The selected model determines the basic qualities of the strings and has a significant bearing on the behavior, and impact, of each String parameter. This is primarily due to the different harmonic content present in each model.
Release slider and field: Set the release time of the strings, following the decay phase of a played note. Positive Release values provide a longer release time—after you have released a key.
Damping slider and field: Change the damping behavior of the strings. Damping is essentially a faster decay for the higher harmonics in a sound. Damping is directly related to the string material properties—high damping for catgut strings, medium damping for nylon strings, and low damping for steel strings. Depending on the model, damping results in a more mellow and rounded, or woody, sound. A positive Damping value makes the sound more mellow. A negative Damping value allows more high harmonics through, making the sound brighter.
Stiffness/Inharmonicity sliders and fields: Intensify or reduce inharmonic overtones. Different values let you create metallic, bell-like sounds or DX-style electric pianos. Stiffness and Inharmonicity can also be useful for wood bass sounds.
The Inharmonicity parameter determines the lowest harmonic—the harmonic threshold. Inharmonic content above this threshold is stretched or spread across the frequency spectrum.
The Stiffness parameter controls the intensity of the stretching or spectral spreading set by the Inharmonicity slider.
Note: The fundamental note pitch is not affected by the Stiffness and Inharmonicity parameters.
Tension Mod slider and field: Add a slight upward pitch bend effect immediately after being plucked, struck, or strummed. This type of modulation is common to stringed instruments like the D6, guitars, and so on. A predefined Tension Modulation characteristic is built into each model, but this can be altered with the Tension Mod parameter. The impact of this parameter can be significant, enabling you to generate strange sound effects with Vintage Clav. You can also use it to simulate an out-of-tune clavinet, or a sitar-like sound.
Pitch Fall slider and field: Set the intensity of a D6 characteristic where the pitch of each note falls immediately after you release the key. This sonic quirk is due to the physical construction of the D6. The intensity of this effect varies with each model, but it can be completely deactivated by setting Pitch Fall to the leftmost position.