Monosynth

Functionality

Monosynth is a simple "virtual analogue" monophonic synthesizer. It consists of the following parts:

• Two oscillators, each capable of producing one of several waveforms, with minimal amount of aliasing
• Most of the waveforms can be modified using the Pulse Width setting. The exact effect varies between waveforms, but it can be used to create PWM or chorus-style effects with single oscillator.
• One of the oscillators (Osc1) can also stretch its waveform to mimic an effect of a two-oscillator 'hard sync' circuitry from some analogue synthesizers.
• A filter capable of operating in several modes (12dB lowpass, 24dB lowpass, 12dB highpass, stereo 12dB lowpass, two types of bandpass and a combination of a notch filter and either LP or HP filter)
• Two ADSFR envelope generators, which can be used for either sustained or fading envelopes.
• Two low frequency oscillators
• A number of fixed modulations for the most commonly used routings, plus a versatile modulation matrix for less frequently used ones
• Portamento function

Tips

• Use "Note velocity - To Cutoff" setting for bubbly velocity-sensitive bass sounds (sometimes referred to as acid bass).
• Use "Note velocity - To Amp" setting to make notes louder or softer depending on velocity. Or set both Note velocity settings to 0% to simulate a synth keyboard without velocity sensing.
• The easiest way to achieve a vibrato effect is to use the "LFO1 - To pitch" setting. The more difficult way is by using either of the LFOs and the modulation matrix.

Controls

• Osc1 Wave, Osc2 Wave: Selects the waveform to be used for the respective oscillator
• Osc1 PW, Osc2 PW: Pulse width/phase shift setting for the respective oscillator
• Osc1 Stretch: Simulates oscillator 'hard sync' effect.
• Osc1 Window: Shapes a waveform produced by the oscillator to make aliasing artifacts from 'Stretch' function less audible.
• O1<>2 Detune: Pitch difference between oscillators 1 and 2
• Scale Detune: Vary detune amount depending on note pitch. This makes it possible to keep the oscillator beat frequency in low-frequency range across several octaves.
• Osc2 Transpose: Transposition (in semitones) of Osc 2 relative to Osc 1
• Phase mode: Determines starting phases of the two oscillators
• O1<>2 Mix: Relative amounts of signals from Osc1 and Osc2
• Filter: Type of filter used to process the signal from the oscillators
• Cutoff: Frequency of a cutoff point (usually -3dB) of the filter
• Resonance: Strength of the resonant peak of the filter
• Separation: In double filters, shifts one filter's cutoff frequency relative to another
• EG1: Attack: Sets the duration of the attack phase of envelope generator 1
• EG1: Decay: Sets the duration of the decay phase of envelope generator 1
• EG1: Sustain: Sets the level of the sustain phase of envelope generator 1 (also controls the start level of fade-in/fade-out)
• EG1: Fade: Sets the duration of the fade-in/fade-out phase of envelope generator 1
• EG1: Release: Sets the duration of the release phase of envelope generator 1
• EG1: To Cutoff: Determines the amount of modulation of cutoff frequency by envelope generator 1
• EG1: To Res: Determines the amount of modulation of resonance strength by envelope generator 1
• EG1: To Amp: Enables or disables connection between envelope generator 1 and sound amplitude
• EG2: Attack: Sets the duration of the attack phase of envelope generator 2
• EG2: Decay: Sets the duration of the decay phase of envelope generator 2
• EG2: Sustain: Sets the level of the sustain phase of envelope generator 2 (also controls the start level of fade-in/fade-out)
• EG2: Fade: Sets the duration of the fade-in/fade-out phase of envelope generator 2
• EG2: Release: Sets the duration of the release phase of envelope generator 2
• EG2: To Cutoff: Determines the amount of modulation of cutoff frequency by envelope generator 2
• EG2: To Res: Determines the amount of modulation of resonance strength by envelope generator 2
• EG2: To Amp: Enables or disables connection between envelope generator 2 and sound amplitude
• Key follow: Determines how much the pitch affects the cutoff frequency of the filter
• Legato: Controls how the envelope retriggering and portamento (smooth pitch transition) operate when a note is played:
  • Retrig: always retrigger, always use portamento
  • Legato: play legato when one of the previous notes is still held, always use portamento
  • Fng Retrig: always retrigger, only use portamento when one of the previous notes is still held (portamento is skipped if all previous notes have been released)
  • Fng Legato: play legato and use portamento only when one of the previous notes is still held (portamento is skipped if all previous notes have been released)
• Portamento: Controls pitch gliding between subsequent notes. Also affected by Legato setting.
• Note velocity: To Cutoff (Vel->Filter): Links note velocity to filter cutoff.
• Note velocity: To Amp (Vel->Amp): Links note velocity to amplitude level.
• Master: Master volume.
• PBend Range: The range (in cents) of the pitch bend wheel. 200 ct (default) is the typical MIDI setting of +/- 2 semitones. Another common setting is 1200 ct (one octave), traditionally used for some synth sounds.
• LFO1 Mode: Whether or not Low Frequency Oscillator 1 restarts on a new note.
• LFO1 Rate: Frequency of the Low Frequency Oscillator 1.
• LFO1 Delay: Time before Low Frequency Oscillator 1 starts.
• LFO1 ModWheel: Links the amplitude of LFO1 to modulation wheel setting. 0% means LFO1 uses full amplitude regardless of modulation wheel setting. 100% means that LFO1 amplitude is fully determined by modulation wheel.
• LFO1 To Cutoff: Links the filter cutoff frequency to LFO1 output.
• LFO1 To Resonance: Links the filter resonance strength to LFO1 output.
• LFO1 To Osc PW: Links the oscillators' pulse width to LFO1 output.
• LFO2 Mode: Whether or not Low Frequency Oscillator 2 restarts on a new note.
• LFO2 Rate: Frequency of the Low Frequency Oscillator 2.
• LFO2 Delay: Time before Low Frequency Oscillator 2 starts.