Euterpe Synthesizer Laboratories Vertice, User Manual

 THE BASICS

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THE BASICS

what do you really need to know about vertice (and 
nobody said to you)

Things about Vertice are enough to full this 70 or more pages manual but we are at page 7 and the chances that 

you realistically reach page 10 are incredibly low since nobody reads manuals anymore. So in this section we’ll 

introduce some important "phylosophic" concepts concerning the Vertice Filterbank that you really need to 

understand. 

In the following one instead you'll find some practical basic tips to master your Vertice.

The philosopher says:

• 

Vertice is preeminently 

creative: is not a surgery bistoury, is not a totally controllable machine. It has a sort 

of inner will. No traces of MIDI, nor facility for patch memory. You must deserve your tones, like with a violin

• 

Vertice can 

also 

be used like a 

tone and dynamic correction unit: you can equalize and clean sum, you 

can technically expand and compress but if you seek a totally clean and purely technical machine you will 

have to control Vertice's faders very well. Vertice is mostly projected to destroy and deeply change signals. 

There's plenty of really good pure technical machines in stores right now. Vertice try to bring out something 

new in your sound palette, also if you don't want it  :)

• 

Vertice is 

incredibly dynamic: it will reach the max dynamics into the first stages thanks to the three 

preamplifier and eventualy with the clipping overload of the A filter. 

Then 

it will push the signal more and 

more up in the VCAs stage, the last one. Here you will find tons of dB gain and, since the two VCAs are 

pushed beyond the limits, also incredibly metallic and jarring tones. Pushing the VCAs too high have also 

some contraindications, like you will discover in the dedicated chapter (

page 38). Be always careful when 

switching from VCF to VCA. The EG can turn your VCAs into nuclear weapons

• 

VERTICE'S OUTPUT ARE VERY 

DEPENDENT FROM THE INPUT LEVELS since its almost passive and true 

analog nature. Any behavior you can obtain from this machine is deeply subject to the rule: MORE GAIN = 

MORE SUFFERING = MORE SATURATION = NASTY SOUND DESIGN, and the contrary is also true. You should 

never forget this rule using Vertice

• 

Vertice's output are set in order to get a common recording level of 

approx -12dBfs when: Staccato/Continuo 

is at the beginning of the safety zone (the orange zone on the panel) and A input level is to max, OR when 

Staccato/Continuo is to max and A input level is to flat position. Obvioulsly the external signal level matters 

on the resulting output level. We trim it using a quite strong line level (1,5Vpp) since Vertice must relate with 

modular synth preeminently, the oscillators of which usually come out at higher levels

•  Emphasis is also very level-related: Vertice tends to be predominant on tones when the Emphasis pots are 

over the flat posistion. When you want use hard Emphasis settings you should use also strong input levels 

and high amplification ratios. In this way the Emphasis will drown into the signal obtaining very usable, 

screamy and killer tones

• 

Besides from the input levels there are some setting in which Emphasis will become really weird, unstable, 

sometimes annoying. It's the way we like the Vertice

• 

To 

tame a too crazy Emphasis there is nothing better than an audio-rate CV (from ext sources, from the 

internal EG or from a Vertice Rear output) that fastly move the Cutoff. With this method you can fruitfully 

use high Emphasis settings

•  Serial is more impacting, Parallel is more aether (in fact it's a way to get stereo)

• 

The 

C filter always come out by 

both

 the output ports. In Serial mode the C filter have the most impacting 

dynamic behavior and needs to be used knowing that. In Stereo mode the C filter is free and available to 

add to both the outputs its mono signal

• 

Using some rear ports into some front ports, making 

feedbacks, is a cool way to waste your day (obtainig 

self-adapting bass lines above your drum loop, on/off unstable behaviors and other crazy stuff)

• 

A and B rear outs come out at CV level. So simply injecting an audio signal into one of this two modules 

you'll obtain the CV copy of it. It can be useful sometimes

• 

The 

EG (Envelope Generator) seems a regular "oh-I-already-know-this-stuff" EG but it is not. To obtain a 

more predictable looping EG just patch the rear EG out into the front EG in

• 

Use 

CV ports and move those Cutoffs: this is simply one of the best thing Vertice can do 

•  Vertice is like a violin. Nobody says that you have to take the tenth year Conservatory's degree 

to play it, but you should approach to it slowly, paying attention to small things, and trying to 

incorporate them into yourself with the use and age.  And Vertice will repay, large and shiny, with the 

CreativityCoin, the only crypto currency accepted here at Euterpe  ;)