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These days, digital musical instruments can automate this process. The Pure Tuning (aka. Hermode)
algorithm analyses chords and immediately adjusts the pitch of each note so that the prominent
harmonics line up. Especially for normal synthesizer sounds, the difference between Equal Temper-
ament and Pure Tuning may appear to be rather subtle at first (though this difference can be accen-
tuated – see below):
Select the factory preset C126 (-Init-) on your Virus. Turn the Detune value down to 7 to make the
phasing between the two oscillators nice and slow. Play a few simple major chords, or just a C-
major triad if you prefer, and vary the PureTuning Intensity parameter.
At 127, PureTuning is fully on: The chord is well intonated (like a choir) and does not exhibit any
beating between notes. This may seem a little unusual at first, but it sounds perfectly “straight” and
correct after you have familiarized yourself with the effect. Setting PureTuning back to zero (“Equal”)
switches it off again: The chord is beating and, after comparing the two extremes, this original set-
ting sounds equally unusual. The chord now appears to be tuned rather oddly, not quite pure
enough, slightly spoiled compared with the maximum setting.
Astonishingly, this is the very same Equal Temperament we have been hearing all our lives – the big
compromise!
Let’s accentuate the effect now: Change the Distortion Intensity parameter (the one in the Effects
section, not Filter saturation) to “Hard”. Distortion in the Effects section is applied to the chord as a
whole, blending the sound in the same way a guitar amplifier would. Medium range major chords
now sound nice and grungy, but when played higher up the keyboard, this grunge becomes rather
annoying. Turning up PureTuning causes this unpleasant grunge to disappear entirely because all
the notes are perfectly in tune i.e. they have a simple frequency ratio.
The root cause of the unpleasant grunge is easy to find: Turn Pure-Scale down to zero and play
middle C together with its fifth (G): Sounds clean enough. This is a typical “power chord” as played
by guitarrists with their ampflifiers at maximum distortion settings. Now add the E to form a major C
chord: There’s that dirt again. The major third (E) is obviously way out of tune. Now turn PureTuning
slowly up to maximum; you should be able to hear the major third being continuously adjusted
downwards until it reaches purity.
When playing very high chords with distortion you can hear the lowest common denominator of
chords: A subharmonic – a low note which is not actually being played. It is the same note as the
root of the chord, but two octaves lower.
If the sound appears too sterile at maximum PureTuning, this is likely to be because there is always
minimum beating between notes. Turn PureTuning down to the central position: “Natural”. Although
tuning is also nominally 100% pure at this setting, the actual pitch of notes is once again subject to
the fluctuations, the natural anomalies responsible for a lot of the “life” in acoustic instruments (as
well as true analogue synthesizers).
Summary of Contents for VIRUS CLASSIC
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