10.6

457Logic Pro Instruments
• Processing parameters: The processing parameters capture the string signal and
provide further tonal control. These include the filter, Waveshaper, pickup, and
amplitude envelope parameters.
• Global parameters: Affect the overall behavior of Sculpture. Global parameters
include bend range, keyboard mode, and tuning controls.
• Post-Processing parameters: Affect the overall tone and behavior of the entire
instrument. Post-processing parameters include the delay effect, Body EQ, and
output parameters.
• Modulation section: The blue/gray area below the sound engine contains the modulation
sources—LFOs, jitter generators, and recordable envelopes.
• Global control sources: The area at the bottom of the interface enables you to assign
MIDI controllers to Sculpture parameters. This section also incorporates the Morph Pad,
a dedicated controller for morphable parameters.
Sculpture string parameters
Logic Pro Sculpture string overview
The string is responsible for the basic tone of your sound. You can define its material—
what it’s made of—and determine its behavior when bowed, plucked, struck, and so on.
The string itself doesn’t make a sound unless it is stimulated—excited or disturbed—by at
least one object. Up to three different types of objects are used to excite, disturb, or damp
the string (make it vibrate or affect its movement). See Sculpture objects overview.
Sculpture’s string and the excite/disturb objects are similar to the oscillators in traditional
synthesizers. The string is considerably more sophisticated in concept than simple
oscillators, however.
In essence, you are creating the waveform, or base timbre, by mathematically describing
the string properties, and the properties of its environment. These include, among others,
the material the string is made of; the thickness, length, and tension of the string; its
characteristics over time; the atmosphere it is being played in (such as water or air); and
the way it is being played—struck, bowed, and so on.
Sculpture goes far beyond the mere creation of an infinite number of base timbres,
however. One of the key differences between the Sculpture string and a traditional
synthesizer waveform is that the base timbre provided by the string is in a constant state
of flux. For example, if the Sculpture string is still vibrating for a specific note, retriggering
that same note interacts with the ongoing vibration. This is not dissimilar to the effect of
repeatedly plucking a guitar string, where the string is still vibrating when the next note is
played. This alters the harmonic spectrum each time—which is why acoustic guitars sound
organic when a note is played repeatedly, and sampled guitars don’t.
This is quite different from other synthesis methods where the base timbre waveform, even
if modulated, does not harmonically interact with currently audible notes when retriggered.
What usually happens in traditional synthesizers is that the waveform is restarted—from
mid-cycle, or from the beginning—with the result being an increase in volume, or a slight
cyclical wave shift.