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Related Manuals for Playtime Engineering Blipblox After Dark
Summary of Contents for Playtime Engineering Blipblox After Dark
- Page 1 AFTER DARK Owner's Guide...
- Page 2 This toy should be periodically examined for potential hazardous. Parts are to be repaired or replaced. © 2020 Playtime Engineering, LLC. All rights reserved. The Blipblox, packaging, manual and logo are the intellectual properties of Playtime Engineering, LLC. Playtime Engineering, LLC, 1459 18th St., #357, San Francisco, California, USA 94107...
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION GETTING STARTED BASICS OF SYNTHESIZER PLAY CONTROL CENTER LED DISPLAY GUIDE SYNTHESIS SIGNAL FLOW LIVE PERFORMANCE FEATURES MIDI FUNCTIONS SPECIAL CONTROL SETTINGS UPGRADE MELODIES + DRUMS USING MIDI WARRANTY - Purchases made in USA WARRANTY - Purchases made outside of USA... -
Page 4: Introduction
INTRODUCTION Welcome to the world of synthesizers! Whether you’re an experienced musician or new to synths, this Guide has all of the information you need to start creating your own music with the Blipblox After Dark. GETTING STARTED. Users new to synthesis will... -
Page 5: Getting Started
GETTING STARTED Included in this package Blipblox After Dark — USB to 5.5 mm/2.1 mm 5 Volt DC Barrel Jack Power Cable — Three (3) AA batteries — Compatible 3rd Party Components USB wall adapter — MIDI cord — External MIDI keyboard or sequencer —... - Page 6 As an alternative to batteries you can use the USB-DC adapter. Plug the round side of the adapter in the — back of the After Dark where you see “DC 5V ” and the other side into any USB adapter. Batteries do not need to be removed to use power adapter, but adapter will not charge batteries.
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Page 7: Basics Of Synthesizer Play
BASICS OF SYNTHESIZER PLAY The After Dark was designed to be used right out of the box, without any prior knowledge of synthesizers. But knowing a few key controls will help you get started with making interesting sounds. The most important of these is the SEQ which stands for sequencer. A sequencer creates the notes or melodies and is the best place for you to start. -
Page 8: Control Center
CONTROL CENTER TEMPO lever changes the speed of the music. (2) AMP(lifier) RELEASE knob changes the duration of a sound after the musical note has ended. Clockwise turn increases the duration of the sound. Counter-clockwise turn decreases the duration. (3) VOLUME knob makes the sound louder or quieter. (4) FILTER lever controls the cutoff frequency of the filter. - Page 9 (7) KICK button plays a kick drum. (8) CTRL 1 button selects the input for the oscillator’s first modulation. Each press cycles through: Modulation Envelope, LFO 1, LFO 2, and Knob Only modulation. r DELAY, press and hold button while adjusting FILTER lever to change the amount of delay effect. (9) OSCILLATOR button selects the sound wave from 16 available oscillator types.
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Page 10: Led Display Guide
LED DISPLAY GUIDE LFO 1 speed. This LED flashes to show the speed of LFO 1. (2) Sequencer Indicator. This LED flashes on each beat when the sequencer is running. (3) MIDI status. This LED flashes when valid MIDI note on is received. Blue indicates a synthesizer note, green indicates a drum note. - Page 11 (7) MOD 2. The brightness of this LED corresponds to the amount of modulation going into the oscillator’s modulation 2 input (8) MOD 1. The brightness of this LED corresponds to the amount of modulation going into the oscillator’s modulation 1 input. (9) - (12) (9) OSC TYPE.
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Page 12: Synthesis Signal Flow
SYNTHESIS SIGNAL FLOW Synthesizers make music by converting musical notes into synthesized sound. The route those electrical signals take is called signal flow. The After Dark signal flow is illustrated below: TEMPO SOUND TYPE OSCILLATOR DELAY VOLUME RESONANCE RELEASE FREAK... - Page 13 The sections below describe how each of the main building blocks of synthesis work together to complete the signal flow. To learn more about individual controls, special features and settings, refer to those chapters of this Manual. SEQUENCER The After Dark has hundreds of built-in melodies. Pressing the SEQ button randomly selects a new melody. Each time you press SEQ, the automatic drum machine turns on or off.
- Page 14 portion of the sound. Low-pass filter type is selected: LED (14) is blue. In this mode the filter will remove all sounds *above* the cutoff frequency. This means that as you reduce the cutoff frequency, you will hear less and less of the high frequency portion of the sound.
- Page 15 By pressing the CTRL 1 and CTRL 2 buttons, the Modulation Sources to the Oscillator are selected. Each press moves from Mod Envelope, to LFO 1, to LFO 2 to No Modulation When No Modulation is selected, only the static value of the MOD 1 and MOD 2 knobs are used to modulate.
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Page 16: Live Performance Features
LIVE PERFORMANCE FEATURES The After Dark has several features that can be activated during normal operation, live performance, or play. SEQUENCER The sequencer starts generating melodies as soon as the After Dark is turned on. The sequencer can also be turned off so notes can be played by MIDI. - Page 17 Toggle Drum Solo Mode On/Off You can also turn off the synthesizer sounds, leaving only a drum solo. r Hold down the KICK button then press the SEQ button while the unit is on and playing. Repeat to turn the synth back on.
- Page 18 Select Filter Type r Press and hold the FILTER MOD button to toggle between filter types. Low-pass = Dark Blue — Band-pass = Aqua — High-pass = Green — Adjust Filter Resonance r Press and hold the CTRL 2 button, then move FILTER lever forward or back to change the amount of resonance.
- Page 19 RANDOMIZING + FREAKING THE SOUND As previously discussed, the SEQ button will randomize a new synthesizer melody. It will also randomize new drum sounds and randomize new automatic drum patterns. There are also two controls you can use to change up all parameters of the sound at one time.
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Page 20: Midi Functions
MIDI FUNCTIONS MIDI Channel Setting The After Dark features a MIDI-IN port. Synthesis notes default to MIDI channel 1. Drum sounds default to MIDI channel 2. The default settings can be adjusted to allow you to daisy-chain the After Dark with other MIDI devices. Drums are always set to the After Dark’s MIDI channel +1. -
Page 21: Special Control Settings
SPECIAL CONTROL SETTINGS Automatic Power Down On/Off - The After Dark automatically shuts down if untouched for 30 minutes. You can disable this feature for live performance or studio play. STEP 1 Turn off the After Dark. STEP 2 r Hold RANDOMIZE and SNARE buttons. STEP 3 While continuing to press the buttons down, turn the After Dark back on. - Page 22 LED Light Show Animation Settings For those sensitive to flashing lights, there are four modes that reduce LED animations: STEP 1 Turn off the After Dark. STEP 2 r Hold CTRL 1 and OSCILLATOR buttons. STEP 3 While continuing to press the buttons down, turn the After Dark back on. STEP 4 3 Use the MOD 2 knob to select the desired mode: LED (8) green: Default light show animations.
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Page 23: Upgrade Melodies + Drums Using Midi
UPGRADE MELODIES + DRUMS USING MIDI The After Dark comes with the ability to upgrade new melodies and drum sounds. What you need: Blipblox After Dark (the original Blipblox is not upgradeable). — Mac or PC computer. — Qualified USB-MIDI interface cable. -
Page 24: Warranty - Purchases Made In Usa
Playtime Engineering dealer and continuing for the following period after that date for one (1) Year. Playtime Engineering warrants factory-refurbished merchandise to be free of material and operational defects for a period of ninety (90) days from the original date of retail sale. -
Page 25: Warranty - Purchases Made Outside Of Usa
This Limited Warranty allocates risk of product failure between purchaser and Playtime Engineering, and Playtime Engineering’s product pricing reflects this allocation of risk and the limitations of liability contained in this Limited Warranty. The agents, employees, distributors, and dealers of Playtime Engineering are not authorized to make modifications to this Limited Warranty, or make additional warranties binding on Playtime Engineering. - Page 26 © Playtime Engineering, LLC. All rights reserved.
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