Objekt Modeling Synthesizer

See “Portamento” below for details on how the different Key Modes are affected by the Portamento mode.
See more about when to use the Mono setting in “External Audio In”.

#Portamento

Portamento makes note pitches glide from previous notes to new ones, at the time set with the Rate knob.

Click the display to select Off, On or Auto.

The results vary depending on what Key Mode you have selected (see “Key Mode” above):

| Portamento

| Key Mode

| Description

MONO

The pitch will glide between consecutive monophonic notes.

LEGATO

The pitch will glide between consecutive monophonic notes. When you play legato, i.e. if you press a new note before releasing the previous, the notes will not retrigger the Exciter.

If you release the previous key before hitting the new key, the pitch will glide between consecutive monophonic notes and will also retrigger the Exciter.

AUTO LEGATO

The pitch will glide between consecutive monophonic notes only when you play legato.

If you play notes or chords in a non-legato fashion, the pitches will glide from any of the available voices. The results will be unpredictable since there is no way of controlling from which note(s) the glide(s) will commence. However, if you hold one chord and play a new chord in a legato fashion there will be portamento between the chords.

POLY 1-16

The pitches will glide from any of the available voices. The results will be unpredictable since there is no way of controlling from which note(s) the glide(s) will commence.

AUTO

MONO

The pitch will glide between consecutive monophonic notes when you play legato. Each new note will also retrigger the Exciter. If you release the previous note before hitting a new note there will be no portamento effect.

AUTO

LEGATO

The pitch will glide between consecutive monophonic notes when you play legato and the Exciter will not retrigger. If you release the previous note before hitting a new note there will be no portamento effect.

AUTO

AUTO LEGATO

The pitch will glide between consecutive monophonic notes only when you play legato. If you play notes or chords in a non-legato fashion, there will be no portamento effect. However, if you hold one chord and play a new chord in a legato fashion there will be portamento between the chords

AUTO

POLY 1-16

The pitches will glide from any of the available voices when you play monophonic notes in a legato fashion - and when you play chords. The results will be unpredictable since there is no way of controlling from which note(s) the glide(s) will commence. If you play monophonic notes in a non-legato fashion, there will be no portamento effect.

#Global output controls

#Volume

This is the main stereo output volume control.

#Sound design tips

Objekt has a lot of parameters, exposing a fair bit of the inner workings of physical modeling synthesis. This gives you unprecedented freedom and control but can also make sound design rather complex. It's easy to get unexpected results and sometimes it's not apparent why things sound the way they do. Here are some ways around this:

#Start from an existing patch

Objekt comes with a large number of patches. Quite often the best way is to browse through these patches, choose one that you like and then start changing parameters to turn it into something else. This is also the best way to learn how the modules and settings work. There is also a very useful Randomizer which can randomize parameters in the various Objekt sections to achieve really interesting results, see “Randomizer”.

#Use Templates

The Modal and Object 1-2 sections have Template selectors. Loading a template will set some of the parameters in the section to give you a starting point. Some parameters (like Decay in the Object 1 & 2 sections and Pickup in the Modal section) are not affected by the Templates. Also, settings outside the section are not affected, so you can combine different Templates for different sections.

#Panel reference

#Exciter Impact section

The Exciter Impact section is where you define the characteristics of the strike/pluck/pick signal (pulse) which is sent to the Modal and/or Object sections further down in the signal chain. The modeled impact pulse is reminiscent of how you would strike/pluck/pick a real acoustic instrument.

#Level

Set the volume of the impact signal with the Level knob.

If you don't want to use the Impact part of the Exciter, set the Level to zero.

Adjust how the Level should respond to keyboard velocity with the Vel knob.

#Impact Freq

Set the length of the pulse, without changing its basic character, with the Impact Freq knob.

The higher the setting, the brighter - but also the less bassier - the pulse:

#Click

Click is a short noise pulse.

Set the click level of the pulse with the Click knob.

Raise this to add more of a pronounced click attack to the Impact pulse.

#Hardness

The Hardness controls the attack shape of the Impact Pulse, without changing the length of the pulse. Raising the Hardness gives a brighter sound, but the bass frequencies are preserved (if the Impact Freq is low):

Set the hardness of the pulse with the Hardness knob.

You could compare this with using a rubber mallet (low Hardness) or a wooden-headed mallet (high Hardness) for generating the pulse.

Adjust how the Hardness should respond to keyboard velocity with the Vel knob.

#Diffuse

The Diffuse parameter simulates hitting with something that hasn’t a distinct surface, like a hand, for example. There are several fast random pulses after one another. Between 0% and 50% Shape the main “hit” comes towards the end of the pulse. Between 50% and 100% Shape the hit gradually moves towards the start of the pulse:

Activate the Diffuse section to "smear" the attack of the impact pulse.

The Shape knob controls the envelope curve for the hits, going from a delayed short pulse via rising attack to a longer, decaying pulse. The Time parameter controls total time of the envelope curve.

A Shape of ~25% can simulate fingered string playing and a Shape ~75% is good for hand percussion sounds.

#Exciter Noise section

The Exciter Noise section lets you build a custom impulse from noise to be used (alone or together with the Impact signal) as exciter for further processing by the Modal and/or Object sections. The noise can be used e.g. for simulating non-plucked instruments, since the noise signal can be freely shaped by the built-in ADSR envelope.

#Level

Set the noise volume with the Level knob.

If you don't want to use the Noise part of the Exciter, set the Level to zero (or set the Noise Type to “Off”, see Noise Type below).

Adjust how the noise Level should respond to keyboard velocity with the Vel knob.

#Rate

Set the character (or pitch) of the noise, as described in “Noise Type” below.

#Noise Type

Select the desired noise type by clicking the drop-down selector.

The following noise types are available:

•

Off

This turns off the Exciter Noise.

•

White

This is standard white noise, where all frequencies have equal energy.

Note that the Rate knob has no effect with White Noise selected.

•

Color

Colored noise

This is filtered noise.
Low Rate settings give progressively darker noise while high settings emphasize the higher frequencies.

•

Static

Static noise

This generates noise similar to random static interference.
The Rate knob controls the density of the static spikes.

•

Noise Pulse

This generates repeated noise pulses of equal amplitude.
The Rate knob controls the repeat rate of the noise pulses. High values give continuous noise.

•

Rand. Pulse

Random Pulse

This generates repeated short pulses of random amplitude.
The Rate knob controls the repeat rate of the pulses.

•

Pulse

This generates repeated short pulses of equal amplitude.
The Rate knob controls the repeat rate of the pulses. High values give a continuous tone where the Rate sets the pitch.

To have the Pulse pitch track the keyboard 1:1, set up “Key” as Source and “Noise Rate” as Destination in the “Modulation Matrix” and set the Amount to “80”:

•

LP Noise

This is lowpass filtered white noise.
The Rate knob controls the LP filter cutoff frequency.

#ADSR Envelope with Delay

The ADSR envelope stages.

This is a five-stage ADSR envelope with Delay for the noise signal. The envelope can be used as a modulation source in the Mod Matrix. It can also be used as a modulation destination (to be triggered) in the Mod Matrix (see “Modulation Matrix”).

#Delay

Set the time it should take before the Attack stage of the Envelope starts after you play a note.

Setting a delay could be useful in combination with the Exciter Impulse signal, to create “multiple” impulses.

#A(ttack)

Set the time it should take for the level to go from zero to max.

If the Attack is set to “0”, the max level is reached instantly. If the Attack value is raised, it will take longer time before the maximum level is reached.

Range: 0.0 ms to 5.0 s

#D(ecay)

Set the time it should take for the level to drop from max to the Sustain level.

If you want to emulate the volume envelope of a note played on a piano for example, the Attack should be set to “0”, the Decay parameter should be set to a medium value and the Sustain level should be set to “0”, so that the volume gradually decreases down to silence, even if you keep holding the key down. Should you want the decay to drop to some other value than zero, you raise the Sustain parameter.

Range: 40 ms to 20.0 s

#S(ustain)

Set the level the envelope should rest at, after the Decay stage.

If you set Sustain to full level, the Decay setting is of no importance since the level is never lowered.

If you want to emulate the volume envelope of an organ, you theoretically only really need to use the Sustain parameter set to full level, as a basic organ volume envelope instantly goes to the maximum level (Attack “0”) and stays there (Decay “0”), until the key is released and the sound instantly stops (Release “0”).

But often a combination of Decay and Sustain is used to generate envelopes that rise up to the maximum level, then gradually decreases to finally land to rest on a level somewhere in-between zero and max level. Note that Sustain represents a level, whereas the other envelope parameters represent times.

Range: -inf to 0.0 dB

#R(elease)

Set the time it should take for the level to drop from the Sustain level to zero after you release the key(s).

The Release parameter works just like the Decay parameter, except it determines the time it takes for the level to drop back to zero after you release the key(s).

Range: 40 ms to 20.0 s

#External Audio In

On the rear panel of Objekt is a stereo input for external audio, which can be used as Exciter signal (see “External In”). The external signal can be used alone or in combination with the Exciter Impulse and Exciter Noise signals.

When an audio signal is patched to the External Inputs jacks on the rear panel the red LED is lit. If the external signal is connected to both input jacks, the Ext. Trig Pos display shows the balance between the Left and Right inputs:

This value ("Ext Trig Pos") is available as a source in the Modulation Matrix (see “Modulation Matrix”), which means you can make the sound change depending on the stereo position of the external input signal.

The result of using External Input depends on the Key Mode setting (see “Key Mode”):

•

When Key Mode is set to “Auto Legato” or “Poly 1” and higher values, you need to play notes on Objekt for the external input to be used. There will be a single synth voice for each note, allowing you to play chords - like an "acoustic vocoder".

•

If Key Mode is set to "Mono" or Legato” any external input signal will be sent to the Modal/Object sections with no need of "triggering" the Objekt synth (making it work more like an effect).

•

Note that it's possible to listen to the Exciter (and External Input) signal by raising the Exciter Mix Level fader in the Mixer section, see “Mix Level”.

See “Using the External In to create effects with variations” for a practical example.

#Gain

Turn the Gain knob to adjust the level of the External Input signal.

Range: -inf to +12 dB

#Exciter EQ

Above the Exciter Impulse section is a single-band parametric equalizer for the combined Exciter Impulse, Exciter Noise and External signals. The Exciter EQ works per voice and can also be modulated from the “Modulation Matrix”.

Note that using the Exciter EQ is different from using the EQ in the Effects section (see “EQ”), especially if you are using nonlinear modulations, such as Pitch Mod, Dispersion Mod and Collision in the “Object 1/2 sections”.

#Freq

Set the center frequency of the equalizer.

Range: 40 Hz to 12.00 kHz

#Reso

Set the resonance amount of the equalizer band.

The resonance amount also affects the width of the equalizer band.

#Gain

Set the gain of the equalizer band.

A positive value results in a peak in the equalizer band and a negative value results in a notch.

Range: +/- 24dB

#Modal/Object sections selectors

Click the ON LED button to turn on/off the desired section.

These buttons are also mirrored above the Mix Level faders in the Mixer section, see “Mixer”.

Click the desired name “tab” to select that section for editing.

The center area of the front panel shows the currently selected section.

#Modal section

Modal synthesis works by sending a signal (from the Exciter) into a bank of tuned, resonating filters. The result is a bit similar to combining overtones, i.e. additive synthesis.

#Modal principle

Here is an example where white noise is sent from the Exciter to the Modal section, and where the Modal section uses six filters with different Frequency and Gain settings:

White noise from the Exciter run through the Modal section with six active filters.

#Pitch

Drag up/down in the Pitch display to transpose the Modal section in semitone steps.

All tuned filters will follow the transposition value.
Range: -36 to +12 semitones.

#Template

Selecting a Template is a shortcut to achieve the basic type/character of the sound you’re looking for. Selecting a Template from the list automatically configures all parameters in the display plus the Decay and Release Mute parameters.

Click the Template drop-down menu to select one of the preset templates.

The Templates include Bell 1-4, Bowl 1-3, Chimes 1-3, Chordal 1-3, Drawbars, Harp, Metal Bars 1-3, Tines 1-3 and Wood 1-2. There is also an Init item which resets the parameters.

#Modal Display

The display shows the filter stages and their settings. You can use up to eight filters. The Modal Display parameters are described below:

#Filter On/Off and KBD tracking

Set the desired number of active filter stages by clicking in the ON row at the top.

You can also click an ON button and drag left/right to hear the result of removing or adding stages:

Click in the KBD row to set how many stages should track the keyboard.

Filter stages that don't track the keyboard will produce tones of constant pitch:

Note that the filter stages are always consecutive (tied together), i.e. you can not disable a filter stage “in the middle” of the filter bands. Similarly, you cannot disable KBD tracking “in the middle” of the filter bands.

#Freq

Set the frequencies of the filter bands by dragging up/down in the FREQ displays.

You can drag the integer and decimal parts of the FREQ display independently.
Range: 0.00-64.00

Hold [Command](Mac)/[Ctrl](Win) and click the integer part of the display to reset the value to “1.00”, or click the decimal part to reset the decimals to “00”.

•

The FREQ value is the frequency of the filter expressed as a factor, where "1.00" is the fundamental. "2.00" means the second harmonic (pitched one octave up), "3.00" is the third harmonic and so on.

•

If KBD tracking is turned off, "1.00" produces a C3.

Note that very high FREQ settings might limit the upper note range so that high notes produce clicks/noise instead of the expected sound.

#Decay Scale

Drag the Decay Scale sliders up/down to set the decay time of the tones from the filter bands.

The decay times are scaled by the overall Decay parameter (see “Decay” below):

#Gain

Drag the GAIN sliders up/down to set the level of the tones from the filter bands:

#Pickup

This emulates the electromagnetic pickups on an electric piano, transforming the sound radically.

Turn the Drive knob to control the overdrive amount.

Turn the Symmetry knob to set the “position” of the simulated pickup, to get different timbres.

#Decay

The Decay section sets the overall decay and release times of the filter band tones, as set with the individual Decay Scale parameters in the Modal section display (see “Decay Scale” above).

Set the desired overall decay time with the Time knob.

Set how fast the sound should be silenced after you release a key with the Release Mute knob.

This would typically be set to zero or a low value for bell sounds but a higher value for something like an electric piano sound.

Note that the higher the Release Mute value, the shorter the release time.

#Object 1/2 sections

The Object sections use tuned feedback delays to create sounds. A tuned feedback delay is basically a tuned comb (multi peak/notch) filter. Each Object module can use up to 8 delay stages. The delays stages can also interact with each other in different ways, if desired.

The currently selected Object section (1 or 2) is indicated in the display:

#Object principle

Here is an example where white noise is sent from the Exciter straight to an Object section, and where the Object section uses one singe delay line:

White noise from the Exciter run straight to an Object section with one active delay line.

As you can see in the picture above, just one single delay line lets through quite a massive amount of overtones (compared to the Modal section described earlier).

The two Object sections have identical parameter configurations, except for the “Input Mix” sources.

#Input Mix

Select the input signal mix with the Input Mix knob.

If Object 1 is selected, the input is a mix of the Exciter and Modal sections signals. Generally, the signal will contain more overtones the more the Exciter signal is mixed in.
If Object 2 is selected, the input is a mix of the Exciter and Object 1 sections signals.

#TrigPos

TrigPos emulates different strike points on the object.

Turn the TrigPos knob to set the desired strike position.

Turn the RND knob to make the TrigPos values vary randomly from note to note.

#Pitch

The Pitch parameter transposes all parameters that affect the pitch of the sound, for example when you play the keyboard. In order for the transposition to work correctly the Pitch parameter should be set to 0 when you play the note C3. A patch that is tuned to C3 should have the Pitch set to 0. If the patch is tuned to C2, the Pitch should be set to -12. Otherwise there will be problems, especially if you have high Dispersion values (see “Dispersion”).

Drag up/down in the Pitch display to transpose the selected Object section in semitone steps.

All tuned feedback delays will follow the transposition value.
Range: -36 to +12 semitones.

#Template

The Template drop-down menu holds various templates - starting points for sound design and exploration. You will also find Copy, Paste and Swap with Clipboard items on this menu. These can be used for transferring settings between Object 1 and Object 2. There is also an Init item for resetting all parameters in the selected Object section to their default values.

Click the Template drop-down menu to select one of the preset templates.

The Templates include Bell 1-5, Glass 1-2, Metal 1-4, Skins 1-3, Skins Dark, Skins Untuned, String 1-3, String Low, Synthetic 1-2 and Wood 1-2.

Sometimes you might want to transfer the settings from one Object module to the other. Here's how to do that:

Click the Template drop-down menu and select Copy to copy all the settings in the selected Object section.

Click the other Object selector button to switch to the other Object section.

Click the Template drop-down menu and select Paste to paste the settings. Alternatively, select Swap with Clipboard to paste the current settings and automatically get the destination settings to the clipboard memory instead.

#Low Cut

Turn the Low Cut knob to remove low frequencies from the signal before it's sent to the mixer.

This is essentially a high-pass filter.
Range: 20 Hz to 2.5 kHz

#Object Display

The display shows the delay stages and their settings. You can have up to eight delay stages. The Object Display parameters are described below:

#Delay stage On/Off and KBD tracking

Set the desired number of active delay stages by clicking in the ON row at the top.

You can also click an ON button and drag left/right to hear the result of removing or adding stages:

Click in the KBD row to set how many stages should track the keyboard. Delay stages that don't track the keyboard will produce tones of constant pitch:

Note that the delay stages are always consecutive (tied together), i.e. you can not disable a delay stage “in the middle” of other active delay stages. Similarly, you cannot disable KBD tracking “in the middle” of active delay stages.

#Freq

Set the frequencies of the delay stages by dragging up/down in the FREQ displays.

You can drag the integer and decimal parts of the FREQ display independently.
Range: 0.00-64.00

Hold [Command](Mac)/[Ctrl](Win) and click the integer part of the display to reset the value to “1.00”, or click the decimal part to reset the decimals to “00”.

•

The FREQ value is the frequency of the delay stage expressed as a factor, where "1.00" is the fundamental. "2.00" means the second harmonic (pitched one octave up), "3.00" is the third harmonic and so on.

However, since the delay stages often interact, the individual Freq settings do often not translate directly to the pitch of the sound.

Note that very high FREQ settings might limit the upper note range so that high notes produce clicks/noise instead of the expected sound.

#Polarity

Click the Polarity (+/-) button to set the polarity of the comb filter feedback of the delay stages.

Positive or negative polarity of the feedback can change the sound radically:

The picture below shows the difference between positive (+) and negative (-) polarity settings. As you can see a positive polarity lets through more low frequencies, giving a “bassier” sound. Also, the peaks and notches are inverted between positive and negative polarities:

Positive polarity at the top and negative polarity at the bottom (the dotted lines indicate the peaks and notches).

#Gain

Drag the Gain sliders up/down to set the level of the tones from the delay stages:

#Tuning

The Tuning parameter only controls the delay stages times. Since the pitch of the sound is governed by all filters in the Object section, such as Dispersion, Damping, X-Over frequency, the pitch isn’t always changed according to the Tuning value.

Drag up/down in the Tuning display to scale the pitches of all delay stages.

The unit here is cents (1/100ths of a semitone) but again, this may not exactly translate to the changes in actual pitch. This setting will be affected when the automatic Tuner function is used, see “Tuner”:
Range: +/- 24 semitones in steps of 1/100th of a semitone.

#Key Track+

Internally, there is a limit to how short the delays can be, and thus how high pitches can be produced. Depending on the sound, this can lead to high notes becoming too short. If you set a very high FREQ value in a delay stage - and have KBD tracking on - you can’t play very high notes on the keyboard before the pitch gets too high. The delay stage is then automatically shut off and the sound becomes short and muted.

To fix this you could turn off KBD tracking on the delay stages that have high FREQ settings, but then the sound will get out of tune (since there is now a fixed delay time which doesn’t track the keyboard). To compensate for this you can raise the Key Track+ value to subtract a fixed delay time.

Basically, there is one main scenario when Key Track+ adjustment can be useful:

•

If you are playing sounds that don’t have KBD tracking on all delay stages, and want to keep the sound in tune.

In the example below we use the Bass Guitar 1 patch from the Bass folder in the Objekt sound library and look at the Object 2 section. Delay stage 1 and 2 have KBD tracking on and delay stage 3 has KBD tracking off - but a high FREQ setting (the 30th harmonic). “Coupling” (see below) is also on, which makes the delay stages interact with each other and affect the pitch:

Play a high note (C5 or above) on the keyboard and drag up/down in the Key Track+ display to compensate for high notes being out of tune.

#Coupling

Set the Coupling switch to define how the delay stages should interact with each other.

Coupling means that the output of each delay stage feeds back into the other delays. This can affect both the timbre and the pitch. There are three modes:

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When Coupling is Off, the delay stages are completely separate - the result is a mix of different pitches.

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When Coupling is On, the delay stages are fully interacting, with the output of each delay stage fed back to the input of all other delay stages.

•

In X-Over mode, the delay stages feed back into each other, but the feedback signal goes through a high-pass filter that removes the lower frequencies (as set by the Freq setting below):

Note that the Freq knob is only available (active) in X-Over mode. In the other modes the knob is dimmed.

#Collision

Collision emulates the resonating object hitting something and bouncing back.

Turn the Amount knob to set when the bouncing should occur.

Turn the Bounce knob to set how much it should bounce.

#Pitch Mod

Pitch Mod emulates the phenomenon where a material gets deformed as you hit it harder and thus generates other frequencies.

The effect is more prominent on flexible materials than on stiffer ones. You could compare a crash cymbal with a ride cymbal, where the crash cymbal is thinner and more flexible and consequently gets more deformed and therefore generates a lot of overtones, even if you hit it with a rubber mallet.

Pitch Mod causes the signal itself to affect the frequencies. This will give strong notes an initial bump in pitch or timbre, depending on the Filter setting.

Set the pitch modulation amount with the Amount knob.

Set the pitch modulation character with the Filter knob.

Low values give more of a pitch modulation effect, whereas high values give more of a timbre modulation effect.

#Dispersion

Dispersion is when different frequencies travel at different speeds through the object “material”. This means low frequencies are delayed and will be pitched lower, since the frequency spectrum is stretched.

Turn the Freq knob to set the stretch amount of the frequency spectrum.

The lower the Freq setting, the more pronounced this effect, causing inharmonic, metallic sounds. This also changes the basic pitch of the sound, which might require using the Tuner function (see “Tuner”).

Turn the Mod knob to apply internal dispersion modulation.

Note that this can cause feedback and continuously sustaining sound, so be careful!

To avoid feedback, turn down the Mod knob (and/or turn up the “Pitch Mod” Amount knob).

Turn the Filter knob to affect the dispersion modulation character.

The Filter knob affects how much the higher frequencies affect the dispersion modulation.

#Damping

Damping applies filtering in the delay feedback loops.

Turn the Low knob to remove low frequencies from the signal.

Turn the Mid knob to set a frequency where you can apply positive or negative Gain.

Turn the Gain knob to apply positive or negative gain to the Mid frequency band.

Note that the signal is limited - boosting a mid frequency will lower other frequencies.

Turn the Hi knob to set at which frequency the high frequencies of the signal should be rolled off.

Turn the Slope knob to set the steepness of the attenuation curve for the Hi band.

Lowering Hi and raising the Slope will gradually remove the high frequencies from the sound.

#Decay

The Decay parameter sets the overall decay of the tone from all delay stages. The Release Mute setting sets how fast the sound will be silenced when you release a key.

Turn the Time knob to set the desired overall decay time.

Turn the Release Mute knob to set how fast the sound should be silenced after you release the key(s).

#Tuner

Many parameter changes can affect the pitch of the sound in ways that are not totally predictable. Therefore, Objekt has a built-in Tuner function for correcting this. The Tuner affects a lot of parameters in Objekt, including the Tune parameters in the Object 1/2 sections. Here is how you can use the Tuner:

Click the Analyze button.

Objekt goes silent briefly and a note number is displayed.

If the displayed note is anything other than a C, the instrument is out of tune. Click the Fix button to automatically adjust the parameters to tune.

Sometimes, you need to click Fix more than once to get a C note.

#When automatic Analyze doesn’t work

There are situations when the pitch of a sound is vague, and the Tuner's analysis isn't correct. For example, there may be an overtone that's stronger than the fundamental, or two sections may be pitched differently, or a section might be non-pitched (or doesn’t define the pitch of the sound).

First of all, try tuning one section at a time, by turning off the other sections. If the Tuner should show too low a pitch, try removing some bass in the “Exciter EQ”.

If you don’t get it to work, use your ears and the built-in C3 reference note that you can turn on with the “Pitch Fork” button to the left:

You can then tune manually using the Tuning parameters in the Object 1/2 displays, see “Tuning”.

If you don’t get the Tuner to work, try using the Exciter EQ to emphasize the fundamental frequency or to remove bass that might interfere, see “Enhancing Exciter frequencies for better tone definition”.

Another way of enhancing the tone definition is to use the Modal section only for filtering the Exciter signal (but not be part of the signal), see “Using the Modal section only for filtering the signal to Object 1”.

#Mixer

Here you can activate/deactivate and set the output levels and stereo placements of the different sections using the faders and pan knobs. Object 1 and 2 also have a stereo width setting.

#On/Off

Click the LED buttons to activate/deactivate the corresponding section.

Note that the Exciter section cannot be deactivated (but you can turn its level down with the fader).
The on/off state is also reflected by the LEDs in the Modal/Object sections selectors, see “Modal/Object sections selectors”.

#Mix Level

Set the output level of the corresponding section with the Mix Level faders.

Note that the Mix Level controls work per voice. so you could route per-voice modulation sources like Velocity etc. to them in the “Modulation Matrix” and mix different sections individually for each note.

#Pan

Set the placement in the stereo panorama of the corresponding section with the Pan knobs.

#Width

Set the stereo width of Object 1 and 2 with the Width knobs.

This creates stereo by panning different parts of the delay lines to the left and right, which gives timing differences.

#Randomizer

The Randomizer is a great way to mutate a sound or get a brand new starting point. Here's how you use it:

Click the buttons at the bottom to decide which sections should be affected.

Several buttons can be active at the same time, for randomizing multiple sections.

Click the Randomize button.

This applies random values to a group of parameters in the selected group(s).

Adjust the amount of randomization by dragging the slider below.

If you're happy with the result, click OK to keep it.

If you don't like it, click the X button to return to the original sound (or click Randomize again to get a new random variation of the original sound).

#Effects section

The Effects section features five different effect modules that can be freely reordered by dragging & dropping. Most of the effect parameters are also available as destinations in the Modulation Matrix, see “Modulation Matrix”.

At the top of the Effects section are five Effect buttons. Click any of these to bring up the control panel for the corresponding effect:

Below the Effect buttons are the On/Off buttons for the individual effects. Click these to activate the effects:

#Reordering the effects

To define the order of the effects in the serial connection, click and hold on the desired Effect button and drag to the desired position:

Moving the Compressor effect to another position in the effects chain.

You can reorder the effects at any time.

#EQ

This Equalizer has high and low shelving bands with fixed frequencies, plus a parametric mid band. Use it to tailor the sound as needed.

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Freq

This determines the center frequency of the EQ, e.g. at which frequency the level should be decreased or increased.

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Gain

Specifies how much the level of the selected frequency range should be boosted (positive values) or lowered (negative values).

•

This governs the width of the affected area around the set center frequency. The higher the value, the narrower the affected frequency range.

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Lo Gain

Specifies how much the level of the low band should be boosted (positive values) or lowered (negative values).

•

Hi Gain

Specifies how much the level of the high band should be boosted (positive values) or lowered (negative values).

#Distortion

The Distortion effect features six different types of distortion.

Select distortion type with the switch.

“Dist” produces a dense, rich analog type of distortion.

“Scream” produces a less bright type of distortion.

“Tube” emulates a tube type of distortion.

“Sine” is a sine shaping distortion.

“S/H” gives the effect of sample rate reduction.

“Ring” is a ring modulator effect.

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Drive

Sets the overdrive/feedback level of the selected distortion.

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Tone

This is a lowpass filter and sets the tone of the selected distortion.

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Amount

Sets the Dry/Wet amount of the distortion.

#Compressor

This is a stereo compressor.

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Attack

This governs how quickly the compressor will apply its effect when signals rise above the set threshold. If you raise this value, the response will be slower, allowing more of the signal to pass through the compressor unaffected. Typically, this is used for preserving the attacks of the sounds.

•

Release

When the signal level drops below the set threshold, this determines how long it takes before the compressor lets the sound through unaffected. Set this to short values for intense, “pumping” compressor effects, or to longer values for a smoother change of the dynamics.

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Threshold

This is the threshold level above which the compression sets in. Signals with levels above the threshold will be affected, signals below it will not. In practice, this means that the lower the Threshold setting, the more the compression effect.

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Ratio

This specifies the amount of gain reduction applied to the signals above the set threshold.

#Delay

This is a stereo delay, routed as a send effect.

•

Sync

Activate Sync to sync the delay time to the main sequencer Tempo.

•

Time

This sets the time between the delay repeats. If Sync is active (see above), the Time parameter now controls the time divisions.

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Ping Pong

Activate Ping Pong to have the delay repeats alternating between left and right in the stereo panorama. The effect is also dependent on the Pan parameter (see below).

•

Pan

Sets the panning of the delay repeats in the stereo panorama. If Ping Pong is active (see above) the Pan knob controls the panning of the initial delay repeat as well as the total stereo spread of the remaining repeats.

•

Feedback

The Feedback parameter determines the number of delay repeats.

•

Amount

Use this parameter to adjust the send level to the Delay effect.

If you play a note, have a long delay Feedback and turn down Amount, the echoes will continue. This allows for automated “triggered delay” fx. You can set up the Delay Amount parameter as a Destination in the Modulation Matrix, see “Modulation Matrix”.

#Reverb

This is a stereo reverb, routed as a send effect.

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Reverb type selector

Here you can select the desired type of reverb, from Small Room to Large Hall.

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Decay

This governs the length of the reverb effect.

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Damp

Raising the Damp value cuts off the high frequencies of the reverb, thereby creating a smoother, warmer effect.

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ER Level

Turning up the early reflection time will cause the reverb effect to start a little later, giving room for some initial delays.

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Level

Use this parameter to adjust the send level to the Reverb effect.

If you play a note, have a long delay Decay time and turn down Level, the reverberation will continue. You can also set up the Reverb Level parameter as a Destination in the Modulation Matrix, see “Modulation Matrix”.

#Modulation section

The Modulation section features two separate LFOs, a Curve generators and a Macro section for parameter modulation purposes. The modulators can be used as Sources and modulation Destinations can be freely assigned in the Modulation Matrix, see “Modulation Matrix”.

#LFO 1&2

An LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) is used for generating cyclic modulation. A typical example is to have an LFO modulate the pitch of a signal to produce vibrato, but there are countless other applications for LFOs.

The LFO section features two separate general purpose LFOs, that can be assigned to control selectable parameter(s) in the Modulation Matrix, see “Modulation Matrix”.

Select which of the two LFOs you want to edit by clicking one of the LFO 1 and LFO 2 buttons.

Select an LFO waveform by clicking the spin controls to the right of the waveform display, or by dragging up/down in the waveform display:

Besides the standard waveforms (sine, triangle, pulse, etc.) there are random, slope and stepped waveforms. The shape of the waveforms are shown in the display.

Set the LFO frequency with the Rate knob.

If Beat Sync (see below) is on, the Rate knob controls time divisions instead.

Turn the Delay knob to introduce a delay before the LFO modulation kicks in after a note is played.

Turn clockwise for longer delay times.

Click the Beat Sync button to sync the LFO to the main sequencer Tempo.

The Rate parameter now controls the time divisions.

Click the Key Sync button to restart the LFO at every new Note On.

Click the Global button to make the LFO common for all voices (monophonic).

#Curve

There is also a Curve generator available for modulating selectable parameter(s) in the Modulation Matrix, see “Modulation Matrix”. The Curve generator can serve as an additional LFO, a semi-step sequencer or even as an additional envelope.

Select the Curve modulator by clicking the Curve button.

To create steps or a curve shape, draw by clicking and dragging in the display:

To switch between steps or a curve shape, click the Stepped button below the display.

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Set the number of steps (1-16) by clicking or dragging in the bar at the top of the curve display:

Set the speed of the Curve with the Rate knob.

If Beat Sync is on, the Rate value is shown as the length of the entire 16 step cycle. For example, if Rate is 4/4, each of the 16 steps corresponds to a 1/16 note.

Click the One Shot button to trig the curve once from the start when you play a note.

This makes it work like an envelope.

Click the Bipolar button if you want the values to be bipolar (+/-) instead of unipolar (+ only).

Click the Key Sync button to restart the Curve at every new Note On.

Click the Global button to make the Curve common for all voices (monophonic).

#Macro

There is also a Macro section which lets you name and assign two separate knobs as Sources in the Modulation Matrix, see “Modulation Matrix”. You could then assign these knobs to controls on your MIDI Keyboard/Control Surface.

Select the Macro section by clicking the Macro button.

Double click the Label 1 or Label 2 text, type in a custom name for your Macro knob and then hit [Enter].

This can be useful if you want to describe in text what the knob should do. Then, you can use the knobs as sources (Macro 1 and Macro 2) in the Modulation Matrix for controlling the Destination parameter(s) of your choice.

Click the Bipolar buttons if you want the knobs to send out bipolar (+ and -) values instead of unipolar (+) values.

#Modulation Matrix

The Modulation Matrix is used for routing a modulation Source to one or two modulation Destinations each. This creates a very flexible routing system.

The Modulation Matrix in Objekt is derived from the ones in the Europa and Grain devices, so if you are familiar with these, you will quickly find your way around in Objekt.

There are eight “Source –> Destination 1 –> Destination 2 –> Scale” busses, which all can be freely assigned.

A Source parameter can modulate two different Destination parameters per bus (with variable Amount settings). Each bus also has a Scale parameter that affects the relative modulation Amount for both Destinations.

Note that it is possible to assign the same source parameter as Source in several busses. This allows you to control more than two Destination parameters from the same Source.

Select the desired Source parameter by clicking in the corresponding Source box and selecting from the list.

The following parameters can be used as modulation Sources:

| Parameter

| Description

Velocity

This applies modulation according to the Keyboard Velocity values (how hard or soft you strike the MIDI keyboard keys).

Random 1/Random 2

This sends out a continuous random bipolar value each time a new note is played.

Key

This is the currently played key (i.e. keyboard tracking). If a positive Amount value is used and the destination is filter frequency, the filter frequency will track the keyboard, i.e. increase with higher notes.

Key In Octave

The current key played, but 12 different values, one for each note in an octave (regardless of in which octave you play). See the Percussion patches for examples of how to use this.

Black Key

This lets you modulate parameters from the black keys only. For example, you might want to have the black keys play back a percussion sound at a higher pitch (see the Agogo patch in the Percussion folder):

Black keys play back the sound at a higher pitch.

Single Key

This lets you modulate parameters individually from specific notes in the octaves.

Keys C and G modulating the Object 1 Pitch individually.

Last Voice

This lets you have a modulation source only affect the last voice in the sound, for example if you want to have Pitch Bend or Vibrato only affecting the last note in a chord. Here is an example where Last Voice is used for “scaling” (enabling) the Pitch Wheel:

Pitch Wheel only affects the last voice in the sound.

Envelope

This allows you to modulate parameters from the Noise Envelope in the “Exciter Noise section”.

LFO, Curve and Macro

This allows you to modulate parameters from “LFO 1&2”, “Curve” and the two “Macro” knobs respectively.

Obj 1 and Obj 2 Env Follower

This allows you to modulate parameters from the “invisible” amplitude envelope followers in the Object sections.

Ext. TrigPos

This allows you to modulate parameters from the current stereo position of the External In signal in the Exciter section, see “External Audio In”.

There is a trig detection on the External Audio input. When it’s triggered, the Ext. TrigPos value is latched and the “TrigPos” RND parameter gets a new random value. If you are inputting a continuous audio signal on the External Audio In, the audio might trig a little randomly, which might sound bad/strange if you are modulating the “TrigPos” destination parameter. It can therefore be good to turn down the “TrigPos” RND knob and the Ext. TrigPos AMT value if you are using a continuous audio signal on the External Audio In: