Waldorf Blofeld User Manual Download

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Summary of Contents for Blofeld

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Page 2: ...ou decide to read the following manual we promise you a lot of fun while reading about and working with the Waldorf Blofeld Your Waldorf Team Hint Waldorf Music is not liable for any erroneous information contained in this manual The contents of this manual may be updated at any time without prior notice We made every effort to ensure the information herein is accurate and that the manual contains...

Page 3: ...Achim Gratz Till Kopper Jahnspierr Leyton Dr Georg Müller Don Petersen Howard Scarr Holger Steinbrink Sascha Timm Dr Stefan Trippler Revision 1 1 January 2009 w Please visit our website www waldorfmusic de Maybe you can download a newer operating system for your Blofeld We would like to thank Willie Eckl Joachim Flor Michael von Garnier Florian Gypser Frank Lauterbach Achim Lenzgen Kurt Lu Wangard...

Page 4: ...ers 11 General Safety Guidelines 12 Suitable Operating Conditions 12 Power Supply 12 Operation 12 Maintenance 13 Proper Use 13 Setup and Connection 14 Inventory 14 Setup 14 Connections 14 The USB connection 15 The Blofeld Keyboard Controls 16 Basic Operation 18 Switching on off 18 System Volume 18 Selecting Programs 18 Fast Selection of Sound Banks 18 Category Search 19 Editing Parameters 19 Editi...

Page 5: ... 53 Parameter Controls of the Filter and Amp Envelope 53 Envelopes Edit Menu 54 LFO Parameter Controls 57 LFO Edit Menu 58 LFO 1 2 and 3 58 Modulation Matrix Parameter Controls 60 Modulation Matrix Edit Menu 61 Modifier 61 Amplifier Edit Menu 63 Effects Parameter Controls 64 Effects Edit Menu 64 Effect Bypass 64 Chorus 65 Flanger 65 Phaser 66 Overdrive 66 Triple FX 67 Delay 68 Clk Clocked Delay 69...

Page 6: ...troduction 96 The Comb Filter Types 98 Envelope Types 103 Appendix 106 FM Sources 106 Modulation Sources 106 Modulation Destinations 107 Updating the System Software 109 Tips Tricks 111 Technical Data 112 Controller Numbers 113 Glossary 118 Declaration of Conformity 124 FCC Information 126 Product Warranty 127 Product Support 127 ...

Page 7: ...res and Connections 7 Blofeld User s Manual Control Features and Connections Front Panel Blofeld Desktop a Display b Parameter Matrix c Selection Dial with Play button d System Volume Dial e Display Parameter Dials ...

Page 8: ...feld User s Manual 8 Connections Blofeld Desktop A Power supply socket B MIDI In jack C USB port for connection to a suited computer D Stereo audio output left right only left mono only rights stereo E Stereo Headphone jack 6 Power switch ...

Page 9: ...feld User s Manual Front Panel Blofeld Keyboard a Display b Parameter Matrix c Selection Dial with Play button d System Volume Dial e Display Parameter Dials f Pitch Bend Wheel and Modulation Wheel g Octave Up and Down Button h Free Button ...

Page 10: ...al 10 Connections Blofeld Keyboard A Power supply socket B MIDI In jack C USB port for connection to a suited computer D Stereo audio output left right only left mono only rights stereo E Stereo Headphone jack 6 Power switch 7 MIDI Out jack 8 Pedal input ...

Page 11: ...d in bold letters Symbols m Caution The comments that follow this symbol will help you avoid errors and malfunctions w Info Additional information on a given topic Instruction Follow these guidelines to execute a desired function Example Real world examples to try out Highlighted Control Features and Parameters All of the Blofeld s buttons controls and parameters are highlighted in bold letters th...

Page 12: ...urces such as radiators Do not expose the device to direct sunlight Do not expose the device to extreme vibrations Power Supply Never use a different power cable than the one that came with the Blofeld Unplug the device when you are not using it for longer periods Never touch the plug with wet hands Always pull the plug when unplugging the device never the cable Operation Never place objects conta...

Page 13: ... soft cloth or brush to clean the device Never use alcohol cleaning solutions or similar chemicals They will damage the surface of the chassis Proper Use This device is designed exclusively to produce low frequency audio signals for the purpose of generating sound Any other use is prohibited and voids the warranty extended by Waldorf Music Waldorf Music is not liable for damages due to incorrect u...

Page 14: ... power outlet a mixing console an amp or and an audio monitor such as a speaker cabinet and last but not least a MIDI master keyboard for the Blofeld Desktop You can also use a computer or sequencer to make use of the Blofeld s MIDI features To connect the devices 1 Turn all units off 2 Connect the Blofeld s main audio outputs 4 to your mixing console or your computer audio interface Optionally co...

Page 15: ...to connect a mixing console you can patch the Blofeld s output signals directly to an amp or an audio interface Use an input usually called Line Aux or Tape input m Before connecting and disconnecting the Blofeld to a power supply source turn your amp s volume control all the way down to avoid damage due to on off switching noise The Blofeld produces a high level output signal Please take care tha...

Page 16: ...major scale if you use another scale you will very likely have to use some of the black keys as well Pitch Bend Wheel Use this wheel to alter the pitch of the played notes It will jump to the center position when you release it Modulation Wheel Use this wheel to alter the sound of the played notes In contrast to the pitch bend wheel it does not go back to its default position on release Don t worr...

Page 17: ...o compensate this limitation we added these buttons g to enable you to reach more keys that physically accessible Press Octave down to go one octave lower and Octave up to go one octave higher Transposition is maximum three octaves up and three octaves down Free Button Just for fun we added an additional button h with assignable function The functions are accessible from Global Menu Please refer t...

Page 18: ...t the Play Sound mode is shown in the display a If not press the Play button c shortly Use the Selection dial c to select an appropriate Program Turning the dial clockwise increases the Program number turning the dial counterclockwise decreases it When you are at the end of one Bank and turn the Selection dial further you will jump to the beginning of the next Bank and vice versa The only exceptio...

Page 19: ...ers It only filters out all patches not belonging to the selected category Scrolling through patches with this function is much faster because only patches belonging to the selected category are visible Editing Parameters In order to change or edit a program in the Blofeld you must access the appropriate parameters In spite of the Blofeld s compactness it uses a sophisticated user interface allowi...

Page 20: ...ntains the desired parameter on the front panel For example if you want to change Cutoff of Filter 2 refer to the Filter section To do this please press the filter section button until the LED for Filter 2 lights up in the Filter section 2 With the first endless rotary you can now change the Cutoff parameter of Filter 2 3 Whenever you change a parameter by moving a knob the display shows the edite...

Page 21: ...eck parameter values without changing them 1 Press and hold the corresponding button in the Parameter matrix After a short while all four parameter and the values are shown in the display 2 You can edit the parameters while holding the buttons 3 Release the button to end the parameter viewing Comparing Edited Programs with Stored Programs The Compare function allows you to compare the currently ed...

Page 22: ...age 2 Use the Selection dial c to select the mneu page Store Sound 1 3 3 Edit the program name if wished First select the character to be modified with the left Display parameter dial Then change its setting with the right Display parameter dial The program name can use up to 16 characters 4 Use the Selection dial c to select the next menu page Store Sound 2 3 5 Now you can select the category of ...

Page 23: ...d memory location is overwritten Therefore any previously stored program at this location will be erased and there is no way to get it back So you should do backups of the sounds regularly If you want to restore the factory presets you can download them as a Standard MIDI File from our website w Use the Store function also if you want to copy programs There is no need to edit a program before stor...

Page 24: ...verall volume for the selected Multi program It affects all Instruments of the Multi program so if you would set Multi Volume to 0 you won t hear anything w Multi Volume is used to set several Multi programs to similar output levels especially in live situations While recording in a studio you should set Multi Volume to 127 to get the highest possible Signal to Noise ratio Tempo 40 300 Tempo sets ...

Page 25: ...annel Volume to change the volume of the Instruments that receive on this MIDI channel the real output level is scaled to the volume set up in this parameter This means that if you set Instrument Volume to 10 and Controller 7 to 127 the maximum output volume is 10 Pan left 64 center right 63 Determines the panning position of the selected instrument The setting left 64 stands for full left right 6...

Page 26: ... whether the Instrument can be played by MIDI or is disabled mute means that the selected part is disabled play means that the selected part can be played by MIDI Transpose 48 48 Transposes the Instrument in semitone steps I e a value of 12 means that the Instrument sounds one octave lower than it was originally programmed Detune 64 63 Detunes the Instrument in steps of 1 64th of a semitone You ca...

Page 27: ...to the Low Key parameter Only notes with a key number lower or equal to the selected value are passed through Set this parameter to G8 if you want to use the full keyboard range MIDI receive ignore Determines if incoming MIDI data is received or ignored USB receive ignore Determines if incoming USB messages are received or ignored Local receive ignore Determines if incoming MIDI data from the keyb...

Page 28: ...ored Edits receive ignore Determines if incoming parameter edits are received or ignored Prg Change receive ignore Determines if incoming program changes are received or ignored If receive is enabled program change messages alters the selected sound w To store Multi programs please refer to the chapter Storing Programs ...

Page 29: ...llator 2 1 7 Octave Balance 2 7 Sync to O3 3 7 Pulsewidth PWM Amount 4 7 PWM Source PWM Amount 5 7 Limit WT Brilliance 6 7 FM Source FM Amount 7 7 Keytrack Bend Range Oscillator 3 1 6 Octave Balance 2 6 Pulsewidth PWM Amount 3 6 PWM Source PWM Amount 4 6 Brilliance 5 6 FM Source FM Amount 6 6 Keytrack Bend Range Oscillator Common 1 5 Allocation 2 5 Unisono Uni Detune 3 5 Glide Rate 4 5 Mode 5 5 Pi...

Page 30: ...Pan Amount Modulation Parameter matrix Env Attack Decay Sustain Release Menu pages Filter Envelope 1 3 Trigger Mode 2 3 Attack Level 3 3 Decay 2 Sustain 2 Amp Envelope 1 3 Trigger Mode 2 3 Allocation Attack Level 3 3 Decay 2 Sustain 2 Envelope 3 1 5 Trigger Mode 2 5 Attack Attack Level 3 5 Decay Sustain 4 5 Decay 2 Sustain 2 5 5 Release Envelope 4 1 5 Trigger Mode 2 5 Attack Attack Level 3 5 Decay...

Page 31: ...nation Modifier 1 4 1 2 Source A Source B 2 2 Operation Constant Amplifier 1 2 Volume Velocity 2 2 Mod Source Mod Amount Effects Parameter matrix Mix 1 Mix 2 Menu pages up to 5 pages depending on the selected effect type Effect 1 1 4 Type Mix 2 4 Effect Parameter 1 Effect Parameter 2 3 4 Effect Parameter 3 Effect Parameter 4 4 4 Effect Parameter 5 Effect Parameter 6 Effect 2 1 4 Type Mix 2 4 Effec...

Page 32: ...sition Accent Arpeggiator Glide Position Glide Arpeggiator Timing Position Timing Arpeggiator Length Position Length Multimode Shift Multi Menu pages Edit Multi Multi Volume Tempo Sound 1 2 Bank Sound 2 2 Cat Filter Mixer Volume Pan Receive Channel Status Tuning Transpose Detune Velocity Range Low Vel High Vel Key Range Low Key High Key Receive 1 5 MIDI USB 2 5 Local 3 5 Pitch Bend Mod Wheel 4 5 P...

Page 33: ...i 1 2 Position Char 2 2 Dest Multi Store Arrangement Position Char Init Multi Dump Multi Dump Arrangement Dump All Multis Store Sound 1 3 Position Char 2 3 Category 3 3 Dest Bank Dest Sound Compare Sound Recall Sound Init Sound Randomize Sound Dump Sound Dump Sound Bank Dump All Sounds Dump All ...

Page 34: ...ges Global Display 1 2 Contrast Popup Time 2 2 Auto Edit Global Tune Master Tune Transpose Global MIDI 1 3 MIDI Channel Device ID 2 3 Vel Curve Clock 2 3 Ctrl Send Ctrl Receive Global Controls 1 2 Control W Control X 2 2 Control Y Control Z Global MIDI Keyboard Free Button Pedal ...

Page 35: ...at the end of the signal chain They determine the overall volume of the signal and add some effects like chorus flanger delay etc Modulators LFOs Envelopes Modifiers Modulation Matrix These modules are called Modulators The Modulators are designed to manipulate or modulate the sound generating components to add dynamics to sounds The Low frequency Oscillators LFO are designed for periodic or recur...

Page 36: ...waveform with a pulse width of 50 has only the odd harmonics of the fundamental frequency present This waveform produces a hollow metallic sound If the Pulse waveform is selected the parameters Pulsewidth and PWM are used to change the pulsewidth of the waveform Furthermore the modulation destinations O1PW O2PW or O3PW gain functionality depending on which oscillator is set to Pulse The parameter ...

Page 37: ...e can be used for basses leads brass and string sounds The Tri shape can be used for flute sounds or soft pads The Sine shape can be used to produce basses and electric organ sounds The Sine shape is also perfectly suited for ring modulation or as FM Source The wavetables are perfect for very vivid sounds The tips listed here of course are only suggestions The variety of tones among all Waveforms ...

Page 38: ...rough the corresponding menu pages The name of the page is shown in the top of the display Oscillator 1 2 and 3 The following parameters refer to the selected oscillator Octave 128 1 2 Sets the basic pitch of the oscillator in steps of an octave The Octave setting is shown as register value a common measurement based on the length of organ pipes The reference pitch for the oscillator is generated ...

Page 39: ...th 0 127 Sets the pulse width of the Pulse waveform The value 0 is equivalent to a pulse ratio of 1 the value 127 is equivalent to 50 You determine the start point of a wavetable with the Pulsewidth knob at which 0 selects the first of up to 128 Waveforms If you select any waveform other than Pulse or the wavetables this parameter does not have any effect The following picture illustrates the effe...

Page 40: ...he basic waveform before the effect of modulations Note that you can apply unipolar and bipolar modulation sources For example set Pulsewidth to 64 which is almost the middle of the wavetable and apply a slow running LFO to PWM Source to sweep through the whole wavetable PWM Amount 64 63 PWM stands for pulsewidth modulation This parameter determines the amount of modulation that is applied to the ...

Page 41: ...process of the earlier wavetable synthesizers as PPG Wave and Waldorf Wave The Waldorf Microwave II XT offers a similar parameter called Quantize FM Source see table FM Sources Selects the source for the frequency modulation of the selected oscillator You can create nice E Piano sounds when you use a high pitched oscillator as FM Source and set its Keytrack to a value between 000 and 050 The use o...

Page 42: ...75 or even negative settings for one oscillator while leaving the second at 100 Keytrack Bend Range 24 24 Determines the intensity of the pitchbend via MIDI Pitchbend messages in semitones for the selected oscillator Sync To O3 only for Osc 2 off on Enables or disables oscillator synchronization When enabled Oscillator 2 acts as a slave that is controlled by Oscillator 3 the master Each time Oscil...

Page 43: ...h you ve played This mode is for sustained sounds like typical 70 s solo sounds w When Mono is selected and you have set up a decaying volume envelope for the selected Sound you might not hear anything after playing several notes because of the envelopes decaying to 0 Unisono off Dual 3 6 Controls how many voices are triggered when a note is played off means that a note triggers one voice This is ...

Page 44: ...ermines the glide time Low values will give a short glide time in a range of milliseconds that gives a special character to the sound High values will result in a long glide time of up to several seconds which can be useful for solo and effect sounds Mode Portamento fingered P Glissando fingered G Determines the way the Glide effect works Portamento means that a continuous glide is performed on al...

Page 45: ...rd Negative amounts will lower the pitch when positive modulation is applied Ring Modulation The following parameters refer to the ring modulator Level 0 127 Volume of the ring modulation between Oscillator 1 and 2 From a technical point of view ring modulation is the multiplication of two oscillators signals The result of this operation is a waveform that contains the sums and the differences of ...

Page 46: ... ring modulator s signal that is sent to the inputs of Filter 1 and or Filter 2 If set to F1 64 the signal is sent to Filter 1 only Higher values will increase the amount of signal that feeds Filter 2 and decrease the amount of signal that feeds Filter 1 If set to mid both filters will receive the same signal level If set to F2 63 the signal is sent to Filter 2 only Noise The following parameters ...

Page 47: ...band pass and notch filter types and the delay length of the comb filter types When a low pass type is selected via the Type parameter all frequencies above the cutoff frequency are damped When a high pass type is selected all frequencies below the cutoff frequency are damped When a band pass type is selected only frequencies near the cutoff setting will be passed through When a notch type is sele...

Page 48: ... remove frequencies both below and above the cutoff point As a result the sound character gets thinner Use these filter types when programming effect and percussion like sounds HP 24dB HP 12dB High Pass are useful to thin out a sound s bass frequencies This may also give interesting results in conjunction with cutoff frequency modulation By doing this you can e g fly in a sound starting at its hig...

Page 49: ...on is set by the delay length which is controlled in the Blofeld through Cutoff while the amount of colorization is set by the Comb filter feedback which is controlled in the Blofeld through Resonance w To learn more about the comb filters please refer to the corresponding paragraph in the chapter Sound Synthesis Basics Env Amount 64 63 Determines the amount of influence the filter envelope has on...

Page 50: ...n octave is played on a keyboard the cutoff frequency changes by the same amount If you want to play the filter in a tempered scale e g for a solo sound with self oscillation set the value to 100 On most bass sounds lower settings in the range 50 75 are optimal to keep the sound smooth at higher notes Env Velocity 64 63 Determines the amount of influence the filter envelope has on the cutoff frequ...

Page 51: ...tion will be added or in other words the signal will remain clean Lower values will add some harmonics to the signal resulting in a warm character Increasing the value will bring in more and more distortion suitable for harder lead sounds and effects Drive Curve Determines the character of the drive The following drive curves are available Clipping Tube Hard Medium Soft Pickup 1 Pickup 2 Rectifier...

Page 52: ...t of Filter 1 the other connected to the input of Filter 2 Each sound source i e the oscillators the ring modulator and the noise generator has an individual Balance control By means of these controls you can determine what portion of each source s signal is routed to the inputs of Filter 1 and Filter 2 E g this makes it possible to send the signal of Oscillator 1 and 2 to Filter 1 and the ring mo...

Page 53: ...lter but can also be used for other modulations An Amplifier Envelope Amp Env This envelope is fixed to control the sound volume but can also be used for other modulations Two additional Envelopes Env 3 and Env 4 These envelopes can be used freely to perform additional modulations on any module w The Parameter Controls of Filter Env and Amp Env are nearly similar w A detailled introduction of the ...

Page 54: ... level remains until the last note is released Afterwards the release phase is active single is only active in monophonic voice mode Mode ADSR ADS1DS2R One Shot Loop S1S2 Loop All Switches between the various envelope types Please refer to the Appendix for detailled explaination of all the types w The standard envelope parameter Attack Decay Sustain and Release are accessable directly via the para...

Page 55: ...R One Shot Loop S1S2 Loop All Switches between the various envelope types Please refer to the Appendix for detailled explaination of all the types w The standard envelope parameter Attack Decay Sustain and Release are accessable directly via the parameter controls Allocation Poly Mono This parameter is similar to the Allocation parameter in the Oscillator Edit Menu Please refer to page 34 w When m...

Page 56: ... first note is played The sustain level remains until the last note is released Afterwards the release phase is active single is only active in monophonic voice mode Mode ADSR ADS1DS2R One Shot Loop S1S2 Loop All Switches between the various envelope types Please refer to the Appendix for detailled explaination of all the types Attack 0 127 Determines the attack rate or amount of time it takes for...

Page 57: ...to zero at the rate determined by the Release value Parameter Control of the LFOs In addition to the main oscillators the Blofeld is equipped with three low frequency oscillators LFO that can be used for modulation purposes Each LFO generates a periodic waveform with adjustable frequency and shape w Only LFO1 and LFO2 can be edited via the Parameter Controls LFO 3 is completely accessable through ...

Page 58: ...set to 100 a Speed setting of 122 delivers an 8 LFO oscillation 16 oscillation can therefore be generated with a Speed setting of 110 and so on When the LFO Clocked parameter is set to On you can adjust the Speed in musical values The lowest possible value is 1280 bars meaning that a complete LFO cycle would need 1280 bars Shape 2 Sine Triangle Square Saw Random S H See Shape 1 Speed 2 0 127 or 12...

Page 59: ...e LFO isn t restarted on a new note but runs freely while other values set the LFO phase to the respective offset in degrees Keytrack 200 196 Determines how much the speed of the LFO depends on MIDI note number The reference note for Keytrack is E3 note number 64 For positive settings the LFO speeds up on notes above the reference note for negative settings the LFO slows down when higher notes are...

Page 60: ...n be found in the Appendix Select 1 16 Selects the respective Modulations slots 1 to 16 Source see table Modulation Sources Defines the modulation source Amount 64 63 Determines the amount of modulation applied to the destination Since the modulation is in fact a multiplication of the source signal and this parameter the resulting amplitude depends on the type of modulation source you select B For...

Page 61: ...he function type selected calculation will affect two source signals or a source signal and a constant parameter You can use up to four independent modifier units The result of each operation is not directly audible but is used as input source for the Standard Modulation Matrix Moreover you can use it as source for yet another modifying process The parameter for the modifiers can be found after th...

Page 62: ...h modifier function in detail Returns the sum of Source A and Source B Returns the difference of Source A and Source B Returns the product of Source A and Source B AND Returns the binary and operation of Source A and Source B OR Returns the binary or operation of Source A and Source B XOR Returns the binary exclusive or operation of Source A and Source B min Returns the minimum value of either Sou...

Page 63: ...setting of 0 velocity will have no effect on the volume Classic organs work in this way because they do not have dynamic response For positive settings the volume rises with higher velocities This is the most commonly used setting which gives a piano like character With negative settings the volume decreases at higher velocities This gives an atypical character suitable for effect sounds As the Am...

Page 64: ...ny The setting Bypass doesn t need any processing power Effects Edit Menu To access the Effects Edit Menu press the Shift button shortly if Auto Edit is set to on or for some time if Auto Edit is set to off Use the Selection dial to scroll through the corresponding menu pages The name of the page is shown in the top of the display Type Bypass Chorus Flanger Phaser Overdrive Triple FX Delay Clk Del...

Page 65: ...LFO speed of the Chorus effect Depth 0 127 Sets the modulation depth of the Chorus effect Flanger The Flanger effect is very similar to the Chorus effect but features feedback circuitry to feed the generated signal back into the comb filter This generates a deeper detuning and colorizes the signal With extreme settings you can hear a whistling sound which is very characteristic of a Flanger effect...

Page 66: ...requencies Spacing 0 127 Controls the relative frequencies of the allpass filters A setting of 0 produces a classic phaser while higher settings spread out the frequencies of the allpass filters Feedback 0 127 Controls the feedback amount of the delay signal Polarity positive negative Determines whether the feedback signal is fed back into the Phaser as is or is inverted beforehand Overdrive The O...

Page 67: ...arameter doesn t affect the strength of the overdrive effect but only the volume of it Therefore you can get a very strong overdrive with a low volume when you turn up Drive and turn down Mix Triple FX This effect type is a combination of three different effects You can easily use this as a replacement for one of the above mentioned effect types The quality of Triple FX is the same as if you use a...

Page 68: ... lower the sample rate but this is great for so called lo fi sounds Chorus Mix 0 127 Controls the mix level of the Chorus effect Speed 0 127 Controls the LFO speed of the Chorus effect Depth 0 127 Controls the modulation depth of the Chorus effect Delay w This effect type is only available for the Effect 2 unit A Delay is an effect that produces echoes of the input signal An important feature of t...

Page 69: ...Clocked Delay is an effect that produces echoes of the input signal To make this effect musically useful in a synthesizer the parameters to adjust the delay length are scaled in note values The Clock Delay effect depends on the internal tempo of the Bloefeld which can be found in the Arpeggiator menu An important feature of the Blofeld s Delay effect is that the Delay length can be changed without...

Page 70: ...f a natural reverb As a result good reverb processors are very expensive The Blofeld s reverb effects don t intend to simulate the perfect natural room rather they are an addition to the Blofeld s sound synthesis to make it more 3 dimensional and expressive HighPass 0 127 Determines the frequency where the lower frequency parts are divided from the effect signal This parameter works in the same wa...

Page 71: ...nt rooms and reverb types like plate or echo chamber The Shape parameter enables stepless changes of these reverb types Lower settings simulate a more natural reverb while higher settings simulate a plate reverb Decay 0 127 Determines the length of the reverb reflections To simulate a big room choose higher Decay settings to simulate a smaller room choose lower settings Damping 0 127 Determines ho...

Page 72: ...e arpeggiator is not active If on is selected the arpeggiator is active When you press a note or a chord on the keyboard it is split up and repeated rhythmically As soon as you release a note it is removed from the arpeggio rhythm Conversely as soon as you add another note to the existing chord it is inserted into the arpeggio When you release all notes the arpeggiator stops If One Shot is selecte...

Page 73: ...of the rhythm pattern in a range from whole notes to thirty second triplet notes Triplets e g 1 8T and dotted notes e g 1 16 are available for every note value Tempo 40 300 Sets the basic tempo of the arpeggiator and the Clk Delay in BPM beats per minute Pattern off User 1 15 Sets the rhythm pattern that is used for generating the arpeggio Pattern Muster can set to off User or to one of the 15 ROM...

Page 74: ...rd The arpeggio starts in the highest octave and goes down to the original octave Then the arpeggio is repeated If Alt Up is selected the note list is first played forward and the octaves are transposed upward After reaching the last note of the note list in the highest octave to play the note list is played backward and the octaves are transposed downward down to the first note of the note list i...

Page 75: ...possible arpeggios Note input Range Direction Resulting Arpeggio C1 E1 G1 1 Oct Up C1 E1 G1 C1 E1 G1 C1 E1 G1 2 Oct Up C1 E1 G1 C2 E2 G2 C1 E1 G1 C2 E1 G1 C1 3 Oct Up E1 G1 C1 E2 G2 C2 E3 G3 C3 E1 C1 G1 E2 3 Oct Up C1 G1 E2 C2 G2 E3 C3 G3 E4 C1 C1 E1 G1 3 Oct Down G3 E3 C3 G2 E2 C2 G1 E1 C1 G3 C1 E1 G1 2 Oct Alt Down G2 E2 C2 G1 E1 C1 E1 G1 C2 E2 Arpeggio results depending on note input Length 1 9...

Page 76: ...increase the shuffling of the notes depending on the setting in the Arp Timing parameter Timing Factor also works on ROM patterns these are set up with standard swing rhythm Velocity Each Note First Note Last Note fix 32 fix 64 fix 100 fix 127 Determines how velocity is interpreted in the arpeggio Note that each arpeggio step might have an additional positive or negative offset set by the Arp Acce...

Page 77: ...p 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Note G1 C1 E1 G1 C1 E1 G1 C1 Arpeggio with Pattern Reset set to on If on is selected the note list will be restarted as soon as the rhythm pattern is restarted The same arpeggio might now look like this note the two C1s in sequence Pattern Step 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Note C1 E1 G1 C1 C1 E1 G1 C1 Pat Step 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Note C1 E1 G1 C1 C1 E1 G1 C1 Arpeggio with Pattern Reset set to Off...

Page 78: ...st several times The note list is not advanced If first is selected the Arpeggiator plays the very first note of the note list This might be interesting if you want to only play the root note of a chord in a bass sound The note list is not advanced If last is selected the Arpeggiator plays the very last note of the note list The note list is not advanced If first last is selected the Arpeggiator p...

Page 79: ... the velocity is raised or lowered accordingly For example a played velocity of 64 generates a final velocity of 32 when set to 2 and 128 when set to 2 Glide off on For each step in the arpeggio pattern you can activate the glide effect individually This gives you the ability to create the classic Bass Line melody character Make sure that you set up a reasonable glide effect in the Oscillator Edit...

Page 80: ...the note of a particular step The overall length of the arpeggio depends on the Length setting If Length is set to legato Arp Length doesn t have any effect at all Also if Length is set to a very small value Arp Length might not have an audible effect when you set it to a negative value You can create very nice staccato and legato effects with this parameter If legato is selected the notes of this...

Page 81: ... might appear that the Blofeld is defective If this should ever happen open this manual and proceed as follows Switch the Blofeld on Press and hold the Shift button and after that the Global button to enter the Global menu Use the left display parameter dial to change the Contrast to a desired value w You can also send your Blofeld to a qualified Waldorf Service Center But be sure we will retain y...

Page 82: ...sposition for the tone generator Incoming MIDI notes are shifted by the number of semitones MIDI Channel omni 1 16 Sets the basic send and receive channel for the Blofeld This setting is valid for all Sound programs If omni is selected the Blofeld sends on channel 1 and receives on all channels m Please use omni only for test purposes if you wish to check the basic MIDI send and receive functional...

Page 83: ...lo Curve linear square cubic exponential root fix 32 127 Determines the velocity performance of a connected MIDI keyboard Clock Internal Auto Determines how the Blofeld reacts on incoming MIDI Clock messages Internal means that the Blofeld doesn t react on incoming MIDI Clock nor does it send MIDI Clock The Blofeld only syncs to its own tempo base that is set by Tempo which can be found in the Arp...

Page 84: ...etting Ctrl Receive off on Determines if Real Time Sound Parameter Changes are received over MIDI by the Blofeld If Off is selected no Sound Parameter Changes are received If On is selected all Sound Parameter Changes are received no matter if they were sent as controller or system exclusive messages w Set Ctrl Receive to On during normal operation You should only set it to Off for diagnostic purp...

Page 85: ...eyb only miscellaneous This button can be defined with an assignable function off nothing happens when you press the Free button Sustain The button acts like a sustain pedal But please use your fingers Sust toggle Also sustain but it acts like an on off switch Control W X Y Z the corresponding controller is sent to internal sound engine and MIDI out C W X Y Z toggle Emits the assigned controller b...

Page 86: ...amming a sound from the scratch w When you initialize a program all action takes place inside an edit buffer Therefore no data will be lost until you store the program Randomize Sound initializes all parameters of a Sound Program with random values w When you randomize a program all action takes place inside an edit buffer Therefore no data will be lost until you store the program Use Randomize as...

Page 87: ...dump If Dump Arrangement is selected the current Multi program including all sound programs will be sent If Dump All Multis is selected all Multi programs of the Blofeld are sent 2 Press Shift Utility to activate the dump w Depending on the selected type the dump may take some time The Blofeld cannot be played during this time Receiving System Exclusive Data You are not required to activate a spec...

Page 88: ...ng device is activated the Blofeld will receive data and store these in its memory If a single Sound dump is received it is temporarily stored in its respective edit buffer If you want to keep such edits you have to store them Otherwise they are when you switch the Blofeld off ...

Page 89: ...square waveform and the sine wave also part of every other waveform Now you probably know how these waveforms look and sound but the following chapter gives you a small introduction into the deeper structure of these waveforms Let s start with the most basic one The Sine Wave The Sine Wave is the purest tone that can be generated It consists only of one harmonic the fundamental and has no overtone...

Page 90: ...re etc only consists of harmonic partials The harmonic with the lowest frequency is dominant and therefore called fundamental All other harmonics are called overtones The Sawtooth Wave The Sawtooth Wave is the most popular synthesizer waveform It consists of all harmonics in which the magnitude of each harmonic descends by the factor of its position This means that the first harmonic the fundament...

Page 91: ...h This means that the positive part of the waveform has equal length to the negative part The pulse waveform can have other pulse widths as you will read later For now we ll talk about the square wave as a unique waveform The square wave consists of all odd harmonics in which the magnitude of each harmonic descends by the factor of its position This means that the first harmonic has full magnitude...

Page 92: ...These portions are called pulses hence the name pulse width The width of the first pulse is used to distinguish between different pulse waves and it is measured in percent The following picture shows several pulse waves with different pulse widths Additive components of Pulse wave with different pulse widths The first thing you probably observe is that the lower part of the wave has a narrower exc...

Page 93: ... or semi acoustic instruments i e a guitar or bass guitar an e piano or even a flute The most powerful feature of the pulse wave is the ability to change its width while sounding This is called pulse width modulation When the pulse width is changed the waveform starts to sound thicker This happens because the effect is very similar to what you hear when you have two oscillators running with slight...

Page 94: ...and results are totally different Each of the wavetables contain single 64 waves m Please keep the terms wavetable and wave in mind Don t confuse the two The following overview explains how the Wavetable Synthesis works A wavetable into the Blofeld is a table consisting of 64 waveforms Each waveform is classified by its own special sound character The main difference of wavetable synthesis in comp...

Page 95: ...ld keep the following sentence in mind A wavetable is a list with 64 waves among which you can move at will w If you like the sound and possibilities of wavetable synthesis you should try out the virtual instrument Waldorf PPG Wave 2 V which is part of the Waldorf Edition plug in bundle List of Wavetables used in the Blofeld No Wavetable No Wavetable 1 Alt 1 35 SawSync1 2 Alt 2 36 SawSync2 3 Reson...

Page 96: ...on the Blofeld s sound characteristics For a detailed description of the different filter types that are available in the Blofeld see the section Filter Types on page 78 For now we ll explain the basic function of a filter discussing the type used most commonly in synthesizers the low pass filter The low pass filter type dampens frequencies that lie above a specified cutoff frequency Frequencies b...

Page 97: ...st cases means this portion of the signal is no longer audible The Blofeld s filter also features a resonance parameter Resonance in the context of a low band or high pass filter means that a narrow frequency band around the cutoff point is emphasized The following picture shows the effect of the resonance parameter on the filter s frequency curve If the resonance is raised to a great extent then ...

Page 98: ...basically a very short delay that can be controlled in length and feedback The delay time is so short that you can t hear its individual taps but a colorization of the original signal created by peaks or holes in the frequency spectrum The frequency of the colorization is set by the delay length which is controlled in the Blofeld through Cutoff while the amount of colorization is set by the Comb f...

Page 99: ... or several Comb filters so this is an easy task to set up manually To set up the Comb filter to produce a Chorus 1 Select the Comb filter type for the desired filter 2 Set Cutoff to a medium value 3 Set Resonance Drive Filter Keytrack and any other modulation to 0 4 Select an LFO as Mod Source 5 Set Mod to a medium positive or negative amount 6 Adjust the LFO to generate a slow triangle oscillati...

Page 100: ... Now each voice sounds with a different Chorus speed or frequency You have full control over MIDI of all parameters that make up the Chorus effect by using Control messages The Comb filter as a Flanger A Flanger is almost the same as a Chorus The only difference is that it has feedback circuitry to change the depth of the Flanger effect To set up the Comb filter to produce a Flanger 1 Adjust the f...

Page 101: ...ilter you can hear that it emphasizes or attenuates certain frequencies depending on the setting of Cutoff and Resonance When you set Resonance to a very high value you will notice that the Comb filter oscillates heavily and that s the key to using it as a tone generator When you set Filter Keytrack to 100 you can play the Comb filter musically Now you need to know how to set up Cutoff Filter Cuto...

Page 102: ...r with a signal of any kind The incoming signal s pitch isn t important for the resulting tuning but both pitch and timbre of the input signal affect the timbre of the Comb filter output sound greatly Try to experiment with all kinds of input signals i e different oscillator settings noise combinations of both and the like Also try to set up envelopes to control the levels of the input signal i e ...

Page 103: ... ADSR envelope ADSR Envelope The envelope is started by pressing a key It ascends to its maximum value at the rate determined by the Attack parameter It then descends at the rate determined by the Decay value until it reaches the predetermined Sustain value It remains at this value until the key is released The envelope then descends to zero at the rate determined by the Release parameter ADS1DS2R...

Page 104: ... is used to set a level breakpoint This allows creation of One Shot envelopes with a very percussive attack or with a Gate effect Some parameters of the Envelope section have no function so they can not be edited One Shot Envelope Loop S1S2 Envelope The Loop S1S2 envelope type loops the envelope between Sustain 1 and Sustain 2 as long as a note is held after has been through the Attack phase once ...

Page 105: ... stages as long as a note is held This means that it goes through all envelope stages first and if it ended with the Release phase the envelope restarts from zero and goes through all its phases again As soon as the note is released the looping stops and the envelope goes into its Release phase Loop All Envelope 0 123 4 0 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 17 8 1 1 7 2 0 123 4 0 13 4 5 6 7 8 9 17 8 1 1 7 2 ...

Page 106: ...LFO2 LFO 2 Signal LFO2 Prs LFO 2 Signal shaped by Aftertouch LFO3 LFO 3 Signal FilterEnv Filter Envelope Signal AmpEnv Amplifier Envelope Signal Env3 Envelope 3 Signal Env4 Envelope 4 Signal Keytrack MIDI note number Velocity MIDI Velocity Rel Velo MIDI note release velocity Pressure MIDI channel pressure Poly Prs MIDI polyphonic pressure Pitchbend MIDI pitchbend signal Modwheel MIDI modulation wh...

Page 107: ...el Mixer level of Noise Noise Bal Filter 1 2 Balance of Noise F1 Cutoff F2 Cutoff Cutoff of Filter 1 2 F1 Reson F2 Reson Resonance of Filter 1 2 F1 FM F2 FM FM Amount modulation of Filter 1 2 F1 Drive F2 Drive Drive of Filter 1 2 F1 Pan F2 Pan Pan of Filter 1 2 Volume Amplifier output volume LFO1 LFO2 LFO3 Speed Speed of LFO 1 3 FE Attack Attack rate of Filter Envelope FE Decay Decay and Decay 2 r...

Page 108: ... of Envelope 3 E4 Attack Attack rate of Envelope 4 E4 Decay Decay and Decay 2 rate of Envelope 4 E4 Sust Sustain and Sustain 2 level of Envelope 4 E4 Rel Release rate of Envelope 4 M1 Amount Modulation amount of M1 M2 Amount Modulation amount of M2 M3 Amount Modulation amount of M1 M4 Amount Modulation amount of M2 ...

Page 109: ...ou don t have Internet access please ask your local dealer for a disk copy To update the Blofeld s system software Load the respective Standard MIDI File into your sequencer Follow the instructions from your sequencer s manual The MIDI file consists of one single track with several sysex messages in it Make sure that this track is assigned to the Blofeld so that it can receive the data Make sure t...

Page 110: ... MIDI input as also via USB 2 port We recommend the use of the USB port for updating your Blofeld m Do not under any circumstances turn off the Blofeld while this step is in progress A complete loss of data may occur and it will be impossible for you to make your machine work again ...

Page 111: ...ed by an envelope This frees up the two filters and you can use them to perform other tasks e g filtering noise for a snare drum sound or the like Use the LFOs as FM Sources With this technique you get up to six oscillators frequency modulating each other to create extremely complex timbres Just keep in mind that the LFOs have a maximum speed of around 2500 Hz and that they can produce aliasing si...

Page 112: ... 100 240 V Maximum current consumption 0 3 A Maximum power consumption 5 W Dimensions and Weight Blofeld Desktop Width 304 mm Depht 132 mm Height including knobs 54 mm Total weight 1 3 kg Dimensions and Weight Blofeld Keyboard Width 740 mm Depht 275 mm Height including knobs 100 mm Total weight 8 0 kg ...

Page 113: ...not used 1 0 127 Modulation Wheel 0 127 2 0 127 Breath Control 0 127 3 not used undefined not used 4 0 127 Foot Control 0 127 5 0 127 Glide Rate 0 127 6 not used Data Entry not used 7 0 127 Channel Volume 0 127 8 not used Balance not used 9 not used undefined not used 10 0 127 Pan L64 R63 11 not used Expression not used 12 0 9 Arp Range 1 10 octaves 13 0 15 Arp Length 1 16 steps 14 0 3 Arp Active ...

Page 114: ...3 Delay 0 127 27 16 28 40 112 Osc 1 Octave 128 1 2 28 52 76 Osc 1 Semitone 12 12 29 0 127 Osc 1 Detune 64 63 30 0 127 Osc 1 FM 0 127 31 0 5 Osc 1 Shape pulse saw triangle sine alt 1 alt 2 32 0 n Bank Select LSB Bank A 33 0 127 Osc 1 PW 0 127 34 0 127 Osc 1 PWM 64 63 35 16 28 40 112 Osc 2 Octave 128 1 2 36 52 76 Osc 2 Semitone 12 12 37 0 127 Osc 2 Detune 64 63 38 0 127 Osc 2 FM 0 127 39 0 5 Osc 2 S...

Page 115: ...0 127 Osc 3 Level 0 127 59 0 127 Osc 3 Balance F1 64 mid F2 63 60 0 127 Noise Level 0 127 61 0 127 Noise Balance F1 64 mid F2 63 62 0 127 Noise Colour 0 127 63 not used undefined not used 64 0 127 Sustain Pedal off on 65 0 127 Glide Active off on 66 0 127 Sostenuto off on 67 0 127 Routing serial parallel 68 0 10 Filter 1 Type See Filter types 69 0 127 Filter 1 Cutoff 0 127 70 0 127 Filter 1 Resona...

Page 116: ...enter R63 89 0 127 Filter 2 Panmod 64 63 90 0 127 Amp Volume 0 127 91 0 127 Amp Velocity 64 63 92 0 127 Amp Mod 64 63 93 0 127 FX 1 Mix 0 127 94 0 127 FX 2 Mix 0 127 95 0 127 FE Attack 0 127 96 0 127 FE Decay 0 127 97 0 127 FE Sustain 0 127 98 0 127 FE Decay 2 0 127 99 0 127 FE Sustain 2 0 127 100 0 127 FE Release 0 127 101 0 127 AE Attack 0 127 102 0 127 AE Decay 0 127 103 0 127 AE Sustain 0 127 ...

Page 117: ...ease 0 127 119 not used undefined not used 120 0 All Sound Off immediate silence 121 0 Reset All Controllers resets all controllers 122 0 127 Local Control Local Control Off On 123 0 All Notes Off releases all voices 124 not used Omni Mode Off not used 125 not used Omni Mode On not used 126 not used Poly Mode On Off not used 127 not used Poly Mode On not used ...

Page 118: ...coming chord into its single notes and repeats them rhythmically Most arpeggiators feature different sequence modes to cover a wide range of applications Typical controls for an arpeggiator are the octave range the direction the speed and the clock which means the repetition interval Some arpeggiators also feature preset or programmable rhythm patterns Attack An envelope parameter Attack is a term...

Page 119: ...d for the Sustain value Envelope An envelope is used to modulate a sound shaping component within a given time frame so that the sound is changed in some manner For instance an envelope that modulates the cutoff frequency of a filter opens and closes this filter so that some of the signal s frequencies are filtered out An envelope is started via a trigger usually a fixed trigger Normally the trigg...

Page 120: ...LFO can be used to modulate a sound shaping component Low Pass Filter Synthesizers are often equipped with a low pass filter A low pass filter dampens all frequencies above its cutoff frequency Frequencies below the cutoff point are not affected MIDI The acronym MIDI stands for musical instrument digital interface It was developed in the early 80s so that diverse types of electronic musical instru...

Page 121: ... processes based on time Modulation A modulation influences or changes a sound shaping component via a modulation source Modulation sources include envelopes LFOs or MIDI messages The modulation destination is sound shaping component such as a filter or a VCA Note on Note off This is the most important MIDI message It determines the pitch and velocity of every generated note The time of arrival is...

Page 122: ...n it will generate a relatively clean sine waveform Sustain An envelope parameter The term Sustain describes the level of an envelope that remains constant after it has run through the Attack and Decay phases Sustain lasts until the trigger is terminated System Exclusive Data System exclusive data allow access to the heart of a MIDI device They enable access to data and functions that no other MID...

Page 123: ...nd are played back in the same pitch Wavetable One oscillator shape in the Blofeld bases on waveform sets called Wavetables You should think of these as a sequence of up to up to 128 single Waves This can be played back in a static way or passed through dynamically which results in the typical interesting sound transformations If the Waves do not differ much then the Wavetable will probably sound ...

Page 124: ...hereby declared that the following named product Waldorf Blofeld Gerätetyp Device type Synthesizer Gerätenummer Device number 426012638007 in Übereinstimmung mit den Richtlinien conforms to the requirements 2004 108 EG und 2006 95 EG in Verkehr gebracht wurde Für die Konformitätserklärung wurde nachstehende Norm angewandt The following standards have been used to declare conformity EN 55013 Waldor...

Page 125: ...ung EN 55013 2001 A1 2003 EN 55020 Ton und Fernseh Rundfunkempfänger und verwandte Geräte der Unterhaltungselektronik Störfestigkeitseigenschaften Grenzwerte und Prüfverfahren IEC CISPR 20 2002 A1 2002 Deutsche Fassung EN 55020 2002 A1 2003 EN 61000 3 2 Elektromagnetische Verträglichkeit EMV Teil 3 2 Grenzwerte Grenzwerte für Oberschwingungsströme Geräte Eingangsstrom 16 A je Leiter IEC 61000 3 2 ...

Page 126: ...t is found to be the source of interference which can be deter minated by turning the unit OFF and ON please try to eliminate the problem by using one of the following measures Relocate either this product or the device that is being affected by the interference Utilise power outlets that are on branch Circuit breaker or fuse circuits or install AC line filter s In the case of radio or TV interfer...

Page 127: ...r repaired free of charge The unit must be insured and sent prepared in its original package Please include a detailed description of the defect Products that were not send prepared or in the original package will be returned unopened Waldorf Music reserves the right to upgrade the unit with the latest technological advances if necessary This warranty does not cover defects due to abuse operation ...

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