Vacuum and Boom

Vacuum is a monophonic digital synthesizer that generates tones. It is monophonic because can only play one midi note at a time. Polyphonic synths allow you to play chords. The more important parts of the Vacuum are the oscillators and the envelopes. This is where the majority of the sounds are manipulated. The two top left modules are VTO’s 1 and 2 (vacuum tube oscillator). The VTO’s are where the sound begins to generate. There are range knobs that allow you to change which overtones are emphasized. In WIDE mode, the fine knob has a 5 octave range, and while not in WIDE mode it has a range of + or – 7 semitones. LO mode turns VTO 2 into a low frequency oscillator, or LFO. VTO also switches between blending octaves. There are suttle changes when switching through these modes and they can create thick, detuned sounds. There are different wave shapes to choose from on the VTOs: Triangle, Sawtooth, and Pulse waves PW0 and PWO50. The Envelope to shape knob controls the modulation of the current VTO shape via envelope 1. There is a mixer next to the VTO’s that blends the two together. The ring modulator sends a variable amount of VTO 1 and 2. It heterodynes 2 waves and outputs the sum and the difference of the waves. There are high pass filters and low pass filters, and they both do exactly what they sound like. A high pass filter lets all of the high frequencies pass through while keeping out the low frequencies. A low pass filter does the opposite – keeps the highs out and lets the lows through. These filters have a slope that sets the curve, and that changes how many dB/octave is attenuated. A steeper slope on a high pass filter will result in cutting out more low end. These filters have cutoffs as well. This control determines when the frequencies roll off in reference to the audible sound spectrum, 20Hz-20KHz. The resonance setting affects the filter resonance. The saturation knob distorts the resonant frequency. The envelopes change the shape over time. The attack of a wave is the amount of time it takes for a sound to get to full volume. The decay is the point where the noise decreases in amplitude, and the sustain is the persistence of the sound after the attack. The release is the point at which the sound stops, and some sound may persist at the end but that is considered to be reverberation, and that sound and length varies depending on the size and type of room. In the BOOM drum machine plug, there are 10 different kits. There are ten different “channels” where you can have different piece of the kit on. Each channel has options to change pan, level, tone, and decay. Each channel also has a solo and mute button. The matrix on the left provides a visual overview of the current drum pattern you have selected. Each row corresponds to a channel. You can click the little red dots and they get brighter and darker. Off is like a rest, and bright red is a loud it, and the dimmer ones are softer hits. This option enables you to put feel into a beat by changing the dynamics of it. There are 16 steps available to make a beat, that would be in 4/4. You can copy patterns to any one of the 16 patterns, or delete any pattern.