Novation Ultranova User Manual Download Page 19

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Note that Parallel 2 and Drum modes differ in an important respect from the others in that
the Filter 1 and Filter 2 are fed from different sources. This allows the noise source and
Osc 3 to be iltered in a different way from Oscillators 1 and 2 and the Ring Modulator
Outputs, an important requirement when creating certain percussive sounds.

Two examples of Filter routings…

…a Notch Filter:

…a Wideband Bandpass Filter

F1Type: LP

F2Type: HP

F1Routing: Parallel

F1Routing: Series

RE3: Filter Frequency Link

Displayed as:

FreqLink

Initial value:

Off

Range of adjustment:

Off or On

Setting Frequency Linking to

creates a relationship between the frequencies of the

two Filter sections, and re-assigns the function of

RE1

for Filter 2 from Frequency to

Frequency Offset (see Filter Menu Page 1,

RE1

, above). Filter 2’s offset is relative to Filter

1’s frequency.

RE4: Filter Resonance Link

Displayed as:

ResLink

Initial value:

Off

Range of adjustment:

Off or On

Setting Resonance Linking to

applies the same Resonance parameter value to both

Filter 1 and Filter 2. The Filter Resonance control (

RE2

, Page 1) affects both ilters, regard-

less of which ilter is currently selected for adjustment.

RE5-RE8:

Not used

voIceS

The UltraNova is a multi-voice, polyphonic synthesizer, which basically means you can play
chords on the keyboard, and every note you hold down will sound. Each note is termed
a ‘voice’, and the UltraNova’s DSP engine is suficiently powerful to ensure that you will
always run out of ingers before you run out of voices! (But this does depend on how many
voices are assigned to each note – see the Unison parameter in the Voice Menu below).
However, if you are controlling the UltraNova from a MIDI sequencer, it is theoretically
possible to run out (there are a maximum of 20 voices internally). Although this is likely to
happen only rarely, users may occasionally observe this phenomenon, which is termed
‘voice stealing’.

The alternative to polyphonic voicing is mono. With mono voicing, only one note sounds at
a time; pressing a second key while holding the irst down will cancel the irst and play the
second – and so on. The last note played is always the only one that you hear. All the early
synths were mono, and if you are trying to emulate a 1970s analogue synth, you may wish
to set the voicing to mono as the mode imposes a certain restriction on playing style that
will add to authenticity.

Pressing the

VOICE

button [14] opens the Voice Menu, which is a single page. In addition

to selecting polyphonic or mono voicing, the menu also lets you set the portamento and
other related voicing parameters.

RE1: Unison Voices

Displayed as:

Unison

Initial value:

Off

Range of adjustment:

Off, 2, 3, 4

Unison can be used to “thicken” the sound by assigning additional voices (up to 4 in total)
for each note. Be aware that the “reservoir” of voices is inite and with multiple voices
assigned, polyphony is accordingly reduced. With 4 voices per note, a four-note chord ap-
proaches the UltraNova’s limit, and if further notes are added to the chord, “voice stealing”
is implemented and the initial note(s) played may be cancelled.

If the limitation on polyphony imposed by Unison Voices is restrictive, a similar ef-
fect can be obtained by using multiple oscillators and adjusting their Density and
Detune parameters. In fact, most of the factory patches use Density and Detune
rather than Unison to achieve their multi-timbral effect.

RE2: Unison Detune

Displayed as:

UnDetune

Initial value:

Range of adjustment:

0 to 127

Unison Detune

applies only when

Unison Voices

is set to something than

Off

. The

parameter determines how much each voice is detuned relative to the others; you will be
able to hear a difference in the sound of the same note with different numbers of voices
even if

Unison Detune

is set to zero, but the sound gets more interesting as it is increased

in value.

Changing the settings of

Unison Voices

Unison Detune

while holding a

note down has no effect on the sound. The new settings will only be effective
when a fresh note is played.

An increase in ilter 1
frequency will also increase
ilter 2 frequency

An increase in ilter 2
frequency will decrease
ilter 1 frequency

A decrease in ilter 2
frequency will increase
ilter 1 frequency

Frequency