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Related Manuals for Kodamo EssenceFM
Summary of Contents for Kodamo EssenceFM
- Page 1 English Other languages and PDFs available at kodamo.org...
- Page 3 EssenceFM “musician oriented”, aiming for reliability and comfort of use in every situation. This manual was written to offer you the best experience you’d get from the EssenceFM. We recommend to read at least the first section and store this handbook preciously in case you want to get further information.
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Page 4: Table Of Contents
Table of Contents Making connections....................5 Let’s play!........................5 Introducing the Front Panel..................6 User Interface Elements....................8 First steps.........................10 Introducing FM synthesis...................10 Sound design tips....................11 Basic workflow....................12 Voice mode......................13 Voice List.......................13 Voice Editor......................14 Algorithm design..................14 Editing voice/operator parameters..............15 Voice settings....................15 Operator settings..................17 Envelope Editor....................19 Patch mode......................21 Patch editor......................21 Layer management..................21... - Page 5 Sorting........................31 Display........................31 Storage.......................32 Audio........................32 System........................33 Reset........................33 TouchPiano......................33 Automation......................34 Effect List.........................35 Troubleshooting.......................36 Warranty........................38 Maintenance and Care....................38 License........................38 Memo........................39...
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Page 6: Making Connections
Making connections It’s the moment to plug your EssenceFM! Back panel connectors are described below, from the left to the right: Audio Output Pairs 1 to 4 (¼ inch / 6,35 mm TRS phone jacks): Each pair can operate as a stereo output (see Effects and Routing section). Each output delivers a balanced signal, but still can be connected to an unbalanced TS jack. -
Page 7: Introducing The Front Panel
Voice: A Voice is the smallest element that the EssenceFM uses: a 6-op FM sound. Patch: A Patch is gathering one or more voice(s), by stacking, layering, sequencing them together and adding effects. Performance: A Performance assigns a patch to each MIDI channel, store effects, routing settings and much more. - Page 8 described below, except on the main page of the Performance mode, where they act as real-time MIDI controllers. Main Dial: Modifies the focused element on screen (which will be detailed in the next section). Inc / Dec: Works in the same way as Main Dial (increments and decrements value).
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Page 9: User Interface Elements
User Interface Elements The EssenceFM user interface is organized into pages. A breadcrumb located at the top of the screen always shows were you are in the page tree. After pressing a mode key, the main page of the mode is displayed at the leftmost, then you can access more sub-pages from it. - Page 10 Button: Pressing it triggers an action, like a physical key does. Slider: Allows to set a value. Simply drag the slider horizontally to change its value. You can also enter a numerical value by using the virtual keypad that shows up at the top right corner of the screen.
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Page 11: First Steps
First steps Introducing FM synthesis FM stands for “Frequency Modulation”. A waveform is multiplied (“modulated”) with another one to create a new sound. It’s the same as vibrato, except that it is much faster, so much that it sounds like a different timbre to the ear, rather than a quick vibrato. If you’re familiar with the subtractive synthesis used in analog synths, FM is quite the opposite: you usually start from sounds with low harmonic content (e.g. -
Page 12: Sound Design Tips
The quickest way to learn FM synthesis is by looking at existing sounds. Go into Voice mode, select one from the list and press “Edit” to see how they work and try modifying them. FM synthesis has the big advantage of being really fun to work with - after about 10 years experimenting with it, we are still surprised by the variety of sounds we can get from it. -
Page 13: Basic Workflow
Basic workflow To make the sound creation process easy, we suggest to always start by creating a Patch (either in Patch mode or in Performance mode). Then when you are in the Patch editor, assign the first layer to an empty voice then press on the Edit button to edit this voice directly. -
Page 14: Voice Mode
Voice mode In Voice mode you can organize, play and edit a 6-op FM voice. This mode responds to the Global Channel, see Global > MIDI configuration. Voice List Bank / Voice Lists: Those lists allows you to select the voice you want to play or edit in this mode Category: Shows... -
Page 15: Voice Editor
PortSpd (0 ~ 127): Portamento Speed, works only when the voice is in Mono Mode Effects: Configure the effect DSPs Status bar: shows the Global Channel (1-16 or Omni) and the current polyphony used. Voice Editor The voice editor is split into two parts: the left part of the screen displays the algorithm, while the right panel displays parameters... -
Page 16: Editing Voice/Operator Parameters
Editing voice/operator parameters When an operator is pressed, the right panel shows the operator's parameters. When you press the touchscreen in an empty region of the left part of the screen, the right panel shows the voice settings. Voice settings BASE TAB: Voice Name: Sets the name of the voice. - Page 17 Random Phase: Sets the LFO phase to a random starting point when a note is played. Common Phase: If checked, all the notes using this voice will share a single instance of the LFO (all notes will have their LFO in sync). FILTER TAB: Dry/Wet Balance (0 ~ 127): Sets the balance between dry sound and filtered sound.
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Page 18: Operator Settings
This envelope controls the voice panning over time. See Envelope Edit section to know more about manipulating envelopes. On the EssenceFM, panning is averaged when nested elements have different pannings (e.g. a Patch panned to the left using a Voice panned to the right will sound centered). - Page 19 Volume (0~127): Sets the operator’s volume. Feedback Source (1~6) [OP1 only]: Selects which operator output will be fed back into OP1. Feedback Level (0~127) [OP1 only]: Sets the level of the feedback loop. Fixed: Toggles between Fixed or Multiplicative operator frequency mode. In Multiplicative mode, it follows MIDI note frequencies with multiplier applied to it, while in Fixed mode, it stays always the same.
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Page 20: Envelope Editor
MOD TAB: Velocity Sensitivity (-127 ~ +127): Sets how the operator volume is affected by note velocity. A value of zero means the operator's volume is always as defined by the Volume parameter in BASE tab. As you increase its value, low velocities can scale its volume down more and more. - Page 21 Note about decay reaching Zero and Release time: this case is impossible to represent correctly with a single graphical curve. To compensate for that the EssenceFM uses the last segment as the release length (points 1 and 2 in this picture). That means if...
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Page 22: Patch Mode
or Exponential mode. Selected Point Information: On the page bottom line, selected point coordinates are shown to help you adjusting them. The currently selected point can be adjusted via hardware controls: the main jog wheel sets its horizontal position, while INC/DEC keys sets its vertical position. The Direct Access knobs adjust the horizontal position of the corresponding numbered points. -
Page 23: Patch Settings
based on the previous element. Assign Layer: Assigns a voice to the selected layer. Edit Layer: Opens the selected layer in the Voice Editor. You can edit the voice and hear it in context, but beware that any modification impacts all patches using the same voice. Remove Layer (x): Removes the selected layer from the patch. -
Page 24: Voice Sequencer
heard. Top Velocity (0 ~ 127): Sets the top velocity bound at which the layer should be heard. TAB 2: Pan (0 ~ 127): Sets the selected layer pan position. Transpose mode: In this mode, selected layer will respond to the incoming MIDI note pitch Fixed mode: In this mode, selected layer will ignore the incoming MIDI note pitch Transpose [Transpose mode only] (-36 ~ +36): Sets the... - Page 25 corresponding layer. Swap event swaps the current FM parameters of the layer with another one (it may create strange effects depending on the sounds you are swapping). You can add, drag horizontally, and remove any event into the sequencer grid in order to compose a sequence following your creativity! There can be a maximum of 128 events in the Voice Sequencer, and the time grid has a 128-step resolution.
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Page 26: Performance Mode
Trigger Once: Triggers the event only once if the sequence is looped. Delete Event (x): Removes the selected event. Performance mode This is the most powerful mode in the EssenceFM, allowing up to 16 patches to be played simultaneously on any of the 16 MIDI channels. Manage: Goes to Performance Manage page, described below. -
Page 27: Performance Manager
Performance Manager On this page you can manage all the 256 performances stored in the EssenceFM. There only active performance at a time, in this screenshot it's the first one (Current: #0 (GM)). Performance List: One among the 256 performances can be selected here. The first 8 parts of the selected performance are displayed as a preview, at the bottom right of the screen. -
Page 28: Effects And Routing
Output Volume: sets the output volume of the effect DSP. Knob Assign In this page, you can assign 6 MIDI Control Changes to the 6 Direct Access encoders, which will be effective when EssenceFM main Performance page. It's a powerful way... -
Page 29: Global Mode
Send Default CC Values at performance load: If checked, CCs will be initialized to their default values and send them to the MIDI output when the performance is loaded. Global mode All the EssenceFM's global parameters are accessible here. When entering this mode, the current... -
Page 30: Tuning
Center C Note Name (C3~C5): Choose the center C note name according to your regional standard. This parameter is purely for display purposes, it does not affect the sound in any way. Disable MIDI LED: If checked, disables the MIDI activity LED F ILTERS TAB : Check a message type or MIDI channel number... -
Page 31: Waveforms
Show voices: Shows which voices are using the selected waveform. This is very useful as the waveforms are global to the EssenceFM - they are shared between voices. You need to be careful when modifying one, as all voices using it will be impacted. -
Page 32: Sorting
Flip Y: flips the waveform vertically. Smooth: smooth the waveform. Press several times to smooth more. Volume: scales the volume, from 0 to 200%. Remove DC: centers the waveform vertically (removes any DC offset). Mix: mix the waveform with another waveform. Crossfade: smooth the waveform ends to make it seamless. -
Page 33: Storage
Virtual Keyboard: Selects the layout used for the alphanumeric keyboard. Startup Mode: Sets the default mode the EssenceFM boots in. Key Backlight: Enables LED backlight under the keys. APPEARANCE TAB: Color Theme: Selects the color theme for the interface. -
Page 34: System
the Voice Sequencer. Each allocated voice (the sequencer may trigger many of them) is represented by a white square if it's currently ON, or gray square if it's in release state. Main Audio Output: Selects the audio output used for Patch and Voice modes. Digital Gain: Sets the global output volume. -
Page 35: Automation
MIDI Out Enable: Sends the generate note events to MIDI out. Automation When you are using the EssenceFM with a DAW or MIDI sequencer, you want to be able to save its patch/routing/effects settings and recall them automatically when needed. To do so, save your performance into one of the 256 slots, then use the MIDI CC 39 and CC 40 to load the desired performance. -
Page 36: Troubleshooting
right order for use with the CCs detailed above. N° Effect name Effect parameters Reverb (Room1) Reflection (0 ~ 124), Damping (0 ~ 127) Reverb (Room2) Reverb (Studio1) Reverb (Studio2) Reverb (Studio3) Reverb (Hall) Reverb (Space) Delay Delay L (0 ~ 127), Delay R (0 ~ 127), Feedback (0 ~ 120), Cutoff (0 ~ 127) Chorus Speed L (0 ~ 127), Speed R (0 ~ 127), Depth (0 ~ 127) - Page 37 Problem Solution Some notes stuck Press the “Panic” button. active and I can’t stop Check if there are any unterminated volume envelopes them in the Voices you are using (the last envelope point of each carrier should be set to zero). I have some voices and Your probably had a power loss while pressing “Save”.
- Page 38 Voice Sequencer. If this happens, no worries, it doesn’t do anything harmful - but you need to restart your EssenceFM to fix the glitchy sound. We suggest trying a different approach in your sound design to achieve the same effect in a more efficient way.
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Page 39: Warranty
If you need to return the product under warranty, please send us an email (contact@kodamo.org) describing what happened and we’ll send you the procedure. Maintenance and Care To clean up your EssenceFM, use a soft piece of cloth. Knobs can be pulled up to make it easier to clean. License You are free to use, publish, sell any content you create with the EssenceFM. -
Page 40: Memo
Memo...
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