Additive synthesis
Additive synthesis, also known as Fourier synthesis (after Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier), involves synthesising waveforms by adding together several sine waves of various amplitudes and frequencies. Usually, these frequencies are simple multiples known as harmonics.
While very few synthesisers explore additive synthesis in great detail, a good few tentatively venture into its territories. On the analogue side, there's Roland's SH-3A and SH-7, albeit using square waves rather than sine waves; and on the digital side, there's the Synclavier series, and all of Yamaha's FM synthesisers when using a completely parallel configuration ("algorithm 32" on the DX7 series, and "algorithm 8" on the DX21 series and TX81Z).
Organs are essentially primitive additive synthesisers, letting you blend their harmonics together in proportions of your choosing — even the acoustic ones. They just lack the means to automatically evolve their timbre, or even volume, during each note.
See also
Further reading
Deep dives
- "All About Additive, Part 1" Chris Meyer, Music Technology, Apr 1988, pp. 30—32
- "All About Additive, Part 2" Chris Meyer, Music Technology, May 1988, pp. 62—66
- "Synth Secrets: An Introduction to Additive Synthesis" Gordon Reid, Sound On Sound, Jun 2000
Types of synthesis: Additive synthesis | FM synthesis
