Reason 13.1 Operation Manual
DAW | Rack Plugin
The Combinator
A custom made Combinator front panel.
The Combinator is a special device that allows you to save and recall any combination of Reason/Rack Extension/VST (Reason stand-alone only) devices (instruments, effects, mixers etc.) and their internal connections. A saved Combinator setup can be loaded as a patch, called a “Combi”. The Combinator device itself acts as a container for the devices in a Combi.
The basic idea behind the Combinator device is simple, but very powerful. Being able to save multiple devices as a Combi enables you to instantly recall any type of setup, however complex, as simply as loading a patch!
The original version of the Combinator was first released with Reason 3. In Reason 12 we have made a major overhaul, to make it even more powerful and flexible!
Here are some of the Combinator features:
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Design your own custom front panel with back-drops, control configurations and layouts.
Now you can choose what controls - and how many of each - you want to have on the Combinator front panel. You can also select the height of the Combinator panel (1U to 6U) and add your custom back-drop image to use as background on your Combinator.
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Create split or layered multi-instruments.
Add any number of instrument devices and play them as a single layered instrument. Instrument devices in a Combi can also be assigned to specific keyboard/velocity zones.
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Save instrument/effect combinations.
Save an instrument together with your favorite effect(s).
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Create multi-effect devices.
You can create and save complex effect chains as Combis.
#About the Combi patch format
The Combinator saves files in the Combi (.cmb) patch format. When you load a ready-made Combi patch, all devices included in the Combi, their corresponding parameter settings and audio and CV connections are instantly recalled.
The Factory Soundbank includes many preset Combinator patches, divided into various categories.
There are two basic types of Combi patches; instrument and effect combis.
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Instrument Combis contain instrument devices and generate sound.
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Effect Combis contain effect devices and are used to process sound.
These Effect Combis can e.g. be loaded as insert effects in the Main Mixer channel strips and Master Section, by dragging and dropping from the Browser to the open Insert FX container. They can also be created as send effects in the Main Mixer Master Section using the “Create Send Effects...” command on the Create menu.
In the picture below an unfolded Combinator device is shown with its Editor and Devices container. The Combinator in this example contains a pre-made patch, that’s why there are devices in it, and assigned controls.
The front of the Combinator consists of the following elements (from the top down):
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1. The narrow panel at the top is always shown, even when the whole Combinator is folded.
It contains a display which (amongst other things) shows the name of the currently loaded Combi, and standard Select/Browse/Save patch buttons.
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2. Next is the Control panel, which is always shown if the Combinator is unfolded.
You can configure and design your own unique control panel, see “Configuring the Combinator panel”.
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3. The Editor contains views for mapping devices and controls, and for configuring the Control panel.
Here are also parameters for Key and Velocity Zone mapping as, well as Modulation Routing settings.
The Editor can be shown/hidden by clicking the “Editor” button on the Control panel.
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4. At the bottom are the devices included in the Combi.
At the top of the device section is an 8-channel stereo summing mixer, which allows for quick audio routing of devices in the Combi. The summing mixer is always present and cannot be removed.
Devices can be shown or hidden by clicking the “Devices” button on the Control panel.
#Creating an empty Combinator device
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Add a Combinator device from the Utilities palette in the Device Palette.
Either double click the device or drag and drop from the device palette to the rack.
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Select “Combinator” from the “Utilities” sub-menu on the Create menu.
This will create an empty Combinator. Empty Combinator devices can be used as a starting point when creating new Combi patches. It also allows you to browse for existing Combi patches.
#Creating a Combinator by combining devices
You can create a Combinator device by combining existing devices:
1.
Select two or more devices in the rack by [Ctrl]-clicking (Win) or [Shift]-clicking (Mac).
The devices do not have to be adjacent in the rack.
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Note that you should never select any Mix Channel or Audio Track devices (Reason stand-alone only), since this will disable the “Combine” function described below.
2.
Select “Combine” from the Edit menu or context menu.
This creates a Combinator device containing the devices that were selected according to the following rules:
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A sequencer track is created for the Combinator, just as when creating instrument or pattern devices.
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The new Combinator device appears at the position below the selected device that is farthest down in the rack.
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The selected devices are moved to be contained within the Combinator’s “container”.
Their internal order is not changed. Reason attempts to autoroute the first “input device” and first “output device” to the Combinator Mixer To/From Devices connectors - see “About internal and external audio connections”. Other connections are unchanged.
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Devices outside the Combi remain in the same order as before.
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Please see “Adding devices to a Combi” for details about auto-routing.
#Creating a Combinator by browsing patches
Double clicking, or dragging & dropping a Combinator (.cmb) patch from the Browser to the rack will automatically create the Combinator device in the rack and load the selected patch.
Unlike other devices, the Combinator contains both external and internal audio connections.
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External connections are used to connect a Combinator to devices outside the Combi.
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Internal connections are how devices within the Combi are connected.
#External audio connections
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The Combinator Input connectors are the inputs to the Combinator (used for effect Combis only).
Internally, these inputs are connected to the “To Devices” connectors of the Combinator Mixer (see below).
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The Combinator Output connectors carry the audio output of the Combinator Mixer.
This output connects with a device outside the Combi, normally a mixer. Internally, this output is connected to the “From Devices” connectors. When you create a new Combinator this output will be auto-routed to the first available mixer input channel.
#Internal audio connections
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The “To Devices L/R” outputs on the Combinator Mixer connect to an input on a device in the Combi when the Combinator is used as an effect.
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The “From Devices” inputs on the Combinator Mixer is where the outputs from devices in the Combi are connected.
The “From Devices” outputs consist of 8 stereo output pairs.
#About External Routing
If an individual device in the Combi is directly connected to a device outside the Combinator - or if an external device is connected to any of the “From Devices” connectors on the Combinator Mixer - this is known as an “External Routing” connection, which should generally be avoided. The reason for this is that such connections are not saved with the Combi patch.
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Therefore, all connections to/from a Combi should pass via the To/From Device connectors on the Combinator device if you wish to make the Combi “self-contained”.
If a Combi contains any external routing connections, this is indicated by the “External Routing” LED on the front and back of the (unfolded) Combinator Mixer:
It is still possible to use a Combi with External Routing connections within the context of a song (where all routings are saved with the song). Just keep in mind that the external routing connections will not be part of the Combi patch!
#How to avoid external routing connections
As explained previously, all connections to/from a Combinator device should pass via the To/From Device connectors in order to make the Combi self-contained. If you should have used up all “From Devices” connectors you need to include a mixer device and route the outputs of that mixer to a free “From Devices” connector pair.
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If you should run out of “From Devices” connectors, or want more mixing capabilities, like panning and Effect Sends, the Line Mixer 6:2 is ideally suited for mixing device outputs in Combis (see “The Line Mixer 6:2”).
#Creating new devices in a Combi
To add devices to a Combi, you can drag and drop them from the Device Palette as usual.
If you want to add devices using the Create menu or by double clicking in the device palette, you need to make the Combinator the target device in one of the following ways:
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Click in the empty area at the bottom of the open device container so that the red insertion line is shown:
If you create a device with the insertion line showing, the new device will appear at the bottom of the Combi container.
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If the Combi already has devices in it, select a device in the Combi (but not the Combinator device itself).
When you add a device from the Create menu it will appear below the selected device (just like in the rack).
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No sequencer tracks will be automatically created for devices added to a Combi.
#About auto-routing
The auto-routing of devices in a Combi is similar to devices in the rack:
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If a device in a Combi is selected, the new created device will appear below the selected device according to standard rules.
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If an effect is selected and you create a new effect device, these will be connected serially.
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If an instrument device is selected and you create an effect it will be connected as an insert effect to the instrument device.
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If a mixer is selected and you create an effect it will be connected as a mixer send effect.
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If an instrument device is selected and you create another instrument device it will be added below the selected device and connected to the first available Combinator Mixer input channel.
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If you hold down [Shift] and create a new device, no auto-routing will take place.
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If you hold down [Option] (Mac) or [Alt] (Windows) and create a new device, a sequencer track will be created for the device.
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If you add a device to an empty Combi, its output(s) will be auto-routed to the first available “From Devices” connector(s) of the Combinator Mixer. For effect devices, the input will also auto-route to the “To Devices” connectors.
#Adding existing devices to the Combi from the rack
You can move devices in the rack that are currently outside the Combi into the Combinator holder. This works as follows:
1.
If you want to add more than one device at the same time, [Ctrl]-select (Win) or [Shift]-select (Mac) the devices.
2.
Click on the panel area of a device.
You can click anywhere outside the actual parameters and displays.
3.
Drag the device(s) into the Combinator.
A thick orange vertical line indicates where the device(s) will be positioned. Note that the orange line can be to the left of a device (indicating that the moved device will be inserted before the other device) or to the right of a device (indicating that the moved device will be inserted after the other device). You can also add devices to the empty space at the bottom of the Combi holder.
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No auto-routing will take place.
The existing connections to the rack will be kept, so there may be external routing connections (see “About External Routing”). If there are, “External Routing” will be shown the Combinator name display (and on the back of the Combinator a LED indicator will be lit).
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If you drag devices into the Combi with [Shift] pressed, the devices will be disconnected from the rack and auto-routed according to the insert position.
The routing between dragged devices will be kept. If it isn’t possible to auto-route a dragged device (e.g. if there are no free From Devices inputs on the Combinator Mixer), the device will become unconnected.
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If you drag devices into the Combi with [Alt](Win) or [Option](Mac) pressed, the devices will be copied. No auto-routing takes place.
Using [Shift] at the same time will attempt to auto-route according to the same rules as described above.
#Combining two Combis
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If you select two Combinators in the rack and then select “Combine” from the Edit/context menu the lower Combi will be uncombined and the devices added to the upper Combi in the rack when combining.
Existing routing will be unchanged.
#Moving the entire Combi
This works much the same as for other devices in the rack.
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Select the Combinator by clicking on the Control panel background and dragging to a new position.
An outline of the Combinator is shown when you drag, and an orange line shows the insert position. All connections are kept.
#Moving devices within a Combi
Just as for devices in the rack, an outline of the devices is shown when you drag, and an orange line shows the insert position. All connections are kept.
#Moving devices out of a Combi
If you move devices out of a Combi the following applies:
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The routing in the Combinator is unchanged, and the External Routing indicator is likely to light up.
If you press [Shift] when dragging, the device(s) will attempt to auto-route to the rack according to standard rules.
#Deleting devices in a Combi
This works exactly as for devices in the rack.
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Select the device and then either select “Delete Devices and Tracks” from the Edit menu or context menu, or press [Backspace].
#Uncombining devices
You can uncombine a whole Combi or selected devices within a Combi in the following way:
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If you select a Combinator and then select “Uncombine” from the Edit/context menu, the Combinator device will be removed, and all devices contained in the Combi will be moved to the rack.
The devices previously connected to the To/From Devices connectors will now be connected to the rack in the same way the Combinator device was (via the Combinator output and input).
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If you uncombine a few selected devices in a Combi these will be removed from the Combi and added to the rack below the Combi.
Connections are unchanged, so external routing is likely to happen.
This is the default Combinator panel - the one that appears after you have selected “Reset Device” from the Edit/context menu. Like standard instrument devices it features Pitch and Mod wheels and various controls.
#About the virtual controls
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The default four Rotary knobs and buttons in the middle of the Control panel are “virtual” controls that can be assigned to parameters and functions in devices contained in the Combi.
These controls are by default not assigned to any parameters in new Combis.
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You can also add or remove controls, to design your own custom panel, see “Adding and positioning controls on the front panel”.
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You assign parameters to the controls in the Modulation Routing section of the Editor panel (see “Using Modulation Routing”).
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Movements of the virtual controls can be recorded as automation.
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Each control can be assigned to any number of parameters.
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Up to four virtual controls can be modulated from the Control CV inputs on the rear panel, see “Control CV In”.
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Double clicking on the label for a control lets you type in an appropriate name for it.
#The Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels
The Pitch and Mod wheels on the Control panel will mirror the corresponding actions on your master keyboard, just like for standard instrument devices.
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When a Combinator device has Master Keyboard input and the Combi contains several instrument devices these will all receive pitch bend and modulation data.
The settings in the instrument devices determines what happens when applying pitch bend or modulation.
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For example, moving the Mod wheel could apply vibrato for one device and change the filter cutoff frequency for another device.
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Pitch Bend will also be applied according to individual settings in the Range field for all instrument devices in a Combi.
#Opening the Configuration panel
1.
Open the Editor by clicking the Editor button at the top of the Combinator front panel:
2.
Click the Configure button to open the panel Configuration panel:
#Setting the front panel size
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Select the desired panel height from the “Panel size” drop-down list.
You can choose from 1U (rack unit) to 6U.
#Selecting front panel background color
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Select the desired panel background color from the Background Color drop-down list.
#Selecting a backdrop image
This function allows you to change the “skin” of the Combinator front panel. You can design your own labels for the assignable controls, and change the color and look of the whole panel.
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Click the Backdrop drop-down on the Config panel in the Editor:
The Backdrop drop-down features the items “None”, “Default” and “Load...”
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“None” leaves the panel with the selected background Color (see “Selecting front panel background color”).
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“Default” is a semi-transparent texture which gives a higher quality look to the front panel.
Since the texture is semi-transparent the selected background Color will shine through.
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Selecting “Load...” will open the image browser.
Here you can select image file in JPEG (.jpg) or PNG format.
Instead of selecting “Load...” from the drop-down you could select the Combinator device and choose “Select Backdrop...” from the Edit/context menu.
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Transparent PNG files are also supported, if you want to layer a backdrop image on top of a background color.
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For full hi-res support the width of the image should be 3770 pixels.
The height depends on what front panel size you have selected, see “Setting the front panel size”.
These are the optimal height dimensions for each of the front panel sizes:
1U: 345 pixels
2U: 690 pixels
3U: 1035 pixels
4U: 1380 pixels
5U: 1725 pixels
6U: 2070 pixels
If you select an image with other pixel dimensions, the image will be automatically scaled.
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The knobs, buttons, patch name display and patch buttons cannot be redesigned using a backdrop.
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If you wish to design your own text labels for the virtual controls, you should first remove the original text labels:
Double click on a control label, remove the current text and press [Enter]. Alternatively, uncheck “Show Label” in the Configuration panel in the Editor, see “Changing the appearance of the controls”).
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To remove a Backdrop, select “Remove Backdrop” from the Combinator context menu - or select “None” in the Backdrop drop-down on the Config panel in the Editor.
The currently selected Background Color of the Combinator panel is restored.
#About “Using Legacy Backdrop”
This is automatically turned on when you load a legacy Combi patch with a backdrop, and will show buttons in the same way as on the original Combi (including Show Editor/Show Devices buttons on the panel) and hide the Bypass/On/Off label as this is expected to be in the backdrop.
#About the “Bypass Label”
The “Bypass Label” item is available only when the “Using Legacy Backdrop” is de-selected.
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Select the desired color (or presence) of the Bypass/On/Off text from the drop-down.
The setting affects the color of the text on the top left of the Combinator panel:
#About the “Combi Layout Templates” folder
In Factory Sound Bank/Combinator Patches/ there is a folder named “Combi Layout Templates”. This folder contains a selection of pre-made Combinator panel configurations and layouts that can serve as starting points/inspiration for your own Combinator designs.
#Selecting, positioning and editing front panel controls
1.
Open the Editor by clicking the Editor button at the top of the Combinator front panel.
2.
Click the Configure button to open the panel Configuration panel.
#Adding and positioning controls on the front panel
To the left on the Editor Configuration panel are a selection of pre-made knobs, faders, buttons and wheels that can be freely laid out on the Combinator front panel:
Controls selector on the Configuration panel.
1.
Click a desired control icon on the Configuration panel.
The control shows up with a frame around it on the Combinator front panel.
Adding a new control to the front panel.
2.
Click and drag the control to the desired position on the Combinator front panel.
Visual guides appear as you move the control so you can easily place the control aligned with other controls already on the panel.
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Use the [Arrow] keys on the computer keyboards to adjust the position, if desired.
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Double click the label and type in a new name, if desired:
3.
Click a new control to add another one.
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You can also select multiple controls, by dragging or by [Shift]-clicking on the panel, and move them together on the front panel.
Alternatively, [Command]/[Ctrl]-click the controls in the Panel Elements list to select multiple controls.
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The maximum number of controls that can be placed on a Combinator panel is 32 knobs/faders plus 32 buttons, 2 wheels (pitch and modwheel), 1 Run button and 1 Bypass FX button.
It’s also possible to align and distribute a selection of controls, to get perfect position with even spacing on the panel.
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Select the group of controls you want to align/distribute, click the black arrow button on the control you want to use as reference, and select action from the pop-up:
#About the “Run” and “Bypass FX” buttons
The “Run” button can be used to start/stop all (Reason) pattern devices included in the Combi. This works exactly as pressing the Run button on the pattern device panel. The on/off status of this button is not saved with the Combi patch. Pressing play on the transport panel in the Sequencer will automatically activate “Run Pattern Devices”.
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In the Reason Factory Sound Bank, Combi patches containing pattern devices have “(run)” at the end of their patch names.
The “Bypass FX” button allows you bypass all effect devices in a Combi. It works as follows:
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All insert effect devices in the Combi are switched to Bypass mode.
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All effects connected as send effects to a mixer device are switched off.
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Clicking this button will not affect effect devices that were bypassed or turned off already.
#Changing the appearance of the controls
It’s possible to change the appearance of the controls.
1.
Click the control you want to edit, either on the Combinator front panel or in the Panel Element list on the Configuration panel.
The characteristics of the selected control is now displayed in the Settings section:
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The control type is shown in the Type display.
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The Name display shows the control name.
(To edit the name, double click the name label on the Combinator panel.)
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Select control style from the Style drop-down list.
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Select the Scale appearance (if the control features a scale)
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Click the check mark to show/hide the control name label on the Combinator front panel.
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Select the label text color from the Text Color drop-down list.
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Choose where you want the text label positioned around the control from the Position drop-down list.
#Deleting controls on the front panel
1.
Select a control (or multiple controls, by dragging or by [Shift]-clicking the controls on the front panel).
Alternatively, click in the Panel Element list ([Command]/[Ctrl]-click to select multiple controls).
2.
Press [Delete]/[Backspace] on the computer keyboard to delete the selected control(s)
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Alternatively, click the X next to the control name in the Panel Elements list to delete one control at a time:
The Editor is used for key mapping and setting velocity ranges for instrument devices, and for Modulation Routing; assigning device parameters to the knobs/buttons/sliders on the Control panel.
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To bring up the Editor panel, click the “Editor” button on the unfolded Control panel.
The Editor appears below the Control panel.
A fully assigned Combinator.
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To the left on the Editor panel the devices in the current Combi are listed in the order they appear in the Combinator container - from top to bottom.
Clicking on a device in the list selects it for editing.
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To the right is the Modulation Routing section where you can assign parameters to the controls on the Control panel.
See “Using Modulation Routing”.
#Key Mapping instrument devices
#About the Key (receive MIDI Notes) column
To the right of the Device name is a Key column.
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Click to select if the device should respond to MIDI Note input.
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If you deactivate the “Key” checkbox the selected device will not respond to incoming MIDI note messages.
For devices that cannot use MIDI notes (such as most effect devices), there is no checkbox in this column.
#Setting the Key Range
Each instrument device can have its own separate key range, the lowest and the highest key that will trigger the device. This allows you to create splits and layers for instrument devices in a Combi.
1.
Make sure the “Key” checkbox is ticked for the instrument devices you want to edit the Key Range.
The Key Range is shown as a horizontal bar, and as note numbers on either sides of the bar. By default, the entire note range is selected (C -2 to G 8).
There are several ways you can change the Key Range:
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By clicking in the Key Range value fields and moving the mouse up or down.
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By moving the handles of the horizontal bar.
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By dragging the horizontal bar itself you can also move entire key zones horizontally, thereby changing their key ranges.
2.
Using either method, set the desired key range for the desired device(s).
When done, the device(s) will only play back notes in the set key range.
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By setting up key ranges for devices in a Combi, you can create split instruments.
For example playing notes below C 2 could trigger a device playing a bass sound, whereas playing notes above C 2 could trigger a device playing a pad sound.
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Instrument devices in a Combi that share the same key range will be layered - i.e. play at the same time.
This given that no velocity ranges have been set up - see below.
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You can of course set up overlapping ranges where notes within a set key range will layer two (or more) devices, but notes above and below the set range will play separate devices.
#About the Transpose function
The Transpose field to the far right on the panel allows you to transpose the instrument devices. It will not shift the key mapping, just the pitch of the device.
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Click and drag up/down in the Transpose field to edit the transposition.
The range is +/- 3 octaves, in semitone steps (+/-36 semitones).
#Enabling/disabling Performance Controllers
To the bottom right of the panel is a drop-down list that features all standard MIDI Performance Controllers (Pitch Bend/Mod Wheel/Breath/Expression Pedal/Sustain Pedal/Aftertouch) for the selected instrument.
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The check boxes in the drop-down list allow you to control whether MIDI Performance Controller data is to be received for each instrument device in a Combi.
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If you deactivate any of the Performance Controllers, the corresponding controller(s) will not be received by the selected instrument device.
All Performance Controllers are on by default.
#Setting Velocity Ranges for instrument devices
When instrument devices are set up so that their key ranges overlap – completely or partially – you can use velocity switching to determine which devices should be played back depending on how hard or soft you play on your MIDI keyboard.
This is done by setting up velocity ranges.
Each time you press a key on your MIDI keyboard, a velocity value between 1-127 is sent to Reason. If you press the key softly, a low velocity value is sent and if you press it hard, a high velocity value is sent.
This velocity value determines which devices will be played and which will not.
1.
Select an instrument device in the Device list (non-instrument devices, e.g. effects and mixers do not have velocity ranges).
By default, the entire range is selected (0 - 127).
There are several ways you can change the current Velocity Range:
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By clicking in the “Lo” and “Hi” value fields and moving the mouse up or down.
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By moving the handles of the horizontal bar.
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By dragging the horizontal bar itself you can also move entire Velocity Range.
2.
When you have set a range, the device will only be triggered by notes played within this velocity range.
#About overlapping Velocity Ranges
You can set overlapping velocity ranges. Here’s an example of how this can work:
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Device 1 has a velocity range from 1-45.
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Device 2 has a velocity range of 33-88.
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Device 3 has a velocity range of 76-127.
Now, velocity values between 33 and 45 will trigger notes from both Device 1 and Device 2. Likewise, velocity values between 76 and 88 will trigger sounds from Device 2 and Device 3.
The Modulation Routing section to the right on the Editor panel allows you to assign any parameter or function in devices included in a Combi to any of the virtual controls on the Control panel.
You can also control Combi parameters by connecting external CV modulation sources to any of the Source CV inputs on the back of the unfolded Editor panel, see “Wheel CV In and Source CV In”.
#About Rotary/Slider and Switch controls
The virtual Rotary/Slider and Switch controls operate much like the equivalent controls on the real devices:
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A Rotary/Slider control can change continuous parameter values (e.g. a level control), or step through fixed values (like the Oscillator waveform spin controls on a Subtractor).
The actual Rotary/Slider control on the Combinator will always move smoothly (never “stepped”), though.
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A Switch control will switch between two set values like an on/off switch.
Worth noting is that there are buttons on several Reason devices that will step through a series of values, for example LFO Waveform buttons. If LFO Waveform is assigned to one of the virtual Buttons you will only be able to switch between two of the six LFO waveforms (which waveforms is determined by the Min/Max range).
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The available range for each selected parameter is shown in the Modulation Routing Min/Max fields.
Most sliders and rotary knobs on the actual devices have the standard 0-127 or -64 to 63 range. Selectors and spin controls can have any value range.
#About the CV Inputs
On the back of the Editor panel are CV Modulation Inputs for connecting external CV signals to modulate any of the parameters that are accessible in the Target section in the Editor, see “Wheel CV In and Source CV In”.
#Assigning panel controls to device parameters
Assigning Combinator panel controls to device parameters can be done in two different ways:
1.
Right click the desired device parameter and select the desired Combinator panel control to assign it to from the “Map to Combi Control” pop-up:
Assigning the “Master Volume” control on an Europa device to the “Level” control on the Combinator panel.
If you chose the method described above you can continue directly to step 4 below in this description.
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Alternatively, select the device you wish to assign parameters on in the device list to the left:
The Modulation Routing section to the right contains four columns:
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In the Source column, any currently assigned Combinator panel controls are listed.
Each field can be changed to any Control/Slider/Switch/CV Input or Performance Controller by clicking the arrow and selecting from the drop-down list.
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The drop-down lists in the Target column contain all parameters for the currently selected device.
Lastly in each Target drop-down list is the option to receive note data or not. This is useful if you want to temporarily enable/disable MIDI Note input for specific devices, e.g. to temporarily enable layered instruments - or switch instrument playback.
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The Min/Max columns allow you to specify a value range for the virtual control.
It’s also possible to set the Min value higher than the Max value, meaning that the value will decrease when you turn up the knob/slider.
2.
Click the small black triangle in the Source column and select the Combinator panel control from the drop-down list:
Setting the “Level” Combinator panel control as Source.
3.
Click the small black triangle in the Target column and select the desired Target parameter from the drop-down list:
In the drop-down, all the available parameters for the device are listed.
Assigning the Europa “Master Volume” parameter as Target.
4.
You can specify a range for the assigned parameter by clicking in the Min and Max columns and moving the mouse up or down, or by dragging the handles of the horizontal Range bar, or by dragging the Range bar (to offset the range).
By the maximum available range is set by default:
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It’s also possible to “reverse” the range by dragging the Range handles past each other, or dragging the Min/Max boxes so that the minimum value becomes max and the maximum value becomes minimum.
The result is that the Target parameter value will decrease when you turn up the Source knob/slider, and vice versa. Here is an example of how to reverse the range for a parameter:
The Filter Reso parameter edited to have a reversed Range, as indicated by the light gray Range bar.
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It’s also possible to set a Source Range for each Source control, so that the knob/slider only affects the Target parameter in a certain region/interval of the Source control:
Source Range for Rotary 1 set to 50-100%.
5.
If you select another device in the Device list to the left in the Editor, you can assign another parameter to the same Rotary or Button control using the same basic methods.
This means that you can create multi-function controls that operate simultaneously on several parameters. E.g. if you have two Subtractors and a Malström in a Combi you could create a “master” filter cutoff knob, that controls this parameter for all three devices. See “Controlling multiple Target parameters differently from a single Source control” for an example.
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If you want to clear all mappings and start from a clean slate, click the “Clear Mappings” X button:
#Controlling multiple Target parameters differently from a single Source control
You can also have the same Source control assigned to multiple Target parameters on the same device. In the example below the “Eng1 Filter Freq” and the “Eng1 Filter Reso” parameters on the Spectral Filter in a Europa device are assigned to the same FILTER control on the Combinator panel:
The “Eng1 Filter Reso” parameter Range is reduced and reversed (light gray Range bar), so when you turn up the FILTER knob on the Combinator panel, the Filter Frequency is raised but the Resonance is decreased. The “Eng1 Filter Reso” parameter also has the Source Range set to 0-50%, which means the Resonance will decrease only during the first half of the FILTER knob range.
The picture below shows how the “Eng1 Filter Freq” and “Eng1 Filter Reso” parameters are affected when you turn up the FILTER knob on the Combinator panel. You can also see the differences in the Spectral Filter display:
Controlling both the Freq and Reso parameters from the FILTER control on the Combinator panel.
#Controlling a single Target parameter from multiple Source controls
This is also possible, by simply selecting the same Target parameter from different Source controls in the Modulation Routing section.
The rear panel of the Combinator.
CV connections between devices in the Combi are saved with the Combi patches. This is also true for CV connections between devices in Combi and the Combi itself - e.g. if you have connected a Matrix in the Combi to one of the CV inputs on the back of the Combi panel.
The following CV connectors can be found at the back of the Combinator:
#Sequencer Control inputs
The Sequencer Control CV and Gate inputs allow you to play the Combinator from another CV/Gate device (typically a Matrix or a RPG-8). The signal to the CV input controls the note pitch, while the signal to the Gate input delivers note on/off along with velocity.
#Control CV In
These CV inputs can be used for controlling four selectable controls on the Combinator front panel.
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Click the drop-down and select which panel control you want to modulate.
All currently available front panel controls are shown in the drop-down list.
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Attenuate the input signal with the corresponding attenuation knob.
#Wheel CV In and Source CV In
In this section you will find standard CV Pitch Bend and Mod Wheel modulation inputs, as well as eight modulation inputs which can be assigned as Sources in the Editor. Here you can connect external CV modulation sources for modulating any of the Target parameters in the Editor (see “Using Modulation Routing”).
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Click the Editor button to show the Wheel CV In and Source CV In connectors on the rear panel:
Next to each CV Input are one sensitivity knob and one polarity switch that work as follows:
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The sensitivity knobs can be used for attenuating the CV Input signal.
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The polarity switches should be used for defining the polarity of the CV Input signal.
For example, if you have connected a CV signal from an envelope generator, the switch should be set to Unipolar. If you are modulating from a standard LFO, the polarity switch should be set to Bipolar.