Some of this may be recap from Basic Synth 4: LFO's, Envelopes & Random Voltage, but we’re going to dive a little deeper into what makes LFOs so powerful and common destinations to route them to. When using LFOs as control signals, there are many variables to consider. They can also control parameters of other control path modules, for instance, when an LFO modulates the attack time of an envelope - this is called second order modulation.
We also learned that LFOs can directly control parameters of audio path modules, for instance, when a LFO modulates the cutoff frequency of a filter - this is called first order modulation. Some of the most interesting synthesizers are those that include a large number of LFOs that can be routed to a plethora of destinations. Basic Synth Supplemental 1: Modulation is the keyĪs we’ve learned, modulation is the key to interesting and organic sounds that evolve over time.
