DUNE Manual

Advanced Subtractive Software Synthesizer

User’s Manual

Copyright c© Synapse Audio Software 2010.All rights reserved.

Concept: Richard Hoffmann and David GoodwinProgramming and Manual: Richard HoffmannGraphic Design: Warren Bones, Maxx Claster, David Goodwin, Alain MezianeSound Design: See Appendix

All technical specifications in the product described in this manual are subject to change without notice. The document may not bechanged, particularly copyright notices may not be removed or changed. VST is a registered trademark of Steinberg Media TechnologiesGmbH. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners, and do not imply owner’s endorsement of this product, or guaranteefull compliance with owner’s standards.

Contents

1 Introduction 41.1 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.2 Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.3 System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Basic Operation 62.1 Selecting a patch . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.2 Choosing a category . . . . . . . . . . 62.3 Playing a patch . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.4 Loading/Saving patches and banks . . 72.5 Pitch Bend and Modulation Wheel . . 72.6 Setting the number of voices . . . . . . 7

3 Sound Parameters 93.1 Patch Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.2 Oscillators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3.2.1 Oscillator 1+2 . . . . . . . . . . 113.2.2 Oscillator 3 . . . . . . . . . . . 13

3.3 Noise Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133.4 Common oscillator controls . . . . . . 13

3.4.1 Pulse Width . . . . . . . . . . . 133.4.2 Ring Modulation (RM) . . . . . 143.4.3 Frequency Modulation (FM) . . 14

3.5 Filter Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153.6 Filter Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183.7 Unison Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213.8 Output Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223.9 Modulation Envelope . . . . . . . . . . 223.10 Filter Envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233.11 Amplitude Envelope . . . . . . . . . . 243.12 LFOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263.13 Arpeggiator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283.14 Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

3.14.1 Distortion . . . . . . . . . . . . 303.14.2 EQ-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313.14.3 EQ-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333.14.4 Chorus, Flanger, Phaser . . . . 333.14.5 Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343.14.6 Reverb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

4 Modulation Matrix 374.1 The differential unison engine (DUNE) 384.2 List of Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404.3 List of Destinations . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5 MIDI Reference 51

6 Legal Information 536.1 Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536.2 End User License Agreement (EULA) . 53

Appendix 55

3 DUNE User’s Manual

1 Introduction

Dune is a next-generation software synthesizer plugindesigned for creating music on a computer. It was de-veloped with the highest possible audio quality in mindand offers exceptional flexibility. The latter is achievedby its modulation system, the new differential unisonengine (DUNE) — hence the name. Despite the com-plexity of the synthesizer, the highly optimized codeallows Dune to run even on older computers. On cur-rent hardware, many instances can be run in parallel,making Dune the perfect everyday studio workhorse.Dune was tested by professional music producers

to guarantee its ambitious design goals were met. Itcomes with high quality sounds, mostly created by pro-fessional sound designers.

1.1 Installation

Installation PC

Unzip Dune and run SETUP.EXE to commence withthe installation process. The installer will guide youthrough the necessary steps. You will be asked to se-lect the location of your VstPlugins directory. Make

sure to choose the correct directory for your host soft-ware. Refer to your host software’s manual if you areunsure about where the host software’s VstPlugins di-rectory is located. The plugin file "Dune.DLL" andthe manual and presets will be placed in the chosendirectory. The next time you start your host softwareDune will appear in the VST instrument list.

If you use a 64-bit host such as Orion 64, be sure toinstall the 64-bit edition of Dune and choose the Vst-Plugins directory of your 64-bit host. Choosing thewrong version will either cause the plugin to not ap-pear in your host, or cause a serious performance drop.

Installation Mac

Dune comes with a dedicated installer applica-tion. Download and open the file named "Dune In-staller.dmg". Afterwards, double-click on the installericon to begin the installation process. The installerwill guide you through the necessary steps. The plu-gin files will be placed in the proper directories auto-matically. In contrast to the PC version you do notneed to select any directories manually, as the plugindirectories are identical for every Mac. The next timeyou start your host software Dune will appear in theAU and/or VST instrument list, depending on whichformat your host software supports.


1.2 Compatibility

Dune should run on any VST or AU-compatible host.If you encounter any compatibility issues with yourhost software, do not hesitate to contact us. Dune hasbeen tested under the following hosts:

• Ableton Live

• Apple Logic Studio

• Cakewalk SONAR

• Image Line FL Studio

• Steinberg Cubase

• Synapse Audio Orion

1.3 System Requirements

Dune has been optimized to operate on a wide range ofcomputers and thus has only modest system require-ments.

• Apple computers require an iMac running OS X10.4 or later, equipped with a 1 GHz dual coreprocessor or better. Older PPC processors arenot supported.

• PCs require Windows XP or later and a single-core CPU with 2 GHz or better or alternativelya multi-core processor with 1 GHz or better.

The memory requirement is approximately 15 mb perinstance.


2 Basic Operation

2.1 Selecting a patch

Each musical sound that you can play is called a Patch.Dune comes with three sound banks, each bank con-tains 128 patches. The last patch in bank C is the InitPatch, which sets all sound parameters to default val-ues. It can be used as a starting point to create newpatches.To select a patch, either click on the patch name or

use the arrow buttons. You may also choose a patchfrom your host.

2.2 Choosing a category

By default, all patches are shown in Dune’s patchbrowser. Sometimes it can be desirable, however, tolist only patches falling into a specific category. Forexample, you may wish to only list the bass sounds in

order to find a suitable one for your music as quicklyas possible. Click on "Show All" and pick a categoryto limit the patch selection to that category.

Note that this only affects the patch browsing inDune, not in the host software. The host software willalways display all patches and all banks regardless ofthe category setting.

If you create new patches, you may want to definethe category for your patch. This can be done in thepatch settings area.

2.3 Playing a patch

You can play individual notes directly by clicking onthe keyboard at the bottom of the user interface. Thevertical click position determines the velocity of thesound. A much better way, however, is to use yourhost sequencer or a MIDI keyboard.

If a MIDI keyboard is hooked up to your computer,playing notes on the keyboard should depress the samekeys in Dune (provided they are in the 61-key rangeshown). If this is not the case, then the required MIDIinformation is not transmitted to the plugin, and youshould refer to your host software’s manual to addressthe issue.


2.4 Loading/Saving patches andbanks

When you load or save a project from your host se-quencer, Dune will automatically recall all settings forthe last active patch. Sometimes, however, you maywish to send patches to a friend or use them in a dif-ferent host sequencer.You can load and save individual patches by click-

ing on the PATCH label. Patches are stored in CubaseFXP format, a common format for storing sounds. Asexplained previously, patches are organized in banksof 128 patches each. To load or save a bank, click onthe BANK label. Banks are stored in Cubase FXBformat.

2.5 Pitch Bend and ModulationWheel

At the bottom left of the user interface, the pitchbend and modulation wheels are located. The pitch

bend wheel is used to temporarily shift the pitch up-or downwards. When released, it automatically snapsback to center position. The modulation wheel typi-cally controls vibrato type effects, but can be used tomodify other sound parameters as well. It remains inwhatever position it was set to.

The Bend up/down parameters specify by how manysemitones a sound is pitch shifted up or down, whenthe pitch bend wheel is turned all the way up or down.

Click on the numbers and drag the mouse up or downto increase/decrease the pitch bend range.If a MIDI keyboard is hooked up to your computer,turning the physical pitch bend or modulation wheelshould turn the same wheel in Dune automatically. Ifthis is not the case, then the required MIDI informa-tion is not transmitted to the plugin, and you shouldrefer to your host software’s manual to address theissue.

2.6 Setting the number of voices

Each key that you press triggers one or more voices.A voice comprises everything that is needed to syn-thesize a tone. The DUNE technology allows to stack


up to 8 voices per note played, where each voice mayuse entirely different sound parameters. Thus, a Dunepatch can play a chord or complex sound mixture evenwhen pressing just a single key.As each voice costs CPU time, the total number of

available voices is limited. The maximum number ofvoices can be adjusted with the Voices parameter.

Click on the number and drag the mouse up or down toincrease/decrease the number of voices. If the numberof voices is set too low, voice stealing can occur, whichmeans older notes get cut. This can lead to clicks orother undesirable effects.Note that the voice polyphony can be adjusted per

patch. While all patches should employ an adequatesetting out of the box, your individual playing styleor usage of sounds may require adjusting the voicepolyphony at times.


3 Sound Parameters

This section describes how a Dune patch is con-structed, the operation of all front panel knobs andswitches, the effect section and the arpeggiator.

3.1 Patch Structure

The structure of a Dune patch is shown in fig. 3.1.The block diagram shows the basic working principleof the entire synthesizer without taking into accountthe modulation matrix (which will be covered in detailin chapter 4).Whenever a MIDI note is played, one or more voices

are triggered to synthesize that note. Each voice hasthe exact same structure shown, but may use differentparameters. The voices are summed and fed into theeffects unit to further refine the sound with equaliza-tion, delay, reverb etc.Each voice comprises three major building blocks,

an oscillator block ("OSC 1-3"), a filter block ("Fil-ter") and a volume control block ("Amp"). The blocksemulate the three basic properties of a sound: Pitch,Timbre and Volume. The oscillator block controls thepitch and basic timbre of a sound by generating one

or more periodic waveforms. The resulting signal istypically very bright. To further refine the timbre, thesignal is processed by the filter block, which atten-uates frequencies specified by the user; usually, highfrequencies are removed. Hence, this type of synthe-sis is commonly called "subtractive". The final blockcontrols the volume of the signal.

On their own, the three basic building blocks syn-thesize a completely static sound. This is in contrastto acoustic sounds, where pitch, timbre and volumechange over time. In order to obtain this possibility ina synthesizer, so called envelopes are used to add dy-namic variation to a sound. The most important en-velope is the amplitude envelope ("Amp Env"), whichis essential to fade in and fade out notes and thus tomake a synthesizer playable like a real instrument inthe first place. Also important is the filter envelope("Filter Env"), which dynamically controls the bright-ness and thus the timbre of a sound over time. Themodulation envelope ("Mod Env") can be freely as-signed to any sound parameter, and is typically usedto change the pitch progression.

While envelopes nicely control the overall progres-sion of a sound, it is sometimes desirable to add pe-riodic modulations. Such modulations can mimic vi-brato or tremolo effects known from acoustic instru-ments, and can be added by using one or more of thelow frequency modulation ("LFO") blocks.


Periodically modulate the

sound

LFO-1Periodically modulate the

sound

LFO-2Periodically modulate the

sound

LFO-3

Timbre andPitch control

OSC 1-3

Brightnesscontrol

Filter

Volumecontrol

AmpDistortion, EQ, Phaser, Delay,

Reverb

Effects

Adjust anyparameterover time

Mod EnvAdjust the brightnessover time

Filter EnvAdjust the

volumeover time

Amp Env

+

Voice #1

Voice #2

Voice #3 ...

Figure 3.1: Structure of a Dune patch.


3.2 Oscillators

An oscillator generates a periodic waveform and formsthe basic building block of the majority of synthesiz-ers (the most common waveforms are illustrated infig. 3.2). Dune offers three oscillators and a separatenoise generator. This corresponds to how many tradi-tional synthesizers work. In Dune, however, it is easilypossible to instantiate a multitude of its oscillators inparallel - up to 120 per key. This allows to obtainthick pad, bass or lead sounds impossible with tradi-tional gear. Dune’s oscillator controls can be found inthe sections labelled OSC 1, OSC 2, OSC 3, NOISE,COMMON and FM in the top area of the user inter-face.

50%

Sawtooth Pulse

Sine Triangle

Figure 3.2: Basic oscillator waveforms.

3.2.1 Oscillator 1+2

Waveform

An oscillator can create different waveform shapes.The LED buttons in the sections labelled OSC 1 andOSC 2 allow choosing between the classic sawtooth,pulse and sine/triangle shapes. Furthermore, a wave-form from a table containing 69 additional shapes maybe selected. The last 10 waveform shapes are specialwaveforms containing chords or click sounds. The lat-ter are useful when only a single cycle is triggered.This can help form the transient of a sound, particu-larly good for percussive sounds.

Switching oscillators from regular periodic playbackto one-shot mode is accomplished via the modulationmatrix (see chapter 4).

SEMI

The two controls labelled SEMI adjust the tuning ofthe 1st and the 2nd oscillator in semitones. The rangespans +/- 36 semitones. A larger range can be ob-tained by using the modulation matrix, if required.This will be covered in chapter 4.


FINE

This parameter adjusts the fine tuning of Oscillator 1and 2 in cents. A value of +/- 100% corresponds tohalf a semitone. Fine tuning is typically used to createa beating between both oscillators.

FAT

When this parameter is at zero (knob turned fullycounter-clockwise), the oscillators act like those foundin traditional synthesizers, creating a single waveformof the selected shape. Set to nonzero values, a stack of7 oscillators of the same type are synthesized simulta-neously. The tuning increasingly diverges as the knobis turned clockwise, controlling the ’thickness’ of thesound. If FAT is enabled for both oscillators, a totalof 14 oscillators will be audible per voice. Combinedwith the sub oscillator (described below) and Unisonmode, up to 120 oscillators can be fired per key, allow-ing very rich patches that few synthesizers are capableof generating.The FAT mode works on any chosen waveform, not

just the classic sawtooth, square and triangle shapes.

OSC MIX

The OSC MIX knob blends seamlessly between thelevel of the first and second oscillator. Turned fully

counter-clockwise towards "1", only the first oscillatorwill be audible, turned fully to the right "2", only thesecond. At center position, both are summed at equallevel. Apart from setting the mix level, another impor-tant application of this control is to automate it via themodulation matrix. By varying the mix level betweenboth oscillators, it is possible to create a changing tim-bre of the sound. For example, a sound could startwith a sawtooth that fades smoothly to a sine, or con-stantly switches between both for the entire durationof the sound.

OSC SYNC

When enabling Oscillator Sync, the second oscillatoris reset whenever the first oscillator has completed onewaveform cycle. This leads to interesting new wave-form shapes for the second oscillator. When choosingsawtooth or pulse and sweeping the 2nd oscillator’sfrequency without changing the pitch of the 1st oscil-lator, the classic ’sync’ sweep sound is achieved. Whenchoosing the sine, the reset effect often leads to wave-forms resembling a sawtooth, but sounding softer.

In Dune, all waveform shapes including the waveta-bles can be synced. Note that the FAT knob has nomeaning for the 2nd oscillator when SYNC is enabled.This is because the detuning effect is only possible withoscillators that are in free run mode. Of course FATcan still be used on the 1st oscillator.


3.2.2 Oscillator 3

The third oscillator is controlled by the OSC 3 section.It is slaved to oscillator 1 and tuned precisely one oc-tave lower. This is useful to add sub-bass to a sound,making it more voluminous. Waveform choices includesawtooth, pulse and triangle. The LEVEL knob ad-justs the level of the sub-oscillator. Set to zero, theoscillator is inaudible.

3.3 Noise Generator

With the exception of the attack shapes, all three os-cillators described so far generate perfectly periodicwaveforms with a certain pitch. Sometimes it is useful,however, to spice up a sound with a random elementthat has no fixed pitch. This can be useful to syn-thesize percussive sounds, to recreate the behavior ofwind or plucked string instruments during transientsor to synthesize nature sounds such as fire, water orwind.For this reason, Dune offers a white noise generator.

White noise is a type of noise which contains all fre-quencies equally. Two knobs located in the NOISE sec-tion control the white noise generator. The LEVELknob adjusts the amount of white noise, which issummed with the signal coming from the oscillators.The COLOR knob filters the noise signal so that a

brighter timbre is produced when turning the knob tothe right. This is often useful, as the bass frequenciescontained in white noise are often objectionable.

3.4 Common oscillator controls

3.4.1 Pulse Width

Located in the COMMON section below OSC 1, thepulse width knob adjusts the duty cycle of the pulsewaveform for oscillator 1 and 2 (see fig. 3.3). The de-fault is 50%, corresponding to a square wave. Notethat this parameter has no effect if waveform shapesother than pulse are selected.

25% 50% 75%

Figure 3.3: Pulse Width.


3.4.2 Ring Modulation (RM)

A further interesting effect that can be applied to os-cillators 1 and 2 is to multiply them with each other.This can be seen as one oscillator modulating the otherin its amplitude (see fig. 3.4). The effect depth can becontrolled using the RING MOD knob. Set to zero,the ring modulator output is inaudible.Mathematically, the result of this process is that

the sums and differences of both signal’s frequenciesare generated. If the oscillators are detuned, this willtypically lead to inharmonic, metallic sounds.

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1-1

0

1

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1-1

0

1

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1-1

0

1

Time (s)

Figure 3.4: Ring modulating two sinusodials with fre-quencies 2 Hz and 50 Hz.

3.4.3 Frequency Modulation (FM)

Apart from simply multiplying two oscillator signals,it is also possible to let one oscillator control the fre-quency of another oscillator. This synthesis principleis known as Frequency Modulation (FM). The typi-cally fast pace of the modulation generates a lot ofovertones in the oscillator being modulated. This re-sults in new waveforms, and gets particularly interest-ing when dynamically varying the amount of frequencymodulation.

Dune offers three FM modes. In the first modecalled "1->2 fbk", oscillator 1 is the modulation sourcewhile oscillator 2 is the destination. The amount offrequency modulation, that is how strongly the secondoscillator is affected by the first, is determined by theFM 1 knob. The FM result is audible at the output ofoscillator 2, so OSC MIX should typically be turnedfully clockwise. As an extra effect, the FM result canbe fed back into its input using the FM 2 knob.

In the second mode called "1->2 dual", once morethe first oscillator modulates the second (controlledby FM 1), but additionally the second oscillator fur-ther modulates a copy of itself (controlled by FM 2).Again, the FM result is audible at the output of oscilla-tor 2, so OSC MIX should be turned fully clockwise.

The third FM mode is "Filter FM", which is com-pletely different from the former two modes. Filter FMmeans that the filter cutoff frequency is modulated by


an oscillator. In DUNE, FM 1 controls how much thefirst oscillator changes the filter cutoff, while FM 2adjusts how much the second oscillator modulates thefilter.

3.5 Filter Controls

The raw oscillator sound is typically too bright to beuseful. Furthermore, the periodic nature of the os-ccilators results in a dull timbre. Many natural in-struments like a flute or piano feature a short, brighttransient behavior, and then decay to a more steady,darker timbre. This behavior can be modelled by us-ing a time-varying filter. The filter section is locatedin the top right area of the user interface, its controlsare described below.

CUTOFF

Perhaps the most important filter parameter is theCUTOFF knob. It sets the corner frequency wherethe filter operates. Its meaning depends on the filtertype chosen:

• For low-pass (LP) filter types, frequencies abovethe cutoff frequency are damped:

Frequency

Magnitude

Cutoff frequency

• A band-pass (BP) filter damps frequenciesaround the cutoff frequency. As a result, bassand treble get attenuated.

Frequency

Magnitude

Cutoff frequency

• A band-stop (BS) filter rejects frequenciesaround the cutoff frequency and passes every-thing else.


Frequency

Magnitude

Cutoff frequency

• A high-pass (HP) filter attenuates all frequenciesbelow the cutoff frequency and passes the higherfrequencies unchanged.

Frequency

Magnitude

Cutoff frequency

• When a comb filter is chosen, the frequency spec-trum looks like a comb with a series of regulary-spaced spikes in it. The cutoff knob adjusts thespacing of the spikes.

Frequency

Magnitude

Cutoff frequency

The five filters described above form the basic filtersencountered in most synthesizers. The low-pass fil-ter is the most common, as it fully preserves the bassfrequencies and allows the natural progression from abright to a dark timbre when being modulated. Forthis reason, all other filter types have an optional low-pass filter operating in series with them in order toincrease their versatility.

To modulate the cutoff frequency and produce a dy-namically changing timbre, the LFOs and filter enve-lope can be used. Both options will be discussed laterin this chapter.

RESO

If the output of a filter is fed back to its input, reso-nance occurs, which is a sinusodial oscillation near thecutoff frequency (see fig. 3.5). The RESO knob con-trols the depth of this effect. At lower settings, reso-nance can be used to add presence to a sound. Usinghigher settings, the sinusodial oscillation gets strong


enough to use the filter in a similar fashion as an os-cillator. This property can be useful to create specialeffect sounds such as laser guns, electronic bass drumsetc.

Frequency

Magnitude

Cutoff frequency

Resonance

Figure 3.5: Response of a resonant low-pass filter.

ENV

This knob controls how much the filter envelope (de-scribed later in this chapter) affects the cutoff fre-quency. Set to zero, the filter envelope has no effecton the cutoff frequency. At 100%, the envelope spansthe entire cutoff range from the minimum to the max-imum value. Most sounds will use a low-pass filterwith an envelope amount setting in between the twoextremes and the envelope attack and sustain set totheir minimum values. This creates the most commontimbre which is a bright start followed by a darkersustain stage, a property shared by many acoustic in-struments. Note that when a dual filter is used, thefilter envelope affects both filters simultaneously.

In rare cases, you may also want to set the envelopeamount to a negative value. This can be helpful tocreate sounds which become bright when releasing akey. A negative envelope amount can be set using themodulation matrix, with the envelope amount knobset to zero.

KEY TRACK

The key track parameter determines how much thecutoff frequency is affected by the MIDI key note. Setto zero, all notes share the very same cutoff frequencyas specified by the CUTOFF parameter. Nonzerovalues move the cutoff according to the key pressed,with higher keys corresponding to higher cutoff fre-quencies. At low settings, this parameter is useful tocreate subtle timbre variations when different notes areplayed. At higher settings, key tracking can be usedto simulate the properties of acoustic instruments thathave a varying timbre dependent on the note played.

OFFSET

The meaning of this knob depends on the chosen filter,and is thus discussed separately for each filter type inthe following section.


3.6 Filter Models

By clicking on the list box in the filter section, one of16 different filter models can be chosen.

Lowpass 12 dB

The first filter is a low-pass type, thus attenuating fre-quencies above the cutoff frequency. The slope of at-tenuation is 12 dB per octave, which is relatively soft.Additionally the CPU usage of this filter type is verylow, making it an excellent choice for a wide range ofsounds. The OFFSET knob has no effect on this filtermodel.

Lowpass 24 dB

This type is identical to the first filter, but featuresa slope twice as steep. Starting from the cutoff fre-quency, each octave upwards is attenuated by 24 dBinstead of 12 dB. This creates a much stronger filter-ing effect than the previous filter model. If the cutofffrequency is set to 1000 Hz, for instance, it means thatfrequencies at 4000 Hz will be attenuated by roughly48 dB and thus become practically inaudible. Notethat the 24 dB filter model needs slightly more CPUthan the 12 dB type. The OFFSET knob has no mean-ing in this filter mode.

LP Ladder 12/24 dB

Two more low-pass filters with 12 and 24 dB attenua-tion, respectively. This type was painstakenly mod-elled after the filters of legendary analog hardwaresynthesizers, which employed a transistor ladder struc-ture. This filter combines a great sound with authenticbehavior of cutoff frequency movements as well as re-sponse to resonance. Thus it requires more CPU thanthe two previous low-pass filter models.

LP24 -> LP12

This model consists of a combination of two low-passfilters in series, as illustrated in fig. 3.6. The first low-pass has a slope of 24 dB while the second is a 12 dBtype, yielding a total attenuation of 36 dB per octave.Using the OFFSET knob, the cutoff frequency of thesecond 12 dB filter can be adjusted relative to the maincutoff frequency.

Low-pass filter#1

Low-pass filter#2

Adjust cutoff using OFFSET knob

OSCSignal

Figure 3.6: Two low-pass filters chained in series.


BP12 -> LP12

This dual filter structure consists of a 12 dB band-pass followed by a 12 dB low-pass filter. Once more,OFFSET adjusts the low-pass filter’s cutoff frequency.

BS12 -> LP12

Same as the previous model, but with a band-stop fil-ter instead of a band-pass.

HP12 -> LP12

Same as the previous model, but using a high-pass fil-ter. Note that in this model, the low-pass filter can beturned off completely by setting OFFSET to the max-imum value. This may be useful in scenarios where apure high-pass filtering effect is desired.

Comb -> LP24

This type is a dual filter comprising a comb filter fol-lowed by a low-pass filter in series. While both filtersrespond to all controls in the same manner, a cutofffrequency offset for the low-pass filter can be speci-fied by using the OFFSET knob. When this knob iscentered, the low-pass and comb filter share the samecutoff frequency. Moved to the right, the cutoff fre-quency of the low-pass filter is shifted upwards, passing

more frequencies and thus creating a brighter timbre.Moved to the left, the cutoff frequency of the low-passdecreases resulting in darker sounds.

LP12+Dist

A low-pass filter preceded by a distortion effect. Thedistortion effect models the typical characteristic ofanalog semiconductors. The OFFSET knob controlsthe gain level of the signal before being fed into theeffect. Note that at center position, some distortion isalready audible. Turn the knob to the right to increasethe gain and thus the distortion, turn it to the left todecrease the effect.

This filter model can be used to either add somespice to sounds by using negative gain settings result-ing in only a subtle effect, or to create very harshsounds by turning OFFSET fully clockwise. As thedistortion effect is processed before the low-pass fil-ter, the effect of the distortion is most audible at highcutoff frequencies.

LP12+Bitcrush

Similar to the LP+Dist filter, a low-pass filter is pre-ceded by a distortion effect. Here, the distortion is notachieved by a virtual analog model but by simple bitreduction of the signal coming from the oscillators, re-sulting in harsh quantization noise. The OFFSET con-


trol sets the number of bits used, with higher settingscorresponding to fewer bits and thus more distortion.

LP12+Follow

This is a special purpose filter model, which consistsof an ordinary low-pass filter followed by a key trackedhigh-pass filter. The key tracking for the high-pass fil-ter is independent of the KEY TRACKING parameterin the filter section, it is configured automatically sothat the cutoff frequency corresponds exactly to theMIDI note played. The effect of this is to weaken thefundamental frequency, useful to resemble thin string-type sounds such as an acoustic guitar string. Thedepth of the high-pass effect can be adjusted using theOFFSET knob.

LP24+Saturation

A low-pass filter based on the LP ladder model witha saturation effect in series. The OFFSET knob con-trols the amount of saturation. The effect is moresubtle than the LP12+Dist model, it can substantiallyenhance the feel and overall character of a sound, how-ever.

LP/BP/HP Sweep

This multimode filter sweeps from lowpass over band-pass to a highpass type, according to the OFFSETknob. The middle position yields a bandpass response.

LP12/LP12 Split

The four split filter modes, starting with LP/LP, workfundamentally different from the series filters. Ratherthan processing the fully mixed signal from the os-cillators, in the split modes the oscillator signals areprocessed separately by two filters in parallel. In theLP/LP configuration, oscillator 1 is routed throughthe first low-pass while oscillators 2+3, as well as thenoise signal, are processed by the second low-pass. TheOFFSET parameter adjusts the cutoff frequency of thesecond low-pass filter.

Low-pass filter#2

OSC 1

OSC 2+3+N

Low-pass filter#1

Figure 3.7: Split model using two low-pass filters.


BP12/LP12 Split

This configuration is identical to LP/LP, except thatthe first filter is a band-pass type. This means oscil-lator 1 will be routed through a band-pass filter whilethe remaining oscillators plus noise are processed bythe low-pass. Again, OFFSET allows to adjust thecutoff frequency of the low-pass filter relative to themain cutoff frequency.

BS12/LP12 Split

Same as the previous model, but with a band-stop fil-ter instead of a band-pass.

HP12/LP12 Split

Same as the previous model, but employing a high-pass filter.

3.7 Unison Section

Dune allows to stack several voices for the same note.This is useful to for a variety of tasks, the most com-mon being to create the illusion of many instrumentsof the same type playing simultaneously (e.g. a stringsection).To obtain an audible change, the instanced voices

must differ in one or more parameters. The most com-

mon change is to slightly detune the stacked voices, re-sulting in thick bass, lead or pad sounds. Another fre-quently used technique is to spread the stacked voicesin the stereo field, making the sound more spatial.Note that the Differential Unison Engine (DUNE) de-scribed in chapter 4 allows to modify any parameterof stacked voices in a simple fashion, taking the unisonconcept to an entirely new level.

The basic unison parameters can be found in theUNISON section located below the oscillators.

VOICES

This knob controls the number of voices to use for eachnote played. Note that the global polyphony is reducedby this setting. When using four voices per note, theglobal polyphony will be reduced by a factor of four.Make sure to increase the polyphony if necessary (seechapter 2).

DETUNE

This parameter detunes the unison voices. Higher set-tings correspond to more variation, a minimum of twovoices is necessary to create an audible change. Thedetuning is always centered around the note pitch.When playing e.g. A4 (440 Hz) and detuning twovoices by 1 Hz, the two pitches would be 339 Hz and


441 Hz, thus still creating the sensation of a 440 Hznote.

SPREAD

Spreads the unison voices in the stereo field. A mini-mum of two voices must be dialed in using the VOICESknob to create an audible effect. At maximum posi-tion, the voices will be fully spread in the stereo field— in the case of using two voices, one voice will behard left and the other one hard right. In case of threevoices, one voice will be hard left, one dead center andone hard right, etc.

SOLO

Allows to solo individual voices. Note that only voicesthat are actually in use can be solo’ed. Pressing soloon the 4th voice of a 3-voice patch will thus lead tosilence.

3.8 Output Section

The OUTPUT section contains basic performance pa-rameters and allows to set the global volume.

MONO

When enabled, only one note can be played at a time.This can be useful for bass and lead sounds, particu-larly in combination with GLIDE. It creates a uniqueplaying feel and sound which can be better for mono-phonic lines.

GLIDE

When nonzero, this parameter causes each note tosmoothly adjust its pitch from the previous note tothe new one. Higher settings correspond to a slower,more noticeable glide effect. Sometimes this parameteris referred to as portamento. Note that when MONOis enabled, GLIDE affects only notes which overlap.

VOLUME

Sets the overall volume of the entire synthesizer.

3.9 Modulation Envelope

An envelope is used to model the progression of timbre,volume or pitch of a sound, from start to finish. Anenvelope is triggered whenever a key is hit. The mod-ulation envelope can be assigned to almost any soundparameter via the modulation matrix. All envelopes


in Dune can be described by four stages called Attack,Decay, Sustain and Release (ADSR), see fig. 3.8.

Attack Decay Release

Time

Level

Key pressed Key released

Sustain

Figure 3.8: The modulation envelope.

ATTACK

The ATTACK parameter specifies the duration ittakes for the envelope to reach its maximum value.When set to zero, the envelope immediately starts atthe peak value. The slope of the attack stage is linear.

DECAY

After reaching the peak, the decay stage commences.During the decay stage, the envelope falls back to a

lower level, the sustain level. The DECAY controlspecifies the duration of the decay stage, i.e. how longit takes to fall back to the sustain level. The slope ofthe decay stage is logarithmic.

SUSTAIN

This parameter specifies the sustain level that isreached after the decay stage ends. The sustain stagelasts as long as a key is pressed.

RELEASE

The final release stage is triggered whenever a key isreleased. The RELEASE parameter specifies the du-ration it takes the envelope to hit zero. The slope ofthe release stage is logarithmic like the decay stage.

3.10 Filter Envelope

The filter envelope modulates the filter cutoff fre-quency and thus the timbre of the sound. Many soundsstart with a bright timbre and then decay to a darkertone. This behavior can be modelled with the filterenvelope. The depth of the effect is controlled withthe ENV knob in the filter section. The filter envelopehas the same shape as the modulation envelope (seefig. 3.9).



Time

Level


Sustain

Figure 3.9: The filter envelope.

ATTACK

The ATTACK parameter specifies the duration ittakes for the envelope to reach its maximum value.Most sounds use a setting near the minimum in orderto start bright.

DECAY

After reaching the peak, the decay stage commences.During the decay stage, the envelope falls back to alower level, the sustain level. The DECAY controlspecifies the duration of the decay stage, i.e. how longit takes to fall back to the sustain level.

SUSTAIN


RELEASE

The final release stage is triggered whenever a key isreleased. The RELEASE parameter specifies the du-ration it takes the envelope to hit zero. Note thatwhen SUSTAIN is set to zero, the RELEASE param-eter may have no effect if the envelope has previouslyreached zero already.

3.11 Amplitude Envelope

Located below the Filter envelope, the amplitude enve-lope controls the progression of the volume of a sound(see fig. 3.10). It works in the same manner as thefilter and modulation envelopes, but offers two extraparameters, SPIKE and HOLD.



Time

Level


Sustain

Hold

Spike

Figure 3.10: The amplitude envelope.

ATTACK

The ATTACK parameter specifies the duration ittakes for the amplitude envelope to go from zero toits maximum level.

SPIKE HARD/SOFT

Using this parameter, a spike can be added during theattack stage, to give a sound more ’bite’ during thetransient stage. Two types are available, a hard anda soft spike. Both parameters are accessed via themodulation matrix (see chapter 4).

HOLD

HOLD specifies a duration in milliseconds in which thepeak level is maintained, before the decay stage com-mences. This parameter can be useful to obtain morepunch when modelling percussive sounds, which oftendecay quickly. HOLD is exclusively accessed from themodulation matrix.

DECAY

The DECAY parameter specifies the duration of thedecay stage, i.e. how long it takes the amplitude tofall back to the sustain level.

SUSTAIN


RELEASE

The final release stage is triggered whenever a key isreleased. The RELEASE parameter specifies the du-ration it takes the envelope to hit zero. Note thatwhen SUSTAIN is set to zero, the RELEASE param-eter may have no effect if the envelope has previouslyreached zero already.


3.12 LFOs

Using oscillators, the filter unit and envelopes, it ispossible to control the basic properties of a sound, suchas timbre, volume and pitch. For many bass and per-cussive sounds this is enough to get good results, butfor pad or lead type sounds, the sustain stage may stillsound dull. This is because the pitch, filter cutoff andvolume are steady in this stage and do not change.This is where LFOs (low frequency oscillators) come

into play. LFOs work just like ordinary oscillators,generating a periodic signal using similar waveforms(see fig. 3.11). They are inaudible, however, and theironly purpose is to continually change one or more as-pects of the sound. The most typical applications aremodulating the volume, cutoff or pitch, resulting ina vibrato or tremolo effect. Dune’s three LFOs aremuch more capable than that, however, as almost anyparameter discussed so far can be used as a modu-lation destination. Additionally, LFOs can modulateeach other in volume or frequency to obtain yet moreinteresting variations.The three LFOs are controlled by the sections la-

belled LFO 1, LFO 2 and LFO 3 on the left side of theuser interface. Assigning destinations to LFOs and ad-justing the modulation depth is performed in the mod-ulation matrix, which is covered in the fourth chapterof this manual.

Sawtooth Pulse

Sine Noise

Figure 3.11: Basic LFO waveforms.

Shape

Use the four LEDs to select one of the four waveformshapes depicted in fig. 3.11. Sawtooth, Pulse and Sineare periodic waveforms, the fourth shape is S+H Noise(Sample-and-Hold Noise). S+H Noise is a signal withrandom, abrupt changes. It can be used for specialeffects or to simulate the behavior of old analog hard-ware, by employing a very slow and subtle modulation.

RATE

By default, LFOs run at a constant rate specified inHz, independent of the MIDI note played. Typical set-tings are between 3-6 Hz for vibrato or tremolo effects.


When the SYNC switch is enabled, the rate is speci-fied in units of the current song tempo, such as quar-ters, eights or sixteenths notes, with either their stan-dard durations, or in triplet (T) or dotted (*) form.Examples:

• 1/4 specifies the duration of a quarter note.

• 1/8+ sets the modulation rate to a dotted eightnote.

• 1/16T sets the modulation rate to a sixteenthtriplet.

• 1/1 sets the modulation rate to span one bar.

• 2/1 sets the modulation rate to span two bars.

SKEW

The SKEW knob is used to change the shape of theLFO waveforms. It can be used on all LFO waveforms.Using SKEW, the sawtooth can be tweaked into anexponential shape using values above 50%, and into alogarithmic shape using lower values (see fig. 3.12). Ifthe pulse shape is chosen, SKEW controls the pulsewidth, with 50% corresponding to a square wave. Thesine wave can be changed towards either a parabolicor triangular shape. When S+H noise is selected, thisparameter serves to soften the abrupt signal coming

from the S+H noise generator. Turned fully left, theknob has no effect while turned to the right, the S+Hsignal is softened the most.

25% 50% 75%

Sawtooth Pulse

Figure 3.12: The SKEW parameter.

FADE-IN

Usually modulations start immediately when a key ispressed and last for the entire duration of the sound.Sometimes, however, the modulation can be objection-able in the early attack stage of the sound. To pre-serve the transients, the fade-in parameter can be usedto gradually increase the modulation from zero to itsmaximum value, for a duration specified in seconds.

RESET

Instead of the one-shot mode, LFOs 2+3 offer aRESET switch. When disabled, it causes the LFOto run continously, independent of whether any keysare pressed. When enabled, the LFO is reset each


time a key is pressed, starting from zero phase. Thismeans that the modulation will always sound exactlythe same.

3.13 Arpeggiator

An arpeggiator (short: ARP) is a module that gen-erates melodic or rhythmical patterns from incomingMIDI notes. The pattern employed is programmableper patch and contains a note list controlling the se-quence as well as extra information that can be used toalter other properties of the sound, such as its volumeor timbre. The ARP module is enabled or disabledusing the ARP ON switch in the OUTPUT section.The arpeggiator parameters as well as its pattern areaccessed by choosing ARP PAT in the center screen.The following sections describe the key parameters tocontrol the ARP module, which are located right be-low the pattern data.

RATE

Adjusts the tempo in which the arpeggiator generatessequences from incoming MIDI notes. When SYNC isenabled, the tempo is slaved to the host sequencer andcan be specified in musical intervals such as 8th note,16th notes, dotted notes (*), triplets (T) etc. WhenSYNC is disabled, the rate is specified in Hz.

VEL

The notes generated by the arpeggiator need a veloc-ity, which can either be the velocity of the MIDI keypressed, or the velocity specified in the arpeggiatorpattern. The VEL control blends seamlessly betweenboth options, the leftmost setting corresponding to thevelocity of the MIDI key pressed and the rightmost us-ing the pattern velocities only.

LENGTH

The notes generated by the arpeggiator usually have alength of a single step, followed by a break of the sameduration. Using the LENGTH control, the duration ofthe notes can be increased or decreased. Turned to theleft, the notes get a staccato feel, while the oppositedirection yields smoother sounding sequences.

SWING

This control shuffles the position of every other 16thnote, ahead or backwards by the specified amount.This parameter can be used to obtain a typical swingfeel with a setting of +50% and above. In the arpeggia-tor pattern, the shuffled notes are located at positions3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27 and 31.


Arpeggiator Modes

The arpeggiator module in Dune comprises five modesdescribed below.

CHORD

In this mode, if one or more keys are held down si-multaneously, the sound will be rhythmically variedaccording to the sequence programmed in the arpeg-giator pattern. Note that the pitch information con-tained in the arpeggiator pattern is not used in thismode.

DUOPHONIC

In duophonic mode, the arpeggiator plays back a fixedsequence of up to two notes simultaneously. Thosenotes are sequenced using the two columns in thearpeggiator pattern. The sequence is transposed ac-cording to the key you press. Pressing multiple keyshas no effect in this mode, only the lowest key will beused.

DYNAMIC

This arpeggiator mode is a new development availableexclusively in Dune. It is designed to assist the mu-sician in a creative manner and overcome the limita-

tions of basic playback of fixed sequences only trans-posed up- or down. The outcome of the dynamic modedepends on two factors: how many keys are pressedsimultaneously by the user, and how the underlyingarpeggiator pattern is programmed. If just one key ispressed, the dynamic mode is identical to the simplemode, playing back the programmed sequence trans-posed according to the MIDI note of that key. If two ormore keys are pressed simultaneously, the programmedsequence is transposed according to the lowest MIDIkey. The second, third etc. keys then override indi-vidual notes of the sequence, allowing the musician tocreate a wealth of new melodies from very basic pat-terns.

The notes to override are specified in the arpeggia-tor pattern. In the pattern, the second column next toeach MIDI note allows to set either no override (—), inwhich case that note behaves just like it would in Sim-ple mode, or it is set to 2nd, 3rd, 4th... correspondingto the second, third, fourth etc MIDI key held down,counting from the leftmost key.

MOD

In this mode, the arpeggiator does not create any audi-ble sequence. It is actively sending note and velocityinformation to the modulation core, however, whichallows you to use the arpeggiator unit as a pure mod-ulation source. This can be useful for a variety of ef-


fects common in electronic music, such as rhythmicallyvarying the timbre or volume of a patch.

SIMPLE

When in simple mode, the arpeggiator will play backa pre-programmed sequence when hitting a single key.The sequence is automatically transposed accordingto the MIDI note of that key. Pressing multiple keyssimultaneously has no effect in this mode.

ONE-SHOT

Same as SIMPLE, except that the sequence plays onlyonce and stops afterwards.

VOICE 2/4/6/8

Identical to SIMPLE mode, except that the arpeggia-tor only fires the even-numbered voices. The odd-numbered voices are not affected by the arpeggiatorand play normally. This is useful for athmospherictextures or soundscapes with one sustained note ac-companied by an arpeggiated sequence.

3.14 Effects

Dune offers six effects units to further enhance thesound. All of them may be used simultaneously, andeach unit offers several sub-types to further increase itsversatility. It is important to note that the effects areglobal, that is all voices are first summed and then pro-cessed by the effect section.The effects are processedfrom left to right in the order they appear, i.e. distor-tion is applied first and reverb last. Despite the globalnature of the effect section, it is worth pointing outthat each voice can have its own effect depth, rangingfrom completely dry to fully wet.

3.14.1 Distortion

A distortion effect amplifies the signal in a nonlin-ear manner, creating new overtones and thus a ratherharsh sound. A total of seven different types may bechosen:

TYPE

• LP+Crunch is a distortion effect with a low-pass filter in series. The low-pass filter is used toroll off higher frequencies. High frequencies maybe objectionable when applying a lot of distor-tion.


• HP+Crunch is a distortion effect with a high-pass filter in series. The high-pass filter is used toroll off lower frequencies, which can be useful incombination with low AMOUNT settings. Theeffect is then similar to that of an Exciter, whichadds high frequencies to a signal to increase itsbrightness and presence.

• LP+Toxic and HP+Toxic work in the samemanner as the Crunch programs, but employ adifferent distortion model taken from the Toxicsynthesizer plugin.

• LP+Valve and HP+Valve work in the samemanner as the Crunch programs, but use a moresubtle, asymmetric distortion curve known fromvalve amplifiers.

• LP Only is a low-pass filter without any distor-tion applied. This can be useful to reduce theoverall brightness of the sound.

• HP Only is a high-pass filter without any dis-tortion applied. This can be useful to either re-move unwanted low frequency content in the in-audible range (e.g. below 10 Hz), or to roll off thebass for sounds where too many low frequenciesare undesirable (for instance percussive or leadsounds).

• LP+Clip clips the signal at positive polarity.Use the drive knob to control the amount of clip-ping. The low-pass filter in series with the clip-per can be used to roll off higher frequencies.

COLOR

This controls the low-pass or high-pass filter’s cutofffrequency in Hz.

DRIVE

Adjusts the gain applied to the signal when enteringthe nonlinear distortion stage. Higher settings causemore distortion.

AMOUNT

Blends between the dry and processed signal. Fora guitar-type distortion effect, set this parameter to100%. Use lower settings for more subtle effects.

3.14.2 EQ-1

An EQ is used to boost or attenuate a certain fre-quency range. It features three basic types:


TYPE

• Peaking amplifies or attenuates the regionaround the chosen frequency.

Frequency

Magnitude (dB)

Peak frequency

Amount (+)

Amount (-)0 dB

• Lo Shelf amplifies or attenuates frequencies be-low the chosen frequency.

Frequency

Magnitude (dB)

Cutoff frequency

Amount (+)

Amount (-)0 dB

• Hi Shelf amplifies or attenuates frequenciesabove the chosen frequency.

Frequency

Magnitude (dB)

Cutoff frequency

Amount (+)

Amount (-)0 dB

FREQ

Sets the frequency where the EQ operates.

Q

Adjusts the steepness of the EQ. Only relevant for thePeaking type. Q settings below 1 create broad peaks,while higher settings create narrow peaks.

Frequency

Magnitude (dB)

0 dB

Q=1

Peak frequency


GAIN

Specifies how much to attenuate or boost the chosenfrequency. At center position (0 dB) the signal is notaffected.

3.14.3 EQ-2

This section is identical to EQ-1. It allows further pro-cessing of a different frequency region if required. Forexample, you could roll off low frequencies using EQ-1and boost high frequencies using EQ-2.

3.14.4 Chorus, Flanger, Phaser

The fourth effect module can be switched betweenPhaser, Flanger and Chorus types. Those effects arecreated by summing a signal with a modified copy ofitself, resulting in a sweeping effect of adjustable rate.

• Phaser (4, 6, 8) A phaser modifies a signalwith a series of filters and then mixes it with thedry signal. The cutoff frequency of the filters iscontinuously varied. The number of filter stagescan be set to 4, 6 or 8, each resulting in a differ-ent timbre.

• Flanger +/- Summing a signal with a time-delayed copy of itself creates a flanging effect, if

the delay time is continuously varied. The time-delayed copy can be added or subtracted fromthe dry signal, each option resulting in a differ-ent sound.

• Chorus I/II A chorus effect is obtained in thesame way as a flanger, but uses much longer de-lay times. This creates the impression of multi-ple voices playing simultaneously. The effect issimilar to stacking several voices per note anddetuning them.

RATE

Sets the modulation rate of the sweeping effect in Hz.

FREQ

Sets the center frequency for the Phaser when selected.For the Chorus/Flanger types, this parameters speci-fies the frequency range to include. Usually this shouldbe set to 100% to include the entire frequency spec-trum.

FEEDBACK

The output of the effect can be fed back to its inputwith this control, creating a resonant sweep.


DEPTH

This parameter sets the modulation depth. Set to zero,the resulting effect will be static and does not changeover time. At higher settings, the sweeping effect willstart to become audible.

AMOUNT

Blends between the dry and processed signals.

3.14.5 Delay

A delay effect produces a series of echoes. The dura-tion of the echoes is always locked to the host tempoin order to guarantee a musically useful result. A totalof nine delay programs are available.

TYPE

• Simple creates a series of echoes centered in thestereo field.

• Ping-Pong creates echoes alternating betweenthe left and right channels.

• PP 75, PP 50, PP 25 and PP 12 are iden-tical to Ping-Pong, except that the stereo imageis reduced towards the center.

• Multi-Tap uses several delay units to create acomplex echo pattern.

• Diffuse is similar to Simple, except that eachecho gets increasingly diffused.

COLOR

The echoes can be processed by a 6 dB/oct lowpass orhighpass filter, making each subsequent echo darker orbrighter than the previous one. Negative values cor-respond to darker echoes, positive values to brighterechoes, at zero the echo timbre remains identical.

F-BACK

The feedback parameter allows you to adjust how of-ten the echoes are repeated. The percentage specifiesthe level change from one echo to the next, so 100%creates an infinite series of echoes, 50% cuts the levelof each subsequent echo in half etc.

RATE L/R

The delay time can be specified independently for theleft and right channels. It is always locked to thehost tempo and is thus specified in quarters, eights,sixteenths etc., optionally in triplet (T) or dotted (*)form. Examples:


• 1/4 specifies an echo duration of a quarter note.

• 1/8+ sets the duration to a dotted eighth note.

• 1/16T sets the duration to a sixteenth triplet.

• 1/1 sets the duration to span an entire bar.

AMOUNT

Blends between the dry and processed signal.

3.14.6 Reverb

A reverb effect is used to create the illusion of a soundbeing played back in a spatial environment such as aliving room, hall or cathedral. Five types are offeredin Dune:

TYPE

• Diffuse-1 is a reverb type creating diffuseechoes. It does not emulate a specific room size.

• Diffuse-2 is a variation of Diffuse-1, which con-sumes less CPU and can be used whenever per-formance is an issue.

• Room simulates a real room including early re-flections. Reverb time should be set to 1 secondor less if an authentic effect is desired.

• Hall simulates a hall including early reflections.Reverb time should be set to 3-5 seconds.

• Cathedral simulates the reverb pattern of alarge cathedral including early reflections. Re-verb time should be set to 5 seconds or more.

Note that the reverb programs computing early re-flections also create a realistic echo buildup pattern,going from a sparse distribution of early echoes to anincreasingly dense pattern. Thus they are more CPUdemanding than the two diffuse types.

PREDELAY

Adjusts the onset of the reverberated signal. When setto zero, the reverberated signal commences almost im-mediately. Higher settings delay the signal, which canbe useful to change the perception of the room size.This is particularly important for the Diffuse reverbtypes, which do not model early reflections.

DAMP

Using the DAMP paramter, the simulated room’s wallmaterials can be adjusted. Higher settings correspondto reflective walls, lower settings to very absorbentones. The reflection is frequency-dependent: Thehigher the Damp setting, the less higher frequenciesare contained in the processed signal.


DECAY

Sets the reverb time in seconds.

LOW CUT

The low-cut filter in the reverb effect can be used toremove unwanted low frequencies from the processedsignal. This is useful for sounds containing strong bassfrequencies, such as bass drums etc. Note that the drysignal is not affected by this, only the reverberatedsignal.

AMOUNT

Blends between the dry and processed signals.


4 Modulation Matrix

One of the biggest strength of subtractive synthesizersis their ease of use. The pitch, timbre and volume of asound and its progression over time can be controlledin a simple and straightforward way. The simplicity isachieved by employing a fixed structure with a limitedset of parameters, however.In order to create more complex patches, modern

synthesizers offer a modulation matrix, where you canchoose from a set of sources and link them to almostany sound parameter.

The modulation matrix in Dune is located in the centerof the interface, and accessed by clicking on either ofthe Mod Matrix buttons. Up to 24 source/destinationcombinations are possible per patch.

Most importantly, the sources comprise the LFOs.The ability to link a LFO to any sound parametermakes the traditional LFO destination parameter ob-solete and offers far greater flexibility. Classic desti-nation parameters include Pitch (to obtain a vibratoeffect), Volume (to obtain a tremolo effect) as well asFilter Cutoff. Further sources include the envelopes,in particular the modulation envelope. The modula-tion envelope is not linked to a particular parameterby default. Thus, like the LFOs, it must be assigned toa destination in the modulation matrix. Useful desti-nations for the modulation envelope include pitch andFM Amount for FM patches.

The modulation matrix is also used to assign MIDIcontrollers to sound parameters. The modulationwheel or expression pedal, for instance, can be cho-sen as a source and linked to any destination parame-ter. The effect of note velocity is also controlled fromwithin the modulation matrix. While typically linkedto volume, it can be easily set to affect the filter cutofffrequency or other sound parameters.

Advanced users will appreciate the ability of themodulation matrix to modulate itself, by choosing anyof the 24 modulation slots as a destination.


4.1 The differential unisonengine (DUNE)

Despite the flexibility introduced by the modulationmatrix, the sound design abilities of subtractive syn-thesizers are still limited by their architecture. Forinstance, nice sounds can be obtained by combining ashort, percussive element and a longer, sustained el-ement. The percussive element shapes the transientof the sound, while the sustained element shapes itsbody. To obtain such sounds, the classic approachemployed by music producers or sound designers is tostack different sounds. This can be a very tedious andtime-consuming process. It is especially problematicfor kick and bass sounds containing low frequencies,where the exact phase relation of different parts canmake or break a sound. Perhaps the biggest issue withstacking sounds, however, is the lack of common con-trols. Even if sounds are stacked within the samesynth (provided that it offers a multi-part or multi-layer mode), the sound parameters are almost alwaysseparated. This is fine if two sounds have vastly dif-ferent properties, i.e. most sound parameters differ.In many cases, however, stacking two sounds with fewparameter changes is sufficient to obtain interesting,new sounds. To use the example above, changing apercussive sound to a sustained one or vice versa maybe as trivial as modifying the amplitude sustain pa-

rameter. Likewise, changing the timbre from dark tobright is as simple as adjusting the cutoff parameter,changing the pitch as easy as adjusting the oscillatortuning, etc.

Such relative parameter changes are realized by thenew differential unison engine (DUNE), which over-comes the aforementioned limitations of current sub-tractive synthesizers. To understand this approach,the Unison concept must be briefly revisited first.

Traditionally, unison on synthesizers means "playingall voices simultaneously". In unison mode, a classicsynthesizer with 8 voices simply fires all 8 voices simul-taneously when pressing a key. The different voicesare slightly detuned, which provides a chorus type ef-fect and thus an overall fat sound, when playing anote. Unfortunately, firing all voices at once meansthat polyphonic play is no longer possible, as all avail-able voices are in use. Hence, modern synthesizers usea more sophisticated unison mode, which allows to setan arbitrary number of unison voices that is only asubset of the total number of available voices. For ex-ample, a synthesizer with a maximum of 32 voices mayoffer the option to trigger 4 unison voices simultane-ously. This still allows playing 8 notes at the sametime (32 / 4 = 8). Another feature that is very com-mon in today’s synthesizers is the ability to specify anarbitrary detuning and stereo spreading of all unisonvoices. A synthesizer which employs 2 unison voicesmay detune both and spread them to the left and right


side of the stereo panorama, which creates a very spa-cious effect. The Synapse Audio WASP is such a syn-thesizer.The idea behind Dune is to make the power of the

unison mode accessible to sound designers. Why re-strict the unison mode to just detuning or panoramachanges? In Dune, any sound parameter can bechanged in unison mode, relative to the basic param-eter settings. This is accomplished by the modulationmatrix. Apart from the classic source, amount anddestination parameters, Dune adds the "Voice" param-eter, which allows to restrict the modulation to one ormore unison voices. This concept is best explained bya simple example matrix:

In this example, we have assigned all three LFOsto three different destinations: Filter Cutoff, Pan(Panorama) and Volume. In the first row, the Voicefield is left blank, which simply means to apply themodulation to all unison voices in use. If the numberof unison voices is set to e.g. five voices, then the fil-ter cutoff will be modulated in the same manner forall five voices. The second and third column, set tomodulate the volume and panorama, are restricted toaffect the second and third unison voice, respectively.

As a result, only those voices will be modulated. Toexperiment with and understand the unison engine, trythe example above (or something similar) on the InitPatch (#128). Make sure that the number of unisonvoices is set to at least three. The number of unisonvoices can be set from the Unison panel, located abovethe modulation matrix. Use the SOLO switches in thesame panel to toggle between individual unison voicesand see how the modulation affects them.

Restricting the LFO modulations to individualvoices may give interesting results, but you may won-der how this helps in solving the sound design issuesmentioned earlier. How is it possible to adjust soundparameters per voice? The following example willdemonstrate this, and conclude the introduction of thedifferential unison engine:

Here we modulate two parameters, filter cutoff and fil-ter resonance. The modulations are set to affect thesecond unison voice. As a source, we chose "Const",which means constant. The result of those modula-tions is to simply adjust the two filter parameters rel-ative to the knob settings. For example, if the Cutoffknob is set to 50%, the second voice will have a cutoffsetting corresponding to 100% (50% + 50%).


4.2 List of Sources

The following section lists all available modulationsources with a brief explanation. All sources, whetherit is MIDI data or synth parameters, are converted tothe same range, which is [0,+1] for unipolar and [-1,+1]for bipolar sources. The LFOs, pitch bend wheel, notenumber and the Random modifier are bipolar sources,all other sources are unipolar.The current value of a source ismultiplied with the

amount value [-100 to +100] in the same modulationslot. The result of the multiplication is then added tothe selected destination parameter.

Velocity

The MIDI Note-On velocity information, which istransmitted once at the instant a key is pressed. Theharder a key is hit, the higher the transmitted value.

Note #

The MIDI Note number, using E4 (=64) as the cen-ter. Higher keys than the center key transmit positivevalues, lower keys negative values.

MWheel

The MIDI modulation wheel data (controller #01).

PWheel

The MIDI pitch wheel data. Note that the pitch bendwheel always changes the pitch up or down dependenton the Bend up/down setting in the main panel. Setboth to zero if you wish to use the pitch wheel exclu-sively for a different purpose.

ATouch

Quality MIDI keyboards not only transmit velocity,but send pressure information as well. This parameteris called Aftertouch. In contrast to velocity, the af-tertouch information is sent permanently and for theentire keyboard, not per key. It is transmitted for aslong as any key(s) are being pressed. Note that thereis a few keyboards which support sending pressure in-formation per key. This is called polyphonic after-touch. While polyphonic aftertouch is supported bythe MIDI standard, such keyboards are very rare andnever found wide usage. Hence, polyphonic aftertouchis not supported.

Const

This source simply sends a constant value of 1. Hence,the amount setting is directly added to the destina-tion parameter. This can be useful for a wide range oftasks, for instance to offset a parameter for a specific


unison voice or to set parameters only available in themodulation matrix.

Random

Sets a random value whenever a voice is triggered.Very useful with pan as a destination, or to add subtlepitch modulations simulating the behavior of acous-tic instruments or vintage analog synthesizers (bothof which have a slightly inconsistent pitch each time anote is played).

Arp Note

The note information sent from the arpeggiator. Thisis a special purpose parameter, which should be usedin combination with Pitch Semi as a destination andwith the Arp Mode set to "Modulation". This willresult in direct pitch changes within a voice, an effectcommon in old computers such as the C64. The re-sulting sound is different from the regular arpeggiator,which constantly triggers and releases voices.

Arp Vel

The velocity information sent from the arpeggiator.This can be used to modulate any parameter rhythmi-cally, and sync’ed to the host tempo if desired.

Breath

MIDI Breath controller (#02).

Foot

MIDI Foot controller (#04).

Expr

MIDI Expression controller (#11).

LFO-1

Current value of LFO-1.

LFO-2


LFO-3


LFO*MW

The value of LFO-1, LFO-2 or LFO-3 multiplied bythe modulation wheel data. Use this to create vibratoor tremolo effects with the depth controlled by themodulation wheel.


LFO*AT

The value of LFO-1, LFO-2 or LFO-3 multiplied by theaftertouch data. Useful to create vibrato type effectswhen applying pressure on the keyboard.

Voice #

The unison voice number counting from zero, i.e. thefirst unison voice sends 0, the second voice sends 1,the third 2, and so on. This source can be useful toquickly set a parameter of each unison voice to a dif-ferent value.

Mod Env

Current value of the modulation envelope.

Filter Env

Current value of the filter envelope.

Amp Env

Current value of the amplitude envelope.

4.3 List of Destinations

The destinations of the modulation matrix compriseexclusively sound parameters, most of which have beenexplained in detail in chapter 3. Thus, the descriptionof the destinations will mainly focus on typical ap-plications and how they can be used in the context ofthe differential unison engine. Also note that the valueranges used in the modulation matrix can differ fromthe ranges of the front panel knobs. Therefor, the pa-rameter description will additionally explain the exactmeaning of the AMOUNT value in the context ofthat parameter.

Osc 1/2 Semi

The tuning of the first/second oscillator in semitones.An amount value of +1 corresponds to one semitone,+12 transposes the oscillator one octave up, -12 trans-poses one octave down etc.

In the context of the differential unison engine,choosing Osc Semi as a destination allows you to spec-ify arbitrary tunings for each voice. For example, ifyou long for a fourth or fifth oscillator having a dif-ferent pitch than the first three oscillators, you couldsimply increase the number of unison voices and setthe oscillator pitch of that voice only.


Osc 1/2 Fine

The fine tuning of the first and second oscillator incents. Cents are a fraction of a semitone (+50 equalshalf a semitone, +100 a full semitone). Modulate thisparameter using a LFO as a source in order to obtainvibrato effects. For strong vibratos spanning a largerpitch range, use Osc 1/2 Semi as a destination instead.The modulation can be restricted to specific voices ifdesired. For example, you could have a static, low-pitched sine wave on the first voice and a vibratingsawtooth on the second.

Osc 1/2 Fat

The FAT parameter of the first and second oscillator.The value range is identical to the front panel knobs.

Osc 1/2 Wave

When using the wavetables, this parameter allows youto set the waveform number relative to the one se-lected on the graphical interface. An amount of -1switches to the previous waveform, an amount of +1to the next etc. Waveforms can be switched on the flyfor classic wavetable synthesis. The transition is im-mediate, however, and thus may cause clicks. A moreimportant application, perhaps, is to select differentwaveforms for different voices. This can be accom-

plished by using CONST as a source and restrictingthe modulation to a particular voice.

Osc 1/2 Phase

This parameter sets the absolute starting phase of thefirst/second oscillator whenever a note is triggered. Asa consequence, this switches off the default free-runmode of that specific oscillator. Set to zero, the speci-fied oscillators starts at zero phase. An amount of +50corresponds to a +180 degree phase shift, an amountof +100 to +360 degrees, etc.

While the human hearing is largely insensitive tothe starting phase of a single oscillator, the relativephase difference between both oscillators can matterin some cases, for example when both oscillators sharethe exact same frequency.

Osc 1/2 KeyTrk

This parameter sets the key tracking of the 1st/2nd os-cillator and is only available in the modulation matrix.An amount of +100 corresponds to the regular keytracking, where each MIDI key number corresponds toone semitone. By changing this parameter to valuesother than +100, you can either realize strange tun-ings or turn off key tracking entirely by setting KeyTrkto 0. This is often done for drum sounds, which haveno defined pitch.


Osc 2 OneShot

Sets the second oscillator to "one shot" mode whenamount is >0. In one shot mode, the oscillator playsonly a single cycle of the waveform, which can be use-ful to shape the transient of a sound.

Osc 3 Level

Adjusts the level of oscillator 3. The value range cor-responds to the front panel knob.

Osc 3 Phase

Sets the absolute starting phase of oscillator 3. Zeromeans the oscillators starts at zero phase, an amountof +50 corresponds to a +180 degree phase shift, anamount of +100 to +360 degrees etc.

Osc Mix

Sets the mix between the 1st and 2nd oscillator. Thisis a very important destination in the modulationmatrix, as it allows you to realize dynamic timbrechanges. In the context of the differential unison en-gine, choosing this parameter as a destination addsanother degree of flexibility, as you can restrict themodulation to a specific unison voice.

Pulse Width

Sets the pulse width for both oscillators, if the pulsewaveform is selected for either the 1st or 2nd oscillator.

Noise Level

Adjusts the noise level parameter relative to the frontpanel knob, using the same value range.

Noise Colour

Adjusts the noise colour parameter relative to the frontpanel knob, using the same value range.

Ring Mod

Adjusts the amount of ring modulation relative to thefront panel knob, using the same value range.

FM 1

FMAmount 1. The meaning of the parameter dependson the selected FM mode (see chapter 3).

FM 2

FMAmount 2. The meaning of the parameter dependson the selected FM mode (see chapter 3).


FM Depth

Controls the overall amount of frequency modulationfrom no modulation (0%) to full modulation (100%).This affects FM on a global level, including any mod-ulation performed on the FM 1 and FM 2 parameters.By default, FM Depth is 100%. Lowering this valuecan be useful if the default FM effect is too extreme.

Mod Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release

Adjusts the modulation envelope parameters relativeto whatever is set on the front panel. This allowsyou to specify different modulation envelopes for dif-ferent voices or to dynamically vary those parametersfor each note.

Filter Cutoff

Adjusts the filter cutoff frequency relative to the frontpanel knob and using the same value range.

Filter Type

Allows you to set the filter type, which is useful tospecify different filters for different voices. For exam-ple, you could have one voice processed by a lowpassfilter, and another voice processed by a bandpass filter.

Refer to the table below, which lists the abbreviatedfilter names used in the modulation matrix.

Filter Type Matrix NameLowpass 12dB LP12Lowpass 24dB LP24LP Ladder 12dB LP12bLP Ladder 24dB LP24bLP24 -> LP12 LP>LPBP12 -> LP12 BP>LPBS12 -> LP12 BS>LPHP12 -> LP12 HP>LPComb -> LP24 Comb>LPLP12+Dist LP+DistLP12+Bitcrush LP+BitcLP12+Follow LP+FolwLP24+Saturation LP+SatLP/BP/HP Sweep LP/BP/HPLP12/LP12 Split LP/LPBP12/LP12 Split BP/LPBS12/LP12 Split BS/LPHP12/LP12 Split HP/LP

Filter Env Amt

Adjusts the filter envelope amount relative to the frontpanel knob, using the same value range.


Filter Reso

Adjusts the filter resonance relative to the front panelknob, using the same value range.

Filter Offset

Adjusts the filter offset parameter relative to the frontpanel knob, using the same value range. The meaningof this parameter depends on the filter type chosen asexplained in chapter 3.

Filter KeyTrk

Sets the key tracking for the filter, which specifies howmuch the cutoff frequency changes according to whichMIDI note number a voice is playing. The parameterworks in the same manner as the front panel knob,however you may specify negative values, too. Neg-ative values cause low keys to have a higher cutofffrequency than high keys.

Filter Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release

Adjusts the filter envelope parameters relative towhatever is set on the front panel. This allows youto specify different filter envelopes for different voicesor to dynamically vary those parameters for each note.

Spike Hard

This parameter introduces a short spike into the am-plitude envelope (see chapter 3) and is only availablein the modulation matrix.

Spike Soft

This parameter introduces a short spike into the am-plitude envelope (see chapter 3) and is only availablein the modulation matrix.

Amp Hold

This parameter delays the onset of the decay stage(see chapter 3) and is only available in the modulationmatrix.

Amp Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release

Adjusts the amplitude envelope parameters relative towhatever is set on the front panel. This allows youto specify different amplitude envelopes for differentvoices or to dynamically vary those parameters foreach note.

Breath, MWheel and Velocity Curve

Using the curve parameters, you can change the ef-fect the MIDI controllers Breath, Modulation wheel


and Velocity have on the destination. By default, allMIDI controller values control the destination in a lin-ear manner (1:1). For example, an incoming modula-tion wheel value of 80 has twice the effect which 40has. By setting the curve parameter, you can changethis 1:1 mapping to a nonlinear behavior. A value ofzero corresponds to the default mapping. When thecurve parameter is set to extreme positions (+/- 100),the resulting mapping causes the MIDI controller towork almost like a switch.

0

Breath / Mod Wheel / Velocity

Mag

nitu

de

+100

-100

Figure 4.1: MIDI Controller curves.

Useful applications for the curve parameters includefine tuning the response of MIDI hardware controllers(especially breath controllers) as well as improving the"feel" of a modulation wheel or velocity sweep.

LFO1*Semi

The tuning in semitones, multiplied with the currentvalue of LFO-1. Use this destination whenever using a

LFO as a source is not possible or if you want to mod-ulate the amplitude of LFO-1 using LFO-2 or LFO-3.Note that setting LFO-1 -> Pitch Semi is the same assetting Const -> LFO1*Semi.

LFO1*Fine

The tuning in cents, multiplied with the current valueof LFO-1.

LFO1*Pulse Width

Adjusts the pulse width of both oscillators, multipliedwith the current value of LFO-1.

LFO2*Cutoff

The filter cutoff parameter, multiplied with the cur-rent value of LFO-2.

LFO2*Env

The filter envelope parameter, multiplied with the cur-rent value of LFO-2.

LFO2*FXDly

Changes the duration of the delay effect, relative tothe knob setting, and multiplied by LFO-2. Note that


all effects are global, hence some care must be takenwhen modulating the delay length. When RESET isenabled for LFO-2 and a patch is played polyphonic,clicks may occur.

LFO3*Amp

The overall amplitude, multiplied with the currentvalue of LFO-3.

LFO3*Pan

The overall panorama position, multiplied with thecurrent value of LFO-3.

LFO3*Comb

When the Comb->LP24 filter type is selected, this des-tination modulates the comb filter’s delay according toLFO-3, otherwise it has no effect. Technically, modu-lating the comb filter delay time is the same principleemployed by a flanger effect.

LFO 1/2/3 Rate

Changes the rate of the specified LFO. The amountvalues correspond to the knob setting, so if the LFORate knob is set to zero, an amount of +100 wouldset the LFO to maximum speed. If the LFO Rate

knob were set fully clockwise, setting an amount of-100 would yield the minimum rate.

LFO 1/2/3 Phase

This resets the specified LFO whenever a new noteis triggered. This is equivalent to enabling the LFO’sRESET switch, except that you can specify the LFO’sstarting phase accurately. An amount value of +50corresponds to a +180 degree phase shift.

MM Amount 1-24

The MM Amount destinations allow you to change themodulation amount of any modulation slot. This fea-ture can be useful to build complex modulations. Forinstance, if LFO 1 modulates the noise level using MMslot 1, then you could have LFO 2 modulate that slotby choosing LFO 2 as a source, and MM Amount 1 asa destination.

Another useful application is to make modulationsdependent on a MIDI controller, e.g. you program amodulation envelope and wish to have the modulationdepth controllable by the modulation wheel. In thatcase you would choose Mod Wheel as a source and theMM slot(s) containing the modulation envelope as adestination.

You may also have one MM slot modulate anotherMM slot, which in turn modulates another MM slot


etc. For such modulations to work properly, you mustensure that the MM Amount numbers occur in ascend-ing order.

FX Dry/Wet

This parameter allows you to set the depth of the en-tire effect chain. You can specify the dry/wet effectmix for each voice or voice combinations separately, ifdesired. Another possible application is to modulatethe effect depth with an LFO or envelope.

Detune

Adjusts the unison detune parameter relative to thefront panel knob, and using the same value range.

Pan Spread

Adjusts the unison spread parameter relative to thefront panel knob, and using the same value range.

Level (dB)

Allows you to adjust the level in decibels, which is use-ful to attenuate or boost individual voices. Be carefulwhen using positive values, as the gain can be veryhigh. To protect your hearing as well as speakers incase of improper use of this parameter, positive values

are clamped at +18 dB, which corresponds to a gainfactor of 8.

Volume

The overall volume. Modulate this parameter usingone of the three LFO’s as a source in order to obtaintremolo effects.

Pan

The overall panorama. Modulate this parameter usingone of the three LFO’s as a source in order to movethe sound in the stereo field.

Pitch Semi

The coarse tuning of the first, second and third oscilla-tor combined. An amount value of +1 corresponds toone semitone, so +12 transposes both oscillators oneoctave up, -12 one octave down etc. Note that thethird oscillator is always slaved to the first. Thus, un-less you restrict this parameter to a particular unisonvoice, the entire sound will be pitched up or down.

In the context of the differential unison engine,choosing Pitch Semi as a destination allows you tospecify arbitrary tunings for each voice. For exam-ple, you could transpose the first voice one octave upor build entire chords with this parameter, each voice


representing a particular chord note. You will find thatsome of the factory patches employ this technique.

Pitch Fine

The fine tuning of the first, second and third oscillatorcombined. Modulate this parameter using a LFO as asource in order to obtain vibrato effects.


5 MIDI Reference

Most knobs and buttons on the front panel can beremote controlled via MIDI. Dune’s default controllerassignments follow common conventions and the MIDIstandard as much as possible. The number of soundparameters Dune offers, however, is higher than theamount of available MIDI controllers. Most effect pa-rameters and large parts of the modulation matrix arethus not assigned to any MIDI controller.

To override the default MIDI assignment, right-click on a knob and select "MIDI Learn", thenmove your hardware controller knob. To removean assignment, choose "MIDI Forget". Once youclose Dune, the changes will be made persistentand apply to any future instance of Dune.

Dune Parameter CC # MIDI Ctrl NameCommonModulation Wheel 1 Modulation WheelGlide 5 Portamento TimeSustain Pedal 64 Sustain PedalBank Select 0, 32 Bank SelectVolume 111

Dune Parameter CC # MIDI Ctrl NameUnisonVoices 51Detune 53Pan Spread 54OscillatorsOsc 1 Waveform 30Osc 1 Fat 102Osc 1 Semi 77 Sound Controller 8Osc 1 Fine 24Osc 2 Waveform 31Osc 2 Fat 103Osc 2 Semi 78 Sound Controller 9Osc 2 Fine 34Osc 3 Level 107Osc 3 Waveform 108Osc Mix 8 BalanceOsc Sync 35Noise Level 109Noise Color 110FM Amount 1 70 Sound Controller 1FM Amount 2 106Ring Modulation 71 Sound Controller 2Pulse Width 79 Sound Controller 10ArpeggiatorArp On 47Arp Rate 50Arp Note Length 52


Dune Parameter CC # MIDI Ctrl NameLFOsLFO 1 Rate 14LFO 1 Waveform 15LFO 1 Sync 16LFO 1 Skew 17LFO 1 Fade In 18LFO 2 Rate 19LFO 2 Waveform 20LFO 2 Sync 21LFO 2 Skew 22LFO 2 Fade In 23LFO 3 Rate 80LFO 3 Waveform 81LFO 3 Sync 82LFO 3 Skew 83LFO 3 Fade In 84Mod EnvelopeMod Attack 26Mod Decay 27Mod Sustain 28Mod Release 29FilterFilter Attack 38Filter Decay 39Filter Sustain 40Filter Release 41

Dune Parameter CC # MIDI Ctrl NameFilter Cutoff 74 BrightnessFilter Reso 42Filter Env Amt 43Filter Key Track 46Amp EnvelopeAmp Attack 73 Attack TimeAmp Decay 36Amp Sustain 37Amp Release 72 Release TimeEffectsEQ 1 Gain 89EQ 2 Gain 90Reverb Amount 91 Effect 1 DepthDelay Amount 92 Effect 2 DepthPhaser/Chor Amount 93 Effect 3 DepthDistortion Amount 94 Effect 4 DepthMod MatrixMM Amount 1 112MM Amount 2 113MM Amount 3 114MM Amount 4 115MM Amount 5 116MM Amount 6 117MM Amount 7 118MM Amount 8 119


6 Legal Information

6.1 Trademarks

VST is a trademark of Steinberg Soft- und HardwareGmbH. All other trademarks and trade names are theproperties of their respective owners, and do not implyowner’s endorsement of this product, or guarantee fullcompliance with owner’s standards.

6.2 End User License Agreement(EULA)

By installing, copying, or otherwise using this soft-ware or any files provided with it, you agree to bebound by all of the terms and conditions of this li-cense agreement. If you are not the original purchaserof the Software, or if you do not agree with the LicenseAgreement, you must promptly remove the softwarefrom your computer, and cease any and all use of it. Ifyou are accepting the License Agreement on behalf ofan other legal entity, the use of the terms "you" and"your" in the License Agreement shall refer to suchentity.

Grant of license

You are granted a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and limited license to install and use theSoftware for the purposes set forth herein. Unless youhave purchased additional licenses, you may only in-stall and use a single copy of the Software on a com-puter, and/or move the software to another computer,provided that you are the only individual using thesoftware. If you are an entity, you may appoint oneindividual within your organization to have the rightto use the Software under the terms of this LicenseAgreement. This software, including all of it’s compo-nents and any additional files included with the distri-bution, is protected by copyright law and internationalcopyright treaties. The total number of copies of thesoftware used by you, may not exceed the number oflicensed copies paid for by you, except that you maymake one copy of the software solely for archival orbackup purposes. The term of this license is perpetual,unless terminated under the conditions provided in theLicense Agreement. Except as provided in the agree-ment, you receive no rights to transfer, rent, lease,lend, copy, modify, market, transmit or reverse engi-neer the software, any component hereof, or any fileprovided with the distribution. The software, and anyfiles included with the distribution, including sampledsounds, presets and demonstration songs, is licensedbut not sold to you, for use in music production. If


you have purchased this software as an upgrade froma previous version, this constitutes a single licensedproduct, to be used under the terms of this LicenseAgreement.

Disclaimer

The software, any component hereof, and any files dis-tributed with the software, is provided "as is", andthere is no warranty of any kind, either express or im-plied - including, but not limited to, the implied war-ranties of merchantibility and fitness for any particularpurpose. The risk as to the quality and performanceof the program is with you, and the licensor will not beheld responsible for any damage or loss, to your per-son or property, as incidential or consequential resultof installing or using this software.

Termination

Your license to use the software is effective from thedate you agree to the terms and conditions of this Li-cense Agreement. You license is automatically termi-nated if you fail to comply with the limitations de-scribed in the License Agreement, and no notice shallbe required from the licensor to effectuate such termi-nation. Upon termination of this License Agreementfor any reason, you shall make no further use of the

software, and shall destroy all copies hereof, and shallnot be entitled to any claims or refunds.


Appendix

Sound Design Reference

The last two characters of every patch name are theauthor’s initials. The following table lists all sounddesigners who contributed patches to Dune, and awebsite where you can learn more about their work.

Ab. Author Name Email or WebsiteDG David Goodwin [email protected] Ed Ten Eyck http://www.edtaudio.comIW Ingo Weidner [email protected] Lance Emmerich [email protected] Mark Holt http://flavors.me/markholtukMK Michael Kastrup http://www.xsynth.comPK Piet Kaempfer www.protonica.deRH Richard Hoffmann www.synapse-audio.comRL Rob Lee www.basslinerecords.com

If you wish to contribute patches or banks to futureversions of DUNE, do not hesitate to contact us.


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