Bionic Supa Delay

Disciples Edition
VST multi effects plug-in for Windows

Version 1.0
by The Interruptor + The Disciples
http://www.interruptor.ch

Table of Contents
1 Introduction.......................................................................3

1.1 Features.....................................................................................3

2
3
4
5

System Requirements.........................................................4
License............................................................................. 4
Installation........................................................................4
General Operation..............................................................5

5.1 Fine Adjustment of a Control.........................................................5

5.2 Midi Learn...................................................................................5
5.3 Signal Flow Diagram.....................................................................5

6 Control Reference...............................................................6
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5

Tape Delay..................................................................................6
Stereo Controls...........................................................................8
Filter..........................................................................................9
Pitch Shift.................................................................................11
Reverb.....................................................................................12

7 Program History...............................................................13
8 Credits............................................................................ 13

1 Introduction
Bionic Supa Delay is an improved version of the popular Bionic
Delay which is in use in many studios since over a decade. The
new version was developed in a joint effort with Dub producer Russ
D (The Disciples) who proposed to include additional features which
are helpful for live Dub mixes.
1.1 Features
Tape delay section:
high and low frequency roll-off
tape wow and flutter
smooth parameter for continuous delay time changes
freeze function
x2 button, doubles the delay time
delay time is syncronized with host tempo
set any delay time between tripplet and doted note timing
set different delay times in left and right channel
Stereo section
balance control pans the effect left and right
stereo width control
ping pong delay switch
delays drifting from the center to the left or to the right
auto panner
Filter section
12 filter types
LFO to modulate cutoff frequency (host synchronized)
flexible routing: before or after the delay
Pitch shift section
5 algorithms
can be used also for chorus effect
flexible routing: before or after the delay
Reverb section
2 reverbs A, B with different characters can be mixed
flexible routing: before or after the delay
Each section can be disabled. Using the flexible routing options
many different effects chains can be achieved. Examples:
Send Reverb into Filter with LFO modulation
BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

 Pitch shifter inside the delay feedback loop for continuous

shifts with each delay repetition
Signal flow diagram: shows the currently selected routing of
the different sections
Pop-up hints help to understand the function of each control
on the user interface. These appear when the mouse rests
over a control.
MIDI learn: Each control can be automated via MIDI
controllers.

2 System Requirements
WINXP, VISTA, WIN7, WIN8
A host software (DAW) capable of running VST plug-ins
This plug-in runs natively on 32bit systems. If you have a
64bit system, it is likely that your DAW provides support for
32 bit plug-ins via a so called bridge. If this is not the case
you might consider acquiring a third party bridge instead.

3 License
This software is free to use for commercial and noncommercial projects. If you use it regularly a donation is
appreciated.
You are not allowed to sell the software to someone else neither on it's own nor as part of a package with other goods
or services.
Redistribution for free is allowed as long as the unaltered ZIP
archive including this documentation is used

4 Installation
Copy the dll file from the download archive to your VST folder
Restart your host software (DAW)
Load the plug-in
Note: In case of problems please read the following. Upon starting
the plug-in for the first time a number of files are automatically
extracted to your VST folder. On Windows versions from VISTA
onwards by default plug-ins are not allowed to write files to your
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BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

hard drive. This will typically cause an error message from your
DAW reporting missing files. You can fix this issue by changing the
write permissions for your VST folder as follows:
Use Windows Explorer to browse to your VST Plugins folder.
Right-click the folder 'Properties'
Choose 'Security' tab.
Click 'Edit' button (You may need to click a UAC prompt).
Select user name "Users".
Tick options Allow 'Write' and 'Modify'.
To finish Select 'OK' to close the two dialog boxes.

5 General Operation
5.1 Fine Adjustment of a Control
Press the CTRL key while moving any control with the mouse if
you need to make fine adjustments
5.2 Midi Learn
Each control can be automated via MIDI controllers.
To assign a new/different MIDI controller right-click on a
control then choose "Learn" from the pop-up menu and tweak
the hardware controller you want to assign. Alternatively
choose "Unlearn" or "Edit.." to assign a controller from a list.
The default assignement of midi controllers is documented in
the pop-up hints.
5.3 Signal Flow Diagram
The top panel of the user interface can be toggled between two
views. Use the VU switch to enable either the VU meters or the flow
diagram. The flow diagram always shows the current routing based
on the selections made in the different effect sections.

BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

6 Control Reference
6.1 Tape Delay

Setting the delay

time

First select a coarse delay time by

Note buttons
GROOVE
TRIM
x2

FEEDBACK

pressing one of the note buttons: 1/2,

1/4, 1/8 or 1/16 notes are available.
Adjust the GROOVE slider to achieve any
timing between tripplet (move slider
completely to the left) and dotted note
(completely to the right). The middle
position of the slider is the "neutral
setting" which corresponds to the note
button selected
TRIM button: sets different delay times for
the left and the right channel. In the
middle position both channels have the
same delay time.
X2 button: doubles the delay time

Sets the amount of echo signal which is

reinserted into the delay line.

BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

DIRECT MIX

Sets the balance between the delay signal

and the unprocessed input

HIGH CUT
LOW CUT

Simple high and low cut filters which are

FREEZE

located inside the feedback path thus

allowing to gradually reduce the high and
low frequencies from one echo to the next
Neutral position: move the high cut slider
to the far right and the low cut slider to
the far left

Enable this switch to keep repeating the

content of the delay line without any
degradation by tape saturation or eq
settings.

SMOOTH

Allows for smooth delay time transitions

like on a tape delay when switching the
motor speed.

FLUTTER / WOW

Simulates tape speed imperfections

ON/OFF

caused by the mechanical parts of the

tape transport:
- WOW: slow tape speed variation
- FLUTTER: fast tape speed variation
INT: intensity of the effect
RATE: frequency of the modulation.
These variations are influenced also by
the SMOOTH parameter. With very high
SMOOTH settings the speed variations will
be evened out. If SMOOTH is disabled
completely (turned counterclockwise)
FLUTTER can result in audible clicks
caused by instantaneous delay time
changes

In OFF state the delay line is bypassed

and the feedback path including the tape

saturation emulation is disabled. The
remaining effect sections in the forward
path remain active however: LOW CUT,
HIGH CUT, FILTER, PITCH SHIFT, REVERB.
You can change the order of these effects
by means of the PRE switches located
in the FILTER, PITCH SHIFT and REVERB
sections.

BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

 Look at the signal flow diagram to keep

track of the routing.

6.2 Stereo Controls

GENERAL

The following controls affect the Stereo

output of the TAPE DELAY section

BALANCE

Manual control of the stereo balance

WIDTH

Controls the width of the stereo effect:

- Turn fully counterclockwise for mono

- Turn fully clockwise for maximum stereo
separation

PINGPONG

Creates echoes appearing on the left and

DRIFT

right output channels alternately

Note: For this effect the right input
channel is muted (see signal flow
diagram)

Creates echoes which gradually fade to

the left or right with each repetition. This

BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual


AUTO PAN

is achieved by setting different feedback

levels for the right and the left channel.
The center position is neutral

Automatically balances the stereo image

to the left and to the right using an LFO

(Low Frequency Oscillator)
Turn the knob to set the intensity of the
effect
Click on the oval-shaped control to select
a time base for the LFO. The LFO is
synchronized with the delay time selected
in the TAPE DELAY section. Examples:
x1 = one LFO cycle per delay repetition
x2 = two LFO cycles per delay repetition
:2 = half an LFO cycle per delay repetition

6.3 Filter

ON/OFF

On: Filter enabled

OFF: Filter bypassed

Setting the filter

algorithm and
filter type

First click on the small round control to

select Filter algorithm A or B. Then click

on the oval-shaped control to select the
filter type.
Available Filter Types:
Algorithm A = Tarrabia Filter:
- LP2 = low pass, two pole
- LP4 = low pass, four pole
- BP = band pass
- HP2 = high pass, two pole

BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

- HP4 = high pass, four pole

Algorithm B = Biquad Filter:
- LP = low pass
- HP = high pass
- Notch
- Peak
- Low Shelf
- High Shelf
Filter controls

Algorithm A:

LFO

The LFO (low frequency oscillator) allows

PRE

to periodically sweep the filter frequency

up and down
ON/OFF: enable/disable the filter LFO
INT: controls the intensity of the filter
sweeping
RATE: Click on the oval-shaped control to
select the rate of the LFO. The LFO is
synchronized with the delay time selected
in the TAPE DELAY section. Examples:
x1 = one LFO cycle per delay repetition
x2 = two LFO cycles per delay repetition
:2 = half an LFO cycle per delay repetition

This switch changes the routing of the

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- CUTOFF = cutoff frequency

- RES = filter resonance
Algorithm B:
- CENTER = center frequency
- WIDTH = filter bandwidth
- GAIN = positive or negative filter gain

filter:
- Disabled: Filter is located after the delay
section
- Enabled: Filter is located inside the
feedback loop of the delay section. This
can be helpful if you need more elaborate
filtering in the feedback loop than just the
HIGH CUT and LOW CUT
Look at the signal flow diagram to keep
track of the routing.

BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

6.4 Pitch Shift

ON/OFF

On: Pitch shift enabled

OFF: Pitch shift bypassed

ALGO

Select one of the pitch shifting algorithms based

on your application:
B, D: suitable best for small shifts (+/- 2
semi notes) or detuning
A, C: usually better for higher shift
amounts
X: Lo-Fi shift algorithm

SEMI

Select the amount of semitone steps to be

shifted up or down (max. +/- 24
semitones)

FINE

Allows very fine pitch tuning around the

GRAIN

center position of the knob.

The control is scaled in a non-linear way
in order to allow for large pitch shifts at
the extreme left and right positions of the
knob (max. +/- 2 octaves)

Sets the length of the audio snippets used

by the algorithm. Generally short settings
are better suited for percussive material.
For melodic signals usually higher settings
work best.

MIX

Sets the balance between the original

PRE

signal and the pitch shifted signal.

Use this in combination with a very low
shift amount to create a chorus effect.

This switch changes the routing of the

filter:
- Disabled: Pitch shift section is located

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after the delay section

- Enabled: Pitch shift section is located
inside the feedback loop of the delay
section. This way it is possible to create
echoes which are shifted continuously
with each delay repetition.
Look at the signal flow diagram to keep
track of the routing.

6.5 Reverb

ON/OFF

On: Reverb enabled

OFF: Reverb bypassed

MIX AB

Fades between the two reverb algorithms:

A: boingy old school reverb
B: more natural sounding smooth reverb

SIZE

Changes the size of the emulated room

DAMP

Increasing this parameter will make the

high frequencies in the reverb signal fade

out faster. This is a typical behaviour for
rooms with soft surfaces (wood, carpets,
curtains)

WIDTH

Sets the stereo width of the reverb signal

MIX

Sets the balance between the original

signal and the reverb signal

PRE

This switch changes the routing of the

reverb section:
- Disabled: reverb section is located after
the delay section
- Enabled: reverb section is located inside

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BIONIC SUPA DELAY - User Manual

the feedback loop of the delay section. A

reverb in the feedback loop might not be
the most useful setting. However as soon
as you disable the delay section you can
use this switch to locate the reverb before
the filter, which can yield interesting
results particularly if you engage the filter
frequency modulation (LFO).
Look at the signal flow diagram to keep
track of the routing.

7 Program History
ED 1_0 - March 2014
initial release

8 Credits
Built with Synthedit by Jeff Mc Clintock
http://www.synthedit.com
Third Party modules by David Haupt, Dan Worrall, Attilla
Fsts, Chris Kerry
Tape saturation is provided by the freeware VST plugin
JS Magneto developed by Dr. Schmitt:
http://membres.multimania.fr/jeje1999/plug.htm
GUI controls were created using Knobman
http://www.g200kg.com/en/software/knobman.html
The executable was packed using UPX
http://upx.sourceforge.net

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