Editing Programs: Chapter 6
QuadraSynth Plus Piano Reference Manual 73
Let’s look at each module’s function in detail.
Voice
This digitally-based oscillator provides the actual raw sounds from the
24 megabyte library of on-board samples. The oscillator's pitch can be
tuned to a fixed frequency or modulated. Modulation is the process of
varying a parameter dynamically over time; the oscillator pitch can be
modulated by envelope, keyboard, pressure, pedal, LFO, and other
control sources (described later).
Note that the waveforms in the QuadraSynth Plus are different from
those found in samplers or many sample-playback units. Because the
QuadraSynth Plus has its own filter module and amplitude module for
each voice, the pure waveforms are relatively bright--as bright as the
original instrument can be--and have a constant sustaining amplitude,
like an organ. So if you listen to a piano voice without setting the filter
or amp to the correct settings, it won't decay after it is hit, as you might
expect. This gives you the freedom to create the timbre and dynamics
you want, instead of being chained to the parameters of the original
sample.
Lowpass Filter
A lowpass filter varies a signal's harmonic content by progressively
increasing attenuation above a specified cutoff frequency. The higher
frequencies are filtered, while the lower frequencies are allowed to
“pass-thru.” When the cutoff frequency is set high, the sound becomes
brighter; when set low, the sound becomes bassier since fewer harmonics
are present.