Should a sound engineer be well-versed at WAVE SYNTHESIS?

[skunkyfunk]

Yes, I mean doing those synthesized sounds with synthesizers.  LFO's, VCO's, ADSR, damn those things that you don't want to remember doing on a Yamaha DX7 when there's a Triton lying around... 

[KitC]

You can find LFOs, oscillators, ADSR envelopes, et al also on a Triton. It's operators, modulators, and operator/modulator algorithms that are exclusive to FM synthesis.

Do sound engineers need to know about synthesis? Not necessarily, but they also encounter LFO's, ADSR envelopes and oscillators on some effects processing equipment.

[chuck sabbath]

it might be a good skill set to have but i dont think its absolutely necessary

and fyi: wave synthesis implies generating new, basic, single cycle waves in real time (like the old waldorf/ppg synths right kitc?)...a fairly esoteric type of synthesis....LFO's/VCO's/ADSR/damn those things are pretty much ubiquitous synth features ie. most synths have them

[KitC]

Chuck, I think the proper term is wavetable synthesis, also found in your Wavestation. 

Synthesizing waves from scratch, using sine, triangle and sawtooth then turning it into something usable, now that's something no synthesist should know nothing about. The circuits downstream of an oscillator's output, however, have been used to process audio. There were numerous records that were processed through the filters and LFOs of a Moog Modular and Minimoog, ARP2600, Oberheim, SEM, and others. Some engineers during the 70's even routed guitars through those synth circuitry. Having the knowledge and understanding of these components could greatly help in getting that elusive 'signature sound'.

[chuck sabbath]

ugh im way too sick to think clearly right now but wavetable synthesis (waldorf/ppg) has some important differences with wavesequencing synthesis (wavestation)...i read a post in harmony central that goes into depth...too geeky for me right now...

anyway im still off as wavetable synthesis "sweeps" through several diff. single cycle waveforms to generate new timbres , i was thinking of something else entirely; a synthesis method that actually generates those single cycle waveforms in real time...hmmm i keep going back to waldorf for some reason...but the newer ones though (xt/q)...

[KitC]

Too bd to hear you're under the weather, chuck!

We're going a bit OT on the original subject, but wave sequencing is actually Korg's take on wavetable synthesis although they added a few features of their own, notably vector synthesis. Between the 2 of us,  I figure you're more knowledgeable on these wave thingies... I've been lusting for the Wavestation keyboard though. 

[chuck sabbath]

hey kit!

"The wavestation is a wavetable synth in the most basic sense. However, it does not employ Waldorf styled Wavetable Synthesis.

"Wavetable synthesis" can be a bit of a confusing term in the synth world, as you have basic Wavetable synthesis, and in this regard, there are quite few wavetable synths out there actually. And then you have what Waldorf called wavetable synthesis. Now the Waldorf term did something that included wavetable synthesis in the basic sense, but used it in conjunction with an interpolation process they had come up with to shift through mulitiple wavetables......they then called their own process "Wavetable Synthesis" as well. This has led to quite a bit of confusion at times.

Why Waldorf called their process "Wavetable Synthesis" when "Wavetable Synthesis" was already a term in use I have no idea.

So like I said, in the basic sense, the Wavestation does essientially employ Wavetable Synthesis. BUT, it does not employ Wavetable Synthesis in the Waldorf sense."

rest of the thread here http://www.vintagesynth.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=26673

[KitC]

Thanks for the info, chuck!

Now all we need is a microWave or microQ.... oh, soulidstate....!