Amp, Filter and Pitch Envelopes - Casio PX-560

[DaveMcM]

An earlier thread created by konaboy called 'Two envelopes, what a PITA' was very on topic to a sound I just programmed. My band has learned Magic Man by Heart which has a short but distinctive synth solo toward the end of the song. I was trying to figure out how to pull it off since I don't happen the have a Moog System 15 or a couple of Minimoogs lying around. Then it came to me that my Casio PX-560 has 3 separate envelope generators for Amplitude, Filter and Pitch. My programming plan is this; Find a waveform that works, create a gate with a soft attack and slight release for the the Amp Env, a semi-quick decay on the Filter CutOff with a little increased resonance, and then a delayed response on the Pitch to make a dive once the key is held for a specified time. Should take all of 10 minutes if I stop to open a refreshing beverage. Now as long as the tempo doesn't stray too much my dive bomb effect should work our great.  I keep trying to decide if I should upgrade my main board, but then the PX-560 shows me how capable it is.

[Adam Burgess]

Exactly… That's the right thinking. Having those envelopes on hand if you need them can add so much movement and depth to a sound.

Also, it's great that the 560 still has more to give. Even if you think it has limitations, that every board has and you'd find if you replaced it, it's cool to HAVE to work in those limitations. When I had a Nord Stage, with its fixed splits and limited layering, you had to get quite creative to do a one-board gig with it.