flight of harmony Sinner User manual

Waveshaper Eurorack Module
v1

Specications @ ±12VDC
Supply Voltage ±12VDC1
Supply Current (max draw @ ±12V) I+12V= 27mA I-12V= -22mA
Max. Input Voltage ±5V / 10Vp-p
Max. Output Voltage ±6V / 12Vp-p
Input & Ouput (I/O) coupling Direct
Max. output DC bias ±4.8V
Output Impedance 1kΩ
Control Voltage (CV) inputs ±5V / 10Vp-p
CV input coupling Direct
CV input impedance 100kΩ
1 Has been tested and performs well with supply voltages from ±9VDC to ±15VDC.
Components
1 Assembled Sinner waveshaping module
1 DC power cable – 9” Ribbon cable (Doepfer standard)
2 M3x0.5x6mm Stainless-Steel machine screws
2 M3 Nylon washers
g.1: SIinner front panel.
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FYI
As with all f(h) products, the Sinner was engineered towards maximizing
functionality while keeping cost as low as possible. If some aspects of the unit
seem awkward, it is most likely due to this. The goal is to make unique, useful,
enjoyable, and affordable instruments, not just hoover1out your bank account.
And remember: every instrument has its quirks and unexpected aspects, so
RTFM2! All the way through! Specic quirks are mentioned in the description of
the particular feature they apply to, so please read this through before emailing!
What is it?
Sinner is based on a sine-shaping circuit that applies logarithmic distortion
to the input signal, causing ramp, saw, triangular, and similar, signals to be more
rounded and approximate a sine wave. Pretty freaking boring when you read it
like this, so it has a few extra features that allow you to twist and wring your signal
into much more excruciating and exciting shapes. Part of this is accomplished via
a four-quadrant multiplier (4QM), which also offers ring modulation (RM) as well
as typical voltage-controlled amplier (VCA) capability.
Sinner is direct-coupled (DC) all the way through, so you can use it to control
and process control voltages (CV) and other DC signals in addition to sculpting
audio. If, after blowing a few speaker cones, you decide you've had enough of
that fun, it also has a full-bypass toggle switch to change the output to capacitive
coupling (AC) and block the DC bias from the signal. The LED above the switch
is lit in DC mode, and off in AC mode. The output LED is bicolor: red for positive
signals, green for negative, and gives you something fun to stare at, at 3:50 am,
when you haven't slept in two days, and your vision is a blurry tunnel and the
fuzziness in your head is pulsing to the sounds and your ngers and cheeks are
tingling and probably warning you of something important but wow that ashy
thing is hypnotic, isn't it?
The secret message of the Sneks3
Them twisty Sneks tell you the basic function of the controls and jacks:
• Heads curling in like fangs: signal inputs and their controls
• Tails curving out: signal outputs and their controls
• Completely encircled: CV and internal device functions
Feature summary:
1) Hoover is a company that manufactures vacuum cleaners.
2) RTFM = Read The F*cking Manual!
3) Snakes
• Waveshaping
• Sine shaping
• CV processing
• Ring modulation
• Amplitude modulation
• Has Sneks
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g.2: Effect of increasing Feed control.
g.3: Effect of increasing Sin control. g.4: Effect of Feed on Sin.
g.5: Effect of Waver positive increase. g.6: Effect of Waver negative increase.
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Controls and Behavior
Usage note: Feed, Sin, and Size, can each reduce output to 0V when turned
fully CCW.
Feed: Input level attenuator. Clockwise (CW) to increase, counterclockwise
(CCW) to decrease (g. 2). This control is mainly for reducing strong signals to
give more responsiveness to the other controls, so it is recommended to leave this
fully CW for standard usage.
Sin: Amount of rounding applied to signal. CW for more, CCW for less. Sin
also affects the amplitude of the signal (g. 3). The amount of rounding applied
also depends on the signal amplitude, which is controlled by Feed (g. 4).
Waver: Applies from 0 to ±4.8VDC bias to the signal. CW for positive,
CCW for negative.

g.8: Jacks.
g.7: Effect of Size control.
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Size: Post-effect gain, the amplitude of the output signal. CW to increase,
CCW to decrease.
Jacks
The jacks are linked to their associated control
knob (if any) by the Sneks. All hail Snek.
Signal Input
Feed: Signal input, either AC or DC. Level
adjusted (0-100%) by the Feed knob.
CV Input
Sin: CV Version of Sin control knob. Positive
increases rounding, negative decreases rounding.
Knob and CV levels are summed.
Waver: CV version of Waver control knob.
Positive applies positive bias, negative applies
negative bias. Knob and CV levels are summed.
Size: CV version of Size knob. Positive increases gain, negative decreases
gain. Knob and CV levels are summed.
Usage note: Some compromises occur when trying to maximize options for
user control. One such situation: With control knobs and CV inputs, when both
are used, when one is towards either extreme, the other will have less effect.
Example: Negative signal at Sin CV input has little to no effect with Sin control
fully CW. Whichever control is most extreme takes priority over the other. Just
nudge whichever is largest back a bit to increase the range of the smaller.
Output
Spread: Signal out. Led indicates bias of output relative to 0V; red for
positive, green for negative.
Output coupling
DC-AC: Selects if out put is DC- or AC-coupled. Lever up for DC, which will

g.8: Power cable orientation.
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also light the LED, when process CV or when DC is not otherwise a concern. Flip
down for AC coupling, which turns the LED off, to remove any DC bias from the
signal and protect speakers.
In case you have not heard the speaker thing before, a DC signal present in
a signal can (and eventually will) damage a speaker receiving it. Speakers are
driven by a coil that generates a magnetic eld. This eld then reacts with the
magnetic eld generated by the large magnet around the coil. The coil eld is
generated by current travelling through the coil, and a DC bias causes current to
ow when it normally would not, which increases the generated eld strength and
causes the coil to work harder than it should. This can often exceed the intended
limits of the speaker and burn out the coil, warp the coil, overextend the cone
travel and damage the support web, or all of the above.
tl;dr: don't drive a speaker directly from Sinner in DC mode. Sinners are
known for doing bad things.
Power
The power connector header is a 2x5/10-
pin shrouded box header which accepts the
standard Doepfer power cable. This header style
is polarized, meaning the connector can only
be inserted one way, to prevent connecting the
power backwards and damaging the unit.
This assumes that you are using either the
supplied cable or one manufactured by Doepfer.
Looking at the rear of the module, the negative supply (red stripe) is on the
left, positive supply is on the right (see g.8).
Stuff
A big thank you to those who have sent in suggestions and comments, keep
them coming!
Comments, samples, suggestions, complaints to: ight@ightofharmony.com
Drawings and designs ©2022 ight of harmony, LLC.
http://www.ightofharmony.com
From now on, whatever may be...

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