Choroboros tutorials — build your first engine

1. Build your first engine

You will finish with: A named engine saved in your library.

Activate your trial or paid licence. Open Create, then Engine Builder, and choose New Engine.
In Setup, choose One Core. Open Choose Core and select Lagrange 3rd. Preview selects that sound lane; play an audio track through the plug-in to hear it.
Keep the standard panel size and supplied artwork. Continue to Visuals and keep the supplied parts for this first exercise. A one-core engine does not need switch artwork.
In Details, name it My First Engine and add a short description. In Review, resolve any blocking messages, then save.
Return to the engine library, select your engine, and confirm that it loads. Save your DAW session separately.

You will finish with: An editable recipe in Your Cores, with the factory original preserved.

In a new engine’s Setup, choose a supplied core and press Modify. Alternatively, open a factory core in the core library and choose Duplicate to edit.
Select a sound stage in your copied recipe. Inspect the exposed controls before changing them.
Change one tuning value, audition it, and compare it with the starting value. Use a short repeating audio passage so the comparison is meaningful.
Where replacement is available, choose a supported component for that stage. The list is constrained to compatible components; this is not a free-form plug-in rack.
User-core edits save to the recipe. Return to the engine draft, finish Review, and save the engine too.

You will finish with: An engine whose switch selects between two chosen cores.

Start a new engine and choose two cores in Setup.
Choose a recipe for both Core 1 and Core 2. Preview each lane with the same source audio.
Check the first panel and the second panel. Their artwork and control lighting should agree with the selected state.
Finish the visual parts, details, and review. Save, load the engine, and operate its core switch.
Compare both states. The unlit state is Core 1, not audio bypass. Use the DAW’s bypass when comparing against the dry input.

You will finish with: A coherent panel, four main knobs, Mix knob, switch, slider thumb, and thumbnail.

Choose the canvas size before importing the panel. Keep a supplied visual set as a reference for dimensions and placement.
In Visuals, open Panels and choose the panel artwork. Import only PNGs matching the selected canvas size.
Choose the Rate, Depth, Offset, and Width sheets individually. Then choose the dedicated Mix knob sheet; its format is different from the main knobs.
Choose the switch state artwork and the Color slider thumb. Keep transparent control edges and the original proportions.
Check both core states, control alignment, lamp lighting, and readouts at the actual plug-in size. Use long values as well as short ones when checking text placement.
Add a square thumbnail in Details, resolve Review messages, and save. The import dimensions are listed in the Engine Builder reference.

You will finish with: A saved engine and a portable signed export.

Save the engine locally before exporting. Give it a name you can identify in the library.
Select the engine and choose Export. Keep your connection available for signing and make sure your trial or paid licence is active.
Keep the .kzn file, or the complete .kzn.zip bundle if the engine uses user artwork. Do not separate the bundle’s files.
To load a shared engine, use Import in Engine Builder and select the exported file. Import needs an active trial or paid licence too.
Check the imported engine’s sound, both states, artwork, and controls before relying on it in a session.