User Manual

CHAPTER 23. LIVE INSTRUMENT REFERENCE 379
The Volume knob sets Electric's overall output level.
The Voices chooser sets the available polyphony. Since each voice that's used requires
additional CPU, you may need to experiment with this chooser to nd a good balance
between playability and performance, particularly on older machines.
The Semi and Detune controls function as coarse and ne tuners. Semi transposes the entire
instrument up or down in semitone increments, while the Detune slider adjusts in increments
of one cent (up to a maximum of 50 cents up or down).
Stretch simulates a technique known as stretch tuning, which is a common modication
made to both electric and acoustic pianos and is an intrinsic part of their characteristic
sound. At 0%, Electric will play in equal temperament, which means that two notes are
an octave apart when the upper note's fundamental pitch is exactly twice the lower note's.
But because the actual resonance behavior of a vibrating tine or string differs from the
theoretical model, equal temperament tends to sound wrong on pianos. Stretch tuning
attempts to correct this by sharpening the pitch of upper notes while attening the pitch
of lower ones. The result is a more brilliant sound. Negative values simulate negative
stretch tuning; upper notes become atter while lower notes become sharper.
P Bend sets the range in semitones of pitch bend modulation.
23.5 Exter nal Instrument
The External Instrument.
The External Instrument device is not an instrument itself, but rather a routing utility that