8
Getting Started
The Yamaha VL1 Virtual Acoustic Synthesizer produces sound in an
entirely new way. It has no oscillators or function generators, no
preset waveforms or samples. In fact, it uses none of the sound
generation concepts employed in conventional synthesizers. The VL1
represents the world’s first practical application of computer-based “physi-
cal modeling” in musical sound synthesis.
In the same way that computer models are used to simulate weather
systems or the flight characteristics of aircraft in the design stage, the VL1
simulates the very complex vibrations, resonances, reflections and other
acoustic phenomena that occur in a real wind or string instrument. This
requires a tremendous amount of computer processing power (weather and
aerodynamic modeling require room-filling super computers), and radical
advances in microprocessor speed and capability plus some very sophisti-
cated Yamaha technology were necessary to achieve the real-time sound
generation capabilities exhibited by the ground-breaking VL1 Virtual
Acoustic Synthesizer.
VL1 Basics
Essential Concepts for the VL1 User