Home

User´s Manual

1. Picture 2 Rear Panel Stereo External In jack for feeding external audio signals into the Mixer section Stereo 1 2 or Mono 1 2 jacks that output a single stereo or two mono line level output signals Q Stereo 3 4 or Mono 344 jacks that output a single stereo or two mono line level output signals Stereo 5 6 or Mono 3 4 jacks that output a single stereo or two mono line level output signals e o MIDI In jack used to receive MIDI data from an external device MIDI Thru jack echoes MIDI data received at the MIDI In MIDI Out jack used to transmit MIDI data to an external device Power supply socket 100 240V AC Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Contents Contents Product Warranty eee 3 Foreword ic stein inecnood eri dv cim od biduo 5 Development 4 2 2 1 eee hereto 5 We would like to thank sees 5 Control Features and Connections 6 Front Pariel 1 en 2 aa 6 Rear Panel 22 een 7 Contents ciiin rbd ce nir rear ringen 8 Introduction eene 10 About this Manual eee 10 SVIMDO Sic 5 a esteri reve pide nee 10 Highlighted Control Features and Parameters 10 Whiatitoread nene a a p ER TREES 11 If you are new to the whole subject 11 If you have experience with synthesizers 11 General Safety Guidelines suus 1
2. Trigger C Velocity 001 127 This parameter defines the velocity of the Trigger C sound mo Welecnitey Trigger S Vel 001 127 This parameter defines the velocity the active sound is played back when hitting Trigger button Selected H The right trigger button always plays back the currently selected Sound Please refer to page 22 for instructions on how to select Sounds Sidrnatur dd Signature 4 4 3 4 5 4 Here you select the time signature for the patterns from the selected program Prg Tempo Global Extern 0 2 320 This parameter adjusts the tempo of the selected Program Please also read the chapter Tempo on page 73 Program Name oaran m Be This menu allows you to change the name of the program Choose the position with the knob left below the display while changing the character with the knob right below the display The number to the left in the lower row shows the current Program index You can enter up to 16 characters for the program name Remember that to save any changes to the program name you need to store the program 31 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Program Mode Sound Settings Sound Settings This menu let you enter additional settings for the single sounds To enter this menu hit the Sound button in the Master section The particular menus can be reached by turning the red dial or pushing the Sound button again H Please note that Sound Settings only refer to the
3. If an error occurs in the process of updating the RackAttack displays an error message e g Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 82 Other Functions Updating the System Software rrors If this happens try updating again In some cases it can be helpful to adjust the sequencer tempo before playing the file so that the data events are sent more slowly If this message appears the file wasn t transmitted completely to the RackAttack or played back too slowly Try to download the file from the Internet again AH New functions in future OS will be documented in PDF files which are available on our website http www waldorf music com or at our ftp server ftp ftp waldorf gmbh de rackattack 83 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Other Functions Programming Drum Sounds Programming Drum Sounds To understand how to create drum sounds you should know a little about how the classic drum machines worked The following sections give some insights how particular sounds were built and information how to achieve similar results on the Waldorf RackAttack Roland TR 808 Bass Drum On the Roland TR 808 this sound was made by one filter with a high resonance setting triggered by a short impulse Two controls were provided to adjust the bass drum Tone was used to set the pitch by changing the filter s cutoff frequency and Decay was used to set its resonance which in turn controlled the decay rate On the RackA
4. Amplifier Effects These modules generate and process the audio signal flow Internal sound generation occurs within the Oscillators which can produce square sawtooth triangular sine noise and three hihat samples The Mixer follows the Oscillators in the signal chain and is where the oscillator output signals are mixed with the Crack Modulator and signals received through the External audio inputs The Filter then shapes the sound by amplifying boosting or attenuating dampening certain frequencies The Amplifier and the Effects are located at the end of the signal chain determining the overall volume of the signal and add some effects like delay reverb chorus flanger etc LFOs Envelopes These modules are called Modulators They are designed to manipulate or modulate the sound generating components to add dynamics to the sounds The Low Frequency Oscillators LFO are designed for periodic or recurring modulations while Envelopes are for modulations that occur once on each note The Modulators are assigned to parameters through preset destinations in the sound generation modules and are used to alter the fundamental characteristics of a sound 33 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Sound Synthesis Introduction Sound Synthesis Introduction At its core the Waldorf RackAttack is a synthesizer that you can use to create typical synthesizer sounds like basses fat leads and wide pads However the RackAttack i
5. BreathCtr modulation source Foot Controller Messages The RackAttack receives Foot Control MSB Messages and evaluates them as Foot Ctr modulation source Channel Volume Messages The RackAttack receives Channel Volume Messages Controller 7 and scales the output of the respective Program to that value All Notes Off Message The RackAttack sends an All Notes Off Message to the internal tone generator and over MIDI on all channels when the Power button is pressed briefly When the RackAttack receives an All Notes Off Message it forces the envelopes of all sounding voices to go into their release phases Furthermore Pattern Play are stopped if they were running 79 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual MIDI Control Modifying Editing Sounds over MIDI All Sound Off Message The RackAttack sends an All Sound Off Message to the internal tone generator and over MIDI on all channels when the Power button is pressed until the power down countdown starts When the RackAttack receives an All Sound Off Message it closes the amplifiers of all sounding voices and stops the output of all effects immediately Reset All Controllers Message When the RackAttack receives a Reset All Controllers Message it resets all controllers mentioned above as well as Aftertouch to their default values usually O except for Pan 64 Volume 127 Modifying Editing Sounds over MIDI Controllers as Modulation Sources The controllers mention
6. Copy amp Paste You can copy programs sounds or patterns into an internal memory buffer and paste them back into another position This function works similarly to the copy paste functions found in personal computers You can copy the following data types into the copy buffer e Programs Copy a program to another program position Sounds Copy a sounds to another position in the same or any other Program e Pattern Copy a Pattern from one sound to another sound H Pasted programs sounds pattern will be stored temporarily You must still store them if you intend to use them again see page 28 DU Copying and pasting a Program 1 Selectthe program you want to copy 2 Press Shift Copy The display will show you the copy process 3 Select the target program location where you want to paste the copied program 4 Press Shift Paste The display will show you the paste process Us Copying and pasting a Sound 1 Select the sound you want to copy 2 Press the Edit button in the Master Section 3 Press Shift Copy The display will show you the copy process 4 Select the target sound location in any program where you want to paste the copied sound 5 Press the Edit button in the Master Section 6 Press Shift Paste The display will show you the paste process ZS Copying and pasting a Pattern 1 Select the sound that holds the pattern you want to copy 2 Select the Pattern Amp Section and press the Edit button i
7. In Play mode you can use the left parameter dial D under the display control to adjust the RackAttack s master volume This volume setting is global and affects the levels of all audio outputs including the headphone output Global Tempo In Play mode you can use the right parameter dial under the display to adjust the Global tempo For more information please refer to the Tempo chapter on page 73 Demo Playback The RackAttack is equipped with several demo songs to show some of its unique features They will provide a quick overview of the RackAttack s sound character and the possibilities you can expect when you start working with your RackAttack To listen to the songs in highest quality you should make sure that the RackAttack is connected stereophonically to a good amplifier loudspeaker combination or by using good headphones A Entering the Demo Playback mode will clear all edit buffers If you have made any changes to existing programs that you would like to keep save them before activating the demos US To start Demo Playback e Press Sound Select and Peek simultaneously to enter Demo Playback mode The RackAttack will show a selection of demo songs e Press one of the highlighted Trigger buttons to listen to a particular demo song or press the Play button to listen to all demo songs in sequence Once you have an idea of the RackAttack s capabilities it is time to leave the Demo Playback mode and start exploring US
8. Oscillator Section FM Ctrl FM Mod Control 0 127 Determines the additional amount of influence on FM by the selected Mod Source see also page 43 Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound The overall modulation applied to FM is calculated as the sum of both the FM Mod and FM Ctrl parameters Therefore you should always bear this total in mind especially when FM does not behave as you expect H FM Ctrl is only available for Oscillator 1 Oscillator Edit Menu The following parameters can be accessed via the display menu Press the Edit button when you are in the Oscillators section to activate the display menu 01 ModSrc Pitch Mod Source Env1 Env2 LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source of the pitch modulation for Oscillator 1 01 Ctrl Src Pitch Mod Control Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selected pitch modulation source depending on the selected control source for Oscillator 1 ze Select for ModSrc Env 1 and for Ctrl Src Velocity Therefore Envelope 1 works in dependance of velocity Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound When you hit the keys smoothly only minimal modulation is applied When you hit harder the modulation amount also gets stronger H The next both parameter are only available for Oscillator 1 FM ModSrc FM Mod Source Env1 Env2 LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source for the frequ
9. Frequenc 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 i Harmonics Picture 8 Additive components of the Triangle wave The reason why the triangle wave is so popular in classic synthesizers is because it is easier for analog circuitry to generate than a sine wave but it can still be used for the same purposes It could also behave as a sub oscillator wave used to emphasize certain frequencies or to frequency modulate other oscillators The triangle wave sounds like woodwind instruments like clarinets and oboes It can also be used for mallet instruments like vibraphone and xylophones Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 38 Sound Parameters Sound Synthesis Introduction Additional Signal sources Noise Amplitude Magnitude Time Frequency Hz 1 10 100 1000 10000 Noise is a fundamental source for any kind of analog type percussion especially hi hats and snare drums but can also be used to create wind and other sound effects White Noise is the well known noise form that contains all frequencies with the same amplitude It can be coloured by defeating or raising different frequencies S amp H A Sample amp Hold generator is a circuit that is often used in modular synthesizers It samples a random value from another waveform and holds it This procedure is repeated automatically The result is a noisy signal with a chaotic and harsh sound character S amp H is perfect both for industrial type FX sounds and as an FM source Three Samples in
10. On the following pages all effect types will be described together with their available settings Bypass Disables the effect unit No further parameters available Chorus A Chorus effect is generated by using Comb filters that generate slightly detuned copies of the input signal and mix it into the output signal The result sounds like an ensemble of several simultaneous sounds like a choir as opposed to a single voice hence the name Chorus The detuning is generated by an internal LFO that can be controlled in speed and depth The Chorus high frequency output can be dampened with the Cutoff parameter Speed 0 127 Sets the LFO speed of the Chorus effect 65 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Effects Depth 0 127 Sets the modulation depth of the Chorus effect D 1i he aud 4 a Delay 0 127 Sets the initial delay that is added to the Chorus delay line 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 Speed 0 127 Sets the LFO speed of the Flanger effect Depth 0 127 Sets the modulation depth of the Flanger effect Feedback Polarity Bee leosibive Feedback 0 127 Controls the feedback amount of th
11. Picture 11 Low Pass Filter principle The RackAttack 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 47 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Filter Introduction Level Resonance Frequency Cutoff Picture 12 Low Pass Filter Resonance If the resonance is raised to a great extent then the filter will begin self oscillation i e the filter generates an audible sine wave even when it does not receive an incoming signal Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 48 Sound Parameters Filter Section Filter Section The most commonly used controls of the filters can be found in the parameter matrix The following picture of the RackAttack s parameter matrix shows the Filter section Cutoff Type Resonance Drive Cutoff Mod 2 Ctrl 1 2 Filter section Filter Parameter Controls Cutoff 0 127 Controls the cutoff frequency for the low pass and high pass filter types the center frequency for the band pass and notch filter types and a special function on the EQ and the S amp H filter types e When a low pass is selected via the Type parameter all frequencies above the cutoff frequency are damped When a band pass type is selected only frequencies near the cutof
12. Previously unreleased i tracks Phone 49 0 26 42 90 20 8 0 Fax 77 Euro 10 00 7 Vielen Dank f r den Kauf dieses Waldorf Produktes Es zeichnet sich durch Zuverl ssigkeit und Langlebigkeit aus Dennoch k nnen Material oder Verarbeitungsfehler nicht v llig ausgeschlossen werden Daher bieten wir Ihnen eine verl ngerte Garantie Damit Garantieleistungen in Kraft treten m ssen Kaufrechnung und Garantiekarte vollst ndig ausgef llt innerhalb von 14 Tagen zur ckgesandt werden Diese Garantie erstreckt sich auf alle Defekte in Material und Verarbeitung f r den Zeitraum von 1 Jahr ab Kauf des Produktes W hrend der Garantiezeit ersetzt oder repariert Waldorf Music AG das durch Waldorf Music AG oder ein autorisiertes Service Zentrum als defekt befundene Produkt ohne dem Kunden Material oder Arbeitsaufwand in Rechnung zu stellen Um die Garantie in Anspruch zu nehmen mu sich der Kunde zun chst telefonisch mit dem zust ndigen Vertrieb in Verbindung setzen Produkte die ohne vorherige Absprache eingesandt werden k nnen nicht kostenfrei ausgetauscht bzw repariert werden Das Produkt mu frei und versichert in Originalverpackung eingesandt werden Detaillierte Fehlerbeschreibungen sind beizuf gen Unfrei und oder nicht originalverpackt eingesandte Produkte gehen unge ffnet zur ck Waldorf Music AG beh lt sich vor das eingesandte Produkt auf den neusten Stand der Technik zu bringen wenn dies erforderlich sein
13. set the envelopes to almost linear shapes and use the Vel control for all envelope modulations TR 808 Side Stick The TR 808 Side Stick called RS on the 808 which stands for Rim Shot sound is very tricky although it consists of only two oscillators running through an amplifier and a high pass filter the sound is very complex This comes from the fact that one oscillator seems to cut the other oscillator and that the VCA is used to add high harmonics How Roland did it is something only they and maybe a handful of people know If you happen to be one of these people let us know If you want a sound of this type from the RackAttack use the representative sound from the library instead of trying to simulate it on your own Look at the parameters and try to find out why it sounds quite close A couple of hints Crack is used with a very high frequency setting doing amplitude modulation on the oscillators summed signal and Drive is used to add further harmonics by distorting the signal TR 909 Side Stick The TR 909 Side Stick is made of 3 resonating band pass filters that are triggered by a short impulse Behind the band pass filter cluster there is a distortion unit followed by a VCA with an envelope and a high pass filter Its specific sound comes from the cutoff frequencies the resonance and the volumes of the trigger impulses of the three band passes These settings are 500Hz 20ms decay full volume 222Hz 45ms d
14. 1 2 1 64t Makes the delay sync either to the Program tempo of the RackAttack Off makes no synchronisation e 2barsto 1 64 syncs the delay length in musical note values to the Program tempo e 1 2 to 1 64 syncs the delay length to dotted note values to the Program tempo e l Itto 1 64t syncs the delay length to third note values to the Program tempo AH While using other settings than off the delay length is controlled by the RackAttack s tempo When setting Program tempo to Extern you can sync the delay to incoming MIDI clock Feedback Polarity Med oleosibiwe Feedback Do 127 Controls the amount of signal that is routed back into the Delay line Lower values therefore produce fewer echoes than higher values Polarity positive negative Determines whether the feedback signal is fed back into the delay line as is or is inverted beforehand Cutoff Q0 127 Dampens the signal produced by the Delay effect This filter is routed before the feedback circuitry meaning that adjacent taps of the Delay will be dampened further This creates the typical high frequency loss that often happens in natural echoes A setting of 127 means that the signal isn t filtered while lower settings filter the high frequencies of the feedback signal Auto Pan off on Controls an automatic panning effect produced by the delay If Auto Pan is set to Off the left input signal is routed into the left delay line and its output signal is
15. Amplitude Magnitude Time Frequency l 4 8 12 Harmonics Picture 6 Additive components of the Sawtooth wave The sawtooth wave is frequently thought of as an abstraction of the timbres of string and brass instruments When you think of a violin imagine a bow pulling the string in one direction At one point in the stroke the string will abruptly comes off the bow and swing back through its original position The bow continues to move and will catch the string again and the procedure is repeated The result of this is a waveform that looks much like the sawtooth wave described above The same concept holds true for a brass instrument where the lips are equivalent to the violin s string and the moving air correspond to the bow The lips are moved by the air and quickly move back to their original position Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 36 Sound Parameters Sound Synthesis Introduction The Square Wave The Square Wave is a special waveform generated by a pulse waveform with 50 pulse width which means that the positive segment of the waveform has an equal length to the negative segment Although the pulse wave can have many different widths as you will read later the square wave is a unique version of the pulse 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 the third harmonic has
16. Data You are not required to activate a special receive mode of the RackAttack in order to receive system exclusive data through MIDI However there are a few things you should check before you transmit system exclusive data to the RackAttack e Make sure none of the RackAttack s programs is in Edit mode The edit buffers might be cleared or overridden depending on the type of dump that is sent to the RackAttack e Check out the parameter SysEx ID Data transmission will only be executed successfully if the sender and receiver settings match As soon as the dump from the sending device is activated the RackAttack will receive data and store these in its memory If a single Sound Multi Drum Map or Arrangement 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 RackAttack off 81 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Other Functions Updating the System Software Other Functions Updating the System Software The RackAttack has a service friendly feature that makes it possible to update the system software without changing any parts All software updates come in the form of a standard MIDI file that can be read by every sequencer The fastest way to get this file is by downloading it from our web site at http www waldorf music com Please make sure to download the following files os_xx mid if it is newer th
17. LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source of the panorama modulation Ctrl Src Pan Mod Control Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selected panorama modulation source depending on the selected control source X Select for Pan ModSr LFO1 and for Ctrl Src Velocity Therefore LFO1 works in dependance of velocity Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound When you hit the keys smoothly only minimal modulation is applied When you hit harder the modulation amount also gets stronger 57 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Envelopes Section Envelopes Section The RackAttack s envelopes allow you to manipulate sound parameters via rate or timed modulations like filter or volume The RackAttack offers two independent programmable envelopes for every sound The following picture of the RackAttack s parameter matrix shows the Envelopes section Attack Shape Sustain Release Picture 14 Envelope Section Selecting an Envelope Before you make any edits to the envelopes you must select whether to edit Envelope 1 or 2 This is done by pressing the navigation buttons The two LED in the Envelope section indicate which envelopes are selected for editing H To edit both envelope at the same time hold down one navigation button and push the other navigation button once for selecting the second envelope Repeat this action for desele
18. The attack phase of the envelope is emphasized heavily to create the strong click Afterwards the summed signal is sent through a band pass filter and an envelope that stops abruptly A funny side note on the TR 808 the square oscillators were the same that were used for the cymbal and hi hat sounds However those sounds used a cluster of six detuned square oscillators with different band pass and high pass filter settings Tips amp Tricks e Fora classic Filter Trigger sound you don t need to actually use a filter You can also use a sine oscillator that is pitch modulated by an envelope This frees up the filter and you can use it to perform other tasks e g filtering noise for a snare drum sound or the like e Create a pattern for each sound of a Program Set Pattern Mode to Toggle If you play MIDI notes from a connected master keyboard you can do an extensive and impressive drum and percussion loop live performance e The perfect place to read this user manual is your favourite bathroom We recommend 5 pages per session H Do you also know a tip or trick Please send it to info waldorf music com Maybe you ll find your tip in one of the next Waldorf Manuals Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 88 Appendix Technical Data Power Supply Nominal voltage Maximum current consumption Maximum power consumption Audio Outputs 3 x stereo Maximum level Dynamic range Frequency range AC 12V 1 0A 12
19. To exit Demo Playback mode e Press Peek to exit the demo mode The RackAttack will return to normal operation Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 20 Basic Operation The Master Section The Master Section Most of the basic operations of the RackAttack are accomplished using the controls in the Master Section The following picture shows the controls of the Master Section in detail SS we Selected OD OD Sound Select Peek Picture 3 Master Section The Master Section consists of several controls e A 2x20 character display that shows program names parameters and other messages e A Red Dial on the right of the display which is used to select programs or sounds or when editing a sound to select a parameter page e Two dials below the display for adjusting the currently shown parameters Four buttons labelled Global Utility Program Compare Edit Recall and Sound Store These buttons are used to access special parameter editing pages and to perform several utility functions A button labelled Shift that is used to activate alternative functions of knobs and buttons These alternative functions appear beside the main function of a button but the labels are printed in a different color e A button labelled Play Pressing this button will put the RackAttack into Play mode where programs and sounds aree selected A button labelled Sound Select that is used change individual sounds in a program e A butto
20. When you hit the keys smoothly only minimal modulation is applied When you hit harder the modulation amount also gets stronger Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 46 Sound Parameters Filter Introduction Filter Introduction Once the audio signal leaves the mixer it is sent to the filter The RackAttack has a multimode filter with different filter types In a subtractive synthesizer a filter is a component that have significant influence on sound characteristics But the Attack was designed to make drum and percussion sounds for which the filter is used merely for fine tuning the sound Yet you can also create bass and lead sounds which definitely require a filter 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 below this threshold are hardly affected The frequency below the cutoff point is called the pass band range the frequencies above are called the stop band range The RackAttack s filter dampens frequencies in the stop band with a certain slope The slope is 12dB per octave This means that the level of a frequency that lies an octave above the cutoff point will be 12dB less than those frequencies of the signal that fall into the pass band The following picture shows the basic principle of a low pass filter Level Frequency Cutoff
21. a third magnitude the fifth harmonic has a fifth magnitude and so on The following picture shows how the individual harmonics build up the sawtooth wave 1st Harmonic Magnitude 1 3rd Harmonic Magnitude 1 3 H Nu 5th Harmonic Magnitude 1 5 7th Harmonic Magnitude 1 7 f Amplitude Magnitude Time Frequenc 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 3 2 Harmonics Picture 7 Additive components of the square wave with 50 pulse width The square wave is as an abstraction of wind instruments like the pan flute or the recorder which consist of a tube that can contain a specific amount of air Air is blown through the tube in a way that vibrations are created in the tube This vibration is almost completely symmetrical resulting in the hollow timbres that these instruments are known for 37 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Sound Synthesis Introduction The Triangle Wave The Triangle Wave is very similar to the square wave It is composed of the same harmonics as the square wave but with different magnitude ratios The magnitude of each harmonic is divided by the square of its number This means that the third harmonic s magnitude is a ninth the fifth harmonic is a twenty fifth and so on The following illustration shows the harmonic content 1st Harmonic Magnitude 1 3rd Harmonic Magnitude 1 9 TR n 5th Harmonic Magnitude 1 25 7th Harmonic Magnitude 1 49 Amplitude Magnitude Time
22. all programs they can still be overridden by other more specific settings at the Program and Sound levels Global parameters are stored automatically when you modify them and you are not required to save them manually like you are when you edit a Program or Sound Global Menu All Global parameters are located in the Global Menu They are accessed by pressing Global button in the Master section and selecting the various pages with the Red Dial or by repeatedly pressing the Global button to cycle through the available pages The menu parameters are changed with the corresponding knobs below the display Gib Pattern Mode Enable Disable Gib Pattern Mode Enable Determines if the Pattern player is enabled or disabled Basis setting is Enable GlobalChr Bi Global Chn Global MIDI Channel omni 1 16 Sets the base send and receive MIDI channel This setting is valid for all Sounds and for Sounds in a Program whose Channel parameter is set to global If omni is selected the RackAttack sends on channel 1 and receives on all channels A Please use omni only if you are testing basic MIDI send and receive functionality As soon as you have verified that the RackAttack is sending and receiving MIDI properly set Global MIDI Channel to a specific value Sysex ID 0 126 Defines the device identification number for system exclusive Sysex data transmission The number in brackets displays the current value in hexadecimal fo
23. fed back into the same delay line The same is true for the right signal and the right delay line If Auto Pan is set to On the left input signal is fed into the right delay line and the right signal is fed into the left delay line The output of each delay lines is fed back into the opposite delay line The result is called a Ping Pong delay H You can only hear this effect if the left input signal is different from the right input signal 69 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Effects Mod Delay The ModDelay is a special delay which can be modulated by an integrated LFO Length 001 4ms 1 48 s Sets the length of the delay tap in milliseconds or seconds Sync off two bars one bar 1 2 1 64t Makes the delay sync either to the Program tempo ofthe RackAttack Off makes no synchronisation e 2barsto 1 64 syncs the delay length in musical note values to the Program tempo e 1 2 to 1 64 syncs the delay length to dotted note values to the Program tempo e 1 Itto 1 64t syncs the delay length to third note values to the Program tempo A While using other settings than off the delay length is controlled by the RackAttack s tempo When setting Program tempo to Extern you can sync the delay to incoming MIDI clock I Sere ae AIGE G X Feedback 100 0 100 0 Controls the amount of signal that is routed back into the delay line Lower feedback values will by definition produce fewer echoes than hi
24. filter it In the Mixer turn up Osc 1 to 50 and Osc 2 Env to 50 set to Envelope 1 Set Envelope 1 to a shorter decay phase than Envelope 2 Use the filter with a low pass setting and add a little resonance to emphasize the high frequency range Roland TR 909 Snare Drum The TR 909 Snare Drum was made with two oscillators and two filters for noise The two oscillators started in phase but were slightly detuned and one of the oscillators was modulated a bit by a pitch envelope The Tune parameter controlled the basic pitch of the two oscillators The noise was split in two parts there is always some low pass filtered noise during the whole snare drum sound while a high pass filtered sound is routed through another envelope whose level can be controlled by the Snappy parameter One RackAttack sound doesn t feature as many different modules as the TR 909 snare drum had One solution can be to use two sounds one emulating the first oscillator and the low pass filtered noise and the other emulating the second oscillator plus the high pass filtered noise You will have to play the two simultaneously in your track but this shouldn t be a problem because the Attack has sample exact timing However you can re create the TR 909 snare drum with just one Attack sound instead by doing the following Set up Oscillator 1 to play a sine wave modulate its pitch slightly with Envelope 2 and add a little FM to it around 0 1 to 0 5 When you set
25. pattern and all other settings will raise the swing when playing back the pattern Pattern Length 1 128 steps This parameter sets the overall length of the pattern in number of steps The value for this parameter will only be in multiples of the StepCIk setting The Step Editor will only allow you to edit the number of steps set with this parameter For example if you have a 64 step pattern and change its Length to 32 steps you will only be able to edit the first 32 steps The last 32 steps will not be lost but you will need to increase the Length value back to 64 in order to either edit or play them Start when immediate next bar 1 16 Stark wher next i216 Sets the start point for the pattern Immediate will start the pattern immediately after it gets triggered Next Bar will start the pattern at the beginning of the next bar All other settings will cause the pattern Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 54 Sound Parameters Pattern Amp Section to start at the next defined note value which is much like the quantize functionality in a sequencer Start where current step 1 Start where Durrent Start Where sets the Step Position that the pattern starts with Step 7 will start the pattern from the beginning Current will start the pattern on the current position For example if the beat is currently on step 3 of a 4 bar pattern the pattern will start on its third step H Every step can be triggered with 3 d
26. sollte Diese Garantie deckt keine Defekte ab die durch unsachgem e Behandlung oder Eingriffe von unautorisierten Personen verursacht wurden und ist beschr nkt auf die Behebung von Defekten die w hrend der normalen Nutzung durch Material oder Verarbeitungsfehler aufgetreten sind Bitte schicken Sie die Garantiekarte vollst ndig ausgef llt zusammen mit einer Kopie der Kaufrechnung zur ck um die Produktgarantie in Anspruch nehmen zu k nnen Waldorf Music AG c o Support Schlo Ahrenthal 53489 Sinzig Germany Produkt Product O Rack Attack Sonstige verwendete Ger te Other used equipment Produktgarantie Product Warranty 7 Thank you for choosing this Waldorf product It is a dependable device and is designed to last However the potential for defects in material or workmanship cannot be eradicated completely This is why we provide an extended warranty for you To ensure your unit has full warranty coverage mail the receipt and the fully completed warranty card back within 14 days of purchase This warranty covers all defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original purchase During this time Waldorf Music AG will repair or replace the product without charge for materials or labor provided the product was first inspected and found faulty by Waldorf Music AG or an authorized service center You must first contact your dealer or distributor by telephone Pr
27. that can be used to for an additional sound source for the internal mixer stage This signal can be processed via the filters and the effects section in the same way as an oscillator A As the external signal is treated like any other sound source within the RackAttack it is necessary to trigger the Amplifier Envelope to have the signal appear at an output To do this MIDI notes must be sent to the RackAttack For more information please read Oscillator Shapes on page 41 17 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Overview What is the RackAttack Overview What is the RackAttack The Waldorf RackAttack offers a straightforward sound structure that can accurately emulate a wide range of percussion sounds including the well known classic drum machines to new and unique drum sounds such as bass drums and snare drums over shakers as well as heavily modulating synthesizer effects In addition the RackAttack offers ways to create amazing bass and lead sounds that can be played as a polyphonic synthesizer To understand how to create these sounds you should know a little about how the classic drum machines worked Basically those drum machines had special analog circuitry for each drum sound they could produce These analog circuits were often built in a very strange manner sometimes consisting only of a handful of filters without any kind of oscillator or envelope or perhaps simply a noise generator with one envelope Each was made to c
28. the Cutoff Mod 2 Mod and Ctrl 2 parameters Therefore you should always bear this total in mind especially when cutoff frequency does not behave as you expect You can also create interesting effects by setting one parameter to a positive and the other to a negative amount Filter Edit Menu The following parameters can be accessed via the Filter Edit menu If you are in the Filter section press the Edit button to activate this display menu Filter Keytrack 200 196 Determines how much the cutoff frequency depends on the MIDI note number The reference note for Filter Keytrack is E3 note number 64 For positive settings the cutoff frequency rises on notes above the reference note for negative settings the cutoff frequency falls by the same amount and vice versa A setting of 100 corresponds to a 1 1 scale so e g when an 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 700 On most bass sounds lower settings in the range 50 75 are optimal to keep the sound smooth at higher notes Fi HMad zrc Ctkpl Sre Ern d d sincitu F1 ModSrc 1 Filter Mod Source Env Env2 LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source of the first cutoff frequency modulation Ctrl Src Filter Mod Control Source velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selec
29. the RackAttack Beside the synthetic waveforms the RackAttack contains three hihat samples The synthesis of a realistic sounding hi hat is not an easy task which is why most classic drum machines are also equipped with hihat samples The samples in the RackAttack can be completely changed by the internal sound synthesis modules External signal An external signal can also be used like a waveform and is fed into the mixer section for further processing by the RackAttack s filters amplifier and effects stages Please read page 41 for more information 39 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Oscillator Section Oscillator Section Each voice in the RackAttack has two oscillators with almost identical functionality Oscillator 1 contains an integrated FM frequency modulation section The most commonly used controls of the oscillators can be found in the Parameter Matrix The following picture shows the RackAttack s Oscillators Section Pitch Shape Detune FM Pitch FM Mod Pitch FM Ctrl Picture 9 Oscillators Section Selecting an Oscillator Select the Oscillators section with the navigation buttons The LED of the active Oscillator will light up To select both oscillators push both navigation buttons at the same time and both oscillator LED s will light up Executing the same process again deselects the Oscillators H The following parameters are available for both Oscillators Oscillator Paramet
30. the extent of the modification Controllers can be used for effects such as slowly swelling vibrato changing the stereo panorama position and influencing filter frequency CV CV is the abbreviation for control voltage In analog synthesizers control voltages are used to control sound parameters like pitch cutoff frequency etc E g to get a tremolo effect the output signal of a LFO must be routed to the CV input of one or more oscillators Decay Decay describes the descent rate of an envelope once the Attack phase has reached its zenith and the envelope drops to the level defined for the Sustain value Filter A filter is a component that allows some of a signal s frequencies to pass through it and dampens other frequencies The most important aspect of a filter is the filter cutoff frequency Filters generally come in four categories low pass high pass band pass and band stop A low pass filter dampens all frequencies above the cutoff frequency A high pass filter in turn dampens the frequencies below the cutoff The band pass filter allows only those frequencies around the cutoff frequency to pass all others are dampened A band stop filter does just the opposite i e it dampens only the frequencies around the cutoff frequency The most common type is the low pass filter Filter Cutoff Frequency The filter cutoff frequency is a significant factor for filters A low pass filter dampens the portion of the signa
31. this parameter to G8 if you want to use the full keyboard range Learn off 1st key This is a function to determine the key range of a sound by a played MIDI note When setting Learn to 1st key the RackAttack is waiting for a MIDI note If you press a key on your master keyboard for example C2 this note is set automatically as the HighKey In the display you now see 2nd key By doing the same as described above you can choose the LowKey 63 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Effects Effects The RackAttack offers four effect units FX1 FX4 Every FX unit is able to produce different effect algorithms You can choose one effect unit per sound H FX types Reverb ModDelay and Delay are only available for FX1 and FX2 Effect Parameter Controls in the Tuned Out FX Section The Effect Parameter Controls can be directly accessed via the Tuned Out FX section FX Select FX1 FX4 Chooses one of the four FX units for the selected sound FX 1 Mix 0 0000 100 0 This parameter controls the volume ratio between the original signal and the effect output If set to 0 the dry signal is sent to the outputs only so that no effects can be heard Higher values will increase the effect signal At maximum setting the pure effect signal will be heard FX Type see FX list on page 65 Selects the effect type FX1 FX4 FX Time various The function of this parameter depends on the selected FX Type e Bypa
32. tigt da es den Schutzanforderungen entspricht die in der Richtlinie 89 336 FWiG des Rates zur Angleichung der Rechtsvorschriften der Mitgliedstaaten ber die elektromagnetische Vertr glichkeit festgelegt sind au erdem entspricht es den Vorschriften des Gesetzes ber die elek tromagnetische Vertr glichkeit von Ger ten EMVG vom 30 August 1995 will be hereby declared that it conforms to the requirements of the Council Directive 89 336 F WO for radio frequency interference It also complies with the regulations about radio interference of electronic devices dated on August 30th 1995 Zur Beurteilung des Erzeupnisses hinsichtlich der elektromagnetischen Vertr glichkeit wurden folgende einschl gige harmonisierte Normen herangezogen The following standards have been used to declare contormity EN 50 082 1 1992 EN 50 081 1 1992 EM 60065 1993 Diese Erkl rung wird verantwortlich f r den Hersteller abgegeben This declaration has been given responsibly by the manufacturer Waldorf Electronics GmbH Schloss Ahrenthal D 53489 Sinzig Wolfgang D ren Managing Director 95 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual FCC Information U S A 1 IMPORTANT NOTICE DO NOT MODIFY THIS UNIT This product when installed as indicated in the instructions contained in this Manual meets FCC requirements Modifications not expressly approved by Waldorf may void your authority granted by the FCC to use this product 2 IMPORTANT
33. wave you can create clean bass drums and snares and it is also perfect for FM e Square This waveform produces a hollow metallic sound and is perfect for bass drums and snare drums Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 40 Sound Parameters Oscillator Section Saw A sawtooth wave has all the harmonics of the fundamental frequency in descending magnitude This waveform is pleasing to the ear and can be used for bass and lead sounds S amp H Sample amp Hold S amp H samples a random value and holds it S amp H is perfect for industrial type FX sounds and as an FM source Noise is a fundamental source for any kind of analog type percussion especially hihats and snare drums The noise generator can also be used to create wind and other sound effects If noise is selected you can colour it with the Pitch parameter Negative Pitch values create pink noise fewer high frequencies positive values a blue noise fewer low frequencies The next three values don t set an oscillator waveform instead you can choose a sample for further programming HH Closed contains a closed hi hat It can be processed with Pitch and FM and all other synthesis functions HH Open contains an open hi hat It can be processed with Pitch and FM and all other synthesis functions e Crash contains a crash cymbal It can be processed with Pitch and FM and all other synthesis functions The next three values don t set an oscillator waveform inste
34. 2 Suitable Operating Conditions 12 Power Supply cssseeeeeeeee 12 Op ration ceo bea Vets a ren steinernen 12 Maintenance rear 12 Proper Usen unnsn a astra 13 Setup and Connection 14 Inventory ceret sete ete 14 Setup ducam Vis ee tee A 14 CONNECTIONS nee Pene E de eed 14 Audio Connections eeeeeeeeeee 16 External Inp t 2 oiii cen rte 17 OVCIVICW inneren 18 What is the RackAttack esses 18 Memory Struct rei lea et dee eee 18 Basic Operation rns ine 19 Switehing Ofl cus iecit pert tree irte oet 19 Switching off este etes 19 Panie Function 19 System Volume rate 20 Global Tempo nec teens 20 Demo Playback unesseesensnnnnnnnneeesensnnnnnnnn 20 The Master Section eueeesereseseseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeneennn 21 Selecting Programs and Sounds 22 Selecting Programs with the Page Dial 22 Selecting Sounds with the Page Dial 22 Selecting Sounds with MIDI notes 22 Editing Parameters eese 23 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Editing Parameter Controls 23 Editing Display Menu Parameter 24 Edit Buffers 2 ir at eoi thoen 25 Viewing Parameter Values without Change 25 Comparing Edited Programs 26 Recalling Edited Programs sss 26 Copying of Sounds Copy amp Pas
35. 89 Glossary Bar e rere dee eet 90 MIDI Implementation Chart eee 94 CE Conformity Declaration esses 95 Waldorf Merchandise sse 95 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Introduction About this Manual Introduction About this Manual This manual was written to help you to become familiar with the Waldorf RackAttack To avoid confusion the technical terms in this manual are based on the RackAttack s parameter names The glossary at the end of this manual explains these concepts in generic terms Symbols We have used a uniform set of symbols to show you topics of particular interest or significance Important terms are highlighted in bold letters A Caution This information will help you avoid errors and malfunctions US Instruction Follow these guidelines to execute a desired function H Info Additional information on a given topic X Example Real world examples to try out Highlighted Control Features and Parameters All of the RackAttack s buttons controls and parameters are highlighted in bold letters throughout the manual Example e Press the Play button All references to the controls and jacks on the RackAttack will be followed by a number that corresponds to the diagrams found at the front of this manual Front panel controls will be labelled 1 12 and rear panel jacks will be labelled 1 8 We suggest that you make a copy of these pages to have o
36. AC User s Manua Pith Ds Min Os Miy Hl all Tipe LTT LUTTE UTE ttak T LM 1101 LUN LF ET Tried Chal dry Out Fy In Am Ik Waldorf Merchandise LET T m Dance amp Techno Construction Danse Soundset for microQ and Q i ance 1 h 300 Sounds 2 Drum Maps and 30 u lechno Multis for your electronic music production CD ROM with bonus tools Euro 60 00 Zeitlos Il The latest ambient amp electronic music CD from Waldorf Records Waldorf Coffee Mug Previously unreleased tracks from Classic Blue colored with silver Pete Namlook DaDamn aka Waldorf logo and writing Hardfloor Pascal F E O S etc one mouth port Euro 15 00 Euro 6 00 Waldorf T Shirt Coffee s ready black with stylish printing available sizes M L XL XXL Euro 13 00 Zeitlos Timeless ambient and cill out productions from artists like Oliver Lieb Pete Namlook Astral Projection Gabriel Le Mar etc All tracks are previously unre Gekko Arpeggio leased Gekko Chord Euro 15 00 The reptile with arpeggio or chord memorizer function One button one LED MIDI In Out no external power supply necessary Euro 76 00 Euro 51 00 Subout Still available Independant Electronic All prices excluding shippment Music from famous artists Oomph rder via Email Fax or phone De Vision Front 242 Wolfsheim 2 P Frontline Assembly Ernst Horn Deine info waldorf music com Lakaien etc
37. Crack Modulator was designed especially for creating hand clap sounds Technically it is an amplitude modulation using a sawtooth waveform The speed and the number of waveforms can be chosen After transmitting its intended modulation the Crack Modulator resumes emission of a constant signal H The Crack Modulator superimposes its effect on all other mixer signals Oscillator 1 and 2 Ring Modulator Crack Speed 001 0 Hz 5 00 kHz Determines the frequency of the Crack Modulator Crack Mix 0 0000 100 0 Fades in the Crack Modulator Length 01 49 inf Determines the number of modulations the Crack Modulator creates Also an infinite number of modulations is possible inf H To program an authentic sounding handclap set Crack Speed to 100 Hz and Length to 3 Mix Crack Edit Menu The following parameters can be accessed via the Mix Crack Edit menu If you are in the Mix Crack section press the Edit button to activate this display menu 02M ModSr Mod Source Env1 Env2 LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source of the volume modulation for Oscillator 2 Ctrl Src Pitch Mod Control Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selected volume modulation source depending on the selected control source XX Select for 02M ModSre LFO 1 and for Ctrl Src Velocity Therefore LFO 1 works in dependance of velocity Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound
38. Damping parameter mean more high frequencies will be dampened Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 72 Sound Parameters The Tempo The Tempo Program Tempo Global Extern 0 2 320 The Program Tempo control is one of the most important parameters inside the RackAttack It controls the tempo of the Pattern Play function and can sync the tempo of the LFOs Further it controls the tempo of some effect types These parameters are affected by Tempo LFO 1 2 Speed if the corresponding LFO Sync is active e Delay time of the FX types Delay and Mod Delay e The Pattern Play function H You can adjust the Program s tempo in the Program Menu The following settings are available for Program Tempo e Global The Program Tempo is override by the Global Tempo see also Global Menu on page 76 e Extern The RackAttack automatically syncs to incoming MIDI Clock if it is sent to it by an external device like a sequencer or drum machine e 0 2 345 The RackAttack only syncs to its own tempo base that is set in BPM beats per minute Global Tempo Extern 0 2 320 Please refer to the chapter Global Menu on page 76 H In Play mode you can use the right parameter dial under the display to adjust the Global tempo 73 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Global Parameters Global Menu Global Parameters Global parameters are settings that affect all Programs and Sounds in the RackAttack Although they are valid for
39. W 10dBm 110dB OHz 24kHz 89 Appendix Technical Data Audio Input 1 x stereo Maximum level Dynamic range Frequency range Dimensions and Weight Width Depth incl rotary controls Height Total weight 0dBm 86dB 5Hz 24kHz 483mm 92mm 89mm 1 7kg Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Appendix Glossary Glossary Aftertouch The majority of contemporary keyboards are capable of generating aftertouch messages On this type of keyboard when you press harder on a key you are already holding down a MIDI Aftertouch message is generated This feature makes sounds even more expressive e g through vibrato Aliasing Aliasing is an audible side effect arising in digital systems as soon as a signal contains harmonics higher than half the sampling frequency Amount Describes to which extent a modulation influences a given parameter Amplifier An amplifier is a component that influences the volume level of a sound via a control signal This control signal is often generated by an envelope or an LFO Arpeggiator An arpeggiator is a device that splits an incoming MIDI 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 o
40. When connecting this product to accessories and or another product use only high quality shielded cables Cable s supplied with this product MUST be used Follow all installation instructions Failure to follow instructions could void your FCC authorisation to use this product in the USA 3 NOTE This product has been tested and found to comply with the requirements listed in FCC Regulations Part 15 for Class B digital devices Compliance with these requirements provides a reasonable level of assurance that your use of this product in residential environment will not result in harful interference with other electronic devices This equipment generates uses radio frequencies and if not installed and used according to the instructions found in the users manual may cause interference harmful to the operation of other electronic devices Compliance with FCC regulations does not guarantee that interference will not occur in all installations If this product is found to be the source of interference which can be determinated 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 interference relocate reorient the antenna If the antenna lead in is 300 ohm ribbon lead chan
41. ad you can choose an external audio signal for sound synthesis Ext Left selects the left input signal of a stereo external input Except for Pitch and Detune all synthesis functions are available Ext Right selects the right input signal of a stereo external input Except for Pitch and Detune all synthesis functions are available Ext Mono selects the both channels of a stereo external audio signal Both channels are mixed together because the signal flow of the RackAttack is mono Except for Pitch and Detune all synthesis functions are available H The square sine triangle and sawtooth waveforms always start at full amplitude to create a necessary start click This is characteristic of drum and percussion sounds To avoid this click simply set the Start parameter of the used oscillator to free see also page 44 When creating typical synthesizer sounds you might like to avoid the flanging effect caused by detuned oscillators This effect is caused by the fixed phase of the waveforms To do this set the Start parameter to Zero Detune 000 0 200 00 This parameter also works with Pitch fine tuning the oscillator in cents and Hertz The audible result of detuned oscillators is a chorus or flanger effect The pitch changes also will displayed in Hertz The first digit in the upper display line shows the number of the edited Oscillator A low value of gt 7 results in a slow and soft Flanger effect Mid ranged settings of
42. aldorf music com e info waldorf music com m 4 Ce a Q sot Sa as jmd pany OE c ES
43. an the one installed in your RackAttack e changelog txt always download this one because it explains the latest changes If you don t have Internet access please ask your local dealer for a disk copy ES To update the RackAttack s system software 1 Load the respective Standard MIDI File into your sequencer Follow the instructions from your sequencer s manual 2 The MIDI file consists of one single track with several sysex messages in it Make sure that this track is assigned to the RackAttack so that it can receive the data 3 Make sure that any Cycle or Loop mode is switched off Also make sure that any Metronome clicks and MIDI Clock are switched off 4 Startthe sequencer playing the file and send the track data to the RackAttack 5 The RackAttack will display a message that informs you that the update is in progress receiving 05 1 1 HHEEHHEHEH The progress line in the lower part of the display will show the amount of data already received 6 After the file is received correctly the RackAttack burns the update into its flash memory This is shown by the following display Burning Us 1 1 A Do not under any circumstances turn off the RackAttack 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 7 Wait until the operation is completed If updating was successful the RackAttack will perform a system reset and start up
44. and each envelopes in the Envelopes section 2 With the fourth endless rotary you can now change the value for LFO2 Speed 3 Whenever you change a parameter the display shows the edited parameter and its current value in the upper right corner for a few seconds 23 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Basic Operation Editing Parameters You can access the alternative parameters printed in the secondary colour next to the main parameter by holding the Shift button down If pressed briefly the LED next to the Shift button will remain lit and all edits you make will affect the alternative parameters until you press the Shift button again to deactivate Shift mode H When in the Oscillator or Envelope section you can select both oscillators envelopes by pressing both navigation buttons This mode is used to edit both oscillators or both envelopes at the same time Pressing both navigation buttons again will deactivate this mode You should now be able to access and edit the seven sections with the navigation buttons and Parameter dials Oscillators Mixer Crack Filter Pattern Amp Envelopes LFOs and Tuned Out FX Editing Display Menu Parameter For each parameter level you can also access an edit menu which will give you access to other parameters that cannot be directly accessed through the Parameter Matrix To activate the edit menu of the selected section simply press the Edit button in the Master section ES To access a
45. anual Sound Parameters Effects delay so that the reverb is separated from the original sound Lower settings connect the reverb more to the original signal while higher settings separate the effect signal to produce a more spatious sound Diffusion 0 127 Determines the consistency of different room materials Lower settings produce a cold strong reflection like a metal or tile wall Higher settings make a warm and thick reverb as if the signal were reflected by a uneven surface Settings above 700 change the room characteristic even further Size 3m 20m Determines the length of the longest room side in meters Lower settings simulate a normal room while higher settings simulate a big hall or church Shape 0 107 Changes the characteristic of the reverb In most effect units you can select different 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 Dame ind 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 how fast the room simulation dampens the higher reverb frequencies Higher frequencies are not dampened not as much as lower frequencies This phenomenon makes a natural echo sound somewhat hollow Higher values of the
46. arts and internal parameter settings that were used in the TR 909 the TR 909 s hand clap sounded different Essentially the Crack or as Roland called it Sawtooth Envelope was clearer and the reverb effect was longer Hi hats For hi hats we don t use references to classic drum machines although there is a quite good emulation in the TR 808 set included in the sound library Hi hats can be made in various ways The simplest method is to use the built in samples of the Attack However those are provided just in case you don t have time to synthesize a good sounding hi hat If you like a really vintage sound use a high pass filtered noise This gives the very archaic hi hat sound that was used by many drum machine companies for years One of the last examples of this sound was the good old Roland CR 78 If you want more sophisticated results use FM Don t use noise as FM source but instead use a sine or triangle waveform with a very high pitch The modulated oscillator can be set either to square or sine The FM of the RackAttack has a maximum amount of around 8 waveform cycles which results in heavy but tonal noise When you don t use a static FM but change the amount by an envelope the sound gets really exciting The noisy FM effect changes over time resulting in a very lively hi hat sound You will probably have to experiment with the settings of Oscillator 2 Pitch and FM Env but the results are very much worth the work A g
47. aveforms look and sound but the following pages will give you a quick introduction into the deeper meanings behind these waveforms Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 34 Sound Parameters Sound Synthesis Introduction The Sine Wave The Sine Wave is the purest possible tone that can be generated It consists only of one harmonic the fundamental and has no overtones The following picture shows the sine wave and its frequency representation Amplitude Magnitude Time Frequenc 1 4 8 12 Harmonics The Sine Wave There are no natural musical instruments that generate a pure sine wave although the instrument that would come closest is the tuning fork Therefore the sine wave will always sound slightly artificial to the ear However the sine wave can be used to emphasize a certain harmonic while other oscillators are playing more complex waveforms or as a source for frequency modulation Furthermore a sine wave is perfect to give a bass drum its characteristic low frequency punch The sine wave is the most basic building block of each waveform Any waveform can be broken down to several component sine waves that are arranged with different frequencies and magnitudes These individual sine waves are called partials In most waveforms the partial with the lowest frequency is dominant which means that human ear uses the partial to determine the overall pitch of the tone This partial is called fundamental while all other partials ar
48. ber and turning it counter clockwise will decrease it 3 Press the Sound Select button again to deactivate the sound select function and return to Play mode H You can also hold down the Sound Select button while choosing the desired sound with the red dial Selecting Sounds with MIDI notes You can also select sounds by using MIDI notes This is perfect for a fast sound selection e g if you want to edit similar parameters for different sounds ES Selecting sounds via MIDI trigger 1 Press the Shift Sound Select button until the LED is lit 2 Trigger a MIDI note from your master keyboard The corresponding sound is now selected 3 The Sound Select function is still active Every new MIDI note will select a new sound 4 To turn off this function press Shift Sound Select again Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 22 Basic Operation Editing Parameters Editing Parameters In order to change or edit a program in the RackAttack you must access the internal parameters In spite of the RackAttack s compact size it uses a sophisticated user interface that allows any parameter to be quickly edited Changing parameter values is accomplished by turning the rotary dials on the front panel The rotary dials control parameters with continuous values Turning a dial clockwise increases the corresponding value while turning it counter clockwise decreases it The dials have a built in dynamic response feature where if you turn the co
49. ce you cannot enter a value for step 9 or higher 55 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Pattern Amp Section Amplifier Parameter Controls in the Pattern Amp Section Volume 0 127 Sets the output volume of the selected sound Pan Panning left 64 Center right 64 Determines the position in the stereo panorama only if you use one of the stereo output pairs When the setting is to the left the sound is panned far left when the setting is to the right it is panned far right If you want to situate the sound in the middle of the stereo panorama use the Center setting Because some effects are independent from the pan settings the higher the proportion of delayed signal in your mix the less pronounced the panning effect will be Volume Mod 100 0 100 0 Determines the amount of volume modulation by the selected Amp Mod Sr see also this page down Pan Mod 100 0 100 0 Determines the amount of panning modulation by the selected Pan Mod Sr see also page 57 Volume Ctrl 100 0 100 0 Determines the additional amount of influence on volume modulation by the selected Ctrl Sre see also this page down Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound The overall modulation applied to the volume is calculated as the sum of both the Volume Mod and Volume Ctrl parameters Therefore you should always bear this total in mind especially when volume does not behave as you expec
50. ces e Program Mode is active at all times e A Program consists of 24 Sounds e The 24 Sounds will be triggered by the selected Global MIDI Channel and are arranged next to each other on the MIDI keyboard from C1 to B2 e All sounds can be played polyphonically on the keyboard on selected MIDI channels Program Program Parameter Sound 13 Sound 14 Sound 15 Sound 16 Sound 09 Sound 10 Sound 11 Sound 12 Sound 05 l Sound 06 Sound 07 i Sound 08 l Sound 01 Sound 02 I Sound 03 Sound 04 Picture 4 Program architecture The RackAttack MIDI Functions The MIDI functions of the RackAttack are identical in its most aspects to the functions of most common synthesizers The 24 sounds in a Program use the notes C1 to B2 thus affording 1 sound per key This is a sensible layout for a drum and percussion synthesiser making it possible to play the sounds on the keyboard next to each other which you will find familiar if you have used GM keyboards You can change the keymap for the percussion sounds with the Map Base key parameter in the Global Menu please refer to page 75 Additionally all sounds of the RackAttack can be played melodically and polyphonically on the keyboard on selected MIDI Channels This is because the RackAttack is capable of producing other sounds such as basses or leads with its synthesis functions These sounds call for playing over a greater key range than 1 key For these sou
51. cting the envelopes The ADSR Envelope of the RackAttack Most traditional synthesizers feature ADSR envelopes These envelopes are made up of four parameters that determine their response Attack Decay Sustain and Release The following picture illustrates the structure of an ADSR envelope Level 9 key pressed 100 Rn je e Key released Sustain Attack Decay Release gt Picture 15 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 H The following settings are available for both envelopes Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 58 Sound Parameters Envelopes Section Envelope Parameter Controls All parameters of the RackAttack s envelopes can be edited via the Parameter Matrix Attack 0 127 Determines the attack rate or amount of time it takes for a signal to go from zero to maximum level Shape 0 000 100 Exp Linear In Co Controls the shape of the Decay and Release phases You can shade from exponential exp to linear to inverse exponential inv or to a combination of exponential and inverse exponential cosine like Decay 0 127 De
52. d Negative amounts will decrease the cutoff frequency when positive modulation is applied Cutoff Mod 2 100 0 100 0 Controls the amount of the second cutoff modulation by the selected source see F2 ModSrc on page 52 Positive amounts will increase the cutoff frequency when positive modulation is applied e g by pressing the aftertouch on the keyboard Negative amounts will decrease the cutoff frequency when positive modulation is applied Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 50 Sound Parameters Filter Section Ctrl 1 Filter Mod 1 Control 100 0 100 0 Determines the additional amount of first influence on the cutoff frequency by the selected Mod Source see also this side down Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound The overall modulation applied to the cutoff modulation is calculated as the sum of both the Cutoff Mod 1 Mod and Ctrl 1 parameters Therefore you should always bear this total in mind especially when cutoff frequency does not behave as you expect You can also create interesting effects by setting one parameter to a positive and the other to a negative amount Ctrl 2 Filter Mod 2 Control 100 0 100 0 Determines the additional amount of second influence on the cutoff frequency by the selected Mod Source see also page 51 Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound The overall modulation applied to the cutoff modulation is calculated as the sum of both
53. e Flanger signal Polarity positive negative Determines whether the feedback signal is fed back into the Flanger as is or is inverted beforehand Phaser A Phaser is a combination of several allpass filters working in parallel This generates an effect with equally spaced frequency peaks or troughs The result is a strongly colorized signal with a spacey character Speed 0 127 Sets the LFO speed of the Phaser effect Depth 0 127 Sets the modulation depth of the Phaser effect Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 66 Sound Parameters Effects Center 0 127 Controls the basic delay length of the allpass filters Lower settings produce a high pitched Phaser effect while higher settings enable the Phaser to cover deeper frequencies Spacing 0 127 Controls the relative frequencies of the allpass filters A setting of O 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 Overdrive effect distorts the input signal by amplifying it drastically and clipping the resulting signal to a certain output level The difference between this Overdrive effect and the Drive parameter of the Filter sections is that Drive affects one single voice while this effect ty
54. e called overtones The second partial is referred to as the first overtone the third partial as the second overtone and so on The cyclic waveforms generated by the RackAttack only feature sine waves in integer frequency ratios to the fundamental like double and triple frequencies These partials are called harmonics because their frequencies are harmonic multiples of the fundamental frequency Confused Let s stick to the basic cyclic waveforms found in the RackAttack The sawtooth square and triangle waveforms are built from harmonic partials The harmonic with the lowest frequency is dominant and is called fundamental All other harmonics in a given waveform are called overtones The following sections clearly illustrate these concepts 35 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Sound Synthesis Introduction The Sawtooth Wave The sawtooth wave is the most popular synthesizer waveform because of its rich sound characteristics 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 fundamental has full magnitude the second harmonic has half magnitude the third harmonic has a third magnitude and so on The following picture shows how the individual harmonics of a sine wave build up the sawtooth wave 1st Harmonic Magnitude 1 2nd Harmonic Magnitude 1 2 3rd Harmonic Magnitude 1 3 Ath Harmonic Magnitude 1 4 THO Nu
55. e rate You will hear a lot of aliasing when you lower the sample rate but this is great for so called lo fi sounds Cape ie Overdrive 0 127 Controls the amount of distortion of the signal Please note that the signal might become a little louder when you increase this parameter Gain 0 127 Controls the output level of the distorted signal Lo Fi is perfect for creating up to date audio signals Start also by experimenting with external audio signals H The following FX types are only available for FX1 and FX2 Delay A 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 when Sync is activated In this way the Delay effect can synced to the Program Tempo The Delay effect is fully stereophonic meaning that a signal that is routed to the left stereo position is fed into the left or right delay line and vice versa depending on the setting of Auto Pan An important feature of the RackAttack s Delay effect is that the Delay length can be changed without clicks or pitch changes This allows you to experiment with different Delay lengths without getting annoying side effects in the output signal Length 001 4ms 1 48 s Sets the length of the delay tap in milliseconds or seconds Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 68 Sound Parameters Effects Sync off two bars one bar
56. ead and follow the instructions in this manual Development Software development Albert Huitsing Stefan Stenzel Hardware development Thomas Kircher Design Axel Hartmann Coffee machine Frank Schneider Factory Sound programming Beamteam Ingo Beitz J rgen Fornoff Wolfram Franke Achim Gratz J rg H ttner Till Kopper Dirk Krause Dr Georg M ller Marcus S Schr der Tsching Manual Holger Tsching Steinbrink Correction Graham Hunter Head Wolfgang D ren Revision Date January 2003 Version 1 04 We would like to thank Holger Bahr Sigi Barishi H P Bonni Bonnenberg t Mike and Evi Caroll Mert Erg n Geoff Farr J rgen Fornoff Gunther Gr fe Florian Gypser Martin Herbst Jorg H ttner Thilo Kloft Werner Kramer Achim Lenzgen Wolfgang M rs Dr Georg M ller Martin Neideck Giuliano Orsini Ottic Stefan Profitlich Norbert Reiss Alex Sauff Beate Walkowiak Kurt Lu Wangard K D Warnecke Rocco Zodiac and anyone we have forgotten Waldorf Music AG 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 no contradictory information Waldorf extends no liabilities in regard to this manual other than those required by local law This manual or any portion of it may not be reproduced in any form without the ma
57. ecay half volume 1000Hz 5ms decay full volume Now the RackAttack doesn t have three band passes plus a high pass filter but there s a way to simulate the architecture with the Attack What produces a resonating band pass filter Nothing more than a sine wave So why not just use two oscillators producing two sine waves plus a high pass filter that uses the lowest frequency setting as the third sine wave generator Thus the filter will include both oscillator signals and add its own resonance to the sum The high pass filter is therefore set to a lower value with a resonance of 127 Oscillator 1 produces the 500Hz sine wave while Oscillator 2 is set to a 1000Hz sine wave but is controlled by a very short Envelope 1 set to around 75 to produce the 5ms signal The fact that oscillator 1 plays longer than 20ms can be ignored because it s not that noticeable Don t add it with full volume however Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 86 Other Functions Programming Drum Sounds set it only to a level of around 25 This comes into play because there is an additional high pass filter on the original TR 909 Side Stick that dampens lower frequencies Finally add a good amount of Drive around 30dB to the signal set Envelope 2 Decay to 45ms and you will have the sharp attack of the original sound TR 909 Hand Claps TR 909 hand claps are made using the same signal routing as in the original TR 808 However due to the differing p
58. ed above are always used as modulation sources Changing Sound Parameters with System Exclusive Data All Sound parameters of the RackAttack can be controlled by system exclusive data Please read the sections Ctl send and Ctl reveive in the chapter Global Menu on page 75 for further information System Exclusive Data Transmission System Exclusive data transmission lets you send and receive the contents of the RackAttack s memory via MIDI dump Sending System Exclusive Data When you activate the send functions the RackAttack sends the contents of its memory to the MIDI Out jack Using a sequencer or a special sound editor program you can record and archive this data US To activate the dump function 1 Press Shift Global Utility The display shows a page where you can select the dump type 2 Use the page dial to select the desired dump function If Global Data is selected all Global parameters are sent If Dump Edit Buffer is selected the current edit buffer will be sent If Dump Program Pxx is selected the current program will be sent If Dump all Programs is selected all programs of the RackAttack are sent 3 Press Shift Global Utility again to activate the dump MH Depending on the selected type the dump may take some time The RackAttack cannot be played during this time Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 80 MIDI Control System Exclusive Data Transmission Receiving System Exclusive
59. en k nnen sofort an die richtige Stelle weitergeleitet und innerhalb k rzester Zeit beantwortet werden Senden Sie uns ein Telefax Fast so schnell wie E Mail allerdings f r Sie und uns weniger komfortabel Schicken Sie uns einen Brief Etwas langsamer daf r jedoch genauso zuverl ssig wie ein Telefax Und wenn es ganz dringend ist rufen Sie uns an Wir versuchen Ihre Fragen m glichst sofort zu beantworten haben gibt es vier Produktunterst tzung Product Support If you have any questions about your Waldorf product feel free to contact us via one of the four options listed below info waldorf music de 49 0 26 42 90 20 8 77 Waldorf Music AG Schlo Ahrenthal 53489 Sinzig Germany 49 0 26 42 99 40 16 Send us an e mail message This is the most efficient and fastest way to contact us Your questions will be forwarded immediately to the resident expert and you will quickly receive an answer Send us a fax This is as fast as e mail but not quite as comfortable for you and us Send us a letter It will take a bit longer but it is just as dependable as a fax If you re in big hurry call us we ll try to answer your questions right away Foreword Development Foreword Thank you for purchasing the Waldorf RackAttack You now own a percussion synthesizer that will inject a new life into your rhythm patterns To ensure your instrument functions properly and enjoys a long life please r
60. ency modulation of oscillator 1 Ctrl Src FM Mod Control Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selected FM modulation source depending on the selected control source XX Select for FM ModSre Env 7 and for Ctrl Src Velocity Therefore Envelope 1 works in dependance of velocity Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound When you hit the keys smoothly only minimal modulation is applied When you hit harder the modulation amount also gets stronger 43 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Oscillator Section 01 Start Peak Peak Zero Free Determines the phase of the waveform of Oscillator 1 Peak starts the chosen waveform with a positive offset Peak starts the chosen waveform with a negative offset Zeros starts the chosen waveform without an offset Free starts the chosen waveform with a different phase a every new note 02 Start Peak Peak Zero Free Determines the phase of the waveform of Oscillator 1 See also 01 Start H Start has no influence when a sample waveform or an external audio signal is chosen 02 ModSrc Pitch Mod Source Env1 Env2 LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source of the pitch modulation for Oscillator 2 02 Ctrl Src Pitch Mod Control Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selected pitch modulation source de
61. er Controls Pitch 0 0079 Hz 18 7 kHz C 11 D10 Sets the pitch of the oscillator over a wide range of frequencies This is necessary to reproduce a great variety of drum and percussion sounds Pitch changes are simultaneously displayed in Hertz and note numbers semitones The first digit in the upper display line shows the number of the edited Oscillator a1 Fitch F 1 845 2 Hz The semitone steps are useful for creating melodic sounds Lead and Solo sounds will sound interesting when you set one oscillator to a fourth 5 semitones relative to the other Experiment with this detuning interval to find more useful harmonic and dissonant tones Shape waveform Triangle Sine Square Saw S amp H Noise HHClosed HHOpen Crash Ext Left Ext Right Ext Mono This selects the type of waveform to be generated by the oscillator The parameter is called Shape instead of waveform as it doesn t control only the classic synthesizer waveforms but also noise sample amp hold and the three hihat samples However it should be noted that the term waveform is used throughout this manual to describe a sound generated in the oscillator section The following shapes are currently available e Triangle The triangle waveform consists of odd harmonics with very low magnitudes It is perfect for nearly all drum and percussion sounds Sine The sine waveform contains only the fundamental frequency and has no harmonics at all With a sine
62. er Controls The controls of the LFO can be found in the parameter matrix LFO 1 Speed 0 127 Determines the frequency of LFO 1 H If LFO 1 Sync is set to another value than Off or Key LFO 1 Speed has no function LFO 1 Shape sine tri square saw random s amp h Sets the type of waveform generated by LFO 1 The following picture shows the available shapes v Ay Per Sine Triangle Square Sawtooth Random S amp H Picture 17 LFO Shapes e The Sine shape is best suited for oscillator FM or pan modulations e The Triangle tri shape is perfect for smooth pitch filter or volume modulations e The Square shape can be interesting for hard pan modulations or special effects e The Sawtooth saw shape can generate interesting filter or volume changes If you need a modulation with inverted slope just apply the Sawtooth shape with negative amount e The Random shape generates random values and glides to them linearly e S amp H Sample amp Hold samples a random value and holds it until the next value is generated If LFO1 Speed is set to 0 a random value is generated on each new note Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 60 Sound Parameters LFOs Section LFO1 Sync off key 8 bars 1 64t Makes the LFO 1 sync either to the key press or to the tempo of the RackAttack e Off lets LFO1 run freely Key makes the waveform of LFO1 start at the maximum amplitude whenever a key is pressed e 8 barsto 1 64 syncs t
63. f setting will be passed through When a high pass type is selected all frequencies below the cutoff frequency are damped e When a notch type is selected the frequencies near the cutoff frequency are damped e When EQ Shelving is selected the cutoff knob selects the start frequency of the Shelf EQ e When Type Bell EQ is selected the frequencies near the cutoff frequency are boosted or dampened with the Resonance parameter e When S amp H type is selected the cutoff knob controls the sample rate reduction of the audio signal You can bring more movement into the sound by modulating the cutoff frequency via the LFOs the envelopes or the Keytrack parameter of the filter At a value of 64 and a Resonance value of 114 the filter oscillates with 440Hz which is equal to MIDI note A3 Tuning is scaled in semitone steps When Filter Keytrack is set to 700 the filter can be played in a tempered scale Type see list Selects the filter types Bypass Use this setting to bypass the filter This is useful if you want to disable the filter temporarily and listen to the oscillators pure signals e Lowpass Use this type if you want to create sounds with a typical audible filtered character for example bass or lead sounds With a low pass filter you can shape bass drums or snare drums Highpass This type is useful to thin out a sound s bass frequencies This may also give interesting results in conjunction with cutoff frequency mod
64. ffect is probably the most widely used effect in music production It is used to add a realistic ambience to clean and dry audio recorded in a studio Very complicated mathematical algorithms are needed to simulate the complexity of a natural reverb As a result good reverb processors are very expensive The RackAttack s reverb effects don t intend to simulate the perfect natural room rather they are an addition to the RackAttacks s sound synthesis to make it more 3 dimensional and expressive Lo Cut 0 127 Determines the frequency where the lower frequency parts are divided from the effect signal This parameter works in the same way as the highpass filter in the RackAttack s sound synthesis A natural reverb doesn t produce all frequencies equally so the highpass cuts the lower frequencies to produce a more realistic reverb effect Hi Cut 0 127 Determines the frequency where the higher frequency parts are divided from the effect signal This parameter works in the same way as the lowpass filter in the RackAttack s soundsynthesis A natural reverb doesn t produce all frequencies equally so the lowpass cuts the higher frequencies to produce a more realistic reverb effect Predelay 0 300ms Determines the delay in milliseconds between the direct sound and the reverb effect output A natural reverb contains a reflexion which is heard later than the original signal The predelay determines this 71 Waldorf RackAttack User s M
65. ge the lead in to co axial type cable If these corrective measures do not produce satisfactory results please contact the local retailer authorised to distributed this type of product The statements above apply ONLY to products distributed in the USA CANADA The digital section of this apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the radio interference regulation of the Canadian Department of Communications Le present appareil numerique n emet pas de briut radioelectriques depassant les limites apllicables aux appareils numeriques de la Classe B prescrites dans la reglement sur le brouillage radioelectrique edicte par le Ministre Des Communications du Canada This only applies to products distributed in the USA Ceci ne s applique qu aux produits distribu s dans Canada Other Standards Rest of World This product complies with the radio frequency interference requirements of the Council Directive 89 336 EC Cet appareil est conforme aux prescriptions de la directive communautaire 89 336 EC Dette apparat overholder det gaeldenda EF direktiv vedrarendareadiostej Diese Ger te entsprechen der EG Richtlinie 89 336 EC Ce Waldorf Music AG 2003 All rights reserved ePrinted in Germany Waldorf Music AG e Schlo Are bal e D 53489 Sinzig e Germany Phone 49 0 26 42 90 20 8 0 Fax 49 0 26 42 90 20 8 77 http www w
66. gher values Very short delay time settings can be colored by feedback settings Spread 100 0 100 0 Spreads the left and right delay output to half of the delay time maximum Settings from 100 or 100 create a typical ping pong delay Speed 0 009 Hz 10 0 Hz The delay effect can be modulated in its delay time with the integrated low frequency oscillator LFO Speed determines the frequency of the LFO Depth 0 0000 100 0 Controls the modulation depth when delay time is changed by means of the LFO The depth ranges from no delay to the amount set by the Length parameter Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 70 Sound Parameters Effects Lo Cut 0 127 Dampens the higher frequencies of the signal generated by the delay effect The filter is inserted before the feedback loop thus dampening each successive step Lower values suppress higher frequencies from the feedback In conjunction with the Hi Cut Parameter the delay effect can thus be narrowed to a certain frequency range Hi Cut 0 127 Dampens the lower frequencies of the signal generated by the delay effect The filter is inserted before the feedback loop thus dampening each successive step This creates the typical dulled effect familiar from natural delays Lower values suppress lower frequencies from the feedback In conjunction with the Lo Cut Parameter the delay effect can thus be narrowed to a certain frequency range Reverb The Reverb e
67. gt 5 are perfect for pads and other fat sounding programs 41 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Oscillator Section X High values of gt 12 or above will give a strong detune that can be used for accordions or effect sounds FM Frequency Modulation 0 0000 100 Sets the amount of frequency modulation that is applied to Oscillator 1 by Oscillator 2 The sound will get more metallic and sometimes even drift out of tune Triangle waves sine waves and noise are especially suited for FM To change the frequency modulation dynamically use an envelope or velocity The FM range of the Attack is very wide so that you can generate nearly chaotic FM out of periodic waveforms like sine waves This is necessary to create hi hats If you use noise as FM source the sound will become more tonal when you use higher FM settings To create a vibrato set Oscillator 2 to a deep pitched triangle waveform and use very low FM settings Playing this sound at low octaves creates a wobble effect H FM background hints The frequency modulation of the RackAttack modulates the phase of Oscillator 1 with the amplitude of Oscillator 2 This effect can be very strong such that there can be phase overflows by a factor of 8 This creates noisy waveforms perfect for drum sounds Lower FM settings generate many different spectra of a metallic character A FM envelope can change the metallic character to chaotic FM also necessar
68. he road we suggest transporting it in an airline approved flight case which will be available from your dealer Connections In order to get started with your RackAttack you will need an AC power outlet a MIDI device to trigger the sounds and an audio playback device This MIDI device can be a master controller keyboard an electronic drum kit such as the KAT devices a standalone hardware sequencer or a computer based sequencer Audio connections should be made through a mixing console and monitoring system The following diagram illustrates a commonly seen RackAttack setup Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 14 Setup and Connection Connections IN OUT MIDI OOO Out 1 and 2 Out 5 and 6 to mixing desk or to mixing desk or MIDI Thru amplifier amplifier to MIDI In of further configurable as a configurable as a tone generators stereo out or 2 mono Stereo out or 2 mono outs outs External In Out 3 and 4 MIDI In MIDI Out from mixing desk or to mixing desk or from MIDI Out of a to MIDI In of audio source a e Computer or a MIDI C En MIR Om l SIDpMers Masterkeyboard OMPuter or tone Tip Left signal configurable as a generator Ring Right Signal stereo out or 2 mono outs b Out In Hu Vis v vs 2 L bbb EE E Connections ES To connect the devices 1 Turn all units off 2 Connect the RackAttack s audio outputs Out 1 2 to your mixing console Optionally connect the additional audio out
69. he waveform of LFO1 in musical note values e 1 2 to 1 64 syncs the waveform of LFO1 to dotted note values e Itto 1 64t syncs the waveform of LFO1 to third note values H While using note values the LFO is controlled by the RackAttack s tempo and with this feature you can sync the LFO to incoming MIDI clock messages LFO 1 One Shot on off If this parameter is set to On LFO 1 will only go through a single cycle Use LFO 1 One Shot for short modulations or to effectively emulate a third envelope LFO 2 Speed 0 127 Determines the speed of LFO 2 H If LFO 2 Sync is set to a value other than Off or Key LFO 2 Speed will have no function LFO 2 Shape sine tri square saw random s amp h Sets the type of waveform generated by LFO 2 Please refer to LFO 1 Shape above for more details LFO 2 Sync off key 8 bars 1 64t Makes the LFO 2 sync either to the key press or to the tempo of the RackAttack Please refer to LFO 1 Sync above for more details LFO2 Mod 100 0 100 0 Determines the influence of the selected control source in the LFO edit menu on the LFO2 speed LFO Edit Menu You can select the edit menu for the LFO by pressing the Edit button when LFO section is selected LFO2 Mod Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Selects the source of the LFO2 modulation 61 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Tuned Out FX Section Tuned Out FX Secti
70. how you reorganizing the flash Press Shift Global Utility e The reorganizing functions take some time Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 78 MIDI Control Channel Based MIDI Messages MIDI Control This chapter describes the MIDI functions of the Waldorf RackAttack Channel Based MIDI Messages In Single Mode the RackAttack receives channel based MIDI messages like Notes Aftertouch and Controllers on the selected Global MIDI Channel If it is set to omni the RackAttack sends channel based MIDI messages on channel 1 but receives them on any channel All received channel based MIDI messages are played back by the active program Program Change Messages RackAttack programs can be selected by MIDI Program Change messages As the RackAttack contains 50 programs it recognizes the program numbers 1 50 on zero based MIDI senders this means 0 49 Note On and Note Off Messages The RackAttack receives Note On and Note Off Messages in the entire MIDI Note Number range with Velocity and Release Velocity Aftertouch Messages The RackAttack receives monophonic Aftertouch messages The RackAttack evaluates incoming Aftertouch messages as Pressure modulation source Modulation Wheel The RackAttack receives Modulation Wheel MSB Messages and evaluates them as Modwheel abbreviated as MW modulation source Breath Control Messages The RackAttack receives Breath Control MSB Messages and evaluates them as
71. ically as follows US To connect an output pair stereophonically with two mono cables Connect the Left and Right jack with 1 4 inch mono plugs US To connect an output mono Connect either the right or the left jack of the output pair with a 1 4 inch mono plug H Further instructions for configuring the audio outputs can be found in the chapter Tuned Out FX Section starting on page 62 The RackAttack also has a stereo headphone jack 2 on the front panel The signal from this jack is always identical to the Out 1 2 jacks MH The Main volume can be changed with the left knob below the display while the RackAttack is in Play Mode H If you choose not to connect a mixing console you can patch the RackAttack s output signals directly to an amplifier Use the amplifier s line level input usually called Aux or Tape Input A Before connecting and disconnecting the RackAttack to a power source turn your amplifier s volume control all the way down to avoid damage from on off switching noise A The RackAttack produces a high level output signal see technical data on page 89 Please take care that the connected playback device is suitable for the high level of an electronic instrument or you will risk damaging your equipment A Never use the mic or phono input of the connected amp Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 16 Setup and Connection External Input External Input The RackAttack has a stereo External In jack
72. ice near heat sources 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 supply or cable than the one that came with the RackAttack Never install a different plug If the included power supply is not equipped with a suitable plug for your local sockets take the RackAttack and the power supply to a qualified electrician 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 containing liquids on or near the device Place the device on a stable base only Use a suitable platform or rack Make sure no foreign objects find their way into the chassis If for some reason this should occur switch the power off unplug the device and consult a qualified repair center This device used on its own or with amplifiers speakers or headphones can generate volume levels that may do irreparable damage to your hearing For this reason you should keep the volume at tolerable levels Maintenance Do not open the device or remove the cover Refer all service and repair tasks to qualified personnel The interior of the chassis contains no components that require user maintenance Use only a dry soft cloth or brush to clean the device Never use alcohol cleaning solutions or similar chemicals They wi
73. ifferent velocities Vel 1 Velocity 1 001 127 Vel 1 sets the first Velocity for the steps in the pattern editor Vel 2 Velocity 2 001 127 Vel 2 sets the second Velocity for the steps in the pattern editor Vel 3 Velocity 3 001 127 Vel 3 sets the third Velocity for the steps in the pattern editor Step Editor The Step Editor is where you control where and how the Sound is placed in the Pattern The left knob below the display is used to select the step position and the right knob will control what happens at the active step When longer pattern values are chosen in the Pattern Length menu the cursor will scroll through the pattern display further to the right and left of the screen A reference to the current position in the pattern is shown in the upper row of the display The start position of a new bar will be shown in larger text and as a upright line The presentation of the steps and the time assignments always refers to the settings in the Pattern Length and StepCIk menus The following settings can be made to each step e EN no data entry won t play any note at the current step position ant will play a note with the velocity entered for Vel 1 x will play a note with the velocity entered for Vel 2 und will play a note with the velocity entered for Vel 3 H You only can edit as many steps as entered in the Pattern Length menu When Pattern Length is set to 8 for instan
74. in term or concept and need an explanation beyond what is in the appendix of this manual A good book explaining analog sound synthesis named Analog Sound Synthesis can be obtained from the German publisher WIZOO You can find further info about it and other books covering similar topics at http www wizoo com If you have experience with synthesizers If you are familiar with synthesizers and have edited some sounds to fit your needs then be sure to read the following chapters to get up and running as quickly as possible with your RackAttack What is the RackAttack on page 18 and Programming Drum Sounds on page 84 to understand the differences between a normal synthesizer and the RackAttack Furthermore you should read how to edit the RackAttack on page 23 11 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Introduction General Safety Guidelines General Safety Guidelines A Please carefully read the following safety tips They include several precautions you should always observe when dealing with electronic equipment Read all of these instructions before operating your device Suitable Operating Conditions Use the device in enclosed rooms only Never use the device under damp conditions such as in bathrooms washrooms or around indoor swimming pools Do not use the device in extremely dusty or dirty environments Make sure that adequate ventilation is available at all sides of the device Do not place the dev
75. ional amount of influence on the volume by the selected 02 M Mod Source see also page 46 Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound The overall modulation applied to the volume modulation for Oscillator 2 is calculated as the sum of both the Osc2 Mod and Ctrl parameters Therefore you should always bear this total in mind especially when volume does not behave as you expect Ringmod Ringmodulation 0 000 100 0 Volume of the ring modulation between Oscillators 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 the source frequency components Since ring modulation generates disharmonic components it can be used to add metallic distorted sound characteristics This is useful when generating crashes or cowbells Please note that in a complex waveform all harmonic components behave like interacting sine waves resulting in a wide spectral range of the ring modulated sound 45 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Mix Crack Section H Ring modulation can result in unwanted low frequencies when the pitches of Oscillators 1 and 2 don t differ very much This is logical because for example when you use one oscillator set to 100 Hz and the second set to 101 Hz the resulting ring modulation is 201 Hz and 1 Hz and 1 Hz is very low Crack Modulator The
76. ise 4 Turn the left display dial clockwise until you can read the display Now the display should work as usual If not turn the Page Dial counter clockwise for a short while and repeat the procedure from step 3 Operating System OS page Software Harcduare This menu page shows the latest Operating system Software and the hardware version Hardware of your RackAttack For more information about updating your RackAttack please read Updating the System software on page 82 Board Serial Number page This menu page shows you the Board and Serial number of your RackAttack H On the menu pages that follow you will find important information Please read and follow these instructions 77 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Global Parameters Utility menu Utility menu Aside from the different Midi Dump Options the Utility Menu contains further helpful functions You can access the Utility Menu by pressing Shift Global Utility In the display a page for selecting the desired function will appear Dume global Da zzhift Ltil i E Lu Turn the page dial until you reach the appropriate function MIDI Dump functions Please read the chapter Sending System Exclusive Data on page 80 Reorganizing flash The internal data memory of the RackAttack is a so called flash RAM Like a typical computer hard disc it has to be defragmented sometimes to ensure a high performance all the time Ux This is
77. l edit buffers are cleared when the RackAttack is switched off Use the Store function as soon as possible after finishing your edits to prevent accidental data loss Peek Mode The RackAttack offers a special Peek mode to check parameter values without performing any changes US To check parameter values without changing them 1 Press the Peek button which is located in the Master section The LED beside this button will light up 2 If you move the control element of any panel parameter its current value will be shown in the display For example if you move the Detune knob in the Oscillators section the display will show you the current value as follows 3 After a few seconds the display will return to its previous state You can also check the various display menu parameters Press the Edit button and scroll through the display menu via the Page Dial or by pressing the Edit button repeatedly This procedure is also applicable to the display menu parameters in the Global Program or Sound menus 4 Press the Peek button again The LED beside the button will go off indicating that peek mode has been deactivated H If you don t check any parameters for a certain time the Peek mode will be automatically deactivated 25 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Basic Operation Editing Parameters Comparing Edited Programs with Stored Programs The Compare function allows you to compare the currently edited program to its original
78. l that lies above this frequency Frequencies below this value are allowed to pass through without being processed 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 trigger is a MIDI Note The classic envelope consists of four individually variable phases Attack Decay Sustain and Release This sequence is called an ADSR envelope Attack Decay and Release are time or slope values and Sustain is a variable volume level Once an incoming trigger is received the envelope runs through the Attack and Decay phases until it reaches the programmed Sustain level This level remains constant until the trigger is terminated The envelope then initiates the Release phase until it reaches the minimum value Gate The term Gate has different meanings in a technical context Like a real gate it describes something that can be open or closed or to use a technical term active or inactive A gate in sense of a device is a unit that damps a signal passing through corresponding to specific conditions For example in a noise gate a signal is cut off when its level falls above a predetermined threshold Gate stands also f
79. ll damage the surface of the chassis Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 12 Introduction General Safety Guidelines 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 AG Waldorf Music AG is not liable for damages due to incorrect use A Don t leave your RackAttack unattended with children or small animals This could result in your presets being overwritten by someone who doesn t understand rhythm programming 13 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Setup and Connection Inventory Setup and Connection Inventory Setup The following items can be found in your RackAttack box e RackAttack synthesizer e External power supply and e This manual including the inlay warranty card on page 3 Please ensure all the items above were included If something is missing contact the dealer where you purchased your RackAttack or your local Waldorf Distributor We recommend that you save the original packing material for future transport A Make sure you fill out the warranty form and send it to the address printed on the card This is the best way for us to keep you informed of updates and upgrades We recommend placing the RackAttack on a clean even surface or securely installing it in a standard 19 rack with minimum 2 RU available height If you choose to take the device on t
80. lter type indeed but a special function to reduce the sampling rate of the oscillator signal A cutoff value of 127 has no influence of the signal while lower settings let it sound more harsh The Resonance knob controls the frequency of the rate Use this function for up to date lo fi sounds Resonance 0 127 Controls the emphasis of the frequencies around the cutoff point not with EQ filter types and S amp H Use lower values in the range of 0 80 to give more brilliance to the sound At higher values of 80 113 the sound gets the typical filter character with a strong boost around the cutoff frequency When the setting is raised to values above 113 the filter starts to self oscillate generating a pure sine wave This feature can be used to create analog style effects and percussion like electronic toms kicks zaps etc Drive 0 127 Determines the amount of saturation that is added to the signal If set to 0 no saturation 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 Cutoff Mod 1 100 0 100 0 Controls the amount of the first cutoff modulation by the selected source see F1 ModSrc on page 51 Positive amounts will increase the cutoff frequency when positive modulation is applied e g by pressing the aftertouch on the keyboar
81. n setting for all sounds of this program See page 30 for more details on this e The Sound parameters refer to the selected Sound program See also page 32 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 24 Basic Operation Editing Parameters The procedure for setting up these parameters is the same as for adjusting the other display menu parameters as described above but these pages do not use the Parameter Matrix When you have finished all your edits you should save the program For further information please read the chapter on page 28 about storing programs Edit Buffers Whenever you edit a program on the RackAttack the program is internally copied to a separate location in memory called an edit buffer When you use the Store function to save your edits the program is copied back from the edit buffer to the internal memory The display will show an e behind the program number for every program that is actually stored in an edit buffer The RackAttack has three edit buffers Each buffer holds the edited program including all sound edits H The edit buffers aren t cleared when you select a different program which means that you can always go back to an edited program to examine it or do further edits The only way to lose an edit buffer automatically is when all buffers are already in use and you start to edit another program Then the oldest edit buffer is cleared and used to hold the new Program to be edited AN Note that al
82. n hand while you read through the manual The RackAttack s different modes and parameter pages are illustrated in a depiction of the display The value range of a continuous parameter is indicated from low to high with both values shown in italic letters separated by three dots Example Cutoff 0 127 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 10 Introduction What to read What to read It is difficult to write a technical manual that meets the needs of every user Some readers will be completely new to synthesis and will want plenty of details while others will be very experienced with these concepts and will simply want a quick overview of what makes the RackAttack different from other synthesizers Of course there are also people who will never pick up the manual but they won t be reading this anyway To fully tap the power of a Waldorf synthesizer you need to understand it and reading the manual is the only way If you are new to the whole subject If this is your first or second synthesizer you should read the whole manual before starting to work with your RackAttack Not only will you understand the potential of your instrument but as you experiment you will know exactly where everything is in the manual and will be able to qui For new users we also recommend purchasing a good book that will provide a basic explanation of synthesizers and sound synthesis techniques This will help you when you don t understand a certa
83. n labelled Peek Pressing this button allows you to check parameter values without actually changing them e Four Trigger buttons above the display to play four sounds that you select 21 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Basic Operation Selecting Programs and Sounds Selecting Programs and Sounds The RackAttack has 50 Programs each of which contains 24 Sounds Selecting Programs with the Red Dial With the Red Dial 3 you can select Programs US To selecta Program with the Red Dial 3 1 Make sure that the Play LED is lit If not press Play in the Master section The Sound Select LED has to be inactive If not press the Sound Select button 2 Use the Red Dial to select the desired Program Turning the dial clockwise increases the Program number while turning it counter clockwise decreases it 3 The display will show the Program number in the top left corner and the name of the selected Program on the lower line of the display LPail 81 EM i ackHttiack Kit Selecting Sounds with the Page Dial To edit a sound you have to select it first with the Sound select function ES To select a Sound with the Red Dial 3x 1 Press the Sound Select button until the LED blinks The display will show the selected sound in square brackets on the top line of the display Fal Lal Bassbrum 21 ackHttack Kit 2 Use the Red Dial to select the desired Sound Turning the dial clockwise will increase the Sound num
84. n the Master Section Select any of the Pattern Mode parameter pages 3 Press Shift Copy The display will show you the copy process 4 Select the target sound in any program where you want to paste the copied pattern 5 Select its Pattern Amp Section and press the Edit button in the Master Section Select any of the Pattern Mode parameter pages 6 Press Shift Paste The display will show you the paste process H If you try to paste a sound or pattern when the RackAttack is not in edit mode the display will show you the following error 27 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Basic Operation Editing Parameters H Please take into consideration that the buffer can hold only one entry at a time As soon as a second entry is copied with the Copy function the previously selected entry is erased from the buffer After inserting a sound with Paste the sound is still in the buffer and can be inserted into another position Storing Programs After you have finished editing a Program you must store it if you intend to use it again Any of the RackAttack s memory locations are available for this purpose H While storing a Program every of the 24 included sound will be also stored automatically US Tostorea program 1 Choose the Program to store as follows 2 Press Shift Store to activate the Store page 3 The display shows the Store page where you can select the destination and the program name 4 Usethe Red Dial
85. n the Pattern Amp Section Parameter Controls eee 56 Amplifier Parameter in the Pattern Amp Menu 56 Envelope Section sense 58 ADSR Envelope een ee 58 Envelope Parameter Controls 59 Envelope Edit Menu 59 LFO SECON ae ee 60 LFO Parameter Controls esses 60 Tuned Out FX Section eene 62 Tuned Out Parameter Controls 62 Tuned Parameter in Tuned Out FX Edit Menu 63 Effects Aa iue n tenete fe eese rar 64 Effect Parameter Controls in the Tuned Out FX SECON MES 64 Effect Parameter in Tuned Out FX Edit Menu 65 ThieTempO cerros aee eee nenn 73 Global Parameters 74 Global Menu s oit rhet 74 Ut y Men eese etie e teorie 78 MIDEGOBITOL een 79 Channel Based MIDI Messages ese 79 Modifying Editing Sounds over MIDI 80 Controllers as Modulation Sources 80 Changing Sound Parameters with SysEx Data 80 System Exclusive Data Transmission 80 Sending System Exclusive Data 80 Receiving System Exclusive Data 81 Contents Other Functions cuui cinia niin etia in 82 Updating the System Software sses 82 Programming Drum Sounds seseses 84 TIPS amp Tricks ann Benni 88 Appendix eorr anta annia retain ues 89 Technical Data nee ka
86. nds the key range from C 2 to G9 is available The MIDI mode parameter in Program Mode selects the behaviour of this multitimbral playing The coresponding MIDI Channel is adjusted by TunedChnl The keyboard range is adjusted in the Tuned Out FX Edit menu A Native mode is the basic setting of the RackAttack OS 1 04 or later where you simply can play the 24 drum sounds If you want to play melodic and polyphonic sounds on the keyboard you have to choose a TunedChnl for the sound you want play polyphonically More information can be found on page 62 29 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Program Mode Program Settings Program Settings The program parameters specify individual settings for each program Examples of these parameters include selecting the Sounds for the Trigger buttons and the Program name To access the Program Settings hit the Program button in the Master section Choose the parameters with the Red Dial or by pushing the Program button until you reach the desired page MIDI mode Native Plug in GlobalChn This parameter selects the different play modes of the RackAttack e Native is the basic setting The RackAttack is recognizing MIDI note events on basic MIDI Global channel for the 24 sounds of a choosen program If a TunedChnl is set for an individual sound the RackAttack recognizes notes on this channel for the sound e If Plug in is selected the RackAttack is recognizing MIDI note events on MIDI cha
87. nnel 1 to 12 for the 24 sounds Additionally you can play the upper 12 sounds sound 13 24 melodically and polyphonically on MIDI channel 1 to 12 in the keyboard range from C3 to G9 The MIDI channels 13 to 16 are not in use This ensures that the RackAttack is sounding the same as in the VST instrument Attack If GlobalChn is selected the RackAttack is recognizing MIDI note events only on the Global MIDI channel which can be changed in the Global menu In this mode polyphonic playing is not possible MH If you like to get more information about the VST instrument Waldorf Attack please visit out website http www waldorf music com Trigger A sound aor rum i3 This parameter selects the sound assigned to Trigger Button A when the current program is active Use the left knob below the display to select the Sound Trigger A Velocity 001 127 This parameter defines the of the Trigger A sound re ED Jelozcitu e ze r Trigger B sound 1 01 1 24 word run i3 This parameter selects the sound assigned to Trigger Button B when the current program is active Use the left knob below the display to select the Sound Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 30 Program Mode Program Settings B Uelocity Trigger C sound 1 01 1 24 sound azzbrum 13 This parameter selects the sound assigned to Trigger Button C when the current program is active Use the left knob below the display to select the Sound
88. ntrol slowly the value changes in small increments If you turn it faster the value change accelerates as well This gives you the chance of adjusting the whole value range in very few turns without losing accurate control when necessary Bipolar parameters parameters with both positive and negative values use special gradation when changing their values With this feature the sweep is stopped for a short period when the value 0 is reached to make it easier to quickly find this frequently used value Editing Parameter Controls The basic programming of the Waldorf RackAttack uses the Parameter Matrix 6 which has the most frequently used parameters logically arranged on the RackAttack s front panel Changing these parameters is done with the four endless dials 8 on the bottom of the Parameter Matrix and selecting the Matrix row is done with the navigation buttons left to the parameter matrix Although at first this may sound complex the following example will demonstrate how easy this can be Would you like to change the LFO2 Speed Proceed as follows ES To access a specific panel parameter 1 Locate the section that contains the desired parameter on the front panel For example if you want to change LFO2 Speed you will find this parameter the LFO section Press the upper or lower navigation button until the LED lights up in the LFO section On the way you will recognize that you can select each oscillator in the Oscillators section
89. nufacturer s written consent Waldorf Music AG Schloss Ahrenthal D 53489 Sinzig Germany 5 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Control Features and Connections Front Panel Control Features and Connections Front Panel O9eoeoooQo0 Pitch jetune Pitch Mod Pitch Cirt Osel Mix scd Mix Ringmod Crack Mix Cutoff E Cutoff mr Ctrl 1 Pattern Mode Dm Volume Mod Volume Attack eca Sustain Release LFON Speed 1F01 Sync 1F02 Speed 1F02 Sync Dry Out FX Mix FX Time Picture 1 Front Panel Display 4 Trigger Buttons Red Dial for program and page access Master Section with function buttons Navigation Buttons Parameter Matrix Power Button with standby MIDI indicator LED Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Parameter Matrix Dials LEDs for showing the active Parameter Section German synthesizer manufacturer from the Schloss Ahrenthal Display Parameter Dials Stereo headphone jack Control Features and Connections Rear Panel a gt H a __ POWER Z rm Erin no 9 mg m ew m m ou m m a N a w FH F T m m m m a m aszu aom ae m m a m a u w a m wA m wa m m a v Y 4 5847 J 54 OUT EQUI 77 O ade in Germany A caution bl wel CE Birnen the FCC rules part 15 ffnen Gefahr heiten nur von geschultom Fachpersonal durchf hren lassen LT TITYT ES 000000 690
90. o we create an impulse with the RackAttack The answer is simply to use a square wave with a very low pitch setting for Oscillator 2 and to control its level with a very short envelope Now we have an impulse This impulse is low pass filtered afterwards with a slightly resonating filter preferrably set to around 5000Hz with a resonance of around 18 With the Oscillator 1 Pitch and Pitch Env controls you can adjust the sound of the bass drum while Envelope 2 Decay controls its length Simmons SDS 5 Bass Drum The Simmons SDS 5 bass drum consists of an oscillator and a noise generator both routed into a low pass filter and an amplifier An envelope controls the oscillator pitch the filter cutoff and the amplifier volume The envelope has a decay shape that is in between exponential and linear The oscillator plays a triangle wave whose pitch is controlled by a Tune control and a Bend parameter that controls the influence of the amp envelope to oscillator pitch A Noise Tone parameter controls the mix between the oscillator and the noise generator A Noise parameter controls the filter cutoff Very confusing isn t it Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 84 Other Functions Programming Drum Sounds A Decay parameter controls the envelope decay rate A Click Drum parameter controls the most important aspect of the Simmons drums the mix between the original signal from the pad trigger microphone and the triggered drum s
91. oducts that were mailed without prior agreement cannot be exchanged or 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 AG reserves the right to upgrade the unit with the latest technological advances if necessary This warranty does not cover defects due to abuse operation under other than specified conditions or repair by unauthorized persons The warranty covers only those malfunctions caused by material or workmanship defects that occur during normal operation Garantiekarte Warranty Card Please fill out this warranty card completely include a copy of the purchase receipt and send the two items to us in order to ensure the warranty is valid Name Name Stra e Street PLZ Wohnort ZIP Code City Land Country Telefon Telephone Email Sonderausstattungen Custom features PO Seriennummer Serial number Kaufdatum Purchase date Name Ihres H ndlers Name of your dealer Ort Ihres H ndlers City of your dealer Ta Wenn Sie Fragen zu Ihrem Waldorf Produkt M glichkeiten uns zu kontaktieren Schicken Sie uns eine E Mail Das ist der mit Abstand effizienteste und schnellste Weg uns zu erreichen Ihre Frag
92. off through a main power switch in your studio However if you have put the RackAttack into Standby mode see below you can switch it on again with the following procedure US To switch the RackAttack on manually e Press Power 7 to switch the RackAttack on The standby LED will go out After a couple of seconds the display will activate and show the last sound or multi program that was selected before the RackAttack was put into Standby mode The RackAttack will be ready at this time ee on feck Attack Kit Switching off AH The RackAttack has a special delayed shutdown feature that prevents data loss caused by accidentally pressing the power button ES To switch the RackAttack off Press and hold the Power button The display will show a countdown message from 10 to 0 After counting down to O the RackAttack will enter Standby mode If you release the Power button before this process is cancelled and the RackAttack will return to Play mode Panic Function The Power button can also be used to send a Panic message that sends and executes an All Notes Off command to terminate stuck notes Panic immediately signals all envelopes to enter their release phases and also stops any Patterns playing when running in Latch mode To activate this function briefly press Power 7 and hold it for a few seconds before releasing 19 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Basic Operation System Volume System Volume
93. on This section provides control over the Outputs and FX settings The following picture of the RackAttack s parameter matrix shows the tuned Out FX section Tuned Chnl Transpose Dry Out FX Select FX Mix Type FX Time Feedback Tuned Out Parameter controls in the Tuned Out FX Section The most commonly used controls of the Tuned Out parameters can be found in the parameter matrix Tuned Chnl Off 1 16 Glb Selects the MIDI Receive Channel for the selected sound e off means that the selected sound doesn t react to incoming MIDI data e 1 16 means that the selected sound receives MIDI data on the corresponding channel Glb means that the selected sound receives MIDI data on the MIDI channel set up in the Global Menu GlobalChn H This function will be override when MIDI mode is set to Plug In Transpose 48 48 Transposes the selected sound in semitone steps l e a value of 12 means that the sound is one octave lower than it was originally programmed With Transpose you can change the keytrack offset to the tuning you like Dry Out various Dry Out determines the audio output of the selected sound e Mono 1 means that the selected sound plays over the Out 1 jack e Stereo 1 2 means that the selected sound plays stereo over the Out 1 and 2 jacks e Mono 2 means that the selected sound plays over the Out 2 jack Mono 3 means that the selected sound plays over the Out 3 jack e Stereo 3 4 means that the selected sound
94. onym for voltage controlled amplifier A VCA is a component that influences the volume level of a sound via a control voltage This is often generated by an envelope or an LFO Appendix Glossary VCF Volume VCF is the acronym for voltage controlled filter It is a The term describes a sound s output level filter component that allows you to manipulate the filter parameters via control voltages 93 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Appendix MIDI Implementation Chart MIDI Implementation Chart Date Jan 12 2002 Model Waldorf RackAttack Version 1 04 mar Eg a en a Channel Changed 1 er Mode Messages Altered L 4 3b Number True Voice 127 Velocity Note ON Note OFF e w Xo x XX After Key s Touch Ch s Pitch Bend p ou x an Modwheel Breath Control Foot Control Channel Volume XXXX Control Change 2 Prog 1 50 Change True wu 1 50 System Exclusive System Song Pos x Common Song Sel x x Tune x 5 System Clock MIDI Clock Real Time Commands Start Stop Continue Local ON OFF Memorized Aux All Notes OFF Issued by Power button Messages Active Sense Reset All Sound OFF Issued by Power button Mode 1 OMNI ON POLY Mode 2 OMNI ON MONO O Yes Mode 3 OMNI OFF POLY Mode 4 OMNI OFF MONO x No Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 94 Appendix Conformity F r das folgend bezeichnete Erzeugnis For the following named product Waldorf RackAttack wird hiermit best
95. ood rule of thumb is to start with the Open Hi hat sound and copy that sound to the location for the Closed Hi hat Making a hi hat sound shorter almost always succeeds but making a short hi hat longer may result in an unwanted characteristics Also don t forget to set the sounds to the same XOR Group so that they cut off one another Cymbals With cymbals the situation is similar to hi hats A sample is provided for an authentic crash cymbal though you can achieve more interesting and unique results using filtered noise or FM Ride cymbals are more difficult to create and their sound is so special that you might wish to use a good sampler or sample player to generate those sounds If you want to create your own ride cymbal sounds anyway you might come up with interesting results using FM and ring modulation Toms Tonal percussion instruments can be created easily Just set one oscillator to produce a sine or a triangle wave modulate its pitch by an envelope and set up the second oscillator to create either the attack noise or the resonance skin When you want to do the latter just copy the settings of the first oscillator and change the pitch or the envelope depth a little Also it might be interesting to remove a little of the tone from Oscillator 1 by applying FM from the second oscillator producing noise Note that a short envelope used for FM creates astounding drum 87 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Other Functions Ti
96. or a control signal of analog synthesizer systems A keyboard generates an active gate signal as long as a key is held down When the key is released the gate signal becomes inactive again An envelope generator can use this signal for its trigger purposes and as a result a VCA unit can be controlled 91 Appendix Glossary High Pass Filter A high pass filter dampens all frequencies below its cutoff frequency Frequencies above the cutoff point are not affected LFO LFO is an acronym for low frequency oscillator The LFO generates a periodic oscillation at a low frequency and features variable waveshapes Similar to an envelope an 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 instruments by different manufacturers could interact At the time a communications standard for heterogeneous devices did not exist so MIDI was a significant advance It made it possible to link all devices with one another through simple uniform connections Essentially this is how MIDI works One sender is connected to one or several receivers For instance if you want to use a computer
97. ound On the RackAttack you can make this sound as follows Oscillator 1 plays a triangle or sine wave pitched at around 30Hz and Envelope 2 is used to modulate its pitch Use the Vel control to simulate the velocity dependent pitch bend amount that you would find on the SDS 5 You can simulate the click by setting FM Env to a medium value with Envelope 1 set to a very short decay Oscillator 2 generates noise and the pitch is set to center The Filter Cutoff can vary between 100Hz and 5000Hz and Vel should be set at 25 or so Filter Resonance should be set to 1096 Envelope 2 should be set to an almost linear shape Use Osc 1 and Osc 2 Level to adjust the mix of tone and noise and use Osc 1 FM Env to vary the click strength Roland TR 808 Snare Drum On the Roland TR 808 the snare drum was made of two resonating filters and a noise generator with high pass filtering The Tone parameter controlled the output mix from the first and the second filters while 5nappy controlled the volume of the noise generator The noise generator was routed through a separate envelope and a high pass filter On the RackAttack you can make this sound as follows Oscillator 1 plays a sine wave at around 150Hz and you can use a little FM to disturb the periodic character of the sine wave This trick makes the oscillator sound thicker almost as if two oscillators were running at once Oscillator 2 generates noise and you should use Pitch to high pass
98. pe distorts the summed output of the whole instrument Therefore the resulting effect is different as soon as you play more than one note and you should consider which is best suited to a particular sound program The Overdrive effect for example works great on bassdrums or lead sounds Gain Drive 0 127 Controls the amount of distortion the effect produces Low values create no or only slight distortion while high values create heavier distortion Post Gain 0 127 Controls the output level of the distorted signal Cutoff D 127 Dampens the high frequency output of the Overdrive effect H Please note that the setting of the FX Mix parameter 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 67 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Effects Lo Fi This effect type is a combination of two different effect types e Sample amp Hold is a stageless sample rate reduction effect e Overdrive is the same as the above described effect H You should turn the FX Mix fully up with this effect type because you probably want the sample rate reduction to process the whole signal S amp H Rate Sample amp Hold 44 1kHz 2 6Hz Controls the output sample rate 44 1kHz means that the signal is unaffected while other values reduce the sample rate of the sound to the respectiv
99. pending on the selected control source for Oscillator 2 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 44 Sound Parameters Mix Crack Section Mix Crack Section In the Mixer you control the volumes of the oscillators and an external sound source Ring modulation and a Crack signal can be applied optionally to extend the RackAttack s tonal range The following picture of the RackAttack s parameter matrix shows the Mix Crack section Osc Mix Osc2 Mod 0sc2 Mix Ctrl Ringmod Crack Speed Crack Mix Length Picture 10 Mix Crack Section Mix Crack Parameter Controls The most commonly used controls of the Mixer can be found in the parameter matrix Osc1 Mix 0 000 100 0 Volume of Oscillator 1 Osc2 Mod 100 0 100 0 Sets the amount of volume modulation for Oscillator 2 Positive amounts will raise the volume when positive modulation is applied see also 02 M Mod Source on page 46 Negative amounts will lower the volume when positive modulation is applied Use this parameter to create an independent volume modulation for Oscillator 2 Osc2 Mix 0 000 100 0 Volume of Oscillator 2 A If the sum of all mixer signals Osc 1 Osc 2 and Ring Modulator is higher than 100 filter saturation will be attained At this point Resonance doesn t make any volume difference as it does in the normal filtering process Use this phenomenon for additional sound manipulation Ctrl Mix Mod Control 100 0 100 0 Determines the addit
100. playing a note on your MIDI keyboard and end when it passes through H The pattern can be stopped by pushing the Power Panic button briefly or setting the Pattern Mode to Off Also sending an All Notes Off command from your sequencer will stop the pattern s playback 53 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Pattern Amp Section Pattern Play Parameters in the Pattern Amp Edit Menu The following Pattern Play parameters can be accessed via the Pattern Amp Edit menu You can access them by navigating to the Pattern Amp section and pressing the Edit button Fat Model Geour rin Trigder H Pattern Mode Off On Latch Toggle One Shot This parameter will cycle through the various modes described on page 53 Group Off Trigger A Trigger B Trigger C Tr ArB C Group lets you add a pattern to a group which can be played by the 3 trigger buttons Choose button A B or C or all 3 buttons simultaneously Step Clk Hote Ler Du i 64T Step Clock 1 64T 8 bars Step Clock sets the resolution of the note values in musical values A setting of 1 16 will divide the pattern into 16 steps Note Length 1 64T 8 bars Note Length sets the length of the steps in musical values Pattern Swing off 58 3 75 096 pn Swing This parameter lets you delay the triggering of the note steps to achieve a swing or shuffle playback When Pattern Swing is set to offthis parameter will not influence the
101. plays stereo over the Out 3 and 4 jacks e Mono 4 means that the selected sound plays over the Out 4 jack e Mono 5 means that the selected sound plays over the Out 5 jack e Stereo 5 6 means that the selected sound plays stereo over the Out 5 and 6 jacks e Mono 6 means that the selected sound plays over the Out 6 jack Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 62 Sound Parameters Tuned Out FX Section Tuned Parameter in the Tuned Out FX Edit Menu To reach the tuned parameters in the Tuned Out FX Edit Menu press the Edit button while you are in the Tuned Out FX section and choose the parameter pages you wish to edit LowKey C 2 G8 The key range can be restricted for the sound s tone generation Only notes with a key number higher or equal to the selected value are passed through Set this parameter to C 2 if you want to use the full keyboard range Learn off 1st key This is a function to determine the key range of a sound by a played MIDI note When setting Learn to 1st key the RackAttack is waiting for a MIDI note If you press a key on your master keyboard for example C2 this note is set automatically as the LowKey In the display you now see 2nd key By doing the same as described above you can choose the HighKey High Keu Learn c 2 1 ott HighKey C 2 G8 HighKey is the counterpart to the LowKey parameter Only notes with a key number lower or equal to the selected value are passed through Set
102. ps amp Tricks stick hit sounds Furthermore you can high pass filter the result to get more punch and less tone into the sound Congas Congas can be made by using a sine wave oscillator with a very short envelope controlling the FM amount of Oscillator 2 producing noise This together with a medium fast attack on Envelope 2 creates very authentic conga sounds Muted or slapped congas can be made by increasing the basic FM amount a little and using a high pass filter to dampen the tone Shakers and Maracas Both are made with noise either unfiltered or used to frequency modulate Oscillator 1 in order to create strong colorization A high pass filter can be applied to remove some low end The difference between shakers and maracas from the synthesist s viewpoint is that a shaker has a longer attack and decay phase than maracas Of course the sound depends a great deal on how you play so don t forget to set up velocity based changes to the amplifier Claves and Woodblock Claves and woodblock sounds are also very similar They both consist of very short sine or triangle waveforms A woodblock is lower in frequency and you can add the second oscillator to produce a different frequency Claves should be made with only one sine oscillator and a very short envelope TR 808 Cowbell You are waiting for this one aren t you The TR 808 Cowbell is made of two square oscillators one oscillating at 540Hz the other oscillating at 800Hz
103. puts Out 3 4 and Out 5 6 3 To play the RackAttack you need a MIDI source such as a MIDI keyboard Connect its MIDI Out jack to the RackAttack s MIDI In jack 4 Alternatively if you want to use a computer connect your computer s MIDI Out jack to the RackAttack s MIDI In jack and the computer s MIDI In jack to the RackAttack s MIDI Out jack 15 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Setup and Connection Audio Connections 5 Connect the power supply cable that came with the RackAttack with the Power Supply jack 6 Plug the other side of the power supply cable into a suitable AC power outlet 7 The RackAttack should power up automatically If it does not switch on the RackAttack with the Power button 7 8 Then switch on the computer if connected the mixing console and finally your amplifier H To check the correct reception of MIDI Data send any MIDI Event to the RackAttack The Power LED will light up when the RackAttack receives any MIDI Message at the MIDI In jack If this does not happen then check the MIDI connections at the rear of the RackAttack Audio Connections The RackAttack provides three pairs of analog stereo audio outputs each of which can be independently configured The levels of all outputs are controlled by the Main Volume parameter If you choose to send only one mono or stereo signal to your mixer use the Out 142 jacks You can connect each output pair stereophonically or monophon
104. r programmable rhythm patterns Attack An envelope parameter Attack is a term that describes the ascent rate of an envelope from its starting point to the point where it reaches its highest value The Attack phase is initiated immediately after a trigger signal is received i e after you play a note on the keyboard Band Pass Filter A band pass filter allows only those frequencies around the cutoff frequency to pass Frequencies both below and above the cutoff point are damped Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 90 Band Stop Filter A band stop filter does the opposite of a band pass filter i e it dampens only the frequencies around the cutoff point and lets all other frequencies pass through Clipping Clipping is a sort of distortion that occurs when a signal exceeds its maximum value The curve of a clipped signal is dependent of the system where the clipping takes place In the analog domain clipping effectively limits the signal to its maximum level In the digital domain clipping is similar to a numerical overflow and so the polarity of the signal s part above the maximum level is negated Control Change Controllers MIDI messages enable you to manipulate the response of a sound generator to a significant degree This message essentially consists of two components e The Controller number which defines the element to be influenced It can be between 0 and 120 The Controller value which determines
105. reate just one particular drum sound in a more or less authentic way but it was just this assertiveness and distinctiveness of character that is responsible for the fame and popularity of these sounds that endures to this day The Waldorf RackAttack will continue this story Memory Structure The memory architecture of the RackAttack is divided into three main sections as shown in the following picture All memory locations are freely programmable and there is no separation of presets and user editable programs as is the case with other synthesizers Internal Memory Program Sound 01 Sound 02 Sound 03 Sound 24 Memory Structure diagram e 50 Programs program PO1 P50 A Program stores information about how to play 24 simultaneous Sound Programs e 1200 Sound Programs with 24 Sounds in each Sound Program A Sound Program is the equivalent of a drum kit and a Sound stores information about the character of each individual sound in the kit Further information about this can be found in the chapter Sound Parameters starting on page 33 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 18 Basic Operation Switching on Basic Operation Switching on The RackAttack is equipped with a software based power control which means that it is will turn on automatically when you connect it to an AC outlet even if it was switched to standby mode before the power was disconnected This enables you to switch the RackAttack on or
106. rmat Sysex data contains no MIDI channel information so this ID is used to distinguish between several RackAttack units if you have more than one RackAttack in your set up MIDI transmissions can only be successfully executed if the sender and receiver are set to the same ID ID 727 is a broadcast ID that addresses all connected RackAttacks Although the RackAttack can receive Sysex data with ID 127 it cannot send it using this ID This ID is frequently used by Librarian Editor software such as Emagic s SoundDiver H Operating System upgrades are stored with a Device ID of 127 so you don t need to change the Sysex ID on your RackAttack when you want to upgrade it to a newer OS A If you have only one RackAttack leave Sysex ID on 0 There will be no need to change this setting sle vis After you have bought your 128th RackAttack please contact Waldorf Music You will receive a personal device number that authorizes you to have dinner with our Board Of Managment Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 74 Global Parameters Global Menu Map base key C 2 G8 Selects the lowest note of the Program Use this function when you want to change the MIDI notes that are used to play the RackAttack H Map base key is only active when the MIDI mode of a program is set to Native Ctl send off SysEx Determines how parameter changes are broadcast by the RackAttack over MIDI e If off is selected no data is sent e If SysEx is
107. rtant for a drum synthesizer You can use up to 24 patterns when using 24 sounds A pattern repeats incoming Midi Notes rhythmically To allow a wide range of possibilities there are several different ways to play back the patterns Various accents and being able to enter a specific length per Step allow the creation of interesting rhythmic samples similar to an arpeggiator A pattern uses a so called note list with up to 128 steps The set up of such a list depends on the settings in the corresponding edit menu You can change the resolution for the steps or the start point of the bar following H The basic tempo of a pattern can be set with the program tempo Please also read The Tempo on page 73 Pattern Mode Off On Latch Toggle One Shot This parameter assigns the basic effect of the Pattern Play Function e When Off is selected Pattern Play is not active e When On is selected and you re playing a note on your MIDI Keyboard the pattern will be played back und repeated rhythmically As soon as releasing the key the pattern will end e When Latch is selected the pattern starts after playing a note on your MIDI keyboard and repeats rhythmically You can stop the pattern by pressing the Power Panic button e When Toggle is selected the pattern starts after playing a note on your MIDI keyboard and repeats rhythmically you can stop the pattern by playing the same note gain e When One Shot is selected the pattern starts after
108. s also a specialized percussion synthesizer During its development we paid careful attention to designing a sound engine that can not only emulate traditional analog drum synthesizer modules but also enable a new generation of percussion sounds Before the RackAttack modules are described we will give you a short introduction in oscillator theory Oscillator Shapes The oscillator is the first building block of a synthesizer It delivers the signal that is transformed by all other components of the synthesizer In the early days of electronic synthesis Robert A Moog found out that most real acoustic instrument waveforms could be reproduced using abstracted electronic versions of these waveforms Although he wasn t the first to come to that conclusion he was the first to recreate them electronically and building them into a machine that could be sold commercially as a musical instrument The waveforms he implemented in his first synthesizers were the sawtooth square and triangle which are still widely used in modern synthesizers Even though this may seem like an absolutely minimal selection of the endless number of waveforms the Waldorf RackAttack gives you these waveforms plus a sine wave which is a component part of every other waveform a Sample amp Hold waveform and a noise generator You will soon know why this seemingly small selection of modules is still very effective for drum sound synthesis Now you probably know how these w
109. selected all Sound parameters are sent as system exclusive messages This has the advantage that the parameter change is not channel based but instrument based which can prevent unwanted parameter changes in layered sounds Ctl receive off on MP Bundle Determines whether the RackAttack receives parameter changes over MIDI e If off is selected no Sound Parameter Changes are received e If on is selected all Sound Parameter Changes are received whether or not they were sent as controller or system exclusive messages e If MP Bundle is selected the RackAttack reacts on controller data that is coming from a MIDIMAN Oxygen 8 Keyboard It is part of the Music Production Bundles More information about the MPB can be found here http www waldorf music com mpb H Set Ctl reveive to on during normal operation You should only set it to off for diagnostic purposes Tx Pracha Ex of Tx PrgChange off on Determines the Midi Program Changes that the RackAttack will send through its MIDI Out port Jf off is selected no program change commands will be sent e When set to on the RackAttack sends program change messages Rx PrgChange off on Determines how incoming Midi Program Changes will be handled e Incoming program changes will be ignored if off is selected e If on is selected the RackAttack will react to incoming program change commands 75 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Global Parameters Global Menu Inpu
110. selected sound Instructions on selecting sounds can be found on page 22 Sound label Assigns a sound label to the selected sound Choose the label with the knob left below the display 128 sound labels are available H You can also hold down the Sound Select button while choosing the desired sound with the Red Dial XOR Group This assigns the selected sound to one of the three possible XOR Groups When several sounds of a XOR Group receive Midi notes the following notes will silence any other active sounds in the group Use this function for realistic hi hat programming especially when only a closed or an opened hi hat should be triggered at a single point in time Of course this feature can also be used for creating monophonic synth patches Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 32 Sound Parameters Overview of Functions Sound Parameters Overview of Functions The sound engine in the Waldorf RackAttack consists of several sound shaping components The following diagram will give you an idea of how the individual components interact J PEE K TETTETETT Output 2 mnn 3 Output 4 mm Audio Signal iin Controller Signal 5 Output 6 Picture 5 Block schematic diagram of a sound As you can see the RackAttack uses two different types of signal paths for sound generation and sound shaping e Oscillators Ring Modulator Crack Modulator External Audio Signal Mixer Filter
111. 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 simultaneously the start time of the note Its pitch is derived from the note number which lies between 0 and 127 The velocity lies between 1 and 127 A value of 0 for velocity is similar to Note Off Panning The process of changing the signal s position within the stereo panorama Pitchbend Pitchbend is a MIDI message Although pitchbend messages are similar in function to control change messages they are a distinct type of message The reason for this distinction is that the resolution of a pitchbend message is substantially higher than that of a conventional Controller message The human ear is exceptionally sensitive to deviations in pitch so the higher resolution is used because it relays pitchbend information more accurately Program Change These are MIDI messages that switch sound programs Program numbers 1 through 128 can be changed via program change messages Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 92 Release An envelope parameter The term Release describes the descent rate of an envelope to its minimum value after a trigger is terminated The Release phase begins immediately after the trigger is terminated regardle
112. specific display menu parameter 1 With the navigation buttons choose the parameter section you wish to edit 2 Press the Edit button of the Master section 3 The first page of the edit menu will appear The RackAttack remembers the last page that you accessed in edit mode and will return you to the last edited page when you re enter Edit mode In the following example you can see the first Oscillator Edit Menu page 4 Use the Red Dial to scroll through the menu Turning this dial clockwise will select the next page and turning it counter clockwise will select the previous page Pressing the Edit button again will also select the next page 5 Use the value dials below the display to adjust the corresponding parameters Note that some display menus will consist of only one parameter at which time only the leftmost value dial will be active 6 After finishing all edits press the Play button in the Master section to return to Play mode A While editing display menu parameters you can still adjust Parameter Matrix parameters and vice versa In addition to the Edit button there are three other buttons located on the right hand of the Master section These allow you to set up the following parameters e The Global parameters provide the basic settings of the RackAttack which are valid for all programs See the Global Parameters chapter on page 74 e The Program parameters refer to the selected program They determine the commo
113. ss no function e Chorus Flanger Phaser Speed Overdrive Drive e Delay Length e ModDelay Time e Reverb Size Lo Fi S amp H Rate FX Feedback various The function of this parameter depends on the selected FX Type Bypass no function e Chorus Depth Hanger Phaser Feedback e Overdrive Post Gain Delay ModDelay Feedback e Reverb Decay e Lo Fi Overdrive Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 64 Sound Parameters Effects Effect Parameter of the Tuned Out FX Edit Menu Most parameters related to the Effects are located in the Tuned Out FX Edit menu If you are in the Tuned Out FX section press the Edit button and turn the Page Dial to access these parameters Effect Send Mix Ful I 24 4 Effect FX1 FX4 Chooses one of the four FX units for the selected sound Send Mix 0 0000 100 0 Determines the intensity of the sound s signal that is sending to the selected FX unit H This parameter is similar to the FX Mix parameter FX type Bypass Chorus Flanger Phaser Overdrive Delay ModDelay Reverb Lo Fi Sets the type of effect produced by the selected effect unit All further parameters depend on the selected effect type FX output see also Dry Out Determines the physical audio output of the FX signal not the sound audio signal The values are the same as for the sound s audio outputs refer to page 62 H You can route the FX signal to different audio outputs than the sound s signal
114. ss of the envelope s current status For instance the Release phase may be initiated during the Attack phase Resonance Resonance is an important filter parameter It emphasizes a narrow bandwidth around the filter cutoff frequency by amplifying these frequencies This is one of the most popular methods of manipulating sounds If you substantially increase the resonance i e to a level where the filter begins self oscillation then 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 MIDI messages are able to address Exclusive in this context means that these data pertain only to one device type or model Every device has unique system exclusive data The most common applications for SysEx data include transfer of entire memories and complete control of a device via a computer Trigger A trigger is a signal that activates events Trigger signals are very diverse For instance a MIDI note or an audio signal can be used as a trigger The events a trigger can initiate are also very diverse A common application for a trigger is its use to start an envelope VCA VCA is the acr
115. stored version in the internal memory US To use the Compare function T 2 3 Choose an edited program Press Shift Compare The display now shows a after the program number Fall El Bassbrum 1 ackHttack Kit T c You will hear the unedited version of your program when you send MIDI notes to the RackAttack Press the Shift Compare again The c in the display changes to e again The edited version of the program is now active again A If you select a new program while the Compare function is active the Compare status is automatically terminated No parameters can be edited with the Compare function active Any attempt to do so will result in the following error message being shown in the display Compare aobived Recalling Edited Programs You can cancel your edits at any time and return to the original The RackAttack offers an expanded recall function US To recall parameter changes 1 2 Choose an edited program Press Shift Recall Pam E Escall In the display menu you can choose with the Red Dial 3 if you want to recall the program the active sound or the active pattern Press Shift Recall again to proceed with the function The e orc in the display after the program number will disappear All edits will be recalled and the program will return to its original state Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 26 Basic Operation Editing Parameters Copying of sounds
116. t Pan Ctrl 100 0 100 0 Determines the additional amount of influence on panning modulation by the selected Ctrl Sre see also page 57 Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound The overall modulation applied to the panning is calculated as the sum of both the Pan Mod and Pan Ctrl parameters Therefore you should always bear this total in mind especially when panning does not behave as you expect Amplifier Parameter of the Pattern Amp Edit Menu The following amplifier parameters can be accessed via the Pattern Amp Edit menu If you are in the Pattern Amp section press the Edit button to activate this display menu Use the red page dial to select the amplifier pages Amp ModSr Amplifier Mod Source Env Env2 LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source of the volume modulation Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 56 Sound Parameters Pattern Amp Section Ctrl Src Amp Mod Control Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selected volume modulation source depending on the selected control source X Select for Amp ModSr Env 2 and for Ctrl Src Velocity Therefore Envelope 2 works in dependance of velocity Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound When you hit the keys smoothly only minimal modulation is applied When you hit harder the modulation amount also gets stronger Pan ModSr Panorama Mod Source Env1 Env2
117. t Gain 1 4 Input Gain D Sensitivity of the Stereo External In The different Input Gain settings attenuate or amplify the input signal as follows max Input Remarks 14dBm For very high level signals Studio level signals This is the recommended setting 10dB Line level signals 29dB 23dBml Low level signals such as microphone guitar etc Table 1 Input Gain Settings H Connecting a microphone or guitar directly to the RackAttack is not recommended Low signal level instruments should be amplified by a special pre amplifier before they are routed to the RackAttack s External In Tx Clock Transmit Clock off on Determines if the RackAttack sends a MIDI Clock messages through its MIDI Out Use this setting when you want to sync other devices to the RackAttack s Tempo e off means that no MIDI clock signal is send e on means that a MIDI clock signal is sent with the Glb Tempo speed Gib Tempo Global Tempo Extern 0 2000 320 0 The Glb Tempo control is one of the most important parameters inside the RackAttack It controls the global tempo of the Pattern Play function and can sync the tempo of the LFOs Further it controls the tempo of some effect types MH Global Tempo is only active when Program Tempo is set to Global please refer to the chapter Tempo on page 73 The following settings are available e Extern The RackAttack automatically syncs to incoming MIDI Clock if it is sent to i
118. t by an external device like a sequencer or drum machine e 0 2 320 The RackAttack only syncs to its own tempo base that is set in BPM beats per minute PopupTime 0 15 15 55 Here you can adjust for how long a time the name and value are shown in the upper right corner of the display when you perform any parameter edits Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 76 Global Parameters Global Menu H As a newcomer to the RackAttack you should choose a higher setting around 5 10 sec After you have had more experience with the RackAttack you might lower this value to around 1 5 sec LabelTime D Iss 15 58 Here you can adjust for how long a time the menu page name is shown in the upper right corner of the display when you activate any edit menus H As a newcomer to the RackAttack you should choose a higher setting around 5 10 sec After you have had more experience with the RackAttack you might lower this value to around 1 5 sec LCD Contrast Sets the display contrast If you accidentally set this parameter to 0 you may not be able to read the display any more If you then switch the RackAttack off and back on later it might appear that the RackAttack is defective If this should ever happen open this manual and proceed as follows US To restore the Display Contrast to a normal setting 1 Power the RackAttack up 2 Press Global 3 Turn the Page Dial clockwise several times and then exactly 3 clicks counter clockw
119. te 27 Storing Programs ae ud 27 Program Mode eee 29 The RackAttack MIDI functions 29 Program Settings uenneseeeennsseenennsssennnnensnnnnnsnnenn 30 Sound Settings i iid series terr ree een 32 Sound Parameters sss 33 Overview of FUNCTIONS eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees 33 Sound Synthesis Introduction 34 Oscillator Shapes eene 34 Tlie Sine W ve ia 35 The Sawtooth Wave eere 36 The Square Wave nenne 37 The Triangle Wave nsesenennenenennnnnnenn 38 Additional Signal Sources c cece 39 Oscillator SECtiON cece ee eeeeeececeeeeeeeceeeeeeeeeeees 39 Oscillator Parameter Controls 40 Oscillator Edit Menu 43 Mixer Crack Section 222222222222 22 2n nennen een 45 Mix Crack Parameter Controls 45 Mix Crack Edit Menu 46 Filter Introduction ueeeeseeeseeeeeeeeeeeeeneeeeeeenennnnn 47 Filter Sectio eti engen tik 49 Filter Parameter Controls sess 49 Filter Edit Menu aoo teo tet eoe oes 51 Pattern Amp Section 53 Pattern Play Parasmeter in the Pattern Amp Section Parameter Controls 53 Pattern Play Parameter in the Pattern Amp Edit MODUS es Heeres anne 54 Ste PEM ec iecit teeseen ein tinast ea 55 Amplifier Parameter i
120. ted cutoff frequency modulation source depending on the selected control source XX Select for F1 ModSre Env 1 and for Ctrl Src Velocity Therefore Envelope 1 works in dependance of velocity Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound When you hit the keys smoothly only minimal modulation is applied When you hit harder the modulation amount also gets stronger 51 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Filter Section F2 ModSrc 2 Filter Mod Source nv Env2 LFO1 LFO2 Selects the source of the second cutoff frequency modulation Ctrl Src Filter Mod Control Source Velocity Modwheel Pressure Breath Ct Foot Ctr Keytrack Determines the influence of the selected cutoff frequency modulation source depending on the selected control source Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 52 Sound Parameters Pattern Amp Section Pattern Amp Section This section provides control over the integrated Pattern Player Furthermore this section controls the volume and panorama settings of a sound The following picture of the RackAttack s Parameter Matrix shows the Pattern Amp section Pattern Mode Select Volume Pan Volume Pan Mod Volume Pan Ctrl Picture 13 Pattern Amp section Pattern Play Parameter in the Pattern Amp Section The Pattern Play function is a fixed part of the sound It offers the possibility to easily and fast create and play rhythmical patterns pretty impo
121. termines the decay rate or amount of time it takes for a signal to reach the Sustain level Sustain 0 127 Determines the sustain level which is held until a note ends Release 0 127 Once the note has ended the release phase begins During this phase the envelope fades to zero at the rate determined by the Release value H If you turn Release fully left this parameter is ignored This is the most useful setting for drum sounds Envelope Edit Menu You can select the edit menu for the envelopes by pressing the Edit button as soon as an envelope is selected H Unlike all of the Edit Menus of the other sections you cannot change any of these values with the knobs below the display This Edit Menu simply serves as an overview Parameter changes are done with the four endless dials fi below the Parameter Matrix The upper row of the display shows the chosen envelope and its shape and the lower row shows the corresponding values 59 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters LFOs Section LFOs Section In addition to the main oscillators the RackAttack is equipped with two low frequency oscillators LFO that can be used for modulation purposes Each LFO generates a periodic waveform with adjustable frequency and shape The following picture of the RackAttack s parameter matrix shows the LFO section LFOI Speed Shape LFOI Sync OneShot LFO2 Speed Shape LFO2 Sync Mod Picture 16 LFOs section LFO Paramet
122. the second oscillator to produce noise you will hear that the sine wave gets smeared which means that you are not hearing an exact tone any more This already sounds very close to two slightly detuned oscillators and a low pass filtered noise Now you only need the Snappy part which is added simply by using Envelope 1 to modulate Oscillator 2 s mix level You can high pass filter the noise with the Pitch control but in fact the result is already 85 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Other Functions Programming Drum Sounds quite similar without doing so If you want a little more punch use the Drive control carefully until you can hear a slight distortion at the beginning of the sound Another variation can be heard in the sound library that comes with the RackAttack This one uses a very low noise signal level that is boosted greatly behind the high pass filter The reason for this is that Oscillator 2 plays the tone of the snare drum while the high pass filter dampens this tone heavily To raise it back up to a good volume Drive boosts it to a normal level Simmons SDS 5 Snare Drum The Simmons SDS 5 Snare Drum module was laid out identically to the Bass Drum module However a number of parameters were set in a different way internally to create snare drum sounds When you want to create Simmons snare drum sounds on the RackAttack just keep in mind that you should use a very short envelope to frequency modulate the first oscillator
123. to play the Pulse then the computer is the sender and the Pulse acts as the receiver With a few exceptions the majority of MIDI devices are equipped with two or three ports for this purpose MIDI In MIDI Out and in some cases MIDI Thru The sender transfers data to the receiver via the MIDI Out jack Data are sent via a cable to the receiver s MIDI In jack MIDI Thru has a special function It allows the sender to transmit to several receivers It routes the incoming signal to the next device without modifying it Another device is simply connected to this jack thus creating a chain through which the sender can address a number of receivers Of course it is desirable for the sender to be able to address each device individually Consequently there is a rule which is applied to ensure each device responds accordingly Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Appendix Glossary MIDI Channel This is a very important element of most messages A receiver can only respond to incoming messages if its receive channel is set to the same channel as the one the sender is using to transmit data Subsequently the sender can address specific receivers individually MIDI Channels 1 through 16 are available for this purpose MIDI Clock The MIDI Clock message determines the tempo of a piece of music It serves to synchronize processes based on time Modulation A modulation influences or changes a sound shaping component via a modulation
124. to select the destination program The default value is the currently selected program but you may want to store your edits in a different location In this case the name of the chosen Program is temporarily shown and you can choose to overwrite the old Program or return the previous mode 5 You will then be given the option to edit the program name First select the character to be modified via the first value dial Then change its setting via the second value dial The program name can use up to 16 characters 6 Press Shift Store to store the Program to the selected location A Whenever you store a Program the selected 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 your programs regularly See page 80 If you want to restore the factory presets you can download them as a Standard MIDI File from our website http www waldorf music com You now have stored the Program When you activate the Store function the Edit or Compare status of the stored program is terminated Pressing any other button before performing the last step terminates the saving process Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 28 Program Mode The RackAttack MIDI Functions Program Mode The Program Mode in the RackAttack can be described to a combined Single and Multi mode found in other synthesizers However there are some significant differen
125. ttack you could use the filter s self oscillation by triggering it with a short noise impulse made by the second oscillator whose volume you can control by an envelope But a better way is to use Oscillator 1 playing a sine wave and by changing the initial click impulse by means of the filter Roland TR 909 Bass Drum The Roland TR 909 used an oscillator and a noisy click controlled by three envelopes to create a bass drum sound The oscillator played a sine wave whose pitch was controlled by an envelope and the Tune control The rate of the envelope s decay was not adjustable This oscillator signal was routed to an amplifier with an envelope whose Decay parameter adjusted the decay rate of the envelope The second part of the bass drum sound was made with a short impulse and a low pass filtered noise generator both summed and routed into another envelope that controlled their output volume The Attack parameter controlled the overall pulse noise level and the decay rate of the envelope was not adjustable On the RackAttack you can make this sound as follows Oscillator 1 plays a sine wave and Envelope 2 is used to modulate its pitch This means that the pitch of the oscillator becomes higher or lower depending on the setting of the Decay parameter of Envelope 2 but this slight variation doesn t affect the drum sound once it has been set up The noise of the impulse can be ignored because it is low pass filtered anyway But how d
126. ulation By doing this you can fly in a sound starting with its high harmonics and then coming up to its full frequency range You can cut the bass and mid range of high frequency drum sounds like hi hats or crashes 49 Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual Sound Parameters Filter Section e Bandpass This type removes 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 e Notch This type is the opposite of the band pass type It dampens frequencies around the cutoff point Frequencies below or above the cutoff point are passed through Use this filter type for programming effect sounds Resonance has no great influence because it raises the frequencies that the notch filter dampens You can hear a little effect of phase changes but not to any great degree e EQ Shelving Unlike a normal synthesiser filter this filter type works like an equalizer When the resonance parameter is set below 64 the filter works as Hi Shelf raising high frequencies up to 12 db Values over 64 cause the filter to work as Lo Shelf Now deep frequencies can be raised up to 12db The Cutoff knob sets the center frequency of the Shelf EQ Bell EQ Like the EQ Shelving this filter type has an equalizer function The Resonance knob serves as gain raising or lowering the frequency set with the cutoff knob up to 12db e S amp H this is no fi
127. y for drum sounds Another point to observe is that FM into the RackAttack is scaled linearly Pitch Mod 100 0 100 0 Sets the amount of pitch modulation for the oscillators Positive amounts will raise the pitch when positive modulation is applied see also Mod Source on page 43 Negative amounts will lower the pitch when positive modulation is applied H Pitch Mod is one of the most important parameters in drum programming because it simulates the character of a real drum if e g an envelope is chosen as Mod Source see also page 43 FM Mod 100 0 100 0 Sets the amount of FM for Oscillator 1 Positive amounts will raise FM when a positive modulation is applied see also FM Mod Source on page 43 Negative amounts will lower FM when a positive modulation is applied H FM Mod is only available for Oscillator 1 Pitch Ctrl Pitch Control 100 0 100 0 Determines the additional amount of influence on the pitch by the selected Mod Source see also page 43 Use this feature to give a more expressive character to the sound The overall modulation applied to the pitch modulation is calculated as the sum of both the Pitch Mod and Pitch Ctrl parameters Therefore you should always bear this total in mind especially when pitch does not behave as you expect You can also create interesting effects by setting one parameter to a positive and the other to a negative amount Waldorf RackAttack User s Manual 42 Sound Parameters

User´s Manual

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents

User&acute;s Manual

Contents

Download Pdf Manuals

Related Search

Related Contents

User´s Manual