Olga Manual
Transcript of Olga Manual
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USERMANUAL
V1
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OLGAisavirtualanalogsynthesizerunlikeanyother,designedfromfirstprinciplestobedistinctive.
Duringthegoldeneraofanalogsynthesis,manybreedscameandwent. Somewerepopular,somewere
instantlyforgotten,somebecameclassics. Onerarebreeddoesn'tfitintoanyeasycategory: handmade
experimentsfromunexpectedplaces,synthsthatwerefilledwithlifeandcharacter.Theyencourage
experimentationandexploration,andrewardyouwithunexpectedandexcitingsounds,vibrantand
human. Thesearethedustygemsyoucouldspendyourwholelifesearchingfor. ThisisOLGA.
OLGA's
architecture
is
that
of
a
classic
analog
poly-synth,
but
without
the
neurotic
conformity.
Approach
withasenseofadventure;turnknobs,pushbuttons,play. Olgawillrespondtoyourattentionsandyouwilldiscovernewsounds;youwilldiscoverinspiration;youwilldiscoveraduck.
OLGAsunique,livingsoundisderivedfromgroundbreakingsignalprocessingadvances,notfromthesameoldrecycledcodedressedupinchildishmarketingacronyms. It'sjustcoincidencethatthisnew
technology
happens
to
spell
out
...
BezierAntialiasedDynamicAnalogSynthesisSystem
AtrulynewapproachtoDSPwaveformgenerationfortheemulationofgloriousanalogimperfection.
OLGAsfreerunningoscillatorsareinaconstantstateofunstablevariation.Nomerepitchdriftbuta
subtleanddeeplymusicalinstabilityinthegenerationofthewaveformsthemselves,freeofaliasing
artifactsandlightonyourCPU.
GaussianReactiveOscillatorOverdriveVirtualEngineSometimesthejoyofananalogsynthesizercomesfromabusingit,pushinginternallevelsbeyondtheir
intendedlimitsinsearchofthosecherishednonlinearities.ThroughoutOLGAssignalpathlevelscanbepushedthroughsaturationandintofulloverdrive,spreadingasoundpaletteofwarmthandcharacter
throughtofilth,driveandpower.
WhytheRussian?Therightkindoflimitationscanbesurprisinglyliberating,eveninspiring. Mostpeople
"program"asynthbypickingapresetand,maybe,turningthecutoffknobabit. Wewantedtodesignaninstrumentthatwouldinvitemorecreativeplay,andcreateanenvironmentwhereyouwillturnaknobyou'dneverthinktoturnifyouthoughtyouknewhowitwouldaffectthesound. Olgaismeanttobe
approached
in
a
spirit
of
playful
experimentation
and
exploration,
and
our
hope
is
that
she
will
reward
your
senseofadventure.
Ofcourse,eventhebestadventuresbenefitfromamaptofindyourwayhome,soifyoufindwhereWhite
TieishidingonOlga,youcanalsofindsomeremediallanguagehelp.Havefun!
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CONTENTS
SECTION1SynthesisControls
1.1Oscillators.................................. 4
1.2Filters...........................................51.3Amplifier.....................................71.4SyncRetrig................................ 81.5LFO2 ............................................81.6Effects......................................... 91.7Voice ............................................10
1.8
Performer's
Controls.............. 11
SECTION2UsingOlga
2.1Mouse&DirectInput............. 122.2TheKeyboard ............................ 122.3InterfaceSizing ........................ 122.4MIDICCs .....................................13
SECTION3Miscellaneous
3.1FAQ.............................................. 14
3.2
BADASS
&
GROOVE............... 15
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1
Semitone
Tune
For
coarse
tuning
of
the
oscillator,fromanoctaveuptoanoctavedown,in
semitones.
2ShapeThemostfundamentalcontrolofthe
oscillator,choosingwhethertoproduceasquareor
atriangularwaveform.
3ShapeWidthFullyvariablemodificationofthe
characterofthewaveformselectedbycontrol2,
fromsawtotriangle,orthinpulsetosquare.
4ShapeWidthModulationbyLFO1Theactof
changingtheshapewidthwhileplayingcancreate
manyrichsounds,buthavingtoturntheknob
yourselfwillgetboringveryquickly...thiscontrol
tellsLFO1todoitforyou,byavariableamount.
TIPTrysettingtheShapetosquare,ShapeWidth
tohalfandLFO1toamoderatespeed.Thenraise
thisknobfortheclassicPWMeffectattheheartof
many
great
string
sounds.
5LFO1LowFrequencyOscillator1generatesa
triangularcontrolsignal.Aswehavejustseen,it
can
be
used
to
vary
the
Shape
Width
of
Oscillator
1,itcanalsovarythefinetuneofOscillator2and
/orvarythecutofffrequencyofthefilter.Thisknob
controlsitsspeed.
6OscillatorLevelAdjuststhelevelatwhichthis
oscillatorissummedwiththeotherandpassedon
tothefiltertobeusedinyoursound.
TIPTheoscillatorlevelissimilartotheinputgain
knobonaguitaramplifier,notjustavolume
control,andsocanbeusedtointroducepleasing
non-linearitiestoyoursoundbyoverdrivingthe
summingamplifier.Ifyou'relookingforaclean
sound,keepitquitelowandcompensateforthe
reducedvolumeusingOlga'soutputknob.(p7)
7FineTuneOscillator2canbedetunedagainst
Oscillator1usingthisslider,forathickand
complexsoundthatcanbefurtherenhanced
using...
8FineTuneModulationbyLFO1sweepsthefine
tuningofOscillator2withLFO1,byavariable
amountdeterminedbythisknob.
OSCILLATORS.1
fig1.1a
Oscillator1
fig1.1b
Oscillator2
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Olga'sfilterisasophisticatedemulationofa4-pole
analogladderfilter,offeringLowPassorachoice
oftwowidthsofBandPass,allwithresonance. A
separateHighPassfilterfollowsthemainfilterto
allowlowfrequenciestobetrimmedaway.
Thecutofffrequencyofthefiltercanbevariedby
LFO1and/oritsowndedicatedenvelope.
THEFILTERENVELOPE
1HoldAvariabledelaybetweenakeybeing
pressedandtheenvelopestartingtoopen.
2AttackThelevelofthecontrolsignalrisesfrom
zero
to
full
over
a
time
period
determined
with
this
slider.
3DecayAftertheAttacktimeiscompletedthe
controlsignalfallsfromfulltothesustainlevel(see
slider4)overatimeperioddeterminedwiththis
slider.
4SustainAftertheAttackandDecaytimesare
completed,thecontrolsignaloutputsatthelevel
determinedwiththisslider.Thislevelishelduntil
theendoftime,orthekeyisreleased,whichever
comesfirst.Atthatpoint,theenvelopeentersits
final
phase...
5ReleaseThelevelofthecontrolsignalfallsfrom
thesustainleveltozerooveratimeperiod
determinedwiththisslider.
TIPToexperimentwiththefilterenvelope,
adjustingafewothercontrolstothefollowing
settingsmaybeuseful:TheCutoffModulation
Source(p6)tofullyup,theCutoffModulationto
full,
Cutoff
to
zero,
The
Velocity
to
Filter
Envelope
Scalingtozero(p11)andtheAmpEnvelope(p7)to
zeroAttack,zeroDecay,fullSustainandfull
Release.
FILTERS2
fig1.2a
FilterEnvelope
fig1.2b
Stagesofthe
FilterEnvelope
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WARNINGOlga'sresonancecontrolisliveammunition.Likeatrueanalogladder
filter,theresonancewillfeedback,self-oscillate,andgenerallytakeonalifeofitsown
when
the
knob
is
at
higher
levels.
Although
Olga
has
automatic
brickwall
limiting
at
-0.1dB,pleasetakecarewhenquicklyraisingtheresonancecontrol,ifyouvalueyour
delicateaudioperceptionsofttissues.
fig1.2c
Filters
THE
FILTERS
6CutoffModulationSourceAspreviously
mentioned,thecutofffrequencyofthefiltercanbe
variedbyLFO1andthefilterenvelope.Thisslideris
usedtodeterminewhatproportionofthesetwo
sourcesisused;whenthesliderisallthewayup,
onlytheenvelopeisusedtovarythecutoff
frequency;whenthesliderisallthewaydown,only
LFO1isused.
7CutoffModulationAmountThecontrolsource
chosenwithslider6willvarythecutoffbythe
amountchosenwiththisknob.Ifitissettozero,
neithertheenvelopenorLFO1willhaveanyeffect
onthesound.
8FilterTypeOlga'spowerfulnon-linearfiltercan
operateinthreemodes:LowPass,whichremoves
frequenciesabovethecutoff,andachoiceoftwo
widthsofBandPass,whichremovefrequencies
aboveandbelowthecutoff.
9ResonanceFocusesthefilter'senergytightlyat
thecutofffrequency(seeWarning,below).
10
Cutoff
The
key
frequency
at
which
the
filter
operates.
11HighPassFilterThisknobsetsthefrequency
belowwhichthededicatedHighPassfiltertrims
awaylowfrequencies.Olga'smainfiltercan
generateconsiderablesub-harmonicfrequencies,
whichcanberemovedhere,oritcanbeusedto
removeunneededmid-rangefrequenciesfrom
brightsounds.
TIPIfthefilterisnotbehavingasexpected,check
thesettingsoftheKeytoFilterTrackingknob.(p11)
TIPThefilterhasagreatmanyusesbeyond
makingtrancesweeps.Please.TrysettingtheKey
toFilterTrackingknob(p11)to1(straightup),the
CutoffModulationamounttozeroandthe
resonancetofairlyhigh. ThenusetheCutoffknob
totunethefiltertoaharmonocallypleasingpitch.
Thispitchwillfollowthenotesyouplay,withthe
resonanceactinglikeathirdoscillator.Becauseof
Olga'sfilternon-linearities,agreatrangeof
excitingsoundscanbecreatedwiththistechnique.
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AMPLIFIER.3
fig1.3a
Amplifier
1Drive Raisingthedrivelevelincreasesthepower
through
the
whole
system,
which
in
turn
increases
theoverallinstabilty,overdrive,distortionand
wildnessofthesound.
2OutputThisisOlga'smastervolumecontrol.
Automaticsoft-clippingwillbrickwalllimitthe
outputto-0.1dB,inthelikelycasethatOlgaslips
herleashnowandthen.
TIPIftheoutputlimitlightcomeson,andyoudon't
want
the
additional
saturation
that
the
soft-clipping
limiterwillimparttothesound,turndownthe
outputknob.
3DisortionFeedbackWhenengaged,thedrive
outputisfedbackintothedistortioncircuitfora
sharper,edgiersound.
AMPLIFIERENVELOPE
TheAmplifierEnvelopecreatesacontrolsignalthat
shapesthevolumeofeachvoiceinresponsetokey
articulation.ItissimilartotheFilterEnvelopebut
without
its
Hold
stage.
4AttackThelevelofthecontrolsignalrisesfrom
zerotofulloveratimeperioddeterminedwiththis
slider.
5DecayAftertheAttacktimeiscompletedthe
controlsignalfallsfromfulltothesustainlevel(see
slider6)overatimeperioddeterminedwiththis
slider.
6SustainAftertheAttackandDecaytimesare
completed,thecontrolsignaloutputsatthelevel
determinedwiththisslider.Thislevelishelduntil
thekeyisreleased,atwhichpointtheenvelope
entersitsfinalphase...
7ReleaseThelevelofthecontrolsignalfallsfrom
thesustainleveltozerooveratimeperiod
determinedwiththisslider.
fig1.4a
Stagesofthe
AmpEnvelope
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SYNCRETRIG.4
fig1.5a
SyncRetrig
Innormalusetheenvelopesaretriggeredin
responsetonote-onandnote-offfromkeysbeing
played.Thissectioncanoveridethatbehaviourand
causetheenvelopestoberepeatedlyretriggeredin
synchronization
with
your
host's
tempo
setting.
TIPLeavethissectiondisabled('x'=disabled)if
you'renotyetclearonhowtheenvelopeswork.
1TempoSyncDivisionsAretriggercommandis
sentoneverybeatasyourhostplaysback,orona
subdivisionofeachbeat,asselectedwiththisknob.
'x'disablestheentiresyncretrigsection.
2TriggerFilterEnvelopeIfon,theretrigger
commandsareroutedtothefilterenvelope.
3TriggerAmpEnvelopeIfon,theretrigger
commands
are
routed
to
the
amplifier
envelope.
TIPTrysettingthefilterenvelope(p5)toasnappy,
decay-onlyshapebuttheampenvelope(p7)toa
longattackandrelease.Setthesyncretrigsection
torapidlyretriggerjustthefilterenvelope.Each
noteplayedwillsoundarunofsychronizedfilter
spikeswhosevolumefadesinthenout.
LFO2.5
fig1.5a
LFO2
LFOgeneratesatriangularcontrolsignalthatcan
beusedtoapplyglobaloutputlevelmodulation
(tremolo)orglobaltuningmodulation(vibrato)to
thesound.
1RateThisknobcontrolsthespeedofthetremolo
and/or
vibrato.
2TremoloThisknobcontrolsthedepthofthe
outputlevel(volume)modulation.
3VibratoThisknobcontrolsthedepthofthe
outputpitchmodulation.
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EFFECTS.6
fig1.6a
Effects
Youcanapplyeitheraphaserorachoruseffectto
Olga'soutuput.
1EffectLevelControlswhicheffect,andhowmuch
ofit,isapplied. "Dry"(straightupontheknob)
meansthatnoeffectisapplied. Turntheknobleft
andthephaserisappliedwithincreasingstrength.
Turntheknobright andthechorusisappliedwith
increasingstrength.
2RateControlstheoscillationrateofthephaseror
choruseffect.
3DepthControlstheoscillationdepthofthephaser
orchoruseffect.
4Mono/StereoControlswhetherthephaseror
chorusrunsinmonoorstereo. Botheffectsoffera
gooddealofstereoimagemovementinstereo
mode.
PHASER
Wehavetosayherethatthisisthewildestphaser
we'veeverheard. Pleaseexpectyourbowelstobe
stirred. Thefollowingcontrolsaffectspecific
phasersettings.
5Phaser1-3Thephaserhas3resonant
frequencies. Adjustthesecontrolstochangethem.
Youcangetanamazingversatilityofsoundwith
differentresonantfrequencysettings. Changing
theorderoftheresonantfrequencieschangesthe
soundaswell. Thesecontrolsofferhighrewards
forexperimentation.
6PhaserFeedbackControlshowmuchofthe
phaseroutputisfedbacktoitsinput. Aswiththe
mainladderfilter'sresonancecontrol(p6),thisisa
live
ammunition.
The
output
is
always
brickwall-limitedto-0.1dB(seep7),butpushingthephaser
feedbackquicklycanstillcausesomebrain
membranepenetration.
CHORUS
Olgaoffersadeep,livelychoruseffectbasedon
thesameunstablenonlineararchitectureasthe
mainladderfilter. Thefollowingcontrolsaffect
specificchorussettings.
7ChorusDelayThiscontrolaffectsthe"roominess"
ofthechoruseffect,andalsointroducesaslight
initialdelay.
8ChorusSpreadThisaffectsthewidthbetween
differentvoicesinthechoruscontrol. Thewider
thespread,thestrongertheperceptionofseparate
voicesinthechorus.
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Olgaemulatesthe'voiceboard'architectureof
analogpolyphonicsynthesizers.Notesyouplayon
thekeyboardareassignedtothenextavailable
voicedependingonthesettingsmadehere.
1VoiceModeThevoicemodesavailableare:
NOISETheoscillatorsarebypassedandallnotes
aresenttoOlga'snoisegenerator.Oscillator1's
level
knob
sets
the
level
of
low
frequency
noise.
Oscillator2'slevelknobsetsthelevelofhigh
frequencynoise.Mixedtogetherinequalparts,the
outputwillbewhitenoise..
MONOAllnotesaresenttothefirstvoiceonly,so
onlythemostrecentlyplayednoteissounded.
However,andyou'lllikethis,theplayingorderof
theothernotesisremembered,soifyourelease
themostrecentnote,thenextmostrecentnote(if
stillhelddown)issoundedagain.
UNISON2ThesameasMonomode,buttheactive
noteisassignedtotwovoicessimultaneously.The
voicesareslightlydetuned.
UNISON4ThesameasMonomode,buttheactive
noteisassignedtofourvoicessimultaneously.The
voicesareslightlydetuned.
UNISON8ThesameasMonomode,buttheactive
note
is
assigned
to
eight
voices
simultaneously.
Thevoicesareslightlydetuned,anditsoundsthick
....verythick.
DUOVoice1playsonlyOscillator1,Voice2plays
onlyOscillator2,andsuccessivenotesalternate
betweenvoices. Yousortofhavetoplayitto
understand.
POLY8Uptoeightsimultaneousnotesareplayed
andassignedtothefirsteightvoices
polyphonically.Whenaninthnoteisplayed,the
oldestvoiceissilencedandreassignedtothenew
note.
When
using
long
release
times,
this
mode
maysound similartothefullPoly16mode,but
saveonCPUload.
POLY16Allsixteenvoicesareused,assignedto
thesixteenmostrecentnotes.Whenaseventeenth
noteisplayed,theoldestvoiceissilencedand
reassignedtothenewnote.
2PortamentoWhenthisknobissetabovezero,
andtheVoiceMode(see1)settoMono,Unison2,
Unison4,Unison8,orDuo,legatoportamentois
activated.Playanotewhileanotherishelddown
andthepitchoftheoscillatorswillsweeptothe
newnote.Thetimetakentoperformthesweepis
determinedwiththisknob.
TIPTrystringinganumberofnotestogetherinthis
legatostyle,andtheywillcontinuetosweepfrom
notetonote.Olgawillnotretriggertheenvelopes
untilallnotesarereleased,so,forexample,along
filter
attack
could
be
used
to
ramp
up
the
filter
over
theperiodofthephrase.
fig1.7a
Voice
Controls
VOICE.7
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ThissectioncontrolshowOlgarepondstothemost
directsourceoftheperformer'sexpression:note,
notevelocity,pitchbendandmodulation.
TIPForthemoreinvolvedperformer,allofOlga's
knobsandswitchesrespondtoMIDIControl
Changes.
(p13)
1ModulationWheelGreatsingersand
instrumentalistsoftenusevariationsinmodulation
toaccentorsoftenphrases,andtodevelop
sustainednotes.Olga'smodulationwheelcanbe
usedtointroducemodulationsinoscillatorshape,
finetune,tremoloand/orvibratobyscalingthe
depthoftheLFOs.
2ModulationLFOScaleTheseknobsdeterminethe
amountbywhichthemodulationwheelscalesthe
depthofLFO1(p4)and/orLFO2(p8). Whenaknob
isonfullitmeansthatthecompletetravelofthe
modulationwheelwillscalethatLFOsdepthfrom
zerotoitsnormaldepth.
3PitchBendWheelBendsthepitchofthe
oscillatorsupordown.
TIPIfacan't-stop-widdlingguitaristisdirupting
your
recording
session,
set
him
(its
always
a
him!)
upwithOlga,someheadphones,andshowhim
whatthePitchBendwheeldoes.Comebackinan
hourorso.
4PitchBendRangePitchBendcanindependently
bendthepitcheachofOlga'soscillatorsbya
variable
amount,
determined
with
these
knobs.
5VelocitytoAmpEnvelopeScalingCausesthe
playingvelocitytoaffectthescaleoftheAmp
Envelope'scontrolsignal(p7),andthusthelevel
(volume)ofthenote.
6VelocitytoFilterEnvelopeScalingCausesthe
playingvelocitytoaffectthescaleoftheFilter
Envelope'scontrolsignal(p5).IftheFilterEnvelope
issettoalterthecutofffrequency,thiswillresultin
achangeinthetimbreofthenote.
7KeytoFiltertrackingScalingDeterminesthe
degreetowhichthepitchofeachnoteplayedalters
theCutoffFrequencyoftheFilter(p6).Whenthe
knobispointingdirectlyupwards,thiskeytracking
willbe'perfect'-i.e.asemitonechangeinthenote
playedwillresultinasemitonechangeinthe
CutoffFrequency.
PERFORMER'SCONTROLS.8
fig1.8a
Performer'sControls
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Knobs,sliders,buttons,andothercontrolsinall
Schwaaudioplugins(pleasevisit
www.stillwellaudio.comtoseethemenagerie)can
be
manipulated
in
various
ways.
Mouseclick/drag:movesthecontrol.
Mouseclick/control-drag:movesthecontrol
veryslowly,toallowfineadjustment.
Mousedouble-click:resetsthecontroltothe
initialvalue.
Mouse
right-click
:
opens
a
number
entry
windowoverthecontrol,forkeyboardentryof
precisevalues. Ifyougrabthecontrolbehindthe
numberentrywindowwiththemouse,youcansee
theexactvaluechangeasyoudragthemouse.
.1MOUSE&
DIRECTINPUT
Olga's
interface
keyboard
can
be
used
as
a
handy
wayoftestingsoundsbyclickingonthekeys.The
effectsofvelocitycanalsobetested;clickingatthe
topofthekeyproducesalowvelocitynote,atthe
bottomofthekeygeneratesafullvelocitynote.
In
keeping
with
almost
all
fictional
synthesizers,
Olga'skeyboardis4.4167octaveslong.Note,
however,thatthesynthesisenginewillrespondto
thefulloctaverangeofMIDInotes.
.2 KEYBOARD
fig2.3a
Keyboard
Olga'sinterfacehasseveralviewmodes,whichare
selectedwiththeinterfacesizingbuttons.Thelarge
left-hand
button
sets
the
overall
size
of
the
interface,betweenfullandreducedzoom.Theright-
handbuttonsselectwhetherthekeyboardand
performer'scontrolsareshown,allowingyouto
flip
between
the
smallest
view
(reduced
zoom,
no
keyboard)tofullviewwithoneclick.
.3
INTERFACESIZING
fig2.4a
InterfaceSizing
Controls
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.4 MIDICCs
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Q:IsOlgaFree?
A:No. Olgaisnot"freeware"or"donationware."
Olga
is
a
paid
software
product
just
like
one
you
buyinaboxfromastore. Itrepresentsalotof
hardworkbyus.
ButwesubscribetotheReaperEthic.Firstly,we
believethatnobodyshouldbetrickedintobuying
somethingtheydon'tneed,sowewantyoutobe
abletofullyevaluateOlgabeforeyoubuyit.
Secondly,webelievethatcrippledevaluations
(beeps,hisses,timelimits,intentionallydisabled
functionality)
and
copy
protection
schemes
(dongles,passwords)serveprimarilytodegrade
theexperienceoflegitimateusers,whileproviding
onlyminorprotectionagainstillegitimateusers.
Basically,ifyouwanttostealOlga,there'snot
muchwecandotostopyou. ButifyoutryOlga,
andlikeit,andyougetvaluefromourhardwork,
wetrustthatyouwillvisitwww.stillwellaudio.com
(youcangettherebyclickingtheword
"unregistered" onOlga)andbuyalicense. A
license
also
buys
you
enthusiastic
support
directly
fromus,thecreatorsofOlga.
Theonlydownsideofalicenseisthatyoudon'tget
towatchtheamazinglycoolcountdownintro
screenanymore.
Q:WhatisOlga'sresourceuselike?
A:Wethinkit'sverygood. Anyseriousvirtual
instrumentneedstostrikeabalancebetweenits
useofCPUandRAMresources. Wherepossible,
wehavetriedtouseRAMtosaveCPU,while
keepingoverallRAMusewithinreasonablelimits.
Herearesomedetails:
-AlmostallRAMresourceuseissharedamongall
activeinstancesofOlga,soonlythefirstOlgawill
useanymeaningfulRAM. RAMisessentiallyfree
forallsubsequentinstances.
-
All
else
being
equal,
unison
voice
mode
will
use
moreCPUthanmono(p10),poly16voicemodewill
usemoreCPUthanpoly8(p10),thephaseror
choruswillusemoreCPUonthanoff(p9),andlong
filterorampenvelopereleasetimeswillusemore
CPUthanshortreleasetimes(p5&p7). Polyvoice
modewithlongenvelopereleasetimescanbe
especially
CPU
hungry.
Q:Ihaveanawesomesongwith13
instancesofOlgarunningsimultaneously.
HowcanIkeeptrackofwhichinstanceisthe
KillahLeadandwhichistheBigBootyBass?
A:We'reastepaheadofyou!Trychoosing
differentclutterforvisualcues.
Q
:
What
is
SSE2
and
why
should
I
care?
A:SSE2isanextendedCPUinstructionsetfirst
availableonprocessorsmadein2001and
supportedbyvirtuallyallprocessorsmadeafter
2004. OlgamakesextensiveuseofSSE2to
minimizeCPUload. Notableolderprocessorsthat
donotsupportSSE2arethePentium3andpre-64
AthlonXPseries. Computerswiththese
processorswillsimplynotrecognizeOlgaasa
loadable
plugin.
We
provide
a
special
non-SSE2
buildofOlgaforthesemachines,whichhasexactly
thesamefunctionality,usageandlicensingterms,
butsomewhathigherCPUload.
Q:Howdidthatoneguymakethatcrazy
coolsoundwithOlga?
A:PleasecheckoutthedemosongsontheOlga
pageatwww.stillwellaudio.com. Thesongscover
abreadthofmusicalstylesandtherearemany
differentkindsofOlgasoundsrepresented. For
eachsong,theartisthasgraciouslyallowedusto
posttheentireprojectasaReaperprojectfile
(pleasevisitwww.reaper.fmifyoudon'talready
haveReaper). Youcanopentheprojectfilesand
seeexactlyhoweachsoundwascreated.
Q:Where'sthe"VanHalenJump"preset?
A:Goaway.Wehearsomegenericbland
synthesizer
calling
you.
.1 FAQs
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whatisBADASS?
Analogequipmentisunpredictable. Grumpyold
handmadeanalogequipmentismorethan
unpredictable:it'salive. Digitaleffortstoemulate
analogunpredictabilityandlivelinesstendtofall
intotwocategories.
There'stheKindaSoundslikeitapproach,wherefor
example
waveshaping
is
used
to
create
tube
saturation. Waveshapingdoessoundkindoflike
tubesaturation,inthatit'ssortoffuzzywhenyou
playloud. Butwaveshapinghasnomovement
overtime,soitcan'teversoundaliveanddynamic
thewayrealhardwarecan.
Thenthere'stheRandomlyChangeitapproach,
whereadigitalsoundiscreatedandthenrandomly
twiddledinanefforttosoundunpredictable. Many
analog
emulations
rely
on
random
pitch
modulation,forexample,whichaddsawobbleto
thesound,butagainthere'snodevelopmenttothe
sound. It'sstilladigitalsignalbeingchangedina
digitalway.
We'vetakenanewapproach:ourBezier
AntialiasedDynamicAnalogSynthesisSystem,
whichwecallBADASS,withatonethatwe
calculateisironicandpatronizingyettongue-in-
cheekandcleverinjusttherightblendtoappealto
you,gentlereader. Attheheartoftheapproachis
newDSPtechnologythatbandlimitsarbitrary
Beziercurvesinrealtimetoallowessentially
freehanddrawingofwaveformswithnoaliasing
artifacts. Wethenlayeronauniqueorganic
algorithm,whichallowsthebezierwaveformsto
grow,changeshape,anddevelopovertime.
Whatthisallmeansisthatratherthancreating
digitalsoundsandattemptingtodigitallymodify
them
to
sound
analog-like,
instead
Olga
has
life
and
motiondesignedintotheveryfoundationofthe
waveformsthemselves.
what
is
GROOVE?
There'sauniquesensationyougetwhenyoustand
infrontofanoldguitarampandturntheinputgain
way
up.
Will
my
eardrums
survive?
Will
the
amp
explode? ItsoundsOKwhenIplaynormal
dynamics,butifIslamapowerchord,willIdie
instantly? Yousimplycan'tgetthatthrillfroma
pieceofsoftware. We'vetriedtocapturethat
sensationofbarelycontrolledchaoswithournew
GaussianReactiveOscillatorOverdriveVirtual
Engine.. GROOVE,likeBADASS,managestobe
nerdy,hip,self-deprecating,andsmugallatthe
sametime.
GROOVEmodifieseverypartofOlga'svirtual
circuitrysothatthemorepoweryousendthrough
it,thewildertheoutputis. ThekeytoGROOVEis
thattheoutputbecomeslesspredictableinstant-to-
instant,yetremainsstructured,andneverflies
completelyoutofcontrol. Well,sometimesitcan
flycompletelyoutofcontrol,ifyou'reoverly
libertinewiththeresonance(p.5)orfeedback(p.5)
controls.
Tohearwhatwemean,slowlyincreasethe
oscillatorlevelknobs(p.4)tooverdrivetheladder
filter(p.5),orincreasethedriveknob(p.7)to
overdrivetheoutputamplifier. Thedistortionwill
developandmoveovertime.GROOVE: More
ThanJustFuzz!(tm)
.2
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