[sdiy] Saw vs Triangle Sync

[John Mahoney]

At 02:59 PM 11/23/2009, David G. Dixon wrote:
>Now that I've got some Sawcore VCOs to compare with my old Tricore VCOs,
>I've noticed that the biggest difference is in how the two behave under hard
>sync'ing.
>
>In a Sawcore VCO, the saw integrator is reset to ground at odd times.  This
>leads to piecewise discontinuities in the derived triangle and sine waves.
>This imposes a "saw-like" sound on these waves, with lots of harmonics.
>
>In a Tricore VCO, the triangle direction changes at odd times.  This leads
>to triangle and sine waves with no discontinuities, and hence, few added
>harmonics.  In other words, the triangle and sine waves retain their "siney"
>flavour even when sync'ed.
>
>I have to confess that I much prefer the sync behaviour of the Tricore VCO.
>
>Just something to consider when trying to decide which kind of VCO to
>use/build/buy.  Having both kinds is probably the best option.

I'm sure both sync types are useful, but sawtooth hard sync 
represents what I believe most synthesists think of as the hard sync 
sound. "Lots of harmonics" is usually the whole point! Modulate the 
pitch of the synced VCO with an EG and you get the classic ripping sound.

I like soft sync a lot, too, but that is yet again a different sound.

"Different syncs for different thinks."

John