Additive adventures with Phosphor 2

This alphaSyntauri emulation is a fun, simple softsynth. Let’s use it to create an ambient pad

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Starting with Phosphor 2’s default preset, we’ll turn Osc 2’s Level down to minimum so we can focus on the first oscillator. While we’re setting things up, let’s mix in the synth’s onboard Delay to give our patch a touch of ambience. Now let’s move to the Primary Oscillator…

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Hit its Ctrl tab and switch to the classic alphaSyntauri 16-partial mode. For added retro crunch, we’ll toggle its Space Invader icon, then hit the Clear button to reset all partials to minimum. Dragging up the far left of the 16 dots now raises the amplitude of our fundamental sine wave.

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This simple sine is pretty boring, so going from left to right, we’ll drag up the other partials at different amplitudes. Notice how partial levels can greatly affect the waveform’s timbre, and introduce noticeable grit into the signal.

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To familiarise yourself with the types of timbres you can create, head to the oscillator’s Ctrl menu and choose from the preset waveform settings (Sawtooth, Triangle and Square). We drag partials up and down to create a fluttering bell-like sound.

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Back over in the Ctrl menu, switch the partial resolution up to the maximum 64, then draw in a bunch of partials across the spectrum. Notice how the resulting timbre becomes a lot more ‘hi-res’ and fizzy as you add higher sine waves.

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For floaty flavour, we’ll adjust our pad’s onset over time via the Amp Envelope, and mix in some lo-res dirt by raising Osc 1’s Noise Level. We’ll also modulate Osc 1 Amplitude via a Pulse-shaped LFO, giving our pad a bubbling quality. From here, we can blend in Osc 2 and refine the patch.