Subject: Taurus Patch Programming #5
Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 21:15:36 -0800
From: timkoelm@iconz.co.nz
To: jv1080@emccta.com

Greetings JV/XP'ers, and welcome to this weeks patch presentation and mini-tutorial! I'm
a couple of days late on this one, so let's get straight into it with a triple patch
special.

A few weeks ago, Christian J. Krause submitted a few dance music synth sounds, amongst
which was a great Jupiter bass and a dance piano. Well, this week I've decided to
present a few of my own 'dancish' synth sounds - a bright, stabbing synth sound called
'Fat Dance Synth', and a couple of resonant bass sounds, 'Blat Bass 1' and 'Blat Bass
2'. The bass sounds were inspired by my MKS-50 analog synth module. Hopefully these
patches will show you how easy it is to create dance music patches on your JV or XP.

The first patch, 'Fat Dance Synth' was very easy to create. It consists of four sawtooth
wave samples (found in internal waveset B) seperately detunted and filtered. Simple
patches like these can be constructed using two tones, and then copying the finished
version of those tones. I've used this technique here - programmed tones 1 and 2
seperately and then copied them to tones 3 and 4.

Tones 1 and 3 have the filter bypassed, to allow for the maximum high-frequency content
of the sample. Tones 2 and 4 have a LPF applied to them, to slice a bit of the HF's off
them and warm the tone. Tones 1 and 3 are pitched down an octave (for a big 'stacked'
sound) while tones 2 and 4 are at their normal relative pitches. All four waveforms have
been detuned to some extent.

The TVA envelope times are set to extremely short values for that characteristic 'stab'.
I've not set the envleope attack and release times to zero, however, for the simple fact
that doing so introduces a annoying 'click' on key-press and key-release. Set the attack
and release times to zero and try to observe this phenomenon yourself. It's very
important to remember this when programming sounds with a short attack and release, like
basses and leads.

The Pitch Envelope is employed here to subtle effect, with a bit of pitch swoop on
attack. It's very subtle however, almost inaudible. The LFO's are also in effect in this
patch, with a triangle wave LFO on all four tones modulating pitch at a very slow rate,
to emphasize the chorused quality of the 'dry' patch. The second LFO is routed through
the modulation matrix to aftertouch - so you'll get a funky pitch effect if you apply
aftertouch to this patch. This patch was initally programmed with the Structures (more
below) in mind. I decided it sounded better without them enabled. Change the Structure
type to 3 or 4 and see what you think anyway.

This patch is polished off with the Stereo Chorus program. I've programmed a medium
pre-delay a slow Rate and a high Depth. The Phase is set to 180 for maximum stereo
spread and the low and high frequency bands are boosted for a bit o' punch.

******************************

The next two patches are also very simple to create and they sound great. I've chosen
two Prophet 5 sawtooth waves as the basis of this patch. Both are programmed
identically, acheived by holding down the tone select buttons for tones 1 and 2 and then
editing away.

I've selected a LPF to shave off the high freqencies of the raw waveform, and added a
resonance value of twenty to boost the overtone content around the cutoff freqency. This
patch gets most of its sonic character through the use of the TVF. Study the envelope
shape of the TVF closely here, and see how it's used to shape the tone. The relationship
between the envelope shape and the Envelope Depth parameter is also an important one,
and one that should be studied closely with your ears and with the manual in hand.

One of the big differences between this resonant bass patch and ones you might find on
other synths is the use of the structures. Now, for most JV/XP players, the structures
are a big grey area. Their exact function and operation have never been explicitly
explained by Roland - as a result they remain unused and and misunderstood. You've
really got to wonder when the information given on the structures on Roland's web page
is from a third party programmer writing for Electronic Musician magazine!! I've
gathered most of my knowledge in using the structures through experimenting. I've found
ways to use some (not all) of the structures effectively in bass, lead and pad
programming.

Here, I've used Structure 4, because it allows you to use the filters serially in
conjucntion with the Booster. According to the manual, the booster pushes the wave into
clipping and produces distortion - but when ones ears are put into the equation it would
seem to be doing a lot more. First, change the Structure of the patch to Structure 1 and
play a bit. Then change to Structure two and listen. Hear the change in filter response?
Well, Structure 4 is essentially the same as Structure 2 but with a wave Booster put
before the filters. Change back to Structure 4, and give it a healthy dose of volume.
Now, change the 'Booster 1+2' parameter to +18 to 0 and back. Hear how much bass and mid
freqencies the booster gives the raw sound? Not many synths can do this with a raw
sample, and it's what makes this patch such a pleasure to play 'dry'.

'Blat Bass 2' is almost exactly the same as 'Blat Bass 1' but for a slower attack in the
TVF and a touch more resonance. But what a difference it makes to the sound - it's
amazing what such a little change can do! It was so different to the original patch I
thought I'd present it as a seperate patch. I hope this inspires you to tweak this patch
even further - change the waveforms, muck 'round with the pitch and TVF envelopes,
change the Structures! Hey, why not email me your results?

Well, enjoy the sounds and keep tweaking. Any feedback is appreciated. And I'd *really*
appreciate it if any of you out there with additional reports and findings on the
structures could email me with details.

Best Regards,

Taurus3

**********************

PS. The .mid file which comes
    with this post, SYNSNDS.MID,
    will over-write patches 1 to
    3 in user memory. You have
    been warned.

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