...the wave says they are mono? On the ES...for example...preset waves 16 - 20 say they are mono, but are really stereo? Unless the use of “Mn” in the wave does not mean mono. Other waves use “St” which I have always assumed was stereo.

Pete

Re: Why are some piano waves stereo when......

Waves 16-20 (on my ES) are most certainly mono.

Re: Why are some piano waves stereo when......

Phil,

Listen to the most recent version of Power Bank. When I created A08 & A09 on Power Bank I used only 1 element on each voice and they were both mono. Preset 10 (GrandMnH) on A08 & Preset 20 (GrandMnH+) on A09. I remember they both played in mono.

Now both voices are stereo. So I traced it to Insert A (3 band EQ). Somewhere along the lines of refining my voices, I switched the 3 Band EQ to stereo. And now the voices are both stereo. Try playing an extreme low & high note on each voice and you will see what I mean.

Apparently the 3 Band EQ is set so it has the low frequencies panned to one side and the highs to the other while the mids remain in the center. This is really cool as you can take a mono wave and essentially create a stereo image. And it is a true graduated panning effect. The more you move from center on the keyboard to either right or left, it is very distinguishable as a graduated panning to its respective side.

In fact, unless my ears are decieving me, it sounds more like a defined stereo wave than some of the other waves that were recorded in stereo. This is a really cool discovery. It never ceases to amaze me as to what the ES is capable of. I never would have guessed that changing from mono to stereo on the EQ from a mono wave could have such an extreme & realistic effect on the mono wave. I figured there would be some change, but this change is huge.

In fact, these voices are now some of the more fun pianos to play because the stereo image is so well defined.

Pete

Re: Why are some piano waves stereo when......

Pete,

I hate to burst your bubble, but if you are playing “Mn” or “mono” waves they are still mono even if you are using 3 band EQ. The 3 band EQ only plays in stereo if the wave is in stereo. One way to get a “pseudo” stereo effect out of a mono wave is to use the Pan Scaling parameter in element mode. A positive value will shift the mono wave image to the right, and a negative value will shift the mono wave image to the left, and a zero value will keep it dead center.

-Terry

Re: Why are some piano waves stereo when......

Actually what you are saying is what I expected. But in reality the stereo mode on the 3 band EQ did exactly as I described in my previous post. It doesn’t make sense, but never the less, it happened. If I change the EQ back to mono, the stereo image is gone. There is only 1 element in the voice and it is a mono wave.

Bad Mister has a copy of my Power Bank. I hope to have him confirm what I am saying. It certainly baffles me. What is so cool is that the stereo image is greater or more definitive than some of the stereo wave pianos.

Pete

Re: Why are some piano waves stereo when......

Now I am really baffled. I initialized a voice, called up a mono wave + Insert effect as 3 band EQ and switched it to stereo. It is still mono, which is what it should do. So there is something in my other voice giving me a stereo image in conjunction with the 3 band EQ. When the EQ is switched to mono in my original voice, it definitly goes from stereo to mono. Hopefully Bad Mister can figure it out. In the meantime I will keep investigating.

Re: Why are some piano waves stereo when......

OK, I got it thanks to Terry. He is right as it is the pan scaling causing the effect. When at zero, the wave is in mono. At +64 you get a wide stereo effect with low’s to your left and hi’s to your right the way an acoustic piano would sound sitting in the playing position. At -64 the stereo image reverses with your low’s on the right and the hi’s on your left.

The 3 band EQ is not necessary to get the stereo image, however when you add it you must be in the stereo mode as it negates the panning effect while in the mono mode.


What I found was at about +32 the panning image is closer to the stereo image you hear on a stereo wave. At +64 the stereo image is more defined and dramatic. In fact if you move chromatically from the center of the keyboard either up or down the scale, you can hear every note moving incrementally either to the right or left.

While the stereo image at +64 might be considered a pseudo stereo image, I believe it is far more than that. In fact I would consider it a more precise super stereo image. While the pan scaling is seperating each note in a mathematical fashion, it actually gives the image an actual, more defined distinction between each note as opposed to placing 2 mic’s on either end of an acoustic piano where the distinction of every note becomes more obscured in that type of stereo field.

Try it. It is really cool and would probably sound awesome in a mix, especially where a piano is solo or a mix with only a few instruments. Just take a voice that has been initialized, add only 1 mono piano element (say preset wave 10), and adjust the pan scaling of that element to +64. If you do find the stereo field is too exagerated, try adjusting the pan scaling down to your liking. Of course you have to adjust other parameters to get the piano to sound correct, but this is just for demonstration purposes. Try headphones to hear the panning more incrementally.


Pete