emusonacid! legacy

This idea comes from sound creation using test tones or really anything you can get your hands on I suppose. And since I am using EOS 4.01, i can't really real time Q something as you all know and often times when I do use q on my test tones, all they really do is just get quiter. So this idea is a kind of subsitute. Not really like Q in the definition of what it really is, but kind of gives the same feel.

Initial setup, or prototype if you will goes something like this; I had a test tone patch with about six voices going. Of these six voices, two where set up with a high pass filter, and the others where set up with a lowpass filter. The idea originally started with the want to have some over tones that could make the listener (me) be able to track the subs better. See all my test tone patches make really good sub bass patches with them filtered out all the way, of course with the loss of higher harmonics it can be some what difficult to track the progression of the sub bass when it has small steps. I could hear the progression fine on my monitors, but else where, like consumer "hi" fi stereos it was hard to even hear the subs. I found this especially true when listening to my tracks in my car.

So I had set up my patch so that as i moved the mod wheel from nuetral to cc # 127, I would get a sub with a thin layer of high pass "noise." Now of course you all know that when you filter stuff out, especially when you high pass something to an extreme, it looses energy and thus doesn't sound as loud. Unless that is just the illusion of the sub gaining power since the emu already has a small amount of Q built into it's filters. Well this patch was fine, but I wanted the high pass bit to sit louder over the sub, perhaps reacting for equal energy.

Two ways to do this... 1, you boost the volume setting in the preset edit page, but of course this makes those voices louder then the rest at all times and this isn't so desireable. 2, you hook a cc to control volume. (I typically unhook the vel<-ampvol-24% cord right from the start with my test tone patches) You set the cc to make the select test tone or whatever you have there get louder as you move the mod wheel or whatever cc you have hooked up to filtrfreq. So the basic thing that happens is; four voices filter out to subs and two voices filter to retain some of the upper most harmonics, and these voices get louder as the filters do thier work. You would also not want to set the highpass filter up to close completely. I think my setting was at 2100 hz or so. And at certian notes, especially higher pitches, i really got a squeal out of it, but not so much of a ring. Almost acidy...

Now this leads to some interesting sound modulations possiblities. You could even apply the cross fade tut written by Ezman (which is really useful) to control this effect. One idea is take a sound and layer a copy of it and pull this effect off. Imagine your drums lowpass and high passed at the same time. Or better yet, go three copies of your sound or drums and as you low pass, two copies come in, one high passed and one band passed, this could resemble a sound that has been notched in two places, then you apply Q to the two sounds that are band passed and high passed for those that can do the real time Q.

If this is hard to imagine, I can post a sample up if any one is interested. This is just an idea to keep in mind as you make your test tones. You may get lucky and get something really good coming out of your speakers. I found pulse waves worked well. Play around with it.

snh

Sounds like a really creative use of the filters. I'm going to give that a go. Thanks for the ideas