Voice Editing Basics - Yamaha Electone EL-57 Owner's Manual

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Voice Algorithm Examples
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6 Voice Editing Basics

The EL-57 Electone uses a sophisticated tone generation system
developed by Yamaha that is capable of producing an exceptionally
wide range of voices. To be more specific, the system uses
individual sound sources that "modulate" each other's frequencies
and thus create complex sounds not possible by the ordinary
mixing of those sound sources.
1) Operators
Along with the sophisticated AWM sound sources that are the backbone
of the Electone's authentic voices, the tone generation system features
other sound sources called "Operators." An Operator is a sound
generator that produces one very simple type of sound: a pure sine
wave. A sine wave by itself is not very interesting to listen to; however,
when one sine wave is used to modulate a second sine wave, together
they result in a new, complex waveform.
2) Modulators, Carriers and Algorithms
The top Operator, which sends the modulation signal is, not
surprisingly, called the modulator. The bottom Operator, which
receives or "carries" the modulated sine wave and outputs the resulting
sound, is called the carrier. The complexity or brightness of the sound
depends on the output level of the modulator.
This kind of arrangement in which Operators are "stacked" together is
called an algorithm. With four sine wave Operators available for
stacking, the various algorithms can produce a wide variety of sounds.