E-Mu EMAX II, Руководство по эксплуатации, Страница: 203 / 257

Emax II operation manual
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Part Two: MANIPULATING THE SAMPLE
Minimizing Timbre Differences
There are several ways to minimize timbre differences between adjacent samples as you
play across the keyboard.
■
Record Lots of Samples
This is known as multi-sampling, and is most practical with relatively short samples.
■
Overlap Samples and Use Positional Crossfade
This can help even out the sound to a great extent; refer to PRESET DEFINITION 5
(“Positional Crossfade”) for further information.
■
Carefully Adjust Filter Tracking
When recording the sample, add some extra brightness via equalization. When adjust-
ing the voice filter parameters on playback, set the filter tracking somewhere between
0.00 and 0.50, then adjust the filter cutoff for the desired overall timbre. This helps keep
an even timbre across the entire voice. After assigning the voices to a preset, “tweak” the
filter settings (if necessary) to insure consistent timbre as your playing transitions from
one sample to the next.
■
Combine Any or All of the Above Approaches
Reducing Noise With Envelopes
You probably already know how envelopes can be used to create dynamics in an
otherwise static sound. However, the envelope generators on the Emax II can do much
more than just add dynamics. One of their most useful purposes is to help reduce any
noise that may be in the sample itself.
To illustrate how this works, let’s say you have a plucked sample from a guitar, bass,
or piano recorded on tape. It’s a great sample, but has quite a bit of residual noise in the
background which becomes most apparent as the sound decays.
One approach to dealing with this problem is to even out the level of the decaying part
of the signal going into the Emax II, either by manually turning up the Emax II’s sample
input gain control, or via compression (limiting) of the original signal. This produces a
signal with more limited dynamics.
We can now use the amplitude envelope generator to restore the original dynamics. Set
the decay and release to simulate the original decay curve, and you’re set. This reduces
noise for the same reason that a standard audio expander reduces noise; as the decaying
part is attenuated, any noise that’s part of the signal is attenuated as well.
For the ultimate in noise reduction, it would be even better to loop the sustained part of
the sample, also saving memory, and then envelope the looped portion. However, if the
THE ART OF SAMPLING
Maniplulating Samples