Industrial Music Electronics BIONIC LESTER MARK III User manual

BIONIC LESTER MARK III
OPERATIONS MANUAL • FIRMWARE V1.1

FUNDAMENTALS
 BIONICLESTERisadualdigitallterwithadigitaloverdriveVCA.Thevoltage-controlledlterisafundamental
componentofmodularsoundsynthesisthatmodiesthespectrumofanaudiosignal.BionicLesterexcelsatclassic
subtractivelowpassltereffects,aswellasmultimodeoperationandadvancedshortdelaylineswiththeallpass/
combltermodes.
EachBionicLesterltersectionisa2-pole(-12dbperoctave)state-variablelterwithsmoothlymorphablemode.
Thelterdoesnotself-oscillate,thoughinthecombltermodeitwillsustaintheharmonicpeakswithoutclipping.
GETTING STARTED
 PatchyourinputsignaltotheFILTERAinput,andlistentothesignalcomingoutoftheFILTERAoutput..Turnthe
AGAINcontroluphalfway.TurntheFILTERAresonanceandModecontrolsfullycounterclockwise(lowpassmode).
TurnthelargeFILTERAcutoffknobandlistentotheeffectonthesound.Next,moveFilterA'sResonancecontrol
andmovethecutoffknobagain.TheResonancecontrolemphasizesthefrequenciesaroundthecutoff.Youwillnow
hearthatemphasized"peak"frequencymovethroughouttheinputsound'sspectrumasyoumovethecutoff.
GAIN CONTROL
 TheinputstageofthelterpassesthroughaspecialdigitalVCAthatcanintroducesubtleoverdriveandclipping
toasignalbeforeitgetsltered.Whenthecontrolisfullycounterclockwise,thesignalisfullyattenuated.Whenthe
controlistowardsitsmiddleposition,theattenuationdecreasesuntilthesignalisatitsfullinputvolume.Whenyou
turnthecontrolpastthecenterposition,softclippingwillbeintroducedontothesignal.Attheextremeendofthe
control,thesignalwillclipharder.
NOTE:TheclippingelementoftheinputVCAexpectsoscillator-levelsignalsintherangeof10voltspeak-peakfor
bestresults.
NOTE:Whentheclippingelementisactive,thelter’snameonthedisplay(AorB)willbedisplayedwithaninverted
colorscheme(blackletteronorangebackground).
MODE CONTROL
 Voltage-controlledmultimodelterstraditionallyfeatureanarrayofsignaloutputsrepresentingeachltermode.
BionicLesterhasasmoothModecrossfadecontrolthatfeedsoneoutputperlter.Whenitisturnedtotheextreme
counterclockwiseposition,thelterisinLowPassmode.Asthecontrolisturnedclockwise,thelteroutputfades
itsmodefromonetothenext.Thecontrol'spositionrelativetoeachltermodeisshownontheOLEDdisplay.
CUTOFF
MODE
RESONANCE
CVinput1CVinput2CVinput3

frequency
amplitude
LOW PAss
frequency
amplitude
HIGH PAss
frequency
amplitude
bAND PAss
frequency
amplitude
bAND REjECT
frequency
amplitude
POSITIVE COMb
frequency
amplitude
NEGATIVE COMb
LOW PASS
 FrequenciesABOVEthecutofffrequencyareattenuated.The
resonancecontrolemphasizesthefrequenciesnearthecutoff.
HIGH PAss
FrequenciesBELOWthecutofffrequencyareattenuated.The
resonancecontrolemphasizesthefrequenciesnearthecutoff.
BAND PASS
FrequenciesABOVEorBELOWthecutofffrequencyare
attenuated.TheResonancecontrolemphasizesthefrequencies
nearthecutoffandsteepensthe“slope”ofthecutoff.
BAND REjECT (NOTCh)
 Frequenciesnearthecutofffrequencyare
attenuatedina"notch"pattern.Theresonancecontrol
causesthenotchtobecomenarrowerandsteeper.
ALL PAss/COmb
 WhentheMODEcontrolisturnedfullyclockwise,thecutofffrequencydisplay
willchangetoshowthelengthoftheallpass/combdelayline.Inthismode,thelter
functionsasanall-passlterwhentheResonancecontrolisatzero(allfrequencies
arepassedwithnochangeinamplitude,butwithachangeinphase)Asyouturn
theresonancecontroltowardsthecenterposition,theltertypechangestoa
positivefeedbackcomb(whichintroducesequallyspacedpeaksintothespectrum
ofthesignal),withincreasingfeedback.Thecutoffcontrolchangesthespacingof
thepeaks.
 Asthecontrolisturnedpastnoon,theltermodeswitchestoanegative
feedbackcomb(whichintroducesequallyspacednotchesintothesignal).Inthis
mode,thecutofffrequencycontrolchangesthelengthofthedelayline.Thereis
onlyminorsuppressionoftheknob’s“zippernoise”inthismode,addingsome
action-packedcharacterintothecombmodes.Ifyoudonotchangethelength
ofthedelaylinewhilethefeedbackisnearmaximum,theharmonicsoftheinput
signalwillresonateandevolvemuchlikeanampliedguitar.

SCREEN SAVER
 TheBionicLester’sdisplayisanOLED.Itissettoabrightnesstoprovidethebestbalancebetweenvisibilityand
longlife.TopreservethelifeandmaximumbrightnessoftheOLED,itwillturnoffifabuttonorencoderisnotused
for10minutes.Toturnitbackon,pressabuttonorturntheencoder.
mK III mENU sYsTEm
 MostfunctionblocksinIndustrialMusicElectronicsmoduleshavehiddenmenusassociatedwiththem.Toaccess
them,holddowntherotaryencoderbuttonandpushtheassociatedbutton.Themenuwillappearonthedisplay.
Turntheencodertoselectthedesiredmenuitem.Pushtheencodertoselecttheitem,andturntheencoderto
changetheselecteditem.Pushtheencoderbuttonagaintoenteryourselection.Exitthemenubypressinganyof
theotherbuttons.Ifabuttondoesnothaveamenuassociatedwithit,thenthebuttonpresscombinationwillusually
invokeanothershortcutfunction.
CV INPUTS
 Eachltersectionhasthreecontrolvoltageinputs,knownasCV1,CV2,andCV3.Theseinputsareusedwith
externalcontrolvoltagestoremotelymodifythesynthesisparametersfasterthanyourhandscanturntherelated
controls.CV1isalwaysassignedtothelter’scutofffrequency,andhasanassociatedattenuverter.Theothertwo
inputscanbefreelyassignedtoitslter’scutoff,gain,resonance,ormode.Toaccesstheassignmentmenu,hold
downtheblackrotaryencoderbuttonandpresstheLINKbutton.Youcannowusetheencodertoselectandedit
eachofthefourassignableCVinputs.Toleavethemenu,pressLINKagain.
 AllCVinputsontheBionicLesteracceptfull-scale,bipolarcontrolvoltageswitharangeof+/-10v.The
responseofthevariousinputsarescaledtoprovideamusicallyusefulrangeofmotionwithinthetypical
rangeof+/-5V,withadditionalreactivityfaroutside
ofthisrange.Theattenuvertersuseanonlinear
curvetoallowatypicalcontrolvoltagetosubtly
modulateasmallrangeoftheparameter,orfull-swing
travelwithouttheuseofexternalamplication.
FILTER LINK
 TheBionicLesterfunctionsastwoindependentltersbydefault.InputAwillbeprocessedandsenttotheA
output,andlikewisefortheBinput.
PARALLEL ROUTING
 TheinputofFilterAisnormaledtoFilterB.ThismeansthatwithasignalonlyinputtoFilterA,thatinputwillbe
“copied”toFilterBwithouttheuseofadditionalpatchcords.YoucanthenpatchtheAandBoutputsseparately,in
stereo,orusethenearbyMIXoutputtohearablendofthetwosignals.
PushtheLINKbuttontoaccessthefollowingmodesofoperation.Whenactive,theLINKbuttonwillbeilluminated
red.
LINK OPTIONs
A CTL
 Inthismode.allltercontrolsonbothsidesfunctionnormally.However,thecutofffrequencyofFilterAwillbe
copiedtoFilterB,withFilterB’scutoffsettings(andCVinput)added.AsuggesteduseistosettheFilterBcutoff
knobverylow,andcontrollingthelterAcutoffasnormalwhilemonitoringbothoutputs.Settheltermodesto
lowpassorbandpassandtheresonancehigh.Thisgivesyouthepopular“dualpeak”stereoltereffect.
Turn
COUNTER-
CLOCKWISE
to SUBTRACT
Turn CLOCKWISE to ADD CV to parameter
“Attenuverter”
CV Input

sERIEs
 ThesignalattheFilterBinputjackwillbeignored.TheoutputofFilterAisinternallyroutedtotheFilterB
input,withallcontrolsremainingindependent.Tohearthecombinedeffectoftheseriesprocessing,listento
theFilterBoutput.Thismodeisusefulfornelytuningtheresponseofaduallterarrangementwithprecise
managementofthedistortionproducts.
4POLE
 The4POLEmodeisidenticaltotheSERIESrouting,butallcontrolsettingsfromFilterAwillbecopiedto
FilterB.PatchyourinputsignalintoFilterAinputandlistentotheFilterBoutput.Theslope,distortion,and
resonanceofthelterwillbemoreintense.Youcanhearthenormal2-poleoutputofthelterbylisteningto
theFilterAinput.TheMIXoutputhasa3-poleoutputwhentheknobisinthecenterposition.
sTEREO:
 TheSTEREOmodehasindependentinputsandoutputs,butthecontrolsfromFilterAarecopiedtoFilter
B.ThismodeismeanttobeheardwithastereosignalpatchedintoFilterAandB,withtheoutputspanned
hardleftandrightonyourmixer.
PREsET mANAGER
 ThePresetManagerprovidesaneasywaytomanagetheentirestateofthe
controlpanelandmenusystemfromasinglesetofcontrols.Eightpresetsare
availableandtheymaybestoredtononvolatilememorywithintheBionicLester.To
enablethePresetManager,pushthePRESETbuttontotheimmediateleftofthe
display.Itwilllightupredandthedisplaywillchangetosay“PRESET”followedby
thecurrentlyselectedpresetnumber.Managedcontrolswillbelockedandsetto
thevaluesstoredinthatpresetslot.Tochangethepreset,rotatetheencoder.The
settingswillchangeaccordingtothestoreddatainmemory.The“Presetscope”
settingintheGLOBALOPTIONSmenuwilldetermineifallpanelsettingsareaffected
bythepresetchange,orjustthewaveformselectioncontrols.TheCVinputand
attenuatorknobjustbelowthedisplayalsochangestheactivepreset.ThebehavioroftheCVandknobisdenedin
theGLOBALOPTIONSmenuwiththeCTLoption.
EDITING PRESETS
 Towriteyourowndataintothepresetslot,presstherotaryencoderbuttonwhilethepresetmanagerisactive.
TheEDITINGindicatorwillappearonthescreen.Anycontrolsthatyoumovewhiletheeditingindicatorisactivewill
bewrittenintothatpresetslot.Anychangesyoumaketotheoscillatormenuwillbewrittentothepresetwhetherthe
EDITINGindicatorispresentornot.ToexitEDITINGmode,presstherotaryencoderagain.IMPORTANT:Youmust
choose“SavePresets”fromthePRESETmenutowriteyourchangestomemory.Theywillnotbestoredpermanently
unlessyoudothis.The“SavetoPreset”commandwillalsocommittheediteddatatoyourpresetofchoice.
PREsET mORPH
 WheninPRESETmode,pressthepresetbuttonagaintoenterMORPHmode.Allcontrolsunderthescopeofthe
presetmanagerarelockedandunabletomove(theCVinputswillstillrespond).Setthe“base”presetforthemorphby
turningtherotaryencodertoselect.Thebasepresetwilldeterminethestateofunison,octaveandotherbutton/menu
settingsthatcannotbesmoothlymorphed.Whenthebasepresetischanged,thesemenu-basedsettingsmaychange
dependingonthepresetdata..Next,applyaCVtothepresetCVinput.Thepresetswillsmoothlymorphfromoneto
another.
Attenuverterfor
PresetCV
Rotary
Encoder
(withbutton)
Preset
mode/
menubutton
Preset
CVinput

PREsET mENU
AccessthePresetMenubyholdingdowntheencoderbuttonandpressingthebuttonclosesttothedisplay.
RANDOMIZE CURRENT
 Whenselected,therandompresetgeneratorwillcreateanewsoundsetting.Theparameterstobe
changedaresubjecttothe“PresetScope”setting.ThisfunctionworksevenifPresetModeisnotactive.
NOTE:RandomizedpresetsareNOTautomaticallysavedtomemory.Youmustusethe“SavePresets”or
“SavetoPreset”menucommandtowritethedatatomemory.
SAVE TO PRESET
 Ifyouaredesigningasoundandmodulationsetupandwanttosaveittothepresetmemory,choose
thismenuoption.Youmustselectthepresetslotnumbertoactivatethesave.Thisfeaturealsoworksifthe
presetmanagerisn’tactive.Thepresetwillautomaticallybestoredinnonvolatilememory.
SAVE PRESETS
 Thisoptionwritesthecurrentstateofallpresetslotstononvolatilememory.Presetsarestoredona
nonremovableEEPROMinsidethemodule,andwillsurvivermwareupgrades.
 Note:Thiswilloverwriteallofthepresetmemorywiththenewdata,sosubsequentusesofthe"Reload
Presets"commandwillrecallthatdatainsteadofwhatwastherebefore.
RELOAD PRESETS
 ThisoptionreloadsthesavedmemorycontentsofthePresetManagertoactivememory.Usethisifyou
havemistakenlyinitializedorrandomizedsaveddatathatyouwouldliketokeep.Note:Youcannotreload
presetsafterinitiating“SavePresets.”
INIT ALL PREsETs
 Initializesallpresetslotsandreplacesthedatawithasimplesound.Thisfunctiondoesnotautomatically
clearthesaveddatainmemory.Youmustusethe“SavePresets”commandtomakeyourchanges
permanent.
INIT CURRENT
Initializesthecurrentlyplayingsoundandreplacesitwithasimplesound.Thisfunctionworksevenifthe
PresetManagerisnotactive.
Note:Afterinitializingthecurrentpreset,thefrequencyofthelterwillbesettotheminimuminlowpass
mode.Adjustthefrequencycontrolstohearanaudiblesignalonceagain.
REbOOT
Restartsthemodulewithouttheneedtopoweryoursystemdown.
PRESET CONFIGURATION (IN PRESET MENU)
PREsET sCOPE
 Thisparametercontrolswhichlterismanagedbythepresetmanager.
  YoucanchooseeitherFilterAorB,orboth.
CTL
 ThismenuoptiondeterminesthebehaviorofthePresetCVinputandattenuator.
CV+OFFSET
  AllowstheCVinputtodirectlycyclethroughthebankof8presets.Theattenuatorknobwillact
asamanualoffset.ThisisusefulifyouneedamanualcontroltosmoothlymorphthepresetdatainMorph
mode.

CV+ATTEN
  WorkslikeCV+Offset,buttheknobbecomesanattenuatorfortheincomingCV.Thismodeis
usefulforchangingpresetswithinastrictlycontrolledrange,orsubtlymorphingwithinanarrowrangeof
presetdata.
TRIG + OFFSET
  TreatstheCVinputasatriggerinputinstead.Whenatriggerorgateeventisreceived,itwill
advancethepresetnumberbyone.Theattenuatorknobwillmanuallyscanthroughthepresets.
TRIG RANDOM
  RandomizesallparameterssubjecttoPresetScopewhenatriggereventisreceivedattheCV
input.NotethatrandompatchresultsmustbewrittentomemoryusingthePRESETmenu’s“SavePresets”
commandforpermanentstorageofthesechanges.
sTARTUP
 Thismenuitemallowsyoutoenablethepresetmanagerwhenthemodularsystemispoweredon.Youmay
choosetoleavePRESETOFForselecteitherPRESETorMORPHmodeON.Thisparameterisusedwhenyou
haveseveralMarkIIImodulesinaliveperformancesetup,toavoidsettingthepresetstateoneachoneatstartup.
UPGRADING FIRMWARE
 Youwillneedaninexpensive“Pickit3”programmerdeviceandacomputerwithaUSBconnectiontoinstallany
availableupgradesforthismodule.Youmaydownloadnewrmwareanddetailedupgradeinstructionsfromhttp://
www.industrialmusicelectronics.comontherelevantproductpage.Notethatupgradingthermwarewillnotdisturb
yourpresetsorusersettings.
ThePickit3isavailablefromyourlocalelectronicsdistributor,MicrochippartnumberPG164130.ThenewPickit4
programmerwillalsowork,partnumberPG164140.
FACTORY RESET
 Toperformafactoryreset,makesurethatNOpatchcablesarepluggedintothemodule.Turnthemoduleon
whileholdingthePresetModebutton.Themenusettings,CVinputcalibrations,andpresetdatawillbereset.
MORE INFORMATION
 Findthelatestrmware,waveforms,andotherinformation:
http://www.industrialmusicelectronics.com/products/23
Needmorehelp?
Writeto[email protected].