User's Manual

36
WavStack
This mode stacks ve detuned copies of the
waveform on top of itself, which makes for a
fat sound using only a single oscillator. Pro
tip: Spreading out multiple voices with the
StereoWidth parameter ([VOICE] page 1) can
make the sound HUGE.
Depth controls the amount of detuning
between each of the ve copies. Dry/Wet
adjusts the balance between the unprocessed
input and the mutated output.
OSC Sync
Oscillator Sync is a classic analog synthesizer technique where an oscillator is forced to align its
harmonics with another oscillator. Traditionally this is done with simple waveforms, and with
the second oscillator aecting the rst. Hydrasynth provides many more options, including the
use of all 219 waveforms in either position, the ability to sync Osc 1 and/or Osc 2, and the ability
for any of the three oscillators to be used as the sync source.
OSC Sync parameter Range Description
Source Osc 1, Osc 2, Osc 3 Select sync source.
Ratio 0.250-64.000 in varying
increments
How many times the wave will resync in a
single cycle.
Hold [SHIFT] to jump in whole numbers.
Depth 0-128 in increments of 0.1 Controls the strength of the sync eect
Feedback 0-150% Feeds the sync output back into itself
Dry/Wet 0-100% Mix raw waveform + sync result; 100% =
pure Mutant
The Ratio parameter is unusual for oscillator sync. Normally the sync operates at a 1:1 ratio: the
synced oscillator conforms to a single cycle of the host waveform, and that’s that. But the Ratio
parameter sets the number of times the oscillator will resync within that single cycle. See the
next section for a more complete explanation.
About Ratio
The Ratio parameter is part of what makes
the Hydrasynth unique. It gives you control
over how many times PWM or Oscillator Sync
happens during a single waveform cycle,
instead of happening only once per cycle as
with other synthesizers. It may help to think of
it like this:
• At 1:1 there is one process for one cycle of
the wave.
• At 2:1 there are two processes for one cycle
of the wave.
So at 2:1 the PWM is happening twice in a cycle
instead of once (the way “normal” PWM does);
the Oscillator Sync is happening twice in the
cycle.
The ratio can be as high as 64:1 or as low as
0.250:1. This means that the mutation process
can occur as many as 64 times in the space of
one waveform cycle, or as few as one time in
the space of four waveform cycles.
Pulse Width modulation
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) alters the basic
shape of the waveform by shifting its internal
structure over time, making some areas
narrower and others wider. This is normally
only heard with square waves, but Hydrasynth
can apply PWM to any of its 219 waveforms.
And there’s more! Hydrasynth takes PWM in
entirely new directions by providing not one,
but *three* types of PWM. Each has the same
parameters (with one exception as noted
below), but the results of each type can be
radically dierent!