Reference Manual

CHAPTER 21. LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 270
Loop Time parameter. (Note that envelopes in Loop Mode can loop very quickly and can
therefore be used to achieve effects that one would not normally expect from an envelope
generator.)
While Loop Mode is good for textures and experimental sounds, Operator also includes Beat
and Sync Modes, which provide a simple way of creating rhythmical sounds. If set to Beat
Mode, an envelope will restart after the beat time selected from the Repeat chooser. In Beat
Mode, the repeat time is dened in fractions of song time, but notes are not quantized.
If you play a note a bit out of sync, it will repeat perfectly but stay out of sync. In Sync
Mode however, the rst repetition is quantized to the nearest 16th note and, as a result, all
following repetitions are synced to the song tempo. Note that Sync Mode only works if the
song is playing, and otherwise it will behave like Beat Mode.
Note: To avoid the audible clicks caused by restarting from its initial level, a looped envelope
will restart from its actual level and move with the set attack rate to peak level.
The rates of all the envelopes in Operator can be scaled in unison by the Time control in
the global section of the shell. Note that beat-time values in Beat and Sync Modes are not
inuenced by the global Time parameter. Envelope rates can be further modied by note
pitch, as dictated by the Time<Key parameter in the global section's display. The rate of an
individual envelope can also be modied by velocity using the Time<Vel parameter. These
modulations in conjunction with the loop feature can be used to create very, very complex
things...
The pitch envelope can be turned on or off for each individual oscillator and for the LFO
using the Destination A-D and LFO buttons in its display. It can also be turned off altogether
via the pitch section of the shell. The pitch envelope amount is adjusted with the adjacent
Pitch Env control.
Tip: If the pitch envelope is only applied to the LFO and is looping, it can serve as another
LFO, modulating the rate of the rst. And, since the envelope of the LFO itself can loop, it
can serve as a third LFO modulating the intensity of the rst!