Repro 1 User Guide
Repro 1 User Guide
S/N 1 and up
Manual Ref. HA100B
Repro-1 SYNTHESIZER
OPERATION MANUAL
by Heckmann Audio
2 SYNTH 8
2-1 VOICE SIGNAL FLOW.................................................8
2-2 OSCILLATOR A .........................................................10
2-3 OSCILLATOR B .........................................................11
2-4 GLIDE & MODE ........................................................11
2-5 MIXER ......................................................................12
2-6 FILTER ......................................................................12
2-7 FILTER ENVELOPE....................................................13
2-8 AMP ENVELOPE .......................................................14
2-9 LFO...........................................................................15
2-10 MODULATION SIGNAL FLOW ................................15
2-11 MODULATION SECTION ........................................16
2-12 CLOCK ....................................................................18
2-13 ARP / SEQUENCER (basic access) ...........................18
3 SEQUENCER 20
3-1 PATTERN data ..........................................................20
3-2 SEQUENCER control.................................................21
3-3 EDIT .........................................................................22
4 KEYS / PERFORM 23
5 EFFECTS 25
5-1 JAWS wavefolder ......................................................25
5-2 LYREBIRD delay .......................................................27
5-3 RESQ resonator / equalizer ......................................28
5-4 DRENCH reverb .......................................................29
5-5 SONIC CONDITIONER .............................................30
6 TWEAKS 31
6-1 JUMPERS..................................................................31
6-2 SELECTORS ..............................................................32
7 CONFIGURATION 33
7-1 ABOUT MIDI CC .......................................................33
7-2 MIDI LEARN .............................................................34
7-3 MIDI TABLE ..............................................................34
7-4 PREFERENCES .........................................................35
1-0 HISTORY
Repro-1 is a faithful component-level model of perhaps the most powerful-sounding
monophonic keyboard ever built. When its 4-year production run started in the early
1980s, polyphonic synthesizers were almost within reach of the average musician. To
be commercially viable, any new monophonic instrument had to be cheap but very
capable. Fat drones, cutting leads, funky basses, quirky sci-fi sound effects – this
synthesizer delivered on all counts.
The circuit design made good use of standard Curtis chips (3340 oscillator, 3320 filter
and 3310 envelope) and the little onboard sequencer was more than just a welcome
extra. Despite its molded plastic panel and the limitations of monophony, it sold
surprisingly well and is generally recognized as an iconic piece of synthesizer history.
Soaring prices guaranteed.
So here’s our plug-in version, Repro-1: All the lovable quirks of this classic synth, but
with a much more capable sequencer, lots of presets, several under-the-hood tweaks,
more modulation options… plus a great collection of cute stomp-box effects.
Enjoy!
- Urs and the team
1-1 INSTALLATION
Go to the Repro-1 web page, download the latest installer for Mac or Windows. Unzip
the compressed file, open the Repro-1 folder and start the installer application.
The only demo restriction is a mild crackling at irregular intervals after about two
minutes of use. The demo is otherwise fully functional. Those crackles disappear after
you have purchased a license and entered the serial number. For more information,
please refer to the ReadMe file included with the installer.
By default, Repro-1 uses the following directories on your hard disk:
Windows
Presets ...\VstPlugins\u-he\Repro-1.data\Presets\Repro-1\
Preferences ...\VstPlugins\u-he\Repro-1.data\Support\ (*.txt files)
Mac OSX | macOS
Presets MacHD/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Repro-1/
(User) ~/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Repro-1/
Preferences ~/Library/Application Support/u-he/com.u-he.Repro-1... (*.* files)
Resources MacHD/Library/Application Support/u-he/Repro-1/
To uninstall, delete the plugin files and Repro-1.data (PC) or Repro-1 folders (Mac).
u-he Badge: Clicking on u-he opens a popup menu containing links to this user guide,
to our homepage, to our support forum, and to various social networks.
SYNTH, TWEAKS, SEQUENCER, PRESETS: These buttons switch between Repro-1’s
four basic views. To ensure that each new instance will open in the current view,
right-click anywhere within the row of buttons and select set current as default.
MIDI activity: An indicator which flashes whenever MIDI data is being received.
Data Display: Performs several duties: Normally, it shows the name of the preset.
Clicking on the triangles steps through all presets, while clicking in the middle of the
display lets you select any preset from the current folder. While editing, the name and
value is displayed, and the preset name reappears after a few seconds.
UNDO / REDO: To the right of the data display is a pair of buttons you can use to fix
any ‘mistakes’. Although the number of steps in the undo-buffer is limited, you can
even undo a change of preset – so switching presets doesn’t mean losing your work!
SAVE button: Stores the preset in the current folder (see PRESETS below).
HQ button: The global High Quality option shouldn’t be necessary for anything but
extreme FM sounds. Circuit-level modeling requires lots of CPU anyway, and doubling
the CPU usage should be carefully considered – let your ear be the judge!
zZz button: Activating the global Sleepy option reduces CPU consumption whenever
Repro-1 isn’t playing any notes. Note that Sleepy can cause artifacts not present in the
original hardware – again, let your ear be the judge.
MASTER TUNE: Tunes the preset within a range of +/– 12 semitones. For fine tuning,
hold down a SHIFT key on your computer keyboard while adjusting.
OUTPUT: Final volume control, after the amplifier and all effects.
1-5 PRESETS
In the control bar, click on the PRESETS button…
Categorized folders appear on the left, presets within those folders appear in the
middle, and any information about the current preset appears on the right. If you
can’t see any folders, Local is probably closed – click on it to open the lists.
Immediately after loading a preset, you can step through the others using your
computer’s cursor keys.
To start programming a new sound from scratch, open the ‘00 User’ folder and load
the -- INIT -- preset. Please remember to give it a different name while saving. If you
happen to overwrite -- INIT -- by mistake, there’s another in ‘1981 historic’…
1981 Historic: Named after the year the original synth appeared, this folder contains
20 presets meticulously copied from patch sheets in the printed manual.
MIDI Programs
As well as the categorized factory presets, ‘Local’ also contains a special folder called
‘MIDI Programs’, which is initially empty. When the first instance of Repro-1 starts, all
presets in that folder will be loaded into memory. These presets (up to 128) are
selected directly via MIDI Program Change messages. As they are accessed in
alphabetical order, it’s probably best to put a number at the beginning of the name
e.g. ‘000 rest-of-name’ to ‘127 rest-of-name’. But that’s not all…
‘MIDI Programs’ can contain up to 127 sub-folders, each holding up to 128 presets.
The sub-folders are switched via MIDI Bank Select messages (CC#0). Send Bank Select
first, then Program Change. ‘MIDI Programs’ is bank 0, sub-folders are addressed in
alphabetical order, starting with bank 1.
Important: ‘MIDI Program’ presets cannot be added, removed or renamed on the fly –
any changes to that directory will only take affect after you have restarted the host.
On open expand to: The submenu contains options which govern how deeply the
browser will open subdirectories whenever the GUI is opened (or the Refresh function
is used). The branch containing the current preset will always be visible.
Favourite or Junk? Right-clicking on a preset opens a context menu in which you can
set the status to ‘Favourite’ or ‘Junk’. Junked files disappear immediately, but can be
made visible again by selecting ‘show Junk’ from the same context menu.
Multiple selection, drag & drop
Files can be moved between folders via drag & drop. Use the SHIFT etc. keys on your
computer keyboard to highlight the files you want to manipulate, click and drag them
from the files area and drop them onto the target folder. To deselect, either click on
any unselected preset or choose deselect from the file context menu. The context menu
also contains a select all function.
2-0 OVERVIEW
This section explains the various modules available on Repro-1’s SYNTH panel. If you
don’t see this panel, click on the SYNTH button at the top left of Repro-1’s window.
The PRESETS browser is described in the previous chapter, while the TWEAKS page
and SEQUENCER functions are described in separate chapters later in this guide.
Due to its relatively simple architecture, you can operate Repro-1 without having to
think about its structure. However, if you want to make the most of the available
options, it’s best to understand how signals are routed between those modules…
FINE TUNING trimmer between FREQUENCY and OCTAVE: Adjusts pitch within a 40
cent range (+/– 20 cents). Its main purpose is to adjust the rate of beating between
the two oscillators when they are tuned almost in unison.
SAWTOOTH SHAPE switch: The UP position activates the standard brassy waveform
containing all harmonics (odd as well as even).
PULSE SHAPE switch: The ‘up’ position enables a waveform with a harmonic content
that depends on the PULSE WIDTH setting but sounds generally more hollow than the
sawtooth. If neither SHAPE is switched on, OSCILLATOR A is silent. If both SHAPEs
are active, the mixture normally has a lower volume than each single shape due to the
phase relationship between the saw and pulse. To remedy this effect, set the P5 option
(see Oscillator Tweaks on page 31).
PULSE WIDTH knob: Adjusts the harmonic content of the pulse wave by setting its
“duty cycle”. The range is from 0% to 100%. Double-click on the knob for a 50% pulse
(a clean square wave which only contains odd-integer harmonics).
Notes: At extreme values, the signal gets so thin that it becomes inaudible (DC, direct
current). The PULSE WIDTH knob has no effect on the sawtooth.
SYNC switch: Hard synchronization forces the waveform of OSC A to reset whenever
OSC B hits zero. The frequency of OSC A generally needs to be higher than OSC B for
this to work properly. Experiment: Intermediate FREQUENCY values can produce
unusual timbres at the next lower harmonic of OSC B.
OSC B is basically the same as OSC A – without SYNC but with the following extras:
TRIANGLE SHAPE switch: This waveform is bipolar, so it doesn’t add any DC to the
modulation when used as an LFO. As an audio signal, the triangle has very little bite,
but can be used to boost the fundamental frequency. The triangle is also good for
driving the wavefolder effect (see EFFECTS chapter).
NORM | LO FREQ switch: Extends the range of oscillator B down to sub-audio
frequencies suitable for use as an LFO. Note that the FREQUENCY range is 4 times
greater than in NORM mode.
KYBD | OFF switch: Switching this to OFF disables keyboard follow, resulting in a
constant pitch independent of the played note.
Also known as ‘portamento’, glide is the slurring of pitch between consecutive notes.
RATE knob: How long it takes to move from one note to the next. At zero, pitch
changes are instantaneous, while they are very slow at values above 50.
AUTO switch: In the NORM position, all notes will glide. In the AUTO position, this
only happens when a new key is hit while the previous one is still being held (legato).
RETRIG switch: In the NORM position, legato playing does not retrigger envelopes. In
the RETRIG position, the envelopes are retriggered with each new note.
2-5 MIXER
2-6 FILTER
CUTOFF knob: Sets the cutoff frequency for the 24 db/octave (4-pole) lowpass filter,
which works a bit like a tone control. The “Cutoff” point is the frequency below which
all components of a signal are allowed to pass, while most of the higher frequency
components are suppressed.
RESONANCE knob: Determines the amount of feedback within the filter circuit. The
higher the resonance, the more the cutoff point will be accentuated. Somewhere
above 60 the filter starts to self-oscillate – it becomes a sine-wave oscillator with pitch
determined by the cutoff. Note that adding Resonance tends to lower the volume, in
which case you should compensate by e.g. turning up the main OUTPUT.
The envelopes are started whenever a note is played, and as long as the key is held
down, the envelope proceeds through the ATTACK and DECAY stages. It then remains
at the SUSTAIN level until the key is released, after which it drops to zero at a rate set
by the RELEASE knob.
Note: The RELEASE stage is initiated as soon as all keys are released. If this happens
during the ATTACK or DECAY, there is no SUSTAIN stage.
ATTACK knob: Varies the time for the envelope to rise from zero to maximum, within
a range of 2 milliseconds to more than 6 seconds.
The AMP ENVELOPE controls shape the envelope applied to volume, pre-effects.
Volume Curve trimmer: In the original hardware, the VOLUME knob actually controls
the amount of amp envelope modulating the final VCA. It also affects the curvature of
the envelope – not by design, but as a side-effect of how it works.
As Repro-1’s equivalent OUTPUT knob comes after all effects, the only feasible way to
implement this quirk is as an independent control (the unlabelled “trimmer” between
DECAY and SUSTAIN).
Here is how the attack and decay stages appear when Volume Curve is set to zero and
100. Note the punchy s-curve and shorter decay at minimum Volume Curve:
CLOCK | RATE switch: When set to CLOCK, the LFO follows the Clock setting (see
Clock / Sequencer on page 21). The RATE option here allows LFO speed to be freely
adjustable via the RATE knob…
RATE knob: Adjusts LFO speed within a range of about 0.1Hz to 30Hz.
SHAPE switches: The same options as in OSC B except that the LFO’s pulse width is
fixed at 50%. Remember that you can add the shapes here e.g. SAW + SQUARE.
MOD FIL ENV, MOD OSC B and MOD LFO knobs: The amount of modulation mixed
into the WHEEL or DIRECT paths. The depth of modulation routed into the WHEEL
path is controlled by the modulation wheel (MIDI CC#01).
WHEEL | DIRECT switches: These route each of the 3 sources into one of two busses:
the so-called WHEEL or DIRECT paths.
OSC A FREQ, OSC A PW, OSC B FREQ, OSC B PW, and FILTER switches: The vertical
row of switches select either the WHEEL or DIRECT path for each destination.
Note: In the original hardware the signal at each PW input gets inverted – when the
modulating signal goes up, the pulse width goes down. We decided to keep this quirk,
so if you want to compensate for deep modulation by adjusting PULSE WIDTH, you
need to compensate in what seems to be the wrong direction!
This little panel contains a single rotary switch which sets the clock speed relative to
host tempo, plus an indicator. All values are expressed as 4/4 bar divisions from 8/1
(slowest) to 1/64 (fastest).
The trip options are triplets (3 in the space of 2) and the dot options are dotted (2 in
the space of 3 i.e. 50% longer than normal):
The order of values may appear strange at first (e.g. 1/4 then 1/8 dot then 1/4 trip),
but you can rest assured that they have been sorted according to length.
LATCH switch: The LATCH function in the original hardware (mis)used the sequencer
memory. Repro-1 has a dedicated LATCH switch instead – try this:
While you are playing an arpeggio, slide the LATCH switch up. Take your hands off
the keys and try adding some more notes. It will soon become apparent that these notes
are temporary – they disappear as soon as you release them, while the latched notes
continue.
Note: The SEQUENCER part of this panel contains just enough elements to let you
record and play back sequences without switching pages. For the complete story,
please read the next chapter.
Design decisions
In the original hardware, the arpeggiator/ sequencer
rate is permanently tied to the LFO, with the option
of using an external trigger signal to advance the
arp/sequencer instead. As we don't expect users to
feed an external trigger into Repro-1 just for the
sake of authenticity, we decided to add a host-synced
CLOCK and use MIDI NoteOn messages for the ‘step
through’ option.
Interesting quirk: The arpeggiator will not repeatedly trigger a single held note – you
have to play at least two notes for arpeggiation to start!
3-0 INTRODUCTION
The sequencer in the original hardware may have been a minor stroke of genius, but
these days we can expect something a bit more comfortable: Repro-1’s sequencer lets
you step-record two patterns of up to 32 notes each (they are saved with the preset):
How to record: In the SEQUENCER sub-panel, select a pattern (1, 2, or 1+2) and
slide REC/PLAY up to the REC position. Play some notes, inserting pauses by clicking
on the REST button. The pattern can be as short as you like, even a single note –
simply switch from RECORD to PLAY whenever you’re finished.
How a sequence plays back is governed by the Clock settings (see the next page).
Playing any note other than the specified ROOT transposes the pattern up or down.
Host buffer size: Repro-1’s sequencer works best with a buffer size of at least 128
samples (most DAWs set larger buffer sizes by default). This doesn't mean it won't
work with smaller buffers, but we did experience one or two glitches in certain hosts.
LFO | KEY | CLOCK switch: Selects which signal will be used to drive the arpeggiator
and sequencer. In the CLOCK position they are both synchronized to host tempo,
while in the LFO position they are synchronized to the LFO. With the KEY option, the
sequence is played back one note per key-press.
ON KEY | ALWAYS switch: The ALWAYS option causes the sequence to continue
playing even if all keys are released (simulating a hold pedal). ON KEY stops the
sequence as soon as all keys are released, restarting it when a new key is pressed.
Please note that this switch is global per instance of the plug-in: the status doesn’t
change, even when you load a different preset.
REC | OFF | PLAY switch: Primes the sequencer for recording. Recording commences
when you play the next note and stops when you switch to OFF or play. Recording
also stops automatically when step 32 has been reached (if the next selector is set to
1+2, it will only stop at step 32 of pattern 2).
REST button: During recording, this inserts a pause at the current step.
PRESET selectors: Click to open a menu containing pattern Copy and Save functions,
as well as any sequencer patterns Repro-1 finds in the following location:
Win ...\VstPlugins\u-he\Repro-1.data\Support\Modules\Pattern
Mac MacHD/Library/Application Support/u-he/Repro-1/Modules/Pattern
ROTATE buttons: This pair of buttons shifts the active portion of the sequence to the
left or right. If, after listening for a while, step 1 doesn’t seem to be the ‘first note’, you
can use the Rotate buttons to fix that problem. Tip: Create new variations by rotating
parts of existing sequences.
COPY and PASTE buttons: Clipboard functions for each pattern. Note that you can
copy from one preset and paste into another.
CLEAR buttons: Deletes all data in the pattern and sets the current step to the start.
Switching on REPEAT effectively removes rests. It doesn’t use the pitch data, however,
but repeats the pitch of the note immediately preceding the rest.
Switching on DRONE will lengthen the notes if amplifier Sustain is turned up, or the
Decay time is longer than the Release time. Experiment!
The pair of vertical buttons on the bottom left toggle between the EFFECTS and KEYS:
4-0 KEYS
Between those buttons and the keyboard are a few typical ‘left-hand controls’…
PB RANGE selectors: You can choose pitchbend ranges separately for each direction
(down and up). The options are 0 through 24 (2 octaves in semitone steps) then 3 or
4 octaves (36 or 48 semitones only).
BYPASS FX switch: Below PB RANGE is an effects bypass button you should find
useful for comparing the treated and untreated sound. Please note that BYPASS FX is
truly global: the status doesn’t change, even when you load a different preset.
PITCH and MODW: The two on-screen wheels mirror incoming MIDI data, but you
can also move them with the mouse.
Keyboard: Most of the panel is taken up by a 3-octave touchplate-style keyboard (the
same range as the original synth) you can click on to fire off notes. Double-click on a
key to sustain it until you click on another.
A note to users of 3-octave MIDI keyboards: You might have to transpose your
keyboard down an octave to match the range of Repro-1’s touchplate.
4-1 PERFORM
To the right of the touch keyboard is a little modulation matrix you can use to extend
Repro-1’s modulation capabilities. To select a source, click on the label immediately
below each target selector. (Where it says VELOCITY and AFTERTOUCH in the above
image). Note that the list of sources includes the Wavefolder’s own envelope.
Right-clicking on a target selector opens a menu where you can choose a destination
for that modulation source. Note that effect parameters only appear in the menu if the
corresponding effect is currently active.
Drag & Drop is a comfortable alternative (though not for effect parameters, which
aren’t visible in KEYS view). Left-click on the target selector, drag the crosshair onto
any valid knob and release the mouse button.
See the next page for a list of all modulation sources and targets in Repro-1.
* There is a good technical reason for the MIDI label (which perhaps should read ‘Tuning’)
** Restricted to the FREQUENCY range, also for technical reasons
5-0 INTRODUCTION
The buttons on the far left of the lower panel toggle between the keyboard and the
effects. Click on the EFFECTS button for this view:
BYPASS FX
This is an effects bypass button you should find useful for comparing the treated and
untreated sound. Please note that BYPASS FX is truly global: the status doesn’t
change, even when you load a different preset.
FX Chain
The block on the left is used for activating and ordering effects. The signal flows from
the top of the block to bottom. Click to enable/disable effects, click and drag up or
down to change the order. Tip: Placing LYREBIRD above JAWS can get… interesting!
6 TEETH, about 25% FOLDS (the solid line) with some positive BIAS (shifted to the right)
FOLDS knob: How much of the wavefolder curve is being used. This is effectively an
input volume control, so setting FOLDS and F-MOD both to zero will result in silence.
TEETH rotary switch: Sets the total number of folds in the wavefolder. Zero here
means simple distortion, while 2 to 6 deliver more typical wavefolder effects.
BIAS knob: If B-MOD is OFF, this knob shifts the section of the wavefolder curve being
used (in opposite directions for each stereo channel, hence the stereo effect). While
B-MOD is set to MIN, MED or MAX, the BIAS knob adjusts the depth of modulation
from the wavefolder’s own LFO. Note: Extreme BIAS can result in silence, especially if
FOLDS is set relatively low.
B-MOD switch: Bias modulation LFO rate. Setting this to OFF disables the LFO.
F-MOD knob: The depth of folds modulation from the wavefolder’s own envelope…
A and R knobs: Attack and Release times for the wavefolder envelope.
TRIGGER switch: Determines how the envelope reacts, with the following 3 options:
ASR stands for attack-sustain-release – the envelope proceeds through the attack stage
and stays at maximum as long as a note is held, after which it releases. AR is a
one-shot attack-release envelope with no sustain. Finally, the LFO option is similar to
AR but is triggered by Repro-1’s main LFO instead of the gate.
Tip: In general, wavefolders deliver more interesting effects when applied to relatively
simple waveforms e.g. a pure triangle from oscillator B, a sine wave from the filter
when self-resonating, or any other mellow sound.
Note: The sound of the Wavefolder is sensitive to minuscule differences in signal level
and phase between the various sample rates. If you notice that your JAWS-based
preset sounds very different when you switch sample rates, try adjusting the FOLDS
settings to compensate, then save as “name-of-preset (96k)” or similar.
The FREQUENCY knobs adjust the cutoff for each band. The bands can seriously
overlap or swap positions, so those labels shouldn’t be taken too literally. The ranges
of the knobs are approximately as follows:
LOW = 45 Hz to 3 kHz
MID = 55 Hz to 9 kHz
HIGH = 130 Hz to 10 kHz
GAIN knobs (EQ mode): Centre-zero controls for cutting or boosting the level of each
band by up to 18dB. In EQ mode, LOW and HIGH are shelving filters (as indicated by
the labels).
VOLUME knobs (RES mode): The amplitudes of three resonant bandpass filters. The
knobs are not centre-zero in RES mode, but positive only.
Q (quality) / RES (resonance) knob: The Q-factor of a filter band characterizes its
width relative to its cutoff frequency. In EQ mode, Q only applies to the MID band.
On the top right is a load indicator which gets brighter as the signal is saturated.
GAIN knob: Bipolar control for the output level. Settings above zero (the centre) will
saturate the signal – a useful effect in its own right. You can compensate for high
GAIN by turning Repro-1’s main OUTPUT level down.
TRANSIENT knob: Bipolar control over the percussive elements within a signal. Try
setting negative values to reduce clicks or positive values to add punch.
WIDTH knob: A stereo spread control. Especially useful for keeping delay or bias-
modulated wavefolder effects more focussed in the centre of the stereo field.
6-0 OVERVIEW
Apart from being unashamed eye-candy, the TWEAKS page is there to let you change
the fundamental behaviour of individual modules. In the current version there are 5
user-adjustable jumpers (mini circuit connectors) and 5 module tweak selectors:
Although the knobs and switches do actually work, the labeling has been kept simple
(or even cryptic) on purpose, in keeping with the ‘circuit board’ theme…
The TWEAKS page is meant to be eye-candy!
6-1 JUMPERS
LFO inversion: In the N (normal) position the LFO is a rising sawtooth, just like the
audio oscillators, while in the INV position it is a falling sawtooth. The new option is
arguably more useful than the original.
LFO DC offset: With the jumper in the DC position, both the square and saw waves
are positive-only (unipolar). The NO DC option makes them both bipolar. Note that
the LFO triangle wave is always bipolar, whatever the position of the jumper.
OSC2 saw inversion: With the jumper in the INV position, the sawtooth wave is
inverted i.e. it becomes a regular sawtooth instead of the original ramp wave.
6-2 SELECTORS
Apart from the jumpers, the TWEAK page includes 5 selectors – one for each oscillator,
one for the filter, and one for each envelope. Use these to change fundamental
characteristics that would have been “overkill” on the main SYNTH page. Here’s what
we have so far:
Oscillator tweaks
Both ‘P’ options are warmer than the standard Ideal. The most obvious difference
between P1 and P5 is that the P5 pulse is inverted (that’s why P5 is much louder than
P1 if you use Saw and Pulse simultaneously). A less obvious difference is that OSC A
in P1 mode always retains some of the fundamental frequency when SYNC is on.
A disadvantage of P5 is that self-PWM of oscillator B simply doesn't work. You already
guessed that ‘P5’ was named after a closely related polyphonic synthesizer, right?
Finally, only available in OSC B: the Bottom option emphasizes the TRIANGLE shape.
Filter tweaks
Crispy, Rounded or Driven: The first two options accurately model the filters in the
hardware synths we bought especially for Repro-1 analysis. Most obviously, the cutoff
in Rounded is a few semitones lower than it is in Crispy, and there are also significant
differences in the behaviour of the resonance. The Driven model is the result of
balancing internal filter parameters in search of a novel 3320 flavour – we like it!
Envelope tweaks
Normal: Regular old ADSR.
High Sustain: Models an interesting fault (or is it a quirk?) in some versions of the
original hardware: the end of the ATTACK doesn’t quite reach SUSTAIN levels above
about 85 – the envelope simply jumps up the last 15%.
One Shot: The gate is ignored, the Decay stage continues until it reaches the sustain
level, which is immediately followed by Release. This type of envelope is particularly
suitable for percussion sounds, fly-by effects etc..
Piano 1/2: These two modes were implemented according to a rather geeky article in
the magazine Electronics and Music Maker (affectionately known as E&MM) all about
the CEM 3310 envelope chip. In both Piano modes the Attack and Decay stages are
the same as in One Shot mode. However, if the key is lifted during the Release stage
there is an extra (true) release, which is longer in Piano 1 than in Piano 2 mode.
Tip: As the Attack and Decay stages are always completed, you can make an envelope
appear to hold for a while before it releases.
7-0 GENERAL
Clicking on the cogwheel icon at the top right of Repro-1’s window opens the global
configuration pages. This is where you can adjust e.g. window size and brightness, or
connect Repro-1 parameters to MIDI controls:
You can make one particular page (e.g. PREFERENCES) open whenever you click on
the configuration button: Right-click anywhere within this row of buttons and select
set current as default.
HQ default: Set whether HQ should be on for each new instance of the plug-in.
MIDI Control Slew: Adjusts the amount of ‘smoothing’ for Pitch Bend, Modulation
Wheel, Breath, Expression and Aftertouch. While set to Off, Repro-1 responds more
quickly to modulation wheel (for instance), but can become too grainy. The Fast
setting is a good compromise between fast response and smoothness.
Sequencer Root Note: The default auto option here sets the pattern’s Root to the first
note you record. If you prefer setting the Root Note manually, select that option.
Sleepy default: Set whether Sleepy should be on for each new instance of the plug-in.
8-0 INTRODUCTION
Repro-1 supports NKS extensions so it can be integrated into the Native Instruments
Komplete Kontrol software or Maschine environments. Repro-1’s factory presets are
optionally installed as tagged .nksf files. User presets can be tagged before saving, or
.h2p files can even be batch-converted within Repro-1. A few pages of performance
controls mapped to common parameters are automatically generated and saved
together with each .nksf preset.
IMPORTANT: Presets saved in NKS format will not appear in Repro-1’s browser!
Although the Repro-1 browser doesn’t include search-by-tag functions yet, tags can be
set already: Right-click on Repro-1’s [SAVE] button and select Tag this patch.