C B V A c c o r d i o n M a n u a lAccordion Synthesizer

Version 1.0

Resounding GmbH Seestrasse 38 | 6052 Hergiswil | Switzerland info@resounding.ch http://resounding.ch/

S o u n d a n d e x p r e s s i o n

IntroductionAn accordion works fundamentally different from instruments like the piano or a keyboard. Expression, sound and accents base upon the bellows movement and the pressure applied by the player, the way one plays the keys or buttons is secondary. Keyboard expression however is based on velocity sensitivity.

CBV Accordion addresses this problem. The pressure sensors of a MIDI-accordion are mapped to volume and sound-character of the synthesizer. CBV uses three layers of waveforms and blends from one layer to the next as the player changes pressure over time, each layer has a different sound character. Just like a real accordion. We used ideas from wavetable- and vector-synthesis to model an instrument with the same expression-properties as an accordion. We didn’t aim for prefect realism, but vivid dynamics, therefore we call it a synthesizer, although it is built on Reason’s NN-XT-Sampler.

For keyboard players CBV allows to control the expression using the mod-wheel. There are also standard velocity-based patches.

Features• A wavetable-/vector-synthesizer containing 686 unique waveforms

• Three velocity layers for vivid expression

• The quadra-fade-method allows using the bellows-expression of your MIDI-accordion

• Expression changes volume and character of the sound

• Contains expression- and velocity-based patches

• Use your keyboard and mod-wheel to play like a real accordion

• Has 4', 8', 16' and tremolo stops (reeds)

• Select expression source: aftertouch, expression, mod-wheel (+ keyboard control mapping)

• 10 instruments (52 patches)

• 11 effect patches

• Valve open/close sound

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CBV Accordion 1

How to play

Expression PatchesWheel The most important control in CBV is the wheel. By default, if you don’t touch the wheel and you play notes you’ll hear nothing. That’s because you aren’t squeezing the Squeezebox. Move the wheel up to increase the pressure on the bellows.

You can automate the wheel or use “Edit Keyboard Control Mapping...” to use another control on your keyboard or MIDI-accordion.

Expression Scale / Const Expression These controls allow to set the dynamic range of the accordion synthesizer. Const Expression adds a constant value to the modulation input and Expression Scale decreases the impact of the modulation.

Often MIDI-accordions pressure-sensors are unsteady and not accurate. If you’d like to make your performance more steady and the MIDI-accordion easier to play: Increase the Const Expression and decrease the Expression Scale.

Sustain Level Add ADSR to the envelope. The default settings are similar to the response of the reeds of the model accordion we used in development. Usually an accordion player will perform the ADSR-expression, if you’d like the synthesizer to behave more like a piano, set a lower Sustain Level.

Cassotto Adds a very slight lowpass filter that sounds similar to a real accordions cassotto1. It’s like a lowpass filter frequency nob, that will never filter all sound, the maximum value turns the Cassotto off.

Piccolo / Clarinet / Tremolo / Bassoon The reeds. These equal the 4” / 8” / 8” Tremolo / 16” stops of a accordion. Please refer to the wikipedia page below. Piccolo is tuned one octave higher than Clarinet and Bassoon one octave lower. If you select Clarinet and Tremolo you’ll get the typical accordion tremolo sound. Clarinet and Tremolo have a slightly different pitch and therefore create a tremolo or beat.

Filter is a LP 12-lowpass filter.

Tone is a BP 12-bandbass filter, however it is mapped to a reduced range.

Modulation pickup Allows to change the controller events that will modulate the accordion synthesizer.

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CBV Accordion 2

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accordion_reed_ranks_and_switches#Cassotto

Accordion controls the volume of the main accordion voices.

Chorus controls the volume of the additional Chorus, which gives the accordion stereo depth. The beauty of many accordion recordings is influenced by a nice stereo imaging. There is nothing better than a live recording with a great studio setup, but we tried to bring this into CBV using Chorus.

Valve controls the volume of the opening and closing valves.

Extended Controls The NN-XT’s global controls are available inside the combinator.

Velocity patchesWe wanted to make the fabulous sound of CBV Accordion available to people who haven’t any previous experience with accordions. With these patches you can’t change the expression during a single note, but you can still be very expressive using velocity-sensitivity.

Filter Freq Frequency of the low-pass filter.

Attack / Relase Adjust ADSR settings.

Cassotto See expression patches.

Converting existing accordion tracks

As you see we added a Mod Wheel automation and more or less followed the velocity of the original accordion track. For this track it turned out to be the best, but also try to use the mod-wheel while playing back your track, once you like your performance record it.

Instruments

FlagsD Dry patches, no reverb appliedV Velocity based patchesBassy More bass, nice low-end.

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CBV Accordion 3

Instrument Families

Model patchesCBV Master Contains the pure waveforms we have created for the accordion synthesizer. We spent most time perfecting this patch. It has the smooth sound and with tremolo it gets a sweet silvery chimey quality that plays well with reverb. A property we love about the accordion and we are very proud that we were able to achieve that sound. The tremolo voice is tuned 18 cents higher than clarinet.

CBV Bright has a little more harmonics. Could be used to emphasize the accordion part a little more.

CBV Americana Tremelo is based on CBV Master but the tremolo is detuned only 10 cents.

CBV Musette is based on CBV Master but the tremolo is detuned 33 cents.

CBV Triple Tremolo is based on CBV Master but has two tremolo voices (reeds) one 18 cents below and one 18 cents above the clarinet voice.

Designer patchesThese patches address sound-designers or people who like to go beyond classic accordion sound. Additional harmonics give the sound-designer something to sculpt.

CBV Rock More harmonics.

CBV Scream 42 Even more harmonics. YEEAAAA!!

By default the harmonics are cut so the patch doesn’t sound too extreme.

FoldersReFill root CBV Master / Bright with slight reverb

Instrument Presets Contains all the dry patches

Velocity Presets Velocity-based instrument patches. NNXT subfolder contains the NN-XT patches so you can build your own custom accordion.

Effects Goodies, some effects we created during development of CBV.

Wavetable Stores some internals of CBV.

You don’t like the accordion? — Yet! — Check out this great swiss band, they are influenced by folk and accordion music from all over the world.

http://www.youtube.com/user/pflanzplaetz

Many thanks to Lüscher Musik AG for supporting us in the development.

http://www.lueschermusik.ch

Resounding GmbH

CBV Accordion 4

CreditsJean-Louis Fuchs Idea, Recording, Programming, Sound Design

Chris Schürmann Product Design, Recording, Sound Design, Video

Roger Lüscher Expert for Accordions, Consultant

Eva Fuchs Editor

Pirmin Blättler Testing

Charly Baier Accordionist

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CBV Accordion 5