ES2 oscillators are used to generate one or more waveforms. This signal is then sent to other portions of the synthesizer engine for shaping, processing, or manipulation.
Oscillators 2 and 3 are almost identical to each other, but they differ from oscillator 1.
Oscillator 1 can be frequency modulated by oscillator 2, for FM synthesis sounds.
Oscillators 2 and 3 can be synchronized to, or ring modulated with, oscillator 1. They also have rectangular waves with either user-defined fixed pulse widths or pulse width modulation (PWM) features.
You can use the modulation router to simultaneously change the pulse widths of rectangular waves generated by oscillator 1 and the synchronized and ring-modulated rectangular waves of oscillators 2 and 3.
Oscillator on/off buttons: Click the number to the right of each oscillator to independently turn each on or off. A green numeric button indicates an active oscillator. A gray numeric button denotes an inactive oscillator. Deactivating an oscillator saves computer processing power.
Wave knobs: Choose the waveform that an oscillator generates. The waveform is responsible for the basic tonal color. See ES2 basic oscillator waveforms.
Coarse Frequency knobs: Set the oscillator pitch, in semitone steps, over a range of ±3 octaves. Because an octave consists of 12 semitones, the ±12, 24, and 36 settings represent octaves.
Fine Frequency value fields: Fine-tune the oscillator frequency (pitch). The left numbers show the semitone s setting, and the right numbers show the cent c setting (1 cent = 1/100th semitone). For example, an oscillator with the value 12 s 30 c sounds an octave (12 semitones) and 30 cents higher than an oscillator with the value 0 s 0 c. Drag vertically to adjust each value.
Oscillator Mix (Triangle): Move the pointer in the Triangle to crossfade (set the level relationships) among the three oscillators. See Balance ES2 oscillator levels.