Need some help with Filterscape manual

[Scott Righteous]

I love filterscape, and want to get down to some programming with it.
However I found the manual to be lacking some simple examples to help me understand how it works.

For instance, can someone explain to me what the envelope followers actually do?
I assumed they were individual filters with envelopes, but they are modulators for other things.

I would like to see a simple explanation of how different signals going into them produce different modulation signals out of them. I kind of get it, but not exactly. Similarly does the envelope mode simply output an 'on' and 'off' signal? and is that a "100%" or "0" type thing for modulating stuff?

Also, how do you change the routing? Do you just have to load a preset with the routing you want?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Scott.

[lococarlos]

An envelope follower uses the loudness contour of the input signal to generate a modulation signal roughly parallel to it. So you put a loud, sustained signal in you get a rectangular shaped envelope with a high 'sustain' value. Put a slowly building signal to a moderate volume and you get a long attack, moderate sustain envelope. Check out this wikipedia article for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envelope_detector

Off the top of my head I can't tell you how to change the routing and I'm not quite sure what you mean by the 100%/0 and off/on references...

[Urs]

I'm at my first coffee here so I can't go too much into detail just yet...

The envelope mode in the followers works like an AHR-envelope. That's like ADSR, but without a decay phase. So, normally the level would go up from zero to max, then stay a while and then go back to zero (I think the Korg MS20 has this?). In Filterscape however it is so that the input signal triggers the Attack phase when it's above the selected threshold. It accordingly jumps to release when it's below that threshold. But because a typical signal consists of values in each department, it's a constant on and off thing. So, both normal mode (exponential envelope follower) and envelope mode more or less follow the contour of the input signal, but they react differently.

I think I would have to pull up a tutorial video to properly explain these things.

In need of more coffee,

Urs

Quick P.S.: You change the routing by clicking on the routing graphics. A list with 5 different layouts pops up. You can also hover over it and use the scrollwheel. I think.

[groundhum]

So, normally the level would go up from zero to max, then stay a while and then go back to zero (I think the Korg MS20 has this?).

Not quite. The MS20 external signal processor section has an actual envelope follower and a trigger generator with a variable threshold. But I've had too much coffee.

[Scott Righteous]

clicked on the routing graphics and that worked - I should have figured.

For the envelope follower. I get that the envelope follower mimics the contour of the input signal (all pre filter too I assume). So, it sends no signal until threshold is reached, and then sends a signal that rises with the volume, and drops with the volume, but will decay at the release rate after the signal falls below threshold.

I'm not sure how that's different in AHR mode - unless one of these modes is just a gate, on or off.

I'll play with it.

I wish all plug-ins with cool and complex modulation routings had readouts next to each modulation destination indicating the amount of modulation being applied from each source. With an envelope follower, I'm not sure what range of signal it could send? 0 below threshold, and 100 at digital zero volume? Is it a percent?

I'll play with it and probably fall so deeply into that I'll forget the original question.

Scott.