Dave Smith Instruments SYNTHESIZERS

Robert -
Without knowing the name or patch location, I can't be certain about 
which sound you're talking about.

For "snappy" envelopes, make sure your envelope type parameter is set to 
  "EXPonential" and not "LINear".  Then just set your decays to be 
fairly short, your sustains low-to-0, and your releases similar to decay.

When you ask about synthesis, I'm assuming you're talking about the 
Karplus-Strong synthesis patches.  You can learn how to do that by 
reading the "Definitive Guide" I recently uploaded.

A quick summary:
Rather than using the oscillators to generate sound, Karplus-Strong 
synthesis uses a feedback/delay line.

It's similar to how mic or guitar feedback works - you introduce a small 
"impulse" to "excite" the feedback channel, which starts the feedback 
process.

For Evolver, you need to do the following things:
* Decide on a feedback/delay path - you can use the "feedback" channels 
or the delay line (I think "feedback" sounds better myself, and that's 
what the "factory" Karplus-Strong patches use).
* Crank up the feedback level (80-100 per your taste)
* Create an impulse - use ENV 3 to control noise level and make just a 
little "snap" - a very short decay, no sustain, 0 release.
* Assign something to control feedback frequency (otherwise your patch 
will only play one pitch - the one determined by the feedback frequency 
parameter).  The best control mechanism is probably MIDI note number. 
You need to set up *2* modulation slots to control it - set them both to 
have a SOURCE of MIDI note number, a DESTINATION of Feedback Frequency, 
and an AMOUNT of +99.
* Set Feedback Frequency to 0 (you can use this to transpose the patch 
if you need later).
* Add some LPF/HPF to taste