From eli@ux3.sp.cs.cmu.edu Tue Jun 18 15:06:35 1996 Received: from informatics.sunysb.edu by taz.hyperreal.com (8.6.12/8.6.5) with SMTP id PAA01109; Tue, 18 Jun 1996 15:06:34 -0700 Received: from pharm1.pharm.sunysb.edu by salieri.informatics.sunysb.edu with SMTP (931110.SGI/25-eef) id AA10647; Tue, 18 Jun 96 18:06:29 -0400 Resent-Message-Id: <9606182206.AA10647@informatics.sunysb.edu> Received: from PHARM1/SpoolDir by pharm1.pharm.sunysb.edu (Mercury 1.21); 18 Jun 96 18:06:29 +0500 Received: from SpoolDir by PHARM1 (Mercury 1.21); 18 Jun 96 18:06:25 +0500 Resent-From: "Roy Roberts" Resent-To: roy@hyperreal.com Resent-Date: Tue, 18 Jun 1996 18:06:19 EST Received: from SpoolDir by PHARM1 (Mercury 1.21); 18 Jun 96 01:59:40 +0500 Received: from po7.andrew.cmu.edu by pharm1.pharm.sunysb.edu (Mercury 1.21) with ESMTP; 18 Jun 96 01:59:37 +0500 Received: (from postman@localhost) by po7.andrew.cmu.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3) id BAA26236; Tue, 18 Jun 1996 01:43:31 -0400 Received: via switchmail; Tue, 18 Jun 1996 01:43:29 -0400 (EDT) Received: from po9.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Tue, 18 Jun 1996 01:32:05 -0400 (EDT) Received: from po2.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Tue, 18 Jun 1996 01:31:04 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: Received: from ux3.sp.cs.cmu.edu (UX3.SP.CS.CMU.EDU [128.2.198.103]) by po2.andrew.cmu.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id BAA13104 for ; Tue, 18 Jun 1996 01:30:54 -0400 Subject: Re: What the Hell is a vortex? To: elec tro nica Date: Tue, 18 Jun 1996 01:30:33 -0400 (EDT) From: Eli Brandt In-Reply-To: from "David Talento" at Jun 18, 96 00:14:00 am X-Portmanteau: pantryptaminergeticallysisterrainbowtie X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.4 PL23] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Status: OR David Talento said: > What does it actually *do*? That's not an easy question to answer. Hmm... unusual effects algorithms based largely on digital delay. The basic units are things like delay lines, panners, lowpass filters, tremolo, a Haas-effect module, and the ubiquitous and cryptically-named "modulator", which I think is a short length-modulated ddl, for vibrato, etc. These units are hooked up in slightly less than 32 different configurations, which range from relatively normal to positively idiosyncratic. (Delay line into delay line with mixed feedback, into panner, into filter FMed by LFO which is FMed by LFO -- am I forgetting anything?) The editing is decent -- one knob for parameter, another for value. (Beats the hell out of the Reflex.) The two macro-scale delay lines (which could stand to be longer) are set by subdividing a master length, so you can get some nice echo rhythms, particularly with the mixed-feedback topologies. Generally I have to turn parts of the algorithms off to hear what I'm doing. Also, it's hard to go in with a specific sound in mind, because the algorithms are so weird. I bet this is the main reason it's been such a flop on the market. Bad things: no MIDI. Therefore no patch dumps, and it's got only 32 slots, including the presets. Also no MIDI-clock synchronization; you have to tap on a button (or foot pedal) to set the master delay length. The LFOs are claimed to go down to 0.1 Hz, which they do, but the next step up is about 1 Hz. (On the other hand, they go up into the audio range, though not very far.) The whizzy morphing feature is tricky to use. If you just take two arbitrary presets and morph between them, they're probably using the parameters to control very different things, leading to all kinds of clunky-sounding artifacts. I have more success going between two copies of the same algorithm with different settings. The Vortex is fun to play with, but I haven't actually used it for much. Maybe this will change after some more programming time. (My new DP/4 has been seducing away all of my tweaking time... I love that thing.) I've been meaning to try to get some use out of the pedal inputs. It would be very nice if an audio->Strig circuit could let me control the delay length from an XD-5 channel. And I think you could hook a joystick up as an expression pedal. Has anyone tried anything like this? -- Eli Brandt eli+@cs.cmu.edu