acid rain technology Maestro User manual

maestro
clocked modulation controller rmware version 1.0
65mA +12 / 18mA -12 20 HP / 25mm Deep Reverse Power Protection Made in USA
We guarantee our products to be free from manufacturing defects (materials or workmanship) for one year from the date of the
original retail purchase (receipt or invoice required). For more information please visit www.acidraintechnology.com.
About Maestro
Maestro is a 6 channel clocked modulation controller
inspired by the automation lanes found in digital audio
workstation software, brought into eurorack and made
playable and performable. Maestro will push and pull
the parameters of your other modules with rapid or
slowly evolving voltages, always in perfect sync with
eachother and the rest of your system.
Hardware
Maestro is comprised of 6 identical channels, each with
an output (4), gate or trigger input (5), output state LED
(6) and channel button (19). Maestro’s tempo is
displayed in 4 pulses per quarter note on the clock LED
(3) and the module can be externally clocked and reset
on inputs (2). Maestro’s clock and reset signals are
present on outputs (1).
Each channel is assigned a clock division or
multiplication from the timing buttons (15) that can be
modified by the triplet (16) or slow (17) buttons. See
diagram of timings on next page.
Each channel is assigned a waveform from the
waveform buttons (8) that can be modified by the
smooth (12) and bipolar (13) buttons. Bipolar changes a
channel’s output between 0 to +5V and -5V to +5V. See
diagrams of waveforms on next page.
Mute (18) will mute or unmute selected channels.
Chain (14) enters the chain menu where multiple
waveforms can be sequenced in a row. See description
on next page.
Clock (11) enters the clock settings menu. See
description on next page.
Save (9) and load (10) enter the save and load menus
where channel settings can be saved and recalled from
the micro SD card (7). See description on next page.
-12 red Maestro requires a +12V / -12v power supply with a 2x5 pin ribbon cable (included). The red line of the ribbon
cable must be aligned with the -12V marking next to the module’s power header and on your case’s power
distribution board. Maestro draws 65mA from the +12 rail and 18mA from the -12 rail. Please ensure you have
enough power available before installing.
maestro
reset I II III IV V VI
clock
mute
1/2
I II III IV V
triplet slow
smooth bipolar
VI
chain
clock
1/4 1/8 1/16
high low square random
1/32
save load
Quick Reference Guide
full manual available on acidraintechnology.com
7
4
5
6
1
2
3
18
910 11
12 13 14
16 17
15
8
19

Clock Menu
When Maestro is internally clocked, the
(clock) button enters a menu to change
clock settings. (high) is a manual reset for
the internal clock. (low) resets the internal
clock tempo to 120bpm. ( ) is a manual
tap tempo for the internal clock. ( )
increases and ( ) decreases the internal
clock tempo by 5bpm. Holding (slow)
while adjusting the tempo moves in 1bpm
increments. (random) sets the internal
clock to a random tempo between 60
and 180bpm. (mute) stops and starts
the internal clock. Pressing (clock) while
inside the clock menu will exit the menu.
Save/Load Menu
The (save) and (load) buttons enter the
save and load menus, respectively. Here,
the entire state of the module is stored in
one of 14 save slots represented by the
middle two rows of buttons. Save data is
stored on the included micro SD card,
and loaded into internal memory when
Maestro is powered on. This allows saves
to be recalled almost instantly and used
as a live performance tool without clock
sync issues. If specific channel buttons
are selected before or while inside the
save menu, data from a save slot will only
be saved or loaded for those channels.
Pressing (save) or (load) while inside the
save or load menu will exit the menu.
Chain Menu
The (chain) button enters the chain
menu, where multiple waveforms can
be chained together and assigned to a
channel to play back in sequence, either
at the channel’s timing setting or a
specific timing for one of the waveforms.
After entering the menu, waveforms are
selected in sequence - if a specific timing
is desired for one of the waveforms, it is
selected before the waveform. Once a
chain of waveforms has been entered, if
one or more channel buttons are selected
pressing (chain) will apply the chain to
those channels. If no channels are
selected, pressing (chain) will prompt
you to select channels. Select a channel
to apply the chain to, and press (chain) to
apply the chain and exit the menu.
maestro
reset I II III IV V VI
clock
mute
1/2
I II III IV V
triplet slow
smooth bipolar
VI
chain
clock
1/4 1/8 1/16
high low square random
1/32
save load
maestro
reset I II III IV V VI
clock
mute
1/2
I II III IV V
triplet slow
smooth bipolar
VI
chain
clock
1/4 1/8 1/16
high low square random
1/32
save load
maestro
reset I II III IV V VI
clock
mute
1/2
I II III IV V
triplet slow
smooth bipolar
VI
chain
clock
1/4 1/8 1/16
high low square random
1/32
save load
timing settings t = triplet s = slow
waveform examples
1/16
1/8
clock pulses
+ smooth + smooth random random + smooth
square chain
1/41/32
1/4t
1/2 1/2t 1/4s 1/4ts 1/8s 1/8ts 1/16s 1/16ts 1/32s
8 16 32 64 128
+ smooth + smooth