Apple MainStage 3 Instruments - MainStage 3 Instruments

Model mode parameters
••
Exciter buttons: Click to select one of the two contrasting exciters. Each offers different sound
characteristics (Type 1 and Type 2).
Note: In this context, an exciter is the agent or triggering device used to initiate the vibration
of the string. Don’t confuse it with the effect plug-in of the same name.
••
Material Pad: Determines the basic tone of the string with the string Stiffness and damping
(Inner Loss) parameters.
••
Inner Loss: Emulates damping of the string, as caused by the string material—steel, glass,
nylon, or wood. These are frequency-dependent losses that cause the sound to become
more mellow during the decay phase.
••
Stiffness: Sets the rigidity of the string. In reality, this is determined by the string material
and diameter—or, to be more precise, by its geometrical moment of inertia. Stiffer strings
exhibit an inharmonic vibration, where overtones are not integer multiples of the base
frequency. Rather, they have higher frequencies, which can make upper or lower notes
sound somewhat out of tune with each other.
••
Resolution slider: Move to determine the precision of the calculation. Higher values produce
additional harmonics. Lower values produce fewer harmonics, or inharmonic spectra.
Use Ultrabeat’s Material Pad
The combination of the Inner Loss and Stiffness parameter positions determines the string
material and, therefore, the general timbre of your sound. In general synthesizer terms, use of
these parameters could be viewed as being similar to the waveform selector/generator in the
oscillator section. The default pitch of the string is C3 (middle C).
m m To simultaneously adjust the Inner Loss and Stiffness parameter positions, drag the ball (which
correlates to the x and y coordinates) in the Material Pad.
••
Low Stiffness values, combined with low Inner Loss values, lead to metallic sounds.
••
Increase the Stiffness to make the sound more bell-like, or glass-like. Extreme Stiffness values
turn the string into a solid metal rod.
••
Increase the Inner Loss value while maintaining a low Stiffness level to emulate nylon or
catgut strings.
••
High Stiffness values, combined with high Inner Loss values, simulate wood-like materials.
Note: Option-click the ball to reset all string parameters to their default values.
Chapter 14 Ultrabeat 348