Let’s get K1v up on the lift and build some short wave sequencing sound design using its synthesis engine. The first time I had heard of “wave sequencing” as a stand-alone term was when the Korg Wavestation was released. The Korg R&D team did a really good job of implementing it and definitely brought some new technology to the table. The notion of piecing together waveforms sequentially was not a Korg invention; however. The technology existed in the Kawai K1 and, by extension, the K1v, to do the very same thing.
Let’s dive into how we can do it on K1v.
What is Wave Sequencing, exactly?
A definition of Wave Sequencing is a programmed list of waveforms, being played one after another. Ideally, each of these waveforms can have a different duration, tuning, and time to crossfade the playback between them. As I mentioned before, the Wavestation was the platform that really brought the user interface to its logical conclusion. The Korg team gave all of the needed parameters to the user for programming.
In K1v, we have a number of elements of the Wavestation-type wave sequence, but certainly not all of them. When you review the screenshot from the Wavestation programming page above, you can see that waveforms are programmed in a sequential order. For each step in the wave sequence, a waveform selection, coarse and fine tuning, level, duration, and crossfade times can all be programmed. In K1v, we can approximate this performance using the four sources (the waveforms), the tuning of each source, the source envelopes, and the delay parameter. There’s a little more work involved in programming a short wave sequence on K1v than on the Wavestation, but not a whole lot more.
First, let’s visualize a wave sequence from TRI → SAW → PIANO → FRENCH HORN. In reality, this probably isn’t a very useful sequence, but I picked four waveforms at random just to make the point. On key down, the TRI wave plays for a certain amount of time, followed by the SAW, the PIANO, and finally the French Horn. We can program Coarse, Fine, and Level for each of these waves via the Source parameters. We also need to consider Duration and Crossfade, too.
Given the lack of a wave sequencing programming page on K1v, we need to review the tools we have at our disposal to recreate those we don’t. So we don’t have a “sequencer” of waveform playback or a crossfade time, but we do have delays that can be programmed before sources are played, and we do have envelopes. We’ll use those parameters to re-create a “sequence” and crossfades.
Creating a Rhythmic Wave Sequence
Creating a sequence of Sources to play back in order is straightforward. Just select the four waveforms that you would like to have played upon a key-down event, and for ease of programming, assign them in order to Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, and Source 4. They don’t have to play back in numerical order, but for me, it’s easier to keep track of what I’m doing by assigning them this way. At the moment, all four waveforms will play simultaneously when you press a MIDI note.
Now, here’s the tricky bit. The Wavestation has the ability to program the exact time in duration and crossfade to the next wave – we don’t. Combine that with the fact that they “Delay” parameter for a Source in K1v doesn’t have a time associated with each value, and we have to program by “feel” or by “ear.” It’s my plan to one day sit down and measure the 100 values for the delay parameter and publish them in a table, but that is for another day. For this post, let’s set the Source Delay parameters to 20, 40, and 60 for Sources 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Also, let’s set the four waveforms as follows:
- Source 1 = One shot > 205: Bass Drum
- Source 2 = One shot > 205: Bass Drum
- Source 3 = One Shot > 207: Tight Snare
- Source 4 = One Shot > 213: Ride
Take a minute to adjust the Source Envelopes to make sense – no Attack, etc. What you should hear is a two Kick Drum flan, followed by the Snare, with a Ride hit. Congrats! You’ve made your first Wave Sequence on the K1.
Second Example – a Pad-like Wave Sequence
Using this basic approach – which is granted, not very useful – you can create more useful, pad-like sounds on K1v by adjusting the Attack, Decay, and release times of each Source. Starting with our patch above, program Source 1 to waveform 041: French Horn, dothe same for Source 2, but tuned it up an octave, then change Source 3 to 042: String and Source 4 to 120: Shakuhachi. Then adjust the Delay for Source 4 down to 34. Finally, adjust the Attack times for all four Sources.
This was not the most in-depth or time-consuming Sound Design, but the end result was a chimey attack that resolved into a nice digital sustain. When I added a little Chorus and Reverb, it became a usable wave-sequenced pad.
Despite the programming being basic in these two cases, I’ve created a .SYX file that has the two sounds in it – just as a starting point for your experiments. You can download them here.
Simulating Longer Wave Sequences
You may wonder, then, can I simulate longer Wave Sequences, as you can in the Korg Wavestation? Well, you can, sorta. In order to simulate a longer wave sequence, let’s say, 16-24 steps, you would essentially need multiple K1v Programs. Calculate the total number of wave sequence steps, then divide by 4 to get the number of programs. In each program, then, you would program a 4-step wave sequence. You could simulate a longer wave sequence with those programs – by either Program Changes or alternating DAW tracks. Not for me.
Repeating MIDI notes on a single, 4-step wave sequence can simulate a 4-step pattern in the Wavestation. I have found this approach to be the most effective, especially with pad-like sequences as we designed above. Try this if you want something long, slow, and evolving. K1v excels at this.
Wrapping Up
We considered the tools we had available within K1v, and came up with a way to simulate Wave Sequencing. While K1v has nowhere near the resources that the Wavestation has, it has the capability to create short rhythmic and longer evolving wave sequences. I acknowledge that K1v and its predecessor, the Kawai K1, do not have a lot of tools available for synthesis – no filters, no effects, and limited modulation. However, this point of the entire K1v Owner’s Manual series is to show that it is still fun and sonically rewarding to “stay in the box” of a limited set of tools from time to time, as the results can still be fun and inspirational.
Speaking of the K1v Owner’s Manual, if you are just joining us on SoundEngine.com, please check out the entire series – I’ve tried to create a set of guides that gets you behind the wheel of K1v as quickly as possible – it’s a nice, accurate representation of the Kawai K1, which, as I’ve said before, I always like the sound of. Please check back soon for more posts about K1v, and check out our Dexed Owner’s Manual, too! Until then, thank you for reading!
Resources
- SoundEngine’s K1v Owner’s Manual Start Page:
- Worthwhile Books on Synthesis and Signal Processing:
- Musical Applications of Microprocessors – Hal Chamberlin, Hayden Book Company, 1985
- Introduction to Signal Processing – Sophocles J. Orfanidis, Prentice-Hall, 1996
- The K1v plug-in:
- K1 Wikipedia Page:
- SoundEngine’s professionally programmed K1 and K1v patches:
- SoundEngine’s Rebuild: K1 (Mostly compatible with K1v)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.