Sound Effects (DSP and Digital)

With the KN range of keyboards it is possible to choose up to two sounds for the right hand at any one time. These two choices come under the heading of Right One and Right Two. Both these options are "polyphonic". All this means is you can make more than one note sound at a time. I played with an EN4 recently, this had a solo button in its conductor which when used is "monophonic", meaning that only one note will play no matter how many notes you press. You can play either one or both depending on the selection you have made in the "Conductor ". Press "Right One" and select a piano sound from the options, Press "Right Two" and select a string sound. Playing both sounds together is called "Layering", literally putting one sound on top of the other and is another one of the common terms you will hear. This technique is something your keyboard will use a lot, in building up sounds, even if you are not aware of it. As well as the main volume control, it is possible to control the individual volume of any given part, i.e. Right One, Right Two, Left, etc. This is done with the aid of the labeled buttons underneath the screen. If you press one of these buttons you will see a bar that goes up or down in accordance with the level of the volume. Another term that you may come across (although you shouldn't worry about it at the moment) is "Velocity". The difference is this describes the volume of the sound when you hit a note (the speed that the note is pushed down).

Digital Effect

While we are dealing with the sounds, another thing to have a look at is the way sounds can be altered by pressing the digital effects button (usually to be found just above the sound selection buttons). The digital effect button can be switched on or off for every sound. Technics, when designing the keyboard set the effects to come on automatically and you will notice, if you flick through some of the different sounds that this button sometimes lights up. There are a range of different effects used, each one being dependant on the sound being used. "Chorus"- this adds a second version of the sound you have chosen and alters the second sounds pitch very slightly. Electric piano's amongst others use this. "Tremolo"- this adds a sort of vibrato to the sound. "Repeat"- Try listening to the banjo for this one. The type of effect that is used when this is switched on has already been determined at the factory and therefore is fixed for all the sounds.

Digital Sound Processor (DSP)

Some of the KN range has this on it, if it doesn't, don't worry. This is just a more advanced Digital Effects button with which you can decide what sort of effect is put onto a sound. The effect obtained from this is added after the "Digital Effect", thus it is possible to add two effects together. To see which effect is being used with the DSP just press and hold the button and the display will change in the window. Be warned it won't stay there long so you will probably need to press the Hold button straight after. Here you will find a whole host of effects. To change the effect use the up and down arrows at the side of the screen. YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING TO DAMAGE YOUR KEYBOARD, so don't be afraid to have a play and experiment.

Here are some suggested combinations you might try:-

Chorus - Electric Piano's / Synth Sounds / Synth Pads / Solid Guitars

Distortion - Electric Guitars

Overdrive - Electric Guitars / Rock Organ

Exciter - Trumpet / Acoustic Guitars / Flutes

Delay - Electric Guitars / Synth lead sounds / Brass (for leads)

Stereo delay - as above

Phaser - Electric Guitars / Electric Piano's / Jazz and Rock Organs / Synth sounds

Flanger - as above

John Romero.