54
Select a Scale
There are 38 preset scales and 32 microtuning
scales available. If you don’t find the one you want,
you can create a custom 12-tone scale inside the
Hydrasynth Explorer or import new microtuning
scales.
When a non-chromatic scale is selected, notes that
are not in the scale are filtered out. So if you play
notes outside of the selected scale, they will be
quantized to the pre-determined scale notes. This
also affects the incoming MIDI notes.
However, outgoing MIDI notes are not affected; if
C#3 is not in the scale and you play the C#3 key, a
C#3 will be transmitted over MIDI and USB.
For a list of the scales and the notes they contain,
See
. For information about
working with microtuning scales, see
custom Scale
The Custom scale option is located at the bottom of the scale list. To get there from Voice page 5, turn
Control knob 2 fully counter-clockwise.
Scale Edit
After the Custom scale is selected, press Control
button 4 to enter the Scale Edit page. Here’s what
you’ll see:
• Control button 1: This is the first note in the
custom scale, and it is based upon the Key
Lock setting. The Control knob is disabled.
• Control knobs 2-4: These represent notes 2-4
of the custom scale. Press the Down arrow to
access notes 5-8 of the scale.
Quick assign
To assign notes quickly to the custom scale, hold
Control button 1 and play the desired notes on
the keyboard. The existing notes will be cleared as
soon as you play the first note.
Note that if the root note is entered it will be
ignored (it’s the Key). It’s okay to enter the notes
out of order; they’ll be placed in chromatic order
when Control button 1 is released.
Clear a note
To clear one or more notes, hold [INIT] and press
the corresponding Control button(s). You can’t
clear the Key selection on Control button 1; that’s
the root key of the scale. To change it, exit this
page and adjust the Key Lock parameter.
Individual note assign
If you entered a wrong note, hold the related
Control button and play the correct note. The
Control knob also can be used to select the note.
Again, it’s okay if the new note is not in chromatic
order; this will be corrected after pressing [EXIT].
Microtonality
Microtonal scales open up a new world of musical expression beyond the 12 tones most prevalent
in the music of the West. Now you can compose and perform music from any culture or harmonic
discipline.
There are 32 memories for loading custom scales. Hydrasynth Explorer includes 32 scales provided by
various artists from around the world, but any of these can be replaced. You can create your own scales
using a freeware application such as Scala, for example, as well as download new scales from the
web page.
Selecting a Microtuning Scale
To select a microtuning scale, navigate to the Scale options on page 5 of the [VOICE] menu and use
Control knob 2 to scroll through the list of scales. The 32 microtuning scales show up at the end of the
list. The name of the selected microtuning scale is shown in display field 4.
For more information about working with microtuning scales, see
Summary of Contents for Polytouch HYDRASYNTH EXPLORER
Page 2: ...OCTAVE MAX MIN ...
