Manx SJ-2, User Manual

Page: 17 / 30

At extreme settings, the peak of an SJ-2 envelope can be so snappy that it becomes important to co-ordinate
the attack times of the two envelopes, in order to prevent the filter from peaking after the volume has decayed
to sub-optimal levels. This is really only an issue when you have some moderate attack time on the filter envelope,
zero attack on the volume envelope but a swift decay on the latter. The following diagram illustrates the issue
:
SHORT ATTACK TIMES
Filter envelope
Volume envelope
The brightest part of the sound,
defined by the filter envelope peak,
is compromised because the volume has
already decayed into the background.
One solution is to add a little bit of attack time to the volume envelope as well. (Increasing volume
‘decay’ time will also solve the problem but this will drastically change the nature of the sound!)
One might be concerned that adding some attack time to the volume envelope might ‘blunt’ the sound and
leave it with out much punch. In the case of the SJ-2, this concern is unfounded, because at low settings, the
envelope’s attack is loaded toward the end of the attack phase - the following diagram will hopefully make
this clearer:
Attack Decay
Filter envelope
Attack Decay
Volume envelope
E ven in the case that the filter envelope’s attack is set to zero, adding a small amount of attack to
the volume envelope can significantly increase a sounds punch, because the volume’s peak lingers for
more time overall, whilst the decay is still abrupt and dramatic.
Again, if sustain is set to high, or decay is slow, then the effect described above will not be noticeable.
16 Programming -Envelopes
At low attack settings, the SJ-2’s envelopes’
attack profile is not linear; It rises very steeply
indeed, to begin with, before slowing down and
rounding off. Right at the end, it speeds right up
again, to form a peak.
This gives you the sonic quality of a hesitant attack,
without losing too much in the way of punch. This
characteristic is not exhibited at higher attack
settings and will not be noticeable if decay times
are long. However, with short decay times, small
attack adjustments can have a big effect on a
preset’s perceived loudness.
In fact this is an illusion - the decay time itself remains the same but with a higher sustain level,
the attenuation from peek to sustain is reduced so the decay appears to be less pronounced.
Simply readjust the decay time to compensate for this.
Changes to resonance setting may similarly affect perceived time; again, simply readjust the decay
setting to compensate if required.
Increasing sustain level affects the decay time .......