DigiDesign Synchronic Manual
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DigiDesign Synchronic Manual

DigiDesign Synchronic Manual

Plug-in for pro tools systems
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Synchronic
Version 7.3

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Summary of Contents for DigiDesign Synchronic

  • Page 1 ™ Synchronic Version 7.3...
  • Page 2 Copyright © 2007 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the express written consent of Digidesign. AudioSuite, Avid, Digidesign, Pro Tools, Pro Tools Academic, Pro Tools HD, Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools M-Powered, and RTAS are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    About www.digidesign.com ........
  • Page 4 Adjusting Synchronic Parameters........

  • Page 5: Chapter 1. Introduction

    Sound, Playback, Ef- dicing, and recombining) rhythmic audio loops. fect, and XFade presets and performance After you load your loops into Synchronic, you parameters can control Synchronic using its on-screen in- • Control directly through its own plug-in...

  • Page 6: Contents Of The Boxed Version Of Your Plug-In

    Contents of the Boxed System Requirements Version of Your Plug-in To use Synchronic, you need: Your Synchronic plug-in boxed version con- • An iLok USB Smart Key tains the following components: • An iLok.com account for managing iLok li- • Installation disc censes •...

  • Page 7: Register Your Plug-Ins

    Conventions Used in This Guide If you purchase a plug-in online from the Digi- Store (www.digidesign.com) using Internet Acti- All Digidesign guides use the following conven- vation, you are automatically registered. tions to indicate menu choices and key com- mands:...

  • Page 8: About Www.digidesign.com

    Development Partners and their plug- ins, applications, and hardware. News and Events Get the latest news from Digidesign or sign up for a Pro Tools demo. To learn more about these and other resources available from Digidesign, visit the Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).

  • Page 9: Chapter 2. Installation And Configuration

    Authorizing Synchronic be found on the plug-in installer disc (included with boxed versions of plug-ins). Additionally, The Synchronic plug-in is authorized using the an installer may also be available on a Pro Tools iLok USB Smart Key (iLok), manufactured by software bundle installer disc.
  • Page 10 If you purchased a plug-in online at the Transfer the licenses from your iLok.com ac- DigiStore (www.digidesign.com), authorize the count to your iLok USB Smart Key by doing the plug-in by downloading licenses from iLok.com following: to an iLok. • Insert the iLok into an available USB port on your computer.

  • Page 11: Removing Plug-Ins

    To remove a plug-in: Locate and open the Plug-ins folder on your Startup drive (Library/Application Support /Digidesign/Plug-ins). Do one of the following: • Drag the plug-in to the Trash and empty iLok with License Card the Trash.

  • Page 12: Configuring Midi

    Configuring MIDI (RTAS Only) To control Synchronic using MIDI (Instrument track data, an external MIDI controller, or a MIDI control surface), you must first configure Pro Tools for MIDI. See your Pro Tools Getting Started Guide for instructions on configuring MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, and your operating system (Windows or Mac) for MIDI operation.

  • Page 13: Chapter 3. Synchronic Overview

    Pro Tools MIDI Beat Clock. Any two sounds Synchronic Modules (A and B) can be played back simultaneously. Synchronic has a modular configuration for the Playback Module Manipulates the output of the import, slicing, playback, and manipulation of Sound module. Various aspects of sound play- audio files (loops).

  • Page 14: Playing Synchronic Rtas

    Synchronic starts and stops playback with the Pro Tools Transport. Synchronic Plug-in window (no audio loaded) When Synchronic is inserted on a track, it is the sole sound source for that track. If Syn- chronic is inserted on an audio track con- taining audio regions, those regions will ef- fectively be muted.
  • Page 15 Choose an audio file (loop) for import Click Open. Sound module, Edit mode The selected file is loaded into Synchronic and is To import an audio file (mono, dual mono, or immediately stored with the current preset. The stereo) into the Waveform display, do one of the...
  • Page 16 Chapter 6, “Automating Synchronic loop, see “Slicing Up a Sound” on page 23. RTAS.” Playing a Loop To play a loop in the RTAS version of Synchronic: Click Play on the Pro Tools Transport, or press ■ the Spacebar.

  • Page 17: Performance And Edit Modes

    Edit Mode Performance and Edit Modes Edit mode provides detailed access to the mod- Each of the Synchronic modules can be inde- ule’s controls. Changing parameters in Edit pendently switched between Edit and Perfor- mode immediately alters the currently selected mance modes with the Mode toggle.

  • Page 18: Synchronic Presets

    Synchronic presets are unique to each instance tors are enabled, the currently selected Playback (each insert) of Synchronic in a session. To save or Effect preset is disabled until one of the the global state of Synchronic presets in a given Sound selectors is enabled.
  • Page 19 If the module is in Performance mode, toggle to Edit mode and edit as desired (for detailed in- formation on the Edit mode parameters of each module, see Chapter 4, “Synchronic Parame- ters”). Any edits to any module’s parameters are imme- diately applied and stored in the selected preset.
  • Page 20 Synchronic Plug-in Guide...

  • Page 21: Chapter 4. Synchronic Parameters

    Return (Mac) to enter the value puter keyboard. and leave keyboard editing mode. To move forward through the different pa- rameters, press the Tab key. To move back- ward, press Shift+Tab. Chapter 4: Synchronic Parameters...

  • Page 22: Sound Module

    In Performance mode, Sound presets meter, number of bars, and subdivisions of the are numbered from 1–12 and are arranged in beat. In this way, Synchronic can quickly and two banks located above and below the Wave- easily isolate individual hits in rhythmic loops.
  • Page 23 Sound A and Sound B Starting and Stopping Playback In Performance mode, two sounds can be You can only start or stop Synchronic playback queued for playback, much like a typical DJ using the Pro Tools Transport. Any Synchronic setup with two turntables: one on the “A Side”...
  • Page 24 Guide. prepare your “loops” before importing them Importing a Sound into Synchronic. You can do this in Pro Tools by editing a region (loop) on a track in the Edit You can import one or more audio files into window and then consolidating the region.
  • Page 25 After Loading Sound into Synchronic mand-click (Mac) to choose multiple non- contiguous files. The selected file will be loaded into Synchronic and stored with the preset. The waveform for Click Open. the loaded file will appear in the Waveform dis- play.
  • Page 26 Mono files loaded in a stereo Synchronic insert Sound Attributes are panned center. Stereo files loaded in a mono After importing an audio file (loop), you need to Synchronic insert are summed to mono. Dual enter additional information regarding the fol- mono audio files can be imported if both .L and...
  • Page 27 Deleting a Sound Once a loop is sliced up, Synchronic can replay the loop at any tempo with any number of mod- ifications. Furthermore, each slice of the loop To delete a sound from a preset: starts playback according to the Pro Tools MIDI...
  • Page 28 • Double Slice: Loops two consecutive slices. the playback position to jump, and cause This is useful for detecting when a false Synchronic to play back out of synchroniza- slice is present and needs to be deleted. tion. Stopping and starting playback will re- Use Single Slice mode to edit slices in hard to synchronize Synchronic playback.

  • Page 29: Playback Module

    Slice Extension lets you designate if and how slices can be artificially ex- Presets tended. Synchronic provides the following Slice Extension types: • Off: Adds no tail extension, however it does ramp down any DC offset that may...
  • Page 30 In Edit mode, you can edit the Playback param- of the next, Synchronic will extend the first eters for the selected preset. slice according to the setting of the Slice Ex-...
  • Page 31 MIDI Beat Clock. For ex- ample, if Pro Tools starts playing back at beat 2 of bar 13, and Synchronic is playing back a two bar drum loop, then Synchronic will start play- back at the slice corresponding to the second beat of the first bar of the loop.
  • Page 32 (rhythmic value). original feel of a loop, while simultaneously adding random variations with each repeat of Synchronic also lets you override the original the loop. duration of a slice and impose alternate rhyth- mic patterns on the sliced-up loop. In addition Step (Step 2–5) Plays slices by stepping over...
  • Page 33 Off Beats, Syncopate, Clave, Pick Up, and Swing. Latin (Latin 1–5) Five variations based on Afro- Caribbean, Cuban, and Brazilian rhythms. Selecting Playback Duration Off Beats (Off Beats 1–5) Five variations that generally emphasize the “and” of the beat. Chapter 4: Synchronic Parameters...
  • Page 34 Pick Up (Pick Up 1–5) Five variations that start Playback Direction steady and then speed up over the course of a Synchronic can play sound slices forward (from bar. beginning to end) or backward (from end to be- ginning). Synchronic provides seven possibili-...
  • Page 35 Playback Pitch and Playback Offset, and Gain, Pitch transposition can range from –60 to +60 Noise, Filter, and Delay effects can be continu- semitones. Synchronic provides two pitch mod- ously modulated by one or more Low Frequency ulating LFOs for Playback Pitch. These LFOs can Oscillators (LFO1 and LFO2).
  • Page 36 Playback Offset can be continu- ously modulated by the LFOs. The effect of the Playback Offset will vary depending on the se- lected Playback Mode. Enable (On, Off) Enables or disables Offset mod- ulation. Selecting the LFO1 Duration for Playback Pitch Synchronic Plug-in Guide...
  • Page 37 User Knob assignments are made on a per preset slice. However, Synchronic lets you start play- basis. This gives you a great deal of flexibility on back of the slice at a point that is offset by some...

  • Page 38: Effect Module

    Select the desired Edit parameter assignment ■ from the User Knob Assignment pop-up menu. Synchronic provides an Effect module that in- clude four effects: Gain, Noise, Filter, and Delay. Gain, Noise, Filter, and Delay effects can be used independently or in any combination.
  • Page 39 BED and END Range (–96 to 24 dB) Use the BEG abling an effect essentially bypasses the effect. and END parameters to set the amount of Gain effect. The specified Range settings control the amount of modulation by LFO1 and LFO2. Chapter 4: Synchronic Parameters...
  • Page 40 Saturation is selected, lower BEG and END values do not result in attenuating the signal. A lower setting (–96 dB) results in a cleaner, less saturated signal, and a higher set- ting (+24 dB) results in a more saturated signal. Synchronic Plug-in Guide...
  • Page 41 Play- (AM). back module. See “Low Frequency Oscilla- tor (LFO)” on page 33. Brite Modulates the signal with a high pass fil- tered form of white noise, using either an oscil- lator or amplitude modulation (AM). Chapter 4: Synchronic Parameters...
  • Page 42 HPF Is a 12 dB per octave highpass filter. Ring Mod Is a ring modulator. Ring Modulation, also known as Amplitude Modulation (AM), re- sults in the sum and difference tones between the input signal and the modulating signal. Synchronic Plug-in Guide...
  • Page 43 Knobs to control any Effect Edit parameter. User Knob assignments are made on a per preset ba- sis. This gives you a great deal of flexibility on how you can control the Synchronic Effect module in Performance mode. Chapter 4: Synchronic Parameters...

  • Page 44: Xfade Module

    LFO Waveshape and Duration selectors Manual mode takes precedence over any XFade indicator XFade preset automation. When switching out of Manual mode, any XFade automa- User Knob assignment tion previously received will take effect. XFade module, Edit mode Synchronic Plug-in Guide...
  • Page 45 Knob assignments are made on a per preset ba- dows) or Option (Mac) while selecting the sis. This gives you a great deal of flexibility on User Knob assignment. how you can control the Synchronic XFade module in Performance mode. Chapter 4: Synchronic Parameters...

  • Page 46: Midi Module

    (RTAS Only) transpose the on-screen keyboard up an octave. The MIDI module lets you assign MIDI note This lets you readily assign Synchronic preset numbers and continuous controllers to the Pre- snapshots to any and all octaves of your MIDI sets and User Knobs of the Sound, Playback, Ef- keyboard.
  • Page 47 Assigning MIDI Keys Selective Module Assignment A Synchronic combination need not consist of Synchronic lets you capture all aspects of the changes in all Synchronic modules. When the current playback state (including the A Sound Assign button is enabled, the Sound, Playback,...
  • Page 48 Select Pitch Wheel or Controller # from the Source pop-up menu. In Edit mode, MIDI Pitch Bend or MIDI contin- uous controller numbers can be assigned to con- trol Synchronic’s five User Knobs and the XFade crossfade fader. Selecting MIDI control source MIDI module, Edit mode...

  • Page 49: Keyboard Focus Mode

    Crossfade presets 1–10. To enable or disable Keyboard Focus mode for Synchronic: Click the “a...z” Keyboard Focus Enable but- ■ ton (in the upper-right corner of the Synchronic plug-in window). “a...z” Keyboard Focus Enable button (enabled) Chapter 4: Synchronic Parameters...
  • Page 50 Synchronic Plug-in Guide...

  • Page 51: Chapter 5. Using The Synchronic Audiosuite Plug-In

    RTAS version of Synchronic. Edit Mode Only in AudioSuite Modules In the RTAS version of Synchronic, each module can be independently switched between Edit and Performance modes with the Mode toggle. In the AudioSuite version of Synchronic, the modules function only in Edit mode.
  • Page 52 See “Using the Load Selection Button” on page 49 for detailed information. One loop limitation The AudioSuite version of Synchronic lets you work with one audio loop at a time, instead of the 12 presets available for RTAS. See “Sound Edit Mode” on page 19 for de-...

  • Page 53: Previewing Synchronic Audiosuite

    The Effect module provides easy access to the AudioSuite Gain, Noise, Filter, and Delay effects and their Use the AudioSuite version of Synchronic to parameters. work with and play back audio loops as follows: Load audio files or a selected portion of audio regions (loops) into the Sound module, much like you would add sound to a sampler.
  • Page 54 To load a selection from Pro Tools into Synchronic: Slicing a Loop Choose AudioSuite > Synchronic. Once you have loaded a loop into the Wave- form display, you can slice it up and preview it. In the Pro Tools Edit window, select the por- tion of audio you want to loop in Synchronic.
  • Page 55 Time- line selection before processing the loop from Synchronic. For example, if a percus- sive audio event were late at the beginning of a bar, you might load the bar into Syn- chronic with the selection exactly at the on- set of the event.
  • Page 56 Synchronic Plug-in Guide...

  • Page 57: Chapter 6. Automating Synchronic Rtas

    6 Automating Synchronic RTAS You can automate changes to Synchronic RTAS You can also use this keyboard shortcut to parameters in two ways: open the Plug-in Automation dialog: Con- • Using Pro Tools automation playlists trol-Start-Alt-click (Windows) or Com- •...

  • Page 58: Using Midi

    MIDI Clock boundaries, a thirty-second note ahead of time is recommended. For more information on creating and edit- ing automation, see the Pro Tools Reference Shortcut for enabling a Synchronic parameter for Guide . automation To record automation: In the Automation Enable window, make sure Using MIDI that plug-in automation is write-enabled.
  • Page 59 To automate Synchronic using MIDI: Edit Synchronic’s Sound, Playback, Effect, and Insert Synchronic on a mono or stereo Auxil- XFade parameters and select presets as desired. iary Input (Pro Tools LE only) or audio track. The current state of the assign-enabled modules Create a new MIDI track (File >...
  • Page 60 Pro Tools creates a separate playlist for each type ber and click Add, then OK. of automation you write. To view MIDI automa- tion for Synchronic parameters, you may need to add it to the Track Display Format pop-up menu using the Add/Remove Controller com- mand.

  • Page 61: Chapter 7. Synchronic Plug-In Settings

    Librarian, see the DigiRack Imported Audio Stored with Settings Plug-ins guide. Synchronic is unique in that it stores loaded au- dio files as part of the plug-in settings file. When you import audio files into Synchronic, it loads them into RAM and then stores them with the plug-in settings.
  • Page 62 Synchronic Plug-in Guide...

  • Page 63: Index

    50 processing a loop 50 Sound module 48 Edit mode 13 authorizing plug-ins 6 and AudioSuite version of Synchronic 47 automating Synchronic using MIDI 55 switching to 13 automation editing a preset 15 Auto Latch mode 54...
  • Page 64 Delay effect 38 Range 35 Filter effect 37 Saturation 36 Gain effect 36 Volume 36 Noise effect 36 in AudioSuite version of Synchronic 49 XFade module 41 Noise 36 LFO Duration 32 Brite 37 LFO waveshapes 31 Dark 37 Librarian menu 57...
  • Page 65 Swing (Swing 1–5) 30 MIDI Key Assignment icons 43 Syncopate (Syncopate 1–5) 29 Octave (Oct) 42 Edit mode 26 Octave Display 42 in AudioSuite version of Synchronic 48 on-screen keyboard 42 Mode Performance mode 42 Smear 27 Pitch Wheel 44...
  • Page 66 Gain 25 Windows 7 generating missing slices 24 importing audio 21 importing multiple loops 21 in AudioSuite version of Synchronic 48 selecting a preset 15 interactive waveform display 19 selecting an effect 35 Length 22 Settings Librarian Name 22...
  • Page 67 Synchronic LFO 41 adjusting parameters 17 Manual mode 40 Preset mode 40 features 1 Range 41 Synchronic modules 9 User Knob (XF) 40, 41 Synchronic playback starting and stopping 19 Synchronic presets 14 Syncopate (Syncopate 1–5) 29 system requirements 2...
  • Page 68 DIGIDESIGN TECHNICAL SUPPORT (USA) PRODUCT INFORMATION (USA) INTERNATIONAL OFFICES Visit the Digidesign website 2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard Tel: 650.731.6100 Tel: 800.333.2137 for contact information Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA Fax: 650.731.6384 Tel: 650.731.6300 Fax: 650.731.6399...

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