Vector synthesis in ES2 in MainStage

This tutorial provides hints for Vector Envelope programming.

Familiarize yourself with the ES2 Vector Envelope

In the Vector Start setting, the “mix” of the oscillators is controlled by the Vector Envelope. Each oscillator has been set to a different waveform.

In MainStage, switch from the Router view to Vector view.
In its basic (default) setting, the Vector Envelope has three envelope points. Point 1 is the start point, point 2 the Sustain point, and point 3 is the target in the release phase. By clicking the points, you can see that the mix is always set to 100% for oscillator 1, in the Triangle.
Click point 2, and drag the pointer in the Triangle to oscillator 2. You’ll hear a square wave, instead of the oscillator 1 sawtooth.
Engage the Vector Envelope by switching the Solo Point parameter off. When it is switched on, you hear only the selected point, with no dynamic modulation. When Solo Point is switched off, you’ll hear the sound moving from saw to square, with every triggered note.
Alter the preset time of 498 ms between points 1 and 2.
While holding down Shift, click between points 1 and 2. A new point 2 is created, and the point formerly known as point 2 becomes point 3. The total time span between point 1 and point 3 is divided into the times between points 1 and 2, and 2 and 3. The division takes place at the click location. If you click at the exact midpoint, the new time spans are equal.
Click the newly created point 2, and then drag its corresponding pointer in the Triangle to oscillator 2.
Click point 3, and drag its corresponding pointer in the Triangle to oscillator 3. Listen to the three oscillators morphing from sawtooth to square to a triangular wave at the final Sustain point.
Click point 4 (the end point) and drag its corresponding pointer in the Triangle to oscillator 1, if it’s not already there. Listen to how the sound returns to the oscillator 1 sawtooth wave, following the release of the key.

Vector synthesis with the ES2 Planar Pad

The Vector Envelope setting starts where the Vector Start setting left off. You have a simple Vector Envelope consisting of four points, which is set to modulate the oscillator mix (the Triangle).

In this example, the Vector Envelope is used to control two additional parameters—the Cutoff Frequency of Filter 2 and Panorama. These are preset as the X and Y targets in the Planar Pad. Both have a value of 0.50.

In MainStage, do the following:

Switch on Solo Point, to more easily listen to the settings for the single points.
Click point 1 to hear only the oscillator 1 sawtooth wave.
Drag the pointer in the Planar Pad to the far left, which results in a low cutoff frequency for oscillator 2.
Click Point 2 to hear only the oscillator 2 rectangular wave.
Drag the pointer in the Planar Pad all the way down, which results in the rightmost panorama position.
Click Point 3 to hear only the oscillator 3 triangular wave.
Drag the pointer in the Planar Pad all the way up, which results in the leftmost panorama position.
Switch on Solo Point. The sound begins with a strongly filtered sawtooth wave and turns into an unfiltered square wave. It initially sounds from the right, and then it moves to the left while morphing into a triangular wave. After you release the key, the saw sound is heard.

Use Vector synthesis loops in ES2

The basic sound of the Vector Loop setting—without the Vector Envelope—consists of three elements:

Oscillator 1 delivers a metallic FM spectrum, modulated by the oscillator 2 wavetable.
Oscillator 2 outputs crossfaded Digiwaves (a wavetable), modulated by LFO 2.
Oscillator 3 plays a PWM sound at the well-balanced, and keyboard-scaled, speed of LFO 1.

These heterogeneous sound colors are used as sound sources for the vector loop. Unison and Analog make the sound fat and wide.

A slow, forward loop is preset. It moves from oscillator 3 (PWM sound, point 1) to oscillator 1 (FM sound, point 2), then to oscillator 3 again (PWM, point 3), then to oscillator 2 (wavetable, point 4), and finally it returns to oscillator 3 (PWM, point 5). Points 1 and 5 are identical, which prevents any transition from point 5 to point 1 in the forward loop. This transition could be smoothed out with Loop Smooth, but this would make the rhythmic design more difficult to program.

The distances between the points of the Vector Envelope have been set to be rhythmically exact. Given that Loop Rate has been engaged, the time values are not displayed in ms, but as percentages. There are four time values (each at 25%), which is a good basis for the transformation into note values.

In MainStage, do the following:

Switch off the Vector Envelope by setting Solo Point to on. This allows you to audition the individual points in isolation.
Take the opportunity to alter the pointer positions in the Planar Pad according to your taste. The X/Y axes of the Planar Pad control the cutoff frequency of Filter 2, and the panorama position. Adjustments to these make the sound more vivid.
Activate the Vector Envelope by setting Solo Point to off. Check the result, and fine-tune the pointer positions in the Planar Pad.
Alter the Loop Rate from the preset value of 0.09 up to 2.00. You will hear a periodic modulation, much like that of an LFO. At this point, the modulation is not synchronized with the project tempo. To synchronize the loop speed with the project tempo, move the Rate to the far left, and set a note or bar value.
You can create faster rhythmic note values by clicking between two points and setting the new time values—which result from the division that occurs—to a value of 12.5%, for example.

Create kick drums with a self-oscillating filter and the Vector Envelope in ES2

Electronic kick drum sounds are often created with modulated, self-oscillating filters. This approach can also be taken with the ES2, particularly when the Vector Envelope is used for filter modulation. An advantage of the Vector Envelope, in comparison with conventional ADSR envelopes, is its ability to define and provide two independent decay phases. The distortion effect applies the right amount of drive without sacrificing the original sonic character of the drum sound.

Note: To make the setting really punchy, you must activate Flt Reset, because all oscillators are switched off in this setting, and the filter needs a little time to start oscillating. At the start of each note, Flt Reset sends a very short impulse to the filter—making it oscillate from the outset.

By tweaking the Vector Kick setting you can create any dance-floor kick drum sound you can think of.

In MainStage, change the following parameters to create sound variations:

Filter 2 slopes: 12 dB, 18 dB, 24 dB
Distortion: Intensity and Soft or Hard
Envelope 3 Decay Time: (D)
Vector Envelope Time 1 > 2: preset to 9.0 ms
Vector Envelope Time 2 > 3: preset to 303 ms
Vector Time Scaling

Create percussive synthesizer and bass sounds with two filter decay phases in ES2

As with the Vector Kick setting, the Vector Perc Synth setting uses the Vector Envelope to control the filter cutoff frequency, with two independently adjustable decay phases. This would not be possible with a conventional ADSR envelope generator.

In MainStage, try creating further percussive synthesizers and basses by varying these parameters:

Vector Envelope Time 1 > 2 (= Decay 1)
Vector Envelope Time 2 > 3 (= Decay 2)
Vector Time Scaling
Points 1, 2, and 3 (= Cutoff Frequency) in the Planar Pad
Waveforms (choosing other waveforms)

Download the guides:

MainStage User Guide: PDF

MainStage Instruments: PDF

MainStage Effects: PDF

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