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Oscillators, sub, and noise

A terse lookup for every user-facing control in the sound-source section. Each of the three oscillators (Osc 1, Osc 2, Osc 3) shares the per-oscillator set below. For the full guide see Oscillators.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
TypeOscillator model and waveform in one: picks the synthesis engine (Analog ladder-style, Unison super-saw, DCO, Silk, Wavetable, Additive, String, Modal, Kick, Chip) and the wave it plays.Sine; Saw, Square, Triangle and Shark’s-tooth families (each in Standard, Analog, Unison, Silk and DCO flavours); Wavetable; Additive; String; Modal; Kick; Chip
OctaveCoarse pitch in octaves.-4 to +4 oct
CoarseCoarse pitch in semitones.-24 to +24 st
DetuneFine pitch offset.-50 to +50 cents
LevelOscillator level in the mixer.0 to 100 %
Pulse WidthSquare-wave duty cycle (relabelled Position on Wavetable, where it sets the frame).5 to 95 %
PWM DepthHow far the modulation LFO sweeps the pulse width around its centre.0 to 100 %
FBOperator self-feedback: routes the output back into its own phase, morphing sine toward saw and adding harmonics (and, pushed hard, a rougher tone) on the other waves.0 to 100 %
Start PhaseNote-on phase the wave restarts from.0 to 360 degrees
RandPer-note random spread of the start phase.0 to 100 %
RetrigOscillator phase at note-on. Free lets the wave run continuously (looser, more analog); Retrig resets the phase to the same start each note for a tight, punchy transient.Free / Retrig

Behind the per-oscillator LO-FI toggle. Offered on the clean-digital engines (Sine, Saw, Square, Triangle, Shark’s-tooth, and Wavetable); not on the analog-modelled, String, Modal, Kick, or Additive oscillators. All three are off by default and stack. See Oscillators.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
BitsBit-depth reduction: quantises the waveform into coarser steps for gritty, crunchy vintage-digital distortion (top is clean).16 to 1 (16 = clean)
CrushSample-rate reduction: decimates the oscillator for the cold, aliased character of cheap early digital hardware (0 is clean).0 to 1
AliasDefeats the anti-aliasing so the raw waveform’s harmonics fold back as buzzy, inharmonic tones, the naive-digital-oscillator sound (0 is clean).0 to 1

Global controls shared by the oscillators. See FM and hard sync.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
FM RoutingWhich operators frequency-modulate which; the modulator’s pitch versus the carrier sets the harmonic ratio.No FM / 2>1 / 3>2>1 / 2>1<3
FM DepthHow much the modulator bends the carrier’s frequency: low is subtle overtones, high is clangorous, metallic FM.0 to 100 %
FM ModeExp bends pitch musically (stays roughly in tune); Linear is through-zero FM for classic bell and metallic tones.Exp / Linear
Sync RoutingHard-sync topology: the master resets the slave oscillator’s phase each cycle for the bright, tearing sync sweep. Same routings as FM.Off / 2>1 / 3>2>1 / 2>1<3
ControlWhat it doesRange / values
Sub LevelSub-oscillator level, locked one to two octaves below the main pitch for low-end weight and body.0 to 100 %
Sub WaveSub-oscillator waveform.Sine / Triangle / Square
Sub OctaveRegister of the sub oscillator below the main pitch.-1 oct / -2 oct

See Sub oscillator and noise.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
Noise LevelNoise source level.0 to 100 %
ColourNoise colour, a spectral tilt. White is flat; Pink and Red get darker; Blue and Violet brighter. Tuned is a resonant band-pass (pitched noise); S&H is stepped random.White / Pink / Red / Blue / Violet / Tuned / S&H
TuneCentre frequency of the Tuned-noise band-pass (used when Keytrack is off).Hz
ResoResonance and bandwidth of the Tuned-noise band-pass: higher is narrower and more pitched.0 to 100 %
KeytrackWhen on, the Tuned-noise centre follows the played note instead of a fixed frequency.Off / On
RateStep rate of the Sample and Hold noise: how fast new random values are drawn.Hz
InterpS&H reconstruction: Step is a hard stairstep; Smooth interpolates between steps.Step / Smooth

Visible when a String wave is selected.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
Pluck PositionWhere along the string it is plucked: moves a comb notch through the tone, from full and round to thin and nasal.0 to 100 %
DecayRing time: how long the string sustains after the pluck, from a short muted pluck to a long open ring.0 to 100 %
DampingHow fast the highs decay relative to the fundamental, from bright and metallic to dark and soft.0 to 100 %
DispersionString stiffness and inharmonicity: stretches the overtones sharp, morphing guitar toward koto, bell, and piano-string timbres.0 to 100 %
TonePluck hardness and brightness of the excitation, from soft finger to hard pick.0 to 100 %
DriveLevel-dependent saturation on the string: loud passes fold and grit up, mellowing as the note decays, for sitar and distorted electric-string tones (clean at zero).0 to 100 %
PlaceWhere the Drive grit sits: from inside the string (character evolves over the note) to the string’s output (an amp after the pickup, cleaner and more aggressive).0 to 100 %
Drive CurveHardness of the fold applied by Drive.Soft / Med / Hard
ExciterWhat sets the string in motion. Bow is a sustained friction excitation (the string sings while held); the others strike once at note-on. Impulse is a short shaped click, not a lone spike; all five are level-matched.Noise / Impulse / From Osc / Hammer / Bow
BodyOrthogonal soundboard resonator that colours whatever the exciter feeds in (independent of the Exciter). Hammer + Grand is a real piano; a pluck + Guitar is an acoustic guitar. Off is bit-exact.Off / Guitar / Grand / Baby Grand / Upright / Spinet (default Off)
PolyDual polarisation: blends in a second, slightly detuned string plane that decays slower, for a two-stage decay and gentle beating (single string at zero).0 to 100 %
UnisonTrue multi-string unison: adds up to two more slightly detuned strings for a lush chorus and long shimmering aftersound (single string at zero).0 to 100 %
HumanizePer-note pitch (about ±3 cents) and level (about ±2 dB) scatter, so repeated notes are not machine-gun identical (0 is off/bit-exact).0 to 100 % (default 0)
Bow ForceBow exciter only: bow pressure and dynamics. Harder is louder; past the sweet spot it over-presses into a raucous scratch.0 to 100 %
Bow SpeedBow exciter only: bow speed and brightness. Faster gives a brighter, quicker-catching tone.0 to 100 %

Visible when a Modal wave is selected.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
Modal TypeThe modelled percussion instrument, each a different set of tuned resonant modes.Membrane, Timpani, Tabla, Steelpan, Handpan, Marimba, Vibraphone, Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Tubular Bell, Church Bell, Woodblock, Cowbell, Glass Bowl
DecayRing time of the resonator bank, from a short damped hit to a long singing sustain.0 to 100 %
DampHow fast the high modes die relative to the low ones, from dull and muted to bright and ringing.0 to 100 %
StrikeWhere the instrument is struck: centre (bass, round) to edge (bright, slappy).0 to 100 %
TensionThe tuned-metal bloom: struck hard, the partials rise in pitch and the upper harmonics shimmer in late (0 is linear).0 to 100 %
SympathyA sympathetic halo of neighbouring notes and body resonance ringing under the struck note (0 is dry).0 to 100 %
PDropPitch-drop after strike: the note starts sharp and glides down to pitch, for kick boom or timpani settle (0 is off).0 to 100 %
PTimeHow long the pitch-drop glide takes to settle to the note.roughly 10 to 500 ms
MuteNote-off behaviour: Ring lets the strike decay on its own; Choke damps the tail when you release the key.Ring / Choke

Visible when a Kick wave is selected.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
TuneFundamental pitch offset.plus or minus 1 octave
PunchPitch-envelope depth and time together, sweeping the 808-snap to 909-sweep axis.0 to 100 %
DecayAmplitude decay time to silence.roughly 50 to 800 ms
ClickLevel of the band-passed noise-burst attack (the beater click).0 to 100 %
Click ToneCentre of the click band-pass, from dark thud to bright beater.0 to 100 %
DriveSoft-clip on the summed body and click, from clean sub to gritty.0 to 100 %

Visible when a Chip wave is selected. Two authentic chip families, picked by the Family selector: the NES / 2A03 and the Commodore 64 SID (6581/8580). Every setting is per oscillator, so the three oscillators act as independent console channels. See Oscillators.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
FamilyWhich chip you are playing. NES is the Ricoh 2A03; SID is the C64’s MOS 6581/8580.NES 2A03 / SID 6581-8580 (default NES)
WaveThe chip voice. NES: Pulse (duty square), stepped Triangle, or noise channel. SID: Saw, Triangle, Pulse, or LFSR noise (multi-select reaches the SID’s bit-ANDed combined waveforms).Pulse / Triangle / Noise (NES); Saw / Triangle / Pulse / Noise (SID)
DutyPulse duty / width. NES: the four hardware widths (50% is the plain square). SID: a continuous 12-bit pulse width.12.5 / 25 / 50 / 75 % (NES); continuous (SID)
Noise ModeNES noise character (Noise wave): Long is a broad white hiss; Short is a shorter, pitched, metallic buzz.Long / Short
RevSID revision. 6581 is the non-monotonic-DAC “classic SID” grit; 8580 is the cleaner later chip.6581 / 8580 (default 6581)
Pitch QuantNES: snaps the pitch onto the console’s coarse hardware tuning grid, so high notes drift slightly out of tune, the key NES tell (on by default; off plays exact pitch).Off / On
Vol QuantNES: snaps the output level onto the coarse 16-step (4-bit) amplitude grid the real chip uses.Off / On

On the NES family, stacking two or more Chip oscillators in one voice mixes them through a model of the console’s nonlinear output DAC, so the channels compress and glue like a full NES mix. It is automatic (no control) and engages only at two or more NES Chip oscillators. The SID family carries its own DAC character per voice.

Visible when the Wavetable wave is selected.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
PositionFrame position across the wavetable (the per-oscillator Pulse Width knob, relabelled).5 to 95 %
WT MorphFrame interpolation: Linear blends the waveforms directly; Spectral interpolates their harmonics for a smoother sweep.Linear / Spectral
Load WTFile picker to load a custom wavetable.button

Visible when the Additive wave is selected. See Additive oscillator.

ControlWhat it doesRange / values
SpectrumThe 32 harmonic bars and the live waveform they sum to. Click or drag a bar to set that harmonic’s level; drag sideways to paint; right-click a bar to zero it.32 harmonic bars
BaseA classic-waveform rolloff the 32 bars are loaded from as a starting point (also continues the spectrum above harmonic 32). Editing a bar reads Custom.Saw / Square / Triangle / Sine / Flat / Custom
Group ModeHow the 32 harmonics fold onto the 8 group faders.Octave / Odd-Even / Thirds
GroupPer-group gain, a compact group EQ over the spectrum: centre is unity, up boosts that band of harmonics, down cuts it.8 faders
TiltSpectral tilt: darkens the upper partials below centre, brightens them above (a slope, not a cut; also the law that continues the spectrum above harmonic 32).signed
StretchInharmonicity: pushes each partial progressively sharp so they stop being exact harmonics, sliding from pure tone through piano stretch toward bell and metallic.0 to 100 %
NoiseResidual noise level: a filtered-noise band summed in with the partials for breath, scrape, and wash textures (0 is off).0 to 100 %
Noise ColorColour of the residual noise band, dark to bright about white.dark to bright
SnapQuantises drawn bar values onto a 1/8 lattice while painting, so harmonics land on clean steps.Off / On
OddRestricts painting to odd harmonics; even bars are left untouched as you draw.Off / On
NormScales every bar up together so the loudest harmonic sits at full scale, preserving the drawn shape.button
ResetReturns the spectrum to defaults.button
ControlWhat it doesRange / values
DriftPer-partial analog VCO drift: each harmonic slowly and independently wanders in tune, so the bank breathes. The outer ring sets depth, the inner ring sets speed (0 is off).0 to 100 %, depth and rate
VariancePer-voice, per-partial detune spread: each harmonic is nudged a few cents off exact and every voice differs, so unisons beat and the tone comes alive (0 is off).0 to 100 %
DriveAnalog drive on the summed partials: pushes the spectrum through a soft saturation that grows intermodulation and harmonic warmth (0 is clean).0 to 100 %
Group EnvPer-group amplitude envelope: each group of harmonics starts brighter or duller at note-on and relaxes back over its own time. Drag a column for depth, Shift-drag for its relax time (centre is off).8 columns
Group CurveRelax-curve shape for the group envelopes: at zero they ease back smoothly; turned up they settle like a hardware envelope for a snappier evolution (0 is off).0 to 100 %