Operation Manual

MALSTRÖM SYNTHESIZER
134
The play controls
To the far left on the Malström’s “control panel” are various parameters that are af-
fected by how you play, and lets you apply modulation by MIDI controls. The following
is a description of these controls.
Polyphony - setting the number of voices
This lets you set the polyphony for the Malström. Polyphony is the number of voices it
can play simultaneously. The maximum number is 16 and the minimum is 1, in which
case the Malström will be monophonic.
! The number of voices you can play depends of course on the capacity of
your computer. Even though the maximum number is 16 it doesn’t neces-
sarily mean that your system is capable of using that many voices. Also
note that voices do not consume CPU capacity unless they are really
“used”. That is, if you are using a patch that plays two voices but have
polyphony set to four, the two “unused” voices do not consume any of
your system resources.
Porta (portamento)
This is used for controlling portamento. This is a parameter that makes the pitch glide
between the notes you play, rather than changing the pitch instantly as soon as you hit
a key on your keyboard. By turning this knob you set how long it should take for the
pitch to glide from one note to the next as you play them.
With the knob turned all the way to the left, portamento is disabled.
Legato
By clicking this button you activate/deactivate Legato. Legato in Malström is unique in
that it allows you to control whether the sound is monophonic or polyphonic by using
your playing style:
D If you play legato (hold down a key and then press another key without
releasing the previous), the sound is monophonic.
Also note that the pitch changes, but the envelopes do not start over. That is, there
will be no new “attack”.
D If you play non-legato (separated notes), with polyphony set to more
voices than 1, each note will decay separately (polyphonic).
This will be most apparent with longer release times.
The Pitch Bend and Modulation wheels
• The Pitch Bend wheel is used for bending the pitch of notes, much like bending
the strings on a guitar or other string instrument.
• The Modulation wheel can be used for applying modulation while you are playing.
Virtually all MIDI keyboards have Pitch Bend and Modulation controls. The Malström
does not only feature the settings for how incoming MIDI Pitch Bend and Modulation
wheel messages should affect the sound, but also two functional wheels that can be
used for applying real time modulation and pitch bend if you don’t have these control-
lers on your keyboard, or if you aren’t using a keyboard at all. The wheels on the Mal-
ström also mirror the movements of the wheels on your MIDI keyboard.
Pitch Bend Range
The Range parameter sets the maximum amount of pitch bend, i.e. how much it is
possible to change the pitch by turning the wheel fully up or down. The maximum
range is 24 semitones (2 Octaves). You change the value by clicking the spin controls
to the right of the display.