PANHARMONIUM

Mutating Spectral Resynthesizer

Thanks for purchasing Panharmonium.
This guide will get you to the point of
making interesting noises, as well as giving
you an overview of what Panharmonium is
about. But since Panharmonium does things
that no other current module does, to get
the most out of it, you really need to check
out the full owners manual at:
www.rossum-electro.com/support/
documentation

What is this thing? If rack rash is of concern to you, use the

Panharmonium is a unique music and included nylon washers when mounting
sound design tool that lets you analyze the Panharmonium in your case.
spectral content of any audio signal and
use that analysis to drive a bank of from 1 Make some noise!
to 33 oscillators. Depending on its settings, The quickest way to hear some of what
Panharmonium can accurately reproduce Panharmonium can do is to check out
the input spectrum in real time or modify it the Presets and Spectra that come pre-
in a multitude of wildly creative ways. loaded from the factory. Refer to the
From dense, swirling pads and drones that Factory Presets chapter in the manual for
evolve with the input’s changing spectrum, details.
to clock-syncable spectral arpeggiation, If you want to be adventuresome and
to as-yet unnamed harmonic effects, dive right in:
Panharmonium opens up an entirely new > Set both the CENTER FREQ and
world of sonic possibilities. BANDWIDTH controls to 12 o’clock.
Additionally, Panharmonium can take a > Press the OUTPUT MODE button until
snapshot of an instantaneous spectrum and the L-FX-R LED is lit. This results in your
use that as a complex harmonic oscillator, inputs being passed through to the L
which can then be modified and modulated & R outputs and the mono output of
by all of Panharmonium’s other controls. Panharmonium appearing in both the
L & R outputs.
Installation > Patch some audio into the INPUT(S).
While all Rossum Electro-Music modules (A mono signal patched into the Left
are protected against reverse polarity, care input will be normalled to the Right
should still be taken to connect the power input.) Inputs can be anything from a
cable correctly. single richly harmonic oscillator to an
Plug the 16-pin connector into the header entire mix.
on the rear of the module such that the red > Use the MIX control to crossfade
stripe on the cable (the -12V side) is on the between the Input audio and
same end of the header as the “Red Stripe Panharmonium’s output.
(-12V)” text on the PCB. > Start turning knobs. Seriously. Try
Panharmonium requires a maximum of things out and see what happens.
140mA of +12V and 30mA of -12V. When a control does something
We have included both M3 and M2.5 (for interesting, try modulating it.
vector rails) mounting screws. Use what fits > Now, go read the manual. You’ll be
your system. glad you did.
Functional Overview

Panharmonium accomplishes its magic the step duration by 2 (i.e., increase the
though a combination of functional rate), while 16 and 32 successively multiply
submodules. the duration by 2 (i.e., decrease the rate).
FREEZE TAP Mode causes a new analysis
SPECTRAL ANALYZER to be done only upon a button press or
The Spectral Analyzer provides tools for receipt of a TAP/SYNC pulse.
defining the analysis process.
> The CENTER FREQ and BANDWIDTH
> The SLICE parameter sets the rate at controls (and their associated CV inputs
which the incoming audio is transformed and attenuverters) control the range
into spectral data. It can be set by the of frequencies to be analyzed. The
SLICE and MULTIPLIER controls, the TAP BANDWIDTH control allows the selection
button, or by an external clock signal. of narrow to wide pass bands on the
Very short slice times result in real-time left side of the pot and narrow to wide
spectral data, while longer times can notches on the right side of the pot.
create rhythmic spectral patterns. The
> The FREEZE button lets you freeze
CV1 input can be assigned to MULTIPLIER
the spectral integrator, sustaining the
for voltage control.
currently analyzed spectrum.
> Set MULTIPLIER to 8 to use the button
> SLICE CLOCK OUTPUT provides a trigger
tap or external clock rate as received.
at the beginning of each analysis slice.
Settings of 4, 2, and 1 successively divide
SPECTRAL MODIFIERS OPTIONAL FUNCTIONS
These controls allow you to creatively A number of optional functions can be
modify the analyzed spectra. selected by using modifying button presses
> The VOICES parameter lets you select (see the back page for details).
from 1 to 33 oscillators to resynthesize > DRUMS Mode optimizes the spectral
the spectrum. The CV1 input can be analysis for drums and other percussive
assigned to VOICES for voltage control. inputs.
> The BLUR parameter (and associated > SPECTRAL WARPING, in contrast to
CV input) is a spectral lag processor that conventional frequency adjustment,
controls how quickly the spectrum can where the harmonic relationships
change. Maximum Blur will freeze the between the spectral elements are
spectrum (equivalent to pressing the preserved, shifts the harmonic elements
FREEZE button). individually, producing a variety of
> The FEEDBACK control lets you route the clangorous, swarming textures.
resynthesized audio back into the entire > SEMI Mode quantizes frequency
processing chain for subtle or dramatic adjustments to semitones.
feedback effects. At its max, the output
becomes self-sustaining, even if the input is SPECTRUM AND PRESET MEMORIES
removed. The CV1 input can be assigned Panharmonium provides memories for 12
to FEEDBACK for voltage control. user Spectra and 12 user Presets. A Preset
is a snapshot of all of the module settings,
OSCILLATOR BANK along with the value of any CVs present at
The OSCILLATOR BANK resynthesizes the the moment the preset is saved. A spectrum
analyzed spectra. replaces any live input and can have its pitch
> The WAVEFORM parameter selects the controlled by the 1V/OCT input and FM
oscillators’ waveform. In addition to the controls. Presets and Spectra may be backed
usual sine, triangle, sawtooth and pulse up to and restored from WAV files.
waveforms, two special crossfading sine Loading a Preset or Spectrum: To load Preset
and sawtooth waveforms are included or Spectrum 1–6, click the appropriate
(check the manual for details.) The CV2 button (1–3 is on the top row of each
input can be assigned to WAVEFORM for section, 4–6 on the bottom). The associated
voltage control. LED will light. To select 7–12, double-click
> The FREQ control lets you tune the the desired button (7–9 on the top row,
oscillators over a +/-7 semitone range. 10–12 on the bottom). The associated LED
Frequency is further controlled by the will flash. Click or double-click the button
1V/OCT input and the FM input and again to deselect the preset or spectrum.
attenuverter. Saving a Preset or Spectrum: To save a
> The OCTAVE control, not surprisingly, current spectrum or preset, click (or double-
shifts the pitch of the output by octaves. click) and hold the desired button until the
The CV2 input can be assigned to associated LED flashes.
OCTAVE for voltage control. Factory Presets and Spectra: Panharmonium
> GLIDE sets the amount of polyphonic ships with example presets and spectra. See
glide (i.e., each oscillator has its own glide the manual for details.
circuit). The CV2 input can be assigned to
GLIDE for voltage control.
> The MIX control (and associated CV input)
sets the balance between the original
input audio and the resynthesized audio.
> OUTPUT MODE selects between the
two routings of the input audio and
Panharmonium output.
Alternate Function Modes Software Update
DRUMS MODE  1. Turn on system while holding SPECTRA 5
Hold OUTPUT MODE/OPTION and turn & 6. MULTIPLIER 2, 8, & 32 light.
SLICE knob to minimum. LED lights. Turn 2. Press TAP/OPT. MULTIPLIER 2, 8, & 32
SLICE knob again to exit. extinguish. SPECTRA 1 lights.
WARP MODE  3. Play software WAV file into the 1V/OCT
Hold OUTPUT MODE/OPTION and turn input. SPECTRA 2 lights to indicate Audio
FREQ knob to warp harmonics. LED will Detected. SPECTRA 3 lights to indicate
indicate that a warp is active. Release Receiving Data.
/OPTION to return to adjusting frequency 4. MULTIPLIER LEDs become progress
(any selected warp will remain). LED will indicator.
remain lit as long as a warp is active. Hold
5. SPECTRA 4 will light briefly at end of
OUTPUT MODE/OPTION and turn FREQ
transfer if all is well and your module will
knob to 12 o’clock position to cancel warp.
reboot automatically.
LED will go out.
If all the MULT and PRESET LEDs light,
SEMI-TONE QUANTIZATION  press TAP/OPT, adjust playback level, and
Hold TAP/OPT and turn FREQ knob to adjust try again.
frequency in semi-tones. Release TAP
/OPT to return to continuous frequency Utilities
adjustment.
Various utilities are accessed by simultane-
FREEZE TAP MODE  ously pressing TAP/OPT + FREEZE +
Hold FREEZE + TAP/OPT for 1 second to OUTPUT MODE/OPTION and then one of
toggle between regular tap mode and the PRESET buttons as described below.
Freeze Tap mode. Multiplier LEDs remain (Refer to the manual for detailed descriptions
constant to indicate Freeze Tap Mode. of these functions.)
CV Target Assignment 1 Display Software Version
(Format is: SPECTRA LED.PRESET LED.
To assign CV1 to target parameters, hold E.g., 1.1, 2.3, etc.)
TAP/OPT and turn one of the MULTIPLIER,
VOICES, or FEEDBACK knobs. The CV1 input 2 No function
is assigned to the selected parameter and 3 Compact Flash Memory
any of the other two that were previously 4 Back up all Spectra and Presets to a
selected are deselected. WAV file
When assigning a target as described above 5 Restore all Spectra and Presets from
or when pressing and holding TAP/OPT for a WAV file
at least a second, the SPECTRA LEDs and 6 Bring up Transfer Menu to save or load
buttons will display CV1 assignments. As individual Spectra and Presets. Press
long as you hold TAP/OPT, the LEDs will OUTPUT MODE/OPTION to exit or abort.
display which (if any) of the parameters are There are also calibration and test functions
currently assigned to CV1. You can toggle available by pressing the various SPECTRA
their state by pressing their associated buttons, but it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever
buttons. In this way a single CV can control need to interact with them. Check the
up to all three parameters. manual if you’re interested.
Assigning CV2 to targets is identical to the
process described above, except you press
the OUTPUT MODE/OPTION button to
assign WAVEFORM, OCTAVE, and/or GLIDE.
The PRESETS LEDs and buttons will display
CV2 assignments.

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