Synthesizers may seem wildly different, but most follow the same core ideas. This beginner-friendly guide breaks down the basic building blocks – LFO, VCO, VCF, ENV, VCA – and shows how signal flow, control voltages, and front panel design come together to create sound from scratch.
In the premiere episode of the Patch & Tweak Podcast, legendary producer Gareth Jones (Depeche Mode, Wire, Erasure) joins us from his London studio to talk early electronic music, modular adventures, and his current work with Sunroof and ElectroGenetic.
From early experiments with piano, tape decks, and video game melodies to building groove box-based live sets and a beloved YouTube channel, True Cuckoo talks to Nadia Struiwigh about his creative journey, performance style, and the joy of staying playful with music.
Random voltage generators bring organic variation to synth patches. Learn how smooth, stepped, and trigger-based randomness can add life, unpredictability, and evolving textures to your sounds.
LFOs bring movement to synthesis by modulating parameters like filter cutoff and pulse width. Learn about waveform types, sync, delay, and how to shape modulation for evolving, expressive sounds.
Envelope generators shape how a sound evolves over time – from percussive hits to swelling textures. Learn the basics of AD, ADSR, and looping envelopes, and how they control amplitude, filters, and timbre in a synthesizer.
Waveshaping alters the harmonic makeup of a waveform to create new timbres. Learn how techniques like saturation, rectification, and wavefolding shape sound, and how modulating these parameters brings movement and complexity.
Filter resonance – also called Q or emphasis – boosts harmonics near the cutoff point, creating vowel-like tones and dramatic peaks. Learn how resonance shapes sound and brings filters to life in expressive, musical ways.
A filter’s slope determines how steeply it removes harmonics beyond the cutoff point. Learn how 1-, 2-, 4-, and even 8-pole filters shape sound with increasing intensity – from subtle roll-offs to dramatic tonal sculpting.
Filters shape sound by removing or reducing harmonics. Learn how low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, and notch filters work – and how adjusting the cutoff frequency creates dramatic changes in tone and texture.
Noise in synthesis comes in many "colors" – from white and pink to blue, brown, and beyond – each with unique frequency content. Discover how different noise types sound and why no two noise modules sound exactly the same.
Explore how different oscillator waveforms – like sawtooth, pulse, triangle, and sine – affect the harmonic content and character of a sound.