4 ACCELERATION / BRAKE (PITCH ENVELOPE)

4.1 Description

One of the most exciting sound characteristics of the MOTOR Synth is hearing the motors change their speed of rotation (RPM). Due to physical inertia the motors have an inherent rev up and down rate. In other words, the motors can not change the speed of rotation (and consequently the musical pitch) instantaneously. This is a physical limitation, albeit musically pleasing. As the inherent pitch slew is very short the MOTOR Synth offers to extend the effect with detailed control over the pitch envelope of each voice called ACCELERATION / BRAKE. 

ACCELERATION is a rising or falling pitch when a new note gate is triggered. In terms of a pitch envelope ACCELERATION is the attack stage that can be both positive and negative.

BRAKE is a rising or falling pitch when a note gate is released. In terms of pitch envelope BRAKE is a release stage that can be both positive and negative.

❕ Note: As ACCELERATION and BRAKE are triggered by the note gate, the effect can be masked by conflicting AMP ENVELOPE settings. For example, if the AMP ENVELOPE has an extremely long attack time and instant release time, the ACCELERATION and BRAKE pitch changes will not be heard, as they will take place during the silent stages of the AMP ENVELOPE.

4.2 List of parameters

ACCELERATION /  BRAKE is controlled with two rotary knobs FROM / TO and ACCEL / BRAKE  for each motor voice and additional parameters in the ACCEL / BRAKE SCREEN. This list contains an overview of all parameters in this section. For further information refer to the Instructions sub-section.

The graph on the left of the ACCELERATION / BRAKE SCREEN consists of X axis for [ACCEL] and [BRAKE] rates and Y axis for [FROM] and [TO] intervals.

The graph on the right indicates the real-time ACCELERATION / BRAKE status for each motor of the given voice.

4.3 Instructions

4.3.1 Setting the ACCELERATION

Turn the FROM knob left from the center indent position for rising or turn right for falling ACCELERATION. The [FROM] parameter indicates the relative starting interval in semitones. For example, the CCW position of -12 semitones will give one octave rising pitch with each triggered note until the target pitch is reached.

Turn the ACCEL knob to set the rate at which each new note will reach the target pitch from the [FROM] interval. The CCW position sets the ACCELERATION off.

❕ Note: If the [ACCEL] rate is set longer than the performed note gate, the target pitch will not be reached in the given time. This will result in out-of-tune target pitch – similar to how a note will not reach full volume if the AMP ENVELOPE attack is longer than the gate. This needs to be considered when performing with the SEQUENCER or ARPEGGIATOR where in many cases the gate will be set shorter than the available [ACCEL] rates. This can be monitored in the ACCELERATION / BRAKE SCREEN. In most cases this effect would be avoided, however it can be used to achieve a unique detune effect.

4.3.2 Setting the BRAKE

Turn the ALT + FROM / TO knob left from the center indent position for falling or turn right for rising BRAKE. The [TO] parameter indicates the relative end interval in semitones. For example, a [TO] of 5 semitones will produce a perfect fourth rise from the target pitch with each released gate.

Turn the ALT + ACCEL / BRAKE knob to set the rate at which each released note will fall or rise to the [FROM] interval. The CCW position sets the BRAKE off.

4.3.3 Setting the ACCELERATION / BRAKE CURVE

Turn the ▶ LEFT SCREEN ENCODER to adjust the [CURVE] of both ACCELERATION and BRAKE. Negative values will produce an exponential curve, positive values will produce a logarithmic curve. 

4.3.4 Toggling between ACCELERATION / BRAKE modes

The default ACCELERATION / BRAKE mode is TARGET which is described previously in this section. An alternative is the GLIDE mode, which functions as a classic portamento between pitch changes. In this mode [FROM] and [TO] parameters are unavailable, as these are determined by the performance. The [ACCEL] parameter sets the portamento rate for when the pitch is rising and the [BRAKE] parameter for when the pitch is falling.

Turn the ◀ RIGHT SCREEN ENCODER to toggle between TARGET and GLIDE modes.

SCREENSHOT AR GLIDE MODE

Turn the ACCEL knob to set the rate at which a motor will rev up to a higher RPM when a new note is triggered.

Turn the ALT + ACCEL / BRAKE knob to set the rate at which a motor will rew down to a lower RPM when a new note is triggered.

❕ Note: The ACCEL / BRAKE functionality is polyphonic – each motor has it own separate ACCELERATION and BRAKE. If the performance consists of monophonic parts the glide will not be heard as each note will be assigned to a new motor. If glide is required for monophonic performances, set the voice’s polyphony setting to DUO or UNI depending on the performance. LINKS UZ POLYPHONY SETUP NODALJU.