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  • Absynth 6 user guide
  • Assign page

Assign page

Abstract

The Assign page of Absynth 6 lets you configure the Macros, MIDI control, note scaling, and tuning of the instrument.

The Assign page of Absynth 6 lets you configure the Macros, MIDI control, note scaling, and tuning of the instrument.

  • To open the Assign page, click the Assign button at the top of the Absynth 6 window:

    A6_Header-PageSelector-ClickingAssignButton.jpg

The Assign page contains the following areas and elements:

A6_AssignPage_Callout.jpg

  1. Control List / Parameter List: When Assignments is selected above, this shows a list of the MIDI and Macro controls. When Note Scaling is selected above, it shows a list of the parameters that can be modulated by the played pitch. In any case, clicking an entry from the list displays its details on the right.

  2. Assignments / Note Scaling switch: Switches the Assign page between showing the MIDI and Macro assignments and the note scaling settings.

  3. Global Response area: Shows global settings affecting how the instrument reacts to your input. You can find more information in Global Response.

  4. Assignment Details / Note Scaling Details: Lets you configure the details for the control or parameter selected in the list on the left.

Global Response

At the top of the Assign page, the Global Response area lets you adjust how the instrument reacts to your input. It contains the following settings:

A6_AssignPage-GlobalResponse.jpg

  • Voices: Defines the number of voices produced by Absynth 6. This setting affects all the presets.

  • BPM: Sets the global tempo, measured in beats per minute. This setting is available only if Absynth 6 is running as a standalone application. The BPM value affects, for example, the effects that depend on tempo.

  • Transpose: Shifts the global pitch, by semitones. The resolution is by 1/10 cent, which is the minimal step width and can also be described as one thousandth of a semitone.

  • Pitchbend: Adjusts the pitch range available for the MIDI Pitchbend input, in semitones.

  • Smoothing: Adjusts how fast the pitch reacts to Pitchbend changes. For higher Smoothing value, the pitch will take longer to reach its new value.

  • Glide: Adjusts the duration of a gradual pitch transition between played notes (glissando). The default value is 0 and the notes are generated directly at their pitches without any transition. If you raise the Glide value, the next notes will start from the pitch of the previous note and gradually move to their own pitch.

  • Legato: When on, the Glide setting affects only the notes played legato, that is, with no silence in between. When off, the Glide setting affects all the notes.

  • Tuning menu: Selects a global tuning. Clicking the displayed value opens a menu where you can select another tuning from the list of predefined tunings. You can also select Import Tuning File at the top of the menu: This opens a dialog in which you can select a custom tuning file. Beforehand, make sure to place your tuning files in the Tuning subfolder of your Absynth user folder. You can click the Show Tuning Folder… at the bottom of the dialog to quickly open this folder in the Finder (macOS) or Explorer (Windows). Absynth supports MTS-ESP microtunings.

MIDI and Macro assignments

When Assignments is selected in the top left corner of the Assign page, you can review and modify the MIDI and Macro assignments for your preset.

On the left, the Control List shows the Velocity, Mod Wheel, Aftertouch, and Sustain Pedal MIDI controls, followed by the 16 Macro controls:

A6_AssignPage-Assignments-ControlList.jpg

  • Select a control from the Control List to show its assignments on the right.

In the Control List, you can rename any Macro by double-clicking its entry, typing a new name, and pressing [Enter] on your computer keyboard. The Macro name will be updated accordingly everywhere in the instrument as well as on your Kontrol S-Series keyboard.

Note

Unassigned Macros are named Macro Control X where X is the Macro number. When you first assign a Macro, it automatically takes the name of the assigned parameter. You can modify the Macro name at any time.

On the right, the Assignment Details show the assignments for the selected control:

A6_AssignPage-Assignments-AssignmentDetails.jpg

The top part of the Assignment Details contains general settings for this control. These settings depend on which control is selected:

  • The Velocity, Mod Wheel, and Sustain Pedal MIDI controls don’t provide any settings at the top of the Assignment Details.

  • The Aftertouch MIDI control provides a Polyphonic Aftertouch button: When active, you can control the target parameters listed below independently for each played note.

    Note

    To use Polyphonic Aftertouch, your MIDI keyboard or controller must support it.

  • Each of the 16 Macros provides the following general settings, from left to right:

    • MIDI CC#: Lets you specify the MIDI CC number from which you want to control the Macro. To change the value, you can click it and drag your mouse vertically, or double-click it and type the number followed by [Enter] on your computer keyboard. You can also click the Learn button on the right and move the desired control element on your MIDI controller.

    • Map MPE input to Macro: Lets you use MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) signals to control the Macro. You can select the Pressure or the Slide MPE signal and adjust its modulation amount using the Depth slider. Selecting Off deactivates MPE for this Macro.

      Note

      To use MPE, your MIDI controller or keyboard must support it.

Below, the Assignment Details shows the list of the target parameters in a table layout, with one row for each parameter. Each row contains the following elements, from left to right:

  • Parameter Descriptor: Identifies the target parameter by using an explicit label. For example, for a module the label could include the channel letter, the module position within the channel, the module panel, and the parameter name.

  • Depth: Adjusts how strong the parameter value is affected by the assignment, as a percentage of the current parameter value.

  • Invert switch: Reverses the modulation. The parameter value will decrease when the controller value increases.

  • Smooth: Adjusts the delay with which the parameter reacts to the changes in the controller value.

    Note

    The Smooth setting is not available when Velocity is selected on the left.

  • Remove: Removes this target parameter from the list. The parameter will not be controlled by the MIDI or Macro control anymore.

You can add target parameters by clicking the Add button above the assignment table, and selecting the desired target parameter from the menu. Upon your selection a new row will appear in the table with the assignment settings for the new target.

You can also add or edit a parameter assignment from the page in which the parameter is located:

  1. Switch to the page containing the parameter that you want to control, and locate that parameter in the page.

  2. Right-click the parameter (Windows) or [control]-click the parameter (macOS) and select Modulation Settings… from the menu.

    A Modulation Settings dialog appears showing the parameter name in the header and its modulation settings below.

  3. In the Macro section, click the menu and select the desired MIDI or Macro control from the list. Or if you want to control the parameter using key velocity, activate the Velocity switch. You can also activate both modulations.

  4. You can adjust the Depth value and activate the Invert switch directly from the dialog. This is equivalent to adjusting the Depth and Invert elements from the Assign page as described above.

Note scaling

When Note Scaling is selected in the top left corner of the Assign page, you can configure the modulation of specific parameters according to the played key. For example, you could make the frequency of a bandpass filter follow the pitch of the key.

On the left, the Parameter List shows the available parameters:

A6_AssignPage-NoteScaling-ParameterList.jpg

The following parameters are available for note scaling:

  • Oscil Amp A/B/C: Amplitude envelope of the Main oscillator in the source module on channel A/B/C.

  • Oscil FM Index/Balance A/B/C: Ratio between the Main and Mod oscillators in the source module on channel A/B/C.

  • Filter Freq A/B/C/Master: Cutoff frequency of the Filter modules on channel A/B/C or on the Main channel.

  • Select a parameter from the list to show its scaling details on the right.

On the right, the Note Scaling Details show the note scaling for the selected parameter:

A6_AssignPage-NoteScalingDetails.jpg

The top part of the Note Scaling Details lets you adjust the parameter modulation value for each individual keys. It contains the following controls:

  • Key: Selects the desired pitch. To select another pitch you can drag the value vertically with your mouse, or double-click it and type the desired MIDI Note number on your computer keyboard.

  • MIDI Note switch: When on, you can use your MIDI keyboard to quickly select the Key value. This can be useful when adjusting the modulation for several keys in a row.

  • Scale: Adjusts the modulation value for the selected pitch. The value is expressed as a percentage of the original, non modulated parameter value.

The bottom part of the Note Scaling Details shows the modulation curve as a series of vertical bars representing the scale values over the full key range, from the lowest pitch on the left to the highest pitch on the right. You can quickly draw a modulation curve with your mouse as follows:

  1. Click anywhere in the vertical bars and drag your mouse to draw the desired modulation curve.