If you understand wave forms help me!

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-- If you understand wave forms help me!

Posted by dj_cuba on Jan-04-2002 23:14:

If you understand wave forms help me!

I am new to synthesizers and I am currently using the ones that come with fruityloops. But I don't understand what waveforms to use to make certain types of sounds. For example if I wnated to make a hard synth what waveforms would I use and how many of them and why?

Posted by nomatteus on Jan-05-2002 00:15:

wow you seem to have a few questions..none which i know the answers of

i am wondering about waveforms too
mat

Posted by Theotrope on Jan-07-2002 03:38:

For the 3xosc hard synth just take 3 inverted sawtooth waves, and detune them slightly, add some reverb
You can play around with the waveforms, keeping in mind the "pointier" they are, the more rough of a sound they have(hell its a good guideline)

cheers

chrisL

Posted by Pjotr G on Jan-07-2002 11:05:

Yeah their shape also kinda translates to their sound. I'll give a short discription of some very basic tones.

Sine
a sine is the sound you hear for instance in the lead of PPK - resurection. It contains no overtones, only a groundtone. This means that you will hardly hear anything if put it thru a lowpass filter. This is the most basic waveform, apperently ALL sounds are/can be made out of -several to a vast amount of- sine waves on top of each other.

Sawtooth
a sawtooth sounds "pointy" and has a lot of overtones. A couple of these on top of each other is what makes the most used trance leads. for simple saws think about the lead synth in Ayla - Ayla (1 or 2)

Square
bit of a "hollow" sound. When you apply overdrive to a sound the wave turns more and more into a square-ish wave. This adds upper harmonics (overtones) to the sound (the pointy edges as opposed to sine-ish, round edges) to give it some more high. In Ferry Corsten - Dance Valley theme, when you hear that drum-breakbeat, the bassline is a low pitched square wave.