Creative ways to generate Serum wavetables

01 REACH FOR LOOPS

Although it's advised to import a one-shot sample with a consistent pitch, this doesn't mean you can't try out other types of audio files. For example, throw in a long synth loop featuring sparse notes, then scan through this wavetable's WT Pos with a speed-shifting LFO to create animated rhythmic bursts.

02 RESAMPLE SERUM’S OSCILLATORS

On Serum's Edit page, select Menu >> Resample to Osc A/B. Serum will render one bar of the entire synth's output, convert the signal into a wavetable, and load it up in the oscillator you selected. Use this to go further and further down the sound design rabbit hole!

03 TEXT TO SPEECH

Type one or more words into the Formula Parser (inside quote marks), and Serum will convert the speech into an 8-bit talking wavetable. In order to tame the digital harshness, you'll want to dive into the WT Editor's menu options and smoothen out the timbre.

04 LFO DRAG

Alt-drag from an LFO's top bar to another to copy it to another LFO slot – but Alt-drag to an oscillator, and that LFO shape will be turned into a single-cycle frame. Easy! Create a second frame in the WT Editor, go back and Alt-drag a second LFO shape, then choose a Morph option to interpolate between the two and create a unique morphing wavetable.

05 IMPORT IMAGES

Drag a PNG file onto a Serum oscillator to convert the image into an audio wavetable. Serum maps the image's pixel luminance to amplitude – in other words, darker sections represent higher amplitude, while white equates to minimum amplitude. Click on the Osc's 2D wavetable display to see your wavetable image in 3D.

06 DRAW YOUR OWN

Use the WT Editor's various drawing tools to pencil in single-cycle waveforms. Alternatively, if you want to get geeky with FFT synthesis, you can precisely draw in a waveform's harmonics (and their relative phases) via the top Harmonic Editor.