[sdiy] Multiple oscillator detuning

[Scott Nordlund]

Detuning a number of oscillators by some repeated linear offset (for instance 99.8, 99.9, 100.0, 100.1, 100.2) will have a very specific effect (analogous to a diffraction grating) that you might want to avoid. There's a paper on it that I could dig up... Exponential detuning can also result in a weird "sweep" effect, for reasons that I don't entirely understand. For the traditional "fat" sound, the frequencies and phases of the individual oscillators should be more or less randomized.

> From: tom at electricdruid.net
> Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2012 22:44:09 +0000
> To: synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> Subject: [sdiy] Multiple oscillator detuning
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm currently playing with a chip generating multiple oscillators, detuned into a big fat cloud of sound. I've got that working. It's a big fat cloud. Now I'm working on the niceties - making it sound really good.
>
> Now, it seems to me that there's a *lot* of ways you could do detuning. I've got 5 oscillators, so I've got a a few options.
> For a start, I could either use linear detuning (Hertz) or exponential (cents). I could detune each oscillator by some ratio to the others, or I could detune by some prime number to avoid any ratio between the oscillators.
>
> The detuning itself is scaled by a "Detune Amount" control, so any variation can be pushed from zero up to some upper limit. That adds another query - how much detune is reasonable? I suppose various "rave hoover" sounds suggest the answer to that one is "more than you think is reasonable!"
>
> Has anyone played with this kind of thing and got any advice to offer?
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Synth-diy mailing list
> Synth-diy at dropmix.xs4all.nl
> http://dropmix.xs4all.nl/mailman/listinfo/synth-diy