Dave Smith Instruments SYNTHESIZERS

> Re: Feedback 2 on PEK issue
> 
> When the feedback of delay two goes back to the front of the line before the
> filters, it is coming in at the same place an external input sound would come
> in. Both are run through the VCA which comes after the Filter (see diagram).
> The VCA Envelope is triggered by a keypress. So when you release the key, the
> sound is gated by the VCA Envelope. Such gating is slowed by the VCA Envelope
> Release of course.The parameter for VCA Level allows the sound to go on and
> on. This works for external input so the Evolver can be used as an effect.
> Turning VCA Level up should also give you the endless loop you are looking for
> without a keyhold or long release time (i.e. turning up VCA Level negates the
> affectiveness of the VCA Envelope).

Thanks BTW for all of your enlightening comments. The signal path makes more
sense to me, but following the above got me something strange. Turning up
VCA level got me the endless and increasing in volume feedback loop I was
trying to achieve, but it also added a drone of every oscillator's key pitch
and default pitch - something pretty unusable for this effect. In fact,
turning up VCA level on almost any patch does the same thing. It makes sense
to me that the envelope is disengaged by turning up this VCA level control.
It follows that there should be oscillator drone coming through, but why is
it both the key pitch and the default pitch of the oscillators? Shouldn't
there be just key pitch coming through, unless my glide controls are turned
up to disconnect tracking of key pitches by the oscillators?

Another note: why does the feedback for the delay only (feedback 1) top out
at a setting where each repeat is equal volume to what is fed into the
delay? Every other delay effect I own allows the feedback to regenerate
louder and louder delays to distortion infinity and max headroom is reached.
Evolver's delay seems quite tame, and only feedback 2 (with considerable
rigging) is capable of this effect.

It is clear I am in a bit over my head with this stuff, and I appreciate
your help. I feel like I am pretty grounded in synthesis concepts - just not
yet as applied to the workings of the PEK. With everything else I've
discovered in the architecture, I am sure there are good reasons for the way
this one works, and it will become clearer to me the more I hack it.

Thanks,
Mark