What Is An Oscillator?

Handmade

Handmade

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I bought some plugins like Albino3, Z3TA, etc. and I've seen some oscillators that you can adjust to make the sound sound differently within the VST. What is an oscillator and how does it affect the sound you're changing when you change it?
 
The simplest oscillator is a swinging pendulum or plumb-bob.

In Audio, an oscillator is what makes the basic sound. You can have sine, triangle, sawtooth/ramp, square and pulse width waveforms as your basic waveforms and several other types which are either sample-based, grain-based or combinations of the previous types.

Changing the type of oscillator changes the frequency/overtone content of the waveform. An overtone is a whole multiple of the fundamental frequency:
  • A sine wave is pure and only has a fundamental tone
  • A square wave has odd overtones that are directly proportional to the overtone number; i.e. f + (1/3 x 3f) + (1/5 x 5f) + (1/7 x 7f) etc... that decrease in intensity and sounds like a clarinet more or less
  • A triangle has only odd overtones but at lower levels than the square wave, i.e. f + (1/9 x 3f) + (1/25 x 5f) + (1/49 x 7f)
  • A sawtooth/ramp wave has all overtones present and can be very bright as a result, the intensity of each overtone is similar to that of the square wave: f + (1/2 x 2f) + (1/3 x 3f) +(1/4 x 4f) + (1/5 x 5f) + (1/6 x 6f) + (1/7 x 7f) etc
  • A pulse width waveform is a created by varying the on-time vs off-time of a square wave - this changes the overtone content dramatically and can introduce even overtones as well odd overtones.

Generally you use a low-pass/high-pass/bandpass/notch filter to change the sound created by the waveform further and use an envelope (adsr) to change the attack, decay sustain and release characteristics of an individual sound.

You can also use an envelope to control the filter over time and control pitch modulation of the oscillator as well.
 
I can't add any technical knowledge about oscillators but in my experience the best way to learn what they do is to tweak random settings and get a feel for the way they alter the sound through trial and error.
 
Nicely Stated by "bandcoach" however i wanted to add some more ;
An Oscillator is an Electronic Device (Circuit) Which Produces Repetitions of a Signal That can be in any frequency range but in our case it is between 20Hz to 20Khz (Audible range). Signal can be Square , Sine , Trianguler , Sawtooth etc. Changing Shape and other parameter of that shape Produces different impact on our ear. This Impact is sensed and enjoyed differently by us ! An Oscillator is fed with a DC power but it generates and AC at outputs ( As Our Voice is an AC Signal ) ! So, word 'Oscillations' is derived from 'Repetitions' because each Signal keeps on repeating it self until we change it by some control ( Knobs, Sliders etc ) . Some electronic component that makeup an oscillator are not kept constant (Packed or Closed ) intentionally and there variable part is kept open physically ; These Knobs are internally connected to such variable parts to alter oscillations in future !

Regards
 
I love when people dig old threads though, I just read this whole thread, it kinda refreshs the memory. Yea, i agree, just swich through them and get a feel for how they alter the sound.. the technical stuff is good stuff too, same stuff in every synth basically.
 
@manifest2177: an oscillator is not the sculptor of your sound, it is the raw stone from which you sculpt your sound.....
 
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