Today we listened to the patches we created for the ES-M, ES-P & ES-E. The class had some nice and interesting patches. These three synths had a surprising range of sounds. In some cases the sounds were a little bit "flat." By this, I mean that the sounds quickly become static after the initial attack. Look for ways to make the sounds animated, that is, to have them moving dynamically as you play.

One way to get motion into your patch is to use the LFO. In addition to the tremelo, wah-wah and vibrato effects we discussed previously, some synths let you do Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). This varies the timbre by changing the duty cycle of the rectangular wave. The Duty Cycle is the amount of time the wave is in the high, or "on" state, versus the period of the low ("off") state. For example, a 10% duty cycle means the wave spends 10% of the time high and 90% of the time low. A 30% duty cycle means the wave spends 30% of the time high and the remaining 70% of the time low. A wave with a 50% duty cycle would be, by definition, a square wave. Interestingly, to the ear, a 10% duty cycle wave and a 90% duty cycle wave sound exactly the same: it is the proportion of time the wave spends at each state, not whether it is high or low, that matters.

Duty Cycle

Modulating the Mix control with LFO can create undulating effects. If two oscillators are at different pitches, the changing mix will alternate the two notes. If one ocillator is turned off, the mix control will create a deep tremelo effect.

In addition to LFO routings, you can add motion to your sound by routing an envelope generator in creative ways. We always route one to the amplifier to shape the note's dynamics, and it's also common to route this or a second EG to the filter cutoff, so that the sound changes timbrally as well. Did you know you can add an interesting motion by routing an envelope to the pitch input of an oscillator? A short attack or decay will add a "chirp" effect to the start of each note that can really liven up a patch. Slower times will create scoops and dips that are more consistent than relying on glide (portamento). Adding a longer release time will create a "fall" at the tail of each note.

Modulating pulse width with an envelope generator is another way to add motion. A slow decay sent to the PW input will create authentic fuzz guitar-like timbres. It's mimicking the clipping effect of a guitar amp: as the guitar note decays, subsequent cycles don't hit the amp as hard and the timbre changes over the course of the note.

Changing the LFO Depth amount with a slow attack envelope will cause the vibrato (or other LFO effect) to slowly increase in intensity. This is a great effect to use when mimicking bowed strings or woodwinds, as players will often gradually add vibrato on sustaining notes. Of course, you could get the same effect by slowly adding the modulation wheel, but by setting up an EG to do it, it becomes part of the patch and the results will be more consistent.


wedges

We looked at the use of the "split wedges" found in many of Logic's synths. This type of control is useful when you have a control source modifed by another controller and being sent to a target destination. For example, say you wanted to send the ADSR Envelope Generator to the Filter so that notes are brighter during the attack and decay than during the sustain. But let's say you want this effect to be modified by the MIDI velocity, so that hard notes get brighter than softer notes do. The slider represents the depth, in this case the amount of EG that gets to the filter. The top wedge represents the output level sent to the target (the filter) when the velocity is 127. The bottom wedge represents the amount sent when the velocity is 1. If you want no effect at all when the velocity is 1, set the bottom wedge to the minimum position. If, on the other hand, you want a consistent effect that is not affected by velocity, set both wedges to the same value by pushing one against the other.


Of course, creating velocity-sensitive patches is yet another great way to make expressive synth timbres. I don't have a heavy attack like many piano players do, so I find that I usually have to spend some time adjusting the velocity sensitivity of a patch. Once I do, I start to enjoy the patch a great deal more because I feel in control of its expressiveness. Don't underestimate the importance of creating patches that are responsive to your playing style! Good synths will let you use velocity to modify LFO and EG routings. And while we're at it, let's add that sometimes nothing beats a physical slider or knob assigned to cutoff or some other parameter within the synth!


The second part of class focused on the two more advanced synthesizers found in Apple's Logic Pro, the ES-1 and ES-2. The ES-1 is a single oscillator synth with a sub-octave and a multi-mode low-pass filter. It packs a surprising amount of flexibility into a small package. Any of the patches you created on the ES-M, ES-P or ES-E can be reproduced on the ES-1.

The ES-2 is a real workhorse, capable of creating an astonishing array of different textures (check out the patch library). It has three independent oscillators, two multi-mode filters, distortion and modulation effects, two LFO's, three EG's and ten assignable routers to link each component together. Its strength is also its flaw: while the ES-2 is incredibly powerful, that power is sometimes cumbersome to wield. You will find the Logic Plug-Ins Guide very helpful in learning this synth. You may want to try some of its included tutorials to help with some of the more esoteric topics, such as the Routers or the Vector control.