Novation PEAK - The Envelopes Menu

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Peak’s Envelope section has two sets of four slider controls, one set for Amp Env, the
other for either Mod Env 1 or Mod Env 2, as selected by the Select button
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. The
sliders are dedicated to four of the AHDSR parameters (attack, decay, sustain and release)
the descriptions below describe the effect of the Amp Envelope controls as amplitude
variations are more easily visualised, though the effect of the corresponding Mod
Envelope controls is identical. The fifth envelope phase, Hold is adjusted in the
Envelopes Menu.
• Attack – sets the note’s attack time. With the slider at its lowest position, the
note attains its maximum level immediately the key is pressed; with the slider in its
uppermost position, the note takes over 18 seconds to reach its maximum level.
• Decay – sets the time the note takes to decay from the level reached in the attack
phase and maintained throughout the hold phase, to that defined by the Sustain
parameter. Maximum decay time is approx. 22 seconds.
• Sustain – sets the volume of the note after the decay phase. A low Sustain value
will obviously have the effect of emphasising the start of the note; having the slider
fully down will make the note inaudible when the decay time has elapsed.
• Release – Many sounds acquire some of their character from the notes remaining
audible after the key is released; this “hanging” or “fade-out” effect, with the note
gently dying away naturally (as with many real instruments) can be very effective.
Peak has a maximum release time of over 24 seconds, but shorter times will
probably be more useful! The relationship between the parameter value and the
Release Time is not linear.
The Envelopes Menu
The following additional Envelope parameters are available in the Env menu. Each
Envelope has two menu pages; the parameters available for each Envelope are identical,
except that the initial value of the M o n oTrig parameter for the Mod Envelopes is Re-Trig.
The default menu displays for the Amp Envelope are shown below:
AMP ENVELOPE 1/6
Velocity +0 H
MonoTrig Legato
Fig. 4
AMP ENVELOPE 2/6
HoldTime 0
Repeats Off
Fig. 1
Velocity
Displayed as: Velocity
Initial value: 0
Range of adjustment: -64 to +63
Velocity does not modify the shape of the AHDSR envelope in any way, but adds touch
sensitivity to the sound. In the case of the Amplitude Envelope, setting a positive parameter
value will mean the harder you play the keys, the louder will be the sound. If set to zero, the
volume is the same regardless of how the keys are played. The relationship between the
velocity at which a note is played and volume is determined by the value. Note that negative
values have the inverse effect.
For the most “natural” playing style, try setting Amplitude Velocity to
about +40.
The sonic effect of the corresponding Velocity parameter for the two Modulation Envelopes
will depend on what the Envelopes are used for: for example, if they are used to modulate
Filter Frequency (a common application), a positive Velocity parameter will result in a
greater degree of filter action.
Multi-Triggering
Displayed as: M o n oTrig
Initial value: Legato
Range of adjustment: Legato or Re-Trig
When this parameter is set to Re-Trig, each note played will trigger its full AHDSR
envelope, even if other keys are held down. In Legato mode, only the first key to be pressed
will produce a note with the full envelope, all subsequent notes will omit the attack and
decay phases, and sound only from the start of the Sustain phase. “Legato” literally means
“smoothly”, and this mode aids this style of playing.
It is important to appreciate that for the Legato mode to be operative, Mono or MonoLG
modes must be selected in the Voice Menu – it will not work with polyphonic voicing or
Mono2 mode. See “Voices” on page 27.
What is Legato?
As implied above, the musical term Legato means “smoothly”. A Legato
keyboard style is one where at least two notes overlap. This means
that as you play the melody, you keep the previous (or an earlier) note
sounding as you play another note. Once that note is sounding, you then
release the earlier note.
Hold time
Displayed as: H oldTime
Initial value: 0
Range of adjustment: 0 to 127
The Hold parameter is an additional phase of the envelope: many synthesisers only offer an
ADSR envelope but Peak allows further control of the note’s “lifetime”. Once the note has
completed the attack phase, the envelope will remain at its maximum level for a time set by
H oldTime. In terms of the Amplitude Envelope, if H old Tim e is non-zero, the note will
stay at its maximum volume for a finite time before reducing in volume over the time set by
Decay. If Hold Tim e is zero, the decay phase commences immediately the maximum level
is reached at the end of the attack phase. The maximum value of 127 corresponds to a hold
time of 500 mS.
Repeats
Displayed as: Repeats
Initial value: Off
Range of adjustment: Off, 1 to 126, On
This allows you to set “looping envelopes”: when a note is struck, the attack, hold and
decay phases of the envelope can be made to repeat any number of times up to 126
before the sustain and release phases of the envelope are implemented. With Repeats
set to the default value of 0, the AHDSR envelope is followed as normal. When set to the
“maximum” value of On, the attack, hold and decay phases are repeated continuously until
the note is released, when the release phase commences.