Reference Manual

468 Live Instrument Reference
creasing the Stretch amount raises the pitch of upper notes while lowering the pitch of lower
ones. The result is a more brilliant sound. Negative values simulate “negative“ stretch tuning;
upper notes become flatter while lower notes become sharper.
The Error slider increases the amount of random tuning error applied to each note. Try very high
values if you would like to relive your experiences from junior high school orchestra.
The Unison section allows you to stack multiple voices for each note played. The switch next to
the name toggles the section on or off.
The Voices switch selects between two or four stacked voices, while Detune adjusts the amount
of tuning variation applied to each stacked voice. Low values can create a subtle chorusing ef-
fect, while high values provide another good way to approximate a youth orchestra. Increasing
the Delay amount adds lag before each stacked voice is activated.
The Portamento section is used to make the pitch slide between notes rather than changing im-
mediately. The effect can be toggled on and off via the switch next to its name.
With Legato enabled, the sliding will only occur if the second note is played before the first note
is released.
Proportional causes the slide time to be proportional to the interval between the notes. Large
intervals will slide slower than small intervals. Disabling this switch causes the slide time to be
constant regardless of interval.
The Time slider sets the overall speed of the slide.
The Volume knob sets the overall output of the instrument.
24.9.4 Sound Design Tips
At first glance, Tension’s modular architecture may not seem so different from what you’re used
to in other synthesizers; it consists of functional building blocks that feed information through a
signal path and modify it as it goes. But it’s important to remember that Tension’s components are
not isolated from one another; what you do to one parameter can have a dramatic effect on a
parameter somewhere else. Because of this, it’s very easy to find parameter combinations that
produce no sound at all. It’s also very easy to create extremely loud sounds, so be careful when
setting levels!