Grain, texture and distortion
By their nature, Peak’s oscillators are very stable, but the Pre and Post setting on the global distortion allow you to place drive just where you want it in the signal path. Pre-filter drive (controlled via the Overdrive knob) allows you to inject dirt before the filter; if you want drive to be added after the filter stage, then go for post-filter drive. Further distortion can also be added over the entire sound using global distortion, but remember: all these stages are analogue and so are very reactive to the nuances within your sounds.
The two super-fast LFOs are also a great way to add some nastiness into your sounds. Try sending an LFO to pitch or filter (or both), add in one or more oscillators, switch the LFO into the ‘high’ range mode and turn up the rate until you get some dirt or growl injected into your sound.
Filter modulation is another great way to achieve some nicely textured sounds, achieved by using oscillator 3 as a filter modulation source. You can radically alter the texture of the filter modulation by tweaking the pitch, wave and shape of oscillator 3, whilst the amount of filter modulation is dictated by the Osc 3 Filter Mod knob in the filter section of Peak.
Simply adding in a little of the noise oscillator alongside the other oscillators can really add some welcome texture to basses, leads and pad or poly-sounds. If you want real balls-out distortion, then turn up all three stages of distortion (pre/post filter drive and global distortion). Also, try using Unison 8 mode with some LFO to oscillator pitch for vibrato (via the mod wheel) and some Vsync for harmonic bending and amp-style feedback effects.
Finally, try adding in some ring-mod for a more metallic edge, or use one or two oscillators with standard analogue-type waves, with oscillator 3 using one of the wavetable waves (accessed via the ‘more’ wave option on the front panel) along with a slow LFO sent to modulate the wavetable’s shape for a continuously evolving texture (this works great for drones). Obviously with all these options onboard, there’s a fair bit to get to grips with but if you work slowly and methodically and listen to how each parameter affects your sound, you’ll soon get on top of everything.
A little of the noise oscillator alongside the other oscillators can really add some welcome texture