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Audiospektri HG-16 black Instructions For Use Manual

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®
HG-16

black Instructions for use

Our HG-16
®
synthesizer gets its name from its principal function where 16 harmonic frequencies are generated atop
the base note. However, it has a total of 14 different modes of operation, mostly using additive synthesis, but some
modes also apply filtering operations for subtractive synthesis. Additionally, four different variations of the classical
channel vocoder are included. HG-16 follows the Eurorack compatible modular synthesizer standard and is not a
stand-alone module, but requires external power from the rack, note determining external voltage, gate trigger, and
preferably several external envelope generators. These instructions cover the power requirements, external
connections, common operating characteristics, and then instructions for each of the 14 synthesis modes. These
instructions are quite detailed, and for experienced users, there is a more compact section at the end for quick setup
of different operating modes, see "Quick mode setup". This manual covers the "black" version. It has the same
functions as the original HG-16, but the front panel is black instead of gold, and there are some differences in the
input signal connections.
Audiospektri Finland Oy 2018. Rev 2.0
©
HG-16 is a registered trademark of Audiospektri Finland Oy,
www.audiospektri.com
Lindforsinkatu 19A26, 33720 Tampere, Finland
1

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  • Page 1: Black Instructions For Use

    HG-16, but the front panel is black instead of gold, and there are some differences in the input signal connections. Audiospektri Finland Oy 2018. Rev 2.0 © HG-16 is a registered trademark of Audiospektri Finland Oy, www.audiospektri.com Lindforsinkatu 19A26, 33720 Tampere, Finland...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents HG-16®black Instructions for use....................1 Power requirements........................3 Dimensions..........................3 Front panel texts.........................4 External connections and additional required modules not included ........5 Connections and controls in detail....................6 List of Operating modes......................7 Virtual switchboard........................8 Slider calibration.........................9 Tuning............................9 Grounding, shielding and RF interference................10 Operating modes in detail......................11 Mode 0: 16 harmonics, global noise and phase modulation..........11 Mode 1: 8 harmonics, individual noise and phase modulation..........12...

  • Page 3: Power Requirements

    Power requirements +5V, 220mA (steady state), 250mA (flash memory operations) +12V, 40mA -12V, -40mA All these power lines have to be supplied from the Eurorack bus using the flat cable of the unit. Please observe the correct polarity of the cable to avoid short-circuiting the power supply. When connecting to a standard Eurorack bus, the ribbon cable should not be twisted: the red marking should correspond to the -12V bus line that is the bottom terminal in the bus connector.

  • Page 4: Front Panel Texts

    Figure 1: The HG-16 black front panel texts and outlines. Front panel texts The front panel texts are shown in the picture. To make it easier to find the controls in these instructions, all the words that can be found on the front panel of the synthesizer are emphasized in bold throughout the whole text.

  • Page 5: External Connections And Additional Required Modules Not Included

    standard 44.1kHz sample frequency, except Mode 2 has a nonstandard frequency. mic: microphone input, used only in the vocoder modes. 1 – 16 optical potentiometer sliders, typically for harmonic amplitude adjustment, but also for mode specific functions. For some modes, the arrangement uses two separate 8 slider sets, therefore there are also duplicate numbers for the sliders starting again from the 9th slider onward.

  • Page 6: Connections And Controls In Detail

    1 and adjust 2 are multiturn rotary knobs that have control functions specific to each operating mode. – Three position toggle switch gate on/off/envelope select. The HG-16 black assumes that the modular synthesizer gate signal is connected through front panel plug (contrary to the original HG-16 that had it bus connected).

  • Page 7: List Of Operating Modes

    List of Operating modes The HG-16 has 14 different operating modes, selectable by rotating the mode select knob. The mode selector only has 10 positions, therefore modes over 9 are indicated by the light emitting diode to the left of the selector. When rotating the selector CW from 9 to 0, the diode is lit, and you need to add 10 to the mode selector number.

  • Page 8: Virtual Switchboard

    Virtual switchboard A key characteristic of the HG-16 is the employment of a virtual switchboard that allows any of the eight envelope inputs to be routed to any of the 16 slide potentiometers which then will scale the external envelope signals connected by typical patch cables from external envelope generators.

  • Page 9: Slider Calibration

    Slider calibration The slider maxima and minima are factory calibrated to follow approximately the decibel scale under the sliders. If for some reason some of the sliders seem to be very different from the others, there is a way to recalibrate them. Keep the HG-16 running, and the toggle switch in the “off”...

  • Page 10: Grounding, Shielding And Rf Interference

    the fundamental and second harmonic at equal amplitudes when the pitch bend signal is close to zero. Otherwise only the fundamental frequency can be heard. Therefore, you can find the ideal situation when there is zero voltage at the pitch bend input - and it thus has no effect on the note - by adjusting adjust 1 when slider 16 is up until you hear both.

  • Page 11: Operating Modes In Detail

    Operating modes in detail Mode 0: 16 harmonics, global noise and phase modulation The first operating mode generates 16 harmonic frequencies with individual envelope control for each using the corresponding 16 sliders. In addition to the nominal amplitude set by the sliders, each harmonic can be dynamically modulated by an external envelope generator output when connected to one of the 4 envelope inputs.

  • Page 12: Mode 1: 8 Harmonics, Individual Noise And Phase Modulation

    Mode 1: 8 harmonics, individual noise and phase modulation Mode 1 is similar to Mode 0, with the following exceptions: – only 8 harmonics are generated – the noise and/or PM modulation strength for each of the 8 harmonics can individually be adjusted using the corresponding sliders 9 - 16, i.e.

  • Page 13: Mode 2: Comb Filtered Pseudoperiodic Signal

    Mode 2: Comb filtered pseudoperiodic signal Mode 2 uses a white noise source as an input to a comb filter, thereby creating a pseudoperiodic harmonic signal. The speed of the filter is adjusted using the input note control voltage, therefore the apparent pitch of the pseudoperiodic signal follows the same calibrated note pitch as the other modes.

  • Page 14: Mode 3: Base Note With Selectable Intervals

    Mode 3: Base note with selectable intervals This mode can generate the whole set of musical intervals within one octave, i.e. maximum of 7 notes. Each note then can have a maximum of 8 harmonics. The first 8 sliders are used in the same way as in the basic form for controlling the corresponding harmonic amplitudes.

  • Page 15: Mode 4: Pseudo-Vcf With Noise Control

    Mode 4: Pseudo-VCF with noise control Mode 13: Pseudo-VCF with PM control Although this mode uses additive synthesis, it is still possible to do signal processing that closely resembles voltage controlled filter (VCF) operation. In vintage analog synthesizers VCF was one of the main attractions. In this mode, the harmonic generator makes 8 harmonics that are fed to a spectrum shaper.
  • Page 16 An interesting feature in Mode 13 is that because the filter is pseudo-VCF and not a real, the harmonics created by the PM are not filtered out based on their own frequency, but instead based on the frequency of the fundamental that was modulated.

  • Page 17: Also The Possibility To Generate Non-Harmonic Overtones

    Mode 5: True chorus with 10 chorus members, each having a maximum of 8 harmonics. Also the possibility to generate non- harmonic overtones. Mode 5 generates 10 different fundamental frequencies, each with a maximum 8 harmonics. The fundamental frequencies are generated close to each other, therefore making a true chorus of 10 members ("true" used here to emphasize the difference from typical chorus effects that loop the same voice to create a similar effect).

  • Page 18: Mode 10: 16 Harmonics With Two Parameter Noise Control

    Mode 10: 16 harmonics with two parameter noise control This mode is similar to Mode 0, with the following exceptions: – No phase modulation. – modulation 2 is used for modulating the setting of adjust 2 (see its description below; modulation 1 still controls the noise amplitude).

  • Page 19: Mode 12: Harmonic Generator With Built-In Sequenced Envelope Generator

    Mode 12: Harmonic generator with built-in sequenced envelope generator This mode can generate a signal with 15 harmonic frequencies. Instead of the external envelope generator inputs, an internal one is used, and its output is fed to a virtual delay line so that a maximum of 4 delayed envelope waveforms can be used for modulating the harmonics.
  • Page 20 1. The external envelope generator inputs 1 - 4 need not to be connected (if you have cables already connected to them, no harm, you can keep them connected, but they have no effect). 2. If you want to use the PM modulation feature, connect also an envelope generator output to modulation 2.

  • Page 21: Mode 14: Frequency Modulated Harmonic Generator

    Mode 14: Frequency modulated harmonic generator As was explained in the section ”PM vs FM”, frequency modulation of the harmonic generator signal will create also nonharmonic components that are especially useful for generating percussion-type sounds. In this mode, the maximum number of base note harmonics is 6. The harmonic amplitudes can be controlled in the typical way using sliders 1 –...
  • Page 22 The range of modulating signal frequencies is very wide, therefore this mode can be used all the way from slow vibrato/pitch bend -type of effects up to high frequency modulation that makes sidelobes far from each of the modulated base frequency spectral components. Both the modulating signal amplitude and frequency can be varied. The modulating signal frequency can be adjusted using adjust 1 and adjust 2 and modulated using an envelope output connected to modulation 1.
  • Page 23 Tip 2: Straightforward FM can be created by feeding external modulation to the pitch bend -input CV pitch, because it also has a wide bandwidth, but then the spectral spreading of each harmonic is proportional to the harmonic number. As a summary, here is a list of the patch cable connections required for mode 14: 1.

  • Page 24: Mode 6: Single Channel Vocoder

    Mode 6: Single channel vocoder Quick start guide for the connections: Input signals: mic: Microphone input, balanced 3.5mm TRS plug modulation 1: No function modulation 2: No function envelope inputs: envelope 1: base note spectral shift envelope 2: No function envelope 3: No function envelope 4: No function (optionally CV note input, if the PCB switch is closed) Outputs:...
  • Page 25 Detailed description Mode 6 implements a classical channel vocoder that is based on a filter bank spectrum analysis. Modern digital signal processing technology and hardware allows many improvements over the analog designs. Typical analog bandpass filters have uneven group delay resulting from bandwidth narrowing. This makes poor time response, i.e. typical ringing at the center frequency, and/or slow response to rapid spectral changes.
  • Page 26 The setting of the spectral interpolation determining slider 8 does not make much difference when the note determining voltage changes slowly. When Slider 8 is on, the spectrum follows the original one a little better, but because the analysis filterbank has good resolution, the fidelity is quite good also when it is off. Smoother spectral interpolation helps to attenuate any possible clicks when the pitch changes rapidly (this is because there is no synthesis filterbank that would smooth the time response, and the harmonic generator has very rapid response).

  • Page 27: Mode 7: Single Channel Freeze Spectrum/Capture Transient Vocoder

    Mode 7: Single channel freeze spectrum/capture transient vocoder The vocoder makes it possible to build a spectrum with even more than 30 harmonic frequencies using a proper input signal to the microphone (i.e. also other than human voices). Mode 7 has been added in order to be able to fix a desired spectrum using the frequency analysis filter bank of the vocoder.
  • Page 28 overload led blinks when either the maximum or minimum is reached. The rotated angle is irrelevant, always the next transient in list is found for one key activation. When you have found a suitable one, keep slider 1 up, disconnect envelope input 3 and play the sample. Now adjust 1 comes back to its default function, i.e.

  • Page 29: Mode 8: Two Channel Vocoder

    Mode 8: Two channel vocoder Mode 8 controls are similar to Mode 6 controls, but because it adds a second voice to the synthesis part, it has a second set of controls for several functions. In addition, it has settings for determining the interval between the base note and the second note.

  • Page 30: Mode 9: Two Channel Freeze Spectrum/Capture Transient Vocoder

    Sliders 11 to 15 define the pitch difference between the two vocoder output channels or notes. The numbers below the upper ones clarify the intervals, i.e. 3 (below 11) for the third, etc, up to the seventh. key select The key selection is made by pulling the spring loaded “key select” switch up, simultaneously when pushing down the desired major key in the keyboard.

  • Page 31: Quick Mode Setup

    Quick mode setup Mode connections and adjustments are listed shortly for each mode in the following. For more detailed instructions, please read the longer mode sections. Also note that instead of the proposed external envelope generator outputs below, the D.C.out voltage from the front panel plug can be connected to all the envelope inputs, if you just want to keep the corresponding control voltage constant.
  • Page 32 Mode 3, 7 intervals x 8 harmonics 1. Connect envelope generator outputs to all those of the envelope inputs that you have selected for the desired sliders using the virtual switchboard. Note that both the 8 harmonics (sliders 1 to 8) and the 7 interval amplitude responses (sliders 9 to 15) can be modulated.
  • Page 33 Mode 10, 16 harmonics with two parameter noise control , Mode 11: 8 harmonics with individual two parameter noise control. 1. Connect envelope generator outputs to all those of the envelope inputs that you have activated for the desired harmonic sliders. 2.

This manual is also suitable for:

Hg-16

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