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S90 ES

 

 

 

What you need to know about the S90 ES and the new Piano feature innovations: 

 

Half Damper Function and Damper Resonance Effect 

 

Half Damper

 

function that lets you finely control the decay of the sound—and expressively recreate 

the complex characteristics of acoustic instruments, especially piano and stringed instruments. 

 

When the Half Damper switch is turned ON, you can use the Half Damper function with an optional Foot 

Controller FC3 connected to the FOOT SWITCH SUSTAIN jack. The Half Damper function requires the 

optional FC3 pedal (sold separately). The FC3 sends sustain data values 0 

through

 127 for cc064, which 

is different from the FC4 or FC5. The FC4/5 are simply sending “On” or “Off” (0 

or

 127) values. But more 

than just the FC3 is required for a keyboard to respond to the half damper. In other words, plugging an 

FC3 into a keyboard does not necessarily give you half-damper response – the keyboard must be capable 
of the feature. Mo6/8, Motif and Motif ES, for example, do not have this functionality and cannot use the 

FC3 pedal at all for any sustain type function. P-series pianos (P60, P70, P90, P120, P140, P250) and PF-

series pianos (PF500, PF1000) have this function. 

 
When the Half Damper function is set to ON (only FC3) 

By connecting an optional FC3 foot controller to the back panel SUSTAIN FOOT PEDAL jack, you can use 

the Half Damper feature. The Half Damper feature reproduces the fine control of an acoustic piano's 
damper pedal to control the sustain over time: pressing the pedal fully down makes the sound last 

longer, while letting up on the pedal part of the way slightly mutes the sustained sound. Effective use of 

the Half Damper feature lets you play piano sounds more expressively and realistically. 

 

When the Half Damper function is set to OFF (regular sustain) 

By pressing the footswitch (sustain) on/off, you can control whether the sound is cut off or continues 

playing, even when the keys are released. Keep in mind that some sounds may not be suitable for use in 
all situations with the Sustain footswitch. For example, for organ sounds that have no natural decay, the 

sound continues at the same level when holding down the Sustain footswitch. 

On the other hand, many 

sounds benefit from the use of Sustain, such as piano, which has a natural decay when a note is held. 
This is all dependent on the AEG (Amplitude Envelope Generator) for the Voice’s Elements. If the 

envelope is programmed to return to 0 level it will eventually decay completely even with a sustain pedal. 

 
You can switch the Half Damper function ON or OFF in the following parameters: 

 

Press [UTILITY] 

 

Press [F4] CTL ASN 

 

Press [SF3] FT SW 

 

Select “SusPedal” =

 FC3 (Half On)

 

 

Settings: 

FC3 (Half On), FC3 (Half Off), FC4/5 

If you are using an FC4 or FC5 sustain pedal set this parameter to “FC4/5.” You cannot use the half 

damper function with the FC4 or FC5. 

 

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