Whimsical Raps WSLASH2 Uniz Slash 2 Plus 3D Printer User Manual
- June 16, 2024
- Whimsical Raps
Table of Contents
Whimsical Raps WSLASH2 Uniz Slash 2 Plus 3D Printer
Product Information
Specifications
- Power Consumption: 59mA @ +12V, 13mA @ -12V
W/ – Personalities
W/ is a versatile product that offers three different personalities, each
focused on enhancing the power of an existing instrument:
- W/Tape: This personality allows forself-referential recording and playback, ideal for dense layering.
- W/Del: W/Del leverages the manipulation methods of W/Tape while exploring microsound possibilities. It offers a flexible delay line that can delay up to 4 seconds at full quality or stretch out to a minute with degraded time stretching. It also includes an exciter for Karplus-Strong strings.
- W/Syn: W/Syn presents a duality of rapid polyphony and structured FM exploration. It hides four 2-op-FM voices that can be controlled with a single GATE and PITCH control.
It offers waveshaping capabilities with RAMP and CURVE, as well as frequency modulation for complex timbres.
Product Usage Instructions
Power Connection
Connect the power supply to the module using the provided cable.
Ensure that the red stripe (-12v) is facing towards the center of the module
where “power” is printed.
Firmware Update
To update the firmware of W/, follow these steps:
- Hold down the “record” button.
- Engage power to your case.
- Play the firmware update as audio to the IN port.
For the latest improvements and full instructions, visit github.com/whimsicalraps/wslash.
W/Del – Delay Line
W/Del offers a flexible delay line with various controls:
- TIME: Adjusts the delay time from short to long.
- FEEDBACK: Controls the amount of feedback in the delay loop.
- MIX: Adjusts the balance between the dry and delayed signals.
- OUT: Outputs the delayed signal.
- Filter: An adjustable lowpass filter in the feedback loop.
- FREEZE: Locks in the current buffer for wavetable time-stretching.
- Z-1: Zoom controls for dynamic buffer manipulation.
W/Syn – FM Voices
W/Syn provides four 2-op-FM voices with various controls:
- PITCH: Controls the pitch of the FM voices.
- FM index: Adjusts the amount of frequency modulation applied to the voices.
- FM env: Controls the envelope of the frequency modulation.
- RAMP: Waveshaping control for saw/tri/ramp waveforms.
- CURVE: Waveshaping control for sine/tri/square waveforms.
- TIME: Controls the dynamics of the voices.
- SYMMETRY: Adjusts the symmetry of the envelope.
- OUT: Outputs the combined voices.
Remote Control and Additional Interfaces
W/ can be remote-controlled using the II interface, which offers expanded
panel possibilities when controlled by monome & our crow module or monome’s
teletype.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: How much power does W/ consume?
A: W/ consumes 59mA at +12V and 13mA at -12V.
Q: How can I update the firmware of W/?
A: To update the firmware, hold down the “record” button while engaging
power to your case. Then, play the firmware update as audio to the IN port.
For detailed instructions, visit
github.com/whimsicalraps/wslash.
Q: What are the different personalities of W/?
A: W/ has three different personalities:
- W/Tape: Self-referential recording and playback for dense layering.
- W/Del: Flexible delay line with various time stretching and modulation capabilities.
- W/Syn: Rapid polyphony and structured FM exploration with waveshaping controls.
Music, is sounds, are vibrations, as waves, of energy. One can wait all day
for the perfect wave, though it may never come. In these ebbing moments we
live inside of memories gone past.
These tiny histories aren’t meant for books, nothing but personal fragments.
Instead we capture these energetic wavings. Within W/.
PERSONALITIES
Three ways of being, singularly focused on multiplying the power of an existing instrument. W/Tape expands your system through self-referential recording & playback,geared toward dense layering. W/Del leverages W/Tape manipulation methods, while zooming in to microsound possibilities. W/Syn presents a duality of rapid polyphony and structured FM exploration, draping harmonic textures behind your sound stage.
These three worlds are navigated from the Launcher.
Accessible at any time for rapid context shifts, along with the simplest of
preset systems.
With its diminutive interface, remote-control with II is a natural choice for
W/. There is a rich interface for all three engines provided, expanding the
panel-possibilities when controlled by monome & our crow module, or monome’s
teletype.
POWER CONSUMPTION
- 59mA @ +12V
- 13mA @ -12V
- Red Stripe (-12v) toward center of module where‘power’ is printed.
FUTURE UPDATES
W/ has grown over the years taking it’s two-point-oh form in early 2021. To
update in the present future, hold record while engaging power to your case.
Then play the update as audio to IN.
For the latest improvements and full instructions, visit:
github.com/whimsicalraps/wslash
W/Del
A flexible delay line is a core element of many electronic music techniques.
Short to long, and all the time between. W/Del can delay up to 4 seconds at
full quality, or stretch out to a minute with degraded time stretching. Zoomed
in, the delay approaches 1ms for allkinds of pitch effects like chorus &
flange, and includes an exciter for Karplus-Strong strings.
Classical TIME, FEEDBACK, and MIX controls are familiar along with an
adjustable lowpass FILTER in the feedback loop. Integrated MOD-ulation opens
up vibrato and broken tape sounds, plus FREEZE locks in the current buffer for
giant wavetable time-stretching.
TAP tempo, and direct LOOPing are available, while the new ZOOM controls allow
dynamic buffer manipulation.
Halve and double delay times in recursively nested loop slices.
W/Syn
Polyphony in a modular context is a can of worms, but sometimes faking it is just as satisfying as the real thing. W/Syn hides away four, 2-op-FM voices, accessible with a single GATE and PITCH(v8) control. Rapid arpeggios and long envelope tails will build ringing harmonic timbres.
Similar to JUST FRIENDS, waveshaping is performed by RAMP (saw/tri/ramp), and CURVE (sine/tri/square), extended by tightly coupled frequency modulation. The modulator generates sine waves with pitch directly related to the carrier. Set the ratio with NUMerator and DENOMinator for controlled yet complex timbres.
All voices pass through a Lowpass-Gate for dynamics control, struck by a vactrol-style GATE, highly sensitive to pulse-width for velocity control. Stretch & shape notes with TIME & SYMMETRY, applying the envelope to FM amount for brassy attacks. All voices are finally squished together with an output compressor ensuring smooth density.
W/Tape
The original idea for a tiny tape recorder with overdubbable hours remains
compel-ling and herewith. Three hours, tied start to end in a giant loop— it’s
enough to get lost in, and then find a new, or old, self. Recording is
typically presented as a productive act, but not here. W/Tape defines the
archive as an ephemeral entity; a medium to be manipulated in realtime in the
most cavalier way. A history to be revisited and revised.
W/Tape is modelled after an open reel Tape Machine. A motor pushes and pulls
the tape across the erase/playback/record heads, while impossibly instant
tape-splic-ing forms dynamic loops. Separating these three elements of loop,
play, and record enables a tiny interface to cover a great deal of functional
ground.
play
Press play. The tape will move, and recorded vibrations can be heard. Press
again to stop. Reverse is a first-class citizen of W/Tape, distinguished only
by the colour of pulsing play light. Playback speed can be increased and
decreased in steps of half or double, slowing down to glittering low-quality
sparkles. Tape motion can be encouraged by the toggle, nudged faster or slower
while the tape is playing, or full fast-forward/rewind when stopped.
record
Sound-on-sound recording is fundamental to W/Tape, always adding new sound to
existing recordings. Press to punch-in and again to punch-out. Recording is
independent of playback, so try dragging the tape with FF/RWD while engaged.
When you want to cut away sounds, enable the erase head to record over
previous material. Erase-strength can be set in-between overdub & overwrite,
enabling gradually decaying sounds. Echo-mode extends this technique for loops
by switching the play-head before the erase-head, hearing old sounds one last
time.
loop
Dynamic loop markers allow for rapid alternation between sketchpad and
structured musical phrases. Set loops from the panel, or with a smartly
quantized voltage trigger. Any captured loop time can be expanded or shrunk by
a factor of 2, with context-aware nesting, for sequential fixed-time loops, or
‘90s techno risers.
Engines & The Launcher
LOADING ENGINES
When you start W/ you’ll be running the W/Tape engine, with it’s hours of
malleable media. Once it’s time to explore the other possibilities of W/Del
and W/Syn, you’ll need to access the Launcher:
Sequentially, press and hold:
record + play + loop
The toggle lights will charge up, then start flashing. Release, and you’re in
the Launcher. The yellow record light will be throbbing, indicating W/Tape
mode. The three engines are selected by the buttons, with a mnemonic light
pattern per mode:
- loop : W/Del play : W/Syn record : W/Tape
Once you’ve selected a new engine, hold Down and wait for the lights to charge
after which your new engine will run.
Exit the launcher without change by pressing Up.
PRESETS: W/Del & W/Syn
W/Del and W/Syn don’t save changes by default. When you turn on your case, the
most recent engine will be loaded with the default settings.
Both W/Del and W/Syn have a single preset which will override the defaults on
load. Once you’ve found a sound you want to retain:
Open the launcher
White light will throb (ready to save) Hold Down to save
If you’ve been experimenting but want to return to your saved preset:
Open the launcher
Press the current engine’s key White light will go dim
Hold Down to reload your preset
Perhaps your tired of the preset and want to start from scratch:
Open the launcher
Press the current engine 3 times White light will flicker
Hold Down to clear and load defaults
A CLEAN TAPE: W/Tape
From time to time you may desire to clear the tape, abandoning any prior
record-ings. The command is the same as return-ing to the default preset
(Del/Syn):
Open the launcher
Tap record 3 times quickly record’s white light will flash Hold Down to clear
the tape
W/Del
W/Syn
UP/DOWN
While stopped: SEEK
Up fast-forward with acceleration Down rewind with acceleration While playing:
NUDGE Up speed up, accelerating to 1.5x Down slow down, decelerating to 0.75x
THIS & THAT
Hold record while inserting a patch cable to display current routing:
- Select routing with buttons
- Confirm with Down
- Cancel with Up
LOOP
Lights off indicates no current loop To set a loop, play the tape then:
Press loop to set the start point Press loop again to set the end-point Now
you’re looping:
Reset to the start by pressing loop Clear a loop by holding loop
Change loop size:
- 2x size: Hold loop then press Up
- 1/2x size: Hold loop then press Down
- NB: Release loop first to avoid reset
THIS & THAT
LOOP: Clock Quantized Looping
Attach a trigger or cycling-sig-nal at the loop-rate. Press loop to arm
looping. The next CV events set start & end points. Further CV events reset
the loop
LOOP+PLAY: Monitor level
Acts as a VCA over signal from IN to OUT. Through-zero.
PLAY
Press play to start playback
White = forward. Yellow = reverse
Speed indicated by pulsing
Press play again to stop (lights off)
Direction:
- Forward: Hold Up then press play Reverse: Hold Down then press play
Speed Modifier:
- 2x Speed: Hold play then press Up
- 1/2x Speed: Hold play then press Down
THIS & THAT
-
PLAY (yellow): Linear Speed
Directly control tape speed. Negative values go through-zero to reverse speeds. -
PLAY (white): Expo Speed v8
Modify current tape speed such that 1V = 2x speed (1octave higher). Requires PLAY state.
PLAY+RECORD: Input Gain
Set volume of signal going to tape machine. Attach an envelope!
RECORD
Toggle recording on/off with record
- Erase Strength: Hold Up/Down to set
- record + Up: Stronger (overwrite)
- record + Down: Weaker (sound-on-sound)
THIS & THAT
RECORD: Gain & Erase Macro
0V = No recording
+ve fades toward current record setting. -ve same as +ve but with opposite
erase-strength.
