Waldorf STVC User Manual
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Waldorf STVC User Manual

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  • Page 1 USER MANUAL...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Sound Modulation .................... 2 4 The Rear Panel Connections ................. 12 System Settings .................... 2 7 Basic Controls ......................14 Appendix ........................29 Switching On / Off ..................... 14 How a Vocoder works .................. 2 9 Master Volume ....................14 Using the STVC Vocoder .................. 2 9 Playing and Selecting Sounds ............... 14 Technical Data ..................... 3 1 Editing Sounds ....................15 Glossary ........................ 3 2 Saving Sounds ...................... 15 Product Support .................... 3 7 STVC Manual...

  • Page 3: Foreword

    Foreword Foreword What to read? Thank you for purchasing the Waldorf STVC or just for reading this manual out of curiosity! The biggest problem with any manual is to find a way to address the needs of absolute beginners and experts alike. STVC is a string synthesizer in combination with a vo- Some people read a manual cover to cover while others coder. String synthesizers came up in the 1970s, they don’t even touch it. Opting for the latter is a poor choice,...
  • Page 4 Foreword STVC Development Team We would like to thank Software: Stefan Stenzel Thomas Brenner, Karsten Dubsch, Willie Eckl, Joachim Flor, Roger Keller, Jonathan Miller, Pierre Nozet, Miroslav Hardware/Housing: Frank Schneider Pindus, Oliver Rockstedt, Vladimir Salnikov, Winfried Schuld, Michael von Garnier, Kurt ‘Lu’ Wangard, Rolf Design: Axel Hartmann, Wöhrmann, Haibin Wu and anyone we have forgotten. Stefan Stenzel Manual:...

  • Page 5: Control Features & Connections

    Control Features & Connections Control Features & Connections Front Panel 1) Wheel Section 3) Control Section + Display 5) Strings Section 7) Effects Section 2) Master Volume 4) Solo Section 6) Vocoder Section with 8) Keyboard Microphone Input STVC Manual...

  • Page 6: Rear Panel Connections

    Control Features & Connections Rear Panel Connections 1) Audio Outputs 5) MIDI In / MIDI Out 2) Headphones Output 6) Power Switch 3) Pedal/Line Inputs 4) USB 2.0 Port for power supply and MIDI connection to computer STVC Manual...

  • Page 7: Introduction

    About this Manual Highlighted Control Features and Parameters This manual was written to help you to become familiar with the Waldorf STVC synthesizer. It will also help expe- All of the STVC's buttons, controls and parameters are rienced users discover exciting new features. highlighted in bold letters throughout the manual. To avoid confusion, the terminology in this manual is ba- Examples: sed on the STVC parameter names. You will find a glossary...
  • Page 8 Do not place the device near heat sources such as ra- • This device can generate volume levels that may do • diators. irreparable damage to your hearing when used on its own or with amplifiers, speakers, or headphones. For Do not expose the device to direct sunlight. • this reason you should keep the volume at tolerable le- Do not expose the device to extreme vibrations. • vels. STVC Manual...
  • Page 9 General Safety Guidelines Maintenance Do not place your STVC anywhere near children, mothers-in-law or pets. This could lead to critical in- Do not open the device or remove the cover. Refer all • teractions. service and repair tasks to qualified personnel. The in- terior of the chassis contains no components that re- quire user maintenance. Use only a dry, soft cloth or brush to clean the device. • Never use alcohol, cleaning solutions or similar chemi- cals. They will damage the surface of the chassis. Warning! This device can cause sleep deprivation and sudden levitation.

  • Page 10: Setup And Connections

    Setup and Connections Setup and Connections You can also use a computer or sequencer to make use of STVC’s MIDI features. The Waldorf STVC comes complete with: To connect the devices: the Waldorf STVC Synthesizer itself • 1. Turn all units off. an external USB power supply (DC 5V / 1A) 2. Connect the STVC’s Audio Out to your mixing • console or your computer audio interface. Optio- a gooseneck microphone • nally connect the stereo Headphones outputs to a headphone. a printed Quick Start manual • 3. Connect the USB power supply that came with Please ensure all the above items were included. If some- thing is missing, contact your local dealer.
  • Page 11 Setup and Connections 8. Then switch on your computer (if connected), the mixing console and finally the amplifier or active monitor speakers. The overall volume of the STVC can be controlled with the Master Volume dial. This also affects the Headphones output. If you do not choose to connect a mixing console, you can patch the STVC's output signals directly to an amplifier or an audio interface. Use an input...
  • Page 12 Connect the left and right jack with 1/4-inch mono plugs in the chapter "The Vocoder Section". for using STVC as stereo device. If you want to use it as mono device, only connect the Right/Mono jack of the A sustain pedal switch connected to the Sustain input...
  • Page 13 • port MIDI In/Out Jacks Although we can hardly believe it, the STVC might not be enough for some people, so we added an elegant way to control external sound modules with the STVC keyboard: just connect the DIN MIDI out to your external gear and play. For use with a computer we recommend the USB...
  • Page 14 A and B contain the factory presets. Bank C is unused so Switch the STVC on: you can save your own sounds there. If you select any preset, where the Vocoder button is lit, you might not hear Press the Power switch on the back of the STVC. • After this, the display shows the software version anything unless you speak into the microphone and press and the STVC is ready to play.
  • Page 15 You can select a new destination with the Rotary dial. Press Yes to store to the selected destination, or No if you have made up your mind and decided not to store this sound. There is an easy way to name a sound during the storing procedure: Use the Keyboard Transpose switch to move the • cursor to the right or to the left position. Press a key on the keyboard to select a desired let- • ter or number. The lowest key sets a space. STVC Manual...
  • Page 16 The Modulation wheel sets board to hear an effect when using the vocoder. the vibrato level and speed of Strings and Solo sections. The state of the Modulation wheel is stored with the sound pro- gram. When you recall a sound program, the vibrato settings are also restored. As soon as you move the Modulation wheel, this replaces the stored setting. If you select the Pluto tone in the Solo section, which contains an additional vibrato, this is synchronized to the vibrato of the Modulation wheel. STVC Manual...

  • Page 17: The Balance Dial

    The Control Panel The Control Section + Display The Tweak Button This button offers the following functions: Here you can select factory or user sounds, save edited sounds and make basic settings for the STVC. It is used for setting up modulations. Please read more • on page 24. Sound selection and storing sounds is described in the "Basic Controls" chapter. Pressing Tweak and A opens the System settings mo- •...

  • Page 18: Strings Section

    Octaves Selector Three octave positions are available here: The Strings section mimics string and other sounds, simi- Base: Normal octave setting • lar to how string machines of the 1970 did this. Don’t ex- Both: Normal and 8va octave mixed • pect realistic string sounds here - expect realistic string machine sounds. 8va: One octave higher than base octave • STVC Manual...
  • Page 19 This button controls the Ensemble effect, an advanced chorus with multiple delay lines and modulation LFOs. It is an essential part of the typical string sound. String/Chorus Switch Three modes for the ensemble effect can be selected here: String (left position): The classic ensemble effect for • string machines with LFOs at two different frequencies. String + Chorus (middle position): Combination of • string and chorus for maximum depth and width of the sound. Chorus (right position): Normal chorus effect with • only one LFO. STVC Manual...

  • Page 20: Solo Section

    This is the sound setting for the Solo section. Moving this knob blends smoothly through sounds named Bass, E-Piano, Clavi, Synth, Pluto, Mono and Full. Note that sounds only have a faint resemblance to their names, which is common for the genre of String synthesizers. Bass plays an octave lower, Mono and Full are monophonic sounds. STVC Manual...
  • Page 21 Decay/Release The release or decay rate of the envelope, depending on the selected Envelope Mode. Envelope Mode Selector This switch controls the envelope operation: In the left position, the envelope has no sustain and • decays immediately after the initial attack. This is per- fect for clavinet or bass sounds. In the right position, notes are held at full sustain level • until keys are released. STVC Manual...

  • Page 22: The Vocoder Section

    Save function you can save the audio loop, so that it remains after switching off. Otherwise everything is gone To hear the Vocoder in effect after switching off the STVC. Keep in mind that only one you need to talk into a connected audio loop can be saved. microphone and press at least one...

  • Page 23: The Effects Section

    Depth and Rate potentiometers. Phaser: Classic phase shifter • effect. Feedback and depth are adjustable with Depth according to the most pleasing settings we could find. Rate is controlled, as you can certainly understand it, by Rate. Reverb: Reverberation with • STVC Manual...

  • Page 24: Sound Modulation

    Once the source is selected CTRX+ Control X (see System settings on page and not set to off, the second column shows a numeric 27) amount constant from 0 to 127. Depending on the selected source, the destination is affected in different ways. The CTRX- Control X negative fifth tweak slot is special because the amount itself can be LFO-V Vibrato LFO tweaked. Sources can be any of these: LFO-T Tremolo LFO LFO-C Chorus LFO STVC Manual...
  • Page 25 String EQ setting, usually tied to Re- PHS. RATE Phaser LFO rate gistration PHS.DEPTH Phaser depth REG.SHAPE String Osc shape, usually tied to Re- ANM. RATE Animate LFO rate gistration ANM.DEPTH Animate depth CRESCENDO Attack Rate of String envelope CHR. RATE Chorus LFO rate RELEASE Release Rate of String envelope CHR.DPETH Chorus depth BALANCE Balance of Solo and String section STR. RATE String Ensemble low LFO rate VOLUME Volume STR.DEPTH String Ensemble low mod depth PITCH Pitch of Solo and String section ST2. RATE String Ensemble high LFO rate STVC Manual...
  • Page 26 The Control Panel ST2.DEPTH String Ensemble high mod depth V.FORMANT Vocoder Formant shift V. JITTER Jitter of vocoder carrier, String section only V. SPEED Vocoder input adaption speed V.IN LEAK Amount of speech signal leaked into output FRZ.SPEED Freeze speed for frozen vocoder FRZ. POS Freeze position for frozen vocoder TWEAK #5 Tweak slot #5 amount BOTTOM Adjust the low end If a new modulation is set, the standard assignment will be overwritten. For example, if the Mod Wheel is used for controlling the Reverb mix, the former de- stination "LFO speed" will be replaced. STVC Manual...

  • Page 27: System Settings

    LOCAL CONTROL: Determines, if the keyboard, pitch • MASTER TUNING: Controls the STVC’s overall pitch in bend and modulation wheel are coupled to the internal • Hertz. The value specified here is the reference pitch tone generation. When set to ON, the STVC sends all for MIDI note A3. The default setting is 440Hz, which is note information and controller data to the tone gene- commonly used by most instruments. ration and eventually over MIDI. When set to OFF the STVC doesn’t send any note information to its tone ge- TRANSPOSE: Allows a global pitch transposition for •...
  • Page 28 Hold Tweak and press the NO button to send an All for system exclusive data transmission. System Notes Off message. This will end all sounding voices. Exclusive data contains no MIDI channel information so this ID is used to distinguish between several STVC units, if you have more than one STVC in your setup. Transmission will only be executed successfully if the sender and receiver are set to the same SysEx ID. LINE IN: Allows switching the Line input signal for the • Vocoder as Speech or Carrier. If set to Off, the Line/Pedal Input can be used as an expression pedal input.

  • Page 29: Appendix

    Using the STVC Vocoder quency bands. The volume of each frequency band is then evaluated with an envelope follower, and the resulting Make sure that a suited microphone is connected to envelope is used to control the volume of a bandpass filter the STVC. It should be a dynamic type that doesn't that processes the synthesis signal (also known as Carrier need phantom power and devivers a sufficient level. signal). The synthesis signal is therefore filtered by as Don't use any preamp between the micrtophone and many bandpass filters as the analysis signal, so that each the STVC.
  • Page 30 You can also use an external audio signal as Carrier • signal. In the System settings, set LINE IN to Carrier and feed any desired external audio signal into the Pe- dal line input. We recommend to use a sustained sound with harmonics. Keep in mind to talk into the micro- phone and play at least one key on the keyboard to hear the vocoder effect. STVC Manual...

  • Page 31: Technical Data

    Appendix Technical Data Power Supply Maximum current consumption: 200 mA Input Voltage: 5 V DC Dimensions and Weight Width: 740 mm Depth: 280 mm Height (including knobs): 100 mm Total weight: 7,5 kg STVC Manual...

  • Page 32: Glossary

    This control signal is • The Controller number, which defines the element to be often generated by an envelope or an LFO. influenced. It can be between 0 and 120. • The Controller value, which determines the extent of the Attack modification. An envelope parameter. ‘Attack’ is a term that describes Controllers can be used for effects such as slowly swelling the ascent rate of an envelope from its starting point to the vibrato, changing the stereo panorama position and influ- point where it reaches its highest value. The Attack phase encing filter frequency. STVC Manual...
  • Page 33 Attack and Decay phases until it reaches the pro- LFO can be used to modulate a sound-shaping component. grammed Sustain level. This level remains constant until the trigger is terminated. The envelope then initiates the Release phase until it reaches the minimum value. Low Pass Filter Synthesizers are often equipped with a lowpass filter. A lowpass filter dampens all frequencies above its cutoff STVC Manual...
  • Page 34 MIDI Channels 1 through 16 are available for this purpose. Essentially, this is how MIDI works: One sender is connec- ted to one or several receivers. For instance, if you want to Modulation use a computer to play the STVC, then the computer is the sender and the STVC acts as the receiver. With a few Modulation influences or changes a sound-shaping com- exceptions, the majority of MIDI devices are equipped with ponent via a modulation source. Modulation sources in- two or three ports for this purpose: MIDI In, MIDI Out and clude envelopes, LFOs, or MIDI messages. The modulation in some cases, MIDI Thru. The sender transfers data to the...
  • Page 35 The human ear is exceptionally sensitive to de- waveform. viations in pitch so the higher resolution is used because it relays pitchbend information more accurately. Sustain Program Change An envelope parameter. The term ‘Sustain’ describes the level of an envelope that remains constant after it has run These are MIDI messages that switch sound programs. through the Attack and Decay phases. Sustain lasts until Program numbers 1 through 128 can be changed via pro- the trigger is terminated. gram change messages. STVC Manual...
  • Page 36 For instance, a MIDI note or an audio signal can be used as a trigger. The events a trigger can initiate are also very diverse. A common application for a trigger is use to start an envelope. Volume The term describes a sound's output level USB The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a serial bus system to connect a computer with an external device. USB equipped STVC Manual...

  • Page 37: Product Support

    Appendix Product Support If you have any questions about your Waldorf product, feel free to contact us via one of the three options listed below: Use the support form at our website. This is the most efficient and fastest way to contact us. Your questions will be forwarded immediately to the resident expert and you will quickly receive an answer. https://support.waldorfmusic.com Send us a letter. It will take a bit longer, but it is just as dependable as the support form. Waldorf Music GmbH Lilienthalstr. 7 53424 Remagen, Germany Visit our support forum at www.waldorfmusic.com STVC Manual...
  • Page 38 Waldorf Music GmbH • Lilienthal Straße 7 • D-53424 Remagen © 2019 Waldorf Music GmbH • All rights reserved www.waldorfmusic.com...

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