Rare Waves Grendel Grenadier RA-99 User Manual
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Rare Waves Grendel Grenadier RA-99 User Manual

Cv-gate analog music synthesizer
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GRENADIER
RA-99
CV-Gate Analog Music Synthesizer
Rare Waves LLC
RAREWAVES.NET

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Summary of Contents for Rare Waves Grendel Grenadier RA-99

  • Page 1 GRENADIER RA-99 CV-Gate Analog Music Synthesizer Rare Waves LLC RAREWAVES.NET...

  • Page 2: Specification

    Either MOD1 or MOD2 can serve as the main Manufacturer volume envelope. Made by Rare Waves® (Texas, USA) Filter Bank RAREWAVES.NET The Grenadier RA-99 filter bank combines one low pass and two band pass filters to produce full-bodied Design and Support: tones with resonant character of vowels.

  • Page 3: Power Input

    Power Input This unit requires 12 volts DC and draws a maximum current of 100 mA. Polarity of the AC adapter connector does not matter. It can be tip positive or tip negative. * Grenadier RA-99 will also operate from 9 volts DC, but please note that the pink noise source will be unavailable in this situation, and distortion may be heard in the output.
  • Page 4 Main Audio Output Use a common 1/4” shielded audio instrument cable (mono, TS type) to connect the synth’s output to a line input of a mixing board, computer sound interface, keyboard amplifier, or effect processor. The output impedance is 220 ohms, so it is unnecessary to connect it to a high impedance (HI-Z) input. You may plug headphones in to this jack, but you’ll only hear sound on one side.
  • Page 5 Quick Start Here are some suggestions for connecting the Grenadier RA-99 to other analog equipment in the music studio. RA-99 uses the 1 volt per octave tuning standard (not V/Hz). Its Gate inputs interpret >2.5 volts as Gate On, and < 2.5 volts as Gate Off. Nominal Gate input is 5 volts, but there is no harm in connecting a 10 volt gate input.

  • Page 6: Tuning Controls

    V/OCT IN jacks Patch 1V/OCT to the V/OCT output from your sequencer, MIDI-CV converter, or analog keyboard controller 5V/OCT is less sensitive. A change of 5 volts tunes the oscillator by 1 octave. It works well for octave trills when you patch it to an LFO with 5 volt square wave output.
  • Page 7 GATE IN jacks Patch GATE IN to the GATE output of your sequencer, MIDI-CV converter, or analog keyboard controller MOD2 GATE IN is normalled to MOD1 GATE IN. In other words, MOD2 gets the same gate as MOD1 unless a patch cable is connected to MOD2 GATE IN. It is OK to patch other types of signals to GATE IN.
  • Page 8 TIMBRE VCO waveform TIMBRE knob The controls the VCO’s wave shape to alter its harmonic content. The slope and pulse width vary simultaneously in a trapezoidal shape. The effect on the waveform is illustrated in the diagram to the left. TIMB.
  • Page 9 SUB switch Activating this switch blends subharmonic square wave with the VCO waveform SUB OUT jack The unfiltered subharmonic waveform is available from this jack. It is a square wave with 5 volts amplitude. You can self-patch this output to the RA-99’s other CV, Gate and audio inputs for many tone variations.
  • Page 10 NOISE CV jack This input controls the volume of the pink noise source VCA. It has the same effect as the P-NOISE knob. Both the knob and the jack can be used together. P-NOISE knob Controls the volume of the pink noise source. Noise is mixed with the VCO and subharmonic and fed to the filter bank.

  • Page 11: Volume Knob

    VOLUME knob Sets the audio level at the main output VCF IN & MIX IN jacks These are analog audio inputs to the filter bank. Patching to VCF IN mutes the internal VCO, replacing it with external audio. Patching to MIX IN blends external audio with the internal tone generator. Both can be used simultaneously Grendel RA-99 Grenadier User Guide | Revision 2020-0103...
  • Page 12 RATE CV jacks These voltage control inputs set the speed of the envelope or LFO. They have the same function as the RATE knobs and can be used simultaneously. The response is approximately 1 volt per octave. RATE knobs These set the speed of the envelope and LFO. The control range is approximately 1000:1 The maximum LFO frequency is approximately 50 Hz, and minimum is approximately 0.05 Hz (about 3 cycles per minute).
  • Page 13 LFO switches When its LFO switch is Off, a MOD is an envelope generator controlled by its GATE IN jack. When its LFO switch is On, a MOD is an LFO with sawtooth, triangle, and pulse waveforms. WAVE SHAPE GATE IN MOD function WAVE switches Gate In...
  • Page 14 GATE OUT jacks In LFO mode, GATE OUT is a pulse wave with fixed amplitude of 5 volts. GATE IN Decay In envelope mode, the output is an inverted gate. When the GATE IN is inactive, and the Envelope envelope is settled, the output is high (+5V). When you trigger the GATE IN, GATE OUT goes low (0V) until the envelope expires, then goes high again.
  • Page 15 DEPTH knobs These are bipolar attenuators for the MOD outputs. To cancel the modulation, set the DEPTH knob straight up (12 o’clock). By default, MOD1 DEPTH controls the ALPHA parameter, and MOD2 DEPTH controls BETA. You can change this assignment with the patch bay. These parameters do not have voltage control CV inputs.
  • Page 16 ALPHA and BETA knobs These control the filter bank and can morph between vowel tones when you find a sweet spot. ALPHA CV and BETA CV jacks These affect the filter bank in the same manner as the ALPHA and BETA knobs, and can be used simultaneously. Remember: By default, MOD 1 VARI OUT is internally connected to ALPHA CV.
  • Page 17 FILTERS knob This is an important filter bank parameter that has the general effect of tuning it from from low to high. It can also inuence the vowel tones, depending on the settings of Alpha and Beta. Please note, the RA-99 filter bank is not designed for full cutoff, as in a conventional low pass filter. FILTER CV jack This has the same effect as the FILTERS knob, providing the option of voltage control.
  • Page 18 VCO trimmer Q: What type of tool do I use to adjust the trimmers? This is used to calibrate the V/OCT inputs for accurate pitch scaling. It affects all of the V/OCT inputs. A: Use a screwdriver with at blade or For a quick tuning check, patch MOD 2 GATE OUT to 5V/OCT.
  • Page 19 Creative self-patching will let you uncover many tone variations in the Grenadier RA-99. This page presents a few ideas as starting points. ** These patches don’t show CV-Gate input from your controller or sequencer, which are usually connected to 1V/OCT and MOD1 GATE IN. 2-Stage Envelope Pure Square Wave Drone Mode...
  • Page 20 Creative self-patching will let you uncover many tone variations in the Grenadier RA-99. This page presents a few ideas as starting points. ** These patches don’t show CV-Gate input from your controller or sequencer, which are usually connected to 1V/OCT and MOD1 GATE IN. Dead Patch Alpha Dead Patch Beta Die Twice...
  • Page 21 Patch Name...

  • Page 22: User Support

    User Support For questions, service, and technical support, please contact us by email through our website: RAREWAVES.NET Grendel RA-99 Grenadier User Guide | Revision 2020-0103...

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