Native Instruments Reflektor User manual

Manual

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No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or record
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All specifications are subject to change without notice.
© 2011, Native Instruments GmbH. All rights reserved.
Document authored by: Ryan Rainer
Product Version: 1.0.1 (02/2011)
Document version: 1.1 (02/2011)
Special thanks to the Beta Test Team, who were invaluable not just in tracking down bugs,
but in making this a better product.
Disclaimer

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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ..............................................................................................................5
1.1 More about REFLEKTOR and Reverb ............................................................................................ 5
2 REFLEKTOR Interface and Controls .............................................................................. 7
3 Managing Your Impulse Responses ............................................................................11
3.1 Setting the Path to your IR Library .............................................................................................. 11
3.2 Using Individual IR Files ............................................................................................................. 12
4 Credits ......................................................................................................................13
Table of Contents
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 4

1 Introduction
REFLEKTOR is engineered at the pinnacle of digital signal processing — a definitive con
volution reverb based on the groundbreaking Zero Latency Convolution technology, and uti
lizing the GUITAR RIG PLAYER platform.
Native Instruments’ patent pending "Zero Latency Convolution" is the basis for REFLEK
TOR, the first KOMPLETE effect powered by GUITAR RIG. With its streamlined interface
REFLEKTOR is perfectly simple to use. A rich selection of supreme quality impulse re
sponse content spans an enormous range of reverb sounds to start with. Moreover, they’re
all smoothly and quickly adjustable due to advanced technology under the hood. REFLEK
TOR also boasts a number of additional features beyond the usual reverb settings, making
this effect perfect for all production use cases, with some unique features catering directly
for production of electronic and dance music.
Its instantly usable musical features give REFLEKTOR a twist for any producer with a
sense for advanced techniques: a reverse mode with an adjustable position for leaving ear
ly reflections in place produces anything from aspirated reverbs to far-out effects; the
dead-easy sync feature allows for syncing the pre-delay and the decay both of original and
reversed impulse responses for creating a superb pumping beat effect. In addition, special
controls over depth and pan position, as well as stereo width make this reverb a cut above
the competition. With over 350 impulse responses REFLEKTOR is the ultimate reverb for
every production need, from classic to creative!
We sincerely hope you enjoy REFLEKTOR.
The team at Native Instruments
1.1 More about REFLEKTOR and Reverb
REFLEKTOR is a quick and powerful Convolution Reverb component powered by GUITAR
RIG. It boasts zero latency and produces no crackling noises and artifacts when using the
controls. The all-new convolution algorithm speeds up and smoothes out any parameter
adjustments, and also boasts a new level in CPU efficiency. REFLEKTOR contains over
Introduction
More about REFLEKTOR and Reverb
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 5

350 impulse responses (IR) ranging over a wide spectrum of sources, from digital hi end
reverb units, to real IRs recorded from actual physical spaces, synthesized IRs calculated
from modeled rooms, and special processed IRs.
Reverb or Reverberation is essentially an effect that simulates putting a sound in a loca
tion by adding the small echoes and changes in sound that you would experience in that
location. For example, think of the difference in the sound that your voice produces in a
room, a tunnel, a canyon, or even a snowfield. All of those places have a different reverb.
Over the years music companies began to create echo rooms, run signals through springs
and large metal plates, and eventually created sophisticated programs for digital devices
all with the aim of recreating different reverb atmospheres. Those are all recreated with
REFLEKTOR.
REFLEKTOR enables you to easily recreate any variety of these different atmospheres and
lets you modify various characteristics of a particular space in fun and creative ways. This
is achieved by using an advanced processing technique call convolution. The REFLEKTOR
convolution reverb uses a sample or IR of a physical location or piece of gear to accurately
mimic the acoustics of that sample. Besides using REFLEKTOR’s large selection of world-
class IRs, you can also load your own IR collections or even experiment by using other
samples.
Introduction
More about REFLEKTOR and Reverb
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 6

2 REFLEKTOR Interface and Controls
This section describes REFLEKTOR’s interface and controls in detail.
Once installed, REFLEKTOR is found under the Components tab in GUITAR RIG. Double
click or drag and drop the component to make it appear in the Rack.
Fig. 2.1 REFLEKTORs user interface.
(1) Component Preset Selector: Use this drop down to select a preset for the reverb.
(2) IR Category / Folder: Use this drop-down menu to select a category from the factory IR's
or to choose your own user selected folder. The list displays all the available categories
and folders in the User Directory. When you select a folder from the menu, the first sam
ple in that category is loaded. The first item in this list, “Select an IR Folder...”, allows you to
point REFLEKTOR to a directory containing IRs you want to use within this particular in
stance of REFLEKTOR. Once a user directory is selected, it will appear in the list of cate
gories below the factory content. Note that this selection only affects the REFLEKTOR in
stance it was made in. For more information see ↑3.2, Using Individual IR Files
(3) IR Sample: Use this drop down menu to choose an IR sample from the list in the cur
rent category/folder. To load a user sample directly, use the first item in this list, “Open
IR....” Once a user sample is selected, it will appear and will load, its name will appear in
REFLEKTOR Interface and Controls
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 7

the display, and its folder will be used as the User Directory. After a sample is loaded (and
after all parameter changes are made to the sample), it is analyzed and the level is auto-
normalized. You can load many file formats from the library including mp3. If a sample
exceeds the maximum length it will be cut (Note: user selected IR's will be saved with the
GUITAR RIG preset. This is a great feature that allows you to trade presets without send
ing samples, ensuring that presets and songs will always be loaded exactly the same in the
future, even if their sample folders change).
(4) Prior IR: This will select the IR in the current category/folder that is above the current
sample in the list. If you press this button when the first sample in a category is reached,
it will loop to the last sample.
(5) Next IR: This will select the IR in the current category/folder that is below the current
sample in the list. If you press this button when the last sample in a category is reached,
it will loop to the first sample.
(6) Prior Category: This will select the category/folder that is above the current category in
the list. If you press this button when the first category in the list is reached, it will loop to
the last category. This also loads the last sample in the prior categories list.
(7) Next Category: This will select the category/folder that is below the current category in
the list. If you press this button when the last category in the list is reached, it will loop to
the first category. This also loads the first sample in the prior categories list.
(8) WET: This knob controls the amount of the wet or processed signal that is heard.
(9) DRY: This knob controls the amount of unprocessed signal that is heard.
(10) DECAY: (1% to 150%) This affects how long the tail of the signal is heard. At its de
fault, no change occurs. When the knob is turned to less than 100%, an envelope is ap
plied that shortens the sample length. When the knob is turned to more than 100%, an
envelope is applied that amplifies the end of sample. When the SYNC button is pressed, the
knob operates in lengths related to the tempo. The values for sync are 1/32, 1/16T, 1/32.,
1/16, 1/8T, 1/16., 1/8, 1/4T, 1/8., 1/4, 1/2T, 1/4., 1/2, 1/1T, 1/2., 1/1. When the REVRS
button is on, it also truncates the IR (adjusting the time between the dry signal and the
'pumping end' of the reversed reverb).
(11) SIZE: (50% to 200%) Resizes the IR, affecting both the time and the color of the re
verb. If turned to the right, the size becomes larger which makes the length longer and the
frequency content lower much like what is experienced in a room when the size is in
creased. Turn the knob to the left to achieve the opposite effect.
REFLEKTOR Interface and Controls
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 8

(12) START: (0% to 90%) This adjusts the start position of the IR sample. You can use this
to remove predelay from an IR, but adjusting it will give you a totally new sample to use.
This is useful in the following type of situation: you have a long plate reverb with nice high
frequency content in the end but you don't like the beginning. You can easily change it
into a short high frequency IR by adjusting the start, and all your other parameters will be
applied on top of this new (normalized) sample.
(13) MUTE: this will mute the send of the dry signal to the reverb processor. The tail of the
reverb is still there after pressing it. This is mostly a performance control and should al
ways be off in the requested rack presets.
(14) REVRS (Reverse,): This reverses the IR sample. This button also enables the R POS (Re
verse Position) knob. Use REVRS in conjunction with SYNC to get a reversed sound that will
always end with its climax on a beat.
(15) POS (Reverse Position): (0%-25%) This is one of REFLEKTOR’s special features and is
activated by pressing the REVRS button. With this knob you can set which part of the IR is
reversed. 0% reverses the full sample, 25% keeps the first 25% of the sample unaffected
and reverses the last 75%. Use this control to get an early reflection followed by an aspi
rated reverse climax.
(16) LOW-ENV (Low Frequency Envelope,): This produces an effect similar to low dampening
on a reverb, except you can increase the low frequencies present in the IR too. When in
creased there is an envelope that increases the volume of the content below the Frequency
over time and when it is decreased, there is an envelope to lower that volume over time.
Only the wet signal is affected.
(17) Frequency for LO-ENV: sets the cutoff frequency for the Low Frequency envelope.
(18) HI-ENV (High Frequency Envelope): This produces an effect similar to high dampening
on a reverb, except you can increase the high frequencies present in the IR too. When in
creased there is an envelope that increases the volume of the content above the Frequency
over time and when it is decreased, there is an envelope to lower that volume over time.
Only the wet signal is affected.
(19) Frequency for HI-ENV: sets the cutoff frequency for the High Frequency envelope.
(20) PEAK: This is a static peak filter. The bipolar slider adjusts the gain/cut for the post
reverb Peak EQ.
(21) Frequency for the Peak EQ: sets the frequency for the Peak EQ.
(21) Q factor or band width for the Peak EQ: sets the width for the Peak EQ.
(22) SYNC: When turned on, the Decay and Predelay parameters are synced to the host
tempo. Their scale is switched from a percentage to musical values.
REFLEKTOR Interface and Controls
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 9

(24) PREDELAY: This knob adjusts the predelay time. It adds a delay to the wet signal to
simulate distance and produces rhythmic effects. When the SYNC button is pressed, the
knob operates in lengths related to the tempo. The values for sync are 1/32, 1/16T, 1/32.,
1/16, 1/8T, 1/16., 1/8, 1/4T, 1/8., 1/4, 1/2T, 1/4., 1/2, 1/1T, 1/2., 1/1.
(25) WIDTH: This knob adjusts the stereo image. Position 0 sums the input into a mono
signal and convolves it with the IR (mostly 2-channel samples). In this case, all stereo in
formation comes from the IR. Position 1 convolves the left side of the input with the left
side of the IR and the right side of the input with the right side of the IR. The knob cross-
fades between these signal flows.
(26) DEPTH: This knob simulates the depth of the room, bringing it closer or further away
by increasing or decreasing the early reflections in the IR. Using this control once the
START knob is turned produces interesting results. It has little effect in Reverse mode.
(27) PAN: This does a psychoacoustic panning of the wet signal. Turn this knob to the left
to make the wet signal pan left, simulating the acoustics of shifting the reflections to the
left. Turn the knob to the right to cause the wet signal to pan right.
(28) Processing Indicator light: This light tells you when REFLEKTOR is processing a new
IR. When a knob is turned, the tail of the old IR is still processed and a new IR is started
for the change. The light then turns on. If another parameter is changed while the light is
on, the first IR is cut and the new change is started immediately.
(29) Category Picture: This is the picture for the IR category. This will display a picture
(.png file type only) that is in the same folder as the loaded sample. If a picture with the
same name as the sample is not found it looks for one with the name of the folder. If noth
ing is found the default picture is loaded.
Decay, Size, Start, Reverse Position, Low Frequency Envelope, Frequency for LO-ENV, High
Frequency Envelope, Frequency for HI-ENV, Predelay, Depth and Pan parameters cannot be
modulated because the IR needs to be recalculated for a new value that is not real-time. If a
MIDI controller is assigned you can adjust the parameter, but it is not intended to be used as
a performance control.
REFLEKTOR Interface and Controls
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 10

3 Managing Your Impulse Responses
In addition to the impulse responses (IRs) contained in REFLEKTOR's factory library, you
can load other impulse responses, e.g. from other convolution-based reverb effects, into
REFLEKTOR.
3.1 Setting the Path to your IR Library
You can make your collection of impulse responses (your IR Library) available within RE
FLEKTOR by selecting its folder.
Fig. 3.1 The Library Path selector.
► Click the Reflektor User IR Library Path selector at the bottom of REFLEKTOR's Preferences
to open a dialog that lets you point REFLEKTOR to the folder holding your personal IR li
brary.
Managing Your Impulse Responses
Setting the Path to your IR Library
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 11

3.2 Using Individual IR Files
If you want to use specific IR files in a song you are working on, but do not want to add
them to your IR library folder, you can point REFLEKTOR directly to the folder containing
these IR files.
Fig. 3.2 Selecting specific IR files.
1. Click the arrow next to the IR Category / Folder menu to open the menu.
2. From the IR Category / Folder menu, select the Select an IR folder... entry to open a dia
log that lets you specify the folder containing the IR file you want to load.
While both the Factory and User IR Library paths are valid for all REFLEKTOR instances, the
directory path selected here is only valid for the individual REFLEKTOR instance it was speci
fied in.
Managing Your Impulse Responses
Using Individual IR Files
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 12

4 Credits
Product Designer: Matt Jackson
DSP Engineer: Mickael Le Goff
Component Production: Volker Hinz
GUI Design: Mirko Wannemacher
Lead Sound Designer: Dinos Vallianatos
Credits
REFLEKTOR - Manual - 13