• Introduction
• The Controller panel
• The Programmer
• The Oscillator section
• Filter slots
• Shaper
• Amp section
• LFO 1
• Envelope sections
• Global section
• Modulation bus routing section
• Step Sequencer
• Connections

The Keyboard Mode section

In this section you make basic keyboard related settings for a patch. It has the following options:

Note Triggering section

Using the buttons in this section you can select in what way Thor will respond:

• Via note input only
• Via the Step Sequencer only
• Or both

The section also has a standard Note On indicator.

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virtual controls

The rotary knobs and buttons in the Controller panel are “virtual” controls that can be assigned to multiple parameters and functions in Thor.

• You assign parameters to the knobs and buttons in the Modulation Routing panel (these are located on the “Modifiers” sub-menu.
• Movements of the virtual controls can be recorded as automation.
• Each control can be assigned to any number of parameters.
• Clicking on the label for a Rotary or Button lets you type in an appropriate name for it.

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button key note function

To the right of the two virtual buttons there are corresponding spin controls and displays. These can be used to assign a key for turning the button on momentarily, as long as the key is held down.

• Use the spin controls (or click in the display and move the mouse up or down) to assign a key for the button status.
  The assigned key will now turn the function(s) assigned to the button on for as long the key is held down.
• Note that the key note function can only switch from off to on, not the other way around, so make sure the button is deactivated if you wish to use this function.
  An assigned key will not trigger a note, only the button status. Also note that the button will not light up when you press the assigned key.

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The Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels

• The Pitch and Mod wheels on the Controller panel will mirror the corresponding actions on your master keyboard.
• The Range parameter (like for all instrument devices) sets the range of the Pitch Bend action.
• Pitch Bend is pre-wired to the pitch parameter of the three oscillators, but you can of course use it to control any parameter you like. If you don’t want Pitch Bend to affect oscillator pitch, simply set the Range parameter to “0”.

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Master volume

This is the main volume control for outputs 1 & 2.

• To show the Programmer panel, click the “Show Programmer” button on the Controller panel.
  The Programmer appears below the Controller panel.
• The Programmer panel is divided into two sections; the Voice section to the left and the Global section to the right. The Global section has a separate brown panel to differentiate it from the Voice section.
  The Voice section contains the basic synth parameters and the parameters are “per-voice”, i.e. all envelope and LFO cycles are triggered individually for each voice. The Global section to the right contains global parameters that affect all voices.
• There are three open Oscillator slots, a Mixer, two open Filter slots, a Shaper, three Envelope generators, an LFO and an Amplifier in the Voice section.
  The open Oscillator and Filter slots allow you to select between different types of oscillators and filters.
• The Global section contains a second LFO, a Global Envelope, a third open Filter slot and Chorus and Delay effects.
  

Basic connections - tutorial

There are certain pre-defined connections available between the Oscillator 1-3 slots and the Mixer, Filter 1/Shaper, Filter 2 and Amp sections. On the panel itself, lines with arrows are shown to indicate the standard signal paths.

Note that you can also connect sections using the Modulation bus section (see “Modulation bus routing section”). You are not in any way limited to the pre-defined routings, but they do provide a quick and convenient way to connect the basic synth “building blocks” together.

In the following tutorial we will create a standard setup using two oscillators and two filters to demonstrate Thor basics and the (standard) signal path:

1. Select “Initialize Patch” from the Edit menu
   The Init patch is a basic setup with an Analog oscillator in Oscillator slot 1 and a Ladder LP filter in Filter slot 1 loaded. A connection between Oscillator 1, Filter 1 and the Amp section is already activated, so you get a sound when you play.

Below the Oscillator 1 slot in the upper left corner are two more slots, currently empty. These are the Oscillator 2 and 3 slots, respectively. The three Oscillator slots are basically identical in that they can each be loaded with one of 6 oscillator types.

2. Click the arrow pop-up in the upper left corner of the Oscillator 2 slot, and select a second oscillator from the pop-up that appears.
   The following oscillator types are available; Analog, Wavetable, Phase Modulation, FM Pair, Multi and Noise

With a basic connection setup, the Oscillator outputs are internally connected to the “Mix” section. To pass the output signal onwards in the signal chain, you first have to activate a connection. This is done using the two vertical rows of routing buttons labelled 1, 2 and 3 to the right of the Oscillator section.

3. The upper row of routing buttons determine which of the Oscillators 1 to 3 are routed to Filter 1, and the lower row which of the Oscillators 1 to 3 are routed to Filter 2.
   All three oscillators can be simultaneously routed to both filters, serially or in parallel (or any combination of these variations). This is explained later in this tutorial.

By activating one or more of these buttons means that the oscillator (1 to 3) is routed to the corresponding Filter. Currently, Oscillator 1 is connected to Filter 1 slot (which is pre-loaded with a Ladder LP filter).

This is indicated by the “1” routing button being lit. The Filter 2 slot is currently not active, which is indicated by a blank panel.

4. Click the “2” button to the left of the Filter 1 section so that it lights up to activate a connection for Oscillator 2.
   Now if you play a few notes you should hear both Oscillator 1 and Oscillator 2, via the Filter 1 section.

The Filter 1 output passes via the Shaper (currently not activated), on to the Amp section, and finally to the Main Outputs.

Actually, the Amp section output is routed via the Global section before being sent to the Main Outputs, but as currently nothing is activated in the Global section the signal passes through unprocessed.

5. Next, click the arrow pop-up in the upper left corner of the Filter 2 slot.
   A pop-up menu with the four available Filter types appears.
6. Select a type of filter, e.g. a Comb filter for the Filter 2 slot.
   Now that the Filter 2 slot in the Voice section is active, you can connect the oscillators to it by using the lower row of routing buttons.
7. Click the routing buttons “1” and “2” to the left of the Filter 2 slot so that the buttons are lit.
   Now the two oscillators are connected to Filter 2.
8. Make sure the arrow routing button that points to the Amp section just above the Filter 2 section is activated.
   Now if you play a few notes, both oscillators are routed via both filter sections in parallel. You could of course select to pass only one of the oscillators via one filter and both oscillators via the other - any combination is possible.

You can also connect the Filter 1 and 2 sections serially, meaning that the output of Filter 1 is passed through Filter 2 before reaching the Amp section. This is done as follows:

9. Switch off the routing buttons “1” and “2” to the left of the Filter 2 slot.
   If you leave them on the oscillators will pass through Filter 2 twice; both via Filter 1 and directly. This is also perfectly “allowable”, but to make things clearer in this tutorial we will use a standard serial filter setup.
10. Click the Arrow “left” button below the Shaper.
    Now the filters are connected serially, with the output of Filter 1 (via the for now inactive Shaper) being connected to the Filter 2 input. Both oscillators are processed by both filters connected in series.

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Other pre-defined routing assignments

There are other sections in Thor which are pre-defined and can be used without having to make any prior assignments:

• The Amp Envelope and the Filter Envelope control the volume level and frequency of the Filters (1 & 2), respectively.
  The amount of filter envelope control is controllable by using the “Env” parameter in each Filter section.

• The effects (Delay/Chorus) in the Global section are part of the signal chain and can simply be switched on and used.
  

The Arrow button in the top left corner of each slot opens a pop-up menu where an oscillator type can be selected for the corresponding slot.

There are six Oscillator types available:

• Analog
• Wavetable
• Phase Modulation
• FM Pair
• Multi Oscillator
• Noise

You can also select Off mode (no oscillator).

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Common parameters

The specific parameters of the various oscillator types are described separately, but there are also common parameters that apply to all oscillator types. These are:

• Octave (OCT) knob - this changes the pitch of the oscillator in octave steps.
  The range is seven octaves.
• The Semi knob changes the pitch of the oscillator in semi-tone steps.
  The range is 12 semitone steps (1 octave).
• The Tune knob fine tunes the pitch of the oscillator in cent steps.
  The range is +/- 50 cents (down or up half a semitone).
• Keyboard Track (KBD) - this knob sets how much the oscillator pitch tracks incoming note data.
  Turned fully clockwise the pitch tracks the keyboard normally, i.e. a semitone per key.
• All oscillators also have waveform selectors and a modifier parameter. How the waveform selection works, and what parameter is the modifier varies according to the selected oscillator type.
• Important to note is that if you have made a modulation routing to an oscillator parameter e.g. the modifier, and then change the oscillator type, the modulation will be transferred to the corresponding parameter in the new oscillator.
  The same goes for all common parameters (tuning and tracking). If you switch oscillator type, all common parameters are left unchanged.
• Oscillators can be synced - see “About Oscillator Sync”.
• Any oscillator type loaded into the Oscillator 1 slot can also be amplitude modulated by Oscillator 2 - see “About Amplitude Modulation (AM)”.

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Analog oscillator

This is a classic analog oscillator with 4 standard waveforms. The waveform selector button is in the lower left corner of the oscillator panel, but you can also click directly on the waveform symbols to switch waveform. The four available waveforms are from the top down (as displayed on the panel): Sawtooth, Pulse, Triangle and Sine.

• The Mod parameter (PW) controls pulse width and only affects the pulse waveform.
  By modulating the PW parameter the width of the pulse wave changes, allowing for PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) which is a standard feature in most vintage analog synths.

For a perfect square wave, set pulse width (PW) to 64.

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Wavetable oscillator

Wavetable oscillators has been the basis of several vintage synths (PPG, Korg Wavestation and many others).

With the Wavetable oscillator, you select between 32 wavetables, where each wavetable contains several (up to 64) different waveforms. By using an envelope or a LFO you can sweep through a wavetable to produce timbre variations.

The parameters are as follows:

• Position is the modifier (Mod) parameter and controls the position within the selected wavetable, i.e. which waveform is active at a given time.
  By modulating the Position you can sweep through the waveforms in the selected wavetable. You can of course also use a single static waveform in a wavetable if you so wish, by not applying any modulation to this parameter.
• The X-Fade button determines whether the change between waveforms in a wavetable should be abrupt (X-Fade off), or smooth (X-Fade on).
  If set to on, the waveform transitions are cross-faded.

There are 32 wavetables that can be selected using the up/down buttons or by clicking in the Wavetable display.

• Basic Analog
• Synced Sine
• Synced Ramp
• Square Harmonics
• Sine Harmonics
• 16:th Harmonics
• 10 Sines
• 5 Sines
• Random Sines
• Fixed Sines
• Logic OR
• Raising Sine
• Mixed Waves 1
• Mixed Waves 2
• Mixed Waves 3
• Didgeridoo
• Sax Multi
• Trombone Multi
• Piano
• Voice
• PPG 0 Harm 1-8
• PPG 1 Dual VCF
• PPG 2 Bell
• PPG 5 High Harm
• PPG 8 HP VCF
• PPG 14 Organ 1
• PPG 17 Mix Harm
• PPG 27 Formant
• PPG T040 Bass
• PPG 13 Strong Hm

Some of the wavetables have waveforms that sequentially follow the harmonic series, i.e. each following waveform adds a harmonic. Others have waveform series that produce a sound similar to oscillator sync when swept, and other wavetables are simply mixed waveforms. The last 11 wavetables are based on wavetables used in the original PPG 2.3 synthesizer.

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Phase Modulation oscillator

The Phase Modulation oscillator is inspired by the Casio CZ series of synthesizers. Phase modulation is based on modifying digital waveforms (sine waves) to emulate common filter characteristics.

You have a First and Second waveform which can be combined. Instead of mixing the two waveforms they are played in series, one after the other. This adds a fundamental one octave below the pitch of the original sound.

The PD parameter (Mod) changes the shape of the wave, much like a filter does.

The following waveforms (sequentially from the first) are available as the First waveform:

• Sawtooth
• Square
• Pulse
• Pulse and Sine
• Sine and flat (half sine)
• Saw x Sine
• Sine x Sine
• Sine x Pulse

The last three waveforms could be described “resonant”, as these originally were meant to simulate filter resonance. They didn’t really do this very accurately, but nevertheless constituted an important part of the sound.

The Second waveform has the same available waveforms except the last three, and it can also be bypassed altogether. You can combine waveforms freely, except it is not possible to combine two “resonant” waveforms.

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FM Pair oscillator

As the name implies, this oscillator generates FM, where one oscillator (Carrier) is frequency modulated by a second oscillator (Modulator). Although very simple to use (unlike most hardware FM synths), this oscillator can produce a very wide range of FM sounds.

• The Carrier and Modulator selector buttons set the frequency ratio between these two oscillators (the range is 1-32).
  The frequency ratio is what determines the basic frequency content, and thus, the timbre of the sound.
• The FM knob sets the amount of frequency modulation.
  This is also the Modifier parameter. If FM amount is set to zero, there is no FM and the output will be a pure sine wave.
  - If you set FM Amount to zero and step through the values of the Carrier oscillator, you can hear that the pitch is changed according to the harmonic series.
  - Stepping through the Mod oscillator values will change the pitch in the same way, although FM Amount has to be set to a value other than zero to be able to hear it.

Thus, 2:2 is the same wave shape as 1:1 but one octave higher same wave shape as 2:2 but a fifth higher in pitch and so on.

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Multi oscillator

This versatile oscillator can simultaneously generate multiple detuned waveforms (of a set type) per voice. It is great for producing complex timbres e.g. to simulate cymbal or bell sounds, but can also generate a wide range of harmonic sounds.

• The following basic waveforms are available: Sawtooth, Square, Soft Sawtooth, Soft Square, Pulse.
  You switch waveforms using the button in the lower left corner, or by clicking directly on the waveform symbol.
• The Amount (AMT) parameter governs the amount of detune.
  Turn clockwise for more detune. This is also the modifier (Mod) parameter. Using low Amount settings can produce subtle detune variations that makes the sound shift and move endlessly, like an advanced chorus effect, whereas higher Amount settings can produce wild, detuned timbres.
• The Detune Mode parameter sets the basic operational mode of the detuning.
  If Amount is set to 0, only the “Octave” and “Fifth” Detune modes actually change the sound, as these modes start off with dual waveforms tuned one octave and a fifth apart, respectively. The “Fifth Up” and “Oct UpDn” modes detune waveforms as the names imply between zero to full Amount settings. “Linear” will change the amount of detune according to where on the keyboard you play; in lower keyboard ranges the amount of detune is stronger than in higher keyboard ranges and vice versa. The other modes (Interval and Random) basically add multiple waveforms and detune them in various ways that will produce different results.

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Noise oscillator

The Noise oscillator can not only produce white and colored noise, but can also be used either as a pitched oscillator or as a modulation source.

It has the following basic parameters:

• There is a single Noise parameter (apart from the standard tuning and kbd track knobs).
  This is the Noise modifier parameter, that controls different parameters depending on the selected Oscillator mode, see below.
• The Waveform selector button in the bottom left corner is used to set the Oscillator mode.
  The following modes are available:

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About Oscillator Sync

Oscillator sync is when one oscillator will restart the period of another oscillator, so that they will have the same base frequency. If you change or modulate the frequency of the synced oscillator you get the characteristic sound associated with oscillator sync.

A synced oscillator that resets the other oscillator(s) is called the master, and any synced oscillator that is reset by an other oscillator is called a slave. In Thor, oscillator 1 is the master, i.e. this controls the base pitch of the oscillators, and oscillators 2 and 3 are slaves.

You switch Oscillator sync on or off by activating the Sync buttons to the left of Oscillator slots 2 and 3.

The Sync “BW” sliders to the left of Oscillator slots 2 and 3 allows you to adjust the sync bandwidth. This allows you to change the character of the oscillator sync. The parameter basically sets how abrupt the reset is - high bandwidth settings produces a more pronounced sync effect and vice versa. The picture above illustrates high bandwidth reset - if lower bandwidth settings are used the slave osc curve will be more rounded at the reset points.

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About Amplitude Modulation (AM)

AM (Amplitude Modulation) is often referred to as ring modulation. AM works by multiplying two signals together.

In Thor, Oscillator 2 amplitude modulates Oscillator 1. The Ring Modulated output will then contain added frequencies which are generated by the sum of, and the difference between the two signals. This can be used for creating complex, enharmonic sounds.

The amount of AM is set using the slider to the left of the Oscillator 1 slot.

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Mixer

The Mixer allows you to adjust the levels and the relative balance of the three oscillators.

The two sliders controls the output levels of oscillators 1-2 and oscillator 3, respectively.

The Balance knob sets the balance between oscillator 1 and 2. The Balance parameter is also a modulation destination, allowing you to modulate the balance of the two oscillators with e.g. an LFO. Note that the oscillators have to be connected to the filter(s) via the numbered routing buttons for the Mix section settings to have any effect.

• You select (or change) filter type for a slot by clicking the arrow button in the top left corner of a slot.
  On the pop-up you can select between 4 filter types and bypass mode. Available filter types are Ladder LP, State Variable, Comb and Formant, each described separately below.

The following general rules apply:

• Filters are pre-wired to the Filter Envelope
  Filters 1 & 2 can be used serially (i.e. the output of Filter 1 goes (via the Shaper) to the input of Filter 2, or in parallel (meaning that one signal goes to Filter 1 and another to Filter 2).

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Common parameters

As with the open oscillator slots, there are certain parameters which are common for all filter types.

These are as follows:

• All the filter types have large knobs for the filter frequency (FREQ) parameter and the filter resonance (RES) parameter.
  This works slightly differently for the Formant filter.
• The “KBD” parameter sets how the filter frequency tracks incoming note pitch data.
  Some filter types (Ladder/State Variable/Comb) can “self oscillate” and be used as extra oscillator sources.
• The “ENV” parameter sets how much the filter frequency responds to the Filter Envelope.
  
• The “VEL” parameter sets how much incoming note velocity affects the Filter Envelope Amount.
  In other words, for this parameter to have any effect it requires that the “ENV” parameter is set to a value other than zero.
• The “INV” button inverts how the filter frequency responds to Envelope settings.
  
• The “Drive” parameter allows you to adjust the input gain to the filter.
  By driving the filter harder you can add further character to the sound.
• Any parameter settings, as well as any modulation assigned to parameters, will be kept even if you change the filter type.
  

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Ladder LP Filter

The Ladder LP filter is a low-pass filter inspired by the famous voltage controlled filter patented by Dr. Robert Moog in 1965. The name originates from the ladder-like shape of the original transistor/capacitor circuit diagram.

The original filter also had certain non-linear characteristics which contributed to the warm, musical sound it is renowned for. These characteristics are faithfully reproduced in the Ladder LP filter.

There is also a built-in shaper in the feedback (self-oscillation) loop. If self-oscillation is activated (see below), the shaper will distort the sound to produce these non-linear characteristics. To adjust the intensity of this distortion you use the Drive parameter.

There are 4 different Filter slopes available; 24, 18, 12 and 6 dB/oct. 24dB slope comes in two different types:

• Type I - The shaper (controlled with the Drive parameter) is placed at the filter output but before the feedback loop.
• Type II - The shaper (controlled with the Drive parameter) is placed at the filter input after the feedback loop.

Note that “Self Osc” (see below) must be activated for the shaper to operate.

This filter can self-oscillate and will produce a playable note pitch with high Resonance settings if this is activated.

Self-oscillation can be switched on or off by using the “SELF OSC” button. The “KBD” knob governs how the frequency tracks the keyboard, turned fully clockwise will produce 12 semitones/octave tracking.

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State Variable Filter

This is a multi-mode filter which offers 12 dB/octave slope Lowpass (LP), Bandpass (BP), Highpass (HP), plus Notch and Peak filter modes which are sweepable between HP/LP states, similar to the vintage Oberheim SEM filter.

The filter modes are as follows:

• LP 12 (12 dB lowpass)
  Lowpass filters let low frequencies through and cut off high frequencies. This filter type has a 12dB/Octave slope.
• BP 12 (12 dB bandpass)
  Bandpass filters cut both high and low frequencies, leaving the frequency band in between unaffected. Each slope in this filter type is 12 dB/Octave.
• HP 12 (12 dB highpass)
  Highpass filters let high frequencies pass and cut off low frequencies. This filter type has a 12dB/Octave slope.
• The “Notch” and “Peak” filter modes employ a combination of two outputs from the same filter combining LP and HP set to the same the filter frequency.
  The “LP/HP” knob associated to these two filter modes can modulate the state of the filter from low-pass to high-pass. If the knob is in the mid-position, you get a Peak or Notch filter slope (depending on the mode). The HP/LP parameter can be assigned as a modulation destination.
• This filter can self-oscillate and will produce a pitch with high Resonance settings if this is activated.
  Self-oscillation can be switched on or off by using the “SELF OSC” button. The “KBD” knob governs how the frequency tracks the keyboard, turned fully clockwise will produce 12 semitones/octave tracking.

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Comb filter

The Comb filter can add subtle pitch variations and phasing-like effects to sounds.

• Comb filters are basically very short delays with adjustable feedback (controlled with the Resonance knob).
  A comb filter causes resonating peaks at certain frequencies. Comb filters are used in various signal processing devices like flangers, and produces a characteristic swooshing sound when the frequency is swept.
• The difference between the “Comb +” and “Comb –” modes is the position of the peaks in the spectrum.
  The main audible difference is that negative Comb mode causes a bass cut.
• The Resonance parameter in both cases controls the shape and size of the peaks.
  This filter will produce a pitch with high Resonance settings combined with low frequency settings.

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Formant filter

The Formant filter type can produce vowel sounds. There are no Frequency or Resonance parameters, instead you have a horizontal “X” parameter slider and a vertical “Y” parameter slider that operate together to produce the various filter formant characteristics.

• You can alter the settings of both the “X” and “Y”parameters simultaneously by moving the “dot” inside the gray rectangle on the filter panel.
  Horizontal movement changes the “X” parameter, and vertical movement the “Y” parameter.
• The ENV-VEL-KBD knobs affect the “X” parameter.
  The parameter can be CV controlled.
• The “Gender” parameter changes the basic timbre of the vowel generation between male (low Gender settings) and female (high Gender settings) voice characteristics.
  Gender can also be CV controlled.

• The Filter envelope is pre-wired to control the frequency of Filter 1 and 2.
  Note that envelope control of filter frequency can be switched off in each Filter section (the Env parameter can be set to 0), so the Filter Envelope can be used to control other parameters as well.
• The Amp Envelope is pre-wired to control the amplitude (volume).
  Similarly, the Amp envelope can also be used to control other parameters, but in the Voice section you cannot switch off or bypass the Amp Envelope - if no voice is active (i.e. if there is no gate trigger input to the Amp envelope) there will be no output from oscillators or any external audio source routed to the Voice section.
• The Mod Envelope can be freely assigned to control parameters.
  This is done in the Modulation section.

Filter Envelope

The Filter Envelope is a standard ADSR envelope as used in the Subtractor.

• By setting up a filter envelope you control the how the filter frequency or some other parameter should change over time with the four parameters, Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release.
  Please refer to the Subtractor chapter for a description of these parameters.
• The “Gate Trig” button can be used to switch off the envelope triggering from notes (which is the normal mode) and allow the envelope to be triggered by some other parameter.
  “Gate Trig” should normally be activated.
• The time ranges of each step are as follows:
  Attack: 0 ms - 10,3 s / Decay and Release: 3 ms - 29,6 s. Sustain is not set as a time but as a level (from Off to 0dB).

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Amp Envelope

The Amp Envelope is also a standard ADSR envelope.

• By setting up a Amp envelope you control the how the amplitude or some other parameter should change over time with the four parameters, Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release.
  Please refer to the Subtractor chapter for a description of these parameters.
• The “Gate Trig” button can be used to switch off the envelope triggering from note input (which is the normal mode) and allow the envelope to be triggered by some other parameter.
  “Gate Trig” should normally be activated.
• The ranges of each step are the same as for the Filter envelope.
  

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Mod Envelope

This is a general purpose ADR (Attack, Decay, Release) envelope with a pre-delay stage before the Attack phase. The Delay to Decay phase can also be looped. Apart from standard Attack, Decay and Release stages the Mod Env has the following parameters:

Effects section

There are two global mono in/stereo out effects, a Delay and a Chorus. These effects affect all voices coming from the Amp section equally if activated. The effects are placed after the Global Filter in the signal chain.

• There are controls for standard Delay/Time and Feedback parameters.
  Chorus vs. Delay differ only in the delay time range - Chorus is for chorus effects, i.e. short delays, whereas Delay produces echo effects.
• Delay Time can be Tempo Synced.
  This is set with the Tempo Sync button - if on the delay time is set in beat resolutions synced to the main sequencer tempo.
• The Delay and Chorus effects can also be pitch modulated by a built in LFO (the “Mod” parameters).
  “Rate” controls LFO speed and “Amount” the Stereo width.
• Dry/Wet governs the balance between the unprocessed (dry) signal and the effect (wet) signal.
  

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Global Filter slot

This is the Filter 3 slot which can be loaded with one of the filter types. Filter 3 is basically set up as the other filter slots. The differences are that the “ENV” parameter governs modulation by the Global Envelope, and that there will be no separate filter envelopes per voice. If you play one note the filter envelope will trigger. Adding new notes while a note is still held down (legato) will not trigger the filter envelope.

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Global Envelope

The Global Envelope 4 is an advanced envelope that is free to use for whatever purpose, but remember it is “single trigger” so it will not retrigger legato notes as explained above. It is an ADSR envelope with a pre-delay stage and a hold stage before the decay phase. You can make it Loop and Sync the time settings to the song tempo.

Apart from standard ADSR parameters, the Global Envelope has the following parameters:

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LFO 2

The LFO 2 is a standard LFO but is not polyphonic like LFO 1. It is not assigned to any parameter in an “Init” patch so you have to use the Modulation Routing section to use it.

Also the LFO 2 “Delay” and “Key Sync” parameters are single trigger, i.e. the LFO will not retrigger these parameters for legato notes.

You select a LFO waveform by using the spin controls beside the waveform display, or by clicking in the display and moving the mouse up or down.

The following parameters are available for LFO 2:

Basic operation - simple tutorial

To illustrate the basic operation of the modulation bus section, let’s set up a simple source to destination modulation assignment:

1. Select “Initialize Patch” from the Edit menu.
   If you currently have unsaved settings you wish too keep, don’t forget to save them first.

The Init patch is a simple 1 oscillator/1 filter setup, which produces sound when you play, and will serve the purpose of this tutorial.

The left half of the modulation section contains 5 columns, Source, Amount, Dest, Amount and Scale.

Below the column headers there are 7 rows. Each row is a modulation bus where you can have a Source to Destination modulation assigned.

2. Click in the top row of the leftmost Source column.
   A pop-up menu appears listing all available Source modulation parameters.

The upper half of the menu contains Voice section source parameters, and the lower half contains various global play and performance-oriented source parameters and the Global Envelope, as well as the Step Sequencer, CV and Audio inputs.

3. Select “LFO 1” from the pop-up.
   This means that LFO 1 is the modulation Source, and this can now be assigned to modulate a Destination parameter.
4. Pull down the “Dest” column pop-up in the top row.
   A pop-up menu appears listing all available modulation Destinations. The upper half of the menu contains Voice section destinations, and the lower half contains Global section destinations, as well as the Step Sequencer, CV and Audio outputs.
5. Select “Osc 1” from the menu and then “Pitch” from the submenu.
   This means that Osc 1 pitch is now assigned to be modulated by LFO 1. Next step is to set the amount of modulation to be applied.
6. Click in the top row Amount column to the right of the Source column, and move the mouse pointer up and down to set an Amount value.
   Both positive and negative Amount values can be set (+/- 100%).

If you now play a few notes you can hear the oscillator pitch being modulated by the LFO to produce vibrato.

But the vibrato will be constant, which you probably don’t want. This is solved by assigning a Scale parameter, which allows you to assign another parameter to control the modulation Amount.

7. Pull down the “Scale” column pop-up in the top row.
   A pop-up menu appears listing all available Scale parameters. The upper half of the menu contains Voice section parameters, and the lower half contains various play and performance-oriented parameters and the Global Envelope, as well as the Step Sequencer, CV and Audio inputs.

A typical controller for vibrato is the Mod wheel.

8. Select “Performance” from the menu and then “Mod wheel” from the submenu.
   This means that Osc 1 pitch is now assigned to be modulated by LFO 1, and the amount of modulation is controlled by the Mod wheel. How much the Scale parameter controls the Amount is set using the “Amount” column for the top row (to the left of the Scale column).
9. Click in the top row Amount column and move the mouse pointer up and down to set an Amount value.
   Both positive and negative Scale Amount values can be set (+/- 100%). To fully control the LFO modulation so that there is no vibrato when the Mod wheel is set to zero, set the Amount to 100%.
10. The modulation routing is now complete!
    You now have full control over the vibrato modulation by using the Mod wheel.
    • How much modulation will be applied when the Scale parameter is set to maximum is governed by the Source to Destination Amount parameter.
    • How much the Scale parameter controls the modulation is set with the Scale Amount parameter.
    • To clear any assigned modulation routing you can use the “CLR” button to the right of the corresponding bus.

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About the three modulation routing types

As described in the tutorial, the principal operators of the Modulation bus routing system are as follows:

• You have Modulation Source, Modulation Destination and Modulation Amount parameters.
• Optionally, you have a Scale parameter controlling the Modulation Amount, and a Scale Amount that governs how much the Scale parameter controls the Modulation Amount.

There are three different types of modulation routing busses available in Thor:

• You have seven “Source –> Destination –> Scale” routing busses.
  These are the seven rows in the left half of the Modulation section, as covered in the tutorial.
• There are four “Source –> Destination 1 –> Destination 2 –> Scale” busses.
  These are the four top rows in the right half of the Modulation section. This works after the same principle but the Source parameter can affect two different Destination parameters (with variable Amount settings) and a Scale parameter that affects the relative modulation Amount for both Destinations.
• Lastly, there are two “Source –> Destination –> Scale 1 –> Scale 2” busses.
  This means that a modulation Amount can use two Scale parameters. An example: You have the Mod Envelope as Source and Oscillator Pitch as the Destination (Amount set whatever you like). As the first Scale parameter we use the Mod Wheel (Amount set to 100 so that no modulation is applied when the Mod wheel is at zero), and LFO 1 as the second Scale parameter (Amount set to whatever you like). When you move the Mod wheel, the pitch modulation amount will be modulated by both the Mod Envelope and LFO 1 simultaneously.

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About the three modulation routing types

The following parameters can be used as Voice section modulation Sources:

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Modulation Sources - Global

The following parameters can be used as Global section modulation Sources:

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Modulation Destinations - Voice section

The following parameters can be used as Voice section modulation Destinations:

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Modulation Destinations - Voice section

The following parameters can be used as Voice section modulation Destinations:

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Modulation Destinations - Voice section

The following parameters can be used as Voice section modulation Destinations:

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Scale parameters

The available scale parameters are the same as the Source parameters.

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About using the Audio inputs

The 4 Audio inputs on the back panel can be used to connect external audio sources and process them with Thor’s parameters.

Note that when routing audio to the Voice section, the following things apply:

• There are only mono inputs in the Voice section.
  


• You need to send a gate trigger for the audio signal to be heard. This can be done in three ways; by playing notes, via notes played by the Step sequencer or from CV gate signals.
  


• Routing audio to Global destinations does not require a gate trigger and stereo inputs are provided.
  


• The external audio sources can also be used purely for modulation, e.g. you can modulate an oscillators pitch with an audio signal.
  This way you can use the audio input source to modulate any available destinations.

Basic operation

The main parameters and functions are as follows:

• The row of 16 buttons are used to program each step’s on or off status.
  A lit button means that the step is active, and a dark button means that the step will be a rest (silent).
• Each step button has a knob above it, which is used to set values for the corresponding step.
  
• The Edit knob determines what value you set with the step knobs.
  The available Edit values are Note (pitch), Velocity, Gate length, Step duration and Curve 1 and 2.
• The Run button starts/stops the step sequencer.
  

What exactly happens when you press Run depends on the Run mode.

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Setting the Run mode

The Run mode is set with the lever beside the Run button. The set mode governs how the step sequencer is played back when you press Run. The options are as follows:

• Repeat mode - this will repeat the sequence continuously.
  Click the Run button again or use the Transport to stop.
• 1 Shot mode - this will play the sequence once then stop.
  
• Step mode - the Run button steps the sequencer forward one step at a time.
  
• Off - the step sequencer is inactive.
  

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Setting the direction

• Forward - plays the sequence from the first step to the last.
• Reverse - plays the sequence from the last step to the first.
• Pendulum 1 - plays the sequence from the first step to the last, then from the last step to the first.
  I.e. the last and first step is played twice when the sequencer reverses direction.
• Pendulum 2 - plays the sequence from the first step to the last, then from the second last step to the first, i.e. without repeating the last/first step when reversing direction.
• Random - plays the steps in a random order.

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Programming step note pitch

To program step note pitch, you proceed as follows:

1. Make sure that the Step Seq Trigger button is activated in the Controller panel.
   
2. Set the Run mode to “Repeat”.
   You don’t have to use Repeat mode but it makes it easier to follow the following steps.
3. Start the step sequencer by pressing the Run button.
   You should now hear a sequence of repeated notes, each with the same pitch (C3). The current step is indicated by a yellow LED above the step buttons.
4. Make sure that the Edit knob is set to Note.
   
5. Turn one of the step knobs above one of the steps.
   A tooltip shows you what current note pitch the knob is set to, and when the sequencer repeats you should be able to hear the change in pitch for that step. Turn clockwise to raise the pitch in semitone increments. Turn counter-clockwise to lower the pitch.
6. You can set the knob’s note range by using the Octave lever to the left of the step buttons.
   Available note ranges are 2 Octaves (i.e. one octave up and down from the middle knob position (C3), 4 Octaves (i.e. two octaves up and down from the middle position (C3), or Full (-C2 to G8).

Note that the octave range can be set independently for each step. Each step memorizes the current octave range when the pitch is set for that step, and will keep this octave range until you change the pitch for the step with a different octave range setting.

7. You can either program steps “on the fly” (with the Step sequencer running) or step by step (Step mode).
   In Step mode, you press Run to forward the step number one position so you can set step parameters for one step at a time.

By using this general method you can continue to enter note pitch for other steps.

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Inserting rests

To make step sequences more rhythmically interesting, you can program rests for steps.

• This is simply done by pressing one or several step buttons so they go dark.
  Dark steps will be rests.
• Note that the Step Duration value still “counts” for rests.
  

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Setting the number of steps

• You can set how many steps a sequence should have before starting over using the Steps knob at the far right on the panel.
  Up to 16 steps can be used. The lit LEDs above each step button show the number of steps currently used. You can also change number of steps by clicking on a LED directly - the sequencer will then stop/start over at the selected step.

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Setting Rate

The Rate knob determines the rate of the step sequence.

You can either use “free running” rates (i.e. not synced to main sequencer tempo) or synced tempo. This is set with the Sync button on/off status. If Sync is active you can set the tempo in various beat resolutions.

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Setting other values for steps

For each step you can also program other parameters with the step value knobs apart from note pitch. You use the Edit knob to set one the following:

• Velocity - if this is selected as the Edit mode you can set a velocity value for each step.
  Default value is 100, range is 0-127.
• Gate Length - if this is selected as the Edit mode you can set a Gate Length value for each step.
  Default is 75%. Gate Length determines the length of the note played for that step.
• Step Duration - if this is selected as the Edit mode you can set a Step duration value for each step.
  This parameter determines the total length of the step, which is a factor related to the sequencer rate. Range is 1/4 to 4. E.g. if Rate is 1/16, “1” means a 1/16-note will be played, a “4” means a 1/4-note will be played, and so on.
• The Curves 1 and 2 allow you to set values for each step that can be sent to control parameters of your choice.
  This is done in the Modulation bus routing section, where these two independent Curves are selectable as Source controllers.

You can compare these curves to the Curve CV output of the Matrix - they simply represent a series of values which can be applied to anything.

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Step Pattern functions

You will find some specific Step pattern functions on the Edit menu (and on the device context menu). These are as follows: