Using Sculpture’s Amplitude Envelope Parameters

The parameters discussed in this section apply on a per-voice basis. This is a straightforward ADSR envelope that scales the pickup signals before passing them on to the Waveshaper and filter. The positioning of the amplitude envelope at this point in the signal path produces more natural sounding results because you can control signal levels before sending them to the Waveshaper (if used). The Waveshaper can have a significant impact on the spectral content of the sound, which can lead to synthetic sounding results.

• Attack—Soft and Hard slider(s): Divided into two halves. The lower slider half (Soft) determines the attack time when the incoming MIDI note is played at maximum velocity. The upper slider half (Hard) determines the attack time when the incoming MIDI note is played at minimum velocity. You can adjust both slider halves simultaneously by dragging in the space between them.

  Important: The attack time parameters of the amplitude envelope have a major impact on the way a single note is retriggered. When both Attack Soft and Hard are set to a value of 0, the vibrating string is retriggered. If either of these parameters is set to a value above 0, a new note will be triggered. Sonically, the retriggering of a vibrating string will result in different harmonics being heard during the attack phase.

• Decay slider: Defines the decay time. The decay time is the amount of time that it takes for the signal to fall to the sustain level, following the initial strike/attack time.
• Sustain slider: Sets the sustain level. The sustain level is held until the key is released.
• Release slider: Determines the length of time required for the signal to fall from the sustain level to a level of 0. Short Release values help to reduce CPU load, as the voice is no longer processed after the release phase has completed.

Note: Even with long decay and release times, the sound may decay quickly. This can be caused by high Inner or Media Loss values in the string material section or by objects (2 or 3) that are used to damp the string.