Why that wavetable-mania?

[Ploki]

So if i understand this, wavesequencing is a kind of hybrid between sampling and granular? Stacking samples one after another to create evolving sounds?

Fwiw izotope’s spectral replace can “sow” together different samples neatly

[BONES]

I guess you're looking at composition to provide interest in your music whereas I think that people interested in these devices are looking to create that interest within each sound as well - composing at the microscopic level.

If that's the case, I don't hear it in anything I listen to. Quite the opposite, way too much of it sounds just like everything else. OTOH, we try to have a holistic approach that takes care of both the macro- and micro- aspects of production. I think we use a lot of really great and interesting sounds that I don't necessarily hear elsewhere, especially not within our own genre, and we go out of our way to find new and different types of instruments. To me, wavetable synths are just too "normal" to be interesting compared to things like Aparillo (FM) or Quanta (granular).

The thought that a fixed waveform is less limiting than a wavetable is ignorance.

Not if you understand all the different forms of cross-modulation - Frequency Mod (FM), Phase Mod, Ring Mod - all those thing change the waveform over time, allowing you to create any timbre you can imagine. In fact, a lot of wavetables do nothing more than simulate those exact processes. And even my $200 Uno hardware analogue synth can morph between waveforms, another boring staple of wavetables.

It's all about evolution of sound. Some people are looking for new sounds while some still want to use the same Saw wave patch they did fifteen years ago.

I'm reasonably confident that wavetable synthesis pre-dates 90% of people's interest in music around here, so calling wavetables "new" is patently laughable. It just adds credibility to the OP's question - why now when it's been around for so long?

And you call yourself a musician.....shame on you.

No, I don't. I am not a musician's arsehole. I am a performer, writer and producer.

No it's completely relevant to you.

That's very flattering but it's not my thread.

Once again since you don't understand the value of something you think that means it has no value for everyone else.

Quite the opposite, I see lots of value elsewhere that tends to negate the value of wavetables but I am sure I have just as much regard for them as you or anyone else. After all, I own lots of 'em and what's interesting about that is how you get to see how little value even their own presets place in the wavetables.

If wavetables were so infinitely superior, as you seem to think they are, where are all the patches to prove it? Why, for example, don't I hear it in a synth like DUNE or Hive 2, where wavetable patches don't distinguish themselves at all over the rest of the content that come with them? Quite the opposite, if you didn't know what sort of oscillator type was in use, you wouldn't be able to tell with either synth.

... no matter what, you will be wrong and he will be right.

I will always be right because my opinion will always be based on evidence and facts. If you want to change my opinion, all you need to do is provide evidence that my current opinion is wrong. In this case, provide some compelling patches to prove your point, things that wavetable synths do that other synths simply cannot match. But they would need to be relevant, sounds someone might actually want to use in a piece of music.

When you spend the better part of two decades calling people idiots because they disagree with you like Bones has...

You don't have to disagree with me to be an idiot, there are plenty idiots who agree with everything I say.

Here's a Wavetable patch from Dune 3's Factory patches....can't do that with a Saw Wave I don't care how you cross mod it. Right there is a perfect example of the power of Wavetables.
Synapse Audio

What patch is it? It's not playing here at work.

[Ploki]

@bones there are many ways to the destination tho - for some things, WT is faster.
In the end, you can theoretically make EVERYTHING with an additive synth. Its just not practical.

[BONES]

Now I understand that not everybody has the need or desire for such complex sounds but isn't it nice that those who do have that power at their fingertips?

Haven't we all? Cubase provides for any level of complexity I might require. The thought that anyone would need a single synth to do it is hardware thinking and seems grossly outdated to me. Of course, that's just one use for wavesequencing, there are plenty of others that can be used in a variety of situations. e.g. To provide the attack phase of one kick drum sample with the body of another and the release of a third. It's a very versatile way of building unique timbres.

People, including myself, get tired of the same old wave forms. Sure, there are tricks to mess with them, like osc sync and others, but they’re still pretty limited. Wavetable synths allow you to work with a much broader choice of waves, but not have to deal with the complexity of FM or additive, so it’s more immediate for people used to working with basic subtractive synths.

Sure but it's hardly the only one. Why are wavetable synths more popular than spectral synths like Thorn, for example? Or sample based instruments like Bassmaster? They offer the same thing. For my money Thorn offers way more control and variety than wavetable synths do, with less complication of the workflow. So why isn't everyone doing that?

[Ploki]

Isnt spectral synthesis just a fancy name for additive synthesis?

[Unaspected]

When you spend the better part of two decades calling people idiots because they disagree with you like Bones has...

You don't have to disagree with me to be an idiot, there are plenty idiots who agree with everything I say.

I just want to say that I appreciated your reply but you've misquoted me above. I didn't write that - Teksonik did. I know it's easily done when dealing a slew of quotes.

[pdxindy]

I enjoy wavetable synthesis... powerful, flexible and easy to use.

I’m glad to have a number of wavetable synths

[V0RT3X]

I didn’t read the entire thread but my take on why wavetable is so popular is because of how easy it is to use.

Each waveform in a wavetable is the result of some form of complex FM, VA, etc synthesis (at least with the good quality tables) that would require some very detailed patching.

What i’ve learned about wavetables is that its almost an artform to create “good ones”

Sure you can still get some great sounds using a typical subtractive synth, but depending on the architecture you will often be limited on what kind of stuff you can do with it.

I think once you dive into wavetable morphing it really comes alive and you start to get sounds that would be nearly impossible to make on a standard subtractive synth. Sure in the modular realm one could patch together a crazy patch that comes close to a wavetable but it wont be polyphonic.

[pdxindy]

I didn’t read the entire thread but my take on why wavetable is so popular is because of how easy it is to use.

Each waveform in a wavetable is the result of some form of complex FM, VA, etc synthesis (at least with the good quality tables) that would require some very detailed patching.

What i’ve learned about wavetables is that its almost an artform to create “good ones”

Sure you can still get some great sounds using a typical subtractive synth, but depending on the architecture you will often be limited on what kind of stuff you can do with it.

I think once you dive into wavetable morphing it really comes alive and you start to get sounds that would be nearly impossible to make on a standard subtractive synth. Sure in the modular realm one could patch together a crazy patch that comes close to a wavetable but it wont be polyphonic.

Also wave tables are an easy way to select from a bunch of different waveforms. Manually scan through a complex wavetable is much easier than loading lots of waves one after another...

That is without even considering the morphing aspect and just using the selected single cycle wave