User Guide

C) Sample and hold staircase patterns
A Sample and Hold circuit can be used for more than generating random
voltages. One type of modulation pattern that can be achieved is called
“Staircase” modulation. It is achieved by feeding a slow triangle wave into the
sample and hold input – with a trigger signal like a LFO at a faster rate, the output
looks like the triangle wave is chopped up into “stairs” at the trigger LFO rate.
- Initialize the Voyager’s parameters. Set the Voyager’s LFO rate to about .8 Hz.
- Using a ¼” patch cable, connect the VX-351’s LFO triangle output to the Voyager’s
Sample and Hold Input (the red one).
- Set the CP-251’s LFO rate to about 6 Hz.
- Using another ¼” cable, connect the CP-251’s LFO square wave output to the
Voyager’s Sample and Hold Gate Input (the blue one).
- Select S&H as the Voyager’s Mod Wheel Mod Buss Source.
- Play a note and move the Mod Wheel forward. You should hear the pitch
modulated by a staircase waveform.
D) Envelope to Noise level for noise component at the attack of a note.
Some sounds have a burst of noise at the beginnings of a note or “chiff” – for
instance a flute or a pipe organ. This patch digs a little deeper into the Voyager to
achieve this effect.
- Initialize the Voyager’s parameters.
- Set the Osc. 1 waveform to Triangle wave
- Set the Filter Envelope to the following settings: Attack 1 msec, Decay, 100 msec,
Sustain 0, Release can be Off.
- Using a ¼” patch cable, connect the VX-351 Filter envelope Output to the CP-251
Mixer 1 input.
- Set the CP-251 Mixer 1 Input level and the Output level to 10, Set the Offset to –
2.5.
- Using a ¼” cable, connect the CP-251 Normal (+) Mixer Output to the Voyager’s
MOD2 Input.
- In the Voyager’s Pedal/On Mod Buss, make the following settings: Source:
On/MOD2, Destination: LFO/PGM, Shaping: On, Amount 10.
- In the Edit menu select “Pedal PGM Dest” and press ENTER.
- In the list of programmable destinations, select Noise level.
- In the Voyager’s Mixer section, turn ON the Noise signal. Turn up the level to 5.
- Set the Voyager’s Filter Envelope Amount to Filter control to +2.
- In the Edit Menu select “Trigger Modes”. Set the trigger mode to Multi-triggering.
- Now when you play a note, you should hear a noise component at the beginning
of the note. Playing with a combination of Filter Envelope times, Filter cutoff, Noise
Level, and Pedal/On Mod Buss amount will make this effect more or less
perceptible. Selecting Oscillator Levels as the Programmable Mod Destination can
yield some interesting effects as well.
These are just scratching the surface of the synthesis possibilities afforded by the
Voyager, the VX-351, and a CP-251.