Synth Edit Section; Hardware Navigation; Oscillators 1, 2 And 3; Per-Oscillator Parameters - Novation Ultranova User Manual

Synth eDIt SectIon

Hardware Navigation

See page 4 for an overview of the UltraNova and a brief description of what each of the top
panel controls do.
On the UltraNova, all the menus which control the sound generation and sound processing
blocks are accessed by the buttons in the Synth Edit area of the top panel.
When a menu is called up, the parameter values displayed are those of the currently-
selected patch.
Each menu is accessed by its own dedicated button, and has between one and four pages.
If a menu has more than one page, one of the two PAGE buttons [4] will be illuminated,
and these can be used to scroll through the additional pages. Up to eight parameters of
the menu are displayed on the LCD, and each is varied with the rotary encoder immediately
above the parameter text.
Using the menu buttons [11] to [22], you can go directly from one menu to another with a
single button press. Some of the sound generation/processing blocks are duplicated (e.g.
Oscillator), and the SELECT buttons [10] are used to select which particular block of that
type is to be controlled. The UltraNova remembers which block was last accessed, and
also which menu page, and when that menu is recalled, it re-opens with the last settings
visible.

oScIllatorS 1, 2 anD 3

The UltraNova has three identical oscillators and a noise source; these are the synth's
sound generators. Pressing the OSCILLATOR button [11] opens the Oscillator Menu,
which has two pages for each oscillator. One of the SELECT buttons and one of the
PAGE buttons will be illuminated, indicating that more than one oscillator is available to be
controlled and that further menu pages are available. A total of 16 parameters per oscillator
is displayed for adjustment, eight per page. However, note that ive of these are common to
all three oscillators, and another to the noise source; these six parameters appear on menu
Page 2 for every oscillator.
Per-oscillator parameters (Page 1)
O1Semi O1Cents O1VSync O1Wave
0 0 0 Sawtooth
Oscillator 1 is used as the example in the descriptions which follow, however all 3 O1PtchWh O1WTInt FixNote ModVib
+12 127 Off
oscillators are identical in operation.
O2Semi O2Cents O2VSync O2Wave
0 0 0 Sawtooth
RE1: Coarse tuning
O2PtchWh O2WTInt FixNote ModVib
Displayed as: +12 127 Off
O1Semi
Initial value: 0
O3Semi O3Cents O3VSync O3Wave
0 0 0 Sawtooth
Range of adjustment: -64 to +63
This parameter sets the basic per-oscillator tuning. Incrementing its value by 1 shifts the
O3PtchWh O3WTInt FixNote ModVib
+12 127 Off
pitch of every note on the keyboard up by one semitone for the selected oscillator only,
thus setting it to +12 effectively shifts the oscillator tuning up one octave. Negative values
detune in the same manner. See also Transpose at page 38.
F1Freq F1Res F1Env2 F1Track
127 0 0
RE2: Fine tuning
FBalance FRouting FreqLink ResLink
-64 Parallel Off
Displayed as:
O1Cents
F2Freq F2Res F2Env2 F2Track
Initial value: 0
0
127 0
Range of adjustment: -50 to +50
FBalance FRouting FreqLink ResLink
This parameter lets you make iner adjustments to the tuning. The increments are cents
-64 Parallel Off
(1/100 of a semitone), and thus setting the value to 50 tunes the oscillator to a quarter-
tone midway between two semitones.
AmpAtt AmpDec AmpSus AmpRel
2 90 127
RE3: Virtual Oscillator Sync
AmpAtSlp AmpDcSlp AmpAttTk AmpDecTk
Displayed as:
O1VSync
0 127 0
Initial value: 0
FltAtt FltDec FltSus FltRel
Range of adjustment: 0 to 127
2 75 35
Oscillator Sync is a technique of using an additional "virtual" oscillator to add
FltAtSlp FltDcSlp FltAttTk FltDecTk
harmonics to the irst, by using the virtual oscillator's waveform to retrigger that of the irst.
0 127 0
This technique produces an interesting range of sonic effects. The nature of the resulting
E3Att E3Dec E3Sus E3Rel
10 70 64
sound varies as the parameter value is altered because the virtual oscillator frequency
increases as a multiple of the main oscillator frequency as the parameter value increases.
E3AtSlp E3DcSlp E3AttTk E3DecTk
0 127 0
When the Vsync value is a multiple of 16, the virtual oscillator frequency is a musical har-
monic of the main oscillator frequency. The overall effect is a transposition of the oscillator
that moves up the harmonic series, with values in between multiples of 16 producing more
discordant effects.
O1PW/Idx O1Hard O1Dense
0 127 0
MVibRate OscDrift OscPhase
0 65 0 0deg
O2PW/Idx O2Hard O2Dense
0 127 0
MVibRate OscDrift OscPhase
0 65 0 0deg
O3PW/Idx O3Hard O3Dense
0 127 0
MVibRate OscDrift OscPhase
0 65 0 0deg
F1Type F1DAmnt F1DType
127 LP24 0 Diode
Off
F2Type F2DAmnt F2DType
127 LP24 0 Diode
Off
AmpVeloc AmpRept AmpTTrig
40 0 0 OFF
AmpSusRt AmpSusTm AmpLvlTk
0 0 127 0
FltVeloc FltRept FltTTrig
45 0 0 OFF
FltSusRt FltSusTm FltLvlTk
0 0 127 0
E3Delay E3Repeat E3TTrig
40 0 0 OFF
E3SusRat E3SusTim E3LvlTk
0 0 127 0
To get the best out of Vsync, try modulating it using the LFO.
Try assigning it to the MOD wheel for 'hands-on' control.
RE4: Oscillator waveform
Displayed as:
Initial value:
Range of adjustment:
This selects the oscillator's waveform from a range of 72 options. As well as analogue
synth-type waveforms like sine, square, sawtooth, pulse and 9 ratios of sawtooth/pulse
mix, there are various digital waveforms and 36 wavetables consisting of nine individual
waveforms per wavetable, plus the two audio input sources.
If audio input sources are selected, then any additional oscillator parameters
will have no effect on the sound. The audio input will be used as the source for
subsequent manipulation (e.g., ilters, modulation, etc).
To hear either of the audio inputs a note must be played on the keyboard.
It is possible to create a MIDI gate effect on vocals using audio inputs
O1DnsDtn
0
as the source.
NoiseTyp
White
O2DnsDtn
0
RE5: Pulse Width/Wave Table Index
NoiseTyp
Displayed as:
White
Initial value:
O3DnsDtn
Range of adjustment:
0
This control has two functions, depending on the waveform selected by RE4. With pulse
NoiseTyp
waveforms, it varies the pulse width of the oscillator output. This basic effect can most
White
easily be heard by adjusting RE5 with RE4 set to PW; you will note how the harmonic
content varies and at high settings the sound becomes quite thin and metallic. A pulse
F1QNorm
wave is essentially an asymmetric square wave; when set to zero, the waveform is a normal
64
square wave. (See page 9.) RE5 has a different function if the oscillator waveform is set to
be one of the 36 Wave Tables (see RE4 above). Each Wave Table consists of nine related
waveforms, and the setting of RE5 determines which is in use. The total parameter value
F2QNorm
64
range of 128 is divided into 9 (approximately) equal segments of 14 value units, so setting
the value to anything between -64 and -50 will generate the irst of the 9 waveforms, -49
to -35 the second, and so on. See also the Wave Table Interpolation parameter (RE2
on Oscillator Menu Page 2), which can be used to introduce further variation in the way
wavetables are used.
AmpMTrig
Re-Trig
LvlTkNte RE6: Hardness
C 3
Displayed as:
FltMTrig
Initial value:
Re-Trig
Range of adjustment:
LvlTkNte
The Hardeness parameter modiies the harmonic content of the waveform, reducing the
C 3
level of the upper harmonics as the value is decreased. Its effect is akin to that of a low-
E3MTrig
pass ilter, but operates at oscillator level. You will note it has no effect on a sine waveform,
Re-Trig
as this is the one waveform with no harmonics.
LvlTkNte
C 3
VSync = 0
VSync = 5
VSync = 16
O1Wave
Sawtooth
See table at page 40 for full details
O1Pw/Idx
0
-64 to +63
O1Hard
127
0 to 127
13