X
Table Of Contents
- Logic Pro X Instruments
- Contents
- Chapter 1: Drum Kit Designer
- Chapter 2: ES1
- Chapter 3: ES2
- ES2 overview
- ES2 interface
- ES2 sound sources
- ES2 oscillator parameters overview
- ES2 basic oscillator waveforms
- Use pulse width modulation in ES2
- Use frequency modulation in ES2
- Use ring modulation in ES2
- Use ES2 Digiwaves
- Use the ES2 noise generator
- ES2 emulation of detuned analog oscillators
- Stretch tuning in ES2
- Balance ES2 oscillator levels
- ES2 oscillator start points
- Synchronize ES2 oscillators
- ES2 global parameters
- ES2 filter parameters
- ES2 amplifier parameters
- ES2 modulation
- ES2 integrated effects processor
- ES2 macro controls and controller assignments
- ES2 Surround mode
- ES2 extended parameters
- Create random ES2 sound variations
- ES2 tutorials
- Chapter 4: EFM1
- Chapter 5: ES E
- Chapter 6: ES M
- Chapter 7: ES P
- Chapter 8: EVOC 20 PolySynth
- EVOC 20 PolySynth and vocoding
- EVOC 20 PolySynth interface
- EVOC 20 PolySynth analysis parameters
- EVOC 20 PolySynth (U/V) detection parameters
- EVOC 20 PolySynth synthesis parameters
- EVOC 20 PolySynth formant filter
- EVOC 20 PolySynth modulation parameters
- EVOC 20 PolySynth output parameters
- EVOC 20 PolySynth performance tips
- Vocoder history
- EVOC 20 block diagram
- Chapter 9: EXS24 mkII
- EXS24 mkII overview
- Sampler instruments
- EXS24 mkII Parameter window
- EXS24 mkII Parameter window overview
- Sampler Instruments pop-up menu
- EXS24 mkII global parameters
- EXS24 mkII pitch parameters
- EXS24 mkII filter parameters
- EXS24 mkII output parameters
- EXS24 mkII extended parameters
- EXS24 mkII modulation overview
- EXS24 mkII modulation router
- EXS24 mkII LFOs
- EXS24 mkII envelope overview
- EXS24 mkII modulation reference
- EXS24 mkII Instrument Editor window
- EXS24 mkII preferences
- EXS24 mkII memory management
- Chapter 10: External Instrument
- Chapter 11: Klopfgeist
- Chapter 12: Retro Synth
- Retro Synth overview
- Retro Synth Analog oscillator controls
- Retro Synth Sync oscillator controls
- Retro Synth Table oscillator controls
- Retro Synth FM oscillator controls
- Retro Synth filter controls
- Retro Synth amp and effect controls
- Retro Synth modulation controls
- Retro Synth global and controller settings
- Retro Synth extended parameters
- Chapter 13: Sculpture
- Sculpture overview
- Sculpture interface
- Sculpture string parameters
- Sculpture objects parameters
- Sculpture pickups parameters
- Sculpture global parameters
- Sculpture amplitude envelope parameters
- Use Sculpture’s Waveshaper
- Sculpture filter parameters
- Sculpture delay effect parameters
- Sculpture Body EQ parameters
- Sculpture output parameters
- Sculpture surround range and diversity
- Sculpture modulation controls
- Sculpture morph parameters
- Define Sculpture MIDI controllers
- Sculpture tutorials
- Chapter 14: Ultrabeat
- Ultrabeat overview
- Ultrabeat interface
- Ultrabeat Assignment section
- Ultrabeat Synthesizer section overview
- Ultrabeat sound sources
- Ultrabeat oscillator overview
- Ultrabeat oscillator 1 phase oscillator mode
- Use Ultrabeat oscillator 1 FM mode
- Use Ultrabeat oscillator 1 side chain mode
- Use Ultrabeat oscillator 2 phase oscillator mode
- Basic waveform characteristics
- Use Ultrabeat oscillator 2 sample mode
- Use Ultrabeat oscillator 2 model mode
- Ultrabeat ring modulator
- Ultrabeat noise generator
- Use Ultrabeat’s filter section
- Ultrabeat distortion circuit
- Ultrabeat Output section
- Ultrabeat modulation
- Ultrabeat step sequencer
- Ultrabeat step sequencer overview
- Step sequencer basics
- Ultrabeat step sequencer interface
- Ultrabeat global sequencer controls
- Ultrabeat pattern controls
- Use Ultrabeat’s swing function
- Ultrabeat Step grid
- Automate parameters in Ultrabeat’s step sequencer
- Export Ultrabeat patterns as MIDI regions
- MIDI control of Ultrabeat’s step sequencer
- Ultrabeat tutorials
- Chapter 15: Vintage B3
- Chapter 16: Vintage Clav
- Chapter 17: Vintage Electric Piano
- Appendix A: Legacy instruments
- Appendix B: Synthesizer Basics
Appendix B Synthesizer Basics 477
Subtractive synthesizers
How subtractive synthesizers work
There are many approaches to sound creation with a synthesizer. (See Other synthesis methods
overview on page 491.) There are also numerous dierences between synthesizer models, but
most follow a fundamentally similar architecture and signal ow that is based on subtractive
synthesis principles.
According to legend, when Michelangelo was asked how he managed to carve David out of a
block of stone, he replied, “I just cut away everything that doesn’t look like David.”
In essence, this is how subtractive synthesis works. You lter, or cut away, parts of the sound that
you don’t want to hear. In other words, you subtract parts of the frequency spectrum, consisting
of the fundamental tone and associated harmonics.
Subtractive synthesis assumes that an acoustic instrument can be approximated with a simple
oscillator that can produce waveforms with dierent frequency spectrums. The signal is sent
from the oscillator to a lter that represents the frequency-dependent losses and resonances in
the body of the instrument. The ltered (or unltered) signal is shaped over time by the amplier
section of the synthesizer.
The distinctive timbre, intonation, and volume characteristics of a real instrument can
theoretically be recreated by combining these components in a way that resembles the natural
behavior of the instrument you are trying to emulate.
In reality, however, subtractive synthesizers aren’t perfect at emulating real-world instruments. No
synthesized clarinet is going to be mistaken for a real clarinet—particularly when compared to
samplers like the EXS24 mkII, which are able to recreate real instruments far more convincingly
by using multigigabyte sound libraries.
The true strength of subtractive synthesizers is that they oer a unique sound palette of
their own.