Dave Smith Instruments Mopho SE Operation Manual
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Dave Smith Instruments Mopho SE Operation Manual

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  • Page 1 Operation Manual...
  • Page 3 Mopho SE Operation Manual Version 1.1 November 2013 Dave Smith Instruments 1527 Stockton Street 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94133 ©2013 Dave Smith Instruments www.DaveSmithInstruments.com...
  • Page 4 Tested To Comply With FCC Standards FOR OFFICE USE This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

      Contents   Quick Start ....................1   Getting Connected ..................3   Basic Operation ..................5   Global Parameters ..................9   Oscillators ....................13   Mixer ....................... 16   Filter ......................17   Envelopes ....................18   LFO ......................19  ...

  • Page 7: Quick Start

    Quick Start Thanks for purchasing your Mopho SE synthesizer! Listen to the sounds, twiddle some knobs, have some fun! Please Register! Please go to www.davesmithinstruments.com and register your synth. If you purchased directly from us, there is no need to register—we already have your contact information.
  • Page 8 Don’t forget you get a free editor for Mac OS or Windows with your purchase. Download it from www.soundtower.com/mopho. I should mention that this manual does not include explanations of basic analog synthesizer functions. It assumes you already know what an oscillator is, how a low-pass filter affects the sound, what an ADSR envelope looks like, and so on.

  • Page 9: Getting Connected

    Getting Connected Mopho has several inputs and outputs on its back panel. Connect the power supply included with your Mopho. The Power Input — power supply comes with different AC adaptor prongs that enable it to work almost anywhere in the world. If for whatever reason you need to use a different supply, it must match the specifications printed on the front panel.
  • Page 10 Mopho’s unbalanced left and right outputs. Left Out/Right Out— A ¼ inch stereo headphone jack. Phones—...

  • Page 11: Basic Operation

    Basic Operation If you’re familiar with analog, subtractive synthesis there shouldn’t be anything that looks terribly foreign or strange about Mopho’s front panel. All of the basic building blocks are there. But one of the challenges of making a compact synth is giving the user access to all the parameters within a limited amount of panel area.
  • Page 12 —Press to return Mopho to program mode. Hold to select global mode. Program —When editing a Program, press Compare to hear the saved version. Compare Turn Compare off to return to the edited version. Compare can also be used to audition write destinations when moving a program.

  • Page 13: Modes Of Operation

    Modes of Operation Mopho has three operating modes: program, edit, and global. In program mode, Param 1, Param 2, and Inc/Dec are used to change from one saved program to another. As soon as any of the programmable parameters are edited, that parameter is displayed on the LCD, with the programmed value on the top line, and the new, edited value on the bottom line.

  • Page 15: Global Parameters

    Global Parameters Mopho’s Global parameters affect all programs globally. Examples include MIDI channel and fine tune. To edit the Global parameters, hold down the Program switch until Global Parameter is displayed. The Param 1 knob changes the global parameter and Param 2 knob and increment and decrement buttons change the value.
  • Page 16 MIDI Out can be switched to MIDI Thru to MIDI Out Select: Out, Thru— daisychain multiple MIDI devices. —Used to expand the Poly Chain: Off, Out 1, Out 4, Out 5, Out 8, Out 12, Out 16 polyphony via the Poly Chain output and one or more DSI synths—Mopho, Tetra, or Prophet.
  • Page 17 arpeggiator. Mopho can be configured for use with either normally open (+) or normally closed (-) footswitches. When set to Arp+ or Arp-, the footswitch will act as a sustain pedal when the Arpeggiator is off. Sets the destination for the Pedal/CV input. Note that this Pedal: see table—...
  • Page 18 program parameters are basically the same as the Mopho Keyboard’s. The desktop Mopho’s Feedback Gain is not programmable, so some tweaking of that control may be necessary to match the sound to the keyboard. And the Prophet’s voice architecture is almost identical, but lacks the sub octave generators and feedback.

  • Page 19: Oscillators

    Oscillators The Oscillators section contains the primary controls for Mopho’s two digitally controlled analog oscillators or DCOs. “Digitally controlled” does not mean the oscillators themselves are digital, just that the oscillators’ frequencies are under digital—rather than voltage—control. The advantage to that is that the tuning is exceptionally stable over a ten-octave range without having to compensate for variables like temperature.
  • Page 20 wave, higher values widen it. At the extreme values, the pulse goes completely flat, which allows for some interesting possibilities with pulse width modulation. Pulse Width —Sets the oscillator glide (portamento) rate. Glide can be set Glide: 0...127 independently for each oscillator. Low values are faster. See also “Glide Mode” in Other Oscillator Parameters.
  • Page 21 point in the wave’s cycle other than a zero crossing. The first cycle to play might be truncated. For some sounds, like monophonic basses, this may actually be desirable. It adds a bit of randomness to the attack that can make it sound, for lack of a better word, more organic.

  • Page 22: Mixer

    Mixer The Mixer section balances the levels of the outputs of the Oscillators section and noise generator, and the Audio In/feedback loop before routing the summed signals to the low-pass filter. —Mixes the outputs of oscillators 1 and 2 in varying amounts. A Mix: 0...127 setting of 0 is equivalent to 100% oscillator 1 and 0% oscillator 2.

  • Page 23: Filter

    Filter Mopho features a selectable 2- or 4-pole, low-pass filter. —Selects the filter configuration. When lighted, the filter is in 4-pole 4-Pole mode. A 4-pole, low-pass filter rolls off frequencies above the cutoff frequency at a slope of 24dB/octave. When the light is off, the filter is in 2-pole mode and has a slope of 12dB/octave and a more gradual rolloff of the higher frequencies.

  • Page 24: Envelopes

    Envelopes Mopho has three 5-stage (Delay + ADSR) envelope generators. Two are dedicated—one to the filter and the other to the amplifier—and the third is assignable to any modulation destination. —Selects the envelope to edit. When all three are lighted, the Envelope Select other envelope parameters control all three envelopes simultaneously.

  • Page 25: Lfo

    Mopho has four low frequency oscillators (LFOs). The LFOs can be free- running, synced to keystrokes, or synced to the sequencer and MIDI clock. To edit the LFO parameters, choose LFO in the Modulation section. —Chooses the LFO to edit. LFO Select: 1, 2, 3, 4 Tip: The four numbered lights above the Frequency knob pulse at the frequency of the corresponding LFO.
  • Page 26 Display Timing Sync 32 Steps Sequence speed divided by 32; one LFO cycle takes 32 steps 16 Steps Sequence speed divided by 16 8 Steps Sequence speed divided by 8 6 Steps Sequence speed divided by 6 4 Steps Sequence speed divided by 4 3 Steps Sequence speed divided by 3 2 Steps...

  • Page 27: Sequencer

    Sequencer For many musicians, the term sequencer has become synonymous with MIDI sequencer; that is, a computer-based application or dedicated hardware device for recording and playing back notes and performance gestures via MIDI. But sequencers were around long before MIDI. Mopho’s sequencer is much more like the original analog sequencers typically associated with modular synthesizer systems.
  • Page 28 does not respond to MIDI start/stop/continue messages, but it can still sync to an external clock. Simply turn on the sequencer and then play and hold a note to start. Or use the Push It button’s toggle feature to latch a note on with one push and release it with another;...

  • Page 29: Programming The Sequencer

    Steps 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Dest. 1 Dest. 2 Dest. 3 Dest. 4 v = step value; R = Reset Sequence one has an additional value, Rest, that appears in the list after Reset. Rest prevents the envelopes from being gated by the corresponding step, so a rest in sequence one affects all four sequences.
  • Page 30 To program a sequence: Turn the sequencer on. Choose Sequencer in the Modulation section. Choose the sequence to program: 1, 2, 3, or 4. Play a note to start the sequence playing. To avoid having to hold a key down, set the Push It Mode (Misc. Parameters) to Toggle.
  • Page 31 In Mopho’s sequencer, Slew sets the slew rate between the previous step’s value and the current step’s value when the step is gated on. Confused yet? This should help: let’s say sequence one is routed to oscillator frequency and sequence two to Slew. Increasing the Slew value for step four will cause the oscillator frequency to glide from the step three value when step four is gated on.
  • Page 32 Syncing an LFO to the Sequencer One very useful way to modulate a parameter in sync with a sequence is using an LFO with Clock Sync. A setting of 16 Steps for LFO Frequency with a triangle wave selected and routed to the filter will provide a clean filter sweep over a 16-step sequence, perfectly in sync! This is much easier (and smoother) than manually programming a sequence to sweep the filter.

  • Page 33: Modulators

    Modulators Modulators lets you configure the modulation routing and amount for Mopho’s four general-purpose modulation slots. Since each Mopho modulation source has a single destination, the four general purpose modulators provide a way to send a mod source (such as a sequence or LFO) to additional destinations, with a different amount.

  • Page 34: Miscellaneous Modulators

    Miscellaneous Modulators There are certain standard controllers that Mopho consigns to dedicated modulators, things like mod wheel, pressure (aka aftertouch), and velocity. The most obvious benefits to doing this is it provides a shortcut to setting up commonly used controllers and it frees up the four general-purpose mod slots for other, more Mopho-specific applications.

  • Page 35: Clock

    Clock The Clock section contains the controls for the internal clock tempo and the note value for the arpeggiator and sequencer (and LFO, when Clock Sync is on). There are also switches to turn the arpeggiator and sequencer on and off. —Turns Mopho’s arpeggiator on and off.
  • Page 36 playing additional notes while latched adds them to the notes already playing. In ReLatch mode, removing your hands from all keys and then playing an additional note or notes causes the latched notes to be released and the newly played note(s) to be latched on. As long as at least one key is held, pressing additional keys will add to the arpeggio.

  • Page 37: Miscellaneous Parameters

    Miscellaneous Parameters Miscellaneous Parameters groups together programmable parameters that do not conveniently fall into any obvious section or, if they do, are parameters that are less frequently used. They are important, but generally not required for performance. Sets the volume of the current program to match Voice Volume: 0…127—...
  • Page 38 droning sounds, or possibly when using Mopho to process external audio, turn the VCA Level up. When set to Normal, Push It responds Push It Mode: Normal, Toggle, Audio In— like a key: press it and a note plays, release it and the note ends. But when set to Toggle, Push It turns the note on with one press and off with a second press.

  • Page 39: Modulation Sources

    Modulation Sources Display Source No source selected Sequence 1 Sequence1 Sequence 2 Sequence2 Sequence 3 Sequence3 Sequence 4 Sequence4 LFO 1 LFO 1 LFO 2 LFO 2 LFO 3 LFO 3 LFO 4 LFO 4 Filter Envelope Filt Env1 Amp (VCA) Envelope VCA Env 2 Envelope 3 Envelope3...

  • Page 40: Modulation Destinations

    Modulation Destinations Display Destination No destination selected Oscillator 1 Frequency Osc 1 Freq Oscillator 2 Frequency Osc 2 Freq Oscillator 1 and 2 Frequency OscAllFreq Oscillator Mix Osc Mix Noise Level NoiseLevel Oscillator 1 Pulse Width Osc1 PulsW Oscillator 2 Pulse Width Osc2 PulsW All Oscillators Pulse Width Osc All PW...
  • Page 41 Modulator 3 Amount Mod 3 Amt Modulator 4 Amount Mod 4 Amt Feedback Volume Fback Vol Sub Oscillator 1 Level Sub Osc 1 Sub Oscillator 2 Level Sub Osc 2 Feedback Gain Fback Gain Sequencer Slew* Slew *Appears as a destination in sequences 2 and 4 only.

  • Page 42: Using Usb

    Using USB Mopho’s USB 2.0 port enables bidirectional MIDI communication with a computer. A MIDI interface and MIDI cables are not necessary, just a USB cable. Mopho is a Class Compliant USB device. That means it does not require any additional drivers to be installed to communicate with a Mac or Windows computer.
  • Page 43 Windows Vista and Windows 7 behave the same as XP, but the device name is DSI Mopho rather than USB Audio Device. In Windows, if you unplug the USB cable and plug it back in while a program has the Mopho port open, you may have to resync. That usually means going to the USB Audio Device (or DSI Mopho) Properties, as in the procedure above, and clicking OK.

  • Page 44: Using Audio In

    Using Audio In The Audio In jack on Mopho’s rear panel can take audio from a variety of sources, including line level signals and guitars. But what happens to it once its inside and how do you get it out again? Simply plugging a guitar in does not mean you will actually hear something when you play it.

  • Page 45: Using Poly Chain

    Using Poly Chain Mopho’s Poly Chain output enables it to be connected to other DSI synths for up to 17-voice polyphony. Products that can be chained include the Tetra, Prophet '08 (module and keyboard), desktop Mopho, and a second keyboard Mopho. It will not chain with the Evolvers and Poly Evolvers due to the different voice structures.
  • Page 46 Note: If syncing to an external MIDI clock, set MIDI Clock (Global menu) on the master and any intermediate units to MIDI In/Out. Set the last instrument in the chain to MIDI In. When Poly Chain is set to Off, the Poly Chain MIDI out jack simply duplicates the MIDI out jack.
  • Page 47 Mopho Kybd. Mopho Poly MIDI 2 Voices: Chain Out 1 Mopho Kybd. Tetra Poly MIDI 5 Voices: Chain In End Out 4 Mopho Mopho Kybd. Tetra Poly Poly MIDI MIDI 6 Voices: Chain Chain Out 5 InOut4 Mopho Kybd. Tetra Tetra Poly Poly...

  • Page 48: Support

    Support Troubleshooting Here are a few suggestions for resolving problems that may occur. The sequencer has stopped running. Make sure Clock in the Global menu is set to Internal. Some of the programs sound different. Check the Mod Wheel position. The Mod Wheel can do a lot more than just add vibrato.

  • Page 49: Warranty Repair

    Please contact support@davesmithinstruments.com to determine the best course of action for getting your Mopho repaired. For your own protection, as well as ours, please do not return any product to Dave Smith Instruments without a return authorization (RA) number. To issue an RA number, Technical...

  • Page 50: Midi Implementation

    MIDI Implementation Mopho receives MIDI data according to the mode controls under G . In LOBAL addition, there is interaction between some of the Program parameters that determine the overall response of Mopho to MIDI data. Following are the Global parameters that affect response to MIDI: Selects the MIDI channel to send and receive MIDI Channel: ALL, 1…16 —...

  • Page 51: Midi Messages

    MIDI Messages System Real-time Messages Status Description 1111 1000 MIDI Timing Clock Received Channel Messages Status Second Third Description 1000 nnnn 0kkkkkkk 0vvvvvvv Note Off. Velocity is ignored 1001 nnnn 0kkkkkkk 0vvvvvvv Note On. Note off if vvvvvvv = 0 1010 nnnn 0kkkkkkk 0vvvvvvv...
  • Page 52 Transmitted Channel Messages Status Second Third Description 1000 nnnn 0kkkkkkk 0000000 Note Off. 1001 nnnn 0kkkkkkk 0vvvvvvv Note On. 1011 nnnn 0vvvvvvv 0vvvvvvv Control Change; see “Transmitted Controller Messages” table following 1100 nnnn 0ppppppp Program change, 0 – 127 for Programs 1 – 128 within current Bank 1101 nnnn 0vvvvvvv...

  • Page 53: Nrpn Messages

    Additional Continuous Controllers (CCs) Transmitted/Received The following table details how CCs are mapped onto Mopho’s controls. They are transmitted when MIDI Parameter Send is set to CC in Global, and recognized when received when MIDI Parameter Receive is set to either CC or All in Global.
  • Page 54 The messages are handled in standard MIDI format using the NRPN CC commands in running status byte format. Below is the format used for transmitting a NRPN parameter: Transmitted NRPN Messages Status Description 1011 nnnn Control Change 0110 0011 NRPN parameter number MSB CC 0vvv vvvv Parameter Number MSB 0110 0010...

  • Page 55: Global Parameter Data

    Received NRPN Messages Status Second Third Description 1011 nnnn 0110 0011 0vvvvvvv NRPN parameter number MSB CC 1011 nnnn 0110 0010 0vvvvvvv NRPN parameter number LSB CC 1011 nnnn 0000 0110 0vvvvvvv NRPN parameter value MSB CC 1011 nnnn 0010 0110 0vvvvvvv NRPN parameter value LSB CC 1011 nnnn...
  • Page 56 Param NRPN Range Description 0 - 1 MIDI Out Select*: 0 MIDI Out 1 MIDI Thru 0 - 6 Poly Chain*: 0 Off 1 Out 1 2 Out 4 3 Out 5 4 Out 8 5 Out 12 6 Out 16 0 –...

  • Page 57: Program Parameter Data

    Program Parameter Data The following table lists Mopho’s voice parameters. The parameter number in the program and edit buffer dumps are different than the NRPN numbers as seen; this was to maintain NRPN compatibility with the Prophet ’08 as much as possible.
  • Page 58 0 - 127 Filter Keyboard Amount 0 - 127 Filter Audio Modulation 0 - 1 Filter Poles 0: 2-pole; 1: 4-pole 0 - 254 Filter Envelope Amount; -127 to +127 0 - 127 Filter Envelope Velocity Amount 0 - 127 Filter Envelope Delay 0 - 127 Filter Envelope Attack...
  • Page 59 0 - 47 LFO 2 Mod Destination; See Modulation Destination list below 0 - 1 LFO 2 Key Sync Off/On 0 - 166 LFO 3 Frequency; same as LFO 1 0 - 4 LFO 3 Shape; same as LFO 1 0 - 127 LFO 3 Amount 0 - 47...
  • Page 60 0 - 47 Pressure Destination; See Modulation Destination list below 0 - 254 Breath Amount; -127 to +127 0 - 47 Breath Destination; See Modulation Destination list below 0 - 254 Velocity Amount; -127 to +127 0 - 47 Velocity Destination; See Modulation Destination list below 0 - 254 Foot Control Amount;...
  • Page 61 0 - 14 Arpeggiator Mode: Down Up/Down Assign Random Up 2 Octaves Down 2 Octaves Up/Down 2 Octaves Assign 2 Octaves Random 2 Octaves 10 Up 3 Octaves 11 Down 3 Octaves 12 Up/Down 3 Octaves 13 Assign 3 Octaves 14 Random 3 Octaves 0 - 1 Arpeggiator;...
  • Page 62 The following tables list the values used with the program parameters to specify modulation destinations and sources. Mod Destinations Value Osc 1 Freq Osc 2 Freq Osc 1 and 2 Freq Osc Mix Noise Level Osc 1 Pulse Width Osc 2 Pulse Width Osc 1 and 2 Pulse Width Filter Frequency Resonance...
  • Page 63 Mod 1 Amt Mod 2 Amt Mod 3 Amt Mod 4 Amt External Audio In Level Sub Osc 1 Level Sub Osc 2 Level Feedback Gain Slew* *Appears as a destination in sequences 2 and 4 only. Mod Sources Value Sequence Track 1 Sequence Track 2 Sequence Track 3...

  • Page 64: Sysex Messages

    Sysex Messages Universal System Exclusive Message (Device Inquiry) Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0111 1110 Non-realtime message 0vvv vvvv If MIDI channel is set to 1 - 16, 0vvvvvvv must match (unless MIDI Channel = ALL); always responds if 0vvvvvvv = 0111 1111. 0000 0110 Inquiry Message 0000 0001...
  • Page 65 Request Program Edit Buffer Dump Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0111 Mopho keyboard ID 0000 0110 Request Program Edit Buffer Transmit 1111 0111 End of Exclusive (EOX) Mopho will respond by sending out the current Program edit buffer in the format described below in Program Edit Buffer Data Dump.

  • Page 66: Packed Data Format

    Program Edit Buffer Data Dump Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0111 Mopho keyboard ID 0000 0011 Edit Buffer Data 0vvv vvvv 256 bytes expanded to 293 MIDI bytes in “packed MS bit” format (see page 60.) 1111 0111 End of Exclusive (EOX)

  • Page 67: Pitch Wheel Calibration

    Pitch Wheel Calibration The pitch wheel is calibrated at the factory and, generally speaking, should not have to be calibrated again. If, however, you find that your Mopho is not tuned to concert pitch when the pitch wheel is centered and the global transpose is set to 0, try performing a wheel calibration.
  • Page 72 Dave Smith Instruments 1527 Stockton Street 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94133 www.DaveSmithInstruments.com...

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