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Q series microQ series Blofeld
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4-Pole X-pole EQ-27
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D-Pole (VST/AU Plug-In) Attack (VSTi/AU Plug-In) PPG 2.v/3.v (VSTi/AU Plug-In)


Q series Q+
Q: STEP SEQUENCER MANUAL ADDENDUM

A: Pause / Hold work as toggles
----------------------------
The Pause button does not delete notes from the selected step(s), despite the manual claiming that. Instead, it mutes the notes currently in that step. If you press Pause again, the notes will be back as if nothing ever happened to them. Hold works likewise, but instead of muting the whole step it will carry over all notes from the previous step. You can switch directly between pause and hold as well. Now watch: if you input notes into a step that is on Hold or Pause'd, then the "hidden" notes for that step are deleted, a new notelist is created and the step is removed from Hold or Pause.

Where's the delete notes function?
----------------------------------
Select "Note x" (x=1...8) as option parameter, light the Option LED, select any number of steps and then turn the knob left until the display shows "Off". You'll have to do this for all 8 notes in the notelist if you want to remove it completely. Perhaps there will be a more convenient function for this in a later revision of the OS, my suggestion would be "Shift Pause". Another nifty feature would be if "Shift Hold" would copy the notes from the previous step to the current, where you can then transpose them, for instance, without having to alter the previous step. Just by working the other way around you can add or alter notes to any number of steps by selecting the "Note x" you wish to create.

Transpose Step does not work (yet)
----------------------------------
Transpose (from the Sequencer Edit Menu) is not really an option parameter. Instead, it immediately affects the whole note list for the selected step at once. Unfortunately, not much more can be said about it, since it does not work correctly yet. For instance, it will transpose notes up that are switched off. If you still insist on trying out the transpose function, raise the "low Key" parameter in the multi instrument to "C-1" or so, so that the spuriously created notes will not make any sound.

Some advances are past the frontier
----------------------------------
Well, that is in the manual, but easy to miss. Even if your pattern has only four steps, you can still record 32. Of course you will not hear them until you either increase the pattern length or rotate the four steps you care about to the first four step positions. Rotating steps and banks is a very useful function, BTW.    ^ 
Q: Self oscillating filters on the Q

A: On the Q the LP, BP and HP all self-oscillate for resonance settings above 113 regardless of the drive setting. It takes a while for the oscillation to start, however. If you need immediate oscillation you should inject a little noise, let an oscillator bleed through at low level or "whack" the filter with a short blip from the oscillator (open the osc mixer with a "needle" envelope).

The resonance setting will "pull" the oscillation frequency appreciably, so if you want to play the filter from the keyboard, set it just at the edge of self-oscillation. If you bleed an oscillator through to the filter, setting it's frequency slightly off from the filter cutoff will create limit cycles while the filter is trying to lock to it's own frequency and phase and the oscillator simultaneously. The 12db/octave filters sound slightly less "pure", but all filter oscillation is essentially a sine wave.

The PPG and comb filters will not oscillate by themselves, they always needs some injected energy to start oscillation. For an example see A068 "PPG 101" from the factory 2001 soundset. Here two identically set up filters are in series, which makes it easier to reject the injected noise. For PPG, the resonance reacts quite different from the other filters and usually a lower setting will do.

Comb+ will oscillate one actave above the other filters. To play the filters tuned, Keytrack should be 100% and Cutoff=59 (47 for Comb+). The only filter that will not self-oscillate at all is the Notch 24dB/octave.    ^ 
Q: Mix Into

A: As of OS3 the External In can be routed directly (without any triggering of notes) to the physical outputs and the internal Aux and FX busses. Always try a physical output first to determine the correct send level, then patch the input signal into your sound. If everything goes through your mixer you can also create feedback loops, which are otherwise not possible.    ^ 
Q: Are there any third-party QCards?

A: Any chipcard in that particular "credit card" format advertised as "I2C memory card" or "ISO memory card" or "serial memory card" with 256kBit and 32kByte should be compatible, there is only a very slight chance that it isn't. You can also build these yourself from an adapter card normally used to emulate processor cards and a 24LC256 chip. The prices vary greatly from around $10 all the way up to $50, so check carefully.

The Q won't admit there is a card inserted unless it is properly "formatted" by using a PC based card reader. If you get your cards bundled with a card reader or already have one, the demo program that usually comes with it enables you to replace the first 36 bytes with the magic

0000: 57 64 43 57 00 80 00 00 16 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0010: 51 43 61 72 64 20 49 6E 69 74 56 31 2E 33 2E 32
0020: FF FF 7F DC

and you'll have an empty QCard that is named "QCard InitV1.3.2" (for those who can't read hex dumps :-). The three lines above should actually be put into a file, as at least the Towitoko demo programmer is able to read hex dumps directly (many other programs will read that format too). If it doesn't, don't blame me; if your Q breaks, I'm not responsible etc. pp. On the Q+ you can format QCards from the Utilities menu while it is in service mode.

In Germany you can buy electrically compatible cards most easily from Reichelt Elektronik:
 http://www.reichelt.de/inhalt.html?ARTIKEL=CHIPKARTE%2032KB 

 http://www.reichelt.de/inhalt.html?ARTIKEL=CHIPKARTE%2032KB     ^ 
Q: I'm wondering if there is any way to prevent the Q/Q-rack from booting as soon as you switch on the power?

A: Just switch it OFF with the power button before you cut power with your main switch. Then it will stay OFF when you switch on main again. The Q remembers the last state it was in before cycling power.
This does not work on all Qs.
A point for more investigation...    ^ 
Q: How to enter the factory test mode?

A: Power the Q with both Osc and Mixer Edit buttons pressed.
You exit this mode by pulling the Q's main plug.

BE CAREFULL: YOU MIGHT LOOSE SOUNDS OR NEEDED DATA IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN THIS MODE.    ^ 
Q: Which pushbuttons are used on the Q ?

A: Frank Schneider came through for me and told me which pushbuttons are used on the Q:

The pushbutton is a 6mm Square and 5mm height Type TACT Switch (Snap-in)
SKHH from ALPS Japan. But we have these items also on stock:"

This tranlates to ALPS PN SKHHAKA010.

I found the exact PN at Mouser Electronics:

 http://www.mouser.com/index.cfm?handler=displayproduct&lstdispproductid=389932&e_categoryid=146&e_pcodeid=68800     ^ 
Q: How to get into the Q's factory test, service, erease data mode?

A: Power up holding these buttons will get your Waldorf into this mode:

Osc-Edit + Mixer-Edit = factory test
Shift = Init AFM Data (Q+ only!)
Global = Service Mode
Multi = Erase Data Flash
Multimode+Peek = Send OS

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Only do this if you know what you do!
You will loose all your sounds!
You might break your synth doing so!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *    ^ 
Q: I would prefer a joy-stick on my Q. How-to ?

A: See the link below for a detailed german (sorry, no translation yet) DIY manual for soldering experienced Waldorfians.

 http://faq.waldorfian.info/q-stick.html     ^ 
Q: What's inside the Q ?

A: Have a look at the link below:
 http://faq.waldorfian.info/q-inside.html 

Or visit Troy's Q Rebuild Photo Page:
 http://saturn5.com/tsheets/photos/Q 

 http://faq.waldorfian.info/q-inside.html     ^ 
Q: How to control the Q via a Reaktor ensemble and Cubase SX? -> Q Ti ;-)

A: To use you will need at least Reaktor 5 and Cubase SX 3.1 (and a Q obviously)
Load Reaktor as a VSTi and load up the Q TI.ens file below.



To use the file you will need two tracks in SX both midi outputs set to your Q.
Set the midi in on one track to your usual controller keyboard or just choose all inputs.
On the other track select Reaktor as the midi input.
Arm both tracks and your away.
You can use all 16 midi channels using the same .ens but be careful when using snapshots as you may find yourself changing things inadvertently that you have not adjusted. I will try to work out a better way of multi channel use.

Darren

 http://faq.waldorfian.info/files/Q_TI.ens     ^ 
Q: How to use the 2 buttons in the lefthand section as transpose buttons?

A: Use one Modmatrix slot for a setting like this:
Source: LastBtn
Destination: Pitch
Amount: +42

Pressing the right button will transpose the instruments part by one octave up. The left button one octave down.

It does work in normal PLAY and MULTI mode.    ^ 
Q: What's the difference between the Q and µQ series of synths?

A: This list is probably quite a bit longer than you expect. As a general guideline the microQ seems to have just the things that a typical sequencer->tone generator setup needs, while the Q is a performance synthesizer where many of the features won't be used or make much sense until you free it from the slavery of the sequencer and let it call the shots. The microQkb and the Qrack are mixed breeds in that respect although they stay true to their ancestry, so the microQkb is still farther from the Q than the Qrack is and the Qrack is nowhere near the microQ. Now for the (likely still incomplete) list of differences from the biggies to the weenies (my order, yours would probably look different):
The user interface. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, but that is something you'll notice right away and will in subtle ways shape your style of working with the synth.
The step sequencer (we'll come back to that later). Some folks may not need it, but even if you don't use it for playing notes it can still be used as a modulation source. [I plan to write up a Q-Tip on that as it has to be one of the most often overlooked features of the step sequencer.]
FX architecture. The Q has eight independent FX units arranged in four pairs. The microQ has four independent FX units and one global FX. Based on the questions here in this forum the architecture of the microQ is confusing to many users, as in essence the arrangement in the microQ means that a path will sound more often than not quite different in multimode than in single mode.
The Filter Routing _interpolation_. The filter routing (serial and parallel) itself is there on the microQ, it's the interpolation and associated modulation possibilities that are missing on the microQ. When it's used you won't be able to do even an imitation of the effect on the microQ.
No CV and switch inputs on the microQ (rack). The microQkb has one switch and one CV input vs two of them on the Q.
The PPG filter. There is a certain range of resonance settings where this filter sounds just so much better than the normal lowpass. But understand that the lowpass on the microQ and the Q will also sound different.
The XPhorm. Another trick the Q has up the sleeve that can yield stunning "modulations" that have no chance of being pressed into the ModMatrix.
Fixed vs. dynamic performance architecture. The Q does not care how many of it's voices are in use and how many features are used by each voice. The microQ will have a different number of voices depending on the general complexity of the patches.
Filter self oscillation. The microQ just doesn't, which is often easily worked around. Alongside with that the filter model generally is different from the Q which would be most noticeable at or around the point where self-oscillation would start on the Q.
A few differences in the actual sound dumps, some necessary due to the mentioned differences and some gratuitous, like the scaling of some parameters.
The Q's standard number of 16 firm voices can be doubled to 32, while the microQ's maximum number of dynamic voices can be tripled to 75.
Maximum delay length and reverb room size is smaller on the microQ.    ^ 
Q: What can I do when "Reorganizing Memory" appears?

A: What can I do when "Reorganizing Memory" appears?

1. When dumping data from MIDI: the dump where the message appeared and some later dumps (if it was a complete soundset) were not received correctly. Stop and rewind the sequence a bit and resume when the message is gone from the Q's display.
2. When storing from the Q itself: the last store could not be completed due to fragmented memory. Try to store again right after the message has vanished from the display.

You may have to repeat this procedure a number of times.

Why do I get this message?
Data is stored in so-called Flash memory. Data in Flash can't be overwritten directly. The Flash must first be erased, however the erase will affect a large block or sector of data at once. That sector can then be written over once with new data.
When the Q needs to save data, it looks for already erased space of sufficient size. If it finds space, it writes the data to it and then invalidates the data at the old location, creating a fragment. If it can't find space, it has to collect all valid data in one or more sectors, erase these sectors, write the valid data back (defragmenting it on the way) and check if enough space has been freed by the procedure. This takes some time during which you see the message "Reorganizing Memory".
The propensity of the memory to need reorganization is roughly proportional to the number of store operations and the amount of memory in use. You can not delete memory once you've started using it, except for erasing all user memory. For instance if you ever stored data to C100, that slot will always take up memory, even when it is later initialized.
If there is not enough space to temporarily save the valid data of sectors to be erased, you get the message "Flash hopeless full". It may go away after a power cycle, but usually the only thing you can do at this point is to back up the Q and erase the whole memory.

How can I avoid this message?
1. Avoid fragmentation: Store intermediate edits to QCard or to a seqeuncer instead of directly to the Q. Also try to use always the same slots for edit and use a consecutive range at the end of memory. This helps to keep fragmentation to as few sectors as possible.
2. Keep lots of empty memory: use as few slots in memory as possible. After erasing memory, do not send a complete sound set. For instance if you don't use the sequencer, leave out the patterns. Send only the sounds you plan to use, try using single sounds sent to edit buffers to find out which are the ones you need.
3. Power cycle your Q occassionaly during prolonged edit sessions. The Q checks and reorganizes the memory during boot when fragmentation is over a certain limit. By keeping the number of edits between reboots sufficiently low, the Q is able to keep enough non-fragmented free space around.

How can I defragment memory?
When fragmentation exceeds a certain limit, the Q is unable to reorganize the memory sufficiently well and you'll get this message more and more often. To recover, back up all user data ("Dump All" Sound, Multi, DrumMap, Pattern and Global) first. If you've just edited a handful of slots and the rest is straight from the factory set, you could also save these as single dumps.
Make sure your backup is received by the Q when sent back and note the setting of DevID in Global Menu. Then cycle power and press the Multi (not Multimode) button during boot. You will be asked if it's OK to erase the DATA Flash. Press Play/OK to confirm. You have to set the DevID to the value you've noted. Send back the Global data backup now to get the rest of the global setup right.
Now the difficult part: you should not send the complete backup as it is, but only those dumps that you are going to use! Otherwise you end up using more memory then before. Usually you would want to use all sounds, so this backup can be sent right away to fill all slots from A001 to C100. For Multis, Drum Maps and Patterns only the first few slots in each bank are used. One solution is to stop the sequencer after sending the first few entries. The better solution is to use a bank manager like SoundDiver and just send the entries that are of interest. You can also edit the event list in your sequencer and delete the superfluous dumps. If you've backed up single dumps, re-load the appropriate factory soundset (skipping any unnecessary slots) and then send each of your backups back to the Q and store them by hand.    ^ 
Q: How to make the Q(r) sounds work on a mQ(k)?

A: If you dump a mQ sound into a Q check the following Q parameters:

* The waveshape of the oscillators might be invisible due to the fact that the mQ allows you to switch oscillators off (to save voices). You will have to select any waveshape you like and turning the volume of this oscillator to zero. Check for modulation of the oscillator volume and cancel these.
* The oscillator PWM modulation on alt-waves is much to high. You will have to lower it drastically. I would reduce the value of 42 to something like 4 or 5. Just use your ears to do so. There is no chart for this yet. BTW: +63 equals +63 on both engines.
* You might want to adjust the filter cutoff and the env-vel a tiny bit. But this isn't a major issue.


If you dumped a Q sound into a mQ:

* chack the FX first. The mQ allows you to use the reverb and Delay FX only on FX2 (which might not be audible depending on the FX2 setting in the global menu). If the Q sound uses Delay and Reverb or two delays or Reverb, you are out off luck. - You will have to rise the mQ PWM modulation on alt-waves drastically. values like 4 or 5 will have to change to something like 42. Trust your ears. There is no chart for this yet. BTW: +63 equals +63 on both engines.
* If the original Q sound used in-between Filter-Routing you have to tryserial or paralell filter routing to match the sound a bit more. There is no dynamical filter routing on the mQ. Also all modulations on filterrouting will be useless. You might want to clear up these in the Mod Matrix. But there is no technical need to do so, because the desiny filter routing will be set to off.
* The mQ doesn't feature the PPG filter clone. Try a 12 db low pass or the 24 db low pass with a bit raised cutoff to came a bit closer to the original. You might have to lower the resonance too, because the resonace sounds VERY different on the PPG filter clone. Actually it does sound like the real SSM used in the PPG waves and early Prophet 5s.    ^ 
Q: Setting up the vocoder

A: There is a very fine tutorial in the latest versions of both manuals written by Holger "Tsching" Steinbrink.

When using the Vocoder, don't forget that the Vocoder wants two signals, analysis (often the External In) and synthesis. If you forget the synthesis signal, you may be frustrated by a very silent vocoder. You can check by setting the mix for the Vocoder to zero, then you will only hear the synthesis signal. Set the Vocoder mix back to some high value when done. :-)

 http://www.waldorfmusic.de/assets/files/products/micro_q/manuals/mQ_Addendum2.0.pdf 
 http://www.waldorfmusic.de/en/archive?relPath=/q/docs/english     ^ 
Q: What are the altwaves?

A: THEY ARE:
* 2 different wavetables on oscillators 1 & 2 of the Q & mQ
* you are able to select them independently. On most other wavetable synth you have to use the same wavetable for all (both) oscillators.
* each wavetable is made up of 128 wave shape positions
* the transition from waveshape to waveshape is VERY smooth

HISTORIC BACKGROUND:
The alt-waves were into the specs of the Q from the first public announcement Waldorf did. But it took a few month after the Q's release to introduce them in a new and free (as usually) Q OS update. The alt-waves were designed by Stefan Stenzel, the DSP programmer at Waldorf. He selected some of his favorite Micro Wave II waveshapes.
And the Micro Wave II waveshapes were taken from the Micro Wave I. And the Micro Wave I waveshapes included the PPG wavetables #0 to #29, missing the PPG sample wavetable #31 and the upperwavetable.
The alt-wave tables include 64 unique waveshapes. 16 of them origin from the PPG waves (that's quarter of all waveshapes). The shapes included are 4 waves from the PPG wavetable #13 (harsh), 3 from PPG wavetable #15 (# 16 on the Waldorf synths; piano), 7 from the PPG wavetable #24 (# 25 on the Waldorf synths; ) and 2 from PPG wavetable #22 (# 23 on the Waldorf synths; percussive organ).
All other waveshapes are Micro Wave I OS 2 waveshapes. For example: the pulse sync (#38 on the Micro Wave II), the "nein" portion from the "19/20" wavetable. And the Waldorf wavetable #57 and #64. These waveshapes are NOT spread across the tables like on the PPG or Micro Wave tables.
They are just dropped on every fourth wavetable position. There for you need to use very advanced modulations by two or more envelopes (the Q and mQ haven't got a 8 stage envelope) to simulate the featured PPG wavetables.

AND THE TECHNICAL DETAILS ?
Each waveshape is stored as a full single cycle of 128 12 bit sample words.
The highest available harmonic is the 64th.
The Q works very high fidelity in the whole DSP and analog signal path. Therefor you won't get the typical aliasing a PPG did.
The transition from one wave to another in the wavetable is VERY smooth. Also very unlike the PPG waves.    ^ 
Q: How to save a multi

A: When you have set up a multi, you have to press the 'multi' button (at the right side of the display, not the one at below right. Now you will be in the edit menu for your current multi.
NOW is the time where you press shit-store, and now you can choose a location (turn the big red dial), and a name for your multi. Press shift-store once again to confirm the save-process.    ^ 
Q: How to set up a multi?

A: First you have to be in multimode. (Press the 'multimode'-button, at the left side of 'peak').

Now you can edit the sounds in your multi. Press the 'Multi/Compare' button, you are now entering a menu. When you're entering multimode, normally you are editing part 1. So, now let's go through how to select a different patch for part 1. (Note: A patch and a part are two completely different things. A part is info about which patch is selected for a selected part in your multi.)

Now, use the big red dial and turn it to the left, until you see the menu option where you can select a patch. If you turn the right dial under the display, you'll be able to select a patch for your active part. If you want to exit this menu, just push the 'play/ok' button.

So how do you choose patches for the other 15 parts? Read on...

above the display there's four buttons.

Button 1	Button 2	Button 3	Button 4
--------	---------	---------	---------   	
1/5/9/13	2/6/10/14	3/7/11/15	4/8/12/16


Here you can select which part of your multi you're editing. (Note: you'll be editing the sound which is chosen inside the multi-menu).

So how does this work?

If you push button 2 only, you'll be editing part 2 in your multi.
If you push button 4 only, you'll be editing part 4 in your multi.
Now, if you hold the shift button, and press Button 2, you'll be able to select four new parts. Now, if you press button 1 only, you'll be editing part 5 of your multi. If you press button 4 you'll be editing part 8. The same goes for Button 3 and 4. If you hold shift and press button 3, you'll be able to select part 9/10/11/12.

When you have selected a part that you'd like to have a specific patch, use the method described earlier to find the one you want.    ^ 
Q: Are Alt 1 and Alt 2 different wavetables or are they the same?

A: They are different. you can try this when you create an ini patch and put the modwheel as wave selector in the oscillators menu:

(assuming Alt1 or Alt2 is selected for OSC1)
PWM source = modwheel (Wavetable modulation (WTM) source = modwheel)
PW = 0 (Wavetable (WT) start = 0)
PWM = 63 (Wavetable modulation (WTM) = max)

Now when you play a note and move the modwheel it sweeps thru the table and selects the wave that is played when PW is 0 and you put the modwheel to the very left it should start with the first wave of the table.

You can swap Alt1 / Alt2 to check out the difference.

For further info:  http://www.ee.ed.ac.uk/~ctr/qwaves/     ^ 
Q: How to export patterns via MIDI?

A: Go to the GLOBAL menu and switch "Arp. Send" to ON.
This will start the transmition of patterns notes to the midi out too.    ^ 
Q: Filter drive

A: The Filter drive acts like a post filter gain stage. While it can be used as an overdrive, it simply clips and this doesn't sound right for a great many of sounds. But there are other uses for it:

1) re-amplifying a sound that is too quiet after filtering (like when you've set the cutoff of the lowpass filter below the key you're playing - great with resonance and FM);

2) set the relative level of two parallel filters when balancing the inputs with the mixer does not exactly get you there;

3) overdriving F2 from it's input when filters are in series configuration;

Filter Drive also works when the filter is set to bypass.

Too high of a Drive setting will just put the internal signals into saturation. If that happens, the sound may actually become more quiet or vanish completely. Back off on the levels and/or the drive in that case.
   ^ 
Q: Modulation Trick

A: Set up an Arp or Pattern or even an Arp triggered by a Pattern to trigger notes. Use Keytrack for modulation instead of Pitch, especially useful when the oscillators aren't mixed into the sound.    ^ 
Q: Note trigger needed for External In and Vocoder Sounds

A: You need to trigger at least one note! More notes will feed more signal through the various voices, so the signal will become louder. This also means that there is attenuation to avoid clipping so a single voice is pretty quiet. Route MAXIMUM to Volume in the standard modmatrix to counteract. Set Sound Mode to Mono to save voices (unless you use polyphonic patterns for modulation). Use Unisono if you absolutely need more loudness (this also creates some "phasing" effects).    ^ 
Q: External Input Mix

A: Check balance as well as Level (Level=100 seems to be no gain/attenuation on most parameters). Going through a single filter loses some signal even when set to bypass:
Balance (F1/F2 parallel)
F1 -> -6dB
mid -> 0db
F2 -> -6dB

Balance (F1/F2 serial)
F1 -> -9dB
mid -> -3dB
F2 -> -6dB
For maximum level set the Balance to Mid and Routing to parallel.    ^ 
Q: External Input Gain

A: (in Global Menu)
For actual gain and max. input level see the manual.
For a pre-amplified signal from a mixer 2 should be the fixed setting.    ^ 
Q: External Input

A: Single ended (unbalanced) TS jacks to TRS jack Y cable (Tip is Left, Ring is Right, Sleeve is ground).
If your mixer has groups: a group output is ideal for this application as you have a dedicated fader for the send mix. Otherwise try Aux Sends, I find them most useful when they are pre-fader in their respective channel.    ^ 
Q: Reviewing sounds dry

A: To review sounds without their builtin effects, dial them up in multimode at one of the instruments 5 through 16. Set the output of that instrument to one of the physical outputs Main, Sub1 or Sub2. You can Solo that instrument in the Multi Edit menu also if you want to silence the other instruments temporarily.    ^ 
Q: How to Update the Q/mQ O.S.

A: This is an important process since it can add all the new features of an OS update or, if done wrong, damage the Q. However, as long as you follow the steps detailed here or in the Q manual (downloadable from the Waldorf website) everything will work fine.

((And, if for some reason the power goes out during an OS upgrade, well you have only yourself to blame for not getting a conditioned backup power supply for your studio! ;)))

Q O.S.s come as standard MIDI files containing system exclusive data (SysEx) info which, when sent to the Q via MIDI just like a normal sequence, will be understood by the Q and burned into memory. The process is very similar to loading Q sounds.

There are two files which you will most likely need to update your Q with: the "boot" O.S. and the O.S. itself.

The Boot O.S. contains the data your Q uses to access the regular O.S. and is useful, for example, when an OS update attempt has failed. The Q (keyboard) and Q-rack both use the same O.S. and boot O.S., while the MicroQ has its own 2 O.S. files. Also, the Changelog.txt for the new O.S. will be available on Waldorf's site and will detail the features of the new O.S.

Insure that you get your Q O.S. update files from the Waldorf website. Its generaly a good idea to get the file(s) not long before you update to avoid the slim chance that various unrelated computer disk operations accidently corrupted the O.S. files, but this is very unlikely so its more of a precaution.

The Order is:
1) the O.S.
2) Boot O.S.
You do *not* need to restart the Q during the proceedure since after a succesful SysEx dump the Q the restart itslef to ennable the new O.S.



To Update the Q O.S.:
1) Insure that your computer, MIDI interface, and Q are all connected and working properly

3) Set your Q into the standard "Play" mode (press the Play button) to make sure its not in an edit buffer

4) Open your sequencing program (Cubase, Logic, Digital Performer) on your computer and insure that it is set to send and receive SYSEX data

5) Insure that any loop modes of playback are off as well as the metronome or any MIDI clicks

5) In your sequencer, open the O.S. update MIDI file first (*not* the Boot O.S.)

6) Set your Q as the active instrument to receive the MIDI send

7) Insure that the sequencer is set to a reasonable tempo, from 100 to 120 BPM

8) Press play on the sequencer and watch your Q's display for its current status

9) DO NOT turn off the Q during the update process!

9) If you get the message "Checksum error", then try the update again possibly with a slower tempo.
If you get the message, "Timeout", then the transmit was incomplete or played back to slowly.
If possible download the OS files again from Waldorf's website, and if necessary adjust your sequencer's tempo a little bit faster.

9) Once the upgrade has completed and the Q resets, watch its display to insure it has received the O.S. properly (it should have the new O.S. in its startup display)

10) After a quick check to insure the Q is operating in a normal fashion proceed
to ... Install the 'boot' O.S.

11) Just as before, play the boot OS file to your Q with the Q set in the standard 'Play' mode, etc.

12) DO NOT turn of the Q during the process!!

12) Watch the display as the file loads, once it's finished the Q will reset and your Q should be fully updated. Watch the display as it boots up and it should display the current O.S.

TIP: if you want to see what O.S. your Q is currently running, you can display the information by pressing the Global button and scrolling through the menu until the OS info is diplayed.

TIP 2: When you boot up your Q, it should display what OS it's running.

for Q:  http://waldorfmusic.de/de/downloads?relPath=q/System 
for mQ:  http://waldorfmusic.de/de/downloads?relPath=micro_q/System     ^ 
Q: How To Load Q/mQ Sounds

A: 1) Insure your Q, MIDI interface, and computer are all connected and working properly

2) Back up any sounds which might be overwritten by saving them

3) Open your sequencer, and open the MIDI file which contains the Q sounds you want to load

4) Insure that your sequencer is set to send and recieve MIDI SysEx data

5) On your Q make sure it is in "Play" mode and not an of the edit buffers

6) Make sure the sequencer MIDI track is set with the Q as the instrument to receive MIDI

7) Insure that it is set to a reasonable tempo, between 100 and 120 BPM

8) Play the MIDI file. Your Q should show its status as it recieves the SysEx data

9) Once the MIDI file is completed and the Q's display has returned to its normal state your new sounds are loaded


"Re-Organizing Memory...."
-> Pause the Sound Upload

The Q's RAM buffer must occasionally re-organize its memory - this is normal. It's difficult to know when the Q must do so, but if you notice this message while the sounds are loading you will need to re-send them - starting with the sound jsut before the "Re-organizing" message appeared.

If the sound file is bigger than about 100 sounds its most likely that the message will appear.

So,during a large sound upload you may need to pause the sequencer playback as soon as the Q displays the "Re-organizing memory" message, and once that is fininished, set the MIDI file playback a fraction back, and then un-pause MIDI playback.    ^ 
Q: How To Save Q Sounds

A: 1) Insure that your Q, MIDI interface, and computer are all connected and working properly

2) Open your sequencing application

3) Insure that it is set to send and receive SYSEX data. Often the defaults are set to *not* transmit SysEx data. Common menu items which deal with SYSEX include: MIDI Filter, MIDI Preferences, MIDI Options, etc.

4) Within the sequencer, enable a MIDI track to record to with the Q selected as the instrument to record

5) Set tempo to about 100 or 120 BPM

6) go to your Q's MIDI Dump menu by pressing: "Shift"+Global/Utility

7) scroll through the menu until you find the selection you want to execute

8) Go ack to your sequencer and start recording

9) While the sequencer is recording, go back to the Q and again press: "Shift"+Global/Utility and the Q will begin transmitting the SYSEX data which contains all the info of your Q sounds

10) Once the Q has finished and returns to whatever display you had it set to prior to sending, Stop the sequencer, name the file, and save.    ^ 
Q: Multimode For Live Performance (Tutorial)

A: The parameters within the Multi menu allow you to create multis which have various Instr. channels active in different ways which are defined using the Multimode parameters. Think of the different Inst channels as layers to which you assign MIDI activity and keymapping.

This allows you to create multis which playback different combinations of sounds depending on which notes you are playing. The following tutorial is an example of such a multi.

Goal: to create a patch which has a bass in the lower keys, an 'atmosphere' + strings in the middle, and a flute lead on the top.

1. Press the Multimode button

2. Press Inst.1, (if the number 1 is not showing in the upper right corner of the display, press and hold Shift while pressing Inst.1)

3. Use the big red knob to select the Channel/Status page

4. Assign the MIDI channel you want your Qrack or MicroQ to respond to and set its Status to "MIDI" (if you have a Q you should set Status to "Keyb")

5. Scroll back to the sound selection page and select a bass sound

6. Scroll to the Low Key/ High Key page and set it to C1/ B2

7. Press the Inst.2 button

8. Scroll to the MIDI/Status page and select the same MIDI channel as you did before with Status "MIDI" (Q - "Keyb")

9. Scroll back to the sound select page, and select an atmosphere or pad type sound

10. Scroll to the Low Key/ High Key page and set it to C3/ B3

11. Press the Inst.3 button

12. On the MIDI/Status page, set it to the same MIDI channel as before with Status "MIDI" (Q- "Keyb)

13. On the sound select page, select a strings sound

14. On the Low Key/ High Key page, set it to C3/B3 (the strings will play with the atmosphere/pad)

15. Press the Inst.4 button

16. Set it to the same MIDI channel as all the others, status of "MIDI" (Q-"Keyb")

17. Assign a flute sound

18. Set its Low Key/ High Key range to be C4-C5

19. Thats all! If you want to balance the levels between the sounds you can set each individual sounds volume (MIDI CC 7) by selecting its Inst.# and going to the Volume page.    ^ 
Q: Q/mQ Amp Clip Reduction

A: There are situations when you may hear a distinct amp clip (which sounds like a digital mixer overloaded), then look to your studio mixing board and see that in fact it is not being overloaded.

The distorted clip can occur within the Q's own Amp and Mixer areas and should not be confused with the purposeful use of distortion (which should *not* be overdriving the Q's own Amp, ie. Filt Drive, and FX).

This sort of clip is not very common, but can be avoided by simply reducing the 5 Mixer Volumes as above.    ^ 
Q: About "Multi Volume"

A: The "Multi Volume" affects *all* of the sounds in a Multi, use the Multi Volume to balance the Q/mQ in a mix with other synths. Most likely you should set Multi Volume to 127 to get the greatest amp level from the Q/mQ - but be sure to cut the levels of the most loud sounds, ie. those which use Comb filters or other filters set with high resonance)    ^ 
Q: Volume Levels

A: As you may have noticed, the Q has a fairly variable output level, depending on the settings
of the active sound(s). Any sound with a comb filter or other filter with a high resonance
setting will come out of the Q outs up to +8 dB louder than the other sounds. In any kind
of a multimode settup this means the very loud sounds will have to be balanced with the rest.

The best way to do this is *not* by adjusting the AMP Volume for a sound, but rather in
the MIXER section of a Q sound. This insures that the particular sound, whenever called
upon for use will not come blasting out at very high levels.

To Balance Sounds With Very High Volume Output:
- Use the 5 Mixer section Volumes

With the sound in need of Amp Volume cutting selected, enter the MIXER section and, using the Osc.1-3, Noise/Ext., Ring Mod, Volumes reduce them to suitable levels for their particular use.

A sound with a Comb filter can be reduced as low as Osc.1-3 at a Volume of 45 each. As long as the Master VOlume (CC 7) 0-127 gives the needed range.    ^ 
Q: Setting up a Multi for MIDI use (Tutorial)

A: 1. If you are using the Q keyboard: in the Global menu, turn Local Control:OFF

2. Press the Multimode button. This allows you to select the Multi location, using the big red knob, from 100 multis.

3. Select any open (unused) multi

4. Press the "Multi" button. This puts you into the Multi menu where the multimode parameters can be edited.

5. Select "Inst.1" by pressing the "Inst.1" button. If the number 1 is not
displayed in the upper right corner of the display, press and hold the "Shift" button while pressing "Instr.1" again. This selects the Q's Instrument 1 multi location.

6. Use the big red knob to scroll through the different editable parameters for the current Intrument channel. Since were setting up a multi for use with a MIDI sequencer (as opposed to a multi for use in live performance) we want each instrument to send/receive a single MIDI channel only, so scroll to the Channel/ Status page.

7. Using the left editing knob under the display, select MIDI channel 1.

8. Using the right editing knob, select MIDI (if you have the Q and wish to use it as the master controller, then make sure you have one Q Instrument (it doesn't matter which) set to "Keyb+MIDI")

9. Using the big red knob scroll back to the first menu item to set the Sound. The left edit button selects the sound bank A, B, and C, while the right edit button selects the sound 001-100. Select a sound.

10. Provided you have Q-1 selected in your sequencer, you should now be able to play your master controller keyboard and hear the sound you selected for channel 1

11. Press "Inst.2" to set up the next Q sound

12. Scroll to the Channel/Status page and set it to channel 2, Status "MIDI"

13. Scroll back to the first page of the Multi menu to set the sound for MIDI channel 2

14. Repeat this simple process for Inst.3 and Inst.4 (Select Q Instrument, activate its MIDI channel, and set the sound).

15. To activate Instruments 5-16 you need to press and hold "Shift" while pressing one of the Inst.1-4 buttons. The number in the upper right corner of the display will remind you which Instrument channel you are in.    ^ 
Q: Understanding Multimode and Instruments

A: The Q was originally going to be a 4 part multi-timbral synth, but was
later bumped up to a full 16 channels of multi-timbral capability. However, this feature of the OS came after the design of the hardware so the Q features a rather strange but very versatile multimode.

Key concepts:

* "Instruments" 1-16 represent Multimode slots in the Q, *not* MIDI channels!

* an "Instrument" slot allows you to select many different multimode parameters, including the MIDI channel that Instr. slot # will send/receive on.    ^ 
Q: Arpeggiator Pattern Edit does not work ?

A: Check and increase the pattern length.
Although you can still see all 16 steps in the display, you can only edit the steps in the pattern that will be audible.    ^ 
Q: Worked just a second ago and is now dead

A: If you overflow the internally permitted signal range, you will first get audible clipping and if you carry on past that NO SOUND at all. Reduce the Levels at all stages or switch to another patch to confirm your Q is still allright. Don't do that again :-)    ^ 
Q: Q/mQk is swamped with MIDI messages

A: Mostly caused by other (malfunctioning) equipment, the Q will at best make very faint noises now and then when it receives more nonsense than it can cope with. So if all else fails, try to pull the MIDI cables and see if that helps.

if Q/mQk is set to "Local Off":
Here you should do the opposite and check if the MIDI cabling is still inserted. Also the MIDI router or sequencer that was supposed to feed the MIDI events back to the Q should be running. If not, "Local On" in the Global Menu is your friend.    ^ 
Q: Vocoder, RingMod or FX gets no signal

A: If your Vocoder does not get an analysis signal, your Q/mQ will remain silent if the mix is set to 127. The same goes for the RingMod in FiveFX. If you route all sounds in a multi to AUX, you should not expect any sound to come out of the Q/mQ as well.    ^ 
Q: No Sound (due to Modulation Matrix or Multi Volume) ?

A: You can mute the Q through the modulation matrix as well. Should be rare and can easily checked by trying another sound. Look for modulation slots that have Amp and Oscillator Levels as the target. Also check Multi volume if a Multi is affected.    ^ 
Q: I thought the Q/mQ was supposed to make noise, mine doesn't

A: Besides the obvious, but still often missed fact that it may not be switched on or not plugged properly into the amplifier, there are other conditions that will silence your Q.

OR

System Volume turned down?
Easy to miss since there is no indicator, and even easier to fix.    ^ 
Q: How to load a full soundset?

A: First of all:
BACK UP what is inside your Q or mQ.

Do this by making a dump to a sequencer or to a program like
SoundDiver and save the file as MIDI file. You should either "Dump All" (includes the OS and BOOT) or induvidually dump "All Sounds", "All DrumMaps", "All Patterns" and "All Multis". Seperately dump "Global Data". It is a good idea to check if your Q recognizes the backup. Worse than having no backup is having a backup that can't be restored.

Initialize your Q (power off, power on while holding "Multi" (not Multimode!), then press play when asked) or uQ (power off, power on while holding Inst.3 + Global, then press play when asked). DON'T DO THIS if you have a microQ lite! Ask Waldorf Support for a safe procedure to accomplish this on the microQ lite.

Now dump this soundset into your Q or mQ by loading it through a sequencer or a program like SoundDiver. This is the easy way of getting the complete soundset loaded. If you don't do initialize first, you may experience a lot of "Reorganizing Memory" messages and the soundset won't load completely. Back up your sequencer to just before the point were the message appeared and continue to send from this point.

Now send the backup for "Global Data" to the Q/mQ (you did put it in a seperate file, did you?) to get back the setup of your Q/mQ as you had it before the whole procedure. Of course the soundset has changed on the way.

Have fun!

PS: If you ever want to get the old soundset back: do all the above steps, but instead of sending the soundset you need to send your backup.

If you don't want to initialize the memory, you can try to stop the sequencer whenever you see the "Reorganizing Memory" message. Rewind the sequence a feww events, the start it from there (not the beginning) when the massage has gone. You may have to repeat this further into the dump.    ^ 
Q: How to use the arpeggiator in drum maps?

A: It's working, even though Waldorf insists it does not. Needs
some nudging, though: edit the drum map to contain an Arp and store it.
Then, from the utilities menu, init the drum map and immediately recall
the sound from memory. Enjoy the arp and while you're at it, trigger
the arp from the step sequencer as well (Q only)...    ^ 
Q: How can I switch between sounds and multis from MIDI?

A: When RX PrgChg is set to Num, it changes programs within a single bank only, that is the currently selected sound bank in single mode and the multi bank in multi mode. To do "multitimbral" program changes, you need to set RX PrgChg to Num+Bnk. The bank number assignment is somewhere in the change log for OS3, or here:

BankLSB Bank
0 A - deprecated
(changes Multi programs on global channel when in multimode)
1 B - deprecated
2 C - deprecated
3 X - deprecated (QCard)
4 D - deprecated
5 E - deprecated (QCard)
40h/64 A
41h/65 B
42h/66 C
48h/72 X
50h/80 D
58h/88 E
60h/96 Multi
68h/104 Multi (QCard)

Note that you still need to set up the MIDI channels in the multi in a sensible way and/or enable/disable reception of program changes for individual instruments if they share channels. Program changes being channel messages means that all instruments receiving on a particular channel will switch to the same bank and program... If you must keep
instruments on the same channel and also switch sounds, you need to use sysex to change the sounds or provide pre-programmed multis with all combinations of sounds that you are going to use.    ^ 
Q: Is there a Mac OS Qrack or mQ editor available?

A: Yes. It's a free (!!!) Java application serving Win and Mac OS X computers. Programmed by PSR Software. Here you find more details:  http://synth.stromeko.net/mQEdit/Readme_mQEdit.html  and the newest version.

 http://Synth.Stromeko.net/Downloads.html#mQEdit     ^ 
Q: Is the One-Shot envelope working?

A: Yes, but unlike described in the manual the OneShot envelope will always use the AAlD1S1D2S2R envelope (or ADS1DS2R as the manual calls it a little bit too briefly). Also, the Gate is still taken into account so that you must hold the note longer than the envelope will take. To to convert a simple ADSR envelope to OneShot, you must also set the following:

Attack Level = 127
Decay 2 = 0
Sustain 2 = Sustain
Modulations: Attack, Decay, Release

or

Attack Level = 127
Decay 2 = Release
Sustain 2 = 0
Modulations: Attack, Decay, Sustain

or

Attack Level = 127
Decay 2 = Decay
Sustain 2 < Sustain
Modulations: Attack, Release

or

Attack Level = 0
Decay = Attack
Sustain = 127
Decay 2 = Decay
Sustain 2 = Sustain
Modulations: Attack (via Decay), Attack Level (via Sustain), Release

As long as you don't modulate the envelope parameters, the first three options are equivalent. If you need modulated envelopes, I've noted which of the parameters can be modulated just like in the ADSR case. The Sustain 2 and Decay 2 parameters can oddly enough only be modulated by MIDI CC. Attack Level is only accessible by SysEx or using a degenerated ADS1DS2R as in the last example, yielding an AAlDSR with an exponential Attack rather than linear, which sounds a tad wide at the peak, as it's having a little plateau now, but may come in handy at times (OneShot or not). If you don't get it from reading this, just take an Init Sound, route an envelope to Pitch with amount +37 and
twist away at the knobs.    ^ 
Q: What can I do with the binary modifiers?

A: To make modulations "saw" (cycle) while the mod source is swept:
modsource AND constant (x)

x= 1 alternating between 0 and 1
x= 3 0,1,2,3,0,1,2,3,....
x= 7 you got the idea? if not, route that modifier to pitch
x=15
x=31
x=63


To make modulations more steppy (1st version, including 0, but not MAXIMUM):
modsource AND constant (x)

x=62 only every second step
x=60 only every fourth
x=56 only every eighth
x=48 only every 16th
x=32 only every 32nd


To make modulations more steppy (2nd version, including MAXIMUM, but not 0):
modsource OR constant (x)

x= 1 only every second step
x= 3 only every fourth
x= 7 only every eighth
x=15 only every 16th
x=31 only every 32nd
x=63 nah, that is silly


Overlay a reverse saw on a modulator sweep:
modsource XOR constant (x)

x is the same as above. For x=63 the original modulation is inverted.



Oh, and then of course you can chain modifiers and make inverted saws and stuff like that.    ^ 
Q: Do you have some examples for using the modifiers?

A: These were contributed by Stefan Trippler (DocT):
1. Using modifiers to generate 2 independent mod sources from the pitchbender:

Modifier#1
src1: pitchbend
src2: constant = 0
operator: Max

This function compares the 2 sources and delivers the maximum value of either of the sources. If the pitchbend is positive the result will be the pitchbend value, if pitchbend is negative, the result will be 0, because the constant 0 is greater than a negative value.

Modifier#2
src1: pitchbend
src2: constant = 0
operator: Min

This function will deliver a negative value if you pitch down, but 0 if you move the bender in the positive "up" region

You have now generated 2 modulation sources that you can route to quite different destinations. For example pitch up can now control the filter cutoff and pitch down the noise level.


2. Combining mod sources

Modifier
src1: LFO
src2: Envelope
operator: * (multiply)

If you route this modifier to the pitch of an oscillator, pitch will be varied with the LFO rhythm with ascending amount in the envelope attack phase and descending amount in decay phase.

Editors Note:
For fast LFO it would be better to route the LFO to Pitch via the M1F or M2F slot of the Fast Mod Matrix and modulate the M1F Amount or M2F Amount destination from the Standard Mod Matrix. Since the scaling is not linear, this is not exactly the same as a multiplication, but allows for much faster LFO speeds to be used. If the destination is indeed oscillator pitch, then you should really try to use the LFO as an FM source and modulate the Osc FM Amount with the Envelope via the Mod Matrix.


3. "Shifting" a mod source

If you route keytrack to osc volume with max amount all notes above the center key (E3) will increase in volume, notes below the center key will fade out. Use a modifier to shift the center key:

src1: Keytrack
src2: constant
operator: + or -

With the help of these modifiers you can setup a patch where osc1 is mainly audible in the lower third of the keyboard, osc 2 in the middle range and osc 3 in the upper key range.

Editors Note:
If the resulting modifier is routed to pitch with an amount of 56, the center key is shifted in whole notes per increment of the constant, i.e. +6 shifts up one octave.

Mod#1 = Keytrack - 6
MxS = Mod#1*56 -> whatever

Semitone tuning can be achieved if the mod amount is set to 48 and the original keytrack is also routed to the destination with an amount of 48.

Mod#1 = Keytrack - 12
MxS = 48*Mod#1 -> whatever
MyS = 48*Keytrack -> whatever


4. Define 2 LFOs with pulse shape and different pretty low speeds

Set up a modifier as follows:

src1: LFO 1
src2: LFO 2
operator AND, OR, XOR

Route this modifier to the volume of an LFO and enjoy the different resulting rhythms...
   ^ 
Q: Where to find Q, XT or microQ spare part encoders?

A: Here are the exact Q/XT Encoder part #35-847-45 at ELFA. Made by ALPS

Note one that clicks, one doesn't.

 http://www.elfa.se     ^ 
Q: Where to get the semi transparent knobs?

A: The german company ALBS sell them under the name "Drehknopf DK16-190V3 A.6/4,5 AT=14,5 schwarz soft-transparent klar" with the article number 863063. Minimum order is 50,- € without VAT.

 http://www.albs.de     ^ 
Q: Checksum Error on OS dump?

A: Please check first:

* slow down your sequencer (120 bpm should work fine, but lower to 90 bpm when you get trouble)
* make sure midi clock is not sent
* make sure no other midi events (metronome etc.) are sent at the same time

Then check this:

* make sure you have no MIDI loop. If in doubt unplug the MIDI out from the synth.
* when downloading with Netscape make sure to use the latest version (some older versions mangled the download file)
* when using a Mac make sure to use the latest unzip software because there have been problems with the unzip
* if all does not help try to download the unzipped version at the ftp server.

Additional info:

Some midi hardware causes problems with SysEx. When I recall right it was one piece from Mark Of The Unicorn (MOTU) that caused lots of trouble.

for Q:  http://waldorfmusic.de/de/downloads?relPath=q/System 
for mQ:  http://waldorfmusic.de/de/downloads?relPath=micro_q/System 
for RackAttack:  http://waldorfmusic.de/de/downloads?relPath=rackattack/System     ^ 
Q: Why do some synths produce clicks?

A: Chapter 1: The click in theory
------------------------------
A click is produced when a very fast level change in the audio signal
occurs. You can easily check that on your home stereo when you play
back a CD and switch the Source Selector back and forth between CD
and a source that doesn't play anything.

The brightness of the click depends on the speed of the level change.
The faster the level changes, the brighter is the click. So, the
level change speed can be compared with the cutoff of a lowpass
filter. There is an easy formula for it:

Let's consider a level change from full to zero (or from zero to
full) output from one sample to another on a machine that uses
44.1kHz sample rate. So, we first transfer the sample to milli
seconds:

1 sample equals 1/44100 second, which is = 0.02267573696ms.

To calculate the cutoff frequency of the click, just use this formula:

Cutoff (Hz) = 1000 / Level Change Time (ms)

which in the example results in:

44100Hz = 1000 / 0.02267573696ms


Whoops? This the sampling frequency and, err, very bright.


Chapter 2: The click in the real world
--------------------------------------
Now, how could this knowledge help you and what has it to do with
Waldorf synthesizers? Easy:

When you play a sine wave sound, only the base frequency (the
fundamental or the 1st harmonic) is present. That means, when you
play note A=110Hz, no other frequencies are involved except this
110Hz oscillation.

Now, what happens when you abruptly cut the sine wave to zero when it
just is at its maximum level? You get the same effect as with your
home stereo.
From one sample to the next, the waveform is brought from maximum to
zero, resulting in the forementioned bright click.

The same applies when the opposite happens. On Waldorf synthesizers,
you can setup the oscillators so that their phases start randomly
when a new note is played. So, you never know at which level the sine
wave is when you hit a note.
Consider it would be at the maximum level, you would get an immediate
change from zero to maximum when the amp envelope's attack rate is
set to 0.

BTW: the effect is the same, when you have a bright waveform but
filter it so that it is very hollow.

Chapter 3: In which situations does the click occur on my Waldorf synth?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are several situations when you can get a click and when you
know where they happen, you can try to prevent them:

* Amp Envelope Attack. On digital Waldorf synthesizers like the MWII
and the Q, the Attack rate can be as short as 1 sample. This means
that the amp volume of a note can change from zero to maximum in one
sample, or in ms: 0.02267573696ms. This results in a very bright
click.
On the Pulse, we chose a minimum attack rate of 1.9ms, resulting in a
click with a maximum cutoff of around 526Hz. When you own a Pulse,
you probably know of the 1.9ms number from the user's manual, because
that's the update speed of all CVs that are used in it.
So, when you hear a click on note start every now and then, just
increase the Amp Envelope Attack rate until you don't hear a click
anymore.

* Amp Envelope Release. Here, the same as with the Attack rate applies.
When you hear a click when you release a note, increase the Amp
Envelope's Release rate.
If the click still persists, you should also check the Release rate
of the Filter Envelope. Maybe the filter closes very fast, which can
result in a click, too.

* Voice Stealing. We know that this is the most annoying situation.
But, the click helps you: When you hear a click at a certain position
in your song, you know that a voice stealing happened and you can
easily shorten or delete notes in the editors of your sequencer.
When you count the notes and say that they don't exceed the maximum
number of voices of your synthesizer, just keep in mind that other
notes might still be in their release phases and therefore have to be
added, too.

* Mono mode. In Mono mode, a click might occur when any envelopes
(Amp or maybe Filter, too) are set to retrigger on new notes. When
the Attack rate of a sound is greater than 0, they are brought to
zero so that they can go up to their full level again. This rapid
change to zero results in a click.

* Unisono sounds. Here, a click might occur even heavier. Unisono
sounds easily exceed the maximum number of voices and because they
steal not only one but **several** notes at once, a click can be a
lot more present. It is louder and happens more often. You should
check several points on unisono sounds to lower clicks as much as
possible: are the envelope rates set to reasonable values, are the
oscillator phases set to free, is filter keytrack set to 0% (because
this can also be a rapid change) and so on.

Chapter 4: Why does my synth xy (insert product name here) produce no clicks
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Should I really answer that? Because it is slooooow.
Some japanese manufacturers (I don't say names here) prevent voice
stealing clicks by fading out voices slowly before they start new
notes. Hey, brillant idea, why doesn't Waldorf do that? Because it
ends up in a very bad MIDI timing (and those japanese synths are
**well-known** for that).
Furthermore, most of these synths are sample-based, which means that
their attack behaviour is stored in the sample that they should play.
So, a click on note start is also not possible because the sample
somehow gradually fades from zero to maximum.
If those synths allow you to change the sample start position, they
hopefully produce clicks, too (if not, they also have slow envelopes
which we don't hope).

A couple of days ago, someone mentioned the Matrix 12 producing no
clicks on retriggering envelopes. Yes, that's correct, because the
Matrix 12's minimum attack rate is around 20ms. Or in other words:
its envelopes are among the slowest you can find in a synthesizer.
The same applies to all synthesizers of the Matrix series, because
they all used Curtis chips that had an automatic smoothing filter to
prevent steppiness. The older Oberheim synths like the 4-Voice were
better here.
Also, the Waldorf Microwave and the Waldorf Wave used those Curtis
chips, but when the Attack rates of the envelopes were set to 0, this
smoothing filter was temporarily switched off, resulting in an abrupt
change. Attack 1 there is the same as minimum attack on a Matrix
synthesizer.

Chapter 5: Conclusion
---------------------
You know that we at Waldorf could prevent clicks by increasing the
minimum envelope rates or allowing bad MIDI timing. We could also
prevent that the filter resonance can destroy your hearing ability or
that you could play a C major chord. But who are we that we could
decide what **you** want from a synthesizer. Clicks can even be
musically useful and add a kind of randomness to a song that brings
it to live. A very good example is the bad, ugly, annoying, but
famous and beloved keyclick on Hammond organs.
Recently I bought the latest Art Of Noise album "the seduction of
Claude Debussy" produced by Trevor Horn and played by the creme de la
creme (even including Lol Creme of 10CC and Godley&Creme) of
musicians and I heard a lot of clicks during a couple of tracks. I am
even quite sure that they came from Waldorf synths but I don't know
if. You can easily imagine that I had a smile on my face.


I hope you now have even more fun with your "clicking" Waldorf synth.    ^ 
Q: What freeware software to load updates and sounds to Waldorf synths?

A: "Midi-OX" for PC (95/NT/98/Me/2000/XP)
 http://www.midiox.com/
 
("MIDI-OX is copyrighted freeware, for non-commercial use.")

or

"SysEx Librarian" for Mac OS X (10.1. or later)
 http://www.snoize.com/SysExLibrarian
 
("SysEx Librarian is FREE to download and use.")
   ^ 
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 12:50:49 Waldorf Time