Buzz Zone Manual

Buzz Zone is an easy to use polyphonic synthesiser plugin with sophisticated wavetable and sample engines and a bank of flexible multi-segment envelopes to shape the sound in any direction you desire. Perfect for huge pads and soaring leads

The synthesiser features two powerful engines that can be layered together for a variety of complex sounds and textures. The 'Synth' engine features a great sounding 'wavetable' oscillator with a unison function for buzzy, harmonically rich timbres, hence the name! The 'Sample' engine can be used to mix additional textures or attacks samples over the sound.

Contents

Version 3 Update

Version 3 is a major free update headlined by six new sequencers with a piano-roll editor and Trigger Bank, plus a more flexible modulation engine, an extra bank of envelopes, a new set of reverbs and effects, parameter snapshots, a high-contrast Dark Mode, and several workflow enhancements. Existing presets and projects will load and sound the same as in Version 2 unless you enable the new features.

New in Version 3

  • Six new sequencers, each with its own piano-roll MIDI editor and per-note expression editing, plus a Trigger Bank for triggering and transposing sequences live from a MIDI controller
  • New modulation engine for the synth with 15 modulation types (FM, AM, hard sync, eight phase distortion modes, and others), replacing the FM Depth and FM Pitch knobs of Version 2
  • New Envelope Banks A & B with crossfade
  • New effects section with 25 reverbs and effects
  • New Parameter Snapshots, 8 live variation slots per preset that capture and recall sound variations on the fly
  • New high-contrast Dark Mode GUI
  • General GUI improvements and bug fixes

Tooltips Help System

The plugin features a built in 'Tooltips' help system. When 'Tooltips' is enabled, hovering the mouse over any control on the GUI will display a small pop-up window with a description of the function of that control. To enable tooltips select 'Show Tooltips' from the 'Settings' menu (the icon with 3 horizontal lines at the top right corner of the GUI).

Controls

The plugin's knobs can be finely adjust by holding the 'Shift' key on the computer keyboard. Some knob that have a larger range of values (like 'Pitch' and 'Ratio') can be snapped to whole numbers by holding down the 'Control' key while dragging the knob.

You can double-click (or double-tap on iOS) on the knob's label or the area just below the knob to type in exact values.

Some knobs have small triangles just to the right which will display a menu for that function, for example the Filter Resonance knob has a menu to choose the filter type. Tip: you can quickly select the next item in the menu without needing to open it by right-clicking (or control-clicking) on the triangle, or shift-click on the triangle to select the previous item.

Appearance

Buzz Zone v3 ships with both a light and a dark theme. Use the 'Dark Mode' item in the Settings menu (the 'hamburger' icon at the top right of the GUI) to switch between them.

Synth Engine

The Synth engine is based on two sophisticated wavetable oscillators that can be layered together with a selectable pitch interval between them.

The two oscillators are mixed together and passed into a versatile 'Filter section' with 16 different filter modes.

Each of the Synth engines 'Main' 6 knobs can be modulated by its own dedicated envelope, selected using the triangle buttons above each control.

The 6 'Main' knobs of the Synth engine are:

  • Pitch: Adjusts the pitch of the Synth engine
  • Unison: Sets the amount of unison effect. The unison effect blends together an additional six detuned copies of the wavetable oscillator to create a thick, chorus effect. Use the lower 'Detune' knob to set the amount of detuning
  • Position: Sets the current wavetable playback position
  • Modulation: Sets the depth of modulation applied to the main oscillator by a separate modulation oscillator. The type of modulation and the frequency ratio of the modulation oscillator are set using the knob and menu below this one (see the Modulation Modes section below)
  • Filter: Sets the cutoff frequency of the synth engine's filter
  • Level: Sets the level of the Synth engine

Each 'Main' knob has a tweak knob below it. The 6 'Tweak' knobs of the Synth engine are:

  • Harmony (sine wave icon, below Pitch): Sets the level of the harmony oscillator. Click on the small triangle to the right of the knob to select the interval (relative difference in pitch) of the harmony oscillator
  • Detune (double arrow icon, below Unison): Detunes the voices of the unison effect. If the 'Harmony Interval' is set to 'Unison' then this control also detunes the harmony oscillator for extra thickness!
  • Offset (waveform icon, below Position): Offsets the wavetable playback position of the harmony oscillator. Note: this control will have no affect if the 'Harmony' knob is set to zero
  • Ratio (note icon, below Modulation): Sets the frequency ratio between the modulation oscillator and the main oscillator, at a ratio of 1.0 they run at the same pitch, at 2.0 the modulator runs an octave above, and so on. The type of modulation is selected from the small triangle to the right of this knob (see Modulation Modes below)
  • Resonance (graph icon, below Filter): Controls the resonance of the filter (in some filter modes this control may have an alternative function, see descriptions of the filter modes below)
  • FM Feedback (exclamation mark icon, below Level): Controls the amount of internal FM 'feedback'

Modulation Modes

The Synth engine's modulation oscillator can modulate the main oscillator in 15 different ways, selected using the small triangle to the right of the Ratio knob. The upper Modulation knob controls the depth of the currently selected mode, and the lower Ratio knob sets the frequency ratio between the modulation oscillator and the main oscillator.

Tip: in 'phase distortion' modes (everything other than 'FM' and 'AM') the Ratio knob does double duty, it still controls the frequency of the modulation oscillator, but it also blends in a small amount of FM modulation on top of the phase distortion. This lets a single knob smoothly sweep between subtle warping and richer, more harmonically complex sounds.

The 15 available modes are:

  • FM: Classic frequency modulation. The modulator changes the phase of the main oscillator, producing the harmonically rich, bell-like and metallic tones associated with FM synthesisers like the Yamaha DX7
  • AM: Amplitude modulation. The modulator changes the level of the main oscillator, producing sum and difference sidebands above and below the original pitch, at low ratios this sounds like tremolo, at higher ratios it adds harsh metallic harmonics
  • Bend+: A phase distortion mode that warps the waveform's phase upwards, brightening its harmonic content asymmetrically
  • Bend-: The mirror of Bend+, the phase is warped downwards
  • Asymm: Asymmetric phase distortion, similar in character to the classic Casio CZ-series sound. Creates a bright, slightly nasal tone
  • Sync: Hard sync, the main oscillator is forcibly reset every cycle of the modulation oscillator, producing the cutting, formant-shifting timbre familiar from analogue synth leads
  • Formant: A formant-shifting variant of phase distortion that emphasises a particular harmonic for a vocal-like or resonant character
  • Fold: Wavefolding, the peaks of the waveform are folded back on themselves, adding upper harmonics with a smooth, organic quality
  • Map: Routes the oscillator's output through a non-linear shaping function for more exotic harmonic transformations
  • Fractal: Recursive phase modulation that produces dense, evolving harmonic textures with a self-similar character
  • Harmonic: Adds related harmonics to the main oscillator, thickening and brightening the sound while keeping it tonally clean
  • Crush: A digital sample-rate and bit-depth reduction-style modulation, producing gritty, aliased character
  • Noise: Replaces the modulator with a noise source for a rougher, noisier modulation
  • Jitter: Randomly jitters the phase of the main oscillator, useful for subtle imperfection or stronger distortion textures
  • Chorus: A chorus-style modulation that adds movement

Sample Engine

The Sample engine features a monophonic sample player with stereo detune, a dedicated 'Filter section' and FM.

The 3 'Main' knobs of the Sample engine are:

  • Sample Pitch: Adjusts the pitch of the Sample engine
  • Filter: Sets the cutoff frequency of the Sample engine's filter
  • Level: Sets the level of the Sample engine

Each 'Main' knob has a tweak knob below it. The 3 'Tweak' knobs of the Sample engine are:

  • Detune (double arrow icon, below Sample Pitch): Detunes two layered sample voices for a thicker, chorus effect
  • Drive (graph icon, below Filter): Controls the amount of drive
  • FM Depth (below Level): Sets the amount of FM-style modulation (modulated by the output of the Synth engine)

Filter Modes

The Synth engine features 16 different filter modes, the modes can be selected using the small triangle next to the filter's tweak knob. The following modes are available:

  • 4 Pole: Basic resonant filter with internal saturation
  • Ladder: 4 Pole ladder filter based on the filter of the Mini-Moog synthesiser
  • OTA: 4 Pole filter based on the Roland Juno 106
  • Sallen Key: A characterful 2-pole filter similar to the filter found in the Korg MS-20
  • State Variable: A clean 2-pole filter with no saturation
  • Acid: Based on the filter from the Roland TB-303
  • Bandpass: Frequencies above and below the filter frequency are filtered
  • Highpass: Frequencies below the filter frequency are filtered
  • Vowel: A filter that simulates vocal vowel sounds, the 'Filter' control sets the vowel
  • Multi Notch: Steep notches are carved out of the frequency response of the sound. The resonance can be 'excited' to simulate a pipe or drum
  • Comb Filter: A very short tuned delay with feedback and damping, used to create a flangey, resonant effect or 'excited' to simulate a plucked or bowed string. In this mode the Resonance control set's the amount of feedback
  • Crusher: Simulates the digital to analog stage of a vintage digital sampler, with lots of jitter and gritty sample rate reduction. In this mode the Filter knob sets the sample-rate and the Resonance knob set's the amount of resonance in the filtering circuit
  • Frequency Shifter: Shifts all the frequencies of the sound up by the same amount resulting in a somewhat dissonant, often bell-like sound. The Filter knob sets the cutoff frequency of the filter circuit, the Resonance knob sets the amount of frequency shifting
  • Ring Modulation: Uses a separate oscillator to modulate the level of the sound, creates harsh, harmonically rich sounds. The Filter knob sets the frequency of the modulation oscillator and the Resonance knob sets the amount of resonance of the filter circuit
  • Wavefolder: An accurate model of the Timbre section of the Buchla synthesiser. The filter shapes the sound by folding the peaks back down adding rich harmonics. The Filter knob sets the cutoff frequency of the low pass filter circuit and the Resonance knob sets amount of wavefolding
  • Chorus: A chorus effect that can be feedback to full resonator territory, goes from subtle widening to wild dissonant clangs! The Resonance control sets the amount of feedback

The Sample engine features a reduced selection of filters, with the addition of a special 'Vocoder' mode. The vocoder mode routes the output of the sample into a special filter bank connected to the output of the Synth engine. Band pass filters and envelope followers fed by the Sample engine control the levels of the filter bank, imprinting the tonal character of the sample on to the output of the Synth engine. Try drag and dropping a vocal sample or breakbeat into the Sample engine and playing some chords in this mode for the typical 1970s vocoder sound!

When Vocoder mode is enabled the Filter, Drive and Detune knobs have the following functions:

  • Filter = Frequency offset: Offsets the frequencies of the filter bank for formant shifting effects
  • Drive (tweak knob) = Resonance: Sets the amount of resonance of the filter bank 's filters
  • Detune (tweak knob) = Spread: Sets how spread out the frequencies bands of the filter bank are. When the control is at minimum the bands are spread 1 octave apart, when it's at maximum the bands are spread 1 semitone apart

For a classic vocoder sound, first create a thick synth sound with a sawtooth waveform, maybe adding a little noise by turning up the synth engine's FM and Feedback knobs. Then load a vocal sample or drum beat into the sample engine, set the filter mode to 'Vocoder' and mute the Synth engine so its direct sound cannot be heard. Then set the Sample engine's Filter, Drive and Detune knobs all to 50%.

Harmony Modes

There are 13 different harmony modes which can be selected by clicking on the small triangle next to the Harmony knob. The first 6 modes simply select 6 different intervals for the Main and secondary 'Harmony' oscillators.

For 'Fixed' and 'FM' modes the pitch of the harmony oscillator is disconnected from the pitch knob and the envelope, which means you can use the pitch knob and the envelope to set the interval between the 2 oscillators continuously. In 'AM', 'Ring Modulation' and 'Filter FM' modes the pitch of the main oscillator is disconnected from the pitch knob and the envelope, the pitch knob and the envelope only control the pitch of the harmony oscillator in these 3 modes.

The modes are:

  • Fifth: The harmony oscillator is pitched an octave and a 5th above the main oscillator, the effect is quite subtle as the pitch of the harmony oscillator is closely related to the natural harmonics present in the main oscillator
  • Third: The harmony oscillator is pitched an octave and a major 3th above the main oscillator
  • Minor: The harmony oscillator is pitched an octave and a minor 3th above the main oscillator
  • Octave: The harmony oscillator is pitched an octave above the main oscillator
  • Unison: The harmony oscillator is at the same pitch as the main oscillator, the 'Detune' knob will subtly detune both oscillators from each other for a rich chorus effect.
  • Below: The harmony oscillator is pitched an octave below the main oscillator
  • Fixed: In 'Fixed' mode the pitch of the harmony oscillator is disconnected from the pitch knob and the envelope, which means you can use the pitch knob and the envelope to set the interval between the 2 oscillators continuously
  • FM: In 'FM' mode the main oscillator is 'FMed' by the secondary 'Harmony' oscillator (FMed means the phase of the main oscillator is modulated, in the same way that classic 80s FM synths like the Yamaha DX7 do). Turning the Harmony knob to the right increase the amount of FMing and also blends in some of the signal from the harmony oscillator
  • AM: In 'AM' mode the main oscillator is modulated using 'Amplitude Modulation' by the harmony oscillator (amplitude Modulation means using the signal from once oscillator to control the volume of another). Turning the harmony knob to the right blends in some of the signal from the harmony oscillator
  • Ring Modulation: In 'Ring Modulation' mode the main oscillator is modulated by multiplying its output by the output of the sub oscillator (rather than the harmony oscillator that is used in AM mode, see Sub mode below for a description of the sub oscillator), resulting in harsh, dissonant overtones being added to the signal. Turning the harmony knob to the right blends in some of the signal from the harmony oscillator
  • Filter FM: In Filter FM mode the output of the harmony oscillator is used to modulate the cutoff frequency of the filter, the harmony knob controls the depth of the modulation. In this mode if you turn up the 'Stereo Width' knob it will mix in the harmony oscillator and pan it to the right channel, with 'Stereo Width' set to zero the harmony oscillator will be muted and you will only hear the main oscillator. The synth engine's 'Pitch' knob and envelope only affect the harmony oscillator, not the main oscillator (unlike the 'FM' and 'Fixed' harmony modes where the 'Pitch' knob and envelope only affect the main oscillator)
  • Sub: In 'Sub' mode the harmony oscillator uses a special sine-wave based sub oscillator rather than a wavetable, this can be useful to beef up the sound by reinforcing the fundamental frequency. The shape of the sub oscillator can be modified using the 'Offset' control. The sound of the sub oscillator can also be modified using the 'FM' and 'Feedback' controls, the amount of modification is also controlled by the 'Offset' knob. In the 'Sub' modes you can think of the 'Offset' knob as a kind of 'colour control', with the oscillator producing a clean sine wave when the 'Offset' knob is at zero, with more and more colour and modulation produced as the knob is increased. Note the output of the sub oscillator is connected after the filter therefore the filter has no affect on it
  • Low Sub: Low Sub mode is the same as Sub mode except the sub oscillator is an octave lower

Envelopes

There are 9 versatile 'multi-segment' envelopes, one for each of the plugin's main knobs. You can select the current envelope to edit using the triangular buttons above each knob. At default settings, all 9 envelopes run simultaneously at the same speed, triggered by incoming notes. A small white dot moving along the line will show the current playback position. The playback speed of the envelopes is controlled by the Speed knob.

A 'Loop' button is positioned at the bottom right corner of the envelope. When this button is enabled the currently displayed envelope will be looped. When loop is enabled a 'Loop Speed' control will appear below the button that allows you to increase or decrease the speed of the loop relative to the main envelope 'Speed' knob.

The 3 envelopes for the 'Sample' section have an extra button that appears under the 'Loop Speed' control when looping is enabled: 'Envelope Restarts Sample'. When this is enabled the sample is restarted whenever the envelope loops back to the beginning.

The synchronization mode for all of the looping envelopes can be set by using the menu just to the right of the 'Speed' knob (small triangle). Note: non-looping envelopes are not affected by these modes, only 'looping' envelopes will be affected. There are six available synchronization modes:

  • Off: No synchronization, loop speed is linked to the speed knob, envelopes are retriggered by MIDI notes
  • Free: Free-running envelopes (not retriggerd by MIDI notes), the loop speed is linked to the speed knob
  • Retrig: Loop speed is synchronized to the host's tempo and retriggered by MIDI notes. In this mode the loops will be exactly 1 bar long by default. There's an additional speed multiplier control for each envelope that appears under the loop button when you enable it, you can use this control to speed up or slow down individual loops. For example if you set the 'Loop Speed' control to "X2" the loop will then be twice as fast or half a bar long.
  • Locked: Loop speed is synchronized to the host's tempo and the loop's playback position is locked to the host's transport
  • Pitch: Loop speed is synchronized to the pitch of incoming MIDI notes so that the duration of the loop is equal to a singe cycle of the oscillator's waveform, great for wild audio-rate modulation!
  • Chaos: In this mode The loop position is synchronized to a random / chaotic signal

Note: in non-looping mode the playback speed of the envelope isn't linear across its path. The playback speed is faster at the start of the envelope and slows down towards its end, thus allowing you to focus on the more important transient (initial attack portion) of the sound. Enable 'Loop' if you require linear envelope playback speed.

You can select multiple envelope nodes by lassoing them, then edit or delete them as a group. Press Backspace to delete the selected nodes, or Command+A (Control+A on Windows) to select every node in the current envelope.

Tip: you can snap the nodes to a horizontal or vertical grid by holding down shift or control when dragging.

Each envelope has its own preset menu, opened from the small triangle at the bottom left of the envelope display. Its main purpose is to load and save envelope shapes from a library of presets, organised into folders for easy browsing. The menu also includes editing items: 'Flip Envelope' mirrors the displayed envelope vertically, and 'Reverse Envelope' plays it backwards.

Envelope Banks

In addition to the 9 envelopes described above, Buzz Zone includes a second complete bank of 9 envelopes, Bank B, that can be used in tandem with the original Bank A.

The 'B' button to the left of the envelope display selects Bank B for editing. When enabled, the envelope editor displays the Bank B envelopes and any edits are applied to Bank B rather than Bank A. Click the button again to return to Bank A.

The horizontal slider just below the 'B' button controls the Envelope Bank Crossfade, which blends between the two banks. With the slider all the way to the left only Bank A is heard; all the way to the right, only Bank B; intermediate positions produce a smooth mix of the two. The crossfade can also be modulated using velocity, the modwheel, or aftertouch via the Modulation Destination menus on the Options page, allowing the sound to morph between completely different envelope shapes per-note.

This is especially powerful with drum and percussion sounds: set Bank A to a short, sharp envelope and Bank B to a longer, more open one, then route the bank crossfade to velocity. Soft hits play Bank A's tight envelope and harder hits crossfade in Bank B's longer one, giving a single sample noticeable timbre and shape variation across the velocity range.

The envelope preset menu (described in the Envelopes section above) also contains items to copy between the banks. 'Copy A to B' copies the currently displayed envelope from Bank A into the matching slot in Bank B, and 'Copy A to B (All)' does this for all 9 envelopes at once. 'Copy B to A' and 'Copy B to A (All)' work in the same way in the opposite direction.

Important note: when 'Envelope Banks' is selected as a destination in any of the Modulation Destination menus on the Options page (Velocity, Modwheel, Aftertouch, or Pitchwheel), the modulation source takes over the bank crossfade routing. The A/B button can still be pressed to switch which bank is displayed for editing, but the routing through the banks is no longer controlled by it; it follows the modulation source instead.

Effects

The output stage of Buzz Zone includes a single effect slot offering a choice of 25 reverbs and effects for adding space, movement, or character to the sound. The Effects knob (the rightmost of the upper row of knobs) sets the effect depth, and the effect type is selected from the small triangle to the right of the knob.

The 25 available effects are:

  • Small Room: A short, tight room reverb that adds a subtle sense of space
  • Med Room: A medium-sized room reverb with a slightly longer tail
  • Large Room: A larger room with more pronounced reflections
  • Small Hall: A short, reflective hall, suited to leads and percussion
  • Med Hall: A medium hall with a longer, more spacious decay
  • Large Hall: A long, expansive hall for big, lush spaces
  • Sparkle: A bright reverb with emphasis on the higher frequencies, great for pads and atmospheres
  • Ambience: A subtle, short reverb that adds a sense of real space without colouring the sound noticeably
  • Diffused: A smooth, heavily diffused reverb with no obvious early reflections
  • Shimmer: A long reverb with an octave-up pitch shift fed back into the tail for the classic shimmer sound
  • Cavern: A very long reverb with a dark, cavernous character
  • Chamber: A medium reverb modelled on an acoustic echo chamber, sitting between a room and a hall in size
  • Big Space: A huge, expansive reverb for ambient and cinematic textures
  • Chorus: A classic chorus that adds movement and width
  • Phaser: Sweeps notches through the frequency spectrum for a swirling, hollow tone
  • Flanger: A metallic, jet-like sweep effect
  • Wavefolder: A wavefolding distortion that folds the peaks of the waveform back to add upper harmonics
  • Distortion: A versatile distortion, useful for warmth, grit, or full overdrive
  • Echo: An echo / delay effect. The Effects knob does more than just set wet/dry for the Echo: as you turn it the echo sweeps through three different combinations of delay time, decay length, and wet/dry mix, crossfading from one to the next. A single knob covers everything from short slapback to long ambient repeats.
  • Vint Chamber: A warm, slightly dusty chamber reverb in the style of vintage digital units
  • Vint Plate: A vintage plate reverb emulation in the spirit of the EMT 140
  • Vint Hall: A vintage-flavoured hall reverb with a slightly dark, characterful tone
  • Vint Room: A vintage room reverb with a touch of analogue warmth
  • Texture: A short, subtle reverb that adds atmosphere without drawing attention to itself
  • Broken Verb: A custom reverb made of diffusing echoes that produce a granular, glitchy character

Sequencers

Buzz Zone version 3 includes six independent piano-roll sequencers, each capable of playing a sequence of MIDI notes through the synth and sample engines. Any preset can use the sequencers to play itself, turning Buzz Zone into a self-contained musical sketchpad as well as a synthesiser.

There are three basic ways to use the sequencers, each suited to a different way of working:

  • Off: when none of the sequencers are running, Buzz Zone behaves as a normal synth, playing the notes coming from the host or your MIDI controller. This is the default for any preset that doesn't use the sequencers
  • Sync: the sequences play in sync with the host transport, start the host and the sequence runs along with the rest of your project. Useful as a 'track starter', building up patterns and loops directly inside the plugin. Incoming MIDI from the host or your controller still plays the sound, layered with the sequences
  • Triggered: incoming MIDI notes from a MIDI controller fire and transpose the sequences via the Trigger Bank, a zone of the keyboard mapped to controllerism-style actions like 'Play sequence 1' or 'Transpose'. Designed for live jamming and improvisation with a MIDI keyboard or pad controller. See the MIDI Triggers section below

The sequencer view is opened by clicking the 'Sequencers' button on the front panel; clicking it again hides the view. With 'Lock Sequencers Enabled' on (in the Options page or via the small LED next to the Sequencers button), the sequencers continue to play even when the view is hidden.

The top of the sequencer view shows a row of six thumbnails, one per sequence, each displaying a miniature preview of the notes in that sequence. Clicking a thumbnail opens that sequence in the main editor below; the currently selected sequence is highlighted.

Sequences can be copied between slots by clicking and dragging from one thumbnail to another. Each thumbnail has a small triangle next to it; clicking the triangle opens the Sequence Manager menu for that slot (see below). The 'Maximize Sequencers' option in the Settings menu hides the lower panel of knobs whenever the sequencer view is open, giving the editor more vertical room.

Tip: hold the Alt key while dragging a thumbnail to drag the sequence out of Buzz Zone as a MIDI file, which can be dropped directly into a track or MIDI editor in your host.

Tip: Buzz Zone ships with a 'Sequences Only' folder of preset packs containing only sequence data and no sound. Loading any of these from the preset menu replaces the six sequences while leaving your current sound untouched, useful for trying out different patterns with the sound you've already dialled in. See the Preset Manager section below for details.

Capture (recording notes into the sequencer)

The Capture feature records MIDI notes that you play into Buzz Zone (from a MIDI controller, or from MIDI on the host's track) directly into a sequence slot, turning a live performance into a sequencer pattern in a single step.

The 'Capture Bars' setting on the Options page controls how much of your performance is captured. 'All' captures everything you played since the last capture or since playback began. 'Last' captures only the most recent bar, 'Last 2' the most recent two bars, and 'Last 4' the most recent four. The bar settings are useful for jamming: play for a while, settle into a good loop, and then capture just the last bar or two of what you played without having to rewind.

The fastest way to capture is to double-click any sequence thumbnail at the top of the sequencer view; the current Capture Bars setting is applied. Hold Alt and double-click a thumbnail to capture in merge mode, which layers the new notes on top of the existing sequence rather than replacing it. Both actions are also available as menu items in the Sequence Manager menu (the triangle next to each thumbnail).

This makes it quick to fill all six sequences with your own playing. Play a few bars on your MIDI controller, double-click a thumbnail to capture, keep playing, double-click another thumbnail, and so on, all without stopping the host's transport. Buzz Zone keeps a rolling buffer of your recent playing and intelligently crops each capture to the current Capture Bars setting, so consecutive captures land cleanly.

Capture also works when the host's transport is stopped.

Sequence Manager

The Sequence Manager menu, opened from the triangle next to each thumbnail, manages preset sequences for that slot and provides sequence-level editing tools. Buzz Zone ships with a library of factory sequences organised into folders, and you can save and load your own.

The presets in the menu are organised into submenus matching the folder structure of the sequences folder on disk. Selecting a sequence loads it into the slot.

Below the preset list, the menu contains the following items:

  • Clear: empties the sequence
  • Capture: replaces the sequence with the most recent MIDI input received from the host. The number of bars captured is set by 'Capture Bars' on the Options page
  • Capture (Merge): like Capture, but merges the captured MIDI into the existing sequence rather than replacing it. Useful for layering parts on top of each other
  • Loop At End: when enabled, the sequence loops back to the start when it reaches the end. When disabled, the sequence plays as a one-shot and stops at the end
  • Route To Triggers: when enabled, the notes this sequence plays are also fed into the MIDI trigger system, where they can fire trigger bank actions in the same way as notes from your MIDI controller. Useful for setting up a "conductor" sequence that starts, stops, or transposes the other sequences from inside its own notes. For example, a long sequence on slot 1 that plays trigger notes at the right moments to launch and recombine the patterns on the other slots
  • Length: sets the number of bars in the sequence (1, 2, 4, 8, or 16). Changes the length without re-editing the notes

The Manager menu also includes an 'Edit' submenu containing sequence-level transformations:

  • Double Time: plays the sequence at twice the speed by halving every note's time position. Also halves the number of bars where possible, so the same notes still fill the sequence
  • Half Time: plays the sequence at half the speed by doubling every note's time position. Also doubles the number of bars
  • Double Length: doubles the number of bars in the sequence and duplicates the existing notes into the new second half
  • Half Length: halves the number of bars and trims any notes that fall past the new end
  • Reverse: plays the sequence backwards
  • Flip: mirrors the pitches around the centre of the current pitch range, the highest note becomes the lowest, and so on
  • Shift Left / Shift Right: shifts every note left or right by a sixteenth note. Notes that wrap past the start or end of the sequence wrap around to the other side
  • Transpose +1 / -1 / +12 / -12: transposes the whole sequence up or down by 1 semitone or 1 octave

At the bottom, a 'Manage Sequences' submenu contains file management commands: 'Load Sequence...' opens a file browser for loading a sequence from disk, 'Save Sequence' and 'Save Sequence As...' save the current sequence, and 'Open Sequences Folder' opens the sequences folder in your operating system's file browser.

The MIDI Editor

The main area of the sequencer view is the MIDI editor, a piano roll for drawing, editing, and arranging the notes of the currently selected sequence. The editor is divided into three regions: the keyboard down the left side, the ruler along the top, and the note grid in the middle. Edits in the editor apply to the currently selected sequence, and the thumbnail at the top updates as you go.

Editing Notes

In Select mode (the default tool), click an empty area of the grid to start a lasso selection, or click a note to select it. Click and drag a note to move it; drag from its left or right edge to resize it. Double-click an empty area to add a note; double-click an existing note to delete it.

Hold the Shift key while dragging to temporarily bypass snapping. Hold Alt while dragging a note to make a copy of it (on iPad, press and hold for a moment before dragging to duplicate).

Multiple notes can be selected by dragging a lasso around them. Hold Shift while lassoing to add to the existing selection; Shift+click toggles individual notes in or out of the selection. Selected notes can be moved or resized as a group, dragging any one of them moves all of them.

When more than one note is selected, eight small handles appear around the bounding box of the selection. Dragging a corner handle scales the selection in both time and pitch; dragging an edge handle scales in just one axis. The selection scales from the opposite corner or edge as the pivot. Holding Shift while dragging a handle bypasses snapping, and dragging past the pivot produces a true retrograde or inversion.

The arrow keys move the selected notes by one grid division at a time. Shift+arrow moves further: an octave for up and down, four divisions for left and right. The Delete or Backspace key deletes the selection.

The Edit submenu of the Tool menu (right-click anywhere in the editor, or click the small tool label at the top of the keyboard column) contains a number of more involved editing commands:

  • Cut / Copy / Paste / Paste Replace: standard clipboard commands. Paste lands the clipboard at the playhead position. Paste Replace replaces the current selection with the clipboard and then moves the selection to the next unselected note, useful for stamping the same pattern across a melody one note at a time
  • Duplicate: duplicates the selection one slot to the right. The slot size is chosen automatically based on the selection's length (a sixteenth note, a beat, or a bar) so repeated presses produce evenly-spaced copies. Sub-grid micro-timing is preserved, so the duplicates groove the same way as the originals
  • Mute Selected / Solo Selected: mute or solo the selected notes during playback. With nothing selected, these items change to 'Enable / Disable Mute' and 'Enable / Disable Solo' instead, letting you toggle the existing mute or solo state on and off, useful for A/B-ing two arrangements without erasing your mute or solo choices
  • Quantize / Quantize Triplet: snaps the selection to the sixteenth-note or eighth-note-triplet grid. With nothing selected, the whole sequence is quantised
  • Quantise 20% / Swing 20%: nudges the selection 20% of the way toward grid-perfect or fully swung. Repeated presses move the notes closer each time without ever reaching exactly the grid or full swing, useful for dialling in a feel rather than committing to fully quantised or fully swung
  • Apply Scale: snaps the pitches of the selected notes to the current scale. With nothing selected, the whole sequence is snapped
  • Crop: deletes everything outside the selection. Useful for trimming a sequence down to a specific phrase
  • Fixed Velocity: sets the velocity of every selected note to the same fixed value
  • Reset Expressions: resets the per-note expression values of the selected notes back to their defaults

Tools

The current tool is shown above the keyboard column at the top-left of the editor. Click the label (or right-click anywhere in the grid) to open the Tool menu, or use the corresponding keyboard shortcut. The six tools are:

  • Select (Shift+A): the default tool. Click to select notes, drag to move them, drag from a note edge to resize. Drag an empty area to lasso
  • Draw (Shift+D): clicks paint new notes onto the grid. The starting position snaps to the grid and the length of each new note matches the length of the last note drawn or resized. Hold Shift to keep painting on the same pitch row regardless of vertical cursor movement; hold Alt to snap to a triplet grid
  • Expression (Shift+E): edits per-note expression values (see the Editing Expression section below)
  • Spray (Shift+R): drops small randomised clusters of 2-4 notes around the cursor. Continued dragging adds more clusters as the cursor moves through the editor. Clicking on an existing note deletes it instead
  • Euclidean (Shift+U): drags out a Euclidean rhythm on the row under the cursor. A vertical drag adjusts the density (number of pulses); a horizontal drag adjusts the resolution (number of steps). The current pattern and its name are shown in a pill at the centre of the editor as you drag. Tresillo, Bossa-Nova, Bembé, and many other classic and exotic rhythms are named for easy recognition. Alt-click clears the pitch row instead
  • Split (Shift+S): clicks split a note into two at the click position. If the clicked note is part of a multi-selection, every selected note crossing the click X is split. Alt-click splits every note at that X

The Tool menu also includes 'Multi-draw', a stamp mode for the Draw tool. With one or more notes selected, enabling Multi-draw turns the Draw tool into a brush that stamps the selected notes as a unit at each click, transposed so the lowest selected pitch follows the cursor row. Useful for repeating a chord or motif across a sequence at different pitches. You can also reload the multi-draw 'stamp' by copying a different set of notes onto the clipboard (by selecting some notes and using the Copy menu item, or Command/Control + C).

Editing Expression

In addition to MIDI velocity, every note in Buzz Zone's sequences can carry a set of per-note expression values that modulate the sound while the note is playing. You can edit the expressions using the 'Expression' tool.

The first nine expressions correspond directly to the nine main parameters of the synth, the same parameters that have envelopes (see the Envelopes section above). When the sequencer view is open, the small chevrons above each main knob (which normally select that knob's envelope) double as the selectors for which expression is being edited. Click the chevron above the filter knob, for example, to edit per-note filter cutoff expressions for the current sequence; click the chevron above the position knob to edit per-note position expressions; and so on.

The chevron above the synth Level knob is a special case: it selects per-note MIDI velocity rather than a per-note level expression. Velocity affects both the synth and sample engines together, and has no effect on volume if 'Velocity To Volume' is set to 0 on the Options page. Velocity can also drive any of the modulation destinations via the Velocity Modulation Destination menu on the Options page, so editing velocity as a per-note expression is a handy way to modulate any destination from inside a sequence.

The ninth main expression (the rightmost chevron, sample level) is a special case. As an envelope it simply scales the sample level. As a per-note expression it works as a combination control with two ranges, with the default value of 63 sitting between them where both the sample and the synth play at full volume. The range from 0 to 63 controls the sample level only, fading the sample from silent up to full. The range from 63 to 127 turns the synth down, leaving the sample at full volume. Useful for mixing sample and synth content in the same sequence. For instance, leaving most notes at the default and raising drum-hit notes (with a drum sample loaded) to 127 to solo the sample on those notes.

In addition to the nine main expressions, an Extra Expressions menu lets you edit eight further expressions that aren't on the main knob row. The menu's chevron sits at the far left of the chevron row, just to the left of the pitch chevron. The eight extra expressions are:

  • Bank: per-note crossfade between Envelope Bank A and Envelope Bank B (see the Envelope Banks section above)
  • Speed: per-note envelope speed. Speeds up or slows down every envelope for that note
  • Release: per-note envelope release
  • Resonance: per-note filter resonance
  • Effects: per-note effects dry/wet. The default is fully wet, so setting this to 0 plays the note dry without effects
  • Pan: per-note stereo panning
  • Sample: per-note sample start time
  • Probability: per-note playback probability. Sets the chance that a note will play each time the sequence loops, useful for adding variation to repeating patterns

When the Expression tool is enabled, each note's current expression value is shown by a small vertical 'lollipop' rising from the bottom of the editor, taller lollipops mean higher values. Click and drag a lollipop head vertically to edit the value for that note. Notes sharing both the same start position and the same expression value have their lollipops stacked on top of each other. You can also edit a note's expression by dragging vertically directly on the note rectangle in the editor.

With the Expression tool selected, clicking and dragging across the editor paints expression values for any notes the cursor sweeps over, the vertical position of the cursor sets the value. Hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) and click-drag with any tool to temporarily paint expression values without switching tools.

Double-click a note in Expression mode to reset its current expression back to the default. Pressing Shift+Backspace resets all expression values on the selected notes.

Tip: with the 'Audition' option enabled (see below), expression edits are heard in real time as you drag on the note.

Transport and Loop

The ruler along the top of the editor shows the bar numbers and tick marks. The white triangle is the playhead; the red bar just below the ruler is the loop region.

Double-click the ruler at any point to start free playback of the sequence from that point, snapped to the grid. Hold Shift while double-clicking to bypass snapping. Double-clicking again stops free playback.

Click and drag the white playhead triangle to scrub through the sequence.

The loop region can be moved by clicking and dragging in the middle of the red bar, or resized by dragging the small triangles at either end. Clicking the bar without dragging toggles the loop on or off, red means looping is enabled, and the loop overrides the natural start and end of the sequence whenever it is active. Holding Shift while dragging bypasses snapping on any of these operations.

Tip: parameter snapshots can capture each sequencer's loop region, allowing snapshots to step through different loop selections of the same underlying sequence, see the Parameter Snapshots section below.

Dragging horizontally in an empty area of the ruler scrolls the editor left and right; dragging vertically zooms the time axis in and out.

The Piano Roll Keyboard

The keyboard down the left side of the editor doubles as a tool for auditioning notes and for selecting notes by pitch.

Clicking a key plays the corresponding note through the synth and sample engines, so you can hear what each pitch sounds like in the current preset. Clicking a key also selects every note of that pitch in the sequence, useful in drum sequences where each pitch is a different drum. Shift+click adds the pitch's notes to the existing selection; clicking and dragging vertically across the keys extends the selection through a range of pitches.

The empty label area to the left of the keys is for scrolling and zooming the pitch axis. Drag vertically to scroll up and down; drag horizontally to zoom in and out. Double-click in the label area to zoom the editor to fit the existing notes.

Snap, Scale, Zoom, and Audition

A handful of editor-wide options can be toggled from the Tool menu or via keyboard shortcuts. Each toggle briefly displays its new state in a pill at the centre of the editor:

  • Grid Snap (Shift+G): when enabled, note positions and lengths snap to the current grid division (set on the Options page)
  • Scale Snap (Shift+F): when enabled, the Transform handles, multi-note drags, and the Spray tool all snap pitches to the current scale, keeping your edits in key. The current scale's notes are highlighted in the editor when a scale is active
  • Auto Zoom (Shift+Z): when enabled, the editor automatically zooms to fit the existing notes whenever the sequence changes
  • Audition (Cmd+U): when enabled, edits to existing notes are auditioned in real time. Drawing a new note, moving a note, or changing an expression value plays the result back as you edit. When disabled, edits are silent until the next playback

MIDI Triggers

The MIDI trigger system lets you launch, stop, and transpose the six sequencers live from a MIDI controller. The whole system is enabled with the keyboard-shaped icon on the right, below the note editor, clicking it switches MIDI triggering on or off for the entire plugin. When 'Show Keyboard Automatically' is enabled in the Settings menu, clicking the icon also brings up the on-screen keyboard, with the active trigger bank's coloured zones and labels drawn directly on the keys so you can see at a glance what each key does.

A small triangle on the left-hand side, above the on-screen keyboard, opens a menu listing trigger bank presets. The triangle is only visible when the keyboard is shown. Each bank is a set of MIDI note assignments that map keyboard keys to actions on the six sequencers. Select a bank and the keyboard's coloured zones update to show which keys do what.

Once a trigger bank is loaded, every key that has a trigger assigned is coloured and carries a small label naming its action, at a glance you can see which keys play sequences, which transpose, which stop. With 'Show Tool Tips' enabled in the Settings menu, hovering over a trigger key brings up a tooltip describing in more detail what that trigger does. This is a quick way to learn an unfamiliar bank.

Typical actions include playing or stopping individual sequencers, restarting all sequencers from the top, transposing the active sequence by an interval, and selecting between snapshots or between sequences. Banks differ in both layout and emphasis: some are built around launching and stopping the six sequences in different patterns, others apply more elaborate manipulations to them.

Trigger banks are played live from your MIDI controller, or by clicking on the on-screen keyboard. They give you a quick way to perform with the sequencers, launching patterns from one part of the keyboard while transposing them from another, without leaving the host's transport.

Triggers can also come from inside the plugin itself: turn on 'Route To Triggers' in any sequence's Sequence Manager menu and that sequence's notes feed into the trigger bank as if they came from your MIDI controller. A few transpose-zone notes dropped into one sequence can then shift the other sequences along with chord changes as it plays, and trigger-zone notes can launch, stop, and reorder them from inside the project without any host automation.

Tip: feedback loops are possible. For example, a sequence containing a trigger note that restarts itself will produce a fast buzz as the note retriggers the sequence on every restart. This isn't harmful: switch MIDI triggering off with the keyboard icon, correct the offending note in the sequence, then switch triggering back on.

Sample / Wavetable Drag & Drop

You can drag a sample or wavetable files onto the sample and wavetable menu areas to load your own sample and wavetable files. The wavetable engine uses standard wavetable file (2048 samples per frame) of any length. You can select the next/previous sample in a folder using the left/right arrows.

Preset Manager

The current preset is shown at the top of the GUI. Clicking on the preset name opens the Preset menu, which contains the list of available presets, save and load options, randomization tools, parameter snapshots, and a number of preset management commands.

The arrows on either side of the preset name step through presets one at a time. Holding the Option (Alt) key while clicking one of these arrows steps through parameter snapshots instead (see Parameter Snapshots below).

The presets in the menu are organised into submenus matching the folder structure of the presets folder on disk, making it easy to keep your sounds organised by category or project.

In addition to the preset list, the Preset menu includes the following items:

  • Init Preset: Loads the default preset
  • Randomize Preset: Completely randomizes all parameters of the current preset. Envelope nodes and sequence notes are not randomized
  • Mutate Preset: Adjusts all parameters of the current preset by a small amount, subtly changing the sound in a random way
  • Save Preset: Saves the current state to the currently loaded preset file (with confirmation if the file already exists)
  • Save Preset As...: Saves the current state to a new preset file
  • Load Sound Only: When enabled, loading any preset only changes the sound, the sequences are kept from the currently loaded preset. Useful for trying out different sounds with a sequence you've already set up
  • Load Sequences Only: When enabled, loading any preset only changes the sequences, the sound stays as it is. The opposite of 'Load Sound Only', and just as useful for trying out different sequences with a sound you've already dialled in

The dice icon at the top left of the GUI repeats the last used randomization function (either 'Randomize' or 'Mutate'), which is handy for quickly creating variations of a sound. Holding the Control key while clicking the dice will include envelope nodes and sequence notes in the randomization for more extreme results, and holding the Shift key will always mutate the preset, regardless of which function was used last.

Tip: Buzz Zone ships with a 'Sequences Only' folder of preset packs that contain only sequence data and no sound. Loading a preset from this folder automatically applies it as sequences-only, leaving your current sound untouched.

The 'Manage Presets' submenu at the bottom of the Preset menu contains the following additional preset management functions:

  • Load Preset File...: Opens a file browser for loading a preset file from any location on disk
  • Save As Default Preset: Saves the current state as the default preset, which will be loaded automatically by new instances of the plugin
  • Delete Preset: Permanently deletes the currently loaded preset file
  • Clear GUI Patches: Strips any custom GUI overrides stored with the current preset (an advanced feature for users editing the GUI layout)
  • Open Presets Folder: Opens the presets folder in your operating system's file browser
  • Get More Presets...: Opens the Toybox Audio website to download additional preset packs

Parameter Snapshots

Each preset includes 8 'Parameter Snapshot' slots that hold variations of the preset's sound. Snapshots can be accessed in several ways: from the 'Parameter Snapshots' submenu in the Preset menu, by using the keyboard shortcuts Command+1 through Command+8 (Control+1 through Control+8 on Windows), by Option-clicking (Alt-clicking) the previous/next preset arrows, or via a MIDI CC (see the 'Select Snapshot' option on the Options page).

Snapshots work as live variations rather than as separate 'save' and 'recall' actions. When you select an empty slot, nothing changes immediately, the sound stays as it was. As soon as you start adjusting parameters, that slot automatically captures the current state as its starting point and stores any further changes you make. Once a slot contains data, selecting it recalls those settings. Slots that contain data are shown with a small bullet (•) next to their name in the menu, and the currently selected slot is ticked.

For example, with a preset loaded you can press Command+2 to switch to Snapshot 2, the sound continues as it was. Tweak a few knobs and Snapshot 2 captures the result. Press Command+1 to switch back to your starting state, then Command+2 to return to the variation. You can build up to 8 such variations per preset and switch between them on the fly. You can also switch between snapshots by option-clicking on the 'Previous Preset' and 'Next Preset' buttons.

In addition to the main parameter values, snapshots also capture each sequencer's loop region, allowing snapshots to step through different loop selections of the same underlying sequence.

All 8 snapshots are saved with the preset.

MIDI Learn

You can assign incoming MIDI CC (Continuous Controller) messages to any of the the instruments knobs using drag-and drop like this:

  1. Enable 'MIDI Learn' mode from the 'Settings' menu
  2. Turn a knob on your MIDI controller
  3. Drag and drop the CC number that appears in the top section of the GUI onto any of the knobs to make the assignment.

MIDI CC assignments are automatically saved for all instances of the plugin and can be reset using the 'Reset MIDI Learn' menu item in the 'Settings' menu.

Settings Menu

The Settings menu, accessed via the icon at the top right of the GUI, contains the following items:

  • MIDI Learn: Enables MIDI Learn mode for assigning MIDI CC messages to the plugin's knobs (see the MIDI Learn section above for details)
  • Reset MIDI Learn: Clears all MIDI CC assignments
  • Enable OSC: Enables Open Sound Control for remote control of the plugin from external applications or hardware
  • Set Size: Sets the GUI scale to 80%, 90%, 100%, 110%, or 120% of the default size
  • Set Current Size As Default: Saves the current GUI size so that new instances of the plugin open at this size
  • Dark Mode: Switches between the light and dark themes
  • Show Keyboard: Shows or hides the on-screen keyboard at the bottom of the GUI
  • Show Keyboard Automatically: When enabled, the on-screen keyboard is shown automatically whenever the MIDI triggers are enabled (see the MIDI Triggers section above)
  • Show Oscilloscope: Shows or hides a small oscilloscope of the plugin's output, overlaid on the envelope display area
  • Maximize Sequencers: When enabled, the lower panel of knobs is hidden whenever the sequencer view is open, giving the sequence editors more room
  • Show Tool Tips: Enables or disables the pop-up tooltips help system
  • Open Manual...: Opens this manual in your web browser
  • Go To Website...: Opens the Toybox Audio website in your web browser

Options Page

The Options page is accessed by clicking the 'Options' button at the top left of the GUI. It contains additional parameters and settings, organised into five groups: Global, Filter, Sequencer, Modulation, and Envelopes.

Global

  • MIDI Resets Oscillators: When enabled, incoming MIDI notes cause the phase of the oscillators to reset
  • Samples Follow Pitch: When disabled, the pitch of the samples is fixed, whatever note is played
  • Sub Routing: Selects how the Sub oscillator is routed when the Harmony Mode is set to 'Sub' or 'Low Sub'. The four available modes are 'Direct' (the sub bypasses the filter and modulation), 'Filter' (the sub passes through the filter), 'Phase Dist' (the sub is shaped by the current phase distortion modulation), and 'Filter + PD' (both)
  • Legato: When enabled and polyphony is set to 1, overlapping MIDI notes will not re-trigger the envelopes, allowing notes to glide smoothly between pitches
  • Glide: Causes the notes to smoothly slide from one pitch to the next
  • Polyphony: Sets the maximum number of notes that can be played. In 'Stack 3' mode 3 voices play simultaneously for a thick, chorused sound. In 'Stack 5' mode all 5 voices play simultaneously
  • Select Snapshot: Sets which MIDI CC message is used to switch between the 8 parameter snapshot slots (see the Parameter Snapshots section above)

Filter

  • Filter Key-tracking: Sets how much the cutoff frequency of the filters (both engines) follows the pitch of the incoming MIDI notes
  • High Quality Filters: Use high quality filter algorithms. Disable this to use less CPU

Sequencer

  • Key: Sets the key used when the sequences are transposed by MIDI triggers. When 'Scale Snap' is enabled, drawing and editing tools also snap notes to this key
  • Scale: Sets the scale used when the sequences are transposed by MIDI triggers. When 'Scale Snap' is enabled, drawing and editing tools also snap notes to this scale
  • Trigger Quantize: Quantises MIDI sequence triggering so that triggered sequences start in time with the host's beat divisions
  • Trigger Legato: When enabled, playing overlapping trigger notes will not cause the sequence to restart
  • Lock Sequencers Enabled: When enabled, the sequencers stay active even when the sequencer panel is hidden. This option can also be toggled from the LED next to the Sequencers button on the front panel
  • Audition While Drawing: When enabled, new notes are auditioned as they are drawn into the sequence using the Draw tool
  • Allow Held Notes To Finish: When enabled, any notes that are currently playing are allowed to finish naturally when switching between sequences
  • Always Snap To Scale: When enabled, sequence notes are always snapped to the selected scale, even when no transposition is being applied via MIDI triggers
  • Capture Bars: Sets how many bars of MIDI input are captured when capturing into a sequence. 'All' captures everything that was played, 'Last' just the last bar, 'Last 2' the last two bars, 'Last 4' the last four bars

Modulation

  • Velocity To Volume: Sets how much MIDI velocity affects the volume of the sound
  • Velocity Modulation Destination: Allows you to choose a destination to modulate using the velocity of incoming MIDI notes
  • Velocity Depth: The knob next to the Velocity Modulation Destination menu. Sets how much MIDI velocity affects the selected destination
  • Modwheel Modulation Destination: Allows you to choose a destination to modulate using MIDI modwheel messages (two separate slots are available)
  • Modwheel Depth: The knobs next to the Modwheel Modulation Destination menus. Set how much MIDI modwheel messages affect the selected destinations
  • Aftertouch Modulation Destination: Allows you to choose a destination to modulate using MIDI aftertouch messages
  • Aftertouch Depth: The knob next to the Aftertouch Modulation Destination menu. Sets how much MIDI aftertouch messages affect the selected destination
  • Pitchwheel Modulation Destination: Allows you to choose a destination to modulate using MIDI pitchbend messages. Setting this to 'Master Pitch' gives the classic pitchbend behaviour, but you can also choose any other destination for more creative pitchbend effects
  • Pitchwheel Depth: The knob next to the Pitchwheel Modulation Destination menu. Sets how much MIDI pitchbend messages affect the selected destination
  • Invert Modulation: There are small arrows next to all of the modulation Depth controls. When enabled (arrow pointing downwards) the modulation is applied negatively to the selected destination (decreasing rather than increasing its value)
  • Pitchbend Range: Sets the maximum number of semitones that the pitchbend wheel can bend the notes up or down (applies when the Pitchwheel Modulation Destination is set to 'Master Pitch')

Envelopes

  • Analog Attack: Gives the initial attack of the envelopes a smoother, more analog shape
  • Note Offs Stop Envelopes: When enabled, the multi-segment envelopes stop when MIDI notes are released

iPad Version

The iPad version of the app is identical to the desktop version, except in how presets are handled.

When the plugin is in 'standalone' mode on iOS, a 'Play' button and a tempo slider are shown in the top preset bar when the sequencers are active.

The iOS Settings menu also has two items not present on the desktop:

  • Show Help Overlay: the iOS equivalent of 'Show Tooltips'. Enabling it dims the GUI to show the overlay is active and adds a small close button at the top right of the screen; while the overlay is on, tapping any control (including a trigger key on the on-screen keyboard) shows its tooltip. Tap the close button to exit the mode
  • Dynamic Knobs: when enabled, moving a finger slowly across a knob produces a finer adjustment than moving it quickly. Since iPad doesn't have a Shift key, this is the touch equivalent of holding Shift when adjusting a knob on the desktop

On the iPad the presets are stored on a special 'sandboxed' (hidden and secure) folder that can be accessed from both the standalone version and the AUv3 plugin version. This special folder cannot be accessed by the user using the iPad's 'Files' app.

To make it easier to share and backup user presets the app will automatically backup all newly created presets into a folder that can be accessed using the 'Files' app: "On My iPad/Thump One/Exported Presets". Every time you launch the standalone version of the app it will backup any newly created presets that were created either in the AUv3 or the standalone version of the app.

Zip compressed folders of presets can be imported using the "Import Zip File...' menu item. There is also an 'Import Zip File…' menu item in both the sample and wavetable menus that also allows you to import folders of sample and wavetable files.

You can save your own presets using the 'Save Preset As...' menu item and typing the name of the new preset. You can save your presets into separate folders by simply typing the name of the folder and then a 'slash' character, for example typing something like "My Kicks/My Big Kick"