Orbiters for DAW users
If you have made music in a DAW, an Orbiter's parts map onto things you already know. The names are the Orbiter's own; this page is the translation.
The bodies are groups of tracks
An Orbiter has three bodies, each a group of up to three tracks: its dimensions I, II and III.
| In an Orbiter | In a DAW |
|---|---|
| WorldOne 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. | your tracks: where the sound is made |
| a World dimension | one of those tracks |
| 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. | return tracks: the effects the World sends to |
| a Moon dimension | one return track, fed by a send from each World dimension |
| 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. | the main bus: where everything meets before you hear it |
| the Main mix | the main bus's mixer: a level, a Mute and a Solo for the World and for the Moon. It is the Orbiter's own, there with or without a Star |
| a Star dimension | processing on the main bus, after the Main mix |
| a Channel | a track's fader, Solo, Mute and sends |
The World: an audio track, or MIDI tracks
What World I plays decides which kind of Orbiter it is.
- Audio Orbiter: World I is the audio track; it plays the audio you choose. II and III take what I plays and process it, one after another or side by side, like buses after it.
- Notes Orbiter: each World dimension is like a MIDI track. It can play an instrument from its own notes, or process the dimension before it.
The Moon: sends and returns
Each World dimension's Channel has a send to each Moon dimension, taken Pre or Post its Level, as a DAW send is. The Moon runs its effects and returns only the effect, so an effect on a Moon starts at Dry/wet 100 %. A reverb or a delay the whole Orbiter shares lives there. See Audio effects for where each effect fits.
The Star: the main bus
The World and the Moon's return meet in the Main mix, on the way out: World + Moon → Main mix → Star → Out. The Main mix belongs to the Orbiter, so it is there before you add a Star, and adding or removing the Star keeps its levels. The Star's own effects play over everything after it, like inserts on the main bus.
Each dimension is a rack with three macros
Think of each dimension as a rack whose three macros are always there: its axesOne of an Orbiter's three performance controls: X, Y and Z., X, Y and Z. Each turns every control mapped to it at once, and you play them by moving: on screen, with the keys, or by tilting a phone. Every dimension maps its three its own way, so switching to another dimension changes what X, Y and Z move.
The Cosmic LFO: three per dimension
The Cosmic LFO's slow waves come in threes, one set per dimension: 1cX, 1cY and 1cZ for dimension I, up to 3cX, 3cY and 3cZ for III. For now they belong to the World, and the axes and the modules of the whole Orbiter share them, so one wave can move things in every track.
Interact shows how to play all of this.