MainframeThe manual

1. Install Mainframe and its content. Rescan your DAW's plug-in list if Mainframe is not listed.
2. Create a MIDI/instrument track and load Mainframe as its instrument. Mainframe has a stereo output only; on a mono track the host sums it.
3. If an AUTHORIZATION card covers the editor, enter the email address and 16-character authorization code from your Rankin Audio account and click AUTHORIZE (or press Return). The first activation on each computer needs an internet connection; after that Mainframe works offline. Until it is authorized it outputs silence. If you can't find your code, the card's here link opens your Rankin Audio account sign-in. You can activate Mainframe on up to three computers at a time. There is no deactivate button in the plug-in: to move a licence to another computer, contact Rankin Audio.
4. Route your controller or a MIDI clip to that track. Enable monitoring or record-arm as required by your DAW.
5. Start at a modest listening level. A new instance shows Hello World in the preset field because no preset file is loaded yet. Click the preset name to open the browser, then click a preset to load it and play a few notes. The < and > arrows beside the name step to the previous or next preset in the browser's current list (see Browse and save).
6. Try the eight macros along the bottom. Their names, when supplied by the preset author, describe the changes they control.
7. Click the save (disk) button beside the preset name to save your edits under a new name before loading another sound. Saving your DAW project also stores the instrument's current state.

Mainframe runs as a VST3 or a Standalone app on macOS and Windows, and as an AU on macOS. This manual focuses on playing it as an instrument in your DAW.

The help strip along the bottom of the window is on by default. Hover a control to read what it does; in value menus, the strip also describes the highlighted choice. Click the ? button at the top right to hide or show the strip; the window shrinks or grows by the strip's height. Some controls change meaning with the chosen mode, so check the caption and help after changing a type.

• Drag knobs and sliders to adjust them. Hold Shift while dragging for fine adjustment (about a tenth of the speed). Most parameter sliders support double-click to return to their default value.
• Drag the Oct, Semi and Cents readouts up or down to change tuning. They show whole numbers; cents move in 0.1 steps underneath. Shift-drag for fine changes, double-click to reset.
• Click waveform thumbnails to choose oscillator shapes or wavetables.
• Cells with < and > arrows at either end step through their choices (wrapping at the ends); click the name between the arrows for the full menu.
• Right-click a supported parameter (knob, slider, value field or its name label) for its menu. On macOS, Control-click also opens it. The menu offers Copy Value and Paste Value, modulation options (Add Modulation, Modulation Routing, Remove All Modulation) and, for plug-in parameters, MIDI Learn, MIDI Forget and Show MIDI Mappings. Copy and paste work by position along the control's travel, not by units: a value copied at 40% of one control pastes at 40% of any other, and stepped controls snap to their nearest step. Paste Value shows the copied percentage and is greyed out until you copy.
• Drag a modulation source's small anchor in the bottom strip onto a supported control to assign it. While you drag a modulation depth, a tip shows the depth and the range of values the destination can reach.
• Double-click an ENV, LFO, SEQ, ENV F or KEY T anchor to jump to that source's page on the SHAPE tab. Macro anchors have no page.
• Double-click a macro's name to rename it (up to 16 characters). Press Return or click away to keep the name, Escape to cancel; clear the field to return to the default name. The name is saved with the preset and also appears in source menus and the Matrix.

Undo and redo: Cmd+Z (Ctrl+Z on Windows) undoes, and Shift+Cmd+Z or Cmd+Y (Ctrl+Y) redoes, from anywhere in the editor. One history covers control edits, modulation routes, MIDI Learn, FX rack edits and Advanced envelope shape edits. Each drag counts as one step. Text fields keep their own undo. Loading a preset clears the history, so save named versions during sound design. With nothing left to undo, the shortcut passes on to your DAW.

Other keyboard commands depend on which panel has focus; the FX rack and Advanced Envelope commands are described below.

In the ordinary layer path, oscillator and sample sound feeds the layer's selected filters and Sculpt processing, then the combined synth sound reaches the global effects rack. Sculpt blocks can be placed before or after filtering. The final Master level also controls sound arriving by Direct Out.

Sub and noise each have a routing button that opens these choices:

A new patch routes the sub to Direct Out and the noise to No Filter.

In SMP view, each sample lane's D Out switch (where RST sits in OSC view) sends that sample lane directly to the output, bypassing filters and effects. Use direct routes deliberately: an effect cannot change a source routed around the rack.

Each oscillator layer has sources A and B. Click either source display, or the waveform name above it, to open the wave browser, then choose a shape or wavetable. The < and > arrows in the bottom corners of a source display step to the previous or next waveform without opening the browser. The large display in the middle shows the layer's blended waveform, including cross-modulation.

The knob under each source display changes with what is loaded. On a plain shape it reads PW (pulse width, or the shape's own extra control such as fold depth); once a wavetable is loaded it reads Pos and scans the table's frames. Modulating Pos animates the timbre. The small button in the top-left corner of a source display switches all four source displays between a single waveform and the full wavetable, with the current position highlighted. It only works when the source holds a wavetable with more than one frame.

Drag the Blend strip under the displays to mix source A into source B. The strip also accepts modulation.

The browser lists All, Shapes and Wavetables, with sub-folders as their own categories, plus a Search box. Wavetable tiles always show every frame of the table. + IMPORT WAV accepts one or more WAV files of wavetable audio arranged in 2048-sample frames. Files shorter than one frame are refused. Import never overwrites a table you already have: importing the same file again reuses the existing table, and a different file with a name already in use (a factory table included) is saved as Name (2), Name (3) and so on. A message tells you when either happens. Use RESCAN after adding files to the library outside Mainframe.

Ordinary sample playback and sample-to-wavetable rendering are separate workflows; use the SMP lane for an audio phrase or recording.

The knobs under each oscillator layer:

Oct (-3 to +3), Semi (-12 to +12) and Cents (-100 to +100) sit in the layer's header; drag a value to change it (Shift-drag for fine steps).

Start with a small voice count and modest detuning. More voices and unison copies increase density and CPU use.

The Voices window

The cog button in the top-right corner of the blended display opens the Voices window for that layer, titled VOICES. The LAYER A / B keys at the right of its header show which layer you are editing. It has two tabs. Close it with the cross, Esc, or a click outside the card.

On the UNISON tab, the SPREAD picture shows where every voice sits: left and right is its detune, bar height its loudness, thin lines beside it its unison copies. Below it, a PAN strip shows each voice's stereo position, with a small hand for its start phase, and a WT strip shows its wavetable position. The read-only line under the picture shows OSC (voices × copies; it turns a warning colour above 24), BEAT AT A1, total SPREAD in cents, and LANES. The knobs sit in two rows, VOICES and UNISON.

MODE and STACK have arrows to step through the list; click the name for the full menu. Every knob except Phase can be modulated; Mode and Stack cannot.

The PITCH tab sets OCT, SEMI and CENT offsets for each of the 16 voices (V1 to V16), on top of the spread. Voices above the current count are dimmed. The TOTAL row shows each playing voice's offset in semitones. Use it for intervals or chord-like stacks within a single played note.

The A and B keys in the header switch layers without closing the window. In the footer, COPY TO B copies every control in the window to the other layer, and RESET ALL returns this layer's window to its defaults (2 voices, no unison, no stack). Each is a single undo step. Double-click a knob to reset it.

The row above the blended display sets cross-modulation for the receiving layer: a type, a source and an Amount. It is shown in OSC mode only. Use the arrows either side of the type or source to step through the list, or click the name for the menu.

Sources are Osc 1, Osc 2, Sampler 1, Sampler 2, Noise and Sub. By default each layer is modulated by the other oscillator. Choosing a layer's own oscillator gives feedback modulation. The source's level knob does not set this modulation depth; use Amount.

When the source is Osc 1 or Osc 2, the bottom of the source menu also offers Clean and Detuned. Clean (the default) reads one steady oscillator on the note, without detune, drift or unison. Detuned reads the source's whole detuned unison stack, levelled to one voice, so the modulation beats with the detune: the classic phase-distorted Reese. Turn on RST on the source layer if every note should start the same way.

The type menu has Off and two groups:

• Modulate: Phase and Frequency add harmonics; Ring and Amplitude change the carrier's level at audio rate. Phase Dist, Wavetable, Pulse Width and Blend move the carrier's phase distortion, wavetable position, pulse width or A/B blend. Sync restarts the carrier on each cycle of the source; Amount is the sync strength. Morph interpolates the carrier's waveform into the source's at the carrier's own pitch; it is not a crossfade between the two fully rendered layer outputs, and it ignores the source layer's tuning and unison. Spectral does the same morph harmonic by harmonic, so opposite waves do not cancel half way. Morph and Spectral need Osc 1 or Osc 2 as the source.
• Warp: Bend +, Bend -, Bend +/-, Asym +, Asym -, Asym +/-, Mirror, Flip and Quantize reshape the layer's own wave and ignore the source, so the source cell dims. Amount is the warp depth. Bend +/- and Asym +/- do nothing at 50%; picking one of them from another type sets Amount to 50% so the sound does not jump. The blended display draws the warped wave.

Raise Amount slowly while holding a note. Recheck tuning and output level after changing type, since different types can produce very different results.

The oscillators and samplers are also available as audio-rate sources in the modulation matrix; see Make a route.

The SUB module gives you a low foundation. Use its arrows to choose Sine, Triangle, Saw, Square or Pulse. Oct sets the register (-2 to +2, default -1), Level its volume and Drive (0–24 dB) adds harmonics. The routing button to the right of Oct opens a menu of Direct Out, No Filter, Layer 1 and Layer 2. Direct Out (the sub's default) bypasses the layer filters and the effects rack; No Filter goes through the rack unfiltered; Layer 1 and Layer 2 go through that layer's filters. A sine on Direct Out is a useful starting point when you want an undistorted foundation beneath an aggressive rack sound.

The NOISE module offers White, Pink, Brown, Blue and Violet noise, plus loaded audio. The folder button loads a WAV or AIFF noise sample, copied to your User Noise folder; its file name then replaces the colour name. Selecting a colour returns to the generator. HP (20 Hz–20 kHz) and LP (100 Hz–20 kHz) narrow its frequency range, and both respond to macros and modulation routes. Level sets its volume and XFade the loop crossfade of a loaded sample. Noise has the same routing menu as the sub; its default is No Filter.

With Key Track on, a noise sample follows the played pitch; the Key and Oct cells set the sample's original note (middle C is C3). Normalize raises a quiet noise sample to a useful level.

1. Click SMP A (Layer 1) or SMP B (Layer 2) in the layer header to show that layer's sample lane.
2. Click the folder button in the lane toolbar to load audio, or drop a single audio file on the waveform. WAV, AIF/AIFF, FLAC and OGG are accepted. Loading is unavailable while a recording is in progress.
3. Turn on the sample lane with the switch at the left of the layer header and play a note. The oscillator and the sample lane have separate on switches, so a layer can play either or both.
4. Set Root to the MIDI note that plays the file at its original pitch. Use the Oct (±3), Semi (±12) and Cents (±100) boxes in the header for further tuning.
5. Set Start and End to choose the playback region, or drag the handles with a tab at the top of the waveform. Set the level with Gain.

Root is a playback reference, not automatic pitch detection. Mainframe names notes with middle C as C3 (the default Root, MIDI note 36, shows as C1). DAWs can label the same MIDI note with a different octave number, so compare actual pitch if the displayed octave differs.

The sample lane's Gain (also the SMP A/SMP B fader in the mixer) is its only level control. The oscillator lane's Gain knob and the OSC A/OSC B mixer faders scale the oscillator alone and do not change the sample's level.

When a sample is loaded, the lane's status line shows its length and sample rate, for example "1.00s at 48000 Hz". It reads "Loading..." while a file is being read, and short messages clear after about three seconds. If a preset points to a file that has moved, Mainframe looks for a file with the same name in your Mainframe folders and uses the first one it finds. If there is none, the status reads "Missing:" followed by the file name.

Right-click (or Control-click) the waveform for Clear Sample and Show in Finder (Show in Explorer on Windows). Show in Finder is greyed out when the file is missing.

Enable Loop to repeat between L Start and L End; you can also drag the handles with a tab at the bottom of the waveform. The loop handles stay visible, dimmed, while Loop is off. With Loop on, P-Pong plays the loop forwards and backwards alternately. XFade (0 to 5 seconds) blends the start of the loop into its end to smooth the wrap. The crossfade sits inside the loop, so raising XFade shortens the heard loop by the crossfade length, and it is capped at half the loop length. XFade has no effect while P-Pong is on. Norm raises (or lowers) playback gain so the sample's peak reaches full scale.

Use Nudge (±50 ms) to move sample playback earlier or later against the oscillator lane, and Phase to invert the sample's polarity. Listen for reinforcement or cancellation when layering similar low-frequency content. D Out sends the sample lane straight to the output after the AMP envelope, skipping the layer's filters and the effects rack.

All five controls are off at zero.

1. Save the current patch before recording a new version.
2. In the sample lane toolbar, choose the capture source: Master Post-FX, Synth Pre-FX (the default), Osc Mix Pre-Filter, Layer 1 Osc Raw, Layer 2 Osc Raw or Sub Direct. Click the arrows at either end of the field to step through the sources, or click the name to pick from a menu.
3. Click Rec to start recording immediately, or MIDI to arm capture for the next MIDI note. The status line shows "Waiting for MIDI" while armed, then "Recording" with the elapsed time. Play the phrase or movement you want to capture.
4. Click the same button, now showing Stop, to finish (or to cancel a MIDI arm before any note arrives). A take stops by itself after 5 minutes. The status shows "Saving", then "Recorded to Layer 1" or "Recorded to Layer 2", and the recording replaces the lane's sample.
5. Audition the result. Turn off the oscillator lane if you want to hear only the captured version, then set Root, region and loop as needed.

Only one take can run at a time across both layers. During a take the other transport buttons, the folder button, the source field and WaveTable are unavailable. Recordings are saved as audio files in the Resamples folder in your Mainframe user folder.

A MIDI-armed take sets Root to the note that started it. A Rec take keeps the current Root value.

Choose Master Post-FX to capture the rack's contribution. If you then play that sample through the same effects again, those effects are applied a second time. Turn on D Out, or change the rack, when that is not the result you want.

Drag from the waveform, away from the region and loop handles, to copy the original audio file to the other layer's sample lane, your DAW or a file destination. This does not trim to the selected region or render the lane's effects. The original file must still exist; if it does not, Mainframe shows "Sample file missing". Dropping the file on the other layer's lane keeps the source lane's Root.

1. Set a Start/End region no longer than two seconds. A longer region opens a "Region Too Long" message and nothing is rendered.
2. Check that Root matches the pitch of the material. Mainframe uses it to find single cycles, and a region shorter than one cycle at the Root pitch cannot be rendered.
3. Click WaveTable and choose Render to L1 A, Render to L1 B, Render to L2 A, Render to L2 B or Save Only.
4. Name the table in the Name Wavetable dialog and click Render. If a table with that name already exists (yours, a factory table or one from a pack), the new one is saved as Name 002, Name 003 and so on.

The table is saved to your user wavetables folder. A Render to choice also loads it into that layer's oscillator A or B; Save Only leaves it in the library for you to pick later from any source's browser. The Saved field in the toolbar shows the last name you rendered. Switch to OSC to scan the table like any other wavetable. This creates a new synthesis source rather than playing back the original phrase.

There are four filter slots, A to D, shared by both layers. Each layer has its own A, B, C and D switches and a Serial/Parallel routing choice. Enable the filters you want that layer to use, then set them up on the FILTER tab. Choosing a filter type alone does not route a layer through it. A new patch starts with Filter A switched on for Layer 1 and no filters switched on for Layer 2; a layer with no filters switched on passes through unfiltered.

Both layers can use the same slot. They share its settings, but each layer runs its own copy of the filter, so one layer's signal never bleeds into the other's chain.

Serial passes the layer through its switched-on filters one after another, in the order A, B, C, D. Parallel feeds the layer to each switched-on filter at once and averages their outputs. Start with one filter to hear its contribution clearly before combining several.

Choose a filter type

Click the type name at the top of a slot to open the type menu, or use the < and > chevrons either side of it to step through the types. The menu groups the types by family, and the chevrons step in the same order, wrapping round at either end. The family holding the current type is ticked. Hover an item to read a short description in the help bar.

The top of the menu is Off; the types are grouped like this:

LP removes highs, HP removes lows, BP isolates a band, Notch cuts a band and Peak boosts one. Allpass shifts phase without changing level, so it is heard when Mix blends it with the dry signal. The Analog types model classic hardware filters. Comb and Formant types are good starting points for metallic or vowel-like bass movement. Z-Morph is a morphing filter in the style of E-mu samplers, and Bat Phaser gives four deep notches in the style of E-mu sampler phasers.

The FX rack's Filter module offers two more types, Disperser and Resonator Bank, under Special. They are not available in voice filter slots.

Filter controls

Each slot has six knobs, a response plot and an output meter.

• Cutoff sets the working frequency. On Formant types the knob is labelled Vowel and moves through the vowels A, E, I, O and U. Comb types run from 20 Hz to 5 kHz; Phaser and Allpass from 50 Hz to 10 kHz.
• Reso emphasises the response around the cutoff. It is dimmed on Allpass, which has no resonance.
• The third knob changes with the type, and its label tells you what it does:
  • Slope on LP and HP (6, 12, 18 or 24 dB/oct) and on BP (6 or 12 dB/side). Notch and Peak show Sections (1 or 2).
  • Char on the Comb types, shaping the feedback tone.
  • Drive on Moog, Accent on Acid and Scream on Scream.
  • Fm amt on FM Linear and FM Relative.
  • Stages on Phaser and Allpass (1 to 12).
  • Shift on the Formant types.
  • The type's own name on each Growl type (see below), Morph on Z-Morph and Spread on Bat Phaser.
  • MS-20 and Korg35 have no third control, so the knob shows a dimmed Slope.
• Key TRK makes the cutoff follow the played note; at 100% it tracks pitch one to one. On Formant types it is labelled Vowel TRK and moves the vowel position.
• Mix blends the dry and filtered sound.
• Level sets the slot's output gain, from -24 to +12 dB.

With the type set to Off, the slot passes sound straight through and every knob is dimmed.

The meter beside the knobs shows the slot's output: a stereo pair of bars, from -60 to +6 dB, with a peak readout underneath that holds for about one and a half seconds. The bars and readout turn red above 0 dB. The meter reads the slot's output summed across both layers, after the amp envelope. In Parallel it shows that slot's share of the mix; in Serial it shows the signal as it leaves that slot. Use it to keep levels even when you chain or switch filters.

The response plot is a guide. When a slot is modulated, a second, dimmer curve shows where the modulation is taking it, while the brighter curve stays at the knob settings. Saturation, resonance and input level can still make the audible result differ from a static curve.

Growl filters

The Growl types are built for distorted, talking bass. Each one adds its own dirt after the filter, so the grit follows the cutoff. All of them use Cutoff and Reso, and their third knob carries the type's name.

The Growl types are tuned to sit at roughly the same level as Scream, so you can switch between them without big jumps. Use Level and the output meter to fine-tune levels when you compare them.

Each of the two Sculpt blocks combines saturation with a five-band EQ. The header row of each block holds, from left to right: the saturation type, an After Sat button, the layer selector and the position selector.

• The saturation type has < and > chevrons to step through the types; click the name for the full list.
• After Sat places the EQ after the saturation when lit and before it when unlit.
• The layer selector chooses Both, Layer 1 or Layer 2.
• The position selector chooses Pre-Filter or Post-Filter, placing the block before or after the layer's filters. A new patch has Sculpt 1 before the filters and Sculpt 2 after them, both on both layers.

Use Drive for the saturation amount, Tone to tilt the sound dark or bright (flat at the centre), Char to change the selected type's voicing, Mix for the saturation blend and Out for level compensation after the saturation (-24 to +12 dB). Tone still works at zero Drive, as long as Mix is above 0%.

The EQ has a low shelf, a high shelf and three peaking bands. Each dot is numbered: 1 is the low shelf, 4 the high shelf, and 2, 3 and 5 are peaks. Behind the curve, a spectrum display shows the sound passing through the block.

• Drag a dot to set its frequency (left and right) and gain (up and down, ±18 dB).
• Hold Shift while dragging, or use the mouse wheel over a dot, to change its Q.
• Double-click a dot to reset its gain to 0 dB.
• Right-click a dot for Frequency, Gain and Q submenus, with the same options as a knob's right-click menu.
• Hover over or drag a dot to see a readout of its band, type, frequency (with the nearest note), gain and Q.

Cut a shelf below about -15 dB and it starts to turn into a filter: the low shelf becomes a high-pass and the high shelf a low-pass, fully at -18 dB. An HP or LP label appears above the dot when this happens.

When a band is modulated, a dimmed ghost dot shows where the modulation is taking it, joined to the solid dot by a line. Hover over the ghost to read its live values. You always drag the solid dot.

Sweep moves all five bands up or down in frequency, by up to 120 semitones either way. Spread moves peaks 2 and 3 apart (positive) or together (negative), by up to 36 semitones. Boost adds or removes up to 18 dB on all three peaks at once. These are useful modulation targets for broad tonal movement.

Try EQ before saturation to change which frequencies drive it hardest. Try EQ after saturation to shape the harmonics it creates. Compare at similar output levels so extra loudness does not obscure the tonal change.

The first envelope slot is the AMP envelope (ENV 1 in source lists). It stays in Basic mode. ENV 2–4 have a Basic / Advanced switch in the panel header.

Vel sets how strongly note velocity affects envelope level: at 0 every note plays at full level. Punch adds a brief boost at the very start of the note, audible on AMP. Time scales all stage times together, from 0.1x to 10x, with 1x at the centre. With Sync, the time knobs select beat divisions at the host tempo instead of seconds.

Loop repeats Attack/Hold/Decay while a key is held; releasing still runs the Release stage. Legato lets a note played while another key is still held keep the running envelope instead of restarting it. A note that starts exactly where the previous one ends counts as a new note, not a legato one. With the sustain pedal down, the release of the shared modulation envelopes and sequencers waits until the pedal comes up.

For a sustained bass, raise Sustain and keep Attack short. For a pluck, reduce Sustain and use Decay to set its length. A little Release avoids an excessively abrupt note ending.

Select Advanced on ENV 2, 3 or 4 to draw a multi-segment shape. Drag nodes to move them, double-click empty space to add a node, double-click a node to remove it, and drag a segment to bend it. The first and last nodes cannot be removed. The editor holds up to 128 nodes. Shape edits share the editor's single undo history (Cmd+Z undoes, Cmd+Shift+Z or Cmd+Y redoes; see Controls and gestures). Escape cancels a drag in progress.

Advanced mode is a one-shot or looping shape, without a note-off Release stage. Use Basic mode when you need a conventional release, and AMP to set how the audible note ends.

The save and folder icons in the panel header save the shape's points and bends to the shape library and browse factory and user shapes. Loading a shape keeps the envelope's rate, sync and routing, replaces its geometry and clears its node/curve modulation assignments.

For a changing shape, right-click a node or curve. A node offers X Position and Y Position; a curve offers X Bend Position and Y Bend Amount submenus and a Reset Curve command. Each submenu has Add Modulation (the same source list as a knob), any sources already assigned (each with Show Depth Handle and Remove Modulation), Modulation Routing and Remove All Modulation. Show Modulation Depth picks which assignment's handle is shown, and Remove All Modulation from This Node (or Curve) clears everything on it. The first and last nodes show X Position (endpoint fixed), greyed out: their time positions cannot move.

A new node or curve assignment starts at zero depth: drag its outlined amount dot to hear movement. Hold Shift for fine adjustment; Escape cancels the drag. Solid handles edit the base shape; dim ghost handles show the moving result.

The shape tiles choose Sine, Triangle, Saw Up, Saw Down, Square, S&H (sample and hold) or Smooth Rnd (smooth random). The last tile opens the wave browser to load an oscillator shape or a wavetable as the LFO's waveform; it stays lit while one is loaded. Scan moves through a loaded table, and the small button in the display's corner switches between the frame being read and the whole table drawn as a stack.

Rate sets speed (0.01–20 Hz when free; 0.01 Hz is one cycle every 100 seconds); Depth controls overall strength. Phase, Skew and Fade in change the start point, shape and onset. Retrigger restarts the cycle on each new note that is not legato. Fade in starts again on each such note whether or not Retrigger is on.

With Sync on, Rate selects a division from 32/1 to 1/64, including dotted and triplet values. The Sync Source field below the switches is active only while Sync is on. Click its arrows to step through the choices, or click its name for the list: Sync To DAW, Sync To Osc 1 Detune, Sync To Osc 2 Detune, Sync To Osc 1 Unison or Sync To Osc 2 Unison. The oscillator choices lock the LFO to that oscillator's detune or unison beating; Rate then picks a division of that rate.

With Sync To DAW selected and Retrigger off, the LFO follows the host playhead while the transport runs, so it starts at the same point in its cycle every time you press play from the same position. With Retrigger on, each note restarts the cycle instead.

For a repeating filter wobble, select a smooth LFO, turn on Sync with Sync To DAW, route it to cutoff, then set the route depth while listening to the lowest and highest points.

The Sequencers page shows Sequencer 1 and Sequencer 2. In source menus and the Matrix they are named Step Seq and Step Seq 2.

Select 4, 8, 12, 16 or 24 steps in the header and drag step bars to edit levels. Click or drag along the strip under the steps to mute and unmute them. The shape button opens a scrolling picker of 30 step shapes, including left-right mirrors such as Pulse 50 Rev and Stairs Down. Clicking one makes it the brush shape and returns to the steps. The brush button paints that shape across steps as you drag. Older presets with 32 or 64 steps still load and remain editable, although there is no header button for those counts.

Rate sets the time per step (seconds when free, a beat division such as 1/16 with Sync on). Depth scales the output, Swing delays alternate steps while keeping each pair at the same overall tempo, and Glide smooths movement between steps. The Glide knob is curved so that its lower half covers short glides; full travel is still the longest glide. Presets made before version 0.8.7 with Glide below 100% glide somewhat less than they used to. FWD, Rev, P-P and Rand set the direction: forward, reverse, ping-pong or random.

Sync locks step timing to the DAW tempo and follows the DAW timeline while the transport runs. Retrigger, on by default, restarts the sequence at step 1 on every MIDI note, including overlapping (legato) notes and while Sync is on; with Sync on, the note sets a new starting point on the timeline.

The save and folder icons store and load sequences. A saved sequence keeps its step count and steps; loading one keeps the destination sequencer's rate, sync, depth, swing, glide and direction.

These are modulation sequencers, not MIDI-note clips. Route one to cutoff or another parameter to hear it. Routing to pitch changes the sounding instrument's pitch rather than generating new MIDI notes.

The envelope follower converts audio level into movement. Choose its tap point: Osc Mix, Pre Filter, Post Filter, Tone Out or Sidechain. Then adjust Gain, Thresh (threshold), Attack and Release. Peak reacts to transients; RMS gives a steadier response. Smooth adds further smoothing (0 is off). Sidechain listens to the DAW's sidechain input when the host routes audio there. The display shows the last three seconds of output, with the threshold line.

The follower can react up to one audio buffer late, so use it for smooth level-driven movement rather than relying on it to catch a single sharp attack.

The key tracker maps played notes to modulation. Its output is highest at Root and falls in straight lines to zero at Low and High; notes outside the range hold the value at the nearer end. With Root at High (the default) it is a plain low-to-high ramp: higher notes give more modulation up to High. With Root at Low it is the mirror image. Use it to make higher notes brighter or to change another parameter across the keyboard without separate presets.

When Glide is active, the key tracker slides to the new note at the same speed and curve as the pitch, so a routed cutoff follows the glide smoothly. Keys you play light up on the tracker's keyboard. The three Shaping buttons currently change only the display; the modulation itself always follows straight lines.

1. Choose a source, such as LFO 1 or a macro.
2. Drag its anchor from the bottom strip onto a control that accepts modulation, or right-click that control and choose Add Modulation. A new route made either way starts at 50% depth.
3. Open MATRIX to set the route's Amount and inspect its Source/Destination. Modulation Routing in a control's menu opens the Matrix with that destination's routes brought into view.
4. Set the destination's base value and route depth together. The base value is the starting setting; modulation moves the effective value around or away from it, according to polarity and the source.

Add Modulation groups sources into submenus:

A source already routed to the control shows a tick and cannot be added again. A control can take up to 16 routes; at that limit the source items are greyed out.

After a route exists, a coloured band appears on the control: an arc around a knob, or a thin line under a slider or value box. Drag the band up or down to change the depth; it edits the control's first enabled route. While you drag, a tip shows the depth (for example "Depth +45%") and the range of values the control can now reach. If the knob sits at an end of its travel, or the depth is zero, a short stub marks the route so you can still drag it.

Every route edit (adding, deleting, switching on or off, depth, polarity, curve and macro link) is one step in the undo history.

You can also use the Matrix's Add Route action. Choose both Source and Destination to complete the new row. Negative Amount reverses the movement; the polarity control switches between movement on both sides of the base value (bipolar) and movement in one direction (unipolar). New rows start unipolar. Amount is a depth in the control's modulation range, not necessarily a direct Hz/dB value. Dragging Amount shows the same depth and range tip. Double-click Amount to reset it to zero.

The Matrix Source picker also offers an Audio group: Osc 1, Osc 2, Sampler 1 and Sampler 2. These use the sound itself as an audio-rate modulator, applied per sample in the voice. They can drive only per-sample voice destinations, such as filter cutoff, resonance, mix and level, Sculpt drive, character, mix, tone and EQ peak, pitch, tuning and detune, wavetable position, pulse width, blend, layer levels and cross-modulation Amount. The Matrix lists only those destinations for an audio source and greys an audio source out when the row's destination cannot take it. Audio routes start bipolar, so the destination moves both ways around its base value. Audio sources are not offered in a control's right-click menu or on Advanced envelope nodes.

The Matrix includes response curves and macro scaling of route depth. Drag a route's curve up for an exponential response or down for a logarithmic one, Shift-drag for finer control, and double-click to reset it to linear. Right-click it for Bend (Exp / Log), S-Curve, Quantize or Reset to Linear. Drag a row's handle to reorder routes; this changes only their display order. Hold Shift while dragging to move rows without animation, and press Escape to cancel the drag.

Use the row's enable switch to compare a movement with the static sound without deleting the route, or the bin icon to delete it. Remove All Modulation on a parameter's menu clears its assignments (it is greyed out when there are none). Deleting an effect or FX group also removes the routes that targeted it.

Destinations include synth parameters, the settings of the modulation sources themselves, effect knobs (including effects inside a Band Splitter) and the nodes of the EQ effect, which take routes from their own right-click menu or an anchor drop. See the effects rack for the effect details.

One macro can move several destinations. For example, assign Macro 1 to filter cutoff and Sculpt Drive, use a modest depth for each, then double-click the name above the macro knob and rename it Bite. The name is saved with the preset and appears in source menus and the Matrix. Move the macro through its whole range while playing before saving the preset.

A macro can also scale another route's depth. Click a Matrix row's link control and choose a macro (or None to unlink), then set Macro Depth. At 0% the macro has no effect on the route; at 100% the route has its full depth with the macro at maximum and no depth with the macro at minimum. Double-click Macro Depth to reset it to 100%. That lets a performance control introduce more or less LFO movement rather than moving the destination directly.

Right-clicking a knob, slider, value field or parameter name opens its menu. Depending on the control, it contains:

To learn, choose MIDI Learn, then move the MIDI controller you want to assign. The MIDI MAPPINGS list shows each mapping with its CC number (and its MIDI channel, when it has one), a FORGET button per row, FORGET ALL and DONE. Learning and forgetting can be undone.

Not every modulation destination supports direct MIDI learn. Effect controls, including effects inside a Band Splitter, offer Copy/Paste Value and modulation routing but not MIDI learn. To perform an effect parameter from a controller, route a macro to it and MIDI-learn the macro.

Delay offers Simple, Ping Pong, Multi-Tap, Grain, Diffused and Tape. The middle column of knobs changes with the mode: Offset and Mod in Simple, Mod in Ping Pong, Taps, Pattern and Decay in Multi-Tap, Grain, Pitch, Scatter and Density in Grain, Diffuse and Mod in Diffused, and Wow, Flutter, Age and Sat in Tape. With Sync on, Time selects musical divisions; Lo Cut/Hi Cut shape the repeats and Duck makes the wet sound recede while the dry input is active. Freeze holds the current delay interval while dry sound remains available.

Reverb offers Room, Plate, Hall, Wash, Cathedral, Clean Hall, Bloom, Silk Plate and Body. Body adds a resonant body response: the knobs become Length, Body (Short Tube, Long Tube, Metal Shell, Hollow Box, Ceramic or Synthetic Throat), Damping and Tune, a response display appears beside them, and Freeze, Sync and Duck grey out. Hi Cut then sets the same damping frequency as Damping. You can switch into or out of Body while a note plays without a click. In the other modes, use Lo Cut, LF Decay and Mono Hz to control the low end. Reverb Freeze holds the tail and stops new wet input.

The dedicated RESO BANK's Classic mode uses independent resonators; Coupled lets them interact; Driven adds level-dependent saturation; Struck excites them on audio attacks. Struck responds to incoming audio, not MIDI triggers, so a soft or legato note may not create a new strike. The Filter module's Resonator Bank option retains Classic behaviour. Both offer 15 patterns: Harmonic, Hollow, Metal, Cluster, Bell, Wood Bar, Drum, Glass, Octaves, Fifths, Major, Minor, Golden, Beat and Single. Single rings one band at Root, at a level comparable to the six-band patterns.

STEREO has seven modes. Hyper stacks up to seven drifting, detuned copies of the signal above the crossover and spreads them left and right; the bass below Xover stays mono. Its knobs are Rate, Detune, Voices (1 to 7), Duck and Drift, with Sync (Rate picks a beat division) and Retrig (the drift restarts on each new, non-legato MIDI note). Dimension is a pair of slow, swept short delays crossed between the sides, with Size, Feedback, Drive, Duck and Tone. In both modes Duck turns the wet down on each audio attack and lets the width swell back in the tail, and the Width knob is hidden. In Hyper the dry signal stays at full level and the copies go mostly into the side, so the mono sum stays intact; each extra Voices step widens the image. Microshift's Motion knob slowly drifts its copies; at 0 they hold still.

The FILTER module's type list follows the voice filters and is grouped the same way (Basic, Analog, Comb, Formant, Growl, Special). It includes the growl types Howl, Snarl, Maul, Shred, Scissor, Twist, Quake, Gargle, Vortex and Rip, and Z-Morph and Bat Phaser, as well as the rack-only Disperser and Resonator Bank.

Spectral Warp in Pitch Shift stretches the spacing of the harmonics. Its controls are Stretch, Pivot and Smear; Feedback and Spread do not apply in this mode, and it adds latency.

Add BAND SPLITTER, set the two crossover frequencies with Hi Xover and Lo Xover, and select HIGH, MID or LOW on the band rail to edit that band's child rack. Click Add FX to add an effect to the selected band, and select a child in the list to see its controls. Drag a child in the list to reorder it. Right-click a child for Load Preset, Save Preset..., Reset to Default, Duplicate, Bypass (or Enable) and Remove. Use bypass and each child's own output and mix controls to compare its contribution. Selecting a band changes the editor view; it does not solo that band. The splitter has no per-band level or mute, but its Mix knob (bottom left, default 100%) blends the whole processed result against the unprocessed, time-aligned signal.

For bass, try a restrained low band, distortion in the mids and modulation or space in the highs. MULTI DIST is a dedicated multiband distortion; BAND SPLITTER is the container for building your own chains.

Each band can hold up to eight child effects. The child picker offers 14 modules: it excludes LIMITER, nested BAND SPLITTERs, groups and the dedicated RESO BANK. The splitter delays each band to match the one with the most latency, so Pitch Shift, Spectral Warp and Phase Distortion children stay in time with the other bands. Child effect knobs take modulation routes in the same way as top-level ones.

Select consecutive effects using click and Shift-click, then press Cmd+G on Mac or Ctrl+G on Windows, or right-click one of the selected headers and choose Group FX. The group mixes a serial processed branch with the signal entering the group.

Mix is a linear blend: 0% is dry and 100% is the processed branch. Gain trims the processed branch before mixing. New groups start fully wet at 0 dB Gain to preserve the preceding sound. Group bypass selects the aligned dry branch, but keeps processing active; it is not a CPU-saving switch.

Right-click a group boundary for Ungroup FX, Copy Group, Duplicate Group, Toggle Group Bypass and Delete Group. Drag the opening boundary to move the group; double-click a boundary to collapse or expand the effects inside the group (the boundaries themselves stay open). Ungroup FX leaves its effects in place. Delete Group removes the group and its effects. Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+G ungroups the selected group.

Groups cannot nest or be created inside Band Splitter child racks. A top-level splitter can be enclosed in a group. The top-level rack has 32 slots; each group uses two slots for its boundaries.

Click a card to select it; the rack then takes the keyboard:

DeleteorBackspace

Remove the selected effect, or every selected effect.

Cmd/Ctrl+C

Copy the selected effect, with its settings (and a splitter's children).

Cmd/Ctrl+V

Paste after the selected effect, or at the end when nothing is selected.

Cmd/Ctrl+X

Copy, then remove.

Cmd/Ctrl+D

Duplicate in place.

Cmd/Ctrl+ZorShift+Cmd/Ctrl+Z

Undo or redo the last rack edit (delete, swap, group, ungroup, reset, preset or chain load). Routes removed with a deleted effect come back too.

Escape

Clear the selection.

With several cards selected, only Delete, Cmd/Ctrl+G and Escape apply.

The clipboard is shared by every Mainframe instance in the same host, so you can copy an effect from one instance and paste it into another. Alt-drag a card to copy it. With several cards selected, right-click one of them for Group FX or Delete Selected.

A card's menu offers Load Preset, Save Preset..., Reset to Default, Duplicate, Swap and Delete. Swap replaces the module with a different type at default settings. Duplicating, copying or pasting effects or groups does not copy their modulation routes, so recheck assignments on the new copy.

Save FX Rack (on the right of the rack) names and saves the whole rack; saved racks appear under User Chains. Despite its name, selecting an entry under Add FX Chain at the bottom of the + menu replaces the entire current rack. The submenu lists FX Chains (factory), User Chains and From Presets, which takes the rack from another synth preset. Save your rack or patch first.

Use MIX to adjust source and stage levels while watching the meters. The strips are Sub, OSC A, OSC B, SMP A, SMP B, NOISE, Filter A to Filter D, Sculpt 1 and Sculpt 2. Each strip has a level fader; the filter and Sculpt strips also have a Mix knob. A strip's lamp shows whether that source or stage is active, not whether audio is sounding at that moment. On the OSC and SMP strips the lamp is also that source's on/off switch; on the other strips it is display only. Meters run only while the MIX page is showing.

The master level is not a mixer strip: it is the Master knob in the bottom bar. Lower it if the DAW's input is clipping.

Open the Key Splitter with the keyboard button in the top bar (the help bar calls it Key Split).

The splitter has one row per source: OSC 1 and SMP 1 (Layer A), OSC 2 and SMP 2 (Layer B), SUB and NOISE. These are the same sources the mixer calls OSC A/SMP A and OSC B/SMP B. Each row has a key zone, a velocity zone (0 to 127) and LOW, HIGH and FADE readouts for the key zone. Notes you play light up on every row.

• Drag a zone to move it, or drag an end to resize it.
• Click the strip outside the zone to bring the nearer end to that point.
• Shift-drag an end to set a fade.
• Double-click a zone to reset it to the full range.
• Drag a readout up or down to change it.
• The lamp on the OSC and SMP rows switches that source on or off. SUB and NOISE rows have no lamp.

SPLIT AT opens a menu of split points: C1, C2, C3 or C4. The chosen key and everything above it goes to OSC 2 and SMP 2; OSC 1 and SMP 1 get everything below it. The split clears those four rows' key fades and leaves their velocity zones alone. Sub and Noise keep their zones, so check them separately. RESET ALL puts every row back on the full key and velocity range with no fades.

Note names use the C3 = middle C convention (MIDI note 60).

Use the three Glide buttons to choose Off, Always or Legato. A new instance starts on Always with a short glide; the factory Init preset uses Legato. Always slides between notes; Legato slides only when notes overlap. The Glide knob beside the buttons sets the slide time, from 0 to 2 seconds. Play overlapping notes when you audition Legato mode. Envelope Legato (on the Basic envelope page) and pitch Glide are separate settings.

Click the preset name in the top bar to open the preset browser. The arrows beside the name load the previous or next preset in the browser's current list, so they follow your search, filters and sort, and they move across packs. The folder button next to them does not open the browser: it shows your preset folder in Finder or Explorer. If no preset file is selected, for example in a fresh instance, the name field shows Hello World.

The browser has three rails: Packs at the top left, the genre pills under it, and Tags at the top right, with blue type pills at the top of the Tags rail. Two toggles hide or show the rails: the left one hides Packs and Genres, the right one hides Tags and the preset information.

• Packs: click a pack to show only its presets, or All Packs to show everything.
• Types: click a blue type pill to show only that type. Select several to show any of them.
• Genres: each genre you select narrows the list. A preset can have several genres and must carry every selected genre to stay visible.
• Tags: each tag you select narrows the list further. A preset must carry every selected tag to stay visible.
• Search matches preset name, pack, type, author and pack creator. It does not search tags, genres or the description.

Click a pill again to deselect it. The pill lists only show types, genres and tags found in the presets the other filters leave.

The list has NAME, PACK, TYPE, MODIFIED DATE and FAV columns. TYPE shows the preset's type: Bass, Lead, Pad, SFX, Drum, Other, or a type you typed yourself. Click a column heading to sort by it, and click it again to reverse the order. Date and favourite sorts start with the newest or starred presets. When no search, type, genre or tag filter is active, the factory Init preset stays at the top of the list.

• Click a row to load the preset.
• Double-click a row to load it and close the browser.
• Click the star in the FAV column to add or remove a favourite.
• Press Escape or click Close to close the browser.

The browser does not rescan your folders each time it opens. If you add or change preset files outside Mainframe, click the refresh button at the right of the search bar.

The browser opens scrolled to the current preset. The bottom of the right rail shows the current preset's pack art, name, pack, creator or author, and its description.

Right-click a row to open its menu:

• Edit Preset Info...
• Reveal in Finder (Mac) or Show in Explorer (Windows)
• Add to Favourites / Remove from Favourites
• Delete Preset..., which opens Yes, move to the Trash to confirm. The file goes to the system Trash or Recycle Bin. Factory presets show Delete Preset (factory) greyed out.

Right-clicking never auditions or loads the row.

Use the save button in the top bar to open Save Preset. It has fields for NAME, TYPE, GENRE, AUTHOR, TAGS and DESCRIPTION, filled in from the current preset. TYPE takes one value; pick from the list or type your own. GENRE and TAGS take as many as you like. DESCRIPTION is limited to 160 characters and shows a counter. This is the text shown under the art in the browser.

Presets are saved to your user presets folder. Read the status line under the name before saving: if a user preset already has that name, saving replaces it. Use a new name to keep an alternate version. Pressing Return in the Name or Author field also saves.

Edit Preset Info... opens the same panel as EDIT PRESET INFO. It changes a saved preset's details without saving your current edits to the sound. The status line says what will happen:

• Same name, user preset: updates the details, and the stored sound stays as it was.
• New name: saves a new preset with the new details and keeps the original.
• Factory preset: factory presets cannot be changed, so a copy goes to your user presets.

A row's play icon is active when a .mid or .midi file with the same name sits in the same folder as the preset. For example, My Bass.mid belongs beside My Bass.mainframe. If there is no matching file, the icon is dimmed. Click the browser's refresh button after adding a file. The file needs to be a beat-based MIDI file containing notes; otherwise you get an error message.

Click play to load that preset and loop its MIDI. The icon turns into a stop square while the demo plays. Click it again to stop.

The demo does not replace your sound. When you stop it, close the browser or click play on the same row again, Mainframe returns to the patch you had before the first demo, including unsaved edits. Moving from one demo to another still returns to your original patch, and any changes made while a demo plays are lost when it stops. To keep a demo preset, click its row (or double-click it) instead. This loads the preset normally and stops the demo.

With the DAW running, the preview follows its song position and tempo. With transport stopped, it uses the last tempo the host reported, as long as the host keeps processing the instrument. Tempo events in the MIDI file do not change the preview tempo.

An ordinary preset can reference external samples and wavetables. To move a library to another machine, use a `.mainframepack` file. This takes the referenced files along with the presets.

1. Save the patches you want to include.
2. In the browser, click + at the top of the Packs rail and choose Create Pack....
3. Fill in PACK NAME and CREATOR (both required), plus an optional DESCRIPTION and VERSION. Select the presets with their rows, or use Select all and Clear on the current search results. For artwork, use Choose artwork, then drag and Zoom to frame it. Use initials replaces the image with generated art.
4. Choose Save Pack to install the pack in your library, or Save & Export to also write a pack file for sharing.
5. On the receiving machine, choose + > Import Pack... and select the .mainframepack file. Then audition the patches.

Right-click a pack in the rail, or select it and click +, for the pack menu: Create Pack..., Import Pack..., and for a pack with pack details, Edit Pack..., Export Pack... and Show Pack Folder. Edit Pack... is only available for packs installed in your user folder.

A pack copies saved presets, not the current unsaved sound. The original presets stay where they are. Saving or exporting collects referenced samples, noise and wavetables, plus matching MIDI previews. If a dependency is missing, you get an error instead of an incomplete pack. A pack holds up to 2,000 presets and can be up to 1 GB. Importing a pack with the same identity as an installed one replaces it and keeps a backup of the previous copy. The version label is not checked, so an older revision can be imported over a newer one.

On macOS, content lives in ~/Library/Rankin Audio/Mainframe. On Windows, it lives in Documents\Rankin Audio\Mainframe, in the system's Documents folder. These are content folders, not plug-in folders.

Favourites are stored in favourites.json in the same folder. Keep the original sample files available for projects that use them. Save or export a pack before you move a library.

1. On OSC A, turn the oscillator on and choose a saw-like wave. Set Vox to 2 and a modest Det, with Uni at 1 for now. Use the cog button on the wave display (it opens VOICES) for wider stacks later.
2. On the AMP envelope, set a short Attack, a high Sustain and a short Release.
3. Turn on a low-pass filter for Layer A and set the filter routing to Serial.
4. Route a slow LFO to Cutoff. Set the base cutoff and depth so the low point stays audible and the high point is not too bright.
5. Add a little Drive in Sculpt and bring the level back down with Sculpt's Out.
6. If the moving layer needs a steadier base, blend in a quiet Sine sub with its route on Direct Out (the default). Check the combined sound in mono in your DAW.
7. Assign macros to useful ranges of cutoff and drive, name them, and save.

1. Load a wavetable on Layer A and find a useful frame range.
2. Set ENV 2 to Advanced, draw a rising and falling shape, and turn on Loop and Sync. Route it to wavetable position or to a formant or comb filter control.
3. Adjust the route depth while holding a note, then audition with a MIDI phrase.
4. Add DISTORTION, then an EQ after it, to control the extra harmonics.
5. Link the route depth to a macro so you can vary the intensity.
6. Record a phrase into a sample lane with MIDI capture and the Master Post-FX source. Audition the sample on its own before adding any more effects.

1. Build a sustained sound with enough harmonics to feed several bands.
2. Add BAND SPLITTER and set the crossovers for the ranges you want to process.
3. Keep the Low chain simple. Add distortion to Mid and chorus or delay to High.
4. Balance the outputs of the effects inside the splitter, then check the sound in stereo and mono.
5. Compare with the splitter bypassed at a similar level.
6. Save the patch, and save the FX rack too if you want to reuse the processing.

Click the Rankin Audio logo at the top right to open About. It shows the running version and three machine-wide settings: oversampling, pitch bend and MPE.

• OVERSAMPLING — 1x, 2x or 4x for the whole voice and FX chain. Higher settings can improve the behaviour of nonlinear processing at additional CPU cost. Changing it stops any sounding notes and may briefly interrupt audio, so make the change between phrases. Offline bounces use the same setting as playback.
• PITCH BEND — separate Down and Up ranges, each 0 to 36 semitones (default 2). Click - or +, drag or scroll on the number, or double-click the number to return to 2.

These settings belong to your machine, not to the patch. Loading a preset never changes them. A DAW project brings back the values it was saved with, without changing your machine default; projects saved by older versions keep your current values. A new instance starts with the values you chose last. They are stored in Mainframe.settings in a Rankin Audio folder: on macOS, ~/Library/Application Support/Rankin Audio/; on Windows, your user application-data folder. Close About with the cross, Escape, or a click outside the card.

About also holds the MPE switch. On lets an MPE controller bend each note on its own MIDI channel, and the MPE Pressure, MPE Slide and MPE Bend modulation sources follow the note that is playing. Note sets how far each note bends, 1 to 96 semitones (default 48). Like oversampling and pitch bend, MPE is a machine-wide setting: presets do not change it.

To reduce CPU, try fewer oscillator voices/unison copies, a lower oversampling setting, and fewer expensive effects or instances. Group bypass does not save CPU. A larger DAW buffer can help processing headroom but increases live-play latency. Resampling a complex patch can simplify a later version of the sound.

When reporting a problem, include the About version, OS, DAW, plug-in format, sample rate, buffer size, oversampling setting, pitch bend ranges, MPE on or off and steps to reproduce it. Include the affected preset or pack where possible.