Befaco KICKALL User manual

K I C K A L L
U S E R A N U A L

K I C K A L L P O W E R & I N T R O
P O W E R I N G T H E
O D U L E
U S E R A N U A L
T H A N K S F O R P U R C H A S I N G A O D U L E F R O B E FA C O !
B E F O R E Y O U P L U G T H I S O D U L E I N . . .
1. Disconnect our cabinet from the mains.
2. Triple check the power cord polarit . The coloured line on the cable
(pin number one) is the -12V rail.
3. If you plug the module backwards you might burn it out and
unfortunately this is not covered by the warranty.
4. If you have any questions about this product please send them to:
[e-mail]
I N T R O D U C T I O N K I C K A L L
Kickall is an analog bassdrum module capable of generate a vast palette of kick sounds as well as others like
percussions or basslines. The module can also track with precise V/Oct scalling via its Tune input allowing you
to fit your kicks in the mix perfectly.
O D U L E
R E F E R E N C E PA N E L O V E R V I E W
1. Volume Input
Voltage Control Input of the internal
VCA. Range: 0-10V.
2. Trigg Input
This input trigs the internal VCA
Envelope. Input thresold: 3,5V
3. Out
ain Output of the module.
4. Tune
This knob controls the tune of the
sound around the first two octaves.
5. Trigg Button
anual trigger for the internal VCA
envelope.
6. Shape
This control morphs the signal
waveform from sine to square
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7. Time
anual control for the Pitch Envelope
decay time
8. Bend
This knob acts as attenuator for the
Pitch Envelope.
9. Decay
anual control for the VCA Envelope
decay time.
10. Tune Input
Voltage Control Input for Oscillator
tune. It tracks on V/Oct standard up
to ten octaves.
11. Shape Input
Voltage Control Input of Shape
parameter. Range: 0-1 0V.
12. Decay Input
Voltage Control Input of Decay
parameter. Range: +/-10V.

K I C K A L L B L O C K D I A G R A
O D U L E
R E F E R E N C E
U S E R A N U A L
K I C K A L L S I G N A L P A T H E X P L A N A T I O N
SI G N AL PATH
Kickall's signal path is based on the classical bass drum patch that we've been using for years.
On signal path, this patch starts with a sinewave oscillator that pass across a ine to quare
VC Waveshaper and two VCA's . In control path we have two envelope circuits to modulate
oscillator's pitch and first VCA.
Both envelopes are fired by a trigger circuit that can be activated manually or via the dedicated
trigger input.
Kickall implements a high precision Tune section formed by a dedicated pot and CV input. With
the Tune pot, you can adjust precisely the tuning of the sound around aprox. two octaves, being
the first note, with the pot counterclockwise A0 and the last note, with the pot fully clockwise B2 .
Through its Tune input, Kickall is capable to track eight octaves with high accuracy . This
input works under V/Oct standard so you just need to plug your favourite sequencer or CV source
to create sequences and patterns out of the Kick range.
The Pitch dedicated envelope has two parameters: Time and Bend . Time controls the decay of the
envelope, allowing you to adjust the amount of time that the envelope will be open. On the other
hand, Bend sets the amplitude of this envelope, limiting the range of pitch that will be
modulated by the envelope . Both controls are excluvisely manual.
Just playing with those two parameters we can drastically change the character of our sound
from deep sub-basses to even snappy percusions .
The Volume envelope adjusts the opening of the first VCA. Unlike Pitch envelope, it only have
control over the Decay but it's both manual and CV controlled .
At the end of the path we have a second VCA with dedicated CV input. Feeding this input with
different CV signals (or even audio) we can make a basic AM operation expanding the
sonic range of the module .
This input is normalled so when no CV is present we will have full volume of the signal.
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O D U L O I S C E L A N E AU S E R A N U A L
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A factory assembled module is shipped tuned to 1 V/oct. However, sometimes you may want to
make your own calibration.
The tuning procedure is an iteration of successive approximations. We will try in each iteration to
get closer to a perfect tune. Just follow the next steps and your Kickall will be ready to go in a
few minutes.
1 - Turn the knobs to the following position: TUNE: Center
BEND and TIME: inimum (counterclockwise)
DECAY: aximum (slider upper position)
HAPE: aximum (fully clockwise)
2 - Feed the TRIG input with a very fast trigger signal (a square signal from an oscillator can
work too)
3 - Plug a V/Oct signal from a well calibrated CV source like a sequencer or a keyboard into
the TUNE input and connect the OUT of the module to a tuner .
Note: if you don't have a hardware tuner you can connect the module to your audio interface and
use a software tuner as well.
4 - Send a voltage of 0V from your CV source and check the tuner, adjuts the TUNE knob till
your tuner shows C1 note. Be patience on this step, on the low frequency range is a bit harder to
be precise.
5 - Send a voltage of 4V from your CV source and check the tuner, adjuts the ZZZ trimmer
located on the upper part of the module (the little blue one) with a small flat screw driver till
your tuner shows you a C5 note.
6 - Now send again a 0V voltage and check the tuner. You will notice that it is not showing
you the C1 note that we adjust before but we are closer than the first time. Let's repeat
steps 4 and 5 till we get C1 and C5 in both.
Once this is done, send other notes from the CV source and check the tuner, to make sure the
whole range is tracking. If not, repeat steps 4 and 5 again till you get it.
O D U L E
R E F E R E N C E C A LI B R A T I O N P R O C E D U R E
I S C E L A N E A S P E C S & C R E D I T S
* ize : 6HP
* Depth : 20mm
* +1 2v: 30mA
* -1 2v: 30mA
* Design : Jaume Olivé & Befaco