User Guide

614 Chapter 29 Ultrabeat
3 In the Material Pad of the Model oscillator, choose a setting with plenty of overtones as
in the graphic below.
4 Set the volume of each oscillator to a value of –60 dB and turn the ring modulator on
by clicking on its name.
You’ve just created a bell-like sound that you can filter (with a high resonance value) if
required.
Note: You can find a similar sound called Ring Bell at a pitch of A2 in the Tutorial Kit.
Creating Clicks and Cuts
Ultrabeat features extremely fast envelopes and uncommonly powerful LFOs. Use these
modulation sources to perform extreme modulations of the oscillator and filter
parameters. The key to creating “out of the ordinary” sounds is to try modulating as
many targets as possible, and not to be afraid of using extreme settings: use a quick
envelope to drive the filter to self oscillation for a fraction of a second, use a few LFO
cycles at a much higher rate than other cycles, or experiment with the Dirt parameter
or the bit crusher.
Programming in Building Blocks
As you become familiar with drum sound programming, you may begin thinking in
building blocks, realizing that drum sounds usually consist of different components.
Once you’ve mentally, or physically, written down your list of components, you should
try to emulate each component that contributes to the sound’s character—making use
of the different sound generators available in Ultrabeat. Assigning dedicated
(amplitude) envelopes to the different components allows you to control their
temporal behavior individually. As an example: You can emulate the body of a drum
with Oscillator 1, the sound of the stick hitting the skin (or first transient) with the noise
generator, additional overtones and harmonics can be provided by Oscillator 2 or the
ring modulator. Once you begin thinking that drum sounds consist of several building
blocks or layers, the design of the Volume controls in the individual sound generators
might make more sense to you, as this is the place where the blocks are combined,
balanced, and controlled.