Decay TimeĪfter the envelope peaks, it starts declining ever so slightly over a certain time that we call decay time. Instead, it’s more of a rising slope to the peak. When the triggering event is initiated, you don’t immediately get a maximum oscillating effect. We have to cover some terminology, and things might get a bit bumpy ahead, so hang tight. How long the effect lasts relates to the duration of the keypress. However, instead of setting a rate that creates a fixed pattern of oscillating effects through the phase, you get to trigger the effect by an event.įor the most part, an enveloping effect is triggered by a keypress. Now that the basic concept of LFOs is down let’s take a look at those envelopes that we skipped earlier.Įnvelopes are very similar to regular LFO controls when it comes to the core principle. Note that we use “ sine wave” for simplicity, but of course, there’s a versatile range of waveforms that you can apply on most synthesizer software. Now, as these two waves cut each other, the oscillating function will lift up the parameter signal and drop it according to the rate. Then imagine an oscillating sine wave that goes up and down in very specific frequency rates. It could be volume, pitch, or whatever parameter you choose. Think of the steady signal you want to modulate. It might help to imagine it all in your head to understand the concept of modulation by oscillation a bit better. The frequency of these oscillations is determined by the LFO rate you choose in Hz, and the intensity of the effect relates to the strength level you set. What’s going to happen here is that the effect “volume” is going to fluctuate up and down in perfect time oscillations that happen to be exactly 10 Hz apart. Maybe we can go with volume for a start? Then you’ll go ahead, max out the strength level and assign an LFO rate. The LFO knobs can control different parameters, including volume, waveform, effects, pitch, and filter cut-offs. Say you want to start experimenting with LFO1. You’ll also notice some envelopes but leave those aside for now.įirst off, you start by assigning a parameter to your controls. You’ll notice that there are two controls or sources, usually named numerically like LFO1, LFO2, and so on. So, you have your LFO controls open on the synthesizer software of your choice, and you’re wondering where to go from there. Understanding LFO Controls (Parameters, Strength, and Rates) The whole point is to implement some sort of effect that oscillates over a different audible note. You don’t actually want to hear the repeating LFO oscillations as a standalone noise. If you go back to physics class, you’ll see that this is either because the frequency is too low or the speed is slow. Why is there such a major distinction between very close frequencies? While a 30 Hz is perfectly audible, a 10 Hz oscillation is not. LFO ranges, on the other hand, start below 20 Hz. When we say bottom-end or low-end, we’re referring to the lowest range of sounds that are detectable by the human ears. However, it all comes down to their ranges. Well, it’s true that both the Low-End spectrum and LFOs are low-frequency. LFOs are low-frequency controls, but how are they different from just about any control you can apply to notes in the bottom-end of your musical file? Low-Endįirst things first, let’s cover one basic aspect that often confuses people when they’re learning about LFOs: These oscillations can be used to create effects like vibratos, tremolo, and phasing. LFO stands for Low-Frequency Oscillator, which is a synthesizer control that helps apply regular rhythmic effects to notes.
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