D16 LuSH-101 User manual
User Manual
Multitimbral Polyphonic Synthesizer
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Overview
Overview
LuSH-101 is a polyphonic subtractive synthesizer. Its structure is based on “layers” (LuSH-101 has 8 of them). In fact,
each Layer is an independent synthesizer with its own parameters and own polyphony. Each of the layers can listen to
different MIDI channel and respond to a different keyboard zone. In consequence, the synthesizer may work as multi-
timbral instrument, in which each Layer is controlled by a different MIDI channel. It is also possible to conveniently
make keyboard splits, where Layers listen to the same MIDI channel, by responding to disjunctive keyboard zones.
You can also create complex sound textures by overlapping Layers (listening to the same MIDI channel and responding
to the same keyboard zone).
LuSH-101 allows for convenient mixing of Layers within a specially designed for this purpose Mixer (built into the
LuSH-101), in which we can make a nal touch to a sound through parametric equalizers, compressors (one per each
channel) and 3 send effects (built-in the Mixer). Each of the tracks corresponding to one Layer or each of 3 available FX
tracks corresponding to 3 send effects can be sent to any of 11 available outputs.
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General signal ow
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Overview
The GUI of plug-in looks as follows:
At the top of GUI there is a bar called Control section:
Below the bar we can see a part of GUI, which is responsible for editing a single Layer (this is the default view, after
opening the LuSH-101 in a host application).
Graphical user interface
Control section
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In the Control section we can distinguish the following groups of controls:
• Options button, which enables access to an Options panel. The entire global conguration is performed from there.
• MIDI section contains a Midi act. LED indicating any activity from the MIDI port and the Midi Learn button which
enables the Midi Learn mode.
• Preset management section (for Global presets – preset types are described later)
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Overview
Synthesis view containing layer's parameters
Options (about) button
Midi section
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Overview
• Three rows of buttons to select a Layer for editing (rst row - Select), turning the Layer on/off (second row -
Enable) and / or muting / soloing the Layer (third row - Mute / Solo). Above, there is a row of Padlocks for locking
individual Layers, thus preventing overwriting selected Layers parameters when the Global Preset is loaded.
• Buttons for switching the GUI's View:
• Synthesis – Editing selected Layer's sound parameters.
• Master mixer – Mixing and combining the sound from all Layers together.
• Modulation matrix – Editing selected Layer's modulation matrix.
• Master volume knob - controlling overall volume of the output sound coming from the LuSH-101
Preset management section for global presets
Layer selector
View (tab) selector
Master volume knob
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Layer
Layer
We access Layer parameters by clicking the Synthesis button in the Control section:
They are displayed in the main part of GUI:
We can select, which Layer (from the 8 available) we want to edit using Layer select buttons in the Control section:
View (tab) selector
Synthesis view containing layer's parameters
Layer selector
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Layer
In a single Layer we can distinguish the following groups of controls:
• Layer settings:
• Timbre preset browser:
• Voices (polyphony management):
• Insert effect:
Layer settings
Timbre browser
Voices section
Insert effect section
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Layer
• Layer master:
• Set of sound parameters:
Layer master
Layer's sound parameters
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Layer • Layer settings
• Arpeggio / Gater – set of parameters controlling Layer Arpeggiator
Layer settings
Parameters from Layer settings, Voices section, Layer Master are stored per each layer independently.
Layer's sound parameters
Layer control parameters
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Layer • Layer settings
We can distinguish:
• Audio output
It is the number of the plug-in output (1-11), to which the signal from the Layer will be sent to. In LuSH-101 we have 11
stereo outputs to our disposal. We edit the number by dragging the LED display with the mouse. Practically, each LED
display-like control shown on a GUI is draggable (editable this way).
Note: this parameter is NOT stored within the preset of any kind, it is stored within the host application project only!
• MIDI channel
A MIDI channel on which the Layer is listening out (1-16) or All (Omni). If All is set, then the Layer listens out on all
channels on a MIDI port redirected to a LuSH-101.
Note: this parameter is NOT stored within the preset of any kind, it is stored within the host application project only!
• Transpose
Layer's audio output
Layer's midi channel
Layer's transpose
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Layer • Layer settings
Layer's transposition in the range of -24 to +24 halftones.
• Zone
Apart from the MIDI channel, we can also set a keyboard Zone, to which the Layer will be responding, by creating a
split, if keyboard zones are disjunctive and Layers listen to the same MIDI channel. The keyboard Zone is dened by
two notes, and contains all the notes between those two. The lower note denes the beginning (From) and the higher
note denes the end of the Zone (To).
Additionally we can use the Learn function to dene a Zone directly from the MIDI keyboard:
1. Press Learn button.
2. The plug-in is now waiting for two MIDI Note messages, by listening to all MIDI channels (ignoring Channel
number setting from Layer).
3. When you press two keys (at once or one by one) on your MIDI keyboard, the plug-in will automatically set the
beginning and the end of a Zone (From and To LED displays) taking the lower note as the beginning and the
higher note as the end.
• Voices - Polyphony settings:
In this section we can edit Polyphony and Portamento settings for the Layer:
Layer's zone
Voices - polyphony settings
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Layer • Layer settings
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• Voices – It is the total number of voices of Polyphony for Layer (up to 32 voices). If the number of voices is
equal to 1 then implicitly the Mono mode is set and other controls in this section start to work.
• Mono – This button turns on/off the Mono mode. If the number of voices of Polyphony is greater than 1, then
we may use this switch to overturn the Mono mode on. In this situation the Polyphony is automatically reduced
to one voice.
• Mode – This controls the Portamento mode and works only in the Mono mode and it has three values:
– Off – Portamento is off.
– On – Portamento is always on (for overlapping and non-overlapping MIDI notes).
– Auto – Portamento works only for overlapping MIDI notes.
• Time – It is the time of smooth pitch transition between two successively incoming notes.
Unison:
Unison mode allows to play a single note with a few voices of Polyphony at the time, in which each voice is slightly
changed (its Tune, Panorama or/and lter's Cutoff). By default, Unison mode is turned off (value of Voices shows 1).
Increasing Voices LED display in Unison section turns on Unison, and Spread knobs become active.
• Tune – The strength of detune voices in Unison.
• Pan – The spread of Panorama of voices in Unison.
• Cutoff – The strength of lter Cutoff spread among the voices of Unison.
Voices - unison settings
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Layer • Layer settings
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We need to remember that Unison mode “steals” Polyphony, e.g. when we set Unison to 2, we will not be able to set
the polyphony greater than 16, because it would exceed 32 voices in total (Unison voices * Polyphony).
Unison spread
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Timbre preset management section:
Presets in LuSH-101 can be created and stored on a few levels of hierarchy (for particular groups of parameters only
or for all of them), which denes a preset type. For a single Layer or for a combination of all 8 Layers with additional
parameters specic for a combination (like parameters of the Mixer). Presets prepared for a single Layer are called
Timbres and presets made for a combination of Layers are called Global presets.
In Timbre preset management section we have the following controls:
• Timbre name – The text box containing the name of currently loaded Timbre preset.
• Prev / Next – Those two buttons are used for linear navigation through the banks of Timbres.
• Browse – This button opens the Timbre preset browser.
• Save / Save as – Storing a current Timbre preset.
• Sett - Open the Layers' settings panel.
You will nd a detailed description of Preset management and Timbre management in the chapter Preset
management.
Prev / Next buttons used whileholding CTRL button (Apple CMD on MacOS) allow to Copy / Paste Layer's
parameters:
• Prev + CTRL - Copies parameters from currently selected Layer into a buffer.
• Next + CTRL - Pastes parameters from buffer onto selected Layer.
Layer • Layer settings
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Timbre browser
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Layer • Synthesis
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Synthesis
LuSH-101 is a subtractive synthesizer and the control of the signal ow used here does not differ substantially from
most of compact hardware or software synthesizers on the market. It encompasses all the elements and components
widely used in modern synthesizers.
Oscillators - VCO
LuSH-101 has four oscillators:
• Square with adjustable pulse width and HardSync option,
• Sawtooth with HardSync and SuperSaw options,
Note: Supersaw oscillator operates on mixing few sawtooth waveforms, each slightly detuned.
• Suboscillator with 5 different waveforms to select from:
• Square with 50 / 50 pulse width, one octave below base frequency,
• Sawtooth, one octave below base frequency,
• Square with 50 / 50 pulse width, two octaves below base frequency,
• Sawtooth, two octaves below base frequency,
• Square with 25 / 75 pulse width, two octaves below base frequency,
• Noise generator with three different colors to select from:
• White,
• Pink,
• Brown.
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Oscillators can be mixed together in proportions set by sliders placed in the Source mixer section:
Starting from the left side, sliders in this section are responsible for:
Layer • Synthesis
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Vco diagram
Synthesis - source mixer
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Layer • Synthesis
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• Volume of Square oscillator with adjustable pulse width.
• Volume of Sawtooth oscillator.
• Volume of Suboscillator.
• Volume of Noise generator.
LEDs (VOL x ENV1) above the SQR, SAW, SUB and Noise sliders allow independent (for each oscillator) modulation of
amplitude using ENV1 (rst envelope).
There are also two groups of radio buttons in the Source Mixer section:
• Wave – That chooses one of the ve available waveforms for the suboscillator
• Noise type – Responsible for selecting a noise type for the noise oscillator
Oscillator's independent amplitude modulation by ENV1
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HardSync
Usually HardSync requires two oscillators. One of them restarts the period of the second one. Master – which has
constant frequency based only on note's frequency, Slave – which has frequency based on note frequency varied
by additional modulation sources (like envelope or LFO). Master restarts Slave's period. In LuSH-101 HardSync is
possible, because it uses implicitly the second hidden oscillator for PWM Square generator and Sawtooth generator.
HardSync can be controlled and activated in Pitch / Sync section on GUI (two last sliders on the right and the LED
above them).
• Sync – HardSync activation and deactivation
• Offset – Frequency offset of the slave oscillator
• Mix – This is a cross-fade between Slave oscillator and the mixed 50 / 50 Slave and Master oscillators.
When HardSync is enabled the pitch modulation (Mod fader in Pitch / Sync section) affects the Slave's oscillator
frequency only.
Layer • Synthesis
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Noise type and waveform radio groups
Pitch / sync section
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Layer • Synthesis
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Supersaw
Two last sliders in the Source Mixer section and the LED above them are responsible for controlling the SuperSaw
mode for the Sawtooth oscillator.
Supersaw LED activates and deactivates that mode, and parameters:
• Amt. - Amount, the effect strength, the bigger the value is, the more saw oscillators are added.
• Detune – This is the detune value between additional saw oscillators.
Note: Please note that SuperSaw and HardSync cannot work at once. If you turn on HardSync mode, SuperSaw will be
automatically disabled.
Supersaw works alternatively to Sawtooth oscillator, therefore, the amplitude of Supersaw is controlled by
Sawtooth's volume fader in the Source Mixer section.
Supersaw parameters
Synthesis - source mixer
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Layer • Synthesis
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Pulse Width Modulation – PWM
The three parameters in Pulse section are responsible for controlling the pulse width of the rst oscillator in the
Source Mixer section:
• Width – Pulse width of square wave.
• Mod – Amount of pulse width modulation by a modulation source.
• Source - Selection of modulation source: LFO1, LFO2, ENV1, ENV2
Envelope generators
Envelopes can be used for controlling the signal amplitude, lters, sound pitch or pulse width. We have two generators
to our disposal in the Layer. Their controls on GUI are located in sections: ENV1 and ENV2.
PWM diagram
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