Music & Audio Advice Synthesizer Waveform Fundamentals 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When two oscillators are detuned slightly from each other, what audible effect is created?
- A thick, beating chorus-like effect (Correct answer)
- Complete silence
- A pure sine tone
- A drop in pitch by an octave
Correct answer: A thick, beating chorus-like effect
Slight detuning produces beating between the oscillators, thickening the sound.
Question 2: Setting a pulse wave's duty cycle to exactly 50% produces what?
- A square wave (Correct answer)
- A sine wave
- A sawtooth wave
- Silence
Correct answer: A square wave
A 50% duty cycle pulse is symmetrical, which is the definition of a square wave.
Question 3: Which waveform most closely resembles a sine wave in tone but is easier to generate in analog circuitry?
- Triangle wave (Correct answer)
- Sawtooth wave
- Square wave
- White noise
Correct answer: Triangle wave
The triangle wave has weak odd harmonics, making it sound close to a sine but simpler to build.
Question 4: Lowering a duty cycle far below 50% on a pulse wave tends to make the tone sound how?
- Thinner and more nasal (Correct answer)
- Deeper and bassier
- Like pure noise
- Like a sine wave
Correct answer: Thinner and more nasal
Narrow pulse widths emphasize higher harmonics, producing a thin, nasal, reedy character.
Question 5: Hard sync of one oscillator to another primarily creates what kind of timbre?
- Aggressive, harmonically complex tearing tones (Correct answer)
- A soft pad
- Pure silence
- A simple sine
Correct answer: Aggressive, harmonically complex tearing tones
Oscillator hard sync resets the slave waveform, creating rich, edgy harmonics ideal for leads.
Question 6: Which basic waveform would best emulate a simple flute-like tone with few overtones?
- Sine or triangle wave (Correct answer)
- Sawtooth wave
- Square wave with narrow pulse
- White noise
Correct answer: Sine or triangle wave
Flutes have very few harmonics, so a sine or triangle wave is the closest match.
Question 7: What does an oscillator's frequency determine?
- The perceived pitch (Correct answer)
- The loudness
- The harmonic content only
- The stereo width
Correct answer: The perceived pitch
The oscillator frequency sets how many cycles occur per second, which we perceive as pitch.
Music & Audio Advice Synthesizer Waveform Fundamentals 3
When two oscillators are detuned slightly from each other, what audible effect is created?