Playing with paraphonic chords

The new Paraphonic mode lets us play two notes at once. Let’s get our pad on…

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A paraphonic synth can play separate notes with each of its oscillators, albeit fed through a single shared filter and amp. Engage the BS2’s paraphonic mode by holding function, tapping the Osc 1+2 sync key twice, and changing the setting to P 1.

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Make sure both oscillators are turned up in the mixer. Hit latch and raise the amp env sustain. Play a single note on the keyboard – this will generate the standard two-oscillator BS2 sound. Try detuning Osc 2 to hear this properly. Now play two notes at once, to hear two pitches played by the oscillators in a droning two-note chord.

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With the chord sustaining, let’s play with the oscillators. Setting the two oscs at different octaves sounds great in paraphonic mode. Set Osc 1 an octave higher than Osc 2. Now dial in some sub oscillator – this still tracks Osc 1’s pitch, so will thicken up that higher oscillator.

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Subtle pitch modulation is great for adding detuned thickness to droning chords like these. Dial in a low level (2 or 3) of modulation from LFO 1 to Osc 2 pitch. A slow sine wave LFO works best, creating a subtle tuning drift.

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Alternatively, the new Oscillator Error function can add variety to chord patterns. Engage it (see Add some errors), and play a series of two-note chords. Hear how the pitch of each oscillator varies slightly with each new chord.

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Try playing with paraphonic mode and ring mod for interesting tonal effects. Try engaging the ring mod and swapping between playing single notes and two-note chords.