TC Electronic POLYTUNE PLUG-IN Owner's manual

Brand: TC Electronic

Model: POLYTUNE PLUG-IN

Type: Owner's manual

English Manual

PolyTune plug-in

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 a

About this manual 1

Introduction 2

System requirements 2

Installation 3

Setup 4

Main page 5

Settings page 6

Version page 7

How to use the PolyTune plug-in 8

Chromatic versus polyphonic tuning 8

Setting instrument type (guitar or bass) 8

Polyphonic tuning 9

Chromatic Tuning Display Modes:

Needle Mode and Stream Mode 10

Alternate tunings 11

Changing the reference pitch 11

Technical specifications 12

Getting support 12

Product PolyTune plug-in

Product version 1.05

Document Reference manual

Document version / date 2015-07-01

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 1

About this manual

This manual will help you learn understanding

and operating your TC product.

This manual is only available as a PDF download

from the TC Electronic website.

Of course, you can print this manual, but we en-

courage you to use the PDF version, which has

both internal and external hyperlinks. For exam-

ple, clicking the TC Electronic logo in the upper

left corner of each page will take you to the table

of contents.

To get the most from this manual, please read it

from start to finish, or you may miss important

information.

To download the most current version of this

manual, visit tcelectronic.com/support/manuals/

Enjoy your TC product!

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 2

System requirements

Introduction

The PolyTune plug-in is the perfect tune-up for

every music program out there. Sporting some

of the most innovative features from our insanely

popular line of PolyTune pedals, the PolyTune

plug-in is set to satisfy the tuning needs of ev-

eryone from the seasoned pro producer to the

casual bedroom musician.

With its polyphonic tuning mode, you get a flaw-

less read of all six strings with just a single strum,

which makes the way from tuning to recorded-

song-of-awesomeness so much shorter. And

with the ultra-fast and accurate chromatic tuner,

plus up to 5 semi-tones of flat tunings and the

option of changing the pitch reference, the Poly-

Tune plug-in will be able to satisfy even your

most demanding tuning needs!

System requirements

Computer – Microsoft Windows

– Intel-compatible CPU (2 GHz or faster

recommended)

– Minimum 2 GB RAM

– Windows 7 or higher

Computer – Apple OS X (Mac)

– Intel CPU (2 GHz or faster recommended)

– Minimum 2 GB RAM

– Mac OS 10.6.8 or higher

Supported Sample Rates

– 44.1 kHz

– 48 kHz

– 96 kHz

Supported Plug-in Formats

– AAX Native (32-bit/64-bit) (MAC/PC)

– VST2.4 (MAC/PC)

– VST3 (MAC/PC)

– Audio Units (MAC)

Host software

While the PolyTune plug-in will work with all mu-

sic programs that accept the supported plug-in

formats, we have tested it specifically with the

following products:

– Cubase (Mac/PC)

– Pro Tools (Mac/PC)

– GarageBand (Mac)

– Logic Pro (Mac)

– Ableton Live (Mac/PC)

– Studio One (Mac/PC)

– Reaper (Mac/PC)

– WaveLab (PC)

– Sonar Platinum (PC)

– Bitwig Studio (MAC/PC)

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 3

Installation

Installation – Windows

The PolyTune plug-in for Microsoft Windows PCs

is provided as a standard installer.

– After downloading the PolyTune plug-in

installer, open the .exe file.

– Read the License Agreement.

– Follow the installation instructions.

Installation – Mac

The PolyTune plug-in for OS X is provided as a

disk image file (.DMG).

– After downloading the PolyTune plug-in

installer, open the .DMG file.

– The installation disk image will be mounted

(as “TC Electronic PolyTune [version

number]”).

– Open the “PolyTune.pgk” installation file.

– Read the License Agreement.

– Follow the installation instructions.

After completing installation, the PolyTune plug-

in will be available in all supported DAW/host ap-

plications on your computer. For more informa-

tion, see “System requirements”.

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 4

Setup

To use the PolyTune plug-in for tuning your bass

or guitar, you’ll have to insert it as an audio ef-

fect in an audio track of your host software. The

basic procedure is as follows:

– Create an audio track in your host software.

– Go to the track/insert effects section for this

audio track.

– From the list of available effect plug-ins,

select TC Electronic / PolyTune. An instance

of the plug-in will be inserted into the track.

For detailed information on creating and access-

ing plug-in instances, please refer to the docu-

mentation of your DAW/host software.

Notes

– The PolyTune plug-in does not affect the

audio signal in any way. It is only used to

analyze and display the audio signal.

– You can use only one instance of the

PolyTune plug-in at a time. If you try to

launch a second instance, an error message

will be displayed.

PolyTune plug-in inserted into Apple GarageBand audio track

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 5

Main page

PolyTune plug-in main page

Tuning Display

The top part of the PolyTune plug-in display indi-

cates the pitch of all strings in polyphonic tuning

mode and the pitch of the currently tuned string

in chromatic tuning mode.

In chromatic tuning mode, the middle part of the

display shows the detected note name for the

currently tuned string.

Tuning Parameters

The bottom part of the display shows the follow-

ing information:

– “Instrument”:

Guitar or Bass.

For more information, see

“Setting instrument type (guitar or bass)”.

– “Tuning”:

Standard tuning (E) or one of the Flat

Tunings: Eb - D - Db - C - B.

For more information, see

“Alternate tunings”.

– “Pitch”: Reference pitch.

For more information, see

“Changing the reference pitch”.

Settings Button

Click the Settings Button to access the Settings

page.

Mute Button

Click the Mute Button to mute the signal for

the track where you have inserted the PolyTune

plug-in. This allows you to tune your instrument

silently.

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Settings page

PolyTune plug-in Settings page

Use the Settings page to set the following pa-

rameters:

– “Select Instrument”:

Select the instrument that you want to tune.

For more information, see “Setting instrument

type (guitar or bass)”.

– “Display Mode”:

Select between Needle and Stream Display

Modes for chromatic tuning. For more

information, see “Chromatic Tuning Display

Modes: Needle Mode and Stream Mode”.

– “Drop Tuning”:

Select standard tuning (E) or one of the

supported Flat Tunings. For more information,

see “Alternate tunings”.

– “Reference Frequency”:

Select standard pitch (440 Hz) or an

alternative reference pitch. For more

information, see “Changing the reference

pitch”.

– “Color Set”:

Choose between the standard color set (Red/

Green) and the alternative color set (Yellow/

Blue) for the display LEDs.

PolyTune plug-in main page with the

Yellow/Blue color set selected

After setting all parameters to the desired values,

click the OK button in the lower right corner to

return to the Main page.

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 7

Version page

PolyTune plug-in Version page

To display the version information for the Poly-

Tune plug-in, click on the TC Electronic logo in

the lower right corner of the Main page.

To return to the Main page, click the “back” but-

ton at the bottom of the Version page.

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 8

How to use the PolyTune plug-in

Chromatic versus

polyphonic tuning

A very simple guitar tuner will only allow you to

tune open strings, one string at a time – e.g. E, A,

d, g, b, and e’ for the standard tuning of a guitar.

The PolyTune plug-in has a chromatic tuning

mode – meaning it will detect and allow you to

tune all twelve notes of the scale.

But that’s not all. Other than a traditional tun-

er, the PolyTune plug-in allows you to strum all

your instrument’s string simultaneously when

tuning. The PolyTune plug-in will detect which

strings need to be tuned and indicate those

strings in its display. This allows you to tune your

instrument much faster.

Finally, you may have tuned one or all strings on

your instrument differently from standard tuning.

In all these situation, the PolyTune plug-in has

you co vered.

Setting instrument type

(guitar or bass)

By default, the PolyTune plug-in is set up for tun-

ing guitars.

To tune a bass, go to Settings and change Select

Instrument from “Guitar” to “Bass”.

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 9

How to use the PolyTune plug-in

Polyphonic tuning

PolyTune plug-in is a polyphonic tuner. You can

strum your instrument, and the PolyTune plug-in

will analyze and display the tuning of all strings.

So how do you activate polyphonic tuning mode?

You don’t – it just works. Strum, tune, rock on!

E A D G B E

PolyTune plug-in in polyphonic tuning mode

– Strum your guitar. Strings that are in tune will

be represented by two green LEDs. Strings

that need tuning are represented by two red

LEDs below (flat) or above (sharp) the middle

row.

– Tune your guitar and strum again. Your

instrument is in tune when each string is

represented by two green LEDs in the middle

row.

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 10

How to use the PolyTune plug-in

Chromatic Tuning Display Modes:

Needle Mode and Stream Mode

When you use the PolyTune plug-in to tune a

single string, you can choose between two dis-

play modes:

– Needle Mode is indicated by the center LED

column and row lighting up.

– Stream Mode is indicated by the middle row

of LEDs lighting up.

To select the Display Mode, go to the Settings

page and set the “Display Mode” parameter ac-

cordingly.

Needle Mode

Chromatic tuning – Needle Mode

In Needle Mode, when you tune a single string,

pitch is indicated by a column of five LEDs in the

upper part of the display, and the name of the

target note is displayed in the middle part of the

display.

If the string you are tuning is too low, LEDs to

the left of the center column will light up. If the

string is too high, LEDs to the right of the center

column will light up.

– Tune the string until the middle column and

the middle row of green LEDs lights up. This

means you are “on target”.

Stream Mode

Chromatic tuning – Stream Mode

In Stream Mode, the difference between the

correct (target) frequency and the actual de-

tected frequency is displayed by “rotating” seg-

ments in the display. The closer the detected

frequency is to the target frequency, the slower

the rotation.

– Tune the string until the rotating pattern has

come to a stop.

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 11

How to use the PolyTune plug-in

Alternate tunings

If you are using a Flat Tuning (i.e., if you have

tuned all strings on your instrument down), you

should configure the PolyTune plug-in accord-

ingly. This ensures that all pitches are detected

and displayed correctly.

To specify an alternate tuning, go to the Settings

page and set the “Drop Tuning” parameter ac-

cordingly.

Display Mode

E Standard tuning (E A D G B E’)

Eb All strings tuned down 1 semitone

D All strings tuned down 2 semitones

Db All strings tuned down 3 semitones

C All strings tuned down 4 semitones

B All strings tuned down 5 semitones

Changing the reference pitch

In most cases, you will want to tune your in-

strument to what is considered standard pitch,

where the A above the middle C has a frequency

of 440 Hz.

However, you and your band may prefer a differ-

ent pitch, or you may have to tune to an acoustic

instrument that cannot easily be retuned. In that

case, you need to change the reference pitch.

– To change the reference pitch, go to the

Settings page and set the “Reference

frequency” parameter accordingly.

PolyTune plug-in 1.05 Reference manual – 2015-07-01 12

Getting support

Technical specifications

– Tuning Range:

A0 (27.5Hz) to C8 (4186Hz)

– Tuning Accuracy – Chromatic tuning mode:

±0.5Cent

– Tuning Accuracy – Stream tuning mode:

±0.02Cent

– Reference Pitch:

A4 = 435 to 445Hz

(adjustable in 1 Hz steps)

Due to continuous development, these

specifications are subject to change without

notice.

Getting support

If you still have questions about the product af-

ter reading this manual, please get in touch with

TC Support:

tcelectronic.com/support/

TC Electronic POLYTUNE PLUG-IN Owner's manual

TC Electronic POLYTUNE PLUG-IN Owner's manual

TC Electronic POLYTUNE PLUG-IN Owner's manual

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