User Manual

Prophet X User’s Guide

Filter Envelope

The Prophet X lter has a dedicated, 5-stage envelope generator (ADSR

plus delay). The Filter Envelope is used to shape the harmonic charac-

teristics of a synthesized sound by giving you ltering control over its

attack, decay, sustain, and release stages.

This is one of the most important aspects of designing a sound. Without

an envelope, the lters would be completely static. They would stay open

or closed by a xed amount that wouldn’t change over the duration of

a sound. That’s not very interesting to listen to and not how real-world

instruments behave.

In general, sounds produced by an instrument are brighter at their begin-

ning (the attack stage) and grow mellower as they die out (the decay and

release stages). In other words, their harmonic content changes over time.

This is exactly what the lter envelope is designed to emulate.

Filter Envelope

attack

decay

sustain

release

amplitude

time

note offnote on

delay

A typical 5-stage DADSR envelope