Panel parameters

LFO 1&2 common parameters

Rate

This controls the LFO rate. The Rate range in Pulsar is very wide and can reach way up in the audio frequency range. The rate is indicated by the lamp to the left above the Rate knob. The rate can also be synced to the sequencer tempo by clicking the Tempo Sync button below the Rate knob (see “Tempo Sync” below). In sync mode, the Rate knob controls the sync resolution.

The LFO 1 Rate can be modulated and/or synced by LFO 2, see “Rate (LFO 2 to LFO 1 Rate)” and “Sync”. The Rates can also be modulated from the Envelope, see “Envelope”. As a special feature, the Rates can also be controlled from a MIDI keyboard, see “KBD Follow”.

Range: 0.06Hz-1.05kHz (synced: 32/4 to 1/64th)

When the Rate is modulated, it can reach far beyond the default frequency range.

Waveform selectors

Here you can select one of nine different LFO waveforms. Besides the standard waveforms (sine, triangle, pulse, etc.) there are random, slope and stepped waveforms. The shape of the waveforms are shown in the display.

Note that all waveforms are bipolar, i.e., they generate both positive and negative levels.

Select waveform for each LFO by clicking the up/down arrow buttons or by clicking and holding in the waveform display and dragging up/down.

Level

Here you set the output level of the LFO signal. The LFO 1 Level can be modulated by LFO 2, see “Level (LFO 2 to LFO 1 Level)”. The Levels can also be modulated by the Envelope, see “Envelope”.

Phase

The Phase control lets you offset the phase of the LFO cycle, i.e. decide where in the cycle the waveform should start. The range of the Phase control is 0-360 degrees:

Shuffle

The Shuffle function affects two adjacent LFO cycles, in pairs. Increasing the Shuffle value lengthens the first cycle and shortens the second one:

Note that the total length of the cycle pair is always 2 regular cycles, which means that shuffling will work great also in Tempo Sync mode, see “Tempo Sync”.

Range: 50% (no shuffle) to 75%

Lag

The Lag control acts like a lowpass filter on the LFO signal, making the signal smoother. This is especially noticeable on waveforms with sharp edges or transients like the square, sawtooth and stepped waves. On the sinewave you will barely notice any effect since it’s already smooth by nature.

Tempo Sync

Click the Tempo Sync button to sync the LFO Rate to the sequencer tempo. This is great for creating animated effects in sync with the song’s tempo. In Tempo Sync mode, the Rate knob controls the sync resolution, see “Rate”.

LFO 1 specific parameters

ENV Sync

With ENV Sync active, whatever triggers the Envelope will also restart LFO 1, see “Envelope”.

If Tempo Sync is also active (see “Tempo Sync”) the LFO will continue to sync to the sequencer tempo. However, when you actually press a key or hit the Trig button will affect the LFO cycle start. In some situations this could be perceived as the LFO is losing sync but it’s not; it’s merely the LFO cycle start that is changing.

LFO 2 specific parameters

On/Off

Click this to activate LFO 2.

LFO 2 to LFO 1 modulation parameters

Rate (LFO 2 to LFO 1 Rate)

This controls the modulation amount from the LFO 2 signal level to LFO 1’s Rate. The result is frequency modulation (FM) of LFO 1.

Level (LFO 2 to LFO 1 Level)

This controls the modulation amount from the LFO 2 signal level to LFO 1’s Level. The result is amplitude modulation (AM) of LFO 1.

Sync

With the Sync button on, every new LFO 2 cycle automatically restarts LFO 1.

Envelope

This is an AR (Attack-Release) envelope. The Envelope can be triggered from any of these four sources:

•	The Trig button, see “Trig”.

•	LFO 2, see “LFO 2 Trig”.

•	Envelope Gate In modulation input on the rear panel, see “Envelope Gate In”.

•	MIDI Note On from a connected MIDI keyboard.

The Envelope can modulate the Levels and Rates of LFO 1 and/or LFO 2.

If the envelope is retriggered before all envelope stages are completed, the envelope will simply restart at the current level (similar to how a monophonic synthesizer works).

LFO 2 Trig

With the LFO 2 Trig button on, the Envelope is automatically synced by the LFO 2 signal. This means that every time LFO 2 begins a new cycle, the envelope is triggered.

Trig

This is a non-latching gate button which gates/triggers the envelope.

Attack and Release

The attack and release times of the envelope when the gate opens/closes are set with these knobs. For a gated effect set both controls to zero and control the gate time with the Trig button, CV Gate In modulation input or MIDI Notes. You can also let LFO 2 trig/gate the envelope as described above.

Range: 0.1ms-3.00s (Attack) and 0.0ms-10.00s (Release)

Rate (LFO 1 and 2 Envelope modulation)

The Rate knobs control the modulation amount of the Rate parameters of LFO 1 and 2 respectively. With these you can force the LFO rates to vary according to the envelope’s Attack and Release times:

The Rate modulation controls are bipolar, with no modulation at 12 the o’clock position, negative modulation to the left and positive to the right. Negative modulation means that the LFO Rate gets slower during the envelope stage and then goes back to the set Rate:

Level (LFO 1 and 2 Envelope modulation)

The Level knobs control the modulation amount of the Level parameters of LFO 1 and 2 respectively:

The Level modulation controls are bipolar, with no envelope modulation at 12 the o’clock position, negative modulation to the left and positive to the right. Negative modulation means that the LFO signal decreases in level during the envelope stages and then goes back to set Level:

KBD Follow

It’s possible to control the LFO Rates in Pulsar from a connected MIDI keyboard:

Create a sequencer track for Pulsar by selecting “Create Track for Pulsar n” from the context menu (right-click the device in the rack).

A sequencer track is created and is automatically selected.

With the KBD Follow knob you can define how the LFO Rates should be modulated by incoming MIDI Note data. The KBD Follow parameter is bipolar:

•	At zero (12 o’clock position), the Rates are not modulated at all.

•	At 100 the LFO Rates track the incoming MIDI Notes 1:1, which means you can “play” the LFOs chromatically from a connected MIDI keyboard.

•	At -100 the LFO Rates tracks the incoming MIDI Notes “backwards” chromatically, which means the LFOs run slower the higher up on the keyboard you play, and vice versa.

The center MIDI note, i.e. where the LFO Rates “intersect” with the MIDI Note, is C3.

If Tempo Sync is enabled for the LFO(s) you will be able to do cool wobble effects by playing various notes on your MIDI keyboard, see “Tempo Sync”.