Character
Character: main parameter page.
A channel strip that replaces stock LO-FI: fold → saturate → tilt → compress → width → mix, distortion before dynamics. The defaults are an exact passthrough, so a part that chose LO-FI sounds the same until you turn it.
Access
Press FX1 on a track; CHARACTER is in the chooser in place of LO-FI. In Octabam Inserts it is also on FX2; in Octabam Bus it is FX1 only.
Operation
- SAT on page 2 picks the saturation character: TAPE, TUBE or INFL. DRV drives it (and adds up to +12 dB of input drive at 127, on top of each mode's own law).
- FOLD is a wavefolder: more overtones the further it is turned.
- COMP compresses after the distortion. On the master (T8) it is GLUE by position — slow and soft-kneed; on every other track it is fast. No knob picks between them.
- KEY on page 2 picks the compressor's key. SELF is the track's own input. T1 keys on the bus delay host (track 1's input peak, scaled by KLVL) — the bus's delay level ducks the track. In Octabam Inserts (no bus) T1 reads as SELF.
- TONE tilts the spectrum: centre (64) is flat, + is bright, − is dark.
- WDTH: 64 untouched, 0 mono, 127 double sides. MIX 127 is full wet.
Parameters
| Page | Knob | Range | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DRV | 0–127 | 0 | saturation drive; 0 skips the stage |
| 1 | FOLD | 0–127 | 0 | wavefolder amount |
| 1 | WDTH | bipolar | 64 | mid/side width: 64 untouched, 0 mono, 127 double sides |
| 1 | COMP | 0–127 | 0 | compression amount; 0 skips the stage |
| 1 | TONE | bipolar | 64 | tilt: +3.5 dB above / -6 dB below 1.2 kHz at 127, mirrored at 0; 64 is flat |
| 1 | MIX | 0–127 | 127 | dry/wet |
| 2 | SAT | TAPE / TUBE / INFL | — | Saturation model. |
| 2 | KEY | SELF / T1 | — | Compressor key: this track's input or the bus delay host on track 1. |
| 2 | KLVL | 0–127 | 64 | scales the T1 key level; 64 is unity |
Screen Reference
Character: effect selection and setup parameters.
Status: on hardware: Sam's MKII.
Module facts (developers)
FX1 station: fold, saturation, tilt, compressor, width.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | sambanks |
| Category | Effects: on a track |
| Kind | dsp_effect |
| Test status | on hardware: Sam's MKII |
| FX2 ID | 0x1c |
| Parameters | DRV@0, FOLD@1, WDTH@2, COMP@3, TONE@4, MIX@5, SAT@6, KEY@7, KLVL@8 |
| Included in | octabam-bus, octabam-inserts |
On GitHub: https://github.com/sambanks/octabam/blob/main/modules/character/README.md