Say you want to have an LFO modulate the pitch of an oscillator, but you only want the modulation to begin after a few seconds of build-up. In most synths, you would simply assign an envelope to control the delivery of that LFO and away you go. Well, with Absynth things are handled a bit differently. Here you embed an LFO directly within Absynth envelopes to achieve the same results. It may seem a tad confusing at first, but it is quite intuitive once you get going. This approach centers around the flexible envelope system that is the backbone of this incredibly deep and seemingly unstoppable synth. For each breakpoint you add to an envelope’s curve, it’s just one more opportunity for deeper control over how an LFO affects the parameter that the envelope is assigned to. Let’s take a quick look at how this actually works.

I have a basic sine wave loaded into Oscillator Module A in the Patch window. I have created an envelope to modulate the pitch by right-clicking on the Transpose parameter in the module itself.

Now when you switch over to the Envelope window, you will see that there is a new envelope available called Oscil A Main Pitch. This is how easy it is to add new Absynth envelopes to just about any parameter you want to gain more control over, and/or modulate over time.

To add an LFO to any of the Absynth envelopes, all you need to do is select the envelope in the left-hand sidebar and then click on the LFO tab near the top of the window. You should instantly see some new graphics appear in the display.

So let’s make this oscillator drop its pitch and then rise back up again, but with a wobble applied as it climbs back up in pitch. This is actually quite easy to do due to how Absynth envelopes work. All you need to do is add a new breakpoint to each spot that you need to either enact a change or provide deeper control. Here you can see that I have added a few new breakpoints and that the LFO activity is not exactly consistent throughout its delivery. This is because I have applied different setting to each of the new breakpoints. This is also how I was able to keep the LFO from being applied throughout the entire pitch drop portion of the envelope curve. Let’s take a closer look.

All you need to do is click on a breakpoint box to set up the LFO parameters for that portion of the envelope curve. Absynth envelopes are pretty intelligent and actually interpolate the necessary changes between the fixed points along the curve. This makes for very smooth transitions and allows you to create incredibly complex variations in how your LFO is applied and in turn affects the sound. Below is an image of what is displayed when the first breakpoint is selected.

The next breakpoint is the Attack point and you can now see that the LFO will start to kick into action here, even though I have not set up anything on this particular breakpoint to make this happen. It is the next breakpoint (second image below) that introduces the wobble and Absynth has interpolated the necessary change to make this a smooth transition.

These last three shots of the envelope curve share the last three breakpoint settings used to achieve the desired effect. It’s the flexibility of the Absynth envelopes that make this kind of control possible.

Now that you have a basic understanding of how this all works, try experimenting with more complex envelope curves and varied LFO settings. You should also try creating new Absynth envelopes for many more parameters besides just pitch and see what kind of fun you can have!

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post How to Embed LFOs in Absynth Envelopes For Greater Modulation Control appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Kick drum synthesis has been a hot topic now for many years. It is such a simple process, yet it can take a fair amount of time and skill to really master the art. As with most types of sound design, Absynth is a wonderful tool to use because it is so easy to transform and customize sounds in unique and original ways. With so many options at hand, it is one of the best synths available to produce percussive sounds. Especially once you delve into the custom waveform features. So after you finish following along with this lesson, take some time and experiment with different waveforms and try drawing your very own to come up with new and interesting kick drum patches. The sound featured in this tutorial can make for a nice template to base many new sounds off of for years to come.

This particular sound starts off with setting up all three oscillator modules on the Patch window. All three are running FM (Frequency Modulation) mode, but are driven by different waveforms. Oscillator A has a basic Sine wave loaded, Oscillator B has a Triangle wave loaded and Oscillator C has a Hybrid 1 wave loaded. Oscillator A is the core sound, while Oscillator B adds a subtle click to the transient and Oscillator C imparts a nice tonal quality. As you can see in the image below, Oscillator C also outputs to a Bandpass Filter before meeting up with the other two sounds  in the main output strip. Notice that the volume levels has been carefully balanced to help ensure the right mix of characteristic to make this drum more believable. This is a typical approach to kick drum synthesis, regardless of the synth being used.

Here on the Envelope window you can see that there are the three main oscillator amp envelopes, but there are also two pitch envelopes in play as well. The amp envelopes shape the sound, providing us with the proper delivery. The pitch envelopes are used to manage the tone of the drum. The curves are incredibly simple, but much like the volume mix of the oscillators themselves, balance is everything. Kick drum synthesis is a simple science, yet it is also an artform that can take years to fully master. This drum that we have just made is very basic and can now be shaped to meet the needs of your current project.

Here is a short sample of the the kick drum in action. Once on its own, and then again being played alongside some other drums to give you a better idea of what it sound like in a mix. No processing of any kind has been applied.

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Absynth Kick Drum Synthesis Basics appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Dutch style sound design techniques can be incredibly helpful and useful in a wide range of musical genres and styles, and Absynth is a wonderful synth to use for this type of approach to sound design sessions. You can use Dutch house style sounds in almost any modern music and easily make them your own with very little effort. There is no need for advanced sound design knowledge or experience to make it all come together. And this Absynth tutorial is presented in a way that just about anyone can follow along with. So let’s welcome back Evan Sutton and jump right into this lessons and see what kind of pro tips he kicks down this time!

The first thing covered in this tutorial is the polyphony and voicing settings, and how Glide affects sounds. It is important to know about Glide, and what Legato mode is for instance, when approaching Dutch style sound design no matter what synth you happen to be working in because it is one of the signature characteristics of this type of lead sound. Since the sound being made today is a lead sound, this is quite important. Next, envelope shape and curves are discussed and Evan expresses the need for a long release for the pumping effect (produced through a sidechain triggered ducking technique that is incredible popular in dance and electronic music nowadays) to be up to Dutch style standards.

Now that we have the basic shape of the sound dialed in, a filter needs to be introduced to provide more definition to help define the notes being played. An envelope is also used to modulate the cutoff parameter of this filter to provide us with the proper delivery of each note. This is just one more key element that Dutch style sound design focuses on. At this point the sound has all of the classic traits of a Dutch house sound and you are ready to begin experimenting with different waveforms and effects to make it your own and match it to your project’s needs. It’s incredibly easy and fun to make these types of sounds, and again, they are absolutely usable and relevant in many, many more music genres other than just Dutch House!

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Dutch Style Sound Design with Absynth appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

It’s always a good idea to take a break from the more advanced tutorials we normally offer to make sure that the fundamentals have been covered. Our communities are constantly growing, and every day we see both experienced and unexperienced users join our ranks. This video tutorial on Absynth fundamentals is a nice overview of the synth itself, the many features that set it apart from the competition and sound synthesis in general. Nick does a good job of walking through various patches, explaining the browsing system, breaking down the different windows that make up Absynth and even explains how an oscillator works. So when I say fundamental, I truly mean it!

One of the best things you can ever do for yourself and your music (or sound design skills, productions skills, etc) is to gain a deep understanding of the mechanics and theories that make sound synthesis work. This lesson in Absynth fundamentals touches on topics ranging from pitch and frequencies to waveforms and how Absynth allows you to design your very own custom waves. This is one of the most advanced synthesizers currently available and offers most of the various forms and types of sound synthesis we currently know about. It also offers many more features not covered in this video, as it would probably take hours just to touch on each and every one of them. So if you are new to Absynth and want to know where to turn next, simply type in the name of a feature (Envelopes, LFO, Filters, Effects, Recorder, etc) into our search bar here on the site and away you go!

As always, if you have a question, suggestion, sounds to share or even a tutorial of your own we would love to hear from you. You can either shoot us a message here on the website, through our Facebook Page or you can join the ongoing conversations in our new synth tutorial forums! We hope you have enjoyed this look at some of the key Absynth fundamentals to help get you started.

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Absynth Fundamentals appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

There are many ways to use a sound like this one. But this particular Absynth deep chord pad is one that can be used as a template for future sounds, as well as a layering element. It’s hushed and somewhat muted appeal is ideal for musical projects that feature found sounds and minimal sounds alike. Without taking anything away from the lead elements in a mix, it has the capability to not just support, but enhance an entire mix simple by being present. Of course, you can tweak any of the settings to make it fit your work better, but you should be able to take it one step further and really make this osund your won by experimenting with different waves forms and introducing some modulation for added interest and character.

This Absynth deep chord pad starts out on the Patch window, where all three oscillator modules are put to use. A Sine wave is loaded into all three, running in Double mode. Both Oscillator B and C have their pitch parameters changed via the Transpose feature. All three sounds are then routed through their own Cloud fliters. Oscillator A is taken down one full octave via the Transpose feature in the Cloud Filter. The synth is then set to run in Stereo mode, rather than the default Mono mode. The volume level and pan position for each oscillator is set before moving on tio the next step. Now the sounds pass through a Frequency Shifter together on the Master output strip.

Each of the main oscillator envelopes are set up with an identical curve to ensure a consistent and even delivery of sound. This is one area where it will be very easy for you to expand upon this simple Absynth deep chord pad, as it is basically a clean slate to start with!

The last major step left in designing this basic Absynth deep chord pad is to set up the Pipe Effect. This effect will not only spread this pad even further for us, but it is also integral in keeping the overall sound from becoming overpowering.

Each of the settings throughout this sound design lesson were kept intentionally simple so you can easily recreate the sound and then go back and begin having some fun tweaking things to your liking. Don’t forget about the Morph Waves as an option for the waveforms used to create the core sound for this instrument, you may find some rather brilliant alternatives in there. You can also create your own custom waveforms. Or try Morphing the sound as it is now and see what you come up with. And, of course, the LFO and Envelope windows will also provide a never ending supply of options.

Below is a small audio sample of our Absynth deep chord pad in action. No processing of any kind has been added outside of Absynth, so you should be able to recreate this instrument quite easily with the same results.

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Designing a Basic Absynth Deep Chord Pad Synth appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Although this tutorial was made for an earlier version of Absynth, everything shared in it is still 100% applicable to the current version. Absynth sample layering is just one more thing made possible by this amazing synth that sets it even further apart from the competition. Loading samples into Absynth to process them is just the gateway, because there is so much more you can do! Just imagine layering an audio sample with a couple of oscillator modules, designing something truly unique and then using features like the morphing tool to take it somewhere completely unexpected and new. It’s the addition of the audio sample that changes the entire scenario and once you factor in the seemingly endless manipulation possibilities and you get a truly limitless sound design environment. This is why I absolutely love Absynth!

In this example, three different kick drum samples are loaded up to show off how Absynth sample layering works. Showing first how to browse and load each sample, it quickly moves into mixing and filtering to achieve a nice blend of the three sounds together. A Lowpass Filter is used to hone in on certain frequencies in the first sample, while a Bandpass Filter is used to further shape the second sample. The third sample is left alone at this point to allow for some unprocessed acoustics to shine through and bring more life and natural sound to the kick drum.

A Waveshaper, running an Additive 1 waveform, is then loaded into the main output strip. Our three samples flow through this effect unit and are processed together, which helps to gel the sound as one instrument while applying consistent and even waveshaping. This results in a new cohesive sound and it is barely scratching the surface of what you can do with Absynth sample layering! The use of more effects are explored in this lesson, but typically you would probably leave your kick drum centered and less processed to help ensure its usability. Of course, when using other types of sounds and samples, the effects in Absynth are amazing and should be constantly explored.

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Absynth Sample Layering Basics appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

This is by far one of the most complex and deep soft synths on the market today. And the Absynth LFOs are a big part of why you can achieve so much with just once instance of this powerhouse synth. Of course, the flixible envelope system and the fact that Absynth supports most of the major types of synthesis carry the bulk of the load when it comes to potential, but the Absynth LFOs provide a rather unique set of modulation opportunities to affect your sounds in both delivery and development. This well-presented video tutorial does a great job of explaining things in a way that even the most inexperienced of users can follow along with. It is definitely one to bookmark and revisit again later, as it is full of helpful information.

It begins by explaining the different parts of the LFO window and how the Absynth LFOs are routed to different parameters throughout the synth. There are a total of three main LFO modules that can be used on this page, but there are also more Absynth LFOs built into the flexible envelope system. This means that the potential for modulation possibilities is really only limited by your own imagination. Of course, you can also use any kind of waveform that already exists in the factory library to run in these main LFO units, but you can also create your own. There really is no end to what you can do when you dig deep into this feature.

All of the features fo the Absynth LFOs are covered with plenty of time left over to share a bit about on of the most overlooked, and very awesome, features that Absynth has to offer. The internal recorder! Yes, you can actually capture audio directly inside of Absynth! This incredibly brilliant feature is a wonderful tool to use for resampling. You can capture one sounds and overdub another, building a bigger and more complex sound as you go along with each recording you make. You can then save these recordings as .wav files and further process them in your DAW of choice. Yet one more reason Absynth is one of the coolest synths ever created!

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post In-Depth Overview of Absynth LFOs and Internal Recorder appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

If you are new to granular synthesis, then you are in for a nice surprise! It works much like sampling, but instead of the audio being played back in its normal state, it is broken up into small Grains which are measured in a microsound time scale usually ranging from 1-50 milliseconds. Once the sound is split up into these Grains, they can be manipulated and affected in a number of different ways and can completely change everything you came to expect from the original sample. Of course, the sound can be altered slightly for a small characteristic tweak or reborn entirely as an experimental soundscape, etc. The only limitation when working with Absynth granular synthesis is your imagination. And you will quickly stumble upon many awesome variation you never could have thought of without it!

To begin using Absynth granular synthesis with your sounds, set an oscillator module to run in Granular mode and load an audio sample into it as shown in the video. Experimenting with the playback timing and pitch parameters are some of the most basic things you can do when first starting out. But once you get rolling, you will begin layering, twisting, turning and tweaking until it is no longer recognizable. Sounds take on a new life with this type of synthesis and Absynth makes it all the better by making many other forms of synthesis available, not to mention some really unique effects processing, modulation and sound shaping possibilities as well.

Understanding how parameters such as start and stop points, density, time, pitch, size, randomization, etc affect your sounds when using Absynth granular synthesis is the first step to intentionally creating something brilliant. It is one thing to stumble into something good, but it is something entirely different to shape and mold sounds with intent because you can control how it changes and how it will fit in your mix. Once you have finished following along with this basic introduction to Absynth granular synthesis, try applying some effects and using other oscillator modules to see what you can come up with on your own!

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Overview of Absynth Granular Synthesis appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

For anyone just getting started with this incredibly deep synth, the Absynth envelopes can seem a bit daunting and perhaps even perplexing. And for many people who have used this synth for a while, it may seem like the true potential of the flexible envelope system continues to elude them. Well, this insightful tutorial will hopefully put an end to much of the worry and confusion surrounding one of the greatest features that helps to set it apart from many other great synths out there. The fact that you can assign an envelope to just about anything you’d like makes it pretty cool, but the ability to create as many custom breakpoints as you want makes it even better. Add to that the ability to incorporate LFOs directly into an envelope’s curves and you begin to unleash a whole new world of opportunities and possibilities. And, of course, the ability to UNDO and REDO means that you can freely experiment without the worry of losing something special.

This lesson in Absynth envelopes keeps it pretty basic, making it more accessible to new users. Though it does do a good job of showing in real-time the changes to the delivery and development of sounds at changes are being made to the envelopes. And showing how an envelope that is assigned to the amp parameter of an oscillator differs from an envelope assigned to control the frequency parameter of a filter. Both are exactly the same, from the perspective of envelope functionality, but the results are very different because of what they are controlling elsewhere in the synth.

Once you begin to truly grasp the concept of attack, decay, sustain and release and how Absynth envelopes support the use of additional breakpoints you will start to take your sounds and synthesis skills to a whole new level. It is well worth spending a bunch of time setting up envelopes of varying shapes and sizes that affect just the amp or pitch of an oscillator. This is the easiest way to help you gain deeper understanding of the mechanics involved. Then you can progress to more advanced modulation assignments like filter frequency or any of the countless other possibilities available in Absynth.

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Absynth Envelopes Explained appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Sounds like this Absynth retro Sci-fi FX are making a huge comeback. Whether you produce audio for a currently popular music genre, score for film and television or even design sounds to be used in video games, this is one of those lessons that can provide inspiration and a little technical help as well. Absynth is an incredibly deep and complex synth, but you can do a lot with just the basic features. This tutorial breaks down a sound that seems quite complex when played back, but really it only takes a few minutes to create! Let’s see what it takes to make it all come together.

This Absynth retro Sci-fi FX only requires one oscillatore module, which is set to run in FM mode with an Organ 4 waveform loaded into it. This is then run through a Lowpass 4 Pole filter, which is then modulated by an LFO. This same LFO is set up to modulate the main pitch of the oscillator, as well. After this si all set up, the sound is then routed through a Ringmod effect, which is modulated by a custom envelope. This envelope, as well as the Main Amp Envelope, is modulated by an LFO to provide the retro awesomeness (downriser/upriser movement) that defines this sound.

The finishing touch on this Absynth retro Sci-fi FX is adding the Resonators effect to the mix. This really extends the sound and adds the classic resonant reverberation that fits so perfectly with this great sound and truly beings it to life. Once you have successfully recreated this sound, you can begin experimenting with using different waveforms, adding more oscillators and using different effects. The potential number of alternate variations on a sound like this one is nearly limitless!

Cheers,
OhmLab

The post Making an Absynth Retro Sci-Fi FX appeared first on Absynth Tutorials.