Waldorf Streichfett User Manual

Once upon a time,

there was no choice. If you wanted to create a wall of sound, you HAD to use a string machine. This was long before „real“ polyphonic synthesizers were born, long before composing was an occupation like doing your taxes while sitting in front of a big screen TV. These were the golden years of electronic music! A time when keyboard players simply plugged in and played instead of endlessly browsing sounds and loops from vast hard drive collections.

Now that you own Streichfett, the good old days are here again right on your desktop. Side-by-side with today‘s technology,

hand-in-hand inside your own personal space, this tiny black box will let you truly know what it means to pilot a RE AL electronic instrument. It sounds raw, it sounds deep, it sounds wild and wide. And this magical experience will unfold in front of you with just a few knobs and switches.

If you own a vintage string machine, we invite you to do a little comparison. You‘ll be truly blown away by how WELL Streichfett creates the sound of those much-acclaimed vintage string machines that were behind so many massive hit records.

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Strings Section

Registration:

By moving this knob, the sound morphs smoothly through Violin, Viola, Cello, Brass, Organ, Choir and more. This knob also controls the oscillator and equalizer settings of the Strings section.

The three modes of the Ensemble effect

String: the classic string ensemble effect String + Chorus (middle): Combination of

Strings and Chorus for maximum diffusion

Chorus: The classic chorus effect

Ensemble

Switches the Ensemble effect for Strings on / off. Note that the Strings may sound quite unimpressive and dull without this effect, just as they did on the original instruments. So we recommend to always keep this button lit.

Octaves

This is the octave setting for the Strings. Three positions are available:

8va: One octave higher than the Base octave Both: Base octave mixed with an octave higher Base: The normal octave setting

Balance

The mix of Strings and Solo. The left position selects Strings only. The right position selects only the Solo section. In the middle position, both Strings and Solo are mixed at full volume.

Tone

This selects the sound of the Solo section. Moving this knob morphs smoothly through Bass, E-Piano, Clavi, Synth and Pluto. Note that sounds only have a vague resemblance to their names … this of course in keeping with the style of string machines.

Tremolo

This adjusts both the rate and depth of the stereo tremolo effect.

Split

This 3-position switch lets you set key splits for the Solo section. Low: Only the notes lower than the split key will sound. Holding down one key of your keyboard when selecting „Low“, sets the split key to the current note being held.

Layer: Solo plays on all keys. High: Only the notes from split key and

above will sound. Set the split key by holding down the desired key while setting the switch to „High.“

Envelope

This switch controls the envelope operation for the Solo section: in the left position, the envelope has no sustain and decays immediately after the initial attack. In the right position, notes are held at full sustain level until the key is released.

Solo Section

Crescendo

This is the attack rate for the Strings‘ envelope.

Effects

The three effects

Animate: A Low Frequency Oscillator, aka LFO,

modulates the Strings sound. Both depth and rate change as you turn the knob. Phaser: Classic phase shifter effect. Feedback, depth and rate are adjusted with the single knob using the most pleasing settings we could find. Reverb: Change both the size and volume of the ambient room effect by scrolling through the most useful settings.

MIDI channel setting:

Press and hold all 4 buttons, then play one note using MIDI or USB. Streichfett sets the MIDI channel for both MIDI In and MIDI Out based on the channel of the incoming Note On message. For Omni mode, hold down all 4 buttons when powering on Streichfett. When a channel from 1 to 14 is selected, the Solo section can be triggered independently of the Strings section on the next

Release

The Release rate for the Strings‘ envelope. Sustain is always at 100 %, so there is no need for a decay setting.

This switch controls which effect is ad justed by the Depth knob. Note that all three effects can be combined simultaneously.

higher channel, ignoring the split settings. So for example, in order to play Strings on Channel 1 and Solo on Channel 2, do this:

> Press and hold all 4 buttons (1– 4), then play a

note on MIDI Channel 1 to set the MIDI channel.

> Set the Balance knob to the middle position so

you can hear both Strings and Solo.

> Press and hold the lowest note available and

set the Split switch to „Low.“ This sets the split key very low and prevents Solo from being mixed in if you play Strings on Channel 1.

Now you can play Strings on Channel 1 and Solo on Channel 2.

Pitch Bend Range:

Press and hold buttons 1– 4, then move the Effect select switch to the desired position:

Animate: 2 semitones (default) Phaser: 7 semitones Reverb: 12 semitones (one octave)

Attack

In addition to setting the Attack rate of the envelope, the first third controls how much of a percussive click sound is added each time a key is pressed.

The Memory section provides 12 locations for storing and recalling your settings. There are 3 banks of 4 sounds each. To select a sound, first choose the Bank (A, B or C), then press one of the buttons labeled 1 to 4 in order to load the sound. Think of Streichfett sounds as having both a letter and a number like A4, B2, C3, etc. To store a sound, press and hold one of the four buttons (1– 4) until

PANIC!

In case you want

immediate silence, press

all four buttons 1 … 4

simultaneously.

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your credentials and this coupon on le.waldorfmusic.de

the button blinks. While it is blinking, you can choose a different Bank if you like by using the Bank switch. Then just release the button to complete the storing process.

To consult the full manual, please visit the download section

LESTF-PU6L-8ERJ-XQEB-CL3F

Decay / Release

Decay or Release rate

for the envelope.

Memory

of our website at www.waldorfmusic.de.