Synth Adventures

Playground · Module A · Subtractive

Signal Path Explorer

One voice, four stages. Follow a note from the oscillator through the filter and amp to your speakers — bypass any stage to hear exactly what it adds.

Read alongside
ExperimentsWaveformsFiltersEnvelopesModulation
Patch · tap a block∿→ audio→ CV⇢ gate
KBDGATEPITCH CVVCFOUTENVLFO · 0

Fig. A-1 · One subtractive voice. Signal flows left to right.

Power · off

The synth is asleep

Browsers need a click before they make sound. Power on, then play the keys below or your computer keyboard (A–K).

Experiment #1

Hear the harmonics

Change the tone of a note without changing its pitch.

The oscillator is the source. The key you press sets how fast its wave repeats (pitch); the wave’s shape sets which harmonics it carries (timbre).

  1. 1.Press POWER ON, switch HOLD on, then press the A key.
  2. 2.Select SINE in the VCO band.
  3. 3.Step through TRI, SAW and SQR while the note holds.

You should hear…

The same pitch every time. The sine is pure and round, the saw is the brightest and buzziest. Watch the green spectrum bars grow taller and wider.

Doesn’t sound right?

Silence? Check that LEVEL isn’t fully left and that a note is held — HOLD keeps the VCA open.

Try it on your gear
PatchesA neutral starting point — every knob near the middle.
VCO
Level
VCF
Cutoff
Reso
Env mod
VCA · ENV
A
D
S
R
LFO
Rate
Depth

Dest

OCT 3

Keys A–K play notes even while a knob is focused. Arrows nudge the focused knob (Shift = fine); Tab / Shift+Tab or [ ] move between knobs & waves. Drag up/down still works; double-click resets.