Harbinger 8

Introduction

Harbinger 8 is an 8-string virtual guitar instrument by Apocalypse Audio. The instrument combines a string-aware sample engine, velocity and keyswitch articulation logic, multitracked guitar voicing, built-in effects, Neural Amp Modeler profile loading, and a preset manager inside the plugin interface.

The current interface is organized into six tooltip-named sections:

• Preset Management manages banks, presets, preset tags, section-apply switches, and preset copy/paste.
• Expression controls note-on timing, sustain velocity rules, strumming, legato, vibrato, pitch bend range, and note-off behavior.
• Sound & Preferences controls multitracking, noises, sample selection, global tuning/pitch settings, crosstalk, and the background animation preference.
• Pre FX controls the pre-amp EQ, note shaper, delay, reverb, compressor/gate, and quick Amp controls.
• Amp manages NAM amp profiles, factory/custom profile banks, profile tags, custom .nam importing, and the same automatable amp input/output controls.
• Post FX controls the post-amp EQ, delay, reverb, compressor/gate, width, limiter, and output level.

This document uses the user-visible tab names and control labels from the interface. Range and default values are taken from the current instrument definition.

Quick Start

1. Insert Harbinger 8 as an instrument plugin in a DAW track and route MIDI to it.
2. Open Preset Management, choose a bank, then click a preset name. The default factory preset is Direct Input.
3. Play MIDI notes 22-88. Notes outside that range are ignored unless they are articulation keyswitches or temporary string-focus keys.
4. Change articulations with MIDI notes 96-100. Place a keyswitch slightly before the played notes in the MIDI region, because the selected articulation stays active until another articulation keyswitch is received.
5. Use Expression to shape playing behavior, Sound & Preferences for guitar/sample choices, Pre FX for effects before the amp, Amp for NAM amp profile selection, and Post FX for effects and master output after the amp.
6. To use an amp, open Amp, turn on Amp Profile, select a factory profile or import a custom .nam file, then adjust Input and Output.
7. Save your sound from Preset Management with Save new preset. Custom NAM profile files are saved separately in the user profile folder; presets reference the active custom profile by name.

Quick Reference

• Use Preset Management to save banks, save/overwrite/rename/delete presets, filter by tags, and decide whether Expression, Sound & Preferences, Pre FX, Amp, and Post FX settings apply when loading presets.
• Use Expression for timing, velocity articulation rules, strumming, legato, vibrato, pitch bend range, release behavior, and sustain pedal behavior.
• Use Sound & Preferences for multitracking, noise levels, capo/string/sample-selection behavior, tuning, crosstalk, and the background animation preference.
• Use Pre FX for EQ, shaper, delay, reverb, compressor/gate, and quick Amp controls before the Neural Amp Modeler.
• Use Amp for NAM profile selection and custom .nam profile import/rename/delete.
• Use Post FX for EQ, delay, reverb, compressor/gate, width, limiter, and output after the Neural Amp Modeler.
• Use MIDI notes 96-100 for articulations and MIDI notes 0-7 for temporary string focus when MIDI Guitar is off.
• Use MIDI Guitar when you want MIDI channels 1-8 to directly address strings 1-8.
• Custom NAM profiles are saved outside presets in UserProfiles; presets reference them by name.

System Requirements

Installation

macOS

1. Open the Harbinger 8 .dmg.
2. Run the Harbinger 8 installer package from the disk image.
3. The installer's Installation Type step opens directly in the Custom Install view. All available Install Formats are selected by default; change the checkboxes manually if you do not want to install every format. The available Harbinger 8 formats are AU, VST3, and CLAP.
4. Complete the installer. macOS installs the plugin formats to:

Shared runtime/support files are installed to /Library/Application Support/Apocalypse Audio/Harbinger 8/. Sample/content packages are installed to /Users/Shared/Apocalypse Audio/Harbinger 8/ by default. The content relocator is installed as /Applications/Apocalypse Audio/Relocate Harbinger 8 Content.app.

The macOS uninstaller is installed as /Applications/Apocalypse Audio/Uninstall Apocalypse Audio Harbinger 8.app. It removes the tracked Harbinger 8 plugin files, shared runtime/support files, and packaged content files. It removes Harbinger 8 application-support/content folders only when they are empty, so unrelated files placed there are left in place.

After installation, open the DAW and rescan plugins if the DAW does not detect Harbinger 8 automatically.

Windows

1. Extract the Harbinger 8 installer .zip, if it was delivered as a zip archive.
2. Run the Harbinger 8 installer .exe.
3. Choose the plugin formats to install when prompted. The available Harbinger 8 formats are VST3 and CLAP.
4. Choose the content location in the content-path step. Use an SSD location.
5. Complete the installer. Windows installs the plugin formats to:

Shared runtime/support files are installed to C:\Program Files\Apocalypse Audio\Harbinger 8\. Sample/content packages are installed to C:\ProgramData\Apocalypse Audio\Harbinger 8\ by default, unless a different content location is selected. The content relocator is installed as C:\Program Files\Apocalypse Audio\Harbinger 8\Relocate Harbinger 8 Content.exe and a Start Menu shortcut named Relocate Harbinger 8 Content is created.

Windows can uninstall Harbinger 8 from Apps & Features, Installed apps, or the legacy Control Panel uninstall view. The registered uninstaller removes only files and folders tracked by the Harbinger 8 installer. It does not scan for or delete unrelated files, and it leaves non-empty product/company folders in place.

After installation, open the DAW and rescan plugins if the DAW does not detect Harbinger 8 automatically.

Content Relocation

The content relocator moves Harbinger 8 packaged sample/content files after installation.

• macOS: run /Applications/Apocalypse Audio/Relocate Harbinger 8 Content.app.
• Windows: run Relocate Harbinger 8 Content from the Start Menu or C:\Program Files\Apocalypse Audio\Harbinger 8\Relocate Harbinger 8 Content.exe.
• Choose a destination on an SSD.
• The relocator finds the currently active content location, copies the packaged content files to the new destination, verifies the copies, updates Harbinger 8's content redirect, and removes the old content files only after verification succeeds.
• The relocator moves Harbinger 8 packaged content only. It does not move fixed runtime/support files or user preset/profile data.
• If the chosen destination folder does not exist, the relocator creates it. It does not show a progress bar; copy time depends on the content size and source/destination drives.
• During updates or reinstalls, the installer reuses an existing valid content redirect. Newly installed content packages overwrite matching files in the active redirected location instead of being duplicated back into the default content folder.
• During uninstall, packaged content removal is resolved through the current active content location, including redirected content.

Specifications

Project

Guitar

Round Robins And Layers

Sustain has two velocity layers. The louder sustain layer starts at velocity 90.

Keyswitches

The selected articulation keyswitch is persistent. String-focus keys are only used when MIDI Guitar is off. Hold one or more string-focus keys before playing notes to force non-rake notes played while the key is held to that string; if several are held, the most recently pressed string key wins. The string-focus state clears when the held string key is released.

The footer keyboard shows indicators for string-focus keys 0-7 and articulation keys 96-100.

Keyboard Layout

MIDI note numbers are authoritative. The note names below use the common convention where MIDI 60 is C4; some DAWs label the same MIDI numbers one octave lower.

Articulation Map Setup

For DAW articulation sets, expression maps, or sound variations, create five entries using the user-visible articulation names:

Use the note number if the DAW's octave labels do not match the table above. Put the articulation event before the musical notes it should affect. Because Harbinger 8 keeps the last selected articulation active, a region may continue using the previous articulation until the next keyswitch or articulation-map event is sent.

Playing

String And Fret Selection

Incoming playable notes pass through a guitar voicing layer before any sampler note is started.

• Notes outside MIDI 22-88 are ignored unless they are keyswitches or string-focus keys.
• In normal polyphonic playing, the engine chooses a playable string within the 24-fret range and avoids reusing occupied strings when possible.
• Capo raises the low bound on every string except the lowest string, which remains fully playable.
• MIDI Guitar bypasses automatic string choice. MIDI channels 1-8 map to strings 1-8; notes outside the selected string's playable range are rejected.
• Power Chords and Power Mutes reserve a 12-fret interval above the played note, so their high playable range is lower than single-note articulations.

Velocity Rules

When the selected articulation is Sustain or Power Chords, the engine can convert notes by velocity:

• At or below Mutes on Sustain - Velocity, Sustain becomes Mutes and Power Chords becomes Power Mutes. A value of 0 disables this conversion.
• At or above Rakes on Sustain - Velocity, Sustain triggers a rake before the sustain note. A value of 128 disables this conversion.
• Rakes on Sustain - Delay sets the maximum sustain delay after the rake. The actual delay scales by how far the note velocity is above the rake threshold.
• Legato bend/slide candidates bypass the mute/rake velocity rules.

Legato, Bends, And Slides

Legato is active when Solo is on, a sustain-like articulation is selected, and another playable note is already held or sustained.

• If Slides is off, low-velocity legato notes bend from the anchor note when the interval is 12 semitones or less.
• If Slides is on, low-velocity legato notes trigger simulated slides instead of bends when the target can be reached on the current string.
• Legato Bends/Slides - Vel. Range is the velocity threshold for bend/slide triggering. A value of 0 effectively disables this low-velocity legato path.
• Legato Bend Time and Legato Slide Time are velocity-scaled toward 100 ms, clamped between the configured time and 100 ms. Lower velocities use the configured time more strongly; velocities near the threshold move closer to 100 ms.
• Legato Overlap sets the forced sample start offset for legato and retrigger events.

When another legato note is played while a legato transition is already active:

• During a simulated slide, another qualifying slide note on the same string and MIDI channel retargets the slide. The current slide position becomes the new start point and the slide continues toward the newly played note.
• If the new note does not qualify for a bend or slide, Solo behavior stops the currently tracked voice and retriggers the new note instead of layering another voice.
• For pitch-bend legato, the original anchor sample remains the sounding voice while its pitch is bent to the current target note.

When notes are released during legato:

• Releasing the original anchor while the current legato target is still held does not stop the sound; the target remains the active note.
• Releasing the current active target while another playable note is still held makes the engine move to the closest held note. If the current transition is a pitch bend, Slides is off, the selected articulation is Sustain or Power Chords, and the closest held note is within 12 semitones of the anchor, the anchor voice bends to that held note. Otherwise the engine retriggers the closest held note with its stored velocity.
• If no other note is held but the original anchor is still held, a pitch-bend legato returns to the anchor.
• For simulated slides, releasing the slide target or the arrived slide note can start a new slide toward the closest still-held note on the same string. If no valid held note exists, the slide is stopped and legato state is cleared.
• If no held or pedal-sustained playable notes remain, normal stop-noise behavior can run.

Pitch bend is separate from this legato system. The pitch wheel range is set by Pitch Bend Range. Slide noises are triggered by the legato slide/bend helpers, not by raw pitch-wheel movement.

Sustain Pedal

CC64 works when Sustain Pedal is on. Releasing the pedal stops sustained notes that are no longer physically held, restores any temporary legato release/attack overrides, clears their string mapping, and may trigger stop noise if no playable notes remain.

When Sustain Pedal is off, incoming CC64 clears any previously pedal-sustained notes and then ignores pedal state.

On-Screen Keyboard

The footer contains a performance keyboard, pitch wheel, mod wheel, and MIDI channel selector.

• Click/drag a playable key to send note-on; release to send note-off.
• Click height controls velocity. Higher clicks produce higher velocity.
• Disabled note ranges are ignored: 8-21, 89-95, and 101-127.
• The pitch wheel sends pitch bend and returns to center on release.
• The mod wheel sends CC1 and stays where it is released.
• The channel selector defaults to channel 1. Enter 0 or All to send note, controller, and pitch messages to all 16 channels. The arrow buttons clamp the value between 0 and 16.

Control Interaction

Most automatable controls are knobs, sliders, switches, or heading switches.

• Drag knobs and sliders to change values. Shift enables fine adjustment.
• Arrow keys adjust focused knobs and sliders. Up/Right increase, Down/Left decrease.
• Switches and heading switches toggle with click, Space, Enter, or arrow keys.
• Double-click resets controls to their default value.
• Right-click a real parameter control to open MIDI/controller mapping. UI-only buttons and tags do not open the mapping menu.
• Holding Option+Command on macOS or Alt+Ctrl on Windows while releasing a parameter edit sends crosstalk for that parameter to other active instances that have Crosstalk enabled.

Crosstalk is a multi-instance editing helper. Use it when several Harbinger 8 instances are open in the same session and you want one control edit to set the same parameter value on the other enabled instances, instead of changing each plugin window manually. It only sends the edited parameter value at the moment the modifier edit is released; it is not audio bleed, MIDI routing, or preset linking.

The bottom-right eye-slash button above the footer is a UI-only background view control. Turning it on fades the main panel out so the background can be viewed; turning it off fades the panel back in. It is not automatable, does not open MIDI mapping, and is not written to presets, plugin state, or Preferences.json, so it always starts off when the interface opens.

MIDI Mapping Menu

The parameter mapping menu is available from real automatable parameter controls.

• Existing mappings appear as Remove CC#N.
• Add Mapping... opens an editor.
• The editor shows ADD MAPPING, a CC# prefix, an input, Accept mapping, and Cancel mapping.
• Controller mappings can be saved as 1-129.
• 1-127 map regular MIDI CC numbers.
• 128 maps Channel Pressure, also called channel aftertouch.
• 129 maps Pitch Bend.
• Values outside the supported range are corrected before the mapping is saved.
• Confirming asks the host to add or update the mapping. Removing asks the host to remove the selected CC mapping.
• Loading... and No controller mappings. are shown while mappings are being loaded or when none exist.

Preset Management

The Preset Management tab has no automatable audio parameters. It manages UI-side preset storage and preset application.

Where Presets Are Saved

Harbinger 8 saves user-created content and interface preferences in its own application data folder.

Application data is scoped to Harbinger 8:

Factory NAM profiles are packaged with the plugin. Custom NAM profiles are copied into the Harbinger 8 application data folder as text .nam files.

Interface preferences, including the Disable Background Animation switch, are global for Harbinger 8 and are not stored inside user presets.

Bank Controls

Bank copy/paste uses a Harbinger 8-specific clipboard payload. This prevents ordinary clipboard text from being imported as a bank.

When a pasted bank contains custom NAM profiles, those profiles are written into UserProfiles. If a profile name conflicts with an existing custom profile, the dialog asks for a profile name. Leaving the profile name empty overwrites the existing custom profile.

Preset Controls

Preset paste is intentionally preview-first. The pasted parameters are previewed according to the apply buttons; custom/factory amp profile state and all Pre FX, Amp, and Post FX parameters are previewed only when Apply FX is enabled. Cancel restores the previous parameters, active amp profile, active custom profile name, profile display, and dirty state.

If a pasted preset contains custom NAM data, the paste dialog shows the included profile name and a Profile name field. Leaving that field empty uses the included profile name and overwrites that profile if it already exists; otherwise it creates it. Entering a new name creates a new custom profile; duplicate names are rejected.

Preset Tags

Presets can have comma-separated tags. Tags are sanitized, deduplicated case-insensitively, and sorted for display.

• Clicking a tag filters the preset list.
• Multiple active tags are AND-matched, so a preset must contain every selected tag.
• Clear tags resets the filter.
• Tags are per bank; switching banks clears unavailable active tags.

Apply Buttons

The three apply buttons decide which parameter groups are applied when a preset is loaded:

The apply flags are persistent. If all three are off, loading a preset changes only the active preset selection and dirty state; no numeric parameters or amp profile state are applied. Regular saved presets exclude Crosstalk, Tuning, and Concert Pitch; the Factory / Direct Input preset can reset excluded parameters to authored defaults.

Global UI preferences such as Disable Background Animation are stored in Preferences.json, not in user presets.

Saved Preset Contents

A user preset stores:

• Numeric values for automatable instrument controls, except Crosstalk, Tuning, and Concert Pitch.
• The factory NAM profile file name when a factory profile is active.
• The custom profile name when a custom profile is active.
• Tags.

A user preset does not store custom profile contents in UserPresets.json. It stores a reference to the custom profile name. Copying a preset or bank embeds custom profile contents into the clipboard payload so the recipient can import the profile.

Renaming a custom profile updates all saved preset references to the new name. Deleting a custom profile removes the .nam file but does not rewrite presets that referenced it; those presets will refer to a missing profile until repaired.

Preset And Profile Recovery

Expression

Note On

Legato

Vibrato

Note Off

Sound & Preferences

Multi-Tracking

Changing any guitar switch resets active voices.

Main guitar notes, rakes, legato slide steps, and slide noises are panned by the number of enabled guitar tracks:

The pan positions are assigned to the enabled guitar numbers in ascending order, with one special case: when an odd number of tracks is active and Guitar 1 is included, Guitar 1 stays centered and the remaining enabled guitars are assigned the non-center pan positions in ascending order. For example, Guitar 1, Guitar 3, and Guitar 5 place Guitar 1 center, Guitar 3 hard left, and Guitar 5 hard right. If Guitar 2, Guitar 4, and Guitar 5 are active, they are assigned hard left, center, and hard right respectively.

Stop noises and foley noises follow the same enabled-track assignment rule, but use a slightly wider noise-specific spread for larger counts: four tracks use hard left, 70% left, 70% right, hard right; five tracks use hard left, hard left, center, hard right, hard right.

The active multitrack count also affects amp and width routing. With zero or one active guitar, the signal is treated as mono into the amp and then routed to both outputs. With more than one active guitar, the amp runs in stereo and processes both left and right channels. That means NAM processing cost is roughly doubled when two or more multitrack guitars are active, because it processes two channels instead of one.

Noises

Sample Selection

Plugin

FX

Signal Flow

The side rail splits the effects around the Neural Amp Modeler: Pre FX is before the amp, Amp is the NAM profile section, and Post FX is after the amp. The DAW automation list uses Pre-Amp labels for the pre-amp parameters and Post-Amp labels for the post-amp parameters. Inside the interface, those prefixes are omitted because the active tab already provides the context.

The note shaper is shown with Pre FX, but it is not part of the shared effects chain. It is a polyphonic per-voice shaper inside the main sampler, before the shared pre-amp and post-amp effects.

The effective order is:

1. Per-voice sample playback with Pitch Bend Range, Vibrato, Bend Time, Slide Time, Release, and Shaper.
2. Per-voice filtered-release low-pass when Filtered Releases is on.
3. Per-voice pan from the active multitrack layout.
4. Pre-Amp Solid EQ, Delay, Reverb, Gate, and Comp 76.
5. Amp / Amp Profile.
6. Post-Amp Solid EQ, Delay, Reverb, Gate, and Comp 76.
7. Width.
8. Limiter and Output.
9. Output VU meter.

Pre FX

Pre FX contains the shared effect modules before the Neural Amp Modeler: Solid EQ, Delay, Reverb, and Comp 76 with gate. It also includes Shaper and quick Amp controls. The shared effect controls use the same ranges and defaults as Post FX, but they write to separate Pre-Amp parameters.

Post FX

Post FX contains the same shared effect modules after the Neural Amp Modeler: Solid EQ, Delay, Reverb, and Comp 76 with gate. It does not include Shaper, because Shaper is polyphonic per voice. The Master controls live here because width, limiter drive, and final output gain are after the amp and post-amp effects.

The following effect modules appear in both Pre FX and Post FX with the same controls, ranges, and defaults. Each tab writes to its own Pre-Amp or Post-Amp parameter set.

Solid EQ

Delay

Reverb

Comp 76

Shaper

Shaper is available only in Pre FX.

Amp Quick Controls

Amp quick controls are available only in Pre FX. They edit the same NAM parameters as the Amp tab.

The amp profile mini-control is not automatable. The three amp parameters are automatable.

Master

Master controls are available only in Post FX. The limiter has no bypass switch. It is always in the signal path; Limiter controls how hard the signal is driven into it, and Output is the final output gain after limiting. Setting Output to its minimum also prevents new note-on events from starting sound.

Amp

The Amp tab combines automatable NAM parameters with non-automatable profile management.

Amp Controls

Factory And Custom Banks

The Amp bank dropdown switches which profile bank is shown: Factory or Custom. Viewing a different bank does not by itself change the loaded amp profile.

• Factory lists packaged NAM profiles. Selecting a factory profile loads that packaged profile and clears the active custom profile.
• Custom lists user-added .nam profiles from UserProfiles. Selecting a custom profile reads its saved data, loads it into the amp, stores the active custom profile name, and marks the current preset dirty.
• Switching to Factory only shows the factory list. The currently loaded custom profile remains active until a factory profile is selected, a preset is loaded, or another explicit profile action changes it.
• Switching to Custom only shows the custom list and import controls. The currently loaded factory profile remains active until a custom profile is selected, a preset is loaded, or another explicit profile action changes it.
• Scroll profiles left and Scroll profiles right move the profile list horizontally by one measured list column. They are disabled at the start or end of the profile list. If the remaining distance is less than half a column, the button snaps to the edge.

Factory Tags

Factory profiles can expose tags. Clicking tag chips filters the factory profile list; multiple active tags are AND-matched. Clear tags resets the filter.

Custom profiles do not use tag filters; the clear button is hidden in Custom mode.

Importing Custom NAM Profiles

Custom mode shows a drop region:

Select a .nam file on your drive or drop it here to add it to the bank.

There are two import paths:

• Click the drop region to open a file picker that accepts .nam.
• Drag a .nam file over the interface to switch to Amp and Custom, then drop it on the drop region to import.

After a .nam file is selected or dropped:

1. The file text is read in the browser.
2. Its data is immediately previewed in the amp by writing raw NAM data and clearing the loaded factory-profile file string.
3. A dialog opens with a title-cased suggested profile name based on the filename.
4. Save writes UserProfiles/<Profile Name>.nam, refreshes and reveals the custom profile list, selects the saved custom profile, stores it as the active user profile name, and marks the current preset dirty.
5. Cancel closes the dialog and clears both the preview NAM data and loaded NAM file string. It does not restore the previously loaded amp profile automatically; select the desired factory or custom profile again if you cancel an import preview.

Profile names are sanitized to ASCII, cannot contain invalid filename characters, are limited to 24 characters, and cannot collide with an existing custom profile name.

Custom Profile Rename

The rename button is enabled only in Custom mode when a custom profile is active.

Renaming:

• Reads the current .nam file.
• Writes it to the new profile filename.
• Removes the old file, with special handling for case-only renames.
• Refreshes the custom profile list.
• Updates every saved preset reference from the old custom profile name to the new name.
• Selects the renamed profile and marks the current preset dirty.

Duplicate or empty names are rejected.

Custom Profile Delete

The delete button is enabled only in Custom mode when a custom profile is active.

Before deletion, the interface scans user presets for references to the profile. If any are found, the confirmation dialog warns which banks/presets use it. Confirming deletion:

• Removes UserProfiles/<Profile Name>.nam.
• If the deleted profile was active, selects the next custom profile when possible, otherwise the previous one.
• If no custom profiles remain, clears the active custom profile name and loaded amp profile.
• Marks the current preset dirty when a fallback custom profile is selected; deleting the last profile clears the active custom profile name and amp profile data.

Deleting a custom profile does not rewrite presets that referenced that profile. Those presets will still contain the old profile name and can become missing until the profile is restored or the preset is overwritten with a valid profile.

Header And Footer

Header

The header shows the Apocalypse Audio logo, output VU meter, and the active preset chip.

• The preset chip shows the active preset name.
• A trailing * means the current plugin state differs from the active preset.
• A red * beside a preset in the Preset Management list means that preset references a missing custom NAM profile.
• Clicking the chip opens the Preset Management tab.
• Double-clicking the chip focuses the preset bank that contains the active preset.

Footer

The footer contains the performance keyboard and tooltip bar. Resizing is handled by the global bottom-right Resize plug-in window handle, outside the footer.

The tooltip bar appears when a hovered or focused control provides tooltip text. Long tooltip text scrolls inside the footer after a delay.