Audio effects

An audio effect changes a sound that is already there: it puts it in a room, repeats it, makes
it whoosh or makes it wider. Audio effects come after the instrument, and they can go in three
places.

Move over the rack to send the sound through the effects.

On the rack	In an Orbiter
The three boxes	the audio effects of one place: up to three, run in order from left to right
The dot on the line	the sound, on its way through
A ring round the dot	one effect it has passed: each effect changes what the next one hears

World dimension (I, II or III)

Generator

Arpeggiator, Ephemeris, Drum Sequencer

notes

MIDI effects

Note Echo, Velocity, Scale, Pitch

notes

Instrument

Audio player, Sampler, Subtractive synth

sound

Audio effects

Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flanger

Star

mixer · main effects

⇄

Moon

send & return · audio effects

You hear it

Audio effects go after the instrument in a World dimension, on the Star, or on a Moon.

Three places for an effect

Place	What it hears	Good for
Insert on a World dimensionOne of an Orbiter's three World chains, I, II and III, each with its own modules and its own way of mapping X, Y and Z.	only that dimension's sound	colouring one part: a chorus on the pad, a flanger on the drums
Insert on the StarThe Orbiter body on the main bus: after the Orbiter's Main mix blends the World and the Moon's return, the Star's effects play over everything.	everything, after the mixer	one effect over the whole Orbiter
On a MoonAn Orbiter body that works as a send and return: the World is sent to it, and it returns only its effect, which the Main mix adds to the dry sound.	what the World sends to it; it returns only the effect	a shared reverb or delay, mixed in with the Moon level

Press an empty Audio effect slot: Modules that fit here lists every effect, the One versions further down. The One Reverb goes in as an insert on World I.

On a Moon, Dry/wet starts at 100 %

A Moon is a send and return: it adds its effect next to the dry sound instead of replacing it, which is why the Reverb and the Delay feel most at home there. An effect added to a Moon returns only the effect: it starts at Dry/wet 100 %, and how much you hear is set by the Channels: the World channels' sends, each Moon dimension's Level, and the Moon level of the Main mix.

Up to three effects in each place

Each place holds up to three audio effects, run in order from left to right.

Two versions of each effect

Most effects come as a pair:

• The full module, with every control in reach, for when you want to shape it.
• The One version, one Amount knob that does it all, often in two directions (a slow sway one
  way, a fast shimmer the other). Quick to use and the easiest to map to an axisOne of an Orbiter's three performance controls: X, Y and Z..

Effect	Full	One	Most at home
Reverb	Reverb	One Reverb	Moon (Reverb), insert (One Reverb)
Delay	Delay	One Echo	Moon (Delay), insert (One Echo)
Flanger	Flanger	One Flanger	insert
Chorus	Chorus	One Chorus	insert, Moon too
Frequency shifter	Frequency shifter	none	insert, Moon too
Auto-panner	Auto-panner	One Auto-panner	insert
Pitch shifter	Pitch shifter	none	insert, Moon too
Waveshaper	Waveshaper	none	insert, Moon too
Tremolo	Tremolo	none	insert
Phaser	Phaser	One Phaser	insert
Vibrato	Vibrato	none	insert, Moon too
Stereo widener	Stereo widener	none	insert, Moon too
Utility	Utility	none	insert
Filters	Filters	none	insert
Multimode filter	Multimode filter	none	insert
Parametric EQ	Parametric EQ	none	insert
Compressor	Compressor	One Compressor	insert
Limiter	Limiter	One Limiter	insert; not on a Moon
Saturator	Saturator	One Saturator	insert
Bitcrusher	Bitcrusher	none	insert
Channel	World channel, Moon channel	none	always last on each World and Moon dimension

How effects load

• The Reverb, the Delay, the Chorus, the Flanger, the Phaser and the Frequency shifter load at Dry/wet 50 % on a World, 0 % on the Star and 100 % on a Moon.
• Every other effect loads doing nothing, except the Multimode filter, which filters as soon as you add it.
• Each page's tip says what to turn first. So you can drop one in while you play and bring it in by ear, or map it to an axis that rests on its equilibriumThe value a mapped control takes while its axis rests in the middle, between its minimum and its maximum..

Every audio effect

Reverb

Put a sound in a space, from a small room to a long hall.

Delay

Repeat a sound in time: synced echoes, dub, slapback.

Flanger

The jet whoosh, slow or fast, through-zero included.

Chorus

Wider and thicker, without louder, darker or out of tune.

Frequency shifter

Every frequency moved by the same Hz: beating, metallic, an endless staircase.

Auto-panner

Move a sound from side to side at a steady level: drift, sweep or chop on the beat.

Pitch shifter

A copy moved by an interval: harmonies, sub-octaves, doubling, shimmer.

Waveshaper

Add the harmonics you choose, the 2nd to the 8th: warm octaves, hollow fifths, a bright top.

Tremolo

The level rises and falls: a slow swell, the amp tremolo, or a chop on the beat.

Phaser

The classic swirl, or a fast throb.

Vibrato

The pitch wavers above and below the note: a singer's vibrato, a warble, a tape wow.

Stereo widener

Wider or narrower at the same loudness, a mono sound opened into stereo, the bass kept in the middle.

Utility

Housekeeping for a stereo channel: mono, width, gain, balance, mute.

Filters

One knob: a low-pass one way, a high-pass the other, the dry sound in the middle.

Multimode filter

A synth's filter for any sound: four types, a ladder model, moved by a steady cycle or by the sound's own level.

Parametric EQ

Eight bands to shape the tone: cuts, shelves, bells and notches.

Compressor

Even out the level: punch on drums, glue on a mix, parallel compression.

Limiter

Louder, with the peaks held under a ceiling: Threshold and Ceiling, like a mastering limiter.

Saturator

Warmth, then grit: three curves, with the level held.

Bitcrusher

Fewer bits and fewer samples, with a ceiling that clips, folds or wraps.

Channel

Each dimension's level, solo and sends to the Moon (World channel), or level, pan and solo (Moon channel), and the Main mix.