During the second part of class we looked at the operation of the ES-2 Synthesizer. A quick look at the Controls View reveals that this synth has a multitude of parameters—in all, over 170 controls. This is one deeep synth!
There are many similarities between the ES-2 and the ES-1, so let's focus on the key differences. There are three Oscillators that can be independently tuned and mixed. There are two filters, one just like the ES-1's, and a second that offers High-Pass, Band-Pass and Band-Reject modes. They can be used in series (one after the other) or parallel (both receive the same signal and their outputs are mixed together). The output section features a Chorus/Flanger/Phaser effect and a Distortion effect. The synth's parameters can be randomized per criteria you specify to design new and complex patches. There are two LFO's—one with delay, and one that is "syncable" to tempo. There are three envelope generators!
One of the most interesting/challenging features is the Router section. Each router allows you to connect a control source to a control target and modify the amount of signal via another controller. So to get vibrato, for example, you might choose LFO 1 as the Source, Mod Wheel as the controller ("via") and Oscillator Pitch Inputs 1, 2 & 3 as the Target. Setting the wedge controls (lower to "0", upper to a positive value) will allow you to add vibrato by pressing the Mod Wheel. Because there are ten routers, complex interactions can be setup to give your patches life and expressiveness.
We took a brief look at the ES-2 and will continue our tour next week. We also took a short quiz and listened to our ES-M, ES-P and ES-E patches. I liked what I heard, so continue on and create six addition patches (two for each synth) for next class.