KVR Audio

evileye · Post by **evileye** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:25 pm

im wanting a rundown of what wave form is general used for what type of sound
thanks
fred

shamann · Post by **shamann** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:39 pm

I hear the piano wave form is used for the piano, and the guitar wave form is used for guitar sound.

electrik noize · Post by **electrik noize** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:48 pm

I seem to remember reading that pulse waveforms with really narrow pulse-widths can be used to emulate wind instruments.

evileye · Post by **evileye** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:53 pm

look guys i know nothing about synthsis design im just trying to understand
so cut me some slack

vurt · Post by **vurt** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:59 pm

can i ask what host you use?
if you use reason dig out the manual, the section on the subtractor has a pretty good runthrough of basics.
otherwise perhaps check out the downloadable book on synthesis from the instruments forum.
ill see if i can think of any where else ive seen any good stuff on this.

evileye · Post by **evileye** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:01 pm

thank you i have just downloaded it and am reading now!

jupiter8 · Post by **jupiter8** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:04 pm

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm
Here's everything you want to know about sound synthesis but were to afraid to ask.

Read all 30 articles and come back if you have more questions.

Did'nt see one article that explained the original question though.But it is in there somewhere.

shamann · Post by **shamann** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:27 pm

evileye wrote:look guys i know nothing about synthsis design im just trying to understand
so cut me some slack

Easy now, just poking fun. It'd be easier to guide you if we knew what general sounds you were after, since things like the classic FM sounds are very differently made from standard subtractive synth sounds.

The Synth Secrets series is your best bet, lots of information in there.

I good starting point might be this little guide from 1985, The Fine Art of Programming Synthesizers (d/l made available by the fine folks at Modcan).

evileye · Post by **evileye** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 9:36 am

im after organic sounds dark sweeps evolving pads

Bonteburg · Post by **Bonteburg** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:22 am

These are some examples to give you an idea. (I'm no sound design expert)

sinewave 440 hz: "Test Tone" style

two layered sinewaves (octave) : nice reggae organ/wind

saw wave: classic "synth" sound

Triangle : Reedy, mellow sound, good for organs

I think that theoretically, all sounds can be explained by layering and/or modulating sine waves, so I say go experiment.

Marco

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:50 am

evileye wrote:im after organic sounds dark sweeps evolving pads

You don't get those directly from the simple basic waveforms (sine, saw, triangle, square.) It's a lot more complex than that. The basic waveforms on their own all sound quite boring and character-less...

You need two or more oscillators (detune them, or sync them also) and apply all sorts of modulation (ring mod is nice, filters ofcourse, frequency modulation could work, let the LFOs do their work on e.g. pulse width and/or filter) etc etc etc.

What synth are you working with right now?

evileye · Post by **evileye** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:54 am

probley the hardest absynth,and albino, i have the tutorials dvd for absynth so i have been watching that

krushing · Post by **krushing** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:23 am

Check out Samplecraze's synthesis tutorials - they're pretty holding-your-hand basic, but teach the principles nicely. The SOS articles contain excellent info, but some of it might easily go over your head if you're not familiar with the fundamentals.

Meffy · Post by **Meffy** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:33 pm

Absynth's not hard, just a little different. Don't be discouraged, experiment, read the tuts others have suggested, and experiment some more. And don't neglect to save interesting patches, even if they're not exactly what you were trying to make. They'll likely come in handy eventually.

Specific to Aby are those huge 68-breakpoint (!!!) envelopes you can apply to any parameter -- perfect for making those evolving pads you're after. So you'll want to understand what all available modulation destinations do to your sound.

jivamukti · Post by **jivamukti** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:45 pm

From Discover manual:

Sine -- FM, Leads, Percussion, Organs
Triangle -- FM, Smooth Sounds, Bass, Flutes
Square -- Smooth Basses, Leads, Synced Waves
Noise -- Ambient FX, Percussion
Saw -- Rough Bass, Edgy Leads
Pulse -- Vintage Synths, Pads

Also I could add myself that if you want to start learning how to use ring modulation, you should start with simpler waveforms (sine & triangle) to get more predictable results.

wave forms