Coursera  Berklee  College  of  Music  Introduction  to  Music  Production  Week  6      

Eduardo  Alejandro  Motta  Porras  

Using  the  synthesizer  basic  controls  on  the  ES2  for  Logic  Pro  X  

“Hi!  I  am  Eduardo  Motta  from  Antigua,  Guatemala,  a  small  country  in  Central  America.  I´m  an  electrical  engineer  and  studying  music  production  has  always  been  

my  passion.  This  lesson  is  for  week  6  of  Introduction  To  Music  Production  at  Coursera.org.  I  will  be  demonstrating  how  to  use  the  ES2  synthesizer  in  Logic  Pro  X”    Objetive:  On  a  synthesizer  of  your  choice  demonstrate  the  usage  of  these  controls:  Oscillator   waveform,   oscillator   frequency,   filter   type,   filter   frequency,   filter  resonance,  and  amplitude  envelope  ADSR.  How  are   they  similar  and  how  are   they  different  from  the  simple  synthesizer  used  in  the  video  demonstrations?      

 Fig  1:  ES2  stereo  synthesizer  in  Logic  Pro  X  

Oscillator  waveform    The   oscillator   is   the   most   important   element   in   a   synthesizer   as   it   is   in   real  instruments.  You  need  something  to  create  a  sound,  and  this  is  your  oscillator.  In  the  ES2  the  oscillator  is  located  in  the  left  side  of  the  main  controls.      In  this  synthesizer  you  can  use  three  different  oscillators  with  each  individual  shape.  You   can   see  a   triangle   in   the   right,   this  kind  of  matrix   allow  you   to   control  which  amount  of  which  oscillator   is  being  used.  It  even  includes  some  other  new  options  (extras),  as  they  are:  the  tune  knob,  the  CBD  knob  and  the  bend  range  control.    You  can  choose  between  different  shapes  as  they  are:  sine,  square,  pulse,  triangle,  saw-­‐wave,  FM,  noise  and  more.      

   Oscillator  Frequency    Each  oscillator  has  a  frequency  knob  next  to  it,  when  you  select  it  you  can  move  it  by  seconds  or  cents.      

   

Filter  Type    In  the  ES2  filter  section  we  have  two  filters,  which  we  can  either  use  in  a  parallel  or  series   configuration.   In   each   filter   se   can   either   choose   between   a   low   pass,   high  pass,  band  pass,  BR,  and  peak  filters.    The  filter  has  three  knobs,  the  first  one  is  to  select  the  filter  frequency,  the  second  will  determine  the  amount  of  resonance  and  the  third  one  will  augment  the  drive.      

   Filter  Frequency      In  the  filter  section  the  cut  knob  will  be  the  one  that  will  adjust  at  which  frequency  it  will   be   put   on   effect.   The   numbers   will   be   from   0-­‐1,   which   means   it   will   be  calculated  between  the  human  hearing  range:  20Hz-­‐20KHz.    

   Filter  Resonance    The  second  knob  in  the  filter  is  the  resonance  knob.  The  amount  will  also  be  in  a  parameter  from  0-­‐1.    

   

Amplitude  Envelope  ADSR    The   envelope   ASDR   in   this   synthesizer   is   really   nice.   But   as   the   most   of   this  synthesizer  it  doesn’t  have  a  graphic  way  of  seeing  it.  But  either  way  the  synthesizer  provides  a  very  complete  envelope.  From  left  to  right  it  starts  with  the  Attack  Time,  then  comes  the  Decay  time,  followed  by  a  Sustain  Level,  then  comes  an  extra  option  of  time  (this  will  affect  in  the  sustain  instance),  then  comes  the  Release  Time,  ending  with  a  Velocity  level.  

   

       As  I  hope  you  could  have  seen,  this  synthesizer  is  really  nice.  It  is  very  complex  so  it  takes  a  good  time  to  learn  how  to  use  it,  but  once  you  get  the  hang  of  it,  it  awesome  for  creating  music.    

 “Thank  you  for  reviewing  my  homework  for  this  week.  I  hope  its  useful  for  anyone  interested  in  using  Logic  Pro  X.  The  ES2  synthesizer  in  Logic  Pro  X  is  great  and  easy  to  use,  but  its  important  to  understand  how  it  works  and  the  different  options  you  

might  be  able  to  use.”