Operation Manual

6.39 Mallet 101

res=1

res=0.5

res=0.1

res=0.02

cutoff

frequency

-12dB/Oct

amp

Figure 54: Frequency response of a Lowpass2.

6.39 Mallet

The Mallet module is used to simulate the force impact produced by a

mallet striking a structure. It is usually used in combination with acoustic

objects such as the Beam, Membrane, Plate and String modules in order to

play them. The force of the impact is adjusted with the strength knob while

the stiffness of the mallet (related to its material) is varied with the stiffness

knob. Figure 30 shows the effect of the adjustment of the stiffness on the

output signal. As the stiffness is increased the excitation signal becomes nar-

rower. The effect of the strength parameter which determines the amplitude

of the impact is also shown in the same ﬁgure.

strength=0.2

strength=0.5

strength=1

stiffness=50

stiffness=500

stifness=5000

time

amp

Figure 55: Effect of stiffness and strength knob on Mallet output.

This module has one output, the impact signal, and four inputs. The ﬁrst input triggers the

mallet every time a low-to-high transition is encountered in the input signal. This input is usually

connected to the gate signal from a Keyboard module. Note that the mallet can also be trig-

gered manually by using the trig button on the front panel. The second input signal modulates the

stiffness of the mallet relative to the value selected with the stiffness knob. The amplitude of the

modulation is adjusted with the mod1 knob. The greater the amplitude, the greater the stiffness.

This modulation input is used, for example, when a variation of the stiffness of the mallet with

the note played is desired. When the knob is adjusted in its center position and when this input