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CM101 User Manual
1. Introduction
The CM101 is a simple, fun software synthesiser which combines
elements of coveted, classic analogue keyboards with the convenience of
a VST Instrument Plug-in.
CM101 gets its fantastic sound from Muon Software Ltd's advanced 64-bit
Analogue Modelling technology - you can read more at:
www.muon-software.com/home/home.html
Also, don’t forget that e-mail support for this product is available.
problems at all with the software.
2. Front Panel Control Basics
The CM101 has a wide variety of controls for creating sounds, with
thousands of possible variations. The circular knob controls and sliders
are used to adjust parameters that have a continuously adjustable range,
whereas the buttons are used to select a choice from a limited set of
options.
For example, the VCO1 waveform control may only be set to one of the
available choices. Simply click on a button to change the oscillator to
output the waveform indicated by the symbol. With the voices button you
may left-click to increment the value and right-click to decrement. Mac
users in all cases can substitute ALT-click for right click.
The knobs are not operated in the common VST plug-in "circle" mode -
we have implemented the more convenient "vertical" mode that many
people tell us they prefer.
In vertical mode the knob is clicked on with the mouse and the value only
changes when the mouse is moved up and down. To make very fine
adjustments, hold down the SHIFT key when moving the mouse.
At all times, a popup display will appear when you are adjusting a control,
enabling you to see the control’s exact value. Whilst you are learning your
way around CM101, or if you wish to make fine adjustments, this is a
very useful feature.
Sliders work either by clicking the handle and dragging it to the new
position with the mouse, or by simply clicking anywhere on the slider’s
track to force the control to “jump” to the new value.
Finally, if you wish to set any control back to its default value quickly,
then just press and hold down CTRL on your keyboard when you click.
3. The Oscillator Section
CM101's two Virtual Computerised Oscillators (VCO for short) produce one
of four sound waveforms each, and are mixed together to make the basic
sound of the synth.
The sound waveform that you select will change the entire character of
the patch. The timbres (tone colors) of the waveforms, in clockwise order
are as follows:
Sawtooth - Bright, brassy
Triangle - Soft, woody
Sine - Neutral
Square/Pulse - Warm, reedy
The shape of the square wave can be altered with the Pulse Width control.
With the control centred at 50:50, the output is a perfect square wave.
The Pulse Width control modifies how soon into each cycle the zero-
crossing occurs, and is expressed as a ratio. Experimenting with this
control can yield a range of timbres from just the square wave - this adds
a lot of flexibility to CM101. It is also posssible to automatically “sweep”
the pulsewidth using the PWM Depth control, more about this in the
section on the LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator).
You can adjust the individual oscillators so that the pitch they play is up
to 12 semitones higher or lower (using the transpose control) than the
note the synth receives over MIDI. The fine pitch (detune) can be
adjusted for each oscillator also. Setting the detune on different
oscillators to different amounts will produce a wide, swirling effect as the
oscillators "beat" against each other - this is great for big, fat patches.
You can also set the volume of each oscillator using the level control. It is
also possible to “sweep” the pitch of VCO1 and VCO2 independently, more
about this in the section on Modulation.
The final output volume of the synth is set using the master volume
control. You can also set the range of your keyboard's pitch bend
controller, and the number of voices available in the Master Section,
shown above.
4. The Filter Section
CM101 has a powerful VCF (Virtual Computerised Filter), capable of
sculpting the sound of the oscillators beyond all recognition. This is where
the majority of the work in creating a patch is done!
The filter is a Low Pass design, which means that harmonics higher than
the cutoff frequency (set by the Cutoff Control) are made quieter, and
frequencies below the cutoff pass through unharmed. You can use the
filter to fine tune the overall tone of your patch, or in more exciting ways
with resonance and modulation.
The Resonance control is used to add a boost to the frequencies
immediately around the cut off point. Setting this control to 100% will
cause the filter to turn into an oscillator, which can be used to great effect
(though watch out for the levels - CM01 can easily distort the input of
your sequencer's mixer at high resonance).
The Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release sliders are to do with the
mysterious process known as “modulation”. Simply put, modulation
means to vary a parameter over time.
The sliders here control what is called an Envelope Generator, which has
the task of creating a varying signal that the filter cutoff control follows.
An envelope generator outputs a (non-audible) signal that rises from zero
when a key is first pressed up to its peak at the speed determined by the
Attack slider. Then, the output falls to a steady level (the Sustain level) at
a speed determined by the Decay slider. Finally, when the key on the
keyboard is released, the output of the envelope generator falls to
nothing again at the speed determined by the Release slider. In synth
terminology, this is an ADSR envelope generator.
The output signal of the envelope generator is used to drive (modulate)
the cutoff frequency. The exact amount the cutoff changes in response to
the opening and closing of the envelope is determined by the Filter
Envelope Modulation control (labelled EG Mod). You should note that this
control can be set to a negative amount - this will invert the effect of the
envelope generator causing the cutoff to fall when the envelope signal is
rising and vice-versa.
You will no doubt have heard of filter sweeps - here’s how to make one.
Turn the cutoff control to zero, and set the resonance to about 50%. Set
the Attack slider to zero, the Decay slider to the maximum and the
Sustain and Release sliders to zero. Set EG Mod to maximum, and hold
down a key - you will hear the filter sweeping down the frequencies,
gradually making the sound of the oscillators duller and duller until it
disappears. The more resonance you add, the more defined the sweep
becomes.
You can also make the Envelope Generator respond to MIDI with the Velo
Mod control. If you have a velocity sensitive keyboard turn this control
up, and the velocity you hit the key with will cause the envelope to open
more. Harder velocities will make the envelope generator open more, and
softer playing will make it open less. The Velo Mod knob sets the amount
of modulation applied to the envelope generator.
5. The Amplifier Section
CM101’s amplifer determines how much of the sound generated by the
oscillators, which sound continuously, make it to the outside world. In the
filter section we explained how the ADSR controls work and the basic
concept of how an ADSR Envelope Generator is used to make parameters
change over time.
The Amplifer ADSR Envelope Generator varies the output volume of the
note over time. Just as on the Filter EG there is also a Velo Mod control
for the amp EG. If you have a velocity sensitive keyboard, increase this
control until you get a good range of touch between soft, quiet notes and
louder ones.
The A, D, S and R controls work in the same way as the Filter EG. Note
that the Release control in this case will determine just how long it takes
for a note to die away after you have released the key. CM101 has
dynamic voice allocation and if you then immediately hit another key
before the previous one has died away the synth will need to use two
voices - one for your old note and another for your new note. The exact
number of voices that can be safely generated by the synth is determined
by your CPU’s clock frequency. A 500Mhz CPU should be capable of
running all 16 voices at the same time (but your mileage may vary). To
avoid CPU dropouts in your audio software watch out for patches with
long releases as these will inevitably need more voices, or use the Master
Section controls to limit the number of possible voices to a suitable
number.
6. The Low Frequency Oscillator Section
The Low Frequency Oscillator or LFO for short is just like the two VCOs
used to create CM101's sound, but it operates at a much lower pitch
(frequency) and is inaudible. Instead of being sent to the audio output,
the signal generated by the LFO is used to add rhythmic modulations to
other parameters, such as VCO pitch or Filter cutoff.
The wave shape and frequency of the LFO is selected with the waveform
and rate controls respectively. The LFO can be switched off (as shown in
the picture, none of the lights are lit) to save CPU if it is not needed.
The LFO output signal can be used to modulate five different parameters
within CM101. In the each of the oscillator sections there are two controls
labelled PWM Depth and Pitch Mod. When the LFO is activated, these
controls can be used to “feed” an amount of the LFO signal in and use it
to vary the destination parameter.
A simple illustration is vibrato. This is simply, in synth terminology, pitch
modulation. To create a patch with vibrato activate the LFO by clicking on
one of the waveform buttons on the left of the section. Sine or Triangle is
a good choice. Turn the rate control to about 60%. Even though you can’t
hear it, the LFO is now happily oscillating away.
To connect the LFO signal to something, we need to locate the Depth
control that relates to the parameter we want to modulate. In this case,
we already know that vibrato is pitch modulation, so we should turn up
VCO1 and VCO2’s Pitch Mod controls to fully positive (right). The pitches
of the oscillators will now start to crazily bend up and down. Turn VCO2
Pitch Mod to fully negative (left), and you will hear VCO2’s pitch swinging
in the opposite direction to VCO1’s. This is negative modulation.
Increasing the LFO Rate control will make the pitch swings speed up and
decreasing the control will cause them to slow down. If you change the
wave shape to one of the other wave forms you will soon get a clear
picture as to what signal the LFO is outputting and how it affects the
destination parameter.
You can also route the LFO to the VCO’s Pulse Width control, but this only
has an effect if the oscillator waveform is set to Square. Modulating the
Pulse Width with a slow triangle LFO is a great effect for pad and bass
sounds, giving a rich and moving timbre.
The filter cutoff can also be modulated by the LFO, which is great fun!
7. MIDI Control
So far we have shown that CM101 responds to velocity and pitchbend
data just like a real synth. Additionally, CM101 responds to MIDI
continuous controller messages to enable you to change parameter values
from a remote MIDI controller or from inside your sequencer software.
MIDI CC messages are numbered from 1-127. CM101 can only respond to
CC's 75-98, and each is reserved for a particular function.
These parameters, and their value ranges, are listed below.
Please note that CM101’s on-screen controls cannot SEND CC messages,
they can only receive them.
Parameter CC Range
VCO1 Level 75 0-127
VCO1 Pitch Mod Depth 76 0-127, 64=centre (no modulation)
VCO1 PulseWidth 77 0-127, 64=centre (square wave)
VCO1 PulseWidth Modulation Depth 78 0-127, 64=centre (no modulation)
VCO2 Level 79 0-127, 64=centre (no modulation)
VCO2 Pitch Mod Depth 80 0-127, 64=centre (no modulation)
VCO2 PulseWidth 81 0-127, 64=centre (square wave)
VCO2 PulseWidth Modulation Depth 82 0-127, 64=centre (no modulation)
VCF Cutoff 83 0-127
VCF Resonance 84 0-127
VCF EG Cutoff Mod Depth 85 0-127, 64=centre (no modulation)
VCF LFO Cutoff Mod Depth 86 0-127, 64=centre (no modulation)
EG1 Attack 87 0-127
EG1 Decay 88 0-127
EG1 Sustain 89 0-127
EG1 Release 90 0-127
EG1 Velo Mod 91 0-127
EG2 Attack 92 0-127
EG2 Decay 93 0-127
EG2 Sustain 94 0-127
EG2 Release 95 0-127
EG2 Velo Mod 96 0-127
LFO1 Rate 97 0-127
Master Volume 98 0-127
8. Getting Help
It's no doubt that CM01 is a powerful synthesiser, and it is designed to
make creating new sounds easy and quick. For some though all that
power can be daunting -just mail us at
[email protected] and
we'll do our best to answer your questions quickly and courteously.
Best of luck!!
(c) Muon Software Ltd (www.muon-software.com)
(c) Computer Music/Future Publishing Plc 2001
CM101 Graphics by Stephen McKay, Computer Music
