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TipTop Audio Z-DSP Spring Waves Card

Tiptop Audio

£59.00
Only 1 left in stock.
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The Spring Waves cartridge also features two unique Spring models. This model calculates
at the sampling rate all of the Newtonian forces controlling the behaviour of a mass-spring
system, and takes into account the following factors: the spring itself and its return force
(with a potentially non linear behaviour), a point where one side of the spring is attached,
a mass attached on the other side, fluid friction (potentially non linear) depending on the
speed of the mobile mass, mechanical limits (a physical spring can’t stretch out infinitely)
and static and dynamic frictions (friction due to the contact with a rough surface).
The audio input is used either to “move” the point where one side of the spring is attached,
or as force directly applied to the moving mass on the other side. The audio output is directly
provided by the motion of the moving mass.

How it works:
In the context of the Z-DSP, the FV1 chip (its brain) computes these physical modeling algorithms.
Physical modeling is known to have heavy CPU consumption, but, despite its limited power, the
nice design of the chip allows running up to four waveguide lines or one spring model, with optimised
code.

For waveguides, the one second delay line is split in 2 to 4 parts and necessary lowpass and DC-cut
filters are inserted in each feedback loop. The rest of the code manages the connections between
the waveguide lines and the controls. When used as effects, as it is the case for Z-DSP, waveguides
can be used in different ways:
- input very short sound burst or impulse and let the waveguide ring, with low damping
(controlling the tuning and additional parameters). A variant is of course to use drum
sounds as input. Very interesting results can also be obtained using sequences. For drums
and sequences, the damping needs to be lowered to fit the BPM.
- input a continuous sound (with a not too high level to avoid clipping) and use the wave
guide as a resonator. This can even give very nice results processing an instrument track or
even a voice. In this case the damping needs to be quite high.

For the spring model, the whole program is dedicated to arithmetics to calculate all the newtonian
forces and their consequences on the motion (and resulting sound). As only one spring can be run
by the FV-1, the more spontaneous way to use it as a filter, but, like the waveguide, you can also
input a short audio burst to make it ring or use it as a resonator.

Controls:

For the waveguide models, the first six programs have common controls:
- Left and right inputs can be used the same way
- Control 1 is defining the pitch of the waveguide (low frequencies on the right). Note that
for programs 1 and 2, control 3 is also for pitch since control 1 sets the pitch for one half of
the waveguide lines and control 3 the other half.
- Control 2 is damping (low damping, meaning longer ringing, is clockwise).

For the spring models, the last two programs have common controls:
- The Left input is the “regular” input and is moving the point the spring is attached to (the
output will be the resulting end position of the spring where le “Mass” is attached)
- The Right input is an “alternate” input that is going to be used as a force directly applied
to the moving mass (be careful with low frequencies ....). This input needs to remain at a
very low level.
- Control 1 is always the hardness of the spring (thus determining the force that will bring
the mass to the center point). You can compare its behaviour a bit to the frequency
control of a regular filter.
- Control 3 is always the Fluid Friction, that will slow the moving mass (the friction depends
on speed). You can compare its behaviour a bit to the the resonance control of a regular
filter, but here low friction means high resonance.

How much is my shipping?

Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.

Do you ship to my country?

Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.

Shipping methods

We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.

Dispatch times

For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.

For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.

Shipping times

Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.

There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.

Saturday shipping

If you're in the UK and you order before 15:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.

Pre-orders

If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.

If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.

Product Overview


The Spring Waves cartridge also features two unique Spring models. This model calculates
at the sampling rate all of the Newtonian forces controlling the behaviour of a mass-spring
system, and takes into account the following factors: the spring itself and its return force
(with a potentially non linear behaviour), a point where one side of the spring is attached,
a mass attached on the other side, fluid friction (potentially non linear) depending on the
speed of the mobile mass, mechanical limits (a physical spring can’t stretch out infinitely)
and static and dynamic frictions (friction due to the contact with a rough surface).
The audio input is used either to “move” the point where one side of the spring is attached,
or as force directly applied to the moving mass on the other side. The audio output is directly
provided by the motion of the moving mass.

How it works:
In the context of the Z-DSP, the FV1 chip (its brain) computes these physical modeling algorithms.
Physical modeling is known to have heavy CPU consumption, but, despite its limited power, the
nice design of the chip allows running up to four waveguide lines or one spring model, with optimised
code.

For waveguides, the one second delay line is split in 2 to 4 parts and necessary lowpass and DC-cut
filters are inserted in each feedback loop. The rest of the code manages the connections between
the waveguide lines and the controls. When used as effects, as it is the case for Z-DSP, waveguides
can be used in different ways:
- input very short sound burst or impulse and let the waveguide ring, with low damping
(controlling the tuning and additional parameters). A variant is of course to use drum
sounds as input. Very interesting results can also be obtained using sequences. For drums
and sequences, the damping needs to be lowered to fit the BPM.
- input a continuous sound (with a not too high level to avoid clipping) and use the wave
guide as a resonator. This can even give very nice results processing an instrument track or
even a voice. In this case the damping needs to be quite high.

For the spring model, the whole program is dedicated to arithmetics to calculate all the newtonian
forces and their consequences on the motion (and resulting sound). As only one spring can be run
by the FV-1, the more spontaneous way to use it as a filter, but, like the waveguide, you can also
input a short audio burst to make it ring or use it as a resonator.

Controls:

For the waveguide models, the first six programs have common controls:
- Left and right inputs can be used the same way
- Control 1 is defining the pitch of the waveguide (low frequencies on the right). Note that
for programs 1 and 2, control 3 is also for pitch since control 1 sets the pitch for one half of
the waveguide lines and control 3 the other half.
- Control 2 is damping (low damping, meaning longer ringing, is clockwise).

For the spring models, the last two programs have common controls:
- The Left input is the “regular” input and is moving the point the spring is attached to (the
output will be the resulting end position of the spring where le “Mass” is attached)
- The Right input is an “alternate” input that is going to be used as a force directly applied
to the moving mass (be careful with low frequencies ....). This input needs to remain at a
very low level.
- Control 1 is always the hardness of the spring (thus determining the force that will bring
the mass to the center point). You can compare its behaviour a bit to the frequency
control of a regular filter.
- Control 3 is always the Fluid Friction, that will slow the moving mass (the friction depends
on speed). You can compare its behaviour a bit to the the resonance control of a regular
filter, but here low friction means high resonance.

Technical Specs

Shipping Details

How much is my shipping?

Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.

Do you ship to my country?

Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.

Shipping methods

We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.

Dispatch times

For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.

For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.

Shipping times

Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.

There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.

Saturday shipping

If you're in the UK and you order before 15:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.

Pre-orders

If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.

If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.