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dies away too quickly will not ‘support’ the rest of your
arrangement properly. In extreme cases this will leave ‘holes’
which can effectively kill the groove of your piece. Using an
overly long decay time on the other hand can also cause
problems; it may smear a delicately composed rhythmic line.
As always, a little delicacy is required. As you can see,
aquainting yourself with the properties of envelopes early on
will pay off in the long run, especially as every synthesizer,
including the CS1x, reacts to parameter changes in its own
unique way.
PERIMENT:
Vary the decay time of Performance TP017 to see how
quickly filter frequency really drops. Try setting the FEG
Decay Time parameter initially to +10, then -15, and finally -
35. Important in this also is the envelope’s FEG Sustain
Level. Setting this to its minimum -63 level will result in the
note completely fading out. By the way, this sound has two
Layers, and so you will need to edit both oscillators’ values
simultaneously – this is achieved by holding down the
Octave Shift key (found on the top left above the display)
whilst changing any parameters.
In stark contrast, the next filter sound (TP018) typifies the
classic ‘sweep’ characteristic, i.e. the resonation filter’s fre-
quency rises gradually (Attack Time=+55) and then drops
sharply (Decay Time) to the level set by Sustain Level.
Another variation on this theme is the third envelope type
(TP019). Here the filter frequency drops a little during the ini-
tial stages, and then rises fairly quickly to its maximum value
(FEG Sustain Level=+63). Feel free to explore the properties
of this example’s envelope more fully. You may also try Preset
Performances 047 and 048 for further experimentation.
These will let you compare different decay times for bass
sounds.
Unlike the filter envelope, the Amplitude Envelope Gener-
ator (AEG) affects a sound’s volume level, and is therefore
also called referred to as the Volume Envelope. The scenario
where volume levels stay the same throughout the various
stages is often described as an ‘organ envelope’. The Tutorial
Bank has many examples of this type of sound (e.g. TP001
to TP010). Because of this property, many of the sounds
show the effects of the filter envelope more clearly (e.g.
TP018/019).
PERIMENT:
Using a highly percussive amplitude envelope will give a
majestic filter sweep little time to develop. As an example,
select Performance TP020. Although you can discern the
filter effect with this sound, it is far too short lived. Organ
envelopes are simply invaluable for this type of effect. Try
setting both Layers’ Amplitude Envelope Decay and Sustain
Time to the m63. Now sit back and listen to the
filter as nature had intended!
Organ envelopes aren’t always as useful as in our little
example. It is usually important to be able to finely tune a
sound’s volume level over time; for example most sounds
tend to gradually ‘die away’. A held piano note would even-
tually completely disappear. The CS1x however is no piano;
leave the Sustain Level at a high enough setting, and your
note will ring on and on until you release the key (TP021). In
this particular kingdom a synthesizer rules alone. Therefore
feel free to sculpt your amplitude envelopes any which way
you want.
Occasionally all that’s required is to ‘soften’ a sound’s initial
attack, say with a brass or solo sound. Pad sounds, including
choirs and strings, always use even longer fade-in and fade-
out times (TP023), but wait, it isn’t quite that easy. First of all
it is always important to find the right envelope for the right
job. A good example of the different effect created by fading
out the filter rather than the volume of your sound can be
found in Preset Performances 015 and 016. Of course it is
also good to realise that a sound is the sum of all of its com-
ponents. You can spend hours lovingly sculpting your filter
envelope, but if your low-pass filter’s cutoff setting allows all
of your sound’s frequencies to pass through unhindered,
nothing much will happen. In short, the interplay between
the filter and amplitude envelopes is vital. A few examples.
Filter and
Amplitude Envelopes
A M P L E :
In order for your sound to be affected by specific filter
modulation after the release of a key, your amplitude enve-
lope needs to be longer than your filter envelope. Using a
short release setting for your filter envelope (Release Time=-
63) will generate a ‘tearing’ effect, typically used for E-
pianos, harpsichords or acoustic guitar sounds. A slight
increase in release time can produce a simple ‘echo effect’
(TP024). Such tricks can also be applied to a sound’s attack
time. For instance, a sound’s ‘hard’ edge caused by a fast-
attacking filter envelope can successfully be softened by
decreasing its amplitude attack time a little, without the
‘brightness’ loss you would get when applied to the filter
envelope. Remember, these two envelopes work as a team.
Let’s finally take a look at the Pitch Envelope. Unlike the
FEG and AEG, this envelope is predominantly used for spe-
cialist applications, and as such is rarely found on analogue
synthesizers. Despite this, the PEG has many more uses than
you may at first suspect. To prove it, a number of examples…
first a little practise to get you fully aquainted with this par-
ticular envelope.
PERIMENT:
Call up Performance TP026. We’re aiming to ‘drift’ the first
oscillator gradually away from VCO2 (whose pitch stays con-
stant). Apply the following settings to the Pitch Envelope
(Layer1): our sound is supposed to drop after a predeter-
mined time (PEG Atk Tm=+56) by a quarter note (PEG Atk
Lv=-27), and then casually restore its pitch (PEG Dcy
Tm=+30). When releasing the key our sound shall then jump
upwards (PEG Rel Tm=-63) by another quarter note (PEG Rel
Lv=+27). If you want to hear your sound ‘howl’ rather than
jump, try setting PEG Rel Time to +40. By the way, if every-
thing went as planned your sound should resemble Perfor-
mance TP027 – try it!
All this illustrates nicely how siren-type effects can be pro-
duced without the aid of the more obvious LFO. More often
than not though the pitch envelope is used in the attack
phase of the sound, particularly when imitating acoustic
instruments. Pretty obvious when you think about it; the
pitch of such instruments is still volatile during the plucking
of a string or the initial blowing of a flute or trombone. Use
of this subtle effect can also give synthesizers a more natural
sound.