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Tone2 Rayblaster Reference Manual

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RAYBLASTER
Reference MANUAL

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Summary of Contents for Tone2 Rayblaster

  • Page 1 RAYBLASTER Reference MANUAL...
  • Page 2 Under the DMCA, copying and sharing copyrighted materials without a license is illegal, violations to copyright law may carry heavy civil and criminal penalties. Support & Development credits If you have any difficulties installing or using Rayblaster, please contact us by visiting our website at http://www.tone2.com and clicking the Support button.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    The Modulation Matrix................Arpeggiator & Gate................. Effects sections & Boost................Modulation Matrix: value modifiers..............Rayblaster CPU usage ..................Creating your own custom Rayblaster filter impulse responses ....How to extract & use waveforms in Rayblaster ..........Tone2 Audiosoftware Catalog .................

  • Page 4: Introduction

    Not only is RayBlaster capable of modeling the sound of existing filters – it's also possible to create completely new artificial 'fantasy' filters exclusive to Rayblaster, making its filter capabilities virtually unlimited.

  • Page 5: Automatic Installation For Mac & Pc

    2. Install the full version of the plugin. Note: the demo version can not be unlocked 3. Open your host program 4. Do a plugin rescan in the host if it does not list Rayblaster as plugin. Detailed instructions on how to perform a rescan can be found in your host's manual 5.

  • Page 6: Manual Installation For Pc

    Rayblaster.dll is. 4. Open your host program. 5. Do a plugin rescan in the host if it does not list Rayblaster as plugin. Detailed instructions on how to do a plugin rescan are found in your host's manual.

  • Page 7: Rayblaster Interface Controls

    3. Rayblaster Interface controls Buttons There are two types of toggle buttons in Rayblaster, one where clicking a button cycles between all options available, a good example of this are the LFO waveform selectors where clicking on the Wave button will cycle through the available LFO wavetypes.
  • Page 8 Previous/Next In Rayblaster, the left and right arrows in it’s patch browser (the orange section in the middle) are used to select the previous and next patches (program) or category (bank) Click the program back arrow (<) to select the previous patch in the current category, click the program forward (>) arrow to select the next patch in the current category.

  • Page 9: The Rayblaster User Interface

    These are the various controls (Formant, Tune, Sync,...) that can be used to manipulate the oscillators. 3: Main Amplifier, Glide, Drive, + Unison Controls. Here you will find the main amp envelope for Rayblaster, along with the unison & spread, pan, glide (Portamento) and drive controls. 4: Main Preset Window & Options.
  • Page 10 5: Arp/Gate, Effects, Setup and Modulation Matrix Here you have access to the arpeggiator and trance gate for Rayblaster. The second tab takes you into Rayblaster's powerful effects section. The next three tabs access any one of the three Modulation Matrices available.

  • Page 11: The Patch Browser

    The orange colored Patch browser has 4 rows of information. The top row contains the File, Edit, Help menu and Buy Sounds link. The File menu Load patch: Loads a patch from disk into Rayblaster Save patch: Saves the current patch to disk Download sounds: Opens the Rayblaster sound section on the Tone2 website Visit Tone2.com: Opens the Tone2 website in your...
  • Page 12 Copy Osc1 to Osc2: Copies Oscillator1 settings to Oscillator2 Copy Osc2 to Osc1: Copies Oscillator2 settings to Oscillator1 Help Clicking on the Help link opens the Rayblaster manual. Buy Sounds Opens the Rayblaster sound section of Tone2 website The second row (highlighted in the picture above) shows the currently loaded patch.
  • Page 13 The bottom line of the browser window (highlighted in the picture above) serves as an active parameter indicator. If you alter any parameter in Rayblaster’s interface, the parameter name and its current value will be displayed here.
  • Page 14 Example Patches in Patch manager >Tutorial category: FakeAnalogFilter, Drumline, WavetableSynthesis,Granular. Wave 1/2 Mix: Rayblaster can use two different waves per oscillator. The Mix control is used to cross- blend between wave1 and wave2. This allows for wavetable style sounds, cross-blending between samples or morphing between filter characteristics.
  • Page 15 Osc Window: There are several window types available, each with its own preferred use or way to influence the sound. The cosine window is the softest sounding one, it is a general purpose window and will be preferred especially on granular types of sounds.
  • Page 16 Osc PW Sequence: Here you can choose between 8 different impulse sequences. Every impulse sequence can be morphed in real time with the PW value to add movement to the sound. The impulse sequences drastically change a sound, this ranges from Sawtooth style sounds, Squarewave style sounds, Organ style sounds to SubOscillator style sounds ...

  • Page 17: Oscillator Section

    Inside the Main oscillator section you'll find the following controls: Formant: This is the most important parameter of Rayblaster. Formant controls the formant frequency, the cutoff of the filter impulse responses, the pitch of granular sounds or in general the brightness of your sound.
  • Page 18 Formant Key Follow: When the Formant key follow is set to a higher positive value and you play a higher key it will result in a higher formant frequency, if you play a low key the sound will have a lower formant frequency.
  • Page 19 Volume: Controls the oscillator volume Oscillator Pan: Rayblaster features a real stereo architecture, this allows the synth to have an individual pan setting for each oscillator. For example the Vocoder Effect needs the modulator sample panned to left and the carrier oscillator panned to the right.
  • Page 20 Phase: Phase is also a very subtle parameter only audible when both oscillator1 and oscillator2 are used at the same time, or when you play short-attack bass sounds. A value of 0 switches the oscillators to always running, this is behavior is known from analog synthesizers and provides a more lively type of sound.

  • Page 21: Envelopes

    4.3 Envelopes There is one envelope in Rayblaster directly tied in to the relevant section it appears in, which is the Amp Envelope in the global section, this envelope is used to control Volume characteristics like volume Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release.

  • Page 22: Lfos

    4.4 LFOs There are two LFO's available within Rayblaster. Both are freely assignable from within the modulation matrix and can be used for basically anything from modulating the Formant to modulating an oscillator's harmonics or pulse-width. LFO WAVEFORM BUTTON – This cycles the waveform for the LFO to be used. The...

  • Page 23: The Modulation Matrix

    4.5 Modulation Matrix The MOD MATRIX or Modulation Matrix is a system that allows you to flexibly assign different modulators (such as LFOs or envelopes) to different destinations (such as the filter, amplifier or even other modulators). There are three modulation matrix pages available, each page offering 5 different assignable modulation slots.
  • Page 24 LFO2+ : LFO1 in unipolar mode as modulation source, only uses LFO1's positive values Arp/Step+ : Applies the arp's velocity steps as modulation source using only positive values Arp/Step+- : Applies the arp's velocity steps as modulation source using both positive and negative values Key Pressed : Applies a On/Off Gate modulation;...
  • Page 25 Limit (X) : Uses the Limit X value modifier as modulation source Impulse : A short impulse is used as modulation source; could for example be applied to sharpen the attack portion of a sound Decay4ms > Decay16s : Decay will use an internal envelope to modulate, options are envelopes that run from 4 milliseconds to 16 seconds.
  • Page 26 OSC1 Low Cut : Selects Osc1's Low Cut control as destination OSC1 Noise Level : Selects Osc1's Noise Level control as destination OSC1 Env Send : Selects Osc1's ENV send as destination OSC1 Tune Key : Selects Osc1's Tune Key follow as destination OSC1 Formant Key : Selects Osc1's Formant Key follow as destination OSC1 HighF Boost : Selects Osc1's HighF Boost follower as destination OSC1 Fine : Selects OSC1's Fine tune control as destination...
  • Page 27 OSC2 Semi : Selects OSC2's Semi notes control as destination OSC2 Oct : Selects OSC2's Octave as destination OSC2 Pitch : Selects OSC2's Pitch control as destination OSC Drift/Detune : Selects the OSC Drift/Detune control as destination OSC Ring : Selects the OSC Ring modulation control as destination OSC Fine : Selects the Master OSC Fine control as destination OSC Semi : Selects the Master OSC Semi control as destination OSC Oct : Selects the Master OSC Octave as destination...

  • Page 28: Arpeggiator & Gate

    4.6 Arpeggiator & Gate Rayblaster also features a dedicated Gate which can be used to modulate volume or any other option within Rayblaster's modulation system. When the Arp/Gate menu is switched to one of the Gate modes the steps will function as...
  • Page 29 Arpeggiator Rayblaster has an incredibly powerful arpeggiator with several unique features like the ability to program chord steps, release steps, step velocity and many other ways to program the perfect arp sequence. A description of all arpeggiator menu options is found below: ARP/ GATE mode menu - This menu is used to set the Arpeggiator / Gate mode Arp Sync: Enables the arp;...
  • Page 30 ARP Range menu - The ARP Range menu is used to set the range of notes used by the arp. When set to normal it will default to playing the current played note only, other settings will generate additional notes based on the menu's current setting and which notes are played.
  • Page 31 Swing menu - The Swing menu is used to set the amount of swing used in the arp playback (Default Straight) To create a more 'human' feel to the arpeggiator, you can increase the amount of 'swing' from 0 (no swing) to 99 (full swing). The swing feature alternately delays and rushes the arpeggiator steps to add feel.
  • Page 32 Rayblaster. There are 2 effect slots to choose from. The effects are : Reverb Hall - A large Reverb simulating a Hall designed for general purpose use.
  • Page 33 Delay – Stereo delay which is synced to your host's tempo. Time: Sets the delay time. The delay time is set to either divisions or multiples of your host's tempo e.g. 2/3 is two thirds of your host's tempo. Feedback: Sets the amount of the delay signal that is fed back into the delay's input. Damp: Sets how much of the high frequencies are attenuated.
  • Page 34 Multitap – Very powerful multistage delay with rhythmic beats. Also includes a number of pingpong types and a reverse delay. Time: Sets the delay time. The delay time is set to either divisions or multiples of your host's tempo e.g. 2/3 is two thirds of your host's tempo. Feedback: Sets the amount of the delay signal that is fed back into the delay's input.
  • Page 35 • Pan 1 : A panning delay. • Pan 2 : A panning delay as a variation of Pan 1. • Pingpong 1 : A pingpong echo. • Pingpong 2 : A pingpong echo as a variation of Pingpong 1. •...
  • Page 36 Compressor – Boosts the volume of lower volume notes, while capping the louder ones giving a more even level of volume. Threshold : The level above which the signal is reduced & compression is applied Attack : The time it takes to start compressing after the threshold has been reached Release : Amount of time used to return after the input signal has fallen below threshold Ratio : Difference between the signal increase into the compressor and increase at output level...
  • Page 37 Offset : The offset or beat of the first step of the trancegate 4.8 Setup menu Upon clicking the setup tab, a list of options as to how Rayblaster will be setup and how it plays back the sound. These include POLYPHONY : This determines the total polyphony (Number of maximum notes that can be played at once) that Rayblaster can play back.
  • Page 38 CPU consumption. Options are : High Quality : The highest possible quality of sound, using higher CPU values. Low CPU : This is the lowest possible CPU consumption that Rayblaster can use, at the expense of overall quality.

  • Page 39: Modulation Matrix: Value Modifiers

    LFO1> OSC1 Formant option we'll use a modifier to do our modulating: Let's start by initializing Rayblaster to its default values, go to the Edit menu found in the orange section and choose Init all, this will reset all controls on the instrument leaving us with a standard Saw sound.
  • Page 40 Next to the usual Gate > Volume Modulation Matrix way of setting up a Trancegate Rayblaster also includes the option to use a value modifier on your Trancegate. The advantage of using a modifier in this case is that it will allow you to manipulate the type of gate, e.g.

  • Page 41: Rayblaster Cpu Usage

    Below you'll see a picture of the Matrix setup used in the Trancegate example: 6. Rayblaster CPU usage Even with Rayblaster's extended use of low-level optimized code, CPU usage depends heavily on what you do in the instrument. Like with most virtual instruments a lot calculations are required whenever dealing with more complex patch setups.

  • Page 42: Creating Your Own Custom Rayblaster Filter Impulse Responses

    When you edit the sample it is important to have a zero-crossing at the beginning and end of the wave. You can also adjust this in Rayblaster with Osc. Start Offset, but it is more easy if you do it in the source file before importing it into Rayblaster.
  • Page 43 Wide Band-pass Filter 1. Init all 2. Harmonic: -9 3. Start Offset: 30 4. Window mode: Sine 4x Tight Bandpass Filter 1. Init all 2. Harmonic: -9 3. Start Offset: 30 4. Window mode: Sine 8x All-pass Filter 1. Init all 2.

  • Page 44: How To Extract & Use Waveforms In Rayblaster

    4. Save your single-cycle wav and import it into one of Rayblaster's oscillators Note that the File menu in Rayblaster offers two Quick import options, these will guide you through importing your sample/drumloop and configure Rayblaster to use the imported file.

  • Page 45: Tone2 Audiosoftware Catalog

    9. Tone2 Audiosoftware Catalog Be sure to take a look at some of our other effect & synthesizer plugins, the following pages will provide a short overview of part of our product line. For more information on our products, MP3s and product demos please visit our website http://www.tone2.com...
  • Page 46 Flexible Modulation Matrix with new features, including a filter • Programmable gate • 4x Stereo Unison modes with spread and panning control • Analog modeled Distortion and Tube amp • Optional Psycho-Acoustic processing • High-end quality Effects • For more information: http://www.tone2.com/html/saurus_synthesizer__vst_au.html...
  • Page 47 ElectraX synthesizer ElectraX! Explore the vast musical universe of multi-synthesis oscillators, analog modeled filters, chaotic fractals, samples, psychoacoustic processing, flexible modulation and an immense sonic range. Combine multiple polyphonic or monophonic synthesizers and 13 different synthesis methods to create incredible results while the well-designed preset management system provides access to a large library of sounds carefully crafted by professional designers.
  • Page 48 11 analog modeled filters with self oscillation: Lowpass/Highpass/Bandpass • 12dB/18dB/24dB, Moog, Filter-FM • High precision digital filters: Lowpass, Highpass, Bandpass, Notch • Equalizers: LowShelf, HighShelf, Peak, Wide • Special types: Phaser, Comb+, Comb-, Vocals, Aliaser, Ringmod • Exclusive fractal filters • For more information: http://www.tone2.com/html/electrax_synthesizer__vst_au.html...
  • Page 49 Synthesis types supported by Gladiator 2 are: Tone2's award winning Harmonic Content Morphing synthesis (HCM) • Frequency Modulation (FM) & Amplitude Modulation (AM) •...
  • Page 50 Filters The analog modeled filter section uses high-end quality stereo filters, most of which are exclusive to Tone2 products. Gladiator 2 ships with 40 different filter types: Moog, Low Pass, High Pass, Band Pass, Vocals, Comb, EQ, FM, AM, Phaser, Resample, Analog, ...
  • Page 51 • Rotary • Dolby Prologic II surround encoding • Tremelo • Autopanning • Stereo enhancing • Stereoizer • Equalizer • Ringmod • Trancegate • Early reflections (3 different types) • Pitch shifter • Feedback module • For more information: http://www.tone2.com/html/warmverb_vst_au_effect_synthes.html...
  • Page 52 AkustiX Enhancer Effect Tone2 AkustiX is a collection of six essential enhancement tools combined into one intuitive user interface. Ideal for tracks as well as full mixes AkustiX features six powerful effects: Psycho EQ, Ultra Stereo, Phase Enhance, Multi Exciter, Smart Filter and Stereo Width.
  • Page 53 Filterbank 3 Effect Tone2 FilterBank3 is more than an analog modeled filter plugin - it is a complete VST synthesizer and a flexible multi-effect unit. The modular design and flexible modulation routing give you nearly unlimited possibilities. With self-oscillating filters, oscillators and feedback it can create complete sequences and textures.

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