Wavescape NORD MODULA G2 SERIES-VOL. 01.- CLUB LIFE User Manual - page 10
Pitchbend Wheel:
A controller on an instrument that
raises or lowers the pitch of the sound playing.
Polyphony:
The number of waveforms or oscillators a
synth can simultaneously play.
Preset/Program/Patch:
Brand-dependent name of a
single programmed sound within a sound generating
or processing device that can be called up using
program change commands.
Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM):
A common method
used in encoding, transmitting and storing digital data.
Pulse Wave:
Non-symmetrical square wave, its shape
can be modified by pulse width modulation.
Pulse Width Modulation:
A means for modulating the
duty cycle of a pulse wave. This changes the timbre
and the harmonic content of a basic tone.
Random Access Memory (RAM):
the type of volatile
memory used in a device for the storage of user data.
RAM memory is cleared when the device is turned off.
Real-time:
A realtime process is one that occurs while
you're recording or playing back without requiring you
to stop either action since it takes place in “real time.”
Release:
In case of ADSR envelope release is the
time taken for a level or gain to return to normal.
Often used to describe the rate at which a sound
reduces in level after a key has been released.
Reverb:
An effect in which the ambience of a physical
space is simulated – a signal is copied many times
and the copies are heard one after another at
decreasing levels so closely together that they are
not perceived as individual events.
Resonance:
The characteristic of a filter that allows it
to selectively pass a narrow range of frequencies.
Sample:
A digital recording of a sound. Most electronic
keyboards and digital pianos store numerous samples
of different instruments and sounds on memory chips
inside the keyboard and play them back when you de-
press a key. The process of obtaining these samples is
called sampling.
Sample Rate, Sampling Frequency:
One of two main
specifications that describes digital audio quality (the
other is bit rate resolution). Sample rate refers to how
frequently incoming audio is sampled per second
during conversion from an analog to a digital signal.
E.g. CD players use a 44.1kHz sample rate – 44,100
samples per second.
Sampler:
An instrument that digitally records audio
and able to play it back from a note generating con-
troller, like a keyboard, touch pad, etc. Samplers exist
in both hardware and software form.
Sampler Instruments:
A sampler generated file which
includes the parameters (samples or multi-samples
locations, zones, group, envelope, filter settings, etc.)
of a sampled sound. Basically it is the sound itself
coming from the sampler.
Sawtooth Wave:
A basic waveform, if graphically rep-
resented it looks like the teeth of saw. It contains
only even harmonics.
Sequencer:
A device that records MIDI messages in
their order or sequence of playing and plays them back.
Sequencers come in three main formats: built-in
functions of electronic keyboards, stand-alone hard-
ware boxes, and dedicated computer programs.
Signal Flow:
Route taken by a signal from the input to
a system to the output.
Sound Module:
A device that contains sound gene-
rating circuitry but lacks a keyboard. The user plays
sound modules remotely from electronic keyboards
via MIDI. Also called a tone generator.
Square Wave:
Symmetrical rectangular waveform,
contains a series of odd harmonics.
Standard MIDI File (SMF):
An industry-standard file
format for sequencers with *.smf or *.mid extension.
By using a common format, musicians who have dif-
ferent computers or sequencers can share songs and
musical ideas.
Synthesizer:
A musical instrument that can generate
audio waveforms electronically and modulate them
to create new audio waveforms.
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NORD MODULAR G2 SERIES - VOL. 01. - Club Life
USER GUIDE •
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