Load Voltage Synths.
Create a stereo instrument track and select Voltage Synths in the host. Send MIDI notes to that track and leave monitoring enabled.
USER GUIDE Three software instruments
Voltage Synths
first note through final recall
Thank you for buying the world’s... whatever. Pick an instrument and make it yours.
Substance supplies the direct mono voice. MADRE-8 turns that foundation polyphonic. Octet takes a different route through oscillator movement and filtering.
From an empty track to a playable patch
Quick start
Choose the instrument.
Click the MODEL well to move between the three instruments. The panel changes with the selected instrument.
Pick a factory sound.
Use the arrows beside the preset name. The bank follows the selected instrument, so every starting point loads the correct complete control set.
Play the role.
Use Substance for mono bass or lead. Reach for MADRE-8 when a direct polyphonic sound is needed. Choose Octet for animated filter and oscillator movement.
Shape the large decisions.
Set oscillator balance before the filter. Adjust the envelopes for articulation, then add modulation or voice movement.
Save with the project.
The host stores the selected instrument and the full parameter state. Give the track a name that includes the instrument and musical role.
One rack and one shared component
Choose the right voice
Substance
Use the standalone Substance plug-in when one focused mono instrument is the clearest host workflow. Use it inside Voltage Synths when the wider family needs to stay in one rack instance.
Bass · sequences · plucks · leadsMADRE-8
Choose the ladder-based polyphonic voice for warm pads, broad chords and a direct oscillator-to-filter path. Unison turns the voice pool toward one note.
Chords · pads · unison linesOctet
Choose Octet when oscillator interaction or the continuous filter-mode sweep should lead the sound. It is especially useful for vocal movement and hollow colour.
Moving pads · sync tones · filter sweepsThe MODEL well is intentional here.
Voltage Synths is a multi-instrument rack, so clicking its MODEL well is a real instrument-selection action. Each click moves to the next instrument and updates the visible panel.
Standalone Substance stays fixed.
The separate Substance plug-in exposes only Substance. Its model label is not an instrument browser, so selection remains with the host when you load that focused plug-in.
The monophonic foundation
Substance
Build the voice in four moves
- Choose a waveform for both oscillators. Set their octave and tuning.
- Blend Oscillator 1 and 2 with the sub and noise sources.
- Choose the filter mode and slope. Set Cutoff, Resonance and then the envelope or accent amount.
- Finish the amplifier envelope. Add modulation response and glide.
Movement starts before the filter.
Detune the oscillators gently for weight. Use sync or cross-modulation when the harmonic motion should be obvious.
Drive changes the input.
Balance the mixer first, then use Drive and Resonance. Choose a low-pass or band-pass response, or move to high-pass. Each mode offers two slopes.
Mono playing has memory.
Glide and legato shape note changes. Velocity and aftertouch turn the same patch into a different performance.
The direct voice becomes polyphonic
MADRE-8
Start with the voice pool
- Poly allocates separate notes for chords.
- Mono keeps one note active at a time.
- Legato changes pitch between overlapping notes and keeps the whole articulation running.
- Unison gathers the available voices onto one note.
- Detune separates pitch. Drift supplies movement, while Spread places the voices across the stereo field.
Shape the foundation
Each oscillator offers triangle and saw shapes, plus square. Tune their octave and fine relationship, then set pulse width or stronger cross-modulation only where the sound needs extra movement. The mixer adds sub and noise before the ladder filter.
Animate the result
Two LFOs can run freely or follow host tempo. Route modulation to cutoff or pulse width. Amplitude and pitch are available too. Velocity and aftertouch add playing response while preserving the patch.
Eight complete specialist voices
Octet
Build around interaction
- Tune the two oscillators and choose their waveforms.
- Use pulse width or Oscillator 2 Sync to create motion before the filter.
- Blend both oscillators with noise in the mixer.
- Set Cutoff and Resonance, then choose the filter response.
- Shape filter movement with Envelope 1 and amplitude with Envelope 2.
Travel or select.
The main mode control travels continuously from low-pass through notch, then reaches high-pass. Band-pass has its own selection.
Periodic or unpredictable.
Set LFO rate and waveform for repeatable movement. Sample-and-hold or modulation noise creates stepped variation.
Stable differences return.
Vintage adds repeatable voice variation. Voice Pan and the output controls decide how the eight voices occupy the stereo field.
Factory sounds · MIDI · the host
Presets and performance
| Instrument | Factory sounds | Useful first choices |
|---|---|---|
| Substance | 10 | Burgs · Goanna · Drive-Thru |
| MADRE-8 | 8 | Amber Poly · Copper Fanfare · Slow Current |
| Octet | 10 | Hearth Brass · Night Choir · Glass Current |
Factory navigation
- The left and right preset arrows wrap through the current instrument’s bank.
- A factory sound loads a complete state for that instrument.
- An asterisk after the name means a control no longer matches the shown factory sound.
- Where Init appears, it returns the selected instrument to its initial state.
MIDI performance
- Note velocity reaches the performance response set by the patch.
- Channel pressure supplies aftertouch where the instrument exposes it.
- The pitch wheel is accepted as MIDI performance input.
- MADRE-8’s synced LFOs and arpeggiator follow host tempo.
Projects and practical recovery
Bring the sound back
Project state
The host saves the selected MODEL and every exposed parameter. Reopening the project restores each instrument’s stored controls even when another model is currently selected.
Automation
Automate musical controls through the host. Keep stepped switches on clear boundaries and audition large filter or level moves in context.
No sound
Confirm that the track is an instrument track with stereo output, monitoring is active and MIDI reaches the selected instance. Try a factory sound before tracing a custom patch.
An installation opens silent
Open Bitsnacks Vending Machine and confirm Voltage Synths is installed for this device. Choose Repair if offered, restart the host, then reopen the project.
Still stuck?
Send the host name and version, plug-in format, operating system, selected MODEL and the shortest steps that reproduce the problem. For a sound question, include the MIDI part and factory sound you started from.