Strymon Volante User manual

USER MANUAL

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 2
Table of Contents
FRONT PANEL
REAR PANEL
FOOTSWITCHES
SOUND ON SOUND
LIVE EDIT FUNCTIONS
EXPRESSION PEDAL
POWER UP MODES
MULTISWITCH PLUS
FACTORY RESET
MIDI IMPLEMENTATION
OUTPUT MODES
SIGNAL FLOW DIAGRAM
FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS
FACTORY PRESET SETTINGS
WARRANTY
3
9
13
15
18
20
22
26
28
29
33
36
37
39
41

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 3
Front Panel - Tonality
TYPE
Selects between three available
magnetic media types.
drum: Steel wire spinning platter.
Atmospheric echoes emphasize
the low-mid frequencies and will
saturate with hot signals or high
feedback.
tape: Magnetic tape used in
vintage echo machines. Warm
tape response with moderately
clean and airy signal path.
studio: Clean studio-grade tape
used in reel-to-reel units.
REC LEVEL
Controls the analog preamp
gain of the signal fed into the
processor. When turned up, fat
and saturated signals are sent to
the record head. Turn down for
cleaner delay signals.
Class A Analog JFET Input
Buffer-Touch response and
dynamic interaction with
your guitar are optimized
with a discrete class A
JFET buffer.
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 4
Front Panel - Tonality (cont.)
MECHANICS
Controls the amount of mechanically related speed
fluctuations and media irregularities, including: friction,
creases, splices, and contaminants.
Set to minimum for a fresh, clean recording medium.
Set to maximum for a recording medium that is in need
of service.
WEAR
Controls the wear of the media
and heads which affects the
fidelity of the high frequencies.
Set to minimum for a fresh, full
bandwidth sound.
LOW CUT
Controls the low frequency
shaping of the echo repeats.
Set to minimum for extended
low frequency bandwidth. Set to
maximum for extremely high-
passed repeats.
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 5
Front Panel - Head Configuration
feedback
Enables or disables feedback
of the corresponding playback
head signal to the record head.
PANNING
Turn the TIME knob while
pressing and holding the
individual feedback buttons
to adjust the panning for each
playback head. Adjusting the
knob to twelve o’clock returns
the head to the center position
(the corresponding playback
button will light up RED.)
playback
Selects which of the individual
playback heads are engaged
(GREEN LED ON).
HEAD VOLUME
Press and hold for one second
to toggle between half and full
volume.
GREEN LED ON = full volume.
AMBER LED ON = half volume.
REPEATS
Controls the feedback amount
for the heads that have their
feedback enabled.
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
NOTE: A head can be fed back to the input even if its
playback is disengaged.
NOTE: When all heads are panned to center, a
psychoacoustic stereo process is applied to the
delay signal.

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 6
Front Panel - Head Configuration (cont.)
even: Sets the heads evenly to produce delays
of sixteenth note, eighth note, dotted eighth,
and quarter note.
triplet: Sets heads to sixteenth note triplet,
eighth note triplet, quarter note triplet and
quarter note.
golden: Sets the distances between each of the
heads according to the golden ratio, resulting
in the fastest density buildup when multiple
heads are repeating.
silver: Sets the distances between heads
according to the silver ratio, resulting in
repeats that “bunch up” closer to the head 4
quarter note.
playback
33 3
playback
33 3
playback
33 3
SPACING
Adjusts the spacing between the heads. Turning the knob morphs
the heads in between the marked settings.
SPACING CONFIGURATIONS
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 7
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
Front Panel - Time
TIME
Controls the delay time at
head 4. Heads 1-3 subdivide
proportionately according to the
SPACING setting. Turn the knob
to the left for shorter delays
and to the right for longer
delays. Delay time ranges vary
by selected speed setting.
Delay Ranges at head 4
half 400ms - 4 sec
normal 200ms - 2sec
double 100ms - 1sec
NOTE: The delay time
is determined by a
combination of two
factors: the distance
between the record and
playback heads and the
speed of the media. The
distance is determined
by the TIME knob. The
SPEED switch selects the
speed of the media.
SPEED
Selects the speed of the media.

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 8
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
Front Panel - Mix
NOTE: The shortest possible
delay time is achieved by
setting SPACING to triplet
and selecting head 1.
SPRING
Controls the output mix of the
integrated spring reverb tank.
The dry signal input and ECHO
LEVEL knob control the signals
feeding into the spring reverb
effect. The reverb effect is
located just before the output.
To bypass, turn the knob all the
way to the left.
ECHO LEVEL
Sets the overall delay signal level
sent to the output.

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 9
Rear Panel
INST/LINE Switch
Sets the input level to the effect processing. Setting
to LINE adds 10dB of clean headroom.
• Use INST for guitars or instruments with lower
output.
• Use LINE for synthesizers, or when placing Volante
in the effects loop of an amplifier or mixer, or for
guitar rigs with high output levels if more clean
headroom is desired.
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
OUTPUTS
Audio signal outputs. Use
LEFT OUT for mono output.
(See page 33 for details.)
INPUTS
High impedance audio inputs. Use
LEFT IN for mono input. Connect a
jack to the RIGHT IN for stereo input.

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 10
Rear Panel (cont.)
NOTE: Volante can respond
to MIDI Clock along with
MIDI PC and MIDI CC
messages received at the
MIDI IN or USB on the
assigned MIDI Channel.
(See page 24 for details.)
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
MIDI OUT
Can be set to send MIDI
messages received at the MIDI IN
port or send MIDI data generated
by Volante.
(See page 24 for details.)
MIDI IN
Full featured 5-pin DIN MIDI input. Provides support
for receiving:
• MIDI Program Change (PC) messages to recall up
to 300 presets.
• MIDI Continuous Controller (CC) messages to
control the individual parameters of Volante
including all knobs, switches, buttons, and Live Edit
functions.
• MIDI Clock to sync the delay time with an external
MIDI Clock source.

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 11
Rear Panel (cont.)
EXP
To configure the EXP
jack, press and hold
the TAP button while
powering up Volante.
Turn the ECHO LEVEL knob to
select the mode. The current
mode will be displayed on the
TAP LED.
Expression Pedal Mode =GREEN:Allows continuous control over any
of the knobs in any direction with a standard TRS expression pedal.
(See page 20 for details.)
External TAP Mode =AMBER:Allows you to use an external MiniSwitch
to control the TAP tempo.
Preset Mode =BLUE:Allows for the selection of up to three presets
using a Strymon MultiSwitch Plus or 300 Presets by sending MIDI
Program Change messages via ¼” TRS MIDI connection.
Speed Mode =PURPLE:Toggle between the three settings of the
SPEED switch using a Strymon MultiSwitch Plus.
Transport Mode =RED:Provides access to additional transport
controls using a Strymon MultiSwitch Plus.
(See page 26 for details.)
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
ON FAVORITE
TAP
∞
hold ( )
hold (SOS)
pausereverse
splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
TAP
hold (SOS)
splice
SPRING
silver
SPACING
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
9VDC
INST
LINE
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
ON
FAVORITE TAP
∞
hold ( )
hold (SOS)
pause
reverse
splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
WEAR
ECHO LEVEL
TIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 12
Rear Panel (cont.)
USB
Used for connecting to a computer
to control via MIDI.
POWER
Use an adapter with the following
rating: 9VDC center negative.
300mA minimum.
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 13
Footswitches
TAP
Sets quarter note delay time for Playback Head 4.
The TAP LED will flash to indicate the delay time
in quarter notes. TAP ranges are as follows:
half - 100ms to 4sec
normal - 100ms to 2sec
double - 100ms to 2sec
ON
Activates audio processing. Press to engage (GREEN
LED ON) or bypass (LED OFF) the effect. Press and
hold to activate infinite repeats with oscillation
(AMBER LED ON).
BYPASS is configured for True Bypass (using
electromechanical relays) by default, but can also be
set to Buffered Bypass.
(See page 24 for details.)
ON FAVORITE TAP
∞
hold ( ) hold (SOS)
pausereverse splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 14
FAVORITE
RECALL ACTIVE FAVORITE
Press the FAVORITE footswitch
once to engage the active
onboard preset.
CHOOSE ACTIVE FAVORITE
While holding down the
FAVORITE footswitch, the
playback/feedback buttons
represent preset locations. Press
one of these buttons to select the
active favorite.
SAVE TO A PRESET LOCATION
Press and hold the FAVORITE
footswitch until the LED flashes BLUE to enter SAVE mode, then
release the footswitch.
There are three ways to select a preset location and complete the save:
• Press the FAVORITE footswitch to save to the currently selected
preset location.
• Press one of the eight playback/feedback buttons to save to the
corresponding preset location.
• Send Volante a MIDI Program Change message to save to the
corresponding preset location.
Saving a favorite saves all knob, switch, and button settings, as well as
all Live Edit functions and expression control settings.
To exit without saving, press the TAP footswitch.
COMPARE MODE
As knob and switch settings are adjusted with the FAVORITE engaged,
the LED temporarily changes from RED to GREEN when the current
position is identical to the saved favorite.
FAVORITE
pause
playback
feedback
+
Footswitches (cont.)
ON
FAVORITE
TAP
∞
hold ( ) hold (SOS)
pause
reverse splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
NOTE: The eight presets
associated with the
playback and feedback
buttons are assigned to MIDI
Program Changes 0-7.

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 15
ON
Press ON (reverse)
momentarily to reverse the
playback of the Sound on
Sound looper. (RED ON LED)
Press and hold to enter Infinite
mode which disables the
record head and continuously
plays the most recent
loop length audio without
degrading. (Blinking ON LED)
SPEED
SOS mode max recording time:
half - 64 sec
normal - 32 sec
double - 16 sec
Press and hold TAP to enter and exit SOS mode. The ON LED will
illuminate AMBER when in SOS mode. The functionality of all the
footswitches changes when in SOS mode, as described below.
Sound on Sound (SOS)
ON FAVORITE TAP
∞
hold ( ) hold (SOS)
pausereverse splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 16
TAP
Press TAP (splice) once to set
the splice in point of the loop.
(TAP LED blinks AMBER)
Press splice again to splice
out and start loop playback
from splice in point. (TAP LED
solid AMBER)
Press splice once more to
clear the recorded loop. (TAP
LED off)
FAVORITE
Press FAVORITE (pause)
momentarily to Stop/Resume
playback of the recorded loop.
Press and hold pause to stop
playback of the tape with
mechanical slowdown effect.
Release pause to resume
playback with mechanical startup
effect.
(AMBER ON LED)
Sound on Sound (SOS) (cont.)
ON FAVORITE TAP
∞
hold ( ) hold (SOS)
pausereverse splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
NOTE: Volante can adjust
the Pause Ramp Speed,SOS
Repeat Level,and the SOS
Loop Level independently.
(See page 18 for details.)

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 17
Sound on Sound (SOS) (cont.)
Press splice again to close loop and start playback.
(TAP LED solid AMBER)
Press TAP (splice) once to start recording. (TAP LED
will flash AMBER)
Press and hold TAP to enter SOS mode.
Press splice again to stop loop playback and delete
loop.
3
2
1
4
How to record a loop.
ADDITIONAL SOUND ON SOUND TIPS:
INFINITE HOLD
Press and hold the ON (∞) footswitch for one second
to enter Infinite mode to disable the record head and
prevent the recorded loop from degrading. (Blinking
ON LED)
REVERSE
To play the recorded loop in reverse, momentarily
press the ON (reverse) footswitch to engage
the reverse function and play the recorded loop
backwards. (ON LED RED)
PAUSE
To pause the recorded loop without deleting, press
FAVORITE (pause). (AMBER FAVORITE LED)
Press and hold pause to stop playback of the loop
with mechanical slowdown effect. Release pause
to resume playback with mechanical startup effect.
Pause ramp speed can be adjusted.
(See page 18 for details.)

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 18
Live Edit Functions
FAVORITE
pause
playback
feedback
+
PAUSE RAMP SPEED
Turn MECHANICS knob to adjust.
Turning the knob to the left
makes the pause ramp more
slowly. Turning the knob to the
right makes the pause ramp
more quickly.
MIDI CLOCK
Turn REC LEVEL knob to have
Volante sync with MIDI clock.
ON LED indicates selection.
Off = RED (default)
On = GREEN
Volante provides a way to adjust several
settings that do not have a dedicated knob
or switch. In order to access these functions,
press and hold FEEDBACK buttons 1and 4
together while turning the assigned knobs.
SOS REPEAT LEVEL
Turn REPEATS knob to adjust.
Turning the knob to the left
decreases the number of SOS
loop repeats.
SOS LOOP LEVEL
Turn ECHO LEVEL knob to
adjust. Turning the knob to
the left turns down the SOS
loop volume.
ON FAVORITE TAP
∞
hold ( ) hold (SOS)
pausereverse splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 19
Live Edit Functions (cont.)
RESPOND / IGNORE MIDI EXPRESSION
Turn the LOW CUT knob to select whether Volante
will respond to MIDI Expression CC #100. ON LED
indicates selection.
Off = RED (default)
On = GREEN
SPRING DECAY
Turn SPRING knob to adjust. Turning the knob to the
left shortens the spring reverb decay. Turning to the
right provides a longer reverb decay.
ON FAVORITE TAP
∞
hold ( ) hold (SOS)
pausereverse splice
Magnetic Echo Machine
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
WEAR
ECHO LEVELTIME
SPEEDTYPE
drum
tape
studio
half
normal
double
LOW CUT SPRING
REC LEVEL MECHANICS
even
triplet golden
silver
playback
feedback
SPACING
REPEATS
NOTE: Each of these parameters are
saved independently in each preset.

Volante - Magnetic Echo Machine
pg 20
LEFT IN RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
9VDC
INST
LINE
RIGHT IN LEFT OUT RIGHT OUT EXP
MIDI IN
USB
MIDI OUT
Use a TRS Expression pedal to control the knobs of Volante.
Expression Pedal Setup
Press and hold feedback 2and 3buttons for one
second until all the buttons are flashing GREEN.
Connect the Expression pedal to the EXP jack of
Volante using a TRS cable.
Configure the EXP jack for Expression mode.
(See page 11 for details.)
Rock the expression pedal back to the HEEL position
and all the feedback buttons will flash GREEN.
3
2
1
4
FAVORITE
pause
playback
feedback
+