Decay parameter of sy machine，waste or sound tool？

Elektron Gear Syntakt
#1

so glad to saw syntakt get better, new sy machines were wonderful!

One thing I do not fully understand is the decay parameter of every sy machine, synth osc (on the opposite side to drum) just DON NEED it, there’s a amp page out there, since syntakt use macro synth concept (just like mnm) ，only a few(8) most efficient parameters for sound sharping, so every one counts, why put such a not very useful one to every sy machine? Why not delete it for make space for something more interesting and efficient!

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#2

What would you replace it with?
Yesterday as I was watching the videos on the new machines I thought the decay for the osc 2 is a brilliant sound shaping tool and something that’s rarely found on other synths.

#3

Ok, decay of osc 2 is a special one, I m not talking about it, I mean every other decay,
For example: chord machine (maybe) would be better with a chorus parameter replacing the decay.

I m not saying decay not sharping sound, but with the amp page you can get the sound you want easily on most sy (decay for osc 2 is a exception)

#4

Yeah I agree, have wondered the same myself.

That said, is the Syn page decay actually the same decay as the Amp page one on most machines, or is it a separate thing? I’m wondering if there are any cool tricks or techniques taking advantage of both decay controls (I can’t think of any!)

#5

Dvco machine also use individual decay of each osc for more interesting results. But new machine save one parameter, only decay 2, that is a smart move, as I said before, every place of 8 knob counts!
I just didn’t saw other machine very beneficial in the decay

#6

Okay I understand but as I have never played with the ST it’s hard to know exactly what they had in mind but as with the Elektron gear usually, everything has been well thought out and serves a purpose most likely.

As those vcas are before the filter I’d guess there are some cool possibilities when cranking the vcf res to self-oscillation as the osc levels tend to affect the res behaviour.

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#7

I thought maybe the reason of they put the decay on every sy is: syntakt at first a drum thing, so sy machine with decay before filter and amp page could easy to use on drum like sound,
I agree with you, elektron was a company did things with careful consideration.

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#8

SYN page decay can be useful for Control All stuff, and make editing easier. Amp envelope could suffice indeed.

It is too late for a change anyway.

It has a different behavior depending on envelope mode :
AHD : it acts as decay
ADSR : it acts as release

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#9

yes, you got the point!
control all

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#10

I realised this recently. I wonder if its mentioned in the manual.

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#11

:+1::+1::+1:

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#12

The decay on the SYN page is “impulse decay” - it’s a reduction in energy of the initial oscillation. The decay on the AMP page is “modulation decay”, the reduction in control signal to the amplifier.

The ones on the SYN page make most sense, in my opinion, if you think of the voices as drums. Hit a drum, and its inherent physics will dampen the vibrations from the impact over time. Different parts of a drum dampen their tone at different rates. As said above, it’s really useful in the Machines with FM or ring mod. Almost all the Machines have two oscillators, or carrier & modulator, or two types of noise.

The decay on the AMP page makes sense in two ways: firstly, it’s like the VCA on regular synths; secondly, it allows for Machines to have or not-have their own decay.

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#13

Thanks, learned new concept: impulse decay Vs modulation decay
As you said before, impulse decay means a lots to drum sound, this parameter has long tradition in elektron drum machine since MD.
But on the synth side, this wasn’t a normal thing even previously elektron synth except FM of dn and mnm(but I don think those was impulse decay, more like adsr thing), because manual not said a lot in machine section, so misunderstood decay in syn page with amp page, anyway thanks again!

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#14

Is it just me or does the DEC parameter have no affect on the swarm machine?

#15

Another thing with Decay on the same page as other settings is that you can use it in the same time as tone shaping parameters.

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#16

Same page is good indeed! :slight_smile: