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User Manual
- Screen Overview
- Drum Pads
- Toolbar
- Step Sequencer
- Navigation and Transport
- Sample Page
- Amplification Page
- Master Page
- Pattern Page
- Legacy Samples
- Contact and Support
Screen Overview
Drum Pads
There are 6 drum pads, each one linked to a track. They can operate in three different modes:
- In Select mode, tapping on a pad selects the corresponding track and displays its sequence and parameters for editing.
- In Perform mode, tapping on a pad triggers the sound for that track, enabling you to play sounds manually. The effects of Select mode are also applied, which is handy if you want to perform and change parameters at the same time.
- In Mute mode, tapping on a pad mutes or un-mutes the corresponding track. Muted tracks do not produce any sound. This can be used for live performance or to isolate a specific track during editing.
Drum Pad Mode can be set using the toolbar.
Toolbar
Meta-commands for various parts of Ton are organised here.
- The Select, Perform and Mute buttons set the corresponding Drum Pads modes. See Drum Pads for more information.
- Increase or decrease the sequence duration by a factor of two (1, 2 or 4 bars.) Each track can have a different sequence duration. The bar that the sequencer displays is highlighted. When increasing the sequence duration, existing step values are duplicated to the new bars.
- The Snap button enables or disables Snap Mode. When Snap Mode is enabled, parameters a constrained to useful values, such as whole semitones, BPM, etc.
Step Sequencer
The step sequencer displays 1 bar at a time, divided into 16 steps.
It is possible to assign different parameter values to each step. This is called parameter locking and it’s a quick and powerful way to add variation to any sequence: lock level or attack to simulate velocity, lock pitch to create melodies, or even lock different samples to different steps. Possibilities are endless.
- Tap a step to enable it, tap it again to disable it. Only enabled steps produce sound.
- Hold down a step to view its parameter locks (locked knobs turn white.)
- While a step is held down, change parameter values to assign locks.
- To remove a parameter lock, hold down a step and double tap the desired knob (or tap the designated button, if applicable.)
See the toolbar to learn how to change sequence duration (1, 2 or 4 bars) and navigate between bars.
Navigation and Transport
- This section contains tabs to access the various pages: Sample, Amplification, Master, and Patterns, as well as links to project management and to this manual.
- The transport button (Play/Stop) displays a progression ring when it is enabled, to better visualise the advancement of the sequences.
- The Project button opens a popover where you can create, open and delete projects, as well as changing Ableton Link settings.
Sample Page
(See Navigation and Transport to learn how to display this page.)
This is where you choose what sample to play on the current track and adjust some of its characteristics.
- Select the desired sample by scrolling the sample list.
- The selected sample’s waveform is displayed.
- Change the timbre of the sample by using the tune and saturation parameters, as well as the multimode resonant filter.
Sample Manager
The sample manager is used to import samples and load them into a project. It is accessible via a button on the Sample Page.
- Import from iCloud, Dropbox and AudioShare using the corresponding buttons.
- Import using iTunes File Sharing by connecting your iPad to your computer and using iTunes to transfer samples to Ton.
- All imported samples are stored in the iTunes File Sharing folder.
- Load samples into the current project by using drag & drop. Each project has 128 sample slots.
- Each project stores its own samples, so you can safely delete samples from the library without affecting existing projects.
Amplification Page
(See Navigation and Transport to learn how to display this page.)
An envelope is applied to a sample every time it plays. You also decide how much of the resulting sound will go through the master effects. Panning and track volume are also set here.
Master Page
(See Navigation and Transport to learn how to display this page.)
The master page contains parameters for tempo and global audio effects. Since these parameters are not tied to any track, they cannot be parameter-locked.
- The Tempo Wheel can range from 20 to 999 BPM. Rotate clockwise to increase, counter-clockwise to decrease. It is compatible with Ableton Link.
- The Delay effect has a time parameter (a duration in step count before the sound will repeat) and a feedback parameter (how much of the sound will be fed back into the effect.) A feedback value of 1 means the signal will repeat indefinitely. Changing the tempo or the time parameter while the effect is performing can lead to unpredictable and sometimes interesting sound transformations.
- The Reverb effect has a damp parameter (attenuating frequencies above the set value) and a feedback parameter (how much of the signal is fed back into the effect.)
Pattern Page
(See Navigation and Transport to learn how to display this page.)
- A pattern contains the state of the 6 tracks, including the sequence and parameter values (with the exception of tempo.) Each project has 16 patterns that can be accessed via the corresponding button.
- You can switch to any pattern with a tap. The contents of your chosen pattern are applied immediately, without waiting for the next bar, and without going out of tempo. This is very useful to perform live and improvise an arrangement.
- To store the current tracks and their parameters, tap the Store Pattern button, then tap any of the 16 patterns. Tip: You can duplicate a pattern simply by storing it into different places.
Legacy Samples
Ton 1.3 introduces a new, streamlined “factory library” of samples. Samples that were available in previous versions can still be downloaded here. Note that this change does NOT affect existing projects or custom samples, so your work is preserved.
Contact and Support
If you encounter unknown bugs, want to share feature ideas or anything else, please contact the developer directly: jeremypinat (at) bravebolt (dot) com