Steinberg Studio Case VST Instruments Operation Manual

VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 101
ENGLISH
About FM
For synthesizers, frequency modulation (FM) means that the frequency 
of one oscillator (called the “carrier”) is modulated by the frequency of 
another oscillator (called the “modulator”). 
•In D’cota SE, Osc 1 is the modulator, and Osc 2 is the carrier. 
•The “pure” sound of FM is output through the carrier oscillator.
This means that you should turn off the Osc 1 output in the Mixer section (see below) 
when using FM.
•The FM button switches FM on or...

VST Instruments6 – 102 D’cota SE
The Mixer section
This section contains parameters for setting the output level for each 
of the two oscillators. The Noise generator and Ring Modulator levels 
are also set in this section. The parameters are as follows:
Ring Modulator
Ring modulators multiply two audio signals together. The ring-modu-
lated output contains added frequencies generated by the sum of, and 
the difference between, the frequencies of the two signals. In D’cota SE, 
Osc 1 is multiplied with...

VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 103
ENGLISH
Noise Generator
A noise generator generates all frequencies at equal levels. A typical 
application is to simulate “wind” or “breaking waves” where the noise 
is shaped by the filter cutoff parameter – see page 104. Other appli-
cations include simulating drum sounds and breath sounds for wind 
instruments.
•To hear the sound of the noise generator, you should turn down the 
output level for the oscillators, and turn up the Noise level in the Mixer 
all the way....

VST Instruments6 – 104 D’cota SE
The following parameters are available in the Filter section:
Filter type
By clicking in the field below the Filter label, you can select a Filter 
type from the pop-up menu that appears. The different Filter types 
have the following characteristics:
Filter resonance (Reso)
The filter resonance parameter is used to set the Filter characteristic. 
For lowpass and highpass filters, raising the Reso value will empha-
size the frequencies around the set cutoff frequency....

VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 105
ENGLISH
Arpeggiator
An arpeggiator basically plays notes in a chord in succession as op-
posed to all at once, creating a rhythmic pattern. 
With D’cota SE’s Arpeggiator, you can change the arpeggio direction, 
the octave range, and the note value of the arpeggio synchronized to 
MIDI clock. 
Basic operation
The basic operation of the Arpeggiator is as follows:
1.Click on the button at the left in the Arpeggiator section to activate it.
2.Play a chord on your keyboard.
As...

VST Instruments6 – 106 D’cota SE
The modulation and output section
In the following sections, the parameters in the modulation and output 
section in the lower half of the D’cota SE window are described. 
These are the following:
•Controller strip (“C” button).
This is the modulation “nerve center” of D’cota SE, where you assign parameter desti-
nations for the available controllers, as described below. You can also control parame-
ters in D’cota SE from an external MIDI controller. This is described on...

VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 107
ENGLISH
The Controller strip
To follow any of the examples in this section it is recommended that you 
use an empty default Program. 
The Controller strip is the most important part of D’cota SE. The avail-
able controllers can be assigned to virtually any of D’cota SE’s para-
meters, via a very flexible, yet easy to use modulation routing system.
Assigning controllers to parameters
Here follows a description of the basic method used for assigning 
controllers to...

VST Instruments6 – 108 D’cota SE
As an example of the general method, let’s use one of the LFOs to 
modulate the Filter Cutoff parameter in the synthesis section. LFOs 
(low frequency oscillators) are used for cyclic (or random) modulation – 
see page 113 for a description of the LFO parameters.
2.Click the LFO 1 button on the Controller strip.
Make sure that the LFO button is selected – not the circular “v” inside the button.
3.Click and hold inside the Filter Cutoff dial (in the Filter section to the...

VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 109
ENGLISH
•The orange color signifies positive modulation, the blue color signifies 
negative modulation.
Positive and negative values represent the polarity of the modulation. If an oscillator 
parameter for example is assigned positive modulation by a controller so that the pitch 
would rise when playing a note, applying negative modulation (by the same controller 
to the same parameter) would produce the inverse result, i.e. cause the pitch to be 
lowered. If the...

VST Instruments6 – 110 D’cota SE
The controllers
The following controllers are available in D’cota SE:
Controller Description
AfterTouch Aftertouch, or channel pressure, is MIDI data sent when pressure is 
applied to a keyboard after the key has been struck, and while it is be-
ing held down or sustained. Aftertouch is often routed to control filter 
cutoff, volume, and other parameters to add expression. Most (but not 
all) MIDI keyboards send Aftertouch.
ModWheel The modulation wheel on your keyboard...