Envelope shaping
Envelope shaping
A rhythmic pulse of 8th or 16th notes going all the way through a song is a common musical device. This could be a sequenced synthesiser, but a more interesting method is possible using the DN530.
The synthesiser is set up to provide continuous sustained notes (changing according to the harmony of the song), perhaps being processed by a chorus unit before passing through the gate. A drum machine or sequencer is programmed to produce a regular chain of 8th or 16th notes. This is used as the key input to the DN530 (an alternative source of 8th or 16th note pulses is a live bass drum with added echo, timed to give the appropriate repeats).
By adjusting the release time, the synthesiser will appear to play a perfectly timed sequence of notes, which will add interest and rhythm to the arrangement.
Signal level | Sustained synthesiser note |
| |
| Time |
Signal level
Pulse from drum machine
Time
Synthesiser 16th notes
Signal level |
Time |
Figure 4: Envelope shaping
In a similar way, a bass drum may be beefed up by using it to key a low frequency tone produced by a synthesiser (or even the console oscillator) and mixing this gated tone with the original drum sound. A snare drum may be given added bite by keying high frequency noise.
Gating vocals
In a recording studio, vocals usually need to be gated to remove studio ambience, headphone noise, breaths etc. This is best done after the vocal has been committed to the recording medium, otherwise it may be possible to accidentally gate out something that should have been recorded.
If gating is carried out as the vocal is being recorded, it is important not to gate the signal before it is fed to the vocalist's headphones. Many vocalists find a gated headphone feed distracting and it makes it more difficult to find the right note to come in on.
DN530 |
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Operator Manual | 29 |
