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Adjusting the ES2 Oscillator Start Point
The oscillators can either run freely or begin at the same phase position of their respective
waveform cycles—each time the ES2 receives a note on message. You can set the desired
behavior using the Osc Start (Oscillator Start) pop-up menu, found at the upper-right
corner of the ES2 interface.
• When Osc Start is set to free: The initial oscillator phase start point is random for each
played note. This adds life to the sound. The downside is that the output level may
differ each time a note is played, making the attack phase sound less punchy—even
if the performance is identical each time—such as when the note is triggered by a MIDI
region. This setting is useful when you are emulating the sounds typical of hardware
analog synthesizers.
• When Osc Start is set to soft: The initial oscillator phase starts at a zero crossing for
each played note. This mimics the sonic character (and precision) that is typical of
digital synthesizers.
• When Osc Start is set to hard: The initial oscillator phase starts at the highest level in
the waveform cycle for each played note. The extra “punch” that this setting can provide
is audible only if the ENV3 Attack Time parameter is set to a low value—a very fast
attack, in other words. This setting is highly recommended for electronic percussion
and hard basses.
Note: Osc Start soft and hard result in a constant output level of the initial oscillator phase
every time the sound is played back. This may be of particular importance when you use
the Bounce function of Logic Express at close to maximum recording levels.
Synchronizing the ES2 Oscillators
Typical “oscillator sync” sounds tend toward the aggressive, screaming leads that
synthesizer manufacturers like to talk about. The rectangular and sawtooth waveforms
of Oscillators 2 and 3 feature a Sync option. When this parameter is turned on, the phase
of Oscillator 2 or 3 is synchronized with Oscillator 1.
60 Chapter 5 ES2