Playtime Engineering Blipblox After Dark User manual

AFTER DARK
Owner's Guide

© 2020 Playtime Engineering, LLC. All rights reserved.
The Blipblox, packaging, manual and logo are the intellectual properties of Playtime Engineering, LLC.
Playtime Engineering, LLC, 1459 18th St., #357, San Francisco, California, USA 94107
Designed in USA. Produced in China. www.blipblox.com
CAUTION ELECTRIC TOY: Not recommended for children under 3 years of age. As with all electric products, precautions should be observed during
handling and use to prevent electric shock. This toy should be periodically examined for potential hazardous. Parts are to be repaired or replaced.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
BASICS OF SYNTHESIZER PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
CONTROL CENTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
LED DISPLAY GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
SYNTHESIS SIGNAL FLOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
LIVE PERFORMANCE FEATURES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
MIDI FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
SPECIAL CONTROL SETTINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
UPGRADE MELODIES + DRUMS USING MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
WARRANTY - Purchases made in USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
WARRANTY - Purchases made outside of USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

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Welcome to the world of synthesizers! Whether you’re an experienced musician or new to synths, this
Guide has all of the information you need to start creating your own music with the Blipblox After Dark.
The rst step is following the easy setup instructions in GETTING STARTED. Users new to synthesis will
also want to review the BASICS OF SYNTHESIZER PLAY to orient yourself to the functions of the primary
buttons, levers, and knobs.
When you’re ready, the CONTROL CENTER will walk through each control in more detail while the LED
DISPLAY GUIDE decodes the meaning of the dierent light colors and positions.
Users with prior synth experience can review the SYNTHESIS SIGNAL FLOW to learn how the After Dark
generates sound waves to better understand how each of the controls relates to the output. Concepts like
oscillators and lters are indeed complex. But the After Dark makes controlling these algorithms fun, so
we hope it is easy to connect the sound you are hearing to the systems explained in this Guide.
While you may want to use the After Dark simply as a music exploration toy, its colorful lights and unique
shape make it ideal for live stage use. LIVE PERFORMANCE FEATURES focuses on settings to optimize
performance play.
MIDI Input and Audio Output mean the After Dark can plug into your studio setup to use as a real
production tool. MIDI FUNCTIONS will have you making your own sequences and recordings in no time.
You may also want to check out the SPECIAL CONTROL SETTINGS so you can modify default settings such
as auto-o and the LED light show.
You will also want to check out one of the most exciting features of the After Dark, the ability to UPGRADE
MELODIES + DRUMS USING MIDI.
The Playtime Engineering team sincerely hopes the Blipblox After Dark will enrich its user’s lives with a new
appreciation and understanding of electronic music.
INTRODUCTION

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GETTING STARTED
Included in this package
Blipblox After Dark
USB to 5.5 mm/2.1 mm 5 Volt DC Barrel Jack Power Cable
Three (3) AA batteries
Compatible 3rd Party Components
USB wall adapter
MIDI cord
External MIDI keyboard or sequencer
Getting the After Dark ready to play
Peel the protective plastic lm from the faceplate.
Install batteries. The battery compartment is on the underside of the After Dark. Use a Phillips screwdriver to
open the battery cover. Place batteries in the order indicated below.
Warnings: Do not mix dierent types of batteries, or new and used batteries. Non-rechargeable batteries are not to be
recharged. Rechargeable batteries are to be removed from the toy before being charged. Rechargeable batteries are only
to be charged under adult supervision. Batteries are to be inserted with the correct polarity. Exhausted batteries are to be
removed from the toy. The supply terminals are not to be short-circuited.

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As an alternative to batteries you can use the USB-DC adapter. Plug the round side of the adapter in the
back of the After Dark where you see “DC 5V ” and the other side into any USB adapter.
Batteries do not need to be removed to use power adapter, but adapter will not charge batteries.
Press the purple button on the back of the unit to turn on.
Battery levels. As soon as the unit is turned on, the "MOD 1" LED will indicate if your batteries are low or dead.
LED ashes yellow - batteries are running low, or you are using low-voltage rechargeable batteries. The After
Dark will operate at slightly lower volume to conserve power.
LED ashes red - there is not enough power left in the batteries for the After Dark to operate. Replace
batteries or connect USB power cable.
Auto-shutdown. If no buttons are pushed, or no MIDI data is received for 30 minutes, the After Dark will
automatically shut down to save power. Use the power switch to turn the After Dark o then on again to
restart. This can be disabled using the instructions on page 18.

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SEQ(encer)
changes the melody
RANDOMIZER
resets to a fresh sound
FILTER
sculpts the sound by removing frequencies
SOUNDFREAK
scrambles notes from sequencer
CTRL 1, LFO 1, MOD 1, MOD ATTACK, MOD 2, LFO 2, CTRL 2
your sound design toolbox
AMP(lifier) RELEASE
makes the notes longer -- or shorter
OSCILLATOR
selects the core synthesizer sound
KICK and SNARE
add beats to your groove
TEMPO
controls how fast your song plays
FILTER MOD TYPE [press + hold]
toggles between high, low and bandpass
BASICS OF SYNTHESIZER PLAY
The After Dark was designed to be used right out of the box, without any prior knowledge of synthesizers. But
knowing a few key controls will help you get started with making interesting sounds.
The most important of these is the SEQ which stands for sequencer. A sequencer creates the notes or melodies and
is the best place for you to start. Click the SEQ button until you nd a melody you like. The After Dark will continue to
play the melody until you click it again. You may also notice that every other melody includes a drum beat.
Once you have your melody selected, you are ready to start sculpting your rst sounds using the other controls
outlined below.

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CONTROL CENTER
(1) TEMPO lever changes the speed of the music.
(2) AMP(lier) RELEASE knob changes the duration of a sound after the musical note has ended. Clockwise turn
increases the duration of the sound. Counter-clockwise turn decreases the duration.
(3) VOLUME knob makes the sound louder or quieter.
(4) FILTER lever controls the cuto frequency of the lter. Any sound frequencies that are higher, lower, or away
from the cuto frequency are removed, depending on the selected lter type.
(5) SEQ(uencer) button selects the melody. Every other melody includes drums. The selected melody will
continue to play until the SEQ button is pressed again.
(6) SOUNDFREAK button adds a crazy random eect to the musical notes.

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(7) KICK button plays a kick drum.
(8) CTRL 1 button selects the input for the oscillator’s rst modulation. Each press cycles through: Modulation
Envelope, LFO 1, LFO 2, and Knob Only modulation.
rDELAY, press and hold button while adjusting FILTER lever to change the amount of delay eect.
(9) OSCILLATOR button selects the sound wave from 16 available oscillator types.
(10) CTRL 2 button selects the input for the oscillator’s second modulation. Each press cycles through: Modulation
Envelope, LFO 1, LFO 2, and Knob Only modulation.
rRESONANCE, press and hold button while adjusting FILTER lever to change the amount of lter resonance.
(11) SNARE button plays a snare drum.
(12) RANDOMIZE button randomizes all the parameters that make the synthesizer sound except sequencer and
drums. Pressing this button also stores the most recent settings and parameters.
rPress and hold RANDOMIZE button to return to the most recent settings and parameters.
(13) FILTER MOD button selects the modulation input for the lter. Each press cycles through: Modulation
Envelope, LFO 1, LFO 2, and Lever Only modulation.
rTYPE press and hold button to toggle between the three lter types: low-pass, band-pass and high-pass.
(14) LFO 1 knob changes the speed of Low Frequency Oscillator number 1.
(15) MOD 1 knob controls how much modulation is applied to the oscillator’s rst modulation input.
(16) MOD ATTACK knob controls how quickly the Modulation Envelope ramps up. Clockwise turn ramps up the
envelope slowly. Counter-clockwise turn ramps up the envelope quickly.
(17) MOD 2 knob controls how much modulation is applied to the oscillator’s second modulation input.
(18) LFO 2 knob changes the speed of Low Frequency Oscillator number 2.

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LED DISPLAY GUIDE
(1) LFO 1 speed. This LED ashes to show the speed of LFO 1.
(2) Sequencer Indicator. This LED ashes on each beat when the sequencer is running.
(3) MIDI status. This LED ashes when valid MIDI note on is received. Blue indicates a synthesizer note, green
indicates a drum note.
(4) Delay eect amount. This LED indicates the amount of delay that is applied to the output. Blue is no delay,
red is maximum delay.
(5) MOD ENV. The brightness of this LED corresponds to the value of the modulation envelope.
(6) AMP ENV. The brightness of this LED corresponds to the value of the amplier envelope.