User Manual

24
THE OSCILLATOR GROUP
Oscillators are the foundation of a patch. They generate the most basic component of the sound, which
is then shaped by other components such as Mutants, Filters, Envelopes, etc.
Hydrasynth Explorer has 3 oscillators per voice. Oscillators 1 and 2 can operate in two dierent modes:
Single and WaveScan. Oscillator 3 operates only in Single mode. The same waveforms are available in
both modes, but the features of each mode are very dierent.
The Mutant modules aect an oscillator the same way a mask or lipstick aect a face: they change the
way the underlying component is presented to the world. The Ring-Noise module does a similar thing:
it produces a sound based on the sum and the dierence of two input signals.
The Oscillator, Mutant, and Ring-Noise modules form the Oscillator group. We’ll cover them all in this
chapter.
Settings can be copied between identical modules (Osc 1 and 2, Mutants 1-4): Hold [SAVE],
press and release the source, and then press and release the destination. Then release [SAVE].
Oscillators 1 and 2
The features of these oscillators are identical, so the following descriptions apply to both. For a list of
the available waveforms see the Waveform List (p. 30) at the end of this chapter.
Switching modes
To change an oscillator from Single mode to WaveScan mode or vice versa, access [OSC 1] or [OSC 2]
and use Control knob 1.
Single mode
Single mode provides only a single waveform to the sound, hence the name. There’s a lot you can do
with a single waveform, though: the Mutant modules and the Ring Modulator make sure of that.
Single mode has one page of parameters.
Page Control Parameter Range Description
1 1 Mode Single, WaveScan Select the oscillator mode
1 2 Semi +/- 36 semitones Coarse tuning of oscillator pitch [1]
1 3 Wave 219 options [2] Choose a waveform as the starting point
1 4 Cents +/- 50 cents Fine tuning of oscillator pitch
2 3 Keytrack 0–200% Sets keyboard pitch tracking. [3]
[1] Use [SHIFT] to jump by 12 semitones.
[2] See Waveform List (p. 30)
[3] 0 = xed pitch; at 200% a 1-octave dierence on the keyboard changes the pitch by 2 octaves.
Default = 100%.