User's Manual

33
The Oscillator Group
Oscillators are the foundation of a patch. They generate the most basic component of the
sound, which is then shaped by other components such as Mutants, Filters, Envelopes, etc.
Hydrasynth has 3 oscillators per voice. Oscillators 1 and 2 can operate in two dierent modes:
Single and WaveScan. Oscillator 3 operates only in Single mode. The same waveforms are
available in both modes, but the features of each mode are very dierent.
The Mutant modules aect an oscillator the same way a mask or lipstick aect a face: they
change the way the underlying component is presented to the world. The Ring-Noise module
does a similar thing: it produces a sound based on the sum and the dierence of two input
signals.
The Oscillator, Mutant, and Ring-Noise modules form the Oscillator group. We’ll cover them all
in this chapter.
Settings can be copied between identical modules (Osc 1 and 2, Mutants 1-4): Hold
[SAVE], press and release the source, and then press and release the destination. Then
release [SAVE].
Oscillators 1 and 2
The features of these oscillators are identical, so the following descriptions apply to both. For a
list of the available waveforms see the Waveform List (p.39) at the end of this chapter.
Switching modes
To change an oscillator from Single mode to WaveScan mode or vice versa, access [OSC 1] or
[OSC 2] and use Control knob 1.
Single mode
Single mode provides only a single waveform to the sound, hence the name. There’s a lot you
can do with a single waveform, though: the Mutant modules and the Ring Modulator make sure
of that.
Single mode has one page of parameters.
Parameter Range Description
Wave
219 options
(see Waveform List (p.39))
Choose a waveform as the starting point
Semi +/- 36 semitones Coarse tuning of oscillator pitch. Use [SHIFT] to
jump by 12 semitones.
Cents +/- 50 cents Fine tuning of oscillator pitch
Keytrack 0-200% Sets keyboard pitch tracking. 0 = xed pitch;
at 200% a 1-octave dierence on the keyboard
changes the pitch by 2 octaves. Default = 100%.