User's Manual

7. SY N T H | 41
LFO WAVEFORMS
The LFO waveform selector button determines the waveform that is
generated by the LFO:
Waveform Description
Triangle
Suitable for natural vibrato effects and also used for classic
pulse width modulation.
Modulation
*
* Note that the Modulation always starts at maximum amplitude level for the AMP destination
Sawtooth 1
Use for ramp type modulations.
Modulation
*
* Note that the Modulation always starts at maximum amplitude level for the AMP destination
Sawtooth 2
Use for ramp type modulations.
Square
Use for abrupt modulation changes, suitable for trills,
distinct tremolos, etc.
Sample & Hold
Creates a smooth random modulation.
VOICE SECTION
The Nord Stage 3 synthesizer has a number of different voice modes,
selectable in the VOICE section. There are three options for monophonic
or polyphonic playing, as well as three different Unison modes.
MONO AND LEGATO VOICE MODES
In both MONO and LEGATO mode only one note is played at a time, just
like on a traditional monophonic synthesizer. The main difference be-
tween the two modes is in how the modulation and amplifier envelopes
act when one is playing legato, i.e. with overlapping key presses:
In Mono mode both envelopes restart from the point in the attack phase
where the level is equal to the previous note, if the decay or release
phase has been entered. In Legato mode the envelopes do not move
to the attack phase once the decay point has been reached, as long as
one is playing legato.
M An exception to the behaviour in Mono mode is that the modulation
envelope is always reset to its start position when its release time is
set to infinity (max position).
Another difference is that in Legato mode, glide is active only when you
play legato. I.e. a new key needs to be pressed before the previous key
is released to get the glide effect.
When none of the Mono and Legato LEDs are lit, the Synth section is in
its default polyphonic mode.
Synth Preset Mode
Pressing SHIFT+MONO/LEGATO is a shortcut for changing the current
browsing mode for Synth Presets. See the section about Synth Presets
on page 37 for more details on this.
GLIDE
The GLIDE function makes the pitch “glide” from one note to the next
when playing (traditionally often referred to as portamento) and is avail-
able in Legato and Mono mode only. The glide characteristics can be
described as “constant rate”, which means that the greater the distance
between two subsequent notes, the longer the glide time. Turn the Glide
knob clockwise to increase the glide rate.
UNISON
The Stage 3 synthesizer oscillator has a number of “hidden”, slightly
detuned, oscillators which can added to the basic sound for those fat,
classic synthesizer sounds. Note that using Unison does not reduce the
polyphony! A UNISON setting of 1, 2 or 3 equals a classic dual oscillator
de-tuning effect with an increasing amount of de-tune between the
oscillators.
SOUND INIT
Pressing SOUND INIT (Shift + Unison) allows for initializing all synthesizer
parameters except for the oscillator type and its selected waveform,
useful for starting from a “clean slate” when programming sounds. To
perform the Init operation, either press Ok (Program 4 button) or press
Sound Init (Shift + Unison) a second time.
Press Cancel (Program 1 button) or Shift/Exit to abort the operation.
ARPEGGIATOR
When the ARPEGGIATOR is running, held notes will be played back
repeatedly, one after the other. Its parameters govern direction, range
and speed. The arpeggiator can be used with Up, Down, Up/Down or
Random directions in several octave ranges. The tempo of the arpeg-
giated notes is set by the Rate control or by synchronizing the arpeggio
to the Master Clock of the Nord Stage 3.
ARP RUN AND KEYBOARD SYNC (KBS)
The arpeggio is turned on with the RUN button. Pressing KB SYNC (Shift
+ Arp Run) activates keyboard sync. In this mode, the arpeggiator will
be reset any time a new note is played. With keyboard sync off, any new
notes played while an arpeggio is running will conform to the “grid” of
the current tempo setting.
M Depending on the manufacturing date the Arp Run button may be
located at the bottom left corner of the Synth section.
ARPEGGIATOR DIRECTION
The direction of the arpeggio is set using the Arpeggiator selector
button. If no LED is lit, the arpeggio will play in the Up fashion. The other
directions are Down (DN), Up and Down (U/D) and Random (RND).
ARPEGGIATOR RANGE
Press SHIFT and the arpeggio selector to set the octave range. When no
LED is lit, the range is one octave. Press Shift and the selector to reach
the settings for 2, 3, and 4 octaves.
ARPEGGIATOR RATE
The RATE knob sets the rate which will be displayed as quarter note
beats per minute (BPM) in the display.
Modulation
*
* Note that the Modulation always starts at maximum amplitude level for the AMP destination
Modulation
*
* Note that the Modulation always starts at maximum amplitude level for the AMP destination
S/H