Alesis QSR 64 Release 00 to, Attack 00 to, Decay & Sustain 00 to, Pages 2, Filter Envelope

Editing Programs: Chapter 6

FILTER ENVELOPE

The Filter Envelope function is crucial whenever you want the tonal quality of a note to change over time, differently from its overall level. Example: When you want the initial attack of a note to be bright, but want the sustaining part to be filtered.

✪The following Filter Envelope variables will have effect only if the FILTER ENVELOPE DEPTH (on Page 7 of the FILTER function) is set to a value other than 0, or, Filter Envelope is a source in the MOD function.

Also note that the Filter Envelope may have no effect if some other modulation source, or the basic setting of the filter, has already pushed the filter cutoff frequency to its maximum.

Attack (00 to 99) Page 1

This is the amount of time the envelope will take until it reaches its maximum output level. Setting the Attack to 0 will give a sharp edge to the sound (if the Delay is also set to 0 in Filter Envelope Page 5 -- see next page); a setting of 99 will result in a much slower attack, taking many seconds before the envelope gets to maximum.

Decay & Sustain (00 to 99) Pages 2 & 3

As soon as the attack portion of the envelope finishes (when the level reaches maximum), the envelope will decay (decrease in level). The level it reaches is set by the Sustain control; how long it takes to get there is set by the Decay control. In the special case where the Sustain level is all the way up (99), then there is no decrease and the Decay time segment is bypassed. Whatever level the sustain is set to is the level that the decay section of the envelope will head for. Depending on the setting of the Sustain Decay control (see below), the envelope will either hold at the sustain level until you release the note on the keyboard, or decay to 0 at the Sustain Decay rate (which is on page 2 of the envelope). You can create a long “plateau” at the start of a note by setting the Sustain to 98 and the Decay to 99. This will cause the envelope to take the maximum amount of time to get from peak level to a level of 98, before the Sustain Release portion of the envelope begins.

Release (00 to 99) Page 4

Eventually, you will let go of the note that you’ve been holding (either by releasing the note on the keyboard, or releasing the sustain pedal if it was pressed). It is at this point that the Release portion of the envelope takes effect. The Release is the time that the envelope takes to get from the sustain level back down to nothing. Setting the Release time to 0 is good for playing those short funky riffs that you hear on a clavinet. Setting the Release time to 99 will take the envelope a very long time to reach zero level.

QSR Reference Manual 22