Designers Pack Details

The Designers Pack is a suite of 40 versatile modules for experimental audio sculpting, effects and sound design.

Details:

The powerful 'Mod Pad' block serves both as a powerful modulation source and a live performance tool. State-of-the-art ZDF filters and effects plus a powerful multi-breakpoint morphing oscillator can be combined in limitless combinations to create fresh and original sounds. The effects, filters, crossovers and stereo tools can also be used to create studio quality modular effects processors.

Included modules:

Oscillators

Multi-Breakpoint Oscillator
Supersaw
Bassline
Quad Oscillator
Multi Oscillator
Noise

Filters

Comb / Notch Filter
Comb / Notch Filter (Stereo)
Peak / Shelf Filter
Peak / Shelf Filter (Stereo)
8 Pole Filter
8 Pole Filter (Stereo)
Squelch Filter
Filter Bank

Modulation

Mod Pad
Ramps

Effects

Noise Gate (Stereo)
Squash (Stereo)
Mixer Shifter (Stereo)
Pitch Shifter (Stereo)
Resampler (Stereo)
Soft Clip (Stereo)
Analog Vocoder
FFT Vocoder
Noise Gate
Diffuser
Looper
Mixer Shifter
Multi Effects
Multi-Tap Delay
Pitch Shifter
Flanger
Phaser
Dimension Chorus
Resampler
Soft Clip
Squash
Vocoder

Utility

Algorithm
Chord Bank
Collision
Crossover
Matrix
Mid / Side
Wave Selector
Note Delay

Multi-Breakpoint Oscillator

A versatile multi-breakpoint oscillator that can be used either as an audio rate oscillator or as an LFO. 16 breakpoints define the shape of the waveform. Controls for curve, mirroring and warp can be used to distort and bend the waveform to produce a variety of harmonically rich, twisted sounds. The oscillator has 2 ’Shapes’ that can be edited independently and there is a control to smoothly morph between them (this is achieved by interpolating the positions of the breakpoints of each shape as they are morphed rather than simply mixing between them resulting in a very smooth, organic blend of timbres). Right-clicking on the ‘SHAPE SELECT’ control copies Shape 1 to Shape 2.

The oscillator features a 'WARP' control that bends the waveform in 1 of 7 ways:

BEND+ = Bends the waveform to one side.
BEND- = Bends the waveform out towards the edges.
ASYM (Asymmetry) = Squishes the waveform from the middle to the edge in a linear fashion for 'Pulse Width Modulation' style effects.
SYNC = Duplicates the the waveform a number of times, simulating the 'sync' function found on older analogue synthesisers.
HYPER = Warps the waveform in an aggressive fashion.
FOLD (wave-folding) = The waveform acts like a wave-shaper to transform a sine wave. Can be used to create very bright / complex sounds with lots of harmonics.
WRAP = The waveform is stretched and wrapped vertically creating multiple jagged folds.

There are 3 synchronisation modes:

FREE (wave icon) = The pitch of the oscillator can be set freely with no synchronisation.
KEY TRACK (keyboard icon) = You can control the pitch of the oscillator via the Pitch input.
CLOCK (clock Icon) = The speed of the oscillator is synchronised with the master tempo.

The oscillator can be run in either high quality 'Analog' mode with 8x oversampling and subtle analog saturation or in a lower-CPU 'Digital' mode suitable for when using the oscillator as an LFO or when a more aliased / lofi sound is preferred.

Quad Oscillator

A sample based oscillator using samples taken from a classic poly-synth. The oscillator offers four waveforms that can be mixed together by using the faders on the panel: Pulse, Saw, Sub and Noise (white or pink noise). This allows you to create interesting waveform combinations.

The oscillator is based on a detailed sampling of a famous polyphonic hardware synth from the 1980s. The samples have been carefully recorded and matched to maintain perfect phase relationships between the 4 oscillators resulting in a very authentic sound.

Note: A positive zero crossing at the 'Reset' port input causes the oscillator to restart. A 'reset' will cause the sampler engine to select a sample with the closest original pitch to the current pitch (set by the signal at the PITCH input as well as the COARSE and FINE pitch knobs). If the reset port isn't connected then the sampler engine will update the selected sample when pitch changes are detected which may result in glitches to be heard when bending notes.

Supersaw

Digital supersaw oscillator. The oscillator engine runs in 12bits and the sample rate can also be reduced for a gritty old-school supersaw sound. The 'CHORD' control sets the interval between the unison, a variety of chords can be selected. When 'SCALE SNAP' is enabled the notes in the chord are snapped to a scale, use the coarse transpose control to set the key.

Bassline

A wavetable oscillator with 30 built in wavetables based on a famous 80's bass synth, suitable for acid style bass sounds and leads.

Use the ‘SELECT’ control to select which of the built in wavetables is being used.

The oscillator includes a built in scanning circuit that scans the wavetable position in a variety of ways. The ‘SCAN’ control sets the depth of the scanning, turn the control to the right for forwards scanning and turn to the left for backwards scanning, double click on the control to reset it to the middle (no scanning). The ‘SPEED’ control sets the speed of scanning. The following scan mades are available:

LOOP = The position is scanned in one direction, continuously looping.
PONG (ping-pong) = The position is scanned in one direction and then reverses, continuously looping forwards and then backwards in a ping-pong fashion.
ONCE = The position is scanned in one direction and then stops when it reaches the end of its scan.
ENV = The position is scanned in one direction and then stops, the oscillator is muted by an envelope when the scanner reaches the end. The release speed of the envelope is set on the options page with the ‘RELEASE’ control.
END = The position is scanned in one direction and then loops only the end part of the scan. This is useful for scanning through wavetables of real instruments so that the beginning / attack portion of the wavetable only plays once and then only the sustain portion is looped
RAND (random) = Randomly scans through the wavetable.

The oscillator also features a 'WARP' control that bends the waveform in 1 of 6 ways:

BEND = Bends the waveform to one side.
ASYM (Asymmetry) = Squishes the waveform from the middle to the edge in a linear fashion for 'Pulse Width Modulation' style effects.
SYNC = Duplicates the the waveform a number of times, simulating the 'Sync' function found on older analogue synthesisers.
HYPER = Warps the waveform in an aggressive fashion.
FOLD = The waveform acts like a wave-shaper to transform a sine wave. Can be used to create very bright / complex sounds with lots of harmonics.
FM SELF = Frequency modulates the oscillator with its own output (FM Feedback similar to feedback found in 'DX' style hardware synths).

'CYCLES' control: when this control is set to a value greater than 1 the warping is only applied to one cycle in a series of waveform cycles and remaining cycles are not warped.

The 'HARM' (harmonic) control uses chebyshev filters to boost or cut particular harmonics in the waveform and change its tonal character. The order of the chebyshev filters can be set using the ‘ORDER’ control.

Multi Oscillator

An oscillator that can operate in 5 different modes:

Supersaw = Old school supersaw oscillator with extra aliasing and grunge.
Pulse = 2 Pulse oscillators that can be detuned for extra fatness.
OSC Sync = 2 oscillators the synced together so that one oscillator resets the other oscillator every cycle.
Ring Mod = 2 oscillators ring-modulated (the outputs multiplied together).
FM = 2 oscillators configured so that one modulates the phase of the other for dissonant FM sounds.

There are 4 controls (Depth, Pitch, Shape & Option) that have different functions depending on the mode:

Supersaw:

Depth = Detune
Pitch = Chord Select
Shape = FM amount
Option = Snap notes in chords to scale

Pulse:

Depth = Oscillator mix
Pitch = Oscillator 2 pitch
Shape = Pulse width
Option = Oscillator 2 square mode

OSC Sync:

Depth = Oscillator 1 pitch
Pitch = Oscillator 2 pitch
Shape = Oscillator shape
Option = Oscillator 1 Pulse Width

Ring Mod:

Depth = Dry/wet mix
Pitch = Oscillator 2 pitch
Shape = Oscillator shape
Option = 'Analog' style ring modulation mode

FM:

Depth = FM Depth
Pitch = Oscillator 2 Pitch
Shape = Oscillator shape
Option = Shape knob controls oscillator 2

Comb / Notch Filter

A combined comb and notch filter with a 'zero feedback delay' design (a more accurate way of modelling the feedback path of an analog filter where no delay is introduced to the feedback path). The filter produces a rich resonant sound and it can be used for physical modelling style synthesis to emulate drum skins, resonant tubes or strings. 4 filter modes are available:

COMB = Comb filter, 'DAMP' control sets the damping (reducing of high frequencies) in the feedback path.
NOTCH X2 = Notch filter with 2 notches. 'SPREAD' control sets the distance between the notches.
NOTCH X4 = Notch filter with 4 notches.
NOTCH X6 = Notch filter with 6 notches

The filter features pre or post filter saturation with 5 styles of distortion:

SAT = low aliasing simulation of analog saturation.
SINE = sine-wave shaped 'wave-folding' distortion with lots of tone.
SINE X10 = extreme 'wave-folding' style distortion.
KINKY = triangle shaped wave-folding.
DRIVE = low aliasing simulation of an overdrive pedal.
ATAN = A simple saturation curve.
CLIP = hard clipping.

The block features a built in 'exciter' that, when triggered produces a short burst of sound that excites and resonates the filters. There are controls on the options page for the exciter's tone and envelope as well as a setting for internal saturation / drive levels.

Includes mono, stereo and polyphonic versions.

Peak / Shelf Filter

A combined peak / shelving filter similar to the filters found in studio equalisers, with a 'zero feedback delay' design (a more accurate way of modelling the feedback path of an analog filter where no delay is introduced to the feedback path). 8 filter modes are available: 3 peak filters with different steepness, 3 low-shelf filters, 2 high-shelf filters.

The filter features pre or post filter saturation with 5 styles of distortion:

SAT = low aliasing simulation of analog saturation.
SINE = sine-wave shaped 'wave-folding' distortion with lots of tone.
SINE X10 = extreme 'wave-folding' style distortion.
KINKY = triangle shaped wave-folding.
DRIVE = low aliasing simulation of an overdrive pedal.
ATAN = A simple saturation curve.
CLIP = hard clipping.

Turning the distortion control to the left increases pre-filter distortion, turning it to the right increases post-filter distortion. When the distortion control is set in the central position the saturation stage is bypassed.

Includes mono and stereo versions. The stereo version has a 'STEREO A/B MODULATION' switch on the 'Options' panel. When this is enabled the A/B modulation is split up: A only affects the left channel and B only affect the right channel allowing independent modulation of each channel.

8 Pole Filter

An 8 pole multi-mode filter with a 'zero feedback delay' design (a more accurate way of modelling the feedback path of an analog filter where no delay is introduced to the feedback path) and 2 kinds of internal saturation. There are 8 filter types:

LP 8 = 8-pole lowpass ladder filter.
LP 6 = 6-pole lowpass ladder filter.
LP 4 = 4-pole lowpass ladder filter.
LP 2 = 2-pole lowpass ladder filter.
HP 8 = 8-pole highpass ladder filter.
BP 8 = 8-pole bandpass ladder filter.
BP 4 = 4-pole bandpass ladder filter.
BP 2 = 2-pole bandpass ladder filter.

The are 3 filter internal saturation modes selectable on the options page:

The are 3 filter saturation modes selectable on the options page:

N Lin ( Non linear) = Non linear internal saturation.
TRAN (Transistor) = Transistor style advanced internal saturation.
OTA = OTA style advanced internal saturation (Jupiter, Juno etc).

The filter features also pre or post filter saturation with 6 styles of distortion:

SAT = Low aliasing simulation of analog saturation.
SINE = Sine-wave shaped wave-folding distortion with lots of tone.
SINE X10 = Extreme wave-folding style distortion.
KINKY = Triangle shaped wave-folding.
DRIVE = Low aliasing simulation of an overdrive pedal.
FILTER = Drives the internal saturation of the filter.

Note, to save CPU most of the blocks will automatically switch off processing if they are not connected to anything (like an output or another active block). Parts of the GUI display of this block will not update unless it’s connected to something.

Squelch Filter

A squeltchy acid style filter.

The filter features pre or post filter saturation with 5 styles of distortion:

SAT = low aliasing simulation of analog saturation.
SINE = sine-wave shaped 'wave-folding' distortion with lots of tone.
SINE X10 = extreme 'wave-folding' style distortion.
KINKY = triangle shaped wave-folding.
DRIVE = low aliasing simulation of an overdrive pedal.
ATAN = A simple saturation curve.
CLIP = hard clipping.

When the control is set in the central position the saturation stage is bypassed.

Filter Bank

A bank of 7 band pass filters. The CHORD control sets the frequencies of each of the filters to a chord. The parameters for each filter (PITCH, RESONANCE & LEVEL) can be set on the LEVELS page. 8 sets of parameters can be saved and recalled using the ‘PATTERN’ knob.

Crossover

A high quality crossover for multi-band effects. Divides the input signal into 'High', 'Mid' and 'Low' frequency bands. There are 3 different steepness settings for the filter (1, 2 & 4 Pole). Key-tracking from the pitch input can be enable for the crossover filters.

Mod Pad

The 'Mod Pad' block combines a high resolution recordable X/Y pad with 4 editable modulation 'areas'. Serving both as a powerful modulation source and a live performance tool. When 'LOOP' is enabled movements of the 'puck' on the X/Y pad can be recorded into 3 preset memories which can be triggered or modulated by the A/B modulation inputs.

When 'LOOP' is not enabled the 'puck' can be freely grabbed using the mouse and thrown around the pad, the deceleration speed of the puck after it has been released is set by the "RELEASE" control.

The 'ABCD' control on the options panel selects between 4 modes:

AREAS = 4 editable areas. Right-click and drag on the squares to move the centres of each area, right click and drag in the area to set radius of the area. Clicking the 'UNLOCK AREAS' button (lock icon) allows the areas to be freely edited using the left mouse button.
CORNERS = A,B,C & D modulation output is at maximum at each corner of the pad.
2x2 = OFF-A-B along Y axis. OFF-C-D along X axis.
3x3 = OFF-A-B-OFF along Y axis. OFF-C-D-OFF along X axis.

To edit the labels for each area scroll up and down on the label to select letters, numbers and symbols. Double-click to reset the characters to a blank space.

Signals at the 'X In' and 'Y In' input ports can be recorded as loops allowing the Mod Pad to be used to record and playback modulation signals. The 'X In' and 'Y In' input ports can also be used to 'gang' together several Mod Pads for unlimited modulation destinations controlled from a single pad.

Ramps

A multi purpose block that can be used as a ramp signal generator, oscillator, slew processor, envelope, clock source or waveshaper.

The block has 3 input ports for for driving and triggering the ramps:

Reset: A positive zero crossing at this input causes the ramp cycle to restart. The ramp will restart from its current level, rise at the rate set by the 'RISE' control until the level reaches maximum (1) and then fall back to 0 at the rate set by the 'FALL' control, completing the RISE-FALL cycle. A gate signal at this port turns the block into an AD (attack-decay) envelope.
Trigger: Positive values at this port will trigger the ramp to rise all the way up until it reaches the original triggering value. It will rise at the rate set by 'RISE' and fall at the rate set by 'FALL' but will always continue to ramp up or down until the trigger value has been reached. This port is similar to Reset port except the input values control the destination level of the ramps. This port can be thought of as kind of a cross between the Reset port and the Slew port. A gate signal at this port turns the block into a velocity sensitive AHD (attack-hold-decay) envelope.
Slew: Signals at this input will be ramped smoothly between values. The 'RISE' and 'FALL' controls set the rise and fall time of the ramps. This port can be used with pitch signals to give a pitch glide effect or to smooth modulation signals.

Noise Gate

A studio quality noise gate, with controls for attack, hold, release, hysteresis (to avoid rapid 'chattering' of the gate opening and closing with fluctuations of level), and curve (attack and release shape of the envelope).

Diffuser

A bank of all pass filters for creating resonant, diffused reverb effects.

The block features pre-effect or post-effect saturation with 5 styles of distortion:

SAT = low aliasing simulation of analog saturation.
SINE = sine-wave shaped wave-folding distortion with lots of tone.
SINE X10 = extreme wave-folding style distortion.
KINKY = triangle shaped wave-folding.
DRIVE = low aliasing simulation of an overdrive pedal.

Turning the distortion control to the left increases pre-effect distortion, turning it to the right increases post-effect distortion. When the distortion control is set in the central position the saturation stage is bypassed.

Looper

A looper / overdubber.

The 'LOOP' switch starts looping of the loop buffer. When enabled the audio signal at the 'IN' port, that was being recorded into the loop buffer up to the moment looping was enabled, will play back in a loop. The length of the looping section of the loop buffer is set by the 'LENGTH / TIME / TRANSPOSE' knob.
The 'REV' (REVERSE) switch reverses playback of the loop buffer.
The 'DUB' (OVERDUB) switch enables overdub recording (recording additional sounds on an existing recording) into the loop buffer, adding to what is already there.
The 'REPL' (REPLACE) switch replaces the currently looping section with the signal at the 'IN' port. If there is no signal at the 'IN' port the looping section will be erased.

All 4 switches can all be controlled and modulated with the A/B modulation inputs.

Mixer Shifter

A 2 channel mixer with a frequency shifter on each channel. The mixer has 8 mixing modes:

MIX = Normal Mixer.
RING A = Analog Ring Modulation.
RING D = Digital Ring Modulation.
AM A = Analog Amplitude Modulation.
AM D = Digital Amplitude Modulation.
S&H = Sample & Hold Method 1 (Hold when modulating signal crosses zero).
HOLD = Sample & Hold Method 2 (Hold when modulating signal is positive, pass when modulating signal is negative).
OR = Selects the signal with the most positive amplitude.

Multi Effects

A multi-effects unit with 8 parallel engines, an arpeggiator and extensive internal modulation and routing options. 8 presets can be select from the panel or smoothly morphed with the A/B modulation.

Multi-Tap Delay

A 16 tap delay with damping and 'Ping-Pong' modes. Can be used as a stereo delay or for comb-filter effects.

Pitch Shifter

A granular pitch shifter with controls for grain size and smoothing.

Resampler

A high quality sample rate reducer / bit crusher. Features a low aliasing resampler with a linked ZDF low pass filter to reduce harsh frequencies. The resampler features pre or post effect saturation with 5 styles of distortion:

SAT = Low aliasing simulation of analog saturation.
SINE = Sine-wave shaped 'wave-folding' distortion with lots of tone.
SINE X10 = Extreme 'wave-folding' style distortion.
KINKY = Triangle shaped wave-folding.
DRIVE = Low aliasing simulation of an overdrive pedal.

Soft Clip

A soft clipping effect with a unique "ATTACK' control that preserves the transients of the distorted signal.

Squash

An extreme compression effect.

Analog Vocoder

An analog style vocoder / filter-bank which uses a bank of resonant band-pass filters with up to 24 bands. Per-band level inputs allow control over the individual bands or 'pinging' of the individual band filters.

FFT Vocoder

An powerful FFT based vocoder with controls to 'shift', 'offset' and 'blur' the FFT bins.

Flanger

A stereo barberpole (endless) flanger effect.

Phaser

A stereo barberpole (endless) phaser effect.

Dimension Chorus

A vintage chorus effect with subtle stereo widening.

Algorithm

A bank of 8 4-operator FM algorithms that can be selected using a knob or morphed between. Used in conjunction with 4 oscillator blocks from the 'Free Pack' to create a powerful modular FM synthesiser.

The FM algorithms are defined using a 4x4 FM routing matrix (blue LEDs) with 4 separate values for output levels (red LEDs). The circled blue LEDs indicate a feedback path (the oscillator modulating itself). The FM matrix works in a similar way to the 6x6 FM matrix found in the FM7/FM8 soft-synth.

The FM modulation signals flow down from the top of the matrix in the following order:

And connect to the FM inputs of the connected oscillators by leaving to the side of the matrix in the following order:

If you imagine the circled LEDs represent each operator of the algorithm (operator means 'oscillator' in FM terminology), from operator 4 at the top left to operator 1 at the bottom right, then it's easy to visualise the connections between each of the operators.

The LEDs below the circled LEDs indicate connections from higher numbered operators to lower numbered operators, for example operator 2 modulating operator 1:

The LEDs above the circled LEDs indicate connections from lower numbered operators to higher numbered operators, for example operator 2 modulating operator 3. Operator 3 can then be heard at the output by turning up the red LED below it:

Turning up the circled LEDs will modulate the operator by itself, operator feedback is generally used in FM algorithms to give the operator a brighter or noisier sound:

Different algorithms can be stored in 8 presets and the values of the FM routing matrix for each algorithm preset can edited by dragging up and down on the LEDs.

The algorithm presets can be recalled with the 'ALGO' knob or via modulation (up to audio rate). When 'Morph' mode is enable the values are smoothly interpolated between algorithms. The algorithms can be selected for editing by turning the knob or clicking on one of the numbers.

Collision

A block containing 8 separate collision detection circuits. The circuits output a gate whenever input 1 is almost the same value as input 2. The trigger threshold is set by the 'THRESHOLD' control.

If only input 1 is connected then 'GRID MODE' is enabled. In this mode the circuit outputs a gate whenever input 1 is close to a 'grid' of values. The 'THRESHOLD' control sets number of steps in the 'grid' that triggers the gates (this grid can be thought of like a set of 'strings' on a harp, the incoming values crossing one of theses strings will fire a short gate, useful for creating 'strumming' effects). The 'RES' (resolution) control uses a clock divider to 'thin out' the outputted gate signals.

There are 3 special cases for the 'THRESHOLD' control when the input is a pitch signal:
When 'THRESHOLD' is set to 99 the distance between the steps in the grid (the virtual strings) is equal to a 100th of a semitone.
When 'THRESHOLD' is set to 98 the distance is equal to a 10th of a semitone.
When 'THRESHOLD' is set to 97 the distance is equal to a semitone.

When ALL PORTS mode is enabled and only the top left input port is used then gates signals are sent from all 8 output ports according to the level of the input signal. This mode simulates a harp or a guitar strumming with each port outputting the strike of each separate string and the the input representing the 'strumming' position.

Matrix

A 4 x 4 modulation matrix. Each control in the matrix has its own modulation input port.

The 'SHAPE' (waveshaper) output port outputs the signal from input 'In 1', shaped using a 16 point waveshaper. The level at each point of the waveshaper is set by knobs 1 to 16. The values between each of the 16 points have smooth, linear transitions. The 'QUAN' (quantised) output is the same as 'SHAPE' except the transitions are stepped not smooth.

To edit the labels for each output destination scroll up and down on the label to select letters, numbers and symbols. Double-click to reset the characters to a blank space.

Note Delay

Delays the signals arriving at the 'Pitch' and 'Gate' inputs. The block has controls for transposing the pitch and snapping the pitch to a scale.

Mid / Side

Converts between stereo Mid/Side and Left/Right signals.

Wave Selector

Wave Selector / Scanner block. Four signals arriving at inputs 1 to 4 are spliced together, A signal (ideally sawtooth ) at the 'POS' (position) input selects which of the 4 inputs is sent to the 'OUT' port.

The 'MULT' control scales the signal at the 'Position' input up and down, The 'X10' button multiplies the 'Position' input by 10, The 'MODE' control crossfades between different settings of the internal Selector / Scanner modules, for example: 'wrapping', 'linear crossfading' etc.

The block can be used to combine / splice between the outputs of 4 oscillators or simply as a 4 channel crossfader.

Phase Mod

Use this block to modulate one signal with another in similar way to hardware FM synthesisers. If you use a sawtooth wave as the carrier signal and a sine wave as the modulator signal you will get results similar to traditional FM synthesis (phase modulation). Other input waveforms will produce different and interesting results.

The block also features a 'WARP' control that bends the waveform in 1 of 7 ways:

BEND+ = Bends the waveform to one side.
BEND- = Bends the waveform out towards the edges.
ASYM (Asymmetry) = Squishes the waveform from the middle to the edge in a linear fashion for 'Pulse Width Modulation' style effects.
SYNC = Duplicates the the waveform a number of times, simulating the 'sync' function found on older analogue synthesisers.
HYPER = Warps the waveform in an aggressive fashion.
FOLD (wave-folding) = The waveform acts like a wave-shaper to transform a sine wave. Can be used to create very bright / complex sounds with lots of harmonics.
WRAP = The waveform is stretched and wrapped vertically creating multiple jagged folds.

Chord Bank

A block that stores a bank of 120 chords (each with up to 6 notes). The chords can be selected using the PITCH input and triggered using the PITCH and GATE inputs together. Individual notes in the chords can be selected and sent to to the PITCH output using the SELECT input port.

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