Effects shape sounds as much as synths do. Arturia's effects include recreations of classic studio and stage hardware - and knowing what the originals were, and why engineers loved them, helps you use them well.
Delay
Delay repeats a sound after a set time.
- Tape delay - classic units recorded onto a loop of tape and played it back from one or more heads. Repeats darken and wobble as they fade. Arturia's Delay TAPE-201 is modelled on Roland's famous RE-201 Space Echo.
- Tempo-synced delays - 1/4, 1/8 and dotted 1/8 note repeats fill gaps and create rhythmic patterns.
- Feedback - more repeats. Push it high, with filtering in the loop, for climbing, self-oscillating effects.
- Creative use - delay throws on single words or notes, ping-pong across the stereo field, short delays for doubling.
Reverb
Reverb places a sound in a space.
- Plate reverb - a large, suspended metal plate vibrated by a transducer, with pickups capturing the result. Smooth, dense and bright - classic on vocals and snares. Arturia's Rev PLATE-140 is based on the EMT 140.
- Rooms and halls - natural spaces, from tight to vast.
- Creative use - long reverbs as pads, reverse reverb swells, gated reverb on drums, sidechained reverb that blooms in the gaps.
Filter
Filters as effects create movement on any sound:
- Automated sweeps for builds and transitions.
- LFO-driven filters for rhythmic movement.
- Resonant filters for squelch and character.
- Arturia's filter effects are drawn from the filters of classic synths.
Compressor
Compression controls dynamics and adds character.
- FET compression - fast, punchy and aggressive. The 1176, a classic FET compressor, is beloved on vocals, drums and bass. Arturia's Comp FET-76 is modelled on it.
- Uses - controlling peaks, adding punch, parallel compression for density, sidechain pumping.
- Settings - attack and release shape the sound as much as the amount of gain reduction.
Preamp
A preamp brings a signal up to a usable level - and classic preamps add colour.
- Console preamps - the Neve 1073, a legendary preamp and EQ, is famous for its warm, rich sound. Arturia's Pre 1973 is based on it.
- Uses - driving signals into gentle saturation for warmth and weight, and the 1073's musical EQ for broad tone shaping.
Ordering effects
- Distortion before reverb sounds very different from reverb before distortion.
- Compression before EQ reacts differently from EQ before compression.
- Delays and reverbs usually belong on sends, so the dry sound stays clear.
Experiment with order: there is no single correct chain.
Do this now
- Put a tape-style delay on a synth stab, push the feedback, and automate it into a climbing wash.
- Put a plate reverb on a snare via a send and sidechain the return to the snare itself.
- Drive a preamp emulation on a bass until you hear warmth, then back off slightly.
- Compare an FET compressor on drums with fast and slow attack settings.