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Aly James Lab SYNCUSSION SY-4X User Manual

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  • Page 2 www.alyjameslab.com USER MANUAL 1.0 Aly James ©2024 ALYJAMESLAB...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    1 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ......................3 INSTALLATION ......................7 MAIN FEATURES ......................8 CONTROL PANELS ....................... 9 MAIN PANEL ......................10 5.1.1 Analog Sliders and Selectors ................10 5.1.2 Digital Sliders and Internal Mods ..............12 MATRIX PANEL .....................15 SET PANEL ......................16 MIDI MAP PANEL ....................21 PRESET BROWSER PANEL .................23 PLAY MODES .......................24...

  • Page 4: Introduction

    2 INTRODUCTION The Pearl Syncussion SY-1, introduced in the late 1970s, is a legendary drum synthesizer celebrated for its unique sound-shaping capabilities and wide tuning range. At its core, the SY-1 features two identical modules, each containing two oscillators, a custom filter, two envelope generators, an LFO, a Sample &...
  • Page 5 The SY-4X packages four Syncussion SY-1 modules into one neat unit, with some modules featuring additional modifications like noise direct injection and a Custom Mode A. These four modules enable you to create an 8-voice drum kit, four mono synths (with coupled voices = 4 oscillators per module), or a four-voice poly synth (4 x 4 oscillators).
  • Page 6 The SY-4X is not only a faithful re-creation of the Pearl SY-1's inner circuitry, but it also offers significantly more options. These include two new modes—G & H, trigger- controlled 'mode scanning,' CMOS circuit 'defect' control for enhancing harmonics beyond the original, real-time VCF integrator cap offset for dynamic pole movement, fine-tuning of the envelope response to match your playing style, and additional features like the intense Berserk mode.
  • Page 7 To provide maximum control over the sound generation process, each voice in SY-4X is equipped with dedicated knobs. These knobs allow you to fine-tune the parameters for the eight provided channels, each with their own distinct settings. Two sets of parameters are available, the first set of “analog” sliders are faithful to the original while the second “digital”...

  • Page 8: Installation

    SY-4X gives you 4 Syncussion unit to play with in various configuration. 3 INSTALLATION Compatibility • Windows 10 + 64bit Host VST3 • Mac OS 10.10 + 64bit host VST3 AU Universal 2 (Native Silicon/Intel) Install Windows: • Run SY-4X Installer Install Mac: •...

  • Page 9: Main Features

    4 MAIN FEATURES CMOS BASED OSCILLATOR: This type of VCO uses a CMOS inverter chip and a bias circuit to control oscillation. If the circuit isn't ideal, one half of the resulting waveform might differ slightly from the other, resulting in a distorted waveform and additional harmonics. In the SY-4X, each of the 8 voices has a CMOS parameter that allows you to control or enhance this 'defect.' The reset value replicates the original hardware's response behavior.

  • Page 10: Control Panels

    5 CONTROL PANELS The SY-4X GUI interface is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive, organizing different parameters into separate sections/panels for easy access. MAIN: Main view area where you will control the selected Syncussion module. SET: Access global settings and modules settings area. MATRIX: Future area for cross-modulation between channels.

  • Page 11: Main Panel

    5.1 MAIN PANEL The main interface allows you to select the voice/module you want to edit. For each voice, you will find the following basic controls and a TRIGGER button to quickly monitor a sound from the GUI (triggers at max velocity): 5.1.1 Analog Sliders and Selectors 1.
  • Page 12 width between the two filter poles. For more details, see the Pole Spreading Filter section. 5. SWEEP Speed Slider: The SWEEP Speed slider adjusts the speed of envelope generator 1. This envelope generator operates independently of triggers and is unaffected by velocity. You could call envelope generator 1 the sweep envelope. 6.

  • Page 13: Digital Sliders And Internal Mods

    5.1.2 Digital Sliders and Internal Mods To the right of each voice, there is a set of digital sliders providing direct circuit control. Additionally some voices feature new selectors with custom functions. Note: Highlighted are two selectors called BLEND and Q-NOISE, these custom functions are only available for Channel 2 and Channel 6.
  • Page 14 Default response is the typical capacitor discharging shape—snappy and punchy. But what if you could change that at will with a simple modification, turning the response from exponential to logarithmic? This setting alone can dramatically change the resulting sound, giving you way more mileage out of this synth. 3.
  • Page 15 4. OFFSET: The OSC.2 OFFSET slider controls the frequency offset between OSC.2 and OSC.1. In the original hardware, this small frequency offset was set by a trimmer according to factory specifications, but a popular modification was to make this offset adjustable, allowing users to alter the FM ratio in modes where OSC.1 modulates OSC.2's frequency.

  • Page 16: Matrix Panel

    10. MODE A OSC: Available only on channel 8, this selector activates a modified version of MODE A. Instead of just connecting OSC1's triangle waveform to the filter, MODE A becomes: OSC1 + OSC2, both connected to the filter and both wave-shaped into square waves.

  • Page 17: Set Panel

    5.3 SET PANEL The settings panel, the heart of SY-4X. GLOBAL SECTION Algorithm Display: If activated, a display screen appears on the MAIN panel, showing the block diagram of the currently selected MODE algorithm. Please note that these diagrams do not display all internal offsets and additional modulation connections involved in each MODE, still useful to familiarize with modes.
  • Page 18 OSC Trigger Reset: Resets the oscillator’s phase with each trigger. Unlike free- running mode, phase reset can yield more predictable results, especially when working with drum sounds. This is another popular modification found in hardware Syncussion. Noise Gen HPF: Adjusts the high-pass filtering of the noise generator.
  • Page 19 Some aliasing isn't always undesirable and can be used creatively. Be aware that in frequency-modulated modes like B or E, you might notice intermodulation at high tunings— this is normal and also occurs in analog FM synthesis. MODULE SECTION This section provides per-module functions primarily related to tuning. For a detailed overview of keyboard modes, please refer to the Play Modes section.
  • Page 20 Absolute Pitch Scaling Root: When activated, absolute pitch scaling uses the selected ROOT note as the scale's foundation when using Keyboard Pitch Control. Tune CV Scaling Rule: This feature scales the pitch CV (control voltage) to a musical pitch based on a chosen scaling rule, with around 60 scales available.
  • Page 21 For example, in Cubase, it's straightforward to choose the desired MIDI channel for a track and even assign different MIDI channels on the same track. In Ableton Live, it might be a bit more limited, but since I'm not a Live expert, I recommend doing some research to discover more features that suit your workflow.

  • Page 22: Midi Map Panel

    MIDI CH Auto Rotate: This function activates what you can call POLY synth mode where each new trigger will trigger the next module, each module must be in KEY MODE to respond, if any module is in Drum Kit mode it will simply not trigger. In this mode you don’t need to care about the MIDI channel anymore and you can send from any channel, SY-4X will do the routing internally.
  • Page 23 Your custom map is now stored in memory. To save your map permanently so that it's available every time you load the plugin, click SAVE. If you want to revert to the default mapping at any time, click RESET. You can view the RAM memory assignments in the RAM DATA memory box, which shows the assigned MIDI note numbers in decimal value.

  • Page 24: Preset Browser Panel

    5.5 PRESET BROWSER PANEL The preset browser is a convenient way to select presets, in next revisions it will feature categories. At the top of the GUI, you can find a LOAD/SAVE disk icon from where you can load or save individual presets or banks in either.

  • Page 25: Play Modes

    6 PLAY MODES The SY-4X is designed to be highly versatile, offering several PLAY modes to cater to different musical needs. These modes determine how the modules and voices interact, whether you’re creating a complex drum kit, a rich polyphonic synth, or something in between, in any case you also benefit from the multi-output feature of the plug-in where each voice can have a dedicated DAW channel.

  • Page 26: Mono Synth - 1 Module, 2 Channels, 1 Voice (4 Oscillators)

    6.2.1 Mono Synth – 1 Module, 2 Channels, 1 voice (4 oscillators) Mono Synth Mode is active when a module is set to Keyboard Pitch Control, it uses a single module but combines its two voices to create a more complex monophonic synthesizer sound.

  • Page 27: Scaling Rules

    6.2.4 Scaling Rules The Syncussion could also be controlled from external CV, it could track more or less over 4 octaves and can be used to play actual notes. SY-4X introduces pitch scaling where the TUNE slider and the incoming CV will both be scaled, whether to a 1-step scale (such as a whole tone) or a full musical scale.
  • Page 28 ➢ Creative Use of One-Step Scaling: One-step scaling options like Whole Tone or Quarter Tone are particularly useful for creating dissonant, otherworldly sounds. For example, setting the pitch to a Quarter Tone scale can give your music a modern classical or non-Western feel, while scaling to Minor Thirds or Major Sixths can create unexpected melodic leaps.
  • Page 29 One Step Scaling: ➢ NoScaling: No scaling is applied; the pitch remains unchanged. ➢ Semitone: Scales the pitch to the nearest semitone, which is the smallest interval used in Western music (1/12 of an octave). ➢ WholeTone: Scales the pitch to the nearest whole tone, which is equivalent to two semitones.
  • Page 30 ➢ Lydian: Scales the pitch to the nearest note in the Lydian mode, characterized by a raised fourth degree. ➢ Mixolydian: Scales the pitch to the nearest note in the Mixolydian mode, similar to the major scale but with a lowered seventh. ➢...
  • Page 31 ➢ TET_7: Scales the pitch to the nearest note in the 7-tone equal temperament scale, which divides the octave into 7 equal parts, each approximately 171.43 cents apart. ➢ TET_8: Scales the pitch to the nearest note in the 8-tone equal temperament scale, which divides the octave into 8 equal parts, each 150 cents apart.

  • Page 32: Berserk Mode

    7 BERSERK MODE This optional mode not only transforms the entire SY-4X unit into a more aggressive and unruly beast, but it also changes its appearance, turning the chassis into a glorious vintage white. You can choose between a pre-filter asymmetrical clipping stage or a post-filter crusher stage (roughly 6kHz, variable bit rate).

  • Page 33: Osc Modes

    8 OSC MODES The Syncussion offered A, B, C, D, E and F Modes which are a predefined setting for Oscillators Pitch, Frequency Modulation, Volume levels and other modulation sources. SY- 4X adds two additional modes G and H. Here is a description of each Mode, each one of them is better at producing certain types of sounds than others, experiment with them and you will find out! Mode A...
  • Page 34 Mode E Oscillator 1 modulates the frequency of Oscillator 2. Oscillator 2 is set to a pseudo SAW* waveform and a higher frequency, outputting to VCF, which is set to a higher cutoff frequency. Close the filter for the Prince "explosion sound"...

  • Page 35: Pole Spreading Filter

    9 POLE SPREADING FILTER 9.1 A N UNUSUAL FILTER DESIGN The VCF in the SY-1 was a state-variable filter using 4069 inverters. It stands out due to its unique characteristics (poles spreading), resulting from unequal integrator capacitors and the absence of direct resonance control, offering distinctive filter sweeps and tones. SY-4X models the unique filter design of the Syncussion.
  • Page 36 Note: A future mod option will allow you to set both CV resistors to the same value, bringing the two poles closer together when the envelope fires and making the SPREAD parameter even more crucial by controlling a more consistent ratio. With this option enabled, the poles will maintain an almost constant ratio governed by the SPREAD parameter, while being less influenced by the CV.

  • Page 37: Presets Import / Export

    10 PRESETS IMPORT / EXPORT VST3, XML, AU preset. SY-4X can load and import its own presets & banks. Most parameters and all MIDI LEARNED & ASSIGNED parameters will be saved per patch. At the top of the GUI, you will find a LOAD/SAVE disk icon from where you can load or save individual presets or banks in either.

  • Page 38: Links

    12 LINKS Official Website https://www.alyjameslab.com/ HOPE YOU HAVE FUN WITH THE SY-4X!

  • Page 39: Disclaimer

    13 DISCLAIMER SY-4X (the software) is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind. Aly James Lab (the Author) disclaim all warranties relating to the Software, whether express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and all such warranties are expressly and specifically disclaimed.

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