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Manx SJ-2 User Manual

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SJ-2 Version 1.3

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Summary of Contents for Manx SJ-2

  • Page 1 SJ-2 Version 1.3...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    1 Contents Contents Getting Started Introduction..............3 Installation..............4 Adjusting Parameters...........4 Programming the SJ-2 Oscillators..............6 PWM................9 Filter................11 Envelopes..............13 LFO................17 Oscillator mix..............17 SJ-2 Control panel Programmer, portamento, bend range......19 Unison Mode, LFO 2 & Arpeggiator.......20 Continuous Control & Midi Learn........21 Zoom out..............21 Appendices Appendix One: Audio Filters..........23...

  • Page 4: Getting Started

    Please note that if you are new to synthesis, parts of this user guide may appear to be ‘a bit heavy’. Don’t worry, once you start turning knobs and flicking switches on the SJ-2, it will all start to make sense.
  • Page 5 4 Getting Started...

  • Page 7: Oscillators

    WAVE SHAPE AND TUNING (1) The SJ-2 features two fully loaded oscillators; you can control the pitch and basic wave-shape of each, from the oscillator panel shown above. Whilst the pitch of oscillator 1 can be set in only in octave intervals, the oscillator 2 pitch is continuous and is controlled by the two left side knobs, labelled ‘Range’...
  • Page 8 12 keys up the keyboard will equal a 1 octave pitch increase, just like a piano. Its quite rare for synthesizers to offer alternatives to this configuration - other Manx V2 synths don’t - but the...
  • Page 9 The SJ-2 works as follows: parts of the SJ-2 architecture which can control pitch have their own sliders to set how much pitch modulation will occur, and this will be the same for both oscillators.

  • Page 10: Pwm

    9 Programming -PWM Pulse Width Modulation Both of the SJ-2’s oscillators have the option of selecting a pulse wave, which looks like this: The pulse waves have a feature which none of the other waveforms have; The peak to trough ratio can be adjusted.
  • Page 11 10 Programming -PWM Pulse width & pulse width modulation are so important that the SJ-2 has a section dedicated to them: The controls labelled ‘PW’ set the pulse width for each oscillator. If the oscillator is set to any wave other than pulse wave, the settings here will have no effect.
  • Page 12 If you are not already familiar with synthesis, I have provided a brief introduction to the subject in Appendix #1. Before that , here’s a summary of the SJ-2 filter controls: HIGH PASS FILTER (1) This cannot be modulated by other parts of the synth; the high pass frequency setting will control the cut-off point.
  • Page 13 12 Programming -Filter RESONANCE (3) REZ CUT-OFF FREQUENCY (2) - sets the resonance of the filter. - sets the cut-off frequency of the filter CAUTION: Turning up the resonance can lead to a profound increase in sound volume, perhaps unexpectedly. Please consider both your speakers and your ears and use this feature cautiously.
  • Page 14 13 Programming -Envelopes Meet the SJ-2’s envelopes The SJ-2 has two ADSR type envelopes, which can be scaled by velocity and key-tracking Envelopes are triggered when a key is depressed; from this point the output of the envelope (used for modulation) will develop over time in a predictable profile, defined by the user, using controls in the envelope section.
  • Page 15 14 Programming -Envelopes The SJ-2 has two envelopes, both triggered simultaneously by depressing a key. The output of these envelopes can be assigned to various parts of the synth; pitch, volume, filter cut-off, cross-modulation and more. Switchable: Envelope 1 Envelope 1 to Pitch...
  • Page 16 CAUTION: If you reduce the SJ-2 envelope’s SUSTAIN amount, the peak of the envelope’s output can actually rise - the SJ-2 attempts to recover overall volume level . This helps to offset any loss of volume which the patch might incur due to the reduced sustain setting.

  • Page 17: Filter

    One might be concerned that adding some attack time to the volume envelope might ‘blunt’ the sound and leave it with out much punch. In the case of the SJ-2, this concern is unfounded, because at low settings, the envelope’s attack is loaded toward the end of the attack phase - the following diagram will hopefully make...

  • Page 18: Low Frequency Oscillator

    (In addition, there are dedicated LFOs for each oscillator’s pulse width, bringing the total to 4.) The SJ-2’s second LFO can only provide a sine wave and has no delay function. It can control either pitch or filter cut-off. The important thing about LFO 2 is that its intensity is scaled by modulation wheel data.
  • Page 20 19 Control Panel The SJ-2 control panel provides all the input you need to effectively control the synthesizer. Here, you will find master volume and master tune knobs, facilities to load and save patches, polyphony assignment, a second LFO and a basic arpeggiator. Please note that apart from the patch memory menus, all controls in this section save with the patch, including Master-Tune and Test-Tone controls.

  • Page 21: Lfo 2

    20 Control Panel UNISON MODE The SJ-2 can play a maximum of 6 notes at the same time. Use the switch in the Unison mode section to layer multiple notes under each key. Here is a breakdown of the possible settings: Poly - The SJ-2 is in its normal polyphonic mode (6 voices).

  • Page 22: Continuous Control & Midi Learn

    If you open a single preset, the controller assignments saved with that preset will be loaded into the SJ-2 and propagated across all of the patches in the SJ-2 ʹ you can not have controllers assigned differently for different patches.

  • Page 24: Appendix One: Audio Filters

    Graphic view of the action of a synthesizer low pass filter RESONANCE The last of the graphs above introduces another feature of synthesizer filters - resonance. On the SJ-2 filter, the resonance is controlled by the slider labelled ‘REZ’. When resonance is applied, frequencies around the cut-off point are emphasised, as shown in the graph.
  • Page 25 24 Appendix One - Audio filters Frequency and Waveforms....a little bit of magic! It just so happens that sound waves don’t like to propagate through air in any form other than a sine wave. It stands to reason; air which is of a higher pressure because of a sound wave will want to expand quickly, but this urgency will dampen off as the pressure returns to normal, and a subsequent rebound in the other direction will complete a sign wave pattern.
  • Page 26 When an equalizer (EQ) or filter is applied to a sound, it is adjusting the relative balance of the component sine waves in that sound. A sound which is bright will have louder high frequency sine waves than a sound which is dull. An EQ device SJ-2 filter...

  • Page 27: Appendix Two: Troubleshooting

    SJ-2 set at patch number forty (which has been tweaked to your liking), upon saving and reopening the song, the SJ-2 is not set as it was when you saved, but instead is set at patch number one. This is a serious irritant because the recall of all settings within a particular song is one of the best features of virtual studio technology.
  • Page 28 You must agree to the following terms and conditions before installing and using the Manx SJ-2 retail version: After purchasing the SJ-2 retail version you are licensed to use this on up to a maximum of 3 computers provided that you are the sole owner and user of these computers.
  • Page 29 3D Anaglyph representation of the Manx SJ-2 Synthesizer.
  • Page 30 Other Manx Instruments: Thanks for going with the SJ-2! Bit 100 v2 MM-2 XS-4 Destiny v2 Gigmate v2 http://www.manxsynthesizers.com/...

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