Apple MainStage 3 Instruments - MainStage 3 Instruments

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Drive knob: Rotate to overdrive the filter input, leading to a denser, more saturated signal,
which introduces additional harmonics. Drive affects each voice independently. When every
voice is overdriven individually—like having six fuzz boxes for a guitar, one for each string—
you can play extremely complex harmonies over the entire keyboard range. They’ll sound
clean, without unwanted intermodulation effects spoiling the sound. Some Drive settings
lead to a different tonal character. The way analog filters behave when overdriven forms an
essential part of the sonic character of a synthesizer. Each synthesizer is unique in the way its
filters behave when overdriven. EXS24 mkII is flexible in this regard, allowing tonal colors that
range from a subtle fuzz to a hard distortion.
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Key knob: Rotate to define the amount of filter cutoff frequency modulation by note number.
When Key is set to the full-left position, the cutoff frequency is unaffected by the note number
and is identical for all played notes. When Key is set to the full-right position, the cutoff
frequency follows the note number one-to-one; if you play one octave higher, the cutoff
frequency is also shifted upward by one octave. This parameter is useful for avoiding overly
filtered high notes.
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Fat button: Click to turn on the fatness feature. Fatness preserves the bass frequency response,
even when high Resonance settings are used.
Note: The Fatness parameter applies only to lowpass filters. Fatness is nonfunctional when the
highpass or bandpass filter types are used.
Control two filter parameters at once
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Drag the chain symbol between the Cutoff and the Resonance knobs to control both parameters
simultaneously—vertical movements alter Cutoff values and horizontal movements affect
Resonance values.
Set the EXS24 mkII filter mode and slope
The EXS24 mkII filter can operate in several modes, allowing specific frequency bands to be
filtered (cut away) or emphasized.
Most filters do not completely suppress the portion of the signal that falls outside the frequency
range defined by the Cutoff parameter. The slope, or curve, chosen for the lowpass filter
expresses the amount of rejection below the cutoff frequency in decibels per octave. The steeper
the slope, the more severe the effect on signal levels below the cutoff frequency.
Select a filter mode and slope
Click one of the following buttons:
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HP (highpass): Allows frequencies above the cutoff frequency to pass.
The slope of the highpass filter is fixed at 12 dB/octave in HP mode.
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LP (lowpass): Allows frequencies that fall below the cutoff frequency to pass. Click any of the four
filter buttons to engage the lowpass filter and to select a filter slope:
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24 dB (4 pole): Use this setting for drastic effects, such as cutting off all but a few notes.
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18 dB (3 pole)
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12 dB (2 pole)
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6 dB (1 pole): Use this setting for creating a slightly warmer sound without drastic filter
effects—to smooth overly bright samples, for example.
Chapter 9 EXS24 mkII 177