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Table Of Contents
Global controls: Affect the overall characteristics of your synthesizer sound, such as
glides between notes, pitch bend, monophonic or polyphonic playback, and more (see
Global Controls).
Oscillators
The audio signal of a synthesizer is generated by the oscillator. Usually you would choose
from a selection of waveforms that contain differing types and varying amounts (more
or fewer) of harmonics. The level relationships between the fundamental tone and the
harmonics of the chosen waveform are responsible for the basic sound color or timbre.
Common Synthesizer Waveforms
The qualities of the most common synthesizer waveforms are discussed below.
Sine Wave
Clean and clear-sounding, a sine wave contains no harmonics but the first harmonic; in
other words, it is the fundamental tone. The sine wave—used standalone—can be used
to create “pure” sounds like whistles, the sound of wet fingers on the rim of a glass, tuning
forks, and so on.
Sawtooth
Clear and bright-sounding, a sawtooth wave contains both odd and even harmonics. It
is ideal for the creation of string, pad, bass, and brass sounds.
355Appendix Synthesizer Basics