Editing; Basic Concepts; Sound Structure - Korg X5DR AI2 SYNTHESIS MODULE Owner's Manual

Basic Guide

3. Editing

Basic Concepts

Although you can perform a wide variety of music using the preset Programs and Combinations
offered by the X5DR, you should not limit your creativity by relying on the presets alone. You can
modify a preset sound. (This operation is called "editing.") You can also create sounds from
scratch.
The X5DR is not only a tone generator that provides various factory-set sounds, but also a
synthesizer that employs Korg's powerful AI
sounds or to edit existing sounds. Take a moment to try out the sound-editing capabilities of the
X5DR.

Sound Structure

The X5DR can produce a variety of sounds, such as piano, guitar, drums, percussion, synthesizer,
special effects, etc. In order to modify these sounds or to create new sounds, you need to tell the
X5DR how you wish to change the sound using parameters. You can edit the sound by modifying
parameters in Program Edit mode and Combination Edit mode.
For smooth editing operations, it is helpful to understand the elements of sound. Musical sound
consists of three main components: pitch, tone, and volume. In a tone generator, each of these
components has its own corresponding building block. In the X5DR, pitch is handled by the OSC
(oscillator) block, tone by the VDF (Variable Digital Filter) block, and volume by the VDA
(Variable Digital Amplifier) block. The following illustration shows the three blocks.
Pitch and
basic tone
Pitch: OSC (oscillator)
The basic tonal quality of an X5DR sound is determined by the waveform (Multisound) that you
assign to an oscillator. The X5DR contains a great variety of Multisounds to simulate different
sounds, from piano to synth sounds. The first step in creating a new sound is to select a
Multisound.
Tone: VDF (filter)
The VDF allows you to adjust the brightness of a sound. A Multisound assigned to the OSC
contains various harmonics and frequency components that characterize the tonal quality of the
sound (such as a piano or guitar sound). The VDF employs a low pass filter to remove high
frequency components from a Multisound in order to adjust the brightness of the sound. Typically,
the more frequency components that are filtered, the darker (softer) a sound will become.
Just like a real musical instrument, you can change the tonal quality of a Multisound over time.
You do this by adjusting the amount of filtered components (brightness) using the VDF EG. For
example, you can make a sound that is bright at the start, but gradually becomes darker over time.
Level
36
OSC
Frequency components
included in an original
Multisound
Frequency (brightness)
2
Synthesis, which allows you to create new, original
VDF
Tone
Filter characteristics
Level
VDF
VDA
Volume
This portion of the frequency
components will be filtered.
Frequency components included
in the Multisound after VDF
Frequency (brightness)