Brainworx bx_pulsar Plugin Manual

1. Welcome to bx_pulsar

bx_pulsar combines the tone of analog hardware, the flexibility of modern FX, and the precision of Brainworx engineering into a single, intuitive plugin. Brainworx's new creative delay plugin is designed to offer a versatile, musical, and highly intuitive delay solution. It blends a wide range of classic and modern delay tones with innovative features like an 8-step sequencer, ducking compressor, and dual delay routing. bx_pulsar is the companion delay to the bx_aura reverb, replacing cluttered plugin chains or limited stock delays with one powerful, user-friendly delay processor.

Download and install your plugin using our Installation Manager: https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/installation-manager.html

Thank you for choosing bx_pulsar. We hope you enjoy it!

2. Key features

The following list gives you an overview of bx_pulsar's key features:

Five Delay Modes: Choose from delay colors past, present, and futuristic, each with algorithm-specific parameters including Diffusion, Sparkle, and Modulation amount.
Sub-Types: Within the Magnetic and Circuit modes, further fine-tune tone and behavior via a selection of progressively more textured, noisy, and characterful sub-types, from studio-grade reel-to-reel tape machines to dusty cassette tapes, through classic echo boxes, early rack units, and crunchy guitar delay pedals.
Multiple delay line configurations:
- Dual Mode: Provides stereo routing with Ping Pong and Criss Cross options, plus custom delay time ratios – including presets for Golden Ratio, Plastic, and Semitone ratios, perfect for easily setting up polyrhythmic or "random-pattern" repeats.
- Sequence Mode: A flexible 8-step delay sequencer with per-step panning, one-shot/loop options, and step-based timing.
Additional Features:
- Test Tone generates short noise bursts for real-time preview.
- Ducking Compressor (Post, Feedback, or both) with sidechain.
- Swing and Global Offset for finetuning the groove.
- L/R Time Offset.
- Advanced Filtering: High/Low cut and frequency damping.
- Freeze, Wet Gain, and full GUI animation.

3. bx_pulsar overview

bx_pulsar consists of the following areas and main controls:

1. Top toolbar: Additional global controls relevant to the plugin's processing. For more information, refer to Top toolbar.

2. Display Section: Contains a selection of delay modes, flexible voicing, and a filter module. For more information, refer to Display section.

3. Main Controls: Delay-specific main controls, timing, and ducking are found here. For more information, refer to Main section.

4. Bottom toolbar: Preferences, license information, and documentation. For more information, refer to Bottom toolbar.

4. Display section

Different delay technologies, modes, and filters to define the delay's character. This section contains the following modules:

Delay modes

Various delay "mediums" offer rich sonic identities, while unique sub-modes give users access to distinct characters like tape, cassette, modded pedals, or classic BBDs. Every mode includes three global controls without variance.

AIR Mode

AIR: Free from artifacts, the linear Air delay represents a digital delay configuration as clean as it can get. No pitch-shifting occurs when changing this variant's timing.

Mod Rate: Change the modulation's rate.

Mod Amt: Add sine-waved pitch modulation to the delay module.

Diffusion: Creates a reverb tail around each delay repeat.

MAGNETIC Mode

MAGNETIC: Magnetic memory represents the earliest technology of delaying a signal to its real-time reference and varies in stability as well as tonality related to its medium and applied mechanics.

Mod Rate: Change the modulation's rate of the sine waves for Wow (and Flutter for Cassette).

Mod Amt: Add wow, flutter, and Brownian noise depending on the selected type.

Type: Four magnetic delays with differing pitch shifting behaviors, Wow-modulation, and Flutter:

Reel: Represents a clean tape delay with fresh tape, demagnetized heads, and a stable motor reaching the fastest pitch response. No noise and a little treble attenuation. Modulation-type = variable Wow and fixed Flutter.
Space: This model washes out the low end and adds grit by introducing more noise and saturation. Rotation reacts slower than Reel and Cassette, which leads to longer pitch-shifting artifacts when changing the delay-time. Modulation-type = variable Wow and increased fixed Flutter.
Cassette: Looped cassettes and modded recorders have been a cheap alternative to expensive tape-delays and introduced their own characteristics into music-production. Allows quick access to pumping and compressed delays followed by dramatic filtering, noise, modulated flutter, and drop-outs. Works great for Lo-Fi type genres. Modulation-type = variable Wow and variable Flutter.
Dusty: Unmaintained magnetic delay type: Reduced dynamics, noisy output, heavily filtered input, and dropouts. This delay's sluggish motor results in the longest pitch-curves. Modulation-type = variable Wow and fixed Flutter.

CIRCUIT Mode

CIRCUIT: The non-linear BBD (bucket brigade device) delay has a warm tonality and comes with a range of classic guitar pedal delays to analogue rack delays from the pre-digital era.

Mod Rate: Change the modulation's rate.

Mod Amt: Add pitch modulation to the delay module.

Type: Four BBD-type delays with different modulation and pitch-shifting behavior:

Studio: This is a BBD-delay with a clean attitude and subtle filtering and saturation character. Modulation-type = sine.
Vintage: An early version of a BBD-type studio delay with gritty filtering and saturation to be introduced with every repetition. Modulation-type = sine.
Pedal: Representing a typical old guitar effect pedal, it injects character to instruments and vocals by strong filtering and distortion with each and every repetition. It is able to self-oscillate with high feedback values. Modulation-type = warped triangle.
Modded: This type adds character by heavy filtering and distortion as well as introducing aliasing. The modded BBD is also able to self-oscillate with high feedback values. Modulation-type = random.

AETHER Mode

AETHER: The creative delay in bx_pulsar's arsenal: adding sparkle and radiance, this one is a unique tool to experiment with pads and add character to spherical sound designs. The delay stays clean from pitch-shifting artifacts when changing the delay time.

Radiance: Add more magic by increasing radiance, a constant octave up, introduced to the feedback path.

Sparkle: Adds creative grain processing surrounding each delays' repetition.

REVERSE Mode

REVERSE: This mode is a typical reverse effect that works great for pad-like atmospheric textures or creative experiments. Free of pitch-shifting artifacts when changing the delay time.

Compress: Upward compression making the reverse delay's detail more audible while also smoothing out transients.

Diff Size: Change the size of the diffusion.

? AETHER and REVERSE work particularly well in combination with FREEZE for generating granular pad tones and atmospheres.

Pattern

Choose from either Dual for studio-type delay routings or Sequencer to get creative with up to eight separate delay lines. This section consists of the following controls:

DUAL Mode

Common delay setup with two separate delay lines (left and right) and four differing configurations:

Routing: bx_pulsar can be wired in four different setups when in dual mode:

Mono In: Both delay lines receive the sum of the left and right input signal.
Stereo In: Discrete delay lines for left and right to keep the stereo information relevant inside of the delay engine.
Ping Pong: The left delay line receives a sum of the left and right input to handover its signal to the right delay line in the feedback path. The right delay line feeds its output back into the left delay's input to close the ping pong loop.
Criss Cross: The left and right delay lines feed their output signal back from left to right and vice-versa to swap sides after each repetition.

Ratio: The delay-ratio parameter easily allows to setup syncopic, poly-rhythms, and other complex rhythmic structures that aren't based on note values. Set to 1:1 by default, both delay lines have the same timing, they are in sync to each other unless the L/R Offset is applied. Set to a ratio of 2:3 for example, the left delay line will repeat its input twice while the right delay will repeat the incoming signal three times during the same time-span. This allows setting up rich stereo enhancement in no time and without the introduction of additional delay lines. SEMI, PLSTC, and GOLD (semitone, plastic, and golden ratio) are extreme settings and represent special cases: they prevent the left and right delay lines from rhythmic repetition.

L/R Offset: Add a manual offset between the left and right delay lines. A setting of 50 ms will proportionally shift the left delay 25 ms ahead, and the right delay 25 ms behind the global delay time before entering delay core and feedback loop.

SEQUENCE Mode

Mono input configuration with built-in panning to be spread in the stereo field by up to 8 delay lines:

[Step switches]: Click a step to individually de-/activate each step of the sequence.

[Step panning]: Setting up the exact panning position of each step allows for building stereo tapped delays or complex movements in the stereo field.

[Sequence] Mode: Set to LOOP by default, the last step feeds the first delay of the sequence. Switching this mode to ONCE (one-shot-mode) disables the repetition of the sequencer's pattern even when feedback is set to a high value. The feedback parameter can attenuate late steps when set to low values.

[Sequence] Steps: The amount of steps equals the amount of delay-lines available in the delay engine of bx_pulsar. Each step represents a discrete delay-line.

Filters

Tonal shaping tools to adjust the delays overall sound. This section consists of the following controls:

Input/output filters

Pre/Post [position]: When set to Pre, the filters are located before the delay process and are inaudible if Freeze is active. When switched to Post, the filter works behind the delay core and will be audible when Freeze is activated.

Low Cut [frequency]: Cutoff frequency of the low cut / high pass filter. The slope of the cut filter is 12 dB per octave.

High Cut [frequency]: Cutoff frequency of the high cut / low pass filter. The slope of the cut filter is 12 dB per octave.

Damping filters

Low Damp [amount]: Located in the feedback path of each delay-line, the attenuating low-shelving filters dampen every feedback-cycle by a given percentage.

[Low Damp] Freq: Sets the low damping frequency.

High Damp [amount]: Amount of damping applied to the high frequencies.

[High Damp] Freq: Sets the high damping frequency.

5. Main section

This section features the main delay and groove controls, as well as an on-board ducking compressor. It contains the following modules:

Main delay controls

bx_pulsar's most important delay settings are placed in the center of the main section. This section consists of the following controls:

Sync: When deactivated, the timing of the Delay changes from synchronized tempo-related to manual time-based values.

Delay [time]: Sets the global interval of the delay engine.

Synchronized Timing: By default, synchronization is enabled, the scale shows note values instead of milliseconds, helping to create rhythmic effects.
Manual Timing: When Sync is deactivated, the scale switches from note values to milliseconds.

Width: Controls the distance of the left and right voices from the center position determined by PAN. Negative Width values mirror the stereo field around its center.

Mix: Set the mix and balance between the direct signal and the processed signal. The lock icon to the right locks the current Mix value so it doesn't change when switching presets. It is always off when you initially instantiate the plugin in a session.

Pan: Defines the position around which left and right voices are centered in the stereo-field. The further you turn the Pan knob away from the center, the more the Width range is restricted, as left and right channels are always symmetrically centered around the Pan position.

Feedback: Controls the amount of the delay's output fed back into its input. Without any feedback applied, only a single delay appears. By increasing this value, more delays/echoes appear up to endless repetitions and distorting swells if turned up to extreme settings.

Groove and Ducker

Control further details by adding groove-related timing and dynamic depth in the groove and ducker modules. These sections consist of the following controls:

Groove

Swing: Introduces swing to the delay line and shifts the odd delay repetitions to a laid-back feeling when turned right (>50%) or uptight swing if turned left (<50%).

Offset: To constantly shift the whole delay line, applying negative values shorten the first offset, while positive values increase the offset in milliseconds.

Ducker

Ext SC: Enables/disables the external sidechain input.

Target: Conventional ducking is achieved by the default POST setting. Attenuation of the FEEDBACK loop shortens the delay's tail once triggered by incoming audio, leading to a less unorganized tail underneath the dry signal. Ducking BOTH offers a combination which leads to a very tidy and shortened delay tail while input signal is present. This is a versatile option in combination with EXT SC (external sidechain) signals to control the length as well as the volume of the delay design.

Amount: The amount of ducking to be applied, resulting from a combination of threshold and ratio within one parameter: Raising the amount decreases the threshold while proportionally increasing the ratio, leading to more gain reduction. The ducking compressor is triggered by the dry input if the external sidechain is disabled (default setting).

Release: Sets the release time of the ducking compressor.

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