Apple MainStage 3 Instruments - MainStage 3 Instruments

ES1 filter parameters
ES1 filter parameters overview
This section outlines the filter parameters of the ES1.
Filter parameters
••
Cutoff slider: Drag to set the cutoff frequency of the ES1’s lowpass filter.
••
Resonance slider: Drag to cut or boost the portions of the signal that surround the frequency
defined by the Cutoff parameter. Boost can be set so intensively that the filter begins to
oscillate by itself (see Drive the ES1 filter to self-oscillate on page 26).
Tip: You can simultaneously adjust the cutoff frequency and resonance parameters by
dragging vertically (cutoff) or horizontally (resonance) on the word Filter, found in the center
of the black circle.
••
Slope buttons: The lowpass filter offers four different slopes of band rejection above the cutoff
frequency. Click one of the buttons to choose a slope (amount of rejection, expressed in
decibels (dB) per octave):
••
24 dB classic: Mimics the behavior of a Moog filter. Turning up the resonance results in a
reduction of the low end of the signal.
••
24 dB fat: Compensates for the reduction of low frequency content caused by high
Resonance values. This resembles the behavior of an Oberheim filter.
••
12 dB: Provides a soft, smooth sound that is reminiscent of the early Oberheim
SEM synthesizer.
••
18 dB: Resembles the filter sound of Roland’s TB-303.
••
Drive slider: Drag to change the behavior of the Resonance parameter, which eventually
distorts the sound of the waveform. Drive is actually an input level control, which allows you
to overdrive the filter.
••
Key slider: Drag to set the effect that keyboard pitch (the note number) has on filter cutoff
frequency modulation.
••
If Key is set to zero, the cutoff frequency does not change, no matter which key you strike.
This makes the lower notes sound comparatively brighter than higher notes.
••
If Key is set to maximum, the filter follows the pitch, resulting in a constant relationship
between cutoff frequency and pitch. This mirrors the properties of many acoustic
instruments, where higher notes sound both brighter in tone and higher in pitch.
Chapter 2 ES1 25