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Seismic

Wave Hello and Say Goodbye...

K.J. Donaldson
©2017-2018 All Rights Reserved
Seismic
...Goodbye to all those other boring wave-based synths!

All About the Waves

W elcome to the world of Seismic where everything is a wave. Even the LFOs
and envelopes are created using the same waves that are used as oscillators
to build sounds. Seismic is a fully modular synthesizer built from nodes. Each
node can use two waves, or a node and a wave, or two nodes with a mixer to
combine them to create a new wave. In this way, nodes are strung together to
create a patch.

O ne of the unusual features is that playing a repeated note does not cut off
the previous note. You can have any number of the same note playing at
the same time. In fact, there is no polyphony limit, except what your computer can
handle. (See: Settings, Note Off Mode.)

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Compatibility

Mac OS X: It should run on OS 10.6 or newer on any Mac with Intel inside. It is
32-bit and 64-bit. Seismic is currently VST-only, but is compatible with Logic
using a VST -> AU wrapper, such as Image-Lines’ free MiniHost Modular.

Windows: It should run on Windows XP or newer. There are separate 32-bit and
64-bit versions, labeled as such in the main folder. They use the same assets.

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END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR "SEISMIC"

This End-User License Agreement (EULA) is a legal agreement between you (either an individual or a single entity)
and the mentioned Author (syntonica.net) of this Software for the software product identified above, including
documentation. (“SOFTWARE PRODUCT”).

By installing, copying, or otherwise using the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, you agree to be bounded by the terms of
this EULA. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, do not install or use the SOFTWARE PRODUCT.

1. SOFTWARE PRODUCT LICENSE


Seismic is being licensed and distributed as Freeware for any personal or commercial use. It may NOT be included
with CD-ROM/DVD-ROM distributions, nor may it be redistributed. You may install and use an unlimited
number of copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Upgrades and updates, as may become available, will also be
FREE of charge. "Seismic+" is a separate product and licensed under a separate EULA.

2. COPYRIGHT
All title and copyrights in and to the SOFTWARE PRODUCT (including the Manual), and any copies of the
SOFTWARE PRODUCT are owned by the Author of this Software, except as noted below. The SOFTWARE
PRODUCT is protected by copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Presets and their names may be
copyrighted by their respective owners.3. LIMITED WARRANTY

3a. NO WARRANTIES.
The Author of this Software expressly disclaims any warranty for the SOFTWARE PRODUCT. The SOFTWARE
PRODUCT and any related documentation is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or
implied, including, without limitation, the implied warranties or merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or
non-infringement. The entire risk arising out of use or performance of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT remains with
you.

3b. NO LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES.


In no event shall the author of this Software be liable for any special, consequential, incidental or indirect damages
whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business
information, or any other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use this product, even if the Author
of this Software is aware of the possibility of such damages and known defects.

4. TERMINATION
Without prejudice to any other rights, the Author of this Software may terminate this EULA if you fail to comply
with the terms and conditions of this EULA. In such event, you must destroy all copies of the SOFTWARE
PRODUCT and all of its component parts.

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Installation

Mac OS 10.6 or Newer:


There is no automatic installer yet. To install, unzip Seismic by double-clicking on
the zip file. Drag Seismic.vst off to one of these folders:

/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST
or
~/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST

Windows XP or Newer:
Unzip the Seismic folder and move it in next to your other VSTs. (There goes the
neighborhood!) There is a Seismic.dll which must be in the same folder next to the
other Seismic folder, which holds all the support files, including this manual,
samples, and patches. Follow your DAW's instructions on how to recognize new
plug-ins.

Upgrading: If you have no patches to save, just replace the old plugin with the
new. Otherwise, if you have patches stored in your DAW, but have not saved them
out, now is the time to do so! Otherwise, your DAW will probably default to a
generic patch if opening the new version.

If you have saved presets, right-click the old Seismic plug-in icon and select "Show
Package Contents", then open “Contents”, “Resources” then “Patches”. On
Windows, open the “Seismic.Win” folder, then “Seismic” and as above. Patch files
are now named the same as the patch name, so for patches you wish to save,
change the number in the filename to the patch name. Then, move them into the
new plugin.

Uninstall: Seismic is all self-contained, stuffed with the plug-in, this manual,
presets and samples. To delete Seismic (why? 😿 ), just drag it off to the trash.

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Main Node

The main node will be in the center of the plug-in window somewhere. From top
to bottom:
◦ Settings: Click on the Seismic logo to open the Settings window.
◦ Zots: Zot1 and Zot2 are all for show and not for go, however.
◦ Tool Tips: They will show below the Seismic logo in cyan on mousing over
any Wave or Knob, as well as any of the buttons. If a knob is being
controlled, the Tool Tip will tell you which node is doing it. Otherwise, the
boring copyright notice will show.
◦ Patch Name: Click on the Patch Name to clear it out and type in a new
name. The change will not be saved until you save it. Press Esc to discard
your changes. Special characters will probably be ignored or turned into
normal ones.
◦ Master Filter: The two big knobs control the new Master 24dB Low Pass
Filter. Turn the LP24 Freq knob all the way up to disable it. The LP24 Q
knob controls resonance and it may ring a bit when turned all the way up.
This is the same LP24 filter as found in the mixers, but it is applied to the
final mix rather than a single waveform.
◦ Load Patch: Click the Load button to bring up a selector window to load a
new patch. Seismic currently has 128 slots. To delete a patch, hold down

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the Shift key and click on it. It will be immediately deleted without ceremony.
If you load a damaged file, Seismic will do it’s best to load as much as it can,
but will change the patch name to “<Bad Patch!>”.
◦ Save Patch: Click on the Save button to save your patch. If the file already
exists, it will be immediately overwritten without ceremony. If the file does not
exist, it will be created.
◦ Suspend: The suspend button ("Susp") suspends audio processing,
including LFOs. It will also flush all the wave buffers if your sound gets too
wild.
◦ Scale: The Scale button will bring up a selector screen to choose an
alternate tuning. A variety of up to 128 different tunings is available,
depending upon which Scala tuning files (.scl) you have installed. The
currently selected tuning will display in the Tool Tip when the mouse is
hovered over the button.
A. You can download alternate tuning files (currently numbering 4,720!) as a
complete zip here: Scala Scale Archive. I recommend renaming the files
you use as this name is what is displayed in the scale picker screen and the
current filenames are quite terse and not very comprehensible.
B. If your scale file is damaged, or Seismic is unable to parse it, Seismic will
not update the tuning, but will change the Scale button’s ToolTip to
“<Bad SCL File!>.

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◦ Settings

This manual and some settings can be found here.


◦ Open Manual: Click here to open this PDF. It can be saved elsewhere, if
desired.
◦ Change GUI Size: Click on a percentage to choose the size of GUI you
want. The one displayed in green is the current size. This value is
remembered only for the current Seismic window and session.
◦ Concert Pitch: Click on the "440.0" to manually edit the concert pitch.
Values can range from 430.0 to 450.0. This value is saved with the preset.
◦ Pitch Bend Range: Click on the "200.0" to manually edit the pitch bend
range. This value is in cents and can be set from 0.0 to 1200.0 (one octave).
This value is saved with the preset.
◦ Note Off Mode: In Keyboard Mode, playing the same note cuts off the
previous note completely. In MIDI mode, it does not, so may eat your CPU

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cycles and sound odd, but allows layering the same note for effect. This
value is saved with the preset.
◦ CPU Mode: Economy Mode calculates each node once per cycle for all
notes. Heavy CPU Mode calculates each node for each note, playing a four-
note chord can take up to four times as much CPU as a single note. In
general, Economy Mode is fine, but for some complex patches, especially
with multiple envelopes, Heavy CPU Mode can sound richer and more
complex. A good rule of thumb is mono tracks get Heavy CPU but poly
tracks get Economy. This value is saved with the preset.
◦ Exit: If you are still here, hit Escape or click on "EXIT" to return to the
main screen. You must save the patch for your settings if you wish it
available elsewhere. Otherwise, your DAW will remember the settings for
this instance only.

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Nodes

There's just a few things you can do here to a single node. From top to bottom:

◦ Waves 1 & 2: Double-click on Wave1 and Wave2 to open a wave selector.


You can choose from several built-in waveforms, or select another node to
feed in its Mix Wave. You can even select the same Node to create a
feedback loop, although caution is recommended as the results can damage
speakers and ears. The name of the wave shows just below.
◦ Mixer: Double-click on the Mix Wave display to select a mixer. The name
of the mixer shows just above, under the Node number.
◦ Knob 1 & 2: Each mixer comes with two parameters, controlled by Knob1
and Knob2. The parameter name is displayed above and the value below.
Scroll up and down or right and left to change the value by clicking and
dragging, or you can use the mouse’s scroll wheel. Double-click the knob to
set it at its mid-point (.5). Hold the Shift key down to make fine adjustments
of .0001 at a time. Click the value to enter it manually.
◦ Field Editing: Any numeric field (or the patch name) may be edited by
clicking on them. Doing so clears the field and leaves a cursor. Pressing
Escape restores the field and exits editing, pressing tab clears the field again,
pressing backspace or delete deletes the last character, and pressing return

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accepts your changes. Clicking on the field a second time also accepts any
changes. You can enter values as displayed by the knob, such as .14 or 4/1
(for a speed of one cycle every four bars.)
◦ Pasteboard: At the bottom are three buttons to help speed up node
creation. Copy copies node settings to the pasteboard, paste will paste in the
settings currently stored and clear will set all values in the node to Silence,
None or 0.0. The pasteboard is available between different instances of
Seismic open in the same host.

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Waves

There is room for 128 waves to choose from. All of them are built mathematically
at run-time, every run-time. They are generally grouped together by type.

◦ Nodes 1 - 24: Feeds from the mixer of the aforementioned Node. Select
one of these to feed your signal path along into a new node, or even the
same node. Versions of Seismic in 3x3 (8 Nodes), 4x4 (15 Nodes) and 5x5
(24 Nodes) will be available.
◦ Env ADSR: Specially built wave to create the Decay stage of a standard
envelope, which splits the total attack time on the Attack Speed knob evenly
between Attack and Decay.
◦ Env Quick A/R: An attack and release envelope with a faster attack and
release curve. Both of these also make great oscillators.
◦ Env Slow A/R: An attack and release envelope with a slower attack and
release curve.
◦ Half Pulse 1 & 2: Two variations on half-pulse and half-silence.
◦ Impulse: Just a blip...
◦ Parabola - & Parabola +: Middle-school geometry parabolas, useful as
waves and as LFOs.
◦ Pulse 5 - 95: Different pulse widths when a steady pulse is desired. Pulse 50
is a standard Square wave.
◦ Sample: A randomly generated Sample & Hold style wave used as a
placeholder view for the sample players and as a steppy oscillator or LFO.
Never the same wave twice, though, just like the White Noise.
◦ Saw, Saw Reverse, Saw -, Saw +: All the same saw wave, just different
variations for use as LFOs.
◦ Saw2 - & Saw2 +: Two saws twisted slightly by squaring the values. Great
as oscillators, or for wave shaping.

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◦ Saw -1/4 Bar, Saw -1/2 Bar, Saw +1/2 Bar, Saw +1/4 Bar: Really
just flat saws with DC added, but useful as oscillators and LFOs.
◦ Silence: Flatline. Nothingness in wave format.
◦ Sine: Mathematically perfect simple Sine wave.
◦ Triangle, Tri Mountain, Tri Valley: All variations of a standard triangle
for use as LFOs or plain ol' oscillators.
◦ Tri Big W: A tip o'the hat to the old movie, and a rather warmish triangle-y
sound.
◦ Übersaw & Übersaw2: Two variations on the concept, modeled on the
original. However, don't expect them to sound like the original. These guys
do their own thing!
◦ White Noise: Random White Noise generated every time the plug-in is
loaded, so no two white noises will sound exactly the same. Or, will they?

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Mixers
Mixers take two waves and combine them in some fashion. Sometimes they are
both oscillators, sometimes Wave1 is the oscillator and Wave2 is an LFO. The
usual knob values are Knob1 mixes between the two waves and Knob2 shifts the
phase of Wave2 to get phaser and comb filter effects.

Sometimes, Knob1 is a speed knob. The left-hand half is in real-time seconds, the
right-hand half makes the thing modulate to the beat, from over 16 bars down to
every 16th note.

◦ None: Nothing to see here, folks. Move along! Set unused nodes to None if
not in use and you will save CPU cycles.
◦ +/Flat: Adds Wave1 and Wave2 together, but introduces clipping by
limiting the result to max values.
◦ +/Flip: Like Fold, but drops the part that sticks out to the zero-line like an
audio sinkhole.
◦ +/Fold: Clips the wave, but folds the part of the wave that sticks out over so
that it is back in range.
◦ +/Norm: Adds Wave1 and Wave2 together and then normalizes the result.
◦ AM: Multiplies each sample in Wave1 by the the absolute value of the
sample in Wave2.
◦ And: Does some funky math to the floating point values to turn them to
integers and then does a bit-wise And operation before converting back to
floating point. Makes some very odd, steppy waves.
◦ Comb: A simple filter that creates phasing by generating extra copies shifted
by a few samples. Delay is the number of samples and Decay is how quickly
each copy fades down to silence.
◦ Compressor: A simple compressor to help louden quiet waves, or give
them some shape.

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◦ Convolve: Wave1 and Wave2 jump into the DNA splicer and come out as
something different. This uses FFT transformations, so can be CPU-
expensive.
◦ Cosine: Adds the waves and takes the Cosine of the sum. Great when fed
back into itself.
◦ Crush: Standard issue bit-crusher.
◦ DC Remove: Adds Wave1 and Wave2 and removes any DC. Good if your
final wave is too rumbly.
◦ Detune Note: Rare bird. It doesn't require any wave input, so the waves
can be used to sum them and pass them through. Otherwise, it works on the
note-level to detune the L&R channels separately, from -1 octave to +1
octave.
◦ Detune Wave: Adds Wave1 and Wave2 and 3 more detuned copies of each
to create final wave. If Wave1 and Wave2 are identical, turn up the phase
for 8 different waves.
◦ Env A/R: This is an Attack/Release envelope. It has no sustain, but will do
decay if the ADSR wave is used. Knob1 controls the attack speed. Leave at
zero for instant attacks. Knob2 is the decay time and starts as soon as the
Attack phase is complete. Wave2 is the shape of the curves, the left half
showing the attack phase, the right half showing the decay phase. Note that
any negative values are used as positive. Try the Triangle as an envelope
shape to hear what it all means.
◦ Env ADSR: Same as above, but has a Sustain phase, holding the volume at
the center point of the envelope wave (Wave2) while the note is held.
◦ 6dB LP, 6dB HP, 6dB BP, 6dB NCH: Standard resonant filters that
operate on the wave level, so may not quite have the final sound you are
expecting. Because these filters are calculated with a small delay, and are not
based off of filters using sets of coefficients, care should be taken when
automating the knobs at the extremes.
◦ 24dB LP, 24dB HP: Steep roll-off on these to give a more analogue-ish
sound. Because these filters are calculated with a small delay, and are not

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based off of filters using sets of coefficients, care should be taken when
automating the knobs at the extremes.
◦ Filter A, Filter |A|, Filter B, Filter |B|: These use convolution to
create a filter. Wave1 is the unsuspecting victim and Wave2 is the pattern by
which Wave1 is filtered. Knob1 controls where the center of the filter and
sits on the spectrum (0Hz - 20kHz), equated with the center point of Wave2.
Knob2 controls how wide the filter shape is against the spectrum, from a
single 43Hz-ish wide band on up to the entire spectrum. Filter A extends the
value of the first and last samples of Wave2 to both ends of the filter,
creating shelves, while Filter B always zeroes them out, creating an absolute
cut to silence. The absolute value brackets indicate that any negative values
of Wave2 will be used as positive instead. These are best played with to get
the best sounds out of them. These filters do not glitch when automated, but
may be steppy, depending upon the automation range.
◦ FM: True FM, scanning the first wave as modulated by the second wave.
◦ Formant: Simple formant filter to get those human sounds. The vowels
run A-E-I-O-U (Italian/bel canto pronunciation), or from the back of the
throat to the front of the mouth. This filter uses sets of coefficients, so
automates very well.
◦ Granulate: Not truly granular, but interleaves chunks of Wave1 with
Wave2 according to the grain width knob. Most fun using samples and
moving waves.
◦ Greater: Looks at both waves and selects the sample that is louder. If one
of your waves is a square, the output will be a square.
◦ Half & Half: Uses the first half of Wave1 and follows it with the last half
of Wave2.
◦ Lesser: Look at both waves and selects the sample that is softer. If one of
the waves is Silence, then the output will be Silence.
◦ Mod Knob1: Feeds Wave1 through, which should be set to a node.
Modulates Knob1 of that node using Wave2 as the LFO shape, Knob1 for
speed and Knob2 for depth.

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◦ Mod Knob2: Same as Mod Knob1, but modulates Knob2.
◦ Monoizer: Combines the L&R channels and then sends that signal out over
both.
◦ Morph: Wave1 gets turned into Wave2 and back.
◦ Octave: Adds Wave1 and Wave2 with copies of an octave higher.
◦ Or: Same as And, but does a bit-wise Or operation.
◦ Pan: Knob1 pans Wave1 and Knob2 pans Wave2, their sum used as the
signal out.
◦ Pitch One Shot: Works on the note level to modulate the pitch of the
Node in Wave1. Wave2 is the LFO. Use this for killer kicks and toms.
◦ Pitch Mod: Works on the note level. Wave1 is not used, but passed through.
Wave2 is the LFO. Modulates the note's pitch by up to one octave, up and
down.
◦ PWM: Pulse Width Modulation. Wave1 gets modulated, according to the
shape of Wave2. Works on any wave, but naively expects Wave1 to cross 0 in
the center.
◦ Reverb: Adds some reverb to the wave to thicken it or make its stereo image
wider. This does not produce a tail at all.
◦ RM: Ring Modulation. Multiplies each sample in Wave1 by the sample in
Wave2, as they are.
◦ S & H: Sample & Hold. Adds the waves and takes a snapshot of the sum
every period that Knob1 specifies and holds it until the next snapshot.
Knob2 changes the phase. Of course.
◦ Sampler1 - Sampler4: You can load up to 4 samples into Seismic for use
and abuse. Slots for up to 128 samples are available.
A. Mac: Place the files inside the Seismic plugin package for them to show
up in the list. Right-click the Seismic icon and select "Show Package
Contents". Then, open the Contents folder and then the Resources folder.
B. Windows: Place the files inside the Seismic folder next to the DLL.
C. This is the spot Seismic uses to look for samples. It wants 16-bit
stereo .wav files in Little-Endian format, with the filename ending in

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“.wav”, but is very naive. Seismic just opens the file and after throwing
away the header, starts reading away until its buffer is full, or it hits the
end of the file. Mono files will be split into stereo by every other sample.
(This is what happens with the demo samples provided.) The AIFF file
format is stored as chunks, so will not work without prior conversion.
D. Once the mixer is loaded, load a sample by double clicking on Wave1.
You will get a menu of available samples. Select one and then set the
Speed knob to zero. From here, you can see the sample in the Mixer
Wave. Turn the Start knob to trim the beginning off if it is unwanted
clicks or silence.
E. Select a wave for Wave2 to modulate the start point of the wave for
playback. Knob2 will set the speed. This part is still experimental and
may lead to clicks, pops and other dirt.
◦ Saturate: Standard hyperbolic tan saturation, slightly different from the +/
Flat mixer.
◦ Smooth: A simple, but CPU-spendy method of sanding off sharp corners.
Use the Level knob sparingly.
◦ Split/Unsplit: Run through once sends the mono output of Wave1 to the
L channel and the mono output of Wave2 to the R channel. Reapplying this
mixer essentially Monoizes them again.
◦ Squares: Squares each wave and then sums them.
◦ Twist: Does nasty things to the two waves down in the basement before
releasing a Frankenwave out onto the street. Cue panic.
◦ Vel Knob1: Wave1 selects the Node to modulate its Knob1. The first half
of Wave2 sets the velocity curve, so the envelope waves can be used as well as
a saw for a straight response. Knobs 1 and 2 set the range that the key
velocity covers. The high and low values can be swapped, although the
display will not change. This happens on a per-note level, so the wave
displays may not be time accurate.
◦ Vel Knob2: Same as Vel Knob1, but modulates Knob 2.

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◦ WannaBe: Somewhat akin to the Waveshaper, but with a fake British
accent.
◦ Warm: A polynomial solution to a cold, cold wave. Sounds best with
Knob1 at about .6 and Knob2 at about .2. High values can eat CPU cycles.
◦ Warp: More vile sickness from the secret lab in the basement.
◦ Waveshape: Multiplies each sample in Wave1 by the sample in Wave2,
after shifting it to a positive value. (-1 => 0, 0 => .5, 1=>1)
◦ Xor: Same as above, but with a Xor operation.

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Important Notes

◦ CPU Usage: Some mixers (such as Smooth or Convolve) are more


expensive than others when it comes to CPU usage. Be careful not to set the
speed knobs too fast (lower than .01s) as CPU usage will spike.
◦ Envelopes: Envelopes work at the note level, meaning you can use an
envelope to create a one-shot and mix it with other waves and it will only
trigger once per note. If the master envelope is shorter in length, any prior
envelopes will be clipped off prematurely. If you want a master envelope to
shape your notes, it must be on the last node Seismic calculates. Seismic
always starts on Node1 and works each mixer up to the the last node.
"None" mixers are always skipped over in this process. If there is no mixer
at the end of this chain, notes simply turn on with a Note On and turn off
on Note Release. Roughly.
◦ Escape Key: Hitting the Escape key bails from whatever you are doing
and returns to the main screen. If you are editing a text field, it will replace
the original value and close the field for editing.
◦ File Extensions: All file extensions must be in lower case--.txt, .scl, .wav.
If they are in upper case, they may not be read properly if your file system is
case-sensitive.
◦ Folder Structure: Regarding the Seismic file structure, there are three
folders that you, the user, can access. The Patches folder keeps your patch
files, the Samples folder stores your .wav files and the Scales folder stores .scl
files. Currently, only the first 128 files in each folder are available. Any past
that are ignored. These folders must remain where they are so Seismic can
find them. On the Mac, right- (or control-) click the plug-in file and select
“Show Package Contents” to access the Resource folder where these folders
are located.
◦ LFO Wave Shapes: The Sine wave will sweep your knobs back and forth
evenly, centered on the middle. To sweep the low values, use the +Parabola
and change the Depth to set the travel distance. -Parabola will sweep

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through the high values. Use the Saws or the 1/4 and 1/2 Bars to sweep a
section from beginning to end, then jump back to the beginning rather than
sweep back.
◦ Reaper: Right-click Seismic in left sidebar and select “Send all keyboard
input to plugin” to allow Seismic to catch the Return key when changing
values manually.

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F.A.Q.

Q. Why do some of the presets use the same wave for Wave1 and Wave2 and then
add them. Doesn't this result in the exact same wave?

It does. However, when you see these, you are invited to try a different wave for
Wave2, or play with the Phase. Leaving a wave at Silence still takes the same
processing power compared to using any other waveform.

Q. I made a great patch and saved it. But now when I reopen it, it doesn't make
any sound!

You are probably feeding nodes back into each other. You usually need at least one
good sound-making node (or even just a single wave) at the start of your chain of
nodes to get the sound ball rolling. Remember, Seismic calculates waves starting
with Node 1, Wave 1 and moves down the line. If the waves in Node 1 are both set
to later nodes, you may never get a sound.

Q. I’m using the 32-bit version and the windowing is a bit wacky.

Yes. Development is purely 64-bit with 32-bit thrown in. Most issues with 32-bit
are compromises. Not all hosts behave the same, making it difficult to do just
generic support.

Q. I found a bug! How do I report it?

You can message me on the KVR forums. Include a screen shot of your patch
configuration, if possible, and a copy of the crash report that will pop up, if things
crash. You can just copy and paste from the window before dismissing it. There is
no need to send the report to Apple/Microsoft as I'm probably to blame. If
something is misbehaving, just describe how you can repeat the problem.

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Q. I need/want/crave Feature X? Can you add it?

It depends. If it fits the Seismic paradigm, most likely. If not, most likely not.
Future updates will involve adding more better waves and more better mixers. To
help prevent breakage, what is there will stay where it is.

Q. I made this patch, but there's always a click when the note starts.

Unfortunately, not all waves start from a zero-crossing, and even if they do, they
often click, especially sine-like waves. Dial up the envelope attack time from 0 to
the lowest number you can find that eliminates the click. Remember to hold down
the Shift key for a finer grain of change while moving the dial. Usually, you can
remove the click with times less than a millisecond (.001).

Q. My files are not being seen, despite being in the correct folder.

Make sure that all of the extensions on your files are correct and in lower case-only.

Q. I love/hate the way your knobs look!

That was temporary code while I was testing other things, but I liked how they
worked, so I kept them as is. Seismic is meant to be different.

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Version Notes
New in Version 1.3:
◦ Seismic can now read Scala .scl files!
◦ Added a Cosine wave, same as the Sine, but starts and ends high rather than
at 0.

Changed in Version 1.3:


◦ Support files now have their own folders.
◦ All picker screens are now organized mostly alphabetically, removing empty
spaces.
◦ Completely removed all AU support. The more the code is cleaned up, the
less Symbiosis works properly. A native AU version is forthcoming.
◦ Turned lots of spaghetti code into lasagna code.

Bugs fixed in Version 1.3:


◦ Dozens of tiny cosmetics, minor fixes, fine tuning and optimization.

New in Version 1.2:


◦ Added Note Off Mode.
◦ Added Velocity-sensitive Mixers Vel Knob1 and Vel Knob2.
◦ Added Sample & Hold Mixer.
◦ Added Note Off Mode and CPU Mode.

Changed in Version 1.2:


◦ Tweaked mouse wheel sensitivity in Mac and Windows versions.
◦ Added a few minor optimizations.
◦ Removed the globals file. All settings are now saved with the preset,
including the GUI size.
◦ Made some changes to the preset files under the hood. Pitch bend amount
now saves as a standard float from 0.0 to 1.0. Windows saving should insert

Seismic - 24 - ©2018 K.J.Donaldson


just an LF and not a full CRLF so files can be traded with the Mac without
wackiness ensuing.

Bugs fixed in Version 1.2:


◦ Tweaked the LFOs so that if Speed knobs are set to zero, the plug-in no
longer crashes or eats the entire CPU.
◦ Fixed AU version, although Logic is still not compatible.
◦ Note Offs now off notes. No more F0s running about.
◦ Fixed 32-bit Mac resizing. Finally.
◦ Fixed Windows window sizing, resizing, and stability.

New in Version 1.1:


◦ New Windows version, 32- and 64-bit!
◦ Added new 24dB Low Pass and High Pass filters.
◦ Added new Half & Half and Granulate mixers.
◦ Replaced old half-band filter with less aliasing and more secret sauce.
◦ DAW Automation should now be working.

Changed in Version 1.1:


◦ Redesign of the Main node to make the Master Filter easier to use. The
other round buttons with labels have been replaced by labelled rectangular
buttons.
◦ Master Filter is now the 24db Low Pass with Resonance, replacing the old
6db LP Filter. It mostly stops short of self-oscillation because ears and
speakers. And paint. No changes have been made to the demo patches, so
they will sound a bit warmer and cleaner.
◦ The original filters are now labeled as 6dB. Otherwise, they are identical to
the old versions.
◦ ToolTips for knobs now show correct values rather than just raw 0.0-1.0
values.

Seismic - 25 - ©2018 K.J.Donaldson


◦ Click editing of knob values now uses actual values as well, so no more
guessing.
◦ The mouse wheel may now be used to change knob values and wave
selections. Holding down the shift key while dragging or scrolling now
changes the value by .0001 at a time so any value may be input by mouse.
◦ The font was changed to accommodate the new Windows version. It is
bundled with the plug-in. Seismic now looks a tad different.
◦ GUI drawing has been further optimized so there's more CPU left for
making noise.

Bugs fixed in Version 1.1:


◦ The Sample picker window no longer shows Mod Knob updates sweeping
by, but shows actual sample names. Forget one line of code...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
◦ Fixed a Sample screen bug that would only trigger if there were more than
128 samples.
◦ Fixed a subtle Note Off bug that might cause odd timing if Node 8 is not an
envelope.
◦ Fixed typing number values for knobs. Non-numerics no longer eat
characters.
◦ Fixed some bugs that didn't used to be a bugs, but under the new compiler,
now are bugs.
◦ Mac Version: Waves now stay neatly within their bounding boxes and no
longer flicker weirdly when drawn.

Seismic - 26 - ©2018 K.J.Donaldson


Credit Where Credit Is Due

◦ VST 2.4 technology by Steinberg Media Technologies .


◦ Formant Filter coefficients swiped from MusicDSP, posted by
alex@smartelectronix.com.
◦ Casio RZ-1 samples came from here:
http://samples.kb6.de/machines/casio-emu-fricke.htm.
◦ Reverb is FreeVerb by Dreampoint / Jezar.
◦ Font is Archivo Narrow Regular, Copyright 2017 The Archivo Narrow
Project Authors. It has been modified. The "@" is now a "©" symbol and
the "\" now displays as a "Zot!" Characters above standard ASCII have
been stripped. This makes Seismic fully independent from system fonts and
DLLs.

Seismic - 27 - ©2018 K.J.Donaldson

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