From: mclaren
Subject: Yamaha VL-1M and VL-7
---
The Yamaha VL-7/VL-1M physical modelling
synthesizers implement tuning in a weird way.
Here's the skinny:
You can't edit the 2 user tuning table I01 and I02.
Instead, you have to edit them on a TG-77 or SY-77
or on JICalc, then do a sys-ex dump to the VL-7/
VL-1M.
Why Yamaha chose to implement microtuning this
way is beyond me. It certainly makes it less
convenient to retune the instrument. As a plus,
user tunings are reportedly stored with the
instrument patches and are loaded from the disk
automatically.
The way Yamaha implements physical modelling
on the instrument is also peculiar and worth a
metnion. The physical model is fixed: a blown tube.
To get a Karplus-Strong plucked string sound (typified
by the fretless bass and sitar patches), the physical
model's mouthpiece is connected to its output. A
kludge--but one that works. A recirculating system
is created which, with appropriate losses for
acoustic admittance, mimcs the Karplus-Strong
algorithm pretty well.
To get a vibrating string, the tube is apparently
shrunk down to near-zero width. The resulting
one-dimensional tube subs for a vibrating string
and apparently also allows the user to apply a
mouthpiece with "embrouchure" to the vibrating
string--something not possible with a standard
Hiller-Ruiz vibrating string physical model or
the classic Julius Smith waveguide physical
model of the string.
Rumor has it that Yamaha has a MAX patch
available that'll allow users to completely
change the internal physical model. Instead
of being limited to a blown tube, the user can
dunk with internal VL-7 parameters and specify
any acoutsical system desired. Apparently, the
MAX patch comes with a WARNING -- KNOWLEDGE
of PHYSICAL ACOUSTICS IS REQUIRED TO USE
THIS EDITOR. Apparently it's easy to specify
an acoustic system which cannot produce
sound output.
Does anyone have any knowledge of this
mythical MAX patch? As a xenharmonizing
future VL-7 owner, this question is of
some interest
--mclaren
** (Arthur Benade called these
things "tacit horns." Nice design, no sound.)
