D16 Group NEPHETON 2 User manual

User Manual
16 November 2023, 14:00

Requirements
Soware and hardware requirements:
Windows PC
OS version Windows 7 or newer
CPU Intel x86 / AMD x86
Soware VST2/VST3/AAXcompablehostapplicaon(32bitor64bit)
Apple Mac
OS version OS X 10.13 or newer
CPU Intel x86 / Apple Silicon
RAM 8GB(16GBRecommended)
Soware AU/VST2/VST3/AAXcompablehostapplicaon(64bit!)
Hardware requirements / recommendaons are based on esmates performed on available computers at D16 Group HQ,
and therefore cannot cover all possible conguraons available on the market. CPU usage may vary widely depending on the
manner in which the product is used. Factors that may contribute to variance in CPU usage include parcular patch and its
complexity, the global quality seng, project sample rate. In order to form a beer understanding of how a plug-in will behave
within your current setup, we highly recommend downloading the demo and giving it a try.
2
RequiRements •

Preliminary informaon
Thischaptercontainsgeneraladviceforusingtheplug-in’sinterface.
To do a right-click on macOS with single buon mouse:
EitherclickyourmousewhileholdingtheCTRLkeyonyourkeyboardorusetwongersonyourtouchpad.
Checking the value of a parameter
Right-clickonanyparametertocheckitsvalueinitscontextmenu:
A parameter’s context menu
Note: It’s currently not possible to enter a precise value in the input box; it’s just to check the value.
Fine-tuning connuous parameters
Tweakacontrol(knob)whileholdingtheCTRLkey(onWindows)orAppleCMDkey(onmacOS)-thiswillmakethe
tweakingmoreprecisewhilemovingthemousepointerupanddown.
Double-click to reset a connuous parameter’s value
Double-clickingonaparameterrestoresitsvaluetotheinialstate,eitherdefault(rightaerloadingtheplug-in/
loadingitalongwithaprojectle)orfromthemostrecentlyloadedpreset.
Enabling parameters for automaon
Nepheton 2hasthousandsofsoundparametersandVST/AU/AAXhostautomaonallowsonlyahandfulofautomatable
parameters so by default all parameters are disabled for automaon.
Usingtheparameter’scontextmenu(describedabove),youcanenableautomaonforanyparametersyouwishto
controlexternally:
Enabling a parameter for automaon
3
PReliminaRy infoRmation •

Interface overview
Aerloadingtheplug-inintothehostapplicaon,theNepheton graphicalinterfacewillappear:
The Nepheton Graphical User Interface
Nepheton’sinterfaceissplitintotwomainparts:theSound Controlsecon-responsibleforcontrollingNepheton’s
sound-generaonopons…
The Sound Control secon
…andtheInternal Sequencer -responsibleforeding/replayingpaerns.AvailableonlywhileInt Seq mode is
enabled.
4
inteRface oveRview •

The Internal Sequencer
The sound control secon
Thisseconisresponsibleforgenerangandprocessingsound.
The Sound Control secon
Preset browsers
Thetoppartofthe Sound Controlseconcontainsthe Preset Managementsubsecons:
The Preset Management secons
Therearetwotypesofpresetsmanagedfromhere.
• TheScenepresetssecon(tothele)-AScene holdsinformaonformuchoftheplug-instate,includingsound
parameters(intheSound Controlsecon),thestateofInt Seqoponandenrepaernstorage(forinternal
Sequencer).
• TheDrum Kitpresetssecon(totheright)-CoversonlythesoundparametersfromtheSound Controlsecon:
parametersforalldrumsounds,twoeectBuses and Master eects.
Bothsubseconshavethefollowingcontrols:
• Preset display-Opensabrowsertoload,saveandmanagepresets(moreonthatinthePreset Management part
ofthemanual).
• Save buon-Savescurrentsoundsengsasanewpreset.
5
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Generang drum sounds
Nepheton isadrummachinecomprising17synthesizedpercussioninstruments(theSynth view).Eachoftheinstru-
mentshasitsownindependenteectchain(Stripsview)andcanthenberouted/senttooneoftwoBuseects(inthe
boompartofthe Sound Controlsecon)ordirectlyontotheMastereectchain(Masterview).
ToswitchbetweenallavailableviewsintheSound Controlsecon,usetheView selector:
The View selector in the Sound Control secon
Theparametersforall17instrumentsareavailableintheSynth view:
The Synth view
Theparameterscorrespondwiththefollowingdrumsounds:
• Bass Drum
• Laser Gun
• Snare Drum
• Rim Shot
• Hand Clap
• Low Conga
• Mid Conga
• High Conga
• Low Tom
• Mid Tom
• High Tom
• Closed Hihat
• Open Hihat
• Cymbal
• Claves
• Maracas
• Cow Bell
6
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Eachoftheseinstrumentshaveacommonparameter:
Level-Setstheoutputvolumeforeachinstrument,placedaeritseectstripintheStrips view.
Andindividualparameters:
• Bass Drum:
• Tone –Volumeoftheinialclick.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• Sweep–Releasemeoffrequencyenvelope.
• Snare Drum:
• Tone–Crossfadebetweenaudibleoneandtwooscillators.
• Decay–Noiseamplitudereleaseme.
• Snappy–Crossfadebetweennoisyandmuddysound.
• Low Conga, Mid Conga, High Conga:
• Tunning–Basefrequency.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• Low Tom, Mid Tom, High Tom:
• Tunning–Basefrequency.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• Snappy–Crossfadebetweendirtyandcleansound.
• Claves:
• Tunning–Basefrequency.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• Rim Shot:
• Tunning–Basefrequency.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• Maracas:
• Tone – Noise color.
• Hand Clap:
• Tone–Filter’scutofrequency.
• Reverb–Reverb’sdecayme.
• Cow Bell:
• Tunning–Basefrequency.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• Laser Gun:
• Depth–Frequencyenvelopemodulaon.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• Sweep–Releasemeoffrequencyenvelope.
• Cymbal:
• Tone–Aack.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• HH Frq–Basefrequencyforasquareoscillators,whichareusedtogeneratethenoisesound.
• Open Hihat, Closed Hihat:
• Tone–Noisecolour.
• Decay–Amplitudereleaseme.
• HH Frq–Basefrequencyforasquareoscillators,whichareusedtogeneratethenoisesound.
7
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Mute / solo LEDs
WhenNephetonisplaying,itispossibletoturnindividualinstrumentsOn or OusingtheMute / SoloLEDswitches;
thesestopthetriggeringoftheinstrumentsbutallowthesoundstoplayunltheendoftheenvelope.Thisstopsa
rapidcutinthesound,makingthetransionmorenatural.
The Mute / Solo LED switches
Drum sounds acvity
TheLEDsnexttoeachinstrument’snamelightupwhentheinstrumentistriggeredandstartstoplay:
The acvity LEDs
Thiswayit’seasiertobesurewhichdruminstrumentsareengagedandwhen.
Drum sounds’ individual eect chains
Eachofthe17 drumsoundshasitsowndedicatedchannelstripwhereitcanbefurtherprocessedthroughadedicated
chainofeects.Togetaccesstothedrumsounds’channelstripsweneedtoswitchtoStrips view:
The Strips view
TheInstrument Selectorseconallowsustoselectwhichinstrument’schannelstripweedit:
The Instrument Selector secon
8
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Onceaninstrumentisselected,wegetaccesstoitseectchain:
Selecng a Drum Sound’s eect chain
Drum sound synth parameters
EacheectchainstartswiththesynthparametersfromtheSynthesis view,foreaseofeding:
A drum sound’s parameters
9
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Filter / EQ
Then,thedrumsoundgoesintotheFilter / EQ:
The Filter / EQ secon
WhichcanbeEnabled / DisabledusingthetoggleLEDintheupper-rightcornerofthesecon:
The LED to enable / disable the Filter / EQ
TherstcolumnofparameterscontrolsLow Cut and High CutlterswithsharedResonance:
The Low Cut / High Cut lters
• Hi Cut -SetstheHigh Cutlter’sfrequency.
• Resonance -SetsthelevelofemphasisforbothLow Cut and High Cutlters.
• Low Cut-SelectstheLow Cutlter’sfrequency.
10
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Thetwoconsecuvecolumnscontrolatwo-bandParametric EQ (onecolumnsforeachband):
The parametric EQ
• Freq -Adjuststhecenterfrequencyofthebandlter’speak.
• Width -Broadensornarrowsthefrequencyrangeofthebandfrom4to 0.5 octaves.
• Gain -Boostsoraenuatestheamplitudeofthebandbyupto+/- 24 dB.
• EQ 1 Enable / EQ 2 Enable-Enables / Disablesthecorrespondingband.
11
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Compressor
TheCompressorseconfollowstheFilter / EQ:
The Compressor secon
AtoggleLEDintheupper-rightcornerofthisseconEnables or Disablestheeect:
Enabling / Disabling the Compressor
Thecompressoriscontrolledbythefollowingsetofparameters:
• Look A.-(Lookahead)Allowsthecompressorto“see what’s coming”,tobeerpredictsignallevelchangesand
allowforprecisepeakdeteconatthecostoflatency;
• O -Theoponisdisabled(noLook Ahead).
• 1ms -1mslookahead.
• 5ms -5mslookahead.
• Pre Eq-Ifdisabled,thesoundisrstprocessedbytheFilter / EQandthenbytheCompressor.Ifenabled,the
soundisrstprocessedbytheCompressor andthenbytheFilter / EQ.
• Threshold -Adjuststheamplitudedeteconthresholdbetween0and -48 dB.
• Rao-Adjuststhecompressionrao between 1:1 and 1:20.
• Aack -Setstheaackmeforthecompressor’senvelopebetween1and 500 ms.
• Release-Setsthereleasemeforthecompressor’senvelopebetween1and 500 ms.
12
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Signal roung
Thetworemainingsecons,Audio Out and Bus Send,areresponsibleforredirecngthesignalleavingtheStrip:
Roung the signal as it leaves the Strip
FromtheAudio Outsecon,wecandecidewheretodirecttheStrip’soutput;itcanberoutedtooneoftheFX Buses
ordirectlytotheMastereectchain.
TheBus SendsecondecideshowmuchsignalfromAudio OutissenttooneofthetwoFX Buses,relavetothe
outputLevel set in Audio Outsecon-theprincipleissimilartomixersends
Audio Out
Here,you’llndthefollowingsetofparameters:
• Route To-Thedesnaontowhichthesignalisroutedto;
• Mast-Mastereectchain.
• Bus 1-FirstFX Bus.
• Bus 2-SecondFX Bus.
• Bus Slot -Ifthe Route Toparameterissettooneofthe Buses,wecanalsodecideatwhichBus Slotthesignal
enterstheBuseectchain.EachBusisaseriesof5 eectsworkinginachainsothereare5 slotswherethe
signalcanenter.Ifwesettheslotto1,thenthesignalisroutedtotherst eectinthechainandthenfurther
processedbytherestoftheBus.If2,thenthesignalisroutedtothesecond eect(omingtherstone)then
furtherprocessedbythe restofthe Bus (byconsecuveeectsinthechain-the3rd, 4th and 5th).
BUS CHAIN
FX 1 FX 2 FX 3 FX 4 FX 5
OUT OUT OUT OUT OUTIN IN IN IN IN
IN
BUS SLOT
1
2
3
4
5
BUS INPUT BUS INPUT
A diagram showing the Bus Slots
Youcanndmoreon BusesintheFX Buses chapter.
• St. Spread -AdjuststhedelaybetweenLe / Right stereochannels.
• Panning -Adjustsstereopanning.
• Level -Setstheoutputsignalvolumebeforeit’sroutedtoitsdesnaon.
13
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Bus Send
Thisseconiscontrolledbythefollowingsetofparameters:
• Route To-Thesignalleavingthestripissentto;
• Bus 1-FirstFX Bus.
• Bus 2-SecondFX Bus.
• Bus Slot -SelectswhichBus Slot thesignalissenttowithintheBuschosenbyRoute To.
• St. Spread -AdjuststhedelaybetweenLe / Rightstereochannels.
• Panning -Adjustsstereopanning.
• Pre Lev -IfPre Levelisenabled,thesignallevel(controlledbytheAmount knob)senttoitsdesnaonispropor-
onaltotheLevelsengintheAudio Outsecon.When Pre Levelisdisabled,the Amountisindependentof
theLevel parameter.
• Amount-Setsthevolumeofthesignalsenttoitsdesnaon
AUDIO OUT
BUS SEND
IN
INs
PRE. LEVEL
OUT
LEVEL
AMOUNT
ROUTE TO
BUS or MASTER
BUS
ROUTE TO
A diagram showing Amount and Pre Level dependency
Drum Sounds’ presets
ThePresetsdisplayintheStrip viewletsyoumanagepresetsforindividualdrumsounds:
The Drum Sounds’ Presets display
Clickingthedisplayopensabrowsertoload,saveandmanagePresets(moreonthatinthePreset Management part
ofthemanual).
Copy / Paste funcons for strip’s secons
TheCopy / PasteiconsintheFilter / EQ and Comp. secons;
The Copy / Paste funcons for a Strip’s secons
Theseallowyoutoduplicatethesecon’sparametervaluesbetweendierentdrumsounds.
14
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

FX Buses
InthemiddlepartoftheGUI,therearetwoFX Bussecons:
The FX Bus secons
TheyarelabeledBus 1 and Bus 2 andworkindependentlyofeachother.
EachBusisachainof5eectsworkinginseries.WhenasignalentersaBus, it’sprocessedbytheeectinSlot 1,then
theeectinSlot 2andsoonunlit’sprocessedbythelastone,Slot 5;itthenleavestheBus.Beforethesignalleaves
a Bus,wecanadjustitsoutputlevelusingtheLevel knobs:
The Level knobs in the Buses
Busesarefedbysignalsfromindividualdruminstruments(theStrips),whicharethenprocessedbythe Buses and
connueontotheMastereectchain.
Graphically,theeectschaininBusesisorganizedastabs.Wecanaccesseacheect’sparametersbyclickingacorre-
spondingtab:
The Bus tabs
Bydefault,onlyessenalparametersareshowninthetab’scontent.ClickingtheMorebuonina Bus expandsthe
secon,allowingaccesstoallparametersfortheeects:
30 Accessing the complete range of parameters in the Bus eects secon
15
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Eect reordering / swapping
TheeectsinaBusarereorderableusingsimplemousedrag-and-dropontabheaderswithinaBus.
Re-ordering the eects in a Bus
It’salsopossibletoswapeectsbetweenBuses.Todothat,selecttheeectsyouwanttoswapineachBus:
Swapping eects between Buses
Next,clicktheArrowsiconabovetheheaderineitherofthetwoacveeectstoperformtheswap.
Bus 1 setup
Formoreadvancedroung,it’spossibletoredirecttheoutputfromBus 1 intotheMastereectchainandaddionally
tosplitthesignalandalsosendittoBus 2.Toaccessthisopon,usetheSetupbuonintheBus 1secon:
The Setup buon in Bus 1
Thefollowingparametersareavailable:
• Amount-Setstheamountofsignalthat’llbesenttoBus 2,proporonal tothe Bus 1 Levelvalue.
• Bus slot-DecideswhichslotinBus 2thatthesignalwillbesentto.
• Pre Level -IfPre Levelisenabled,thesignallevel(controlledbytheAmount knob)senttoitsdesnaonispropor-
onaltotheBus Level value.When Pre Levelisdisabled,the AmountisindependentoftheLevel parameter.
16
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Available algorithms
Thereare10 eectinstancesavailableintotal(5per Bus),butonly8 dierent algorithmssincetherearesomedupli-
catesformorecommonlyusedones(EQ and Dynamics).
Distoron
TheDistoronisanemulateddiode-clipperstyledistoroneectwithprecompressionandoponalcrossover.
The Distoron eect
Thefollowingparametersareavailable:
Pre amplicaon
• Dynamics -(Single-knobcompressor)Turnclockwisetoincreasetheamountofcompressionfortheinputsignal
priortoclipping.
• Before-Decideswherethecompressorislocatedinthesignalow.ThismakesadierenceonlywhenCrossover
isacve.IfCrossoverisdisabled,thisparameterdoesnothingandcompressionisperformedbeforeclipping;
• Clip-Compressionisdoneaerthesignalisdividedintotwobandsandappliedonlyonthehigherband
(theClipper’sinput)andbeforeclipping.
• Split-Compressionisappliedbeforethesignalissplitintotwobands,soaectsHigher and Lower bands.
Crossover
• Enable-Enablesthe2-wayCrossover.Whenacvated,thesignalissplitintotwoseparatefrequencybands;
Lower,whichbypassestheClipperandgoesdirectlytotheDistoron’soutput.Higher,whichgoesintothe
Clipper,soonlyhighertonesaredistortedwhilelowerfrequenciesremainintact.IfCrossoverisdisabledthen
otherparametersfromthisseconremaininacve.
• Split Freq.-Decidesthefrequencywherethesignalisdividedintotwobands.
• Gap -SetsthegapbetweenLower and Higherbands;
• IftheGap = 0thenthetwobandsareconjoined.
• IftheGap > 0thenthebandsaredisjointandthere’sagapbetweenLower and Higher bands;thebigger
thevalue,thegreaterthegap(expressedinOctaves).
• IftheGap < 0thenthebandsoverlap.Thelowerthevalue,thebiggerthecommonpartofthebands
(expressedinnegave Octaves).
17
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

LOWER
BAND
LOWER
BAND
LOWER
BAND
HIGHER
BAND
HIGHER
BAND
HIGHER
BAND
SPLIT FREQUENCY
GAP = 0
GAP > 0
GAP > 0
A diagram showing the Distoron’s crossover
Clipper
• Preamp-SetsthelevelofsignalamplicaonintheDiode clipper.
• Threshold -Setsthelevelofamplitudeabovewhichsignaldistoronoccurs.
• Knee -SetsthekneeshapefortheDiode clipper.
Mix
• Low Out -SetstheoutputvolumeofthelowerbandthatbypassestheClipper.Thisparameterisacveonly
whenCrossover is Enabled.
• Clip Out -SetstheoutputvolumeofthesignalleavingtheClipper.
• FX -CrossfadesbetweenDry and Wet signal.
Parametric EQ
Nepheton 2oersafour-bandParametric EQ.Theeectcompriseslowerandhigherbandltersthatcanwork
independentlyineitherlowand/orhighshelf/cutmodes.Addionally,therearetwobell/peakingEQlters.
TherearetwoinstancesoftheeectintheFX Bus chains.
A parametric EQ
Theeecthasthefollowingparameters:
18
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Lower and Higher Bands
• Mode-Setsthemodeinwhichthebandoperates.
• Cut-Setsthebandtoworkasacutlter.
• Shelf-SetsthebandtoworkasshelfEQ.
• Res / Width -ControlsResonance whileinCut mode or slope WidthwhileinShelf mode.
• Freq -AdjuststhefrequencyoftheShelf / Cut lter.
• Gain -SetstheGainvaluefortheShelflter.DoesnothinginCut mode.
Bell lter / parametric EQ
TherearetwoBellltersinanEQ:
• Freq -Setsthecenterfrequencyofthepeak.
• Gain-Boostsoraenuatestheamplitudeoftheband.
• Width-Broadensornarrowsthefrequencyrangeoftheband.
Delay
Nepheton 2oersadelayeectwithamul-modelterinthefeedbackloopandatemposynchronizeopon.
The Delay eect
Delay loop
• Rate-Controlsdelaymeandrangesbetween1-1000ms,ifSync is O.Itcanalsobesettooneofthefour
notevaluesifSyncissettoanyotherposion:1/32, 1/16, 1/8 and ¼.
• Sync-Syncsthedelaylinetotheclock/tempoofthehostapplicaon.Synccantakeoneofthefollowingvalues;
• O-Synchronizaonisinacveanddelayme,controlledbytheRate parameter, is expressed
in milliseconds.
• Full-SynchronizaonisenabledanddelaymeisequaltothefullnotevaluesetbytheRate display,
relavetothehosttempo.
• Dot -SynchronizaonisenabledanddelaymeisequaltothedoednotevaluesetbytheRate display,
relavetothehosttempo.
• Tri-SynchronizaonisenabledanddelaymeisequaltothetripletnotevaluesetbytheRate display,
relavetothehosttempo.
• Feedback -Delayloopfeedbackvalue.
• Spread -StereospreadbetweenLe/Rightchannels.
19
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion

Feedback loop’s lter
• Type-Filtermode;
• O-Filterdisabled
• Low-pass
• Band-pass
• High-pass
• Cuto-Cutofrequency
• Reso-Filter’sresonance
Mixer
• FX -CrossfadesbetweenDry and Wetsignals
Reverb
TheReverbeectisanalgorithmicreverberaonunitwithEarly and Latereeconsecons.
The Reverb secon
TheReverbiscontrolledbythefollowingsetofparameters;
• Pre. Del.-Setsthedelaybetweenthedrysignalandreverberaon.
Early reecons
• Size-Setstheroomsizeforearlyreeconsonly.
• Diusion -Setsthereecngsurface’sabilitytospreadtheechoout.Ifthisparameterissettoitslowestvalue,
thereecngsurfaceisperfectlyatanddoesnotdistortthereectedwave.Ifsettoitshighestvalue,the
reecngsurfacedistortswavesandspreadsthemoutindierentdirecons.
• Color-Changesthereeconcharacterofthesurfaces;thegreaterthevalue,thebrighterthesound.
• Modulate-Controlsthereecons’connuousvariaon.
Late reecons
• Size-Setstheroomsizeforlatereeconsonly.
• Diusion-asabove.
• Color-asabove.
• Feedback-Controlshowmuchwaveenergyisconsumedbyreecon.Thesmallerthevalue,themoreenergyis
consumed,meaningthefeedbackisweaker.
• Modulate-asabove.
Mix
• ER / LT-Crossfadesbetweenearlyandlatereecons’outputs.
• FX -CrossfadesbetweenDry and Wet signals.
20
inteRface oveRview • The sound conTrol secTion