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• Set Filter Blend to its leftmost position, which will allow you to listen to Filter 1 in
isolation. In many circumstances, you’ll probably prefer Filter 2, but Filter 1 has its
advantages. In addition to the lowpass filter with 12 dB/octave slope (Lo), Filter 2 also
offers a highpass, peak, bandpass (BP), and band rejection (BR) mode. Filter 1’s lowpass
sounds “softer” when compared with Filter 2. It is best-suited to sounds where the filter
effect is or should be less audible, such as with Strings and FM sounds. Distorted
TB-303-style sounds are more easily achieved with Filter 1.
• This setting is also ideal for checking out the oscillator waveforms. The analog waveforms
can be set in the Editor view. To select the Digiwaves, set Osc 1 Wave to Digiwave.
Creating Fat ES2 Sounds with Oscillator Detuning and Unison Mode
“Fat” synthesizer sounds have always been popular and are likely to remain so, given their
use in modern trance, techno, R & B, and other styles. The Analog Saw 3 Osc setting features
three detuned oscillators, and sounds fat as it is. The following will introduce you to some
additional tools to fatten the sound even more.
• Check out the 3-oscillator basic sound with different filter and envelope settings.
• Check out the chorus effect at different Intensities and speeds.
• Engage Unison mode and select a higher setting for Analog. Because the sound is
polyphonic, each note is doubled. The number of notes that can be played
simultaneously will be reduced from 10 to 5. This makes the sound rich and broad.
Combining Unison and higher values for Analog spreads the sound across the stereo
or surround spectrum.
In many factory settings, the Unison mode is active. This demands a lot of processing
power. If your computer isn’t fast enough, you can switch off the Unison mode and insert
an Ensemble effect in a bus, for use with several plug-ins. This will save processing power.
You can also save CPU resources by freezing or bouncing several software instrument
tracks.
Creating Detuned Monophonic Sounds and Effects with the ES2
The Analog Saw Unison setting is a fat, heavily detuned, unfiltered basic sound. Three
sawtooth oscillators are used, but they are further detuned. The combination of Unison
and Analog (set to a high value) is essential—but this time monophonic mode is used
to stack ten voices. Without further effects, the result is a huge lead sound, much like
those used in countless dance and trance productions. With appropriate filter and envelope
settings, electro sounds that are ideal for arpeggiation and sequencing can easily be set
up.
• Set the Cutoff Frequency of Filter 2 to 0. This activates the preset filter envelope. Feel
free to check out different envelope settings.
• Switch Osc 1 to sound one or two octaves lower.
• Increase Drive or Distortion.
114 Chapter 5 ES2