miniSyn`X User Manual - XILS-lab
Contents
1. v _xils Lad miniSyn OSCILLATOR 1 T FILTER ENVELOPE MIN OL B IGO DRIFT i TRANSP LEWEL y D 5 H OSCILLATOR 2 7 DRV POS T AMPLIFIER ENVELOPE e na a DEPTH B m 1 D N a A a I ho A U a TRANSP L RES EEYB l D 5 H GLIDE PORTAMENTO T LFL LEMI DFG Griz HF MASTER WAVEFORM S O 21 02 GLD POAT 032 PW LPW2 FO AMP y y A m P SPEED AMOUN I AMP SPRAY TUNE YWoLUME ROUTING l LFO TO venvorces 6 6 d CHORUS EFFECT RATE FILTER OAD LOAD SPLIT LOWER COPY UPPER a ai Gast ee QE p LOWER EXCHIG F SMART DOWBLE P a po roa i STEREO ae N K ha BOTH OSC y FILTER HENO UPPER WHEEL WHEEL BEND COMAS LFO sa manal gm So e r Da a ey BEND BEND ii ro OMNES 9 7 A Ws A SEQUENCER GATE TRACK E FREQ ISHT TRIG TUNE REC NXT DEL PLAY a User Manual www xils lab com Table of contents 6 MINISYN X GLOBAL PARAMETERS LAYERS MODES STEREO POLYPHONY EFFECTS 15 7 EASY SOUND DESIGN WITH THE LAYERS SMART LOAD RANDOM LOAD AND LOAD LANE ENS didas 17 8 3 re KEYROAR TTT Es A FETE pssst tonnes saddest ecco ai it lt ec a ls Ushi lati shu pasa 27 1 Introduction Thank you for choosing the miniSyn X The miniSyn X is a virtual instrument based on the architecture of one of the most iconic of all vintage polyphonic synthesizers So revered that it is still in use today by some famous synthesizer masters2. Note You can add a new item in any category and therefore create custom banks custom styles Projects categories of instruments etc Creating Custom Tags To add a new item in any filed select New Which appears at the bottom of the list Note You may have to browse until the end of the list in order to select new depending on its length This will open A Pop Up window opens where you can enter the new name Click Ok to validate the new name The current preset will then be associated to this new item Note Please be aware that creating too many categories can also have its drawbacks making browsing go from difficult and painful to nearly impossible Should you create around 200 different custom instrument categories it would become very difficult to browse the library using the Style sorting Once you have filled all the desired required fields _ aoe SAVE AS Will save the current preset in the chosen Bank with its new or unchanged Name and tagged with all the fields you filled in MOVE TO Allows saving the current preset in another location BANK This is handy to gather a lot of preset into a single location or User Bank which you can export in a single file containing all the presets you created or edited for a given project You can also use the MOVE TO function to only change the TYPE STYLE FEELING of a preset even if you don t move it to another bank CANCEL Will cancel all o
3. 2 would cause the sequence to play the 4 steps in this order 3 4 1 2 Clicking 1 or 2 will do the inverse The sequencer memorizes the pitch but also the velocity of the entered note So not only can use the sequencer for creating pitched sequences but using the velocity or the pitch through the modulation section gives you endless design possibilities To display or edit the velocity instead of the recorded pitch click into the check box Velocity 8 3 Virtual keyboard The miniSyn X keyboard lets you play notes that are sent to synthesizer The keyboard also highlights the MIDI note information that the miniSyn X receives 8 3 1 Chorus The miniSyn X provide a warm and fat chorus based on two dual bucket brigade delay This chorus is very simple to use with its four buttons N y A dde ON engages the Chorus Mode 1 very subtle and slow chorus Mode 2 slow and deep chorus Mode 3 fast and deep chorus CHORUS EFFECT ON 1 2 9 Option menu Use this menu to select the global settings that fit the best your workflow and needs Important These settings will affect all the instances of the miniSyn X in a project and will be used each time you load it in the future until you change them again Each time an option is changed the related option file is modified and saved on your system 9 1 1 Main In the toolbar the Options button opens a menu where you can select various options for the mi
4. It is possible to program legato sequence lines holding down the last note while you play the next one gives legato phrasing Once you have finished writing a sequencer line push REC again to leave the record mode DEL Button If you made a mistake the DEL button erase the current step but in that case modify the sequence directly on the sequencer edit panel might be easier and faster see below PLAY Modes Press the PLAY button and the sequencer will automatically play the selected tracks To stop the Sequencer playback just hit the Play button again Trig and TUNE More control If TRIG is ON the sequencer will play from the beginning each time a note is played on the keyboard It will continue to play until a NOTE OFF event is received ie as long as you hold the note If TUNE is ON then all the sequences lines will be transposed according to the lower note played on the keyboard _ 25 FREQ Set the frequency of the internal sequencer clock MIDI S LED synchronizes the frequency to the application host tempo GATE set the time the sequencer will sustain the SEQUENCER connected envelopes SEQUENCE TRACKS select the voices to be recorded or played A a the voices are always played with the Lower layer De 1SHT When on this switch allows the one shot mode for Picky cubes the sequencer meaning that after trigged the sequence e will be played only one time TRIG When on this s
5. We at XILS lab do our best to offer you authentic recreations of these great synthesizers and then take it even further What can be done with today s computers allows us to take these emulations beyond what was feasible when these products were first created Our goal is to be true to the original in sound and modulation routings and then add features that were just not before possible And often that are not feasible on any other synthesizer be it hardware or software Ring Modulation Cross Pulse Width Modulation and Hard Synchronization between the oscillators and an unique sophisticated glide circuit allow the recreation of some of the patches that made this synthesizer a must have in the ancient times If you not yet developed your skills as a sound designer we have included more than 200 presets especially designed for the MiniSyn X by professional sound designers So you can fuel your synthesizer dreams as soon as you load the miniSyn X into your DAW Please enjoy this very powerful sound creation tool We love what we do and we want you to get the most enjoyment you possibly can from our labors We also want to hear from you So like us on Facebook http www facebook com XILSLabs and join in the conversation 2 Features The miniSyn X offers Oscillators Up to 10 oscillators per patch Two aliasing free oscillators providing saw triangle pulse or square wave forms Pulse Width modulation on all oscillators wav
6. Clicking on the label DRV PRE or DRV POST selects where the driving stage will stand before or after the filter MULTIMODE FILTER CN 7 1 929 BPS 9612 HF Mode of Filter Operation select Buttons LP12 select a Lowpass 12 db Octave meaning that the frequencies above the cut off point are attenuate at a rate of 12 db octave LP24 select a low pass 24 db octave BP6 select a band pass 6 db octave BP12 select a band pass 12 db octave HP12 select a high pass 12 db octave 8 1 4 Envelope Generators The miniSyn X features two envelope generators EG The first one is dedicated to the control of filter s Cut Off value while the second is hardwired to control the output level stage VCA FILTER ENVELOPE ae eae eee me AMPLIFIER ENVELOPE Ga De A An envelope generator is a classic electronic module that outputs a command signal built on four parts ADSR Attack Decay Sustain Release When the envelope is trigged generally by hitting a note on the keyboard or from the output of a sequencer or an arpeggiator it begins with Attack part From zero to the maximum level __ 21 the EG outputs a signal which increases in a time depending on the Attack setting Then follows the Decay part while the output decreases to a level specified by the Sustain setting during a time specified by the Decay setting It stays on this sustain level as long as the EG is gated i e as lon
7. FILTER JSGILEATFOR 2 AMP ENVELOPE GLIDE PORTAMENTO MASTER LAYER PROGRAMMATION CHORUS JOY STICK LFO MONO SEQUENCER 18 8 1 Synthesis 8 1 1 Oscillators OSCILLATOR 1 16 gt 5 a TL a d gt 1 Transp WIDTH LEVEL 16 8 1 Octave Select Buttons TRANSP Transpose Knob in semi tones up to 12 Clockwise rotation of this knob increases the pitch of the oscillator up to 12 semitones counter clockwise rotation decreases the pitch Using the ALT keyboard modifier allows snap to semitone otherwise the settings are continuous and can be very fine using the right click LED TRANSP When on the keyboard tracking is connected to the oscillator Switches Waveform Select Buttons Triangle Sawtooth Square Pulse PWM Pulse Width Cross Modulation from the other Oscillator select button When ON the width is controlled by the waveform of the other oscillator This results in a very rapid change in harmonics close to the ring modulation effect If no other wave form are selected when ON this button let the oscillator to output a width controlled pulse with the same algorithm than the Synthex Note The MiniSyn X benefits from the last Xils lab researches regarding Oscillators PWM emulation The new algorithms developed during the two last years improve a lot the punch and clarity of the PWM compared to the Syn X v1 0 and other soft synthesizers Without entering into too much technica
8. Load and Load Layer functions Before we present you in detail each parameter of each synthesis module in the next section let s introduce the new exclusive easy patch creation tools we implemented into the MiniSyn X Note These functions are only valid to create new Double or Split patches SMART LOAD LAYER The Smart Load function uses a bit of Al to allow you to create new interesting complex and rich sounding patches Opposite to pure random functions that you can find on some synthesizers and that we also incorporated in the MiniStn X the Smart Load function will give you a high percentage of valid and inspiring patches by clicking a single button How it works In the DOUBLE MODE just click on the Smart Load button and it will replace the selected layer with another one taken from your current library while the replacement layer will have a high probability of giving you a usable and inspiring patch Just try it a few times on any Double Patch you like and you will see that its rare that something nice doesn t happen after a few Smart Load attempts The Smart Load function is also instantaneous which adds to its charm so you can make numerous attempts in a few seconds RANDOM LOAD LAYER Works in an similar way to Smart Load except it doesn t use any Al at all so it will load a random layer from your library to replace the selected layer The results are therefore sometimes very surprising but surprises will more often be l
9. the preset and is used to adapt the tune of the synthesizer to the other instruments Of course it is saved within your music application project SPRAY This knob controls how different specific parameters micro changes are applied to the patch voices When turned left the settings are applied identically to all the voices when turned right they are applied with an exclusive analog indetermination Please be aware that this global algorithm includes processing of the Oscillators pitch micro variations possibly resulting in an unstable pitch when turned fully clockwise 8 2 Sequencer The miniSyn X has a powerful polyphonic sequencer that can help you to create complex sequences and incredible special effects The first thing to know is that this sequencer is polyphonic That means that you can record play up to 4 voices trigged by different sequences The TRACK switches allow you to choose which voices will be recorded or played Each of the 4 sequencer lines are monophonic Sequencer clock can be synced to your Daw RECORD with the MIDI Keyboard To record a sequence simply push the REC button and then the number of the track you wish to write You must also select a voice for this track The sequencer is now waiting to record the notes you play Each entered note will be assigned to a new step To leave a gap press NXT button to make a note that lasts two steps or longer press the NXT button while keeping the note pressed Legato
10. to create fat or wide layered sounds with sounds in each Layer that can be identical to get a wider stereo scene Similar to get thicker sounds or completely different Like some keys some strings or a pad and some special FX Split Mode In Split mode when the Split switch is engaged the lower part of the keyboard will play the Lower layer while the the upper part of the Keyboard will play the Upper layer In this mode a triangle appears above the keyboard and you can freely move it with the mouse to set the most appropriate Split Point The Split mode should obviously be preferred when you want two play two completely different tones on each zone of your keyboard Like a Bass Keys or Keys Lead The MiniSyn X factory library contains a lot of Split patches to get you started using this mode _ 15 6 2 Global Parameters tied to Layers Modes Stereo Balance Polyphony Polyphony Handling Here you can set how many voices are enable for each layer Range 1 to 8 Note If you select 1 voice polyphony or Mono Mode useful for basses for example please note that the last priority law is applied Note If you experiment some notes stealing in some patches please try to increase the polyphony for the layer s Balance The Balance knob will only be displayed if you use the Split or Double Mode You can use it to balance the relative output level of the two layers Turning it clockwise will make the U
11. value e CTRL right click or CTRL Shift left click initialize the default value of the parameter e Win Alt CTRL click open the MIDI Control panel with the parameter already selected OSX e Apple left click reset parameter to its default value e Apple Shift left click initialise the default value of the parameter e Apple Alt CTRL click open the MIDI Control panel with the parameter already selected Note Other GUI elements and controls like the LED Switches or the dropdown menus will be described in the following sections of this manual when you ll need to use them The switches are simpler just left click to change their state A right click will change the state only while the button is pressed and return to the previous state when it is released When a parameter is chosen via a drop down menu just click on the button or label and select the item 5 Preset Management 5 1 Main Toolbar sea PRESET b Osc s F OPTIONS In the toolbar you can find two buttons displaying the category name Bank Author Type Style Feeling or Project which open the sort management menus The two first text fields show the current sorting group and the third shows the current preset Clicking on the arrow on the left of the category or preset names opens the corresponding menus Note When a parameter is modified the name of the preset is followed by a indicating that the current settings of the
12. Style Bank or Projects Please note that the miniSyn X will display presets by instruments categories Type by default Click on the sorting label over the sorted group name to sort your preset according to your preferences Please note that the miniSyn X powerful Preset management is fully detailed in chapter 6 of this manual __ 7 4 3 Quick View OSCILLATOR 1 FILTER ENVELOPE MULTIMODE FILTER OSCILLATOR 2 AMP ENVELOPE GLIDE PORTAMENTO MASTER LAYER PROGRAMMATION CHORUS JOY STICK LFO MONO SEQUENCER 4 4 Adjusting the instruments parameters Knobs switches On the miniSyn X most sound parameters like the pitch of an oscillator or the filter s Cut Off frequency are controlled using Knobs To adjust the parameters of the miniSyn X with the mouse you have two axes horizontal and vertical Both will give the same results e To increase a parameters value click and drag the knob to the right or to the top e To decrease a parameter value click and drag the knob to the left or to the bottom If you right click on a parameter or if you hold shift while clicking you can adjust the parameter with fine precision Tip the button of the toolbar opens an info panel summarizing these shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts In addition we have provided different soft keys combination to perform several very useful tasks Windows __ 8 e CTRL left click reset parameter to its default
13. also be opened by CTRL ALT Apple Left click Mac or CTRL Win ALT Left click Win on the desired miniSyn X parameter The advantage is that the right parameter is already selected The CONTROLMidi file The miniSyn X will instantaneously store all the settings in this file located in your MiniSyn X installation folder Once you ve completed a whole map with possibly dozens of parameters assignation it might be a good idea to back up this file Tip If you use several different MIDI devices you can also create several different ControlMidi files and rename them accordingly to the physical controllers they are associated with Then you can switch to any of these files by renaming it ControlMidi Only one file can be active at a time though 9 1 3 Display Options Display low frequency as BPM Allows displaying the low frequency LFO oscillator 2 in low mode clock rate in BPM instead of Hz GUI follows presets When checked this option allows the GUI to follow the presets That means that the special display modules are refreshed following the preset settings Otherwise it keeps the same view Output level follows presets When checked this option allows the output level to follow the presets That means that the output level is programmed with the value saved in the preset Otherwise it keeps its value Popup On shows a popup window while modifying the value of a knob Popup Over On shows a popup window when the mouse is over a switc
14. and PC The selected bank i e the bank which contains the currently active preset will be exported to a user specified location on your hard drive Import Bank This Function allows you to browse your hard drives to select a file and imports a miniSyn X bank Note These last two choices are not available from the second sort menu This menu provides also the possibility to change the size of the interface This feature is the same that the one provided in the Option menu 5 4 A B comparison slots You can store two different versions of a patch at the same time and instantly switch from one to the other to compare them These two settings are stored in the A and B memory slots When you launch the miniSyn X the default activated memory is A When you load or modify a preset this memory A is also modified in real time according to your edits You can switch to B memory by clicking on the B button To copy the current active memory content to the other memory slot just press the button labeled gt or lt according to the current active memory With this A B comparison system you can easily have two settings and compare them in a convenient way __ 14 Note Please note that by default the B memory slot until you copy settings into it or until loading a other preset within the other memory slot contains the same init patch loaded in the A memory when you first launch the miniSyn X 6 miniSyn X Global paramet
15. ations and the pulse width modulation of Oscillator 1 Depth B for the Filter and Output Amplifier modulation and the Pulse Width Modulation of Oscillator 2 Waveforms Buttons The various switches select the different available LFO waveform s Sine Triangle Saw Ramp Square Random S amp H Please note that you can select different waveform simultaneously and can therefore build unusual and very complex LFO waveforms when combining several waveforms Tip This is especially handy if you wish to add some subtle movements and modulations to an instrument Adding several waveforms to an LFO will avoid the repetitive feel of the LFO DELAY Set the delay time between the note ON event and the beginning of the fade in FADE Set the time for the Lfo output to rise from zero to the maximum level Reset LED Located close to the DELAY Knob Reset the LFO waveform to the beginning of its cycle when a Note ON event is received Midi Synchro LED Located close to the FREQ Knob Click on this led to synchronize the LFO rate to the tempo of the host Please note that the rates will be displayed in musical notation if the sync is engaged LED On Routing Select Buttons Using these buttons the modulation setup on Depth A can be routed Simultaneously to the pitch and or pulse width of the oscillator 1 and or 2 and on Depth B to the Filter frequency and or the output level amplifier Note please note that the miniSyn X also offers anoth
16. e all the Xils Lab presets available in the entire Factory Sound Library Click on the row of the sorting button to open the menu used to manage this sorting group or sub group Here you can directly select and load any preset from any group or subgroup 5 3 1 Sorting Menu Additional Functions In this menu other actions are also available Delete deletes all of the presets of the current group that are not factory ones IMPORTANT Use this function with care If the bank does not contain any factory presets ALL PRESETS IN THIS BANK WILL BE PERMANENTLY DELETED Rename modifies the current group name Selecting this choice will open a window where the new name will be entered _ 13 Init Arp Bass K Bells b Factory K Fx K Keys Lead K Pad a Percus K Plucks Project Soundscape K Type Split Style Strings gt Feeling K All Woodwinds K b Rename Delete Tutorial Export Bank Import Bank Sort By av Use Factory Use Factory enables or disables the display of factory presets Sort By This function sorts the presets according to bank author project or shows all presets Bank Name Author Name Project Name All Presets The preset menu will show presets of the same category same author same project or same bank Export Bank This function exports a bank in the miniSyn X s proprietary cross platform format Mac
17. eforms Hard synchronization between the two oscillators Ring Modulation Pulse Width Cross Modulation between the two oscillators Filters Up to 2 per patch One multi mode self oscillating filter providing 12 and 24 low pass 6 and 12 band pass and a 12 high pass filter per synthesizer engine Miscellaneous Advanced Glide Portamento module Two envelope generators ADSR Up to 4 per patch in split Double mode One Cumulative Waveform MIDI syncable polyphonic LFO 2 per patch in Split Double mode One sine monophonic LFO Assigned to the Joystick One 128 steps polyphonic sequencer 4 Lines Fat and warm 3 modes Chorus Structure and ergonomy 2 independent identical synthesizer engines that can be associated in 3 modes Single Double Split Easy Sound Creation Module Smart Load Gang Edit Mode In Double amp Split Modes Adaptative UI design YOSWYN You only see what you need Entirely automatable via Midi Cc Control Two GUI sizes 1024 and 2048 pixels width The miniSyn X is available in the following formats Mac OSX 10 5 and later VST Audio Unit RTAS Pro Tools 7 0 and later AAX Windows 7 XP and Vista VST RTAS Pro Tools 7 0 and later AAX Sy Pu 5 tas D AT ANT NATIVE64 Lag Universal Audio Units Minimum system requirements 1 Gigabyte of RAM and a 2 GHz processor The miniSyn X is a plug in and is not available as a standalone application Notice The screen
18. er Global LFO which is tied to the Joystick use So you can have up to three independent LFOs per patch 1 Lower Layer 1 Upper Layer 1 Global 8 1 7 Glide Portamento and Velocity Modulation GLIDE PORTAMENTO VELOCITY FO l G2 GLO PORT F SPEED AMOUNT AMP FILI 8 1 7 1 Glide and Portamento FLT O1 and O2 buttons These buttons route the glide or the portamento which has been set up to the filter frequency or and the oscillators pitch GLD The glide select button enables the glide function for the selected glide portamento destination s PORT The Portamento select button enables the portamento function for the selected glide portamento destination s __ 55 SPEED This knob sets the rate at which the glide or the portamento effect takes place AMOUNT This knob sets the amount 32 semitones of the glide effect Each time a note is triggered the pitch of the selected destination begins from the actual note played the amount of the glide then returns to the correct pitch during a time specified the speed knob 8 1 7 2 Velocity Velocity Modulation In this module you can change the velocity modulation intensity over the VCA and the VCF modules AMP Change the amount of the velocity applied on the output level FLT Change the amount of the velocity applied on the filter cutoff frequency 8 1 8 Joystick Bend LFO The miniSyn X offers an advanced joystick feature associated with a mo
19. ers Layers Modes Stereo Polyphony Effects HBR WOES SPLIT DOUBLE SOLO The miniSyn X like its ancestor provides a simple yet powerful Dual Layer architecture These two layers are called Lower and Upper Each Layer Lower and Upper has its own independent synthesis modules LFO Oscillators Filter Envelopes Glide Note The remaining modules Joy Stick Chorus Master are global and affect both layers When the Lower or Upper switch is engaged Highlighted the Graphic Interface accordingly displays the state of the Lower or the Upper layer 6 1 Layer Modes Single Split and Double The two synthesizer engines Upper amp Lower can be combined in three ways Single Split and Double Single Mode In the SINGLE MODE only the selected layer is active Upper or Lower and you will only hear the selected layer Please note that the SINGLE mode is determined by the status of the Double and Split button If none of these two buttons are ON you re in the SINGLE mode In the Split and Double modes both layers upper and lower are active and can be heard The editable layer displayed in the Split and Double mode is the one selected You can easily switch from the Lower or the Upper sound by clicking on the Upper or the Lower switch Double Mode In Double mode when the Double switch is engaged the two layers Upper and Lower are played simultaneously Therefore this mode will be preferred
20. ersion Important notice for Vista or Windows 7 be sure to use a folder write enable and owned by the user do not use c program files for instance Otherwise you will have to run your music application with administrator rights The RTAS plug in and its table control management Pro Tools are directly copied into the following directory C Program Files Common Files Digidesign DAE Plug Ins 3 3 Mac OSX 10 5 and later To install miniSyn X on a computer equipped with Mac OSX 10 5 or later download the latest version from the XILS lab website to make sure you have the latest version of the software http www xils lab com pages minisyvnX Download html Then launch the install program miniSynX pkg and follow the instructions Warning the install program will ask you for your system password The various files of miniSyn X will be copied into the following directories Library Application Support Digidesign Plug Ins Library Audio Plug Ins Components Library Audio Plug Ins VST Library Application Support Documentation XILS lab miniSynX Users username Library Preferences XILS lab miniSynX __ _6 4 Quick Start 4 1 Launch Play When you open the miniSyr X in your host an Init preset is loaded It is a simple two oscillators sound which can be seen as a basis for your sound design You can directly use this preset a simple or load one of the more than 250 factory presets provided To browse the fact
21. ess rewarding than _ Ye expected The Load Random button will be chosen by those who like risks enjoy extreme patches collisions and have a bit of time to loose Occasionally it can give identical results to the Smart Load function Random Load is also an instantaneous function which adds to the fun of using it Finally the Load Layer Function will allow you to browse your entire library of presets and choose any Layer Upper or Lower of any preset to replace the selected Layer Load Layer should be preferred by those who know exactly what they want and wish to marry for example This_Keys with This_String_Pad Due to the fact that you have to browse your library to select the layer you wish to load Load Layer isn t an instantaneous function But you have total control on it Note These functions are only valid to create new Double or Split patches They are useless for Single Patches But it might be a very good idea to use a Single patch you like transform it in a Double patch by clicking on the Double Button then use Smart Load technology to see which rabbits come out of the hat 8 miniSyn X modules description The miniSyn X contains three main sections the first one is dedicated to the synthesis part and is applied to each voice of polyphony the second is dedicated to the miniSyn X joystick with its own LFO and the third cabinet to voices management and playing modes OSCILLATOR 1 FILTER ENVELOPE MULTIMODE
22. et a popup confirmation window appears This option is only available if the current preset is not a factory one 10 Export Preset Use this function to export the current preset in an external file esyx format This file can be imported later as a new bank It always makes sense to back up your presets on external media Open preset Information or click on SAVE AS opens the following preset information window where the name and all other information related to the current preset can be displayed or changed PRESET INFORMATION ints PROJECT CREATED DR MODIFIED 29 03 2011 eva meva As To Cancel FEELING Default In this window you can modify the Name of the preset specify the Bank in which the preset will be saved and also enter information in the other fields e AUTHOR Your name mostly used by Sound Designers for factory presets e Type Category of the instrument like Keys Leads Basses also e Style Musical Genre e Feeling Cold warm soft and finally e Project My Song My_Live_Project You can also see its creation date and the last update date To modify a preset name click in the NAME field and enter the new preset name this will also save all the current settings To change presets information click on the display this will open a list when you can select one of the existing items or create a new item for this criteria Create a new BANK or a new CATEGORY TYPE of instrument etc
23. g as the note is held Then when the note in off it goes into the release stage while the output continuously decreases to zero depending on the Release setting DELAY set the time before the envelope enters the attack step MIDI Sync LED When ON the delay time is set according to the Tempo of the application host Attack set the time over which the output increases Decay set the time the output decreases to the sustain level Sustain set the sustain level maintains while the EG is gated the note is held Release set the time the output decrease to zero after the note is released 8 1 5 Noise Generator NOISE WHITE PINE E s VOLUME WHITE PINK Allows you to select either white or pink noise to be added to the oscillators in the mix going to the filter White noise contains all the audible frequencies at equal level while pink noise contains all the audible frequencies at equal energy meaning the more the frequency increases the more the level decreases VOLUME This controls the level of the noise added to the oscillators 8 1 6 LFO The miniSyn X proposes a per layer Low Frequency Oscillator which can be used as a modulation source DEFTH A DEPTH B wy amp A HU WAVEFORM O11 G2 PW 1LPW2 FO AMP ROUTING B _ oe FREO Controls the speed of the modulation effect DEPTH A DEPTH B Regulates the different amounts of the modulation Depth A for the oscillator pitch Modul
24. h Popup Name On the name of the current modified parameter is displayed GUI update low slow refresh rate for the GUI Useful when it is necessary to save CPU power GUI update middle standard refresh rate for GUI __ 29 GUI update fast fast refresh rate for GUI Useful when it is necessary to precisely follow the sequencer s led for instance BIG 2028 GUI When checked allows to use the big GUI with a 2048 pixel width This option needs a plug in relaunch to be taken into account 9 1 4 Misc Init settings from current settings initializes the default values of the miniSyn X from the current settings All the new presets will be created from these settings when the init settings choice is selected These parameters will also be used when setting a control to its default value Win CTRL click OSX ALT Apple Click Layer locked when loaded When this option is checked the layer are locked not writeable when a multi later is loaded Wheel Incr 0 01 parameter increment of 0 01 when using of the mouse wheel Wheel Incr 0 05 parameter increment of 0 05 when using of the mouse wheel Wheel Incr 0 1 parameter increment of 0 1 when using of the mouse wheel 10 Credits The presets were done by Lotuzia Xavier Oudin The graphical user interface was created by Yannick Bonnefoy and Xavier Oudin assisted by Laurent Bourgeon This manual was written by Xavier Oudin and Laurent Bourgeon The
25. l matters the PWM algorithms are usually confronted to the same kind of challenge that the problem known as ODF filters in the digital domain The new Xils Lab Sync algorithm while still not perfect adds a lot to the overall perception of the PWM in the miniSyn X R M Ring Modulation circuit select button This modulation can be used to produce metallic or bells sounds depending on the waveform selected WIDTH Pulse Width Control for the pulse but also the triangle or the sawtooth wave form depending on these latter settings This knob controls the pulse width of the pulse waveform but also the triangle leading edge or the double pulse of the sawtooth depending on which waveform triangle or sawtooth you have selected LEVEL Individual Oscillator Volume Control before the filter Sawtooth Label Select a pulse width sawtooth waveform a double edge according to the width is generated Triangle Label Select a pulse width triangle waveform the leading edge of the triangle is dependent on the pulse width Below is a view of the various available waveforms _ 19 Triangle Triangle using Pulse Width Saw Saw using Pulse Width Square Pulse 8 1 2 Oscillators synchronization SYNEHRO OF THE 5 DRIFT O2 SYNC Forces oscillator 2 to start a new cycle whenever oscillator 1 does This means that oscillator 2 can only play harmonics of oscillator 1 This is very useful when Oscillator 2 i
26. miniSyn X no longer matches the stored preset When you want to save a modified preset click on the Save or Save As button __ o In order to prevent you from erasing them the Factory presets cannot be modified When you edit a Factory preset the Save button will be grayed and you will have to use the Save As function to save it in another bank If you edit any other preset than a Factory one the Save and Save As function will both be available The main difference is that the Save function will save the preset under its current name and with its current tags overwriting the previous incarnation of the preset while the Save as function opens a dialog box where you can modify the name of the preset the bank in which it will be stored and all its tags The settings of the miniSyn X are then saved in the currently displayed preset and the disappears Click on the Save As button to save this preset with another name and or to other sorting groups 5 2 Preset menu Click the Preset arrow button to open the preset menu Here you can choose and load another preset from the current sort groups into the miniSyn X v XO Filter only XO Filter only XO HornPad XO HornPad XO LongBass XO LongBass XO TwoOscPad XO TwoOscPad XO WoodySeq XO WoodySeq Open Preset Information Export Preset Delete Preset XO Filter only In this menu other actions are also available Delete Preset use this to delete the current pres
27. niSyn X Available options are miniSyn X About displays information about the miniSyn X version build date and credits 9 1 2 Remote Control with Midi Cc The miniSynr X is fully automatable via assignation of Midi Controllers to more than 100 __ 28 parameters It s also very easy to build a Map of controllers to adapt the miniSyn x to your favorite Keyboard or Midi Controller There are several methods to associate a specific Midi Cc to a miniSyn X Parameter that all result into opening the MIDI settings panel where all the work is done_and benefit of its autolearn feature Opening the MIDI settings panel by clicking in the Option menu It Open a popup window where you can assign MIDI controllers for each of the miniSyn X s parameters Click on the parameter label to select in the drop down list the parameter you want to assign that will be displayed on the right field once you have chosen it Then you can enter either directly the MIDI controller number you wish from O to 127 with your computer keyboard You can also switch on the autolearn button The MiniSyn x will wait for any midi controller data sent by your Midi device The first Midi Controller information you ll send by turning a knob a slider or a button on your physical Midi device will be used to determine the Midi Controller assigned to this parameter Opening the MIDI settings panel with a combination of soft keys This setting popup can
28. nophonic independent sine LFO ro FILTER LOWER ro BOTH FILTER UPPER WHEEL COARSE LFo LFo FINE BEND BEND LFO sliders Specify the coarse and fine tune of the monophonic low frequency oscillator Speed TO OSC sliders This sets the amount of the modulation sent to both oscillators tune when the joystick is moved vertically BEND or horizontally to the right LFO Tip Use the Joystick to add a mod wheel controlled Vibrato by setting the right rate to the LFO then assign the Wheel led to OSC and finally set the good modulation amount with the OSC LFO Slider TO FILTER sliders This sets the amount of the modulation sent to the Filter frequency cutoff when the joystick is moved vertically BEND or horizontally to the right LFO Tip Use the Joystick to add a mod wheel controlled Wah effect by setting the right rate to the LFO then assign the Wheel led to Filter and finally set the good modulation amount with the Fit LFO Slider WHEEL LEDs Connect the modulation wheel to the horizontal left and or right movement of the joystick UPPER BOTH LOWER Switch This 3 position toggle control let you choose which layers will be affected by the Joystick Modulations Lower Upper or both _ 24 8 1 9 Master MASTER TONO SPRAY TUNE VOLUM MASTER This knob controls the general output level of the miniSyn X TUNE This knob controls the global tune of the miniSyn X It is not saved within
29. ory preset library just select a category of instruments using the bank drop down menu at the left of the miniSyn X Tool Bar See Picture Below You can then use the up and down arrows located at the right of the preset name or open the whole bank list by clicking on the triangle located at the left of the preset name See Picture Below PRESET A gt B OPTIONS SYNCHRO OSCILLATOR 1 MULTIMODE FILTER FILTER ENVELOPE K Y 16 MIN u bans R i Click here to browse Click here to browse Diath tno 5 all the instruments Mrranse criteria is linked to L FREQ belonging to the two 7 gt gt the first one categories ORE all the instrument categories AMPLIFIER ENVELOPE Note We have also provided different Init Patches which can be seen as a good basis to begin to design new presets 4 2 Toolbar OPTIONS G Note The toolbar at the top of the interface allows you to load or save presets make a comparison between settings A and B or modify the options These functions are described in detail later in this manual Click on the PRESET arrow to show the available presets in the current sorted group Please note that selecting a new preset without saving your current settings will erase any changes you have _ made to those settings Click on the sort arrow button to display the current sorted group and to choose the preset within it You can sort presets by Author Feeling Type
30. perations and return to the main miniSyn X GUI 5 3 Sort menus How to find the right patch for your track quickly XILS lab synthesizer factory libraries contain several hundreds of presets and you can buy additional soundsets on our site or provided by 3 party vendors or get free soundets offered by the Xils community With our exclusive multitag databased engine and multicriteria display you ll be able to find the right patch for your project much faster than if you browse all your patches in a random way Soundscape Split Strings Fea YF YY T T T T T T T T T T Y Woodwinds Rename Delete Tutorial Export Bank Import Bank KEYROARA Sort By Y Use Factory The sorting menus are a unique and powerful tool Allowing you to perform sophisticated tasks such as displaying the preset list organized in a variety of different ways like displaying e All the Basses of your Sound Library e All the Basses tagged with a given musical genre e All the Pads made by a given Sound Designers e All instruments for a musical genre like Electronica or Funk e All instruments that were recently imported in a bank like additional sound sets from Xils Lab or 3 party vendors There are indeed a lot of possibilities and we re confident that you ll find the best way to customize it to your personal needs _ ie In order to perform such selections all you have to do is to select an item in the first sor
31. plug in design algorithm and Digital Signal Processing was done by Xavier Oudin assisted by Laurent Bourgeon for the Smart Load and Gang Edit mode functions Modules licenses The Morphable triangle and sawtooth oscillators emulation of the Chorus based on the Dual Bucket Brigade Delay component multilayering and multi keyboard concept are licensed by Xavier Oudin to XILS lab for exclusive use in the miniSyn X virtual synthesizer __ 30 The Smart Load and Random Load technologies are licensed by Laurent Bourgeon to Xils Lab for exclusive use in the MiniSyn X virtual synthesizer le
32. pper layer louder Anticlockwise will make the Lower layer louder Stereo Knob The Stereo knob controls the panning of each internal voice When turned full left the miniSyn X is mono sending the same signal to the output modules Master and Chorus When turned full right the miniSyn X stereo is maximum Please note that The effect of the Stereo Knob varies according to the selected Mode In Split and Double mode The Lower Layer is panned to the left while the Upper Layer is panned to the Right With higher settings or the Stereo knob the distance between the two layers gradually increase Tip You can use this setting to hard pan the two layers fullleft and right for Pluck sounds for example This is often used in Club and EDM music to get interesting results effortless In Normal mode the sound is randomly assigned to the right or to the left for each note With high settings successive notes will appear randomly at the full left or right of the stereo scene Advanced Mixing Tip Sometimes you ll want more control over the two layers than what is provided by the MiniSynx stereo output like compressing only one of the layers or apply different effects Delay Reverb etc to each of them This is very easy to achieve Just duplicate the midi part and assign another instance of the MiniSyn X to the duplicated midi part Load the same preset in the second instance of the MiniSyn X Then the first instance of the Minisynx use
33. r hidden by checking or un checking the corresponding colored boxes to the left of the event display You can also modify the sequencer with the mouse select the sequence you want to adjust Edit check boxes with the left button click on the panel to add or modify a step with the right button click to erase a step Using CTRL Click allows linking a step to another for a legato effect Using ALT Click allows tuning the entered note to the exact pitch _ Ge In the above view there is one recorded sequence track 1 which is assigned to voice 4 and 12 so playing the sound of Layer 4 with 2 unison Track 2 is selected too assigned to voice 5 but not yet recorded The TRIG button is pressed so the sequence will be played as soon as a note if played on the keyboard You can also notice that the note on the third step is long enough to play legato with the next one The highlighted part of the note informs about the gate width DELETE ALL Pressing this button will delete all the tracks after you agree in a confirmation pop up STEPS NUMBER Increase or decrease the number of the sequencer steps up to 128 while the total number of steps is displayed TRANSPOSE Allows to transpose the sequences STEPS ROTATE Allows to changes the step that the sequence starts on For example in a 4 step sequence that started on step 1 the playback would go 1 2 3 4 Choosing 1 would cause the sequence to play 2 3 4 1 Choosing
34. re editing the Cut Off of the two layers in GANG MODE Lower Layer initial level is 100 and Upper Layer value is 50 If you decrease both cut off by 40 the resulting Lower value will be 60 while the Upper Layer cut off value will now be 10 This means that the two layers keep their relative cut off difference This also means that the GANG EDIT mode is non destructive and reversible You can always revert to your original values In this example you would now add 40 to the cut off value using the GANG MODE TIP The Gang Mode is especially useful when editing envelope parameters to globally shorten the decay of a preset adjust a sustain level while maintaining the balance between layers or tune the attack stage according to track context It s also a powerful experimental sound design tool when you tweak filters of different types for example And finally its almost mandatory when you edit a Double Layer preset with identical sounds in each layer This way each change you make affects both layers and your two layers remain identical regardless of your edits Otherwise you would have to switch and edit layers endlessly while having to remember or note each parameter new value to match it on the other layer Please note however that are excluded of the GANG MODE all the switches like Oscillators Filter Types etc Only the parameters controlled by Knobs or sliders are affected 7 Easy Sound Design with the Layers Smart Load Random
35. resolution must be set at least to 1024 pixels width _ e 3 Installation 3 1 Serial number The miniSynr X only uses a simple serial number protection When you launch the miniSyn X for the first time it will ask for this number After submitting you must close the plug in and reload it it once in your host to complete the registration This serial number will never be asked for again even when installing updates Tip It is always a good idea to back up this serial number or to print it in case you should have to reinstall miniSyn X i e if you encountered a HD crash for example or have to reinstall your OS 3 2 Windows XP VISTA Windows 7 To install miniSyn X on Windows XP Vista or Windows 7 launch miniSyn X installer file Please download the latest version from the XILS lab website http www xils lab com pages minisynX Downloads html Once you have accepted the license agreement you will be asked to select the installation directory A destination directory is provided as a default Presets and various files like this manual used by miniSyn X will be stored in this directory Please note that this location is different from the VST install directory which you will need to specify in the next step of the installer Once the installation directory is specified you will be asked to select the VST plug in directory with a suggested default location Keep this default directory if you do not use the VST v
36. s modulated with an LFO an envelope or used through the glide see below DRIFT This knob sets the accuracy of the oscillator pitch and the filter frequency cutoff as a function of time Turning clockwise makes the oscillators unstable This is useful for phasing effect between the two oscillators or to get a more realistic analog feeling 8 1 3 Multimode Filter The miniSyn X s filter is an accurate dynamic multimode 4 pole self oscillating filter _ 20 FREQ This knob sets the cut off frequency of the filter RES This knob sets the resonance or quality factor of the filter When set to the maximum the filter self oscillates That means that it outputs a kind of sine wave even without any audio signal feeding its input I e even if both Oscillators are muted This knob is sometimes called emphasis or KEYB set the amount of the keyboard follow Cut Off modulation The setting can be positive or negative allowing a direct or inverse effect AMNT Set the amount of the filter envelope applied DAW POS to the Cut Off modulation The setting can be positive or negative allowing a direct or inverse effect KEYB Drive Set the level of the overdrive emulation circuit Turning totally left disables it while turning totally clockwise gives a strong driving effect Depending where this stage is placed pre or post filtering you can get a subtle low end enhancement or a sort of saturation effect DRV Pre Post
37. t menu This represents the first and main criteria for the search engine e AUTHOR Your name or a Sound Designer name for factory presets e Type Category of the instrument like Keys Leads Basses etc e Style Musical Genre e Feeling Cold warm soft and finally e Project My Song My_Live Project e ALL this item is not used for sorting the preset These primary results can then also be filtered according to the second criteria Which can be chosen from a similar list in the secondary sort menu Sometimes a picture is better than a lot of text so you ll find below an example where you can find out how to select all the basses designed by a given Sound Designer E e aaaeeeaa A le p Type Tutorial Author PRESET init ee Kadal p ra Hn LPO CHAOS RYTHM MODULATION OSCILLATOR 1 MULTIMODE FILTER SOURCE DEST 1 r Ello om na pam o WHI a pe apreses K Mel aolo y 4 gt gt ES e IN mw FREQ DELAY z j a 16 4 i 2 DEPTH 4 DEPTH E ES T ro HE Tis w le Please note that once you are familiar with this system you can also perform some operations in a single click by using the Sub Groups to choose a preset In the picture below the primary sort menu is used to browse the different banks Then in a factory bank the author Xils Lab is selected and finally the Preset XO Bass In this example the preset is selected in a single click operation and the presets available in the preset list will b
38. the solo function on the Lower Layer then solo the Upper Layer in the second MiniSynX instance You can now add separate effects Eqing or compressors separately on both Layers Chorus The MiniSyn X Chorus is fully stereo This means that the right and left Chorus channels are independent and have dedicated internal LFOs As a consequence using the same sound in the DOUBLE mode will increase a lot the chorus effect The BBD Chorus effect was also responsible of the distinct sound of the hardware synthesizer It has been very closely modeled and has three different settings 6 3 Layers Management Copy Exchange Gang Edit Mode Copy and Exchange Functions To make things easier we added two buttons Copy and Exchange that allow you to copy and exchange layers Clicking on the Exchange button exchanges the two layer sounds clicking on the copy button copies the selected layer to the other layer engine Tip Exchange Layers can be useful when you want to Switch the two layer in the stereo field _ 16 The GANG Edit Mode You can edit all the knobs parameters of the Lower and Upper Layers simultaneously by entering the GANG EDIT mode Please note that therefore the GANG MODE Button is only available when the Split or Double mode are selected When engaged it will allow you to modify the two layers simultaneously keeping the relative settings of the parameters An example to explain the relative concept Say you
39. witch will start the sequencer in play mode only when a note is held It stops when the a note in released TUNE When on this switch allows the tuning of the sequences according to the lowest note played on the keyboard REC Record the selected track NXT go to the next step DEL delete the current step of the voices selected Be careful there is no confirmation panel PLAY When on this switch allows the sequencer to run ISHT TAIG TUNE REC WET DEL FLAY To help with your creative workflow independent sequencer presets can be saved and recalled w Preset0001 shows you the available sequencer presets for recall Save Sequencer Preset Preset0001 Delete Sequencer Preset Preset0001 8 2 1 Sequencer display module The miniSyn X s sequencer display panel makes it easy to create verify and modify your sequences in real time while the sequencer is running Three zoom modes can be used to display the internal values selected by the and buttons Zoom 1 shows the entire range of values useful when using the sequencer to modulate parameters such as filter frequency oscillator level or shape Zoom 2 and Zoom 3 Show four and two octaves respectively The slider allows you to move the displayed part inside the whole range The current time slot is shown as a white cursor line at the bottom of the view Each of the current sequences is displayed in a different color The sequences can be highlighted o
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