Synth block

Contents
1 Available on which products
2 Channels or X/Y switching
3 About the Synth
4 CPU usage
5 Parameters
6 Tips
7 Frequencies of musical notes=
7.1 Simple Sine tone
7.2 Warm up the Synth sound
7.3 Fatten the Synth sound
7.4 Drone note
7.5 Pink or white noise
7.6 Siren
7.7 Calibration tone
8 More information

Available on which products

Axe-Fx III: 2 blocks
FM3: 1 block
Axe-Fx II: 2 blocks
AX8: 1 block
FX8: 1 block

Channels or X/Y switching

Axe-Fx III and FM3: 2 channels
Axe-Fx II: no
AX8: no
FX8: no

About the Synth

"The Synth block is a very simple monophonic synth. It doesn't compare to the polyphonic
capabilities of something like the FTP and it can't control outboard MIDI synths." source (http://for
um.fractalaudio.com/threads/fishman-triple-play-axefx-ii.92984/#post-1117064)
The Synth block requires monophonic input. This means that you have play REALLY clean. Always hit single
notes and avoid overlapping notes.

Introduction video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw_zUNmaPqM&t=6s)

CPU usage
The Synth has 3 voices. Turn off voices that you don't use to save CPU.

Parameters
Parameter (per voice) Axe-Fx III / FM3 Axe-Fx II AX8 / FX8

Type yes

Track yes

Frequency yes

Shift yes

Tune yes

Duty Cycle yes

Pan yes

Filter Frequency yes

Filter Q yes
Attack yes

Level yes

Tips
Frequencies of musical notes=
Read this (https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html)

Simple Sine tone

Set a single voice to Sine and turn off Tracking.

Warm up the Synth sound

To warm up the Synth, add a Drive block before or after it. Try the Rat model.
Fatten the Synth sound
To fatten the Synth, use at least two voices and detune them slightly. source (http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threa
ds/the-synth-block.109523/#post-1310172)

Drone note
1. Turn off Voices 2 and 3.
2. In voice 1 switch off Tracking and adjust pitch with the Frequency parameter.

Look up the frequencies of notes (http://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html)

Tips:

Try the Sawtooth waveform.

Make the sound fatter by using two Synth voices set to the same frequency.
Make the sound less boring by adding a low-pass Filter with lfo-controlled Frequency.
Make the sound wider by adding a 100% wet Multi-Delay or Plex Delay set to Detune.
Change the pitch of the drone note, by switching the Synth between channels or by using Scene
controllers, attached to the Pitch or Shift parameter of the voice(s). Or just send the Synth into a Pitch
block (changes the pitch of all voices).
Use the Sequencer controller to have the Synth block play lines.

Pink or white noise

The Synth block can generate white or pink noise.

White noise in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_noise)

Pink noise in Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_noise)

Siren
Select a Square waveform and attach a LFO to the FREQ parameter of a single voice. Add a lot of reverb.

Calibration tone
"Set the synth block to a 1K sine wave at -12 dB. Turn OUTPUT 1 to the maximum level position."
source (http://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/calibration-tone.109698/#post-1312732)

"There's actually a hidden calibration tone that is used during functional test. The Synth block is
reference quality. I use it all the time to generate test tones. The output is spectrally purer than my
$2000 Stanford Research Systems Synthesized Function Generator." source (http://forum.fractalaud
io.com/threads/calibration-tone.109698/#post-1312815)

More information
Look for synth presets created by Simeon, Swedish Chef and Admin M@. Search the forum and visit Axe-
Change (http://axechange.fractalaudio.com).

Wikipedia: Synthesizer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer)

Retrieved from "https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Synth_block&oldid=65767"

This page was last edited on 12 February 2020, at 07:43.