4ms Spherical Wavetable Navigator (SWN)

It’s not just one oscillator, but six! In fact, it is six complete voices, each with its own VCA and complex LFO/envelope

The Spherical Wavetable Navigator (SWN) is a six-channel synthesizer that makes it easy to create slowly morphing drones, polyphonic melodies, evolving sequences, and rich textures.

The SWN features six wavetable oscillators with independent pitch, level, and waveform controls. Six LFOs (Low Frequency Oscillators) can be used as modulation sources and/or envelopes, making it easy to add dynamic motion to your patch. Each channel is a full voice and can be “played” using the top row of buttons, the internal LFOs, or note-change detection on the 1V/oct jacks. The SWN ships with 12 three-dimensional (spherical) wavetables and an easy interface which allows you to record and edit custom wavetables from live audio. Open-source software for Mac, Windows, and Linux called SphereEdit can be freely downloaded and allows you computer to create, edit, and convert .wav files into Spherical wavetables to transfer into the SWN with an audio cable.

SphereEdit software for creating Spherical Wavetables on a computer:
Mac … Windows … Linux

FEATURES

Controls:

• Pitch controls
  All pitch features can be controlled globally or per-channel.
  • Octave: shifts pitch of channel(s) up or down by octaves
  • Transpose: shifts pitch of channel(s) up or down by semitones
  • Fine+Transpose: shifts pitch of channel(s) up or down by micro-tonal amounts
  • Scale: selects quantization: major, minor, semitones, or no quantization
  • Spread: Creates chords by spreading channel pitches apart
  • Fine+Spread: Detunes each channel a different amount for phasing effects
  • 1V/oct jacks: pitch control jack for each channel
  • Transpose jack: global 1V/oct pitch
  • Spread CV jack: global chord selection
• LFO/envelope controls
  All LFO features can be controlled globally or per-channel.
  • LFO Output jacks: each channel has a dedicated LFO/envelope output jack
  • LFO Speed: Rate/tempo of each LFO. Divides/Multiplies main clock by integer amounts unless Fine button is pressed. In audio range, adjusts by semitones
  • LFO Shape: Selects from 25 LFO waveshapes (ramps, saw, sine, complex shapes, etc)
  • LFO Gain: Control amplitude of LFO on LFO output jacks. Useful for self-patching LFOs to other SWN jacks
  • LFO Phase: Adjusts when each LFO fires relative to the “down-beat”. Example: 60 degrees of phase shift per channel creates a 6-step sequence
  • LFO Type button: toggles between trigger, gate, and waveshape
  • LFO CV jack: adjust LFO Speed
  • Ext Clock jack: sync to external equipment
• Amplitude controls
  • Sliders: each channel has a dedicated level (volume) slider
  • Mute button: each channel has a mute/unmute button
  • Key button: in Keyboard or Note mode, mute button will fire the channel’s envelope to play a note
  • VCA input jacks: switch re-purposes 1V/oct jacks to control level of each channel with CV
  • LFO->VCA button: Internally uses each channel’s LFO to control its level to create sequences and/or dynamic motion. (global or per-channel)
• Wavetable controls
  All wavetable features can be controlled globally or per-channel.
  • Browse: morphs between all waveforms in the Spherical Wavetable (Sphere) by navigating in zigzag (snake) pattern
  • Depth: morphs between waveforms in the Sphere by navigating only in the Depth dimension
  • Latitude: morphs between waveforms in the Sphere by navigating in the Latitude dimension
  • Longitude: morphs between waveforms in the Sphere by navigating in the Longitude dimension
  • Sphere: selects a Spherical Wavetable from the 12 factory spheres and up to 108 user-created custom spheres
  • Dispersion: Pushes each channel to a different position within the Sphere
  • Dispersion Pattern: Selects the pattern that channels are dispersed
  • WT Spread: Pushes each channel into a different Sphere
• Presets
  All settings (except level sliders and 1Voct/VCA switch) can be saved for later use.
  • Save Preset: Save the state of the SWN so you can come back to it later.
  • Load Preset: Select one of 108 user preset slots to load
  • Clear Preset: Delete a preset that you previously saved.
  • Undo Preset: Undo your last preset action (example: accidentally cleared the wrong preset, or saved over a preset). Can be used to A/B between a preset the current sound.
• Sphere Recording
  Special mode to record your own Spherical Wavetables where some controls have a new purpose. See Cheat Sheet PDF page 3.
  • Waveform In jack: input an audio signal here (gain is automatically adjusted, even for line level signals)
  • Record: start recording from Waveform In jack (2.5 second buffer)
  • Monitor: monitor the audio signal by sending it to the output jacks
  • Test-tone: produce a test tone for tuning your audio source (optional)
  • Wavefolding FX: wavefolds the waveform(s)
  • Bit Decimation FX: adds bit decimation to waveform(s)
  • Metalizer FX: adds a metalizer effect to waveform(s)
  • Low-pass filter FX: low-pass filters the waveform(s)
  • Gain/normalization FX: controls normalization or attenuation of waveform(s)
  • Seam smoothing FX: smooths the seam of recorded waveform(s)
  • Waveform Shift: scrubs through recorded audio to select which waveforms will be saved into the Sphere
  • Waveform Spread: Adjusts the pattern of waveform selection from the recorded audio
  • Waveform Stretch: Stretches waveforms, which shifts pitch up and down by octaves
  • LFO sync pulses and ramps: when recording, LFO jacks output timed pulses and ramps useful for synchronizing the audio source (example: playing a different sample for each waveform recorded)
  • Save Sphere: When done, save your sphere in one of 108 slots for user-created custom spheres

Specifications

Electrical and Mechanical Specifications:

• Module size:
  • 26 HP Eurorack format module
  • 0.98″ (25mm) maximum depth with power cable
• Power consumption:
  • +12V: 185mA with LED PWR jumper set to 12V; 107mA with LED PWR jumper set to 5V
  • -12V: -30mA
  • +5V: not used with LED PWR jumper set to 12V; 60mA with LED PWR jumper set to 5V
• Audio outputs:
  • Frequency range: 0Hz (DC) – 22kHz
  • Maximum Amplitude: 19Vpp
• LFO outputs:
  • Frequency range: 0Hz (DC) – 3kHz
  • Minimum Period: 24 hours
  • Maximum Amplitude: 8Vpp
  • 1V/oct inputs (channel CV inputs and Transpose CV)
  • Voltage range: 0V to +10V (10 octave range)
• CV inputs (other than 1V/oct and Transpose CV):
  • Voltage range: 0V to +5V
• Clock input:
  • Trigger threshold: 1.5V
  • Pulse width must be greater than 1ms
• User memory (non-volatile):
  • Preset slots: 108
  • Custom Spherical Wavetables: 108
• Wavetable:
  • 512 samples per waveform
  • 16 bits per sample
  • 44.1kHz sampling rate
  • 27 waveforms per Spherical Wavetable, arranged in a 3x3x3 3-torus

Included with the SWN:

• 16-to-16 pin power cable
• 4 M3 Knurlie screws