CLA VINET
USER GUIDE
CLAVINET
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................3
1.1 PRODUCT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
1.2 CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 COMPONENTS .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
1.4 FUNCTIONAL BLOCK/FLOW DIAGRAM .............................................................................................................................................................. 6
1.5 STARTING CLAVINET .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 2 INTERFACE AND CONTROLS ..............................................................................................................................7
2.1 INTERFACE ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
2.2 CONTROLS ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
KEYBOARD SECTION .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
KEYS SECTION .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
MIX SECTION ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
COMP .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
AMP SECTION .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
TONE SECTION ............................................................................................................................................................................................................12
FX SECTION .................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 13
P HASER ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
CHORUS ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
REVERB ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 18
KEYBOARD CONTROL ................................................................................................................................................................................................20
2.3 WAVESYSTEM TOOLBAR CONTROLS .............................................................................................................................................................. 21
CHAPTER 3 CLAVINET STANDALONE APPLICATION ..................................................................................................... 23
CLAVINET
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Thank you for choosing Waves! In order to get the most out of your Waves instrument, please take some time to read through this user
guide. We also suggest that you become familiar with www.waves.com/support. There you will nd an extensive answer base, the latest
tech specs, detailed installation guides, new software updates, and current information on licensing and registration.
Sign up at the support site and you will receive personalized information about your registered products, reminders when updates are
available, and information on your authorization status.
Acknowledgement
The Clavinet samples library was recorded and produced by Yoad Nevo at NevoSound Studios in London.
To contact Yoad Nevo, visit: www.yoadnevo.com
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CLAVINET
1.1 Product Overview
The Clavinet is a keyboard instrument that uses strings, keys, and electromagnetic pickups to produce a unique, funky sound. Many
musical hits, such as “Higher Ground” and “Superstation” by Stevie Wonder and “Outta Space” by Billy Preston, fused the Clavinet
sound with funky music. By the 1970s, it became a classic element when making funky disco bass lines and choppy stabs.
The Clavinet is essentially an electried version of a clavichord – an instrument popular from the Renaissance through the Classical
period. The clavichord was famously quiet, so it was not suited for performances with ensembles and orchestras. When the Clavinet
was introduced in the 1960s, it addressed the issue of amplication and opened the way for numerous sounds and eects. It was
manufactured in Germany until the ‘80s.
The Clavinet consists of sixty keys. It uses electromagnetic pickups to turn sound into electrical signals, ready to be amplied. The
overall sound of the Clavinet is a staccato pluck, followed by a rather quick decay. It features a damper that shortens the decay (a
mode we call “Mute”), or lets it die out naturally (“Unmute”). This produces a sound that is a bit more open and bright, especially in
its decay.
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The Waves Clavinet is a virtual instrument, sampled from an original Hohner Clavinet D6 in both its Mute and Unmute modes. We
added some sound-shaping tools and eects, such as EQ and Compression. There is also an AutoWah eect and (as with other
Waves classic keyboard instruments) there is a phaser, chorus, and reverb.
1.2 Concepts and Terminology
• In the case of the Clavinet, the term “Mute” does not describe a full mute of the sound. Instead, it refers to the action of
a fader-like lever to the right of the Clavinet’s keys that mechanically chokes the sustain and introduces a faster decay and
mellower tone.
• The tuning of the Clavinet is equal tempered. Equal temper means that an octave is divided to 12 equal ½ tone or semitone
intervals of 100 cents each. This is contrary to the Justonic or other temperaments.
CLAVINET
• The reference tuning for the actual sampled instrument was the normative middle A=440 Hz. The Clavinet’s top toolbar
features a global tune control that allows setting of the overall tuning one semitone up or down. For users looking to adhere to a
432 Hz reference, the tuning should be set to -31 cents.
Waves Clavinet is powered by the Waves Sampler Engine (WSE): a state-of-the-art multi-sample engine,
designed to deliver solid, high-quality performance.
1.3 Components
The Waves Clavinet has one component: Clavinet Stereo.
Clavinet is a virtual instrument plugin and will appear under the related selection menus for virtual instruments in all supported
DAW host applications.
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Waves Clavinet also has a standalone application. It uses ASIO (Windows) or Core Audio (Mac) drivers to enable play through any
audio device of choice. Clavinet receives MIDI data to trigger notes and control changes.
CLAVINET
1.4 Functional Block/Flow Diagram
Velo city Cur ve
Sampler Engine 1
Main Keys
Formant
Sampler Engine 2
Key Up Keys
Sampler Engine 3
Mechanics Keys
Main
Volume
Key Up
Volume
Mechanics
Volume
Vintage
Compressor
Amp
Simulator
(Drive)
Tone Controls FX Rack
Reverb
Master
Volume
Brickwall
Limiter
1.5 Starting Clavinet
Insert the Clavinet plugin on an instrument track in your DAW, or launch the standalone application. The plugin will load its default
settings and will be ready to use.
Before getting started, use the Velocity Curve control to adjust your keyboard to get the feel you like. Once you’re happy with the
touch, you can uncheck the VEL (velocity) box in the top bar. This prevents the velocity setting from changing when a preset is
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loaded.
CLAVINET
CHAPTER 2: INTERFACE AND CONTROLS
2 .1 I n t e r f a c e
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2.2 Controls
Keyboard Control
A virtual keyboard enables you to preview the sound of a note when a keyboard controller is not available. Use a mouse or similar input
device to play a note. This control cannot be automated, although it will follow any MIDI input device.
CLAVINET
Keys Section
Vel Curve
The Vel Curve control changes the curve of the velocity response from logarithmic to exponential. Use it to adjust
the feel of your MIDI keyboard.
When the control is set to 0, the curve of the velocity response is linear.
Range: -50 to +50
Initial Value: 0
Reset Value: 0
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Continuous control
Formant
The Formant control changes the sound character, but not the pitch. Each step is equal to a half tone. This means
that when this control is set to -12, the piano sound character will be lower by one octave, while the pitch will not change.
Range: -12 to +12
Initial Value: 0
Reset Value: 0
Discrete control, 25 steps