source file: mills2.txt Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 14:47:09 -0700 Subject: Ensoniq VFX-SD From: PAULE Some observations on this micro-tunable machine (in the used incarnation I just purchased): 1. When editing the tuning table, although the nominal resolution is 1 cent, the true resolution is in fact a few cents, as nominal 1 or 2 cent changes often result in exactly the same rate of beating. 2. When changing the pitch of a voice, the resolution does appear to be in fact 1 cent. However, the amount of detuning displayed may be inaccurate. For example, a perfect match to the third harmonic is found at 1 octave, 7 semitones, and 00 cents, instead of 1 octave, 7 semitones, and 02 cents. 3. Interpolating often produces strange results. It appears to insist that all steps be exactly the same number of cents, and takes the liberty of changing one of your endpoint pitches to make this possible. Often, the resulting interpolation is backwards, decreasing in pitch rather than increasing as you go up the keyboard, with one huge step from an extremely low note to an extremely high note in the middle. The order in which you specify the endpoints does not seem to matter. 4. Extrapolating seems to work fine. The display won't show you assignments higher than C8, but they're there, up to a point. Some high notes sound really distorted though -- must be the digital architecture. Received: from eartha.mills.edu [144.91.3.20] by vbv40.ezh.nl with SMTP-OpenVMS via TCP/IP; Sat, 20 Jul 1996 03:40 +0100 Received: from by eartha.mills.edu via SMTP (940816.SGI.8.6.9/930416.SGI) for id SAA16796; Fri, 19 Jul 1996 18:40:51 -0700 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 18:40:51 -0700 Message-Id: Errors-To: madole@ella.mills.edu Reply-To: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Originator: tuning@eartha.mills.edu Sender: tuning@eartha.mills.edu