AMPLIFIER -
volume
The last major process that makes up a sound is it’s “Volume”. The “Volume” of sounds vary as time goes by & so an Organ has
very different volume characteristics than that of a Piano or String section. See the following diagrams for details.
The “Organ” can be seen to go to full volume instantly when a key is pressed & then stay there until the key is released at which
point the volume drops instantly to zero.
The “Piano” can be seen to go to full volume instantly when a key is pressed & then gradually fall back down to zero over several
seconds.
The “String section” can be seen to go to full volume gradually over several seconds when a key is pressed & then stay there until
the key is released when gradually over a couple of seconds the volume drops to zero.
These curves are called “Envelopes” & in an Analogue synthesiser “Envelope Generators” are used to recreate them. Envelope
Generators have 4 parameters which are used to adjust the shape of the envelope, see the diagram below
Attack time is used to adjust the time it takes when the key is pressed for the envelope to go from zero to full value
( Fade in ).
Decay time is used to adjust the time it takes for the envelope to go from full value to the value set by the Sustain level
( Piano like decay of volume ).
Sustain level is used to set the level that the envelope remains at while the key is held down.
Release time is used to adjust the time it takes when the key is released for the level to go from the sustain value to zero
( Fade out ).
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