Steinberg Studio Case VST Instruments Operation Manual
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VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 91 ENGLISH 3.Save the desired D’cota SE program bank in that folder, under the name “DcotaSEdef.fxb”. The next time you launch D’cota SE, your saved bank will open as default. The window overview D’cota SE is an analog synth that uses classic subtractive synthesis, the most common synthesis method. See page 93 for details.
VST Instruments6 – 92 D’cota SE The parameters in the lower section of the window In the lower section of the window, you find parameters for modulation and output. See page 106 for details. Editing methods Changing parameters in the D’cota SE control panel is very straight- forward – click and drag to turn dials or move graphic elements (enve- lope segments, etc.), click buttons to turn them on or off and click pop-up menu boxes to select waveforms and other options. A few things to note: •Holding [Shift] and changing a parameter will adjust its value in finer steps. •[Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking on a parameter will set it to its default value (or remove modulation for the parameter, see page 107). •If you click a parameter, its current value is shown numerically. •When a parameter is “selected” this way (value is shown), you can use the up/down arrow keys on the computer keyboard to make fine adjustments. Similarly, the [Page Up]/[Page Down] keys will make coarse adjustments. Pressing the [Home] or [End] keys will set the parameter to its minimum or maximum value, respec- tively. Note that the option “Plug-ins receive key commands” has to be activated in the host application for this.
VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 93 ENGLISH The synthesis section D’cota SE is modelled on subtractive synthesis, the method used in classic analog synthesizers. The synthesis section in the upper part of the window has the follow- ing basic features: •Multimode filter Two lowpass and a highpass filter type – see page 103. •Two oscillators, each with 4 standard waveforms plus an assortment of specialized waveforms. See page 96. •Frequency Modulation (FM). See page 101. •Arpeggiator. See page 105. •Ring Modulation. See page 102.
VST Instruments6 – 94 D’cota SE Creating a synth sound with PWM – a brief tutorial Here’s how you create a basic synth Program that uses PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) in the synthesis section: 1.Select a default empty Program. If you play a few notes you should hear a very basic static sound, that uses one oscillator producing a Sawtooth waveform. 2.Turn up the Osc 2 parameter clockwise in the Mixer section all the way. Now two oscillators are used. The sound is still basically the same, just a little louder. 3.Set the oscillator Tune parameter for Osc 2 to a value of about + 2.00 cent, and play a few notes. As you can hear, the oscillators now “beat” slightly against each other, producing a more animated sound. 4.In the Envelope section (the two window displays above the keyboard), try adjusting the Attack parameter for Envelope 1 (the left envelope display) by moving the “A” parameter dial below the display. If you play a few notes, you can now hear that the start of the sound now is faded in rather than starting abruptly. By default, Envelope 1 controls the amplitude envelope for the oscillators. The amplitude en- velope determines how the volume changes from the moment you press a key to the moment you release it. The Attack parameter sets the time it takes for the volume to reach full level. 5.Set the Attack parameter back to about 4 ms, or adjust it to your liking. 6.Try adjusting the Filter Cutoff parameter. The filter changes the basic timbre of the sound. Set the Cutoff para- meter to about 6 kHz. 7.Click the “WM” button for Osc 1.
VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 95 ENGLISH A new dial appears named “WM”. Wave modulation works by adding a phase-shifted copy of the oscillator output to itself, which produces waveform variations. In this case, two Sawtooth waveforms are used, which produces a Pulse waveform. Still the sound is fairly static. Apply- ing modulation to the WM parameter will make things more interesting. 8.Click the “C” button to bring up the Controller strip. This is where you assign controller modulation to parameters. 9.Click the button named “LFO 1” on the Controller strip. A LFO (low frequency oscillator) can be used to apply cyclic modula- tion, which for classic PWM is what we want. 10.Click and hold inside the WM parameter dial, and move the mouse pointer upwards until the dial is fully colored orange, and release the mouse button. When the mouse is moved upward, the dial is gradually colored orange. In general, the more the dial is colored orange the more modulation is applied to a parameter by the controller. In this case, however, the mod- ulation amount is also controlled by another parameter (LFO1 Level), so nothing is heard at this moment. Read on.
VST Instruments6 – 96 D’cota SE 11.Click the “C” button again to close the Controller strip. 12.Locate the LFO 1 section in the lower left section of the D’cota SE window, and turn the LFO 1 “Level” parameter clockwise to about a 12 o’clock position. Now if you play, you can hear the typical sound of PWM! By adjusting the WM dial for Osc 1 the timbre is changed. Setting the WM dial somewhere around 12 o’clock produces smooth modulation, turning it hard left or right produces a more “pulsating” type of modulation. Adjusting the LFO 1 “Rate” parameter changes the speed of the modulation cycle. This brief tutorial hopefully illustrated some of the basic operations and features of D’cota SE’s analog synth. Read on for a full description of all available parameters and functions. Analog parameters In this section we will describe the parameters found in the oval area of the synthesis section in the upper part of the D’cota SE window. The oscillator section Oscillators are the main sound generators in subtractive synthesis, the other features are typically used to shape the sound of the oscillators. Oscillators generate two properties, waveform and pitch (frequency). The oscillator waveform determines the harmonic content which af- fects the basic tone quality of the sound (also known as “timbre”).
VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 97 ENGLISH Selecting a waveform 1.To select a waveform, click in the name field under the corresponding “Osc 1 or Osc 2” label, and select a waveform from the pop-up menu that appears. The method used is identical for both oscillators, as are the available waveforms. 2.To hear the signal generated by the oscillator(s), the corresponding “Osc” dial in the Mixer section must be turned clockwise to a suitable value (normally between 0.50 - 1.00).
VST Instruments6 – 98 D’cota SE About the waveforms Each oscillator has 13 waveforms to choose from. These can be divided into two groups: •The classic waveforms (Sawtooth, Square, Triangle and Sine). These are the fundamentals of the substractive synthesis and have been used in many syn- thesizers since the beginning of the “analog” era. •The more complex waveforms (Parabolic, Formant 1 and 10, Vocal A, Add 3, Octave, Prime, ResoPulse and slope). These additional waveforms include e. g. “rounded” sawtooth waveforms, Formant waveforms (which emphasize certain frequency bands), Partials (also called harmonics or overtones) and much more.
VST InstrumentsD’cota SE 6 – 99 ENGLISH Oscillator 1 Oscillator 1 acts as a “master” oscillator. It determines the base pitch for both oscillators, and acts as the modulator source when using fre- quency modulation (FM). Oscillator 1 features the following parameters: Parameter Value Description Pitch +/- 48 semitones This determines the base pitch used by both oscil- lators. Fine +/- 50 cent Fine tunes the oscillator pitch in cent increments (100ths of a semitone). This also affects both os- cillators. WM (Wave modulation)0-100 This parameter dial is only visible if the WM button is activated. Wave modulation works by adding a phase-shifted copy of the oscillator output to itself, which produces waveform variations. For example if a sawtooth waveform is used, activating WM will produce a pulse waveform. By modulating the WM parameter with for example a LFO, classic PWM (pulse width modulation) is produced. Wave mod- ulation can, however, be applied to any waveform. Phase button On/Off When Phase synchronization is activated, both os- cillators will restart their waveform cycles with ev- ery note played. With Phase deactivated, the oscillators generate a waveform cycle continu- ously, which produces slight variations when play- ing as each note will start from a random phase in the cycle, adding “warmth” to the sound. But when synthesizing bass sounds or drum sounds, it is usually desired that the attack of every note played sounds the same, so for these pur- poses you should activate Phase sync. Phase sync also affects the noise generator (see page 103). Track button On/Off When Track is activated, the oscillator pitch will track the notes played on the keyboard. If Track is deactivated the oscillator pitch remains constant, regardless of what note is played. WM button On/Off Switches Wave modulation on or off. Osc 1 Wave- form pop-upSee page 98.Sets the waveform for oscillator 1, see page 98.
VST Instruments6 – 100 D’cota SE Oscillator 2 Oscillator 2 features the following parameters: Parameter Value Description Coarse +/- 48 semitones This determines the pitch used by oscillator 2 rela- tive to the tuning of oscillator 1. Tune +/- 50 cent Fine tunes the oscillator 2 pitch relative to oscilla- tor 1 in cent increments (100ths of a semi tone). WM (Wave modulation)0-100 This parameter dial is only visible if the WM button is activated. Wave modulation works by adding a phase-shifted copy of the oscillator output to itself, which produces waveform variations. For example if a sawtooth waveform is used, WM will produce a pulse waveform. By modulating the WM parameter with for example a LFO, classic PWM (pulse width modulation) is produced. Wave modulation can, however, be applied to any waveform. Index (FM) 0-16This parameter dial (which is only visible if the FM button is activated) adjusts the amount of fre- quency modulation (FM) applied to oscillator 2. FM is explained on page 101. WM button On/Off Switches wave modulation on or off. Sync button On/OffWhen Sync is activated, Osc 2 is “slaved” to Osc 1. This means that every time Osc 1 completes it's cy- cle, Osc 2 is forced to reset (start it's cycle from the beginning). This produces a characteristic sound, suitable for lead playing. Osc 1 determines the pitch, and varying the pitch of Osc 2 produces changes in timbre. For classic sync sounds, try modulating the pitch of Osc 2 with an envelope or a LFO. The Osc 2 pitch should also be set higher than the pitch of Osc 1. Track button On/Off When Track is activated, the oscillator pitch will track the notes played on the keyboard. If Track is deactivated the oscillator pitch remains constant, regardless of what note is played. FM button On/Off This switches frequency modulation (FM) on or off, see page 101. Osc 2 Wave- form pop-upSee page 98.Sets the waveform for oscillator 2, see page 98.