24 Filter Envelope
Dave Smith Instruments
Filter Envelope
The Prophet Rev2 lter has a dedicated, ve-stage envelope generator
(DADSR). The Filter Envelope is used to shape the harmonic charac-
teristics of a synthesized sound by giving you ltering control over its
attack, decay, sustain, and release stages (plus a delay parameter to delay
the onset of the envelope).
This is one of the most important aspects of designing a sound. Without
an envelope, the lters would be completely static. They would stay open
or closed by a xed amount that wouldn’t change over the duration of a
sound. That’s not very interesting to listen to and it’s not how instruments
behave in the real world.
In general, sounds produced by an instrument are brighter at their begin-
ning (the attack stage) and grow mellower as they die out (the decay and
release stages). In other words, their harmonic content changes over time.
This is exactly what the lter envelope is designed to emulate.