> I often wished that some instrument designer would add some random
> elements to their synthesizer so that everyone's keyboards would
> sound subtly different. This is probably an utterly insane idea.
Not at all. Yamaha took up your idea with the A3000 sampler (cs. 1997). Check
this out from the manual:
Pitch, Random 0-63
Use this setting to impart a slight, random pitch variation to the sample's
pitch. Set 0 to eliminate all random variation. Increase the value to produce
a greater range of variation . Note that this variation is applied to each note
at the start of its playback. This setting does not affect how pitch develops
once the note has started playing.
Cool, huh? I'd bet Roland and the others have caught on to this phunky
phunction. I've been doing it for years (with varying success) by using the LFO
wave set as random (or sample-hold or other jargon) and lightly applying it to
pitch, volume, filtering, etc. The results have varied from pleasing to ugly.
The AN1x can do a nice job of this if lightly applied to each oscillator with
differing times and depths.
Yamaha was trying to build a sampler for DJs and analog enthusiasts in the
A3000. It's got some really strange stuff in the effects section. One amazing
one is the "beat change" function which speeds or slows your loop in real time
without damaging the tone of the original sample. Hole lotta fun!
Ed Edwards
Leader: Ezekiel's Wheel »»»»Retro-Progressive Rock««««
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