Antares Portable Public Address Speaker System ATR-1a Owner's Manual
Summary of Portable Public Address Speaker System ATR-1a
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©2000 antares audio technologies. All rights reserved. Antares audio technologies 231 technology circle, scotts valley, california 95066 usa voice: (831) 461 7800 fax: (831) 461 7801 service: (831) 461 7814 web: www.Antarestech.Com printed in usa rev 1.0-10/00
Page 3: Contents
Contents getting started welcome 5 tech support 6 a few words from dr. Andy 7 introducing the atr-1a chapter 1 background 9 so what exactly is it? 9 a little bit about pitch 10 some pitch terminology 10 how the atr-1a determines pitch 11 how the atr-1a corrects pitch 12 program mode vs. Song mode 13...
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Program name page 27 save program page 27 song edit pages 27 song speed page 28 song items page 28 song vibrato page 29 song name page 30 save song page 30 system edit pages 30 bass mode page 31 sensitivity and lcd page 31 foot switch and detune page 32 midi page 1 33 midi page 2 34 midi page 3 35 m...
Page 5: Welcome!
5 welcome! On behalf of everyone at antares audio technologies, we’d like to offer both our thanks and congratulations on your decision to purchase the absolute best intonation correction hardware in the world. Before you proceed much farther, we’d like to strongly encourage you to fill out and retu...
Page 6: Technical Support
6 technical support in the unlikely event that you experience a problem using your atr-1a, try the following: 1. Make another quick scan through this manual. Who knows? You may have stumbled onto some feature that you didn’t notice the first time through. 2. Check our web page for tips, techniques, ...
Page 7: A Few Words From Dr. Andy
7 a few words from dr. Andy i remember, as if it were yesterday, sitting in my junior high school band, happily playing away on my flute, when i noticed that our conductor was screaming and jumping up and down on the podium. What was this about? Suddenly, i realized she was screaming at me. And just...
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Page 9: Chapter 1:
9 chapter 1: introducing the atr-1a some background in 1997, antares first introduced the ground-breaking auto-tune pitch correcting plug-in for protools™ (followed a bit later by the vst and stand-alone versions). Here was a tool that actually corrected the pitch of vocals and other solo instrument...
Page 10: A Little Bit About Pitch
10 a little bit about pitch pitch is typically associated with our perception of the “highness” or “lowness” of a particular sound. Our perception of pitch ranges from the very general (the high pitch of hissing steam, the low pitch of the rumble of an earthquake) to the very specific (the exact pit...
Page 11: How The Atr-1A Detects Pitch
11 pitches are often described relative to one another as intervals, or ratios of frequency. For example, two pitches are said to be one octave apart if their frequencies differ by a factor of two. Pitch ratios are measured in units called cents. There are 1200 cents per octave. For example, two ton...
Page 12: Scales
12 how the atr-1a corrects pitch the atr-1a works by continuously tracking the pitch of an input sound and comparing it to a user-defined scale. The scale tone closest to the input is continuously identified. If the input pitch exactly matches the scale tone, no correction is applied. If the input p...
Page 13: An Example
13 an example as an example, consider this before-and-after graphic representation of the pitch of a vocal phrase that contains both vibrato and expressive gestures. In the original performance, we can see that although the final note should be centered around d, the vocalist allowed the tail of the...
Page 14: Song Mode
14 if a performance is quite close to begin with and only requires minor correction (i.E., never more that 50 cents), it’s often sufficient to simply choose the chromatic scale, set speed to about 10 and leave it there. If you are working in the studio to correct an already recorded track, you might...
Page 15: Chapter 2:
15 chapter 2: setting up the atr-1a setting up the atr-1a is a very straightforward. 1. Find a suitable location. The atr-1a is designed to be mounted in a standard 19-inch equipment rack. 2. Confirm that the included power supply is correct for the electricity in your part of the world. If you are ...
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16 an important note about monitoring: if the atr-1a is used to pitch- correct an artist’s performance in real time, it is very important that the performer is able to monitor their original signal, not the pitch-corrected signal. Trying to react musically to the processed signal will drive them cra...
Page 17: Chapter 3:
17 chapter 3: panel controls and connectors as you have almost certainly noticed, the atr-1a has relatively few controls. We’ll cover them here. The front panel 1 non-existent power switch that’s right. There isn’t one. The atr-1a is designed to remain on continuously. You can, of course, plug it in...
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18 7 system button press this button to set various parameters that affect the atr-1a’s overall functionality (midi response, lcd contrast, etc.) the accompanying led lights to remind you that you are in system edit mode. When the led is lit, press the system buttom again to exit the system edit mod...
Page 19: The Back Panel
19 the back panel 1 ac power input plug the 7-pin din connector from the included power supply in here. Do not use a supply which is not expressly intended for the atr-1a (even if you could find one with the that weird plug on it). Bad things could happen. 2 midi in connect the midi out from a midi ...
Page 20: Chapter 4:
20 chapter 4: display screens and menu pages flash screen atr-1a version 1.3 atr-1a processor the flash screen appears for a few moments after the atr-1a is powered on. The first line displays the firmware version. The second line can display any message that will fit in 20 characters. As it comes f...
Page 21: Song Mode Main Screen
21 to select a program, move the cursor to the program number field and use the data knob to choose the desired program. If the program mode main screen is displayed and midi program changes are enabled in the system menu, a midi program change command of 1– 50 will select the corresponding program....
Page 22: Program Edit Pages
22 each song step must contain one of the following items: item code main screen step display 0 (no program) ## (program number) the program name b (b bypass) ( e (e end) -> (-> link) please note: in the song mode main screen, the cursor buttons can be used to move the cursor to the yy field and the...
Page 23: Speed Page
23 speed page the first edit page displayed is the speed page: program:xx speed (0 is fast): yy the speed control determines how rapidly pitch correction is applied to the incoming sound. Values range from 0 to 25. A value of zero will cause instantaneous changes from one tone to another and will co...
Page 24: Scale Page
24 now simply play the melody to be corrected from your keyboard or sequencer. Tempo and rhythm don’t matter, so take your time and make sure you don’t play any wrong notes. As each note is played, its name appears in the top line of the display. Assume, for example, that your melody starts with d ,...
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25 this page allows you to specify the scale notes to which the atr-1a tunes the input sound. If you have used the make scale from midi function described above, the notes input via midi will already appear on the page and can be further edited here. There are 12 notes in this scale, i.E. C, c #, …e...
Page 26: Vibrato Page
26 this phrase is in d major and, if all the pitch errors were no greater than about 49 cents, would work fine with a standard d major scale (d, e, f , g, a, b, c ). However, the pitch error of three semitones at the end of the last note is so large that with b and c present in the scale, as the pit...
Page 27: Program Name Page
27 program name page this page allows you to name each of your programs. Typically, you would name the program after the scale that it contains. Alternatively, you could name it after the song or portion of a song in which it’s used. Do whatever helps you best remember what you had in mind when you ...
Page 28: Song Speed Page
28 to edit a specific song, you must first select that song as the current song. Do that by calling up the appropriate song number on the song mode main screen. Then, press the programs button (the red led under the programs button will light). The number of the song being edited will always appear ...
Page 29: Song Vibrato Page
29 when a song step containing a loop command becomes active, the song immediately resets to song step #1. If song step #1 contains a “0” (no program) item, the song moves forward to the next non-”0“ step. Use loop when you want to repeat a harmonic structure multiple times. E (end) when a song step...
Page 30: Song Name Page
30 song name page this page allows you to name each of your songs. Song:xx name:aaaaaaaaaaaaa to enter the name, place the cursor under each character space and use the data knob to select the appropriate character. Names may be a maxi- mum of 13 characters. The following characters are available fo...
Page 31: Bass Mode Page
31 when editing system parameters, you progress from one edit page to the next by pressing the page button. After you have finished making changes, press the system button again. Unlike program and song editing, you are not prompted to save the changes, they are automatically saved for you. Bass mod...
Page 32: Foot Switch and Detune Page
32 if you are working with a well-isolated solo signal (e.G., tracking in a studio or off of a multi-track tape) you can typically set the sensitivity control to 10 and forget it. If, on the other hand, your signal is noisy or not well-isolated (as might be more common in a live performance situatio...
Page 33: Midi Page 1
33 detune setting a=hertz -20 435 -16 436 -12 437 -8 438 -4 439 0 440 +4 441 +8 442 +12 443 +16 444 +20 445 this table can be extended in either direction by adding or subtracting 4 cents per hertz, as appropriate. Midi page 1 channel note sustain aaaa bbb ccc the channel parameter selects the chann...
Page 34: Midi Page 2
34 the source of the midi input would typically be a midi keyboard or sequencer, and could consist of chords, scales, or even the exact melody that the input should be corrected to. If you will not be defining the atr-1a’s target pitches via midi, be sure that midi note mode is set to off. If midi n...
Page 35: Midi Page 3
35 midi page 3 these next two midi control pages allow you to assign various midi controllers to set selected atr-1a parameters in real time. (note that all midi controller data must be sent on the midi channel set on midi page 1 in order to be recognized.) midi speed step control aaa bbb assigning ...
Page 36: Midi Page 5
36 midi page 5 sysex device number aaa the atr-1a supports a number of midi system exclusive (sysex) messages using the antares manufacturer id. (see the sysex appendix for details.) the atr-1a sysex device number is similar to the device id found in sysex real time and non-real time messages. By se...
Page 37: Chapter 5:
37 chapter 5: creative applications for the atr-1a the atr-1a works on vocals so well you may think that’s all it can do. Actually, lots of instruments can use it to great advantage. Fretless bass, electric violin, trombone, even the theremin, all feature continuous pitch potential, unconstrained by...
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38 • the atr-1a can be used to simulate other singing styles. Many ethnic styles feature exceptional (almost unbelievable) intonation during fast, melismatic passages. Setting the speed parameter faster than normal (less than 5), and setting the scale to an appropriately exotic mode (for example, g ...
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39 • use the midi note function to create amazing ornamental flourishes and trills. Connect a midi keyboard and turn on the midi note func- tion. Set a fast speed and sing a sustained note while playing the keyboard. Go crazy! • while the atr-1a is not really intended to be a harmonizer, you can cre...
Page 40: Appendix
40 appendix factory programs the atr-1a comes from the factory pre-programmed with the basic chromatic, major, and natural minor scales in programs 1–13 as listed below. You are, of course, free to overwrite these as you desire. Program major scale natural minor scale 1 (chromatic) 2 c major a minor...
Page 41: Scale and Chord Guides
41 scale and chord guides here are some of the most commonly used scales, modes and chords, and their associated atr-1a settings. All spellings use sharps because the atr-1a software uses sharps to describe all accidentals (the black notes on the keyboard). Scales/modes reference chart while the maj...
Page 42: Scales/modes Reference Chart
42 scales/modes reference chart key major natural minor c c d e f g a b c d d# f g g# a# c /d c d f f g a c c d e f g a b d d e f g a b c d e f g a a c d /e d f g g a c d d f f g a b c e e f g a b c d e f g a b c d f f g a a c d e f g g a c c d f /g f g a b c d f f g a b c d e g g a b c d e f g a a ...
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43 minor minor seventh diminished diminished augmented (m7) (dim) seventh (dim7) (+) c d g c d g a c d f a c d f a c e g c e g c e g b c e g a c e g b c f a d f a d f a c d f g b d f g c d f a d f a d f a b d f a c d f a c d g b e g b e g b d e g a c e g a d e g c f g c f g c d f g b d f g b d f a c...
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44 midi system exclusive message formats in the explanations, below, braces are used to represent enclosed midi data bytes. Concatenated data is shown by . Names are also enclosed in braces as symbolic representations defined further into the explanation. Values are decimal unless an h is used to de...
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45 0 to 25 (see delay table, below) … all values between 32 (ascii blank) and 7fh = 1 to 20 0 to 25 0 = off, 1 = sine, 2 = square, 3 = saw 0 to 100 cents 1 to 97 (.1 to 9.7 sec) 0 to 25 (see delay table, below) … all values between 32 (ascii blank) and 7fh … 7ch = b bypass 7dh = 7eh = e end 7fh = ->...
Page 46: Vibrato Delay Table
46 vibrato delay table the following table identifies the midi controller values required to set each of the possible vibrato delay values: midi value vibrato delay (milliseconds) 0 0 1 10 2 20 3 45 4 70 5 100 6 140 7 190 8 230 9 270 10 315 11 370 12 435 13 510 14 600 15 710 16 830 17 970 18 1140 19...
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47 midi system exclusive message examples the following examples are scripts from opcode’s galaxy. They show system exclusive messages which communicate with the atr-1a. This message will cause the atr-1a to select program mode. Put $f0 into sys_ex; put 0 1 $26 into antares; put 0 into device_num; p...
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48 put 0 into step_controller; put 7 into sensitivity; put 0 into detune; put 0 into detune_direction; send sys_ex antares device_num mode msg_length ¬ midi_channel midi_sustain pgm_change ¬ midi_note pitch_bend mod_wheel ¬ foot_switch speed_controller vib_rate_controller ¬ vib_delay_controller step...
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49 put 0 into vib_type; put 28 into vib_depth; put 53 into vib_rate; put 11 into vib_delay; put “my test name.” into name; put 10 11 12 0 $7c $7d $7e $7f 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 into programs; send sys_ex antares device_num mode msg_length ¬ song_number speed vib_type vib_depth vib_rate ¬ vib_delay name progr...
Page 50: Midi Implementation Chart
50 midi implementation chart model: atr-1a, version 1.13 function transmitted recognized remarks basic channel default m 1–16 memorized changed m 1–16 mode default m m modes not used messages m m altered m m note number m 0–127 true voice m 33–96 pitches retuned velocity note on m m note off m m aft...
Page 51: Atr-1A Specifications
51 atr-1a specifications data format 20-bit linear 56-bit internal processing sample rate 46.875 khz frequency response 10hz–20khz, +0.06db/-0.23db distortion + noise less than 0.005% (@1khz) adc 20 bit 103 db dynamic range (a weighted) 97 db s/(n+d) dac 24 bit 105 db dynamic range (a weighted) 94 d...
Page 52: Index
52 index a ac power input 19 atr-1, defined 9 auto-tune plug-in 9 b back panel 19 bass mode page 31 bend 34 bypass button 18 c cents, defined 11 cents to hertz relative chart 32 channel parameter 33 chord reference chart 42 creative applications for the atr-1 37 cursor buttons 17 d data entry knob 1...
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53 m make scale from midi page 23 midi implementation chart 50 midi in 19 midi page 1 33 channel parameter 33 individual midi channels 1–16 33 note field 33 omni 33 sustain parameter 34 midi page 2 34 bend 34 mod_whl (mod wheel) 34 pgm_chg (program change) 34 midi page 3 35 speed parameter 35 step p...
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54 song step items 22, 28 ## (a program number) 28 -> (link) 29 0 (no program) 29 b (bypass) 28 e (end) 29 song vibrato page 29 specifications 51 speed 12 speed page 23 speed parameter 35 sustain parameter 34 system button 18, 30 system edit pages 30 t technical support 6 v vibrato 12 vibrato delay ...