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Synthesis Tutorial
The settings of these front panel controls (which of course
determine the current sound) may then be stored in memory
locations in the machine which can be recalled at any time.
Summary
An Analogue synthesizer can be broken down into five main
sound generating or sound modifying (modulating) blocks.
1
Oscillators that generate Waveforms at a certain
pitches.
2
A Mixer that mixes the outputs from the Oscillators
together.
3
A Filter that cuts out certain harmonics, which changes
the characteristic or tImbre of the sound.
4
An Amplifier that is controlled by an Envelope
generator, that alters the volume of a sound over
time.
5
LFO’s and Envelopes that can be used to modulate
any of the above.
Much of the enjoyment to be had with a Synthesiser is with
experimenting with the factory preset sounds and creating new
ones. There is no substitute for ‘hands on‘ experience.
Armed with the knowledge in this chapter, and understanding
what is actually happening in the machine when tweaks to the
knobs and switches are made will make to process of creating
new and exciting sounds easy - Have fun.
13
Summary