Access Virus User Manual - SoundProgramming.Net

ACCESS VIRUS OS4 21
The Amplifier Envelope
the numeric equivalent to the
value determined by the current
position of the pot.
Always keep in mind that for a
programmable synthesizer the
position of the control feature or
pot does not necessarily indicate
the actual value of the given function.
The reason for this is that
when you first activate a sound
program, it will reflect the programmed
value. You have to adjust
the control feature before the programmed
value is superseded by
the value you determine manually.
Now fiddle with the DECAY pot
while you repeatedly press a key to
activate a note. Hold the key down
for good while. You will notice that
the volume, once it reaches maximum
level at the end of the
ATTACK phase, drops until it
reaches a minimum level. The
DECAY pot determines the speed,
or in synthesizer jargon, the rate at
which the volume decreases.
However, the DECAY level does not
always drop to the minimum level;
you can determine a random value
between the maximum and minimum
levels at which the volume
remains constant. This level in turn
is controlled via the SUSTAIN pot.
Whenever the SUSTAIN level is set
to maximum, the volume cannot
drop during the DECAY phase; in
other words, in this situation the
DECAY pot is ineffective.
The individual functions of a
synthesizer are designed to interact;
many functions are dependent
on other functions. In a number of
cases this means that some functions
are subordinate to others, i.e.
the effectiveness of a control feature
is altered, modified or even
negated completely by other
related functions.
The final pot, RELEASE, determines
the speed or rate at which the volume
decreases when you release
the key: At low values the sound
ends relatively abruptly, at high
values, the sound fades out more
gradually and softly. The length of
the RELEASE phase also depends on
which level the amplifier curve is
at when you release the key: The