ADDAC System ADDAC511 User Manual

Vc stochastic voltage generator

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Instruments for Sonic Expression

Est.2009

INTRODUCING

ADDAC511

VC STOCHASTIC

VOLTAGE

GENERATOR

USER'S GUIDE . REV01

December.2024

FIRMWARE 1.0

From Portugal with Love!

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Page 1 Instruments for Sonic Expression Est.2009 INTRODUCING ADDAC511 VC STOCHASTIC VOLTAGE GENERATOR USER’S GUIDE . REV01 December.2024 FIRMWARE 1.0 From Portugal with Love!
Page 2 Welcome to: ADDAC511 VC STOCHASTIC VOLTAGE GENERATOR USER’S GUIDE Revision.01 December.2024 PAGE INDEX INTRO & FEATURES QUANTIZER SIGNAL FLOW DIAGRAM QUANTIZER OVERVIEW FRONT PANEL LAYOUT INTERNAL/EXTERNAL QUANTIZATION OLED SCREEN QUANTIZER SOURCES BUTTONS LONG PRESSES ROUNDING & NOTE PROBABILITY STATES QUANTIZER & SMOOTH...
Page 3 December.2024 WELCOME At ADDAC System we love all sources of unpredictability be it by randomness or signal complexity. This module greatly expands on the principles of our ADDAC501 Complex Random from 2013. This is a fully fledged 4 channel voltage generator capable of all things random, with quantization, probability, distribution, interpolation, time control, clock, states and a 32 step sequencer.
Page 4: Signal Flow Diagram
ADDAC511 User’s Guide SIGNAL FLOW DIAGRAM CV INPUT 1 CV INPUT 2 CV INPUT 3 CV INPUT 4 CV INPUT 5 CV INPUT 6 INPUTS MANAGER CV INPUT 7 CV INPUT 8 CLOCK INPUT 1 CLOCK INPUT 2 CLOCK INPUT 3...
Page 5: Front Panel Layout
ADDAC511 User’s Guide FRONT PANEL LAYOUT There are several distinct sections in this module: LOGIC OUTPUTS: 3 configurable logic outputs AVERAGE MIX: CV output CV OUTPUTS: 4 CV outputs CV INPUTS: 8 CV inputs GATE OUTPUTS: 4 Gate outputs CONTROLS: Encoders &...
Page 6: Main Screen
ADDAC511 User’s Guide OLED MONITOR MAIN SCREEN: The Main Screen shows the most important info for overall operation. CHANNELS GATES & SPECIAL STATES Four top squares shows the 4 channels Gate Output state as well as special states: 0 = Mute (0v), H = Hold ACTIVE CHANNEL &...
Page 7: Channel Selection
ADDAC511 User’s Guide LONG PRESSES CHANNEL SELECTION, HOLDS & MUTES Every column of the main interface features a secondary function when pressed for over 1 second. CHANNEL SELECTION The first column selects the channel to be edited. The change can be seen at the top right corner as shown...
Page 8 ADDAC511 User’s Guide LONG PRESSES PASTE, RANDOM & RESET The 3 State buttons have a secondary function when pressed for longer than 1 second. STATE A - PASTE A long press on this button enters the Copy screen. The Copy function is screen dependent meaning that will copy different settings depending on the screen state.
Page 9 ADDAC511 User’s Guide STATES Every channel has 3 States, every State is independent and can have completely diferent settings. Think of them as instantly accessible channel presets. They can be used to create drastic or slight changes to a CV output.
Page 10: Operation Modes
ADDAC511 User’s Guide OPERATION MODES There are 2 main operation modes, independently selected for each channel. Choosing the Mode can be done in the [VOLTAGE] screen. 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION Fully featured random voltage generation in the time and voltage domain with fully controlled range, probability, random distribution, smooth, quantization and a 32 step sequencer.
Page 11: Voltage Generation
1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide VOLTAGE SETTINGS : SIGNAL FLOW VOLTAGE GENERATION The voltage generation process is made of a number of functions in a chain. Each function features it’s own fast recall push button and configuration screen.
Page 12 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide RANDOM VOLTAGE SETTINGS VOLTAGE SCREEN: Voltage range settings MODE The channels’ operating Mode VOLTAGE MAXIMUM Sets the maximum voltage of the randomization range VOLTAGE MINIMUM Sets the minimum voltage of the randomization range CV POLARITY Sets a Positive (0 >...
Page 13 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide RANDOM VOLTAGE SETTINGS GATE OUT SCREEN: (same as in other modes) Settings control the Gate Out behaviour SIZE Percentage of gate ON time in relation to the step size PROBABILITY Output probability from 0% (no output) to 100% (always outputs).
Page 14 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide RANDOM VOLTAGE SETTINGS VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION SCREEN Allows for non-linear distribution of the voltage randomized as described in Page 10. MODE OFF, FREE & WALK POSITION Positions the distribution peak. SPREAD Sets the Q factor for the distribution curve.
Page 15 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide VOLTAGE & GATE OUT EXAMPLES Here’s a few graphical examples of the Voltage and Gate Out settings. VOLTAGE RANGE: BIPOLAR -2v to +5v MAX: MIN: -2v VOLTAGE RANGE: POSITIVE +1v to +3v MAX: +3v...
Page 16 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide VOLTAGE PROBABILITY Here’s a few graphical examples of the Voltage and Gate Out [PROBABILITY] settings. Notice how they can be dependent or independent. VOLTAGE PROBABILITY 100% GATE OUTPUT : GATE PROBABILITY = 100%...
Page 17 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide VOLTAGE AND TIME DISTRIBUTION These screens set the probability distribution for each random generation made in the time and voltage domain. Every new random value by default is generated using a principle of uniform distribution (equal probability for all...
Page 18 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide SMOOTH INTERPOLATION Smooth allows to interpolate between the generated values at every clock tick. The user can set the duration of the interpolation between 0 and 100%, this duration is in sync with the clock keeping correct timing even with a random clock.
Page 19 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide STEPPED INTERPOLATION Besides smoothing in between each voltage step, smooth can be used to create stepped interpolations using [RESOLUTION] and [STEP MODE]. [TRIGGER GATE] is used to trigger at every interpolation step. CHANNEL’S RANDOM VOLTAGE Here we’re showing graphical examples of these in action.
Page 20: Timing Generation
1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide TIME SETTINGS : SIGNAL FLOW TIMING GENERATION Time settings determines the rate at which the voltage and gate are generated, the interval between every genera- tion step is defined by the setting in the [TIME] screen, That value is then “balenced” by the [DISTRIBUTION] screen settings and a virtual clock tick is generated.
Page 21: Time Screen
1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide TIME SETTINGS : TIME MODE (milliseconds) In Time Mode the clock is defined in milliseconds, the step length will be randomized from the interval defined by the Time Min & Time Max parameters.
Page 22 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide TIME SETTINGS : BPM MODE In BPM Mode the clock works as a standard BPM clock, the step length will be randomized from the intervals defined in the Distribution screen. TIME SCREEN: BPM MODE In BPM mode the clock uses a constant timing value.
Page 23: Clock Screen
1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide CLOCK CLOCK SCREEN: Configuring the selected channel’s clock origin. CLOCK SOURCE Sets the origin of the Clock, options are: INTERNAL (default): uses its own channel clock. CHANNEL X: chooses one of the other channels clocks.
Page 24 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide CLOCK MASTER/SLAVE Sync Channels Channels can be sync’ed to other channels using the [CLOCK SOURCE] setting in the [CLOCK] screen. CHANNEL 1 : MASTER CHANNEL 2 : SLAVE By default every channel is a Master channel, indepen- dent from all others.
Page 25 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide CLOCK FOLLOW Sync Channels: BPM Mode The best practice to sync channels is to choose one to be the master channel setting its [CLK SOURCE] to [INTERNAL]. The remaining channels can then refer to this master channel.
Page 26 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide CLOCK DELAY: BPM Sync Channels: Slave TIME MODE = BPM [CLOCK DELAY] The [CLOCK DELAY] parameter is used to cause deviation/delay to the incoming clock timing. In this case the Channel 2 [TIME MODE] setting is very important as it will behave differently if set to [BPM] or [TIME].
Page 27 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide CLOCK DELAY: TIME Sync Channels: Slave TIME MODE = TIME When using [TIME MODE] set to [TIME] the engine will simply add a delay to the incoming clock source. This setting is usefull used for generating time based delays, fixed or random, in this case although it is being triggered by the master channel BPM grid the delays are set in seconds and will most probabbly fall out of the grid creating odd delays.
Page 28 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide CLOCK FOLLOW: More Examples Sync Channels > Follow: CH BPM vs CH OUT When setting an external clock the user can choose to follow the Master Channel BPM or Gate Output. Following the Master BPM will set a steady BPM for the Slave channel Following the Gate Output of the Master channel creates complex changes on the Slave channel period.
Page 29 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide LOCK : SEQUENCER There are 2 Lock screens, pressing the [LOCK] button will alternate between these screens. The Lock function is at heart a shift register, similar to the Turing Machine, once engaged instead of generating new random steps it locks to a sequence of up to 32 steps.
Page 30: Lock : State
1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide LOCK : STATE The channel’s internal generation and lock feature are not active at the same time, although the internal generation can influence and write values into the lock sequence. For this there are 3 Lock States: TRACK When in Track mode the lock sequence is disabled and not editable.
Page 31 1. RANDOM VOLTAGE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide LOCK : Transport Controls STEPS GRAPHICS Here’s the different graphics used and their functions PLAYBACK POSITION The current playback step CHOSEN STEP The current step chosen to edit GATE ENGAGED Shows Gate On...
Page 32 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide VOLTAGE SETTINGS : SIGNAL FLOW ENVELOPE GENERATION The envelope generation process is made of a number of functions in a chain. Each function features it’s own fast recall push button and configuration screen.
Page 33 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide ENVELOPE VOLTAGE SETTINGS VOLTAGE SCREEN: Voltage range settings MODE The channels’ operating Mode VOLTAGE MAXIMUM Sets the maximum voltage of the randomization range VOLTAGE MINIMUM Sets the minimum voltage of the randomization range...
Page 34 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide ENVELOPE VOLTAGE SETTINGS GATE OUT SCREEN Settings control the Gate Out behaviour SIZE The Gate out length, it can be set to match the length of the envelope Attack (A), Attack and Sustain (AS) or...
Page 35 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide ENVELOPE VOLTAGE SETTINGS VOLTAGE DISTRIBUTION SCREEN (same as in voltage mode) Allows for non-linear distribution of the voltage randomized MODE FREE WALK POSITION Positions the distribution peak. Q FACTOR Sets the Q factor for the distribution curve.
Page 36 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide QUANTIZING ENVELOPES It is possible to quantize the envelope generated allowing arpeggio like effects. Below you can see some graphical examples, here the quantizer is set to octaves for better readability Quantized to: nearest note above.
Page 37 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide TIME SETTINGS : SIGNAL FLOW TIMING GENERATION Time settings determines the rate at which the voltage and gate are generated, the interval between every genera- tion step is defined by the setting in the [TIME] screen, That value is then “balenced” by the [DISTRIBUTION] screen settings and a virtual clock tick is generated.
Page 38 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide TIME SETTINGS : TIME MODE (milliseconds) In Time Mode the clock is defined in milliseconds, the step lengths will be randomized from the interval defined by the Minimum & Maximum parameters. Setting the Minimum value higher than Maximum will result in a fixed time without any randomization.
Page 39 2. RANDOM ENVELOPE GENERATION ADDAC511 User’s Guide CLOCK CLOCK SCREEN (same as in voltage mode) Configuring the selected channel’s clock origin. CLOCK SOURCE Sets the origin of the Clock, options are: INTERNAL (default): uses its own channel clock. CHANNEL X: chooses one of the other channels clocks.
Page 40 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide QUANTIZER POTENTIAL The Quantizing engine is extremely powerful and can be used in many creative ways. It features 16 bit DACs making it also very accurate. Possibilities include linking all channels for chord generation or, using 4 CV inputs and 4 clock inputs, becomes a fully independent 4 channel quantizer, each with its own scale, outputing 4 CVs and 4 gate signals working as a fully featured 4 channel quantizer.
Page 41 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide INTERNAL vs. EXTERNAL QUANTIZATION QUANTIZER SOURCES: The Quantizing function is normally used following the channel’s mode chain but it can be routed to accept any other channel or an external CV as its input allowing 4 quantization channels thatcan be linked in order to create chords or totally independent with different scales for each channels.
Page 42 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide QUANTIZER SOURCES GRAPHICAL EXAMPLES Bellow you can find graphical examples with both internal and external quantization. Quantizer set to octaves for better readabillity. Quantized to closest note above. SELF QUANTIZATION OTHER CHANNELS QUANTIZATION QUANTIZING CH1 VOLTAGE GENERATION...
Page 43 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide QUANTIZER ROUNDING & NOTE PROBABILITY Bellow you can find graphical examples with all 3 quantizer rounding standards as well as the note probability method STANDARD QUANTIZER ROUNDING Quantizer set to octaves of C and voltage range restricted to 2V CHANNEL 1 RANDOMIZED VOLTAGE (2v RANGE) +2.0v...
Page 44 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide QUANTIZER PRE / POST SMOOTH The [SMOOTH] and [QUANTIZE] order (A to B, B to A) can be altered in the [SMOOTH] window. QUANTIZER PRE SMOOTH will result in glide effects QUANTIZER POST SMOOTH will result in arpeggio effects...
Page 45 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide EXTERNAL QUANTIZER When quantizing external CV inputs the smooth effect will be bypassed. CV OUTPUT CV INPUT QUANTIZE GATE OUT Below a graphical example QUANTIZING WITH INTERNAL CLOCK QUANTIZING WITH EXTERNAL CLOCK EXT. CLOCK When set to Clock In there are two...
Page 46 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide QUANTIZER TRANSPOSE There are 4 Transposition modes: CENTS Microtonal detune, -50 to +50 cents. The Cents mode is cumulative with any of the next 3 modes QUANTIZER TRANSPOSITION SEMITONES SEMIS Semitone transposition SCALE DEGREES OUTPUT INPUT...
Page 47 QUANTIZER ADDAC511 User’s Guide QUANTIZER : CHORD GENERATION EXAMPLE CHANNEL 1 CHANNEL 2 CHANNEL 3 CHANNEL 4 GENERATING CHORD ROOT NOTE 3rd SCALE DEGREE 5th SCALE DEGREE 7th SCALE DEGREE MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN VOLTAGE SETTINGS...
Page 48 ADDAC511 User’s Guide PRESETS PRESET X Every Preset stores all info of all channels. There are 16 slots available, these can be downloaded as a one single file CHANNEL 4 Bank to a computer allowing users to manage their Banks in the computer.
Page 49 ADDAC511 User’s Guide CV ASSIGNMENTS CV ASSIGNMENTS There are 8 CV Inputs on the top right corner of the There are 8 CV Inputs on the top right corner of the module which can be assigned to any parameter of any module which can be assigned to any parameter of any output channel.
Page 50 ADDAC511 User’s Guide CV ASSIGNMENTS ENCODERS INTERACTION The virtual buttons on the screen show the current function for what the encoders will do when pressed. Rotating any of the Encoders will select and scroll through already assigned lines. Selected line appears with white background...
Page 51 ADDAC511 User’s Guide CV ASSIGNMENTS - FUNCTIONS CV assignments allow to access most functions on the 511, due to space available these names where shortened, here’s a list of the functions and how they appear on the display: VMIN VOLTAGE MINIMUM (NORMAL & ENVELOPE) VMAX VOLTAGE MAXIMUM (NORMAL &...
Page 52: Logic Assignments
ADDAC511 User’s Guide LOGIC ASSIGNMENTS There are 3 Logic Outputs, pressing the [CV & LOGIC] button iterates throught the each Logic screen, you can see the selected Logic on the top left corner of the screen. Logic operations compare 2 variables and output a true or false statement.
Page 53 ADDAC511 User’s Guide LOGIC ASSIGNMENTS EXAMPLES OF LOGIC OPERATIONS Notice that NOT operations only use input variable X and simply inverts the input signal. LOGIC NOT CHANNEL 1 GATE OUTPUT NOT (INVERTER) Here we configured one logic output to compare Gate output 1 and Gate output 2.
Page 54 ADDAC511 User’s Guide LOGIC ASSIGNMENTS CASCADING OPERATIONS Adding more than one line allows for more complex Logic operations. When setting a second line choosing OP1 (Operation 1) uses the result from the first operation as an input for the second operation. It is also possible to choose other Logic channels to cascade between channels.
Page 55 ADDAC511 User’s Guide SPECIAL NON-LOGIC ASSIGNMENTS COUNTER The counter function allows to output a gate or trigger at every X pulses. Any of the CV inputs, Clock Inputs, CV outputs or Logic outputs can be used as an input. COUNTER OUTPUT EXAMPLE...
Page 56: Screen Saver
ADDAC511 User’s Guide MENU The Menu has 4 features: VCO Tuning - Utility program to help calibration of VCOs Calibrate CV Outputs - CV Output calibration / mapping Screensaver - Extends screen longevity Auto Return to Main - Automatically exits to main screen Quantizer Rounding - Quantize to closest note, above or below.
Page 57 ADDAC511 User’s Guide MENU AUTO RETURN TO MAIN By default after 30 seconds of physical inactivity the screen will automatically return to the Main screen, this function can be turned ON/OFF. The user can also define the auto return time: 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute.
Page 58: Firmware Update Instructions
AUTO RESTART If the device “ADDAC511 - FIRMWARE UPDATE MODE - Paired” is not selected within 30 seconds the module will auto restart and disappear from the browser devices list. If this happen you can repeat step 5 and 6.
Page 59 ADDAC511 User’s Guide SPECIAL STARTUPS On power up there are 2 special startups, they can be accessed by Pressing and Holding the highlighted buttons during power up as shown here: MENU: start with default preset (bypasses previously selected preset) MENU + STATE C:...
Page 60: Patch Examples
ADDAC511 User’s Guide PATCH EXAMPLES PATCH 1 PATCH 2 PATCH 3 SIMPLEST FULL RANGE RANDOM VOLTAGE AT 1/4 BEAT POSITIVE RANDOM VOLTAGE AT RANDOM BEAT RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH PROBABILITY AT 1/16 BEAT MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN VOLTAGE SETTINGS...
Page 61 ADDAC511 User’s Guide PATCH EXAMPLES PATCH 4 PATCH 5 PATCH 6 RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH EXPONENTIAL DISTRIBUTION RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH LOGARITHMIC DISTRIBUTION RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH WALK DISTRIBUTION MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS...
Page 62 ADDAC511 User’s Guide PATCH EXAMPLES PATCH 7A PATCH 7B PATCH 7C RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH WEIGHTED DISTRIBUTION RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH WEIGHTED DISTRIBUTION RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH WEIGHTED DISTRIBUTION MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS...
Page 63 ADDAC511 User’s Guide PATCH EXAMPLES PATCH 8A PATCH 8B PATCH 8C RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH LINEAR SMOOTH RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH LINEAR SMOOTH RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH LINEAR SMOOTH MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS...
Page 64 ADDAC511 User’s Guide PATCH EXAMPLES PATCH 9 PATCH 10 PATCH 11 RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH LOGARITHMIC SMOOTH RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH EXPONENTIAL SMOOTH RANDOM VOLTAGE WITH BEZIER SMOOTH MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN MAIN SCREEN VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS VOLTAGE SETTINGS TIME SETTINGS...
Page 65 For feedback, comments or problems please contact us at: addac@addacsystem.com ADDAC511 USER’S GUIDE Revision.01 December.2024...