Synth Pack

A collection of powerful monophonic and polyphonic synthesisers in 'Blocks' format.

Details:

The synths feature versatile internal modulations and are designed to be integrated with the other packs for expanded modulation and effects routing. The bundle includes a sophisticated Piano Roll block with extensive editing and modulation functions and a suite of polyphonic utility and modulation blocks to augment and expand the polyphonic functionalities of the synths.

Polyphonic Ports:

The polyphonic blocks feature special polyphonic ports denoted by a light grey circle around the edge of the port.

Polyphonic output ports can be connected to monophonic input ports and vice versa. There are also various utility blocks to convert polyphonic output signals to monophonic signals, for example the polyphonic mixer has a monophonic output that can be used to mix polyphonic voices down to a monophonic signal.

Monophonic output ports can be connected to polyphonic input ports, so you can for example connect a monophonic signal from the free pack oscillator to the polyphonic A&B modulation input ports of the Polyphonic Mini Synth.

All polyphonic blocks are set to 5 note polyphony by default. The polyphony can be increased by increasing the blocks' polyphony setting in the inspector when the blocks are loaded in ensemble mode.

(Note: there is no overlap between the Synth Bundle and the Blocks Bundle, all included blocks are exclusive to this bundle.) 

Included modules:

Synths

• FM Synth
• Quad Synth
• Dual Synth
• Mini Synth
• Supersaw Synth
• Multi-Breakpoint Synth
• Granular Sample Player (Polyphonic)
• Sample Player (Polyphonic)
• Sampler (Polyphonic)
• Sampler (Stereo Polyphonic)
• Dual Synth (Polyphonic)
• FM Synth (Polyphonic)
• Mini Synth (Polyphonic)
• Multi-Breakpoint Synth (Polyphonic)
• Piano (Polyphonic).ism
• Quad Synth (Polyphonic)
• Supersaw Synth (Polyphonic)

Oscillators

• Multi Oscillator (Polyphonic)
• Oscillator (Polyphonic)
• Quad Oscillator (Polyphonic)
• Wavetable (Polyphonic)
• Wavetable Basic (Polyphonic)

Filters

• Comb Notch Filter (Polyphonic)
• Filter (Polyphonic)
• Mini Filter (Polyphonic)

Modulation

• Envelope (Polyphonic)
• Envelope (Stereo Polyphonic)
• Multi-Breakpoint Envelope (Polyphonic)
• Randomizer (Polyphonic)

Effects

• Unison (Polyphonic)
• Real Verb
• Box Verb

Sequencers

• Piano Roll

Utilities

• 4 Ch Mixer (Polyphonic)
• Dual VCA Mixer (Polyphonic)
• Mono Note Merge (Polyphonic)
• Mono To Voice
• Multiply (Polyphonic)
• Note To Gate
• Poly Note Merge (Polyphonic)
• Poly To Mono
• Poly Voice Split
• Short Delay (Polyphonic)
• Sum (Polyphonic)
• Util Note In (Polyphonic).ism
• Chord Bank (Polyphonic)
• Clock Multiplier
• Gate Probability
• Quantize
• Sequential Switch
• Split
• Split (Polyphonic)
• Transpose (Polyphonic)
• Voice Split
• Keyboard
• MIDI Out (Polyphonic)
• Mono Note Merge (Polyphonic)
• Mutes X8
• Note Delay (Polyphonic)
• Note In (Polyphonic)
• Gate Merge

FM Synth

A 4-Operator (4 oscillator) FM Synth.

Each of the 4 oscillators features a 'Warp' control that bends the waveform in 8 ways:

• BEND+ = Bends the waveform to one side.
• BEND- = Bends the waveform out towards the edges.
• ASYM (Asymmetry) = Squishes the waveform from the middle to the edge in a linear fashion for 'Pulse Width Modulation' style effects.
• SYNC = Duplicates the the waveform a number of times, simulating the 'sync' function found on older analogue synthesisers.
• HYPER = Warps the waveform in an aggressive fashion.
• FOLD (wave-folding) = The waveform acts like a wave-shaper to transform a sine wave. Can be used to create very bright / complex sounds with lots of harmonics.
• WRAP = The waveform is stretched vertically and wrapped back down creating multiple jagged folds.
• RAND = Generates random values (noise). The 'WARP' control sets the transition slope between values (fully anticlockwise = stepped transitions). The random signal output is 'shaped' according to the setting of the 'WAVE' control. The 'COARSE / FREQ / LENGTH' knob sets the frequency of the randomly generated values. With these controls a wide selection of random signals and colours of noise can be generated. Set 'SYNCHRONISATION MODE' to 'FREE' and the 'FREQ' knob to maximum to generate white noise.

The 4 oscillators also have 3 synchronisation modes:

• FREE (wave icon) = The pitch of the oscillator can be set freely with no synchronisation.
• KEY TRACK (keyboard icon) = You can control the pitch of the oscillator via the Pitch input.
• CLOCK (clock Icon) = The speed of the oscillator is synchronised with the master tempo.

FM Routing Matrix

The FM algorithms are defined using a 4x4 FM routing matrix (blue LEDs) with 4 separate values for output levels (red LEDs). The circled blue LEDs indicate a feedback path (the oscillator modulating itself). The FM matrix works in a similar way to the 6x6 FM matrix found in the FM7/FM8 soft-synth.

The FM modulation signals flow down from the top of the matrix in the following order: 

And connect to the FM inputs of the oscillators by leaving to the side of the matrix in the following order:

If you imagine the circled LEDs represent each operator of the algorithm (operator means 'oscillator' in FM terminology), from operator 4 at the top left to operator 1 at the bottom right, then it's easy to visualise the connections between each of the operators.

The LEDs below the circled LEDs indicate connections from higher numbered operators to lower numbered operators, for example operator 2 modulating operator 1:

The LEDs above the circled LEDs indicate connections from lower numbered operators to higher numbered operators, for example operator 2 modulating operator 3. Operator 3 can then be heard at the output by turning up the red LED below it:

Turning up the circled LEDs will modulate the operator by itself, operator feedback is generally used in FM algorithms to give the operator a brighter or noisier sound:

Different algorithms can be stored in 8 presets and the values of the FM routing matrix for each algorithm preset can edited by dragging up and down on the LEDs. 

The algorithm presets can be recalled with the 'ALGO' knob or via modulation (up to audio rate). When 'Morph' mode is enable the values are smoothly interpolated between algorithms. The algorithms can be selected for editing by turning the knob or clicking on one of the numbers.

Each oscillator has it's own envelope which controls the level of the oscillator before it enters the FM matrix. The envelopes can be looped and used as additional LFOs or can even be set to loop at audio frequencies and used as additional oscillators. The envelopes can also be used as a modulation source using the internal modulation routing controls described below.

Internal Modulation Routing

There are controls on the 'Options Page' (cog icon) that allow a number of modulation sources to be routed to the internal A & B modulation busses for each oscillator in the synth:

Sources includes all 4 envelopes (envelopes 4 & 3 are connected to the upper control and envelopes 2 & 1 to the lower control), the 4 oscillators, a built in LFO, velocity and pitch. If 'EXT' is selected then the A & B ports are used for the modulation busses for that oscillator. For convenience if no cables are connected to either the A or B input ports then Modulation Bus A will be connected to that oscillator's envelope by default and Modulation Bus B will be connected to the built-in global LFO.

Pitch Snap Mode

There are 3 modes of operation for the coarse pitch knobs for each oscillator

• OFF = The coarse pitch knob is not snapped and changes the frequency freely.
• EVEN = The coarse pitch knob is snapped to even, semitone intervals
• RATIO = The coarse pitch knob is snapped to the closest FM ratios (1:1, 9:8, 5:4 etc). The ratios are displayed below the knob.

Low Pass Gate

Each oscillator features it's own low pass gate (a low pass filter controlled by the envelope). This is useful for filtering out higher frequencies generated by more extreme FM settings. The low pass gate for each oscillator is enabled by clicking on the 'Low Pass' icon at the top of each oscillator's panel.

Quad Synth

A synth that combines a four-waveform oscillator, a 'ramps' modulation section, a filter and an envelope that can also function as a 'Low Pass Gate'.

The oscillator is based on a detailed sampling of a famous polyphonic hardware synth from the 1980s. The samples have been carefully recorded and matched to maintain perfect phase relationships between the 4 oscillators resulting in a very authentic sound.

The modulation section is based on the 'Ramps' module from the designers pack (see designers pack for more details).

The filter section is based on the 'Squelch' Filter from the designers pack which is modelled on another famous hardware synth from the 1980s (see designers pack for more details).

Dual Synth

A versatile synth that combines 2 separate oscillators, a mixer section that can combine and mix the 2 oscillators in a variety of ways and an envelope section that can also function as a 'Low Pass Gate' (LPG).

Each of the 2 oscillators features a 'Warp' control that bends the waveform in 8 ways:

• BEND+ = Bends the waveform to one side.
• BEND- = Bends the waveform out towards the edges.
• ASYM (Asymmetry) = Squishes the waveform from the middle to the edge in a linear fashion for 'Pulse Width Modulation' style effects.
• SYNC = Duplicates the the waveform a number of times, simulating the 'sync' function found on older analogue synthesisers.
• HYPER = Warps the waveform in an aggressive fashion.
• FOLD (wave-folding) = The waveform acts like a wave-shaper to transform a sine wave. Can be used to create very bright / complex sounds with lots of harmonics.
• WRAP = The waveform is stretched vertically and wrapped back down creating multiple jagged folds.
• RAND = Generates random values (noise). The 'WARP' control sets the transition slope between values (fully anticlockwise = stepped transitions). The random signal output is 'shaped' according to the setting of the 'WAVE' control. The 'COARSE / FREQ / LENGTH' knob sets the frequency of the randomly generated values. With these controls a wide selection of random signals and colours of noise can be generated. Set 'SYNCHRONISATION MODE' to 'FREE' and the 'FREQ' knob to maximum to generate white noise.

The 2 oscillators also have 3 synchronisation modes:

• FREE (wave icon) = The pitch of the oscillator can be set freely with no synchronisation.
• KEY TRACK (keyboard icon) = You can control the pitch of the oscillator via the Pitch input.
• CLOCK (clock Icon) = The speed of the oscillator is synchronised with the master tempo.

The mixer section has 8 modes with which it uses to mix the 2 oscillators:

• MIX = Normal Mixer.
• RING A = Analog Ring Modulation.
• RING D = Digital Ring Modulation.
• AM A = Analog Amplitude Modulation.
• AM D = Digital Amplitude Modulation.
• S&H = Sample & Hold Method 1 (Hold when modulating signal crosses zero).
• HOLD = Sample & Hold Method 2 (Hold when modulating signal is positive, pass when modulating signal is negative).
• OR = Selects the signal with the most positive amplitude.

Mini Synth

A compact single oscillator synth with a built in envelope and a low pass gate (LPG).

The oscillator features a 'Warp' control that bends the waveform in 8 ways:

• BEND+ = Bends the waveform to one side.
• BEND- = Bends the waveform out towards the edges.
• ASYM (Asymmetry) = Squishes the waveform from the middle to the edge in a linear fashion for 'Pulse Width Modulation' style effects.
• SYNC = Duplicates the the waveform a number of times, simulating the 'sync' function found on older analogue synthesisers.
• HYPER = Warps the waveform in an aggressive fashion.
• FOLD (wave-folding) = The waveform acts like a wave-shaper to transform a sine wave. Can be used to create very bright / complex sounds with lots of harmonics.
• WRAP = The waveform is stretched vertically and wrapped back down creating multiple jagged folds.
• RAND = Generates random values (noise). The 'WARP' control sets the transition slope between values (fully anticlockwise = stepped transitions). The random signal output is 'shaped' according to the setting of the 'WAVE' control. The 'COARSE / FREQ / LENGTH' knob sets the frequency of the randomly generated values. With these controls a wide selection of random signals and colours of noise can be generated. Set 'SYNCHRONISATION MODE' to 'FREE' and the 'FREQ' knob to maximum to generate white noise.

The oscillator also has 3 synchronisation modes:

• FREE (wave icon) = The pitch of the oscillator can be set freely with no synchronisation.
• KEY TRACK (keyboard icon) = You can control the pitch of the oscillator via the Pitch input.
• CLOCK (clock Icon) = The speed of the oscillator is synchronised with the master tempo.

Internal Modulation Routing

There are controls on the 'Options Page' (cog icon) that allow a number of modulation sources to be routed to the internal modulation busses:

Sources includes the envelope, a built in LFO, velocity and pitch. If 'EXT' is selected then the A & B ports are used for the modulation busses. For convenience if no cables are connected to either the A or B input ports then modulation bus A will be connected to the envelope by default and modulation bus B will be connected to the built-in LFO.

Low Pass Gate

The oscillator features a built-in low pass gate (a low pass filter controlled by the envelope). The low pass gate is enabled by clicking on the 'Low Pass' icon at the top of the panel.

Supersaw Synth

A simple synth based on a single supersaw oscillator. The oscillator engine runs in 12bits and the sample rate can also be reduced for a gritty old-school supersaw sound. The 'CHORD' control sets the note interval between the unison voices, a variety of chords and intervals can be selected. When 'SCALE SNAP' is enabled the notes in the chord are snapped to a scale (use the coarse transpose control to set the key).

Internal Modulation Routing

There are controls on the 'Options Page' (cog icon) that allow a number of modulation sources to be routed to the internal modulation busses:

Sources includes the envelope, a built in LFO, velocity and pitch. If 'EXT' is selected then the A & B ports are used for the modulation busses. For convenience if no cables are connected to either the A or B input ports then modulation bus A will be connected to the envelope by default and modulation bus B will be connected to the built-in LFO.

Low Pass Gate

The oscillator features a built-in low pass gate (a low pass filter controlled by the envelope). The low pass gate is enabled by clicking on the 'Low Pass' icon at the top of the panel.

Multi-Breakpoint Synth

A synth that combines a multi-breakpoint oscillator, a sub oscillator, a RAMPS section, a filter and an envelope that can also function as a 'Low Pass Gate'. The synth features versatile modulation and routing options between the sections.

Granular Sample Player (Polyphonic)

A polyphonic granular sample player. The granular sampler player reads small chunks of the sample (grains) at the playback position and then plays back the sample in any direction as a dispersed cloud of grains.

A ‘Scan’ function scans the playback position through the sample in order to play it back. The scanner's start position, length of playback and speed of playback are set by the ‘START’, ‘LENGTH’ and ‘SPEED’ controls. There are 6 playback modes for the ‘Scan’ function:

• LOOP = The position is scanned in one direction, continuously looping.
• PONG (ping-pong) = The position is scanned in one direction and then reverses, continuously looping forwards and then backwards in a ping-pong fashion.
• ONCE = The position is scanned in one direction and then stops when it reaches the end of its scan.
• END = The position is scanned in one direction and then loops only the end part of the scan. This is useful for scanning through samples of real instruments so that the beginning / attack portion of the sample only plays once and then only the sustain portion is looped.
• RAND (random) = Randomly scans through the sample.
• TRACK (key tracking) = The speed of the scan is controlled by the pitch input port. With this mode enabled reduce grain length and change the 'COURSE' tuning for formant style effects.
• TRACK L (key tracking + looping) = Same as TRACK mode except looping.

There are 7 controls on the ‘Options’ page to change the settings of the granular engine. The settings are for grain length, grain density, grain cross fade and 4 jitter controls (random fluctuations) for position, pitch, length and density.

The Granular Sample Player has no built-in samples, drag and drop a sample file to load it. Use the ‘SELECT’ control to select which of the loaded sample files is being used. As well as being able to drag and drop sample files you can also load samples into Reaktor's built in sample map editor where you can specify velocity layers and set up complex multi-sample maps. You can also embed the sample files into the block.

When the ‘MAP’ button (small keyboard icon) is enabled the samples are mapped across the keyboard and selected by the pitch input.

Waveform Display: the dark blue area shows the area of the sample played by the playback scanner, the light blue area shows the area of the sample that the grains are currently being read from, the white line shows the start position and the light grey line shows the playback position.

Sample Player (Polyphonic)

Sampler (Stereo Polyphonic)

A polyphonic sampler block that has the ability to record audio from its input port (like a real hardware sampler). The sampler can record into the buffer and playback from the buffer simultaneously. Waveform Display: the white line shows the start position, the light grey line shows the playback position and the red line shows the record position.

Recording can be set to loop around the buffer continuously or stop recording when it gets to the end of the buffer. Recording can be restarted using the 'REC' input port or if the sampler is first put into 'ARM' mode then recording can be restarted when the audio level exceeds a threshold or restarted by the 'RESET' port (similar to a how 'arm' mode works on hardware sampler). The 'ARM', 'REC' and 'PLAY' controls can also be controlled via the A/B modulation inputs.

The contents of the buffer is stored with patches and snapshots. Sample files can also be drag and dropped onto the waveform display to load them into the buffer.

The 'FM MODE' control selects one of 5 FM Modes:

• FREQ = The FM input modulates the pitch of the sample, the FM knob sets the amount of modulation.
• PHASE = The FM input modulates the phase (playback position) of the sample, the FM knob sets the amount of modulation.
• PHASE 2 = Same as PHASE 1 but the FM input signal is offset.
• SCRATCH = The FM knob plays through the sample like a record being scratched, the FM input is ignored.
• DIRECT DRIVE = The value of the FM input, between 0 and 1, offsets the playback position across the whole length of the sample, the FM knob sets the amount of offset.

As well as recording audio signals the sampler can also be used to record, playback and loop 'pitch', 'gate' or 'modulation' signals fed into the block's input (all signals going in and out of the ports in reaktor blocks are just audio rate signals between -1 and 1, so you can generally feed anything into anything. 'Pitch' signals are signals between 0 and 1 where an interval of 0.1 equals 1 octave thus giving a range of 10 octaves between 0 and 1, 'gate' signals are generally just a pulse between 0 and 1 etc).

Piano Roll

A sophisticated PIANO ROLL block with extensive editing and modulation functions. The block includes two automation / modulation lanes. The modulation data from the lanes can be used to modulate, warp and transpose the notes of the piano roll itself in addition to being sent from the A & B modulation outputs. The block features 8 pattern locations, launch quantisation and powerful note and automation editing tools as well as a bank of 16 knobs to modulate pitch, timing, key and scale to warp and stretch the notes and a variety of ways in realtime while the sequence is playing. 

Notes can be recorded and played back simultaneously at different positions in the sequence, and the RECORD POSITION, PITCH and GATE ports can be used to 'algorithmically' enter new note sequences by connecting LFOs or modulations sources to these ports.

Features include:

• 16 realtime modulatable knobs for pitch, swing, note length, stretch, warp, scale, key etc
• 8 different patterns that can be re-triggered, twisted, stretched and warped fluidly as they are played
• Launch Quantise feature keeps jamming locked to the beat
• Input ports allow for algorithmic inputting of notes by connecting LFOs and other modulation sources
• Note editing tools match features found on high end DAWs

OSC-Multi Oscillator (Polyphonic)

An polyphonic oscillator that can operate in 5 different modes:

• Supersaw = Old school supersaw oscillator with extra aliasing and grunge.
• Pulse = 2 Pulse oscillators that can be detuned for extra fatness.
• OSC Sync = 2 oscillators the synced together so that one oscillator resets the other oscillator every cycle.
• Ring Mod = 2 oscillators ring-modulated (the outputs multiplied together).
• FM = 2 oscillators configured so that one modulates the phase of the other for dissonant FM sounds.

There are 4 controls (Depth, Pitch, Shape & Option) that have different functions depending on the mode:

Supersaw:

• Depth = Detune
• Pitch = Chord Select
• Shape = FM amount
• Option = Snap notes in chords to scale

Pulse:

• Depth = Oscillator mix
• Pitch = Oscillator 2 pitch
• Shape = Pulse width
• Option = Oscillator 2 square mode

OSC Sync:

• Depth = Oscillator 1 pitch
• Pitch = Oscillator 2 pitch
• Shape = Oscillator shape
• Option = Oscillator 1 Pulse Width

Ring Mod:

• Depth = Dry/wet mix
• Pitch = Oscillator 2 pitch
• Shape = Oscillator shape
• Option = 'Analog' style ring modulation mode

FM:

• Depth = FM Depth
• Pitch = Oscillator 2 Pitch
• Shape = Oscillator shape
• Option = Shape knob controls oscillator 2

Oscillator (Polyphonic)

Quad Oscillator (Polyphonic)

The oscillator is based on a detailed sampling of a famous polyphonic hardware synth from the 1980s. The samples have been carefully recorded and matched to maintain perfect phase relationships between the 4 oscillators resulting in a very authentic sound.

Note: A positive zero crossing at the 'Reset' port input causes the oscillator to restart. A 'reset' will cause the sampler engine to select a sample with the closest original pitch to the current pitch (set by the signal at the PITCH input as well as the COARSE and FINE pitch knobs). If the reset port isn't connected then the sampler engine will update the selected sample when pitch changes are detected which may result in glitches to be heard when bending notes.

 Wavetable (Polyphonic)

A polyphonic wavetable based oscillator. The wavetables can be scanned in 2 dimensions across a 16 by 16 grid with many unique ways of twisting and warping the waveforms.

Wavetable Basic (Polyphonic)

A polyphonic wavetable based oscillator. The oscillator has no built-in wavetables, drag and drop a wavetable file to load it. Use the ‘SELECT’ control to select which of the loaded wavetable files is being used. As well as being able to drag and drop wavetable files you can also load wavetables into Reaktor’s built in sample map editor which will allow you to embed the files into the block.

There is a built in scanning circuit that scans the X position in a variety of ways, the 'SCAN' control sets the depth of the scanning, turn the control to the right for forwards scanning and turn to the left for backwards scanning, double click on the control to reset it to the middle (no scanning). The 'SPEED' control sets the speed of scanning. The following scan modes are available:

• LOOP = The position is scanned in one direction, continuously looping.
• PONG (ping-pong) = The position is scanned in one direction and then reverses, continuously looping forwards and then backwards in a ping-pong fashion.
• ONCE = The position is scanned in one direction and then stops when it reaches the end of its scan.
• ENV = The position is scanned in one direction and then stops, the oscillator is muted by an envelope when the scanner reaches the end. The release speed of the envelope is set on the options page with the ‘RELEASE’ control.
• END = The position is scanned in one direction and then loops only the end part of the scan. This is useful for scanning through wavetables of real instruments so that the beginning / attack portion of the wavetable only plays once and then only the sustain portion is looped.
• RAND (random) = Randomly scans through the wavetable.
• STAG (stagger) = Same as RAND except each voice in unison mode is scanned with different random values, good for very thick unison drone sounds.

The oscillator also features a 'WARP' control that bends the waveform in 1 of 8 ways:

• BEND = Bends the waveform to one side.
• ASYM (Asymmetry) = Squishes the waveform from the middle to the edge in a linear fashion for 'Pulse Width Modulation' style effects.
• SYNC = Duplicates the the waveform a number of times, simulating the 'Sync' function found on older analogue synthesisers.
• HYPER = Warps the waveform in an aggressive fashion.
• FOLD = The waveform acts like a wave-shaper to transform a sine wave. Can be used to create very bright / complex sounds with lots of harmonics.
• FM SELF = Modulates the phase of the oscillator with its own output (FM Feedback similar to feedback found in 'DX' style hardware synths).
• FM 1 = The 7 unison voices are connected together using an FM algorithm similar to one of the algorithms found in a 'DX' style hardware synth. The 'CYCLES / FM RATIO' control offsets the ratio between the carrier and modulator voices.
• FM 2 = The 7 unison voices are connected together using a different FM algorithm similar to an algorithm found in a 'DX' style hardware synth. The 'CYCLES / FM RATIO' control offsets the ratio between the carrier and modulator voices.

'CYCLES / FM RATIO' control: when this control is set to a value greater than 1 the warping is only applied to one cycle in a series of waveform cycles and the remaining cycles are not warped. If one of the FM warp modes is selected then this control changes the ratio between the carrier and modulator voices.

The 'HARM' (harmonic) control uses chebyshev filters to boost or cut particular harmonics in the waveform and change its tonal character. The order of the chebyshev filters can be set on the options page using the ‘ORDER’ control.

Comb Notch Filter (Polyphonic)

A high quality, realistic reverb effect with a choice of early reflection patterns. The 'DIFF' (diffusion) control sets the smoothness and density of the tail. There are also controls to reduce sample rate, bit depth and increase saturation for gritty, vintage digital reverb effects.

Box Verb

A reverb effect used to simulate boxes, containers and small spaces.

4 Ch Mixer (Polyphonic)

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