Hey guys, I'm looking for a feature that gives my sound, strings in this case, an ending sustain when holding the sustain pedal. Normally the sustain pedal gives endless sustain but in some cases I find this annoying. Rather than having staccato without the pedal, I'm looking for something in between, and doing so with the pedal would be great.
Can this be accomplished? I tried fiddling with the settings but I cannot find it. As I'm not sure what I'm looking for, the user manual isn't of much help.
Damper on strings - ending rather than infinite sustain
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Liquid_Metal
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:29 pm
Damper on strings - ending rather than infinite sustain
Last edited by Liquid_Metal on Wed Sep 17, 2014 9:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Guitarist at Epic Mind (www.epicmind.nl) - also do keyboards for it (Korg Kronos 88 owner).
With a bit of experimentation with the Amp Envelopes (Amp EG), you might be able to get what you need.
In theory, you'll need to reduce the Amp EG's Sustain Level stage to 0 to prevent endless sustain, modify the AMP EG Break stage to give some amount of sustain when the keys are held, and use the Damper pedal as an AMS Source in the EG Time Modulation section to modify both the Break and the Release stages (I'll give an example below). It's important to note that the modifications won't happen to keys already pressed down if you step on the damper afterward. You'll need to step on the damper pedal first and then play the keys for the changes to work.
As an example (you'll want to experiment with the settings to suit the effect you want), call up a string sound in Program mode.
Navigate to the AMP1 EG tab (see pg 86 in the Parameter Guide for ref).
In the Envelope section, in the row for Level, adjust the Sustain to 0.
Next, in the row for Time adjust the Slope to a high value, like 90 or so.
Play keys and keep them held down, and ensure you get some amount of sustain.
If you're happy with that, move on to the Time Modulation section.
Hopefully, there is a unused AMS here... typically AMS3. If not, you'll need to re-purpose one that is already used for use with the Damper pedal. Let's use AMS3.
Tap the arrow next to AMS3 and select Damper from the list.
Set the Slope value to something close to -45.
Set the Release value to something close to +45.
Ensure the other settings here are set to a value of 0.
Now, step on the damper pedal. Play the keys with a staccato action. This should give you an ending sustain. Adjust and experiment with the Slope and Release values to taste.
Important: If your string sound uses two oscillators (very likely), you may need to duplicate these settings on the AMP2 EG tab.
Here's an image of the settings you'll need to adjust -- this just shows the location of the settings, not the values described above:
In theory, you'll need to reduce the Amp EG's Sustain Level stage to 0 to prevent endless sustain, modify the AMP EG Break stage to give some amount of sustain when the keys are held, and use the Damper pedal as an AMS Source in the EG Time Modulation section to modify both the Break and the Release stages (I'll give an example below). It's important to note that the modifications won't happen to keys already pressed down if you step on the damper afterward. You'll need to step on the damper pedal first and then play the keys for the changes to work.
As an example (you'll want to experiment with the settings to suit the effect you want), call up a string sound in Program mode.
Navigate to the AMP1 EG tab (see pg 86 in the Parameter Guide for ref).
In the Envelope section, in the row for Level, adjust the Sustain to 0.
Next, in the row for Time adjust the Slope to a high value, like 90 or so.
Play keys and keep them held down, and ensure you get some amount of sustain.
If you're happy with that, move on to the Time Modulation section.
Hopefully, there is a unused AMS here... typically AMS3. If not, you'll need to re-purpose one that is already used for use with the Damper pedal. Let's use AMS3.
Tap the arrow next to AMS3 and select Damper from the list.
Set the Slope value to something close to -45.
Set the Release value to something close to +45.
Ensure the other settings here are set to a value of 0.
Now, step on the damper pedal. Play the keys with a staccato action. This should give you an ending sustain. Adjust and experiment with the Slope and Release values to taste.
Important: If your string sound uses two oscillators (very likely), you may need to duplicate these settings on the AMP2 EG tab.
Here's an image of the settings you'll need to adjust -- this just shows the location of the settings, not the values described above:
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Liquid_Metal
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:29 pm
Awesome, HardSync, it works like a charm! Thanks a lot, this was exactly what I was looking for 
.
.Guitarist at Epic Mind (www.epicmind.nl) - also do keyboards for it (Korg Kronos 88 owner).
PS- an afterthought- Sustain IS NOT release or decay. A piano doesn't have a SUSTAIN pedal. It has a damper yet. Pressing on it doesn't sustain the sound, it allows it to decay, as if you are holding down the key. So in synth sounds, sustain is doing what is designed to do. Sustain the sound at a predetermined level. Even simpler- sustain is a level function- not a time function. HardSync's example is a good way to demonstrate this.
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog
Bob Moog
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Liquid_Metal
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:29 pm
Yeah you are right, officially with piano it is a damper, and pressing the pedal enables the natural decay of the sound, whereas playing without the pedal enabled gives a staccato sound.
With synths, I guess it originally does the same: staccato without the pedal pressed, and pre-defined decay when pressed. My case is different in that I want endless sustain when holding the key (thus a very high decay and release) but fading quickly when holding the pedal (thus much shorter decay). Correct terminology?
With synths, I guess it originally does the same: staccato without the pedal pressed, and pre-defined decay when pressed. My case is different in that I want endless sustain when holding the key (thus a very high decay and release) but fading quickly when holding the pedal (thus much shorter decay). Correct terminology?
Guitarist at Epic Mind (www.epicmind.nl) - also do keyboards for it (Korg Kronos 88 owner).
Research ADSR- Attach, Decay, Sustain and Release. This was one of the original types of envelope generator way back in earlier synthesis days. Now there are Starts, Breakpoints, Slopes and probably a few others I haven't heard of. It's all about time and level. What you are looking for has to do with the Release portion of the envelope. Note that CC#72 is called "Sound Release Time"
"To me the synthesizer was always a source of new sounds that musicians could use to expand the range of possibilities for making music."
Bob Moog
Bob Moog