CHERRY AUDIO PS-20 Manuel utilisateur
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 1
Getting Started
The Cherry Audio PS-20 is a somewhat loosely interpreted emulation of the
classic Korg MS-20 analog synthesizer. We’ve carefully modeled the unique
tonality of its audio path, including super-accurate emulations of its distinctly
raunchy highpass and lowpass filters, but once we got started, we couldn’t
stop… let’s just say we added a LOT of additional functionality to this fun and
sometimes-really-weird synth.
Intended as an affordable alternative to American mono synthesizers such as
the Moog Minimoog and the ARP Odyssey, the original Korg MS-20 was
released in 1978, selling for less than half the price of a Minimoog. With that
in mind, it’s full of design choices that are sometimes innovative, sometimes
maybe dumb, and sometimes just plain off the wall. It’s important to
remember that in the 70s, typical analog synth features weren’t yet
completely established, so synth design was still in a sort of Wild West, or in
this case, “Wild East” era.
PS-20 User Guide
Last updated 2023.04.20
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 2
Perhaps the most notable MS-20 feature is its grindy dual filters. In an era
where the gold standard was the fat and velvety Moog ladder filter, the MS
filters’ easy-to-distort, screamy resonance couldn’t have been more different.
But their signature sound was the unintentional byproduct of a penny-
pinching, as-few-components-as-possible design - the similarly crude low-
parts-count VCA also contributed to their overdriven sound. The MS-20
wasn’t hugely popular in its day, owing to an overall smaller synth market
(Japanese instruments didn’t really take off until the 80s), but as the years
went on, people discovered the joys of this unique little monster, along with
its baby sibling, the simplified MS-10. The MS-20 really hit its stride in the
90s when William Orbit used one all over Madonna’s “Ray Of Light” record,
and people began to scoop them up. Eventually the demand became large
enough that Korg reissued the MS-20, first in a miniaturized version, and
eventually with full-size editions.
Beside its unique filters, the MS-20’s other famous feature is a modular-style
patch panel, rarely seen in low-priced synths (well, at least in 1978). For
most users, it’s something of a mixed blessing, because it
appears
to add full
modular-synth flexibility, but unfortunately lacks a fair amount of
connectivity you’d want, such as a separate oscillator outputs and
modulation inputs. Overall, its implementation can be pretty confusing, even
to seasoned synthesists. At a glance, the Cherry Audio PS-20 patch panel
appears very similar, but in actuality, we’ve reconfigured the patch panel
considerably, adding desired ins and outs for all oscillators, filters, and VCAs,
correcting the confusing terminology of the original, and throwing in a few
extras to make it more fun and usable.
We’ve hot-rodded the rest of the synth with extras as well - most
importantly, transforming the original mono instrument into a 16-note
polyphonic beast. We’ve also added a unique three-channel, eight-step
sequencer with flexible CV outs, enabling control of any patch panel
parameter. Rounding things out are integrated effects including a beastly
distortion, modulation echo with stereo spread, and a lush digital reverb with
fantastic spring and plate emulations.
As a result, the PS-20 truly is one of the most unique instruments we’ve
released. Between its sometimes unpredictable filter behavior, and the
tremendous flexibility of its patch panel and sequencer, the creative
possibilities are endless. Throughout its development cycle, even us jaded,
lifelong synth nerds kept stumbling on crazy, “how the heck did I do that?!?,”
sound programming surprises. We think you’ll dig PS-20 as much as we do…
enjoy!
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 3
Technical Assistance
Cherry Audio's unique online store and automatic updating should make
operation a smooth experience, but if you run into any issues or have
questions, you can discuss issues online at the Cherry Audio forums at:
https://forums.cherryaudio.com/viewforum.php?f=46
... or you can communicate directly with one of our surly and grumpy,
scratch that... outgoing and friendly tech support staff at:
https://cherryaudio.kayako.com/
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 4
PS-20 Primer
At the most basic level, the original MS-20 has a relatively simple voice
architecture: it's a monophonic (one-note-at-a-time) analog synthesizer with
two oscillators mixed into highpass and lowpass filters in series (one after
the other), then to a VCA, which is controlled by an envelope generator.
There's also an additional simple envelope generator that normally
modulates the pitch of both oscillators, and an LFO that controls both
oscillator pitches and/or filter cutoff frequencies.
The MS-20 is more than just a basic monosynth - its voice architecture can
be altered considerably by plugging cables into its semi-normalled patch
panel section. In theory, the patch panel is a fantastic addition to an
affordable, basic synthesizer, but it's where things get hazy for many users,
because the original MS-20 patch panel is a bit confounding, even for
experienced modular users. There are a couple of reasons for this:
Connectivity- At a glance, it appears to be a sea of jacks, but in reality,
it's missing a lot of the connectivity necessary for serious modular
functionality. For example, it lacks audio outputs for each oscillator, and
there are no separate inputs for the lowpass and highpass filters.
Terminology- Some of the panel labels are confusing. Gate inputs and
outputs are misleadingly labeled
Trigger
,
and most users struggle with the
Total
modulation input concept.
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 5
Although PS-20's patch panel greatly resembles an original an MS-20, if you
look closely, you'll see we've seriously altered it from the original. We've
eliminated the
Total
modulation input and its attenuators, added a LOT of
additional connectivity, and changed a number of the labels to make it much
easier to understand. These changes radically transform its usability. Users
with analog modular synth experience should have no trouble jumping right
in. Of course, you can learn all about it in the Patch Panel section.
Besides its improved patching abilities, PS-20 also radically differs from the
original synth by virtue of up to 16-note polyphony, as opposed to the mono
voice structure of the original. This massive increases its musicality (and
accounts for the "P" in PS-20).
We've also added a three-level, eight-step sequencer; that is, it's really three
separate, synchronized sequencers, each with its own independent pitch and
gate settings and outputs. This adds a whole new dimension to patches.
And finally, we've replicated the MS-20's uniquely weird External Signal
Processor (ESP) section. The ESP hs the ability to convert monophonic audio
signals (routed inside a DAW via sidechaining) into pitch and gate CV signals.
The tracking accuracty of the original was somewhat squirrely - we've
improved it a bit in PS-20, but this inaccuracy adds to its charm (check out
live YouTube vids of Goldfrapp's "Lovely Head" for a mind-blowing
demonstration of the original MS-20's ESP section).
Like the MS-20 that inspired it, the PS-20 may not the most straightforward
or predictable synthesizer you'll ever encounter, particularly when the filters
are screaming away and cutoff frequencies modulated. On the contrary, one
often ends up with something different than expected, and herein lies its
beauty, as the results are frequently more interesting than the original
intention. This is what makes PS-20 so rewarding and fun to play. We hope
you enjoy it as much as we have!
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 6
Top Toolbar and Preset Browser
The purple strip at the top of the PS-20 contains all of the preset loading and
saving navigation, "under-the-hood" settings, zoom and focus control, and
more.
New- Opens a new blank patch preset. If an unsaved patch is currently open
or you’ve modified an existing saved patch, a dialog asks if you’d like to save
the patch in its current state. This greatly reduces the possibility of losing an
edited unsaved patch.
Save- Use this to save patches. There are a couple of levels of hierarchy:
Collection- This is the top level of organization, and contains entire
“sets” of presets. The
PS-20 Presets
are the main included collection. We
also include a
User Presets Collection
for storing your own presets, but
you’re free to create your own collections. To create a new collections,
click in the
Collection
text field (where it says
User Presets
above) and
type a name. User-created sounds can be freely saved to any collection;
we like to "keep ‘em sepa-rated" for organizational purposes.
Categories- Within each
Collection
are a number of sound categories. As
with collections, you’re free to create as many categories as you like. To
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 7
create a category, click in the
Category
text field of the
Save
dialog
window and type a new category name.
Patch- A patch is an individual sound. To save a patch, simply type the
name in the
Name
field and click
Save
.
Keywords- You can add descriptive words such as “huge,” “noisy,”
“poly,” etc., to patches to make them appear when terms are typed in the
Search
field. Use commas to separate multiple keywords entries.
Browsing Patches- Patches can be browsed by clicking the <
Select Preset
>
field. To select a preset collection, click in the area that says <
All
Collections
> or on the downward-facing arrow next to it.
Clicking on the left-side categories narrows down which patches are
displayed.
<All Presets> will show presets from all collections and categories.
<Recent> displays recently used presets.
Refresh- This is the circular arrow button to the right of the downward
arrow; clicking this checks the Cherry Audio server for new or updated
presets.
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 8
Pin
-
Clicking the push-pin icon locks the patch selection list open, allowing
fast and easy browsing and auditioning of patches. Click the icon again to
disable pin mode. when in pin mode, the up and down arrow keys can be
used to select patches.
Preset
- Step Back/Forward Arrows
- These step to the previous or next
preset. macOS [⌘+left/right arrow key] or Windows [CTRL+left/right arrow
key] will navigate through presets back and forth in the currently selected
collection/category.
Undo/Redo- These circular arrows will undo or redo the last action. It
remembers many steps, so if you really loused something up, keep on
clickin'...
Settings
-
This is where user preferences for user interface, audio interfaces,
user account, and more are configured. See the Settings section for full
information.
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 9
Importing Presets with drag-and-drop
Presets can be imported singly or en masse (as a single compressed ZIP file)
simply by dragging and dropping from the desktop anywhere on the user
interface.
If a single .*preset file is dragged and dropped, the sound is immediately
loaded and the standard Save Preset dialog appears; this lets you save the
sound to the instrument's preset browser. Note that you don't have to save
the sound to preset browser; if you just want to hear and play the sound,
click the Cancel button in the Save Preset dialog - the sound will still be
loaded.
Compressed zip files containing multiple sounds can also be drag and
dropped onto the UI. This works the same as with single sounds, but instead
of the Save Preset dialog, you'll see the Import Preset Collection dialog. The
presets will be added as a new collection and available in the categories for
which they were tagged.
Zoom Magnifying Glass
-
Click to resize the PS-20 interface window.
Selecting
100%
returns the user interface to native size.
Cherry Audio PS-20 User Guide - 10
MIDI tab
-
Opens the MIDI controllers tab for configuring internal and
hardware MIDI controls. See the MIDI Controllers Setup and MIDI Tab
section for full information.
MPE Tab
-
Short for "MIDI Polyphonic Expression," PS-20 supports MPE, a
specialized MIDI protocol enabling multidimensional controllersto control
multiple parameters of individual notes. The MPE Settings toolbar icon is
only visible if
Settings>Interface>Enable MPE mode
is checked. See
the Using MPE section for full information.
! (MIDI Panic)- Click to send an all-notes-off message in case of, "make this
freaking thing shut up?!?" stuck-note incidents.
Tempo (Standalone Version Only)- Displays PS-20's current internal
tempo setting. PS-20's internal tempo affects the
Modulation Generator
,
Sequencer
, and the
Mod/Echo
sections when their corresponding
Sync
switches are in the up position. The tempo setting can be changed by
moving the mouse up and down anywhere in the tempo section, or by
double-clicking the number and entering the desired BPM value.
The tempo display only appears in the standalone version of PS-20.
VST, AU, and AAX plug-in versions receive tempo data from their
host DAW app.
Cable Transparency- Clicking the checkerboard icon displays the cable
transparency slider. Slide this to the left for more transparent cables, or to
the right for more opaque cables.
Cable Color Select- Click this to select the global cable color, i.e. the color
of any newly patched cable. Clicking
Random
randomly chooses a color for
each new cable.
Show/Hide Cables- Clicking this hides or shows all cables. It has no effect
on sounds, and its status does not save with patches. Cables can also be
shown or hidden using the key shortcuts [CONT-D] (Windows) or [⌘-D] (Mac).
Special Cool Cable Color Select Feature- The color of any existing cable
can be changed by right-clicking in jack area. Right-clicking on a jack that
doesn’t have a cable plugged in will change the global cable color (i.e. the
same as changing the color with the toolbar button).
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