Operation Manual

26 Parameters
• Manual: In this mode, one can adjust the frequency of one to four different partials (see
Quality control).
The Quality control is located just below the resonator selector and is represented
by big dots. It allows one to adjust the number of modes taken into account in the
synthesis and therefore the richness and complexity of the sound. This control has
four positions corresponding to 4, 16, 30 and 70 modes. In the particular case of
the Manual resonator, this control allows one to choose between one to four modes.
When the resonator is a Tube, this control is deactivated and all modes are taken into account. Note
that the CPU time required by a resonator is proportional to the number of modes calculated; the
higher the number of modes used, the higher the CPU load.
The reference pitch of a resonator, or in other words the frequency of its first par-
tial, is adjusted using the Pitch parameter. This control is composed of two numbers
separated by a dot. The first number indicates a value in semi-tones while the second
one indicates a value in cents (one hundredth of a semi-tone). When the semi-tone
and cent controls have a value of zero, the reference pitch of the object is the middle C
of the piano (C4 = 261.62 Hz). The value of the reference pitch can be adjusted by click-dragging
on the semi-tone and cent controls. Double clicking on these controls brings back their value to
zero.
The Key control determines how the pitch varies as a function of the note played on the key-
board. When this parameter is zero, the pitch does not vary and therefore it is the same whatever
the note played on the keyboard. When this control has a value of 1.00:1 (one semi-tone for each
semi-tone on the keyboard), the pitch of the object follows the pitch of the note played on the
keyboard or in other words, the pitch variation is tempered. Using values smaller or higher than
1.00:1 results in intervals smaller or greater than a semi-tone when adjacent notes are played on
the keyboard. The pitch can also be modulated using the signal from the LFO module. The LFO
control is used to adjust the amount of gain applied to the signal from the LFO.
The Level and Rate controls are used to obtain a modulation of the pitch when a note is played.
The Level control is used to determine the amount by which a note is detuned when it is triggered.
The Rate control sets the amount of time before the note reaches its normal pitch. Note that the
value of the Level control can be positive or negative allowing the note to start above or below its
real pitch. It can also be modulated by the MIDI keyboard velocity. This adjustment is obtained
using the Vel control.
The decay time of the partials of the object is determined by the Decay control. The Key
modulation parameter associated with this control allows one to adjust this parameter as a function
of the note played on the keyboard. Note that in the case of a Tube object, the decay time of
the sound is also affected by the Radius parameter. In that case, the total decay time will be
determined by the cumulative effect of the Decay and Radius parameters. Note that the decay time
of instruments with coupled resonators also depends on the amount of coupling.