Synthesizer

The combination of modules that is the basis for nearly all subtractive synthesizers.

Voltage control defines the synthesizer and differentiates it from separate components such as amplifiers, oscillators, filters, etc.

The synthesizer generates and modifies electronic waveforms in the audio spectrum. Unlike traditional acoustic instruments such as violin, percussion, etc., the electronic medium is highly flexible. Instead of physically altering the material of typical instruments, such as bracing a guitar to change its resonance, synthesizers can only need to change electrical or digital values to make new sounds. This makes them much more fluent than traditional acoustic instruments. It also means they can create sounds that aren't physically possible. Finally, players can explore the variety of sounds much more quickly and easily.

When synthesizers first entered the underground music scene in the early 1960s, constructing them was difficult. Knowledge of engineering specific to making sound waves was scarce and components were not ideal for making music. Furthermore, people didn't have references - they didn't know what they wanted to build. In the 21st century, however, synthesizer design is commonplace and many sources of information from people to websites share the basic as well as the secrets. It's even possible to construct playable synthesizer instruments in your own home with less than $100 in parts.

Synthesis techniques

In electronic music synthesizers, the main techniques, occasionally combinations of these, both in hardware and software, to create and shape sounds are:

Hardware

• Subtractive synthesis starts with a rich sound wave and subtracts frequencies using filters (e.g., most modular synthesizers).
• Additive synthesis builds complex sounds by adding together simpler waveforms, typically sine waves (e.g., the Hammond organ or the software synth Flow).
• FM synthesis is the modulation of one waveform by another to create complex harmonic content (e.g., the Yamaha DX7 or the DIY Futur3soundz XFM2).
• Wavetable synthesis typically manipulates single-cycle waveforms stored in tables for smooth transitions between them (e.g., the PPG Wave or the DIY Elby MonoWave(X)).
• Phase distortion synthesis is similar to FM synthesis but uses different phase modulation techniques (e.g., the Casio CZ series).

Software

• Sample-based synthesis uses recorded samples of real instruments or sounds, which can be manipulated (e.g., the Fairlight CMI or the DIY SamplerBox). This is different from a rompler, which typically uses pre-recorded samples in a playback format without extensive manipulation capabilities (e.g., the Yamaha DB50XG).
• Granular synthesis splits sound into small grains and manipulates them to create new textures (e.g., Mutable Instruments Clouds).
• Physical modelling synthesis simulates the physical properties of musical instruments using mathematical models (e.g., the Yamaha VL1).
• Analog modeling synthesis emulates the sound and behavior of vintage analog synthesizers using digital algorithms (e.g., the Clavia Nord Lead or the DIY TubeOhm Jeannie).
• Linear arithmetic synthesis combines sampled attack transients with synthesized sustain portions to create complex sounds (e.g., the Roland D-50).
• Vector synthesis blends multiple sound sources dynamically using a joystick or vector mixer to create evolving timbres (e.g., the Korg Wavestation).
• Digital waveguide synthesis uses mathematical models to simulate the propagation of waves through a medium (e.g., Mutable Instruments Elements and Mutable Instruments Rings).

See also

• Sampler
• Synthesizer books
• Learning to play a synth

Further reading

• The new complete synthesizer by David Crombie, Omnibus Press, 1986, ISBN 0711907013
• Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer by Trevor Pinch, Harvard University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-674-01617-3

External links

• Interactive Learning Synths, Ableton