Native Instruments have just launched their latest Reaktor Synth called Razor and it is causing quite a stir in the sound design and production communities. So what makes this synth so exciting? Well it is down to a process called additive synthesis.
Put in the plainest terms possible, additive synthesis is the summation of simple tones to create more complex ones.
The sound is constructed from partials (or frequency components) firing in parallel, changing amplitude and even frequency over time. Additive synthesis is a very powerful sound design tool because the many micro-variations in the frequency and amplitude of individual partials mirrors those that makes natural sounds so rich and lively, and the resulting sound remains clear and precise at all times, even when heavily modulated.
This video demonstrates how to go about building an additive synth in Reaktor plus an overview of some of the other techniques that you will learn on the Point Blank Online Sound Design course ( http://www.pointblankonline.net/sound-design-course.php ). Even this fairly simple example consisting of just 8 partials, you can begin to hear how an additive synth can create an impressively rich and malleable sound. So when you think that Razor’s additive engine consists of up to 320 partials you can start to see why everyone is so eager to get their hands on it!
At Audiotuts+ we regularly put up a reader track for workshopping and critique (find out how to submit a track). This is how it works: you upload your song, and every week or so we’ll publish one here and step away from the podium. The floor is yours to talk about the track and how the artist can fix problems in and improve upon the mix and the song.
This track has been submitted for your friendly, constructive criticism. They have put their track (and their heart and soul) in your hands to learn and get useful feedback.
Do you enjoy the song or track itself? Does it have potential?
Can the arrangement be improved?
How did you find the mix? What would you do differently?
What do you enjoy about the rhythm track? What can be done to improve it?
Is the choice of instruments relevant and effective for the style/song?
Are the lyrics (if any) effective? Does the style, arrangement and genre of the song suit them?
Can you suggest any specific techniques that might improve the track?
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