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Dave Smith Instruments TETR4 Operation Manual
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Dave Smith Instruments TETR4 Operation Manual

Multitimbral four-voice analog synthesizer
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  • Page 1 Operation Manual...
  • Page 3 Tetra Operation Manual Version 1.2 February 2010 Dave Smith Instruments 1210 Cabrillo Hwy N Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-1449 ©2009 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...
  • Page 5 Dave Smith Instruments without a Return Authorization number shall be refused. Dave Smith Instruments will repair this product at no charge to you for parts or for labor within the warranty period; provided, however, that Dave Smith Instruments reserves the right to determine whether the product is “defective”...

  • Page 7: Table Of Contents

    Contents Quick Start....................1 Getting Connected ..................3 Front Panel Controls ................. 5 Basic Operation..................9 Global Parameters .................. 13 Program Parameters................17 Oscillator Parameters ................17 Miscellaneous Oscillator Parameters ..........18 Mixer Parameters ................19 Feedback Parameters ................. 19 Low-pass Filter Parameters..............
  • Page 8 MIDI Implementation ................41 MIDI Messages..................41 NRPN Messages ................. 44 Global Parameter Data................ 45 Program Parameter Data ..............46 Combo Parameter Data............... 52 Sysex Messages ................. 56 Packed Data Format................61 Hidden Functions ..................62...

  • Page 9: Quick Start

    Quick Start Thanks for purchasing your Tetra 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 10 Summary You should be up and running now; for more operation information, read on. Or, just look up specific parameters for detailed notes. Pages 35 through 39 contain a handy reference for mod destinations and sources. At some point you should read through the manual to discover all the little features that you might not notice at first.

  • Page 11: Getting Connected

    Getting Connected Tetra has several inputs and outputs on its back panel. Connect the power supply included with your Tetra. The power Power Input — supply comes with different AC adaptor prongs that allow it to work 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 13: Front Panel Controls

    Front Panel Controls Use S to change and scroll through programs and combos. Also Select — ELECT used to select parameters in Global mode. Tetra has four modes of operation: Mode (Program/Combo/Global) — program, combo, global, and edit. Press the button to toggle between Program and Combo Mode.
  • Page 14 Use W to save an edited program or combo to any of Tetra’s Write — RITE memory locations. To execute the write operation, press the increment (+) button. To store a program or combo in a different location, press the W button and RITE change the destination using the S...
  • Page 15 — This button behaves differently depending upon the current Edit B/Combo mode. In Program Mode, it switches between program layers. Each program has two layers, A and B. Each layer can be a complete, separate patch. The layers are used in conjunction with the KeyMode parameter for creating stacked or split programs.

  • Page 17: Basic Operation

    Basic Operation Tetra has multiple personalities. It is a four-voice, analog poly synth, a sort of “mini Prophet.” But the voice architecture is based on Mopho, so it has a couple of sonic tricks up its sleeve—specifically sub-octave generators and feedback— that are absent from the Prophet.
  • Page 18 Combos When in Program Mode, press the Mode switch to enter Combo Mode. Combos are combinations of four programs, one for each voice. In Combo Mode, use and increment/decrement to change combos. Each of the A ELECT SSIGNABLE knobs controls a parameter for its respective voice: knob 1 for ARAMETERS voice 1, knob 2 for voice 2, and so on.

  • Page 21: Global Parameters

    Global Parameters Tetra’s Global parameters affect all programs globally. Examples include MIDI channel and fine tune. To edit the Global parameters, hold down the Mode switch (Program/Combo/Global) until the G LED lights. The S LOBAL ELECT knob changes the global parameter and the increment and decrement buttons change the value.
  • Page 22 MIDI Out can be switched to MIDI Thru to MIDI Out Select: Out, Thru — daisychain multiple MIDI devices. Using Poly Chain: Off, Out 1, Out 4, Out 8, Out 12, In End, InOut4, InOut8 — Poly Chain, up to four Tetras can be chained together for increased polyphony. One or two Tetras can also be chained with a Prophet ’08 for twelve- or sixteen- note polyphony.
  • Page 23 Choosing “Q LR34” is similar to Quad, but voices 1 and 2 retain whatever panning effects are present in the assigned programs and the stereo outputs of those voices are present at both the Left and Right outputs. Tetra’s Cutoff, Resonance, and Volume PotMode: Relative, Passthru, Jump –...
  • Page 24 Display MIDI Transmit Operation Dump current program Current Program Dump all 128 programs in current bank Current Prog Bank Dump all programs in all 4 banks All Progrm Banks Dump current combo Current Combo Dump all combos Combo Bank Dump all program banks and combos All Progs Combos Dump current program in Prophet ’08 format Current Prog P08...

  • Page 25: Program Parameters

    Program Parameters All Program parameters can be edited using any of A SSIGNABLE ARAMETERS controls. To assign a parameter to a control, press the A SSIGN ARAMETERS button to light the LED, and then turn any of the knobs (1 through 4) to select a parameter.

  • Page 26: Miscellaneous Oscillator Parameters

    Display Waveshape No output Osc Off Sawtooth Sawtooth Triangle Triangle Sawtooth — Triangle mix Saw-Tri Pulse Wave, with pulse width ranging from minimum Pulse xx (0) to maximum (99). The pulse width will turn off at the two extremes — this allows some interesting modulation possibilities.

  • Page 27: Mixer Parameters

    accurate sounds, and allows precise de-tuning. The Oscillator Slop parameter allows subtle amounts of frequency drift. For larger amounts, use a random LFO or white noise mod. Sets the bend range, in semitones, of the pitch Pitch Wheel Range: 0…12 — wheel.

  • Page 28: Vca Parameters

    Controls the amount of audio from Oscillator 1 used to Audio Mod: 0...127 — modulate the filter cutoff frequency. For filter-only audio, set O SCILLATOR to 127, O to Off, and O to the desired SCILLATOR HAPE SCILLATOR HAPE waveshape. This is useful for bell-like FM sounds. A wide range of sounds can also be made using A with the oscillators routed normally through the UDIO...

  • Page 29: Lfo Parameters

    Sets the Decay time. Decay: 0…127 — Sets the Sustain level. Sustain: 0…127 — Sets the Release time. Release: 0…127 — There is a pan circuit after the VCA that pans the audio Pan Spread: 0…127 — in the stereo field individually per voice. With a Pan Spread of 0, all four voices are panned dead center.

  • Page 30: Envelope 3 Parameters

    Display Timing Sync Sequence speed divided by 32; i.e. one LFO cycle 32 Steps takes 32 steps Sequence speed divided by 16 16 Steps Sequence speed divided by 8 8 Steps Sequence speed divided by 6 6 Steps Sequence speed divided by 4 4 Steps Sequence speed divided by 3 3 Steps...

  • Page 31: Modulation Parameters

    Sets the amount of Envelope 3. Amount: -127…+127 — Sets the amount of key velocity controlling the level of Env Velocity: 0…127 — envelope 3. Sets a delay between the time Envelope 3 is triggered and Env Delay: 0…127 — when the Attack portion actually begins.

  • Page 32: Unison Parameters

    Sets the maximum amount of modulation Mod Wheel Amount: -127…+127 — that can be applied from MIDI Continuous Controller 1 (mod wheel). Selects the destination to which the mod wheel is Mod Wheel Destination — routed. See Modulation Destinations on page 35 for a list of possible destinations.

  • Page 33: Push It Switch Parameters

    All available voices stacked in unison with AllDetune1-3 increasing levels of detuning among the voices Determines how Tetra responds to keyed notes Unison Assign: see table — when unison is on. Display Key mode Low note priority Low Note Low note priority, re-trigger envelopes LowRetrig High note priority HighNote...

  • Page 34: Clock Parameters

    Determines how the layers respond to MIDI Key Mode: Normal, Stack, Split — note data in Program Mode. For Normal, layer A plays for the entire key range. Press E to switch to layer B. OMBO For Stack, both layers respond to MIDI notes for the entire key range, enabling two patches to be played simultaneously with a single key stroke.

  • Page 35: Sequence Parameters

    external clock source, Tetra must be receiving MIDI clock messages in order for the arpeggiator to run. The tempo and note value are determined by the Clock Parameters. Sets the order in which the arpeggiator plays notes. Mode: see table — Display Arpeggiator mode Arpeggiated notes play in ascending...

  • Page 36: Name Parameter

    Note: If the sequencer does not seem to be working, check the G LOBAL settings to make sure Clock is set to Internal. If Clock is set to use an external clock source, Tetra must be receiving MIDI clock messages in order for the sequencer to run.

  • Page 37: Combos

    Combos A combo is a collection of four programs—one per voice—combined to make a sort of super program. How a combo responds to MIDI note data depends largely upon whether or not it is monophonic (that is, unison is on) or polyphonic.
  • Page 38 in Combo Mode do not affect the original programs. The converse is also true. Say a combo is created using the program “Arid” and then Arid is subsequently edited in Program Mode. Those changes will not be propagated to the combo. (The edited program can be reassigned to the combo, though.) In other words, Combos contain all parameters for all four voices when saved, and do not rely on mapping to the programs, making organization and maintenance much easier.

  • Page 39: Combos And Multi Mode

    Audio Out parameter in the Global menu is set to Quad, each of the voices in a combo can be processed separately. The hardware is somewhat limiting for volume control in Combo Mode. The Program Volume parameter shows up in voice 1 to control voices 1 and 2; and in voice 3 to control voices 3 and 4.

  • Page 40: Using Poly Chain

    Using Poly Chain Poly Chain enables multiple Tetras to be chained together for increased polyphony, up to 16 voices. Tetra can also be poly chained with a Mopho or Prophet ’08. MIDI note data from a keyboard, sequencer, or other controller is intelligently processed so that, when one synth’s maximum polyphony is reached, additional notes are passed through the Poly Chain Out jack and routed to another synth.
  • Page 41 Also, Mopho’s I (similar to Tetra’s F ) is not NPUT EEDBACK programmable, so it may take some tweaking to get feedback to sound the same on Mopho and Tetra, even if the same programs are loaded in both. Programs that don’t use feedback should sound the same.
  • Page 42 Various Poly Chain Configurations Using Tetra, Mopho, and the Prophet ’08* *If Out 4 and Out 8 do not appear as poly chain options on the Prophet, contact support@davesmithinstruments.com for information about updating the OS.

  • Page 43: Using Usb

    Using USB Tetra’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. Tetra 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 44 Windows Vista essentially behaves the same as XP, but the device name is DSI Tetra rather than USB Audio Device. In Windows, if you unplug the USB cable and plug it back in while a program has the Tetra port open, you may have to resync. That usually means going to the USB Audio Device (or DSI Tetra) Properties, as in the procedure above, and clicking OK.

  • Page 45: 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 46 Envelope 3 Release Rate Env3Releas All Envelope Release Rates EnvAll Rel Modulator 1 Amount Mod 1 Amt Modulator 2 Amount Mod 2 Amt 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...

  • Page 47: 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 48: Parameter List

    Parameter List Osc 1 Frequency VCA Env Release Mod 3 Amount Osc 1 Fine Freq Pan Spread Mod 3 Destination Oscillator 1 Shape Program Volume* Mod 4 Source Oscillator 1 Glide LFO 1 Frequency Mod 4 Amount Osc 1 Key Track LFO 1 Shape Mod 4 Destination Sub Osc 1 Level...

  • Page 49: Midi Implementation

    MIDI Implementation Tetra 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 Tetra to MIDI data. Note that the following applies to using both the MIDI jacks and USB.
  • Page 50 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 Polyphonic Key Pressure 1011 nnnn 0vvvvvvv 0vvvvvvv Control Change; see “Received Controller Messages”...
  • Page 51 Transmitted Controller Messages Status Second Third Description 1011 nnnn 0000 0111 0vvvvvvv Volume knob 1011 nnnn 0010 0000 0vvvvvvv Bank Select — 0 to 2 See sections below for additional Continuous Controller (CC) and Non- registered Parameter Number (NRPN) messages transmitted. Additional Continuous Controllers (CCs) Transmitted/Received The following table details how CCs are mapped onto Tetra’s controls.

  • Page 52: Nrpn Messages

    NRPN Messages The Non-Registered Parameter Number (NRPN) MIDI messages are used to transmit and receive both global and program parameters. They are transmitted when MIDI Parameter Send is set to NRPN in Global, and received when MIDI Parameter Receive is set to either NRPN or All in Global. The messages are handled in standard MIDI format using the NRPN CC commands in running status byte format.

  • Page 53: 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 54: Program Parameter Data

    Parameter Receive†: 0 - 3 0 All 1 NRPN only 2 CC only 3 Off 0 - 1 MIDI Controller Send/Receive Off/On 0 - 1 MIDI Sysex Send/Receive Off/On 0 - 3 Audio Out: 0 Stereo 1 Mono 2 Quad 3 Q LR34 0 - 13 Balance Tweak*: 0 = -7, 7 = 0, and 13 = 7...
  • Page 55 0-103 Oscillator 2 Shape Oscillator Off Sawtooth Triangle Sawtooth/triangle mix 4 – 103 Pulse Wave, Pulse width 0 – 99 0 - 127 Oscillator 2 Glide 0 - 1 Oscillator 2 Keyboard Off/On 0 - 1 Sync off/on 0 - 3 Glide Mode: fixed rate fixed rate auto...
  • Page 56 0 - 166 LFO 1 Frequency; 0 – 150 unsynced frequencies Sequence speed divided by 32 Sequence speed divided by 16 Sequence speed divided by 8 Sequence speed divided by 6 Sequence speed divided by 4 Sequence speed divided by 3 Sequence speed divided by 2 Sequence speed divided by 1.5 One cycle per step...
  • Page 57 0 - 127 Envelope 3 Attack 0 - 127 Envelope 3 Decay 0 - 127 Envelope 3 Sustain 0 - 127 Envelope 3 Release 0 - 20 Mod 1 Source; See Modulation Source list below 0 - 254 Mod 1 Amount; -127 to +127 0 - 43 Mod 1 Destination;...
  • Page 58 30 - 250 BPM tempo 0 - 12 Clock Divide: Half Note Quarter Note Eighth Note Eighth Note half swing Eighth Note full swing Eighth Note triplets Sixteenth Note Sixteenth Note half swing Sixteenth Note full swing Sixteenth Note triplets Thirty-second Notes Thirty-second Notes triplets Sixty-Fourth note triplets...
  • Page 59 0 - 127 Push It Note: C0 to C10 0 - 127 Push It Velocity 0 - 1 Push It Mode: Normal, Toggle 0 - 127 Sub Oscillator 1 Level 0 - 127 Sub Oscillator 2 Level 0 - 127 Feeback Volume Editor Byte 0 - 127...

  • Page 60: Combo Parameter Data

    The following tables list the values used with the program parameters to specify modulation destinations and sources. Mod Destinations Value Env 1 Release Env 2 Release Osc 1 Freq Env 3 Release Osc 2 Freq All Env Releases Osc 1 and 2 Freq Mod 1 Amt Mod 2 Amt Osc Mix...
  • Page 61 Quad NRPNs come from/go to all four voices in a combo. Parm Parameter Quad OSC 1 FREQ 1024 1280 1536 OSC 1 FREQ 1025 1281 1537 FINE OSC 1 SHAPE 1026 1282 1538 GLIDE 1 1027 1283 1539 OSC 1 KEY 1028 1284 1540...
  • Page 62 VCA DEC 1058 1314 1570 VCA SUS 1059 1315 1571 VCA REL 1060 1316 1572 LFO 1 FREQ 1061 1317 1573 LFO 1 SHAPE 1062 1318 1574 LFO 1 AMT 1063 1319 1575 LFO 1 DEST 1064 1320 1576 LFO 1 SYNC 1065 1321 1577...
  • Page 63 MOD AMT 4 1099 1355 1611 MOD DEST 4 1100 1356 1612 SEQ 1 DEST 1101 1357 1613 SEQ 2 DEST 1102 1358 1614 SEQ 3 DEST 1103 1359 1615 SEQ 4 DEST 1104 1360 1616 MOD WHEEL 1105 1361 1617 MOD WHEEL 1106...

  • Page 64: Sysex Messages

    GAIN PUSH IT NOTE 1135 1391 1647 PUSH IT 1136 1392 1648 VELOCITY PUSH IT MODE 1137 1393 1649 SUB OSC 1 VOL 1138 1394 1650 SUB OSC 2 VOL 1139 1395 1651 FEEDBACK VOL 1140 1396 1652 EDITOR BYTE SEQ 1 632 –...
  • Page 65 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0110 Tetra ID (Family LS) 0000 0001 Family MS 0000 0000 Family Member LS 0000 0000 Family Member MS 0jjj nnnn Main Software version: jjj — Minor rev; nnnn — Major rev 0000 0000 Zero Byte 0000 0000 Zero Byte 1111 0111...
  • Page 66 Request Global Parameter Dump Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0110 Tetra ID 0000 1110 Request Global Parameter Transmit 1111 0111 End of Exclusive (EOX) Tetra will respond by sending out the current values of Global Parameters in the format described below in Global Parameters Data Dump.
  • Page 67 Program Data Dump Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0110 Tetra ID 0000 0010 Program Data 0000 00vv Bank Number, 0 - 3 0vvv vvvv Program Number, 0 - 127 0vvv vvvv 384 bytes expanded to 446 MIDI bytes in “packed MS bit” format (see page 60.) 1111 0111 End of Exclusive (EOX)
  • Page 68 Combo Edit Buffer Data Dump Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0110 Tetra ID 0011 0111 Edit Buffer Data 0vvv vvvv 1024 bytes expanded to 1177 MIDI bytes in “packed MS bit” format (see page 60.) 1111 0111 End of Exclusive (EOX) Global Parameters Data Dump...

  • Page 69: Packed Data Format

    Mode Change: Combo Mode Status Description 1111 0000 System Exclusive (SysEx) 0000 0001 DSI ID 0010 0110 Tetra ID 0011 0001 Select Combo Mode 1111 0111 End of Exclusive (EOX) Packed Data Format Data is packed in 8 byte “packets”, with the MS bit stripped from 7 parameter bytes, and packed into an eighth byte, which is sent at the start of the 8 byte packet.

  • Page 70: Hidden Functions

    Hidden Functions Hold the A switch and hit the Mode switch to calibrate the SSIGN ARAMETER low-pass filter and analog oscillator waveshapes. This should not be necessary for normal operation.
  • Page 72 Dave Smith Instruments 1210 Cabrillo Hwy N Half Moon Bay, CA 94019-1449 www.DaveSmithInstruments.com...

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