Future Retro Orb Owner Manual - Manual (Page 26)

REMIXING SLICED AUDIO BEATS
There are several software and hardware devices now available
that allow you to sample a measure’s worth of music and slice it up
into individual beats. If you have access to one of these devices,
you may benefit by using the Orb to remix these audio slices into
new arrangements.
For the best results, divide the original measure of sampled
beats into 16 equal parts. Map them to a keyboard so that playing
something like C2, C#2, D2, D#2, E2, F2, F#2, and so on, plays
them back in their original sequential order. Create a similar
pattern in the Orb to play these individual beat slices in their
original sequential order.
Be sure to connect the Orb’s MIDI Out to the MIDI In of the
device playing the sliced audio beats. Once you have your pattern
created to play these slices back in their original order, you can let
the fun begin. First try playing the pattern forward to make sure it
sounds similar to the original. Next try playing the pattern
backward. And finally, go nuts remixing these beat slices using the
Orb’s Remix feature. Remember that the Remix feature can be
activated at any time within a measure, so you might try playing a
pattern normally, and activating the Remix feature for only a
specific part of the music to create variations. The key is to
experiment. Have fun!
REMIXED PATTERNS DO NOT PLAY BACKWARD
Whenever the Remix function is activated and you try to play a
pattern backward, it will play backward but it will no longer be
remixed. The Pattern Reverse feature overrides the Remix feature,
so that patterns will only play backward sequentially. If the Remix
feature is activated and the pattern is playing backward, you can
change the playback to forward to resume having the pattern
remixed again. This can lead to some interesting results as well, so
experiment!
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TIPS ON PLAYING THE XS WITH THE ORB
When playing the XS semi-modular synthesizer with the Orb, there
are a several things one can do that might not be obvious at first.
Since the XS can be played using both MIDI and CV/Gate signals,
it is often advantageous to use both methods simultaneously.
Connect the MIDI Out jack of the Orb to the MIDI In of the XS.
Connect the CV Out of the Orb to the CV In of the XS, the Gate
Out of the Orb to the Gate In of the XS, and the Accent Out of the
Orb to the Velocity In of the XS.
Begin playing a pattern within the Orb to play the XS. Now you
can adjust the CV Track control settings in the XS to determine if
an oscillator is to controlled via MIDI or the external CV signal.
Start by setting the CV Track control to the A B setting, and tuning
both oscillators so they play in true unison.
Now set the CV Track control to the AX B, or A BX settings. The
first thing you will notice is that the oscillators become slightly
detuned, which can be useful for creating an instant chorus-type
effect.
Another useful aspect of this setting is that one oscillator is being
controlled via MIDI and the other via the CV In jack. When notes
are set to glide within the Orb, you now have a separate glide time
control for each oscillator (using the Glide Time controls on the
Orb and the XS). Try playing a pattern in the Orb that contains
gliding notes, and set each Glide Time control to different settings
for all sorts of unusual sound possibilities.
You will also notice that by using the Accent Out of the Orb
connected to the Velocity In of the XS, you get a much wider range
of Velocity control within the XS. This is because the Accent Out
of the Orb ranges from 0 to +10 volts (a full range), compared to
the Velocity MIDI messages the Orb sends, which will be either 63
or 127 for non-accented/accented notes (or only half the full
range).