Urs & Co. (Please release a full blown wavetable synth already)

[pdxindy]

What's this obsession with wavetable synths? I fail to get it.

Me neither.

I understand the promise of wavetables - hey, I can move this sound from here to there - but in the end it's technically a very clumsy way of doing this. First off, it's one-dimensional. Secondly one needs hundreds of waveform cycles to get a smooth transition for something interesting. Classic wavetable synthesis to me resembles a mindset of quantity over quality.

There is the aspect of being able to import a sample and create a wavetable from it that sounds relatively close to the sample.

Also, a wavetable synth is a way of giving users tons of waveforms without having a long long list to choose from one by one.

[Urs]

There is the aspect of being able to import a sample and create a wavetable from it that sounds relatively close to the sample.

Also, a wavetable synth is a way of giving users tons of waveforms without having a long long list to choose from one by one.

Fair enough

[Ah_Dziz]

The wavetable oscillators in zebra are as good or better than any other wavetable synth I've used. They don't get weird and crusty like lots of wavetable oscillators in the lower octaves and they don't alias much, but I find those to be positives personally.

[Armagibbon]

Thing about wavetables is you got a buncha diff timbres in 1 preset so like... turn a index knob and go from saw to pulse to some organ or fm thing to a sample cycle and you got all the same mods and fx goin on. Easy to get that chopped up sound with just auto on 1 param.

[Cinebient]

I think there are already enough very good wavetable synths and this would be exact the last thing i need in a synth now.
But i would like to draw everything from hand....envelopes, waveforms, filters, FX and whatever.
But my favorite feature would be a snapshot morphing ala´Alchemy.

[Doc Brown]

Wavetable synthesis is just more colors on the pallette and for me that's what I want. I don't think there is an "obsession" with wavetable synths any more than there is with virtual analog. Wavetables can create timbres that are impossible via other synthesis types and the same for fm, granular, etc.

[Nielzie]

I think there are already enough very good wavetable synths and this would be exact the last thing i need in a synth now.
But i would like to draw everything from hand....envelopes, waveforms, filters, FX and whatever.

For drawing waveforms, envelopes, lfo's, etc. in a synth there is already: Cableguys Curve

[Cinebient]

I think there are already enough very good wavetable synths and this would be exact the last thing i need in a synth now.
But i would like to draw everything from hand....envelopes, waveforms, filters, FX and whatever.

For drawing waveforms, envelopes, lfo's, etc. in a synth there is already: Cableguys Curve

I own Curve 2 but mmhhh, the sound isn´t meaty enough

[chk071]

I think there are already enough very good wavetable synths and this would be exact the last thing i need in a synth now.
But i would like to draw everything from hand....envelopes, waveforms, filters, FX and whatever.

I disagree on both points. 1. We can't have enough wavetable synths. They provide a very easy way to get - movement in your sound (at least when they properly interpolate); get a lot of versatility due to the amount of included waveforms; and most wavetable synths also provide extra functionality, like, modulating the spectrum, or waveshaping, pitch sifting, or applying FM (OK, that's not limited to wavetable synths alone, still, most provide that). 2. If then, i'd wish that there would be wavetable synths which allow waveshaping as well, and allow you to save the resulting waveforms as "snapshots", and create wavetables from those (why didn't anyone do that yet? Seems like an obvious thing.).

And, regarding the drawing of waveforms by hand, i never found that very target-aimed. Let's pretend you draw yourself a nice looking waveshape... and then you press a note, and find out that it sounds like utter crap, and something you would never have looked for in the first place. IMO, waveshaping is much superior to waveform drawing. It isn't as tedious, you can experiment with the waveshapers, and, you can quickly get a sound you like, or the one you were looking for, while drawing, you probably only produce something "accidentally". At least, that's not the way i want to make music. And, with waveshaping, you can even modulate the waveshapers (at least that'd be the way i'd implement it), so, even without a wavetable, you already get a lot of movement in your sound.

I own Curve 2 but mmhhh, the sound isn´t meaty enough

I used to have Curve 2 CM installed, but, never really got warm with it... sounds too digitally cold IMO.

[wagtunes]

I think there are already enough very good wavetable synths and this would be exact the last thing i need in a synth now.
But i would like to draw everything from hand....envelopes, waveforms, filters, FX and whatever.

I disagree on both points. 1. We can't have enough wavetable synths. They provide a very easy way to get - movement in your sound (at least when they properly interpolate); get a lot of versatility due to the amount of included waveforms; and most wavetable synths also provide extra functionality, like, modulating the spectrum, or waveshaping, pitch sifting, or applying FM (OK, that's not limited to wavetable synths alone, still, most provide that). 2. If then, i'd wish that there would be wavetable synths which allow waveshaping as well, and allow you to save the resulting waveforms as "snapshots", and create wavetables from those (why didn't anyone do that yet? Seems like an obvious thing.).

And, regarding the drawing of waveforms by hand, i never found that very target-aimed. Let's pretend you draw yourself a nice looking waveshape... and then you press a note, and find out that it sounds like utter crap, and something you would never have looked for in the first place. IMO, waveshaping is much superior to waveform drawing. It isn't as tedious, you can experiment with the waveshapers, and, you can quickly get a sound you like, or the one you were looking for, while drawing, you probably only produce something "accidentally". At least, that's not the way i want to make music. And, with waveshaping, you can even modulate the waveshapers (at least that'd be the way i'd implement it), so, even without a wavetable, you already get a lot of movement in your sound.

I own Curve 2 but mmhhh, the sound isn´t meaty enough

I used to have Curve 2 CM installed, but, never really got warm with it... sounds too digitally cold IMO.

Drawing waves can be excellent if you know what the hell you're doing. It's really no different from additive synthesis. A basic education on waves is all you really need to be able to draw some pretty decent waves for use. At least that's my experience.

YMMV.

[chk071]

I never got any good result doing that... and, if i'm making music, i frankly can't be bothered to draw pictures either.

[wagtunes]

I never got any good result doing that... and, if i'm making music, i frankly can't be bothered to draw pictures either.

Believe me, I understand. It's not for everybody. I enjoy doing it because I still love the programming side of things. And, as you can see by the amount of music I've put out, it hasn't interfered with my composing and getting things done.

[Nielzie]

I think there are already enough very good wavetable synths and this would be exact the last thing i need in a synth now.
But i would like to draw everything from hand....envelopes, waveforms, filters, FX and whatever.

I disagree on both points. 1. We can't have enough wavetable synths. They provide a very easy way to get - movement in your sound (at least when they properly interpolate); get a lot of versatility due to the amount of included waveforms; and most wavetable synths also provide extra functionality, like, modulating the spectrum, or waveshaping, pitch sifting, or applying FM (OK, that's not limited to wavetable synths alone, still, most provide that). 2. If then, i'd wish that there would be wavetable synths which allow waveshaping as well, and allow you to save the resulting waveforms as "snapshots", and create wavetables from those (why didn't anyone do that yet? Seems like an obvious thing.).

And, regarding the drawing of waveforms by hand, i never found that very target-aimed. Let's pretend you draw yourself a nice looking waveshape... and then you press a note, and find out that it sounds like utter crap, and something you would never have looked for in the first place. IMO, waveshaping is much superior to waveform drawing. It isn't as tedious, you can experiment with the waveshapers, and, you can quickly get a sound you like, or the one you were looking for, while drawing, you probably only produce something "accidentally". At least, that's not the way i want to make music. And, with waveshaping, you can even modulate the waveshapers (at least that'd be the way i'd implement it), so, even without a wavetable, you already get a lot of movement in your sound.

I own Curve 2 but mmhhh, the sound isn´t meaty enough

I used to have Curve 2 CM installed, but, never really got warm with it... sounds too digitally cold IMO.

Well that's kinda inherent with drawable waveforms I think. It's a digital technology. You can't draw certain analog sounding characteristics.

[Cinebient]

Samples as OSC (and as modulator source) are what i would like to have also in every synth.
I did some crazy modulations with some super synths and playing with different noise etc. and after 30 minutes i realized that i had much better results when i just recorded the toilet flushing and imported that in a tiny iOS synth which can load 32 sound sources and do kind of vector synthesis on steroids.
It´s not always about the best filters, raw OSC´s and FX (in this case i still prefer P900 over everything else yet), sometimes it´s just simple to get a unique sounds without all that bells and whistles.
Not sure why but recently i find most new desktop synths a bit boring and especially no fun to use. I even was shocked about myself that i´m more interested in a hopefully soon coming new iOS synth than Zebra 3 (i will get for free).
Yeah, i know it sounds crazy, but it is like it is. Of course in a month i could think the opposite again
Midlife crisis and so....

[chk071]

Well that's kinda inherent with drawable waveforms I think. It's a digital technology. You can't draw certain analog sounding characteristics.

Maybe. I felt like the filters lack a warm character as well though.