OPERATIONMANUAL

VST/AU

Thismanualisunderconstruction.Ifyouwanttohelptoimproveitcontact:
[email protected]

Introduction

AudioRealismBassLine3(ABL3)isanemulationofaclassicpatternbasedbassmachinefrom
1982.ThelegendarysilverboxthatishallmarkinelectronicmusichasbeenrecreatedinABL3
usinganalogmodelingtechniquestocreateaDSPalgorithmthataccuratelyemulatesevery
aspectoftheoriginal,fromgrowlingbassestohollowmiddlesandbeepinghighswithmetal
rattlingaccents.Patternsarecomposedinafashionsimilartotheoriginalusingtheintegrated
stepsequencerwitheasytousemanipulationfunctionssuchastransposeandrandomization.

History
ABL1wasreleasedin2003andbecamequicklyoneofthemostpopular303emulationsasa
VSTplugin.ABL2improvedonthatandwasreleased2007.ABL3isthelatestversionofour
303emulationplatform.

TheABL3engineisacompleterewriteandhasbeenindevelopmentformanyyearswiththe
singlegoalofmakingthemostauthentic303emulationpossible.WithABL3wehopeitwillset
anewbenchmarkinanalogemulation.

Features

Extremelyauthentic303emulation
Ultranaturalknobresponse,scaledtomatchtheoriginal303precisely
Hosthardsync
ResizableGUI
Classiceditview
Patterneditview
Realtimerandomizer
Waveanalyzer(forautomaticallytranscribing303patterns)
Setupscreenwithseveralemulationtweakables

Steprecordfunction(viaMidi)
VibratoeffectbysettingUp+Downonastep

PanelOverview
Thefrontpanelisdividedintothreesections.
1. Controlsection
2. Synthsection
3. Patternsection

1.Controlsection
PatternMode

ThePatternselectordefineswhichoneofthe5viewsshouldbedisplayedinthedisplay
section.Thesemodesare:Classic,Pattern,Wave,RandomandSetup.Eachmodeis
describedinasectionbelow.

Patchdisplay

ThePatchdisplayshowsvariousinformationaboutthestatethatABL3isrunningin.

Innormalmodethisareawilldisplaythecurrenthosttempo,MIDImodeandSyncmode

Shift+ClickPatterntochangetoNotemode(orviceversa).
Shift+ClickHostSynctochangetoMidiTriggermode(orviceversa).

Note:Thetempocannotbechanged,asABL3alwaysmatchesthehosttempo.

ClickingthePatchdisplaywillopenupamenuwiththeseoptions:
LoadPatternLoadoneorseveralpatternsfromafileselector.Ifmultiplepatternsare
chosenthentheywillbeloadedintoconsecutivepatternslots.
SavePatternSavesthecurrentpattern.
UndoAllowsUndoforcertainoperations,forinstanceclearingapattern.Thisoptionis
grayedoutifnotavailable.
MIDIMode:ShoworselectsthecurrentMIDIMode(PatternorNote).
SyncMode:ShoworselectsthecurrentSyncMode(HostorMidiTrigger).
MIDILearn:ActivatesMIDILearn.InthismodetouchaparametersuchasCutoffand
thentouchthemidicontrolleryouwishtoassigntothatparameter.
ResetMIDILearn:ClearstheMIDIcontrolmap.Thiscanbeusefulinsituationswherea
controllerhasbeenaccidentallysetandneedstobecleared.
MIDIOutput:ActivatesMIDIOutputfromABL3.Note:ThisonlyworksintheVSTversion
ofABL3andonlywithcertainhosts(suchasAbleton).Pleaserefertoyourhosts
documentationtolearnwhetheritsupportsMIDIfromplugins.
Licenseinfo:Displaythelicensedialogwheretheregistrationcodecanbeenteredto
authorizeABL3.ABL3canalsobedeauthorizedhereifthelicensehasbeensoldorifit
hasbeeninuseforatemporarysession.

ImporttechnoBox2Patterns:ABL3supportspatternimportfromtechnoBox2(iOS
application)orfromRebirth338.
ExportReason.repatch:ForReasonusersthatwishtousethePatternanalyzeraABL3
REpatchcanbeexported.
ExportPatternasMIDI:Thecurrentselectedpatterncanbeexportedasa.midfile.This
filecanthenbeloadedintothehostforfurtherediting.WhenABL3issettoNotemodeit
canplaybackthisMIDIfile.
Note:
MIDIfileexportmaynotalwayscreateapatternthat
soundsidenticaltotheinternalpatternsequencerofABL3duetodifferencesintheway
theinternalpatternsarehandledspecifictothe303.Anexportedpatternisalsopadded
tobeamultipleof16steps(onebarlong).
SmallGUISize:SetstheGUIsizetosmall.
DefaultGUISize:SetstheGUIsizetodefault(30%largerthansmall).
LargeGUISize:SetstheGUIsizetolarge.
Note:
Onsomeplatformsperformancemay
sufferrunningABL3atthelargestsize.Ifthisisthecase,pleaseuseoneofthesmaller
sizes.TheGUIcanalsoberesizingbydraggingthelowerrightcornerofthewindow.

ThePatchmenualsolistspatternsinthecurrentdirectory.

PatternSelector

ThePatternselectorsetswhichpatternwhichshouldbedisplayedandeditedinthepattern
section.

Theplayarrowdisplaysiftheinternalpatternsequencerisrunningornot.Thisisalsoahandy
shortcuttoplayingorstoppingapattern.

Clickthedigitsanddragupanddowntochangethepattern.Note:Thepatterncanalsobe
changedviaMIDI.

ThePatternlocksymbolhastwofunctions:WhenlockedABL3willignoreandpatternchange
messagesviaMIDI.Thisisagoodwaytoensurethatapatternwillnotbechanged.When
Patternislocked,thecurrentparameterssuchasCutoffandResonancewillalsobeunchanged
whenloadinganewpatternwithothersettingsintothisslot.

Thesebuttonsallowincrementingordecrementingthecurrentpatternbyone.Holdingdown
thisbuttonineitherdirectionwillautorepeattoscrollthroughpatterns.

Noteindicator

TheNoteindicatorwillflashwhenABL3receivesMIDI.ItdoesnotflashwhenABL3isplayed
fromitsinternalpatternsequencer.


2.Synthsection
TheSynthsectioniscomprisedof7controls:Waveform,Tuning,Cutoff,Resonance,EnvMod,
DecayandAccent.

Waveform
Thewaveformcanbesettosawtoothorsquarewave.Thesewaveformsaremodeledonthe
original303andhavearatheruniquecharacterForinstance,thepulsewidthofthesquare
wavevarieswiththefrequencyoftheoscillator.

Tuning
Thetuningcanbesetbetween12and+12semitones.

Cutoff
Thebasiccutofffrequencyofthefilterissetwiththiscontrol.

Resonance
TheResonancecontrolsetstheamountoffeedbackinthefilter.Alowresonancesetting
producesamorebasslikesoundwhilemoreresonanceproducesamoreelectronictypeof
sound.

EnvMod
EnvMod(EnvelopeModulation)controlshowmuchtheenvelopemodulatesthecutoff
frequency.Oneuniquefeatureofthe303isthewaytheenvelopemodulatesthecutoffboth
positivelyandnegatively,whichmayresultinafilterfrequencylowerthantheCutoffknob
setting.

Decay
TheDecayknobsetsthedecaytimeoftheenvelopeforthefilter.

Accent
TheAccentknobsetstheamountofeffectappliedtocertainstepsornotesthatareplayed
accented(withavelocity100orgreater,ortheAccentbuttonengaged).Theaccenteffect
modulatesseveralparametersinthesoundatonceForexample,thevolume,cutofffrequency
anddecaytimeoftheenvelope.

Volume

Thevolumecontrolcanbesetfromcompletelysilent(0%=InfdB)toveryloud(100%=9dB).
Athighersettingsclippingmayoccursocaremustbetakenwithvaluesover0dB.

3.ClassicView
TheClassicViewisusedtodisplay,programandeditpatternsthatareplayedviaABL3s
internalsequencer.Itisalsopossibletogeneraterandompatternsorsteprecordapatternvia
MIDI.

Mostfunctionsinthepatternsectiononlyaffectthestepsuptothenumberofstepsselected.

ThePatternsectiondisplaysonlyonestep(indicatedbytheyellownumberontheright)ofthe
patternatonce.TheLEDsdisplaytheprogrammedinfoonthatstep:pitch,gate,down,up,
accentandslide.

Clearbutton
Clearsthepattern(uptothenumberofsteps).AllstepsaresettoCwithGateOn.

ClickingonClearwhilepressingshiftonyourkeyboardwillclearthepatternandsetallgatesto
off.

Shiftbuttons
Thepatterncanbeshiftedleftorright.Thisfunctionworkscyclicallysoanystepshiftedoffthe
firststepwillappearonthelaststep.

Thepatterncanalsotransposedupanddown.Anynotesthataretransposedoutofrangewill
cycleandappearatthebottomorhighestoctave.

Note:
Whentransposing,theUpandDownstepmodifiersarenotaffected.Ifyouwishto
transposedown,andthelowestnotecannotbeshiftedandappearsatthehighestoctave,
considerinsteadusingtheTuningknobtosetthewholetuningoneoctavelowerandtranspose
thepatternupthedesirednumberofsteps.

Runbutton
TheRunbuttonplaysorstopsplayingapatternviatheinternalsequencer.Thiscanbeusedfor
quicklypreviewingapattern.

TheRunLEDindicatorwillalwaysbelitwhenapatternisbeingplayed.

Backbutton
TheBackbuttoncausesthestepindicatortobedecreasedbyone.Ifthestepindicatorisonthe
firststepthenitwilljumptothelaststepinthepattern.

Nextbutton
TheNextbuttoncausesthestepindicatortobeincreasedbyone.Ifthestepindicatorisonthe
laststepthenitwilljumptofirststepinthepattern.

Randombutton
TheRandombuttoncausesstepsinthepatterntoberandomized.Thisaffectspitch,down,up,
slideandaccent.

Alterbutton
TheAlterbuttoncausestheorderofthestepsinthepatterntoberandomized.Itdoesnot
changeanyofthestepsthemselves,justtheorderoftheminthepattern.Thiscanbe
particularlyusefulforcreatingvariationsofpatternsorcreatingpatterninspecificscale.

ClickingAlterwhilepressingshiftonyourkeyboardcreatesanothervariationofaltering
patterns.

Stepsindicator
TheStepsindicatorshowsthepatternlengthtobeedited(thenumberofstepsinthepattern).
Thenumberofstepscanbe1upto64.Thenumberofstepscanbeincreasedanddecreased
bypressingthe+andbuttons.ItisalsopossibletoclickanddragtheStepindicatortoquickly
scrolltothedesirednumber.

AutoAdvbutton
AutoAdvstandsforAutoAdvance.WithAutoAdvanceon,theStepsindicatorwillautomatically
advancetothenextstepwhenenteringapitch(C,C#,Detc).Thiscanbeusefulforquickly
programmingscalesandmodifyingpatterns.

TurningAutoAdvanceoffandonagainwillcausetheStepindicatortogothefirststep.This
canbehandyshortcuttoquicklyreturntothefirststepofapatternbydoubleclickingthis
control.

Copybutton
TheCopybuttoncopiesthecurrentselectedpatternintothecopybuffer.

Pastebutton
ThePastebuttonpastesthecopybuffertothecurrentselectedpattern.

Pitchbuttons
ThePitchbuttonssetapitchonthecurrentstepsetbytheStepindicator.Thepitchbuttons
coverafulloctaveplusoneextraChigh.Whichpitchisenteredonthestepisindicatedbythe
PitchLEDs.

Note:
WhenAutoAdv(autoadvancestep)isturnedOff,extraoctavescanbereachedby
clickinganotemultipletimes:

Whitedotindicatesthenormaluntransposedoctave
Reddotindicatesextendedoctave+1
Yellowdotindicatesextendedoctave+2
Thisisalsousefulwhenusingthevibratowhichnormallywouldonlywouldaffectthestandard
303octave(asitusesbothUp+Downtoactivatevibrato,resultinginanontransposedpitch).

Downbuttonandindicator
WhenDownisactivatedthestepistransposedoneoctavedown.

Upbuttonandindicator
WhenUpisactivatedthestepistransposedoneoctaveup.

Accentbuttonandindicator
WhenAccentisactivatedthesequencerwillplaythisstepwithaccent.

Slidebuttonandindicator
WhenSlideisactivatedthesequencerwilltiethesteptothepreviousstepviaasmoothglide.

Vibratoeffect
WhenboththeDownandUpbuttonsareactivatedonasteptheVibratoeffectisapplied.The
VibratoeffectworksmuchlikeadelayedLFOonthepitch.Tyingmultiplestepstogetherwith
slideenhancesthiseffect.

Gatebuttonandindicator
WhentheGatebuttonisactivatedthenoteforthatstepissounded.IfGateisoffthenthenote
willnotbeplayed.

StepRec
StepRecstandsforStepRecording.ThisisausefulfunctionforenteringpatternsviaaMIDI
keyboard.

TheStepRecLEDwillflashwhenitisinrecordmode.
Accentednotesareenteredbyplayinganotewithvelocity100orhigher.
Tiedorglidednotes(Slides)areenteredbyholdingthefirstnoteandplayinganother
note.
EnterarestbypressingNextinthepatternsection.
TiednotescanbeenteredbyholdingtheMIDInoteandpressingNext
IncaseofamistakeusetheBackbuttontogotoapreviousstepandcontinueentering
notes.

PatternView

ThePatternviewallowstodisplay16stepsofthepatternatonce,makingiteasytooverview
andeditthepattern.ThebuttonsontheleftarePlay,ClearandNumberofSteps.

ThePatternviewisdividedintoanumberoflanes:Step,Pitch,Gate,Down,Up,Accentand
Slide.Eachlaneisdividedintoanumberofcells.Forpitch,thesecanbeclickedanddragged
upanddowntochangethepitchofastep.FortheotherlanessuchasGateasimpleclickwill
turnthatcellonoroff.

ItispossibletotransposeallcellsatthesametimebyShift+Clickingacellanddraggingthe
mouse.

ClickingthesmallarrowinthePitchlanewillexpandthislanetorevealsliderswhichhelpsee
whichpitchastepissetto.

Dragtheseslidersupanddowntochangethepitchforastep.Shift+Clickallowsdrawingto
multiplesliders.

Thescrollbaratthebottomcanbeusedtoselectwhich16stepsinthepatternthatshouldbe
viewed.

10

WaveView
TheWaveanalyzerallowsloadingasectionofaudiowhereABL3canattempttotranscribethis
audiointoapatternautomatically.Thisisusefulforquicklytransferringpatternsfromareal303
oranx0xb0x.Inorderforthistowork,thepatternneedstoberecordedwithcertainsettings.
ThesearedescribedintheHelpsection.

PlayWaveStartsorstopsthewaveformplayback.
PlayPatternStartsorstopstheABL3patternplayback.
DetectRunsthedetectionafterforexampleadjustingtheleftandrightmarkersor
adjustingthenumberofstepsinthepattern.
LoadLoadsaudiointotheWaveanalyzer.
StepsSetsthenumberofdivisions(orsteps)thattheanalyzershouldoperateon.

TheleftandrightmarkerslimitwheretheAnalyzershouldattempttodetecttheaudio.Adjust
thesesothatthestepmarkingslineupwitheachnoteintheaudioforbestresults.

TheWaveanalyzercanalsoproduceinterestingresultsonvariouskindsofotheraudio,for
exampledrumlooporsimilar.

11

RandomizerView
TheRandomizerviewoffersaneasywaytocreateinterestingpatterns.Simplysetthe
parameterssuchastheScaleandtheNote,Gate,Slide,Accentdensity,andapatternwillbe
generatedintheselectedRootwhenapplyisactivated.Whenapplyisactivated,the
parameterscanbeadjustedinrealtimetoimmediatelyhearthechanges.

ScaleTheusercustomscalecanbesethere,alongwithwhichoctaves(2,1,+1,+2)
relativetotheRootthepitchesshouldbegenerated.
NoteSetstheamountofdiversitythepatternshouldhave,whenthisisat0%pitchesat
theRootwillbegenerated,andat100%allnotesfromtheScaleareequallylikelytobe
selectedforeachstep.
GateThedensityofthenumberofgatesinthegeneratedpattern.
SlideThedensityofthenumberofslideinthegeneratedpattern.
AccentThedensityofthenumberofaccentsinthegeneratedpattern.
RootSettherootnoteofthescaletobegenerated.
NextSeedGenerateanewpatternbasedonthesamesettings.
PrevSeedGobacktothepreviousgeneratedpattern.
FixScaleWhenthisbuttonisactivatedthepitcheswillbeselectedfromthescalein
orderinsteadofrandomly,thiscanbeusefulforgeneratingarpeggiosordebugginga
scale.
ApplyActivatesthepatterngenerator.Whenswitchingtoanotherviewotherthanthe
RandomViewtheApplybuttonwillbedeactivated.Thisisbecauseeditingthepatternin
anotherviewwouldbeoverwrittenconstantlyiftheApplywasstillactivated.

Note:IfyouaccidentallyoverwriteapatterntheUndofunctioninthePatternmenucanbeused.

12

SetupView
TheSetupviewallowstweakingcertainemulationparameterssuchasthemaximumamountof
resonanceinthefilterorthegatereleasetime.

VCOModeThisselectstheVCOmodeltobeused.
Model1isacleansoundingmodelwhichsoundsmoresimilartocertainTB303
clonesratherthanarealTB303.
Model2isthedefaultsettingforABL3andisthemostauthenticmodelwhich
includesabitofgritanddirttomatchtherealTB303ascloselyaspossible.
Model3issimilartoModel2thoughslightlylessdirtyandlessbottomend.
VibratoThisselectswhetherUp+Downonastepshouldactivatevibratoornot.
VCAClicksWhenonthisgivesanextraclickintheattackofnotestohelpABL3cut
throughinabitalittlebetter.
VCANoiseThissubtleeffectattemptstomodelthecharacteristicnoisethataTB303
outputswhenturningonandofftheVCAgate.
HostSyncSelectsbetweenHostSyncorMidiTriggermodes.
NoteModeSelectsbetweenNotemodeandPatternmode.
ShowStickerThestickercanbehiddenbyturningthisoff.

ResoTrimSetsthemaximumlevelofresonance.Atthemaximumsettingthefilterwill
haveasharperedgestoitwithfullresonancesetting.
GateTrimThissetstheVCAgatereleasetime.Ahighsettingwillgiveatighterfeelto
thepatternwhilealowersettingwillgivealooserfeel.Canalsobeusedforspecial
effect.Thedefaultvalueof50%issettomatchtheTB303ascloselyaspossible.
DetuneThetuningoftheVCOacrosstheoctavescanbesetheretohelpcreate
detunedpatterns.ThissettingonlyworkswhenrunningABL3sinternalpattern
sequencer.
LowCutThisisanextralowcutfilterthatcanhelpcutoraddsomebasstoABL3.At
50%itismatchedtotheoriginalTB303withVCOModel2,howeverthissettingaffects
theVCOmodelsindifferentways.

13

MIDIModes

ABL3hastwoMIDIModes:
PatternMode
NoteMode

InPatternmodethepluginwillplayasequenceofnotes,whereeachMIDIkeycorrespondsto
oneofthe128patternsthatABL3canhold.

InNotemodeABL3operateslikeatraditionalsynthwherenotesareplayed.Inthismode
accentednotesareplayedwithaMIDIvelocityover100.Slidescanbeachievedbyoverlapping
twonotes,forinstanceplayingandholdingonenoteandthenplayinganothernoteoverthat
one.
Note:
ABL3doesnotrespondtopitchbendinformation.

SyncModes
ABL3hastwoSyncModes:
HostSync
MIDITrigger

InHostSyncmodeABL3willautomaticallykeepinsyncwiththehostandstartplayingassoon
thehoststransportisstarted.InthismodeABL3doesnotneedaMIDItracktostartplaying.
ABL3willalsokeepsyncwiththehostwhenscrollingforwardorbackinthehoststransport.
ThepatterntobeplayedbackcanstillbechangedbyaMIDItrackifoneisavailable.

InMIDITriggermodeABL3willonlyplayifitreceivesaMIDInoteplayedfromthehost.Inthis
modeitisnecessarytocreateaMIDItrackforABL3totriggerpatterns.

HereforexampleABL3wouldplaythefirstpattern(000)for8steps(orahalfbar)andthe
secondpattern(001)for8steps.

14