SynthMaker Manual Help Open SynthMaker (opens in a new tab)
The Patch

The core modules

Most sounds are built from five modules. The Oscillator makes the tone, the Filter shapes it, the VCA sets how loud it is, and an Envelope and an LFO move things as you play.

  1. Step 1: Five modules. Wobble Bass's Patch: Oscillators, a Filter, an LFO, an Envelope and VCAs. (larger)
  2. Step 2: The chain. Voice, Oscillator, Filter, VCA, Output: the main line of the sound. (larger)

New words

Cutoff is where the Filter starts taking sound away.

An Envelope is a shape that rises and falls with each note.

An LFO is a wave too slow to hear, which moves a setting up and down.

1Oscillator: the tone

The Oscillator makes a steady tone at the note's pitch. Wave picks its shape: Saw is bright and buzzy, Pulse hollow, Triangle soft, Sine pure, Noise a hiss. Octave moves it in octaves, Fine in cents, and Width shapes the Pulse.

  1. Step 1: Its card. The blue Oscillator card: Wave, Octave, Fine, Width and more. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Wave: Saw. The Wave knob reading Saw. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Octave −1. Octave at −1 on the second Oscillator. (larger)
  4. Step 4: Fine +6 ct. Fine at +6 ct: two slightly out-of-tune saws, a thicker tone. (larger)

2Filter: the brightness

The Filter takes away the highs above its Cutoff, so a bright wave turns warm. Resonance makes it ring at the cutoff. Mode switches it to Band-pass, High-pass or Notch.

  1. Step 1: Its card. The yellow Filter card: Cutoff, Resonance, Env amount, Mode, Key track. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Cutoff down. Cutoff at 300 Hz: warm and dark. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Resonance up. Resonance turned up: a ringing edge. (larger)
  4. Step 4: Mode. Mode reading Low-pass; its other choices are Band-pass, High-pass and Notch. (larger)

3Envelope: each note's shape

An Envelope rises when you press a key and falls when you let go. Attack is how fast it rises, Decay how fast it falls to Sustain, the level it holds, and Release how long it fades after you let go. Wire it into a VCA's gain for the volume, or into a Filter's env for the tone.

  1. Step 1: Its card. The orange Envelope card: Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Into the VCA. The wire from the Envelope's out to the VCA's gain. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Into the Filter. On Acid Starter, the Envelope also wired into the Filter's env, with Env amount at +5.5 oct. (larger)
  4. Step 4: Slow attack. Attack turned up: each note swells in. (larger)

4LFO: movement

An LFO moves whatever it's wired into, over and over. Into a Filter's mod it makes a wobble, into a pitch a vibrato, into a VCA a tremolo. Rate is how fast, Depth how far, and Sync locks it to the song.

  1. Step 1: Its card. The purple LFO card: Shape, Rate, Depth, Sync, Retrigger. (larger)
  2. Step 2: Into the Filter. Wobble Bass's LFO wired, through a VCA, into the Filter's mod. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Rate. Rate turned up: a faster wobble. (larger)
  4. Step 4: Sync 1/8. Sync reading 1/8: the wobble follows the song's tempo, and Rate reads Synced. (larger)

5VCA: how loud

A VCA sets how loud a signal is, and anything wired into its gain turns it, usually an Envelope. Level is its volume. Several wires into one VCA are mixed.

  1. Step 1: Its card. A green VCA card with its one knob, Level. (larger)
  2. Step 2: gain and gain2. The VCA's inputs: in, gain from the Envelope, gain2 from the Voice's velocity. (larger)
  3. Step 3: Level down. Level turned down: the whole sound quieter. (larger)
Wobble Bass's LFO card, its Shape, Rate and Depth knobs, and a keyboard below.
Play a low note and hold it: the LFO moves the Filter. Turn Rate. Open the example sound: Wobble Bass ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Try it

  1. Open Wobble Bass and hold a low note: it wobbles.
  2. On the LFO's card, turn Rate up, then set Sync to 1/8: the wobble speeds up, then follows the tempo.
  3. On the Envelope's card, turn Attack up: each note now swells in.
Open the example sound: Wobble Bass ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Remember