EMS iVCS3 User manual

iVCS3 ©is the official EMS emulator. You can learn all that you need to know
about the EMS VCS3™from the original User Manual or from the many
resources now online.
Important Changes (Since Ver. 1.6)
In this version we have updated the Samplers (see back panel). This new
implementation adds many new interesting features such as Loop Crossfade,
Wave Scrubbing, Precise Zoom etc. When you save a new preset, all
sampler information (file name, loop-point, start-point) are saved. But since
this new update implements our new sampler, the presets saved with the old
sampler are no longer available for the loop-points parameter. So we suggest
you may need to resave your presets.
Almost all the build-in Preset Banks have been updated, they have more
consistent levels & panning now. Users of previous versions can restore the
Factory Presets from the Preset Manager to benefit from these new
improvements. See the Preset Manager for more details.
Also the In-App purchase ‘LALA - Sonic Pleasures library' has now been
updated. To get the new version, press ‘Restore Purchases’ under Presets
and Mod. Shop.
Important Changes (Since Ver. 1.1.3)
The Ramp wave of VCO 1 has been reversed in polarity, exactly as on the
original Putney VCS3.
The Square wave of VCO 2 and VCO 3 has been modified to recreate the
offset drift during PWM (Pulse Width Modulation), exactly as on the original
Putney VCS3.
The!Triangular/Ramp wave of VCO 3 has been redesigned to reproduce
better original PWM wave shaping and amplitude, exactly as on the original
Putney VCS3.
The changes in VCO, VCA and VCF implementations can affect the resulting
sound of some old presets. But only for the CONTROL INPUT MATRIX
marked with ‘I’, ‘J’, ‘K’, ’N’, ‘O’ and ‘P’, do we suggest updating the old
presets.

The novel glide parameter was introduced to enhance the sound quality of
the VCF and optimize the smoothing of the cutoff frequency control.!You can
adjust and trim this parameter (Settings) to get the more interesting sound.!In
particular, the lower the glide threshold, the better is the sound when the VCF
is frequency modulated by the oscillators. In other words, when high
frequency controlled voltages are applied to the filter, they are low-pass
filtered by the C31 capacitor. This means that the filter will not respond to high
frequency CVs, and respond slowly to rapid changes in incoming CVs. The
knob parameter sets the C31 cap. from the CV input circuit, so the filter will
respond to high frequency control.
Tips & Tricks
-MAINS Toggle on/off DSP (Digital Signal Processing). iVCS3 supports
mixed audio with other applications, you can also disable DSP in order to
save battery and CPU consumption. You cannot toggle off the Audio
Engine when it’s connected to Audiobus or Inter-App Audio.
-When the user presses the Home button, the app goes to the background
process and will store the whole status of parameters to reload when next
opening the app. See Settings for more explanations.
-Double tap on the Knobs/Toggles to show the options. In the ‘Edit’ field
you can enter the value from the keyboard. Tap ‘Random’ to generate a
random value, ‘Default’ to reset to the factory settings and configure the
knobs dragging behavior. Step fine resolution sets how many points of
movement result in a one degree rotation in the knob's position. Only used
in the horizontal/vertical slider modes. You can set Knobs behavior from
Settings.
-Tap over the Matrix for zooming in, this then allows new connections to be
made. Tap or drag outside the Matrix area to zoom out. Pinch for the
removal of all connections."
-Double Tab in the Joystick handle to reset at the central position i.e. zero
-iVCS3 can play audio in the background and/or mix it’s own audio with
other iOS apps. iVCS3 also supports Apple IAA (i.e. Inter-App Audio for iOs
7 or higher) and Audiobus, so you can send and receive audio through
applications.

-All Signals connected to the METER in the Matrix will be shown in the
Oscilloscope and you can now feedback through to the iVCS3.
-Swipe (right to left) on Preset, Presets Bank or Samples Manager (non
built-in file) to delete.
-You can load Presets (current selected bank) by remotely sending a MIDI
Program Change message. The channel listening is the same for the MIDI
Note On/Off, You can configure this setting through ‘Channel’ in the MIDI
Manager (see later for further details). The available range is 0 ÷ 127. A
value of zero will select the first preset in the list, a value of 1 for the
second etc… But no bank selection is supported yet."
-We suggest you disable the screen rotation, otherwise the accelerometer
doesn't work properly.
-Tap over the Recovery Pins (Matrix bottom) to change pin color to white
green or red. White pins are 2.7K Ohm resistance and green ones are 68K
Ohm. For the iVCS3 this translates as: white pins no attenuation, green
pins for 0.66, red pins will allow a connection to be adjusted between the
normal signal and its inverse. See ‘Essential and Recommended EMS
Modifications’ for more details.
-MIDI Panic sends a general Message ‘All Notes Off’, resets the DSP and
Keyboard.
-Init will reset to default values and removes the Matrix Connections and
Sequencer Grooves, a reset message will be displayed.
-Create Random Sound values for all of the parameters (not matrix and
Sequencer), including the Flanger and Compressor Effects. The result can
be very interesting and wayward.
!
Show the back panel of iVCS3 see Back Panel section.
"
Enable/Disable the scrolling for the Main View.
Enable/Disable Accelerometer X/Y and LFO, see the Control
Manager for more details.

Captures Output stereo signal (post Effects) and creates an audio file
wav format 44.1 kHz 16 bit in the Documents Folder. Files created by iVCS3
are saved with an id-name followed by a number, for example:
Output Rec 1.wav, Output Rec 2.wav etc…
Each new file will be numbered with the next consecutive number.
SYNC
The goal of SYNC is to setup a global Metronome (MASTER BPM).
This will affect the LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) and/or the Sequencer
when it’s enabled to receive the SYNC signal - see Control Manager for more
details. The SYNC can be controlled remotely from a MIDI Clock signal or an
Ableton Link.
You can adjust the BPM (Beats Per Minute) through the minus/plus buttons
and these will replace the current value with the integer BPM (previous/next)
or you can TAP to set your own Tempo. When the MIDI Clock is activated
(see MIDI Manager), the 'MASTER BPM' slider will be disabled and the
Tempo value is controlled by the MIDI Clock. When connected to Ableton
Link, the slider is enabled.
Ableton Link description
Ableton Link is a new technology that synchronizes the beat, phase and
tempo of Ableton Live and Link-enabled iOS apps over a wireless network. It
lets you play devices together with the freedom of a live band. Anyone can
start and stop their part while others keep playing, and anyone can adjust the
tempo and the rest will follow. You can use Link to play with several copies of
Ableton Live, with Live and iOS apps, or with iOS apps together – even
without Live in your setup.
By default 120 BPM corresponds to 1 Hz.
The ‘Sync’ button waits for the next beat (Tempo Forte) from the MIDI Clock
or Ableton Link and resets all phases for LFO, Sequencer etc.
You can enable the MIDI Clock Signal by following these steps:
1 Open MIDI Manager
2 Send a MIDI Clock Signal
3 Enable the MIDI Clock for the chosen Source, see MIDI Manager for
further information

Essential and Recommended EMS Modifications
These superb extra features are available now through In-App Purchasing.
You can access the ‘In-App Shop’ simply from the menu tools.
 
Tapping the Modification buttons will open the mod-view (and before you
ask why these buttons are so small and concealed, we didn’t want to mess
with the original interface). You will find these symbols on the following iVCS3
modules:
1) Oscillators Synchronisation
2) Oscillator 3 Lo/Hi Range Switchable Oscillator
3) Oscillators 1 and 2 VC Shape
4) Sample & Hold
5) Filter Slew/Unslew1
6) Envelope Shaper Attack and Decay Time Extension
7) Inverted/Controlled Matrix Red Pins
8) Joystick Glide
Oscillators Synchronisation
The Sync feature provides a tonally harmonic sound, the VCO 2 is the
MASTER and you can select VCO 1 or both VCO 1 and VCO 3 as slaves.
This means every cycle of VCO 2 involves a resetting of the VCO slaves
phase.
Lo/Hi Range Switchable Oscillator
As standard, Oscillators 1 and 2 were meant to be tracking audio generators
and Oscillator 3 an LFO. As the circuitry is almost identical Oscillator 3 may
This Modification is available since ver 1.1.3 and it’s not part of the In-App Purchasing: ‘Essential
1
and Recommended EMS Modifications’.

be converted to be the same as Oscillator 2. Please note that when the VCO3
is switched in 'High Range Mode’, the Ramp Shape does not work anymore
with 'Phase Sync Oscillators’. Also we’ve noted it's a bit more CPU intensive.
Oscillators 1 and 2 VC Shape
This modification is often done with cheap Cliff 3.5mm jacks on the front
panels, but cable patching is not really in the spirit of the VCS3. The toggle
switch converts the matrix columns 'O' and 'P' (i.e. 'Output Ch. 1 and 2
Voltage Controlled') in 'Oscillator 1 Shape' and 'Oscillator 2 Shape' Voltage
Controlled. The sensitivity range is ±3V.
Sample & Hold
This modification brings a Simple Random Voltage Generator or a Sample &
Hold to the iVCS3. You can switch between S&H to generate random
numbers and hold them for a period of time and also Glide to generate a
user-controlled random number series with interpolation between each new
number. When enabled, the COLOUR parameter is the frequency with which
new random numbers are generated in the range 0.016 ÷ 10 Hz. The LEVEL
parameter is the range over which random numbers are distributed.
Filter Slew/Unslew
The novel glide parameter was introduced to enhance the sound quality of
the VCF and optimize the smoothing of the cutoff frequency control.!You can
adjust and trim this parameter to get the most concise sound.!We’ve found
that the lower the glide threshold, the better the sound when the VCF is
frequency modulated by oscillators. In other words, when high frequency
controlled voltages are applied to filter, they are low-pass filtered by the C31
capacitor. This means that the filter will not respond to high frequency CVs,
and respond slowly to rapid changes in incoming CVs. The knob parameter
sets the C31 cap from the CV input circuit, so the filter will respond to high
frequency controlled voltages.
N.B. Old parameters will set automatically to the maximum Glide amount
(left), this parameter is saved for Snapshots, HVPad and will work with
Control Manager.
Envelope Shaper Attack and Decay Time Extension
This modification will give you an attack of 5 seconds and decay of up to 3
minutes. Press the ATTACK button and play!
Inverted/Controlled Matrix Red Pins
Tap over the Recovery Pins (Matrix bottom) to change pin color: white, green
and red. White pins are 2.7K Ohm resistance and green ones are 68K Ohm.

In the digital domain this translates as: white pins no attenuation, green pins
0.66. Red pins will allow that connection to be adjusted between the normal
signal and its inverse.
N.B. Old parameters will set automatically to a default resistors value (-1), this
parameter is saved for Snapshots but is not enabled for HVPad of the Control
Manager.
N.B. This is a setup parameter and it should not be adjusted during the
performance. If you are playing a patch and moving the resistor control at the
same time, you will encounter audio glitches.
Joystick Glide
Each new step value of JOYSTICK is low-pass filtered to move towards that
value at a rate determined by the Knob. This is the 'half-time' of the function
(in seconds), during which the curve will traverse half the distance towards
the new value, then half as much again, etc., theoretically never reaching its
asymptote.
N.B. Old parameters will set automatically to the default Glide amount, this
parameter is saved for Snapshots but is not enabled for HVPad or for the
Control Manager.
Presets
Preset Manager will collect all the Banks (i.e. .ivcs3 suffix) and Snapshots. A
Snapshot is a simple “photo” of the parameters in the UI (i.e. User Interface).
Both the Matrix and Keyboard/Sequencer are included but they can also be
excluded, see the Settings for more details.
So, once you find an interesting sound you can take a snapshot (i.e. save this
new preset) by touching the ‘plus’ icon and this new preset will be added to
the selected Bank. The top four elements of the Snapshots list are assigned
for ‘HV Snapshot Pad’, you can then sort or delete the Snapshots in the List
by tapping the ‘List Icon’. You can even share the selected Bank through
Dropbox or e-mail and you can restore the factory Built-In Banks from the
‘Cloud’ icon, there is two options:
1) ‘Overwrite’ will erase all user presets that have been saved in the factory
preset-banks and give you the unaltered factory preset-banks back;
2) ‘Merge’ will preserve the preset-banks which contain the user presets; If
you created your own user preset-banks and saved presets there they will
stay untouched.
Snapshot banks are located in Documents folder, you can access files via
iTunes Sharing (see Add files to iVCS3 through iTunes Sharing).

You can add new files by copying in the app's documents (through iTunes
or from another app) and refresh the list from there.
Load a preset, randomly from the banks list.
Delete all Presets for a selected bank. A warning message will be
displayed.
The Snapshots bank file is a kind of Property List format (.ivcs3), you can edit
as text and modify the values just rename in .plist
Swipe (right to left) on Snapshots or Snapshots Bank, to delete.
The purpose of the unique Snapshot Pad is to obtain intermediate
values between four snapshots (corners). You can change snapshots
assigned in the corner through the Snapshots list (see above).
The Snapshots Pad performs complex interpolations between four snapshots
on a two-dimensional space. By scrubbing your finger on the Snapshots Pad
a temporary new snapshot will be created by mixing the four snapshots
depending on distance. Thus you can modify hundreds of parameters with a
single touch, this is also called Hyper Vectorial Synthesis.
Snapshots Pad can be resized on fullscreen for detailed controls (left bottom
icon).
N.B. Snapshot Pad have no effect on Matrix, Sequencer and Toggles.
Samples
Samples manager can read/write in the Documents folder, you can also share
files through AudioCopy, Dropbox or iCloud. Samples manager can also read
the Built-in files, but you cannot rename or delete them. Touch on a file in the
list to show the actions popup. Here it is possible to Load a file in one of two
Samplers (i.e. Sampler Ch.1 and Sampler Ch.2), Open In... contains all
system actions over the file, according to file type. For example you can send
files as an e-mail, open file with a listed app etc…
You can rename files in the Documents Folder, if you omit the file
extension then Samples Manager will fill the original audio file extension for

you. N.B. Samples manager shows only audio files supported, the other files
in the Documents folder will not be seen.
You can pre-listen to the samples before you load them.
Starts audio capture from the microphone immediately and saves new
stereo audio file in wav format 44.1 kHz, 16 bit in the Documents Folder. Files
created are composed by id-name followed by a number, for example:
Input Rec 4.wav, Input Rec 5.wav etc…
Every new file will be numbered with the next consecutive number.
N.B. You can record a mono or stereo file in wav format 16 bit 44.1 kHz
according to the iDevice channels. Even if the iVCS3 is connected to
Audiobus or IAA, the Grab Audio will record always from iPad microphone/
line
You can import files from your Dropbox account, you can login/logout from
the Settings. Paste Audio file from AudioCopy clipboard.
Access to the iPod library, this allows the application to read user’s songs,
audio books, and audio podcasts. The file can be converted in .wav (PCM 16
bit 44.1 kHz) or .caf formats and stored in the local app Documents Folder. If
the file exist at path then progressive number will be attached to the file
name.
The document picker feature lets users select documents from outside your
app’s sandbox. These include documents stored in iCloud Drive and
documents provided by a third-party extension. Users can open these
documents directly, editing them in place. This access simplifies sharing
documents between apps and easily enables more complex workflows.
Add files through iTunes
• Connect your iPad to your computer and then open iTunes. Select your iPad
under the!DEVICES!header in the left navigation column.
• Click on the “Apps” tab above the main window.
• Scroll down to the “File Sharing” section.
• Select iVCS3 from the list of Apps.
• Under “iVCS3 Documents” click the “Add” button; this opens a dialog box to
select the location of the presets on your computer.