Oscillators 1 & 2

Harmonia's unique multi-harmonic, interpolated scanning oscillators are the stars of the show, so it pays to read this section carefully in order to get the most from Harmonia. The good news is that once you wrap your head around how the oscillators work, coaxing wild, evolving sounds is ridiculously fun and easy.

We've broken it up into smaller chunks, so you won't sprain your scrolling finger.

Basic Principles

We'll give the thumbnail, how-it-works description here, and elaborate on the specifics when we explain the individual control parameters.

On a simple level, Harmonia is akin to a “ROMpler” sample-playback synth; that is, something like a Korg M1 where the oscillators play looped digital samples. But unlike a standard ROMpler oscillator that plays back a single sample when notes are played, each Harmonia oscillator plays back up to eight individual pitches simultaneously when notes are played. Each of these eight pitches can be independently tuned either to mathematic multiples (aka, the natural harmonic series), or to musical notes in half-step intervals.

The volumes of each harmonic can be set to static levels or dynamically modulated in a number of ways, or both methods can be combined.

Continue to Oscillator Waveforms and Amplitude Controls section