Patch Edit

How a Patch Is Organized

The type of sound most commonly played on the MC-909 is called a Patch. Each Patch can contain up to four Tones.

fig.2-01.e

 

 

 

 

 

Tone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tone

Tone

Tone

 

 

 

 

1

2

3

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Example 1:A Patch consisting of only one Tone (Tones 2—4 are turned off).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tone

 

Tone

 

Tone

 

Tone

 

 

 

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Example 2: A Patch consisting of four Tones.

You can turn the Tones in a Patch on or off. Only Tones that are turned on are heard when you play the Patch. (p. 56)

You can also set the structure of a Patch to specify how Tones 1 and 2 and Tones 3 and 4 are combined. (p. 66)

How a Tone Is Organized

Tones are the smallest programmable unit of sound on the MC-909, and are the basic building blocks that make up a Patch. You can’t play a Tone by itself-it can only be played as part of a Patch or Rhythm Set. A Tone consists of the following five components.

fig.2-02.e

 

 

Tone

LFO 1

LFO 2

 

WG

TVF

TVA

Pitch

TVF

TVA

Envelope

Envelope

Envelope

audio signal

control signal

WG (Wave Generator)

This selects the PCM waveform material that provides the basis of the Tone. Two waveforms can be assigned to each Tone.

The MC-909 has 693 different waveforms. (See Waveform List p. 150.)

All Patches built into the MC-909 consist of combinations of Tones based on these waveforms.

TVF (Time Variant Filter)

This specifies how the frequency components of the Tone change.

TVA (Time Variant Amplifier)

This determines how the volume and panning of the Tone change.

Envelope

An envelope applies changes to the Tone over time. There are separate envelopes for pitch, TVF (filter) and TVA (volume). For example, you would use the TVA Envelope to modify the way in which the Tone attacks and decays.

LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator)

Use the LFO to create cyclical changes-or cyclical “modulation”-in a Tone. Each Tone has two LFOs. An LFO can be applied to the Tone’s pitch settings, TVF (filter), and TVA (volume). When an LFO is applied to pitch, a vibrato effect is produced. When an LFO is applied to the TVF cutoff frequency, a wah-wah effect is produced. When an LFO is applied to the TVA volume, a tremolo effect is produced.

Tips for Creating a Patch

Choose a Patch that’s similar to the sound you wish to create. When you want to create a new sound, it’s a good idea to begin with a Patch that’s close to the sound that you have in mind. Starting with a Patch that bears no resemblance to the one you want to create is likely to result in much more programming work for you.

Decide which Tones will sound

When creating a Patch, it’s important to decide which Tones you want to use. It’s also important to turn off unused Tones to avoid wasting voices, unnecessarily reducing the number of simultaneous notes you can play.

Check the way in which the Tones are combined

Structure Type 1&2 and 3&4 are important parameters that determine how the four Tones are combined. Before you select new Tones, make sure you understand how the currently selected Tones are affecting each other.

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Roland MC-909 owner manual Patch Edit, How a Patch Is Organized, Tips for Creating a Patch, How a Tone Is Organized