Oscillators

Four Oscillators seamlessly morph from Sinewave via Triangle, Sawtooth all the way to Square Wave.

The Spectralis 2 is very flexible in regards to the basic waves of the Oscillators. Instead of offering just fixed waveforms such as Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth and Pulse, you are able to blend seamlessly between the various waveforms on your Spectralis 2. Of course this blending process can be automated using modulationsources. This results in new velocity sensitive sound progressions or aftertouch pressure dependent changes of the spectrum, which can be used very creatively. In this animation you can observe the continuous movement from Sine-Wave up to Rectangle. The combination of controllable Morphing between various Waveforms and “Time Linearity Modulation” provides the perfect basis, to create extreme spectral movements just with just one single Oscillator. Additionally you have the possibility of altering your sounds with the help of Phasemodulation, Frequencymodulation or using the Ringmodulator. As you can see - even without the use of the analog filter section or the Filterbank the Spectralis 2 proves to be an extremely powerful tool!

To provide maximum flexibility with the source material, the basic wave forms can be altered extremely with the help of our proprietary Time Linearity Modulation.

When looking for a more common solution for the creation of Pulsewidthmodulation, not limited exclusively to Rectanglewaves but modulating the spectrum of other waveforms as well, we came up with the idea of “Time Linearity Modulation”. This novel form of modulation generates pulsewidthmodulation with reactangle waves, however, due to the more common algorithm it can also let a Sinewave, Triangle or even a sawtooth modulate it’s spectrum. With this new approach you can generate not only countless new waveforms but beyond that unheard of soundcolordynamics. Technically speaking, the first half of the selected waveform is being stretched or compressed compared to the second half. The opposite effect in the second half assures, that the frequency during this alteration does not change. In the animated GIF picture you can see the impact of the “Time Linearity Modulation” on a Sinewave. The combination of Waveform Morphing and “Time Linearity Modulation” provides the perfect foundation to breath lots of life into even basic soundcolors based on just one oscillator. You’ll be surprised how phat the Spectralis 2 can sound even with this simple type of sounds. As you can control the degree of alteration of the waveform via touchsensitivity or key-velocity, these sounds are also playable in extremely dynamic fashion.

The first of the four Oscillators can be synchronized to the second Oscillator. To sculpt the basic sound further you can use ring- modulation, frequency-modulation and phase modulation.

A ring modulator receives two signals and outputs the sum and difference of their frequencies. So, if the frequencies of 1000Hz and 100Hz are inputted, a sound consisting of 1100Hz and 900Hz frequencies will be created. This produces a distorted, harsh, and metallic-like tone.

Oscillators 3 and 4 can modulate the phasemodulate oscillators 1-4 with controllable intensity. The Intensity can be controlled via touchsensitivity, velocity and envelopewaves. In the animated graphic display on the left you can see, how the waveform of a modulated oscillator is being changed via increased intensitivity in the phasemodulation. Phasemodulation in the Spectralis 2 can not only be done with Sinewaves, but with all waveforms which the oscillators can produce. The combination of Time-Linearity-Modulation, Frequency Modulation, Waveform-Morphing and Phase Modulation together provide a variety of sound, which elevates the Oscillator Section of the Spectralis 2 alone way beyond many other Synthesizers.

In addition each individual Oscillator has adjustable bit- reduction, allowing you to add the character of old-style digital synths according to preference. Naturally the DSP Oscillators of the Spectralis 2 are freerunning. This way you can obtain the “living” sound, which even today still accounts for the ongoing popularity of old analog instruments. Still, you also have the option to start the Oscillators on a fixed phase with individual phase offsets for each oscillator. Combining the fix phase-startingpoint with the absolute exact tuning and tracking of the oscillators will create countless new basic basic waveforms via phase-cancellation. Each oscillator has individual Envelopes for Amplitude and Pitch Control. The oscillators are not only available as sound sources for the different filter-sections - they can be used as modulation sources for Filter-FM as well. Even the Glide-Time for each of the four Oscillators can be adjusted individually. In addition each of the Oscillators can be ”patched” into the various signal paths. As a result of this flexibility, it is no problem to construct multiple independent signal routes to create multiple individual synth lines using the subtractive Synth. The quality of the Spectralis 2’ Oscillators impresses with its sparkling sound, which can be played throughout the whole audible range without any aliasing artifacts. This quality was accomplished with the help of bandspectrum optimised waveform synthesis . This technology also allows you – among other things – to detune the Oscillators used in the creation of a specific sound far apart from each other. You can expand the sound of a thick phasing pad with an oscillator that has been tuned four octaves up and set with a slight glide. This adds a very special timbre to the original sound, which is felt via the additional oscillator more as an expansion of the sound spectrum rather than heard as an additional note. The tuning range of the oscillators is 0,1 Hz to 20 kHz.