54
Filter
Besides the oscillators, the filter has the biggest impact on a synthesizer’s sound. Respectively, we
paid great attention to its feature-set and musicality.
The ’14 Analogsynthesizer uses a resonance-capable lowpass-filter with adjustable slope. It can be
tuned over a wide range and due to self/resonance be used as an additional sound source.
Cutoff, resonance and tracking
The most important parameter of the filter is
CUTOFF
. In a lowpass filter, it sets the frequency,
from where the filter will attenuate all frequencies above the cutoff-position. In plain language: The
lower the
CUTOFF
control, the more muffled the signal.
The
SLOPE
switch adjusts the steepness of the filter and accordingly the decline of frequencies
above the cutoff frequency. Available settings are
12 dB, 18 dB and 24 dB
per octave. At lower
settings, the filter will work less intense and more soft when compared to higher values, where the
filter works tight and more powerful.
RESONANCE
adjusts the amount of feedback of the filter output back into its input. Depending
on the setting, the resonance parameter may slightly color or heavily accent the sound around the
cutoff frequency.
At higher
RESONANCE
settings, the filter starts to self-oscillate generating a sine wave itself with
a pitch defined by the
CUTOFF
parameter.
H
The impact of the
RESONANCE
parameter is highly dependent on the Mixer’s
output level (see "Mixer" on page 53
).
The
TRACKING
switch sets the influence of the keyboard towards the cutoff frequency. If set to
the
OFF
position, the frequency set with
CUTOFF
is unaffected by the keyboard. If set to the
FULL
position, the cutoff frequency follows the pitches being played on the keyboard. In this position, the
filter can be played chromatically over a range of approx. 3 1/2 octaves if self-oscillating. If set to the
HALF
position, the influence of the keyboard’s pitch is at 50%.
H
With
TRACKING
being active, a deeply filtered sound can still be played effectively
over a bigger key range of the ’14 Analogsynthesizer without getting too low in
volume or thin at higher ranges.
