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- Page 1 (arches) Universal Tactile Interface OWNER'S MANUAL Version 1.0 November 2018 pensato, progettato e costruito in Italia...
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.INTRODUCTION 2.BOX CONTENT 3.CARE AND FEEDING 4.DESCRIPTION 5.QUICKSTART 6.ELEMENTS 7.USER INTERFACE 8.KEYBOARDS 9.SEQUENCERS 10.UPDATING THE FIRMWARE 11.REPLACING THE OVERLAY 12.INSTALLING (ARCHES) IN A EURORACK SYSTEM 13.FACTORY PRESETS 14. KICKSTARTER CONTRIBUTORS! 15.CONTACTS 16.REGULATORY be sure to check our website's (arches) page for the latest version of this manual! www.sound-machines.it/product/arches owner's manual (arches) 3 ... -
Page 4: Introduction
INTRODUCTION One of every musician’s most rewarding experience is the connection with his/her instruments. Talking about electronic musical instruments, decades of technological innovations lead the way to a top-level potential in terms of sound generation, sculpting and processing, but the feeling, the familiarity and the immediacy in playing an instrument became more and more difficult to achieve as the instrument itself grew into a really complex machine and an extremely wide set of functions. This is even more true for the modular synthesizer, both hardware and software, that faced an incredible reneissance in the last two decades. It’s not uncommon to have multiple voices, built by connecting many different modules, going on at once during a performance or in the studio. More and more, the chromatic keyboard, even augmented with pressure sensitivity and other expressive feature, is becoming a limitation, especially when parts of the performance are more sound- design oriented than melodic. Being able to play notes, configure sequencers and arpeggiators, and... -
Page 5: Box Content
BOX CONTENT • (arches) tactile universal interface with pre-loaded microSD card • Power supply unit • Printed manual CARE AND FEEDING – IMPORTANT INFORMATION! (arches) needs just a little of your love. Just be gentle with his surface and avoid deep scratches and bumps! Don’t push the encoders and the buttons too much, and avoid this happening during transport. Just put the arches in a soft bag with added padding while you are traveling with it. The OLED screen is protected by a plastic screen. This one can be scratched if misused, but not more than any other kind of plastic lenses. Don’t push too hard on the screen. To clean the surface use a dry cloth or a dust remover brush only. Please be gentle with the (arches) surface, as the overlay is removable (you can substitute it with a new one)!. -
Page 6: Description
The Tactile Surface: The tactile surface, highlighted in the picture above, comprises many elements and buttons to be used in your performance. Lightstrips, pressure sensitive buttons and thumbpads are the key sets of feature that you can configure and associate to create your own control and expression device. Great sensitivity and robustness is the signature of soundmachines touch interfaces and (arches) take this background to the next level by incorporating a rich environment for programming and a first class connectivity either analog ad digital. You can see that the tactile surface is partially covered by a thin plastic overaly. This serves two main purposes: giving the user a tactile ‘perimeter’ for each control, so she/he can play without actually looking at it continuously, and protecting the upper surface of the product (that is made from the same printed circuit board that hosts some components and tracks!). The overlay is... - Page 7 substitute the overlay with the replacement one after 10 months or so. You can find packs of overlay on the website to buy more. The User Interface: (arches) includes a complete user interface based on few elements such as the (arches) mini map, two encoders, a graphical oled display and some pushbuttons. You will have to get familiar with the user-friendly user interface of (arches) as this is the center for quickly configuring and navigating the setup. The user interface is clearly divided in few elements that we will describe in chapter 7. The patch, or jack bay On the top right side, you have the 32 3,5mm jacks that are going to be the many umbilical cords from the controller to the system. The 2 and 4 rows are totally configurable, while the 1 one is almost fixed with respect to the meaning of outputs. The first jack, CKIN, doubles actually as a Clock Out. owner's manual (arches) 7 ...
- Page 8 The Back Panel Looking at the rear panel of (arches) you find, from left to right, the following ports: • Expansion panel. • USB device port for MIDI • MIDI IN • MIDI OUT • Power Supply jack àThe MIDI ports are MIDI IN and MIDI OUT from left to rightß owner's manual (arches) 8 ...
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Page 9: Quickstart
QUICKSTART This small chapter tells you how to quickly configure a playing/performance environment with your (arches). The example configuration is built around a pretty common scenario: your (arches) will control two voices of an eurorack system (here, for simplicity, indicated with a box) and a MIDI synth connected through standard MIDI cable. By using the first preset available (pat001.arc) you can start immediately with this config. The following picture indicates the connection that you need to do with your patch and MIDI cables in order to achieve the full control of the system. Following the configuration of pat001.arc preset, you have two CV/GATE virtual keyboards (KB1 and KB3, respectively the upper buttons keyboard and the left hand keyboard) that outputs their signals on jack triplets 17,18,19 and 1,2,3. The order is: expression-pitch-gate. In this picture we simply connect KB1 outputs to the PWM and PITCH of VCO1 and to the ENVelope GATE input. KB3, on the other hand, controls another voice based on VCF cutoff, VCO2 pitch and VCA CV input. owner's manual (arches) 9 ... - Page 10 The last connection, to the EMU Proteus synth expander, is done via MIDI cable and the KB4 will output MIDI messages on channel #3. In general, you have concurrent MIDI and CV/GATE outputs on the (arches). In the case above, you could actually use the jack outputs 9,10 and 11 as the outputs of KB4. In this case you can drive to unison (or not!) another analog voice with the same notes that you send to the Proteus via MIDI. This is a quick example! Just take it as a starting point! owner's manual (arches) 10 ...
- Page 11 Lightstrips Taken from soundmachines catalog, we covered (arches) in one of our most interesting and successful modules. A lightstrip is a CV / GATE generator with the possibility to hold the value and record the movement of the finger. The last function is not yet operational on (arches) but you can already use every lightstrip as a CV generator and group them in virtual keyboards. The top part of each lightstrip is...
- Page 12 the HOLD button that, when used a stand-alone element, will maintain the last finger position (and then the output CV) that you imposed. Every lightstrip shows the value of the position with a scale of ten leds, so you can have the situation at a glance. Sliders The four sliders at the extremes are identical to the lightstrips with the notable exception that they have just the ‘activity’ button. Resolution and integration capabilities are the same! Thumb pads At the very center of the (arches) there are two small square sensitive areas. Those are just under your thumbs and you can use them to output signal relative to X-Y and Z (pressure) ! Behaviour is mirrored, so, while the left pad’s origin (0 Volts,0 Volts) is at the bottom left, the right pad have the origin at bottom right. The Y axis (and Z) share the same behavior. Contrary to the other elements, that are configurable with respect to the outputs, the two thumb pads were deemed so useful that we reserved a permanent position on the jack bay! On the first row, you have the Left and Rigth PAD outputs available! By default, the pads also generates GATE signals that are routed to outputs 4 and 5. You can...
- Page 13 THE USER INTERFACE: You will have to get familiar with the user-friendly user interface of (arches) as this is the center for quickly configuring and navigating the setup. The user interface is clearly divided in few elements that we will describe in the next paragraph: The Surface Map and Encoder: The map is a miniature representation of all the active elements on the (arches), each with its own led indicator and underlined with a row of four buttons. This is the interface that allows you to ‘point and shoot’ quickly at the configuration of the surface without having to remember and insert codes. The four buttons are linked to the four ‘categories’ of functions on the same element. Those are: owner's manual (arches) 13 ...
- Page 14 • Gate/Trigger configuration • Note/Standard configuration • Aux/Expression configuration • Function configuration (free element, virtual keyboard) At any moment, pushing the ‘select’ (left) encoder, will lit up the first led on the map. At this point you are free to rotate the encoder to select anyone of the elements, while the Oled display shows the current configuration dynamically. When the element is selected, by pushing one of the four buttons described before, you can change the element’s or keyboard’s behavior and parameters. You can cycle through different configuration pages by repeatedly pushing the same button. Not all the configuration categories are available for all the elements. When this happens you will be prompted by an ‘Empty Menu’ text.
- Page 15 On the right-hand part of the instrument, near the map of the surface, you will find a graphic oled display that shows the information about the active selection of the user interface. The splash screen will show the firmware version. You will be contacted, as a (arches) user, about any new firmware release. Be sure, anyway, to check the product’s page on www.sound-machines.it to be sure that you are updated with any new FW v.0.00.35 features or bug fixes. The Oled display will show different information depending on the context. During configuration operations and map navigation you will see the page shown below: 38/10...
- Page 16 Now, let’s go a little bit deeper into the functionalities of the (arches), just to be able to understand the main page of the display. (arches) elements could be used alone or in groups. It’s pretty obvious that some configurations and information will change as you switch the mode of functioning. Keep in mind that the when the element that you highlighted is a part of a keyboard, the first row will show the MIDI note number associated with that element. On the other hand, if the selected element is not a part of a keyboard, it won’t have a note information, because it will output a CV on the selected output jack and a corresponding CC# message on MIDI. In the latter case you will see the first row as: N --/10 S/C 23 telling you that the selected element is not a part of a keyboard, the CV output is routed to jack number 10 and the CC# associated with the position or the pressure is the number 23.
- Page 17 Pushing the NOTE button you will be prompted with those cycling screens: NOTE MIDI CHAN STANDARD G1#-32 EURO If the element that you are modifying is part of a keyboard, the first screen is relative to the note value’s in text and MIDI notation. Not much to describe here! You can go from C1 (MIDI note 24) to B8 (MIDI note 119). When you are configuring a stand-alone element, the first screen will show the CC# associated with the value of the control element (position or pressure!) The second screen sets the MIDI CHANNEL relative either to the single elements or the virtual keyboard. Finally, the third one configures the type of CV output standard that you want to use: EURORACK (1V/oct), BUCHLA (1.2V/oct) or HERTZ (linear V/Hz) or, when a single element is chosen, the VOLTAGE RANGE of the CV output. Pushing the AUX button you can have the following behavior: Empty OUTPUT Menu The AUX button can prompt you with an ‘Empty Menu’ message or with an OUTPUT , depending on the status of the element. If the element is a part of a keyboard, there is nothing you can associate to the auxiliary function and the system will tell you that this is, actually, a unuseful menu voice. On the other hand, when the element is stand-alone, you can set the output jack where you can pickup the element value (pressure or position). Remember the previous button (NOTE) ? You could configure the output of the element either as a MIDI and a CV entity, concurrently. This open up really complex control strategies for mixed systems.
- Page 18 The menu could show the following items, depending on which element we are working: • FREE • KB2 • KB3 • … • FREEQ2 • FREEQ3 • FREEQ4 VERY IMPORTANT ANNOTATION: PLEASE BE AWARE THAT YOU CAN CONFIGURE A KEYBOARD FROM EACH ONE OF THE ELEMENT THAT TAKES PART IN THAT KEYBOARD! ON THE SAME NOTE, IT’S SUFFICIENT TO DE-ALLOCATE OR CANCEL A KEYBOARD IN ONE ELEMENT TO ELIMINATE THE ENTIRE KEYBOARD FROM THE PRESET.
- Page 19 directly on the CKIN jack on the patch bay, so you can integrate and synchronize your other equipment! • USB: (arches) integrates a USB device MIDI endpoint. also in this case it can send notes, cc# and clock information out but It can also receive MIDI clock information. (NOTE: in the firmware release 0.00.35 MIDI clock over USB is only FROM the (arches) • BLE: (arches) is one of the first few controllers that fully support MIDI over BLE specification. As with many other controllers we drop the clock handling capability of the MIDI channel as the wireless space could be less than ideal to transport such a dense information that can interfere with more valuable stuff. Apart from this, you can directly couple arches with your ipad, pc, or other stuff without a single wire except the power supply one! When you select BLE on the menu...
- Page 20 You see, on the top of the screen, the VRITUAL KEYBOARD involved with this particular arpeggiator, and then the menu items that you can modify. Everything is here, with the notable exception of the HOLD function that is only available on the touch interface, right in the middle, on a clearly labeled touch button. The HOLD button is ‘keyboard sensitive’. It will relate to the keyboard/arpeggiator currently been played. The user, if he needs to enable or disable the hold, should push some keys of the keyboard to have it active to be able to ‘hold’ the arpeggio or not. We will quickly scroll through the menu voices in the following paragraphs: • Enabled (this is ‘arming’ the arpeggiator) o True o False •...
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Page 21: Keyboards
KEYBOARDS (arches) introduces the concept of virtual keyboard by grouping single elements and integrating the output information on a keyboard concept. The keyboards can be configured to suit your harmonic and melodic needs and to use any of the possible standard to interface with your systems. Typically a keyboard is a set of elements where you have defined the notes (pitches) of every ‘key’. You have three information coming out of every keyboard: pitch, gate information and expression. While this is true in the analog realm (and on the jack bay), this translates a bit different in the MIDI realm, with the expression substituted by note on/note offs and the velocity information. Velocity and expression are linked to either finger position (for the sliders) and finger pressure (for the upper row buttons). - Page 22 KB4: Righthand keyboard KB5: Central keyboard KB6: Polyphonic CV/GATE keyboard owner's manual (arches) 22 ...
- Page 23 NOTE: KB6 is not yet operational on Firmware 0.00.35 owner's manual (arches) 23 ...
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Page 24: Sequencers
SEQUENCERS To be defined UPDATING THE FIRMWARE To be defined REPLACING THE OVERLAY To be defined INSTALLING (ARCHES) IN A EURORACK SYSTEM To be defined owner's manual (arches) 24 ... - Page 25 ORIGINAL PRESETS: The presets included are just examples of what you can do with your (arches): To store and recall presets you can use the dedicated buttons. The OS will tell you if the preset is already existent or not. Pat001.arc (Three independent virtual keyboards): This is a standard native preset, with three virtual keyboards installed on the standard CV/GATE/EXPRESSION outputs on three different MIDI channels. All keybs are V/oct standard,5V positive GATE and 5V expression range. Left hand 6-element keyboard (KB3): • Notes: C1,D1#,F1,G1#,A1#,C2 • Output jacks: Expression: 1, Pitch: 2, Gate: 3 • MIDI channel: 1 Top row buttons (KB1): •...
- Page 26 Pat003.arc (Maximum Expression) The patch bay is completely occupied by control voltages and gates coming from the highest possible number of elements! You can control up to 18 CVs and 12 MIDI CC# with this config! Every one of those also goes out on MIDI via a CC# • Sliders (from left to right) exits in GATE/CV couples from outputs 1 / 2 to outputs 23/24. • Sliders (from left to right) exits on MIDI channel 1 on CC# from 10 to 21 In this pattern we disabled the thumpads gate outputs (by default they occupy outputs 4 and 5) but you have always the X-Y-Z for each one on the dedicated outputs. owner's manual (arches) 26 ...
- Page 27 KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS Without the involvement, the risk-taking stance and, the passion of the following people, this wouldn’t have been possible…. We deeply thank one by one the persons that contributed to make (arches) a reality!!! Alessandro Bonino Tony La Batte Susanne Ratzer Marc Mennigmann Juhani Liimatainen Friedel Brülle Stephen and Michael Trask Patrick Scully Casey Neiditch Ruehreisepp Mirko Hartmann Ian Gowen Mick Glossop Speñcer Montgömérry Wolfgang Steuerle Eric Harder John Kember Noam Belkind Derek Duke Michael Dunkley Akimasa Yamada George McDonald Cleanse FoldManipulate Daniel Giczkowski warren c flynn Stas Shtin Maurizio Montini Mark Harrop David Fyans Christopher Hudzik MarcelP Milan Hujavy Johan Anderson Stephan Bugaj Scott P. Manfred Hill Peter Fawcett Hector Bravo Benard Damion Champ...
- Page 28 CONTACTS Website: www.sound-machines.it Email: info@artinoise.com REGULATORY: Product: soundmachines/artinoise (ARCHES) Power consumption: 1000mA @ 12V This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee...
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