User Guide - Superimposer
This guide covers the use of Superimposer itself - there is a separate guide for delivery and installation.
Brief Intro
Superimposer is an original DSP algorithm. The idea was to imagine a world where analog audio never existed: what distortion might be in a purely digital sense. It works by rearranging incoming audio data in a specific mathematical way that is surprisingly pleasing to the ear - as the name suggests, audio waves are literally superimposed onto themselves.
There are many interesting textures, both mild and spicy, and I hope this guide will help you along in discovering them:
Controls
Changing values:
In addition to clicking buttons and dragging sliders, you can also:
Enter exact values by clicking the label, typing a value (don't worry about labels and units), and pressing enter - clicking elsewhere discards changes.
Use the up/right (+) and left/down (-) arrow keys.
Stage:
- Indicator light - Clicking the indicator light next to the "Stage" label will toggle that stage on/off. It will remember the last "on" value so that it can be easily toggled back; this can help with isolating and adjusting a particular stage.
- N - Number of audio blocks processed in a window. Higher values distort the audio more.
- Segment size (µs) - Size of each audio block in microseconds. Higher values distort the audio more.
- Mix (%) - Mix of wet (how the stage affects the input) to dry (what goes into the stage).
Mode:
Stages where mix > 0% are processed. Currently, there are two ways to compose active stages together:
Series - Stages are "daisy chained" together so that 1 feeds into 2 which feeds into 3 (1 -> 2 -> 3 -> out).
This mode creates richer, more complex tones, but can be harder to control.
Parallel - Stages run independently and are summed together (1 + 2 + 3 -> out).
This mode creates simpler, broader tones that may be easier to control.
Presence:
Naturally, the aliasing-like effect that sounds great at lower frequencies can be harsh in higher frequencies; use the presence slider to dampen potential harshness at higher frequencies.
Presets
To save user presets, click Save in the dropdown menu (or ctrl+s) - this will open your operating system's file explorer at the Presets directory. The file name will be your preset's title (underscores (_) are displayed as spaces). The file extension reflects the plugin (Si for Superimposer) and version (11 for 1.1.x) of the preset. Presets with the same extension are guaranteed to be compatible with your plugin's version.
To organize presets, you can place presets inside folders in the Presets directory - the folders will become the categories and subcategories (just like the factory presets). Click Open/Browse to quickly open your file explorer at the directory. You can nest up to three levels of subcategories inside the Presets directory. Superimposer is capable of opening preset files anywhere on your system (using Open/Browse), but only presets nested inside the Presets directory will appear in the submenu.
Preset packs are, essentially, zipped collections of presets. To create a preset pack, find Preset Pack Options in the dropdown menu and select "Create..."; to import a preset pack select "Import..." - they are unpacked as a top-level subcategory. Preset packs are compatible across operating systems. Just like the presets themselves, the zipped file extension reflects the plugin (Si for Superimposer) and version (11 for 1.1.x) of the preset, and presets with the same extension are guaranteed to be compatible with your plugin's version.
Latency
Superimposer introduces a small amount of latency, only as much as necessary for the effect to function in real time. Latency is based on 1) the sampling rate (lower sampling rates creates more latency) and 2) buffer size (higher buffer sizes create more latency).
At 48kHz and a 128 sample buffer, Superimposer introduces ~7.1ms of latency. At 44.1kHz and a 256 sample buffer, that number is ~10.3ms. At 96kHz and 64 sample buffer, it's ~5.1ms.
Suggested Uses
There are many ways that Superimposer can be employed to great effect, and many to discover yet! Here are some suggestions:
- Bass (guitar or synth) distortion.
- Guitar, in place of an amplifier (very sharp and defined sound without a cab, use cab simulation for a more "natural" sound).
- Guitar, after fuzz has been applied.
- Automation of N and/or S controls over time, especially with brass, string, or pad synths - try it with delay after Superimposer!
- In a reverb/delay bus - try substituting reverb/delay with Poltergeist!
- Drums, especially the kick - creates interesting "8-bit" like sounds.
- Bell/mallets, especially with higher notes, can create interesting percussion-like sounds.