User manual

June 8, 2021
Introduction
Thanks for using Addictive Keys!

When we set out to make a piano instrument, we wanted to capture the spirit of using piano in
pop, rock, r’n’b, edm, jazz and other contexts, rather than what we felt everyone else was doing
(“piano for classical music recorded in a concert hall”). The recordings, mic choices and
treatments were made with that in mind, and the software we built around it truly invites
experimentation.

Packed with presets ranging from traditional to outright crazy. As it should be!

We had a lot of fun creating this software, and hope that you also have a great time using it in
your music - stay Addicted!

/The Addictive Keys team

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Contents
Introduction 2

Contents 3

What is Addictive Keys? 5

CloudSync 5

HelpTips 5

Overview of Addictive Keys 6

The Top Section 7

Memos 8

Memo Browser 8

Preset Browser 9

Save Preset 10

Logo 10

Page Select buttons 10

Top Menu 11

The Main Section 12

Gallery page 12

Explore Page 13

Edit Page Overview 14

X-Modulation 14

Overview 15

Instrument Settings 16

Sample Playback section 17

Channel Strip 20

Input 20

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 Noise 20

EQ 24

Filter (Master channel only) 25

Mic/Input Selection & Visualization 26

Mixer Section 27

Mixer Section - Channel Settings 27

FX Page 29

Delay 29

Crossfader & Delerb graph 30

Reverb 30

EQ 30

Session Settings 31

Temperament graph 32

Key and Pedal display 32

Pitch Bend 32

X-mod Source 32

Velocity 32

Load/Save Settings 32

Master Tune 32

Temperament 33

Automation 33

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What is Addictive Keys?
Addictive Keys is a powerful music production and songwriting tool. With its unique sound
creation abilities, smart workflow, fast loading times and high quality producer presets,
Addictive Keys is perfect for any production style and music genre.

The Addictive Keys instruments allow the user to mix and match different microphone
perspectives and other instrument specific features. Professional effects like EQ, filter, noise,
compression, distortion, reverb, delay, chorus, phaser and tremolo lets the user recreate many
classic sounds, while things like advanced envelopes for filter, pitch and volume can make the
result truly unique.

The standalone version is perfect for spontaneous jamming and live performances and the
plug-in version supports all major DAW hosts.

When music comes first and finding the right sound is crucial, Addictive Keys is the perfect tool
to make any production unique.

CloudSync
CloudSync is a small background application that is installed by default, if you are logged in to
your XLN Audio account when installing Addictive Keys.

It works like this: If you are using Addictive Keys while connected to the internet, all saved user
files (presets and memos) will be uploaded instantly to your XLN account.

● When working on more than one computer, all your user files are automatically kept in
sync
● When doing a fresh install on a new computer, the first time you start Addictive Keys all
your user files will be downloaded and become instantly available

HelpTips
In the black area in the very bottom, helpful hints will appear when hovering over the various
controls in the user interface.

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Overview of Addictive Keys
The Addictive Keys (AK) interface can be divided into a Top Section and a Main Section. The
Top Section is always present regardless of where you are within AK. The Main Section changes
depending on which Page you are on.

1. Top Section
2. Main Section

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The Top Section

1. Memo Browser
2. Record Memo
3. Loading Indicator
4. Preset Display
5. Preset Browser
6. Save Preset
7. Logo
8. Page Select buttons
9. Top Menu

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Memos
The Memos function lets you record ideas and sketches instantly when inspiration strikes.
Simply hit the Record Memo button at any time to start recording a MIDI based memo, then
click it again when you’re done. Your Memo contains all your AK settings at the time of the
recording, so that it will sound exactly the same the next time you listen to it.

Memo Browser

The left side shows a Memo List with play buttons to audition each Memo.

The right section shows information about the currently selected Memo, and allows you to
Rename or Delete it. You can also export the Memo as a MIDI file by dragging it to an Addictive
Keys track in your host, or to a folder on your computer.

The dropdown menu near the bottom allows you to sort the Memos by Name or Creation date,
while the Prev/Next buttons allow you to step through the Memos in the list.

The Preview button in the bottom right of Addictive Keys lets you preview the current memo. It’s
available from any page in AK, which means that you can, for example, adjust the controls on
the EDIT page while the memo is playing.

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Preset Browser

All the presets from the ExploreMaps are listed in the Preset Browser, along with any
user-created presets.

In the upper section you can browse/filter presets by Instrument, or by Name (using the text
search field). You can show/hide presets created by you (My Presets) or by XLN Audio
(Products).

The left side shows a Preset List with play buttons to audition each preset. The list updates in
real time if you search or apply filters.

The right side of the Preset Browser is the Preset Info section, it shows which AK Instrument the
current preset belongs to, as well as the Author of the preset. You can also Rename or Delete
your User Presets, and choose any preset to be loaded up automatically when you start AK by
clicking Set As Startup.

You can drag’n’drop the preset preview as a MIDI file/region from the Drag to track bar onto the
Addictive Keys track in your host, or to a folder in your computer operating system.

The dropdown menu near the bottom allows you to sort the presets by Name or Creation Date,
while the Prev/Next buttons allow you to step through the presets in the list.

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Save Preset

Choose the Name (click to edit) and perhaps add some useful Info (like what X-mod does in the
preset).

The MIDI Preview function allows you to record a short MIDI snippet to showcase the preset. If
you don’t record anything, the current MIDI file will be used as a preview.

If a preset with the same name already exists, you will get the option to either overwrite it or to
save it with a new name.

Logo
Clicking on the AK logo takes you to the About Addictive Keys page. Here you will find program
version information (which is good in support matters) and also credits, special thanks and
acknowledgements from the XLN Audio team.

Page Select buttons

AK’s four different pages will be described in more detail a bit further down.

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Top Menu
Brings up a sub menu with these selections:

● Session Settings Window (change tuning temperament, pitch bend range and other
things)
● Addictive Keys Manual PDF (you’re reading it now!)
● UI Scaling & Settings (change the size of the AK interface)
● Go to xlnaudio.com
● About Addictive Keys (same as clicking the big logo top center)

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The Main Section
The main section is divided into four separate pages.

Gallery page

This page shows the available Instruments that can be used with AK. A description of the
Instrument will be shown, with the included ExploreMaps below it.

You can select to see all Explore Maps by clicking on the View button in the top right hand
corner.

Clicking on an ExploreMap takes you to the Explore Page.

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Explore Page

Here you can browse through the ExploreMaps associated with each Instrument. It offers a
non-cluttered approach to preset browsing, and lets you get a sense of what each Instrument
has to offer. (All presets listed here are also available in the Preset Browser.)

The first ExploreMap is called Producer and offers processed sounds ready to go, with included
controls for things like Tone and FX levels.

The second one, As Recorded, offers natural sounding presets, showcasing the different mic
perspectives.

The third one, Selections, goes further and further into sonic sculpting, with more processing
overall - sometimes very far from the original sound!

Each Preset has a play button which plays a preview snippet to showcase that sound.

For Instruments you don’t own, we have included audio demos of the presets, indicated with
headphone icons instead of Play buttons.

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Edit Page Overview
The EDIT page allows advanced tweaking of the sound. Before digging deeper into the different
sections, here are a few notes on how the controls in the EDIT page works.

X-Modulation

1. X-modulation knob

On the Edit page you’ll find smaller knobs next to some of the controls. These are called
X-modulation (X-mod) knobs and allow you to control one or several parameters in AK using the
mod wheel, aftertouch, or a MIDI CC value of your choice (see Session Settings). The X-mod
knob controls the range of modulation for the parameter it is located next to. All X-modulation
featured parameters are marked “X-moddable” in this manual.

Use [Shift] to increase control resolution - If you hold [Shift] on your computer keyboard while
editing a control, you get a finer control resolution, enabling high precision adjustments.

Reset a control to its default position - To reset a control to its default value, use [Ctrl]+click
(Windows) or [Cmd]+click (macOS)

Scroll wheel support - Addictive Keys supports scroll wheel editing for most controls, just place
the cursor over the control and use the scroll wheel to adjust it.

Instant on - To activate a “darkened” (turned off) section, just alter one of the controls and it will
become active.

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Overview

1. Instrument Settings
2. Sample Playback section
3. Channel Strip
4. Mic/Input Selection & Visualization
5. Mixer Section

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Instrument Settings

This section of the Edit Page contains settings that are specific for the currently selected
instrument. Click the arrow button in the top left of this section to open the Instrument Select
menu, or use the scroll wheel while holding the cursor over the arrow to select an instrument.

The Pedals section offers control of how AK responds to MIDI Pedal messages.

● Softness adjusts how much the incoming velocity should be attenuated when the soft
pedal (Una Corda) is pressed.

● Pedal Noise adjusts the volume of the recorded noise from pressing the pedal. At 0, the
Pedal Noise sounds at the level it was recorded.

● Sustain Body adjusts the amount of sympathetic resonance between strings in the
instrument while the sustain pedal is pressed. The more you add, the “richer” the sustain
tone will sound. At 0, the Sustain Body sounds at its natural level. Sustain Noise adjusts
the level of the natural inharmonic noise from all undamped strings that happens when
the sustain pedal is pressed. At 0, the Sustain Noise sounds at its natural level.

Note: All these options are not available for all instruments.

Vel > Sample - allows you to filter out the lowest and/or highest velocity layers of the current
instrument, while keeping the dynamic range intact. This means that if you retract the Vel >
Sample slider to a thin line, Addictive Keys will only play samples from a single velocity layer, but
you still get normal volume differences on those samples based on velocity.

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Sample Playback section

This section of the Edit page provides three tabs: Pitch, Filter and Volume. Note that these
settings affect the instrument as a whole.

All three tabs have envelopes, and those can be edited either by dragging the points in the graph
or by adjusting the values below the graph. Adjust the curves between the points in the envelope
by dragging them up/down.

Pitch

Octave transposes the instrument one octave up or down.

Tune FX provides some creative tuning options: Dissonance provides random detuning for all
lo-fi/honky-tonk use cases. Sample Shift changes the tonal character of the piano in semitone
steps. Under the hood it shifts the pitch of all the samples, while simultaneously compensating
with MIDI transpose in the opposite direction. Nice effect, a bit hard to describe in words!

Vibrato offers synth style pitch modulation, with the usual Rate and Depth (X-moddable)
controls.

The Pitch Envelope lets you change the pitch over time. It is its own section with an Enable
switch to turn it on/off.

The pitch of the sample will always end up on the correct pitch in the end, but you can offset the
initial pitch with Pitch Start. After a certain Hold Time the envelope pulls the pitch back to
normal during the duration of the Release Time.

You can let velocity control the amount of Pitch Envelope applied by using the Vel control.

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Filter

The Filter lets you do anything from subtle enhancements to sounds that border on synth
territory. The Active button turns the entire filter section on/off.

There are four different filter Types: Low Pass 12dB, Low Pass 24dB, High Pass 12dB and Band
Pass 12dB, and the usual Cutoff (X-moddable) and Resonance knobs.

The Kbd (Keyboard) knob changes the cutoff frequency depending on which key you play. It’s a
bipolar control: When centered there is no effect. When turned right the cutoff will increase with
the MIDI note value (high note = high cutoff, low note = low cutoff). When turned left you get the
opposite.

The Filter Envelope lets you change the timbre over time. It is its own section with an Enable
switch to turn it on/off.

The Envelope Amount knob controls how much the envelope should change the cutoff
frequency of the filter.

Start Level, indicated by a triangle, allows you to set a starting point other than zero which is
useful in many situations when dealing with filters.

What follows after is a very flexible multi-stage envelope with times and levels for all 4 stages:
Attack Time and Attack Level, Decay Time and Decay Level, Sustain Time and Sustain Level,
and finally Release Time and Release Level.

You can let velocity control the amount of Filter Envelope applied by using the Vel control.

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Volume

Vel >Vol: Adjusts how velocity affects the volume

Kbd: Increasing this control, the volume will increase with the MIDI note value (high note = high
volume, low note = low volume). Decrease this control to get the opposite effect.

Volume envelope

Enable: Turns on/off the envelope section. When the envelope is disabled instruments will
playback “as recorded” using release samples if available.

Vel > Attack: Increase this slider to let the velocity of incoming MIDI notes determine the
influence of the volume envelope.

Envelope Point Amplitude: -inf - 0 dB

Attack: 5 ms - 7 s

Decay: 5 ms - 7 s

Sustain: 5 ms - 7 s

Release: 0 - 15 s (only available if Release Samples are deactivated)

Release Samples: Activates/deactivates release sample playback.

Envelope parameters can be edited either by dragging the points in the graph or by adjusting the
values below the graph. Adjust the curves between the points in the envelope by dragging them
up/down.

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Channel Strip

The instrument channels and the master channel in Addictive Keys each have a channel strip,
with useful tools for shaping the sound. Click the channel label in the mixer to select the channel
strip you want to edit.

By clicking the button in the top left corner of each instance it can be turned on or off, indicated
by a darkened area when turned off. Adjusting any of the “darkened” controls will immediately
activate it again.

Input

This section shows the currently selected microphone/input. By clicking the input slot, a scroll
down menu shows all available selectable microphones/inputs for the selected instrument.

Noise

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Add recorded noise from various mics, studios and machines. The noise sound is triggered
when an audio signal is present. You can control the Decay and Level to go from a subtle
constant hiss to an exaggerated short noise burst on every note.

On the three instrument channels the noise module is placed before the effect chain allowing
the noise to be more integrated with the direct sound. On the Master channel the noise module
is placed at the end.

MultiFX

The MultiFX unit has four different modes: Compress & Distort, Chorus, Phaser and Tremolo.
Clicking on the top right arrow buttons of the MultiFX unit allows you to toggle between the four
modes. Note that only one of the modes is active at a time.

Each AK channel has two identical Multi Effects units, one pre- and one post-EQ.

Compress & Distort

Combined compressor and distortion effect. Activate or deactivate them separately by clicking
the Enable buttons on each section.

The Compressor has an advanced AutoGain algorithm that keeps levels in check. Thr is the
compressor threshold, Atk sets the attack time and Rel the release time. GR shows the Gain
Reduction applied.

The Distortion effect offers several types of distortion, selectable with the Arrow Buttons, or by
clicking the distortion type Name. On the left is a Range slider where you can select a specific

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frequency range to distort. Frequencies outside of the range pass through unchanged. Useful to
just add some crunch to the mid range of a sound for example.

Amount lets you control how much distortion is added to the sound, while Mix let’s you set the
balance between the clean and the distorted sound.

Chorus

A 5-voice Chorus effect with classic Rate and Depth controls. Use the knobs or drag the graph
directly, left/right to control Rate, or up/down to control Depth.

The Stereo control lets you spread the chorus voices for a wider sound.

Mix (X-moddable) sets the balance between the clean and wet sound.

The Filter sets the frequency range that is passed through the effect.

Octave Mode sets individual rates in octave relations for each chorus voice. For example: if you
set the chorus rate knob to 16 Hz, the first voice will pitch shift at 16 Hz, the second at 8 Hz, the
third at 4 Hz, the fourth at 2 Hz and the fifth at 1 Hz. With Octave Mode off, all voices will pitch
shift at the same rate, but each one at a different point/phase in the LFO cycle.

Phaser

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A Phaser effect with multiple waveforms and tempo sync.

Select waveform by clicking the Arrow Keys or the Waveform Name. Set the Rate manually or
click Sync to lock the rate to your host tempo. Click Inv to invert the waveform.

The Stereo switch widens the sound, and Stages controls the general sound character.

Depth, Feedback (X-moddable) and Phase allow you to shape the Phaser sound from subtle to
extreme.

Mix (X-moddable) sets the balance between the clean and wet sound.

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Tremolo

A Tremolo effect with multiple waveforms and tempo sync.

Select waveform by clicking the Arrow Keys or the Waveform Name. Set the Tremolo Rate
manually or click Sync to lock the rate to your host tempo. Click Inv to invert the waveform.

Vol Amount and Pan Amount control how much volume and pan is affected.

The classic Tremolo effect is all about affecting volume, but we also added a low pass Filter
section. You can turn this on/off separately with the Enable button.

When enabled, the cutoff frequency of the filter will be swept up and down. Cutoff decides the
highest frequency, and the Filter Amount controls how much the filter will be swept downwards.

The Amount knob is a bit special: it is bipolar. When centered there is no effect. When turned left
or right the filter sweep amount is increased in the exact same way - but - when turned right the
filter resonance is turned up as well for a more “synthy” sound.

Vol Amount, Pan Amount, Cutoff and Filter Amount are all X-moddable.

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EQ

A three band equalizer with additional High / Low Cut Filters. Tweak the EQ by dragging directly
in the graph: sideways to change Frequency, up/down to change Gain, mouse wheel to change Q
value. You can also drag up/down directly on the values below the graph.

The additional High / Low Cut Filters can be dragged in from the sides of the graph, and easily
adjusted: sideways to change Frequency, up/down to change Q value.

Filter (Master channel only)

A High / Low Cut filter that sits at the end of the signal chain.

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Mic/Input Selection & Visualization

Each Addictive Keys instrument was recorded using several microphones from different
perspectives. Some instruments have also been recorded through DI boxes or similar. You can
choose a different input for each of the three Instrument Channels and blend them to your liking
in the AK Mixer Section.

Input Selection - There are three ways of selecting an input for the Instrument Channels:

1. Press the small downwards arrow on the Instrument Channel Label and select input
from the dropdown menu or use the mouse wheel.

2. Select the Instrument Channel you want to change, then click on the microphones you
want to use in the ‘virtual room’. The selected microphone(s)will be highlighted with an
orange circle. Microphones used by the other channels will be highlighted with a white
circle.

3. Select the Instrument Channel you want to change, then click the Mic/Input picture in the
Channel Strip and select an input from the dropdown menu. You can also hold the cursor
over the picture and use the scroll wheel to flip through the different mic/input
selections.

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Mixer Section

1. Three Instrument channels

2. Two channels handling the FX1/FX2 returns
3. Master channel

The Addictive Keys Mixer Section has six stereo mixer channels. By clicking the channel label
you select that channel for editing. All channels in Addictive Keys are summed to the master
channel for final processing.

Mixer Section - Channel Settings

Each channel has a Volume Fader, Pan, Solo and Mute buttons. The Instrument Channels also
have Send knobs for FX1 / FX2. The FX Channels also have Delerb Balance knobs.

Exception: the Master Channel has no Solo button.

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Pan controls

1. Full width, centered

2. Stereo width reduced, not centered
3. Mono, centered
4. Mono, not centered
5. Reversed stereo image, full width, centered
6. Reversed stereo image, reduced width, not centered

The levels of the left and right channels can be adjusted in a variety of ways using the pan
control. Drag the Pan Control areas left/right to pan channels. You can also control the stereo
width by dragging the mouse up/down, and even reverse the stereo image by dragging upwards;
beyond center (the pan handle turns blue to indicate a reversed stereo image).

Note: In Addictive Keys the small pan “handle” is actually a balance control: it changes the relative
volume of the left and right channels rather than panning them, whereas the Width control can
change the actual panning of the L and R channels.

To quickly center a Pan: To reset a control to its default value, use [Ctrl]+click (Windows) or
[Cmd]+click (macOS).

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FX Page

1. Delay
2. Crossfader & Delerb graph
3. Reverb
4. EQ

The FX Section of Addictive Keys consists of two identical Delerb units (a delay that is fed into a
reverb). Each Instrument Channel in the AK Mixer Section can send to these effects.

The Delerb outputs are available in the Mixer section, where you can adjust volume and pan,
before they are summed in the Master Channel together with the Instrument Channels.

Delay

Delay Time can be set in ms, or you can click the Sync button to sync the delay to the current
MIDI file’s tempo. You can also click-hold and drag the Delerb Graph left/right to adjust delay
time and reverb.

Feedback controls how many repeats you will hear before the delay fades out. At 0% you get
one repeat. At 100% the delay repeats infinitely. You can also click-hold and drag the Delerb
Graph up/down to adjust the delay feedback.

Swing adds a swing or shuffle effect to the echo repeats, and Ping Pong makes the sound
bounce back and forth between the left and right output channels, creating a distinct stereo
effect.

Range limits the frequency range of the delay.

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Crossfader & Delerb graph

The display shows a visual graph of the current Delerb decay, and it will update as you move the
Delerb Crossfader to set the balance between the delay and the reverb.

Reverb

This effect offers several types of reverb, selectable with the Arrow Buttons, or by clicking the
reverb type Name.

The Pre-delay is useful for placing the reverb slightly after the drum transients, which can make
the mix clearer and more punchy.

Decay adjusts the reverb time. You can also click-hold and drag the Delerb Graph up/down to
adjust the reverb decay.

Damping lets you manage high frequency reflections and ringing.

EQ

Same as the regular Channel strip EQ.

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Session Settings

1. Temperament graph
2. Key and Pedal display
3. Pitch Bend
4. X-mod Source
5. Velocity
6. Load/Save Settings
7. Master Tune
8. Temperament

The Session Settings page provides control over the performance elements of your instruments,
such as relative and absolute tuning, pitch bend, X-modulation and velocity response.

These settings are saved along with all other settings when saving your song/arrangement in
your DAW. They are however not saved with your presets, or changed when you change presets
or instruments.

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Temperament graph

The Temperament Graph serves as a visual reference for the tuning of the current instrument.
The graph updates in real time when tuning settings like Temperament, Master Tune, Scale Key,
Stretch and Dissonance (on the Edit page) are changed.

Key and Pedal display

Responds to incoming MIDI.

Pitch Bend

Set the range for the pitch bend controller on your MIDI keyboard. Separate settings are
available for upwards and downwards pitch bend.

X-mod Source

Set which MIDI parameter will control the X-modulation. Choose from modulation wheel,
aftertouch or a MIDI CC value. If you are not sure what CC value the knob/slider on your MIDI
controller uses, then click the Learn button and move the knob/slider. Addictive Keys will then
register the MIDI CC value and assign that knob/slider to control the X-modulation.

Velocity

Set the velocity response curve by rotating the knob or drag up/down in the graph. Moving the
mouse up/down close to the sides of the graph lets you limit the range.

Load/Save Settings

● Load Factory Default: Sets all Session Settings to the default values.
● Load Startup Settings: Sets all Session Settings to the startup values.
● Save this as Startup Setting: Saves the current Session Settings as the Startup Settings.
Every time a new instance of Addictive Keys is opened, the startup settings are loaded.

Master Tune

Edit the master tuning of your instrument either as “Concert Pitch” (usually A = 440 Hz) or cents.

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Temperament

Adjust the tuning of your instrument by choosing from 30 different temperaments using the
Temperament dropdown. The default is “As Recorded” which is how the recorded instrument
was originally tuned.

If you want to try other temperaments, note that most of them are key specific. The Scale Key
option lets you select the root key for your temperament.

It is quite common to “stretch” the tuning on pianos. It means that the higher notes are tuned a
little higher and the lower notes a little lower. This is because of the physics in stringed
instruments - it just sounds fuller and better. Use the Stretch knob to achieve this on the
alternate tunings.

Automation
The following parameters can be automated in Addictive Keys:

● X-mod
● Channel Volume (Instrument Ch 1, 2 and 3, FX1, FX2, Master)
● FX Sends 1 and 2 for each Instrument Channel
● Master Channel Filter (Hi/Lo)

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