Roland V-Combo VR-700 Workshop page 9

Using Organ Percussion
One of the key aspects of a classic organ sound is the presence of harmonic
"percussion. " In organs, the word "percussion" has a unique and very specific
meaning. Percussion in organs is the addition of the second and third
harmonic overtones to the beginning of notes, separate from the harmonic
content of the notes as set by the drawbars. This makes the attack of a note
crisper. Organ percussion's therefore technically called "harmonic percussion. "
Percussion is applied to the first note of a legato phrase you play and
to any note you play staccato. If you're playing fast staccato notes,
you may want to adjust the Percussion Recharge Time setting—this
setting controls the simulation of the lag time inherent in traditional
organs' analog percussion circuits. See Page 52 in the Owner's Manual.
In the V-Combo, percussion can be applied to the organ's
upper-manual organ sound. This puts it beneath your right
hand when you've split the keyboard, or across the entire
keyboard when you haven't. You set up percussion on the
V-Combo using the controls in the ORGAN PERCUSSION area.
You can play some notes and try out these controls to hear the V-Combo's
harmonic percussion.
Setting the Percussion Level
As in a traditional organ, percussion is generally presumed to be turned on
at its full volume. You can soften its volume using the SOFT button. To set
percussion
•
to its full volume—press SOFT so it's unlit.
•
at a reduced volume—press SOFT to light it.
To learn how to customize percussion's full-volume and Soft levels, see
Page 52 in the Owner's Manual.
Setting the Sharpness of Harmonic Percussion
Normally, percussion ends quickly, for maximum percussive effect. You can
slow down the manner in which it decays using the SLOW button. To set
percussion
•
to its most percussive—press SLOW so it's unlit.
•
so it's more subtle—press SLOW to light it.
See Page 52 in the Owner's Manual for details on customizing the
standard and Slow decay settings for percussion.
Organ Vibrato and Chorus
As you'd expect with such a faithful organ simulation, the V-Combo
also includes vibrato and chorus effects similar to those in
traditional organs.
•
Vibrato—The Vibrato effect, as its name suggests, adds pitch vibrato to
notes. To activate it, press the ORGAN VIBRATO button so it lights.
•
Chorus—Certain early tonewheel organs had a separate set of
tonewheels that produced slightly out-of-tune tones which added
a swirling, shimmering aspect to the organ's notes. This was called
"chorus, " and to add it to your V-Combo sounds, press the ORGAN
CHORUS button to light it.
You can apply either vibrato or chorus—or neither, of course—to your
notes.
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