Vintage Electric Piano pitch controls in Logic Pro for iPad

Vintage Electric Piano is tuned to an equal-tempered scale. You can deviate from this scale and can stretch the tuning in the bass and treble ranges, much as you can do with acoustic pianos (especially upright pianos). You can also modulate the tuning of each note randomly.

Pitch parameters

Tune knob and field: Tune Vintage Electric Piano in one-cent increments. At a value of 0 c (zero cents), the central A key is tuned to 440 Hz, or concert pitch. The range is plus or minus half a semitone.
Warmth knob and field: Set the amount of (random) deviation from the equal-tempered scale. Each note is slightly detuned from the next, adding life and richness to the sound.
Note: Use of both Warmth and Upper or Lower stretch can result in a detuned sound that is similar to a heavy chorus effect. In some instances, this effect may be so extreme that Vintage Electric Piano sounds out of tune with the rest of your project.
BndDwn/Bend Range Up knobs and fields: Set the pitch bend range in semitone steps.
Lower Stretch knob and field: Set the amount of deviation from the equal-tempered scale in the bass end of the sound. The higher the value, the farther down the low notes are tuned. At a setting of 0, Vintage Electric Piano is tuned to an equal-tempered scale, with each octave down halving the frequency.
Upper Stretch knob and field: Set the amount of deviation from the equal-tempered scale in the treble end of the sound. The higher the value, the farther up the high notes are tuned. At a setting of 0, Vintage Electric Piano is tuned to an equal-tempered scale, with each octave above (up) doubling the frequency.

Stretch tuning in acoustic instruments

The tones of upright pianos, and to a lesser extent grand pianos (due to their longer strings), have inharmonicities in their harmonic structure. This also applies to other stringed instruments, but it particularly affects pianos due to the length, density, and tension of the strings. If a piano is perfectly tuned to equal temperament across the keyboard range, the overtones of the low strings and the fundamentals of the high strings sound out of tune with each other.

To circumvent this problem, piano tuners use a technique known as stretch tuning, in which the high and low registers of the piano are tuned higher and lower, respectively. This results in the harmonics of the low strings being in tune with the fundamental tones of the upper strings. In essence, pianos are intentionally “out of tune” (from equal temperament), so that the lower and upper registers sound in tune.

Electric pianos don’t have strings, so this inharmonic relationship doesn’t apply to Vintage Electric Piano nor to the original instruments it emulates. The stretch feature was primarily included for situations where you want to use Vintage Electric Piano alongside an acoustic piano recording or performance.

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Logic Pro User Guide for iPad

Vintage Electric Piano pitch controls in Logic Pro for iPad

Pitch parameters

Stretch tuning in acoustic instruments