TubeOhm

ALPHA- RAY virtual analog synthesizer

English manual
V 1.
Translation ! "avier P#a##
TubeOhm 2012
About Alpha-Ray:
The idea of Alpha-Ray emerged after several of our users have asked where to get basic
iformatio o !virtual" as well as o !real" #hardware$ sythesi%ers&
This user maual is therefore also meat as a tutorial o the basics of a virtual aalog
sythesi%er based o subtractive sythesis&
'o let(s go &&
)ith clarificatio i mid* we will first e+plai the basic terms&
VCO or DCO
The term ,-O comes from the !old" aalog techology ad meas !voltage cotrolled
oscillator"&
. the 21st cetury everythig* icludig oscillators* is digitally cotrolled* so /-O meas
!/igitally -otrolled Oscillator"

Oe or several oscillators i a sythesi%er are actually the soud geerators* like the
strigs of a guitar&
Thus whe pressig a key* the ,-O gets a cotrol voltage tellig it at which fre0uecy #or
ote$ to oscillate& O the other had* the /-O gets a digital iformatio tellig it at which
fre0uecy #or ote$ to oscillate& The result is the same&
1ach ,-O2/-O ca geerate differet waveshapes* ie& sius* sawtooth* ramp*
s0uarewave* triagle ad oise&
1ach of these waveshapes cotais more or less harmoics* ad souds differetly&
A ,-3 ca ifluece more or less the harmoic cotet ad shape the soud accordigly&
VCF/DCF
The filter is oe of the most importat compoet of a sythesi%er&
,-3 meas !voltage cotrolled filter"* /-3 is therefore a !digitally cotrolled filter" &
)hether voltage cotrolled or digitally cotrolled* the cotrol refers to the filter(s cutoff
fre0uecy&
The cutoff fre0uecy is the fre0uecy at which a filter begis to atteuate& )e(re talkig
here about a 45 filter* ie& a lowpass filter* meaig that the higher fre0uecies are
atteuated&
The specificatio give i d6 refers to the slope of the filter&
The slope is a measure of the filter(s atteuatio whe fre0uecy is doublig* ie per
octave&
)e are dealig here with '76'TRA-T.,1 '89T:1'.'* sice the filter ca be cotrolled
to atteuate more or less certai fre0uecies&
The filter atteuates part of the total harmoic cotet of the sigal&
Filter Q or filter resonance
.f a filter is looped back* meaig its resoace is icreased* it will evetually begi to
oscillate* ad the as such it ca be used as a soud geerator&
The filter(s toe becomes harsher whe its gai at cutoff fre0uecy is icreased& As soo
as ;<1 is reached* the filter begis to self-oscillate&
VCF / VCA / PITC AD!R
The filter ca be cotrolled by e&g& a evelope geerator or a 43O* i order to obtai a
dyamic chage i the sigal(s spectral cotet* i which case the filter(s cutoff fre0uecy
is cotrolled&
The cutoff fre0uecy is periodically swept by a 43O&
A evelope geerator cotrols the overall filter process as soo as a key is pressed util
it is released&
The en"elope #enerator$ or en"elope$ or AD!R #enerator
,irtually every sythesi%er uses evelope geerators to produce dyamic souds&
A evelope cosists of several time ad amplitude -segmets&
The most commo ist he so-called A/'R geerator&
The evelope geerator starts its ATTA-= phase #A$ as soo as a key is pressed* util it
reaches a ma+imum& Oce the ma+imum is reached* the amplitude decreases with
/1-A8 time #/$ to the '7'TA.9 level #'$* ad maitais this level util the key is
released&
As soo as the key is released* the amplitude decreases to 0 i the time set by R141A'1
#R$&
>A> stads for the time re0uired to go fro 0 to the evelope(s ma+imum level&
>/> is the time re0uired to go from the ma+imum level to the '7'TA.9 41,14&
>'> sets the '7'TA.9 41,14
>R> is the time re0uired by the evelope to decrease to 0 whe the key is released&
??ATTA-=* /1-A8* '7'TA.9* R141A'1@@
A sythesi%er uses A/'R geerators for several tasks* ad usually several of them are
available&
A A/'R geerator cotrols the cutoff fre0uecy of the filter
A secod oe cotrols the volume
Aother oe ca cotrol the 5)A or the ,-O pitch&
P% an& P%'
5) meas 5ulse )idth* ad sets the pulse shape of a s0uare wave&
5)A is 5ulse )idth Aodulatio& The pulse width* or pulse phase behavior of a s0uare
wave* is modulated by a 43O or a A/'R&
F' or Fre(uency 'o&ulation
Alpha-Ray allows the ,-O 1 fre0uecy to be modulated by the ,-O 2 fre0uecy* so that
ew harmoics are geerated by ,-O 1&
Osc !)*C or Oscillator !ynchroni+ation,
1very time ,-O 2(s sigal crosses %ero* the phase of ,-O 1 is resetted& :owever this
oly works if ,-O 1 fre0uecy is higher or e0ual to ,-O 2 fre0uecy& . this case ,-O 2
sychroi%es ,-O 1&
PA!-
4et(s cosider a sius wave& A whole period covers BC0 degrees&
5hase 0 meas that the sius is startig with 0 amplitude& .ts ma+imum is reached at D0
degrees* the e+t %ero crossig is at 1E0 degrees* the ma+imum egative at 2F0 degrees
ad the e+t %ero crossig at BC0 degrees&
)he 5:A'1 is o* the ,-O wave starts with phase < 0 ad amplitude < 0&
)e have a so-called predefied trasiet&
.f 5:A'1 is off* the ,-O wave starts with a radom amplitude i&e& radom phase&
.s it importat G

8es* if we wat some puchy bass* we eed a specific waveform attack&
6ut it(s e+actly the opposite with strigs H 'ice the ,-O starts every time at 5hase 0* a
upleasat spike oise may be heard&
Therefore strigs ?? 5:A'1 off
A*A.O/ D-T0*-
)e have oce bee lucky to have a opportuity to test a old aalog sythesi%er&
)ell* what distiguishes a real sythesi%er from a ,A sythesi%er G
)hy does hardware soud somehow differet tha software G
)e have oticed that old e0uipmets are rather proe to ustability regardig pitch& 1ve
the octave precisio is(t guarateed&
:owever we are dealig here with miimal flucutuatios* ad these produce I
61AT'&
These beats as such are pleasat to our ears&
. plai 1glishJ if o a old syth we press 10 times the same key cosecutively* we will
obtai ideed 10 differet pitchs&
1&g& KK0 :% the first time* the KK0&02 :%* the KBD&DD :% ad so o&&
)he played i combiatio* the otes already produce a phasig or a light chorus effect&
Ad this without ay special effect&& !That(s the trick"
Ad this ca also be simulated&&
Thus whe A9A4OL is set* a small radom pitch value is added to the ,-O pitch
iformatio&
/1T791 sets the magitude of the radom values&
Ad suddely it souds o loger so cold or sterile& The effect is however very subtle ad
oly oticeable whe switched off& .t depeds also o the soud used&


'OD0.ATIO*

Aodulatio is the ifluece of fre0uecy* amplitude or harmoic cotet of a soud
geerator buy aother compoet such a 43O
)e talk about ,.6RATO whe the fre0uecy of a oscillator is modulated* ad about
TR1AO4O whe its amplitue ie& its volume is modulated&
/epedig o the oscillator waveform* e&g& a s0uarewave* it is possible to dyamically
modulate the pulse width by a 43O&
. which case we talk about 5)A or 5ulse )idth Aodulatio&
.FO
A 43O is a low fre0uecy oscillator* ie& a slow beatig oscillator&
.ts fre0uecy rage is typically 0&01&&& K0 :%&
A 43O is used typically to modulate compoets such as ,-O2/-O* ,-32/-3
ad ,-A2/-A
F-AD!R
3-A/'R sets the magitude of the filter cutoff fre0uecy modulatio by the A/'R&
1-TRAC1
=-TRA-= moves the filter(s cutoff fre0uecy accordig to the ote played&
:igher otes would always soud more muffled without =-TRA-=* sice the filter(s cutoff
fre0uecy would have bee fi+ed&
V-.OCIT)
,14O-.T8 allows cutoff fre0uecy or volume to be cotrolled&
:igher velocity meas higher fre0uecies i the spectrum or higher sigal volume&

VCF I/II
$%it&hes bet%een a la''er-net%or( #ilter )LP* or a state variable #ilter )LP*.
They soud differetly&
P-'o& 2ulation3 or VCO pitch 4o&ulation
The ,-O pitch is dyamically cotrolled&
The modulatio source ca be 43O 1* 43O 2 or 5itch A/'R&
5-AO/ sets the magitude of the pith modulatio&
=eywordJ sire effects H
P%' 'o&ulation 2P%'3
5)A sets the magitude oft he the pulse width modulatio H
All B ,-Os ca geerate a s0uarewave& The s0uarewave ca be pulse-modulated&
3irst i a static way by the 5)A cotrol&
Techically it chages the harmoic cotet of the soud& A pulse width of M0N produces
a rather !bassy" soud& A pulse width of D0N geerates a asal* medium-coloured soud&

:armoic cotet
:armoic cotet
Than(s to P+, )Pulse +i'th ,o'ulation*- it is .ossible to 'ynami&ally &ontrol the .ulse %i'th
ratio %ith L/O 1- L/O 0 or pitch evelope&
43O 1 2 2 periodically chage the harmoic cotet of the sigal accordig to their
respective fre0uecies&
The pitch evelope chages the harmoic cotet of the ,-Os accordigly&&
P%5 Pulse %i&th
'ets a predefied pulse width ratio of a s0uarewave&
This pulse width ratio ca be modulated with 5)A
O"er&ri"e 2poly3 an& the 6&7 P Filter
Techically speakig* ,-O sigals are mirrored through a o-liear characteristic&
This results is a distortio of the sigals

1&g& J if a sius wave is distorted* it will cotai harmoics
'ius wave without distorsio
:armoic cotet
/istorted sius
:armoic cotet
The sigal icludes more or less harmoics accordig to the level of distorsio&
A sawtooth is perceived more clearly with some added harmoics&
The optimal /R.,1 settig is B0&&F0 N& Too much /R.,1 ca sigificatly distort the
sigal which the ca be perceived as !upleasat" distorsio& . cotrast to a light
!cruchy" distortio which slightly roughe the soud&
The 6&7 hi#hpass filter
atteuates low fre0uecies ad is clearly a beefit to the soud& 1+treme settigs remove
the complete lower spectrum* ad the istrumet gais a strog medium toe colour&
)hile workig with Alpha-Ray(s mai filter* we oticed that lower fre0uecies remai
stable i amplitude& 'ettig the cutoff fre0uecy oly affects more or less higher
fre0uecies&
9oise without highpass filter
3re0uecy respose
9oise with highpass filter
3re0uecy respose
The Cd6 highpass filter has a secod mode i order to itroduce more dyamic i the
lower part of the spectrum& This mode ca be set with 4.9= ,-3&
. (4.9=-,-3> mode* the Cd6 :5 filter is coupled to the actual cutoff fre0uecy cotrol of
the mai filter&
)ith actual we mea cutoff* ,elo* =-Track* 43O modulatio&
)hat does this couplig e+catly do G
A smal cosideratio here&&Actually the Cd6 :5 filter is before the mai 45 filter &
1+plaatio of termsJ
#.P 5 lo8pass filter& A lowpass filter allows all fre0uecies below the cutoff fre0uecy to
pass through& 3re0uecies above the cutoff fre0uecy are atteuated with a 12&&2K
d62octave #fre0uecy doublig$ slope&
P 5 hi#hpass& This :5 filter allows oly fre0uecies above the cutoff fre0uecy to pass
through& 3re0uecies below the cutoff fre0uecy are atteuated with a C d62oct slope&
:ighpass behavior
9ow let(s cosider our Alpha-Ray filter&
4ower fre0uecies are atteuated thaks to the C d6 :5 filter& :igher fre0uecies are
atteuated by the mai #45$ filter&
)e get a arrower fre0uecy bad depedig o the settig of the mai filter(s cutoff
fre0uecy ad the settig of the C d6 filter H
This combiatio allows the creatio of a badpass filter with adOustable badwidth&
A simplified e+ampleJ
The :5 filter oly allows fre0uecies above 1000 :%* the master 45 filter cuts off over
M000 :%&
. this case* the badwidth is K000 :% #M000-1000$&
:5 plus 45 combiatio < 65
1e%are the tra. here!
2# #or e3am.le the HP #ilter &uts o## #re4uen&ies belo% 5 Hz an' the LP #ilter above 5 Hz-%e
sim.ly hear .. nothing.
2t shoul' no% be &lear %hy. 2# the HP #ilter .asses #re4uen&ies that are attenuate' by the LP #ilter- the
resultig sigal becomes more ad more atteuated&
3urthermore* if the cotrol of the cutoff fre0uecy is ow completly sychoi%ed to the
cutoff fre0uecy of the Cd6 filter* we obtai a badpass filter cotrolled by ,14O* ,-3
A/'R I through the complete soud fre0uecy rage&
As we are dealig ow with a badpass filter* lower fre0uecies are ow atteuated
depedig o how the 65 filter moves accross the fre0uecy rage&
The soud thus seems more preset* ad the filter modulatio more effective&
.FO 9 an& :
Alpha-Ray features 2 43Os for differet modulatio tasks&
43O 1 ad 2 feature 11 differet waveforms&
Thaks to the '89- butto* both ca be sychroi%ed to the keyboard to start with a
iitial 0 5hase&
1ach time a key is pressed* the 43Os begi to oscillate startig withe phase < 0&
.f the 65A butto is set* the the fre0uecies of the 43Os are sychroi%ed to the ,'T
:ost program&
1&g& if set to 120 65A* the fre0uecies of the 43Os ca be adOusted to 121C*12E*12K*122*
1*2*K of the host clock fre0uecy&
The A-43O2 cotrol allows the modulatio of 43O 1 fre0uecy by 43O 2&
43O 2 cotrols the fre0uecy of 43O 1 i this case&
43O 2(s Radom fuctio geerates a radom value evolvig accordig to the fre0uecy
set&
This radom value ca be routed to all destiatio modules&
)A,1 sets the desired waveform&
PITC an& 'OD0.ATIO*! ;oystic<
There are more cotrol ad modulatio fuctios with a modulatio-Ooystick i order to
modulate ad play the istrumet i real time with added fle+ibility&
The P directio cotrols the pitch* ie& the fre0uecies of the ,-Os&
The 8 directio cotrols the modulatio&
5itch modulatio icludes its ow 43O which fre0uecy is set by 3R;&
The magitude of the pitch modulatio of the 43O is cotrolled by the 8 directio ad by
A-)& A-) sets the ma+imum modulatio that ca be reached at 8 ed stop&
3.P sets the magitude of the basic modulatio&
The mo'ulation o# the ,-Os by the 43Os ca also by set by A3T1R TO7-:&
P-+ means Pit&h-+heel an' sets in " 'ire&tion the ma3imum number o# semitones trans.ose' by
the V6Os %hen moving the 7oysti&(.
The ,-3 cotrol sets the cutoff fre0uecy by A3T1RTO7-:&
)he A3 is set* the cutoff fre0uecy is modulated by the 43O ad A3T1RTO7-:&&

5ortameto has 2 fuctios as well&
)he 5ortameto is set* the pitch glides to the e+t key pressed&
The 2d mode is called A7TO-5ORTA* ad is operatig oly whe Alpha-Ray is set to
moo
A7TO 5ORTA is set by the switch Oust left to the 5orta cotrol&
. A7TO-5ORTAA19TO mode* each idividual ote is geerated without portameto&
)he a further ote is played while the curret is still active #key still pressed$* the
portameto kicks i ad the pitch the glides from ote 1 to ote 2&

The AO9O-5O48 switch sets Alpha-Ray i 10 voices mode or i moophoic #1 voice$
mode&
The effect section
The effect sectio icludes K differet effects which are coected i serie at the output of
the sythesi%er&
O,1R/R.,1?? -:OR7'??/14A8??R1,1R6
The overall sigal first passes through a 2-stage* moophoic overdrive&
.ts effect is similar to a guitar distorsio bo+& /rive 1 geerates moderate distorsio* /rive
2 harder distorsio& A.P sets the distorsio factor&
The B-stage chorus !phattes" the soud& -horus is set to the Brd mode whe both
buttos -:OR7' 1 ad -:OR7' 2 are O9&&
3R1; cotrols chorus modulatio* ad A.P mi+es origial ad chorused sigals&
8elay &an o.erate either in R-L mo'e #stereo delay$ or i ormal mode&
/elay times are set to the host syc clock with 65A-'89-&
/14A8 a 311/6A-= set the delay time ad feedback&
A.P mi+es origial ad delayed sigals&
The fial soud is polished by a R1,1R6&
. order to e+ted the soud capabilities* it is possible to use the reverb as a kid of echo*
where idividual reflectios ca be clearly distiguished& This depeds o the settigs&
$29E sets the Predelay* the reverbed sigal beig actually delayed& This is called
5R1/14A8&
ROOA chages the room si%e* /1-A8 the overall time for the reverbed sigal to fade
away&
311/6A-= ad /.337'.O9 affect reverb desity&
5R1Q/A5 ad /A5 are 2 lowpass filters& 5R1Q/A5 is located before the actual reverb*
/A5 after& 6oth filetrs somehow atteuate higher fre0uecies&
.t is thus possible to achieve the Roil takS effect&
'IDI .-AR*
Almost all Alpha-Ray(s cotrols ca be hardware remote-cotrolled H
A popup meu appears whe right-clickig a cotrol&
)he A./.-41AR9 is selected* the cotrol waits for icomig A./. data from the
hardware cotroller&
8ou Oust have the to tur a kob o the hardware cotroller& 9ormally A./. --
iformatio are set that actually move the kob o the syth&
Alpha-Ray receives all data icludig keyboard iformatio basically o chael 1H
PATC an& 7A*1$ an& !AV- an& .OAD
A patch is a sigle soud program& All the settigs of a idividual soud are saved i a
patch&
The patch file suffi+ is TTT& 3P5
>5> for 5rogram
A bak is a soudbak cosistig of 12E idividual souds or patches&
The bak file suffi+ is TTT&3P6
>6> for 6ak
The followig is to do if you wat to save your ow soudsJ
1J the soud should have its ow ame i order to be retrieved later&
2J it should be saved i a folder
5atchame J
4eft-clickig the field cotaiig the ame allows to type i the ew ame of the patch&
The name shoul' al%ays #irst be ty.e' in the #iel'.
The name is 'ire&tly trans#ere' to the 'ata bro%ser %ith $AVE PAT6H- an' it is then .ossible to
save the .a&t&h in one &li&(&
.t makes sese to create a specific folder for your ow souds&
.t ca be amed e&g& >Alpha-Ray ow souds>
.t is possible to retrieve a prevouisly saved soud with 4OA/&
.t possible with -O58 to copy a soud from oe positio i the bak to aother& 1&g& from
pos& 1 to pos& BM&
!AV- .OAD 7A*1
A complete soudbak is a file cosistig of 12E idividual souds&
A ew bak loaded i Alpha-Ray* offers ew 12E available souds&
8ou ca save your ow bak ad load it agai later&
7an< creation&
3irst you eed Isoudpatches& As may as possible H
Oce you have created your 12E ow souds* you ca collect them i your ow
soudbak&
All patches have their ow* meaigful ames ad are saved i a folder&
9ow a bit of hadwork is re0uired&
3irst* to be o a safe side* please copy the e+istig soudbak i a folder of your choice&
The followig path is availableJ cJUTubeOhmUAlpha-RayU6akU
The select patch 1 ad load your ow patch i positio 1* the select patch 2 ad load a
differet ow patch i positio 2* ad so o util all 12E patch locatios are full H
The complete bak is the saved with 'A,1 6A9=* uder a dedicated ame such as J
A8-3.R'T 6A9=&3P6
That(s it&&
Another tip:
)hile holdig the -trl key pressed whe tweakig a Alpha-Ray kob* it is possible to fie
tue the selected kob&
Internal patchbro8ser
Le#t-&li&(ing the u..er 'is.lay %in'o% )re' 'ot* %ill o.en the internal bro%ser. 2t %ill 'is.lay all
the .at&hes in&lu'e' in the &urrent ban(.

8ou ca ow easily fid a patch&
-lickig a patch directly will load it&
That(s all* eOoy Alpha-Ray H
Final 8or&:
Oly Alpha-Ray* the sythesi%er itself* is freeware& 8ou ca use the souds without
restrictio&
:owever* the cost to ulock the effects sectio is K&DMV&
)e thik it(s a very fair price for a fie istrumet&
:ey* we live from the sale of our istrumets ad it>s ot that easyI
K&DMV is your support so that we ca cotiue our work* ad we cosider it as a !Thak
you"
)ith this mid* we wish you much fu with this istrumet H
TubeOhm
0D&01&2012