HYPHA Manual

Table of Contents
1. Disclaimer ................................................................................................................... 2

2. Welcome to HYPHA ...................................................................................................... 3

3. Installation and Setup ................................................................................................... 4

Installing via Native Access .......................................................................................... 4
Loading HYPHA in KONTAKT ........................................................................................ 4

4. HYPHA Overview .......................................................................................................... 5

5. Main Page ................................................................................................................... 6

Solo Instruments ........................................................................................................ 6
Chord Instruments ...................................................................................................... 7
Filter Panel ................................................................................................................ 8

6. FX Page ...................................................................................................................... 9
EQ ............................................................................................................................ 9
Tape ....................................................................................................................... 10
Delay ...................................................................................................................... 11
Chorus .................................................................................................................... 11
Phaser .................................................................................................................... 12
Cabinet ................................................................................................................... 13
Convolution ............................................................................................................. 13
Limiter .................................................................................................................... 14

7. Settings Page ............................................................................................................ 16

8. Credits ...................................................................................................................... 18
 DISCLAIMER 2

1. Disclaimer
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Native Instruments GmbH. The software described by this document
is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media. No part of this
publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose,
without prior written permission by Native Instruments GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Native
Instruments.
“Native Instruments”, “NI” and associated logos are (registered) trademarks of Native Instruments
GmbH.
Mac, macOS, GarageBand, Logic and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in
the U.S. and other countries.
Windows and DirectSound are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States
and/or other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners and use of them does not imply
any affiliation with or endorsement by them.
Document authored by Jan Ola Korte
Software version: 1.0 (12/2022)
 WELCOME TO HYPHA 3

2. Welcome to HYPHA
Ignite your creative spark with HYPHA. This free KONTAKT Instrument features an array of fully
tweakable acoustic-electric hybrid sounds inspired by nature.
This document shows you how to install and setup HYPHA, and describes all features in detail,
starting with the basic overview.
Thank you for choosing HYPHA. We hope you enjoy it!
 INSTALLATION AND SETUP 4

3. Installation and Setup

Before making music with HYPHA, you must install and set up the necessary software. Follow
these instructions to get started.

Installing via Native Access

Native Access is where you will install the software for HYPHA. If you are new to Native
Instruments, you will first have to create your Native ID. To learn more about Native Access, visit
our support page.
1. Download and install Native Access here.
2. Create a Native ID if you do not yet have one.
3. Login to Native Access using your Native ID.
4. Click the Not installed tab.
5. Click INSTALL for the following products:
• HYPHA
• KONTAKT or KONTAKT PLAYER

→ The software is installed automatically.

If the software is already installed, click the Available updates tab and check for new
updates before proceeding.

Loading HYPHA in KONTAKT

Once installed, you can start using HYPHA in KONTAKT. HYPHA is not an independent plug-in, so
you first need to open an instance of KONTAKT or KONTAKT PLAYER:
1. Open KONTAKT as a plug-in in your host software (DAW) or as a stand-alone application.
2. Locate HYPHA in the Browser, on the left side of the user interface.
3. Click Instruments to open the product's content.
4. Double-click the .nki file to load the instrument.

If you are new to KONTAKT and want more information, visit KONTAKT PLAYER and
KONTAKT.
 HYPHA OVERVIEW 5

4. HYPHA Overview
HYPHA offers fast and immediate access to key parameters and performance controls on its Main
page. Additionally, you can tweak and fine-tune effects on the FX page, and find global options
relating to MIDI control, tuning, and randomization on the Settings page.
HYPHA contains the following elements:

1. FX On/Off: Switches all effects on or off.

2. FX Page: Opens the FX page, which enables you to add and tweak a number of different
effects. For more information, refer to FX Page.
3. Settings Page: Opens the Settings page, which provides global options related to MIDI control,
tuning, and randomization. For more information, refer to Settings Page.
4. Main Page: The Main page provides performance controls that enable you to play and tweak
presets in an intuitive way. For more information, refer to Main Page.
 MAIN PAGE 6

5. Main Page
HYPHA's Main page features a set of controls that enable you to tweak classic synthesizer
parameters.
HYPHA includes two different types of Instruments, each with their own dedicated set of
parameters:
• Solo Instruments: Instruments of this type belong in the Bass, Keys, Pad and Textural
categories. For more information, refer to Solo Instruments.
• Chord Instruments: Instruments of this type belong in the Chord category. For more
information, refer to Chord Instruments.

Solo Instruments
Instruments in the Bass, Keys, Pad and Textural categories share the same set of parameters.
Each Instrument consists of two layers A and B, producing a rich sound not easily achieved with a
single synthesizer voice.
The Main page consists of the following parameters:

• Tremolo/Vibrato: Adjusts the amount of the tremolo or vibrato effect. This parameter is
controlled by the modulation wheel.
• A / B: Adjusts the level of the two sound layers A and B. The X-axis controls the level of layer A,
while the Y-Axis controls the level of layer B.
• Sound: Morphs between different timbre settings. Turning the control fully to the left produces
a neutral sound.
• Cutoff: Adjusts the cutoff frequency of the filter. Additional filter settings can be accessed
using the + button next to the Cutoff control.
 MAIN PAGE 7

• + (Filter Panel): Opens the Filter panel that provides additional filter settings, including the filter
type, resonance, and modulation. For more information, refer to Filter Panel.
• Glide: Adjusts the duration of the glissando effect, which makes one pitch glide to the next
when playing a second MIDI note at the same time. Glide will only take effect if Play Mode is
set to Mono or Legato.
• Play Mode: Selects one of three modes that determine the Instrument's response to
MIDI input. Poly allows multiple notes to be played polyphonically. Mono only allows one
monophonic note to be played at the same time. Legato only acquires new pitch information
when playing a second MIDI note at the same time without starting a new note event.
• Chord: Selects a chord to be played when pressing a single key. When Off is selected, keys
trigger individual notes. You can open the drop-down menu by clicking on the name and select
an entry from the list. Alternatively, you can use the left and right arrow buttons to select the
previous or next entry, respectively.
• Vol Envelope: Adjusts the Instrument's volume envelope, which consists of attack, decay,
sustain, and release stages. You can adjust each envelope stage by clicking and dragging the
individual segments in the display.

Chord Instruments
Instruments in the Chord category share the same set of parameters. Each sound consists of a
musical chord, producing harmonic content not easily achieved with a single synthesizer voice.
The Main page consists of the following parameters:

• Blend: Blends between different sound layers, which can be chords or voicings sharing the
same fundamental, or sound variations. This parameter is controlled by the modulation wheel.
• Sound: Morphs between different timbre settings. Turning the control fully to the left produces
a neutral sound.
• Cutoff: Adjusts the cutoff frequency of the filter. Additional filter settings can be accessed
using the + button next to the Cutoff control.
 MAIN PAGE 8

• + (Filter Panel): Opens the Filter panel that provides additional filter settings, including the filter
type, resonance, and modulation. For more information, refer to Filter Panel.
• Glide: Adjusts the duration of the glissando effect, which makes one pitch glide to the next
when playing a second MIDI note at the same time. Glide will only take effect if Play Mode is
set to Mono or Legato.
• Play Mode: Selects one of three modes that determine the Instrument's response to
MIDI input. Poly allows multiple notes to be played polyphonically. Mono only allows one
monophonic note to be played at the same time. Legato only acquires new pitch information
when playing a second MIDI note at the same time without starting a new note event.
• Chord: Selects a chord to be played when pressing a single key. When Off is selected, keys
trigger individual notes. You can open the drop-down menu by clicking on the name and select
an entry from the list. Alternatively, you can use the left and right arrow buttons to select the
previous or next entry, respectively.
• Vol Envelope: Adjusts the Instrument's volume envelope, which consists of attack, decay,
sustain, and release stages. You can adjust each envelope stage by clicking and dragging the
individual segments in the display.

Filter Panel
The Filter panel provides additional filter settings, including the filter type, resonance, and
modulation.
The panel consists of the following menus and parameters:

• Filter Type: Selects either the Lowpass or Highpass filter type. When Lowpass is selected,
frequency content above the cutoff frequency is attenuated. When Highpass is selected,
frequency content below the cutoff frequency is attenuated.
• Resonance: Adjusts the resonance amount of the filter. Turning the control to the right makes
the frequency content at the cutoff frequency more pronounced.
• Vel->Freq: Adjusts the amount of velocity sensitivity for the cutoff frequency. When set to 0,
the cutoff frequency does not change depending on note velocity. When turning the control to
the right, the cutoff frequency changes according to the note velocity to a variable degree.
• Env Amount: Adjusts the amount of modulation applied from the the Filter Envelope to the
cutoff frequency.
• Filter Envelope: Adjusts the Instrument's filter envelope, which consists of attack, decay,
sustain, and release stages. You can adjust each envelope stage by clicking and dragging
the individual segments in the display.
 FX PAGE 9

6. FX Page
The FX page enables you to add and tweak a number of different effects, including EQ, tape
saturation, spatial effects, modulation effects, and a limiter.
The FX page consists of the following effects:

• EQ: Allows you to shape and balance frequency content. For more information, refer to EQ.
• Tape: Emulates the soft compression and distortion of recording to tape. For more information,
refer to Tape.
• Delay: Produces a range of echo effects that can be synchronized to the tempo of your host.
For more information, refer to Delay.
• Chorus: Adds depth and richness to the audio signal by layering the signal with a detuned copy
of itself. For more information, refer to Chorus.
• Phaser: Produces a comb filtering effect, which attenuates some frequencies while boosting
others. For more information, refer to Phaser.
• Cabinet: Simulates the sound of a guitar cabinet recorded through a microphone. For more
information, refer to Cabinet.
• Convolution: Creates reverb effects using impulse responses from a variety of sources. For
more information, refer to Convolution.
• Limiter: Reduces signal peaks to prevent clipping, but also to increase the overall loudness of a
signal. For more information, refer to Limiter.

EQ
EQ is a basic three-band equalizer that enables you to shape and balance frequency content.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:
 FX PAGE 10

• Effect On/Off: Switches the effect on or off (power button icon).

• Bass: Adjusts the amount of cut or boost applied to low-frequency content in the range from
-18 to +18 dB.
• Mid: Adjusts the amount of cut or boost applied to mid-frequency content in the range from
-18 to +18 dB.
• Treble: Adjusts the amount of cut or boost applied to high-frequency content in the range from
-18 to +18 dB.

Tape
The Tape Saturator emulates the soft compression and distortion of recording to tape. It can be
used lightly to add warmth and coloring to the sound, or heavily to add aggressive distortion.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:

• Effect On/Off: Switches the effect on or off (power button icon).

• Gain: Controls the input gain of the effect. This will increase the amount of tape distortion and
compression.
• Warmth: Controls the low frequency boost/cut of the effect.
• Output: Controls the output gain of the effect.
 FX PAGE 11

Delay
Delay is a stereo delay effect that produces a range of echo effects that can be synchronized to
the tempo of your host.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:

• Effect On/Off: Switches the effect on or off (power button icon).

• HQ: Switches the high-quality mode taken from NI's REPLIKA plug-in on or off.
• Feedback: Adjusts the amount of feedback. Turning Feedback to the right increases the
amount of delay repetitions.
• Rate: Adjusts the delay time and therefore the rate at which the echo repetitions occur. Rate
can be adjusted in milliseconds (ms) or in note values relative to the host tempo depending on
the selection in the drop-down menu above the Rate control.
• Mix: Blends between the input signal and the effect signal.

Chorus
The Chorus adds depth and richness to the audio signal by layering the original signal with a
detuned copy of itself. Separate LFOs with an adjustable phase relationship detune each stereo
channel independently for creating wide panorama effects.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:
 FX PAGE 12

• Effect On/Off: Switches the effect on or off (power button icon).

• HQ: Switches the high-quality mode taken from NI's CHORAL plug-in on or off.
• Depth: Adjusts the range of modulated detuning. Higher values give a more pronounced
chorusing effect.
• Rate: Adjusts the LFO modulation speed and therefore the rate at which the effect changes
over time.
• Mix: Blends between the input signal and the effect signal.

Phaser
This effect continually changes the phase relationships in your signal with an all-pass filter. This
results in a comb filtering effect, which attenuates some frequencies while boosting others. The
sound is similar to that of a flanger but in a more subtle manner.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:

• Effect On/Off: Switches the effect on or off (power button icon).

• HQ: Switches the high-quality mode taken from NI's PHASIS plug-in on or off.
• Depth: The amount of LFO modulation. Higher values cause the Phaser effect to sweep over a
wider frequency range.
 FX PAGE 13

• Rate: Adjusts the LFO modulation speed and therefore the rate at which the effect changes
over time. Rate can be adjusted in milliseconds (ms) or in note values relative to the host
tempo depending on the selection in the drop-down menu above the Rate control.
• Mix: Blends between the input signal and the effect signal.

Cabinet
Cabinet simulates the sound of a guitar cabinet recorded through a microphone.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:

• Effect On/Off: Switches the effect on or off (power button icon).

• Cabinet Selector: Selects the type of the simulated cabinet. You can open the drop-down menu
by clicking on the name and select an entry from the list. Alternatively, you can use the left and
right arrow buttons to select the previous or next entry, respectively.
• Output: Controls the output gain of the effect.

Convolution
Convolution is a convolution reverb including impulse responses from a variety of sources,
including hi-end reverb units, acoustic spaces, and special processed impulse responses.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:
 FX PAGE 14

• Impulse Response selector: Selects the impulse response used for creating the convolution
effect. You can open the drop-down menu by clicking on the name and select an entry from the
list on the right side of the menu. The various categories can be selected on the left side of the
menu. Alternatively, you can use the left and right arrow buttons to select the previous or next
entry, respectively.
• Mix: Blends between the input signal and the effect signal.

Limiter
Limiter is a special type of compressor that reduces signal peaks to prevent clipping, but also to
increase the overall loudness of a signal by raising the output level accordingly.
This effect contains the following parameters and controls:

• Effect On/Off: Switches the effect on or off (power button icon).

• Gain: Adjusts the gain of the input signal. Since the limiter has a fixed threshold, raising the
input gain effectively increases the amount of gain reduction, or limiting, applied to the signal.
• Release: Adjusts the time it takes gain reduction to return to 0 after the input signal has fallen
below the threshold. Reducing the release time can further increase loudness, but also result in
a distorted signal. Increasing the release times will prevent distortion, but can lead to pumping
effects.
 FX PAGE 15

• Output: Controls the output gain of the effect.

 SETTINGS PAGE 16

7. Settings Page
The Settings page provides global options related to MIDI control, tuning, and randomization.
The Settings page consists of the following options:

• Active Range: Enables you to filter MIDI notes according to the values set for Min and Max.
Any note outside of this range will be ignored by the instrument. You can use this feature in
conjunction with Transpose to combine multiple instruments and control them from different
keyboard sections.
• Min: Sets the lowest MIDI note that the instrument will receive.
• Max: Sets the highest MIDI note that the instrument will receive.
• Learn: Enables you to set Min and Max using the keys on your keyboard. Once Learn is
activated, the first key press will set the Min value, and the second key press will set the
Max value. Activating and deactivating Learn without pressing any key will reset Min and
Max to default.
• Tuning: Enables you to change the key and tuning system for the instrument.
• Key: Sets the key for the instrument.
• Tuning Selector: Selects from nine different tuning systems for the instrument.
• Transpose: Enables you to transpose incoming MIDI notes and therefore map the keys to a
different range of notes played by the instrument. You can use this feature in conjunction
with Active Range to combine multiple instruments and control them from different keyboard
sections.
• Semi: Transposes incoming MIDI notes in the range from -12 to +12 semitones.
• Oct: Transposes incoming MIDI notes in the range from -5 to +5 octaves.
• PB Range: Enables you to adjust the range of the pitch bend control on your keyboard.
• Down: Adjusts the pitch bend value when the pitch wheel
• Up:
 SETTINGS PAGE 17

• Velocity: Enables you to change the instrument's response to MIDI velocity, which is the force
applied to keys when playing.
• Curve: Selects one of four different velocity response curves, linear, exponential +,
exponential -, and fixed value.
• Vel>Vol: Adjusts the velocity sensitivity of the instrument, which is the amount of velocity
applied to the volume level. Turning the control to the right increases velocity sensitivity,
making soft key presses trigger softer notes, and hard key presses trigger louder notes.
• Min: Adjusts the minimum velocity value for the instrument. When playing lower velocities,
the instrument will receive the Min value.
• Max: Adjusts the maximum velocity value for the instrument. When playing higher
velocities, the instrument will receive the Max value.
• Randomize: Enables you to apply random variation to specific parameters upon pressing a key
on the keyboard. A new random value is generated for key press, which will affect parameters
according to the amount set using the corresponding control.
• Randomize On/Off: Switches the Randomize function on or off.
• Volume: Adjusts the amount of random variation applied to the volume level upon pressing
a key.
• Velocity: Adjusts the amount of random variation applied to the velocity of the note upon
pressing a key.
• Pan: Adjusts the amount of random variation applied to the panorama, or stereo position, l
upon pressing a key.
• Pitch: Adjusts the amount of random variation applied to the pitch of the note upon
pressing a key.
 CREDITS 18

8. Credits
Concept: Dimitris Kordis
User Interface Design: Stefan Kummerloew, Efflam Le Bivic
Product Design and KSP Support: Francesco Sabatini, Clement Destephen, Nikolas Jeroma
Product Management: Grant Smith
Sound Design: Dimitris Kordis, Tommaso de Donatis
QA & Finalization: Elad Twito
Marketing: Luke Dubuis, Samuel Hora, Alastair Oloo, Kristina Fritsche, Maik Siemer, Sam Taylor,
Shane Mason, Roy Hamilton-Sturdy, Keir Edmonds, Sophie Harkins, Matthieu Lamassiaude, Mick
Benjamins, Michael Sohn, Judith Gelzinnes, Gerard Martins
Documentation: Jan Ola Korte
Special Thanks: Christian Wachsmuth, Konstantin Hess, Sebastian Müller, Barbara Cooper-Clarke,
Jonathan Heine, Barry McManus, Hayo Friese