Synth [CLOT] Guitar By The Elements
I wrote this tutorial *elsewhere* with a slant towards Rapture; having six Elements lends itself nicely to a six-string guitar emulation. You can do the same thing in either Dimension, restricted by 4 Elements. This patch was modelled after an Element in the Twelve String program(s). Four Elements can be great for bass with a little downward transposition, or just extend the
Lo /High Key ranges to encompass more note values in a guitar emulation. Once again, I divided this tutorial up into discrete sections, with logical stopping points between each one.
For an .mp3 example of this patch in live use, check out
[Track] BAGEED found here.
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Load up one Element with the Martin 6 steel.sfz from Dimension [DP raid in progress]. Instead of navigating to Rapture's Multisample folder, skip over to Dimension's. In the Multisample editor, set the following parameters:
Lo/High Key 36 52
Bend Up/Down 1 1
Quality High
Polyphony 2
Click on the
DSP routing window, and select any of them. Enable
Filter 1 as LP 1p, and set the
Cutoff to around 75 Hz. The
Amp EG has the default Master envelope running now. It's just a (hidden) rectangle: instant attack; sustain level; instant release. That's not good enough. Enable the
Amp EG at 100%
Depth.
You need to add a few nodes:
Node #1 (optional): 5.1 ms. at a level of 1.000. [If omitted, raise the default
Node #0 to a level of 1.000.]
Node #2: 124.4 ms. at 1.000 level. Press "S" to make this the sustain point (orange vertical line).
Node #3: 244.7 ms. at a level of 0.000. This is the release point. Press "N" to give it a natural curve (blue curve between sustain & release nodes).
Over to
Cut 1. Enable the
Cut 1 EG, and bring the
Vel -> Int to 13,700 cents. Drag the default Node from Time: 0.0 / Level 0.0 to a full level of 1.000. Add another Node
way out: something like 3639.1 ms. You have to zoom out to do so. The level is 0.00, so you end up with a long downward curve. Right next to it (in the Keytrack window), drag the right-hand node (of two) downward. That will skew the filter mapping across the keyboard range.
Great. Now what? You just emulated the response of a low E string in Element 1, with a fast attack/slower release envelope, and a similar matching filter dropoff. This work is done, so there's no sense in duplicating the effort. Right-click on
E1, and choose Copy Element. Then drop it into the other five Elements with right-click/Paste Envelope.
Now for the differences. The Martin multisample starts at C3 [Midi Note 36], and extends to C7. There's eight more "string squeaks" above that. I started Element 1 at Note 36 (unrealistic), because it was there to use. But you want to adjust those in each additional Element to reflect the next "string". Here's *one* way:
E1 Lo/High Key: 36 52
E2 Lo/High Key: 45 57
E3 Lo/High Key: 50 62
E4 Lo/High Key: 55 67
E5 Lo/High Key: 59 71
E6 Lo/High Key: 64 92
That gives you an octave range on each string, with the extended ranges on the two "E" strings. A solo instrument would use only those notes that don't overlap with the next string. [
See below] Following that tactic opens up alternate guitar tunings. A shift in left-hand position would use different
Lo/High Key ranges. The setup detailed here is more of an open-chord configuration with a few versatile compromises.
One of those is in
Polyphony. I've used a value of 2 in each Element, so that an unnatural interruption of a sustaining note isn't heard. The higher Elements (
E5 and
E6; even
E4) benefit from a
Polyphony of 3. Not strictly realistic (
Polyphony of 0 or 1), but it covers hand positions up & down the neck.
More adjustments: The
Filter 1 Cutoff needs to be varied slightly from ~75.0 Hz. Hz. to ~90.0 Hz. (or so) across all Elements. Higher "strings" will be relatively brighter. I also went to the Mixer section, and panned each Element from -30% to +30% to give the acoustic guitar a little spread. If you want, go to the Global page and throw in some subtle FX. I put the slightest of Chorus in the Global FX, and a Large Hall in the Master FX. I'm talking barely audible here, folks. Just enough to fatten it up, but not enough wet to be perceived as such.
Here's where you end up: each Element becomes a separate string on an acoustic guitar. One note played on a string effectively knocks out another, yet all six strings can be played at once. The strings are progressively brighter, have different responses simulating mass, and are spread across the keyboard controller and stereo field.
Slightly varying the Amp EGs adds to the realism. The use of a sustain pedal is
essential in easily choosing between muted, choked, and ringing notes. If not, you're going to need flawless KB technique. Adding a moderate Scala file to each Element can reflect slight tuning differences between strings.
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The key to this patch is in dividing up the "strings" according to overlapping notes. I mentioned a different setup for a solo-type acoustic guitar. One way would be like this:
E1 Lo/Hi Key 40 44
E2 Lo/Hi Key 45 49
E3 Lo/Hi Key 50 54
E4 Lo/Hi Key 55 58
E5 Lo/Hi Key 59 63
E6 Lo/Hi Key 64 92
This setup drops the "extra" notes below the low "E" string, yet leaves the extended range on the high "E" string. But any note that's duplicated on the string above it has been left out. Now in this case, you don't have to worry about sustained notes ringing through. So you can drop the Polyphony in each Element to 1. [Diversion: Load up a bass multisample in each Element, and Transpose everything down an octave. It's
raw.]
But there's something else to consider. A
Polyphony of 0 kicks in the mono/legato mode. One attacked note (held down) will not cycle through the envelopes again when a second note is held down. Staccato playing is as expected: one note equals one EG trigger.
Mono/legato mode also enables the
Portamento control. There goes the "guitar realism", but a subtle use can imitate some hammer-on/pull-off techniques. It's too bad that 1/10 of a second is the smallest Portamento value. It's too much, but it's worth a try if you don't overuse it (controlled by your playing technique).
This solo setup also opens up alternate tunings of a sort. Because there are no longer any overlapping notes, adjusting the Transpose control is the same as turning a guitar's tuning peg. Want a simple 'dropped D' tuning?
Transpose Element 1 down to -2. Or tune it to an E chord, work the pitch wheel, add a healthy amount of Portamento, and you've got slide guitar.
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"Natural" vibrato. You've got to find ways to change up the speed, depth, and (slight) volume changes at the same time. It's more natural with the "solo" setup; once again, because no two strings can play the same note. It can be very interesting in the original "overlapping" setup as well. Since two "strings" will have different vibrato settings sounding together, it becomes more of a doubled note "chorusing" that highlights it in a unique way. Not natural, but cool.
We're going to break out the MIDI Matrix for that. We'll ease into it with a little auto-pitchbend exercise. I don't care what you choose as a control Source. I prefer Aftertouch for this, but if you want to substitute a mod wheel (or whatever) instead, knock yourself out.
Open up the MIDI Matrix (3rd icon of four).
Source: Channel Aftertouch [OR...]
Destination: Pitch All
Depth: 150
Smooth: 2.0
The "pitchbend" is tuned up a semitone and a half for a bluesy quarter tone feel. Change the Depth to -200 for a whole step bent down. The Smoothing gives it a little bit of a physical delay curve, and you're bending all strings at the same time. Crank up the Smoothing, and you'll be jamming like Don Ho. If you just want to do double-stop bends on the "G" & "B" strings, duplicate the MIDI Matrix slot (manually), and substitute Pitch 4 and Pitch 5 as Destinations. For some vibrato variations, substitute the following slots in the MIDI Matrix:
Source: Channel Aftertouch [OR...]
Destination: Pitch LFO Depth 4
Depth: 20
Smooth: 2.0
Source: Channel Aftertouch [OR...]
Destination: Pitch LFO Depth 5
Depth: 20
Smooth: 1.0
Source: Channel Aftertouch [OR...]
Destination: Pitch LFO Depth 6
Depth: 20
Smooth: 0.0
In
E4-E6, turn the Pitch LFO
Status to On, and enter a
Freq of 4.50, 5.00, and 5.50, respectively.
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Someone else
must be treating a synthesized guitar as individual strings, but I'm not sure that I've seen the approach before in the Expression Engine synths. It's a great match for a MIDI-enabled guitar setup. There's a lot of room for development here. Take a plucked harmonic as an example. In an .sfz file, you could assign a velocity switch between a guitar sample and a 'harmonic' for every half-step on the keyboard. Or point to those string noise samples. But you don't have to go to those lengths for an approximation.
I love the fact that samples are only loaded into memory once. You can make the guitar (or anything else) as big as you want with a very small resource hit. So, you take something like the Twelve String program in Dimension, and copy
E1 to
E3, and
E2 to
E4. Use the
Lo/Hi Vel to keep
E1 &
E2 below 120, and
E3 &
E4 from 121 to 127. Transpose
E3 up to 24, and replace the multisample in
E4 with a sine.wav [00 - Wavetables]. Maybe lengthen the release, and knock the sustain point out in the
Amp EG, causing the sine .wav to just "blip" through. Raise it an octave, or one and a fifth.
Now you play the twelve-string normally, but you can slam the plucked harmonics. And you still have you mod wheel/aftertouch open for vibrato(s). I like the multiple vibratos concept; even across Elements. When you combine two LFOs with slight (.5 Hz. or less) differences, you get a "vibrato within a vibrato". Combine two or more LFO shapes in Rapture's user LFO's, and applied a random variable as well. Then you just bring up the
Depth, and a lot of what you're after is already in place.
post edited by b rock - 2006/05/30 21:14:26