The Amplifier Envelope - Access Virus Rack XL User Manual

18
CHAPTER 5
Introduction
SOUND CATEGORIES
To help you find the type of SINGLE sound you
are looking for more quickly, the Virus operating
system lets you define so-called „categories"
and save this information together with each of
your SINGLE sounds.
Each SINGLE sound can „belong" to two cate-
gories at the same time. Of course the catego-
ries of all the presets in Banks C to H are fixed,
but for sounds in the RAM Banks (A and B) they
can be defined and saved together with the
program.
To search for sounds in a specific category (in
SINGLE or MULTI-SINGLE mode):
Press and hold the SINGLE button. This causes
the currently selected category to appear in the
display, and it can be changed by stepping up
or down with the Parameter buttons. Having
found the category you want, do not release the
SINGLE button and scroll through the sounds
using the Value buttons. Release the SINGLE
button when you have found what you are loo-
king for. SINGLE sounds which do not belong
to the currently selected category are simply
skipped over.
YOUR FIRST SOUND PROGRAM
If you have never created or changed a sound
on a synthesizer, we now have the pleasure of
introducing you to this fascinating process.
Press the button SINGLE and select the single
program "A127 - START -" by using the VALUE
buttons. Press any key on the connected key-
board. You should hear a sound that, for lack of
better description, is a bit harsh or biting, but
above all completely static. It should start im-
mediately after you press a key and sustain in-
definitely for as long as you hold the key down.
As soon as you release the key, the sound
should end abruptly. This sound is not designed
to be especially pleasant; it is intended to be as
neutral as possible to give you a basis from
which you can begin creating or shaping your
own sound.
í

THE AMPLIFIER ENVELOPE

Long-term exposure to this sound will definitely
grate on your nerves, so let's get started with
changing it into a signal you might enjoy hea-
ring, beginning with the volume characteristics.
Locate the two vertically arrayed buttons next
to the seven LEDs. Use these UP and DOWN
buttons to select from among the seven para-
meter groups and/or sections. The appropriate
LED lights up to indicate that the given section
has been selected. Select the ENV section. The
labels on the five encoder knobs for this section
read ATTACK, DECAY, SUSTAIN, SUS TIME and
RELEASE.
These controls will help you to dial in volume
characteristics called an amplifier envelope and
put an end to the nerve-racking drone that may
remind you of one of those cheesy organs that
you hear in '60s B-movie sound tracks.
The section labeled ENV addresses the enve-
lope. On a synthesizer, an envelope is used to
modulate sound over time. The Virus has two
envelopes, one for volume (AMP ENV) and one
for the filters (FILT ENV), which we will learn mo-
re about later. The five encoder knobs serve to
shape either the amplifier envelope or the filter
envelope. Make sure that you can see AMP
ENV in the display, and not FILT ENV. If this is
not the case, use the PARAMETER buttons to
set the section to the amplifier envelope.