There are four main types of oscillators that we find in modern synths. Waveforms are expressed by the way they oscillate between their minimum and maximum value (or amplitude). Think of the waveforms as your different “colours”, some are “lighter” and some are “darker”. You can get different colours of marble to use. Going back to our sculpting reference, imagine an oscillator as your original “marble block”. Oscillators output the full sound of a waveform, containing all of its dynamic range and harmonic frequencies. So what causes these pressure waves? What Is An Oscillator?Īn oscillator generates a repeating signal in a particular waveform. We then interpret these changes as sounds. They hit our ears, causing our eardrums to move in and out, in response to changes in pressure. Sounds are pressure waves that move through the air. We all hear sounds, but what are these invisible forces that we interpret as audio? To understand synthesis, let’s start with understanding what sound is. Once you understand each of these components, then building new patches is easy.Ĭontributed by David Whitehead for Roland Corporation Australia What Is Sound? These elements form the key attributes of the sound that you’re working to produce. There are a few key components to any subtractive synthesizer. You’re chipping away at a block of marble to create a beautiful work of art!

Think of the process of subtractive synthesis as being like a sculptor. As its name implies, tones are created by subtracting unwanted frequencies, to form the sound that you’re looking to produce. Subtractive synthesis is one of the main types of synthesis. Patches that you’ve created will help your tracks to stand out and you might even surprise yourself with what you come up with! Creating your own synthesizer patch is the first step towards creating your own signature sound.

Additive vs subtractive synth