Analog synthesis modules

Introduction

Analog synthesizers dominated music synthesis technology throughout all but the last 15 years of the 20th century. Early synthesizers were based on vacuum tubes or other electro-mechanical devices, and transistor technology entered the music scene during the early 1960s. Analog synthesizers produce sound waveforms as continuous voltages. Oscillators produce basic waveforms such as sinusoids, square waves, and triangle waves, much like a function generator in the electronics laboratory. These waveforms are shaped by time-varying amplifiers to emulate the characteristics of physical instruments, e.g., loud at the beginning transient of a note, softer during the sustained portion of the note.

You probably know that synthesizers defined many of the pop music styles of the 1970s. Watch (and listen!) to the screencast video in to learn more about some of the common synthesizer techniques. A real-time graphical signal analyzer is used to visualize the sounds so that you can better understand what you hear.

The history of electronic synthesizers is really fascinating. In particular, the following sites form an excellent starting point:

• SynthMuseum.com
• EMF Institute -- Follow the link for "The Big Timeline"
• 120 Years of Electronic Music -- Look for the entries under 1960

Analog synthesizer modules

Everything about an analog synthesizer is analog! For example, a keyboard-based synthesizer uses a control voltage (CV) to change the frequency of the oscillator; the oscillator is therefore called a voltage-controlled oscillator or VCO . The time-varying gain of an amplifier is also controlled by a CV, so the amplifier is called a voltage-controlled amplifier or VCA . The VCO and VCA are two of many types of synthesizer modules that can be interconnected (or patched together) in many different ways.

Take a look at the video in to find out why interconnected modules are called patches , and to learn how to put together a simple patch involving a VCO, VCA, envelope generator , and keyboard controller.

Analog synthesizer modules can be grouped into four categories: sources , processors , envelope generators , and controllers ; each of these is discussed in detail in the following sections.

Sources

Signal sources include the VCO and the noise generator. View the video in to learn more, then quiz yourself to check your understanding.

Processors

Signal processors include the ( VCA ) and the voltage-controlled filter ( VCF ). View the video in to learn more, then quiz yourself to check your understanding.

Envelope generators

An envelope generator creates a CV to operate other voltage-controlled modules such as the VCA and VCF. View the video in to learn more about envelope generators, in particular why they are usually called an ADSR .

Controllers

A controller creates a control voltage (CV) to operate other voltage-controlled modules such as the VCA and VCF. An interactive controller offers the musician direct and immediate control of the sound, such as a keyboard, knob, or slider. A programmed controller generates a control voltage in some pre-defined way, such as a low-frequency oscillator ( LFO ) to produce vibrato, and a sequencer to produce a repeating pattern of control voltages for the VCO. View the video in to learn more, and then quiz yourself to check your understanding.