ee163ahj@sdcc13.UUCP (PAUL VAN DE GRAAF) (05/25/85)
While I really don't mind drum machines, something that does bother me is the current emphasis on simulating instruments rather than creating new sounds. A lot of traffic in this group lately has been of the nature of "how good of a piano preset does synth X have ?", nonsense about keyboard feel etc. I'm not a piano player (I have trouble just typing), and I'm getting tired people calling themselves electronic musicians when all they do is play presets or use samplers. If you want to use a synthesizer in this manner call it an organ, because that's all it amounts to. Just listen to "I Just Called to Say I Love You" and hear Stevie Wonder use a $20,000 Kursweil (sp?) as a souped-up Hammond Organ. I have nothing against composers using drum-synths & samplers as an aid. I've done this a number of times with composing software on a C64. I also don't mind people using simulators (nee synthesizers) for effect. A lot of dance music now-a-days uses them for the ultimate in "tight" rhythm sections, accurate within fractions of milliseconds. I'm not too familiar with the new samplers, but from what I've heard most people use them as recording machines. Do they have any programmability besides speed of playback? Can you do any signal processing like filtering phase-shifting etc. ? If so, I'd call them synthesizers, otherwise they're organs. Sorry I'm so ignorant on this subject, but I do most of my stuff on custom computer controlled analog synths, and haven't bothered to read keyboard magazines (other than this newsgroup) in the past couple of years. Donning my glass-wool suit (asbestos is cancer-causing and bad for the lungs) and waiting for the flames Paul van de Graaf sdcsvax!sdcc13!ee163ahj U. C. San Diego
peterb@pbear.UUCP (05/28/85)
Well, I own the Ensonic Mirage, and I'll describe the parameters...
You have 8 voices and an 4 part EG for Amplitude and Filter. You have no
EG intensity controls. Filter control allows cuttoff, Q (resonance), Tracking.
Each EG (Envelope Genorator) has a peak setting that affects the height of the
envelope at the attack and decay meeting points. (This allows a sustain point
higher than the atack/decay turnover).
each envelope venerator has a set of modifiers associated with it to control
velocity information.
1) rate of attack: faster hit, faster attack
2) peak: faster hit higher peak of attack/decay turnover
3) decay scaling: higher note, faster decay (speed based)
4) sustain: faster hit, higher sustain
5) release: faster release of key, faster release of envelope
Two of the EG modifier sections exist, on for filter, and one for amplitude.
Also this sampler has the ability to use to samples for soft and hard hits
(EG: soft on odd sample, hard on even, and faster hit, more bias to other
sample) This works since there are to "DSO"'s (digital sampling oscilator)
and their amplitudes can be controlled in a mixong mode by the keyboard velocity
or by a wheel.
The oscilators can be detuned for a honkytonk effect, and detuning is in
semitones so you can intervals the sound if need be.
A monifonic mode exists (not unison) where a voice's filter will hold open whil
key rollover is in effect (one rollover at a time). Its useful for Sax's.
I'd go on, but I don't have the manual handy. If anybody would like, I'll
post ALL the controls from the reference card and the descriptions.
Peter Barada
{ihnp4!inmet|{harvard|cca}!ima}!pbear!peterbkeithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) (05/28/85)
> >I'm not too familiar with the new samplers, but from what I've heard most >people use them as recording machines. Do they have any programmability >besides speed of playback? Can you do any signal processing like filtering >phase-shifting etc. ? If so, I'd call them synthesizers, otherwise they're >organs. Sorry I'm so ignorant on this subject, but I do most of my stuff >on custom computer controlled analog synths, and haven't bothered to read >keyboard magazines (other than this newsgroup) in the past couple of years. > >Paul van de Graaf sdcsvax!sdcc13!ee163ahj U. C. San Diego My interest in digital samplers stems from my interest in using synthesizers for new types of percussion. Have any of you're analog synths ever produced a decent percussion instrument? It's not easy. I see samplers as being useful where manipulating the actual object that originally emitted the sound is not practical otherwise (a steamhammer for example). Personally, I'm rather bored of not only drum machine drumming, but real live drumming as well. Why? Not because the drummers are not good, or that I don't like the beat, but because I'm tired of the conventional snare, hi-hat, toms, bass drums etc. that 98% of all drummers use. There are new options that samplers provide. Breaking glass, explosions, large machinery, etc.. There is no end to the possibilities if you don't have to bring the actual sound source to the stage or studio. I agree, using an umpteen-kilo-buck Kurzweil to simulate a $40 Casio is ridiculous if that's all you are using it for. Hopefully though, that isn't all they're being used for out there. Keith Doyle # {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd
peterb@pbear.UUCP (05/29/85)
Oh Yeah, forgot, Thats 8 voice, 2 EG for each voice, one for Amplitude, other for Filter. Two oscilators per voice also. Peter Barada