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synthesizer is essentially a sound sculpting kit. The raw materials
in your EWV-2000 kit are the WAVEFORMS in the OSCILLATOR section (Bank
Source button 1). The shaping tools are found in the FILTER (button
2), ENVELOPE GENERATORS (buttons 3 & 4), BREATH INTENSITY (button
7), and the EFFECT (button B) sections.
Let's look at these
basic parameters and get a feel for their role in creating original
sounds.
The VCO or VOLTAGE
CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR provides the basic PITCH range (from high
to low) and essential type of sound via its WAVEFORMS. The EWV-2000
has four kinds of waveforms:
- 1. SAW - Good for
string & brass sounds.
- 2. SQUARE - Good
for clarinet sounds.
- 3. TRIANGLE - Good
for flute sounds.
- 4. SAW+TRI - Good
for softer & rounder string & brass sounds.
Call up patch P-75:
BREATHZERO. This patch uses only SOURCE 1 oscillator. Press button
1 once. the window reads: OSC-l FREQ : 00. Using the VALUE slider
explore how raising and lowering tea pitch of the oscillator changes
the apparent quality of sound. Return to a value of 00.
Next. press button
1 two more times, the window reads: OSC-1 WAVE . Using the VALUE
DOWN & UP buttons explore how the quality of sound changes dramatically
with the four different waveforms. Return to the SAW waveform.
Now we are ready to
shape and alter the sound using the FILTER parameters. The VCF or
VOLTAGE CONTROLLED FILTER acts like a very sophisticated tone control
on a home stereo system. Press button 2 once. then press the BACKWARD
button once, the window reads: HI-PASS-FIL : 00. As you play a long
note slowly move the VALUE slider and listen to the quality of sound
change from bright and buzzy to dark and muffled. Leave this parameter
set at 35. Explore the RESONANCE parameter by pressing button 2
twice and moving the slider. Return this parameter to 00. Be sure
to play notes throughout the entire range of the EVI/EWI to observe
to changes in the extreme registers.
Press button 2 three
times, the window reads: CUTOFF FREQ. : 00. Explore and return to
40. The other parameters, OSC WAVE FM and PITH FOLLOWR (i.e. PITCH
FOLLOWER) will have little effect at this time since they interact
with other parameters that are not active in the BREATHZERO patch.
Other changes in the
quality of sound can be made via button 7, BREATH INTENSITY. Press
button 7 once, the window reads: BREATH VCO : 00. Set this to 10
and hear how the pitch changes with the intensity of your breath--blowing
hard raises the pitch. Return this to 00. Press button 7 one more
time, the window reads: BREATH PWM : 00. PWM stands for PULSE WIDTH
MODULATION. This is a way of changing the essential waveform. Higher
settings tend to give more complex and richer sounding waveforms.
Explore with the VALUE slider and set this parameter to 85. Press
button 7 one more time, the window reads: BREATH VCF : 75. As you
approach 00 the sound becomes darker and more muffled. As you approach
100 the sounds becomes brighter, louder and more buzzy. Set this
parameter to 50. Pressing button 7 one more time brings the window
to: BREATH RESON : 00. You explored this parameter in the FILTER
section (button 2), but this time RESONANCE responds to your breath.
Return this to 00. Finally, press button 7 one last time, the window
reads: BREATH VCA : 100. VCA stands for VOLTAGE CONTROLLED AMPLIFIER.
If this is set to 00 you will not hear any sound. Different settings
are used in this parameter to balance the sounds between SOURCE
1 and SOURCE 2 using the breath. We cannot explore this now since
SOURCE 2 is inoperative in the BREATHZERO patch. Leave this set
at 100.
The VCA or VOLTAGE
CONTROLLED AMPLIFIER is the other major tool in our sound shaping
kit. Finding the right volume balance between the sounds of SOURCE
1 & 2 can dramatically alter the nature of a patch. Press button
5 in SOURCE 2, the window reads: SOURCE-2 OUT: 00. Set this to 100.
Next, press button 7 (in SOURCE 2) once, then press the BACKWARD
button once, the window reads: BREATH VCA : 00. Set this to 100.
Finally, press the BACKWARD button two more times to reach: BREATH
VCF : 00. Set this to 75. Listen to the change in the sound as you
increase this parameter from 00 to 75.
For one more filter
change press the EFFECT button, in SOURCE 1 twice, the window reads:
FILTER OFF. Using the "UP" button set this parameter to
3.
To hear how far we
have altered our original BREATHZERO patch press the EDIT button
once, the window reeds: P75- BREATHZERO. Play a favorite phrase
or passage. Now press EDIT one more time, the window reads: BREATH
VCF : 75. Now play the same passage and hear the difference.
To double check the
settings see the datasheet labeled LESSON 1 below.
Notes: All the blank settings should be the same as original patch
"BreathZero"
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