The envelope: Attack, Decay, Sustain and Amp Mod
Shape how each note starts, falls and ends, and how far it opens the filter.
An envelope is how a sound changes between pressing a key and letting go. The MicroFreak's main envelope has three knobs, Attack, Decay/Release and Sustain, and a fourth, Filter Amt, for how much it moves the filter's cutoff. Amp Mod decides whether the envelope also controls the volume.
- What the envelope does over the life of one note
- Attack, Decay/Release and Sustain, one at a time
- Filter Amt: how far the envelope moves the filter
- What Amp Mod switches
The steps8 steps
- Make sure Amp Mod is lit. With it on, the envelope shapes the volume of every note.
Stuck?
Press the Amp Mod button until it lights.
- Turn Attack up and play a few notes. Each note fades in instead of starting at once, which makes pads and swells.
Stuck?
Turn Attack clockwise past the middle, then play two notes.
- Bring Attack back down to nothing for a fast start, so you can hear the other stages clearly.
Stuck?
Turn Attack fully counter-clockwise.
- Turn Sustain down to the bottom, set Decay/Release near the middle so the fall is easy to hear, and play a note. It starts loud and falls away while you hold the key: that is a pluck.
Stuck?
Turn Sustain fully down, put Decay/Release near the middle, then hold a key.
- Now turn Decay/Release and play notes: it sets how long the fall takes. This one knob also sets how long a note fades after you let go.
Stuck?
Move the Decay/Release knob up and down, playing a note after each move.
- Turn Filter Amt up past the middle and play. Now each note also opens the filter as it starts and closes it as it falls.
Stuck?
Filter Amt is the last knob on the bottom row. Turn it clockwise, then play.
- Turn it below the middle: the envelope now closes the filter instead, an upside-down pluck. The middle is no effect.
Stuck?
Turn Filter Amt counter-clockwise past the middle, then play.
- Finally, turn Amp Mod off and play. The key now switches the volume like a gate, so notes start and stop at once. The envelope still moves the filter.
Stuck?
Press Amp Mod until its light is off, then play.
Attack is the start, Decay and Sustain are the body, Release (on the Decay knob) is the end, and Filter Amt moves the brightness along with them. Amp Mod off makes notes start and stop sharply.
On the real MicroFreak
Attack runs from 0 ms to 10 s. Decay/Release runs from 0 ms to 13 s, and the same knob sets how fast the note falls to the sustain level and how fast it fades after you let go. Filter Amt works both ways: turned up, the envelope opens the filter; turned down, it closes it. It is the same connection as the Envelope to Cutoff point in the matrix, so moving one moves the other.
Questions2
There is no Release knob. Where is it?
On the MicroFreak, Decay and Release share one knob, so the fall to the sustain level and the fade after you let go take the same time.
Why does turning Amp Mod off make my notes click?
With Amp Mod off, the key itself opens and closes the amplifier like a switch, so notes start and stop at full volume with no fade. The envelope still moves the filter.