MOD7 vs Fairlight CMI

[KingJ]

Does the waveshaper in MOD7 allow the user to make their own waveforms from scratch, like you could on the Fairlight CMI? If so, does it also have dynamic harmonic control like the Fairlight CMI did?

[Daz]

No, the MOD-7 waveshaper only offers a fixed set of waveshaping tables.

Daz.

[danatkorg]

The Fairlight did additive synthesis, but not waveshaping or FM (the MOD-7's fortes). The two are very different instruments.

[Daz]

Does the waveshaper in MOD7 allow the user to make their own waveforms from scratch, like you could on the Fairlight CMI? If so, does it also have dynamic harmonic control like the Fairlight CMI did?

Drawing your own single-cycle waveform, as I've experienced it in something like Absynth, is not nearly as powerful a technique as controlling harmonic content using FM + Waveshaping + Filters (and modulation of those). Drawing your own waveform, whether you're drawing the literal shape or specifying the level/phase of each harmonic, is a rather long winded way of doing things in comparison to using techniques like FM or subtractive synthesis, and the extra control it appears to offer I've not found to be as useful as one might imagine. With Absynth, in their Waveform editor, I generally find that sculpting the waveforms using the FM, Fractal or Filter options much more rewarding than handcrafting a wave.

Daz.