3.5

51MainStage Instruments
Create a talking additive sound with synthesized vowel formants
1. In MainStage, from the Name bar, click the File button and choose Initialize Preset from
the pop-up menu to reset all Alchemy parameters to default settings.
2. Select source A, then turn off the oscillator in the VA section to the right.
3. Click the Additive button, and turn on the additive section. You will hear an additive
sawtooth sound if you play some notes.
4. As an option, increase the Num Partials value. This helps to prevent the sound
becoming dull if played in lower registers.
5. Click the Formant button, and turn on the lower Synthesized section. Play a few notes
to hear the “a” vowel sound that is imposed on the sawtooth wave.
6. Increase the Select knob value, and play a few notes. Note how the vowel sound morphs
to an “e,” then an “i,” then finally a “u” at 100%.
7. Reduce the Select knob value, then modulate it with a new AHDSR envelope (AHDSR2),
and leave the depth at +100%.
8. Set Sustain to zero for the AHDSR2 envelope. Note the “yeah” articulation this creates
as you play each note.
9. Increase the Attack time for the AHDSR2 envelope. Note the “aya” type articulation this
creates as you play each note.
10. Adjust the Shift knob, the Size knob, and the Center knob, to explore the different
timbres available.
11. Switch the order of vowels in the four pop-up menus, and also load different filter types
such as Comb.
MainStage Alchemy granular element controls
Source components are shown only in advanced view. Click the Advanced button to switch
to advanced view, then click the A/B/C/D button to select the source you want to edit.
The parameters in this section are shown when the Granular button is active in a source
subpage. The Granular section is available only when you import an audio sample using
either granular or sampler mode. See MainStage Alchemy Import browser.
Note: The sampler and granular engines are mutually exclusive: you can use one or the
other within a single source, but not both together. You can, however, enable further
sources if both engines are required simultaneously.
Granular synthesis represents continuous sound as a stream of grains, or tiny pieces of
sound. Alchemy generates grains by extracting 2- to 230-millisecond pieces from an audio
file. The amplitude of each grain is shaped, along with any pitch and pan modifications,
before the grain is sent to the output stream.