LYRA-8 Flashcards
Sensors 1…8. Consist of a pair of contacts each. The upper contact is sensitive, the lower is the control voltage. Put your finger between the contacts to close the circuit with your body’s conductivity. The current is very low, several orders below sensitivity threshold, and is absolutely safe:-)
The sensors launch envelope generators for each voice. Eight voices, eight envelope gener-ators, eight sensors. By varying your touch and technique, you can vary a voice’s attack and volume. With a light touch or a series of fast short strokes, you can get a slow attack. Apply less pressure, and you open the envelope generator only partially. The sensor behaviour is affected by skin moisture level, and, in turn, by the performer’s emotional state.
At high humidity levels (e. g., an open-air show at night when dew appears, or in rainy weather), humidity may affect the sensors’ circuit, which could lead to some of the voices sounding continuously. This won’t harm the instrument, just allow it to dry in a dry room or in the sun and it will be all right again. Just note that it might affect the performance
The FAST switches, in downward position, give a fast release to the voices they’re in between. Additionally, the sensors to the left and right of the switch become less sensitive. They become a little bit slower to trigger and require more pressure. When the Fast switch is on (down), a higher HOLD setting is required for the voices to sound. That pair of voices will start sounding later, and the HOLD knob for them must be set higher than the HOLD for the voices with the FAST off. This lets you leave some of the voices silent when using the HOLD function. Flipping up and down the Fast switch can be used to cut short the decay of a sounding voice, sooner than its release ends. When the FAST switch is in upper position, it only takes a light stroke to trigger a voice with the sensor.
The TUNE knobs set the pitch of the voices. This was conceived as a fully functional intonation tool, albeit a slow one. It uses a special alternate variable resistor that makes it possible to set each voice’s pitch in steps smaller than a semitone, in a range from tens to thousands of hertz. To thoroughly use this instrument you need to learn how to build notes and intervals with these knobs, as well as play simple melodies.
Voices 1 and 2 have a lower range than voices 3 through 6. 1 and 2 can be regarded as bass voices, though they can generate higher notes as well.
Voices 7 and 8 are twice as high as voices 3 through 6. They’re sort of high frequency voices, though they can also sound low. 3 to 6 are mid-range.
The SHARP knobs slowly change the waveform of a voice pair from triangle to square, adding “sharpness” to the sound. The set waveform will also work for FM synthesis.
The MOD knobs set a selected voice pair’s modulation depth. These knobs can make things sonically extreme: in FM synthesis mode, higher settings have a bright-sounding effect, and maximum settings will result in self-oscillation of the modulation loop.
The FM modulation source switches. A central position means that the modulation for a group is turned off and the MOD knob has no effect. Flipping the switch up will turn those voice pairs into FM modulation sources. Flipping the switch down to LFO CV, with the TOTAL FB switch also down, will turn the LFO into a modulation source. When the TOTAL FB is in upward position, modulation will come from the device’s output. When a cable is plugged into the CV VOICES input, an external source is used for modulation.
The PITCH knobs transpose all of group 1234 or 5678, preserving the intervals between the voices. Close to maximum is the normal position for these knobs.
The HOLD knobs set the minimal volume level for a voice group. This enables voices to sound continuously at a given volume. With HOLD off, the voices will decay according to their envelopes. The FAST switch makes a given voice pair less sensitive to the HOLD knob. Unless the HOLD knob is all the way up, you can make the voices louder by touching the sensors and launching the envelope that’s limited from below by the HOLD function. That’s both the HOLD and sensor-controlled envelopes working in parallel.
The 34>56 78>12 FM structure switch sets the overall structure for FM synthesis. If voices are selected for all the FM modulation sources, the downward position of the switch turns Lyra into two separate structures of cross-modulation, each group locked into itself. The sources correspond to the numbers by the switch.
With the switch up, pair 34 becomes the mod source for pair 56, and pair 78 the mod source for pair 12 (pairs 12 and 78 themselves are still modulated as indicated by their controls). Thus all the voices make for one closed loop of FM synthesis. When the LFO is selected, or the FM Mod source switch is set to a middle position on some voices, that loop will be partially unlocked.
The TOTAL FB switch causes the signal from Lyra’s output (after distortion) to replace the LFO signal. With TOTAL FB on, plus LFO CV set as the modulation source on some voices, the entire instrument, including the envelope generators, delay and distortion, turns into one single and complex FM synthesis structure.
The VIBRATO switch turns on vibrato for all voices. Each voice has its own unique vibrato frequency, as there are eight independent vibrato generators in the instrument.
FREQ A and FREQ B: Two operators for synthesis of a complex LFO. They’re two simple LFOs, in essence.
The AND/OR switch: In downward position, an LFO is synthesized by adding FREQ A to FREQ B. In upward position, FREQ A is multiplied by FREQ B, which is the logical operation AND. Both operations are conducted on a square waveform. The addition is analogue, and the LFO output signal has a gradient.
The LINK switch: Adds a soft FM between the operators. FREQ A modulates FREQ B.
The TIME 1 and TIME 2 knobs set the delay time for each line.
The MOD knobs set the modulation depth for a given delay line.
The SELF/LFO switch: With the switch up, the delay time is modulated by its own output signal; a unique mode allowing for interesting FX. With the switch down, the delay time is modulated by the LFO.
The TRIANGLE/SQUARE switch selects the LFO waveform for modulating the delay. The square is taken from the “AND” synthesis formula. The triangle is synthesized by a special algorithm, available only for delay modulation. It’s a summation of two triangular signals with the frequency of FREQ A and FREQ B.
The FB knob: The delay line feedback. This might get extreme. At a setting just over the middle the delay starts to self-oscillate. At the verge of the self-oscillation, very interesting effects can emerge. With self-oscillation in full swing, the delay becomes a synth unto itself.
The MIX knob sets the balance between clean and delayed signals.
The DRIVE knob adjusts the amount of distortion applied.
The MIX knob sets the balance of clean and distorted signals. The distortion is applied after the delay.
The VOL knob controls the volume of the main output signal.
EXT IN: Input for an external audio source. The external signal mixes with Lyra’s voices and is processed by the delay and the distortion. It turns Lyra into a cool FX processor and also makes it possible to play a synth or drum line together with Lyra’s voices through the internal FX units. When TOTAL FB or SELF in the delay section are turned on, the external signal will influence resonance and warp the modulation loops, thereby affecting overall synth behaviour.
HOLD GATE: A dynamic input for controlling the HOLD function. An input voltage of +5 volt will fully open the VCA. The more the voltage is lowered, the more it will close the VCA. With the control voltage at 0, the voice levels will decay according to their individual envelopes. Use the HOLD knob to adjust the level for each of the two voice groups. When set to FAST, the synth will react faster to a decrease in control voltage.
CV DELAY: This input allows using control voltage to modulate the delay time. When a cable is plugged in, the SELF and LFO modes are automatically disabled and delay modulation comes from an external source, regardless of the delay switch positions. Set the modulation amount with the individual MOD knobs for each delay line. The input signal must have a positive value and a 3 to 12 volt amplitude. The relation of delay time to the control voltage is linear.
CV VOICES: This input is for using control voltage to control the pitch of voices. The CV input will control the voice pairs with LFO CV chosen as their modulation source. Plugging in a CV source cable in the CV VOICES input will cause the control voltage to replace the LFO and TOTAL FB signals (which are bypassed automatically). The amount of modulation is set by the MOD knob in a given voice section. This CV input doesn’t offer the standard 1V/oct logarithmic function necessary for achieving a tuned musical scale. It’s a modulating input, not a tone-precise VCO control that covers the entire frequency range. Nevertheless, a step sequencer can be used to build melodic lines by ear. Combined with the internal modulation, this will yield interesting results. You can also try connecting an audio source to this input, e.g. a drum machine or another synth.
