12. Synthesis basics: Connections
NORD MODULAR G2 V1.1
Page 202
LFO
LFO
LFO
LFO
LFO is an abbreviation for Low Frequency Oscillator. It is used for repeating variations in a sound, such
as vibrato or tremolo.
C
C
C
C
O
O
O
ON
N
N
NN
N
N
NE
E
E
EC
C
C
CT
T
T
TIIIIO
O
O
ON
N
N
NS
S
S
S
There are many ways in which the modules outlined below can be connected in a synthesizer, but the one
in the picture below is a basic and common one, used in some older synthesizers.
Note that the horizontal lines indicate the way the sound travels. The vertical lines indicate control sig-
nals. The envelopes for example only
modulate
(control
)
the oscillator, filter and amplifiers, they do not
affect the sound directly.
T
T
T
T
H
H
H
HE
E
E
E
O
O
O
OS
S
S
SC
C
C
CIIIIL
L
L
LL
L
L
LA
A
A
AT
T
T
TO
O
O
OR
R
R
RS
S
S
S
A
A
A
AN
N
N
ND
D
D
D
W
W
W
WA
A
A
AV
V
V
VE
E
E
EF
F
F
FO
O
O
OR
R
R
RM
M
M
MS
S
S
S
The two basic qualities of an oscillator is waveform and pitch.
P
P
P
P
IIIIT
T
T
TC
C
C
CH
H
H
H
The length of a waveform period determines the pitch (frequency) of the sound. The shorter the period,
the higher the pitch. If you for example make the oscillator play at a frequency of 440Hz, there will be
440 periods of identical Sawtooth waves generated per second.
Normally there are three ways to change the frequency of an oscillator:
•
By changing the frequency settings on the oscillator.
•
By playing the keyboard.
The keyboard is connected to the oscillator via the KBT (Keyboard Track-
ing) parameter so that pressing different key produces different pitches. In some cases this connection
can be turned off, so that the oscillator always plays the same pitch, regardless of which key is pressed.
