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[prethinker]

So i suck using the synthisizer really bad can you guys give me some tips on like how to get a sound i want im trying to get like a jazz kinda sound yano? Another question is do you guys know what knob to turn exactly when looking for a sound based on knowlege or does everybody just turn stuff to see what happends? lol

[X-Trade]

It mainly comes with experience.

I don't use the iMS20 so I'm talking about my experience with synths in general.

I used to muck around a lot in software before I moved on to hardware and you'll find that certain knobs or 'parameters' have very characteristic effects on the sound.

For example a Low Pass Filter (LPF) cutoff will make the sound darker when you turn it down, and brighter (up to a point) when you turn it up. The resonance will produce that distinctive synthesizer noise where it puts emphasis on the frequencies around the cutoff.
A high pass filter is difficult to explain except that it turns the bass components down.


There are really only three things to understand in (almost) any analog styled synthesizer:
- Oscillators & their Waveforms.
- Filters.
- Modulation.


Oscillators form the basis of the sound. They are the starting point. Normally you will have two or three of them, and you can set them to different pitches and octaves. You can also change the waveform which gives the base characteristic of the sound. Most waveforms are named after their visible shape in an oscilloscope.
Oscillators will normally pass into a mixer where you control the level of each oscillator individually. Additionally you may have a source for white or pink noise, as well as 'sub oscillators', which normally play a set waveform in octaves below those that you are actually playing, to add increased bass notes.

Tuning two oscillators to slightly different frequencies ('detuning' one of them), will cause that classic soft, thick, 'beating' sound, where the two oscillators are moving in and out of phase with eachother. This is similar to when tuning a guitar, playing the same note on two strings but they are slightly out of tune so produce that same phasey chorusy 'beating'. It is very typical of many synthesizer sounds.

Each waveform has a different spectrum of 'harmonics'. A sine wave is just a single frequency, whilst a sawtooth is typically the brightest wave with every harmonic (multiple of that first frequency), technically up to infinity, in diminishing amplitude (volume).

Square and Triangles have 'brightness' in between. Triangle is similar to a sine in that it sounds relatively dull. They have harmonic structures that vary too, for example only having odds or evens.

So a sine wave of middle A would be 440Hz
A sawtooth of middle A has 440Hz, 880Hz, 1320Hz, 1760Hz, 2200Hz, etc (we call those the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc harmonics)

A Low Pass Filter has a cutoff point which is a frquency. Harmonics above that frequency are attenuated i.e. made quieter. Harmonics below that frequency are left untouched, hence Low Pass.
A High Pass Filter is the opposite, cutting out harmonics below the cutoff frequency and allowing higher ones to pass through untouched.
Resonance or 'peak' or 'emphasis' adds feedback which increases the amplitude of harmonics close to the cutoff frequency. Some filters at high resonance values will create their own sine-wave-like pitch at the cutoff frequency.

You would notice on an oscilloscope that a low pass filter 'smoothes' the waveform shape.


Modulation is the way we make things move!
LFOs for example produce slow sweeping motions. You can get different wave shapes for a LFO just like you can for a normal oscillator. LFO actually stands for Low Frequency Oscillator. Sine and triangle are good for sweeping noises, whereas triangle and squares produce more jarring movements. You can imagine the shape of the modulation just by imagining the shape of the waveform (usually depicted on the panel or controls).

If you connect the output of an LFO to the filter cutoff (and then typically there will be a control somewhere where you set the 'amount' or 'intensity' of the modulation), you will get the filter cutoff varying up and down, at the speed or 'rate' of the LFO, in the shape of the LFO, varying by +/- the intensity value you set.
Alternatively I often find if I want to test it and really hear what it is doing, I'll temporarily route the LFO to Pitch. That produces 'vibrato'.

Envelope Generators (EGs) create the overall shape of a note. Typically you will have four controls - Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release.
Attack controls the amount of time it takes for the modulation to go from zero up to full.
Decay controls the amount of time it takes for the level to go from full down to the Sustain level.
Sustain is the level that it sits at whilst you hold the note.
Release is the amount of time it takes when you release the note to go from the sustain (or whatever the current level is) level back down to zero.

Typically EGs are used to control the overall volume shape of a note, but you will typically have one or two, or sometime three EGs which you can route to any source. It is also popular to route EGs to the filter cutoff to make the sound brighter in the initial attack, then decay down to a lower level, causing a 'chiff'. Alternatively with the attack turned up slightly, you can get a more brassy timbre.


It is all really maths. But remember this is an art. The theory is useful to a point but knowing what to turn to make which sound comes mostly from experience. Those of us who have been programming for years often tend to get fairly good at it. But being a beginner is more fun because you tend to have more 'happy accidents', where you get a completely different sound that you wanted, but it sounds even better!
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Current Gear: Kronos 61, RADIAS-R, Volca Bass, ESX-1, microKorg, MS2000B, R3, Kaossilator Pro +, MiniKP, AX3000B, nanoKontrol, nanoPad MK II,
Other Mfgrs: Moog Sub37, Roland Boutique JX03, Novation MiniNova, Akai APC40, MOTU MIDI TimePiece 2, ART Pro VLA, Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.
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Software: NI Komplete 10 Ultimate, Arturia V Collection, Ableton Live 9. Apple OSX El Capitan on 15" MacBook Pro

[monoRAIL]

Great post X-Trade, very useful info.
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