Sequencer 04 MIDI MIDI Implementation Chart 05 Update 06 ModalApp Getting Started Editor Page Controller Page Sequencer Page Preset Manager Page Settings Page Appendix A Troubleshooting 6 8 9 10 12 14 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 28 32 36 38 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 ...

Page 4: ... 3 x envelope generators for Filter Amplitude and Modulation 2 x audio rate LFOs one global and one polyphonic Realtime sequencer that will record up to 256 notes and up to 4 parameters of animation Fully featured arpeggiator with division direction octave bipolar swing and sustain controls Resonant filter that can be morphed from low pass through band pass to high pass Delay and distortion wavesh...

Page 5: ...d the sound guy s ear drums Power on by using the power toggle on the rear of the unit to select to correct source as outlined above the toggle WARNING DO NOT hold the LFO2 RINGMOD button whilst powering on SKULPT synthesiser Doing so and holding the button for a further 4 seconds will erase the firmware and stop the SKULPT from working You can restore the firmware via the update process but it s ...

Page 6: ...SHIFT OCT TRANSPOSE ON OFF SHIFT OCT NOTE TRANSPOSE MIDDLE C UI Combinations Sequencer PLAY START STOP SEQUENCE SHIFT PLAY RECORD NOTES PARAMETERS SHIFT MONO DUO POLY SEQ MODE ON OFF SEQ MODE KEY 1 4 PARAMETER ROW ON OFF SEQ MODE KEY 5 8 SEQ LENGTH SEQ MODE KEY 9 13 CLEAR ROWS SEQ MODE KEY 14 MUTE NOTE ROW SEQ MODE KEY 15 HOLD REPEAT STEP SEQ MODE KEY 16 RELEASE LOOP START END SEQ MODE KEY 16 EXIT...

Page 7: ...communicate with any other MIDI devices See the MIDI section Clock Sync In Out Clock Sync In Out on 3 5mm Mono jack Simply plug into your clockable gear as desired See the Sync section Line Out Line level dual mono output on 3 5mm Stereo jack This output can be connected to any line level input for monitoring and recording The line output is higher quality than the headphone output so always use i...

Page 8: ...14 15 03 Synthesis engine ...

Page 9: ...effects from adding rich harmonics to interesting low frequency modulations Ring Mod Holding shift and pressing the LFO2 button causes ring mod to be enabled and disabled By default Ring Mod is disabled Enabling it will cause the LFO 2 LED to flash in an on or off direction depending on whether LFO 2 is being edited or not Ring modulation is a form of amplitude modulation where a modulating wave W...

Page 10: ...On LFO2 using the second half of the dial the LFO rate is set to a division of the main frequency of the note being played This allows the LFO frequency to run into the audible range and maintain harmonious modulations A massive array of effects can be achieved in this way including AM and FM Depth This parameter controls the global depth for all LFO modulation for either LFO1 or LFO2 Shape When h...

Page 11: ...each the new note a shorter value will result in a quicker slide Positive values will achieve normal always active glide and negative amounts will achieve fingered glide and will only glide if another note is already held Arp Pushing this button enables and disables the Arpeggiator See Arpeggiator section Seq Pushing this button enters and exits Sequencer mode See Sequencer section Mono Duo Poly T...

Page 12: ...on from all assigned slots is summed and limited before being applied Not all source to destination combinations are valid e g you cannot assign a polyphonic modulation source to a monophonic destination Valid combinations are listed here Parameter LFO1 LFO2 MOD EG NOTE VELO AFTT MODW CC Wave 1 Wave 2 Mix Global Pitch Osc1 Pitch Osc2 Pitch FM LFO1 Rate X X X X LFO2 Rate LFO1 Shape X X X X X LFO2 S...

Page 13: ...erve and edit the modulations used within a patch using the 16 touch pads Pads 1 8 represent each modulation slot they can be enabled or disabled Pads 9 16 will clear the corresponding slot 1 8 when held down for a certain time Modulation LEDs Entering an assign mode while on the mod edit page will flash all slots currently assigned from that source When assigning a modulation and adjusting the as...

Page 14: ...be held down or latched to give access to the following parameters ANIM 1 4 Pads 1 4 enable or disable the 4 rows of parameter animation Bar Pads 5 8 selects the length of the sequencer The available lengths are 1 BAR 2 BAR 4 BAR and 8 BAR Clear Pads 9 13 allow you to clear the current data in the 4 parameter animation rows and the note row Mute Pad 14 enables or disables the note row Hold Pad 15 ...

Page 15: ...to a USB port and it will show up as a MIDI input and output device in any software that supports external MIDI devices On Mac OSX SKULPT synthesiser will show up in Midi Studio found in Applications Utilities Audio MIDI Setup Once open select Window Show MIDI Studio On Windows SKULPT synthesiser will show up as a sound device in the Device manager Remember to enable the device input and output in...

Page 16: ...IN Thru Forwards Midi received on din in to din out USB Thru Soft interface mode which forwards midi received on din in to USB out and USB in to din out MIDI Program Change Sending a program change to SKULPT synthesiser will load the relevant preset Sync The analogue sync connections on SKULPT are configured to use a 3 3v rising edge 1 pulse per 16th note signal PLEASE DO NOT EXCEED 3 3V INPUT AND...

Page 17: ...taves Function CC Values Osc2 Fine Detune 31 1 Semitone FEG Amount 32 63 0 63 Morph 33 0 LP 64 BP 127 HP Cutoff 34 0Hz 2kHz Reso 35 None Full LFO1 Rate 36 NO SYNC 0 127 0 02Hz 32Hz SYNC 0 7 1 16 8 15 1 8 16 23 3 16 24 31 1 4 32 39 3 8 40 47 1 2 48 55 3 4 56 63 1 64 71 3 2 72 79 2 80 87 3 88 95 4 96 103 6 104 111 8 112 119 12 120 127 16 LFO1 Depth 37 None Full LFO1 Shape 39 0 14 Sine 15 31 iSine 32...

Page 18: ...alue 24 2 Swing 78 0 127 Anim 1 CC 80 CC number of new destination Anim 2 CC 81 CC number of new destination Anim 3 CC 82 CC number of new destination Anim 4 CC 83 CC number of new destination All Envelope Attack 84 0 4 Seconds All Envelope Decay 85 0 2 Seconds All Envelope Sustain 86 0 1 All Envelope Release 87 0 4 Seconds MIDI CC Implemention Chart Function CC Values Mod Slot 1 Depth 88 63 0 63 ...

Page 19: ...s means that you will be able to update your Skulpt to the latest version each time an update is released MODALapp will provide the most user friendly way to update firmware however it is also possible to update the firmware using MIDI sysex messages meaning you won t need the app ...

Page 20: ...e allows users to upload their own sounds via a drag and drop interface to replace the default samples Many live options available including different pattern loading options and a sample grid to trigger any of the 64 samples at any time Patterns and Kits can be stored locally into the banks provided 8 User configurable fills to temporarily replace the current pattern Allows the user to edit the d...

Page 21: ...thesiser automatically Just make sure that your MIDI controller is sending to the same MIDI channel that the SKULPT synthesiser is assigned to Editor Page This is the main tab for patch design editing You will find oscillator filter envelope LFO arpeggiator sustain modulation and effects sections here Switch between viewing the currently loaded patch or sequence with the PATCH SEQ buttons on the t...

Page 22: ...arpeggiator 1oct 2oct 3oct 4oct Global Arp Sequencer options Here you can toggle play and record of the sequencer as well as set the swing amount and tempo using either the tap tempo button or tempo slider Sequencer Page Here you can access the complete sequencer and animation options as well as the global arpeggiator and sequencer options from the previous page You have an animator grid that you ...

Page 23: ...r local storage on the device MODALapp is running on Toolbox The toolbox is an area you can drag patches in to currate new banks and then save them to your SKULPT synthesiser or add to local storage The interface is drag n drop so you can move presets or banks around to different slots by first clicking on them and then dragging them to the desired location Settings Page Here you can find out your...

Page 24: ...tions are connected properly and working as they should Testing with another device to provide sound is a good way to do this Try sending MIDI to the synth to identify if it is an issue with the touch pads The SKULPT doesn t show up as a MIDI device SKULPT synthesiser uses a class compliant MIDI over USB connection which means most operating systems will recognise it as a MIDI device without the n...

Page 25: ...stening on headphones will isolate the synth from any other equipment that may be affecting the SKULPT If this fixes the issue try unplugging any other equipment that may be affecting the power such as your laptop charger Try sending MIDI to the SKULPT to identify if it definitely is an issue with the touch pads My SKULPT makes erratic noise when powered off when powered by a USB power adaptor or ...

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