Detuned Wavetable Lead

Sounds like: A soft, nostalgic, slightly out-of-tune melody, warm and melancholy.

Sound type: lead · Genre: IDM, Ambient, Downtempo · Style: nostalgic, softly detuned melody lead

A soft, nostalgic melody lead built from a slowly morphing wavetable position and a gentle pitch detune: the timbre drifts almost imperceptibly rather than sweeping dramatically, giving a warm, slightly off-kilter, melancholic character.

Open this patch in the interactive Patchpad

Digitone II

Exact match: WAVETONE HARM wavetable

SYN page 1 · WAVETONE

• TUN1: 0
• WAV1: 20 (HARM table, swept by MOD page 1)
• PD1: 0
• LEV1: 80
• TUN2: +7 cents
• WAV2: 20 (HARM table)
• PD2: 0
• LEV2: 60

SYN page 2 · WAVETONE

• OFS1: 0
• TBL1: HARM
• MOD: OFF
• RSET: OFF
• OFS2: 0
• TBL2: HARM
• DRIF: 25

FLTR page 1 · Multi-mode

• FREQ: 65
• RESO: 20
• TYPE: 0 (LP)

AMP page

• ATK: 20
• DEC: 50
• SUS: 100
• REL: 70
• MODE: ADSR

MOD page 1

• SPD: 3
• WAVE: Triangle
• DEST: SYN: Data entry knob B (WAV1)
• DEP: 10
• MODE: FREE

Digitone II's WAVETONE machine has wavetable-style waveform crossfading: WAV1/WAV2 morph through the table chosen by TBL1/TBL2 (HARM is the long list sweeping through harmonic combinations). MOD page 1's very slow, shallow LFO on WAV1 scans the first oscillator through that table almost imperceptibly: the soft, drifting timbre this patch wants. Oscillator 2 sits a few cents off (TUN2 +7, plus the DRIF parameter's built-in random pitch drift) for the slightly-off, nostalgic detune. (FM TONE has no wavetable oscillator; WAVETONE is chosen with FUNC+SYN.) WAV/TUN values are starting points: the manual doesn't give the WAV scale.

Syntakt

Exact match: SY CHORD wavetable

SYN — SY CHORD

• TUNE: 0
• WAVE: 20 (swept by LFO PAGE 1)
• PNCH: 0
• DEC: 50
• TYPE: Unison × 2
• BAL: 40
• FENV: 0
• OVER: 10

FLTR PAGE 1

• FREQ: 65
• RESO: 20
• TYPE: Lowpass

AMP PAGE 1

• ATK: 20
• DEC: 50
• SUS: 100
• REL: 70

LFO PAGE 1

• SPD: 8
• WAVE: Triangle
• DEST: MACHINE: parameter 2 (WAVE)
• DEP: 10
• MODE: FRE

Syntakt does have a wavetable machine: SY CHORD's WAVE parameter 'sweeps through the wavetable'. TYPE Unison × 2 with BAL as the unison detune amount gives the gentle detune, and LFO PAGE 1, targeting the machine's WAVE knob (parameter 2), scans the wavetable very slowly and shallowly for the soft, drifting timbre. The manual notes FUNC+turning WAVE jumps between the basic waveforms Sine/Square/Triangle/Saw if you want a starting point.

Tonverk

Exact match: Slowly drifting wavetable with a detuned saw

SRC machine (Func + Src)

• Machine: WAVEFINDER

SRC page 1 · Oscillator 1

• TUNE: 0
• LEV: 80
• POS: 30
• SLOT: Basic Sine2Saw (Factory Library › 6-Wavetables)

SRC page 2 · Oscillator 2

• DTUN: +6
• LEV: 60
• POS: 0
• SLOT: HS Saw (Factory Library › 6-Wavetables)

FLTR page 1 · Multimode

• FREQ: 65
• RESO: 20
• TYPE: 0 (low-pass)

AMP setup (Func + Amp)

• ENVELOPE MODE: ADSR

AMP page

• ATK: 20
• DEC: 50
• SUS: 100
• REL: 70

MOD page 1 · Voice LFO 1

• SPD: 3
• DEST: SRC page 1: Data entry knob C (POS)
• WAVE: Triangle
• MODE: FREE
• DEP: +10

Basic Sine2Saw morphs from sine to saw, and Voice LFO 1 drifts its POS very slowly so the tone barely moves. Oscillator 2 is a saw detuned a little for the off-kilter warmth. Keep both LFO speed and depth low.

Novation Summit

Exact match: Slowly morphing wavetable with a slight detune

OSCILLATOR 1

• WAVE: More
• WAVEMORE: Choral
• SHAPE AMOUNT: 20
• SHAPE SOURCE: LFO 1

OSCILLATOR 2

• WAVE: Sawtooth
• RANGE: 8'
• FINE: +6 cents

MIXER

• Osc 1: 80
• Osc 2: 60

FILTER

• SHAPE: LP
• FREQUENCY: 65
• RESONANCE: 20

LFO 1

• WAVEFORM: Triangle
• RATE: 8
• LFO 1 DEPTH (Filter section): 10

AMP ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 20
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 100
• RELEASE: 70

MODULATION MATRIX

• Slot 1 sA: ModWheel
• Slot 1 Destin: Osc1Shpe
• Slot 1 Depth: +20

Wavetable morphing: WAVE set to More opens the 60+ wavetable list (WAVEMORE picks the position), and SHAPE with SOURCE LFO 1 slowly scans it. LFO 1's own Depth (its hardwired filter-frequency knob) is kept low so the borrowed modulation for Shape doesn't also produce an audible filter wobble. Live control: the Mod Wheel pushes OSC 1 Shape (the wavetable position) through Mod Matrix slot 1; the panel Fine knob on Osc 2 sets the detune.

Arturia MiniFreak

Exact match: Wavetable engine, slowly scanned, with a detuned second oscillator

OSCILLATOR · Osc 1

• TYPE: Wavetable
• WAVETABLE: A soft, mellow factory table (Shift + Type to browse)
• WAVE (Scan): 20
• TIMBRE (Sym): 0
• VOLUME: 80

OSCILLATOR · Osc 2

• TYPE: SuperWave
• WAVE (Waveform): Triangle
• TIMBRE (Detune): 0
• SHAPE (Volume of copies): 0
• VOLUME: 55
• TUNE/OCT: +7 cents (click-hold fine-tune)

ANALOG FILTER

• TYPE: Low Pass
• CUTOFF: 65
• RESONANCE: 20

ENVELOPE

• ATTACK: 20
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 95
• RELEASE: 70

LFO

• SELECT/EDIT: LFO 1
• WAVE/LOAD: Tri
• RATE/TRIG: 0.1 Hz

MODULATION MATRIX

• Source (row): LFO 1
• Destination (column): Assign 1: Osc 1 Wave
• Amount: +15

Osc 1 uses the Wavetable engine (Osc 1 only): pick a soft, mellow factory table with Shift + Type, and Wave scans through its cycles. LFO 1's slow Tri wave (0.1 Hz) nudges that Wave position through the Mod Matrix (LFO 1 row to Assign 1, assigned by holding Assign 1 and turning Osc 1's Wave knob) at +15, so the timbre drifts almost imperceptibly. Osc 2 is a plain triangle (SuperWave with Detune and the copies at 0) fine-tuned +7 cents for the slightly out-of-tune beat. Values are on MiniFreak's native 0-100 scale.

Dreadbox Typhon

Approximation: No wavetable: LFO on the WAVE knob blend

FRONT PANEL

• WAVE: ~1:30 (VCO1 square + VCO2 saw)
• TUNE 2: A hair clockwise of fully anticlockwise (VCO2 a few cents sharp, for a slow beat)
• CUTOFF: ~11 o'clock (~65%)
• RESON: ~9 o'clock (~20%)

FILTER ADSR

• ATTACK: 20
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 100
• RELEASE: 70

AMP ADSR

• ATTACK: 20
• DECAY: 50
• SUSTAIN: 100
• RELEASE: 70

M1

• MODE: LFO
• WAVE: Triangle
• RATE: 5 (slow)
• FADE: 0
• DEST: WAVE
• LVL: 15 (subtle)

WAVE is a modulation destination on Typhon's M-slots: M1 slowly nudges the FRONT PANEL's own VCO1/VCO2 blend position, a simpler analogue of a wavetable scan.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop

Exact match: Slowly morphing wavetable with a slight detune

OSCILLATOR 1

• MODE: WaveScan
• WAVESCAN: 2.0

OSCILLATOR 2

• MODE: Single
• WAVE: Triangle
• SEMI: 0
• CENTS: +7

MIXER

• OSC 1 LEVEL: 100.0
• OSC 2 LEVEL: 60.0

FILTER 1

• TYPE: LP Ldr12
• CUTOFF: 65.0
• RESONANCE: 20.0

ENVELOPE 2

• ATTACK: 200 ms
• DECAY: 500 ms
• SUSTAIN: 110.0
• RELEASE: 700 ms

LFO 3

• WAVE: Triangle
• RATE: 0.1Hz
• LEVEL: 20

MOD MATRIX

• SOURCE: LFO 3
• DESTINATION: Osc 1 WaveScan
• DEPTH: 15

Oscillator 1 in WaveScan mode reads through a set of waves, and LFO 3's slow triangle moves the WaveScan position through the Mod Matrix so the timbre drifts almost imperceptibly. Oscillator 2, a triangle 7 cents sharp at a lower mixer level, gives the slightly out-of-tune beat.

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