The interesting part for me in this exercise was researching the terms of the technology and effects that were used to create the sounds on the album.
It was eye opening, as while I know what the sound of a chorus effect is as a guitarist, I did not know the specifics that combine to make the sound. A chorus effect gives width, shimmer, or a vibrato effect, (Fox, 2021). The reference chosen explained it: “Rather, more technically, the chorus effect is a phase-shift modulation effect centred around a delay circuit and a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) that modulates the delay time of that delay circuit.” This explanation has made what a chorus effect is doing ‘in the box’ understandable and helps to remove some of the mystery involved around why it sounds like it does. This type of research will help me in the future to get to grips with new effects faster by understanding what the parameters do in a more concrete fashion. Less tweaking of the parameters blindly and more getting close to the sound I have in my head. It also leads to more terms that may also need explanation. In this instance the link provides extra resources on what an LFO is and what it does.
The next piece of equipment was the EMS Synthi AKS. The best reference that I found for this, and a few other synths, was at ‘Vintage Synth Explorer’ which goes into the background of the synth, the different models made. Why the different models exist, for example “The Synthi A and Synthi AKS models are almost the same electronic instrument as the EMS VCS3, except that the Synthi models are housed in a thin plastic briefcase for easy portability… The AKS model (pictured below) adds a 256-step on-board monophonic digital sequencer and a 30-note touchplate keyboard (activated by the 50 Hz-hum in our fingers).” (Warwick, 2009). What I found interesting in this was the use of a touch plate as an input device for its age.
Vintage Synth Explorer also had an in-depth page on the Minimoog. It does through all the different models (from Model-A thought to Model-D) and the years that these were released. Also interesting is the list of artists that have used the Minimoog. This is great from a research perspective because it opens the doors to recent music I may not have considered (Warwick, 2009).
The next term that I will look at is ‘multi-tap’ delay. Again, as a guitarist, I have used this effect to add in notes into riffs and generate a rhythm. A notable example of this is hearing Nuno Bettencourt play ‘Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee’ (MrMirello, 2010) which uses a small delay time to add in notes between the notes played to significant effect. Sweetwater’s explanation goes into more detail about why this is different from a normal delay: “A delay effect where the delay time can be subdivided into multiple “taps” allowing for the creation of rhythmic delay effects. For example, you might set the delay for 480 milliseconds, then have taps at 1/2 that time (240ms) and 1/3 that time (160ms). (Contrast this with a “normal” delay, where you would only be able to get repeats at even intervals, in this example, 120, 240, 360, and 480ms or 160, 320, and 480ms, but not a combination of the two.)” (Sweetwater, 2012).
I found many other terms in the paper, and do not have the space to go through every example. However, it was good to see that the first example you find on Google is not always the best example. It is worth looking again to find better ones. And checking that the references used explain any additional terms used within it.
References:
Fox, A. (2021) My New Microphone, Complete Guide To The Chorus Audio Modulation Effect. Available at: https://mynewmicrophone.com/complete-guide-to-the-chorus-audio-modulation-effect/ (Accessed: October 25, 2022).
MrMirello (2010) Nuno Bettencourt Flight of the wounded bumblebee, YouTube. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJvG1i79CPc (Accessed: October 25, 2022).
Sweetwater (2012) Multi-tap delay, inSync. Available at: https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/multi-tap-delay/ (Accessed: October 25, 2022).
Warwick, H. et al. (2009) Electronic Music Studios (EMS) synthi A, Vintagesynth. Vintagesynth. Available at: https://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/synthi.php (Accessed: October 25, 2022).
Warwick, H. et al. (2009) Moog Minimoog, Vintagesynth. Vintagesynth. Available at: https://www.vintagesynth.com/moog/moog.php (Accessed: October 25, 2022).