SOUND ON SOUND
We turn our attention to the effects that can be achieved when subtractive synthesis components are applied not to the output from oscillators, but to real-world sounds — such as human speech.
One of the advantages of a software-based instrument is that it can evolve over time, as its makers add new algorithms and refinements. Clavia's Nord Modular has undergone exactly this process, and its editing software has also migrated to the Mac. Gordon Reid tries out the latest version, along with its baby brother, the MicroModular...
![Figure 10: [top]. Figure 11: [bottom].](https://dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/styles/teaser_large/s3/imagelibrary/s/synth10_11-0600-68NYYqRsRshDbS2Ny2P.CiH7TfLazGtW.gif)
Every pitched sound can be thought of as a collection of individual sine waves at frequencies related to the fundamental. Gordon Reid introduces a powerful method of synthesis that works by manipulating these individual harmonics.
Waldorf's Q keyboard workstation definitely suffered by being released to the public before its operating system was completely finished or bug-free. Gordon Reid takes advantage of the release of the new Q Rack module to revisit the operating system and see how it's come on...
Gordon Reid checks out a compact filter module that won't break the bank.
The Roland Promars helped to usher in a new era of microprocessor-controlled analogue synthesizer, but has subsequently been all but forgotten. Gordon Reid remembers the world's only 'Compuphonic' monosynth.
Last month, we examined the frankly scary maths allowing you to predict the audible effects of Frequency Modulation. This time, although the maths gets even tougher, Gordon Reid relates the theory to the practical implementation of FM synthesis on Yamaha's digital synths, as well as modular and non-modular analogues.
As explained last month, audio-frequency modulation of the amplitude of a signal can be a powerful synthesis tool. The possibilities expand still further when we consider what happens when you use one audio-frequency signal to modulate the frequency of another...
Analogue Solutions' diminutive Minimodular contains all the necessaries to make up a miniature patchable synth. Gordon Reid arches an eyebrow at this innovative and compact sound source.
![Figure 9: [top] Amplitude Modulation of Signal 1 by Signal 2. Figure 10: [bottom] The harmonic spectrum of the waveform in Figure 9.](https://dt7v1i9vyp3mf.cloudfront.net/styles/teaser_large/s3/imagelibrary/s/synth9_10-bXq4UpZUMH9toL2LbnyGFvUzcrYZRCTp.gif "Figure 9: [top] Amplitude Modulation of Signal 1 by Signal 2. Figure 10: [bottom] The harmonic spectrum of the waveform in Figure 9.")
Last time, we examined the concept of modulation at low frequencies. This month, we speed things up a bit. The result is not just faster versions of the same modulation effects, but a new type of synthesis...