Hi John,
Unfortunately, its not only longer attack times where the missing retriggering functionality
can become a problem.
Image a very simple patch in which one half of a DSG/DTG is controlling both the cutoff
frequency of a lowpass filter and the final patch volume via a VCA. Now have this patch
being played with alternating very short and longer notes, trying to achieve no audible
attack and very short release times, and the filter frequency decaying during the note,
somewhat resembling a funky slap bass playing style.
Such playing stlye is not possible using the TRIG IN. As the gate length does not matter
when using this input, you have find a FALL time that
(a) is short enough so that no notes are omitted (if the DSG is still outputting an envelope
and thus not reacting to a new gate signal), and
(b) is long enough to give you a reasonable note length.
Alas, using the INPUT is no alternative for this scenario. In this case the DSG/DTG act as an
ASR, which means that
(a) you don't have any change in the DSG/DTG output during the note, and
(b) its output signal falls to zero in the FALL time after the gate at the INPUT jack stopped.
Both approaches do not give the intended musical results. Using an ADSR with no attack,
medium decay and a very short release times would do the trick. When putting a Serge
system together, it is important to know that it can't do proper AD envelopes using DSGs
or DTGs only. You will need an ADSR.
When I ordered my Serge, I was so overwhelmed with the multi-functionality of the
DSG/DTG that I simply overlooked this behavior. In addition, a bit of snobbery on my side
set in, along the lines of "I don't need such mono-functional, boring ADSR modules in a
Serge". Well, I had to learn it the hard way.
That's why I think the information about the DSG/DTG not being retriggerable on it INPUT
jacks should be mentioned on James's excellent page on the DSG.
Best regards,
Jan-Hinnerk
Unfortunately, its not only longer attack times where the missing retriggering functionality
can become a problem.
Image a very simple patch in which one half of a DSG/DTG is controlling both the cutoff
frequency of a lowpass filter and the final patch volume via a VCA. Now have this patch
being played with alternating very short and longer notes, trying to achieve no audible
attack and very short release times, and the filter frequency decaying during the note,
somewhat resembling a funky slap bass playing style.
Such playing stlye is not possible using the TRIG IN. As the gate length does not matter
when using this input, you have find a FALL time that
(a) is short enough so that no notes are omitted (if the DSG is still outputting an envelope
and thus not reacting to a new gate signal), and
(b) is long enough to give you a reasonable note length.
Alas, using the INPUT is no alternative for this scenario. In this case the DSG/DTG act as an
ASR, which means that
(a) you don't have any change in the DSG/DTG output during the note, and
(b) its output signal falls to zero in the FALL time after the gate at the INPUT jack stopped.
Both approaches do not give the intended musical results. Using an ADSR with no attack,
medium decay and a very short release times would do the trick. When putting a Serge
system together, it is important to know that it can't do proper AD envelopes using DSGs
or DTGs only. You will need an ADSR.
When I ordered my Serge, I was so overwhelmed with the multi-functionality of the
DSG/DTG that I simply overlooked this behavior. In addition, a bit of snobbery on my side
set in, along the lines of "I don't need such mono-functional, boring ADSR modules in a
Serge". Well, I had to learn it the hard way.
That's why I think the information about the DSG/DTG not being retriggerable on it INPUT
jacks should be mentioned on James's excellent page on the DSG.
Best regards,
Jan-Hinnerk
--- In SergeModular@yahoogroups.com, John P <johnp299792@...> wrote:
>
> The retriggering problem you mention is only a nuisance with longer
> attack times.
> If you send a gate to 'INPUT' instead of 'TRIG IN' and use fairly short
> attack times, you can work around
> this limitation.
>
>
> metafoetus2002 wrote:
> >
> > Hi James,
> >
> > thanks for doing this! I just have one comment: I am missing an
> > explicit mention of the
> > DSG (and DTGs) behavior to ignore any signal at their TRIG INs for as
> > long as they are
> > producing envelopes. While this is the reason why DSG/DTG can do such
> > wonderful things
> > as acting as subharmonic generators / frequency counters, it is also
> > the reason why it
> > can't act as a real AD envelope, which can be a pain when setting up
> > more conventional
> > sounds (e.g. non-self-playing percussive sounds that are triggered by
> > a keyboard or
> > sequencer).
> >
> > I wish I'd spend more thought about this detail while putting together
> > my custom panel to
> > complement my Animal, which is now missing an ADSR. Luckily there are
> > the DUAL ADSR
> > M-CLASS available...which means making a new custom case.
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Jan-Hinnerk
> >
> > -
> >
>