Synth block

Synth: supported by which Fractal Audio products?

• Axe-Fx II: yes.
• AX8: yes.
• FX8: no.

What does the Synth do?

• Cliff: "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

Synth and X/Y switching

• The Synth block doesn't support X/Y switching.

Synth examples

• Forum members Simeon and Swedish Chef created great synth presets. Search the forum and visit Axe-Change.

Warming up the Synth tone

• To make the Synth less sterile, add a Drive after it.

Fattening the Synth

• Use at least two voices and detune them slightly. source

Creating a drone note

• Set Tracking to OFF. Adjust pitch with the Frequency parameter.

Generating pink or white noise

• The Synth block can generate white or pink noise:
  • White noise in Wikipedia.
  • Pink noise in Wikipedia.

Creating a calibration tone

• Cliff's comments:
  • "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 but use the Synth block. 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

Using Scene Controllers to change the Synth note pitch

• You can change the pitch of sustained synth notes by using Scene controllers.

Various Synth tips

• Synthesizer in Wikipedia.