Wavetable synthesis
Get to know this synthesis method by its basics, then discover the more innovative sides of today’s forward-thinking wavetable synth plugins
Words by James Russell
Synthesisers all have their differences and their similarities. One crucial way to tell the difference and categorise different instruments is by the type of synthesis they employ.
The history of these synthesis methods runs parallel to the development of the synth as a serious instrument, and to the development of sound and music itself.
Early synthesisers were chaotic and modular, but the first ‘small’ instruments, such as the Minimoog, offered a ‘subtractive’ synthesis type where a complex waveform was sculpted and filtered to create the main body of the sound. At the same time, West Coast synthesis got its start, with Don Buchla using low-pass gates and wavefolders to ends that were similar… but again, different.