Rossum Control Forge User manual

CONTROL FORGE
Programmable Universal CV Generator
Thanks for purchasing (or otherwise acquiring) Control Forge. This guide will get you up
and running with a minimum of fuss. However, given Control Forge’s many features, you
should really (really!) check out the full owners manual at
www.rossum-electro.com/support/documentation
Installation
While all Rossum Electro-Music modules
are protected against damage to the
module or your system from reverse
polarity, care should still be taken to
connect the power cable correctly.
Plug the 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.
Be Sure You Have the Latest
Firmware
If we’ve released an updated version of
firmware after your module was shipped to
your dealer, you should update to that latest
version before proceeding.
To check:
> Ensure that your Control Forge is in Play
Mode and press and hold the Global
button until the Utilities screen appears.
Scroll to the bottom of the menu to see
the current installed firmware version.
> On the web, go to the Downloads tab
at www.rossum-electro.com/products/
control_forge/ and note the latest
firmware version.
> If it’s the same as the version in your
module, you’re good to go. If not, follow
the instructions there to update your
module.
Making Connections
The best way to get a quick idea of what
your Control Forge can do is try out
some of the included presets. You’ll find
descriptions of the presets in the manual.
While some of the presets require unique
connections, most can be auditioned
using the following general setup:
> Patch the + Output to the CV in of a
VCO and/or VCF and/or VCA or other
processor. (It’s easiest to clearly hear
what’s happening with a preset by
listening to its eect on a VCO.)
> Patch the Trigger 1 output to the gate
input of an envelope or other triggered
CV source.
> Patch the output from a gate or trigger
source into the Gate/Trig input.
> Patch a CV source into the Time
Scale CV input (preferably through an
attenuator).
Now go play!

Functional Overview
www.rossum-electro.com
1 TIME & LEVEL Sets the duration and
target level of each segment. Levels can
be defined absolutely or relative to the
ending level of the previous segment, can
be quantized to the nearest 1/12 volt, and
can have a range of randomness of either
linear or gaussian distribution.
2 TRANSITION SHAPE Each segment
can have one of 67 dierent transition
shapes, 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.
Sequences can be hundreds of steps long
and modified in real time manually or by
CVs.
3 CONDITIONAL JUMPS Each
segment may 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, etc).
4 TRIGGERS 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.
5 GATE/TRIG, LOGIC,
& CVS Inputs that
allow external control of
triggering, time scaling,
and CV level testing for
conditional jumps.
6 SEGMENT
BUTTONS Used to select
segments for editing and to
manually jump to selected
segments in performance.
7 PRESETS 500 presets
can be saved and recalled.
8 PRESET SEQUENCER Allows stepping
through up to 200 user-defined series of
presets under trigger, clock or manual
control, for contours and sequences of
almost unlimited length and complexity.
+SATELLITE 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.