Dave Smith Instruments Sequential PROPHET X, User Manual, Page: 119 / 172

107 Prophet X User’s Guide Using Sampled Instruments
Making a Loop into a Single-Cycle Waveform
Now lets manipulate the loop and turn it into a waveform similar to the
Prophet VS waveforms we worked with earlier.
When you are creating loops, there are three different loop modes: Regu-
lar, Pitched, and Sync. Pitched mode is most appropriate for creating
single-cycle-type loops because the smallest loop setting in this mode
is 32 samples and the loop size is always a multiple of the root pitch of
the sample. This ensures that the single-cycle-type loop is accurately
pitched, making it function almost like an oscillator.
In contrast, Regular loop mode does not always allow you to make a
loop small enough to reliably create a single cycle waveform. Sync loop
mode loops the sample content at the chosen beat-synced rate (as set by
the front-panel BPM knob).
To create a single cycle-type loop:
1. Press Soft Button 3 (
inst
1
loop
) then turn Soft Knob 2 (
loop mode
) to
set loop mode to
pitched
. (In
pitched
mode, the loop becomes a pitch
period calculated based on the assigned note of the sample.)
2. Press Soft Button 4 (
inst
1
edit
) then turn Soft Knob 2 (
loop size
) to set
the loop size to 1. The loop is now a single pitch period — in essence a
single-cycle waveform.
3. Play a chord. The wobble is gone and the instrument sounds much
more like a traditional oscillator. Add a bit of rotating speaker effect
and this would make a perfectly acceptable organ.
4. To hear what the instrument sounds like when loop mode is not set to
pitched
, press Soft Button 3 (
inst
1
loop
) then turn Soft Knob 2 (
loop
mode
) and set loop mode to
regular
. It’s very different because the
loop is so short that the speed of its repetition creates harmonic arti-
facts.
As you can see, it’s easy to create a single cycle waveform. Creating
longer loops, however, requires some practice. You usually have to find
an area in a sample where the volume and harmonic content remains
relatively consistent. See the next section for more details on this.