LFO Section

LFO stands for Low Frequency Oscillator. LFOs are oscillators in the sense that they generate a waveform and a frequency. However, there are two significant differences compared to normal sound generating oscillators:

LFOs only generate waveforms with low frequencies.

The output of the two LFOs are never actually heard. Instead they are used for modulating various parameters.

The most typical application of an LFO is to modulate the pitch of a (sound generating) oscillator or sample, to produce vibrato.

The LFO section has the following parameters:

Waveform

LFO 1 allows you to select different waveforms for modulating parameters. These are (from the top down):

Destination

Waveform

Description

Triangle

This is a smooth waveform, suitable for normal vibrato.

Inverted

Sawtooth

This produces a "ramp up" cycle. If applied to an oscillator's frequency, the pitch would sweep up to a set point (governed by the Amount setting), after which the cycle immediately starts over.

Sawtooth

This produces a "ramp down" cycle, the same as above but inverted.

Square

This produces cycles that abruptly changes between two values, usable for trills etc.

Random

Produces random stepped modulation to the destination. Some vintage analog synths called this feature "sample & hold".

Soft Random

The same as above, but with smooth modulation.

The available LFO Destinations are as follows:

Destination

Description

Osc

Selecting this makes LFO control the pitch (frequency) of the sample patch.

Filter

Selecting this makes the LFO control the filter frequency.

Pan

Selecting this makes the LFO modulate the pan position of samples, i.e. it will move the sound from left to right in the stereo field.

Sync

By clicking this button you activate/deactivate LFO sync. The frequency of the LFO will then be synchronized to the song tempo, in one of 16 possible timedivisions. When sync is activated, the Rate knob (see below) is used for setting the desired timedivision.

Turn the knob and check the tooltip for an indication of the timedivision.

Rate

The Rate knob controls the LFO's frequency. Turn clockwise for a faster modulation rate.

Amount

This parameter determines to what degree the selected parameter destination will be affected by the LFO. Raising this knob's value creates more drastic results.