Thanks, PeterHanes!
Actually I used the ST setting in Spectrum which, from my understanding, gives me a logarithmic scale. With the labels as SemiTones rather than frequencies.
Maybe you’re advocating the linear scale to have better separation in the higher frequencies? That makes sense. I admit I was mainly going for the note labels.
Cheers,
Carl Mikael
"There is this guy, “Seen From Space”, who really seems to know what he talks about 
He dropped some tutorial on the Analog four.
I saw one (can’t remember which) where he was saying that he often did synthesis backwards, like envelope first, as this is the element that affect the sound more. Then he would go up the chain, filters then oscillators.
I can’t say this can be used any time, but this approach was interesting, as well as the tutorial for someone willing to discover what the A4/AK has in its belly.
http://www.infekted.org/virus/files/HowardScarr-VirusTutorial-ProgrammingAnalogueSynths.pdf
Well, its for the virus, but can be adapted to any subtractive synthesis. (And it describes it in Techno Terms. i.e. how to fart and bubble with the synth.)
Absolutely, got this paper years ago, very well written and easy to understand. It’s not only about synthesis in general, it’s also explaining some techniques of the old school synth legends … how to sound moog-ish, roland-ish, oberheim-ish …
As you said, it can be adapted to other synths. My experience with synths is, if I lern something special about one machine and try to port this to another, I almost always discover new sonic territory.
I finally found some documentation on Spectrum and figured out its Scale X settings. Yes, I suggest that when looking at normal synth waveforms (and how to build and combine them), you take a diversion into ‘linear’ horizontal scale to demonstrate to your viewers the spacing of the harmonics. When you are looking at complete pieces of music then it’s wholly appropriate for perceptual reasons to use the log (or ST - only the scale labels differ) horizontal scale.
This is just a suggestion - it doesn’t spoil the fun of your videos!
This approach makes sense, because the amp envelope determines what role the sound will play in the rhythmic structure of a piece of music (think pad vs percussion), the filter determines the area of the frequency spectrum in which the sound will be heard, and finally the oscillator waveform gives just a subtle distinction in timbre.
I do this all the time, and I suspect most people use this approach more than they think they do.
@De wouzer my dear, here is a [link](http://- Synth_Basics_NordMod.pdf - Synth Secrets Complete.pdf) to download the Gordon Reid’s complete SOS series on synthesis, which is the most complete (free) document I have found on the subject. There is also a little document from Nord Modular, which I found interesting as well.
(If there is a pb with me sharing such links please tell me !)
Like you, I knew very few on synthesis a year ago.
Cannot say I know much now, but I know more : in my case, I found it helps a lot to have a clearer comprehension of the basic concepts once you’re operating a synth.
No worries. No such messages detected. 
Exactly ! Once the guy had explained it I thought it totally made sense, and the way you put it is crystal clear.
Yet this “trick” is very worth mentioning in my opinion, as any beginner (such as me) would naturally conceive a sound from the source to the end of the signal.
Before seeing this tutorial a week ago, I was putting a lot of effort in the choice of the machine, then the right oscillators, then the oscillators parameters (I’m on MM)… And in the end I was not always satisfied with the sound, so it was a bit disappointing.
Anyway, I often encountered some weird artefacts that enable me to know the instrument better, but I was not reaching the sound I had in mind, or if I did it was not as quickly as I wanted (compared to the OP-1 that I’ve had for 1 year now).
With such approach, it’s been easier to reach some glitchy sounds I had in mind, or metallic bangs…
Above suggestion to reverse-engineer free Elektron packs is another very important advice.
But I would really go first to the documentation. Once you have the concepts in mind, it’s so easier to dive in it.
PDF of all Synth Secrets.
For those who want books, all from simon cann :
This one is FREE now so grab it i buy the paper version few years ago ! and it’s very nice, maybe a lot to digest at first… but hey it’s a real one.
This is not the brainiest answer ever, but I found learning on a simple synth like the Juno 106 (or JU-06 or TAL Uno) to be the easiest way to learn synthesis. Play, play play. Learn to make all sorts of sounds on this before moving on to more complex synths with double envelopes and multiple modulation possibilities. Or look at the architecture on a 106 and then limit yourself to those items on your A4 for a while. Learning synthesis on an A4 might be a bit like learning to drive around the block in a Ferrari.
Vos, when you say:
the Ossc 2 vibrato. ( Its vibrato and pich-shift is independant from Ossc. 1 so in combination with syncing options > very interesting caracter change = hatrmonics )
Are you referring to the vibrato settings in page 2 of Osc2? Is is really that way? I thought that vibrato control is for the pitch of both oscilators
This is correct - all of those page 2 parameters are not unique to Osc 2, they’re mostly common parameters or parameters that rely on interaction with Osc 1
Thought so!
vos idea is great tho, you can have each oscillator’s pitch modulated separately, using LFOs or envelopes, and it sounds cool!
Yep. Another great learning synth for a lot of people. Such a nice simple layout, and great sound to boot. Hope Roland makes a boutique version of the SH-101 with good sturdy sliders. I’d probably buy it.
I also used the synthesizer cookbook vol. 1. It’s a physical cookbook with basic 2 OsC patch recipes. I like physical books and it give a coloring book/ tracing book vibe.
I find it helpful to follow these steps if you’re starting from scratch:
There’s no silver bullet. I think you just have to practice a lot and learn incrementally over time. Eventually you’ll build up an arsenal of tools and you’ll be able to call on those tools to make sounds you hear in your head.
It could be overwhelming to try and make really complex sounds to start with. So I suggest you start real simple and get a firm grasp on the basic concepts first. e.g. Try and synthesize a trumpet and really understand what each component of the synth is doing and how it’s contributing.
At least that’s what worked for me. YMMV. I’m still learning, I think it’s an endless process, but having the basics down helps.
If you’re interested, I’m doing a series called “Synthesize This!” on my YouTube where in each episode I go over synthesizing a patch of some kind. Currently it’s all on the Pro 2 but I think the general concepts are transferable to other synths as well.
Here’s the playlist: Synthesize This! Playlist on YouTube.
Good luck and don’t give up! Just keep working at it one little step at a time.
Syntorial added New Lessons for SERUM (XFer) Added to the VST lessons
Cool, isn’t it ?
Hi yeah for this channel very useful…… see a lot of tutorials for drums going to subscribe for sure. user of DSI and Sequential synths. so i never use them for percussion just for leads and bass sounds. Thanks
and what help me a lot on the process to learn some basics was this book come with a cd with examples to create the patches.
Analog Synthesis The Newbie Guide to Synthesizers and Sound-Design from Reinhard Schmidz