Yamaha SY99 Owner's Manual page 66

The waveform block
determines the pitch and
basic tone
The filter block modifies
the tone
The amplifier block
modifies the volume
The pan block moves the
sound
Note Number: The number of the note which is played can be used to
affect various aspects of the sound. For example, high notes can be made
to decay more rapidly than low notes. Or, low notes can be made to
change in pitch, tone, or volume more than high notes.
Key Velocity: The velocity (speed) with which you play each key can
affect various aspects of the sound. For example, strongly and softly
played notes can differ in pitch, tone, or volume.
Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO): The LFO produces various patterns of
cyclical change. Vibrato is the result when the LFO is applied to the
waveform block; wah-wah when applied to the filter block; and tremolo
when applied to the amplitude block.
Controllers: Controllers such as the pitch and modulation wheels, after-
touch, and optional foot controllers can be used to control the sound in
various ways. Some controllers such as the pitch bend wheel can directly
determine the pitch. Other aspects of the sound can be controlled by the
controller you assign. For example you might assign Aftertouch so that
the amount of vibrato (LFO modulation to the Waveform block) is
increased as you press down on the keyboard.
The basic sound of each AWM element is produced by a waveform (a digitally
sampled sound). The SY99 contains 267 different waveforms in internal ROM,
and an optional waveform card can be inserted into the WAVEFORM slot to pro-
vide additional waveforms. Samples loaded from disk or via MIDI sample dump
can be assigned to your own waveforms, and used in the same way as preset or
card waveforms.
The waveform block can be controlled in various ways to modify the pitch of
the sound. The pitch EG can be used to give each note a fixed pattern of pitch
change, and this pitch change can also be affected by the note number or by key
velocity. Vibrato (pitch modulation) can be created using the LFO, and the
amount of vibrato can be regulated by a controller. The pitch can be controlled
directly using the pitch bend wheel and/or aftertouch.
The filter block can be controlled in various ways to modify the tone of the sound.
Each note can be given a fixed pattern of tonal change by using the filter EG, and
this can be also affected by the note number or key velocity. Wah-wah (filter
modulation) can be created using the LFO, and wah-wah depth can be regulated
by a controller. The tone can also be directly affected by a controller.
The amplifier block can be controlled in various ways to control the volume of the
sound. Each note can be given a fixed pattern of volume change by using the
amplifier EG, and this can also be affected by the note number or key velocity.
Tremolo (volume modulation) can be created using the LFO, and tremolo depth
can be regulated by a controller. The volume can also be directly affected by a
controller.
The pan block can be controlled in various ways to move the sound between left
and right outputs. Each note can be given a fixed pattern of panning by using the
pan EG, and this panning can be further affected by either note number, key
velocity, or LFO.
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