Native Instruments Reaktor Spark Manual
Summary of Reaktor Spark
Page 1
Manual.
Page 2
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of native instruments gmbh. The software described by this document is subject to a license agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this publication may be copied, ...
Page 3: Germany
Germany native instruments gmbh schlesische str. 28 d-10997 berlin germany info@native-instruments.De www.Native-instruments.De usa native instruments north america, inc. 5631 hollywood boulevard los angeles, ca 90028 usa sales@native-instruments.Com www.Native-instruments.Com © native instruments g...
Page 4: Table of Contents
Reaktor spark – iv table of contents 1 welcometoreaktorspark!...........................................................................................5 2 interfaceoverview............................................................................................................6 3 usingreaktorspa...
Page 5
Reaktor spark – 5 sprache in paragraph-style “05 - standard fließtext” passend einstellen 1 welcome to reaktor spark! Thank you very much for purchasing reaktor spark. On behalf of the entire native instruments team, we hope this instrument will truly inspire you. Reaktor spark puts a large collecti...
Page 6: 2 Interface Overview
Reaktor spark – 6 2 interface overview the spark ensemble in reaktor spark takes full advantage of the far-reaching capabilities of reaktor. The main concept behind spark is to allow dramatic real-time influence on the sound source. Like a natural instrument, it needs to be played expressively in or...
Page 7: 3 Using Reaktor Spark
Reaktor spark – 7 3 using reaktor spark it is exactly because of spark’s unconventional signal routing that spark achieves its ex- pressive sonic character. Not only spark’s sonic capabilities set it apart from other more conventional synthesizers, but also the way it is used. To help you get famili...
Page 8
Reaktor spark – 8 this diagram shows spark’s feedback signal flow the output of the oscillators section is the mixed with the feedback signal by the crossfader marked as “filter fb” and fed as the carrier signal to an amplitude modulator, the first ele- ment in the ringmod/filters section. Again, th...
Page 9
Reaktor spark – 9 modulation with the difference that the harmonics of the incoming signals are not left intact. This often causes inharmonic spectra. The signal from the ring modulator is then fed to the filter, and subsequently to the shaper. The voice delay in the special section is a key element...
Page 10: 3.2 Tutorial
Reaktor spark – 10 3.2 tutorial in this tutorial we will use a sound from the reaktor spark soundpack and manipulate it using the spark control panel with the goal to create a new sound with certain character- istics. We want to make use of some of the special qualities of spark and for that reason ...
Page 11
Reaktor spark – 11 set an attack time value of -4 by clicking the knob labelled a and dragging the mouse downwards. Also notice how even such a small change can drastically influence the feel of the sound. The v el to l evel f ader is important to how our sound responds to the hardness we play the n...
Page 12
Reaktor spark – 12 turning the lfo r ate and a mount k nobs changes the character of the chorus effect. For now let us turn off the lfo modulation of mc3 by clicking on the button left of the mc3 f ader . While playing the note we can also manually move mc3 by clicking and dragging the mc3 f ader wi...
Page 13
Reaktor spark – 13 the sound generation in spark is controlled with the oscillators section. To acquaint ourselves with the sound of the two oscillators and to hear the effects of our manipulations of the oscillator parameters in the direction of a slightly harsher sound, we can use the p ulse and s...
Page 14
Reaktor spark – 14 modulated pulse signal to the output. When we play the notes a bit longer, we noticed slight oscillations in the timbre. This is partly the result of the feedback loop and our settings for the fm k nobs . From a psychoacoustic perspective these slight modulations in the timbre go ...
Page 15
Reaktor spark – 15 with the controls of the ringmod/filter section you can strongly influence the effect of the feedback signal on the sound. Now we turn our attention to the ringmod/filter section. The f ilter f eedback k nob in the top left of this section is a key element to the feedback loop. Tu...
Page 16
Reaktor spark – 16 the filter and shaper settings to get a feel for the filters behaviour within the feedback loop and its interaction with the shaper. Once you have had your fun with that, leave the s tatic f ilter c utoff at 24.0, the f ilter r esonance at 0.8, and the f ilter t ype at 0.3. The la...
Page 17
Reaktor spark – 17 in the modulation envelope amounts section you can adjust how much the modulation envelope affects spark’s most important parameters. Right now our sound has good substance and structure, but something is still quite flat about it. It’s time to get our hands on the modulation enve...
Page 18
Reaktor spark – 18 the lfo modulates the mc2 f ader which is assigned to change the s tatic f ilter c utoff p arameter . We remember that we liked to have a rippling effect as part of our synth lead, and until now we have only been working on the core substance of the sound. How could we add a perio...
Page 19: 4 Control Reference
Reaktor spark – 19 4 control reference the exact value of the currently selected controller is seen in the orange v alue d isplay . You can see the global tuning properties of the instrument placed next to the v alue d isplay . To see the exact values of the currently handled controller, use the ora...
Page 20: 4.1 Oscillators Section
Reaktor spark – 20 4.1 oscillators section the main source of waveforms in spark is controlled with the oscillators section. The a mplitude k nob controls the amplitude of the output signal of the oscillator section. This applies to both the mixed signal and the sine output signal that goes directly...
Page 21
Reaktor spark – 21 to 0.0, the note displayed in the p itch v alue e dit is played regardless of the midi note. A setting of 1.0 yields equally tempered tuning. In order to make the sinus signal have a brighter character, the s ine fm k nob is used. It sets the amount of frequency modulation of the ...
Page 22
Reaktor spark – 22 4.2 ring mod/filter section with the controls of the ringmod/filter section you can strongly influence the effect of the feedback signal on the sound. One can very drastically change the character of the sound by turning the f ilter fb k nob con- trol only slightly. The result can...
Page 23
Reaktor spark – 23 the s tatic c utoff k nob is a main parameter of the filter section. It determines which frequen- cies are filtered out of the signal and which ones are passed on to the output of this section. The s tatic c utoff k nob is used as a reference value for the cutoff frequency of both...
Page 24: 4.3 Shaper Section
Reaktor spark – 24 4.3 shaper section the shaper section allows you to fatten up the sound. Wave-shaping adds interesting amplitude-dependent sound colors. The amount of distortion and harmonics added to the signal is controlled by the shaper d rive k nob . It determines the input gain of the shaper...
Page 25: 4.4 Special Section
Reaktor spark – 25 4.4 special section the special section houses key parameters that determine the composition of the feedback signal. The first unit encountered by the signal entering the special section is the polyphonic voice delay. The delay time of the voice delay is set with the d elay t ime ...
Page 26: 4.5 Mixer Section
Reaktor spark – 26 output of the effects section. The mix of the monophonic signal is determined by the fb int - ext k nob . Here possibilities arise for very interesting effects like cross-talk between the indi- vidual voices. This arises when a nonzero setting of the fb m ono k nob causes the mono...
Page 27: 4.6 Cabinet Section
Reaktor spark – 27 4.6 cabinet section the cabinet saturator works as an amp/speaker simulator. The cabinet saturator effect works as an amp/speaker simulator. The d rive k nob controls the amount of distortion applied to the input signal. It sets the amount of gain for the input signal. The core pa...
Page 28: 4.7 8-Pole Filter Section
Reaktor spark – 28 4.7 8-pole filter section with the 8-pole filter you can filter the overall signal before it reaches the instrument output. The 8-pole filter effect comprises four 4-pole filters: each stereo channel has a 4-pole lowpass filter and a 4-pole highpass filter. The cutoff frequencies ...
Page 29: 4.8 Mod Delay Section
Reaktor spark – 29 4.8 mod delay section with the modulation delay you can add echo or chorus effects to the instrument. The mod delay effect is a tempo synchronizable stereo delay with lfo, cross-feedback, high- pass and lowpass filters. The t ime k nob sets the delay time in milliseconds. This is ...
Page 30: 4.9 Reverb Section
Reaktor spark – 30 for additional stereo manipulation, the relative phase between the lfos applied to the right and left stereo channels can be controlled by the p hase k nob . Setting the p hase k nob to 0.0 yields the same phase for both channels, 0.5 yields a 90 degree phase shift and 1.0 yields ...
Page 31
Reaktor spark – 31 4.10 oscillator envelope section the oscillator envelope section determines the amplitude evolution of the pulse and sine oscillators. The oscillator envelope section produces the modulating signal for the sine and pulse os- cillator amplitudes. The a ttack , d ecay 1, b reakpoint...
Page 32
Reaktor spark – 32 velocity values. The dynamic range for the highest parabolic key velocity influence with the v el to l evel v alue equal to 2 is 86 db. V el to l evel settings higher than 1 are especially use- ful for sounds saturated by the cabinet saturator effect by compensating the compressio...
Page 33
Reaktor spark – 33 4.11 modulation envelope section the modulation envelope section modulates key parameters in the instrument to liven up the sound. 8 key parameters of spark can be modulated by the modulation envelope section. This envelope and its controls work in the same way as the oscillator a...
Page 34
Reaktor spark – 34 4.12 modulation envelope amounts section in the modulation envelope amounts section you can adjust how much the modulation envelope affects spark’s most important parameters. The modulation envelope amounts section allows you to significantly affect the way the sound evolves over ...
Page 35
Reaktor spark – 35 pose you can use the – d rive + k nob to set the amount of the modulation envelope signal that is added to the drive input of the shaper unit. With the – d el + k nob you control the amount of envelope modulation signal applied to the voice delay unit’s delay time input. The value...
Page 36: 4.14 Lfo Section
Reaktor spark – 36 mc1 has as its modulation destination in addition to the a mplitude and d rive p arameters two parameters which can be chosen from the two drop-down menus. The modulation amount for these modulation controls can be set by the corresponding faders. Sliding the fader to the right ca...
Page 37
Reaktor spark – 37 when the button is alight, it means that the controller destination is receiving the lfo modu- lation signal. How the lfo modulates the controller is reflected graphically in the fader’s movements. The amount of lfo modulation to the destinations is dictated by the lfo a mount k n...
Page 38: 5 Credits
Reaktor spark – 38 5 credits sound design: alex hofmann, denis gökdag (surround sfx), dietrich pank, ema jolly, eoin rossney, gustavo bravetti, jörg hüttner, jeremiah savage, martin backes, matthias fuchs (visophon), stephan schmitt, thomas binek (tasmodia), thomas koot, tobias menguser spark ensemb...