October 2024: Fractal Audio's VP4 Virtual Pedalboard has been added to the wiki.
Synth block
Contents
Available on which Fractal Audio products
- Axe-Fx III: 2 blocks
- FM3: yes
- Axe-Fx II: 2 blocks
- AX8: 1 block
- FX8: 1 block
X/Y and channels
- Axe-Fx III: 2 channels
- FM3: 2 channels
- Axe-Fx II: no
- AX8: no
- FX8: no
What can the Synth do
"The Synth block is a very simple monophonic synth. It doesn't compare to the polyphonic capabilities of something like the FTP and it can't control outboard MIDI synths." source
How to control the Synth
The Synth block requires monophonic input. This means that you have play REALLY clean. Always hit single notes and avoid overlapping notes.
Turning off voices saves CPU
The Synth has 3 voices. Turn off voices that you don't use to save some CPU.
Parameters table
| Parameter | Axe-Fx III | Axe-Fx II | AX8, FX8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per voice: | |||
| Type | yes | ||
| Track | yes | ||
| Frequency | yes | ||
| Shift | yes | ||
| Tune | yes | ||
| Duty Cycle | yes | ||
| Pan | yes | ||
| Filter Frequency | yes | ||
| Filter Q | yes | ||
| Attack | yes | ||
| Level | yes |
Tips
Start a simple Sine tone
Set a single voice to Sine and turn off Tracking.
Warm up the Synth sound
To warm up the Synth, add a Drive block before or after it, such as a RAT model.
Fatten the Synth tone
To fatten the Synth, use at least two voices and detune them slightly. source
Create a drone note
Turn off Voices 2 and 3. In voice 1 switch off Tracking and adjust pitch with the Frequency parameter. Look up the frequencies of notes
Tips:
- Try the Sawtooth waveform.
- Make the sound fatter by using two Synth voices set to the same frequency.
- Make the sound less boring by adding a low-pass Filter with lfo-controlled Frequency.
- Make the sound wider by adding a 100% wet Multi-Delay (Axe-Fx III: Plex Delay) set to Detune.
- Change the pitch of the drone note, by switching the Synth between channels (Axe-Fx III only) or by using Scene Controllers, attached to the Pitch parameter of the voice(s).
Create pink or white noise
The Synth block can generate white or pink noise.
Create a siren
Select a Square waveform and attach a LFO to the FREQ parameter of a single voice. Add a large Reverb.
Emit a calibration tone
"Set the synth block to a 1K sine wave at -12 dB. Turn OUTPUT 1 to the maximum level position." source
"There's actually a hidden calibration tone that is used during functional test. The Synth block is reference quality. I use it all the time to generate test tones. The output is spectrally purer than my $2000 Stanford Research Systems Synthesized Function Generator." source
More information about the Synth
- Forum members Simeon and Swedish Chef created great synth presets. Search the forum and visit Axe-Change.
- Introduction video
- Wikipedia
