5th Sub Oscillator

Elektron Gear Analog Keys/Four
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List of changes from Analog Four OS 1.04C to 1.05 Changes
A new sub oscillator type is available; 5th. This new sub oscillator plays a 5th component below the corresponding oscillator pitch (i e 7 semitones below the oscillator pitch). It can be used to create chord sounds using only one synth voice.

So in the description of the new sub oscillator, it describes it as playing 7 semitones below the oscillator pitch. But -7 semitones isn’t a 5th. -5 semitones would be a 5th, right? I just want to make sure I’m not going crazy here. If I’m wrong, can someone please explain? :slight_smile:

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5 semitones down would be a 4th.

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i guess i’m just not getting it. If I’m on C and count down 7 semitones, that leaves me on F. But if I’m building a C chord, i need C E G… what am i missing here?

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going down a 5th and up a 5th will land you on different notes in a scale.

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So to create a C major chord I would need to set osc1 to +7, turn the sub osc 5th on to give me the tonic, and 2nd osc would be +4?

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yes.

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Thx

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A thread on chords from the old place…

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Perfect! Thanks Deep.

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Yeah, this is insane, but it is correct. I really wish they would’ve called the sub a 4th (because that’s truly what it is if you consider OSC1 the root note - a fifth below that, 7 semitones, is actually an inverted fourth). It confuses a lot of people, and is actually misnamed, so it drives people who know theory nuts too. Nobody refers to additional notes by how they’re a fifth below the root note, they usually would refer to this exact note as an inverted fourth. Another quirk of Elektron land!

Thanks for posting about this, I thought I was the only one who thought this was extremely weird.

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