General Music S2 Turbo, Owner'S Manual

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technique, which is the sampling of 8 minute fragments
of the sustain phase.
In sounds generated by two paired oscillators, the S
Series reads the loops alternately with increasing fading
(“crossfade”) between the two oscillators. Crossfading
completely eliminates the disturbances created by the
loop.
Waveforms
When an acoustic sound is sampled and played on a
keyboard, the sound can only be used on notes that are
close to the sample note. The greater the distance from
the sample note, the more inferior the quality of the
sound.
By combining a series of samples at various frequencies
along the scale, otherwise called a multisample, you
obtain a Waveform.
The high authenticity of the S Series sounds is due to the
fact that they are based on Waveforms consisting of
several Samples which cover the frequency extension of
the original acoustic instrument.
Filters and Sounds
All sounds consist of a band of harmonics; very simple
sounds that, when combined with one another, contrib-
ute to the production of a complex sound (the sound
actually heard). The harmonic band can be analysed
with the Fourier diagram:
level
frequency
The diagram shows the harmonic bands along the “fre-
quency” axis and the length of the bars that represent
them correspond to their intensity (“level”) and to their
importance in the sound that we hear. The harmonic
band shown with the greater intensity is known as the
fundamental and its pitch coincides with the audible
sound.
The harmonic band is called the “timbre”. The timbre of
a double bass differs to that of a trombone, because their
respective harmonic bands are different. If some har-
monics are removed, or their intensity altered, the tim-
bre of the sound also changes.
The technique of synthesis incorporated in S Series
instruments treats the Waveforms in the same manner as
the “old” analog synthesizers, which intervened on the
elementary waveforms (sinus, square, saw-tooth). The
Waveform is modified by the action of one or two filters
[
→
DCF]. These filters attenuate or enhance several
harmonics. The example shows how the higher harmon-
ics of a sound are “filtered” and attenuated until they
disappear:
level
frequency
level
frequency
DCF
The filters intervene on the Waveform by modifying the
harmonic band and consequently its timbre. The filters
of the S Series are programmable and they can change in
time with an envelope, as occurs with the intensity of
the sound.
The sound processed by the S Series filters is called,
simply, a Sound, and this constitutes the basic sonic
material.
Overview of the instrument