Bastl Instruments Timber Manual

Controls
(1) Input
Is sent to the amplification stage (SHAPE) and mixed with
voltage offset (SYMMETRY) and then to the two different wave
shaping circuits.
(2) Shape
Is the amount of amplification of the input signal before it is
inserted to the wave shaping stages. The first few degrees of
the knob act as a regular VCA before the shaping is applied.
CV at the SHAPE jack is attenuated and combined with the
SHAPE knob.
(3) Symmetry
Sets the amount of voltage offset added to the input signal.
When a signal is inserted to the SYMMETRY jack, the SYMMETRY
knob acts as an attenuverter for that signal. When nothing is
plugged at the SYMMETRY jack, it adds either positive (CW) or
negative (CCW) voltage to the input signal. The SYMMETRY can
be used with slow CV signals (PWM-ish character) or faster LFOs
(pseudo chorus sound with wave folding), or it can be used to
mix any second signals at the INPUT of the module. You can also
take output of one of the wave shapers (I. or II.) and connect it
to the SYMMETRY jack to get control over the amount of positive
or negative feedback. In such configuration, the module might
self-oscillate in certain settings.
(4) I. Wave Driver Output
Is an independent output of the I. WAVE DRIVER wave shaping
stage. The signal in the I. WAVE DRIVER circuit first goes thru
one wave folding stage (similar to the OK position of the
II. WAVE FOLDER) with adjustable folding threshold and then
thru the configurable overdrive stage. Adding voltage to the
input with the SYMMETRY will result in asymmetric distortions
which are typical for tube amps and are very musical. Adding
a lot of SYMMETRY while using the folding stage can result
in high-pass characters and elimination of the fundamental
frequency.
(5) I. Wave Driver Switches
The DRIVE switch has 3 positions and can set the overdrive
character to SOFT or HARD or something in between. This can
also distort waveforms when using the wave driver to perform
wavefolding.
The FOLD switch can set the folding threshold to HI or LO
or it can turn the folding stage completely off in the NO
position. The HI position sets the threshold for folding exactly
twice as high as the folding threshold of the II. WAVE FOLDER
circuit which can be used to obtain different harmonics at
the respective outputs. Let's say the SHAPE is set so that the
II. WAVE FOLDER folds the waveform twice (5th harmonic).
At this point, with the FOLD switch on HI and the DRIVE
switch on the mid setting, there should be only one fold at
the I. WAVE DRIVER output obtaining 3rd harmonic. When
SYMMETRY is applied, it is also possible to obtain 2nd and 4th
harmonic or 2nd and 3rd harmonic at the same time at the
respective outputs.
(6) II. Wave Folder Output
Is an independent output of the II. WAVE FOLDER wave shaping
circuit. See II. WAVE FOLDER SWITCH for more details about
the circuit.
(7) II. Wave Folder Switch
When a signal is amplified at the input of this circuit, it goes
thru 5 stages. The first 4 are wave folding stages. When the
signal gets amplified and reaches folding threshold, the peak
that surpases that threshold gets folded inward. So instead
of overdriving, it makes the waveform go downwards, instead
of upwards. With further amplification, these peaks reach the
bottom threshold of the second stage and fold upward again
and so on in further stages. This can happen symmetrically
for both positive and negative threshold with the FOLD
switch in the OK position and the SYMMETRY knob centered.
With simple waveforms, such as triangle or sine wave, this
results in the introduction of 3rd, 5th and 7th harmonic, and
further into sharp distortion. Sweeping the SHAPE would
have a similar feel as tweaking the cutoff knob on a filter.
Adding voltage to the input with the SYMMETRY will result
in asymmetric folding and therefore 2nd, 4th and 6th
harmonic can be obtained with the right portion of SHAPE
and SYMMETRY.
Setting the FOLD switch in the NO position will result
in skipping the 4 wave folding stages and using only the
last folding/overdrive stage. This is especially useful when
processing more complex signals.
Setting the FOLD switch in the KO position will make the
folding stages strangely asymmetrical by default and will
result in unique fuzzy metallic sounds.
The wave folding can result in losing the power of the
fundamental folded frequency and therefore the X-FADE
section is valuable for blending between the folded signal
and the original or the overdriven signal which keeps the
fundamental frequency. Such use is more similar to a low
pass filter rather than band pass filter character for simple
waveforms.
(8) FBK CV
Voltage-controlled feedback can be obtained by applying
voltage at the FBK CV jack. That takes a portion of the
II. WAVE FOLDER signal to be mixed with the input signal.
Especially with the FOLD switch in the OK position, it will
result in chaotically aggressive timbres. It can also force the
module to self-oscillate or create chaotic noises. The input
will work great with 5V gates or envelopes. With higher
amounts of SYMMETRY applied, it can multiply the voltage
offset and make the signal go quieter in a specific way.
This can be very useful when combined with more complex
rhythmical modulations.
(9) X-Fade
The voltage controlled crossfader X-FADE is useful for
combining the two waveshapers and for blending the
wave shaped signal with the input signal.
The X-FADE knob sets the mixing balance of signals
at the X-FADE output.
When set fully left, it outputs either the unmodified INPUT
signal or the I. WAVE DRIVER signal, based on the setting
of the SWITCH next to the knob.
With the X-FADE knob in the fully right position, the X-FADE
outputs the signal that is present at the X-FADE IN jack.
When nothing is plugged into that jack, the II. WAVE FOLDER
signal is normalized there. With unrelated signals in, it can
provide independent crossfade function.
Tip: Plug I. WAVE DRIVER output to the X-FADE IN and
set the X-FADE switch to the INPUT position to crossfade
between the clean signal and the signal affected by the
I. WAVE DRIVER.
The X-FADE CV input goes thru the attenuverter KNOB
which will mute the voltage in the middle position and
will either add (if turned clockwise) or subtract (if turned
counterclockwise) that voltage from the position of the
X-FADE knob. This allows a positive envelope to crossfade
in any direction between any signal combination.
TIMBER
dual waveform lumberjack
(2)
DRIVE FOLD FOLD
HARD HI KO
SHAPE
(5) (7)
NO NO
+
SOFT LO OK
(3)
WAVE WAVE
DRIVER FOLDER
SYMMETRY
(9)
X FADE IN
X FADE
INPUT
+
(9) (3) (2)
X FADE SYMMETRY SHAPE
(8) (1) (9)
FBK CV INPUT X FAD E IN
(4) (9) (6)
X FADE OUT