Alesis micron Reference Manual

 

 

 
At this point, you may think that producing a sound with the 
Micron is simply a matter of configuring the parameters for the 
oscillators, filters, and mixers, and then hitting a key.  And 
although it’s true that you can design some nice instruments this 
way, generating the really awesome sounds invariably involves 
tweaking some of those parameters while a note is playing.  The 
problem with that, if you’re anything like us, is that you only have 
two hands, and you are probably using at least one of them to hit 
the notes in the first place.  Fortunately, the Micron is willing to 
lend you a helping hand—twelve of them, in fact. 
 
The Micron allows you to set up twelve modulation routes.  Each of 
these is a virtual connection between some physical or internally-
generated source and some program parameter.  Basically, a mod 
route tells the synth to automatically grab a knob and tweak it 
while a note is playing.  Although there are quite a few sources that 
you can use for your mods, the most common ones involve the 
LFOs and the envelopes. 

 
LFO stands for “low frequency oscillator”. Unlike the normal 
oscillators, however, the LFOs are not designed for producing 
sound. Instead, their purpose is to tweak a program parameter 
according to a looping pattern.  For example, if you are looking to 
add some vibrato to your instrument, you’ll need the pitch to 
continuously waver up and down.  An LFO is perfect for this 
application.  Simply hooking up an LFO to the oscillator pitch 
parameter will get you the effect you need.  Each of the Micron’s 
voices contains two LFOs.