22
PULSE WAVE MODULATION CONT.
When you press a key and push up the
MOD
wheel, you’ll hear the LFO’s effect on pulse
width. Push it up only slightly, and you’ll hear a dramatic sweeping of the harmonics that
sounds a bit like a chorusing effect. Turn it up more, and you’ll hear the entire waveform being
canceled in rhythm with the LFO. That’s because you’re pushing the pulse wave beyond its
maximum width, so that the waveform doesn’t have a chance to cycle back to its starting
point. Applying LFO modulation to pulse width is most useful at rates normally used for
vibrato—usually between 6 and 9Hz.
In the
MODULATION
section, turn the
SOURCE
knob to the
FILTER EG
position and push the
MOD
wheel up all the way. If you play the keyboard and the filter envelope is at its initialized
setting, you won’t hear anything until you release the keys. Again, that’s because the pulse
width is pushed beyond its maximum. Lower the
MOD
wheel to about halfway and play
around with the filter envelope settings to get a feel for the envelope’s effect on pulse width.
GLOBAL PITCH CONTROLS
MIDI INDICATOR:
This LED illuminates whenever the Sub Phatty receives MIDI
data through either its
MIDI IN
or
USB PORT.
FINE TUNE
: Use this knob to adjust the frequency of both oscillators as much
as one semitone up or down from its center position. Fine-tuning is useful for
putting the Sub Phatty in tune with any other instruments that deviate slightly
from standard pitch.
GLIDE RATE
: Glide, also called portamento or glissando, causes smooth pitch
changes between notes. Use this knob to specify how much time it takes to
transition from one pitch to the next when you play the keyboard. Although
glide is normally applied to every note you play when it’s engaged, you can
turn on legato glide using Shift mode (see Hidden Parameters on pg.26).
OCTAVE BUTTONS
: Use these buttons to extend the Sub Phatty’s keyboard
beyond its normal two-octave range. Pressing the left button once transposes
the Sub Phatty’s pitch down an octave, and pressing it again transposes it
down another octave. Likewise, pressing the right button transposes the
pitch up an octave, and pressing it again transposes it up another octave. The
illuminated LED indicates the current transposition. The buttons also transpose
the MIDI Note Numbers that the Sub Phatty transmits by corresponding amounts.
Over time, you’ll discover that you can overcome the limitations of a 25-note keyboard once you
become proficient at pressing the
OCTAVE
buttons at the right moment. In fact, using the
OCTAVE
buttons gives the Sub Phatty’s keyboard a seven-octave range.
KEYBOARD:
The Sub Phatty’s 25-note keyboard is velocity-sensitive, so that it transmits MIDI Velocity
data in response to how fast you press the keys.
WHEELS:
The
PITCH
and
MOD
wheels located to the left of the keyboard can contribute greatly to
the expressivity of your playing. Use the
PITCH
wheel to smoothly bend pitch during performance.
By default, it transposes pitch up two semitones and down two semitones. However, you can change
either interval in Shift mode (see Hidden Parameters on pg. 26). The
PITCH
wheel is spring-loaded to
automatically return to the center position.
The
MOD
wheel controls the depth of modulation. At its minimum setting, modulation is turned off. At
its maximum setting, modulation is at full throttle. The depth of the
MOD
wheel’s effect depends on
the settings of the
PITCH AMT, FILTER AMT
, and
WAVE AMT
knobs.
