Gated Reverbs - DigiTech RP12 Owner's Manual

RP-12 Owner's Manual

Gated Reverbs

INITIAL
SOUND
PRE
DELAY
Gated reverbs usually include adjustable thresholds to set the point at
which the reverberations will be gated (cut off). The RP-12's RV
DECAY TIME control behaves in a similar way, except that instead of
setting the length by level (threshold), the length is set by time (in mil-
liseconds). In the left side of the diagram that follows, you can see that
reverberations occurring after RVB GATE TIME are muted. This caus-
es the reverb to cut off abruptly.
Gated reverbs are most commonly used on percussion, but there are
other ways to employ the unique sound they produce. One way of
achieving this is by using a REVERSE envelope shape. A reverse gate
can be accomplished. Rather than decaying out to be cut off by the
gate, a reverse gate builds for a specific amount of time, and is cut off
by the gate. Reverse envelopes are similar in sound to playing a
record backwards. The right diagram below shows how a Reverse
envelope works.
GATE
THRESHOLD
T I M E
RVB DECAY TIME
MUTED REVERBERATIONS
The accent point shown in the diagram allows placement of the actual
sound, either before or after the gate has cut off the reverberation.
The RP-12 offers three different envelope shapes in the Gated Reverb
Algorithm: DECAYING, FLAT, and REVERSE. DECAYING is a stan-
dard gated reverb envelope, with a linear decay to the cutoff point. In
most applications, the DECAYING envelope doesn't need an accent
point, although it can produce some interesting unnatural sounds. In a
situation where an accent point is not needed, simply turn down the left
and right REVERB ACCENT DLY Parameters.
Using a FLAT envelope shape, the reverberation neither decays nor
builds, but remains at a constant level for a specified amount of time
(determined by the setting of RVB DECAY TIME). This shape is partic-
ularly useful for short, percussive sounds.
A REVERSE envelope allows creation of dramatic reverse gate reverb
effects, with placement of the accent point ±50 milliseconds either
before or after the end of RVB DECAY TIME. Gated reverbs can be
29
ACCENT
T I M E
RVB DECAY TIME
MUTED
REVERBERATIONS
Section 4 - Effects and Parameters