User Guide

CHAPTER 5
Modules
70
Use the „sync“ button to synchronize the Step Modulator to your host application or to
Independence internally. If activated, the „frequency input field will change into a pull-down menu
where you can select the different sync options. Additionally the „input quant.“ button for the MIDI
input quantization will appear bottom left in the Step Modulator window.
Use the „retr.“ button, the „presets“ pull-down menu and the „bipolar“ button as already explained
in this chapter.
Steps:
Use the „steps“ input field to adjust the number of used steps. The maximum number of available
steps is 128.
Frequency:
Here you can assign the tempo in hertz. 1.00 Hz = one complete Step Modulator sequence per
second.
X-fade:
Here you can assign a smooth transition for two successive steps.
TIP: If you enter quite large values for the x-fade parameter you will get an extreme
smoothness between the steps in order to achieve very nice and interesting sequence.
Delay:
Here you can assign a delay to your Step Modulator. Combine this option with an additional
AHDSR curve to create a fade-in of your Step Modulator.
Shuffle:
Self-explanatory ;-)
Glide (Portamento)
In current usage, portamento is making a continuous „slide“ up or down in frequency from a
previous note, rather than a discrete change from one note to the next. This is most commonly
encountered on string instruments, such as the guitar or violin, which can produce a continuous
range of frequencies rather than being limited to the chromatic or diatonic scale, and impossible on a
fixed-pitch instrument like the piano.
Portamento can often be generated automatically on synthesizers, where a parameter setting can be
used to control the speed at which an oscillator moves to a new pitch. Often this parameter is called
„glide“. Alternatively, portamento effects can be produced manually by a skilled player by the use
of the pitch wheel at the side of most synthesizer keyboards. Synth lines with lots of portamento
defined West Coast G funk of the mid 1990s, and continue to be a distinctive part of electronic
music today.