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Synthesizer basics
Postedby: DonSolaris On: March18,2014
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Thestructure
Structureofalmostallsynthesizersisbasicallythesame.Itstartswiththetonegenerator
whosefunctionistocreatethesound.Onanalogsynthesizers,thisgeneratorisasimple
oscillatorcircuit,whichcangeneratefewbasicwaveformslikepulse,saworsinewave.
Thereforeonanalogsynthesizersitismorecommontousetermoscillatorthantonegenerator.
Ondigitalsynthsusedtermsare:wavegen,wavegenerator,tonegenerator,andsometimes,
evenanoscillator(thoughitisnotarealoscillatorinside).

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Nextcomesthefilterwhichdefinesthetimbreofthesoundandadds/removesharmonicsfrom

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Nextcomesthefilterwhichdefinesthetimbreofthesoundandadds/removesharmonicsfrom
theoriginalsoundcreatedinoscillator.Filterisfollowedbyanamplifier,inwhichyousetup
volumechangeofthesound.EnvelopesandLFOsareusedtomanipulatevarioussettings.For
example,inoscillatortheycancontrolitspitch.Infiltertheycandefinefilterchangesoverthe
time.

Thiswasthebasicdescription,howevereachsynthcanhaveitsownandmorecomplicated
structure.ImageaboveshowsusthestructureofRolandsXVsynthesizer.Eachpatchcan
containuptofourtoneseachwithitsownsettings(sounds).Patchalsocontainscommondata,
whichconsistsofparametersthatapplytoallfourtoneslike:patchname,overalllevel,octave
shift,keymode(mono/poly),portamentosettings,benderrangeandmore.Patchalsocontains
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modulationcontrol(matrixcontrol)inwhichyouspecifywhichcontrollerwillchangewhich

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modulationcontrol(matrixcontrol)inwhichyouspecifywhichcontrollerwillchangewhich
parameterforexamplemodwheelonthekeyboardtochangeamountofcutoffandresonance
ofthefilterorthepitchofthewavegenerator(WG).
Oscillator
Thepurposeofoscillatoristoproduceasoundthatyouwilllaterprocesswithafilterandamp.
Onceyoupressthekeyonthekeyboard,youactivatetheoscillator(inanaloguesynthesizerit
isactuallyalwayson).Oscillator(OSC)isthestartingpointofanysynthesizer.Itisaplace
wherethewaveformisbeingcreated.Inanalogsynthesizer,oscilatorcanbedigitally(DCO)or
voltagecontrolled(VCO)anditusuallyproducespulseorsawwaveofwhichpulseswidthcan
becontrolledandevenmodulated(PWM).Alloscillators,nomatterforwhatapplication,workin
thesameway.Ifwelookattheirheartwillfinditlookssomethinglikethis.

Tobedescribedinthesimplestway,oscillatorisanamplifierandafilterthatoperateinaloop.
ThebasisofoperationisthetunedresonantcircuitforexampleLCcircuitthatismadeof
inductor(L)andcapacitor(C).Inthiscircuitvoltageandcurrentvarysinusoidallywithtimeand
are90degreeoutofphase.Thereareinstantswhenthecurrentiszero,sotheenergystoredin
inductoriszero,butatthesametimethevoltageacrossthecapacitorisatitspeak,whileallof
thecircuitsenergyisstoredintheelectricfieldbetweencapacitorsplates.Therearealso
instantswhenthevoltageiszeroandthecurrentisatapeak,withnoenergyinthecapacitor.
Then,allofthecircuitsenergyisstoredintheinductorsmagneticfield.Asyoucansee,the
energystoredinthiselectricalsystemisswingingbetweentwoforms.Unfortunatelythis
swingingwontgoforeverduetocircuitlosses.Conductorshavesomeresistance,aswellas
capacitorandinductor.Thatisthereasonwhyweneedamplification.Thegoalofthis
amplificationisnottoaddsomehighgain,butjusttocompensatethelosseswehaveinLC
circuit.Youcanimagineoscillatorlikependulum,whichduetodragandfrictionlooseits
movementenergy,soyouneedtokickitfromtimetotime.

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Attheoutputofoscillatorwecanhavevariouswaveforms,dependingonthetypeofoscillator
thatwebuilt.Forexampleifouroscillatorisproducingasinusoidalwave,wecallit:sinewave
oscillator.Therearemanytypesofoscillators,mostknownareshownonimageabove,and
thoseare(fromlefttoright):sine,triangle,squareandsaw.Squareisactuallyapulsewave,
with50%width.
Wavegenerator
Digitalsynthesizershaveadifferentkindofoscillatorintheirheart.Itisnotaclassicoscillator
thatwejustdescribed,butadevicethatusesPCMwaveforms.Pulsecodemodulation(PCM)isa
digitalrepresentationofananalogsignalwherethemagnitudeofthesignalissampledregularly
atuniformintervals,thenquantizedtoaseriesofsymbolsinabinarycode.Ifyouhavesome
wavfilesonyourcomputer,thosearethePCMwaveforms,thesamethatareinyourdigital
synthesizer.Advantageofdigitalwavegeneratoristhatitisnotlimitedtobasicwaveforms
(sine,saw,square,etc.)butcancontainanykindofdatathatwaspreviouslydigitized.Youcan
haverealpianosamples,guitars,drums,etc.Ofcourseifyouwantyoucanhavebasic
waveformstoo.Mostdigitalsynthshaveatleastasineandasawwavesampleinsidetheir
waveformmemorysoyoucancreatesomeanalogsoundingtonestoo.
Nowyoumightask,whyoneneedsanalogsynth,whenthesametypeofwavescanbecreated
withdigitalPCMwavegenerator.Theanswerwasactuallyjustsaidisintheprevioussentience,
itisawordPCMgenerator.Eachtimeyoutriggerthistypeofgenerator,itwillproduceexactly
thesamesoundingwaveform.Resultisuniformtonethatstaysthesame.Incontrast,analog
synthesizershaveimperfectoscillators,whichresultinvarioustypesoffluctuationsthatare
differenteverytimeyouhitthekey.Inasensetheysoundunpredictedanddifferentoneach
otherkey.Butthatisjustthebeginningofthestory.Onceyouengagepulsewidthmodulation,
thereisnodigitalPCMsynththatcanenterthisarea.Thencomestheanalogfilter,whichagain
addsitsowncharacter.Inshort,thisisoneofthereasonwhy30yearoldsynthesizersusually
costmorethanthelateststateoftheartPCMdigitalsynthesizerwith9000patches.

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Itisimportanttounderstandthatwetalkabouttwodifferentworldshere.Itwouldbepretty
naivetoblamesomedigitalsynthandcallitpoorbecauseitcantdosomegoodanalogsounds.
IfsomeoneaskswhyaPCMsynthcantmakeasuperthunderingMoogbasssound,thesimplest
answerisitwasneverdesignedtoso.
Filter
Themostdramaticchangeofyoursoundistakingplaceinthefiltercircuit.Thericherthe
harmoniccontentonthewaveform,themorethechange.Exampleofrichharmonicwaveforms
wouldbesquareandsawwave.Ifyoursynthesizerdoesnothappentohaveresonantfilter,you
areactuallymissingonereallyimportantandcharmingaspectofasynthesizer.
Ifwelookatfrequencydomainofasound,forexamplesquarewavewhichisrichinharmonics
andplayalownoteatsay20Hz,wecanseethattheseharmoniccomponentsarespreadinthe
wholeaudiorange(20Hzto20kHz).Whatfilterwilldoistoisolatesomepartsofthisrangein
ordertoaccentuateitsotherfrequencies.
Typesoffilters
ThemostknowfilteristhelowpassfilterLPF.Itreducesthevolumeofallfrequenciesabove
thecutofffrequency.Youcanspecifythiscutofffrequencyinfiltersettings.Onceyoucutout
highfrequencyrange,thesoundwillbecomemoremellow.
NexttypeoffilterwidelyknownisahighpassfilterHPF.Itisdoingexactlyoppositethingfrom
LPF.Itcutsthepartofthespectrumwhichisbelowthecutofffrequency.Itcanbeusefulfor
percussivesounds(niceanalogsoundinghihatscanbemadewithit).Highpassfiltercanbe
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resonanttoo,butactuallytherearenotsomanysynthesizersthatfeatureit.KorgMS20oneof

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resonanttoo,butactuallytherearenotsomanysynthesizersthatfeatureit.KorgMS20oneof
therareanaloguesynthsthatfeaturesanalogresonanthighpassfilter.

AnoneofthemostspecificsoundingfiltersisprobablythebandpassfilterBPF.Thisfilter
leavesonlytheregioninthevicinityofthecutofffrequency,andcutstherest.Withresonance
settingyouareactuallyshapingthewidthofthisfilter.Themoreresonance,themorenarrow
thisfilterwillbe.Imagebelowshowsfrequencyresponseofthreebasicfiltertypeswejust
described.

Resonance
Onceyouactivateresonanceonalowpassfilter,newharmonicswillpopupinthelowerrange,
creatingnewsoniccomponentsthatdidntexistinoriginalsound.Highlevelsofresonancecan
produceselfoscillation.RolandsJunomanualhasaveryinterestingandspecificexplanationof
resonance(ifinditreallyfuntoreadittoday,butactuallyitisagoodexplanation):
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Thiscontrolemphasizesthecutoffpointsetbycutofffrequencyknob.Asyouraisetheknob,

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Thiscontrolemphasizesthecutoffpointsetbycutofffrequencyknob.Asyouraisetheknob,
certainharmonicsareemphasizedandthecreatedsoundwillbecomemoreunusual,more
electronicinthenature.Ifyoualterthecutofffrequencywhiletheresonanceknobissettoa
highlevel,youcancreateatypeofsoundthatisattainableonlyfromasynthesizer.Roland
Juno106Manual
Filterpoles/slopes
Sometimesyouwillreadthatafilteris4poletype.Thisisjustanothertermfor24dBfilter
slope,whichisthemostcommonfiltertypeintheworldofanaloguesynthesizers.Numberof
polesdefinesthesharpnessofthefilter.Themorepolesfilterhas,thesharperitsfrequency
responsewillbe.Thisalsoaffectstheresonance,sincesharperfilterresultsinmorepowerful
soundingresonance.RolandTB303usesthenotsocommon,18dBfilterslope.Nowyoumight
wonder,whatthis18dBmeansanyway.Itisaunitwhichtellsyouhowmuchafilterwillblock
peroctave.Whichinthiscaseis18dB.Ifyouputafiltercutoffpointto440Hz,oneoctave
aboveat880Hzsignalwillbeattenuatedfor18dB(whichisabout63times).

Ifafilteris4pole,thesignalwillbeattenuated24dB,whichfor440Hzcutoffpointmeansthat
thesignalon880Hzwillbeabout255timesweaker.Imageaboveshowsattenuationcurvesof
fourfiltertypes:6dB,12dB,18dBand24dB.
Whichfiltershouldyouuse?Thechoiceisuptoyou.Ifyouprefernicesmoothfiltersweep
sounds,youshoulduse12dBfilterwithagoodresonancevalue.Forthunderingbasssoundsor
highresonancezapsyoushoulduse24dBfilter(fullresonanceforzaps).While6dBfilteris
generallynotused,itcomeshandforsampleplayback,togentlyremovehighendfromthe
harshsoundingsamples,whilenottotallydistortingthephaseofthesample.
Amplifierandenvelope
Laststageofsoundmanipulationthatistakingplaceinthesynthesizerishappeningatthe
amplifiersection.Itspurposeistocontrolvolumechangesofthesound.Onanalogsynthesizers
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amplifierisusuallycalledVCA(ifitisvoltagecontrolled)orDCA(ifitisdigitallycontrolled).On

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amplifierisusuallycalledVCA(ifitisvoltagecontrolled)orDCA(ifitisdigitallycontrolled).On
digitalsynthesizersamplifierisusuallycalledAMPorincaseofRolanditiscalledTVA,which
standsfortimevariantamplifier.MainpartoftheamplifieristheADSRenvelope.

ADSRenvelope
Thisstandsfor:Attack,Decay,Sustain,Releaseanditrepresentsfourpoints.Onceyouhitthe
key,youareattheattackpoint.WithAttackyouaresettingamountoftimethatitwilltakefor
soundtoevolvefromitsstartinglevel,tothepointwhereyoupressthekey.Thisisfollowedby
Decayinwhichsoundcanevolvetoanotherlevelthatyouset.ThisisfollowedbySustainpoint.
Aslongasyouareholdingthekeypressed,youareatsustainpoint,andthelevelyousetat
sustainpointwillbethelevelofthesoundduringthetimethekeyisheld.Onceyoureleasethe
key,thesoundwillgooff.Topreventthesoundfromgoingawaytosoonyoucansetthe
Releasepoint.Releasesetstheamountoftimeitwilltakeforsoundtogettozerolevel,after
youreleasedthekey.
Thereareenvelopeswithmorethanfourpointsthatwedescribed,buttheyallworkinthesame
way.Rolandstypicalenvelopeconsistsoftwodecaylevels.SomeYamahasSYseriessynths
suchasSY77andSY99havelooppointsthatyoucansettotheenvelopewhichisprettycool
feature.
LFOandcontrol
ThepurposeofLFOistoaltervarioussoundsettingsinback/forthcyclicmanner.UsuallyLFO
canapplychangetooscillatorspitch,filtercutofffrequencyandamplevel.IfyouapplyLFOto
thepitch,youwillgetvibrato,ifyouapplyittofilter,yougetsweepingsound(suchaswah
wah),ifyouapplyittoamplevel,yougettremolo.

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Asitsnameimplies,LFOisanLowFrequencyOscillator.Usuallyitconsistsofafewbasic
oscillatorwavetypeslikesine,saworsquare.YoucanimagineLFOlikeahelpingdevice,which
ishelpinginwaythatyoudonthavetomanuallychangethepitchorlevelofthesound.Instead
youprogramLFOtodothat.Howeverifyoudowishtochangesomesettingmanually,thenyou
needtospecifythemincontrollersection.
Audioexample1:Toneslevelmodulation.Clickheretohearoriginalnonmodulatedsound.LFO
wassettomodulateamplifier(tonelevel).LFOswaveformwassinewave.Resultcanbeheard
here.

Thetwoimagesaboveshowamplitudeasafunctionoftime(waveformdisplay).Asyoucansee
originalsoundhadconstantlevel(amplitude).OnceweappliedLFO,levelstartedtomodulate
fromminimumtomaximumvalue.Shapeofthesinewavethatwasmodulatingoriginaltonecan
beclearlyseenonsecondimage.
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Audioexample2:Tonesfrequencymodulation.Clickheretohearoriginalnonmodulated

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Audioexample2:Tonesfrequencymodulation.Clickheretohearoriginalnonmodulated
sound.LFOwassettomodulateoscillatorspitch(frequency).LFOswaveformwassinewave.
Resultcanbeheardhere.

Imageaboveshowsfrequencyasafunctionoftime(spectraldisplay).Itcanbeclearlyseenhow
appliedLFOmodulatesthepitch(frequency)oftheoscillator.Shapeofthesinewavethatwas
modulatingoriginaltonecanbeclearlyseen.Originaltonewasfixedfrequencyat440Hz.Once
weappliedtheLFO,tonestartedtovarythepitchforabout50Hzaboveand50Hzbelow
originalfrequency.
Control
Mostofdigitalsynthsofferyoutoapplyvariouscontrollerslikemodwheel,aftertouchorvelocity
tosomeofthesoundsparameterslikefilterscutoffpointorresonance,soundlevel,etc.Some
synthscallthisfeaturemodulationmatrix.Itgoessomethinglikethis.Firstyouspecifythe
sourceofthecontrollerforexamplemodulationwheelonthekeyboard.Thenyouspecifyits
destination,forexamplefiltercutofffrequency.Nowyousettheamount,andyouarereadyto
modulatethefilterwithmodulationwheel.Iffiltersettingsonthesoundareonthemaximum
openposition,thenyouneedtoapplynegativevaluetothecontroller,sothatwhenyoustartto
movethewheel,filtergetsclosed,fortheamountyouspecified.Somebettermodulationmatrix
systemswillallowyoutoapplyalmostanysynthfeatureasasourcetomodulateitsdestination
forexampleLFO1tomodulatespeedofLFO2whichcanresultinverycomplexand
unpredictedresults(thisisincasethesynthhastwoLFOs).Thisistheareathatrequiresalot
ofexperimenting,butresultsarealwaysrewarding.
Abbreviationsandcommonterms
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Circuitbendingischanging,removingoraddingnewelectroniccomponentswithinsynthesizer
toachievedifferentperformancethatisunavailableinoriginalversion.Usuallycheapsynthsare
beingcircuitbenttosoundmorewild,unpredicted,strange,oralltogether.Circuitbending
resultswithwarrantyvoid,andcandamageyoursynthpermanently.
Legatoisafunctionthatshouldonlyworkinmonophonicmode.WhenLegatoison,pressing
onekeywhenanotherisalreadypressedcausesthecurrentlyplayingnotespitchtochangeto
thatofthenewlypressedkeywhilecontinuingtosound.Thiscanbeeffectivewhenyouwishto
simulateperformancetechniquessuchasaguitaristshammeringonandpullingoffstrings.
Modulationwheelaffectsthesoundasspecifiedbythecontrolparameters(controlmatrix).On
manysynthsitissettovibratobydefault.
Portamentoisafunctionthatcausesthesoundspitchtochangesmoothlyfromonenoteto
thenextnoteplayed.Portamentoiscommononguitar,violinandotherstringinstruments.
However,portamentoisnotpossibleonafixedpitchinstrumentlikethepiano.Onasynthesizer,
parametercalledportamentotimeorportamentospeeddefinesthespeedatwhichan
oscillatormovestoanewnoteyoupressedonthekeyboard.WhentheKeyAssignModeis
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mono,thiscanbeeffectiveinsimulatingperformancetechniquessuchasaviolinistsglissando.

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mono,thiscanbeeffectiveinsimulatingperformancetechniquessuchasaviolinistsglissando.
Pitchbender(pitchwheel)bendspitchoftheplayednoteupordown,andisspringloadedto
returntocenterposition.

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Comments (2)

Great Depression
October18,2014at23:21
Goodblogyouhavehere..Itshardtofindqualitywritinglikeyours
thesedays.Ireallyapppreciateindividulslikeyou!
Takecare!!

Reply

Don Solaris
December2,2014at21:09
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Thanks.Ilikesynthsandsharinginfos.

Reply

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