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Blofeld Blofeld
Q: How to reset the Blofeld to the factory settings?

A: Like on all Waldorf synths, there is no reset function. All you have to do is loading the factory sounds.

 http://www.waldorfmusic.de/assets/files/products/blofeld/sounds/blofeld_fact_080103.zip     ^ 
Q: Where to find the Blofeld manual?

A: Have a look at the link below.

english:
 http://support.waldorfmusic.com/files/Blofeld/Manuals/Blofeld_Manual.pdf 
german:
 http://support.waldorfmusic.com/files/Blofeld/Manuals/Blofeld_Handbuch.pdf     ^ 
Q: My Blofeld is not booting anymore, what to do?

A: Here is the read-me of the rescue system:

*** clip ***

Blofeld Rescue System V 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------
BlofeldRescue.mid
Emergency System only recovery from severe crashes
----------------------------------------------------------

We think you will never have to use this system.
However, if for some yet unforseen error or a power failure
during transmission of a firmware update Blofeld loses
memory, we included a minimal system that allows recovery
from such a rare incident.

This minimal system displays "send data!" on the LCD,
surrounded by random pixels. If that happens, this
BlofeldRescue.mid is the only help: Hook up MIDI, *not*
USB, from PC to Blofeld and play the Midifile to the
unconscious Blofeld - it will lighten up only to tell you
to dump the firmware now. Proceed as instructed and all
memory is restored.

If you feel Blofeld is confused, or it refuses to accept
new firmware or you are simply curious to check it out,
the minimal system can be activated by holding both
<Utility> and <Global> buttons depressed during power up.

Your Waldorf Team

(C) 2007 Waldorf Music GmbH. All Rights Reserved.

*** clip end ***

The needed file is available at the link below.

 http://www.waldorfmusic.de/assets/files/products/blofeld/emergency/blofeld_rescue.mid     ^ 
Q: Why is my Blofeld noisy when USB is connected?

A: Due to the direct-coupled nature of USB and most PC soundcards it is exceptionally easy to create a ground loop when the Blofeld is connected to the PC via USB. The common symptom of that loop is digital noise in the audio, which often modulates with unrelated activity on the PC, like mouse movements. Only the following configuration does work securely:

PC w/ isolation transformer (or laptop :-) connected via USB to Blofeld, which in turn connects to a mixer. No other audio gear can be connected to the PC via USB or any soundcard interface without isolation.

Any configuration more complicated than that (and that includes almost all practical scenarios) will have a latent ground loop. You should not create a ground loop in the first place (instead of trying to troubleshoot it's symptoms) and there are several options to do so:

1) Insert a DI box w/ ground lift between Blofeld and the mixer/amp input. This is the recommended solution. If you simultaneously use a soundcard on your PC with further outboard audio gear, its inputs and outputs may have to be isolated as well.

2) Use an isolated input on your mixer or DAW. This is most likely a microphone input and you must ensure that phantom power is switched off on this input before you connect the Blofeld. If you have such an input, but no DI box and you are sure to remember that the phantom power must never be on, then use this solution.

3) Isolate the USB via a hub that has galvanic isolation between upstream and downstream side. These are much more expensive than DI boxes, so it won't be cost-effective. Most USB "extender cables" do not have galvanic isolation and are useless for this purpose. Also note that you can connect only one audio interface to the hub as connecting a second unit creates a ground loop again (this time through the two devices you connected after the hub). Not recommended unless for some unfathomable reason a galvanically isolated USB hub or optical USB extender falls into your lap.

4) Isolate all inputs and outputs on the PC including USB. Not only need they be isolated from the PC itself, they also need to be isolated from each other. This is completely impractical and I'm not suggesting you should even try, but it is a solution to the problem.

It is often suggested that "balanced cables" would help. They don't, in fact there is no such thing as a "balanced cable" - there are only balanced connection and they need a balanced output and a balanced input. If both ends of a balanced connection are direct coupled, there is still a ground connection, but the symptoms of any ground loop would be less noticeable - the noise could probably be damped by 20dB-80dB depending on circumstances and frequency range.

Since the audio outputs of the Blofeld are in fact unbalanced, you also can't "lift ground" on the audio cable (this is a bad solution to this problem even on fully balanced connections). Doing so would either exacerbate the problem (if you would just disconnect the shield) or stop the audio out from functioning. You can also not "lift ground" on the USB cable for the same reason (and then some). The ground connection is a necessary ingredient of the USB physical layer (see the documentation), even if there are two signal lines carrying a (pseudo-)differential signal. In dry words: no ground connection, no USB connection. You may even damage the USB interface as disconnecting the ground would render the input protection scheme of most USB IC useless - the USB plugs and jacks have been carefully designed so that the ground connection is made first and breaks last, an assumption that would be invalid with lifted ground.


USB Documentaion:  http://www.usb.org/developers/docs/     ^ 
Q: What amount is needed for certain modulation intervals?

A: Assuming you would like to modulate the pitch with a squarewave LFO.

Table with the columns: modulation amount, factor, musical cent, interval name:

24: 1.059 = 100 cent = minor second
25:       = 125 cent
26:       = 150 cent
27:       = 175 cent
28: 1.122 = 200 cent  = major second (whole tone)
29:       = 250 cent
30: 1.189 = 300 cent  = minor third
31:       = 350 cent
32: 1.260 = 400 cent  = major third
33: 1.335 = 500 cent  = forth
34: 1.414 = 600 cent  = diminished fifth / augmented fourth
35: 1.498 = 700 cent  = fifth
36: 1.587 = 800 cent  = minor sixth
37: 1.782 = 1000 cent = minor seven
38: 2.000 = 1200 cent = octave
39: 2.333 = 1400 cent
40: 2.667 = 1600 cent
41: 3.333 = 2000 cent
42: 4.000 = 2400 cent = 2 octaves
43: 4.667 = 2800 cent
44:       = 3200 cent
45:       = 4000 cent
46: 16.000= 4800 cent = 4 octaves
   ^ 
Q: How to get linear envelope slopes?

A: The attack phase is linear by default. To get the decay and release linear, you have to modulate the envelope phases decay and release bei the envelope itself in the mod matrix. Modulation amounts of +46 to +48 are close to linear.

Example:
Source: Env 3
Destination: Env 3 Decay
Amount: +46-48

and in another mod matrix slot:

Source: Env 3
Destination: Env 3 Release
Amount: +46-48    ^ 
Q: What to do if MidiOX hangs when sending a sound bulk dump?

A: Try increasing the MIDI buffer size to 1024.    ^ 
Q: How do I get unipolar LFO on my Blofeld?

A: Use a modifier to modulate a destination in the modulation matrix with a positive or negeative amount of modulation. Set Source A of the modifier to your LFO, the operator to [MAX], and set Source B to Constant with a value of 0.

Example to modulate pitch up or down an octave from an INIT patch:
In the modulation matrix, Source: Modifier 1. Destination: 01 Pitch. Amount: +38 or -38.
In the modifier settings, Source A: LFO1. Operator: [MAX]. Source B: Constant. Constant Value = 0.
LF01 Settings, Shape: Sine. Speed: Something slow to hear the difference like 15.

If you used +38 for the amount in the modulation matrix, the pitch will go from the note played, up an octave and back to the original note. Likewise, if you used -38 for the amount, the note shifts an octave down and back. Experiment with other destinations such as filter cutoff.

Changing the Constant Value of the modifier to something other than 0 will shift the modulation up or down. For an example of how the constant behaves, set Oscillator 2 to a static saw wave for reference pitch, and then change the Constant Value of the modifier to +37 to shift Oscillator 1's start note to a 7th up or to -27 for a 5th down from the static note of Oscillator 2.    ^ 
Q: Lag processor

A: A lag processor can be fabricated out of an ADSR envelope by setting A=0 D=lag S=0 and R=127. Modulate Sustain with the source you wish to lag. (Thanks to Dr. Georg Müller for reminding me of this technique)

Modulating this lag processor with a bipolar mod source (like Pitchbend and LFO) won't work correctly however. Here you need to setup two envelopes with exactly the same parameters, but S=64. Route both envelopes with +/- the mod depth to the destination and modulate just the Sustain for one of them (usually the one with the +mod destination).    ^ 
[ Home ] 04.11.2024 11:41:49 Waldorf Time