Subject: Taurus Patch Programming #1
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 18:15:45 -0800
From: timkoelm@iconz.co.nz
To: jv1080@emccta.com

Greetings JV/XP'ers!!

As a follow-up to Christian's "patch programming column" idea, I've decided to submit a
few of my own patches in this format - a weekly synth programming tutorial. I think it's
a great way to learn more about the synth, and it's fun to boot - all thanks to
Christian for pioneering this great concept!

A few weeks Christian emailed a (very seasonal) 'Bells' patch. Well, here's my version
of the same thing, a Christmas bells patch called 'Glockenbells'.

This patch makes use of four waveforms - a glockenspiel waveform and three sine waves.
It was my intention that this patch should be playable over a wide range without the
inharmonic partials of the bell sample getting in the way - ever notice how tubular bell
patches are only playable over a very limited range?

With that in mind, I programmed the 'body' of the patch with three detuned sine waves. A
delayed LFO modulating PITCH provides extra 'movement'. Notice how all LFO values for
the three sine waves are slightly different - this reduces the sterile effect that
setting all values for pitch and LFO modulation the same would have on the sound. Each
sine wave is given a RANDOM PAN DEPTH value of 30, again providing some animation in the
stereo field.

The actual 'bell' portion of this patch is a glockenspiel waveform. The TVA has been
used to shape the decay portion of the sample so that only the attack element remains.
Likewise, the TVA has been programmed with short decay and sutain times for the sine
waves. The bell sample is given a PITCH KEYFOLLOW value of 30, so that the sample pitch
changes slightly over the playable key range. Layering the glockenspiel attack with the
other sine waves results in a sweet bell sound. Disabling TONE 1 results in a great
pseudo-electric piano. The ANALOG FEEL and STRECH TUNE DEPTH parameters are given a
value of 5 and +3, respectively, for a bit of movement. The pitch of the entire patch is
moved up one octave.

I've used the EFX processor for the finishing touch. The program I've used is the effect
in series ENHANCER=>CHORUS. The enhancer provides the sparkle and the chorus adds more
depth to the overall sound. Only a small amount of the 'enhanced' sound is mixed in with
the original sound. The chorus RATE is set to its minimum value and the chorus DEPTH is
set to a value of 80, with a mild pre-delay for space.

All comments and feedback to Taurus3 at the given email address.

Enjoy!!

Taurus3

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