Euterpe Synthesizer Laboratories Vertice, Руководство пользователя

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Attack. Set the time elapsing from receiving the GATE input until the maximum producible CV level is reached by
the EG module. Every time a GATE signal is injected into the dedicated port the EG starts to produce its 0/+10V
output: taking more or less time doing it is only an Attack settings matter.
Attack is very useful to smooth the initial Level/Cutoff status of the timbre, to make the classic long evolving
synthesizers sweeps. In the other hand it is obviously helpful to achieve very fast and staccato-sounding
solutions or to vary the initial shape of the EG output waveform generated by an audio-range looping settings
(from a square wave to a ramp wave).
Attack is a time control, and thus it's affected by the Percussive/Smooth/Slow switch position.
Decay . As in most EG designs this control is about the time the output voltage takes to reach the Sustain settled
level from the just mentioned max level reached during the Attack time. The behavior is always the same: GATE
– Attack time – MAX LEV – Decay time – SUSTAIN LEV.
Decay control is the key to obtain fast percussive and contrabass shapes.
Decay is a time control, and thus it's affected by the Percussive/Smooth/Slow switch position.
Sustain . It's a level indication, the “note-on” level. It's the level of the EG output CV with the key held down.
This parameter is useful to make less mechanical-sounding shapes, giving a bit of humanity to the iron-golem-
keyboard-player hidden at the bottom of the stage.
It is also very useful to obtain the almost obvious but still crucial staccato–organ note. Just set the Attack and
Release to zero and Sustain to max. In this circumstances the Decay setting doesn't matter at all.
Sustain is a level control, so it is not affected by the Percussive/Smooth/Slow switch.
Release . Once reached the Sustain level the output voltage of the EG remains steady until the key is released.
When it happens the Release setting determines the time taken to change from the Sustain level to zero volts.
Release is the key to obtain the classic “not-muted piano” shapes or, in combination with the other three
parameters, slowly moving esoteric pads.
Release is a time control and thus is affected by the Percussive/Smooth/Slow switch position.
EG Level . This pot can attenuate to zero the CV produced by the EG module. It's the only way to turn it off, if you
don't count the obvious “do not feed it with the GATE signal” and the very similar "loop function OFF".
Behind this simple pot there are a lot of headaches. It must communicate elegantly with the Master Cƒ circuitry,
command it in all the Hz range, but also give to VCA a convincing and silent Staccato possibilities and, by
consequence, the extreme amplifications of an EG controlled VCA in Continuo position. It is not easy to put all
together, technically speaking.
EG GATE input port tech stuff
In this Seconda Serie of Vertice this port have a better relationship with simple audio signal than the
previous Prima Serie had thanks to a simple amplification system right after the EG GATE input. This
feature, beside allowing the use of not-standard GATE-CVs, help to obtain dynamic compression directly from
audio materials via EG side chain, when key signal is obviously audio level, therefore less than the classic
0/5V commonly used in classic gate patches.
GATE waveform
The EG GATE input is not a typical CV port. It can manage only positive signals. Therefore, although you
can feed it with any form of CV you like without damages, only the positive part of them will be functional to
activate the EG. Try it with different kind of modulations and input levels: with some creativity you can easily
turn your Envelope Generator into an “absurd things” generator.
[ 42 ] the Envelope Generator section
Percussive, Smooth and Slow
This switch indicates and determines the EG Rate. It is a very useful and
quite common feature in the analog circuit designs but, as always, we
did it in our own way. As it seems, it changes the basic time range in
which the EG controls works. So only with a click and without changing
the ADSR positions you can achieve a very different result once the key
is pressed.
This switch simply use a capacitor or another one of different dimensions.
Our timer is a little metallic box full of acid. Less digital than that I don't
know what to do... maybe a little japanese dwarf caged into the chassis,
that count seconds or his family dies, I don't know...