ARTURIA Efx Motions Software User Manual
- June 15, 2024
- ARTURIA
Table of Contents
Efx Motions Software
Product Information
The Efx MOTIONS is a software product developed by Arturia. It
is designed for creating and manipulating digital audio effects.
The software incorporates various features and functionalities to
enhance sound design and audio production.
Product Team
-
Project Management: Kevin Molcard, Samuel Limier
-
Product Management: Edouard Madeuf (lead), Christophe Luong,
Maxime Audfray, Matthieu Bosshardt -
Digital Signal Processing: Andrea Coppola, Geoffrey Gormond,
Samuel Limier -
DSP Libraries: Samuel Limier (lead), Marc Antigny, Kevin Arcas,
Yann Bourdin, Hugo Caracalla, Andrea Coppola, Mauro De Bari,
Alessandro De Cecco, Loris De Marco -
Software: Yann Burrer (lead), Corentin Comte, Patrick Perea,
Raynald Dantigny, Pierre Mazurier -
Design: Maxence Berthiot (lead), Christophe Luong, Edouard
Madeuf, Michael Spillane, Florian Rameau, Morgan Perrier -
Sound Design: Maxime Audfray (lead), Matthieu Bosshardt,
Gustavo Bravetti, Andrea Coppola, Cubic Spline Databroth, Graphyt
Lily Jordy Florian Marin -
Quality Assurance: Nicolas Naudin (lead), Germain Marzin,
Arnaud Barbier -
Manual: Mike Metlay, Jimmy Michon, Christophe Luong, Pierre
Mazurier, Fabien Meyrat, Mathieu Nocenti, Marie Pauli, Patrick
Perea, Matt Pike, Avanti Singh, Zardonic, Enrique Vela, Nicolas
Stermann -
In-App Tutorial: Gustavo Bravetti
-
Beta Testing: (NaviRetlav) Kirke Godfrey, Mat Herbert, Andrew
Macaulay, Olivier Malhomme, Jam El Mar, Gary Morgan, Jeff Stoneley,
nvadraudio, TJ Trifeletti, Paolo Negri, Chuck Zwicky, Davide
Puxeddu, Mateo Relief vs MISTER X5, Fernando M Rodrigues
All other products, logos, or company names mentioned in the
manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
owners.
Product Version: 1.0.0
Revision Date: 17 October 2023
Special Messages
This manual provides instructions on how to use the Efx MOTIONS
software. It offers an overview of its features and guides users on
downloading and activating the product. The following important
messages should be noted:
-
Specifications Subject to Change: The
information in this manual is accurate at the time of printing.
However, Arturia reserves the right to modify or change
specifications and features without prior notice. -
IMPORTANT: When using the software with an
amplifier, headphones, or speakers, it is essential to be mindful
of sound levels. Prolonged exposure to high volume levels may lead
to permanent hearing loss. Avoid operating the software at
uncomfortable volume levels. If you experience any hearing loss or
ringing in your ears, consult an audiologist. -
NOTICE: The manufacturer’s warranty does not
cover service charges incurred due to a lack of knowledge about the
software’s functions or features when it is operating as designed.
It is the owner’s responsibility to familiarize themselves with the
manual and consult the dealer for additional support. -
Epilepsy Warning: Some individuals may be
susceptible to epileptic seizures or loss of consciousness when
exposed to certain flashing lights or light patterns. Even if there
is no medical history of epilepsy, it is advisable to consult a
doctor if you or your family members have experienced symptoms
related to epilepsy. Prior medical consultation is recommended
before using this software. -
Discontinue Use and Consult a Doctor: If you
experience dizziness, blurred vision, eye or muscle twitches, loss
of consciousness, disorientation, or any involuntary movement or
convulsion while using this software, discontinue use immediately
and seek medical attention.
Product Usage Instructions
To use the Efx MOTIONS software effectively, follow these
instructions:
-
Ensure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements
specified by Arturia. -
Download the Efx MOTIONS software from the official Arturia
website or authorized sources. -
Install the software on your computer following the provided
installation instructions. -
Activate the software using the provided license key or
activation process. -
Launch the Efx MOTIONS software on your computer.
-
Familiarize yourself with the user interface and controls by
referring to the software’s documentation or in-app tutorial. -
Experiment with the various features and functionalities to
create and manipulate digital audio effects. -
Adjust sound levels appropriately to ensure comfortable
listening and avoid potential hearing damage. -
If you experience any adverse symptoms such as dizziness,
blurred vision, or loss of consciousness while using the software,
discontinue use immediately and seek medical assistance.
USER MANUAL
_EFX MOTIONS
DIRECTION
Frédéric Brun
Special Thanks
Kevin Molcard
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Samuel Limier
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
Edouard Madeuf (lead) Christophe Luong
Maxime Audfray Matthieu Bosshardt
Clément Bastiat
DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSING
Andrea Coppola Geoffrey Gormond Samuel Limier
DSP libraries: Samuel Limier (lead) Marc Antigny Kevin Arcas Yann Bourdin
Hugo Caracalla Andrea Coppola Mauro De Bari Alessandro De Cecco Loris De Marco
SOFTWARE
Yann Burrer (lead) Corentin Comte Patrick Perea Raynald Dantigny Pierre
Mazurier
SW libraries: Pierre-Lin Laneyrie (lead) Alexandre Adam Stéphane Albanese Pauline Alexandre Baptiste Aubry
Gonçalo Bernardo Yann Burrer Corentin Comte Raynald Dantigny Samuel Lemaire Cyril Lépinette
DESIGN
Maxence Berthiot (lead) Christophe Luong
Edouard Madeuf Michael Spillane
Florian Rameau Morgan Perrier
SOUND DESIGN
Maxime Audfray (lead) Matthieu Bosshardt Gustavo Bravetti
Andrea Coppola Cubic Spline Databroth
Graphyt Lily Jordy Florian Marin
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Nicolas Naudin (lead) Germain Marzin Arnaud Barbier
Matthieu Bosshardt Bastien Hervieux Aurélien Mortha
Rémi Pelet Roger Schumann Adrien Soyer
MANUAL
Mike Metlay
Jimmy Michon
Geoffrey Gormond Rasmus Kürstein Marius Lasfargue Fanny Roche
Christophe Luong Pierre Mazurier Fabien Meyrat Mathieu Nocenti Marie Pauli
Patrick Perea
Matt Pike Avanti Singh Zardonic
Enrique Vela Nicolas Stermann
IN-APP TUTORIAL
Gustavo Bravetti
BETA TESTING
Bastiaan Barth (Solidtrax) David Birdwell Benedict Breslin Raphaël Cuevas Dwight Davies Adrian Dybowski
(NaviRetlav) Kirke Godfrey Mat Herbert Andrew Macaulay Olivier Malhomme Jam El Mar
Gary Morgan
Jeff Stoneley
nvadraudio
TJ Trifeletti
Paolo Negri
Chuck Zwicky
Davide Puxeddu
Mateo Relief vs MISTER X5
Fernando M Rodrigues
© ARTURIA SA 2023 All rights reserved. 26 avenue Jean Kuntzmann 38330 Montbonnot-Saint-Martin FRANCE www.arturia.com
Information contained in this manual is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Arturia. The software described in this manual is provided under the terms of a license agreement or non- disclosure agreement. The software license agreement specifies the terms and conditions for its lawful use. No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any purpose other than purchaser’s personal use, without the express written permission of ARTURIA S.A.
All other products, logos or company names quoted in this manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Product version: 1.0.0
Revision date: 17 October 2023
Special Messages
This manual covers how to use Efx MOTIONS, provides a comprehensive look at
its features, and details how to download and activate it. First, some
important messages:
Specifications Subject to Change:
The information contained in this manual is correct at the time of printing.
However, Arturia reserves the right to change or modify any of the
specifications or features without notice or obligation.
IMPORTANT:
The software, when used in combination with an amplifier, headphones or
speakers, may be able to produce sound levels that could cause permanent
hearing loss. DO NOT operate for long periods of time at a high volume or at a
level that is uncomfortable.
If you encounter any hearing loss or ringing in your ears, please consult an
audiologist.
NOTICE:
Service charges incurred due to lack of knowledge relating to how a function
or a feature works (when the software is operating as designed) are not
covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, and are therefore the owner’s
responsibility. Please study this manual carefully and consult your dealer
before requesting additional support.
EPILEPSY WARNING Please Read Before Using Efx MOTIONS
Some people are susceptible to epileptic seizures or loss of consciousness
when exposed to certain flashing lights or light patterns in everyday life.
This may happen even if the person has no medical history of epilepsy or has
never had any epileptic seizures. If you or anyone in your family has ever had
symptoms related to epilepsy (seizures or loss of consciousness) when exposed
to flashing lights, consult your doctor prior to using this software.
Discontinue use and consult your doctor immediately if you experience any of
the following symptoms while using this software: dizziness, blurred vision,
eye or muscle twitches, loss of consciousness, disorientation, or any
involuntary movement or convulsion.
Precautions to Take During Use
· Do not stand too close to the screen. · Sit a good distance away from the
screen. · Avoid using if you are tired or have not had much sleep. · Make sure
that the room is well lit. · Rest for at least 10 to 15 minutes per hour of
use.
Congratulations on your purchase of Efx MOTIONS!
Excellence is placed at the heart of every Arturia product, and Efx MOTIONS is
no exception. We are thrilled to bring you this mind-blowing toolbox of audio
effects, each one designed to move with your music in fascinating ways.
Explore the presets, tweak a few controls, get lost in the features – dive as
deeply as you like.
Be sure to visit the www.arturia.com website for information on all our other
inspiring hardware and software instruments, effects, MIDI controllers, and
more. They have become indispensable tools for many visionary artists around
the globe.
Musically yours,
The Arturia team
Table Of Contents
1. Welcome to Efx MOTIONS! …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
1.1. Motion: what’s the big deal?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4
1.1.1. Five fun FX, made to move
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4
1.2. Efx MOTIONS Features Summary……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5
2. Activation and Getting Started……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6
2.1. Compatibility ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6 2.2. Download and Install
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
2.2.1. Arturia Software Center
(ASC)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6
2.3. Working with Efx MOTIONS as a plug-in
………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
2.3.1. Audio and MIDI sittings
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7
3. Interface Overview ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8
3.1. Standard control behaviors
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10
4. The Audio Path………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
4.1. Visualizer/Crossover………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
11
4.1.1. Using the
Crossover……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
11 4.1.2. Output Level and Dry/Wet Mix
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12
4.2. The Audio Path…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11
4.2.1.
Filter………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
13 4.2.2. Noise
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
15 4.2.3.
Drive………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
16 4.2.4. Volume
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18
4.2.5.
Pan…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
19
4.3. Beat Repeat …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20
4.3.1. Global
parameters…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20
4.3.2. The Beat Repeat
effects…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 21
4.4. FX …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 24
4.4.1. Reordering FX
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 24
4.4.2. Common
parameters…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25
4.4.3.
Reverb…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
27 4.4.4.
Delay………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
28 4.4.5. Tape Echo
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 29
4.4.6. PS
Delay………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
30 4.4.7. Super Unison
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 31
4.4.8. Chorus
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32
4.4.9. Flanger
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33
4.4.10.
Phaser…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
34 4.4.11. Distortion
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 35
4.4.12.
Bitcrusher……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
36 4.4.13.
Compressor………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
37 4.4.14. Multiband
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 38
4.4.15. Multi Filter
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 40
4.4.16. Param EQ
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 41
5. The Motion Editor……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 42
5.1. The Motion Envelope ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
42
5.1.1. Motion Envelope controls and
concepts…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 43 5.1.2. Basic
Motion Envelope creation with points and lines
……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 44 5.1.3. Draw Mode
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 48
5.1.4. Envelope
Presets……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 48
5.1.5. Envelope Functions
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 49 5.1.6.
Visualization…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
49
5.2. Trigger……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 50
5.2.1. Rate and
Stereo………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 50
5.2.2. Motion Mode
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 52
5.2.3. Clock
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 53
5.2.4. Envelope
Seq……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 54
5.2.5. Euclidean
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 56
5.2.6.
Transient………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
57 5.2.7.
MIDI………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
58
5.3. Dynamics………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 58
6. Modulation ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 60
6.1. Basics …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 60
6.1.1. Assigning a modulation
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 60 6.1.2.
Examining modulations at the destination
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 61 6.1.3. Changing
modulation amounts at the
destination…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 62 6.1.4. Examining
modulations and changing amounts at the
source……………………………………………………………………………………. 62
6.2. Macros ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 63
6.2.1. Assigning, examining, and adjusting Macro
routings……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 63
6.3. Modulators ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 64
6.3.1. Sequencer
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 64
6.3.2. Function
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 67
6.3.3. Random
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 68
6.3.4. Envelope
Follower……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 68
7. Toolbars………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 69 7.1.
Upper Toolbar …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 70
7.1.1. Main Menu
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 70
7.1.2. Preset Browser access and Name
Pane………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 74 7.1.3. Dual
settings and copy
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 7.1.4.
Advanced Button
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 75
7.2. Lower Toolbar …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75
7.2.1. Control
Descriptions…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
76 7.2.2. Utility Functions
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 76 7.2.3.
Undo, Redo, and History
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 77 7.2.4. CPU
Meter……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
78 7.2.5. Resize handle and Max
View……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 78
8. Working with Presets …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 79
8.1. Preset Name Pane …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
79
8.1.1. The
Arrows……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
79 8.1.2. Quick Browser
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 80
8.2. The Preset Browser………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 82
8.3. Searching Presets ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
82
8.3.1. Using Tags as a
Filter………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 83
8.3.2.
Banks……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
85
8.4. The Results Pane……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 86
8.4.1. Sorting Presets
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 87
8.4.2. Liking
Presets………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
87 8.4.3. Featured factory
Presets………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 88 8.4.4.
Shuffle Button
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 88
8.5. Preset Info Section ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
88
8.5.1. Preset Info Quick
Menu…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 90 8.5.2.
Edit
Style………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
90 8.5.3. Editing Info for Multiple Presets
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 91
9. Software License Agreement……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 92
1. WELCOME TO EFX MOTIONS!
Thank you for purchasing Efx MOTIONS, a versatile multi-effects processor
that’s truly something new. While Arturia is known for its exceptional
software models of famous vintage gear and components (some of which appear in
Efx MOTIONS!), this plug-in brings together a wide variety of original takes
on audio effects processing in a unified and fun-touse package.
You’ll enjoy hard-hitting overdrives, sweet and powerful filters, intriguing
noise effects, dynamic control of volume and pan, and so much more. Each of
these effects can be modulated in a variety of ways, with everything from
multi-segmented envelopes to sequencers, all in tight sync with one another
and your DAW.
Efx MOTIONS is all about putting motion into your sounds, in ways ranging from
the familiar to the far-out. We can’t wait to hear what you do with it!
3
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Welcome to Efx MOTIONS!
1.1. Motion: what’s the big deal?
Audio effects can change sound in a huge variety of ways. It’s useful to think
of these in a variety of larger categories:
· Frequency: effects that change the frequency content of the input signal.
These include filters, EQ, etc.
· Dynamics: effects that change the loudness of the input signal. This could
mean anything from a simple volume or pan control to a multi-band compressor.
· Gain: effects that change the input signal’s tonal character by overdriving
the signal. These include distortion, fuzz, wavefolding, etc.
· Time: effects that use time delay to create timbre changes. There are a huge
variety of these: echo, delay, chorus, flanger, vibe, reverb, and more.
In the early days of analog effects, all of these effect types were static.
You’d set the parameters to certain values, and as audio passed through the
effect, it would be processed in exactly the same way at all times. In other
words, you’d set your filter parameters or overdrive amount or gain, and as
the music played, that’s where they’d stay.
There are exceptions to this rule, of course for example, a compressor
doesn’t sit still all the time, because its effect varies with the incoming
signal level, and a fuzz circuit reacts very differently with changes in
playing dynamics. But the vast majority of these effects were “set and
forget.”
What about time-based effects? Aren’t they always about changes over time?
Yes, but how those
changes occur is static. Once you set the depth and rate of a chorus, it stays
there.
As effects got more sophisticated, they began to offer ways where the
processing could be changed over time while playing. One of the earliest
examples is the wah-wah pedal, a filter controlled by the foot.
As synthesizers came into more common use, elements of their control
architecture were adapted for use in effects. The possibilities for modulation
were endless! Parameters could react to changes in audio levels thanks to
various triggers and envelope followers, and the low-frequency oscillator
(LFO) was used to smoothly vary many different parameters, not just change
delay times in choruses and flangers. Even complex modulators like the
sequencer, which repeated loops of control voltage values, were incorporated
into effects!
The benefits of this kind of control should be pretty obvious. Now, effects
could change their sounds to follow the music, providing animation and a
natural energy flow to enhance the natural movement from verse to chorus, etc.
Static effects didn’t have to be so… well… static.
1.1.1. Five fun FX, made to move
That history of adding motion to effects processing has inspired Efx MOTIONS.
Behind its easy-to-use front panel, you’ll find five different effects
processors: a multi-mode Filter module, a Noise generator, a Drive module with
many different types of distortion, a Volume module for dynamic level control,
and a Pan module with adjustable width and bass defeat.
In addition to these five processors, each with its own complement of
modulation sources, there are global Beat Repeat and dual FX generators to
take your sound even further. You can chop up and modify your audio with
digital DJ effects from pitch and time stretch to roll, reverse, and stutter,
then process the final signal with a variety of spatial, modulation,
distortion, dynamic, and filter effects over and above what’s already in the
modules.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Welcome to Efx MOTIONS!
4
These are all controlled by a variety of modulators that can work in sync with
your DAW software, respond to the audio they “hear”, and more. With each
effect sporting different modulations, a simple input signal can be
transformed into a constantly evolving soundscape or just subtly changed to
follow the mood of a song. It’s all up to you!
1.2. Efx MOTIONS Features Summary
· Five unique effects modules: Filter Noise Drive Volume Pan
· Effects can be reordered via drag-and-drop · Each effect has independent
controls for effect parameters, as well as
a multi-stage Motion Envelope with various Trigger options for the primary
parameter
Dynamics control via envelope follower tracking input audio or an external
sidechain input
· Two Macro knobs controlling multiple parameters simultaneously, with two
Macro tabs letting you assign the different modulations.
· Beat Repeat section with exclusive Roll, Reverse, Pitch, Stretch, and Stop
functions for up to 16 steps
· Dual FX processors with a choice of 14 different algorithms from echo and
reverb to multi-band compressor and parametric EQ
· Three global modulators that can be operated as function envelopes, step
sequencers, random generators, or envelope followers
· All effects modules and Function Generators have independent clock sync
settings, including synchronisation modes
· Global bandwidth control for processing of the input signal, with variable
slope and optional low cut and high cut filters
· Advanced searchable Preset Browser · Windows or macOS compatible in AAX,
Audio Units, and VST2/VST3 formats.
We hope that you find this collection of motion-enhanced effects a constantly
inspiring resource for sound design and enhancement. Dive deep, have fun… and
don’t forget to stop designing sounds and make some actual music once in a
while!
5
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Welcome to Efx MOTIONS!
2. ACTIVATION AND GETTING STARTED
2.1. Compatibility
Efx MOTIONS works on computers and laptops equipped with Windows 8.1 or later
or macOS 10.13 or later. It is compatible with the current generation of Apple
M1 and M2, M1 and M2 Pro/Max/Ultra, and other Apple Silicon processors. You
can use it as an Audio Unit, AAX, VST2, or VST3 plug-in within your favorite
recording software.
2.2. Download and Install
You can download Efx MOTIONS directly from the Arturia Products Page by
clicking either the Buy Now or Get Free Demo options. The free demo is limited
to 20 minutes of operation. If you have not already done so, now is a good
time to create an Arturia account by following the instructions on the My
Arturia webpage. Once you install Efx MOTIONS, the next step is to register
the software. This is a simple process that involves a different software
program, the Arturia Software Center.
2.2.1. Arturia Software Center (ASC)
If you haven’t installed ASC yet, please go to this web page: Arturia
Downloads & Manuals. Look for Arturia Software Center near the top of the
page, and then download the installer version for the system you’re using
(Windows or macOS). ASC is a remote client for your Arturia account, letting
you conveniently manage all your licenses, downloads, and updates from one
place.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Activation and Getting Started
6
After you complete the installation, do the following:
· Launch the Arturia Software Center (ASC). · Log into your Arturia account
from ASC’s interface. · Scroll down to the My Products’ section of ASC. · Click on the
Activate’ button next to the software you want to start using
(in this
case, Efx MOTIONS).
It’s as simple as that!
2.3. Working with Efx MOTIONS as a plug-in
Efx MOTIONS is used as a plug-in within all major Digital Audio Workstation
(DAW) programs including Cubase, Digital Performer, Live, Logic, Pro Tools,
Reaper, Studio One, and more.
Plug-ins have numerous advantages over hardware, including:
· You can use as many instances on different tracks as your computer can
handle. · You can automate the plug-in’s settings via your DAW’s automation
feature. · All settings and changes are saved with your DAW project, letting
you pick up
right where you left off.
2.3.1. Audio and MIDI sittings
Since Efx MOTIONS is a plug-in, settings for audio and MIDI routing are
handled in your recording software or DAW. They are generally located in some
type of Preferences menu, though each product does things a bit differently.
So, consult your recording software’s documentation for information on how to
select your audio interface, activate outputs, set the sample rate, assign
MIDI ports, set project tempo, adjust buffer size, and the like.
Now that you’ve set up your software, it’s time to set things in motion!
7
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Activation and Getting Started
3. INTERFACE OVERVIEW
Before we start working with Efx MOTIONS, we need to learn our way around.
There’s a lot going on here, so we’re going to split up the graphical user
interface (GUI) into logical sections before we teach you about them.
Parts of the Efx MOTIONS GUI
The REPEAT / FX tab
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Interface Overview
8
Key Name
Function
Visualizer/
1
Crossover
The FFT Visualizer display and controls for the Crossover
[p.11]
Audio Path Controls for parameters in the five effects modules Filter [p.13], Noise [p.15], Drive [p.16],
2
[p.11]
Volume [p.18], and Pan [p.19] that make up the Audio Path.
REPEAT /
3
Controls for Beat Repeat [p.20] (3a) and the two FX [p.24] (3b)
FX tab
Motion
4
Editor
[p.42]
The Motion Envelope [p.42] and its associated Trigger [p.50] and Dynamics [p.58] tabs
Macro 5
[p.63]
Macro control knobs and function assignment tabs
Modulation Three Modulation generators, each of which can be a Sequencer [p.64], Function [p.67]
6
[p.60]
(one-shot or looping envelope), Random [p.68] control signal, or Envelope Follower [p.68].
Toolbars
Global controls, including the Preset Browser [p.79], located above and below the main
7
[p.69]
window.
The links above will take you to the various parts of the manual that cover these functions. It’s perfectly fine to jump around and learn what you need at any given time, but we recommend that you go through the manual in order at least once. Efx MOTIONS is designed so you can get to work and do a lot without ever looking at the manual, but there are a lot of great functions that aren’t obvious at first. Reading the manual will help you be sure that all of its power is at your command.
9
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Interface Overview
3.1. Standard control behaviors
As you use Efx MOTIONS, keep in mind that its controls will react to most
standard mouse gestures. Just as a few examples:
· Hover can open floating displays with precise parameter values, highlight a
function for explanation in the Lower Toolbar, indicate a point on the Motion
Envelope, or reveal modulation amounts.
· Click can select parameters for editing, turn functions with buttons on and
off, or pop up menus.
· Drag is the common way to change parameter values or move envelope points.
You can also scroll with your mouse over a knob to change the value of a
parameter.
· Double Click is most often used to reset parameters to their default values
(if they have one), and to erase a point inside a motion envelope.
· Right Click brings up contextual menus in the envelope editors, and is used
for fine-tune adjustments of parameters in other sections.
· CTRL-Click (Windows) or CMD-Click (macOS), which we will write as
“CTRL/CMDClick”. lets you select multiple Motion Envelope points for
simultaneous editing.
· Shift-Click lets you momentarily toggle the Snap [p.47] function as you move
points.
You’ll find many other examples as you play with Efx MOTIONS, and we’ll call
out uncommon actions when needed.
Many control settings are scaled arbitrarily, e.g. from 0.00 to 1.00. When a
control has a range in
specific units such as seconds or decibels, it will be noted.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Interface Overview
10
4. THE AUDIO PATH
Let’s start with a deep dive into the audio-processing functions of Efx
MOTIONS. These include:
· The Visualizer/Crossover · The Audio Path and its five modules · Beat Repeat
· The two FX processors
4.1. Visualizer/Crossover
The Visualizer/Crossover, as its name implies, has two functions: · It
displays the input audio signal in real time as a Fast Fourier Transform of
amplitude vs. frequency, so you can see where the energy in the input signal
is falling in the frequency spectrum · It offers controls to isolate the plug-
in’s effect to a narrower band of frequencies if desired.
4.1.1. Using the Crossover
As you can see on the display, the Crossover offers two “handles” which you
can click and drag to the left or right to set the upper and lower crossover
points. Hover the mouse over a handle to pop up a set of controls for the Low
Cut and High Cut filters, which control how the Crossover affects audio.
Each menu lets you turn the Low Cut or High Cut filter on/off, and select Pass Thru (audio isn’t filtered) or Filtered operation. The pop-up also shows that filter’s crossover frequency, which is displayed dynamically as you move the handles.
The filters can have a slope of 6, 12, or 24 dB/octave at the crossover points. This is chosen with a set of buttons at the center of the display.
11
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
Choosing a 6 dB/octave slope gives you phase-linear behavior, i.e. the
Crossover won’t alter the
phase of the signal.
4.1.2. Output Level and Dry/Wet Mix
These knobs set the overall output level of the plug-in, and let you adjust
the overall wet/ dry mix to determine how much of your original sound is
blended with Efx MOTIONS at the output. The lock icon next to the Dry/Wet knob
preserves the current setting as you change presets.
The Top Section of the plug-in window also features two Macro [p.63] knobs,
but we’ll come back to
those later.
4.2. The Audio Path
The five modules in the Audio Path represent the core of how Efx MOTIONS
processes audio. They’re shown as a set of five tabs across the middle of the
interface.
The Audio Path tabs (and Beat Repeat/FX tab)
Each tab is color coded, and shows a miniature scrolling display of the
current output state of the module. You can click on any module to edit its
motion controls and sound parameters, and click the Power button icon to
disable that module.
You can reorder the effects modules in the Audio Patch by simply dragging and
dropping them into
the order you wish.
The sixth tab, REPEAT/FX, accesses the Beat Repeat [p.20] and FX [p.24]
controls. This tab can’t be reordered. We’ll discuss the FX in this chapter
and Beat Repeat in the Motion Editor [p.42] chapter. The five modules are
described below, in the order that they’re presented in the Default preset.
We’re going to be talking about their sound parameters here, which are shown
on the right of each tab. The parameters on the left and center belong to the
Motion Editor [p.42], which we’ll cover in the next chapter.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
12
NOTE: Each module has a primary parameter that’s controlled by the Motion &
Dynamics
parameters.
4.2.1. Filter
The Filter module is a multi-mode filter with five filter modes and a total of
24 different settings for slope, tonality, and more. Its primary parameter is
Cutoff, which ranges from 20 Hz to 20 kHz and has a default value of 20 kHz.
This default setting makes sense because it lets all audio through, as long as
you’re working with a
low pass filter. For any other mode, especially high pass, check the Cutoff
setting to be sure you haven’t muted everything by accident.
Clicking the Advanced button in the Upper Toolbar [p.70] brings up two extra
controls: Resonance (or Spread), and Dry/Wet mix.
13
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
Click on the filter name to pop up a window where you can select the Filter
Mode:
· Clean (MultiFilter): A straightforward multi-mode filter with a clean and
classic sound. Options include Low Pass, High Pass, Band Pass, and Notch, at a
slope of either 12 or 24 dB/octave.
· Warm (SEM): This is a modeled state-variable filter of the sort used in the
famous Oberheim Synthesizer Expander Module (SEM), with a warm character.
Options include Low Pass, High Pass, Band Pass, and Notch, at a slope of 12
dB/octave.
· Gritty (MS-20 MK2): This filter mode models the second-generation filter
circuit in the KORG MS-20, with its nasty and aggressive character. Options
include Low Pass modes at 6 or 12 dB/octave slope. Crank the Resonance on this
one for pure grunge!
· Sharp (Surgeon): The Surgeon filter can be thought of as a single band of
parametric EQ, very sharp in terms of which frequencies it affects, but
without Resonance. It’s available as Low Pass, High Pass, Band Pass, and
Notch; the latter two have a Spread (bandwidth) knob accessible via the
Advanced button.
· Phaser: A phase shifter or phaser is a popular modulation effect that’s been
a staple of guitarists’ pedal boards for well over 50 years. It’s made up of a
series of all-pass filters called poles that create phase shifts; one pair of
poles results in one moving frequency notch. The Efx MOTIONS phaser can
provide anywhere from 2 to 12 poles, and has a Feedback control accessible via
the Advanced button.
A dynamic display under the Mode selector shows the shape of the filter curve
and how it moves over time. Click and drag the Output parameter to boost the
gain.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
14
4.2.2. Noise
The Noise module does just that it injects noise into the signal. When
modulated in various ways, this can add grit and character, or help create
unusual special effects. Its primary parameter is Level, which ranges from
70.0 dB (muted) to +12 dB and defaults to 0 dB (unity gain). Clicking the
Advanced button in the Upper Toolbar [p.70] brings up two extra controls:
Filter (a simple “tilt” tone control, low pass to the left, high pass to the
right) and Stereo (width of the noise’s stereo image). Note that these are not
conventional modeled noise sources as you’d get in a synthesizer plug-in. They
are all digital samples of up to roughly 8 seconds in length, selectable from
a library pop-up:
15
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
You can spend hours exploring the dozens of sounds that come included with Efx
MOTIONS! They are organized into categories: Atmospheric, Crackles, Digital,
Drums, Foley, Metal, Nature, Static, and Textures.
You can also import your own WAV or AIFF files, or entire folders of them,
using the + icons at the bottom of the popup. Hovering over a sample name
brings up a trash can icon for deleting that sample.
Note that you can import very long samples, but only the first 8 seconds will
play back, then the
sample will restart at the beginning and loop.
A static display under the Noise selector shows the waveform of the selected
sample, and you can click and drag the Tune parameter to pitch shift the
original sound up or down by up to 36 semitones (3 octaves).
4.2.3. Drive
The Drive module produces a wide variety of overdrive and distortion sounds
based on classic circuits, wavefolding, and waveshaping.
Its primary parameter is Drive amount, which ranges from 0 to 50 dB of gain
and defaults to 0 dB when double clicked.
Clicking the Advanced button in the Upper Toolbar [p.70] brings up two extra
controls: Input Gain (up to 24 dB) and Dry/Wet mix.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
16
The ten drive modes are selected from a popup when you click on the current drive mode name:
These modes include:
· Classic: Soft Clip, Tape, Asymmetrical, Hard Clip
· Wavefold: Soft Bounce, Hard Bounce, Sine Fold
· Waveshape: Germanium, Stairs, Core
The graphic display is designed to give you a general idea of how output is
distorted as the Drive amount goes up. Some are familiar tones, and others are
quite unusual (and sometimes downright scary!). Clicking on Output lets you
adjust the output level by up to ±12 dB.
17
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.2.4. Volume
The Volume module allows you to create complex tremolo and gating effects by
modulating the signal level in real time. It’s a very simple module, with no
pop-ups or extra controls. The primary parameter is Volume, which ranges from
70.0 dB (muted) to +12 dB and defaults to 0 dB (unity gain).
NOTE: The Motion parameter acts as a sidechain control of the Volume
parameter, not as an offset.
The dynamic display shows the volume envelope scrolling in real time, along
with the resulting waveform.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
18
4.2.5. Pan
The Pan module animates the motion of audio across the stereo soundstage. The
primary parameter is Pan, which ranges from 100% Left to 100% Right with the
default at Center. It has no pop-ups, and the only extra control is a Width
knob. It ranges from 0% (mono) to 200% (exaggerated stereo), with a default
setting of 100% (standard stereo). The dynamic display is a vectorscope (a
display of stereo distribution of audio in real time). The Dry Bass button
removes low frequencies from the Pan process to preserve mono compatibility.
19
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.3. Beat Repeat
Clicking on the sixth tab, REPEAT / FX, brings up the controls for Beat Repeat
and the two FX processors.
Beat Repeat, on the left, is a grid-based sequencer that allows each step in a
loop to have one of five different digital effects applied to it. This can add
a lot of extra movement to rhythmic material, over and above what the Motion
Editor is already doing with the Audio Path modules.
4.3.1. Global parameters
Beat Repeat is centered around a row of steps that run in a loop as your DAW
plays. Each time a step is triggered, the output of the Audio Path chain can
be processed in one of five ways, or left as is.
REMEMBER: Only one effect at a time can be active in any step!
Grab and drag the handle at right to set how many steps the loop will have,
from 1 to 16:
Setting the Beat Repeat Length to 8 steps
As you can see, shortening the loop does not erase any of the information in unplayed steps; it’s just waiting to be used again.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
20
Under the step grid are controls for: · Dry/Wet: Sets the blend between the
output of the Audio Path and the output of Beat Repeat · Rate: The beat
subdivision of each step, which can be set to 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, or 1/16 bar ·
Filter: A “tilt” tone control for the processed audio. Defaults to 0% (no
filtering) and can be set left (100% to 0%) for low pass or right (0% to
100%) for high pass.
NOTE: the Filter only affects the processed audio, so turning the knob all the
way left or right will
only pass dry signal. In a way, the Filter knob acts as a secondary dry/wet
mix control.
· Output: Sets the level of the processed signal. Ranges from 70.0 dB
(effectively muted) to 6.00 dB of boost, defaulting to 0 dB (unity gain).
4.3.2. The Beat Repeat effects
To turn on a particular effect for a step in the Beat Repeat grid, simply
click the appropriate box.
If you immediately click and drag after selecting a new box, you will move the
activated box into a new position, and activate every box that your mouse
passes over. This is a good way to quickly turn on a particular effect for
multiple steps: just click and drag left or right.
If you click on a box that’s already been selected, you can then scroll or
drag up/down to change the value in the box.
Right click anywhere in a step to turn it off (it will turn white).
4.3.2.1. Link
If a parameter supports it, a small grey chain icon will appear next to the
box you click, so you can Link multiple steps together. In the picture above,
the mouse is hovering on Stop for step 10, and the grey Link icon has appeared
next to it.
Linking has slightly different behavior depending on the effect using it.
21
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
NOTE: If you click the Link icon next to an empty box, it will create the link
and also fill in that box,
turning off any other effect that was in that step.
4.3.2.2. Roll
Roll creates a stuttering effect, where a buffer of audio is captured and
looped for the duration of the step. Scroll to set the Roll time, which
indicates how much of a step the loop length is. Roll time can be set to 1/8,
1/6, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, or 1 step. If steps are not linked, Beat Repeat
will sample and roll the input audio that’s playing at the start of each step.
If steps are linked, each step will use the audio that was captured on the
first linked step, and won’t reload new audio until there’s an unlinked step.
Here’s an easy example. If you roll a melody and the steps aren’t linked, then
different parts of the
melody will be sampled for different Roll steps. But if the steps are linked,
every step will roll the first notes of the melody.
Roll has an associated parameter called Decay, which puts a simple decay
envelope on each step. At 0%, the step cycles at full volume; at 100%, the
step dies away, with a sort of “plucked” sound. Drag the Decay value up/down
to change it.
4.3.2.3. Reverse
Reverse takes the audio in a step, slices it up, and plays the slices in
order… but each slice is played back in reverse. With longer slices, the
reversal may rearrange the order of notes. Shorter slices, on the other hand,
may create reversals inside notes, so the timbre will change but the melody
may not. Reverse can’t be linked and there’s no adjustable parameter for it.
4.3.2.4. Pitch
Pitch will pitch-shift the audio in a step downward by anywhere from 0 to 12
semitones. It does not shift pitch upward. Note that this is a “traditional”
pitch shift, which doesn’t preserve the timing of notes within a step. The
Decay parameter controls how quickly each step drops to the chosen pitch. At
0%, each step plays at the chosen pitch immediately, while at 100%, each step
starts without any pitch change and then drops to the set value. Linking steps
allows to sustain the pitch decay envelope, envelope restarts only when a new
unlinked step is played back.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
22
4.3.2.5. Stretch
Stretch is a time-stretching algorithm that lets you play with the pitch of
each step while preserving rhythm/timing for the audio.
Stretch can be set from 0 to -12 semitones, and there are three different
stretch modes:
· Rhythmic, which preserves transients and sounds best on sources like drum
loops
· Melodic, which preserves pitches and works well on melodic and chordal
instruments
· Texture, which is best for long sustained material
4.3.2.6. Stop
Stop produces the classic “Tape Stop” DJ trick of slowing down an audio source
to a stop. The value you can set for each step is Occurrence, which is how
often the effect happens.
Occurrence can be 1:1 (happens every time the step is played), 1:2 (happens
every other time), 1:3 (every third time), 1:4 (every fourth time), or 1:8
(every eighth time).
The Curve parameter lets you control the rate of slowdown, from logarithmic
(slowdown starts gently but then happens more and more drastically) through
linear, to exponential (initial slowdown is dramatic, then eases off).
Linking steps lets you set up longer, slower stops.
23
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.4. FX
Even after the Audio Path and Beat Repeat, Efx MOTIONS isn’t done with your
audio yet! The two FX offer a variety of ways to sweeten your final sound.
4.4.1. Reordering FX
Click and drag on the three dots (purple arrow)…
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
24
…to move the module into a different position.
Each of the three modules in the Repeat / FX tab can be reordered by simple
drag and drop. Hover your mouse over the three dots that appear at the top or
bottom edge of the module you want to move (the cursor becomes a hand icon),
and drag to reorder.
4.4.1.1. Insert vs. Send
Most of the FX operate as Insert effects the input signal passes through and
appears at the output in a user-specified Dry/Wet mix. However, some of the
temporal effects have the option of being used as Send effects.
When the Send button is pushed, the Dry/Wet mix slider becomes a Level slider,
which controls how much of the audio is sent to the FX.
If you’ve reordered the FX so one or both come before Beat Repeat, using Send
mode allows you to route that FX’s output around the subsequent modules, which
will process the dry signal from before the Send.
4.4.2. Common parameters
Each of the FX has an individual bypass button (the power button icon at the
top left), and a pop-up Presets menu accessed at the top right. Each Presets
menu has a Save As… option, so you can save your FX settings for use in other
presets.
Most offer a High Pass Filter and Low Pass Filter to control the frequency
response of the FX itself; this combines with the many other frequency-based
controls in Efx MOTIONS (Crossover, Beat Repeat Filter, etc.) to provide very
fine control over where the effects work on your sound.
Each effect has two rows of controls: a set for quick access at all times, and
more fine-tuned features that become visible when the Advanced button is on.
Many control settings are scaled arbitrarily, e.g. from 0.00 to 1.00. When a
control has a range in
specific units such as seconds or decibels, it will be noted.
25
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
Clicking on the effect name brings up a menu of the available FX types:
The FX Types Clicking on the icon at the top right copies the FX program to
the other FX module.
4.4.2.1. Rate Sync
This pop-up appears when you click under the Rate knob, whenever there’s an FX
function that can sync to the DAW. Options include Time (no sync, set in Hertz
or milliseconds) or sync in straight, triplet, or dotted note values.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
26
4.4.3. Reverb
Reverb provides a sense of space and depth, creating an artificial room, hall,
chamber, or other ambience to “hold” your sound. Controls include:
· Predelay: Time delay before the first reflected sound. Range 0 to 200 ms,
default 3 ms
· Size: Size of the virtual room, with larger sizes being more diffuse. ·
Decay: Reverb decay time. · Damping (Advanced): Softening of high frequencies.
· Width (Advanced): Mid-Side width emphasis Reverb can be set up as a Send FX.
27
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.4.4. Delay
Delay covers a range of digital echo effects, with or without DAW sync.
Controls include:
· Ping Pong: causes delay repeats to bounce between left and right in the
stereo field.
· Rate: Timing of echo repeats. Range 2 ms to 2000 ms (time) or 1/32 to 8
(sync). · Feedback: Relative loudness of subsequent repeats. Tops out at 1.00
(infinite
repeat). · Fine (Advanced): Fine adjustment of delay time. Range ±50 ms,
default 0 ms. · Width (Advanced): Gradually broadens ping pong from mono to
stereo. Delay can be set up as a Send FX.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
28
4.4.5. Tape Echo
Tape Echo is a rich, warm delay reminiscent of the sound of classic tape-loop
echo machines from the 1960s and 1970s. Controls include:
· Rate: Timing of echo repeats. Range 10 ms to 1000 ms (time) or 1/32 to 8
(sync). · Intensity: Relative loudness of subsequent repeats (feedback).
Ranges from
0.00 to 1.20, default 0.350, values above 1.00 produce positive feedback
a.k.a. “runaway”. · Input: Input gain. Range ±12 dB, default 0 dB (unity
gain). · Fine (Advanced): Fine adjustment of delay time. Range ±50 ms, default
0 ms. · Spread (Advanced): Adds a time offset between the left and right
channels. Tape Echo can be set up as a Send FX.
29
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.4.6. PS Delay
Pitch Shift Delay is a classic effect from early digital signal processors of
the 1980s. Each subsequent repeat of the echo receives a pitch shift,
producing subtle or wild cascades of changing pitch.
Controls include:
· Rate: Timing of echo repeats. Range 16 ms to 2000 ms (time) or 1/32 to 8
(sync). · Feedback: Relative loudness of subsequent repeats. Tops out at 1.00
(infinite
repeat). · Pitch Shift: Detuning of each successive echo repeat. Range ±24
semitones,
default 0 semitones. · Spray (Advanced): · Detune (Advanced): Fine tuning of
delay pitch shift. Range ±100 cents (one
semitone), default 0 cents. · Offset (Advanced): Delay time offset between
left and right channels. Range ±20
ms, default 0 ms.
PS Delay can be set up as a Send FX.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
30
4.4.7. Super Unison
Super Unison was first developed for virtual analog synthesizers in the 1990s,
using delayed copies to make a single sound come across as richer and more
powerful. Controls include:
· Voices: How many pairs of voices (1 sharp, 1 flat) are added around the
original sound. Range: 1 to 8 pairs.
· Detune: Sets detuning of the voice spread. · Rate (Advanced): Speed of the
LFO modulating the detuned voices. 0 to 1.0 Hz,
default 0.350 Hz. · Width (Advanced): Stereo width of the effect.
31
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.4.8. Chorus
Chorus is a classic modulation effect, using short delays modulated by an LFO
to provide movement and thickness, imitating a “chorus” of voices.
Controls include:
· Waveform: Sine or triangle waveform for the modulation LFO. · Stereo:
Chooses between conventional Mono chorus or Stereo chorus with
slightly different Left and Right modulation. · Voices: Pops up a menu to
choose the number of chorus voices to be added,
from 1 to 3. · Rate: Modulation LFO speed. Range 0.1 Hz to 5 Hz. · Feedback:
Amount of delay feedback. · Delay (Advanced): Sets the static value around
which the delay time is
modulated. Range 0.6 to 20 ms, default 13.1 ms. · Depth (Advanced): Delay
modulation range. Range 0 to 10 ms, default 2.2 ms.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
32
4.4.9. Flanger
The Flanger is another classic modulation/thickening effect, using very short
modulated delay times for a rich “whooshing” effect. Controls include:
· Waveform: Sine or triangle waveform for the modulation LFO. · Stereo:
Chooses between Mono or Stereo flanging. · Polarity: Selects either positive
or negative flanging, each with its own
characteristic tonality. · Rate: Modulation LFO speed. Range 0.005 Hz to 10 Hz
or sync 1/32 to 8. · Feedback: Amount of delay feedback. · HP Freq and LP Freq
(Advanced): Sets filters to remove lows and highs from the
effect input. Range 30 to 800 Hz (HP), 1000 to 20000 Hz (LP). · Depth
(Advanced): Flanger modulation depth.
33
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.4.10. Phaser
A Phaser (Phase Shifter) uses a series of All Pass Filters to introduce phase
changes in an input signal. If the filter settings are modulated via LFO, this
produces a rich thickening that is different in character than that of a
chorus or flanger.
Controls include:
· Waveform: Chooses the LFO waveform between sine, triangle, falling sawtooth,
rising sawtooth (ramp), square, and random.
· Rate: Modulation LFO speed. Range 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz or sync 1/32 to 8. ·
Feedback: Amount of delay feedback. · Amount: Modulation depth. · Frequency
(Advanced): Center frequency for the modulation effect. Range 30 Hz
to 15000 Hz, default 740 Hz. · N Poles (Advanced): Number of poles (filters)
providing notches in the frequency
response. Range 2 to 12 (1 to 6 frequency notches). · Stereo (Advanced):
Changes the phaser output from mono to stereo.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
34
4.4.11. Distortion
There are many kinds of distortion, and this FX provides a wide selection of
everything from gentle overdrive and classic circuit behavior to twisted and
frightening digital artifacts. The distortion types are chosen from this pop-
up menu:
There’s also a filter that can be engaged either before (Pre) or after (Post) the distortion, with a Dark button to roll off the highs a little.
35
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
Controls include:
· Drive: Input gain boost. Range 0 to 50 dB. · Output: Output level. Range 24
to +3 dB, default 0 dB (unity gain). · Cutoff (Advanced): Filter cutoff
frequency. Range 20 Hz to 20000 Hz. · Filter Mode (Advanced): Low Pass. High
Pass, or Band Pass. · Resonance (Advanced): Resonance around the cutoff
frequency.
4.4.12. Bitcrusher
A Bitcrusher degrades digital audio signals in two ways: first, it lowers the
Bit Depth (Resolution) of the audio, and second, it downsamples the audio to a
lower sample rate. These effects produce a wide variety of early-era digital
grunge.
Controls include:
· Smooth: This switch turns on an interpolation mode that makes downsampling
(slightly) less harsh… so you’re getting the artifacts you want rather than
the ones you don’t.
· Bit Depth: Sets the resolution of the audio output, from 16 bits down to 1.5
bits. · Downsample: Sets the sample rate of the audio output, from 44.1 kHz
down to
200 Hz. · Scale (Advanced): This increases the precision of bit quantization
at lower
amplitudes, once again giving you the artifacts you want. · Jitter (Advanced):
Randomizes the downsampling frequency for even more
digital yuckiness.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
36
4.4.13. Compressor
A Compressor controls the dynamics of an incoming signal by “turning down”
levels that cross a certain threshold. How quickly the compressor reacts and
how it performs its gain reduction will determine its sonic character.
Since some of the effects in Efx MOTIONS can cause sudden and drastic changes
in level, a compressor can be very handy to tame your final signal. To give
you an idea of how hard the compressor is working, a Gain Reduction meter is
provided next to the compression curve display.
A Makeup switch enables automatic output level control, a feature of some
classic compressor and limiter designs.
Controls include:
· Threshold: Sets the level at which the compressor begins to work. Range is
60 to +20 dB, default is 0 dB.
· Ratio: Sets how hard the compressor “turns down” the gain for signals that
pass the threshold. Range is 1.0 (no compression) to 100 (brick wall
limiting).
· Output: Compensates for output level changes due to the compressor’s action.
Range is ±3g dB, default is 0 dB (unity gain).
· Attack (Advanced): Sets how quickly the compressor acts on signals that pass
the threshold, from an extremely “grabby” 0.010 ms to a loose 1000 ms.
· Release (Advanced): Sets how quickly the compressor lets go of a signal once
it drops below the threshold again, to prevent “pumping” or “breathing”
effects. Range is 1 ms to 2000 ms.
37
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.4.14. Multiband
A Multiband compressor provides dynamics control that is split up over several
different frequency ranges. This allows, for example, dynamics in the mids and
highs to be controlled while leaving the lows alone.
This FX allows you to work with one, two, or three frequency bands. Turning on
each of the two crossovers (click and drag to set the frequencies) activates
or deactivates the appropriate band(s). You’ll only be shown the active bands
on the display.
The interactive graphic display of the Multiband FX allows you to easily
control the threshold and ratio for up to three frequency bands. Click and
drag the top/bottom of a “box” to set the threshold for that band. Click and
drag inside the box to set the ratio. Higher ratios will be indicated by
denser line patterns, and ratios below 1 (expansion) will be shown by sparse
lines.
In the example graphic below, the lows (frequencies under 375 Hz) that go
above the indicated threshold on the left are being compressed a little bit,
the mids are being compressed a bit more when they cross the slightly lower
threshold, and the highs (above 10438 Hz) are being hard-limited if they
exceed a very low threshold:
In this second example, the compressor is set to Above & Below rather than Above Only. That means signals below the lower set of thresholds will have their gains turned up (expanded) to focus the dynamic range even more:
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
38
This is a lot to absorb! Multiband compression is one of the most complex bits
of effects processing you can perform, and while it can be used for surgical
control of levels in music mixing and mastering, it’s also great for unusual
effects. We advise that you just play with the settings while feeding the FX a
variety of different signals, to get a feel for what it does.
Global controls include:
· Out Low, Out Mid, and Out High: Set the output gain to make up for changes
in level that are caused by compression in any of the three bands. Range is
±24 dB, default is 0 dB (unity gain).
· Input, Attack, Release, and Output (Advanced): These controls allow fine
“plus or minus” adjustment of these parameters for a selected band.
39
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
4.4.15. Multi Filter
The Multi Filter is a multi-mode filter with some interesting variations on
the usual theme. Its Low Pass, High Pass, and Band Pass modes offer a steeper
36 dB/octave slope that’s not found on conventional audio gear, and there are
two Comb filters one Feedforward and one Feedback with a rich, flanger-
like tone.
Controls include:
· Mode: Opens a pop-up menu to choose the filter mode:
The two Comb filters allow for interesting swept frequency effects. · Slope: Chooses the slope of the LP, HP, or BP filters, between 12, 24, and 36 dB/ octave. · Cutoff: Sets the cutoff frequency, between 20 and 20000 Hz. · Resonance: Sets the resonance.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
40
4.4.16. Param EQ
A Parametric Equalizer is a pro audio tool for finely sculpting the frequency
response of an audio signal. It will contain two or more sets of controls that
let you pick a frequency, decide how much gain boost or cut you want to apply
at that frequency, and how wide the boost or cut will be. This lets you do
everything from gently warm a signal with a small mid boost to notching out a
specific frequency that contains unwanted hum. The Param EQ appears as an
interactive graph of gain vs. frequency. You have five points to work with:
three fully parametric EQ bands, and high and low shelving filters. Click and
drag to set the frequency and gain of any particular point; the point will be
highlighted with a ring. Once you’ve highlighted a particular point, the
Frequency, Gain, and Resonance knobs let you dial in its precise settings.
41
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Audio Path
5. THE MOTION EDITOR
The Motion Editor is the heart of Efx MOTIONS. It’s the place where the
various effects modules are set in motion!
Each of the five Audio Path [p.11] modules has its own set of Motion Editor
controls, independent of the others. This allows you to build intricately
linked effect modulations that aren’t simply duplicates of one another.
Basically, there are two kinds of Motion control for the primary parameter of
each module:
· The Motion Envelope, whose effect strength is set with the Motion knob under
the primary parameter and which is controlled via the Trigger section;
· The Dynamics envelope follower, whose effect strength is set with the
Dynamics knob under the primary parameter and which is controlled via the
Dynamics section.
These two kinds of motion control are analogous to the most common modulation
sources in a synthesizer: the LFO (for repeating modulations) and the Envelope
(for one-shot modulations that happen in response to a trigger event).
5.1. The Motion Envelope
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
42
The Motion Envelope is at the heart of Efx MOTIONS’ time-based effect control.
There are many different options for controlling the plug-in over time, but
the Motion Envelope is the most central. You’ll almost always start here, and
many great presets do their magic with the Motion Envelope alone.
5.1.1. Motion Envelope controls and concepts
There are two rows of controls that apply to the Motion Envelope. One set runs
across the top of the Envelope grid and is always visible; the other set runs
along the bottom of the grid and becomes visible when the Advanced button is
on.
The upper row consists of: · Left and Right Shift: Clicking one of these arrow
icons will shift the position of Motion Envelope points by one grid division
earlier or later. · Duplicate: Clicking the button marked x2 squeezes the
existing Motion Envelope into the first half of the grid, then places a
duplicate of it in the second half. The effect is that the Motion Envelope
runs twice as fast. This can be done until a maximum of 32 segments/64 points
is reached, which means an Envelope with more than 16 segments/32 points can’t
be Duplicated.
If you want to build a modulation that features a basic shape with small
variations over time, the
Double function lets you set this up very quickly and then add the variations
by hand.
· Envelope Preset controls, starting with the name of the last selected
preset. Click on it to open the Envelope Preset [p.48] Library. Next are left
and right arrows to change to the previous or next Envelope Preset Next are
simple starter envelope shapes: flat, sine, triangle, ramp up, ramp down,
square.
· The Draw Mode [p.48] pop-up lets you choose how to draw within the grid to
create your Motion Envelope
· The S-Curve button changes the connections between envelope points from
straight lines to curved ones. For example, a ramp becomes one quarter of a
sine wave.
There are other ways to alter a line’s curvature, which we’ll learn about
under Tension [p.47]. The S-
Curve button is a quick way to get musically useful results on all of a Motion
Envelope’s stages at once.
The lower row consists of:
43
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
· Mode: Opens a pop-up menu to select the Motion Mode of the envelope based on
the Trigger [p.50] parameters, e.g. Loop vs. One-Shot.
· Polarity: Sets the Motion Envelope to send unipolar (all values above 0) or
bipolar (positive and negative values) data.
This button is only present for the Filter and Drive modules.
· Smooth: Lets you select a smoothing time for changes in slope between
envelope points, to avoid clicks. Range is 0 to 4000 ms, with 2 ms as the
default.
· Grid: Sets horizontal and vertical Grid [p.47] divisions. · Snap: Clicking
the magnet toggles Snap [p.47] mode for envelope editing.
5.1.2. Basic Motion Envelope creation with points and lines
A Motion Envelope is made up of one or more envelope points connected by
straight or curved lines. These appear on a display called the Grid.
5.1.2.1. Create a point
To create a new point, click anywhere on the Grid. A point will be placed
where you click and the points on either side of it will be connected to it
with new lines.
Adding points to a Motion Envelope
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
44
In the screenshots above, clicking where the cursor is pointing in the top
picture creates the new point seen in the bottom picture. Easy!
5.1.2.2. Move a point
Hover the cursor over a point to select it (it will have a ring around it),
then click and drag to move it. While it’s being moved, the point will be
solid color rather than an open circle.
Points have a particular left-to-right order in time. You can’t drag one point
earlier or later in time
than the ones on either side of it.
5.1.2.3. Delete a point
To delete an existing point, hover over it to select it and double-click on
it. Alternatively, you can right-click on it and select Delete Point from the
pop-up that appears. The two points on either side of the deleted point will
automatically be connected with a new line.
45
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
5.1.2.4. Select and move multiple points
Selecting and moving multiple points
Sometimes it’s worthwhile to move a range of points at the same time. To do
this, CTRL/ CMD-Click and drag over the range of points you want to work with;
all of the selected points will be ringed.
Click and drag any one of the selected points and all of the others will move
with it, along with the lines between them. Note that the relative positions
of the points will change to accommodate keeping them all within the grid and
within the bounds of the two points on either side of them.
In the screenshots above, the point outside of the original selection doesn’t
move, even as the other points are dragged farther away. When the cursor is
dragged off the top of the grid, the points “flatten” against the upper
boundary.
The multiple points will remain selected until you click somewhere on the Grid
away from them. This will deselect them all but will not create a new point.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
46
If you double-click on one of several selected points, you will delete that
point but leave the others unaffected. To delete all selected points at once,
right-click on one and choose Delete Selected Points from the pop-up that
appears.
5.1.2.5. Grid and Snap
The Grid settings determine how many horizontal and vertical divisions are
shown on the Grid display. Changing the settings will not affect how a Motion
Envelope plays back. However, the Grid can help you when setting up precisely
timed points. By clicking on the Snap magnet icon, any point you move will be
slightly “magnetized” to jump to the nearest Grid lines. This can speed up
complex envelope design a lot!
The Shift key acts as a momentary Snap on/off switch. If you press the Shift
key while dragging
points, it will turn on Snap (if Snap is disabled) or turn off Snap (if snap
is enabled) until you release the Shift key.
Grid settings also come into play when using certain Draw Modes [p.48].
5.1.2.6. Tension
Ramps with different Tension values
Lines between points don’t have to be straight. If you hover your mouse over
the dot at the center of each line, two small arrows will appear above and
below the dot. Click and drag up or down to change the tension (curvature) of
that line.
The amount of tension will be restricted by the positions of the two points
connected by the line. You can’t drag a line higher or lower than either of
the end points.
If you want to create a “sag” or “bump” between two points, place a new point
in between them and
move it above or below them. If you delete a point, the line connecting the
two points on either side of it will preserve the tension of the line that
came before the deleted point (i.e. the one to its left).
47
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
5.1.3. Draw Mode
The techniques we’ve described so far for drawing Motion Envelopes are used in
Free mode, the first of four Draw Modes that you can select from a pop-up:
The four Draw Modes are: · Free: Points can be placed and moved at will. ·
Steps: Clicking and dragging will create a series of flat steps at heights
determined by the mouse movement. The width of each step is determined by the
Grid setting. · Ramp Up: As above, but with each step a ramp up from zero to
the mouse position. · Ramp Down: As above, but with step a ramp down from the
mouse position to zero.
These modes are great for quickly setting up series of pulses or risers, or
step-sequencerlike chains of values. Naturally each point and line can be
fine-tuned afterward once you switch back to Free mode.
5.1.4. Envelope Presets
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
48
It can be a lot of fun creating your own Motion Envelopes, but sometimes
you’ll just want to use something ready-made. Or perhaps you’ve created a
really cool Motion Envelope and would like to save it and use it in a
different preset. That’s where Envelope Presets come in. Click on the colored
name above the Grid to pop up the Envelope Preset Library. It contains a
variety of useful preset envelope shapes, in four Factory banks: Basic Curves,
Creative, Rhythmic, and Step Sequenced. In addition, there is a User bank
where you can save your own designs.
5.1.5. Envelope Functions
Right-click on the grid anywhere there’s not a point or line, and the Envelope
Functions popup will appear:
It offers the following useful options: · Reset: Resets the Envelope to a flat
line with only one point. · Duplicate: Duplicates the Envelope in the same way
as the Duplicate (x2) button does. · Horizontal Flip: Reverses the Envelope in
time. · Vertical Flip: Inverts the Envelope. · Save As…: Lets you save the
Envelope to the User Preset bank with a name of your choice. · Copy To: Lets
you place this Envelope in any of the other Audio Path modules in the current
Preset.
5.1.6. Visualization
49
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
The Motion Envelope has a built-in visualizer to give you guidance as to
what’s going on. It scrolls along with the Envelope itself, showing the audio
waveform loudness vs. time as well as a trace of the output control signal.
The current playback position is indicated with a white highlight.
With these, you can get an idea of whether the Envelope is triggering
properly, overloading, etc.
5.2. Trigger
The Motion Envelope’s shape is only part of the story then there’s the
question of how it’s played back. While it would be possible to just set a
clock running and have the Motion Envelope follow that, Efx MOTIONS adds a
number of other intriguing choices, thanks to the many faces of the Trigger
section.
Trigger offers five different timing engines for the Motion Envelope, each of
which interacts with it in a unique way:
· Clock · Envelope Sequencer · Euclidean Sequencer · Transient control · MIDI
The pop-up menu for choosing the Trigger engine also has a Copy icon that lets
you copy the current settings to another module in the Audio Path.
5.2.1. Rate and Stereo
The two controls common to all five of the Trigger engines are Rate, which
sets the time base for the engine and therefore for the Motion Envelope, and
Stereo Offset, which widens the sound by changing the behavior of the Motion
Envelope on the left vs. right channels.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
50
Clicking under the Rate knob brings up this sync menu:
Hertz refers to unsynced timing, and ranges from 0.025 Hz to 50 Hz. Sync
ranges from 24 Bars to 1/32 triplet, and the menu lets you scroll through all
the different sync options or filter them by straight, triplet, or dotted
values. There are two types of Stereo Offset, each of which involves adding
tiny differences between the signal processing on the left and right sides of
the signal. When it’s set to Rate, the effect is produced by introducing
changes in the clock rate; when it’s set to Phase, the effect uses a phase
offset between the two clocks instead.
There’s no right or wrong choice here; they produce subtly different effects,
and which one works
best depends on the application and your ears. Never be afraid to experiment!
51
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
5.2.2. Motion Mode
Each engine will offer a different set of options for the Motion Mode, which
specifies how the Envelope is triggered/retriggered.
· Loop: Once the DAW is started, the Envelope loops according to the Rate. It
stays in sync, and can be retriggered based on trigger conditions.
· One-Shot: The Trigger causes the Envelope to play through once and then
stop. · Envelope: One point in the Envelope can be designated a Sustain Point,
where
the Envelope will hold until the gate signal that triggered it has passed. To
set the Sustain Point, right-click on the point and select Set Sustain from
the pop-up menu. The Sustain Point will be shown in white:
· Envelope Loop: Similar to Envelope mode, except the Envelope has designated Loop Start and Loop End points. These are chosen by right-clicking and selecting Set Loop Start or Set Loop End from the pop-up menu. The Loop Start and End Points are shown in white, with small triangular flags to indicate the portion of the Envelope that has the loop:
You can also move the Loop points after they’ve been set, by dragging the flags themselves.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
52
5.2.3. Clock
The first and simplest of the Trigger engines is the Clock. It has no specific
controls beyond the usual Rate and Stereo knobs, and its Motion Mode defaults
to Loop. Clock is what you’ll use when you want the Motion Envelope to be a
basic multi-segment LFO with no frills.
53
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
5.2.4. Envelope Seq
The Envelope Sequencer is a “trance gate” sequencer where each step has its
own gate length, allowing the Motion Envelope to be retriggered in a variety
of interesting rhythms.
· Rotate Left: Rotates the sequence counterclockwise (a given beat falls
earlier) · x2: Duplicates the sequence (double speed) up until the maximum
number of
steps
· Rotate Right: Rotates the sequence clockwise (a given beat falls later)
· Length: Sets the number of discrete steps in a full sequence, from 2 to 32.
Step lengths will be different to create various rhythms.
· Gate: Sets the gate length, the percentage of each step that the gate is on.
Gate length ranges from 1% to 100% of step length.
In Envelope mode, the Envelope will pause at the Sustain Point until the gate
ends, then retrigger at the start of the next step.
In Envelope Loop mode, the Motion Envelope will loop between the Start and End
points until the gate ends.
· Reset: Resets the sequence to the start after a certain number of bars (1,
2, 4, 8, 16) if desired.
This works very well in conjunction with unusual Lengths (e.g. 5 or 11), as a
means of “getting back
to the start” in a predictable way.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
54
5.2.4.1. Envelope Seq Presets
To get you started with the Envelope Sequencer, Efx MOTIONS comes with a library of familiar and unusual gate patterns. These make for a great starting point for your own explorations. The left and right arrows on either side of the Sequencer dial let you scroll through the presets.
55
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
5.2.4.2. Altering an Envelope Sequence
Creating your own rhythms is straightforward. Start with a pattern from the
Preset library, then change the Length and turn various steps on and off by
clicking on them. A colored step will trigger, and a grey step will not. The
currently playing step is indicated with a darker shade. The step you’re
mousing over will turn white. Steps with length greater than 1 will stop the
envelope at the Sustain Point until the step is over.
5.2.5. Euclidean
The Euclidean Sequencer is an interesting variant on gate sequencing. It has
almost the same controls as the Envelope Sequencer, but rather than relying on
patterns of longer and shorter gate steps, it sets triggers by the principle
of Density.
As you turn up the Density of a Euclidean sequence, trigger points are
gradually populated until they’re all filled. The sequencer will try to place
the points as far apart as possible while still keeping them on the timing
grid, resulting in patterns with a unique character.
In the following example, the Length of the sequence is 8. As we turn up the
Density, the various points on the circle are filled in until we have a
trigger in all 8 positions.
As you can imagine, when the Length is turned up higher (up to a maximum of 32), things can get really interesting!
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
56
5.2.6. Transient
The Transient engine listens to input audio and analyzes it for transients,
sharp beginnings of notes or sounds. The scrolling display shows transients as
dots above the audio, with the detection threshold shown as a white line. The
Transient engine has controls for Threshold and Sensitivity to help you pick
out the right number of triggers, and an In/Ext switch that listens either to
the audio signal itself or to audio from another DAW channel in order to pick
out triggers. Unique controls include a horizontal bandpass filter to isolate
the part of the frequency spectrum where you’re looking for transients, and a
Drive Solo button (the headphone icon in the scrolling display) that isolates
the input as filtered by the transient detector so you can listen to it alone.
57
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
5.2.7. MIDI
The last Trigger engine uses MIDI notes to retrigger the Motion Envelope.
Using Note On and Note Off data as well as Start and Stop commands, the MIDI
engine is the only one that has all four Motion Modes available: Loop, One-
Shot, Envelope, and Envelope Loop. Consult your DAW’s manual for how to route
MIDI data to the audio channel containing Efx MOTIONS, as the method will
differ by platform.
5.3. Dynamics
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
58
Dynamics is an envelope follower, a module that creates a control signal based
on the amplitude of an incoming audio signal. This lets you create patches
that respond dynamically to changes in volume, as with more aggressive guitar
playing or accented notes in a drum machine loop.
The scrolling display shows the audio currently being used to trigger the
envelope follower. The waveform with a thin line represents the audio itself,
and the waveform with the thicker line represents the actual control signal
being output.
The Input parameter displays how much boost in gain is being applied to the
input signal. Up to 24 dB of gain is available here.
Note that this is gain applied to the input of the detection circuit, so you
can get useful results out of
weaker signals. It does not add gain to the audio itself!
The other controls are:
· Threshold: Sets the signal level at which the envelope follower is
triggered. Its range is 50 to 0 dB. The current Threshold setting is shown on
the scrolling display as a horizontal white line.
· Attack: Sets how much time elapses between the audio signal crossing the
threshold and the control signal being generated. Under unusual circumstances,
you might want to delay the onset of control by a significant amount, so the
Attack ranges from 0 to 1000 ms. However, this will usually be set as fast as
possible the default value is 5 microseconds!
· Release: Sets how much time elapses between the audio signal dipping back
under the threshold and the control signal being stopped. This can produce
smoother behavior when the audio is “chattery” and crosses the threshold
rapidly. Range is 5 ms to 10 seconds, with a default setting of 150 ms.
· In/Ext: Switches between triggering the envelope generator with the audio
input signal itself, or an external audio signal from another channel in your
DAW. This technique, known as sidechaining or keying, can be very useful in
tying the sound of one instrument to the dynamics of another.
Sidechaining is done all the time in recording studios. A classic example is
sending the sound of the
kick drum into the sidechain input of a compressor that’s processing the bass
guitar sound, which ties the two sounds together tightly in timing.
59
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – The Motion Editor
6. MODULATION
Modulation means “change.” It’s a term borrowed from synthesizer design, which
describes how elements of a sound can be controlled automatically, effectively
giving the player an infinite number of “hands” to turn knobs and push buttons
in various ways. Because so much of Efx MOTIONS relies on this kind of
automation, the plug-in comes with a lot of modulation options beyond those in
the Motion Editor. In this chapter, we’ll look at how to set up modulation
routings within Efx MOTIONS, and how to work with them as you’re making music.
After that, we’ll click the Advanced button and look at the five modulation
sources there: the two Macros and the three Modulators.
6.1. Basics
Every modulation has a source and a destination. If we think of modulation as
“automatically turning a knob”, then the source is whatever’s doing the
turning and the destination is the knob being turned. A source and destination
make up a modulation routing. The amount of control the source exerts over the
destination is called the modulation depth or amount.
6.1.1. Assigning a modulation
Like the tabs attached to each module in the Audio Path, each of the Macros
and Modulators has a tab that displays its name and a dynamic line (called a
Modulation tracer) showing what signal it’s generating at the moment. As long
as the Advanced button is on, all five tabs and their tracers are always
visible, no matter which tab is highlighted. That’s deliberate, because the
tracers are where we assign new modulations. Hover your mouse over the tracer
corresponding to the source you wish to use in this example, the Sequencer
Modulator. The cursor becomes a hand and the tracer becomes a square icon with
a cross of four arrows:
Click on it and drag it to the control (which could be a knob, a horizontal
slider, etc) that you want as a destination, then drop it there.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
60
It’s as simple as that!
If you hover over a destination that is modulatable, a pop-up dial display
will appear under it. If you
don’t see such a dial, then the control you’re hovering over can’t be
modulated. Fortunately there aren’t very many of those!
6.1.2. Examining modulations at the destination
Once a routing has been established, you can examine it just by hovering your
mouse over the control. The pop-up dial will appear, showing the currently set
modulation amount.
If a dial doesn’t appear, the control hasn’t had a modulation assigned to it
yet. If more than one modulation source has been assigned to the same
destination, all of them will appear as a collection of dials.
Without clicking, move your mouse from the control to the relevant dial. A
tooltip box will tell you which source it’s for, and the current amount
setting.
Modulation dials are color coded to indicate the kind of source they
represent: light blue for Macros, brown for a Sequencer, green for a Function,
purple for Random, and dark blue for Envelope Follower. They are bipolar, with
0 at the center, negative modulation amounts to the left, and positive amounts
to the right.
In this example (which is modulation overkill!), Macro 1 is set to a small
negative amount, Macro 2 is nearly 0, Sequencer 1 is a large positive,
Function 2 is fully negative, and the Envelope Follower is fully positive.
When you hover over a particular modulation’s pop-up dial, the ring around the
knob will show the modulation amount in the appropriate color. Similarly, a
horizontal slider will show the amount in the appropriate color with a line
from left to right.
6.1.2.1. Which source is which?
Sometimes a preset might have two or even three dials in the same color. There
are two Macros, both light blue, and if a preset uses three Function
modulators, they’ll all be green. So how do you tell which source goes with
which dial?
It’s easy! As you hover over a particular dial, the appropriate source’s tab
will show a colored box around its tracer, and the other tracers will vanish.
A tool tip will also pop up with specific information on the precise source.
61
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
6.1.3. Changing modulation amounts at the destination
While you’ve highlighted a particular pop-up dial, you can click and drag to
change its value. Right-click and drag to change the modulation amount with
fine accuracy. Double-click to set the amount to 0. When you’re done, move
your mouse away and the pop-up will vanish.
Setting a dial to 0 will remove it entirely once you mouse away from the
control.
6.1.4. Examining modulations and changing amounts at the source
To see which destinations a Modulator is currently controlling, hover your
mouse over its tracer, as if you were about to assign a new modulation. In
addition to the arrow-cross icon and hand cursor, a drop-down menu will appear
with a list of all of the current modulation routings for that source:
Note that in the screenshot above, the Threshold knob where we added the
modulation at the start of
this chapter is ringed in the appropriate color and shows the modulation
amount. In addition, although you can’t see it in this screenshot, the other
two destinations are hinted at with colored dots replacing their tracers. This
makes it easy for you to see at a glance where your destinations can be found.
Each routing in the source list has a power icon to deactivate it. There’s
also a global icon to turn off the source’s modulations for all destinations
at once. These allow you to quickly hear the effect of turning a modulation
off, without having to actually remove the routing.
Each routing has a horizontal bipolar display bar of the amount, with negative
values to the left and positive values to the right. As with setting amounts
at the destination, you can click and drag to change the amount, right-click
and drag for fine adjustment, or double-click to set it to 0. Unlike bypassing
the modulation with the power icon, this will remove the routing when you
mouse away.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
62
We have two different ways of displaying modulations for a reason. Because a
destination can
have no more than five sources, the dial pop-up puts a lot of information into
a very small space that doesn’t obscure nearby controls. Because a source can
have many destinations, the drop-down list of modulation bars can be as big as
you need to fit them all.
6.2. Macros
The two Macro knobs at the top left of the plug-in can be set up to control
multiple parameters at once, each with a different polarity and scaling. They
allow you to “turn” multiple knobs at once, each in a different amount and
direction, with one turn of one knob.
The knobs default to the names MACRO 1 and MACRO 2, but you can double click a
Macro name to
change it to whatever you like.
6.2.1. Assigning, examining, and adjusting Macro routings
While the Macros’ “tabs” in the advanced panel don’t actually bring up control
panels, they work exactly the same way as the other Modulators’ tabs. Click on
a Macro’s “tracer” (it’s not animated, of course) and drag/drop to assign the
Macro knob to any destination. Macro routings will appear as light blue dials
in a destination’s modulation pop-up, and hovering over a Macro’s “tracer”
drops down a menu of current assignments and amounts that can be adjusted,
bypassed, or removed.
63
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
6.3. Modulators
The three Modulators are flexible sources that can be put to work anywhere you
need a particular kind of control. Each one can be assigned as one of the four
available types, by clicking the down-arrow on its tab to reveal a selection
menu.
6.3.1. Sequencer
This is an easy-to-use step sequencer that generates stepped value changes in
a variety of ways. Global parameters include:
· Rate: Controls the speed of the stepping. Ranges from 0.1 to 20 Hz (Hertz)
or 1/ 32 triplet to 1 bar dotted (Sync). The pop-up menu allows you to set any
Sync division with the Rate knob, or restrict the range to straight, triplet,
or dotted values.
· Scale: Sets the overall strength of the modulation signal sent out to
destinations. It’s a sort of “volume control” for the sequence that can be
adjusted easily.
· Smooth: Smooths out the transitions between steps for more gradual effects.
· Swing: Sets the swing amount from 50% (no swing) to 75% (hard swing).
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
64
6.3.1.1. Step controls
The Sequencer has a maximum of 16 steps. Like Beat Repeat, the sequence can be
shortened by dragging the handle at the far right to cover one or more steps.
These steps’ settings remain intact even though they are not being triggered
as part of a loop. Step behavior is set by controls along the top edge of the
sequence steps:
· Left and Right Arrows: Shift the position of sequence steps by one position
earlier or later.
· Playback Mode: This drop-down menu lets you select the order of step playback. Options include Forward, Backward, Back & Forth, and Random.
· Draw Mode: Sets the way the cursor draws step values.
Pen: Click and drag to draw step values directly. Line: Click and drag across
the sequence; all steps between where
you first clicked and where the cursor is now will be arranged in a line. Move
the cursor to change the slope of the line, and release the mouse to set the
values. Eraser: Click on a step to reset it to 0.
Polarity button, Unipolar vs Bipolar
· Polarity: Sets the Sequencer to send unipolar (all values above 0) or
bipolar (positive and negative values) data.
· Clear: Click the trash can icon to reset all step values to 0.
65
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
6.3.1.2. Randomization
Sequencer steps before and after adding Randomization You can add variation to
the sequence by inserting some randomness into each step. Click and drag the
Random parameter to determine how much variation there will be. As shown
above, adding randomness turns a set step value into a possible range of
values with the set value at the center. The actual value of the step is seen
as a thinner line somewhere in the range.
Of course, if a random set of variations never changes, then it’s not really
random, is it? That’s what the Regenerate button is for: it forces all steps
to generate a new set of randomized values. Auto Regen can “press the
Regenerate button for you” every 1, 2, 4, or 8 bars via a pop-up.
Let’s say you’ve played with randomization until you hear a set of values
that’s a keeper. Just click the Apply button to permanently move the step
settings to those values, so they will be preserved if you turn Random down to
0.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
66
6.3.2. Function
The Function Modulator is a Motion Envelope [p.42] that you can route to any
destination you wish. With all the cool stuff the Motion Envelope can do, it’s
great to have up to three of them assignable in every Preset! The Function’s
feature set is almost identical to the Motion Envelope’s, but there are a few
small differences.
· Rate has a wider range: from 0.025 Hz to 50 Hz, or from 1/32 triplet to a
maximum of 24 bars.
· There’s a Scale knob to adjust the global amount of Function modulation
rather than a Stereo knob.
· The only Draw Mode is Free. · There’s an S-Curve button, but no adjustable
Smooth time. · Placement of some controls is different, even though they work
the same way. Most significantly, the Function’s only built-in Trigger [p.50]
mode is Clock. However, with the Retrig Source pop-up, you do have the option
of borrowing the Trigger setup from one of the Audio Path modules’ Motion
Envelopes. In the screenshot above, the Volume module is providing the
Function’s triggering information. This way, you can use a Euclidean or
Envelope Seq, etc., to drive the Function. The Mode button lets you retrigger
the Function in Loop or One-Shot mode.
67
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
6.3.3. Random
There are many applications where adding a bit of random variation can spice
up a sound. The Random Modulator is designed to help you do that easily. It
has a much wider rate range than other modulators, making it capable of
generating “noise” control signals in the audio range. Global parameters
include:
· Rate: Controls the speed of the stepped level changes. Ranges from 0.05 Hz
to 200 Hz (Hertz) or 1/32 triplet to 24 bars (Sync). The pop-up menu allows
you to set any Sync division with the Rate knob, or restrict the range to
straight, triplet, or dotted values.
· Scale: Sets the overall strength of the modulation signal sent out to
destinations. It’s a sort of “volume control” for the sequence that can be
adjusted easily.
· Smooth: Smooths out the transitions between steps for more gradual effects.
This is reflected in the waveform on the dynamic display.
· Polarity: Sets the Random to send unipolar (all values above 0) or bipolar
(positive and negative values) data.
· Retrig Source: As with the Function, the Random Modulator can use its own
internal clock or retrigger from any of the five Triggers in the Audio Path.
6.3.4. Envelope Follower
In the same way that the Function imitates the Motion Envelope/Trigger
combination, the Envelope Follower lets you modulate with Dynamics [p.58]. Its
controls and functions are identical to those in the Dynamics section of the
Motion Editor: Input Gain, Threshold, Attack, Release, and Internal/External
triggering. The only addition is a Scale knob for quick adjustment of overall
control level, as found in the other Modulators.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Modulation
68
7. TOOLBARS
The toolbars above and below the main control area of Efx MOTIONS contain a
number of important functions for Preset selection, housekeeping, and other
utility settings. The Upper Toolbar includes:
· The Main Menu [p.70] · The Preset Name Pane and Preset Browser [p.79] ·
Switching and copy options for A and B settings [p.75] · The button to open
the Advanced [p.75] features The Lower Toolbar includes: · The parameter
description area [p.76] · The Bypass button [p.76] · Undo, Redo, and History
[p.77] · The CPU Meter [p.78] and Panic [p.78] functions · A corner grab
handle [p.78] for resizing the plug-in window
69
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
7.1. Upper Toolbar
Let’s start with the Upper Toolbar, covering its functions from left to right.
7.1.1. Main Menu
Clicking the “hamburger” icon (three horizontal lines) in the top left corner
of the upper toolbar opens the Main Menu, a drop-down menu that lets you
access a number of useful functions related to Preset management and more.
7.1.1.1. New Preset Creates a new Default Preset with initialized settings for
all parameters.
7.1.1.2. Save Preset Overwrites the current Preset with any changes you have
made. This applies only to user presets, so this option is greyed out for
factory presets.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
70
7.1.1.3. Save Preset As… This option saves the current settings of Efx MOTIONS
under a new Preset name. Clicking this option reveals a window where you can
name your Preset and enter more detailed information about it:
The Bank, Author, and Type fields are all useful when searching for Presets in
the Preset Browser
[p.82].
7.1.1.4. Import… This command lets you import a Preset file or entire Bank
stored on your computer. It opens a navigation window in your computer’s OS to
find the proper files.
7.1.1.5. Export… You can export Presets to your computer in two ways: as a
single Preset, or as a Bank. In either case, an OS-level navigation window
lets you specify where to save the file(s). Both individual Presets and Banks
have the filename extension .CLSX.
· Export Preset…: Exporting a single Preset is handy for sharing a preset with
someone else. The saved preset can be reloaded using the Import menu option.
· Export Bank: This option exports an entire Bank of Presets, which is useful
for backing up or sharing many Presets at once. Saved Banks can be reloaded
using the Import menu option.
71
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
7.1.1.6. Resize Window
Efx MOTIONS can be resized from 50% to 200% of its default size (100%) without
any visual artifacts. On a smaller screen, such as a laptop, you may want to
reduce the interface size so it doesn’t dominate the display. On a larger
screen or a second monitor, you can increase the size to get a better view of
the controls and graphics.
You can also perform this operation using keyboard shortcuts: every time you
press CTRL(Windows) or CMD- (macOS), the window will shrink by one size
increment, and every time you press CTRL+ (Windows) or CMD+ (macOS), the
window will grow by one size increment.
In addition, you can click-drag the resize handle [p.78] at the right of the
lower toolbar to make the Efx MOTIONS window any size.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
72
7.1.1.7. Tutorials
Click on a tutorial’s name (shown at left) to open the relevant chapter (at
right)
Efx MOTIONS comes with interactive tutorials that walk you through different
features of the plug-in. Clicking this option opens a pane on the right side
of the window where the tutorials appear. Select one to access step-by-step
descriptions that highlight relevant controls and guide you through various
operations.
7.1.1.8. Help
Get more help by visiting links to this user manual and Frequently Asked
Questions pages on Arturia’s website. You will need an internet connection to
access these pages.
7.1.1.9. About
Here you can view the software version and developer credits. Click again
anywhere on the screen (outside the About window but inside the plug-in) to
make this pop-up window disappear.
73
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
7.1.2. Preset Browser access and Name Pane
The Preset Name Pane Clicking the “books on a shelf” button opens the Preset
Browser [p.79], which offers a myriad of ways to browse, sort, and organize
Presets in Efx MOTIONS.
Clicking on the Preset name also opens up quick drop-down menus for selecting
Presets outside of the Browser, as shown above. You can select to look at
lists of Presets organized by Type, as shown above, or look at All Presets at
once. Everything you need to know about managing Presets is covered in detail
in the Preset Browser [p.79] chapter. This includes working with Favorites,
which are tagged by clicking the heart icon.
Note: An asterisk just after the name in the Preset Name Pane (*) indicates
that you’ve edited that
Preset.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
74
7.1.3. Dual settings and copy
Preset state A active with the option to copy settings to B
Preset state B active with the option to copy settings to A
Each Preset is actually two Presets in one! Using the A and B buttons, you can
switch between two completely different sets of knob settings for the Main
Panel, and the Advanced Panel. These are saved within each Preset.
When A is active, clicking A > B will copy the A settings to B. When B is
active, clicking A < B will copy the B settings to A.
! When you edit settings in a Preset and close your DAW project without saving
the Preset, the
changes will be remembered when you reopen it but they will be recalled in
Slot A. That means that editing settings in Slot B and closing your DAW
without saving them will move those settings over to Slot A when you reopen
the project — and Slot B will be blank. Save often!
7.1.4. Advanced Button
Near the upper right corner of the top toolbar is the Advanced Button. This
opens up a dropdown panel of extra Macro [p.63] and Modulation [p.60]
controls, and gives you access to various extra features in the Audio Path
[p.11] modules and the Motion Editor [p.42].
7.2. Lower Toolbar
Lower toolbar, left side
The Lower Toolbar of the Efx MOTIONS interface can be thought of in terms of
left and right halves. On the left is the Control Description display, and on
the right are buttons for several useful utility functions.
75
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
7.2.1. Control Descriptions
This Control Description pops up when you mouse over the Filter Cutoff knob
Operate or hover on any knob, button, icon, or other control, and a brief
description of what it does appear in the lower left-hand corner.
7.2.2. Utility Functions
Utility functions on the right side of the Lower Toolbar The lower right
corner of the plug-in window gives access to useful global functions.
7.2.2.1. Bypass The Bypass button bypasses the Efx MOTIONS plug-in entirely.
It’s useful for quick comparisons of dry versus processed signal without
having to bypass the plug-in at the DAW level. When bypassed, the plug-in
window looks like this:
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
76
7.2.3. Undo, Redo, and History
When editing a plug-in, it’s all too easy to overshoot the sweet spot for one
or more controls, and then wonder how to get back to where you were. Like all
Arturia plug-ins, Efx MOTIONS offers comprehensive Undo, Redo, and History
functions so that you always have a safe way back.
Use the left (Undo) and right (Redo) arrows to go back and forward one control
movement at a time.
Click the left arrow to revert to the state before the most recent edit you
made. You may click repeatedly to undo several edits in reverse time order.
Click the right arrow to redo the most recent edit you undid. If you have
undone several, you may click repeatedly to redo them in forward time order.
7.2.3.1. History
Click the center “hamburger” (three lines) button to open the History window,
as shown above. This provides a step-by-step account of every move you have
made in Efx MOTIONS. Clicking on an item in the list not only re-executes that
move — it returns the plug-in to the overall state it was in when you first
made that move.
Note that the A and B controls settings within a Preset have separate Undo
Histories.
77
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
7.2.4. CPU Meter
At far right is the CPU Meter, which displays the overall load Efx MOTIONS is
placing in your computer CPU. Since it deals only with this plug-in, it is not
a substitute for the resource metering tools in your DAW.
7.2.4.1. Panic
Mousing over the CPU Meter accesses the PANIC function
Mouse over the CPU Meter, and it will display the word PANIC. Click to send an
all-sounds-off command that silences any sound processed through Efx MOTIONS.
This is a momentary command, so sound will resume if your DAW is still
playing. In the event of serious runaway audio (say, from an unrelated delay
effect that has gone into a feedback loop), stop your DAW playback and disable
the plug-in causing the problem.
7.2.5. Resize handle and Max View
The Resize handle appears next to the CPU Meter
Click the Max View icon (the blue arrows) to reset the window
size
Grab and drag the diagonal lines to the right of the CPU meter to resize the
Efx MOTIONS plug-in window. This a shortcut for quickly switching between
increments in the Resize Window [p.72] menu. When you let go, the plug-in
window will snap to the nearest size increment. Sometimes, you may see a
button with two diagonal blue arrows (the Max View button) over the Resize
handle. This happens when, for some reason, the window size is not displaying
all of the controls of Efx MOTIONS. Click it to restore a full view of the
open controls.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Toolbars
78
8. WORKING WITH PRESETS
Efx MOTIONS lets you browse, search, and select Presets from a browser-like
interface inside the plug-in. You can also create and save your own Presets in
the User Bank. Of course, the state of any instance of the plug-in — including
the current Preset — is automatically saved when you save your DAW project, so
you can always pick up where you left off.
First, we will cover Preset functions from the Upper Toolbar in more depth.
8.1. Preset Name Pane
The name pane at top center is always displayed whether you’re in the main
controls view or the Preset Browser. It displays the name of the current
Preset, obviously, but also offers further ways to browse and load Presets.
Again, a filled-in heart icon indicates a liked Preset.
8.1.1. The Arrows
The up and down arrows to the right of the Preset name step serially through
Presets. This is limited by the results of any currently active search, i.e.
the arrows will only step through those Presets. So, make sure any searches
are cleared if you simply want to step through all available Presets until you
find something you like.
79
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
8.1.2. Quick Browser
As mentioned briefly in the previous chapter, you can click on the Preset name
in the center of the upper tool bar to bring up a drop-down Quick Browser for
Presets. The first option in this menu is called All Presets, and it brings up
a submenu of literally every Preset in the current Bank:
All presets
Below this are options that correspond to the Types [p.83]. Each of these
brings up a submenu of all Presets of its Type:
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
80
Selecting Modulation from the drop-down menu shows all the Presets of this
type.
Unlike the up and down arrows, the “All Presets” submenu is independent of
search criteria — it simply shows you every Preset available. Likewise for the
Type choices below the line, which always include all Presets within that
Type.
81
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
8.2. The Preset Browser
Click the “books on a shelf” icon (four vertical and tilted lines) in the
Upper Toolbar to access the Preset Browser. When the Preset Browser is open,
the icon becomes a large X, and is used to close the Browser when you’re done.
The three main areas of the Preset Browser are as follows:
Number 1. 2. 3.
Area Search [p.82] Results Pane [p.86] Preset Info [p.88]
Description Searches for Presets by text entry with filters for Type, Style, and Bank. Displays search results, or all Presets if no search criteria are active. Displays Preset Details; can edit details for Presets in User Bank.
8.3. Searching Presets
Click on the Search field at the top left and enter any search term. The
browser will filter your search in two ways: First, simply by matching letters
in the Preset name. Second, If your search term is close to that of a Type or
Style [p.83] it will include results fitting those tags as well.
The Results Pane will show all Presets that fit your search. Click the CLEAR
ALL text to clear your search terms.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
82
Filtering by typing the text (“Leslie”) in the Search field
8.3.1. Using Tags as a Filter
You can narrow (and sometimes expand) your search using different tags. There
are two kinds of tags: Types and Styles. You can filter by one, the other, or
both.
8.3.1.1. Types
Types are categories of audio effects: filter, distortion, modulation, and so
on. With a clear search bar, click the Types drop-down to bring up the list of
types. Types sometimes include sub-types (especially in more complex Arturia
effect plug-ins) but Efx MOTIONS is relatively simple, so Rotator is the
primary type you will see.
The display order of the Name and Type columns can be inverted by clicking the
arrow buttons to the right of their titles.
You can specify the type when saving a Preset [p.71]. That Preset will then
show up in searches
where you’ve selected that Type.
83
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
8.3.1.2. Styles
Styles are, well … exactly that. Accessed by the Styles button, this area has
three further subdivisions:
· Genres: Identifiable musical genres such as Ambient, Bass Music, Industrial,
etc.:
· Styles: General “vibe” such as Bizarre, Metallic, Slammed, etc.:
· Characteristics: Even more detailed audio qualities such as Filtered, Resonant, Mechanical, Noise, and more:
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
84
Click any one, and the results will show only Presets that match that tag.
Notice that when you select any tag, several other tags usually grey out and
become unavailable. This is because the browser is narrowing your search by a
process of elimination.
Note that this is the opposite of how selecting multiple Types broadens your
search.
Deselect any tag to remove it and widen the search without having to start all
over again. You can also clear the tag by clicking the X to the right of its
text, which appears at the top. Note that you can search by a string of text,
Types and Styles, or both, with the search becoming narrower as you enter more
criteria. Clicking CLEAR ALL in the search bar will remove all Type and Style
filters as well as any text entry.
8.3.2. Banks
To the right of the Types and Styles drop-downs is the Banks drop-down, which
lets you do your search (using all the methods above) within the Factory or
User Banks.
85
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
8.4. The Results Pane
The central area of the browser shows search results, or simply a list of all Presets in the Bank if no search criteria are active. Simply click on a Preset name to load it.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
86
8.4.1. Sorting Presets
Click the NAME header in first column of the Results list to sort the results
list of Presets in ascending or descending alphabetical order. Click the TYPE
header in the second column to do the same thing by Type.
8.4.2. Liking Presets
As you explore and create Presets you can mark them as Liked by clicking the
heart icon next to their names. (This icon also appears in the Upper Toolbar’s
Preset Name Pane [p.79]. Clicking on the heart icon makes all of your liked
Presets show up at the top of the results list, as shown here:
A filled-in heart icon indicates a Liked Preset. An outline indicates a Preset that has not been Liked (yet). Click the heart at the top of the list again to return the list to its previous state.
87
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
8.4.3. Featured factory Presets
Presets accompanied by the Arturia logo are factory creations we think really
showcase the capabilities of Efx MOTIONS.
Clicking the Arturia icon at the top of the Results pane sorts all featured
Presets to appear at the top of the list.
8.4.4. Shuffle Button
This button randomly reorders the Preset list. Sometimes it can help you find
the sound you’re looking for more quickly than scrolling through the entire
list.
8.5. Preset Info Section
The right side of the browser window shows specific information about each
Preset.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
88
For Presets in the User bank (as the result of a Save As operation), you can
enter and edit the information in the Preset Info Section and it will update
in real time. This includes the designer (author), Type, all Style tags, and
even a custom text description at the bottom.
To make the desired changes, you can type directly in the text fields or use
one of the pulldown menus to change the Bank or Type. As shown here, you can
also use a hierarchical menu to select the Type or even create a new Type or
Subtype.
Types and Styles changes you make here are reflected in searches. For example,
if you remove
the “Bright” Style tag from a Preset and then save that Preset, it will not
show up in future searches for Bright Presets.
89
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
8.5.1. Preset Info Quick Menu
Clicking the icon with three vertical dots brings up a quick menu for Save,
Save As, and Delete Preset operations:
For sounds in Factory banks, only Save As is available.
8.5.2. Edit Style
You can also create your own Style tags to help refine searches according to
criteria that matter most to you. Clicking on the + icon in the list in the
Preset Info pane opens the Edit Style pane, where you can create as many new
tags as you’ll ever need:
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
90
8.5.3. Editing Info for Multiple Presets
It’s easy to edit information such as Types, Styles, designer name, and text
description for several presets at the same time. Simply hold CMD (macOS) or
CTRL (Windows) and click the names of the Presets you want to change in the
Results list. Then enter the comments, change the Bank or Type, etc., and
save.
91
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Working with Presets
9. SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT
In consideration of payment of the Licensee fee, which is a portion of the
price you paid, Arturia, as Licensor, grants to you (referred to as ‘Licensee’
from now on) a non-exclusive right to use this copy of the Efx MOTIONS plug-in
(referred to as ‘SOFTWARE’ from now on).
All intellectual property rights in the software belong to Arturia SA
(referred to as ‘Arturia’ from now on). Arturia permits you to only copy,
download, install and use the software in accordance with the terms and
conditions of this Agreement.
The product contains product activation for protection against unlawful
copying. The OEM software can be used only following registration. Internet
access is required for the activation process.
The terms and conditions for use of the software by you, the consumer, appear
below. By installing the software on your computer, you agree to these terms
and conditions. Please read the following text carefully in its entirety. If
you do not approve of these terms and conditions, you should not install this
software and you should proceed to return it back to where you purchased it
immediately or within 30 days at the latest, in return for a refund of the
purchase price. Your return must include all written materials, all packaging
in an undamaged state, and the enclosed hardware.
1. Software Ownership Arturia shall retain full and complete title to the
SOFTWARE recorded on the enclosed disks and all subsequent copies of the
SOFTWARE, regardless of the media or form in which the original disks or
copies may exist. The License is not a sale of the original SOFTWARE.
2. Grant of License Arturia grants you a non-exclusive license for the use of
the software according to the terms and conditions of this Agreement. You may
not lease, loan or sublicense the software.
The use of the software within a network where there is a possibility of
simultaneous multiple use of the program, is illegal.
You are entitled to make a backup copy of the software to be used for none
other than storage purposes.
You do not have a right to use the software further than within the limited
rights as specified in this Agreement. Arturia reserves all rights not
expressly granted.
3. Software Activation Arturia may use a compulsory activation of the
software and a compulsory registration of the OEM software for license control
to protect the software against unlawful copying. If you do not click to
accept the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the software will not work.
In that case, the product including the software may only be returned within
30 days following the purchase of the product. Upon return, a claim according
to § 11 shall not apply.
4. Support, Upgrades and Updates after Product Registration You can only
receive support, upgrades and updates following your product registration.
Support is provided only for the current version and for the previous version
only for one year after publication of the newer version. Arturia can modify
and partly or completely adjust the nature of the support (hotline, forum on
the website, etc.), upgrades and updates at any time.
The product registration is possible during the activation process or at any
later time via the Internet. During this process, you will be asked to agree
to the storage and use of your personal data (name, address, contact, email
address and license data) for the purposes specified above. Arturia may also
forward these data to third parties, in particular its distributors, for
support purposes and for verifying the right to an upgrade or an update.
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Software License Agreement
92
5. Unbundling Prohibited The software typically contains a variety of
different files which ensure the complete functionality of the software in its
default configuration. The software may be used as one product only. It is not
required that you use or install all components of the software.
You must not arrange components of the software in a new way and develop a
modified version of the software or a new product as a result. The
configuration of the software is not to be modified for the purpose of
distribution, assignment or resale.
6. Assignment of Rights You may assign all your rights to use the software to
another person only if: (a) you assign to the other person the following: (i)
this Agreement, and (ii) the software or hardware provided with the software,
subsequently packed or preinstalled, including all copies, upgrades, updates,
backup copies and previous versions, which granted a right to an update or
upgrade on this software, (b) you do not retain upgrades, updates, backup
copies and previous versions of this software, and (c) the recipient accepts
the terms and conditions of this Agreement as well as other regulations
according to which you acquired a valid software license.
A return of the product due to a failure to accept the terms and conditions of
this Agreement, e.g. the product activation, shall not be possible upon this
re-assignment of rights.
7. Upgrades and Updates You must have a valid license for a previous or more
inferior version of the software in order to be allowed to use a software
upgrade or update. Upon transferring this previous or more inferior version of
the software to third parties, the right to use the software upgrade or update
will not apply.
The acquisition of an upgrade or update does not in itself follow a right to
use the software.
The right for support on a previous or inferior version of the software
expires upon the installation of an upgrade or update.
8. Limited Warranty Arturia warrants that the disks on which the software is
provided on is free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use
for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of purchase. Your receipt
serves as evidence of the date of your purchase. Any implied warranties on the
software are limited to thirty (30) days from the date of purchase. Some
states do not allow limitations on duration of an implied warranty, so the
above limitation may not apply to you. All programs and accompanying materials
are provided ‘as is’ without warranty of any kind. The complete risk as to the
quality and performance of the programs is with you. Should the program prove
defective, you assume the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair or
correction.
9. Remedies Arturia’s entire liability and your exclusive remedy shall be at
Arturia’s option either: (a) return of the purchase price, or (b) replacement
of the disk that does not meet the Limited Warranty and which is returned to
Arturia with a copy of your receipt. This limited Warranty becomes void if
failure of the software has resulted from an accident, abuse, modification, or
misapplication. Any replacement software will be warranted for the remainder
of the original warranty period or thirty (30) days, or whichever option is
longer.
10. No Other Warranties The above warranties are in lieu of all other
warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied
warranties of the commercial value and fitness for a particular purpose. No
oral or written information or advice given by Arturia, its dealers,
distributors, agents or employees shall create a warranty or in any way
increase the scope of this limited warranty.
93
Arturia – User Manual Efx MOTIONS – Software License Agreement
11. No Liability for Consequential Damages Neither Arturia nor anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of this product shall be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages arising from the use of or inability to use this product (including without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruptio
References
- Arturia - The Sound Explorers
- Arturia - The Sound Explorers
- Arturia - Login
- Arturia - The Sound Explorers
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Read User Manual Online (PDF format) >>