Synths Explained

Have your ever wanted to get under the hood of your synths? Are you tired of using presets and wished you knew how to make the changes needed to get the sound you want? Well look no further. "Synths Explained" is aimed at the beginner who wants to understand what synths are, how they work and how to program them to get the sound you want.

Subtractive Synthesis Fundamentals

• Waveforms (04:02) - Discover the basics of synthesis and get a guided tour of the synth and the waveforms used to create sounds.

• Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) (02:15) - Explore what pulse width modulation is and how it works, as well as how you can use it when creating sounds.

• Filters (05:30) - Learn how to use filters to shape the character of your sound. Explore the different types of filters and how they work and discover how an envelope can bring a filter to life.

• ADSR (03:18) - Learn what an amp envelope is and how it helps in sound creation. Explore the ADSR of synths and see how they bring movement and motion to a sound.

• Filter Modulation (07:09) - See how filter modulation can transform a static sound and give it a new lease on life using envelopes and modulation sources.

• Amplitude Modulation (04:49) - Watch how to create space and energy in your sounds using amplitude modulation. This is where sounds come to life and have almost magical qualities.

• Velocity Effects (02:19) - Learn to use velocity to give different timbre and shapes to your sound.

• Scaling (02:35) - Discover what scaling is and how it can add another level of realism to your sounds.

• Stacking & Detuning (03:05) - If you want fat basses, soaring leads and huge pads, then stacking and detuning is the way to go. See how in this video!

Other Synthesis Types

• FM Synthesis (04:24) - FM synthesis may be a mystery to many, but in this video, FM gets demystified and gives you the power to create sounds with real edge.

• Wavetable Synthesis (05:42) - Made popular by PPG with their Wave synth, wavetable synthesis brings another unique sound source to synthesis - here it is explained.

• Granular Synthesis (04:24) - Granular synthesis is an ideal way of creating soundscapes by morphing sound sources in new and unbelievable ways. Russ shows you how in this video!

• Sample Based Synthesis (03:18) - See how to turn your samples into brand new sounds using sample based synthesis.

Creating Sounds

• Creating a String Pad (07:08) - Dive in and create a string pad from scratch using many of the principles used in earlier videos.

• Creating a Brass Sound (03:17) - Get a big fat brass sound in less than 3 minutes.

• Creating a Bass Sound (06:23) - Earth shaking, big bass sounds are just minutes away after watching this tutorial.

• Creating a Synth Lead (03:50) - See how to throw everything but the kitchen sink in to create a dirty sync lead sound.

• Creating an Arpeggiator Sound (04:34) - There's nothing like a nice arpeggiator to drive a track along - find out how to make one here!

• Retro Drum Sounds (07:09) - Get back to the roots of the first drum machines and create your own kick, snare and hi-hat using subtractive synthesis.

• Build Your Own Retro Beat Box (07:03) - Discover how to take all your retro drum sounds and create your own vintage beat box in minutes.

• Create an FM Bass Sound (06:03) - Learn to get deep and unique bass sounds using FM synthesis.

• Create an FM Bell Sound (04:11) - The perfect use for FM synthesis is rich and bright bell sounds - here's how!

• Create an FM Piano Sound (08:48) - Perhaps the most famous use of FM synthesis in the 1980s was the FM piano sounds; find out how to make one in this video.

• Create a Granular Choir (04:32) - See how to mangle, morph and manipulate sound beyond your wildest dreams to create a granular choir.

• Create a Synth Soundscape (08:25) - Discover how to stack, reshape and effect more than one synth to make your very own soundscape.