Operation Manual

THOR POLYSONIC SYNTHESIZER
210
About Oscillator Sync
Oscillator sync is when one oscillator will restart the period of another oscillator, so
that they will have the same base frequency. If you change or modulate the frequency
of the synced oscillator you get the characteristic sound associated with oscillator
sync.
A synced oscillator that resets the other oscillator(s) is called the master, and any
synced oscillator that is reset by an other oscillator is called a slave. In Thor, oscillator
1 is the master, i.e. this controls the base pitch of the oscillators, and oscillators 2 and
3 are slaves.
D You switch Oscillator sync on or off by activating the Sync buttons to the
left of Oscillator slots 2 and 3.
D The Sync “BW” sliders to the left of Oscillator slots 2 and 3 allows you to
adjust the sync bandwidth.
This allows you to change the character of the oscillator sync. The parameter basi-
cally sets how abrupt the reset is - high bandwidth settings produces a more pro-
nounced sync effect and vice versa. The picture above illustrates high bandwidth
reset - if lower bandwidth settings are used the slave osc curve will be more
rounded at the reset points.
About Amplitude Modulation (AM)
AM (Amplitude Modulation) is often referred to as ring modulation. AM works by mul-
tiplying two signals together.
D In Thor, Oscillator 2 amplitude modulates Oscillator 1.
The Ring Modulated output will then contain added frequencies which are gener-
ated by the sum of, and the difference between the two signals. This can be used
for creating complex, enharmonic sounds.
D The amount of AM is set using the slider to the left of the Oscillator 1
slot.
Mix section
The Mix section allows you to adjust the levels and the relative balance of the three os-
cillators.
D The two sliders controls the output levels of oscillators 1-2 and oscillator
3, respectively.
D The Balance knob sets the balance between oscillator 1 and 2.
The Balance parameter is also a modulation destination, allowing you to modulate
the balance of the two oscillators with e.g. an LFO. Note that the oscillators have
to be connected to the filter(s) via the numbered routing buttons for the Mix sec-
tion settings to have any effect.
Master oscillator
Slave oscillator