Rossum Control Forge User manual

CONTROL
FORGE
Programmable
Universal CV Generator
Copyright 2016 Rossum Electro-Music LLC
www.rossum-electro.com
Operation Manual
v1.7_102616

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Contents
1. Introduction 3
2. Module Installation 4
3. Overview 5
4. How to Use This Manual 7
5. Basic Functionality 9
6. Main Displays 14
7. Managing Presets 16
8. Preset Globals 18
9. Linear Contours 21
10. Randomness 27
11. Sequences 30
12. Conditional Jumps 33
13. AutoChain 38
14. Triggers 40
15. Real Time Control 42
16. Audio Rate Contours 44
17. Preset Sequencer 45
18. Utilities 49
19. Preset Templates 55
20. Demo Presets 58
21. Transition Shape Plots 64
22. Specifications 67
23. From Dave’s Lab 68
24. Acknowledgements 69

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1. Introduction
Thanks for purchasing (or otherwise
acquiring) the Rossum Electro-Music
Control Forge Programmable Universal CV
Generator.
This manual will give you the information you
need to get the most out of Control Forge.
However, the manual assumes you already
have a basic understanding of synthesis and
synthesizers. If you’re just starting out, there
are a number of good reference and tutorial
resources available to get you up to speed.
One that we highly recommend is:
Power Tools for Synthesizer Programming
(2nd Edition)
By Jim Aikin
Published by Hal Leonard
HL00131064
Support
In the unlikely event that you have a problem
with your Control Forge, tell us about it here:
http://www.rossum-electro.com/support/
support-request-form/
… and we’ll get you sorted out.
If you have any questions, comments, or just
want to say “Hi!,” you can always get in touch
here:
http://www.rossum-electro.com/about-2/
contact-us/
… and we’ll get back to you.
Happy music making!

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2. Module Installation
As you will have no doubt noticed, the rear of
Control Forge is a circuit board with exposed
parts and connections. When handling
Control Forge, it’s best that you hold it by the
edges of the front panel or circuit board. It’s
not particularly easy to blow up, but why take
chances?
More specifically, the biggest risk (to the
extent that there’s a risk), is damage by static
electricity. Particularly on dry, cold days (or if
you’ve just shued across your shag carpet
in fuzzy slippers), make a point of touching
the metal panel first, before touching any
other part of the module.
While all Rossum Electro-Music modules are
protected against reverse polarity damage,
both to your module and your system, care
should still be taken to connect the power
cable correctly. (For more detail on our
unique protection method, check out Dave’s
discussion of Circuit Protection in Chapter
23.)
Plug the included 16-pin connector into the
header on the rear of the module such that
the red stripe on the cable (the -12V side) is
on the same end of the header as the “Red
Stripe (-12V)” text on the PCB.
Control Forge requires, at most, 125mA of
+12V and 25mA of -12V.
We have included both M3 and M2.5 (for
vector rails) mounting screws. Use what fits
your system.
If rack rash is of concern to you, use the
included nylon washers when mounting
Control Forge in your case.

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3. Overview
Control Forge’s core functionality is drawn
from the E-mu Morpheus’s insanely powerful
(but hard to program on a two-line display)
Function Generators. But now expanded
into a supremely flexible modulation source
encompassing elaborate one-shot contours,
evolving cyclical patterns and sequences of
arbitrary length and complexity.

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At its most basic, Control Forge is an
8-segment function generator with variable
time and target voltage level for each
segment.
Each segment’s level can be defined either
absolutely or relative to the ending level of
the previous segment and can optionally be
quantized to the nearest 1/12 volt.
Each segment’s level may have a user
defined range of randomness of either linear
or gaussian distribution.
The time scale may be modulated under CV
control or manually via the encoder during
runtime.
There are 67 dierent transition shapes
between segments (indicated graphically
on the display during selection), from
linear and exponential shapes to various
flavors of random, chaotic, and many more
that don’t lend themselves to one-word
descriptions, including the ability to pass CVs
directly through to the output for individual
segments.
Also included are “DC” shapes that allow the
module to be used as a sequencer with all
of the module’s available programmability.
When combined with Control Forge’s Preset
Sequencer, sequences can be hundreds of
steps long and modified in real time manually
or by CVs.
Each segment may optionally have a
conditional jump that results in a jump to
another selected segment (or to a completely
dierent preset) if a particular condition is
met. E.g., a CV being above or below the
selected conditional value, the presence or
lack of a gate or logic high at their respective
inputs, rising or falling edges at the inputs,
etc. So, in addition to one-shot shapes,
extremely elaborate cyclical patterns can
be programmed that evolve based on the
various conditional inputs.
Control Forge’s AutoChain functionality
allows the creation of two very specific
kinds of multi-preset patterns: A multi-preset
retriggerable pattern (like a long syncable
LFO), and a multi-preset “envelope-like”
pattern with retriggerablity, an optional
sustain section, and a “release” section that’s
jumped to on gate fall.
Two independent triggers can be
programmed to fire in response to a variety
of events and can be used to aect either
Control Forge itself or external modules.
500 presets can be saved and recalled.
A preset sequencer allows stepping through
up to 200 user-defined series of presets
under trigger, clock or manual control. This
allows contours and sequences of almost
unlimited length and complexity.
All presets and sequences can be transferred
to any number of Satellite modules, which
can then operate as stand-alone modulation
sources, completely independent of the
Control Forge.
In the following sections, we’ll look at each of
Control Forge’s functions in turn.

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This chapter takes you through the process
of creating linear one-shot and cyclical
(“LFO-style”) contours using the Time, Level,
Level Mode, and Transition Shape controls.
Chapter 10: Randomness
This chapter describes the addition of
programmable amounts and distributions of
randomness to individual segment’s levels, as
well as to the initial level of the preset when
triggered or reset.
Chapter 11: Sequences
This chapter covers the use of the “DC”
transition shapes and the Quantize function
to create traditional (or not-so-traditional)
step sequences.
Chapter 12: Conditional Jumps
This chapter covers Control Forge’s extensive
jumping and branching system, describing
how the Jump Mode, Conditional Value,
and Jump Target parameters can be used
to create CV contours of arbitrary lengths
that can change their shapes in response
to Control Forge’s real time controls or CVs
from other modules in your system.
Chapter 13: AutoChain
This chapter describes Control Forge’s ability
to create extended multi-preset retriggerable
“LFO-style” and multi-preset retriggerable
“envelope-style” contours with optional
“sustain” section(s), and a “release” section
that’s jumped to on gate fall.
Chapter 14: Triggers
This chapter covers the generation of Control
Forge’s two programmable triggers, which
can be used either to aect Control Forge
itself (e.g., controlling the Preset Sequencer
or driving the Logic or Gate/Trig inputs) or to
provide triggers or gates to other modules in
your system.
Chapter 15: Real Time Control
4. How to Use This Manual
Control Forge is powerful. There’s almost
nothing you’d want to do with control
voltages that you can’t do with it. But with
that power comes a lot of capabilities to
become familiar with.
In designing the Control Forge interface,
one of our main goals was to organize the
features such that if if all you wanted to do
was program a simple 8-segment linear
contour, you could do that without having to
trip over all the rest of its many functions.
In keeping with that philosophy, we’ve
organized this manual to take you
sequentially from the most basic use
scenarios to the most arcane, making it easy
to learn just what you need for the task at
hand. If you don’t need conditional jumps
or relative random target voltages, you can
simply ignore them until some time when
you do.
With that in mind, here is what the following
chapters oer:
Chapter 5: Basic Functionality
This chapter introduces you to Control
Forge’s basic functional principles, including
operational modes (Play/Program), inputs
and outputs, setting parameters, and loading
and saving presets.
Chapter 6: Main Displays
This chapter describes the elements of the
main Play Mode and Program Mode displays.
Chapter 7: Managing Presets
This chapter describes saving and loading
your Control Forge presets.
Chapter 8: Preset Globals
This chapter describes setting the global
parameters that aect each entire preset.
Chapter 9: Linear Contours

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This chapter describes the various ways that
your CV contours can be modified in real
time while they are playing. Options include
internal controls (CV 3, CV 4, real time
Quantize and Randomize, Time Scaling,
manual Preset Sequencer control, and
manual trigger generation), external triggers
(Gate, Logic and Preset Sequencer control),
and CVs (CV 1, CV 2, and Time Scale CV).
Additionally, Control Forge can be put in
Program Mode while a preset is running,
allowing you to reprogram segments while
the preset continues to run.
Chapter 16: Audio Rate Contours
Describes running Control Forge at audio
rate frequencies, essentially implementing a
wavetable audio source.
Chapter 17: Preset Sequencer
This chapter covers the functionality of the
Preset Sequencer, which allows you to
program sequences of presets and navigate
through the sequences either manually, using
the panel controls, or under the control of
triggers from Control Forge itself or from
external sources.
Chapter 18: Utilities
This chapter describes various utility
functions, including sending program data to
a Rossum Electro-Music Satellite or another
Control Forge, loading updated firmware or
boot software, saving and reloading a backup
of all your presets and sequences, calibrating
your Control Forge, and more.
Chapter 19: Preset Templates
To help get you up and running quickly,
we’ve provided templates of basic functions
like envelopes, LFOs and step sequences
to customize for your specific needs. This
chapter describes those templates.
Chapter 20: Demo Presets
Some of our talented testers have been
generous enough to provide a selection of
presets that can give you an idea of some of
the more creative Control Forge capabilities.
They’re described here.
Chapter 21: Transition Shape Plots
Graphic representations of Control Forge’s
Transition Shapes.
Chapter 22: Specifications
Yup, specifications.
Chapter 23: From Dave’s Lab
Dave describes our unique approach to
circuit protection.
Chapter 24: Acknowledgements
Thanks to the talented folks who contributed
in one way or another to the development of
Control Forge.

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5. Basic Functionality
Before we jump into individual functions,
let’s take a look at Control Forge’s basic
organization.
Power Up
When power is applied to the module for
the first time, it begins in Play Mode with
Preset 001 as the Current Preset, Sequence
001 as the Active Sequence, and the contour
stopped.
On subsequent power ups, the Preset and
Sequence that were current at power o are
restored.
Modes
The Mode button toggles the
module between the Play and
Program modes. One of the
associated LEDs light to indicate
the current mode.
As you’ve probably guessed,
Program Mode is selected to
create your desired CV contours. Select Play
Mode to play them.
NOTE: It’s possible to switch to Program
Mode while a contour is playing and
modify settings and values while it continues
to play. This can be quite powerful in live
performance.
Presets
CV contours created in Program Mode can
be saved using the Save Preset function. A
preset contains the individual settings for the
8 segments and a variety of Global settings
that aect the overall preset.
In Play Mode, presets are played back. Presets
can be manually loaded using the Load Preset
function, loaded as the result of a Conditional
Jump, as part of an AutoChain, or loaded by
the Preset Sequencer.
Inputs
Gate/Trigger
This input, as its name so
ably suggests, accepts
triggers and/or gates, i.e.,
a digital signal that can be
high or low. Analog signals
will be converted to high
or low at a threshold
of 1.65V. In order to be
detected, the pulse width,
either high or low, must
exceed 25 microseconds.
Depending on settings
in the Preset Globals
menu (see Chapter 8),
signals appearing here can
either control a contour’s
start, reset, and jump to a
“release” segment, or can
be tested for a conditional
jump.
The LED in the Manual
Gate pushbutton will light
while a gate is active, either as the result of a
Gate/Trigger input signal or the Manual Gate
button being pressed.
Logic
The Logic input accepts digital logic signals
for evaluation for true/false conditional
jumps. Analog signals will be converted to
high or low at a threshold of 1.65V.
The associated Logic LED will light whenever
the Logic input is high.
CV 1 & CV 2
These inputs accept CVs in the range of -5V
to +5V. Voltages outside of that range are
clipped to the appropriate limit.
The CVs at these inputs are tested for various
conditional jump states.

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Additionally, the CVs at these inputs are
passed directly through to the output during
any segment whose shape is CV 1 or CV 2
Passthrough.
Time Scale CV
This input accepts CVs in the range of -5V
to +5V. Voltages outside of that range are
clipped to the appropriate limit.
The value of the CV modifies the Time values
of all of a preset’s segments such that a 1 volt
change increases the Time Scale Rate value
by a factor of 2. Therefore, overall range of
modification is from 1/32 of the set time to
32 times the set time.
In Play Mode, the Encoder also controls
time scale. Its value is multiplied by the Time
Scale CV to provide the final time scale
modification value.
Sequencer Dec, Inc, and Reset
Depending on the Preset Sequencer state,
rising edges at these inputs control the
loading of a sequence’s programmed presets.
See Chapter 17 for details.
Outputs
+ Output
Outputs the CV contour in the
range of -5V to +5V. Accuracy is
approximately +/-1mV.
- Output
Outputs a precisely inverted
version of the CV contour in the
range of -5V to +5V.
Trigger 1
Outputs a +10V trigger or gate
pulse whenever the condition
set in the Assign Trigger 1 menu
is met or the Conditional Value/
Trigger 1 button is pressed while
in Play Mode.
Trigger 2
Outputs a +10V trigger or gate
pulse whenever the condition set in the
Assign Trigger 2 menu is met or the Assign
Triggers/Trigger 2 button is pressed while in
Play Mode.
Controls
Data/Time Scale Encoder
The Encoder is used
in Program Mode
to set the values of
parameters selected
via the parameter
push buttons or
knobs.
The Encoder
includes an integrated pushbutton that is
typically used to enter the currently selected
value (see individual parameters for details).
In Play Mode, the encoder serves as a real
time control over Time Scale. The time scale
range is between X 0.031 and X 32X in 80
approximately logarithmic steps. Pressing
and holding the encoder switch and turning
it quantizes the Time Scale values to factors
of 2.
Global/Pause/Utilities Button
In Play Mode, if Control Forge is running,
quickly pressing this button causes playback
to pause. Pressing it again causes playback to
resume from the paused location. Pressing
and holding this button brings up the Utilities
Menu described in Chapter 18.
In Program Mode, quickly pressing this button
brings up the Preset Globals menu described
in Chapter 8. If Control Forge is running,
pressing and holding this button causes
pausing and resuming playback.
NOTE: Yes, we realize the short press/long press
functionality is reversed between Play and
Program Modes. While we prefer things
to be consistent, after long discussion we
came to the conclusion that it was more
important that the things you were most most
likely to do in each mode were accessed with a
short press.
Manual Gate Button

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The Manual Gate button functions
in both Play and Program Modes
in the same manner as the Gate/
Trigger input, allowing the
generating of a gate for test or real-
time performance purposes. The
button and input are logically ORed together
to create the Gate.
The LED in the Manual Gate pushbutton will
In Play Mode, while Control Forge is running,
the buttons’ LEDs light to indicate the active
segment. No segment LED is lit when
Control Forge is stopped.
Pressing one of the Segment Buttons (apart
from Segment 1) while Control Forge is
stopped causes it to immediately jump to that
segment and to begin running from 0 Volts.
If Segment 1 is pressed while stopped, it is
treated as a Manual Gate, including activating
the global Start/Reset parameters.
Pressing one of the Segment Buttons while
Control Forge is running is treated as a Jump
Immediate from the active segment to the
pressed segment.
In Program Mode, the buttons are used to
light while a gate is active, either as the result
of a Gate/Trigger input signal or the Manual
Gate button being pressed.
Segment Buttons
select segments for editing. The LED of the
segment being programmed will always be
fully lit. If Control Forge is running, the LED
of the active segment (if it is not the segment
being programmed) will be more dimly lit.
If Control Forge is running, pressing the
button of the segment being edited will
cause the generator to jump to that segment.
During the naming portion of the Save Preset
and Save Sequence operations, the Segment
Buttons can be used to enter alpha numeric
characters.
Time and Level Knobs
In Program Mode, these
knobs set the
values of the
associated
parameters.
In Play Mode,
they allow
manual real time setting of CV 3 and CV 4 for
conditional jump tests.
NOTE: Since both of these parameters have a
very wide range of possible values, when
their editing window is visible, you can
use the encoder to fine tune your selection.
Pressing, holding, and turning the encoder, will
quantize the selection to useful values.
Parameter Buttons

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In Program Mode, the black parameter
buttons are used to select parameters for
editing and to load and save presets and
sequences. In Play Mode, they are used for
real time control input as indicated by their
blue function labels.
Setting Parameters
As just mentioned, the Time and Level
parameters are each set by adjusting their
respective knobs. Whenever their value is
displayed for editing, the Encoder can be
used for fine adjustment.
The Level Mode is set by repeatedly pressing
the Mode/Quantize button until the desired
value is is displayed in the Program Mode
display. See Chapter 9 for details.
All other parameters are set by pressing their
parameter button to display the parameter’s
current value and then using the Encoder to
set the desired value.
The value change is always eective
immediately. Pressing the parameter’s button
while the parameter is displayed, or pressing
the encoder, will exit the screen. The new
parameter value remains in eect in either
case.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Whenever there are any
unsaved parameter changes in a preset or
sequence, a red warning (Pfor Preset and
Sfor Sequence) will appear in both the
Play and Program displays. If you select a new
preset or sequence before saving them, the
changes will be lost.
Copying Segments and Parameters
For ease of programming multiple segments
that may share some or all of their
parameters, the following copying functions
are available:
To copy a particular parameter value
from one segment to another:
In Program Mode:
1. Select the segment whose parameter
value you want to copy and bring the
parameter’s value up for editing.
2. Press and hold the source segment button
and, while holding it, press and hold the
segment button of the segment you want
to copy the parameter value to.
3. After holding the destination button for
about a second, the message “Parameter
copied” will appear in the display and,
not unexpectedly, the parameter value
will have been copied to the destination
segment and the destination segment will
be selected.
4. The destination segment will be selected,
but if you continue holding the original
source segment button, you can repeat
the procedure and sequentially copy the
same source parameter value to as many
of the other segments as you wish.
To copy all of the parameter values from
one segment to another:
In Program Mode:
1. Select the segment whose parameter
values you want to copy. Do not bring up
any parameter edit boxes.
2. Press and hold the source segment button
and, while holding it, press and hold the
segment button of the segment you want
to copy all the parameter values to.
3. After holding the destination button for

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about a second, the message “Segment
copied” will appear in the display and the
parameter values will have been copied
to the destination segment and the
destination segment will be selected.
4 The destination segment will be selected,
but if you continue holding the original
source segment button, you can repeat
the procedure and sequentially copy the
same source parameter values to as many
of the other segments as you wish.

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6. Main Displays
Control Forge oers two main display
layouts, depending on whether you are
in Play or Program modes. Additionally,
there are dedicated layouts for loading and
saving presets and sequences, programming
sequences, setting Preset Globals, and
executing Utility functions.
In this chapter, we’ll describe the main Play
and Programming displays. The rest will be
described in their own chapters.
Play Mode Display
When operating in Play Mode, the display
provides the following:
>A real-time graphic representation of the
output voltage level with a range of -5V to
+5V
>A display of the time progress through the
segments used in the preset (including any
conditional jumps)
NOTE: This display disappears when
Control Forge is stopped. It flashes
while Control Forge is paused.
>The number and name of the currently
loaded preset
>The current numeric Time Scale
multipliers. The first number is the
Encoder multiplier and the second is the
result of the Time Scale CV input.
>The number and name of the currently
loaded sequence
>A display of the current segment’s
Transition Shape
NOTE: The Transition Shape graphic
will be inverted if the the segment’s
Target Voltage is lower than its starting
voltage.
>Graphical indicators of the real-time
values of CV 1, CV 2, CV 3, CV 4, and
the Time Scale CV (top to bottom in that
order).
>A sequencer status indicator which
displays the current sequence step
number (if the step contains a preset) or
an indication that the sequence is in a Halt
or Pause state.
NOTE: If Sequence O has been
selected, this status display is blank.
>Yellow status indicators:
Q: Lights when real-time quantize is
active, either because the button is being
pressed or because it has been latched
on.
R: Lights when real-time randomize is
active, either because the button is being
pressed or because it has been latched
on.
T1 & T2: Light when a trigger has fired,
either because its trigger condition has
been met or because it’s been triggered
by the real-time TR 1 or TR 2 buttons.

| 15
INC, DEC, RST: Light when the Sequencer
has received an Inc, Dec, or Reset
command, either via triggers at the
sequencer input jacks or because they’ve
been triggered by the real-time DEC, INC
or RESET buttons.
>Red indicators that light when the current
preset (P) and/or the current sequence (S)
have unsaved changes.
>An alphanumeric display of the currently
active segment.
Program Mode Display
When operating in Program Mode, with no
parameter selected for modification, the
display provides the following:
>A real-time graphic representation of the
output voltage level with a range of -5V to
+5V.
>A display of the time progress through the
segments used in the preset (including any
conditional jumps).
NOTE: This display disappears when
Control Forge is stopped. It flashes
while Control Forge is paused.
>TIME The programmed time for the
selected segment. .0000 seconds to 9999
seconds.
The total time scale multiplier (Encoder x
Time Scale CV) at the moment Program
Mode was entered.
>LEVEL The Target Level in Volts.
The Target Level Mode:
Abs: Absolute
AbsQ: Absolute Quantized
Rel: Relative
RelQ: Relative Quantized
Randomness in +/- Volts
Distribution:
Lin: Linear
Gau: Gaussian
>SHAPE
Shape name
Shape graphic
>JUMP
Jump Target (greyed out if not applicable)
Jump Mode
Conditional Value (greyed out if not
applicable)
>An alphanumeric display of the segment
currently being programmed.
>Trigger programmed indicators (1&2):
Light when the respective trigger(s) have
been programmed (i.e., aren’t set to O).
>Red indicators that light when the current
preset (P) and/or the current sequence (S)
have unsaved changes.

16 |
7. Managing Presets
Saving Presets
Press the Save Preset button to bring up the
Save Preset display. The current preset is
initially displayed.
Selecting a Location
When first entering this screen, the encoder
controls the Preset Number field. Scroll
through the numbers to select a destination
location (or don’t scroll to resave to the
current preset’s existing location). Note that
this scrolling does include --empty-- presets.
At the top of the scrolling list is a special item,
Erase Preset.
Saving without Changing Name
To save the current preset to the selected
location without changing the location’s
existing name, either press the encoder for
2 seconds, or press the Save Preset button
for 2 seconds. The display briefly displays
“Saving in 2 Seconds…” and then (after 2
seconds) displays “Save Completed” and
exits the Save Preset screen.
If you release the button before 2 seconds
have elapsed, the display briefly shows “Save
canceled” and exits the screen without
executing the save operation.
Loading Presets
Press the Load Preset button
to bring up the Load Preset
display. Use the encoder to
scroll through all of the existing
presets, displaying the number
and name of each one. Empty
or erased presets are not
displayed.
Press the encoder switch to select the
desired preset and load it into the Control
Forge and exit the Load Preset screen.
NOTE: A long press of the Load Preset
button will also load the preset displayed
in the Load Preset screen. This makes
reloading the current preset to easily and
deliberately erase unwanted edits simply a
matter of pressing Load Preset, and then
immediately long pressing it.

| 17
NOTE: The Save Preset operation can also
be exited at any time without saving by
pressing any other function button (other than
Segment or Manual Gate buttons).
Changing the Preset Name
To change the name of the selected target
location, press the encoder. A cursor will
highlight the first character in the Name field.
(If the selected location was --empty--, the
Name field will change to the name of the
current preset.)
The name can be changed using the
Segment Buttons as follows:
>Use the encoder to navigate to the desired
character position(s).
>Use the Segment Buttons to enter the
desired character into each character
location. Press a Segment Button
repeatedly to cycle through that button’s
characters.
>Press Segment 1 and 2 simultaneously to
shift between lower and upper case.
Optionally, the name can also be changed
using just the encoder:
>After a highlighted character has been
selected using the encoder, press the
encoder to select that character for
changes.
>Rotate the encoder to select the new
character. (At this point the segment
buttons can also be used to enter
characters.)
>Press the encoder to choose the character
and return the encoder to character
location selection operation.
>Repeat as necessary.
Saving after a Name Change
To save the renamed preset to the selected
location, either long press the encoder, or
long press the Save Preset button. This can
be done while either in the character location
selection or character changing operation
for the encoder. The display briefly displays
“Saving in 2 Seconds…” and then (after 2
seconds) displays “Save Completed” and
exits the Save Preset screen. If you release
the button before 2 seconds have elapsed,
the display briefly shows “Save canceled” and
exits the screen without executing the save
operation.
Erasing the Current Preset
To erase a preset, press Save Preset and
then scroll to the beginning of the menu to
display ### **ERASE** (where ### is the
preset number of the current preset which
will be erased). While **ERASE** is displayed,
either long press the Encoder, or long press
the Save Preset button. The display will
briefly display Erasing Preset and then exit
the screen. If you release the button while
Erasing Preset is displayed, the display briefly
shows Erase canceled and exits the screen
without executing the erase operation.
NOTE: Erasing a preset that is a member of
a Sequence will change the name of that
preset to “--erased--” in the sequence
step list and it will be skipped over when the
sequence reaches that step.
ANOTHER NOTE: If you, for some bizarre
reason, erase all of the presets in your
module, the next time the module boots
up, the module will contain Preset 001 named
--erased-- and set to the default preset values.

18 |
The parameters in the Preset Globals menu
apply to the entire preset, as opposed to
specific segments. Since they define the
basic behavior of a preset, you should
typically set them before you otherwise start
programming a new preset.
To access the Preset Globals
menu, press the Global button
while in Program Mode.
8. Preset Globals
Initially, the display will show an overview
of the current values of all of the global
parameters. Rotate the encoder to scroll
through the available parameter list. Click the
encoder to choose the selected parameter
for editing. The encoder will now adjust
the parameter among available values,
which become immediately eective. Click
the encoder again to return its function to
scrolling through the available parameters.
The menu is dismissed by:
Pressing the Global button again.
Selecting another parameter to set.
Exiting Program Mode
Here’s what the Global parameters do:
Gate Rise
This parameter defines what happens when
a gate transition from low to high appears
at the Gate/Trig input or as the result of
pressing the Manual Gate button.
If AutoChain is not turned on for this preset
(don’t worry about AutoChain right now, we’ll
get to it later), the choices are:
O: Nothing happens (unless a Gate Rise
function has been programmed for a
conditional jump in the active segment).
Start/Reset: Starts the contour at Segment
1 if it is not currently running, and forces
an immediate jump to Segment 1 if it is
running.
IMPORTANT NOTE: If the Gate Rise
function has been programmed for
a dierent conditional in the active
segment, the segment function takes priority.
If AutoChain is turned on for this preset, the
choices are:
O: Just like above, nothing happens.
Start:Forces an immediate jump to
Segment 1 of the Start Preset in the chain.

| 19
The following settings all refer to the voltage
level at the beginning of the contour:
Start Level: Reset or Current
If Reset, the contour starts at the voltage
defined by the three Reset parameters
below. If Current, the contour starts at the
current voltage at the instant of the Gate
Rise.
Reset Level: The voltage level at the
beginning of the contour. -5.000 - +5.000
in 1mV steps. While the value is displayed
for editing, press, hold, and turn the
encoder to quantize the selected value to
even whole volts. Release the encoder to
continue editing if desired.
Reset Random Level: The range within
which the voltage level at the beginning of
the contour will vary from the selected
Start Level level. +/-0.00V (no random
variance) thru +/-5.00V
Reset Random Shape: Linear or Gaussian
Defines the distribution of potential
random values within the randomization
range. If Linear, there is an equal
probability that any value within the range
may be selected. If Gaussian, values
nearer to the target level are more likely
to be selected than values nearer the
extremes of the range.
Gate Fall Jump
Defines what happens when a gate transition
from high to low appears at the Gate/Trig
input or as the result of releasing the Manual
Gate button. Unlike a regular Conditional
Jump, which is specific to an individual
segment, the Gate Fall Jump is triggered
anywhere in the contour, regardless o
which segment is active.
The Gate Fall Jump choices are:
O: A Gate transition from high to low
has no special consequences (unless
programmed in an individual segment).
Segment # (1-8): A gate transition from
high to low causes an immediate jump
to the selected segment (unless the Gate
Fall function has been programmed for a
dierent conditional in the active segment,
in which case the segment function takes
priority).
If AutoChain is on, a gate transition from high
to low forces an immediate jump to Segment
1 of the Release Preset in the chain (again,
we’ll get to AutoChain later).
NOTE: The primary intended use of Gate
Fall Jump is to provide a mechanism for
creating the equivalent of the “Release” portion
of a conventional ADSR envelope generator.
However, we’re sure you can come up with
lots of other creative things to do with it.
Free Run
On/O: If On, the contour starts running
at Segment 1 as soon as the Free Run
preset is loaded. If Segment 8 is reached
and no other jump programmed for it,
the contour jumps back to Segment 1 and
continues looping until the heat death of
the universe (or the end of civilization as
we know it, whichever comes first).
If AutoChain is on, if the last preset in
the chain is reached and no other jump
programmed for it, it jumps back to
Segment 1 of the Start Preset in the chain.
AutoChain: O/Start/Continue/Release
Any choice other than O identifies the
preset as a member of an AutoChain
and identifies its role within the chain.
(See Chapter 13 for an explanation of
AutoChain.)
Randomize Level
Sets the range of randomization of a
segment’s Target Level when pressing the
real-time Randomize button while a contour
is playing. The range is from +/-0.00V (no
random variance) thru +/-5.00V
Randomize Shape
Linear/Gaussian: Defines the distribution
of potential random values within the
randomize range when pressing the
Randomize button while a contour is playing.
If Linear, there is an equal probability that any

20 |
value within the range may be selected. If
Gaussian, values nearer to the target level are
more likely to be selected than values nearer
the extremes of the range.
NOTE: While these last two parameters
look pretty much identical to the Reset
Random Level and the Reset Random
Shape parameters above, they are completely
independent of each other. The “Reset”
parameters only apply to the level at the
beginning of a contour. These last two only
apply to real-time pressing of the Randomize
button during play.
Scale All Times
This function recalculates all of the preset’s
segments’ Time parameters by the selected
multiplier. Use it to adjust the overall duration
of a contour while keeping the relative time
relationships of all of the segments intact.
The range of multiplier is from 0.031x to
32.0x. The initial value when the editor
appears is the most recently captured Time
Scale value set by the encoder from Play
Mode (if any). Once completed, the Encoder
Time Scale is reset to 1.
NOTE: This is a destructive function. After
executing a time scaling, if you examine
the individual Time values of the preset’s
segments, you’ll find that they have been
changed to the multiplied values. Of course,
if you later change your mind, you can always
execute another scaling that’s the inverse of
any previous one.