Soundala Play Instructions

a. The first is the Home screen, it comes up first when you open the program.
b. The second is the Control screen, you access that by pressing the Tools icon at far left of the Home bottom panel.
c. The Home and Control screens disappear after 24 seconds.

i. To dismiss them sooner tap once on the screen outside the panels.
ii. To bring them back tap anywhere near the bottom of the screen.
iii. The top and side panels with the sliders work the same way.

a. Tap the iPod icon.
b. Choose some songs by hitting +

i. Or go to Playlists and at the top choose Add All Songs.

c. When done choosing songs press Done at top right.
d. The songs you chose are now in a Soundala Playlist.

i. Tap the Playlist icon.
ii. The Soundala Playlist will appear.
iii.Choose a song and press anywhere outside the menu to close.

e. Press the Play button on the home screen.
f. Use the standard iPod buttons on Home screen to play music.
g. You will “see the music”.

a. Soundala Play reacts to sound from two different sources, either the Music Player or the Microphone or both.
b. Whenever you press Play on the iPod player, the mic gets turned off.
c. You can override this and turn it back on if you want to also see room or voice input.
d. If you want to Soundala Play to react to music or sounds in the room you are in, turn the iPod player off and tap to turn the mic on.

i. When you do this you should choose any of the Microphone Themes since the microphone picks up little or no bass and limited high frequencies (See Themes below)

e. The microphone mode can be great with friends to create a Karaoke effect when you have your stereo playing
f. You can also connect your iPad to a flat screen or computer monitor for fun with friends or at a party

a. The Control screen is where you manipulate the look of the display.

i. The Soundala display consists of the center area, called the Mandala and the outer area called the Radial area.

b. If it is not lit up, press the Cycle Themes button at far right.

i. This button is the best way to familiarize yourself with the various Soundala patterns because it randomly selects Themes from the Rock genre theme category.
ii. The current Genre / Theme is displayed in the panel at the top of the screen.
iii. As each Theme changes, the associated settings of all the buttons and sliders that create that display are lit up and adjusted.

c. Cycle Themes is a good way to enjoy Soundala Play since it constantly gives you a new look to the display.

i. Note that there are dozens of preset patterns in Themes, so to enjoy Soundala Play it is not necessary to become an expert in the controls if you are not a techie!

a. Tap the Themes button, far right.

i. Tap Rock genre.
ii. Tap Straight Slow.
iii. Now you can start learning what the buttons do, go ahead and experiment by tapping the various buttons.

1. Make sure you still have music playing!
2. If the pattern does not fill the mandala, slide the right Master slider upward.
3. Each time you tap a new Theme, the associated buttons and sliders that create that Theme will change.

b. SPIN: Our unique spin feature lets you spin the display to the beat.

i. Swipe the mandala back and forth with the beat of the music.
ii. Use continuous spin, t he speed of the last swipe determines the sustained spin speed.
iii. Slower spin rate displays the mandala action better.

c. TV OUTPUT: Hook up your iPad to your monitor, TV or flat screen.

i. Share the Soundala Play experience with friends or for parties.
ii. Requires iPad VGA or HDMI cable adapters.
iii. Note in TV output mode your iPad screen goes gray and it becomes a remote control unit for the TV display.
iv. (The reason for this is because the iPad does not have enough processing power to display on the iPad and the TV screen at the same time).
v. All controls function the same onIPad.
vi. Spin mode is still controlled on the iPad gray screen.
vii. HDMI outputs sound with video.
viii. VGA is video only. Use the iPad mini stereo headphone jack to output the sound to external sound system.

a. The four buttons on the left control the patterns of the Radial area

i. There are four Radial settings for the “rays” that come out from the Mandala
ii. The radial buttons are self-explanatory, their icons show the patterns they create

1. The Radial buttons only work one at a time

b. The four buttons on the right control the Mandala patterns

i. The Mandala buttons work in combination so more than one can be on at once

1. The Spiral button changes the display into a spiral (duh)
2. The Invert button reverses the pattern from out to in
3. The Peaks button limits the display to just one lotus petal per spoke at a time
4. You will notice that the Trails button is normally grayed out, it only works when Peaks is on
5. One you select Peaks and Trails, then the Trails slider appears
a. The Trails slider determines the length of the Trails, moving it to the right increases the length

a. The Master slider is on the right. It controls the brightness or reach of the lit petals. If the music you are playing is soft and there are not many petals being lit, slide it upward. If the Mandala lights are almost all lit and there is not much movement, slide it downward.

b. The Range slider is one of the two on the left. You might conceive of this as a “zoom” function. Moving it downward the lights do not move out very far in response to sound. Toward the top creates greater reach of the lights so even a low sound level will cause the lights to travel further.

c. The Speed slider determines how fast the lights react to music input. Toward the bottom response time is slower, this creates a smoother display with more fade time on the lights. Moving the Speed slider upward increases the response time, resulting in a more instantaneous display and faster fade time.

d. These three controls are meant to be used in conjunction with each other.
To get familiar with them, it is best to start with all three sliders in the middle. Then move the Range slider to about 8 to the top and the Master about 2. Notice the effect. Then move the Speed slider up and down and notice the effect. Experiment from there.

e. Usually if you move the Range slider you will need to move the Master slider in the opposite direction. Once you have the type of display you like, you can fine tune each song by adjusting the Master depending on how loud the music is.

Soundala Play comes with dozens of Themes in various Genres and you can create your own customized Themes.

a. Press the Themes button at the far right of the bottom Control bar.
b. You will see five Genres for different kinds of music.

i. Note that the Genres refer to a specific equalization profile that is common for that kind of music. However many kinds of music can apply to any Genre.
ii. Rock is the default Genre. This can be used for most kinds of music including rock, pop, alternative, metal, rap, soul, hip-hop, i.e. most types of popular music.
iii. Other types of music, such as classical music, have much more dynamic range, this is why the other Genres are included.
iv. They way to determine if your Genre of music is correct for the song you are playing is to choose the Straight Slow setting and see if on average all the spokes of lights are filling out the circle evenly after you adjust the master slider. If not, try another Genre.
v. When you use the microphone you should choose any of the Microphone Themes since the microphone picks up little or no bass and limited high frequencies.

c. There are 16 preset Themes in each Genre. Most users will use the Rock genre, it works for most kinds of popular music.
d. Experiment with seeing what the various Themes do to the display.

i. Whenever you tap a new Theme, the buttons and sliders will adjust to that setting.
ii. The Genre and Theme will display in the top panel, Theme on top and Genre below.

e. When any Theme is displayed, you can change the settings to your own preferences and to suit the song playing
f. As soon as you change a setting on a Theme the name of the Theme disappears in the top panel, the Genre name remains.

a. To create custom Themes play a song you like and adjust the settings to your liking as described above.
b. When you are happy with the settings tap the Themes button on the control screen.
c. Choose My Themes.
d. Tap the plus (+) sign at bottom left to create your custom Theme.
e. The menu changes to name your Theme. Backspace over the “New Preset” name and give it your own name. If the song is Bohemian Rhapsody, you can call it “(your name’s) Bohemian Rhapsody” or you can use descriptors such as the type of music or artist that setting looks good with.
f. Tap Done.
g. That Theme is now in your my Themes list and ready to use and share.

a. To send via email

i. Whenever you tap a new Theme, the buttons and sliders will adjust to that setting
ii. The Genre and Theme will display in the top panel, Theme on top and Genre below

b. To export a Theme

i. Press and hold the name of the Theme
ii. At the bottom a dialog will pop up
iii. Choose Export
iv. The file will be saved in your iPad’s iTunes File Sharing
v. You can access and back up your presets using the iTunes File
Sharing when you have your iPad connected to your computer in iTunes. Refer to this Apple link for details on how to do this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4094

c. To import a Theme through email

i. A Theme gets sent to your iPad email
ii. Go to your iPad email and open the email
iii. Tap on the SA2 Theme
iv. A dialog will pop up
v. Choose Open In Soundala Play
vi. The Theme will now be in your my Themes list

d. To import a Theme from iTunes File Sharing

i. The Theme is saved in your iTunes File Sharing
(see http:// support.apple.com/kb/ht4094 for details )
ii. Go to My Themes
iii. Tap Import at bottom right
iv. The file is added to My Themes