ALT
Manual
A guide on how to play ALT
and how to guide ALT to play itself
Synthesizers
are magical instruments
they turn electricity into sound, and into emotions.
ALT is a special one, it feels alive.
you can play it in different ways, feed it different waves, even light and sound.
ALT can be played, but it can also be guided to play itself, creating ever evolving melodies and rhythms.
your role then, if you please, is to help it find its way through these soundscapes.
this guide is here to give you a few ideas to get started.
we hope you will enjoy playing ALT as much as we enjoyed making it.
love,
vincent & vincent
1.
Table of contents
2.
Overview
ALT has no screen, no shift button. every tweak you make has a direct impact on the sound.
every function is arranged in a vertical column - their names are written underneath.
-
this is where the sound is created.
5 oscillators, each with their own specifications. play with different waveforms, different ranges, different stereo angles.
play them rhythmically or continuously, with free linear frequencies or quantized notes.
-
this is where the sound is given its character.
2 filters allow you to cut off certain frequencies,
and a delay gives space to your sound. -
this is where the sound is set in motion.
this section is made of 4 modulation sources that you can assign to 19 different parameters of ALT using the pin matrix.
assigning different modulation sources to different destinations will create intricate rhythms and melodies.
3.
4.
Quick patch
make a sound
here’s a simple patch to get started. plug the power supply in and the audio jacks out.
turn it on, and turn up the volume.
make sure the 4 scale switches on the back are on (right),
filter cut sliders are up, filter lo / hi knobs are all the way left, and leon switch is off (down).
push up the amplitude sliders for oscillator 3, 4, and 5, and then their frequency sliders, until you find a chord you like.
shape it
play with the first filter cut and resonance (be careful not to push it to the max!).
turn up the delay level and feedback around halfway, and play with time.
here’s your sound material, now let’s make it evolve.
insert a pin on the matrix between lfo 1 (first column) and cut 1 (filter cutoff) for example.
now play with the lfo 1 amplitude, frequency, and shape.
5.
another pin, let’s say between random (3rd column) and oscillator 5’s frequency (12th row).
play with the random amplitude, frequency (halfway is nice), and offset (offset default position is at noon).
do you hear a melody?
let’s change it: select scale on the tonic/scale switch, and turn the notes knob to scroll through different scales, click notes to select one.
you can also click, hold, and turn notes to quickly edit the scale.
ok now play with the oscillators 3, 4 and 5 angle knobs (pan), and try pushing the delay more button.
let’s add a few pins: maybe lfo 2 into oscillator’s 5 amplitude (turn up lfo 2 amplitude and frequency) to introduce tremolo, and maybe lfo 2 into lfo 1 to cross modulate the filter?
now the search is in progress...
make it evolve
6.
Voices
volume
ALT master volume level..
noise
white noise amplitude level.
oscillator 1
VCO (voltage controlled oscillator)
oscillator 1’s shape is always a sine wave.
its frequency is always free, meaning its pitch changes linearly.
it can never follow scales.
useful for deep bass and constant drone sounds.
→ push buttons: triggers amplitude, like a key on a keyboard
→ amplitude: sets the volume level of the oscillator
→ frequency: sets the pitch- 1.5 octave
→ coarse: also sets the pitch- 8 octaves
oscillators 2 to 5
DCOs (digitally controlled oscillators).
these oscillators can be free or follow scales.
oscillator 2 is one octave lower
and oscillator 5 one octave higher than oscillators 3 and 4.
→ scale on/off switches, on the back of ALT: define whether each DCO frequency is free (linear pitch change) or is quantized to the nearest note within the selected scale (stepped pitch change).
→ push buttons: trigger amplitude, like keys on a keyboard
→ amplitude: sets the volume level of the oscillator
→ frequency: sets the pitch - 2 octave range
→ shape: changes the waveform - triangle or sawtooth
→ angle: is the stereo panning control - noon for center.
7.
Scale and tonic mode
the tonic / scale switch and the notes knob are the brain of ALT, dedicated to managing the frequencies of oscillators 2 to 5.
the 12 LEDs represent notes as displayed on a piano keyboard.
8.
Scale mode
there are 14 default scales.
they can all be edited.
scales are represented across the 12 LEDs as if the tonic note was always C.
when a scale is selected, oscillator 2 to 5 will only play notes within that scale (lit LEDs), if their scale switches are pushed right.
select scale on the tonic/scale switch to enter scale mode.
→ scale selection: turn notes to scroll through the 14 scales - press notes to confirm
→ scale edit:
↳ press and hold notes for 2 seconds to enter scale edit mode.
↳ turn notes to scroll through the scale - press notes to add or remove notes press and hold notes for 2 seconds to exit scale edit mode.
→ quick edit: press, hold, and turn notes left or right to remove and bring back the highest or lowest notes of the selected scale
→ tuning selection: press notes once to change tuning: equal temperament when the LED animation is going down, just intonation when it is going up
→ factory reset: press and hold notes for 6 secondes to erase all edits
9.
Tonic mode and
octaves
the tonic mode defines which note is played when oscillators 2 to 5 frequency sliders are all the way down, halfway, or all the way up.
select tonic on the tonic/scale switch to enter tonic mode
→ tonic note selection : turn the notes knob to select your tonic note - press notes to confirm. 3 octave range (3 ‘pages’ of LEDs)
→ linear transpose : hold down and turn notes to linearly change oscillators 2 to 5’ pitches altogether
→ detune mode:
↳ press and hold notes for 2 seconds to enter detune mode.
↳ scroll through oscillator 2 to 5 (the left column of the LEDs) to choose the oscillator you wish to detune - press notes to select
↳ turn notes to detune the selected oscillator - a gauge appears on the right column of the LEDs, indicating the level of detune (+/- 50cts)
↳ press and hold notes for 2 seconds to exit detune mode
→ factory reset : press and hold notes for 10 seconds to erase all edits
10.
Alter
filters
filters are used to shape your sound by attenuating specific frequencies or harmonics.
filter 1 and filter 2 are both stereo, and in series, meaning the output of filter 1 always goes into the input of filter 2.
→ cut: sets the frequency after which the filter attenuates high or low frequencies
→ resonance: boosts frequencies at the filter cutoff point
↳ if pushed all the way up, it self oscillates and creates a sine wave
→ lo/hi: crossfades the filter configuration between low pass and high pass
↳ turn left: low pass
↳ turn right: high pass
↳ noon: it scoops the mids
→ ripples (filter 1): temporarily modulates the filter cutoff frequency with the noise signal
→ ripples (filter 2): temporarily modulates the filter cutoff frequency with outline sources.
both ripples work best with some resonance.
delay
the delay is stereo. it records and plays back audio, creating echoes, giving space to your sound.
→ level: increases the volume of the repeated signal
→ feedback: sets the number of repeats from a single repeat to an infinite loop
→ time: sets the time period between each repeat
→ more: temporarily injects more audio signal into the delay
11.
Movement
this is where you assign the 4 modulation sources (LFO 1 & 2, Random, and Outline), to 1 or more of 19 destinations.
think of the modulation sources as 4 distinct waveforms that you can shape and control, and send to different parameters of ALT to create movement.
connect a modulation source (vertical columns) to a modulation destination (horizontal rows) with a pin to create movement.
if you send a triangle wave to an oscillator’s amplitude for instance, it’s like moving the amplitude slider up and down.
if you send a square wave, it’s like turning it on and off.
the light indicators on the matrix are useful to understand
how your modulation source is behaving.
12.
LFO 1 & 2
lfos create cyclical movements assignable through the pin matrix.
→ amplitude: sets the level of movement
→ frequency: sets the speed / tempo of the movement
→ range: changes the frequency range.
↳ low is 0.01Hz to 11Hz
↳ high is 0.7Hz to 1190Hz
→ shape: changes the waveform, morphing from square wave to triangle wave
midi clock sync:
if you send a midi clock to the usb-c port or midi TRS jack input, the midi clock will hardsync lfo 1 and lfo 2, meaning it resets their phase on each midi clock beat.
it works well if the lfo is slightly slower than the midi clock.
random - sample & hold
this modulation source creates random movements.
it is similar to a square wave but each step has a different, random amplitude.
→ amplitude: sets the level of movement
→ frequency: sets the speed / tempo of the movement
→ slew: smoothes out the transition between each step
→ offset: shifts the waveform of the movement higher or lower - normal position is noon
midi clock sync:
if you send a midi clock to the usb-c port or midi TRS jack input, the midi clock will take over the random frequency, turning the random frequency slider into a midi clock multiplier / divider.
13.
outline - enveloppe follower
outline creates a movement that follows different input signals:
the onboard microphone, the 5
oscillators' pushbuttons, or an external jack inputs (audio or cv).
→ gain: sets the microphone gain level
→ amplitude: sets the level of movement
→ release: gradually fades out the modulation signal after every input signal drop
→ invert: inverts the signal, either going up in the positive range, of down in the negative range
14.
outline - sources
4 sources can feed outline.
→ onboard microphone: select audio on the audio/cv switch, and do not plug anything into the out line jack input
→ pushbuttons: select cv on the audio/cv switch, do not plug anything into the outline jack input, and trigger the oscillators’ gates (either with the pushbuttons, or midi, or even with arp)
→ external audio source: select audio on the audio/cv switch and plug an audio source into the out line jack input (groovebox, synth, phone, tape...)
→ external cv source: select cv on the audio/cv switch and plug a cv source into the outline jack input (eurorack, keyboard, sequencer...)
15.
outline - mixer
ALT can be used as a mixer, or as an effects processor.
mix knob :
→ mix sets the amount of outline audio input signal (microphone or audio jack) you want to hear through ALT’s audio output
important: set the audio/cv switch to audio, otherwise you’ll hear cv clicks.
pre/post switch :
→ pre: outline input signal is mixed with ALT’s main audio output before Alter (filters and delay), turning ALT into an effect pedal
→ post: outline input signal is mixed with ALT’s main audio output after Alter
16.