Introduction to oscillators

When it comes to synths, there are some bits of basic synth theory that are useful to know.

At the core of those bits... lie oscillators.   Why, you ask?   I'll tell you... 

What is an Oscillator?

Not to be confused with an ostrich, an oscillator is an electronic circuit that produces a repeated electronic signal.   Ostriches lay eggs, run fast and are the largest living flightless bird - just to clear that up.

Basically, these are the clay of your synth sounds - the part that the rest of the sound will moulded from.   There are several different types of oscillators, but we'll be concentrating on your regular, run-of-the-mill oscillator for now.

What sounds can it make?

So your oscillator makes a repeated signal, but depending on the type of wave it repeats, the sounds can be vastly different. Let's go through some of the more commonly used ones...

Sine: This is the purest waveform you can get - a curve that produces a smooth sound that's perfect for deep, sub-bass sounds or piercing and pretty leads.

Pulse: Here's a sound that's a bit more harsh - by quickly alternating between the top and bottom of the wave, this makes what looks like a castle's crenellations and sounds like a hollow, blippy (or bloopy in the lower frequencies - it's important to get this terminology correct) note!

Triangle: Similar to the sine wave, except instead of curves it has straight lines. This gives a slight edge to the sound, but not as much as a...

Sawtooth: This is the harshest sounding wave, ramping up then sharply down and resulting in a piercing and powerful sounding wave that can be manipulated into all kinds of brilliant lead synth sounds.

Some useful techniques

Just so you're prepared to take on the world of oscillators, here are 3 useful techniques to remember when using them...

1. Using multiple oscillators and detuning them slightly can make a very powerful synth sound - this is great for those huge trance lead synths or some dirty drum and bass basslines.

2. Don't just settle for the oscillator on its own without experimenting; try playing with filters, distortion and other effects to get it sounding better!

3. If you really want to master oscillators, try producing some chiptune - this genre of music forces you to strip things down to the bare minimum and you'll find yourself using simple waves time and again!