Synthesizer Programming
2. Lets start by Creating a new Soundclip in the poly synthesizer Ejay Techno 5 , Dance 7 or Hip Hop 6. If not using these packages and programming Pro equipment , or just want a tutorial on the synthesizer settings, please skip to point 4.
The pattern of notes for the lead synthesizer
Clicking the right mouse button on a note in the grid will make it flash which
means the sliders to the right will affect the relevant characterists susch as volume,
stereo position, filter frequency, resonance, multi osc ( number of oscillators generating the sound )
for that note when played.
Note 1.1
Note 1.2
Note 1.3
Note 1.4
Note 1.5
2. Now a new Soundclip for the bass synthesizer in Ejay Techno 5 , Dance 7 or Hip Hop 6. 4.
The pattern of notes for the bass synthesizer
Clicking the right mouse button on a note in the grid will make it flash which
means the sliders to the right will affect the relevant characterists susch as volume,
stereo position, filter frequency, resonance, multi osc ( number of oscillators generating the sound )
for that note when played.
Note 2.1
Note 2.2
Note 2.3
Note 2.4
Note 2.5
Below are the settings for the Bass Synthesizer to create a nice ravey synth sound. Hover over a control and click on it to get an explanation of its purpose. The combination of syhthesizer settings is called a patch.
4.Lead Synth Settings
Below are the settings for the Lead Synthesizer to create a nice bass sound to thicken the example lead synthesizer. Hover over a control and click on it to get an explanation of its purpose.
The most important settings explained.
Wave, this is the source sound for synthesis to use. In the ejay products and most other synthesizers two wave forms or sound sources can be combined. Here the first sound is the Square wave which in raw form has harmonics similar to a clarient with subtle timbre. The second sound is instrument F0, a preset from within the ejay instruments, if using another synth other than the ejay one, a saw tooth wave could be used instead, as it is rich and contains every type of harmonic. These waves are suitable for hard synth and bass sounds. The others are more suitable for other types of instrument, experiment to find out after following this tutorial.
Phase, this is an effect on the waves difficult to describe but can be heard distinctly depending on the type of sound source.
Octave, is the pitch of the sound, a good example is the position on a piano relative to 12 notes lower or higher at which point the same note at a different pitch is reached, eg the distance between lower C and middle C. having a not at two octaves will make it more powerful.
Semitone, the note offset from the intial not of the default for the synthesizer in use, in ejay A, other synths it may well be C. It is strongly recommended ( unless a sound expert ) that the semitone for the first one is always 0. For the second sound although in the example it is also 0 if it is set to 3 ( assuming that the mix1&2 knob is set so that both sounds are audible) then the synthesizer will play parts of chords, of a minor chord, a setting of 4 part of a major chord, 7 part of a chord that could be minor or major as the middle note is unknown. 5 will produce a 5th chord, 2 a 7th chord, and other settings will produce extended chords or discords. . Of course if there is a 12 semitone difference between the two sounds then it is the same as an actave difference.
Fine Tune, this setting should always be set to 0 initially for both sounds, and then adjusted to taste. Tuning one up and the other down slightly makes the combined sound "warmer", "fatter", "bigger", which are all terms profesisonal artists use. The power of the sound is increased by the fact that notes played on the synthesizer are covering a wider frequency range. It is generally recommended that the detune of either sound is neither les than -5 or greater than +5, also it is important that one is detuned negative and the other positive otherwise the sound will no longer be in tune.
Fix Pitch 1 and 2
Depending on which of these has been switched on These will cause the sound source 1 or 2 to stay at the same pitch regardless of the note played. This is most useful for percussive and mechanical
sound effects
The LFOsThese cause a vibrating or tremolo affect on the sound played.
LFO wave pitch 1 and 2
These will vary the wave used for the LFO tremolo effect for sound source 1 or 2 respectively.
LFO wave speed 1 and 2
These will vary the speed of the LFO tremolo effect for sound source 1 or 2 respectively.
LFO wave depth 1 and 2
These will vary the depth of the LFO tremolo effect for sound source 1 or 2 respectively. In general the lower this setting the more subtle, and when the wheel is at its maximum the vibration of the sound will be most obvious.
Filter type, this will work in conjunction with the frequency knob ( often referred to as filter cut off frequency ) Band is selected for this example, which means that only a thin band of frequencys is allowed though.If the knob were set to the very center then only middle pitches, or sounds close to the pitch of the human voice would be allowed through. As in the example it is set lower it is only allowing lower pitched sounds through but not necessariliy extending to bass as that is not within that band, the knob would have to be turned more to the left or a different filter type used to obtain bass sounds. The notch filter would only allow sound outside the band through. The low pass filter will remove higher pitched sounds above the filter cut off. The high pass will only allow sound above the frequency cut off, which tend to be higher pitched than those created by the low pass filter. The low pass is most suitable for acid/trance bass sounds where the high pass is most suited to string or lead instruments. The other filters are worth experimenting with.
Frequency, This adjusts the frequency cut off for the filter eg. the lowest and/or highest frequencies allowed through the filter.
Follow, This is the sensitivity to the filter in relation to the keyboard position. The higher the setting the more the filter effect will vary depending on the note played. It is traditionally used so that notes at the lowest octaves are not distorted too much. When this setting is at 0 the filter will effect all notes the same.
Reson, This is a resonator, which vibrates around the filter cut off mark, and depending on the other filter setting this will produce, acid, rasping or squelching sounds, perfect for techno , trance and house. The more to the left the squelchier , the more to the right the raspier. Let this baby be your resonator when used with the oscillator which will cause the resonator to vary in setting over time.
Env or Envelope of the filter, this adjusts the point in the sound at which the filter cuts in. It is more subtle than the resonator but will change the characteristics of the sound.
Filter Attack, The speed that the filter affect strengthens when a note is played.
Filter Decay, How quickly the filter affect weakens to let the source sound through unaffected after sustain ends.
Filter Sustain, How long the filter affect will last once it reaches its maximum.
Filter Release, How quickly the filter starts when a note is played.
Filter Q, The sharpness of the filter. The sharper the filter the more precise the removal of frequencies outside the filter cutoff frequencies. Very high Q will also turn the filter into an oscillator.
Ring Modulator, If this is selected then the sound will become more like a gong or low pitched bell in character.
Mix 1 & 2 ( or Submix ), This is the mix of sound source 1 and two ( or wave and subwave for the bass synthesizer ) , when this setting is in the middle the sounds will be equally powerful in volume. Turning the knob left the will make sound source 1 louder and sound source 2 quieter. A turn to the right will do the reverse.
Voices( Is more Ejay specific, and not applicable to most standard synthesizers by Roland or Nord etc. ), this determines how many sound channels will be used to generate the sound. The more voices used the better quality the sound produced. the downside to increasing voices or channels is that ejay and possibly the soundcard has a limited number, the more used for one sound the less other instrument sounds including drums and percussion that can play simultaneously with it. When the number of voices or channels is exceeded, at least one instrument will cut out.
Porta, or Portamento, this controls the glide from one note to another. When it is fully to the left there is none and the next note will be immediately sounded at its pitch. Adjusting the knob to the right will make the next note glide from the pitch of the previous instead. The more to the right the knob the slower the glide.
The Multi Oscill ( Oscillator ) settings
The Oscillator Wave Type
This is the wave type for the oscillator to follow. To demonstrate how the wave type affects the sound is only possible in conjunction with the oscillator target. For example if the oscillator target is set to fine tune which is pitch adjustment and a sine or saw tooth wave is selected which both have equal peaks and troughs then the pitch will go down smoothly along trough lines and rise smoothly for peaks. Some types of wave will only make the pitch go up or down exclusively before resetting and others will have more unusual or random results. These up and down characteristics will affect what ever the oscillator target is set to.Fade In, The speed at which the the strength of the multi-oscillator changes from no affect to full affect. This is not the same as the speed of of the oscillator, it is the equivalent of a sound wave attack.
Oscillator Release, This is the delay before the Oscillator Fade In begins.
Oscillator Speed, This is the speed or velocity of the wave driving the oscillator. On an Oscilloscope when the wave was faster there would be narrow more regular waves and wider less regular ones when the speed was slower. it is not necessary to understand this fully to use the speed setting. A useful example though is with a sine or saw tooth wave used as an oscillator type and the target set to fine tune the pitch will go up and down faster as the oscillator speed knob is turned to the right and the reverse happens for a left rotation of it.
Oscillator Depth, This is the maximum possible affect the oscillator can have on the oscillator target ( fine tune, octave 1, phase etc. ) . To the left the more subtle the affect even after the fade in has completed. To the right the more obvious the target has been affected by the oscillator.
Oscillator Target, It can be set to vary the ( REL) release,
( SUS ) sustain, ( DEC ) decay
, ( ATT ) attack , ( ENV ) envelope
( RES ) resonance ( FOL ) follow( FRQ ) frequency
of the filter. Also ( FTYPE )
Will cause the oscillator to vary the filter type used. ( DPH2 ) sets The oscillator to affect depth, and ( SPD2) the speed, and
( PTCH2 ) the wave used for the tremolo effect for the second sound source. ( DPH1 ), ( SPD1), ( PTCH1 ) will do the same for the LFO tremolo effect of the first sound source.
If ( FINE1 ) or ( FINE2 ) is selected then the oscillator will affect
the fine tuning,
( SEMI1 ) or ( SEMI2 ) the semitone, ( OCTA1 ) or ( OCTA2 ) the octave, ( PHSE1 ) or ( PHSE2 ), the phase of sound source 1 or 2 respectively. ( WAVE1 ) and ( WAVE2 ) will cause the wave to change
for sound source 1 or 2 with the movement of the oscillator wave.
Setting the oscillator to ( FINE1 ) or ( FINE2 ) in conjunction with sine or saw tooth waves can create siren like effects, to any of the filter related targets will cause popular trance and techno sweeps and changes of the sound over time. ( OCTA1 )
or ( OCTA2 ) will cause the sound' s octave to change over time which can sound very trancey particulary if a reverb or echo is also in use, as each time a note is played its pitch octave will be higher or lower.
( WAVE1 ) or ( WAVE2 ) will cause the source sound to change over time and make it seem like a new instrument has been played for each note. ( SEMI1 ) or ( SEMI2 )
could be used to create arpeggio like note riffs. In general experimentation with the various targets will reveal new effects over time to the sounds played.
The main wave form settings
Attack, The speed at which the sound strength increases from silence to full strenth, when a note is played. When the wheel is fully to the left the attack is fastest and so the instrument will have the attack characteristics of a piano, plucked or percussive instrument. Moving the wheel to the right will create attack characteristics of string violins and at the extreme rising atmospheric sci fi sweep effect or pad sounds.
Decay, This wheel sets how quickly the sound will progress and die to the sustain phase of the sound once its maxiumum level has been reached. At the far left instantaneous, which is similar in character to a piano. Settings more to the right will resemble the decay of a violin or string, and at its maximum atmospheric sci fi effects are acheivable.
Sustain, This is the level for the sound to be held at after the decay phase, if for example a keyboard note was held down. Left-most setting will mean that the note will be silent or very quiet whilst a note is held down after the initial press, and right-most settings will mean that it will be louder. The right most settings are recommended for strings and orchestral or sci fi effects sounds, and the wheel should be more to the left for percussive or piano like sounds.
Release, This is the length of time the sound takes to drop to silence if for example a keyboard note was no longer held down and its sustain ended. At its left most setting there will be silence directly after the sustain phase a characteristic of a brass instrument when it is no longer blown. Turning the wheel more to the right will create a slower decline to silence creating characteristics more like strings, violins and sci fi atmospheric pad effects sounds.
Master Volume, This is the loudness of the sound.