声名狼藉
诺瓦乔德（Novachord）由哈蒙德公司于1939年至1942年制造，并在世界博览会上首次亮相。它包含163个真空管和1000多个定制电容器。其分频振荡器架构将完整的72键复音与早期版本的模拟减法合成器相结合。诺瓦乔德的架构预测了ADSR包络，采用了谐振带通滤波器，并包含一个颤音单元。这些如今已为人熟知的方法与几十年后Moog和ARP复音合成器采用的设计类似。
尽管诺瓦乔德具有重要的历史意义，但它并未获得商业上的成功。虽然它乍一看与标准管风琴相似，但其前面板控制键并不适合当时管风琴演奏家或钢琴演奏家的演奏技巧。此外，众多的真空管不稳定，使得这台重达500磅的乐器维护起来颇具挑战性。由于二战期间销量不佳和零件短缺，诺瓦和弦琴于1942年停产，哈蒙德公司仅生产了约1000台。
尽管如此，这架钢琴仍被用在了该时期许多著名唱片中，例如薇拉·琳恩的《我们会再相见》和骨头兄弟的《甜美乔治亚·布朗》。它也在电影配乐中占据重要地位，例如《乱世佳人》的中场休息，以及《蝴蝶梦》、《马耳他之鹰》和《十诫》的配乐。但它最令人难忘的还是其在恐怖片和科幻片中营造的超凡脱俗的音效，例如《猫人》、《来自两万寻的野兽》、《飞向地球两千万英里》和《戈尔贡》。在电视上，诺瓦和弦琴仍然是作曲家的最爱，杰里·戈德史密斯和哈里·鲁宾分别在《阴阳魔界》和《外部极限》中使用诺瓦和弦琴创作了这些作品。如今，Novachord 琴的存世量不足 200 架，据说仍在使用中的只有五架。
Novachord 琴的特点：
32 个复音，合成音色，非采样音色。
三个谐振器：一个谐振带通滤波器网络，在低频 (400 Hz)、中频 (800 Hz)、高频 (2000 Hz) 范围内连续工作。
"深沉音调"设置用于音调发生器信号，配备一个单极点（每八度斜率为 6dB）低通滤波器，固定频率为 160 Hz。
"明亮音调"设置用于音调发生器信号，配备一个单极点（每八度斜率为 6dB）高通滤波器，固定频率为 2000 Hz。
"完整音调"设置用于控制干音（未使用滤波器）音调发生器信号的幅度。
音调并行路由到所有滤波器，经过处理后叠加在一起，形成复合音调。
起音旋钮，包含七个起音/衰减/延音包络选项，从慢到快，并配有延音踏板控制释放（约 3.5 秒）。
可调节深度颤音，包含两个选项：用于早期 Novachord 型号的颤音 I，以及用于后期 Novachord 型号的颤音 II。
集成混响效果，采用 Room 和 Hall 算法，并带有扬声器模拟，可在声学空间中重现 Novachord 内置功放和扬声器的音色。
56 个预设，涵盖贝斯、键盘、打击垫和弦乐，由音效设计总监 James Terris 精心设计。
两款乐器的标配：
所有控制均配备完整的 MIDI 控制和 DAW 自动化功能，并具有易于使用的 MIDI 学习和映射功能（预设和全局）。
Cherry Audio 广受欢迎的 Focus 放大功能，以及通过拖动操作的标准 UI 缩放和调整大小功能。
完整的文档可直接从乐器在线获取，或以 PDF 格式下载。
用户可调整的过采样控制。
Notorious
Manufactured by the Hammond company from 1939 to 1942 and debuting at the World's Fair, the Novachord contained 163 vacuum tubes and over 1,000 custom capacitors. Its divide-down oscillator architecture combined full 72-key polyphony with an early version of analog subtractive synthesis. The Novachord's architecture predicted the ADSR envelope, utilized a resonant band-pass filter, and included a vibrato unit. These now-familiar methods resemble designs adopted decades later in Moog and ARP polyphonic synthesizers.
Despite its historical importance, the Novachord did not enjoy commercial success. Although it resembled a standard organ at a glance, the front panel controls were not well-suited to the performance techniques of organists or pianists of the period. In addition, the numerous vacuum tubes were unstable, making the 500-pound instrument challenging to maintain. Production stopped in 1942 because of poor sales and parts shortages during the Second World War, with Hammond only manufacturing around 1,000 Novachords.
Nevertheless, the instrument was used for decades on many notable era recordings, such as We'll Meet Again by Vera Lynn and Brother Bones's Sweet Georgia Brown. It was also prominently featured in film soundtracks including the intermission for "Gone With the Wind" and in the scores of "Rebecca," "The Maltese Falcon," and "The Ten Commandments." But it is best remembered for its otherworldly sound as heard in horror and sci-fi genre productions such as "Cat People," "The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms," "20 Million Miles to Earth," and "The Gorgon." On television, the Novachord remained a favorite of composers including Jerry Goldsmith and Harry Lubin in their work for The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, respectively. Today, fewer than 200 Novachords exist, and it is said that only five remain in operation.
Novachord Features:
32 polyphonic voices, synthesized not sampled.
Three Resonators: a resonant bandpass filter network operating consecutively in low (400 Hz), mid (800 Hz), high (2000 Hz) frequency ranges.
Deep Tone setting for the tone generator signal, with a one-pole (6dB per-octave slope) lowpass filter with a fixed frequency of 160 Hz.
Brilliant Tone setting for the tone generator signal, with a one-pole (6dB per-octave slope) highpass filter with a fixed frequency of 2000 Hz.
Full Tone setting controls the amplitude of the dry (no filters applied) tone generator signal.
Tones routed in parallel to all of the filters, processed and then summed together to create a composite tone.
Attack knob with seven Attack/Decay/Sustain envelope options, from Slow to Fast, with sustain-pedal controlled release (approximately3.5 seconds).
Adjustable depth vibrato with two options: Vibrato I as used in the earliest Novachord models, and Vibrato II as used in later Novachords.
Integrated reverb effect with Room and Hall algorithms plus speaker emulation to replicate the Novachord's built-in amp and speakers in an acoustic space.
56 presets covering Basses, Keys, Pads, and Strings, by Director of Sound Design James Terris.
Standard for Both Instruments:
Complete MIDI control and DAW automation for all controls, with easy-to-use MIDI learn and mapping (Preset and Global).
Cherry Audio's popular Focus zoom-in feature, as well as standard UI zoom and resize via drag.
Complete documentation available directly online from the instrument or in downloadable PDF format.
User-adjustable oversampling control. |
