The TIPS &TRICKS folder contains example patches for most of the following techniques.
Oscillator Tricks
DX-type ‘FM’
Load
init
and turn OSC1 ‘PD’ up to maximum. Patch the lower OSC 2 output to OSC 1 phase
modulation input (
PM coarse
) and turn the amount up to about 50. Play a note: You should hear
a bright ‘digital’ waveform. Turn OSC 1 ‘PD’ back down to zero for a pure sine carrier like in the
original DX – the tone becomes less bright, more hollow.
Patch envelope 2 into OSC 2 volume modulation input (near where the two cables cross each
other), turn the knob up to about 50 and take the Volume all the way down. In envelope 2, drag
the sustain (S) slider down to minimum and Velocity up to maximum. The patch should sound a
bit like a simple DX piano already. Adjust ENV1 and ENV2 release times (R) to taste.
Switch OSC 1 and OSC 2 Tune modes (currently
Semitone
) to
Overtone
. Now experiment with
different overtone relationships by adjusting the Tune value in both oscillators. You could also
try some tune modulation from an LFO or whatever. Then create a second layer using
oscillators / envelopes 3 and 4... Finally, switch the Tune mode of one of both oscillators back to
Semitone and experiment further!
Ponder this: Bazille is actually capable of 8-operator FM by using all four oscillators plus four
self-oscillating filters.
Sub-oscillators
It’s very easy to add a phase-locked ‘sub-oscillator’ in Bazille: Select
Saw
as your fractal wave,
but leave the amount at zero. Note:
Tri
delivers great bass, and
Max
is, perhaps surprisingly, the
most subtle option when applied to a sawtooth (turn the amount up a tiny bit for some grit).
Alternative: Instead of (or as well as) using fractal resonance, try setting the lower PD waveform
to something other than
Same
.
PWM 1
(tip by 3ee, xh3rv, adrian b)
Bazille’s oscillators don’t offer
Pulse Width Modulation
directly, but you can get there using a
Mapping Generator: Select 2 steps (only) for map 1, set one of the values to maximum and the
other to minimum. Select
Saw
,
Same
and
TapMap1
in your oscillator
.
Move the PD knob and
watch how this affects the pulse width. Leave the PD knob at 30, patch LFO2 triangle output to
the PD modulation input and turn the amount up to 30.
• For a more analogue feel, set the LFO and OSC phase restart options to
random
• Try different combinations of oscillator waveforms
• Remember that
TapMap
oscillators will alias more than
Cosine
PWM 2
(tip by xh3rv)
The classic Minimoog™ method doesn’t use a map or LFO, but needs two sawtooth oscillators.
Invert and detune one of them for a rich PWM effect. Instead of (or as well as) detuning, you
can use phase modulation for a wide variety of PWM-type effects.
If you don’t want the start of each note to sound exactly the same (you probably don’t), make
sure that at least one oscillator’s Phase mode is set to either
random
or
catch
.
PWM 3
(tip by xh3rv)
This trick also uses a pair of oscillators, but works by audio-rate phase modulation i.e. ‘FM’.
Take a square wave and patch a sine of the same pitch into its phase modulation input. Your
‘pulse width’ control is the level of the sine wave, which you can modulate with e.g. an LFO.
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