GFI System SPECULAR TEMPUS User Manual - User Manual

Full Text Searchable PDF User Manual

User Manual

S P E C U L A R T E M P U S

R E V E R B - D E L A Y

* Important - must read *

Chapter 1 - OVERVIEW

Congratulation on your purchase of Specular Tempus!

    Specular Tempus is a powerful reverb and delay effect processor in a compact pedal. Featuring 32
hand-crafted algorithms (13 reverbs, 13 delays, and 6 reverb & delay combinations), 8 presets. Stereo
in/out, tap-tempo, and extensive inter-connectivity. Using the SpecLab software (free download) users
get access to an extended set of parameters for deep-editing of the algorithms.

Table

Contents

Overview

Operation

3 - 13

Algorithms

14 - 17

Interconnectivity

Aux In,

Aux Out,

FX Loop,

and

MIDI

18 - 25

Using

SpecLab

software

(brief

guide)

26 - 27

MIDI

Implementation

Chart

28 - 29

Updating

Firmware

Preset System

There are a total of 32 presets, organized in 16 banks, where each bank contains two patches :
A and B.

Bank

: 1 2 3 4

5 16

Patch

: A / B A / B A / B A / B

A / B A / B

Changing banks (1 though 4) and calling the patches are accomplished using the two on-board foot-
switches (see Chapter 2 for details).

Bank 5 through 16 are accessible
Only via MIDI (PC# 8 though 31)

Effects Loop - 1/8” audio socket

2.1 mm

negative-center

Type-B

USB Socket

Mono Input

Use this if using only 1 input

Chapter 2 - OPERATION

Illuminated knobs indicate the preset Bank number : 1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Bank-1 Bank-2 Bank-3 Bank-4

View / Edit button



Press to access the Algorithm Library



Hold to enter Edit Mode

>> Clear Sky
DL: Digital

Footswitch A

Footswitch B

LED B

LED A

2.1 Bank-Up



Press A and B simultaneously (do not hold)

< The display will show the titles of both patch A and patch B >

Note : -

This operation can also be done using an external switch box (see Chapter 4).

The current sound does not yet change, until you choose the desired patch (A or B).

You may be wondering why the illuminated knobs which functions as bank indicator have alternat-
ing colors

Blue - Orange - Blue - Orange

? The reason is a practical one. If all the lights are of the

same color, on a dark stage it maybe difficult to tell whether it is Bank-1 or Bank 2 that is currently
active because the knobs are so close together (the same case applies to Bank-3 and Bank-4).
With alternating colors there would be no ambiguity.

Patch A title

Patch B title

A >> Long Tail
B >> Dark Verb

2.2 Load a Preset



Select the desired Bank



Press A or B

Note :

Spillover of reverb or delay tails is present only if the called preset contains the same algo-

rithm as the current preset.

2.3 Save a Preset



Select the desired Bank



Press A or B, hold down until the corresponding LED flashes 3x.

2.4 Bypass



Press A or B, whichever is currently active

Tips : -

Reverb / Delay tails spillover and decay out gradually.

In Bypass condition you can still do tap-tempo.

preset title

Algo name



RV = Reverb



DL = Delay

>> Clear Sky
DL: Digital

2.5 Auto Swell



Press A and B simultaneously, and hold

The parameter controlled by one of the four knobs** gradually sweeps from its current value to the
maximum value (as if someone slowly turns the knob all the way up).

Tips : - This operation can also be done using an external switch box (see chapter 4).
** The swelled parameter can be set to any one of the four knobs :



Blend



Decay / Time



Param



Intensity / Repeats

Choosing the parameter that you would like to use as the source for auto-swell can be
done using the

Edit

function (see section 2.7) or using the SpecLab software.

max

value

The value will remain at maximum as long as you
hold the footswitches down.

current value

max value

current

value

When the footswitches are finally released the pa-
rameter sweeps back to its original value.

2.6 Algorithm Library

The algorithm library contains 13 reverbs,13 delays, and 6 reverb & delay combined algoritms.
You can select any one of these algorithms, tweak it, and then save it as presets.

1. Access the algorithm library.



Tap the View / Edit button

2. Select an algorithm.



Turn the DECAY / TIME knob to

browse the Reverb algorithms.

Turn the PARAM knob to browse
the Delay algorithms.

DL: TRANSPOSER

tap the button

Algorithm’s name

^ turn knobs ^
[ ALGO LIBRARY ]

3. Activate the algorithm.



Tap the View / Edit button again

The algorithm is now activated.

You can save the selected algorithm as preset using the normal procedure for saving preset (see
section 2.3). The preset’s title will be automatically set to the name of the algorithm.

Tips : If you want to change the title you can do so using the SpecLab software. You can also use
the SpecLab to perform deeper editing / customization of the algorithms.

DL: TRANSPOSER

algo activated

>> TRANSPOSER
DL: TRANSPOSER

Preset Title

Algo Name

2.7 Edit Mode

To enter the Edit Mode press and hold the View / Edit push button, the display will read

you can either cancel and exit by holding the button again until the display returns to normal scene
or continue editing by turning any one of the 4 knobs.

In Edit mode the 4 knobs function as

switches

which you can use to set the desired values for the

4 parameters listed in the table.

Kill-Dry

Tempo Scope

Tempo Unit Auto Swell Source

* EDIT MODE *

hold down 2 exit

Local / Global tempo

The tempo of the Delay algorithms in Specular Tempus can be set to be

local

global

Local

means the delay time is set to the tempo as was saved in the preset.

Global

means the delay time is set to a

global tempo

shared by other delay algorithms.

For example, 2 different delay algorithms are stored in preset 1A and 1B, both are set to use global
tempo. Then any tempo changes you make while using the delay in preset 1A will become a global
tempo which will then dictate the tempo for the delay algorithm in preset 1B.



The Local / Global setting can be specified on per-preset basis.

When you’re done editing you can save the changes to the current preset by holding down footswitch A
or B as you would normally save a preset. If you would like to exit the Edit mode without saving any
changes into the presets simply hold down the

View / Edit

button again until the display returns to nor-

mal scene.

Parameter

Possible

Values

Kill

Dry

Off

Tempo

Scope

Local

Global

Tempo

Unit

BPM

(beats per minute)

Swell

Source

Blend

Decay

Time

Param

Intensity

Repeats

(milliseconds)

2.8 Tap Tempo

In Specular Tempus tap-tempo can be accomplished in 2 ways :

1.

From the pedal itself, using footswitch B as tap-tempo switch.

Using external switch box (see Chapter 4).

With option 1, footswitch B becomes tap-tempo switch and can no longer be used to call patch B.
Therefore, under this scheme the available number of presets is four : 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A. You
can still save changes to preset 1B, 2B, 3B, and 4B, but you won’t be able to call them.

Subdivisions

A few words about subdivisions :



Available values :

Triplets

1/8-Note

Dotted 8th

, and

1/4-Note



Subdivision value can be uniquely specified for each individual preset.



When you call a preset the subdivision value is updated to the value as stored in the preset.
However you may change it on the fly using the TIME knob.

Chapter 3 - ALGORITHMS

Reverbs

Spatium
Room
Tile Room
70 ’ s Plate
Spring

Modulated
Shimmer
Swell
Vortex
Voices
Anti-Shimmer
Tremble
Infinity

+Digital Dly
+Analog Dly
+Echoes

Delays

Digital
Analog
Echoes

Spectral
Filter
Formant
Transposer
Ambiental
Dual Stereo
Dual Dotted
Dual Gold
MultiTap 3
MultiTap 4

Diffuse Dgtl
Diffuse Anlg
Diffuse Echo

2.9 Global Configuration

The pedal has a number of features and functionalities that are

global

(apply to all presets), these

include :



Aux-In switches (external switch box) assignment (see section 4.1 for details).



Midi Channel :

1 to 16



Footswitch B function :

Preset

Tap-Tempo

Global configuration can be edited using the editor software or on the pedal itself.

The following procedure allows you to edit the global configuration on the pedal itself :



Power down the pedal.



While re-applying power, press and hold down footswitch B until the end of the normal power-
up cycle where the display will read :



Now you can use the PARAM knob to select between B =

Preset

or B =

Tap-Tempo

, and the

DECAY/TIME knob to configure the Midi channels.



Save the changes you made by holding down footswitch B until LED B flashes 3x.

^ turn knobs ^

[GLOBAL CONFIG]

A word regarding Specular Reverb V2

The algorithms from our award-winning Specular Reverb V2 pedal have all been ported to Specu-
lar Tempus, improved and expanded with additional parameters and features for deeper tweaking.
Some of those algorithms appear with different names in Specular Tempus.

Specular

Reverb

Specular

Tempus

Added

Parameters

Normal

Reverb

Spatium

High cut,

Low cut,

Wet

Panning,

Modulation

Modulated

Vortex

High cut,

Low cut,

Wet

Panning

Shimmer

High cut,

Low cut,

Wet

Panning,

Perfect

5th

voicing

Echo

+Echoes

High cut,

Low cut,

Wet

Panning,

Reverb

Time

Tremble

High cut,

Low cut,

Wet

Panning

Voices

High cut,

Low cut,

Wet

Panning,

Modulation

Infinity

High cut,

Low cut,

Wet

Panning,

Unlimited

layering

Please visit the following page for complete reference and information (pdf file is also available) on
the algorithms :

http://www.gfisystem.com/specular-tempus--algorithms.html

However we will now elaborate on one reverb algorithm :

INFINITY

, which uses a peculiar foot-

switch operation for it to work.

INFINITY

This mode allows you to capture a brief snapshot of the sound you are playing, and hold it indefinitely,
then you can play over it (with reverberation). There are 2 operation modes to choose from:

1-Layer

mode

: You can fade out the sustained sound, and immediately fade in a new one.

N-Layers

mode : You can add infinite number of layers of sustained sound, creating an ever-dense

ambience goodness!

Here’s how you do it :
1. Adjust

Blend

and

Decay

knob to get the desired amount of reverb mix and reverb time. Leave

Param

and

Intensity

knobs at midpoint.

2. Press and hold down both footswitches, when the LEDs start flashing the pedal began to continu-
ously capture a snapshot of whatever you are playing. When you release the footswitch, the pedal will
take the last 0.25 seconds of the captured sound and hold it indefinitely.

3. Now

adjust

Intensity

and

Param

to get the desired level and tonality for the sustained sound. The

Intensity knob runs backward : sound gets louder as knob is turned counter-clockwise.

Now you can play over the sustained sound, and when you want to change the sustained sound with
a new one, simply repeat step-2; the current sustained sound will fade out and then you can fade in a
new one. The new sound will fade in to the level you’ve set previously. Alternatively, use the

N-Layers

mode to add more-and more layers on top of existing ones.

BLEND DECAY PARAM

INTENSITY

controls intensity

controls tonality

overall reverb control

for the infinitely-sustained part of the sound

Notes

* With the

1-Layer

mode you can stop the sustained sound by capturing silence : perform step-2 while

playing nothing.

** With the

N-Layers

mode you

can’t

stop the sustained sound. If you want to erase everything and

start from scratch the only way to achieve that is to call another preset then call the Infinity preset
again.

Chapter 4 - INTERCONNECTIVITY

4.1 Aux-In

The Aux-In jack can be connected to any external

switch box

equipped with

single

dual

, or

triple

buttons / switches. A stereo cable with TRS plug must be used even for single button switch box.

The switches connected to this port can be assigned a variety of functions, from basic ones such
as

Bank-Up

Bank-Down

, and

Tap-Tempo

, to the more exotic ones such as

Auto Swell

Favorite

preset call

, and

Momentary functions

. We will now describe in details the six functions to which the

switches can be assigned.

Specular Tempus has been designed with the need to interconnect with the outside world in mind. It
sports no less then 4 interfaces : Aux-In, Aux-Out, MIDI In, and Effects Loop. We will now explain
what these interfaces do.

External switch box (3-buttons)

Wiring :

Tip

Ring

Tip + Ring

Aux-In

stereo cable

External switch box (2-buttons)

Wiring :

Tip

Ring

stereo cable*

External switch box (1-button)

Wiring :

Tip

* Note that you still need to use a stereo cable even
when using a single-button switchbox. In the future
this requirement may change (through firmware up-
date) and you may use a mono cable instead.

TIP

RING

Bank

Down

Tap

Tempo

Bank

Down

Bank

Auto

Swell

Bank

Tap

Tempo

Favorite

Preset

Tap

Tempo

Momentary

Use the SpecLab software (

Global Configuration

menu) to customize what each switch should do.

Each switch must be assign a unique function. For example, you may the

Tip

for

Bank Down

Tip+Ring

for

Favorite Preset

, and

Ring

for

Bank Up

TIP

RING

Bank

Down

Tap

Tempo

Bank

Down

Bank

Auto

Swell

Bank

Tap

Tempo

Favorite

Preset

Tap

Tempo

Momentary

There are two momentary functions :

Momentary-A

and

Momentary-B

How it works (example) -

when a switch is set to Momentary-A, function it will behave as follows :

Current

Pedal

State

When

switch

held

down

...

Bypassed

Pedal

will

engage

Engaged

(Patch A)

Pedal

will

bypass

Engaged

(Patch

Patch

will

get

activated

When

switch

released...

Pedal

will

return

Bypass

state

Pedal

will

return

Patch A

Pedal

will

return

Patch

4.2 MIDI In

This interface provides access into the pedal operation via MIDI messages. See Chapter 6 for de-
tailed information.



Bank-Up



Bank-Down



Tap-Tempo

These three are self-explanatory and require no further elaboration.



Favorite Preset Call

This function allows you to set any one of the available 8 presets as a

favorite preset

which you can

quickly call with just a single footswitch tap, regardless of which preset you are currently in.

For example you assign preset 4A (Bank-4, patch A) as your favorite, then no matter which preset
you are currently in you can always call preset 4A by tapping on the switch that you’ve assign for
this function, no need to change banks and stuff.



Auto Swell

This function is the same as the one described in section 2.5. Assigning a dedicated switch for this
function relieves you from having to press and hold 2 footswitches (footswitch A and B) on the
pedal itself.



Momentary Functions

Momentary functions allow you to momentarily (by holding down the footswitch) engage the pedal,
bypass the pedal, or activate a preset. This feature gives you

a way to activate a certain sound only

momentarily, and quickly.

The momentary activation lends itself to a more expressive feel where

quick and repetitive sound changes are desired.

Aux-Out

Mono (TS) cable

Example application of Aux-Out switch

: switching amp’s channel together with preset change

4.3 Aux-Out

This interface provides a switch contact that allows Specular Tempus to control another piece of
gear. The switch contact can be configured as :

1. Opened / Closed (latching) switch.
An opened / closed switch can be used to control external gears that has the facility for exter-
nal switch control. For example, many amps that have more than one channel are usually
equipped with an external control input jack for remote channel switching.

A caveat

: there is only a single switch contact in Aux-Out, thus it’s usefulness for switching amps

channel may actually be limited. A more useful application of Aux-Out is described next.

2. Tap-Tempo Out.
This configuration allows you to send tap-tempo signals to other gear that accepts external tap-
tempo control, a very useful tempo-synchronization tool! The tap-tempo signal that is routed to the
Aux-Out is independent of the sub-division setting so the

slave

gear is free to use its own subdivi-

sion setting.

Aux-Out

Mono (TS) cable

Tips

: Reverb algorithms are not affected by tap-tempo, however if you do tap-tempo while using a

reverb algorithm the tap-tempo signal will still be still routed to the Aux-Out, so you can change the
tempo of another gear even you are not using a delay algorithm in Tempus itself.

Aux-Out functions can be configured using the editor software.

Saving algorithms as preset into Specular Tempus

(1) Choose the desired preset location

(2) Click ‘WRITE’

Give your preset a title

Chapter 5 - Using SpecLab software (brief guide)

Here are some of the things that you can do with SpecLab :



Customize the algorithms and store them to your pedal as presets.



Read the stored algorithms in your pedal and display them on screen.



Save local presets (favourites) in your computer.



Configure the MIDI channel on your pedal.



Factory reset, Library update, and Firmware update.

Highlights :



Real-time preview as you tweak the parameter controls.



Up to 4 additional (virtual) parameters are available for each algorithms.

4.4 Effects Loop

The effects loop allows you to insert an external effect processor into the feedback loop of the re-
verb or delay algorithms in Specular Tempus. For example, inserting a phaser pedal will add a
phaser effect to the repeats of a delay algorithm.

Return

Send

input

output

external effect pedal

The FX-Loop’s On / Off state may specified on per-preset basis (using the editor software).

Notes : FX Loop function is not available on the following algorithms :

Reverb

: Spring

Delay

: - Dual Stereo

Delay

- Dual Dotted

Delay

- Dual Gold

Delay

- Multi-Tap 3

Delay

- Multi-Tap 4

- Diffused Dgtl
- Diffused Anlg
- Diffused Echo

Chapter 6 -

MIDI IMPLEMENTATION CHART

Program Change (PC)

You can use any standard MIDI controller capable of sending

Program Change

(PC) or

Control

Change

(CC) messages to remotely change presets or controlling other functions or parameters in

Specular Tempus.

BANK

PATCH

Total preset : 32

Preset Pages

The 32 preset location is organized within 4 pages, each page contains 4 banks, and each bank
contains 2 patches (A and B).

Reading stored preset from Specular Tempus

(1) Choose the desired preset location

(2) Click ‘READ’

Bank 1

Bank 2

Bank 3

Bank 4

Bank 5

Bank 6

Bank 7

Bank 13

Bank 14

Bank 15

Bank 16

PAGE

accessible only via MIDI or editor software

accessible directly on pedal

Chapter 7 - UPDATING FIRMWARE

1. Download the latest firmware updates at :

www.gfisystem.com/speclab.html

2. Remove power from the pedal.

3. While holding down both footswitches, apply power to the pedal. Keep holding the switches down
while the pedal goes through the normal power-up sequence, then release when Bank-1 and
Bank-4 LEDs light up (at this point the LCD screen is blank) .

4. Connect the pedal to your computer’s USB port and open the SpecLab software, you will be
prompted to browse for a firmware file (file extension is.

fdt

MIDI Channel

Specular Tempus is pre-programmed to use MIDI channel 15. You can change the channel
number to any number from 1 through 16 using the editor software or from the pedal itself
(see section 2.9).

OPERATION

CC#

Value

Range

Load

Patch

any

Load

Patch

any

Bank

Down

any

Bank

any

Bypass

Engage=

127

Kill

Dry

Off

On=

127

Aux Out

Switch

Off

On=

127

Tap

Tempo

any

KNOBS

CC#

Value

Range

Blend

127

Decay

Time

127

Param

127

Intensity

Repeats

127

Control Change (CC)

Email :

info@gfisystem.com

(inquiry)

gfisys@gmail.com

(support)

Web :

www.gfisystem.com

GFI System

Jakarta, Indonesia.

This product is designed and manufactured by :

http://www.gfisystem.com/specular-tempus--faq.html

You can find many more information here :

Specifications



Input impedance : 1 MOhm.



Output impedance : 500 Ohm.



DAC / ADC resolution : 24 bits.



Current consumption : -100 mA.



Weight : 0.6 Kg (1.2 lbs).



Dimension : 12 (L) x 9 (W) x 5.5 (H) cm



Power source : 9VDC (negative center).

Key Features :



Studio-grade reverbs & delays in a compact pedal.



Stereo In - Stereo Out.



8 Presets.



32 handcrafted algorithms.



Tap-Tempo, with 4 subdivisions.



Versatile controls via Aux-In & Aux-Out, and MIDI connectivity.



Algorithms customization via SpecLab® software.



Analog dry-signal path.

 

Effects Loop.

 

Bright LEDs and LCD display.

Ask a Question ?