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Alchemy’s title bar provides tools for preset management and a few additional functions.

Bank, Category, and Preset Fields

At the top and in the center are three fields, from left to right: Bank, Category, and Preset. When Alchemy is first installed, the available banks are Factory and User. Categories may vary from one bank to another, but the standard choices found in the Factory and User banks include ‘Arpeggiated’, ‘Bass’, ‘Brass’, and so on. Of course the list of presets is unique in each category. You can browse through the available presets quickly using the forward and back arrows adjacent to the Preset field. Note that the categories in a given bank, and the presets in a given category, are listed alphabetically.The organization of Banks and Categories mirrors the file structure on your computer. A category is a folder containing .acp preset files (plus associated audio data), and a Bank is a folder containing categories. So you can create your own categories and banks just by creating additional folders in the proper locations. On a PC, Bank folders go in \Alchemy\Presets. On a Mac, Bank folders go in /Library/Application Support/Camel Audio/Alchemy/Presets. (On both PC and Mac, new Bank folders sit alongside the existing Factory bank.)

Parameter value display

Beneath the Bank/Category/Preset fields is a large numerical display that shows the current value of the active or selected control, calibrated in appropriate units (e.g. ‘50%’, ‘5 semis’, ‘2859 Hz’, and so on).Alchemy also uses this display for occasional messages (e.g. to confirm that a Save command was executed successfully) and to display a sound-designer credit when you first load each preset.

Simple and Advanced buttons

When the Simple button is active, a compact interface is displayed, consisting of the Title bar and the Perform section (see below). When the Advanced button is active, a larger interface is displayed in which all sections of Alchemy are accessible. (See the Overview page for a quick tour of the entire interface.)

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File, Save and Saveas buttons

The FILE button opens a pop-up menu containing several commands useful for preset management:

• Load — opens a dialogue box where you can select a preset file (*.acp) to load.

NOTE. You can also use the Load command to select presets created with Camel Audio’s Cameleon 5000 synthesizer (*.c5i). On Windows you may need to specify the .c5i file type in the file browser. Alchemy will automatically translate the Cameleon preset data into an equivalent Alchemy preset. Note that the original and translated presets will not always sound identical, due to differences in the implementation of some features in the two instruments.

• Save Consolidated — saves a copy of the active preset along with copies of any WAV files it depends on.
• Clear — Initializes Alchemy, giving you a basic starting point for creating your own presets. (The initialised preset is a basic sawtooth wave.)
• Change Default GUI Mode — determines whether Alchemy opens with its Simple or its Advanced GUI by default.
• MIDI Unlearn All — clears all the MIDI Learn assignments.

The FILE button pop-up menu contains additional commands that you can use whenever your computer is connected to the internet:

• Check for Update — checks if you are using the latest available version of Alchemy.
• Download Free Presets — visits the Camel Audio Downloads webpage, where registered users have access to additional banks of presets.
• Watch Tutorial Videos — visits the tutorial video section of the Camel Audio website.
• Read Wiki Manual — points your web browser to Alchemy’s online User Manual. The advantage of the web-based manual over the PDF version distributed with Alchemy is that it can revised as often as necessary to incorporate corrections and descriptions of new features added in each update.
• Support Forum — points your web browser to the Camel Audio support forum (http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=32), where you can ask questions and post comments about Alchemy and other Camel Audio products.
• Camel Audio Shop — points your web browser to a page where you can read about, and purchase, other Camel Audio products.

The SAVE button saves your changes to the currently active preset.The SAVEAS button opens a dialogue box where you can choose a file name (*.acp) and a location to save the currently active preset.

Note: If a preset has associated additive and/or spectral data, that data will be stored in a separate file (*.aaz). The first part of the filename is the same as the name of the saved preset, which ensures that the preset and the associated additive/spectral data appear side-by-side in an alphabetical directory. It is recommended that you avoid renaming .aaz files externally (i.e. from your operating system); Alchemy may fail to locate and load these files unless their original names are preserved. While renaming a whole preset externally is less risky, it may lead to duplication of .aaz files to reflect the new name. In general, it’s best to rename presets by using Alchemy’s SAVEAS function. Once a preset is successfully saved under its new name, you can safely discard the old preset (*.acp) file.

Random button

Creates a random preset. Random preset generation in Alchemy is based on a collection of preset templates, arranged in the standard categories seen in the Factory preset bank (Arpeggiated, Bass, Brass, and so on). Alchemy first chooses at random from the templates available in the current category. Then it creates ‘intelligent’ random values for the parameters that are active in the chosen template. If you want more control over the process, you can add or substitute your own preset templates; the details of this process are described below.

Volume knob

Boosts or cuts the overall preset volume. This adjustment is made at the very end of the signal path, so it controls the effects as well as the dry portion of the signal, and it acts on all voices at once. (Therefore, it’s less common to modulate the Volume knob compared to the Amp knob on the Master page.)

Advanced: Creating your own randomization templates

You can tailor Alchemy’s random preset generation to your own needs by adding your own randomization templates. Instructions for creating and using these files follow. Details in italics are optional; they represent the guidelines followed by the factory randomization templates.

1. Start with an initialized preset (FILE > Clear).
2. Turn on as many Sources (A–D) as you want your new presets to use. Factory templates typically use all four.
3. In each source, turn on one or more Elements and choose an appropriate synthesis type; for instance, you might choose the Granular element and set it to SAMPLER mode. Factory templates use combinations of VA, GRANULAR, and SAMPLER synthesis types; they avoid Additive synthesis and Spectral synthesis (RESYNTH, NOISE-RESYNTH) because these types may cause randomization to proceed too slowly. Factory templates favor GRANULAR mode for Loops, Sound Effects, Soundscapes, Synth Leads, SynthPads, Vocals, and Drums, and SAMPLER mode for other categories.
4. Set an appropriate morph mode. Factory templates favor morph xy for Sound Effects and Soundscapes, and xfade xy for other categories.
5. Turn on one or both of the Main Filters if you wish to use them; and turn on any Source Filters that you wish to use.
6. Choose a suitable trigger Mode (Always, Regtrigger, Legato) and number of Voices for the category.
7. Set parameters in AHDSR 1 to appropriate values for the category (e.g. a slow attack for pads).
8. Add up to five effects appropriate for the category and in an appropriate order. Alchemy turns these on/off at random, ensuring that at least one effect is on, when it generates new presets.
9. Make any additional modulation assignments that seem appropriate for the category. Factory templates often assign LFO 1 to Master Fine Tune. For the Loops category, factory templates modulate the Position of each Source with a tempo synced Ramp Up LFO set to 8 beats. For the Organs and Vocals categories, factory templates modulate Master Amp with an LFO.
10. Adjust other knob settings to values that seem typical for the category. Alchemy generates new presets by varying these settings around the values you supply.
11. Ensure that no audio files (WAV, AIFF, SFZ, AAZ) are loaded, and that no performance controls are assigned (FILE > Clear in the PERFORM section, if necessary). The arpeggiator should be off unless you are creating an Arpeggiated template.
12. Save the file in Alchemy/Libraries/PresetTemplates/category where category is an exact match to the name of an existing preset category (Arpeggiated, Bass, Brass, and so on). As long as your template is stored in the right location, you can name it anything you want. Factory templates use generic names such as ‘Default.acp’ for the most basic template and ‘Sample.acp’ for a template based on the Sampler synthesis type.