METASONIX TS-22 Owner's Manual

TS-22 PENTODE FILTERBANK owner's manual
Metasonix ----------------------------------------------------------------- E. Barbour 5/2000

BEGINNER'S QUICK REFERENCE

The TS-22 is unlike any electronic audio processor you have tried before. So, we recommend reading this
manual carefully and thoroughly before starting. Experimentation with the TS-22's controls is encouraged!
Don't be afraid to try various things.
1. Plug the TS-22 into a source of 100-120v AC power. It uses about 25 watts. (Check the label on the
back--if the unit is wired for 240v, attach 220-240v power.)
2. Plug a signal source into the AUDIO INPUT jack. A line-level signal is required.
3. Attach the AUDIO OUTPUT to an amplifier or mixing board's high-impedance
line-level input. Please use the volume control in the amp or mixer to control the listening level.
(Headphones are especially useful in understanding the TS-22's sounds when first starting out.)
4. Set the controls of the TS-22 as follows:
INPUT LEVEL--full counterclockwise
FILTER CV SWEEP--fully counterclockwise
TUNE controls--all fully counterclockwise
RESONANCE controls--set to 9-o'clock position
Turn on the power. Allow the unit to warm up for a few minutes.
5. Play the signal. Adjust the INPUT LEVEL and the volume controls in the amp or mixer to get a
comfortable signal level. (If the amp/mixer has a clipping level indicator, keep the TS-22 output level
below clipping indication.)
6. While sweeping the FILTER CV SWEEP knob back and forth slowly, turn the RESONANCE controls
(all 4 of them, one at a time) clockwise in SMALL increments until you get an obvious sweeping effect.
Note that at about the 10-o'clock position, the filters will start to oscillate, beginning at the center of the CV
SWEEP.
7. Now you can sweep the FILTER CV SWEEP manually to get the filter effect. Also try increasing the
INPUT LEVEL to observe clipping distortion in the filters.
8. Or, if you have a modular synthesizer, use the CV output from an envelope generator or LFO to sweep it,
by connecting the CV to the FILTER CV IN jack. The FILTER CV SWEEP control then becomes a level
control for this CV, allowing increase of the sweep range (by turning it clockwise).
9. The TS-22 also has a built-in voltage controlled amplifier (VCA). Normally it is bypassed. You can use
it to impose an envelope contour on your signal, by attaching the output of a modular-synth envelope
generator to the VCA CV IN jack. The generator used must produce a peak voltage of at least +10v, and
return to zero volts when not triggered. Almost any of the currently-available modular-synth EGs will drive
the TS-22 with no problem.

HOW IT WORKS

-------------------
The TS-22 Pentode Filterbank contains four independent bandpass filters, made of simple "twin-T" circuit
designs. They are each based around a pentode vacuum tube, giving a unique sonic effect. (They pass some
of the raw signal through to the output, so your bass notes will be audible. Unlike those rigorously-designed
solid-state filters, the TS-22 was designed to sound musical, not like a laboratory instrument.)