Wednesday
17 April 2002
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How to use a Breath Controller |
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Congratulations
on getting hold of a Breath Controller! Here you can find some tips for getting the most out of it. For a start,
look for the two setting screws of your BC. Turn the GAIN
screw, the lower one, to the highest level, and the
OFFSET screw, the upper one, to about 1/3 of its entire
range. If you aren’t completely satisfied, try
turning a little more this last screw. |
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| - With some (AN-)voices you can only play one voice at a time, however it is an AN-Poly voice (not an AN-Layer voice). This way the portamento effect will be way better. In the Voice EDIT Mode you can set the Mono/Poly parameter (in the OSC page) to Poly. Changing this parameter will affect the portamento effect though (assuming that your voice has portamento set to ON). Sliding from one key to another won't work like before, because they will now sound both. In the Ctrl Pitch page you can experiment with the Fngr/Full parameter. Take for example I2-071 Ld:Analorgan of the mrvoices (and with this voice it is recommended to keep knob 3 turned to the right to keep the Portamento Switch OFF). - Take note that some settings a linked to their "destination" in the controller settings page. When you for example have a controller set assigned to the AN Noise Level with a depth of +63, check the AMP MIX page. If the Noise Level here is set to 0, you can tweak the controller without hearing any noise. It is fixed at 0. Now if you set this value (still in the AMP MIX page) to its max and the controller is set to the centre (0) you still can hardly hear any noise. You have to search for the best combination setting/controller-destination if you're creating a voice and a controller set for that voice. I think the FEG Depth works the same. - When assigning controller sets to voices hearing a sequence with that voice might come in handy. The easiest way to do this is to go to Utility Mode - F2 Voice Mode - F7 Connect - and set the "Arp Hold" setting to Hold. Now, get back to Voice Mode and select the voice you want to assign the controller set to. Hit EDIT, turn ON the Arpeggiator and hit a chord. Select an ARP you like best. Now go to the Controller Sets. Select one of the knobs, set the element you want to affect to ON and the depth to for example +20. Now change the destination while tweaking the knob. If you have found the right destination, turn the knob completely to the right and the depth completely to +/-64. Now decrease/increase the depth back to 0 untill you notice a difference in the sound. - Sometimes you can recognize a nasty "click" while creating a voice, especially when playing short stabs, staccato notes. These clicks are mostly caused by a release time in the AMP and FILTER page at a too low value. You can of course increase the release time of both a bit, but what do you hear then? Sometimes you'll get a filter fall-off (decreasing cutoff) which is not what you want. To remove the click, here's what you got to do. You have to add release time to the AMP and the filter section. That's obvious. Now, what I found out: add a little of release time to the AMP section and some more (or a LOT will do also, sometimes a lot more is even BETTER) to the filter section. You won't hear the filter "fall" obvious, because of the short release time of the amp. Sometimes it's also better to add a little attack time to the AMP section too. This will let the voice-start sound a bit smoother. - Check yourself what MORE than one destination can do when assigned to ONE knob. - Some destinations of controller sets only will affect the voice when increasing the value, not when decreasing it. So you can assign a new controller destination with that same property to the same knob with a negative depth, so you can have two completely different destinations assigned to one knob. So you can assign 2 destinations to 1 knob, turning each of them (one OR the other) ON by tweaking it to the left or right. If you do so, it is recommendable that the two destinations you assign to one knob have something in common. For example you can assign the AEG Attack Time and the AEG Release Time to one knob. It is a bit strange to assign the LFO AMP Depth and the FEG Release time to one knob. It is possible, and very nice for experimenting (so on the other hand, why not do it?), but a bit strange. Keep in mind that this doesn't work with MW1, because the 0-setting is NOT positioned in the center but all the way down. - According the previous tip you can not only morph between two Scenes using MW2, but you can also morph between two elements within one voice. All you have to do is assign the Volume of each element to the same knob, and set the depth of the first to say +28 and the depth of the second element to -28. For an example, try tweaking knob1 on I2-037 Cp:Xy-Low Phone. - With AWM sounds you can take an already existing sound and change the oscilator sample. Now you have a complete different sound with all settings already there. A very simple way to create complete new sounds. - Take two oscilators (two elements) that sound exactly the same. Now pan element 1 completely to the left and element 2 to the right. Now if you change one element just a bit you will recognize more "space" in the sound. For example, you can detune one element a bit, or you can set the delay of one of the elements to a higher value, or both (you will get some kind of chorus). You can find some examples in my voice-patch. Voice I1-059 Anger - the pitch EG of both elements are each others opposite (check it yourself) Voice I1-058 Simple Sine - detuned and delayed Voice I1-041 Misty Clouds - great example of the "delay-trick" - If you have two elements completely panned out (like in the previous tip) and you want to control the panning with one of the controllers, please check voice I1-020 Wv:Stereo Me for a solution. I assigned the AWM Volume to each element seperately so that the first one is fixed at a positive depth and the second one at a negative depth. Now you can fade each element in and out with the same controller. - Explore the effects! Take a voice, route it through an insert effect and see what it changes. Route it through 2 different effects, change the routing at random. Set up a controller set that changes the main features in the effect and start to choose different oscilators of the voice. With some voices it will give great sounds. (be careful, if you want to use this sound in a Performance Setup, you won't have much DSP left if you use these effects, as you all know) - Turn up the resonance at a very high level till it starts to "sing" (watch your ears!). Set the keyfollow of the Filter Frequency to +32. Now the originally selected oscilator won't produce the sound, but the filter will (check voice 3 - Sub Bass). Now you can change the oscilator again (it won't affect the sound much, but try it). - Set the LFO to a slow speed. Set the Sync of the LFO to OFF. Let this LFO affect the filter. Play a tune. Hear the changes? (voice I1-018 - M for Murder). Turn on the arpeggiator... (Voice I1-030 - M for Mulder) - I discovered a phaser (FDSP or Ins effect - try both) sounds great on pads! (voice I1-011 - Pizz Pad ?) - Some preset Arps also affect the brightness. Funny! (For example ARP 43 PRE:SeqS&H2) - Some other Arps have different velocity settings within. You can set up a voice that consists of for example two elements. Each element with a different velocity zone: hitting keys hard will play element 1 and hitting them softly will play element 2. Now it's great to use one of those arps... - None of the preset arpeggio's make advantage of the portamento function: none of them plays legato notes. So if you want to take full advantage of the portamento function (AN- and VL-voices can do this best) you have to create your own user-arpeggio. - Experiment with fast attacks from a high value to 0. (voice I1-001 - Oink Moog or I2-035 Ld:Magik Rice) - On AN sounds: turn UP the volume of VCO 2 (in the AMP MIX section). Now go and set the pitch of VCO 2 one octave lower (-12) (or maybe 2 octaves). Experiment with the wave form (saw, pulse) and the edge of this wave form. I like turning ON the portamento effect with AN sounds! - With two VCO's you can create some kind of phaser effect when you detune one of the two just a bit! - When you have an EX5(R) (not an EX7) you can even have 4 (yes, FOUR!) AN-type VCO's, by creating a voice with two AN elements. Just take an AN(layer) voice. Go to the AMP MIX page in Voice EDIT Mode and set the VCO2 Level at 127 (or whatever you want it to be). Now each element has two VCO's. You can change the pitch and other things of every VCO. - When setting up controller sets, first check a knob (or MW), then set the value to say 20, and THEN choose a destination (mention you have checked "ON" on the left, with the elements). Tweak the knob and choose another destination. And another. If you have found a great one, set the value again. 64 is NOT the most effective value, I mean it is too effective. You can't control the voice with a depth of +/-64, because the voice would change too much when you tweak the controller just a little. - If you discover a great sound and you want to know how it is created, press EDIT and think of what that specific sound could be. Create a new voice with exacly the same oscilator (so you will hear a dry sample) and notice the difference. Does the sound change in time? Check the EG's (Amp, Pitch, filter), the LFO's (and check the destination) or check the difference between two elements (delayed? detuned?). If you notice a great sound while you are tweaking the knobs: press EDIT, go to the CTRL section and look what exactly you changed in the sound. - If you do this often, you can start making weird sounds with your mouth. This sounds a bit strange, but let me finish. Sing a weird sound and ask yourself: how could THIS sound be made? So you start creating a new voice by tweaking the resonance up, and set the EG's or LFO's for filter and amp. Now check another oscilator. Weird huh? Note that you can hardly ever recreate what you did with your mouth, but it might inspire you for more. - If you have OS version 1.09 or lower then you cannot copy controller sets or insert effects from one voice to another without copying the elements too. But there is a remedy for this. Store your voice with the right elements first, on I1-001 for instance. Now copy the controller sets or insert effects from the source voice to the target/current voice. So you're copying elements too, huh? No press JOB, Copy Voice and copy the right elements of I1-001 back into the current voice. These will overwrite the wrong ones. Now check the INS page if the right effects are assigned to the right elements by hitting EDIT/COMPARE. Sometimes effects are switched ON where they don't belong to be ON. Check with the EDIT/COMPARE function if everything (all other parameters) is still set right. This is a bit strange way to go, but it works fine. Thanks also to L. Cifelli - we both worked this out. - Here's another tip which is not in the manual. If you're in Voice Mode and you have tweaked the knobs and you think: this sounds great. Then turn on the arpeggiator. Damn! All controllers settings are reset! Go to Utility SYN page and set the Controller Reset on HOLD. I already knew this setting HOLDs the controller settings while scrolling through the Voices, but it also HOLDs the settings while turning ON the arpeggiator. - Don't forget you can create your own LFO waveforms with the EG's by using their loop-functions. For an example, check I2-080 Fx:Bad Hair Day of the mrvoices and move MW1 up. You can hear the pitch EG loop. - When you have to insert a key-parameter, select the parameter, press and hold the softkey underneath the current tab and hit the key on the keyboard. Now you don't have to search and scroll... - Many of you get inspiration for new tracks out of new sounds. And there will be a day you will recognise all presets, and where should you get your inspiration then? So you want to hear something different, some new sounds? Then here is another tip for you: go to Utility Mode and press F1 [SYN]. Now set the Controller Reset parameter to HOLD. Now get back to Voice Mode again and scroll through the Voices. Here you are: new sounds! Be careful: because all controllers are set different here, a new combination of controller settings might krank up the volume with some voices. - And now for the most important part: use your ears and your imagination, together!!!
P.S. from delollis: Dear Michiel, even if you aren't here with us anymore, your soul will always shine on this site. Thanks for all you've done. Peace.
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delollis is: Lorenzo Cifelli
keyboard player - dj - arranger - programmer
Milan - Italy
Link to my personal website:
http://space.tin.it/musica/lcifelli
To contact me:
info@delollisdj.com
