Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the PPG WaveMapper 2.

You now own a highly sophisticated synthesizer, with the power and scope to create tonally rich, complex sounds combined with an interface that makes sound creation simpler then ever before.

This manual explains the concept of Wave Mapping and will help you to understand every parameter available within the synthesizer.

1

Table of ContentsKey Features............................................................................................................................................3

The User Interface................................................................................................................................... 5

The Browser Page....................................................................................................................................9

The Keyboard........................................................................................................................................12

The Sound Map (MAP)..............................................................................14The Icons.............................................................................................................................................. 15

The Oscillator Module (OSC)..................................................................21The Pitch Section................................................................................................................................... 22

The LFO Module....................................................................................................................................24

The Wave Map...................................................................................................................................... 26

The Wave Section..................................................................................................................................34

The Envelope.........................................................................................................................................36

The Modifer Page (MODY).....................................................................38The Filter Module.................................................................................................................................. 39

The Amplifer Module............................................................................................................................ 40

The Noise Generator.............................................................................................................................41

The Ring Modulator............................................................................................................................... 41

The Analyzer Page (TCS).........................................................................42

The Effects Page (FX)...............................................................................45The Effect Module.................................................................................................................................. 45

The Arptor Module................................................................................................................................47

The Global Module................................................................................................................................ 49

MIDI CC control................................................................................................................................... 51

2

Key Features

• 3 Audio Oscillators

• Up to 16 resources assembled within a WaveMap

• Audio engine with 4 synthesis modes, and variable wave blending quality

• 3 Noise generators, for audio and modulations

• Classic 24 dB Lowpass Filter, combined with an overdrive simulation.

• Dual amplifier, for versatile control of 2 audio signals as well as panning

• 13 Envelopes, for control of pitch, waveform, filter, noise, gain, ringmod, and panning

• 4 LFOs

• Analysis of your own samples and conversion into wavetables and time-corrected samples

• Powerful Step Sequencer with playback arpeggiator

• Delay/Reverb effect

• Directly accessible context help for each module

• Free configurable schematic keypad, with extremely expressive modulation possibilities

• Ribbon controller to bend the pitch to variable intervals

• 4 Keyboard Modes, including mono and poly portamento

FORMATS:

Mac: VST2 and AU, 64 and 32bit

Windows: VST2 64 and 32bit

3

PPG WaveMapper 2 for Mac OS X and Windows

Wolfgang Palm is pleased to announce the PPG WaveMapper 2 for Mac OS X and Windows. The PPG WaveMapper first appeared as an iOS App and received widespread acclaim from the public and press alike. WaveMapper 2 is a greatly expanded version, with many new features, including the Wave Map and new resource merging possibilities.

Mapping

We chose the name PPG WaveMapper for two reasons. Firstly, it features the Sound Map, which maps the various sound programs in a unique way to access and experiment with them.Secondly, there is a new synthesis system build in, which maps the waveforms of a sound into a new kind of wavetable which preserves the sound characteristics better than classic wavetable synthesis and at the same time allows for the manipulations which make wavetable synthesis so unique.

The Mapping window is the visualization of a pool of programs on which 8 map icons float. These icons represent certain parameters of the synthesizer engine, and each icon can be placed on one of the 32 map programs. From that moment on the parameters of that icon will take on the settings of those parameters in the underlaying map program in the WAVE MAP module.

Wave Mapping is a completely different way of programming sounds. You do not start with a lot of detailed settings, but with a combined set of parameters which you can select and move with the click and drag of your mouse, placing one or more map icons on top of a root program. The combination of those parameters is a far more intuitive way of creating sounds. It gives the user of any skill level a veryfast way for creating unique sounds. Each user program gets saved with its own map.

New analysis/synthesis system

PPG WaveMapper also uses a new synthesis system, which can be seen as a bridge between wavetables and samples. In wavetable systems you have great flexibility in controlling the sound, but sound material is limited to harmonic, noise-free waveforms.

On the other hand there are samplers, which have very high sound quality, but very limited editing features. In PPG WaveMapper there is a new type, which we call “Time Corrected Sample” (TCS). This synthesis system can reproduce a much wider palette of sounds than classic wavetables, but still allows for a total control of the access via an envelope or LFOs (Low Frequency Oscillator).

PPG WaveMapper allows you to convert any sample you load into the app synthesized waveforms. Of course PPG WaveMapper comes with a bunch of factory synthesized waveforms (including the wavetables that are available in PPG WaveGenerator).

It does not stop here: The synthesized waveforms can be converted into classic wavetables as well! By the way, you can still use samples that are less than suitable for TCS conversion as a normal playable sample for each oscillator sound source. The possible combinations of all these different waveforms make WaveMapper 2 capable of achieving limitless sounds.

4

The User InterfaceLet’s take a look at the overall view of the plugin and after that explain the usage and meaning of all theparameters that can be changed.

Notice: No matter which section of the plugin you are in, the global upper menu bar with the main modules will always be visible.

The Top BarIn the top bar of WaveMapper 2, you find the most important functions.

On the left are the page navigation buttons.

MAP is the main page where you create new programs as well as sound morphs in a very convenient and intuitive way.

OSC shows the oscillators page, where you control the access of the wave material and the parameters to control pitch and sound devolution of the additive part of the synthesizer.

MODY gives access to all parameters of the modifiers of the sound, like filter and gain control.

TCS is the page where you analyze your own audio material and create your own sound resources, like wavetables and TCS (time-corrected-samples).

and finally the FX page, with the Arptor ( Arpeggiator + step sequencer), the Effects and the global settings.

Each of these main pages will be further explained in great detail throughout this manual.

5

In the center of the Top Bar, you find the program stepping keys together with the name edit field, then a program loading filter, the context menu and the Browse button.

The program loading filter (LOAD) makes it possible to change only parts of the program.

The default mode is All, which changes the complete program including the effect the Arptor and the play mode.

Morph allows to gradually morph from one program to another by blending all possible parameters depending on the speed you have setup on the MAP page.

If you set this menu to + Osc and step through the programs, it will only change the oscillator settings and leave the rest of the program unchanged.

Or if you select - Arp it will load the program without changing the Arptor.

As you see the name of the resulting program gives a hint on the merging. If you are on the Browser page you see an additional row marked in red, which is the merging program.Please note that the changes you make on the programs are temporary and will be saved inside your DAWs project or arrangement file when you close the project. On the Browser page you find additional tools to manage and sort your programs in different program-banks.

6

Backup / RestoreIf you switch to a program (with loading filter set to All) a Backup is automatically made. Later when youdon't like the changes you did to the program, you may go back to the last state using Restore.You can also manually make a backup at any time using Backup from the SAVE menu.

To start with a new program, use Init New. If you made changes to a program, and want to save it under a new name, use Save as. To set your Name into a program and update the modification date, use the Set function.

You should start a new bank, if the current bank has only a few places left. You do this in the Browser view.

7

The Parameter PanelThe parameter panel is divided into functional groups of controls. Each group has a context menu, which is marked by the little symbol (three lines) in the top right corner. Here you will find well known commands like copy/paste and a help command, as well as different kinds of controls, which will be described below.

Value controlsWaveMapper 2 uses rotary knobs to control the parameters of the synth. They normally range from 0 to 1. There are, however, parameters which have a plus/minus range, with zero as the center value. All controls can be reset to their default value by double clicking on it.To fine adjust a value, move the mouse away from the starting point to the right. For coarse movements to the left.

Value controls with routingThese controls function like the value controls, but have an additional routing selector. If you click on it, a popover list appears, where you can select the routing to a modulation source or a x/y sensor. Pleasenote that the CY is also controlled by MIDI Mod-wheel and the CX by After touch. CV is the MIDI key velocity.

Controller quick selectorsThe little arrow near some of the routing selectors indicate that you can activate the connected controller when clicking on it. E.g. if you click on the arrow in the MOD2 control, the pitch 1 LFO will be activated inside the LFO display. The same way you may show up Envelopes and Noise generators.

8

The Browser Page

This page is accessed by clicking on the BROWS icon at the top of the plugin screen.

The browser page offers a number of easy ways to manage your program and sound banks. This includes the copying and sorting of individual programs into other, or new program banks.The page is divided into three parts: The Sound Browser, the Program Manager and the Bank Manager.

IMPORTANT NOTE!You have to understand, that a WaveMapper 2 fxb file is totally independent of the DAWs internal project. If you save the project with your DAW, the fxb is not touched at all.

The same applies the other way round:When you use the SAVE BANK button on the WaveMapper 2 browser page, that doesn't change anything in the DAWs project.In fact the DAW will load an old version if you open the project again!

So we recommend to use the DAW to save your working projects and only if you want to archive your bank, use the SAVE BANK or Export Bank functions in the browser.

Left and right program selection buttonsThese buttons will select the program before and after the actual selected program, which name is visible in between the program selection buttons.

Notice: you can always change the name of a program by clicking in the name field.

9

The Program BrowserThe order of the programs inside the browser view is controlled by the mode selector, left above the browser. This mode acts like a filter. The default setting is Unsorted this means that all programs are displayed as they are ordered inside the bank. Please understand that this only effects the way they are displayed in the browser. The actual order of the programs inside the fxb bank is not changed!When you select a category as a filter, the browser only displays programs from that category.Right above the browser, there are column filters, which you can use to display certain information about the programs, like create date or keyboard info.Please note that your active bank is saved with the project file of your DAW. However you also may save it as separate fxb file by clicking the SAVE BANK button or using EXPORT BANK function inside the context menu (top right corner).Please note that the Factories bank is protected, you cannot change it!

Mouse editing inside the browserYou may change the category and rating of your programs, inside the browser itself with the mouse. Click on the icon and move the mouse up or down.You also may change the order of the programs inside your bank. First set the selector for the forth column to Statistic. Now the column shows the number of the programs. Clicking on a number and changing it will move that program to the desired position.

The Program ManagerThe left area contains tools to manage the programs inside the active bank and a target bank. You may select these banks, with popup lists which open if you click on the small triangles.

The DELETE PRG button (shown above) deletes the active program inside the Browser list.

10

COPY TO TARGET makes a copy and puts it inside the destination bank. That is the bank, you have selected in the Bank Manager.

The text input field in the active bank (shown below) allows you to write a comment for your bank.

The Bank ManagerHere you administer your bank files. Each bank contains up to 128 programs. To create a new bank, click NEW BANK. Then you have an empty bank as destination. Now you may copy programs from your current bank into the new one.SAVE BANK AS makes a copy with a new name.SYSTEM BROWSER opens a file browser, so you can delete, rename, copy banks etc.

Merging ProgramsUsing the Load Filter can produce interesting new programs (as already briefly mentioned in the headerbar help). The whole merging process becomes clearer here on the browser page.

First make a Backup of the current program. Now select a filter, e.g. + Filter. This means that only the filter is changed in the current program when you switch to another program. Now if you click on another program in the browser list, that row is marked in red. If you step through the programs the red bar moves but the blue stays on the original program.

When you set the filter back to All, the current program stays changed. To get back your original program you now can use the Restore function.

Importing banksYou may convert banks from the WaveMapper iPad version and fxb banks from the WaveGenerator plugin. Please note that the conversion cannot be 100% because of differences in the parameter-space of the models. In the browser context menu you find the Import WG-vst bank and Import iPad bank commands.

First you have to place your old bank into the fxb directory before it is shown in the menu. In the case ofiPad you use the ( .bin file). If your imported bank needs special resources, you have to copy them manually into the WaveMapper2 folder. In the case of WaveGenerator plugin you can setup a directory inside the "user" folder where you want to place the resources. Then select that folder on the analyzer page as User resource path. The wts-names in the programs will then be modified, to point to the resources in that folder.

11

The Keyboard

The Schematic KeypadWaveMapper 2 comes with a schematic keypad that can be configured and used in various ways. We tried to convert some interesting features which are available on the iPad version to the VST.Besides that we implemented a Ribbon controller, which gives some interesting control possibilities.On the left side you find a Portamento knob and a Freeze button which gives nice sound carpets when using the reverb on the Effects page. Note that the PM (portamento) works in combination with the individual GLIDE settings on the oscillator pages.

Basically the keypads can be configured in two styles: the single row and the double row style. Additionally you may setup your own scales, like Pentatonic or Lydian or totally free.

Setting up your own scales has some benefits:1. Wiping with the mouse in Multimode gives nice arpeggios on a predefined scale.2. Using the Ribbon you can pitch bend your playing easily to certain intervals which you cannot do witha Pitch Wheel.

To design your scales, you start with the full 12 key scale and then delete the notes you don't need. Use Reset to get all 12 notes. Then select Edit from the mode menu, and delete the keys you want by clicking on them. When finished, switch back to one of the play modes (See next page).

To shift the keyboard up or down in octaves, use the Transpose buttons. Using copy and paste, you can easily change the keyboard for other presets.

12

The Play ModesThe drop down menu offers the play modes, which effect the Keypads performance as well as the voicemanagement. It follows a detailed description of the modes.

Poly - all voices can be played polyphonically. MIDI ModWheel (CC1) is routed to all CY modulations and BreathController (CC2) to the CX mods. The played MIDI keys can be pitch bended with the Ribbon controller. Use the Portamento knob on the left side, to achieve glide effects.

Mono - works in a monophonic mode, like on vintage synths which had only one voice. This gives interesting effects when you setup your oscillators with GLIDE. In this case only one voice is used. MIDICCs work the same way as in Poly. Since this mode uses Portamento and Pitch bend itself, the Ribbon acts as universal CX control source.

Legato - when playing a note on the Pads you can bend the pitch to other notes by moving the mouse in X-direction. This gives very nice effects when setting up the oscillators with different GLIDE values. Like in the preset XXX.

Multi - all voices are triggered while you swipe the mouse over the Pads. The MIDI keys work with a polyphonic glissando effect.

VPC - stands for Voice per Channel, and is quite special but very versatile. In this mode each voice may use a different midi channel, and reacts only on this channel after the trigger. This can be very interesting in DAWs where you could setup tracks with different channels and use the pitch wheel and CC1 and CC2 controllers to individually form the sounds. There are also some hardware controllers supporting this.

13

The Sound Map (MAP)

The Sound Map holds a collection of programs that you may load into the 32 fields.

When an Icon is positioned on a field, WaveMapper 2 uses a certain part of the parameters of that program.The parameter set of the synthesizer is divided into functional groups, like oscillators, the filter,amplifiers, etc. The parameters of these modules can be easily exchanged by positioning the Icons on certain fields.

For example: if you move the blue Icon OSC 1 onto the Pan Flute , then OSC 1 is using the sound of the Pan Flute. Switch through some programs, and move the icons to other fields to see how it works.It is up to you how you organize the programs on the fields, but we recommend to keep some kind of system. There are tools to the right of the program map which help with the placement of groups of programs into certain areas.

The top-left field, is called the Base field, which always holds your current program, or to be more precise, the last Backup you made. All other fields may be loaded individually or by predefined groups, like synthetic sounds, wavetable based sounds, or real instrument sounds.

If an icon is positioned on an empty field, this works like it would be the Base field, means it uses the parameters of your Base program.

If you have found a sound you like, you may switch to the OSC or MODY page and further edit the single parameters.

14

The IconsThere are 8 icons that represent the parameter modules.These are:

Oscillator 1 Sound Source

Oscillator 2 Sound Source

Oscillator 3 Sound Source

The Filter Parameters and Envelope

The Amplifiers and The Envelopes

The Noise Generators and it's Envelopes

The LFO Parameters and Envelopes

The Oscillator Parameters

15

Morphing the bank programs

With the < > buttons you can move through the programs of the active bank with a certain morph-speed. The MORPHING slider, determines how rapid or soft the change of the Icon movement works. This also is relevant when moving icons manually or controlled by the Host automation or MIDI CCs. At the right position (value = 1) you have the softest morphing of the parameters.Note, that this PRG switching is basically the same as you do in the Top Bar when you set the filter toMORPH.

Loading single map feldsIf you double-click on a field, a menu opens where you may select different field related tools. There arefour Load functions, which allow you to make a preselection. WaveMapper 2 comes with a collection of so called Root programs. These feature special highlights of the sound parameters, which should resultof interesting combinations when used on the Map.

If you select Load Instrument you get a list of all programs which use analyzed instrument sounds (these are usually TCS files, with the sub-extension .c or the filtered types .cl .ch). Load Synthetic shows all the wavetable based files without any sub-extension, or in case of split sounds with sub-extension .l or .h. Load User Root lets you use your own programs as root programs (more on that later, on page 20).

Loading groups of felds

On the right side you find 2 buttons for filling areas on the map.TOL / FRC (Tolerate and Force). FRC - forces an Icon to influence the sound, even when it is switchedoff by the base program. TOL – only changes the parameters of the module, but not the routing.

16

FILL CATG - This lets you fill the right side of the map with a selected Category of programs from the Roots bank.

FILL RES - Allows you to fill the right side of the map with a selected resource type from the Roots bank.

The RANDOM button places the icons randomly on the defined map fields. Try this in combination with different Morphing Speeds and different Map Modes.

17

Oscillator Icon Map Modes

On the left side of the Map you find 4 buttons which change the behavior of the Oscillator icons when moved around.

OSC 1 - In this mode the oscillator Icons 1,2 or 3 always use the source of OSC 1 of the program on the field.

OSC 2,3 - The same functionality but for OSC 2 and 3.

All OSC - In this mode all oscillator sources are usable.

Since most of the root programs use different sources for the 3 oscillators, you can get very complexcombinations when shifting the icons over the fields.

For Example: the root Harmonica uses 3 versions of the sound for its oscillators. So if you place Icon 1 on Harmonica you hear the normal sound. If you use Icons 2 or 3 you hear the low frequency and high frequency variants of the sound.

18

Using your own programs as roots on the map

You can setup your own User-Root banks and connect them to your program banks. To do so select that bank in the browser view in the Program Manager with the selector underneath the Info field. The user-roots bank for this Factory bank is called : Factory-Roots.

You may edit your user-roots bank, as with any other bank. But you have to take care not to delete programs already used in your sound productions.

If you load a program from your Roots bank onto the Map, the name is colored in blue.

19

Quick testing new root programs

WaveMapper 2 has a nice feature which allows you to transfer new programs to the user root bank and test them on the SoundMap. If you have setup a nice program you like to transfer to your User-Roots-bank, double click on a Map field which contains this program (like in the picture above, in the field "You !") and select the function Import from the menu. This copies your actual program into the User bank and overwrites the selected program. Now you can test it on the SoundMap.

Fixing programs on the MapIn some cases (like the quick testing described above) it may be desired to have certain root programs fixed on the Map, regardless of the programs you select. You can make the programs on the lower 2 rows act like this by calling the function Sticky from the field popup menu (as seen above). These fields are marked with a * behind the name.

Recording Map programsYou may generate a bank with new programs which are created by moving the Icons around. Press theStart button and then start moving the icons. Each time an Icon enters a new field on the Map, a new program is recorded. When finished, stop the record.

This saves the MapRecord bank, which you then can open on the browser page and check the single steps and work with the new programs like with any other bank.

20

The Oscillator Module (OSC)

WaveMapper 2 has three audio oscillators, which can be controlled and routed with great flexibility. Each oscillator may use its own envelope to control the wave access, and its own LFO to control the pitch.

The oscillators have three modes of operation:

Audio 1 is the standard audio mode which has the most possible overtones.However, in some cases (especially with high pitches) it may be more useful to use the Audio 2 mode, which has a softer sound.There is also a sub-audio mode, which sets the pitch below audible range, so it can be used as an adaptable waveform LFO.

21

The TCS-Mode determines how a TCS resource is played. Normally this will be set to TCS, which allows the independent time and material position controlled by the envelope. But in some cases it may be desired to use the pure sample mode, where the material is played back like in a sampler, without any time control, but without any artifacts the TCS may have. You still may use the path start and endpoints in the sample modes.In SMP mode the sample plays to the end position and then stops. In SMPL mode, it keeps on looping in a small loop of one pitch period.In the case of normal wavetables these modes have no effect.

The Pitch SectionThe area of the OSCILATORS panel contains the controls for pitch, frequency modulation and a LFO (low frequency oscillator) module. Please note that the LFO represents just one of the 4 LFOs inside the synthesizer. You select a certain LFO via the quick selector knob in one of the routing controllers, like in the picture below with MOD2. You find these quick selectors on every routing selector where a envelope, LFO or noise source is selected.

In the top half of the panel you find the standard parameters like Octave and Semitones. The Keyboard tracking (KEY) parameter is used to setup precise tracking of the oscillators. This makes it possible to create very fine detuning spread across the keyboard.

Please note, that the Glide function only works in Legato and Mono keyboard mode.

22

MOD1 has noise and frequency modulation. Click on the routing field to open a popup list and select the modulation source.

MOD2 works in the same way.

23

The LFO Module

WaveMapper 2 comes with four LFO's, which are displayed on the oscillator and modifier pages. If you click on a quick selector point inside another module, which uses a LFO as modulation source, the corresponding LFO will be selected. The LFO parameters may be edited inside the waveform display with the control points or via the numerical values.

Each LFO's gain may be controlled by an envelope, another LFO or the CX, CY and velocity controllers. You select the modulation source by clicking the routing field in the Intensity control.

The waveform shape has a special feature besides just the standard waveforms, in that you may vary the ON/OFF ratio of the waveforms. This is something that is common for square/pulse waves, but here it is also applicable for the sawtoothand sine waveforms.

24

The Speed parameter may be synced from the MIDI clock.

The Offset selector makes it possible either to have the LFO wave centered around zero, or to have it only above zero or below.

25

The Wave Map

The WaveMap is the central part of the synthesizer engine of Wave Mapper 2. You load your own or PPGs audio resources into the Map and arrange them in a way which is appropriate for the synthesizer and thus the resulting sound. Then you design a Path, which is the way the synthesizer plays the material over time. When you play a note you see a green light-point that shows the exact position the oscillator is playing.

Each of the 3 oscillators may have its own Map and Path.

To demonstrate this, we will use the preset Hickup Flute from the Tutorials bank.

Follow these simple steps load the preset Hickup Flute:

Firstly, Click on BROWS to bring up the Browser.

26

Next, Click in the dark blue box (currently showing 'Factories') to bring up the menu for the ACTIVE SOUND BANK, then select the Tutorials bank.

Finally, scroll to the bottom of the Tutorials bank and select The preset Hickup Flute.

27

Go to the oscillator page and you see that OSC 3 is selected.

Switch on the Solo button.

Now play some notes and you see that the light-point travels through the Map. The Path has only 2 points, but the dashed line indicates that this is a Linear Path, means that all waves in between will be played.

The used sound resource here is the Sitar.c . The .c stands for a TCS sound (more on that later). Thewaveform of this resource is drawn in blue and you see that the sound starts in the upper/right corner and ends in the bottom/left corner.Now watch how the Envelope (on the right side) acts on the Path. In this case the sound starts from its end, then during the attack phase of the envelope travels backward to the beginning and then goes back to the sustain level. Make some changes to the envelope and watch the interaction. If you reduce the attack time to zero and set the peak level to full then the sound starts from the beginning.This is just a very simple example of the WaveMap setup. There are more interesting examples in theTutorials bank.

In the following section there is a detailed description of the single functions and tools.

28

The Multi SetupThe WaveMap is divided into columns holding portions of the loaded audio resources. You can setup these zones with the context menu, selecting one of the Init functions.The whole set of parameters and selections for the WaveMap is saved in a file called Multi setup. This file has sub-extension of .m. To load such a file, click on the triangle in the upper blue bar and select one of the .m files, e.g. Analog.m

You also may load a single resource type, like Cstrat.c or a wavetable like Classic Collection. In that case the system creates an internal default multi set with just one zone.

29

There is one active zone indicated by the blue bar on top of the map, which is the zone you are currently editing. To load a sound into a zone, use the triangle in the lower dark gray bar and select a sound resource (all types but not .m files).

The presentation of the waveform is different for a wavetable (WT) and a TCS resource. In case of a WT the single periods are displayed (like the 3. and 4. zone in the picture), while in the case of a TCS which may contain some hundred periods the overall shape is shown (like the first and second). A TCS file is scaled so that it always will fill the zone. The WT is scaled so that 16 periods fit in one column. An exception are the sparse WT's which use less than 16 waves. In this case they are expanded to fill the column (like the third zone).

When you define a path, which moves from one zone into another, it may be necessary to adjust the material. To do so, each zone has adjustment parameters. You may shift the pitch up and down in octaves and adjust the gains, so that the resources nicely work together.

Please don't forget to save your Multi-setup. These files are resources which are NOT saved by the VST-host.When you save a Multi it will be stored in your user folder (the one you selected on the Analyzer page).

30

The Load file list is grouped in four main areas:

PPG WTS inventory - Here you find all the Wavetable sets which belong to the factory presets.PPG TCS inventory - Here you find all the Time Corrected Samples which belong to the factory presets. PPG multi inventory - Here the PPG multi resources will show up.Sound Designers - These are resources which our sound-designers have created.

Plus the user categories:

user - Here your own resources will show up.user/xyz - Additional user and sound-designer sub directories.

For quick checking of the resources in one directory you may use the two steppers < > in the blue file selector bar.

31

The DirectoriesYou may add your own directories for your resources inside the user folder. To do so, go to your system file browser and create a new directory.

The easiest way to go there is by accessing the sound browser using the BROWS icon, then using the SYSTEM BROWSER button.

32

The Wave Map ModesThe WaveMap operates in two modes:

TAB - In this mode, you may check out single waves, listen to them and get a feeling for the waveforms. This is a temporary mode, which disables the path.

PATH - Here you define the path on which the envelopes will control the wave-access.

Clicking a path point shows the waveform and marks this point as active. You can directly move this point to other positions.CMD + click inserts a new point behind the active one. To make a path segment a linear path, hold the SHIFT key and move the point. DELETE removes the active point from the path.RESET removes all points and puts a single point in the bottom/left corner.

There are two types of path segments: The stroked line stands for a Linear Path, and the normal line for a Point to Point path segment. In the linear mode all intermediate points are connected, which means all waves are played in between.In the point mode, only the selected points are played. Please note that in a TCS resource always all material between 2 points is played.

Please note that the Path is part of the sound program and is saved with it. Any Path can be used with any Multi setup! It doesn't matter if path points are located in empty parts of the WaveMap.The vertical resolution is always 100 steps regardless of the material loaded in the zones.

The Resource TypesIn Wave Mapper 2 you have the possibility not only to use the classical WaveTables, but also the new TCS (Time Corrected Samples) type and normal samples.

In a wavetable system you have a number of single period audio material (waves), which are organizedin a table, so the synthesizer can easily select a wave and smoothly blend from one wave to another. This gives the classical wave sounds and filter-sweep sounds, but also movements which are impossible to produce with filters alone.The advantage of wavetable synthesis over sample playback is that the time control is totally independent of the pitch. However these sounds cannot reproduce noisy components due to the single cycle principle. This challenge is overcome by the new TCS system, which preserves the original structure of a analyzed sound.

33

The Wave Section

In the upper part of the panel you find various paras and options for controlling wave access of the oscillator. In the lower half there is the envelope controller which shows the settings of one of the 13 envelopes in WaveMapper 2.

You select a certain envelope via the quick selector knob in one of the routing controllers, like in the picture the Envelope selector. You find these quick selectors on every routing selector when an envelope, LFO or noise source is selected.

The Wave Offset parameter shifts the path you have setup inside the Wave Map in a vertical direction. When the offset is higher than 16, the vertical shift is reset but you get an additional horizontal shift.Additional to the W-Offset you have the Keyboard control. This adds an offset depending on the played key. This can be seen as equivalent to the Keys parameter in an analog synth, where the VCF cutoff frequency is moved by the keyboard position. If you don't want the vertical shift, but just the horizontal, you may achieve this with the Horizontal parameter.

If you have a multi-zone setup (like in the picture below) and you have set Horizontal (HORIZ) and Keyboard (KEY) greater than zero, you see the resulting base keys displayed at the bottom of the Map.

An example for this is the Multi KB Zone2 from the Tutorials bank (shown below).

34

The BLEND parameter works as a smoothing function as the oscillator progresses through the waves. When set to 1, it gives you hard switching, 0 gives the smoothest blend.

Of course the most important controller for the waveform is the envelope, and each oscillator has it's own envelope. If you click on the quick selector, the envelope display switches to the corresponding envelope, giving you immediate access to it.

If you set the routing to Const, a constant value is used, which can be adjusted by the value of the ENVL parameter.

35

The Envelope

In WaveMapper 2 you may use up to thirteen independent Envelopes. In the popover lists you will find short descriptions on how each envelope is used as default. However, a single envelope can also be used by other modules. E.g. you can use envelope N 3 (which controls the Noise 3 intensity) also for the pitch control and for ring modulation (RingMod) intensity.

The envelope types

The envelopes can be configured as normal ADSR type envelopes, or as a endless looping type. In the loop mode, the envelope goes into decay and then rises again to a second peak level, where it decays again and so on. However not all envelopes have this feature. e.g. the gain envelope must always decay to zero after some time, so it doesn't have the loop mode. For the wave controls a loop can be very useful, as it creates a lively sustain sound, like a sampler does when it loops. You can activate the loop via the context menu, in the envelope module.

The control points

The envelope has 3 to 5 control points, dependent on its mode.

If you select the gain envelope (G1), you see only the normal three control points needed for an ADSR envelope. With the peak, you control the Attack time. With the second point, the Sustain as well as the decay time. With the third point the release time (nothing special here).

36

If you look at a wave controller envelope, like W1, you have 4 points, if it has no loop. Additional to the normal ADSR you have a point at time zero. This point shifts the base level of the envelope up and down. Which is very important for the wave control, cause you don't have an extra base parameter there. You may even move this point higher than the peak! Which then inverts the envelope.Also the 4th point behaves different, as in ADSR. You may move this point up and down also, but it actssomewhat different than the zero point.

Now if you are in loop mode, you have 5 points. The 4th point controls the width of the loop, and the 5thpoint offers a random component to the loop. If you move point 5 up, the random effect increases, move it down and you get more regular periods. Just try it out.

Besides all this, there are control points between the main points, which let you bend the envelope curves. For fine adjustment press the CMD / CTRL key while moving the mouse. To disable the Y-direction use the SHIFT key.

If two or more control-points come too close to each other, there is another way to select the point you want to use. Therefore double-click near the points, and leave the mouse on the screen on the second click. Now move the point as desired. The active point is always highlighted.

In addition to the control points in the envelope graph, numerical value inputs for high-precision setup ofthe parameters are available. These controls are connected to the current active point in the envelope display.

Please remember that the resolution of all parameters can be adjusted by the horizontal position of the mouse while editing. Moving more to the left increases the mouse access, more to the right makes it finer.

The envelope time scale automatically changes according to the release endpoint. The end time of the scale is shown in the little TIME field in the top right corner.Each envelope has its own velocity attenuator, which you may adjust in the frame of the envelope display. The velocity is controlled either by external MIDI keyboard, or by the vertical position where youclick on the key.

37

The Modifer Page (MODY)

This page contains all the modules for the subtractive part of the synthesizer. On the left side you find Noise generator and Ring modulator. In the middle the Filter with the Audio Mixer and on the right the Dual Amplifier. In the lower half you find two envelope controllers and a LFO module. The middle envelope always displays the filter envelope, while the LFO and the right envelope are dynamically assigned. You select them, as on the oscillator page, with the quick selector buttons.

The Mixer

The mixer inputs are controlled by the gains of the oscillators and the noise 1. Please note that the values of the three OSC knobs in the Filter module are the same than the ones on the OSC page.

38

The Filter Module

The filter module is used to filter spectral parts of the oscillator and noise signal. The audio input of the filter is fed either by the mixer or directly by oscillator 1.The main filter parameters are the CUTOFF frequency, EMPH and DRIVE.

In the second row you find the Keyboard tracking parameter (KEY) and two Modulation inserts (MOD1 and MOD2). These work similar to the other routing selectors in the other modules. A click on the routing field opens the selection menu, and offers various modulation sources.

Note that the selected source is always attenuated by the value inside the control. Here we have bipolarcontrols, meaning that the source signals may be inverted if you select negative values.

39

The Amplifer ModuleThe AMPLIFIER module controls two independent gain controls, also known as VCAs in analog systems.

The AUD 1 and AUD 2 inputs select the audio sources for each VCA.

The two little buttons below the AUD knobs are quick selectors, which display the corresponding envelopes G1 and G2.

With the SPREAD you can separate the 2 outputs to the left and right channel.The GAIN parameter is a modulation intensity and works on both channels.With the PAN parameter the panning can be modulated.

40

The Noise Generator

WaveMapper 2 has three Noise generators.

Noise 1 is the main audio noise source which is mixed together with the 3 oscillators tones.Noise 2 and Noise 3 are used in the Amplifiers Audio selectors and for modulation purposes.

Each noise generator has its own envelope to control the gain and a parameter for the Noise Color. When you select a noise source you will see that also the right envelope controller is switched to the corresponding envelope.

The Ring Modulator

The RINGMODULATOR modulates the audio signal from OSC 1 with OSC 3. So the output of the ring modulator goes to the gain para of OSC 1.

Normally the modulation intensity is just defined by the value of the INTENS knob.You may also use a dynamic modulation intensity, by selecting one of the mod-sources from thedrop-down-menu.

41

The Analyzer Page (TCS)The Analyzer allows you to transform a sample into a TCS (time corrected sample) resource, and in a second step into a Wavetable.

Please note that a wavetable system is only suited for tonal sounds with constant pitch. The new TCS mode has less restrictions, but may have some artifacts when using complex sounds. So if you like to use sounds like drum-loops or the like, it could be more useful to switch to the sample-play mode (the Oscillator page).

First select a suitable program for testing your analyzed sound. The analyzer always places the new sound on the selected oscillator (on the OSC page) and in the active zone in the Wave Map for testing.

For a start you may use the prepared TEST PROGRAM (located directly below the SAMPLE ANALYSIS window).

This program only uses oscillator 1 with a simple envelope which plays the sound from beginning until the end. You always can go back to your original program with Restore.

To start a analysis, open the file dialog and select your audio sample by clicking on the AUDIO SOURCE display. After a short moment you see the waveform displayed and the TCS sound can be played. Please note that the maximum length of the analysis is about 5 seconds.

42

Time Corrected SampleThe numeric displays show the basic features of the sound, which are the period length and how many periods the sound has. The wave display shows you the content of your sound. The raster here again represent the periods (or multiple) of the sound. You may scroll or zoom in and out of the material to getan idea of the waveforms. When you switch to the Oscillator page, you see the new sound in the WaveMap. If the sound was of simple structure, like a guitar string, the result may already be perfect. However it depends on the audio material how well the pitch is been detected.

For example: a flute with its noise and maybe pitch shift, can be out of tune. This is especially annoying when you use a loop in the wave control envelope. To minimize the pitch effect, you may adjust the tone using the ADJUST control on the Analyzer page.

We recommend using the TCS SIZE slider if you want to shorten the size of the TCS sound. The value inside the slider shows the number of periods the sound file will have. You can then name (by clicking in the name field) and save the result using the Save TCS button. After saving, you will find your newly created resource when opening the Source list on the Oscillator page (located in the Wave Map section of the OSC page).

WavetableA TCS file can be converted into a Wavetable (WT). You may assign a number of waves for the WT with the WT SIZE control. The sound itself determines how many waves will be useful. For a very complex sound you may use all 256 waves. For a simpler sound you should try to reduce the size as much as possible.

Please note that your WT should fit in the active zone of your Wave Map. If not, the beginning of the sound will not be played!

Now you click the Make WT button,. Then you can play the new WT. Please note that the creation of a WT heavily reduces the data of the original sample! So the result can be quite different compared to the original. Notably, the phase information gets lost, as well as the random and noise components.

43

SplittingWavetables, as well as TCS resources, can be split using their frequency spectrum. This results in two new files, which represent the high and low spectral content of the original file. After the split you can play and listen to the high and the low parts separately. The two new files have the pre-extension .h and .l respectively.More on that below.

Setting up a resource directory

When you save your resources (TCS or Wavetables), you should first select a directory in which they are stored. You do this with the USER RESOURCE PATH selection menu on the Browser page.

WaveMapper 2 comes with a user folder inside the base directory.You may add your own directories inside this folder. To do so, go to your system file browser and create a new directory. The easiest way to go there is using the SYSTEM BROWSER button on the sound browser page.

File type identifcation

To identify the different file types, there is a pre-extension which is separated from the file name by a dot. So a TCS file name is Cgit.c.wts, where the .wts is the file extension for all sound files and the .c is the pre-extension for a TCS file.– this is a TCS (time corrected sample) file.

.c – this is the TCS (time corrected sample) file.

.ch – this is the high spectral part of a TCS file.

.cl – this is the low spectral part of a TCS file.

.h – this is the high spectral part of a WT (wavetable) file.

.l – this is the low spectral part of a WT file.

The normal WT file has no pre-extension.

Expanding

If you want to do the splitting or converting into a WT at a later time, you can do this by clicking the Expanding button. This loads the resource from the active Oscillator and the active Zone into the Analyzer. Again, we would recommend that you use the TEST PROGRAM button for any further processing.

If the active file (the one displayed in the WT name field) is a TCS with pre-extension .c, then you will see the basic features in the numeric displays. If it is a WT file, then only the number of waves is displayed in the Size control panel and most of the command buttons are disabled.

You can only split the WT to get the high and low frequency versions. After splitting, the high part is routed to the oscillator, and can be checked directly. The 2 .wts files are generated automatically.

44

The Effects Page (FX)

The Effect ModuleWaveMapper 2 comes with a Reverb and Delay effect. The Reverb simulates room acoustics, while the delay has only one base time and is therefore suitable for syncing to the sequencer clock.

You setup the type of the effect with the FX TYPE switch.

45

The Reverb has a Gate effect which gives some additional sound effects. The Gate start is generated from the MIDI keys and holds on for a time you setup with the GATE knob.After that time the Reverb is faded out with the RELEASE time.

You find use of this in the preset Stereo TomTom in the Tutorials bank.

The delay times control the overall duration of the effect. TAP 1 controls the cycle time of the repetitions, while TAP 2 the pre-delay part.

Please note, that when you have SYNC enabled, the TAP 1 button is no longer active because the timeis then given by the host speed. With MIX you setup the reverb part of the sound compared to the original signal. In this section you will also find the VOL control for the total gain of the program.

46

The Arptor Module

The Arpeggiator module (abbrev. ARPTOR) is a combination of a small step sequencer and arpeggiated playback. You may record up to 16 notes, then switch to Play and select the appropriate play mode.

The RANGE parameter dial defines the overall length of the arpeggio. If you record 3 notes, and set theRange to 8 and use UP mode, the sequence of notes will be: 1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2, now repeat 1,2,3...

The Direction(DIRECT) can be set to: Up, Down, Alternate (Altern) and Random.

47

To synchronize the Arptor to your DAW speed, select one of the intervals from the SYNC menu.You may transpose the sequence by clicking keys on the screen. C3 is always the neutral position (zero transpose).

The Play ModesNormal PlayThis is the immediate starting playback.

Triggered PlayIn this case, the playback starts when a KeyOn event is recognized.

Gated PlayIn this mode the playback is only running as long as a Key gate event, which means it runs as long as akey is pressed or played from your DAW.

Editing single notesUsing the EDIT menu, you may change the pitch and velocity of single notes. If the velocity is turned all the way down, this note will be left out.

Arptor in mono modeUsing the Arptor when the keypad is set to Mono has some special features. Only the first note is triggered and then held on sustain until you stop the Arptor. This results in the typical monophonic playing style. You have to set the sustain levels of the envelopes quite high to get sustained playback. Interesting effects result when using the GLIDE parameters from the oscillators.

48

The Global Module

This page lets you setup your basic system parameters, like total tuning and number of voices. You should enter your personal signature, which will be shown in the sound programs you create.

PolyphonyThe maximum number of voices you can play is limited by the system power. If you experience dropouts or clicks in the audio signal please lower this value.

Click and drag downwards in the dark grey box, to reduce the polyphony.

Drag upwards to increase the polyphony.

49

The KEY MODE switch determines the keyboard and controller action.Intern - the keyboard controls only the internal synthesizer. No MIDI is send out in this case.Extern - the keyboard and controllers are send through MIDI, with no internal connection to the synth.Both - the keyboard controls the internal synthesizer and also sends out MIDI.

The SENSORS selector determines how the X/Y controls of the keypad are interpreted.Off - No action.After T - the X/Y controllers are sent as After Touch.Poly P - the keypad X/Y controls are sent as Poly Pressure.CC - the X/Y controls and the Icon movements are sent as CC.Auto - the X/Y controls are used in the automation.

The VELOCITY selector determines how the MIDI key velocity acts on the synth. Please experiment with it, to find out what best works with your MIDI keyboard.

50

MIDI CC control

In WaveMapper 2 we have more than 200 parameters which may be controlled via MIDI CC.

You may assign your preferred paras to your preferred controllers, by editing the text file "ccl.txt" with a simple text editor.

You get there by opening the System browser, using the button on the Browser page".

Please note, that CC's will change the current program parameters. So if you save your bank, these changes will be fixed in the programs!

51

Manual by Nick Trass

© 2014 PPG, Wolfgang Palm, Hamburg, Germany

PPG on Facebook: http://www.facebook/ppgwavegenerator

Wolfgang Palm website: http://www.wolfgangpalm.com

52