Contents:
- Special features
-
The EWS64 synthesizer (based on the "DREAM" DSP chip)
-
Ed!son overview
- In Ed!son, the EWS64 has a very powerful sound shaper with it's filter, VCA, two LFO's, three envelope
generators and four keyboard tables with additional possibilities for controlling each split, making possible
the creation of highly complex sounds (more details below).
- Flexible control of the synthesizer with 112 (!) different MIDI parameters (standard /RPN/NRPN/SysEx).
My home made Cubase5 mixer maps
offer you access to all these parameters.
- With the setmanager you can hold and use 8 sound sets with priority set-up at the same time.
- You can upgrade the sample memory to 64MB RAM to work with bigger sound sets - even sound sets
of 32 MB.
- AKAIŽ S1000 sound sets can be imported allowing use of the thousands of already available sounds from
commercial AKAI sources.
- SoundFont (SF2 format) collections can also be imported.
- Up to 32 different device drivers make it possible to use different audio software at the same time
(e.g. Cubase5, WaveLab, GigaSampler - all can work at the same time). The soundcard is individually
configurable with the control panel for this requirement.
- Multi-client MIDI drivers for MIDI In/Out 1 and MIDI Playback are available for using the MIDI ports
with different software (- how many other sound cards offer this ?!)
- Configuration of virtual MIDI ports with the EWS64 driver. As far as I know, this feature is unique.
- Latency, via the ASIO drivers, can be lowered to 12 ms - allowing real-time playing of VST instruments
without any perceivable delay.
- Every virtual device driver, the audio In 2, MOD files and all MIDI instruments can use effects
(reverb and chorus). No external mixer is necessary.
- 2 x MIDI in, 2 x MIDI out, 3 x stereo analogue in, 3 x stereo analogue out (including headphone),
2 x digital out (coax) and 1 x digital in (coax or optical), Game port interface and SB Wavetable interface -
this many I/O interfaces offer a lot of possibilities
- The EWS64 thus makes 4 channel production work possible. Note: If audio in and/or the MIDI output are
configured for 4 channel mode, delay and chorus effects are not available.
- A soft-clip switch can prevent inadvertently produced distortions (just like an automatic limiter).
- The Mic input is stereo with sensitivity controllable via booster. Additionally, an automatic gain control
(AGC) can be activated for this input.
- The EWS64 XL includes a Wavetable Connector for a MIDI daughter board - you can connect the famous Yamaha
DB50XG board to the EWS64 (XL and XXL only).
- The EWS64 XL supports PC computer games. DirectX drivers enable you to use the Soundblaster compatible
codec of this card for games. Additionally, you can use the EWS64, including the synth, in DOS based games.
- The EWS64 offers native driver support for songs in many tracker programs. The EWS64 Mediaplayer is able
to playback directly:
A) .MOD, .XM, .STM and .S3M files of programs like ScreamTracker, FastTracker and ProTracker and
You even have the possibility of adding reverb and chorus to MOD files. As far as I know this is a unique
feature too.
- The onboard EEPROM is programmable, the resources (IRQ, DMA and addresses) are configurable - in addition
you can disable unused resources. As far as I know, this feature is unique.
- For more flexibility, the operating system will upload into the system RAM at every start-up.
The correction of software bugs are easier than hardware changes.
(It's unlikely, however, that Terratec will update or develop the operating system of this sound card any
further.)
- Quality D/A and A/D converters allowing a high fidelity, natural sound.
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The synthesizer of the EWS64 is a powerful instrument that allows the creation of
highly complex instruments!
Below, you'll find detailed info on the possible settings for each split of an EWS64 instrument
- Oscillator:
The oscillator can use any looped or un-looped WAV file (stereo or mono). The length of these samples doesn't
matter as long as there is enough free memory in the EWS64's RAM. The oscillator can play different samples
simultaneously. Each split (see below) can be configured separately with it's own settings for all
available parameters.
The section oscillator includes, for each split, it's own 9 parameter envelope generator and it's own LFO.
Additionally, you can control the tuning of each split via keyboard table and/or velocity settings or set
the tuning to fixed.
- Filter:
The filter of the EWS64 is of low-pass design with 12 or 24 dB characteristics. In total, you can choose between
5 different filter types. The filter frequency can be modified for each split with it's own 9 parameter envelope
generator, via keyboard table and/or LFO 2. Additionally, you can control the filter frequency and/or the
resonance via velocity settings.
- Amplifier:
The output level of each split can be modified with it's own 9 parameter envelope generator, LFO2 or a keyboard
table. Additionally, you can control the output level via velocity settings.
- The three envelope generators
Each split of the EWS64 includes three different 9 parameter envelope generators
for oscillator (EG1), filter (EG2) und amplifier (EG3).
Differing from standard ADSR generators that only have 4 parameters (Attack time, Decay time, Sustain level
and Release time) these envelope generators offer 9 different settings: Start level, Attack time, Attack level,
Decay time, Decay level, Sustain time, Sustain level, Release time and Release level.
Additionally, you can modify the time parameters of all these envelope generators via a keyboard table.
- LFO1 and LFO2:
LFO1 ("LFO" = Low Frequency Oscillator) can modify the frequency of the oscillator and LFO2 can modify
the filter frequency and/or the level of the amplifier.
Both LFO's can be switched to 6 different waveforms - sine, sine pulse, increasing sawtooth,
decreasing sawtooth, square or random. In addition to the frequency, you can control
the attack time (pre-delay) and the delay time (often called ramp time) of both LFOs.
- LFO3:
The synthesizer of the EWS64 includes an additional third LFO which is not documented in any
Terretec manual. In my mixer maps I've called it 'LFO 3'. This LFO 3
can be used to modify the oscillator, filter and/or amplifier. More details on this
LFO you'll find at my page 'EWS64 Channel Mixer maps' in the section
The EWS64 under Cubase 5.
- Keyboard tables:
For each split of the EWS64 you can define up to 4 different keyboard tables.
With these keyboard tables you can modifiy the following settings depending on the note key number:
the tuning of the oscillator, the filter frequency, the output level and the time settings of the three
envelope generators.
- Splits:
The synthesizer of the EWS64 allows you to define different sound settings (splits) for different keyboardranges
and/or velocityranges. The number of splits is nearly unlimited (more than 5,000 for each instrument).
In combination with the various velocity settings you can easyly create highly complex multi-layered instruments.
- Velocity settings:
Different settings for velocity-on, velocity-density and velocity-slope for oscillator, filter and
amplifier offer mighty possibilities to control the sound via velocity.
With these settings it's very simple to create velocity depending morphing effects.
- The EWS64 synthesizer's special feature
More then 110 instrument settings and 360 drum kit settings can be additionally modified
with MIDI data from a MIDI sequencer, e.g. Cubase, allowing you to
drastically modify the sound of each EWS64 instrument throughout the song.
The simplest way to vary the sounds of the EWS64 synth in Cubase 5 are my 33
Mixer maps for the EWS64.
These mixer maps include all available MIDI controls (except scale tuning of a MIDI channel).
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Ed!son overview
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C/O 2002-2012: Werner Ogrodnik (Cologne, Germany)