Vert1go FX User Manual

Overview

Vert1go FX is a step-sequenced gate, a modulation effect (flanger, phaser or chorus) and an LFO-swept filter in one stereo plugin. All three sync to your host's tempo.

It takes a mono or stereo input and always outputs stereo. It supports VST3, AU and AAX on macOS and Windows.

Vert1go FX is the FX section of Vert1go. The full Vert1go adds movement: pattern and drawn-path panning in stereo, surround and immersive formats.

Getting Started

Installation

The installer places the plugin in the system-wide plugin folders:

macOS:

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/                    (AU)
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/                          (VST3)
/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/      (AAX)

Windows:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\                    (VST3)
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\     (AAX)

Launch your DAW and scan for new plugins. Vert1go FX appears in the modulation category.

Basic Setup

1. Insert Vert1go FX on a mono or stereo track.
2. Pick a factory preset from the browser in the header, or switch an effect on with the power button in its tab.
3. Set the input and output gain on the meters either side of the FX panel.

Input and Output

Input meter and gain

Drag the fader to set the input gain, from -36 to +18 dB. Double-click it to reset to 0 dB. The bars show the input level.

MONO / STEREO

Sums the left and right inputs to mono before the effects. Use it when you want the effects to treat a stereo source as one signal. The modulation WIDTH can then spread the result back across left and right.

• STEREO (green, two rings): the default. Left and right go through the effects as a pair.
• MONO (blue, one ring): left and right are summed first.

On a mono track the input is already mono. It is sent to both sides, so the modulation WIDTH can still widen it.

Output meter and gain

Drag the fader to set the output gain, from -36 to +18 dB. Double-click it to reset to 0 dB. The bars show the output level.

The FX Panel

The panel has three tabs: GATE SEQ, MODULATION and FILTER. Each tab cell has a power button, so an effect can be switched on or off without opening its tab. The effects run in that order: gate, then modulation, then filter.

Sync rates follow your host's tempo.

GATE SEQ: Step Sequencer

A trance-style gate with up to 32 steps. Each step is on, off, or tied to the step before it, and has its own velocity.

• STEPS grid. Each step has three controls stacked vertically:
  • On/off LED (the dot above the cell). Click to switch the step on or off. Drag along the row to switch a run of steps on or off in one movement; the first step decides which. This is the way to switch steps while in IND envelope mode, where a click on the cell selects it instead.
  • The cell. Drag vertically to set the velocity. Drag horizontally to tie steps together: the first cell triggers and the following cells hold. In ALL envelope mode a click also switches the step on or off; in IND mode a click only selects it.
  • Step number (below the cell). Click to select the step for envelope editing without changing whether it is on.
• AMOUNT. How many steps the pattern has, 1 to 32. Click the arrows, scroll, drag the digits, or double-click to type a value.
• RESOLUTION. The length of each step, from 1/4 to 1/128. Double-click to type a value; typing 1/8D or 1/16T also sets the matching modifier.
• D / T. Dotted (1.5 times as long) or triplet (two thirds as long). Only one can be on at a time. With both off, the resolution is used as it is.
• RND. Makes a random pattern: step on/off states with the occasional tie, random velocities, and a random envelope on every active step. AMOUNT and RESOLUTION stay as they are.
• MIX. Balance between the gated signal and the original.
• ENVELOPE editor (lower half). The attack, decay, sustain and release of each gated step. Drag the handles on the curve, or drag the four readouts below it. Double-click a readout to reset it.
• Patterns. Eight pattern slots. The active slot can be automated, so a song can switch between them.

An orange cursor shows the current step while the host plays. When the host stops, the gate holds at its current level.

Envelope scope: ALL and IND

Two pills in the top-right corner of the envelope display choose what an envelope edit affects.

• ALL (default). Edits apply to every step.
• IND. Edits apply only to the selected step.

When you switch to IND, every step starts with a copy of the ALL envelope. From then on each step keeps its own: editing ALL, or switching between ALL and IND, leaves the IND envelopes as you set them.

The ALL / IND setting and each step's envelope are saved with the session and with presets.

Selecting a step (IND mode)

The selected step has a yellow outline. Click its number below the grid, or click the cell itself. Use the on/off LED above a cell to switch it without leaving IND mode.

In IND mode each step that is on shows a small envelope curve: green while it matches the ALL envelope, yellow once it differs. In IND mode every step plays with its own envelope.

MODULATION: Flanger, Phaser, Chorus

One modulation effect at a time, picked with the FLANGE / PHASER / CHORUS buttons on the right.

• Display (upper half). The LFO waveform, with an orange cursor at the current position. When WIDTH is above 0, a faint blue curve shows the right channel's LFO.
• SHAPE. The LFO waveform: sine, triangle, saw or square.
• SYNC + RATE. With SYNC on, RATE is a note length from 1/32 to 32 bars, and while the transport plays each cycle lines up with the bars. With SYNC off, it is set in Hz, from 0.05 to 12 Hz.
• DEPTH. How far the LFO moves the effect.
• FBK. Feedback. Higher values sound more resonant and metallic.
• WIDTH. Offsets the right channel's LFO from the left, up to half a cycle. At 0 both channels move together; higher values widen the stereo image.
• MIX. Balance between the effect and the original.

The three types:

• FLANGE. A short modulated delay. A sweeping comb-filter sound that rings with high feedback.
• PHASER. A smooth sweep of notches through the spectrum.
• CHORUS. A longer modulated delay for detuning and doubling. Feedback is kept lower automatically.

FILTER: LFO-Swept Filter

A filter whose cutoff is moved by an LFO, and optionally by the input level.

• Display (upper half). The filter's response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. The orange line is the cutoff as it moves.
• SHAPE. The LFO waveform: sine, triangle, saw or square.
• HP / BP / LP. High-pass, band-pass or low-pass. Only one can be on at a time.
• SYNC + RATE. As in MODULATION.
• DEPTH. How far the LFO moves the cutoff, up to about two and a half octaves either side.
• CUTOFF. The center point the LFO moves around, from 80 Hz to 16 kHz.
• RES. Resonance.
• ENV. Lets the input level push the cutoff up, up to two octaves. At 0 only the LFO moves it. Useful for auto-wah sounds.

Presets

Use the preset browser in the header to load, save, rename and manage presets.

• Factory presets. 94 presets in seven groups:
  • 01 to 18: gate
  • 19 to 33: chorus
  • 34 to 43: phaser
  • 44 to 51: flanger
  • 52 to 77: filter
  • 78 to 86: two or three effects together
  • 87 to 94: gate with its own envelope on each step. These open in IND.
• User presets. Saved with Save As in the preset menu.
• From Vert1go. If you also use Vert1go, your Vert1go user presets are listed under this heading. Loading one applies its effect settings and gate patterns. Presets with every effect off are not listed.
• A / B / C / D slots hold four settings for quick comparison.

Your Vert1go FX user presets also appear in Vert1go, under From Vert1go FX. Loading one there changes only the effects; the movement stays as it is.

Presets and saved sessions include the gate patterns and the per-step envelopes.

DAW Automation

Every control on the panel can be automated. The parameter names match the controls:

• Input / Output: Input Gain, Output Gain, Mono
• GATE: Gate Enable, Gate Sync, Gate Attack, Gate Decay, Gate Sustain, Gate Release, Gate Mix, Gate Resolution, Gate Dotted, Gate Triplet, Gate Active Pattern
• MOD: Mod Enable, Mod Type, Mod Rate, Mod Sync, Mod Depth, Mod Feedback, Mod Mix, Mod Shape, Mod Width
• FILTER: Filter Enable, Filter Type, Filter Rate, Filter Sync, Filter Depth, Filter Cutoff, Filter Resonance, Filter Shape, Filter Env

The gate's step patterns are saved with the session but are not automation parameters.

Light Mode

Click LIGHT in the header to switch between the dark and light color schemes. The setting is remembered.

Licensing

Click the key icon in the footer to manage your license. From the license dialog you can activate a license key, start a 14-day trial, or open the purchase page.

A Vert1go license key also unlocks Vert1go FX. Enter it in the same way. On one computer, both plugins count as one activation.

Upgrading to Vert1go

Click UPGRADE in the header, or Upgrade in the license dialog, to buy the full Vert1go. What you paid for Vert1go FX comes off the price. After upgrading, Vert1go FX keeps working without entering a new key.

The UPGRADE button is shown while Vert1go FX runs on its own license or trial. It is hidden when you use a Vert1go license key.

Tooltips and Help Mode

Turning help mode on

Press the ? button below the output meter. Hover over any control to see what it does. Press ? again to switch help mode off.

Tooltip language

The flag button next to ? chooses the tooltip language. There are 22 languages, and your choice is remembered.

Help and Support

• Click the book icon in the footer for this manual.
• Click the lightbulb icon to send a feature request.
• Click the bug icon to report an issue. The form fills in the plugin version, build, operating system and DAW.
• Click the info icon to see the version, build and host.
• Visit max1musaudio.com for support, downloads and account management.