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Table of Contents
Summary of Contents for Cherry Surreal MG-1 Plus
- Page 1 Surreal MG-1 Plus...
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Page 2: Getting Started
Radio Shack association not withstanding, the MG-1 was a great sounding little synth with a few dumb limitations, all of which have been addressed with Cherry Audio's Surrealistic MG- 1 Plus. These limitations included a limited range two-and-a-half octave keyboard (MG-1... - Page 3 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 2 Top Toolbar and Preset Browser The purple strip at the top of the MG-1 Plus interface is where you’ll load, save, and create sound presets. It contains utility functions such as undo/redo, UI zoom and Focus controls, under-the-hood settings, and more.
- Page 4 Refresh- This is the circular arrow button to the right of the downward arrow; clicking this checks the Cherry Audio server for new or updated presets. Pin- Clicking the push-pin icon locks the patch selection list open, allowing fast and easy browsing and auditioning of patches.
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Page 5: Focus Button
Help - Clicking this launches your web browser and opens the help document you’re currently reading. Which means you're already here... Surrealistic MG-1 Plus (left side) and Synthesizer by Cherry Audio (right side) logos- Clicking either of these displays “about” information, and shows the version number and current registered user ID. - Page 6 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual ⌘ [COMMAND] key and click the mouse; in Windows, hold the [OPTION] key and click the mouse. Focus can be reset with the same key shortcuts. 2.2 Preset List Right-Click Functions Show File- This displays the selected preset in the Mac or Windows folder containing it.
- Page 7 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 3 Tone Sources Section As monophonic analog synths go, MG-1 Plus is unique in that if features two standard mono analog oscillators (i.e., capable of sounding one note at a time), as well as a poly section that can sound up to 32 notes simultaneously.
- Page 8 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual Note Priority- Since the Tone Generators are monophonic (i.e. they can only play one note at a time), this control determines which note will sound if more then one key is played simultaneously.
- Page 9 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 4 Poly Section The original MG-1 included a rudimentary poly section that operated independently of the Tone Sources. The good news is that it allowed chords to be played on an otherwise mono (one-note-at-a-time) synth. The bad news is that it was extremely limited - its only control was a single level slider in the mixer section.
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Page 10: Filter Section
Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 5 Filter Section The Filter section is a 24 db/oct lowpass filter that removes high frequencies as its cutoff frequency setting is decreased from max, resulting in a dulling of sound. This a version of the classic transistor "ladder"... - Page 11 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 6 Contour Section The envelope generator section is an envelope generator used to dynamically shape volume and and/or cutoff frequency. If you're not familiar with the operation of envelope generators, here's an overview: When MG-1 Plus sees a gate voltage from a note, the contour generator outputs a dynamically changing voltage, according to the settings of its stages.
- Page 12 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual Tone Sources mode- This defines the behavior of the internal voltage-controlled amplifier, which acts as something of an automatic volume control and on/off switch for the final sound. Contoured- Rise Time, Sustain, and Fall Time parameters are applied to amplitude.
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Page 13: Modulation Section
Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 7 Modulation Section The MG-1 Plus includes a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) that generates sub-audio range signals intended for modulation purposes. Wave Shape- Selects the repeating pattern of the LFO. Available waveforms are triangle, square, and random. - Page 14 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual Tone Sources, Poly, and Filter modulation amount sliders- These independently set the amount of modulation routed to the Tone Sources, Poly, and Filter sections respectively. Setting moderate but different amounts of modulation to the Tone Sources and Poly sections is particularly useful for creating naturally chorused sounds using both sections.
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Page 15: Mixer Section
Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 8 Mixer Section The Mixer section is where all MG-1 Plus signals are mixed together before going to the Master Volume control and onto the output. Tone One- Sets the level of Tone Source One. - Page 16 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 9 MIDI Controllers Setup and The MIDI Tab Assigning internal and external hardware controls adds a whole new dimension of control and musicality to patches, and it's really easy to do. The MIDI Tab is where all controller assignments can be viewed and tweaked.
- Page 17 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 9.2 The MIDI Tab This is command central for all MIDI controller assignments. Here you’ll be able to see information about all currently assigned controllers and adjust control ranges. To view or hide the MIDI Tab, click the MIDI button in the top toolbar.
- Page 18 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual MMC (MIDI Machine Control)- The MIDI control protocol for tape machine-style transport controls. Back in the dark ages, this was used to control wonky old Tascam and Fostex reel-to-reel monsters, but it's useful if your MIDI controller has tape-style transport control buttons.
- Page 19 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 9.5 MIDI Tab Parameters Right-Click Right-clicking on an assigned parameter opens the menu below. MIDI Learn- This is used to change the controller assigned to a particular parameter. Unlearn- Deletes the selected automation parameter.
- Page 20 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 10 QWERTY Musical Typing Keyboard (MTK) If you don't have a MIDI keyboard attached to your computer, the standard QWERTY computer keyboard can be used to play notes - we're pretty sure you've got one of those! ...
- Page 21 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual Pitch Bend- To pitch a note or notes, press the + or - computer keyboard keys while playing a note. Notes will bend up to an octave. Notes can also be pitchbent by clicking the mouse in the Bend area.
- Page 22 Cherry Audio: Surreal MG-1 Plus User Manual 11 Settings Clicking the settings gear opens a window with multiple tabs for configuring various "under- the-hood" settings. These are mostly set-and-forget kind of parameters - all the stuff you'll want to tweak is on the front panel, as the heavens intended! 11.1 General...
- Page 23 Kenny Loggins. Clicking this opens the same email and password login screen you’ll see when initially launching MG-1 Plus. View Account Settings- This opens your personal account page on the Cherry Audio Store website containing information about modules purchased and more. Software Update We often fix bugs and make improvements;...
- Page 24 Show Updates On Toolbar- Checking this will display an icon in the toolbar next to the logo letting you know there's an update available. Show Notifications From Cherry Audio- We occasionally will fire off in-app advertisements; disabling this checkbox will hide them. We hate repetitive, annoying ads as much as you, so we won't use this feature too often.