Configuration

Tempo

Vector works with a main tempo which is used to synchronize the movement of the suborbit, sequencing of the Arpeggiator or timing of effects. The synchronization of the individual parts can be enabled or disabled by the switches in the Sync section.

When Vector is playing play, the tempo is indicated by an LED next to the Tap button in the Sync section. The tempo can be either tapped into the button or adjusted by pressing and dragging the BPM indicator on the Effects screen screen_effects. When Vector is stopped stop, no tempo is being generated and Orbiter and Arpeggiator are also stopped.

The main tempo operates in multiple modes:

  • tempo_standalone Stand-alone Mode (default), in which the tempo is generated by Vector and used only internally.

  • tempo_send Send Mode, in which the tempo is generated by Vector and transmitted over MIDI to other devices.

  • tempo_receive Receive Mode, in which the tempo is received from an external device (such as a drum machine or a sequencer).

Hints

  • The tempo mode and BPM can be stored persistently on the Settings screen screen_settings. See MIDI configuration.

  • The MIDI tempo can be additionally slowed down by a fixed divider. See the Global slowdown parameter in MIDI configuration.

Presets

The Presets screen screen_presets allows access to presets organized in categories and pages (with 50 presets per page). A preset contains all parameters defined on the Orbiter and Effects screens.

The System presets category contains read-only presets which can change with firmware upgrades while the User presets have space for presets which can be stored and renamed and are preserved during firmware upgrades. There are three pages (150 slots) available for the user presets.

To store a preset, select a slot and press Save. If the slot is not free, it will be overwritten with the new values.

Warning

Do not power off Vector when saving a preset, wait for the confirmation message first.

Hints

  • The default preset (loaded after Vector is powered up) can be configured on the Settings screen screen_settings (see the Miscellaneous configuration section).

  • It is possible to change the current preset by MIDI Bank Select and Program Change messages. The Bank Select chooses the preset category and page while the Program Change loads an individual preset from that page.

Preset import and export

User presets can be stored to or loaded from a USB drive either individually or as a full backup. Only drives formatted to the FAT32 filesystem are supported at the moment.

The external drive connected to the USB Host port can be accessed on the Presets screen screen_presets. When a USB drive is plugged in, a third category External appears alongside User and System.

Warning

Always use the Eject eject button before physically unplugging the external drive to prevent data loss.

Accessing individual presets

When a USB drive is present, the External category allows access to presets stored on the drive. This method is useful for transferring presets between Vector and a computer.

The category has 5 pages and supports Save, Load and Rename operations in the same way as the User presets category.

Presets on the external drive are stored in a directory named vector-presets as one file per preset slot. Preset file names are derived from their slot numbers (shown in the bottom left corner of each slot).

Hint

To copy a preset from User to External, first load the target preset and then save it to a free slot in the External category.

Archiving all presets at once

It is also possible to backup or restore an archive containing all User presets at once. This method is useful for making backups of the full preset bank.

The Backup backup button archives all User presets to file named vector-user-archive.zip. If the file is already present on the external drive, it is overwritten by the backup operation.

The Restore restore button overwrites all User presets slots with presets present in vector-user-archive.zip. Preset slots which are used in Vector but are not present in the archive are preserved.

Hint

Please note that the preset archive created by the Backup button is stored in a different location than presets in the External category. As a result it is not possible to load only a specific preset from the archive; it is only possible to perform a backup or restoration of all presets at once.

Global settings

The Settings screen screen_settings contains global configuration which is common for all presets. The configuration can be stored using the Save button, reloaded from memory using the Load button or reset to defaults using the Default button.

MIDI configuration

The following MIDI parameters can be set in the Global settings:

  • Input MIDI channel for receiving MIDI messages,

  • Separate Arp in MIDI channel for Note On/Off events fed into the Arpeggiator (equals to the MIDI input channel by default),

  • Output MIDI channel for sending MIDI messages (Start/Stop, Timing Clock, and also notes received from connected MIDI controllers if Forward MIDI notes is enabled),

  • Separate Arp out MIDI channel for sending notes played by the Arpeggiator if Output Arp MIDI notes is enabled,

  • The option to ignore note velocity and use a Fixed MIDI velocity to play all notes with the same (maximum) amplitude,

  • The option to divide the received MIDI Timing Clock (depending on the Tempo configuration) by a factor defined by the Global slowdown,

  • The option to set the Tempo sync mode (OFF for the Stand-alone Mode, OUT for Send Mode and IN for the Receive Mode),

  • The option to configure the Default BPM used by the main Tempo,

  • The option to configure MIDI Out as Through so that all MIDI messages received on the MIDI IN jack are forwarded to the MIDI OUT jack, enabling the MIDI Through (Thru) functionality,

  • The option to configure Pitchbend semitones from 1 to 24 semitones up/down, and

  • The option to Hide MIDI popup notification, normally displayed when a MIDI Control Change (CC) message is received.

Hint

Both Input MIDI channel and Arp in MIDI channel can be set to receive messages on all sixteen channels simultaneously.

Miscellaneous configuration

Apart from MIDI configuration, the Global settings screen also contains the following configuration options:

  • If Sticky Corner Matrix is enabled, the Corner Matrix button alternates between visible and hidden Corner Matrix. If disabled, the Corner Matrix stays visible only as long as the button is pressed.

  • The Knob speed selector allows to increase the rate of change of the 25 rotary encoders on the front panel.

  • The Screen brightness configures the LCD screen brightness in 10 steps.

It is also possible to mark the current preset as default (loaded automatically when Vector is powered up) using the Preset as default button.

Hints

  • The Settings screen screen_settings also allows for Firmware updates. User presets are preserved during an update.

  • Updating the default preset must be followed by pressing the Save button, otherwise it has not effect.