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Signal Path Articles

What modulation sources, LFO modes, envelopes, filters, effects and performance controls does Cherry Audio Harmonia offer, and how can they be combined for expressive and evolving synthesizer sounds?

Harmonia is more than an oscillator concept

The ability to combine eight frequency layers… read more

How can you use Harmonia's Initial Level, Center and Width controls with LFO modulation to create evolving spectral movement and changing timbres?

From a static spectrum to a changing sound

One of the most interesting aspects of Cherry Audio's Harmonia is not simply that we can combine… read more

How does Cherry Audio Harmonia work, and how does its combination of eight frequency layers, sampled waveforms, harmonic ratios and semitone tuning relate to additive synthesis?

A different way to think about additive synthesis

Cherry Audio's Harmonia is one of my go-to synthesizers when I… read more

How can you patch Kitchen Sink and Pigeon Plink in VCV Rack for evolving FM sounds, feedback loops, ratio modulation and generative sequences?

Introduction: FM as a patching system

Kitchen Sink and Pigeon Plink are especially interesting when you stop treating frequency modulation as a… read more

How does Pigeon Plink's continuous carrier-to-modulator ratio control work, and how can it be used for experimental FM synthesis in VCV Rack?

Introduction

Pigeon Plink is an FM-oriented oscillator for VCV Rack based on Kitchen Sink. The two modules share much of the same general approach to… read more

What does the Kitchen Sink oscillator in VCV Rack do, and how can you combine linear FM, through-zero FM, exponential FM, feedback and wave folding?

Introduction: One oscillator, many ways to shape sound

An oscillator is often presented as a relatively simple sound source: choose a waveform… read more

What is the difference between linear FM, through-zero FM and exponential FM, and how do they affect the sound spectrum of a synthesizer?

FM Synthesis Explained: Linear FM, Through-Zero FM and Exponential FM

Frequency modulation is one of the most versatile ways to create complex sounds… read more

How can you patch the Voltage Modular Zeroscillator for basic FM, through-zero effects, morphing and complex two-oscillator sounds?

Patch Lab: Four Voltage Modular Zeroscillator Experiments

The Voltage Modular Zeroscillator is an excellent playground for experimenting with frequency… read more

How does the Voltage Modular Zeroscillator work, and how can you use its linear FM, through-zero FM, exponential FM and wave-morphing functions?

The FM Universe: The Voltage Modular Zeroscillator Explained

The Zeroscillator is an unusually versatile oscillator for exploring frequency… read more

What is a musical cadence, and how do tonic, subdominant and dominant chords create a sense of harmonic movement?

Cadences and Chord Progressions for Electronic Musicians

A chord progression gives music a sense of direction. Some progressions feel as though they are moving away from a point… read more