5 DCO

5.1 Description

One of the main new features in the MOTOR Synth MKII is the added third DIGITAL VOICE (DCO). While it is not the MOTOR Synth’s primary feature it is a powerful tool for extending the tonal variety, precision and range of the instrument. The DCO is an proprietary virtual-analog oscillator and noise engine. The waveshaping options are wavefolding, pulse-width modulation and hard sync to MOTOR VOICE 1 or 2.

The DIGITAL VOICE follows a similar signal path as the MOTOR VOICES. It consists of 4 oscillators and an independent amp for each oscillator. All 4 oscillators are mixed together and sent into one virtual-analog filter.

The differences in DCO signal path are in the output routing options. The DCO can be routed to the main output mixer, or it can be summed together with one of the MOTOR VOICES before the analog filter of the given voice. This allows the use of the DCO as a supplement to the MOTOR VOICE – add sub-octave, upper harmonics, transients, noise etc.

Apart from the added waveshaping options the DCO has the same set of features and parameters as the MOTOR VOICES, but the access to these parameters is different.

5.2 List of parameters

DCO is controlled with the dedicated DCO VOLUME knob and additional parameters in the DCO SCREEN with the ▶ LEFT & ◀ RIGHT SCREEN ENCODER. To access the DCO screen push the ALT + EXIT / DCO button below the screen. This list contains an overview of all parameters in this section. For further information refer to the Instructions sub-section. This list does not include the DCO AMP ENVELOPE and DCO ACCELERATION / BRAKE parameters that are the same as for the MOTOR VOICES.

Turning the DCO VOLUME knob will also momentarily prompt a DCO SETTINGS POP-UP Window in the top Right corner of the MOTOR Synth’s SCREEN:

Press the RIGHT SCREEN ENCODER to access the DCO VOICE SCREEN:

Alternatively – the DCO Menu can be accessed by Holding ALT and pressing the EXIT / DCO Button underneath the MOTOR Synth’s SCREEN.

Use the LEFT & RIGHT SCREEN ENCODERS to adjust the DCO ENGINE:

• DCO SCALE
• DCO WAVESHAPE (PULSE, SAW, TRIANGLE, SINE) + NOISE ENGINE
• WAVE PULSE WIDTH (for all oscillator shapes)
• WAVEFOLD Amount and direction (for all oscillator shapes)
• GRAIN SIZE and SAMPLE RATE for NOISE ENGINE
• DCO SIGNAL PATCH ROUTING (MASTER (DIGITAL FILTER) V1, V2, V1+V2 (ANALOG FILTERS)

(The DCO Engine can be played independently from the MOTOR Voices, however it does not have a separate Output channel (see section Outputs))

• HARD SYNC: ON/OFF toggle and source (TO)

Now that you’ve set up the DCO ENGINE, we can move on to adjusting the DCO Voice’s AMP and PITCH ENVELOPES:

The DCO AMP ENVELOPE can be accessed by pressing the DCO ENV / LINK Button next to the MOTOR Voice AMP ENV Encoders.

When pressed the DCO ENV button will start blinking and the SCREEN will display the DCO ENV Settings View:

Use the VOICE 1 AMP ENV ENCODER and both SCREEN ENCODERS to adjust all of the DCO AMP ENV parameters.

TIP: To switch between the three available AMP ENVELOPE screens (for Motor Voice 1, Motor Voice 2, and DCO) – you can use the ARROW buttons in the bottom left corner of the MOTOR Synth. This navigation option is suggested by the small < arrow symbol at the top of the DCO ENV SCREEN and in multiple other screens:

Similarly – to adjust the DCO’s pitch envelope press the DCO ACC button.

The button will start blinking and the SCREEN will display the DCO pitch envelope adjustment parameters:

Just like the DCO AMP ENVELOPE – the DCO PITCH ENVELOPE parameters are controlled by the VOICE 1 FROM / TO and ACCEL / BRAKE knobs.

Again, you can use the < & > ARROW buttons to navigate between the three different PITCH ENVELOPE screens for VOICE 1, VOICE 2 and DCO.