Subtractive synthesis is a method of sound synthesis in which partials of an audio signal are attenuated by a filter to alter the timbre of the sound. While subtractive synthesis can be applied to any source audio signal, the sound most commonly associated with the technique is that of analog synthesizers of the 1960s and 1970s, in which the harmonics of simple waveforms such as sawtooth, pulse or square waves are attenuated with a voltage-controlled resonant low-pass filter. Many digital, virtual analog and software synthesizers use subtractive synthesis, sometimes in conjunction with other methods of sound synthesis.
A vocoder is a category of voice codec that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption, voice transformation, etc.
Karplus–Strong string synthesis is a method of physical modelling synthesis that loops a short waveform through a filtered delay line to simulate the sound of a hammered or plucked string or some types of percussion.
Wavetable synthesis is a sound synthesis technique used to create periodic waveforms. Often used in the production of musical tones or notes, it was developed by Wolfgang Palm of Palm Products GmbH (PPG) in the late 1970s and published in 1979, and has since been used as the primary synthesis method in synthesizers built by PPG and Waldorf Music and as an auxiliary synthesis method by Ensoniq and Access. It is currently used in software-based synthesizers for PCs and tablets, including apps offered by PPG and Waldorf, among others.
The MOS Technology 6581/8580 SID is the built-in programmable sound generator chip of Commodore's CBM-II, Commodore 64, Commodore 128 and Commodore MAX Machine home computers. It was one of the first sound chips of its kind to be included in a home computer prior to the digital sound revolution.
Sample-based synthesis is a form of audio synthesis that can be contrasted to either subtractive synthesis or additive synthesis. The principal difference with sample-based synthesis is that the seed waveforms are sampled sounds or instruments instead of fundamental waveforms such as sine and saw waves used in other types of synthesis.
The Korg M1 is a 16-voice, 8-part multitimbral sample-based synthesizer and music workstation, manufactured by Korg from 1988 to 1995. The M1 features a MIDI sequencer and a wide palette of available sounds, allowing for the production of complete musical arrangements. Outselling the Yamaha DX7 and Roland D-50, the M1 became the top-selling digital synthesizer of its time.
The Roland D-50 is a polyphonic 61-key synthesizer produced by Roland and released in 1987. Its features include Linear Arithmetic synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analogue synthesis-styled layout design. The external Roland PG-1000 (1987-1990) programmer could also be attached to the D-50 for more complex manipulation of its sounds. It was also produced in a rack-mount variant design, the D-550 (1987-1990), with almost 450 user-adjustable parameters.
A rompler is an electronic music instrument that plays pre-fabricated sounds based on audio samples. In contrast to samplers, romplers do not record audio and have limited or no capability for generating original sounds. The term rompler is a portmanteau of the terms ROM and sampler. Both may have additional sound editing features, such as layering several waveforms and modulation with ADSR envelopes, filters and LFOs.
Direct digital synthesis (DDS) is a method employed by frequency synthesizers used for creating arbitrary waveforms from a single, fixed-frequency reference clock. DDS is used in applications such as signal generation, local oscillators in communication systems, function generators, mixers, modulators, sound synthesizers and as part of a digital phase-locked loop.
The Korg DW-8000 synthesizer was an eight-voice polyphonic hybrid digital-analog synthesizer 61-note keyboard instrument released in 1985. By the time of its launch Korg had already begun a common trend in 1980s synthesizer design: using numerical codes to access or change parameters with the Korg Poly-61, which was widely regarded as the company's first 'knobless' synthesizer. This was a move away from the heavily laden, complex control panels of earlier designs.
The Access Virus is a virtual analog synthesizer made by the German company Access Music GmbH. It was first produced in 1997 and has since been upgraded frequently, with the company releasing new models about every two years. Early models include the Virus A, Virus B, and Virus C series, each available in various hardware configurations. In November 2005, the Virus TI series was released, including the 61-key Virus TI Keyboard and the 37-key Virus TI Polar. A small desktop model was released in February 2008 called the Virus TI Snow. A revision of the TI series called TI2 came out in March 2009, featuring faster digital signal processing (DSP), greater polyphony, more effects in the effect section and a slightly changed design. The Virus series also has come out with two software plugin versions: TDM for Pro Tools and VST for TC Electronic Powercore series. The term Access Virus can be used to refer to any one of these synthesizers.
The Korg Wavestation is a vector synthesis synthesizer first produced in the early 1990s and later re-released as a software synthesizer in 2004. Its primary innovation was Wave Sequencing, a method of multi-timbral sound generation in which different PCM waveform data are played successively, resulting in continuously evolving sounds. The Wavestation's "Advanced Vector Synthesis" sound architecture resembled early vector synths such as the Sequential Circuits Prophet VS.
Linear Arithmetic synthesis, or LA synthesis, is a term invented by the Roland Corporation when they released their D-50 synthesizer in 1987.
A synthesizer or synthesiser is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals that may be converted to sound. Synthesizers may imitate traditional musical instruments such as piano, flute, vocals, or natural sounds such as ocean waves; or generate novel electronic timbres. They are often played with a musical keyboard, but they can be controlled via a variety of other devices, including music sequencers, instrument controllers, fingerboards, guitar synthesizers, wind controllers, and electronic drums. Synthesizers without built-in controllers are often called sound modules, and are controlled via USB, MIDI or CV/gate using a controller device, often a MIDI keyboard or other controller.
Casio's SD Synthesizers were a late-1980s line of hybrid digital-analog synthesizers featuring a resonant analog filter. SD synthesis was very similar to traditional DCO-analog synthesis, with the main difference being that some of the SD digital waveforms' harmonic spectrums changed temporally, or dynamically in relation to the amplitude envelope. SD synthesis is used in six Casio synthesizers and home keyboards released in 1987 and produced until 1991, when Casio exited the synthesizer market completely and focused solely on pure consumer keyboards. Due to some programming limitations plus Casio's poor marketing, the SD synths never gained wide popularity and are now fairly rare in the second-hand marketplace. There still exists a small but devoted fanbase who insist that SD synthesis, particularly as expanded in the high-end model HT-6000, was overlooked and highly underrated.
The Korg RADIAS is a virtual analog synthesizer and Vocoder, released by Korg in 2006. The RADIAS' MMT engine was based on the Korg OASYS synthesizer module, providing for several different synthesis methods, two of which may be combined in a single voice e.g. phase distortion synthesis can be combined with subtractive synthesis. The different synthesis methods employed by MMT represent the majority of methods used historically in other Korg synthesizers: digital waveguide synthesis Korg first used in the Korg Z1 and phase distortion synthesis was first used in the Korg DS-8. This flexibility allows for very realistic emulations of past Korg synthesizers, though stays away from trying to emulate the Korg M1 and the Korg Wavestation,. As well as using the in-built waveforms for the basis of sound creation, the RADIAS allows for the input of an external signal which may be routed through the various sound shaping devices. The RADIAS has a comprehensive matrix modulation specification and to further enhance a sound the 'Wave Shaper' module allows for various sound distortion effects.
The CZ series is a family of low-cost phase distortion synthesizers produced by Casio in the mid-1980s. Eight models of CZ synthesizers were released: the CZ-101, CZ-230S, CZ-1000, CZ-2000S, CZ-2600S, CZ-3000, CZ-5000, and the CZ-1. Additionally, the home-keyboard model CT-6500 used 48 phase distortion presets from the CZ line. The CZ synthesizers' price at the time of their introduction made programmable synthesizers affordable enough to be purchased by garage bands. Yamaha soon introduced their own low-cost digital synthesizers, including the DX-21 (1985) and Yamaha DX100, in light of the CZ series' success.
The Korg Z1 is a physical modelling sound synthesiser released in 1997. Touted as a polyphonic Prophecy, the Z1 implements 13 synthesis types, all derived from the original OASYS synthesizer.
