051.txt Handy EFX Tips from Taurus3 In this email are a few useful tips 'n' tricks I've picked up using the effects processors on the Super JV engine. These tips are applicable to all the Super JV family of synths. I should warn you that these tips may not be especially useful in multitimbral sequencing, as they hog all DSP power for the benefit of single patches. In other words, they may be more handy in studio recording than workstation sequencing. In any case though, here they are. 1) ULTRA WIDE EFFECTS: I've found two or three effects in particular to be very handy when adding the final polish to those nice, big stereo synth noises. When you want to go all out on a big wash of sugary-sweet-Jay-Vee-pad, using a stereo chorus just doesn't really cut it. Take a tip out of Korg's book and dunk it in EFX. * The MODULATION-DELAY is perhaps the most useful EFX program for a big stereo effect. When used properly it has a wonderfully translucent quality about it, perfect for pads. The preset settings for Modulation-Delay are bogus. Set the DELAY L settings for a fairly short duration (300ms is a good start), and DELAY R for roughly half that number (or vice-versa of course). Lengthening the delay times for the Left and Right channels results in a more pronounced delay in total for the effect. Set the FEEDBACK for a small amount (eg +10) - any longer and you'll mush the sound completely. The RATE parameter should be set extremely slow (eg. 0.05), and the DEPTH should be set fairly high, around 80 - experiment with these last two paramters in particular and see how deep a chorused effect you can achieve without noticable chorusing. The PHASE parameter sould be set to 180, and the EQ can be set to your liking. * The HEXA-CHORUS effect is another good one for rich spatial effects. It has an effect more prominent than the MODULATION-DELAY, and is great for all things stringy - orchestral or synth. The PRE-DELAY for this effect should be cranked up to somewhere near its maximum, provided your patch has a fairly slow attack. The longer the PRE-DELAY, the more spacious the effect. As with the above effect, go for a slow RATE, and a large DEPTH - try values of 0.25 and 80, respectively. Because we are dealing with six bands of chorusing, any deviances in pre-delay and pan add movement to the sound. I'd say crank PRE-DELAY-DEVIATION and PAN DEVIATION up to their maximum. This effect also works wonders on those Vangelis-type synth brass sounds. 2) USING WAH EFFECTIVELY: The sole wah-effect patch on the Super JV synths sucks - MOD-WAH GUITAR in preset bank B. There *is* a way to create a really great wah electric guitar effect on the JV/XP, thanks to its excellent filters, but more on that in a later email. The AUTO-WAH EFX program is of no real good for electric wah simulations, one reason being is that you can't use distortion at the same time. For classic funky synth leads though, the AUTO-WAH is great. I find a simple filtered sawtooth wave or two, maybe routed through Structure 3 or 4 and controlled with the AUTO-WAH great for lead playing. IMHO I think its best to set the RATE and DEPTH values to their near minimum values, and route control for the MANUAL parameter (the center frequency from which the resonant peak will deviate) to either the control sliders, or more preferably the mod lever. THE FILTER TYPE should be set for LPF, and the SENS parameter set to no more than 0. The PEAK parameter basically specifies how resonant the AUTO-WAH filter is around its cutoff frequency. The default setting is 64, and even at that the effect can be hard on the ears. Best to set it to its minimum value and gradually increase them 'til you hear something that works for you. 3) SWIRLY ATMOSPHERES Just a quick one this. The TRIPLE & QUADRUPLE TAP DELAY effects can be great for providing delicate atmospheres for pads or sweet synth leads. Setting the tap-times of the delay to unorthodox values results in an unpredicatble swirl of echoes. A medium to high FEEDBACK value enhances this. Set the LEVEL parameter to a very low value, otherwise things will get mushed-up very quickly. Route the EFX effected sound through a HALL or STAGE reverb on the master REVERB processor, as opposed to REVERB-ing the sound before going through EFX. This effect works well on simple triangle and square wave lead patches. 4) THE TRICK FLANGER This is my fave. There is an effect program which routes distortion and flanging in series. The downside of this effect (OVERDRIVE-FLANGER or DISTORTION-FLANGER) is the limited tonal control over the distortion effect - you have no EQ available and no preset 'amp' types. If you really have to go all-out on a flanged and distorted lead or special FX, try the following. Use the DISTORtION (or OVERDRIVE) EFX programs to shape the tone of your patch. On the effects routing page of the JV/XP, send all EFX effected sound through the master CHORUS, then route the CHORUS to either MIX or MIX AND REVERB. Do not apply chorusing and/or reverb to the patch before going throught the EFX. Crank the LEVEL parameter of the master CHORUS processor to its maximum. Now, set RATE to an extremely low value, from 1 to 5 but no higher...You can be more flexible with the DEPTH paramter, but start from a setting of 40. Set the PREDELAY to 0. Turn the monitoring down at this point, and when you've done so, crank up the FEEDBACK to about 80 or 90. Voila! You should be hearing a pronounced flanging effect. Now, while playing, alter the PREDELAY and DEPTH settings to get all sorts of weird effects. This method seems to overload the master CHORUS processor depending on what FEEDBACK, PREDELAY and DEPTH are set to but this just adds to the fun, really. Remember that if the FEEDBACK is cranked, when the resonant peak of the CHORUS processor encounters sympathetic frequencies (of notes being played), it can bark a little unpredictably. Just keep the monitoring fairly low until you find something that works.