Devastor 1.0.

0 owner's manual
 Devastor 1.0.0 owner's manual

Table of Contents
1 Overview......................................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Interface.........................................................................................................................................1

2 Signal flow...................................................................................................................................................2
2.1 Basic modules...............................................................................................................................2
2.2 Possible filters' configurations.......................................................................................................3
2.3 Path of the signal's flow.................................................................................................................5

3 Preset management...................................................................................................................................6
3.1 Browsing presets...........................................................................................................................6
3.2 Loading and Saving presets..........................................................................................................6
3.3 Preset manager.............................................................................................................................7

4 Configuration..............................................................................................................................................9
4.1 Midi control....................................................................................................................................9

i
1 Overview
Devastor it's a multiband stereophonic distortion effect. It has two independent signal processing paths (for
each channel: L,R).

1.1 Interface

After loading the plug−in within a host application, the GUI will appear:

There are two sections:

• Configuration and preset management:

• Signal processing and control section:

1 Overview 1
2 Signal flow
This chapter describes the signal path through Devastor. It also explains the basic components of the effect
unit and their control parameters.

2.1 Basic modules

Internally, Devastor consists of a few basic components. These correspond to the sections on the graphical
interface:

• Dynamic's flattener − Depending on the value of DYNAMICS knob, this module will equalize levels
in the signal's amplitude. Its principle of working is similar to a compressor's operation with auto
normalisation of the amplitude. However, its control (using one knob) is much simpler than that.

• Diode clipper − This is the central and the most important element of Devastor. It simulates the
behaviour of a diode clipper analogue circuit. The signal distortion is caused by the circuit "clipping"
the top and bottom from the audio waveform.

Control of this module is performed by three knobs.

♦ PREAMP − Amplification of signal in Diode clipper.

♦ THRESHOLD − This is the nominal level of amplitude, above this the distortion of the signal
occurs.
♦ KNEE − Amplitude characteristics of the Clipper. Soft knee settings provide more subtle
distortion. Hard knee provides a sharper cut and produce more distortion.
Two LEDs; CLIP + / − indicates exceeding the threshold value by positive and/or negative halves of
signal. This module works asymmetrically relative to zero.

2 Signal flow 2
 Devastor 1.0.0 owner's manual
• Filter − In Devastor, we have three filter units at our disposal. They are independently configurable
and are able to work in different configurations (they are connected in parallel, before or after the
Clipper circuit − see diagram below).

For each filter, the following parameters can be controlled:

♦ CUTOFF − Filter's cut−off frequency.

♦ RESO/B WIDTH − Filter's resonance or in a case of band−pass or band−reject filters, it's
width.
♦ VOLUME − Volume of output signal (from the filter).
♦ FILTER TYPE − Filter type; LP − low−pass, BP − band−pass, HP − hi−pass, BR −
band−reject.
♦ PRE/POST − Sets filter position to pre−clipper or post−clipper. Set to PRE, signal is filtered
and then sent to clipper. Set to POST, the signal goes through the Clipper first and then the
filter.
Above parameters apply to all filters. Filters can only be connected in parallel.

• Master section − Amplitude of the output signal is adjusted by the OUTPUT VOLUME knob. The
OUTPUT METER shows the current amplitude of the output signal after the adjustment.

2.2 Possible filters' configurations

Using the PRE/POST switches for each of the filters, we can obtain up to 8 possible combinations
(configurations) of filter and clipper connections.

2.1 Basic modules 3

 Devastor 1.0.0 owner's manual

The table below shows all possible configurations and signal flow.

Id Filter−1 Filter−2 Filter−3 Configuration

1 PRE PRE PRE

2 POST PRE PRE

3 PRE POST PRE

4 PRE PRE POST

5 POST POST PRE

6 POST PRE POST

2.2 Possible filters' configurations 4

 Devastor 1.0.0 owner's manual

7 PRE POST POST

8 POST POST POST

Please note, when a filter is set to PRE mode, its output volume must be greater than zero or silence will
be sent to the clipper. If it is the only filter being used, nothing will heard.

2.3 Path of the signal's flow

The input signal goes to the Flattener (1.), then, depending on setting of the PRE/POST switches, it is sent
to the Group of Filters and the Diode Clipper (2.). Finally, the amplitude of output signal is changed by
the OUTPUT VOLUME knob − Master Volume (3.).

2.3 Path of the signal's flow 5

3 Preset management

3.1 Browsing presets

Devastor presets are organised into (user definable) groups to help categorise them. They are compatible
with the native methods of preset storage within the host application. In the host, they are unfolded from the
hierarchical structure to a linear structure with 128 preset slots.

Preset Management Panel − used to select presets.

• PRESET NAME − Box which displays the name of currently selected preset. It also allows editing of
the preset name.
• PREV/NEXT − Used to navigate through presets. When the end of a group is reached, the list
moves to the next group.
• BROWSE − Used to open the browser for direct selection of presets within the groups.

E.G. Now we can go into the group (in this case Pianos), and next choose a preset from that group.

Changing any of the presets isn't permanent. After removing and reloading the plug−in, the factory presets
will be recalled. However, saving the project within the host application with save all Devastor presets and
they will be reloaded with host project.

3.2 Loading and Saving presets

Extra functionality for loading and saving presets is accessible from the OPTIONS button:

Pressing will open the context menu:

3 Preset management 6
 Devastor 1.0.0 owner's manual

The first four options are:

• Load Preset − will load preset from disk and overwrite current active one in memory (.dvp −
Devastor Preset).
• Save Preset − saves current preset to disk (.dvp − Devastor Preset).
• Load Bank − loads a whole bank of presets from disk (.dvb − Devastor Bank).
• Save Bank − saves a whole bank of presets as a file (.dvb − Devastor Bank).

Devastor .dvp and .dvb files are in XML format and can be edited using a text editor.

3.3 Preset manager

Preset manager is a tool which allows easy management of the preset structure. To open it, just click the
BROWSE button and from the context menu select Preset Manager:

The Preset manager window will then appear:

3.2 Loading and Saving presets 7

 Devastor 1.0.0 owner's manual

This shows the preset structure. The preset Bank is at the root with the groups of presets below. Double
clicking on any item in the tree allows it to be renamed.

From within the host application, the preset structure is visible as a plain list. It is fully compatible with the
standard VST host method of choosing presets. As a result, the list can only be 128 entries long. The
number of presets in this structure cannot be changed. The presets can be moved from one group to
another and their order in the group can also be changed ? both by dragging. The group order in the bank
can also be changed − by dragging.

At the bottom of Preset manager window are two buttons:

• Add group − Creates an empty group in the bank.

• Remove group − Removes the selected group from the bank but, only when it is empty. To empty,
delete presets or move them to another group.

To exit from the Preset manager press the Cross button in the top right corner.

3.3 Preset manager 8

4 Configuration

4.1 Midi control

Any function on the Devastor GUI can be controlled by a midi controller.

4.1.1 Midi learn

Below is the procedure to map a Devastor control or function to a knob or slider on an external midi
controller keyboard:

1. From the context menu under OPTIONS button, select Midi Learn Mode:

2. In the PRESET NAME edit box, the "waiting..." message will appear. In this mode, plug−in is
waiting for any movement of its controls on the GUI or controls on an external midi controller, The
midi data must have a path from the controller through the host sequencer to Devastor. The edit box
will display the name of currently moved control.
3. When complete, uncheck MIDI Learn Mode to return to normal operation.

4.1.2 Loading and saving Midi Map

To load or save a Midi Map (mapping of GUI's controls with MidiCC), select the option from the context
menu under the OPTIONS button.

• Load Midi CC Map − Loading a Midi Map from file (.dvc − Devastor Control Map).
• Save Midi CC Map − Saving a current Midi Map to file (.dvc − Devastor Control Map).

4 Configuration 9
 Devastor 1.0.0 owner's manual

Midi Map files written by a Devastor are standard XML and can be edited within any text editor.
Standardized, it means You can re−edit them within any text editor.

4.1 Midi control 10