10.4

EUROPA SHAPESHIFTING SYNTHESIZER
712
Kbd
D Set how much the pitch should track incoming MIDI Notes.
Range: 0% (no tracking (constant pitch)) to 100% (1 semitone per note).
Waveform display
The interactive Waveform display shows the waveform shape in real-time.
• Clicking and dragging vertically in the display changes the Shape parameter, see “Shape”.
• Clicking and dragging horizontally in the display changes the Modifier 1 Amount parameter, see “Amount”.
q See “Recording display movements in the sequencer” for tips about automating display movements.
Waveform selector
D Click the Waveform name box to bring up a menu of the available waveforms.
The wave shapes are shown in the display above and are updated in real-time according to the current settings
and modulations. A great way to understand how the sound actually “looks”.
The waveforms are:
• Basic Analog
A pure sinewave at Shape=0%, gradually transformed via triangle and square towards a sawtooth wave at
Shape=100%.
•Square-Ramp
A square wave at Shape=0%, gradually transformed towards a sawtooth wave at Shape=100%.
• Saw-Triangle
A negative ramp sawtooth wave at Shape=0%, gradually transformed via triangle towards a positive ramp saw-
tooth wave at Shape=100%.
•Pulse Width
A 0% duty cycle pulse wave (silence) at Shape=0 gradually transformed via a 50% duty cycle square wave to-
wards a 100% duty cycle pule wave (silence) at Shape=100%.
q Modulate the Shape parameter from an LFO to achieve PWM, see “Shape Modulation” below.
•Game
A lo-fi “early computer game” type of signal. Turn the Shape knob to change the overtone contents and the octave
transposition.
• Synced Sine
A pure sinewave at Shape=0%. As the Shape is increased, the pitch of the synced sinewave oscillator is raised.
•Formant Sweep
A cosine window modulated by a sinewave. Turn the Shape knob to change the sinewave frequency and thus
sweep through the generated formants.
• Electro Mechanical
This is a simulation of an electric piano. A soft/mellow tone at Shape=0% gradually transformed towards an
agitated signal at Shape=100%, with natural sound at the 12 o’clock position (50%).
•Vocal Cord
A simulation of a vocal cord with a bit of noise modulation. Change the overtone content with the Shape knob.
q Try this together with the Vocal Formants algorithm in the Spectral Filter section to generate “vocal” sounds,
see “Vocal Formant”.
• Karplus-Strong
A physical model of a “string”, generated by sending a short pulse through pitched delay lines. At Shape=0% there
is no damping and at Shape=100% there is full damping, which results in just a short clicking sound.
q Try this together with the “Stretch” algorithm in the Harmonics section to create realistic metallic sounds.