Version 1.0.13
Ghost presets are saved in using a JSON format using the extension .json. JSON is a popular human readable text format that is relatively simple for computer programs to read and write. Compared to other binary formats, JSON files tend to be a bit larger, while being much easier to modify and debug.
By default, Ghost searches for presets anywhere within these folders:
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Documents\exacoustics\GHOST
/Users/%USERNAME%/Music/exacoustics/GHOST
Clicking the preset name will open the preset browser
Use the up/down buttons on the left to cycle through the presets
Displays the audio output in decibels for the left & right channel.
Dragging the triangle controls the master output gain. This can also be automated by dragging and dropping mods onto it.
Shows audio output in mono. This intelligently detects the pitch of the active oscillator in order to show what the waveform looks like.
If you have not registered the synth, you will be greeted with a demo notification when you open a new window. To register, simply enter the email and password you used on exacoustics.com when you purchased Ghost.
When registering Ghost, you will need an active internet connection. If you have purchased the full license, you will only need an internet connection only once.
If you purchased Ghost through the rent to own plan, you will need an internet connection at least once a week while the plan is active. This is so Ghost can check the plan is still active or completed. If this fails for several weeks or the rent to own plan is paused, Ghost will revert to its demo state. Once the rent to own plan is completed, Ghost will detect this and remove the requirement of an internet connection.
If you accidentally close this window before registering and need to access it again, you can show the window again by opening the hamburger menu in the navbar and clicking "Register". If Ghost is already registered, you cannot access this window.
You can bring up the window for saving presets through the hamburger menu in the navbar, or by clicking on the floppy disk icon next to the preset name.
This is a loading wheel which is displayed while your preset directory is being scanned and metadata is being read. Each time you open the preset browser all your presets are rescanned in order to keep your data up to date. This is a heavily optimised routine and tends to run very quickly, even with a really large folder of presets.
Note: On Windows, this process may take a bit longer than on macOS, especially if you have lots of presets. The reason for this slow down is that virus protection software such as Windows Defender intercepts the file reading to scan the preset file for malicious viruses. Presumably, presets will not be infected with viruses (they are text files), and the preset is suspected to be temporarily whitelisted by Windows Defender for 20 minutes or thereabouts. While on this whitelist, rescans of all these presets will be lightning fast, with speeds similar to macOS.
If you use Windows Defender and this slow behaviour proves to be too slow and frustrating to you, it is possible to speed things up by adding the .json file extension to the Windows Defender whitelist, but for potential security and legal reasons I will not go on record recommending it to you. You can look up how to do these things yourself if you're curious and like to live dangerously.
This performs a case insensitive search of the filenames within the currently selected folder and its subfolders.
Select a folder to filter presets belonging to the selected folder or one of its subfolders. Additionally, if the folder contains subfolders, you can click the triangle button to the left of the folder name to expand the list and view its subfolders.
To disable filtering by folders, select "All files" at the top of the list.
Filter the presets by its tag within the currently selected folder and its subfolders. Filtered items will contain at least every selected tag.
You can quickly clear all selected tags by clicking the "Clear tags" button placed right above the tags.
The table columns Name, Artist and Tags correspond to metadata within your saved preset. You can right click on these fields to edit them.
The heart icon on the left can be used for favouriting presets. A list of your favourites is saved locally, meaning the list will be unique to your device and cannot be transferred to another device.
If you select the heart within the table header, you will filter by favourited presets.
Ghost displays one active oscillator at a time, with all parameters and FX belonging to that oscillator.
There are 6 oscillators in total labelled using the letters A-F. To change the active oscillator, simply left click the label either below the wave shape on the left or in the FM matrix on the right.
Oscillators can be turned on/off by double clicking or right clicking.
Ghosts oscillator engine use wavetables. A wavetable is small digital audio sample that when played back fast enough, can sound very similar to oscillators found on analogue synthesisers. A great advantage of using digital wavetables is that a much wider variety of sounds can be produced, and they can be processed in ways that would be almost impossible using hardware circuitry!
Ghosts wavetables use shapes consisting of exactly 2048 points, with a maximum of 256 shapes.
By right clicking on the wave shape, you can open up a menu with some useful functions:
Click the floppy icon in the top left corner of the oscillator to save the wavetable used by the active oscillator. The supported formats are .flac and .wav.
Left click on the wavetables title to open a dropdown menu with Use the up and down arrows in the top left of the oscillator to cycle through wavetables.
New wavetables can be easily imported by dragging audio files from your file window or DAW and dropping them over this area. Supported audio codecs include FLAC, WAV and AIFF. Wavetables generated by other software and downloaded from the internet will most likely be compatible.
Phase: Offset applied the phase of the oscillator and all of its unison voices
Wave: Wavetable position.
Bend -/+, Asym -/+, Sync, Window: Change the displayed parameter by clicking on the left and right arrows, or click the label to open a dropdown menu. These parameters all stack.
Harmonic filters: Ghost can manipulate the harmonics of wavetables directly. A useful way to think about harmonics is as range of sine waves with different amplitudes and phases. Tools like frequency spectrum analysers are great for displaying the harmonics produced by an oscillator, especially a saw oscillator. We will describe lower frequency harmonics as being 'to the left', and higher harmonics as being 'to the right'.
Pan: Pans all unison voices by a given amount
Morph: When active, creates a smooth step between wavetable shapes. This may desirable for long and slowly evolving wavetables. When turned off, it creates a hard step from one wave shapes to another. This may be desirable for wavetables containing a variety of shapes different from one another.
Retrig: When active, causes the starting phase of each unison voice to begin at the value set by the Phase parameter. When inactive, the starting phase of unison voices will be randomised.
Dir Out: The output of this oscillator will bypass processing in the FX rack.
Click on the circle or the title "Filter" next to it to activate/deactivate the filter. Additionally, double clicking the image of the filter will activate/deactivate the filter.
Clicking and dragging the image of the filter will move the frequency and resonance parameters. Additionally, scrolling with a mouse wheel or touchpad will create the same effect.
You can toggle between the frequency and phase response of a filter by right clicking on the image.
This filter is polyphonic, meaning that each key press uses its own filter. For a non polyphonic filter, see the FX section.
Click on the circle or the title "Distortion" next to it to activate/deactivate the distortion. Additionally, double clicking the image of the distortion will activate/deactivate the distortion.
Clicking and vertically dragging the image of the distortion will move the drive parameters. Additionally, scrolling with a mouse wheel or touchpad will create the same effect.
This distortion is polyphonic, meaning that each key press uses its own distortion. For a non polyphonic distortion, see the FX section.
Each of the letters in corresponds to an oscillator. You can left click them to switch the active oscillator. A double left click or a single right click will toggle them on/off.
Each letter is aligned diagonally to create a table of rows and columns, with the first row and column being F and the last column and second last row being A. The final row at the bottom is reserved for audio output.
The intersection between columns and rows contains a parameter controlling the FM amount for that oscillator.
For your convenience, the matrix contains a few different symbols that indicate different kinds of routing:
Most parameter values can be changed in real time by mapping them to modulators. Modulators offset the current position of any parameter by a range of up to -100% to 100%.
This is an extension on the classic ADSR controls found on many synths.
These parameters also can be controlled by clicking and dragging the points displayed on the grid.
Intersections between points on the grid can skew the ramp up/down. Double clicking these points to reset them.
Dragging the magnifying glass will zoom the grid in/out.
ENV1 is automatically linked to oscillators A-F.
Open the menu by right clicking on empty space in the grid:
Save button: Save the LFO shape to a file.
Preset name: Opens a dropdown menu to browse different shape presets.
Retrig: When active, retriggers will reset the phase to 0%
Loop: When active, the phase of the LFO will start again from 0% after it hits 100%
Rate types: Type of rate the "Rate" parameter should use
Amount: Range from 0-100% that can be used to quickly and dynamically reduce the amount of modulation sent to other parameters.
Use the X/Y controls in the top right corner to increase or decrease the number of horizontal & vertical segments in the grid.
All points can be dragged within the grid. Double click in an empty space within the grid to add a new point. Hold the Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) key while dragging to snap the point to the grid.
Double left click on a empty space will add points. Double left click on points to remove them.
The intersection between two points can be clicked dragged up and down to ramp up/down. Double clicking on the intersections between points will reset the ramp to a straight line.
Open the menu by right clicking on empty space in the grid:
Overrides the value of some parameters to an absolute value in Hz, which is controllable by moving points on the grid in a similar way to the LFO.
Hold down the Alt (Win) / option (Mac) key while dragging points to snap the point to the nearest semitone.
Save button: Save the FREQ shape to a file.
Preset name: Opens a dropdown menu to browse different shape presets.
Retrig: When active, retriggers will reset the phase to 0%
Loop: When active, the phase of the FREQ will start again from 0% after it hits 100%
Rate types: Type of rate the "Rate" parameter should use
Transpose: Offset in semitones applied to the points in the grid.
This mod can only be added to the following parameters:
Open the menu by right clicking on empty space in the grid:
Retrig: When active, retriggers will generate new random values
Sample and hold (S & H): When active, creates hard steps from one random value to another. When inactive, creates a smooth ramp from one random value to another.
Stereo: When active, random values will be independently generated for the left & right channel
Rate types: Type of rate the "Rate" parameter should use
Random: Controls the chance for new random values to be created at the interval set by the Rate parameter. With Random set to 0%, no new values will be produced and the RAND mod will freeze its state. With Random set to 100%, new values are always produced
Steps: Controls range of possible random values
Macros can be used to control multiple parameters using a rotary knob.
To modulate a parameter using a macro, simply left click and drag on the label "M1" or crosshair icon and drop it on the parameter of choice.
You can add your own custom label to macros by using a single left click on the label or crosshair icon.
Keytracking will offset a parameters value relative to the MIDI key that is being pressed. MIDI keys have corresponding note numbers that range from 0-127, with Middle C usually being number 60 (~47%). These values can be remapped using the X/Y grid
The points in the grid work similarly to the LFO.
Velocity will offset a parameters value relative to the velocity in which MIDI notes have been played. MIDI velocity ranges from 0-127. These values can be remapped using the X/Y grid.
The points in the grid work similarly to the LFO.
Aftertouch will offset a parameters value relative to the MIDI aftertouch messages sent to the synth. These values can be remapped using the X/Y grid.
The points in the grid work similarly to the LFO.
!Important There are two common types of aftertouch messages: "Channel" and "Polyphonic". Both kinds are read by the AT mod. In the rare case that your DAW and/or connected MIDI device is sending both types of aftertouch messages at once, you may get conflicting and undesirable results.
Here you can add and remove modulations on parameters throughout the entire synth from one interface.
The drag handles on the left mean you can drag to reorder the rows.
Row number: Double click on a row number to enable/disable the modulation of the selected parameter.
Modulation: Left click the table cell to open a drop down menu will list all available modulation sources. Choose an item from the menu to add/change/remove a modulation.
Parameter: Left click the table cell to open a drop down menu will list all available parameters. Choose an item from the menu to add/change/remove a modulation. This parameter can be automated too by simply dragging and dropping modulations onto them, or by choosing their name from the menu.
Ghost has a lot of parameters, so for sake of keeping the list simpler, some parameters that are not in use by the current patch are hidden from the list eg. if the FX rack is empty, no parameters from effects will be in the list until new items are added.
Amount: Increases the range of modulation applied to the parameter
Skew: Pulls or pushes the modulation curve to the start or end of the range.
Polarity: Toggle between one-way or two way directions for your modulation. With one way, the range of modulation begins from the current position of parameter and ends to the left or right of parameter. With two-way, the range begins on one side of the parameter position and ends on the opposing side.
This section is divided into two parts: the FX List (left), and an active FX item (right). Only one FX item can be active at a time. If no items are active, you will be presented with a screen with a range of buttons that will add an FX item to the list.
You can add up to 6 instances of any FX type.
All modulations placed on FX parameters are processed in mono.
Left click and drag items in the list to reorder them.
The coloured bar on the left toggles the FX items "bypass" state.
Right click a list item to open up a dropdown menu with the following options:
Right click the button at the bottom of the list to open a dropdown menu for adding FX items.
An effect usually consisting of 1 or more short delays with modulating delay times.
The display up the top is an oscilloscope that visualises the audio input sent to the chorus. The oscilloscope shape is duplicated depending on the number of set voices and phase shifted depending on the chorus's delay settings.
The shape & position of the main oscilloscope shape is intelligently calculated by checking pitch & phase information from oscillator A on the last key you pressed.
The display down the bottom can be used to control filters to the wet signal. Left click and drag them to move their positions. Double click the icons to toggle the filters on/off.
An effect that squashes audio with basic transient shaping controls.
The display to the left shows the peak amplitude of the dry signal, after the pre-gain has been applied and before compression is applied. The line starting from South-West and travelling North-East shows the waveshaping curve applied by the compressor. You can drag you mouse along the X:Y axis to control the threshold & ratio.
The display to the right is a moving graph that shows how much the audio was compressed.
Asymmetric distortion with pre & post filters.
The display on the left shows the distortion shape applied to the audios positive (right) and negative (left) phase. Vertically drag or scroll them to change the gain. Click the labels to open a dropdown menu containing all the distortion types, or use the up & down arrow keys to cycle through the types.
Types +/-: Cycle between different distortion types
Drive +/-: Increases/decreases the distortion effect
Link: When active, makes the negative type and drive match the setting of the positive type & drive. When inactive, the negative type & drive can be changed independently of the positive.
Mix: Wet & dry
DC Filter: Applies a high pass filter at 5Hz
Pre & Post Filter: Clicking the label of the Pre & Post filter will toggle them on & off.
Double click on empty space to add a band.
Double click on a band to toggle it on/off.
Bands can be dragged around the grid.
While dragging a band, you can holding the alt (Windows) or option (macOS) key and drag vertically to change the Q of the band.
While hovering over a band, you can use the wheel of a mouse or a two-finger scroll with a touchpad to change the Q of the band.
Clicking on a band will set the rows of controls below to correspond to that band. Notice the colours of the controls changing to match the clicked band.
Clicking and dragging the image of the filter will move the frequency and resonance parameters. Additionally, scrolling with a mouse wheel or touchpad will create the same effect.
You can toggle between the frequency and phase response of a filter by right clicking on the image.
Clicking and dragging the image of the flanger will move the frequency and feedback parameters. Additionally, scrolling with a mouse wheel or touchpad will create the same effect.
Bands are split into three: low, mid and high. Each band of audio passes through a clipping stage before the compression stage.
The crossover between can be adjusted by dragging the vertical markers [show image]
The row of controls at the bottom correspond to the active band, and can be identified by their colour which matches the band. The active band can be changed by clicking anywhere within the band.
The rows of coloured horizontal lines indicate the ratio of upwards or downwards compression applied to the band. This can be dragged to increase or decrease the ratio. The final horizontal line the bands threshold, which can also be dragged.
The labels "In gain" and "Out gain" correspond to the pre & post gain of each band.
Clipper:
Pre Gain: Applies gain adjustment to the dry signal before clipping.
Clip: Threshold in which to apply clipping
Attack: Applies a gradual delay to the compression when the signal exceeds the threshold.
Release: Controls how quickly the compressed signal returns to its normal level after falling below the threshold.
Knee: Applies a wider/narrower slope to the compression, anchored around the threshold. A wider knee tends to reduce saturation that results from compressing the audio
Post gain: Applies gain to the wet signal after leaving the compression stage
RMS: Toggles peak detection modes. With RMS on, attacks in transients tend to be a bit softer.
Clicking and dragging the image of the phaser will move the frequency and feedback parameters. Additionally, scrolling with a mouse wheel or touchpad will create the same effect.