Roland SH-7 Synthesizer, VK-9, VK-6 electronic organ, guitar synthesizer, MC-8 computer, synthesizer, RS 202 String Synthesizer, System 100, 700 Analog Sequencer, FV 1, FV 2 foot pedal, RH 1 headphones Instructions

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SYNTHESIZER

SH-7

INSTRUCTIONS

The Roland SH-7

Synthesizer employs newly developed

VCO and

VCF circuits.

It incorporates two VCO's which enable you to perform two note intervals.

The SH-7 uses the pitch standard of

1 volt/1 octave which is fast becoming an industry standard, particularly with studio type equipment.

This means that the

SH-7 is compatible with most types of studio equipment and with many stage type synthesizers.

The SH-7 provides inputs for external control voltage and gate for control of the synthesizer by means of an external keyboard controller, organ keyboard

(such as the

VK-9 or

VK-6), guitar synthesizer, computer

(such as the

MC-8

MicroComposer).

Control voltage and gate outputs are also provided so that the

SH-7 can be used to control other synthesizers.

The SH-7 incorporates an envelope follower and a six remarkable versatility to the SH-7.

mode multi-bender to give

It is possible to control pitch, tone color, and/or volume unique vibrato and tremolo effects.

by means of the

LFO for

A great deal of planning went into the design of a logical panel layout to give the performer greater ease and freedom during performance.

1

PRECAUTIONS

&

METHOD

OF

SETTING

PRECAUTIONS

•

Avoid using the synthesizer in very high or low temperature

Also keep it locations.

away from heaters and coolers since this type of equipment tends to affect circuit and pitch stability.

•

Avoid using the synthesizer in very dusty or high-humidity places.

•

If it is necessary to play the synthesizer in an area with neon or fluorescent lamps, keep the synthesizer as far away from these lamps as possible since they will induce high levels of noise.

the synthesizer in relation

Sometimes, changing to the lamps will help reduce noise.

the angle of

• When connecting the synthesizer, plug the cord into the external amplifier

To disconnect, remove the first, then the other end into the

SH-7 output.

cord from the synthesizer first, then from the amplifier.

• To clean the synthesizer, wipe with a cloth dampened with a neutral cleanser.

Do not use solvents such as paint thinner.

BASIC SETTINGS

COMBINING WITH ELECTRONIC

ORGAN

ID*

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*Tune to unison with middle

C on the organ.

CONNECTING TO AMP

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When playing an electronic organ in combination with the SH-7, set the units as illustrated above.

Connecting the

SH-7 to an amplifier.

—

—

<

—

CONTROLS

&

BLOCK

DIAGRAM

TOTAL TUNING & page

8.

MODE

SWITCH

RING

MODULATOR

-

NOISE

GENERATOR - AUDIO MIXER page 12.

VCF page 13/14

ENVELOPE

GENERATOR page 15.

fVCA page 14.

'CONTROLLER page 18.

KEYBOARD page

7.

SIMPLIFIED

BLOCK DIAGRAM

OF

SH-7

CONTROL i

VOLTAGE

S

, j

AUTO

BEND i

-k.

i"K

S/H

LFO

''

1 ' i

,

'

| f

SOUND

SOURCES

VCO-1A

WW

VCO-1B

VCO-2

\

MIXING

-^ i

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'

I

CONTROL

Vfll

T4RC5 v

I

I

'

MIXER

ENV-1

ENV-2

|

1

I

I

I

(-»-( l

HPF

—

'

TON

E

' v

COLORATION

.

VCF

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A-J-yS.

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VCA

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NOISE

GENERATOR

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RING

MODULATOR

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EXTERNAL

SIGNAL

—

THE ABC OF

SYNTHESIZER

•

BASIC

BLOCKS MAKING UP

A

SYNTHESIZER

PITCH, determined by

CONTROLLER

CONTROLLED vco

TONE COLOR determined by

VCF

VOLUME determined by

VCA w77,

OUT

LFO

MODULATION

SIGNAL

OSCILLATOR i

/*\-

~T

Auto

Bend

.j

J^.

r*-

Env-1

_A^

Env-2

SOUND

SIGNAL

CONTROL

VOLTAGE

>

GATE

VOLTAGE

THE THREE

QUALITIES

OF SOUND

The three qualities of sound are: pitch, color, and loudness.

tone

Sound is the result of physical objects.

vibration in

The pitch produced depends on the vibration rate.

Fig.

1 vibration rate, shows that the higher the or the higher the frequency. of the vibrations, the higher the pitch is.

Frequency is measured in unit called the

Hertz

(Hz).

If a sound source vibrates at a rate of

100 vibrations per second, it is said to have a frequency of

100Hz.

The normal human ear can hear sounds with frequencies from about

20Hz to about

16,000Hz.

In synthesizers, pitch is controlled

(Voltage Controlled Oscillator).

by the

VCO

An oscillator is an electronic circuit which generates a waveform, or in this case, sound. Voltage controlled means that a voltage is used to control the frequency

(pitch, in this case) of the oscillator; the higher the voltage, the higher the frequency.

This, then, is the first quality of sound: pitch.

Fig.

1 shows what are known as sine waves, the simplest mode of vibration.

The sound of a sine wave is very clean and pure.

Most sound sources vibrate at many frequencies at the same time, however.

The lowest of the vibrations, and usually the strongest, is the one which we hear as the musical pitch of the sound source.

The presence of these other frequencies is what gives a sound source its second quality: tone color.

The frequencies produced by the complex vibrations of a sound source are called harmonics.

pitch

Harmonics are usually multiples of the frequency.

For example, consider a sound source which vibrates so as to produce a pitch with a frequency of

200Hz.

The first harmonic would be

200Hz

(1 x

200 =

200).

The first harmonic is also called the this is the frequency fundamental because which gives the sound its musical pitch.

The second harmonic would be

2 x 200, or be 3 x 200,

400Hz. The third harmonic would or

600Hz; the fourth harmonic

4 x 200, or 800Hz, etc.

Fig.

2 shows a square wave.

Square waves produce a tone colormuch like that of a clarinet.

Square waves contain only the odd numbered harmonics, or in other words, those frequencies which are one, three, five, nine, etc.

times the frequency of the fundamental, or pitch frequency.

The even numbered harmonics are missing.

Tone color, then, is determined by the harmonic content of the sound; the there are, more harmonics the brighter the tone color.

In the synthesizer, tone color is controlled by the

VCF

(Voltage Controlled

Filter).

The

VCO produces a basic

The sound wave rich in harmonics.

VCF is used to remove

(or filter out) some of these harmonics thus controlling the harmonic content of the finished sound.

The amount of the harmonics removed is controllable by a control voltage.

The third quality of sound, loudness, is determined in a synthesizer by the level or amplitude of the is waveform, as controlled by the shown in

Fig. 3, and

VCA

(Voltage Controlled

Amplifier).

The loudness of a sound changes during its production.

Strike a piano key jumps the and the sound maximum loudness.

Hold the key down and the sound slowly dies.

away. This pattern of loudness in a envelope.

sound is called its

The output of the envelope generator is a control voltage.

to control the

This control voltage is used

VCA, thus shaping the loudness pattern of the output sound of the synthesizer.

FIG.

1

-SOUND

PITCH

=

FREQUENCY

HIGH

LOW

FIG.

2

-TONE

COLOR

SQUARE

=

HARMONICS

WAVE with three of its harmonics shown

CONTENT ciiup

° c

FIG.

3

-VOLUME

= AMPLITUDE

BIG

SMALL

N^CONTROLLE

3

CONTROLLER

\

KEYBOARD

ENVELOPE

LFO

PITCH

=

VCO

FREQUENCY

The most common use of the keyboard control voltage control of the pitch of a is for the

VCO; the pitch produced will correspond to the key pressed.

With some sounds, it is desirable to incorporate pitch changes during the production of each note.

The SH-7 contains a special envelope generator (autobend) provided exclusively for this purpose.

The

LFO

(Low

Frequency

Oscillator) produces low frequency square wave forms.

Using the

LFO sine wave output to control the pitch of the

VCO will produce vibrato effects.

The

LFO wave output will produce trills, will and the sawtooth wave output produce pitches which sweep downwards.

VCF

TONE COLOR =

HARMONIC CONTENT

The tone color of most instruments will often vary with pitch; higher pitches produce brighter tone colors, lower pitches darker tone colors.

For this purpose, the

VCF can be controlled by the keyboard.

The tone color of particularly the many instruments, wind instruments, changes during the production of each note. This effect can be produced with envelope generator control of the

VCF.

Raising the

VCF

RESO-

NANCE control will produce sounds possible only on the synthesizer.

With some sounds, the tone color will vary at the

This can be same rate as vibrato.

done with

LFO control of the

VCF.

Raising the

VCF RESO-

NANCE control will produce "growl" effects.

VCA

LOUDNESS

= AMPLITUDE

The control of loudness by means of the keyboard is of little practical use; the SH-7 has no provision for this type of control.

The loudness pattern (or articulation) of a sound is produced by using the output of the envelope generator to control the

VCA.

The the

LFO output can be used to vary loudness of the sound output.

The most sine common form is to use the wave output to produce tremolo effects.

BASIC

SYNTHESIZER

THEORY

In the synthesizer, then, the three qualities of sound are controlled by the

VCO

(pitch),

VCF

(tone color), and

VCA

(loudness).

The tremendous versatility of the synthesizer is due to the principle of voltage control.

The above table shows some of the possibilities.

The keyboard has two outputs: a control voltage and a gate pulse.

The level of the control voltage will correspond to the last key pressed.

The control voltage control the output is most often used to frequency of the

VCO, thus, when a key is pressed, the pitch

VCO will produce the which is related to that key.

The keyboard produces a gate pulse each time a key pressed.

is

The gate pulse is most often used to trigger the envelope generator into operation.

The.

control voltage output of the envelope generator, then,

"opens" the

VCA to let the sound wave out, thus the synthesizer produces sound each time a key is depressed.

The shape of the envelope is controlled by the envelope generator sliders.

When the sliders are set, the envelope generator will generate a control voltage the desired which corresponds to the shape of envelope.

When this control voltage controls the

VCA, it regulates the loudness level of the fall in sound so that the loudness will rise and the desired pattern.

Fig.

4 shows the output sound wave when the envelope generator controls are settoproduceaviolin-likeenvelope, and

Fig.

5 shows the output sound for a pianoor guitar-like envelope.

The tone color of many types of sound will often change during the production of each note.

This can be done with the synthesizer by using the output of the envelope generator to control the

VCF.

There are the two other sources of control voltage:

LFO

(Low Frequency

Oscillator) and the

S/H (Sample and

Hold), each of which can be used to control various synthesized functions.

In the following pages, the functions of each of the synthesizer elements is explained in detail.

When trying various sounds, try to analyze exactly what is happening; this will give you a better understanding of the synthesizer.

Synthesizer sounds are very much enhanced by the use of effects units such as verberators, echo chambers, rechorus effects, phase shifters, flangers, etc, mended.

thus their use is highly recom-

FIG.

4

-

VIOLIN-LIKE

SOUND

FIG.

5

-

PIANO-LIKE

SOUND

FIG.

6

-

PARTS OF ENVELOPE

=-A-*h-D-*

CONNECTION JACKS

1V/1 Oct

| 1

+3V or over

OV

Q

FREQ

WIDTH

I

INPUT

5ATE

INPUT

TRIG

INPUT

I

EXT SIG

|

INPUT

PEDAL CONTI PHONES

VCF

I

OUTPUT

FREQ

WIDTH

I

OUTPUT OUTPUT

i

1V/1

Oct JT +14V

OV

CONNECTION JACKS

1.

OUTPUT

Connect to guitar amplifier, mixer, or audio amplifier.

If you use an effects unit like an echo chamber, connect it between the output jack and the amplifier.

amplifiers such as those in

When using audio home stereo systems, use caution with the volume control because the synthesizer is capable of generating sound levels high enough to destroy the speakers.

2.

OUTPUT LEVEL

Set this switch to

L,

M, or

H according to the input sensitivity

L or of the amplifier used.

Set to

M for an ordinary guitar amplifier and to

H for an audio amplifier or mixer.

3.

PHONES JACK

Connect headphones to this jack.

Use headphones designed for normal systems.

home stereo

Roland

RH-1 headphones are suited for this purpose.

The output level from this jack is constant, independent of the

TOTAL

VOLUME setting.

Therefore, you can turn down the volume from the speaker when adjusting sounds with the headphones. This is very convenient for setting sounds on stage.

4.

PHONES OUTPUT LEVEL

This switch changes the output level at the

PHONES jack.

Set it at the position to suit the sensitivity of the headphones you use.

5.

PEDAL

CONT VCF

A pedal like the FV-1 or

FV-2 can be connected to this jack to control the Cutoff

Frequency of the pedal

VCF.

The pedal functions as a wah wah when the

VCF

RESONANCE control is raised.

CAUTION:

Be sure to use the foot pedal's

OUTPUT jack and not its

INPUT jack.

The

OUTPUT jack is on the right side of the

FV-1 and on the left side of the

FV-2.

6.

EXT

SIG INPUT

Connect external sources such as a microphone, electric guitar, electric piano, or strings to this jack.

As the SH-7 incorporates an envelope follower, the

VCF can be controlled by the level of the signal from the external source to use the

SH-7 as a kind of effects unit like automatic wah.

When connecting the strings such as the

Roland

RS-202, connect the gate output also to make it possible to control the envelope generator of the

SH-7 from the strings keyboard.

activated

With this setting, the

VCF can be on brass chords producing sounds like a polyphonic synthesizer.

7.

EXT

SIG

INPUT

LEVEL

This is a level changeover switch for input.

Set to

H for microphone, to the external

M or

H for an electric or electronic instrument.

When connecting a tape recorder or other audio devices, set to

L.

If the output level is low even when the

EXT

SIG control on the maximum, set the

AUDIO MIXER is set to

EXT

SIG

INPUT switch a step higher.

If the sound is distorted by excessive input, change to a step lower.

8.

TRIG INPUT

This jack receives external trigger pulses.

+1

When

5V pulse is fed to this jack, the

SH-7 gate is triggered.

9.

GATE

INPUT

This jack receives gate pulses such as the

VK-6 or

VK-9 from sources

Organ, the

Model

104 (System 100) or Model

717A

(System 700)

Analog

Sequencer, the

MC-8 MicroComposer, the

RS-202

String

Synthesizer, etc.

10.

CV INPUT

In the same way as the above Gate

Input, control voltages from external sources can be connected to this jack.

When connecting external control voltages to control the SH-7, be sure to set the

KEY

MODE switch to

EXT position.

(See page'8).

11.

GATE OUTPUT

The gate output from the

SH-7 keyboard can be taken from this jack.

Connect to the gate input of an external synthesizer or the

MC-8

MicroComposer for control of such devices with the

SH-7 keyboard.

12.

CV OUTPUT

This jack outputs control voltage keyboard.

Connect to the from the

SH-7

CV input to an external synthesizer or the

MC-8

MicroComposer to control such devices with the

SH-7 keyboard.

CONNECTION

METHODS

ELECTRONIC PIANO

KEYBOARD

KEYBOARD

The SH-7 keyboard has

44 keys for a range of

3-1/2 octaves, but by use of the

VCO

RANGE switch and the

CONTROLLER section

TRANS-

POSE switch, the

SH-7 has a total pitch range of over nine octaves which covers the full range of human hearing.

With the

RANGE switches at 8' and the

TRANS-

POSE switch at

M, the lowest

C on the keyboard corresponds to middle

C on the piano.

KEYBOARD VOLTAGE

The keyboard produces a control voltage which corresponds to the key pressed.

This control voltage is most often used to control a

VCO so that it produces the pitch related to the key pressed.

The SH-7 uses the relation of

1 volt/1 octave

(one volt per octave) which means that a one volt change in the control voltage will produce a one octave change in pitch.

very

The relation is common and is used on most synthesizers and related equipment, including professional studio equipment as well as stage type equipment.

This with means that the

SH-7 is compatible most equipment used in electronic music.

440Hz

T c?»af

— r—

-tf

m

A

32.7Hz

I

-o-

A

5.4Hz

I

I

A

130.8Hz

-o-

-t-

261.

6Hz 523.2Hz

i

I

I

I

I

I

T i

(TRANSPOSE

1046Hz

M) i

16'

->l

32'

K=

4-

I

32'

I

I

(TRANSPOSE

U

I

I

A

2093Hz

A

4186Hz

A

8372Hz

2'

(TRANSPOSE

-

H)

A

16744Hz

SOUND RANGE

AVAILABLE BY SH-7

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

MIDDLE C

I

ffl—

o'v

I

I i

1V 2V

I

L

3V 4V l

II1H1IIMIIIIHI

5V

I

86

KEY PIANO

KEYBOARD

SH-7

KEYBOARD

KEYBOARD VOLTAGE

VK-9

ORGAN

KEYBOARD

1

TOTAL TUNING &

MODE

SWITCH

1.

POWER

SWITCH

Push Power switch and the

LED

(light emitting diode) will light indicating the

SH-7 is on.

NOTE:

It requires about five minutes for the

SH-7 circuits to completely stabilize.

Keep this point in mind when using the

SH-7 on stage or in recording sessions.

2.

TOTAL TUNING

This controls the overall pitch of the

SH-7.

Both VCO-1

(A), and

(B), and simultaneously by this control.

VCO-2 are tuned

The tunable range is

+300 cents

(300 cents = minor third), thus if the range

C were the center pitch, would be from the

A below to the

E b above.

With this feature, the

SH-7 can play transposing parts such as for trumpet or saxophone without having to rewrite the parts or transpose mentally.

When first turning the

SH-7 on, be sure to allow enough time for the circuits to stabilize before trying to tune accurately.

3.

KEY MODE

SWITCH

Set the switch at the

TWO NOTE position for ordinary performance.

Normal one-note and two-note position.

performance is possible with this

Set the switch at the

ONE NOTE position to get excellent trills in performances.

At the one-note

ONE NOTE position, only one note is are produced even when two keys depressed simultaneously.

If two keys are depressed simultaneously, only the higher note will sound because it has priority.

Fairly fast trills are possible depressed by keeping the lower key and striking the higher key intermittently.

For this trill performance, set the

TRIGGER MODE switch of the

Envelope

Generator to the

KYBD GATE

+

TRIG position

(see page

15).

Set the

(S/H)

KEY MODE switch to

EXT CV/GATE/ when controlling the

SH-7 with external signals from an organ, guitar, second synthesizer, sequencer, computer, string synthesizer

(RS-

202), etc.

In performance, this switch is convenient because it allows instant changes of control of the

SH-7 between by its from an external source.

own keyboard or

When nothing is connected to the

GATE and

CV

INPUT jacks, the

EXT

CV/GATE/(S/H) position of the

KEY MODE switch will give control of the synthesizer to the S/H (Sample and

Hold) for automatic performance. Since the

S/H will repeatedly trigger the envelope generator, this position of the switch can also be used for rapidly repeating notes.

INPUT cv

1

GATE

[TV"

* §

S/H GA1

1

I

E

S/H

OUT

//???

S/H nv

*—

INPUT

II

1

I i o

,-1 KYBD

GATE

AUTO BEND

ENV.-1

ENV.-2

I

9

I

UPPER

KYBD-CV

<

EXT CV GAT

:<S/H)

TWO

NOTE i

!>

A

I

ONE NOTE o

VCO-1

(A,B)

—

LOWER

KYBD-CV

<

?

i i

S

VCO-2

VCO-

VOLTAGE

CONTROLLED OSCILLATOR

The

VCO is the primary sound source of the synthesizer and generates the basic waveforms.

The frequency or pitch of these waveforms is controlled by a control voltage.

SH-7 incorporates two independent VCO's,

VCO-1 and VCO-2.

VCO-1 produces five different square waves of

2',

4', 8', 16', and 32'.

This feet-series output is distinguished as

VCO-1

(A).

VCO-1

(B) is exactly the same as

VCO-2.

When a chord of two notes is played on the keyboard,

VCO-1

(A,B) produces the higher pitch and

VCO-2 the lower.

VCO CONTROL VOLTAGE INPUTS

The most important control of

VCO pitch is by means of the keyboard control voltage and the

BENDER control voltage.

The keyboard control voltage is internally the connected to the

VCO through the

KEY

MODE switch.

The

BENDER control voltage is connected through

BENDER

SENSITIVITY controls.

Other sources of control voltage for control of the

VCO are: the

LFO,

AUTOBEND voltage, and the S/H. Each of these may be fed to the

VCO in the amounts needed to produce the desired effects.

Since

(A) and

(B) represent two parts of the same

VCO, they are both con trolled by the same set of control voltage inpu sliders.

With two note performance, it is that the input levels for one recommende

VCO be the same

VCO.

as the corresponding effect for the other

1.LFO

This slider determines the depth of control the

LFO

(Low Frequency Oscillator) will have on each

VCO.

It can be used for vibrato effects, and for large sweeping pitch changes.

2.

AUTOBEND

This control adds a change of pitch at the beginning of each note played.

By raising this control, the

VCO pitch is controlled by a y shape or a t the

_ shape voltage envelope so that sound starts with a lower or higher pitch.

When the Y" shaped voice, whistling, bend is used, the human and other sound sources which begin on lower pitches, will sound more real and natural.

When the

K._.

shaped bend is employed, chirping sounds of birds can be obtained.

3.

S/H

(SAMPLE

& HOLD)

This is for controlling

VCO pitch with the

S/H output.

When this control is raised, random notes of irregular pitches and staircase changes of pitch for arpeggio-like effects can be produced.

With the

SH-7, the envelope generator can be triggered with changes in the pitches produced by the

S/H.

Set the switch

(see page 8) to

KEY MODE

EXT

CV/GATE/IS/H) to trigger the envelope generator with the

S/H clock pulses.

For this should be mode of operation, there no connection to the

GATE

INPUT jack, otherwise the envelope generator will be triggered from the external source.

4.

AUTOBEND

TIME

This controls the time required for the

VCO to return to its normal pitch when using the

AUTOBEND.

Turning the knob clockwise increases the time.

set

Normally, this control is between and

5; special effects are obtained with higher settings.

5.

POLARITY

This switch changes the autobend polarity.

9 when

The sound will start with a higher pitch set to the the

Jv_ position and a lower pitch at y position.

The K_ shape bend is normally used.

The

V shape bend is used for chirping of birds.

special effects like

6.

VCO-2

TUNING

This control is for the tuning of

VCO-2 only and is used to match the pitches of

VCO-2 to

VCO-1; or for purposely mistuning, or to produce tunings of musical intervals.

The range of this control is

±700 cents

(700 cents

= perfect fifth), or,

F below to the with

C

G above.

as the center, from the

7.

SYNC SWITCH

Turning this switch of

ON will lock the frequency

VCO-2 to that of

VCO-1 so as to completely eliminate beat frequencies caused by slight mistuning. Besides unison, the

VCO frequencies will lock at various octave intervals also.

Since other intervals become voice feature of the impossible, the two keyboard is no longer operable.

8.

VCO-1

(A)

FEET SERIES

MIXER

The

(A) portion of

VCO-1 simultaneously produces five square waves which can be mixed together in any desired ratio.

As shown in the drawing on the right, when the synthesizer is set to square produce the pitch of middle

C, the waves produce pitches one and two octaves above and below middle

C.

Interesting sounds can be produced by mixing the

2' output with the output with the

16'

8' output.

output, or the

The 2' + 8'

2' combination produces a vibraphone-like sound.

Using all of the outputs together produces very large full sounds.

Raising effect and lowering these controls has no on the total sound level at the output of the synthesizer; the sound level will remain the same whether one or all the controls are raised.

f

^

IZE

-&-

32'

2'

—

8' mixed.

VCO-2

2'

16'

-JUUU1T

-juu

9.

RANGE

SWITCH

This switch changes

VCO range in one octave jumps from 2' to 32', for a total range of five octaves.

The 8' position of the

RANGE switch is used for sound in the middle sound range; the lowest

C on the keyboard will produce the pitch of middle

C.

The 4' position produces pitches in the range one octave above

8', and the

2' position produces pitches two octaves above

8'.

The 16' and 32' positions produce pitches one and two octaves below

8' respectively.

4'

8'

16'

32'

WHISTLE PICCOLO

GLOCKENSPIEL

FLUTE OBOE VIOLIN

TRUMPET HARMONICA

CLARINET SAXOPHONE

TROMBONE CELLO

HORN

TUBA DOUBLE-BASS

BASS

GUITAR

10.

WAVEFORM

SWITCH

This switch selects the

VCO output waveform.

•

TRIANGLE WAVEFORM! /\

)

The triangle wave contains the same harmonics as the square wave, but they are much lower in intensity.

For this reason, these harmonics not stand out and the triangle do wave sounds almost as clean and pure as a sine wave. This waveform whistling,

• is often used for flute-like sounds, and similar sounds.

SAWTOOTH WAVEFORM

A

(

)

The sawtooth wave is very rich in harmonics and therefore is used very often.

It is particularly suitable for brass and string sounds, and for sounds which only the synthesizer can produce.

•SQUARE WAVE

(I

U)

The square wave is also rich in harmonics, but it contains only the

The pure square wave odd numbered harmonics.

has a sound quality very much like a clarinet.

The clarinet and xylophone are common sounds synthesized with this waveform, as well as sounds peculiar to the synthesizer.

One effect which is very often used is the continuous sound of the square wave

(without envelope control) accompanied by portamento.

•PULSE

WAVE

(R_J)

When the top and bottom portions of the square wave are unequal, the result is what is called a pulse the pulse wave.

The harmonic content of wave will depend greatly on the width of the pulses.

It is possible to modulate, or change the pulse width by means of the

LFO or the envelope generator.

PULSE

WIDTH AND

PULSE WIDTH

MODULATION

Pulse width of the top refers to the ratio of the widths and bottom portions of the pulse wave.

Pulse width as is measured in percentages shown in the drawing at the right.

10% pulse width produces harmonics and is often a sound used for very rich in synthesizing sounds such as the oboe, bassoon, voice.

Note that a and human

50% pulse width is nothing more than a square wave.

In addition to using fixed pulse widths, it is possible to modulate the pulse wave so that the width of the pulses varies continually, as shown in the drawing at the right.

Using the

LFO to modulate the pulse width produces chorus-like sounds.

The output of the envelope generator can be used to modulate the pulse width to produce sounds very much like those of pizzicato strings.

11.

With

PWM MODE

SWITCH this switch at

MANUAL, the pulse widths may be set manually by means of the

WIDTH

PULSE

MOD slider.

In

LFO, the pulse width will in be modulated by the

LFO output, and

ENV-1, by the output of

ENVELOPE

GENERATOR

1.

12.

PULSE WIDTH

With the

PWM

MOD

SLIDER

MODE switch at

MANUAL, this control allows manual adjustment of the pulse width.

will

Note that the lowest position, produce a square wave.

At the top is

50%,

MIN

(minimum) which produces a pulse width of about 10%.

With the

PWM MODE switch set at

LFO or

ENV-1, this slider controls the depth of the

LFO or

ENV-1 modulation.

50%

25%

10.0%

"PWM by

LFO i

PWM by ENV-1

10

TWO

VCO'S

IN

COMBINATION

A large variety of sounds is possible when the outputs of both

VCO's are combined

1.

THE

SAME WAVEFORM

RANGE

IN

THE SAME

Usually the ranges

(as same waveforms in the same shown below) are used for two note chords.

For the one note performance, the sound becomes rich and soft with a chorus effect caused by the slight differences in pitch of the two VCO's.

In both cases it is.

recommended to set the balance at equal levels with the

AUDIO MIXER.

Set the

SYNC switch at

OFF except for special purposes.

Only one note will sound even when two notes are played if this switch is on.

2.

THE SAME

RANGES

WAVEFORM

IN

DIFFERENT

The figure below shows the combination of the triangular waveforms of

8' and

2', which can be used to produce the sound of a vibraphone, for example. This combination is very useful.

It is often used for making organ-like sounds, for example.

For this purpose, the combination of

2 2/3' or

1

1/3' will be effective.

These can be obtained by tuning

VCO-2 a perfect fifth above VCO-1 with the

VCO-2

TUNING control.

Large sounds can be obtained with combinations of the various square wave

(as explained in the description of

VCO-1

(A)) as well as the sawtooth waveform.

The correct adjustment of the

AUDIO MIXER controls is very important since the vary greatly with different balances.

sound wiii

3.

DIFFERENT

DIFFERENT

WAVEFORMS

RANGES

IN

Among combinations of this kind, the most useful is to combine a sawtooth or square wave with a triangle wave of a different range.

The 8' sawtooth is added to the 16' triangular waveform in the figure below; the tone color of the sawtooth wave is retained but the sound becomes heavier with the intensified bass.

Adding a higher range sound of

2' or

4' can produce special tone colors.

In addition, combination of sounds of distant such as

8' and two

32' or or three

4' and octaves

32' is effective.

PULSE WIDTH

—

11

WAVEFORMS AND

HARMONICS

All waveforms except the sine wave can be generated by a combination of a fundamental sine wave of the pitch frequency and a group of sine waves which are multiples of the fundamental; therefore, any waveform can be synthesized by combining a fundamental sine waveform with a proper ratio of harmonics.

The drawing below shows a fundamental with its harmonics.

The white notes are even numbered harmonics and the black notes are odd numbered harmonics.

(True harmonics are actually slightly different from the pitches produced by the equally tempered scale.) All waveforms, except the sine wave, contain harmonics.

It is this harmonic content that gives each sound its particular tone color.

b-0-

*v

-o-

FUNDAMENTAL 2ND

8'

4'

3RD

2-2/3'

4TH

2'

5TH

1-2/3'

6TH

1-1/3'

7TH

8TH

HARMONIC

V

RING

MODULATOR

-NOISE GENERATOR -AUDIO

MIXER

RING

MODULATOR

The RING metallic

MODULATOR sounds like bells is used mainly for and gongs, and for unrealistic effects sounds.

The

RING

MODULATOR has two inputs; the output is the sum and difference frequencies of the two inputs.

The two input frequencies, then, determine the qualities of the output sound.

1.

VCO-2/EXT

SIG

One input to the

SWITCH

RING

MODULATOR is the output from VCO-KB).

The other input is determined by the position of this switch.

With this switch, it becomes possible to combine an external signal with

VCO-KB) for ring modulation.

When combining the two VCO's, the resulting sound will depend on the difference in pitch of the two VCO's.

The tuning of

VCO-2 is important.

When the two VCO's are tuned to unison, very little change in the tone color will occur, although the pitches will be one octave higher than normal.

Tuning the

VCO's to different frequencies will produce the tone color characteristic of the

RING

MODULATOR.

Interesting effects can be obtained using the two note function of the keyboard, since, if different intervals are played, the

RING

MODULATOR will receive frequencies of different ratios.

Interesting effects can also be obtained with

S/H control of one or both VCO's, and by varying the amount of

S/H modulation of one or both VCO's.

When using an external sound source, it is important that the level of the external which reaches the

RING sound

MODULATOR be near the level of by first setting the

VCO-KB).

This can be done

EXT

SIG

INPUT switch on the rear panel at the correct position, then adjusting output level of the external source, or by changing the distance between the sound source and the microphone.

©

RING

MODULATOR

.

NOISE

GENERATOR

AUDIO MIXER

NOISE

GENERATOR

The NOISE

GENERATOR is used as the sound source for effect sounds like wind, surf, thunder.

and

To synthesize wind sounds, raise the

VCF

RESONANCE control about half way and move the

VCF

CUTOFF

FREQ control slowly up and down. Another of the way is to use the output

LFO to control the

VCF cutoff frequency.

Or, for random wind patterns, use the output of the

S/H set at random.

To synthesize thunder, raise the

VCF RESO-

NANCE control all the way up and modulate this with noise.

2.

WHITE/PINK SELECTOR

Two types of noise are available: white noise and pink noise.

White noise is the random combination of all frequencies.

This kind of noise is like the hissing sound which can be heard when an

FM tuner is set at a casting.

point where there is no station broad-

Pink noise is similar, but has some of the higher frequencies filtered out to produce a sound more like a waterfall.

AUDIO MIXER

This mixer mixes outputs of the VCO's, Noise

Generator,

RING MODULATOR, and the external input signal.

3.

RING MODULATOR/EXTERNAL

INPUT

SELECTOR

Set this Selector to

RING position or to

EXT

SIG as desired.

4.

OVERLOAD

INDICATOR

This indicator lights when the combination of mixing levels is excessively distortion at high.

To reduce

VCF and VCA, keep the output low enough that this indicator does not light.

Pay particular attention to this indicator mixing signals from the

RING when

MODULATOR or external source.

©

12

HIGH PASS

FILTER

Before entering the the

VCF, the signals mixed in

AUDIO

MIXER pass through the

HPF

(High

Pass Filter).

The

HPF blocks low frequencies and passes high frequencies.

With the

CUTOFF FREQ control at its lowest position, all sounds pass through the without change; this

HPF may be thought of as its normal position.

control is raised,

When the

CUTOFF FREQ the

HPF will remove the lower harmonics from the sound source, thus brightening the sound.

It is normal for higher positions of this control to produce lower levels of output sound; the

TOTAL compensate for this by raising

VOLUME control.

The HPF can be used for synthesizing harpsichord and oboe sounds, for example.

VCF -VOLTAGE

CONTROLLED

FILTER

The

VCF is a low pass filter whose cutoff frequency (or filtering characteristics) can be controlled by means of a control voltage.

The

VCF, being a low pass filter, acts in a way opposite to that of the

HFP.

It passes low frequencies and blocks high frequencies.

1.

CUTOFF FREQ CONTROL

This control determines the frequencies which will be removed by the

VCF.

At its highest position, all sound passes through the without change, thus this

VCF may be considered its normal position.

If the control is slowly lowered, it will begin to shave off the upper harmonics of the that the sound passing through the

VCF.

In its lowest position, the

VCF CUTOFF

FREQ control will remove all frequencies so

VCF blocks all sound.

NOTE:

If the synthesizer produces no sound, this is one of the first things you should check.

2.

RESONANCE CONTROL

This control accents the frequencies at the cutoff point of the

VCF.

At

"0", the

RESONANCE control has no effect.

The effect will become stronger the higher the control is raised.

At about are

"8", the frequencies at the cutoff point accented so strongly that the

VCF starts to oscillate begins by itself, or in other words, it generating a sine wave even with no input to the

VCF.

The frequency of this sine wave will depend on the position of the

CUTOFF FREQ control.

VCF

•

The

VCF

CUTOFF FREQ control gives manual control over the cutoff frequency point of the

VCF.

The following group of controls allows the cutoff frequency to be controlled by means of control voltages.

13

HPF

© ©

O

©

<D

VCF

I

I I

I

1

6 ©

6

<e>

© ®

3.

ENV-1

CONTROL

With this control raised, the cutoff point of the

VCF will change during the production of each note, setting following the pattern dictated by the of

ENVELOPE GENERATOR

1.

This type of

VCF modulation is very often used with brass sounds.

The polarity of the envelope control voltage which reaches the

VCF is determined by the

ENVELOPE POLARITY switch

(4).

In the positive

VCF cutoff

( r~^

) position, the frequency point will rise, following the shape of the envelope, each time the envelope generator is triggered.

Since the cutoff point rises, the

CUTOFF FREQ control should be kept away from its

HIGH position, otherwise the envelope will have no effect.

With the negative

(

ENVELOPE POLARITY switch in the

V"

) position, the cutoff point of the

VCF will fall, following the envelope pattern, thus, for this position, the

CUTOFF

FREQ control should be kept away from its

LOW position for the envelope to affect the

VCF.

5.

LFO

(S/H)

CONTROL

This control allows the

VCF cutoff point to be controlled pending on by the either the position

LFO of the or S/H, de-

LFO/S/H switch

(6).

In the

LFO position, the

VCF cutoff point will follow the output of the wave

(

"\

) output of the

LFO.

Using the sine

LFO produces growl sounds.

In the

S/H position, the output of the

S/H can be used to produce tone color patterns which change in steps, either randomly or in fixed patterns.

Some of the above affects will not be noticeable with the

VCF

CUTOFF FREQ control at one or the other of its extreme positions.

For greater tone color variety, try raising the

RESONANCE control.

This control is also effective for processing of external effects input signals.

Continuous wah wah and stepwise tone color changes can be added to electric guitar or other electronic keyboards.

7.

KYBD/PEDAL CONTROL

This control allows control of the

VCF cutoff point by means of the keyboard control voltage or an external foot pedal, position of the depending on the

KYBD/PEDAL switch

(8).

The tone color of many instruments will change with pitch; this effect can be produced by means of keyboard control voltage control of the

VCF cutoff point.

When the slider is set at maximum, the

VCF cutoff frequency will change at the rate of

VCF CUTOFF FREQ

1 volt/1 octave, control will and the have to be set a little lower than keyboard control.

it would be without

With the selector switch

(8) at

PEDAL, the

VCF cutoff point can be controlled manually by means of a foot pedal.

The slider will then determine the margin of control obtainable with the pedal.

The

PEDAL position also gives control of the the

VCF cutoff frequency point to keyboard control voltage, but at the fixed rate of

1 volt/1 octave.

9.

VCO-2/NOISE

CONTROL

This control allows the

VCF cutoff point to be controlled by means of the by noise,

VCO-2 output or depending on the position of the selector switch (10).

As examples of how these can be used,

RING

MODULATOR-like sounds can be produced by raising the

VCF RESONANCE control to

"10" and modulating this with the output of

(VCO-2/NOISE slider at

"10").

If

VCO-2

NOISE is used instead of

VCO-2, thunder-like sounds and gun shots can be obtained.

In both of these cases

(VCO-2 and

NOISE modulation), all the

AUDIO MIXER controls should be set at

"0".

11.

ENVFOL'R CONTROL

(ENVELOPE

FOLLOWER)

This control will allow the

VCF cutoff point to follow the level of an external audio signal.

With the

POLARITY switch

(12) at cutoff point will be driven k_

, the higher for louder sounds

For and at

V~

, lower for softer sounds.

good wah effects, set the

VCF CUTOFF

FREQ control near

LOW for

HIGH for

K._

and near y

.

If the wah effect is insufficient even with the

ENV

FOL'R slider at

"10", change the position of the

EXT

SIG

INPUT

LEVEL switch

(#7, p.

5) to the next higher step.

The best wah effects are obtained with instruments whose sounds decay slowly, such as guitars and pianos.

It is also interesting when used with wind instruments and the human voice.

The

LED

(13) lights whenever a cord is plugged into the

EXT

SIG

INPUT jack on the rear panel.

VCA-

VOLTAGE CONTROLLED

AMPLIFIER

The

VCA is an amplifier whose gain is controlled by a control voltage.

In other words, the varying control voltage acts much like a volume control to any sound passing through the

VCA.

If the output of the envelope generator is used to control the through the

VCA, then the sound passing

VCA will take on a loudness pattern corresponding to the shape of the envelope voltage.

1.

ENVELOPE

SWITCH

(ENV-1/ENV-2)

This switch decides which of the two envelope generators will control the

VCA.

At ENV-1, the envelope used for control of the

VCF is also used for the control of the

ENV-2 position allows the

VCA.

The

VCA to be controlled by a separate envelope.

2.

HOLD CONTROL

When there is no envelope, the

VCA is

"closed" and will not pass sounds.

Raising the

HOLD control will

"open" the

VCA to let sounds through.

It is most often used when it is desirable to control the means of the sound envelope entirely by

VCF, or when tuning the synthesizer, or when processing external sound sources.

3.

LFO

CONTROL

This is for controlling the

VCA by means of the

LFO.

By raising this control, you can obtain tremolo effects.

0—5

VCA

14

ENVELOPE GENERATOR

Depressing a key on the keyboard triggers the envelope generator into action.

The envelope generator generates a control voltage which varies with time according to the control settings.

This control voltage is used to control the

VCF cutoff frequency point so as to vary the tone color during the production of a note, and/or

VCA to give the output it is used to control the sound its loudness contour.

The drawing on the right shows the four parts of an envelope.

S

KYBD GATE

+

TRIG

10

KYBD

GATE

=

— t

\ r

LFO

\J

U

<_l

I.

f 1

^iW6ig

1.

A (ATTACK

TIME)

CONTROL

This slider controls the amount of time which is required for the voltage to reach its maximum key depressed.

This is called level after a attack time.

is

2.

D (DECAY TIME)

CONTROL

This slider controls the amount of time required for the voltage to fall to the level set by the

SUSTAIN control.

This time is called decay time.

3.

S

(SUSTAIN LEVEL)

CONTROL

This slider determines the level to voltage will fall at the which the end of decay time.

Once this level is reached

(at time) it will the end of decay be held until the key is released.

Note that if the

SUSTAIN control is set at maximum, there will be no decay time since the voltage level cannot fall to maximum.

With the

SUSTAIN control at maximum, then, the

DECAY control has no effect.

4.

R

(RELEASE TIME)

CONTROL

This slider determines the amount of time required for the voltage to fall to minimum level after the release of the key.

Note that control

ATTACK, DECAY, and

RELEASE time elements and

SUSTAIN controls level.

The SH-7 incorporates two envelope generators of this kind, with independently variable envelope parameters.

Usually, controlled by ENV-1 and the the

VCF is

VCA by ENV-2.

Use

ENV-1

VCF and when you want to control both

VCA with the same envelope.

*

CAUTIONS FOR SETTING

AOSR an extremely short pulse is produced.

"0",

When all the envelope controls are set at

Note that only a click noise is generated if the

VCF or

VCA is controlled by this kind of envelope.

15

5.

GATE TRIGGER SELECTOR SWITCH

This switch selects the pulse which will activate the envelope generator.

This switch is usually set at

GATE

+

TRIG or

GATE for triggering the envelope generator each time a key is depressed.

A gate pulse is a constant voltage which is produced when any key is in the depressed position.

The action of depressing a key ates a short pulse called a trigger pulse.

gener-

The gate portion of the keyboard output actually consists of two simultaneously generated pulses.

voltage

The gate pulse is merely a constant which appears any time one or more keys are in words, it is the depressed position.

In other like the output of a light switch.

Depressing on; one or more keys turns the voltage when all keys have been released, the voltage goes off.

The trigger pulse is a short pulse which is generated when a new key is depressed.

When two or more keys are pressed, a trigger pulse will be produced each time the highest key in the group is depressed or released.

The

KYBD

+

GATE position of this switch might be considered its normal position.

This position will trigger the envelope generator for each note in a passage played legato.

It is also useful for playing fast trills very easily.

This is accomplished by holding down the lower note in the trill while repeatedly tapping on the key for the upper note of the trill

(the

KYBD

MODE switch should be in the

ONE NOTE position).

The

GATE position of this switch is useful in legato passages where it is desirable to produce only one envelope for the complete phrase.

This position is also better notes

(KYBD when playing two

MODE switch in

TWO

NOTE position).

In the

LFO position, depressing a key will cause the envelope generator to be triggered by the

LFO.

This is useful for producing rapidly repeating notes such as those sometimes used in mandolin playing.

In addition, this position synchronizes the

LFO output to the keyboard so that the pattern of repeated notes will always start the instant a key is depressed.

GATE & TRIGGER

KEY

GATE

J

TRIGGER

ENV OUTPUT

WAVEFORM

(GATE

+

TRIGGER)

ADSR

SETTING

ENVELOPE

VS

WAVEFORM

ON

OFF

SAMPLE/HOLD

OUTPUT LAG=5

^\r^s r

\

J

OUTPUT LAG=10 i

SAMPLE/HOLD

The S/H

(Sample and Hold) produces voltage sequences, either in fixed patterns or at random, by sampling input waveforms from the

LFO.

Each sample represents the voltage level at the instant the sample mas taken.

The

HOLD portion of the circuit holds this voltage level until the next sample is taken.

The result of this is a control voltage output which changes stepwise.

When used to control a

VCO, this produces arpeggio-like runs of notes or notes with random pitch patterns.

the

When used to control

VCF cutoff frequency point, it produces interesting tone color patterns.

These tone color patterns can also be very effectively used with external sound sources such as from a guitar or string synthesizer.

1.

MODE

SWITCH

This switch decides which waveform position samples the output of the

GENERATOR.

will be sampled.

The

,1 and ,"\ positions sample waveforms from the

LFO, and the

RANDOM

NOISE

2.

SAMPLE

TIME

CONTROL

This control determines the intervals of the sampling pulses.

The sampling rate can be visually the checked by means of the

LED above

MODE switch.

Moving the

SAMPLE TIME control higher will produce a faster sampling rate.

The drawing below shows which are possible a few of the patterns when using the

S/H output to control a

VCO.

In these examples, the

SAMPLE TIME rate is several times faster than the rate of the

LFO.

In the first two examples, it is possible to produce a great variety of musical patterns by varying the frequency of the sampled waveforms

(by changing the

LFO

RATE control) and/or varying the

SAMPLE

TIME.

3.

OUTPUT LAG CONTROL

Raising this slider will

"soften" the voltage changes so that pitches will have a keyboardlike portamento effect.

»S/H

OUTPUT WAVEFORM

BY

EACH SAMPLING MODE.

A

A

SAMPLED

WAVEFORM k

/\ /\

V

V

\ lllllllllllllllllll

SAMPLING

PULSE llllllllllllllllllll

RANDOM iiimiiiiiiiiiinii

S/H

OUTPUT

WAVEFORM

_H

Lr^

Lr r

" rJ

\ r^S r"i

^ hi

3

L j fJ

l/"kr

J ljlrL

J j

#

a£ rrn flfi fffl^.

ii

Ffr*, j(

\ itn ffflL ji fffl fffl

rm

n r

sz

16

LFO

-

LOW

FREQUENCY

OSCILLATOR

The

LFO is forms of a an oscillator which generates wavelow frequency.

The range is from about 0.2Hz

to about 25Hz. The output of the

LFO can be used for modulating the

VCO,

VCF, or

VCA, and for triggering the envelope generators.

1.

WAVEFORM

SWITCH

This switch determines which waveform will be used for

The r

\ j

VCO, VCF, and/or is the most

VCA commonly modulation.

used waveform.

Controlling the

VCO, it produces vibrato effects, or pitches which sweep up and down.

Controlling the

VCF, it produces growl effects

(with faster

LFO rates) or tone color vibrato, which occurs in some instruments in conjunction with pitch vibrato.

Controlling the

VCA, it produces tremolo effects, which is a slight varying of the loudness.

The other waveforms are more often used for special effects.

For example, using the square wave to modulate the

VCO pitch will produce trills.

2.

RATE

The

CONTROL

RATE slider controls the frequency of the waveforms.

Raising the control increases the frequency.

The frequency can be visually checked by this means of the LED. For vibrato-like effects, control is normally set at about

"5"

3.

DELAY

TIME

CONTROL

When this control is raised, pressing a key on the

.

keyboard will produce a delayed entry of the sine wave.

This is especially effective for delayed vibrato effects, such as in the musical example shown below.

Delayed sine wave is also useful for delayed growl or wah wah, and for delayed tremolo.

If delayed entry of the sine desired, then this control must be wave is not set at

"0".

(The other

LFO waveforms are not affected by this delay effect).

4.

KYBD

TRIG

(KEYBOARD TRIGGER)

SWITCH

The normal position of this switch is

When it is

ON, the frequency of the

OFF.

LFO is locked to the keyboard gate pulse.

What this means is that it triggers the when a keyboard gate pulse appears,

LFO to begin its wave generating process from the beginning, or in other words from the highest level contained in the waveform.

With some uses of the

LFO, this is a desirable feature.

The drawing at the right shows what happens to each of the

LFO waveforms when a gate pulse occurs.

When triggering the envelope generator with the

S/H clock

(KYBD

MODE switch in

EXT CV/

GATE/IS/H) position), leave the

KYBD

TRIG switch

OFF.

i'LPfr

FUNCTION OF KEY TRIGGER

EXAMPLE OF

DELAYED VIBRATO

Experiment it with

7.

VIOLIN of

SAMPLE

SOUND

PATCHES

- GROUP

3.

STRING INSTRUMENT.

17

CONTROLLER

PORTAMENTO

Portamento is the sliding of a note from one pitch to another.

The synthesizer is the only keyboard instrument which can produce portamento effects.

Through the effective use of the

SH-7 portamento feature you can create portamento effects like those sometimes used with trombone and violin playing.

1.

PORTAMENTO

TIME

CONTROL

This controls the time required for the change of pitch.

As this knob is turned clockwise (O), the portamento time is increased.

At the extreme counterclockwise position no portamento is in effect.

2.

In

PORTAMENTO the

MODE

SWITCH

UP position, portamento is effected only when a key higher than the depressed.

In the last played note is

DOWN position, it is effected only is when a key lower than the last played note depressed.

At

NORMAL, portamento is effected in both directions.

3.

TRANSPOSE SWITCH

The

TRANSPOSE switch transposes the keyboard pitches up or down one octave.

L =

LOW range;

M

=

MIDDLE range, and H

= HIGH range.

4.

TOTAL

VOLUME

This controls the total volume of the output sound from SH-7.

Changing the tone color by means of the the

VCF sometimes causes a change in volume of sound.

In such cases, the

TOTAL

VOLUME should be adjusted with this knob.

BENDER

This section tone color, or lever

(5).

The functions for changing the pitch, volume by means of the

BENDER

BENDER variation of the pitch is very effective for imitation of guitar choking.

Also, by means of the mode switches, the depth of and

LFO control of

VCO

(vibrato),

VCF

(growl),

VCA

(tremolo) can be controlled with the

BENDER lever.

5.

BENDER LEVER

This is the lever which controls the bend effects.

It has a click-stop at center with a spring return to center.

of

When using the

BENDER for control

LFO depth, the lever may be moved in either direction, the effect is the same.

6.

SENSITIVITY

CONTROLS

These knobs control the sensitivity of

ER on each effect.

the

BEND-

7.

CONTROL MODE

SWITCHES

These switches decide will be in effect.

At which

OFF, the

BENDER function

BENDER effect is cancelled.

At CV, the control voltage (CV) output of the

BENDER lever is used to control

BENDER the effect, with the related

SENSITIVITY knob controlling the depth of the effect when the

BENDER is at either of its maximum positions.

For example, with the

VCO section

SENSITIVITY knob at maximum, it is possible to get a

±one octave variation of

VCO pitch. This section may also be used for transposing parts during the progress of the music. This can be done by tuning the synthesizer in the normal way, then, with the

BENDER control at maximum ("+" or

"—

", as the case dictates!

use the and the

MODE switch at

CV,

VCO

SENSITIVITY knob to tune the

VCO to the transposing pitch desired.

With this arrangement, a simple movement of the

BENDER lever will instantly transpose the synthesizer to the desired key.

With the

CONTROL

SENSITIVITY knobs

MODE switches in

LFO, the will control the maximum depth o,f the

LFO effect.

For example, with LFO control of the

VCO, the

BENDER the lever will determine the depth of

LFO effect with the

SENSITIVITY knob determining the the

BENDER maximum depth available with lever.

With this arrangement, it is possible to example, control the depth of vibrato, by hand by means of the for

BENDER lever.

BENDER effects on the

VCO, VCF, and

VCA may be used completely independent of each other, or simultaneously in any combination.

The connections between the

BENDER section outputs

VCA) and the respective modules (VCO, are made internally and have no

VCF, relation to the settings of other controls, thus control may be quickly and

BENDER simply put into effect using only the

CONTROL

SENSITIVITY knobs and the

MODE switches.

EXAMPLE OF

USE WITH

^

PORTAMENTO

"UP"

MODE

: cj

j

J j

18

j

CAUTIONS

(DWith two note performance, the two notes are sounded separately while the two keys are kept depressed, but after one of the keys is released, only one note is sounded, depending on which key is released first, as shown in

EX-

AMPLES

2 and 3 on the right.

For two note performance, it is recommended to use a short envelope release time and to use an echo or reverb unit to make the music sound more natural.

KeyON KeyOFFCRelease Time Max)

EX-1

V n a

-

1

»

O ftp

*

I

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1

t^j

EX

-3

P^

^^.

ttisr

,

„r -

(2)

When the envelope generator

TRIGGER

MODE switch is set at

LFO, the envelope generator will be triggered by the

LFO only when a key is depressed.

With this arrangement, the starts over the instant a

LFO waveform always key is depressed, and the envelope generator is triggered from the beginning.

(3)

When controlling

BENDER using the sine wave

( the

LFO, the

LFO

DELAY TIME control should

"0"

LFO effects with the r

\

J

) output of normally be left at since a delayed entry of the sine wave is usually not desirable.

(4)

When triggering the envelope generator the

S/H clock, the should be in the

LFO

OFF position.

from

KYBD

TRIG switch

KYBC

Gate

L

LFO

Gate

LruLnnrLJi

Env.

Gate

njuuuL

To control

LFO modulation depth with the

BENDER, set

DELAY TIME control at minimum.

19

•

If you cannot produce the desired sound, check the following items:

CONTROL SECTION

(1)

Check to see if controls other than those needed are actuated.

Are

LFO

VCO controls

(LFO,

AUTO BEND,

S/H) set too high?

Is the

RATE control set properly (usually around

"5")? Also check the setting of the controls for controlling the

VCF and

VCA with the

LFO.

Also, check the

KEY

MODE switch and selector switch for the envelope generator.

(2)

If no sound is produced at all, check to see if the mixer levels are set at minimum and if the

TOTAL VOLUME control is

CUTOFF too low.

If the

HPF control is set too high or if the

VCF

FREQ control is set too low, no sound will be produced. Also check the envelope generator settings.

(3) If sound is produced continually, lower the

HOLD level.

OTHER

POINTS:

(1

POWER switches of the

SH-7 and amplifier on?

)

Are the

(21

Are volume controls of the external amplifier, mixer, etc.

raised?

(3)

Are connections correct? (See page

5.)

(4j

Are the cords defective?

.

(5)

When using the especially careful of selector

(H/M/L).

EXT

SIG INPUT jack, be the setting of the sensitivity

The table

STANDARD

INPUT LEVELS shown in the on the right indicate the levels at which the overload indicator

(LED) will light with the

EXT

SIG control set at maximum.

If the input level is lower than these levels,

VCF activation by the envelope follower may not be satisfactory.

If the input level is so high that it exceeds the maximum acceptable input level shown in the table, the even sound when the

EXT

SIG control is lowered, may be distorted.

When using a microphone, setting it too close to the sound source may cause distortion.

Be very careful about the distance between the source and the microphone.

When using other electric or electronic instruments, it is important to match their output level to the SH-7,

In some cases it may be desirable to intentionally cause distortion effects by overloading the SH-7 inputs.

NOTE:

±15

DO NOT

APPLY

AN

EXCESS OF

VOLTS TO ANY

SH-7 INPUT.

The common positions for sources are:

H

.

.

.

microphones

M

.

.

.

electric/electronic instrument

L

.

.

.

audio devices

(line level)

(6)

Even when chronization

SYNC switch is set at

ON, synmay fail if the

VCO's are too far out of tune and/or if two distant keys are depressed simultaneously. Before setting the

SYNC switch to

ON, tune

VCO-2 to unison with VCO-1

Also be sure to set the

KEY MODE switch at the

ONE NOTE position.

With the SH-7 synchronization function, the synchronization mode varies depending on the phase relationship at the time it is turned on.

As

SENSITIVITY

SELECTOR

(IMPEDANCE)

H

(lOKft)

M

(100KS1)

L

(lOOKfl)

STANDARD

INPUT

LEVEL

-43dBm

(14mVp-p)

-18dBm

(250mVp-p)

OdBm

(2Vp-p)

MAXIMUM

INPUT

LEVEL

-32dBm

(50mVp-p)

-6dBm

(IVp-p)

+10dBm

(6.3VP-P)

(1)

Never apply over

SH-7 input.

±15 volts to any

(2!

The

FREQ and

WIDTH controls under the rubber covers on the rear panel are for use technicians.

by qualified electronic

Do not touch these since even a very slight change in these can change the synthesizer pitch relations and render the synthesizer useless as a musical instrument.

shown in the table below, when two VCO's are set at the same range and at the same waveform, the tone color and volume on the timing of the may change depending

SYNC switch operation.

It is possible to change tone colors by making use of this unique characteristic.

VCO-1

A

8'

SQUARE WAVE

VCO-2

8'

SQUARE

WAVE

COMBINED

VCO-1 /VCO-2

WAVE

-

SYNC

ON

AT 0° DIFFERENCE

--

VOL UME

IS

DOUBL

ED.

SYNC -

ON AT

90°

DIFFERENCE

SYNC ON AT

180° DIFFERENCE

-

W

AVEEFO

RM

TH

ERE :fo RE, TO ME

IS

CH/> iNG ED.

VOL

UME

IS

REDUI

:ed.

20

BASIC

METHOD

OF

SOUND

SYNTHESIS

BASIC

PATCH

8-

BASIC

PATCH vco

HPF

VCF

VCA

SOUND SOURCES

TONE

COLORATION

VOLUME

AUXILIARY

CONTROLS

)

RANGE fl

£)

WAVE

FORM

'3)

4)

CUTOFF

FREQUENCY

RESONANCE

5)

.6)

ENV-1

KYBD-CV

/

7)

8)

HOLD

ENV-1 orENV-2

(9)

10)

11)

12)

PORTAMENTO

AUTO BEND

LFO

RATE

LFO

CONTROL

COMPLETE)

I

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-

="

1

= H

\ ll w

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BIQ

=

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HJj'jjJ

^1,1"

3";jj gWt

The above diagram shows what could be called a

"basic" patch.

Unmarked controls can be left in any position.

This patch produces a continuous square wave output.

The frequency of the square wave will depend on which key on the keyboard was last pressed.

Since continuous sound is produced, this patch is useful as a test pitch for setting up stage or studio equipment.

To produce sound only with key depression, lower the

VCA HOLD control and raise the

"S"

(SUSTAIN) control of

ENVELOPE GENERA-

TOR

1.

For a more in-depth study of synthesizer theory, we recommend the series of instruction manuals designed for the

Roland System 100

Synthesizer.

The information contained in these the manuals, and patch diagrams (sound settings) are easily adapted to the SH-7.

21

^\WAVEFORM

RANGE

^

\

4'

TRIANGULAR

WAVE

WHISTLE

-

8'

16'

-

SAWTOOTH

WAVE

-

TRUMPET

VIOLIN

TROMBONE

HORN

CELLO

TUBA

SQUARE

WAVE

XYLOPHONE

-

CLARINET

n_

ASYMMETRICAL

WAVE

SQUARE

HARPSICHORD

OBOE

SAXOPHONE

BASSOON

32'

n i

PWIV

1WAVE

-

ACCORDION

(LFO)

FUZZ GUITAR

(ENV-1)

-

(BASS

GUITAR)

(ENV-1)

FLUTE

VIOLIN

ENVELOPE

WAVEFORM

/

1 () 1

I

1

ADSR

SETTING

5;

/

l

c)

10 2

TRUMPET ^

5 2

XYLOHPONE

HARPSICHORD

V^ r

V

2

()

2

C ;>

4

4 o o

VCA CONTROL

VCF

CONTROL o

X o o o

X o o

SYNTHESIS

The synthesis of sound is an art in itself.

The most important ingredients to its mastery are practice and patience.

In this case, we mean practice in the sense of familiarity with the controls and their effects on the sound, as well as keyboard playing technique.

When setting the synthesizer so as to create be aware of sounds, always try to why the controls affect the sound the way they do.

Perhaps the best approach to synthesis in general is the imitation of sounds you feel that you may you know.

Even never want if to use these types of sounds in the music you play, the practice involved in imitating sounds forms an excellent foundation can imitate on which to build.

If you known sounds, then you are well on the road to being able to imitate any sound you might imagine in can also your head.

An imitative sound form the starting point for non-imitative or purely electronic sounds.

imitate sounds also gives you a strong insight into the analysis of acoustics.

The ability to

These insights are essential to producing sounds of imaginary instruments; sounds which do not exist in the real world but seem as if they should exist somewhere.

The following gives some hints on how to approach the actual synthesis of specific sounds.

HOW

TO

SYNTHESIZE SOUNDS

The three qualities of sound are: pitch, tone color, and loudness. Pitch and loudness usually present little problem in synthesis.

If we want to synthesize a piccolo is or a pizzicato string bass, it extremely simple to decide and set the correct pitch range, and by repeatedly depressing a key on the keyboard while adjusting the envelope generator controls, we can easily arrive at the correct envelope for these sounds.

Tone color is a different matter, however, and often requires much trial and error to get the desired sound.

This is where practice and patience will pay off.

PITCH

First set the sound source.

The SH-7 has two basic sound sources: the

VCO's and the Noise Generator.

The

Noise Generator is used for synthesizing sounds of indefinite pitch such as wind, thunder, cymbals, etc., or for adding this quality to pitched sounds, such as drums.

used for pitched sounds.

Set the

The VCO's are

RANGE and, for the time being, use any waveform output.

LOUDNESS

Next, set the

Envelope Generator. For this, the

Basic used.

Patch shown on the opposite page can be

While repeatedly depressing a key, set the

Envelope Generator controls so that the output sound takes on the approximate loudness pattern of the desired sound.

The drawing above shows some sample envelopes and Envelope Generator settings.

TONE

COLOR

Tone color should be considered after pitch and loudness because it is often very strongly affected by pitch and loudness.

The SH-7 provides five methods for controlling tone color of synthesized sound (excluding the use of an external sound source):

VCO's, Noise Generator, Ring Modulator,

High Pass

Filter

(HPF),

Filter

(VCF).

The and Voltage Controlled

VCO represents the prime source of tone color for pitched sounds since the output waveform which is selected will determine the tone colors available for synthesizing sound.

The

Noise

Generator represents the prime source of tone color for sounds of indefinite pitch.

The two filters are used to remove unwanted harmonics is from the sound source.

The

Ring Modulator normally the only portion of the synthesizer which is used to add harmonics which are not present in the original waveform.

Using two

VCO inputs, the Ring Modulator produces metallic clanging sounds.

To set tone color, start by deciding the sound source waveform; the drawing on the bottom of the opposite page gives some suggestions for various types of sound.

If in doubt, try a sawtooth wave to begin with since the sawtooth wave is usually a little more common than the others.

Next, set the filters.

For sustaining type sounds

(or sounds in which the

Envelope

Generator

SUSTAIN control is at any position other than

"0"), depress a key and adjust the filter controls so as to produce a tone color near tone color.

the desired

Many instruments produce a tone color which is dynamic in quality, or in other words, the tone color changes during the production of each note.

This is particularly so with brass instruments and plucked string sounds. This can be imitated by controlling the

VCF cutoff point with the Envelope Generator. While repeatedly little depressing a key raise the on the keyboard, little by

VCF

ENV-1 control.

Each time you raise this control, lower the

VCF CUTOFF

FREQ control slightly to compensate.

The tone color of an instrument will also often be slightly different for different pitch ranges.

This effect can be produced by using the keyboard control voltage to control the

VCF cutoff point.

First, readjust your sound so that lower keys on the keyboard produce the tone coloring of the lower pitches.

Normally, this tone coloring is darker than the higher pitches.

Next, try playing pitches higher on the keyboard. Raise the

PEDAL control (switch at

KYBD)

VCF KYBD/ to brighten these places upper pitches.

Now, try pitches at various on the keyboard and touch up the

VCF controls so that you get the desired effect.

Don't forget that using the

Modulation is also

VCO

Pulse

Width another source of tone color which changes.

OTHER

DETAILS OF SOUND

Once the basic sound is set, you are ready to add the extra details to the sound, such as portamento, vibrato, etc.

During this process, you will also probably want to touch up the previously set controls to make your sound perfect.

22

«

SAMPLE SOUND PATCHES

The word patch refers to the connections and settings of a synthesizer used to arrive at a given sound.

The sample sound patches which appear on the following pages should help to give you a better understanding of how sounds are actually synthesized.

They can form the basis for.many other sounds in addition to those shown.

Many of the controls may have to be readjusted in order to produce the sounds of the instruments given.

This is because it is impossible to make

PAGE

23/24 GROUP

1

WOODWINDS

1.

2.

FLUTE

CLARINET

3.

OBOE

GROUP

2

- BRASS INSTRUMENTS

4.

TRUMPET

5.

6.

HORN

TUBA

GROUP

3

-

STRING INSTRUMENTS

7.

VIOLIN

8.

9.

FUZZ GUITAR

BASS

GUITAR

GROUP

4

- PERCUSSION

10.

XYLOPHONE

11.

VIBRAPHONE

12.SNAREDRUM

GROUP

5

-

KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

13.

ELECTRIC PIANO

14.HARPSICHORD

15.0RGAN

PAGE

25

PAGE

26

PAGE

27

PAGE

28

GROUP

1

-

WOODWINDS

the diagram accurate since large sometimes a small change in change in sound.

Also, the type of amplifier used a control will causes a often strongly affect the results.

Many of the sounds you synthesize can be greatly amplifier tone controls and/or improved by using your by using a graphic equalizer such as the

Boss

GE-10.

Also, echo and chorus effects can add greatly to the overall effect.

PAGE

29

GROUP

6

-

OTHER SOURES

16.WHISTLE

I

17.WHISTLE

II

18.BELL

GROUP

7

-

SOUND

EFFECTS

19.STEAM

LOCOMOTIVE

20.

WIND

21.

GUN SHOTS.THUNDER

GROUP

8-

USING

EXTERNAL SOUND SOURCES

22.

ENVELOPE FOLLOWER

23.

ENVELOPE MODIFIER

24.

RING

MODULATOR

MANEUVERING BENDER

GUITAR

FUNKY

BASS

PAGE 30

PAGE

31

PAGE

32

<\

FLUTE

23

I

s

51

6]

The flute produces a sound with a very clean and pure tone color.

synthesizer filtering it

This can be produced on the by using the sawtooth wave and highly with the

VCF.

Note that the

VCF

ENV-1 control is raised so that the tone color changes slightly note.

This is during the production of each common with wind instruments.

You can check the sound of this effect lowering the

ENV-1 control to by

"0" and raising the

VCF CUTOFF FREQ control to about

"6".

This will produce a tone color about the same as produced with sustained notes.

If you compare is these two sounds, you can hear the subtle effect that envelope control sound.

Also has on this particular check the effect of the

HPF by playing various pitches and moving the

HPF

CUTOFF

"0" and

FREQ control the setting up and down between shown. Note the subtle effect r

;:.:.„„ it has on the lower pitches.

Note the use of the

VCF

LFO/S/H control

(switch at

In this case

LFO) to produce what is called growl.

the effect is subtle as it would be in a flute the sound. Raise this control to "10",

LFO increase

RATE to maximum

(and the

LFO

DELAY

TIME to minimum) and you have growl which can be produced only on a synthesizer.

Now try the

Flute patch as shown, but using the triangle wave.

Although the flute and the triangle wave contain few harmonics, the harmonics in the triangle wave are all odd numbered and thus the sound is not very flute-like, but more hollow sounding, like a recorder.

This is a of good example how a small change can create a different sound from the same patch.

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CLARINET Since the square wave all by itself already sounds much like a clarinet, this is a good place to start in obtaining the clarinet sound.

shows the

The diagram

VCO

RANGE switch at 16' for a low register use the clarinet; use 8' for a

TRANSPOSE switch).

higher register

(or

As with the flute, remove we again use the filters to some of the harmonics from the square wave, and we use envelope control because the clarinet is a wind instrument.

To produce a bass clarinet, change the switch to 32', and lower the

HPF

RANGE

CUTOFF FREQ control to

"0".

Also, since the bass clarinet is slightly larger, you may want to increase the

ATTACK and

RELEASE times very slightly.

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The pulse wave at

10% modulation (VCO

WIDTH control at

"10"; switch at

PULSE

MANUAL) produces a sound with a harmonic content the same as a sawtooth wave, except that these harmonics are much stronger.

This rich source of harmonics is a good place to start when synthesizing

VCF double reed instruments.

The use of the

RESONANCE control accents the frequencies at the position

VCF cutoff point.

Try changing the of the

RESONANCE control and note the effect it has

This particular on the sound.

sound uses no envelope control of the

VCF even though the oboe is a wind instrument. This is because the

RESONANCE control is not at

"0". Using envelope control would cause the filter cutoff point to change during the production of each note, thus producing a normal to most instruments.

sound not

To hear this effect, move the

VCF

ENV-1 control up to about "8" and lower the

VCF CUTOFF FREQ control to about "4". This produces an articulation of the sound not unlike the articulation produced by human speech.

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Notice in all of these sounds that the

Envelope

Generator the

DECAY control has no effect because

SUSTAIN control is set at maximum, and therefore may be set anywhere.

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GROUP

2-

BRASS INSTRUMENTS

4

TRUMPET

Most brass sounds can be synthesized by starting with the sawtooth wave.

The settings of

ENV-1 are typical of all brass instruments.

The

VCF

ENV-1 slider can be used to quality of the control the tone trumpet sound.

For example, set at

"10", set at the about trumpet sound is very bright; but

"7" or

"8", the trumpet becomes more mellow.

Also, try adding delayed vibrato

(as shown with the oboel and autobend.

D-

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The horn, like the flute, produces a sound which is relatively pure.

The main difference, besides pitch range, is the absence of the flute-like growl.

As with other brass sounds, the setting of the

Envelope

Generator controls and the

VCF

ENV-1 control are important in determining the sound quality of the horn.

Try adding portamento to get trombone-like glissandos.

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The tuba uses the setting the

32' sawtooth wave. Also try

TRANSPOSE switch to

"L" for a very deep tuba.

the

Try adding a little growl with

VCF

LFO/S/H control (switch at

LFO).

Notice that in this, that and the other brass sounds,

Envelope

Generator

1 is used to control the progression of harmonics in the brass sounds while Envelope

Generator 2 is used merely to

"open" and "close" the

VCA.

1

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This sound is enhanced by using a graphic equalizer or your amplifier tone controls to accent the bass frequencies.

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STRING INSTRUMENTS

7

VIOLIN

(BOWED)

8

FUZZ

GUITAR

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The harmonic content of the sawtooth wave very closely matches that of a vibrating string.

The higher harmonics are strong, thus the

CUTOFF

VCF

FREQ is set at maximum to pass all the harmonics, control is set at and the about

HPF

"5"

CUTOFF FREQ to help accent these upper harmonics by cutting down the lower frequencies.

The violin represents a case where one of the smaller details of the sound, vibrato, becomes very important to the overall effect.

Try lowering the

VCO LFO control and note how artificial the sound becomes. Also try using the vibrato without the

DELAY

TIME; again, not too natural.

Try different combinations of the

DELAY

TIME controls, as

LFO well as

LFO control to find settings

RATE the and

VCO which sound best to you.

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With plucked string instruments

(including the pizzicato violin), the harmonic content of the sound is high at the start of the sound and gradually

In dies the away as the sound dies away.

With this type of sound, then, the envelope control of the harmonics becomes important.

Fuzz

Guitar patch as shown, this tone color variation is obtained modulation of the by using envelope

VCO pulse wave output. This is a very good patch for experimenting with' the

VCF CUTOFF FREQand

RESONANCE controls.

Try the

CUTOFF FREQ at

LOW and the

RESO-

NANCE at about

"7" or

"8". This kind of sound is try typical of synthesizers.

the

ENV-1 of these variations with the

As a variation of this,

VCF CUTOFF

FREQ at

HIGH and the

POLARITY switch at

\^

.

Also, try all

VCA envelope selector switch at

ENV-2.

,

.

.

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,Sr

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Bass Guitar sound also uses envelope modulation of the

VCO pulse waveform.

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"8"

PULSE

WIDTH MOD so that the change in the pulse slider is at wave is a little less than it is for the

Fuzz

Guitar sound, and the

ENV-1 are at

"2"

DECAY for a faster and change.

RELEASE sliders

Try setting the places between

VCF CUTOFF FREQ at other

"2" and "4" for soft and hard bass sounds.

Also try

NANCE control a little.

raising the

VCF

RESOffi

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-PERCUSSION

27

10

XYLOPHONE

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The Xylophone sound uses a 4' square wave as its source.

This is an example of a sound which may require a bit of careful adjustment of the

VCF

CUTOFF FREQ and

RESONANCE controls in order to get the sound just right.

This is also an example of a sound which can use

LFO triggering of the

Envelope Generator very effectively.

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The Vibraphone requires two VCO's, one of them tuned to two octaves above the other.

Don't forget to put the

VCO SYNC switch to

ON and the.

KEYBOARD

MODE switch at

ONE

NOTE.

Try lowering the

ENV-1 controls slightly

RATE for a softer effect.

Also try different

LFO settings.

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Snare

Drum sound uses two sound sources:

The Noise Generator to imitate the sound of the snares, and the

VCO triangle wave to add the drum pitch to the sound.

The mixing levels are important for this sound.

The pitch of the drum

For will depend on which key is depressed.

performance, select the key with the pitch you snare like and use only that key for a natural drum, or play different pitches for a snare drum only the synthesizer can produce.

For fixed pitch, try the

C in the middle of the keyboard.

shown, this patch produces a snare drum roll.

As

For some interesting

"pop" sounds, lower the

Audio Mixer

VCO slider to "0", raise the

VCF

RESONANCE control to about the

VCF CUTOFF

"8", and lower

FREQ to about

"5". Also try slightly shorter

DECAY and

RELEASE times.

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KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

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Like the vibraphone sound, the

Electric Piano sound uses two

VCO triangle waves as the sound source.

and the

Again, note that the

KEYBOARD

SYNC switch is

ON

MODE switch is at

ONE

NOTE.

Try different balances of the two triangle waveforms, or try with only the

8' triangle wave.

that the

LFO

KYBD

TRIG switch is

ON so

Note that the tremolo has the feeling of starting each time a key is struck.

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The

Harpsichord sound is very rich in high harmonics. This effect pulse waves is produced by using two combined and by using the High

Pass

Filter.

Adjust the

VCO-2 TUNING control so that the

VCO's are very slightly out of tune.

Also try modulating one or both pulse waves with

ENV-1.

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It is impossible to play chords, but with this patch you can get solo melody-like sounds, or two note chords.

This sound can be varied a great deal square by using different combinations of wave outputs from VCO-KA), VCO-KB), and VCO-2.

Key click sound can be produced by setting the

VCA envelope selector switch at

ENV-2 and lowering the

SUSTAIN control of Envelope

Generator

1, the lower this control, the stronger the click the sound.

You will probably have to turn

TOTAL VOLUME control up to compensate.

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GROUP

6-

OTHER SOUNDS

16

WHISTLE

I

This whistling sound is produced with a

4' triangle of this wave.

The two most important features sound are the use of the

LFO for vibrato and the use of the

Autobend function.

Try different variations of the

LFO

RATE and

DELAY TIME controls and the depth

(VCO LFO slider) of the of the effect.

Also try different variations

AUTOBEND

TIME and

VCO AUTOBEND level.

And last, try varying the Envelope Generator

ATTACK time a little.

These experiments whistle should help you arrive at an excellent sound. Forvariaty.try adding a little portamento.

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This sound is actually very

I except that the

VCF is used as the sound source.

Remember that with the control at

VCF RESONANCE

MAX

(10), the

VCF oscillates by

The itself; in other words, it generates sound.

frequency of this much like

Whistle sound is controlled by the

VCF cutoff point; or in other words, by the position of the

VCF

CUTOFF FREQ control.

The other

VCF controls also affect the

VCF cutoff point, thus the frequency of the

ENV-1 with inverted sound.

POLARITY!

V

J

The use of

) produces

The LFO/ the autobend effect used in

Whistle

I.

S/H control (switch at

LFO) produces the vibrato effect.

Both of these controls should be placed just a little above "0".

Also, raising the

VCO-2/

NOISE control

(switch at

NOISE) just a hair from "0" produces the affect of breath noise in the whistling.

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Normally, bell-like sounds are produced using the

Ring Modulator. This patch shows how similar bell-like ocillating sounds can be produced using the

VCF modulated by the triangle wave from

VCO-2. The setting of the control (switch at

VCO-2) and the

VCO-2/NOISE

VCF CUTOFF

FREQ control are rather difficult require a bit of and will experimenting to get them exactly right.

Also try raising the

VCF ENV-1

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(with all

Envelope

1 controls at

"0", as shown). Also try various settings of the Envelope

Generator

1 controls, and try inverting the envelope.

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7

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SOUND

EFFECTS

19

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE

Noise forms the source for the

Steam Locomotive sound.

The tone quality of the sound can be varied also with the with the

VCF CUTOFF FREQ control, and

VCF

ENV-1 control.

The

"speed" of the locomotive is controlled by the

LFO

RATE control.

The effect of light and heavy loads can be gotten by varying the

Envelope

Generator

ATTACK time.

Note that the

VCF KYBD/PEDAL switch must be in the

KYBD position even though the slider above isn't being used.

Remember that since the use of keyboard control voltage control of the

VCF cutoff point is quite common, when the switch is in the

PEDAL position, keyboard control voltage is internally connected to the

VCF.

To prevent this, then, the switch should be at

KYBD.

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Wind

>s made from white noise.

The

VCF

CUTOFF for the

FREQ control acts as a tone control wind sound, while the

RESONANCE control can be used to produce the whistling of the wind.

With

RESONANCE at about

"5", you get an ordinary wind; with

"8" or more, you get

RESONANCE storm winds. With the at

LFO/

S/H slider at

"0", you can control the "force" of the wind manually with the

VCF CUTOFF

FREQ control.

This is an excellent example of using the random output of the S/H.

Try setting the S/H

OUTPUT

LAG control at

"0" and you can see how the

"10" position "softens" the changes of the wind sound.

Also try the

Wind sound with different

S/H

SAMPLE TIME rates.

By raising the

(switch at

VCF

VCO-2/NOISE

NOISE) to about

"5" control or so, it is possible to produce sounds similar to that produced by falling rain.

21

GUN

SHOTS

THUNDER

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For gun shots, start with the oscillating

VCF

(RESONANCE control at

"10") as the sound source.

the

Modulate this with pink noise by raising

VCF

VCO-2/NOISE control

(switch at

NOISE) to about

"3".

Note that with the

VCF

KYBD/PEDAL control at

"10", the tone color of the gun shots will depend on which key on the keyboard is struck.

If both Envelope Generators are triggered by means of the

LFO, machine gun shots result.

Cannon shots or thunder can be produced by increasing the Envelope Generator

DECAY and

RELEASE times.

These sounds can be improved by setting the raising the

VCF

CUTOFF other

FREQ

VCF controls higher.

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USING

EXTERNAL

SOUND

SOURCES

22

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This patch will produce automatic wah any sound source connected to the effects on ext sig

INPUT jack on the rear panel.

Set the level controls light so that the external the sound just begins to

OVERLOAD

LED in the

Audio Mixer section when the external sound source is at its loudest.

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ENVELOPE

MODIFIER This patch allows the

SH-7 to be used for altering the envelope of an external sound source.

When using the

Roland RS-202 Strings or

Roland

VK-6 or

VK-9 Organs, the gate output of these instruments can be used to trigger the

SH-7 Envelope

Generators, thus creating polyphonic synthesizerlike sounds.

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VCF to remove unwanted harmonics from the sound.

This patch allows processing of an external sound source by means of the

Ring

Modulator for producing belland gong-like sounds.

Good effects are obtained by using external sources with piano-like envelopes such as an electric piano or electric guitar, combined with the triangle varied wave from VCO-1 by changing the

(B).

VCO

The sounds can be

RANGE control or the

VCO pitch by means of the keyboard.

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SPECIFICATIONS

KEYBOARD

44 keys, 3-1/2 octaves

VCO

(voltage controlled oscillator)

....

VCO-1

(A/B) (upper note of two voice)

.

2

1

VCO-2

(lower note of two voice)

1

VCO-1

(A) Feet

Series

Mixing Controls

32', 16',

8'.

4',

2T1J

CONTROLS

LFO

Modulation

5

2

Autobend Depth

2

S/H

Modulation

2

VCO

Range

(32', 16', 8', 4', 2')

.....

2

Waveform </\./1.nj.n_J

)

Pulsewidth Modulation (Min

-

50%)

PWM

Mode

Switch

.

.

2

2

(Env-1/Manual/LFO)

Sync

Switch

(ON/OFF)

2

VCO-2

TUNING

(±700 cents)

•AUTOBEND

Bend Time

(20msec

Polarity

Switch

—

700msec)

(K_/IO

AUDIO MIXER

VCO-1

(A)

VCO-1

(B)

VCO-2

Noise Generator

Ring Modulator/Ext

Signal

(with

Ring/Ext

Sig selector)

Overload

Indicator

NOISE

GENERATOR

White/Pink Selector

RING MODULATOR

VCO-1

(B) x

VCO-2/Ext

Sig

VCO-2/Ext

Sig

Switch

.

.

.

.

HIGH PASS FILTER

Cutoff Frequency

Control

(10Hz-10KHz)

VCF

(Voltage Controlled

Filter)

Cutoff Frequency

Control

(5Hz-20KHz)

Resonance (Min

—

Self Oscillation)

.

.

.

ENV-1

Control

Depth

ENV-1

Polarity Switch

LFO/IS&H)

Control

LFO/IS&H)

Switch

KYBD/Pedal

Control

KYBD/Pedal

Switch

VCO-2/Noise

Control

VCO-2/Noise

Switch

(/V/V

) .

.

Envelope Follower Control

.........

Envelope Follower

Polarity Switch

.

.

.

.

External Signal Input Indicator

VCA

(Voltage Controlled Amplifier)

...

Hold Control

.

LFO

Control

Envelope Switch (ENV-1 /ENV-2)

ENVELOPE GENERATOR

Attack Time

Control (max.

4 sec.)

Decay Time

Control (max. 8 sec.)

Sustain Level (0-1

00%)

Release

Time

(max.

8 sec.)

Gate Trigger Selector Switch

(Trig

+ Gate/Gate/LFO)

S/H (Sample/Hold)

Mode

Switch (/|

./\.

Sample

Time

Control

(13msec.

-

2 sec.)

RANDOM)

....

1

.

.

1

1

Output Lag Control

(0-2 sec.)

Sampling Rate

Indicator

.

1

1

LFO

(Low Frequency

Oscillator)

Waveform Switch

N

.ITi'l;

) (

Rate Control (0.15Hz-25Hz)

...;....

1

1

1

Delay

Time

Control (0-3 sec.)

1

Keyboard

Trigger Switch

LFO

Rate Indicator

(ON/OFF) ....

1

1

CONTROLLER

Portamento Time

Control

(0-3 sec.)

....

1

Portamento

Mode

Switch

(Down/Normal/Up)

1

Transpose Switch

Total

Volume

(L/M/H)

1

1

Bender Lever

1

Bender

Sensitivity

(VCO,

Control

VCF, VCA) ...

3

Mode

Switch (CV,

OFF, LFO)

.

.

3

TOTAL TUNING

(±300 cents)

KEY MODE

SWITCH

(One

Note/Two

CV-Gate-S/H)

Note/Ext

1

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

CONNECTION

JACKS

Output Jack

(standard

-18dBm/-6dBm/+6dBm)

Output

Level

Switch (L/M/H)

Phones

Jack

(8fi, stereo)

Phones

Pedal

Output

Level

Switch (L/M/H)

Control

VCF

Jack

.

.

-.

.

.

External

Signal Input

Jack

(standard

0dBm/-18dBm/-43dBm)

External Signal Input Level Switch

(L/M/H)

External

Trigger Input Jack

External Control

Voltage Input Jack

.

(1V/1 Oct)

External Gate Voltage Input Jack

(ON with

+3V or over)

Keyboard Control Voltage Output

Jack

(1V/1 Oct)

.

Keyboard Gate Output

Jack

(OFF

-0V, ON -14V)

OTHERS

Power Consumption

Dimensions

Weight

Accessory

22W

870(W) x 400(D) x

180(H)mm

34.3(W) x

15.6(D) x

7.1(H)in

15.5kg,

34 lbs

2.5m

connection cord

'

Specifications are subject notice.

to change without

38

ISRoland

10247

UPC 10247

SH-7

INSTRUCTIONS

Printed in

Japan Apr.

'78

A

-3

Roland

Corporation