Synthesis ModulesFour Implementations

Assignment #6Music Production @Coursera

August 27, 2014

642 words

Introduction

• I am Ranjit from California, USA (currently completing this assignment from India)

• I play synths & program music using ChucK• My profession is software development• This lesson is my assignment for week 6 of Introduction

To Music Production @Coursera.• I’ve picked four Software Synth products• For each of these, I’ll show how the five key synthesis

modules are implemented• Thanks for your time!

LESSONSynthesis Modules in various Software Synth products

(Modular) Synthesis• Synthesis is the process of sound construction• You start with a sound source (signal) and run it through a pipeline of

modules to synthesize the desired sound• Each module performs transformation on the signal:

1. Oscillator2. Filter3. Amplifier4. LFO5. Envelope

• I’ll describe how these modules are implemented in the following products– Sylenth1 by Lennart Digital– ANA by Sonic Academy– Spire by Reveal Sound– Gladiator2 by Tone2

Sylenth1 by Lennart Digital• Oscillators

– Sylenth1 houses 4 alias-free unison oscillators, which generate analog shaped waveforms. Each oscillator is capable of producing 8 unison voices in full stereo, adding up to a total of 32 voices per note. With its 16 notes of polyphony this means you can play up to 512 voices simultaneously!

• Filters– Two state of the art, pure analog sounding filter sections. Each of these consists of 4 filter stages.

The resonance control can be turned up to a level way beyond self-oscillation• Modulation

– 2 ADSR envelopes and 2 LFO's which can be used to modulate a whole set of different parameters• Master FX

– Arpeggiator– Distortion– Phaser– Chorus/Flanger– Equalizer– Delay– Reverb– Compressor

ANA by Sonic Academy• ANA = Analog, Noise, Attack• Four oscillators support over 50 different waveforms,

including saw, sine and triangle, plus esoteric offerings such as 'bigstem', 'cheap choir' and 'guitarloop’.

• Two filters that can be run in series or parallel and feature 13 different filter types, and ADSR envelopes are available for both the filter and amplifier section.

• Two envelopes: standard ADSR format & proprietary• Two LFO’s and two modulation sections• Effects section, with phaser, chorus, distortion,

compression, delay and reverb.

Spire by Reveal Sound• Spire is a software polyphonic synthesizer that combines powerful sound

engine modulation and flexible architecture, a graphical interface provides unparalleled usability.

• Key Features:– 4x multimode oscillators with polymorphing – 2x multimode filters with different types of filtering – 4x LFOs – 4x Envelopes– Arpeggiator – Shaper – Phaser – Chorus – Flanger – Delay – Reverb – EQ

Gladiator2 by Tone2• Oscillators

– Frequency Modulation (FM)– Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)– Subtractive– Additive synthesis

• Filters– Moog, Low Pass, High Pass, Band Pass, Vocals, Comb, EQ, FM,

AM, Phaser, Resample, Analog, …• Modulation

– 22 different LFOs are available and can be synced to BPM.– Step LFO's design was inspired by step sequencers and can be

used to create rhythmic sequences and trance gates.

Bibliography

• Sylenth1 by Lennart Digital• ANA by Sonic Academy• Spire by Reveal Sound• Gladiator2 by Tone2

Reflection

• I have really enjoyed this course and found it a great mix of practice & theory. I’ve been dabbling with synth music for many years but without any formal training.

• I intended to learn how to make more compelling multimedia presentations but never found the time, so it’s PowerPoint for now.

• I spent 3-4 hours on this, looking for popular soft synths and reviewing their features.

• I hope you, the reviewer, found this useful and learnt something new. Cheers!