The global parameters affect the overall sound, or behavior, of ES1 and are found primarily in the strip that spans the lower edge of the ES1 interface. The Glide slider is displayed above the left end of the strip.
Glide slider: Set the amount of time it takes to slide between the pitches of each triggered note. The Glide trigger behavior depends on the value set in the Voices field (see below).
Tune field: Tune the instrument in cents. One cent is 1/100th of a semitone.
Analog field: Change the pitch of each note and the cutoff frequency slightly and randomly. This emulates the oscillator detuning and filter fluctuations of polyphonic analog synthesizers, due to heat and age.
If you set the Analog parameter to 0%, the oscillator cycle start points of all triggered voices are synchronized. This can be useful for percussive sounds, when you want to achieve a sharper attack characteristic.
If you set the Analog parameter higher than 0%, the oscillators of all triggered voices can cycle freely. Use higher values if you want a warm, analog type of sound—where subtle sonic variations occur for each triggered voice.
Bender Range field: Set the sensitivity of the pitch bender, in semitone steps.
Neg Bender Range slider (Extended Parameters area): Set the pitch bend range independently for upward and downward bends. Click the disclosure triangle at the lower left of the ES1 interface to access the Extended Parameters area.
Linked: The negative pitch band uses the value set in the global Bender Range field. Positive and negative bend ranges are the same.
0: No negative bend range at all, but the global value for positive bends is retained.
1-24: Independent amount of negative bend range to allow for different ranges. For example, +2 and -12.
Out Level field: Set the ES1 master volume.
Voices field: Set the maximum number of notes that can be played simultaneously.
When Voices is set to Legato, the ES1 behaves like a monophonic synthesizer—with single trigger and fingered portamento engaged. This means that if you play legato, a portamento—glide from one note to the next—will happen. If you release each key before pressing a new one, the envelope is not triggered by the new note, and there is no portamento. Use this feature to create pitch bend effects, without touching your keyboard pitch bender, by choosing a high Glide parameter value when using the Legato setting.
When set to full (polyphony), each played note has its own synth voice and an automatic release cutoff comes into effect. If you have set a long release time and play a non-legato chord progression, the chords won’t smear into each other, which is useful for classic string synthesizer emulations.
Chorus field: Choose a classic stereo chorus effect, an ensemble effect, or disable the effects processor.
Off disables the built-in chorus circuit.
C1 is a typical chorus effect.
C2 is a variation of C1 and is characterized by a stronger modulation.
Ens(emble) uses a more complex modulation routing, creating a fuller and richer sound.
Midi Mode pop-up menu (Extended Parameters area): Determine how ES1 responds to MIDI controllers. Choose either Off or Full Remote.