Sonic Charge Microtonic User Manual

Page 15

‣

Oscillator Waveform

Choices: Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth
Default: Sine
The

Oscillator Waveform setting defines the basic shape and character of the

tone produced by the oscillator. The sine waveform produces an ideal sine tone
with no overtones. It is useful for all types of drums, percussions and effects. The
triangle waveform produces a soft tone with all odd harmonics

(like a “square

wave” but with less high frequency content)

. The hollow character of the triangle

waveform gives the sound a bit more “body” than the sine waveform and is thus
very useful for toms, snares and bass drums. Finally, the sawtooth waveform pro-
duces a distinct tone containing all harmonics. This sound is not very common in
natural percussion sounds. It is most useful for special effects and electronic
sounds, but also for sounds that need a lot of high frequency energy such as
cymbals.

‣

Oscillator Frequency

Range: 20Hz to 20 000Hz

(20kHz)

Default: 632.46Hz
Oscillator frequency setting

(or pitch)

, ranging from subsonic

(20Hz)

to supersonic

(20kHz)

. This is the steady frequency of the oscillator, or the base frequency

around which the pitch is modulated if pitch modulation is used.

‣

Pitch Modulation Mode

Choices: Decaying, Sine, Random
Default: Decaying
The pitch modulator is one of the most powerful features of

Microtonic

. The com-

bination of mode, amount and rate lets you modify the sound of the oscillator
dramatically. The

Decaying Pitch Modulation mode is perhaps the most

straightforward. It simply “bends” the pitch towards the oscillator base frequency
and creates the typical drops in frequency you hear in most drums. With a nega-
tive modulation amount, the pitch will go upwards instead of downwards which is
useful for sound effects and percussions like tablas and clay drums. The

Sine

Pitch Modulation mode is quite versatile. At low modulation rates, it acts as an

“LFO effect” that oscillates the pitch around its base frequency. At fast modula-
tion rates, the sine modulator turns into an FM-like effect. FM generates inhar-
monic overtones, which give the sound a metallic character. This is useful for hi-
hats and cowbell patches. Finally, the

Random Pitch Modulation mode applies a

random modulation of the pitch. At zero rate it simply randomizes the pitch by the
chosen amount every time the drum patch is triggered. At slightly higher rates, it
gives the sound a sort of bubbly character. At the highest rates, it adds a band of
filtered noise to the oscillator where the modulation amount controls the width of
the band. With proper settings, the random modulator can be used to simulate
the sound of rattles, shakers and tambourines.

‣

Pitch Modulation Amount

Range: depends on modulation mode, decaying: -96 semi-tones to +96 semi-
tones

(-8 octaves to +8 octaves)

, sine and random: -48 semi-tones to +48 semi-

tones

(-4 octaves to +4 octaves)

Default: 0 semi-tones.
Pitch Modulation Amount controls the amount of pitch modulation. You can use

a negative amount to invert the effect of the modulator so that it starts from a low
pitch and goes upwards instead of going downwards from a high pitch.

(Naturally,