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12. Expanding and enhancing our Synth One patch
1 We’ve crafted a simple lead sound – and saved our handiwork as ‘CMLeader’. As useful as it might be, there is much more we might do to make it a bit more lively. Luckily, Synth One has plenty of options for spicing up our sound. We’ll start by using the Hide button to minimise the keyboard. 2 Now, let’s use the arrow buttons on the lower-right to tab over to the FX/LFO page. Synth One has two LFOs that can be assigned to a dozen target parameters. Each LFO has four waveforms. Let’s use LFO 1, sticking with the default sine wave. Assign it to Pitch by tapping the left side of the Pitch button in the LFO section. 3 We can’t hear any effect yet. For that, we’ll need to increase the level of LFO 1’s Amount knob. Let’s give it a nudge to around 472%. Still nothing – why? Because the LFO Rate goes all the way down to 0.00Hz. So it isn’t oscillating at all. Increase LFO 1’s Rate to 6.44Hz. Now we have a nice vibrato.
4 If we want all of our effects and LFOs to stay in sync with one another, we can activate Tempo Sync using the button in the middle of the page. While we’re in a modulating mood, let’s take advantage of Synth One’s Phaser by bringing up its Mix level in the lower-left. We’ll also increase the Feedback for a more dramatic effect.
5 We can play beyond the notes currently displayed on the keyboard by using the Octave buttons just above the keys on the right. Upon playing higher notes, we find that there are some nasty digital artefacts, so we’ll go to the Global section and tap the Anti-Aliasing function to improve the sound. Let’s activate the
Delay for some echo, too.
6 Our sound is pretty cool when playing in a staccato mode on the virtual keyboard, but it’s a little bit on the abrupt side when sliding our finger from key to key without lifting it from the iPad’s surface. Let’s go back to the upper-right of the interface and activate Legato mode for a smoother performance.
7 Let’s add LFO 2 to the proceedings. This time, we’ll use it to increase the Filter Cutoff frequency. We do this by tapping the right side of the Cutoff button in the LFO section. We’re going to set the rate to a slow four bars, and the Amount to 28%. This gives us a slow, sweeping effect that blends well with the Phaser.
8 Finally, let’s expand the keyboard again so we can have a proper jam. Use the arrows on the top-right to tab over to the Pad section, where we find a pair of X/Y performance pads. The one on the left controls the LFO Depth and Rate, while the one on the right controls Filter Cutoff and Resonance. Time for some fun!