Alesis QS7, Reference Manual

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Editing Programs: Chapter 6
PITCH ENVELOPE
The Pitch Envelope function (press [90]) can lead to dramatic effects, since it can
cause the pitch of a single key to change drastically over time. It’s typically used in
special-effect synthesizer programs, but it may also be used more subtly in an
acoustic program to simulate the characteristic of some instruments to go sharp on
the initial attack, especially when played hard.
J The following Pitch Envelope variables will have an effect only if the PITCH
ENVELOPE DEPTH (on Page 7 of the PITCH function) is set to a value other than 0,
or, if Pitch Envelope is a source in the MOD function.
Attack (00 to 99) Page 1
This is the amount of time the envelope will take until it reaches its maximum output
level. Setting the Attack to 0 will make the pitch go to maximum immediately on
hitting the key (if the Delay is also set to 0 in Pitch Envelope, Page 5 -- see next
page); a setting of 99 will result in a much slower attack, taking many seconds before
the envelope gets to maximum.
Decay & Sustain (00 to 99) Pages 2 & 3
As soon as the attack portion of the envelope finishes (when the level reaches
maximum), the envelope will decay (decrease in level). The level it reaches is set by
the Sustain control; how long it takes to get there is set by the Decay control. In the
special case where the Sustain level is all the way up (99), then there is no decrease
and the Decay time segment is bypassed. Whatever level the sustain is set to is the
level that the decay section of the envelope will head for. Depending on the setting of
the Sustain Decay control (see below), the envelope will either hold at the sustain
level until you release the note on the keyboard, or decay to 0 at the Sustain Decay
rate (which is on page 2 of the envelope). You can create a long "plateau" at the start
of a note by setting the Sustain to 98 and the Decay to 99. This will cause the
envelope to take the maximum amount of time to get from peak level to a level of 98,
before the Sustain Release portion of the envelope begins.
Release (00 to 99, Hold) Page 4
Eventually, you will let go of the note that you’ve been holding (either by releasing the
note on the keyboard, or releasing the sustain pedal if it was pressed). It is at this point
that the Release portion of the envelope takes effect. The Release is the time that the
envelope takes to get from its current level back down to nothing. Setting the Release
time to 99 will take the envelope a very long time to reach zero level.
The Pitch Envelope is unique from the other two envelopes in that its Release time
can be set above 99. When this is done, the value in the display will read “Hold”. This
indicates that the Pitch Envelope will remain where it is even after the note is
released. This is important when you want the pitch effect to continue even after
releasing the key. Example: If the Pitch Envelope is bending a note up, and you don’t
want the pitch to fall when you release the key, set the Release parameter to “Hold”.
QS7/QS8 Reference Manual 65