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Chapter 3 ES2 99
To make the sound fatter
m Add oscillator 3, which can also be pulse width modulated. In fact, even the rst oscillator can
deliver PWM. In the PWM 2 Osc setting, both oscillators are detuned quite signicantly. Develop
your own personalized PWM string sound, using this setting as your base.
m Adjust the Chorus intensity. You’ll probably choose higher values, which make the sound
rather broad.
m Program Envelope 3 according to your taste. You should, at the very least, raise the attack
and release times. Dene it to react to velocity, if you prefer. If you want to use the sound for
something other than a simple pad, a shorter Decay Time and a lower Sustain Level of about 80
to 90% may be more appropriate.
m Reduce the Cuto Frequency and Resonance of Filter 1 to make the sound softer.
m Save the new setting.
m Compare the result with the original PWM 2 Osc setting. You’ll hear that the sound has
undergone a remarkable evolution.
m Also compare it to PWM Soft Strings, which was created as described above. You’ll probably
notice a few similarities.
Create ES2 ring modulated sounds
A ring modulator takes its two input signals and outputs their sum and dierence frequencies.
In the ES2, oscillator 2 outputs a ring modulation, which is fed with a square wave of oscillator 2
and the wave of oscillator 1, when Ring is set as oscillator 2’s waveform.
Odd intervals (frequency ratios) between the oscillators result in bell-like spectra, much like those
heard in the Ringmod Start setting.
The third oscillator can be used as a tuning reference, to maintain a kind of basic tuning. On
occasion, you may nd that it’s nice to leave the sound out of tune—for use as a source of
overtones and harmonics for another basic wave, supplied by oscillator 3.
Create an atmospheric bell sound
Try the following with the Ringmod Start setting:
m Experiment with the various frequency ratios of oscillators 1 and 2. You may want to use the 29 s
0 c/21 s 0 c ratio, which doesn’t sound out of tune at all. Ring modulation is not only useful for
bell-like sounds, it’s also good for a great variety of spectra that tend to sound weird at lower
frequency settings. Also try alterations to the ne-tuning of the oscillators.
m Check out an Intensity of 50% and a Rate set to around 2/3 of the maximum value for the
Chorus eect.
m Set the Attack and Release Times of Envelope 3 to taste.
m Check out Drive and Filter FM if you like your sounds a little “out of control.”
m The rest is up to you.