Native Instruments Monark Manual page 31

Overview of MONARK Ensemble
View A—Overview of MONARK User Interface
thing one of the more interesting "accidents" you can make is feeding the output of the synth
back into the input. Think about that: the instrument takes its own output as an input signal!
This can result in a variety of effects ranging from adding warmth to the sound over distorting
it to complete transistor mayhem.
MONARK offers two different feedback algorithms. In both cases the feedback signal is picked
at the output of the amplifier, just before the master level and inserted right before the filter,
after the "load" stage. Please refer to the MIXER section (↑5.2.2, MIXER Section) diagram for
an illustration of the feedback path. Between the pickup and insert points of the signal there is
a distortion circuit. The two feedback types mainly differ in the signal levels before and after
this distortion unit.
Type A goes straight into overdrive mode and pushes into dying transistor territory. Use it to
destroy any sound. It's an authentic reproduction of one of the feedback paths available on the
instrument MONARK was modeled from. In general feedback type B is more subtle but great
for adding some warmth and still capable of heavy distortion.
Sound Design with Feedback
Let's look at the consequences of using feedback in your sound design. First we need to take a
step back, though: As you recall, filter resonance emphasizes the harmonics (the overtones)
around the cutoff frequency of the filter. (Now there's a simple and beautiful phenomenon that
has been exciting crowds over decades. As a matter of fact, even human language is based on
the emphasis of overtones, so there is a strong relationship to human nature, indeed.) So, how
does this relate to the FEEDBACK parameter? Well, filter resonance is actually achieved by a
feedback path within the filter, subtracting the filter's output signal from its input signal! The
RESONANCE parameter is basically not more than a volume knob for this negative feedback.
The actual FEEDBACK parameter of MONARK controls a second, but this time positive feed-
back path around the filter and the amplifier stage. If resonance is the "yin," this positive feed-
back is its (often overlooked) "yang" counterpart. Being of opposite polarity they will fight each
other, with the stronger of the two dictating the outcome.
Try this: Allow the filter to self-oscillate without any input signal and be sure that the note is
able to sustain. Now turn on FEEDBACK A and slowly increase its volume. At a certain point
you will hear... nothing! Yin and yang are in balance, so to speak. If you further increase the
feedback this will result in a crazy noise orgy due to nonlinearities in the signal path (the dis-
tortion circuit in the feedback path, but also the saturation in the filter and amplifier stages).
MONARK - Manual - 31