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Chapter 20 ES2 213
Filter Blend and Parallel Filter Configuration Tip
The overdrive/distortion circuit is always wired after the Oscillator Mix stage, and before
the filters. The filters receive a mono input signal from the overdrive circuit’s output.
The outputs of both filters are mixed to mono via Filter Blend.
Note: If Drive is set to 0, no distortion occurs.
Drive
The filters are equipped with separate overdrive modules. Overdrive intensity is defined
by the Drive parameter. If the filters are connected in parallel, the overdrive is placed
before the filters. If the filters are connected in series, the position of the overdrive
circuits depends on the Filter Blend parameter—as described above.
Polyphonic Distortions in the Real World
The ES2 features a distortion effect, equipped with a tone control, in the Effects section.
Given the inclusion of this effect, you may be wondering what benefit the Drive
function in the Filter section brings?
The distortion circuit in the Effects section affects the sum of the entire polyphonic
synthesizer performance. Thus, more complex chords (other than major chords, parallel
fifths and octaves) sound rough, when using distortion. Every rock guitarist knows this.
Due to these intermodulation distortions, distorted guitar playing is generally
performed by using few voices or parallel fifths and octaves.
The Filter Drive affects every voice individually—and when every voice in the ES2 is
overdriven individually (like having six fuzz boxes for the guitar, one for each string),
you can play the most complex harmonies over the entire keyboard range. They’ll
sound clean, without unwanted intermodulation effects spoiling the sound.
Furthermore, appropriate Drive parameter settings lead to a different tonal character.
To explain, the way analog filters behave when overdriven forms an essential part of
the sonic character of a synthesizer. Each synthesizer model is unique with regard to
the way its filters behave when overdriven. The ES2 is very flexible in this area, allowing
for the most subtle fuzz through to the hardest distortions.
In series mode, the distortion always takes place before the lowpass filter (Filter 2). As
the lowpass filter (Filter 2) can filter (cut) away the overtones introduced by the
distortion, the Drive feature can be seen (and used) as another tool for deforming the
oscillator(s) waveforms.