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Index

2

Minimax

Contents

Introduction

What’s the Max about the
Mini?

Just what is it about the Minimax?

Today you would probably not expect too
much in terms of sound from a
synthesizer with 3 oscillators and noise,
a mixer, followed by a filter with an
amplifier and two envelope generators.
But we’re not talking about just any
synthesizer, we’re talking about 

the

synthesizer!

Minimax is an emulation of the probably
best-known of all vintage synths. It’s sim-
ple structure makes it easier to learn
sound creation techniques than on many
other synthesizer models. And its sound
is famous. The oscillators are strong and
powerful, the filter pack and envelope
generators blindingly fast.

Many have tried to duplicate these
characteristics. However, attempts by
both hardware and software
manufacturers have failed. With hardware,
the different electronic components often
used changed the sound. And in software
only some parts of the original, such as
the filter, were successfully emulated.
Other elements, like the oscillators and
envelopes, were imported from outside
sources.

CreamWare knows how difficult a true
emulation is. From today’s perspective,
the Miniscope and Miniscope MkII must
be considered as great synthesizers in
their own right, but not as emulations of
the original.

Minimax is different than anything that’s
come before. Minimax does not just
emulate parts of the instrument - Mini-
max

 is the instrument. Where there have

been limits to the hardware, such as ori-
ginal components no longer being
available, and where software has not
dared to go, there goes Minimax.

With the Minimax we modeled all
important sound elements on the origi-
nal circuit diagrams. And throughout the
process we constantly recalibrated our
design to conform with the original so
that even the positions of the controls
agree. Still the reproduction was not
exact. Calibration and adjustment was
only part of the work we had to do.

We had yet another hurdle to jump before
we could claim success. The original
synth produces frequencies that, had we
relied on the usual algorithms, would
have led to aliasing. And those familiar
with aliasing know what an unpleasant
noise it is to have in a signal. The
modules used in the Minimax are built
on newly-developed algorithms free from
aliasing. For this reason Minimax easily
handles even the wildest filter, FM, or
oscillator modulations. And the beauty
of it is - Minimax always sounds like the
original. Minimax represents the
pinnacle of synthesis algorithm
development.

Summary of Contents for Noah Minimax

Page 1: ...Minimax Introduction What s the Max about the Mini Structure and Overview Operation Controllers CV External Input Oscillator Bank Mixer Modifiers Filter Loudness Contour Output MainTable of Contents Tactive Instrument Modeller ...

Page 2: ...the Miniscope and Miniscope MkII must be considered as great synthesizers in their own right but not as emulations of the original Minimax is different than anything that s come before Minimax does not just emulate parts of the instrument Mini max is the instrument Where there have been limits to the hardware such as ori ginal components no longer being available and where software has not dared t...

Page 3: ... note priority Our love of detail is also apparent in the graphic front panel The controls were treated with particular care so that they correspond exactly to the originals If you still have any of your old sound sheets you can set them up on the Minimax and then store them as presets The filter in particular benefits from the new algorithms Although previous filters had resonance it was never as...

Page 4: ...ts and global parameters are on the Add panel Add stands for ad ditional that is extended parameters To switch from one view to the other use the switches in the upper left corner of the panel A text field for the current preset and an icon to open the Preset List are located in the upper right corner along with the On Top and Close buttons To maintain the graphic panel in the foreground click the...

Page 5: ...le speed see Glide below Glide When the glide function is enabled this control adjusts the rate of the rise or fall in pitch between notes Modulation Mix Controls the proportion of oscillator 3 and noise in the modulation signal The resulting signal is used to modulate the oscillator bank and filter To hear the result you must have modulation switched on and the modulation wheel set to produce som...

Page 6: ...offset and intensity settings Low Note On Enabling Low Note On gives low notes a priority over high notes A higher note cannot displace a low note When switched off the last played note will always have priority Retrig On Switches the retrigger mode of the envelope generators from legato to retrig When Retrig is on the envelopes trigger every time a new key is pressed even if you are playing a leg...

Page 7: ... Intensity and direction of oscillator pitch modulation Permits generation of an oscillator pitch bend under aftertouch control Filter Intensity and direction of filter cutoff modulation Permits generation of filter sweeps under aftertouch control Loudness Intensity and direction of volume modulation This option is particularly interesting in connection with the internal feedback feature The amoun...

Page 8: ...ne of six possible waveforms triangle a mix of triangle and sawtooth sawtooth up square wide pulse and narrow pulse In keeping with the character of an LFO oscillator 3 substitutes a sawtooth down waveform for the triangle sawtooth mix Frequency Adjusts the tuning of oscillators 2 and 3 with respect to oscillator 1 The scaling indicates the amount of detune in intervals The maximum adjustment is a...

Page 9: ...an then use the External InputVolume control to add distortion to the overall signal as a sound element A signal connected to the External input is ignored in this mode NoiseVolume Controls the level of the noise signal When noise is used as a modulation source the volume level has no effect on the intensity of the modulation NoiseWhite Pink Selects the noise color When noise is used as a modulati...

Page 10: ... ever put in a synthesizer The Mini max confirms this Cutoff Frequency The cutoff frequency is the frequency above which the spectrum is cut overtones are attenuated This control lets you adjust the cutoff frequency manually Emphasis This is the resonance control Resonance results from the coupling of the filter output to the filter input thereby reinforcing the frequencies lying near the cutoff f...

Page 11: ...hase In the release phase the envelope falls to its minimum value This is the value set by the Cutoff parameter The rate at which it falls is determined by this setting Velocity The amount of modulation of the envelope as influenced by key velocity This setting controls the envelope peak level between minimum and maximum depending on how hard you strike the keys on your keyboard This controls how ...

Page 12: ...at the end of the decay segment Release The fourth envelope segment This is enabled only when Decay is switched on There is no direct controller for the release phase In the release phase the envelope falls to its minimum value silencing the sound The rate at which it falls is determined by the Decay setting Output Velocity The amount of modulation of the envelope as influenced by key velocity Thi...

Page 13: ...uction 2 K Keyboard Control 11 L Loudness 7 Loudness Contour 12 Low Note On 6 M Miniscope 2 Miniscope MkII 2 Mixer 9 Modifiers 10 Modulation 8 Modulation Intensity 6 Modulation Mix 5 Modulation Offset 6 Modulation Wheel 6 N Noise Volume 9 Noise White Pink 9 O OnTop 4 Operation 4 OSC 7 OSC3 Control 8 Oscillator 8 Oscillator Modulation 8 Output 12 Overview 3 P Pink 9 Presets 4 R Range 8 Release 11 1...

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