SaxLab Manual - LinPlug Virtual Instruments
Contents
1. and to the overall pitch of the note each time a note is triggered SaxLab 2 s Effects section contains two effects Chorus and Reverb The Chorus effect can be used to thicken a single sound creating the impression that it contains multiple voices The Reverb effect is used to create the impression that the instrument is being played in a real acoustic space SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 7 The audio outputs of SaxLab 2 are automatically connected to the input of your host software s mixer Here you can set the pan position of SaxLab 2 s output Hopefully this section has given you a brief overview of how SaxLab 2 works More detailed information can be found in the following sections Main SaxLab 2 s Main section is located in the middle of the instrument s Front Panel It contains controls for selecting the current Sound Set as well as for setting the relative levels of the instrument s three sound layers It also contains a MIDI indicator that shows when incoming MIDI Note on messages are received Sound Set SaxLab 2 s Sound Set control is used for selecting the current Sound Set Each Sound Set is a collection of samples that the instrument uses to generate sound Each Sound Set is made up of three layers the Main layer the Air layer and the Keys layer These three layers are mixed to produce the instrument s overall sound The Sound Set should not be confused with a Preset The former is a collection of samples used by2. EE 29 REVERED EE ETE AS 29 Rear Panel da a td 30 AAA gee tea coe i ees Bo a 31 UP iio AN Ahi bch Gait GLE Me es AN 31 MSI OSS UY see deca Gt a a cedar da id ae as Ceca ashe es ea eh ac 32 MIDI Implementation Cain A AAA 34 Appendix A Using TUN Files iii ir 35 Installation Installation on PC SaxLab 2 comes with its own Installer After downloading SaxLab 2 you will find a file named SaxLablInstallerNNN exe where NNN is the respective version number located in your web browser s download folder Double click on this program to begin the installation process The Installer will guide you through the installation process Make sure you choose the right installation directory so your host software finds the SaxLab 2 VSTi Refer to your host software s manual if you are unsure about where the host software plug in directory is located The instrument file SaxLab2 DLL and all of SaxLabs sound data will be placed in the chosen directory The next time you start your host software SaxLab 2 will be listed in the VST Instrument list Installation on Mac SaxLab 2 comes with its own Installer After downloading SaxLab 2 you will find a file named SaxLablInstaller200 dmg located in your web browser s download folder Double click this file to decompress and open the image then double click the installer program to begin the installation process The installer will guide you through the installation process The instrument file
3. LinPlug Virtual Instruments SQxLAD user manual Copyright LinPlug Virtual Instruments GmbH 2004 2014 All rights reserved Welcome Thank you for purchasing a LinPlug SaxLab 2 license SaxLab 2 is a professional flexible and easy to use virtual wind instrument designed for creating music on your computer SaxLab 2 uses multi sample playback of wind instrument samples and incorporates a specially designed four voice crossfade system that is capable of creating highly realistic wind instrument sounds SaxLab 2 s key features include an easy to use interface a wide range of high quality samples an effects section that includes chorus and reverb as well as extensive real time modulation options Special attention has been paid to making the performance controls as rich and responsive as possible so that the instrument can be realistically played This manual describes all aspects of SaxLab 2 and is designed so that your use of this software is as efficient and enjoyable as possible At LinPlug we re very proud of SaxLab 2 it s the result of many years of research and synthesizer programming experience We hope you get a lot of pleasure using SaxLab and that it becomes an integral part of your music making Peter Linsener and the LinPlug team January 2014 Concept by Luigi Felici and Peter Linsener Instrument by Luigi Felici Peter Linsener and Pavol Markovic Graphics by Shaun Ellwood and Branislav Paki Sounds by L
4. User Manual Page 25 maximum LFO Rate is set by the combined values of the Rate and the CTD Controller Depth controls Pitch The LFO s Pitch control is used to set the maximum depth to which SaxLab s overall pitch is modulated by the LFO This can be used to create vibrato effects AMP Amplitude The LFO s AMP Amplitude control is used to set the maximum depth to which SaxLab s overall amplitude is modulated by the LFO This can be used to create tremolo effects CTD Controller Depth The CTD Controller Depth control sets the degree to which the currently selected MIDI controller see below affects the LFO s settings Note that the setting of this control can also influence the LFO rate Controller Source Three MIDI controllers are available for modulating the LFO s various parameters These are AT Aftertouch PW Pitch Wheel and MW Modulation Wheel Each works in a slightly different way Note that only one controller can be selected at a time AT Aftertouch increases the LFO s modulation frequency starting from the current value of the Rate control up to the combined values of the Rate and CTD Controller Depth controls using MIDI Aftertouch messages The maximum available rate is set by a combination of the LFO Rate setting and the CTD Controller Depth setting Note that Aftertouch can only increase the LFO rate from the value set in the Rate parameter It cannot be used to decrease the LFO rate below th
5. be a good setting however its possible to customize this value to the playing style and taste SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 24 LFO SaxLab 2 s LFO Low Frequency Oscillator section is located on the lower left of the instrument s Front Panel The LFO section contains nine controls for setting various parameters of the instrument s LFO The controls include DEL Delay ATK Attack Rate Pitch AMP CTD Controller Depth and Controller Source SaxLab 2 s LFO works slightly differently to other synthesizer LFOs so you may want to read the following section carefully DEL Delay Time The DEL Delay Time control is used to set a time delay between the note onset and when the LFO begins to modulate the instrument s output If this is used in conjunction with the ATK Attack Time control then the LFO s attack envelope will not begin until the delay time has elapsed ATK Attack Time The ATK Attack Time control is used to set the amount of time taken for the LFO to move from zero to the current value of the Pitch and Amp controls Rate The LFO s Rate control functions differently depending upon whether or not a MIDI Controller Source see below is selected If a MIDI Controller Source is not currently selected then the Rate control sets a default oscillator frequency for the LFO When a MIDI controller is selected as a Controller Source the Rate control sets a minimum rate for the LFO In this case the SaxLab 2 1 6
6. indicator automatically plays a C3 note The note is turned off when releasing the mouse button SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 9 Body SaxLab 2 s Body section is located in the middle of the instrument s Front Panel above the Main section The Body section contains a filter with three controls that allow you to shape the overall timbre of the instrument RES Resonance The RES control is used to set the amount of emphasis around the filter s cutoff frequency Higher settings create a more pronounced peak in the signal while lower settings produce a flatter response FREQ Frequency The FREQ control is used to set the frequency at which the filter begins to take effect Higher settings produce brighter sounds while lower settings result in darker sounds Bright Brightness The Bright control is used to set the brightness of the instrument s sound Higher settings will produce a more strident tone while lower settings will produce a softer cooler sound SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 10 Tune SaxLab 2 s Tune section is located on the upper left of the instrument s Front Panel This section consists of four controls Coarse Tune Fine Tune the Tuning Display and Scale Coarse Tune The Coarse Tune control is used to set the overall pitch of the instrument in semitone steps Control settings range from 11 semitones to 11 semitones Fine Tune The Fine Tune control is used to set the overall pitch o
7. is classed as monophonic A technique used in sample playback where two or more samples are used to simulate the way the timbre of a sound changes with respect to its amplitude For example a piano could be sampled at two different volume levels soft and loud When the instrument is triggered by a low amplitude input signal the soft sample is played When the instrument is triggered by a high amplitude input signal the loud sample is played Literally many voiced A polyphonic sound contains two or more voices Any musical instrument that can produce two or more notes at a time is classed as polyphonic Reverb Reverberation arises from the way that sound is reflected by the surfaces found within a room and causes the sound to be heard after all sources have ceased Different acoustic spaces have different reverberant characteristics many of which can be simulated digitally A recording of a short portion of an audio signal Timbre is notoriously difficult to define Having said that timbre is usually defined as the characteristic tone colour of a sound Timbre is what distinguishes two notes played at the same pitch and amplitude on different musical instruments User Manual Page 33 MIDI Implementation Chart Product Manufacturer Function Basic Channel Default Changed Mode Default Changed Note Number True Voice Velocity Note On Note Off Aftertouch Poly Key Mono C
8. message can be used at a time Reverb Control Response Curve This setting determines how the Reverb Mix control responds to incoming MIDI messages selected with the Reverb Mix Control Source The control is continuously variable and ranges from inverse logarithmic through linear to logarithmic The chosen shape works as a transfer function which scales the incoming MIDI messages so that their effective working range is changed This can be used to make the instrument more sensitive to MIDI control change messages in a particular portion of the controller s range For example in the case of a logarithmic curve the effective working range is scaled upwards so that changes in the upper portion of the controller s range have most effect on the destination A linear curve passes the MIDI messages unchanged A characteristic component of a saxophone s sound is the growl that is created when the player sings or hums a note while playing the instrument Depending upon the circumstances the hummed note may be harmonically related to the note played or it may be completely unrelated SaxLab 2 enables the user to add growl to the instrument s sound via the Growl controls in the Performance section SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 19 GRO Growl Depth This control sets the degree to which the currently selected control source see below effects the presence of the growl effect in the instrument s sound Increasing the value
9. new computer If you have any questions regarding SaxLab 2 s registration process please visit our support area at www linplug com support support htm Support Should you have any questions or comments regarding the LinPlug SaxLab 2 please contact us via following website http www linplug com Support support htm SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 31 Glossary Amplifier Amplitude Chorus Crossfade Effect Envelope Filter LFO Modulation A signal processing device that changes the amplitude and hence the loudness of a signal With respect to sound the peak amount of variation above and below atmospheric pressure caused by the compression and rarefaction components of a sound Amplitude indicates the amount of energy in a sound and generally correlates with our perception of loudness The term can also apply to any signal hence the term Amplitude Envelope which is used to describe the way a synthesizer s loudness varies over time when a note is played The creation of the perception of multiple unison voices from a single voice The process of mixing two audio signals together by increasing the amplitude of one as the amplitude of the other is decreased A signal processing device that changes some aspect of the input signal An enormous number of different effect types are available These include Chorus which produces a thickening of the signal Delay adding echoes to the sign
10. note that MIDI keyboards normally do not transmit Breath Controller messages however it is usually possible to reassign the output of other MIDI controllers Such as the Mod Wheel so that they transmit MIDI Breath Controller messages AT Aftertouch Many types of MIDI keyboard have the ability to detect how much pressure is applied to a key This pressure can be varied continuously as the note is sounding MIDI messages that transmit the current value of the key pressure are called Aftertouch messages Aftertouch messages consist of a Status byte and two Data bytes The message s first Data byte defines the note value while the second Data byte determines the current Aftertouch value Aftertouch values can range from 0 to 127 Note that not all MIDI keyboards transmit Aftertouch messages however it is usually possible to reassign the output of other controllers so that they transmit MIDI Aftertouch messages In order to produce realistic wind instrument sounds it is important to be able to control the way that notes are triggered and connected to subsequent notes On a real wind instrument the player can choose to play each note separately or to connect notes to the ones that follow If each note is played separately then each has its own attack portion If two or more notes are played in a legato connected manner then only the first note will have an attack portion This can be imitated on a keyboard by using a combination of playin
11. of this control makes the instrument more responsive to changes in the incoming MIDI data Growl Control Source The Growl Control Source is used to set the type of MIDI control change message that controls the growl component of the instrument s sound Three options are available Velo Velocity BC Breath Controller and AT Aftertouch Only one type of MIDI control change message can be used at a time Growl Control Response Curve This setting workl just like already described for the Amp Brightness and Reverb Control Response Curve Growl Maximum Depth The Growl Maximum Depth control sets the maximum volume level of the growl component of the instrument s sound Note that this control works in conjunction with the Growl Deviation control described below If the Growl Deviation control is set to 0 then the level of the growl component of the instrument s sound is determined by the setting of the Growl Maximum Depth control If the Growl Deviation control is set to a value other than 0 then the level of the growl component of the instrument s sound will randomly vary between 0 and the current value of the Growl Deviation control for each note that is played DEV Growl Deviation The DEV Growl Deviation control is used to set a degree of randomisation in the growl component of the instrument s sound Increasing the DEV Growl Deviation control will introduce more random variation in the amount and tone of the growl c
12. A 4 the next highest note available on a keyboard has a frequency of 440 x 1 05946 which equal 466 2 Hz SaxLab 2 comes with a wide selection of different TUN files For more about TUN files please see Appendix A Using TUN Files Presets SaxLab 2 s Presets section is located on the upper right of the instrument s Front Panel The Preset section contains the Preset Display and File Browser as well as the MIDI Learn ECS SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 12 Preset Display File Browser Preset Display File Browser The Preset Display consists of two displays The upper one shows the Current Bank and the lower one shows the Current Preset Whenever a new Preset is loaded using the file controls found below these displays the Current Preset display is updated with the name of the new Preset and the Current Bank is updated with the name of the directory that contains the new Preset By default the File Browser points to the factory presets installed with SaxLab 2 Presets can be changed in three different ways A new Preset can be loaded using the file controls which work by clicking the Prev Next arrow buttons located below the Current Preset display Alternatively the desired Preset can be selected directly from the Current Preset display which turns into a menu when it is clicked A Preset can also be changed by sending a MIDI program change command to the instrument The Current Bank can be changed by loading a Preset fro
13. CT Crossfade Time The CT Crossfade Time control is used to set the length of time taken to move from the pitch of the previous note to that of the note currently being played However the CT Crossfade Time is more than just a conventional portamento control When the CT Crossfade Time is set to zero the length of the crossfade time is the same for all notes regardless of their duration As the value of the CT Crossfade Time is increased the portamento time becomes adaptive and is determined by the duration of the previous notes This means that a note with a long duration will have a correspondingly long crossfade time A note with a shorter duration will have a shorter crossfade time This is useful for playing passages that contain notes SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 23 with a mixture of different durations For example say that SaxLab 2 s crossfade time was constant and set to a long duration In the case of notes with a short duration this could mean that there might not be enough time for the pitch of the instrument to reach the current note s pitch before the next note was played SaxLab 2 s adaptive crossfade time means that the crossfade time changes according to the duration of the notes being played In effect it provides adaptive note articulation so that the pitch of the target note is always reached Note that the CT Crossfade Time only operates when the instrument is in Legato mode Note Usually a setting of 30 should
14. SaxLab and the SaxLab 2 Presets will now be placed in the appropriate directory for virtual instruments on your Mac The next time you start your host software SaxLab 2 will be listed in the AU and VST instrument list Common to Mac and PC Once SaxLab 2 is installed it must be registered using your personal serial number This registration process is described in the Registration section of this manual If you have any questions regarding the installation of SaxLab 2 please contact our support team at www linplug com support support htm SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 4 Features SaxLab 2 contains a range of features designed to make your music making more efficient and enjoyable These features are listed below Monophonic multi sample playback with internal four voice crossfade An adjustable mix of three sound layers for each note the Air layer the Keys layer and the Pitched layer Air Keys and Pitched sound layer crossfade point is set by MIDI velocity Many different SoundSets for various wind instruments User definable velocity sensitive amplitude envelope Tonal characteristics of the instrument s overall sound can be defined by the user Real time control of the instrument s brightness reverberation amount and Grow effect Three modes of mono performance Legato Retrigger Alternate Control of Pitch Bend and Scoop Random pitch deviation per note Random air deviation pe
15. al and Distortion which changes the shape of the waveform usually adding overtones A time varying signal used to control the development of another signal after it has been triggered Envelopes are most often used for controlling a signal s amplitude The shape of the envelope is determined by the number of control parameters Usually four parameters are available Attack Time Decay Time Sustain Level and Release Time A signal processing device that suppresses or filters out specific parts of a signal s frequency spectrum Numerous types of filter are used in audio synthesis These include Low Pass High Pass Band Pass and Notch The tone controls on a stereo amplifier are one example of an audio filter An LFO or Low Frequency Oscillator is a periodic signal source usually below audio frequency range used to modulate another signal parameter An LFO can be used for a variety of effects including vibrato by modulating the instrument s pitch and tremolo by modulating the instrument s amplitude The variation of one parameter by another For example a signal s frequency can be modulated by an LFO Low Frequency Oscillator in which case vibrato is produced SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 32 Monophonic Multi sample Polyphonic Reverb Sample Timbre SaxLab 2 1 6 Literally one voiced A monophonic sound contains one voice Any musical instrument that can produce only one note at a time
16. e characteristic key clicks heard in some wind instruments especially in saxophones and clarinets The Air layer contains the breath and airflow sounds that are an important part of the sound of a wind instrument SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 6 The relative levels of the three layers are set using controls in the instrument s Main section The relative levels of the three layers also respond to MIDI note velocity For example when playing soft notes the volume level of the Air and Keys layers increases with respect to the Main layer This replicates the behaviour of a real wind instrument which becomes relatively noisier as it is played more quietly When playing louder notes the Main layer becomes proportionately louder and comes to dominate the sound The Main layer of each SaxLab 2 note also includes an internal four voice crossfade which enables smooth legato transitions from one part of a note s envelope to another This crossfade also enhances note to note transitions which are very important in recreating realistic wind instrument sounds The output of the sample playback oscillator is routed to SaxLab 2 s Body section The Body section contains a filter which modifies the frequency spectrum of the oscillator s output Here the overall tonal characteristics of the currently loaded SoundSet can be modified An important part of the sound of a real acoustic instrument arises from the real time modulation of its sou
17. e setting of the Rate control PW Pitch Wheel increases the LFO s modulation frequency starting from the current value of the Rate control up to the combined values of the Rate and CTD Controller Depth controls using Pitch Bend Control Change messages The maximum available rate is set by a combination of the LFO Rate setting and the CTD Controller Depth setting Note that the Pitch Bend setting can only increase the LFO rate from the value set in the Rate parameter It cannot be used to decrease the LFO rate below the setting of the Rate control Also note that the PW Pitch Wheel operates from its default central position to its maximum value The lower half of its range has no effect on the LFO rate but it still affects the instrument s pitch which is useful since saxophones usually bend to lower pitches MW Modulation Wheel increases the LFO s modulation frequency starting from the current value of the Rate control up to the combined values of the Rate and CTD Controller Depth controls using Modulation Wheel Control Change messages The maximum available rate is set by a combination of the LFO Rate setting and the CTD Controller Depth setting Note that the Modulation Wheel setting can only increase the LFO rate starting from the value set in the Rate parameter It cannot be used to decrease the LFO rate below the setting of the Rate control However if the MW Modulation Wheel is set to zero then the Pitch and AMP valu
18. es a very important consideration when one is using a number of different synthesizers and wishes to keep them in tune with a given base frequency It is very common for one to specify a chosen concert pitch such as A440 Hz or C261 6256 Hz as a reference for a microtuning SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 35 however the flexibility of the TUN format and Scala enables one to specify this frequency arbitrarily In Scala this reference is called Map Frequency As well as being able to specify the Map Frequency one can also specify a central midi note which will become the starting point for the microtuning in use Being able to specify a particular midi note on the controller provides a way to map a microtuning beginning on any desired midi key making it easier to navigate the keyboard when there may be more or less than 12 tones per octave or where one may desire to have the notes of a tuning fall on certain physical keys Important Note When one uses a TUN microtuning file with this software synthesizer the above specified mapping properties will override the Master Tuning reference Normally when one is using the default 12 Tone Equal Tempered Scale the Master Tuning will be used to make fine pitch adjustments around the standard concert pitch of A440 Hz but when one has specified another pitch base for a microtuning when the TUN file is created in Scala such as C261 6256 Hz the data in the TUN microtuning file will provide a new pitch
19. es will be scaled to zero effectively fading out the LFO so that it no longer modulates the instrument s output Even though the LFO Rate has not decreased below the current Rate value the effect of the LFO is no longer heard In most cases this controller should be used with the ATK Attack Time and the DEL Delay Time set to zero SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 26 The LFO s MIDI controller implementation may at first seem complicated however its operation has been designed with the following scenario in mind The user first sets the balance between the Pitch and AMP controls with the Pitch and AMP controls Then the default LFO frequency is set with the Rate control If the user then selects the Modulation Wheel as the Controller Source they can bring in the LFO increase its modulation depth proportionally for Pitch and AMP while accelerating the LFO rate from the setting of the Rate control to the maximum value set by the combination of the Rate control and the CTD Controller Depth This is a more realistic way to create vibrato starting from zero and increasing the rate and depth until the intended level of intensity is reached In this way the user can quickly move from different amounts of vibrato at any speed they desire Deviation SaxLab 2 s Deviation section is located in the lower middle of the instrument s Front Panel An important part of the sound of a real acoustic instrument is that no two notes are exactly the
20. f the instrument in cents A cent is 1 100 of a semitone Control settings range from 100 cents 1 semitone to 100 cents 1 semitone Note that the overall pitch of the instrument can be raised or lowered by one octave using a combination of the Coarse Tune control and the Fine Tune control Also note that the Coarse Tune control and the Fine Tune control are used to set the root note of the current scale The controls transpose the scale s starting pitch to the selected pitch Remember that if you use tunings other than Equal Temperament the overall pitch of the instrument must be set to the root note of the key in which you wish to work Otherwise the notes of the scale will not have the correct pitch SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 11 Tuning Display The Tuning Display is located to the right to the two tuning controls It displays the instrument s current tuning in semitones and cents For example a setting of 4 79 means that the instrument is currently tuned 4 semitones and 79 cents sharp of its default setting Scale The Scale control is used to set the Micto Tuning TUN file that SaxLab 2 uses The TUN file is a list of pitches that the instrument uses to determine the pitch at which it plays back samples Most Western music uses a pitch system called Equal Temperament in which the smallest interval between two adjacent notes is defined by the ratio 1 1 05946 For example A4 has a frequency of 440 Hz In this case
21. g technique and SaxLab 2 s Monomode setting Three modes are available Leg Legato Alt Alternate and Ret Retrigger With respect to these three settings the key point to understand is the difference between playing keyboard notes that overlap and playing notes that are detached First let s consider SaxLab 2 s Ret Retrigger mode In this mode no matter how you play keyboard notes legato or detached each note will have an attack portion In this case each note will sound as a complete and separate note Next let s consider SaxLab 2 s Leg Legato mode In this case if two or more notes are played in a legato connected manner where the following note is played before the previous note is released then only the first note will have an attack portion Notes following the initial note will be automatically connected to the preceding note However notes that are played ina detached manner will still have an attack portion In this way the keyboard playing style that is used determines how notes play back Alt Alternate mode combines the two modes described above In this case every second legato note has its own attack portion regardless of how it is played Notes that are played in a detached manner will still have their own attack portion The differences between Leg Legato and Ret Retrigger modes are illustrated in the pictures shown below The main difference between Leg Legato mode and Ret Retrigger m
22. hannel Pitch Bend Control Change Program Change System Exclusive System Common Song Position Song Select Tune Request System Realtime Clock Commands Aux Messages Local On Off All Notes Off Active Sensing System Reset SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual SaxLab Version 2 x Date 18 Jan 2008 LinPlug Virtual Instruments GmbH Transmitted Recognized Remarks no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no Omni no yes no yes no no yes yes yes yes no no no no no no no yes no no Page 34 Appendix A Using TUN Files By Jacky Ligon About Microtuning Microtuning or microtonality are methods for tuning musical instruments whereby musicians may explore and compose with ethnic historical and contemporary tuning systems Microtuning musical instruments allows one to use scales which may have pitches lying between the notes of our familiar Western 12 tone scale These pitches which are found in the cracks of 12 Tone Equal Temperament are one of the things that give musics of Bali India Africa Thailand Turkey and the Middle East to name but a few a special international flavor but is something that is of immeasurable value to the contemporary acoustic and electronic composer who may require a more broad palette of musical pitches for their music The quest for creating beautiful and musically useful tuning
23. m a different directory or by selecting the desired location from the Current Bank display which turns into a menu when it is clicked The File Controls located to the right of the Prev Next arrow buttons are used for all File related operations The Load button opens a dialog that lets a previously saved Preset be selected for loading The Save button allows the current settings to be saved as a new Preset The settings of all sections are saved with the Preset SaxLab 2 loads and saves all of its Presets directly to hard disk so your computer s RAM does not limit the number of available Presets Note that when you load a Preset using the Preset section s controls the previous Preset is erased so if you want to keep the previous Preset make sure you save it before loading another one SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 13 ECS The ECS Easy Controller Setup section makes it simple to control SaxLab 2 from an external MIDI controller either hardware or software All you have to do is switch on the ECS indicator click it once select a SaxLab 2 parameter with the mouse and then send some MIDI messages to the SaxLab 2 from your MIDI source That s all there is to it From now on you can change the parameter with that controller In addition to this more than one controller can be defined to change a particular parameter In fact you can define up to 128 parameter controller combinations This does not depend on the type of controller y
24. nd SaxLab 2 enables the user to modulate its sound using three sources envelopes LFOs Low Frequency Oscillators and MIDI controllers SaxLab 2 s Amplitude Envelope section is used to control the way that the instrument s amplitude varies over time and includes controls for Attack Time Decay Time and Release Time A second modulation source is SaxLab s LFO which can be mapped to either or both of the sound s amplitude and pitch and so can be used to create either tremolo or vibrato effects A third modulation source is real time MIDI controllers These can be mapped to numerous destinations Examples include MIDI Velocity to the amplitude envelope depth Modulation Wheel to LFO depth and MIDI Breath Control to brightness Note that for a realistic emulation often the control of SaxLab Bright by Velocity leads to a more realistic performance than using the Amp by Velocity Actually Velocity should control more of the brightness Bright and less of the amplitude Amp Another important part of the sound of a real acoustic instrument is that no two notes are exactly the same No matter how hard the player may try each note is slightly different Our ears are very sensitive to these differences and can easily detect when two notes are identical For this reason SaxLab 2 incorporates Body Air and Pitch Deviation controls which introduce small random variations to the Body filter the air component of the sound
25. nstrument s Front Panel Two internal effects are available Chorus and Reverb SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 28 Chorus SaxLab 2 s Chorus effect can be used to thicken the instrument s monophonic output creating the impression that it contains multiple voices SaxLab 2 s Chorus features controls for Mix DPTH Depth and SPD Speed Also note that the output of the Chorus effect is stereo The Chorus effect is switched on and off by clicking on the LED to the right of the Chorus label Mix The Mix control is used to set the balance between the processed wet signal and the original unprocessed dry signal DPTH Depth The DPTH Depth control is used to set the amount that the effect modulates the original signal By increasing the DPTH Depth slider a more detuned sound is produced SPD Speed The SPD Speed control sets the rate at which the signal is modulated Reverb The Reverb effect is used to add ambience to sounds It features controls for Mix Space and DAMP Damping The Reverb effect is switched on and off by clicking on the LED to the right of the Reverb label Mix The Mix control allows you to set the balance between the processed wet signal and the original unprocessed dry signal Space The Space control is used to set the size of the simulated room The size of the space varies from a small chamber up to a large hall DAMP Damping The simulated room s wall mate
26. nt control will increase the range of the lower half of the instrument s Pitch Wheel PB Pitch Bend Up Amount This slider is used to set SaxLab 2 s response to incoming MIDI Pitch Bend messages that are above the midpoint of the MIDI controller s Pitch Wheel The slider can be adjusted over a range of 0 to 12 semitones The current value of the PB control is shown in the Pitch Bend Up Range Display which is located above the slider Note that upward Pitch Bend only operates in the upper half of the Pitch Wheel s range Increasing the value of the PB Pitch Bend Up Amount control will increase the range of the upper half of the instrument s Pitch Wheel Note Scoop and Pitch bend ranges must not be abused for a realistic Sax sound best is to use small values so that the formants of the sax are preserved AMP Amplitude Control Depth This control sets the degree to which the currently selected control source see below affects the instrument s amplitude which is set in the Main section Increasing the value of this control makes the instrument more responsive to changes in the incoming MIDI data Amplitude Control Source This control is used to set the type of MIDI control change message that controls the instrument s AMP Amplitude Control Depth setting Three options are available Velo Velocity BC Breath Controller and AT Aftertouch Only one type of MIDI Control Change message can be used at a time Amplitude Contr
27. ntrol setting determines the length of time that the amplitude envelope takes to move from the Attack peak level to the SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 15 Sustain level Setting the D Decay slider to higher values increases the time taken for the sound s amplitude to move from full volume to the sustain level R Release The R Release control is used to set the length of time that the amplitude envelope takes to move from the current level to silence after the key is released Setting the R Release slider to higher values increases the time taken for the sound s amplitude to decrease to zero Note The Sustain level is is reached at the end of the Decay phase and is fixed at 50 of the maximum level that is reached at the end of the Attack phase The time range of A and R are actually useful only for special effects as a real sax doesn t have a meaningful release time and the attack time is controlled in realtime by the player So for a good emulation these parameters should stay close to zero bottom of the fader but not zero For a slow attack the attack time or the main volume should be controlled by a MIDI controller see section ECS SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 16 Performance The Performance section is located on the middle right of SaxLab 2 s Front Panel The Performance section features the following controls Scoop Amount PB Pitch Bend Down Amount with Display PB Pitch Bend Up Amount with Displa
28. ode is in the way the samples are retriggered In Leg Legato mode the instrument will only play the attack portion of the sound if the previous key has been released before the next key SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 21 is played In Ret Retrigger mode the instrument starts a new envelope each time a note is played In all modes the envelope retriggers if notes are separated Note For Alternate and Retrigger a small amount of ENH Enhance might be most effective for realistic results Note that in this case if the decay time of the selected sound is shorter than the time from C note attack to D note end the return portion of C will not be esrd For sustained sound For no sustain sound e g Bagpipe e g Kalimba amplitude amplitude is assed c1 i KEY KEY KEY KEY PRESS RELEASE Here is what Is played PRESS RELEASE Mono Mode Alterne needs more than two notes to be explained see the other pictures In SaxLab 2 s Alt Alternate mode sample triggering alternates between Leg Legato mode and Ret Retrigger mode for each note in a legato sequence Shown below is the same sequence of notes played three times each time with a different Monomode setting In each case arrows mark where the envelopes start for each note SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 22 Retrigger Alterne the green arrow shows where the envelopes are triggered elsewhere only note pitch changes
29. ol Response Curve This setting determines how the AMP Amplitude Control Depth control responds to incoming MIDI messages selected with the Amplitude Control Source The control is continuously variable and ranges from inverse logarithmic through linear to logarithmic The chosen shape works as a transfer function which scales the incoming MIDI messages so that their effective working range is changed This can be used to make the instrument more sensitive to MIDI control change messages in a particular portion of the controller s range For example in the case of a logarithmic curve the effective working range is scaled upwards so that changes in the upper portion of the controller s range have most effect on the destination A linear curve passes the MIDI messages unchanged Bright Brightness Depth The Bright control sets the degree to which the currently selected control source see below affects the Body section s Bright Brightness Depth control This in turn sets the overall brightness of the SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 18 instrument s sound Increasing the value of this control makes the instrument more responsive to changes in the incoming MIDI data Brightness Control Source This control is used to set the type of MIDI control change message that controls the instrument s Bright Brightness setting Three options are available Velo Velocity BC Breath Controller and AT Aftertouch Only one type of MIDI c
30. omponent of the instrument s sound from note to note Three MIDI controllers are available for modulating SaxLab 2 s various Performance parameters These are Velo Velocity BC Breath Controller and AT Aftertouch Each controller works in a slightly different way Note that only one type of MIDI control change message can be used for each Performance Control at a time Velo Velocity All MIDI controllers have the ability to trigger a note This is usually done by transmitting a MIDI Note On message Note On messages consist of three bytes a Status byte and two Data bytes The second Data byte contains the velocity at which the key was pressed In most cases key velocity is used to determine the loudness of the synthesized sound Note that only one Note On message is transmitted for each note that is played BC Breath Controller MIDI Wind controllers typically transmit breath pressure information as MIDI Breath Control messages Breath Controller messages consist of three bytes a Status byte and two Data bytes The message s first Data byte defines the type of Control Change message in this case Breath Control which has a value of 0x02 The second Data byte determines the current output value of the Breath Controller Note that new Breath Controller messages are transmitted whenever the controller s input changes so that Breath Controller messages can vary over SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 20 the duration of a note Also
31. ontrol change message can be used at a time Brightness Control Response Curve This setting determines how the Bright control responds to incoming MIDI messages selected with the Brightness Control Source The control is continuously variable and ranges from inverse logarithmic through linear to logarithmic The chosen shape works as a transfer function which scales the incoming MIDI messages so that their effective working range is changed This can be used to make the instrument more sensitive to MIDI control change messages in a particular portion of the controller s range For example in the case of a logarithmic curve the effective working range is scaled upwards so that changes in the upper portion of the controller s range have most effect on the destination A linear curve passes the MIDI messages unchanged REV Reverb Mix The Rev control sets the degree to which the currently selected control source see below affects the Reverb section s Mix control This in turn sets the overall mix of the instrument s wet and dry sound Increasing the value of this control makes the instrument more responsive to changes in the incoming MIDI data Reverb Mix Control Source The Reverb Mix Control Source is used to set the type of MIDI control change message that controls the instrument s Reverb Mix setting Three options are available Velo Velocity BC Breath Controller and AT Aftertouch Only one type of MIDI control change
32. ou have nor the particular MIDI Control Change messages it sends Don t forget to switch off ECS after you have finished using it To do this click the indicator again Clicking on the ECS label opens the ECS menu The menu contains the following functions Off Learn Clear Clear All Save Rest Fact Restore Factory Settings These functions are explained below Off The Off menu item turns off ECS If ECS is already off then selecting this menu item has no effect Learn The Learn menu item turns on ECS Once ECS is on a target control can be selected with the mouse Any MIDI Control Change messages sent to the instrument will then be routed to the selected control Clear The Clear menu item turns on ECS and prepares the instrument for the disconnection of previously assigned MIDI Control Change messages from their destinations After selecting the Clear menu item clicking on a SaxLab 2 control disconnects the previously assigned MIDI controller from the selected destination After clearing a SaxLab 2 control the selected control no longer receives MIDI Control Change messages Clear All The Clear All menu item disconnects all previously assigned MIDI Control Change messages from their destinations After clearing all SaxLab 2 controls no control receives MIDI Control Change messages Load The Load menu item enables a previously saved MIDI controller routing configuration to be restored Save The Save menu item enables the cu
33. r note Random body frequency deviation per note Envelope LFO and MIDI controlled vibrato and tremolo Stereo chorus and stereo reverb effects Microtuning support MIDI control available for every instrument parameter SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 5 Overview SaxLab 2 is a monophonic wind instrument synthesizer with some unique features The synthesizer is based upon a multi sample playback design and includes a three layered four voice crossfade for each note produced The structure of SaxLab 2 synthesizer can be divided into nine sections Tune Preset Envelope Body Main Performance LFO Deviation and FX Effects TUNE PRESETS AMPLITUDE ee MAIN LFO DEVIAT EFFECTS Audio signals are generated by a sample playback synthesizer that gets pitch velocity and controller information from the instrument s MIDI input The MIDI input is automatically connected to MIDI output of the host software SaxLab 2 receives MIDI on all channels simultaneously SaxLab2 s Sound Set determines the samples that are used by the instrument The Sound Set is selected in the Sound Set popup menu located in the Main section The particular scale tuning used by the SoundSet is set in the instrument s Tune section along with its overall tuning settings In SaxLab 2 a note consists of three layers the Main layer the Keys layer and the Air layer The Main layer contains the pitched component of the sound The Keys layer contains th
34. reference SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 36
35. rials can be adjusted with the DAMP Damping control This parameter ranges from practically loss free reflecting walls no damping up to very absorbent walls full damping In practical terms the amount of damping determines the amount of high frequency sound components that are contained in the processed signal the higher the DAMP Damping setting the less high frequencies are contained in the processed signal SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 29 Rear Panel SaxLab 2 s Rear Panel is accessed by clicking on the SaxLab 2 logo on the instrument s Front Panel The Rear Panel contains a control for the path to the library an edit box which is used for registering the instrument and a display that shows the version of the instrument LIBRARY RIA SE L SaxLab 2 VERSION 2 03 Demo aD a SARL Library The Library Path is located on the upper left of the instrument s Rear Panel Usually it points to where the library have been installed however if you want to move the library to a different location you can do this and use this control to make the new location available to SaxLab After clicking the folder icon a file dialog opens and allows you to browse to the library Attention You cannot select the folder directly you need to locate the library then open the Alto Layers folder and open the sax sxlbsnd file in it After adjusting the path to the library you need to restart SaxLab that is to unload i
36. rrent MIDI controller routing configuration to be saved Rest Fact The Rest Fact Restore Factory Settings restores SaxLab 2 s default ECS settings which is equivalent to Clear All SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 14 Amplitude Envelope SaxLab 2 s Envelope section is located on the middle left of the instrument s Front Panel Because SaxLab 2 uses samples for playback the envelope of the sound it produces is determined to a large extent by the envelope of the sample that is currently being played This can be limiting as it precludes real time control of the instrument s amplitude In order to make the instrument more responsive to the player SaxLab 2 contains an Envelope section which incorporates four controls ENH Enhance A Attack D Decay and R Release ENH Enhance The ENH Enhance control setting determines the degree to which the first few milliseconds of a note s amplitude envelope are amplified The ENH Enhance control can be used to create a prominent attack transient so that the piff sound at the beginning of a note is emphasised This is very useful for creating rhythmic accents A Attack The A Attack control setting determines the length of time it takes for the amplitude envelope to reach the full envelope depth For example if the A Attack slider is set to 0 the sound s amplitude will move from zero to full volume within the shortest possible amount of time D Decay The D Decay co
37. same No matter how hard the player may try each note is slightly different Our ears are very sensitive to these differences and can usually detect when two notes are identical For this reason SaxLab incorporates Body Air and Pitch Deviation controls which introduce small random variations to the Body filter the air layer of the sound and to the overall pitch of a note each time it is triggered SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 27 Body Deviation Amount The Body Deviation Amount control is used to set a degree of randomisation in the instrument s Body filter for each note that is played back Increasing the Body Deviation Amount control will introduce more random timbre variation from note to note in the sound of the instrument Air Deviation Amount The Air Deviation Amount control is used to set a degree of randomisation in the instrument s air layer for each note that is played back Increasing the Air Deviation Amount control will introduce more random timbre variation from note to note in the sound of the instrument Pitch Deviation Amount The Pitch Deviation Amount control is used to set a degree of randomisation in the instrument s overall pitch for each note that is played back Increasing the Pitch Deviation Amount control will introduce more random variation from note to note in the instrument s overall pitch Effects SaxLab 2 s FX Effects section is located on the lower right of the i
38. systems has been an unending process of discovery and debate amongst musical theorists mathematicians physicists and musicians going back to early history Quite often the reasons for microtuning instruments may involve improving the consonant intervals of a tuning system for sweeter sounding harmonies as well as offering wider variety of choices for melody Microtuning an instrument can sometimes mean there may be less or more than 12 tones in an octave or even that the octave itself may be stretched or compressed Microtuning is a vast topic rich with lore music and infinity of musical possibilities for the sonic explorer Creating TUN Microtuning Files with SCALA Scala is a freeware utility developed by Manuel Op de Coul in the Netherlands which can be used for the creation and analysis of historical ethnic and contemporary microtunings A powerful capability of Scala is that it enables the user to create the proprietary tuning data required for microtuning a wide range of hardware and software synthesizers and samplers Scala may be used to create the TUN format microtuning files needed to explore microtunings with this instrument The Scala home page is http www xs4all nl huygensf scala Specifying the Reference Frequency of a Microtuning One of the powerful capabilities of the TUN file format and Scala is the ability to specify the pitch and midi note which will be the reference pitch for the microtuning in use This becom
39. t completely and load it again Serial Number The Serial Number edit box is located on the upper left of the instrument s Rear Panel The Serial Number edit box is used to register the instrument Note that before entering a valid serial number the Serial Number edit box reads Enter here After a valid serial number has been entered the Serial Number edit box reads Valid Version Number The Version Number display is located on the upper right of the instrument s Rear Panel It shows the version of the instrument Clicking on the SaxLab 2 logo in the middle of the Rear Panel returns you to the Front Panel SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 30 Registration After you ve installed and opened the full version of SaxLab 2 go to the instrument s Rear Panel see the Rear Panel section of this manual for more information about the instrument s Rear Panel The Serial Number edit box will read Enter here Enter the serial number you have received into the Serial Number edit box If the serial number has not been entered or it has been entered incorrectly the SaxLab 2 will run in demo mode After entering the serial number correctly the Serial Number edit box displays the word Valid indicating that the instrument is registered Once registered the serial number is no longer displayed on the instrument Make sure to keep your serial number in a safe place as you might need it again to register SaxLab in example when you bought a
40. the instrument while the latter is a snapshot of all the instrument s current SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 8 settings and an associated Sound Set As such many Presets can utilize the same Sound Set Keys The Keys control sets the volume of the Keys sample layer This layer contains the characteristic key clicks usually heard in saxophones and clarinets Increasing the value of the Keys control makes the Keys layer louder with respect to the instrument s other two layers VOL Volume The VOL Volume control sets the volume of the pitched sample layer This layer contains the pitched component of the sound Increasing the value of the VOL Volume control makes the pitched component of the sound louder with respect to the instrument s other two layers Air The Air control sets the volume of the Air sample layer This layer contains the breath and airflow sounds that are an important part of the sound of a real wind instrument Increasing the value of the Air control makes the Air layer louder with respect to the instrument s other two layers Note When using Layered or Soft Sound Sets it is recommended to only use very low Air noise settings since these sets include soft played tones which are naturally already noisy MIDI The MIDI indicator lights up when any incoming MIDI Note on messages are received by SaxLab 2 Clicking and holding down a mouse button while the cursor is over the MIDI
41. uigi Felici Manual by Chris Share Special Thanks to Wellington and William All technical specifications of the product specified in this manual may be subject to change without notice The document may not be changed especially copyright notices may not be removed or changed LinPlug and all LinPlug product names are trademarks of LinPlug Virtual Instruments GmbH Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc registered in the U S and other countries The Built for Mac OS X graphic is a trademark of Apple Computer Inc used under license The Audio Units logo and the Audio Units symbol are trademarks of Apple Computer Inc Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation registered in the U S and other countries Cubase and VST are registered trademarks of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Table of Contents Uy S Gea AMN OO ceca aserne er kang dase chances renere ds pea Morera EREE an 4 FUSS Sahota iS il Rae elt aati mares 5 SO sania A E E ae eiciuemaasiaesel Ween aheiaamenanetens 6 MA te SE SEE e a ER SU ED eet 8 O 10 A A aes aoe ene race eee ha a ae rice eee eee 11 Pres es sl gs a as nee eee cae re Ne reece eect Sele Sabon e SE uns 12 ES secs ated esas Gwin E Gee ene 14 Amplitude Envelope zean na A E e aeaa 15 PRG TORT ANC ae a e rt 17 FO a r a Se acces a a REDE a coated 25 PA Na a nn decease eee 27 A e a e r a E 28 SA aT A cca A
42. y ae Amplitude Depth Control Source and Control Response urve ae Brightness Depth Control Source and Control Response urve REV Reverb Depth Control Source and Control Response Curve GRO Growl Depth Control Source Control Response Curve Maximum Depth and Deviation CT Crossfade Time and Monomode Scoop Amount This control is used to set the amount of time it takes to move from a lower pitch to the pitch of the note that is actually played Increasing the value of the Scoop control increases the time taken for the pitch to move from the lower pitch to the note that is actually played Scoop SaxLab 2 1 6 User Manual Page 17 can be thought of as an auto bend that is applied at the onset of a note Scoop is not applied to notes that are played legato The scoop is a style mode used in sax playing and it s often used in Jazz and Rock since it s easy with sax and clarinet to initially pitch the note lower than intended PB Pitch Bend Down Amount This slider is used to set SaxLab 2 s response to incoming MIDI Pitch Bend messages that are below the midpoint of the MIDI controller s Pitch Wheel The slider can be adjusted over a range of 0 to 12 semitones The current value of the PB control is shown in the Pitch Bend Down Range Display which is located above the slider Note that downward Pitch Bend only operates in the lower half of the Pitch Wheel s range Increasing the value of the PB Pitch Bend Down Amou
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