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I've got a keyboard (Korg Krome 88) that has a few clavinet sounds. They're named "Clav Register AC", but also "AD", "BC" and "BD". Trying to figure out what these things mean. I can hear the difference, but don't quite get it.

Best I've found is this description, but I still don't get the single / parallel pickup business.

Mike Hildner
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It's very much like the pick-up configuration on electric guitars.

A clavinet uses pick-ups that work in a similar way .Imagine a guitar with two pups. They are probably exactly the same as each other, but because of their positions, they produce different tones.A single coil pup will produce a thinner sound than a humbucker. When pups are in series (electrically) they produce a different sound from when they are in parallel.Or - in and out of phase.

So the AD, BC etc. are different configurations of the pups, changing the output sound. A little academic as when you find a sound that's good, you don't need to know what pup is switched, only that it makes the sound you like. Sort of 'tone controls' on switches. Obviously rotary pots on your equipment can still be used to adjust tone more.

Tim
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  • Thanks. So nothing to do with pitch? To me it sounds like the timbre is changing, but not the pitch. When I see "register", I'm thinking it would mean an octave shift or similar. – Mike Hildner Dec 15 '13 at 19:43
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    @Mike - you'd think so, but it's not so.Timbre/tone change yes. – Tim Dec 15 '13 at 19:56
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    @MikeHildner: one of the settings actually has the pickups out of phase, which cancels a lot of the fundamental frequency so it sounds kind of almost an octave higher... but not quite. Read "register" like in different organ registers of the same pitch, one is supposed to sound like recorders, one like oboe etc.. – leftaroundabout Dec 19 '13 at 01:41