SYLENTH 1COURSE NOTESMODULE 2OSCILLATORSThis module provides an introduction to the sound generating section on Sylenth 1 - the oscillator, explaining the different kinds of sounds you can make and how to adjust their tuning and level. There is also an introduction to the ADSR envelope in that section, or amp envelope, used to control the level of a part over time.

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SYLENTH 1 COURSE NOTESMODULE 2

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MULTIS

As mentioned in the last module, the first section on Sylenth 1 is the oscillator section, which is used to generate waveforms in order to create particular sounds. The default waveform in Sylenth1 is a sawtooth, which is probably one of the most commonly used waveforms in dance music due to the richness in harmonics. Harmonics are higher frequencies at a lower level above the main pitch, which make a sound a lot louder and buzzier. However, by clicking on the waveform display and dragging up or down, you can choose from a sine, sawtooth, triangle, pulse (square wave), Hpulse & Qpulse (asymmetrical square waves), TriSaw (a combination of both triangle and saw), and Noise (all frequencies at equal amplitude). Once you have selected your waveform, the first thing you need to select is the number of voices in the oscillator by clicking on the number and dragging it up or down, which ranges from 0 to 8 simultaneous voices. This means that you can generate up to 8 of the same waveform for each oscillator. The Volume dial can be dragged up and down to change the level of all voices, along with the phase (at which point in the periodic wave a sounds starts when triggered - more on this later), and detune dials. To the left of the waveform selector, is a button called INV which inverts the waveform. This won’t have any major effect unless two opposite waveforms are played together through two different oscillators.

There are three separate controls for pitch on each oscillator; octave, note, and fine-tune. The octave setting shifts up and down in octaves, which are 12 semitones, with a semitone being an individual key on a MIDI keyboard. The note setting shifts in semitones and then the fine dial in fractions of a semitone, up or down. To the right is the stereo dial. This allows the phase of the left and right signal outputs to be separated somewhat, giving the effect of widening the stereo balance of the output signal. The last button worth mentioning within the oscillator panel is the RETRIG button. By having this highlighted, all voices are forced to start at the exact same location on the waveform shape each and every time it’s triggered (I.E. Each time a note is pressed). Without having this active, the sound can change a fair bit when playing repeated notes with lots of voices, as different higher frequencies cancel out to change the harmonic content. So, leave this active for a more consistent and louder sound.

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pATCHES

The final components in the oscillator module are possibly the most important in any sound design, and that’s the ADSR. The Attack controls the length of time it takes for the signal to reach full volume, the Decay controls the length of time it takes for the signal to reach the Sustain level, and the Release controls the length of time the signal takes to reach zero from the Sustain level. So, to create a sound that slowly fades in, increase the attack. To make it stick at full volume, keep the sustain high, but lower the sustain to make it stick at a lower volume. Setting the sustain to the bottom means that the level will jump to 0 after the attack has finished. So, for a short sound that starts off loud straight away but quickly fades out, set the attack and sustain to 0 and then set a short decay - the length of the decay sets how long the sound lasts in this case. Remember that each part has its own ADSR, so you can create sounds where the parts levels behave differently over time, e.g. part A quickly fades out but part B sticks at full volume, as shown at the end of the movie. This is worth learning and playing with, as ADSR is found on almost every synthesiser (both analogue and digital), and is also found later in this course, where it’s used to modulate other parameters too.