Novation Ultranova User Manual

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Novation Ultranova User Manual Manual pdf 21 page image

20RE2: Amplitude Decay TimeDisplayed as: AmpDecInitial value: 90Range of adjustment: 0 to 127This parameter sets the notes’ decay time. Decay time only has meaning if the Sustainparameter value is set to less than 127, as the Decay phase will be inaudible if the sustainlevel is the same as the level reached during the attack phase. At the mid-setting (64), thetime is approx. 150 ms (provided Amplitude Decay Slope (Page 2, RE2) has a value of127).RE3: Amplitude Sustain LevelDisplayed as: AmpSusInitial value: 127Range of adjustment: 0 to 127The value of the Sustain parameter sets the volume of the note after the completion of thedecay phase. Setting a low value will obviously have the effect of emphasising the start ofthe note; setting it to zero will render the note silent after the decay phase has elapsed.RE4: Amplitude Release TimeDisplayed as: AmpRelInitial value: 40Range of adjustment: 0 to 127Many sounds acquire some of their character from the notes remaining audible after the keyis released; this “hanging” or “fade-out” effect, with the note gently dying away naturally (aswith many real instruments) can be very effective. A setting of 64 gives a Release Time ofapprox. 300 ms. The UltraNova has a maximum release time of approx. 30 seconds (withRelease set to 127), but shorter times will probably be more useful! The relationshipbetween the parameter value and the Release Time is not linear – see the graph below.Note that when playing polyphonically with sounds having long release times, it ispossible for ‘Voice Stealing’ to occur. This means that some notes still sounding(in their Release phase) might suddenly cut off when other notes are played. Thisis more likely to happen when multiple Voices are in use. See page 18 for moreinformation on this topic.RE5: Amplitude VelocityDisplayed as: AmpVelocInitial value: 0Range of adjustment: -64 to +63Amplitude Velocity does not modify the shape of the ADSR amplitude envelope in anyway, but adds touch sensitivity to overall volume, so that with positive parameter values,the harder you play the keys, the louder will be the sound. With Amplitude Velocity setto zero, the volume is the same regardless of how the keys are played. The relationshipbetween the velocity at which a note is played and volume is determined by the value. Notethat negative values have the inverse effect.For the most “natural” playing style, try setting Amplitude Velocity to about +40.RE6: Amplitude Envelope RepeatDisplayed as: AmpReptInitial value: 0Range of adjustment: 0 to 126, KeyOffBy using Amplitude Repeat, it is possible to repeat the Attack and Decay phases of theenvelope before the Sustain phase is initiated. This can produce an interesting “stuttering”effect at the start of the note if the Attack and Decay times are set appropriately. The valueof the Repeat parameter (from 0 to 126) is the actual number of repeats, so that if you set itto, e.g. 3, you will hear a total of four attack/decay phases of the envelope – the initial one,plus three repeats. The maximum setting of KeyOff generates an ininite number of repeats.RE7: Amplitude Touch TriggerDisplayed as: AmpTTrigInitial value: OffRange of adjustment: Off, T1ReTrig to T8ReTrigYou will have noticed that the UltraNova’s rotary encoders are touch-sensitive – the associ-ated LED illuminates as soon as the knob is touched. This touch sensitivity can be utilisedin real time to provide creative control over the sound, which is especially useful whenplaying live.Amplitude Touch Trigger assigns any one of the encoder knobs to act as a re-trigger but-ton – as soon as the knob is touched, the amplitude envelope is re-triggered. After makingthe assignment, in order to use the feature it is necessary to open the Animate Touch modeby pressing the TOUCH button [22] (select Page 1 if it is not already visible); you will seethat an ‘R’ appears under RE1, below the selected encoder to conirm the assignment ofEnvelope1 to that encoder. The touch-sensitive knob is now active.RE8: Amplitude Multi-triggerDisplayed as: AmpMTrigInitial value: Re-TrigRange of adjustment: Legato or Re-TrigWhen this parameter is set to Re-Trig, each note played will trigger its full ADSR amplitudeenvelope, even if other keys are held down. In Legato mode, only the irst key to be pressedwill produce a note with the full envelope, all subsequent notes will omit the attack anddecay phases, and sound only from the start of the Sustain phase. “Legato” literally means“smoothly”, and this mode aids this style of playing.It is important to appreciate that for the Legato mode to be operative, mono voicing mustbe selected – it will not work with polyphonic voicing. See page 19What is Legato?As stated above, the musical term Legato means “smoothly”. A Legato keyboardstyle is one where at least two notes overlap. This means that as you play themelody, you keep the previous (or an earlier) note sounding as you play anothernote. Once that note is sounding, you then release the earlier note.Legato style playing is relevant to some of the UltraNova’s sonic possibilities. In the caseof Amplitude Multi-Trigger, for example, it is important to appreciate that the envelope willre-trigger if any ‘gap’ is left between notes.Envelope 1 (Amplitude) parameters (Page 2)RE1: Amplitude Attack SlopeDisplayed as: AmpAtSlpInitial value: 0Range of adjustment: 0 to 127This parameter controls the “shape” of the attack characteristic. With a value of 0, thevolume increases linearly during the attack phase – that is to say, increases by equalamounts in equal time intervals. A non-linear attack characteristic may be selected as analternative, where the volume increases more rapidly at irst. The diagram below illustrates this:RE2: Amplitude Decay SlopeDisplayed as: AmpDcSlpInitial value: 127Range of adjustment: 0 to 127This parameter applies the same function as Amplitude Attack Slope to the Decay phaseof the envelope. With a value of 0, the volume drops linearly from the maximum value to thatdeined by the Sustain parameter, but setting Decay Slope to a higher value will cause thevolume to reduce more rapidly initially. The diagram below illustrates this:RE3: Amplitude Attack TrackDisplayed as: AmpAttTkInitial value: 0Range of adjustment: -64 to +63This parameter relates a note’s attack time to its position on the keyboard. WhenAmplitude Attack Track has a positive value, the attack time of a note decreases thehigher up the keyboard it is played. Conversely, lower notes have a longer attack time. Thisaids in simulating the effect of a real stringed instrument (such as a grand piano), wherethe mass of the strings on the lower notes have a slower response time when struck. Whena negative value is applied, the relationships are reversed.TOUCH M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 1234560 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------NmbrMods NmbrMods NmbrMods NmbrMods NmbrMods NmbrMods NmbrMods NmbrMods0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0E123456 E123456 E123456 E123456 E123456 E123456 E123456 E123456----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 123456 M 1234560 R----- 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------ 0 ------OSCILLATORS O1Semi O1Cents O1VSync O1Wave O1PW/Idx O1Hard O1Dense O1DnsDtn0 0 0 Sawtooth 0 127 0 0O1PtchWh O1WTInt FixNote ModVib MVibRate OscDrift OscPhase NoiseTyp+12 127 Off 0 65 0 0deg WhiteO2Semi O2Cents O2VSync O2Wave O2PW/Idx O2Hard O2Dense O2DnsDtn0 0 0 Sawtooth 0 127 0 0O2PtchWh O2WTInt FixNote ModVib MVibRate OscDrift OscPhase NoiseTyp+12 127 Off 0 65 0 0deg WhiteO3Semi O3Cents O3VSync O3Wave O3PW/Idx O3Hard O3Dense O3DnsDtn0 0 0 Sawtooth 0 127 0 0O3PtchWh O3WTInt FixNote ModVib MVibRate OscDrift OscPhase NoiseTyp+12 127 Off 0 65 0 0deg WhiteFILTERS F1Freq F1Res F1Env2 F1Track F1Type F1DAmnt F1DType F1QNorm127 0 0 127 LP24 0 Diode 64FBalance FRouting FreqLink ResLink-64 Parallel Off OffF2Freq F2Res F2Env2 F2Track F2Type F2DAmnt F2DType F2QNorm127 0 0 127 LP24 0 Diode 64FBalance FRouting FreqLink ResLink-64 Parallel Off OffENVELOPES AmpAtt AmpDec AmpSus AmpRel AmpVeloc AmpRept AmpTTrig AmpMTrig2 90 127 40 0 0 OFF Re-TrigAmpAtSlp AmpDcSlp AmpAttTk AmpDecTk AmpSusRt AmpSusTm AmpLvlTk LvlTkNte0 127 0 0 0 127 0 C 3FltAtt FltDec FltSus FltRel FltVeloc FltRept FltTTrig FltMTrig2 75 35 45 0 0 OFF Re-TrigFltAtSlp FltDcSlp FltAttTk FltDecTk FltSusRt FltSusTm FltLvlTk LvlTkNte0 127 0 0 0 127 0 C 3E3-E6 E3Att E3Dec E3Sus E3Rel E3Delay E3Repeat E3TTrig E3MTrig10 70 64 40 0 0 OFF Re-TrigE3AtSlp E3DcSlp E3AttTk E3DecTk E3SusRat E3SusTim E3LvlTk LvlTkNte0 127 0 0 0 127 0 C 3ATTACK DECAY RELEASESUSTAINTIMEKEY "ON" KEY "OFF"VOLUME