Arturia PROPHET-VS V, User Manual

Page 1: ...USER MANUAL _PROPHET VS V...

Page 2: ...eloise Noir SOUND DESIGN Lily Jordy lead Jean Michel Blanchet Quentin Feuillard Maxime Audfray Florian Marin Andrea De Paoli Gustao Bravetti Klaus Baetz Solidtrax Sonar Traffic Victor Morello TESTING...

Page 3: ...rsonal use without the express written permission of ARTURIA S A All manufacturer and product names mentioned on this manual are trademarks of their respective owners which are in no way associated or...

Page 4: ...n combination with an amplifier headphones or speakers may be able to produce sound levels that could cause permanent hearing loss DO NOT operate for long periods of time at a high volume or at a leve...

Page 5: ...19 3 3 1 Left Side 19 3 3 2 Right Side 20 3 4 The Side Panel 22 3 4 1 Settings 22 3 4 2 MIDI Tab 25 3 4 3 Macros Tab 29 3 4 4 Tutorials 31 4 The Preset Browser 32 4 1 Search and Results 33 4 2 Using T...

Page 6: ...67 6 1 1 Bypass Button 67 6 1 2 Vector Display 68 6 1 3 Mix Envelope Controls 69 6 1 4 Tempo Sync and Rate Multiplier 70 6 1 5 Loop Mode 71 6 2 Filter Envelope Tab 72 6 2 1 Envelope Mode 72 6 3 Amp E...

Page 7: ...8 3 3 Dynamics Processors 97 8 3 4 Modulation Effects 100 8 3 5 Filter and EQ Effects 106 9 Software License Agreement 108...

Page 8: ...llators each of which could create a plethora of digital waveforms anything from duplicates of traditional analog waveforms such as sine and sawtooth to extremely complex harmonic patterns The player...

Page 9: ...or Korg an instrument that would not have existed without the research and development that went into the Prophet VS In 2002 he formed Dave Smith Instruments and started manufacturing his own hardware...

Page 10: ...major advances in several domains of synthesis 1 2 1 Aliasing Free Oscillators Standard digital synthesizers produce aliasing in high frequencies especially when using Pulse Width Modulation PWM or Fr...

Page 11: ...reproduces the result of this capacitor discharge in software Directly below is a plot of a waveform from one of the hardware instruments that Arturia has emulated followed by one generated by Arturia...

Page 12: ...S main panel lovingly recreated Four oscillators with 94 original Prophet VS waveforms plus coarse and fine tuning 450 additional waveforms per oscillator including granular synthesis waveforms FM ana...

Page 13: ...og into your Arturia account Scroll down to the My Products section of ASC Click on the Activate button next to the software you want to start using in this case Prophet VS V It s as simple as that 2...

Page 14: ...s various setup options Go to Audio MIDI Settings to set up how the audio and MIDI signals behave This option works in the same way on both Windows and macOS X although the names of the devices availa...

Page 15: ...maller buffer means lower latency between pressing a key and hearing the note but a higher strain on your CPU A fast modern computer should be easily able to operate at low sample buffer sizes such as...

Page 16: ...e in macOS is that OS X uses CoreAudio to handle audio routing and within that your audio device will be available in the second drop down menu 2 2 3 Using Prophet VS V in Plug In Mode Prophet VS V co...

Page 17: ...s of Prophet VS V 2 The Main Synth Panel p 49 Here is where you will likely spend most of your time in Prophet VS V It contains a detailed reproduction of the Prophet VS panel plus a few of our own fe...

Page 18: ...down menu and lets you access many important features New Preset Creates a new Preset with default settings on all parameters It is a good place to start if you would like to create a new sound from...

Page 19: ...from the instrument which is useful for backing up or sharing Presets Saved banks can likewise be reloaded using Import Resize Window The Prophet VS V window can be resized from 50 to 200 of its origi...

Page 20: ...p by step descriptions of how to make the most of Prophet VS V Help Provides links to the Prophet VS User Manual and online FAQ About Here you can view the Prophet VS V software version and movie cred...

Page 21: ...The Preset Name is listed next in the toolbar Clicking on the name reveals a pull down menu with other available presets Click on any name to load that preset or click away from the menu to close it...

Page 22: ...three effects slots with a choice of 16 studio grade effects for each Access these features by clicking the Advanced button These features are covered in two upcoming chapters Advanced Modulations p 7...

Page 23: ...ser interface and provides quick access to several important parameters 3 3 1 Left Side Hover the mouse over any control and the left side of the Lower Toolbar displays a description of the parameter...

Page 24: ...n help reduce CPU usage on older computers Note that Prophet VS V can go up to 16 voices far more than the original hardware When Unison p 61 is selected in the main synth panel this menu shows number...

Page 25: ...change in Prophet VS V Undo History center menu icon Displays a scrollable list of changes Click on a change to restore the Preset to that state CPU Meter and Panic Button Displays the current CPU us...

Page 26: ...when Glide p 62 portamento is active Notes Prophet VS V glides between notes as on most synths Original Prophet VS V glides between voices as on the original hardware MIDI Channel Selects the MIDI ch...

Page 27: ...zone of the controller if the controller allows for splits No Channels Sets the maximum number of MIDI channels on which Prophet VS V receives MPE controller information Bend Range Sets the range of p...

Page 28: ...e Haken Continuum ROLI Seaboard family and Keith McMillen Instruments KBoard Pro 49 In addition to aftertouch controllers like this typically support a glide motion which means moving a finger side to...

Page 29: ...parameters on the main panel are highlighted so you can map physical controls on your MIDI controller to them A typical example might be to map an expression pedal to the Master Volume control or a ph...

Page 30: ...rameter Menu p 27 described below 3 4 2 2 Min and Max Values The Min and Max value columns for each parameter in the list let you scale the amount by which a parameter in Prophet VS V changes in respo...

Page 31: ...0 degree encoders Delete Removes the assignment and turns the corresponding onscreen control purple again Change Parameter Brings up a large sub menu of every assignable parameter in Prophet VS V This...

Page 32: ...once and then quickly load it here This saves you from having to redo the MIDI mapping assignments from scratch each time you swap hardware Two options in this menu are especially powerful Default Gi...

Page 33: ...l over multiple parameters via a single knob twist Macros are saved at the Preset level 3 4 3 1 Macro Slots Click one of the Macro knobs to select which Macro you want to work assign parameters to The...

Page 34: ...or which parameters to put in it You could name a Macro after a favorite TV character and group a handful of unrelated parameters there In practice it s probably better to keep things more descriptiv...

Page 35: ...you through different areas of Prophet VS V in steps The parts of the panel to focus on are highlighted as you go If you re editing a Preset make sure to save it before opening the Tutorials because...

Page 36: ...er click the X that appears in its place The browser has four main areas Number Area Description 1 Search and Results p 33 Search Presets with text strings and by tags for Type and Style 2 Sidebar p 3...

Page 37: ...ters in the Preset name Then if your search term is close to that of a Type or Style p 34 it will include results fitting those tags as well The Results list beneath shows all Presets that fit your se...

Page 38: ...to bring up a list of types Notice that each type also has several sub types Click any one of them and the results will show only Presets that match that tag You can also select multiple Types using...

Page 39: ...Rise etc Click on any tag to select it Click again or right click on any selected tag to de select it Notice that when you select a tag several other tags usually disappear This is because the browser...

Page 40: ...s to the top of the list These will appear just under any Presets you have liked p 37 The third column has two header options DESIGNER and BANK Click the icon with three lines to choose between the tw...

Page 41: ...g the heart next to their names later click on the heart icon to put all of your favorites at the top of the Results list Use as many of the sorting and filtering features as you need and you will fin...

Page 42: ...you search the current bank of Presets loaded into Prophet VS V as we did in the previous section 4 4 1 My Sound Banks Clicking My Sound Banks brings up a window with all of the currently available S...

Page 43: ...you ve marked with the heart icon To decide which colors you d like to display hover over My Favorites and click Edit Then use the buttons to select which colors you d like to see or hide and then cli...

Page 44: ...sidebar displays any Playlists you have created or imported Playlists are a very powerful management tool for set lists for gigs Learn more about them in the Playlists section p 45 below 40 Arturia Us...

Page 45: ...lds use one of the pull down menus to change the Bank or Type and click the sign to add or delete Styles Types and Styles changes you make here are reflected in searches For example if you remove the...

Page 46: ...comment for several Presets at the same time it s easy to do Simply hold command macOS or ctrl Windows and click the names of the Presets you want to change in the Results list Then enter the comment...

Page 47: ...rrespond to the Type tags Each of these brings up a submenu of all Presets of its Type If you have an active search by Type and or Style the up down arrows to the right of the Preset name will step th...

Page 48: ...rger duplicates of the Macro knobs in the Lower Toolbar Move one and its partner moves with it Assigning parameters to Macros is covered in the Macro Tab p 29 section of Chapter 3 44 Arturia User Manu...

Page 49: ...r first Playlist To get started drag any Preset to the Sidebar The My Playlists heading will appear along with a New icon Drop the Preset onto the New icon and you will then be given a pop up to name...

Page 50: ...Presets for your Playlist When you find a desired Preset click drag it onto the Playlist name To view the contents of a playlist click on the playlist name Click and drag from the Search Results list...

Page 51: ...ation of the Preset you just moved A bright white line will briefly appear at the insert point 4 8 5 Remove a Preset To delete a Preset from a playlist right click on its name to bring up a pop up men...

Page 52: ...ext to the New Song button This brings up a pull down menu Rename Playlist Renames the current Playlist without making a copy Save Playlist As Creates a duplicate of the playlist with Copy appended to...

Page 53: ...ur digital oscillators could each generate a different waveform with a choice of 95 single cycle waves plus 32 user waves on the hardware original We have expanded upon that greatly which we will deta...

Page 54: ...value 5 2 2 Fine Adjustments To adjust a control more slowly and therefore more precisely hold Control or use the right mouse button while operating it 5 2 3 Parameter Name Display As mentioned in Ch...

Page 55: ...each oscillator and move the joystick to adjust the blend of the waveforms You can also copy a waveform from one oscillator container to another by clicking the overlapping squares icon which will br...

Page 56: ...Show All Hide All option at the upper right corner This image shows all oscillators controls open The Freq knob coarse tunes each oscillator in semitones and the Fine knob tunes to one semitone in eit...

Page 57: ...lets you import your own samples for use as oscillator waveforms Click Add Sample at the top of the browser to open a dialogue box on your desktop where you can navigate to the audio file you wish to...

Page 58: ...aveforms It was a four pole 24dB per octave lowpass ladder filter that used a Curtis microchip Cutoff Adjusts the filter cutoff frequency Reso Sets the level of a peak of frequencies directly at the c...

Page 59: ...nts we recommend using the Envelopes Tab p 67 in the Advanced Panel 5 5 1 Common Controls The three envelopes have the following controls in common Envelope Select The button switches the display and...

Page 60: ...set There are also the following parameters for more precise control Point Drag on the point number at the top of the display to select a breakpoint for editing X Drag on the numerical field to change...

Page 61: ...ominally the sustain point is the same as the loop end point See Loop Mode p 71 in the next chapter for specifics on loop behavior 5 5 3 Filter Envelope Like the Mix Envelope the Filter Envelope featu...

Page 62: ...dvanced Panel Here we will simply cover their basic controls Select The button on the left toggles the control between LFO 1 and LFO 2 Shape Drag on the waveform display to change the LFO waveform Syn...

Page 63: ...e If Sync is active this is a rhythmic division or multiple of the master tempo Pattern Sets the type of Arpeggiator pattern Up Down Up Down Order as Played or Random Rev reverses the note order of th...

Page 64: ...note repeats but the number of notes played on a given step still increases This makes the Arpeggiator sound like it has slowed down Reduce Gate time to correct this 5 7 3 Arpeggiator Hold Modes Hold...

Page 65: ...ntially monstrously huge sounds Unison Engages and disengages Unison mode Detune Introduces and adjusts a tuning spread between the Unison voices When Unison is active the Polyphony p 20 menu in the l...

Page 66: ...to hear a note come in crisply with no pitch travel just make sure all prior notes are fully released then play it 5 8 2 1 Glide Modes Glide portamento on the original Prophet VS was actually between...

Page 67: ...ter tuning of the instrument from 440 to 480 Hz 5 9 Main Panel Chorus Though Prophet VS V offers two chorus options in the Effects p 86 section of the Advanced Panel it also emulates the built in chor...

Page 68: ...etter keys in the rows beginning with Q and A functioning as black and white keys respectively Z and X shift the octave down and up 5 10 1 Pitch and Modulation Wheels The onscreen pitch bend and modul...

Page 69: ...ure and expands your creativity allowing you to add a degree of randomization to ten different parameter groups in Prophet VS V Drag on the numerical fields to set the amount of random factor you woul...

Page 70: ...r level of variance 1 Factory 2 Aged 3 Out of Calibration Custom Lets you set up a custom condition using the trim pots to the right Cutoff Controls the variance in the Filter Frequency between voices...

Page 71: ...ntral to its ability to create harmonic motion not possible on analog synths Some readers may be thinking Isn t that just wavetable synthesis Not quite Wavetable synths like the PPG Wave certainly mor...

Page 72: ...s the real time vector position of the Mix Envelope Modulations When this is active the puck displays the vector joystick position as determined by all modulation sources that may be affecting the osc...

Page 73: ...ds in which you drag up or down Point Selects the individual breakpoint you wish to adjust Time Sets the time it takes for the envelope to travel between the previous and selected breakpoints X Sets t...

Page 74: ...f the main menu p 14 if played stand alone Binary Triplet and Dotted rhythmic feels are available The Rate Multiplier functions as a simple speed control in Hz if the Mix Envelope is unsynced If synce...

Page 75: ...oop same as grabbing the left handle End Selects the final breakpoint for the loop same as grabbing the right handle Repeat Chooses the number of times the loop repeats 1 7 or infinite 6 1 5 1 Some De...

Page 76: ...points may be dragged in two dimensions as usual with the X axis representing time and the Y axis representing the filter cutoff level 6 2 1 Envelope Mode Prophet VS V offers three distinct types of e...

Page 77: ...the first and final points can be set higher than zero on the vertical axis They can also be precisely adjusted with these controls Point Selects the individual point for adjustment Time Sets the time...

Page 78: ...ection Sets whether the loop plays forward only or forward and backward Start Selects the starting breakpoint for the loop End Fixed at point 4 the sustain point Repeat Chooses the number of times the...

Page 79: ...nd moving the breakpoints Point Selects the individual breakpoint you wish to adjust Time Sets the time it takes for the envelope to travel between the selected breakpoints and the next one in seconds...

Page 80: ...e The MSEG envelope also features a time indexed ruler across the top of the display expressed in seconds and fractions of seconds Last but not least the MSEG envelope type can free run or is tempo sy...

Page 81: ...djusts the delay time before the attack phase begins Attack Sets the time it takes for the envelope to reach peak level Decay Adjusts the time for the envelope to fall from peak level to sustain level...

Page 82: ...e Amp envelope The Amp Envelope controls the volume of the sound over time Except for this fact its functionality controls and options are identical to the Filter Envelope p 72 You may refer to that s...

Page 83: ...asses the Modulations section without removing any routings or otherwise losing settings 7 1 The Functions The Function generator can be thought of as a highly flexible envelope meets LFO The concept...

Page 84: ...ther side Clicking on a preset icon will load that function shape into the visualizer 7 1 2 Function Copy Click the overlapping squares icon to bring up a menu that allows you to copy the selected fun...

Page 85: ...nts cannot be deleted or moved horizontally They may be moved vertically The breakpoint marked with an S indicates the nominal sustain level of the Function if used in Envelope mode Double click on a...

Page 86: ...ng These can speed up your Function creation by letting you draw repeating shapes via click dragging inside the visualizer Free Creates a single point Steps Creates a repeating square wave like patter...

Page 87: ...FO with no sustain point Key Trig Like LFO mode but the Function begins at the start of its waveform phase every time a new note is played Then there are the Bipolar and Polyphonic options Bipolar Whe...

Page 88: ...and eight destinations for a total of 128 possible routings Sources are arranged vertically along the left side destinations are listed horizontally across the top 7 2 1 Assigning a Source Click on an...

Page 89: ...is controlled Think of the matrix like a giant interactive spreadsheet for modulation which we think is a lot more fun than accounting Drag up or down on the numerical field to set a positive or nega...

Page 90: ...The above image shows a fully populated effects complement 8 1 Effects Routing This has two options parallel and serial In Parallel mode each effect is fed separately by the upstream signal of Prophet...

Page 91: ...ample putting distortion before chorus gives a different result than putting chorus before distortion Be careful with serial routing as gain from one effect to the next can build up resulting in overl...

Page 92: ...t removing your effects from their slots or losing their settings 8 2 2 Bypass Buttons Furthermore each slot has its own on off button in its upper right corner This is useful for bypassing the effect...

Page 93: ...ffects presets cannot be overwritten These are presets within the Preset meaning the choice is then saved with the overall Preset for the sound Each effect type has its own optimized presets 8 2 5 Eff...

Page 94: ...and unprocessed signal Note that the signal is only dry relative to that effect it may be being processed by others For the Parametric EQ the slider scales each EQ band For the Stereo Panner and Multi...

Page 95: ...options When synced delay time is a division of host tempo Fine Adds a fine tuning offset to the delay time in milliseconds Feedback Sets the amount of delayed signal fed back into the effect for re p...

Page 96: ...Fine Adds a fine tuning offset to the delay time in milliseconds Input Vol Sets the input gain High settings may cause distortion Intensity Sets the amount of delayed signal fed back into the effect f...

Page 97: ...right channels Feedback Sets the amount of delayed signal fed back into the effect for re processing Stereo Detune Introduces tuning variation between left and right channels Pitch Shift Adjusts the a...

Page 98: ...eflections occur Decay Adjusts the time it takes for the reverb tails to die out Damping Increases attenuation of high reverb frequencies before low frequencies Stereo Width Adds stereo width to the r...

Page 99: ...of the effect Auto Activates automatic control of the Output parameter to avoid downstream clipping Type Drop down chooses from 13 different distortion algorithms Filter On Off Enables or bypasses a b...

Page 100: ...ant Prophet V 5 to sound like an 80s sampler or videogame janitor Crush it Control Description Bit Depth Changes the bit depth Downsampling Adjusts the sample rate Note You can also drag vertically on...

Page 101: ...r Makeup Automates the output level to provide makeup gain that compensates for the compression Attack Adjusts how quickly or slowly the compressor grabs on to the sound when the threshold is reached...

Page 102: ...hich gain reduction or expansion starts to occur Ratio Drag inside a band in the visualizer to change the amount of compression expansion Low On Off Enables or disables the low band High On Off Enable...

Page 103: ...threshold Above Below Drop down decides whether effect functions as a compressor and expander Above Below or just a compressor Above Only Output Sets the overall output level after compression expans...

Page 104: ...on Delay Adds a time offset between the incoming signal and its chorused copies Feedback Sets the amount of chorused signal fed back into the effect for re processing Wave Select Switches chorus LFO b...

Page 105: ...you can apply it to the sound of the Prophet VS Control Description Rate Adjusts the speed of the chorus Rate Time Selects whether the rate or synced as a division of host tempo Depth Changes the amo...

Page 106: ...n active frequencies below a certain cutoff are not panned Cutoff Sets the cutoff frequency for use when Mono Bass is active Natural Linear In Natural mode you hear a balance of the unpanned and panne...

Page 107: ...synced to tempo Frequency Changes the harmonic center of the phaser effect Feedback Controls the amount of processed signal fed back into the phaser which adds resonance LFO Amount Determines the dept...

Page 108: ...the inherent delay which changes the harmonic content Depth Sets the depth of the delay modulation Feedback Sets the amount of effected signal fed back into the effect for re processing Icon on visual...

Page 109: ...Rate Time Drop down selects whether the rate is in absolute Hz or syncs to master tempo Depth Adjusts the depth of the LFO that modulates the delayed signal Delay Adjusts the audible depth of the fla...

Page 110: ...eedforward Control Description Frequency Determines the cutoff or center frequency of the filter Resonance Adjusts a level peak located at the filter frequency Slope Sets the filter curve at 12 24 or...

Page 111: ...he center frequency of the selected band Gain Sets the cut or boost amount of the selected band Q Adjusts the width of the selected band around the center frequency Scale Scales the overall amount of...

Page 112: ...s of this Agreement You may not lease loan or sub license the software The use of the software within a network where there is a possibility of simultaneous multiple use of the program is illegal You...

Page 113: ...n itself follow a right to use the software The right for support on a previous or inferior version of the software expires upon the installation of an upgrade or update 8 Limited Warranty Arturia war...

Page 114: ...s profits business interruption loss of business information and the like even if Arturia was previously advised of the possibility of such damages Some states do not allow limitations on the length o...