28
Creating Sounds

Sound-Creating Work ow

The following illustration shows the basic work ow for creating sounds on the GAIA SH-01.
TONE 2
TONE 1
TONE 3
LFO
SHAPE
OSC
PITCH ENV
Speci es the pitch
at which the sound
begins
FILTER
MODE
Speci es the bright-
ness of the sound
AMP
LEVEL
AMP ENV
Determines the
loudness of the sound
Determines how the
sound starts and ends
Applies cyclic change
MODE
Speci es the bright-
ness of the sound
LEVEL
Determines the
loudness of the sound
EFFECTS
DISTORTION
LOW BOOST
FLANGER
DELAY
REVERB
Distorts the sound
Boosts the low range
Gives spaciousness
to the sound
Adds delayed sounds
Adds reverberation
to the sound
Distorts the sound
OUTPUT
WAVE
Creates the waveform
and determines the
pitch
FILTER ENV
Modi es the
brightness at the
beginning and end of
the sound

The Three Elements of Sound

(OSC, FILTER, AMP)

There are three elements that determine the character of a
sound: the pitch, the brightness, and the loudness.
On the GAIA SH-01, these three elements are determined
by the following sections.
Pitch: OSC (Oscillator, p. 30)
The pitch is determined by the speed at which the
waveform repeats. A waveform that takes one second to
repeat is said to have a frequency of 1 Hertz (1 Hz). The
higher the frequency, the higher the pitch. Conversely, the
lower the frequency, the lower the pitch.
Brightness: FILTER (Filter, p. 32)
The brightness of a sound can be modi ed by boosting
or cutting speci c frequency ranges. Boosting the
high-frequency range produces a brighter sound, while
boosting the low-frequency range produces a darker
sound.
Loudness: AMP (Amp, p. 35)
The loudness of a sound is determined by the amplitude
of the waveform. Greater amplitude means more volume,
while lesser amplitude means less volume.

Time-Varying Change ( ENVELOPE)

“Envelope” refers to the way in which an aspect of the
sound changes over time. The OSC, FILTER, and AMP each
have an envelope that operates each time you play a key,
applying time-varying change to the pitch, tonal character,
and volume.
Each aspect of the sound is controlled by its own envelope,
as follows.
Pitch:
PITCH ENV (Pitch Envelope, p. 32)
Brightness:
FILTER ENV (Filter Envelope, p. 34)
Loudness:
AMP ENV (Amp Envelope, p. 35)
By taking full advantage of these envelopes, you can
create more richly expressive sounds.
For example, you can use the pitch envelope to make the
pitch momentarily lower at the beginning of each note,
or use the amp envelope to make the volume gradually
increase.