Emax II operation manual
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tracking is for. By setting the tracking to zero (i.e. the filter frequency stays the same
regardless of where you play on the keyboard), or slightly higher, these high notes can
be tamed to the point where they sound acceptable.
Parametric Equalization
One of the problems with transposing a signal up or down is that it changes the
characteristic formant of an instrument. The formant is a frequency at which an
instrument tends to have some kind of resonant peak that gives the instrument it’s
distinctive character. For example, I recorded a classical guitar once that had a very
pronounced peak around 200 Hz. This gave a bassy, rich sound. However, if you
sampled that guitar and transposed it up an octave, then the resonant frequency would
transpose upward as well to 400 Hz, and the guitar wouldn’t sound so bassy anymore.
Conversely, transposing downwards an octave would lower the frequency to 100 Hz,
which would be very bassy.
Sometimes it’s possible to equalize the signal being sampled to minimize the formant
shift problem. Generally, the tool of choice for this task is the parametric equalizer, an
equalizer that can boost or cut a specific frequency (or group of frequencies) by a specific
amount, usually +/- 12 to 15 dB. Reducing the formant doesn’t affect the original sound
very much, but can make a big difference on the transposed sounds.
Parametric Equalization is very much a trial-and-error sort of process, which makes a
good argument for having samples originally recorded on tape so that you can
experiment with them as you record them into the sampler.
The Art of Sampling is an excerpt from a forthcoming book by Craig Anderton and is used by
permission.
THE ART OF SAMPLING
Parametric EQ
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