31
You can perform these adjustments yourself if you have adequate measurement devices. It is also
possible to make these adjustments by ear, if you have some type of minimal standard to work with, such
as a tuning fork, a reference standard oscillator, or good ears. Purer tones such as sine or triangle work
best for adjustments by ear. Tuning by ear involves listening for
beating
.
Selecting your Base Frequency for VCOs and VCF
Base frequency is defined as the VCO/VCF pitch when:
•
VCOs set to Audio mode;
•
0.000v (or nothing) connected to KBD CV;
•
Coarse Frequency slider left
•
Fine Frequency slider center
•
All FM sliders down
The procedure as written sets the base frequency to 32.7hz. This may or may not be the best choice for
your TTSH.
Consider your CV sources, and how you wish to perform, when selecting a base frequency. For instance,
if you will be primarily using a CV source that cannot go lower than 0.000v (ex: MIDImplant; Arturia
Keystep/Beatstep), you might want to set the base frequency to 16.35hz. If your CV source can track into
negative voltage (ex: 1601 sequencer, Kenton Pro Solo), 32.7hz will provide you all the lower and upper
range needed.
Also consider that many of the normalized modulation sources in the TTSH only go into positive voltage.
For example, using the ADSR to modulate the VCF, the frequency will only be pushed
higher
.
If you don’t
have adequate headroom in the VCF base frequency, you won’t have much range for
this modulation.
(That being said, you can always use the voltage processers to invert a positive going modulation source).
If you want bass drops, select 16.35hz, because you can drop through the floor using the VCF (resonance
cranked) and no external CV.
You may wish to use a different base frequency for the VCF. It is a matter of personal preference and how
you wish to perform, what your controllers are capable of
, and where you want the “sweet spot” on the
VCF’s Coarse Frequency slider
.
My general recommendation:
1.
If you have a 3600 series keyboard, use the ARP service manual standard;
2.
If you have a CV source that can go down to -1V or -2V, use 32.7hz;
3.
If you have a MIDImplant, Arturia Keystep/Beatstep or other source that only goes down to
0.000v, use 16.35v. This is also the optimal setting if you want to annoy your neighbors by rattling
their windows.
CV
Hz (as shown in procedure)
Hz (For MIDImplant)
Hz (ARP Standard)
0.000v
32.7 (C1/MIDI note 24)
16.35 (C0/MIDI note 12)
100 (~G2/MIDI note 43)
1.000v
65.4 (C2)
32.7 (C1)
200
2.000v
130.8 (C3)
65.4 (C2)
400
3.000v
261.6 (C4)
130.8 (C3)
800
4.000v
523.2 (C5)
261.6 (C4)
1600