23
3rd Wave User Manual
Oscillators
Free-Running Oscillators
By default, the virtual analog oscillators on the 3rd Wave restart their
wave cycle each time you press a key. In contrast, fully-analog voltage-
controlled oscillators are “free running” and are continuously generating
their waveshapes. is means that when you strike a key, the waveshape
can be anywhere in its wave cycle — and not necessarily at its beginning.
is signicance of this is that when a sound is generated by two or more
oscillators, their respective phases will most likely not be in sync. is can
create a very “organic” sound which has subtle shis in volume.
You can emulate this behavior on the 3rd Wave by enabling the
parameter in the menu. Be aware that this
feature only applies to the virtual analog oscillators (the “A” waves) and
not the wavetables (the “P” and “U” waves).
To enable free-running oscillators:
1. Press the misc button.
2. Use soft knob 1 to scroll to the free running analog osc setting.
3. Use soft knob 2 to scroll to set this parameter to on.
There are two things to be aware of when using free-running virtual
analog oscillators. First, as noted earlier, when two or more oscillators
are running at the same time, the phase of the waveforms will not be
reset and could start at any position. As a result, there will be some phase
cancellation compared to having the oscillators always start at the same
point. You will hear the notes change their volume level slightly as the
oscillators start and drift in and out of phase with each other.
Second, in the default mode, the 3rd Wave’s virtual analog oscillators
always start at zero. But in Free-Running mode, the oscillators could
start at any point in their phase position. In some cases, depending on
the phase position, this can cause a click at the beginning of a note. It is
noticeable mostly if you are using a sine wave, and less noticeable when
you are using a sawtooth or square wave. If you want to avoid a potential
click, try use setting the Amp Envelope’s
attack parameter to +20 or
higher.
To Next Page
Loading...