twisted electrons AY3 User manual

user’s manual

Thanks! ...Overview
Thank-you for choosing the AY3! Time to take a break from HI-FI land and enjoy
some good old 8-BIT nostalgia!
The AY3 features two 8912 chips boasting 6 voice polyphony. You can apply
sequences, arpeggiators, noise, envelopes and pitch modulation to each voice
with a click of a button.
Take the video AY3 Tour!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcXeGEhGb5I
About the AY-8912:
The AY-3-8912 and its variants became popular chips in many arcade games, and were used on, among
others, the Intellivision and Vectrex video game consoles and the MSX, Amstrad CPC, Oric 1, Colour

Genie, Elektor TV Games Computer and Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128/+2/+3 home computers as well as the
Mockingboard sound card for the Apple II family.
1- Connectivity & Power
The AY3 features two 1/4” audio outputs, a MIDI input and a power socket
The AY3 is equipped with a bridge rectifier so can be powered by any AC or
DC voltage source between 8v and 15v, 4 between 500mA and 2000mA.

2- Preset load/save
The AY3 can hold 64 presets in 8 banks of 8 presets.
2-1 Load: Press the data wheel down to toggle between preset and bank
mode (displayed above the data wheel). Roll the data wheel to load a preset.
2-2 Save: Hold the data wheel down for 3 seconds to save a preset
(count-down displayed on leds 8thru 1).

3- Voice
Voice edit mode has 3 sub-modes to enable/disable, adjust tuning & volume of
each voice.
Cycle through these sub-modes by tapping row button 1. The led matrix will
announce the selected sub-mode by displaying the letters E, Vor T.
3-1 Enable: Enable/disable a voice via buttons athru f.
3-2 Volume: Select a voice via buttons athru f. Adjust the selected voice’s
volume with the data wheel. Volume is displayed on leds 1thru 8
3-3 Tune: Select a voice via buttons athru f. Transpose the selected voice
with the data wheel.

4- Lfo/arp
Lfo/arp mode offers 2 types of pitch modulation: lfo & arpeggiator. Tap row
button 2 to enter lfo/arp mode. There are 4 modes for both lfo and arp. Enable
or diable the arp/lfo on each voice by clicking the buttons athru f. Scroll through
them with the data wheel.
4-1 lfo: The icons above leds 1thru 4indicated the selected lfo shape. Use
the speed and depth knobs to adjust the lfo accordingly
4-2 arp: The 4 arp modes are up, down, up/down & random. The speed knob
will adjust the arp’s rate and the depth knob changes it’s range in octaves
Note: The arp loves to slave itself to midi time code!

5- Noise
Noise can be applied to each voice by clicking on the buttons athru f.
Click row button 3 to enter noise mode.
The overall noise frequency can be adjusted by rolling the data wheel. Noise
frequency is represented by leds 1thru 8

6- Env
Envelopes can be applied to control a voice’s volume. Tap row button 4 to enter
env mode. There are 8 envelope shapes represented by icons above led 1thru
8. Scroll through them with the data wheel.
Adjust the speed of the envelopes via the env/seq speed knob
Note: at high speeds the envelope will self-oscillate!

7- Sequencer
Each preset can store a 16 step sequence of 3 paramters: Note, Voice on/off
and noise on/off. Tap row button 5 to enter env mode.
Apply the sequencer to a voice using buttons athru f. Adjust the speed of the
sequencer via the env/seq speed knob
Programming the sequencer:
Hold row button 5 for 3 seconds to enter sequencer program mode (count-
down displayed on leds 1thru 8).
Now simply roll the data wheel to select a step to edit (1-16 displayed on led
matrix) then play a key on your midi keyboard to input the note. Tap the row 1
button to toggle the voice on and off. Tap the row 3 button the toggle the noise
on and off. The led rows 1 and 3 indicate that voice and/or noise are activated
for the selected step.
Hold row button 5 for 3 seconds to exit sequencer program mode (count-down
displayed on leds 1thru 8).
Note: The sequencer loves to slave itself to midi time code!

8- Detune/chord & glide
8-1 Detune/chord: The detune/chord knob has multiple modes:
At 0%: hold all voices to perfect unison.
Between 1-50%: detune the 6 voices (Aka fatness).
51 - 99%: choose between 7 voicing chords (displayed on leds 1thru 8).
at 100% the AY3 becomes a polysynth. You can play up to 6 voices
simultaneously on your midi keyboard.
8-2 Glide: The glide knob has multiple modes adds glide aka portamento to
the synth’s pitch. More glide=longer portamentos.
Note: try gliding between the chords!

9- Midi implementation
Midi Message
Range
Result
Note On/Off CH1
1-127
Unison/Poly Voice
Note On/Off CH2
1-127
AY3#1, Voice1
Note On/Off CH3
1-127
AY3#1, Voice2
Note On/Off CH4
1-127
AY3#1, Voice3
Note On/Off CH5
1-127
AY3#2, Voice1
Note On/Off CH6
1-127
AY3#2, Voice2
Note On/Off CH7
1-127
AY3#2, Voice3
Note On/Off CH8
1-127
Polyphonic mode
Note On/Off CH9
1-127
Noise on/off AY3#1, Voice1
Note On/Off CH10
1-127
Noise on/off AY3#1, Voice2
Note On/Off CH11
1-127
Noise on/off AY3#1, Voice3
Note On/Off CH12
1-127
Noise on/off AY3#2, Voice1
Note On/Off CH13
1-127
Noise on/off AY3#2, Voice2
Note On/Off CH14
1-127
Noise on/off AY3#2, Voice3
Control CC#2
0-127
Lfo/arp speed
Control CC#3
0-127
Lfo/arp depth
Control CC#6
0-127
Detune amount
Control CC#7
0-127
Glide Amount
Control CC#8
0-127
Sequencer Speed
Control CC#9
0-127
Noise Frequency

10- Firmware updating
The AY3 supports firmware updates via midi system exclusive messages (sysex).
To enter update mode aka bootloader:
-unplug the unit’s power cord.
-hold the encoder button down while plugging the unit power back in.
Three bright stripes will show on the led matrix indicating that bootloader mode is active.
Now you are ready to send the sysex to the AY3 via your computer.
10-1 Pc:
For a windows pc, we recommend MIDI-OX. It is a free and very useful app!
1. Launch MIDI-OX
2. In the Sysex window, choose Command > Window > Load File and navigate the
location where you stored the file.
3. Choose Command Window > Send Sysex
IMPORTANT: the buffer settings must be 2/64 byte buffers to avoid transfer corruptions,
(thanks Joel for pointing this out)
10-2 Mac:
For a mac, we recommend SysEx Librarian. It is also free!
1. Launch SysEx Librarian.
2. Select your MIDI interface in the dropdown menu at the top (if it's not already
selected)
3. Drag the MIDI SysEx file from the Finder into the frame of SysEx Librarian (if it's not
already in there).
4. Select it with the mouse.
5. Click Play.

During upload, the led bars will flash and fill the matrix from left to right, then your AY3
will boot into the new software.