Audio Damage Mangleverb - Manual (Page 6)

Operation
Mangleverb consists of three signal-processing sections: a reverb, a filter, and a VCA (“VCA” being an
acronym for Voltage-Controlled Amplifier, a module familiar to synthesizer users). The filter and VCA can be
controlled by two modulation sources: a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) and an envelope follower. The LFO can
be synchronized to the tempo of your host sequencer or run independently. The envelope follower can
respond either to the plug-in’s input signal, or several other sources, including MIDI notes. We’ll examine the
controls for each of these sections in turn.
Warning: Mangleverb can make very loud noises in an unexpected manner. In particular, turning up either
the Q or FEEDBCK knobs far enough will cause Mangleverb to break into self-oscillation, creating a loud,
sustained tone regardless of the input signal. As always, please be careful of your hearing.
Reverb
Starting at the left of Mangleverb’s window, the first group of knobs and switches control the reverb.
Mangleverb’s intent is not meticulous emulations of acoustic spaces or anything complicated like that; hence it
has a pretty simple set of reverb controls.
At the top we have the COLOR knob. This knob changes the overall timbre of the reverb
section by applying an equalizer to the reverb’s output. This EQ is a somewhat unusual
configuration of filters known as a tilting EQ. Turn the COLOR knob to the right and the
EQ boosts the highs and cuts the lows, turn it to the left and the opposite happens.
The DECAY knob controls how long the reverberation lasts. As you can probably guess,
turning the DECAY knob up makes the reverb last longer, making a bigger, more spacious
sound. Next to the DECAY knob lurks a small but powerful button labeled
∞ , which
means infinity. If you turn on the ∞ button by clicking it, whatever signal is currently
present in the reverb will become frozen there, creating a continuous, infinite wash of
sound. Clicking the
∞ button again will return the reverb to its normal operation.
The MIX knob mixes some amount of the reverb’s input—the “dry” signal—with its
output—the “wet” signal. The mixture is expressed as a percentage of the wet signal. At
the knob’s center position, the mixture is 50%, i.e., equal portions of the wet and dry
signal. Turn the MIX knob to the right to get more of the reverb and less of the input, turn
it to the left to reduce the amount of reverb.