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I'm on page 35 of the emx-1 manual and I'm very confused.

The manual states that the "Unison OSC" has 6 oscillators. What really is an oscillator? I can't figure out what the number 6 represents. It says OSC1 pitch, OSC & OSC2 (combined) and that Unison Detune has OSC4, OSC5 and OSC6.

I'm new to electronics or basically don't have a clue. I know that there are 4 different waveforms that have 3 different settings. But what does all this mean?

Hope someone can help as I'm lost as hell. XD

an 'oscillator' is a basic sound gernerating block device. of course in the electribe it isn't really a device at all, just simulated in a bit of code running on a chip along with every other block that makes up the synth architecture.

it produces a waveform - which is the basic sound you hear. like the really sharp sawtooth.
you can make that more blurry and chorusy by putting them at *slightly* different pitches so that they sound like, well, lots of oscillators sounding at once, going slowly (or quickly the more you detune them) out of phase.

I think the 'unison osc' doesn't actually create new oscillators as such, but it behaves like 5 or 6 oscillators all at slightly different 'detuned' pitches to create a thicker sound. all of this is emulated in the one oscillator though so it doesn't make a difference.

as with having an osc1 and osc2, the two can be detuned to musical intervals to make a more 'chord-like' sound, for example putting osc2 +7 semitones will make it a fifth (the lower and upper note in a major or minor chord, for example the C and G above in a C major/minor/4th/6th/etc chord).
or you could tune it an octave above or below (+ or -12 semitones), which I personally love to give it a nice heavy sound. so that would be like playing the C or the C above.

and of course each different oscillator has different waveforms, like sawtooth, triangle, sine, etc...

a basic oscillator as a block object has two main inputs and one main output - Pitch and Waveform in, and then in turn outputs the selected waveform at the set pitch or frequency.

you can read more useless information here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_oscillator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer

That would have been so much easier to understand if the manual didn't fly out of context, without mentioning its fundamental to know some stuff before you learn how to use the machine.

Your explanation was very easy to absorb, I now understand it. Thank you.

Now I see it in the perspective that if it makes a synth sound good, use it, don't get too bogged down with why and how it works. Just play with it, and make music. Thanks again!

stef-mc wrote:That would have been so much easier to understand if the manual didn't fly out of context, without mentioning its fundamental to know some stuff before you learn how to use the machine.

Your explanation was very easy to absorb, I now understand it. Thank you.

Now I see it in the perspective that if it makes a synth sound good, use it, don't get too bogged down with why and how it works. Just play with it, and make music. Thanks again!

I think that would be a bit like buying a car and then being annoyed at the car manufacturer for not telling you how to drive a car! It's a musical instrument after all. But I do think manufacturers of these pieces of kit could explain things a little better for beginners though. Especially with groovebox type pieces of kit. But maybe they just realise plenty of information resides on the internet. As manuals go I think the EMX one is very well written.

I wholeheartedly agree with your last point. I think it's very easy to get bogged down in how and why things work. Sometimes it's best to just experiment and know that X + Y produces a certain result