Help me understand Detune and controlling it.

[.jrp]

We all use it and I love to abuse it but I've run into a small issue that has had me stumped with modulating the Detune knob. I'm trying to applying a Hi-lo/square LFO to the detune knob to achieve an obvious on/off dutune effect however while it returns to the 0 position where it supposed to have no detuning the character of the sound has changed.It does sound solid but the varied effects would be similar to when repeatedly hitting the same note with reset off.

I have the reset feature on one 'Dual' mode Osc with modulations through the matrix. I have a feeling that it has something to do with the osc not syncing perfectly on return but because I fully do not understand how the synthesizers algorhythnm handles detuning and if it does it in a controlled way. I assume this has to do with the wave cycles offsetting when returning to the correct pitch? I've tried the sync feature but with no avail but I think that feature has nothing to do with what I am trying to achieve.

Secondly what's the difference between detuning a single dual osc then detuning one single osc next to another one. Is it me or do they sound different? could me my ears.

Third question is a little different. Detuning works on the cancellation of frequences when they clash. The whole negative positive thing right? does that apply in synths only? what I mean if I stack two saw samples and detune one slightly will that give the same result as the detuning in a synth. I could test this myself but while on topic I figure I'd should shoot that out there.

Here is a link to the sound I was describing above. I slap a shaper on to make the effect more apparent.
http://www.megafileupload.com/en/file/2 ... a-mp3.html

Thanks for reading

[xh3rv]

#3 - There's probably a lot of ways to explain it, but the one I remember best just went through the paces using sine waves - not a tough experiment to set up. I'm not sure if it would be more accurate to say cancellation of waveforms where they clash, or probably more conceptually clear to say phase cancellation.

Detuning is raising or lowering the pitch which will shorten or lengthen the duration of the detuned sine. What happens in terms of phase cancellation here is continuously modulating, if you have an oscilloscope plug (or ACE or Bazille have them built in ) the result is fairly organized.

If you were to take a sine wave patch that had two detuned oscillators, and play a different notes, the rate of the beating would be different. If a chord was played, the beating would start to acquire a lot of complexity. Adding more detuned oscillators would do the same.

The next big conceptual step I think is that all the harmonics of waveforms other than a sine can be thought of in terms of sines, i.e. as long as we're dealing with sampling any waveform could be recreated by some number of sines.

Add in vibrato and maybe some other stuff and what started as a very perceptible beating turns into a really rich and complex sound, all from stuff that's pretty straightforward in isolation.

And so, synths (and perhaps in some particular ways, Zebra) are like Natalie Portman - pretty on the outside AND the inside. At least I would assume so, I haven't met her.

[e] #1 and #2 - I couldn't speak with any authority but I think there's a patch in the factory bank Lupins/'Virtus' or something like that, that I think uses multiple oscillators rather than a single oscillator in unison to get some interesting sound; in general I have this gut sense that the more unison is used, the less it'll be exactly like just using that many oscillators, but I could be easily be way off.

[mauseoleum]

Mannn ..... detune is ... detune is ... like, mannn .... detune is like your guitar has, you know, loosen up a bit, you know, mannn ... and now it sounds like all over the place, mann ...

tune it up, mannn so you don't end up hurting somebody's ears, mann ... seriously!

peace!

[.jrp]

Mannn ..... detune is ... detune is ... like, mannn .... detune is like your guitar has, you know, loosen up a bit, you know, mannn ... and now it sounds like all over the place, mann ...

tune it up, mannn so you don't end up hurting somebody's ears, mann ... seriously!

peace!

Haha I think your onto something. Detuning tends to make my monitors weep at times. Poor guys

Nice write up xh3vr looks like I'm gonna have to do a bit of study on harmonics when I get the time. I find if I can visualize this it can make complex things less confusing when I break things down. Technical Balance must be in order though, where making music here right? Haha I some times forget.

Hmm Natalie Portman as a synth. I'd like to modulate her buttons.

[Howard]

I'm trying to applying a Hi-lo/square LFO to the detune knob to achieve an obvious on/off dutune effect however while it returns to the 0 position where it supposed to have no detuning the character of the sound has changed.

That's because the relative phases change.