AWM2 sound change patterns for variety

[Theo Verelst]

When changing ROM sounds or starting a (Yamaha) sound from scratch, what are the parameters going to do for you, if you assume your starting sound has a sample you keep, so the same sample, but other parameters, how much change in sound can you get? Of course, starting with a wave sample, the filter, envelope and modulation sources, like in additive synthesis a sound of that category can be made though without exciting oscillator modulations, or special signal patches. What can you do with a piano sample: filter it, perhaps change the envelope and add a layer, but how can the same samples sound like a different harmonic construct or another scale or type of piano ?

 

The CP4 has Spectral Component Modeling which adds flavor to the sound which may depend on some sound parameters and also on effects which contain Virtual Circuitry Modeling, like the distortion on a e-piano sound/performance. These are departures from the essentially linear signal path in a ROMpler, and allow for sound variations otherwise subtle to become more grand.

 

In principle, the sample sets, the use of them with (harmonic) modeling elements the standard signal path like filter and envelope, and the circuit modeling DSP can work such that sampling erors are diminished, though normally, that's not so much the case. Using the global effects, the multi-compression and adjustable equalizer, the sound accuracy and variation can be changed quite a bit. With such setup, editing parameters gets another meaning than the trivial one.

 

T.

[stoken6]

Ring modulation. High filter resonance (not quite self-oscillating) and you can play tricks like in Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good". Sweep delay rate for analog(ue)-tape-style effects (I do this a lot for spacey/ambient/trance elements)

 

Normally I hate multiband compression, as it can change the tonal balance of a sound, or an entire recording. But I can see how it might be used creatively as a synthesis effect. Particularly if rapid parameter changes introduce artifacts.

 

I can't say I've ever given sampling errors a moment's thought in my entire musical career.

 

Cheers, Mike.