N00B questions about synthesis

[herokiller]

Hey there,

So I’m just getting ready to sell my microkorg. It was a good little synth to learn the ropes on but obviously quite limited in many regards. Before I sell it though I want to get my head around some terminology so that I won’t be completely lost when I jump in the deep end. Regarding timbres and oscillators with the MK -


“The fundamental unit of sound is, in Korg's terminology, a "timbre". This is generated with a pair of multi-function oscillators. Two timbres can be combined to create a four-oscillator "layer". This can be used to create more complex sounds, although it halves the polyphony, from four notes to two. A single timbre can be played in four-voice (8 detuned oscillators) unison mode, which is monophonic, and furthermore the synthesizer can be set to a non-detuned, non-unison mono mode, which is used by some performers when playing monophonic lead lines.”

What are they saying here exactly? That you can either make one voice with 4 oscillators or two voices (in poly or unison) with one oscillator each? And what are these 4 oscillators the MK is supposed to have. I thought it only had two. Are they talking about the LFOs?

I’m not sure I get the relationship between polyphony and oscillators in general. Anybody think they could enlighten me?

Also could someone explain the purpose of LFOs to me. I know it sounds dumb but I can barely register the differences when I mess around with them apart from hearing that swimmy sine wave noise in the background sometimes.

Thanks a lot,

[ohmicide]

ok the explanation is a little confusing

i think each timbre has 4 voices and 2 oscillators each, but if you use 2 timbres you get 4 oscillators and 2 voices

and basically what an lfo (low frequency oscillator) does is automate the movement of a parameter (e.g. the cutoff of the filter) according to the waveform it is generating

[Exquisite Red]

Originally Posted by herokiller

“The fundamental unit of sound is, in Korg's terminology, a "timbre". This is generated with a pair of multi-function oscillators. Two timbres can be combined to create a four-oscillator "layer". This can be used to create more complex sounds, although it halves the polyphony, from four notes to two. A single timbre can be played in four-voice (8 detuned oscillators) unison mode, which is monophonic, and furthermore the synthesizer can be set to a non-detuned, non-unison mono mode, which is used by some performers when playing monophonic lead lines.”

Synth terms can be daunting at first, but the hierarchy goes Oscillator>Voice>Timbre>Patch. What this means is you have X amount of oscillators per voice, X amount of voices per timber, and X amount of timbers per patch.

I'll use the Korg MS2000 to explain this, just so I'm not throwing out arbitrary numbers.

A VA synth has a set number of oscillators per voice. In the case of a MS2000, there are two oscillators per voice. Each "voice" represents a key that can be played simultaneously on the keyboard. The MS2000 has four voices, so you can play four notes at a time (each note being constructed from two oscillators).

The total number of voices a synth has is called its "polyphony". Basically, all synths get lumped into two groups- monophonic or polyphonic. Monophonic refers to synths with only one voice, and polyphonic is synths with more than one. Remember that oscillators are lower on the hierarchy than the amount of voices, so regardless of how many oscillators a synth has, if it's monophonic you can only play one note at a time. So if you have a synth with fifteen oscillators, if it's monophonic, even though it has so many oscillators, you can only play one note at a time. A lot of of synths will have a "monophonic mode" that makes the synth play monophonically even though it's capable of polyphony. This is because some sounds and playing styles work better in this mode. Another term to throw in the mix is "unison mode". Unison (used in conjunction with monophonic mode) combines the voices of a synth so that they all play when you hold down just one note. So if you have a four voice synth with three oscillators per voice, putting your synth in unison mode would give you a total of twelve oscillators per note. You can get some really fat, aggressive sounds this way.

A timbre (or, essentially, the sound) is a combination of voices. In hardware VA synths, muiltitimbrality can yield some very interesting results. The MS2000 is a dual-timber synth. What this means is that it can split the number of voices between two seperate timbres. Since the MS2000 is a four voice synth, the voices can be split up three ways- With three voices on timbre one and one voice on timber two; With two voices on timbe one and two voices on timbre two; Or with one voice on timbre one and three voices on timbre two. Note that the voices of a synth are TOTAL, and NOT per timbre. Having multiple timbres is important because you can make much more complex sounds. An example is you could use one voice of the synth as a fat, three voice bass and use the other timbre to put a nice, swelling higher octave voice on top. This way you can get very complex sounds with more character and movement than would be possible with a single timbre.

Finally, the patch is your final sound, the combination of everything. Patch is synonymous with "preset" on virtual synths.

LFOs are an important modulation tool that give your sounds character and movement. They might seem simple and limiting at first, but you can create some very complex sounds using LFOs of different speeds, types, and cross modulation. A very simple example: Start a patch with two oscillators. Use a sine wave for Osc A and a triangle wave for Osc B and detune them slightly. Lower Osc B one octave. Notice how plain and boring this patch is. Now apply LFO 1 to the pitch of Osc A at about 2.5Hz and LFO 2 to the pitch of Osc B at about 3Hz. Keep the modulation amount pretty low, ~5-10% You have now transformed your plain boring patch into an extremely cheesy organ! This is a weak example, but you can see how you can reallly add to the expresiveness and life of your sounds with some quick LFO tweakage.

While looking for the next synth in your arsenal, consider the MS2000 that I've been talking about in this post. It has a great "knob-per-parameter" face, has a decent sound, and is about the best synth I can think of to learn on. You can fetch the rack mount version MS2000R for between $300 and $400 on eBay. If you're new to synthesis, I'd stay away from synths with lots of multi-function knobs/buttons and menu diving. It's tough enough learning synthesis on a good interface; it's near impossible to properly learn it on a bad one.

[Don Solaris]

Originally Posted by herokiller

What are they saying here exactly? That you can either make one voice with 4 oscillators or two voices (in poly or unison) with one oscillator each? And what are these 4 oscillators the MK is supposed to have.

Means when you layer two programs. Each program "eats" two oscillators. Thus double program = 4. Maximum amount of available oscillators this DSP gives you is 4.

The trick behind this is that you can take two totally different programs and combine them together more interesting / complex timbre. Quite useful feature in fact.

[shaft9000]

simply,

the MK has 4 voices @ 2-osc per voice.
the MK is also bi-timbral, so you can have 2 different sounds to play at the same time(dual or split):

for dual, you can layer the 2 sounds, so they both sound under the same key = 2 voices (polyphony)
or you can split the keyboard to play each timbre with each hand = you get 2 voices of each sound, or alternatively 1+3...(but not on the same keys)

[herokiller]

Thanks everyone. You've been really helpful.

[herokiller]

Originally Posted by Exquisite Red

The total number of voices a synth has is called its "polyphony". Basically, all synths get lumped into two groups- monophonic or polyphonic. Monophonic refers to synths with only one voice, and polyphonic is synths with more than one. Remember that oscillators are lower on the hierarchy than the amount of voices, so regardless of how many oscillators a synth has, if it's monophonic you can only play one note at a time. So if you have a synth with fifteen oscillators, if it's monophonic, even though it has so many oscillators, you can only play one note at a time. A lot of of synths will have a "monophonic mode" that makes the synth play monophonically even though it's capable of polyphony. This is because some sounds and playing styles work better in this mode. Another term to throw in the mix is "unison mode". Unison (used in conjunction with monophonic mode) combines the voices of a synth so that they all play when you hold down just one note. So if you have a four voice synth with three oscillators per voice, putting your synth in unison mode would give you a total of twelve oscillators per note. You can get some really fat, aggressive sounds this way.

While looking for the next synth in your arsenal, consider the MS2000 that I've been talking about in this post. It has a great "knob-per-parameter" face, has a decent sound, and is about the best synth I can think of to learn on. You can fetch the rack mount version MS2000R for between $300 and $400 on eBay. If you're new to synthesis, I'd stay away from synths with lots of multi-function knobs/buttons and menu diving. It's tough enough learning synthesis on a good interface; it's near impossible to properly learn it on a bad one.

Awesome advice. I'm gonna copy and paste it somewhere for future reference as I understand what you're saying when I'm reading it but what I really need to do is commit it to memory.

Did a little research on the MS2000. It looks like a beast. I've been planning all along to get a desktop evolver as I'm looking for something to make cold digital leads with but now I'm not so sure. So many knobs on the MS2000...

Thanks!

[Exquisite Red]

Originally Posted by herokiller

Awesome advice. I'm gonna copy and paste it somewhere for future reference as I understand what you're saying when I'm reading it but what I really need to do is commit it to memory.

Did a little research on the MS2000. It looks like a beast. I've been planning all along to get a desktop evolver as I'm looking for something to make cold digital leads with but now I'm not so sure. So many knobs on the MS2000...

Thanks!

The MS2000 is great, especially to learn on. That being said, I don't want to take anything away from the Evolver; it's an amazing synth and is capable of things the MS2000 wouldn't even dream of.

That's a tough call... The Evolver is great, but programming it will be pretty tough for a beginner. The MS2000 is a quite a bit more tame sonically, but programming it is fun and it has that awesome analog style mod sequencer...

Get both.

[fooloof]

Originally Posted by Exquisite Red

The MS2000 is great, especially to learn on. That being said, I don't want to take anything away from the Evolver; it's an amazing synth and is capable of things the MS2000 wouldn't even dream of.

That's a tough call... The Evolver is great, but programming it will be pretty tough for a beginner. The MS2000 is a quite a bit more tame sonically, but programming it is fun and it has that awesome analog style mod sequencer...

Get both.

Hey, Exquisite Red; I found your big post helpful, too. I've got the MS2000B and I know I'm not getting the most out of it. Can you sequence two different patches on different MIDI channels and play them back at the same time? For example: sequence a bass line on one channel and then a lead on another?

I, too am a newbie to synthes, butI did not follow your advice about getting a synth that is too complex. I recently got a Virus Polar TI2, which is like going from a Cessna to the Space Shuttle.

[Exquisite Red]

Originally Posted by fooloof

Hey, Exquisite Red; I found your big post helpful, too. I've got the MS2000B and I know I'm not getting the most out of it. Can you sequence two different patches on different MIDI channels and play them back at the same time? For example: sequence a bass line on one channel and then a lead on another?

Yes, you can do this, but you can't assign each timbre to a seperate midi channel. You have to assign a split point somewhere on the keyboard. So if you set the split point to C2, anything played lower than C2 plays the first timbre and anything about C2 plays the second timbre.

I actually made this video a while back that shows how this works. Just like you said, I've got a sequence on timbre one and a lead on timbre two. After I start the sequence, I octave up on the keyboard to play the lead.

The sounds are lame, but it's just a demonstration video. You get the idea.

YouTube - Korg MS2000 - Quick Jam

Originally Posted by fooloof

I recently got a Virus Polar TI2, which is like going from a Cessna to the Space Shuttle.

I wish I had a Virus. :( The TI Snow is next on my list.

[herokiller]

Originally Posted by Exquisite Red

The sounds are lame, but it's just a demonstration video. You get the idea.

YouTube - Korg MS2000 - Quick Jam

Pretty cool video! If you were on this side of the Atlantic I'd ask you to join our band

[fooloof]

Originally Posted by Exquisite Red

Yes, you can do this, but you can't assign each timbre to a seperate midi channel. You have to assign a split point somewhere on the keyboard. So if you set the split point to C2, anything played lower than C2 plays the first timbre and anything about C2 plays the second timbre.

I actually made this video a while back that shows how this works. Just like you said, I've got a sequence on timbre one and a lead on timbre two. After I start the sequence, I octave up on the keyboard to play the lead.

The sounds are lame, but it's just a demonstration video. You get the idea.

YouTube - Korg MS2000 - Quick Jam


I wish I had a Virus. :( The TI Snow is next on my list.

Cool video. I like what you did with the percussion patch. I didn't know they made the MS2000 as a desktop. One last question: can you think of any reason why some of the arpeggiators don't play when slaved to an external sequencer? I set MIDI mode to external and have the MS2K linked to my MPC, but some of the patches won't play unless I turn the "latch" function off.

[fanriffic]

check out the 'pure genius' sticky at the top of this forum..shit-load of great info re:synthesis there.

[Exquisite Red]

Originally Posted by herokiller

Pretty cool video! If you were on this side of the Atlantic I'd ask you to join our band

Thanks. It's hard to find anyone who's enthusiastic about synthesis in Nashville...

Originally Posted by fooloof

Cool video. I like what you did with the percussion patch. I didn't know they made the MS2000 as a desktop. One last question: can you think of any reason why some of the arpeggiators don't play when slaved to an external sequencer? I set MIDI mode to external and have the MS2K linked to my MPC, but some of the patches won't play unless I turn the "latch" function off.

Mmmmm, not sure. I've never tried to use the arpeggiator through a sequencer. I usually program the arpeggio pattern I want as midi data in the sequencer and just play it back.

You might be able to find your answer in the manual - http://www.korg.com/uploads/Support/...6276590000.pdf