Digital synthesizer
Encyclopedia
A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer
that uses digital signal processing
(DSP) techniques to make musical sounds.
Electronic keyboards make music through sound waves.
(FM synthesis) from John Chowning
, who had experimented with it at Stanford University
since 1971. Yamaha's engineers began adapting Chowning's algorithm for use in a commercial digital synthesizer, adding improvements such as the "key scaling" method to avoid the introduction of distortion that normally occurred in analog systems during frequency modulation
, though it would take several years before Yamaha release their FM digital synthesizers.
Early commercial digital synthesizers used simple hard-wired digital circuitry to implement techniques such as additive synthesis
and FM synthesis, becoming commercially available in the late 1970s. Other techniques, such as wavetable synthesis
and physical modeling, only became possible with the advent of high-speed microprocessor and digital signal processing technology. Two of the earliest commercial digital synthesizers were the Fairlight CMI
, introduced in 1979, and the New England Digital Synclavier
II. The Fairlight CMI was the first sampling synthesizer, while the Synclavier was originally an FM synthesizer, not adding sampling synthesis until the 1980s. The Fairlight CMI and the Synclavier were both expensive systems, retailing for more than $20,000 in the early 1980s.
In 1980, Yamaha eventually released the first FM digital synthesizer, the Yamaha GS-1, but at an expensive retail price of $16,000. The cost of digital synthesizers soon began falling rapidly in the early 1980s. E-mu Systems
introduced the Emulator
sampling synthesizer in 1982 at a retail price of $7,900. Although not as flexible or powerful as either the Fairlight CMI or the Synclavier, its lower cost and portability made it popular.
Introduced in 1983, the Yamaha DX7
was an early all digital synthesizer that obtained relatively broad commercial success. It used FM synthesis and, although it was incapable of the sampling synthesis of the Fairlight CMI, its price was around $2,000, putting it within range of a much larger number of musicians. The DX-7 was also known for its "key scaling" method to avoid distortion and for its recognizable bright tonalities that was partly due to an overachieving
sampling rate
of 57 kHz. It became indispensable to many music artists of the 1980s, and would become one of the best-selling synthesizers of all time.
In 1981, one of the first comparatively affordable sampler
synthesizers was released: the E-mu Emulator
. It was not the first sampler, but in comparison to the previous digital samplers, it was much cheaper.
In 1987, Roland released an important syntheizer: the D-50
. This popular synth used a combination of short samples and digital oscillators. Roland called this Linear Arithmetic (LA) synthesis. This keyboard has some very recognisable preset sounds, such as the Pizzagogo sound used on Enya
's "Orinoco Flow."
It became feasible to include high quality samples of existing instruments as opposed to synthesizing them. Many popular synthesizers are not synthesizers in the classic definition of the word. They playback samples stored in their memory. They still include options to shape the sounds through use of envelopes, LFO
s, filters and effects (such as reverb.) The Yamaga Motif and Roland Fantom series of keyboards are typical examples of this type. They are sometimes called ROMplers.
As there was still an interest in analog synthesizers, and with the increase of computing power, another type of synthesizer was born - the analog modeling
(or "virtual analog") synthesizer. These used computing power to simulate tradtional analog waveforms and circuitry such as envelopes and filters. One example of this type of synthesizer was the Nord Lead.
With the addition of sophisticated sequencers onboard the workstation synthesizer was born. They include a multi-track sequencer
. They can often record and playback samples, and full audio tracks, so could be used to record an entire song. The Korg M1 is an example of an early workstation synthesizer. They are usually ROMplers, to give a wide variety of realistic instrument and other sounds such as drums, string instruments and wind instruments along with popular keyboard instrument sounds such as electric pianos and organs.
With modern processing power and memory, some synthesizer has been produced that offer a variety of synthesis options. The Korg Oasys
was an example of including multiple synthesizers in the same unit.
Some digital synthesizers now exist in the form of "softsynth
" software that synthesizes sound using conventional PC hardware, though they require careful programming and a fast CPU to get the same latency
response as their dedicated equivalents. In order to reduce latency, some professional sound card
manufacturers have developed specialized digital signal processing hardware. Dedicated digital synthesizers frequently have the advantage of onboard accessibility, with switchable front panel controls to peruse their functions, whereas software synthesizers trump their dedicated counterparts with their additional functionality, against the handicap of a mouse-driven control system.
With focus on performance-oriented keyboards and digital computer technology, manufacturers of commercial electronic instrument
s created some of the earliest digital synthesizer
s for studio and experimental use with computers being able to handle built-in sound synthesis algorithms.
is made up of sound-generating circuitry and modulators. Because computer technology is rapidly advancing it is often possible to offer more features in a digital synthesizer than in a analog synthesizer at a given price point. However, both technologies have their own merit. Some forms of synthesis, like, for instance, sampling
and additive synthesis
are not feasible in analog synthesizers, while on the other hand, many musicians prefer the character of analog synthesizers over their digital equivalent.
era of the 1980s first brought the digital synthesizer to the public ear. Bands like Talking Heads
and Duran Duran
used the digitally made sounds on some of their most popular albums. Other more pop
inspired bands like Hall & Oates
began incorporating the digital synthesizer into their sound in the 1980s. Through breakthroughs in technology in the 1990s almost every synthesizer now created has DSP
.
company. Now with dozens of models, they have revolutionized digital synth creation. Bands like The Cure
and Queen
have used such models as the Korg M1
. Another brand of popular digital synthesizer is Casio
. Such artists as Moby
began using the Casio CZ-101 at an early age of production.
. At a steady sample rate, digital synthesis produces a stream of numbers. Sound from speakers is then produced by a conversion to analog form. Through signal generation, voice and instrument-level processing, a signal flow is created and controlled either by MIDI capabilities or voice and instrument-level controls.
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
that uses digital signal processing
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
(DSP) techniques to make musical sounds.
Electronic keyboards make music through sound waves.
History
The very earliest digital synthesis experiments were made with general-purpose computers, as part of academic research into sound generation. In 1975, the Japanese company Yamaha licensed the algorithms for frequency modulation synthesisFrequency modulation synthesis
A 220 Hz carrier tone modulated by a 440 Hz modulating tone with various choices of modulation index, β. The time domain signals are illustrated above, and the corresponding spectra are shown below ....
(FM synthesis) from John Chowning
John Chowning
John M. Chowning is an American composer, musician, inventor, and professor best known for his work at Stanford University and his invention of FM synthesis while there.-Contribution:...
, who had experimented with it at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
since 1971. Yamaha's engineers began adapting Chowning's algorithm for use in a commercial digital synthesizer, adding improvements such as the "key scaling" method to avoid the introduction of distortion that normally occurred in analog systems during frequency modulation
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
, though it would take several years before Yamaha release their FM digital synthesizers.
Early commercial digital synthesizers used simple hard-wired digital circuitry to implement techniques such as additive synthesis
Additive synthesis
Additive synthesis is a technique of sound synthesis that creates musical timbre by explicitly adding sinusoidal overtones together.The timbre of an instrument is composed of multiple harmonic or inharmonic partials , of different frequencies and amplitudes, that change over time...
and FM synthesis, becoming commercially available in the late 1970s. Other techniques, such as wavetable synthesis
Wavetable synthesis
Wavetable synthesis is used in certain digital music synthesizers to implement a restricted form of real-time additive synthesis. The technique was first developed by Wolfgang Palm of PPG in the late 1970s and published in 1979, and has since been used as the primary synthesis method in...
and physical modeling, only became possible with the advent of high-speed microprocessor and digital signal processing technology. Two of the earliest commercial digital synthesizers were the Fairlight CMI
Fairlight CMI
The Fairlight CMI is a digital sampling synthesizer. It was designed in 1979 by the founders of Fairlight, Peter Vogel and Kim Ryrie, and based on a dual-6800 microprocessor computer designed by Tony Furse in Sydney, Australia...
, introduced in 1979, and the New England Digital Synclavier
Synclavier
The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation, manufactured by New England Digital Corporation, Norwich, VT. The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of...
II. The Fairlight CMI was the first sampling synthesizer, while the Synclavier was originally an FM synthesizer, not adding sampling synthesis until the 1980s. The Fairlight CMI and the Synclavier were both expensive systems, retailing for more than $20,000 in the early 1980s.
In 1980, Yamaha eventually released the first FM digital synthesizer, the Yamaha GS-1, but at an expensive retail price of $16,000. The cost of digital synthesizers soon began falling rapidly in the early 1980s. E-mu Systems
E-mu Systems
E-mu Systems, Inc. is a synthesizer maker and pioneer in samplers and low-cost digital sampling music workstations.-History:Founded in 1971 by Scott Wedge and Dave Rossum, E-mu began making modular synthesizers...
introduced the Emulator
E-mu Emulator
The Emulator is the name given to a series of disk-based digital sampling keyboards manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1982 until 1990. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary musicians, due to its relatively low price and its size,...
sampling synthesizer in 1982 at a retail price of $7,900. Although not as flexible or powerful as either the Fairlight CMI or the Synclavier, its lower cost and portability made it popular.
Introduced in 1983, the Yamaha DX7
Yamaha DX7
The Yamaha DX7 is an FM Digital Synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1986. It was the first commercially successful digital synthesizer. Its distinctive sound can be heard on many recordings, especially Pop music from the 1980s...
was an early all digital synthesizer that obtained relatively broad commercial success. It used FM synthesis and, although it was incapable of the sampling synthesis of the Fairlight CMI, its price was around $2,000, putting it within range of a much larger number of musicians. The DX-7 was also known for its "key scaling" method to avoid distortion and for its recognizable bright tonalities that was partly due to an overachieving
Oversampling
In signal processing, oversampling is the process of sampling a signal with a sampling frequency significantly higher than twice the bandwidth or highest frequency of the signal being sampled...
sampling rate
Sampling rate
The sampling rate, sample rate, or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per unit of time taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. For time-domain signals, the unit for sampling rate is hertz , sometimes noted as Sa/s...
of 57 kHz. It became indispensable to many music artists of the 1980s, and would become one of the best-selling synthesizers of all time.
In 1981, one of the first comparatively affordable sampler
Sampler
Sampler may mean:* Sampler , a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal* Sampler , a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework...
synthesizers was released: the E-mu Emulator
E-mu Emulator
The Emulator is the name given to a series of disk-based digital sampling keyboards manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1982 until 1990. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary musicians, due to its relatively low price and its size,...
. It was not the first sampler, but in comparison to the previous digital samplers, it was much cheaper.
In 1987, Roland released an important syntheizer: the D-50
Roland D-50
The Roland D-50 is a polyphonic 61-key synthesizer produced by Roland. It was released in 1987. Its features include Linear Arithmetic synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analog synthesis-styled layout design. The external Roland PG-1000 Programmer could also be...
. This popular synth used a combination of short samples and digital oscillators. Roland called this Linear Arithmetic (LA) synthesis. This keyboard has some very recognisable preset sounds, such as the Pizzagogo sound used on Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
's "Orinoco Flow."
It became feasible to include high quality samples of existing instruments as opposed to synthesizing them. Many popular synthesizers are not synthesizers in the classic definition of the word. They playback samples stored in their memory. They still include options to shape the sounds through use of envelopes, LFO
LFO
LFO may refer to:* LFO , an English techno act* LFO , an American three-man pop/rap group** LFO , an album released by the American pop group LFO* Light Finding Operation, a form of mecha from the anime TV series Eureka Seven...
s, filters and effects (such as reverb.) The Yamaga Motif and Roland Fantom series of keyboards are typical examples of this type. They are sometimes called ROMplers.
As there was still an interest in analog synthesizers, and with the increase of computing power, another type of synthesizer was born - the analog modeling
Analog modeling synthesizer
An Analog Modeling Synthesizer is a synthesizer that generates the sounds of traditional analog synthesizers using DSP components and software algorithms to simulate the behaviour of the original electric and electronic circuitry, in order to obtain the sound in a more precise manner from the...
(or "virtual analog") synthesizer. These used computing power to simulate tradtional analog waveforms and circuitry such as envelopes and filters. One example of this type of synthesizer was the Nord Lead.
With the addition of sophisticated sequencers onboard the workstation synthesizer was born. They include a multi-track sequencer
Sequencer
Sequencer may refer to:Arts and Entertainment* Sequencer , 1976* Sequencer , 1996Technology* DNA sequencer, a machine used to automatically produce a sequence readout from a biological DNA sample...
. They can often record and playback samples, and full audio tracks, so could be used to record an entire song. The Korg M1 is an example of an early workstation synthesizer. They are usually ROMplers, to give a wide variety of realistic instrument and other sounds such as drums, string instruments and wind instruments along with popular keyboard instrument sounds such as electric pianos and organs.
With modern processing power and memory, some synthesizer has been produced that offer a variety of synthesis options. The Korg Oasys
Korg OASYS
The Korg OASYS was a workstation synthesizer released in early 2005, 1 year after the successful Korg Triton Extreme. Unlike the Triton series, the OASYS was implemented on a custom Linux operating system and was designed to be arbitrarily expandable via software updates, with its functionality...
was an example of including multiple synthesizers in the same unit.
Some digital synthesizers now exist in the form of "softsynth
Software synthesizer
A software synthesizer, also known as a softsynth is a computer program or plug-in for digital audio generation. Computer software which can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed are allowing softsynths to accomplish the same tasks that previously required dedicated...
" software that synthesizes sound using conventional PC hardware, though they require careful programming and a fast CPU to get the same latency
Latency (engineering)
Latency is a measure of time delay experienced in a system, the precise definition of which depends on the system and the time being measured. Latencies may have different meaning in different contexts.-Packet-switched networks:...
response as their dedicated equivalents. In order to reduce latency, some professional sound card
Sound card
A sound card is an internal computer expansion card that facilitates the input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under control of computer programs. The term sound card is also applied to external audio interfaces that use software to generate sound, as opposed to using hardware...
manufacturers have developed specialized digital signal processing hardware. Dedicated digital synthesizers frequently have the advantage of onboard accessibility, with switchable front panel controls to peruse their functions, whereas software synthesizers trump their dedicated counterparts with their additional functionality, against the handicap of a mouse-driven control system.
With focus on performance-oriented keyboards and digital computer technology, manufacturers of commercial electronic instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s created some of the earliest digital synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s for studio and experimental use with computers being able to handle built-in sound synthesis algorithms.
Analog vs. digital
The main difference is that a digital synthesizer uses digital processors and analog synthesizers use analog circuitry. A digital synthesizer is basically a computer with (often) a piano-keyboard and a Lcd as an interface. An analog synthesizerAnalog synthesizer
An analog or analogue synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog computer techniques to generate sound electronically. The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s such as the Trautonium were built with a variety of vacuum-tube and electro-mechanical technologies...
is made up of sound-generating circuitry and modulators. Because computer technology is rapidly advancing it is often possible to offer more features in a digital synthesizer than in a analog synthesizer at a given price point. However, both technologies have their own merit. Some forms of synthesis, like, for instance, sampling
Sampling
Sampling may refer to:*Sampling , converting a continuous signal into a discrete signal*Sampling , converting continuous colors into discrete color components*Sampling , re-using portions of sound recordings in a piece...
and additive synthesis
Additive synthesis
Additive synthesis is a technique of sound synthesis that creates musical timbre by explicitly adding sinusoidal overtones together.The timbre of an instrument is composed of multiple harmonic or inharmonic partials , of different frequencies and amplitudes, that change over time...
are not feasible in analog synthesizers, while on the other hand, many musicians prefer the character of analog synthesizers over their digital equivalent.
Bands using digital synth
The New WaveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
era of the 1980s first brought the digital synthesizer to the public ear. Bands like Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
and Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
used the digitally made sounds on some of their most popular albums. Other more pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
inspired bands like Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
began incorporating the digital synthesizer into their sound in the 1980s. Through breakthroughs in technology in the 1990s almost every synthesizer now created has DSP
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
.
Early digital synth models
One of the first well known models is the made by the KorgKorg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
company. Now with dozens of models, they have revolutionized digital synth creation. Bands like The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
and Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
have used such models as the Korg M1
Korg M1
The Korg M1 is the world's first widely-known music workstation. Its onboard MIDI sequencer and palette of sounds allowed musicians to produce complete professional arrangements...
. Another brand of popular digital synthesizer is Casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
. Such artists as Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
began using the Casio CZ-101 at an early age of production.
Digital synthesis
Working more or less the same way, every digital synthesizer is seemingly like a computerComputer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
. At a steady sample rate, digital synthesis produces a stream of numbers. Sound from speakers is then produced by a conversion to analog form. Through signal generation, voice and instrument-level processing, a signal flow is created and controlled either by MIDI capabilities or voice and instrument-level controls.
External links
- Vintage Synth Explorer, a great resource on vintage analog and digital hardware synthesizers.
- Psycle, a freely downloadable modular software synthesizer and sequencer/tracker (open source and totally free)
- Buzz, a freely downloadable modular software synthesizer (gratis but proprietary)