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Download this manual in .doc (4.59 mb, right-click the link, press "Save As") - not too pretty, but we will update it soon!

Download this manual in .pdf (1.33 mb, right-click the link, press "Save As") - works only on Macs

Noise.io User Manual v. 1.0 (can take a while to load)

I. Introduction

I. 1. Performance Notes
I. 2. Launching Noise.io
I. 3. Basic operation
I. 4. NOISE.IO Work Modes

II. Control Surface, Main Menu, Tap BPM, Choose Preset, Manage Presets

II. 1. Control Surface
II. 2. Main Menu
II. 3. Tap BPM & Quick-Choose Preset
II. 4. Manage Presets

III. Noise.io Editor

III. 1. Introduction to the Editor
III. 2. Teleport
III. 3. Note On
III. 4. Jump To Surface
III. 5. Main & FM: Main Synth Parameters
III. 6. MAIN & FM: ESFM
III. 7. Seq & FX: Introduction
III. 8. SEQ & FX : Effects
III. 9. SEQ & FX: Sequencers
III. 10. LFO & AXIS : Introduction
III. 11. LFO & Axis: LFO
III. 12. LFO & AXIS: Map to Axis
III. 13. LFO & AXIS: Zones

IV. Noise.io Appendix

IV. 1. Definitions and Abbreviations
IV. 2. List of the Target parameters

PART I. INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANT: Although we tried to make Noise.io as intuitive as possible, please, before asking for support or reporting a bug in the forum, make sure that the «bug» you've found is not a feature covered in this user manual. In other words - please, read it thouroughly, just in case. IMPORTANT: This manual refers to the pre-release version of Noise.io and some minor things may be updated or change in the actual application.

IMPORTANT: Noise.io is a sound synthesizer and should be used with extreme caution, especially while using hearphones. Immediately stop the use if you start experiencing any sights of pain in the ears or head. Lower the volume if you feel that the audio out level is too high - the simplest way for that is to use the on-screen volume slider at the Control Surface. Amidio Inc is not responsible for any kind of damage which could be caused by inproper use of Noise.io.

I. 1. Performance Notes

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Noise.io features an extremely advanced sound synthesis engine. It's very complicated and is running at pure 44100 Hz to ensure maximum sound quality. In order to ensure maximum smooth operation of the synthesizer, different measures were taken which shouldn't be distinguished as bugs.

Control Surface. The Noise.io's sound engine evaluates the complexity of the preset in real-time and calculates the system resources needed for the glitch-free sound. If there are not enough resources, the engine slows down the graphics part. Thus, the Noise.io's user would never hear a glitch or a drop in the sound, but the heavier the preset on CPU, the slower will be the graphics and the reaction to the input. Please understand that the iPhone is not a desktop computer and smooth operation of both graphics and sound part of Noise.io is currently not completely possible. In fact, Amidio has already done a miracle, putting Noise.io together. We are constantly optimizing the code and future updates will always run faster.

The Editor. In order to achieve maximum stability of the program, an interface caching system has been implemented. Therefore, there could be some minor slowdowns while switching between the Editor's tabs. That effect could be increased if the current preset is heavy on CPU (lots of effects, LFOs etc.).

Improving Performance. Please look at the factory presets to see the examples of wise usage of the CPU power. While creating presets, remember, that turning on every possible effect and module is not a magic way to the breathtaking presets. Start off with a clear understanding of what you're willing to create and sculpt your sounds, adding effects and modules only if necessary. There's an eternity of sounds which can be created with just 2 FM generators and a filter envelope.

Live Performances. Sometimes it could be a good idea to turn off some of the Noise.io's effects and/or use additional equipment (external effect processors) to both win the CPU power and add spice to the sound generated by Noise.io. Always test your presets before live performances and optimize them if you find something unacceptable. Use the Active/Inactive Banks feature to construct your bank set for every live. Do not forget to switch the phone (if using the iPhone) to the Flight mode during lives.

I. 2. Launching Noise.io

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IMPORTANT: It is strongly advised to reboot your device before the first launch! IMPORTANT: To achieve maximum sound quality, check that your devices' internal volume level (in iPod) is set to maximum. Iphone users should turn off the no-sound mode and turn up the volume to the maximum via the device's side buttons. IMPORTANT: It is highly recommended to turn your device's Auto-Block and Auto-Sleep off. This can be done in your device's settings. IMPORTANT: Make sure you've specified your user name and password in your device's Settings, under Noise.io tab. They should be the same as your http://noise.io username and password, thus the system will be able to identify you when you submit your banks to the internet repository at http://noise.io/presets. (See Manage Presets, Submit Bank for more information).

Tap the Noise.io's icon to lauch it. Please note that the loading times are quite high and can take up to 50 seconds due to the vast amount of data that has to be processed (for example, there are more than 1500 interface bitmaps to be loaded). Be patient and just let it load.

During the first launch, Noise.io will calculate and save the factory waveforms needed for the operation. This calculation has to be run only once and can take up to 2-3 minutes.

TIP: It is recommended to reboot your device every time before running Noise.io as Noise.io's demand for free memory is high and some other applications might leave uncollected garbage in RAM which could lead to unstable operation. If you ever experience a drop-out to the Home screen, that's the case. Reboot your device. You will not lose your preset.

I. 3. Basic operation

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The Controls. In order to control Noise.io sufficiently, hold your device in a landscape mode, so that the Home button would be situated to the right. If not operating on a table, use your index fingers to support the device and operate Noise.io with your thumbs. Simultaneous operation with two thumbs is what Noise.io's interface has been designed for and is the fastest way to achieve desired results. You will see it for yourself. Also you can watch demo videos that shows the way Noise.io is supposed to be operated.

TIP: If you plan to use Noise.io during a live perfomance or want to film a video, it is highly recommended to secure the device in place using 2-3 pieces of 2-sided adhesive tape.

See the Editor section for more information on controlling the Noise.io's Editor.

Presets. Noise.io's preset bank consists of 9 presets. Each preset has a fixed slot number within the bank (1 to 9). There can not be a bank with 8 or 10 presets, and a preset slot can not be empty. Every preset bank belongs to one of these 3 categories:

Factory banks These are fabric presets supplied with Noise.io. User banks This is the main users' playground, containing one empty bank by default. Internet banks This is where the downloaded presets drop.

IMPORTANT: Please be notified that any update to Noise.io could reset your presets to fabric. That's why it is wise to export all your User banks before committing an update. Only User banks can be exported. See Manage Presets, Export banks for more information.
IMPORTANT: Although user can freely operate and save the presets to banks that belong to any of the 3 categories, it is highly recommended to use only User banks as the main preset storage category (while Factory and Internet banks would serve for the example purposes).

The SoftRibbon (The Ribbon controller). The SoftRibbon controller is a truly amazing controller type that is used throughout the whole Noise.io's concept. Basically, when a user needs to adjust a parameter, he/she performs the following actions: Tap the required parameter/slider/window/list (it becomes highlighted) Use the left thumb to scroll up to the desired value. The current position of the value within the allowed range of values is shown by the blue triangle pointer at the right of the SoftRibbon. TIP: The SoftRibbon controller concept implements a kind of an inertial momentum, i.e. if you scroll fast, it will take some time for the pointer to drop speed and stop. You can stop the pointer while in movement by tapping it. A little training - and you will find the SoftRibbon as indespensable as your computer mouse.

Shaking your Device. Within the Noise.io Editor and Manage Preset sections, user can shake his device in order to make an action (usually of a destructive type, such as clearing settings, resetting to the fabric presets, etc.) The action which is supposed to happen is usually described somewhere in the interface screen, however, in some screens there wasn't a place for such description. In any way, after shaking, a confirmation window always appears, providing the user an opportunity to make decision.

IMPORTANT: In the first release version, some shake features are not yet implemented. This will be done in the future update.

I. 4. NOISE.IO Work Modes

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Noise.io can function in 3 different modes, current mode is displayed under the MENU button on the Control Surface. Every mode has it's advantages and choosing the right mode usually depends on the synth's preset type.

1) Free Noise mode The no-compromise mode: 10x10 cell modulation matrix and infinity of possibilities. This is a general purpose mode and is suited for any type of sounds, both non-harmonic (noises, fx) and melodic (instruments).

2) Sound Key mode Like in the "Control Zone" mode, The modulation matrix shrinks to 8x10, and 5 buttons - "Zones" - appear to the right of the screen. In this mode, only Zones emit sound (with user-given parameters). If user touches the modulation matrix, the synth parameters are changed accordingly, but no sound is produced. This mode - as seen from it's name - turns the device into a futuristic musical instrument. User taps Zones which are usually assigned different pitch notes - while using the Control Surface to manipulate the sound parameters. Zones in SoundKey mode are especially useful for the live performances since the buttons are big and it's easy to hit them during the live (the on-screen Keyboard's keys are smaller and it requires more skills to play them perfectly).

TIP: Bringing up the Keyboard temporarily disables the Zones (the Control Surface will function as in the SoundKey Mode, shrunk to 2x8 cells in size).

3) Control Zone mode The modulation matrix shrinks to 8x10, and 5 buttons - "Zones" - appear to the right of the screen. Every Zone button can carry out a user-selected action (change of synth parameters), but they do not emit any sound (only change parameters). To make a sound, user has to slide his finger over the modulation matrix, like in the "Free Noise" mode. This mode is best used in live perfomances, when user assigns, for example, different sequencer's patterns change actions to the Zones, to switch between the patterns without hassle. Other usage examples involve setting fx on/off actions, turning sequencer or lfo on/off, and many more.

IMPORTANT: You can bring up the Keyboard while being in any mode (either with Zone on or off). Hide the Keyboard to get back to the mode.

PART II. CONTROL SURFACE, MAIN MENU, TAP BPM, MANAGE PRESETS

II. 1. Control Surface

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Control Surface is the heart of Noise.io. This is what you'll see after the loading. Control surface is a modulation matrix which consists of 10x10 cells. There are 5 axes that can change synth's parameters: Up-Down (Y Axis) Left-Right (X Axis) Multitouch ("Between" Axis - distance between fingers during pinching action) Accelerometer Roll (holding the device horizontally, roll it from left to right in a waving manner) Accelerometer Tilt (tilt the device back and forth).

IMPORTANT: The Control Surface gets resized to 10x8 cells if Zones are enabled, or to 2x8 cells if the Keyboard is on.

When a user makes a single, multi-touch or changes the device position (see: Map to Axis, Accelerometer), Noise.io's system looks up what it should do in accordance with the current preset's Map to Axes and Zones settings.

In most cases, a touch performed on the Control Surface produces a change in one or several of the synth's parameters. This depends of the current Map to Axes setup. Generally, when you tap the Control Surface, you define a change in two coordinates simultaneously: Up-Down and Left-Right since the Control Surface's screen is two-dimensional. For example, a usual use of this is mapping filter cutoff to the Up-Down axis and filter resonance to the Left-Right axis. Of course, if there's no action applied to the Up-Down axis, for example, then moving your finger up and down will not result in any sound changes. It's only you who defines what should change in the sound and how it should change. These settings are individual for each preset. It will be explained a bit later, in the Map to Axes section.

TIP: Quick-check your current Map to Axes settings by entering the Editor, then selecting the LFO & Axis tab.

The screen's division into cells is purely visual (i.e. the transition of parameters while user moves his finger over the Control Surface is smooth, not dependent of the highlighted row or column) unless a Blocky effect is enabled for some parameter (refer to Map to Axis, Blocky Effect section for more information).

The Control Surface Elements. Apart from the modulation matrix, the Control Surface has several other elements:

• The Volume Slider

The Volume Slider is located at the left of the screen and controls the overall output volume of Noise.io. It can be used simultaneously with the perfomance to create fade-in and fade-out effects. Tap the slider and move it up or down to the desired position. Top is 100 (maximum) and bottom is 0 (no sound will be heard).

Note the volume changes are reflected in the indicator to the right of the Main Menu button.

TIP: Please note that in case of a sudden burst of noise, it is usually better to hit the Panic button in the Main Menu (see: Main Menu) than trying to catch the volume slider and move it down.

• The BPM Indicator

BPM Indicator is displayed withing the Main Menu button.

TIP: Please note that the BPM Indicator turns red when Lock BPM is on.

• The BPM Marker

BPM Marker is a small light-blue dot which appears in the very center of the display and blinks in correspondence with the beat if the Metronome option in the Main Menu is set to Dots or Both. See Main Menu, Metronome section for more information.

• The Mode Indicator

Noise.io can operate in 3 different modes. There is one FreeNoise mode when there are no Zones (5 big button to the right of the screen) and there are two modes (SoundKey mode and ControlZone mode) when the Zones appear on the Control Surface. User can turn Zones on/off by holding the Zones button in the Map to Axes part of the Noise.io Editor. See Zones for more information.

• The Accelerometer Indicators

Next to the volume indicator, there are two Accelerometer Indicators. The left one shows current value of the Roll axis and the right one shows the value of the Tilt axis.

IMPORTANT: to use Accelerometer successfully, you might need to calibrate it first (tell the program which position of the device is default for your current setup). You can do this by entering the TapBPM screen and single-tapping the Tapzone. See TapBPM for more information.

• Current Note / Pattern Indicator

Noise.io is a monophonic synthesizer, which means only one note can be played at a single period of time (even though that note might sound polyphonic due to it's nature). That's why Noise.io has a parameter called «Current Note» - that's the note that would sound if user triggers the sound. This parameter can be controlled from many sources: the Editor (see Editor), Pitch Sequencer, Zones and also from the MainMenu screen. It depends on the type of the preset (is it a sequence, or a sound effect, or just a melodic preset etc.) how user would like to control the pitch.

This indicator is situated at the bottom of the screen, in the very middle, and is divided into 2 parts: The left part is the note - which could be one of the following : C («do») C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B. If this part tells «P» then it means that the Pitch Sequencer is on and the letter next to P (A, B, C or D) is the Pitch Sequencer Pattern that is currently being played. The right part is the current octave (number from 0 to 9) or the current Pitch Sequencer Pattern (as mentioned before).

• Current Preset and Bank names

Current Preset and Bank names are represented at the bottom of the Control Surface.

II. 2. Main Menu

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The MainMenu button is located at the top left corner of the Control Surface. Please note that for maximum operation simplicity, it remains visible only while a user's finger presses the MainMenu button. In other words, user should press the MainMenu button and select his next action while holding the button, thus performing a multi-touch. Then, the MainMenu button can be released, if no more action is needed.

Main Menu buttons and actions

• Octave +/-
  
  

  These buttons change the Current Note's octave. See Current Note Indicator for more information. These buttons will still function if Zones are enabled in SoundKey Mode.

  
  
• Semitone +/-
  
  

  These buttons change the Current Note's semitone. Please note that these buttons will not change anything if Zones are enabled in the SoundKey mode (see Zones, SoundKey mode section for more information).

IMPORTANT: You will not be able to change the octave and semitones from the Main Menu if the Pitch Sequencer is on because it dictates the pitch. If changing pitch an octave up/down while in Pitch Sequencer mode is needed, use the Global Semitone Shift parameter in the Editor Main & FM section.

• Keyboard On/Off
  
  

  Tap this key in order to bring up the music keyboard. Tap again to hide it.

  
  

  There are several important principles of the keyboard's functioning: Switch octaves with the +/- Octave Buttons. The upper part of the keyboard is always the lower octave, the bottom part is the higher octave. The small piece of the Control Surface to the left acts exactly like when the Keyboard is hidden, except that it is shrunk to the 2x8 cells in size (for better usability, the area under the Main Menu button is not active when the Keyboard is shown). It means that all the axis mappings that have been done in the Editor's Map to Axes setting remain active. If any of the Brother or Sister modules have €śSustain€ť on, then tapping a keyboard key while holding another will result in smooth pitch glide in accordance with the current Global Glide settings. If €śSustain€ť is off for both Brother and Sister, then then tapping a keyboard key while holding another will result in another note starting. The pitch could also glide in this situation if in case the Global Glide is not zero but the note starts from scratch.

IMPORTANT: Bringing up the Keyboard temporatily disables the Zones (the Control Surface will function as in the SoundKey Mode, shrunk to 2x8 cells in size).

• Previous/Next Preset
  
  

  Use there buttons to navigate through the presets of Active Bank List. For more information on Active Banks, see Manage Presets, Active Banks.



• Snap to Beat
  
  

  Activate this function to always be in sync with the current BPM. This function «pauses» entered notes a bit if needed, thus applying rhythmical quantization. Tap this field to scroll through one of the four available options: Snap to Beat Off Snap to 1/4 Snap to 1/8 Snap to 1/16 Snap to 1/4T Snap to 1/8T Snap to 1/16T The number represents the resolution of the beat quantization. See Resolution in the Vocabulary for the explanation.

• Metronome
  
  

  There are two ways for indicating the current BPM. Noise.io offers the following: DOT A light-blue dot appears in the center of the screen, flashing in sync with the BPM. Important: If your current preset is high on the CPU (lots of effects, LFOs etc.), this dot could flash out of sync. This doesn't mean that the whole instrument went out of sync - just the graphics part has been slowed down by Noise.io's logic in order to prevent sound glitches. SOUND A metronome-like sound will start ticking. BOTH Both dots and tick together. OFF Metronome is off

• Hold
  
  

  This button turns on the Hold mode (represented by an indicator at the bottom middle of the Control Surface), which basically slightly changes the way notes are entered into Noise.io. In this mode, «Note Off» messages are not sent when a user lifts finger from the Control Surface, i.e. the sound always keeps on in the Sustain phase (of course, if Sustain is on). See «Note On», «Note Off», «ADSR» sections of the Noise.io Vocabulary for more information.

  
  
• Record
  
  

  This button displays the Record menu.

  
  

  IMPORTANT: In Noise.io version 1.0, the Record menu and function are absent, mainly due to the fact that Amidio still hasn't been given a clear answer, whether Intua (BeatMaker's creators) would provide an ability to integrate Noise.io's generated sounds into BeatPacks. Implementing Record functionality would be one of the first updates to Noise.io. Until then, user can record sound or sequences generated by Noise.io into DAW in realtime - just jamming live. The Snap to Beat function would be a major aid for that.

• Panic
  
  

  This is quite a useful button which needs to be hit if the sound output doesn't quite make it up to the user's expectations causing ear/speakers damage. Also this button resets the filters if some strange manipulation led to their instability. Amidio hopes that no user will ever need to press it.

  
  
• Editor
  
  

  This button redirects the user into Noise.io's core - The Noise.io Editor. See The Editor section for more information.

  
  
• TapBPM and Preset Menu (the central big button)
  
  

  This is a stay-on-screen menu and user can release the MainMenu button upon entering it. (Press MainMenu button again to cancel). See TapBPM section.

II. 3. Tap BPM & QUICK-CHOOSE PRESET

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Changing the rhythm via TapBPM Preset Menu. Rhythm (BPM - the quantity of the beats per minute) is one of the most important characteristics of the preset. One preset may sound excellent an 140 BPM and another may as well have been designed for 90 BPM. However, there are many cases when BPM needs to be changed instantly (for example - during a DJ mix), and this can be done in the TapBPM menu via two ways:

• Tap the BPM
  

  Just tap the central pad in accordance with the mix (at a desired rate). The pad will flash in a violet color in responce to your taps. The first tap defines the offset for the beat, and the following 7 taps are needed to calculate the desired BPM (8 taps in total).

  
  
• Enter the BPM
  

  Press «Enter BPM» button will display numbers on the preset pads (central pad acts like zero in this case). Press 3 numbers one after another to enter the exact BPM. Repeat if mistaken. Begin with 0 (the central pad) if the desired BPM is less than 100. Remember to tap the central pad in the usual TapBPM mode once to set the beginning point of the beat.

Calibrate Accelerometer. Long-tap the central pad (until the violet light goes out) in order to tell Noise.io that the current position is your default position. From now on, accelerometer's maximum and minimum values would be achieved within the +/- 45 degrees relative to the position you've shown the system by long-tapping the central pad.

Lock BPM. Despite that each preset has it's own BPM it has been designed for, it is possible to override the default BPM setting of each preset (for example, this could be needed during a DJ set). To do this, tap the area at the top of the central cell. The BPM indicator will go red and will not change from preset to preset, remaining the value that user entered or re-enters. To Unlock BPM, tap the area at the top of the central cell one more time.

Changing the presets via TapBPM Preset Menu. As stated before, a preset bank in Noise.io consists of 9 presets. From the TapBPM screen, user can choose any of the 9 presets which belong to the current bank. Just tap the desired preset.

Browsing through Active Banks via TapBPM Preset Menu. User can scroll through the preset banks by tapping next/previous preset buttons at the bottom of the screen. Current's bank name is displayed at their top.

IMPORTANT: These buttons will scroll through the list of Active Banks only! See Manage presets, Active banks for more information.

II. 4. Manage Presets

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Manage Presets is basically a preset database manager with extended functions. It's the only place where user can sort his banks and presets, delete banks, make them active/inactive, export them to the internet or downloaf new banks from the repository.

Jumping to the Manage Presets menu. There are 3 ways to access Manage Presets:

• From the Control Surface:
  
  

  Tap MainMenu, then the center area (TapBPM & Choose Preset), then tap Manage Presets at the top.

• From the Editor:
  
  

  Tap Main & FM, then Choose button (right to the bank name), then tap Manage Presets at the bottom right.

• From the Editor:
  
  

  Tap Teleport at any Editor's tab, then tap Manage Presets at the top.

The screen layout in Manage Presets is intuitive. Left part of the screen is where the control buttons are contained, and at the right part the list of the banks and presets is displayed.

TIP: Since there are no more scrollable parameters in Manage Presets, the SoftRibbon controls the scrolling through the bank list. To the right of the highlighted bank, the presets that are contained within it are displayed. There are 9 preset slots in each bank, thus there is no need to scroll through the preset list, as all the 9 presets from the highlighted bank are displayed simultaneously in the right part of the screen.

Operations with the Banks

• Choosing Category

There are 3 categories a bank can belong to: Factory banks, User banks, Internet banks. To view all banks that belong to a category, tap the desired category button at the top right part of the screen. There's no way to view all 3 categories at the same time since there's no need for that.

• Creating a bank

In order to create a bank, user must first enter it's name in the box where the name of the current highlighted bank is displayed. Tap the box, the on-screen keyboard will appear. Delete everything using the Backspace key and enter the name for the new bank. Press the Create/Rename button. A window will appear, asking you to press «YES» to create a new bank or «NO» to rename the highlighted bank. Press «YES». The system will automatically then scroll the bank list to the newly created bank. By default, a newly created bank's preset slots are filled with default preset settings (basic square wave preset).

IMPORTANT: Users are allowed to create banks only within the «User Banks» category. See more on Bank Categories here.

• Renaming a bank

In order to rename a bank, user must first highlight it in the Bank list, then enter it's new name in the box where the name of the current highlighted bank is displayed. Tap the box, the on-screen keyboard will appear. Enter the new name for the highlighted bank. Press the Create/Rename button. A window will appear, asking you to press «YES» to create a new bank or «NO» to rename the highlighted bank. Press «NO».

• Deleting a bank

In order to delete a bank, user must first highlight it in the Bank list, then press the Delete Bank button. A confirmation window will appear.

• Sorting a bank

When user scrolls through the bank list in the TapBPM & Choose Preset window, the banks are sorted in the order specified by user, in the following sequence: Factory banks, User banks, Internet banks. Within each category, user can move banks up or down, so that they will appear sooner or later while scrolling through the bank list in the TapBPM & Choose Preset window. This function has been mainly implemented to allow users to construct their own «bank sets», for example, during live performances, so there would be no need to search for the next needed bank, user will just have to press «Next bank» consequentitevly.

• Active/inactive Banks

This function has also been implemented for the users who perform live. Since Noise.io supports unlimited quantity of banks, their number can grow a lot with time. Such amount is usually not needed for live performances and the banks which are currently not needed can be made Inactive. Inactive banks are fully functional with one except - they will not appear in the bank list while browsing through banks in the TapBPM & Choose Preset window. Thus, a user can have, for example, 100 banks in memory in total, and only 5 of them (the Active ones) would be listed in the TapBPM & Choose Preset window. Active and Inactive banks are shown in different colors in the BankList. Active banks are blue while Inactive are gray. To make a bank active or inactive, press the Active/Inactive button at the bottom right of the screen.

To make all banks of the current category active/inactive, press the Active All button at the left part of the screen, first press activates all and the second deactivates all.

Operations with Presets

• Creating a preset

Creating a preset is a kind of action that is not needed in Noise.io, since every bank has a fixed number of preset slots - 9. Every bank is created with default presets in it. To create a new preset, user should change one of the existing presets in an existing bank or create a new bank and then change one of it's default presets to the desired state.

• Renaming a preset

Renaming a preset is not possible through the Manage Presets section of Noise.io. In order to rename a preset, user should load it in the Editor (this can be done either from the Manage Presets by tapping the Load Preset button, or from the Main Surface), then edit the preset name as desired. The new preset name is saved instantly.

• Cloning a preset

In order to clone a preset, user should use the Copy Preset and Paste Preset functions. First user chooses the source preset by selecting the bank the desired preset is contained in and tapping the source preset. Then, press the Copy Preset button. After that, select the desired bank and preset slot within that bank, and press Paste Preset button. User paste a copied preset as many times as desired (for example, filling the whole bank with copies of one single preset).

• Swapping presets

Swapping presets is the function user should choose when it's needed to exchange presets between their slots. First, user should select one of the preset pair, then press the Swap Presets button, then select the other desired preset slots and press the Swap Presets button again. The presets number 1 will be placed into the preset slot number 2, and vice versa.

• Clearing a preset

A preset can not be deleted since there are always 9 presets within a bank in Noise.io. Alternatively, a preset slot can be cleared - reset to the default preset (basic square wave setup). In order to do that, select the desired bank, preset slot and press the Clear Preset button.

TIP: The same effect can be achieved by shaking the device in the Editor's Main & FM tab (see Shaking device, Noise.io's Editor for more information).

Exchange Banks via Internet. Noise.io features an excellent set of internet-based functions for preset manipulation.

• Export All

This function should be used before committing a software update to Noise.io which is very likely to reset all the presets to the factory state. Before running Noise.io, make sure you have an established Internet connection (check if http://noise.io is accessible through Safari). Jump to the Manage Presets section and press Export All button, then wait. Time needed for this operation depends on the amount of your user banks and the speed of your internet connection. Wait until a confirmation window appears. If the data has been transmitted to Noise.io's server successfully, there will be a unique code for your exported user banks. Write it down as there will be no way to recover it without re-exporting the banks. It is highly recommended to take a screenshot of the confirmation window which contains the code, by pressing Lock + Home buttons on your device at the same time. The screen will flash and there will be a camera sound. Later on, user will be able to find that screenshot in his pictures folder on the device.

IMPORTANT: Export All function exports only User Banks. There's no way to export banks from Factory and Internet categories. If you think you'll need a bank from these categories - copy it's presets to a User bank.

• Import All

This function should be used with caution because in case of a successful import, all current User's banks would be replaced by the imported ones. In order to use this function, user must first type in the code for importing the banks. That's the code that is given when exporting the banks. Tap the box with the current bank's name at the top left - the on-screen keyboard will appear. Delete everything in that field using the Backspace key and enter the code paying attention to the numbers. Then, press the «Import All» button. If everything was made correctly, after some time you will see the information window that the operation was carried out successfully.

IMPORTANT: Although it is possible for the users to exchange their presets via Export All and Import All functions, generally it is not recommended as the amount of data that is required to be pushed to and from noise.io's servers is much higher compared to the amount of data needed for submitting and downloading single user banks. Because of that, the banks exported via Export All function and their codes will not be displayed at the Noise.io's preset repository at http://noise.io/presets, thus making these functions semi-confidential. Users should use Submit Bank function if they want to share their banks in public.

• Submit User Bank

This function only works if the current highlighted bank belongs to the User Banks category. Before running Noise.io, make sure you have an established Internet connection (check if http://noise.io is accessible through Safari). Jump to the Manage Presets section, highlight the desired user bank and press Submit Bank button, then wait until a confirmation window appears. If the data has been transmitted to Noise.io's server successfully, there will be a unique code for your submitted user banks. The submitted bank will instantly appear at the Noise.io's preset repository at http://noise.io/presets. If your author's name (which can be changed at the Settings tab of your device, as described here) and your username at http://noise.io are the same, the system will be able to identify you as a member of the Noise.io community. Other users will be able to enter the code of your submitted bank and use the Download Bank function to check it out.

• Download Bank

All the downloaded banks are placed in the «Internet Banks» category. No overwriting is done. In order to use this function, user must first type in the code for downloading the bank. That's the code that is given when submitting the user bank. The list of submitted banks with their codes is always available at http://noise.io/presets. Tap the box with the current bank's name at the top left - the on-screen keyboard will appear. Delete everything in that field using the Backspace key and enter the code paying attention to the numbers. Then, press the «Download Bank» button. If everything was made correctly, after some time you will see the information window that the operation was carried out successfully. The system will automatically scroll the bank list and highlight the freshly downloaded bank so that the user will be able to see it's contents.

PART III. THE NOISE.IO EDITOR

III. 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE Editor

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The Noise.io's Editor is where user can manipulate all the aspects of the sound created.

Launching The Editor. The Editor can be lauched by holding the Main Menu button at the Control Surface and then pressing the E button.

Noise.io has simple and intuitive structure which can easily be represented in the form of a tree diagram:

Main & FM tab Main synth parameters ESFM: Brother Sister Noizer Filter FX & Seq tab Effects: Main effects' parameters Delay 1 Delay 2 Chorus & Flanger Phaser Bit Crusher Distortion Sequencers: Pitch Sequencer Trance Gate Custom Modulation LFO & Axis tab LFO's: LFO 1 LFO 2 LFO 3 (S&H) Map to Axis: Map to Axis slots 1-8 Zones

• The bottom 3 buttons (Main & FM, FX & Seq, LFO & Axis) serve as tab switches

• The top 3 buttons (Teleport, Note On, JumpToSurface) provide additional functionality.

III. 2. Teleport

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Access the Teleport Menu. Press the Teleport button from any Editor's screen to access the Teleport menu. This is the menu of quick access to frequently used functions.

• Previous/Next preset
  
  

  Cycle through the list of presets using these buttons.

  
  

  IMPORTANT: With these buttons, the current preset will NOT be saved unless you press the Save Presets button first.

• Manage Presets / TapBPM & Choose Preset
  
  

  Jumps to the Manage Presets / TapBPM & Choose Preset section of Noise.io

  
  
• Pitch Seq / Trance Gate / Custom Mod
  
  

  Jumps to the editing of sequencers.

  
  
• A/B/C/D buttons
  
  

  Jumps to the instant editing of sequencer patterns. Make sure that you've turned on the sequencers in order to hear a result while editing! (See Editor, Sequencers for more information).

  
  
• Save Preset button
  
  

  Pretty self-explanatory.

III. 3. Note On

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Listening to the Current Note. Press and hold this button to send a Note On message to the synthesizer engine (this action is similar to tapping the Control Surface). By doing this, you will hear the synth playing the Default Note which is set up at the Main & FM tab ("Pitch" field). If the Pitch Sequencer is on, you will hear the pitch sequencer pattern playing in accordance with the pitch sequencer pattern change algorythm.

TIP: It is very useful to hold the Note On button with your right thumb while manipulating ESFM's parameters (especially ratios) with your left thumb.

IMPORTANT: It is generally not recommended to turn on/off effects and sequencers while holding the Note On button, although that might hardly cause anything serious.

III. 4. Jump To Surface

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Testing your preset at the Control Surface. Use this button to leave the Editor and jump to the Control Surface, to test your new preset immediately. Use the MainMenu + the Editor button to return to the Editor.

IMPORTANT: The current preset is auto-saved when user presses the JumpToSurface button.

III. 5. Main & FM: MAIN SYnTH PARAMETERS

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Main Synth Parameters. The Main screen shows main synth parameters: preset name, bank, date of creation, author, Default (Current) Note, Global volume level, BPM of the preset. At the bottom left part of the screen, pitch-related parameters are situated.

• Preset name
  
  

  Tap this field to edit it. The on-screen keyboard will appear.

IMPORTANT: Please note that there can not be two presets with the same name within one bank.
IMPORTANT: Unlike all the other synth's parameters, the preset's name is saved immediately after editing (user needs to press «Save» in the Teleport menu, «Save to this slot» in the Choose Bank menu or just use the JumpToSurface button in order to save the current preset).

• Preset author, preset creation date
  
  

  These un-editable fields show by whom and when the current preset was last saved. These fields will only change if the preset is saved to a bank that belongs to the User category. See Categories for more information.

  
  
• Preset bank
  
  

  This un-editable field shows the name of the bank the current preset belongs to.

  
  
• Choose
  
  

  User should press this button if it is needed to change the location of the preset (the preset slot and/or preset bank). After pressing it, the right part of the screen becomes occupied by the Preset Slot Selection menu which resembles the Manage Presets section of Noise.io. Do not confuse them! This menu is used only to select the new place for the preset which is currently being edited.

  
  

  By default, this list will show the current preset's bank and preset slot. Choose a category using the buttons at the top, then the new desired bank, then the preset slot, and press the button at the bottom right corner Save to This Slot. Now your current preset's location is changed. Repeat this procedure for cloning your preset. Press Cancel or Choose button again in order to hide the Preset Slot Selection menu. IMPORTANT: Although it is possible to save presets into the preset slots of banks which belong to the Factory and Internet categories, it is highly recommended to save all your created presets into banks which belong to the User category, as the Export All feature works only with the User banks. Also, your user name (author) will not be written in Factory or Internet banks. See Manage Presets, Export All for more information.

• Pitch (also referred to as "Default note", "Current note")
  
  

  This is the default pitch (note) of the preset. It is played every time user presses Note On or taps the Control Surface. This field becomes of no use when the Pitch Sequencer is on since it dictates which notes are to be played. This field can also be modified by: tapping Octave + / - and Semitone + / - modifiers in the Main Menu applying NoteOffset parameter to one of the control axes (See Editor, Map to Axes for more information)

  
  
• Level
  
  

  This is the global volume level of the preset.

IMPORTANT: This field has a lot of potential in it. The regular values depend on the preset itself and what output (mixer or headphones) user is using. For the headphones, values as 20-50 are absolutely allright, and the use of mixer or a sound card audio in could require raising this level. Raise it until the indicators at your target device show clipping (too much volume). Use this with caution while in headphones to prevent hearing damage.
IMPORTANT: This field is not similar to the Volume Level Slider at the Control Surface. The Volume Level Slider adjust the volume even after this level.

• BPM
  
  

  This is the current BPM (beats per minute) setting for the current preset. User can adjust it here or in the TapBPM & Choose Preset section.

  
  
• Glide
  
  

  Glide is a Pitch parameter which indicates how fast the pitch of the current instrument will change when the note played is changed. In other words, when Glide is set to 0, the pitch transition between different notes is instant. When Glide is not 0, it will take this time (in milliseconds) for the synth, to achieve the new pitch if a new different note has been triggered.

IMPORTANT: Do not confuse this with the Pitch Sequencer's Glide parameter which indicates the speed of pitch change for the red-highlited notes only. See Editor, Pitch Sequencer, Glide for more information.

• Semi, Cents, 440 Hz
  
  

  These fields change the pitch of the whole preset (tune it). ESFM synthesis can produce astonishing sounds but it is quite possible that the sound that you will get will be out of tune. In order to correct this, these fields are provided.

  
  

  Tap Test Tone and you will hear a sinewave at 440 Hz (the camertone sound) which is A-5. Set the current note to A-5 (or A-3 or A-4) and try to alter Semi (semitones) and then Cents (finer pitch adjustment) in such a way that your preset (tap Note On to hear it) and the Test Tone «merge» or «correspond». The process is similar to tuning the guitar and some training may be needed for that. Tap Test Tone again to turn the 440 Hz sinewave off.

III. 6. MAIN & FM: ESFM

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ESFM is the principle of Noise.io's sound creation and stands for the Enhanced Subspace (Substractive) Frequency Modulation.

Frequency (pitch) - along with the amplitude - is one of the main characteristics of a soundwave. A plain soundwave at a fixed pitch sound dull. In traditional synthesis, there are two techniques that can be used to enrich the sound:

1) We can take another soundwave at the same frequency, detune it a bit, and let it go through the filter, thus forming a new timbre.
2) Or, we can use another soundwave as a source to define how the frequency of the first soundwave must change over time - thus forming a new timbre (sound tone). This new timbre depends very much on the shapes of both soundwaves, their amplitude (volume) and frequencies.

The first method is a general description of substractive synthesis (originated from Moog synthesizers), and the second method is a general description of FM synthesis (originated from Yamaha DX-series synthesizers).

The uniqueness of Noise.io is that ESFM employs both these methods, and user can use them simultaneously or separately. It combines the spectral richness of substractive synthesis with the diversity of sounds that can be created which is a specific characteristic of pure frequency modulation synthesis.

Basically, there are 3 Generators in Noise.io - modules that can emit sound. There are two soundwave-based generators called Brother and Sister, and a noise generator apparently called Noizer. These 3 generators can give out pure sound (this is done by regulation of their Level parameter) or their sound can be routed to the Filter module. Additionally, every generator's output can be routed to any other generator, resulting in sound changes. This is where the the Frequency Modulation part takes place. For example, the most common use of that is Brother modulating Sister, or vice-versa.

To control the routing of the modules, traditional FM synths use so-called «FM Matrix». Creating of presets with that system is quite a compelling task. Instead of the «FM Matrix», Noise.io uses a very user-friendly system which resembles a videogame in a certaing way.

At the right part of the screen, the ESFM field is situated. There are four buttons at the field'd corners - B (Brother), S (Sister), N (Noizer), F (Filter). Tapping one of these buttons will change the contents of the left part of the screen - now it will contain the parameters of the module that was selected.

IMPORTANT: Tap Main & FM tab again to bring back the main synth's parameters.

Every parameter is modified with the SoftRibbon (see SoftRibbon for more information). To change a parameter, first tap it so it becomes highlighted. Then, move your left thumb «scrolling» the SoftRibbon. See the parameter changes. Exactly the same action is needed to change a soundwave of a generator, a type of the filter etc. Additionally, sliders can be adjusted just by tapping at the desired slider level. To change the levels of the generator's output to other ESFM modules, tap the desired «^»-shaped pointer (it becomes white ) and use the SoftRibbon or just move it by sliding. The extent at which the current module is routed to the module the pointer is pointed at is represented within the colored circle.

By moving the ^-shaped sliders, you will route the signal from the current highlighted module to the module at which the pointer points at (for example, from Brother to Sister resulting in FM, or from Sister to Filter resulting in signal being filtered)

IMPORTANT: To hear the output of Brother or Sister, user has to make sure that they're actually on, then either to adjust their level to value more that 0, or to route their output to the Filter (move Brother -> Filter or Sister ->Filter sliders to the max).

TIP: Move the ^-shaped pointers and audition your results constantly via the Note On button.

Although there are just 2 soundwave generators, which could be considered by some people not enough for the FM synthesis, an astonishing range of sounds can be created with them. There are several reasons for that:

• the soundwaves used by the Brother and Sister generators are spectrally rich and their shapes (25 of them in total) are not limited to traditional sinewaves (Yamaha DX-7 had 6 generators, but they could only produce sinewaves)
• a preset in Noise.io can be a simultaneous mix of substractive (where 2 generators are quite common) and FM-synthesis.
• user can activate the Noizer generator for additional noise or route Noizer's output to Brother or Sister which will cause slight frequency distortion of the generators, resulting in an analogue-like sound.
  

Brother. As mentioned before, tap the «B» square at the ESFM space field, to bring up Brother's parameters. Brother is a generator (oscillator).

• Wave

Tap the Wave field and use the SoftRibbon to change the wave. Different waves and their combinations can produce different timbres. It's a good field for experimenting.

• Ratio

Ratio is a frequency multiplier for the base frequency which is defined by Current (Default) Note in the Main & FM tab, Main synth parameters. Tap Ratio field, then Note On button and scroll the SoftRibbon, to hear the changes of the soundwave's frequency.

IMPORTANT: Double-tap the Ratio field to round the ratio value.

• Detune

Detune is used to add or substract several Hertz from the generator's frequency.

IMPORTANT: Use Detune with caution because high Detune numbers would result in pitch instability on different notes. When tuning up a note's frequency, use the Ratio field and then Detune just a bit if it is needed to «move the sound in place».

• On / Off switch

Tap this switch to turn brother on or off. It's on when the lamp is lit.

• Level

Brother can emit sound on it's own (without Filter), any value different from 0 in this slider allows that (higher values - more volume).

• Volume Envelope (Brother Envelope, Sister Envelope, also referred to as "ADSR")
  

ADSR stands for Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release. ADSR envelope (or «Volume envelope») is basically 4 numbers that describe the volume curve of the generator's output. Every sound begins from silence. The volume of a sound can increase gradually or hit instantly (attack listener's ears). The period of time which is needed for the sound to achieve it's maximum volume is called Attack. Attack, Decay and Release in Noise.io are measured in Beats (thus, the envelope is BPM-related). 1.0 means "one beat" (length of a 1/4 note). Once as sound has achieved it's maximum volume, it's quite natural for the volume to decrease a bit (decay). Thus, Decay is the period needed for the volume to get down to the Sustain level. Sustain level is not a period of time, but just a volume level (0-100). Additionally, all the sounds can be Sustained (Sustain On) or not sustained (Sustain Off). If you want your preset to sound as long as you're holding the trigger key, turn Sustain On. If your aim is a single sound («trigger and forget»-type), then turn Sustain Off. The Release time period starts immediately after the Decay (if Sustain is off) or after releasing the trigger key (if Sustain is off, hence the name). This is how long will it take the sound to fade out completely.

Important! Volume envelopes are separate for Brother, Sister and Noiser. Volume envelopes are important for Frequency Modulation, since the louder the soundwave - the more it affects the frequency of the target wave. Experiment with the volume envelopes to achieve different results and to learn the synth's behaviour with different volume envelopes setup.

TIP: Volume envelopes are extremely important for the sound crafting process since the sound's amplitude (that's what is controlled by the volume envelopes) is one of the most distinguished by human ear sonic characteristics. Different musical instruments in the real world have different amplitude characteristics (different ADSRs). For example, acoustic guitar has very short attack, quick decay, no sustain and long release periods (the strings keep vibrating after picking), while a saxophone has attack varying from short to long, long sustain, and very short release (the sound stops when the playes stops blowing). Experiment with volume envelopes and listen to the changes immediately hitting the Note On button in order to get best results.

• Controlling Volume / Filter Envelopes
  
  

  Tap any of the Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release fields and use ribbon to control the parameters. Please note that Att, Dec and Rel are periods of time measured in fractions of beats (are BPM-related). Sustain is the volume level during the sustain phase. Additionally, double-tap the Sustain field in order to turn module sustain on/off.

  
  
• Controlling the Frequency Modulation Tips
  
  

  PIC!!!

  Tap the «^»-shaped pointer on the line which connects Brother and Sister at the ESFM space field at the right part of the screen. Move it with your finger or by using ribbon. See the number at the center of the ESFM space field is changing - this is how much Brother influences (frequency modulates) Sister. Try setting that amount to 100 (maximum), tapping Ratio and change the ratio while holding the Note On button. Try changing the Sister's (target) ratio and sound wave. Usually good (though not too original) results are achieved with different waveforms and ratios that can be divided without the remainder, such as 1.00 and 2.00, 0.4 and 1.6 and so on. Keep on experimenting and very soon you will feel the nature of the ESFM synthesis.

Sister. The Sister module is virtually identical to Brother. See Brother for expanation of the parameters.

Noiser. The Noizer module is used to make noise (yes). The generated noise is first passed through the Noizer's built-in filter (Noizer has it's own filter! Do not confuse it with the Filter module!) and the resulting signal is amplified and limited by the built-in Limiter. As well as Brother and Sister, Noizer has an ADSR volume envelope.

• Cutoff and Resonance

These fields control the cutoff and frequency of the Noizer's buit-in filter. Modify these fields to achieve different kinds of noise.

• Filter Level

This slider controls how much of the Noizer's signal will pass through the built-in filter.

• On / Off switch

Turns Noizer on / off.

• Limiter level / Limiter hardness

The noise generated by the Noizer module can be amplified beyond the clipping point resulting in distorted, harsh noise. Then this signal is limited (it's volume is reduced to an adequate level). Use the Limiter Level field to set the Noizer's built-in limiter level and Limiter Hardness to set it's hardness.

• Volume Envelope

Noizer's volume envelope (ADSR) functionality is similar to the one of Brother's and Sister's. See it for more information.

Filter. Noise.io features a Double Multi-Mode filter. It means that there are 2 filters running at the same time. The signal received by the Filter module is doubled and routed through the two filters independently, then summed up. User can control the Filters 1 / 2 ratio for achieving desired effects.

IMPORTANT: When the ratio is set to 0 or 100, one of the filters is automatically turned off to save CPU power. Turn off one of the filters if your presets experiences performance problems.

• Filter 1 / 2 Type

Tap these fields and use the SoftRibbon to change the filter types. All the filters have been carefully modelled using Amidio's custom-built analogue equipment. There are 5 types of filters currently available:

LP (Lowpass) Classic resonant Moog-like filter for general use. It cuts off the higher frequencies of the sound that is routed to the Filter section. Extra LP (Extra Lowpass) This filter has been designed specifically for basses and it cuts off even more high frequencies. The downlside is that it's not so resonant as the LP filter in order to avoid filter self-oscillation (sudden sound bursts). HP (Highpass) This filter is a kind of opposite to the LP filter as it cuts off the low frequencies. Important! This filter is very resonant to allow the design of special effects. It's upper resonant part should be used with caution. Peak Boost (Bandpass) Apart from Cutoff and Resonance controls, this filter has a Bandwidth parameters due to it's nature. A specific frequency zone (do not confuse with the Control Surface's Zones!) is selected within the frequency spectrum using the Cutoff parameter. The Resonance parameter control the shape of that zone, and Bandwidth apparently is responsible for the zone's width. All the frequencies that lay outside the zone are cut off. Peak Cut (Notch) The action of this filter is similar to the effect of Peak Boost, with the difference that the selected zone is cut (not boosted), and the outllaying frequencies remain untouched.

• Filters 1/2 Ratio
  

The audio signal that comes to the filter is passed through the F1 and F2 separately, then user can control the ratio of the F1 / F2 output by this slider.

IMPORTANT: Setting the Filter 1/2 Ratio to 0 or 100 turns off one of the filters, consuming CPU power.

• Cutoff, Resonance, Bandwidth

These fields control the parameters of the chosen filter types. Note that both filters share the same cutoff, resonance and bandwidth values.

IMPORTANT: The Noise.io's preset can have only one Cutoff and one Resonance values. Thus, if you set cutoff and resonance in these fields, and then map cutoff and resonance to, for example, up-down and left-right axes of the Control Surface, and hit the Control Surface, the values of these fields will be changed to the values of the filter and cutoff that you've set by hitting the Control Surface.
IMPORTANT: As you may have understood from the filter type's description, the Bandwidth field is used only with PeakBoost and PeakCut filters.
IMPORTANT: Please remember that if you like only a specific segment of your filter's cutoff and resonance, you can limit the Control Surface axes to that segment only, by controlling Start and Stop parameters at the Map to Axes settings. See Editor, Map to Axis for more information.

• Filter Envelope

The Filter's envelope acts differently compared to the volume envelopes of Brother, Sister and Noizer. A volume envelope is basically a way to describe the generator's volume curve. A filter envelope is basically the same, but, instead of the volume (amplitude) manipulation, it deals with the filter cutoff. As with the Brother's and Sister's filter, the Att, Dec and Rel are measured in Beats (thus, the envelope is BPM-related). 1.0 means "one beat" (length of a 1/4 note). When a note is triggered, the current preset starts with the zero filter cutoff. Then, it achieves the level of filter cutoff determined by the user (by setting values in the Filter and Resonace fields or tapping Control Surface, for example), that period of time is called Attack. After achieving the user-input level, it takes Decay fractions of the beat for the filter cutoff level to drop to the Sustain % (percentage) of the user-input level. Thus, Sustain is basically how much percent of the user-input cutoff level will remain during the Sustain phase, in case the Sustain is on. (Double-Tap the Sustain field to turn it on / off). Finally, the Release part of the filter envelope represents the period of time needed for the filter cutoff to drop back to 0.

In order to understand the functioning of the Filter envelope better, here are two common situations:

No filter envelope (disabling it): Att 0.01, Dec 0.01, Sus 100 (On), R 5.0
Bass preset: Att 0.01, Dec 0.4, Sus 60 (Off), R 0.5

IMPORTANT: Please note the different nature of all the envelopes (Volume envelopes of Brother, Sister, Noizer and Filter envelope of the Filter module). All these envelopers are independent, can have different Sustain settings (on/off) and so on. Take your time and experiment with those values since envelopes - if used wisely - can change the sound drastically.

III. 7. Seq & FX: INTRODUCTION

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The Seq & FX tab employs a new interface element: switch button. Such button has a lamp on it and can bring up the parameters of the synth's section which is written on the button, as well as turn it on / off. Tap the button to bring up the parameters of the Editor's section which is written on the button - a blue contour will appear around the button. Double tap the same button to turn that section on / off - the lamp at the top left corner of the button represents the section's state. Dim lamp means the section is off, and lit lamp means it is on.

IMPORTANT: It is possible to have only one section's parameters displayed on the Editor's screen at a given time, but multiple sections can be turned on and off.

III. 8. SEQ & FX : EFFECTS

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Main Effects Parameters. By default, when a user presses the Seq & FX tab, main synth's effects parameters are displayed. If user then presses one of the switch buttons (effects or seq buttons), the only way to bring up this window again is to press the Seq & FX tab again.

Main effects parameters offer the following:

• Pan

Control the panning of your preset (remember, Noise.io is stereophonic!). 0 is left, 50 is the middle, 100 is right.

• Stereo Difference (Stereo Expand)

You can give your preset a surround-like effect (expand stereo) by modifying this parameter. 0.02 or 0.03 are usual values for that. Higher values of this parameter are useful for special effects design.

• L > R and R > L

This switch determines which channel will first receive the audio data if the Stereo Difference parameter is not equal to zero.

• Equalizer

Noise.io features 3-band equalizer. User can regulate the level of low, middle and high frequencies. Tap any field and use the SoftRibbon to modify it.

Delay 1. Delay adds an echo to your preset. There are 2 delays in Noise.io which can function separately and have separate panning. Delay time can be measured either in milliseconds or in beat fractions (so that the delay time is automatically adjusted when the preset's tempo is changed).

• Delay

Set the delay time in milliseconds or beat fractions (it depends on what is selected at the Beats / Seconds switch).

• Beats / Seconds

Choose the type of the delay time values (milliseconds or beat fractions).

• Pan

Set the panorama for the delay signal.

• Feedback

How long the delay signal will go on (repeat).

• Off / wet

Sets the volume of the delay signal.

Delay 2. Delay 2 is identical to Delay 1. Refer to Delay 1 section for more information.

TIP: Best results are achieved when Delay 1 and Delay 2 are set to different delay times and are panned oppositely each other.

Chorus & Flanger. Many results can be achieved with this effect, from basic «fattening» of the sound to bizzarre special effects. The algorythm behind this effect is quite simple - the pitch of the incoming signal is being modulated with a sine LFO (low frequency oscillator), and the result (sub-signal) is then mixed with the source signal with a slight delay.

• Modulation Depth

How much the pitch of the sub-signal is being modulated.

• Delay

The delay with which the sub-signal is mixed with the source signal.

• Freq (frequency)

The frequency of the sine LFO that modulated the pitch of the sub-signal.

• Chorus / filter level

The ratio between the sound without the chorus/flanger effect and fully chorused/flanged sound.

Phaser. Phaser (as seen from the name) modifies the phase of the source signal.

IMPORTANT: Please note that despite usual phasers, Noise.io's phaser does not have an LFO, being static. This has been done in purpose to allow the Phaser to become one of the «sound sculpting» tools. However, if desired, user can set an LFO for the Frequency parameter, using one of the 3 LFO's available at the LFO & Axis tab.

• Freq (frequency)

This field controls the phase position.

• Depth

How deep should be the phase effect.

• Phaser level

The ratio between the sound without the phaser effect and fully phased sound.

Bit Crusher. Bit Crusher belongs to the destructive effects family. It «simplifies» the sound, degrading it's quality. The resulting effects can vary from slight hi-frequency harsh noise to extreme quality crushing so that the sound starts to resemble a broken 8-bit gaming console.

• Bits

The amount of the bits in the sound.

• S. rate (sample rate)

The sample rate of the current sound (100 equals to 44100).

Distortion. The distortion effect produces the effect similar to a guitar overdrive but Noise.io's distortion goes even further.

• Distortion level

The only Distortion control available. Pretty self-expanatory.

III. 9. SEQ & FX: Sequencers

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Basic Sequencer Operation. Noise.io features 3 sequencers:

• Pitch Sequencer
  
  

  Enter the notes and create musical phrases, then mix them in the Pattern Sequencer.

  
  
• Trance Gate
  
  

  Edit the volume of your musical phrase, creating «drop-outs» for the modern sound.

  
  
• Custom Modulation
  
  

  Choose any synth parameter and define how it should change over time.

As stated before, user should tap any of these 3 buttons (Pitch Seq, Trance Gate, Custom Mod) in order to bring up the sequencer's parameters. Double-tap the sequencer button to turn it on/off (the lamp at the top left corner of the button will light up).

• A, B, C, D
  

Every sequencer has 4 patterns (sequences) marked A, B, C, D. Tap any of these buttons to highlight the pattern and mark the pattern as Current pattern. Double-tap any of these buttons situated at the right part of the screen to proceed to the editing of the corresponding pattern.

TIP: Alternatively, the same buttons are located in the Teleport menu (they're for proceeding to the editing only and need a single tap.)

• Copy Pattern

Tap this button to copy highlighted pattern to the temporary memory location for subsequent pasting.

• Paste Pattern

Tap this button to paste the copied pattern to the highlighted pattern.

Pitch Sequencer. This is where user can create melodic sequences (instead of single sounds).

• Length

This field defines how many steps there will be in the pattern (1 to 64). This number is independent of the Measure parameter.

• Change

Since there are 4 patterns - A, B, C, D - there are multiple ways for the sequencer to switch between them.

Noise.io offers the following pattern switching methods:

• Loop
  The highlighted pattern is looped endlessly.
• Follow
  The patterns are changed accordingly to the order defined in the Pitch Pattern Sequencer.
• Single
  The highlighted pattern is played once and then no more patterns are played.
• Random
  The pattern is selected randomly every time.
• RandomLoop
  Randomly selected pattern is looped a random number of times.
• RandomSingle
  A randomly selected pattern is played once and then no more patterns are played.
  
  
• Swing

This field applies a «swingy» feel to the rhythm ( the current BPM remains unchanged). Every sequencer has it's own Swing value.

• Measure (note resolution)

This field defines how long the sequencer's step should be. 1/16 is the default value (with that value, there are 4 steps within a rhythm beat). Every sequencer has it's own Measure value.

• 4/4 or 3/4

This defines the fundamental base of the rhytm - should there be 4 parts in a beat or 3. Default value is 4, 3 is rarely used in modern music (except rock songs and the latest Britney Spears' hit "Womanizer").

• Pattern Sequencer

These are 8 fields, each of them can contain one of the 4 values: A, B, C, D. Tap a field to change the values consequently. The Pattern Sequencer will follow this defined sequence of patterns if the Change mode is set to «Follow».

• Glide

User can set «note glides» in the pitch pattern's editor (red lamps at the top of the screen) and this slider controls the speed of those glides.

Editing Pitch Sequencer's Patterns. Double-tap one of the blue buttons A, B, C, D to proceed to the editing of the chosen pattern.

IMPORTANT: Before the editing, make sure you've enabled the Pitch Sequencer (the lamp on the Pitch Seq button is lit), otherwise you will not be able to audit the pattern you'll be creating.

• Moving around
  
  

  Press a free (unoccupied by a note) space in the field and drag your finger to scroll the field. Please note that the scrolling is not smooth in order to reduce memory consumption.

  
  
• Setting notes and velocities
  
  

  Tap an unoccupied space and release your finger to set a note. Tap a note and drag your finger up/down slowly to change the velocity of the note (the number written on it).

  
  
• Creating spaces
  
  

  Zero velocity note means «space» and does not interrupt the release of the previous notes. Use multiple zero notes to create pauses in the sequences.

  
  
• Creating glides
  
  

  To create a glide (smooth pitch transition), tap a lamp in the top row. The note which has the «red light» on does not have a beginning and the pitch is transferred smoothly from the previous note. Control the speed of those glides with the Glide parameter in the Pitch Sequencer's Parameters (do no confuse it with the Main Glide parameters!) Important: Sustain is automatically turned on for the notes previous to the «red light» notes in order for the glide to be audible.

  
  
• Creating long/multiple note glides:
  
  

  Set the beginning note and add as many notes at the same pitch after it as you want the glide to be long. Add a finishing note after them at the desired pitch. «Red light» all the notes except for the beginning one. The pitch will glide smoothly from the beginning note to the finishing note.

Trance Gate. Trance Gate has got it's name due to the extensive use of this effect in the trance music in the mid-90's (still very popular nowadays). It's actually a sequencer that controls the volume of the sonic signal. By muting the signal rhythmically, interesting effects can be achieved. Noise.io lets the user not just mute-unmute the sound, but specify the intermediate volume values (0 to 100) to achieve any desired results. Many parameters are identical to those of the Pitch Sequencer.

• Length

The length of the Trance Gate patterns in €śsteps€ť (resolution-independent)

• Change
  

Exactly as it the Pitch Sequencer except that the Follow option defines the pattern order as €śABCD€ť (since there's no pattern sequencer for the Trance Gate).

• Swing, Measure, 4/4 or 3/4

• Tgate Impact

Control the amount of Trance Gate's impact to the sound volume.

• Tgate Smooth

This defines the smoothness of the Trance Gate.

• Editing Trance Gate Patterns
  

Scroll the pattern field by tapping anywhere and dragging the finger left / right. Set the volume levels by tapping at each column. It is not possible to set all the columns within a single finger movement, you must set the level for each step separately.

Custom Modulation This sequencer acts pretty much like an LFO, except that user actually draws it's shape. The parameters are similar to those of the Trance Gate, except user can choose the Target Parameter to be modulated (in Trance Gate, that's always the output volume).

• Target Parameter:

Tap to select what parameter you're going to modulate.

• Possible Target Parameters Description:
  
  

  Global Brother Sister Noizer Filter LFO's Effects

Scroll the pattern field by tapping anywhere and dragging the finger left / right. Set the parameter levels by tapping at each column. Note that this editor is different compared to the Trance Gate editor and the zero line is at the middle (not at the bottom). If the level is above the line, then that amount will be added to the selected parameter. If the level is below the line, then that amount will be substracted from the parameter. It is not possible to set all the columns within a single finger movement, you must set the level for each step separately.

IMPORTANT: Never set too high Custom Mod Impact values if your target is Filter's Cutoff or Resonance because that could lead to extreme filter values and sound inadequacies. Always set it at 10 and then adjust it gradually. Values of 20-30 are estimated to be the maximum values for the sound to remain correct.

III. 10. LFO & AXIS : INTRODUCTION

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LFO & AXIS. In this tab, user sets up LFOs and assigns parameters to the Control Surface's axes. Also the route to the Zones editor lies through this tab. Select LFO with a tap, double-tap to turn it on / off. Select a Map to Axis slot with a tap, double tap to turn it on / off.

III. 11. LFO & Axis: LFO

LFO. LFO stands for €śLow Frequency Oscillator€ť €“ a modulation source. It basically is a looped set of values which are constantly added/substracted to the selected synth parameter.

IMPORTANT: LFOs are high on the CPU and it is generally not recommended to have them all on at the same time (except for the situation when one LFO controls another LFO).

LFO 1.

• Target Parameter

Choose the parameter to be modulated with the LFO.

• Start Over

Should the LFO be started from scratch each time user starts the new note or not.

• Freq Hz / Freq Beats

The frequency is defined in Hertz (independent of the tempo) or in Beats (tempo-based)?

• Wave

Select one of the pre-defined waves for the LFO.

• Freq

The LFO frequency in Herz or beats as defined in the Freq Hz / Freq Beats field.

• LFO Impact
  

The amount of the LFO's influence to the target parameter.

IMPORTANT: Never set too high LFO Impact values if your target is Filter's Cutoff or Resonance because that could lead to extreme filter values and sound inadequacies. Always set it at 10 and then adjust it gradually. Values of 20-30 are estimated to be the maximum values for the sound to remain correct.

LFO 2. Identical to LFO 1.

Sample & Hold (LFO 3). S&H LFO is identical to the previous LFO except there's no wave choice, as it generates the wave on the fly randomly (the new value is set every time/beat period defined in the Freq field.

III. 12. LFO & AXIS: Map to Axis

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Map To Axis. This is the place where the synth parameters meet with axes that will be used to control them. Select a slot with a tap, double-tap to turn the slot on/off. The Map to Axis slot is on when the lamp is lit. On the screen, there are 3 axes, each can be a synth's parameter modifier: Up-Down (Y Axis) Left-Right (X Axis) Multitouch ("Between" Axis - distance between fingers during pinching action) Accelerometer Roll (holding the device horizontally, roll it from left to right in a waving manner) Accelerometer Tilt (tilt the device back and forth).

IMPORTANT: Accelerometer's maximum and minimum values are achieved when the device is turned at +/- 45 degrees in a given direction. Accelerometer is calibrated (set the default position) via the long-tap on the TapBPM surface.

Generally, different parameters sound best at certain periods of their values. Map to Axis menu lets the user to map only the desired parameter period (no the whole 0 to 100 period).

• Synth Parameter

Tap to select the parameter to be mapped

• Start Value, End Value

Define the range in which target parameter sounds as desired.

TIP: You can define reversed values (i.e. End value can be less that Start)

• Map to Screen Axis

Choose one of the 5 screen axes to map to. Tap this field and use SoftRibbon.

• Blocky Effect

If Blocky Effect is off, then the transition between the parameters €“ as the user moves his finger over the Control Surface €“ is smooth. Some special effects may require €śblocky€ť parameter transitions €“ i.e. the parameter's value would change only after reaching some fraction of the Control Surface's cell. Multiple values are available: 1/4 Cell 1/2 Cell 1 Cell 2 Cells

III. 13. LFO & AXIS: Zones

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Introduction to Zones. Zones are the 5 big buttons that can be turned to the right of the screen. They can serve as musical keys or they can carry out actions.

There are 2 modes of Zones: SoundKey mode and ControlZone mode. When the Zones are off, it means Noise.io is functioning in the FreeNoise mode.

Long-hold the golden Zones button to turn Zones on/off. Tap the Zones button to edit Zones' mode.

Turining on/off Zones affects the currents Noise.io mode. Noise.io can function in 3 different modes, current mode is displayed under the MENU button on the Control Surface.

TIP: Every mode has it's advantages and choosing the right mode usually depends on the synth's preset type.

IMPORTANT: Bringing up the Keyboard temporatily disables the Zones (the Control Surface will function as in the SoundKey Mode, shrunk to 2x8 cells in size).

Sound Key mode

Like in the "Control Zone" mode, The modulation matrix shrinks to 8x10, and 5 buttons - "Zones" - appear to the right of the screen.

In this mode, only Zones emit sound (with user-given parameters). If user touches the modulation matrix, the synth parameters are changed accordingly, but no sound is produced. This mode - as seen from it's name - turns the device into a futuristic musical instrument. User taps Zones which are usually assigned different pitch notes - while using the Control Surface to manipulate the sound parameters. Zones in SoundKey mode are especially useful for the live performances since the buttons are big and it's easy to hit them during the live (the on-screen Keyboard's keys are smaller and it requires more skills to play them perfectly). User is able to switch octaves while in the SoundKey mode (with the MainMenu's Octave + / - buttons). To assign a note to the Zone: tap the desired zone first, then choose the note from the list using the ribbon (you can also tap the list itself). The octaves are relative here. C[-1] means €śNote C one octave lower than the current octave€ť. F[+1] means €śNote F one octave higher than the current octave€ť.

TIP: do not scroll the SoftRibbon intensively as there could be slow-downs due to the intensive list redrawing.

Control Zone mode

The modulation matrix shrinks to 8x10, and 5 buttons - "Zones" - appear to the right of the screen. Every Zone button can carry out a user-selected action (change of synth parameters), but they do not emit any sound (only change parameters). To make a sound, user has to slide his finger over the modulation matrix, like in the "Free Noise" mode. This mode is best used in live perfomances, when user assigns, for example, different sequencer's patterns change actions to the Zones, to switch between the patterns without hassle. Other usage examples involve setting fx on/off actions, turning sequencer or lfo on/off, and many more.

To assign an action to the Zone: tap the desired zone first, then choose the category of the actions by tapping one of the buttons at the left, the the action from the list using the ribbon (you can also tap the list itself). All the possible actions for the ControlZone mode belong to the following categories: Switch Octave FX On / Off Brother Actions Sister Actions Filter & Noizer Actions LFO Actions Pitch Seq Trance Gate Custom Mod

PART IV. NOISE.IO APPENDIX

IV. 1. DEFINITIONS anD ABBREVIATIONS

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• BPM
• Resolution
• Note On
• Note Off
• Active/inactive banks
• Preset Repository
• Bank Categories
• User Name
• Author Name
• Current (Default) Note
• ADSR
• Target / synth parameter
• LFO

IV. 2. List of the Target parameters

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