QUICK START
OVERVIEW / GETTING STARTED
If you want to quickly try out the performance of DARKSTAR VOCODA, please read the following points carefully:
Before making any connections, make sure that the power on all your equipment is turned OFF.
Connect the power supply (included) to the ‘power in’ socket on the rear panel of DARKSTAR and plug it into a
suitable AC outlet. Connect the audio cables for a basic vocoder system setup as shown on page 5.
Make sure all connections have been made correctly and the volume controls on the
mixing desk and amplifier system are turned completely down. Press the rear panel power switch on DARKSTAR.
Turn on the power of the mixing desk and then turn on the power of the amplifier system.
When DARKSTAR is powered up, the main display will show a welcome message and
the software version whilst various parameters are being set internally. When this process is complete, the display
will show the BANK and PROGRAM number. If this does not happen, check the power supply is of the correct type
and the unit was switched on correctly.
To select VOCODER mode, press the [VOCODER] MENU button and use the [EDIT]
keypad [VALUE +] and [VALUE -] buttons to set the mode to VOCODER. Press the [VOCODER] MENU button
again to exit menu.
Select a bright, string pad type sound on your connected synthesizer. Now talk or sing
into the connected microphone whilst playing chords on the keyboard to hear the full vocoder effect. Move the
joystick about to hear the effect this has on the frequency spectrum.
Please read the following “OPERATION” section carefully to fully appreciate the range of features and facilities the
DARKSTAR VOCODA conversion has to offer.
DARKSTAR VOCODA is more than just a standard vocoder. There are five operating modes which enable you to
explore many areas of creativity. The built-in mono synthesizer can be used as a sound source for ‘robotic’ style
vocoding or as a stand-alone instrument. Filter mode can be used to process external sound sources in stereo
whilst the sequence-coder allows you to create complex vocoder sequences.
After connecting DARKSTAR VOCODA to your system, press IN the power switch on the rear panel to turn the
power on. As the software initialises (takes approximately 15 seconds) rows of indicators will light in sequence, the
main display will show a welcome message followed by the software version fitted to your unit, as shown in the
example below:
When the boot-up phase is complete the last selected program (before power was switched off at the previous
session) will be recalled and displayed as follows:
DARKSTAR VOCODA is now ready to use.
CONNECTIONS:
TURNING ON THE POWER:
POWER UP INDICATIONS:
SETTING THE MODE:
USING THE VOCODER:
NOTE: The information contained in this booklet focuses on the differences between the VOCODA conversion and
the standard DARKSTAR synthesizer. Any common features/facilities are omitted from this booklet and must be
checked by reading the full DARKSTAR manual. We therefore recommend that, initially, you use the DARKSTAR
synthesizer format to familiarize yourself fully with the operating system and procedures used throughout.
QUICK START
QUICK START
6
PARAMETER
VALUE
PARAMETER
VALUE
Software version = 1.01
Bank 1
Program 1
BANK
BANK
PROG
PROG
DarkStar Vocoda
