Phonosynthesis - Part One

A fairly common frustration for music producers and artists is having a sound in your head but not being able to reproduce it in real life, let alone apply it to your music. In all honesty, some sounds will only remain in your dreams; but if you're better equipped to to squeeze more out of your synthesizers, there's a good chance you might reach your sonic destination.

The 'Phonosynthesis' series will attempt to demystify software synthesizers (or 'soft synths' for short) and make those numerous knobs, envelopes, matrixes and sliders not look so intimidating. 

I'm no Gordon Reid, but if I can help you manipulate your tones to get your desired sounds on not just your favorite synths but any synth you lay your hands on, then my friend - we have done well.

What are synthesizers?

Serum - A Wavetable Synthesizer

Synthesizers are electronic musical devices that generate sounds using electrical circuits and or mathematical algorithms (in the case of soft synths). Usually these sounds can be controlled via a midi controller. So rather than plucking a string on a guitar or blowing a flute, you can play mimicked guitars, flutes, and a plethora of many sounds on just one synthesizer.

The scope of the 'Phonosynthesis' series will only cover software synths.

Samplers and Drum Synths

Rather than generate their own sounds, Samplers enable us play already recorded audio clips (or samples) via midi. Most modern samplers now come with many 'synth-like' features to help you sculpt your sounds even more. Nearly every DAW comes with their own native sampler but Kontakt by Native instruments (no pun intended) is one of the most used for many professionals.

Drum synths are programs that produce percussive sounds using different methods of synthesis. Their parameters are usually unique to the sound the program was intended to make. 

Sometimes, samplers carry their own drum synths.

Types of Synthesis

Too much theory...lets dive in already! 

As we explore different modern day synths, we'll look at the types of synthesis they offer and how you can manipulate them to get rewarding results.

Common Sections and Parameters of Most Soft Synths.

1.  The Master section: Most soft synths have a master section that control things like:

Thor - Master Section

Polyphony: Number of voices (notes) that can be played at once. An electric bass will need just one but if you intend to play chords, please increase.

Play mode: Options like legato, retrigger and portamento/glide are some of the major play modes to select from. Their effects become more evident when moving from one note to another.

Master volume and Tune

Some synthesizers may have other parameters like macros, patch select and so on but bear in mind, these global parameters will affect the final sound output of the synthesizer. 

Massive - Oscillator Section

2.  Oscillator Section: This is where the actual tone generation begins. Oscillators usually generate  simple (sine, triangle, saw, square) or complex waveforms which can be triggered via midi.

Multiple waveforms can be played at the same time and can be used to modulate each other. This gives rise to various types of sound synthesis depending on which parameter (e.g. amplitude, frequency, phase etc) is being modulated.

Serum - Filter Section

3.  Filter section: A filter cuts out certain frequencies or harmonics from an audio signal. Basic physics teaches us that harmonics are what define the timbre (character) of the sound, so new sounds can be created by removing or emphasizing some of those harmonics.

Filter types including Low pass (LP), High pass (HP),  Band pass (BP), Notch/Band reject, Comb and others will usually be found in this section.

This forms the basis for subtractive synthesis.

Nexus - Amp Section

4.  Envelop Section: A lot happens when you play a note on a keyboard! You depress the key, hold it down for a while (even if it's for a split second) and allow it spring back up. Under the hood of the synth, this action generates an envelop that controls the Attack (impact), Decay (roll off) , Sustain (body) and Release (tail end) values that control your performance.

The most important of these is the Amplifier (Amp)/Volume (Vol) envelop which controls the volume of the synth sound as you play. For example a staccato string performance has a fast attack, little decay, no sustain and little to no release while most pad performances have a slow attack, good amount of decay, long sustain and slow release.

However, envelopes can be used to control other parameters like pitch. They can be used like LFO's to control virtually anything too.

Serum - LFO section

5.  LFO section: Acronym for Low Frequency Oscillator, LFOs are subsonic (inaudible) waveforms that can be used to control/modulate parameters of other waveforms for special effects like tremolo (volume modulation) vibrato (pitch modulation), pan automation and many more.

LFO's can be used to create evolving pads, sequenced percussion's and generally dynamic sounds that always seem to be changing.

6. Modulation Matrix Section:This is probably most people's synth nightmare but sometimes power doesn't always look as good as a Ferrari. The modulation matrix gives you an almost infinite possibility of using anything to control anything on the synth and to the degree of your choice.

Wanna use the amp envelop to modulate the pan knob? Or use an LFO to toggle between different waveforms while playing? From the simplest to craziest idea,  the modulation matrix unlocks a world of modulation possibilities you probably thought your synth didn't have at face value.

Thor - Modulation Matrix Section

7.  Effects Section: Effects like delay, reverb, chorus, compression, distortion and so on are found in this section. They will most likely have a bypass switch and won't be as robust as dedicated effects you see on other vsts but they're usually a good way to to add sheen to your sounds without eating so much CPU power.

Z3TA+2 - Effects Section

Have no fear if some of these concepts were difficult to grasp, in our subsequent posts we are going to be dealing with these sections in detail and with your favourite synths so you can practice on your own.


Written by
Chidi 'Tite' Nnadi