KVR Audio

Piktor · Post by **Piktor** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 8:52 am

Though I have enjoyed much of the dialogue that has taken place here during the past couple of years, I have rarely participated in any discussions myself. However, there is a topic that I don't recall anyone addressing.

I usually find that unless a player manipulates the controls (filter, envelope depth, attack, velocity, etc,) on a synth/VSTi as they perform, the sound of the instrument can be quite uninteresting. Think, for example, of all the inflections that vocalists and wind or string players can use to give an expressive performance. For those musicians, employing expressive techniques becomes second nature. Can you imagine a violinist not using vibrato? Unfortunately, it seems that as synthesizer players, any attempt to emulate those kinds of expressive devices is often a pretty self-conscious and awkward act. (“Now I must reach over and turn the third knob from the left.”) Twenty-five years ago, I used to manipulate the filter on the Multimoog with a voltage control pedal under my left foot while I worked a volume pedal with my right foot and a pitch bend ribbon and modulation wheel with my left hand.

Today, given that we have the option to use midi control messages to manipulate more parameters than ever, the opportunities for expressive performance are vast. In light of those possibilities, I find it surprising that some designers of virtual instruments restrict pitch bend ranges to one whole tone up and one whole tone down. (Those new Killer VSTi’s, as good as they sound, even have zero range!)

Though it is perfect, a synthesizer note bent by an exact, preset whole tone sounds really robotic and weenie (I think). You can bend a guitar string upwards by as much as two whole tones, or more. When Santana bends a string, or when Stephan Grapelli slides up the neck of his violin, there is a certain danger and excitement to the note, even if the player might overshoot by a tiny amount. Those performances sound interesting because they aren’t perfect. Why wouldn’t we rather sound like that too? At the same time, synths set up for large bends, like one octave, are very difficult to control if you want to bend into any smaller intervals.

Personally, I have made it a practice to set the range on hardware and virtual synths to two whole steps up and two whole steps down. That gives me a limited enough range that, with some practice (okay, lots of practice) I can be pretty accurate. All the colors that come with quarter tone, semitone, whole tone and major/minor third bends are available. I can’t imagine most vocalists or players wanting to bend more than a third most of the time. This range also gives me the option of performing pitch wheel vibrato by bending slightly sharp and slightly flat – again, very vocal-like.

I am wondering what other people here consider to be their optimum range for pitch bend on synths, virtual or otherwise. Do you use the pitch bender and what range do you find most workable and useful?

Piktor

Piktor · Post by **Piktor** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:05 pm

Come on, you know. It's that thing to the left-hand side of the keyboard that sounds funny when you accidentally bump it as you reach for a drink.

Kriminal · Post by **Kriminal** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:08 pm

I usually stick to one octave, sometimes 2 if im feeling flamboyant

donkey tugger · Post by **donkey tugger** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:10 pm

Keyboard? Whats that then?

Some of the 'wheeeee' bits on me 'farmers' tunes have pitch bends of about 4 octaves though.

bluedad · Post by **bluedad** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:11 pm

being without a controller that has pitch/mod wheels I've amended my style obviously to no bends at all.
However, I never felt comfortable with a bend larger than a third. Probably had more to do with my technique, but anything larger I tend to lose control.

DevonB · Post by **DevonB** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 2:41 pm

Probably because a lot of boards lack poly aftertouch, aftertouch, mod wheels, pitch bend wheels, and some don't even havve velocity sensitivity. Go one step further, and many aren't even using a keyboard, just step sequencers.

Devon

xoxos · Post by **xoxos** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 4:24 pm

there are many methods of articulation. what and when to articulate depends on what you are communicating.

no good twisting everyhting around if you're attempting to communicate something icy, eh?

meeks · Post by **meeks** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 4:33 pm

Bahh...I'm still at the hospital typing on a crappy internet machine....I wrote a lovely response to this that got lost beacause this machine froze. In short, they do make foot-pedals for guitars that shot three octaves, steve via type things, but your not going to use them eveeryday, there is a time and a place for everything and thats dependent on the person. They make a ribbon controler for the CS-80 that is either midi or USB, which could probably be modified for others if you want to take that route. Most parameters like the mod-wheel and the pitch are controlable. But like you said, that was for a time 25 years ago. (Inshort).

Steven West · Post by **Steven West** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 5:36 pm

Digitech Whammy pedal, as used by My Bloody Valentine.

(Get well soon Meeks!)

As for the PB thing and control - I get adventurous with synths and PB going 7th's up, 5th down, sometimes on my old Korg and CS-10 I'd do whole 12 tones though a delay.

As for manual control of knobs, I'm more a velocity/envelope guy myself. If you know how to set these parameters, and play with the right feel - it's just as good as moving Cutoff or Decay et al. But on a synth without these, I guess? But even a CS-10 playing a triggered bass line I would just set a moserate depth to the LFO Filter on a slow speed and have it do all the dirty work for me. I think my song Harder is the only time I actually twisted and controlled ALOT of knobs on my CS10 in a performance? It turned out great, but would I want to replay that again live ever - NO WAY!

kilroy · Post by **kilroy** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:07 pm

xoxos wrote:there are many methods of articulation. what and when to articulate depends on what you are communicating.

no good twisting everything around if you're attempting to communicate something icy, eh?

Yeah...sometimes there is just no reasonable substitute for a good forearm smash to the keys.

Which, of course, you may then proceed to bend to your heart's desire.

mauseoleum · Post by **mauseoleum** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:09 pm

bend all over.

Kim Lajoie · Post by **Kim Lajoie** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:24 pm

Usually I do +/- two semitones (just enough to give life to some monophonic lines) or +/- one octave (for more crazy stuff).

My controller keyboard is a Korg N364, which has the fabulous Korg pitch/mod/breath joystick. I usually assign other synthesis/effects parameters to the up and down motion of the joystick (up is mod, down is breath) for a more flexible performance.

If that's not enough, the kayboard's also got aftertouch, so I assign something else to that.

Forever,

Kim.

tetraplan · Post by **tetraplan** » Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:41 pm

I don't bend (much).
I detune. One oscillator at a time.
Mwa ha ha.

Groet, Erik

Piktor · Post by **Piktor** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 1:26 pm

Thanks for all your various thoughts on this. I do agreed that sometimes large gestures or no gestures at all are appropriate in certain musical contexts. However, I choose not to believe that more subtle nuances are entirely passé. At the same time, I've listened to some of your work and, obviously, whatever you have been doing has been working for you up to this point.

Piktor

CypherOne · Post by **CypherOne** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 1:30 pm

usually set to two octaves, but I only used it (intentionally) for the first time on my latest track. I will do so more often now tho...

How far are you willing to bend?