3.5

209MainStage Instruments
Set MainStage ES2oscillator start points
The oscillators can run freely or can begin at the same phase position of their respective
waveform cycles each time a note is struck. This behavior is chosen in the Osc(illator) Start
pop-up menu.
Choose “free,” “soft,” or “hard” to change the waveform phase start position.
• Free: The initial oscillator phase start point is random for each played note. This adds
life to the sound. The downside is that the output level may differ each time a note
is played, making the attack phase sound less punchy—even if the performance is
identical each time—such as when the note is triggered by a MIDI region. This setting is
useful when you are emulating sounds typical of hardware analog synthesizers.
• Soft: The initial oscillator phase starts at a zero crossing for each played note. This
mimics the sonic character (and precision) typical of digital synthesizers.
• Hard:The initial oscillator phase starts at the highest level in the waveform cycle for
each played note. The extra punch that this setting can provide is audible only if the
ENV3 Attack Time parameter is set to a low value—a very fast attack, in other words.
This setting is highly recommended for electronic percussion and hard basses.
SynchronizeMainStage ES2oscillators
Typical oscillator sync sounds tend toward the aggressive, screaming leads that
synthesizer manufacturers like to talk about. The rectangular and sawtooth waveforms of
oscillators 2 and 3 feature a Sync option. When this parameter is turned on, the phase of
oscillator2 or 3 is synchronized with oscillator1.
Every time oscillator1 starts a new oscillation phase, the synchronized oscillator
(oscillator2 or 3) is also forced to restart its phase from the beginning. Between the
waveform cycles of oscillator1, the waveform cycles of the synchronized oscillators run
freely.
You can achieve interesting synchronized oscillator sounds by modulating the frequency
of the synchronized oscillator with an envelope generator. This constantly changes the
number of phases within a section of the synchronization cycle, resulting in corresponding
changes to the frequency spectrum.
Modulate the synchronized oscillator frequency with an envelope
1. In MainStage, set the oscillator 2 Wave knob to Sync.
2. Set up a modulation routing as follows:modulation target Pitch2, source Env2.
3. Adjust the settings of Envelope 2.