Motas Motas-6 Administrator Guide

How To…Guide
version 1.01
for rmware 0602011A / software MotasEdit v1.0.11
June 12, 2021

Contents
1Introduction .................................. 1
2Congure and control ............................... 2
2.1 Change the active parameter page without adjusting the oset values .............. 2
2.2 Adjust page oset values without changing the active parameter page .............. 2
2.3 Set the 5 fast-access patches loaded at power-on ..................... 2
2.4 Save a set of 5 fast-access patches .......................... 2
2.5 Initialise patch settings .............................. 2
2.6 Copy patch settings ............................... 2
2.7 Control using a PC ............................... 3
2.8 Update the rmware .............................. 3
2.9 Make an LFO sync to clock ............................. 4
2.10 Reset LFO on MIDI start ............................. 4
2.11 Setup the source of modulators M1–M4 ........................ 4
2.12 Control playing style for note-o events ........................ 4
2.13 Play multiple units together polyphonically ....................... 5
2.14 Using external CV/gate .............................. 5
2.15 Edit page parameters such as EG attack using rotary knobs .................. 6
2.16 Paraphonic playing ............................... 7
2.17 Use the arpeggiator without an external keyboard .................... 7
2.18 Setup custom tunings .............................. 7
2.19 Live tweaking: modify any patch parameter using MIDI CCs or rotary knobs ............ 7
3Advanced modulation ...............................10
3.1 Source options ................................10
3.2 Function...................................11
3.3 Modulation amount ...............................11
3.4 Destination .................................12
How To…Guide v1.01 page i

3.5 Copy/Reset Mod ................................12
3.6 Control of settings over MIDI ............................12
4Sound design ..................................13
4.1 Set bipolar or unipolar modulation ..........................13
4.2 Make an oscillator have xed pitch ..........................13
4.3 Create a drone patch ..............................13
4.4 Create a band-pass lter .............................13
4.5 Use phase modulation to create complex waveforms ....................14
4.6 Create wave-folding sounds ............................14
4.7 Set LFOs to track pitch for AM- and FM-type sounds ....................15
4.8 Control gain-staging and distortion..........................15
4.9 Change the EG response shape ...........................16
4.10 Use oscillator sync to create complex waveforms .....................16
4.11 ’Play’ a resonant lter ..............................16
4.12 Modulate a local LFO frequency with a global LFO or EG ...................16
4.13 Feedback audio / process external audio ........................17
4.14 Design and use custom LFO waveforms ........................17
AReal-time patch changes using MIDI NRPNs .......................19
A.1 NRPN control of advanced modulation ........................20
BMIDI Implementation Chart .............................21
CMIDI SysEx messages ...............................24

1Introduction
The synthesizer is a very powerful and complex instrument and so it takes time to fully appreciate and under-
stand all the capabilities and possibilities. It is hoped that this guide, in conjunction with the User Guide, makes this process
a little faster and easier, as well as perhaps revealing some capabilities or techniques that you weren’t aware of.
This How to… guide is intended to suppliment the User Guide available from motas-synth.uk/downloads.html.
Whereas the User Guide works through each of the features in order, this guide often takes an alternative approach where
it is explained how to setup or use the features/settings to achieve a goal. This guide also expands on some more advanced
topics that are not covered in detail in the User Guide.
We suggest that you also read the appropriate section(s) in the User Guide. If further guidance is needed please email
[email protected]
For the latest news, rmware and document updates please visit www.motas-synth.uk.
Whilst every eort has been made to ensure that this guide is as accurate as possible Motas Electronics Limited will not
be liable for any erroneous information. This manual may be updated at any time without prior notice. Please check the
website for updates.
This guide or any portion of it may not be reproduced in any form without the manufacturer’s express consent.
How To…Guide v1.01 page 1

2Congure and control
2.1 Change the active parameter page without
adjusting the oset values
Engage the ’value lock’ feature value lock to pre-
vent the oset parameter from changing and then turn
the rotary knob corresponding to the new parameter
page you want to access.
Another approach is to turn the rotary knob to access
the new page and then turn the rotary knob back to
restore the setting, however it can be hard to set the value
exactly back as original which may be important e.g. when
accessing the oscillator pitch control pages.
2.2 Adjust page oset values without changing
the active parameter page
Engage the ’page lock’ feature page lock to prevent
the active page from changing. This can be useful when
you are busy setting the modulation settings on a page
but you nd that other pages need their osets tweaking
(such as lter cuto, or signal levels) but you don’t want
to leave the current page. Another use case is when want-
ing to study the oscilloscope or spectrum analyser whilst
adjusting settings.
2.3 Set the 5 fast-access patches loaded at
power-on
Pressing 1,2,3,4or 5normally
switches between 5 fast-access patches. To set these patches
rst load in the desired patches into each of the slots and/or
edit the patch settings in each slot. Then press save
and choose the save startup option. This will
save the current 5 patches in the fast-access slots to be
restored at next power-on.
2.4 Save a set of 5 fast-access patches
You may want this set of 5 patches for a live performance
to be able to quickly switch between patches, or as a set
for use with the vector morphing feature, or as a set for
use with the arpeggiator set to cycle through patches.
First load in the desired patches into each of the 5 fast-
access slots and/or edit the patch settings in each slot.
Then press sequence and then press save to
save into one of the 16 slots (2 banks of 8 sequences). Sav-
ing as a ’sequence’ allows saving of the set of 5 patches
together, even if the sequence data is empty or not used.
2.5 Initialise patch settings
When on a patch parameter page press copy to en-
ter the copy/reset/randomise page. Then press to
initialise (reset) the current patch to default settings. The
patch parameter mappings and other settings (under the
setup pages) are also reset to default values.
To reset the patch parameters only on the current page
press .
2.6 Copy patch settings
When on a patch parameter page press copy to enter
the copy/reset/randomise page.
Copy entire patch
Press the new patch preset destination 1–5to
copy the patch settings over to the new fast-access preset
destination.
Copy modulation settings to all pages
To copy the MIDI/CV modulations setting for that modula-
tion source from the current page to all parameter pages
press note ,velocity ,M1 ,M2 ,M3
How To…Guide v1.01 page 2

or M4 . The copy operation replicates the amount, sec-
ondary amount, secondary destination and unipolar mode
to all pages.
A fast way to zero a modulation on all pages
is to set the values to zero and then do a copy-to-all
pages operation
Copy global LFO settings to all pages
To copy the chosen global LFOx and the LFOx modulation
amount to all pages from the current page press
for LFOx.
Copy local LFO settings to all pages
Press or frequency for the local LFO to
copy the corresponding values to all pages from the cur-
rent page. To copy the local LFO modulation amount and
other LFO settings (e.g. single-shot mode, pitch track etc.)
to all pages from the current page press for LFO.
Copy EG settings to all pages
If a local EG is active on the current page then pressing
, , , , will copy
the corresponding values to all pages which are also set
to use a local EG. Press for EG to copy the EG mod-
ulation amount and other EG parameters (e.g. keytrack,
shape etc) to all pages from the current page and set the
EG to the same type (either local EG or global EG 1–4).
2.7 Control using a PC
Free software MotasEdit for controlling is
available from www.motas-synth.uk/downloads.html. This
software is available as a standalone executable and as a
plug-in version for use with 3rd party DAW software.
For best results always use a USB connection as the data
transfer is faster than using MIDI DIN connectors.
The MotasEdit software allows you to apply rmware up-
dates (see 2.8), control patch settings, archive
(load and save) patch, pattern and sequence settings, live
screenshots and more.
To send (i.e. control) patch settings from
the computer MIDI NRPN messages are used. For rmware
updating, archiving of data, live screenshots and other func-
tions SysEx data is used. Normally you would set
nrpn+sysex for both usb in and usb out
to allow full bi-directional functionality on setup page
14 . If you are using MIDI DIN connections then you would
need to set the midi in and midi out set-
tings appropriately.
Set the MIDI channel to match that set in the Mo-
tasEdit ( or set to any where data will be sent on chan-
nel 1 and received on any channel).
2.8 Update the rmware
Updated rmware for may be released from
time to time to make improvements and add new features.
These are available from www.motas-synth.uk/downloads.html.
The update le (MotasFirmware_vXXXXXXXX.mbin) con-
tains the new binary rmware for .
Use the MotasEdit software (see 2.7 for details) to apply
the update to Motas-6. The rmware update is sent to
using MIDI system exclusive (SysEx). Ide-
ally you should connect Motas-6 to your PC using USB. MIDI
DIN connectors can be used but this interface is much slower.
You must ensure that your is set so that
allow updates is set to yes to allow the rmware
updating process, on setup page 17 .
How To…Guide v1.01 page 3

It is possible to apply an older rmware ver-
sion but this is not recommended especially since
newer serial number units may not
function correctly with older rmware. It is recom-
mended to always update to the latest rmware
available.
2.9 Make an LFO sync to clock
Only the 4 global LFOs can be synced to MIDI clock. First
ensure that the LFO pitch track is set to off
then edit the frequency of the LFO down all the way to
zero (using the rotary encoder and/or ) and then
turn the rotary encoder anti-clockwise to further re-
duce the value until the tempo-sync options are shown.
When set to synchronise to the clock the display will show
a metronome indicator and the LFO period value (down to
as fast as 32 triplet). The icon displayed is sin this mode.
Now set the clk source to ext midi ,
ext clk or internal to choose external MIDI
clock, external CV/gate or internal clock.
2.10 Reset LFO on MIDI start
Set lfo sync seq to on so that the LFOs are
synchronised (reset) when the sequence or pattern is re-
wound to the start, play started or a MIDI START real-time
message is received. This feature is useful when control-
ling from an external sequencer and you
want the LFOs to be synchronised with the track.
2.11 Setup the source of modulators M1–M4
To setup the sources of the 4 global modulations M1–M4
that can be applied to each parameter page access
setup page 7. You can freely choose from many
MIDI CC controllers, MIDI aftertouch, MIDI pitchbend, CV/-
gate signals, MIDI note value, MIDI velocity and even the
output from the global LFOs and EGs.
You could setup 5 independent LFOs to mod-
ulate a single parameter page by assigning global
LFO2, LFO3 and LFO4 to global modulators M1, M2
and M3. These, together with the page global LFO
set to LFO1 and the page-local LFO gives a total of
5 simultaneous independent LFO signals! A simi-
lar trick can allow 5 independent EGs to modulate
a single parameter page.
2.12 Control playing style for note-o events
On the setup page 1you can set the
track note-off modes. Sometimes you may
want the oscillators to update pitch after note-o events
when multiple notes are held, depending on your playing
style. If you hold a note down and play another note on
and o then with track note-off set to
How To…Guide v1.01 page 4

pitch then the pitch will jump to match the note held-
down (which note depends also on the individual oscillator
note-tracking options), otherwise it won’t respond to the
note-o event.
In mode p+eg , additionally the EGs can re-trigger on
the note-o event, although this also depends on the EG
gate/trig setting too (set to every to ensure
always re-triggers, for example).
2.13 Play multiple units together polyphonically
Multiple units can be operated so that they
play together as a polyphonic synthesizer. Up to 16 units
can be operated together in this way. In this mode called
’polychain’ each new note is played by the next unit in the
chain (and if the end of the chain is reached then starting
again from the beginning of the chain). This is sometimes
called ’round-robin’ voice assignment and allows true poly-
phonic playing (unlike the simpler note-stealing method).
Each unit should be assigned a unique number in the chain
and every unit in the chain needs to be set with the total
number of units in the chain for this to work in the normal
way. Of course, if you want things to behavely dierently
you do not have to adhere to this rule!
The ’polychain’ algorithm runs independently on each of
the separate units and so in fact it is not
required that the units are daisy-chained to each other.
However, this is the easiest way to set things up and allows
editing of patch parameters on the rst unit in the chain
to be transfered automatically to the other units along the
chain to maintain the ’polysynth’ operation.
The normal setup of ’polychain’ would have the rst unit
in the chain connected to an external MIDI controller (or
computer) via USB or MIDI DIN to receive the played notes.
This rst unit needs to forward the MIDI controller data to
the second unit and so its midi out should be set
to thru+all so that the MIDI controller data (note
on/o etc) will be merged with the internal controller data
(to allow patch editing) and sent to the next in the chain.
All the units need to operating on the same MIDI channel
and so the easiest way is to set channel to any
for all of the units.
The remaining units in the chain need be connected to the
previous unit in the chain with a MIDI DIN cable and to have
midi in set to nrpn or nrpn+sysex (to
allow patch editing data from the rst unit) and midi out
set to thru to simply forward the data from the rst
unit only. The last unit in the chain, of course, does not
have to midi out set at all.
Finally, of course, all of the audio outputs from each
need to be mixed together using an exter-
nal audio mixer.
2.14 Using external CV/gate
Normally is played and controlled using MIDI
but external analogue CV (control voltage) signals can be
used too. There are 4 external CV/gate inputs and each
input can be assigned to a number of roles. The oset
and gain can be independently adjusted for each input for
compatibility with a wide range of external equipment.
Set the mode to cv pitch to allow the CV signal to
control the basic pitch of . This will override
How To…Guide v1.01 page 5

the MIDI note control of pitch, and will bypass any tuning
setup.
To trigger the EGs using CV/gate inputs set the mode to
gate+ or gate- to trigger on rising or falling volt-
age, respectively. The trigger point threshold is adjusted
by setting the oset for that CV input.
CV/gate can also control the tempo when set to clock+
or clock- , in this case the clk source should
be set to ext clk on setup page 3.
The cv smoothing parameter applies a low-pass
lter to the CV/gate signals which smoothes out and de-
lays the response to input CV (except when used for gate
or clock signals). This can be useful to lter out noise or to
add a delayed eect. When set to 00 there is no smooth-
ing.
To set the oset and gain for each input access
setup page 11
The raw input CV/gate signal for each of the 4 inputs is
shown on the display as a dimmed horizontal bar. Under-
neath this bar is a brighter bar showing the current resolved
CV/gate signal, after the oset and scaling adjustment.
For gate signals this will be zero or full width correspond-
ing to gate o or on respectively. This feature allows eas-
ier setup of the oset and scaling required for each input.
2.15 Edit page parameters such as EG attack
using rotary knobs
Whilst on a parameter page engage page lock and
value lock . Now the rotary knobs allow real-
time editing for many of the parameters for that page. See
the table below which shows what is controlled from each
rotary knob. For example turning lpf-1 will
now control the EG attack.
This feature is useful for live editing of the page patch pa-
rameters, and for faster more immediate editing of the
patch parameters using the rotary knobs.
Rotary knob Control function
osc-1 Note mod amount
pitch osc-1 Velocity mod amount
osc-1 M1 amount
osc-1 M2 amount
pwm osc-1 M3 amount
osc-1 M4 amount
osc-2 Note secondary amount
pitch osc-2 Velocity secondary amount
osc-2 M1 secondary amount
osc-2 M2 secondary amount
osc-2 M3 secondary amount
sub osc-2 M4 secondary amount
osc-3 LFOx waveform
pitch osc-3 LFOx frequency/tempo
osc-3 LFOx level
osc-3 local LFO waveform
pwm osc-3 local LFO frequency
osc-3 local LFO level
mixer EG delay
lpf-1 EG attack
lpf-1 EG decay
lpf-1 EG sustain
hpf EG release
hpf EG level
lpf-2 EG shape
output Page oset
master pitch global LFO1 frequency
phase mod osc-2 global LFO2 frequency
phase mod osc-3 global LFO3 frequency
mixer global LFO4 frequency
How To…Guide v1.01 page 6

2.16 Paraphonic playing
is a paraphonic synthesizer. The 3 VCOs
can separately be congured to track pitch independently,
and EGs can be applied to control the mixing of the VCOs,
but ultimately their outputs are all mixed together and
pass through the lters and nal output together. This
is in contrast to a true polyphonic synthesizer where each
’voice’ is fully independent all the way through to the nal
output.
There are many ’avours’ of paraphonic operation. The
simplest and often most eective is to set each of the 3
VCOs to track incoming notes in modes highest ,
middle or lowest respectively. With this setup
when one note is played all VCOs play the pitch of that
note. When 2 notes are held 2 of the VCOs play the high-
est note and the 3rd plays the lowest. When 3 notes are
held each VCO is set to a separate pitch. This allows easy
playing of 3-note chords with the benet of a rich sound
on 1-note playing (as all 3 VCOs then combine).
For true polyphonic operations multiple units
can be operation together, see section 2.13.
2.17 Use the arpeggiator without an external
keyboard
The arpeggiator has a mode that can play without trigger-
ing from an external source. Set mode to h-int
which means ’hold-internal’ then the notes played can be
edited on page 3 of the arpeggiator setup.
Either xed chord formations can be chosen (12 types such
as major ,minor ,aug …) or custom-dened notes
can be set. Up to 8 notes can be specied.
2.18 Setup custom tunings
A ’tuning’ is the mapping between the played note and
the resulting pitch (frequency). The tuning will be correct
when no modulations are applied to the master pitch page
and the individual VCO pitch pages and the osets are set
to zero semitones. If note modulation is applied then devi-
ations will occur which can be useful way to detune accord-
ing to note played. Note that the tunings are only used for
MIDI playing of – when using CV to control
pitch there is no such mapping in operation (the pitch is
directly controlled by the CV voltage).
You can choose from 32 built-in preset tunings and from a
further 32 user-dened tunings that you import (via MIDI
tuning commands). Make the selection from
setup page 12 .
2.19 Live tweaking: modify any patch parameter
using MIDI CCs or rotary knobs
All of the parameters can be controlled us-
ing NRPN MIDI controller data but this can be ddly to
setup and use with some external hardware. The MotasEdit
software does use NRPNs to control and read the param-
eters to allow full, bidirectional high-resolution control of
all parameters.
A simpler method can be employed using standard MIDI
CCs (continuous controllers) from CC #1 (modulation wheel)
to CC #24 using a pameter mapping system. This mapping
is necessary because there are far too many parameters
in each patch to allow full control from the
limited number of CC controllers. The mapping system al-
How To…Guide v1.01 page 7

lows you to choose which patch parameters is assigned to
which CC controller. This is accessed from
setup page 5.
When the parameter map is on CC control is active. You
can set the parameter map to be global meaning the
same mapping is used for all patches or patch which
is specic to each patch and saved within each patch. The
table below show the mapping options. They are 2 set-
tings needed for each mapping (the ’page’ and the ’dest’)
allowing control of all patch settings (more than 1600 pa-
rameters!).
Global/Page/Patch Global Destination Page Destination Patch Dest.
OFF LFO1 WAVEFORM OFFSET PORT MODE
GLOBAL PARAMS LFO1 FREQUENCY PAGE OPTION 1 PORT TIME/RATE
MASTER PITCH LFO1 TEMPO PAGE OPTION 2 PORT VALUE
OSC-1:LEVEL LFO1 SINGLE-SHOT NOTE DEPTH NOTE OFF TRACK
OSC-1:PITCH LFO1 SYNC/RESET NOTE 2ND DEST PW SENS.
OSC-1:TRIANGLE LFO1 PITCH TRACK NOTE 2ND DEPTH LFO SYNC.
OSC-1:SAWTOOTH LFO2 WAVEFORM NOTE RESPONSE
OSC-1:PULSE MOD. LFO2 FREQUENCY VELOCITY DEPTH
OSC-1:PULSE LEVEL LFO2 TEMPO VEL. 2ND DEST
OSC-2:PHASE MOD LFO2 SINGLE-SHOT VEL. 2ND DEPTH
OSC-2:LEVEL LFO2 SYNC/RESET VEL. RESPONSE
OSC-2:PITCH LFO2 PITCH TRACK M1 DEPTH
OSC-2:TRIANGLE LFO3 WAVEFORM M1 2ND DEST
OSC-2:SAWTOOTH LFO3 FREQUENCY M1 2ND DEPTH
OSC-2:SQUARE LFO3 TEMPO M1 RESPONSE
OSC-2:SUB-OSC LFO3 SINGLE-SHOT M2 DEPTH
OSC-3:PHASE MOD LFO3 SYNC/RESET M2 2ND DEST
OSC-3:LEVEL LFO3 PITCH TRACK M2 2ND DEPTH
OSC-3:PITCH LFO4 WAVEFORM M2 RESPONSE
OSC-3:TRIANGLE LFO4 FREQUENCY M3 DEPTH
OSC-3:SAWTOOTH LFO4 TEMPO M3 2ND DEST
OSC-3:PULSE MOD. LFO4 SINGLE-SHOT M3 2ND DEPTH
OSC-3:PULSE LEVEL LFO4 SYNC/RESET M3 RESPONSE
MIXER:NOISE LFO4 PITCH TRACK M4 DEPTH
MIXER:LEVEL EG1 DELAY M4 2ND DEST
MIXER:FB/EXT EG1 ATTACK M4 2ND DEPTH
LPF1:FREQUENCY EG1 DECAY M4 RESPONSE
LPF1:RESONANCE EG1 SUSTAIN LFOX CHOICE
LPF1:OUTPUT EG1 RELEASE LFOX DEPTH
LPF2:FREQUENCY EG1 KEYTRACK LFO WAVEFORM
LPF2:RESONANCE EG1 RESET/LOOP LFO FREQUENCY
LPF2:OUTPUT EG1 SHAPE LFO DEPTH
HPF:FREQUENCY EG1 RESPONSE LFO OUTPUT MODE
HPF:OUTPUT EG2 DELAY LFO SINGLE-SHOT
OUTPUT EG2 ATTACK LFO SYNC/RESET
PATCH SETTINGS EG2 DECAY LFO PITCH TRACK
EG2 SUSTAIN LFO FMOD LFOX
EG2 RELEASE LFO FMOD EG
EG2 KEYTRACK EG DELAY
EG2 RESET/LOOP EG ATTACK
EG2 SHAPE EG DECAY
EG2 RESPONSE EG SUSTAIN
EG3 DELAY EG RELEASE
EG3 ATTACK EG DEPTH
EG3 DECAY EG CHOICE
EG3 SUSTAIN EG KEYTRACK
EG3 RELEASE EG RESET/LOOP
EG3 KEYTRACK EG SHAPE
EG3 RESET/LOOP EG RESPONSE
EG3 SHAPE
EG3 RESPONSE
EG4 DELAY
EG4 ATTACK
EG4 DECAY
EG4 SUSTAIN
EG4 RELEASE
EG4 KEYTRACK
EG4 RESET/LOOP
EG4 SHAPE
EG4 RESPONSE
When in patch summary display mode and both
page lock and value lock are enabled then
24 of the rotary knobs also control the mapping (in par-
allel with external CC controllers). The table below shows
the knob functions.
How To…Guide v1.01 page 8

Rotary knob Control function
osc-1 slot #1
pitch osc-1 slot #2
osc-1 slot #3
osc-1 slot #4
pwm osc-1 slot #5
osc-1 slot #6
osc-2 slot #7
pitch osc-2 slot #8
osc-2 slot #9
osc-2 slot #10
osc-2 slot #11
sub osc-2 slot #12
osc-3 slot #13
pitch osc-3 slot #14
osc-3 slot #15
osc-3 slot #16
pwm osc-3 slot #17
osc-3 slot #18
mixer slot #19
lpf-1 slot #20
lpf-1 slot #21
lpf-1 slot #22
hpf slot #23
hpf slot #24
master pitch global LFO1 frequency
phase mod osc-2 global LFO2 frequency
phase mod osc-3 global LFO3 frequency
mixer global LFO4 frequency
Use this feature to tweak patch parame-
ters in a live situation. Set the parameter map-
ping to patch so the tweakable parameters
are custom to each patch and then load the patch
and enter patch summary display mode with both
page lock and value lock enabled.
Turn the rotary knobs to tweak away!
How To…Guide v1.01 page 9

3Advanced modulation
The modulation architecture of typically al-
lows the user to ’see’ the modulation being applied to each
parameter shown on the individual parameter pages and
to dial-in modulation amounts from local LFOs and EGs (lo-
cal to that parameter page) as well as amounts from global
(patch-wide) modulators such as velocity, M1 …M4 and global
LFOs and EGs.
The advanced modulation feature, covered in this chapter,
opens the door to some really extreme and complex mod-
ulation congurations. The downside is that this feature
can lead to modulation routings that are dicult to see
how they are congured, but does allow the ultimate in
power and exibility.
With the advanced modulation feature enabled you can,
for example, modulate the parameters of local EGs and
LFOs across dierent parameter pages. You can mathe-
matically process the outputs of multiple modulation sources
and apply the output to almost any param-
eter as well as chain together these modulations for some
extreme setups.
A complex example (using 4 of the 16
available advanced modulation slots): you could
have the output from the local LFO on the VCO-
3 triangle-wave parameter page multiplied by CV/-
gate input 2, added to the global EG4 output
then slewed by global modulator M1 output and
the minimum of this and the global LFO2 output
routed to modify the EG shape of the local EG on
the LPF2 resonance parameter page and simulta-
neously modulate the master pitch local LFO fre-
quency …!
On the advanced mod setup page the advanced
modulation feature can be turned on and congured. There
are 16 slots of advanced modulation. This powerful fea-
ture allows complex chains of modulation from many sources
to be applied to a vast choice of destinations. The settings
are stored within the patch (including whether this feature
is enabled).
For each slot there are 2 source settings and a ’function’
that operates on the source values. The output from the
chosen function can be routed as a source input for other
advanced modulation slots.
Finally, the output from the chosen function has a mod-
ulation amount setting and this result modulates the slot
destination. The modulation amount can be adjusted over
a wide range from positive to negative and can be set as
bipolar or unipolar response.
To select from the 16 available advanced modulation slots
press to move to the next slot and to move
to the previous slot. Press and to access the
various parameters on each slot page and then use the ro-
tary encoder to adjust the values.
3.1 Source options
There are 2 sources for each advanced modulation slot la-
belled s1 and s2 . Each source has 2 parameters, the
rst parameter sets the source type. The second parame-
ter source selection depends on the source type, the op-
tions are shown in the following table.
Source type
SLOT GLOBAL PAGE/KNOB/LFO/EG MISC
#1 VELOCITY OSC-1:LEVEL TEMPO CLK
#2 NOTE OSC-1:PITCH NOTES DOWN
#3 M1 OSC-1:TRI LAST NOTE
#4 M2 OSC-1:SAW 1ST NOTE
#5 M3 OSC-1:PL MOD 2ND NOTE
#6 M4 OSC-1:PL LEV 3RD NOTE
#7 CV1 OSC-2:PH MOD HIGHEST NOTE
#8 CV1 OSC-2:LEVEL MIDDLE NOTE
#9 CV2 OSC-2:PITCH LOWEST NOTE
#10 CV3 OSC-2:TRI CONST 1
#11 CV4 OSC-2:SAW CONST 2
#12 LFO1 OSC-2:SQUARE CONST 3
#13 LFO2 OSC-2:SUBOSC CONST 4
#14 LFO3 OSC-3:PH MOD CONST 5
#15 LFO4 OSC-3:LEVEL CONST 6
#16 EG1 OSC-3:PITCH CONST 7
EG2 OSC-3:TRI CONST 8
EG3 OSC-3:SAW CONST 9
EG4 OSC-3:PL MOD CONST 10
OSC-3:PL LEV CONST 11
MIXER:NOISE CONST 12
MIXER:LEVEL CONST 13
LPF1:FREQ CONST 14
LPF1:RES CONST 15
LPF1:OUT CONST 16
HPF:FREQ CONST 32
HPF:OUT CONST 64
MIX:FB/EXT CONST 128
LPF2:FREQ
LPF2:RES
LPF2:OUT
OUTPUT
How To…Guide v1.01 page 10

Source type slot
When source type is set to slot the source value is
routed from another advanced modulation slot output. The
source selection can be chosen from #1 to #16 corre-
sponding to the advanced modulation outputs slots 1…16.
Source type global
When source type is set to global the source selec-
tion is set to that of the corresponding global modulator,
for example eg2 sets the source to the output of global
EG2.
Source type page /knob /lfo /eg
When source type is set to page ,knob ,lfo or
eg the source selection is set to the parameter on the
chosen parameter page.
Using page the source is the nal value of the param-
eter page (i.e. the resultant value for that page, after the
eects of any other modulations that are present for that
page).
Using knob the source is the value of the knob posi-
tion for that page (regardless of the page or value lock
settings).
Using lfo the source is the output of the local LFO for
that page.
Using eg the source is the output of the local EG for that
page. For example, with source type set to eg and 2nd
parameter set to osc:tri the source is value of the
local EG from the osc:tri page.
3.2 Function
You can choose the function that is applied to the s1 and
s2 sources. The output from the chosen function can
be routed as a source input for other advanced modula-
tion slots (using the slot source option). The choice
of functions is:
FUNCTION Description
OFF xed zero value
S1 ONLY S1 value (S2 ignored)
-S1 ONLY negative S1 value (S2 ignored)
S2 ONLY S2 value (S1 ignored)
ADD S1 + S2
AVERAGE (S1 + S2) / 2
SUBTRACT S1 - S2
DIFF positive dierence |S1 - S2|
MIN minimum of S1, S2
MAX maximum of S1, S2
MULTIPLY S1 x S2
DIVIDE S1 / S2
QUANTISE S1 quantised by S2
SLEW S1 slewed by S2
S/HOLD S1 sample/hold by S2
F-DIVIDE S1 frequency-divide by S2
Note that in all cases if the result of the function is out-of-
range the result is clipped.
The multiply and divide functions rescale the
result so it is more likely to be in range.
The slew function low-pass lters the s1 value with
a lter coecient depending on the s2 value.
The s/hold function samples the s1 value when
the s2 value rises above the mid-point value.
The f-divide function rst converts s1 into a square
wave signal toggling when the s1 value crosses through
the mid-point value. This square wave is then frequency
divided by the s2 value, to generate an output square
wave of lower frequency.
The misc:const x constant
source values can be useful in conjunction with
the slew function to provide a xed slew
setting or the f-divide function to provide
a frequency-divided signal with a xed ratio.
3.3 Modulation amount
The amount of modulation sent to the destination can be
adjusted over a wide range (both positive and negative).
Depending on the destination setting the modulation amount
may be shown in dierent units e.g. percent, cents, semi-
How To…Guide v1.01 page 11

tones etc.
Press to toggle unipolar or bipolar
modulation.
3.4 Destination
The destination is set using the page and dest set-
tings as shown in the table below.
PAGE DEST (global) DEST (page) DEST (patch)
OFF LFO1 WAVEFORM OFFSET PORT MODE
GLOBAL PARAMS LFO1 FREQUENCY PAGE OPTION 1 PORT TIME/RATE
MASTER PITCH LFO1 TEMPO PAGE OPTION 2 PORT VALUE
OSC-1:LEVEL LFO1 SINGLE-SHOT NOTE DEPTH NOTE OFF TRACK
OSC-1:PITCH LFO1 SYNC/RESET NOTE 2ND DEST PW SENS.
OSC-1:TRIANGLE LFO1 PITCH TRACK NOTE 2ND DEPTH LFO SYNC.
OSC-1:SAWTOOTH LFO2 WAVEFORM NOTE RESPONSE
OSC-1:PULSE MOD. LFO2 FREQUENCY VELOCITY DEPTH
OSC-1:PULSE LEVEL LFO2 TEMPO VEL. 2ND DEST
OSC-2:PHASE MOD LFO2 SINGLE-SHOT VEL. 2ND DEPTH
OSC-2:LEVEL LFO2 SYNC/RESET VEL. RESPONSE
OSC-2:PITCH LFO2 PITCH TRACK M1 DEPTH
OSC-2:TRIANGLE LFO3 WAVEFORM M1 2ND DEST
OSC-2:SAWTOOTH LFO3 FREQUENCY M1 2ND DEPTH
OSC-2:SQUARE LFO3 TEMPO M1 RESPONSE
OSC-2:SUB-OSC LFO3 SINGLE-SHOT M2 DEPTH
OSC-3:PHASE MOD LFO3 SYNC/RESET M2 2ND DEST
OSC-3:LEVEL LFO3 PITCH TRACK M2 2ND DEPTH
OSC-3:PITCH LFO4 WAVEFORM M2 RESPONSE
OSC-3:TRIANGLE LFO4 FREQUENCY M3 DEPTH
OSC-3:SAWTOOTH LFO4 TEMPO M3 2ND DEST
OSC-3:PULSE MOD. LFO4 SINGLE-SHOT M3 2ND DEPTH
OSC-3:PULSE LEVEL LFO4 SYNC/RESET M3 RESPONSE
MIXER:NOISE LFO4 PITCH TRACK M4 DEPTH
MIXER:LEVEL EG1 DELAY M4 2ND DEST
MIXER:FB/EXT EG1 ATTACK M4 2ND DEPTH
LPF1:FREQUENCY EG1 DECAY M4 RESPONSE
LPF1:RESONANCE EG1 SUSTAIN LFOX CHOICE
LPF1:OUTPUT EG1 RELEASE LFOX DEPTH
LPF2:FREQUENCY EG1 KEYTRACK LFO WAVEFORM
LPF2:RESONANCE EG1 RESET/LOOP LFO FREQUENCY
LPF2:OUTPUT EG1 SHAPE LFO DEPTH
HPF:FREQUENCY EG1 RESPONSE LFO OUTPUT MODE
HPF:OUTPUT EG2 DELAY LFO SINGLE-SHOT
OUTPUT EG2 ATTACK LFO SYNC/RESET
PATCH SETTINGS EG2 DECAY LFO PITCH TRACK
EG2 SUSTAIN LFO FMOD LFOX
EG2 RELEASE LFO FMOD EG
EG2 KEYTRACK EG DELAY
EG2 RESET/LOOP EG ATTACK
EG2 SHAPE EG DECAY
EG2 RESPONSE EG SUSTAIN
EG3 DELAY EG RELEASE
EG3 ATTACK EG DEPTH
EG3 DECAY EG CHOICE
EG3 SUSTAIN EG KEYTRACK
EG3 RELEASE EG RESET/LOOP
EG3 KEYTRACK EG SHAPE
EG3 RESET/LOOP EG RESPONSE
EG3 SHAPE
EG3 RESPONSE
EG4 DELAY
EG4 ATTACK
EG4 DECAY
EG4 SUSTAIN
EG4 RELEASE
EG4 KEYTRACK
EG4 RESET/LOOP
EG4 SHAPE
EG4 RESPONSE
Note that the available options are exactly the same as for
the parameter mapping feature (see 2.19).
3.5 Copy/Reset Mod
Pressing copy from the advanced mod setup
page allows options to copy or reset the advanced modu-
lation settings. The current slot is shown in the upper right
of the display.
Press when the copy from line is selected
to copy from a modulation slot (selected using the rotary
encoder ) to the current modulation slot .
Press when the copy to line is selected to
copy the current modulation slot settings to another slot
(selected using the rotary encoder ).
Press when the reset this slot line
is selected to reset all the settings for the current slot.
Press when the reset all slots line
is selected to reset all of the advanced modulation set-
tings for this patch, and turn o (disable) the advanced
modulation.
3.6 Control of settings over MIDI
When the advanced modulation settings are adjusted the
new settings can be sent over MIDI using NRPN messages.
Similarly recognises these NRPN messages
to adjust the settings. The MotasEdit has an interface to
allow changing of the advanced modulation settings, see
also section 2.7.
How To…Guide v1.01 page 12

4Sound design
4.1 Set bipolar or unipolar modulation
The modulation sources EG, note, velocity and global mod-
ulators M1 …M4 can all be set to modulate in either unipo-
lar or bipolar mode (independent settings for each source
on each parameter page). Bipolar means that when the
modulation source is at its mid-value the modulation ef-
fect will be zero whilst in unipolar mode the eect is zero
when the source is also at its zero value. Typically (on tra-
ditional synths) EGs are always unipolar but with
this does not have to be the case.
The LFOs (global and local) are always bipolar.
4.2 Make an oscillator have xed pitch
The VCOs normally track MIDI note-on values automati-
cally. To hold the VCO so that its pitch is the same regard-
less of the incoming MIDI note simply apply a note modu-
lation of -12 semitones (to cancel out the +12 semitones
that is built-in).
4.3 Create a drone patch
To create a drone patch i.e. one where the audio is heard
continuously, simply reduce the EG modulation level on
the nal output page to zero and oset the page value
to 100% to give full output level. Also, you would need
to set non-zero oset levels on other pages such as os-
cillator individual waveform pages, oscillator overall level
page, mixer level page and lter output page (such as for
low-pass lter 1) in order to hear something.
4.4 Create a band-pass lter
has 3 independent lters: two low-pass and
one high-pass. To make a bandpass lter a low-pass lter
needs to be placed in series with the high-pass lter.
Let’s use low-pass lter 1 with the high-pass lter. Set the
input of the low-pass lter 1 to the mixer mix and set
the cut-o frequency to, say 2.00kHz .
Next, set the direct output level of low-pass lter 1 to zero
(we don’t want any of the direct output to be audible).
Next set the input of the high-pass lter to the 2nd pole of
the low-pass lter 1 output pole-2 and set the cut-
o frequency to, say 1.00kHz .
How To…Guide v1.01 page 13

With this setup the audio from the mixer passes through
a band-pass lter with xed width and a centre frequency
around 1.5kHz. Of course the frequencies of the low and
high pass lters can be modulated (independently) to make
the sound more interesting.
The high-pass lter can be set to receive its signal from
a dierent pole of the low-pass lter 1 (the higher the
pole the steeper the cut-o frequency), the low-pass l-
ter 1 resonance could be adjusted and the signal level can
be adjusted (to alter the gain-staging and so distortion ef-
fects)…all of these changes will alter the sonic eect.
4.5 Use phase modulation to create complex
waveforms
is rather unique for an analogue synthe-
sizer in having phase-modulation capabilities. Phase mod-
ulation (PM) is when the waveform of an oscillator (the
carrier) is shifted in phase a controllable amount from an-
other oscillator waveform (the modulator).
Phase-modulation gives rise to sounds sim-
ilar to frequency modulation (FM) but does not
have the frequency shift problems that can plague
true FM. This is because with FM the frequency of
the output signal is aected by the value of the
modulating signal whereas with PM the frequency
shift is from the rate-of-change of the modulator
signal. Using FM it is very hard to generate modula-
tor wavefoms that do not cause the side-eect of
uncontrolled frequency changes, especially with
analogue VCOs and strong modulation amounts.
i
The ’FM’ digital synths of the 1980s actually
used phase-modulation (PM) but it was marketed
as FM…
The VCO2 core sawtooth waveform can be phase-modulated
from the VCO1 triangle wave. The modulated result is the
sawtooth output from VCO2. Internally the triangle wave-
form from VCO2 is generated from this new sawtooth and
so is aected by the PM. The square and sub waveforms
are generated from the original core sawtooth and so are
not aected by the PM on VCO2.
The VCO3 core sawtooth waveform can be phase-modulated
from either the VCO1 or VCO2 triangle wave. The modu-
lated result is the sawtooth output from VCO3. Internally
the triangle and pulse waveforms from VCO2 are gener-
ated from this new sawtooth and so both are aected by
the PM.
In the screenshot below (captured from the built-in oscillo-
scope feature) we have VCO3 sawtooth output with phase
modulation from VCO2. Both VCOs have been set to the
same frequency (with VCO2 set to hard-sync to VCO3 to
ensure constant lock). As you can see the waveform is sig-
nicantly altered from a pure sawtooth.
In the screenshot below we have the same setup as above
but additionally add phase modulation of VCO2 from VCO1
creating a more complex waveshape.
4.6 Create wave-folding sounds
It is possible to create wave-folding type eects using a
special setup of the phase-modulation.
To achieve this we set the carrier frequency out-of-range
of hearing (either infrasonic or ultrasonic ).
Then, with phase modulation the triangle wave output shape
will, with some combination of settings, eectively be wave-
folded onto itself.
How To…Guide v1.01 page 14

In the screenshot below (captured from the built-in oscil-
loscope feature) you can see that the triangle wave output
of VCO3 has ’folded’ back onto itself at the tops of the cy-
cle giving a characteristic tone. In this example the lters
have been bypassed.
4.7 Set LFOs to track pitch for AM- and FM-type
sounds
Normally the LFOs frequency is free-running but setting
the pitch track setting to note or pitch
causes the LFO frequency to track with the played note.
In this case the LFO frequency is not displayed in Hz but in
semitones or cents oset from the played note. In note
mode the LFO will track the last played note including pitch
bend and global tuning and oset, whilst in pitch mode
additionally the tracking will be from the result of the
master pitch page.
Use pitch-tracking to apply a range of AM and
FM eects (depending where the LFO is appled).
Oset the pitch-tracking frequency to give charac-
teristic noisy/complex tones. Since the LFOs can-
not run at high audio rates (due to hardware limi-
tations) digital aliasing artifacts will be heard when
at higher frequencies, especially if the LFO wave-
form is not a sine wave.
4.8 Control gain-staging and distortion
There are several audio gain controlling stages in the au-
dio signal path. There is the mix of the individual oscillator
waveforms, the overall oscillator levels, the mixer level (in-
cluding boost option) and the individual lter output lev-
els. Also the resonance control on the low-pass lters is
relevant (since resonance is a local feeback path), as well
as the possibility to use the external input/feedback path.
Finally there are the clipping options on the nal output
stage.
has been designed so that at higher levels
the audio signals will overdrive/compress/limit/clip within
the internal analogue circuitry producing new harmonics
from non-linear circuit operation in many places. The ef-
fect will be dierent depending on where the higher lev-
els are present within the circuitry. This intentional design
allows a greater range of possible sounds which vary with
the various signal levels in the signal path. Use of lter
resonance and feedback also plays a part by modifying the
signal levels. Use lower-levels for a clean sound, high lev-
els for a grungy aggresive sound and intermediate levels
for eects inbetween. The lters will distort dierently
due to the dierent designs of the circuits.
Using multiple oscillators at almost the same frequency,
with appropriate level settings, can give an interesting change
of tone as the oscillators drift in- and out-of phase. At
some times the oscillators add together (when in-phase)
and then distortion is strongest. At other times, when not
How To…Guide v1.01 page 15

in-phase, the overall signal is weaker and so the distortion
is reduced or absent.
The subtle (or not subtle) eects of distortion are one of
the key sonic attractions of true analogue synthesizers such
as .
4.9 Change the EG response shape
Each EG (Envelope Generator) has an output signal that
varies over time during the attack, decay and release phases.
The way this signal varies with time can be varied over a
wide range using the shape parameter from -64 to +64.
With positive shape values ( log ) the signal changes more
quickly at the start and then more slowly, conversely with
negative shape values ( exp ) the signal changes more
slowly at the start and then more quickly. Adjusting this
parameter is particularly useful to get exactly the ’right’
response for percussive sounds where small changes in the
shape can make a big dierence to the sound eect.
4.10 Use oscillator sync to create complex
waveforms
has hard oscillator syncronisation features
on oscillators 1 and 2. This means that the oscillator core
can be reset by another oscillator (or oscillators). The synced
oscillator re-starts its waveform cycle at the point in time
when the other oscillator re-starts. The eect depends
on the relationship between the frequencies of the oscil-
lators.
The waveform below shows the triangle wave output of
oscillator 1 which is synced to oscillator 2. The frequency
of oscillator 2 is set to 7 semitones lower than oscillator 1.
As you can see the triangle waveform is distorted as the
oscillator signal resets partway through the cycle.
In a more complex example the waveform below shows
the triangle wave output of oscillator 1 which is synced to
oscillators 2 and 3. The frequency of oscillator 2 is set to 7
semitones lower than oscillator 1 whilst the frequency of
oscillator 3 is set to 9 semitones lower. The triangle wave-
form is distorted with 2 resets during its cycle.
4.11 ’Play’ a resonant lter
The 2 low-pass lters can both be ’played’ like oscillators
using high resonance settings. Set the lter cut-o fre-
quency to track note with 1.00 octave. Set the resonance
above 70%.
Note that the self-oscillation dies o at lower frequencies
especially for low-pass lter 2. With low-pass lter 1 set
the resonance feedback setting to pole-4 or pole-6 .
The pitch will be lower in the pole-6 setting and will
extend to lower frequency operation. Note also that the
pitch stability of the lters is not as precise as that for the
oscillators.
4.12 Modulate a local LFO frequency with a
global LFO or EG
Set the freq mod lfox parameter to allow the
frequency of a local LFO to be modulated by the global
How To…Guide v1.01 page 16

LFO used on that page and/or set the freq mod eg
parameter to allow the frequency to be modulated by the
EG used on that page. Note that the global lfo or EG mod-
ulation amount settings for the page are irrelevant here
and could be zero.
Another way to achieve this is (or in parallel to the above!)
is to assign a global LFO or global EG to one of the global
modulators M1 …M4 and then set a secondary modulation
amount to modulate the local LFO frequency.
Adjust the local LFO frequency as normal to set the ’oset’
of the local LFO about which the modulation takes place.
4.13 Feedback audio / process external audio
To process the output of in a feedback loop
ensure that nothing is plugged into the external audio in-
put C. When nothing is connected an internal loopback
connection is made from the main output (before the nal
volume control). Alternatively, to process external audio
plug in a line-level audio signal into C.
Adjust the level on the
mixer fb/external parameter page. The feed-
back or external audio signal enters the mixer along with
the VCOs and the noise source.
Since this is a feedback loop if the gain
around the loop becomes greater than 1 and is in-
phase the output will potentially scream/howl so
use with caution, or to good eect!
Of course modulation can be applied to this
page (just like all the other pages) so you could cre-
ate an eect where the external sound is only pro-
cessed for a certain time on each key press by mod-
ulating with an EG, for example.
4.14 Design and use custom LFO waveforms
Each patch has 4 custom LFO waveforms which can be edited.
Access setup page 2and then press or
to enter the custom LFO editing mode.
Any LFO (parameter-page local, or global) can use the 4
custom LFO waveforms just like the preset waveforms.
How To…Guide v1.01 page 17