Additive synthesis: in Operator
Additive synthesis is a type of synthesis that involves the creation of complex waveforms by combining simple sine waves, called harmonics, in specific ways.
In Operator, you can use additive synthesis by drawing in harmonics to create your own unique waveforms. With additive synthesis, the possibilities are endless. By combining different harmonics in different ways, you can create a wide variety of sounds, from classic analog waveforms to unique and complex timbres.
To get started, switch from Envelope to Oscillator. The “User“ entry in the Wave chooser allows you to create your own waveforms by drawing the amplitudes of the oscillator’s harmonics. You can also select one of the built-in waveforms and then edit it in the same way. The small display next to the Wave chooser gives a realtime over- view of your waveform.
When your mouse is over the Oscillator display area, the cursor will change to a pencil. Draw- ing in the display area then raises or lowers the amplitudes of the harmonics. As you adjust the amplitudes, the Status Bar will show the number of the harmonic you’re adjusting as well as its amplitude. Holding [Shift] and dragging will constrain horizontal mouse movement, allowing you to adjust the amplitude of only one harmonic at a time.
You can switch between editing the first 16, 32 or 64 harmonics via the switches to the right of the display. Higher harmonics can be generated by repeating the drawn partials with a gradual fadeout, based on the settings in the Repeat chooser. Low Repeat values result in a brighter sound, while higher values result in more high-end roll-off and a more prominent fundamental. With Repeat off, partials above the 16th, 32nd or 64th harmonic are truncated.
The context menu on the harmonics display offers options for editing only the even or odd harmonics. This is set to “All“ by default. The context menu also offers an option to toggle Normalize on or off. When enabled, the oscillator’s overall output level is maintained as you draw additional harmonics. When disabled, additional harmonics add additional level. Note that the volume can become extremely loud if Normalize is off.
You can export your waveform in .ams format to the Samples/Waveforms folder in your User Library via an option in the context menu. Ams files can be imported back into Operator by dragging them from the browser onto one of the oscillator’s display areas. Ams files can also be loaded into Simpler or Sampler.
Both the built-in and user waveforms can be copied and pasted from one oscillator to an- other using the context menu.
Operator Updates in Ableton 12.2
- Operator now supports a maximum voice count of 32 voices.