Mode Machines SID User manual

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SID
8Bit Groovebox
(including Software)
User Manual
November 2012

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Contents
SID 8Bit Groovebox
Control Panel
1. Knobs , buttons & LED´s
1.1 expression knobs
1.2 cut & res knobs
1.3 tempo knob
1.4 Volume
1.5 Piano buttons & LED´s
1.6 up/down buttons & LED
1.7 channel button & LED´s
1.8 REST/SLIDE buttons & LED´s
1.9 UPPER PREV / NEXT buttons
1.10 LOWER PREV/NEXT buttons
1.11 RUN/ STOP button
1.12 TRACK/PATT/SOUND mode buttons
Operation Modes
2. Sound modes
2.1 Sound mode
2.2 Sound poly mode
3. Patt modes
3.1 Step edit
3.2 Step record
3.3 Pattern length
3.4 Pattern speed
4. Track modes
4.1 Track play/select
4.1 Track edit
Sid librarian (Instrument editing software)
5. MOD (modulation) mode
5.1 Main control panel
5.2 Modulators
5.3 Expression knobs
5.4 Hazard knobs
6. WT (wavetable) Mode
6.1 WT sound select
6.2 Pitch
6.3 PulseWidth
6.4 Waveform
6.5 ADSR envelope
7. Nerd mode
8. Library management
9. midi setup
9.1 Connecting SID to the library software
9.2 Midi implementation chart
Connectivity and hardware configuration
10. Connectivity
11.Hardware configuration
11.1 SID/SWINSID

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1.Knobs ,buttons & LED´s
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Synthesizer Section
SID 8Bit Groovebox
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]
MACHINES
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1.1 Expression knobs
These 3 knobs functions depend on the preset you have loaded. They can be mapped to
any of the 26 parameters within the SID librarian software.
The modulation wheel of your midi keyboard (and Midi CC#1) has the same effect as
expression knob 1.
1.2 Cut & Res knobs
These knobs control the cutoff frequency and resonance amount of the SID’s filter section.
1.3 Tempo knob
The tempo knob controls the tempo (speed) of the sequencer. Tempo is displayed on the
LCD in BPM (beats per minute).
It is recommended to slave your SID to a midi clock (from your favorite DAW or
sequencer) for optimal tempo accuracy
1.4 Volume
The volume knob controls the sound level of the SID on both main and phones outputs.
1.5 Piano buttons and LED’s
The said piano buttons serve multiple functions depending on the current mode:
•In sound mode, they become piano keys that can be tapped to play like a keyboard.
In this case the LED’s light up as you tap a key. The LED’s also display the notes received
from an external MIDI source.
•In pattern mode the buttons are used to program notes into your pattern. The LED’s
display the note currently programmed into the selected STEP.
NOTE: in pattern REC mode, the selected STEP automatically advances to the next every
time you hit a key, hence the LED’s won’t necessarily be showing the note you just
programmed
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Control Panel
SID 8Bit Groovebox
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]

1.6 Up/Down buttons and LED’s
These buttons serve multiple functions:
-In sound mode they change the octave of the keyboard buttons.
(note: the octave buttons have no effect on the midi notes received)
-In pattern modes they transpose the selected STEP up and down by 1 octave.
Both LCD and LED’s reflect the current octave transposition.
1.7 Channel select button and LED’s
This buttons toggles between DRUM and INST(instrument) modes. The LED’s indicate
which of the 2 modes is selected.
1.8 Rest & Slide buttons and LED’s
These buttons serve multiple functions:
-in sound mode the rest buttons serves as a midi panic button in the event that a note is
“stuck” (this can occur if a MIDI connection is broken in between a note ON and note OFF
midi message). Hold the slide button in sound mode to activate sliding (glissando)
between notes.
-in pattern mode the rest button mutes the selected step and it’s LED indicates it’s status
(on=muted). The slide button makes the selected step slide to it’s note (up or down
depending on the previous step). LED on=sliding.
1.9 Upper PREVIOUS/NEXT buttons
These buttons have multiple functions:
-In sound mode, they change the selected instrument. Press once to display the next or
previous patch on the lcd. Hold to “scrub” faster through the list. Then press RUN to load
the patch.
-In pattern mode these buttons change the currently selected instrument or drum pattern.
-In Track Play/Select mode these buttons change the selected instrument or drum track.
-In Track Edit mode these buttons change the pattern of the currently selected track STEP.
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Control Panel
SID 8Bit Groovebox
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]

1.10 Lower PREVIOUS/NEXT buttons
These buttons serve multiple functions:
-In sound mode, they transpose the keyboard up and down by a semi tone within a range
of 1 octave. (note: this has no effect on the midi notes received)
-In pattern mode they change the selected step of a pattern. When you reach the end of a
pattern, you will “jump” back to the first step and vice versa. These buttons can also be
used to program the pattern lengths and speeds when prompted by LCD.
-in track mode they change the selected track step.
1.11 Run/Stop buttons
This button starts and stops the sequencer. Please note that this button is disables when
SID is slaved to a midi clock.
1.12 Track/Patt/Sound mode buttons
These buttons change the operation mode of the SID to track mode, pattern modes and
sound mode respectively. See sections 2-4 of this manual for an in-depth description of
these modes.
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Control Panel
SID 8Bit Groovebox
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]

2 Sound Modes
The sound mode button toggles between sound and sound/poly modes.
2.1 Sound Mode
In sound mode SID becomes a live synthesizer that can be performed either with the
keyboard buttons or via midi. You can also change the instrument patch in this mode using
the upper PREV/NEXT buttons.
2.2 Poly Mode
In Poly mode SID becomes a 3 voice poly-synth that can be performed either with the
keyboard buttons or via midi. In this mode, modulation is restricted and rhythm is disabled
as all 3 voices of the SID chip are allocated to play notes.
3 Pattern Modes
The SID can store 32 instrument and drum patterns in it’s EEPROM memory. SID offers 4
pattern modes: edit, rec, length and speed. Tap the PATT button to toggle through the
modes.
3.1 Step Edit
In this mode you can program the parameters of any pattern, step by step. First select a
pattern to edit using the upper prev/next buttons. Then select a step to edit using the lower
prev/next buttons. Each step has Note, Octave, Slide and Rest data that can be
programmed using the respective buttons.
The data is automatically updated in the EEPROM memory.
3.2 Step Rec
This mode has the same functionally expect that you can program the notes in a sequence
without the need to change steps manually. In this mode, incoming MIDI notes can also be
used to fill a pattern step by step.
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Operation Modes
SID 8Bit Groovebox
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]

3.3 Pattern Length
In this mode you can change the length (between 1 and 16) of the selected pattern using
the lower PREV/NEXT buttons.
3.3 Pattern Speed
In this mode you can change the speed of the selected pattern using the lower PREV/
NEXT buttons. You can choose between 1x 2x 4x and 8x. You can also mute a pattern by
lowering it’s speed to 0x.
4 Track Mode
You can arrange your patterns in sequence to build tracks to be considered as songs.
There are two modes:
4.1 Track play/select:
choose a track to play using the upper next/prev buttons
4.1 Track edit:
In this mode you can edit your tracks in a similar fashion to patterns. Select the track
STEP using the lower NEXT/PREV buttons and select a pattern using the upper NEXT/
PREV buttons. This defines the pattern to be played at this step of the track.
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Operation Modes
SID 8Bit Groovebox
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]

5.1 Main control panel:
The SID librarian software enables you control every parameter of the synthesizer and
manage a whole library of sounds. Each library contains 100 presets and 24 wavetable
sounds. You can even export and share it with your friends!
Be sure to download the latest version from the Mode Machines website!
The main panel controls voice specific parameters such as envelope, glide and tuning.
Here you can also control the filter section.
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MOD (Modulation) Mode
SID Librarian Software
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]

5.2 Modulators:
The SID has four 16 step internal modulators built in that can control many parameters of
the synth.
modulator has speed, depth, loop and sync parameters and can be assigned to the
following parameters:
FLTER CUTOFF, PULSEWIDTH1, PULSEWIDTH2, COARSE TUNING1 (AKA NOTES),
COARSE TUNING2,
FINE TUNE1, FINE TUNE2, WAVEFORM1, WAVEFORM2, MOD SPEED1, MOD
SPEED2, MOD SPEED3 AND MOD SPEED4
You can use a modulator as a 1-shot effect or continuous using the loop radio button.
When sync is activated, the modulator will sync up to the incoming midi clock. This is
where the magic happens!
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MOD (Modulation) Mode
SID Librarian Software
Mode Machines - Email: [email protected]